Confrontation

Orihime finished her preparations and opened a portal to the outskirts of the Soul Society. There was a lot of barren land where many souls wandered or hid from prosecution. Unfortunately, not a lot grew here. She was wearing a simple kimono to blend in with the souls in the Rukon districts. Although she could take on another form with her bankai, Orihime felt that she needed to remain in her natural form. Ever since her advancement, she could feel the fragments begin to create a thin ice-like cover over the large ocean in her Hakusui. These fragments were forming something like a mirror which represented her true self.

Although she wasn't certain, Orihime had the feeling that using her transformation would slow, or even reverse the progress she had attained. When she entered the small market in the southern Rukon district, she was naturally drawn to someone in the crowd. An orange haired woman, with a curvy figure, wearing a simple green kimono, weaved through the crowd carrying a large basket of dried persimmons. Orihime followed her out of curiosity and eventually found herself in front of building in a more abandoned area in the district. Orihime's thoughts were confirmed when she heard Gin's voice call out to Rangiko.

"Orihime, is that you?"

Just as Orihime was about to slip away, Gin spotted her. His eyes were no longer narrowed into slits and his mouth had a satisfied expression rather than a cunning smile. Additionally, he had grown out his hair. Rangiko turned around and gave a confused look. She turned back to Gin and whispered 'That's Orihime? Are you sure?' Orihime was about to put her guard up when Rangiko silently gestured her to enter the house quickly. For some reason, Orihime felt like she could trust her and followed in quickly.

"Orihime, its good to know you're alive! Good thinking wearing that disguise, I could hardly recognize you. A few months after you disappeared, Yamamoto declared no one speak of you again and all of your information was sent to the highest security floor. Since a few other Soul Reapers have been disappearing, I was worried that someone is targeting us and that you were the first victim… Anyway, a few weeks ago, I took a long leave from the Court Guards to stay with Gin during his exile. Toshiro was complaining, but I could tell he was happy that I wouldn't be in direct harm's way, that softie."

Orihime was confused about various things that Rangiku had just said. She could only go through from the beginning as she tried to order everything in her mind to get an understanding of what actually had happened since the last time she was here. To her knowledge, she was only gone for a few weeks. No one had mentioned the time it took for her to finish forging and training, she had just assumed a few days passed, but could it be that a month and a few days passed? The only way to tell the passage of time in Hueco Mundo was the phases of the moon…

"Rangiku, wait, first of all what exactly happened with my information? Did old man Yammy say anything specific?"

"Yamamoto just said that any information pertaining to you would be considered a top-secret which could only be accessed by the captain-commander."

"How many people have been disappearing? What is that about?"

"A little over a month ago, the recently promoted captain of the fifth division Shinji was found to be a fake, presumably he was kidnapped and replaced. Since then, many safeguards were put in place and it was discovered that at least five other seat members in various squads were discovered to be fake. Each of them disappeared after being confronted."

Orihime's mind instantly went into overdrive and she began to come up with various theories and conspiracies. She thought that it might be an inside job to lure out the true culprit, then thought perhaps Mayuri was gathering test subjects. However, after eliminating one possibility after another, she came to a startling conclusion. 'Dammit, its Royd! How could I forget about him! That damn Yhwach must have taken advantage of my actions previously and installed Royd in Soul Society.'

"Sigh, this is a lot to take in. Do you mind if I stay here for a few days while I investigate? I think I know what is happening in Soul Society and it is just the prelude to an even bigger threat…"

"Of course, Orihime. You lent me your home without hesitation so I would be a terrible friend to push you away now! Although, this house is a bit run down, sorry for that."

"It's okay Rangiku. I'm just glad to have a friend like you! So, how have you two been? Any surprises I should expect~"

Rangiku blushed and Gin continued to simply smile as he stared at the two girls in conversation. He had since prepared tea for them while they were talking, but he did not interrupt. He occasionally snacked on a dried persimmon and sipped his tea.

"It's not like that… Gin's powers still haven't recovered so I've been accompanying him trying to create new memories together."

However, saying that only made her blush even more at the implication. Although Rangiku was a very mature and perverted woman, when it came to the one, she truly loved she was like a shy schoolgirl. Orihime picked up the cup and sipped. After doing so she instantly felt her Reiatsu become chaotic. If she were still her weaker self, this would practically disable her.

"Bankai, Nihirizumu Haineko."

Rangiku's Zanpakuto burst into ash and reformed into a large, grey sword. As the sword lowered toward Orihime, a force entered her which willed her into nonexistence. This was an ability that turned everything into dust. Bringing everything to its final state. Orihime quickly activated her abilities and broke the bankai into pieces, ending it prematurely. Although it was powerful, it was still very fragile. This was akin to a recently created bankai.

"Ah, Orihime, I'm sorry about that. I had to be sure it was you instead of some sort of imposter."

"I suppose I can understand that. You finally reached bankai? I'm happy for you!"

"Hehe, only you, Gin, and Toshiro know this. After making me whole last year, I felt like my relationship with Haineko improved and we were finally able to work together. Although, my ability is a bit depressing, I'm afraid I'll become like Kira…"

Orihime chuckled at that remark.

"How would you have known if I was an imposter?"

"It seems that the imposters don't have the ability of the original. Although strong on their own, they don't use the originals signature abilities."

After talking about more random things, Rangiku showed Orihime to the bath and a spare room. Orihime decided to rest for the night since she had learned a lot of new information and needed to process it. As she prepared to bathe, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and froze. She touched her face and realized what she was seeing was real. Her appearance was similar to before, but changed significantly enough to be noticeable. Not only that, but she had heterochromia now.

Orihime quickly realized this was a side effect of forming her true soul. This appearance was a mix between her past life and current life's appearance. Fortunately for her vanity, the best parts were taken and she had only increased her charm. Orihime originally had an appearance that leaned more toward the cute spectrum, but her features became sharper and gave her a mysteriousness she did not have before. Combined with her different eye colors, she wasn't particularly upset with the change. Now she understood why Rangiku was startled by her appearance.

After settling down in her room, Gin entered with a tray of food and tea. He sat down and stared at Orihime. Normally, she would feel a bit awkward with the situation, but having his ego in her mind made her feel very close to him. She sat down and ate while looking back at him occasionally. She thought he wouldn't say anything the whole time, but just as she finished eating and drinking, he spoke up.

"I see. So that was your plan. You should leave as soon as possible. By now, Yamamoto likely knows you are here and will try to make a move."

Orihime was confused and stunned. Gin spoke as if he had seen right through her. At first, she thought he was just messing with her, but then realized that this was originally Gin's plan to begin with. However, this was an ego formed from a portion of his memories, not Gin himself. She realized how foolish she was to assume that the original wouldn't be able to figure some things out. He was aware of some of her abilities, and combining it with the information he received from Rangiku due to her status, he likely made plenty of deductions.

"How would he know? I've completely concealed myself…"

"You should have killed Aizen."

Orihime's eyes widened and she immediately used Shunpo to reach the edge of Soul Society, attempting to make a portal back to Hueco Mundo. However, when she tried, a powerful binding force closed the unformed gate. Mayuri popped out from behind a rock formation and chuckled. He had placed several devices around the area that would prevent space Kido from functioning. Ironically, he developed these using Orihime's research. Then, she could feel the temperature rise exponentially.

Behind her was a pissed Yamamoto.