Orihime Inoue

is the classmate and friend of Ichigo Kurosaki, as well as one of the central characters in the series. Like many other friends of Ichigo, she quickly develops spiritual powers of her own after Ichigo becomes a Shinigami. Later, she is abducted and forced to leave for Hueco Mundo by the Arrancar, the enemies of Soul Society, as their leader has set his eyes on her unusual and potent powers. Ichigo and her other friends set out to rescue her, despite going against Soul Society's orders by doing so.

Appearance
Orihime Inoue has long burnt orange hair, which she wears in bangs tucked behind her ears with hairpins. She does not remove her hairpins, except to sleep, as they are worn in the memory of her brother, and her hair is worn long in honor of the promise Tatsuki Arisawa once made to protect her. At the beginning of the series, Orihime wore her hair with a full but parted fringe before pulling most of her bangs behind her ears just as she was ready to leave for Soul Society, a change noted by Tatsuki.Her most noticeable physical trait is the surprisingly developed figure she has for a teenager, especially in terms of her breasts. Her large breasts are occasionally made the subject of jokes in the series. In one anime episode, while eating lunch with Rukia, Tatsuki, and some other school girls, they wondered why she isn't the size of a blimp. One girl commented that "all the nutrition goes to her breasts". She also has an amazingly hard head, which has injured Uryū, Chad, and Ichigo. The only people who have been able to damage her head are Yoruichi Shihōin and Yachiru Kusajishi in a comical moment when she is riding on Kenpachi Zaraki's shoulders. Orihime has brown eyes in the colored pictures of the manga, but purple-tinted gray eyes in the anime.

Personality
Orihime is friendly, humorous in her own way, sensitive, and kind. She comes off as naive and rather clueless, which is at odds with her exceptionally high marks in school. Apparently, she is hopeless when it comes to technology. One of the members of the Handicrafts' Club remarks that she is not smart enough to use a cell phone, which is why she does not have one. She also seems very caring towards people like Yuzu Kurosaki, due to her taking sick people to the school nurse. She also likes Asian flower print clothes.

Orihime cooks and eats strange food at home, although she also likes some normal food. Aside from Rangiku Matsumoto and possibly Tessai Tsukabishi, no one shares Orihime's tastes. Her favorite food is red bean paste, and she likes putting butter on sweet potatoes. She enjoys cheese and butter most of the time, especially butter on baked potatoes. She tends to zone out with her mouth open and loses track of what she was thinking or dreaming about. This could be seen when thinking about dreaming of a date with Ichigo, then switching to her and him and an athlete running in a race, to her winning a boxing match and gunman in the audience about to shoot her.

Orihime has a tendency to rush into situations without thinking, sometimes leading to embarrassing consequences. At one point, the schoolgirls ask Rukia if she has feelings for Ichigo. When Rukia denies any such thing, Orihime is disappointed that Rukia does not share her sentiments, because if she had, then it would be two girls against one boy and therefore the girls "team" would win, which makes no sense. She also tends to have an over-active imagination and gets carried away thinking of implausible scenarios, such as portraying herself as a futuristic and apparently highly destructive robot in an assignment asking a student "How do you see yourself in the future?", when the question refers to what occupation one wishes or believes they will have.

Orihime has also demonstrated that she is perceptive when it comes to people's mental and emotional state, mostly when it comes to Ichigo Kurosaki, able to tell what kind of driving force is pushing someone. She has a crush on Ichigo, and later falls in love with him, and in both the manga and anime, her feelings only become more evident as time goes on. She has revealed these feelings both to Rangiku Matsumoto and to Ichigo himself, though he was asleep at the time. She has exhibited traits that appears to have some connection with Ichigo, such as the uncanny ability to detect Ichigo by scent and sense his Spiritual Pressure, even when masked by the Vizard, she is aware of what mood Ichigo is in, knowing at the best sense his feelings of anguish, disappointment, or worry, and even feels pain herself when she sees getting Ichigo hurt.

Through her expanding role in the manga, Orihime has become a more complex character than her earlier archetype suggested. Where Orihime was more happy and goofy at the start of the series, later arcs deal with her feelings of inadequacy and inner turmoil. She also functions as a second female lead after the Soul Society arc, which was recognized when her character was featured along with female leads from other Weekly Shonen Jump series on a special Shonen Jump cover.

School
Orihime scores the highest marks in school after Uryū Ishida and Ryō Kunieda. Despite her intelligence, she appears to lack "street smarts." She is also a member of the Handicrafts' Club with Uryū and apparently likes to invent very ridiculous sports to play with Tatsuki (like "base-cer," a combination of baseball and soccer, much like kickball or soccer-baseball except they use a bat to hit the soccer ball instead of their foot). Like Chad and Uryū, she is in the same class as Ichigo. She is frequently in the company of Tatsuki, her best friend, who is also a childhood friend of Ichigo's.

History
Orihime lives by herself in Karakura Town, and is supported by relatives living elsewhere. Previously, she had lived with her older brother, Sora, who was fifteen years older than her. She and her brother were raised by a drunk father and a prostitute mother, who always argued and beat their children. It is unknown if her parents are still alive.

When Sora turned eighteen, he ran away with Orihime, who was three years old, and raised her since. For six years, Orihime and Sora lived in harmony despite the fact that Orihime was bullied in school because of her unusual hair color. One day, Sora gave Orihime a pair of hairpins. However, Orihime refused to wear them because she said they were childish. On the same day, Sora was wounded in a car accident and died in the Kurosaki clinic. Orihime has worn the hairpins ever since. A year after Sora died, Orihime met Tatsuki who defended her from the bullies. They have been best friends ever since.

Agent of the Shinigami arc
She initially appears with Tatsuki walking through the school corridor, discussing her odd tastes in food, which her best friend does not share. A distracted Ichigo Kurosaki collides with her and knocks her to the ground. After he apologises, she acts strangely and begins to make excuses while fleeing the scene. Later, she is seen at her home being watched by the ghost of her brother, Sora. The next day, Ichigo and Rukia Kuchiki come across Orihime as she is walking home from purchasing groceries for dinner. When they find her, it is evident she has been in some sort of accident although she appears unsure if she was hit by a car or not. Despite this, Rukia notices a strange bruise on her leg which she later reveals she is sure was made by some form of Hollow, her theory confirmed when Acidwire attacks Ichigo who identifies him as the spirit of Orihime's brother.

Meanwhile, Orihime has Tatsuki over for dinner, revealing more of her crush when she becomes distracted by the thought of Ichigo's previous offer to walk her home. After dinner, both girls begin hearing loud noises after Orihime's teddy rips and falls from its shelf. It is then that Acidwire attacks and pulls Orihime's soul from her body, leaving the Chain of Fate unbroken so that she doesn't initially die. Horrified, Orihime witnesses the Hollow attack her best friend, who becomes scared and confused, even when Orihime touches her due to the fact Tatsuki can see neither her nor the Hollow. Ichigo soon arrives to attack the Hollow but still hesitates in finishing him off, being flung from the building in the process. Acidwire then reveals his true identity to Orihime, who is sceptical at first because she doesn't believe her brother would do such horrible things as try to hurt others, she only believes him truly when she sees his reaction to her hairclips and thus becomes concerned when he and Ichigo begin fighting once more. Again, due to his identity, Ichigo hesitates and loses his sword as a result. He is nearly attacked directly but is saved and shocked when takes the hit herself. Orihime apologises to her brother for causing all this and results in him being able to temporarily crack his Hollow mask and regain some control over his actions. She awakens in time to bid him farewell before he sends himself to the Soul Society with a smile upon his face.

While both Tatsuki and Orihime's memories are modified by Rukia, this event enables them to start developing spiritual awareness. She once again encounters a Hollow when Uryū lures a massive number to Karakura Town for his challenge to Ichigo. The Hollow, Numb Chandelier, uses her ability to control various students and forces them to attack Orihime. When Tatsuki tries to fend off the assaults and protect Orihime, she is controlled as well. Seeing Tatsuki in tears, Orihime decides it is time for her to protect Tatsuki in return for their friendship. This desire transforms her flower-shaped hairpins into six fairy-like spirits. These six spirits, who call themselves Shun Shun Rikka, briefly explain their powers for Orihime, which she uses to defeat the Hollow. Afterwards, Kisuke Urahara takes her and Yasutora Sado to his shop and he explains to the two about their powers.

Soul Society arc
After Rukia is taken back to Soul Society, Orihime decides to join Ichigo on his rescue mission, along with Chad, Uryū, and Yoruichi Shihōin as their guide. For the majority of their mission, Orihime is grouped with Uryū. Compared to the others, the two are fairly stealthy about their movements, attracting attention a total of three significant times while the others are fighting at basically every turn.



Shortly after arriving, they fight Jirōbō Ikkanzaka of the 7th Division, Uryū dispatches him fairly easily. Orihime then gets the idea to steal a pair of Shinigami uniforms to blend in. When two possible candidates from the 12th Division show up, Uryū merely watches as Orihime takes them down single-handedly. She later mentions that Tatsuki trained her to fight at an equivalent level of a black belt in karate. However, when they come face to face with the captain of 12th Division, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Uryū forces another Shinigami, Makizō Aramaki of 11th Division, to carry Orihime away. Later, she is able to reunite with Chad, Uryū, and Ganju Shiba, with help from Kenpachi Zaraki. While they manage to save Rukia, they are unable to stop Sōsuke Aizen, the mastermind behind the entire scheme, from departing for Hueco Mundo.

Bount arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

In the anime, Orihime returns to school where she finally starts to talk to Tatsuki Arisawa again. During that morning, Renji Abarai turns up outside in a Gigai calling for Ichigo, who runs out of class. Later that evening, Orihime is visited by the spirit of her dead brother, who assures her that he got to Soul Society safely and he will never become a Hollow again. Meanwhile, Renji's phone picks up a spiritual anomaly near Orihime's house and he informs Ichigo of this. Chad and Uryū also sense this. Back at Orihime's house, her brother starts to behave strangely and suggests going outside. When Renji, Ichigo, Chad and Uryū arrive, there is a huge door (which somewhat resembles the Gates of Hell) floating outside Orihime's house. She is then sucked in while three shadowy figures stand on the rooftops laughing. The next day, everybody at school, including Tatsuki, seems to have lost their memories of her existence.

The shadowy figures rope Ichigo and the others into playing their "games" to get their friend back, eventually kidnapping Chad instead of returning Orihime. One of the shadowy figures impersonates Orihime beforehand, and turns into a tall thin man with a moustache, glasses, and top hat who reveals himself as Kurōdo. Next, a thin teenager with a zipper hood appears and introduces himself as Noba, and finally comes the girl who was phoning them, named Ririn. Chad is then sucked through the gates leaving the group down to three.

After some more games, the three strangers are revealed to be modified souls in gigai forms. They return both Orihime and Chad, but insist that one of their group has been replaced by an impostor in the process. The next game involves them finding the impostor over the course of the school day as their classmates disappear. The impostor is eventually revealed to be Chad. The final challenge involves rescuing Chad. Ichigo eventually realizes that Urahara is behind the whole thing.

Afterwards, Urahara reveals to the group that Uryū has lost his powers. Yoruichi appears and tells them that Bounts have appeared. Urahara explains to the group about the Bounts and because they have high spirit powers, they might be targeted. He also tells them that the three mod souls have Bount detectors inside them. He then pairs Orihime up with Kurōdo who takes him home, in pill form, and puts him into a rabbit bag. As she is admiring him, Kon, Chad, and Noba (inside a turtle plushie) turn up. As they are talking, Noba and Kurōdo detect a Bount and the two run off to stop it from absorbing somebody's soul. The find that they are too late and are confronted by Ryō Utagawa who then walks off. They sense Ichigo is in trouble and run to find him just after Ryō Utagawa has carried off Yoshino Sōma. Orihime realizes Rukia Kuchiki has come back to the real world and she invites her to come to a restaurant while Ichigo and Chad exchange confused looks.

After the three bring Rukia up to date with the situation, they go back to Ichigo's house and talk, during the middle of which Renji barges in. Orihime then continues to help Ichigo and the group fight the Bounts and help rescue Uryū, who the Bounts have taken a liking to and claim they need. Orihime later has to fight Rukia, who is possessed by the Bount Mabashi's doll, Ritz. Though reluctant to harm either Rukia or the Bount, Rukia's momentary ability to overpower the doll gives Orihime enough motivation to free Rukia from the doll's control.

Orihime later accompanies Ichigo and the group to Soul Society after the Bounts go there to get revenge for their creation. In Soul Society, the group split up to search for the Bounts in Rukongai. While searching, Orihime finds Ichigo. While they are speculating over where the Bounts might be, they sense Rukia is in trouble. The two of them arrive to help Rukia in the aftermath of her fight with Yoshi and accompany Byakuya Kuchiki back to his house, where they are told Rukia's life is not in danger.

Later, the group get information of the Bounts' whereabouts, but they get split up when Ichigo and Uryū sense Jin Kariya, who is fighting Byakuya Kuchiki, and separately go to investigate. Orihime and Chad later reappear when Maki Ichinose tries to stop the group (which now includes Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Renji Abarai and Rangiku Matsumoto). Ichinose tries to kill the group but Kenpachi Zaraki soon shows up and engages Ichinose. The group then return to Seireitei where they find gatekeeper Jidanbō injured after losing to the Bounts. Orihime then decides to stay behind and heal Jidanbō. Later on, Orihime meets up again with Ichigo and the others, and heals both Chad and Uryū's injuries.

Arrancar arc
The group's return marks the beginning of the school semester. However, the arrival of a new student, Shinji Hirako, brings along many troubling issues. Noticing the change of behaviour in Ichigo, Orihime and Chad confront Shinji after overhearing his conversation with Hiyori Sarugaki. Before they can learn anything, Hiyori is carried away by Shinji.

Shortly after, the Human World is invaded by two Arrancar, Ulquiorra Cifer and Yammy Riyalgo. Orihime and Chad manage to save Tatsuki, who was present when the two invaders arrived. Ichigo arrives shortly after, but is then neutralized when his inner Hollow interferes with the battle. The three of them sustain massive injuries, with the spirit for Orihime's attack ability, Tsubaki, completely destroyed. They are saved by the arrival of Yoruichi and Urahara.

This event prompts Soul Society to send a group of Shinigami to help defend the Human World, Rukia among them. While the return of Rukia helps to cheer up a depressed Ichigo, Orihime becomes conflicted with gratefulness and jealousy. She lets Rangiku Matsumoto stay at her house. While at Orihime's, Orihime tells Rangiku about her jealousy and Rangiku gets out of the bathtub naked. She goes on top of Orihime and tells her not to be jealous of Rukia.

After the second assault on the human world, this time by Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and five other Arrancar, Soul Society finally figures out the true agenda of Sōsuke Aizen and requests Orihime deliver this information to the Human defenders. She is able to track down Ichigo, who is at the Vizard base, and manages to pass through the Vizard's barrier without much effort. This feat amazes and impresses the Vizard Hachigen Ushōda, who created the barrier.

Orihime is then summoned to meet Urahara at his shop. There, she is asked to not participate in the coming battle. Though part of the reason is Orihime's lack of combat ability, Urahara is really trying to prevent her from attracting Aizen's interest. Discouraged briefly, Orihime regains her confidence after talking to Rukia. She is further helped when Hachigen restores Tsubaki for her. She then joins Rukia in her training in Soul Society.

Unfortunately, Orihime's ability does spur Aizen's attention. Upon seeing footage brought back by Ulquiorra, he decides to have her captured. A third invasion of the human world is ordered, intending to lure Orihime out. The plan is a success, with Ulquiorra intercepting Orihime as she passes through the tunnel. Threatened with the lives of those she cares for the most, she has no choice but to go to Hueco Mundo.

Orihime is given a chance to bid farewell to one person, and she uses the chance to make a tearful love confession to a sleeping Ichigo. She comes close to kissing him but cannot bring herself to do it. Before leaving the Human World, she writes a cryptic line in a notebook, "Goodbye halcyon days."

Hueco Mundo arc
As she arrives in Las Noches, the fortress of the Arrancar, Orihime is ordered by Aizen to demonstrate her power to the rest of the Arrancar by restoring Grimmjow's missing arm. After she recreates it, Grimmjow also asks her to restore his number six tattoo, identifying him as one of the Espada. Upon completion of this task, Grimmjow butchers Luppi to get his rank back, much to Orihime's horror.



Orihime is assigned to a modest room as Ichigo, Uryū, and Chad attempt to rescue her. She receives a new outfit similar to that of an Arrancar and is informed by Ulquiorra that Ichigo and his group (which now includes Rukia, Renji, and a trio of friendly Arrancar) are attempting a rescue on her behalf. She appears to have converted to Aizen's side and as a supposed token of his trust in her Aizen shows her the Hōgyoku, which he explains is necessary for both the creation of Arrancar and the royal key. However, this only gives Orihime a sense of purpose, and she resolves to destroy the orb with her powers by erasing its existence altogether.

As Ichigo's group separately make their way through Las Noches, she senses Chad's defeat at the hands of Nnoitra Jiruga as Ulquiorra walks in to her room. As he tries to convince her to eat, she repeatedly insists that Chad is still alive. Frustrated, Ulquiorra tells her that all her friends are eventually going to be defeated and that only fools come into Hueco Mundo with their powers untested. Orihime responds with a slap across Ulquiorra's face. Ulquiorra leaves as Orihime breaks down and starts crying.

Loly and Menoly later break into Orihime's room to torture her, only to be killed by Grimmjow shortly thereafter. Orihime is at a loss as to why he'd do such a thing, so Grimmjow explains that he's returning the favor for his arm. Grimmjow then grabs Orihime by the collar of her uniform and hoists her up, explaining that she now owes him another favor. Before they depart, Orihime revives the two Arrancar he killed, leading them to refer to her as a monster because of her ability to bring back the dead. After chaining her arms together to prevent her from escaping, Grimmjow drags Orihime to Ichigo, wanting her to restore him to full strength so they can have a fair battle. Orihime has trouble doing so due to the large amount of leftover spiritual pressure from Ulquiorra's attacks.

Ulquiorra himself arrives in short order, having discovered Grimmjow's plans. Grimmjow uses a Caja Negación to imprison him, then has Orihime finish what she's doing. Though reluctant at first, Ichigo tells her to obey Grimmjow so they can fight. After the two begin to battle, Orihime consoles Nel, telling her that Ichigo will win if he says he will. After Ichigo dons his Hollow mask, she becomes shocked at the cold, vicious fighting style Ichigo displays and wonders if it really is him. With encouragement from Nel, Orihime is able to lend her full support to Ichigo allowing him to gain the upper hand and deal a damaging blow to Grimmjow. After Ichigo stabs through Grimmjow and ends the fight, he grabs Orihime and prepares to leave to find Rukia and Chad. However, they are interrupted by the appearance of Nnoitra Jiruga, who slashes the defeated Grimmjow in order to take over the battle. She attempts to assist Ichigo only to be tackled by Tesla, who prevents her from trying to break free by threatening to shatter her Shun Shun Rikka. After Nnoitra gets hit by a double Cero blast from Nel, Tesla rushes to his aid releasing Orihime, she in turn rushes to Ichigo's side only to see Nel comically hug Ichigo. Orihime tells Nel that if she keeps hugging Ichigo like that he is eventually going to pass out, which he does shortly after. Not long after that Ichigo wakes up and goes to aid Nel in her battle against Nnoitra, only to have Tesla recapture Orihime shortly after he leaves.

After Nel falls, Ichigo goes up against Nnoitra, but is stopped by Tesla, who releases his Zanpakutō. Nnoitra then grabs her, and sticks his fingers in her mouth telling her not to scream and watch as Ichigo gets killed. Tesla, however, is swiftly cut in half upon the arrival of 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki, and Nnoitra immediately throws her aside to face Zaraki.

Shortly after Kenpachi finishes Nnoitra off, Orihime rushes to heal him, only to be stopped by Coyote Starrk and brought back to Aizen. Aizen explains that his reasons for kidnapping her have always been to draw the Shinigami to Hueco Mundo, keeping them preoccupied while he destroys Karakura Town. Her purpose fulfilled, he leaves her behind, giving her permission to reunite with her friends, this however is not made possible due to Ulquiorra who stands between her and Ichigo who has come to take her back. Orihime now witnessing the battle between the two.

The New Captain Shūsuke Amagai arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

Fake Karakura Town arc
During the ensuing battle, Ulquiorra is seemingly evenly matched with Ichigo, until he finally cuts him. As a result, he remarks how it must feel good to keep up with him even when he's at "this level," Ulquiorra proceeds to increase his reiatsu and attacks Ichigo with more strength and speed than ever before. Ichigo is about to be dealt a powerful blow when Ulquiorra is repelled by Orihime, staring him down with a determined look upon her face. It should be noted that during this battle Loly and Menoly are on their way in order to bring Orihime down from her pedestal as they put it.

After putting up a shield to protect Ichigo, Ulquiorra starts to mentally harass her. Ichigo then intervenes and thanks her but tells her to stay back for safety. Afterwards, Loly and Menoly arrive and attempt to torture Orihime again, ripping her clothes and threatening to rip her eyes out. Ichigo tries to save her but Ulquiorra stands in his way alongside a recently arrived Yammy. Yammy defeats Loly easily, and asks Ulquiorra if he can kill Orihime now. Before he can act, Uryū Ishida arrives and uses a landmine (specifically developed Mayuri Kurotsuchi to be used on Arrancar) against him. Yammy falls several levels below, and as Ichigo returns to his battle with Ulquiorra, he tells Uryū to guard Orihime with his life. The battle then intensifies as Ichigo unleashes his Hollow mask and the two go above the dome of Las Noches. Orihime is seen expressing grave concern towards Ichigo's safety, as Ulquiorra finally releases his Zanpakutō. She later becomes even more concerned after Ulquiorra fires his "Cero Oscuras," and asks Uryū to take her up above the dome, to which he reluctantly agrees.

As she arrived, she watched in horror as Ulquiorra tells her to watch as he kills Ichigo, the person she put all her faith in. She pleads for him to stop as he blows a giant hole in Ichigo's chest. After Ulquiorra throws a seemingly dead Ichigo down the tower Orihime rushes to rescue her nakama but Ulquiorra appears before her telling that Ichigo can't be healed even by her powers. Thinking quickly, Uryū shoots an arrow that Ulquiorra blocks with his wing giving enough time for Orihime to heal Ichigo while Uryū holds Ulquiorra off. Despite using her Sōten Kisshun on Ichigo, the hole doesn't appear to be closing, and upon witnessing Uryū defeated by Ulquiorra and losing his left hand, she panics. Orihime desperately calls for Ichigo to tell her what she should do, however Ichigo slowly begins to move as his hair grows longer, almost resembling a mane.

Ichigo hears Orihime's voice and tries to move to protect her and Uryū once again as Hollow Ichigo. However, both Orihime and Uryū see that Ichigo has transformed into a new state. Ulquiorra turns his attention back to Ichigo once again and the two of them resume their fight. However, both Uryū and Orihime are concerned about Ichigo's current state, for he does not react to anything that is said to him, nor does he speak. Uryū, in an effort to stop Ichigo from killing Ulquiorra in cold blood, restrains him with his hand but is stabbed through the stomach.

Using the last of his power, Ulquiorra uses a Lanza del Relámpago to sever one of Hollow Ichigo's horns, causing Ichigo's Cero to disperse skyward, shattering Hollow Ichigo's mask and restoring him to normal. Ichigo awakens fully unaware of the events that have happened and attempts to finish his fight with Ulquiorra. However, the latter is unable to move and quietly fades into the sands of Hueco Mundo after reaching briefly for Orihime's hand.

Orihime is still on top of the dome, healing Uryū's injuries, as related by Ichigo.

Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

When Rukia arrives in the living world after sustaining injures from her rogue Zanpakutō, Orihime is called to heal Rukia. Later, when the man responsible for Soul Society's chaos, Muramasa, appears in Karakura Town, Orihime finds him. Muramasa attacks her, but faints due to his failing health. She then heals him, even though she knows that he is Ichigo's enemy. Orihime then notes that Muramasa's spiritual energy is similar to an Arrancar and that he is suffering great emotional pain. Ishida and Sado arrive on the scene and begin fighting Muramasa. Senbonzakura arrives to help Muramasa. Orihime watches as the fight continues Muramasa tries to use his powers to attack Ishida, but Orihime uses her Santen Kesshun, which is shown to be able to block his attack. Shortly thereafter, Rukia and then Ichigo also arrive on the scene.

When Muramasa succeeds in freeing his partner Kōga Kuchiki, Muramasa is attacked by Kōga, who claims Muramasa is no longer of any use to him. This devastating event causes Muramasa to lose control of his power, causing the vast number of Hollows he absorbed to be unleashed. Shortly afterwards, Muramasa unstable energy attracts all the Hollows in the area on to him, merging with him and resulting in him becoming a Hollow. While appearing mindless and rampaging, Orihime sees that Muramasa is still inside, trying to fight for control despite the emotional pain he is going through. She tries to reach Muramasa, but to no avail. Muramasa attacks her, but she blocks him with her barrier. As Muramasa makes another attack, Ichigo intervenes. The two clash for a short period until Ichigo appears the victor. Muramasa then undergoes another transformation, into a giant dome-like structure that swallows Ichigo. Orihime, wanting to help but devastated in knowing she can't, if forced to watch outside and have faith in Ichigo. Later, Ichigo breakes free from the dome with a defeated and dying Muramasa. After Muramasa apologizes for his mistakes, he fades away. While Orihime is saddened by this, Ichigo assures her that Muramasa died with his pride as a Zanpakutō.

Beast Swords arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

After Muramasa's defeat, Orihime is visited by Rangiku and her still manifested Zanpakutō spirit, Haineko. After learning about a new threat called the Tōjū, Orihime offers to help. She lends some of her clothes to the now Gigai-clad Haineko so she can see the living world. During their fun, they are attacked by one of the Tōjū, now transformed after fusing with a Hollow. Orihime uses her shield to protect them, before they are saved by Ichigo and Hitsugaya.

Powers

 * Orihime's power manifests itself as these six fairy-like creatures that reside in her hair-clips (shaped like six-petaled flowers, each fairy is two points on a given clip) when inactive. Through various combinations of the six fairies, Orihime has the power to reject fate by denying or undoing events in various forms. This power can be used for attack, defense, or healing (depending on the combination). Orihime's mood directly influences the effectiveness of her powers. Feelings like doubt or worry make them weaker, while conviction makes them stronger. At their height, her powers resemble those of a deity in strength.

The Vizard Hachi commented that her hair pins being the physical manifestation of her powers is very much like the Zanpakutō of a Shinigami. The Arrancar, Tesla, when holding Orihime captive warns her not to try to attack him as he can easily break the physical container of her Shun Shun Rikka, the hair pins themselves, stating that they are ridiculously weak.

Orihime's powers initially manifested during the duel between Ichigo and Uryū, while trying to protect her friend Tatsuki from Numb Chandelier. She was trained by Yoruichi Shihōin in their usage before attempting to rescue Rukia Kuchiki from being executed in Soul Society. Orihime's spiritual energy and powers resemble those of the Vizard Hachigen Ushōda. Orihime mainly functions in a defensive capacity, due to the nature of her powers. Despite her ability to inflict lethal damage, she is a pacifist and will only harm opponents to save someone's life.

The fairies are separate manifestations of Orihime's spirit, each with its own unique appearance and personality, and each named after a flower:

Ayame

 * Voiced by,Tomoe Sakuragawa, English Philece Sampler
 * Ayame is a shy female spirit covered in a dress larger than her body. She is capable of healing together with Shun'ō.



Baigon

 * Voiced by, Kiyoyuki Yanada, English: Liam O'Brien
 * Baigon is a bald male spirit with a mask that covers the bottom of his face. He is brawny and has a large body. He is capable of shielding Orihime from attacks along with Hinagiku and Lily.



Hinagiku

 * Voiced by, Daisuke Kishio, English: Kirk Thornton
 * Hinagiku is a male spirit with a large eyepatch that ends in a horn and is highly energetic. He is capable of shielding Orihime from attacks along with Baigon and Lily.



Lily

 * Voiced by Rie Kugimiya, English: Kate Higgins
 * Lily is a female spirit with bright pink hair, transparent yellow goggles, and a blue bathing suit. She has a tattoo on her backside. She is capable of shielding Orihime from attacks along with Baigon and Hinagiku.



Shun'ō

 * Voiced by, Junko Noda, English: Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Latin American Spanish: Javier Olguín
 * Shun'ō is a friendly young male spirit (who appears to be female in the anime) with a topknot. He and Tsubaki are usually the ones who talk to Orihime. He is capable of healing together with Ayame.



Tsubaki

 * Voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa, English: Wally Wingert, Latin American Spanish: Jorge Ornelas
 * Tsubaki is a fiery male spirit who is the only Shun Shun Rikka capable of direct attack. He often strikes anyone who gets on his nerves (including Orihime). Because he is primarily focused on attacking, he is vulnerable to counter-attacks and has been injured several times. The stronger Orihime's anger and killing intent, the more powerful he becomes. However, Orihime's timid nature limits his overall power and has contributed to his injuries in the past. At one point, Tsubaki was killed by the Espada Yammy Riyalgo, who crushed Tsubaki into tiny pieces. Orihime was distraught by this, and since the pieces were too small to find, she couldn't bring Tsubaki back. But due to meeting Hachi, who said Orihime's powers were similar to his, Tsubaki is restored by Hachi despite having no pieces of him.

Techniques
Orihime's techniques involve incantations manipulating the Shun Shun Rikka into three different groups. Though Orihime initially needed to recite their kotodama to use her techniques, further training has rendered this unnecessary. Her kotodama consists of voicing the names of the members involved, followed by the technique name and the phrase, a reference to the nature of her powers.


 * is Orihime's defensive technique. The incantation arranges Hinagiku, Lily, and Baigon into a triangle, forming a barrier capable of repelling anything on the far side. Because the barrier rejects negative events, it can also function as an airbag of sorts, allowing Orihime and anyone else nearby to survive a potentially lethal fall unharmed. It would seem her powers with this technique have improved as she was able to block an attack from Ulquiorra Cifer, the 4th Espada, in order to protect Ichigo Kurosaki. Despite the barrier breaking it was still an impressive feat.


 * is Orihime's healing technique, though it goes well beyond simple healing. The incantation summons Ayame and Shun'ō to form a half-oval barrier around whatever or whomever Orihime wishes. While active, the barrier repels all negative events inflicted upon anything within the barrier. No matter how extensive the damage may be (whether used on living beings or inanimate objects), the barrier can restore it to full working order, making it as if the object was never damaged in the first place. It can even resurrect the dead. The technique takes longer for more serious injuries, like losing a limb or an organ. Also, while Orihime can heal wounds quickly, it takes her longer to replenish the patient's Reiatsu. Large amounts of foreign spiritual pressure also make healing more difficult, and with enough it may completely halt the process.
 * This is the aspect of her power that piques Sōsuke Aizen's interest in her since, in Aizen's words, she "violates the realm of gods." At first it was believed the technique required that Orihime have some piece of what she is healing to restore what's missing. She was unable to heal Tsubaki after his destruction because he was shattered into pieces too small to find. However, it has been suggested by Hachigen Ushōda, a Vizard with similar powers, that Orihime should be able to restore anything she wants without actually having a piece of it. Ichigo has noted that while inside the oval, he was unable to exit it, leaving him wondering if her Shun Shun Rikka had been able to do this before.


 * is Orihime's offensive technique. The incantation summons Tsubaki, who forms a thin barrier to either side of himself. By flying at an enemy, the barrier can reject anything to either side of it, thus cutting through enemies like a sword. While Tsubaki can cut through basically anything, Orihime's general dislike of combat and hesitance to use lethal force degrades the effectiveness of the technique, making him easy to counter and equally easy to injure.

Abilities
Spiritual Power: While the level of Orihime's spiritual power is unknown, she is at least strong enough to survive separate assaults by Loly and Menoly, which involved physical attacks and the use of Bala, and minor assaults by Nnoitra and Tesla. Orihime was also able to get close to several battles between powerful opponents without being overwhelmed, such as the battles between Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, as well as Ichigo and Ulquiorra. In addition, during her basic training in Kidō with Kūkaku Shiba, it was shown that Orihime has a natural talent for precise spiritual energy control as she quickly mastered the technique.

Hand-to-Hand Combatant: While a pacifist by nature, Orihime has shown to have a natural talent for martial arts. She reveals that Tatsuki has trained her somewhat in karate; according to Tatsuki, Orihime has the fighting skill of a black belt, though in the English dubbed version of the anime, she says Orihime is at the skill of a yellow belt. Orihime was at least strong enough to incapacitate two unseated Shinigami soldiers.

Memory Chikan Resistance: Orihime was able to recall the event of her brother fighting Ichigo Kurosaki, even though the memory chikan has been used on her by Rukia, showing that she may be able to resist the effects of the memory chikan.

Ichigo Kurosaki
Ichigo is a friend and classmate of Orihime's. The two do not seem to interact much until Ichigo becomes a Shinigami, Orihime’s own powers awaken, and they have to defend Karakura Town from approaching dangers. The crush she had on Ichigo from the beginning of the series eventually develops into love, which she confesses to him before leaving for Hueco Mundo, while the latter is asleep.

Rukia Kuchiki
Soon after Orihime met Rukia, the two of them became close friends. Rukia served as Orihime’s mentor, lecturing her and teaching her on how to correct her mistakes, and training her to improve her skills. Orihime is the only person that Rukia approaches in times of hardships and trials, so a deep bond is shared between the two.

Uryū Ishida
In the beginning of the series, the two never seemed to talk to each other, even though they belong to the same club. However, after getting separated from the rest of the group during their rescue of Rukia Kuchiki, they begin to understand each other. Uryū seems to have a soft spot for her and will do anything to protect her. He also somewhat understands her feelings towards others. Orihime, in return, opens up to him and worries for his well-being.

Tatsuki Arisawa
About a year after her brother, Sora, died, Orihime became friends with Tatsuki. Tatsuki protected her from bullies who bothered her about her long hair and men who asked her out on dates, and as a result, they soon became best friends. Tatsuki taught her karate up to a black belt level (yellow belt in the English dub) for her own protection. Orihime has stated that the length of her hair is a symbol of her friendship with Tatsuki, and that she will never cut it again.

Ulquiorra Cifer
Ulquiorra is put in charge of abducting Orihime and taking care of her during her stay in Las Noches. Ulquiorra attempts to tear down Orihime's resolve during the imprisonment, especially during the start of her nakama's rescue, culminating in her slapping him in the face for insulting her friends (and Orihime breaking down into tears after being left alone). Ulquiorra does not understand the concept of the human heart and questions Orihime about it when they end up alone in the fifth tower. During Ulquiorra's recent fight with Ichigo, Ichigo commented that Ulquiorra has "become more human," which showcases the impact of Orihime's empathic personality on Ulquiorra's own emotional capacity. Before he dies, Ulquiorra reaches for Orihime's hand and, through her returned gesture, discovers his own Human heart.

Rangiku Matsumoto
Rangiku seems to have a strong relationship with Orihime. She often takes Orihime under her wing and tries to cheer her up when she is depressed, and Orihime can usually open up to Rangiku, in one instance even confessing her feelings for Ichigo and her emotional turmoil to her. Also, Rangiku is one of only two people who seem to like Orihime's cooking, with the other being Tessai.

Yasutora Sado
Orihime and Sado have a somewhat strong relationship. When he first fought Yammy Riyalgo, knowing that he could not defeat the Espada, Sado told Orihime to hide with Tatsuki in order to keep her away from the fight. When Sado is defeated, Orihime returns to heal and protect him. When Urahara attempts to remove Orihime from the front lines, Sado strongly objects to this, saying that she has been very helpful and that her healing and defensive powers are vital to them. Sado's relationship is also shown in the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc, when she worries for him when he passes out from Muramasa's ability.

Trivia

 * According to her character profile by Tite Kubo, her theme song is T'en va pas by Elsa.


 * She ranked 8th in the most recent Bleach popularity poll (she placed highly in previous polls placing 5th, 12th and 10th).
 * Her Shun Shun Rikka came 33rd tying with 2 others in the Zanpakutō popularity poll.

Quotes

 * "I was proud of my hair colour that my brother admired. I was happy to be told such things, so I grew my hair out ever since I was little. Soon after I entered middle school, 3rd years said they didn't like my hair colour and cut it. I had no choice but to cut the rest short to even it out. I couldn't tell brother. "I felt like changing it" is what I said to dodge the question. Then my brother died soon after. I became alone. I stopped talking, even at school, and became more alone than ever before. The one who stopped me from being that way was Tatsuki-chan. Tatsuki-chan yelled at me for backing down and she looked out for me. I could grow my hair out again thanks to her. I will never have short hair again, because my long hair is proof of my faith in Tatsuki-chan."


 * (To Numb Chandelier) "'I will not forgive those who hurt Tatsuki!"


 * (Thinking about Tatsuki Arisawa) "Thank you, Tatsuki. Please do not worry, Tatsuki. because Tatsuki will come find me, that's why I can go anywhere without worry. If the place I'm going is somewhere Tatsuki can't go, then please wait for me here, I will come back for sure. Come back to Tatsuki's side."


 * (To Rukia Kuchiki) "It's not frustrating at all. It's just... it's going to be lonely, not being able to fight alongside everyone. But being lonely isn't nearly as bad as being in the way. If I'm just going to be a hindrance to Kurosaki-kun, to everyone, then it's far better to be lonely"


 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki, who is asleep) "Kurosaki-kun, you know I had a lot of things I wanted to do... I want to be a teacher... I also want to be an astronaut... and also make my own cake shop... I want to go to the sweets bakery and say 'I want one of everything'... Ohhhh, I wish I could live life five times over. Then I’d be born in five different places, and I’d stuff myself with different food from around the world... I’d live five different lives with five different occupations... and then, for those five times... I’d fall in love with the same person..."


 * "I don't believe that he showed me the Hōgyoku because he trusts me... but, at least I have learned the location of the Hōgyoku... and... about my own power, too. Everything that has occurred... it reverses it all, and destroys the very event itself. Thank you, Kurosaki-kun, for coming to save me, but I've found something I must do here. And it's definitely...something only I can do. With my power... I will return the Hōgyoku to before it ever existed!"


 * (To Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck) "''Kurosaki-kun... doesn't assure us he is going to win for that reason. Kurosaki-kun is a kind person. Whenever he uses strong words, it's like he's making a promise. I believe that, he makes a promise to himself. I think that he expresses his feelings in words so that he will follow through. So that's why it's okay. When Kurosaki-kun says he is going to win, he'll win for sure. So...so that's why we should wait and believe in him.


 * (To Ulquiorra Cifer) "Maybe it's impossible to feel exactly the same way as another person, but it's possible for people to care about one another and to place their hearts as close together as they can manage. I'm sure that's what it means to make your hearts as one."