Chapter 11
"He probably can't, but I can." said one of the newcomers.
Ulquiorra eyed one of the familiar faces. "You are late." He said impassively.
Urahara put his fan to his mouth hiding a mischievous smile. "So sorry, Schiffer-san, convincing this guy took longer than I thought." he pointed at a man clad in a Shinigami uniform which Ulquiorra has never seen before. The third person was Shihouin Yoruichi who remained silent curiously observing the spectacle in front of her.
"Urahara Kisuke!" Yamamoto bellowed, "What is the meaning of this?"
But Urahara did not get a chance to respond. The unknown Shinigami took a step forward curving his mouth into a sly smile. "It's been a while, old man, how have you been?"
Yamamoto's scowl deepened as he looked at him, then slowly raised his hand pointing a finger at the Shinigami. "And YOU! You still have the nerve to show your face here, Kurosaki Isshin?"
As soon as everyone heard his name, the hall exploded into a loud chatter.
"My my, and I expected a better reception after so many years of service." Isshin's smile never left his face. Despite Yamamoto's visible anger, he remained completely at ease.
"Don't you think for a second that you still have any authority here after resigning your position to marry a human!"
"I might not have any authority here." Isshin's face finally grew serious, "But as the former Guard Captain of the Royal Realm, I am sure someone over there still remembers me."
Kurosaki? Ulquiorra carefully examined the Shinigami. Could he be related to Kurosaki Ichigo?
Yamamoto narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Despite Isshin's relax attitude, he meant business, especially considering his past in the Spirit King's realm. While the Gotei 13 captains were much more powerful than any regular Shinigami, those who served in the Royal Realm still surpassed them in strength.
"What is your business here?" the Captain-Commander asked in a more relaxed tone.
"Seems to me that you are trying to dispose of a human girl, old man. Did the Spirit King lower his standards or was it you?"
"The human is dangerous and unstable. Her powers are hazardous to the balance between the spirit and material worlds. What's worse, she's been sympathizing with the hollows!" Yamamoto looked accusingly at Ulquiorra.
"It does sound dangerous." Isshin scratched the back of his head. "What were the implications of her actions?"
"None." Ulquiorra cut in. "The woman had no intention of going against the Shinigami. She was rescued from the execution and brought to Hueco Mundo as a safety precaution."
Isshin frowned looking from Ulquiorra to Yamamoto. "So, the girl did nothing to hurt Soul Society, sought sanctuary in Hueco Mundo, yet was still deemed dangerous because due to emotional instability she attempted to revive a hollow."
"I don't need to tell you what hollows are." Yamamoto said sternly.
"Even if she revived me successfully, I wouldn't have gone against Soul Society. There was no absolute loyalty between Aizen and the Espada." Ulquiorra retorted "And right now, he is even a bigger threat since nobody knows where he is and what he is planning. He betrayed both the Shinigami and the Arrancar. So, he is a common enemy to us all."
Isshin looked at him processing his last comment. "What are you saying?" he asked.
"Instead of aimlessly pursuing one human who poses no threat and whose power can be of greater use in the future against Aizen, concentrate your efforts on finding him and preparing against his next attack. It will also be to our benefit to seek a temporary truce and cooperate with each other."
"Working with the hollows? Ridiculous! For all we know you could be lying!" yelled a female captain.
"I have no reason to lie." Ulquiorra replied coldly. "Hueco Mundo is disorganized. It still has no absolute authority. You can easily invade it and locate Aizen's riatsu if he is there. And you did it several times after the war ended. Now is no different."
"If Hueco Mundo cannot even put up a decent defense, how can it be of any use against someone like Aizen?" asked the silvered haired captain.
"With the proper authority the order can be easily restored. Most of the Espada have been brought back and their powers continues to grow. Under the appropriate leadership, they will be a sizable force against Aizen."
The Shinigami remained silent after Ulquiorra's proposal. Never in the history of Soul Society have they ever sided with hollows. Even the very idea was inconceivable.
The Captain-Commander finally tapped his cane on the floor. "What you are proposing is impossible. The hollows have been our enemies for centuries. You cannot be trusted."
Isshin chuckled. "You are too set in your ways. Is the old tradition so much more important than preserving peace?"
Yamamoto scowled at his insolence, but Isshin ignored it.
"The Spirit King has been too lax with his subordinates for a very long time. I don't remember you ever hunting humans when I was in his service."
The Captain-Commander considered his words. He was a prideful man who exercised absolute authority among the Gotei 13 and did not like being challenged. But Kurosaki Isshin was not one of his subordinates. And while he wasn't in the Spirit King's service any more, he still had some influence in the Spirit Realm.
"Fine," Yamamoto's voice rang through the hall, "But, mark my words, hollow, one wrong move and the arrangement is off."
Ulquiorra remained silent.
"However," he continued, "One issue remains unsolved. Who will take charge of Hueco Mundo?"
Ulquiorra knew it would come to this. At the end, the decision would be his to make and there was none among the Espada who was fit for the job. Grimmjow, Nnoitra, Yammy, and Luppi were too short tempered and violent. Starrk and Harribel had little motivation and preferred to follow rather than to lead. And Szayel only cared about his experiments. Ulquiorra was the only one with the proper skills who could pull it off, but that would mean he had to go back to Hueco Mundo indefinitely and sever his ties with Orihime. If he did not, nothing that he set out to do would be solved.
He suppressed the pain in his chest at the thought of never seeing her again. He was resolved to save her and this was the only way.
"I have the required skills to rebuild Hueco Mundo and make the necessary preparations to face Aizen." Ulquiorra finally answered.
Yamamoto seemed to be satisfied with his answer. "However," he said, "Inoue Orihime stays under the authority of Soul Society. She is prohibited to go to the hollows' realm."
Ulquiorra knew this was coming. Her powers were too much of a threat to Seireitei to be allowed outside of its sphere of influence. Despite this truce, there was still a considerable amount of mistrust towards the Arrancar which will never cease to exist. But this was good enough. Inoue Orihime will go back to her normal life in the human world and when Aizen attacks, Soul Society will make the necessary arrangements to secure her safety, if only to protect her powers.
"Understood." Was his final answer.
Orihime was pacing in her room. It's been hours since the meeting started and there was still no word of the outcome. Was Ulquiorra successful? Or was he arrested and charged with every possible crime imaginable? The wait was getting more and more unbearable with each passing hour and the more she waited the harder it was for her to stay optimistic.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside of her room. Someone was coming. An unexpected sense of panic washed over her. After waiting for so long, she couldn't help but imagine the worst.
A few moments later Ichigo, Rukia, and Yoruichi walked into her room with stern expressions on their faces. Orihime swallowed hard bracing herself.
"Inoue…" Yoruichi started first. "You are free to go home. Soul Society will no longer seek to punish you."
Orihime gave a nervous laugh. "But that is good news, isn't it? Why are you all looking so depressed?"
A second ticked but none of them spoke.
"Where is Ulquiorra?" Orihime asked cautiously, anxiety rising.
"That's what we came here to talk to you about." Ichigo said. "He is going back to Hueco Mundo."
"For how long? When is he coming back?" she demanded.
"That's…." Rukia interjected, "unknown. We don't think he will be coming back."
"What do you mean he will not be coming back?" Orihime yelled frantically, "Where is he? I have to talk to him!"
"Inoue," Yoruichi pleaded, "Don't make it hard on yourself. He made that decision on his own. Let him go. They are opening a portal for him as we speak. You won't be able to get there in time."
But Orihime did not hear her. She rushed out of the door anxiously searching for Ulquiorra's riatsu. And after finally finding it, she took off into its direction. Why in the world was he doing this? And without even talking to her first. Did he just decide everything on his own? Was this his idea of saving her? Orihime was not an angry person, but at that moment she felt like slapping him again.
She finally saw the dimensional gate in the distance and increased her pace. As she came close, she saw Ulquiorra standing with his back to her surrounded by the rest of the Espada. In just a few moments they will all be gone.
As if sensing her presence, he turned his head sideways in silent anticipation.
"Stop!" Orihime yelled trying to catch her breath.
The rest of the Espada looked into her direction.
"Oh, look!" Nnoitra gave a smile full of teeth, "Your pet came to see you off!"
"I need to talk to you." Orihime said quietly not taking her eyes off Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra remained silent turning back to the portal. The gate finally opened and the Arrancar started going through it without giving her a second glance. Ulquiorra was the last one to go.
Orihime took a few strides grabbing him by the sleeve. "Please," she begged.
He hesitated for a moment before finally looking at her.
"What you are doing is meaningless. This will not change anything." his voice was strangely cold.
"I don't understand. What are you doing? Why are you leaving without even saying anything to me?"
So, she wanted an explanation. The goddamn woman wanted him to tell her why he chose to subject himself to this hell. From the very beginning he knew that associating with her would not end well for either of them. He knew it, yet he didn't do a damn thing to stop it. A hollow like him was not meant to form sentimental attachments and feel every exhausting human emotion that this woman wore on her sleeve. A life of war and despair was all he was meant to have. But against all odds, he still shared a bond with her. His simple fascination with Inoue Orihime grew into an obsession and then a burgeoning emotion that absolutely consumed him. Humans called it "love". And it's because of this "love" he faced the whole of Gotei 13 trying to clear her name and protect her safety. And it's because of this "love" he chose to relinquish her forever.
And now he had to put up a face of indifference so she would stop harboring any illusions that he will come back for her.
It is the heart that causes you humans pain. It is because of your heart that you will die. Those were the words he said to Kurosaki Ichigo back at the dome. But right now they held a different meaning to him. It was much easier living as an empty shell, not seeing any meaning in anything, and not caring for anyone. And she shook the foundation of that to its very core. She made him feel things that he did not think were possible. She made him yearn for life and desire someone more than he could ever imagine. And Ulquiorra could never dream that giving it all up, giving her up would be this agonizing. But having years of experience of not showing his true self made it easy to feign disinterest.
"I volunteered to take charge of Hueco Mundo and prepare it for the future onslaught from Aizen." Ulquiorra said tonelessly. "That will make our further involvement impossible. Soul Society forbade you from going there and I cannot stay here."
"I don't believe you!" Orihime protested, "If you have to go back, I'm coming with you. Surely Soul Soci-"
"Ridiculous." he cut her off. "By going there you will undo everything."
She was about to protest again but he continued in the same detached voice, his cold eyes lifelessly staring at her.
"You will stay here and provide assistance when needed. Do not seek me out. Do not attempt to go to Hueco Mundo. Forget everything."
Orihime listened to him and felt her eyes starting to moisten. He was dead serious without wanting to even give her a chance to convince him otherwise.
"This ends here." Ulquiorra said with finality. "You will not associate with hollows any further."
With those words he stepped through the portal and disappeared into the darkness. Orihime sank to her knees with silent tears streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't, she wouldn't accept it. He left her behind without so much as a good-bye. She was told off like a nuisance and he simply left without even looking back. What a cruel thing to do. But what did she expect? Despite his change, he was still a hollow. That was his nature.
Orihime didn't know for how she's been sitting there. Ulquiorra and the rest of the Arrancar were long gone and she was left with nothing but a memory. He gave her everything and he took everything away. He was her friend, her confidant, her lover. She trusted him and believed that nothing would ever come between them until she saw the old indifference in his eyes that lingered there during their first meeting.
If he didn't want her anymore, fine! She will not go looking for him either. She will not beg for another explanation. She will do nothing. Orihime's anger grew as much as her resolve. He made her fall in love with him, and then he cast her aside. She's had enough of that. Now all that mattered was improving her power, getting stronger, and being an asset on the battle field. She will show everyone what she was capable of, and not even Soul Society would stop her. No more destructions and disappointments. Enough was enough.