Chapter 13 :::Faith & Resurrection:::
"I can already sense the power within the fetus. This may actually change some things…Do you still have the ash samples? I'm aware that you haven't had much luck with them yourself, but the powerful new life patterns…well, let's just say it got me thinking in new directions. I feel with some additional reinforcements, we can negate Ulquiorra's destruction. This is, of course, if you'd be willing to try again?" Urahara asked.
…Orihime looked down at her stomach with awe. Could it be this simple?…She hadn't even considered the possibilities of what lay within…the answer was inside of her the whole time.
…..
Hacchi, a hollowfied Shinigami (known as a Vizard) with shielding abilities similar to Orihime's own, was continually refining methods to help her try and resurrect Ulquiorra's body. It was slow going as the only remains left of him were a mere handful of ashes grasped out of the air before the cruel wind swept his body away. Several days went by, still, the two remained firmly entrenched at square one. Together, they were able to rebuild a large, pale white tissue fragment from the Fourth Espada's remains…but the moment their combined golden shields released the forming tissue, it disintegrated immediately as the air engulfed it.
It was Hacchi who had informed her that the pathogen was being created simultaneously along with the renewed tissue. And once out of suspension, the newly-created virus vigorously attacked the pale tissue until, once more, only ash remained. It was Hacchi's tireless theories, one night, that lead to a discovery…one already suspected by Urahara. Hacchi surmised that although the pathogen was still inside of Orihime, somehow, the powerful fetus continued to thrive despite the disease carried by its' mother. How was this possible? Perhaps the fetus naturally manufactured antibodies that could be harnessed…this, he explained, might be their answer…
It took several more days to extract a sample of the fetal blood without harming Mother or child. Hacchi had to create layer upon layer of shielding for the procedure...and to their collective amazement, all went as planned. After Orihime took a day or two to recover, the two redoubled their efforts to save Ulquiorra. However, creating a vaccine for injection would be pointless without the patient…and it was becoming painfully obvious that between the two, they simply lacked the necessary resources to bring a powerful being, like Ulquiorra, back to his former state…it wouldn't be long before the two would be forced to admit defeat and give up the endeavor entirely.
However, Urahara Kisuke hadn't given up…in fact, he already knew the roadblocks that would lie ahead. He also knew that what he now proposed would be met with extreme opposition…and so, he approached Orihime cautiously…
"So, I see the two of you haven't made much progress."
"No…but I will keep trying. I have to…," Orihime said determinedly.
"I hate to crush your aspirations…but you two can't do this alone. It would take a being of immeasurable power to resurrect an Espada. And you'll probably need the very one that helped destroy him."
"You can't mean-"
"It's either that or we pack it up. I'm sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, Orihime, but you would've figured it out sooner or later. My guess is, Hacchi, already knew…he just didn't have the heart to tell you. But, we're running out of time and sacrifices must be made. Like it or not, this is our only option. And I know Ichigo won't do it for me…(besides, I already asked him.) Anyway, he's out in the storefront. He came by to check up on you. ...So, I guess I'll just leave you to it then."
With much sadness and a heavy heart, Orihime Inoue sought out Ichigo Kurosaki, substitute soul reaper, ex-would-be-love, and a key player in her recurring nightmares…
"Ichigo…I need to speak with you," Orihime stated in a tone barely above a whisper, she wouldn't meet his eyes.
"I needed to see that you were ok, Orihime. …And I already know what you're going to ask me. I wanted to help you settle back into your old life. …I never realized how far Urahara wanted this to go or I never would have come here. This is crazy. You can't honestly think bringing back Ulquiorra is a good idea. Toward the end of our fight, he'd reached bloodlust and would've killed all of us …and deep down, I think you know it."
"Ichigo, you need to know…listen to me before you refuse my request. You don't know everything that happened to me there. I fell in love with ...him. ...Things could have been so much worse for me. And you don't know the risks he took to protect me. Part of me feels like a traitor...I feel awful because I feel like I let everyone down. ...But you need to look at me! Don't you understand? I can't ever go back to the way things were before!" Orihime stopped approaching Ichigo, one of her hands covered her eyes in shame, and she began sobbing uncontrollably.
"Orihime, look at me!" Ichigo grasped her hands as he pleaded with her.
"All the risks everyone took for me, I wish I could undo it…but I wouldn't undo him, not Ulquiorra. ...And I cannot save him without your help," she stated sadly as she looked away from him.
"Just think about this for a minute. I mean, who knows what you'll bring back? You're a healer and you've never done anything like this before."
"You're right, Ichigo," Hacchi stated succinctly as he entered the store, "However, she and I cannot do this alone. We've tried for weeks and the only thing we've accomplished is the continuing depletion of both of our abilities. We need your help, or more specifically, we need to borrow the vast power of your inner Hollow."
"You want to let that thing inside me out again? You don't know what you're asking! Orihime, this is insane! You want to risk all of us, and for what? …He was Espada, Inoue! A dedicated soldier in Aizen's army, think about what you're asking me to do…it goes against everything I believe. And that thing inside me is a killer, you've seen it first hand, and I may not be able to stop it this time…Think about what it does to me every time it takes over!"
"-And what about me, Ichigo? I have nothing…nothing but my faith in you and Ulquiorra. I need you to have faith in me. Please trust my judgment this once…You know I would never ask this of you if there were any other way. Besides, I think a part of you needs to…because I think a part of your soul died the day you helped end his life…didn't it?"
"…maybe. I know I haven't felt like myself since the day it happened. I'm the reason he died that day… If only I had gotten to you sooner…or taken you home when I first found you. Damn it! None of this would have happened…you'd never have been violated by him."
"Ichigo, please, it wasn't like that. You have to trust me when I tell you he was kind and he cared for me when I thought I'd never see any of you again!"
"I guess we all just have to live with it. …It was war and people get hurt. Still…I never wanted to believe I was capable of butchering him like that-"
"I killed him, Ichigo! Me, not you. Aizen used me to kill him. I have a chance to try and save him and I can't do that without your help. I'm begging you!"
"I don't understand, how could you possibly-"
"When the wind blew him away…that was my doing. I gave him that sickness. They used me to kill him, Ichigo. They used me and they used him…my gifts mean nothing if I can't do this. And I can't without your help, please help me bring him back. I can't live with myself and what I've done."
"Don't say that, Inoue. You could never kill anyone. You're not capable of it. ...But I am, so please don't ask me to do this."
"…I-I can't force you, it's your decision. So, help me …or, or don't visit me again. I can't bear it." she whispered to him as she slowly walked back towards the workroom, leaving Hacchi and Ichigo alone.
"Hacchi, my vizard training isn't enough to control that THING! Please tell me there's another way! We both know this isn't a good idea!"
"Why on Earth not? You fail to see what's at stake here. We, Vizards, are not unlike Hollows. Tell me, how long do you think it will be before the Ordinance encompasses us as well? We are already viewed as undesirable in the eyes of the Soul Society. And I know you feel it too, substitute or not. ...Tell me, how long has it been since you've worn your mask?"
"Who cares? So what, if I don't wear it. What does it matter? I really don't need it anymore-"
"-You're afraid you can't control it now, aren't you? You allowed it free reign in Hueco Mundo. You fear using it will cost you what little control you have left, isn't that right?"
"Look, you weren't there. You don't know how bad it was. I don't even remember a lot of what happened when it had control. It enjoyed carving people up! And it didn't give a damn if it killed an enemy or a friend! I can't risk letting it out again, especially near Orihime and her unborn baby. It could kill them! I can't believe you're even considering this!"
"I will fashion a special shield…I promise on my life it will be safe for her. I need you to remember that Orihime is in a precarious situation as things currently stand. Without your help, there won't be a safe place left for her in this world…or any other."
"…Fine, you win, Hacchi. …But if things go wrong, I doubt you'll be around for me to say 'I told you so.'"
….The next day….
"Now, we will be working within the smaller shield just over to your left, Ichigo. Try and focus your energy on that cube when the time comes. Alright then, I think we've covered about everything. Are you ready? All you need to do is remain still inside the larger cube until I give the signal…then, release the hollow within and focus on that second cube…," Hacchi said with bated breath.
"Yes, after 20 run-downs, I get it. Let's just do this, already…(how the hell did I get talked into this?)"
"Thank you Ichigo…no matter what happens, thank you…," Orihime said with a somber and slightly teary expression.
"Only for you, Orihime. Alright, let's do this!"
Within moments a large glowing cube of concentrated energy had engulfed Ichigo Kurosaki. He peered out from inside and saw the nodding motion coming from Hacchi. Ichigo placed his hand to his face and made a grabbing motion. A mask appeared, but it wasn't on the same level of immense spiritual pressure as that grotesque creature that decimated the Fourth Espada. Ichigo began to battle internally to bring that potent entity forward. His inner struggle began…
"Damn you! Where the hell are you when I need you? I need more from you than this!"
"You called?," Ichigo's hollow answered, "And as impatient as always…maybe next time you should just MAKE me," the haunting spirit laughed from deep inside, its' voice, dripping with loathing and sarcasm…as usual.
"You know what I need. Come on, just do it!"
"Why should I? You lock me away just when things get interesting. So, get used to disappointment, Substitute, because I don't owe you anything!"
"How often do you think I'll let you get out if you don't help me?"
"*sigh*…Fine. But next time, it's my turn. …*grumble, grumble*(Vizard training, my ass! …I will OWN you one day…)!"
…And, once more, Ichigo became the grotesque hollowfied creature that Orihime had seen in her nightmares every time she slept. She concentrated on Ulquiorra's ashes placed within the smaller reinforced shield. She began focusing her rejection ability on reforming an arm. She felt the energy increase as Hacchi added his power to the mix. And then, the hollow-Ichigo figure created what looked like a blue cero high above his head within the shield that held him.
Both Orihime and Hacchi braced themselves for an attack…only it never came. The blue light wasn't a cero at all. It was raw concentrated energy that provided sustaining fuel for Orihime's rejection phenomenon…which was now rapidly turning ash to tissue at an impressive rate. Tissue became fingers. Fingers became a hand…and so on. A full body was now forming. Orihime began to truly hope…and then the pathogen began to attack the tissue as part of the shield gave way. Orihime began to fret and considered aborting the effort, until suddenly, hollow-Ichigo cried out and emitted an unprecedented amount of reitsu into the smaller cube.
The shield around Ichigo began to display noticeable cracks. Hacchi was sweating from the effort of desperately trying to repair them! The hollow slipped his hand through the shield as easily as if it hadn't been there in the first place. It reached into Ulquiorra's cube and pierced his newly-formed body. Only this time, instead of ripping it to shreds…Ichigo spread his fingers and sucked most of the pathogen into a black light which began steadily growing from his palm.
When the pathogen had been completely sucked into the sphere, the Ichigo-hollow made a fist and the blackness imploded into oblivion. The shield Hacchi had tried to save was mere shards and angles of disjointed glowing energy. The destructive hollow-Ichigo could escape its' confines anytime it wanted to now. Orihime ignored it as she continued her method of healing. The Ichigo-creature ignored her and took a foreboding step towards Hacchi…
"Ichigo, NO!" Hacchi yelled, "You must stop this and take back control! Hurry!"
The creature stopped advancing immediately. Within seconds it had fallen to one knee shaking. You could almost hear the voices from within as Ichigo battled for dominance….finally, it was over.
Ichigo lay in rags on the ground unconscious as he slowly reverted to his original human form. Hacchi quickly ran to Orihime and the second shield to assist Orihime in her continuing effort to restore the Fourth Espada. Within a few moments…Ulquiorra stood before them, just as he had been before he vanished, in the form of a winged-demon.
Ulquiorra's eyes remained closed as his body began to flex its' arms menacingly. The next moment, his eyes snapped open…his gaze fixed on Orihime, his expression unreadable…
Orihime ran to the glowing cube and placed her palms against the golden shield. Ulquiorra's gaze followed her…he began to glide towards where she stood. The only thing between them was the glowing barrier. Orihime's pulse raced as he placed his palms against the barrier against hers. And just as she was about to slip into the glowing space…
"Urahara, NOW!," Hacchi yelled.
Suddenly, Urahara Kisuke opened up a garganta within Ulquiorra's cube. As Ulquiorra noticed it and turned his head, Hacchi slipped into the cube and quickly injected a syringe into the neck of the Fourth Espada. Ulquiorra grasped his neck with his left hand, while simultaneously, forming a cero with his right aimed directly at the heart of the rotund Vizard. Just as the cero was released, another barrier formed to enclose and protect Hacchi.
"Don't waste your energy.," Urahara said plainly to the Espada, "You need to go back to Hueco Mundo and build up your strength."
Ulquiorra looked at Orihime with longing…
"I will return," he said as he looked away from her and stepped into the spatial rift.
"No, wait!," Orihime screamed!
Urahara nodded to Hacchi, a shield formed around Orihime.
"You need to let him go and recover." Urahara told her, "If you'd gotten too close, he might have absorbed what was left of your spirit…it wouldn't have been intentional, but he's a hollow and it's instinctive when their ravenous," he said as gently as he was able.
"You'll never make me believe he would have done that…," Orihime said bitterly.
"Don't worry, my dear.." Hacchi said as he stepped into her cube and held her, "He'll be back …"
continue to Chapter 14 -