It had been a year since Ichigo had defeated Aizen. A year since the Soul Society had almost been destroyed. Even now Central 46 had yet to be fully re-seated. The damage to the 13 court guard divisions had been massive. The funeral of Ukitake Taicho was evidence of that. All of Seretei had turned up to his funeral. So had the Vizards and those who had fought from the world of the living. Kyoraku changed after Ukitake's death. He became more serious, stopped wearing his pink haori, paid attention to paperwork and was never again seen in a drunken haze. You think Ise Fukutaicho would have been thrilled, but from the unhappy tilt of her lips and severe expression it seemed that she missed her old fun-loving taicho. He never called her Nanao-chan again after the funeral.
It had been a devastating blow for Yamamoto Soutaicho. Ukitake was the closest he had to a successor. Despite his illness, the thirteenth division taicho had been immensely powerful, but more than that he had the unique ability to control the other taichos. Even Kenpachi would, occasionally, listen to him. The death of Ukitake had shaken the Soul Society in a way even more fundamental than the traitorous acts of Aizen, Gin and Tosen.
In the aftermath, Ichigo and his friends had returned to the world of the living. The still hunted the occasional hollow who strayed into Karakura Town, but on the whole, everything began to return to normality. Yamamoto officially pardoned the actions of Ichigo, his friends and the Vizards. The Vizards and the Urahara Shoten returned to Seretei. Of course everyone promised to keep in touch. Urahara and Kyoraku silently swore to themselves to keep an eye on Ichigo – after all, someone with so much power would need training in order to control it. There were some lingering concerns about his hollow, but the Vizards dismissed it, telling anyone who asked that Ichigo was in control, and they would always be available to help him if his control slipped. Isshin and Yamamoto quietly arrange monthly updates to ensure that both worlds were kept up to date with the happenings of the other.
Isshin knew the war had changed Ichigo. He had never been an outwardly happy kid, but he had always shown a level of contentment. He also had the fortunate attribute of attracting and retaining loyal friends. But as time went on, Ichigo gradually became more and more remote. It was like watching someone slowly die. Isshin was frequently woken by Ichigo's nightmares, so he knew he wasn't sleeping. He wasn't studying either, although he had managed to scrape into University, his grades were down the toilet. He was losing weight, the musculature he had earned by wielding Zangetsu diminished. He just seemed to sit there, frozen by some battle which was invisible to everyone else. Nothing seemed to reach him. The day that he stopped talking was the day that Isshin called for help.