ulquiorra realises he fights for the woman, and inwardly vows to stay with her for her sake. he wonders what he is, and says he will wait it out until he stops being in the middle of the scale. Orihime is showing signs of progress with her memory, and throws into conversation random memories from the past, like her poor cooking skills and events from the past. Urahara speculates that the missing piece is her powers, and so offers to help her retrieve them. She and Ulquiorra become closer, but, having found common ground with ichigo, becomes more civil with him. He stumbles upon the trap door in the shop, and finds his old friend, M, down there, suffering from the vast spiritual pressure, showing signs that he is becoming human again. He accuses Urahara and whoever knew about him of inhumanity, and finally releases his powers, much like Ichigo's inner hollow. Ichigo feeling like he's been proved right fights Ulquiorra, when Orihime in desperation throws a shield between them. Ichigo wants to continue the fight, but Orihime confesses she loves Ulquiorra and to hurt him would be to hurt her. In a scene much like his death, his mask cracks, and his eyes return to normal. They hold hands and kiss, and he becomes human
The final scene sees the captains and lietenants defeating the last of the zombies who've gone too far to be saved, while