The night was crisp and clear. Kisuke filled his lungs with the fresh Karakura Town air, glad to be out of his stuffy workroom for the first time in days. He didn't even get the chance to fight those arrancar, and had to stay up a whole night working on an antidote to save Orihime. Finally, he ventured out of his candy store and prepared for his next on a long list of quests.

The Kurosaki's clinic was a regular destination for Kisuke. Many times he had barged in through Ichigo's window, proposing some scheme or offering some kind of assistance. This time, his arrival felt dreary and sad. Ichigo was busy doing homework, headphones over his ears, not noticing Kisuke open the window. Even if Ichigo had noticed, he still wouldn't have been able to see anyone there. Kisuke had purposefully evacuated his gigai, making sure this mission was done in stealth.

Kisuke entered the room and sat on the floor, watching Ichigo study for the few remaining minutes before he decided to go to sleep. He removed his headphones and stretched with a yawn, turned off his light, and collapsed into bed. Kisuke waited a bit longer for the boy to fall asleep, and then began with his plan.

"Hopefully this doesn't hurt you," Kisuke said with a bit of a grimace. "And if it does I'm really sorry. It can go on the long list of sins I've committed."

He hesitated, holding a device he invented in his hand. What he had to do was unethical, but it was just one thing Kisuke had to do in order to keep their world safe.


The warmth from Orihime's hug lingered with Ulquiorra through the school day. He felt a calming, warm, and bubbling sensation through his chest just recalling it. It was starting to distract him to the point his mind became a bit foggy. He looked towards Orihime during class and couldn't help himself from fantasizing about embracing her. Was this a normal thing to feel towards a friend?

Friends. That's right. Ulquiorra had forgotten to ask Orihime about how to make friends, but he needed to start as soon as possible. Kurosaki was completely off the table. There was no way Ulquiorra could get an intelligent conversation out of that fool. Tatsuki could be a bit hotheaded, and Ulquiorra seemed to put her on edge more than usual. The strong, tall, and quiet friend of Orihime's showed up to school sporadically lately. This left only the bubbling school girls or…the Quincy Uryu Ishida.

What would he say? Would he approach Uryu and say "I would like to be your friend"? That seemed…incorrect for some reason. Asking to be a friend directly felt taboo. He had to find some reason to approach Uryu without seeming suspicious.

Oh. He did actually have an idea of what to start off with. He would wait for lunch, and approach him then.

"Uryu," Ulquiorra said to the Quincy when it was time. "I need to speak with you."

Uryu, who seemed a bit sullen, was surprised by Ulquiorra even speaking to him. "About…what?"

"Orihime," Ulquiorra replied.

Uryu motioned for Ulquiorra to follow him. "Come on. We can't talk about this stuff around other people."

The two walked outside of earshot, down a few hallways and finally to the outdoors. It was then that Uryu finally spoke again. "What about her? Is she in danger?"

"I just wanted to ask a favor of you," Ulquiorra said.

"And what kind of favor could I possibly do for a hollow?" Uryu said, adjusting his glasses.

"I…" Ulquiorra's pocketed hands fidgeted. This had been weighing on his mind for a while. "If I am ever a threat to Orihime or this world she loves, I want you to help Urahara kill me."

"You don't even have to ask," Uryu replied.

"And, I want you to protect Orihime if that happens," Ulquiorra continued.

"You don't have to ask about that either," Uryu said.

There was a bit of silence.

"You don't seem like that bad of a guy for a hollow," Uryu spoke up reluctantly.

"Arrancar," Ulquiorra corrected. Before the conversation died out, he decided to have it continue. "I had been meaning to ask you. What is a Quincy? Your fighting style is vastly different from that of a Soul Reaper."

Uryu's body language seemed to immediately change from someone who was guarded to someone full of confidence. "Well you see they…" he started on a monologue about Quincy, to which Ulquiorra listened with a few spare questions. Uryu was so into this explanation it was almost comical, but Ulquiorra did not mind. In fact he was sort of enjoying listening to someone other than Orihime go one for once, especially about something considered more "intelligent."

Uryu asked a few questions about Arrancar as well, which Ulquiorra did his best to explain. Ulquiorra stated he did not care what happened to his fellow arrancar or hollows, and Uryu could do as he pleased. If anything, the arrancar and hollows were too brash and uncivilized for his taste.

Orihime eventually found Ulquiorra and approached them. The arrancar was quite pleased with himself that he had managed to have a conversation with one of Orihime's friends that didn't end in some threat of physical violence.

On their walk to Urahara's, by request of Orihime, the girl spoke up about that day at school.

"I'm glad you were able to talk to Uryu!" Orihime said with a large smile. "He's always so lonely and is always off by himself. Kinda like you in a way."

Ulquiorra wasn't sure what to make of her claim, but he supposed he agreed. "I wish…to be friends with your friends."

Orihime's face lit up. Her original tired expression turned to one of pure joy. "Oh really? I'm-I'm so glad! We can do all sorts of fun things together, like go shopping or go to fun places like festivals or--"

"Slowly, please," Ulquiorra pleaded. "Conversing with humans easily drains whatever energy I have."

Orihime blushed and giggled. Ulquiorra felt energy returning to him by just looking at her. He had the urge to kiss her, but refrained, as that seemed like an irrational thing to do. Besides, he wasn't even sure what that level of a kiss meant.

"Well helloooo Orihime!" Said Urahara when they arrived. "Oh and of course your handsome companion. What can I do for you? You've been taking your medicine, right?"

"I've made sure of it," Ulquiorra said.

Orihime gasped. "Nel?? Is that you?"

"Orihime!!" said Nel as she emerged from the back counter. She gave the girl a big hug. "I heard about you getting hurt, but you left before Grimmy and I could say hello!"

"You dumb idiot I thought I told you to knock it off with the stupid nicknames!" growled Grimmjow, emerging from the back.

Orihime froze, and Ulquiorra stood in front of her protectively. "Your presence is frightening my--Orihime…" My what? What was I going to say? Odd…

"I've got no business with you, woman," Grimmjow said, possibly in an attempt to make Orihime feel at ease. "Now with that idiot Kurosaki--"

"Ichigo can't fight you!" Orihime said in defense of her friend. "So don't even think about it."

This level of ferocity made Ulquiorra glance at Orihime in shock. He had only seen this level of determination in her a few times, but it was something he was fascinated with. O

If only she'd act like this when confronted with her own danger.

"Now, now calm down," Urahara interrupted. "He's not gonna hurt you or Ichigo, Orihime. He's currently under my orders." Grimmjow made a noise and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Anyway, before we were rudely interrupted, what brings you here?"

Orihime stood, her chest out confidently. "I want to train."

"Well you've done quite a bit of training under me before," Urahara pointed out.

"I'm…I'm not strong enough," Orihime said. "I need to be strong enough so that my friends don't have to worry about me."

Ah, for her friends. What a foolish girl, must I spell everything out for her? "She needs to be realistically strong enough to protect herself. Her powers were unstable the last time I saw them put to use, and other than their healing capability they were not useful against the arrancar." He swallowed when he saw Orihime's hurt look on her face. Was the truth that painful to her? He only wanted to help.

"Ulquiorra, as I've told Orihime before, she's not suited for combat," Urahara said. "Her attacks aren't--"

"I am aware," Ulquiorra said. "I will destroy anything or anyone that threatens her. But if I cannot get there in time, she has to have the ability to stay alive. The last time she was badly hurt and I could never bear to see that happen again."

Everyone was staring at Ulquiorra with mixed expressions. Urahara was hiding some sort of smirk behind his open fan, Grimmjow's mouth was open as if he was going to speak but couldn't, and Nel's face was blushing. Orihime's eyes were wide and glistened with tears, but she did not cry. She simply touched Ulquiorra on the shoulder with a gentle hand.

"Are you really Ulquiorra?" Nel finally managed to ask.

"Who else would I be?" Ulquiorra sighed.

"Well…I can't say no to that little display," Urahara chuckled.

"I'll help train her, Urahara!" Nel said cheerfully. "I don't like fighting needlessly either, so we'll probably be a good match."

"Damn, Nelliel, talkin' like you don't love a good takedown," Grimmjow snarled.

"You can shut up Grimmy!" Nel said, her face bright red for some reason.

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes.


"Oh! Owowow…oh, that's gonna be sore tomorrow…"

It was dark when Ulquiorra and Orihime were making their way home. Orihime had trained hard all day, getting tossed around by Nel who was a rough opponent. She apparently had no qualms about throwing blows at Orihime, which the poor girl sometimes took. Nel wasn't using lethal force by any means, but her blows probably could have broken something if they had fully connected. Nel would use strong force against Orihime's shields, seeing how much power she could use before breaking them.

Ulquiorra watched mostly from a safe distance, perched on top of a rock in Urahara's training ground (He flinched every time Nel was "too rough" with Orihime). He eventually went off by himself somewhere to practice his swordsmanship and spar with Grimmjow. That fight was eventually broken up by Urahara, because Grimmjow was going to use his sword release, and actually attempted to kill Ulquiorra. Twice. Ulquiorra's regeneration worked just fine to heal himself, and he made an unsuccessful attempt to try to hide the remaining blood from Orihime. She scolded him and told him he had to take a bath when they got back home.

"You are the one who should take a bath," Ulquiorra scolded Orihime. "Nel hit you fairly hard a few times. I would tell you to heal yourself but I fear what the effects of the poison will do."

"Oh I'll be fine. I'll just take some Tylenol and use some ice," Orihime assured him. She smiled, her worries beginning to lift from just looking at him. He had defended her when she requested to train, and had said that it would hurt him to see her hurt! It made her feel good inside, just knowing that he really did care a lot for her.

Oh...the kiss… she thought, touching her fingers to her mouth in recollection. Her heart started beating rapidly. She just…didn't know what to do. She felt like giving into these growing feelings was natural, but her loyalty to Ichigo kept holding her back. Besides, Ulquiorra was confused and didn't feel that way about her…right?

"Orihime," Ulquiorra said right as the girl was about to open the front door.

"Oh, yes?" Orihime asked.

"You will be safe here if the Soul Reapers are with you," Ulquiorra stated. "I wish to train some more. This time I can use more force without fear of bringing harm to you. Is…that all right with you?"

Orihime sensed at least Rangiku inside her apartment, so she knew she would be safe from an attack. "Oh! Uhm, sure! Just uh…don't hurt yourself, okay?" Her eyes pleaded with him.

Ulquiorra pecked Orihime on the cheek before turning to leave. "I'm more concerned for Grimmjow," he joked as he walked away.

Orihime touched her cheek. She walked into the apartment, her heart heavy, but then was slightly shocked at the image in front of her.

Rangiku was lazing in front of the tv, an empty bento box in front of her, and she was eating directly out of a tub of ice cream. She was dressed in one of Orihime's robes, with a towel on her head, signifying she had just bathed.

"Oh! You're back!" Rangiku smiled, sitting up. "I just got back a while ago. The captain still is out, because he wanted to be alone for a while. Anyway, did you eat yet? You're back late. And where's that precious Ulqui of yours? For an arrancar he's pretty cute if you ask me."

Orihime sat down next to Rangiku. "We were training with Urahara," she explained. "He went back to continue after walking me here."

Rangiku's facial expression turned serious. "Orihime, is something wrong?"

Could she ask Rangiku about her feelings? Or would she just be too much of a burden? Orihime felt tears slide down her cheeks from just thinking about everything, the emotions in her chest ready to burst. "I'm sorry. I know I cry a lot but…I'm just so confused right now."

"Oh? About what?" Rangiku asked.

"I'm…remember how I said that…a while back, I was worried I wasn't a special person for Ichigo?" Orihime said. "Well I…kind of thought I was a special person to him. Until…well…I actually am a special person to someone else."

Rangiku raised her eyebrows.

"Ulquiorra told me that I…that I made him able to see the world differently," Orihime continued. "He's completely devoted himself to me. At first I knew it was because he was curious, but now he's actually…" She blushed. "I…can't believe what I'm feeling. I want to be with him and I want to protect and take care of him, but I feel like I'm just betraying Ichigo for doing so! Now when I look at Ichigo, all I feel is uncomfortable! He no longer makes me feel the same way he did, and I don't know what to do!" She sniffed and grabbed a box of tissues that was sitting near the tv. She began telling stories about her and Ulquiorra's experiences together, but she purposefully omitted the kiss they had shared.

"Oh…oh honey," Rangiku said softly, opening her arms for Orihime to embrace her. "Feelings change, you know. Especially for young girls like you. You crushed on Ichigo for a long time as a child, but you've started to outgrow your feelings. It seems to me like Ulquiorra tends to actually reciprocate your feelings, or at least he wants to see you happy."

Orihime sniffed. "Rangiku…he's a hollow. He's a hollow who hurt my friends because Aizen ordered him to."

"Orihime! Life's too short to care about that type of thing," Rangiku scolded. "Who cares if he's a hollow? He's hella cute and would totally die for you right now. And who cares if he was loyal to Aizen at some point? He's obviously not now. I would kill for a man with that kind of passion and devotion."

"But what about Ichigo?" Orihime asked. "If I don't love him I--"

"He's still your friend isn't he?" Rangiku pointed out. "If he's still your friend then of course you'll still be there to help him. Having romantic feelings for someone doesn't change the love you have for your friends."

Rangiku was right. Orihime took a deep breath. "I guess…it's just hard to accept Ichigo never liked me back that way."

"I know, but you need to move on now," Rangiku said. "Sometimes in life there are things you need to move on from."

Orihime sat up and took a deep breath. She had to confront her feelings head-on! She wasn't sure how she'd explain to Ulquiorra how she felt in a way that he'd understand. He was someone that she felt comfort by being near him. Every day she'd wake up excited to show him something new. She felt complete almost, like he was something she had been missing. She also wasn't sure if what he felt for her was the same, but she would just have to be brave.


There was blood. So much blood. Orihime turned around to face who had caused her Soul Reaper escorts to die horrible deaths. She tried to heal them, but she was stopped by an intense, suffocating reiatsu.

The arrancar before her was nearly all pure white, save for his black hair, cheeks stained with tears, and brilliant green eyes. He wasn't very tall, probably only a few inches taller than she was, but he stood with such confidence one would not dare question his power. Yet, something about him did not terrify Orihime. She had just seen what he was capable of with his bare hands, but for some reason she could not bring herself to be afraid. It was almost like she had confronted a sad, lost cat who only attacked people out of necessity to survive.

The arrancar had kept Orihime as prisoner in his tower. He was not violent like all the others. He did not verbally berate her, nor did he attempt to physically harm her. Quite the opposite; he would keep guard and make sure no arrancar dared touch her.

He had no passion regarding Orihime's imprisonment. He was simply doing it out of orders by Aizen himself. He was acting as an extension of Aizen, but Orihime never sensed his agreement or approval of the action. In fact, this arrancar seemed unable to have any opinions at all, functioning cold and lifelessly like a statue.

Eventually, his more curious side seemed to surface. He would gradually spend more time with Orihime, not out of malicious or manipulative intent, but simply because he wanted to. He would listen to Orihime talk about various human things, sometimes nodding off to sleep when she did so. Orihime began to think he was peaceful and less threatening when he was so vulnerable.

Then, there was Ichigo. The arrancar began showing signs of emotional distress during this battle. He even had protected Orihime a few times, where Ichigo had been careless or failed to do so. He was confused, so confused that despite him nearly killing Ichigo twice, Orihime couldn't bear to hate him. All she felt from him was his deep, dark despair, and a sense of loneliness. Perhaps if she could just reach him…

Orihime opened her eyes. She had begun to nod off while she was in the bathtub. She decided it was time for her bath to be over, so she dried off and climbed out. She put on a tshirt and shorts for her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and decided to quietly head for bed. Rangiku was already fast asleep, and Toshiro and Ulquiorra were nowhere to be found.

Orihime decided to sit up and wait for Ulquiorra, despite it being late and she had school the next morning. She then realized she forgot to do her homework again and decided to do that while she waited.

About an hour passed and no one came home. Orihime began to worry. Was Ulquiorra intending on staying at Urahara's all night? Was Toshiro ever going to get any sleep? Did he eat any meals today? Orihime tucked her homework in her bag and decided to go to bed to get some sleep before school. Toshiro was a captain and Ulquiorra was a former espada. They could take care of themselves.

It was the next morning. Orihime opened her eyes to see something peering over her. She yelped and hit her head on her headboard as she sat up, then rubbed the sore spot tenderly.

"Yoruichi?"

A black cat was sitting on Orihime's lap. It was originally on her chest, but Orihime sitting up had knocked it off.

"Ah yes, good morning Orihime," said the cat Yoruichi. Orihime knew to not let the male voice fool her. Yoruichi was a beautiful woman who disguised herself as a cat in the world of the living.

"Yoruichi, what are you doing here?" Orihime asked. "I haven't seen you in--"

"Come on, lets get you ready for school first," Yoruichi insisted, hopping off of Orihime's bed. "You overslept a little. Rangiku already left, but there's still time enough if you don't want to be late."

Orihime jumped out of bed. She felt a bit sick, which she knew was the result of the poison, so she went to take her medicine. She giggled when she could hear Ulquiorra's voice snapping at her to take it. She soon got dressed in her uniform and went into the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast and pack a lunch. She stopped when she realized she hadn't seen Ulquiorra at all that morning, and turned to Yoruichi. "Is Ulquiorra still with Urahara?"

"He's…not coming to school today," Yoruichi said.

Orihime's brow furrowed. "He's never missed school!"

"Orihime," Yoruichi said, patting on a cushion next to her with her paw. "Come here and sit down."

Orihime obeyed, her heart pained with worry.

"Ulquiorra is fine," the cat said slowly. "But, he's currently hurt and unable to leave the shop."

"That's not fine!!" Orihime exclaimed. "I have to go to him and--"

"You cant use your healing powers yet Orihime!" Yoruichi ordered. "His injuries are too extreme for you in your weakened state to try to fix! We don't know exactly what that poison will do to you, and we certainly don't want you using your type of power that relies so much on your physical being." She sighed. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to be harsh with you."

Orihime forced a smile. "Oh, it's okay, really. I'm sure Urahara and Tessai will take good care of him. I'll go see him after school then."

"He doesn't want to see you."

Orihime's heart sank into the pit of her stomach. "He…what?"

Ulquiorra didn't want to see her? Orihime couldn't believe it. All he did was cling to her, but now he wanted space? She didn't understand. "What happened?" Orihime continued after a bit of silence.

"Arrancar," Yoruichi replied.

He's hurt from protecting me. That's why he doesn't want to see me. He's angry with me. Orihime's eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sick of people getting hurt on my behalf," she cried. "Ulquiorra already died once in a fight over me! And I couldn't…" She held her face in her hands.

Yoruichi put a paw on Orihime's lap. "You're working to get stronger. But don't dismiss your friend's honor and will to protect you so easily. They chose to help you, so you should feel grateful that they did."

Orihime reluctantly agreed, and rushed her way off to school.


The Soul Society had many dark secrets. But some of these secrets were kept with the utmost caution, as if revealed they would cause widespread panic. The Soul Reaper's main goal, at least those of them who join the Thirteen Court Guard Squads willingly, was to protect humans from otherworldly threats. Of course, to the higher ups this was false, but the good intentioned people that made up the Soul Reapers kept this truth at bay.

Deep in a prison cell, at the very lowest level of the highest security prison, sat a man who had challenged everything a Soul Reaper fought for. His goals were misunderstood, or simply too intelligent for the normal person. He wished to transcend and become a true god, to rid this world of its lies and bring a truth only he could give it. Yet, he had been stopped. Stopped by his own mistake, his own abomination that he had created and allowed to exist.

Despite this major setback, he smiled to himself. Well, he would have smiled if he could. His entire body was bound with incredibly powerful seals. No matter what they did, they could not seal his mind, so he was free to think for the twenty thousand years they would have him locked there.

One of my creations may have been the end of me, he thought. But it will be one that liberates me.