"Welcome... to our castle, Las Noches."
A geometric massive space surrounded by columns. The human girl—Inoue Orihime—brought to that great hall, which could aptly be described as a throne room, was granted an audience with her new "king."
Aizen Sosuke.
A former captain of the Seireitei Thirteen Court Guard Squads, and the Soul Society's traitor who had embroiled her friends Kuchiki Rukia, Kurosaki Ichigo, and other comrades in a massive conspiracy.
Meeting him face-to-face for the first time, Orihime felt his terror on her skin. A titan of spiritual pressure so overwhelming that the moment she laid eyes on him, her instinct recognized the difference in class—not as individuals, but as species. All the strength in her body, the resolve she'd held, every bit of resistance drained away. The girl forgot even to demonstrate the act of submission called "kneeling," and simply stood frozen in shock.
"It seems some doubt your value. Since we have the opportunity, Orihime, show us your power."
And the girl witnessed the law of Las Noches. Herself, displaying her ability on the wounded body of the blue-haired young man Grimmjow as told, without even the will to resist. The brutal scene of him, after being healed, laughing madly while tormenting one of his comrades. And everyone around them simply watching the two's battle with amusement, indifference, or exasperation. No emotion, no reason—only beasts of survival of the fittest existed there.
Scary, frightening, terrifying. She'd betrayed her allies and was alone—there was no hero to protect her anymore. The deepest part of enemy territory, raging tremendous spiritual pressure, a world of madness where even those of the same species killed each other. Having stepped into such hell on her own, Orihime could only tremble in fear.
The life of such a fragile human was as light as a feather before the conflicts of the mighty Espada...
"...?!"
Before she realized it, the lethal spiritual pressure scattered around was closing in on Orihime.
"Restrain yourself, Grimmjow."
But the moment she closed her eyes, bracing for pain and impact from the stray Cero, a flat male voice reached Orihime's ears.
The pain didn't come. The massive spiritual pressure had calmed like a lull. Opening her eyes without understanding what had happened, Orihime saw the back of one Arrancar.
One of the first Arrancar she'd met, and the very person who had brought her to this place. His name was...
"What's your game, Ulquiorra!"
Right, Ulquiorra.
"That's my line, fool. The woman will die from the residue of the Cero you're scattering."
"What..."
With the young man's single statement, quiet returned to the place. Tension released, Orihime hugged her still-unharmed body and quietly looked up at the young man beside her.
Expressionless, arrogant, and a bit scary with his harsh words like "trash" and "garbage."
But...
(He protected... me...?)
Of course, it was obvious at a glance that it was his superior's order, the natural action considering her value as a hostage. She understood it was merely the behavior of a faithful organization member, without a fragment of the warmth her comrades from the living world possessed.
Even so, watching his back as he silently led the way to her room, she couldn't help but harbor a faint hope.
This person might be different...
***
"Mm, uh..."
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Orihime looked around. Her awakening mind recognized the situation and her mood plummeted all at once, but she shook it off with her natural positive thinking.
While toying with the elegant nightgown with its pleasant texture, Orihime's expression unconsciously relaxed into a grin.
That's right—for someone prepared to be forced into a slave-like existence, life here in Hueco Mundo was paradise itself.
"I feel like a real princess..."
Pushing aside the pure white lace curtains hanging from the bed's canopy, Orihime surveyed the early morning room. On the side table were beautiful quartz glasses and a pitcher filled with water. There were even living world fashion magazines, as if they were popular among the female Arrancar.
One day had passed since Orihime had been invited to Las Noches.
Life in the massive demon palace she'd heard was the Hollow king's castle was, however, vastly different from her initial imagination—extremely lavish to a degree the small-town girl would never experience in her lifetime.
"You seem to be sleeping quite peacefully, woman."
With three knocks, she jumped and turned toward the room's door. The Arrancar young man acting as her caretaker appeared, pushing a service cart. The naturally airheaded Orihime descended from the bed in her nightgown to greet him.
"G-good morning...! Um... Ulquiorra?"
"The honorific is unnecessary. I've brought breakfast. Eat."
"Breakfast!"
The intense aroma of butter wafting through the air made her involuntarily rush to the cart. Inside the basket were freshly baked croissants gleaming brilliantly. The stylish cloche covering the plate built unbearable anticipation.
"Sit. I cannot serve otherwise."
"Ah, y-yes! Sorry!"
With practiced movements, Ulquiorra spread the tableware and cloth, decorating the table. And the moment the revealed dishes came into view, Orihime's stomach, unable to endure any longer, began a grand chorus all at once.
Scrambled eggs shining golden. Magnificently seared thick bacon steak and sausages. Vibrantly colored grilled paprika and zucchini. The glass and cup were filled with sweet and sour orange juice and rich hot cocoa respectively, and beside them were even churros dusted with powdered sugar for dessert.
It was just like the breakfast at a super luxury hotel from a TV travel show.
"Um, i-is this really for me...?"
"It's the same menu as us Espada. The offerings change daily. Hurry up and eat."
"Wow..."
She was dumbfounded by the complete attentiveness on a different dimension from the modest Soul Society or her living world home. Completely forgetting her position as something like a hostage, Orihime felt beyond envy to even emotion at the Arrancar's affluent lifestyle.
I'm glad I came, Las Noches!
"Thank you for the meal..."
Twenty minutes later.
Defeated by the temptation of fine dining, Orihime was savoring the afterglow while patting her swollen belly like a pregnant woman over her nightgown.
While sipping the hot cocoa she'd saved, she secretly glanced to the side. The girl became curious about Ulquiorra quietly cleaning up the dishes.
(When I tried to clean up myself he got angry... does he have some kind of preference...?)
Perhaps because he was small for a male with androgynous features, this Arrancar young man somehow reminded her of boys her age from class. Apparently it had been decided beforehand that he would be her caretaker. For Orihime, who had braced herself expecting only violent and terrifying people like Yammy from last month or Grimmjow at the audience, Ulquiorra's existence became a catalyst to greatly revise her image of the Arrancar species.
(He doesn't seem like a bad person, so I wish we could get a bit closer at least...)
The nihilistic, expressionless Arrancar young man. His manner somehow reminded her of Ishida Uryu when fighting enemies in the Soul Society—cold and calculating—or the taciturn Sado Yasutora. Orihime felt a faint sense of familiarity with him.
The mercy of only rendering the two Soul Society guards unconscious instead of killing them in the Dangai was probably rare among Arrancar other than him. Perhaps with him, she could understand across species and reduce conflict even a little.
She viewed Ulquiorra's character—observed over this half-day—favorably enough to harbor such pipe dreams.
...Even knowing that wall was an impossibly high fairy tale, she still wanted to believe in him.
***
"Orihime. I have one job I'd like to request of you."
What awaited Orihime after finishing breakfast was terror and shock enough to make those wonderful croissants threaten to come back up.
Following the summons from Aizen Sosuke in trepidation, she entered deeper into the throne room and saw a single girl lying in a transparent coffin-like capsule.
"Th-this person...!"
Orihime gasped, and Aizen nodded.
"Ah, you've met her before. The one who once served as Fifth Division Vice-Captain and Kido Corps First Division Third Squad Leader in the Soul Society—Arrancar army Espada Legion Commander."
—Hinamori Momo.
The girl lying in the capsule he stroked was in a pitiful state hardly resembling a human. Peach-colored spiritual pressure gushed from holes opened throughout her body, and her torso was in a terribly frightening state that could be described as like a burst pomegranate. Her unstable soul pulse and faintly rising and falling chest miraculously kept her alive, though she was little more than scraps of flesh.
"Of course, she's not weak enough to be done in by the Seireitei Thirteen Court Guard Squads. What's tormenting her is the new power I gave her."
"New... power..."
A tremendous scale of spiritual pressure swirled inside the capsule. Even through the strong barrier, what she felt was like implanting a nuclear fusion reactor into a human body. At such cruelty, Orihime involuntarily glared at the perpetrator beside her.
There was only one reason she'd been called to this place.
"Now then, Orihime. I want you to return her soul to its original state."
What nerve to say such a thing. How much easier it would be if she could spit that out.
The girl's circumstances she'd heard before. The misfortune of suffering in loneliness and clinging to the hand of great evil that was offered. Her retreat cut off, forced to betray comrades and friends against her will, now being used in such heinous experiments. Just imagining those feelings made Orihime's heart feel crushed.
The root of all evil—she didn't need to be told by Aizen Sosuke. Orihime entrusted her feelings to the Shun Shun Rikka fairies to save the suffering girl before her.
"Rejection of phenomena."
The power to cross the horizon of phenomena set by God, to violate God's domain. That was the overly grand essence of her own power she'd inadvertently been taught.
But it was the first time using her power on someone with such great spiritual pressure, and to hope for satisfactory results, Legion Commander Hinamori's soul was far too alien.
"It's no good, Orihime. This person's soul is trying to go to a different phase, and our ability barely reaches her...!"
"No way..."
The Soten Kisshun fairies Shun'o and Ayame, who had healed any injury until now, shook their heads in frustration. Though Orihime didn't understand the meaning of their words, she easily gathered from their expressions that fundamental resolution was extremely difficult.
(Kurosaki...)
What would happen if she couldn't save her? Fear and guilt made her heart pound like a drum.
The romantic Orihime had vaguely sensed that this death god girl was connected to the object of her affections—Kurosaki Ichigo—through some complex bond. The memory was still fresh of seeing her secretly contact Ichigo in the sand dust during their harsh meeting a month ago. The fact that his prickly impatience had disappeared after that day was probably not unrelated either.
Having betrayed Ichigo and her comrades to follow Aizen Sosuke, there would be no future walking together with him. Though one-sided, she'd managed to convey both her feelings and farewell, and Orihime had come here prepared to end her life with that night's bittersweet nectar in her heart.
But when actually facing Legion Commander Hinamori, who might be in a position similar to her own in some ways, complicated emotions inevitably welled up.
(...Wait, this isn't the time to be thinking about that!)
Pity. Jealousy. Anxiety. Resignation. She couldn't fully demonstrate her ability with such twisted feelings. Shaking off distracting thoughts, Orihime prepared for a long battle and desperately attempted to repair the girl's burst soul.
It was a pure feeling only she could hold. The compassionate heart filling her soul became power, and the light of Soten Kisshun gradually began recovering Legion Commander Hinamori's wounds.
Watching that scene, the great evil Aizen Sosuke nodded magnanimously and turned to his subordinate behind him.
"Ulquiorra."
"Yes, Lord Aizen."
The called Arrancar young man stepped forward.
"During treatment, this room shall be Orihime's quarters. Until Momo awakens, ensure no one except me passes through this door."
"Understood."
Leaving those words, their "king" departed.
***
"Can you heal her?"
A while after beginning treatment, in the room now occupied by just two, Ulquiorra's voice suddenly broke the silence.
"Huh? Ah, y-yeah..."
"I see."
After a bland acknowledgment, the Arrancar young man turned his eyes toward his female superior suffering from the torrent of massive power.
Those beautiful jade eyes staring intently at her remained emotionless as always.
But—
(An illusion...?)
A momentary trick of the eye? Orihime felt like she'd seen a faint trace of humanity there.
She recalled their first attack encounter last month. Legion Commander Hinamori, who while rebuking the violent behavior of the massive Arrancar named Yammy, had also been concerned for his well-being. The person of such character that everyone in the Soul Society's Rukongai and Seireitei Thirteen Court Guard Squads praised her gentle heart might not be such a light existence even to this iron-masked young man.
(If that's the case, I absolutely have to save her...!)
A death god girl who built good superior-subordinate relationships like humans with Arrancar descended from Hollows, their sworn enemies. And Arrancar like Yammy and Ulquiorra who showed signs of adoring her.
Perhaps these people could become great help in ending the war between the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo that Aizen Sosuke had started.
Ulquiorra Cifer watched with his unchanging inorganic eyes Orihime's devoted figure, earnestly wishing to eliminate many people's misfortunes.
Three days later, Legion Commander Hinamori safely awoke.
After emerging from the capsule, she showed not a trace of spiritual pressure, as if she weren't there at all, and her face was pale as a specter.
"I thank you for your cooperation, Orihime."
Aizen, looking down at his haggard subordinate, was smiling.
—It had been an ideal experimental result.
The meaning of those words the man left behind, Orihime never understood until the end.
***
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