When Ulquiorra stepped through the Garganta this time, he was alone, and it was very near dark in Karakura Town. He calmly landed in the grassy park, looking around with disinterest. Nearby, some fireflies lit up and dimmed, imitating the stars in the night sky.

As he stood there in the silence, he looked around, sensing several more strong reiatsu this time around than he had before. Perhaps Grimmjow was correct in his concerns.. but probably not. Even with this I see no reason for his behavior. As he walked through the park towards the heart of the city, there were two reiatsu in particular he sensed. I wouldn't be surprised, if it was her...

Orihime lay in bed, awake. Rangiku was fast asleep- snoring, in fact. Toshiro Hitsugaya, the Captain in charge of the mission, was also asleep. Orihime sat up, remembering the day when those two Arrancar came and attacked. And then- what was worse, they came again just a few nights earlier. Orihime sighed and looked over at the two who were sharing her small apartment. She smiled slightly. Rangiku had not been too badly injured in her fight, but Hitsugaya was a different story. They had all underestimated their opponents, but for some reason, Hitsugaya and Rukia had seen the worst of it.

The human stood up quietly and snuck out of the room, not wanting to wake either of the shinigami. Without thinking, her hand brushed against one of her hairpins. That's right, Tsubaki had been destroyed in the first attack. Orihime closed her eyes and left the apartment.

"I have to try and restore him.. If I can't, then I won't be any help to Kurosaki-kun.." With that, Orihime left, determined to find any piece of Tsubaki there might have been. Even the tiniest piece of the shattered shield would be enough.

Orihime ran to the spot where Ulquiorra and Yammy had been just days before. The crater was still there- and since its appearance there had been caution signs placed all around it to keep people out.

The girl stood there, her fists clenched with determination, staring at the spot. Then, without warning, her hairpins began to glow, and five small creatures appeared around her.

"Orihime, we can't sense Tsubaki... we won't be able to find him like this," one of them said.

Orihime smiled. "I know the chances are not very good," she said softly. "But I have to try.."

Another of the creatures sighed and flew around her. "Then let's get searching!" All at once, the five flowers began to glow, and they zoomed off in different directions, leaving Orihime to search as well. She carefully made her way to the crater, thinking maybe part of Tsubaki had landed there.

Ulquiorra watched from high up in the sky, well hidden by the trees and darkness. His green eyes watched the girl as she summoned those same little nuisances and spoke with them as she had that day. Although he did not show it, he was puzzled by her actions. She spoke to them as if they were comrades, not tools, and then they began searching for something.

"What is she searching for?" he asked himself. Then he remembered when she attacked Yammy. A single weapon was shot, and destroyed by his fellow Espada. Could it be.. she's trying to find and restore him? He was shattered into a million pieces.. it's impossible. Nevertheless, Orihime searched for hours, and could not locate a single part of Tsubaki.

A few of her flowers returned. "We're sorry, Orihime. We couldn't sense Tsubaki anywhere." Orihime closed her eyes as the rest of her Shun Shun Rikka appeared. They also hung their heads.

"We'll come back tomorrow," Orihime said after a few minutes.

"What?" The five flowers said together. "That's crazy! Tsubaki's gone! It's not your fault, but he's gone."

Ulquiorra continued to watch, confused at her determination to restore something that was obviously too weak to be of any use. Finally, the girl commanded them to return, and they did so. He watched as the girl stood there in silence before finally turning around and leaving the way she came.

"These humans... are indeed fascinating." He followed her reiatsu for a ways, without venturing too close, or too far from the spot where he saw her, and soon it was joined by another, familiar reiatsu. Ulquiorra's eyes widened. "That is.. her reiatsu.." he whispered, his monotone voice just barely above a whisper. "So she is here."