CHAPTER 6: REUNION DREAM

At the Karakura Shrine, summer festival was held every year on Tanabata.

Yet, it was like it had been a long time that she had come here. She used to come there with her brother when she was young.

And after her brother died, nobody would ask her to come to Tanabata festival anymore.

Until she met Tatsuki in middle school, Tatsuki invited Orihime to go with her family every year.

She didn't get chance to go to the festival in her first year of high school because she had to train her power and went to Soul Society to save Rukia instead. But she did have a nice party there.

The shrine was still crowded like as much as she remembered. She was looking around to spot on any familiar faces.

There they were. A group of girls standing at the shrine gate were chatting and looked like they were waiting for her.

Holding the zankaputou in her arm, Orihime ran toward their direction.

But she wasn't used to run in her sandals, so she tripped over her own feet.

As she closed her eyes to prepare that her face would get a hit with the ground, she felt nothing hurt. It seemed that her body stopped falling in the mid air.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she realized there was an arm which already caught her body before she sprawled on the sidewalk.

She couldn't help but bow down her head and blush with embarrassment as the arm held onto her and helped her up.

"As clumsy as ever, woman."

As the deep voice of a man was reaching to her ear, she was shivered with this familiar voice. Her legs suddenly got weak, and she found herself clinging onto the man's arm just to remain on her feet. As she looked up, she stood transfixed at the sight of the man beside her.

The man…he looked a bit different. Yet he looked familiar. His skin was not ashen white. The tear streaks on his face were gone, and the broken mask was no more to reveal the other side of his head. His raven hair was still messy like before.

However, she would never mistake those piercing green eyes, and the first thing that caught in her eyes was the fierce green color of his eyes.

"Ulquiorra…" She tried to breath out the word.

The raven-haired man stared at her another moment longer as if he tried to memorize every sight of her into his eyes. From the vibrant orange color of her hair to the scarlet color of her yukata. Then finally, he responded. "Orihime."

Reassured by his confirmation, she began to cry, overjoyed to finally see him again. If this was really a dream, then she thanked God for giving her that dream. If this would become true in her future, she also thanked God for letting her met Ulquiorra again.

"I told you stop crying, woman." Ulquiorra had a surprised look. He didn't expect that strong reaction coming from the woman after seeing him.

He reached out his hand and wiped the tear falling from her eyes. He felt warmth on the fingertips from both her tear and her blushed cheek.

"But you're back. And I'm so happy that my tears just keep falling." Orihime was stunned by his gentle gesture a little bit. She tried to wipe out her tears and gave back a smile.

"Didn't I already tell you that I would come back?" He gave her a statement with his calm voice.

Orihime was going to reply to Ulquiorra that "He didn't say that" but then she realized that she was in the future here, and she know nothing about herself in this future. Or how Ulquiorra could come back and meet her?

But she still wanted to ask him though.

"Since when did you come back?"

"Yesterday. I told you to wait at your house today, so that I would come to pick you up. Yet you have gone there by yourself." Ulquiorra said with a bit irritation in his voice.

Although his voice was still monotone as usual, Orihime knew there was a tiny bit of irritation because he made a sigh after he said that she went first by herself, but not waiting for him.

Orihime actually didn't know what Ulquiorra told her future self about that. She came from the past after all.

"Orihime, what's matter?" Ulquiorra wondered why this woman was so quiet today.

Several emotions ran through her at once. She didn't know which one she could start first. There was something she had to know, something that was eating at her. She looked sad.

"Are you angry because I've selfishly gone and left you alone?"

Orihime stared at him when she heard his question. Even if he didn't have any tear streaks on his face now, she could see the sadness in his dark green eyes. She had seen them before.

It was a quick moment when she tried to run toward him before he had turned into ash. And all she could see between her fingertips was an unusual expression coming from Ulquiorra and his eyes. The same eyes that asked her "Are you afraid of me?" and the same eyes that looked at her full of sadness and regretful sentiment at that last moment.

"No, I'm not angry." Orihime said with the determinant in her eyes. She looked at him with the same expression of no fear or anger toward him like she did before.

And then she realized today he didn't have his usual white Arrancar uniform.

Instead, it was a dark green kimono with white stripped pattern. When she looked at his neck area, she realized that he didn't have his hollow hole in his chest anymore.

She wondered if he was in the gigai or this was his form after he returned from the ash.

Because… because… his zankaputou was in her hand right now. How could he was in material form while his zankaputou was in the soul form? He and his sword were like one right?

Just like Kurosaki-kun and his zankaputou, Zangetsu.

"Now I already came here and got my sword back." As Ulquiorra was talking, he took back the zankaputou in Orihime's hands and put that inside his sash.

He pointed his finger to direction where her friends were standing, "You should go to your friends' place."

Orihime was surprised at his action.

In the past, he didn't allow her go anywhere alone. And now he was letting her go with her friends alone. Orihime felt happy that she saw some changes in Ulquiorra, yet she felt a bit sad that Ulquiorra just let her go easily like that.

"But will you go back when I go to them?" She grabbed on his kimono and looked at him with her large grey eyes just like a spoiled child who didn't want to let go off her parents in the first day of school.

"No. I won't. I want you to go tell them that that you're going with me so that they'll stop waiting for you."

Orihime was surprised. Ulquiorra didn't change much. He was still the same. He didn't let go off her at all.

When she thought that he just came here to get back his sword and let her go with her friends, he actually surprised her that he came just to go with her only, not together with her friends.

"Or do you want me to go there and tell them?"

As much as Orihime suddenly realized his question, Ulquiorra already went to where her friends were.

She intended to go there but she didn't know how to talk to her friends about going with Ulquiorra because she wasn't sure if they knew Ulquiorra in the future or not.

She just stood there and watched him talking with them from far way.

Since when had Ulquiorra become friendly with her friends?

Chizuru of the future said something about her future self getting a boyfriend? It couldn't be… that her boyfriend was…

As she looked, they were still in their conversation. What were they talking about? Why were they taking so long?

Impatiently, she was going to come to their place, and she saw Ulquiorra turned around and walked back to her.

"What did you talk to them?"

"I just told them that you are going with me. No negotiation."

What he had said was so short contrasted with the time what he took so long with her friends there. He used to say that rushing was not his nature. But still…

As Orihime was still silent, Ulquiorra looked at her puzzled look and kept talking.

"And the short black haired hair woman made me promise that I would bring you back home intact. Why do you humans always like to make promises about foolish thing? Of course, I will not let anything harm you or take you away from me."

Orihime was not sure whether Ulquiorra himself realized that he had just said something incredible here or not. But Orihime felt embarrassed at his words and was very very happy inside. She couldn't help but keep lowering down her head to hide her blushing.

"Come, woman."

At his command, she suddenly raised her head up and saw him reaching out his palm to her. She automatically reached out her hand back in respond.

The touch sentiment between those hands made her feel that she wasn't dreaming after all. She felt so right. The warmth of her hand and the coolness of his hand. They almost completed each other's body temperature.

Feeling excited, she ended up dragging him toward the festival.

"Then let's enjoy the festival. Ulquiorra!!"


To be continued...