>>279631946
Okay? Ichigo still did it despite the fact that "protecting" her was his sole reason to rise from the dead. The closest Ulquiorra comes to that is when he touches her chest when questioning her about the heart. And it's quickly framed as his autistic scrutiny, since after Ichigo appears he clarifies he has no reason to hurt her, since there was no such order given.

It's even more hilarious in hindsight when Kubo drew that one-shot for Ulquiorra's backstory a few years later where she appears in it. He falls asleep on her couch while on duty and she treats him like a friend. It's like they're playing house instead of being ward and warden. Seems quite clear to me Kubo either changed his mind about their hostility or never intended for them to be hostile to each other in the first place. It does better explain why she acts the way she does in his final moments tbqh