TheGoldenBoy said:
It's definitely possible. I just don't understand the reasons for highlighting Orihime's feelings if he was just going to go the IchiRuki path. It makes no sense and feels inefficient in a way. But it is obvious that it'll be probably be one or the other he ends up with and while it does look like he might end up having to stay in Soul Society, I still find it hard to believe that Urahara won't find away for Ichigo to stay with his family. There's also the fact that I can't see Ichigo leaving his sisters.
Or maybe Kubo is just trolling all of us and Ichigo ends up with no one.
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I for one thing it's a great opportunity to finally let Orihime get some major character development for once. I really disliked how Orihime trained and all that during the Arrancar arc only to fall apart when the idea of Ichigo rescuing her was brought up. That, and the Lust arc, where she screamed to a basically dead Ichigo to save her, even in his state, made it obvious to me that Orihime's obsession with Ichigo was a major flaw in her character. Despite her efforts in the Fullbring arc, she was still the same old Orihime from the beginning of the Arrancar arc. I thought she finally got some development and even started to entertain IchiHime as a likely possibility during the beginning of the FullBring arc, specifically when she defended Ichigo and gave her speech about how she'd protect him and that she's done being weak and all that. Though I took that back when she and Chad defended Tsukishima. One might say that it's not her fault, and that Tsukishima's memory alterations shouldn't be counted as evidence, but Byakuya's fight with Tsukishima proved otherwise. Byakuya's mind was altered, just like Orihime's, but the fact that he held the fact that Tsukishima was an enemy of Ichigo's front and foremost, even though he remembered him as an important ally, made it clear to me that Orihime (and surprisingly, Chad) weren't so true to Ichigo as I had previously thought. I'm one of the few people who LOVE the Fullbring arc, but this moment really aggravated me, though it was more due to Chad's confrontation with Ichigo, rather than Orihime's. She developed, sure, but it was far less than I had originally thought and hoped. At least it's not Lust arc level though.
The reason I said it's a good opportunity for some good, legitimate major character development was because I think that if Kubo finally makes her realize that her obsession for Ichigo is always bringing her down, and making her weak, and that she'd be better off without it, then she'd become a stronger person. Of course, this could lead to a more legitimate IchiHime, but with how Bleach's ending seeming (unfortunately) close, I don't see how there'd be enough time to write out a good recovery. However, if a development like this does occur, I'd hope that Orihime would finally take notice of a man who does actively care for her more that her other friends (unlike Ichigo), and you probably know who I'm talking about. That'd be if he doesn't end up dying too, lol.
But yeah, It's right in Kubo's alley to do all this build up and then just leave Ichigo single, or like I said before, make him Soul King 2 (Which, in a way, makes sense, because he's part every type of soul, lol. He's part Shinigami, part Hollow, part Quincy, and thus, part human).
