**I am not dropping this fic, I promise. I'm sorry it has taken me so terribly long. Too much BS has happened. Anyways! As always, please let me know if anything is OOC, and feel free to message me!

They had stayed like that for a while, she didn't question him, and she knew he wasn't ready to recognize what was happening to him. But now, Orihime's mind flicked to the health of her friends, as she felt new battles beginning between those who had just arrived and the inhabitants of Hueco Mundo. She stood up abruptly, nearly falling over as she did, and steadied herself as the espada stood in a flash to catch her before she flew forward. Her ankle had caught on the fabric of her skirt and she had almost face-planted into the sand. Heart racing, Orihime giggled nervously as he held her arm. She stopped laughing the second she noticed how he was looking at her. His eyes were wide with shock, and they weren't on her, they were on his hand wrapped around her bicep. He looked….jolted. To her eyes, Ulquiorra looked like he'd just been told the earth did not revolve around the sun.. Putting her hand on his own, she peered up at him, willing him to look at her.

His expression immediately returned to normal at her touch, his back straightening as he removed his hands and put them in his pockets. The Arrancar had felt time stop for a moment as the idea of the girl being hurt froze his mind, his world. It had caused him to react without thinking, and by the time he'd realized it, he'd already saved her from an innocent fall. He knew that if it had been any other person, even another espada, he would have simply watched and then turned away, uncaring as was his true nature. So why? Why did he have the impulse to save this…girl? This human? He did it instinctively, his body moving for him before his mind could catch up. It was an intense feeling and he took a breath to mentally steady himself. What was happening to him?

The girl watched his face closely, wondering if he was really okay. It seemed like his world has just been flipped upside down, at least that was the vibe she was getting from him. Orihime placed her hand gently on his upper arm, smiling up at him as he quickly moved his eyes down and to the side, glancing at her blankly. She widened her smile, giggling before meeting his eyes in earnest. She tilted her head, wondering if he planned to stand here and do nothing until the battles were over. Desperately, she hoped otherwise. Would he stop her if she left to go help them? Or, even worse, would she find herself unable to leave his side? She questioned her heart over and over again.

If he didn't want to join in the battle, she'd be doomed to try and find her way around this place by herself, something she was not very confident about. Not only that, but what guarantee did she have that he would let her go? Though, in reality…she worried that he wouldn't do anything at all. That he'd let her go, not caring about what would happen to her. Chastising herself, Orihime was realizing that she was planning everything with him included, never considering that he may just leave all together. Her brown eyes were filled with worry, what if in the end she was the one who couldn't leave? She peered up into his eyes questioningly.

"Ulquiorra…" she paused, thinking of how to word it properly, "What is it…that you want to do now?" Her question made him look at her directly, his hand coming out of his pocket and leaning on the hilt of his sword, a natural pose for the cuarta espada.

He thought over her question thoroughly. What did he want to do? The answers were many and varied. But he wondered what she wanted to hear him say. Did she want him to claim he'd just join her like an obedient follower? Or did she want him to opt out, and leave her to her own devices? Did she want to be rid of him, or was she trying to just get an honest answer? He couldn't read her very well, and this frustrated him immensely. In any other case, he would have had no hesitation, answering instantly, as was his instinct. Why was it so different with this girl? He questioned everything with her, and he felt it was driving him mad. He didn't let it show, instead taking another breath before /"I must confront Lord Aizen…" he said what he'd been thinking for the past while. He'd admitted to himself already that this girl was someone he was somehow tied to now, and the only way he could ensure her survival was confronting Aizen himself.

"What do you want to do, woman?" He arched his brow, looking at her with questions all over his face.

"She hesitated, "I want to….I want to go help everyone. I want to heal those I can. So….will you go with me?" She asked this last part in a quiet voice, so quiet that she was afraid he hadn't heard her.

"Are you asking me to be your escort or are you asking for my company?" the Espada inquired, curious as to her true intentions. Was he a toy for her to use, like Aizen had used him, or was he to be her protector, her companion? He didn't know anymore. Nothing made sense and he was nearing his wits end.

"Hmmmm…." She thought aloud, wondering which it truly was, she shrugged, "Both!" She giggled softly.

The Arrancar eyed her for a moment before looking away. Both? If he was her escort, that meant she wanted his protection, which satisfied him in some odd way, but at the same time, if she also wanted his companionship, didn't that mean that she supposedly 'enjoyed' his presence? Ulquiorra had to fight hard not to assume when it came to the human woman, as she tended to go against what he'd learned of human customs. At the very least, she seemed far more honest than those he'd encountered, but he wondered if that was just a facade. Ulquiorra constantly questioned whether he could trust her, but also knew that even if she betrayed him, she'd never be able to stand up against him. He thought that would quiet his mental fury of questions, but it only made them grow. What was this? What was she? What was he becoming? He didn't know if he wanted to understand anymore. Ulquiorra turned his face back to hers, eyes whipping to meet hers, which eagerly awaited his response. He gave one short, curt, expressionless nod.

"Alright. I will go with you, woman, but only because Aizen will surely be wherever you end up," he pointed out, making it clear that it was not because he didn't want to be separated from her. He was merely using her, he told himself.

Orihime smiled again, nodding at his comment, "Okay! Let's go!"

The girl started heading off in a direction completely opposite of where they needed to go. The Arrancar sighed, placing his arm around her waist and holding on tight as he prepared to jump up and through the same hole Ichigo and his quincy friend had gone through some long moments before. How long ago was it, really? His fight with the soul reaper felt like years ago, not just mere hours. It was strange how time passed when he was with the human girl. The same thing had always happened when he'd gone to visit her in the cell she'd been given. He wondered why that was…

They plunged through and back into Las Noches with ease, but Orihime was still unaccustomed to this method of travel. It was fast and convenient, she knew, but it still shocked her sometimes how fast they actually went. Ulquiorra had set her down beside him, letting her go the instant they stopped and she was steady. She looked at him, trying to read his emotionless expression. His eyes seemed full of questions, more so than the way they were when she'd first met him, and she couldn't help but wonder if that was because of her. Had he noticed the change, too?

Turning back to the field of light before them and the yellow sand beneath her, she was reminded a bit of Japan. The nostalgia and homesickness that hit her was very unwelcome, and she quickly closed her eyes and focused on locating her friends, knowing the faster she found them the faster they'd be able to head home, safe. Rukia's spiritual pressure was nearby, so Orihime decided to head in that direction, Ulquiorra following suit beside her with his pace always a step behind hers.

The espada didn't know what to do. He felt a bit out of place in his previous home now. The comrades he'd had in this place would most likely challenge him to a fight now if they caught him with a human. It was an odd sensation, the feeling of being vulnerable. He had to say; he really, really didn't like it. If he'd been right before, and this woman was becoming his weakness, what would he do? What could he do? He was running out of ways to explain this odd new link to himself, and he didn't know what else to do or say to fix it. Was he stuck this way now? Was there no going back from this…this "heart" between them? He was burning with things he wanted answered, and the unbearable urge to break something.

The spiritual pressure she'd sensed before had definitely been Rukia's, but now she sensed two others, and they were all growing stronger. Were they getting closer? Were her friends gaining more power? She couldn't tell very well, but she hoped they were nearing the location. Every once in a while she would steal a quick glance at the espada to make sure he was still on board with going with her. She worried about what he'd do when they reached them. Would he stay on her side? Orihime trusted him, but she knew that she could be naïve at times. Still, she held on hope. The espada had shown no signs of wanting to hurt her, and she embraced that fact and smiled.

Ulquiorra's mind was swirling. His eyes were narrowed towards the horizon as they walked, his thoughts a constant stream of questions and theories. He needed to know what she was to him, what he was…feeling. It wasn't normal. Not for him. He'd never had emotions, or well, at least, not since he'd died as a human, which he couldn't even remember so that didn't matter to him. He pondered all the different possibilities that this could maybe just be a sort of trick or 'spell' on her part, but he knew that was silly and waved those thoughts away. He clenched his jaw, annoyed with himself for being unable to find answers. He felt…angry….the fact that he felt at all was slightly startling.

For so long he'd only felt small spurts of emotions, none of which that he could hold on to. But he felt this one strongly, this and something else… Something, something he couldn't place. It wasn't good exactly, but it wasn't necessarily bad, either. It was this feeling of being free, but also being shackled. He couldn't explain it, and that only added to his frustration. He wanted nothing more than to sit this woman down and have a deep discussion with her about these things. The espada longed to understand, but so many things were happening outside of this right then that he couldn't do anything about his own ramblings at the moment. He sighed, relaxing his expression back into his bored state and looking over at the puzzling girl for a brief moment. Not expecting her to already be looking at him, he was caught off guard and quickly looked away. Had she been staring him for the entirety of the time he'd been lost in his thoughts? The thought made him want to chuckle, but he stifled that urged and remained neutral.

"Is there something you want to ask?" he prompted, his voice leveled.

"U-Um…" she looked away from him, staring forward before answering, "Well…yeah, I guess. But I don't want you to get mad at me," her laughter was shaky as she rubbed the back of her head.

"What is the question," he said the phrase like a statement, not bothering to promise he would not get angry. He already was, so it didn't matter much anyway.

"Okay….. Are you… Are you sure you want to go through with this? Helping me, I mean…" she asked, her voice fading towards the end as she clasped her hands in front of her.

He thought this over in his mind. The espada hadn't actually given much thought to the fact that her comrades may be willing to fight him whether he helped them defeat the other Arrancars or not. Taking a deep breath, he shrugged.

"I have nothing else I can do. So, yes. Though, fighting Yami will be…less than entertaining," he mumbled, knowing full well that her soul reaper comrades were currently fighting espada zero, his most irritating fellow espada.

"Orihime nodded, feeling a little better as they were finally getting close enough to see black figures moving quickly in the distance. She couldn't make them out yet, but she knew they were alive. That's what matters, she told herself.

"You'll win," Orihime told him confidently, her face serious and honest, "I have faith in all of you." After a moment she smiled up at Ulquiorra with utter confidence in her words. She knew, deep down, that they would all win this battle. It was up to her to make sure they all made it in one piece.

"Of course," Ulquiorra nodded once, never doubting his own abilities against any of the upcoming opponents, but also underlyingly aware of the fact that his fellow espada members were more powerful than he was. Was his other form powerful enough to defeat them? He'd soon find out… Slowly, he was finding that the presence of this woman, this mere human girl, was giving him more and more strength as he took steps towards the battle…