Bleach: Orihime's confession to Ichigo proves why "Ichihime" was the inevitable route

From the start of Bleach, fans were divided between two popular ships, Ichihime and Ichiruki. Hence, the two fanbases were often at each other's necks. However, these arguments finally concluded with the series' end, as Ichigi ended up with Orihime, and Rukia ended up with Renji.

However, many fans believed that Ichigo and Orihime ending up with each other was inevitable especially when there were clear signs that the series was building up to it. The primary hint for this was Orihime Inoue's confession to Ichigo which she made before she left for Hueco Mundo with Espada Ulquiorra Cifer.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Bleach manga.

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Bleach: What is special about Orihime's confession to Ichigo?

Orihime Inoue as seen in the Bleach anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Orihime's confession to Ichigo was special because she believed that she was seeing her love for the final time. After Sosuke Aizen learned about Orihime's powers, he ordered his Espada Ulquiorra Cifer to bring Orihime to him. Hence, the Espada apprehended her. However, before they left for Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra allowed Orihime to bid her farewell to only one person.

Orihime had several friends to whom she wanted to say goodbye to, however, believing that it was the last time she would see them, Orihime decided to use the opportunity to bid farewell to Ichigo and confess her love for him.

Kurosaki Ichigo as seen in the Bleach anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

This development saw Orihime sneaking into Ichigo Kurosaki's room at night. She knew that Ichigo was unconscious after his battle against the Espada. Thus, she was able to unveil her feelings openly without being shy about it.

During the confession, she even approached to kiss Ichigo, however, she could not muster up the courage and began crying. Orihime then began to list out her dreams. She wanted to become a school teacher, astronaut, baker, or even go to a doughnut or ice cream shop and order all varieties.

Orihime Inoue as seen in the Bleach anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

She then went on to wish that she had been born five different times in five different towns. Such a situation might have helped her experience her dream of living in different towns and pursuing different careers. However, for Orihime, the cream of the crop would be that she would be able to fall in love with the same person (Ichigo Kurosaki) five times.

This confession melted fans away back during the Arrancar: The Hueco Mundo Sneak Entry Arc itself. Nevertheless, the arguments between Ichihime and Ichiruki fans continued for years to come.

Renji Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki as seen in the Bleach manga (Image via Shueisha)

It is understandable why certain fans believed Ichigo and Rukia were a better match. Even Orihime herself was shown to believe that Rukia liked Ichigo. However, even after the manga evidently paired up Renji with Rukia, many fans were adamant that the manga creator Tite Kubo had seemingly made a grave error in his pairing.

Nevertheless, the manga creator remained adamant about his initial plan and had Ichigo and Orihime get married to each other. This was evident from the manga's end which showed fans the events that took place 10 years after the battle against Yhwach in the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc.

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