Chapter 6

Los Manos de los Reales ("The Hands of the Royal Ones")

The Hollow's fingers were strong and firm, pressing down on her flesh as it squeezed in glee of its catch. Orihime cringed at its murderous eyes and extremely white teeth that held only death for those nearby. She wanted nothing more than it to be destroyed. Hopefully, it could stop bearing the weight of inner turmoil and move on to a more peaceful place. But for now, Orihime wanted her friends to be ok.

Already, the Hollow knocked down Kurosaki and Chad with his powerful tail. What made Orihime feel worse was the fact that they couldn't attack the Hollow straight on. With Orihime in its grasp, Orihime was a shield to their most effective strikes.

Although Orihime wanted to use her powers, in the scuffle, the Hollow had knocked her hair pins off of her school uniform collar. Without her hair pins, Orihime was defenseless.

The Hollow laughed mercilessly as it lashed out at Kurosaki and Chad with its tail. Orihime could only scream at them, though she knew it was useless. It was always useless just to scream. Still, she didn't know what to do. Kurosaki and Chad were in a bind.

In spite of the situation, Orihime didn't feel it was hopeless. She didn't feel fear as a result of being a Hollow's hostage. Her only concern lied in her friends' welfare.

Someone save them, she thought, awaiting something, anything, to happen. Orihime watched the Hollow bat away her Kurosaki and Chad, laughing like it was a game.

Someone save me.

"Murciélago!"

She felt a new spiritual energy build from the direction of her friends. At first, she thought that Kurosaki had hardened his spiritual energy in order to attack, but the spiritual energy wasn't one she was familiar with. It warped out of control before compacting itself into a firm shell around its wielder. The strong spiritual energy suddenly burst past Kurosaki and Chad, surprising them with their speed.

The Hollow, slow and stupid, only had time to mutter a confused, "Huh?" With wide eyes, Orihime watched Ulquiorra slice through the Hollow, parting the mask and the Hollow with what appeared to be a sword made out of green spiritual energy. It felt like the world seemed to stop to Orihime as she witnessed Ulquiorra destroy the Hollow, his profile strong, intensity reflecting from his green eyes.

When? Orihime wondered, feeling her body float with the Hollow's fading body. How?

But a wave of relief swept through her heart. Her friends were saved. She was saved.

Once the Hollow disappeared, Orihime couldn't help but scream. The Hollow had been big and tall, almost as big as her apartment building, that when it was destroyed, she was left with nothing to hold her. She plummeted towards the earth with amazing speed.

A hand came forward and grasped her forearm, preventing her descent from continuing. She hung in the air, amazed, as Ulquiorra looked down at her, his eyes filled with something Orihime couldn't read. They floated in the air for a moment, gazing at each other, Orihime in surprise and Ulquiorra without a decipherable look in his face. Though Ulquiorra's hand gripped Orihime's arm, the distance between the two was still great, yet Orihime felt closer to him for some reason. She wanted to thank him for saving not just her, but her friends. She wanted to tell him it was ok, that having a heart wasn't so bad if you had something to protect.

But another spiritual energy came from Ulquiorra's right side. It blasted him, sending both Ulquiorra and Orihime flying towards the earth. Orihime reached out her hand towards Ulquiorra, hoping that she could will it to do something. Ulquiorra extended his arm out, his face showing nothing more than awe at the sudden strike, as they both fell.

A memory flashed through Orihime's mind of Ulquiorra's darkened hand, his eyes filled with a small but strong light, while his body began to fade.

The spiritual energy had come from nowhere. Even Ulquiorra couldn't sense it, but when an energy blast suddenly materialized, Ulquiorra had only a split second to block it with his energy sword. Once the spiritual energies collided, all of the energy he used to support his airborne attack scattered, causing him and Orihime to fly apart.

With her hand reaching out to him, Ulquiorra understood the moment all too clearly. It was almost identical to the memory of his death in Hueco Mundo. The desperate look in her eyes, his need to touch her, a human, and the imminent danger hovering near them were all elements that contributed to both situations.

Ulquiorra saw something more in Orihime's eyes this time. The vivid portrayal of her emotions never ceased to amaze him. This time, he could sense what her eyes were saying.

Please don't die again.

Ulquiorra had no desire to die, not when he needed to save Orihime from another Hollow. That was what it was, another Hollow. This one, however, had used the other Hollow's mistakes to drop their guards before striking. It was pretty smart for a low-level Hollow, but Ulquiorra wasn't going to praise the beastly creature. He needed to rid the Living World of it.

The Hollow moved fast, but it couldn't suppress its spiritual energy, making it easier for Ulquiorra to track it when it made a second attempt to hit Ulquiorra. It wasn't a big Hollow as the previous Hollow, but it seemed to have more speed and intelligence, and its entire body was encased in white armor. Ulquiorra guarded himself against another air attack, this time, with the new Hollow pressing its own leg into his side.

Within the first glimpse of the Hollow's human-appearing leg, Ulquiorra compacted his energy around his entire body and shielded himself for the contact. The white leg hit him, sending Ulquiorra into the earth with a violent collision. Though he was unaware of the damage he created, the former Espada stood up shaking the gravel and hardened tar from his clothes. Ulquiorra spotted Orihime, who appeared to have been saved by Kurosaki.

Ulquiorra used his spiritual energy to propel his body towards the floating Hollow, his new weapon ready to strike. The Hollow seemed to time his attack, meeting his sword with its flat, sword-like arm. Its red eyes and exposed teeth laughed at Ulquiorra. Relinquishing their swords from contact, Ulquiorra brought his sword to his side for a second attack. However, the Hollow read his movements and quickly swiped its blade at Ulquiorra's body, succeeding in cutting him clean across the chest.

Unlike having a hierro, Ulquiorra's human skin didn't hold against a blade and quickly shot out blood, sharp, hot pain shooting through his body. It felt like his head was on fire from the pain alone, distracting Ulquiorra from the fight.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" A blue band of spiritual energy suddenly cut through the Hollow, splintering its existence until it was nothing.

Through the pain, Ulquiorra peered down at Kurosaki, but his green eyes caught sight of his own blood falling down to the ground. He was bleeding, and bleeding profusely. His eyes couldn't focus. His sight became clouded. For the first time, Ulquiorra felt utterly sick, yet his pride made him disgusted at the mistakes that lead to his downfall.

Although Ulquiorra couldn't see clearly, he sensed Orihime nearby. The Hollow didn't have a chance to get to her, he thought with pride. He resolved to save her, and that he did within his own will. His job was finished for the time being, allowing him to relax only slightly.

Feeling lightheaded and suddenly exhausted, Ulquiorra knew he couldn't sustain his flight in air for long. He would go crashing down to earth without any way to prevent his fall. Against his will, his eyes became heavy until they shut, closing out all of the light.

Next chapter: La Resolucion que Paga el Oro

Orihime makes a resolve that surprises everyone.

A/N: Sorry, dudes, but I didn't make it so lovey-dovey, but I hope you're enjoying the story anyways! Please review!