Chapter 13

"You've come."

His solemn voice brought Orihime out of her trance. Her mind raced. She couldn't believe Ulquiorra's mere presence could affect her so much. But there he was, standing right in front of her completely unaffected by finally being reunited after years of separation. There was no joy or even a flicker of familiarity in his eyes. He just stood there and watched her like a stranger, while Orihime felt like her heart would jump out of her chest.

Seeing the emotions dancing on her face, he finally averted his eyes and prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Orihime called after him, "How did you get here? What was it above the ground?"

Ulquiorra hesitated before tilting his head into her direction. "Szayel found a way to transport us back to the human realm. What you saw was a portal that broke through the barrier that sealed us in."

Ignoring the distance that he put between them, Orihime came up to stand in front of him. If he was glad to see her, he sure did not show it.

"That's good news!" she said nervously. "Now we can all fight against Aizen together."

"Indeed."

He looked down at her with intensity that Orihime did not recognize. There was something different about him, his eyes, his face. Ulquiorra always had a serious expression, but right now there was a distinct harshness that she did not notice before. It made her feel uncomfortable. There was something unnatural in the chilly way he looked at her. Was it anger? Sadness? She couldn't tell. Even the tear marks were different, thicker and darker. Orihime shivered, suddenly feeling very small under his frigid gaze.

"So, you joined them." he remarked in a low voice.

"Yes." she answered, her self-consciousness growing. "I needed to do it to get stronger."

"I see." His eyes roamed over her uniform. "It doesn't suit you."

Orihime stared back in puzzlement. He was saying strange things.

"In any case, tell your superiors that Hueco Mundo found a way into the material world. We will fulfill our end of the bargain to assist with the fight against Aizen."

She nodded trying to hide her uneasiness. Ulquiorra always seemed emotionless on the surface, but in the past his desire to protect her told her otherwise. Yet, she never anticipated him to be this distant. There was not a shred of affection or even acknowledgment in the way he looked at her. Had he completely forgotten her? Did the last five years really change him this much? Orihime felt the familiar dull pain in her chest that refused to leave her alone. While he remained emotionless, her heart was in disarray. Yet, she was not willing to admit that it was love. Loving him was an impossible task to bear when all of their lives where in chaos. They had a mission to complete which was bigger than any of them, and she couldn't allow her mind to sway.

Without a word Ulquiorra broke the spell turning away to leave. Silently, Orihime watched him spread his wings and jump into the air. The desire to call after him was eating at her heart, but she did not dare to stop him. Only a moment ago he was standing right in front of her, just a touch away, and the next she was all alone watching him disappear into the darkness. Orihime closed her eyes feeling the same sense of loss as she did all those years ago. He slipped from her grasp once again.

The encounter with Ulquiorra was an unexpected development that opened new possibilities in the war against Aizen. Yet, some were afraid that the years of no contact with Soul Society put more strain between them and Hueco Mundo. Not that there was much trust before, but the lack of communication increased the rift even further. And it was still unclear how the rest of the Arrancar felt about working with their former enemies, despite Ulquiorra's guarantee that they would help the Shinigami.

It's been a while since the mission was completed and reported to Yamamoto, but there were still no new orders. Hueco Mundo remained silent with no further activity in Karakura Town and everyone started to wonder if they would ever hear from them again.

"Inoue, did Ulquiorra say anything about contacting us?" Ichigo asked her for the hundredth time.

Orihime shook her head. "No, he only said that Hueco Mundo will help us fight Aizen."

"Argh! What's the point if he's just sitting there and not doing anything?"

"I don't know." she answered quietly.

Reenacting their meeting in her head proved to be useless and it gave her no answers. Did he really mean what he said about helping Soul Society? Why was there no word from Hueco Mundo? Other than that, she dared not question anything else.

"What if we contact them instead?" Rukia suggested.

"We can't just barge in there without anyone's permission." Ishida said.

"True, but how are we supposed to get in touch with them? There was no word since Ulquiorra showed up."

"Maybe barging in is not such a bad idea." Ichigo murmured to himself.

"That won't be necessary."

Several heads turned into the direction of the new voice.

"Captain Ukitake!" Rukia exclaimed. "What are we going to do?"

"We aren't going to do anything. Aizen will eventually attack again, so joining forces with the Arrancar would be inevitable."

"But is it a safe decision to wait? Don't we need to form a strategy of some sort?"

"That would certainly be to our advantage but we can't just invade Hueco Mundo now. After five years of no communication we need to be careful not to completely spoil an already strained relationship."

"So there really isn't any way?"

"There isn't." Ukitake answered shifting his gaze to Orihime.

She has been awfully quiet since he came into the room. While Rukia, Ichigo, Ishida and everyone else listened to what he said, she was just staring at her hands on her lap without acknowledging what was happening around her.

"Inoue," Orihime snapped her head up after hearing her name. "What are your thoughts on the matter?"

"I…ah…agree with everyone." she answered lamely.

But truthfully, she wasn't even sure what she was answering to. For the past twenty minutes she was too busy thinking about the last mission and not paying any attention to what everyone was discussing. Nervousness became anxiety, and anxiety grew into fear. For the first time ever Orihime was afraid, afraid of him. No, it wasn't because she thought he would hurt her, it was the fear of losing her resolve to stay strong in front of him, the resolve that she felt was slowly crumbling.

Ulquiorra did not seem to care at all and that made her even more unwilling to fight alongside with him. She did not want to go on another mission where they could run into each other again. It was nice and comfortable here where he was far away. Orihime was in control, her head was clear and her mind was set. But one step outside would bring her out of her protective shell and into the place where he would completely dominate her. More than anything she did not want to be thrown back in time where her heart fluttered at the sight of him. Remembering the coldness and complete detachment on his face made her question if he had ever loved her at all. It's not like he ever said he did.

From the corner of her eye she saw Ichigo stretching his arms. "Looks like we're gonna have to wait until the next attack for the Arrancar to show up again. If there is nothing else, let's call it a night." He said yawning.

Ukitake nodded silently dismissing everyone. Orihime watched her friends saying their good-byes and leaving the room, then she slowly got up and followed after them. But before she could reach the door she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"A moment before you go, Inoue." She heard Ukitake's gentle voice.

Orihime turned around and looked at him. "Yes, Captain Ukitake?"

"We are expecting to get in contact with Hueco Mundo very soon, so I recommended you for the next several missions because you had close relations with the Arrancar. While that might help with the negotiations, your current lack of focus makes me question my decision. Did I make a mistake in choosing you?"

"No!" she said sharply. "I'm just a little tired. A good night's sleep will make me as good as new."

"I hope so." Ukitake replied. "It's not the time to let sentiments take over your judgment."

Orihime watched him go trying to shake her demons away. She could not be doubted now, not when the crucial battle with Aizen was approaching. They needed her, and no one else, to help fix the relationship with the hollows. And she couldn't let them down, not when she invested so much into getting where she was now.

"What the fuck are we waiting for? It's been a month since you broke the seal so why wait?"

"Grimmjow," Ulquiorra replied calmly, "There is no possible way to go into Soul Society. And we don't need to create any more openings for Aizen by traveling to Karakura Town just to get the attention of the Shinigami."

"What are we going to do then?"

"When Aizen attacks again, we will assist in fighting him."

"What makes you think they will not backstab us?" Nnoitra asked, "They were always looking down on us."

"Soul Society thinks that we are indebted to them for releasing us and Inoue Orihime. They will hold us to that promise and will most likely try to use her to make sure we come to their aid."

"I hate those bastards." Grimmjow swore under his breath. "Why can't we just forget about them and fight Aizen by ourselves?"

"Joining forces gives us a much better chance at victory. And right now it is foolish to make an enemy out of the Shinigami."

Nnoitra smirked. "What's the matter, Ulquiorra? Don't want to fight your little pet? Don't tell me you're still hung up on her?"

Ulquiorra frowned. "When the time comes, I will deal with her my way. You make sure that you are fit for the battle."

Before Nnoitra had a chance to retort, a huge surge of riatsu shook the halls of Las Noches.

"Ha ha!" Grimmjow yelled, "Looks like we don't have to wait for that bastard to show up! Let's go!"

"Hold it." Ulquiorra interrupted him, "This is coming from the other realm. The surge is so powerful that it's disrupting the dimensional rift."

"Who the fuck cares? Let's go kick some ass!"

"Koten Zanshun, I reject!"

One by one the monsters fell into motionless piles only to have more appear in their place. There was something different about this attack. They were bigger, stronger, hungrier and their numbers were larger than usual. Orihime often kept her offensive power on reserve to save her strength for healing, but right now she was on the battlefield fighting alongside with Ichigo and the rest of her friends.

It's been a month since she saw Ulquiorra, and Hueco Mundo continued to remain silent. Mostly everyone was sure that they would hear from them before Aizen's next attack. But nobody came to their aid, and Soul Society started to wonder if they could depend on the Arrancar at all.

Brushing the unpleasant thoughts away, Orihime concentrated on what was at hand. She had her work cut out for her this time. Not only was she the only healer, but she also had to fight the enemies and defend her friends.

"Ban Kai!" Ichigo transformed and launched his Getsuga Tensho at the monsters in front of him, instantly vaporizing them into nothing. Immediately, more came and he ran into their direction throwing more attacks.

Ishida blasted his rain of arrows, and Chad, Renji and Rukia were not too far behind fighting off the endless flood of enemies.

Orihime threw a shield and sent Tsubaki at a group running into her direction. The training in Soul Society surely paid off now that she could use several of her abilities simultaneously. But there was no end to this battle. Some of her friends disappeared into the smoke. Others were moving further away without realizing it. They were supposed to stick together, to watch each other's back, but the absolute chaos from Aizen's monstrous onslaught scattered everyone around. And the only hope was that their own abilities were enough to fight through this.

Several figures stepped out of the portal, immediately focusing on the explosions in the distance. Ulquiorra scanned the area searching for the familiar riatsu, her riatsu, and without another word took off into its direction. Her spiritual power was fluctuating erratically, the woman was struggling.

Despite resolving to keep it strictly related to the war against Aizen, despite resolving to keep his distance, he still couldn't shake off the irrepressible need to make sure that she was safe. Even though she was a Shinigami now, even though her power considerably grew from what it was five years ago, some things remained the same, and it was his need to protect her. It was the same continuous thirst, the same continuous longing, and the same continuous ache inside his chest for only one thing that he couldn't have. He told no one, he even refused to accept it himself. But there was one thing he couldn't do, rip the thoughts of her out of his head and to forget that she had ever existed. Inoue Orihime was his salvation and his curse. And now he was doomed again.

Orihime turned her head staring into the distance. It couldn't be! For a second she could've sworn she sensed something familiar, something that almost felt like…

"Inoue, watch out!" Rukia yelled at her.

"Santen Kesshun, I reject!" she chanted shielding herself away from the explosion.

Pay attention! Her mind screamed. How could she be so careless at a time like this? Ulquiorra was not here and he was not coming. She had to get used to it.

More portals started to open up all around them with more monsters pouring out.

"We have to get out of here!" Rukia yelled again.

Somehow everyone got separated and it was just the two girls trying to fight their way out.

"We can't defeat them just by ourselves! Run!"

Stealing the last glance at the monsters, Orihime took off after her friend. There was no end to this onslaught no matter what she did.

"Don't look back! Just run!" she heard Rukia again.

"They are getting closer!" Orihime yelled back.

"See? Over there! It's Ichigo and the others! Once we get there, we will combine our powers and destroy them!" Rukia pointed in front of her.

Orihime looked back again; the monsters were right behind them and getting closer with every second. There was no way they would get to Ichigo in time.

Suddenly she felt that familiar sensation again. Something was coming, something familiar, something that she knew. She moved her head trying to find the source. But there was smoke everywhere. It stung her eyes, it blurred her vision. She couldn't tell what was going on. The only thing she saw was Rukia's tiny back right in front of her and she had to follow it no matter what.

A sudden explosion tore the ground behind her throwing Orihime to the side.

"Inoue!" Rukia yelled running into her direction.

"NO! Stay back!" Orihime cried, "Get to Ichigo, te-"

"CERO."

She stopped mid sentence and slowly turned her head. A demon stood a few feet away with his outstretched arm pointing at the place where an army of monsters was just a second ago.