A.N.: I recently had a pinup done of Rukihime and that inspired me to do her own story specifically for her rather than be the start of a much larger narrative. So for the record: no, this is not part of the Fusion Saga that I wrote years ago. This is entirely different. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Rukihime Fusion

Chapter One
Kisuke's Experiment

Months after Aizen's defeat…
Karakura Town

The birds sang loudly outside Orihime's window, the sunlight shining through to illuminate her apartment with its bright rays. She sat on her couch watching television, enjoying the soft breeze that blew in.

Orihime was lounging on a lazy day. School was out for the summer and the bakery she'd gotten a part-time job at was closed for repairs so she had nothing to do. She would have liked to have hung out with her classmates but sadly she was all by herself in town. Tatsuki was spending several weeks doing regional karate tournaments. Keigo and Mizuiro traveled to Tokyo in what was certain to be a vain attempt to pick up chicks at the beach. Chad was busy with his part-time job doing construction labor and Uryu didn't tell anyone what his plans were, only that he wanted to be left alone.

Orihime assumed that Uryu was training to become stronger. She knew that being defeated by the Number Eight Espada, Szayelapporo, must have been a hard pill for the Quincy to swallow and now he had to take on the burden of Karakura's protector.

As for a certain orange-haired friend of hers…

To Orihime's surprise, Ichigo took the loss of his Soul Reaper powers well. True, he couldn't see ghosts anymore and had to rely on his friends to keep his town protected from Hollows. But Orihime knew that if he had to, he'd do it all over again to make sure that everyone was saved from Aizen. Now freed from the burden of being a Substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo was free to spend more time with his family, no longer having to risk putting his sisters in danger.

As soon as school let out for the summer, the Kurosaki family decided it was time for a road trip. Ichigo said goodbye to everyone before he, his father and his twin sisters left Karakura Town to go on a cross country trip. Orihime was happy to see that Ichigo wasn't so down about losing his powers, although she wished Ichigo had stayed so she could spend a little more time with him now that they actually had the time.

Still, Orihime couldn't complain. Things were quiet now that Aizen had been dealt with and his nightmare was over. Having said that, Orihime wished that at least one of her friends had stuck around so she could hang out with them rather than be all by her lonesome.

Just as she thought about maybe going out and taking a walk, her doorbell rang. "Oh, wonder if that's the mailman with my package…" Getting up, she walked to the doorway and opened the door. Instantly her face lit up with joy. "Rukia!"

The raven-haired Soul Reaper beamed when she saw her friend in the doorway. In a Gigai, she wore a yellow sundress and a white wide-brimmed hat. "Orihime, how are you?" she asked before she went in for a hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"It is! I was just getting lonely too! Come in, come in!" Orihime ushered the girl into her apartment and shut the door behind her. "So what brings you back? Are you stationed in Karakura Town again?"

"Not this time. I'm on vacation. I thought I'd come by and see how you were doing. I…uh…" Rukia looked away, her eyes showing uncertainty. "I thought about going by Ichigo's place but…I'm not sure if it's the right time."

"Oh don't worry. Ichigo's gone for the summer. He and his family went on a road trip." Orihime put a hand on the girl's shoulder and gave her a supporting smile. "But I'm sure that if he was here, he'd love to see you."

Orihime's words reassured Rukia, although she was disappointed that she couldn't see Ichigo at all. "So anyway, what's new with you?"

Sitting down on the couch, the two girls talked and caught up. Orihime told her about her new job and how everyone was doing while Rukia informed her that Ukitake was going to make her his lieutenant, her brother having stopped trying to keep her held back.

"So, what do you want to do? You want to go see a movie?"

"Sure. Although I was going to swing by Kisuke's shop to see if he had any candy. Yachiru asked me to pick her up some before I left."

Out of nowhere a third voice made itself known, making the two girls jump. "Well, that's convenient. I was hoping to have a conversation with the two of you." The girls turned and saw Kisuke sitting on the windowsill, tipping his hat towards them. "Good afternoon, ladies. Sorry for dropping by unannounced."

"It's no problem, Kisuke. How's Yoruichi?"

"She's lounging around. She's staying in her cat form so summer isn't really her season." Taking a seat in a nearby chair, the crafty shopkeeper set down his cane before sitting back. "I wanted to know if you two would like to assist me with a little experiment."

Rukia instantly became dubious. She had not forgotten the last time she'd dealings with Kisuke; he'd apologized for his subterfuge in attempting to make her Human with her Gigai but still, any dealing with Kisuke Urahara should be down with a hint of caution. "Don't worry, it's nothing too dangerous. I think…" he added, though the girls didn't hear it. "You see, lately I've been taken by a certain anime and it gave me an idea."

"Anime?"

"Yes, Rukia. Even I need a hobby. It inspired me to experiment in something I've never tried before: fusion."

"Fusion?" Both girls looked at the shopkeeper confused, Orihime having a question mark hovering over her head.

"Yes. Taking two spiritually empowered beings and combining them into one entity. I've had small successes taking animals from the Soul Society who had high amounts of Reishi and combining them. Now I would like to try to fuse two people. That's why I came here wanting to ask if you'd like to give it a try."

Orihime and Rukia looked at each other for a moment before the orangette spoke. "So, you want to fuse the two of us together?" Being the imaginative girl she was, Orihime imagined Kisuke turning them into robots and combining them to make a bigger Rukia-Orihime robot.

Obviously the more cautious of the two, Rukia looked at Kisuke skeptically. "You can fuse two entities together? How is that possible?"

Standing up, Kisuke gestured to the door. "Why don't you come with me and I'll show you? And before you ask, yes it is safe. I would not offer it to the two of you if I wasn't a hundred percent sure that you would not be harmed."

Getting up, Orihime couldn't hide her excitement. Whatever Kisuke was doing sounded so wondrous she had to see for herself. "Come on, Rukia! We don't have anything to do today so why don't we take a look."

Curious about Kisuke's experiments herself, Rukia shrugged. "Okay, why not?" The girls promptly left with Kisuke, not realizing what they were walking into…

Later…
Urahara Shop; Kisuke's Lab

"Wow, how many basements do you have?" Orihime wondered aloud as they descended the stairs into a part of Kisuke's humble abode she'd never seen before. The room was as large as her school's classroom, filled with machines and tools. Rukia was out of her Gigai at Kisuke's request, leaving it with Chappy upstairs.

"Oh, I've had plenty of time on my hands once Aizen was dealt with," Kisuke explained before he walked over to a wall that was covered with diagrams and notes. "Anyway, I tried multiple ideas on how to create a merger. After a few…less than successful attempts, I finally landed on a viable method." He gestured to three large cylinders that were mounted on the wall with pipes that connected them on top.

"Wait, you want me to fuse with Orihime, right? How will that work? I'm a Soul Reaper and she's still Human," she pointed out.

"True. But I've crunched the numbers and compensated for that tricky question. You two will become a being that is both physical and spiritual. You'll be able to use your Soul Reaper powers while being able to move about in the Human World without needing to pop out to fight."

"So…how does this work exactly?" asked Orihime.

Kisuke walked over to the cylinders and tapped one with his cane. "Simple. You two will step into these cylinders which will analyze your spirit energy and break down both of you at a molecular level. Your matter will travel through here," he tapped the pipes up top, "and enter the middle chamber which will reconfigure you into one complete entity." He knew what Rukia was thinking and tapped his forehead. "That will also include your mental consciousness. You won't be Rukia Kuchiki or Orihime Inoue. You'll be the combined form of both. So, what do you say? Want to give it a try?"

Rukia was still apprehensive but she could tell that Orihime was eager and knew it was futile to try and convince her. "Okay, but if something happens to us, you know of what my brother and my captain will do to you, much less what Ichigo will do to you, powers or not."

"Trust me, Rukia. I would not ask this if I felt it would cause you any harm." He clicked a button on a panel connected to the fusion machine and the doors to the two outer cylinders opened up. The girls, Orihime excitedly and Rukia reluctantly, stepped inside and let Kisuke close them, shutting them tight.

"Alright, need to make sure all the chemicals are at the right proportions…" He checked the panel and started turning nobs. "Make sure the energy outputs are nominal." He hit a button and the cylinders started to glow as they analyzed their contents, their data feeding into Kisuke's monitor. "Good, as I thought. Looks like their energy is compatible. Now," he grabbed a bundle of cloth and fed it into a compartment beneath the third cylinder. "Some cloth for the machine to weave a new outfit around her. Definitely not going to have Rukia's proportions by the time we're done." He stepped back to the console and saw that the analyzing was finished. He took a deep breath. He'd made sure all the numbers were right and that the machine was perfect. But he felt like he was forgetting something…

Shaking his head, Kisuke banished his apprehension and smiled. "And…fuse!"

He slammed his hand down on the big red shiny button, activating the fusion machine. The girls cried out as they were enveloped in a bright light as they were doused with a torrent of chemicals before their bodies were quickly dissolved into pure energy. Orihime's tube glowed gold and Rukia's white. The energy passed through the tubes and into the middle container.

Pressing more buttons, Kisuke finished the fusion process. "Okay and now we put them together." The middle cylinder glowed with a combination of gold and white energy. Kisuke felt a wave of alarm hit him when the container started to shake wildly as it reconfigured the physical and spiritual matter from the girls into one single person. But the shaking last only a few seconds and the glow quickly died.

All of the lights on the panel ran green, signaling a perfect merging. The shopkeeper took off his hat and hesitantly walked over to the cylinder, slowly unlocking it. Hoping that he didn't mess this up, he held his breath and opened the container.

But when he saw what lay within the container, even he felt like he'd outdid himself with the results. Kisuke couldn't help but marvel at his own handiwork. His fusion machine did an even better job that he expected.

"Nghh…"

Hazel eyes opened and the girl saw Kisuke staring at her. "K-Kisuke?" She said, her voice sounding like a softer Rukia's. "Did…did it work?"

Kisuke held out his hand and helped his subject step out of the container and gestured to the mirror on the other side of the room. When she saw herself, the girl gasped in complete shock at the person who stared back at her. "Is that…me?"

Where should've been Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue, only one being was now present. Standing at Orihime's full height, the woman was the perfect fusion of Rukia's and Orihime's appearances. Her face had Rukia's features while retaining Orihime's eyes. Black hair with orange lines sprawled down her back, with the hair near her forehead burnt-orange. Even more shocking was her chest, still equipped with Orihime's well-endowed breasts although they a size bigger than the orangette's.

The girl didn't have Orihime's pink shirt or Rukia's shihakusho. Instead, she wore a black and yellow vest that only barely covered her chest along with white pants. She did retain Rukia's Tabi and sandals but that was all. On her back was a zanpakuto. The color of the hilt was the same as Rukia's sealed weapon but the guard was now the shape of Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka hairpin. "It worked? IT WORKED!" The fused Orihime/Rukia jumped up and cheered with joy and amazement. "Wow! I'm looking good! Or…is it we?"

"I'm not quite sure. I'll have to do some tests to get a proper fix on your mental state but it looks like your machine not only fused your bodies and powers together but also merged your personalities too."

"Oh man, I wish Ichigo and Renji were here to see this! They'd flip!" Looking at herself in the mirror, the young girl thought about what she should call herself. "Orihime. Rukia. Hmm…I guess I'm…Rukihime."

The newly christened Rukihime turned to Kisuke, who was busy looking at the data from the fusion machine. "So after you run your experiments and collect your data, when can you separate me back into my two halves?"

Kisuke froze. Suddenly he remembered just what he'd forgotten. "Uh oh…"

Rukihime frowned when she saw Kisuke's face turn white. "Kisuke?"

"Well, this is embarrassing. But uh…I…might have forgotten to configure the machine to separate a fused entity…" He sheepishly shrugged his shoulders and gave a "welp, I'm in trouble" smile. "Whoops…"

The girl just stared at the scientist as a sense of horror set in. Kisuke had fused Orihime and Rukia together without bothering to figure out how to separate them. She was stuck like this.

"…WHAT?!"

To be continued