Orihime sat across from Urahara, her legs beneath her, watching as he placed the boiling pot of tea on the tabletop. He poured her a cup first, gently pushing it over to her, before pouring himself some tea.

“Now that we’ve gotten all the formalities out of the way,” he started, taking a small sip, “what was this request you had for me?”

She looked at her cup--but didn’t touch it--then at him, her eyebrows furrowed. She was still worried he wouldn’t be able to do anything to help her.

“I need to go to Soul Society,” she said, without ceremony. Urahara nearly spilled his tea on his lap. “I know you can created a door from here; you did it when we went to rescue Kuchiki-san. I realize I’m asking too much of you, but I need to do this.”

“Inoue-san--”

She bowed deeply, her head touching the floor. “Please!” She swallowed, hoping to push down the lump that had formed in her throat, and looked up. “You’re the only one who can help me.”

He stared at her for a long time, so long that she feared that he was going to say no. Finally he let out a heavy sigh, placing his cooling tea on the table. “Please get up, Inoue-san.”

Orihime nodded dejectedly, placing her hands in her lap. She knew that he would deny her request--if it was even possible at all. “I see. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”

“If I do this,” he said, his gaze holding her in her spot, “may I at least know why you want to go?”

Her eyes widened. “Huh? You mean, you’ll do it?”

“Let me know your reasons first. Then, perhaps, yes.”

She turned her head quickly, hoping to hide the faint blush coloring her cheeks. “I just...it’s hard to explain. I have to know that someone there is all right.”

“I take it this ‘someone’ isn’t Kuchiki-san. Am I right?”

She shook her head.

“Hmmm.” Urahara placed his chin in his hand, considering her answer. “I see.”

They sat in silence for a long time, though it wasn’t the same as when she was with Ulquiorra’s shadow. She was on edge as she waited for his response. Would he decide not to help? Surely he could not know exactly who it was she wanted to see.

Then again, this was Urahara. He seemed to have a six sense about these things. She wouldn’t be surprised if he did figure out that she wanted to visit one of the former enemies of Soul Society.

“I’ve already made one mistake with respect to you, Inoue-san,” he started, his eyes distant. She looked at him curiously. “I fear that my insistence that you stay out of battle for the Winter War only helped, in some way, to make it easier for you to be taken by Aizen and his Arrancar. If I had helped you train here, you wouldn’t have needed to go to Soul Society.”

And you wouldn’t have been captured between worlds, were his unspoken words. Orihime could hear them nonetheless.

But wouldn’t she had been captured at some point? Surely if Aizen had wanted her in Las Noches, he would find a way. She didn’t speak her thoughts to Urahara, though. She could see from the look on his face that his feelings on the issue would not be swayed.

“I will not let myself make another mistake like that again,” he said, a tone of finality to his voice.

“So,” she said hesitantly, “does that mean...?”

He nodded. “When were you planning on leaving for Soul Society, Inoue-san?”

-----------------------------------------------------------------

She had the strangest feeling of déjà vu as she sat writing a note to her friends, letting them know where she was, that she would be okay, and most importantly, why this crazy task had to be done. It wasn’t until she was nearly finished that it hit her.

She had done a similar thing before she had gone to Hueco Mundo.

She had told her landlady and the school that she needed to leave the country for a week. Oddly enough, they didn’t ask for a reason. Not that that bothered her--she hadn’t thought of an excuse anyway.

Orihime stared at the paper. Would her friends hate her for what she was about to do? Especially Ichigo. How would he feel if he knew that she was visiting the one who had caused him so much pain?

Somehow, at that moment, his thoughts didn’t matter to her. For once in her life she would focus on her needs, her wants. She knew she would be happier, better, once this was done.

“So, it seems you really are going over there to find him, aren’t you?”

She looked up at the window, nearly jumping out of her seat in the process. She was surprised to see Ulquiorra’s shadow standing there, his hands stuffed into his pockets. “You’re here.”

“Yes, I’m here.” He walked over to the table and sat across from her, his posture as rigid as ever. “You seem surprised by that fact.”

“I didn’t think you’d come.”

“I’ve heard those words before,” he said, with the slightest hint of a lilt in his voice. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Orihime nodded. “I’m leaving tomorrow.” She hesitated. “I guess that means I won’t see you for a while, huh?”

“It would seem so.”

For a long time they said nothing. Not because they did not know what to say, but because they didn’t know how to say it.

There was no moonlight that night--it was a new moon. Somehow, to Orihime, it felt oddly appropriate.

“Shadow?”

“Yes?”

She bit her lower lip, her gaze in her lap. “What’s going to happen to you while I’m gone? I mean, since you said it was my will that created you.”

“Do not concern yourself with that. All you need to worry about is finding Ulquiorra once you have arrived in Soul Society. Besides,” he added cryptically, “that is not what I would worry about.”

Orihime blinked. “What do you mean?”

He shook his head. “My purpose is to give you closure on Ulquiorra’s death. Once that happens I have no purpose, no reason to exist.”

“So you mean,” she said, her eyes wide, “that once I find Ulquiorra you’ll...disappear?”

“It’s not a certainty, but it is a high probability.”

She looked at him sadly. “I see,” she said, because she wasn’t sure what else to say. “I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t go. It’s not fair if you--”

“Don’t even finish that statement,” he said roughly, more so than she had ever heard from him. “This is not about me; this was never about me. Don’t use me as your excuse to back out for reaching what it is you desire most.”

“It’s not that,” she insisted. “I want to see Ulquiorra again, know that he’s okay. I do. But...that doesn’t mean I want to do it at your expense. I know you’re not him, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care what happens to you, too.”

The shadow scoffed, but his face had softened from before. “Foolishness. You care too much about things you shouldn’t.”

“I know.” She smiled softly. “I think that’s why I’m in this situation.”

“Hm.”

“Say, shadow?” she asked.

“Hm?”

She wasn’t sure why she wanted to ask this of him, especially now of all times. When they had first started talking, the thought would never have crossed her mind. Perhaps it was because she was going to see Ulquiorra--the real Ulquiorra--again that she felt like needed justification for her actions.

“What did...Ulquiorra think of me? I mean, did he think I was annoying or...did he resent the fact that he had to take care of me...or...?” She could feel her cheeks warm under his piercing gaze.

Did he ever feel anything for me? she wanted to ask, but she couldn’t let the words escape from her lips.

“He--” The shadow paused, as though he, too, were struggling with his words. She waited a long time before he finally said, “You were...the one who proved that his eye couldn’t see everything.”

“You humans are always talking about hearts. It’s as if you have them in your hand. But my eye sees everything. Nothing can escape it. What it doesn’t see doesn’t exist. What is a heart?”

“To him, you were the heart.”

Orihime let his words sink in, the meaning behind them clear. She felt a weight lifted from her shoulders, a weight she hadn’t known was there until it had been taken away.

“I see,” she said, smiling softly. “Thank you.”

“And what about you?” he asked, catching her off-guard. “What did you think of him?”

“He was...the one entrusted with a heart.” Her heart. She just hadn’t realized it until it was too late.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

“Thank you again, Urahara-san,” Orhime said, as she made her way down the stairs, into the strange basement beneath Urahara’s shop. “I’m forever in your debt.”

“Now, now, that’s enough with the thanking,” he said, waving his fan dismissively. “There are more important things at hand.”

They walked a little further into the room before a large door came together piece-by-piece right before her eyes. Orihime stopped when it slammed into the ground, but Urahara kept walking until he was directly in front of it.

“You remember what this is, right, Inoue-san?”

She laughed nervously, taking a few steps towards him. “Sort of. Vaguely.”

“Then let me go over this again,” he said, snapping his fan closed. “As you know, to get into Soul Society, you have to be a soul. This doorway will change your body from 'kishi' to 'reishi,' the main component of souls, allowing you to keep your original form.”

“I remember,” she said. “But that wasn’t the most important thing, I think.”

“That’s correct. The time you have to get through to Soul Society is only four minutes long. If you don’t get out by that time, you will be trapped between the two worlds. Forever.” He stopped for a moment. “Do you still want to go through with this?”

“I have to.”

He smiled. “I see. If you’re ready to go now--”

“Wait!” She held a sheet of paper out to him with both hands. “If you see Kurosaki-kun or Ishida-kun or anyone else, please give this to them.”

He took the paper from her hands. “I understand.”

“Okay, I’m ready now,” she said, walking until she was mere inches away from the doorway. She took a deep breath and looked to Urahara.

He nodded. “Here we go.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe she had just forgotten or perhaps she had blocked the memory from her mind, but Orihime could honestly say there was nothing worse than having to run at full speed to get away from the huge current meant as protection against Hollow attacks.

Especially when one is wearing a kimono.

She had figured it would be best to try to blend into the crowd, meaning most of her “normal” clothes were out of the picture. That left her with a yukata and a kimono. She went with the kimono instead, figuring that the weather would be the same as it was in the world of the living.

Silently, she hoped she was right.

She was nearly to the end of the tunnel, thankful the current was a good ways behind her--though she supposed that was a relative term. It was only a foot away.

“Santen Kesshun, I reject!” she called out as she jumped from the door in the sky. She placed the shield beneath her, hoping to break some of the impact when she finally reached the ground.

Now that she thought about it, why was the exit into Soul Society in the sky of all places? It didn’t seem very convenient, though perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. She would have to ask Urahara later.

One fairly smooth landing later, having returned her fairies to points on her hairpins, she took in her surroundings. She had not landed in the same place as before. Instead, she was in a small clearing not far from it.

Things had changed since the last time she had been there. There were no leaves on the few trees that dotted the landscape, and the weather was much colder, though there was no snow on the ground. Orihime pulled the kimono closer to her body, now thankful that she had opted for it instead of the yukata.

The biggest difference, though, was there were actually people out and about in the street a little ways from where she had landed. She, for one, was surprised that none of them had taken notice of her, but she supposed they were too busy going about their own lives to notice a strange girl who had fallen from the sky.

Besides, her landing had been much quieter this time around.

“I wonder where he could be,” she said to herself, walking into the street of people.

No one gave her a second glance; again, she was thankful for her foresight to wear something less conspicuous.

She sighed. “Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do but ask around.”

But no one she asked as she made her way around the town knew who Ulquiorra was. She tried not to get downhearted--Rukongai was a huge place, and for all she knew he could be in one of the more outer districts--but the more times she heard “No,” the more her heart sank.

“According to the old woman I just spoke to, I’m near the border between districts,” she said, sitting down in the lush grass, her knees pulled up to her chest. She looked up at the darkening sky. “I think I’ll ask one more person, then call it a day. I wonder if they have hotels here, or if I’m going to have to camp out.”

The thought didn’t sound particularly appealing to her, so she hoped for the former.

She stood, brushing off the dirt and bits of grass that clung to her clothing, and turned around, scanning the area. A few feet away there was a woman hunched over a small patch of green, the woven basket beside her nearly filled. Orihime couldn’t see the woman’s face, only the back of her head, but her hair was the most beautiful shade of pink she had ever seen in her life.

As she started walking towards her, Orihime began to doubt that the woman would know where Ulquiorra was, but at the very least she could tell her where she could find shelter for the night.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Orihime said, when she was directly behind her. “I don’t mean to bother you, but do you know--”

“Ma’am?” the woman shot back, in a voice, Orihime realized, much too low to be a woman’s.

Did that mean...she...was a...he?

“I-I-I’m so sorry, sir,” she said quickly, as the man got up and started turning to face her. “I didn’t realize--”

“Why is it all you idiots think I’m a--” The words died in his throat. A beat passed before he pointed a shaky finger at her. “You!”

Orihime’s face paled, like she had seen a ghost. And in a way, she had.

“Sz-Szayel Aporro Granz?”