Chapter 353 "The Ash"
Well, the Ulquiorra fight has come to an end, bringing tears... and, for us Ichihimers, squeeing. Who else loved the Ichihime parts of this chapter?
First off, Ichigo starts falling, and Orihime's running towards him before he even hits the ground. Now, remember, he's just reverted back from a pretty brutal and powerful Hollow form, one that most sane people would stay away from, who didn't hesitate to stab Ishida. He was also still in close proximity to the Espada who had taken him down, and who Orihime had plenty of reason to want to avoid. Does she think of any of that? Nope, she runs right to him without the slightest bit of hesitation, and when she reaches him there are tears in her eyes.
Ulquiorra notices too, just as he has for the entire HM Arc. I'm not going to go into detail, here, there are two particularly key moments when he tries to use their bond against them: when he told Ichigo that it was him who brought Orihime to HM, (which turned out to be quite a Berserk Button) and when he waited for Orihime to arrive before ceroing Ichigo in the chest.
Then, when Ichigo shows off that new instant regeneration power of his, what's the first thing he asks her? "Inoue... you okay?" And she meets his eyes and nods in a moment that my shipper goggles were VERY happy to see.
And then, in a throwback to Ichigo's farewell to Rukia, with Orihime watching, at the ending of the SS Arc, we're faced with a truly tearjerking scene of Orihime saying goodbye to Ulquiorra, with Ichigo standing behind her. Like Rukia for Ichigo, Ulquiorra was a catalyst of change for Orihime, and her character will never be the same after meeting him. But what keeps this from being a truly romantic moment is the same detail that does so for the Ichigo and Rukia good-bye: the very clear presence of a third person (more, really, but in this part only Ichigo was emphasized, and Ishida found himself shafted just like Kuukaku and Ganju were before), the other possible romantic interest, who sees no reason to interfere and understands the need for closure on the part of the other two.
But there's one major difference between the two scenes. Back during the SS Arc, this was when Rukia told Ichigo that she wasn't going back with them. But this is Orihime allowing Ulquiorra that final bit of closure he needs to help him leave peacefully, even happily. Two pages before, he had commented that Ichigo and Orihime were finally becoming interesting to him, and through this shipper's goggles, that means that he was starting to understand what Orihime had been telling him right before the fight about the heart.
And now that that's over, I'm going to go cry over Ulquiorra some more. Darnit, Kubo, I didn't even like him!
First off, Ichigo starts falling, and Orihime's running towards him before he even hits the ground. Now, remember, he's just reverted back from a pretty brutal and powerful Hollow form, one that most sane people would stay away from, who didn't hesitate to stab Ishida. He was also still in close proximity to the Espada who had taken him down, and who Orihime had plenty of reason to want to avoid. Does she think of any of that? Nope, she runs right to him without the slightest bit of hesitation, and when she reaches him there are tears in her eyes.
Ulquiorra notices too, just as he has for the entire HM Arc. I'm not going to go into detail, here, there are two particularly key moments when he tries to use their bond against them: when he told Ichigo that it was him who brought Orihime to HM, (which turned out to be quite a Berserk Button) and when he waited for Orihime to arrive before ceroing Ichigo in the chest.
Then, when Ichigo shows off that new instant regeneration power of his, what's the first thing he asks her? "Inoue... you okay?" And she meets his eyes and nods in a moment that my shipper goggles were VERY happy to see.
And then, in a throwback to Ichigo's farewell to Rukia, with Orihime watching, at the ending of the SS Arc, we're faced with a truly tearjerking scene of Orihime saying goodbye to Ulquiorra, with Ichigo standing behind her. Like Rukia for Ichigo, Ulquiorra was a catalyst of change for Orihime, and her character will never be the same after meeting him. But what keeps this from being a truly romantic moment is the same detail that does so for the Ichigo and Rukia good-bye: the very clear presence of a third person (more, really, but in this part only Ichigo was emphasized, and Ishida found himself shafted just like Kuukaku and Ganju were before), the other possible romantic interest, who sees no reason to interfere and understands the need for closure on the part of the other two.
But there's one major difference between the two scenes. Back during the SS Arc, this was when Rukia told Ichigo that she wasn't going back with them. But this is Orihime allowing Ulquiorra that final bit of closure he needs to help him leave peacefully, even happily. Two pages before, he had commented that Ichigo and Orihime were finally becoming interesting to him, and through this shipper's goggles, that means that he was starting to understand what Orihime had been telling him right before the fight about the heart.
And now that that's over, I'm going to go cry over Ulquiorra some more. Darnit, Kubo, I didn't even like him!