Becoming aware of Noches Espada's plans, Fairy Tail does everything they can to find this crystal tower's location as well as the location of Noches Espada's guild. It is revealed that Orihime is the key to all of it. In more stunning turn of events, Sora Inoue, Orihime's brother who they all thought was dead, was standing in front of the guild.

"Sora, is that really you?" Orihime said.

"That's her brother? I thought she said he was dead." Renji said.

"That's because she did." Uryu said.

"Orihime." Sora said as he tried to reach out for her, but he fell to his knees and everyone fell to him.

"Sora and Orihime Inoue"

Sora was brought to a table and was given some food and water. None of them understood this how he could even be here.

"Sora, is that really you?" Orihime said. She couldn't believe what was right in front of her, but she needed to be sure.

"Are you really her brother?" Ichigo said.

"Yes, I am." Sora said. "I can understand your skeptic, but I really am him. It might have been four years, but I am her brother."

"Prove it. Tell us what happened from the last time you two saw each other. Orihime will be the one to tell if you're lying or not." Renji said.

"Very well." Sora said. "It happened four years ago. Orihime and I were in a town known Amaryllis because we went to the Spring Festival on the twenty-first day of June. She and I were having a great time until there was an incident. I don't know what caused it, but I needed to keep Orihime safe. It became chaotic and Orihime and I ended up getting separated."

"Orihime, is that true?" Chad asked, but saw Orihime was practically on the verge of tears.

"It is, but I was told that you were dead." Orihime said. "I even saw your grave back in our hometown."

"I was told the same thing about you. Whoever said that must have wanted us separated, but I don't know who would do that." Sora said. "Ever since that day, I couldn't eat, drink, or sleep well. When I heard you were still alive, I did everything I could to see you again." Orihime couldn't take it anymore as she got up from her seat and hugged her older brother with tears running down her face.

"I missed you so much." Orihime cried.

"I missed you too, Orihime. I'm so glad to see you're safe and you actually joined a guild." Sora said. All of them were actually happy for Orihime. After so long, she actually became reunited with her brother. "Now, once I have my strength back, we can go home." That was a little surprise to her as she pulled back.

"Home?" Orihime questioned.

"Yes. We can go back to our hometown. We can go back to Karakura." Sora said. No one noticed that Ichigo's eyes widened just a little.

"Sora, I can't just leave Fairy Tail. I've been here for so long and made so many friends." Orihime said. "We've been through so much. I can't just leave."

"I understand that, but the reason you're here was because we were separated." Sora said. "Now, we can go back."

"Hold up. That is not something for you to decide." Uryu said.

"But he has a point. The only reason I left home was because I thought Sora was gone." Orihime said.

"Orihime, you can't really be considering to leave Fairy Tail." Ichigo said.

"I have an idea." Uryu said. "Why don't the five of us go with you to see this hometown of yours? We've been meaning to find out more about you, Orihime, and this might be a great opportunity. Maybe seeing your old home that you haven't been to in years will help you compare notes to decide if you should stay or go."

"I really have no objection to that." Sora said.

"Yeah." Orihime agreed. "It would be great to see our old home after so long." With a teary reunion, the team has decided to head out to learn more about Orihime and learning more about where she came from.

…..

Ichigo's Team

All of them hopped on a train and it took a few hours. Karakura was far out in Fiore and not many of them really knew that much about it. When they arrived, they got a good look of the place and it looked like a quaint town.

"Welcome to our home." Sora said.

"Wow! It's been so long since I've been here. I almost forgot what it looked like." Orihime said.

"It does seem like a nice town." Rukia said.

"We better keep moving." Sora said. "I'll gladly show you where our old apartment use to be. I just hope no one has moved into it." All of them walked through Karakura and it didn't seem like a bad place at all. The sightings were interesting and the people seemed nice.

"I'm a little anxious. I haven't been at that apartment for so long." Orihime said.

"It must have been hard to live there and pay rent after you thought your brother was dead." Renji said.

"When you met Ichigo, you said you've been traveling around Fiore." Chad said. "Were you forced to leave or did you leave on your own?"

"Boys, show some consideration. That was a hard time for Orihime. Maybe she doesn't want to talk about it." Rukia said.

"It's fine. I actually left on my own." Orihime said. "Without my brother being there, it was too painful to stay. So I left and tried to make some money of my own and travel around Fiore for work until I met Ichigo and he brought me to Fairy Tail."

"Wow. You've survived on your own for four years like that? It's impressive." Uryu said.

"Yeah and during that time, I learned how to use my magic." Orihime said.

"Now that she brought it up, this would be a good time to ask." Ichigo said. "Sora, Orihime's magic comes from those hairpins you gave her. Did you had any idea they were magical?"

"I'm afraid not." Sora said. "I thought she would love them. I had no idea that they were part of some form of magic."

"An incredibly powerful one from what we were recently told." Chad said.

"Yeah that those Noches Espada creeps are after." Ichigo said. "Don't blame yourself, Sora. You probably had no idea what could have happened."

"Thank you. Anyway, here we are." Sora said as they stopped at an apartment complex. They all headed upstairs until they reached Sora and Orihime's old apartment. Luckily, Sora had the key and it unlocked. Orihime stepped inside and it felt like she reentered a land she has forgotten all about. Despite all the dust, it looked like a nice little place.

"It really hasn't changed at all." Orihime said.

"The place is kind of small." Renji said and that caused Rukia to hit him in the head.

"Renji, be nice." Rukia said.

"Sorry." Renji apologized thinking his comment was rude.

"It's perfectly fine." Sora said. "This place is pretty small. It was made for only two or three people to really live here. Orihime and I lived here by ourselves."

"Really? What about your parents?" Ichigo asked and caused Sora to turn away.

"My childhood wasn't easy." Sora said. "Our parents were mean and abusive who would beat me down if I even made a sound."

"What about Orihime?" Rukia said.

"I never really got to know them." Orihime said.

"I was fifteen when Orihime was born." Sora said. "I never wanted her to go through what I did. So when she was born, I took her and we ran away."

"So you practically raised her since she was born?" Chad said.

"That's right. I guess she's not just my little sister, she's also like my own daughter." Sora said.

"We might have gone through some hard times, but we were able to pull through." Orihime said.

"I can't even imagine what you all must have been through." Rukia said.

"It's alright. I was fine as long as I was with my brother." Orihime said.

"Please, have a look around." Sora suggested and they all did. The apartment might have been small, but it wasn't all that bad. Uryu walked to a window and looked out to the town that Orihime grew up in.

'So this is where Orihime grew up in.' Uryu thought as he was beginning to think of all that has recently happened. 'Sora said they were separated on June twenty-first during the Spring Festival in Amaryllis. That town isn't all that far from here.' Orihime had a look around her old apartment and thought back to all the great memories she had with Sora. From the day she could walk and talk to the day she had to leave. Leaving this place was the hardest thing she had to do, but it was too hard for her to live alone in that apartment and had nowhere else to go. She went into another room and stepped inside.

"Orihime?" Orihime turned around and saw Ichigo standing there as he let himself in. "I just want to make sure you're okay. A lot has happened with you and it's all happening so fast."

"It was hard and scary with Noches Espada, but I'm doing fine now that I see my brother has been alive this whole time and coming back to my old home." Orihime said.

"We came so that you could decide if you want to come back here or stay in Fairy Tail." Ichigo said. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm not really sure." Orihime said. "I love being in Fairy Tail more than anything, but I would love to come back here."

"Well, we're not looking for an immediate answer." Ichigo said. "You probably just need to take a few days to think about this. I can actually understand what you must have went through."

"You can?" Orihime said thinking that was strange. How could Ichigo understand what she went through?

"The truth is….I ran away from home myself." Ichigo said and that was a surprise to Orihime. Ichigo never really told much about his past before.

"You ran away from home?" Orihime asked to make sure she was getting all of this right.

"That's right. I was surprised when I heard you lived in Karakura." Ichigo said. "Back when I was a kid, I lived here too."

"You lived in this town like I did?" Orihime said.

"Yeah. We came from the same town and I never even knew." Ichigo said.

"So what made you come to Fairy Tail?" Orihime said. Ichigo didn't want to talk about this, but he knew he would have to tell her eventually.

"It goes back to when I was only nine years old. It also involves my mother…..before I killed her." Ichigo said.

…

Ichigo: I wanted nothing more to escape from my past. An accident that happened that I wish I could undo, but there is nothing that can reverse what happened. I loved my mother more than anyone in the world and it was because of me that she's gone and I've lived with that guilt for almost half of my life.

Next Time: Ichigo's History

Ichigo: Another tragic past is revealed that is what helped bring another powerful member to Fairy Tail.