Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Ichigo! Please help me!" Orihime screamed at the top of her lungs at the unconscious man at her feet. Her eyes darted back and forth from her friend to her demonic caretaker. She wouldn't believe this. She wouldn't believe that Ichigo was dead. The green eyed demon stared straight ahead. How typical of the woman. Even as her precious person laid at her feet in defeat she would still be crying and begging that trash to save her.

The auburn haired woman felt tears drip down her cheek despite trying so hard to stay strong. She had expected Ulquiorra to attack her for trying to heal Ichigo but the fourth espada stood still simply staring at her. Didn't the woman realize that her whining wasn't going to bring her precious friend back? The arrancar felt himself being filled with an ironic satisfaction. He was showing her how foolish her talk of a heart was. Ulquiorra took a step forward noticing how the woman's eyes widened.

A dark energy began to rise up from the dead body that stopped the fourth espada in his tracks. Orihime looked down in hopeful joy at the revival of her friend but it was all wrong. The eyes she was supposed to be seeing looking up at her were supposed to be a warm chocolate color filled with strength and determination. What looked up at her now could only be described at pure evil. The newly revived Ichigo let out an inhuman shriek .

The joy she had previously felt was quickly turning into terror.

Ishida panted out his breaths as he watched Ichigo turn into a complete hollow. The insane Ichigo raised his hand, all five gigantic claws facing out as he tried to slash Orihime's face. The auburn haired lady's breath increased as the panic uncoiled from her stomach. She realized his intent and knew that there was no way to block it. She felt herself colliding with the cold sand of Hueco Mundo as the Quincy pushed her out of the way. She looked back and saw that her friend now had a sword sticking out from his gut. Hollow Ichigo made what could only be described at demented giggles as he pulled the sword out. Blood gurgled past the Quincy's lips as the sword was slowly pulled from his midsection.

The healer watched with wide eyes. This couldn't be her friend. There was no part of the original Ichigo that remained. He became something akin to a giant reptile. Where was her Ichigo? She wanted her Ichigo! All she got were those inhumanly scary eyes turning to her.

"I…Ichigo…"

Another shriek filled the air as he threw the Quincy across the sand. The monster dropped to all fours (because it had to be a monster, there was no way this was her Ichigo) and began charging toward her. Orihime froze up, she wanted to move but she was just to afraid. The monster kept getting closer and closer. Orihime could feel herself shake from the adrenaline. She tightly closed her eyes as she waited for the inevitable.

She heard two swords meet near her head. The resounding clang of metal echoing through the white desert was unmistakable. Orihime let out a shaky breath as she opened her eyes. In front of her stood Ulquiorra emotionlessly holding off the insane monster. The swords were held in a deadlock. The healer scooted back frantically on the sand to get out her their way. The auburn haired teenager looked at the scene before her. Ulquiorra was holding his own but he already looked so beaten. He was breathing heavily and had already had a leg and an arm chopped off. Ichigo on the other hand was completely healed.

Orihime couldn't help but feel guilty. This was her fault. She was the one that so selfishly called Ichigo back. How was she supposed to know he would turn into this? They weren't supposed to come after her! They were supposed to train for the upcoming war and get stronger in her absence! And now Ulquiorra was the one protecting her. She never would have thought in a million years that one day she would need protection from Ichigo.

The least I can do is help Ulquiorra. Maybe is Ichigo is defeated he'll turn back to normal.

Orihime gathered all of her courage as he touched her hairpins. "I reject." She yelled throughout the night. Please work quickly. Ulquiorra felt the warmth from the shield surround him. His insides which were torn past the point of regeneration from earlier were piecing themselves together again. His arm and legs regenerated themselves and his low energy evened out to normal levels. Why would she help him? Certainly the woman had to know that he was going to use his newly healed body to kill her precious "Kurosaki-kun". Perhaps this was a survival mechanism since she now saw that the shinigami was past the point of sense. Either way he would take what was being offered.

With Orihime being so focused on healing her former caretaker she wasn't prepared to defend herself when the monster jumped over Ulquiorra and pointed his sword at her. The fourth espada acted quickly enough as he grabbed the back of Ichigo's shoulders and pulled the monster back. Unfortunately the green eyed demon didn't pull the former substitute shinigami back far enough.

The last thing Orihime saw was the tip of a sword coming toward her. Ulquiorra felt an the emotion of rage fill him as he listened to the woman scream in agony. The auburn haired female's hands covered her eyes. They were sliced through the insides! The top of her nose seemed to be cut through as well. She could feel the sticky metallic smelling liquid squirting all over her hands. The pain felt so sharp! Thankfully her eyeball was still attached within its socket but the pain was so great that she didn't have the energy to appreciate that little fact.

Ichigo? Ichigo had done this to her? She wanted to cry but the tears only agitated the wound. Her emotions were spinning out of control. What was happening now? She couldn't see but everything felt so sharp. He could hear swords clashing again. She bit inside of her lip to keep from crying out at the unbelievable pain. She squeaked as she felt herself being picked up and held.

"Calm yourself woman. The pain will go away momentarily " An emotionless voice stated. Orihime was sure she was hallucinating but did she detect a small bit of worry? She tried to stop crying and get a hold of herself. She could hear the monster's hollow screech getting further and further away. The blood continued to sickly run down her fingers as she pressed them to her eyes. She could feel the wind chilling her despite being firmly held against the fourth espada's chest. She could feel herself coming down from all of the action. She painfully rested her head on the cool shoulder and allowed her world to collapse around her.

She would sleep and when she woke up all this would be a bad dream.