Happy holidays, everyone.

I hope everyone's holiday season has been better than mine has. Way too much death and tragedy this year. :(

I decided that I will go with my original ending despite my many doubts about it so the following chapter (after this one) will be the original ending that I wrote and I will not be posting any alternates.

Enjoy.

4 Have Faith in Me- A Day to Remember

"You look like hell. Did you even sleep?" Ichigo said as Ulquiorra took a seat across from him at the table.

"It was a rough night. I managed to sleep a few hours at a time but I think subconsciously I kept waking up afraid that I'd missed my chance." Ulquiorra began to eat sparingly from the plate that Ururu had made for him. His stomach was in knots and his nerves were completely shot. He had managed to keep his calm while he was training with Ichigo but when the training was over and the time came to rest he found it was harder to be so collected. There were still so many unanswered questions and he feared what might happen if he wasn't able to defeat Kenpachi. He wasn't even completely confident in his abilities.

"It's been forty-seven hours and fifty two minutes since Madarame gave you the two day reprieve." Ururu said calmly as she took a seat between Ulquiorra and Kisuke. "There are only eight more minutes left."

"Probably not." Ichigo said as he took a sip of tea. "They aren't the type to be particular on details. Rather than a literal two days it will likely be whenever they feel like it today."

Ulquiorra nodded. "I agree. I've never seen a more disorganized group than the eleventh division. Basically we've been thrown into a waiting game. They'll move forward when they're ready to move forward."

"I wonder what is going to happen when this all comes out into the open." Kisuke mused. "Ichigo, you said there are Lieutenants here under the command of Captain Hitsugaya. I know Kuchiki and Abarai are here and I think you mentioned Lieutenant Kira. Who else?"

"Hisagi and..." Ichigo paused in thought. He hadn't considered what might happen if the other Shinigami got involved in the fight. He hadn't seen much of Rangiku but he knew she was very close to Orihime and he had overheard Izuru talking to Renji about how Rangiku hadn't slept much. There was a chance that she may try to fight and even get hurt. "Rangiku."

"Matsumoto is here?" Ulquiorra slammed his cup of tea down on the table and stood quickly. "I have to speak with her."

Ichigo looked up at Ulquiorra in confusion. "Do you really think that's a good idea?"

Ulquiorra nodded. "Will you bring her here? If I go outside-"

"I guess I can." Ichigo stood slowly in confusion and started out the door. "I'll be right back."

"Ulquiorra." Kisuke looked up at Ulquiorra calmly. "Finish your breakfast. Ichigo will bring Matsumoto as fast as he can."

Ulquiorra sat down and began to pick at his food again. "I have to tell her that I'm going to save Orihime. I have to let her know that. If they get there and they see me fighting with Zaraki without any explanation..."

Kisuke nodded. "I understand completely. You don't have to explain yourself to me."

"I have to explain myself to everybody these days." Ulquiorra picked up his toast and took a bite. He was expecting Ichigo back at any second with a furious Rangiku at his heels. When Ichigo finally returned however, Rangiku was anything but furious. She looked tired and worn down and not at all like her normally cheery and upbeat self. "Matsumoto."

"I had a feeling it was you when Ichigo asked me and only me to come along." Rangiku stepped toward the table and sat down across from Ulquiorra. "What do you want? We're supposed to be out searching for Orihime."

"You haven't slept, I can see it on your face." Ulquiorra looked to the woman with concern. "Matsumoto, I'm going to find Orihime and I'm going to bring her back. Today I'm going to fight Zaraki. I'm going to defeat him and I'm going to get Orihime back safe. So, you can rest easy. I need you to let the others know that it was Zaraki who took her and that when I'm fighting him, it's not because I am an enemy of Soul Society. I can't have them interfere with the fight. It has to be a proper battle or he will never give Orihime back to us."

"You've gotten a lot stronger since the last time we spoke but do you really think you can defeat him? Despite the limits that are placed on Captains and Lieutenants here in the world of the living, Zaraki is still very strong." Rangiku looked at Ulquiorra seriously. "You shouldn't try to fight him if you aren't sure that you can beat him."

"I'll beat him. I know I will. I have to." Ulquiorra began to suggest that Rangiku rest when he felt the hairpins against his chest begin to pulsate almost violently. He jumped to his feet and reached for his Zanpakutō. "It's time!"

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo looked at Ulquiorra in confusion as he bolted toward the door. "I don't sense her Reiatsu yet."

...

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Orihime shouted. "Stop it, that hurts!"

"Not until I see tears!" Yachiru said with a laugh. She grabbed a handful of Orihime's hair and began tugging hard. "Does it hurt yet, Jiggles?"

"Ow, ow, ow! Yes!" Orihime sat on the floor of the cave near the entrance with Yumichika holding her arms in place and Yachiru pulling on her hair. "Why are you doing this Yachiru!"

"We need you to hurt!" Yachiru said happily. "As soon as you hurt, your hair pin thingies will react to it and Hollow Man will come running to your rescue! This way he's the first one here to fight Ken-chan!"

"B-but!" Orihime looked up at Yachiru sadly. "I don't want him to fight!"

"Well he has to! Now cry!" Yachiru continued to pull at Orihime's hair until the woman was screaming in pain.

"Lieutenant, isn't there a better way?" Yumichika said. "I mean, poor Inoue and her hair. She's going to be all frazzled looking when Ulquiorra comes."

"Her face is still pretty and her boobs are still big, I don't think he'll care!" Yachiru said with a grunt. She tugged and tugged at Orihime's hair until she felt Ulquiorra's Reiatsu approaching. "Just a little bit longer."

"Ow! Y-yachiru! Stop!" Orihime whined as the tiny Lieutenant gave her hair one final tug. She began rubbing her head to ease the pain until she felt Ulquiorra's Reiatsu outside. She scurried to her feet and rushed past Yachiru and Ikkaku out of the cave. "Ulquiorra!"

4 "Orihime..." Ulquiorra smiled with relief as Orihime dove into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "Are you alright?"

"I'm so happy to see you! I..." Orihime looked up at Ulquiorra with tear filled eyes. "You have to get away! They only took me so that you would have to fight against-"

"I know." Ulquiorra grasped Orihime's chin and brought her gaze up to meet his. "But I'm not leaving. I didn't come here to run away, I came to save you."

Orihime shook her head vigorously. "No! I don't want you to fight!"

"Orihime," Ulquiorra leaned in and kissed Orihime gently. He parted his lips to deepen the kiss and then wiped her tears away. "Kurosaki and Matsumoto will be here soon. I want you to leave with them to Soul Society and I don't want you to look back."

"What?" Orihime looked up at Ulquiorra horrified. "Ulquiorra, that's not happening! I'm not going anywhere without you!" She buried her face in his chest and shook her head. "I'm not leaving!"

"You don't have to leave, but you should probably move out of the way." Kenpachi said as he stepped toward the two.

Orihime glanced over her shoulder at Kenpachi and clung tightly to Ulquiorra. "You don't have to do this! Please!"

"Sorry, but I've been itching to fight that man since he joined the Gotei 13. You just happened to present yourself as the perfect opportunity to get him all wound up." Kenpachi grinned and pointed his Zanpakutō at the couple as he pulled off the Reiatsu blocking cloak and tossed it aside. "Now move aside woman. You're in the way."

Ulquiorra pulled away from Orihime's grasp and drew his Zanpakutō. "Stand back, Orihime."

"Orihime!" Rangiku gasped for breath as she and Ichigo arrived at the scene. She threw her arms around the other woman and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Rangiku!" Orihime pulled out of Rangiku's hug and spun around to face Ulquiorra but he was already off in a battle against Kenpachi. "W-we have to stop them!"

"Zaraki! You reckless bastard!" Rangiku shouted but it was clear that he either didn't hear or didn't care what she had to say. She held Orihime tightly and tried to pull her away. "Come on, let's get you away from here."

"No!" Orihime tugged away from Rangiku and stood firm. "I'm staying. I'm not leaving without him." She turned her eyes to Ulquiorra worriedly. "Ulquiorra! Be safe!"

Ulquiorra heard Orihime's call in the distance but he tried his best to ignore it. He needed to concentrate on his fight with Kenpachi. He was having a hard enough time against him as it was and he knew he was going to have to release his Shikai at any moment. He blocked a blow from Kenpachi but even then it could scarcely be considered a block. It was more like pure luck. He put some distance between himself and the massive Captain and held out his sword. "Enclose, Murciélago."

Kenpachi watched with interest as his subordinate began to take things a step further. He smiled to himself and chuckled. "Finally, things can get a little more interesting!"

"Luz de la Luna." Ulquiorra placed his hand on Murciélago's blade and swiped it through the air to create the javelins of Reiatsu. He began to fire them at Kenpachi one by one to test how well the other man would block and dodge them. Unfortunately they seemed to pose little threat to Kenpachi so he began to fire them off with more speed just to keep the other man from attacking.

Kenpachi grinned widely. "Good! Good Ulquiorra! Keep that up and we can have a real fun time!" He dodged and hit away the majority of the other Shinigami's attacks but two of the javelins impaled him in the shoulder. He looked down and the wound and began to laugh hysterically. "There you go! That's more like it!" He rushed toward Ulquiorra and raised his Zanpakutō high, swinging it down at the smaller man and slicing into his shoulder. "Well that's a relief, I was expecting your whole arm to come off!"

"Ulquiorra!" Orihime shrieked and rushed forward as the man fell to the ground but Yumichika was there to grab her and hold her back. "Ayasegawa, please! He's hurt!"

"I'm sorry Inoue. It has to be a fair fight." Yumichika held onto the woman tightly. "Just watch. Watch the man you love fight for you and have faith in him."

"Let go of her!" Ichigo drew Zangetsu and pointed the sword at Yumichika but Ikkaku was quick to jump between them. "I don't want to fight you Ikkaku but I will if I have to. This was an uneven fight to begin with. Let Inoue level the playing field!"

"I wouldn't have let Ulquiorra take on the Captain if I didn't have faith in his abilities. There won't be any disruptions so if I have to fight you Ichigo then I'll just say it's a rematch I've been waiting for." Ikkaku unsheathed his Zanpakutō and pointed it at Ichigo.

"What's going on!" Shūhei shouted as he came upon his fellow Shinigami. He looked around to see Yumichika holding Orihime back, both Ichigo and Ikkaku with their Zanpakutō drawn on one another, Rangiku standing worriedly to the side and Kenpachi fighting against Ulquiorra. "Will nobody answer?"

"Hisagi!" Rangiku looked to Shūhei. "Zaraki and his squad were the ones that kidnapped Orihime, Ulquiorra excluded. They were the ones that broke him out of prison and they are also responsible for the theft of his Zanpakutō."

"All of that is regardless." Shūhei looked from Rangiku to the others and back again. "Captain Hitsugaya just received orders that the fugitive Ulquiorra Cifer is to be captured and returned to Soul Society where he is to stand trial for his crimes."

"Crimes! What crimes?" Rangiku stared at Shūhei in confusion. "I just told you that they were the ones that did everything! Everything!"

"It is a direct order from Captain-Commander Yamamoto. I'm sorry." Shūhei turned to face Kenpachi and Ulquiorra. "The other Lieutenants are on their way for back up. We're arresting the Hollow."

"You're not going anywhere near him." Yumichika said with a wide grin. He drew his Zanpakutō and pointed it at Shūhei's throat. "Don't try to fight me, Hisagi. I've beaten you before."

Shūhei chuckled and shook his head. "Well then I suppose you have your Captain to thank for the fact that I'm going to defeat you now. It's funny how one cutting remark can cause a person to strive for something more. I worked to achieve my Bankai and now that I have it, I'll bring you down a notch no problem."

"Oh, so you think you'll become a Captain, huh? You still can't use your Bankai here in the world of the living. All you managed to do was become stronger." Yumichika laughed and swung at Shūhei. "Let's see how well you can fight now."

Orihime glanced behind her noticing that Yumichika was completely preoccupied now. Before her, Ulquiorra was bleeding profusely but he was still giving his all to his fight with Kenpachi. She watched in horror as Kenpachi lunged at him yet again and struck him across the chest with his blade. Ulquiorra dropped to a knee and Orihime couldn't take it anymore. She rushed forward with tear filled eyes. "Ulquiorra!"

"Oh no you don't!" Yachiru pounced on Orihime and knocked her to the ground. "Didn't Yun-Yun tell you? Watching only!"

"Yachiru! Stop!" Orihime began to cry hysterically. "If this keeps up he'll be killed! Please! I don't want him to die! I want him to live and be happy and just get to have a normal life like everybody else! I don't want him to fight! I don't want him to die! I don't want him to have to prove himself! I just want his happiness!" She continued to cry as she fought against Yachiru's surprisingly heavy weight. "Please! That's all I ever wanted from the start!"

Ulquiorra looked up in surprise as Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka began to glow brightly from their place against his chest and engulfed him in a soft, warm light. He vaguely remembered this light and warmth from the time just after his death. It was the same sensation that had cradled him in the darkness and pieced him back together and it was the same fleeting feeling that he had when he awoke in Soul Society. He glanced over at Orihime and smiled sadly. "Don't cry Orihime. I told you, I came here to save you. That's what I'm going to do." He stood slowly and held out Murciélago. "Bankai."

Kenpachi smiled as green Reiatsu began to fall down from the sky and a thick black mist rose from the ground. Soon they were enclosed in a dark field and he couldn't see or sense a thing. He noted with irritation that it was similar in character to Kaname Tōsen's and that meant less fun for him. "Hey, Ulquiorra! I expected better from you!"

"I could say the same." Ulquiorra listened quietly for the sound of his opponent's breath and heartbeat. He grabbed one of the lances that was forming the barrier and shot it at Kenpachi. The attack's speed and strength had increased greatly and it impaled the massive Shinigami in his uninjured shoulder. Ulquiorra chucked another one and it grazed Kenpachi's shoulder but it was clear he was already learning to dodge.

"Just because I can't see doesn't mean that your attack will keep working on me. But congratulations, Ulquiorra. You're making me do something not many people have been able to make me do." Kenpachi reached up and pulled the eye patch from his eye and tossed the Reiatsu devouring item aside. "Now we can fight completely unhindered."

The wave of Reiatsu that struck Ulquiorra's body was shocking. The barrier they were in was supposed to suppress the Reiatsu of the opponent but Kenpachi's was so massive that it scarcely put a dent in his power without the eye patch on. Still, he couldn't let that distract him. Ulquiorra shot off a handful of lances at his Captain and scowled as the man managed to dodge each one. "Tell me, when does this fight end? When will you be satisfied? I have no intentions of losing to you and I have no intentions of killing you. When will you have your fill?"

"When we're both so torn that we can't even move, that is when I'll call this fight over and you can have your precious woman back!" Kenpachi grinned, Ulquiorra's voice giving him an idea of where to find the other Shinigami. "And thanks for giving me a target to strike at!" He swung his Zanpakutō viciously and slashed Ulquiorra across the chest and down his stomach. The smaller man used Shunpō to put distance between them but it did no good because now he was bleeding and now Kenpachi could follow the sound of blood drops hitting the ground.

Ulquiorra reached out and grabbed a fistful of lances. Using Shunpō to get around quickly, he fired the Reiatsu based weapons off from several directions. He knew Kenpachi couldn't dodge them all and sure enough, half of them stuck into the Captain before dissipating. Kenpachi was wounded and bleeding far worse than Ulquiorra was but the difference was that he thrived on it. He took the temporary lapse in attack as an opportunity to bandage his chest wound. He tore the remains of his kosode and wrapped it around his wound tightly to stop the bleeding and lessen the chance of him being heard. He clipped Orihime's hairpins into the underside of his hair and began launching more lances at Kenpachi again.

Kenpachi laughed as one of the lances stabbed through his leg. He could no longer hear Ulquiorra bleeding but he was beginning to hear the labored breaths of the other man who was clearly unused to using Shunpō for an extended amount of time. He swung his Zanpakutō at Ulquiorra and landed the blow somewhere on his upper torso which caused him to scream out in pain. "Now, now. There's no crying!"

Ulquiorra grit his teeth and summoned a lance to his hand. He stabbed it forward and through Kenpachi's chest on his left breast. He continued the action again and again furiously until there were four green lances protruding from Kenpachi's chest.

"Tch... is that all you got?" Kenpachi shot his arm out and stabbed Ulquiorra through the abdomen with his Zanpakutō. "I guess you really are weak. You couldn't save that woman even if you tried."

Ulquiorra reached out and grabbed Kenpachi's shoulder. He materialized a lance in his hand and impaled the Captain with all his strength but he didn't release his hold on the weapon. "Lanza del Relámpago..." With the utterance of the words, the lance that had been jabbed through Kenpachi's stomach exploded in a beam of green Reiatsu leaving both men blown back by the blast.

Orihime stared ahead in terror as the black barrier that had been shielding Ulquiorra and Kenpachi disappeared with an explosion. She watched the two men fly in opposite directions but she was still being pinned down by Yachiru. Everyone around her that had been fighting paused to stare at the sight before them but neither man was moving. "Ulquiorra! Ulquiorra, are you alright!" Orihime screamed but there was no answer. "Y-yachiru! Let me up! Let me up or they're both as good as dead!"

Yachiru stood quickly and started over to Kenpachi. "Ken-chan, did you have fun?"

Kenpachi looked up at Yachiru and smiled before passing out. There was a massive hole blown through his stomach from Ulquiorra's attack and it was bleeding profusely.

"Wow, that's a big hole! I bet my whole head could fit inside it!" Yachiru giggled happily and ran over to Orihime. "Hey Jiggles, can you fix Ken-chan?"

Orihime looked down at Ulquiorra sadly. His hands and the majority of his forearms had been blown away but he was conscious and he was alive. Tears poured down her face as she glanced at Yachiru. "I'll fix him, but this has to be enough. No more."

"I think that's enough fun for one day." Yachiru said cheerfully. She watched with interest as Orihime took her hairpins from Ulquiorra's hair and created a healing barrier over the men. She ran back over to Kenpachi and watched in amazement as the wound in his gut healed speedily. "Wow, that's so amazing!"

Orihime breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Ulquiorra's wounds heal completely. She smiled down at him and kissed his lips gently. "Don't scare me like that anymore!"

"I'm sorry." Ulquiorra reached up and grabbed the back of Orihime's head, pulling her down into a deep kiss. He pulled her body to straddle him as he continued to kiss her feverishly. "Don't ever go away again."

"I won't." Orihime laughed happily between kisses and dove her hands into Ulquiorra's hair. She pulled him as close to her body as she could and held him tightly. "I love you, Ulquiorra."

"I love you, Orihime." Ulquiorra wrapped his arms around the woman and held onto her happily.

"Well, wasn't that fun?" Yumichika said as he approached the couple.

"Ayasegawa." Ulquiorra glared up at the other man angrily.

"I suppose it's too much to ask for no hard feelings?" Yumichika chuckled and shrugged. "I can't say I blame you. But for the record, I was only following the orders of my Captain. I'm sure that's something you can relate to."

Ulquiorra sat up slowly and continued to stare hard at Yumichika. He was furious but he also knew he couldn't truly blame the other man. He had done the same thing in the past. Also, Yumichika had likely taken very good care of Orihime and her life hadn't been in any real danger despite what he had been led to believe. "Alright, I'll forgive this. But don't you ever touch my woman again!"

Yumichika laughed and shook his head. "I had no such intentions."

"Inoue..." Shūhei looked at the woman in discomfort. He stepped toward the three and placed his hand on the hilt of his Zanpakutō. "Please move aside. I have to place the fugitive under arrest."

"But, Hisagi!" Orihime looked up at Shūhei with tear filled eyes. "Don't do this! He's innocent."

"That's not for you or me to decide. He'll have to stand trial and Central 46 will make their judgments." Shūhei looked down at Orihime apologetically. "I'm sorry, Inoue. This is an order."

"Orihime," Ulquiorra pulled away from Orihime slowly. "this is the way it has to be for now. I'll go willingly. If I put up a fight now it will only look bad. Don't worry. Everything will be alright."