It's been five months, two weeks and six days since she watched helplessly as he turned into ash. She would know. She's been counting. Each day she marks off every six hours she spends scouring the Rungokai, asking about a pale, dark-haired man, 5"6 tall. And his most distinctive feature? Bright viridian eyes.
Yawning as discreetly as possible, Orihime looks out the window, and rests her cheek against her hand. If it were up to her, she'd ditch class more often to search for him, but a certain pint-sized shinigami refuses to open a senkaimon for her unless she attends at least four full days of school. Smiling to herself, she finally gains at least a partial understanding of Ichigo's previous indignation towards her.
Kurosaki-kun… She thinks as her gaze wanders over to where the strawberry sits, scribbling down notes as their sensei lectures them. She breathes through her teeth. No. She will not think about his reaction after he blew away. She will not recall the hurt and betrayal that was quickly hidden after she told him what had happen while she had been in Las Noches. She will not remember how the piece of her heart that once belonged to him wilted. Her heart belongs, and will forever belong to someone else.
She promised him.
"What do you mean we're not going to District 25 to search?!" Orihime demands, utterly shocked at the sudden and uncharacteristic change of plans made by the Kuchiki noble. Yelping as the newly appointed vice captain pulls her half of her hair up into a bun to match the other on the other side. Rukia just grins at her in the mirror, winking cheekily.
"Come on Orihime, you should enjoy yourself a little more. What happened to that carefree, optimistic girl who used to make us red bean paste and wasabi onigiri?" She teases, pinning a butterfly hairpin into her hair.
"She grew up."
Rukia's grin quickly vanishes and Orihime ducks her head in shame. "Gomen ne. That was rude." She apoligizes quietly, staring at the floor.
There's a prolonged scilence, and Orihime unconsciously flinches in anticipation of the rebuking hit she's certain she'll be receiving. But instead a hand just pats her hair, ruffling it violently. Blinking in surprise she looks up at Rukia who has a sympathetic look on her face. "Just because you grow up doesn't mean you have to completely change, right?" she says, her fingers pushing the corners of Orihime's cheeks up.
Orihime stares at her ridiculous appearance, a small huff escaping her mouth. That small huff turns into a hesitant giggle, which becomes a full laugh. Spinning around, Orihime ruffles Rukia's hair as well, ruining its utter perfection. Returning her grin of relief, Orihime stick out her tongue playfully. "Let's go have fun!"
Orihime gapes at all the colourful decorations that adorn the various houses and shops that line the streets of the small village. Several entertainment stalls also line the streets, all of them crowded with patrons of various ages and appearances. "S-sugoi!" She stammers, trying to take it all in, but finding herself unable to.
Beside her Ruika laughs, "Well if there's one thing the villagers of Higashisaido-machi knows how to do, it's throw a festival. Screw what everyone else says about the lower numbered districts." Grabbing her companion's hand, Rukia drags Orihime into the fray.
A short time later a dango stick is stuck in her mouth, and an Amaterasu mask sitting atop her head. Laughing, Orihime's eyes light up as she spots her favourite type of festival booth. "Kya! Here, Rukia-chan!" she says, pulling her over to the goldfish game booth. Crouching beside the young boy, who has a determined and focused look on his face, poi held tightly in one hand, water filled bowl clutched tightly in the other. Curiously, Orihime notes his almost black eyes and chocolate coloured skin contrasts pleasantly with his slightly faded yukata. "Kingyo-sukui!"
"It makes me happy to see someone your age continue to enjoy the simple things in life."
Looking up, Orihime beams up at the woman who has come to stand at her shoulder. She too has dark skin and hair. Judging by how her eyes are almost identical to the little boy's she supposes that she's his mother. "Hai! I always loved this game!" The woman laughs gently, her gaze moving to rest on the boy who's now cheering triumphantly as he captures another goldfish.
"Ma! Look! I got six goldfish!" He holds up the bag of fish proudly. His gaze then lands on Orihime. "Hi! Wanna see my fish?" He asks, thrusting the bag into Orihime's face.
Smiling gently, Orihime supports the bag from the bottom. "They're splendid!" She says. He grins proudly.
"I know right! I bet this'll bring a smile to Emo-kun's face." He says, turning to his mother with an eager grin. "Oh wait! I totally forgot! Hi! My name's Josef, Ma's name is Fiona. Nice to meet you!"
Blinking rapidly after the initial shock she got from hearing Josef call someone 'Emo-kun' Orihime manages to grin, "Pleasure's all mine Josef-kun, Fiona-san. Who's this 'Emo-kun'?" She asks as nonchalantly as possible.
"Josef-san. What do I do with all this?" A confused, tenor voice asks from behind them.
Very slowly Orihime and Rukia, (whom was simply observing up until now) turn around to see a dark haired man, with pale skin, 5"6 standing with a pile of stuffed animals in his arms. At least, that what Rukia notices. Orihime can only stare into his wide eyes.
His eyes of a glorious viridian colour.
Fiona lets out a small 'oh' and takes several of the stuffed animals out of his hands, "Hector-san, how did you get all of these?" She says in a motherly tone, somewhere in between the way you'd address a lost child, and a child who doesn't know what he's doing.
"I won them…actually." He mumbles, glancing down shyly. "It seems like I have an innate accuracy." That's when his eyes finally rest on Orihime's face, and his eyes widen. Orihime's heart flutters hopefully, her lips forming the name, but her voice failing her.
The same rush of emotion she felt when she regained her memories rips through her body again, and almost as if someone turned the mute button off, she's shouting at the top of her lungs. "Ulquiorra! Ulquiorra!"
Throwing her arms around his neck, she completely disregards the shocked looks she's getting from Fiona, Josef and all the bystanders. She doesn't care that Rukia looks like she's going to tease her forever about this occurrence, or about how all the stuffed animals are now lying forgotten on the ground. All he knows is that he's here, he's back, and he's her's again. Vaguely, Orihime realizes she's crying.
The stuffed animals were knocked from his arms as she threw her arms around his neck. He instantly stiffened, surprised at her unexpected affection, as she began to cry loudly into his blue yukata.
"Oh…I missed you," Orihime stammers, hiccuping between breaths. "But I found you, I finally…finally…found you."
Burying her head into his chest, Orihime feels him stiffen. Biting down on her lip, her fingers tighten their grip on his yukata.
Then his arms wrap around her body, and Orihime's tears return two fold as she realizes what it means. They're back. He has them. The precious memories of Hueco Mundo, and the life they shared together. Of wasabi, and letters, and Enraku, and love. Love against all reason and odds. Love that completely changed her whole world.
"Orihime,"
Her head snaps up when she hears his tenor voice call her name. Lantern light sparkling in his eyes, and countless pairs of eyes watching, he leans forwards. Eagerly, she stands on her toes to meet him, and when their lips meet, her eyes fluttering close. She smiles, as the familiar feeling she got when his lips come on contact with her own fills her body.
Finally, she is whole.
They manage to walk throughout the whole village and then some.
There's a silence between them, but Orihime doesn't care in the slightest. It's a comfortable one, in which they hold hands, and (in her case at least) one in which they can revel in the other's closeness.
In that time she told him about how long she had been looking for him. (Rounding it out so that it didn't sound as creepy). Judging by the focused look in his eyes, she could tell that he was puzzling out some minor details related to that five month hole in their lives. She doesn't dwell on it.
He's back and that's all that matters.
Orihime continues to tell him about the other important events that had happened in those five months. How Grimmjow and Nel vanished after they returned to the human world, and how Harribel was the only one whom she knew for sure was alive. How Ichigo defeated Aizen, even though he lost his powers. How school was like, the changes in her friends lives, every single happy memory she could think of.
To her surprise (and delight) he plants a kiss on her lips, effectively silencing her. Giggling to herself, she kisses back as she thanks Kami-sama for him. Knowing that the one person you loved, your soul mate, (pun intended) was somewhere out there was a reassuring fact. That is, unless you did not know if they'd remember you existed. Then it's unbearable.
But she found him. And Kami-sama, Orihime knows she's indefinitely lucky she found him.
It's true she still wants to live out her life as a 'normal' human. Go to collage. Become a teacher. That was always part of her life plan. But now, now she has a chance to love the once emotionless man with all her being.
Orihime squeezes his hand, and Ulquiorra turns to look at her. She smiles at him, and to her surprise and joy, his face is graced with a smile she has never seen before.
When she though about it, they were the impossible couple. Polar opposites isn't a strong enough term to describe how they related to each other, but they made it work. Where he was stoic, her emotions could be read like a book. But where she was scatterbrained, he was level-headed. They complimented each other. Dark to light. Ying to yang. Everyone knows that opposites attract.
And she'd be damned if it was any other way.
YES MADE IT IN TIME FOR WEDNEDAY.
and so, another fanfiction ends. I apologize for the really crappy updating recently. Life. It's a pain.
Anyways, humongous thanks to everyone whose ever reviewed/followed/favourited this story! Your messages seriously boost my selfconfidence and help motivate me to write.
another GINORMUNGOUS thanks to TheCatWithTheHat. Holy Aizen, has it really been a year since we brought this story into existance? It's been a great year, and a highly educational and enjoyable experience. We should totally collab again, because if CTF/DTR taught me anything is that wheto multiple minds come together, awesome things are created.
and with that, I say farewell for now minna, and see you soon!
-moony