In the depths of the dark shimmered the lights of green and blue. The rays bounced off invisible objects creating a fantasy of glowing ecstasy. Bubbles of air made its way to the heights of whatever limit.

Within all of this were two figures. Their entire being glowed with these colors until finally their hands locked within one another's and both their eyes snapped open.

"Where the fuck am I?" asked a familiar voice. He turned his head to its side as his blue hair blew around his face, as if under water. He turned to see the familiar face of his brother, with his black hair flowing around him. A sighed escaped his lips.

"Ulquiorra?" Grimmjow asked. He replied by slowly shutting his eyes and nodding his head.

"Where the hell are we?"

Ulquiorra's Pov

The last thing I saw was her face. The last thing I heard was her voice. Then it all disappeared.

It felt as if I was under water when I awoke, but still had the ability to breath. I came to that conclusion due to the way my body felt weightless, the air bubbles, and the way my hair swirled around me. What was odd though was that I felt light headed, not inwardly, I mean on the outside.

Suddenly, I began to glow a green color. Not necessarily green but like the color of my familiar eyes. The arrays mixed with a blue light as I turned my head and saw my brother, who still had his eyes shut.

I enjoyed this feeling of weightlessness. It was as if all my troubles disappeared, and I didn't want to ruin it by hearing Grimmjow's voice. Unfortunately, it happened anyway.

--

"Did you hear me Ulquiorra? Where are we?" Grimmjow repeated. That was when he looked down and began yelling once more. "Where the hell are my clothes?" He paused as he examined himself. "And where's my hollow hole?"

He turned to face Ulquiorra who still had his eyes shut trying to block out his annoying voice.

"Ulquiorra! Your hole and mask are gone!"

That statement did make it through his ears and his eyes snapped back open. His hands traced where his hole once was, but was replaced with skin, and as he reached up to feel his mask, all he felt was his silky black hair.

"And you're not wearing any clothes either!"

A drop of sweat made it's way down his forehead. Grimmjow was his brother so he didn't care.

Grimmjow reached up to touch his cheek. "What the fuck? My mask is gone too." Ulquiorra sighed.

Just then, footsteps could be heard. Which was weird because there were nothing you could actually stand on. The steps were followed by a voice, along with a man who was dressed in robes.

"Sorry for keeping you two waiting." Said the man. Grimmjow furrowed his eyebrows. "Who the hell are you?"

"I am the soul king."

Ulquiorra's eyes widened. This was the man in who Aizen wished to kill and become. A small smile made it's way across his face by the thought. "Why are we here?" he asked.

"Let me explain." The man said. Despite his godly appearance, his voice provided a comfort.

"You see Ulquiorra Schiffer, I'm sure you know that humans can not enter Soul Society or Hueco Mundo. The fact that you are here and that your hollow hole is patched up because of your now reformed clearly means you are no longer an arrancar."

"What about me?" Grimmjow rudely interrupted.

The king turned his head to face him. "As for you Grimmjow Schiffer."

He scowled at his last name. "There is no clear reason on why you are here. I was only expecting Ulquiorra. Since you were killed by a shinigami's zanpaktoe, you should have made it to soul society by now. But the fact that Orihime Inoue partly healed you might be the account of this."

"If I'm not an arrancar then what am I?" asked Ulquiorra after much thought.

"This is where I come in. By this sudden change of species from arrancar to human, you now have a choice."

'Human? Is that what he said?'

"I can allow you to live a life of a human in the world of the living."

Orihime's face flashed through his mind, the idea of actually being able to live there with her was too much for him to take. Questions filled his head but he was only able to cough out one.

"Will I still have my powers?"

The king shook his head. "Unfortunately no. But since you were once an arrancar, you will have a small amount of riatsu, which will allow you to see hollow and shinigami.

That didn't cut it for him. There was no point for Ulquiorra to see Orihime if he had no power and was unable to protect her. By now, Kurosaki had probably taken her back home. But Aizen still wanted her.

'I would just be in the way without my powers.'

"What's my other choice?" Ulquiorra asked after much thought.

"This applies to the both of you." The king started as he turned to face Grimmjow. "I can send your souls to Rukongai."

The idea struck Ulquiorra. If he was to choose to live in the real world and was able to shinigami, then if he chose to be sent to Rukongai, he would have a small amount of riatsu. Which meant only one thing.

"What's your choices?" his voice echoed through their heads.

Grimmjow turned to face Ulquiorra. "What do you wanna do?"

Ulquiorra sighed and gave his answer. "Send me to Rukongai." Grimmjow nodded and turned to face the king. "Same here."

The king's hands went up and he stated, "As you wish."

Everything went dark.

--

"Inoue, are you sure you'll be alright alone? I very much rather you stay here for a little bit so you can recover."

Orihime waved her hands. "N-no. I'm fine. Thank you anyway Urahara."

Urahara nodded as Orihime left, on her way home after Ichigo dropped her off here. Wrong choice indeed Orihime. You need protection, someone is still after your power.

Orihime was dressed in her school uniform as she walked home. Seeing her familiar town didn't bring her joy, it brought sadness. She couldn't get rid of the image of Ulquiorra's face as she walked.

And what's worse was that it was November. Wearing such revealing school wear in this weather was not a smart decision. But she didn't have a choice, so she sucked it up and quickly made her way back to her home.

--

"Fill out these papers and you'll be ready to join."

Ulquiorra quickly snatched the papers and took a seat in the small room. He handed one set to Grimmjow as they filled out the applications to join the Soul Academy.

It usually took 6 years to pass the academy, but Ulquiorra didn't have that kind of time. He did hear of some strong riatsu filled souls passing in about a month, which was all he needed to finally be able to protect Orihime.

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Now I know most of my fans will leave after reading this. Whatever…bye bye.