No,

She felt numb, so numb, as the ash danced away from her.

She had just felt his fingertips and then...

No

"Inoue..."

She stared at her hands, some flecks of the ash still remained but he, he was gone.
The tears rolled down her cheeks. She had tried to reach him but she couldn't compete with the wind, the wind that had carried him away from her.

"Inoue..."

Orihime jumped as she felt a hand land on her shoulder.
"Ah Kurosaki-kun sorry I was just..." her words trailed off as she turned to face her friend when she noticed Ishida still bleeding on the ground. She turned past Ichigo and ran to her fallen friend.
"Soten Kissun, I reject. Sorry, I was..."

"It's okay Inoue-san." Ishida smiled weakly at her from inside the barrier which healed him, "I understand, it must have been very shocking for you."

...Yes shocking, because he was gone. He was so strong but he was gone and it had been her fault. She called for help, and the help came. Help came, and then he was gone. More tears rolled down her cheeks

Gone
Gone
Gone
Gone

Orihime was torn from her thoughts as a tremendous spiritual power reached them where they stood on the dome.

"What was that?!" Ichigo exclaimed as the dome shook
"I don't know, but everyone else is down there." Ishida answered as he stood up, his wounds being fully healed. "Its riatsu is even greater than that of Ulquiorra."
Orihime flinched as she heard his name.

"We need to get down there and help them! Let's go." Ichigo said as he reached for Orihime to carry her down to where Rukia, Renji and Chad were fighting some unknown force.

"You two go on without me." Orihime said softly as she pulled out of Ichigo's reach.

"Inoue you can't stay here we need to go help them"


"Its okay Kurosaki-kun, I just need a few moments to myself and then I'll be down I promise."

"Inoue-san, Ichigo is right you can't stay here. How would you even get down?" Ishida asked in a worried tone.

"Jump of course" Orihime laughed at their shocked expressions. "No need to worry I can use my shield to protect me as I fall. I just...I just need to say good-bye."

Ishida and Ichigo looked at her. They couldn't quite understand her need to say good bye to a man they had only known as a cold and calculating monster, the one who had taken her. But still... neither of them could forget the way that he had reached out for her in his last moments, the way she had reached back for him...

As they left Ichigo called to his friend whom had already gone back to staring at the spot where that man had faded away,
"I'm sorry Inoue-san." His voice was strained, crushed by a strong guilt and the knowledge that something so merciless could be a part of him. He heard her laugh in her cheerful manner.

"Don't worry about such things Kurosaki-kun, you have nothing to feel sorry about. No conscious part of you existed during that time. Now quickly go and help the others, I promise I'll be there soon."

There was a small pause and then Ishida and Ichigo left to go and help their friends.

"No it's not your fault." Orihime's voice was softer now; it broke when she spoke next, "I'm the one to blame."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Why did it hurt so much? She thought to herself as she kneeled in the spot where he had stood while turning to ash. Why had she been so desperate to reach for his hand? He was the one who had taken her from her friends wasn't he? He was the one who had harmed Kurosaki-kun over and over. He was the one who gave permission for her own life to be taken! He was...HE! He never once harmed her. He said that he wouldn't and he never did. In his way, he had taken care of her while being in Hueco Mundo. He had come for her when Grimmjow had taken her, though it really was his job... She wasn't afraid of him. He was a curious being; he didn't even know what a heart was! She smiled. He was so intelligent, so clever, but he couldn't understand the concept of something she lived with day to day. He was starting to, yes he was definitely starting to, and he reached out for her... and then he was gone...

He didn't have to be gone. A small voice sounded within her. You can heal anything, even when there aren't any pieces of the original left. Her tears finally stopped. She had never felt like this before. She stood up and gritted her teeth. No, she had definitely never felt this sure of her own abilities before,
"Soten Kissun! I REJECT!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Why am I here woman?" Ulquiorra spoke, his head in Orihime's lap.

"Hmmm... well you see Ulquiorra-kun, it took you a while to wake up and I felt that lying down on the ground wouldn't be very comfortable. I'm afraid my lap was the only option. Also, I have a name you know? It's Orihime."

"That's not what I meant woman, and I am well aware you have a name." Ulquiorra stared at her blankly. Or that's how it would seem to anyone who looked upon the scene, in actuality inside of Ulquiorra there was great turmoil. At once he felt so many of those emotions that were once thought distasteful, and really he didn't mind how he was situated. "What I meant was why am I alive? I shouldn't be. I lost. The only thing left for me was death."

Orihime smiled, she had figured he would say something like this, "You know before I left someone gave me some very good advice." Ulquiorra closed his eyes and sighed, she was going to go on one of her tangents and he would not get the answer that he so desperately needed. "Hey you don't need to sigh; I said it was good advice! They told me 'what's important is not how it should be, but rather how I want it to be'. What I want is for you to be alive, Ulquiorra"

Ulquiorra was as startled by this as by the beaming smile he was greeted with when he opened his eyes. His chest almost hurt and he really couldn't put a name to this emotion.
"Foolish woman how could you want—"He was cut off by what sounded like an explosion coming from far below.

"Kurosaki-kun." Orihime muttered as she looked towards the edge of the dome. An even more painful emotion grew within him, and he could guess what this one was called, since it was coupled with hate for that damn Shinigami boy.

"I do not see why you need me to be alive, woman. You have somebody else for five lifetimes I believe." He regretted these words as soon as he spoke them, the meaning behind them were not hidden anywhere near as well it should have been. The feelings which crowded his chest were within every word. Orihime looked down at the man in her lap curiously for a moment, and then focused out to the forever black night of Hueco Mundo.

"How long have I been here? How long have I been in the world of hollows?"
She had ignored his previous statement. Instead of being relieved because her ignorance, it gave him an odd pain. He sighed again, "Not very long, not even by human standards."

She shook her head and smiled "Hmm you're wrong Ulquiorra, I've been here for many lifetimes."