This is the ORIGINAL Miniature Murcielago story that had been started in 2010. This story is being completely revamped. I have the last chapter written, but I cannot bring myself to post it. I started this when I was 14, I am now 27. My writing from then and now are completely different, and that was partly why it was so hard to keep it going. I am now determined to get all of this out in the way I am happy with. New chapters will be updated and the story will be slightly different, but still the same idea. If any of you remember this story and still want the original, the old one will exist on deviantart. But on and AO3, it's going to get be redone. I promise it will not take me as long to finish. I am hoping to have everything done by end of March 2023

This is chapter 1 - Rewritten

"I'm not scared."

That's what she had said.

Ulquiorra had reached out to her and to his utter disbelief she had reached back out to him. It was in that moment that a feeling fluttered through his being, something he never thought was possible.

He didn't want to go, he wanted to be with her.

Everything began to click. His desire to bring her to Hueco Mundo. His constant questioning of her blasted heart. His need to be near her. Sleeping in her room when he was supposed to be watching over. The jealousy and rage he had felt when Grimmjow took her.

All this time he believed he was fighting Ichigo for the sole purpose of Aizen's orders.

But now it all made sense. He wasn't obeying Aizen anymore. He was fighting because of her.

He wanted to keep her here, with him.

As the vision from his eyes began to blur, the last thing he saw was the image of the woman crying for him.

Ulquiorra wondered why she would…after everything he had done.

The few seconds left before his chest would inevitably turn to ash as well he felt an ache that was more painful than any physical injury he had endured to this point.

A bond. Emotion. The Heart.

Whatever it was, she was the source of it.

He found himself in darkness, a void. The very thing was supposed to bring him comfort as he was born from the pits of nothing. He closed his eyes and succumbed to it.

This is where he was supposed to be.

But before he felt his entire being enter such a place, he realized something was off. A force unbeknownst to Ulquiorra, began to pull him out.

When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer in darkness. Instead all he could see was sand, he was completely surrounded.

His head jerked up at the sound of that Shinigami, "That's another one down, I'm off!"

"Wait Ichigo!" It was her, "Let me heal you first!"

It was that woman's voice.

The shinigami left before she could.

Ulquiorra was baffled. Was this real? When he looked up he could see an opening that laid bare the sky. He recognized it and the familiar moon casting down on him.

He was still in Hueco Mundo, and he was trapped in sand. How did that make any sense?

Before he could attempt his escape, the light above him became eclipsed. Next thing he knew, he was pressed HARD into the ground, his face completely slammed into sand.

Someone had stepped on him.

He grunted painfully in response.

Whatever force that weighed on top of him instantly retreated.

When he looked up, he was met with the mortified eyes of that woman.

"U-Ulquiorra?" She looked down on him.

His eyes widened at the sight of her as he realized she looked like a giant that towered over him.

"Orihime, what is that?" That was surely the sound of the quincy. Ulquiorra could feel the vibrations from the steps as he neared.

"Uryu wait that's-"

Once more Ulquiorra's tiny form was smashed into the sand. He could hardly breathe. He felt his wings almost snap from this force that was significantly stronger than the first.

"Get off!" Ulquiorra demanded, though it sounded like mere muffles to the humans above him.

"Uryu stop, you're hurting him!" That was the woman's voice again.

The pressure instantly released and he was met with the touch of delicate fingers enclosing over his form.

Ulquiorra laid in a fetal position in Orihime's hands, his arms covered his face and his wings wrapped around him as if a blanket. His hair was in a mess and his entire upper body began to bruise.

When the pain registered, he was confused as to how something like this could penetrate his hiero and injure him. Also why was he not able to use his regenerative abilities to remove such a silly thing?

Ulquiorra eyes snapped open to the sight of giant silver orbs next to him. He jerked back in surprise at it.

Orihime had brought the tiny bat closer to her face in order to examine further. She could not believe what she was seeing. The same Ulquiorra that had battled Ichigo, that had saved her from Ichigo's hollow form, and the one that had reached out to her just moments ago, was now lying helplessly in her hand.

Their gazes didn't break until Uryu shouted, "What the hell is that?!"

Orihime jumped in surprise and as a result, unintentionally dropped Ulquiorra back into the same hole he had found himself in. It caught him off guard and he was unable to spread his wings fast enough.

Ulquiorra was once again face-first in the sand.

This time instead of that woman touching him, the quincy reached down and lifted Ulquiorra by a single wing as the rest of his form dangled helplessly from it.

Orihime stared in awe at the tiny Ulquiorra, she couldn't help but think that he was so…

So…

…cute.

Her face immediately flushed a shade of red at the thought that her former captor was now a cute little thing that you could hold in the palm of your hand. The mere thought of it was so ridiculous that it sent her into a fit of laughter.

Ulquiorra and Uryu both eyed each other confused and then shifted their gaze to Orihime where they watched her spectacle incredulously. Completely besides themselves at how ridiculous they looked themselves.

Orihime's stomach began to cramp and she had to clutch it with one hand and with the other she found Uryu's arm for support. Tears stained her eyes as there seemed to be no end in sight for her fit of laughter.

"Okay okay…" She tried to recompose herself. She closed her eyes and took a few deep heavy breaths.

When she opened them and was met with the sight of the Ulquiorra that still hung helplessly from Uryu's hand, she burst out in laughter once more.

Ulquiorra felt utterly humiliated. This was hell. Absolute hell.

He had wished for her, to have more time with her, and this is what the universe gave him.

"I fail to see the humor in this." Ulquiorra deadpanned flatly at her.

Orihime covered her mouth as she tried to hold it in, her entire face turned red and tears were streaming down her face.

Even in this situation Ulquiorra managed to maintain that flat cool composure he always had. If anything, Orihime considered such a thing a talent.

This was the first instance where she had been able to laugh in a long time. In fact this was the first time Ulquiorra had seen her laugh. During her time under his watch she had never shared that with him. The closest he had witnessed was the way she had treated him kindly after falling asleep in her room. Even then…he had considered her to be quite lovely.

But now… she seemed so lively in comparison. Despite his disgraceful situation, he couldn't help but be drawn towards her.

Realizing it was going to take a while before Orihime would be able to form a coherent sentence, Uryu shifted his attention back to the arrancar at hand, literally.

He lifted his other hand up to enclose around Ulquiorra's tiny frame in order to draw him closer and released his grip on his wing as he did so.

Ulquiorra was a bit taken back at how he was able to see his reflection in Uryu's glasses.

"Care to explain?" Uryu eyed him suspiciously.

Ulquiorra's eyes hardened as he stared directly in the blue of the quincy. His wings were completely enveloped in his grip. He shifted uncomfortably at the feel of Uryu's fingertips when they twitched against his torso.

Ulquiorra felt an anger seethe on the inside that the once Quarto espada had been reduced to such a form. But then…he remembered learning about such a thing a very long time ago.

From the dawn of Las Noches, he found himself spending much of his time in the library. During which, he came upon an interesting theory. There had been rare situations in the past where an arrancar's physical form would fluctuate at the brink of death. Something would pull them back…just as it had done to Ulquiorra when he was right at the cusp of it.

The reason their being would fluctuate in size was because their physical soul was no longer able to exist, because they weren't supposed to be there at all. So with whatever was left of their essence from their death could only transpire through a smaller form of their former selves.

This was an attempt to tether themselves back in the world for a chance at life once more. If it was a cruel joke the universe had in store for the arrancar or a plan that Aizen or Urahara had when developing the hougyokou, Ulquiorra didn't know.

But what he did know was that such an event only occurred at the brink of death and if an intense emotional experience would transpire that shook the arrancar to it's very core. Such an intense experience, that even through the process of death, had the ability to pull them back.

The twist was that, whatever being or experience that caused such an abruption in the minds and emotional sake of the arrancar, must be reciprocated.

That didn't make much sense to Ulquiorra. What could possibly happen in battle in the middle of a war that would cause such an emotional disturbance amongst no other than hollows? The theory was lacking at best.

But then the thought dawned on him…

Ulquiorra realized what that woman had meant with bonds and of the human heart, and he had wished he didn't have to go, that he could be with her.

It was when that thought occurred only then was he pulled back from the brink of nothingness and found himself in a weakened form such as this.

With that theory in mind, it meant that….if Ulquiorra had formed such an affection for the human girl, and that was what his soul had latched onto…then the only way to return to his former self, was through her reciprocating such feelings.

But this eluded Ulquiorra as he couldn't even properly put into words what it was he had had felt for her exactly. All he knew was that he wanted her, to not depart from her, and that the idea of the heart with her wasn't as ridiculous as he once thought. In the end, he had finally come to terms with it.

In what way, shape, or fashion did he want her though? He had originally thought he wanted to own her and make her his, even if it was against her will. But at the cusp of losing it all, he realized it was much more than that.

So whatever this monster was that he could barely fathom when it came to hearts, bonds, and humans, other than the fact he had finally admitted to himself he had a bond with her, she needed to return it back to him.

Only then would Ulquiorra be allowed a chance to return to his former self.

Was it a cruel twist of fate? Or a second chance?

Ulquiorra honestly didn't know. And he could not believe that he found himself in a situation he had once ridiculized from the nonsense he had read.

Yet there he was.

As if it couldn't get any worse, there was an important detail in the spread of pages he studied.

Because he had been reduced to almost nothing, the stabilization of his form would only last for a short time period.

That span was only about 10 days from the moment their supposed death had occurred.

So here Ulquiorra was, a being that felt nothing and was nothing, that had wished for something he couldn't have, now in a situation that if he wanted it, he had to earn it through a cruel and ridiculous turn of events.

The question for Ulquiorra now was…

Did he want the woman to return whatever affection he had developed for her?

Or was he okay with succumbing to the nothingness he was supposed to?

He turned his attention from the quincy to the girl that was recovering from her fit of laughter.

Ulquiorra very quickly concluded that he would have her.

After a few moments of silence from the bat, Uryu was honesty quite over it.

"Did you hear me?" Uryu demanded.

Ulquiorra turned to glare at the quincy after his voice pulled him from his thoughts.

Uryu thought this puny thing had a lot of nerve giving him such a face considering his situation.

"I know just as much as you do." Ulquiorra lied. There was no way he was going to explain that he had formed feelings for the girl and that's why he was 6 inches tall. Even he had trouble believing it.

Uryu sighed and pulled the arrancar from his face and shrugged, "I guess I expected too much from you."

Unfortunately while lifting his arms to shrug, he had the bat still in hand, so Ulquiorra found himself feeling incredibly nauseous. Such a state really spoke volumes as to how weakened he was.

At that, Uryu turned towards Orihime who had thankfully calmed down. She was eying Ulquiorra carefully, her hands still covering her mouth.

She had hoped Ulquiorra had some information but apparently he did not, and she had never seen or heard of such a spectacle.

She took a step towards them and looked slightly down to the little bat in hand. Ulquiorra looked upset, she was all too familiar with that face.

"What should we do with him, Orihime?" Uryu asked while shifting his glasses up the brim of his nose and extended his other hand out to her.

Orihime placed her hands underneath her friend's just in time to catch the little bat when Uryu released his grip. She immediately brought him closer to her chest as she considered.

"Would it be horrible of me…" She looked down at Ulquiorra as he sat perfectly in her hands "...if I wanted to keep him?"

Uryu had a stupefied look on his face that seemed to exceed any expression he would have whenever Ichigo said something.

"Orihime, I don't think that's an option." Uryu furrowed his eyebrows at her.

"Why not?" Orihime pouted, bringing the little arrancar up to her face. She pressed him to her cheek and rubbed against his as if he was a pet.

Uryu's stupefied expression only seems to grow at what he was seeing.

"He…works for Aizen, Orihime?" He questioned, completely dumbfounded at the naivety of the girl.

"Isn't this the same hollow that kidnapped you? And just tried to kill Ichigo a few minutes ago?" Uryu continued.

While the quincy was making perfect sense, Ulquiorra couldn't even begin to form an argument against Uryu as the woman was rubbing her cheek aggressively against his.

How dare she hold him like he was such a cute little thing, when he was obviously the furthest from such. He may be only 6 inches but he was still the Quarto espada. Even with whatever feelings he had developed for her, he expected the utmost respect, she was no exception.

Orihime's eyes softened as she took in Uryu's response and she slowly stopped the affection she was showering her former captor with. She pulled Ulquiorra away and held his body so both of her hands had a grip under his shoulders while the rest of him hung. Like one would hold a baby.

Ulquiorra looked even more upset.

The girl considered all of this while staring at the arrancar in her hands and he stared back at hers.

She had remembered the look on his face a few minutes ago when she thought he was going to disappear for good. He had such a sad expression and she had been crying over him.

Orihime understood that to her friends they couldn't understand why. When Ulquiorra had faded away she tried her best to wipe her tears away and put on a strong face, knowing there was nothing else she could do.

Orihime acknowledged that he was on the wrong side of the war. But the tension between herself and him didn't go unnoticed though. There was something between them she couldn't put her finger on. She felt like he had the ability to look right through her every time their eyes locked, in a way that no one else could. It was like he could read her better than her closest friends while still being so far and out of reach at understanding her heart.

Ulquiorra obviously viewed the concept of such as very little, it was something that was beneath him, and something he wanted no part of. That pained her knowing he probably never could.

Orihime knew she didn't hate him. She did have something against him for killing her highschool crush, twice in fact, that was something that couldn't be overlooked. But he had never hurt her when he obviously could on multiple occasions. Even with his threats he had never done such a thing. Although he was harsh towards her when questioning her beliefs, she believed deep down it was his way of attempting to understand her.

Whether that was his intention or not was besides the point. She was sure that the moment he reached out to her, maybe he began to understand…even a little?

A part of her wanted to know if Ulquiorra had felt the same confusion and tension between them that she felt…but when he faded away she realized she never would.

But she never expected to find him like this only moments later.

"Ulquiorra…" she started, "What do you think?" She tilted her head to the side, allowing a few strands of hair to fall over her bare shoulders due to the state of her uniform.

Ulquiorra pressed his tinted lips together as he finally had a moment to collect himself. His tail flared quietly under him as he did so.

"I am of no use to Aizen now. He will be rid of me as soon as he learns I was unable to kill Ichigo Kurosaki."

That was indeed true, but if Ulquiorra wanted any chance at having Orihime to himself he had to start making moves.

"If you choose to dispose of me you will only be making Aizen's job easier. As you can see I am in no state to fight you." He wasn't sure if that was the best thing to say.

"So you're not going to fight us anymore?" Orihime chirped.

That was good, she was getting somewhere.

"I will not." He answered.

Orihime gave a sigh of relief and looked up to meet Uryu with hopeful eyes. He should approve after hearing this.

Uryu only raised one of his eyebrows at Ulquiorra's response. This was the very man that had also just ripped his arm off, which thankfully Orihime had healed prior.

"Orihime I don't know if that's the best thing." He sighed. "Plus it's out of our hands, we should just leave him here."

The red-head widened her eyes at this, "We can't! He'll die out here! He's defenseless like this, right Ulquiorra?" She looked back at him expecting him to agree with her.

Ulquiorra was not pleased in the slightest. The woman was still holding him like a child, or a pet, or something. But not in a way that showed respect.

"Woman, no matter my circumstance I am not defenseless." He needed her to know that. He would never be a nuisance, not to her. Even if he felt his riatsu had tanked and he appeared to have lost some if not all of his abilities, he'd figure it out.

In an attempt to prove it to her, he needed to get out of such a position.

Before he could though, the quincy continued. "You hear that Orihime? He'll be fine. He's a hollow, this is Hueco Mundo, there's no way he could come with u-"

Uryu had stopped mid sentence and his mouth dropped at the sight of Ulquiorra crawling up Orihime's arm.

"Ulqui-wait! Haha! That tickles!" Orihime exclaimed at the feel of his little talons crawling up her skin all the way up to her shoulders.

Ulquiorra had just reached the crevice of her neck and attempted to gain his footing when Orihime tensed up her shoulders. She forcefully scrunched her head to the side to stop the tickling sensation.

As a result, Ulquiorra was squished painfully between her neck and shoulder.

"Woman!" He managed to push her neck away by whatever force he could muster, but it was useless because the feel of his little talons now against her neck just caused the woman to press against him harder.

"Ulqui-Ulqui-NOoOO sTopp! HEHEHE!" She shouted.

Ulquiorra could barely breathe, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He counted his blessings until the woman finally managed to calm down enough to cease the weight she was casting on him. He didn't dare move a muscle as she retreated in order to avoid such a fit again.

Orihime had covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to keep back her giggling. Her neck was still tilted towards Ulquiorra but not enough to completely crush him as she just had. Her eyes had started watering and she was bright red at the sensation of Ulquiorra's fur against the crook of her neck.

Ulquiorra now stood motionless with both of his arms still pressed against her, should she try that stunt again. Due to the commotion, some of the woman's hair had fallen over her shoulders and now completely covered most of the little bat in the process.

Uryu stared absolutely dumbfounded at what he had just witnessed.

Despite Ulquiorra's current position, he was enthralled at being engulfed in the woman's scent. Her hair was so soft, he never thought such a thing could be.

Yes, he had contemplated on multiple occasions what the strands would feel like between his fingers. But whenever the thought occurred previously, he had pushed it to the side humoring it as nothing more than a natural curiosity.

Now though, Ulquiorra couldn't help but feel himself tense up at being so close to her like this. If he wasn't this small, he would surely place his own face into the crevice of her neck in order to simulate such an experience but on better terms. Terms in which he had control of the situation.

But unfortunately right now, he did not.

"Woman, should you try that stunt again-"

He had stopped mid sentence at the sensation of her fingers brushing her hair to the side, then gingerly began to stroke them against his head, careful of the horns protruding from them.

Ulquiorra's eyes snapped open at the sudden touch, he was absolutely bewitched. Something began to form in his gut at the feel of the woman petting him in such a way. Her fingers stroked along his hair and over his shoulders, all the way down to his feet. She did it once more.

A deep murr formed in the back of his throat as she continued. No one had ever touched him like this. In fact, he would never have allowed such a thing, but when it came to her…

Orihime softened her expression at the feel of Ulquiorra under her fingertips. A huge smile plastered itself across her face as he was allowing her to do such a thing.

Ulquiorra's eyes rolled to the back of his head at the smell and touch she left him with. He didn't dare say anything if it meant she would stop. He didn't want her to. In his head, flashes of images began to form of what it would feel like if she had been under his touch…

Orihime's direction had shifted and instead of going down his body like she had before, her fingers made their way under his chin. She began to scratch him there as one would a cat.

Even though the sensation of Orihime's skin against his left him intoxicated Ulquiorra was not going to have this. She was not going to treat him like a pet. He worried though that should he say anything negative about touching him, she might not do it again.

So for now he would eat it. Ulquiorra decided the best course of action to make the woman his was unfortunately finding a way to enter the human world.

As Uryu watched, disgusted, he knew there was no winning. Orihime was not going to leave Ulquiorra here, not with that look on her face. He had no idea what had gone down between the two to have such an interaction but that wasn't the priority at the moment.

There was still a war to deal with.

"When you two are done-we can get a move on."

Uryu's voice finally broke the spell that had fallen upon the two. Ulquiorra and Orihime's eyes snapped open. She quickly retracted her hand and hid it behind her back, as if a child was caught doing something they weren't supposed to.

Ulquiorra took this moment to collect himself.

"Uryu does that mean…" Orihime started, the hope in her voice rising, "...we can keep him?"

Uryu shrugged and sighed, as if defeated.

Orihime had won.

Ulquiorra detested the way she had referred to him as a pet yet again in her request. But at least she wanted him to go with her. He concluded that maybe things were going to go his way.