Road to Redemption Chapter 10, a bleach fanfic

A/N: Surprise! A chapter that didn't take a month for me to upload! You guys have been such nice readers and I feel guilty taking so long to upload so when motivation struck I kept writing as fast as possible. Thanks for leaving so many comments last chapter, they made me happy cry. I hope you all like and thanks for reading!

Chapter 10: Akai

"Woman wake up. We must leave."

Orihime felt someone gently shaking her by the shoulder. She had a horrible headache, her eyes feel heavy and she still felt drained. Her mind quickly drifted back to yesterday's events. 'No wonder I feel like a zombie.'

"Ulquiorra? What time is it?"

"It is 7:00 in the morning. I have found a way to help you train."

"Really? What are we going to do?"

"We shall train in Hueco Mundo."

No matter how many times she traveled via garganta she still felt dizzy afterward. The throne room was empty when they arrived.

"Should we call for someone?"

"There's no need. They'll realize we are here soon enough."

Just as Ulquiorra finished talking Orihime saw Jeanne heading towards them. The female arrancar wasn't wearing her usual nurse uniform. She had a sports shirt and shorts and her blue hair was tied in a messy bun.

"Hey guys! I was wondering when you'd visit. What brings you here?"

"We have come here to train. The woman particularly wants to perfect her offensive abilities."

"That's great! The girls and I were just sparring down at the basement. If you guys want we can all train together."

"I'd like that."

He had to admit that Halibel had done a fantastic job at keeping Las Noches spotless. The training facilities were still functional. They consisted of many wide white rooms with glass windows. The rooms were indestructible and allowed for the arrancars to use their release forms.

Mila Rose and Cyan were both in release form. From what he could gather the tanned Arrancar was getting the upper hand in the battle, as she was quick to evade the constant attacks of Cyan's snake tail.

"Who's winning?" Jeanne asked Apacci.

"Cyan has been on top for a while, but Mila is close to turning it around. They both look tired as hell."

The fight continued as Mila kept evading Cyan's attacks. The snake Arrancar changed her approached and lunged towards her opponent trying to capture her with her long sleeves. Mila took this as a chance to attack grabbing Cyan's sleeves and pulling her close enough to punch her in the stomach.

The green haired arrancar crashed into the wall. The impact was strong enough to nearly knock her out. "I yield." she muttered.

Jeanne opened the door to the room and began healing Cyan.

"Sorry about that. I overdid it." Mila begrudgingly apologized.

"Please, this won't even leave a bruise. Next time I'll get you."

"Girls! No more fighting! I need to patch you up before I continue training. Now hush and let your sexy nurse take care of business."

Everyone was so distracted they didn't notice Halibel and Nnoitra had come in the training room.

"For the last time Nnoitra, I have no interest in fighting you."

"C'mon Halibel! Ya afraid I'll take the throne if I win?"

Halibel rolled her eyes at his sly grin. "On the contrary Nnoitra. I'd fear for your health if we were to duel."

Seeing how his old comrades were getting on each other's nerves Ulquiorra intervened. "If you stop pestering Tercera I shall fight with you."

The two of them were startled when they heard his voice. "It's good to see you again Ulquiorra. What brings you here?"

"The woman and I would like to train here with the other Arrancars."

"Very well. I'm sure we still have your old training uniform. As for Orihime I'm sure I can find something that'll be comfortable for her."

"Thank you."

"Thanks Halibel-San."

The female arrancar nodded in acknowledgment as she left to get the uniforms.

Jeanne had finished healing Mila and Cyan, leaving the training room empty. "Okay then, if you are going to fight with Nnoitra I will spar with Orihime-San!" Jeanne turned towards Orihime. "You ok with this dearie?"

"Yes. Thanks again for agreeing."

"No problem."

Once they got their uniforms ready, the pair headed into a different room. He waited until Orihime was out of sight to go into the training room.

"Still keeping an eye on Pet-Sama, eh?"

He chose to ignore Nnoitra's comments. While he knew the woman would do well in her fight, he was concerned about her emotional state. She had been doing well yesterday, didn't cry much, spent time with her friends and even slept all night without any troubles. Still, he could see she was far from healed.

In the short amount of time they spent together he could begin to read her moods, sometimes he even emphasize with her. The eagerness for payday at the job, her fondness for cute things, he was even picking up her habit of spacing out, not that he'd ever admit to it. When he woke her up today she looked just as torn apart, but trying to keep it together.

"Do not concern yourself with the woman. Worry about your battle with me, then we can talk."

The tall Arrancar grinned. "Suit yourself."

"What would you like to concentrate on first? We can do healing, defense or offense."

"Offense. I've never trained offensively, so it would be best to start with that."

Jeanne raised an eyebrow. "You've never trained for battle and yet you went against Ulquiorra? Darn girlie, you are really brave."

Orihime was embarrassed by the compliment but smiled at her friend. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Alright, since we are gonna do offensive training I want you to draw your weapon. Since I do not know the extent your attack capabilities I'll start off slow. We'll just go up from there."

Orihime nodded. "Megami no Ha, I reject!" The golden blade formed in her hands. She saw Jeanne taking out her sword. 'I wonder what resurreción form she has...' Perhaps if she did well enough Jeanne would have to use her release form.

"Whenever you're ready." Jeanne told her.

She ran towards the Arrancar, gripping her sword tightly. Jeanne blocked her swings elegantly. After a while Orihime began to feel tired. Then the Arrancar grinned.

"Cero."

Jeanne's eyes changed from clear blue to a dark blue glow.

"Shiten Koshun, I reject!" The shield emerged in the nick of time, completely blocking out the cero. Then the blast was reflected towards Jeanne, who bearly had time to dodge it.

"That's what I wanna see! You shielded yourself and then threw it back at me! That was great!"

"I didn't think it was much. I was just surprised, and a little tired." she confessed.

"That's exactly what I was trying to do. Anna is more of the type to save her tricks for when she's sure the enemy won't be able to escape." Jeanne sat down on the floor and Inoue followed suit. "You did well except for one thing, using too many attacks and counter-attacks, also you didn't block me until I used the cero."

"I guess I'm used to seeing everyone else attack without ever blocking."

"There needs to be a balance between defense and attack. If you keep throwing attacks at your enemy endlessly then you'll get tired and they'll lunge at you without a problem. Not to mention they'll know exactly how to deal with you."

Orihime bit her lip and nodded. 'That's just what I was doing.' her hands were still shaking from using her sword so much.

"Similarly, if all you do is block your opponent might be tired and you can strike. That is, if they don't have a trick up their sleeve. If instead of swinging your sword you had only blocked I would be worn down, but once you lowered your shield I would have used the cero."

Orihime nodded. She remembered her battle with Ulquiorra. How he kept using his spear to his advantage. It kept her away, which was defensive of him, but at the same time it was an effective attack weapon. She had to plan out in her head how to do something similar.

"So, if I wanted to beat you. Then I would have to make sure you're both tired and powerless."

"Yeah, or you know just do something drastic enough that I would be knocked out. If you use your blade too much it will drain you, but if you keep your shield up for too long then it'll shatter. Mix it up a bit and I think you'll take me down."

The girls resumed their fight. This time Orihime tried to swing her sword less, relying on her shield a little more.

For a while she did well, balancing the use of her shield and her sword. Jeanne saw that Orihime had grown accustomed to this pace so she decided to make things more difficult.

"Bala."

Orihime hadn't forgotten what that word meant. She quickly put up her shields and tried her best to stay calm.

The smaller yet numerous ceros were fast, they damaged her shield little by little, and forced her to concentrate her energy solely into the shields.

Orihime noticed Jeanne had used sonido, she was nowhere in sight. The sudden pull of spiritual pressure behind her prompted Orihime to extend her shield into a bubble.

One second too late and the Arrancar would have been able to strike her from behind. Orihime knew there wasn't much she could do in her bubble, she had to think fast..

'A cero requires her to stay still, and it drains her energy. If I can get her to fire another cero and take her down before she fires...'

As her bubble began to crack, Orihime began putting her plan into action. The yellow bubble shattered into little pieces around her, she jumped out of the bubble before it fully disappeared.

"Shiten Koshun, I reject!" As she set up the reflective shield she knew Jeanne would try to attack her where the shield didn't protect her. When the female Arrancar flashed before her. Orihime knew what to do. She took a deep breath before putting her plan into motion.

'Ready Tsubaki?' She mentally asked her Rikka spirit.

'Ready!'

"Koten Zanshun, I reject!"

Instead of only one small light, Orihime released many attacks simultaneously, coping the bala style of the arrancars.

Her little trick worked. Jeanne was overwhelmed by the many tiny lights, as she stood in place to charge her cero Orihime ran towards her as fast as she could. So far Jeanne didn't notice her presence.

She didn't make a sound as she stood behind the arrancar. Jeanne seemed to have noticed her now, but it was too late. She turned around to swing her sword at Orihime, but she already had her own sword ready to block. In the few seconds that the Arrancar had dropped her guard many of the 'Koten Zanshun' lights had hit her.

"Fuck! I'm going to call it a day, that attack of yours can really sting." she muttered as she fell to her knees.

Orihime chuckled and held her up. "Soten Kisshun, I reject!"

The yellow light covered them both, and quickly healed their wounds.

"Thanks Inoue-San." Jeanne stretched a little after she was healed. "I'm glad we could do this. It was fun."

"I had fun too. Do you think I did well?"

"Absolutely. I wasn't sure what you would do, but I'll admit it took me a while to catch on. Your attacks are powerful, but I'm sure we can make em more lethal. I also like that you can think and block at the same time, it's a precious skill. You're full of fighting potential dearie, we just need to bring all of it out!"

This wasn't the response she was used to. Everyone always thought she was too weak, despite having a black belt in karate and spiritual powers. She felt tears creeping on her eyes as she hugged her friend. "Thank you Jeanne-San."

The arrancar girl blinked in confusion but returned the hug warmly. "You're welcome." When they separated she could see the sadness on Orihime's eyes. 'This isn't just about the fight.'

She wrapped an arm around Inoue. "C'mon, let's check on Ulquiorra and Nnoitra."

As infuriating as Nnoitra was Ulquiorra had to admit the man was good fighter.

The two were already in release form and completely exhausted. After regenerating limbs one too many times they decided to finish the duel. Much to Nnoitra's chagrin.

"For the record if we kept fighting you would have totally had to use your second form."

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes. "Sure."

Before he could make his way to the exit, the woman entered the room. She was unharmed but her hair was messy and her clothes had been torn during training.

"Ulquiorra!" She ran up to him and hugged him. "Jeanne-San says I'm doing really well!"

He looked at the tan arrancar leaning on the door. She nodded in confirmation. "Our girlie is amazing. She just needs proper training in offense."

He was relieved hearing those words. It wasn't a surprise, as he knew what she was truly capable of, still, he wanted everyone else to acknowledge it.

He petted her head. "Those are excellent news. I suspect we'll see more progress in your training soon." He could see Jeanne and Nnoitra grinning and just glared at them. 'They're just as irritable as Shizuka.'

The woman noticed both he and Nnoitra's wounds she cast her healing spell over them, and in a matter of seconds, they were back to normal.

"Everyone we've got a small problem." Appaci walked through the door with a worried expression.

"What is it?" He asked, hoping that it was not a surprise attack.

"Come with me."

Appaci led them out of the training rooms and into the Espada's quarters. More specifically Yammy's quarters. The room was as empty as he had always seen it, with the exception of a weeping Kukkapuro laying on Yammy's bed.

"Oh Kukkapuro." The woman said tenderly. She sat on the bed and the pup immediately settled into her lap, still whining like a normal dog.

"I been trying to get him out of the room, but he wouldn't listen."

Jeanne sighed. "I guess he missed Yammy."

Ulquiorra still didn't understand why the pup would miss such an owner. He should be happy, Yammy never paid him much attention and he was not affectionate either, now he had a comfortable life with them in Karakura. 'And yet he still misses him.'

"I'm sorry buddy, we should have brought you back sooner." The woman patted his head softly as the pup cried. "I know it's rough, but the best thing you can do now it's living well. For him."

The words appeased Kukkapuro as he stood in his back paws and began shaking his tail.

"Yes. We'll be with you too."

At last, Kukkapuro fell asleep a few minutes after the woman spoke to him. Despite seeing her cheer people up often he was always fascinated by the way the calmed under her sweet smile.

"I think we're done here." she said as she stood up wit Kukkapuro in her hands.

He had no doubts in her fighting capabilities,still Ulquiorra would remain firm in the belief that Orihime's greatest strength was her kindness.

She wanted to go home soon, but seeing how the girls wanted them to rest up from the training, Orihime didn't refuse them.

They led her up to a white marble room with various pools. It looked a lot like a fancy bathhouse.

Halibel was already there with Cyan and Mila, all of them wearing white fluffy towels.

"Orihime-San, how was training?" Halibel asked her.

"It was great! Jeanne is a nice teacher, I had fun."

"I'm glad. The ladies and I were just discussing the training schedule, do you want to hear the details?"

"Yes. I'm just going to change. Be right back."

Once she was in a towel Orihime joined the other girls in the bath. The water was warm and steamy, almost putting her to sleep.

"Relaxing, isn't it?" Halibel asked her.

"Yes." Orihime giggled. "I feel much better now."

"Good to hear. Now ladies here's the schedule for the next week. We'll be having group sessions on Tuesdays. It's not likely for Anna to attack Hueco Mundo, but should that happen we need to work well in cooperation, and this will also give us a chance to see where we are lacking and help each other. On Thursdays, we'll have one on one battles. Is this okay?"

The rest of the group nodded in approval. Given that the decision was unanimous the girls decided to spend the time relaxing.

"Halibel-San, did anyone else make it back, after the war?" Orihime wasn't sure why she asked, perhaps Kukkapuro's reaction stirred her emotions.

Halibel placed a hand on her bone chin. "Hmm if I recall correctly Grimmjow, a few fracciones, and a child arrancar did show up. However they said they'd leave Las Noches to explore the rest of Hueco Mundo, I let them go as long as they honored our agreement to be loyal."

'A child arrancar, that must be Nel!' She was relieved to hear her old companions were doing well, even if they took a different path.

She noticed the sadness washing over the faces of her friends. Did they miss them? We're they going to leave too?

"Girls. Are you ok?"

Her voice seemed to bring them out of their haze. "Oh, we're fine. It's just there are other people we wished had also survived."

Cyan's tone made her feel a little guilty. It was true they were enemies at the time, and there were some of them she didn't really like, but she never wanted them dead. Especially now that she knew how much they missed each other.

"I'm sorry. I wished I could have helped more."

She felt Mila place a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault Orihime-San. There wasn't much you could do."

Jeanne sighed. "Zommari, Aaroniero and Baraggan didn't leave any bodies to revive. Yammy was long dead before you came to heal us, so was Stark. Perhaps Szayel could have returned, but his body was quantum locked, it's impossible to bring him back from that state."

She only remembered a few of the names, she'd seen them in passing but didn't know them. Stark was the only one she had personally met, and from the little, she'd seen he seemed like a decent guy.

"In any case, there are others who would prefer death. Loly for example."

"What happened to her?"

Jeanne bit her lip before talking. Whatever she was going to tell her it wouldn't be pretty. "She's been in a deranged state since Aizen was defeated. Menoly is the only one who can calm her down, but that's it. The girl is messed up beyond repair."

"That's horrible! I can't believe you've all had to deal with the mess Aizen left behind! This isn't fair!" Orihime splashed the water in frustration.

Cyan patted her on the head. "Orihime-San we all chose to follow Aizen many centuries ago. We knew the consequences and did it anyway. Instead of feeling guilty, remember you decided to give us all a second chance, in spite of the fact that we caused you so much pain before."

Orihime smiled at the arrancar girl, unsure of what else to say. The others seemed to notice she wasn't doing all that well today.

"Girlie, you been looking a little down since you got her. I don't think it has to do with our little talk now. What's wrong?"

Orihime told them everything. The girls listened quietly until she was done.

Halibel was the first to speak. "That sounds awfully sad. Given that you're not the type of person to seek revenge, I'd advise you to steer clear of the people you mentioned. At least until you decided whether you're going to forgive them or not. As for the training matter, you know you're more than welcome to train with us."

"Thanks, Halibel-San that makes me feel much better."

"You're welcome."

These were not the type of things she was prone to doing. Training, soaking in a bathhouse, or spending time with women who were so different from herself, still Orihime could get used it.

The girls had taken more time than expected in the bathing room. Nnoitra and he had been done for about half an hour. Thankfully Gantenbainne had provided them with a distraction.

While he and the woman were away, the others the remaining Arrancar had taken the time to look all over Las Noches. They had found many secret rooms and compartments but they were mostly empty. Only a few books were left behind.

"Still don't see why these things could be of any use to defeat Anna. All they talk about is history and shinigami stuff. "Nnoitra threw one of the books back. "Why don't they just find her and kill her?"

"That would be an ideal solution, however, Anna remains hidden away where no one has been able to locate her. The only thing we can do is wait until she comes to us, and prepare as best as possible." Ulquiorra picked up all of the books and put them in a box. "These may not give us sufficient information to defeat Anna, but anything we can learn by now will be beneficial."

Gantenbainne chuckled. "I didn't think we would see the day where we'd have to go against her. That woman is awful cunning, fighting power is probably the last of our problems."

The girls stepped into the room just as he was done with the books. "All done?" he asked the woman.

She simply nodded as she picked Kukkapuro up from the floor. The two said goodbye to the others before leaving. Gantenbainne's words struck a chord with him. Ulquiorra could picture Anna laying a trap for them, there was a reason she was Aizen's wife after all. 'What? What is she really going to do?'

"Ulquiorra? You look worried, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, I just need to get around to reading these."

Ulquiorra had spent the afternoon reading. When she cooked him lunch he ate it without putting the books down. His indifferent expression was replaced by one of frustration. The frown of his brows increased every time he finished a book.

"Ulquiorra, are you sure you are ok?" Orihime sat down beside him on the couch. "Is it the books?"

he sighed. "More or less. I'm trying to see if there's any way we could finish Anna of, or at the very least locate her. There's nothing here so far. Only forbidden Kido spells."

"That's it! We could ask Shizuka-San! Maybe Hachi-San can help too. He was in the Kido corps!"

"It would not hurt to try."Ulquiorra's voice cut off as he read a page from the book, his green eyes widened in shock.

"What's wrong?"

He handed her the book. Orihime saw a picture of a red string and beside it a red ribbon. The other page had writing in it, so she began to read.

The red threads of fate

It is said that when two souls are destined to meet a red string connects them. Said string will tangle and pull, but it shall not break. This string does not necessarily apply to lovers, it a force that can bind and conduct the power of two separate souls, regardless of species. The only way this string can break it's through reincarnation, for these souls can meet in life and in death.

A red ribbon is a far more powerful variation of this rare phenomenon. The souls bound by a red ribbon have met in every lifetime they've had thus far, and will meet in every lifetime afterward unless one of them is completely erased. A red ribbon bond can conduct more power than a red string bond, if used to perfection said power it's more effective than any forbidden Kido previously shown in this text. However, the only way to ensure that a red ribbon bond exists it's for half of the pair to be close to death, and for the other half to be nearby. Nobody else will see the ribbon, only the aforementioned pair.

It was then when she understood. She had seen a similar thing when she was healing Ulquiorra. At first, she thought she had imagined it, or that the light had blinded her. 'It was real.' She could tell Ulquiorra saw it too.

"Does this mean... we are bound together?"

He nodded. "It appears so. The night we fought Hecate and my pesquisa ceased to work, you held my hand trying to help me stand. I could feel my power returning as if you were lending me your energy. Perhaps it was the bond."

"It was. I felt it too. My attacks...They're usually tame, but that night I cut through it all so easily."

She smiled. A part of her was happy, this newfound power could give them an edge on the upcoming battle. The other part simply felt thankful for it, maybe that was the reason she could bring him back.

"Woman, you're weeping again. Is this because of Kurosaki?"

"No. These are happy tears." she smiled as she hugged him. "I'm just so happy that you're here, alive and safe."

He returned the hug. "It is thanks to you that I'm still here."

She could remember the sad faces of her arrancar friends when they counted the loses, the empty room that made Kukkapuro cry, the sadness she felt when Ulquiorra's hand had turned to ash under her touch. "If the many worlds theory can be believed, then there's a parallel universe when you turn to ashes in front of me, a universe in which I cannot save you. I wouldn't want to live in that universe." she told him.

Ulquiorra remained silent for a moment then he muttered. "I wouldn't want that either."