bChapter 6
Flowers For A Ghost
u*WARNING:/u SLIGHT SPOILER AHEAD; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.*/b
i Unbeknownst to the two men watching, the usually stoic eyes of the Cuatro Espada contained immeasurable amounts of apologies, pain, and fear; apologies for his ignorance, the pain of death… the fear of loosing his newly found heart.
Just as his hand reached hers, it turned to dust.
Goodbye, onna, the Espada though as the rest of his existence turned to dust.
"Ulquiorra-san," Orihime choked.
He was gone…/i
"Ulquiorra-san!" Orihime screamed repeatedly. It seemed that despair was the only emotion that she would ever feel again. In that last moment she had been able to read his thoughts.
iThe eyes are a window to the soul./i She had seen all of Ulquiorra's confusion, all his pain.
It felt as if her heart was going to break in to as she started at the spot where, just seconds ago, Ulquiorra Cifer, the Cuatro Espada, had stood.
iHe's gone. He's dead. He's not coming back,/i thoughts circled in Orihime Inoue's head like crashing airplanes, leaving destruction and panic in their wake.
"Inoue?" Kurosaki Ichigo was beginning to worry about her.
She had sunken to her knees and began to shake violently as all of her thoughts became realizations that she couldn't deal with. Not now. Not ever. Orihime sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, even when her beloved Kurosaki-kun kneeled beside her and wrapped his arms around her, trying to stifle her pained crying.
After what seemed like hours, Orihime's breathing returned to normal, though tears still streamed down her face in torrents. Her eyes glazed over as she stared off into another dimension, another world entirely, that she had known only days ago.
i"My friends have come to rescue me… My heart is already with them," Orihime said with a content smile on her face.
That smile was replaced with an expression of fear, as the Cuatro Espada taunted her, "You humans are foolish. What is this heart? Where is it? Could I see it if I tore open your chest? If I cracked open your skull?"
Orihime shook her head and placed her hands over her chest, a placid look spreading across her face once more.
"The heart exists within a person's soul. You cannot see it if you tear open my chest, and you cannot see it if you crack open my skull."
"If I cannot see it, it does not exist," Ulquiorra stated simply.
A sad smile found its way onto Orihime's lips. She felt sad that this lonely Espada could not grasp the concept of a heart, that he could not realize all the goodness and graciousness that came with a heart./i
"He finally found it… In the end he found it," Orihime whispered.
"Huh?" Kurosaki-kun looked at her as if she had gone insane.
Orihime shook her head with the same sad smile on her face as when she had tried convincing Ulquiorra that hearts exist within a person's soul.
Ichigo sighed, slightly frustrated.
"Orihime?" She snapped out of another daze when he called her name. "I think Ishida needs your help."
"Oh!" Orihime was ashamed she had forgotten about her friend. "I'm sorry Ishida-kun."
"It's alright, Inoue-san," Ishida smiled weakly.
Orihime rushed over to his side and called out, "Santen Kesshun, I reject!"
To get her mind off of what had happened, she concentrated on healing Uryuu.
"I'm going back to Karakura Town," Ichigo stated. "I have to kill Aizen."
Orihime grimaced at the heartless way Ichigo spoke. Suddenly she remembered the menacing look of his hollow form, the strange gleam that had been ever present in his fight with Grimmjow.
"Hai," Orihime said. Without hesitating, Ichigo left to go find one of the captains from Soul Society to help him open a Garganta to get back to the World of the Living.
Without realizing it, Orihime began to sing to herself as she healed Ishida-kun.
iYou disappear with all your good intentions,
And all I am is all I cannot mention,
Like who will bring me flowers when it's over,
And who will give me comfort when it's cold./i
"Inoue-san?" Ishida-kun interrupted her. The song Orihime had started to sing made him realize exactly how much he didn't understand the magnitude of pain that she felt.
"Are you alright?" He was definitely worried about her. He saw the desolate look on her face, and the empty smile on her usually lively face.
"Yeah!" Orihime faked enthusiasm. Ishida wasn't impressed but decided not to press the issue, since he saw how she reacted to her captor's death. He couldn't understand why Orihime would mourn his death, but also knew he didn't understand the circumstances with which Orihime had been faced with during the time she had been held captive in Las Noches.
Still, Ishida couldn't shake off the eerie tone of the song. Analyzing the lyrics again, he finally realized the way Orihime had directed the song. He knew that Orihime had had feelings for Kurosaki, but he was now sure that she had gotten over those feelings in the time she had been locked up in Las Noches.
"There, all done," Orihime faked a smile.
"Thanks, Inoue-san," Ishida stood up and helped Orihime up. "I think we should get back to the others. They might need our help with things."
Orihime nodded and helped Ishida-kun stand before turning to walk towards the whole in the ceiling of Las Noches that the now deceased Cuatro Espada had created less than an hour ago.
She sighed, iWhy does time seem to fly? I wish I could have had some more time with Ulquiorra. Maybe I could have helped him understand the heart better…/i
Ishida Uryuu saw the wistful look on his friend's face, but did not know how he could possibly comfort her. He didn't have an inkling of a clue of how to begin to understand what she was feeling.
He remembered how he had felt when he had lost his grandfather… But he knew that that was not how Orihime felt. Ishida remembered the hatred he had held for Shinigami, the hatred that he still was not completely rid of. Orihime was too gentle a soul to hate anybody. She didn't even hate her enemies, who had captured her and locked her up. Ishida envied the girl's gentleness and compassion.
When the duo had finally reached the group that had come to Hueco Mundo from Soul Society and the World of the Living, Ishida was glad to see that Orihime's face lit up at the sight of a healthy Rukia.
iShe's safe! Kuchiki-chan's alive,/i Orihime thought, thankful that her precious friend had been spared and healed. iEven Sado-kun is being healed… I thought both him and Rukia had died./i
Eventually a gentle numbness took over the place in her chest that contained her broken heart. Orihime was glad that the horrible feeling of pure despair was gone… that she could being to try to forget her beloved Espada.
iUlquiorra-san…/i Orihime thought, despair returning for a brief moment before her thoughts were interrupted by a worried Rukia.
"Orihime…?"
"Hmm?" Orihime smiled her usual dazzling smile. iStop being ungrateful! You should be happy that your friends are alive!/i
She chided herself mentally for worrying everyone. Secretly she made a vow to never worry her friends again. She formed her resolve to always smile around them and be happy as much as possible.
iThere's no point in mourning for what's past, right?/i
But as she tried to be happy, an unknown guilt kicked in, a guilt that had no particular reason other than that Orihime felt obligated to mourning for her lost captor…
iStop it!/i Orihime forced her train of thought to a more positive track.
"Inoue-san?" Orihime looked up to see Isane-fukutaichou walking up to her. "Would you do me a favor and help heal Sado-san? You methods are much faster than mine."
"Of course!" Orihime chimed. Isane Kotetsu was continuously amazed by the endurance and determination that the young orange-haired woman relentlessly showed when it came to helping others, especially healing her comrades.
iAnd even her enemies,/i the fukutaichou of the 4th Squad thought. iWhat a gentle spirit… She would make a great addition to our Squad. Maybe she will become a Shinigami after she comes to live in Soul Society…?/i
Orihime hurried over to Sado-kun's side as soon as Isane-fukutaichou asked for her help.
"Hello, Sado-kun!" She greeted her friend, cheerily.
"Inoue-san," a half-conscious Sado san greeted in return.
"Santen Kesshun, I reject!" Orihime called out her powers. At once, an orange shield formed above her weak friend, healing him. Since Isane-fukutaichou had already begun healing Sado Yasutora, Orihime's work was very easy. She had completely healed him within 15 minutes.
"Thank you, Inoue-san," Sado-kun stated as he stood up, stretching to get the kinks out of his muscles from lying on the ground for so long.
"You're welcome, Sado-kun!" Orihime chimed with a big smile on her face.
It wasn't long before Orihime heard that Unohana-taichou had left with Kurosaki-kun to go back to the World of a Living via a Garganta that Kurotsuchi-taichou had opened. She was told that she would be returning to Karakura town (which was still located in Soul Society at this point) as soon as another Garganta could be opened.
During the next few hours Orihime Inoue found herself thinking of all sorts of things. What was Kurosaki-kun doing at the moment? Was he fighting Aizen Sosuke? Was he okay? Whenever she found herself panicking over something, she somehow calmed herself down with the help of Kuchiki-chan and Sado-kun.
Where was Ulquiorra? Did he go to Soul Society like a normal hollow? Or did he end up somewhere else? Or did he cease to exist entirely…?
These were the thoughts that began to slowly drag Orihime down into a hole of depression, though she did not know it at the time…
iWhat is this place? It is dark… yet bright at the same time? Is this the area between dimensions?
What is this crackling sound? It sounds as if I am within a thunderbolt. Where will I end up? Am I going to Hell, or will I go to Soul Society? Or… will I disappear completely?/i
iWhat is this?/i Orihime's mind went into overload. The atmosphere of Hueco Mundo changed suddenly, becoming almost suffocating. Everyone, even the taichous from Soul Society, stopped what they were doing, well aware of the unusual atmospheric conditions…
"What a strange phenomenon!" a very interested Kurotsuchi-taichou stated. "I have never hear of or seen something like this before!"
Maybe Orihime was just imagining things, but it felt as if… as if the unusual atmosphere were coming from the hole in the roof of Las Noches.
iPerhaps it is a storm?/i Orihime thought.
Several minutes later the "storm" began to let up and then disappeared completely. Everything was deathly silent for a second before a thunder-like boom erupted from above.
"Is… is the dimension being… torn open?" Isane-fukutaichou questioned, quite terrified by the possibility she stated.
"It seems so," Kurotsuchi Mayuri stated.
The boom echoed and faded quickly leaving very confused Shinigami and humans in its wake.
Suddenly, Kuchiki Byakuya's reiatsu spiked and rose.
iCome to think of it, /iOrihime thought to herself, "I haven't seen him at all since I came down from the room…/i
"Kuchiki-taichou?" Abarai Renji wondered what could make his captain raise his reiatsu. There wouldn't be a reason, unless…
"Another Espada," Zaraki-taichou grinned, his eyes turning animalistic the minute he felt another great, unknown, reiatsu rise.
Without warning, he took off to find the Espada.
"They'll take care of it," Isane-fukutaichou stated, confident in the ability of the two captains.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Orihime sighed, imore fighting and killing…/i
It seemed like days until the reiatsus of Kuchiki-taichou, Zaraki-taichou, and the unknown Espada stopped fluctuating. Less then a minute later, the two captains appeared before the group of Shinigami and humans. Everyone gave them questioning, interested stares, expecting details.
"Shit, that was fun!" was the only vulgar explanation, along with a wide grin, that any of them received from Zaraki Kenpachi.
"The Espada we fought was the 0 Espada, the strongest Espada created," Kuchiki Byakuya finally stated, in his usual bored tone of voice.
Several minutes later, Kurotsuchi had opened another Garganta, allowing everyone to go back to Soul Society.
iWhat is this darkness? I cannot open my eyes, I cannot move. The loud noise from earlier has subsided, leaving absolute silence in its wake.../i
"Is that… Ichigo?" Keigo exclaimed. Everyone stared as an orange-haired Shinigami appeared in front of Aizen Sosuke, challenging him to a battle.
iKurosaki-kun…/i Orihime thought. She hoped and prayed that he would survive the coming fight and return to his friends, victorious.
iIf he looses…/i Orihime didn't want to think what the outcome of his loss would be. Surely she would go insane if she lost him, also.
iUlquiorra-san…/i tears welled up in her eyes. It seemed like only a minute ago that she had been reaching out to grab his hand…
Everyone had watched the fight between Aizen and Ichigo, anxious to see the outcome and know their fates. Their fates had all been hanging by a thread; a thread that had been precariously held by Kurosaki Ichigo. Or so they thought. None of them had fathomed that Kurosaki-kun could have gained the power that he had…
Now everything was over. Everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion. Urahara Kisuke was carrying Kurosaki, who had fallen into a deep state of unconsciousness due to the sudden loss of reiatsu that had accompanied his final attack.
iKurosaki-san gave up his Shinigami powers to save us…/i
Orihime was glad that everyone, the world, had been saved, but was also mourning the recent death of her Espada, and now also the loss of her friend's Shinigami-powers.
What a day it had been…
Orihime rushed to Kurosaki-san's side and called out her Shun Shun Rikka immediately to begin healing the exhausted, unconscious ex-Shinigami.
Even after she had finished healing him, he did not wake. Kuchiki-chan explained that it was due to the sudden loss of his Shinigami powers; she also explained that it was unsure how long it would take for Ichigo to wake up…
Ichigo's family and friends were all crowded beside Ichigo's bed until late into the night, expecting him to wake up.
iI can finally open my eyes… Is that the Hueco Mundo sky I see? Could it possibly be that…
My heart… I still have my heart. Onna's heart…
Onna! Where have you gone? I must find you! I must apologize for my stupidity and insolence.
Where are you, onna?/i
It was well past two in the morning when Orihime Inoue finally made her way back to her apartment, exhausted from everything that had happened.
She reflected on everything that had happened: Ichigo dying, her reviving him, the fight with Grimmjow, her fear of Kurosaki-san's hollow mask, the fight with Ulquiorra, Ichigo dying again, hollow-Ichigo fighting (and killing) Ulquiorra-san…
Orihime felt a lump forming in her throat and tears building up in her eyes as she remembered the look in the Cuatro Espada's eyes the moment before he disappeared, crumbled into ash.
It was then that Orihime finally reached her apartment. She didn't even bother to turn on any lights as she shut the door and headed to bed. Falling onto her soft mattress, still wearing her torn and tattered Hueco Mundo outfit, she immediately fell asleep.
Orihime had been too tired when she entered her home to feel a familiar tingling in the atmosphere of a Garganta being opened…
iOnna, I have found you…/i