In terms of its length, this chapter ended up being shorter than I would have liked, certainly below the standard I've tried to strive for. Still, I think it covers a lot of important material. And, it's my hope, that after reading this chapter, its title will take on even more meaning.

I'm also happy to say that the "buffer" of future chapters is now the longest it's been in probably over a year. And as it stands, it's my hope that I'm able to continue to write further content for this story. And so, at any rate, I'm happy to say that both darkmachines and "Jaqen H'ghar" should be pleased with the next chapter, as it will feature some juicy GgioSoifon content that I'm particularly proud of. So, please stay tuned until then.

And lastly, I want to thank "Guest", and my new reader travelqueen124 for the reviews they posted. I hope you'll continue to enjoy this story!

Warning: This Chapter contains (consensual) Sexual Content.

TO FORGE A
BETTER TOMORROW

Chapter XLIX:
"Always by My Side, Part 2"

The Living Realm, Karakura City...

It was slow at first, but gradually Ulquiorra came around, opening and closing his eyes a few times as he slowly awoke. The next thing he registered was the very soft warm body at his side nestled against him, his arm wrapped around her as they lay beneath the sheets. She was still asleep.

The Espada smiled- not just a smirk, but a genuine unguarded smile- thinking how serene the woman looked in the moment. Orihime had always been beautiful to him, but right now- seeing her so content and peaceful, sleeping beside him- he couldn't help but smile, knowing that he was the only person who would ever have the privilege of seeing his 'Princess' like this.

At the same time, Ulquiorra also realized that his existence had been a fortunate one- not only had she saved his life (as it were), but she'd given him purpose...

The woman had given Ulquiorra the one thing that he had previously lacked: she gave him something to fight for, something to cherish, and protect. And he would protect her. But it was more than just that, he was prepared to fight for their future, a future that he fully intended to realize some day. And when his mate had expressed her openness his Hollow nature, his desire had only been redoubled.

He pulled her closer to him, his smile holding steady as he recalled the details of the previous night...

Orihime had never looked more stunning then she had last night, as they'd made love: her creamy skin flushed a rosy hue and glistening, her long sunset mane disheveled and spilling around her like pools of molten reddish-gold metal, her back arching as she cried out in pleasure.

She was his, now and forever. Just as he in turn was hers!

It wasn't long after this, that Ulquiorra felt the woman begin to stir, murmuring softly into his side as she slowly awoke. Soft brown eyes blinked a few times, followed by her blushing faintly, even as she nuzzled snugly against him. "Ulquiorra...?" She asks tentatively, with a shy smile.

He smiles and ruffles her coppery auburn hair. "Orihime," he begins, once he's certain that the young woman sufficiently awake. "How are you feeling?" The Espada asks gently.

I'm fine..." She begins, wincing slightly but still smiling. "I'm a little sore, around the hips..." Orihime added after a moment, before noting the visible frown on her partner's face. "But, it's not too bad, and, um, the truth is... that I don't regret what happened last night- not for an instant."

This seemed to put him at ease, at least outwardly...

Orihime recognized the way his dark eyebrows furrowed. She'd seen him wearing that slightly pensive look before, on more than one occasion, but decided not to press the issue.

With that out of the way, she gingerly crawled up onto his chest, her delicate hands wresting on his muscular chest as she met his emerald gaze, interlacing her fingers with his longer paler ones, before leaning in to gently kiss the disguised Arrancar on the lips.

The green-eyed Espada grunted faintly at the contact, his arm circling around her slender waist in a protective manner, even as he reciprocates the gesture and deepens their kiss.

After a moment, Ulquiorra sat up in bed, only to turn and reach over to scoop up Orihime- the woman letting out a mild yelp of surprise- as he effortlessly held her in his arms.

"W-what are you doing?" Orihime asked with a start.

He smirked at the question. "As much as I'd enjoy simply remaining in bed with you," Ulquiorra began as he stood up, the previous ease returning to his tone. "The truth is, that we both really could do with a shower right about now." The Arrancar coolly explained to the woman in his arms, still smiling.

Orihime blushed at this, then nodded, understanding. "Oh, of course." She replied with a smile.

With that, he departed and headed for the bathroom, across the adjoining hall...

. . . ...o.o.o... . . .

It was just past noon, as Orihime found herself in the tub, facing away from Ulquiorra as he washed her back while she built up the lather in her long hair. She sighed contentedly, enjoying the sensation of his strong hands on her, washing the flesh of her shoulders and back.

She made a mental note to herself, to get out of the apartment at some point...

Once he'd finished this task, he planted a kiss upon the nape of her neck, eliciting a soft moan from the young woman. Her large breasts heaved, a small cry escaping her lips. The next thing she knew, he had lifted up once more- the water shifting and cresting as they moved- and gently deposited her down on the edge of the bath. Her heart raced as he leaned in to kiss her, before kneeling down.

He sank back into the water, a hand resting upon either shapely leg, and her blush darkened as he gazed at her now-exposed sex. Orihime gasped as his hands glided down the wet skin of her inner thighs. This was then followed by a low breathy moan as he brushed the lips of her mound.

"Ulquiorra, what are you-"

"You're still sore from last night." He stated simply, looking upwards, into her brown eyes.

"It's alright, you don't have to worry, I-" Orihime tried to insist. However her will to resist any further instantly vanished as soon as she felt his lips on her, planting a kiss upon her sex.

"You worry too much." He countered with a sly smirk. "I just want to make you feel good."

A moment passed between them, then Orihime- despite still blushing- nodded, and did her best to just relax and enjoy herself as her lover went about tending to her...

She inhaled sharply, taking a deep breath. She felt him spread the lips of her sex, and had to stifle a cry as he began to gently lave at the soft flesh. Ulquiorra started out by running his tongue up and down her slit, before delving into her- the probing movement caused little sparks of pleasure to begin firing off inside her, resulting in Orihime moaning (rather erotically, he noted).

Even in her foggy state, she couldn't help but reflect on how good he was with his mouth...

Her thighs flinched and her back tightened as he continued for several more secants, before eventually shifting his focus to her clit. Orihime let out another pleasured cry, burying her fingers into the locks of his inky black hair as he sucked insistently at the delicate bundle of nerves caught between his lips. The redhead lurched forward, her hands on his back as she gave a breathy moan.

Not long after this, the little sparks that she'd felt a little while ago gave way to a series of far more pronounced jolts of pleasure, sent coursing up through her body. Then, the woman's back arched once again and her vision turned a brilliant white as she came!

When Orihime had finally come down from her orgasm, and managed to compose herself enough to think clearly once more, Ulquiorra helped her to her feat, so that both of them could finish cleaning off under the soothing spray of the shower- including applying shampoo to her long fiery main.

. . . ...o.o.o... . . .

"A form of energy?" Kisuke Urahara asked, a look of disbelief on his face. "And you're telling me that one of your men was... consumed by it?" The scruffy blonde continued.

The golden-eyed Espada nodded. "One of my men, a senior technician, Kenta Ando..." He continued. "And... we very nearly lost Lieutenant Abarai in the catastrophe as well." Szayel replied gravely across the two-way interface, his face visible on the monitor.

"Abarai, good lord..." Urahara spoke. "Please, tell me more, my friend."

"There's something corruptive in the 'energy'." Came his voice over the line. "Before we even knew what was happening, it had already engulfed Ando's entire body in an instant- faster than a wild fire." Szayel recounted. "I tried to stop him, but it was too late, the Lieutenant instinctively moved to help, thus allowing it to then spread to him."

"Ando became like- like a shadow, except three-dimensional." He went on. "Abarai recoiled, his left hand and the lower half of his arm engulfed..." The Octavio then paused. "I managed to stop it from spreading any further... Unfortunately, given the urgency, the only means I could conceive of was by severing the original point of contact from the rest of his body- by cutting off his arm."

"But he was otherwise unharmed?" The dirty-blonde former Soul Reader inquired.

The pink-haired Espada nodded wordlessly. "Orihime Inoue was called upon and rushed over here to restore his lost limb... With her, well, frankly speaking, her miraculous powers."

"At least the Lieutenant wasn't permanently maimed." Urahara offered, folding his hands across his lap as he looked to the monitor. "Now then, if you would, tell me more about this energy."

"Honestly, it would be something of a misnomer to call it 'energy'." The Arrancar replied, pausing to rub his temples. "The truth is, it was unlike anything ever encountered before. The phenomena gave off measurable readings, but nothing that could be made sense of."

"But, then why refer to it as energy?" Urahara asked, seated at a desk in his labs.

"Mostly, it's preferable to calling it 'nothing'." Szayel responded."It's just a convenient label- a name that we can stamp on something that would otherwise be nameless." The pink-haired Arrancar offered the other man. "It behaved like energy, but considering that its point of origin is the other side of the rift... Well, it's as much like 'energy' as matter is to antimatter."

Urahara rubbed chin thoughtfully. "A 'force', a form of energy which functions on not even the most fundamental pillars of existence, at least as we know it." He looked back to him. "Tell me, how could anything exist in the absence of light or heat? We're talking about basic thermodynamics here."

Szayel ran a gloved hand through his pink locks. "Any universe like that... It would have to be of a totally different order than anything ever before conceived." He reasoned. "And, it would be totally antithetical to existence as we know- perhaps even inimical to life itself."

The ex-Shinigami adjusted the brim of his striped hat. "Yes... But surely then, by that very same logic, our way of existence would then be lethal to it?" Urahara reasoned.

He appeared to consider the point for a moment. "Yes, well, that would stand to reason." The Octavio replied after a moment. "Why, what makes you ask?"

"It's just a theory," the man started, sitting back in his chair. "But if it is correct, then whatever is on the other side of that- that rift -it should be just as vulnerable to us as we are to it."

"I take it, then, by your tone," Szayel spoke with interest. "That you have something in mind?"

The other man nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes..." Urahara replied in a serious tone. "It's just a theory, but given what we may be up against, we have to be prepared... for any number of contingencies."

. . . ...o.o.o... . . .

Ichigo was making his way down the street, past numerous businesses- with Shop Unagiya located at the corner of the block- to start his shift for the day (from 2pm to closing time). It wasn't long before he could see the 'OPEN' sign hanging in the window, beside the front door.

The seventeen-year-old was dressed a pair of jeans and sneakers, and was already wearing his work t-shirt (complete with the shop's logo on it). Unsurprisingly, upon entered the shop, he was greeted by the figure of Kaoru. The kid, only about a year or two younger than his sisters, turned to look his way. As he regarded the boy, with his collar-length dark hair and sharp muted brown eyes, Ichigo could see a great deal of his mother Ikumi reflected in her son's youthful features.

It came as no surprise to Ichigo when Kaoru's expression immediately soured the moment she set eyes on him. After all, he'd been working at his mother's shop for over a year now, and for whatever reason, the kid had never liked him, from the moment he'd first seen him now- even after all this time. Still, he couldn't help but give an exasperated sigh as he proceeded to blow a raspberry at him!

And with a disdainful glare aimed directly his way, the boy rushed to the door- deliberately bumping into the teenager on his way out- the bell over the door jangling noisily as he exited the shop.

In all past instances, Ichigo had never paid any further head to the kid. Being truthful, he found him about as irritating as Kaoru seemed to find him. But, for some reason, without even thinking about it as he did it, he turned to look his way. The teen's eyes instantly went wide...

At the same time as this, Ikumi happened to appear. "Oh, Ichigo, I'm glad you're here." The woman started to address the teen. "You're just in time to-"

"Oh... Fuck!" Ichigo exclaimed suddenly, leaving a surprised Ikumi in his wake- looking on in utter confusion- as he frantically bolted out of the shop!

. . . ...o.o.o... . . .

Elsewhere in the City...

"You seem to be in a good mood." Tatsuki remarked, sipping her milkshake through the straw.

"Really?" Orihime replied, looking up from the smoothie she'd been nursing.

The dark-haired girl had known the redhead for long enough to recognize whenever she was trying to hide or avoid something. Normally, Orihime was very talkative. However, she was unusually subdued at the moment. Tatsuki didn't think anything was bothering her, because she didn't appear upset...

"Hime, we've known each other since junior high," Tatsuki countered calmly, leaning back in her chair and stirring her milkshake with a long red plastic straw, as she cast her gaze directly towards her friend across the square table. "So I can tell when you're hiding something."

The curvy girl nodded. "Sorry, Tatsuki, it's just..." Orihime hesitated, blushing.

Tatsuki shifted in her seat. "Go on..." She prompted the girl, her own sharp dark brown eyes contrasting with Orihime's soft medium brown ones as their gazes met. "Unless... you don't want to tell me."

A passed between them, before her friend spoke up. "No." Orihime shook her head. "The truth is... last night, Ulquiorra and I, we..." She was blushing visibly now. "Well, the two of us, we... you know." The redhead finished pointedly, in spite of how cryptically she was speaking.

Tatsuki took a long breath... The truth was, that she had been expecting this.

After all, Orihime and Ulquiorra had been together for more than a year and a half now, so the news that the two had finally been intimate hardly came as a surprise to the sporty young woman. And if she was being perfectly honest, as far as paramours went, the stoic Arrancar had more than proven himself as a reliable partner for her best friend- hell, she'd come to have a grudging respect for him.

"If you're happy, then I'm happy for you." Tatsuki replied, giving a genuine smile.

That seemed to put Orihime at ease, as she proceeded to take another drink. "You know, looking back... it's all kind of funny." Tatsuki commented, piquing her friend's curiosity.

"What do you mean?" Orihime asked, looking up from her drink.

"I mean, how things turned out, for both of us." The other girl replied. "I think you'll agree with me when I say that things didn't turn out the way we expected them to." She took a drink.

"Anything in particular come to mind?" The sunset-haired girl asked.

"Weeell, now that you ask..." Tatsuki began with a slight smile. "I don't think either us could ever have predicted just how much different the people we ended up were from the person we expected."

"Person, not people." Orihime thought to herself, blushing again. Deep down, part of her had always suspected that Tatsuki liked Ichigo. And like their shared interest in the young man, neither one of them had ever taken the initiative to act upon those feelings- something else they had in common.

Orihime smiled at this. "Life certainly is... funny, like that." She remarked. "Ulquiorra and Ishida-san, they may not have been who we were... looking at," the girl went on. "But in the end, I think- for both of us- that they were the person... we needed." The redhead finished thoughtfully.

In Orihime's case, there was a great deal of complexity and nuances to the nature her relationship with Ulquiorra. While in Tatsuki's case, things were much more straightforward (especially in comparison to their relationship) when it came to her own relationship with Uryu Ishida.

For the redhead and her raven-haired Arrancar partner, Orihime arguably had the worst case scenario when it came to potential romance- kidnapped, held prisoner by an egomaniac with a god complex, and her warden (and future lover) being a seemingly emotionless pillar of gorgeously-carved marble. And yet, through a strange mix of desperation and necessity, a connection had formed between them.

Regarding her dark-haired friend and the bespectacled Quincy, the details making up the story couldn't have been more different. The sporty dark-haired martial artist, and the soft-spoken introspective clever member of the Handicrafts Club couldn't be more of a contrast with each other. And yet, partly due to proximity, and partly out of necessity, the two had grown close over time.

"Well, then," the dark-haired girl began. "Here's to getting what we needed." Tatsuki replied with a smile, before taking another drink from her milkshake.

Orihime was the once to speak up this time. "Tatsuki," she started. "As long as we're talking like this, have you and Ishida-san...?" The redhead trailed off, blushing.

A similar shade of red graced the dark-haired girl's face, as the implication hidden within her friend's tone and expression dawned on her. "Er, well..." Tatsuki hesitated. "The truth is... Yes, we have." The sporty young woman admitted after a moment, fidgeting slightly. "Like I said earlier, i-it's a perfectly normal thing for two people who care about each other and trust one another."

"Yes, it is." Orihime replied softly, smiling at her friend. "That's probably the perfect way to put it."

"So... As long as we're here, having- you know- having girl talk and all," Tatsuki resumed, a sly look on her face as she continued. "Tell me, Hime, how was it?"

"Tatsuki!" Orihime retorted, blushing. "I'm not sure if I... Okay, fine." She conceded. "But if we're really getting into this, then I expect you to be ready to spill your guts too."

. . . ...o.o.o... . . .

As soon as he'd turned and cast his gaze out the shop's front window, just as Kaoru was about to cross the street, Ichigo could spotted a large cargo truck heading down the block!

"Oh shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" Ichigo cursed internally, urging himself on, adrenaline coursing throughout his entire body as he moved with inhuman speed. The teen surged forward, sailing like a projectile fired from a cannon, and snatched Kaoru up like a hawk would its prey!

Everything around him blurred, his heart racing, as he prepared for touch down...

Ichigo drew the boy towards himself, throwing his arms protectively around Kaoru as he held him to his chest as the two of them went careening- rolling head over foot- across the street, to safety.

For an instant, Kaoru Unagiya caught sight of the massive truck that would have killed him- had he been there just a fraction of a secant longer!

Ichigo felt lightheaded, and was dimly aware of the noise and commotion around him. However, he was far more keenly aware that Kaoru had begun sobbing. "It's alright, everything is fine..." He spoke to the boy without even thinking, sitting up and holding him a comforting embrace.

People had begun to circle around them, and he thought he could hear sirens in the distance. However, moments later, Ikumi had pushed her way through the crowd- tears visible in her eyes- and rushed over to them, exclaiming "Oh my god!" repeatedly.

"Oh, oh Ichigo, thank god for you!" Ikumi cried out.

The next thing the young man knew, the hysterical woman had flung her arms around both of them in a tight very embrace. As this was happening, Ichigo couldn't help the fact that blushing, given that he felt himself pressed against the softness of the Ikumi's ample chest!

Not for the first time, he couldn't help but think offhandedly, his face red...

(- End of Chapter XLIX... -)