Next Day…

It was raining hard, and Orihime found it ironic. The weather had been the same during Sora's small funeral. The events from that day were still clear to her. She remembered she had dirtied her shoes on the muddy ground by accident, and her aunt just sighed before pulling some napkins out.

Her gray eyes watched as the two men lowered the casket into the ground. Although her uncle was never the best while growing up, she felt sad at the fact that no one in the family showed up to his burial. Last night, she had reached out to some distinct cousins and previous neighbors. All of them replied with some excuses: 'I am sorry for your loss, Orihime. But I have a hair appointment' or 'I am sorry, but I don't have a way of getting there'. Although they were not mean in their responses, there was some bitterness. That proved to her how, at the end of the day, her uncle's behavior drove everyone away.

The men finished the burial and left, leaving her and Ulquiorra alone in the cemetery. He watched her as she walked over to the grave and placed a single flower on top. Last night, she had told him the details about her childhood. How the man, becoming her adopted father, would beat her. Her older cousin, Sora, would get in between and take the majority of the blows for her. The man's wife wasn't any better. As the husband laid asleep on the couch, still drunk, the woman would bring strange men into the home for sexual encounters. During these times, the young Orihime knew how to hide. Sora had always told her to hide deep inside the closet until the men were gone. She explained to Ulquiorra how she would always hide with a flashlight - it was the only way to do her homework so she wouldn't get yelled at by her teachers the next day.

Ever since coming back alive, Ulquiorra knew that something was different about him. And he knew what it was - the heart. Somehow, he had come back with the beating organ in his chest, and it originally caused his mind to race with thoughts. Thoughts about the battle between him and the orange-haired Shinigami had before his mind finally settled on her, the sun-haired girl. The urge to see and touch her had swept through him like a wave, and he controlled himself from opening a garganta and seeing her. He knew that his presence in the human world would raise alarms, and his recovery had been slow.

For months he wondered Hueco Mundo, his mind constantly about the woman. He remembered what she told him minutes before the shinigami had appeared and fought him. She had expressed her thoughts about friendship and love, and he knew that she had been thinking about Ichigo Kurosaki. Anger had swept through him at the thought, unleashing his anger on Arrancars who dared get in his way before being found by Grimmjow and Nel.

Ulquiorra heard her sniff, his eyes landing on her face as she wiped some tears away. She was beyond innocent, and he couldn't help but wonder how she could open her heart so purely to him. But instead of exploiting her heart, it made him want to protect her even more.

"I think I'm ready to leave," she said, turning around.

The rain increased, damping both of their clothes quickly. She smiled cheesily at him as she used her hands to catch the water, and he cocked his head to the side at her sudden childish act. Her smile widened, bright pink lips shining amidst the rain, and he suddenly got the urge to kiss her. Kissing her always brought a warmness to his body, and right now, he wanted that again.

Uncaring of the rain, he started walking towards her, his hands ready to grab her by her waist and pull her curvaceous body towards him.

The energy around them changed drastically, causing Ulquiorra to suddenly realize what was happening. Seeing her perplexed facial expression, he knew that she felt the same energy as well. Ulquiorra readied to use sonido but stopped as two robed-men appeared.

The men chanted something, creating a barrier between the three of them and Orihime.

"Ulquiorra!"

Orihime ran towards her but stopped as a rough hand grabbed her arm, pulling her back with such force that she fell backwards on the muddy ground.

"I finally got you, witch," the hunter said before meeting Ulquiorra's intense glare, "I finally got the witch, Espada. Now watch this,"

The hunter began to chant in Latin as he pulled the carved sword, its blade turning blue. The pentagram appeared underneath her, turning like a clock. Her calls for Tsubaki failed, and the Hunter laughed.

"My magic is stronger than yours, witch. It paralyses any abilities you have,"

Hideous arms erupted from underneath the ground, grabbing her ankles and wrists before pulling her downward towards the ground. With a wicked smile, the man stood over her, yelling into the sky.

"And by our Lord and Saviour, I pronounce you, witch, g-"

The energy changed drastically, causing the hunter to turn his head. The Espada was no longer in human clothes. Now, he wore nothing but white. Half of his head was covered in a bony helmet, and the Hunter suddenly realized what had happened. The shinigami had warned him about this, but the man failed to tell him how incredibly strong this Espada became by simply leaving his fake human body.

In such abrupt movement, the two angels who had accompanied him were slaughtered within seconds. The Espada had driven his arm with vigorous force through their chests before discarding their bodies to the side.

"You monster," the hunter mumbled before chanting more magic, making the barrier stronger.

Nonetheless, it was no match for the enraged Espada. Extending his arm, Ulquiorra used Sonido and broke through, shocking the hunter.

"Impossible! You are an impure soul! You shouldn't have been able to UGH-"

Ulquiorra's hand was around his neck in an instant, causing the magic to dissipate. With a snap of his fingers, a garganta opened behind them.

"I will show you what an impure soul is," came Ulquiorra's voice before disappearing into the garganta with the hunter.

Grimmjow felt Ulquiorra's sudden spike in Reiatsu within seconds, and he didn't need to second guess what was happening.

"We need to get to Orihime," Nel said while standing next to him, "I no longer sense Ulquiorra,"

With a nod, the two used sonido towards the area where her reiatsu was the strongest. Minutes later, they landed at a cemetery. The sun-haired girl stood with shocked wide eyes, and they quickly noticed the two dead strangers nearby. Considering the type of damage that sealed their fate, they knew that Ulquiorra gave the ultimate blow.

"Orihime, are you OK?"

"Y-Yes,"

"Where's Ulquiorra? And what the hell happened here!?"

Just as Grimmjow finished asking his questions, Ichigo, Rukia, and Urahara appeared. They took immediate notice of the damage left behind.

"He came for me…" Orihime stated, gulping, "Th-The hunter...came for me… Ulquiorra killed them...a-and took him a-away. He opened a garganta and...took him away…"

"He must have taken him to Hueco Mundo to fight," Ichigo stated, noticing Ulquiorra's gigai, "Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure alone can wreak havoc around here, and that would get Soul Society involved,"

"I need to get to him!" Orihime said, approaching Urahara, "Please take me there!"

"Orihime, you can get injured and-"

"Take me there now!"

Urahara remembered the Orihime from many months ago: shy and timid. He had told her the same thing about her strength, and she had taken the criticism. But now that she knew that she was much more than a human, he knew that she wouldn't be backing down.

With a sigh, the man nodded. "Fine,"

The hunter's eyes scanned the area, which was nothing but desert. The energy felt dead, and for a moment it reminded him of Hell. Humans always thought that Hell was a place where souls constantly burned in endless fire. After performing their sins, they would run to their churches and pray to God to not be sent to Hell upon their deaths. Yet, they would sin again…

But he knew this wasn't Hell, it was Hueco Mundo. A parallel universe to Hell.

"You dragged me here for a fight," he said, meeting Ulquiorra's calculating gaze. He chuckled before removing his robe, standing in nothing but dark pants. "I accept your fight, Espada,"

He took out his sword, chanting the words of God. There was pressure on his back before a pair of white feathery wings appeared. The wings began to flap, raising him off the ground. Sword outward, he flew towards Ulquiorra with striking speed.

Despite his increased speed, Ulquiorra was able to predict his moves. Raising Murcielago, he stopped the hunter's attack.

"You won't be able to defeat me," the hunter taunted, "and even if you do, you'll have more challenges to overcome. The girl is reaching her prime year, and soon she must give her innocence to her leader, Lucifer."

He laughed as Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed, "You know nothing of Lucifer, Espada. Lucifer was one of God's angels. But he was a traitor, so he was sent to the pits of Hell by God himself! The witches pray to him, their magic is derived from him! And in return, they surrender their innocence to him! You think I'll be your ultimate challenge, Espada? I was told that you faded away once. You may be strong, but you're not invisible,"

"I see," Ulquiorra finally said, "Your hope is that I disappear,"

"Why, of course. The witch must be killed. Witches are not meant to walk the Earth! She is one of Lucifer's spawns! And must be destroyed!"

"Very well then," Ulquiorra kicked the hunter away before raising his zanpakuto, "Enclose, Murciélago."

The hunter's eyes widened as green liquid rained down on him, his eyes fixed on the massive wings behind the Espada's back. Although they were two different beings, the image of Lucifer went through his mind. The horns and black wings - it was as if the Espada was another version of God's fallen angel.

"Lord, give me strength," the hunter mumbled before taking a leap towards his foe. The wings in his back extended, his eyes turning a darker red as the Espada said something else.

"Segunda Etapa,"

Running as quickly as she could, Orihime ran through the portal. She noticed the exit up ahead, her eyes quickly taking the familiarity of the white sands of Hueco Mundo. As she exited the garganta, her heart skipped a beat as she felt Ulquiorra's immense spiritual pressure.

"Orihime, wait!"

She heard Ichigo's voice from behind, but she didn't stop. But the immense pressure had her falling to her knees at first. Ulquiorra always had a strong spiritual pressure, but this was different, yet familiar. This was his second release. Getting up, she ran towards the direction where his reiatsu was the strongest.

Although their battle wasn't long, for the hunter it felt like it had gone for hours. The Espada had changed forms twice, each time getting stronger. The hunter yelled for God's assistance, but none had arrived. As he had screamed, the Espada's claw-like hand had grabbed him by the neck.

"Forgive me, God, for I have failed you…"

"G-Go a-ahead, kill me… B-But just you know, Espada…. Th-There will b-be more co-coming for her,"

"Let them come. I will kill them all," Ulquiorra replied.

Firming his arm, he applied more pressure on the man's neck but stopped upon hearing her voice.

"Ulquiorra, wait!"

He turned his head towards her, frightening amber eyes meeting her wide gray ones. She stood a few feet away from him, her left hand clasped to her chest. This was the second time she was seeing him in his second form, and he sensed the fear within her. However, it wasn't fear towards him.

This is different.

"I want to do it," she said.

"Very well,"

The hunter glanced at her and laughed. "You can't kill me, girl. You may be the daughter of one of the strongest witches to have ever lived, but you're weak! You're nothing but pathetic. Even if I die, more will come!"

Blocking his senseless remarks, Orihime recited the spell in her head before chanting it outloud. It was a spell that her mother created with the help of the mirror. Now, the mirror was able to teach it to her.

The hunter watched her before suddenly realizing what was happening. He attempted to stand but fell back on his knees as a black pentagram appeared beneath him. Small fires appeared on each point of the star. She felt her skin tingle, but didn't panic. The mirror had told her about this part last night when she practiced.

"I'm green!"

"A witch's physical appearance changes as they become stronger, girl."

"I can't believe it," the hunter mumbled as the witch, whose skin turned green and eyes black, stared at him as she continued chanting.

"She's...different," Rukia said, and the others nodded in agreement.

The pentagram suddenly lifted before contracting, causing the hunter to scream in pain. His injured body was raised with the pentagram, blood dripping onto the sand. Orihime repeated the last few words of the chant, watching as the man's body began to break.

"You will feel the wrath of God for this, witch! You'll see! You-"

There was silence as the hunter exploded, bodily particles flying in all directions. She summoned her Shun Shun Rikka immediately, shielding all of them from the bloody pieces.

As the last few pieces finally hit the ground, her shield disappeared and she felt her skin and eyes return to their normal colors.

"Shit, didn't know you had it in ya, Princess," Grimmjow said with a smirk.

"And your skin and eyes were different! That was so cool!" Nel exclaimed.

Orihime laughed nervously as her gaze met everyone's intrigued faces. "Thanks! I-I wouldn't have been able to do it without Ulquiorra's help. The hunter had to be severely injured for me to do this,"

Ulquiorra, who had been there last night when she first practiced, didn't say anything as he transformed back to his original self. He placed his hand on her lower back, noticing the imbalance of her stance.

"You've exerted yourself, Orihime,"

"Y-Yeah," with a weak nod, "That was much harder than I thought…"

His arm wrapped around her, pulling her closer to him. She rested her head against his chest, uncaring of the audience gaping at them. If there was one thing that her witch powers did to improve, it was her confidence. She was no ordinary human with some powers. She was part of a coven, and with that information she knew that her growth was just beginning.

"Let's go home," Orihime said tiredly, and Ulquiorra obliged by opening a garganta.

But as the group readied to leave, another reiatsu was felt. One belonging to a shinigami. Turning around, the group stared as the lieutenant exited his own garganta, a stern look in his face.

Orihime gulped as angry his eyes were on her and her only. This was the first time she officially laid eyes on this man, but knew who exactly he was.

"Chōjirō Sasakibe,"

Author's note: thank you to those who left reviews! Let me know what you thought about this chapter! I am not good with action scenes :/