Chapter 2

Orihime opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Was she dead? She didn't feel dead at all, but very much alive. What happened to her? Where was she? The last moments of her execution seemed a little fuzzy. Orihime wasn't sure what happened. She had a hard time recalling it, but she could've sworn that something happened. Then, a silhouette she couldn't quite identify went through her mind. Orihime was more confused than ever.

She turned her head sideways, studying her surroundings. There was a barred window, some strange looking furniture, a green couch she was laying on, and an ugly rug on the floor. Orihime gasped at the sudden realization. She was in her old room in Las Noches.

"You are finally awake."

She sat up in alarm. There was no need to look at the person to know who the voice belonged to. Orihime slowly turned her head and stared. There, in the corner, with his back to the wall and hands in his pockets, stood a very much alive Ulquiorra. Without another word he started walking towards her.

"You're alive!" Orihime breathed out.

"That's very observant of you."

"How is that possible?! I saw you die!"

"Not quite."

As he came closer, Orihime was able to take a good look at him. It was still Ulquiorra, with the stern expression on his face and the usual air of arrogance, but there were a few slight changes. The remains of his mask and the tear marks were gone. His skin tone wasn't ashen white anymore. He was still pale, but he had a normal, human, color. He wasn't wearing an Arrancar uniform either, but something that could've passed for human clothes. Orihime would've never imagined to ever see him in a T-shirt and jeans.

Ulquiorra noticed her eyes roaming all over him.

"Urahara Kisuke is very resourceful."

"Why aren't you wearing a uniform?" she asked cautiously.

"Do you always ask irrelevant questions?"

Orihime looked away. She had no idea what was going on, why Ulquiorra was alive, why she was back in Las Noches. But she was glad that he was alive.

"What happened to you?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"It does not matter. There are bigger problems at hand."

"Did Aizen order you to bring me here again?" There was a hint of worry in her voice.

"Aizen is not here."

"I don't understand…"

"Right before the war ended, Aizen disappeared. Nobody knows where he is. If he planned on returning to Hueco Mundo, he would've done it by now." Ulquiorra paused studying her for a moment, "If I knew it wasn't safe, I would've never brought you here."

"Why did you bring me here at all?"

"This is where Soul Society is least likely to look for you."

Orihime shook her head. Nothing ever worked the way she wanted to.

"I thought it will be over. I was resolved to end this. Why did you save me?"

Ulquiorra stared at her. This woman confused him. Nothing ever made sense with her. He just saved her from death, why wasn't she happy?

"I don't understand you. Did you want to die?"

"I could never do anything right, even when I wanted to. At the end, I even failed to bring you back." Her breath caught in her throat. "I just don't want to be useless anymore."

"You did not fail to bring me back."

Orihime looked a little surprised.

"I chose not to come back through you." he continued.

She had a million questions piling up. She wanted an explanation, but before she could open her mouth again, she saw Ulquiorra throwing something on the couch.

"We are wasting time. Get dressed." He ordered looking at her expectantly.

Orihime looked down. "Do you want me to wear this?" She pointed at the Arrancar uniform.

"There are no other clothes available."

"If you aren't wearing it, I am not wearing it either."

"You are being obstinate."

"If I am to stay here, I want to bring a few things from my apartment, including my own clothes."

"Impossible. As soon as we step into the human world, Soul Society will intercept us."

"The last time I remember, you gave me a bracelet to hide my riatsu. Don't you have any more of those?"

Ulquiorra did not answer right away. None of it made sense to him. This woman always put too much importance into the oddest things.

"Is it really important to you?" he finally asked her.

"Yes. I don't ever want to wear this again. If you don't have those bracelets for both of us, just give me one..."

"We are going together." He interrupted her "Wait here. I will be back shortly."

They sat in silence on a patio at Kuchiki estate. After the execution, the friends barely spoke to each other. Each was lost in their own thoughts, secretly blaming themselves for failing to save Orihime. How could they allow their friend to let herself sink so low? What used to be a cheerful and life loving girl, turned into a brooding shadow. When they last saw her, she was practically unrecognizable.

"We should've tried harder…" Rukia said brokenly.

Nobody knew what to say. What could they say? They thought it would be easy to persuade her, to bring Orihime back to her senses. But it was like something snapped inside of her. At the end, Orihime was a completely different person.

"Why did she try to bring Ulquiorra back?" Ichigo asked.

Ishida shook his head. "I don't know. After you left, it's like she lost it. Seeing your hollow must've had more impact on her than we thought."

Ichigo looked away. Even though he could not remember anything, that did not make him feel any better at all. He didn't need to be told what he did, seeing Zangetsu in Ishida's gut was more than he could handle. And imagining a girl like Orihime witnessing all of that was enough to realize the kind of effect his cursed transformation had.

Before he could say anything, everyone noticed Hell Butterflies flying towards them, and then they heard a transmitted message.

"Attention everyone! The Captains' meeting is scheduled to be held in half an hour at the 1st Division's headquarters. Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia, and Ishida Uryu are ordered to participate."

Half an hour later, the trio stood in the middle of the meeting hall with captains and vice-captains lined up on both sides of the room, and the Captain-General looking sternly at them.

"It seems that we've underestimated Inoue Orihime." He said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ichigo demanded.

"We believe she wasn't killed by Soukyouko. Something or someone rescued her seconds before the impact."

"Who was that, Captain-General?" Rukia asked.

Yamamoto eyed them suspiciously. "That is what we are investigating."

"But how is that possible? What makes you think that she was rescued? And who would be capable to pull that off?"

"We don't know yet, but we picked up traces of another riatsu around the arc. It wasn't Inoue Orihime's."

Ulquiorra stood in the middle of Orihime's living room watching her fussing around the apartment. He still wasn't sure why he agreed to this. It made no sense for him to go to all this trouble for just a few pieces of clothes. The importance of his uniform lasted for as long as his service to Aizen. Otherwise, it didn't hold any value for him. So, why was she making such a big deal about it? And what was worse, he yielded to her whim without even putting up a fight. Instead, he went to Szayel's old laboratory and picked up two bracelets that she requested. Why was it always like that with this woman? His brain always failed to function properly when he was around her.

His eyes suddenly stopped on a photograph of a handsome young man.

"Who is this?"

Orihime followed his gaze and smiled faintly.

"Sora, my brother."

"Where is he?"

"Probably in Soul Society, after Ichigo purified him."

Ulquiorra frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Sora died in an accident four years ago. But about a year ago, he came back as a Hollow and tried to kill me."

Orihime gave a soft laugh. "I never had much luck with Hollows. First it was my brother, then you."

"I was a Hollow." Ulquiorra said quietly.

Orihime turned her head and looked at him, expecting an explanation.

"My hole is gone." he continued pulling down his collar. The empty space inside his chest was no longer there.

"Are you…" Orihime caught her breath "Are you a human now?"

"No. I don't know what I am. I can still go into my 1st and 2nd release. I seem to have more power now, and I don't need a Zanpakutou to transform."

"Where you in your 2nd release when you saved me?"

"Yes."

"How did you get into Soul Society?"

"Urahara Kisuke."

Orihime turned to him, nervously running her hands through her hair.

"Ulquiorra… Why didn't you return when I used my powers?"

"If I returned at that time, then I wouldn't have been able to save you from execution. Soul Society would've been after me as well."

"You knew I would be executed? But how?"

"Soul Society is notorious for not being particularly merciful, especially towards those who break their rules."

Five days ago…

Urahara sat outside of his shop staring into space in front of him. He's been having a lot of visitors lately. On a normal day, they would usually come to look at his merchandise. But lately, they were all interested in the same thing, or same person to be exact, Inoue Orihime. Urahara knew very well what was going on. The execution was in five days, and a certain group of friends wanted to compromise it. Unfortunately, Soul Society anticipated his interference and took the necessary measures to shut him down, which made it impossible for him to do anything for the Substitute Shinigami. If only there was another way, which did not involve the Shinigami methods. Soul Society remembered very well what he did for Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends in their quests to save Rukia and Orihime. And they were dead serious this time.

One moment he was enjoying his solitude, the next he saw the space in front of him open and someone stepping out. Urahara has never seen this person before. He looked human, yet he was wearing an Arrancar uniform.

"Are you Urahara Kisuke?" The stranger asked him.

"I am. And who might you be?"

"Former 4th Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer. I require your assistance."

Urahara hid his surprise. Rumor had it that Kurosaki Ichigo defeated an Espada by the name of Schiffer, yet here he was standing in front of him alive and well.

"What exactly do you need from me?" Urahara asked him skeptically.

"Is it possible to use the Garganta signature to open a portal to Soul Society?"

That could actually work! "Perhaps, why do you need to know?"

"I need you to open up a gateway to Soul Society at a specific date and time. Everything has to be precise, no miscalculations."

"Interesting. Are you going to give me a reason why?"

Ulquiorra looked at him for a moment, contemplating whether he should tell him. He didn't want to reveal too much to the former Shinigami. What if he refused to help him? But, perhaps it was wiser to comply if he wanted Urahara's cooperation.

"I am planning to rescue Inoue Orihime."

"Oh, are you now? Can you prove that it is your real goal, instead of getting a free passage to Soul Society for whatever other reason?"

Ulquiorra unzipped the top of his jacket to reveal solid skin where his Hollow hole used to be. "I am no longer an Arrancar. And neither do I serve Aizen anymore. This is a personal request."

Urahara did not try to conceal his shock. He's never seen anything like this before. A Hollow, a former Hollow, without a hole in his chest asking for a "favor". This "personal request" intrigued him quite a bit.

"Schiffer-san, may I ask why you want to save the girl?"

Ulquiorra looked away without giving an answer.

Urahara saw his hesitation and grinned. The plot thickens. He certainly wanted to help Orihime, but Soul Society's interference made it impossible. And, Ulquiorra's sudden appearance was quite timely. "Alright, I will help you. But if I find out that your mission is not what you said, I will close the portal immediately and let Soul Society deal with you however they see fit. Are we clear?"

Ulquiorra nodded.

"Tell me when and where to open the passageway. And, one more thing," he paused, looking at the Arrancar uniform "you might want to change into something more appropriate, so nobody would be suspecting that you might still be working for Aizen."

Five days later Ulquiorra was back at the shop dressed in the clothes that Urahara so graciously provided for him. No payment was needed. Urahara hasn't had this much fun since the Hueco Mundo rescue, and he felt that this one would be even bigger. He held his end of the bargain and opened the gateway right where Ulquiorra wanted it, above the arc seconds before Orihime would be consumed by flames.

Before going through, Ulquiorra transformed. What seemed like a human a moment ago now looked like a demon. Without another word he disappeared into the portal.

Orihime sat in her new room in Las Noches. Since she wasn't a prisoner here anymore, she was provided with better accommodations. Her mood has slightly improved because she finally had her things and the freedom to go out and do whatever she wanted. However, the fact that she had to stay here indefinitely still bothered her. Despite her freedom, this wasn't home.

And Ulquiorra confused her more than ever. If he wasn't working for Aizen, why did he save her? Did he need something from her? That idea somehow unnerved her. Orihime wasn't sure why, but she hoped that he didn't have an ulterior motive. That he saved her simply because…

"I am coming in." His voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hi…" she said awkwardly, avoiding Ulquiorra's eyes.

"Do you have everything that you require now?" he asked, making his way towards her.

"Yes, thank you."

"Get a good sleep tonight. We are going out tomorrow."

"What? Where?" she looked at him in surprise.

"We are going to find Grimmjow and the others."