What if…
Chapter 1
A/N: Hello everyone! Since Bleach is finally returning, I decided to reread all my favorite fanfictions about it and I just fell in love with Bleach all over again. And since now I am writing my own fanfictions, I decided to write one myself. It's about my two favorite couples Ulquihime and Noinel and of course there are going to be more couples in the story, but those two will be the main focus. I've tried to take a humoristic approach, but there are going to be some serious moments in the story. Anyway, I present you this weird story I came up with. Orihime saves Ulquiorra and Nel saves Noitora, Tesla and Grimmjow. Gin is saved by Unohana. Also Stark is spared and Harribel is also alive (as she is canonically). Ichigo's powers are fading, as they did canonically, but he managed to visit Hueco Mundo in order to learn about the new arrangements. Don't worry, he'll get his powers back like he did canonically. What will happen in the canonical story with these changes? Let us proceed to find out! Rated T for Grimmjow's and Noitora's foul language, might change to M later because there will be references to sexual situations and Fanfiction's rules have become stricter.
Disclaimer: Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo, I only own this fanfiction.
Chapter 1: Prologue
Ulquiorra remembered turning into ash and looking at her eyes before succumbing to his death. He was definitely dead. He had to be. There was no way he had survived… Then why on earth did he feel his consciousness returning to him?! That woman…
He opened his eyes slowly, realizing that he had eyes and probably a face and a body to be able to do so. He saw a blurry red-haired figure. "Woman…", he mumbled weakly.
"Well… Do I look like a woman to you…? Orihime! Maybe you need to fix his eyesight!" It was that Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki. The one that had killed him.
His eyes were clearing up and he was starting to make out Ichigo much more clearly. "Where is… the woman? No… Orihime Inoue…", asked softly Ulquiorra.
Soon enough, the girl in question appeared with a relieved smile on her face. "You're awake! That's great!"
"Yeah, but he mistook me for you…", mumbled Ichigo.
Orihime stared at Ulquiorra worried. "Really? Oh my! Did I make a mistake with your eyesight? I can fix it in a second."
"I can see perfectly fine.", replied Ulquiorra.
"Really? Then how many fingers are these?", asked Ichigo raising three of his fingers.
Ulquiorra stared at them like they were stupid. "Three.", he answered Ichigo's question. "Everything was blurred for a moment, but now I can see clearly.", explained Ulquiorra.
"Oh, I see.", said Orihime relieved. "I'm glad you're ok."
Ulquiorra stared at her with curiosity. "The question is… why am I ok? I died. I lost in the battle with Kurosaki and died. Why did you bring me back, woman?"
"Well… about that…", started Orihime. Orihime and Ichigo looked away, avoiding Ulquiorra's gaze, much to the arrancar's confusion.
Suddenly a third person (that Quincy boy that was with them) came next to them and sighed. He must have been in the room as well, but Ulquiorra couldn't sense him due to his weakened state. Ulquiorra took in his surroundings and he realized they were in his room in Las Noches.
"You see,", started the Quincy boy, "Ichigo felt that your fight wasn't exactly the fairest, you know with the whole Hollow transformation thing that almost killed me as well." At that point Uryu shot a glare to Ichigo who rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "And also, Orihime vouched for you." That surprised Ulquiorra, who turned to look at the girl who was looking away embarrassed. "She said that you were starting to think like a human and that the only reason you were with the enemy was because you thought you owed your life to Aizen. The other two remaining Espada said the same."
Ulquiorra's eyes widened in surprise. "I almost killed you…", he said to Ichigo, not understanding why he wanted to save him.
Ichigo looked embarrassed. "Well, so did both Kenpachi and Byakuya, but we are cool now… I think…"
Orihime smiled softly at Ulquiorra. "I believe in you, Ulquiorra. You can overcome the fact that you…", she thought for a moment. "…. That you were the way you were.", she said. Uryu and Ichigo stared at her sweatdropping.
Ulquiorra then looked at Uryu. "You said something about the remaining Espada… What happened? Where is Aizen?"
"Well, I'll let Kurosaki tell you the details about their fight. The point is, Aizen has been captured by the Soul Society, Gin has been left responsible for Hueco Mundo and Harribel and Stark will help him."
Ulquiorra blinked in confusion. "Why is Gin…?"
"He betrayed Aizen.", explained Ichigo. "Soul Society spared his life and put him in charge of this place."
"I see…", whispered Ulquiorra. "So, only Harribel and Stark are alive?", he asked, feeling a little weird with all these new information.
"Technically, Nel is also alive, which reminds me… We've left her in the dessert with Noitora and Grimmjow!", said Orihime with mortification.
"Oh, shit! We need to go and pick her up!", shouted Ichigo.
"Relax!", said Uryu, pushing his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "The two idiots that were with her said that they were going to pick her up."
"That isn't very comforting…", said Ichigo.
Suddenly the door opened and another human entered. It was that guy that Noitora had found in the beginning of the war. "If the arrancar is awake, Gin said he wants to talk to him."
"Okay, Chad! We're all coming.", said Ichigo.
Orihime gave Ulquiorra a hand. "Can you stand up?", she asked with a smile.
Ulquiorra had never felt this powerless. He felt really weird about the whole situation. Humans were indeed interesting. He took Orihime's arm and as he was getting up, he noticed the girl's face turning completely red. She shrieked and turned around embarrassed. What the…?, thought Ulquiorra.
Ichigo, Chad and Uryu turned to look at what had happened and they all looked a little uneasy. "Maybe, we should find him some clothes first…", said Uryu.
It was then that Ulquiorra realized that he was indeed naked. He wasn't really embarrassed of his body, it was quite normal after all. But sitting stark naked in front of everyone was making him feel a little uncomfortable if he had to be honest. "My clothes are in that closet.", he said pointing towards it.
Orihime grabbed a shirt and some pants and threw them at him without looking. "Why are all your clothes the same? I mean the other Espada have more than one outfit from what I've seen.", said Orihime, trying to change the uncomfortable atmosphere.
Ulquiorra thought about it for a second, as he was putting on his pants. "I don't like picking stuff, I suppose. I never understood why some want such a big variety. Or maybe I just like this outfit?" They all stared at him confused. Ulquiorra stared back. "I've never really thought about it to be honest."
Orihime smiled. "I'm going to help you pick some better clothes when things get settled."
Ulquiorra nodded unsure.
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Nel opened her eyes and saw the desert in front of her. Ichigo had left without taking her with him. She didn't mind, though. It seemed like things were about to get more out of hand than they already were when she still was conscious. The last thing she remembered was… Noitora… Suddenly her eyes widened as she heard a noise like someone was crying. She slowly got up, realizing that she was in her child form and tried to find the source of the noise. It was Tesla, Noitora's fraccion. He was lying in a pool of his own blood and he was crying. Nel approached him slowly. She didn't dislike Tesla. He was a good fraccion and he was nice to her, despite his master's behavior. He stared at her with his lone eye. Did Noitora take his other eye out?, she couldn't help but wonder.
"Miss Nelliel…", he chocked.
Nel decided not to talk and instead spat as much saliva as she could to his wounds. He stared at her shocked but soon he felt the healing process taking place and he understood. "Miss Nel… Thank you… I didn't deserve it…"
"It's ok, Tesla.", she replied. Her memory was back, but some of her thoughts were still the thoughts of a child. Returning back to this form wasn't good. She wished she could remain in her adult form.
"Master Noitora…" He sat up and stared where Noitora had fallen. Nel allowed herself to look as well. She didn't know why but it hurt her a lot. All these years she had tried to stop him from killing himself and yet he finally did it. She didn't know why, but she didn't want him to die. She believed that he could be saved from his despair. She knew that her approach wasn't the best, but as a Hollow it was in her instinct to be cold and untrusting.
They both approached Noitora's body. Tesla couldn't contain his tears and his sobs. Nel felt like crying as well. Tesla was similar to her. He was the only other person that cared about saving Noitora.
Tesla bowed next to him and tried to scoop him up, but then his eye widened and he turned at Nel. "He has a pulse! It's weak, but it's there!"
Nel's eyes widened in surprise. She felt relieved, but at the same time uneasy. She approached his body.
"Miss Nelliel, I beg of you! Please save Master Noitora! I know that I shouldn't ask this considering what he did to you, but please! I beg you!"
Nel stared at Tesla for a moment. Then she spat more towards Noitora's worst wounds. She couldn't heal the scars, but she knew that he wouldn't mind. Maybe he would even like them.
Tesla smiled. "Thank you, Miss Nelliel. I promise, I'll try to keep him away from you, as much as possible."
"It's ok, Tesla. Nel doesn't really mind."
Noitora's breathing was becoming more apparent. He was ok, but he needed rest. "We need to go back to Las Noches.", said Tesla.
Before Nel could reply, an angry voice answered from behind them. "We sure do…"
They both turned around to see Grimmjow limping towards them, obviously angry. "This piece of shit deserved to die. I don't understand why you keep on saving him, Nelliel…"
Nel gasped. "You realized who Nel is?!"
"I wasn't that far away from this battle. Sure, I didn't recognize you at first, but that asshole over here did and he was pretty damn excited when he did. He always had an obsession with you, after all…"
Nel turned red. "An obsession… with Nel?!"
"Tsk! Did you forget about it already? He would challenge you like every day! And when you two weren't battling, you were always bickering about something. I was still new to the Espada when you disappeared, but I remember that shit. He bragged about defeating you for a week and then he was depressed that he didn't have anyone to fight with. He even ignored me."
Nel was shocked with the new information. So Noitora missed fighting with her?
Tesla seemed to panic a little. "Master Noitora wasn't depressed…", he mumbled.
"Like hell he was! It was around that time that you lost your eye as well! Don't you remember? Noitora was so lost in thought, he almost got attacked by an adjuchas and you jumped in to save him and got injured. And why was he lost in thought? Because he was depressed!", said Grimmjow like it was the most obvious thing.
Nel stared at Tesla, who turned red. It was obvious that he wasn't comfortable about the story of losing his eye. "Stop making Tesla uncomfortable!", shouted Nel and pouted. In the back of her mind she knew that she was allowing her child self take over, but she didn't care at the moment. So that's how he lost his eye…, she thought.
Grimmjow clenched his teeth. "Stop yelling! My head still hurts. Can't you become an adult and speak normally and maybe take us back to Las Noches?"
Nel looked down. "Nel can't control it…"
"Great, so now my only hope to get out of here soon is a toddler, an unconscious Noitora and Tesla! Fantastic!", said Grimmjow.
"What's wrong with me…?", mumbled Tesla.
"I don't know but with my luck you'll probably have a problem yourself!", shouted Grimmjow exasperated. It had taken him hours to manage getting up and another hour to crawl towards the group.
"Nel can heal you.", said the girl, preparing her healing saliva.
Grimmjow looked at her disgusted. "Hell no! There's no way I'm letting you spit at me! I'd rather crawl to Las Noches. And maybe, if I am lucky, that Inoue girl is still alive and she can heal me.", he mumbled the last part.
Suddenly two figures appeared from afar. They were shouting Nel's name. "Pesche! Dondochaka! I'm right here!"
"Huh? Who are they?", asked Grimmjow since the two newcomers were approaching them.
"They are Miss Nelliel's fraccion.", explained Tesla.
"Oh, these two idiots… I remember now.", said Grimmjow as they came near and hugged Nel.
They seemed wary about Grimmjow and Tesla. "Miss Nel, why are you with these people?", asked Pesche.
"It's ok guys! They are good. They will come with us back in Las Noches.", said Nel with a smile.
Tesla waved shyly, while Grimmjow grunted in annoyance.
"And what about him?", asked Dondochaka pointing at Noitora.
They definitely disliked Noitora, but Nel saved him in order for him to return back alive. "It's ok." Nel's expression didn't allow them to argue.
"So, how will we do this?", asked Grimmjow who just wanted to go back to his castle.
"I will take Master Noitora.", replied Tesla while lifting said man bridal style, much to Grimmjow's entertainment. If Noitora found out, he would definitely murder Tesla this time.
"Dondochaka will carry Nel, so Pesche can carry Grimmjow.", said Nel while Dondochaka picked her up.
Grimmjow stared at Pesche. "It's been a while Master Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, sexta Espada-"
"Just shut up and take me to my castle!", shouted Grimmjow.
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Ulquiorra was surprised to see the Captains of Gotei 13 drinking tea with Harribel, Stark and Gin. He was starting to have doubts about his eyesight after all.
Gin, who seemed very interested in a blond big-breasted Shinigami, suddenly turned and smiled at him. "Hello, Ulquiorra! Glad that you can finally join us!"
Ulquiorra approached cautiously not understanding what exactly was going on. The Captains were staring at him with unreadable expressions as he walked towards Gin. Gin had his usual fox smile on his face, not that that made Ulquiorra any more comfortable. "How are you feeling, Ulquiorra?"
"I'm starting to wonder whether the woman put psychedelics in my system somehow…", he whispered staring at the Shingami.
Some of the Shinigami laughed and so did Gin. "Yeah, it must be quite the shock for you, right? Well, you see, Aizen is Soul Society's prisoner now and both Harribel and Stark are against a war. Since you were following Aizen because you owed him your existence as you put it, what are you planning to do? I am going to stay in Hueco Mundo and I will be the messenger between us and Soul Society. Harribel will be the ruler of Hueco Mundo so that there can be order and Stark and her fraccion will help her. What will you do?"
Ulquiorra blinked. "Why will Harribel be the ruler? Stark has a higher rank…"
Both Stark and Harribel raised an eyebrow at that. Harribel pointed at Stark and Stark at himself. Both had an expression that said Really?
"Yes… You have a point.", admitted Ulquiorra. He thought about what Gin told him and realization hit him. He didn't owe his life to Aizen anymore but "Orihime Inoue…"
"Yes?", asked the girl confused and surprised to be called by her name by Ulquiorra.
"I am alive thanks to you. So I owe my existence to you.", explained the arrancar.
Orihime turned red and Gin and the two remaining Espada stared at Ulquiorra dumbfounded. "Ehm… It was really nothing…", mumbled the girl embarrassed.
Ulquiorra stared at her and suddenly bowed. Orihime became even more flustered and Gin smirked. "I'll obey you.", said Ulquiorra.
Ichigo, Uryu, Chad and the others were gaping at them. Even the Captains looked shocked.
"You don't have to!", said Orihime. He stared at her expectantly. Orihime realized that he was insistent in his own weird way. "Well… we can be friends!", said Orihime pleased with her proposal.
Ulquiorra blinked at her. He didn't have any friends. He and the other Espada weren't that close and he considered them more as allies than anything else. He hadn't even chosen a fraccion because he hadn't seen a point in it. And now this girl wanted to be his friend. Humans were indeed interesting… "As you wish.", he said simply.
Orihime smiled widely. Gin turned to Captain Yamamoto with his usual smirk. "So, can we allow this girl to come to Hueco Mundo whenever she pleases? That's the only way she will be able to be his friend. Besides, maybe that will help the other Espada as well."
Yamamoto sighed. "I think I can allow this. In that case, they can come as well." He said pointing at Uryu, Chad and Ichigo. "Though with Kurosaki's fading powers, I am not sure whether he will be able to visit."
"Fading powers?", asked Ulquiorra confused. Now that he was better he could sense that the man's spiritual pressure was weaker.
Orihime smiled sadly. "Ichigo started losing his powers after the final battle with Aizen.", she explained. "He just wanted to be here for the arrangements and we both agreed that it would be fair to bring you back."
Ulquiorra's eyes widened. He stared at Ichigo. This magnificent power was slowly fading? What a shame, he thought.
"It's ok.", said Ichigo with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Rukia, who had been talking to Renji previously, stared at him with a sad expression. Ichigo stared at Ulquiorra. "I trust Orihime to discipline you.", he said chuckling.
Ulquiorra nodded. It was weird. That man had destroyed him in battle and soon he wouldn't be able to even see him. It felt… unfair.
Gin broke the awkward silence that followed. "Well, since Orihime's visits are settled, maybe you guys should go back to Karakura town. After all Ichigo's powers soon will fade completely and it would be better if he isn't here when that happens."
Orihime approached Ichigo. The Captains were ready to leave as well, along with them, when suddenly the door burst open and six figures appeared. Most of them, considering that one was unconscious, looked exhausted. Except… "Ichigo!", shouted Nel and jumped to hug the boy.
"Nel! You are alright.", said Ichigo relieved and surprised to see her there.
"Is that Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck?", asked Harribel surprised. She remembered the previous tricera Espada that had mysteriously disappeared.
"I think yes…", answered Ulquiorra.
They all turned to look at the remaining arrancar. Pesche and Dondochaka were expected, but the rest with them weren't.
"Is that the guy I killed?", asked Kenpachi Zaraki.
Tesla held Noitora close to him in a protective manner.
Zaraki chuckled. "Don't worry. I won't harm a beaten up man. If he is still alive, I'll be glad to battle with him again another day."
Tesla nodded reluctantly.
Grimmjow pushed Pesche away annoyed. "Kurosaki! I want a rematch!", he yelled.
"I'm sorry but I technically can't do that.", said Ichigo with Nel still clinging to him.
"Huh?!", asked Grimjow confused, finally taking in his surroundings. He stared at the Captains and then at the rest of the Espada and Gin sitting casually with them. "What the hell is going on here?!"
Gin smiled and started explaining. Grimmjow seemed more shocked and annoyed about Ichigo losing his powers than anything else he was told. "So… I can't fight Kurosaki ever again?"
"Is that what troubles you?", asked Gin sweatdropping.
"Tsk! Dammit! I want to fight him again!", growled Grimmjow.
"You can fight with me, if you want to.", said Zaraki smiling at him.
Grimmjow felt a deadly aura from the man and he remembered that this was the guy that defeated Noitora. "No thanks…"
"Shouldn't you take care of your injuries?", asked Nel.
"Yeah, right. You, woman!", he shouted at Orihime who flinched. "Heal me."
Ulquiorra appeared right between them. "You should speak to her in a better manner."
"What now?!", said Grimmjow.
"You heard him, Grimjow.", said Gin smirking. "Say please."
Grimmjow stared at all of them like they were insane. When he realized that they were serious he clenched his teeth annoyed. "Okay, fine! Heal me please!"
"You can do better than that…", said Gin, but Orihime had already started healing him.
Orihime then looked at Tesla and Noitora. Noitora had been scary and she felt uneasy around him. Nevertheless, she asked. "Does he need healing too?"
Tesla shook his head, "Miss Nelliel took care of that. He needs rest. I'll take Master Noitora to his room. I also apologize for his behavior and for mine, if I was too harsh to you."
Orihime smiled at him. Tesla seemed nice and he hadn't hurt her at all when he held her.
Uryu stared at Nel. "Miss Nelliel…? What…?"
"Oh, yeah.", mumbled Ichigo "I never told you about adult Nel-"
Suddenly pink smoke enveloped her and Nel was an adult again. Uryu, Renji, Rukia and Chad stared in shock. Nel smiled and hugged Ichigo. "I'm back to my old form, yay!"
Ulquiorra stared at Harribel. "She wasn't like that back in the day…"
"No, she wasn't.", admitted Harribel.
"So she was number 3 before I joined?", asked Stark and the other two nodded.
Grimmjow glared at Nel's jumping figure. "Well, we need to do something about her child transformations. They've made her stupid apparently."
Urahara approached Nel. He had been talking to Yoruichi before and he hadn't paid much attention to the green haired toddler that now had become a woman. Mayuri Korsutchi was also staring at Nel. "So you alternate between this form and the child one?", asked Urahara.
Nel nodded. "This is my real form, but due to my spiritual pressure leaking, I can't maintain it."
"Hm, that's interesting.", said Urahara. "I'll try to come up with something so that I can help you remain in that form."
Nel's eyes widened. "Really? You can do that?"
"Not if I do that first.", said Mayuri annoyed. "I'll fix that device."
Urahara chuckled. "It's a race between us then-"
Yoruichi coughed loudly to get Urahara's attention. "We should be leaving. Ichigo can't stay here forever."
They all nodded and Nel looked at Ichigo with sadness. "So, I won't be able to see you again…"
Ichigo patted her head. "Don't worry. We'll find a way. And the guys will also visit."
Orihime smile at Nel. "Whenever I visit I'll bring you news from Ichigo."
Nel smiled at her. "Great! So please visit us often."
"I'll try.", said Orihime. She said her goodbyes to the Captains and the other Shinigami and then she approached Ulquiorra. "So I guess I'll see you soon."
Ulquiorra nodded and waved at her as she approached Urahara. Urahara opened a garganta and they were all gone.
End of Chapter 1
A/N: So what do you guys think? Love it? Hate it? I would love to see your comments. I'm writing this story along with another one, so if I'm taking time to update, don't worry I'm probably more focused on the other story. Anyway, till next time!