Aracelis began to wake up, the familiar spark of panic rising as her brain started functioning. Her thoughts quickly jumped from being crushed by the annoying weed, to her not sensing Ulquiorra, to his stressful tendency to act without considering what she'd think. Leaving him with the weed while she was unconscious and injured, that might have invited disaster.

She worked her eyelids open, finally, finding an incredibly weird, and new, space above her. The sky reminded her of Las Noches's: fake. Beneath her back she felt solid ground, either dirt or rock. No Ulquiorra to be seen, of course.

"Try not to sit up too fast," Orihime's voice cautioned from somewhere just out of sight.

Aracelis took that as permission to move, sore arms pushing her aching body to a sitting position. She ignored the burning sensation gathering in her sides, ribs the definition of fractured, to look around. No Ulquiorra. The odd Las Noches feeling likely meant this was the training room under Urahara's shop, the location brought up a few times in the planning of a counterattack against Clematis- one of the things they guessed correctly: the weed hadn't been lured here.

Her arms almost gave out when she flinched. The slow reaction time of this gigai made sonido truly terrifying. Even if it allowed her to sigh in relief, showing Ulquiorra didn't make the decision to run off to do something stupid without her, sneaking up on her with sonido made her heart pound against aching bone.

Anything she wanted to say, the words caught in her throat. As Orihime casually stood and left the two of them, Ulquiorra sat on the ground next to her. She reached out since speaking failed her. He even leaned forward to accommodate her silly reaction. Her fingers traced over the green tear-mark once more running down his cheek, a smile growing on her face. His hollow form... She had missed it. The way his slit pupils widened when he saw her, the green of his irises bright against his stark white skin and pure black hair, she had missed his actual appearance so much more than she thought.

His eyes left hers, carefully looking her over, assessing her condition.

"I feel all right, things considered," she said to answer his unvoiced concern. "What… happened?" She seemed to ask that a lot… Especially when Clematis got involved in matters. "Why did you leave your gigai?" It might explain why they hid in the shop, among other reasons, but she didn't understand the necessity of it. He may have been forced to leave it to fight- he could have returned by now, though. He could have left it to heal faster if he had been injured. He also might have decided to leave it to go fight Clematis, assuming the wretched weed made one of her classic escapes after tearing Aracelis apart to distract him.

Instead of answering right away, he gently grabbed her hand, lifting it from his cheek. He kept her hand in his as his expression remained forcibly blanked.

"I'm not going to like what you're about say, am I?"

"I am going to Hueco Mundo to confront Clematis."

One sentence pieced everything together in an infuriatingly concise way. Her eyebrows came together, eyes narrowing into a frustrated glare. "You're not going alone," she demanded. "No. Not happening. You can't just leave me here while you go fight that psychotic weed and her army of idiots." With every word her voice rose, her anger cutting though any veneer of calm she could pretend existed. "I love you and you're not going to just… Just go get hurt and…" she trailed off as she saw his expression soften.

He tipped his head in a slight nod of understanding. "I know that is far from what you desire. If our roles were reversed, I believe I would feel the same."

For a few moments, she kept quiet, thinking over his words. He didn't often compare their roles, his limited sense of empathy and sympathy not quite enough to dissuade him from acting in what he considered a rational way. She didn't even have to argue with him, showing he must have been thinking about how she'd respond to him declaring he would face Clematis alone.

"You only asked on the off chance I'd willingly let you do something stupid," she concluded, trying to keep from smiling at his attempt to manipulate the situation in that Ulquiorra way of his. "Jerk," she muttered as he didn't deny the accusation. "But, if I go to Hueco Mundo with you…"

Leaving Clematis wasn't an option; she'd just return with more hollows or spur the Soul Society to action. If Aracelis stayed behind, odds were that Clematis would retreat from Hueco Mundo to attempt to use her as a bargaining chip; or, equally likely, she had an army waiting for an injured Ulquiorra, some trap in place to keep him from completely annihilating the weaker hollows in a second- if he used his resurrección to at least partially heal some of the residual damage from Ichigo. Yet, if she went along, she'd be an even worse liability. Maybe… maybe it would be better for him to-

Ulquiorra squeezed her hand, voice resolute as he said, "It is time to eliminate both Mirro and Clematis."

Her eyes widened at the prospect of killing the two hollows plaguing her.

He paused what he planned to say next, noticing a group gathering a distance away. Aracelis recognized most of them- Orihime, Ichigo, Urahara, and the other shop-keep- with the exception of a boy clad in white and wearing glasses. He seemed vaguely familiar, like she'd seen him at some point. The other mystery was why Ulquiorra's former servant -she needed a shorter name for them- stood among the usual group, it presumably hours after the clash with Clematis. That sparked curiosity, but she also knew they decided to speak out of earshot- whether on purpose or not, she didn't know. It's not like she trusted herself to walk that far with any amount of grace in her injured state.

"Once our wounds have adequately healed, we will go to Hueco Mundo," Ulquiorra finished, standing before taking a few steps closer to her.

Without needing to prompt him, he saw she wanted to be a part of the conversation, but unsure if she could follow. No longer fighting the limitations of a fake body, he easily picked her off the ground and carried her, a hand under her bent knees and the other supporting her back. Once at the edge of the small crowd, he patiently allowed her to get her feet under herself. But then he didn't step away. Instead of maintaining a level of disinterest to hide their closeness from the humans, he stood behind her, letting her lean into him, leaving a hand on her hip to keep her perfectly balanced. It was a level of intimacy she often didn't see in privacy, yet he decided he didn't care about reputations enough to let her struggle to stand as pain flickered between half-healed bones.

It also made it painfully obvious that he had something on his mind.

The questioning stares almost embarrassed her, yet like hell she would tell Ulquiorra to leave. Ichigo almost did a double take as he glanced at them between heated words with glasses' boy. And then glasses looked at them, confused, before he settled on a serious expression made sharp by the subtle glare he aimed at Ulquiorra- she assumed, since Ulquiorra had a way with humans. Orihime smiled before looking back to the Arrancar, asking them if they had a name- they didn't answer.

"Hey, glasses," Aracelis said, catching his attention. "Who are you?" Her voice held no defensiveness or hostility, just genuine curiosity. He had to be one of Orihime's friends, but she just couldn't find the name to connect to the face.

"Uryu Ishida," he answered, adjusting his glasses in such a way they caught light to hide his eyes.

She narrowly avoided laughing at how ridiculously nerdy the glasses adjustment was, nodding her head at connecting his face to the knowledge she had of him. As the one in charge of hollow hunting in Karakura, he had a reason to be here. "Any reason he's glaring at you, Ulquiorra?"

"We fought briefly above Las Noches." It clicked in Aracelis's head that this had been the boy clinging onto that monster's… Ichigo's… wrist when he attempted to finish off Ulquiorra. She owed him a bit of gratitude for that. "Although, I also remember saving the boy and Orihime from Kurosaki's hollow form," he added, hinting to Uryu to stop with the glaring.

"I know," Uryu said dryly, adjusting his glasses again. "That, and Orihime's insistence, are why I've left you two alone."

The boy would have continued if not for the Arrancar taking another step forward, calling attention to themselves. They had a very pronounced frown as they made a show of pulling out their notebook. The amount of sass, Aracelis seriously never guessed them to be so rude. Ulquiorra and Aizen must have scared the absolute hell out of them considering how polite and obedient they'd been in Las Noches.

"Okay now, everyone," Urahara interrupted cheerfully, flapping his fan in front of him. He seemed almost giddy for the Arrancar to share information. "Since we're all awake, let's see what they have to tell us."

They ignored Urahara, already scribbling in the notebook. "A decent sized group of hollows were killed, Arrancar included. Harribel's investigation hasn't found the perpetrator, or any clues to what transpired. There is a split forming in our ranks. Those seeking protection have lost confidence in Harribel's ability, while those following her for her power are questioning her right to rule. It is similar to when Aizen began gathering his ranks. Clematis has convinced dissidents to her side, including Arrancar that remember her going against Ulquiorra and surviving. Harribel had me monitoring Clematis as she and the moth amassed their army."

And, just like that, they closed their notebook. No waiting for questions or comments, they just walked off, opening a Garganta to disappear completely.

Aracelis quickly set aside the lack of manners to think about what they said. It explained Clematis's sudden army of relatively strong hollows; Ulquiorra's spats with Clematis weren't exactly well-kept secrets. Still, the hollows disappearing and the comparison to Aizen's taking control, she didn't know what to make of the that. It also didn't quite sound like their issue to deal with.

The humans and soul reapers seemed to agree the info sounded off, but had no explanation to offer. Urahara looked to Ulquiorra.

"It will not be a priority," Ulquiorra stated flatly before Urahara opened his mouth. Good. He didn't think it was their issue either. While they were in Hueco Mundo, if they happened across something odd, they could relay it to the curious soul reaper. Aracelis already knew they would be back to recover. Fighting Clematis and Mirro, they wouldn't escape unscathed. At least she wouldn't, considering her track record.

"Well, that's all I needed to do here," Uryu announced after a pause, turning around made dramatic by his outfit's small cape. "Just try not to have another army of hollows show up here."

"Whenever you're ready to leave," Urahara directed to Ulquiorra, voice somewhat more serious, "come up to the shop and we'll finish arranging everything. Your gigai should also be repaired in a couple of days."

"If you need a break, Orihime, I will be upstairs as well," the man with braided hair and glasses said- Aracelis recalled his name maybe starting with a T? There were just so many names to remember.

In any case, he followed Urahara, scaring the eavesdropping children out of hiding. He physically dragged the complaining red-head as he told him all the chores that needed to be done. She almost forgot how ridiculous all these people acted; then again, Las Noches hadn't been the place for goofing around. Look at former servant's actual personality.

With the group dwindling, Ulquiorra decided Aracelis had stood long enough, that she should return to being healed by Orihime. The human girl took a few steps forward to resume her work without being asked.

Ichigo held up the process.

"Hey," he called with an edge of irritation creeping into his voice. "Did you think I would forget what you did?" Ichigo crossed his arms over his chest, eyes slipping into a glare directed at his favorite Espada. Aracelis sighed as she leaned back into Ulquiorra again, preparing for a conversation she had hoped had been taken care of while she was unconscious. "You left Orihime to battle those hollows just so you could get away," he accused, summing up the obvious.

"Ichigo, really, I'm all right." Orihime tried to reassure him, but earned only a glance before Ichigo returned his attention to Ulquiorra.

"It was necessary." Ulquiorra… Aracelis could almost hear the annoyance in his voice. Cold and blunt, the short response showed just how much he wanted to talk to Ichigo. Maybe they had this discussion already and Ichigo brought it back up. That would explain Ulquiorra's level of irritation.

"You know he's right," Aracelis added, deciding to rile Ichigo up more for the fun of it. "If we stayed, then some weak, mindless hollows would have been the least of her worries. You should be thanking us, really."

The red of Ichigo's face rivaled his bright hair.

"I agreed to the plan, Ichigo," Orihime cut in, voice calm and reassuring. "I'm fine, really. It's just a few scrapes and bruises." Her words only seemed to frustrate him more.

"I can't protect anyone like this," Ichigo muttered, redirecting his anger back at the source instead of Ulquiorra. He turned away, hands balled into tight fists. "It's almost been a year already. I can't stand that you guys are still getting hurt and that I can't do anything to help."

"Ichigo… I'm sure you'll get you're powers back somehow," an ever positive Orihime said, taking a step after him as he began walking away. She quickly looked over her shoulder, most likely noticing an offended Ulquiorra- Orihime had a job to do, and Ulquiorra wouldn't appreciate her running off to comfort an idiot. "Soten Kisshun," she called out, the sprites making up her ability staying behind as she ran to catch back up with the master of sulking.

Even if she understood the dismal feeling of being useless in battle, she didn't like that he treated Orihime like she couldn't fight at all. She had made it through an encounter with Clematis. She had slapped Ulquiorra. Orihime didn't need to be treated like a child incapable of doing anything alone. She didn't need self-sacrificing protection from someone at the slightest hint of danger.

Aracelis noticed she might be comparing herself to the two humans. She decided to stop before she became more upset with her current situation- otherwise called a gigai. Right now, doubt was the last thing she needed to fall prey to. Facing Clematis and Mirro would mean having confidence in her own ability and trusting Ulquiorra to make the best decision for them both.

Ulquiorra helped her to the ground so she could sit crossed legged as Soten Kisshun returned to healing her wounds. He sat across from her, expression serious again as he shoved aside his human-induced annoyance.

They had plans to make.


The days passed by slowly as they recovered. The expanse of the training grounds was currently empty except for Ulquiorra and Aracelis, Orihime taking a break after her prolonged effort. A few more hours with the woman's ability, Ulquiorra gauged, would be all the time necessary for them both to be healed enough to take on the risky endeavor of killing Mirro and Clematis.

The decision of when rested with him.

Ulquiorra shifted, catching Aracelis's attention. She sat beside him, leaned against his side as she clutched his arm, a hand interlocked with his. Aracelis had already noticed his uneasiness, choosing to sit cuddling him until he finished mulling it over.

"Ulquiorra?" she asked, voice soft, concerned, and a tad annoyed. "Do you want to talk about it yet?"

Though he had avoided it for days, he knew from experience that it was better to discuss this now instead of later. Running away from it would only needlessly complicate matters. In fact, he had been dodging the subject for nearly a year at this point. Although, comparative to their lifespan, that was considerably short. Then again, that was another excuse.

"Do you love me, Aracelis?"

She stared at him, tilting her head, confused at him blurting out such a strange question. That might have also been the first time he said the word love aloud around her. "Yes," Aracelis said with matter-of-fact conviction, her bewilderment fading. "I love you, Ulquiorra."

His response came slowly. Hearing her tell him that, it still brought forth an odd feeling of satisfaction and relief- even in his hollow form. He felt his expression soften, not caring if his indifference melted away whenever he looked at her. This, this only proved to him he should try. "And what does that mean to you?" he asked, hoping her response could help him string together words more quickly. These emotions, he continued to struggle in identifying and naming them, especially as they blurred together in such foreign combinations.

"That's a complicated question I don't have an answer to," Aracelis sighed, leaning her head onto his shoulder. "I do know that you're the most important person in the world to me. Losing you would be like losing everything. I want you to be happy, too. Seeing you upset upsets me, especially when I don't know how to help." She paused, looking to her fingers laced with his. "I know that you'll try to understand me. Even if it's something silly and irrational, you'll try to understand, you'll try to help. I want to do the same for you. I want you to feel what I do whenever I think of you. I… I guess I want you to feel loved, since you make me feel like that even if…"

Her words trailed off, her hand gently squeezing his. Even if you don't love me, had been what she couldn't force out. He could think of nothing else that would fill that morose silence as she sent her eyes downcast. It weighed on her heart. Now, now would be the best time. So, even if he felt unconvinced in his ability to say it with such conviction, with such emotion to match hers, he should try. He should try to understand, as she said, because it showed her he cared.

Ulquiorra shifted position, her head slipping from his shoulder, her fingers reluctantly releasing his. He turned to face her, seeing confusion across her face. When he took her hand again, raising her arm before twining his fingers with hers again, her expression flickered with hope as much as bewilderment.

"I understand, Aracelis. You are what I hold most dear. Even in Las Noches, I began to notice that I…" Ulquiorra paused, unsure which words he wanted, annoyed that he hesitated in telling her. He did not wish it to seem like he was hesitant to tell her his feelings. This was not the time for 'I think' or 'I believe' but rather for complete honesty. "I disliked your sadness. I see, now, that I wish for you to be happy. Your joy… makes me feel content in a manner I don't quite comprehend. I find comfort in your presence."

"Ulquiorra," she whispered, smiling that heartbreaking smile just for him. She felt content hearing the most miniscule of truths. She deserved more than that.

"Aracelis," he said, voice even and resolute, "I love you."

She stared at him first in complete shock, eyes wide, lips parted as words failed her. Then her expression came to include joy mixed with surprise. When a few tears slipped from her eyes, Ulquiorra was the one confused. She noticed, wiping the few drops from her face while laughing under her breath.

"I never thought you'd say that to me," she said quietly, smiling brightly. "I'm just…" she trailed off, too overcome with emotions to explain her happy tears. Instead she leaned forward, dropping his hand to embrace him, burying her face into his neck.

Ulquiorra slowly raised his arms to return her hug. "You are my heart, and have been for some time," he admitted in a whisper. When he laid dying, he had realized that. No matter how miraculous and illogical it sounded, he had gained a heart- or perhaps rediscovered it. Despite being a hollow, despite his own fears, despite his past… Despite everything, in the palm of his hand he held this strange yet splendid concept of heart. He refused to callously throw that away again.

He turned his face into her hair, guiltily adding, "I apologize for not admitting it sooner." He had known for some time that this was the only emotion that could be affixed to what they had. Instead of accepting that he could love, he had convinced himself that only the worthy could, that he didn't deserve such.

Eventually, Aracelis released him, sitting back after capturing his hand in hers again. She… she appeared incredibly content. She said nothing to refute his apology, accepting that he meant it even if she could reason away his hesitance. It was necessary for him so he could move beyond the uncertainty of relinquishing his perceived control and comfort in total indifference.

"I love you," he repeated, making a silent vow.

Never again would he lose someone he loved to the indifferent world that surrounded them. They would slaughter the obstacles in the way of this unlikely happiness that they had found amidst the darkness of Hueco Mundo.

This was the solemn promise of a damned soul who had found redemption.


55 chapters later, he finally says it. I hope the big moment went well enough, considering the wait (like, I'd feel really bad if I disappointed you all after waiting an eternity). Next up, of course, is the final showdown. And I estimate 1 or 2 regular chapters, a side story chapter thing, and then an epilogue til the absolute end. Bittersweet? Or a relieving finally its done? I haven't decided yet.

Thank you for reading!

Thank you to Maxxus Herald, livesinasong13, and ruins250 for favoriting and/or following!

haipa-chan- Ah, Clematis. She's a weird combination of insane and vengeful. I plan on a side story chapter thing to hopefully show why she does what she does other than sheer insanity, since she has her own skewed sense of justice mixed into it. Also, it'll hopefully explain some of her hate for Ulquiorra not associated with Licidae's death. I'm always happy to hear she's a 'good' villain since she is a small-fry interfering and surviving an Espada's wrath. It's a precarious position considering miraculous escapes grow boring quick. And I hope Ulquiorra was just as cute this chapter :) He's come a long way from 'maybe I should kill her or let her get killed so I don't have to figure this out.' It's definitely the combo of school/work/time-consuming hobbies that's my issue :) I should be writing a case study, but here I am (and if not here than video games and anime). Procrastination! Anyway… Thank you for reviewing! I really, really appreciate your continued support!