Chapter 23
Explicación del Alquimista ("The Alchemist's Explanation")
Ulquiorra stood in disbelief as he gazed at everything before him. The moment Orihime's eyes settled on his face, he sensed something was astray. She appeared to look through him, something that further set him on edge. What caused him to move were her grey eyes; normally filled with optimism or worry, they peered at him with unshielded fear. Immediately, Ulquiorra was at her side, faster than the imbeciles sitting next to her.
The moment he reached her side, her eyes closed and she slacked in his arms. He heard her friends cry out in surprise, but he ignored them as he tried to awaken her. Orihime didn't respond to him.
"Don't worry," came the Soul Reaper's steady voice, bringing everyone to gaze him. Although he maintained a slight smile on his small lips, his eyes peered at them with determination. "She'll be fine. I just needed to test something."
Before Ulquiorra could reprimand the blond man, Kurosaki grabbed the front of his green robe and forced him to his feet. The anger in Kurosaki's profile caused Ulquiorra to merely watch. "What did you do to Inoue? She's not your stupid test subject!"
Urahara pinned Kurosaki with a solemn expression, ignoring the orange-haired boy's grip on his shirt. "She isn't my test subject. There's something else working here," Urahara claimed curtly.
Ulquiorra. The voice was only a whisper calling out to him. From behind Urahara, Ulquiorra noticed something moving. It wasn't a part of the wall, yet it was, almost as if it hadn't decided to detach itself from hiding. Though the thing was simply a shape, a shadow, Ulquiorra began to feel apprehension set into his blood.
A storm was looming within the shadow, swimming with ambiguous intentions.
Ulquiorra gathered his spiritual energy just as the shadow peeled away from its shelter. Kurosaki's bewildered eyes caught Ulquiorra's attention, causing him to lose focus on the shadow. Time slackened to an agonizingly slow pace, and he watched Kurosaki pull backwards, releasing Urahara's shirt.
A sliver of orange light sliced through the green fabric, cutting a piece of the material away. The energy was so thin, it never reached past Urahara's clothes. Everyone turned their eyes onto the entity in front of them, some of them standing in defense.
Pulling back her arm, Orihime returned their hostile gazes. "Inoue!" Kurosaki called out futilely.
"Hello," she greeted indifferently. Instantly, Ulquiorra knew this Orihime. With her orange bangs, confident grey eyes, and white Arrancar uniform, it was clear that this Orihime came from his dream. "I wonder how Urahara could realize my existence. You really are impressive."
Urahara faced her, turning his back on Ulquiorra and Orihime's friends. "It took a little work, but thanks," he responded in a grim tone. "You really don't hide yourself well."
"What's going on?" Kurosaki screamed in an irritated voice, looking from the Arrancar Orihime to the Orihime in Ulquiorra's arms. Finally, he pointed accusingly at the uniform-clad Orihime. "You're a phony!"
Bringing a hand up, Urahara indicated for Kurosaki to calm down. "Kurosaki, let me explain this further," he stated, quieting the annoyed boy. "This person is Orihime Inoue, or I should say, a projection of Orihime Inoue. She is made up of Inoue's soul and the Hougyoku."
"This is so confusing!" The red-haired Soul Reaper sulked next to the raven-haired woman.
"Shut up!" Kurosaki agreed, looking at his fiery friend.
Ulquiorra was already growing impatient of Orihime's friends. He needed to know more about this Orihime, or else, many questions would go unanswered. As much as he dreaded where those answers would lead, he knew he needed the truth. Making sure Orihime was safely placed on the tatami mat, Ulquiorra climbed to his feet, staring at the Arrancar Orihime.
She realized his presence, her grey eyes meeting his in an exchange of determination. Her lips moved into a cold smile. "Are you thinking about that special dream we had together, Ulquiorra?"
Ulquiorra glared at her. This imposter could never pass as Orihime. She wasn't as kind or gentle as the real Orihime. Because of that reason, Ulquiorra despised her. And she seemed to understand his thoughts.
Orihime lifted her hand and pointed at Urahara, rage filling her pretty face. "This man really knows how to be annoying, forcing me to appear this way," she spat in Urahara's direction though her eyes remained on Ulquiorra.
"That's true. I'm not so kind to sit back and let some unknown entity roam inside of Inoue's head," Urahara simply replied, tipping his hat towards the angered Orihime. "But you've forgotten who created the Hougyoku. I would notice something if strange things start to happen." He waved a hand towards Ulquiorra. "There were things that happened before Ulquiorra Schiffer appeared." Urahara looked at Kurosaki this time, the strength in his eyes more dangerous than ever. "Kurosaki, you noticed something different about Inoue, didn't you?"
Kurosaki raked his brain, but the Quincy boy answered for him. "Inoue was always tired at school because she couldn't sleep. Everyone thought she was just staying up late at night, but it seems like this could be the reason."
"She ate a lot more than usual," Sado provided solemnly, earning Kurosaki's surprise.
Kurosaki immediately turned pink, scratching his head. Even Ulquiorra could note that Orihime slept-walked some nights. He realized that Kurosaki, a person who would travel to Hueco Mundo and risk his life, couldn't notice the simplest things about Orihime. It only aggravated Ulquiorra more to know that someone so oblivious could stand in someone's defense without understanding a thing about them.
"At night, there was the slightest rise in spiritual energy close to Inoue's apartment," Urahara continued. "It was so slight, you wouldn't think of it. But a customer made me notice your presence. She came to buy some candy to help with her back pain. She told me that she saw a strange person in Tsubakidai Park on her way home from her shoe shop. The person she described to me sounded like Inoue."
"Urahara, why didn't you report such a thing to us?" the raven-haired girl suddenly asked sternly.
Urahara turned an indifferent eye on her. "How could I report something if I didn't have any evidence?" He returned his attention to Orihime. "I decided to find some evidence. You could also say it was out of curiosity too. There aren't that many things in the Living World that intrigue me like it used to."
"Who cares about your curiosity? What about Inoue?" Kurosaki had a point, Ulquiorra agreed. He wasn't listening to the Soul Reaper just for fun. He wanted answers.
"Well, when I started noticing the tiny spike in spiritual energy, I started noticing the rise in Hollow appearing in that park. Hollow always gravitate towards higher or richer spiritual energy. Since more were going to that park, it meant that the girl the woman saw and the rise in spiritual energy were related somehow."
"That's why Hollow have been attacking Inoue and Ulquiorra," the Quincy boy muttered aloud. "Most of the Hollow were strong as well."
"You weren't even there! How would you know?" Kurosaki accused, glaring at him.
"It's called information."
Urahara quickly dismissed their minor squabble as he continued. "Seeing that there were more Hollow going to the park, I knew that the Hollow were responding to a certain energy. If they were responding to Inoue's spiritual energy, they would go after her at school and at home, not just the park. Before I could go to the park to run tests, Ulquiorra came into this world. I didn't know which spiritual energy the Hollow were responding to since they attacked both Ulquiorra and Inoue together." Urahara looked at the Arrancar Orihime. "But you couldn't hide. You tried to intervene in Inoue's personal life by making things happen, right?"
Ulquiorra watched as Orihime's face shifted into an expression of impatience. "Of course I did!" she yelled in an outraged voice. "Orihime didn't want to listen to herself. She ignored everything inside of her heart just to continue her usual life. I just pushed her to realize herself."
"It seems like you were too careless for Inoue's taste," Urahara remarked, making the imposter to glare at him. "The strange eating and sleeping habits, the bag that sprained her ankle, even cutting that model's finger—they were all done by you trying to force yourself outside of the dream plane. And that 'special dream' made Inoue suspicious."
The woman's face twisted into anger again. "That wasn't my doing! She just ended up there somehow."
"Didn't I say 'careless'? You forced Ulquiorra into the dream plane while he was awake, and Inoue noticed something was wrong. I suspected that you were from a dream plane since Inoue could appear in two different places at once, so I made a candy specifically for Inoue to enter dreams. She took it and entered the dream you forced onto Ulquiorra."
The room became deathly silent. For Ulquiorra, he simply absorbed the silence as he took in all of information being flung around him. They were answers passing in front of his eyes. They were keeping everyone at bay.
But there was one question that left him vexed.
"How did I come into this world?" Even as he spoke, Ulquiorra was suddenly struck by a strange serenity surrounding his soul.
Kurosaki, Urahara, and everyone else turned to look at him with astounded eyes.
Orihime's eyes met Ulquiorra's emerald orbs, frustration dissolving from the greyness. Her voice was even and calm. "I am real because of the Hougyoku's ability to create desires. Orihime's deepest desire was to become strong enough to pursue her wishes. I am this side of her, the side that is responsible for your existence, Ulquiorra."
She took a step towards him, their eyes locked in an intense gaze. "I've told you this, but even as I speak, you two don't understand a thing." Her next step put her between Urahara and Kurosaki, but they were rooted in their position. They didn't even react to her movements. Ulquiorra quickly realized they were frozen, like time had decided to stop only for them.
His realization seemed to change his surroundings. Orihime's friends along with the room dimmed, everyone's vibrant colors darkening in his vision. The smallest of sounds—the movement of the others, the noise from outdoors, even everyone's nervous breathing—came to a halt, and an impenetrable silence settled around him.
Only Orihime's voice reached his senses within the sea of silence. "Ulquiorra Schiffer, you are a part of Orihime's desires. The moment you died, she reached out to you. Right then, the desire for you to be alive was formed in her heart." She lowered her head slightly, a melancholy expression reigning over her beautiful guise. "I wasn't strong enough then to make her wish come true. I waited in the shadows, until I found that I could create things whenever Orihime slept.
When I had enough strength, I realized how to make her desire come true. I recreated your soul using the spiritual energy left by your first visit to the Living World. It was really faint, but it was there, in that park. I could sense you, even when my own power was weak."
Orihime pointed at Ulquiorra's chest, the sorrow erased from her face. "Ulquiorra, your soul is from a human, but your evolution is from the Hougyoku. I am the same as you. I am a being made from the Hougyoku. There is no way I could miss your spiritual energy." She lowered her hand, a small smile appearing on her lips. "In a way, me and you are kindred spirits."
"Is this what you wished for me to see?"
Orihime's smile widened. "Not only that, but I wanted you to know your purpose for being here, in the Living World." She touched her chest where her heart laid. "You wanted to know about the hearts of humans, right? Well, this heart wants you. And I don't mean as a friend."
Ulquiorra's mind went blank before a single thought ran through his brain. If Orihime wanted him to be alive, what more could she ask for in his existence?
"Orihime wants you to be her—"
Stay away from Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra recognized the unshaken, emotionless voice immediately. The Arrancar Orihime's grey eyes grew wide, also understanding the source of the voice. Similar to a Hollow's spiritual energy, something dark rippled through the air, sending waves of dread to Ulquiorra's stomach. He fought down the human fear seeping through his veins, trying to comprehend what was going on.
The walls, the tatami-covered floor, even the frozen humans—everything shook underneath a voice.
Stay away from Ulquiorra.
Orihime's voice came from all directions, echoing in Ulquiorra's ears.
Stay away from Ulquiorra.
His eyes focused on the sleeping Orihime. Her hair floated into the air like strands of orange string before she lifted her body from the floor. A strange orange light engulfed her body, and her whole body levitated until her feet didn't touch anything. Ulquiorra only watched as Orihime faced the uniform-clad Orihime.
You have no right. To drag Ulquiorra. Here. Her words came in awkward spasms, her sentences breaking in strange places. As a result, Orihime's echoing voice repeated the disjoined phrases, making Ulquiorra's skin prickle. For the first time, Ulquiorra felt he was being attacked, assaulted, by Orihime Inoue, though it wasn't intentional.
Get out. Of our heads.
You aren't. Supposed to. Exist.
Ulquiorra couldn't see Orihime's face, but he watched her imposter's reactions. Unlike him, the imposter didn't conceal the fear. It bubbled on the surface, her eyes wide with terror as she took a step backwards. "You can't be here."
Orihime, floating mysteriously in the air, neared the uniformed Orihime, causing the imposter's face to twist into wild apprehension. A pale hand came forward, stretching towards the imposter.
"What're you doing?"
I. reject.
Silence filled the space. Ulquiorra regarded the imposter's frightened face, frozen, before a cracking sound finally reached his ears. Like a repeat of the dream, the uniformed Orihime splintered, orange light filling the gaps, as the cracks extended throughout her entire body. She tried to open her mouth, but only orange light came out. Shards of the imposter tumbled to the ground.
Next chapter: Un Puente sobre Aguas Tormentosas
A turning point in Orihime and Ulquiorra's lives...
A/N: This is a longer chapter just to explain Ulquiorra's existence in the Living World. I thought it would be a good spin for the story to have Orihime gain a new power since she originally gained her powers by being around the Hougyoku. I also like dealing with the surreal because they make sense but they don't make sense in real life. It's only fitting to have it in a story like Bleach.
But there's more! Some questions aren't fully answered in this chapter alone. I can't give everything away in just one sitting, now can I? ;)