Byakuya Kuchiki

'Ho… Hogyoku? I thought you were dormant'

[Correct. Initiate awakening?]

'Uh, yes please. Hogyoku, why did you fuse with me so easily?'

[Otherworld Soul identified with great desires to become Host. Successfully transferred and fused. Host confirmed.]

'You are the reason I'm here? Wow. And you've recognized me as your host? Does that mean you can make me stronger?'

[Accessing... 99.9% dormant. Displaying possible abilities:

-Enhance spiritual power

-Enhance soul attributes

-Akashic Records (Lowest access)]

"Miss Orihime, mind explaining what just happened."

Orihime was lost in thought chatting with the hogyoku in her head. She just realized that Urahara had lost his casual smile. With a stern face, he was pointing Benehime, his Zanpakuto, at her.

"Mr. Urahara… I… I think hogyoku chose me as its host."

"Very interesting, Miss Orihime." The cat spoke. Orihime turned to look at Yoruichi with a calm expression. "It would seem that Ichigo Kurosaki is not the only wild card, Urahara. Put away your sword."

"Well, Orihime. It seems you know quite a bit. Tell me, what will you do with the hogyoku?"

"I want to become a soul reaper."

"Hah, you know that means you have to die? Only souls can become soul reapers."

"Not exactly, Yoruichi. With the hogyoku, she can bypass the limits of being human, and attain the attributes of a soul form and human form simultaneously."

"Mm. That's why, Mr. Urahara, Yoruichi, please teach me!"

Urahara and Yoruichi looked at each other for a moment. They seemed to come to a silent agreement.

"For now, stay here. There is still a lot for us to do. Tessai will allow you to use the training arena."

Once they helped settle her in and show her the way down into the subterranean cavern, they left to take care of various things. Once they all left, Orihime heaved a sigh of relief and laid down on the tatami mat.

"Phew, that was scary. I'm glad Yoruichi stood up for me. She's so cute as a cat, but I prefer her as a chocolate goddess. Hogyoku, show me those abilities again."

[Details requested. Confirmed.

-Enhance spiritual power: Fusion of body and soul to enhance spiritual power output and capacity.

-Enhance soul attributes: Improve quality of soul.

-Akashic Records (lowest access): The library of all knowledge in the universe. Access to lowest tier of knowledge.]

"Hm, I get the first and last one, but what does the quality of my soul mean… Wait, that should be related to my powers. Hey hogyoku, can my ability be upgraded to a Zanpakuto spirit?

[Analyzing soul attributes. Confirmed, potential for growth. Missing prerequisites: 85% dormancy, Asauchi, and complete fusion of soul body.]

"Oh, can you convert my attributes into ratings like in video games from my previous world?"

[Analyzing data. Data compiled, missing scale for reference.]

"Uh, lets use Tatsuki as a 1 in all attributes."

[Data calculated.

Physical power: 1.1

Spiritual power: 4

Fusion progress: 1%

Dormancy: 99.8%]

"You're the best hogyoku! I have a question for you though, weren't you supposed to be incomplete?"

[Accessing Akashic records… Granted. Centuries of dormancy and nourishment from Rukia Kuchiki, in addition to properties of the Otherworld soul has stabilized the internal structure.]

"Wonderful. That covers most of the things I was anxious about. Now in order to graduate early from the Spirit Arts academy, so that I don't miss out on the plot, I need to start studying. Hogyoku! Can you access the syllabus of the Spirit Arts academy?"

[Accessing Akashic records… Granted.]

Information began flooding into Orihime's head and she worked extremely hard to sort it out. Fortunately, hogyoku understands one's intention, not their words. It only sent the information over piece by piece starting with the first year.

Once she had absorbed all the knowledge from the first year, she had to tell hogyoku to stop.

"Okay, okay, let me process this first. All these theories of spiritual power and fighting techniques are really wonderful."

For the next few hours, Orihime just sat still converting the knowledge into her own. Unknowingly, the foundations she gained from this knowledge had fixed a major issue in her soul. Her spiritual power was able to successfully integrate with her body and stop causing hidden injuries.

Once she finished processing all the information, it was already midnight. She realized that Byakuya would be here for Rukia very soon. She quickly changed into a formal kimono and fixed her hair. She went over to the door and slid it open, but accidently tore it off the hinge.

"Hogyoku, what happened?"

[Introductory Knowledge enhanced control and quality of spiritual power.]

[Recalculating…

Physical Power: 1.2

Spiritual Power: 7

Fusion Process: 5%

Dormancy: 99.8%]

"I wonder how much stronger I'll get just from learning… Wow, knowledge truly is power."

Orihime was very happy as she walked out of the room in her kimono and sandals. Just before she left the shop, she remembered that it rains today. After looking around the shop, she found a few umbrellas. She took the one with a peach blossom design and began heading towards Ichigo's house.

Orihime's face was slightly contorted with a perverted smile, thinking about seeing one of the male idols of Soul Society. A crazed fan like her couldn't resist such an occasion. She arrived a few blocks away from the Kurasaki residence and slapped her face a few times.

"Okay, Orihime, this is what you've been training for your whole life. It's only just Byakuya Kuchiki, captain of the sixth division...!"

She had tried to calm down but only made herself more excited. Realizing the embarrassing sound that came from her mouth, she paused in shame. Luckily, this allowed her time to compose herself.

After focusing on her composure, she realized that there was an etiquette class within the bulk information she received. She sighed in relief because there were a lot of things she needed to improve on. After standing there awkwardly for a bit, she saw Ichigo jump out of his window in his soul reaper form.

Orihime realized it was time to make a move. Although, her control was way better than Ichigo's, he had the main character aura and the plot would guide him to Rukia. She learned a few running and balancing techniques so she was able to move rapidly along the electric poles while following Ichigo.

Seeing Rukia being confronted by that red headed scoundrel, Renji Abarai, she knew it was time. She leaped down from the pole and hid in a nearby alley to watch the fight. The time waiting allowed her a chance to go back to her usual gentle and smiling expression.

The scenes ahead played out exactly as in the original timeline. Ichigo shows up and fights Renji. He loses at first, and then gets the main character power boost and wins. Then her idol appears and deals a fatal blow, destroying his soul chain and spiritual power source.

"Hey hogyoku, can you calculate Byakuya and Renji's power?"

[Calculating… Estimation complete:

Renji Abarai (Sealed):

Spiritual power: 10 (50)

Byakuya Kuchiki (Sealed):

Spiritual power: 20 (300)]

"Oh goodness, my idol is so strong."

However, her little outburst attracted Byakuya's attention. While Rukia was pleading for Ichigo's life, Byakuya appeared in front of Orihime, preparing to attack.

"Captain Kuchiki, this lowly one is called Orihime Inoue. It is my honor to meet you."

Byakuya originally saw this human as a potential threat, like the quincy from earlier. However, the cherry blossom kimono and respectful way of speaking dulled his killing intent.

"What business do you have here?"

"Captain Kuchiki, Rukia Kuchiki and I have some relation during her time here. I hope you would allow me to say goodbye."

Byakuya stared at Orihime for a few seconds, but they felt like hours to her. She maintained her smile, making sure to look just under his gaze so as not to make eye contact. Due to their height difference it wasn't difficult. Byakuya thought that this human with extraordinary spiritual power was quite good.

"Very well. You may speak for a short time."

Byakuya felt slightly confused after he agreed. Typically, he would either ignore or refuse such a request. But he actually agreed. 'She feels like… Hisana.' Although they looked and talked differently, something about her soul made him think of his late wife.

Meanwhile, in Orihime's head.

'That was so close, I thought he'd kill me right away! Hogyoku, did you do something? He seemed almost… gentle.'

[Danger to Host detected. Soul camouflage set to 'Hisana Kuchiki.']

'You are literally a miracle worker. Does this process have any negative effects on me?'

[Risk assessment: Safe. Transformation only changes aesthetic of the soul.]

'Oh, so it's like my scent or color of my spiritual power, that's good. I'll leave it up since it'll help in the future.'

"Orihime, what are you doing here?"

"Rukia, I wanted to come say bye. Don't worry about Ichigo."

Rukia was surprised at her brother's actions, but also a bit jealous. Her brother had never acknowledged her, and seeing him give attention to someone made her sad. However, she was also glad that Orihime would take care of Ichigo.

"Time is up, Rukia…" He paused in front of Orihime while Renji and Rukia went to open the world gate to the Soul Society. He nodded toward Orihime without saying anything, and then turned to leave. Once the door closed behind them Orihime's strong front collapsed and she crouched, breathing heavily.

Her face was extremely red and her internal monologue was constantly repeating 'Byakuya.' It seems the soul alteration had a hidden side-effect. Urahara began walking toward her and misunderstood the situation.

"So how was it? A captain's spiritual pressure isn't ordinary. Its impressive you managed to withstand that long. Let's head back to the shop and deal with Ichigo's wounds.���

It started to rain and he covered the two of them with his umbrella. Orihime looked up at him with her perverted face and Urahara was startled. However, she switched back to her normal face in an instant so Urahara thought he imagined it.

Although, Orihime knew that Urahara pretended to be like a crazy shop keeper, she still didn't feel comfortable being under the same umbrella as him. Luckily, she remembered it would rain. She opened her umbrella and put some space between Urahara and her.

"You're quite interesting, Orihime…" He suddenly realized something, the kimono, the hair, and the look on her face. "Were you trying to seduce Byakuya?"

Orihime was stunned. Urahara was definitely the smartest person in all of Soul Society to deduce that so quickly. That was exactly it!

"No-- not-- that's not it at all, ha-ha, don't joke around Mr. Urahara."