Chapter 01

Inescapable

- Now –

Soft silvery white strands of hair gently fluttered in the hushed winds that were heading southeast from his spot outside the office where he leaned against the railing to overlook Seireitei in order to watch the sunrise with gratitude of it being so peacefully if only for just this moment. A smile crept forth on his face as he watched the slow morning rising from its faint darkened slumber with content silence until feeling a familiar reiatsu that was once so noticeable but now faint to notice due the supposed training that many had heard of the person going through in the other world. His turquoise orbs angrily turned away from the peaceful sunrise to look below the third story to see that there were two men walking together which happened to be Abarai Renji and Kurosaki Ichigo, and if anything, they could be considered the troublesome two when it came right down to it. Recently however, the orange-haired man had been lurking around Soul Society more often and witnessed roaming Seireitei freely and doing minor errands with the man that he was with right now, but no one bothered to think much on the appearance of someone deemed worthy of their trust. Just as the turquoise began to turn back to the beautiful sunrise of the morning, they caught something suspicious and turned immediately back to the two so that he could confirm what it was that he was seeing; the two were casually holding hands as if... as if they were taking a morning walk together, like a couple. It was so bizarre for the one leaning on the railing to see such an action between two grown males—let alone two people he knew, and so the turquoise eyes tried to direct their attention to what was left of the sunrise so that the others would have their privacy of being together, but staring could not be helped. By now, they were passing in front of the little one watching them and they gave no reason to even acknowledging that he was there as they walked on without a care in the world, and this slightly irritated him so he adjusted to the sight that he was seeing and decided to speak out to them finally.

"What are you doing in Soul Society, Kurosaki Ichigo?" The white-haired captain asked stoically.
Both of the two stopped and looked up. "Oh wow, hey Toushirou! What are you doing awake?"
He growled at the lack of respect shown, 'you may be stronger, but you're as stupid as ever.'
The red-haired lieutenant nudged quietly at the other, "you can at least address him properly."
"Huh?" Ichigo looked at him with curiosity. "Why? No one else cares how I address them."
"Actually, you get Kuchiki taichou annoyed by it sometimes. He says you're too friendly with him."
His eyes rolled, "whatever, I don't see the big deal, unless you want me to give them pet names."

Angry about his question avoided, Toushirou hopped down and crossed his arms, "I asked you a question, Kurosaki."

"See, even he gives you some respect." The lieutenant pointed out as he released Ichigo's hand. "Now show some back."
"You know you're picking an argument that you're not going to win." Ichigo pretended to clean his ear with a finger.
This angered the lieutenant who clenched his fists. "Keh," he turned around with his arms crossed defiantly.
Now the orange-haired substitute Shinigami turned to the little captain, "wait, what was your question again?"
Toushirou closed his eyes angrily and repeated himself, "I asked what you are doing in Soul Society, bastard."
He grinned at this and looked to the redhead, "oh yeah Renji, I felt the respect coming from the end of that sentence."
"I'm not talking to you." Renji announced with his back turned to him angrily. "I'm going to my lodge without you."

"Alright, I'll stay with Toushirou then," Ichigo teased as he came over to the little captain's side, "see you later, Abarai fukutaichou."

Renji turned around to fume at the orange-haired representative with tinted cheeks and was about to retort with a yell, but because of Hitsugaya Toushirou was standing right there in the midst of things, he backed down from it by calming down and bowing to his superior before turning around and left. Ichigo smiled lightly at the pouting lieutenant that managed to storm away heatedly to his lodge; it was obvious that Renji was quite the jealous when someone else would received Ichigo's devoted attention, but to prove that he could handle everything, he left without making a single remark. Toushirou could not help but feel confused and a little bit unnerved to see that he was now in some sort of relationship issue between Renji and Ichigo without seeing it coming, and so he had his turquoise orbs peer up at the Shinigami representative with an irritated scowl as he spoke once again.

"I won't ask a third time." The captain stated.

"Yeah, yeah," Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "I just came here to see how everyone was doing."
"It appears you came to see what Abarai was doing." He hinted his curiosity of where those to stood.
"Ah, you were watching then?" The man shrugged. "You don't have any problems with it, do you?"
Snorting at the question, he turned around to walk away, "I don't have an opinion on couples."
"Anyway, I did come to see everyone, not just Renji." Therefore, he asked curiously, "what's up?"
Toushirou stopped in place and spoke. "My business is nothing you need to know about, Kurosaki."

"Don't be so uptight," Ichigo walked over to his side, "I meant how you are doing—I heard you've been overworking."
'Most likely Matsumoto opened her large mouth and spoke to him about doing work for the fifth squad.' He grunted angrily.
"Okay, how about this then," the representative started over, "how's your friend doing, that... Hinamori Momo?"
Toushirou glared. "Is there a logical reason as to why you believe you need to know any of this information, Kurosaki?"
He blinked, "does there need to be logic to be concerned for friends?" His hand lowered away from his head slowly.
"You are sadly mistaken if you assume that we, you and I, are friends. We are nothing but mere acquaintances."

"Brat," Ichigo huffed before decided to walk off, "alright then, I'll go talk to Rangiku-san and just talk with her about it."
"What did you just call me?" The little captain scowled, only to have his head patted on as if he was just a little kid.
He smiled just to piss him off and replied. "Don't worry about it—" he stopped mid-sentence and sighed, "damn it."
"Kurosaki Ichigo-dono," A man called out; it was Sasakibe Choujirou. "You are being requested for by soutaichou."
Ichigo removed his hand from Toushirou's head, "I already saw the old man last night, why does he need me now?"
"Sir," he paused and glanced at the tenth squad captain, but returned to looking to Ichigo, "please follow me."
"No thank you." The representative sighed as he crossed his arms. "My answer to him is still the same."
"Kurosaki-dono, I am only following orders. Soutaichou would like to see you in his office as soon as possible."
Growling, Ichigo turned to him. "As you can see, I'm busy talking to Hitsugaya taichou, you're interrupting us."

"Forgive me sir, but if you do not come now, I believe he said he would force you to come." Choujirou bowed nervously.

Toushirou continued to watch back and forth between the Commanding-General's lieutenant and the Shinigami representative while trying to figure out what it was that the elder captain wanted with the orange-haired terror when his very being would always cause some sort of constant trouble or issues. However, it was not unnoticed that Ichigo had finally said Toushirou's title as a captain, but in return, the subject seem like it was very serious for some reason—but then again, it must have been serious if Yamamoto-Genryuusai Shigekuni wanted to see Kurosaki Ichigo , and the lieutenant afraid of revealing information. Suddenly, two messengers appeared and said the same thing as the lieutenant; that the Commanding-General was awaiting for his presence in his office for a private conversation, and Toushirou watched as the orange-haired Shinigami substitute sighed in annoyance of the pressure.

"Alright already, I'll go! You're dismissed!" Ichigo roared in frustration because it was still early in the morning. "Damn it."
"What is so important that he would send several men to retrieve you?" The little captain asked; trying not to sound interested.
He turned to look at the little one before sighing and putting his hand in his robe, "sorry, but it's none of your business, right?"
Snorting at the backfire, he replied, "I suppose." He had been off guard when Ichigo released a hell butterfly. "What the..."
"I guess you wouldn't know, huh?" His hands went to his sides with surprise. "It's forbidden for taichou to know about it anyway."
"Trying to rub this in my face will not work, for I have no concern of why you are summoned." Turquoise eyes rolled in annoyance.

"Oh? So, if to say that I might be stealing your position as taichou, you still wouldn't be concerned?" Ichigo grinned.

Immediately the little captain became all ears to the substitute, "what did you say?" Little did he know that he fell for the bait.
"Ah, so you are curious, you just didn't want to show it," he grinned, "you're predictable once I've adjusted to that childish attitude."
Snorting in annoyance, Toushirou retorted. "The only child standing here would be you—flaunting your feelings against everyone."
"At least I am not afraid to show my feelings though, right? It's important to express them." His hand waved. "See ya Toushirou."

"It's Hitsugaya taichou to you," sighed the white-haired captain who turned around to walk up the stairs to the office where he was at earlier. 'As if I would be replaced when there are three spaces left to fill, how stupid.' He thought to himself; a little insecure of the slightest thought of removal from the Gotei 13—he would have nowhere to go. 'Damn Kurosaki Ichigo for making me think of this...'

There was no way in Heaven or Hell would he lose his position as the tenth squad captain when there were still opening for squads three, five, and nine; there was no need for him to be removed from a position that he deserved by showing his ability of bankai and his quick thinking that would help out. His gentle pale hand slid open the door and walked down the barely empty hallway where some lower ranked Shinigami were passing through with assortments of papers that needed to be handed out to others eventually, and he finally made it to the administration office where there would be peace and quiet. He opened the sliding door and looked in the room and instantly scowled at what he saw, two lieutenants were lounging carelessly on the couches while drinking sake without even noticing that a captain had made his presence known by emitting his very irritated growl once he crossed his arms. Abarai Renji and Matsumoto Rangiku lifted their heads up to see the little white-haired bundle of endless working without having any fun by doing something, and so they swayed the tenth squad captain without a care and made a toast to Renji's rough relationship with Ichigo. This crap about relationships was somehow getting on his last nerve so early in the morning that it made him ignore the two of the lieutenants and just began working on the paperwork that arrived for him to work on, and it turned out that there would be a few missions later on this week. All matters of concentration began to fade from the paperwork and went towards the two drunken idiots lying on opposite couches, as it was mainly Renji talking about how abusive Ichigo was with him while Rangiku comforted him by saying that it was better than him running away all of the time. They went on and on about Ichigo and his 'manly figure' and his 'unbelievable touches,' and it made the little captain feel a bit ill at the conversation of love and sex—it could be because he had never encountered either subjects mentally or physically, but it was still disgusting to him right now.

"But his... abuse... it's addicting," Renji's tone slurred his words.
"I bet..." she rubbed her breasts, "you're tempting me to ask him..."
"His mines... bitch," he grumbled, falling off the couch with a thud, "ow..."
"Aw..." Rangiku flopped on her back, "you share the action...'bout threesome?"
'Can someone please take at least one of these idiots?' Toushirou thought angrily.

As if a pray had been answered, someone knocked on the door and entered. "Sorry to interrupt," Ichigo appeared surprisingly and searched around to see Renji faced down on the ground, "...drinking again, damn it." He kicked the fallen man, "hey, get up or else I'll leave you here to suffer." When there was no reaction, he kicked a little harder, "Renji, get up."

Renji turned over, groaning. "I don't wanna get up. You... you get down here." He hiccupped.
"I told you not to drink after waking up you idiot." The orange-haired Shinigami scolded.
"Kuro... Ichi... taichou..." Rangiku swayed her hand, "you too uptight like taichou..."
He rolled his eyes and turned around, "I'm going home Renji, see you later—"
"You ain't leaving!" Renji sat up immediately. "I got no kiss yet!"
"I don't like the taste of sake much and you know it."

"What was your summoning about, Kurosaki?" The captain questioned sternly.
Turning to him, he replied curiously, "well now, aren't you the social bug?"
His body stiffened, "it was only a question. Never mind..." He backed down.
"Don't play coy with me Toushirou, and I told you I'm forbidden to tell you."
"Since when did you abide by the rules?" He grabbed a cup of tea on his desk.
Ichigo scratched his head, "yeah... I wonder," he huffed, "blame the old man."
"You never listened to his commands either. Are you becoming loyal to him finally?"

"Hah," he half laughed at that, "I don't obey orders—suggestions maybe, but not orders." Ichigo sighed and looked around the silent administration office as he added. "Besides, I think you know me better than that; that family and friends are my first priority." His soft brown eyes turned to the little captain with a smile, "and that I would do anything for them. For them, I'd obey an order." Just as Toushirou was going to be sly about the words and demand to address him by his title, he spoke, "if I feel like obeying them, that is."

Angered about this, he snorted and held the cup of tea to his lips, "then do me a favor and disappear for a while." He joked badly.
After two minutes of silence, both lieutenants were out cold from drinking, he asked, "That's what you want from me, Toushirou?"
Not noticing the slight hurt in the other's tone, he continued. "Yes, that is an order from a friend—if, that is what we are of course."
"Trying to test me, huh?" He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Then can I say goodbye to some people first then?"
'Is he taking me seriously?' There was only way to find out. "No, so hurry up and leave, I have paperwork to do."

Ichigo frowned, "if that's what you want..." he took out an earpiece and spoke, "hey Choujirou, is Gramps there?" The lieutenant confirmed his question. "Good, then tell him that, by order of Hitsugaya taichou, I agree to his demands. I'm ready for departure." With that stated and again confirmed—he walked over to Renji's collapsed form. "I wish I could take you with me, but it's against the rules, you know? But you better take care of Rukia, you damn dog." His attention went to the now surprised white-haired captain, "I know it might seem a little much, but when Renji wakes up, can you tell him what happened? That I'm going to 'disappear' and all?"

It seems that Kurosaki Ichigo had taken Toushirou's poor joke too seriously and managed to make it a reality, but that could not be possible when there were so many people that would most likely panic because of his disappearance, and he immediately stood up once the man began to glow. The pain of seeing the familiar act struck the small one hard and stepped around the desk and came towards the orange-haired representative that was glowing with a glittering blue hue that would match the color of appearance from his reiatsu, and a mere replica of forming cold ice. Before he could call out an objection to the other's agreeing mind of his words, a large callused hand came up and caressed the silvery white strands of his hair gently—as if he was trying to tell him that everything was going to be okay despite that he was going to disappear for forever. This twisted Toushirou's insides which made him smack the hand away from his head and looked up and the brown eyes to yell out his objection, but flashes of this familiar routine made him fall silent; that dreaded feeling of guilt was trying to smother him again as it had long ago.

Toushirou frowned pleadingly.

"Don't give me that look, Toushirou." Ichigo smiled as his body began to fade.
The captain tried to object, "I didn't mean like this you bastard."
"Oh well," he chuckled without a care. "But I hate..." he was gone.

"Kurosaki!" Toushirou yelled in panic to the top of his lung at the disappearance, startling the two lieutenants as they stirred awake.

The small captain stood there frozen from disbelief of how serious the man had vanished in front of his eyes so willingly that it shattered his resolve and reopened the wounds of the past, was it really his way to prove his loyalty to him—by sacrificing himself by misunderstanding another's desire of want the substitute to leave his office? Rangiku was the first to sit up and look around for any sign of the orange-haired person that was there last time she looked, and then turned to her captain to see him standing in the middle of the administration office... staring wide-eyed in either surprise or fear about something. Renji was the second to sit up and glanced around in hopes of seeing his partner standing before him or sitting against the couch as he would when he would wake up from his slumber, but there was not even a shred of reiatsu for him to trace to state that he was even there to begin with.

"Wasn't Ichigo in here?" Rangiku groaned as she rubbed her forehead.
"Must've been mad that I was drinking," Renji grumbled tiredly, getting himself up.
"I bet you'll lose a lot of cuddling time!" She beamed out in a teasing laughter.
His cheeks reddened, "s-shut up, I barely get any cuddle time anyway!"

"Abarai..." Toushirou regained little composure and looked to the lieutenant, "I'm sorry..."

The redhead raised an eyebrow, "what's Hitsugaya taichou apologizing for?"
"I don't know—he probably made Ichigo run away." Rangiku continued laughing.
"Kurosaki Ichigo is no more," the captain stated, "he's gone, and so, I'm truly sorry."
"Don't worry about it; I'll go visit him in the human world on my days off." Renji replied.
The busty woman saw that uncertain look in those turquoise eyes, "what happened?"

Toushirou silently walked out of the room and tried to be as quick as possible without making it look like he was in rush about the situation; but what situation was that supposed to be—the one where he joked by telling the idiot to disappear from his sight and he unfortunately took it seriously? A black and red fluttering Hell Butterfly made its appearance in front of the preoccupied captain, but it managed to gather his attention long enough to give him a message that there was an emergency meeting for the captains, and that it was requested that all of the captains were presented immediately. Well it made it all the more easier for the tenth squad captain to find the Commanding-General instead of going on instincts to find him, and so he turned the corner of the hallway and headed towards the meeting that was being assembled at this very moment, but why did it have to be now? Give or take seven minutes later, everyone was in the presence of the elder whom sat down on his chair with his staff in hands as he waited for them to be prepared for the things that he had to say, they could only hope that it was nothing serious right now after all that they had been through recently. Silence made the air somewhat uncomfortable for the smallest captain because he wanted to talk in private about the situation with Ichigo disappearing in front of his eyes as if he ...died, the staff knocked against the flooring between the feet of the Commanding-General, and everyone turned to look at the elder as the meeting began.

"First of all, thank you all for coming at such short notice." Shigekuni started, his eyes contently closed. "This meeting will be short and simple; the subject is the substitute Shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo. As of today, he no longer exists in our world." He announced.

"Oh, did he return home already?" Juushirou asked confusedly. "I saw him this morning, walking around."
"What do you mean by 'no longer exists,' you make it sound like he was killed, aren't you?" Shunsui asked calmly.
"Precisely," Shigekuni stated, "none of you, nor your subordinates are allowed to waste time searching for him, understood?"
'So he really died?' Toushirou thought to himself insecurely. 'Because I had told him that I wanted him to disappear, but why...?'
"How the hell did Ichigo die?" Kenpachi asked in bitter annoyance. "I didn't sense him fighting anyone this morning."
"The cause is unknown," the old man stated, meaning that it was actually confidential. "I will personally look into this."
'But you know that it was my fault that I gave the order,' Toushirou thought, 'so why not punish me for what I had done?'


The news about the death of Kurosaki Ichigo had spread across Soul Society faster than wildfire itself, it went down to even the smallest infants ears to hear, and the Rukongai part of Soul Society mourned with cries for the unfortunate loss of a great man as the Seireitei part of Soul Society mourned with silence for him. Captains and lieutenants continuously asked one another how a man so strong and brave, died without any record of how it happened, but alas; no one could look into it as a murder case because it was forbidden once the Commanding-General said that it was off limits to everyone. Some of them murmured with one another saying how there was possibly some hope because it was forbidden to look at the case files, but it could also be that a man that is human and Shinigami should not be remembered, there were so many options that it left many people in turmoil. There was one captain that the turmoil had struck before the meeting—when he watched the orange-haired man fade away like a distant memory; a memory that they had to forget about ...but how could anyone forget the idiot when he made an impact on everyone he met? Not able to face his squad or lieutenant at the time being, Toushirou went to his lodge and leaned against the railing to observe the noon clouds scurrying together and merging so that they too could cry for the loss of Kurosaki Ichigo, and he hated the damned feeling of being guilty. A familiar reiatsu came towards the lodge and knew who it was before turning to look at him with masked eyes; wanting the red-haired lieutenant to just turn around and leave him alone so the day could be over with, but then Ichigo's voice rang in his mind, telling him to explain what had happened when he was out cold. Renji watched the little captain silent to see if he would falter at his appearance because of earlier, and then turned around to have his back lean casually against the railing with his eyes closed with content, he remembered Ichigo telling him that Toushirou could be sensitive with things like this.

"I had a feeling you would be here," Renji started quietly. "Ichigo once told me that, if someone's upset, they'd go to their room."
In a quiet tone, the small one spoke out, "I am truly sorry for your loss, Abarai. If I had know that he would do such a thing, I—"
"He ain't dead," he interrupted, smirking as he looked to the side. "He might be far away, but he's definitely not dead."
"I saw Kurosaki fade away, how can you be so positive about him being alive?" His tone lowered softly.
"He doesn't die without a fight, and he lives for his friends." Chuckling, the lieutenant added. "He would live and die for us."

Toushirou looked up at the content lieutenant with a frown, and then turned away, "Kurosaki wanted me to tell you what happened after he told you to take care of Kuchiki Rukia." His eyes lowered with shame. "He had told me that he would do anything for friends and family, so I attempted to joke by telling him to disappear, and afterwards he faded away as if he was really dead."

"If he is dead then, he'll be waiting on the other side for us." Renji smiled. "If he isn't dead, we'll be waiting for him here."
"You two, you had a relationship, didn't you?" He looked up at him. "I saw you holding each other's hands this morning."
"Yeah, but I think that you're the last person to know about it." A finger scratched his cheek lightly, "everyone knew about it."
"Zaraki taichou, Soi Fon taichou, and Kuchiki taichou even knew?" The captain watched his head nod at the question.
"They didn't care for it much, Yamamoto soutaichou allowed it because it was Ichigo, and if we'll still follow our orders."

'E-Even the old codger knew about their damn relationship,' his head dipped, 'how irritating...'

"I have to be honest though that I'm going to miss him," the lieutenant turned around and leaned forward against the railing, "Ichigo had been under stress recently because of soutaichou," he tried to think about it, "every time I asked, he said that it was forbidden."
Toushirou attempted to smile at the man, "you like being with Kurosaki, don't you?" Receiving a curious look, he turned away and frowned, "you both seem content when being with each other—I'm not trying to judge you two either, I'm just saying."
"We don't care what others think about it, but I couldn't say the same for myself though." He turned around again and sat against the rail. "I think I was terrified about others finding out about it, but Ichigo took it head on and took my hand." His cheeks tinted red.
"Kurosaki isn't someone who seems to be afraid of such a trivial thing," the captain mumbled aloud, "but I guess one would be a little nervous to have others find out about that you're homosexuals. At least things turned out alright for you both."

"I'm the homosexual, Ichigo's bisexual." Renji announced quietly. "I thought I liked Rukia in that type of way, but I realized that I was protecting her more than falling for her, and then I noticed Ichigo and how he was with everyone." He scratched his head. "After I accepted that part of me, I confronted Ichigo and he accepted my feelings." A thought ran across his mind and chuckled as he placed his hand down against his leg. "Even in his sleep, he has a frown gracing his lips, but I still have problems understanding."

Toushirou rubbed his temples delicately as he tried to ask him. "Why is it you're here Abarai?"
"To make sure you're not blaming yourself about Ichigo, it's what he'd want." He replied quietly.
"What, he wouldn't want me to keep in my emotions to myself again?" His eyes rolled.

Renji looked up at the white-haired captain to see that he was looking out towards the clouds as it began to sprinkle slowly and he frowned when seeing that the boy was in deep thought. "He wouldn't want you to feel guilty." He lifted his right hand and looked at it as if he expected Ichigo to grab it and give him comfort, but it was not going to come to him and so he sighed tiredly and stood up. "Also, if I had decided that I was going to hate you for what happen, nothing but chaos would come from it. Ichigo would be upset that I was angry with you, that, and you're a captain—so I wouldn't be able to do anything about it." His hands patted himself so that the dust would leave his attire. "I better get going or else Kuchiki taichou would beat me senselessly."

"Abarai," the little captain called out quietly, "one question."
He tilted his head confusedly, "uh... sure... what is it?"
"Why do you like Kurosaki Ichigo in that fashion?"

Renji blinked in surprise and took a moment to think, "I guess because, no matter what happens, he seems to understand what I try to tell him?" He then grinned. "Despite losing to him every time, it's great to argue with him. However, I think it's because he is more loyal to others than anyone I know." His hand raised and saluted the captain happily. "Well, see you later Hitsugaya taichou."

The captain looked to the stars… worried about Ichigo for once.


A/N: I have a lot of stories to catch up on right now, so I don't know when the next update will be.