Two days after the fight...
Orihime awoke, feeling groggy and pained. Her muscles needed a good stretching and she needed to fully heal. She was laying in a foreign bed in a foreign room but she felt safe. Tatsuki had rescued her. She noticed she had been changed into a hospital gown and she traced the bandages on her upper body, arms, and face with her fingers. There were so many things running through her mind. Her brother. How he turned into a hollow. How he tried to kill her and her friends. Tatsuki. Akemi. Akemi was only five. How she had almost lost. How they all almost died.
Her breathing became labored as these thoughts crossed her mind causing a spike in her reiatsu. She heard a moan and turned to where it was coming from. Tatsuki. She was sitting in a chair next to her slumped over, sleeping.
Orihime sighed and calmed down. She didn't want to wake her. Her heart clenched at seeing her best friend and pouted. I almost lost her because I'm not strong enough.
She reached out for the water carafe and the glass by her bedside. "Orihime..." Tatsuki called out now awake.
Orihime drank in gulps before responding and let out an "ahhh" which made her best friend giggle and shake her head. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, Tatsuki," Orihime responded with a big smile but not quite meeting her eyes.
Tatsuki sighed. "When you're ready to talk, I'm here..."
And before Orihime could respond, Tatsuki followed, "You're at the Kurosaki clinic by the way. You've been recovering for about two days." Orihime's eyes widened. Two days!
"Don't worry, Orihime," said Tatsuki. "You were badly injured and you lost a lot of blood. Just wait for me to get Dr. Kurosaki before you summon your fairies, ok?"
Orihime nodded.
"I also retrieved your bag, a change of clothes, and your homework," pointing to her stuff stacked on the chair beside her.
Tatsuki got up to fetch the doctor. Downing another glass of water Orihime replayed the events from two days ago in her head.
Break
While Orihime was a shinigami, it wasn't a full time job. There weren't hollows to take care of everyday. There were stretches - days even - when there was no activity at all. So, she had taken both a part time job at the bakery around the corner from her apartment and went to the local university in Karakura on a part time basis with the end goal of being a physician's assistant. The funny thing was, though she could heal people with her power, it was not allowed outside battle. Those were the rules. Purify hollows and send them to heaven or hell. Well, she didn't get that choice. She would've sent everyone to heaven to get a second chance at peace. Use your powers to heal only in battle. She was allowed to get a job and live somewhat of a normal life. But the job of being the district shinimagi always came first.
Break
Knock. Knock. "Come in!" said Orihime.
Dr. Isshin Kurosaki opened the door with Tatsuki in tow. "How are you feeling, my dear?"
Orihime replied, "Just a little sore but overall pretty well, Dr. Kurosaki."
"Like I've said before, call me Isshin," he said as he sat down in the chair next to her. "It was touch and go for the first few hours when you came in but you're clearly in the safe zone now."
He paused, trying to recall anything important he had to say. "I called your emergency contact Ms. Yoruichi Shihōin and she visited yesterday. She asked me to tell you to stop by the Urahara Shop before you went home."
Orihime nodded. "You can heal yourself now," said Isshin.
Orihime smiled as she called out to her fairies. Urahara had mentioned to her once that Isshin was a former shinigami captain. When he fell in love with Masaki he gave it up for a normal family life. She wondered whether their spiritual powers had passed on to their children or that it would skip a generation like in her case.
Orihime had first met Isshin when she brought her bloodied brother to his clinic those many years ago but had rarely seen him or his daughters since as they lived in another, but neighboring district or village. The last time was when she came with Tatsuki to show support when his wife died and his son went missing seven years ago. She couldn't even remember what his son looked like except for the orange hair.
Break
Orihime was ready to go. She said her goodbyes to Dr. Kurosaki and his daughters as they had just returned home from school.
Tatsuki and Orihime stood in front of the clinic. "You sure you don't need company?" Tatsuki asked.
"No, I'll see you on campus tomorrow morning though." Orihime answered.
They parted ways.
That night when she got back to her apartment, she once again tried to push those memories of her brother as a hollow as her eyes found her brother's shrine. Starting next week, she'd be training again with Yoruichi. She'd get stronger - it was a promise to protect her village and the people she loved.
