Haha, so I got yet another flame for this story, although I'm not sure if the first one really counts, and it just made me piss myself laughing. For starters, there are hardly any mistakes. All the names are accurate, so I have no idea what the person is talking about. And well, my Beta is amazing. Just because the characters are different from the Bleach verse doesn't mean they're not the same ones. Like Jesus people, if you don't like the story, don't read it. Simple as that. -_-

Anyways, here's the next chapter!

Should I keep with the façade?

After all, it hasn't gotten me far.

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The night Orihime's brother died, it was raining. It wasn't long after Ichigo was deemed an amnesiac that this event occurred, and it made Orihime wonder what she did to deserve the misery Kami had so unsparingly dished out to her…

She knew when her mom was alive that she didn't have much longer to live. The doctor's had said the cancer had gone to her lungs, and it was hard for her mom to breathe. Her dad did his best to keep their sanity, but even she knew her dad wouldn't survive the pain much longer. Though she didn't remember her parents much, Orihime still felt upset when Sora told her they both died. It seemed that her mom had difficulty breathing and her father rushed her to the ER to be with his wife, only to get into a car accident.

Orihime didn't know what to think at the news her brother told her… so she did the only thing she could do.

She cried… and cried… and cried.

After the death of her parents, her brother had begun taking care of her. He just graduated high school the same year, but he took their deaths hard. As a result of his struggles both emotionally – being that he was still trying to cope with the death of his parents – and when it came to taking care of Orihime, their aunt had come to stay with them for a few years. But, her job required her to move back to Tokyo, leaving the two alone. It wasn't like they were completely broke. Her aunt had given them monthly checks in order to help them live. She would even send them a couple boxes of food each month, as she was very well off.

Sora expressed his gratitude and was very thankful as he was busy with working to help his aunt and study for college. While Orihime was growing up, she would go over to Tatsuki's house when her brother was gone. Tatsuki's mom had offered to help take care of Orihime when he wasn't around, also.

The elder Inoue sibling was reluctant at first, but when he saw how happy Orihime was, he couldn't say no.

Sora's job would make him work during the day while his college courses forced him to study late into the night, thus leaving Orihime by herself. He'd never once heard Orihime complain because he wasn't around, and he'd always make it up to her by spending the weekends with her. But it was still hard for both of them.

Then… came the night that changed everything.

He had gotten out of school rather late, as his professor had decided to make them stay later than usual to finish a rather important lecture. On his way to pick up Orihime from the Arisawa household, a drunken man that had been stumbling down the sidewalk, seeming to amble nowhere but actually somewhere, clumsily sauntered up to where Sora was – walking up the sidewalk to the door of the Arisawa home. The man had been following Sora, intent on robbing him - unbeknownst to Sora, of course - but Sora didn't think anything of it as he'd seen people like this on a daily basis. It was nothing new to him; there were plenty of drunks stumbling out of bars at night, plenty of partygoers littering the streets at night… He took it all in a stride.

Though, just as he was about to knock on the door, the man stabbed him, causing him to howl in pain.

Tatsuki's mom, hearing the commotion, jumped out of bed. Her husband had the same reaction, only he had grabbed the baseball bat beside their bed.

Looking to his wife, he whispered. "Go stay with the girls. I'll go see what's happening outside."

Nodding, she didn't think to do anything else and quickly ran to Tatsuki and Orihime. She knew her husband would be fine, and the problem would be solved. Quietly opening the door to the girls' room, she tiptoed in, being careful to not wake them up.

It seemed like hours passed before the ambulance arrived, the cops shortly after. The drunken man was arrested for assault and the paramedics had tried to save Sora.

But it was too late.

It was all so confusing to Orihime; all she knew was that they were going to take Sora from her, the only person she had left. But then she started hearing things like 'dead', 'vital organs hit', and 'killed'… and she lost it. They wouldn't take him from her. He was all she had left.

There was just no way he could be dead… right?

A crying Orihime ran to try and catch up with the ambulance, but before she could go any further, Tatsuki's dad held her back. He looked down at the crying girl in his arms and he couldn't help but feel sorry for the little girl. Who wouldn't?

Orihime struggled to break free of Arisawa-san's grip, just as he struggled to keep her retrained.

"SORA!" a distraught and broken Orihime screamed.

First she lost her parents, now her brother.

Would anything go right with Orihime?

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Finally, the day of the funeral came. It had been a dull day to Orihime, and her friends tried to cheer her up, but nothing they did helped. She broke down again, and it caused all her friends to look at her with sad expressions. If only Ichigo had been there, he would've been able to help her.

But they knew the truth.

Tatsuki's parents didn't know about the situation, and she planned on keeping it that way. She didn't want to explain the situation to them, as it was rather complicated.

"Hime!"

Rukia's head turned around to see Orihime's aunt running towards the small girl. Letting go of her best friend, she took a step back to allow her aunt to hug her.

"Auntie!"

"Shhh… It's okay, Hime. Auntie's here now."

And together, they watched as Sora Inoue was put into the ground beside her parents.

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The weeks that followed his funeral were a blur and before the Karakura gang knew it, school started again. It was hard to let go of the free time – the fun time – they had, but school was essential and important. It was hard on everyone, but it was especially hard on Orihime.

Her best friend had forgotten her, her family had all died, and to top it off, she was alone. Completely alone. Her aunt had had to leave again, but this time, no one was there to care for Orihime.

The lone Inoue stayed in the Arisawa home for a little over a month while her aunt figured out what could be for the auburn-headed child… In the end, the decision was to relocate Orihime to a nice neighborhood – not too far from Tatsuki – and have her live in a small flat, by herself. Her aunt would provide for her and she wouldn't have to move to Tokyo, so long as she did good in school.

The days leading up to school had been extremely nerve-wracking for Orihime, however. She would be starting the new school year without her best friend by her side and Senna would probably jump at the opportunity to break Orihime even more and that's exactly what she did when Orihime walked into the classroom Monday morning…

"Well, would you look at that…? The cursed freak is here. I heard you lost all your family; it's pity. They were nice people. Too bad it wasn't the other way around though; maybe they were just tired of living with you every day. I wouldn't have blamed them, either. I'd get tired," Senna mockingly said loudly for the class, standing on top of her chair.

Orihime couldn't and didn't even try to stop the flow of tears as she ran out of the classroom and around the corner…

Grimmjow had been walking around the campus when soft sounds, sounding distinctively like sniffling - like someone was trying to muffle their tears -, caught his attention. He drifted towards the sounds and rounded a corner to see his auburn-headed friend curled up in a ball, as if she completely wanted to disappear. The crying had been coming from her...

"Oi! What are you crying 'bout now?" he barked.

Orihime lifted her head and hastily wiped away her tears, while trying to regulate her breathing.

"A- ano… It's nothing," she whispered. "I just -"

"You just let that Senna bitch pick on you again. Listen, you need to stop crying over every damn thing that happens to you. It's a sign of weakness and makes you a target for people like her. We all go through hardships in life, but if we don't try to get over those obstacles, then what? We get pushed around and do what? Nothing? No, dammit!" Grimmjow lectured with a scowl prominent on his face and a spark in his eyes. "You're never going to get anywhere crying over every little thing that makes you sad. It may be blunt, but you need to learn how to pick yourself up of the ground and keep moving forward… Understand?"

Orihime clung to each and every one of his words as he spoke them… and that day she realized that maybe, just maybe, he was right. Things wouldn't be handed to her anymore. She had to work for them. She wouldn't like everything that happened, but she had to deal with it and take the obstacles, head on, as they came. Just like Sora used to tell her…

"I take in all in a stride, Hime, and so should you. Just keep moving forward and look towards tomorrow. We'll be one step closer to a brighter future with each day that passes, I promise."

"Hai… Grimmjow-kun."

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If you only knew...