Warning: I only used manga canon. Meaning the coloration might seem off and the name Kakei was actually Sora's real name. Things will also be a little different time wise, having Kakei die when Orihime is nine rather than six.
There was nothing she could do. Nothing to pull out the blurs and remember them for what they were. She would grip them, just so, and then they would flit away, the true meaning vanishing. It was frustrating, forgetting who you were. It was even worse when no one else remembered but you recognized their faces, the sounds of their voices, their smells.
Was it even possible? Was she making everything up?
No. She couldn't. They were there, she just couldn't reach. Why nobody else remembered would eventually make sense and until then she would strive to reach them. She would learn the truth.
Another memory flickered in her mind, swirling up and almost into her grasp. Blurs of colors, the sound of laughter, even a couple words but nothing she could use. What had she done to be cursed? Shouldn't she at least be able to remember that?
Her name was Orihime. Orihime Inoue.
She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing she had remembered. Nothing else swam up, just her name.
As the year went by, she occasionally smelled someone in her sleep and knew that was her mom. One day she caught the smell coming off a woman with a small baby, scowl on her face and a boy just a little under her age with a bruised face being tugged behind her. Was he being abused? It was strange, but she felt like she should know him. "Hello, sir?" He and the woman paused, the woman's scowl deepened and the baby shifted uncomfortably. "Do… Do I know you?"
He shook his head and she realized there was a cut on his forehead right under his hair. "I have to go." His eyes flickered to the baby, then the woman, and Orihime blushed.
"Sorry!"
The woman rolled her eyes, "My son doesn't know his manners. You say 'Nice to meet you.'" Very quietly, and to her mortification, the boy obeyed. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have somewhere to go. Come on, Kakei."
The boy nodded and, with a worried glance at the baby, bent down and handed her a note. "I don't know who you are but if you can turn this in—"
"Kakei!"
When she opened the letter later that evening, it was a report of abusive assaults on the boy and how he was worried for his little sister. Tears welled up in her eyes and she called the police, but hung up when she realized they'd probably think it was a prank call and she didn't even know where he lived. She placed his note on the nightstand in her apartment and decided to bring it in as soon as she could.
It was missing in the morning.
A week passed before she saw the boy again and he was alone, carrying the baby. She raced forward when she saw him stumble and helped him stand. "Are you okay? Did they get turned in? I'm so, so, so sorry but I lost the note and—"
"It's okay." He grumbled, "I've just gotta keep her safe until I can move out. I'm guessing you read it." She nodded, tears in her eyes. "I'm Kakei Inoue, you?"
She blinked, momentarily stunned, "Do you… Do you think we're related?"
"Hmm?"
She blushed, "Well, my last name… It's Inoue, too." His smell was so familiar, something in her thought of him as protector, father. "Uh… Maybe we're cousins?" He eyed her questionably and she finished with, "My given name is Orihime—"
"Weird. That's my sister's name." She looked down at the baby, small and fragile, and blinked. They shared a name, maybe she had been named after her? But nobody remembered her… Maybe her family lived far away and she had gone missing? And they were part of the family? "But if you are a relative maybe we could move in…"
She shook her head, "I'm sorry, I live alone. When you're old enough to pay for an apartment, you can have it. I'll get it all nice for the baby!"
He frowned, "Two more years, then… What's your address?" Orihime scribbled it down and handed it to him, softly moving the baby's hair away from her face. She was almost one now, it seemed. She was big enough to be a one year old, that was for sure, but the brother held her with ease. "You're eighteen?"
Orihime bit her lip, "I… I think so. But I can't remember."
"Oh."
Shortly after, they separated. He came over a week later, covered in bruises and clutching the baby. Kakei and Orihime worked out ways to keep the child safe from his parents and tried to find out how they were related—Or even if they were related at all. The search proved futile and they settled with a distant relative on the dad's side.
Two years passed slowly. Memories flittered around. Playing in the garden with someone who looked like Kakei but was bigger and talked louder, hiding in a dark corner as someone yelled in the background, the sound of angry slaps and soft reassuring words from a kind lady. The glimpses didn't reveal much of her childhood and remained around the same time, not quite reaching three years of age and hard to recollect.
She got a call from a man who said his name was Kisuke Urahara just a month before Kakei was supposed to move in.
"I should like to invite you to my store, Inoue-san. I've heard you don't remember much about your past and would like to help you. There are a few other things to explain but I think you'd believe me more if you could see it for yourself."
Orihime agreed and walked down to the shop, finding a blond-haired man with a hat and a young woman with violet hair. She hesitated before asking, "Urahara-san?"
He nodded, smiling jovially, "Why hello there Inoue-san! Follow me."
She woke up feeling groggy and noticed the blond man shaking his head, a bigger man behind him. "No, I don't think she realizes it at all. It's weird, her spiritual energy, it's swelling and jumping all over the place."
Spiritual energy? She struggled to sit up, "Sir, what's going on?"
He laughed, "Up already? Well, here's what I have to show you. Look behind you, Inoue." She turned and screamed, jumping backwards. Her-Her-Her-Her body lay on the ground. She was dead. The man had killed her. She was dead.
A chain was attached to her chest, leading to the girl, and she began to tear at it but he grabbed her hand. He could touch her. Was he a ghost, too? Was he maybe a ghost seeking revenge because of a murder?
"If you pull it out, you'll die for good. Now, I'm a shinigami—"
"Shi-shi-shini-nigami?" She stammered, eyes wide. A soul reaper. They collected souls that were ready to die, didn't they? She blinked away tears. She had been so close to helping Kakei and the little Orihime escape that awful place and she was going to die right now? Before it was finished? "Pl-Please, Urahara-san, I can't die yet! Give-Give me one more month, please, I promise to go—"
His laughter blocked out the rest of the sentence and she clamped her mouth shut, cheeks warming with a blush. She felt alive but her limp body told her otherwise. "I'm not here to take you away, just ask some questions… Questions you seem like you wouldn't know the answers to. Inoue-san, please visit again soon!" He finished cheerfully.
Something hit her and she woke up in her body, alive. She looked for the chain just in case but it wasn't there. She was fine. She looked over at the store keeper and he bowed his head slightly. She jumped up, "Thank you, sir!"
"You can go, but, really, come soon. I need to run some tests."
She suspected these were to make sure she was going to be fine living again and nodded before rushing out the door, eager to check on Kakei and the baby. How long had she been dead? Did time flow differently when you aren't attached to your body?
She got to her apartment and they were still there, Kakei counting the money he had brought with him and his little sister smiling at her. His sister looked related to her—The same wide, brown eyes and orange hair—so they had decided that they might've been closer in relation.
She decided to keep her visit with the shopkeeper a secret though, the guilt twisting her heart. He was her closest friend here, the closest friend she could remember having… Why did she want to keep the truth away from him?
She met with Urahara once a week. Sometimes twice. This continued for five months before he called her after her appointment and told her only, "Come. I've found something you might need to know."
Worried that her physical body was deteriorating or her spirit coming out at night or other things of the sort, she told Kakei she would be gone for a while. Memories had been coming more frequently and they paralleled eerily with Kakei's sister.
She entered the shop and steeled herself for the change. He normally pushed her out of her physical body for checkups. However, it didn't come.
She blinked and looked around, reeling back and holding back a scream when Urahara slammed the door. "Inoue, you aren't from here at all." She turned, meeting his surprisingly sullen gaze. "You know those hollows I told you about?" She nodded, stomach dropping. She couldn't be a monster like that! Wouldn't she realize it? "And you know shinigami?"
Another nod.
"Your spiritual energy has traces of a mix. They… They're called Vizards. Can you remember ever being in contact with one? Because this specific one's traces are very powerful for how small they are."
She bit her lip, "I don't think I have…"
He sighed, "That's what I was afraid of. Inoue, it's almost the same bonding as found with healers who've healed a person so many times. It leaves an impression. You have faint traces of others on you, none are strong enough to be recognized, but the Vizard's is the most prominent in your aura. I believe, years ago, you had some spiritual healing powers."
Was her past finally starting to show up? She shifted restlessly, "So, you're saying I healed… This Vizard thing? What kind of creature is it?"
"It's a shinigami that has been turned into a hollow." She froze, something cold and icy gripping around her heart. Shinigami, as she had been taught, protect plus souls while hollows ate them. Shinigami were extremely powerful and lived in Soul Society… Once you got into Soul Society you couldn't be turned into a hollow.
"But that's impossible!" She blurted, "You told me that—"
"There was an experiment once long ago. The Vizards came from it." She fell silent and stared at him, barely able to swallow. "But… I'd be able to recognize the signature in your aura if it was a Vizard from that experiment. It's a new one."
She licked her lips, "So… Someone is still..?"
Urahara's eyes flashed, "If I'm right, then yes and I know who that person is. I didn't want to have to revert to this but, Inoue, do you mind if I perform hypnosis to pull out your repressed memories?" She blinked. He could have done that this whole time..? "You won't have to remember them but I can tell you about them later."
She didn't have to think over it for long before she nodded. "I want to know about who I was before now and that's the best way, right?" Shortly after, she was lying on a table and blacked out.
When she woke up, Urahara looked gleefully relieved. "I only got quite a bit of your story but, if you come back tomorrow, I can probably get the rest."
"So the Vizard..?"
He frowned, "I'm still getting there." He met her eyes, "Inoue, you can't remember anything because you aren't from this time. I didn't ask what year it was supposed to be but you are most definitely from the future."
She ran out of the shop, unable to believe him. She couldn't be from the future—A memory hit her. She was tottering around an apartment like her own and ran into bookshelf. Books fell and she screamed, flailing about as she tried to get away before the shelf collapsed. A groan and—She burst into the apartment and pulled the young child away from the falling bookshelf.
She froze and met the wide eyes of young Orihime. It was… Herself. This was… This was… She set the child down and numbly began to pick up. In all the movies where the person met the younger self they got in trouble.
She left a note on the table, saying she had to leave and left some money.
It took her two weeks to find a new apartment but she didn't go back for Kakei's help. Her brother. He was her brother. She couldn't tell him—who would believe? She got a job and gathered memories of how Kakei and little Orihime were doing in silence. He had tried looking for her and was still searching around.
It took another two years before she finally returned to Urahara, needing to know just what had sent her back to the past.
She opened her eyes, throat dry and stomach growling, and realized she had been unconscious for two days. She stumbled weakly around the store, trying to find some food when she collapsed. Urahara picked her up, letting her lean back on him as he forced food and water down her throat. The whole time he was silent.
Finally, she pushed him away, "What?" She croaked. He helped her up without answering, leading her to a pallet. "What?" She repeated.
He shook his head, "We… Lost." She blinked and, quietly, he explained. "You aren't just from the future, Inoue, you're… Part of a fight between Aizen and Soul Society. Well, Soul Society and the arrancar—"
"Shinigami and hollows."
He nodded, "You sent yourself back into the past when someone died so you could stop it from happening. You love this man and wanted to protect him. Thank you." Her mouth felt dry again and she opened her mouth to speak before he added, "I can stop this now. I know what fight not to get into so I can live and get to Ichigo."
She relaxed, if she loved a man and Urahara could save him… "I should leave, then. So I don't get in the way."
He sighed, "I think I'll miss your company, Inoue."
She blushed, "Don't say things to make me feel better." He shook his head and smiled, "Is there anything I should do to make sure everything's okay..?"
He stood and she could see his old spirits returning as his grin remained firmly on his face. "Come back in about three years and give Kakei your hairpins." Her hands flew to the blue hairpins and Orihime bit her lip. He sighed, "Yes, I know, you're attached to them. That's why you need to give them to your brother now. They're dormant again because you sucked most of their energy out but when Kurosaki comes they should revive."
Realization dawned on her then. Her healing powers. She shakily took them out and wet her lips, "I… I'm just a normal human with weird—"
"No." He said firmly, taking them from her hands and putting them into her hair. "Only you can use them. Well, and your younger self. Now, will you or will you not come back?" Orihime nodded and the blond shinigami leaned back, "Good. This will work out then."
She wanted it to work out. For whoever the boy she had been in love with, this Kurosaki boy, and for Urahara, whom she found herself caring for. She also worried for Yoruichi, the purple-haired woman who occasionally offered advice, and the two young children shinigami. It had to work out.
He grinned, "Going to stay here until then?"
She shook her head, "No. I have to move… In case I interfere too badly or something."
He shook his head and then gave her a loose embrace. "I'll miss you, Inoue; now go give the others a hug." She nodded, blushing darkly, and did just as he said. Jinta blushed and pushed her away, Ururu returned it, Tessai seemed surprised, and Yoruichi messed up her hair afterwards.
She left with tears threatening to spill, keeping them from falling by sheer will and chewing up her lips.
She didn't have to keep track of time by using a calendar but she did anyway. A steady stream of her past life woke her from sleep, distracted her during work, and sometimes made her think back on Urahara and his shop.
Kakei was doing well and took good care of her younger self. Her brother… It was strange to think of him in this way but also completely natural. He was more like a father to her younger self and more like a close friend to who she was now. A ring brought her attention to the phone, white and a little ugly, before she picked up, "Hello?"
"Inoue."
She smiled, "How'd you get my phone number, Urahara-san?"
Instead of replying, he asked, "Ah, how did you know it was me?" She laughed and fell back on her bed. It wasn't that she hadn't made friends in her new life, she had many, it was just that she missed the people who knew who she was. "The bullies are picking on Orihime-chan quite a bit here."
She blinked, taking a moment to realize he was talking about her younger self. "Yes." She mumbled softly, "They cut off her—my hair just the other day. She—I lied to Kakei-kun about it."
"You know, how about you just use the term 'her' or 'she' when talking about Orihime-chan?" Orihime blinked and nodded, then laughed when she realized he couldn't see her. It was nice to hear his voice again.
Still smiling, she asked, "Can I talk to Yoruichi-san? And Jinta-kun? And Ururu-chan? And—"
"I see. No fun talking to the old man, right?"
"You aren't old!"
Now he laughed, "Inoue, I'm far older than you." She blinked, "I don't look it because I'm a shinigami but I'm centuries old." Somehow, that didn't faze her too much. And, after begging, she got to talk to them all except Yoruichi, who had left for one reason or another. The phone was returned to Urahara after an enlightening conversation with Jinta about bug-killing. "Now, I have some questions for you."
She sighed, "Go for it."
"You know how I told you, eh, about two years ago that you should return to give Kakei your hairpins?" He took her silence for a yes, "And I also told you the reason, correct?"
"Yes."
After a pause which she heard Jinta yelling at Ururu, Urahara continued. "I didn't mean you couldn't visit, Inoue. In fact, I would prefer that you do. Dye your hair, wear a hood, pretend you're a boy, I don't mind. Ururu needs a girl to talk to, I think, and she's gotten a little sadder since you left. I should probably also check on you, make sure none of the memories were missed."
His matter-of-fact tone towards the end told her this was no joke. "So… You're afraid that if you missed something important it would mess up your whole plan and it'll end up the same?"
"No, I'm afraid it'll end faster."
"Oh." She heard a crash and smiled, "What are they doing now?"
She could hear the smile in Urahara's voice, "You know the kids, can't keep themselves out of trouble." A little distant-sounding, his words were barely intelligible, "Put that down, Ururu, Jinta's going to get himself hit."
A whiny, "I am not!" had her stifling giggles when he got back on.
"Sorry about that, Inoue. Now… Thinking about coming over or do I have to call Yoruichi and get her to find you?"
Orihime told him she was coming and prepared herself for the trip. She had enough money to cover the trip and she really did miss them. She packed warm clothes and picked out a nice shade of brown to dye her hair with. It would come out when washed so she bought a couple tubes and fixed herself, smiling as she left her door.
She wasn't going to be gone long, just the weekend, so she didn't tell her boss. It would be fine. If anyone held her back, she'd call.
Their reunion was strange. She rushed to them, kissed the kids on the forehead, and received her second ever loose hug from Urahara. "You came fast. Guess you did miss us after all!"
She returned his smile warmly and collected stories about what had happened from Jinta, though she doubted he was completely reliable when he claimed to have defeated a hollow by himself. It was only after Ururu admitted he had that she proudly hugged the boy and promised him candy.
The trip, though short, made her realize just how at home she felt with them. How much safer she felt. Of course, this was justified since it was safer with them—they could fight hollows and Urahara was a Captain level shinigami. It was only natural for her to feel safe.
When she left, it was quietly and with small good byes and promise to return shortly.
She got too busy to return quickly. Taking an entire year before coming back. Urahara scolded her teasingly, Jinta complained, and Ururu greeted her politely. She held off giving Kakei her hairpins, not wanting to separate from them. Urahara told her they were actually fairylike creatures inside and they could talk.
She smiled fondly at the blue flowers and knocked on the door. Kakei opened it and blinked, "Um… Hello?" A small Orihime peeked out from around his leg and gave her a nervous smile. She was so old now… Eight. Orihime didn't like to remember her age. Twenty-five and still never got dates.
She bowed in greeting, "Hello, sir, I have business to discuss with you."
He blinked, ushered Orihime into the house, and followed her down the street. "Sorry, ma'am, but could you give me your name?"
"Orihime Inoue." She replied, smiling warmly, "It's been a while, Kakei-kun." He hugged her fiercely, just like in the memories except she was a little bigger now, and, after many questions about her health and where she had gone, she pushed him back, "I'm doing well but I was worried about you and Orihime."
He nodded, "I guess you would."
Orihime stretched and then pulled out the hairpins, "I have a present for her, by the way. Don't give them to her until she's a little older. Maybe… A year or so. She'd get suspicious if you just gave them to her right after meeting me. And you can't tell her about me."
He blinked, "Why?"
"Because… Well, it's complicated but just do it."
He smiled, "You've gotten bossy." She spent the day with him and that night dreamt about how her younger self reacted. Asking questions about the weird woman and then going out to eat and getting a cute teddy bear.
When Kakei died, she experienced it through her younger self in a dream, woke up crying, and then cried some more. If she had known he had been going to die she would've stopped it. Stumbling out of bed, she ran for the phone.
Urahara picked up on the second call. "Hello?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" She screamed. "I could've stopped it! I could've saved him!"
"Inoue?"
Hysterical, she shrieked, "How could you?" and slammed the phone down, sobbing. He was dead, she could've saved him, she could've—He shouldn't have died! Unless… It hadn't happened in the past. If it had been because…
She wasn't able to go to work for a week. Even if it was overreacting, it hurt to think she could've caused the death of her brother.
Her younger self grew up, got friends, and struggled to move on alongside her. She moved and lost Urahara's number but didn't think much about it. He probably wouldn't want to speak to her again after what she did. Calling him, acting like such a… She swallowed a lump in her throat and changed her thoughts.
Four years. It had been so long since she had seen the shinigami and, really, she missed him. A lot. She wiped her eyes, surprised she wasn't actually crying. "Look, I'm getting better."
"At what?" She whirled around and screamed at the proximity of Urahara. He backed up a bit, "You moved." He accused, tone light. "Why didn't you call?"
"I…I…I—"
"Felt terrible about screaming at me? I forgive you. And you actually saved your brother. He was supposed to die much sooner." Her mouth dropped and he patted her head, "And, you're right, I should have told you but I didn't. I'm selfish like that." She wasn't sure if she should be angry, scream again, or run away. Instead, she threw herself at him and cried. "Inoue…"
"Orihime."
"Hmm?"
She took a deep, shaky breath, and muttered, "You know me well enough to call me Orihime."
He surprised her by holding her tightly to his chest, "And my first name is Kisuke."
Something changed then, though she couldn't tell you what even if you begged. After she pulled away, Kisuke told her about what had happened while she had been gone and told her that very soon her younger self would awaken her powers and join a boy named Ichigo Kurosaki in a fight for humanity.
Orihime sighed and leaned back in her chair, "This Kurosaki boy… Why did I fall in love with him?"
"I believe you fell in love when you bonded with him over hardships and he continued to protect you. Though I could be mistaken." She studied him for a moment and, once realizing she had been looking for a sign of jealousy, blushed. "Does Orihime-chan have something to tell me?" He asked with a grin and she jumped out of her chair.
"I'm going to get some refreshments." He followed her into the kitchen and she worked nervously as he hovered, "Stop that!" She snapped and then caught herself, "Sorry, Ura—" He raised an eyebrow and she corrected herself, "Kisuke-kun."
He laughed, "Calling you Orihime-chan makes me think of the younger you… So, either I'll have to call her Inoue-chan or just call you Orihime. Do you mind?" She shook her head, "Now, why did you make up a silly excuse after I told you about Kurosaki? Do you remember him?"
"Kind of. My younger self thinks he's scary but has a funny face."
He blinked, "A… funny face?"
She nodded, "If my memories are correct." He laughed again and grabbed a bottle of water. "It's true!"
"You're a bit immature for a thirty year old woman."
She reeled back, flushing in rage. "I may be old but I'm still… I'm still..." She stopped and sighed, "Okay, I understand. You're saying I should be more descriptive… But… I can't. I don't really understand my younger self's attraction to him. Probably because I'm so much older."
Still grinning, Kisuke asked, "Then just who could you be attracted to?" She glared at him and then felt a smile take over her features. "Do you have a husband now, perhaps? Or a boyfriend? You're pretty enough to get one."
She bit her lip, "No one. I… I just work is all. I'm too busy—"
"Too busy for love?" She walked around him, ready to get away from the awkward position. "I suppose it's hard when you are in a time older than you are. All the men interested must be old geezers." He laughed and she sighed. That wasn't it at all. "Well, come with me. You don't have to live in the shop, just move to the town so you won't forget to check in on us… It took me two years to find you."
She stared at him, wide eyed, 'You spent two years..?"
"Come on."
She looked at his outstretched hand and familiar smile and gave in. "Fine but I'm going to have my own apartment, got it?"
Two years later and she was visiting with Kisuke. Soon, he would meet with the group she would become bonded with. Her brother… Kakei… He had been made into a hollow and defeated already. Any time it was too quiet, any time she had to think brought her to tears at the memory. If it wasn't for Kisuke giving her a loose hug, she would have broken.
That was how he hugged after all and it was more comforting than anything anyone else could offer her. Even bean paste and butter.
She was stronger though, stronger and ready to do all she could to defeat Aizen for it was his fault she was having to relieve all these moments. She didn't have powers but that didn't matter, she would do everything in her power to fight!
At least, those were Orihime Inoue's last thoughts before she was hit by a truck.
She didn't even make it to the hospital when her chain snapped.
She couldn't breathe or move for the longest time, paralyzed by shock.
The saddest part about it was, for all her talk, she was really still too young to die. Thirty-two was nothing. She had just… But it made sense. Her younger self had probably just gotten her powers. Tears spilled down her ghostly cheeks and she knew she was no longer needed.
Soul Society was calling.
Time didn't make much sense in Soul Society nor did it change anything. She spent her time looking for her brother, though she doubted he would realize she was his little sister from another time. She couldn't find him but she found a woman who was Ichigo's mother and they talked for a while, trying to stay together.
One day, however, when she wondered if maybe they had still lost the war, Kisuke found her wandering about with Masaki.
Her first reaction was to blurt out, "You aren't allowed in Soul Society!"
He rolled his eyes and brought her in for a hug, "No? I just helped win the war and, because of this, I've been forgiven of my sins." She didn't ask what he had done to have gotten kicked out, she never did. She didn't want her image of him as a kind, quirky savior diminished. "Missed me?"
She opened her mouth to reply when, blushing, she pushed away and motioned around to the others and Masaki. "Yes but… This is public and people will think—"
"Will think what? That you're in a relationship with a Captain-level shinigami?" She nodded biting her lip, "Just because I act a little affectionate? Hmm… How rude!" He grabbed her hand, "And now, you're coming with me, Orihime."
As he dragged her away, she prayed Masaki would follow her. How happy would Ichigo be to see his mother? It wasn't that she was in love with the boy—But her memories showed his terrible past and how he blamed himself for her death. Masaki followed with a sweet smile on her face and trying not to laugh.
Then, finally, they stopped at the gate. Masaki walked over and smirked, "You with one of them, too?"
Orihime tried to shake her head but Kisuke, grinning like the psycho he was, replied, "If she wants, then yes, but I can understand if she decides I'm too old."
And that was when she realized she was in love with Kisuke Urahara.
It was much, much, much later before their relationship went anywhere due to the fact she fainted any time she tried to confess and the first time he kissed her she had an undead heart attack and stayed out of it for three days.
It was when her younger self was twenty that she finally made it to back the human world. She was given a gigai by Kisuke and when she stepped out to meet her younger self all her friends stopped and gaped at her. "Urahara, she looks just like—"
With a wicked grin, her lover interrupted, "Meet the future Orihime Inoue, my lover, and the next-in-line academy student."
It took them hours to get all of them out of shock.
So... What did you think? How out of character was it? ^^