A/N: Prepare yourself for the longest chapter yet. This contains my attempt at filling you in with my envisioned world of Bleach 15 years after the war. Enjoy, my lovely readers.

I post this chapter as a birthday present to myself!

Chapter 5

Quincy, Substitute Soul Reaper, and Hollows oh my! … and possibly, maybe, a cat too.

It was a bright and sunny Saturday morning and Orihime was standing in front of a senkaimon with Byakuya behind her, seeing her off. She had waited several days to finally go to the world of the living to talk to Uryū Ishida, which Rose had consented that she could go today. Though part of her wasn't all too keen returning, knowing that she'd much rather avoid a certain blue haired arrancar. Orihime turned slightly to give a sidelong gaze towards Byakuya, who she continued to feel awkward around after the day of the duel. Granted he seemed to have changed his attitude around her, and every once in a while she would catch him looking at her.

Orihime gave a small smile and nodded as a way of goodbye and thank you before walking through the senkaimon, her newly assigned jigokuchō leading the way. Byakuya watched her go and then made to go for a walk around the grounds of the Kuchiki Manor.

"So, I hear you're getting cozy with Orihime Inoue. My little Byakuya is finally growing up," came the all too familiar male voice of the vile creature Byakuya loathed the most. Fighting the massive urge to retaliate, Byakuya merely continued on his walk, ignoring the mischievous black cat following him up on the roof of the Manor.

Yoruichi tutted before flash-stepping onto Byakuya's shoulder, placing a small black paw on his cheek. "Hey, don't ignore me. Also, it's nothing to be ashamed of, Byakuya. Orihime is a fine, talented, young woman, I bet even Kenpachi drools over her, and we both know the only thing he loves is sinking his zanpakutō into the flesh of anyone who challenges him!"

Byakuya halted mid-step, suddenly feeling nauseous as visuals of Kenpachi and Orihime swam through his thoughts. It wasn't Orihime that caused this reaction, but the mere thought of Kenpachi with anyone that did. He swatted at the pesky cat on his shoulder, but it didn't work because Yoruichi just appeared on his other shoulder, nuzzling her feline cheek against his, not necessarily as a sign of affection, but more like she was teasing him. This was going to be a very long day for a certain noble.

Orihime stepped out of the senkaimon in front of Kisuke Urahara's shop, suddenly feeling like she was weaker than before. Then she remembered that lieutenants and captains of the Gotei 13 get placed under a power limit so as to not effect those who are still living. She sighed, not liking feeling weak.

"Well, well, well. Look who has come back. Miss me already, Princess?"

Orihime turned to see Grimmjow swaggering over to her, and immediately she was filled with dread. Not because he could hurt her physically, but he played her all too well emotionally before. "I told you not to call me that, Grimmjow. Now stay away from me or I'll finally end your existence," she said, in a very uncharacteristic acidic tone.

Grimmjow merely smirked, his vivid blue eyes gleaming. He was clearly enjoying the effect he had on her, coming to stand too close for comfort in front of Orihime. Her right hand twitched, itching to grab her zanpakutō and end it once and for all. She hadn't truly hated an arrancar until Grimmjow became a significant part of her life, a part she wished never happened the way it had.

Grimmjow bent down and brought his face next to hers, his lips ghosting over her ear. The feeling of his closeness and his hot breath against her flesh made her shudder. "I remember when you loved when I called you Princess, and the times when you willingly op-" before he could finish, Grimmjow was put to sleep under the bakudō spell, inemuri, and Orihime's right hand was halted by a firm grip as it was a fraction of an inch away from her zanpakutō.

Orihime and Grimmjow's relationship wasn't always like this. After the war ended, Grimmjow decided to stay in the world of the living, claiming that Urahara still needed to hold up his end of the deal for his cooperation. Urahara, however, somehow trapped him in a special gigai that only Urahara can free him of and merely put him to work in the shop. Since the gigai ate up his reiatsu constantly, he was now no stronger than a typical human. A few years down the line, Orihime finally fell under the efforts of Grimmjow trying to seduce her, but after a couple years being "together" Orihime found out the truth. He had used her, hoping that if he showed he was capable of acting like a human, and won the favor of Orihime whose opinion mattered to those at the shop, that he'd be free of the gigai and in soul society with Ichigo. The plan obviously backfired when he lost his patience.

Orihime blinked, now all too aware of the tears brimming her eyes. She looked up and saw Urahara, who had pushed Grimmjow over to keep him from falling onto Orihime and left him on the ground in front of the shop, he motioned for Orihime to come inside. "I'm sorry about that. Would've done it sooner had I known you were coming back. I take it things didn't go well?"

Orihime bit her lip, following Urahara into the shop. She obviously couldn't tell him what happened. "The head captain placed me as a lieutenant of the 3rd division for now so I can truly immerse myself into the life of a soul reaper. Izuru Kira and I will switch places eventually," she said, hoping that it worked. What she had said wasn't technically a lie.

Urahara gave her a sidelong look, his fan now covering the lower half of his face, a sign that Orihime had come to know that he was either up to something or knew something. Orihime swallowed the lump in her throat. "Well, why are you here then? Shouldn't you be helping Rose in Soul Society?"

"Yes, but I came here to talk to Uryū. I've missed him," she said, which again wasn't necessarily a lie.

"Ah, shall I fetch your gigai then?" Urahara inquired, his eyes twinkling.

Orihime nodded, and watched his retreating figure, sighing. Then she found herself sandwiched between two massive bodies, in what she might guess is a hug. "Oh, I'm so glad you're back!" Tessai said, blubbering like a baby. "Welcome back, Orihime!" Hachigen greeted happily.

"Can't... breathe..." Orihime managed, and was soon relieved of the "hug."

"We're sorry, Orihime. We've just missed you so much," Tessai said, still teary. Hachigen was nodding fervently.

Orihime smiled. Leave it to these two to cheer her up. "I've only been gone a couple weeks, guys. Though it is very good to see you both again. I've missed you dearly," she said, hugging them both. They returned the hug, this time a bit more gentle. "I promise to keep visiting, it's not like I'm gone forever!"

Urahara reappeared with her specially designed gigai. Orihime was glad to see that it still had on the clothes she dressed her gigai in rather than some perverted thing she had witnessed on gigai before. Urahara handed it to her and Orihime immediately began to slip into her gigai. It was always strange being in one, especially hers since it didn't look exactly like Orihime. Even though methods of hiding reiatsu were technically illegal, her gigai had this function since she wished to hide from Tatsuki. She wished to no longer interfere with the living, and even kept her contact with Uryū to a minimum. Tatsuki specifically camped the area around Urahara's shop after Orihime's death, and she couldn't take Tatsuki being so heartbroken. So in her mind she thought it would be best to part ways to let Tatsuki move on and live her life, as much as it killed them both.

Orihime, now fully situated inside her gigai, looked almost unrecognizable. She was a more petite build, though she remained the same height. Her hair, though sill long, was now a silver blonde color, parted in the middle with bangs. Her eyes were blue, but her facial features remained the same for the most part. Her outfit consisted of a simple pale blue dress that came down to mid-thigh, and a long, cream button-up sweater over it, buttoned halfway, the sleeves slightly too long, covering most of her hands. She wore plain flats that matched her sweater. Over all she looked even more innocent than she used to, which was hard to believe. Some of her gigai's attributes were modeled after her zanpakutō spirit, Ten'nin, which was Yoruichi's idea after witnessing her during the fights Orihime went through to achieve bankai six years prior.

After deciding she needed to braid her long hair and tying it off, having the thick braid rest on her right shoulder, Orihime was handed a denreishinki in the newest model Urahara had developed apparently during her stay in Soul Society, and gikongan. She stuffed both in her sweater pockets.

"Have fun today, Orihime. I'll make sure Grimmjow isn't around when you come back," Urahara said, waving his fan in front of his face. Orihime smiled and nodded, waving at everyone. As she left the shop, she made sure to steer clear of the prone form of Grimmjow, just in case.

After a long leisurely walk through Karakura Town, Orihime was standing in front of Uryū Ishida's clothing store, Stolz which meant pride in German. She smiled, moving to enter the store. Orihime walked through the store, taking in all of the types of clothing Uryū designed himself. Things ranging from common clothing items that are in current fashion, to sweet and gothic lolita dresses, and even visual kei. Uryū also offered to do commission work. His store had gotten popular since he opened it nine years ago with his wife Shiori, though at the time they were engaged.

Orihime managed to spot Uryū behind the counter, next to the register. He seemed to be going over something important as he pushed up his glasses, a habit he still retained. Orihime stood in front of the counter, next to a customer who was currently being serviced by the worker manning the register. The tall man dressed in visual kei with mismatching eyes gave her a curious look before returning his attention on the customer. Uryū still hadn't seemed to notice her.

"So, I see you finally incorporated buttons into your designs. Shiori finally wore you down, huh?" Orihime said in a playful tone. The mentioning of buttons and his wife's name immediately grabbed the Quincy's attention.

Uryū blinked, and then a massive smile stretched across his face. "Ah, in fact her argument became compelling after several years of her complaining about my designs not looking right without them. Of course I finally submitted to her on the premise that she's the one that sews those god awful things on the garments. Shiori was only too happy to comply," he said cheekily and they both laughed which gained them some attention of the patrons in the store, and the man at the register next to Uryū was glancing at them curiously. "It's been a while, Orihime. What's the occasion?" he said, his sapphire eyes twinkling as he tucked a rogue strand of raven hair behind his ear. Orihime caught sight of his quincy cross bracelet peaking through the cuff of his plain white dress shirt.

"Well, I came to talk to you. Shouldn't that be obvious?" she quipped, smiling. She was proud of herself for hiding the wreck she truly was underneath. Granted she did that well enough for fifteen years, or possibly even before she died.

Uryū seemed to regard her for a moment before nodding and turning towards the man next to him. "Hei, can I trust you to look after the store while I talk to my long time friend in my office for a while?" The man, apparently his name Hei, gave a curt nod and then looked at Orihime strangely for a brief moment. It must seem funny to that man, hearing her being addressed as a long time friend when she didn't look older than twenty and Uryū was thirty two. "Right... Let's go to my office, Orihime," he said, leading the way into the back of the store.

Orihime sat in a comfortable chair in front of Uryū's desk and he sat down in his chair behind the desk. She caught sight of a picture in a white frame on his desk and picked it up to examine its contents. The picture was of a little boy, no older than six, staring at her with the beautiful sapphire eyes, his hair a silvery blue. He looked very serious for a little boy holding a sketch pad under one arm, and he was standing slightly in front of a little girl around the same age with brown hair and bright amber eyes, a big goofy grin on her face, holding flowers up towards the camera.

"Your son, Kō looks more and more like-"

"Don't say it! I get it all the time. He looks like Ryūken. I get it," he said, sighing in defeat.

Orihime laughed, still staring at the little girl. "Well, from what you've told me about Kō before, he takes after you in Shiori in talent, has he started quincy training yet? Who is the girl in this picture?"

"We decided to wait until Kō was about eight to start training, for now he goes to Tatsuki and Keigo's dojo and that is Hana, Tatsuki and Keigo's little girl. She's slightly younger than Kō, but they're still inseparable. In fact the only person who seems to get any emotion out of him is Hana. She loves it when Kō smiles. Still haven't managed to capture that, he always senses when Shiori or I snap a photo. Those two are polar opposites, and Kō is rather protective of Hana. Shiori and Tatsuki are practically planning their wedding already," Uryū said in an exasperated tone.

Orihime smiled, imagining the mothers planning their kids' wedding. She felt a pang of longing, but she reminded herself that it would never happen. "Does Hana possess spiritual awareness like her parents?"

"Well, she hasn't shown any signs yet. It's hard to tell. We've all made sure to keep that stuff from her so as to not influence," he said thoughtfully, and then added, "You know, Tatsuki once told me that she named Hana after you. Hana means flower, which in this case I suppose is referencing your past abilities which were flower themed. She misses you very much, Orihime. Perhaps you sh-"

"I can't, you know I can't. Tatsuki needs to live her life like a normal human being. We've had this talk before and my answer will always remain the same."

Uryū gave her a sad look, watching her set the picture frame back on his desk where it sat previously. He sighed and decided to change topics, schooling his face into a more serious expression, reminiscent of his youth. "Alright. So I'm guessing you didn't come to talk to me about my family."

Orihime looked away, training her eyes on nothing in particular. "You're correct. I came to ask you about my death."

Uryū frowned. "You mean all this time you don't remember? I knew something was off but I always thought it was that you had died, not that you didn't remember. You should have talked to me or Ichigo sooner, Orihime," he chided. He noticed how her facial expression darkened at the mention of Ichigo. "You don't... You mean you-"

"The parts I do remember of that night haunt me, and for the past fifteen years I thought Ichigo killed me. I wanted to get stronger and avenge my death no matter what. For a while, though, my intentions for getting stronger as a soul reaper truly switched into achieving a captain position thinking that if I just had a different life I could forget, but after seeing Ichigo again in soul society earlier this week... I-I almost killed him, Uryū."

Uryū was flabbergasted, he never thought Orihime believe Ichigo of all people would kill her. "No offense, Orihime, but Ichigo isn't exactly easy to kill and I've felt your reiatsu before... You couldn't possibly..." he trailed off, staring at Orihime with wide eyes.

Orihime finally turned her gaze on the quincy, heaving a sigh before speaking again. "I know that, or rather the more rational part of my brain does. It doesn't change the fact that I was literally an inch away from burying my zanpakutō deep within his chest. The more I think about it the more I realize that he wants me to kill him. Ichigo wouldn't even fight me back, he just dodged all of my attacks until he let me pin him down with kidō. Would you know anything about that?"

Uryū rubbed his face with a hand, looking away from Orihime. He nodded and then began to recant everything he could about the night she died and why Ichigo seems all too willing to die by her hand.

It was mid afternoon and Orihime found herself walking back to the shop to drop off her gigai. Staring numbly ahead, she was oblivious to the constant beeping coming from her denreishinki. Uryū's words echoing in her head nonstop.

"... Ichigo would never have allowed you to fall to your death, Orihime, but I saw with my own eyes that you let go. You sacrificed yourself so he could dispatch the quincy and arrancar that were attacking you both. I spoke to Ichigo about it after the war when he had a melt down when everything finally ended. He told me that because you said that it was either you both died or you did. Due to the rain, he was slipping over the edge of the building and you knew that. Your actions were both a blessing and a curse to him, and from the sounds of it he's never forgiven himself..."

Orihime fought with every fiber of her being to keep the tears at bay. Why had she immediately assumed Ichigo would have killed her? From what Uryū had told her, it seemed true that she would've gladly sacrificed herself to make sure Ichigo succeeded back then.

"... If anything, Orihime, you should have been blaming me all this time. It was my fault that you ended up in that situation and the memory of watching you fall to your death has haunted me. I-I wish I had done something to save you, there was a chance that I could have..."

Orihime didn't know how to feel about Uryū's confession. Though for one thing, she clearly misjudged him all this time, thinking she could trust him completely, more than anyone else. Perhaps her betrayal was truly towards Uryū but she thought it had to do with Ichigo because his face was one of the only things she could remember. She sniffled and then sighed, this was such a mess.

It was then that Orihime finally heard the frantic beeping of her denreishinki and felt the reiatsu of hollows near by. Wait, not near by, basically on top of her. Orihime froze as she realized that two hollows were looming over her from behind. They seemed stupid and fighting over who would get to consume her soul. She quickly popped a gikongan into her mouth, separating her true self from her gigai. She swiftly ordered the mod soul to go to Urahara's shop and drew her zanpakutō.

The idiot hollows finally noticed that she wasn't a mere human, but it only seemed to make them even more mad with hunger. Before Orihime could attack and kill them, she caught a flash of black in her peripheral vision. The figure had flash-stepped onto one of the hollow's back and swiftly drove their zanpakutō, which she noticed was in shikai form, into the back of its head before blurring and doing the same to the other hollow. The figure gracefully jumped and landed in front of Orihime.

"Hey! I thought you were better at detection and all that crap than me. Honestly, I don't know where your head is sometimes, Orihime," came the gruff voice of Karin Kurosaki, who was the new substitute soul reaper. She was taller than Orihime by a few inches and dressed similarly to Soi Fon or Yoruichi, which suited her slender athletic build perfectly, with the difference of a black scarf wrapped around her neck and the lower half of her face. She looked like an assassin. Karin moved the scarf from around her face, revealing a lopsided grin. "I don't know how you managed to let dumb and dumber sneak up on you, but whatever. Say, why didn't you tell me you were back?"

"I came back for a day just to talk to Uryū about something important, it wasn't exactly planned," Orihime said, now feeling nervous. She turned her gaze on the five foot long sword in Karin's hand, straight and narrow. "How's your bankai training progressing, Karin?"

Karin blanched and also turned her gaze onto the shikai form of her zanpakutō, her eyes glinting with anger. "Ugh, don't remind me of that. Jaaku-shi won't let me access bankai until, as he puts it, I fully accept death. I asked Urahara about it and he told me that he thinks Jaaku-shi wants me to forsake my living self and become a true soul reaper, as I am right now I am unworthy. Bastard," growled Karin. She irritatedly flicked the long, black hair of her high ponytail off her shoulder and roughly sheathed her zanpakutō after it reverted back to sealed form, a katana with a black hilt and no guard. "I'm not doing that any time soon, you hear me Jaaku-shi!" Karin was glaring intently at her sheathed zanpakutō, which clearly didn't respond back, at least not in a way Orihime could hear. Karin's eyes darkened dangerously after a brief moment, her hand twitching, itching to just abandon her zapakutō once and for all.

"Uh... Hey, Karin. Settle down, alright? It's not like you need your bankai. You're still very talented with just shikai and you're gifted in hakuda. Yoruichi had thought I was good at it but then you came along," Orihime feigned an air of sullenness as she said the last part, training her lips into a false pout.

Karin's mood instantly switched and she gave Orihime a massive shark-like grin, apparently forgetting her frustration with her zapakutō. "You got a point. Though the only thing I can't best you in is kidō. You're like the God of kidō, I swear. You got Tessai and Hachi fawning over your kidō skills. Makes me jealous sometimes. Then again, kidō expertise skipped a generation in my family. You'd think Ichigo, Yuzu, and I would be good at it what with us being a part of the Shiba clan, born between a captain class soul reaper and a quincy... Ichigo only recently achieved reiatsu control and minor kidō though his spells tend to blow up, I'm the one with highest talent in reiatsu control and kidō, short of my father of course. Then there is Yuzu who barely has spiritual awareness. Our family is weird. Hopefully Yuzu and Jinta's little girl turns out somewhat normal in either end of the spectrum."

Orihime smiled, happy that she was able to pull Karin away from a tantrum. Her zanpakutō being death themed makes her progress difficult at times, typically steering her into a more positive frame of mind with compliments was best. Orihime's stomach churned, a pang of guilt arising when Karin mentioned her brother. She needed to find a way to visit Ichigo and apologize, once she sorted everything that was going through her mind. Currently, Karin was a welcomed distraction.

"Hey... Speaking of Ichigo, how can I find him?"

Karin's brow furrowed, thinking Orihime's question strange. Orihime never expressed interest in seeing her brother before, typically avoided the topic of visiting him, though she never knew why exactly. "Yoruichi and Urahara, besides Kukaku, are the only ones who know where he is at all times. He's been stubbornly avoiding the Royal Guard recruitment for years now, so he changes location monthly within the outskirts of the Seireitei, and even outside the Rukongai. Even I only see him a couple times a year when Kukaku and Yoruichi talk him into visiting the Shiba clan house. Every time I ask if you want to join me, you have something else planned. Why the sudden interest, Orihime?"

Orihime didn't know how to answer, and so she began to worry her bottom lip between her teeth nervously. She sighed and turned away, staring up at the sky. She noticed it was getting late and there was one thing she wanted to do before returning to the soul society. "There is something I need to do so we can both move on, so we can both be at peace," she murmured, deciding to be truthful as she was still avoiding looking at Karin. Karin had reached out a hand to grab Orihime to demand an explanation, but her hand only grasped at air.

Orihime decided to give Tatsuki and Keigo's dojo a visit, just to see how they were fairing with her own eyes. She felt she needed this, even if she didn't make her presence known. She came upon the place of destination quickly, having flash-stepped all the way there, tracing Tatsuki's faint reiatsu signature. She looked down at the dojo from atop a neighboring building, seeing there wasn't really anyone around since it must have been near closing time.

Orihime hopped down and began wandering the property, keeping her senses on high alert and her reiatsu on strict control. She didn't want to let Tatsuki or Keigo know she was there. She was rounding a corner near the entrance when she heard loud giggling. Orihime immediately hid behind the building, peering over the corner. She saw a small girl with brown hair, wearing a white martial arts uniform tied by a white belt with sneakers on her feet. She noticed the girl was carrying a pink stuffed bunny with one arm while she kicked a soccer ball around outside the dojo. Orihime knew this was Hana just by the smile on the girls face as it was massive and contagious, the same as in the picture. Orihime even found herself smiling at the sight of the girl having fun kicking the ball around. She wondered where Tatsuki and Keigo were.

Hana ended up kicking the ball in Orihime's direction, and began to pursue it. Orihime stayed where she was, willing to risk her visit. She was curious if the girl possessed spiritual awareness like her parents, and she found herself hoping Hana did.

As Hana reached the ball, she suddenly became aware of a strangely dressed woman in the shade that the dojo created. She seemed to have forgotten the ball for a moment as she moved over to Orihime. "Hi!" Hana said with a bright smile, waving her hand. "You're dressed strangely, if you're here for practice you're late, the dojo is closed for the day. What's your name?"

Orihime blinked for a moment and then smiled fondly at the girl, crouching down to get on the same level as Hana. "Oh, I shall come back another time then. My name is Orihime, what's yours?"

Hana clumsily pushed her bangs out of her eyes before answering. "My name is Hana! It's nice to meet you, Orihime," she paused, her delicate brow furrowing in thought. "My mommy has a shrine picture of a girl who looks like you, she prays to her every morning. I don't know her name though," she finished, pushing her bangs out of her eyes again.

Orihime deliberated for a moment before reaching into her obi and pulling out a small box that contained her old hairpins. She showed them to Hana. "Would you like these, Hana? They will help keep your hair out of your eyes."

Hana nodded fervently. "Yes, please!"

Orihime giggled softly, fixing Hana's bangs before securing them off to the side with the hairpins. "There, all done. They look very pretty in your hair, Hana. Take good care of them, for me. Those hairpins were a gift to me, and served me well. Now they shall do the same for you."

"Hana! It's time to head home, sweetheart," came a familiar female voice.

Orihime immediately stood up, making sure the building blocked their view of her. Hana quickly thanked her and promised to take good care of the hairpins before grabbing her ball and running over to Tatsuki, Keigo standing just behind her, locking up the dojo for the night.

Orihime peered over the corner again, watching Tatsuki pick up Hana and tickle her, earning loud giggles. She then saw how Tatsuki brought up a hand to the hairpins in Hana's hair.

"Where did you get these pretty hairpins from, Hana? They look good on you," said Tatsuki.

"A woman who came late for practice gave me them! She said I need to take good care of them, and I will," said Hana happily.

Tatsuki and Keigo shared a look. "Did this woman tell you her name?"

"She said her name was Orihime. She looks like the picture you pray to, mommy."

Orihime took this as her queue to head back to soul society. She opened a senkaimon, her assigned jigokuchō appearing before her to lead her through safely.

A/N: Soo, yeah. Perhaps I can use this time to give you some insight on my OC, Shiori. Shiori and Uryu met in college, which they both had the same major in fashion design. She is a full blooded quincy, lost her parents when she was 7 in a "car accident" which was really a death caused by the purge Yhwabach or w/e his name is did. She's slightly younger than Uryu, being 30. She possesses an uncanny ability to get Uryu to do things he doesn't like. Also, Uryu is the one who informed her of her true lineage and such, since she grew up with normal humans raising her, close friends of the family and all.

Also Kō's name means happiness which I thought was somewhat ironic given his disposition.

Some info on Karin's zanpakutō, the name Jaaku-shi means Wicked Death. The release command is Isshō (Smile/Laugh), and if she ever achieves bankai the name would be Hontō no shi (True Death).

Perhaps I put way too much thought into this. Ah well, hope you enjoyed! Please R&R. I enjoy feedback, positive or negative.