Chapter 3

Orihime woke the next morning when a sudden pain tore through her middle and she rolled onto her side with a gasp as she wrapped her arms around her middle, she whimpered softly and then as if that little noise had been all she'd needed the pain began to fade just as suddenly as it had come on. She stared outside from the bed for a while, just trying to breathe, and she heard a small voice in her head prodding her into motion

"You must hurry," the voice, strangely familiar though Orihime couldn't place it for some reason, and she rolled out of bed and onto her feet before getting dressed with shaky hands into a light yellow dress with orange flowers along the bottom. She went to the door that led outside and settled there to wait, her heart and her head racing as she wondered about the voice, the pain, and just what the hell was going to happen when they got to Hueco mundo.

"Anything?" Ichigo prompted and Orihime shook her head, keeping her eyes on the ground as they walked through las noches, wandering mostly because Orihime didn't feel what Ichigo said the others had felt when they'd been brought here. She didn't feel anything inside of her stirring, she didn't feel restless anymore after getting here, and actually she felt better than she had in over a year. What she hadn't told anyone was that during her brief stay here, she'd felt strangely at peace, comfortable even in enemy territory, and now that she had returned a part of her had settled as if relieved to be back. They walked for hours and Ichigo tried several times to speak with her but Orihime couldn't find it in her to reply, too uneasy with just how happy her soul seemed to be with her returning, and when they found the throne room Orihime felt Ichigo tense and she looked up with a confused frown when she saw hollows filling the room on both sides. They turned as one and then all of those that were able knelt and bowed their heads while those that didn't have the legs to kneel simply bowed their heads as if in reverence "What the hell is going on here?" Ichigo asked as he looked around

"We've been waiting for your return," came the voice that she'd heard this morning again that she hadn't been able to place and Orihime's eyes shot up to the throne where Ulquiorra was standing off to the side of the empty chair, he looked much as he had the last time Orihime had seen him and she let out a breath as she felt the stirring inside of her that Ichigo had told her about

'This restlessness, oh God don't tell me that this means… is Ulquiorra the one or is this feeling something else?' she thought a bit frantically as Ichigo stepped in front of her to shield her

"You want a rematch? Then bring it on, you don't know it but we've gotten a lot stronger since our last fight," Ichigo said in a hard voice and Ulquiorra glanced at Ichigo for a moment before shaking his head

"I was not referring to you, Ichigo Kurosaki," he looked back at Orihime and placed his hand over his chest with a little half bow "Welcome back, mother," the pain sparked to life in her middle again though not as badly as before, then it radiated down to her fingertips which tingled as if they were asleep as Ichigo glanced back at her before glaring at Ulquiorra

"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded with a hard gaze and Ulquiorra straightened and glanced behind the throne before snapping his fingers and a small hollow wandered out from the shadows that looked to be about the size of a terrier. It was wearing a red collar and when it saw Orihime it began to wag its tail, clearly happy to see her, and when it barked like a dog Orihime felt something that was almost like a memory that she couldn't quite grasp

"I am sending this hollow to you to help explain things, you can see that it is not very strong and is no threat to you," Ulquiorra snapped again and the little hollow bounded over to them like an excited puppy, Ichigo tensed as if he fully intended on crushing the little creature and Orihime reached out and grabbed his arm causing him to glance back at her

"Wait," she whispered, her throat feeling like someone was strangling her but she felt that she needed to touch the small creature in a way that felt like an obsession. She went to her knees and held her hand out to the creature that approached with a happily wagging tail, well aware of Ichigo's watchful gaze, and when the hollow put its front legs on her knees she reached out and a softly glowing golden dust flowed from her hands that looked like her shun shun rikka had been ground into powder and was now flowing from her fingers. It swirled around the little hollow before settling into the hole in the hollow's stomach and filling it until the hollow was completely whole again, and Orihime felt the pain in her middle ease as the dust she'd created swirled around her before fading and the little creature ran several laps around her then jumped into her arms to happily lick her face

"What the…? How did you do that?" Ichigo asked in confusion and glared at Ulquiorra who had remained next to the throne observing what had happened with a look on his face that, while blank, seemed somehow more pleased than his usual blank face

"Lord Aizen told me that this would work, but I must admit I didn't think it would be so quickly done," he glanced behind him and called "Grimmjow, she's here," Ichigo tensed again and Orihime looked up as Grimmjow sauntered into sight on the opposite side of the throne that Ulquiorra was standing on, his expression bored as usual until it landed on Ichigo and his eyes narrowed though he didn't attack as Orihime almost expected him to

"I'm guessing it worked since she's holding that damned dog," he muttered and Orihime clutched the creature a little closer as it squirmed and nuzzled her happily

"What the hell is going on?" Ichigo demanded "Why aren't you two dead, and what did you do to Orihime?"

"You didn't bother to kill us, so why the hell wouldn't we still be alive? And we didn't do anything idiot, she's Aizen's daughter," Grimmjow said and Orihime's eyes widened as she shook her head

"My parents died," she said and Grimmjow smirked

"Actually your mom died and your dad returned to the soul society,"

"Grimmjow, be quiet; telling her is one thing but attacking her isn't going to get us anywhere," Ulquiorra said and looked back at her "Lord Aizen left you a note on that creature's collar, we don't know what he said but perhaps it will answer some of your questions," Orihime looked down and noticed that sure enough the collar had a note tucked around the length of the back, and when she removed the collar the creature settled in her lap as she unwrapped it

Orihime,

I had hoped to have this conversation with you before I left, but assuming you are reading this I am already dead or unable to speak with you. I won't take the time to explain how this all came together, what you need to know is only your role in the future of mankind should you choose to accept. You already know what you can do, assuming you've healed the dog-like hollow that had this note on him, and you can do the same for all hollows now that you've awakened. With the holes in them healed, the hollows will no longer need or want to eat human souls and you can heal every one of them from the lowliest gillian to the vasto lorde themselves. I suggest that you start with Ulquiorra, as he will be a great help to you, but he is the only one that I would trust explicitly. If any of the others survived, I ask that you trust Ulquiorra's judgment in healing them or not. Ichigo Kurosaki will be a valuable ally in helping you to deal with those that cannot be trusted, but I do not doubt that he will not like having Ulquiorra close to you based on the history between you two. Please do not think badly of my former number 4, his only fault is that his loyalty often over comes his reasoning skills but do not assume that because of this weakness that he is a fool. He will aid and guide you well in coming to know your new purpose, and with him and Ichigo by your side I don't doubt that you will make a fine queen of Hueco mundo.

Aizen

Orihime reread the letter twice before handing it to Ichigo and she stood as his face grew darker and darker, handing it back to her and glaring at Ulquiorra

"I don't trust him or Aizen," Ichigo said flatly "we need to go back to the soul society and have a chat with the head captain and the others," Orihime didn't argue, after all she had expected that much, and she held out the dog to Ichigo who looked at it for a moment before gingerly accepting the sleeping creature. Orihime walked towards the throne as she tucked the note into her pocket, aware that Ichigo was staying close behind her, and when she reached the middle of the room she closed her eyes and raised her hands out to her sides. She felt the tingling in her hands spread then ease and when she opened her eyes the dust was swirling around the lesser hollows that were on either side of the room, and after a few moments it returned to her and the hollows growled and stretched and reached for her with hesitant hands

"Mother," several of them growled and Orihime glanced at them and offered her hand cautiously only to receive nuzzles and kisses of gratitude to the backs of her hands which made Ichigo growl, causing them to back off to the sides of the room again. Orihime looked to the throne and walked up to it before turning to Ulquiorra who hadn't moved since he'd propped his hip on the arm of the throne a few minutes before

"Why did you call me mother?" she asked him and Ulquiorra shrugged a shoulder

"A master is a man, a Lord is a man, and a mistress is a whore; I wasn't sure what else I could call you that would show the respect that Lord Aizen demanded you be treated with," Ulquiorra glanced away and admitted "Hollows don't have mothers, but in healing them you are showing a care for them that they have never known before. To me that sounds much like a mother," Orihime reached out to him, hesitated when Ichigo growled, then took a breath and allowed the dust to swirl from her fingers and into Ulquiorra's hole in his chest. Ulquiorra's body jerked and he clenched his jaw before closing his eyes and he shuddered as the hole began to heal, much more slowly than the others but Orihime had a feeling that Ulquiorra was probably much older than the lesser hollows that she had healed. After a full 15 minutes Ulquiorra's chest was whole and Orihime was trembling from the strain, finally collapsing into the throne as Ichigo knelt in front of her but Orihime didn't hear him because Aizen's voice flooded her mind as if sitting in the throne had activated something

"Welcome back, Orihime, my daughter; I can only hope that you are sitting where you are because you've decided to accept the powers I've awoken within you and use them to help all humans in both the world of the living as well as the soul society," Orihime glanced to the side to find that Ulquiorra had fallen to one knee, apparently being healed had taken quite a bit out of him as well, and she reached a shaking hand out to him with the intent of checking on him but Ichigo grabbed her hand and Orihime was too weak to stop him "I hope that by now you have healed Ulquiorra, and if you haven't I stress again that he will be a great help to you, but I had to let you know one last detail that I forgot to put into my letter to you; the hollows that you heal that are of a class that is higher than an adjucha will need contact with you on a regular basis. Nothing inappropriate, I know how some humans can be, and knowing Ulquiorra he will be content with the opportunity to kiss your hand every day or so and that will be plenty.

You no doubt noticed if you've healed any hollows so far, that immediately after being healed they will want to thank you; that is not because of manners, as hollows usually don't have any, it is instead a seal of sorts to make sure that their holes do not reopen. This is a necessary step and cannot be skipped or you will spend much of your time healing hollows over and over again, but once sealed the lesser hollows will most likely leave las noches. It may take a year or more of actively seeking out hollows before your task is complete, but no need to worry; with what you've done for them I am sure that the lesser hollows would be happy to go and bring others to you if you ask them," Orihime opened her eyes and took her hand from Ichigo and reached for Ulquiorra again, swatting weakly at Ichigo when he tried to stop her, and Ulquiorra reached a shaking hand to lightly touch the palm of her hand with his finger tips before shuddering and collapsing against the side of the throne

"Well damn woman," Grimmjow said as he looked down at Ulquiorra's crumpled form, clearly Aizen was done speaking with her because suddenly she could hear again "you did in 15 minutes what took Ichigo hours; you practically killed Ulquiorra,"

"I am not dead," Ulquiorra muttered "however I think I will need to rest here for a little while,"

"Pussy," Grimmjow snorted and Ulquiorra opened one eye to look up at the unimpressed panther

"I will remind you of your words when mother is strong enough to heal you and you become worse off than I,"

"Like hell," Ichigo snapped "she can't even move, she's not doing that again,"

"Ichigo," Orihime murmured and Ichigo looked back at her and she could see the worry in his eyes as he lightly caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers "I'm alright, I just need to rest for a bit," she looked past his shoulder to the lesser hollows, the ones that had touched her already had left she noticed and as she struggled to sit up Ichigo pulled her into his arms and stood as he held her close and protected "I need to seal the others," she said softly and Ichigo gave her a stern look

"You need to rest," he insisted

"I only need them to touch my hand, it won't take long," she said and Ichigo sighed, clearly recognizing that he wasn't going to dissuade her, and he walked with her through the group of hollows to let them each touch or nuzzle her hands after which they left and Orihime glanced back at Ulquiorra as Ichigo carried her to the senkaimon to return to the others. She felt whatever stirring she'd worried about earlier settle and she sighed and snuggled closer to Ichigo's chest as she drifted off to sleep. Surely Grimmjow would see to Ulquiorra, she couldn't see the brutish panther just leaving Ulquiorra slumped over like that.