Well here we are, chapter 3! Hope you like it all so far!

I do not own bleach!

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Chapter 3 –

What have you done to me woman?!

Orihime could hardly believe her ears. The impossible had been made possible. She hadn't failed. She hadn't been a burden for once in her life. Ulquiorra Cifer had been brought back by the power of her resolve, and those oh so handy hairpins her brother had bestowed upon her all those years ago. She was aware that he had asked her a question, but she was unable to answer, stunned into silence by the man before her.

He was still the same but softer somehow. His helmet that had disappeared along with him into the dust of Hueco Mundo had not returned, neither had the tear tracks that marred his now obviously beautiful face. His ghost white skin had become a more natural shade but his eyes had retained their shocking emerald glow.

As Orihime took this all in she edged tentatively towards the stoic man before her. Am I dreaming? She thought as she came closer to the one person she thought she'd never see again. Warily she raised a hand towards the collar of his white jacket, which seemed to be the only trace of his Arrancar past still visible and slowly lowered the zip.

She wasn't sure what to expect. And she certainly didn't know how to react when she lowered to the zip to find… a completely normal collarbone. No hole, nothing; Just skin over bone. Could it truly be possible that the Cuatro Espada was now human? Orihime found this hard to believe, even though the proof was starting her straight in the eyes with a steely glare.

"Woman" A voice spoke from just above her hand. "Though I do not enjoy rushing conversation, neither to I enjoy repeating myself. I asked you a question now give me an answer."

That once so indifferent voice now held an edge, a sense of urgency. Though, after being ripped from the very brink of the void of death, one would expect the recipient of this resurrection to be slightly confused. Unfortunately for Ulquiorra Cifer, Orihime honestly had no idea what had just come to pass. Her mind was still stuck on the fact that she froze time and the fact that she had no idea how to reverse the damage she had done.

She stared in wonder at the Arrancar before her. Ulquiorra was, undeniably… human.

With this realization she began to see what the former Espada was demanding of her.

Cautiously (for although he was human, Murcielago was still attached to his waist) she opened her mouth to speak -

"I… I don't know. I saw…you were… your eyes… and then… I used my pins… and rejected… and somehow I stopped time and now here you are!"

Needless to say she was very confused right now.

A reply came instantly. "Woman, you did not stop time."

What?!

"I didn't?" she looked up into the Espadas green eyes in wonder and realized that her hand was still at the base of his throat. Swiftly she removed it and began wringing her hands, as was her usual position when she was nervous.

"No, you did not. As I felt my body resume some semblance of shape I used what is called the Tiemo Negacion to temporarily freeze the time in Hueco Mundo." He replied, as if this were obvious.

Orihime was still rather confused. "But… I don't understand, why would you need to do that?"

The stoic Ex-Espada looked down upon her with a twinge of annoyance. "Think woman, If I had reappeared on the battlefield do you really think Kurosaki would give it a second of thought before taking up his attack again?"

Slowly she began to understand, and a flood of relief washed over her. She had not been the one to stop time. But she had brought Ulquiorra back from the void. Pride swelled in her as she realized for once in her life she wasn't the worthless one.

But still, she couldn't find an answer to his original question. What had she done to him? He clearly wasn't an Espada anymore, but could still use Sonido. So what did this all mean? Was he a human? A Shinigami? She just didn't know.

"I'm sorry but I just… I just don't know what happened!" She stepped back and looked up at his new found humanity. "Just before… before you died I saw something change in you… you deserved a second chance. So I used the power of the Shun Shun Rikka to reject what Kurosaki did to you. It just didn't seem fair that you should go and he should stay!" She almost shouted the last part.

Ulquiorra looked down at the girl trembling before him. She was an anomaly, of that he was certain. Always thinking with that heart of hers before using her head. He couldn't quite comprehend why she'd brought him back – he had after all, kept her prisoner, and on more than one occasion threatened to force feed her. But then, after he'd found his own heart, he'd reached out to her. Why he had done so was still a mystery to the indifferent Arrancar. He'd only just realized what feelings where, so her certainly didn't understand why it was her he'd reached out to, why her face was the last thing he desired to see before he passed into the winds.

And now… he was human. Or so it seemed to him anyway. Some of his hollow powers still remained. He could still use sonido, and half heartedly wondered if he should fire up a Cero and blast the tearful woman in front of him out into the desert. Of course, his new found heart and conscience told him this was the wrong thing to do, and so he thrust his twitching finger into the traditional depths of his pockets.

"You… don't know." He began, trying to keep his temper steady. "Woman, you've reduced me to human trash and now you're telling me you can't explain how? Unacceptable." Irritation flitted up inside him. A new emotion he mused. Although he'd claimed before that this woman's idle banter annoyed him he had never truly felt it. Until he'd found his heart that is, now he was feeling all sorts of strange new feelings.

Orihime Inoue trembled beneath the weight of Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure as he struggled to contain his new found annoyance. He was angry, and that was not a good sign. Despite his actions before his death and redemption, Orihime had believed that if she had somehow managed to bring him back he would be happy about it. Embrace it even. His actual reaction came as a shock to her. She had never even considered that he would not want to be brought back. Although she'd also never considered that if her healing powers had managed to bring him back he'd come back more human than hollow.

All in all, it was a strange occurrence for both of them, though they were both feeling completely different emotions.

As he struggled to contain himself, Ulquiorra was in two minds. He knew now that he had some sort of connection to the woman before him, but he also knew that this new form of his was not something he'd ever wanted to return to, even if it did seem that most of his powers remained intact.

Where would he go now? That was his main question. Would Aizen still want him, with out his Espada status? Did he even want to return to his former Lord? Kurosaki and his Nakama (with the exception of the woman of course) would never accept his new existence, especially after he nearly caused the death of their favored substitute Shinigami on more than one occasion.

So what where his options? Of this, he was unsure. Although during his time as a hollow he had lived alone, consuming souls at an unnatural rate, the thought of an eternity alone now irked Ulquiorra in a way he never thought would be possible. He did know however, that he needed to have a serious think about his options, and that his copper haired savior was an incredibly distracting element. Her unsure looks, her hands over her heart – he couldn't stop himself from watching her. And right now, she was a distraction he didn't need.

And so with one last look, he prepared to sonido away and disappeared back into the vast wasteland of Hueco Mundo, leaving Orihime to fall back down to her knees, just as the Tiempo Negacions effects lost their power, and her nakama awoke from their negation box induced states.

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Well that's the end of chapter 3, hope you like. Let me know if it's going a bit slow for you guys and I'll try and pick up the pace. Personally I like it but it's you guys who this is for so let me know!