She is, and Hachi fixed Tsubaki!

They entered the warehouse, and Shinji walked forward to greet them. "Yo, you're back a little sooner than I expected... And you got some company I see," he added, looking at the three nervous Arrancar. "...care to share what that's about?"

"We found them in Hueco Mundo, and they weren't hostile," Ichigo replied, before pointing at Dodonchaka and Pesche. "We accidentally attacked these two, felt bad about it, and offered to heal her mask," he finished, pointing at Nel, who waved nervously.

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "Sure that's fine? It's kind of risky. What if they work for Aizen?" he inquired.

"If they do, we'll worry about it later," Ichigo waved Shinji off. "Also, the method Rukia suggested works. We let our Inner Hollows eat one of the more mindless ones up there, and I'm already feeling just a tad stronger. We probably could have stuck around longer, but I want to check if Orihime can Reject the souls out of us, and if possible, do so without removing the additional power we gained, before we consume a whole bunch."

"Makes sense, best to test these sorts of things early on," Shinji agreed. "On that note, she's down in the training area. Hachi should have finished fixing up Tsubaki by now." He jerked over his shoulder with his thumb. "I'm gonna head over with Kensei and Love to Urahara's, and if what you suggested with Inoue works, go with them to Hueco Mundo. You have my number, text me and let me know."

"Copy that," Ichigo nodded, before he and Shinji walked past each other, Kensei and Love joining Shinji, Yoruichi escorting the trio back to the shop.

Sure enough, Orihime was gushing over Tsubaki, much to the aggressive spirit fairy's ire, and thanking Hachi profusely. "Orihime!" Rukia called cheerfully.

Orihime turned to look towards them and beamed. "Guys!" she waved eagerly, shooting up to her feet and brushing off her knees. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing much, just training hard," Ichigo noted. "More importantly, I just got back from Hat and Clogs's place, and I got him to spill the real reason he didn't want you training."

Orihime paused. "The real reason?" she asked, tilting her head, confused.

"You really should know better than to take anything that pretend merchant says at face value by now," Rukia noted as Ichigo explained.

When he finished, Orihime grimaced, and admitted, "I suppose that makes sense... But isn't that more reason for me to train so I can defend myself better if he does try to capture me?"

"That's what I said!" Ichigo threw his hands up. "For someone so smart, he can be a real dumbass!"

"So... Is she the one you mentioned?" Nel asked from behind Ichigo, tugging his robe and pointing to Orihime.

"Yeah, she is," Ichigo nodded as Orihime blinked and looked curiously at Nel.

"Who's this?" she asked.

"Nel is Nel!" Nel replied. "And these two are Nel's bros, Dodonchaka and Pesche!" The other two named Arrancar waved awkwardly.

"They're Arrancar. Long story, but they're not hostile. At any rate, do you think you can heal up Nel's mask here?" he asked, pointing to the cracked mask.