Chapter 43: Progression and Mitigation

"I was good, right?" she asked breathlessly.

"You are always good, Orihime," he answered, looking down at her sparkling brown eyes, set off by cheeks made pink by exertion. The sheen on her brow made her appear vital and alive. She was always beautiful to him, but like this... "You are exquisite."

She smiled and pushed some hair away from her face before stepping toward him and stealing a kiss , fingering the suppression necklace he wore. Since making the decision to take the limits off of their relationship over two months ago, Orihime and Ulquiorra had been training in Urahara's underground bunker at least every other day. It was a great excuse to see each other, and most days, it afforded them uninterrupted privacy.

But it wasn't just stolen kisses or the occasional fast and furious love-making session behind a rock that brought the couple down there. Ulquiorra had noticed the friction between his girlfriend and her former allies. He wanted her to be prepared to the best of her abilities in the event that either her ex-boyfriend or the Quincy decided to escalate things.

To that end, they picked up where they had left off, practicing using her shield as a levitation device , as well as practicing her offense. She showed solid long-distance skills, but Ulquiorra was worried about what might happen in close quarters. She shared classrooms and hallways with Ishida and Kurosaki, and maybe he was being overly cautious, but he wanted her to have some close-contact fighting skills beyond her hand-to-hand karate.

He didn't want her unarmed, either, so here they were, crossing swords. He hadn't thought it would be possible, but after two months of daily training, he had coached her into this. He held Murcielago in his right hand, and in hers, she held a blade of golden light, its hilt formed of six blue petals. It took some doing; communicating enough with all six of her fairies to help her form and maintain the shape of a sword to combine their powers into one true manifestation of Orihime's strength.

It was still in the beginning stages of this, though, and Ulquoirra broke her concentration easily; a smile here and there would cause her to lose focus and the blade would dissipate. He could strike too fast and shatter it easily. Today was the longest she had been able to maintain it without breaking: four and a half minutes.

"You know, I think it's not fair that you're my opponent. You're too cute; I get distracted," Orihime complained with a grin on her face. "I think it's time to put this technique to the test in the real world."

"I am not comfortable with this proposal, Woman," came his tense response. "You could get yourself killed, and you'd be attracting…" he trailed off, reluctant to admit his insecurities.

"Attracting what, Ulquiorra?"

"Kurosaki and Ishida," he answered and sighed. "I don't trust them."

Orihime sighed and walked in front of him, taking his cheeks in her hands and forcing him to look at her. "I don't either, but I know they're not going to attack me or anything, okay? Please trust me."

Ulquiorra closed his eyes and his shoulders fell. "I trust you with everything I have, woman. But I worry."

"I know. I love you," she replied, raising up in her toes for a kiss.

It was cold that Thursday evening. Ulquiorra had walked Orihime home and kissed her goodnight before she did her homework and got into some warm thermal pajamas. She had just slipped between her sheets when she felt it; that familiar, dissonant shift in the air: hollow energy.

She closed her eyes and let her spiritual pressure stretch out, trying to pinpoint the threat. A slight grimace distorted her features. There were several out tonight. She was able to detect Kurosaki and Ishida giving chase to a small group of them.

There was a straggler that they had overlooked. Orihime sniffed the hollow's energy and frowned. It was bigger than it was letting on. As the hollow drifted further away from the main group, it was letting its spiritual pressure loose.

She knew Ulquiorra would disapprove, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. This hollow could cause destruction and her former friends were not paying any attention. Besides, she could handle this, she was sure of it.

She slipped on a pair of shoes and her jacket, stuck her hairpins into the hair above her ear, and jogged down the stairs to the street.

"Kurosaki!" Ishida hollered. They had just dispatched with the last of the group of hollows they had been chasing.

"Ha! That was three for me and two for you, Ishida! You're buying lunch tomor-"

"-Shut up, Kurosaki! Do you feel that? We missed one!" Uryu snipped.

Ichigo scoffed. "Yeah, yeah, you want a chance to make it even? No way. I'll get this one, too."

"Seriously, Kurosaki! Don't you… Oh shit…"

Ichigo scowled. "What is it, Ishida?"

The Quincy didn't wait to answer his friend, taking off in a burst of hirenkyaku.

"Ishida! Wait up! What is it?!" Ichigo yelled as he gave chase.

Bang bang bang.

"Kisuke Urahara!" Ulquiorra's voice sounded frantic, for him.

The older male yawned as he opened his bedroom door. "What is it, Cifer-san?"

"It's Orihime. She's confronting a hollow. I have to go to her. I need to get out of my gigai."

The shinigami shook his head. "Absolutely not. Besides," he said, pausing and looking off into space for a moment. "It appears backup is on the way. You can go to her, but you may not run around the streets of Karakura in a panic without a gigai."

A frustrated growl left Ulquiorra's throat as he ran down the stairs.

"I reject!" A golden sword appeared and slashed a split second after Orihime leapt from a glowing platform made of her santen kesshun, cleaving the mask of the hollow below her in two. The light disappeared and reappeared under her feet just before she hit the ground.

Ichigo and Uryu stood on the roof of Orihime's building with their mouths hanging open as the large hollow disintegrated into thin air.

"Did you know that she..?"

An orange-haired head shook back and forth slowly. "Since when can she do that?" he murmured.

Orihime took a few deep breaths. It had been quite an effort, and she was feeling the exertion. But more than that, she was totally exhilarated. It took her a moment before she realized her classmates were there.

"Oh! Ishida-kun; Kurosaki-kun… It's a cold one tonight, isn't it?" she said with a nervous chuckle.

"A cold one? A cold one? That's all you have to say? What the hell was that?" Uryu stammered.

"Oh, you saw that? It's just something I've been working on…" she trailed off, looking at a smudge on the pavement and blushing.

Ichigo flew off the ledge of her roof and landed a few paces away from her. "Inoue, that was amazing."

She slowly raised her face to see his, and saw that he was being sincere. The wonder on his face was decorated with a slightly amused quirk of his lips. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"She's been training with me," a deeper and slightly breathless voice interrupted before its owner marched between the two redheads. "You promised me you wouldn't!" Ulquiorra hissed.

Orihime frowned. "I did no such thing. I asked you to trust me. You have nothing to worry about!"

Even Ulquiorra was surprised by the uncharacteristic scoff that came out of his mouth. "Trust you?! That was a big hollow! And now these two are here and you're telling me I have nothing to worry about?!"

"Back off," Ichigo said, tugging at Ulquiorra's shoulder.

The air around them ignited. The sneer on Ulquiorra's face would make children cry. "Do. Not. Touch. Me," he said in a low, deadly voice. "I'm merely discussing matters with my girlfriend."

Apparently Ulquiorra's choice of words triggered Uryu, who joined the party in the street. "You dare call her that?!"

"Oh my god," Orihime groaned, stepping into the middle and swatting at all the crackling, static reiatsu in the air. "Seriously, all you peacocks can knock it off. There was a hollow. I could and did deal with it. And Ulquiorra can call me his girlfriend, Ishida-kun. We're a couple. It's normal."

Uryu rolled his eyes and muttered, "Unbelievable," before leaving the area.

Orihime pursed her lips, and both Ulquiorra and Ichigo noticed the slight hurt in her eyes at Ishida's words. "Do you have any comments, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked in a tired voice.

"Um, no," came the reply. Ichigo looked at Orihime with an unspoken apology. "Unlike him, I don't live in denial. I meant what I said, Inoue. That was amazing. I'm, um, proud of you."

Her eyes widened at his words, and when Orihime looked up, she saw her ex blushing furiously. A soft smile slowly lit her face and she mumbled, "Um, thanks. I am going to keep getting stronger, you know."

Ichigo scratched the back of his neck and nodded. "I believe it. Pretty soon we'll be able to split Karakura into thirds and let you handle a section, huh?" he asked with a quiet chuckle.

Orihime laughed. "Maybe."

"Oh would you two quit flirting? Goodnight, Woman," Ulquiorra said, walking away with a disgusted huff.

"Yikes," Ichigo said, watching him leave.

"You better go," Orihime warned, walking after Ulquiorra and sparing Ichigo an apologetic glance.

Ulquiorra didn't look back as he heard Ichigo flashstep away.

"Ulquiorra? Ulquiorra, stop," Orihime said as she tried to catch up to him.

There was absolutely no way he was going to stop right now. He was feeling too much; too many emotions he did not understand were swirling around inside of him, threatening to combust and explode out. He increased his pace.

"Ulquiorra…" Orihime stopped and pouted. If he wanted to be that way, fine. She went back to her apartment and sent him a text.

From: Orihime Inoue

11:15 p.m.

- I'm sorry. I know you want to protect me, but I can't always wait around to be rescued. I knew I could handle it, and I did. I wasn't flirting with him, by the way. I love you.

Ulquiorra read her message while he was still on his way home. Frowning, he turned the device off and decided not to answer. He couldn't; not right now. He needed time to think.

Several weeks later, and the incident in front of Orihime's apartment that night was water under the bridge. But much to Ulquiorra's dismay, it kept happening. She would go out whenever a hollow was nearby and slay it, and more often than not, that Shinigami would stop by to congratulate her. The last time Ulquiorra witnessed their interactions, Kurosaki had been high-fiving his girlfriend.

There was nothing he could do about this, of course. The woman was allowed to have friends, Urahara had informed him. Urahara even suggested that a friendship between Orihime and Ichigo was evidence that they had both gotten over their previous romantic attachment to each other, and that Ulquiorra should take comfort in this.

He was not totally convinced, but what could he do? Nothing.

Their training sessions became more intense. Orihime seemed almost competitive in her drive to improve, and her efforts were paying off. She was getting stronger, faster, and more competent. One evening, shortly before his birthday, he spent the night with her at her place. After falling asleep in each other's arms, he woke up to her jumping out of bed and dressing as quickly as she could.

He felt it. The hollow was large.

He followed her out of her apartment, resolved to burn through his gigai if need be, only to watch her take it down effortlessly. After it was done, she turned around and gave him a breathtaking smile.

That's when he understood.

That night, they had a chat.

"Woman, I'm proud of you. You have grown so much in such a short span of time. I'm sorry I doubted your capabilities before. Please understand, I only worry because I love you."

Orihime's face brightened and she shook her head, walking from where she stood in the doorway to where he sat on her bed, and straddled his legs. She brought her hands to his face and kissed him softly. "I know. I love you, too. Thank you," she murmured with her lips hovering over his.

"Why are you thanking me?"

She pulled back a bit to see his face, and hers tilted to the side. "Because. You believed in me. You're trusting me. You trained with me. Without you, I'd still be just a bystander. Now I can stand on my own."

Her words troubled him, somewhat. He would need clarification. "Stand on your own? Elaborate, woman."

She sighed fondly. "I mean, I don't need someone to save me all the time. I have confidence now, and it's all because of what you've taught me."

He let his forehead drop to rest against hers. "I see," he replied.

Those words did not leave his mind, though. His jealousy, as he had learned the feeling was, didn't go away so easily either. As months passed, he saw the friendship between his girlfriend and her ex blossom. Those high-fives after defeating a hollow had turned into celebratory hugs after defeating a group of them together. Once again, he was troubled and sought advice.

"This is normal, Cifer-san," Kisuke explained. "Orihime-chan is at an age where she is seeking independence and looking to make her mark on the world. Although she has no family to separate from, she has a deep need to prove that she can stand on her own. Perhaps you should do the same," he pondered aloud.

"But I do not want to leave her alone. I do not wish to be separated from her. I love her."

Urahara chuckled. "I know. She knows. I'm sure everyone knows. But, have you considered your future, Cifer-san?"

Thick black brows knit. "My future? Certainly. I wish to live with the woman into perpetuity."

Kisuke laughed at that for a solid minute. "Of course you do. I'm talking about more practical concerns. Of course you realize that living with her means you will be living as a human, despite not actually being one. Humans have lots of needs; needs you will need to fulfill to support your lives together."

"What do you mean? What kind of needs?"

"You'll need money. Your stipend from Soul Society won't stretch very far once you are living on your own with Inoue-san. You'll need a practical skill set and a job."

Ulquiorra frowned. Even he was aware that his skills were not very practical in the world of the living. "What do you advise?"

"Inoue-san will graduate in a month. I'm sure she has shared with you her plans to attend a university? Maybe you should do something similar. I can easily counterfeit qualifications for you, all you need to do is decide what and where you would like to study."

"I will think on it, Kisuke Urahara. Good night."

"What do you mean?!" Orihime's face was contorted in disbelief. How could he do this to her? To them?!

"I am doing this for us, Woman. In order to secure our future together, I need translatable skills. Besides, it's not like we will never see each other. I will come to visit you as much as I can. But Urahara insists this is necessary. He says some distance will help our personal growth," Ulquiorra explained, trying not to get upset. He didn't like this any more than she did, but he did not expect her to be so distraught.

"You say that now," she said, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "You will be busy! What if you meet someone else? What if you forget about me?"

Ulquiorra strode over to where she stood in her living room and gathered her into his arms. "I would never, ever, forget about you, Woman. Never. Do you hear me?"

She sniffled and choked on a suppressed sob. "But why do you have to go so far away?"

"It's not that far. It's only a two hour train ride away. We can visit each other as much as you like. I will need to check in with Urahara at least once a month, anyway."

"It won't be the same." Orihime was hurt. She wasn't thinking rationally. How could he have planned all of this without saying anything? All this time she was planning on going to university in two weeks and maybe having him join her, maybe even move in with her. They were going to start their adult lives together.

Now they would be starting them apart, and she had no say in the matter. She felt betrayed.

"Listen to me, Woman. My feelings for you will not change. My heart will not waver. It belongs to you. It always has. It was born-"

Orihime shut him up with a searing kiss. She felt desperate. She had a vague feeling of wanting to keep him and trap him and never let him go.

Something in Ulquiorra's soul stirred as well. His tongue pried her lips open and he seemed to swallow her into his mouth, his pale fingers plucking at the buttons on her shirt. It was on the floor in seconds, followed by the rest of their clothing. He backed her into her bedroom and closed the door.

Orihime was just as eager, laying down on the mattress and pulling him on top of her. "Make love to me, Ulquiorra," she begged, her eyes still wet and her mouth searching for his. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him deeply.

He could not deny her, not that he ever wanted to. He pressed into her and sighed into her mouth, feeling that now-familiar, but still mind-blowing sense of connection. She was home to him. As he began to move, he could feel an ache in his chest. Was this how she was feeling? He closed his eyes and broke their kiss, hiding his face into the side of her neck. "I love you. I love you, Orihime. Nothing will stop that. No distance will change how I feel about you."

The sob that Orihime had been holding onto broke loose, filling the room with the sound of the anguish in her heart. Perhaps he was right. Maybe this separation was necessary, but it hurt. She didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to be without him; without this. "I love you so much," she cried.

Despite their melancholy emotions, the intensity of their feelings was driving both of them towards a frenzied state, with Ulquiorra snapping his hips into her over and over, Orihime using her legs and feet to press him into her as deeply as possible with each thrust. Soon her cries of agony turned to ecstasy as she fell apart underneath him.

Ulquiorra came with a rasping groan, emptying himself into her. It seemed like it was more than usual, and the normally short-lived bursts of pleasure extended into what seemed like twice their normal duration. When it finally passed, his body collapsed onto hers, his breath harsh in her ears as they both panted and cooled.

When their breathing finally calmed, it was Orihime who spoke first. "Ulquiorra, I love you. I'm going to miss you, so, so much."

He lifted his head, green eyes finding brown. "I will always love you," he murmured, stroking her cheek.

Urahara was glad that Ulquiorra didn't come home that night. He was concerned. He had been honest about Ulquiorra's need to integrate better into the world of the living, but that wasn't the only thing on his mind when he suggested that the former arrancar get some space from Orihime Inoue. He tapped his chin with his fan as he rewatched the same video recordings he had been watching on and off for weeks now.

It had been around the middle of December, around the one year anniversary of Ulquiorra's arrival in the world of the living, when Kisuke had taken Ulquiorra down to the bunker and let him out of his gigai. The suppression necklace was on, and after the initial standard spiritual pressure checks were run, Urahara had asked Ulquiorra a series of questions while measuring readings from the integrated hogyoku inside of him. Something wasn't right. The souls that made up the hogyuku were no longer supposed to have separate spirit ribbons or consciousness, but there were moments when that is exactly what it felt like.

Urahara turned the volume up as he again listened to Ulquiorra's theory.

"I believe that the souls that comprise the hogyoku wish to be freed. I believe that is why they have chosen me to house them. If I die, they will perish as well, to be reborn into the cycle of death and rebirth. I believe this is their desire."

Urahara watched himself frown. "But what if you don't die? What if you cannot be killed?"

Ulquiorra had worn a peculiar smile then, as if he knew a secret. "With love, all things are possible."

Urahara had laughed and looked at his charge with amusement. "Are you quoting the King James Bible, Cifer-san?"

Ulquiorra had frowned and returned the older-looking male's gaze. "No. Harper Lee."

Urahara's expression in the video had retreated into a more appraising facade. "I see your studies have been varied, Cifer-san."

The Kisuke Urahara of the present sat back in his chair and closed the window on his monitor that contained the video, before clicking on another file name: Failed Husk Experiment. This file was dated several weeks after the first.

Urahara did not enjoy watching this video.

He had created a husk for the hogyoku; an empty shell in which to contain the souls currently housed inside of Ulquiorra. He watched himself tell Ulquiorra to have a seat in a chair he had brought down to the bunker, and then walked behind him and produced the husk, attempting to siphon the souls out of his subject.

It was clear that this attempt caused the green-eyed man much suffering. Urahara muted the video, unable to listen to the anguished cries of the former arrancar. It did not last long, however, and Urahara knew that when he saw those green and yellow eyes roll back into Ulquiorra's head, he could unmute the video.

What he saw next still shocked him to this day.

The sounds of thousands of collective voices, speaking as one, seemed to possess Ulquiorra and explained the wishes of the combined souls. He was right. It was the desire of the souls of the hogyoku to be freed, but that was not their only desire. One had already been fulfilled: the death of Sousuke Aizen. Others were listed, including the destruction of Las Noches, Aizen's creations, and the dismantling of the twelfth division.

It was a lot to process. Urahara thought it was best, for the time being, to separate Ulquiorra from anyone with a direct or indirect relationship to Soul Society, including Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue. This is why he had pressed so firmly for Ulquiorra to attend a university a few prefectures away.

He could only hope that this mitigation attempt would be successful.

A/N Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! xoxo - JKRob