Beside You In Time Ch. 7

Chapter 7
Breathe Tonight

Orihime had been too tired when she entered her home to feel a familiar tingling in the atmosphere of a Garganta being opened...

Onna, I have found you…









Stretching her hand out to grab the hand of her friend, Kurosaki Ichigo, she wrapped her fingers around his warm hand. The second her fingers touched his, his features change; his eyes turned green, his hair was painted black, two horns sprouted out of his head, and as he spread two newly grown wings behind him, his clothing changed to fur on his legs, waist, and arms.
Ulquiorra-san! Orihime called out.
The split second after Ichigo became Ulquiorra, he turned into dust, the hand Orihime had just touched crumbling in her hands.
No! she screamed.

Orihime Inoue woke up sobbing, shaking violently. After what seemed like hours of crying, she found the strength to turn her head and look at the digital alarm clock on her night stand.
3:17 AM, Orihime groaned. How was she supposed to fall back into sleep (which she desperately needed, since she had just gotten home two hours ago) with the fear of another dream of Ulquiorra-san?
The orange-haired girl took a deep breath, and decided to get up and make herself a cup of coffee. Orihime tried keeping her mind off of things as she prepared her favorite coffee drink.
Getting the orange juice and milk out of the refrigerator, Orihime didn't notice a dark shadow stalking outside her window.

Onna… Why can you not sense my presence?

Orihime reached across the counter to turn on the radio and began humming to the sound of a song she knew.

Here's a little song I wrote,
You might want to sing it note for note,
Don't worry, be happy.

In every life we have some troubles,
When you worry you make it double,
Don't worry, be happy.

Suddenly Orihime sank to her knees against the kitchen wall.
Why? Why did Kurosaki-san have to kill him? Orihime sobbed into the wall, hands clenched into fists against the wall above her.

Why do you cry, onna?

"Ulquiorra!" Orihime shrieked, the pain of her loss causing her body to shake violently and collapse completely into the floor. Why?! Why do I realize these feelings now, when it is already to late?

Onna… Do not cry. I am here. Why do you not sense me?
The shadow outside of Orihime Inoue's window realized that the woman could not sense or see him. Wondering why, pained by the fact, he opened another Garganta, deciding to search for a solution to his problem in Hueco Mundo.

A Garganta?! Orihime's head snapped up, her cries stifled by her surprise. Could it possibly be that…?
Orihime internally cursed her mind for the hope that had suddenly sprung up, knowing that she would only be pushed down further into depression if that hope were crushed.

Be happy, put a smile on your face.
Don't bring everybody down.
Don't worry, it will soon pass, whatever it is.
Don't worry, be happy.

The radio continued to play in the background…



Back in Hueco Mundo…
"Nel-chan!" Pesche and Dondochakka exclaimed in unison.
"Pesche! Dondochakka! You're safe!" Neliel sighed with relief. "Did you guys… shrink?"
The two arrancar looked at each other, and slowly turned their heads toward their friend.
"No," Pesche shook his head. Dondochakka began to whimper nervously.
"What is it?" Nel-chan asked, perplexed by her friend's odd behavior.
"You… returned to your original form," Pesche quietly explained.
"Huh?" Neliel slowly lowered her gaze and noticed (for the first time) that she was in a completely different body than the child she was used to.
Pesche sighed and explained to Neliel how she had lost her reiatsu thanks to Nnoitra Gilga, and seemingly regained it by returning to Las Noches.

There she is, the shadow thought. He had followed Neliel Tu Oderschvank's reiatsu after exiting the Garganta in hope that she might be able to help him. The shadow did not want to go to the ex-Espada for help, but knew that all his fellow Espada had been exterminated and that Neliel was his last possible (plausible) hope for an answer.

Neliel took the news well, regaining her memory as Pesche and Dondochakka told her the story or how she had lost her reiatsu and her status as an Espada.
"N-n-nel-" Dondochakka stammered, gazing in horror at something behind Nel's head.
"What is i-" she turned around and stared at the sight behind her in shock.
"Neliel Tu Oderschwank, I am in dire need of your assistance."



And in a small apartment in Karakura Town…

Orihime hated the fact that she continuously looked for a glimmer of hope, for a slim chance that Ulquiorra Cifer would appear out of think air. She hated the fact that she still had the imagination of a three year old, who envisioned her prince charming coming to rescue her and riding off into the sunset together.
Yet Orihime knew, these were irreplaceable parts of her that made her who she was, that made her friends look to her when they were sad and in need of comforting.
But this situation was just so… unbearably painful that Orihime did not know what to do. She knew it sounded ridiculous that she had developed feelings of this depth for someone whom she had met less than a month ago, who also just happened to be the person who kidnapped her and worked for the enemy.
Orihime sighed, getting up and deciding that she no longer wanted coffee. Cleaning up the orange juice and milk she had previously set out, Orihime wondered what Sado-kun and Ishida-kun were doing at that moment.
Probably sleeping, her conscious told her. Of course they'd be sleeping! It's 4:00 AM!
Exhausted from the previous day and her recent dream and breakdown, Orihime dragged her self back to bed, collapsing into the sheets and falling asleep as soon as he head hit the pillow…



Behind a sand dune in Hueco Mundo…

"Thank you, Neliel Tu Oderschwank," the shadow of a certain Espada thanked the green-haired ex-Espada for her help in explaining the phenomenon in which he found himself trapped. She had told him that he had somehow come back from the dimension of nothingness that lay between all other dimensions.
After Ulquiorra had somehow broken out of the dimension of true death, as Neliel had called it, his body hadn't materialized along with his conscious. According to Neliel, his body needed time to "catch up". She told him that she did not know exactly how long it would take for him to completely materialize again, but she hypothesized that Ulquiorra's faint outline would be visible to non-Espadas (Shinigami, normal Hollows & Arrancar, humans with reiatsu and the power to sense it, etc.) within a week's time.
Nel nodded in acknowledgement.
Why is the Cuatro Espada so confused that he has to ask another Espada for help? What happened to him…?
"Farewell, Neliel tu Oderschwank. And thank you again for your help," Ulquiorra stood up, and left without another world, not waiting for a reply.



BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Orihime jumped at the loud noise her alarm clock made.
She groaned, 6:00 AM?!
Forgetting that she had school that day, she hit the off button on the alarm and fell right back asleep…

"Where are Inoue-san and Kurosaki-san?" the sensei asked the class.
"Kurosaki is sick," Ishida simply stated.
"And Inoue-san?"
Sado and Ishida looked at each other, worried about why Orihime hadn't shown up for school that day.
I'll go check on her after school, Uryuu thought.

As soon as the school bell ran, Ishida-kun was out of his seat and out the door, heading straight towards Inoue-san's apartment.
After ringing the doorbell repeatedly for 5 minutes, Ishida began to slightly panic.
Where could she-
"Oh! Good morning, Ishida-kun!" a half-asleep Orihime, who was still wearing a tattered and torn Hueco Mundo outfit, answered the door.
"Inoue-san," Ishida said concerned, "Why weren't you in school today?"
"Huh?" Orihime's eyes grew wide as she processed what he had just said. "I skipped school?! Oh no, no, no, no, no! Sensei is going to kill me!"
"Calm down! She wasn't mad. She gave me the make up work for you."
"Thank you Ishida-kun!" Orihime smiled.
How could I forget that I had school?! Orihime then remembered everything that had happened the previous day. Oh...
"Oh! Would you liked to come inside?" Orihime spouted, remembering her manners.
"Umm… sure," Ishida stepped inside her apartment.
"Take a seat on the couch if you'd like, Ishida-kun!" Orihime smiled. "I'm just going to make myself some coffee… Would you like something?"
Ishida thought of the… odd set of taste buds that Orihime had and thought twice about asking for something. "No, thank you."

"Thank you for stopping by, Ishida-kun!" Orihime called as Uryuu left her apartment to go home.
"I can't believe I missed school! I didn't think that I could ever sleep as long as I did… but then again yesterday was exhausting!" Orihime talked to herself as headed to her bathroom to clean herself up.
Orihime sighed, Very exhausting...
Ulquiorra-san... She thought, longing for the silent company of the Espada.
"Maybe Inside-kun can sew this for me," she thought as she took off her ruined Hueco Mundo outfit. Pulling on a red sweater and some sweatpants, Orihime made her way to the kitchen, where her pile of make up work lay on the counter. She sighed, not wanting to do school work.
After a short internal argument, Orihime sat on the couch in her living room with the stack of papers.
After skipping school today, I don't want to show sensei that I am irresponsible!
Orihime hummed quietly as she started on the first paper of the stack.

After two hours of vigorously working on make up work, and successfully completing all of it, Orihime decided to make herself something to eat.
She had already set out the Oranges, Crushed Red Chili Peppers, and Rice, and had just taken a glass of champignons out of the refrigerator, when an all too familiar static in the air made her drop the glass, causing it to shatter all over the floor.
Orihime didn't move.
A Garganta...


How will I occupy myself until the onna is able to see me? the conscious Ulquiorra Cifer floated above Karakura Town, thinking up all the possibilities he had. He could stay at the Urahara Shop until he could be seen, or he could aimlessly wander around. "Stalking" the onna was out of the question.

Slowly picking up the shattered pieces of glass from the glass of champignons, Orihime's mind was functioning at a mile a minute.
What did the Garganta mean? Did some of the Espada survive? Was someone coming to kidnap her again?
She refused to think that Ulquiorra had returned from the dead.
He's gone... He turned to dust in front of my eyes, tears began to form in Orihime's eyes.
He was dead, she had to accept that, no matter how hard it was.
Taking a deep breath, Orihime picked up the last big chunk of glass and walked over to the trash can, dropping the glass into it.
"Ow!" she exclaimed as a piece sliced her finger. Sticking her finger in her mouth to cover the cut, she quickly hurried to the bathroom to grab a band-aid.
"There! All better!" Orihime grabbed one of her childish Hello Kitty band-aids and put it on the cut.
After covering her scratch, Orihime walked into the closet in the hallway the led to the kitchen to grab a broom and dustpan to collect the rest of the shattered glass. Dodging some boxes of Christmas and Halloween ornaments, she grabbed the only broom she owned.
Where did I put the dustpan? Orihime began digging thru a pile of random things in the back of the tiny closet. Suddenly, she heard a small squeaking noise.
"AHH!!!" Orihime screamed, tripped over her own feat and fell onto the pile of boxes behind her, causing her to flip over them and land painfully on her arm with a light snapping and crunching sound.
Tears came to her eyes as she finally registered the pain and looked down at her arm.
Oh no… Orihime realized she had probably broken her arm, possibly sprained the hand on her other arm, and reopened the cut on her finger from the broken glass (more severly this time).
Sighing, trying to ignore the pain in both her arms, she stood up and went to get the phone.
Then she realized that since both of her hands were immobilized, she couldn't call anyone.
Not this, too, Orihime almost collapsed onto the floor into a crying heap. Knowing that she needed to get medical help, she decided to walk to Kurosaki-san's house, since his father Isshin was a doctor.
Running towards the Kurosaki house, she ignored the odd, worried stares she was getting from the people passing her on the sidewalk. Since her friend's house wasn't far away from hers, she reached it in under 5 minutes.
Orihime shifted nervously on her feet in front of the door, wondering how she was supposed to ring the doorbell. Deciding to use her nose, she moved her head to the doorbell and just as she was about to ring it…
"Bye, Dad!" Karin stormed out the door, ramming into Orihime in the process. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Inoue-sa… Inoue-san! What happened to you!?"
Orihime had fallen onto the concrete driveway and cringed in pain. "Oh, n-no thing," she gave her most dazzling smile, "I was cooking and dropped a glass and cut myself and then I tripped over some boxes because of a mouse and hurt my arms and it's no big deal!"
Karin gazed at her brother's classmate in concern. "Oh, um… Let me get my dad for you!"
"DAD!" Karin boomed into the house, making Orihime jump slightly.
"What is it Karin-chan?" Kurosaki Isshin came bounding the door, ecstatic as ever.
"Oh my! What happened to you Orihime-chan?" In one sweeping motion, Isshin picked Orihime up bridal style and carried her into the house to the examination room down the hall.
Orihime explained to Kurosaki-san's father what had happened and that it was her own clumsiness that had caused her injuries.
"Mhm…" Isshin examined Orihime's left arm. He finally told her that she had sprained her left wrist and needed stitches on her finger. (Orihime cringed; she despised stitches.) After he examined her left arm he moved to the right, being extremely careful with it since he saw her cringing in pain every time he touched it.
"Orihime-chan… You did this falling over a box?" Orihime blushed with embarrassment and looked down at the floor.
"Hai," she said quietly. Kurosaki sighed and went to a cupboard across the room.
"You fractured your lower Radius and some minor wrist bones," he said as he grabbed bandages, needle and thread, anesthesia, disinfectant wipes, and an arm sling.
Orihime nodded, pretending she knew what that meant. She was pretty sure that the Radius was somewhere in the arm… but she wasn't sure.
Orihime cringed visibly when Kurosaki Isshin got out a needle to inject the anesthesia.
Isshin smiled gently at his patient, "It won't hurt, I promise, Orihime-chan."
Orihime bit her lip and shut her eyes tight, waiting for the pain of the needle in both of her lower arms.
"There, all done!" Orihime's eyes flew open, surprised. A smile grew on her face as she thanked the doctor.
"Okay, I'm going to go get the gloves I need. I ran out of them, it seems… But when I come back the anesthesia should have already kicked in. Lay down over there," Kurosaki pointed at the patient's bed in the middle of the room. "I will be back shortly."
Orihime went to lie down on the bed, struggling to get onto the top of it without using her hands. When she was finally lying down, comfortable, she decided to take a nap, more exhaustion from the previous day hitting her like a tidal wave.


Ulquiorra had decided that he would stay at the Urahara Shop for a couple of days before he went to his onna. He resisted the urge to go find her that very moment, an unknown urge that he had never known before, and that he only now felt thanks to his new heart…


Two hours later, in the Kurosaki household…

Orihime's eyes fluttered open. Confused at where she was, she suddenly remembered that she was in Kurosaki-san's house.
"Oh! I fell asleep!" Orihime jumped up embarrassed. She heard a lively chuckle. Turning her head to see where it came from, she saw Ichigo's father sitting on a couch across the room, reading a medical magazine.
"I see you're awake," Kurosaki Isshin close the magazine, set it next to him, and got up, walking over to Orihime.
"Doumo Arigatou Gozaimasu!" Orihime bowed.
Isshin laughed, "No need to be so formal, Orihime-chan! You're very welcome."
Orihime smiled. The entire Kurosaki family seemed to be very nice and generous to her.
What a nice family, she thought to herself, smiling peacefully.
"Oh! I really must be going… I still have to clean up the mess I made in my apartment… Thanks again Mr. Kurosaki!" With that the orange-haired girl ran out of her apartment.


"What is the Cuatro Espada doing outside of my shop?" Ulquiorra, who had just dozed up, woke with a start.
"How is it that you are able to see me?" The perplexed Espada questioned.
"Why would I not be able to?" The saddle-hat man titled his head to one side and covered most of his face with his fan.
"If you have the ability to see me, does that mean that others do, too?"
"Well," Urahara Kisuke began. "I see a faint outline of you. It is as if you are what humans would consider a 'ghost'."
Ulquiorra nodded. Kisuke guessed, from the way he acted, that the Cuatro Espada was not a very talkative type, and would not explain to the shop owner why he was barely visible.
If he can see me… does that mean Onna can see me as well? Ulquiorra pondered. Deciding to seek out the onna and see if she could also see the "ghost" of him, he nodded his head to the ex-Captain to thank him, and disappeared.
Urahara knew that that would not be the last time that he would see the Espada in front of his shop. In fact, he had an odd feeling that their next encounter would be very soon…


Orihime Inoue skipped home, ignoring the looks that she (always) got from passing strangers as she greeted them with a big, genuine smile.
"Oh, no…" Orihime realized she had left her door open and unlocked. Running the last few meters to her door, she ran inside.
Just as she rounded the corner into the kitchen, she saw a clean kitchen floor. There were no traces of the glass anywhere, except…
There was a shadow holding a now empty dustpan and broom. He had frozen when he heard Orihime enter her apartment.
"Onna," it sounded like a faint whisper to Orihime, but the voice was unmistakable.
Orihime crumbled to her knees, "Ulquiorra-san…"