He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it.
Was everything Orihime that Orihime had told him true? Had she really gone through all of that during her stay in Hueco Mundo?
Ichigo's jaw clenched tightly as he listened intently to the girl's solemn words. It was only a few months ago that Orihime Inoue was captured and imprisoned by Aizen and his Arrancar minions. The moment he found out that she had been kidnapped, Ichigo and his nakama instantly sprang into action and began their endeavors to rescue her. Even though they had immediately rushed to save her, so many things had happened to slow them down. So many battles, so many losses…
Even so, if he had known just exactly what all had been going on while he and the others piddled around Hueco Mundo, he would have hurried a lot more.
She was almost raped by the fifth Espada, Nnoitra. Loly and Menoly put her through a lot of torment. But to hear that Aizen wanted to use her womb to bring conceive him an all powerful heir was just too much for him to handle.
A bit of sweat trickled down the substitute shinigami's forehead. He could feel the shortening of his breath as Orihime continued to inform him of all of the events that occurred in her life following her kidnapping.
"…I would spend most of my days staring out the window while praying for your safety, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime said with a tiny smile as her voice squeaked a little.
Even after all that happened, Orihime Inoue had prayed for her friend's safety. That was just like her—always thinking of others before her own well being. But that had only pained him more…
"Why didn't you come and get me before you were kidnapped that night! Why didn't you tell me this bastard threatened you?" Ichigo shouted, unable to control his anger as he pointed a haughty finger in Ulquiorra's direction.
Ulquiorra had long before changed back into his regular human-like form. He had summoned a weaker Arrancar servant to fetch him a new uniform so he wouldn't have to stand there stark naked for long. It didn't bother him though, of course. He just simply didn't appreciate the arrogant boy's scolding him for his lack of clothes. What did it matter? He had just witnessed them having sex, after all. What was so bad about a little bit of nudity?
Once the Arrancar servant brought him back some clothes, Ulquiorra simply stood there quietly with his hands in his pockets in his usual stoic pose.
Orihime's gray eyes cast downwards as she shuffled her feet nervously. After tucking a few strands of her orange hair behind her ears, she whispered softly, "Because I was afraid the Arrancar would hurt you and the others, Kurosaki-kun…"
That was the last straw.
With a loud stomping motion of his foot, Ichigo reached out and grabbed Orihime's arm as his chocolate eyes locked on hers. "Are you a freakin' idiot, Inoue? We could have handled these guys easily! Did you really sacrifice your freedom to this asshole just because he threatened us?" His roaring voice echoed throughout the large, empty room nearly rumbling throughout the entire building.
Taken back by his actions, Orihime flinched and instantly shut her eyes tight as Ichigo continued to roar at her.
"Can't you give us a little more credit? We would have been fine! You were the only one who wouldn't have been able to stand up to them! Don't you realize you could have been killed? Everyone in Soul Society told us there was no point in rescuing you because you would be dead by the time we got there!" Ichigo's voice began to quiver and shake as he continued to scold the anxious healer in his grasp.
Why was Orihime always so dense? All she had to do was come to his house that night and say that some Arrancar with white skin threatened her and he would have been on him in a flash! He wouldn't have let anything happen to her or any of their other friends! He would have protected her with his life and he wouldn't have let Ulquiorra or any other the other Arrancar go near her!
"I-I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun! I was just so scared… I mean, what would you have done?" Orihime piped out as she looked up at her childhood crush with hazy eyes full of overwhelming tears. "You saw what the Arrancar were capable of! In your fight with Grimmjow, you got hurt really badly! What if Aizen had sent the other stronger Espada to fight you, too, if I had disobeyed their orders!" The girl jerked her arm away from him and gripped the sides of her head tightly, crouching down slightly. "I just couldn't bear it if anything happened to any of my friends! Especially you, Kurosaki-kun!"
Ichigo's eyes that were once full of rage instantly softened by the girl's fragile state. He could see her body trembling as crystal tears trickled down from her delicate face.
Orihime was right. If Aizen had sent all of his strongest Espada to attack the human world at once, things would have been disastrous. At that time, he was in a bad state due to the fact he had been severely injured in his fight with Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez. If Orihime had denied Aizen's orders to come back with Ulquiorra, he would have no doubt taken her by force. He probably would have ordered the other Espada to fiercely attack Rukia and the others… They wouldn't have been able to stand a chance.
"Don't say that, Inoue. Do you know how tore up all of us were when we heard the Arrancar had you? We're the ones that couldn't bear knowing something had happened to you. When Captain Yamato said you were most likely dead, I couldn't move. Nothing scares me more than knowing that my friends are hurt or in trouble, let alone dead." Ichigo's arm dropped to his side as he hung his head down low. It just wasn't fair… Why did all of this have to happen to Orihime of all people? She was always so peaceful—so delicate. She was like a real flower—she was lovely to look at but if you poked her too hard, she would fall apart.
"You bastard," Ichigo grunted as he sharply turned around to glare daggers at Ulquiorra once more. He wanted to punch that pale-faced boy square in the mouth for bringing her here to this dreadful place! "It's all your fault! You're the reason she went through so much suffering!"
Orihime quickly stood up straight and rushed over to Ulquiorra's side, standing in front of him to shield him from any further attacks. "No, you don't understand! If it wasn't for Ulquiorra, I would be dead!" The girl squeaked out as she watched Ichigo clench his fist tightly.
With a sigh, Ulquiorra placed a gentle hand on Orihime's shoulder. "No, the fool is right. In a way, it is my fault. But if I hadn't have brought you here, someone else would have. Imagine if Nnoitra Jiruga was the one in charge of taking care of you… I guarantee you would have probably lost a limb or two."
Ichigo spat on the floor as he cracked his knuckles; his eyes never leaving Ulquiorra's emotionless form. Something about that guy really irked him.
"Inoue, you said you had a thing for this bastard. He's still an Espada! He's still an enemy!" Ichigo jeered as he folded his arms over his chest.
Orihime's cheeks instantly blushed as her eyes averted away from the carrot top boy in front of her. "It's more than just a thing, Kurosaki-kun. I'm…in love with Ulquiorra."
Before Ichigo could react, Orihime began waving her arms in the air as if hoping it would keep him from attacking Ulquiorra once again. "But please hear me out! He's actually not a bad guy! He rescued me from Nnoitra! And he even brought me yummy food from the human world! I mean, he even gave me dango out of all things! I absolutely love dango!" Orihime blabbered out as she made big motions using her arms.
"So you fell in love with him because he gave you food? Inoue, did being trapped in Las Noches make you brain dead?" Ichigo snapped as he listened to strange girl babble on. "That's not it! I mean, everyone else in Las Noches were extremely cruel to me! But Ulquiorra treated me with kindness! Sure, he was a bit of a meanie at first but I knew that he had a heart deep down inside!" Orihime retaliated as she bounced up and down to try to get eye-level with the vizard.
Ichigo was getting more and more annoyed with each passing second. The girl had definitely been warped into believing Arrancar like Ulquiorra were actually capable of feeling emotions like love or compassion.
"Get a good look at him, Inoue. He's not a human. Hell, he's not even a shinigami or anything! Does he look like he has a heart? If I remember correctly, he's got a black hole right in his chest just like Hollows do!" Ichigo hissed in aggravation. He was growing tired of all this very quickly. All he had wanted to do was to come to Hueco Mundo and bring back Orihime safely. He didn't expect that he would have to sit and reason with her while trying to convince her to leave the bad guys alone!
"He may not be a human but he still has a heart! If you only knew all the wonderful things he's done for me…" Orihime began as a serene smile appeared on her soft, pink lips.
"You mean like try to get you pregnant with a demonic baby?" Ichigo snarled before darting his eyes over to the fourth Espada who was being unnaturally composed about everything.
"And you!" Ichigo shouted as he pointed an accusing finger in Ulquiorra's direction once again, "Why are you so quiet? Don't you have anything to say?"
Ichigo wasn't the only one growing in aggravation. Feelings of irritation began to course through Ulquiorra's cold veins. Not only was the vizard's voice beginning to wear on his nerves but he really didn't appreciate being accused of such duplicity.
"Yes, I do have something to say," Ulquiorra said in a bleak tone, "I think it's high time you stopped blabbering like a raging idiot. Your voice is echoing through the halls which will bring us much unwanted attention from the other lesser-ranked Arrancar here. If you want to argue, do so in a civil, quiet manner."
Ichigo could feel his blood boil every time the Espada moved his lips. "Why you arrogant little bastard!" Ichigo grumbled through gritted teeth. "I oughtta' punch your lights out right-"
"Ichigo, please!" Orihime pleaded as she grabbed a hold of Ichigo's sleeve and tugged on it lightly. "Just do what he says, Kurosaki-kun. We can't have the servant Arrancar hearing what all we say. They've got really good hearing so they might report what all we say back to Lord Aizen!"
Lord Aizen? Great. Now even Orihime was referring to him as a lord. What else was going to happen? Was she going to start referring to Grimmjow as Grimmy-chan? It made him sick with how familiar she was getting with the bad guys.
"All right, fine. I'll keep it down. But you better have a good reason for Inoue to think so highly of you," Ichigo growled as he kept his brown eyes focused on the dark haired Espada.
"First of all, boy, her name is not Inoue but Orihime. If you value her so much, then why do you speak to her so harshly? Nothing about this situation is her fault so stop giving her a rough time about it," Ulquiorra said in a calm but icy tone as he reached out and wrapped his arm around Orihime's waist, pulling the frail woman against his hip gently.
"If there's anyone to blame, why not look at yourself? If you had treasured her as much as you say you do, you would not have let her out of your sight when we Arrancar had raided Karakura Town," Ulquiorra continued as his jade eyes began to narrow slowly into a tiny glare in Ichigo's direction.
"Ulquiorra…" Orihime whispered as a small blush crept along her cheeks from the Espada's blunt display of affection.
Before Ichigo could respond, Ulquiorra continued on by saying, "Furthermore; it seems that you all took your sweet time while trying to rescue your princess. If someone had captured my flower, I would have reached my destination in no time. I wouldn't have let anything—or anyone—slow me down. You, however; seemed to let little distractions get in the way of your goal. If I recall, you abandoned your mission to find Orihime in order to rescue Rukia Kuchiki from Aaroniero, is that correct? You were too busy tending to Rukia's wounds to continue on with the journey yourself."
Ulquiorra's piercing eyes seemed to look right through Ichigo's skull. The vizard could almost feel the presence of Ulquiorra in his head—as if the Espada was reading his mind. "No…you're wrong!" Ichigo snapped as he clenched his jaw tightly.
It was true, though. A lot distractions happened which slowed down their rescue mission… But what could he do? There were problems with people like Nel and Ashido that required his assistance… Not to mention all the times he was attacked by various Arrancar and Espada. It wasn't as if he could just run past them all!
And Rukia…Well, if he didn't go back and help her, she would have died in her battle with the Ninth Espada! He had no choice but to go back and tend to her!
"So many distractions… I guess your princess's safety wasn't as important to you as you thought. All you wanted to do was to play the hero. Did you ever really care about Orihime Inoue herself? Or was she always just one of your nakama with powers?" Ulquiorra's voice was as smooth as silk as his words drifted through the boy's mind. Ulquiorra wrapped his arms protectively around Orihime's waist as he held onto her tightly; burying his nose into her lavishing hair that was the color of autumn leaves.
Ulquiorra's words cut Ichigo completely off guard. How did he know all of this stuff? Was Ulquiorra watching him this entire time? "No, you're wrong! I mean…Yeah, I did go back and help out Rukia but I had no choice! I needed to help her! And no, Inou—I mean, Orihime is very important! What do you know? You don't know anything! You're just one of Aizen's dogs!" The redheaded boy sneered as he reached for his sword strapped to his back.
"You let Orihime go right now! You have her completely warped! You don't really love her! You're just using her!" Ichigo continued to shout, forgetting that he agreed to keep his voice down.
"Please, just stop…." Orihime whispered as she turned her head away from Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra just simply held onto his precious woman tighter as he continued to stare down the substitute shinigami, "That's what you want to believe, Ichigo Kurosaki. It would just be too much for you to handle if you accepted the truth that I do, in fact, carry strong feelings towards this woman. And it would be even harder on you to accept the fact that she is now mine."
"You LIAR!" Ichigo bellowed as his reiatsu began to encircle his body at a speedy rate. Rage was beginning to take over his body as he prepared to attack Ulquiorra once again. No one was going to say bullshit like that and get away with it! He had had enough of this crap! "If you love her so much then fight me for her! If I win, she comes back to Karakura Town with me! If you win, then I'll let you have her!"
"I disagree to your terms. The woman should have the right to choose what she wants to do despite who is victorious in a pointless battle," Ulquiorra replied in an empty tone. The boy's foolishness was impeccable. It baffled him and almost amazed him at how stupid and childish teenage boys could really be.
"WILL YOU GUYS JUST STOP IT ALREADY?" Orihime shouted at the top of her lungs as she jerked away from Ulquiorra's grasp. "Just knock it off! I think we have bigger issues to worry about! Now both of you stop fighting or I'll…I'll…I'll smack you both upside the head!" the desperate female cried out, stomping her food in extreme frustration.
"My apologies, my love," Ulquiorra said in a soft tone as he placed his hands back into his pockets once again. It wasn't very often Orihime snapped like that. All their arguing must have really bothered her… Even so, he couldn't help but saying 'my love' loud enough for Ichigo to hear.
Ichigo's reiatsu stop swirling around the surrounding area as he stared at Orihime in astonishment. Not once—but twice she stood up to him. It looks like she was growing more of a backbone than he thought…
"Look," Orihime said as she took a deep breath, "I really want to go back home, Kurosaki-kun. More than anything I want to see Tatsuki-chan again! And I want to eat all kinds of delicious donuts with wasabi cream poured all over them! I also want to go to the beach and spend summer vacation with everyone once again! I mean, I even miss going to school and having homework!"
Although he questioned the donuts covered in wasabi, Ichigo knew how awful it must have been for her to be trapped in a dark room all day long without an ounce of sunlight. He could just picture her standing in a tiny room gazing out the window probably daydreaming about the day when he and the others would show up to rescue her.
"I know you do… And Ino—I mean, Orihime, I'm so sorry it took me so long to get here. I probably should have tried harder to reach you quicker. If I had only been there for you, you wouldn't have been put through all of this," the substitute shinigami whispered in a soft, regrettable tone. "Ulquiorra's right. A lot of it is my fault."
Ichigo reached out his hand to gently hold onto Orihime's before pulling the girl into a gentle embrace in his arms. He held her protectively as his hand stroked the back of her long, apricot hair. "I'm so sorry, Orihime… Please forgive me. I'm sure you doubt how much you mean to me after all this happened but I want you to know just how important and valuable you are to me." His voice was tender and gentle as he held her close. He knew nothing could change the fact that he and the others certainly took a long time in rescuing her but he was just glad she was finally safe. "I promise I won't let anyone hurt you anymore. Now, let's go back home, okay? And I'll kick Aizen's ass for you…"
For months, this was the exact moment Orihime had been dreaming of. For hours she would stare out the window of her tiny room the size of a matchbox and fantasize about what it would be like for Ichigo Kurosaki to hold her. She knew that if he just hugged her, she would find complete happiness and never ask for anything again.
That is, until she met Ulquiorra Schiffer.
Orihime pressed her hands lightly against Ichigo's chest as she pulled away from his embrace, catching him off guard. "I'm sorry, Kurosa—I mean, Ichigo. I'm sorry but I can't go back with you," she smiled lightly at her redheaded friend as she watched his eyes grow as wide as saucers.
"You what?" Ichigo asked, completely flabbergasted by her actions and words.
Orihime shook her head as she walked back over to Ulquiorra before wrapping her fingers around her lover's hand. "I'm sorry but I just can't go back with you. I belong here right beside Ulquiorra until the end. If I just leave now, Aizen will kill him for sure. And…I just can't let that happen," Orihime said softly as she beamed up at Ulquiorra.
If Ulquiorra had a heart, it would have been thumping wildly out of his chest. Instead, Ulquiorra simply felt a warm, fuzzy feeling tickling at the edges of his Hollow hole. Ichigo Kurosaki was the one person whom Orihime had adored and admired for years and all of a sudden she just pushed him away. She pushed Ichigo away for him.
"But Orihime…He's the bad guy! You can't be serious!" Ichigo gasped as his jaw dropped slightly in astoundment.
Shaking her head once again, Orihime gripped onto Ulquiorra's hand tighter. "I am serious and he's no longer a bad guy. I know he cares about me with all of his heart. Even though you can't see his heart, I know it's there."
All of this was too much for Ichigo to take in. "But Orihime…what about the others? Didn't you just say you wanted to go back to Karakura Town? We came all the way here just to save you and now you're saying you don't want to leave?" He reached out his hand, beckoning for her to come back by his side again as he entreated, "Please, Orihime! Come to your senses already!"
"I do want to go back to Karakura Town! And I promise that I will! Just…not yet. Ulquiorra and I have some unfinished business. You know how I told you that Aizen ordered Ulquiorra to get me pregnant so I could have a child with immense Arrancar powers? Well, if I give birth to that baby, then the baby will turn out to be a monster. I will, without a doubt, die during childbirth. No human mother would be able to withstand birthing that kind of creature…" Orihime began as her shoulders dropped forward and her eyes softened.
"A-Are you serious? Orihime, why the hell would you agree to that?" Ichigo shouted with brown eyes full of disbelief and fear.
Orihime looked up at Ichigo with a reassuring smile, "If I didn't agree to it, Aizen told me he would slaughter Ulquiorra. And…I just can't let that happen."
Ichigo scratched the back of his head as he grumbled in frustration, "So let me get things straight here…" The orange haired boy was beginning to lose his patience. All of this was beginning to sound like something from some kind of deranged soap opera. "So you're telling me that if Orihime gets pregnant, she'll die and if she doesn't get pregnant, you'll die. Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass if you die or not." Ichigo hissed in Ulquiorra's direction.
"On the contrary, if Orihime does not getpregnant, Lord Aizen will no longer find use of her and will certainly dispose of her," Ulquiorra informed the dimwitted vizard in a callous manner.
"So it's a lose-lose situation here?" Ichigo shouted, losing his cool once again. He didn't like the sound of things one bit. "If Orihime's going to die either way then what's the point? Instead of worrying about whether to have a demon-baby or not, why not just let me kick Aizen's ass and let's move on with our lives?" He haughtily folded his arms over his chest as he watched the two with annoyance in his brown orbs.
"It's not that simple, you fool," Ulquiorra replied in a bleak tone as he let out a soft sigh. "If defeating Lord Aizen was so simple, do you not think I would have done it already?"
"No! 'Cause you're one of his damn minions!" Ichigo snapped back.
"You are mistaken," replied Ulquiorra in a calmer voice.
"Stop acting like you're smarter than me, you damn bastard!" Ichigo shouted back with hatred in his tone.
"Then stop acting like an ignorant fool," the pale-skinned Espada muttered blandly as he continued to stare with slight interest at the imprudent boy.
"Um…can you please stop arguing, you two? We have a lot more pressing issues to talk about," Orihime interrupted as she tugged on Ichigo's sleeve. "This is getting out of hand…"
Ulquiorra took a step towards Ichigo as his eyes narrowed down in a serious manner, "Listen, Ichigo Kurosaki, Lord Aizen is a lot stronger than you think. Training to defeat him would take months for me at this rate and frankly, I just don't have that kind of time. If you want to try to fight Lord Aizen, then be my guest. It will be your funeral. In fact, you'd be doing me a favor by occupying him as Orihime and I carry out our plans."
Ichigo took a step back as he watched the Espada's sudden cold demeanor change. His jade eyes were full of remorse and distaste towards Ichigo and he knew it. Something about the Espada made Ichigo realize just how serious Ulquiorra was being.
"I have confidence I can defeat him and I don't need a few damn months to do it," Ichigo grunted as he shot his eyes towards the ground.
Ulquiorra straightened himself out as he kept his hands neatly placed in the realms of his pockets, "Just like how it didn't take you a few months to reach Orihime?"
Ichigo opened his mouth to say something but instantly shut his lips. As much as he hated to admit it, the Espada had him there. Ichigo saw just how strong some of the Espada were and he hadn't even defeated anyone higher than the Fifth Espada. There were at least four more Espada stronger than Nnoitra Jiruga. Ichigo could only assume that Ulquiorra was the top Espada. If Ulquiorra wasn't even confident enough in his abilities as the First Espada to defeat Lord Aizen as he was, then Ichigo knew he probably wasn't strong enough himself yet. Not that knowledge like that ever stopped him from challenging tougher opponents before…
"All right, emo-kid. If you don't think we can defeat Aizen just yet, then what do you suppose we do, huh? Let Orihime get pregnant with a demon-baby that will try to destroy the world once we do beat Aizen? How the hell is that supposed to fix anything?" Ichigo scoffed as he clenched his fist tightly at his side.
"We have devised a plan," Ulquiorra replied in a calm intonation as he glanced at the golden haired woman beside him. "As you may know, Orihime has incredible healing powers and the power to negate something's existence. With proper concentration, I believe she can work hard and use her powers to negate the child's Arrancar genes."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Ichigo blurted out as he stared dumbfounded at the austere Espada.
"Of all the fools—" Ulquiorra groaned, unable to hold back his frustration.
Orihime quickly interrupted before Ulquiorra could finish his insult as she bounced in front of Ichigo excitedly. "What he means is that with my super cool powers, I could alter the baby's genetic make-up! Like, instead of my baby having Arrancar powers, I could use my Shun Shun Rikka to cancel out the baby's evil genes. If I do that, then the baby could possibly even turn out to be human!" The girl smile enthusiastically as she tried her best to explain the situation. "It's like genetic engineering but using my powers instead of science. Do you see what I mean?"
Ichigo tapped his foot impatiently as he listened to the bubbly girl babble. "Yeah, it makes sense…But do you really think you could do it? Do you honestly think it could work?" Something about their plan seemed too good to be true. There's no way something that precise could work out so perfectly…
"There is no complete certainty," Ulquiorra responded as he wrapped his arm around Orihime's shoulder, pulling her close to him. "But it might could buy us enough time until we can defeat Lord Aizen. I'm even willing to team up with Soul Society in order to bring Aizen and the rest of the Espada down."
The substitute shinigami eyed the two of them closely. He took note of Orihime's slight blush as Ulquiorra held onto her protectively. He also couldn't help but notice the way the Espada looked at the tiny woman under his arm. It was a look that he didn't think Arrancar were capable of—affection and protectiveness.
"But…if it doesn't work, then won't that mean Orihime will still die?" Ichigo asked somberly as he scratched the back of his head once again.
Orihime casted her eyes downward at the cold floor beneath her feet as a heavy sigh escaped her lips. "If my powers don't negate the baby's existence, then yes, I'll probably die during childbirth."
Ichigo felt a sharp pain stab through his chest as his nakama uttered those words with hesitance. "But that's not fair! There's no way in Hell I'm letting you do this!"
"Yes, there is a chance she will die if she gets pregnant. But there is a one-hundred percent chance she will die if she does not get pregnant," Ulquiorra retorted hastily. He didn't like the way he had to gamble his lover's life like this but what other choice did they have? He would rather take the chance that she may not survive if their plan were to fail then to completely throw her life away by not succumbing to Lord Aizen's demands.
"I…I don't like this," Ichigo grumbled under his breath. Wasn't there some other solution to this problem? He knew everyone was back on Earth fighting against Sousuke Aizen and his minions at that very given moment. The way Ulquiorra and Orihime spoke made it seem like neither of them had faith in Soul Society's abilities to defeat Aizen and the other Espada.
Orihime was always the type to blindly put faith in any of her friends despite how badly the odds were usually against them. Why would she change her way of thinking now?
The answer should have been obvious. Ichigo stared at the girl long and hard for a moment, inspecting her closely. Her hair seemed to have lost its once vibrant shine. Her eyes that once sparkled with the emotions of enthusiasm and confidence in her friends seemed to have lost its glitter. For some reason, she appeared a bit more grown-up and mature. It was almost as if her childlike innocence had completely dwindled away into mere specs.
But who could blame her? She had been through Hell and back apparently. If it wasn't for Ulquiorra's compassion towards her, she probably would have lost every fiber of her once effervescent being.
"I don't like it either, Ichigo. But Ulquiorra's right—what other choice do we have?" Orihime answered with a forced, nearly invisible smile as she spoke. She was definitely willing to give her life to protect Ulquiorra. "If Ulquiorra doesn't get me pregnant, then one of the other even stronger Espada will. I…I really don't want to be raped by one of them."
Ichigo halted for a moment as his eyes widened slightly, "Wait. You just said stronger Espada. Isn't Ulquiorra the First Espada?"
Orihime blinked in confusion by her friend's response. "Um…no?"
With a sigh, Ulquiorra couldn't help but roll his eyes as he unbuttoned his white jacket a little to reveal a number "4" digit tattooed in the corner of his chest. "Indeed I am not number one. Did you seriously not notice the "4" written on my chest moments ago?"
Ichigo's jaw dropped in shock as he stared at the digit upon the frigid Espada's chest. "Y-You're shitting me! You're not the strongest? What the hell? Then what kind of power were you emitting while I walked in on you guys screwing each other's brains out?"
Ichigo's reaction caused Orihime's cheeks to flare up in embarrassment as she buried her hands in her face. "W-We weren't screwing each other's brains out!" The timid girl squeaked out. "We were…um…making love."
"That would be the same difference, Orihime," Ulquiorra informed his lover in a gentle tone before turning his attention back to Ichigo. "I'm not quite sure why that would give you the insinuative that my reiatsu would automatically declare me as the top Espada but I will enlighten you by saying that I am the only Espada with two released forms."
Ichigo was once again completely stumped by Ulquiorra's words. "This…is insane!" The boy groaned out in exasperation as he smacked his hand to his forehead. "So even though your reiatsu seemed more powerful than anything I have ever felt, there are still others out there that are stronger? Argh, come on! Throw me a freakin' bone already!"
"I'm sorry, Kuro—I mean, Ichigo-kun. I guess we should have told you from the start that he's only number four…Not that that's anything to be ashamed of or anything!" Orihime squeaked out with a tiny smile as slapped Ulquiorra gently on the shoulder. "I mean, you are extremely powerful! Not even Lord Aizen would stand a chance against you!"
Ulquiorra looked at the girl with tender eyes, a small frown appearing on his typical emotionless face. "I hope so, Orihime. I certainly hope so."
"All right, enough of this stupid talk! I've heard enough!" Ichigo grumbled as he turned on his heels and began to stomp off haughtily.
Orihime gasped as the boy began to saunter off. "Wait, Kurosa—I mean, Ichigo-kun! Where are you going?"
Ichigo stopped in his tracks as he looked back at the woman from over his shoulder, "I'm going to go defeat Aizen. What does it look like I'm doing?"
"But didn't you hear Ulquiorra? He's much too strong to defeat! You'll be killed if you try!" Orihime pleaded as she gazed at him with silver eyes full of concern.
The teenage boy turned his head back to look down at his feet as his fists twitched lightly. "Look, Orihime. Right now as we speak, Rukia and the others are risking their lives to fight Aizen. I should have been with them but I didn't want to give up on saving you. But it looks like I was too late… You've already got your heroic prince."
Ichigo's words caused the girl to flinch lightly. She glanced back down at the floor before staring at his back solemnly. "Ichigo, I…"
"Save it!" He snapped as he stood up straight. "You may have given up hope for your friends but I sure as hell haven't. Since you obviously don't need us anymore, I'm going back to help them out."
His words stung her like a poisonous snake bite. It's not like she had completely given up hope on her friends or anything… It's just that she knew what all Lord Aizen was capable of. He would wipe them all out with a flick of his finger. Chance of victory for Soul Society was so very slim… She and Ulquiorra needed to think ahead in case Soul Society did in fact fail their plans of defeating Lord Aizen and his minions.
"Ichigo, please understand. Things aren't as simple as they once were. If you go fight him, it'll be like suicide!" Orihime cried out as she wrapped her arms around herself tightly.
"Well I'd rather die trying than to just sit back and let him slaughter Rukia and the others," Ichigo replied harshly as he continued to head down towards the main hallway.
"But Ichigo!"
"Let him go, Orihime," Ulquiorra said sternly to the apricot haired girl as his eyes followed the substitute shinigami. "He is doing what he feels must be done. Do not interfere with his judgment. If he wants to die then let him go ahead."
Orihime shot her eyes back to Ulquiorra with a look of affliction upon her face, "How can you say that, Ulquiorra?"
With a sigh Ulquiorra meandered over to where Orihime was standing before leaning his lips towards her ears. "Listen," Ulquiorra whispered faintly, "He's going to be all right. I promise."
Orihime stifled a sigh as she looked away from Ulquiorra hesitantly, "How can you be so sure? Lord Aizen is really strong…"
"Just trust me on this," Ulquiorra said soothingly as he ran his fingers down the girl's slender back. The girl shivered tenderly underneath his touch before glancing back once again at Ichigo before he completely wandered out of sight.
Ulquiorra knew it bothered her that Ichigo was leaving so soon after they were reunited. He also knew she could feel the disappointment that had emulated off of his eyes after knowing she was in love with an Arrancar. He knew it probably crushed her…
"Let's get you back to your room. That is quite enough excitement for one day," Ulquiorra declared in a gentle tone as he reached for his woman's tenuous hand. With a small nod Orihime agreed to his request as he led her back down the long, narrow hallway of Las Noches.
Before they entered into the long hallway, Orihime gave one more glance over her shoulder to see if Ichigo was still there. Much to her dismay, he was far out of sight.
Author's Note: I'm BAAAAAAAAAAACK ! :D Sorry for the maaaaaaaaajor delay between chapters. Once again, life has made it difficult for me to dedicate my time to this fanfic… But I hope you guys liked this chapter! :D It was a bit longer than some of the others so I hope you guys feel it was worth the wait (maybe?) ^_^''' Soooooooo let me know whatcha think in the reviews! :D I'm sorry if Ulquiorra or Ichigo seemed a little OOC…. Lol I love their arguing scenes XD Well this story is about to be wrapped up in the next two chapters or so. Kinda sad, isn't it? But I hope you guys will stick with me to the end I have no idea how long it will take me to update but I hope you guys won't give up! UlquiHime is still my favorite pairing and I promise I will have this fic completed! Sooo….leave me some reviews so I know how I'm doing! Also, the more reviews I get, the more I feel motivated to update XD ha ha! So just keep that in mind as you finish this chapter…^_^ Toodles for now!
Also...THANKS FOR THE 600+ REVIEWS EVERYBODY! ^_^ I never thought my fic would be enjoyed by this many people so it makes me feel UBER special!