Chapter 2

Orihime blinked, noting at how she was no where near her friends or the other shinigami, if anything she was more than 50 feet away. She felt an arm around her waist, and could see teal-blue out of the corner of her eye.

"Non of you shinigami trash will touch her." Said a monotone voice.

"Yah, non but the King gets to touch the Princes. So fuck off!" yelled a nonchalant voice.

Orihime looked over her shoulder only to see the former Espada Ulquoiorra Cifer and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez standing beside her looking at the shinigami menacingly. Ulquoiorra had his arm around her with his front pressed into her back while Grimmjow had his right side pressed into her front, both in a defensive stance.

Ichigo couldn't belive that the two Espada where standing with Inoue. They were both dead weren't they? He walked forward saying;

"G-Grimmjow? Ulquoiorra? What are you two doing here/ I thought you were both dead."

Grimmjow and Ulquoiorra looked at one another out of the corner of their eye, then Ulquoiorra let go of Orihime and they both walked in front of her, then droped to their knees in front of Ichigo.

To say he was surprised was an understatement. Ichigo's jaw was slowly making its was to the ground as his brain was trying to compute the info it was given and failing miserably.

"W-What?" Ichigo said.

"Please forgive us Ichigo-sama, we only wanted miss Inoue to be safe as you wanted." Replied Ulquoiorra with his head bowed in respect.

"Wha- Ulquoiorra why are you calling me Sama?"

Because King, you're their master know.

What?!

Jezz King, I said that their calling you 'King'. That is since you defeated Aizen.

What! I 'm their king? Why?

Ichigo couldn't believe his ears. He was the Hollow King? But how, why? Ichigo blinked a couple of times trying to clear the fog that was starting there, but alas he couldn't keep the fog at bay since a couple of seconds later he fell to the ground, out-cold.

Orihime was shocked as everyone else, Ichigo was the new Hollow King? She could understand how Ichigo could be powerful enough to become the new King, but it was still a shock. It was even more of a shock when Ichigo fainted afterwards.

"Kurosaki-kun!' Inoue yelled, running to his side.

"Wow didn't think he'd faint, yell maybe but not faint." Grimmjow said standing up and walking over to his new Kings lifeless form.

"It seems to have come as a shock to Ichigo-sama." Ulquoiorra said looking at his King and Orihime. Maybe we should take him back to Hueco Mundo. After looking at the other shinigami who where all still in shock at this new development he decided to add an addition to the plane. We should take Ichigo-sama's Princes with us as well. The shinigami don't seem to be happy she is alive and well.

"Grimmjow, you take Ichigo-sama with you back to Hueco Mundo. I'll arrive after I say a few words of advice to the trash shinigami as well as take Orihime Inoue with me. Understood?"

"Yah. Sure, just don't take too long, the king won't be happy if he wakes up and finds out his precious princes isn't there" Grimmjow used Sonido to grab his King, heft him up on his shoulder and make a Garganta to Hueco Mundo before disappearing into it.

Orihime look at the spot Grimmjow had disappeared with Ichigo. She almost didn't notice Ulquoiorra coming to stand in front of her facing the shinigami of Soul Society. By this point, said shinigami had snapped out of the indicial shock and where now all yelling out their protest to each other, their fellow captains, the head captain as well as Ulquoiorra.

"Enough!" shouted the head captain. Turning towards Ulquoiorra he said, "You Arrancar will tell us where you have taken the boy as well as what you plane to do with him."

Ulquoiorra didn't even flinch when the head captain added his spiritual presser to his order. But he did notice when the added pressure affected Orihime. Ulquoiorra couldn't let any harm come to her. Not only would his King be angry with him, but he felt something towards the confusing human. So he knelt down and put an arm around her, slowly picking her up.

Orihime felt somebody's arm picking her up, getting her up on her feet. She felt the spiritual presser slowly leaving her senses only to be filled with different spirit energy. She recognised this spirit energy almost instantly, it was unmistakably Ulquoiorra's.

Ulquoiorra felt the girl relax in his hold and her breath even out. He moved slightly to his right in order to block her body with his own, finally addressing the old shinigami.

"It has been decided that Ichigo-sama will be our new King. Grimmjow has taken Ichigo-sama to Hueco Mundo, and myself and Orihime-san will be joining them soon. But first I shall give you a warning." Ulquoiorra closed his eyes, focussing his energy into his words while re-opening his eyes. "if any shinigami ever comes into Hueco Mundo without permission they will be killed or heald prisoner. Hueco Mundo will once again belong to the hollows who reside there. This is final and there will no discussing this matter."

Ulquoiorra opened a Garganta beside him slowly walking into it with Orihime at his side. "and that is a promise." With that the Garganta closed.

All of those standing on the roof of a building in the fake Karakura Town were silent as snow started to fall from the sky.

As Orihime followed Ulquoiorra thought the halls of Las Noches noting all the Arrancars in the halls, all looking away as they passed. She never remembered there being this many Hollows In the halls before. She looked up at her guide wondering why she was here. Finally she decided to voice her confusion.

"Uhhmmm, Ulquoiorra-san?" she looked down at the ground when her looked back at her. "Uhhmm. Why am I hear again?"

Ulquoiorra slowed down till he walked beside the human woman before answering her.

"You are hear because you'll be safe here."

"S-Safe?"

"Yes, safe. Or maybe you didn't notice how those trash shinigami where going to arrest you?"

Orihime stopped walking, and said "Don't call them trash! Non of them are." With a glare on her face.

Ulquoiorra, stopping, looked at her before lowering his eye-lids.

"My apologies. I won't again." Bowing slightly to her.

Orihime lost her glare, as Ulquoiorra started walking again.

"You are here because its safe here. There for you will be safe., and since your safety is one of Ichigo-sama's wishes, myself and Grimmjow will see to it you are safe."

"Oh"

Orihime and Ulquoiorra walked on in silence down the halls of Las Noches. They arrived at a door she knew was the door to where Aizen's old throne was. When the door opened, it was to Orihime's surprise that said throne had been removed and replaced with what looked like a giant bed. On the bed was tangerine hair that Orihime gassed was Ichigo, Grimmjow was sitting on the edge of the bed with some one else. That some one had on a red kimono with a turquoise obi and white over-coat, her hair was in a traditional bun with three long trans coming down her back and two strands on each side of her head. Half way down these strands, they where tied with gold beads that went down for two inches. She was a very beautiful woman, the right side of her head had cherry blossoms covering it due to the hair ornaments in her hair.

Orihime and Ulquoiorra walked up to the bed, and the unknown woman turned her head to them. Orihime gasped as she saw the colour of the woman's eyes, one was deep blue while the other was bright royal purple. The woman chuckled at Orihime's response.

"You must be Orihime Inoue, I'm I right?"

"Uhhmm, Yes?" Orihime stuttered.

"Ha-ha. You say that as if your unsure."

"A-ha-ha. Well I guess I am, but can I ask you a question? Who are you?" Orihime asked with her head cocked to the side with a comical expression.

Grimmjow and the mystery woman looked at each other before laughing. Orihime didn't know why so she looked at Ulquoiorra. When she did she was shocked to see a small smile on his usually expression-less face.

"My name is Akane=Hitomi Ketsueki. I'm a servant to Ichigo."

Orihime looked shocked at the meaning of the woman's name, 'deep red eye of death'. She felt a small shiver go down her spine.

Akane-Hitomi started talking again, brining Orihime out of her thoughts.

"You may not know this Inoue, but Ichigo was born to become a hollow king, and if not the king then a prince as Grimmjow and Ulquoiorra are now."

"But how was Kurosaki-kun born to be a king? He was born human wasn't he?" Orihime asked in confusion.

"Yes he was, but that is how it works. The hollow king must be born human first and one of its parents must have been a shinigami that had captain level spirit energy. From there the king with grow, first they will become a shinigami, then a vizard. Thus the process will be complete." Akane-Hitomi paused, looking at Orihime's slightly confussed face.

"But, Rukia-chan gave Ichigo his powers. Didn't she?"

"Yes she did but do you think that was an accident?"

Orihime tilted her head trying to keep all the information from falling out. "But how"

"I use to be the adviser to the old king, so when he died and I found Ichigo, all I had to do was find a shinigami that was in the area who would give their powers away, as well as find a hollow to go after his family. Once that was done, all that was left was the timing."

"You mean, that you made Ichigo get his powers?"

"Yes I did. Its my job. Didn't you always wonder why he never died? Well, not fully anyway"

Orihime placed her finger on her chine while she thought about that. She was right, Ichigo never did die, no matter how many times Orihime thought he would. So yes, everything that Akane-Hitomi had said so far did.

"Yah, that makes sense."

Akane-Hitomi laughed at the girls expression and response. She really would make a good queen if her Sire decided to marry her.

"But wait. Dose Ichigo know all this?"

"Well you can ask him yourself. He's been awake since you walken in."

"Really?"

Orihime looked down at where Ichigo was lying and his eyes where open as he looked up at the ceiling. His face looked calm but his eyes betrayed him. In the corners of his eyes, tears where beginning to form. All of a sudden, Ichigo let out a haggard breath as the first tears fell down his face, and a whimper left his lips.

Grimmjow, Ulquoiorra, Akane-Hitomi, and Orihime were all