Solitude
I whipped this up in an hour and a half out of sheer boredom, plus it's my first fanfic, so be merciful ok?
Ichigo was walking home from school on a Friday afternoon. Even though it was Friday and he had an entire weekend to enjoy himself, he didn't feel the impulse to do anything.
Ichigo was interrupted by his thoughts as he walked through the front door and was greeted by his father's right foot.
"Ichigo! How could you miss Karin's soccer practice this morning!" Isshin bellowed at him, but was abruptly cut off from his tyrade when his face collided with an elbow.
"Some of us don't want to wake up at 5:00 am, you damn idiot!" Ichigo retorted, then stormed up to his room before his father could say anything else. Karin overheard the conversation, but didn't pay no attention to it, nor did she care much about his reason for missing her soccer practice. Even though it was her first practice since she attended high school, she would've slept in too if she were in Ichigo's shoes.
After slamming the door shut in his room, he threw his bookbag down on the floor and took a seat at his desk to calm himself down. After a couple of minutes, he starts to wonder to himself what he's going to do after high school. Even though his grades in school were well above average, there never was a profession that he could actually see himself doing. He hasn't exactly had much time to think about it since he has been fighting hollows since he was 15. Ichigo stops to ponder his time as a shinigami. It's been 17 months since he's lost his powers. Since then, there was a void that he couldn't quite fill. Sure, he missed the thrill of fighting hollows, of protecting his family and friends, and the innocent souls that wondered Karakura Town, but that alone wasn't bothering him.
I wonder what Rukia's doing...
Ichigo sighs as he shakes his head. He's been thinking about his relationship with her ever since he saw her fade right before his eyes.
Why did she look so sad? She's the one who can see me anytime she wants...
"Rukia..." Ichigo whispers out loud to himself. Even though his closet is finally free, he would much rather her be in it, knowing that she's always there to help him, to keep him company. He's been thinking about her a lot recently, more than anyone. She's always been the one person he could count on for anything, the only person who could put her entire trust in him.
She's the only one who stopped the rain ever since Mom died...
"You miss her, don't you Ichigo?" Isshin asks from the doorway. Ichigo nearly jumps through the ceiling at his voice. He thought his door was shut.
"What the hell are you doing in here, old man, I thought my door was-", he started, but then he thinks back on what his father just said.
"Like hell I do." he responds.
"Horseshit, I can tell by the expression on your face. The mere mention of her name makes you sad. Besides, you seemed a lot more at peace when she was around here. It was more lively here too, Yuzu and Karin both seemed to take a liking to her. It's a shame she had to leave." Isshin says.
"Yea, I guess. I guess I just miss being a shinigami and all. Even though I lost a lot of sleep and was overstressed at everything that's happened, I felt...content." Ichigo says, more to himself than his father.
"So it's decided, we shall bring you to Rukia-chan and lock you two in a room together so you can give me lots of grandbabies!" Isshin gushes, and Ichigo promptly bashes his father over the head, blushing madly at the image he's putting in his head.
Me and Rukia making love together...
He was about to hit his father again when he realized what exactly his father had just said to him. Ichigo look, shocked, at his father who once again looked at him with his composed stature.
"W-what do you mean...dad?" Ichigo stammers out, hardly believing what his father just said.
"Exactly as I mean, Ichigo. I can tell you aren't happy here. Even though you are surrounded by family and friends, I haven't seen you smile since you lost your shinigami powers. It's about time that you...join the Gotei 13." Isshin finishes, obviously not happy that he's willing to send his son to the Soul Society and away from him and his daughters.
"But what about my friends, Yuzu, and Karin?" Ichigo says. He doesn't want to hurt his sister's feelings by just up and telling them that he's going to leave this world, and that he wasn't sure when he could visit again.
"It's alright, Ichi-nii-san, dad here already brought it up to us." Karin chimed in from the doorway behind his dad, and Ichigo cringed slightly at the joke she just played on him.
"Yea brother, I mean, we'll miss you a lot, but as long as you come back to visit with Rukia-chan, we'll be just fine!" Yuzu said, siding with her sister.
"How about it, Ichigo? You willing to leave this life behind to pursue your destiny?" Isshin firmly states, and for the first time, in a long time, Ichigo has a small grin on his face.
I'll finally get to see Rukia again...
"How do I do it?" Ichigo asks, his eyes fixed on his father's.
"Simple, I'm going to kill you." His father explains. Ichigo doesn't immediately react.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" he screams, since this is not at all how he wanted to re-acquire his powers.
"I'm serious, Ichigo. The only immediate way to get your powers back is for you to die, and for me to perform a soul burial on you. Once you are in soul society, your dormant shinigami powers should be re-awakened. Enough time has passed that you should have enough reiatsu to sustain your shinigami form, I've confirmed this with Kisuke a few weeks ago." he calmly explains.
Ichigo pauses and thinks it through. Even though he's not keen on dying, he does desire to have the voice of Zangetsu echoing through his mind again, as well as see the woman who's made such a positive impact on his life since his mother's death.
"Alright, just let me grab something. I have something to return to that damned midget." Ichigo says.
"Ok, we're here." Isshin says. They have just arrived at the basement of Urahara's shop.
"Why here?" Ichigo asks.
"Because if we kill you here, then Kisuke can re-work the body into a gigai for you, in case you decide to return. Besides, if we did it in the house, it'd make a hell of a mess." he adds.
"That's right, Kurosaki-san, I promise I won't do anything else to it~!" Urahara sings out, and Ichigo decks him in the face.
"You'd better not, you damn two-bit hussler!" He screams at him. As much as he knows Urahara likes to make a quick profit, he trusts him enough that his body will be well taken care of.
Isshin removes himself from his body with a soul pill, and readies his sword at Ichigo.
"Ready, Ichigo?" Isshin asks with a bit of a grin on his face.
"Yea." he says, and Isshin thrusts the sword into his heart.
Karin looks away and Yuzu starts crying as his brother drops lifelessly to the ground in front of him, blood pouring out of his body.
Ichigo re-appears a moment later in his soul form, and Isshin positions the hilt above his head.
"Enjoy your new life, Ichigo." Isshin says, with a bit of sadness on his face.
"Dad...thank you." Ichigo says, with a look of content on his face. Isshin sees it, and grins, knowing that this will make his son happy. He steps forward and presses the hilt onto Ichigo's head.
Ichigo slowly opens his eyes and looks around. He realizes he's in the middle of Rukongai. Then he looks down and realizes he's in his shinigami robes. He smiles at the fact that, after 17 months, he was able to regain the ability to protect people.
"Ichigo..." Zangetsu's voice rings out inside of his head.
"Good to see ya again, old man." Ichigo says, glad that Zangetsu hasn't changed at all.
"The rain has let up, but it has not stopped. You know what we have to do..." Zangetsu says.
"Yea, don't worry old man. Soon you'll stop worrying about the rain and start complaining about the sun." Ichigo says. He's suspected what would make him happy above all else, but now he knows for certain after having such a long time to think about it after the Aizen incident.
I want Rukia to stay with me, to be at my side, forever.
He heads out of Rukongai and towards the front gate, and sees Jidanbou. Jidanbou sees him and immediately grins. He'd recognize that orange hair anywhere.
"Yo, Ichigo! What are you doin here? I thought you lost your powers..." he asks, and then realizes why he's here. "Oh...I'm sorry, what happened, were you murdered?" He asks gently.
"Me and my dad decided that I would be happier here, so he just sped up the process." Ichigo responds. "By the way, can you open the gate for me please?" he asks.
"Sure!" he replies, with the grin back on his face.
Ichigo walks into the entrance of the Gotei 13 and smiles. He's missed this place.
After spending nearly an hour navigating the corridors and running into several familiar shinigami, he gets near to the 13th division quarters. Before he gets there, he bumps into somebody.
"Hey, watch where you're going you damn-" the other man starts, and his jaw quickly drops when he realizes who he just bumped into.
"Renji!" Ichigo screams, and smiles as he looks at one of his best friends in Soul Society.
"Ichigo...what are you doing here? Don't tell me..." Renji says, unable to finish the sentence.
"Yea, I decided it was time to move on. I was never really happy with a normal life to begin with."
"But what about your friends, your family?" Renji asks.
"I decided to let Urahara tell my friends the news, and my family was just fine with it, as long as I come back to visit every now and again." Ichigo explains. Renji grins slightly at that.
"Well, in that case. I'm glad you're here. Rukia's gonna cry when she sees you. She never really seemed to smile that much ever since she returned to Soul Society after the war. She must care about you a great deal." Renji says thoughtfully, and Ichigo nods.
"Yea, don't worry Renji, I'll make it so that she never stops smiling." Ichigo says with a determined look at he leaves Renji to his business.
Ichigo enters the 13th division office and spots a seated officer at the desk.
"Hello, I'm looking for Rukia Kuchiki." Ichigo says.
"If you wish to meet an early death at the hands of the ice demon, then by all means. Head down the corridor, second door on the right." He says, then goes back to his business. Ichigo has a shit grin on his face now, knowing that he's so close to seeing her again. He tears down the corridor, grabs the doorknob and throws the door open.
"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you, you wanna di-" a raven haired petite woman screams, but then she pauses, then drops the stack of papers she was carrying. Then she starts to shake visibly, and starts to take shaky breaths as she realizes who just interupted her work.
"I..Ichi...go.." she gently stammers out, as he slowly steps forward towards her. He smiles as she still can't believe he's standing in front of her. He frowns, though, when he starts to see tears welling up in her eyes.
Ichigo wraps his arms around her and Rukia loses control completely. She starts crying entirely as she has her arms wrapped around him, praying this isn't a dream.
"Ichigo, I...I can't believe you're here...how did...what did you..." she can't continue any further before continuing to sob in his chest. He sighs and runs his fingers through her dark silky hair.
"My family decided that it was time for me to move on. My father decided to make me a full-time shinigami by sending me to the afterlife. Unfortunately, I had to die in order to do so." Ichigo explains.
"You had to die? But what about your friends, and family? You...you dummy..." she sobs out, shaking in his arms.
I can't stand to see her like this...
"They were fine with it. I wasn't happy in the real world. I missed my shinigami powers. I missed the ability to protect people. But most of all.." he says, and looks Rukia in her giant violet eyes.
"I missed you." he says, and Rukia's heart warms upon hearing those words.
I missed you too, you idiot...
"Besides, there's something that I've been meaning to give you for the past 17 months." Ichigo says, as he slowly lowers his head towards hers. Rukia's eyes widen slightly and give a beautiful look of shock. His lips gently brush against hers, and when she doesn't back away, he captures her lips with his own.
Rukia finds herself returning the kiss gently, savoring the taste and the passion that has been long overdue for her.
When he pulls away, he sees a look of pure happiness on Rukia's face.
"Don't worry Rukia, I'll make sure you never cry again. You were the only person who was ever able to make the rain go away ever since my mother died. I won't live without you. No one and nothing will stand in our way. It was destiny that brought us together, and that's how it's gonna stay. I love you, Rukia." he says, and he sees that she's crying again, but this time, he knows it's tears of happiness.
"Here, I brought you something from the real world." He says, and reaches inside his robes. Rukia smiles and looks up at him expectantly. That is, until something whacks her on top of the head.
"You damn midget, haven't I told you to stop leaving your crappy drawings in my room? If people see that, they're gonna think it's mine!" he screams at her, and Rukia is in a small state of shock.
"Y...you idiot, you know my drawings make your room that much more appealing! I have more talent in my pinky than you do in your entire body, moron!" She screams at him, and kicks him in the shin so hard, he drops the sketchbook, and she picks it up and sets it on her desk.
"Why you little-" he starts, but she runs out of the room, sticking her tongue out at him before disappearing down the hallway. Ichigo chases after her and does so all around the 13th division, making a spectacle in front of all shinigami present. Although Ichigo wants to drag her back to the office and beat her in the head with the sketchbook, he realizes...
I'm never happy without Rukia. Life without her is a life of solitude.