As ever, I want to take a moment to thank RG-Guest and TheBretonBookDragon, as well as all the others...
TO FORGE A
BETTER TOMORROW
Chapter CVI: "The Future"
A Beautiful Summer's Day in the Living Realm...
Ulquiorra took in the image of the pristine white sands...
Lifting up his sunglasses, he wordlessly looked over to the nearby individual, reclining in the beach chair beside him. Smirking, he took a moment to take in the sight of Orihime: To start, her brown eyes were hidden beneath a pair of "aviator" style sunglasses, while the flowing luxurious locks of her coppery orange-red main was pulled into the a ponytail in the back.
She was sporting a functional powder-blue one-piece bathing-suit over her stunning figure, as she'd flat-out refused anything flashy or skimpy. Not that he would have ever pressed her to wear any kind of ensemble along those lines in public. For one thing, over the years, he'd come to know her well enough over the course of their relationship to understand that his voluptuous mate would never be comfortable cavorting about publicly while in something so revealing.
The other, far more personal reason in his mind was he didn't like thinking about Orihime being in a situation where others would potentially be looking at her the same way he did. And this wasn't exactly an unfounded concern on his part, given how attention-grabbing she was!
By comparison, aside from the sleeker pair of sunglasses that he was sporting, Ulquiorra was shirtless and wearing a pair of dark green swimming-trunks. Living long-term in the Living Realm as a human, his Gigai had been specially crafted to enable him to blind into his adopted society. And like his wife, he had to contend with matters like effects of the sun's rays.
If Orihime was mindful and properly managed her exposure to the sun, she was more than capable of tanning somewhat proficiently. On the other hand, he'd long ago deduced that even in his human form, he was a bit too fair-skinned that it was more of a hassle than it was worth for him to bother...
He shifted to sit up a bit in his beach chair, lifting up his glasses to scan the crystal-clear bnlue waters of the horizon-line, smiling as he looked over to Orihime. "Enjoying yourself?"
This elicited a smile from the woman. "Of course." She replied. "The view is amazing!"
"Trust me," he responded effortlessly. "The view's amazing from where I'm sitting?"
"Oh you!" Orihime blushed faintly as she turned to face him, propping herself up on her elbow as she smiled back at him. "After all this time, you're still so incorrigible."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
The Living Realm...
Karakura City, The Future...
Ulquiorra had woken up a little while earlier, blinking the sleep from his eyes and shaking the cobwebs from his head, before getting out of bed and starting up with his usual morning routine...
"You know, even now, I still remember so much... The day we met, when I laid eyes on you for the first time; the moment I realized I couldn't live without you, and... when I was finally able to articulate how much you mean to me... and when I was able to finally tell you, truthfully, that I loved you. And I still remember how you reacted in each case- first with fear, followed by anger, then understanding, and finally- best of all- you accepted me... "
Now dressed, and seated at the secretariat-style desk in the bedroom, Ulquiorra paused, setting his pen down, looking to the framed photograph of Orihime and himself...
"It's been a long time since that was taken." He mused to aloud. "It almost seems... like another life."
Returning back the journal before him, he resumed writing: "The kids thought this would be good for me, that it would helpful if I wrote down my thoughts." Ulquiorra wrote. "Still, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure if this is actually helping or not, but at least it's something to do. What, when considering how much free time I have at my disposal these days."
He paused again, looking to another photograph. This time, Orihime and himself were seated at either side of Sora- herself, now an adult, and holding their first grandchild...
"I've had many high-points throughout my life, including becoming a father and a grandfather. As you doubtlessly will have guessed by my tone, the children are a point of pride for me. Watching them grow and start families of their own. Every day, I feel stunned to have been a part of all this."
"The fact is, Hollows aren't meant to live these kind of lives. We don't start families like this. This is all bullshit, of course (and I'm free here to curse in this discussion, because it's between the two of us). We CAN do these things, we just have to chose to live as we did."
He was interrupted by an electronic chime, a notification visible on the screen of his phone. It was a text message, sent from Tatsuki: "Just checking to make sure you're not dead. Can you die? Anyways, send me a response, to let me know if you're up for lunch tomorrow."
Ulquiorra chuckled, responding with: "I'm not dead. I'll get back to you later about lunch."
"Let me see..." The disguised Arrancar murmured under his breath. "Right." He spoke as he picked up where he had left off in this writing. "We would joke about it, but I can see so much of you in our Sora, in the same way you always insisted that Hideyoshi took after me. I'm still not totally sure about that, but then... your intuition for these things was always better than mine."
"I can only imagine what you and the others in the Seireitei must think of me now, as an old man with glasses and gray hair. Grimmjow would doubtlessly laugh like a fool. Of course, I'd just slip out of my Gigai and "deal" with him. But I'm getting off topic. Back to my original point. It was surreal enough to be a parent, but to think that I'd be a grandparent was madness. Hmm, not so crazy in hindsight, it would seem. Just another experience with you at my side. I'm starting to sound sentimental now."
"I won't bother with a point by point recap of things. No need to overburden you. Still, the truth is that I wasn't prepared for how things played out. Oh dear, I think I'm starting to understand the real reason for this entire exercise. These feelings, I need to let them out. I"
He was thankfully interrupted by the sounds of birds outside his window...
Ulquiorra stopped, setting the pen aside, before folding his arms across his chest he furrowed his brow in an effort to compose himself. After a few moments, he relaxed. "...I need something to drink."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
Ulquiorra took a sip from his cup of coffee...
He was dressed in very much the way one would expect of an aging man: in a loose cardigan, over a plain button-up shirt, along with a pair of slacks and house-shoes. For his part, he'd come to very much look the part: his hair, once dark black, was a mixture of white and silver-gray, while his features were weathered by time, as shown by the multiple lines marring his face.
And yet, perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the man wasn't the fact that he'd aged outwardly, but far more so by the extent of the toll that time had taken on him inwardly. After all, while he looked like an old man, the physical change was superficial, as his Gigai was purely a disguise. The truth was that he didn't just look old, rather, he felt old. Over the years, the Gigai had become more and more of that of a second skin for him as he left it less and less. He could only think he was breaking new grounds in the field of the study of the long-term use of the disguise over time.
That last thought was enough to coax a muffled bit of laughter from the... Wait, could he still consider himself as the Cuatro Espada, when he'd all but retired by now? Ulquiorra took another sip of coffee as he went on to skim the recent news alerts on his quote-unquote 'Smart Pad'. It was while he was busy looking over it, that an errant notion found its way into his thoughts...
"Hah! I really must be finally starting to lose it!" The disguised Arrancar declared out loud, mostly for his own benefit. "If any of them were nearby, I would have sensed them by now."
There was a moment, as he glanced about, ultimately failing to sense any other presences.
And with that, he headed back to his office to retrieve his journal, and promptly returned to the living room to take a seat on the couch situated in the heart of it.
"So then, where was I..." He wondered to himself: "I'd always imagined you'd be by my side, but now that you're gone, and I'm still here," Ulquiorra continued writing. "Looking back, all I can think about is that there's something oddly fitting in how things played out."
"What I mean is, ever since, I've felt more and more like my kind's namesake- in a word, 'Hollow'."
"The kids (as in Sora and Hideyoshi) are much kinder to me than I deserve. Not long after we became grandparents (god, even writing that word somehow doesn't feel real), it was as if an entire new world was revealed to me. Looking at them for the first time, I think that was the closest I've come to reliving what I experienced when I first held Sora and took in her small form. Speaking of grandchildren, I can't shake the feeling that you would've been far more suited to this role."
"But then, it's because of you and how much our time together impacted my life, that I realized I still had a role to play in the affairs of the living- such as it were. I expect this is what it's like for others in my position... I certainly have a greater appreciation for Tatsuki. Even now as I write this, I think on how foolish this would seem to the man I once was. God, how I hate 'him'."
Ulquiorra closed his eyes, exhaling as he allowed a moment to pass...
"It won't be long until either Sora or Yoshi calls in to check up on their old Dad. I suppose I really should be grateful. After all, who am I to complain about the fact that our children should care enough to regularly enquire about my wellbeing. Not that I can fault them, as this is hardly how I envisioned things playing out. But still, I suppose it's comforting to know they care so much."
"'To care'. How novel that must have once seemed to me- to the Monster I was- only for it to become so ingrained in me. I swore an oath to protect you, only to learn that there are 'monsters' that can't be seen or sensed, that attack invisibly from the inside. These monsters, who's names I'm unable to speak, I think they're the true 'Monsters'. After all, in the end, it's so much easier to think of things that hunt and take from us as 'Monsters', rather than empower them by using their real names."
"I know that you wouldn't want me to just go join you, because our children and grandchildren are part human, and humans don't just vanish without explanation." He paused. "To think, that there was a time when I hated Ichigo Kurosaki. How petty that all now feels. Sill, I suspect that we can both take some small measure of consolation in the knowledge that empathy grows with age."
His phone sounded off, alerting him to an incoming call!
"Hello, Tatsuki." Ulquiorra spoke as he took the call. "To call me so soon after texting me," the man went on in a calm voice. "You must be feeling particularly anxious today, hm?"
A figure appeared on the lcd screen as the video call began. The familiar figure before him was that of an individual, of a woman that he'd come to know well over the years.
"Really?" Tatsuki asked, her tone tired but still cheerful. "I'd think you, of all people, would know the answer to that," she was quick to reply. "Especially, after all this time."
Somehow, it was still strange to the Arrancar to think that the individual on the screen and the brash young woman he'd first met so long ago were actually the same person. This was driven home for him by the fact that she looked so different from how she had back then. But then, so did he...
"Something on your mind then?"
Tatsuki Ishida, as she'd been known for decades by then, was clothed in attire similar to what he was wearing, except that a shawl was draped over her shoulders (in a similar function to the sweater that he was wearing, the Arrancar suspected), worn over a white blouse. Ulquiorra had reason to believe she was likely wearing a long skirt, though any proof of this was outside of the scope of the screen.
"Actually..." Tatsuki began, then faltered. "The truth is, that I've had a lot of time- too much time, if I'm being honest- to think back on things." She answered. "I never could have imagined that there'd ever be a time when you, of all people, would be the only person I could turn to."
His green eyes fell shut on hearing the admission. "Tatsuki, don't be too hard on yourself." Ulquiorra started as he opened his eyes once more, a heartfelt look on his face. "Aside from Sora and Yoshi, and their family and children..." He paused, to compose himself. "You're just about the only one I can turn to these days."
The woman nodded sympathetically. Her hair was still long, but it had more or less turned entirely to a silver-grayish shade over the years. Aside from this, time had marked her much the same as it had done to him, leaving the same unforgiving lines upon her face as those he had acquired.
"Losing Uryu was hard enough," she remarked. "But we both lost something with Hime..." Tatsuki went on to lament. "What she meant to us... Is a partner worth more than a best friend?" The woman asked rhetorically, struggling to remain composed. "It's not like there's some kind of metric when it comes to love, and we both loved her... that is, in our own ways."
"I say all that," Tatsuki continued, looking back to him. "But I can't help but wonder if the reality is that I'm full of shit..." She continued, echoes of the brash young woman she'd once been perceptible in her tone and expression. "These days, looking back over everything I've been through, all I've gained and lost," the woman went on. "I can't help thinking I've had a hell of a life."
"Not something everyone can say." Ulquiorra replied, allowing for a smile. The truth was, the woman on the other end of the line was one of the select few people that he felt comfortable lowering his guard in front of. "Uryu was... a good man, certainly far better than myself."
"I fell hard for him." Tatsuki admitted, wiping at the corners of her eyes. "And he always treated me good... to the point that I can say what we had was special." She elaborated. "He saw something in me, kind of like how Hime saw something in you." The woman spoke. "But now... What do I do now?"
"All I can think of at the moment is... that you're the only person I could possibly bare spending what time I still have left with." Tatsuki revealed with a smirk. "Of course, it's not like I'm in love with you, or anything like that, but..." She hesitated. "I can't help feeling lonely these days."
"I see, in order words," he replied after a moment. "What you're saying is that if have to lonely, then you'd rather be lonely together with me, rather than by yourself?"
"Getting old's a hell of thing." She replied affectionately. "Especially, knowing the things we do."
"Be that as it may, before we start making plans for possible future cohabitation," Ulquiorra replied, flashing the woman a cool easy smile. "I still have a few things to do around the house."
"Right, right," she reacted, nodding. "I'll leave you to that... but feel free to contact me whenever."
He nodded gently, before ending the call and setting his phone down. "There's just a bit now to get down onto the pages..." Ulquiorra commented as he retrieved the journal. "So then, sorry for getting so side-tracked, but here we are, regardless." The Arrancar murmured as he returned pen to paper.
"Maybe, that's the whole damned point. I'm almost certain I would've been a much lesser man if not for the profound loss I experienced with you." Ulquiorra picked up. "I've certainly gained a great deal of sympathy for others, and I can't help but wonder, now, if this all another part of the lesson that you were trying to impart upon me throughout our time together."
Ulquiorra took a moment as he looked over a photograph of Orihime and himself, along with Sora and Hideyoshi, in addition to their respective partners and their own children.
"Being with you, our time together taught me so much: most of all, I was able to become a far better man because of you." Ulquiorra went on as he returned pen to paper. "When you first found me, I was a Monster, and you showed me what it meant to be a lover, then a partner, and finally a father."
He paused, taking a sip of his coffee. "But some days, I can't help thinking that it all seems so hard."
"The truth is I wasn't prepared for how goddamn hard this would be, living like this, without you." The aged Arrancar wrote. "There's times, when I feel full of rage and anger, when I just want to get away from everything. To simply forget this heart you gave me, now that it's broken," Ulquiorra hesitated as he looked over what he'd written. "Then, the reality hits me like a thunderbolt."
"The plain and simple truth is, for as much as I miss you," he went on to write. "I'm not ashamed to admit that- for as foolish and inevitable as this all must sound- I'm just as frightened of the prospect of Sora and Yoshi, and their children crying at my funeral."
With that he opted to close the journal for the time being. "I think... that's more than enough for today, at least for the time being." Ulquiorra remarked. "Unless the mood strikes me..."
Ulquiorra then set the tome on the nearby coffee table, placing his pen beside it...
He closed his eyes for a moment, simply taking in the silence, before he was struck by a sensation that he hadn't felt it quite some time, prompting him to open his green eyes.
"You?" He started calmly. "So, one of you has finally come to see me, to pay me the 'visit'?"
"Hello, Ulquiorra." Toshiro replied as he sat down on the other end of the couch. "Deep down, I think that for some time, you've known that this meeting has been coming."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
"I don't think I need to tell you why I'm here."
Ulquiorra huffed derisively. "As if saying that makes any of this easier..." He countered, all the while watching as the white-haired Soul Reaper sat down before him. "Never the less, the indisputable truth is the fact that you're standing here- on this day, in my home..."
"And, that can only mean one thing." The Arrancar continued. "That you've come for me, that you're here to 'collect' me," Ulquiorra went on to say. "And the truth is that in the grand scheme of things, the 'whys' and 'hows' don't really matter, just that you're here, in this moment."
"I'm not here on official business," Toshiro countered, the now twenty-something looking man, in his black three-piece suit and tie. "This is a personal visit." He went on to further explain. "Ran and I, we both have history with you, but I decided that it would be for the best if I came here alone, because I wanted to keep things calm and logical while we have this talk."
He regarded the white-haired Shinigami. "So, what's it going to be then- a heart attack, perhaps?"
"Unfortunately, this is where things become complicated..." Toshiro began reluctantly, as he shifted uneasily in his seat. "You're a special case." He continued somberly. "You chose to live out a life as a human, but while you age outwardly, there's no way for you to die of 'natural' causes."
"The fact is, a normal person in your position could reasonably live another five- even ten- years."
"However..." the youthful Captain was quick to continue with his thoughts. "My instincts tell me you don't want to go on like this, living indefinitely." Toshiro continued. "Ulquiorra, entities like you and I, this kind of life, it's not an existence we're meant for, and that alone is both a blessing and a curse when it comes down to it." He reasoned to the other man. "So, in the end, it comes down to you."
"You, you really have got some nerve, you know?" Ulquiorra countered bitterly, even as he allowed for a chuckle. "Because, unlike you, I've definitely been feeling my 'age'... for a long time."
Toshiro nodded. "All the more reason to accept the 'out' we're offering you."
Ulquiorra took a moment to process what he'd just heard. "You make it all sound so easy, so goddamn clinical and dispassionate... When the truth is that rather than suffering through this existence, I've done pretty well for myself. And all things considered, I've lived a pretty good life, in spite of what I am."
"Yes, you're right." Toshiro reacted, nodding. "And, I doubt you'd find anyone who could refute that." The Soul Reaper would go on to respond "But that admission alone doesn't change the reality that there are special factors to be considered in regards to you. in taking the sum of your life into account."
"We were able to start a family together." The disguised Espada recounted. "We raised two beautiful children, and watched as they forged lives of their own." He continued. "And then, before we knew it, we were grandparents... And, most importantly, we did it all together."
"Everything considered," he paused momentarily. "A pretty good life, wouldn't you say?"
Toshiro smiled, nodding subtly. "I'd go so far as to call it... a wonderful life."
The Shinigami appeared to relax a bit following the comment. "I think it would be best, for both you and others, to not linger," he went on to advise. "But rather, I'd recommend you do whatever you think is necessary to put your affairs in order- such as they are- before we depart."
Ulquiorra simply nodded, retrieving his pen and turning over to a new page in the journal, then going about penning the paragraphs of a final entry, then setting it aside and closing the tome...
"Hopefully, that will be sufficient to clarify my intentions." The Arrancar remarked as he rose to his feat and moved to a nearby closet, retrieving a dusty object from the darkened chamber as he returned to his seat on the couch. "Now then, is there anything I might need to know before hand?"
At the same time as he'd asked the question, so too had he begun fiddling with the object...
The snowy-haired Captain chuckled faintly. "Where to even begin... Well, to start, let's just say things haven't changed quite as much as you might expect." Toshiro offered. "On the other hand, it's not as if nothing's happened... Still, that can wait, as I think there's more pressing matters for you."
He looked Ulquiorra in the eyes momentarily. "There's a fair number of people who'll be happy to see you again, after all this time, including a certain someone who's been missing you for quite a while."
"I see." The Espada responded pointedly. "I've... spent so long in the Living Realm, residing amongst the mortals, that I- I'd almost forgotten there was actually something more." Ulquiorra admitted, almost sheepishly as he continued. "I played a human for so long, that... I became the part."
"And in the process," Toshiro replied in serious tone. "You gained a deep and profound understanding and insight into what it means to live, that very few people get the chance to experience."
"For the time being, what comes next?" Ulquiorra asked in a leisurely tone as he managed to open up the top end of the object he'd been fiddling with. "I assume there's some protocol?"
The fresh-faced Soul Reaper nodded. "For anyone else, it's pretty straightforward," Toshiro explained to the Gigai-clad Arrancar. "But as I previously stated, you're an exception."
"Given their parents, your children will understand... There'll be some sadness, but I believe they'll be able to come to terms with your choice." Toshiro elaborated. "After we depart from here, there's bound to be some level of... debriefing." He paused. "But all of that can wait, because I suspect you'll be busy dealing far more pressing, personal affairs to worry about things like documentation."
"You're right about the kids." Ulquiorra commented as he stood up. "We did our best to ensure they would grow up to be strong and independent, to become people that were capable of standing on their own... And, they have." He added confidently. "These days, this is Sora and Hideyoshi's time, and soon it's going to be their children's time... I'm ready."
With that, he set down the candy dispenser, beside his journal, returning to his arm chair...
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
Sora Schiffer's long dark black hair was held up in the back with a hair clip, as she began the task of folding the freshly cleaned laundry. Suddenly, her phone rang.
Right away, the caller ID displayed her brother's name. Setting aside the towel she was folding, she picked up the phone. "Yoshi," she started. "I wasn't expecting a call from you, what's up?"
There was a pause, her brother not saying anything. This immediately put her on edge!
"Yoshi, what's going on?!" She exclaimed. "You're seriously starting to worry me!"
"Sis... it's Dad." His voice came over the line. "I came to check in on him, and..."
"AND?" She demanded in a pointed tone. "What's that supposed to mean?" Sora exclaimed in a mix of panic and outrage. "So what then- what comes next?!"
"Dad's... What do I even say." Hideyoshi replied. "This isn't easy... But, he's gone."
"Fuck." His sister swore, more to herself than to him. "Listen... wait for me, I'm coming over."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
Hideyoshi Schiffer was seated on the coffee table, looking over the contents of a journal, when he was alerted to the arrival of his sister and the noise resulting from her entry.
Sora took a moment to try and process the scene in front of her, his green eyes focused intently on the text in his hands. before audibly exhaling. "Does anyone else know?"
He shook his head. "No, not yet." Her brother answered. "I figured it was best to work out the details with you first, before getting anyone else involved."
She situated herself in a nearby armchair. "What's that, what are you reading?"
"Dad's journal, the one we encouraged him to write." Hideyoshi responded. "Mostly, it's just a loose narrative of his day-to-day life these last few years, except... That over time, that the tone of these has increasingly been written in a way that it's clear they're for mom."
The last bit stuck a cord inside of Sora, delaying her reaction. "I wan't even really sure if he'd actually go for it... But now, you're telling me he did." She went on. "I can't even say that I'm that surprised, and yet, there's a part of me that's pissed at him for doing this, and I don't know why."
"We always knew, deep down, that Dad was different." Her sibling reasoned. "Dad was a good father, but he was still a Hollow deep down, and what's happening now... this was something that was always bound to happen, because one the only things he couldn't give us was a natural ending."
"Then, it's up to us, as his and Mom's kids, to make sure we take the right lessons from all this."
"For what it's worth," Hideyoshi started. "The last entry in this... it's a message for us."
Sora perked up in her seat. "Go on, then, if you're up to it..."
Her brother nodded. "It starts out saying 'Sora, Hideyoshi,'."
He took a long breath before resuming. "I've done something selfish, and I can only hope one day understand why I did this." Hideyoshi smirked. "The truth is I've been feeling a tiredness for some time now. And as the days grow shorter and shadows longer,"
Sora closed her eyes as he continued on...
"The solution is clear to me. Hopefully, you'll understand why I made this choice." Her brother went on in his rereading. "From the moment that we first met, your mother was deep in my thoughts, and so I can say now that I loved her long before I understood what it meant to 'love' another."
The brown-haired man paused to collect himself. "For the first time, I experienced what it meant to desire, and being with Orihime was like a drug, and I was completely addicted."
Sora opened her brown eyes. "I mean, I knew he loved her, but actually hearing it, put to words... it's like there's a whole new dimension to it all." His sister mused. "What else?"
Hideyoshi nodded. "I want you both to know that becoming a father opened my eyes to another form of love, and I love you both deeply." He paused, getting choked up. "And yet, selfishly, I can't help but miss your mother, even to this very day, more than any word can ever possibly express."
"Wait." The dark-haired woman interrupted. "Let me take a look..." She insisted as he rose up from her seat and claimed the journal, sitting on the table beside him. "...How foolish and petty I must now seem to the two of you." At this, she faltered. "Experience has taught me, that time is the one force that can never be overcome, it takes from us- without consideration- for the people and thing we love."
She had to stop, handing it back to her brother as she hung her head in her hands.
"In the end," Hideyoshi picked up, clearing his throat. "The lesson I've chosen take from all of this, is that this is the so-called 'Human Experience'." He read on. "That life is ultimately a battle, that pain is what gives meaning to happiness, and that love would hold no meaning without loss."
"And finally, rather than dwell on what we lose, what matters is what we gain in life- such as the love of a woman, hearing the heartbeats of your children, and knowing the birds' seed cups are full."
"You know, Sis," Hideyoshi continued. "I think this is what Dad deserves, to be with Mom."
Sora regarded him for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right." She replied. "This is probably the only way this could have ended, and the truth is... for what he was, is, he went above and beyond for us as a father, and now," his sister paused. "Well, he earned this ending, reunited with Mom."
"That just leaves us." Her brother quipped. "Mom and Dad had a great story, but now... it's up to us to make sure that we make the most of what we learned, and make our own stories."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
The Soul Realm, some time later...
Ulquiorra stood atop the ramparts of a high wall, allowing himself a small smile as he gazed outwards across the surrounding scenery, all the way to the greenery forming the line of distant horizon. He tilted his head back slightly, all the while as a soft breeze gently rustled his full dark hair. Closing his eyes, the Arrancar took in a long deep breath, before exhaling...
Instantly, he felt a familiar energy. Opening his inhuman green eyes, to turned to meet the source of it right as it appeared at his side. "Thank you... for- for giving me the time to adjust." The Cuatro Espada would go on to remark. "None of this... has been easy for me."
The woman, with her flowing main of molten copper hair simply nodded. "Of course..." She reacted as she moved in to occupy the space beside him. "I realize you're still making sense of all this."
"Orihime." He replied after a moment, cupping the side of her face. "I- Is this really you?"
She was clad in the the iconic black robes of the Shinigami, in addition to also sporting a badge that displayed the numeral of the "Fourth" on it. In contrast to this, the Arrancar was dressed in a set of the inverted monochromatic white robes that had gradually become the norm for his kind...
Brown eyes widened in surprise. "To hear you ask me that," she began. "It's a bit shocking to actually stop and consider." Orihime replied. "Surely, you of all people, should recognize me?!"
Ulquiorra moved as he captured both her hands in his. "R- Recognize?! There's no way I could possibly ever forget you!" He exclaimed. "When all I ever wanted was to be with you!"
Orihime was caught off-guard. "How could could I forget," she started intently, as he drew her close as she looked up into his eyes. "It's just... you seem so different- has it really been so long?"
The pale-skinned Arrancar hesitated. "W- what are you even saying..." Ulquiorra countered intently as he gazed upon her. "What are you saying- what do you mean?"
A moment passed between them. "It's just... after all this time, I kinda expected more passion."
"Passion?!" The Cuatro reiterated, looking aghast. "How can you ever possibly say that...? We were together for over sixty years!" Ulquiorra continued emphatically, emotion seeping into his words as he spoke to her. "There was nothing that I wouldn't have done for you!"
"I was ready and willing to embrace a new way of life, if it meant that I would be able to be together with you, to grow old alongside you." Ulquiorra paused. "And we had that life- for decades!- but after you passed on, I was the one left behind... And- and I truly grew old."
Orihime was startled by the intensity of his rebuttal. "Oh, Ulquiorra," she started, while she was was rapidly overcome by a tidal-wave of emotions. "I- I never wanted to leave you on your own, certainly not for so long..." The curvy redhead confessed. "I love you, and I wanted to be with you, but-"
He silenced her as he leaned in to capture her lips. "No, I understand." The Arrancar spoke as he drew back and looked into her brown eyes. "Someone had to be there, for our children, even more so as they had children of their own... That's why I pushed on, because I knew it's what you'd have done."
"Ul- Ulquiorra...?" His wife enquired uncertainty.
"What I used to be, I was Hollow, but you- you filled the emptiness inside of me with your love, and it's because of you that I learned what it means to love and to be loved." Ulquiorra went on to comment a he looked into her eyes. "And because of you, I realized my life was more than just my own."
"And... that's why I soldiered on, as a parent and grandparent." He went on. "I had to be sure that our children were fully able to stand on their own, that we'd done a good job of raising them and that they'd learned enough to be able to raise and educate their own children..."
Orihime bore a conflicted expression, closing her eyes as she let her head hang slightly as she tried to process the totality of everything that he'd said. "The way things played out, it wasn't fair to you." The curvaceous woman remarked, opening her brown eyes as she looked to him. "And once you're here, it quickly starts to get difficult to keep track of how time passes in the other Realms."
"Still, it's not like that's any kind of excuse." The redhead continued. "Especially, when the truth is that even we set out to try and postpone our deaths indefinitely, in the end, we wouldn't keep on postponing it indefinitely." Orihime paused. "Because we'd reach a point where we knew that wasn't the way."
"What the point in living forever," Ulquiorra resumed. "When we live on through our children...?"
"You know, Ulquiorra, between the two of us," Orihime admitted, folding her arms below her chest as she went on. "Looking back on everything... I really believe that we could write a book- on any number of topics, from what it means to live, all the way to the nature of love and destiny."
This prompted a smirk from the Espada. "You never cease to amaze me, you were and will always be the strongest person I've ever known." He offered after a moment. "To think that there was once a time that I took you for granted, when I thought I knew everything... But you, I can see now, that you were always a step ahead- after all, you're the one who defied time and space, even fate itself."
With that, he placed his hands on his hips. "You're amazing." The Arrancar offered as he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I once made such grand proclamations to you," Ulquiorra went on to recall. "But what weight do those words hold, when spoken to a goddess?"
"I'm not a goddess." Orihime replied with a shake of her head. "Deep down, I'm still that same odd young lady that you first came across, who pissed you off, and... the same foolish girl who wound up falling for you, because she could tell there was something behind your mask."
With that, she stepped towards him. "All I've wanted to be," Orihime continued softly as she closed the gap between them, gazing into his eyes. "Is your partner, your mate, and your wife."
"Then, I guess, from here on," Ulquiorra responded, looking to the horizon. "It's up to the two of us to determine what the next chapter of our lives together is play out."
"I like the sound of that." Orihime replied, matching his gaze as she looked out. "After all, we have a lot of catching up to do, and I'm eager start things moving."
"Together..." The both started at the same time, smiling bashfully as their hands met and their fingers interlocked, all the while as they look onwards. "The two of us- Our story."
(- The End... -)
Total Word Count: 643,994...
Total Page Count: 1,236...
Total Time: Eight Years, Ten Months...
What Else do I even say at this point? "Thank you" hardly seems adequate, but I am grateful for all the kind words and feedback I've received from everyone who took the time to check this story out. In spite of the many setbacks I faced over the course of writing this, I knew that I had to finish this.
At the moment, this marks the end of the story proper, but I have a bit more I'd like to say, and I'll get to that in the epilogue. I also have a number of ideas in the works for additional story content that- for a variety of reasons- I simply wasn't able to work into the storyline. But more on that next time.
