Following a most upsetting rejection of her love and admiration by friend and battle companion Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime had left Karakura shortly after school had ended. In order to forget the pain and seek out a normal life, she ran away to the big city. She went to college and studied hard to secure a a good future in some business industry.
Away from the watchful eyes of her friends Orihime discovered the freedoms of being an independent woman in a very giving and large world. She worked hard and played even harder, enjoying the nightlife, extravagant parties, shopping sprees and attractive men. Long past were the days of pining away for some boy, childish dreaming and wanting for things she could not afford. She was strong, independently wealthy, and as always, able to take care of herself.
Seven years had passed since she left that dreary little town. The town where the hollow slaying days had become few and far between, where everything became simple and dull. She hated it. After all that she had gone through, the mundane was not for her.
Apart from her best friend Tatsuki, and the occasional hell butterfly from Matsumoto, she lost most contact with her past. She ignored all calls, texts and e-mails until eventually they stopped coming.
()()()()()
A butterfly flew at the window of her high rise loft. It continued to beat against the glass, determined to receive access to her apartment.
"A butterfly? Up here? Oh!" She rushed to let it in. It had been a long time since she had receive a message from soul society.
"Orihime! It's Rukia. I need to see you. It's important. Meet me..." The message was cut off.
"Meet you..." She whispered. There was no other place other than Karakura that she could imagine meeting any of those people. No, she didn't want to go there. She couldn't. She worked so hard to forget about that god forsaken place and him. Ichigo.
Ichigo loved Rukia. At least that was the consensus before she left. His heart was too full of someone else to accept Orihime Inoue. The Inoue who had admire him from afar for so long. Who had vowed five lifetimes to him, her savior. Everyone's savior. Rukia's...
Suddenly she was broken from her thoughts. The doorbell! Slowly she made her way towards the door. Again the door rang, followed by a knocking that became more and more frantic. She swallowed hard, with hand shaking she reached for the doorknob. Who could it possibly be?