Chapter 8

After they entered the inter-dimensional void, the group soon became separated. Ulquiorra disappeared somewhere, so did the rest of the Espada. Ichigo and the others were left alone to find their own path to the other side. Urahara wasn't kidding when he said that they would be transported straight to Seireitei. The particle trail soon became a solid road and quickly led to an opening. And in a few moments, the friends found themselves back in Soul Society.

"Let's go find Inoue!"

"Ichigo!" Rukia said, "Perhaps we should…"

"I've caught you just in time." a voice interrupted her.

All heads turned.

"Captain Ukitake!"

"Welcome back, Kuchiki." he said, "Inoue is in serious trouble. She still refuses to talk knowing the consequences. Do you have any idea why?"

"It's because of that guy..." Ichigo grumbled.

"What guy?"

"Ulquiorra."

"Can it be the same person she is trying to protect?"

"Captain Ukitake! We aren't sure what's going on ourselves." Rukia cut in "That Arrancar has been hiding Inoue in Hueco Mundo. And we don't know why."

"She seemed to be rather fond of him. It almost feels like…" Ukitake did not finish. For now it was just an assumption, he won't jump to conclusions just yet. If his suspicions were right, then things were a lot more complicated.

"All of you need to come with me." He finally said.

Everyone followed him and in a short while the friends were standing in the Captains' meeting hall again in front of Yamamoto.

"Captain Yamamoto, I would like to request a retrial for Inoue Orihime." Rukia pleaded.

"The girl is stubborn and refuses to help with our investigation. I gave her one day to make up her mind. If she doesn't comply, she will be dealt with as a traitor."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Ichigo yelled, "Traitor? How is she a traitor?"

"She was rescued by an Arrancar." Yamamoto replied calmly, "She refuses to talk, thus confirming our suspicions. There is no reason whatsoever for her not wanting to cooperate, she knows very well what kind of problems she has caused for herself. The only reason why she doesn't talk is if she is allied with them."

"That's crazy!"

"Ichigo, stop." Rukia whispered, then she turned to the Captain-Commander.

"Captain, will you prevent the execution if Inoue talks?"

"Her voluntary cooperation is necessary to redeem herself. But the girl is stubborn."

"What if we capture the Arrancar and give them to you?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia looked at him in surprise.

"Unless the girl complies, nothing that you do will work."

"If she does as you demand, what will you do with them?" Rukia asked.

"What we usually do with hollows."

Twenty minutes later the meeting was over. As soon as they were outside, Ichigo looked around trying to find a certain riatsu. As soon as he sensed it, he was about to head into its direction, but Rukia stopped him.

"Ichigo, where are you going?" she grabbed him by the sleeve.

"You've heard what the old man said. I need to find that guy and beat some sense into him."

"What are you saying? Are you planning on fighting him?"

"No, but he needs to know what is going on."

Rukia nodded releasing him. Perhaps Ulquiorra could help convincing Inoue, but still, certain sacrifices seemed to be inevitable.

He felt her riatsu as soon as he stepped into Seireitei. The rest of the Arrancar got separated somewhere while traveling between dimensions and Ulquiorra was alone. Orihime was up ahead in the tower and her spiritual power was faint but stable. Ulquiorra quickly sonidoed through the gap trying to avoid being seen by an accidental Shinigami. This woman made things difficult for him. Now he did not know what would happen anymore. If he rescued her, they would be running from Soul Society forever. At this point he had no idea how to get out of it without shedding blood.

"Are you going to Inoue?" someone asked from behind.

Ulquiorra recognized the voice immediately. Kurosaki Ichigo.

"What if I am?" he responded without turning around.

"They told me that if she doesn't cooperate, they will execute her."

Ulquiorra knew it. He still felt annoyed because of her direct disregard for what he asked of her. After everything that he's done to keep her safe…

He drew out a long sigh, "I see." then turned around to face Ichigo. "Are you planning to fight me now?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I don't know what the hell is going on anymore. But one thing I gotta ask: why are you doing all of this?"

"For the same reason you took off to save Kuchiki Rukia when I told you that she was dead."

Ichigo stared at him. "Are you telling me that Inoue and you…"

"Irrelevant." Ulquiorra interrupted him. "Instead of asking questions, you should be trying to help your friend."

Ichigo frowned. What's with this guy? "I am trying to help Inoue, that's why I am telling you this."

"She is soon to be executed. If you don't have anything else to say to me, I will be on my way." He turned away preparing to leave.

"Ulquiorra, wait!"

But Ulquiorra was already gone, leaving a slightly stunned Ichigo behind.

I can't freaken believe this….

Orihime was restless pacing around her cell. He was here. She could feel him and the others too. Ichigo and Rukia were also present along with the rest of her friends. That made her a little restless. Were they trying to save her all together or ….? Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard someone opening the door. Two guards came in.

"We have orders to transport you to another facility."

"Why?" Orihime asked cautiously.

"You are not to ask any questions."

Orihime frowned. Something wasn't right.

They led her out in silence. She heard commotion down bellow. People were running and shouting orders. Soul Society was in uproar once again. This is probably because Ulquiorra came to rescue me. I was hoping it wouldn't happen so soon. He is so… She could feel fighting in the distance. It wasn't him, but the riatsu was familiar. Looks like Grimmjow is having fun. Then her thoughts trailed back to the matters at hand. Orihime wondered where these Shinigami were taking her. Was Soul Society trying to hide her and buy themselves more time to capture the invaders? She smiled to herself. No matter where they put her, he will find her. He always finds her.

"There you are, and I was worried I would miss you."

"Captain Mayuri!"

Orihime hesitated before looking at him. It was that creepy captain again who wanted to perform tests on her back when she first came to Soul Society. What did he want now?

"Why the long face? There is no need to be cross, my dear. I only came to see you."

"Captain, we have orders to move Inoue Orihime to another location."

"I am aware of that. That's why I came to escort her. The girl is to be transported to the Headquarters of Research and Development."

Orihime gasped.

"Captain, our orders are…."

"Silence! I swear, you are such a bother arguing with your superior. Do you want the Captain-General to find out about your insolence?"

"No, sir!"

"Just as I thought. Leave the girl with me, she will be extremely safe."

The guards glanced at each other then at Orihime. She looked back at them with pleading eyes hoping they would not leave her alone. This guy scared her even more than Nnoitra did and she really did not want to be left alone with this freak. But there was nothing they could do. He was a captain and a powerful one too. And nobody liked to mess with him. They finally bowed and walked away.

Mayuri looked at them retreating with a smirk on his face, then he turned to Orihime.

"I will take very good care of you. Follow me, my dear." His voice was silky smooth that made Orihime's blood freeze. Something definitely wasn't right.

She swallowed hard. This was something she did not expect at all. Was this even a real order?

Ulquiorra stopped and turned his head. Grimmjow's riatsu suddenly skyrocketed, he was fighting somewhere. Nnoitra was too, but Starrk's was barely noticeable, others' remained unchanged. Some were more eager to get their hands dirty than others. But it didn't matter, as long as they kept the Shinigami occupied for the time being. He searched for Orihime's riatsu again. One moment it was right ahead of him, the next it completely disappeared. What is the meaning of this?

He finally neared the tower. Her riatsu was nowhere to be found. The door was open but no one was in sight.

"What are you doing here? Who are you, an Arrancar?"

Ulquiorra turned around coming face to face with a silver haired Shinigami captain.

"Where is Inoue Orihime?" he asked calmly.

The captain unsheathed his sword preparing for a fight. "I cannot allow you to go any further."

"Stand aside." Ulquiorra said again, feeling his patience evaporating.

Ukitake did not move. Ulquiorra watched in silence as he released his Shikai getting into an offensive stance. Fighting this Shinigami would divert him from getting to her. He did not have time for this. Without another word he went into his 2nd release and sonidoed behind the captain. Ukitake turned around and slashed his sword through the air barely missing Ulquiorra.

"Oh boy, you are fast."

"I will not repeat myself again, stand aside."

"I cannot do that."

"Suit yourself."

With one swift move he sent Ukitake flying through the air. The captain was only caught off guard momentarily, quickly regaining his stance.

"What a hustle, you really are set on rescuing the girl, aren't you?" he asked.

Ulquiorra did not respond. He had to move forward. Fighting the captain would take too much time. He had to get rid of him fast.

He slowly extended his arm towards Ukitake. "Cero Oscuras." He said quietly.

Ukitake looked at him in surprise. What is this attack? Could it be..? There was no time to think, he had to get out of the way.

Ulquiorra blasted a black cero leaving a huge crater in the ground. But before it hit him, Ukitake used shunpo to avoid it. The radius was so huge that he had to move a good distance out of the way. When the smoke cleared, the captain was nowhere in sight. Ulquiorra felt a trace of his riatsu somewhere far. Now, it was his cue to disappear.

So, he is using this attack to get away. Ukitake frowned. He did not quite expect it. Knowing his previous encounters with hollows, none of them ever passed up a good fight. But this one was different. Is he really this set on rescuing Inoue? Could it be the same guy she mentioned before?

**

It's like the woman completely disappeared off the face of the earth. Ulquiorra could not find her at all and this bothered him to no end. They must've moved her somewhere to hide her riatsu and to prevent him from getting to her; there could be no other reason. Did they want him to give up and surrender, or were they planning on catching him instead? But it did not matter either way. The Shinigami were toying with him and if they wanted a war, he will give it to them.

Where are you, woman?

He let her through a long chain of corridors. Orihime was scared, very scared. She kept glancing at the strange captain walking next to her. The sadistic smile never left his face which made her even more anxious. She had a feeling that he didn't bring her here just to keep Ulquiorra away.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked reluctantly.

"Patience, my dear, we'll be there soon."

In a few minutes they finally reached something that resembled a laboratory. Orihime felt her heart sink and looked at Mayuri apprehensively.

"I am a prisoner. Why did you bring me here?"

"You are an interesting specimen and I never got an opportunity to experiment on you. Soul Society is going to execute you anyway. I couldn't pass up my last chance at this."

He made a motion with his hand. "Nemu, show our guest to her sit."

"Mayuri-sama, what if the Captain-General…"

"I am not interested in your opinion, dimwit. Do as I say."

Orihime felt very strong hands binding her arms behind her back and pushing her forward.

"You can't do this to me! Captain Yamamoto did not order this!"

"Stupid girl, do you really think that Yamamoto cares about how you will meet your end? You were doomed from the very beginning, and now you are mine. Bind her, Nemu."

"No! Let me go!" Orihime tried fighting, but the female Shinigami proved to be much stronger and soon she was strapped down without any chance of escape. Her heart was pounding. What was he planning to do with her? Kill her? Torture her? The lights were dim and she couldn't see what was going on. It smelled like acid and she couldn't breathe. Was she really going to die in this hell?

Nemu looked down at her for a moment. Orihime met her gaze. She could've sworn she saw something that resembled regret.

"What are you doing standing around? Hurry up and help me!" Mayuri sad impatiently.

Nemu turned around and walked away. Orihime tried to move her head to see what was going on, but they were completely out of her line of sight. She heard some strange noise, the sound of water, bottles clashing. And then she saw Mayuri standing over her.

"Don't touch me." she whispered.

"Still struggling? You should feel honored to take part in this. If this experiment is successful, the possibilities are endless. As a scientist, I cannot allow your power to go unused." He took something out of his pocket. "Now, hold still."

"No!"

Then Orihime felt something pinching her arm. A moment later she started feeling strange. Her body became numb, she couldn't feel her legs, her head was spinning. What did he put into her?

Mayuri studied her face. Orihime could barely keep her eyes open.

"Oh, splendid, you seem to be responding just as I predicted. Nemu, prepare another injection."

Orihime closed her eyes. She was going to die after all.

Ulquiorra…

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled running up to him. "Did you find Ulquiorra?"

"I did. But that ass took off before I could get anything out of him."

"So that means Inoue wasn't with him…" she said thoughtfully.

"Of course she wasn't!"

"Ichigo, something happened recently. Inoue was supposed to be transferred but she just disappeared. They never saw her at the new location."

"What…"

"Captain Ukitake said that an Arrancar was by the tower looking for her. But the place was empty so he wasn't the one who took her."

"Shit… now Inoue is missing. What the hell is going on…"

"I don't know. But the guards in question, who were supposed to transport her, said that Captain Mayuri ordered them to leave her with him."

"The freak from Research and Development?"

"Yes. Looks like it's the next place we need to investigate."