Onna

Chapter 2

The place Captain Unohana led the group to was virtually empty except for one very long table placed in the center of the space. Just before the group entered, she gestured to the hall, "Go ahead and leave your belongings out here, we'll place them in your rooms once I've filled you in on what's going on. Oh," she suddenly turned to address the two arrancars, "I'd like the two of you to wait out here." The Ex-Espada muttered something foul under his breath, but surprisingly did what he was told. The child did the same.

The boy Orihime kept gazing back at still kept silent.

Once they had entered the room and her Lieutenant shut the door, the captain nodded to the chairs lining the table. Everyone stiffly took a seat. Unohana waited for them to settle before beginning the explanation they desperately wanted.

"As you already know, Captain Kurotsuchi, who is unable to be here at the moment, and I are very grateful that you all have come to assist us in securing a base here. You will be given different jobs, from helping me catalog information found in the library to lending him the hands he needs to organize all of the scientific equipment he's discovered here." Renji leaned over to Uryu, muttering "Great, Mayuri's got his hand on that pink headed freak's experiment crap." Ignoring their interruption, the Captain of the fourth squad continued, "Hopefully this will not take more than a few weeks, and we can get all of you back to the world of the living before the end of you're school break. If we are unable to do so, then the Soul Society will help give you a cover up story." Ichigo took advantage of her pause to ask the question on everyone's mind, "Okay, I get all of that, but how the hell is Grimmjow here?" Captain Unohana sighed slightly at his question knowing she would have to answer it sooner or later.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, when you fought Grimmjow did you kill him?" He was silent. "I thought that much, for when I found him he was only a hair's width away from death, but not truly dead. The Soul Society, as a whole, had already considered the idea of having an arrancar or hollow in our ranks, but at the time it wasn't an option. When I came upon him I took the chance to do just what we didn't consider possible." They looked at her in shock. "You healed one of our enemies?" Uryu gaped. The Captain smiled, "Yes and no. I brought him away from death, but he will never be able to regain his former abilities. He can't use his release form or even create a simple 'cero' for that matter. At the moment, he has only brute strength and a chipped sword at his disposal." All were silent as they let it sink in.

Grimmjow, the one who'd attacked Ichigo on several occasions. Grimmjow, the one who'd thrust his hand through Rukia's chest. Grimmjow, the one who'd caused Orihime both emotional and physical pain. Grimmjow, the one all of them had labeled as an enemy.

Grimmjow, the one who was now on their side.

Ichigo wasn't glad about the Ex-Espada's survival, but was in some ways…. Relieved. In the middle of their battles, even afterwards, Ichigo could almost imagine Grimmjow as someone he would have been friends with had he been human. The orange haired boy shook his head at the thought. Even if Grimmjow was on their side at the moment, there was no way he was going to leave any of his friends alone with him or trust him in any way shape or form.

The child still tugged at Orihime thoughts.

"Um… Miss- Captain Unohana?" Several pairs of eyes planted themselves on Orihime. "Yes?" Unohana asked. "Um… well… I was wondering… who's the little boy with Grimmjow? I mean, he has a mask and everything so… is he an arrancar too?" More then one head nodded in agreement that they too were wondering about the boy.

"All of you recall the arrancar child, Neliel Tu, right?" The female captain asked. Everyone nodded. How could anyone, especially Ichigo, forget the little runt and her friends that had tagged along with them the first time around in Hueco Mundo? After Aizen had been defeated, Ichigo had returned to find her, only to discover that her friends had already taken her and split. Pesche and Dondochakka were many things (annoying, dim-witted, loud, etc.) but Ichigo was thankful that they were intelligent enough to know that it was too dangerous for Nel to stay there.

"Then all of you know why she is a child?" Again, they all nodded. Captain Unohana sighed, "When we first began investigating the rest of Los Noches, that young boy was found unconscious on the roof of the dome. All of us tried to get him to tell us who he was, or at the very least why he was there, but he wouldn't answer. He barely said a word. Luckily, Grimmjow knew who he was, or should I say had been." Orihime wanted to know who the little boy was, but the way Unohana was saying it made her anxious for some reason. "Captain, what do you mean 'had been'?" Rukia asked, saying aloud what they all wondered. "I said that because he too is a child the same way Nel is a child." If he was like Nel, then that could only mean he was once a full grown arrancar… but if Grimmjow knew him… Who could he be?

"His name is Ulquiorra," Complete and udder silence filled the room as she spoke the name of the man Orihime had first compared him to, "Ulquiorra Schiffer."

He was Ulquiorra- Ulquiorra was him.

"How the heck… is that possible…?" Ichigo finally breathed. Unohana scanned all of their faces. Every member of the group before her seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Ulquiorra Schiffer was defeated in battle, correct, but somehow he managed to keep himself alive long enough for his body to shift into defense mode. Though there may be only the two reported cases, we've discovered that arrancars turn into children because they no longer have the strength to maintain their form. A side effect, in some ways, of the Hougyoku."

That explained 'how' but not the 'how' Ichigo was talking about. Nel was the way she was because of an injury, but she hadn't died. Uryu, Orihime, and Ichigo had all watched the Espada turn to ash, and those who hadn't seen his death had felt the disappearance of his spiritual pressure.

How was he able to become a kid?

Seeing that her explanation had not helped clear up the confusion, she continued, "From what you have told us, and what we have found out ourselves, he had extremely developed regeneration ability. That is what saved him. The Espada's regeneration was taking place as he disintegrated, by the time he was completely gone his body was already rebuilding itself. If you had stayed at the site for another hour or so then you would have witnessed his revival." No one said anything for a long while, just trying to process what they'd learned.

"But he told us himself that he wasn't able to regenerate vital organs and brain cells." Uryu said. "Again, Ulquiorra's body went into defense mode. It was similar to what an adrenaline-rush would do to a human in a tight situation. He was able to do things he wasn't previously able to do to stay alive. Even if he had given up, his body hadn't." Unohana replied. The Quincy went silent in defeat. After everything that the Espada had done to Orihime, he was unbelievable frustrated with his survival.

Orihime didn't know how to feel. Unlike the others, she hadn't relished the deaths of their enemies, Ulquiorra's especially.

Just as he'd begun to turn to ash, Ulquiorra had asked her if she'd feared him. The human girl had every reason in the world to say yes, or to run screaming from him, but had truthfully told him no. Something in Orihime had told her that these were the right words to say, the right thing to do. At her answer, he'd reached his hand out to her, only to turn to ash as their fingers met. For some reason, this small gesture had jarred something in her. She couldn't get his last words and actions out of her head.

A long period of silence past before the Captain spoke again, "Now that we've covered that, all of you will be lead the rooms you'll be staying in while here." Everyone stood from the table stiffly and headed for the door. "Miss Inoue," Orihime stopped at Captain Unohana's call. Rukia stopped to wait for her, but Unohana nodded for her to continue out with the others, leaving Orihime alone with the female captain. "Y-yes?" The girl asked.

"When I requested assistance, I wasn't aware that they would ask you and your friends." It took a few moments for Orihime to realize she was apologizing. "Oh, that's okay!" She said hastily, "We're glad to help. It feels nice to be needed." Captain Unohana smiled softly, "I'm glad you feel that way. Also, after everything that you've experienced here, I'd like you to know that if you wish to return to the world of the living, all you have to do is ask." Orihime was grateful that the captain cared about her well-being, but she had to stay. For her friends. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind, thank you." She said cheerfully turning to leave. Just as she was at the door, she paused to ask one last thing, "Captain Unohana..."

Orihime took a deep breath before she asked what seemed to hang in her thoughts, "Can he... I mean, Ulquiorra…. Can he remember anything, like… Who we are… or stuff from before?" She gave Orihime a reassuring smile, "No he cannot. Grimmjow was the one who told both us and him who he was when we found him. Though, for some reason he kept asking for someone over and over… and we're not sure who they could be…" Orihime was relieved that the little boy wouldn't recognize her, or any of the others as enemies, but also very curious who Ulquiorra'd asked for. "What was their name?" She asked.

"Ulquiorra had kept asking for someone whom he called, Onna."

Her breath stuck in her throat and she couldn't make her lungs breathe. Ulquiorra couldn't remember who he had been, or where he was, but he knew that word. His name for her. Onna.

"Well," the captain said, "You should go find the others. They've probably already found their rooms." Orihime walked out of the room in a daze, following the voices of her friends as they made their way down the hall. When she finally caught up to them she saw that both Grimmjow and little Ulquiorra were with them. Chad gave her a slightly concerned look, "Are you ok… Orihime?" He grunted. She forced a smile on her face as she answered him, "Yep, I'm fine. Just a little tired from the trip over is all."

Ulquiorra was near the front of the group along with Grimmjow, who was poking fun at Ichigo for his previous stammering. The boy silently turned his head to look at her with wide green eyes. She gave him a friendly grin. Even if it was Ulquiorra, he was still just a child. Orihime wasn't going to blatantly be mean to him. He snapped his head back around at the sight of her smile.

It felt…. Odd to have her smiling at him, and he didn't know why. Something in Ulquiorra twisted. She was here. The girl he'd seen when he'd first awakened in this horrid world was truly here. He should be happy, and yet… a feeling in the pit of his stomach said other wise.

'She doesn't belong here.'

He blinked once, twice, three times. Why had he thought that? His head suddenly felt fuzzy and weird. Like two trains of thought were going at once. His and one other. He shook his head slightly, as if he could shake the feeling away. His footfalls echoed quietly along with the rest of the people around him. Though, none of them seemed to realize that Ulquiorra had begun to lag behind the group as he fought to control his thoughts.

Except one.

Orihime watched as the boy-Espada silently slowed till he was almost behind even her, and she had come late. "Come on," She said encouragingly, "We better hurry before they leave us!" Ulquiorra was a little taken aback that she'd talked to him.

'Why are you surprised?'

Instead of speeding up, he stopped completely. His head was messed up, even more then usual. Why? Before she had came it hadn't been like that. Only the occasion mental comment or thought. Now, they were happening several times in less then a few minutes.

Orihime looked at him, and also stopped. "Are you… are you okay… Ulquiorra?" She asked, unsure of what else to do. "No." He said flatly and started walking again.

For only an instant, something flashed behind his eyes before he'd turned away from her again. Brokenness. Hurt. Confusion. This made Orihime want to comfort him. Not only because he was a little boy, but because he was Ulquiorra. Because she thought he deserved that much.

Especially after hearing about who he had called for when he'd first arrived. He'd cried out for her of all people. Not Aizen, or Grimmjow, or anyone else.

Just her.

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YAY, it's done!

I feel like I could have worded things better... :/

R&R plz