To Catch A Firefly
Chapter 20
"So it's true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love."
― E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly
XCVI.
There was a ringing sound in her ears. It seemed to go in tandem with the harsh beating of her heart.
One step and then another. Somewhere along the way Ishida helped her climb the pillar upon which her soulmate stood. Orihime stumbled upon the stone, her gaze carefully avoiding the the monstrous form of her soulmate and the defeated body of her first love.
Slowly, the girl took a step away from her friend. A step in the wrong direction.
She had made her choice a long time ago.
XCVII.
Ulquiorra's hand felt soft around hers; an illusion of safety that was easily contradicted by the deadly sharpness of his claws. They scrapped gently against her skin, never breaking it but still very much capable.
Despite what she had witnessed just moments before, Orihime was not afraid to hold it.
Some, after all, might consider her to be the bigger monster out of the two of them.
XCVIII.
Somehow, she didn't know the exact details, Orihime managed to convince Ulquiorra to leave with her. Perhaps it was her unwavering loyalty towards him or the understanding that seemed to appear within his eyes somewhere along the way, but somehow, against all reason, Orihime managed to convince Ulquiorra to abandon Aizen for her.
Leaving the dark expanse of Hueco Mundo was easier than it should have been.
Starting a new life among the living was the exact opposite.
XCIX.
In spite of everything, Orihime never came to regret her choices.
(...she ignored that one of the reasons why this was even possible was that against all odds, Kuchiki Rukia somehow managed to bring Ichigo back to life...)
C.
When the war against Aizen was over and Yhwach was defeated, Soul Society came for them.
None of the injuries they inflicted upon the two soulmates lasted for more than a few seconds.
(...Orihime had long since rejected the possibility of ever being parted from her soulmate...)
Her former friends' power was vast and burning with a righteous anger.
It did not stand a chance against the might of a god.