Bleach Fanstory: Shinigami Academy

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters that appear that were created by Kubo, apart from original characters that I created myself.

This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and the second part of the New Order Trilogy. Parts of it will overlap with Shinigami Academy, the third part of the trilogy.

Story so far: With the start of the fourth year, the students of the Shinigami Academy began studying at the refurbished Karakura High School, learning an academic curriculum. When Orihime receives a message from an anonymous source however, things quickly take turn for the worse. Finding out that her brother Sora has been kidnapped, Orihime and her friends approach the headmaster Kurosaki Ichigo and then the eighth division office to find out his address. Left with no choice but to search for him, the five students, with Keigo and Mizuiro tagging along, set out on a journey across Rukongai...


Chapter 11: A Caged Princess

The bullet train screeched as it came to a halt at the platform. When it stopped completely, the automatic doors slid open and a group of young people walked out. Orihime, Karin, Yuzu, Yuichi and Tatsuki headed up the flight of stairs to the surface, looking at the surroundings as they did so. It had been a long, mostly uneventful trip from Karakura Cho's central station to district 54 of East Rukongai, broken up by only two stops to change lines. As they reached the outside, they saw that it was already night time.

"How long did our trip take?" Yuzu asked. "My arms and legs are sore."

"There's no time to waste. I have to find Onii-chan as soon as possible," Orihime said with determination.

"We can't start searching for your brother now, Orihime," Tatsuki said. "It's getting late and in this place there's no telling who we might bump into."

"Tatsuki's right. Let's go look for a place to stay," Karin added.

"Maybe we don't have to look," Yuichi said. He pointed to a sign nearby of a hot springs hotel. "Doesn't that have the same address as the one listed in the letter?" Orihime checked the address on the letter again.

"You're right it's the same one," she said. "Something doesn't sound right."

"Can't we think about it later? I just want to find somewhere to rest now," Yuzu whined. The five of them headed off down a dusty road in search for the hotel. A few seconds later, Keigo and Mizuiro, who had been hiding beside a lamp post, quietly tip-toed after the group.

"Did you hear that? They're going to stay at a hot springs hotel," Keigo whispered.

"Shh! They could hear us," Mizuiro whispered back.

After about an hours' worth of searching, Orihime's group finally stumbled upon the address. A large gaudy sign saying 'Tanabata Hot Springs Hotel' hung over the entrance of slightly antique yet stylish looking timber building.

"So this is the place," Orihime said.

"It looks a bit run down, don't you reckon?" Tatsuki asked. They walked through the entrance and inquired at the reception desk.

"Good evening madams-and eh, gentlemen," a middle-aged man with a short cropped moustache and neatly shaven black hair greeted them. "Are you interested in accommodation?"

"As a matter of fact we are," Karin said. "Have you got five spare rooms?"

"You're just in luck! We have four single bed rooms and one triple bed room that were vacated yesterday. The accommodation fee is a hundred credits a night."

"A hundred credits? That's quite a cheap rate," Yuzu said. "It costs six to seven hundred credits for a room in the Karakura Cho hotels."

"Ah yes, but those hotels charge premium prices," the man grinned. "Plus we also offer the use of the communal hot springs free of charge."

"Hot springs of charge? That sounds a bit fishy," Yuichi said.

"What are you talking about? It's a great deal!" Orihime exclaimed. "We'll take it!" She and the others jotted down their account details with the receptionist who then proceeded to scan their phones to confirm the transactions. He handed them the keys to their rooms. The five students walked down the hallway and up a flight of stairs to the second floor before arriving at the five rooms. As they unlocked the doors and went inside, they found the rooms to be slightly cramped but still neat and tidy, with a definite sense of homeliness. Furthermore, each of the rooms overlooked the large outdoor natural hot spring.

"I so want to take a dip in there," Yuzu said as they met outside in the corridor.

"Save it for tomorrow night Yuzu. We've got to wake up early tomorrow," Karin reminded her. Yuzu whined and complained but in the end accepted the fact that they were all too tired to indulge in any activities. With Yuichi choosing the three bed room, the five of them went to sleep.

The receptionist who had greeted them downstairs was still awake however. As the lights in the hotel went out, he snuck out through a back door and pulled out a private cell phone.

"Hello? It's me," he said. "I have the kids. They are sleeping inside the rooms I specifically reserved."

"Is the girl with them?" a voice asked on the other end of the phone.

"She is. Do you want me to bring her over right away?"

"No. Leave her be tonight. It's better if we don't attract too much suspicion."

"Very well then. What about her friends once she is in your hands?"

"Feed them information that will lead them to her. We can use them as hostages to draw out the main bait."

"Oho, I see what you mean. I shall do as you command." The receptionist hung up on the phone and went back inside the hotel, his face all giddy with excitement.


At this moment, another person was still awake in the headquarters of the fifth division, deep inside Seireitei.

"What did you say? They've gone missing?" the fifth division captain and headmaster of the Academy Kurosaki Ichigo asked on a direct message phone. "I thought they went back to the house old man! What did you mean you let them go?!" He slammed the phone down in frustration.

"What's happened Ichigo?" Rukia asked as she walked in the door.

"Karin and Yuzu have disappeared," Ichigo said. "My father apparently handed them some tickets to the eastern Rukongai metro line."

"The eastern Rukongai metro line? Why would they need to go there?"

"I'm not sure. According to my father, Karin and Yuzu said they were going to look for someone," Ichigo said. A thought suddenly flashed through his head. "Oh shit, why didn't I think of this sooner?" He slammed his fist on his desk. "They must have gone off to look for Orihime's brother."

"Maybe we shouldn't have directed them to Renji's department," Rukia said.

"It's too late to ponder our mistakes now," Ichigo sighed. Just then, the door to their office opened and Minazawa appeared, panting heavily.

"Captain, I received a phone call from the Arisawa family," Minazawa said. "They rang up to inform me that their daughter and Inoue Orihime have gone missing!"

"If they've all gone, then Shibata Yuichi must have gone too," Ichigo said.

"What shall we do now Ichigo?" Rukia asked. "I can't help thinking that the letter was bait to lure them into a trap.'

"I'm thinking the same way," Ichigo got up from his desk and grabbed his haori. "Rukia, can you take care of the Academy and the barracks for a short while?"

"You're not going after them are you?"

"What choice do I have? I don't want to involve the other divisions in this matter."

"I understand. Please come back with them all safe and sound," Rukia said.

"I will," Ichigo nodded.


Orihime and the others woke up early next morning and ate a hasty breakfast before heading out of the hotel. They decided to split up and search through the district town for any information on Sora's whereabouts. After three hours of searching the five of them met up at a local restaurant and ate ramen with onigiri. When lunch was finished they continued their search, approaching as many people they could find and asking them about Sora.

As the sun went down however, the five friends returned to the Tanabata Hot Springs Hotel empty handed.

"Did any of you have any luck?" Orihime asked. Karin, Yuzu, Yuichi and Tatsuki all shook their heads.

"I spoke to a green grocer who said he recalled a guy matching Sora's description having worked for him a few years back," Karin said. "But he hasn't seen him recently."

"I encountered a woman who reportedly saw Sora living in the hot springs hotel but she hasn't seen him recently either," Tatsuki added.

"If he's not here then where have those kidnappers taken him?" Orihime shook her hands in frustration.

"Maybe we should have a dip in the hot springs," Yuzu suggested. "We've searched all day and our clothes are all covered with dust." Though Orihime still wanted to continue the search, the others agreed with Yuzu's suggestion. The five of them headed back to their rooms. When Yuichi opened the door to his room and entered, he fell down in shock when he saw Keigo and Mizuiro sleeping on two of the beds.

"What the hell? How did you two get into this room?" Yuichi asked.

"We snuck in through the balcony window," Mizuiro replied.

"You won't believe how much suffering Mizuiro and I had to endure," Keigo moaned. "Because we didn't bring any money we had to sleep in a rubbish bin!"

"Then you can go sleep in a bin again. I'm not letting you two leeches sleep here for free," Yuichi declared.

"Oh come on how can you be so cruel to your nakama?" Keigo went onto his knees and begged at Yuichi's feet."

"You're not exactly my nakama you know," Yuichi sighed.

"Hey, the girls are already heading out to the hot springs," Mizuiro said. In instant Keigo rushed out to the balcony and peered down. His eyes gawked when he saw Orihime, Tatsuki, Karin and Yuzu wearing nothing but towels.

"Oh my god this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We've got to go down there and peek on them!" Keigo declared. Mizuiro wholeheartedly agreed but Yuichi hesitated.

"I'll go with you two, but only to take a bath in the hot springs. If you want to peak on the girls, then go ahead. If you get yourselves killed, it's not my fault," he said. As the guys hastily undressed themselves, the girl had already taken off their towels and descended into the soothing waters of the hot springs.

"Ah the water is so nice!!" Yuzu exclaimed. She and the others used their towels to clean themselves. As they enjoyed the constantly bubbling water and the steam that rose from the surface the four girls started glancing at each other's chests.

"Hey Karin-chan I never noticed how big your breasts were," Orihime said. Karin's face turned bright red and she reflexively tried to cover her chest.

"Don't compare mine with yours," she said to Orihime. "I don't have oversized jugs."

"Well it's true that mine are bigger than most other girls," Orihime said.

"Karin's breasts are roughly the same size as Yuzu's," Tatsuki said. Her comment made both Karin and Yuzu blush in embarrassment.

"What about you Tatsuki-san? I can hardly see your cleavage," Yuzu said.

"Um, I've always had small breasts so it's natural that you can't see them," Tatsuki faked a laugh. As the girls continued to talk about breast sizes, their antics were being observed by Keigo, Mizuiro and Yuichi, who had all gotten into the hot springs.

"Can you believe this Mizuiro? Four gorgeous naked girls, three of them with massive boobs, all for the taking," Keigo grinned.

"Eh, I'm mostly interested in older women Keigo," Mizuiro reminded him. "Besides why are you suddenly interested in Orihime and Tatsuki anyway?"

"Shut up! This is the first opportunity since I came to this stinking place to ogle at hot naked girls and you're not going to deny me the chance to do so!" Keigo shouted. As Mizuiro and Yuichi watched on, Keigo crept towards the girls, trying to keep himself from being detected. Drool flowed down Keigo's mouth when he saw them touch each other's breasts. Oh my, I'm in heaven, he thought. Just as he was about to get within a foot of Orihime, Karin, Yuzu and Tatsuki, his foot slipped against a rock. The girls instantly shot their eyes at Keigo, who was caught in a compromising position.

"What do you think you're doing Keigo?" Tatsuki asked, grinding her knuckles in anger.

"Uh, nothing, just enjoying the hot spring!" Keigo lied.

"Is that so? Then how come you're so close to us?" Karin asked. She and Tatsuki approached Keigo, who tried to back away. He ended up against a rock formation with nowhere to run. With Orihime and Yuzu joining in, the girls pounded Keigo until his was barely recognisable.

"Kill me Mizuiro...I don't want to live anymore," Keigo moaned. Mizuiro and Yuichi couldn't help but laugh at his misfortune. After two hours in the hot springs, everyone decided it was time for bed. The girls went to their individual rooms whilst Yuichi, Keigo and Mizuiro squeezed into the three bed room.

Unbeknownst to the Academy students, a few people were still wide awake. In the early hours of the morning, a pair of masked men dressed in black clothes tip-toed up the stairs before stopping in front of a door.

"Do you have the key?" one of the men whispered. The other man produced a spare master key and gave it to the first man, who inserted it into the door and opened it. The pair slowly entered the room but one of the men accidentally bumped against the bed.

"Shh! You might wake her up!" the first man barked at his companion.

"Sorry," the second man whispered. The pair stood beside the figure of Inoue Orihime, who was sound asleep. Just to be on the safe side, the first man pulled out a syringe and injected administered an anaesthetic that would keep her unconscious.

"We've got her. Now let's get her out of here," the first man whispered. The second man nodded and with some assistance carried Orihime's limp body onto his back. The pair exited the hotel room and locked the door, before going downstairs. They were greeted by the receptionist, who requested his key be handed back.

"You owe me big time," the receptionist said.

"We understand," the first masked man nodded. The pair of men exited the hotel and after walking some five hundred yards resorted to Shunpo-ing instead.

"The master is going to be pleased at our catch," the first man grinned.


The next morning, Tatsuki woke up early with a headache. Her head was throbbing and she was still only half awake.

"Oh god, I shouldn't have drunk that sake last night," she said. Unable to go to sleep again, she decided to check up on Orihime. She walked out of her room and knocked on the room next door. She knocked three times but no one answered.

"Orihime? It's me Tatsuki. Open up," Tatsuki said as she knocked three times again. Again there was no answer. Maybe she went out? Just to make sure, Tatsuki kicked the door as hard as possible, knocking it open. When she went inside the room, she saw that Orihime was gone. But her Academy clothes, Zanpakuto and most importantly her cell phone were still present. This immediately made Tatsuki suspicious. Orihime never leaves without her phone and she was still dressed in her nightgown when she went to sleep last night, Tatsuki thought. Without a moment's hesitation Tatsuki knocked on Karin, Yuzu and Yuichi's rooms.

"Wake up you guys! Orihime's gone missing!!" she shouted. In a flash the others all came out of the room still dressed in their sleeping clothes.

"What did you say Tatsuki-chan?" Yuzu asked.

"Orihime's disappeared without a trace, yet she left all of her belongings behind," Tatsuki said. She showed them Orihime's room.

"The bed's shifted position and the blankets are on the floor," Karin observed. "There's no doubt about it, Orihime must have been abducted."

"But if she was abducted wouldn't the kidnappers have gone through the window?" Yuichi asked. "There doesn't appear to be any signs of forced entry."

"Then that would mean the kidnappers obtained a copy of the hotel keys," Mizuiro said. After hearing Mizuiro's words, Tatsuki rushed downstairs and ran to the hotel counter. In a flash she jumped over the counter and grabbed a terrified receptionist by the throat.

"Where has Orihime been taken?" Tatsuki asked angrily.

"Who, who's Orihime?" the receptionist pretended to be ignorant.

"She has long orange hair and brown eyes," Tatsuki said. "She was the one who booked the hotel rooms. She's gone missing yet her belongings are still in her room. Furthermore there are no signs of a break in. Don't tell you don't know anything about it!!" The receptionist started laughing but Tatsuki squeezed his neck until he could barely breathe.

"Alright, I, I'll confess everything," he croaked. "Just let me go." A still furious Tatsuki released her grip and allowed the receptionist to recover.

"Tell us where she's been taken or else I'll kill you," Tatsuki threatened him.

"Heh heh, killing me won't do you any good. That girl has been brought to this place here," the receptionist handed Tatsuki a card with an address on it. "It's a secret temple located on the border between districts 55 and 56. I've never been inside but I've heard it's home of a blood cult. I doubt she's even alive right now." The receptionist started laughing again but Tatsuki knocked him out with a savage kick to the face.

"Come on guys, let's grab our stuff and head for this place," Tatsuki said. "We'll bring Orihime and her brother back."


Orihime woke feeling cold all over. As she opened her eyes she noticed she wasn't in her hotel room. She looked around and saw that she was in a dark and dank underground cell, with a coarse stone floor and iron metal bars.

"Where, where am I?" she asked herself.

"Is that you Orihime?" she heard a familiar voice nearby. She crawled to the left side of the cell to see where the voice had come from. When she got close up to the metal bars she saw the face of the person she had desperately wanted to see.

"Onii-chan!!" she exclaimed. Her brother, Inoue Sora, looked almost the same as he did when Orihime last saw him, but she noticed how thin and pale he had become, as well as the numerous scars and bruises on his face and arms.

"I'm so glad to see you again Onii-chan," Orihime's eyes started to water.

"Me too, but I wish we didn't have to meet each other you such a fashion," Sora sighed.

"Where are we? What is this place?" Orihime asked.

"I'm not quite sure either. I was abducted by a gang of masked strangers one night and brought here. That was probably two weeks ago. Since then I've seen nothing of the outside world.

"Then the letter those kidnappers sent me was true after all. You really had been abducted," Orihime said. "I really hoped that the letter was false and that you were okay."

"Well, other than the last two weeks I have been living a happy life," Sora said. "After your friend Kurosaki Ichigo performed soul burial on me I was sent to district 55 of Eastern Rukongai. The people there were really kind and provided me with a house to live in. I never felt hungry but I worked for the local market nonetheless. Our region largely escaped the upheaval of the great war that engulfed Soul Society, but news of the conflict did reach me. I heard rumours that you had been living in the King's Realm and that you were the reincarnation of the Spirit Princess. Are they all true Orihime?" Orihime nodded.

"It's a very long story, but for a period of four years I was the prisoner of a Shinigami called Aizen Sousuke, the one who invaded the King's Realm and conquered Soul Society. During that time I wasn't really myself and it was only after a miraculous series of events that I got my former body back," she explained.

"I don't care what your story is, I'm just glad you are okay," Sora said.

"But what about you? You're all covered in wounds! Who did this to you?" Before her brother could respond, Orihime heard a door open behind her.

"It's so nice to see you again Orihime," a stern-faced man with brown hair and a moustache said to her. When Orihime looked closely at his face, she freaked out.

"O, Otoo-san?" she asked.

"Oh, you still remember me, even though I haven't seen you in more than twenty years?" her father laughed. "You have a very good memory then."

"What, what are you doing here?"

"Everything will be explained soon my child," the figure of a woman with long black hair and wearing a skimpy black dress spoke.

"No, you're not going to let Orihime get involved in this, mother!!" Sora shouted.

"Mother?" Orihime asked in confusion.

"Oh my, you never told the child about her real mother, Kengyuu," the woman smirked.

"What does she mean?" Orihime looked at Sora, who was now gritting his teeth.

"I'm so sorry Orihime. I should have told you about this earlier. The two of us are half siblings," Sora explained. "The woman next to father is my mother, Inoue Komachi. Your mother however, died giving birth to you." Before Sora could speak any more, Inoue Kengyuu lashed out at him with a whip.

"Silence you dog!" he barked. "How dare you spill out our family secrets?!" He stared at Orihime and grinned. "Then again, it's too late to undo the damage. You want to know about your mother Orihime? How shall I begin? Oh yes, she was a very fine woman, with lovely blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was a virgin too. It was a delight to ravish her body. And when I discovered she was carrying a child, I eagerly watched her progress. Then when she died in childbirth I hastily brought you under my supervision."

"My, my, did you have to crush the girl's heart in such a brutal fashion?" Inoue Komachi asked. She shook her head. "It was a shame that she was taken from our hands so early on. I could have raised her to be a fine woman."

"Don't you dare say that!!" Sora shouted. "You used and abused even though she was a baby! If I hadn't taken her away, she would have ended up like me!"

"Shut up!!" Kengyuu shouted. He whipped Sora's face again. "You're nothing but bait!"

"What, what are you doing to with me?" Orihime asked.

"Patience Orihime. Everything will be revealed in due time. For now, you are once again our caged princess." With that, Orihime's father and stepmother left the chamber of cells, causing the entire place to be bathed in darkness. Still trying to comprehend the shocking familial revelations, Orihime broke down in tears.


"There it is," Karin pointed to a large bunker perched on top of a hill. She, Yuzu, Tatsuki and Yuichi had walked for miles through thick grass land until they reached the location specified. It was already the afternoon and the sun was beginning its descent towards the horizon.

"Wait up!" Keigo shouted. He and Mizuiro had lagged behind. As they caught up Tatsuki's group the two of them fell onto their buttocks and panted heavily.

"You guys need more fitness training," Tatsuki said. "Oh well, you can act as diversions whilst the rest of us find a way to infiltrate that bunker."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Mizuiro nodded. Keigo wasn't so keen.

"Shall we do a frontal assault or try to sneak around?" Yuichi asked.

"I don't see any other entrances," Yuzu said.

"Then let's break in from the front!" Tatsuki exclaimed.


Notes: The readers who sent in comments about Orihime's revised familiy history may be further surprised at the retcons I've made in this chapter. Yes, Orihime and Sora are half-siblings. Although it was never mentioned in the manga, I figured the huge disparity in their ages implied, plus their completely different appearance implied that they had different parents. The names of Orihime's father and stepmother, as well as the name of the hotel, are based on the Japanese festival of Tanabata, where Orihime's name was taken from.

Finally, I have to say the hot springs scene is my favourite part about this chapter.