Even over the busy bustling sounds, the moaning and groaning, of the people around her, the sharp voice of Matsumoto Rangiku could be heard. "Hey, Orihime-chan, we need your help over here," the redheaded vice-captain called out to her friend. "The Captain's injured!"

"Coming Rangiku-san!" Orihime shouted back from the other side of the clearing, where the battle had taken them. The healer, still in her Arrancar ensemble, concentrated even more intently on rejecting the wounds of Captain Ukitake, who had, along with several other captains, just defeated the seemingly invincible Aizen. Although the battle was long and hard, in the end, Soul Society had triumphed.

Komamura Sajin and Kira Izuru had lost their lives in the fray, as well as several of the strong third and forth seats who had come to offer backup. Although the grief was poignant in the atmosphere, there was also a liberating sense of relief, as things could very well have turned out much worse. Soul Society had counted itself very lucky, although it was a little more than luck that had lead Soul Society to victory.

Tousen was not very powerful to begin with, so Soi Fong had taken him out rather easily, but not before he made a cheap shot at Rangiku, hoping to bring at least once person down with him. Unexpectedly, when the smoke had cleared, not only was Tousen found dead, by Gin was dying as well. It seemed that his body simply could not bear to see Rangiku hurt, and had moved on its own. Gin died in Rangiku's arms.

With his two shinigami allies dead, Aizen and his top three Espada were forced to face five captains. As always, the brown-haired dictator had shown nothing but a confident face. His smug look incited Captain Hitsugaya to release his bankai, but for all his desire to kill Aizen, the young captain was forced to go through Stark first.

The odds seemed to lie heavily in Aizen's favour, until certain unexpected visitors made their appearances. Kurosaki Isshin and Ishida Ryuken, as well as all the Vizards, joined the fight on Soul Society's side, providing some much needed back up.

Meanwhile, Urahara Kisuke and Shihouen Yoruichi had opened Garganta in the now abandoned Las Noches, allowing the 'intruders,' as well as a very special 'guest,' back to the material world. By the time all these got to the battlefield, things were again looking pretty desperate. All the shinigami and Vizards were heavily wounded, while Aizen remained almost untouched. Orihime and Captain Unohana healed the wounded while Kenpachi and Ichigo ran recklessly into battle, followed quickly by Byakuya, Mayuri and all the others who had just arrived from Las Noches.

With this new influx of fighters, the fight between Aizen and Soul Society seemed rather even. But just when it looked like this was going to be a battle of attrition for Soul Society, another unexpected turn of events took place.

With some of the most powerful souls in all the worlds keeping Aizen busy, slowly but surely wearing down on his strength, Aizen was beginning to show very brief openings. While the shinigami were in no position to take advantage of these, as they were defending against Aizen's bankai, Stark, Halibel and Barragan abandoned their battles and begun to attack Aizen. With the tides turning, the shinigami assumed, the Arrancar saw their chance at freedom, and took it. With the help of these Arrancar, the great Aizen had fallen, his ambition never to be fulfilled.

In the end, of these three Espada, only Stark survived. Because of the great help that these rogue Espada had been for Soul Society, Stark had been allowed to leave peacefully, but not before Orihime healed his wounds as a sign of gratitude. She then joined Unohana in healing the coalition's injuries.

This was where Orihime found herself at the moment, busily healing everybody's wounds. None of her nakama had been killed, and the young woman was dizzy with relief. The stress that had been building in her for the last few days had been suddenly released, and Orihime could hardly hide her elation.

Humming a fast cheery tune, the jubilant girl told Ukitake to take it easy for a minute as she skipped-ran over to where she had heard Rangiku's voice. As she approached, white cape flaring as she ran, she saw the older woman with the long orange hair crouched down next to her captain. Toushiro, like everyone else, was heavily injured, although most of the time he was fighting Stark. However, due to Stark's treason, Toushiro was in the position to land a good blow on his much-hated foe, and was awarded the pleasure of sending Aizen to his death.

The short shinigami was lying down, open wounds bleeding profusely, sharp blue eyes still troubled. He was thinking of Momo, it was obvious. However, instead of hiding her enthusiasm to give Toushiro room to think, Orihime felt the need to cheer him up.

"Don't worry, Toushiro-kun," Orihime said while dropping to her knees next to Rangiku, whose eyes were still red from crying. "I'll fix you right up!"

Orihime didn't miss the wary glance that Rangiku gave her, but she also didn't miss how Toushiro's eyes softened slightly at her words. A golden barrier enveloped the white-haired captain, rejecting the young boy's wounds. It didn't seem right to Orihime that this child had to suffer so much, no matter how incredibly powerful he was. Within her barrier, she saw Toushiro relax, and it was times like this that Orihime was truly grateful for her powers.

"Orihime-chan," Rangiku's almost hesitant voice broke through her friend's reverie. "Are you okay? I mean, they didn't hurt you, in Hueco Mundo, did they?" The vice-captain sounded apologetic; it was obvious that she wished she could have done more for her friend. Orihime could sympathize.

"No, No, it wasn't so bad!" Orihime didn't want Rangiku, or anyone, for that matter, to feel guilty over what had happened. Although she wouldn't admit it, Orihime didn't want to play the helpless defenceless victim, because she felt from the bottom of her heart that her capture was her own fault. If only I had been stronger… Orihime had to stop herself from looking sad. That would defeat the whole purpose of comforting Rangiku!

"Sure, I mean I worried about my nakama, but I also worried about them when we were fighting Aizen earlier!" The vibrant girl let her soft gaze fall upon her shinigami friend with an assuring smile, attempting to sound convincing. "And the only person I saw the whole time was Ulquiorra, and even though he was really mean, he never hurt me or anything!" Come to think of it, what happened to Ulquiorra? Shouldn't he have escaped that caja thing already? It's already been much more than two or three hours, Orihime thought as she turned towards the west, seeing that the sun was already low in the sky.

Under the worried gaze of Rangiku, Orihime continued to heal the injured Captain of the Tenth Division, her rejection barrier now offering more light than the sun. The grey-eyed girl began to wonder if perhaps Grimmjow had been wrong, and that Ulquiorra wouldn't be able to escape from that other dimension. This thought saddened her. So what if he was mean? From what she knew, he was much nicer than some of the other Espada. Grimmjow and Nnoitora downright terrified her, and it was obvious that they would never hold back from hurting her, as Ulquiorra did… often.

With an audible sigh, the redhead realized that there were a lot of times when she would have probably been killed if someone else had been her guardian. Even when she had slapped Ulquiorra, he had just glared at her, albeit a little more angrily than usual, then left the room. He had spared her? Or was he ordered not to hurt her? Either way, it didn't make sense. After all, Aizen didn't even end up really needing her, so why would he protect her? Furthermore, why would he order her to keep repeating those assertions of allegiance? Had all that been Ulquiorra?

"Maybe he just prefers psychological abuse over physical abuse…" Orihime was deep in thought. What was the meaning of all those things that had happened to her while in Hueco Mundo? In her intense contemplation, Orihime hadn't noticed that she had spoken her thought aloud.

"What?!" What is this serious expression doing on Orihime-chan's face? Did she mention something about psychological abuse? Rangiku knew from her time living with Orihime that she could say some really random things sometimes, but what else could she possibly be thinking about? They must have put her through some sort of abuse!

Back to reality, Orihime waved her arms around frantically in front of her, trying to come up with an excuse. Rangiku, who had begun to hover over the girl in extreme concern, was throwing questions at the stuttering girl like she was a convict before the firing squad. Both stopped when a loud rumbling sound was heard echoing through the air.

"Hehe," Orihime laughed weakly, rubbing her tummy. "I guess I'm hungry. Ulquiorra didn't bring my lunch, after all…" There she was, thinking about him again. Maybe he had escaped that caja thing, but just hadn't come for her. For some reason, the former captive had a hard time imagining that to be the case. It just seemed that he was always around, even though she had only been by his side for a few days. It felt weird to the girl now that he wasn't.

Just then, another rumbling sound resounded through the park, much louder than the first. This time, it caught everyone's attention, pulling the Captains and Vice-captains of Soul Society away from their discussions. Just then, the fabric of space was ripped just a few yards away from where Orihime was crouched near the almost-healed Hitsugaya. Immediately, a thin pallid hand with long fingers shot through the rip. The hand was then followed by an equally pale, and equally thin, young man, with eyes a shocking emerald green and a teal zanpakutou at his waist.

Most of the people present had never encountered Ulquiorra, but it was obvious from his half-helmet made of bone and his exposed Hollow hole that he was an arrancar. Some of the recovered captains drew their swords, preparing for battle.

"So you're back for a rematch, eh?" Ichigo exclaimed confidently as he grasped Zangetsu in both hands, pointing it towards the Arrancar. It was obvious that Ichigo, who had improved greatly from his fights with Grimmjow, Nnoitra and Aizen, looked forward to settling the score with Ulquiorra. "Fine, I'll fight you."

Ulquiorra, however, wasn't listening.

The tear-streaked Espada tried to withhold a look of surprise from reaching his face. He could not sense the reiatsu of any of his former comrades, and the intruders were not only alive, but in the human world. Had the battle already been decided? I must have waited too long. It will be more difficult to gain Soul Society's trust if I cannot help them defeat Aizen…

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Ichigo's grin had disappeared, replaced by an annoyed scowl. The orange-haired shinigami took a purposeful step towards Ulquiorra. "I'm gonna show you what happens when you mess with my nakama!"

Ulquiorra stood motionless, eyeing his surroundings impassively. Unforeseen circumstances must have accelerated Aizen's original plan…

Orihime could only stare at the lone Arrancar who had appeared before her. She couldn't help but feel relieved; he wasn't hurt anywhere, his cloths hadn't even been torn. His face was as calm and emotionless as she remembered, looking almost serene to the teenage healer. His pale green tear-marks still added some (much needed) cuteness to his serious face and brought out those beautiful green eyes.

When she finally managed to tear her eyes off of him, Orihime saw the looks that her comrades-in-arms were giving him. Was Ulquiorra insane, or just suicidal? She finally noticed that Ichigo was trying to pick a fight with him, and realized that Ulquiorra was going to die here if she didn't do something. She was the only one who knew that he wasn't really such a bad guy.

Mustering up all her courage, Orihime got up, running past Rangiku and towards the melancholic Espada, ignoring her friend's cry to stay back. Stopping only three feet away from him, purposely between the Arrancar and Ichigo, the orange-haired girl smiled her brightest smile.

"Welcome back, Ulquiorra!" There was a false note somewhere in her cheeriness that nobody missed. Ulquiorra turned his body around to gaze at her, his inner astonishment not reaching his cold emerald eyes. This is the first time she has smiled in my presence…Her face is even more exquisite like this, when it is filled with such… warmth…But, why does she welcome me, and with such a face? Should she not fear her former captor?

Amidst the shouts and threats and cries that were surrounding the two, Orihime was trying her best not to look shaken and give away her plan, and Ulquiorra was trying to figure out exactly what this woman thought she was doing. Was this pathetic little human trying to protect him, the Quatro Espada (well, former Espada)? Didn't her feelings only go out to her precious nakama? Wasn't it he who had caused all her sorrow? As was usual when it came to her, he could find no answer to any of his questions.

"Inoue Orihime, where is Aizen-sama?"

"He is dead, as are Ichimaru Gin, Kaname Tousen and most of the Espada. If you do not want to join them, then leave the human world immediately and never return." The voice was of Captain Hitsugaya, who had gotten up and started advancing towards the two. Orihime's eyes widened in fear.

"I will not be leaving this world any time soon," Ulquiorra sounded tonelessly, eyes never leaving the girl in front of him. "I still have business with the woman." He could not leave, not until he understood this woman, not until he stopped thinking about her constantly, not until these unwanted emotions stopped surfacing. He wanted to own and control her, a feat he had yet to accomplish, even while having her all to himself in her small cell. Yes, this task would be requiring his immediate and focused attention.

"Bu-Business with me?" Orihime was baffled, what could Ulquiorra possibly want with her? A moment later, Orihime's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, yes BUSINESS," Orihime exaggerated the word, speaking loudly so everyone could hear. "Ulquiorra and I have BUSINESS… Over there!" As the orange-haired girl said this, she grabbed Ulquiorra's white sleeve and attempted to drag him with her into the nearby bushes.

"What are you doing, woman?" Ulquiorra was once again confused by the girl's behaviour, the furrow in his brow deepening. Even though he wasn't the Quatro Espada anymore, and she was no longer a prisoner (technically), she should still have the common sense to treat him with the utmost respect. What would make her think he would let himself be dragged through the shrubbery?

Although the girl's courage was rather endearing (something he would never consciously admit to himself), she was mistaken if she thought she could dominate him. He could kill her in a second if he so desired. But such a thought was unthinkable, especially when she was giving him this odd look that was at a time annoyed, pleading, frightened, and awed.

Looking into Ulquiorra's empty stare, Orihime's annoyance subsided, as she had to marvel at his bravery. Here he was, deep in enemy territory, completely alone, refusing her help, and still holding himself with that sense of dignity and grace that made him look so beautiful.

Yes, she could admit it, she found Ulquiorra handsome. His facial structure reminded her of a porcelain doll's, and his big green eyes were the most beautiful she had ever seen. They were at a time both empty and full of emotion. Orihime had never seen anything like it.

But more than anything else, Orihime admired his grace. In everything he did, his movements were fluid, his voice even. He was powerful and confident, even in dire situations like this one. That dignity that defined Ulquiorra to Orihime was, oddly, something that Orihime didn't want to see taken away from him. She felt like he should always carry his head high. Maybe he can do that better now that he doesn't serve Aizen…

"Inoue Orihime," Ulquiorra said her name carefully, as if he were talking to someone who was mentally inept, shaking the girl from her daze. "For the last few days, you were under the illusion that you were the prisoner of Aizen. That is untrue. It was I who proposed your capture, who brought you to Las Noches, and who took care of your essential needs. You were mine all along."

Everyone, including Orihime, was staring at the former Quatro Espada, wide-eyed and confused. Many were enraged, but stopped themselves from shouting at him, as he continued.

"Aizen was just a means by which I could obtain you without sacrificing my other plans. However, with Aizen dead, there is no way for me to continue to pursue those plans, nor is there a reason for me to return to Hueco Mundo." Ulquiorra continued coolly, unaffected by the hateful and incredulous stares he was getting from his audience.

"At the moment, my greatest interest lies in you, Inoue Orihime. That is why I had you come to me, and that is why I am here now. I want you to be mine." Ulquiorra finished his explanation, assuming that that should be enough for her to understand. Closing his eyes, his hands tucked casually in his pockets, Ulquiorra waited for a response. Everyone just gaped at him.

Urahara was the fastest to react, gazing at Ulquiorra from underneath his sun hat. "So am I correct in assuming that you are after Inoue-san's powers of rejection?"

"No," Ulquiorra replied sharply as he reopened his eyes, focusing on the one he knew as Urahara Kisuke, the creator of the Hyougoku. The black-haired man then shifted his gaze back to Orihime, whose eyes he found shining with something suspicious.

"Ulquiorra, you want me to be your valentine? Wow, it's a little early, but I'm so touched!" The young woman's eyes were sparkling, as Ulquiorra could only gaze at her in annoyance. He couldn't understand what she was talking about. "Wait, if you're giving me a valentine now, I should be getting you a gift for White Day soon! What kinds of chocolate do you like, Ulquiorra? I like the home-made kind with asparagus and chilli sauce on the inside! It's especially good if you –"

"Cease your idle banter immediately, woman. Your chatter is incomprehensible, but I am almost certain you misunderstood me." For some inconceivable reason, the woman looked like she was about to cry.

"So… You don't want me to be your valentine?" Orihime had to admit she was disappointed. She was looking forward to cooking chocolates for Ulquiorra. Looking up into Ulquiorra's eyes, she then wondered what exactly he wanted with her, then. "So, what exactly did you mean, Ulquiorra?"

Ulquiorra didn't know how to answer this girl. Despite the hours he had spent trying to find an answer to that question, he had always drawn a blank. What was it that he wanted with her? Why did her hair and eyes and face and words hold such a fascination for him? Perhaps the enchantress herself would know the answer.

"I don't know, woman. But, for some unfathomable reason, you hold my interest." Ulquiorra took a step towards the girl. Her gray eyes shone with such innocence. An impulse drove him to do what he had wanted to do from the moment he had first laid eyes on her. He removed his hand from his pocket.

"Get away from her!!" Ichigo shrieked, remembering his last encounter with the Espada. "Inoue, he's gonna– "

Raising his thin hand to Orihime's head, Ulquiorra took a loose strand of her hair between his fingers, eyeing it speculatively. It was softer than he had imagined it could be, and it shone a golden tint even in twilight's penumbra. In his reverie, he hadn't noticed that he had been leaning forward, his willowy figure towering over the smaller girl. Shifting his gaze, he found her eyes to be wide like saucers and her cheeks shaded a light crimson. Her mouth was slightly agape, her humid breath warming his neck. Ulquiorra had to hold back a smirk. How strangely enjoyable it is seeing her react to me in such a way…

"I find myself thinking about you, and your mere presence instigates odd reactions from me." Ulquiorra continued, looking into her eyes, as he twirled and twisted the strand of hair around in his fingers. He found it deeply amusing how each movement of his hands seemed to turn Orihime a darker shade of red. "Tell me, Inoue Orihime, why is that?"

Orihime looked up at Ulquiorra, absolutely stunned. His deep voice, smooth and alluring, had her completely mesmerized. Despite having listened intently to his every word, nothing had yet registered in her mind. Her every thought was scattered by his gentle musk scent and his emerald eyes that conveyed something his words could not.

That moment seemed to last forever. He, playing gently with her hair, enjoying how such a simple act on his part could affect her so. She, her cheeks flush, gray eyes unable to leave his green ones, as she stood so still she could swear she wasn't breathing. Neither heard the ear-splitting shouts of Ichigo, Uryuu and Rangiku. And they definitely didn't hear the hushed words Urahara was whispering into the ear of a certain wide-eyed cat-woman.

"Well, that's quite enough of that for now," Urahara's cheery voice exclaimed as he got behind Orihime, putting a hand on each of her shoulders and pulling her back towards him. As he leaned over the red-faced girl's shoulder, looking Ulquiorra straight in the eye, the shop owner took on a quieter, more serious tone.

"I believe that we two have matters to discuss."

"That is correct," was his cold, emotionless response.

The next moment, the two men were nowhere to be seen, leaving a dazed Orihime stumbling for balance.