A/N: How I end up thinking of these things, I don't know. But they usually happen when I shower…
Anyway, this is just my take on how I think Orihime would react to the afterlife being so crappy. Takes place before the Fullbring Arc, though it doesn't really matter.
Heaven is just like a place on Earth
It was dark out, as well as a Saturday. There hadn't been any Hollow attacks that day, thankfully. But it kept her mind on one thing, death. Death was a bit of a depressing topic, but then she remembered her friends on the other side who she dearly missed. It had been so long when she last saw Rukia. Maybe she was training with her squad members, or even alone. The Soul Society was a big place after all, but there was just something so limited about it…
When Orihime Inoue first arrived in the Soul Society, she was shocked to say the least. When she thought of heaven or the afterlife in general, she thought of fluffy clouds you could walk on and sunshine all around. There would be dinosaurs that could talk, happy people reuniting with lost loved ones, floating doughnuts you could just pick put the air and enjoy, and not a single trace of sadness.
She couldn't even call the Soul Society the opposite because of its strangeness. The people of Rukongai were poor, dirty, and lived in equally dirty homes. Though not all of them were like that, it disturbed her when she was told of how children had to steal food or how unhappy the people were. Though she would never admit it aloud, Orihime actually believed that most of the people she met, she would actually expect to go to Hell. After all, being so cruel as well as killing or fighting others to pass the time was not 'heaven' material to her. Hell itself was nothing like she expected either.
Ichigo had told her all about his exploits in the forsaken world. Of course, Orihime expected fire, brimstone, and a man with a pitchfork torturing everyone. But no, it was nothing like that. True, there was a level in which lava flowed freely and acid pools that sat waiting for their next victims- but it still was a long ways off from her expectations. Perhaps if Ichigo had managed to kill Aizen he would go there too. Where did the dead go after they died again?
That was right, Aizen. Hueco Mundo was another oddball in her views and beliefs. A chilly desert of eternal night, save for the large palace of Los Noches. Hueco Mundo was large and seemed to have an eternal span of space within. Hollow of every kind were everywhere, and for some reason there seemed to be more Hollow than any kind of spiritual form she could think of. Was it because the Soul Society weren't doing their jobs or something? For some reason, they always seemed to focus on Karakura Town. Maybe that's where the souls of everyone else went. After all, those from different countries had to go somewhere too. Another thought that worried her.
A sigh escaped her lips as she rolled on her stomach and looked over to her brother's memorial from her spot on the floor.
"Where are you now, I wonder." She said with a small smile. The smile faded as she remembered his Hollow form, attacking her, and Ichigo having to fight him.
It just wasn't right. Sora should have been able to rest peacefully and at least given a good life, or afterlife rather. The same went for some of the Arrancar she encountered. Not all of them were really bad, most of them were just following orders anyway. Maybe even Ulquiorra could have been a Captain or something, which brought Orihime back to the world meant for the Shinigami.
If anything, the Seireitei was the closest she could consider as Heaven. Surrounded by white walls, high buildings topped with gold, and a sense of cleanliness. However, what went on inside was far from peaceful during her trips there. People were always getting hurt, or dying for the second time. The political system wasn't that great either. Then the thought hit her, just how big was the Soul Society in general? Sure Rukongai was big, but most of its inhabitants were at least over fifty years old. People died every day, and have died since they existed. So wouldn't the place have to be endless in order to fit all of them in? There was a possibility there might be another Soul Society for people other than the ones from ancient Japan. Or perhaps… they became Hollow. Shaking her head, Orihime sat up to hug her knees to her chest. All this thinking was getting to her. Maybe she could talk to one of her friends. Then again, Chad never really responded, Ichigo kept to himself nowadays, and Uryuu had other business to attend to. It was saddening to be so distant, and the only times they ever really got to see each other was at school. It didn't help that she had a job now either. Maybe Tatsuki could take her mind off things! Her phone, which was conveniently next to her, lit up as she dialed her best friend's number and waited patiently for a response. None came and she was given a voice mail. A sad sigh escaped her lips as she hung up and placed the phone aside. "Well big brother, it looks like it's just you and me." She said to Sora's picture. With one last sigh, she climbed into bed, and decided to call it a night. -End A/N: I've been getting random ideas for one shots, and this was one of the ones I came up with. I'm a bit in a spot so Speedy might be on hold for another few days. This was originally like 895 words but I extended it juuust a little bit so it could be on the 1k+ radar XD