What If Orihime's Powers Evolved in the Soul Society Arc - Rewrite #4
What initially made me fall in love with Orihime’s character was her development during the Substitute-Shinigami arc. In her fight with Chandelier, Orihime grows and comes into being her own person. She is no longer a princess (damsel) in distress, and is instead shown to be a capable fighter, determined on defending herself and others, which is beautifully illustrated in two simple drawings.
However, when Soul Society arc came around, Orihime seemed to regress to her earlier characterization—someone that is always in the need of saving. The scene between Orhime and Jirōbō, where Orihime shows reluctance to fight and hurt another “human being”, felt like a setup for a potential character arc: Orihime would learn that, sometimes, she needs to hurt others.
In most stories, this kind of moment serves as an obstacle for the character to later overcome. However, Kubo does something else: nothing. This moment is all there is to Orihime’s character arc. While I don’t dislike how Orihime ultimately turned out, I see these rewrites as the perfect opportunity to deeper explore the version of her character that is a more capable fighter.
In this rewrite I will use this scene to set-up Orihime’s storyline, where the payoff happens after Uryū’s fight with Mayuri.
Breaking the Barrier
During their encounter with Mayuri Kurotsutchi, Orihime wanted to help Uryū. However, Uryū, knowing better, orders Maki2 to take Orihime away. He knew she wasn’t capable of hurting another “human being,” as evident by her hesitation to hurt Jirōbō and her attempt to save the Soul Reapers who just moments ago tried to deceive them. Where the story starts to deviate from canon is when Maki2, instead of delivering Orihime to Zaraki, is intercepted by Mizuiro Kojima (explanation here).
This is where the two will reunite - 4th Division Area
The two classmates reunite and reassess the situation. Orihime learns from Mizuiro that their friends, including Uryū, have been imprisoned and, overcome with guilt and feeling responsible for Uryū’s capture, Orihime resolves to break them out. This is how Orihime will come face to face with the Captain and Lieutenant of the 4***\**th* Division.
The duo is perfect for Orihime to face. Both of them are quite similar to Orihime – both are female healers prioritizing the safety of others – but where the two differ is that they are also capable fighters. They know that, sometimes, one needs to hurt and not just heal. This is the exact lesson that Orihime will have to learn during her fight with Isane Kotetsu.
Frozen Snow
While Orihime is indeed going to fight Isane, this battle will be a 2v2, with Mizuiro and Orihime taking on Unohana and Isane together. As they infiltrate 4th Division’s Barracks to rescue their friends, they eventually run into the Captain/Lieutenant duo. I want this fight to put Kido in the spotlight, which is why both Unohana and Isane will rely heavily on it.
At first, the fight will mostly be Isane bombarding Orihime with Kido spells. Orihime effortlessly blocks them with Shun Shun Rikka, before she realizes it will not suffice. Here, we’ll finally see Isane in action, using her Shikai: Itegumo.
The great u/Regular_Budget1864 was kind enough to craft ability for Itegumo:
“Itegumo can produce ice along its blade, but can't project it outwards like other ice-type Zanpakuto. So, Isane instead uses it to change the nature of her weapon, such as making an ice hammer or an ice halberd. However, its most dangerous trick is that it can produce ice from its prongs, before rotating them, creating a sword-sized ice drill that shreds an opponent up, like the blades at the bottom of a blender.”
The dual nature of Itegumo both healing and attacking will play a role in Orihime’s growth.
This is also where Unohana’s dual nature comes in play. On one hand, we see the gentle healer that we usually see, and how Orihime is. On the other hand, during battle, there are glimpses of this serious, murderous lady – a side that Orihime lacks. Witnessing not one, but two healers who are also capable fighters, Orihime grows resolve to do the same.
However, just having a resolve to fight does not guarantee victory. Isane’s ultimate Shikai technique proves to be overwhelming for Orihime, as it breaks her Shun Shun Rikka shield. Orihime tries to use Tsubaki to break through the ice, but she is unsuccessful. While she impressed Unohana with her change, Orihime’s abilities leave much to be desired, as none of the hairpin combinations proved to be effective. Orihime is now left to search for a solution.
We see a flashback to Orihime’s training with Yoruichi, in which she tries to combine four, five, and all six pins, for a potential new ability, and we see all of them fail. It seems as if Orihime’s power is limited to just these three abilities—to the three combinations… That’s when Orihime gets an epiphany. What if, instead of trying to simply add more pins, Orihime tries mixing up the combinations?
The Third Dimension
There exists a classic matchstick puzzle that challenges a person to form four triangles using six matches. The key to solving it lies in lateral thinking—shifting perspective from two dimensions to three. The solution is to construct a tetrahedron, a four-sided pyramid where each face is a triangle.
While Orihime’s abilities are based on two-dimensional forms—a half-line, a line segment, and a triangle—this new ability will introduce a three-dimensional structure.
Orihime is noted to be an exemplary student, top of her class, and I feel like her ability being tied to Mathematics is a fitting way to move forward. Whereas Orihime’s original three abilities are based on rejection, these new ones will be based on acceptance. Orihime accepts her offensive ability—she accepts Tsubaki— and her new abilities now reflect that.
Six Flowers
4 Rikka: Tetrahedron
By combining the two healing Rikka (Ayame and Shun’o) and two out of three shield Rikkas (Hinagiku and Lilly), Orihime creates “Shisei Kesshun (Four-Corner Sacred Fortress)”.
A tetrahedron forms around Orihime or an ally, creating a protective barrier which actively absorbs incoming attacks (Orihime “accepts” them) and transforms the energy into healing. The advantage of this ability is that it makes the shield less likely to shatter, since the force is being dispersed. Orihime uses this ability to block Isane’s drill attack.
5 Rikka: Quadrilateral Pyramid (pentahedron)
By combining the two healing Rikka (Ayame and Shun’o), two shield Rikka (Hinagiku and Baigon) and one attack Rikka (Tsubaki), Orihime creates “Tenmō Kisshun (Heaven’s Sacred Five-Layered Heal)”.
It’s a triangular pyramid that forms a healing structure over a group of allies (Orihime “accepts” allies), with one vertex focused on each ally. The fifth vertex channels energy back to Orihime, restoring her stamina as she heals others. This ability also rejects harmful effects like poison or curses.
Orihime creates this ability specifically because of her 2v2 battle. She uses it to heal Mizuiro of his wounds, caused by Minazuki’s acid, and restore her stamina in the process.
6 Rikka: Octahedron
Finally, accepting her offensive ability allows Orihime to combine all Six Rikka into “Hoshikuzu Zanshun (Stellar Rejection Burst)”. This is something she tried before, but failed because of the shape of the construct – Orihime needs to create an octahedron for it to work.
The Six Rikka represents the six points of an octahedron, connected by a beam of light. The octahedron construct is spinning, drilling into enemies, rejecting their defenses and breaking through shields. This move is inspired by Isane’s very own ability, and is used by Orihime to destroy the ice drill. Instead of cutting, Tsubaki now drills (the spin adds to the power) and with it, Orihime is victorious.
Beginning of the End of Hypnosis
Seeing this “outside the box” way of thinking demonstrated by Orihime, makes Unohana reconsider some things. If Orihime was able to discover a brand-new way to utilize her Fullbring, by taking a second look at how her hairpins could be combined, then, maybe, Unohana could take a second look at Aizen’s corpse. Maybe with her newfound perspective she too can find something she had previously missed. This would, of course, result in her finally noticing something is off about Aizen's body and deciding to visit Central 46, as she is seen doing in canon.
As for the fight itself, it ends with Unohana letting the kids go, after Zaraki crashes the place. Unohana has seen enough from Mizuiro and Orhime, and is willing to let them go. Zaraki was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Together with the members of 11th Division, Orihime and the rest of Ichigo’s friends head towards the Sogyoku Hill…