Infinity

Uryu Ishida almost wanted to laugh when he got here. He expected that he would eventually end up in Soul Society, and that he'd probably end up catching the attention of all those damn Soul Reapers because of his powers.

He knew that Captain Kurotsuchi, who had such an interest in the Quincy, would no doubt want to study him when he would arrive.

The thing was that he didn't die an ordinary death. No, there were a number of factors involved. For one thing, he died protecting a girl with unusually long hair…and attacked with fairies that were a part of her…or something like that. He never really understood how her powers worked, as they were very different from a Quincy's or a Soul Reaper's. But really, that was beside the point anyhow.

The main thing he needed to focus on was remembering how it happened.

He crossed his arms in deep thought. "Right, how did it happen?"

A man with glasses had appeared, using demon arts and sword techniques that were unrivaled by all present. He had addressed himself as Sousuke Aizen, a former Captain of Soul Society. Even Ishida knew this, as he had witnessed (from, admittedly, a safe distance) the immense spiritual power he possessed. He was probably the most powerful person in the room, easily able to kill any of them if he wished to.

He nearly cut Kurosaki in half, for example, when they first fought in Soul Society.

It came as no surprise to Ishida when he was brought down by Captain Aizen, although not without going in a blaze of glory. Ishida, who at the time was being choked personally by Aizen, had one final trick up his sleeve.

The technique was simple, really. It was an expansion, a second release one would say, of the technique he used to gain immense power when he fought with Captain Kurotsuchi. Only this one required more than just his spirit energy.

It would require him to give up his life.

The blue explosion that took place nearly killed Ishida's allies, but thankfully Orihime at the last minute pulled off an astoundingly large shield, protecting them from the energy being released. Ishida was destroyed almost instantly, and Aizen died of his wounds soon after, the remains of his powerful soul being transported through the Gate of Hell.

"So, now what?" Ishida wondered, pushing up his glasses to his face out of habit. It was odd floating around in a white void of nothing-ness, but it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. He felt like he was at peace with his actions.

He almost smiled. He wouldn't have to deal with all those damn Soul Reapers after all, since this place certainly wasn't Soul Society. The last of the Quincy was free from that bastard Kurotsuchi's experiments, or having to potentially spar with dangerous individuals like Zaraki.

Yes, this place was, dare he say, Heaven, compared to Soul Society.

He put his hands behind his head and floated, feeling content with his surroundings. It was a little too stark-white for his tastes; maybe he'd be able to find something so he could add some blue around the place. Then everything would be perfect.

Well, things would be really perfect if she was here.

"It would be nice if Inoue was here," he found himself saying, cheeks reddening at the thought. She was a pretty girl, but on Earth (and in Soul Society) he wasn't able to express how he felt about her. It would've been weird, and awkward, and perhaps involve eating food that she prepared.

But now that he was in a place like Heaven, he no longer felt any inhibitions. He could finally feel the infinite joy of being at peace after fighting his whole life.

Plus, he thought with a smirk, I must've shown up Kurosaki by defeating Aizen single-handedly.

He could almost hear that substitute Soul Reaper cursing him for taking all the glory. Ishida couldn't help it if he was a self-sacrificing guy. It was all part of the cool image he managed to carefully craft while in high school.

"Hey Ishida!" a voice beside him said cheerfully, causing him to leap up in shock.

He adjusted his glasses and found Orihime Inoue, looking beautiful as always, floating next to him. She was smiling that big, dopey smile that always made him feel at ease.

Wait a second, what was she doing here?

He grabbed her by the shoulders gently. "How did you get here?"

She made that thinking face of hers. "Hmmm! I can't really remember!" she said with a giggle. "All I do remember is thinking that I'd like to go where you went."

"I hope it didn't hurt," he whispered softly, holding her close. Her scent was sweet, like chocolate or strawberries.

"Nope!" she answered cheerfully, oblivious to Ishida trying to be serious. "Maybe I ate something bad?"

Ishida cracked a smile. "You might be right. You always did have an odd taste in food."

She pouted. "Odd? No way, it's so good!"

He laughed, and she soon laughed along with him.

Ishida suddenly realized something. "Wait, how come you came here and not Soul Society?" he inquired, examining her closely. "My soul was destroyed, but what about yours? Your powers weren't as destructive as a Quincy…"

"Maybe my soul was tied to yours," she suggested brightly, "and when I died it naturally led me to you, wherever you were."

That answer, Ishida thought with a smile, isn't as far fetched as her answers usually are. It fact, it actually seemed quite plausible. That, and she was inadvertently proclaiming some kind of connection to him, which was never a bad thing when it meant spending the rest of your life with a beautiful girl.

"This'll be great," Ishida said excitedly, holding both of her hands, "we can fix this place up. Put some blue around here. Maybe some pink, if you'd like."

She smiled brightly. "That sounds like a fun idea! And we can try all sorts of interesting recipes too, right?"

He resisted the urge to gag. "Of course! Anything you want! This is our little place now, so we should make it like home."

Yes, the Quincy managed to find a happy ending after all. Spending the rest of infinity with Orihime Inoue was sure going to be interesting.

End

"Oh, I forgot to mention!" Inoue said embarrassingly. "I brought the rest of them along with me!"

Ichigo Kurosaki appeared in a blink, followed by Rukia Kuchiki, Tatsuki Arisawa, Yasutora Sado, and everyone else from Soul Society.

Even that bum Kisuke Urahara appeared, the very same one who sold him very defective Hollow bait that one time.

"Ah, Ishida!" Ichigo said jovially, patting Ishida on the back. "Thought you had seen the last of me, huh?"

Everyone laughed, especially Orihime, although she didn't quite get what was so funny.

Ishida groaned, then sighed, then wept.

It was too good to be true. Happy endings didn't exist after all!

"Hey, where the hell am I?' Kon said, still a plush toy even after death.

Ishida sighed again. Spending the rest of infinity suddenly became a very negative prospect.

He looked over to see Orihime, who was looking more beautiful by the second, even with all those losers around.

"Ishida, let's go eat soon, okay?" she said, looking pleased that she was floating around.

Well, at least she was still here.

End