Chapter 13: Breath

Earlier

Orihime's house was spotless. She had scrubbed down every counter, vacuumed, washed all her laundry, and had even had the time to dust. Her house had become quiet dirty, going unattended for so long as she tried to catch up with the work she had missed while she had been gone. Now, finally, her house was clean again.

And… she didn't have a clue what she was going to do.

Art was out of the question; she had already used up her creative reserves for the day. Cooking wasn't an option, because she hadn't gone shopping in a while, so all that was left for a little while would be leftovers. And she didn't really want to start any big project, because later on in the day she would probably get bored of it and leave it, thus making her house a mess again.

So, she decided to go out. After all, it had been a while since she had taken a walk to the park. She could use with the fresh air and exercise.

So, she made a journey to the closet. She shifted through dresses, trying to find a light one that she could walk around in, when-

She stopped.

"Oh, that's right!" Suddenly remembering the glimpse of white she had seen while searching for a dress to lend Tatsuki, she happily tugged the dresses in her closet to the side until she could reach the back. She grabbed onto the white, being careful in case it was delicate, and drew out the garment.

With a happy smile she brought it up to her eyes.

And then frowned.

Debris rained down around her, blacks from towers throwing dust and sand up into the air. A bloody figure rose from the chaos, trying to gain back the advantage he had previously had against the shinigami gone hollow. But he barely had time to breath before he was flying back, hit point blank by another red cero, the hollow who was once a boy quickly proving himself to be a monster.

Orihime gasped, blinking away the illusion. She stared at the dress in her hands, the beautiful white gown torn and dirty. It had once been very pretty she supposed. But now it was covered in dirt, sand, ash, and… was that blood? It was filthy.

She gently laid the dress out on her bed, staring at it, the back of her head throbbing. She felt like the answer was just on the tip of her tongue, but far out of reach at the same time.

She needed more to go off of.

She went back to the closet, looking in the far corner the dress had been hidden in. She found a pair of silver sandals and long black socks. Hung up in the far back was a barely held together cape, matching the dress.

She took the clothes out, setting them at her bed with the dress.

"There must be something else…" She went over to her dresser, pawing through the shirts and pants she had, but was sad to find that there was nothing amiss there. Standing, she barely caught site of her tiny jewelry box. With a small shrug, she checked there, too.

Bingo.

An odd metal bracelet, shining with a blue tint in the light. She had never seen the bracelet before, or worn it to the extent of her knowledge, but-

"Come with me, Onna."

She gasped.

She passed right through a boy walking on the street, the human not even noticing her, as she stood in the crowd with the bracelet on her wrist. She passed through anyone who she tried to touch, unable to be detected by normal society.

Orihime paused. She knew it. She knew it. Something, something, was there. She didn't know what, but she could feel her memories welling up and pushing against the wall in her mind. She just needed one more thing. One more tiny thing to send it all crashing back, so that she would finally figure out what was really going on.

She walked around her room, looking for anything else, but found nothing. So finally, in a last act of desperation, she turned to the gown on her bed. Looking at the arm of the dress, she decided she would try to heal the garment itself. With the whole thing put together, maybe everything would become clear.

Summoning forth her Shun Shun Rikka, she began to move the space and time around the arm of the gown. As soon as she did, she felt the tinniest flare of reiatsu.

And then it all came crashing back.

"Ulquiorra."

For a moment she just stood there, wide eyed with complete shock. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't even think.

And then all at once she was running forward, her hands in a flurry. Because she knew who the reiatsu belonged to. And if there was a flare, even the tiniest spark of it still left, then maybe… just maybe…

"Souten Kishun, I reject!"

She focused on the ashes and course black hair coating the sleeve of her dress, calling forth her fairies. "I reject!" The reiatsu flared again, swirling with the barest traces of life.

She could feel her power draining, all of her energy quickly leaving her body. One of her fairies looked up, as if to tell her she needed to stop before she was hurt, but Orihime just set her face in determination.

I am not weak.

"I reject!" She shouted again, watching as slowly, something started to form under her shields. For a moment all formation stopped, her powers at her limit, but she pressed on. I am not weak. I am strong. I am strong! "I reject!"

For a second everything went black as the last of her strength left her. She felt herself crumble to the ground for a moment, losing her conciseness for only a second.

Then she looked up, blinking away her tiredness.

And there he was.

In all his former glory, standing in the finally form he had achieved. His spiritual pressure was lower than ever, but even as weak as it was, the pressure was a bit crushing. He was covered in fur, his wings took up almost her whole bedroom, and his hollow hole still dripped with black streaks. His eyes were cold, and distant, and yet…

"Ulquiorra." She smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. "You're okay!"

"Woman… I do not understand… should I not be dead?"

She was suddenly standing, tears coursing down her face in hot torrents. "You're here. You're-"

"Tell me where I am, Onna. I am week and require rest if I am not to consume the soul of another. If I am not wrong, then I should not be alive." He was quick as ever though, and easily caught on. "Your powers… they have brought me back, have they not?"

It really was him.

She wasn't sure what happened then, but she suddenly found herself moving forward. Before she could stop herself, she had wrapped her arms around his torso, her face burrowing into his chest as her head rested against his neck. She didn't care that some of her face touched only air, due to the hole where his heart should have been. She didn't even care about his demon-like appearance. Hell, she didn't care that he was a hollow, an Espada, the enemy. He was just… Ulquiorra.

"You're okay."

He was stiff, tense. Obviously he didn't know what she was doing. He had enough surprises for the day, and this was just another one to add to the list. "Woman, what is it that you are doing?"

She blushed, but the hold was to comforting to relinquish. She felt that if she let go, he would be slipping through her fingers again, turning to ash once more. She could barely stand up, she was so wiped out from the spell she had used to bring him back, but none of that really mattered to her. All she could think was that he was alright.

She had just gotten her memories back, learning of all the terrible things that had happened, but as soon as she embraced him, everything seemed alright again. Like there would be a dawn.

"Onna…" Carefully, mindful of his sharpened fingers, Ulquiorra pushed his hand into her own. "I do not fully understand yet. But… this… it belongs to you. Somehow, you were able to give a part of your idiotic human heart to me. It is here, in my hand, and rightfully belonging to you. So cease your babbling and take what is yours if you are not afraid."

There was no doubt now. It was Ulquiorra.

"I-"

And then someone kicked in her door, shouting, yelling for her. She realized it was Ichigo a second before he was in her room, Rukia right behind him.

The two shinigami just froze.

Then, low in his throat, Ichigo growled. "Get the hell away from her, you bastard."

Orihime pulled back from Ulquiorra, heavily leaning on him so that she wouldn't sink to the floor. "Wait, no, it's not like that, I-"

And then there was a third presence at the door.

"O-orihime?" Tatsuki's eyes were so wide it was a wonder she wasn't in pain. She was staring at Ulquiorra like he had just been spit out of hell, full of fear and anger. Then, she snapped. Too much in one day, all at once, combined with the raging spiritual pressure of Ichigo, Rukia, and the crushing force of Ulquiorra, Tatsuki crumbled to the floor.

"Tatsuki!"

Ichigo caught his childhood friend before her head hit the floor, gently laying her down. He kept his back turned to Orihime and Ulquiorra, his whole body tense. "You have three seconds to explain what the fuck is going on. And then…" He turned his eyes cold. "I send his ass back to hell where it belongs."