DISCLAIMER: I do not own ANY of the Bleach characters or Bleach! All rights to our lord and savior Tite Kubo!

Author's Note: I know what a lot of you people are thinking... "Another fanfictions? What about the other one you were working on?" Well don't worry! I haven't abandoned them. I have 7 fanfictions being worked on right now by me alone, but I posted most of them to my tumblr. I'll probably post some of the older ones on here.

With that said, I know the Ulquihime moments might be a tad bit slim in this fanfiction, so if you're looking for some kind of intense kissing romantic (possibly lemon) fanfiction, this is not for you. This bases more around realistically, and it will probably not be too pleasant at times. I'm going for realistic circumstances here people!

Without further ado, get ready for the adventure of your life! Lots of emotional moments, SFW, and a ton of Ulquiorra!

Chapter One; One Year

One year.

One year since it happened.

Orihime hesitated for a moment, seeing the date on her calendar ahead of her. She didn't even want to get out of her bed, just stared dreadfully at that date that taunted her. She let out a sigh and sat up.

One year since she saw Kurosaki-kun descend from that pillar, lifeless.

She took off her nightgown and quickly turned on the shower, the warm water hitting her neck and chest as she faced towards the shower head, staring up at the roof. She knew today it would be impossible to not think about it.

One year since Kurosaki turned into that beast, that oh so terrifying hollow that she had brought out.

She turned the shower off, and dried herself. She struggled to get her shirt on and skirt on, as she brushed out her auburn hair.

One year since Ichigo stabbed Ishida-kun.

She quickly began to blow-dry her hair, then struggled some socks on as she ran downstairs. She'd have to settle for a quick breakfast, otherwise she knew she'd be late.

One year… since… he turned to dust before her eyes… reaching out to her… asking her… if she's afraid.

She quickly swallowed the lump in her throat as she stared at the window, the cars passing by. 'Stop it Orihime! Happy thoughts!' she scolded herself, as she wiped the tear away that was straying down her face, and put on a determined face. "To Kisuke's!" she beamed aloud, and slammed the door open and bolted out.

Over the year, everything has been simple. Kurosaki-kun had lost his soul reaper powers, so Ishida-kun and Sado-kun took over to defend the town against hollows, along with maybe once in a blue moon, Rukia-kun. She wasn't really one helping in those forces, rather she focused on training, along with school. Orihime was already dearly behind on homework and school, and she was struggling to keep up in her studies.

Today, the school allowed her a sick day, as today was very important to her. She'd already thought on multiple occasions about this day, about what she would do. Why? She couldn't stop thinking about him, the moment he turned to dust, those lush empty green eyes… filled with loneliness and sorrow.

'Stop it! Happy thoughts! Happy thoughts!' Orihime chanted in her mind, stopping herself from thinking about it too much.

She adjusted the backpack she had packed with a few pictures, candles and other random stuff she thought she would need. She was quickly turning corners, until she suddenly ran into someone. "O- Oh I'm sorry!"

"Hey, Orihime." a very familiar voice said, as she shot her gaze up.

"I- Ichigo? What're you doing around Kisuke's house?" She backed up from the orange haired male.

"Well, I was getting by to grab some candy for Yuzu and Karin, but I heard that you were heading out somewhere today. I was actually looking for you." He had a curious look on his face.

"O- Oh! Don't worry about me! I've just got some things to do!" she yelled, and tried to run past Ichigo, towards Kisuke's.

She was stopped by his arm, "Orihime… I know the date… you don't need to lie to me." he said sadly, as Orihime froze up.

She loosened up, and looked down at her feet, as she fidgeted. "You.. do?"

"Kisuke didn't tell me where you were going, but I wanted to see if I could come along. To make sure you're safe."

"Ichigo, it's fine! You can't… really go anyways…" she mumbled that last part.

"What?"

She let out a sigh, and realized she had basically just outed herself.

"I was heading to Hueco Mundo…" she mumbled, as Ichigo's eyes narrowed.

"Hueco Mundo?! Orihime, are you insane?!" he barked at her, as she looked down shamefully.

"I… have to do something there today." She fidgeted some more, hoping he'd leave it at that.

Who was she kidding, this was Ichigo.

"You can't Orihime! Not alone!" he barked at her, as she bit her lip.

"I need to do this, Ichigo…" she mumbled, as she looked up at him pleadingly.

Ichigo's face softened, and he let out a frustrated sigh. "Could you at least tell me why?"

She flinched at that, as quickly turned her gaze away. "Sand!" she blurted out, as Ichigo stared at her.

"Sand…?"

She mentally facepalmed. "U- Uh, yeah. The sand is so… uh… white! And I wanted some for my potted plant cactus!" she beamed, as bolted past him.

"Cactus…?" he slowly asked, as she bolted past him.

"Orihime! Wait! You can just get that at…" but he trailed off, seeing she was already gone.

She quickly bolted around the corners to get away from him, before he chased after her. By the time she had gotten to Kisuke's, she was out of breath. She burst through the door, as Kisuke sat, fan over face, and legs crossed over the counter.

"Oh, hello Orihime. What brings you to my little candy shop today?" he asked, as Orihime caught her breath.

She looked up at him determinedly. "I need you to open a portal to Hueco Mundo."

Kisuke lifted his hat up slightly to look at her, and lowered his fan slightly. "Slow down there, young lady. Why do you need to go to Hueco Mundo?"

She knew he was going to ask that.

And she also knew she couldn't get away with a lie with the shopkeeper.

"Tradition." she said confidently. She wasn't lying, it was a tradition she planned to start.

"What tradition could you possibly already have in Hueco Mundo?"

She bit her lip.

Perhaps she hadn't thought this through.

"Er- well-" she looked down nervously, perhaps she did rush into it.

"Uh… mourning…" she mumbled

Kisuke raised his eyebrow under his hat, as he tilted his hat down. "Mourning a hollow? You can always mourn for Sora in the Soul Society, Orihime…"

"It's not for Sora!" she blurted out without thinking.

"Then who could you possibly be mourning?"

She gulped.

With a sigh, a finger fidget for comfort, and one determined look at the shifty shopkeeper.

"Ulquiorra Cifer."

He sat up in his seat, putting his legs down and leaned forward, as she squirmed nervously.

"Your captor?"

…

"Yes…"

Kisuke let out a sigh, before glancing at the calendar. "I see. I'll get the portal going. Not one to question." he said, standing up.

Orihime jumped up and looked at him with a bright smile. "Oh my gosh! Thank you so much Kisuke!" she beamed as she hugged him.

He gave her a head pat. "On one condition." Orihime looked at him.

"Bring Uryu Ishida with you…"

'Uh-oh…' was her thought the second she heard that sentence.

"O- oh… O.K…" she mumbled, looking back down again.

"I'll give him a call, go ahead and head down to the training grounds."

She nodded and made her way down to the training grounds, biting her lip. 'What will Uryu think? What if he straight up refuses so I don't go?' She whimpered at that. She wasn't fully sure why she wanted to do this… until she reminded herself. It wasn't for her, it was for Ulquiorra. He was misunderstood, she came to that conclusion ages ago. He had deserved a second chance, and it wasn't right for him to even be alone in death.

She had to be there for him.

She held her breath as she walked around in the artificial training grounds, fidgeting with her shirt. She couldn't waste any more time, she wanted to get there… to see him again. "What am I thinking? It's not like he's coming back." she scolded herself aloud, as she put her fingers together nervously.

"Orihime? Who are you talking to?"

She shot her head up to see the raven haired quincy coming down with the shopkeeper, and a little black cat following behind them. "Uryu! Yoruichi!" she beamed and ran over. She quickly hugged Uryu. Uryu adjusted his glasses awkwardly and pat Orihime on the back. She left the hug, and crouched down and gave pets to Yoruichi. "Long time no see, Orihime." Yoruichi said, in her masculine cat voice.

"Yes." she said happily, as she stood back up. Kisuke tilted his hat down with a smile.

"Shall we start?"

Kisuke began to form the garganta, as Uryu, Yoruichi and Orihime sat to the side. Well, Yoruichi on Oriihme's lap, that is. "So I heard you're going there to mourn someone, it's none of my business, but I can't say I'm not curious." Yoruichi said, as Orihime rubbed her head. Orihime let a warm smile spread across her face as the cat purred. "Yeah… let's just say a lost friend…" she mumbled quietly, clearly dazed in her thoughts.

Uryu observed her calmly, as he tried to think. 'Who?'

A loud zip noise cut through the air, catching all their attention, and causing Yoruichi to spring up from Orihime's lap, "Huh?! What?!" Yoruichi said frantically, but calmed down as Orihime slowly petted her for comfort. "It's ok, it's just the garganta by Kisuke." she said, as she put Yoruichi off of her lap and stood up.

"Are you sure you two want to do this?" Kisuke asked, as the garganta menacingly stood behind him.

"It's up to Orihime, I'm here to keep her safe." Uryu pushed up his glasses, as the two looked over at Orihime.

Realizing she was in the spotlight, she quickly put her hands up. "Oh! Yeah! I'm ready!"

Kisuke put his fan in front of his face, and opened his arms. "Alright! Have fun!"

Orihime quickly gave him a hug, and followed Uryu into the garganta.

She almost stumbled off into the void, before she was caught by the reishi platform. "Oh! I'm so clumsy!" she said to Uryu, rubbing the back of her neck. The two began to make their way through the dark void of the garganta in silence.

"Like Yoruichi said, it's none of my business, but who are you mourning for?" Uryu looked back at Orihime, who was now rubbing her arm.

"Well… It's… complicated."

'Complicated is putting it softly.' she thought to herself sarcastically.

Uryu pushed up his glasses, "I see. How so?"

Orihime turned her gaze down and gulped.

"Uh… let's just say him and I don't really have a good past…" she mumbled under her breath.

Uryu stopped.

"Orihime, who is it?"

She held her breath, looking over at the quincy.

"I'll… tell you when we're done. I'd rather not explain it right now." she mumbled, as Uryu pushed up his glasses.

"Alright…"

The rest of the walk was done in awkward silence, as the two quietly made their way through the garganta. Eventually though, Hueco Mundo came into sight. Orihime felt a rush of familiarness, but also despair shot through her. Ironically, not because Ulquiorra was there, but because he wasn't there.

She mentally slapped herself. 'I'm glad he isn't back. He kidnapped me' she mentally scolded herself

'But what if he did come back? What if we could actually teach him how to live? Oh my gosh! What if he becomes a captain in the Soul Society?! What if we can teach him how to live and feel emotions-'

"Stop it!" She yelled aloud on accident, as they were about to reach the end of the garganta.

Uryu looked at her questioningly.

"Oh, sorry, must've said that aloud!" she said, rubbing the back of her neck and laughing nervously.

They both jumped down, as she slowly landed on the sands of Hueco Mundo.

She looked around, noticing that they were offly close to the exact area she was looking for. Uryu dusted his clothes off, as Orihime began to wander.

"Orihime!" he yelled, catching up to her. "Stay close, where are we going?"

She sighed, and plastered a small smile on her face… a sad smile. "I'll just lead us there…"

Uryu nodded.

The two walked around, as Uryu in his mind tried to fit the puzzle pieces together. 'A 'lost friend', then being complicated, Hueco Mundo, and none the less near Las Noches… this isn't adding up. Who could she be mourning?'

Eventually though, the pieces began to fit, as he realized their surroundings. Many broken pillars and ruins were around, as they walked through the sands. Uryu walked a bit ahead to look at Orihime's face, who had the saddest smile he'd ever seen.

"Orihime…?"

She ignored him, and bent down in a particular place, as picked the sand up in her hands. "Yes, this is it…"

"Orihime… You… can't…" he mumbled, as everything came into place.

"Yes… I can. And I will." she said, and pulled her backpack off her back.

She quickly pulled out two candles and put them down, marking them into the sands. She pulled out some flowers and a few vines and set them around a mound of sand, as she lit the two candles. She put a jar to the side and lit some incense. She slowly pulled out a folded up piece of clothing… that looked uncomfortably familiar to Uryu.

'Her Arrancar outfit…' he noted.

She slowly put down her Arrancar outfit above the mound of sand… or perhaps ashes. She sat down on her knees, as she put a flower on top of the outfit. Uryu stood behind her as tears began to fall from her, but before he could speak up, she did first.

"Today marks one year… one year after the fight happened. One year after…" she sobbed. "...you finally understood what a heart was. I'm sorry I could never give you a second chance Ulquiorra. You were simply misunderstood… alone… and broken. I hope wherever you are now, you've found yourself, your family, your friends… your heart. I'm not afraid… Ulquiorra. I understand now… that you just wanted a purpose. You just needed someone, whether you knew it or not… I don't know. I hope you hear this… and understand that I'll never give up on you… and I'll always hold a place in my heart for you… even if that place will forever remain empty…" she prayed, and slowly closed her eyes.

"I'll never forget you, Ulquiorra." she mumbled quietly, as tears fell onto the outfit.

Uryu stood in silence for what felt like an eternity as she quietly cried over the mound of sand, until he finally decided to wrap things up. "Orihime… it's time to go…" he mumbled softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. She nodded and blew the candles out, and began to pack everything up. She put the incense and candles into a glass container so they wouldn't burn the backpack.

As she finished packing up, she stopped.

"I'm… going to at least leave something for him.. I don't want him to be alone." she mumbled, as Uryu turned back to her.

"Orihime…" he quietly pleaded, as she walked over to the mound of sand. She pulled out one of the candles, and lit it. She placed it above the mound of sand, as a sad smile spread across her face. Uryu walked over, and put his hand on her shoulder, before she ripped into uncontrollable crying and hugged him.

"I'm sorry, Orihime…"

"It's… It's ok… he's happier now, I know it." she said quietly, as she looked at her friend.

As she pulled away and smiled at Uryu, she turned to look at the mound of sand. "I'll… see you next year, Ulquiorra…" she quietly said, as Uryu began to walk away. Suddenly, the moon reflected a little white thing sticking out of the sand, barely noticeable to someone who wasn't paying attention. Uryu turned back, as Orihime stared at it for a moment.

"You O.K, Orihime?" he asked, but she didn't respond. She walked over to the object not far from the mount of sand, and looked at it. 'It… looks like a horn…' she mumbled, before finally grabbing it, and digging it out.

"Orihime careful! What is that?!" he asked as he ran up behind her.

Orihime's eyes narrowed, as she pulled out Ulquiorra's empty hollow mask remnants… looking brand new.

A sob involuntarily cut through the air from Orihime, as she stared disbelievingly at the remnants before her. "Isn't that…-" Uryu started, and Orihime nodded before he could finish. "Ulquiorra's… h- hollow mask." she said quietly through sobs.

She felt… many emotions by this. Sadness, sorrow, regret, fear, despair, but most importantly… hope. The remnants looked like they just appeared there… somehow. They hadn't been there the entire time. This means something, or someone, is giving her a sign. At least that's what she hopes.

She quickly hugged the hollow mask to her chest, as a small sad smile came to her face.

"Now… I'm ready to go."

The two stepped through the unstable garganta, as Kisuke smiled.

"Welcome back you two! How'd it go?" he asked, but his smile instantly faded once he saw what Orihime had close to her chest. Uryu pushed his glasses up, and Orihime kept looking down at the hollow mask.

"My… what's that you got there, Orihime?" he asked, as he walked over with his fan in front of his face. Orihime snapped out of her daze and smiled, as Uryu pushed his glasses up again,

"We found it in the sand when we were about to leave… Ulquiorra's hollow mask remains. They weren't just sitting there the entire time, because if I recall correctly… Ulquiorra had faded to complete dust in his Segunda Etapa, which only had two horns, no hollow mask. And even if he did have his hollow mask, it wouldn't make sense. The masks don't just come off. Besides, we would've noticed that mask come off or noticed it in the sand earlier." Uryu explained, as Kisuke watched with the shadow covering his eyes.

"Interesting… I'll take it as, you, Orihime, want to hang onto that?" he asked as Orihime snapped out of her daze once again and smiled wide. "Absolutely…" she quietly said, as she hugged it closer to her.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to it. It's almost sunset, so I'd suggest you guys wander on back to your places now. Let me know if anything happens with the mask." he said, as Uryu and Orihime waved, walking up the place and out the shop. "Thanks Kisuke!"