Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

When Retsu and Orihime arrived back at the house, Orihime was never sure how she managed to make it through the rest of the evening. Somehow she was able to automatically hold conversations with people even though her mind was not at all focused on anything around her. She felt as though she was in a kind of fog with nothing really sinking in.

That all changed the moment she laid her head on the pillow. Two things came into such sharp focus in her mind that unconsciously Orihime said them aloud.

"I have to find someone very important to me. I am leaving tomorrow morning."

The next moment, Orihime fell into a dead sleep.

In her dreams, Orihime was surrounded by brown. Four different kinds of brown. Four different sets of brown eyes to be exact.

The first set of brown eyes was a deep, rich color. They seemed to tell her that she was very precious to that person. That they loved her endlessly and they were so proud of her and the young lady she had become.

The second set was a similar shade of brown to the previous set. They were a deep brown, but unlike the first pair, they eyes did not speak of love or pride in her. They were full of cunning and seemed to be taunting her. They were full of secrets that almost all had to do with her. The eyes watched her much the same that a cat would if it was planning out how exactly it was going to catch a mouse.

The third pair of eyes was one that Orihime felt sure she had seen before, but at the same time was completely foreign to her. They were a slightly lighter shade of brown compared to the first two, but were still warm in color. The eyes spoke of a deep seated pain and regret. However, when those eyes looked at her, she thought she saw the smallest spark of hope enter them.

The last pair elicited the biggest reaction from Orihime's heart. Even though the irises were brown, behind the eyes Orihime could sense such an intense fire of determination it was almost as if the eyes were on fire. The brown was one of wood being burned up in a bonfire. While they had warmth to them, there was also something uncontrollable and rather dangerous in their depths. Despite this, Orihime felt no fear. She felt calm, reassured and yet with an intense longing and sense of desperation tugging at her heart.

Even though Orihime tossed and turned during the night, in the morning she remembered nothing of her dream. What she also never found out was that someone had kept watch over her that night and so was able to hear her muttering in her sleep. Out of all the incoherent sentences for most of the night, there was one name the sentinel outside her door was able to make out quite clearly.

"Ichigo…"

The next morning, Orihime woke up quite rested and temporarily forgot about her impending departure from her dear friends. Or it wouldn't be entirely inaccurate to call them her surrogate family.

After getting dressed and ready, Orihime made her way to the dining room, taking a moment outside the door to take a few deep breaths in order to compose her emotions and facial expressions. Trying to force away thoughts about 'This is going to be my last meal with everyone' Orihime put on her most cheery smile and entered the room with an equally cheery "Good morning everyone!" to which everyone responded in kind.

Shifting her gaze slightly, Orihime's eyes connected with Norainu's. Something about the color and the way in which they looked at her made her feel an odd sense of déjà vu. There was some sort of emotion lurking in those brown eyes that caused Orihime's heart to tense slightly, but then the next moment Ganju wrenched everyone's attention towards him when he started hacking and spluttering. It turned out that he had been eating far too quickly and taking too big of bites so that the result was that a combination of food and drink had made their way down his windpipe.

Kukaku gave her brother an unconcerned glance before she said under her breath, "Serves you right," and then continued eating.

Even Retsu got up from her place at the table indifferently and made her way over to check on her son. Orihime was the only one who was there almost immediately at Ganju's side trying to help him and figure out what was wrong with him at the same time.

It took less than a minute to straighten Ganju out and then Orihime sat down to eat her own breakfast. At first, Ganju seemed to have learned his lesson, but it was only a matter of time before he began stuffing his face at an alarming rate once again.

All too soon, breakfast was over and Orihime knew that the next step would be to pack up her things and head off into 'The Great Unknown' with a wolf she had met the night before. Sora had always said that he enjoyed life and observing people experiencing life because just when one began to get into a routine of the same old, same old something would happen to completely turn a person's life upside down and make things far more interesting for a time.

Orihime smiled at the thought and then the next moment fought the urge to cry. For the past couple of years it seemed as if life had just been turning her world upside down so that she would be sent reeling for a time until she managed to regain her feet and move forward but then some new twist would be sent her way so that she felt as if her world was falling into chaos. However, here with Retsu and her family, the world had ceased spinning and throwing her off-balance. She had experienced true peace here and Orihime knew that the moment she set foot outside these grounds the likelihood that the world would begin tilting once again was extremely high.

As she was carefully placing her belongings and other supplies into two big packs, Orihime was tempted to stay. She had a suspicion that no one in Retsu's family would protest if she decided to stay. A part of her didn't want to go and something told her that they were loath to let her leave. Apparently, Orihime had been going on an important journey before she arrived at Retsu's home, but she couldn't remember anything about it.

When she focused, she could remember a little about her brother, Sora, and about the house she had grown up in, but she try as she might other, more specific details seemed to be locked away in the back of her mind. Retsu had assured her that Orihime's memories would return once she left on her journey, but a part of Orihime asked herself if she really and truly wanted to continue the journey. If she really wanted to remember whatever it is that she had forgotten. Orihime instinctively knew that the memories were ones that would hurt deeply once she had them back, so did she really want to put herself through that?

There was a scratching sound at her door and Orihime opened it to reveal Norainu standing there. His deep brown eyes looked into hers and seemed to search for a moment before understanding dawned in them. Remembering her manners, Orihime invited the wolf in and he carefully made his way inside and sat next to her nearly packed luggage.

"When you've finished, you may load it onto my back. While we are traveling, you are more than welcome to ride on my back as well but it would likely be best for you to climb on once we get outside," stated Norainu matter-of-factly.

Orihime was about to protest, but Norainu went on saying, "Think of it like you are riding a horse, only this 'horse' will be able to carry on conversations with you and protect you when need be."

From the tone of his voice, Orihime knew that he would brook no argument, so she said simply, "I am very grateful to you. I only hope that I can find some way to repay you for your kindness."

Norainu's eyes became softer and slightly hopeful as he replied, "I believe you will find a way. Then again, friends really shouldn't talk about repaying one another. Friends do kindnesses for their friends because they want to."

With a much lighter heart, Orihime finished packing and loading the bags onto Norainu's back before following him out into the gardens to bid farewell to her adopted family. Looking around at all the faces she had come to know and love the weight began to settle over her heart again but she forced it away. The last thing she wanted to do was spoil these final moments by feeling all 'down in the dumps'.

Kaien and Miyako stepped forward first, hugged her and then Kaien said, "Even though we just met yesterday, Miyako and I will miss having your smile and laughter around here," to which Miyako added, "Have a safe journey," before they stepped back to make room for Ganju and Kukaku to nearly squeeze the living daylights out of their newly christened 'little sister'.

Jyuushiro helped Orihime disentangle her from her loving brother and sister before gently pulling her towards his own chest and saying, "It's never easy saying farewell to a loved one, but it's always made easier by the thought that partings usually don't last very long. I do hope to see you again really soon."

Hisana was next and while she didn't have any words of parting, Orihime could read everything that the older woman wanted to say in her eyes, which was just fine.

Lastly came Retsu, who held Orihime for a time before she whispered into the girl's ear, "You have such a big heart, Orihime, with so much love and compassion for everyone. Your smile and joyful spirit can brighten even the darkest places. These are your two most important strengths. They will be your most important weapons and defenses. Others will underestimate your worth and merit, but they will not be able to tear you down unless you yourself begin to doubt your worth and merit."

Then Retsu pulled away and Norainu knelt down next to Orihime in order to allow her to climb onto his back. As she lifted her leg over Norainu's back, Orihime lost her balance for a moment and felt a strong hand grab her own hand in order to steady her. She didn't let go of the hand even as she got herself settled, Norainu rose to his feet or even as Norainu started walking through the gardens in order to reach the border and leave the safety of Jyuushiro and Retsu's property.

Past the gardens, there was a path that led into a patch of woodlands and the moment Orihime crossed over into the woods, she was nearly overwhelmed by all the memories and emotions that flooded into her mind and heart. She remembered everything. Karakura Town. Sora's death. Urahara's Shop and all her friends there. Mostly, she remembered Ichigo. His scowl. His determined look as he claimed he would be a part of the Night Watch. His arguments with his dad or Urahara when they did something he found idiotic. His small smile when he would look at his sisters, his mom or even her. Especially, she remembered his eyes.

How could she have forgotten?

A light pressure on her hand snapped Orihime back to the present and she looked down to meet the deep blue gaze of Byakuya. The look in his eyes reminded her so much of Ichigo when he was concerned about her whether she had just tripped over something or had nearly fallen off a ladder in Urahara's Shop that Orihime involuntarily reached over with her free hand to gently place it on Byakuya's cheek. They remained like that for a time before Byakuya reached up, took both Orihime's hands in his own and placed something into her palm.

Looking down at her hands, Byakuya said simply, "Don't forget," to which Orihime looked down and saw that he had given her two hairpins in the exact shape and shade of the forget-me-nots surrounding Rukia's statue.

Orihime opened her mouth to say something, anything to let Byakuya know what she was feeling and thinking right now. That she was glad to have met him. That she didn't really want to leave. That she would treasure the pins always. And especially that no matter how long she lived, she would never forget him or the others.

In her heart, Orihime promised herself that if she succeeded in her journey and if she was able to come here again that she would do so. And maybe she wouldn't ever leave again.

"Be safe."

Orihime's eyes returned to Byakuya's and she knew that he understood because all the thoughts and emotions she had felt were the same as his. Words would simply have been redundant.

Carefully, Orihime nestled the pins into her long hair before reaching down to hold onto Norainu's long hair as she said firmly, "Let's go."

She didn't look back. The road stretched before her and now with the love and knowledge Retsu, Byakuya and the others had bestowed upon her as well as the friendship offered by Norainu, the journey didn't seem quite as daunting.

Author's Note:

And so the journey continues. Hoped you liked this part and, as always, if anything didn't make sense, just ask and I'll see if I can't clear it up a little better.

I'm curious to hear about who you think was watching over Orihime as she slept since I purposefully left that up to your interpretation.

Thank you guys for all your support and kind comments so far! They really mean a lot!