Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.


Orihime stared blankly at the two boys in the front of the classroom. It's not possible! She thought. They were in my dream! How can they be here? And is it just me, or are they looking over here?

"So, please tell us a little about yourselves," her teacher was saying to her new students. "Kurosaki-san, how about you go first?"

"Yo," the orange-haired boy said. "I'm Ichigo. I just transferred here from Kyoto. If anyone makes a crack about my hair color, they're dead." Some of the students laughed at this, while others looked a little afraid of the threat.

"Pleased to meet you," the one with glasses said, while pushing them up his nose. "I am Ishida Uryuu. I like to sew, and wish to join the Crafts Club once I am settled. I just came here from Hiroshima." He was obviously much more polite than his companion.

"Yes, thank you," the teacher said, looking slightly pale as she stood next to Ichigo. "Now, it looks like there are two seats in the back next to Inoue-san. Inoue-san, can you stand up please? Inoue-san?"

Orihime had been so concentrated on the two that she failed to notice that her name was being called. After the third time she was called on, however, she finally heard. "Yes?" she said, standing up abruptly. In her haste, however, her foot got caught in her chair, and she fell forward, landing roughly on the floor. The class erupted in laughter at her clumsiness, and both Ichigo and Ishida sweatdropped as she stood up.

"Um, yes, well, you two can each take a seat in the desks next to her," the teacher said, adjusting her own glasses. The two strolled casually over to their new seats next to Orihime, who had gotten back in her chair and was red from embarrassment.

"Yo," Ichigo said, causing her bring her gaze up from her desk. "What's up? You're Orihime, right?" Orihime looked at him. "How did you know that? Sensei didn't tell you my first name."

"Oops," Ichigo said, hitting himself on the head. "Um, forgot I said that, k?" He received a questioning glance from the girl, and looked to Ishida for help. "Idiot," the Quincy muttered under his breath before turning to Orihime. "What he meant was that Sensei had her attendance book open on her desk, and we learned your name that way."

""Um, sure," Orihime said, turning her attention to the board, which the teacher was writing math problems upon. She desperately wanted to tell them about her dream, and see if they knew why they were in it, but she didn't want them to think she was some kind of stalker or something. When the bell rang for lunch, she headed up to the rooftop, hoping the fresh air would help her think. When she got there, however, she found that two people had gotten there before her.

"So, she really doesn't remember anything," Ichigo was saying, oblivious to the girl that was hiding behind the doorway that led to the roof. Orihime noticed that his voice had a touch of disappointment in it.

"What were you expecting?" Ishida replied, once again adjusting his glasses. "We were told that she wouldn't, remember? Why do you think we're here?"

"I know that!" Ichigo snapped, folding his arms across his chest. "It's just…weird, is all. Seeing her like this, without her even remembering who we are…I think I'd rather have her hate us for what happened then have her not remember us at all."

Instantly, Orihime was reminded of her dream, and how she had died because no one else was paying enough attention to her. Could that possibly be what they're talking about? She wondered, then shook her head vigorously. No, that's not possible! If they were talking about that, then that would mean that it actually happened; which is impossible, because I'm alive, aren't I?

"I see you still blame yourself," Ishida said. "Well, I can't say I blame you. I also hold myself responsible for what happened." For him, instead of disappointment, his voice held a touch of sadness.

"Why did Soul Society put us in charge of bringing her memory back?" Ichigo said, leaning on the railing that surrounded the rooftop. "Even if we knew how, we would only bring back painful memories. About how she used her powers to protect us, and we just let her die…"

"Beating yourself up isn't going to help things, Kurosaki," Ishida said, interrupting him. "I feel the same way you do about what happened, but there's nothing we can do to change the past. What's happened has happened. We can, however, try to make up for it by helping the present."

Ichigo had to smile. "You sound like a walking textbook," he said. "But you're right. We'll just have to do our best. But it's weird. She still has her powers, right? So why can't I sense her reiatsu?"

"We were told that her powers were sealed away, remember?" Ishida replied. "She does have them, but my guess is that they're buried so deep inside her that we can't sense them. She won't regain them until her memories are completely restored, which is why we're here."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Ichigo said, stretching his arms. "So, any idea how we're going to get her memories back?"

"Well, I think we should mention things from her past that were important, such as the names of the Shunshun Rikka, or other items of equal significance," Ishida answered. "Perhaps pointing out certain things will help her memories to surface; maybe even just the simple mention of Soul Society will have some effect."

Soul Society? Why does that sound so familiar? Orihime wondered. Could it really be me they're talking about? But it just doesn't sound probable. They said that whoever they were talking about died, right? So it can't be me. I mean, if I had died, I think I would remember. She almost as she thought the last part. When looked at rationally, everything she was hearing and even thinking sounded so unrealistic; but she had to wonder: If she really had died, would she remember? What if she had been brought back to life or something, but had no remembrance of anything? What am I thinking? That's not possible. Maybe they're talking about a video game or something. Yeah, that must be it!

Just then, her stomach rumbled loudly, causing her to remember that she had yet to eat lunch. She walked back down the stairs and made her way to her classroom, where she took out her bento and began munching happily on rice balls smothered in orange juice.

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Orihime had decided that the conversation she had overheard was indeed about some sort of video game, in which they had to help a certain character regain her memories. The reason that the Soul Society thing had sounded familiar to her was because it had something to do with the game, and she must have heard of it somewhere before. This reasoning helped explain almost everything in their entire conversation; but she still didn't know why they had appeared in her dream.

During her afternoon classes, Orihime began to wonder if she should ask them about it. Yes, she would run the risk of sounding like a psychopath, but what if she could get some answers? For some strange reason, she felt a connection similar to the one she felt when she was with Tatsuki; it was as if they had met before. She figured it was because she had seen them many times before in her dream, but the feeling was still strange.

After what seemed like forever, the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Orihime began gathering up her things, still thinking about what she could do. She was do deep in thought that she didn't even notice that the two beside her had yet to leave as well.

"Ahem," Ishida said, getting her attention. "Inoue-san, I heard that you were in the Crafts Club. Were you, by chance, on you way to a meeting?" Surprised by the sudden question, Orihime nodded. "Well then, may I ask to accompany you? I am interested in joining, but I have no idea where the classroom is."

"Oh, of course!" Orihime said, smiling. "Just follow me. I'm sure you'll really like it! The members are really friendly, and we have the best materials, and…" She began rambling off other benefits of joining the Crafts Club as she led Ishida out of the classroom. She was so caught up in talking about the wonders of knitting that she failed to notice the secret glance the two boys exchanged as they left.

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As they walked, Ishida recalled the latter part of their earlier conversation; the part that had continued after Orihime had ceased her spying.

"Yeah, we could try that," Ichigo said, referring to Ishida's previous suggestion. "But we were told no to give her any reason to suspect anything, in case they should notice something and become suspicious. How are we going to do that? Things like Soul Society and the Shunshun Rikka aren't exactly normal conversation starters."

"We'll just have to bring them up casually during conversation," Ishida replied. "Perhaps say we're writing a story and need opinions on the content, or something of the sort. With any luck, her memories will come back before she can suspect anything."

"Alright," Ichigo agreed. "When should we start?"

"If memory serves, the Crafts Club should be meeting this afternoon. I'll go along with her, saying that I want to join, and go from there. I will let you know this evening if anything significant happens." And with that, they headed off to class, waiting for the opportunity to put their plan into action.

So far, everything was going well. Ishida had casually invited himself to join Orihime for the afternoon meeting, and it appeared that the girl didn't think anything of it, since she had agreed to being his escort so quickly. Her insistent rambling brought a smile to the Quincy's face as he recalled past experiences with the carefree girl. She really hasn't changed, he thought, a feeling of sadness flowing through his body. Although he had successfully hidden his emotions from Ichigo, he was feeling just as much pain as the orange-haired boy. He, too, felt responsible for what had happened; though he didn't like to think about what he was referring to. It brought back too many painful memories.

"We're here!" Orihime said cheerfully, gesturing to the classroom they now stood in front of. She turned to him for a moment. "Hey, do you mind if I call you Ishida-kun?" she asked, twiddling her fingers; it was a habit that had started when she was young, and she did it without realizing. "Ishida-san seems too, I don't know, formal. Of course, if you'd rather I'd call you that, that's fine."

Isida-kun. Even the name brought back memories. "No, that's fine," he said, adjusting his glasses nervously. "I don't mind." Orihime smiled brightly before turning around and leading him into the classroom, where we was instantly welcomed once they saw his incredible sewing skills.

"Wow, you're amazing, Ishida-kun!" Orihime squealed, glancing down at her own stuffed animal; their task for the afternoon was to sew an arm back onto the broken plush toys. "I wish I could sew as well as you do. I keep doing my stitches funny."

"Aside from that, though, you're really quite good, Inoue-san," Ishida said, swiftly moving the needle in and out of the fabric. "You have a good technique; you just need to perfect it."

"Wow, you really think so?" Orihime said, returning to her own sewing with newfound confidence. "When I'm done, I think I'll name her Neko-chan! What about you, Ishida-kun?"

Ishida saw his chance to start their plan. "I think I'll name mine Tsubaki," he said. "Or maybe Baigon. I haven't decided. What do you think, Inoue-san?" When he received no response, he looked over at her, and was startled at what he saw. Orihime's eyes had a distant look to them, as if her mind was elsewhere, and she had ceased her sewing.

She was remembering something from the past.


Well, here's chapter two! Thank you to those who reviewed the first part. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and as always, please review and tell me what you think! Also, I'm thinking about bringing in some of the Shinigami from Soul Society, so any requests on that are welcome!