Chapter 26
Ulquiorra looked at Urahara the next morning after he picked up Kazui and Eriko from Isshin's home. Orihime's birthday celebration went off without a hitch. He had delivered on every promise he had made to his girlfriend. He had made her a nice dinner of ginger pork and rice. He had given her multiple orgasms. He almost regretted waking up. Tessai plunked a cup of green tea in front of him.
Hmph.
"Good morning, Cifer-san and Eriko-chan! It's nice to see you too, Kazui-kun!" The former shinigami chirped. "Isshin will be here in a little bit, so I thought we could get this pesky spiritual test out of the way."
"What test will you be performing on us?" Ulquiorra inquired. Just because he was willing to accept the shinigami's help didn't mean he trusted him.
Urahara shrugged. "Normal stuff. I've only tested one person before, and that was Ichigo. But," here he paused and held up a finger as if he had the most brilliant idea ever, "I have formulated a battery of things to see exactly what you two are and what we're dealing with."
"Is it going to hurt?" Eriko asked. She felt like crap this morning and it was probably because Grandpa Isshin had loaded them up with candy and greasy, cheesy pizza. It was the most fun that the girl had had in a while.
"Urahara-san, you're forgetting the Vizards. We did some tests on them," Tessai said as he walked into the room with a tray of cookies.
"Right," Urahara said, drawing the word out. He tapped that fan on his chin for a few moments. "Well, as you can see Cifer-san, we have things handled."
The dubious look on Ulquiorra's face said otherwise. He didn't think this guy knew his ass from a hole in the ground. It was irritating how flippant his attitude was. "Who will be going first?"
"You of course," he replied, with a smile. "We will be doing a spiritual pressure gauge and Hollow versus Shinigami speed test. Yoruichi was kind enough to volunteer for any test where I'll need a mark."
"What about me?" the little girl asked.
Urahara knocked his hat back and smiled at Eriko. "Ah, don't worry. We have several things to go over with you. Plus versus Hollow, if you have a soul chain, soul and body separation ability, spiritual level ability... We're also going to see if you have any special tricks."
It was then that a black cat came sauntering in the room. Eriko gasped and wiggled her fingers at the animal. "Would it be okay if I pet your cat?"
The blond man giggled, which seemed really weird to Eriko, so she scowled at him.
"Let us take this down to the bunker," Urahara said, getting to his feet. "We should begin, daylight is burning!"
"Yoruichi-san?" Kazui said to himself, watching the cat jump onto the ground of Urahara's training facility.
The girl saw the cat again. She saw the look on Kazui's face. What was going on? "Who is Yoruichi?" she asked the boy. "That's a cat, not a person."
Kazui chuckled. "Looks that way, doesn't it?" he said. He was in a good mood. With any luck, he might get to play with his zanpakuto today. "Hey, Yoruichi-san, do you want some catnip or a bit of tuna? I have an onigiri in my backpack."
"Not hungry, but thank you. If you had any sake, I might take you up on that," the cat replied.
Eriko held back a scream. Did that cat just talk? What the heck? Panic welled into her throat. "Am I dreaming? Did I wake up this morning? What is going on? That cat just talked? Am I drugged? Did I die? It was the pizza and the soda and the ice pops Grandpa fed to us!"
"You're not dead, Eri," Kazui laughed. "You can hear her? That's awesome! You're like me!"
The cat chuckled as well, not showing her face to the girl for fear of startling her further but responding, "This is a pleasant surprise. Eri, is it? Nice to meetcha."
"The cat talked," she croaked. Eriko crouched behind her father and looked at the cat. She could barely see the animal. "I think I'm sick or something. What do you mean I'm like you? I'm a girl. You're a boy."
"No, I mean you can hear Yoruichi!" the boy nearly crowed.
Eriko's lip trembled and her eyes filled with tears. "What does that mean? Is it bad thing I can hear the cat? Is that her name? Yoruichi?"
"There's nothing bad about it, Eri," Kazui grinned at his friend. "Yes, that's her name. You know how I can turn into a Shinigami, right? Well, Yoruichi is a bit like me, except she can turn into a cat! It's awesome!"
"Uh, in a loose sense," the cat replied with a chuckle.
"If you can see and hear, her you're like my Aunt Karin, Eri. She can feel, see, and hear spiritual energy. Looks like you can, too. It's cool!" The boy enthused.
The girl was unsure of all this. "You mean ghosts? Why can I see them? Can Dad see them?"
"Yes," Yoruichi answered.
The girl was confused. "So instead of just looking like a freak, I really am a freak," she complained, wailing loudly. "This is great."
"It is great," Kazui replied with a wounded voice. "Why do you hate who we are?"
Eriko looked at Kazui and then at her father. "I don't know what I am. I'm a human girl but you guys are telling me that I can see ghosts and hear cats talk. That's a lot to take in for one day," she said. "Well, I knew I could see something but this actually cements the fact."
"Sounds like you know who you are to me," Urahara reassured her. "Orihime-san is human, too, Eriko-san. So is Kazui."
"Kinda," the boy grumbled. He disliked it when his shinigami ability was minimized.
"Why isn't this information in any of the books on puberty I've read?" Eriko wasn't understanding this situation at all. It was scaring her. She was confused. "Is the baby going to be special too?" she asked her father.
"We won't know until after it's born, but probably," Ulquiorra answered.
Yoruichi looked at Ulquiorra curiously. "Baby, huh? I thought maybe her cake shop got the best of her. Does Isshin know?"
Isshin snorted as he walked up to the group standing in the underground room. "Yes, I know."
"Wow. You kept that under wraps. Wonder why," the feline murmured before walking over to the girl and headbutting her leg.
Eriko froze before she stared at the cat. "Can-Can I pet you? I'm sorry if that's rude, but you look so soft-"
"Knock yourself out, kid. Just make sure you go with the direction of the hair. If you go against it, I can't be held responsible for my reaction. It's just so… Tingly."
As Eriko petted the black cat, she looked up at her father who was studying her. "I'm okay. This is a lot to digest."
Ulquiorra nodded. He knew it was a lot to take in, remembering what it was like to realize he was alive again. That fact had flabbergasted him for a couple of days. "Well, I have to say this to you Eriko: you do not need to be afraid of me."
"Why would I be afraid?"
Ulquiorra turned to Urahara and nodded. The moment that the cane hit the center of his chest he felt like he couldn't breathe. It felt like his throat closed up and refused to let any air pass. Then he felt the power surging through him. He could hear rumbling and then he felt it all go away. He opened his eyes to see Tessai carrying the gigai to a safe spot. Then he set a task to reacquaint himself with his actual form. He still had that ghastly pallor of a grayish-white, his hair still hung down his back and he still had those bat-like wings. He looked exactly like he did the moment he died. His vision was clearer. His hearing and sense of smell was keener. The air currents in the bunker could be felt on his skin. "The air down here tastes stale," he said.
"Whoa! You look awesome!" Kazui cried, hopping from one foot to another in excitement. "Can I go next? Please? Please?!" he begged.
Ulquiorra turned his head to give the ginger a displeased look. "Ask your mother when she arrives," he replied, before taking a step on those clawed feet. He had to be careful of his wings, which folded against his back. "Eriko?"
The girl had frozen, eyes staring at her father. They were wide with astonishment. Whoa didn't even begin to cover the sentiment for this moment. "What are you?" she finally squeaked.
"That is what we're going to find out," Urahara said.
"Dude, you have to be some kind of half-dragon or something. Ooooh! What if you're a demon? Or like Batman? Like, a weird Batman…" Kazui was just over-the-moon with the possibilities, and forgot his manners.
Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow as his head whipped around to look at Kazui. "I am a bat. I've always had wings. Sadly, I do not have Bruce Wayne's bank account."
"So at least you've seen Batman. That's good. But a bat, huh? Do you make squeaky noises?" the boy asked, starting to approach him.
"Uh-uh," Isshin scolded, grasping his grandson by the shoulder and pulling him back. "Cifer-san may be good at controlling his spiritual pressure, but it is too strong for you if any slips out, Kazui. It's been some time since he had to control it. You will not approach, especially in your body."
The creature threw Isshin a grateful look as he moved further away from the children. "I do not think it's wise that they're down here," he said.
Urahara just smiled. "These tests will be over in a moment if you would quit stalling."
"I'm not stalling." That was the truth. Ulquiorra was trying to regulate his spiritual pressure; trying to control it. He didn't want to lose control of it and kill anyone.
"The barrier is complete," Tessai announced. As the others were awestruck by Ulquiorra's transformation, he was constructing a kido barrier between Urahara and Ulquiorra and himself, Isshin, Yoruichi and the children. "It's safe for you to release your spiritual pressure as long as you do not intentionally direct it at us."
With a nod, Ulquiorra released his wings and his spiritual pressure, not surprised when a small cliff crumbled to the ground, littering the rocky floor with rocks and pebbles.
Kazui beamed as he watched, and turned his excited face toward Eriko, only to see hers fearful and confused. His own expression fell into a concerned scowl. Eri needed to know she would be alright; that everyone here was on her side. He faced forward again and quietly took her hand, giving it a soft squeeze and not letting go.
Eriko gave him a smile, feeling her stomach flutter. Kaz still knew how to make her feel special. "I don't know what to think," she whispered.
He turned his face back to her and his scowl relaxed at her smile. "How do you feel? If you know that then it will probably be easier."
The girl took a moment to analyze her thoughts and feelings. She felt a pull of power towards her father. It was as if her mind wanted to be on the other side of the barrier. "I'm not sure. That stuff I was feeling when those hollows came into town is back but it's not as powerful."
Kazui and Isshin chuckled softly, but it was Yoruichi who answered, rubbing her body against the girl's leg to scratch an itch. "That is only because those other ones were weak. Ulquiorra is the strongest Arrancar I've personally met. I remember meeting him nearly eighteen years ago. He knocked another Espada flat on his ass with a flick of the wrist as if it was nothing. The difference between him and a hollow is that a hollow is ruled by instinct alone, while he probably has better control of his instincts than most humans."
"He's an Espada? What is that, exactly?"
"He was an Espada. It's what it was called to be ranked amongst the top ten strongest Arrancar when there used to be an Arrancar army."
"So what is he now?"
"That's what we're trying to find out, Eriko." Urahara smiled at her and then focused back on the winged man.
Ulquiorra was shifting his weight from one clawed foot to the other and stretching. He seemed uncomfortable. "Well?" he asked.
"There are sensors all over the bunker. I want you to fly from one end to the other and back again," Urahara replied. "Then you'll use Sonido to do the same thing."
He nodded and was only gone a second before returning. The movement had been so fast that it was hard to track with a human's vision.
"Holy crap!" Kazui squealed. "He's as fast as Dad!" The boy added, looking at Isshin.
The older Kurosaki nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. "At least," he replied, sounding distracted by what he was watching.
Ulquiorra folded his wings and did it again. Eriko didn't even blink and there was a whoosh of sound. "What happened?"
"Your father just did a Sonido."
"What's that?"
"It's how dark souls get around," Urahara replied. "Shinigami use Shunpo."
"Fun fact: I am the queen of Shunpo," Yoruichi piped up, hopping up onto Tessai's shoulders to see better. "Maybe I should get out of the fur suit and race him. What d'ya say, Kisuke?"
Ulquiorra turned around at this statement. "You think you can win?"
"You never know until you try, do you, Boyo?" she taunted. "Kazui, avert your eyes," the cat warned, not waiting for him to comply before leaping up and transforming into a naked, brown-skinned woman.
Isshin had been the one to clap a hand over the boy's eyes just in time. "Really, Yoruichi? You couldn't just wait a minute?"
"No time like the present, Isshin," the woman said with a wide grin as she lifted her elbows over her head to pull her hair up into a ponytail, parading her body around everyone else without concern. "Kisuke, you have a set of my clothes down here, dontcha?"
Eriko's mouth hung open. She had never seen another naked female. There was no way she was going to ever have a chest that big. "Dad!"
Ulquiorra rolled his eyes before he answered his child. "What?"
"You're staring!"
"Tch. I am in a committed relationship with Orihime. She's a shinigami anyway."
Tessai allowed Yoruichi to pass through the barrier and after she did, she countered, "Doesn't stop you though, does it?" she smirked before turning to get her clothing. "Don't worry about it, I stare at myself all the time."
The green-eyed male rolled his eyes and scoffed again. Yoruichi really thought a lot of herself. "As soon as you're done being vain, we can finish this."
"It's not vanity, it's the truth!" she said as she got dressed. "Are you ready to do this?" she added before squatting and limbering up.
"I've been ready, old lady." In the end, Yoruichi ended up beating him by milliseconds.
After all the tests had been run, Ulquiorra stared at Urahara. "Your conclusion?"
"You're not exactly an arrancar." the man said.
"And?"
"I'm not sure. My best guess would be that you're closer to a Vizard."
Ulquiorra scoffed upon hearing this. "You guess?"
"Cifer," Urahara warned. "You're were Vasto Lordes. Did Aizen use the Hogyoku on you?"
Shaking his head, Ulquiorra refused to answer the question. He could remember the pain of his mask cracking and all the changes he had gone through. It was the only time Ulquiorra had screamed out or shown emotion.
"No he didn't?"
"I was just given a job. I took it because I knew the power Aizen had. He could kill all of us if he wanted to."
Urahara waved a hand. "You're beyond a Vizard."
Isshin interrupted. "How did you come to the World of the Living? What was the last thing you remember before that?"
This was an easy answer. "Dying."
"And after that?"
"I woke up. I came back here. I know I can open a Garganta."
"So you didn't wake up here… Hmmm." that information knocked Isshin's theory out of the water.
Ulquiorra had been teaching the children in his class about positive and negative numbers. It was fresh in young Kazui's mind, and this discussion sparked an idea. "Is it possible, Urahara-san, that a hollow soul could gain a whole, or plus part, and then, I don't know, cancel each other out? Be a neutral?" By the time he had finished saying it, he wasn't even sure what he meant.
Ulquiorra shook his head. "When I gained a heart, I stopped being an arrancar. That's my theory."
"Works for me," Yoruchi said with a nod. "Shall we put Eri-chan through her paces now? I'm getting hungry."
Eriko stood on the other side of the barrier this time. Urahara had touched her chest with his cane and all of a sudden she couldn't breathe. She clawed at her throat only to find out a moment later everything was okay. She felt free. It was only when she looked down at her arms did a wave of panic hit her.
She was the same color as her father. Her skin was bone white. Even her clothing was different. She had on some kind of jacket and white hakama. "Oh my god," she said in a shaky voice. "What happened to me? What happened? Oh my god!"
"Eri! Eri it's okay!" Kazui shouted at her. "Come on! Let me out! Let me show her that I change too!" this was directed at all the adults present.
A sigh came from Ulquiorra who was back in his Gigai. He looked at Kazui. "What am I supposed to tell your mother when you get hurt?"
"She could just reject it. You know that, don't you?"
"She is also pregnant. I will not put that stress on your mother," Ulquiorra stated. "But-"
"But she said I could show her if I ever came here! Come on!" he argued.
"Please Dad?"
The green-eyed man looked at his daughter before nodding. "Fine. Go ahead, Urahara."
Tessai removed the kido barrier completely and Kazui jogged over to the man in the striped hat. "I'm ready!" Kazui chirped, holding his arms out to the side.
With a tentative smile on his face, Urahara touched the boy's chest with the end of his cane. He knew that Kazui knew what to do. He was a smart boy who had been trained for moments like this.
Kazui's body fell to a seated position and the boy's spirit stood up straight, a woosh of energy radiating from him in warm waves, displacing dust on the ground and scattering it in a vortex around his legs and feet. He grinned and turned toward Ulquiorra and Eri, showing them his typical shinigami attire before flash-stepping over to his friend and asking, "So? What do you think?"
As soon as Eriko saw Kazui wearing a black outfit, she calmed down slightly. "Why do you have black clothing?"
"This is what Shinigami wear. I don't know why, I guess because we're supposed to be gods of death?" he said in the form of a question.
"No, it's because it's more formal and suited to a system of hierarchy like the one in the thirteen court guards of Soul Society," Yoruichi countered with a yawn.
"Oh," Kazui said, slightly embarrassed but not enough to dampen his enthusiasm. "Look, Eri, you're basically wearing the same thing as me but in white. Fancy."
"Wrong again. Eriko is wearing a version of an Espada uniform. It looks like the one I used to wear but it has no tails on the jacket. The clothing you wear is tied to your spiritual pressure."
"Well, it looks awesome. People should wear stuff like that normally. But hold on, are you wearing makeup?"
Eriko turned and looked at her dad. "She has what is called Estigma. Fuck, Urahara. Do we even need to put her through these tests?"
"Hey! Think about it from Eri's side," Kazui interjected with just enough respect in his voice not to earn himself a smackdown. "You get worried when you don't know who you are." He turned back to her and reached behind his back. "Maybe you have something cool, like this," he said, flashing his brows at her before pulling out his zanpakuto. It rather resembled his father's false one, being long, thin, and black, but it had a thin aquamarine stripe down the side of the blade that reflected the light and a six-pointed flower as the hilt. "Check this out," he said with a grin before bringing it down with a slash away from any of the people present, sending a shockwave of golden energy through the bunker and obliterating a large boulder. "Cool trick, eh?"
"Look at your side, Eriko."
At her father's words, the girl looked down and saw that she had a sword through the sash of the pants she wore. "What?"
She slowly pulled the weapon from its sheath and looked at it. As soon as it was free she felt her eyes roll back into her head. There was darkness surrounding her. She tried speaking but there was no one around. Then a flood a voices filled her brain. All Eriko knew next was her father was shaking her.
"Komori!" she said as soon as her eyes opened.
"What?" Ulquiorra asked as he looked down at his daughter. "What did you say?"
"Komori. The sword's name is Komori."
"Whoa! You already know its name? I still don't know mine!" Kazui said, slightly jealous.
The father of the girl turned and stared at Urahara. What did this mean? "Eriko, are you okay? What happened?"
She shook her head. "I pulled it out. And everything went black. The voices screamed her name."
"Lucky…" Kazui mumbled, kicking the dirt at his feet.
"What's lucky?" his mother's voice called from above, having chosen that moment to arrive. She was in no condition to climb down a ladder, so she called out her defense Rikka to make a horizontal shield, which she rode down the the ground level. Eri's back was to her at that time, and she focused on her son.
"Kazui, looking good!" she said with a small smile, before looking up and catching the worried look on her boyfriend's face. "What's wrong, Ulquiorra?" she asked, approaching him.
Ulquiorra looked at the woman who was carrying his child. He stood and looked at Eriko then back at Orihime. "I have to talk to you," he said taking her by the arm.
"What? Please tell me," she whispered as he herded her away.
He looked back at his child and then at Orihime again. "Eriko is an Arrancar."
Orihime's brows wrinkled in confusion. "An Arrancar? But the spiritual pressure is not the same," she said, turning her head toward where Ulquiorra had been looking.
"Orihime, she looks like an Arrancar. She looks like me. Her estigma is a different color and she doesn't have a mask fragment but..."
It was too late, Orihime had seen her. Her right hand flew over her mouth and before Orihime knew what was happening, she began to weep.
Kazui's eyes darted from hers, to Ulquiorra's, and to Eriko's, then back to Orihime's, worried that his mother was disturbed or upset and about to have another episode, but then his eyes widened as Orihime did something no one expected.
The red-haired woman started slowly, but then quickly closed the distance between herself and Eriko, and, wiping the tears out of her eyes, got down on her knees in front of her. "Eri… Oh, my sweet Eri. You're so, so beautiful. I can't- I don't know why, but I feel that I've seen you like this before. Maybe it was a dream, I don't know, but…" her emotional, breathy voice trailed off and she raised a hand to the girl's cheek as a small, trembling smile pulled at her lips. "You are perfect, Eri," she finally whispered before pulling the girl into a hug.
Eriko could feel her face get warm and she ducked her head, burying her face in Orihime's shirt. She had never felt this kind of emotion flowing through her. It was different than she was used to. "Thank you," she said quietly. "But I look different. I look like Daddy."
"Well, Dad looks different when he's in his body, doesn't he? Kazui looks a bit different, too. I can't leave my body. Fullbringers can't, so you're lucky. Not only are you a beautiful human girl, you're also a beautiful soul." The woman turned her face toward the girl's father. "If his soul looks like you, I really, really want to see it," she said with an affectionate smile before returning the expression to the girl.
Without warning, Urahara touched his cane to Ulquiorra's chest. The green-eyed man suddenly couldn't breathe again. Then there was a snap as his wings unfolded. Ulquiorra whirled around and snarled at the blond man. "What the fuck?!"
Naturally, Orihime's attention was drawn in the direction of the the sound and spiritual pressure coming from Ulquiorra. She saw black legs, wings, long black hair, and a pair of white horns. She didn't immediately recognize it. She said, a bit absently, "You don't look like that, Eri."
Eriko tugged on Orihime's sleeve. "No, I'm white as him and look at my nails!"
Ulquiorra wasn't sure what to do as he turned around slowly. "Orihime," he said.
Orihime had turned to look at the girl's black nails, nodded and then turned back toward Ulquiorra. She didn't say anything. She didn't react at first. Instead, she just stared, her head slowly tilting to the right after a few moments. "It feels like I am starting and stopping," she finally murmured, her brows furrowing a bit. "I want to say something, but it's stuck in my throat. I want to know something, but I can't recall it. I know that the words and memories are there. I absolutely know it. You are not a stranger to me like this, but I don't know why, and I am so, so sorry." She didn't know how to feel at this moment. Yes, she was awestruck by Ulquiorra's form. She was just so distracted by this infuriating barrier in her mind that kept her from the truth.
Orihime looked back at the girl and saw worry on her face. She took her by the hand and gave it a squeeze before standing up and walking toward her father with her in tow. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm not afraid. And I was right, he is rather aesthetically pleasing like this, don't you think? It's nice to have such a striking dad. The girls in your class probably all have little crushes on him," she said with a chuckle before stopping in front of Ulquiorra and taking his hand in her other one. "My, but you are strong," she whispered at him with a little grin.
"Woman," he said, before drawing her close to him. His voice got stuck in his throat as emotion overcame him. It took him several moments to collect himself. "I knew you weren't afraid. You reached out to me." Ulquiorra finished speaking and kissed her.
As the kiss broke, Orihime began to cry. She didn't know the cause, but she was filled with an enormously profound sense of relief; as if all of her sins had been forgiven and she had been redeemed. She reached around behind Ulquiorra, tangling a hand in his long hair gently and pressing her face into his hard, hierro-covered chest. "Thank you. Thank you," she said between sobs, "Thank you."
He felt a pain go through his chest as she cried. He hugged her close, not understanding why she was thanking him. "Orihime? What is wrong?"
"Nothing. Not anymore," she answered, shaking her head slightly. "You came back. You came back and you don't hate me."
"I've never hated you. I've never blamed you for anything. I love you," he murmured to her.
"I love you," she answered.
"Ahem. If you're about done with your little whatever-this-is," Yoruichi muttered, standing with her arms crossed and weight on one leg, perturbed that she was no longer interesting to anyone in the room, "Are we finished with what we had to do? I'm hungry."
"We will discuss this more at home. Right now Eriko needs to be put through her paces."
As it turned out, Ulquiorra's daughter was somewhere between an Arrancar and a Vizard. She fell into an unknown category like he did. She could use Sonido, but she didn't like it because it made her dizzy. Ulquiorra had chuckled at this. She could separate her soul from her body, even though it took a moment for her to figure out. Eriko whined about it.
"Dad!"
"You just lay down and your soul seeps back into your body. Urahara might be willing to train you more in this activity."
Urahara had nodded.
She could throw small Balas at people. Yoruichi was having fun at batting them away from the spectators.
It was only when Urahara drew his Zanpakuto and sent a jet of red light towards Kazui that they saw real action from the girl. She immediately raised a hand, feeling afraid that her best friend was going to get hurt. What Eriko didn't understand was that the dark energy building inside of her was going to cause a reaction to happen. She screamed out the word no, just as a dark green beam of energy shot from her finger at the man wearing the striped hat.
Orihime only had one shield, which she used to protect Kazui, so she was glad that the shopkeeper was a nimble old fucker and was able to deflect Eriko's cero with Benihime. When the dust had cleared and everyone was determined to be okay, she marched over to said fucker and slapped him across the face. She didn't back down after that, pointing a finger in his face and snarling, "Don't you EVER pull a stunt like that again! Ever!"
Urahara nodded. He wasn't expecting Ulquiorra to punch him in the face. "If you ever do that again, I will break the dampeners on this gigai and I will hunt you down," the green eyed man said.
Eriko looked at Kazui and frowned. "Did I do something wrong?" she whispered.
Kazui had bounded over to her and shook his head, a gleeful smile on his face. "No, that was totally awesome. You can shoot stuff like that!? And, um, thanks, by the way," he added quietly, his cheeks coloring as he looked down. "You tried to protect me."
The girl shook her head and grabbed Kazui's arm. "No, I got scared," she replied. "I don't even know what I did."
It was Ulquiorra who answered her. "That was called a Cero. I've never seen one that dark, though."
"Thank you, Eriko," Orihime said in earnest, trying to calm down, and offering a bow to the girl from the waist. "Thank you for protecting Kazui."
The green-eyed man sighed. "Eriko, get back into your body. We are leaving. I think we've all had enough excitement for one day."
"Aw," Kazui whined. "Do I have to go? Can I stay and fight with Yoruichi?"
"No," Orihime and Ulquiorra answered in unison.
"Ha ha ha, a united front is too powerful, Kazui. Back in your body you go," his grandfather said, plopping it in front of him and chuckling as the boy grumbled and complied.
Ulquiorra turned towards Urahara with a serious expression. "I will be speaking to you about this later."
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