First Real Fight

"C… Captain Ichimaru, its good… good that you're here…"

"Shoot to Kill."

Although Orihime tried to play it off, the obvious bloodied, icy wounds on his arm made it clear that he was part of a fight. Without mincing anymore words, he immediately released his Shikai.

If it weren't for the spartan training with Yoruichi, Orihime may have been impaled without knowing what hit her. She stepped slightly to the side and created a round barrier on her shoulder.

The tip of the blade hit the barrier and ricocheted off to the side. Gin maintained his mocking smile, but internally he was surprised. Orihime's Reiatsu was far from being on par with his, yet she was able to create a barrier that blocked his Shikai.

'Hogyoku, what are my chances?'

[Calculating...

Spiritual Power: 34

Reiatsu: 31]

'Dammit, he's even a bit stronger than Byakuya last I saw him.'

Gin saw an opportunity while she was distracted to Shunpo behind her. Instinctively Orihime dropped to the ground onto her palms and then did a twist of her body. Her leg landed squarely on Gin's knee, and he buckled for a second. However, Gin became impatient and released another quick strike with his Shikai.

Another barrier appeared but was immediately shattered. Fortunately, she had already assumed her barriers couldn't last against the difference in power and always made them in a way to redirect the attack even if it shattered.

Instead of impaling her through the heart, it only ripped through her shoulder. She could not even consider healing herself, since she was still focusing on healing Toshiro and Momo. Orihime quickly makes two different hand gestures targeting Gin.

"Bakudo #1, Sai. Bakudo #9, Geki!"

His body is momentarily covered in a red aura and his arm twists slightly. The effect is weak given their difference in power, but Orihime uses this chance to Shunpo behind him. She points a finger to his shoulder and shouts "Hado #4, Byakurai!"

A thin, pale lightning shoots out in a line from her finger. However, Gin regains control and it only cuts his shoulder. Gin swings down his extended sword causing Orihime to go on the defensive. She crosses her arms and calls out "Bakudo #8, Seki" which forms a repulsive force above her wrists.

Simultaneously a barrier appears above the repulsive force. The barrier gets shattered but weakens the strike. Once the sword makes contact with the repulsive force, it gets launched back enough for Orihime to throw a kick out at his chest while simultaneously activating another Seki at the sole of her foot, causing Gin to stagger back a few steps.

After this exchange, she realized most of her Reiatsu was used just to defend and left only a single scratch. She couldn't win, so stalling was her best course action. Without hesitation, she gathers all of her Reiatsu and covers her arms and legs with it. While it was not yet considered Shunko, the hogyoku had helped her make a weaker replica.

This was not something she had even shown Yoruichi yet. During those thirteen days, this was her most fruitful harvest. Realizing the situation, Gin became more aggressive. If his arm wasn't momentarily wasted due to the battle with Toshiro not long ago, Orihime would probably already be dead. The Reiatsu was unbearable but releasing her pseudo-Shunko allowed her to resist enough to fight back.

But the result was grim. She was taking massive injuries every dozen exchanges. Gin wasn't particularly specialized in Hakudo, but his swordsmanship made up for the difference. In one clash, Orihime attempted to disabled his other arm, but instead, a perfectly timed Shunpo put Gin in the position to disable her arm instead.

After an unknow number of exchanges, Orihime was on the ground bleeding out while Gin only had a few injuries. It was truly a one-sided fight. She lamented at her misfortune. Although only arriving in this world a short time ago, she had already grown attached. She began to cry at the thought of dying. She wanted to live!

Orihime loved this world and the people here. Gin maintained his smile and looked over at the two who were still being healed, even though she had reached this point. He stabbed her one more time through the shoulder and began to leave. He had spared her, although did leave her in agony. However, Orihime didn't know what was good for her.

"You really are mad. You made yourself the villain and justify its for her, but never realized she just wants you by her side."

Orihime couldn't keep herself propped up anymore so she let her body lie down to rest. Gin had turned around without his smile, only a face of shock. His eyes went wide for a second before he quickly used Shunpo to flee the scene.

Behind her, the healing field over Toshiro faded away as he suddenly opened his eyes and shouted.

"Momo!"

Confused and completely injury free, he looked around and saw Momo covered in an orange membrane that seemed to be visibly healing her wounds. He looked down at himself to see that there were holes in his uniform but the wounds were completely gone.

Then, he noticed Orihime lying on the ground breathing shallowly. He recognized her Reiatsu as one of the Ryoka, but he was very confused. He walked over and carefully turned her over. If not for the younger appearance and different uniform, he could mistake her for Rangiku from a distance.

"Ryoka, what are you doing here, why did you save us?"

"Cough—Captain Hitsugaya, it's good that you are awake. Our meeting was supposed to be a lot cooler than this, unfortunately, I'm not strong enough to face a captain in one-on-one combat. I don't know why he went easy on me and even spared me."

Toshiro had sensed Gin's Reiatsu just before he awoke, so he was certain about there being a fight. He pondered for a moment and came to a conclusion. However, he didn't find it necessary to tell Orihime. Instead he looked over at Momo who was still unconscious.

"Your injuries, why don't you heal yourself…?"

"Lieutenant Hinamori has taken a mortal wound. After healing the Captain and fighting, I don't have the Reiatsu to heal more than one person. Also, honestly, I'm hoping to win Captain Hitsugaya's favor. Cough, cough."

This was partly a lie. She was being honest about wanting his favor; However, the real secret to Orihime's heal was that it drew Reiatsu from the injured person first and then from her. The only Reiatsu she needed to invest was the initial spark.

At this point, Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Isane from the fourth division arrived. They saw the carnage and wonderland of ice and an uninjured Toshiro standing over a heavily wounded Ryoka. Additionally, there was the unconscious Momo with a strange membrane over her.

"Captain Unohana, quickly help me over here."

Unohana walked over to Momo and saw her heart and chest wound being reconstructed like a puzzle. Meanwhile, Isane came over to Orihime and took out spiritual suppression cuffs, however, Toshiro slapped them away.

"Lieutenant Kotetsu, what are you trying to do? This Ryoka saved mine and Momo's lives!"

"Ah, my name is Orihime, now that the cavalry is here…"

She could no longer stay conscious. Her body was a lot more durable than regular Soul Reapers due to her being a hybrid of human and soul. However, the amount of Reiatsu she used and injuries she took were too much.

After she went unconscious, the healing membrane around Momo flickered out. Orihime had purposefully slowed the healing process in order to make an impression on the two captains, so just before passing out she finished the healing.

"Momo! Captain Unohana, why isn't she waking?"

"It would seem that, although her injuries are completely healed, she suffered a psychological impact and doesn't wish to wake. Its fortunate this Ryoka… Orihime arrived when she did to heal her. I'm afraid a wound like that would have taken months to heal even with my power."

Toshiro remembered the scenes with the traitorous Aizen and Gin that he witnessed. While Orihime was being bandaged, Toshiro kneeled over Momo's body and swore to get revenge for her.

Toshiro told them everything he saw and his speculations. After explaining the situation, they all rode on Unohana's Shikai, a giant one-eyed flying manta ray, while Orihime and Momo were swallowed by it to aid in their healing.

Unknown to Orihime, while she was unconscious, the hogyoku was working overtime. Her desire to live in the world she loved was very powerful. This was the second time the hogyoku had felt the powerful conviction from her soul.

Originally, choosing her as its master was due to this strength of desire. The hogyoku was glad to help in the little things, but they all required external power to fuel. The true power of the hogyoku was converting desire into reality, and the things Orihime asked for only had a thin energy of will.

The powerful will to live was able to spur the hogyoku similarly to the first time it took action. Even though it was considered dormant, that was just energy conservation of the universe. However, its powers transcended laws, so such a thing didn't matter when it was serious.

Orihime's soul was being given a massive power up. The hogyoku continued to reconstruct and strengthen her soul so that she may be strong enough to survive in this world. Once the power of will and desire were exhausted, it returned to its normal state.

Aizen was a very ambitious and power-hungry person. Therefore, he was filled with desire and a strong will. Even with this, he was still not able to tap into the hogyoku's true power all the time. Only when he is truly scared for his life does the hogyoku release its heaven defying strength. This was why he only really grew stronger after being mortally wounded.

Although aware of this, Orihime subconsciously avoided fighting. She knew in her mind that Aizen would get stronger after almost dying, but how could someone willingly throw themselves into battle? She wasn't a Kenpachi after all.