A/N: Takes 1.5 years after the War, this is about Ichigo readjusting to shinigami life, understanding his relationship with Rukia as she is sent to infiltrate Hell. Please be warned that things will be very different from the 4th movie and does not take into account the recent developments in the manga (Xcution etc.). It focuses more on characters and relationships rather than on action.

Feedback is appreciated to improve quality of writing and story.

Special thanks to xJ11Cx for beta-ing.

Prelude to Hell

CHAPTER 1: Hello

Most of the crew from Soul Society returned but a few stayed back to chat at Urahara's shop. Rukia especially wanted to see Orihime, Chad and Ishida; they risked their lives to save her, though humans, they were her friends. She would do the same for them as she had in Hueco Mundo. Ichigo was with them too, but he didn't say much. It seemed like he was still processing everything that had recently happened. He didn't know how to react.

Rukia didn't mind his brooding; she knew he was grateful- she didn't need the words, the smile or anything to know. He was like that- that is all. More so than any one else, Rukia could sense the inner workings of Ichigo. She didn't pretend to understand him; rather she could simply sense what he needed from her. It showed a wisdom and maturity that most didn't possess. But it wasn't exactly wisdom or maturity since this ability did not extend to all around her. She did not have this ability with her older brother, nor did she have it with Kaien-dono (but she did get close to that point). It was only with those with whom she had a special type of connection, the type where you can look at each other in the eyes and not hold back who you are or your thoughts, even though you may not put them to words. She developed it with few; it was very hard for her to open up. Perhaps it was because she saw both Kaien-dono and Byakuya on a level above her that she never fully developed that connection. With them she entered a quest to please, to understand, to gain approval, to not be a burden. It was hard to understand how it was Kaien-dono who taught her the importance of comrades, yet because of her adoration, they could reach the same plane. Had he lived, perhaps, that strange, deep and intimate connection she had with Ichigo would have developed as Rukia grew into her skin as a 13th Division Shinigami.

And still, Rukia (and Renji), of all people, knew the value of comrades at a very early stage of her life. But when she lost all her family except one and was thrown in the new and unfamiliar world of the Seireitei, she was stripped away from that sense of belonging. She felt lost and alone and it took time for her to find her place, to find that sensation of acceptance and belonging. It was that bond that created her ability to sense the inner workings of her companions like Ichigo, Orihime and Renji.

For some reason that connection was always strongest with Ichigo, which was something she didn't realize (nor did Ichigo). Perhaps those around her noticed, or perhaps it was just Orihime who could see it. Rukia thought their bond was born perhaps because she guided Ichigo into the world of shinigami and hollows or perhaps because Ichigo guided her into the world of humans. Rukia herself did not know how deep this connection ran; she just acted on instinct. There were a few things she did know, because they were simple facts of life that you simply accept as they are. One of them was that Ichigo was human, and she was not. That Ichigo belonged in the human world among humans like his sisters, Chad, and Orihime. She belonged in Soul Society with Renji, with whom she had been with ever since she was a kid. Rukia never gave much thought to this; she didn't even notice the small tug inside of her, like a string that tied her to those other humans on the other side pulling at her.

But perhaps it was because of this connection with humans, that she knew to leave Ichigo alone. When he looked at her with a bufuddled face, she simply gave him a knowing look and turned away. Rukia walked over to Renji to tell him that they were going to visit Orihime.

"Bah! What's the hurry Rukia?" Renji cried in between mouthfuls, "dinner's not even done!"

"Yeah, I guess he's still an expert freeloader," Jinta joked making Renji blush.

"Fine, fine lets go," Renji put his plate down and got up.

"Hey! I want to visit Inoue too! She always has the best food!" It was Rangiku Matsumoto, a truly shameless freeloader.

Before they were out the door, the 10th Division Captain called out after his lieutenant, "Matsumoto, remember we are due back to Soul Society first thing in the morning. We have our assignments- please don't get drunk!"

"Don't worry Captain! We got our assignment too, we'll make sure we get back just fine," Renji called as they walked away.

As they faded away from sight, Ichigo finally spoke up in an attempt to make small talk, "So are you guys getting assigned to a certain district now or something? What's going to happen now?"

"Well, as substitute shinigami, you are now obviously assigned to this district," Captain Hitsugaya explained, "It's probably for the best, since all these people with spiritual power in the area tends to attract so much trouble, we need somebody strong like you around."

Ikkaku added on, "For now, the old man seems to think you are enough, so we won't be assigning any others to the area. So, no, Rukia won't be stationed here again if that's what you're wondering."

"Hey! I didn't ask anything about her," Ichigo found himself caught off-guard because Ikkaku answered what he was really curious about. It didn't matter. Every one knew that Rukia meant something special to Ichigo because they all witnessed him rush to Soul Society like a mad man to save her. She was the one who inadvertently changed his life. She wasn't just any body. No one risks their lives so that they can die again. Besides, Ichigo worried about every one. He wanted to protect every one- it was just who he was. It was instinct.

"Hey don't take it personally," Ikkaku spun his zanpaktu in its sheath, his tone very matter-of-fact, "It will be long time before she's stationed in the human world, if ever."

Here Ichigo became confused. How come?

"Not if Byakuya has anything to do with it. With this whole Hueco Mundo situation Rukia finally got on the radar of the higher ups and they want her promoted and on riskier assignments and he's not happy about that. Right now he's working on reversing all of that. First, he made sure that those who disobeyed the Captain-Commander's orders were punished for going to Hueco Mundo, so Rukia couldn't be in the field for about a while. They had her doing a bunch of boring shit, mostly paperwork. Since Renji was a vice-captain he didn't get the same treatment" Ikkaku explained. "Pretty douschy if you ask me."

"That captain, for a such a beautiful man, he sure does have a stick up his ass," Yumichika chirped.

"But either way," Ikkaku went on, his eyes never leaving his sword, "his next step was to make sure that Rukia didn't any assignments in the human world." Here both Ikkaku and Yumichika started laughing, "But that plan sure backfired on him. Sure showed him!"

Ichigo's faced showed pure confusion, "what do you mean? What's she gonna be doing now?"

Ikkaku stopped laughing and continued as he put his zanpaktu away. "Man, they are sending her to-"

"That's enough." Hitsugaya spoke once again, "You two sure have loud mouths. You know that? I guess it's to be expected from the 11th Division." The captain turned to Ichigo, "Sorry, but we can't discuss all assignments so openly. But don't worry, she's just on an assignment with Renji. I don't know if it's true that Byakuya was pulling strings to keep her out of danger, but if its true, it won't work. Soul Society can't simply waste strong shinigami, even if she is a noble. Besides, it seems, whether on assignment or not, she will take risks for what she cares about."

"Yeah," Ikkaku chimed in again, "That's why he didn't want her here. Hahahahaha!" the two of them cackled at their not-so-covert joke.

Ichigo was confused again but Urahara, who was graciously hosting them walked in with his ridiculous fan. "Hey! Hey! What are you guys talking about?" He had that knowing spark in his eye as always, "Tell me all the gossip about the Soul Society. Yorouchi won't tell me anything, it's so boring sometimes!"

Captain Hitsugaya stood up, "Maybe next time, but I'm going to head back now. Thank you for everything." Ikkaku and Yumichika got up after him, "Yeah thanks man," echoed Ikkaku.

They all said their good-byes to the shop crew and Ichigo left shortly after them. On the walk home, Ichigo still had a lot on his mind. So much happened so suddenly. For one, he regained his powers. He had seen people he had thought he would never see again. He remembered saying farewell with the finality that it was good-bye forever. He remembered seeing Rukia slowly fading away from his sight. He never expected to see her again or to know anything else about her. He had let her go. He hadn't thought about her or what she was doing. Except for once, no one mentioned her to him. She never entered his mind, well that was a lie. Rather, Ichigo created a barrier to block her out. It didn't matter. She could have been right there next to him the whole time, and he would not have known. If she was, the others took care to not mention it. And now, a year and a half later, here she was again like nothing had happened. There were so many people around, so much going on, that they didn't even get the chance to speak more than a "Rukia?" and a "Hello." Before he knew it, she was gone to see Inoue. Even Inoue would have gotten a chance to talk to her more than he did by now. Wait! that's right. Ichigo turned around and changed course. Maybe they hadn't left Inoue's house yet. Maybe he could catch up with them.

Gasping for breath after running so quickly, Ichigo found himself relieved so feel the spiritual power of shinigamis in Inoue's apartment. Chad seemed to be there as well.

"Kurosaki-kun!" exclaimed Inoue as she opened the door. "I'm so happy!"

"Yeah," Matsumoto spoke, "We're having ice cream with honey and grape jelly to celebrate! It so good! Isn't it Renji?" Ichigo's stomach turned a little. He looked around to see Chad, Renji and Rukia each with a bowl of the odd contraption, each one barely touched.

"Yeah right, it's delicious if you think-OW! What the hell Rukia?" Of course, Rukia promptly stopped Renji's caustic remark as she elbowed Renji in the ribs. Rukia clarified for him, "It's delicious, I just can't finish my icecream because I ate so much at dinner." She elbowed Renji again.

"Ow! Yeah Ichigo, it's great. Here have mine!" Ichigo couldn't help laughing. Those two really had a way about them.

"Thanks! but no thanks" Ichigo sat down, "I'm full too. The others left already. So I came over to catch up with you three." His face became a little more serious now, "I guess I haven't said much. It's just weird with all of this happening all of the sudden. Why did you decide to do it now? What for?"

He caught the look between Renji and Rukia but didn't say anything. Renji spoke up, "Well I guess it was something that took time. I mean, we've never done this before. That freak captain, Urahara and all of them had to do a lot of research and preparation and stuff. Don't know much bout how it works. But, I guess all I can say is that we did what we could when we could. We owed it to you anyways."

"Yes, it's the least Soul Society could do." Rukia seconded.

"Mmhm!" Matsumoto said in between mouthfuls of ice cream.

Ichigo still felt that something was off, but he let it be. "Well thanks. Its good to see you guys again."

"Yeah, Kuchiki-san you never come visit!" Inoue cried. "We all miss you at school!" It was true too. Inoue valued Rukia as a friend, as much as it hurt her to see Ichigo watch her through the corners of his eyes. For the first time since he lost his powers, the great shadow that hung over him had finally been lifted. She knew too well it was not just regaining his powers. She knew it wasn't just him seeing old friends again. It was the short quiet and steady gaze that Rukia gave him when he first saw her again. It was the gaze that lasted less than a few seconds, but nevertheless gave him all the support he needed. It was all the help he needed to help him adjust to drastic changes. Would have he even come to her apartment if she weren't here? Inoue didn't want to know the answer. Despite all of that, Rukia was still her friend. Who was there for her and believed in her, even when she thought no one else did? They shared that desire to be strong, to not be a burden, to fight. She went on, "Even Keigo asked about you at school."

"Hehe," Rukia felt a little bit of guilt wash over her. "Well you know, I kind of haven't had a chance to-"

This reminded Ichigo of what he heard earlier this evening. Byakuya didn't want her in the human world because . . . why? They said that he was trying to prevent her from getting dangerous assignments, but it didn't make sense. Not all assignments here were dangerous. Some areas had low incidences with very few hollow attacks. Either way, Rukia could very well handle it. Oh well.

"Will you please visit us more often Kuchiki-san?"

"Well," Rukia stammered, "I can try. But really, it depends on my orders Inoue, I don't always have much choice. But I promise, that If can, I'll come visit."

Renji scoffed, "Hmph, good luck with th-OW!" Once again Rukia's elbow found itself planted in his ribs. "Whatever, Rukia, it's true. You probably already heard, Ichigo. Byakuya doesn't want Rukia assigned in the human world. This is probably a rare occasion where we all had to come in order to help you, man. But the reality is that she won't have permission to come here again."

"But why?" Inoue asked. "He knows that she's our friend. He's so mean!"

"It's okay. Considering how my last assignment here turned out," Rukia gave an embarrassed smile, "He doesn't need me to cause another mess." Renji and Ichigo rolled their eyes. It seemed that everybody but Rukia knew her older brother was an overprotective jerk. Renji didn't understand. He was so cold and uncaring and his only way of showing concern was holding her down. And yet, Rukia adored her brother. Rukia always had that sense of inferiority like she wasn't good enough to be his sister. Here he was breaking his back so that he could be good enough for her, even though she was now a noble. He was grateful that Byakuya's plan backfired on him.

"Yeah," Ichigo spoke, "But he didn't stop you from going to Hueco Mundo."

Renji shrugged, "Dunno. He knew he couldn't stop us, I guess."

"Nee-sama seems cold, but really does care sometimes," Rukia defended her brother. Rukia truly believed those words, though it took many decades for her to realize Kuchiki Byakuya cared for her. Renji and Ichigo rolled their eyes.

"But if you're not in the human world, what will you be doing?"

"Hueco Mundo mostly. The 12th division really wanted to get a hold on some of the stuff in Las Noches. And to check out the scenario over there, get some intelligence, I guess."

I guess that's how Byakuya's plan backfired, thought Ichigo. Hueco Mundo seemed much more dangerous than the human realm.

"Is that where you guys are heading off to tomorrow?" asked Ichigo.

"Nah," answered Renji, "We can't really talk about it though. But don't worry about it. But now that you mention it, we should go now."

At the door Rukia said tried to calm Inoue who was upset that she might not see her again.

"Don't worry Inoue. You know, you could always come to Soul Society. We could even train!" Inoue's face lit up as she jumped and bounced. "You hear that Ichigo? We now all of us can go to Soul Society now that you got your powers back!"

Matsumoto stayed behind with Inoue, but Renji and Rukia walked with Ichigo on his way home. It was a quiet walk.

Thnx for reading