Road to Redemption

Chapter 12: Eternal Night

A/N: Finally I'm done! 😵 Sorry for the long ass wait. This trimester has me dead and I only wrote between classes. I have chapter 13 draft done so hopefully no more long waits until summer is over. I hope you guys like the chapter. Thanks for reading!

© Bleach and its characters don't belong to me. They belong to Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. Jeanne Dae, Shizuka Fujiwara & Anna Maria are the only characters I own.

Chapter 12: Eternal Night

The barren landscape of Hueco Mundo always remained the same. An unchanging moon glowing atop the silvery sand, along with gusts of cold wind. Yet just by having her here it seemed as if everything had gained beauty.

Orihime was sitting on the edge of the stairs, letting Mila braid her hair. Halibel's remaining fraccion were nearby seemingly offering commentary, he couldn't tell, however. His eyes were solely focused on Orihime. The moonlight made it seem like her orange locks were glowing, she was laughing at something the arrancar woman told her.

"You're distracted." He heard Jeanne's voice beside him. "I'm aware this isn't my business, but it's pretty clear you're growing fond of our redhead girlie."

"I do not know what to think. While it's true that things have changed drastically in this past month, I am not sure if any of this will end well."

"What do you mean?"

"We are facing against one of our former superiors who is quite powerful and clever, so survival is not exactly guaranteed. Even if we both made it out alive I am aware that the woman was very much in love with her former flame. That's not something that can disappear overnight."

He remembered staring at her through the monitors the day she was forced to leave for Hueco Mundo. How she hesitated in choosing just one person to say goodbye to. In the end, it was clear she would choose Kurosaki.

Ulquiorra didn't know much about romance, but he could tell the words she said were full of emotion, she was in love with that man. How she got such a will to fight when he perished, the looks she gave him, her immense joy when she dated him and her sadness when they fell apart. Those were things he knew she probably wouldn't feel for anyone else, much less him.

"That does not mean she can't be with you once she's ready."

"Perhaps. Still, what good would I be to her? The woman needs someone that can support her when she's emotional, someone who can make her life better. Not somebody who put her through a horrible experience, and she is stuck with."

Jeanne rolled her eyes. "If you really think Orihime finds you to be troublesome then you have fewer brain cells than Nnoitra. Ulquiorra, I can tell she cares about you, and while I'm sure our girlie wasn't fond of us at the start she doesn't seem to hold any grudges. Just let things flow, and in the meantime try to come to terms with how you feel. We're all here if you need to talk." The female arrancar winked.

"Thank you." He said before continuing to look at Orihime debating what to do next.

***
"There we go! What do you think?" Mila finished the braid and handed Orihime a mirror.

"It looks great, Thanks Mila-San!"

"You're welcome. It's fun to play with your hair, those two cows have too many tangles."

"We can hear you!"

As Mila and Appaci began to fight Orihime turned to look at Cyan, the other Arrancar shrugged at the usual bickering of her comrades.

"Is it always like this?" Orihime asked.

"Mila has been this annoying since we were humans. Add Emilou and you have a pair of bickering fools."