Hey everyone! Here's chapter 13. It's sort of a transition chapter to the next chapter. I wasn't really all that happy with it, but it turned out okay in the end.

Thanks to gmsephiroth for the beta:D

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

Rangiku groaned, her head hurt. It felt almost like she had a really bad hangover, which did not surprise her. Considering the amount of alcohol that she drank, she was surprised that she had not keeled over by now. Despite the fact that she was a spirit being that really could not die from something like that.

When she opened her eyes, they burned slightly in the sunlight. Rangiku touched the bandages that were wrapped around her forehead. Her wounded shoulder was also wrapped, as well as her left ankle. After examining herself, she adverted her attention to her surroundings.

Where was this place?

It looked almost like the house she used to live in when she was young and lived in Rukongai. The hut in the middle of the woods was not the greatest place to live, but there were times that she missed it.

That was when she lived with Gin.

...because I wanted to...

"Gin!" she gasped, sitting up quickly. Finding instantly that this was a mistake, she covered her face in her hands. Shit, her body hurt all over...

"Careful there." a voice came from the doorway, "The river did a number on ya."

She gasped, turning towards the source of the voice. Leaning on the doorway, wearing a blue kimono much like the other civilians typically did in the area, was Gin.

Rangiku was speechless.

"Be careful, don' sit up too quickly." he approached her, "Your concussion was pretty bad-"

She drew back from him, "Don't touch me."

Gin frowned, and then sat on the edge of the floor, "That's a great way to thank someone for savin' yer life."

"Why'd you do it?" Rangiku backed away all the way to the wall, "What are you doing here? If you think I'll go with you to Hueco Mundo willingly then screw you."

Gin turned towards her, and gave a frustrated sigh. She was always this way ever since he first met her, she never listened, "Ran-"

"Where are we?" she demanded, "Where's Haineko? I swear to god that if you did anything to her I'll kick your-"

He grabbed her arm and pinned her to the floor. Leaning over her, his red eyes opened and glared back.

"I'm not goin' to harm you." he replied, "You're in Rukongai, you're zanpakuto is leaning against the wall with Shinsou, and I have no plans to take you to Hueco Mundo. Do you want to know how you got dressed into those clothes you're wearing too, or are you finished with the questions?"

It was probably the most he had ever said to her in a while. Here, the man that she had been in love with since even before she could read and all she could think about was whether or not he was going to kill her.

"Wait, you took off my clothes?" she grabbed his arm, "What-"

He flinched. Looking back at her hand, there was blood on it. Pulling the sleeve of his kimono up, the bandage that covered his arm was beginning to soak through.

"Damn it, Gin." she said, searching around for the extra bandage roll, "You can't just walk around like this. You'll scare the shit out of people." she began to peel the dirty wrappings off his arm, "Why aren't you taking me to Hueco Mundo? Not that I actually want to go."

"Because I'm dead."

"Huh?"

"Aizen and the rest of everyone else think I'm dead." he said, "I don't want to go back to that place."

"Why?"

"Because I hate it."

Gin was so chatty before, and now he was not telling her anything of importance. He was the sort of person that only said what he needed to say, and that was it. Perhaps she would be able to get what she wanted out of him later.

"It don' matter anyway." he said, "Aizen doesn't care about me. Sure, I'm strong, but he has other strong subordinates."

"They could kill you for betraying them."

Gin smirked at that idea, "If they can find me, they're welcome to."

Orihime opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She let out a loud sigh and turned on her side. Waking up in another strange atmosphere...at least her head was not hurting any more. Adjusting to so many different environments was difficult. She actually felt a little chilly, Hueco Mundo was constantly humid and warm.

"Huh?"

Ichigo was sitting in a chair next to her bed, asleep, Zangetsu was leaning against the back of the chair. It was obvious that he was tired, especially after fighting all those Arancars. The moment she woke, he stirred, opening his eyes to look back at her.

"Hey."

"Hi." she replied back.

"How do you feel?"

Orihime stared at him a moment, "How come I'm not in jail?"

"Unohana-san and the others are talking about that right now."

That was not good. A lot of the other captains would see her as a threat, and many of the others would want to use her for information. Of course, she would tell them whatever they wanted to know. Orihime held no particular loyalty to Aizen, she hated him. If anything, she did not want the Seireitei and Arancar to fight because she was tired of all the war.

"Oh."

"But she says that it's likely that you'll be released." he said, "She read your memories."

"What?!"

Orihime sat up, giving him an alarmed look. Did Unohana-taicho tell Kurosaki-kun about what happened in her past? There were things that Inoue never wanted him to know, and things that she did not want to even remember herself.

"What do you mean she read them?" Orihime grabbed the front of his shirt, "She didn't say anything did she-"

"Don't worry." he sighed, "She didn't tell me anything."

She relaxed a little and slumped against the headboard. Ichigo watched her a for a while. That was not the reaction he had been expecting, and it alarmed him. What had happened to her while she was there?

"It there anything I should know?" he asked.

Orihime buried her face in the pillow, "N-No."

"Inoue-"

"There's isn't anything."

"I know why you left."

Her blood ran cold, and she gave him an alarmed look.

"Going with them saved my life and other people's lives back then. We would have all lost that battle if it weren't for you and Karakura would have been overrun back then." he said, "For that reason, the Soul Society owes you a favor. They'll probably let you go."

Orihime sat back up, staring at him with wide eyes. They would...just let her go? After five years of living in that hell she would be free again? Ichigo was staring in her eyes again. Sitting up in his chair, he sighed,

"I don't know whats going on. But you're safe now." he said, "You're free. I'm not going to let them hurt you. If there is anything you want to tell me, or anything you need..."

He yelped as she threw herself foreward into his arms. Laying across his lap, she pressed her face into his chest, sobbing. Her entire body shook as she cried, and all he could bring himself to do was hold her in his arms.

"I w-want..." she cried, "I want to go home. Take me home. I want to go home right now."

"Okay." he told her, "I'll take you."

Shinji had a bad feeling. A feeling that was starting to make him restless. Sitting on the balcony of the training hall, Ukitake sat next to him.

"Sake?"

"No, thank you."

"So..." Ukitake sighed, "How is our Shinigami subsitute doing in the real world?"

"Kurosaki is a brat." Shinji said, "Hiyori and I still train with him once in a while, but he's a dumbass. It takes him a while to pick up spirit control, and he's stubborn."

"I see." Ukitake laughed, "Sounds like him."

"But he has great potential. Someday he may become stronger then both Hiyori and I."

"That's a lot coming from you."

"No duh."

"Have you heard?" Ukitake asked, "About Inoue-san."

"I've heard." Shinji nodded, leaning back on his arms, "That big dope ditched me to hang with that woman. I'll have to kick his butt when he comes back."

"Anxious to get back home?"

"You could say that." he said, "I did my good deed for the day. I'm ready to go back. This place gives me a headache."

"Could it also be that you're nervous about an attack occuring while you and Kurosaki are away?"

"Could be." Shinji scratched his head, "It wouldn't surprise me if they try to attack Karakura soon."

Byakuya emerged from the council meeting to find his sister standing in the hallway. She was staring at him with a troubled look on her face. In the beginning when he had first taken Rukia in, she was clingy and hung around him as much as she could. It had been a while since he had come from a meeting and found her waiting for him.

"Rukia."

"Onii-sama." she looked up, "What did they say?"

Byakuya regarded her a moment, and then walked past her, ignoring her calls. Rukia rushed behind him, and found that he was heading straight to Inoue's room. When they arrived, he knocked on the door.

"Come in." a voice answered, it was Orihime's. He opened the door to find Inoue still in bed. Ichigo sat in a chair next to her, a somewhat uneasy look on his face. Both of them seemed to wait for Byakuya's response.

"Inoue will be cleared." he said, "But she will be watched carefully by the Seireitei for a while until she can be trusted again. There will be a seal attached to her so her movements and reiatsu will be tracked, but the Soul Society is allowing her to return."

"Thank the gods." Rukia sighed

"She is also to report to the Soul Society any information."

"I will." Orihime nodded, "Anything."

"But you are free to go once the seal is attached." he bowed slightly and then left the room. Rukia smiled and threw her arms around Inoue.

"I'm so happy to see you." she said, "I thought-"

"Kuchiki-san." Orihime smiled, hugging her back, "How have you been?"

Ichigo watched the two girls talk. Other then Tatsuki, Orihime and Rukia seemed like best friends. Before the whole mess started, they had been training together in the Seireitei. Rukia attributed some of her own skills to the fact that she had practiced so delligintly with Inoue back then. As he watched them, it was beginning to sink in. Orihime Inoue was free again, and she would be able to return to the real world.

What was going to happen to her now?

Picking up after five years would be difficult, but he trusted that she would be able to do it. Inoue had always had the ability to be flexible and to get by the best she could.

"Oh!" Orihime remembered, "How is Hitsugaya-san?"

"He'll be alright, we got to him soon enough that Unohana-taicho wias be able to heal him."

Inoue sighed, "Good."

Shirou lay in bed, his eyes closed. What he really wanted to do was sleep. After everything that happened, however, the only thing that he seemed to see when he slept was nightmares. Hearing the door open, he made a face,

"Hinamori, you're supposed to knock before coming into someone's room."

"S-Sorry." she gently closed it behind her, "How are you feeling?"

He shrugged as she sat on the edge of his bed. Hitsugaya's blue eyes gazed at her from where he was laying in the bed, "What is it?"

"I came to see how you were doing." she said, "It looked like you were hurt badly. I just wanted to know that you were okay."

"I'm fine." he said, "I've had worse wounds then this."

Oh yes, much worse wounds. The wounds that had been made by Aizen.

"Shirou-kun?"

Hitsugaya let out an irritated sigh, "Hinamori, how many times do I have to tell you it's Hitsugaya-taicho-"

She kissed him.

That was definitely something he was not expecting. In his weakened condition he really could not push her away, then again, he really did not want her to go. His eyes sunk closed as her soft lips moved over his, her fingers tangling into his hair.

"Why don't you just call me Momo, and then we can be even?" she asked.

Shirou stared at her, this had to be some sort of weird dream. Hinamori Momo had just kissed him.

"B-But-"

"I would like it if you did." she blushed, "I miss those days when you called me Momo. Now that we're the same rank again, you can call me whatever you want."

He yanked her down on the bed next to him, "Stay here while I sleep and I'll do whatever you want."

Before she could answer, he had fallen asleep. Looking at him sadly, it did not take a genius to know that he had nightmares when he slept. Smiling to herself, she wrapped her arms around him and fell asleep at his side.

It was a few days until they left. Even though Shinji complained the whole time, they could not leave until Inoue was ready to go. She was still weak, and could not leave until the Soul Soceity placed a tracking seal on her. In the end, a small black butterfly tatoo was placed on left side of her chest, giving a direct link between her and the tracking systems of the Seireitei's main computer.

Ichigo did not really understand any part of it, but whatever they said Inoue agreed to. Packing their things, they bid good-bye to everyone and headed back to the gate. Renji and Rukia were no where to be found at the time, so Ukitake agreed to escort them back.

"I'll bet it will be nice to finally go back home, Inoue-san." Ukitake smiled at her.

"I'm excited." she said, "And a little uneasy. I wonder how much everything has changed."

Ichigo snorted, "Not that much."

"You're one to talk." Shinji shoved his hands in his pocket, "Kurosaki-sensei."

"Eh?" Orihime made a face.

"Shut up, Hirako."

"Oh, come on, Kurosaki. I think you're a great high school teacher." Ukitake laughed.

"Kurosaki-kun is a what?!" Orihime gapped at her former classmate. There was a strange red tint on Ichigo's cheeks.

"It's not that amazing." he murmured.

"Of course it is!" Orihime smiled, "Kurosaki-kun teaches at our old school! I'll bet he's a wonderful teach-"

She froze, and the other men watched as she dropped the bag in her hand. The color drained from her face as her eyes grew wide.

"Inoue?" Ichigo looked at her, "What's wrong?"

She raised a shaking hand and pointed towards the gate. Laying at the bottom of the closed gate were two figures covered in blood. Rushing to the spot that they lay, Ichigo turned over the first person to find out that he knew exactly who it was.

"Ishida!" Ichigo shook his friend's shoulders.

Ishida had somehow made it through the spirit gate before collapsing. In his arms, he had dragged Nemu with him. Both of them were covered in deep gash wounds, which Ichigo automatically recognized as those from a zanpakuto.

They both reeked of Espada reiatsu.

Ishida's eyes opened slightly, and he managed to focus on Kurosaki through the one unbroken lens of his glasses.

"Kurosaki..." he groaned, and then caught sight of Orihime, who had started to heal his more serious wounds. He frowned, "Inoue?"

She gave him a worried smile, "Hi, Ishida-kun."

"What happened to you?" Ichigo demanded.

Ishida was silent a moment, glancing back over at Nemu. She was still unconcious, not doubt having used most of her spirit energy trying to fight against the Espada. It would be a while before he would be up to speed either.

"The Espada..." he replied, as he began to pass out once more, "...have attacked Karakura."

Grimmjaw stood from his perch on the top of the grocery store. He really wished that the screaming in the town would stop. Just because the city was partially on fire and they had managed to destroy a water main somewhere did not mean that they had to make his ears bleed.

Ulquiorra appeared on the other end of the roof.

"What the hell are you doing, Grimmjaw?" Ulquiorra glared at his Arancar comrade, "Aizen ordered you as part of the attack force."

"Kurosaki isn't here." Grimmjaw scratched his head, "I'll only fight him."

Making a disgusted look, the Espada commander looked back at the city, "We lost Tszuria and Aaroniiro."

"Serves them right if they are weak enough to get beaten here."

"We have been ordered back to Hueco Mundo." Ulquiorra replied, "But there is one more thing."

"I don't give a shit." Grimmjaw replied, getting ready to leap off the building.

"Orihime Inoue escaped from Las Noches."

I hope it worked out okay:D

Just so everyone knows. There will NOT be an update next week. Next week is Anime Detour in Minnesota, and I will not be here to update. But I will be right back after Detour for the next update. Hang tight until then :D

Thanks for reading. If you go to Detour, have fun. I plan on it!

Arigato

Lilith