Passengers awoke and gathered their belongings as their bus arrived at its destination. One by one they exited the bus, all of them eager to go their separate ways to be greeted by loved ones. All except for one certain orange-haired traveler with a scowl on his face who seemed to be reluctant to get off.
Kurosaki Ichigo slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Shielding his eyes from the fiercely shining sun he scanned the street up and down and surveyed the changes. It had been five years since he had last set foot on Karakura soil but it had not seemed to change much. The buildings all remained the same but he didn't recognize any of the people who passed him by, and he began to wonder if anybody in the town remembered him.
"Ichigo! Yo, Kurosaki!"
Ichigo whirled around at the sound of a familiar voice coming towards him. A spiky haired girl stopped in front of him and punched his arm playfully. "Sorry I made you wait, my class ended a little late at the dojo."
"Tatsuki? What are you doing here?" he asked as he massaged his sore arm.
"I'm here to see you, stupid. Your dad is busy at the clinic, Yuzu is making your dinner, and Karin is still at her job so I told them that I'd come and take you back home." Tatsuki chatted lightheartedly as they walked home, "I was supposed to be here before that bus but one of my students broke his nose so I had to stay awhile longer."
"Oh, you still teach at the dojo?"
"Yeah, after I won the Number One for the strongest female college student the whole competition thing lost its appeal. Now I'm supposed to take over the dojo whenever the master retires. I teach most of the classes over there and I train with this one huge dude who comes in once a week to keep my strength up. What have you been doing?"
"Not much, just traveled around going to different places," he replied vaguely. They walked silently for a few minutes before Ichigo realized his surroundings. He paused outside of Karakura High School and watched as students met up with friends and he was reminded of the group of friends he had once been a part of. Everything had been so different then, she had been there and was a part of every meaningful memory he had about this school. Memories that he had spent years trying to forget.
"Brings back old times, right?" Ichigo just nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"What's everyone else been up to?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the past.
"Well, its been a long time since I've seen most of them too. Mizuiro works at his dad's company so he has this super high level position and is living really well. He still hangs out with that idiot Keigo, though, who still lives at home and works at that fast food joint. Chad went to Mexico and is helping out in the towns there and building houses for the poor. Hmm.. who else was there? Oh yeah, that skinny guy Ishida, last I heard he went to America for college. And then there's Orihime.."
Tatsuki trailed off in mid-sentence and Ichigo turned to her in alarm. "What about Inoue? Is she okay?"
"Yeah, she's good. She stayed here and works for the Sunflower Tailor store full-time now. It's just," Tatsuki sighed and crossed her arms, "Orihime, that dummy, she's been waiting for you. She never left this town because she was so sure you would be back."
"I don't-" Ichigo started but Tatsuki cut him off.
"I know I know. And Orihime knows that too. But its been five years, don't you think its about time you forgot about Ru-"
"Tatsuki.." She could hear the warning in his tone but she was too caught up in what she had started.
"It's time to start over, put the past behind you. For all you know she could be dea-"
Ichigo grabbed her shoulders roughly and pulled her so that they were eye to eye. "Just drop it."
Tatsuki berated herself inwardly for having brought up the subject. I'm so stupid, that's the whole reason why he went away, she realized, he left so that he could forget her. It was a different Ichigo that was just staring in her eyes then the Ichigo she was used to. Even though his face still held that perpetual scowl, his eyes were distant now and it reminded her of that certain day 13 years ago when she had found him wandering along the riverbank. It was just as hard watching him now as it was then.
Ichigo relaxed and dropped his hands, ashamed at his sudden outburst. He opened his mouth to apologize but Tatsuki spoke before him.
"Yeah, it's none of my business. I shouldn't have said anything or tried to butt in." She grinned at him and it became a silent agreement just to forget about that awkwardness between them and move on.
"Anyway, about Orihime," she said, getting back to the old matter, "I didn't tell her you were back in town yet. I thought maybe you should do that yourself," she said, pointing her arm at him. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the time on her watch and she did a double take. "Is it already almost five? Crap, if I'm not home in 5 minutes with some tofu, my mom is going to kill me!"
Ichigo gave her a hard shove. "Then hurry up and go home. I can still remember the look on your mom's face after we broke that window when we were only six, I had nightmares about it for years."
"Are you sure?"
"I can find my way home by myself, you idiot." He pushed her again and it was all the motivation she needed to start running off in the opposite direction.
"Hey, Arisawa!" he yelled after her, "thanks!"
"Yeah, whatever!" She shouted back and waved goodbye before disappearing around the corner. Ichigo grinned and continued to walk home. Tatsuki had not changed much at all since they had first met. The only difference now was that all their encounters didn't end with him in tears. He suspected though that she could still probably beat him up if she wanted to.
It was a short walk home and soon he was standing in front of the door, debating whether he should just walk in or knock. He reached his hand towards the knob when it suddenly was thrown inside and a foot flew into his face.
"ICHIGOOOO!" His father yelled before being thrown down to the ground.
"You! This is how you greet your son that you haven't seen in five years!"
Isshin picked himself up and tried his best to look dignified. "It's good to see your skills are still top-notch to be able to deflect an attack like mine. You're just lucky I did not use my Kurosaki special twin dragon move on you! Hyaaah!"
"There's no such thing as a Kurosaki special twin dragon move!" Ichigo shouted and shook his fist in the air.
"Dad, get out of the way!" Two girls pushed Isshin out of the way and Ichigo finally got a good look at his sisters. Yuzu was small with long light brown hair that fell in waves around her face and strongly resembled their mother. Karin had grown tall and fit with her straight black hair tied into a ponytail that stuck out the back of a red baseball cap.
Yuzu rushed towards him and hugged him tightly. "Onii-chan! We missed you so much! You have to promise to never leave again!"
Ichigo laughed and tried to pull Yuzu off his arm but she wouldn't budge. "Come on, it couldn't have been that bad. I wrote you guys every week and called all the time."
She shook her head and pouted, "It's not the same thing."
Karin nodded and pointed at their dad, "Yeah, you left us with a dad that has the maturity of a thirteen year-old. What were you thinking?"
Isshin's eyes filled with tears and turned to Yuzu, "Yuzu, Karin made Daddy sad again."
"You see what I mean?" Karin rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Ichi-nii, why don't you take your things upstairs?"
Ichigo didn't need to be asked twice as he left Yuzu comforting their dad and Karin making things worse. He opened the door to his room and found that nothing had been touched since he had been gone. After dumping his bag on the ground he took time to examine the room. He walked around and made his way to the closet when he stopped in his tracks. The closet door was slightly open, and a part of him was so sure that if he looked into the closet now it wouldn't be empty. He gripped the handle and slowly slid the door open, only to find nothing but a pile of neatly folded blankets. He glared into the empty space and slammed the door shut so hard that the walls in the house shuddered. Nothing had changed.
Kuchiki Rukia leaned over the rail looking down on the courtyard when she heard footsteps approaching. Standing up straight she turned around quickly to face whoever was coming and make it not look like she was slacking off. "Good morn- oh, its just you."
Renji raised his foot and kicked her. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked in mock indignation, "it's Abarai-taichou to you, peabrain. I should report you for your rudeness and for being so inattentive while on duty. You really need to stop daydreaming so much."
She rubbed her sore bottom, "I wasn't daydreaming, I was just merely watching people down in the courtyard."
"Oh really? And what were they doing?" Renji asked, tapping his foot, "and don't peek."
Rukia glared at him and folded her arms. "I was not going to peek," she lied, "there's two guys on patrol."
"What division?"
"Umm.. 11th.."
Renji looked over her shoulder, "Wow, lucky guess."
"Really?"
"NO!" He hit her head repeatedly, "There's only one kid from the 4th division sweeping. What's with you today?"
Rukia cast her eyes down and thought for a moment. "Renji, am I selfish?"
"Ye-ees! You always take up my precious time with your dumb questions!" he said jokingly. It wasn't until after he saw the expression on her face that he realized she was serious. "Hey wait, I was just kidding.."
"It's a yes or no question, it shouldn't be that hard!" she snapped.
"You're the one ambushing me with this kind of question!" he shouted back. He narrowed his eyes and studied her carefully, "Besides, why are you asking me this?"
Rukia leaned back against the rail and stared down at her feet. "No reason, I was just bored."
"Right," he scoffed, "admit it, you were thinking about that kid again." Rukia didn't respond, but she didn't have to. This was just one of the many times over the years that Renji had caught her with that forlorn look in her eyes. He was the only one she trusted enough to be able to show her emotions in front of, he only wished that he was a person better equipped to handle them.
"If it bothers you that much, why don't you just go down there and see him?"
"No." Rukia said firmly. "I want him to lead a normal life. I want him to forget that I ever existed, that I never came and ruined his life. And if I want him to forget me, then I can't ever see him again."
Renji jumped up and sat on the rail next to her. "Is that really what you want?"
"Are you deaf? Did you not hear what I just said? Maybe you should tattoo on another pair of ears to help with your hearing." Rukia folded her arms and averted her face from his searching stare. She was taunting him so that they would change the subject but he saw through her ruse.
"Hey, you have tomorrow off, right?" Renji asked cheerfully. Rukia lifted her gaze to his and nodded hesitantly. "Well I do too, so tell you what, tomorrow I'll go down to the human world. I'll just go, scope things out, and tell you how he's doing."
"But-" she started to protest but he cut her off with a sharp rap on the forehead.
"Nope, no 'buts' about it. Don't worry, I'll make sure no one sees me. No one even has to know I'm there." He hopped off the rail and called out to her as he walked away. "And all you'll owe me is one big -expensive- meal. It's a bargain, Kuchiki, it really is."
"I knew you were up to something, you freeloader!" she yelled at Renji who just gave a small wave over his head and strolled down the long walkway. Her face was downcast as she stared down the empty walkway. She really was a selfish person, she realized. It had been her decision to leave the way she did, so why the hell did she miss him so much? Rukia sighed and shook her head. Now was not the time to dawdle on such useless thoughts, she was on duty. Pushing away all her thoughts and uncertainties she set her attention back on watching the sky.
He also watched the sky above him. Victory had almost been in his grasp, but he had been rash and she had been hidden from him. But it was just a matter of time, those old fools couldn't keep her safe in that little Soul Society of theirs for long. Soon he would find her and then he would use her to destroy those who had hid her from him. The irony amused him. He looked down at army of hollows assembled around him. They were restless, eager to spill blood and devour souls. Their shrieks surrounded him andgrew louder and louder as a large crack started to appear in the sky. He smiled as he watched the crack slowly enlarge. It had begun.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters and such...
A/N: This story takes place in the future, so if you are slightly confused about the time line, don't worry. Everything will be explained in later chapters. It's kind of a replacement story line right after chapter 51 in the manga, so no soul-society arc or anything, but it does tie in some spoilers of what Aizen's been up to. This fic is intended to be many many chapters long and full of various pairings which will be revealed later on. I'm always up for comments and criticisms so please read and stay tuned for the next chapter!