Corroded Spirits

Corroded Spirit: 36

Chapter 36: Belying Betrayal

 The barriers were errected. The binding spells already intact. And the subject for the spell was firmly placed at the center of its' entirety. Ichigo looked at the unconscious Orihime sadly. The marks on her face, her ashen hair, her dead skin. Everything, it was all sickening to look at. All of the Hollow filth stuck onto her whole being. "Kurosaki-san... We must begin." Kisuke said at the side, where he and the others had also positioned themselves in a circle for the spell. "I can't believe you kept this all from me." Ichigo whispered furiously, because, after all, he still hadn't been given the chance to express his pent up rage.

 Kisuke could only lower his head in shame. What's done has been done. They couldn't bring back any of it anymore. Which was pretty ironic, since Orihime herself was the only person (human and spirit) capable of doing such a thing. "Let us begin." Kisuke said again. "Hey.." Toshiro called from the other side of the circle of Bakudo signs. "Will this really work?" He asked, being the skeptic that he was. "Whether the spell will work or not is completely unknown... It will all depend on how strong the the Arrancar, Ulquiorra Schiffer's bond on Inoue-san's soul will be. We must hurry. If we tarry any longer, who knows how attached they will stay together." Kisuke said.

 All of them directed their gazes to Orihime again. "Now..." Very slowly, all of their Reiatsu began to meld together into the Bakudo circle. Instantly a barrier of gold surrounded Orihime. "So what is this again?" Sado asked. Everyone looked to Sado. The spell was in fact, new to them. None of them, not even the 4 captains knew about it. "It's a Bakudo spell that I created especially for Inoue-san's conditon." Kisuke began. "By combining the different Bakudos from level 1-90, I've created a spell that will specifically target Inoue-san's remaining Reishi. It will collect itself and form a barrier to serve as ours and her protection. It will also enable us to reach out to Inoue-san's consciousness while it is still there." Kisuke explained thoroughly.

 As if she heard and understood what was going on, Orihime (still unconscious) released another powerful amount of Reiatsu. "We need to hurry. Once the other Captains realize that the prisoner they have is fake they'll start to look for her. And with the Reiatsu she keeps emitting, it will be highly likely that they will come straight here." Ukitake said, worried. Kisuke brought his hands together as if in prayer. "It will be all right. We have time." He whispered. Lowering his head to his hands, he began to mutter a silent incantation. And then his hands began to glow white. He unclapsed his hands, and the light emanated outward, spreading over the golden barrier like a web. Everyone watched in interest and awe as Kisuke began: "Inoue-san."

 All grew quiet, and the air of enigma and unknown automatically hung itself over the group. "Inoue-san, it is us your friends.." He whispered solemnly. He continued to make gestures with his hands, and in effect the web-like Reiatsu above the barrier glowed brightly. "We are reaching out to you... We are trying to reach you..." The barrier was starting to pulsate, like a giant beating heart. It was working. "If you are there and you can hear us Inoue-san, then please answer us.." They all waited and waited until the barrier suddenly flickered. "H--"

 They all tensed up, and widened their ears. "Minna-san..." Immediately, Ichigo spoke up. "Inoue!!" The barrier glowed and it sustained for a bit. "Kurosaki-kun.... Minna!" She responded. It was really her, she was really there. Everyone perked up and practically beamed. Their healer was still alive. "Inoue-san! Thank goodness! You're still here." Kisuke practically gushed. There was an echoing giggle in the air. It felt like music to their ears. "I've always been here... When did I ever leave?" She asked. Immediately everyone's smile went away. Orihime wasn't in the clear just yet.

 "Inoue... We...we're here to help you." Ichigo said. The light suddenly went off, and they wondered if they'd lost the connection, but then the light came back. "But I'm not in danger...." She said, and they can't help but wonder why they've even forgotten about that part of her. "He's with me... So I'm the safest person than anyone else." Suddenly, the light dimmed. It was still there, but a green-black aura slowly seeped into the barrier. There was a faint and low voice in the vacuum. "Are they bothering you?" Everyone practically stepped backward from the voice. But not Ichigo. "Ulquiorra!"

 The barrier responded, and the black spread wider. "Ah.. I see what's going on... Quite foolish of all of you to still persist on the inevitable.." The late Cuatro Espada responded. "Give Inoue back!" Ichigo demanded. A light scoff echoed. Almost the same kinds that Ichigo had heard when he fell down from the pallid Arrancar's strikes. "That's the same thing you said when you first confronted me in Hueco Mundo." Kisuke took a step forward. "Espada, what benefit would it do for you to keep our friend? He asked. A hum came as an answer.

 Reiatsu slowly began to emanate from the barrier. The entity was awake. It lifted its head up and what the group saw frightened them to no end. Both of its' eyes were black green with the same black liquid streaming down its' face. "You still don't get it.." It said, the bonds the captains had set up breaking off as if they were brittle. It stood up errectly, the Reiatsu growing even stronger that the atmosphere was starting to become disrupted. It looked up and glanced at everyone around it, before stopping its gaze to Ichigo. "You can be free Ulquiorra." The Substitute Shinigami said as if to plead with the entity.

 It craned its head to the side. "Both of you can... Set her free..." Ichigo said solemnly, with a sense of empathy. There was silence for a bit, and then the entity said in Orihime's voice: "I am free." A crack suddenly formed in the middle of the barrier. "Urahara!" Ukitake pointed out. Quickly all of the expert Kido-users began to pour different salvos of Bakudo to keep the barrrier from breaking. But more cracks formed, and now, the entire secret hide-away training grounds was beginning to crumble away. "Thank you for letting me out of my cage."

 As if it hadn't done enough to shock and awe everyone present, the entity bowed forward, as if collecting energy. Then it began to scream again, howl in pain. There was the sound of a bone cracking, and in response, the ribs in Orihime's body sprouted out behind her. It screamed agonizingly as blood spurtled out, but it didn't stop. The black from the barrier came off and collected itself around the ribs. It grew longer, spreading to the side as the black glob wrapped around it forming a giant bat's wing. Ichigo couldn't help but stare in horror. The abomination stared at them all again, before it collected wind, and flew off, breaking the barrier, and disappearing.

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 There was a quiet groan, and slowly she was coming back. She lifted her head and tried to open her eyes to get a sense of where she was and how she had gotten there. "Where.." Orihime muttered weakly. Her blurred sight wasn't helping much but she kept trying. It was a dark room, with a few candelabrum on the walls. Funny. She didn't remember Las Noches having a room without white walls. "Where am I?" She managed to voice out, the nerves on her numb body returning. When she tried to move, she felt something thick and painful grating against her skin. She looked down and saw shining gold around her abdomen. "What--what is this?!" Her voice was panicked now, conscious of her situation. "Ulquiorra?! Ulquiorra?!" She called out desperately, looking around the darkness to find her Arrancar. But only a low laugh answered her. "I am so glad that you are finally awake, my dear...." A voice said in the shadows. He slowly came out to reveal himself, and Orihime was struck with fear. "You!"