AN: This is a really important chapter. Everything will be explained here. The story of the Pureblood, Vampires and Hunters will all be in here to finally shed some light into the concept of the story so read this carefully! :D
Probably gonna make this fic rated M for the next chapter. I'm not sure though. I need your toughts whether I should keep it safe or go all out. Message me your opinion or leave a review :)
Again, I would like to thank everyone who have tuned-in on both my stories. Your feedback is very much appreciated.
"So vampires are…real?"
Orihime couldn't totally grasp the idea but for some odd reason she found it believable. She lay tiredly on her bed and looked at the worried Ichigo. He was thinking deeply within himself. He was not sure if an innocent soul like Orihime could handle the truth. He eventually decided to tell her everything for her own protection.
"Well yes they are. They have been around for centuries and they haven't been this aggressive since the Vampire and Werewolf War back in the 1600s. Obviously, the vampires have triumphed, and they gained the power to walk in the daylight by obtaining the Moonstone. Of course, everyone thought it was just a myth, and the memory of the event was kept from the public. Ever since that day, the vampires have only appeared when necessary. They were pretty much content with animal blood sustaining them, well that is up until now."
Ichigo smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. Orihime had been shifting uncomfortably in her bed about the revealed story. So her dreams were sort of real after all…
"You see, to prevent that sort of stuff to happen again, people have learned to wield their 'Inocencia'. This is where the Vampire Hunters come in."
"Inocencia…?" Orihime muttered silently, curiously looking at Ichigo.
"Innocence. It was said that all people born to this world naturally have Innocence. However, only a few can harness it and gain its power. A person's Inocencia varies with the will of the wielder. If a person is not strong enough to face their fears or have tainted their soul's innocence by devoting their lives to evil, one cannot be blessed with the power of the Inocencia. If the wielder has a reason to live for and will continue recognizing and facing his fear, he will eventually become a Vampire Hunter."
Ichigo stopped for a moment and looked at the worried Orihime. It seems the time has come for him to reveal the identities of some of the Vampire Hunters.
"Rukia, Uryuu, Chad and I are all Vampire Hunters. We were able to master our Innocence 3 years ago. I'm sorry that I only told you now." Ichigo added, bowing his head slightly and looking at the floor.
Orihime's eyes widened slightly in shock. Her friends were Vampire Hunters for 3 years now and she had no idea. She had always been the damsel in distress and now that she learned about the Hunters and existence of Vampires, she felt even more helpless. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have understood." Orihime asked, holding back her tears.
Ichigo raised his head and looked at Orihime.
"You are just…too pure of a soul. We couldn't bring ourselves to tell you. You hold too much innocence." Ichigo responded, moving his hand over hers as a comforting gesture.
"…You see, that's really not all the story." Ichigo added, squeezing her hands slightly as if he was asking permission to continue. Orihime, in turn, nodded, wanting to know everything.
"Anyone can obtain Inocencia, however, there can only be one Pureblood."
"A Pureblood?"
"Yes. For centuries, vampires and hunters have searched for the Pureblood. Eventually, both parties gave up until Captain General Yamamoto has prophesized that a Pureblood would soon grace the Earth with its presence. I suspect that all this riot happening now in both parties is because of the prediction, not to mention that the Hogyoku has been stolen."
"What is a Hogyoku?"
"Well…I'm not really quite sure but if one obtains both the Hougyoku and the Pureblood, then God help us all." Ichigo chuckled slightly.
Orihime's tears involuntarily streamed down her face. She was not sure why she was so affected with the issue when she only found out about it now. Ichigo suddenly began to worry. He moved closer to Orihime and gave her a comforting hug.
Orihime couldn't help it much longer and she started to cry on Ichigo's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Inoue-san. We will protect you from those monsters. They won't ever lay their filthy claws on you. I promise."
Orihime sobbed silently at Ichigo's arms and returned his hug. She wasn't sure why but something in her believes that not all vampires were bad.
"You know, it's rude to pry at other people's business." Urahara chuckled lightly at the ebony-haired man.
Ulquiorra moved away from Orihime's door that was left ajar and placed his hands in his pocket. He didn't know why the sight of the orange-haired man hugging Orihime stirred a certain anger in him. He was thankful though that Orihime was safe from harm.
"I do not have any business with the woman. I have only come here to see you." Ulquiorra stated coldly, following Urahara to a safer place to talk.
"Well, eventually the truth will come out. Why not hit two birds with one stone now that you're here?" Urahara stated teasingly.
"I do not wish to repeat myself, Urahara-sensei. I am only here for my belongings and the medication. Now that she is with the Vampire Hunters, I would no longer fear of her well-being. I have no reason to stay here at this town any longer."
"There! You said it. The Great Might Ulquiorra has admitted to know fear." Urahara pointed at him, his face forming an annoying smile.
Ulquiorra, in turn, tried not to hear what the eccentric man had told him. It was simply a slip of tongue, nothing more…
Urahara eventually moved towards the cabinets, looking for the medications. He took out 2 black suitcases and handed it over to Ulquiorra.
"Everything you need is there. Medications, blood pills, animal blood, vervain and some wooden stake just to be sure."
"Arigato, Urahara-sensei." Ulquiorra bowed and turned to leave.
He walked along the familiar hallways. Everything was turning out fine until he heard someone following right behind him.
"Ul-Ulquiorra-san? What are you doing here so late in the night?"
Ulquiorra sighed. The last thing he wanted to happen was to encounter the auburn-haired woman.
"What I do is none of your business, woman." He stated coolly. Not even turning his head to look at her. He resumed back to walking.
"You sound just like him…" Orihime gasped, remembering the events that transpired at the forest.
Ulquiorra held his breath for a second. He turned to face the woman and looked deeply in her eyes.
"You will forget that I was here and will not remember this conversation we had."
Orihime looked back deeply into his eyes until she finally said, "…Huh?"
Ulquiorra mentally kicked himself when he finally remembered that he had given the woman vervain and he can no longer compel her. Her scent was too enticing that he cannot concentrate on the situation at hand.
"I have no obligation to initiate a conversation with you. My business here does not involve you. Soon enough, I will be gone from your life for good so your pursuit of my identity is pointless." Ulquiorra countered, keeping his pride in check.
Orihime couldn't hide her hurt. She watched as Ulquiorra left into the shadows. She wanted to pursue him but she just couldn't move in her place. She had a lot of questions, especially about him. Recently, bits and pieces of her memory have been returning to her in her sleep and one thing remained constant. Ulquiorra was always in it.
The following weeks have been uneventful. Everything played out ordinarily from day to day. Orihime would go to school on weekdays, go back home in the afternoon, sometimes she would hang out with her friends. When she gets home, she helps Urahara in preparing dinner. After that, she would study and watch some TV. When her favorite show, 'Chappy the Rabbit', was over, she would prepare for bed and try to get some sleep.
However, something that also remained constant was that she was having the same dream. It was on one evening that she finally decided that she must put an end to the chain of mysteries. She would finally confront the man who's been the center of her curious nature.
Orihime gasped and sat up up quickly from her sleep. She had yet, another dream. She wiped the sweat on her forehead and felt her body becoming numb. She looked over at her side table and saw that it was 2:00 in the morning. She gently stood up from her bed, her nightgown flowing down to her creamy legs. She looked over at the open window and saw darkness envelop the streets. She couldn't take anymore of this pretense. She needed to obtain answers, especially now that she has gotten herself involved.
Acting impulsively, she took out a knife and held her locket in place. She moved out of her room and silently got out of the house, careful not to wake up Urahara.
The wind was exceptionally cool today and the rain started to pour gently on her skin. She shivered but continued on, heading towards the forest, wearing only a nightgown and holding a knife on her right hand.
Eventually she found herself at the forest. She was at the same place where she had met the mysterious man.
She held out her knife and placed it over her arm, striking a good portion of her skin. She bit her lip at the pain as blood started to trickle down her arm.
She waited for a few minutes until she heard someone move past by her. She turned around and looked but no one was there. She heard another swift movement by her right and moved over to the area. She grabbed a sharp piece of wood from the ground on the way there. She knew that she was helpless against what she was expecting to come but she had no choice. This was the only way she thought of to finally meet him again.
Suddenly, she felt someone grip her waist from behind her. She shakily looked behind and saw the same penetrating yellow eyes. However, that was not the only thing that caught her attention. From his eyes gushed out black tear marks streaming down of his face. Ivory horns protruded from his head which was similar to a demon's. He had enormous bat-like wings protruding from his back. His hands and legs were clawed and covered in black fur. That was all that she could make out from her view of him. She tried to free herself from the creature's painful grasp.
Unexpectedly, he drew out his fangs and Orihime braced herself for the impact. She closed her eyes and readied herself when she was freed unexpectedly from the creature's grip.
She opened her eyes to find out what happened. There, before her, was the creature, slowly reverting back to his human form.
"!" Ulquiorra screamed as his wings and horns went back to his skin, leaving a gush of blood streaming over his head and back. The hole in his chest started to fill up and his claws returned back to his pale hands. The tear marks on his eyes vanished and was replaced with teal green ones. He hissed in terrible pain as he saw the woman approach him.
Orihime hurriedly went to his aid. She did not expect something like this to happen. Ulquiorra lay naked on the grass, his body filled with bruise and cuts. He was losing too much blood.
Orihime held the weak man in her arms as tears started to fall from her eyes.
"Ulquiorra! Y—you have to hold on! Don't die on me…please. Stay with me. "
Orihime place her hand on his cheek and whispered gently, "Don't make me forget you…again."
Ulquiorra tried desperately to open his eyes. She remembers? He held out his hand brushed strands of her hair from her face.
"Leave me…Get out of here while…you still can." He whispered weakly. He could feel his consciousness slip away. This time he will finally be gone for good and he will post no threat to Orihime any longer.
"DON'T DIE ULQUIORRA! DON'T DIE GODDAMN IT!" Orihime screamed as she held Ulquiorra even tighter.
Ulquiorra smirked slightly at the woman. He had always thought of her as a strong girl. He knew that she could stand up for herself. He had faith in her.
"Drink from me…" Orihime whispered into his ear. He couldn't hide his shock from her request. She knew that her life might be on the line if she offered him her blood, a blood of a Pureblood.
"Drink my blood or I swear I'll let you eat my red bean paste cupcakes!" Orihime threatened, which made Ulquiorra chuckle a bit. "I trust you…I trust you'll come back to me and stay by my side." She added, placing her forehead over his.
Ulquiorra looked through her gray eyes and didn't see any trace of fear. He didn't need any more words from her to stop him from what he's going to do. Gently, he sat up and gripped her shoulders. She tilted her head to the side and let Ulquiorra's fangs dig through her neck.
Orihime bit her lip in pain but she could tell that he was doing it as gently as possible. It felt less painful than it was the first time he had drank her blood.
He continued seeping through her strength until suddenly, an orange shield started to envelop them. Ulquiorra stopped and observed the phenomenon. His bloodied body started to heal rapidly. He looked over at Orihime and saw the blood streaming down from her neck abnormally fast.
"Stop it." Ulquiorra commanded. Orihime remained staring blankly and the cut on her neck started to grow even bigger.
"STOP IT, ORIHIME!" Ulquiorra screamed, shaking her rather forcefully, wanting her to come back to her senses.
At that very moment, the orange shield disappeared and transformed into 2 crystal-like hairpins that fell into Orihime's hands. After that, Orihime had collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.
Ulquiorra stood up and carried her safely into his arms. He walked away from the forest and headed back at Urahara's. This time, he knew that he would never make the same mistake of ever leaving her side again.
"So the Pureblood has finally awakened huh?"
"It appears so. Everything is going according to plan."
Gin flashed a wide grin at Aizen before he bowed and left. Aizen leaned his back to the chair and took the piece of crystal on the table in front of him. He looked admirably at it and chuckled slightly.
"So a half-developed Hougyoku and an awakened Pureblood. This is gonna be quite interesting."
Sometimes life seems too quiet
Into paralyzing silence
Like the moonless dark
Meant to make me strong
Familiar breath of my old lies
Changed the color in my eyes
Soon he will perforate the fabric of the peaceful by and by
Sorrow lasts through this night
I'll take this piece of you
And hope for all eternity
For just one second I felt whole
As you flew right through me
Left alone with only reflections of the memory
To face the ugly girl that's smothering me
Sitting closer than my pain
He knew each tear before it came
Soon He will perforate the fabric of the peaceful by and by
-Sorrow, Flyleaf