Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they all belong to the wonderful Tite Kubo; with the exception of Ramona and a few others to come (they are indeed figments of my own imagination).

Author notes: Voices written Like this belong to otherworldly beings. Roles will sometimes reverse with Orihime's voice as this and the otherworldly being's voice written normally. Dreams, visions, or thoughts will be written 'in this manner.'

The Innocent Fugitive

"Sora!" The young orange haired girl raced inside of the house.

"Ohayo Orihime!" Sora laughed as she leaped to give him a hug, not caring about the papers flying out of her school bag.

"You always manage to make a mess, even when you're not trying." Sora smiled as the young girl giggled.

"Look! Look!" Orihime picked up a paper from off of the floor.

"I did better than I thought I would! She twirled around in excitement as Sora examined what appeared to be a test she had taken at school.

"Well I think you have earned yourself a treat!" Orihime began naming things that she wanted as the two of them headed out of the door.

She had settled on a red bean paste bun which she couldn't wait to eat. Her mouth was literally drooling over it.

"Come on Sora can I eat mine now?" Orihime hungrily followed her brother around the park until he found a suitable spot underneath a shady tree. He handed the eager girl her treat which she hastily accepted. Once she finished, she decided to run around and pick flowers to put as decor inside of the house.

The sun was shining and the sea glistened. The day was one that he'd never forget. Sora smiled as he watched the energetic eight year old run around the park. He was glad to see that she was aging up well despite what they had been through. Each day in her presence made his day even brighter. Sora blew a sigh of relief and took out a book to read. No more than ten minutes into it, he was interrupted and forced to acknowledge the young girl.

"You're always reading! Come on you have to enjoy this wonderful day!" Orihime pulled on the man's sleeve as she tried her hardest to pull him up. To no relief he had remained seated with a smirk of victory plastered onto his face.

"I am enjoying this day. I'm reading a book in the middle of a beautiful park. Sora slowly raised the book up to block out the young girl's exasperated face.

Orihime giggled before snatching the book out of the young man's hands and running away. Sora groaned as he stood up to chase the giggling girl.

"Orihime, come on give it back! Orihime!"

"Orihime." Ichigo sat up onto the bed in a professional manner. The only reason he had chose to sit on the bed was that he knew she'd take awhile to come back, and besides it was more comfortable to sit on a bed than a hard wooden desk chair. He blushed at the site of the orange haired woman. He just hoped she wouldn't get the wrong idea.

"I see your sister found that annoying dog of hers." Orihime smirked as she walked to the closet and grabbed the blue duffel bag. Ichigo stared at her in shock trying to comprehend what she had just said.

"So you did do it...how-what could have possessed you to do such a thing!?" Ichigo's voice grew louder with each word as if he was trying to wake himself up from a horrible dream.

"This isn't like you. Every thing you've been doing lately is not something I've known you to do. I wanted you to stay here so that I could help you Orihime. With all that we've been through, you don't have to hide anything from me. You're a very dear friend of mine, I don't want to lose you." Ichigo stood up and eyed the woman as if silently pleading for her to open up to him.

"What's going on Orihime? I want to help you." Ichigo impateintly waited for her response.

Orihime seemed to be ignoring the worried man as she frantically darted around the room shoving objects into the blue duffel bag she had over her shoulders. She hesitated as she noted the things that she had already placed inside of the bag. Her eyes lit up as she remembered the most crucial item on her list. It sparkled as the setting sun rays hit it, making its location easily known. Orihime leaped over and grasped the crescent moon necklace that laid upon the desk. She stared at it in awe before placing it around her neck.

"Orihime do you hear me!? Tell me what's wrong!" Ichigo noticed that the girl was racing around the room packing her bag as if she was getting ready to leave soon. He wanted to ask her where she was going but he didn't want to pry into her life all father like. He was trying to get her to talk, not run her away by prying his nose somewhere it didn't belong.

'Maybe shes going over Tatsuki's place to talk to her about it.'

"Please Orihime just tell me something. I can't help you if I don't know what's going on."

"Good let's keep it that way." The woman chuckled before rolling her eyes at Ichigo who looked desperate to find out information.

Ichigo walked over to the doorway and crossed his arms, blocking the way that lead into the hallway.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me something! Please let me help you."

Ichigo felt like he was becoming the bad guy but he needed to know why she had been acting strangely. Something wasn't right and he was determined to find out.

"You don't have to suffer alone Orihime. You can't let what happened to you back in Hueco Mundo take over your life. You're safe now, I'll never let something like that happen to you again."

Ichigo didn't know what had went on while she was held captive there, none of them did. She hadn't mentioned anything about her time being there. He had a feeling that she was being forced to use her powers to help out Aizen, but that was it. No one knew the physical or mental torment she may have went through.

"Oooh such big words mister!" Orihime mockingly talked in a baby like tone, before fastening the bag tightly around herself.

"I don't feel comfortable being here anymore. I think that it's best if I leave." Orihime began walking towards the door but stopped halfway as she knew that he wasn't going to budge.

'I need to get the fuck out of here. I don't have time for this.' Her eyes were on the brink of turning to reveal her true identity. She hurriedly turned around with her back facing Ichigo.

"Do you remember that man you almost pummeled to death that night? He's actually not that bad. Unlike you, he was man enough to handle me." Orihime glanced over at Ichigo and licked her lips in a sexualized manner. She knew that he wouldn't allow her to slip away so easily. Her best chance to get away was to use his only weakness, his heart.

"Wha-What do you mean by that?" Ichigo's voice softened and he looked at her with a somber expression.

"Having you and the others around are constant reminders of...that time. I just want to get away from it all and start off fresh. Being with him has made me happy, so that's where I intend to go." Orihime was impressed at the lie she had just told and the demeanor in which she presented it. That man was only a pawn in her plan, she would never allow such filth to even lay a hand upon her body. She wanted Ichigo as much as the true Orihime, but her purpose would not allow her to tango with the enemy. She was now awakened and set on doing what she was put here to do.

Ichigo stared at the floor, unable to make eye contact with the woman. He couldn't believe what she was saying. Although the two of them weren't a couple, he felt like she belonged to him. He also couldn't comprehend that she would choose such a man over him.

While Ichigo battled his own thoughts to try and make sense of what was happening, Orihime looked for a way to escape. The devastated man was still blocking the door. She turned away from him and sighed at not realizing earlier that their was another means for her escape. There right before her eyes was the way out.

"I should get going now!" With that the orange haired woman leaped out of the window and into the night.

Ichigo stood there for awhile in shock before running over to the window. He looked up and down the street but she was nowhere to be found.

Ichigo backed away and tried to think of what he should do next. Hearing Yuzu loudly exclaim to Karin about what happened to Aka, brought him back to his senses. He decided to check on Yuzu to make sure that she and the pup were okay, before he'd give chase.

As he began to make his way out of the room, he felt familiar presences that stopped him from moving any further.

"What are you two doing here?" Ichigo turned to see Renji and Rukia who had entered in through the window which he had yet to close. They both seemed very uneasy as if something was bothering them. They cautiously glanced around the room before stepping closer towards Ichigo.

"We have orders from Soul Society to apprehend Orihime."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's Notes:

Don't forget that Orihime (our Orihime) is still alive. She's just trapped within a part of her mind (hence the trail down memory lane) that the current Orihime does not have access to. The current voice, thoughts, and behaviors are solely "otherworldly" Orihime.

*I'm aware that there has been some errors, they have been fixed.

Next Chapter "The Search" coming soon. Thanks for reading! *kisses*