I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Chapter 10 ~ Regrets

Ulquiorra walked to the Karate Club room. The day had turned cold and storm clouds loomed in the distance. If he stayed too late he was sure to get soaked on the way home. Yet even with the threat of rain, he still found himself looking forward to sparing with Tatsuki. He had not had any real physical activity since he had come to the World of the Living, and if what he had seen last week was any indication of Tatsuki's abilities, he was in for a good workout.

He arrived at the club room and entering saw Orihime standing in the middle of the room. She had changed into her gym clothes as had he, and catching sight of him waved enthusiastically.

"Hey Ulquiorra-san; Tatsuki is getting a few pieces of equipment so we can started soon."

He walked out to where she stood and surveyed the items lying on the floor.

"Really all you need is the helmet and chest protector, but you can use these other pads to protect your shins and forearms." She informed him.

"All of this seems unnecessary. I would not use such items if I was involved in a real fight." He replied.

"Yeah but I'm not about to take the risk that you'll get injured." Tatsuki said as she approached. "I could get kicked out of the club if something happened under my guidance."

She was joined by Kurosaki. The teen did not look excited to be there, but Ulquiorra figured that he was still trying to mend his broken relationship with Arisawa, so he was at her mercy.

"Inoue." He said as he walked up.

"Kurosaki-kun." She said excitedly. "I didn't know that you were coming too?"

"Tatsuki kind of forced me into it." He replied.

"Come on Ichigo when you say it like that you make it sound so unpleasant." Tatsuki said. "Besides it's not like you have anything better to do."

The teen remained silent at her response. Ulquiorra thought that deep down Kurosaki was probably hoping to get a chance to take him on again. At least in their human bodies they would be on equal ground. It could make for an interesting afternoon.

Tatsuki thrust a helmet and chest protector at him and said, "Geez you're just as spacey as Orihime at times. Here, put these on so we can get started."

He looked at the gear in his hands. He felt they were completely unnecessary, but the girl was insistent. He dropped the chest guard and placed the white practice helmet on his head. Picking up the chest protector he said, "I can see the need for a helmet, but this piece of equipment will be too restrictive."

Tatsuki turned and was about to respond when she caught sight of him with the helmet on. Her face turned white and her eyes went wide with recognition.

"Oh no," she gasped as she brought her hand to her mouth.

"Shit!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Tatsuki…" Inoue began, but her friend brushed her aside.

"Now I know why you looked so familiar. I remember now." She whispered as she approached him. "You were at the park that day when all those people died. You were there."

Ulquiorra looked at her. Realizing that a confrontation was unavoidable he said, "It was rather unfortunate, what happened that day. I would rather not have caused such a scene, but Yammy insisted on coming."

Tatsuki regained her composure and went to strike him across the face. Ulquiorra's response was quick as he grabbed her hand before she could connect.

"Unlike Kurosaki, I have no plans to let you use me as a punching bag,"

Tatsuki struggled against his grip. When he wouldn't release her she hooked her foot around his leg and yanked it out from under him. Both fell to the ground with Tatsuki landing on top. The force of their impact caused Ulquiorra to lose his hold on Tatsuki's arm.

"You son of a bitch." She yelled, "All those people died and all you can say is that it was unfortunate."

This time her fist connected with his face. She drew back to punch him again, but he managed to bring up his hands to block her. Shoving her off of him he quickly rose to his feet and took up a defensive stance. She regained her footing and immediately rushed towards him. She drew her leg back to kick him, but he anticipated her move and easily blocked it. She then countered by turning and kicking him hard in the gut with her other foot. He stumbled back, but kept himself from falling. Coming at him again she grasped his shirt by the collar with both of her hands.

"You fucking bastard, how dare you try to act like you belong here."

Before he could react she brought her knee swiftly into his groin. The force of her action caused him to fall to his knees. Gasping for breath he tried to keep his bearings, but it was hard to focus. The pain was excruciating. Unable to breath he dropped down to all fours and pushed the helmet from his head. As he knelt there panting, he could hear Kurosaki yelling at Arisawa.

"Enough Tatsuki. You made your point."

"I haven't even begun to show this piece of crap what I think about him," she yelled in return.

He heard her approach and looked up just as she was drawing her foot back. Unable to respond quickly enough he took the full brunt of her kick in his ribs. He fell onto his back. He couldn't help but hiss as he attempted to take a deep breath. Her kick had definitely caused him some damage.

Unwilling to remain at her mercy he worked him way back to his feet. His breathing was coming hard, and he was amazed by how limited he was in this human body. As an Espada his spiritual pressure alone would have killed her. Now he was struggling just to keep up.

"Ready for some more," she said.

He just stared at her in return. Silently he assessed her strengths as well as her weaknesses. She was definitely a skilled fighter, but her emotions were leading her in this battle. It would definitely be to his advantage to play to her feelings.

"It would seem that I had underestimated your abilities. You are remarkably bloodthirsty, just like my fellow Espadas. I think you would have fit in well in Hueco Mundo."

Her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared at his remarks. "I am nothing like you or your other hollow buddies."

"I would say the only thing that differs is the fact that you are still human." He returned.

"Fuck you." She yelled and then ran towards him.

He took advantage of her anger and easily blocked her punch returning it with one of his own. She grunted as his fist connected with her stomach, but recovered quickly bringing her other arm around to hit him in the head. He in turn ducked as she swung and stepping forward slightly, brought the heel of his hand up to hit her under the chin. The force sent her flying backwards. She landed soundly on her rear. Bringing her hand to her mouth she wiped away the blood from where she had bit her lip.

He restrained himself from taking advantage of her while she was down. As much as he wanted to soundly defeat her, he knew that there was much more at stake here than his pride. Standing back he waited for her to rise to her feet.

"I see you still wish to continue this." He said as she got to her feet and resumed a fighting stance.

"A few well placed punches are not enough to stop me." She said.

With that she came at him again. They continued back and forth, both facing exhaustion, but neither willing to surrender. As they fought he could hear Inoue yelling out to them to stop. He didn't dare glance her way or let her pleas distract him. Arisawa was a formidable opponent and required his complete attention. Tatsuki, he thought was very much the same, so Orihime's cries fell on deaf ears.

Finally they broke away from each other. He stood facing Arisawa. His breathing was coming hard, blood mixed with sweat partially obscured his vision, and his side was screaming in pain. He noticed that she didn't fare much better.

Panting heavily she prepared to attack again when Orihime stepped in between them.

"Tatsuki please stop."

Arisawa looked at Orihime. A pained expression came over her face and she said, "You knew who he was. You were there that day. You saw it all and yet you didn't tell me."

"I couldn't." Inoue said in return.

Tatsuki put up her hand and said angrily, "Don't Orihime, don't say it. I could have dealt with the truth. You didn't have to worry about protecting me"

"It wasn't you she was protecting." Ulquiorra said.

"What, was she protecting you?" She spat back at him.

"No Tatsuki," Ichigo said as he came to stand next to Inoue. "She was protecting herself."

Arisawa looked at him in confusion. "You're not making any sense Ichigo."

"It's a complicated story…"

"Spare me from that lame excuse." She yelled back at her friend. "He's a fucking hollow. He shouldn't be here, and nothing you say is going to excuse that."

"He's not a hollow anymore." Ichigo said.

"Bullshit. Once you're dead, you're dead. Isn't that what you said? Hollows can't regain their humanity."

"This one did." He replied.

"I don't believe you. How is that even possible?" She asked.

Ichigo glanced at Orihime. She stood quietly with a worried look on her face. Tatsuki followed his gaze.

"Orihime?" she asked. "Are you implying that she had something to do with this?"

Inoue bit her lower lip nervously.

"I don't believe it. I know he's a hollow. I've seen that hole in his chest."

As if to make her point she went over to where he stood. Grabbing his shirt she pulled hard. The fabric tore revealing his chest. She stared in disbelief.

"I saw it." She said. Tears of frustration began to well up in her eyes. "I saw that hole in his chest. He may look human, but deep down he's still a monster. People can't just change when they're evil like that."

Orihime approached them and said softly, "Please Tatsuki, you have to stop this. Ulquiorra is human now."

Arisawa turned and stared at her friend. "How could you do such a thing? Even if you possess such a power, how could you make him human?"

"It's hard to explain." Orihime responded.

"Try." Tatsuki said angrily. "I'd really like to know why you would give such a piece of crap a chance to live like us - with us for crying out loud. Geez Orihime, he could have killed any of our friends."

"He wouldn't. People can change…"

"Not him, not after everything that happened."

"You don't even know everything that happened!" Orihime cried out. "You only know a small part of it. You weren't there in Hueco Mundo. You didn't see all the horrible things that happened, to him, to me, to all of us."

Tatsuki stood stunned by her friend's outburst.

"Even from the very beginning, right after Ulquiorra brought me before Aizen, I realized how cruel the Espada were. Grimmjow, as soon as I had healed his arm, proceeded to kill the Espada who had taken his place. He just blew him away at close range with a cero blast. All that was left was the bottom half of his body, and no one said anything. They acted as if it were normal.

"And then he did the same thing to Menoly, and then Loly," she paused as her voice hitched and caught in her throat, "He physically beat her, stomping on her and then he… he ripped her leg off. With his own hands, and he never hesitated. When he was done he just turned to me and told me to take care of my injuries so we could go."

Tatsuki paled at Orihime's account, but Inoue continued.

"The Espada, all the Arrancars, saw each other as a threat. They didn't care who they killed, hollow or human alike. But Ulquiorra, although he could be cruel, never used unnecessary force. He protected me from those others. He was loyal enough to Aizen to keep me from harm. Grimmjow tried to kill me the first time I refused to do his bidding."

For some reason her statement angered him. He had not known the extent of what Grimmjow had done to her while he was trapped in the Caja Negacion. It did not surprise him that the Sixth had treated her so, but in all honesty he wasn't sure who he was angry at more: Grimmjow for trying to kill her or himself for placing her in such a position by his own negligence.

"You paint me in too kind a light. You know that if Aizen had given the order I would have ended your life then and there." He spoke up.

"But you didn't." She replied as she turned to face him.

"That was after…" he started, but she cut him off.

"…after I rejected your existence as a hollow."

He only stared at her silently. Turning to Tatsuki she said, "He could have killed me, but he didn't. Regaining his humanity changed things."

"Orihime," Tatsuki began gently, "Ichigo told me that hollows cannot regain their humanity. Their hearts are lost."

"It's not true." Orihime said wiping the tears from her eyes. "Sora remembered. He regained his humanity long enough to put an end to his existence as a hollow."

"What are you talking about?" Tatsuki asked. "Sora's been dead for over three years now."

"That night when we were both injured in my apartment. It was Sora. He attacked us and planned to kill us, but Kurosaki-kun stopped him. Our memories were changed after it happened, but we both knew something wasn't right, remember?"

"That creature was Sora?" Arisawa said shocked.

Orihime nodded her head. Tears fell freely from her eyes. "It was my fault. I loved him so much, and I couldn't imagine living without him. He stayed around in this world because of me, and because of that he became a Hollow."

"He was forced to become a hollow." Ichigo cut in. "Another, stronger Hollow was using him to get to me. He knew I wouldn't be able to kill someone I had a connection to."

Orihime shook her head. "If I hadn't begged him to stay, he would have passed on. He would never have been able to be used." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and then continued, "Even still, Sora remembered. In the end he remembered how much he loved me. He couldn't kill me."

"Inoue," Ichigo began, "Sora had not been a Hollow for long. Rukia said that it was probably because he had been forced to become one that he remembered. She had never seen something like before, or heard of such a thing happening."

"But he did remember, and while he regained his humanity he made the right choices. He remembered what it was like to have a heart and to care for others."

"That was completely different from this." Ichigo said.

"No it's not!" she responded emphatically. "You of all people should know that. You are so kind and gentle. You always put others before you. Taking care of us, protecting us, but even you lost yourself."

"Inoue…" Ichigo began, but she wouldn't let him finish.

"It was my fault Kurosaki-kun." She whispered. Tears streamed down her face in earnest. "I pleaded with you to save me. I forced you to become that … that…"

She couldn't finish and Tatsuki jumped in, "What is she talking about Ichigo?"

Kurosaki looked at his childhood friend and Ulquiorra could see the guilt on his face. Atop Las Noches he had voiced regret and anger because he had won while possessed by his inner hollow. Now that time had passed it was obvious that the teen was dealing with feelings much more painful.

Ichigo remained silent. Tatsuki pushed forward again. "You promised no more secrets."

"If you truly value his friendship you would not press this issue." Ulquiorra said.

"Don't you dare talk to me about friendships." Tatsuki yelled in return.

"Tatsuki," Orihime cried, "Please stop."

Kurosaki walked over to Arisawa and in a hoarse voice said, "When I told you I was a Shinigami I wasn't being completely honest. Inside of me there was this other side I couldn't control; my inner hollow. This group of people called the Vizards helped me learn to control it and use it to make me stronger."

"I don't understand." She said. "How could you be a hollow?"

"I wasn't a hollow, but if I didn't learn to control it eventually it would have consumed me." He replied.

"No, I don't believe you Ichigo."

"It's true. I tried to hide it from my friends. Uryu and Chad were completely unaware, even when we entered Hueco Mundo."

"But Orihime said that you lost yourself. I thought you said that you had it under control."

"I did, but while Ulquiorra and I were fighting something happened…"

"It was my fault Kurosaki-kun." Orihime said again. "It was my pleading that made you change. I was so afraid. I thought you were dead, and Ishida-kun had been injured. I didn't know what to do." She brought her hands to her face and dropped slowly to her knees.

Tatsuki knelt down beside her. "Orihime."

With her head still bowed, Inoue placed her hands in her lap and spoke again, "It was so horrible. There was blood everywhere. I had pleaded with Kurosaki-kun until suddenly he got up, but it wasn't him, and it wasn't that hollow mask he wore when he fought, it was something worse. He was like them. And when he blasted Ulquiorra at such close range destroying most of his body I thought he would stop, but he didn't. Even when Ishida-kun begged him to stop. And then… and then…" she began to cry again in earnest.

Tatsuki looked to Ichigo. "What the hell did you do?"

Once again he remained silent.

She turned to Ulquiorra.

"Kurosaki was not in control of himself. When he did those things he was completely at the mercy of his inner hollow."

"What did he do!" Tatsuki yelled.

"He was going to finish me off, but the battle was over. There was no way I could regenerate the organs that had been destroyed. Still Ishida had some misplaced notion of honor. He tried to stop Kurosaki before he completely lost his humanity. By then though he could not distinguish friend from foe…"

"I impaled Uryu with my Zanpakuto." Ichigo said in a strangled voice. "My own friend and I tried to kill him."

The room fell silent at his statement. The only sound was Orihime's sobs.

After a moment Inoue whispered, "Without a heart Kurosaki-kun did terrible things. It was because he was hollow like Ulquiorra. But I knew that Kurosaki was good. Just like Sora was good. Maybe it was because they had a heart. Maybe all Ulquiorra needed was that same chance."

Tatsuki reached out and embraced her friend. Orihime grasped onto Arisawa and began to sob again.

"I couldn't let it end like that. Kurosaki-kun is too kind. He would have regretted it. I had to reject it. I had to make things right. After all it was my fault.

"Ssh," Tatsuki crooned. "It's ok Orihime."

"Please Tatsuki, please give Ulquiorra a chance. I know that it will be hard for you, but I believe he can change."

Tatsuki looked over Orihime's shoulder at him. They stared at each other for a moment, and then she lowered her head again.

He didn't expect her to accept him. He honestly didn't know what to believe about his existence anymore. He just knew that the sight of Orihime so saddened caused him to feel a deep gnawing dissatisfaction. Something he never would have believed possible in Hueco Mundo.

Looking up again, this time at Ichigo, Tatsuki whispered, "Maybe you two should go. I'll take care of her."

Ichigo gave no protest at her request. Instead he simply nodded his head and grabbed his things. He then found Ulquiorra's bag and picked that up as well.

Looking at him he said, "You heard her."

He then turned to leave. Ulquiorra looked one last time at Orihime and Tatsuki. He brought her to Hueco Mundo because Aizen had commanded it so. He believed in Aizen and his plans, and she had just been a part of that. Now he realized that she was so much more. That realization gave birth to a very unpleasant feeling in his chest, an ache that only increased the longer he stared at her.

He walked outside of the club room only to find that the rain had started while they were inside. Ichigo stood just outside the door staring out into the rain soaked school yard. He approached and stood silently next to him.

"Damn it!" Ichigo suddenly exclaimed. "I went to Hueco Mundo to rescue her. I was supposed to protect her, but in the end I only did her more harm."

Ulquiorra did not know how to respond. His intentions had never been so noble, and up until this moment regret had been an emotion he had not experienced in a very long time. Now though he realized that that unpleasant feeling was just that very thing. He was the one who had brought her to Hueco Mundo. If anyone were to bear the blame in this it would be him. But he couldn't change the past. He could only push ahead, which was all any of them could really do.

"Aizen sorely underestimated you." He said after a moment. "I think we all did. No one could have foreseen what would happen during that battle. She was correct you know. It was her pleading and your promise to protect her that brought about your transformation. And while it was terrifying for her, you did save her life. I honestly do not know how things would have ended otherwise."

Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "I would have killed Uryu if you hadn't stopped me."

"I was simply trying to kill you." He replied.

Ichigo turned and looked at him. "Why do you have to do that all the time?"

"Do what?" he asked.

"Be so honest."

"I thought you humans valued honesty above most things." He replied.

"That's another annoying thing you do."

Ulquiorra only stared at him waiting for an explanation.

"Always referring to us as humans; saying it like we're something you scraped off your shoe. In case you haven't noticed you're one of us now." Ichigo said.

"You did not sound too convinced back there." He responded.

Ichigo turned back and stared out into the rain. "I was told that Hollows could never become human again. I guess in the back of my mind I really doubt that Orihime could really posses such power. I keep expecting you to just pop out of your body like it was some Gigai and try to blast me with a cero."

"If that were the case I would have done so weeks ago." He said.

Kurosaki turned back to stare at him again. "Is that your attempt at a joke."

"I don't joke." He replied.

"See, there it is, that honesty!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"So I shouldn't be honest?"

"No, but you don't have to always say it out loud. Like earlier with Tatsuki, you didn't have to say that thing about Yammy at the park. You only managed to piss her off more, and believe me she will not forget what you said any time soon."

Reaching down Ichigo grabbed his book bag and handed it to him.

"People don't always want to hear the truth. If you're going to fit in you'll have to pay attention to people's feelings better. You need to learn when to just shut up, and things will go a lot smoother for you."

He began to walk away and then stopped. Looking back at him he said, "By the way that remark I made earlier about almost killing Uryu; it was meant as a thank you."

With that Ichigo turned back and walked away. Ulquiorra only stared after him. This day had certainly not gone as he had expected. His earlier wish of a friendship with Orihime now seemed more distant a reality than ever before.

He thought of the girl just beyond the doors to the club room. Back in Hueco Mundo her need for reassurance and comfort only served to annoy him. He had wanted nothing to do with such useless human emotions. But now he found that he desired nothing more than to go back inside and say something, no matter how trivial, to ease her pain and bring the smile to her face again.

Uryu had told him that afternoon that survival was not enough. Human beings required interaction, relationships, to thrive. He realized that he could no longer isolate himself. If he wished to grow stronger he would need to forge friendships. Only, the person he desired to be with the most, was the one to whom he had hurt the deepest.

Stepping out into the cold rain he began to walk home. The ache in his chest still remained. Was this what it meant to have a heart, he thought. If so, being human was going to be a lot harder than he had originally believed.

A.N. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It is so important to the story and I really didn't want to screw it up. I must have revised it ten different times and then spent an hour yesterday just getting the last three paragraphs written. That said I couldn't get the time to submit it unti almost twenty-four hours later!

Thank you again to those who reviewd. As for Mellow - I love reviews, so please keep them coming! Thanks also to Rusky-Boz and Pardon the Insanity - I'm so glad you both enjoyed the interaction with Uryu. And of course deathnoteno1fan-codegeasslover who reviews faithfully each chapter - I look forward to hearing from you.

So please drop me a line if you are enjoying this story. I know it may not move as quickly as other fics, but I do like to know how it's being recieved.