"Hey Ichigo."
Ichigo, who was trying to catch up on some more difficult reading during lunch, looked up to see Tatsuki who had kneeled beside him. The weather was chilly, but the skies were clear enough for everyone to eat outside without fear of being rained on. "Oh…Tatsuki..." Ichigo said quietly. "Why aren't you with Orihime and the other girls? Don't you usually have lunch with them?"
"I only hang out with the other girls cuz of Orihime," Tatsuki replied, sitting down cross-legged next to Ichigo. "But now all Orihime does is be with that Komori guy. Hell I even went shopping with them the other day and they held hands nearly the entire time!"
Ichigo's heart skipped a beat. He stole a glance towards Orihime, who as he expected was eating lunch with just Komori. She was chatting to him about something, and he seemed strangely, almost inhumanly unresponsive. "Is that guy a robot?" Ichigo grimaced. "Good for her getting a boyfriend I guess but…really?"
"That's the weird part," Tatsuki said. "He's awfully clingy but he totally flat out denied them being in a romantic relationship!"
Ichigo witnessed Orihime spoon-feed something to Komori. "Are…are you serious?" He asked, bewildered. "You're kidding…"
"Isn't it strange?" Tatsuki clenched her fists. "I don't even think Orihime is happy about it! I see her reaction sometimes when he speaks to her. He never even smiles! But she keeps spending time with him? Is this some kind of joke? Is he doing something to her? I just feel so…helpless…" Her voice trailed off, the last word quiet.
Ichigo felt a pain stab his heart. He, out of all people, knew exactly how it felt to be helpless. Hell, he couldn't even see a threat from a Hollow anymore, let alone stop it. He always felt vulnerable and paranoid. He knew his family was safe because of his father Isshin, but…something inside him still felt worthless. He also knew that he had a nasty habit of pushing Tatsuki away from him, when that's the last thing Tatsuki would want him to do. And now Orihime seemed to be hiding something from her. It seemed…unfair. "You're right Tatsuki, something is off about Orihime and that Komori guy," Ichigo admitted. "I've been trying to figure out what's wrong, but for the life of me I can't figure it out. I've tried asking but she almost keeps deflecting." He sighed and poked at his half-eaten lunch.
"You know who I saw with Orihime a lot before she started being with Komori?" Tatsuki remarked. "Uryu. Maybe he knows something about her sudden mood change."
Oh yeah, Uryu. "Great," Ichigo said sarcastically. He was still struggling with his recent jealousy of the Quincy's job of exterminating hollows.
"Ichigo, I thought you guys were friends," Tatsuki said.
"Yeah I guess," Ichigo said.
"You can at least talk to you friends every once in a while you know!" Tatsuki scolded.
"Okay! Okay, we'll ask him later," Ichigo said.
As promised, after school Ichigo approached Uryu in front of the school.
"Uh…what is it Ichigo?" Uryu asked. He visibly looked a bit awkward as he adjusted his glasses.
"Hey uh, I wanna ask about Orihime," Ichigo said.
Tatsuki was standing behind him and glared at Uryu as if trying to telepathically beat an answer out of him.
"Why are you asking me, Ichigo?" Uryu said, irritated.
"Because you're literally the last friend Orihime's had one on one time with that hasn't been that creep Komori!" Ichigo snapped. "I'm sick of not knowing what's going on but I'm worried sick about her." He blushed. He couldn't believe he verbally just admitted that out loud to Uryu of all people.
"I've been giving her space," Uryu said, his voice quiet and calm. "She…wants to spend time with that-Komori, Ichigo. And despite me loathing the fact she is, it's not my place to tell her how to live her life."
"You think something's weird about him too!" Exclaimed Tatsuki.
Uryu turned red and adjusted his glasses. "L-listen it's complicated okay!"
"I know you've had a huge crush on Orihime forever," Tatsuki said (Ichigo was genuinely shocked by this information). "So it must be pretty hard for you to see her with another guy. But what doesn't make sense is why you'd let her be with someone you think will hurt her!"
"You can't and won't understand, okay?" Uryu said, his voice raising and getting emotional. He started walking quickly towards home.
"Come back here you still haven't given us any-"
Ichigo put a hand on Tatsuki's shoulder to stop her from rushing at Uryu. "Forget it. Nobody's going to tell us anything." He then started his walk home.
Tatsuki caught up with Ichigo. "H-hey wait up…" she said, rushing after him. "I don't have practice today. Wanna…go somewhere or something?"
Ichigo normally would have refused, but something tugged at his heart. "Sure," he agreed, the first smile in a long while creeping slightly onto his face.
"He's so…sad…"
Rukia was perched on the school rooftop looking out at the students gathered for lunch. She was watching Ichigo sit alone, slowly eating one of the delicious lunches she knew Yuzu packed for him. Her eyes scanned the area for Ichigo's friends.
Chad was sitting with Ichigo's normal male friend group, Uryu technically in this friend group as well but not actively participating in the conversation. Tatsuki and Chizuru were with a group of Orihime's friends, but she was not present. Rukia found it odd to find Orihime sitting in a secluded corner with…a boy? She wished she could see his face. There was something oddly familiar about him.
"Hey I thought Orihime had a thing for Ichigo," Renji remarked, suddenly appearing behind Rukia.
Rukia, startled, lost her balance and yelped, regaining her footing. "You idiot! I nearly fell off the roof! Warn me next time before you come creeping up on me!" After she had hit Renji in protest, she sighed. "Yeah. Maybe that's why Ichigo seems so sad. Maybe Orihime getting a boyfriend made him depressed? No…no that's not it at all. That's not like Ichigo."
"I seem to recall you saying…Ichigo had a crush on you, Rukia," Renji said quietly.
Rukia's heart skipped a beat as she looked sadly down at the red-headed human boy. "That's right…" she said softly. Pain filled her heart as she observed the boy she had grown close to, now a world apart where she could never reach him.
"You're way too old for him," Renji remarked. "Totally out of his league."
"Of course I know that you idiot!" Rukia cried. "Your stupid commentary isn't making this any easier! He's…such a boy yet he's suffered so much. I can't help but feel it's my fault."
Renji put a reassuring hand on Rukia's shoulder. "Listen to me. None of it was your fault. You helped him achieve so much to protect the ones he loved. It was that bastard Aizen that-"
Rukia's cellphone buzzed. "A hollow?" She said, looking at the screen.
"Let's take care of it so Chad and Uryu don't have to skip class," Renji said, drawing his zanpakto.
The hollow was trivial, easily defeated with a single lazy blow from Renji, nearly cleaving it in two. "That was underwhelming," he growled. "I haven't been in a good fight for months. And now with Urahara all protective of the arrancar I cant even-"
"Would you shut up?" Rukia snapped. "Be glad that we are fortunate to have some semblance of peace! Speaking of Urahara, we should check up with him. We're near the shop anyways."
Kisuke walked down the long staircase to a bunker deep underground. It was hidden incredibly well, remnants of kido and other strong sealing devices, somehow broken apart by a powerful force.
The first room was an office, with a desk and chair covered with a thick layer of dust. The dust seemed to have been smudged by something recently, indicating there had been visitors before Kisuke had arrived. The most interesting thing about that room was the futon on the far wall with pictures plastered above it. He chuckled to himself when he saw that they were all pictures of him, defaced in some manner. He didn't bother to take any of them, and simply left them there, proof of the driving force called hatred.
Kisuke wandered further down the hall, holding up his lantern. The lighting system had been destroyed somehow, frayed wires protruding from the ceiling corners. There were several large test tubes, some cracked with glowing liquid coming from them, others empty, which Kisuke assumed was taken by Squad 12 for analysis.
The largest and central tube was completely empty, glass shattered in every direction. Kisuke assumed this was the epicenter for the destructive force due to the splattered pattern of the glowing liquid on the walls. There was dried blood on the glass and spilled on the floor. "Well someone got hurt here," he remarked. "I wonder who that could be."
His eyes glanced towards a binder tucked away near the glass tube. Kisuke flipped through it, a realization hitting him…
"So that's what you're playing at."
Kisuke tucked the binder he had found in that dark underground lab into his desk drawer. He then locked it with a spirit energy sealed invention of his to prevent unwanted eyes from seeing it.
Oh, the secrets he had to keep for the sake of the world. Kisuke sighed and grabbed for a box of pocky. If anything, eating always mad him feel better. Maybe he should take another nap…
A garganta opened in his workroom, his previous depressive drowsiness converting into annoyed anger. "GRIMMJOW I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO NEVER OPEN THOSE THINGS IN MY WORKROOM!"
"SHUT UP OLD MAN!" Grimmjow yelled. "I FORGOT OKAY I GOT A LOT OF SHIT ON MY PLATE!"
Nel stepped through the garganta behind Grimmjow. "Honestly he insisted on opening the portal for me, although I knew that he'd make a stupid mistake like this. This was my fault and lack of good judgement in trusting this idiot to do it."
"You wanna fight, ya bitch?" Grimmjow snapped.
"Oh, I'd love to see you try, number 6," Nel taunted.
"Don't talk like that, you make it seem like you want it," Grimmjow snarled.
"Would you kindly take your violent hollowfied flirting to the training room please?" Kisuke requested. "Just don't get her pregnant, okay? Actually no wait, I don't know if arrancar can get pregnant, that would be an interesting study."
"Way off base there!" Grimmjow said, his face red as he slammed his fist onto Kisuke's desk. He apparently expected to break it, and was shocked that it still was in one piece.
"You cant break open this desk it contains too many important secrets of mine," Kisuke grinned. "Now give me the Hueco Mundo report before you go play with your girlfriend."
"She is not my-"
Nel moved Grimmjow aside. "Halibel has reported some distressing news. Fights have broken out in Las Noches. Some arrancar are still under loyalty to Aizen, despite the influence of his zanpakto no longer affecting them. They aren't easy to subdue, and we did assist Halibel calm down the most recent raid. She fears they may resort to more drastic measures to recruit her to her side."
"That's not good," Kisuke said. "Ulquiorra's guard duties might get even trickier. Wasn't Orihime the person who saved Halibel and her fracciones?"
"Great, so that's why Halibel is so hellbent on making this work," Grimmjow groaned. "Of course it was that girl Orihime. Of course. She's like a damn arrancar whisperer or somethin'."
"Not all arrancar are hopelessly violent, Grimmjow," Nel said. "Some of us enjoy peace and reading and-"
Grimmjow had grabbed onto her long green hair and yanked it. "Get off your high horse, dammit," he said.
"Ow! You're hurting me!" Nel whimpered. "Ah-jokes on you I'm a masochist!"
Grimmjow blushed and released his grip on her hair, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Why do you gotta be so damn weird," he muttered.
Kisuke didn't know how to respond to this strange budding arrancar romance, so he tried his best to ignore it. "If Orihime is also connected to Halibel...things are gonna get real tricky for her…really fast."
Will…Ulquiorra be able to handle this?
"You've been reading that manga a lot. Do you like it?"
Ulquiorra put down the volume of Machine Society he was reading. He had easily read the first few volumes, and was working on the fourth one. He wasn't sure if he had a preference for it or not. He simply found it interesting. Maybe…interesting is what preference was? He wasn't certain. "Perhaps," he replied cryptically.
"Don't you wanna sit somewhere more comfy?" Orihime asked him. Ulquiorra was sitting on the floor, his back to the wall. He had left his gigai behind, preferring his stronger form when in the apartment to simply deter low level attacks from approaching them. He also wanted to spend as much time with his blank zanpakto as possible.
"Perhaps," Ulquiorra replied again.
"Is that really all you're gonna say?" Orihime said with a frown.
"What else would you have me say?" Ulquiorra inquired.
"I don't know, tell me what you're thinking I guess," Orihime said. "I'm not all that smart and can tell what people are thinking by just looking at them, you know. Maybe Aizen was but-"
"Why is what I'm thinking so interesting to you?" Ulquiorra asked.
Orihime's eyes gave a worried expression. "You've been by my side for a week now, but you don't talk much. I know you're thinking hard about everything, and I'm worried about you."
It's not me you should be worried about… "Foolish girl," he muttered.
"Stop that!" Orihime said, her voice having a sudden shift towards anger.
Ulquiorra was taken aback.
"I-I'm not foolish, I know I'm not!" Orihime snapped. "You're the foolish one! You're…you're pushing me away..." She added sheepishly at the end.
She might as well have slapped him. To be honest, Ulquiorra probably would have preferred it.
Was she right? Ulquiorra began to feel a sense of panic. She was the person he wanted the least distance from. Yet whenever he felt that distance begin to close, he panicked. He had no capability to verbalize anything he was feeling. This sensation was disgusting. He almost preferred death to this uncertainty.
"Tell her what you see…"
He couldn't take this anymore. Ulquiorra grabbed both of Orihime's hands and kneeled facing her. He looked into her eyes, a lump forming in his throat as he did so. Apparently that malfunction was not exclusive to the gigai. "I see you," he said quietly.
Orihime's fingers intertwined with his the moment after he spoke. She didn't speak, and waited patiently for him to continue.
Ulquiorra took a deep breath. "The world is reflected in my eyes, yet you are something not just my eyes can see. You have a brightness and warmth I can barely behold. I do not deserve to be in its presence. Yet, it is the only thing I ever can see." He closed his eyes and focused on the warmth of her hands. His hands he knew were cold and lifeless, just like his monstrous appearance and form. It must be uncomfortable for her to simply look at him.
He felt something warm press against his cheek. Orihime had leaned forwards and gently pressed her pursed lips against one of the hollow markings on his face. She pulled away from him slowly, her face pink and blushing.
Ulquiorra felt his whole face become warm from that gesture. "What…was that?" He asked, his voice wavering from its usual monotone.
"A k-kiss," Orihime stammered.
"That is an odd gesture," Ulquiorra replied. His chest was pounding. "What exactly is its function?"
"I guess its for…expressing your feelings for someone," Orihime said, looking away from him.
"Feelings," Ulquiorra remarked. "I don't understand."
Orihime sighed and let go of Ulquiorra's hands. "I'm going to bed," she said as she stood up. "Good night, Ulquiorra."
Ulquiorra was left alone, feeling suddenly cold by her departure.
He was a bit frustrated. He didn't understand Orihime's actions at all. This kiss she gave him expressed her feelings. But…which feelings? Does she hate him? Is it a feeling of pity? Loneliness?
She used her mouth against his skin. It was similar to the feeling he had when she held his hand in his. The mouth…it was almost like she was trying to bite him, but in a gentle non-threatening way. Hollows were created from a human's instinct and sorrow. Perhaps…the kiss was an intimate gesture connected to the heart, even moreso than holding hands.
Ulquiorra gave up thinking about it for now and resumed his reading. The story had been interesting so far, a way to pass the time. He especially was interested in the drawings, as he was unfamiliar with this kind of art. He wondered if he could beat some of these characters depicted in the manga in a fight, and would think of strategies in order to defeat them. He sometimes was frustrated with the heroes' lack of good judgment regarding combat.
The most interesting thing to Ulquiorra about this story was the depiction of some of the relationships the characters had with one another. He could pick out those who were friends, those who shared familiar bonds or blood, and the elusive romantic partners. Ulquiorra paid close attention to those involved in this "romance", as he needed to know what the difference was between a friend and a boyfriend.
He didn't know how late he had stayed up, or when he had fallen asleep. He was propped up against the wall, but a blanket had been draped over him. It must have been Orihime who had covered him…
"Oh good morning!" Orihime said. She was cooking something in the kitchen, and had leaned through the doorway when she had noticed he was awake. Ulquiorra's eyes locked onto her after she had resumed her focus onto the food. She was wearing an oversized purple t-shirt and a pair of very short green shorts. Her legs were bare, long, and curved nicely. For some reason, Ulquiorra was unable to take his eyes off of them.
"Do you want honey in your tea?" Orihime called to him.
"Yes," Ulquiorra replied, rubbing his eyes to distract himself from staring at her.
Orihime wandered into the livingroom with breakfast-leftover pastries with eggs on top. She had set out Ulquiorra's favorite hot sauce.
"Go ahead and eat, I want to put away some of the ingredients first," Orihime instructed him.
Ulquiorra began to eat, but his eyes looked towards Orihime again. She was standing on her tip-toes putting away something on a high shelf, her raised arms pulling her t-shirt upwards, revealing her stomach. Ulquiorra swallowed his bite of food quickly and nearly began choking, so he took a sip of his tea.
Orihime looked… different this morning.
She finally sat down at the table and began eating. Ulquiorra kept watching her every movement with as much focus he would give an opponent in battle. When she was finished, she approached his side of the table and reached over him for his empty plate. She brushed him slightly with her arm and chest. Her smell seemed amplified to Ulquiorra, pleasant and alluring, almost like she was…
…for his consumption.
A slightly hysteric Ulquiorra didn't bother with his gigai that morning. He rushed Orihime to school by carrying her, stating he had business with Urahara, and to tell their teacher he was sick. He also instructed Uryu to take care of her, before rushing to Urahara's. Once inside the shop, he began panting.
"Where is Urahara?!" Ulquiorra demanded.
A grumpy Grimmjow appeared from the back room into the front of the store. Ulquiorra couldn't figure out why he looked so different from usual, until he realized that he was in a gigai. Nel appeared from behind the counter, also in her own human-like gigai.
"Sleeping I think," Nel replied. "His sleeping patterns are so unpredictable. He needs his rest the poor thing."
"The hell you want with him?" Grimmjow asked.
"I need to speak with him. This is urgent," Ulquiorra said.
"You could try his workroom," Nel suggested.
Ulquiorra stormed into Urahara's workroom, and the latter was found slumped over his desk. "Urahara!" Ulquiorra shouted.
Urahara sat up with a start, a crease in his face from the papers he had fallen asleep on. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Ulquiorra. "Oh…hello," he said.
"Urahara, something is wrong," Ulquiorra expressed. "This morning when I awoke, Orihime began to appear differently. She smells and appears differently, almost like prey. I am concerned I have a desire to eat her."
Urahara's expression fell. He looked at the clock sitting on his desk, then looked back at Ulquiorra. He turned the clock around and gestured to the number. "You see that? I really hope that time is PM and not AM because if it was it would be too early for me to be dealing with arrancar sex ed."
Ulquiorra blinked. "What?"
Urahara leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. "Arrancar don't have hollow urges to eat, and your reiatsu hasn't changed much from what I can sense. I'm willing to bet that you're just seeing her instinctively as a woman now, which can be dangerous in its own way. But what I'm curious about is what made this sudden change."
"See her as a woman?" Ulquiorra asked. "I have always seen her as a woman. It is foolish to deny that fact."
"As a…uh…mate?" Urahara tried to think of an appropriate word. "You know breeding partner? You had to have at least heard of this in school if it wasn't applicable to arrancar."
Mate…with…Orihime…? Ulquiorra's chest began to pound from the mere thought of it. He thought back to when Orihime was under his charge at Aizen's orders. Nnoitra had eluded to such a behavior, but Ulquiorra had brushed him off as being crude. He had never understood that desire to behave in such a way, as participating in pleasurable activities were meaningless to him. To suddenly develop this desire made him feel animalistic, no better than Nnoitra or Grimmjow. He was now…a beast. "This is how Grimmjow and the others feel?" Ulquiorra asked. "It feels like hunger."
"All men feel that way Ulquiorra. It's not exclusive to Hollows," Urahara stated. "You just took a while to catch up. Heh, maybe you're evolving."
"What do I do?" Ulquiorra asked.
"Nothing! Don't do anything," Urahara replied. "Well…nothing she doesn't want you to do I mean." He grinned mischievously.
Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed in contempt.
"Hey where's Komori? Isn't he usually with you?" Tatsuki asked Orihime at lunch.
Orihime smiled nervously. "Uhmmm well he said that he wasn't feeling good today! So he isn't coming. I uh…should go see if he's okay after school!" She managed to lie.
"I don't like that guy Orihime," Chizuru pouted. "He's been taking up way too much of you. He's practically glued to you. My Orihime deserves better than a boyfriend that clingy!"
"Speak for yourself!" Tatsuki yelled.
Orihime looked down at her lunch. Ulquiorra had been acting rather strange that morning. Maybe he…reacted poorly to her kissing him the night previous?
Orihime blushed and touched her face with her hand. It was only a tiny kiss on his cheek but…why did she do it? Did she feel overwhelmed by the emotions he was showing her? He was trying to say something to her. Maybe his vocabulary was so limited on feelings he just didn't know how to express himself correctly. Maybe he really did care for her, but he didn't know the words to say so.
"Care for" is a long way from in love. In love? Why did that thought come to her mind? Is it because everyone thought they were dating? She didn't know Ulquiorra for nearly long enough…
Wait. She had known him for longer than she realized. She had been pushing the thought of her capture at the hands of Aizen from her mind, but realized this was when a semblance of their relationship began. He was merely acting upon orders, but his curiosity got the better of him. He could be so innocent sometimes, and if Orihime had never seen him kill countless people in cold blood, she would have assumed he never could hurt anyone.
"Whoa…Orihime are you feeling okay? You're red as a tomato!" Chizuru gasped. "Do you need to see the nurse?"
Orihime looked up and smiled. "No I'm all right! Really! Just uh…tired I guess."
She wished she could talk to someone about her confused feelings. Orihime never had an older woman to guide her through life. She couldn't change the fact that her mother was never a significant figure in her life. The only women she knew were technically dead, and soul reapers at that, and she didn't wish to trouble them with her teenage lovelife.
She didn't want to be a bother to Uryu, nor worry him that Ulquiorra was not there to protect her that day. So she decided to walk home herself. It was probably stupid, sure, but there hadn't been any arrancar attacks since that first encounter. Ulquiorra probably scared them pretty badly after that.
"Come to think of it, Ulquiorra always seems so self conscious about how scary he is," Orihime said to herself. Her heart began to ache for him. "He's really not scary at all. He looks kind of cute actually." She thought back to his released form, a black winged beast. It was a horrifying sight at first, a shock to her eyes, but he radiated such a sad loneliness Orihime couldn't help but not be scared of him.
"People are going to think you're crazy by talking to yourself," Orihime blushed and slapped her cheeks. She had so many overwhelming emotions she just wanted to sit on the pavement and cry. Of course she couldn't do that, so she swallowed the lump in her throat and kept walking.
"Are you done? I didn't wanna interrupt your entertaining monologue."
Orihime spun around. There, suspended in the air above her, was an arrancar. He was a new face she didn't recognize, and appeared less human than the espada, so she assumed he probably was of lower rank. He landed on the ground and approached her. "Any last words?"
Orihime touched her hairpins. "S-santen Kesshun!"
A shield appeared in front of her. She hadn't battled in months, and her emotional state made her resolve waver. The arrancar shattered her shield with a slow, strong blow with his clawed right fist.
"Too bad it has to be this way," he said. "You're pretty cute."
Orihime had to go on the offensive if she was going to survive. "Tsubaki!" She called out. She aimed for his mask, but missed.
You have to fight him! Orihime's mind was reeling. Ulquiorra had told her to stay with Uryu, and yet due to her desire to not inconvenience anyone, she had put herself in an even more inconveniencing position!
"Stop moving around!" The arrancar yelled as he nearly missed hitting Orihime with a fatal blow.
His claws had scraped across her arm and chest, rendering her left arm useless. Her uniform was torn, and she began dripping blood onto the sidewalk. She was glad there were no ordinary humans walking on this at the hour, for they would be in a lot of danger.
She summoned her shield again to block another blow, but the arrancar broke it once again when he swung at her. Orihime was thrown several feet away, skidding her legs on the pavement. Her tights ripped from the impact, and the asphalt dug into her skin. What do I do? What do I do? I'm going to die! I can't die on him I can't…
"That's enough."
A familiar flash of white appeared before Orihime. Her heart that was beating in terror began to relax a bit.
Ulquiorra looked behind him and glared at Orihime. His expression was filled with an unusual amount of rage. "Foolish girl what were you thinking?! Do you not have a brain?!"
Orihime held her injured arm, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I…I'm sorry…" she whimpered.
Ulquiorra turned his attention back at the arrancar. "I assume you harmed this girl."
"Oh boo-hoo look who it is, the human lover," the arrancar said. "Yeah I tried to kill her. And I missed."
The next motion was too fast for Orihime to see. Ulquiorra had drawn his blade and sliced the arrancar wordlessly in two. His right arm outstretched post swing and the massive splattering of blood were the only indications that this happened. The arrancar's corpse halves slammed onto the ground before promptly vaporizing towards the sky.
Ulquiorra flicked the blood from his blade and sheathed it. "Heal yourself," he commanded, turning towards her again.
Orihime did nothing and stared at the pool of blood gathering under her. Her vision was beginning to dim. How much blood had she lost? She wasn't in much pain, she mostly felt numb and like she wanted to sleep.
Ulquiorra rushed to her and reached out his hands as if to touch her, but hesitated to do so.
"Ulqui…orra…" Orihime said faintly, losing consciousness as she slumped over into his arms.
