Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All the credits to Tite Kubo.

I will alternate between impersonal narration and from the point of view of the characters.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Chapter 6

Hypothesis–

Ulquiorra's POV –ON–

That woman brought this body for me, but... I can't get accustomed with it… No matter what she tries, I'll never be a human again, thus, I'll never feel like one again. But… This thing beating insistently on my chest… Is it the same heart she was talking about? I doubt… What she called heart was… Not limited to this organ inside the chest, it was carved inside the whole soul…

It's not ruled under a human body's laws. It can't be constrained or occulted. She has shown me it in her eyes, even though it was not inside them. It was on the palm of her hand when she stretched it to me… Its' not a fix place, but she did say it was with her 'friends', still…

What is the heart?

Is it the thing that brought me back to life? Or my return was simply an empty act of fate?

I feel a manifestation of reiatsu. I tried to look at the source, but it's far from my sight… Should I approach and confer it? No, this reiatsu is… Hallibel's? Also, I feel Grimmjow's reiatsu… I didn't know he was still alive… I really can't understand those humans, they pity the enemy and spare them like their feelings of anguish and fury faded after winning the battle…

Hm…? This reiatsu is not Hallibell's, but it's similar… Who…? Grimmjow's reiatsu has vanished… Did he die this time?

–OFF–

.

.

.

Urahara's shop,

Ichigo barged into the shop exasperated, he was the last to arrive at the place, Sado and Ishida were sitting on a couch, and glanced at him with serious faces.

"W-what happened?" he tried to recover his breath "I came here running as fast as I could, I almost couldn't run away from the classroom… Nel suddenly has said something had happened…"

"Ichigo, when we were fighting against hollows our enemy's reiatsu increased, when Grimmjow went ahead to fight, he was attacked…" Sado calmly told.

"Didn't he transform?"

"He didn't have the chance to." Ishida adjusted his glasses with a scowl on face "The enemy made something with his reiatsu..."

"What? That's why he asked Nel to bring his gigai?" his eyes widened open "But, Grimmjow…"

"Kurosaki-kun…"

Inoue arrived at the room, she had a saddened expression and clenched her hands together.

"Inoue… What happened?" he was worried.

"Urahara-san and Nel-san are inside treating Grimmjow-san… I used my powers to recover his body, but it couldn't solve the problems regarding his spiritual powers…" she was disappointed with her own self.

Sado and Ishida exchanged a concerned glance with a drop of sweat rolling down their faces.

"What do you mean by 'spiritual powers'…?" the orange0haired was baffled.

She only stared at him with a sorrowed gaze, before he got her answer, Urahara and Nelliel left an inner room of the house. The shop owner passed his hand on his forehead wiping his sweat and sighed tiredly, smiling satisfied with his job.

"Finally, the procedure ended!" he declared in satisfaction.

"Urahara-san!" Ichigo hasted and grabbed his shoulders. "The enemy appeared, is it right?!"

"… Kurosaki-san, calm down." He opened his fan to hide his face as his expression changed drastically from the joker to his cold, analytical traits. "I'll explain what we already know…"

.

.

.

Orihime's POV

When everyone calmed down, we were sitting on the living room of Urahara-san's house. Sado-kun and Ishida-kun are alarmed with the attack, Nel-san seems a bit gloomy, and Kurosaki-kun is restive.

He was always like that. No matter if it's an enemy that loathed him, he would want to help giving his best… Kurosaki-kun had this integrity since we've met.

"Kurosaki-san, the enemy who attacked them mimicked the reiatsu of the tercera espada. Am I right Nelliel-san?"

"Yes, that was Hallibel's reaitsu, but at the same time, it was different. Sometime after feeling Hallibel's powers, Grimmjow's reiatsu faded."

"Unfortunately, he is still unconscious, we can only listen his version of the story when he wake up…"

"How is him? Inoue healed his wounds, right?" Kurosaki-kun asked, I guess he feels guilty for not being there, but it wasn't his fault.

"I'll be very sincere. She cured his wounds, but for some reason, his reiatsu isn't recovering. His real body is still unstable, that's why I asked the gigai, in his current condition, if he doesn't stay on that gigai and try to recover, he will…"

"What are you saying?" Kurosaki-kun is perplexed. I'm also nervous. My powers were almost useless if they couldn't help him…

"His spiritual body isn't capable of maintaining a form, it's what I mean." Urahara-san is crude sometimes but I know he is also worried deep inside. He had been taking care of us and helping us since the start… "If he stays out of his gigai, it's very likely his spiritual body will disappear…"

"How did this happen?" Ishida-kun was astonished. I was also expecting some explanation from Urahara-san… That can't be right…

"Apparently, the enemy damaged his flux of reiatsu and after attacking him, he used some kind of power that impedes Grimmjow of reuniting and materializing his spiritual powers… I believe the intention of the enemy wasn't to kill him, but rather, to incapacitate him, taking into consideration he is part of our battle force and that he had been using a human body. It implies the enemy may be spying us…"

"Urahara-san, do you mean he could target any of us do the same thing that he did with Grimmjow?" Nel-san is admirable on her adult form, she isn't frightened easily and has such collected aura around her…

"Yes. It will be dangerous mainly for you and for Kurosaki that materialize spiritual bodies… As for the others, you won't have problems even if your reiatsu is sucked, you can recover gradually…"

So people who can materialize spiritual bodies have more problems because their bodies will start to collapse if they have their reiatsu absorbed… Kurosaki-kun, Nel-san are the most vulnerable then, but they're also the strongest… Even so, Grimmjow-san who was strong was defeated in a matter of seconds…

Wait, if they're targets then… Ulquiorra-kun! No, no this can't be happening, right now that he was trying to restart… I need to tell him fast!

Orihime's POV –OFF–

.

.

.

Ulquiorra wandered on the streets. There were many humans they were so occupied all time, babbling things, distracted with their useless lives. He missed the quiet and enjoyable peace of Las Noches. Maybe, he just didn't like being around humans, because he was still confused about their intangible emotions.

He stopped with his hands on pockets. His uninterested expression remained the same even with the face of a human. There was a subtle change, his lips curved down as he caught sight of the odd princess Aizen kidnapped last time. She was coming out of a sweet store with a big box on her hands.

The fourth espada turned his back before she noticed him, she could be extremely annoying, even more when she was in a good mood. For his displeasure, she saw him and beckoned from afar. He froze in place, curving his lips down. If there was an emotion he could show perfectly, it was his distaste.

"Ulquiorra-!" her shining smile seemed to emanate some kind of light, Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes in disgust.

"What are you doing here Orihime Inoue?"

"I work right there…" she pointed to the sweet store "My turn ended now… I was taking those breads and sweets to Kurosaki-kun's house, we reunite there with Ishida-kun and Sado-kun to eat them…" she looked to the ground "Do you want some?"

"…" he stared at the sweets, but his expression was blank.

"Ah, If you don't like there's no problem!" she gestured clumsily and nervously "The truth is…"

Her expression was saddened when she looked at the ground, making Ulquiorra wonder what her problem was. She had the same worried eyes from when she was still as a prisoner in Hueco Mundo, those deep and depressive eyes, wavering without a hint of hope.

"I presume you didn't come here to talk about sweets." He broke her depressive moment, startling her.

"Hm… Ulquiorra, you must know there are many hollows appearing recently… We were investigating it yesterday and… Grimmjow-san was attacked by an enemy… His opponent injured his reiatsu flux, it seems he can damage your reishi…" the uneasiness on her voice warned him.

"Grimmjow?" he frowned slightly, thinking "So, that's why I felt his reiatsu… But the person who was near him when his reiatsu vanished was…"

"The enemy can imitate arrancar's reiatsu, it seems. And he is targeting people who have spiritual bodies like you, and Kurosaki-kun…" her voice grew sorrowed "This opponent attacked Grimmjow-san because he could be a threat in future battles, and now… The enemy escaped… Kurosaki-kun and Nel-san will be cautious, but… You're alone, right? You should take care…"

His brows furrowed. Really? Did she come all the way to him only to say that? She wanted to warn him about this strange enemy?

"Ah-" he gestured nervously "I mean, I know you're strong, but, everyone is taking care…" she tried to hide her eagerness under her smile.

"This enemy… Did you see it?" he asked in a featureless tone.

"No… When we arrived at the scene, Grimmjow-san was already…" her eyes wandered on the ground as she felt a bitter sensation "My powers didn't suffice to mend the damage on his flux of reiatsu…"

Now, Ulquiorra comprehended even less. Why was she, a human being, worried about an arrancar's safety? More than that, how could she pity a person that was her enemy and did horrible things to her friends before? Was she stupid? Or was it the so called heart thing?

"If you called me to bother with your preoccupations, refrain from doing it next time." He was ruthless and cold-blooded.

She gulped, looking at him in astonishment as he cut off her explanation. Now, she was worried for a different reason. After what she had done trying to help him, he still didn't hold any kind of consideration it seems. Well, not that she should expect he would smile or try to reassure her. He was not a man who would do that, she understood his personality a bit.

"But-" she frowned determined "Ulquiorra-kun, if you sense this enemy, please tell me… We need to know who he or she is…"

"…." His expression changed slightly with a frown, she was a persistent person. "Right."

"Thank you." She bowed and a smile was already forming on her face. She beckoned happily and ran on the sidewalks.

He watched her, confused. She was there probably worrying about him too, even though he was a former enemy, but she instantly changed the course of the conversation when she noticed it bothered him, and in the end, she even could get an answer. What an annoying woman. He also wandered on the streets, looking at the night sky hanging above his head.

"An enemy that can imitate arrancar's reiatsu…"

The more he thought about that, he found strange that there was actually someone who could do it… How was it possible? Could it be related to his sudden return from the reign of death? It was an interesting possibility.

He should investigate further, it was what passed by his mind. What would he find out if he took efforts? Could this mysterious enemy be really related to his resurrection? An undesired future draws closer, and the identity of this enemy becomes even more mysterious. When will they find out his true identity?

Chap 06/END

Thanks to all readers! Thanks for the reviews!