CHAPTER 1

"…" = when someone is talking

Pieces and Soul

There had been too many incidents those last few months in his life that Ichigo still hadn't really understood or comprehended. His whole life had been turned upside down without him knowing why or how it had even happened. The only thing he had been and was certain about was that he would protect his loved ones no matter what happened, even if he lost his life trying.

Aizen, who stood before him in his new mutated form that held no resemblance to the old human one he had once possessed, was looking at him with hatred, but even thought Ichigo saw no other expression expect anger on the white face he could feel great sadness coming from Aizen. That still didn't mean that he would give up. He would win no matter what. Aizen wanted to sacrifice his family, his friends and his town. He just couldn't allow it, but he still knew that even with his new acquired power he wouldn't be able to bet him. He still needed to be stronger.

Ichigo let his body transform without hesitating in front of Aizen's eyes. He didn't want to use the old man Zangetsu's and Shiro's power but he knew he didn't have a choice, if he wanted to save everyone. He felt his power reach and even break a point that normally nobody, human or otherwise would have been able to pass. It was overwhelming, still he knew that he couldn't waste any time with marveling over his own power and form. He quickly used the advantage that his enemy was still under shock and attacked. He summoned his sword that quickly appeared in his hands and slashed it down. The energy that had gathered inside him exploded out of its tip. The observers, that were lucky enough to be able to watch from a safe distance could only watch with fascination how a black wall suddenly seemed to appear out of thin air. Ichigo was the only one that saw how Aizen's body seemed to slowly break apart and disappear in the darkness of his attack. He hoped that it would be the last time seeing Aizen, even thought he knew he would never forgive himself for killing another being, alive or not. It felt like the time with Ulquiorra. At the end Ulquiorra had shown human emotions toward Orihime that had shown Ichigo that he also possessed emotions, like all of them. It was the same with Aizen. He had felt it in every contact their swords had made. The loneliness and the sadness that he had felt coming from the sword and Aizen himself, had almost stopped him from continuing the fight. He had known those two feelings well throughout his life. He never felt completely at home wherever he was. He felt like he never belonged anywhere. At first his hair had been the reason for those feelings, but later on it had been through the changes that had happened to him. He didn't belong with the humans since he wasn't one completely anymore. He didn't belong with the shinigamis since he had a hollow in him. He didn't belong to the arrancars since he wasn't a hollow. With the vizards he had thought that he had at last found someone that was like him, understood him, a place where he belonged, a home. He had felt such a deep sadness when it revealed itself that he had been wrong, that even with the vizards he couldn't belong. The vizards' hollows weren't intelligent like Shiro, they were moving and acting completely based on instincts. Indeed Shiro acted on instincts but he could repress them and more importantly he could show emotions that no normal hollow should be able to possess.

When the black energy slowly disappeared a very injured Aizen was left behind. Ichigo couldn't believe how stupid he had been. He had subconsciously held back his powers because he hadn't wanted to kill Aizen. He quickly moved toward him. He needed to finish this. He didn't have much time left. Aizen was trying to stand up but had trouble with normally such an easy task. Ichigo needed to do it now before it was too late but he himself knew that he couldn't. His resolve had slowly crumbled with the emotions he had felt coming from Aizen's blade and the wounded body that lay before him. He just couldn't kill anyone else. Maybe that was his weakness. He just couldn't kill, he was not ruthless like Aizen and he put trust in anyone, even in his enemies. He would be the one that would be hurt most by a betrayal but it still would never stop him from trusting another being even if that meant being hurt physically and physiologically.

He just couldn't find the resolve. Suddenly he felt a pull that was slowly increasing till it was so intense that it hurt. It came from deep within, moving through his body like it was blood flowing through his veins. He felt to his knees feeling the last bit of armor fading away as well. He knew what this meant, he was losing his powers. He saw Aizen stand up looking at him with furry. Ichigo wasn't scared, but felt miserable now that he thought about his friends. He had failed through his hesitation. He should have killed Aizen when he had had the change.

Aizen's armor (if it was one) had also slowly disappeared. He resembled a human being again. Ichigo could only listen when Aizen told him that he had lost, how the disappearing of Aizen's sword, which had crumbled in his hand, meant that the Hogyoku had fully awakened and accepted him as his master. How he would soon be able to reach his goal. He was stopped in his rant when points of light appeared on his chest. Ichigo watched how Uruhara appeared. He observed and listened when he began to talk to Aizen. He listened how Urahara told Aizen that it was a kidou that had started to activate as soon as he was in a weakened state. That the hogyoku hadn't accepted him and he had been weakened so far that the sealing kidou had activated. Aizen tried to get out of the kidou without succeed. They talked a bit more before Aizen was fully sealed away in a snowflake like construct. Ichigo didn't know what to think. He felt a great sadness when he thought about Aizen, but he knew that it had to be done and was glad that it was finally over. He thought about his friends and family that would all survive before his mind wandered back to Aizen. He understood Aizen's motives better than anyone, because in some aspects they resembled each other. Aizen, like Ichigo, had always wanted to belong somewhere. When it seemed that he couldn't find a place anywhere in this world where he felt at home, he had wanted to become god and create his own world where he had a place, where he would have a home. He pitied Aizen since he knew those feeling well. At least he had friends, even thought they couldn't always understand what he felt and what was going on in him. Still, they knew that something was wrong with Ichigo and they always tried to understand him. That was enough for Ichigo. He let his lips form into a small smile, a real one. They had succeeded. The fight was over. They had won the war!

It was when he had sat down to rest for a bit that he heard someone shout his name. He looked up to see his friends come toward him, waving their arms around like lunatics. A smile formed on his lips. His home was here! This place gave him the feelings of happiness and protection and the people that he cared about most all lived here. He didn't need more. He quickly stood up and moved toward them. Inoue was crying saying something about not recognizing him at first, because of his long hair and the other also told him that he looked quite different. It was then that the pain that he had felt through the slow progress of losing his powers suddenly doubled. He fell, his body hitting the ground beneath him hard. He didn't fell the impact. The only thing he still felt was the pain, the still growing agony. He couldn't hold back the strangled scream that left his lip, the only thing still noticeable for him were the cries of his friends before blackness wrapped around him like a blanket and he lost consciousness.

Others pov:

They could only watch helplessly how their friend fell before their very eyes. He started to scream. Inoue frantically tried to heal whatever was happening to him but it didn't seem to work. His screams only grew louder and he even started to vomit blood. They all felt so helpless. Their eyes widened when his body suddenly started to crack. Rips started to spread all over his soul body. He looked like a shattered mirror image. The pieces of his body didn't dissolve like the bodies of hollows when they were killed and purified but instead they started to glow a warm orange and golden light. They slowly rose from the ground still glowing a warm orange and golden light before flying high into the air. They flew in all directions looking like fallen stars as they did and soon disappeared from the sight. It was a sight to behold. His friends started to cry. They had lost Ichigo. He had disappeared.

The news spread fast. Everyone reacted different to the news. Some showed their sadness openly while others locked those feelings away only for themselves to know that they existed. Some tried to find logic or understanding to his disappearing while other felt guilt eat them from the inside out. They gave him a funeral and buried a coffin without the body. Many tears fell that day, but life went on and they couldn't let Ichigo's death be a reason to end their own.

INOUE:

It was a month after his disappearance that Inoue was wandering Karakura alone. She felt guilt like many others eat her away from the inside and she often asked herself if she had done too little, if she could have saved him after all. Her thoughts wandered to the happy times that she had shared with Ichigo. Her thoughts soon brought her back to the day he had broken before them like a shattered mirror and the tears started to flow again. She knew she had tried everything to heal him and others had told her the same, but she just couldn't accept it. She could have tried harder. It was then that she spotted a bit of orange in her sight and so used to connect the color orange with Ichigo, she turned around to see what it was without considering her actions before she reacted. She had been drawn to orange things since she had first met Ichigo and every time she saw a bit of orange now she always thought that it was Ichigo's orange hair.

When she had pinpointed the thing that the orange color belonged to her eyes widened and her breath was caught in her throat. Before her stood a little child around eight years old with bright natural orange hair. It looked just like the hair Ichigo had had. Like in a trance, she started to move toward the child and didn't stop before she stood right before him. She crouched down and stared intensely into his brown eyes before suddenly hugging him. The boy didn't know what to do. He felt something wet touching his shoulder. This person was crying.

He suddenly had the urge to comfort this person. She seemed so familiar and he didn't want to see her sad. "Are you alright onee-san?"He finally decided to ask.

She gave him a small smile, not noticing she was crying and tears were rolling down her cheeks. "Yes I'm alright, or I will be. Sorry for hugging you so suddenly, you just remind me of a friend that disappeared." She didn't know why she had told this boy before her that but she felt so comfortable and warm with him that she didn't really care.

"That friend was important right?" He asked her with a sad frown.

"Yes he is. I am really worried for him." She replied still not letting the little boy go.

"Oneechan I will take care of you till he comes back. What's your name?" The boy gave her a small smile that reminded her of the small smiles that Ichigo had always given them when he was in an extremely good mood. They were rare but much more precious through that since none of the smiles he gave were fake.

"My name is Orihime Inoue" Inoue couldn't help but smile back. She felt so warm and safe. The boy's smile widened in response to her own.

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo; it's nice to meet you Inoue!" The kid suddenly said. Inoue's eyes widened and her lower lip started to tremble. New tears started to appear wetting the places that still hadn't dried from her last tears.

"Could you say your name again?" She suddenly asked. The small boy frowned before answering her question just to make her happy again. He didn't know why his name had suddenly made this person cry.

"Kurosaki Ichigo" She started to cry harder. "Are you okay Inoue?" He finally asked hoping to be able to find the reason for the tears.

She didn't answer. The turmoil that was her emotions were all over the place and she just didn't know what she should feel. Was this boy before her really the Ichigo she knew? She stared intensely at him one more time before giving herself a small nod. His reiatsu felt just like Ichigo and the resemblance couldn't be just coincidence. She hugged his small form harder to herself, like she was scared that he would disappear again if she let go. In her arms was Kurosaki Ichigo and even thought he didn't seem to remember it was enough for Inoue, enough for to just have him with her, to feel his presence. She started to giggle a bit when she thought that Ichigo had been chibified. Still it didn't matter to her. The only think that was important was that he was back.

She soon called Chad to come to her house. She had asked Ichigo if he had someone to stay and he had answered:

"No, I don't have anywhere to stay. I woke up near here and have been wandering around since then. I don't really remember anything. When I tried to ask people for help or even if they had seen me before they seemed to be unable to see me. You are the first one that really noticed me."

She gave him a beaming smile. She was happy and a bit proud of herself. For the first time she had done something useful in her opinion. Inoue asked Ichigo if he would like to stay with her and he soon agreed. They had arrived at Inoue's apartment and had moved inside, making themselves comfortable. It was soon after that the door bell rung. Inoue stood up and opened the door. In the doorframe stood a huge Mexican looking man, with a dark tanned skin. He looked at Inoue with worry before asking:

"Inoue, why did you call me all of sudden so late at night" She gave him a huge grin that seemed to caught him in surprise. He hadn't seen such a big smile since Ichigo's disappearance.

"I called you because I found something special that made me happy and will also be able to make you happy." The man before her looked stunned before paling a bit. His thought had probably taken a wrong turn somewhere. He looked closer at her and soon dismissed those thoughts about her self-made food. Her wide smile showed him that it was something much bigger.

"What is it Inoue?" Chad asked, curiously looking at her. She stepped aside, letting him move into the small apartment. He looked around before stopping his eyes when something orange caught his wandering gaze. There before him sat something that could only be an illusion. It was impossible. A little Ichigo look alike sat in the right corner of the room staring at him with a searching gaze. Then he asked:

"You also feel so familiar as if I had known you for a very long time, just like Inoue. Why is that?" It seemed like he was talking to himself more than to the huge Mexican looking man but he soon stopped and moved toward the big man. He stretched out his hand wanting to shake hands and said: "Hello my name is Kurosaki Ichigo and it's nice to meet you." Sado's eyes widened before he mumbled more out of reaction than anything else:

"My name is Yasutora Sado" He didn't give the kid his nickname that Ichigo had given him. It didn't feel right for others to call him that when the one that was the cause of the name wasn't with them anymore.

"Then I'll call you Chad." The huge grin on the little boy's face let Inoue's and Chad's heart leap in happiness. "It fits you better." Chad let a small smile slip on his face. He couldn't describe how happy he was right at the moment. This boy before him was really their missing friend Ichigo.

Inoue and Chad were certain. This was Ichigo

ONE DOWN

BYAKUYA (At the same time that Inoue finds little Ichigo):

Byakuya was walking around in a lower District in Rukongai. He didn't know why but he just suddenly had the desire to walk around for a bit. It had been near here that he had found Rukia and so he had been drawn to this place where those happy memories of being able to fulfill the wish of his dead wife had been created. Suddenly something run into his legs and stopped his happy thoughts. When he tried to ignore it and go back to his happy memories he suddenly felt a pull. The thing that had run into him seemed to be clinging to his pants with everything it got. He finally looked down only to see something orange. The child, since it couldn't be anything else with that size had orange hair. When the child moved its head to look up at him he was for a second stunned to see a big smile plastered on the child's face. He took in his factures other than his face. The child looked around one or two years old. He had orange hair and warm brown eyes. The smile was a bit disturbing but when he looked closer he noticed that this child looked exactly like Kurosaki Ichigo, the person that had saved his sister and all of Soul Society. He had been so shocked that he only noticed now that the reiatsu that was coming from the child was exactly like Ichigo's, only the quantity was not the same. This child had less but still much for a child such a young age. He had kneeled down to be able to better study the body structures of the child when it suddenly lifted his arms and hugged his neck. He slowly took hold of the child and stood up. At first the child seemed to marvel how the ground seemed to move away before it looked at Byakuya and grinned.

"Bya, Bya" The child said, tightened his grip around the neck even more before he started to giggled. He stared at the child for a bit before coming to the conclusion that Ichigo still seemed to remember everything. He quickly called the sou-taicho and told him to call a meeting. He had something important to show them all.

Byakuya was quickly moving toward the meeting room where probably everyone was already waiting for him. When he arrived and stepped through the huge doors every pair of eyes were on him. He still held Ichigo in his arms but he was covered with a blanket and so no one could make out what Byakuya had in his arms.

"Why did you call for this emergency meeting?"The sou-taicho Yamamoto finally asked trying to look at the thing that was in Byakuya's arms. No one seemed to even thing about trying to feel its reiatsu so no one noticed that it was exactly the same as Ichigo's. Well they also didn't know it was human so who would become angry with them?

"I found him in Rukongai when I was taking a walk." Byakuya said shortly before lifting the blanket off of Ichigo. The eyes from every single one of them grew wide when they saw just what was lying in Byakuya's arms. Now even they noticed and felt his reiatsu, coming to the same conclusion as the noble had.

The orange haired child suddenly opened his eyes and stared at the assembled shinigamis around him. He started to gurgle happy and a big grin grew on his face before he reached out his hands for the nearest person that he saw and recognized.

"Shiro" He gurgles happily. Byakuya quickly handed Ichigo to Thoshiro not waiting for the other to protest and said:

"He also seemed to still have his memories but it seemed that his powers have decreased." It was then that Mayuri suddenly moved closer toward the child and as if Ichigo had felt the bad intention from the weird and creepy clown, he started to cry. It was at first a sob but the closer the clown got the stronger the sobs that were starting to become cries got. With each wail the reiatsu that was emitted from the child grew and soon they could fell the power coming from the child pushing down on them. The all stared at the child with surprise and Mayuri stopped his advantage toward him. Ichigo stopped crying and rubbed his eyes. Mayuri backed away when he noticed the glares thrown at him from every last captain in the room and wisely returned to his spot. Ichigo noticed that and giggled before opening his mouth and yawning. He snuggled himself deeper into Toshiro's arms, he soon fell asleep. The power that had a moment pressed down at them disappearing without a trace. Byakuya couldn't stop the small smile from forming on his face. He liked the child Ichigo. He could keep at least a few of the trash he had to deal with daily away.

TWO DOWN

RUKIA/RENJI/URYUU:

They were all surprised when they suddenly got a call from Inoue and she had told them to come to her apartment. Thinking of the worse, they let everything else drop and quickly moved toward Inoue's apartment. Soon all three of them stood before Inoue's door, having calmed down considerately after having noticed that Inoue hadn't sounded sad or scared at all, more like happy.

"Why do you thing Inoue called us?" Renji finally asked having enough from just standing before the door."

"I don't know but somehow she sounded really happy. Maybe something good happened and she wants to share it with us. We all really need to get our minds of Ichigo after all. He wouldn't have liked us to be so depressed." Rukia concluded with a sad smile on her face.

Uryuu had gone a step farther than the shingamis and felt the reiatsu that was inside Inoue's apartment. He could fell Inoue's and Chad's reiatsu and… That couldn't be right? It felt like…

Without thinking he ripped open the door and stormed inside. Renji and Rukia gave him confused looks before followed him. Uryuu looked around, quickly spotting what he was looking for. On Chad's lap sat a child with bright orange hair and a big smile. That child had the exactly same reiatsu that Ichigo had possessed.

"Ichigo" he mumbled loud enough for the shinigamis behind him and the child before him to hear. The child turned its head, responding to the name and gave the quincy a small smile.

"You and the other two behind you also feel familiar. Are you also one of my friends?" Ichigo asked while starting to stand up and move toward them. They all stared at each other before Rukia suddenly broke down crying and pulled the child into a tight huge. He seemed to be used to it by now since he responded and hugged back, patting the back comfortingly.

It was then that Renji's cell phone started to ring and he quickly opened it and held it to his ear.

"Hello?" He asked with a still confused but happy voice.

"Abarai Renji fuku-taicho, you and Kuchiki Rukia are to come back to Seireitei immediately. We have found your missing friends Kurosaki Ichigo!" Renji didn't have any problem recognizing the voice of none other than Kuchiki Byakuya's. At first Renji didn't know how to response. He looked from the Ichigo that still was still being held in a death crush by Rukia to his phone and back again before slowly answering:

"That can't be true taicho. Here right before us is Kurosaki Ichigo!" The other end went silent before Byakuya said:

"Come to the meeting room in Seireitei immediately and bring Ichigo with you." With that the call ended and Renji could only dumbly stare at his phone.

It wasn't soon after the call that they were all moving toward Seireitei. Ichigo was looking around in fascination but still keeping up with them. Everyone had come, that included the two shinigamis Renji and Rukia, the two humans Chad and Inoue and the quincy Uryuu. They stopped before a huge door that was leading into the meeting room. It opened before their eyes without anyone there to really open it. The stepped inside only to see their little Ichigo suddenly starting to run toward a shocked looking Toshiro. Ichigo quickly snatched something out of Toshiro's arms and sat down, laying the thing into his lap in the progress. They moved closer to see just what Ichigo had taken away from Toshiro and stared in shock. In little Ichigo's lap lay an even smaller Ichigo.

The taichos didn't fare any better. They also could only stare at the two Ichigos right before their eyes.

"Does anyone know what is going on here?" It was Kenpachi who finally asked bringing everyone out of their shock.

Everyone shock their heads in a sign of no before the little Ichigo that was bigger than the other little Ichigo started to talk. Both Ichigo's eyes were flowing with swirling blue when bigger Ichigo started to talk:

"There are six still missing!" He said with the scowl that was so familiar to all of them that almost all of them smiled.

"What is missing?" Rukia was the first to ask. She was eager to help Ichigo.

"Six of my soul pieces are still missing. If you can bring them all together than we would probably be able to melt together into the real Ichigo Kurosaki again!" They all stared at him in silence.

"How do you know that?" Renji asked suspicious. "You told us that you don't remember anything. Have you been lying to us?" Renji asked with anger in his voice. He looked furious.

"No Renji, this soul piece" with that he held a hand to his chest "Doesn't have any memories since he has been formed out of one arm after all." The bigger Ichigo rolled his eyes as if it was obvious. "An arm doesn't have any memories, maybe reflexes, but no memories. The memories are stored in the brain and the brain's location is the head. I am the soul piece Ichigo that is laying in the others soul piece Ichigo's lap." They all stared at the baby with wide eyes. That couldn't be true. How could the baby be the one talking to them when the other spoke?"

"Before you asked that one question how I can speak through others I will answer it for you. Even thought we have split, we come from the same soul. That also means that we are all a part of that soul and so one being. We have one mind and we can feel each other, emotions and thoughts. I am the piece that is the head. I have all the memories of Kurosaki Ichigo. The brain controls the body. This piece is an arm. Logical conclusion is that I can control and move it how I want it to. Still it is a bit harder now since the arm also has acquired a brain and a temporary will of its own."

"What will happen with the memories that the other soul pieces like the arm have gotten over the time, since they now do have a brain?" It was Kurotsuchi that asked with curiosity and interest shining in his eyes. Both Ichigo's gave him a calculating stare before the bigger soul piece answered.

"When we merge, all memories will be gathered into one brain. Those memories are all part of Kurosaki Ichigo's life experience and precious to us or him even if they come from his fragments."

"Can I ask you something else? Why did Ichigo's soul break into eight pieces? Miss Kuchiki over there had told me Kurosaki's body had broken into much more pieces?" It was Unohana that had asked this specific question.

"Kurosaki's soul broke into many more pieces than eight, but those pieces called to each other and some merged together before flying into every direction. The soul pieces merged with the ones they had been nearest when the body had still been whole."

Unohana nodded her head in understanding before asking another question.

"You mean to tell us that your two arms, your two legs, your body and your head came together before they flew apart right?" With the confirming nod from Ichigo she continued. "Doesn't that mean that there only exist six soul pieces?"

"No, there still are two more. There were two beings that possessed their own minds but lived within mine. They were also part of my soul and I need them both" he stressed the word "to be able to be whole again. If even only one of them is missing we won't be able to merge."

"Who were those two beings?" Komamura that had asked.

"The first one is someone you all know. It is Kurosaki Ichigo's zanpakuto Zangetsu, and the second being is something you all know about. You could never fully accept Ichigo as one of you because of him. It was something that you feared since you thought that it was evil and needed to be eliminated, Kurosaki Ichigo's inner hollow Shiro."

When they heard what the fragment said they all looked at the ground. They all knew that they had unconsciously tried to distant themselves from Ichigo because of his hollow. It was then that a thought came to all of them. What would happen if the soul pieces merged without Shiro being there? Couldn't they get rid of him like that?

"What if…" It had been Toshiro that had started to ask the question when one look from the child stopped him.

"Regardless of your feelings for Shiro, he is a part of Ichigo's soul. If you left him out it would be like a missing piece in a puzzle and so the puzzle wouldn't be complete. Shiro needs to be there or Ichigo would slowly fall into depression of feeling like he was missing something. He would search for it everywhere and if he still couldn't find Shiro he would probably kill himself out of frustration and longing." They all stared at him with wide eyes. So that meant they couldn't get rid of Ichigo's inner hollow that way. Still they were determined to find a solution.

"You shouldn't try to get rid of Shiro even after that. Ichigo has already accepted him as a part of his soul. He knows Shiro's real identity. Shiro isn't a hollow like you all think even thought he has taken the form of one and has the same powers. Ichigo knows that Shiro was created from his emotions and instincts. The emotions that were anger, frustration, hate, and longing created Shiro. Ichigo still has a human body and so the soul still can change its shape and form. Shiro and Zangetsu where created like that. You could say that Ichigo himself split his soul and formed those parts that he split of his own soul into the beings he needed the most. When he needed power and speed he created his own zanpakuto. He created it in such a way that it was wiser and older than him, a sword that could support him in every way where he was lacking. He needed experience that he didn't have, he needed technique that he hadn't leaned, he needed power that would normally take far longer to get. His zanpakuto gave him everything he needed. Someone that would help him in situations he hadn't been before, someone that could quickly teach him techniques that were normally hard to learn, someone that could quickly give him power. Due to those needs his zanpakuto's bankai didn't become anything grand or beautiful. It became something that he could use without needing to learn many techniques, something that would give him an advantage in battle, and something that gave him support and power. Shiro is also Ichigo's own creation. He needed something to challenge him, to make him move forward, to make him remember why he was fighting, something that would be able to control his body when he really needed it and was close to dying. Shiro always took over when Ichigo was close to dying and stopped what would have normally have been inevitable. Since Ichigo was always protecting his friends from hollows and his mother had also died due to a hollow they became his inspiration to move forward, to protect. Shiro took form of a being that awoke those needs and feelings in Ichigo, a hollow."

It seemed like their minds had suddenly stopped working since they just couldn't comprehend what the fragment had just told them. Shiro had never truly been a hollow and Zangetsu had never truly been a real zanpakuto. Both had been created from Ichigo's soul when he had needed them. It was almost like Ichigo had been cut in three pieces and those three pieces had formed in Zangetsu, Shiro and Ichigo himself. That meant that they both were much more a part of him than they all had thought.

They left the thoughts for now and started to plan for the coming future. They still needed to find the six other soul pieces and they really didn't know where to start searching. It was Uryuu that gave the brilliant, yet so simple suggestion of trying to detect Ichigo's reiatsu to help them find the soul pieces. Soon the sou-taicho ordered everyone to start searching for the last six. In all of seireitei's history there had never been such a huge mission that had concluded such a massive among of shinigami's and included every last one of the taichos and fukutaichos.

It had already been a week since the search started and still they had found nothing at all. It was Renji that finally was able to find the third soul piece. He had wandered through soul society not really searching at all since he was as good at sensing reiatsu as Ichigo himself, meaning he was miserable. Of course he wanted to help his friend, but he also knew that his change of really finding one was so small that almost no one could really see it. He was still musing when he felt something bump into his leg. It looked like a little child with orange hair. His eyes widened. He quickly caught the child and held him up. The child was definitively looking like Ichigo. Renji quickly asked the child:

"What's your name?"

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. I'm sorry that I bumped into you."

"You don't need to be sorry. That is the best thing that has ever happened to me. You don't really remember anything right? You just woke up here right?"

"Yes how did you know?"

"We were looking for you. You disappeared some time ago and we tried to find you everywhere. Would you come with me? I would like to bring you to someone else. They also miss you."

"Okay I will come with you. They are my friends after all, like you right? I will come."

Without noticing it, Renji let a tear roll down his cheek before falling down his face. It was Ichigo alright, the Ichigo that loved and cared more about his friends than his own life. Renji hurried back with Ichigo in tow. He knew that the others had been disappointed and dishearten when they hadn't been able to find even one soul piece.

"Guys" Renji screamed to get their attention "look what I found here." With that he pulled Ichigo to the front. Ichigo smiled at them and said:

"Nice to meet you again, name is Kurosaki Ichigo."

All of them smiled again. It had been a crushing and depressed atmosphere till then, but now it started to brighten up. The new spread fast and soon everyone knew that finally another one had been found. They brought the third Ichigo to Inoue to let her take care of him while the others continued their search.

"Hey Inoue, there is a clone from me here?"

"That's no clone Ichigo. You are both a part from the person called Ichigo. You could say that you are like a puzzle. When we found all pieces we may put you all together again and then you will all remember everything."

"Oh" said both Ichigos. Then they looked at each other and both said at the same time: "It's still a bit creepy don't you think?" Then they needed to laugh. They really were the same. They even thought the same. They hoped that the other pieces were found quickly before they died of food poison.

THREE DOWN

FIVE LEFT

GRIMMJOW:

Grimmjow was bored. He hadn't had a good fight since Ichigo had been here. He just wandered around Hueco Mundo when he heard a battle cry. It sounded like the one that Ichigo always used. He took off in the direction of the battle cry with a smile on his face. Maybe it was Ichigo, who had come a second time. Why? He didn't care. What he saw next made him stop in his tracks and shattered his hopes in one move. It was Ichigo, alright, but he looked around five years old. How would he fight that? Chibi Ichigo seemed to have been attacked by a lesser hollow and Grimmjow had to admit, that even thought he was little; he still did some pretty good damage.

"Yo, Chibi, what are you doing here?" Grimmjow asked out of curiosity.

"Dunne, have no idea. Just woke up yesterday or was it sooner, that damn moon, and don't remember a think expect for my name."

"My name is Jaegerjaques Grimmjow. What's yours?"

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. It is nice to meet you."

Grimmjows jaw hit the ground. His rival had been chibified. He couldn't believe it. He took the kid into his arms and looked carefully over him. Jup, no meaning in hiding it, the kid looked like Ichigo and how many children had orange hair anywhere.

It was then that he felt the Ulquiorra's reiatsu coming toward them. How that bastard that always called him trash had survived he didn't know. It was still quite a miracle that he himself had survived, but why sacrifices brain cells for questioning it if it he should just be grateful and live on.

He came out of his short musing when Ulquiorra stopped before him, looking at the chibi that he still stood near him. Grimmjow couldn't quiet hit his smile when he saw that Ulquiorra reacted to this incident with a slight widening of his eyes. That bastard had lost his composure, even just for a second. He started to like the chibi Ichigo.

"What is he doing here trash and am I right in my conclusion that this child before us is Kurosaki Ichigo?" Ulquiorra looked at Grimmjow waiting for an explanation that he knew would probably never come. He was surprised, even thought he didn't show it, when he really did get an answer and an intelligent one at that.

"Don't know why he is here or why he is so small, I only came here when I felt his reiatsu and thought I could fight him, was pretty disappointed when I found him this small and weak."

"Hey, I am not weak" the small Ichigo cried out but was completely ignored.

"Let's sent him back" Grimmjow knew that it wasn't a question, but an order that Ulquiorra was waiting for him to fulfill. Grimmjow didn't really have anything against it. He also knew that Ulquiorra and he himself seemed to own the brat a debt, that they themselves didn't quite know what it was about and sending him back to his family was probably the best way to pay the debt back.

He moved his hand, ripping a hole into the air and pulled Ichigo up before throwing him in with the parting words:

"I will bring you to your family. You won't bring me anything but trouble with you like this. I am doing you a favor so pay it back with the promise, that next time we see each other, when you are in your normal form, we will fight.

Grimmjow could still hear the words: "It's a promise!" echoed out of the black hole before it closed.

He landed before his familie's clinic and was soon found by none other than his father that quickly reported it for the first time acted serious and gave him into the care of none other than Inoue. Inoue wondered if at the end Ichigo would have six or eight heads sticking out of his body and start to be called a mutant.

FOUR DOWN

FOUR LEFT

ULQUIORRA:

Ulquiorra, after having sent the chibi Ichigo away had started to remember the battle and his death by the hands of none other than Ichigo, well the big one. After the battle he had somehow managed to heal himself, when he had become dust. He himself didn't know how, but he didn't really care. He had made himself a home in a gigantic cave, that he had created and structured like a normal house himself. His home almost looked like a library through thousands of books that were organized everywhere. He had almost collected every book in the hollow world and even vasto lords came to him, to be able to read and maybe even borrow one of his books. He was right reading when he suddenly heard a cry coming from outside of his cave. He laid the book to the side and went outside. It didn't take him long to spot a orange haired child, about four years old killing hollows with kido spells (Copied it from Rukia, but couldn't control it with his massive power. Chibi Ichigo doesn't have that much and can use them). It was an interesting sight to see at least. Without even uttering a word other than his cries, the child shot kido spells at the hollows, while having his eyes closed and killing them with one shot. Ulquiorra went up to the second Ichigo he saw this day, but younger and the child stopped crying. It opened its eyes and started to beam at him. He didn't understand. Why was the child smiling at him like this even thought he was the one that had given him much pain and sorrow? He took him into his arms and without a second thought the boy fell asleep. Ulquiorra could only marvel how Ichigo had let himself be so defenseless in front of an enemy. He thought about killing him but what he heard him mumble next stopped him in his tracks.

"Good…alive…happy."

Ulquiorra didn't know what to say. This chibi Ichigo seemed to be happy that he was alive. Maybe he was interpreting it wrongly but he could still think about it later. Now he would bring this child to where Grimmjow had brought the first Ichigo, so he wouldn't need to take care of it. Later he himself would be surprised that he hadn't thought about killing Ichigo a second time.

FIVE DOWN

THREE LEFT

YORUICHI:

She was speeding up her pace. Before her were two, it looked like twins, one with orange and one with white hair, who were about to outrun her. They were excellent in Shunpo and she somehow felt proud. She had taught him, them, him well and it was the best catch game she had had since years ago. She had tried to outsmart them, but they had seen through her trap and had somehow been able to avoid her. They were really smart or running on pure instincts. She had always known that Ichigo was smart and just didn't always show it, but she also knew that in many situations it had been his instincts that had saved his life. Still no one could deny that he was smart, he was under the twenties best in his school after all.

The game of catch continued and she just couldn't reach them, the goddess of speed couldn't catch them and she had fun. There had never been any challenge for her and now this. Her own student was now at the same level as her, but she still had something up her sleeves. She changed into her cat form and the twins abruptly stood still and stared at her. It was the orange haired child that started to reach out his hand toward her, while the white haired, hollow alike tried to pull it away. When he touched her and she didn't do anything, they started to be less careful. Now Yoruichi started to run away at full speed and the twins followed. With their speed they soon reached Inoue's apartment and the twins were lead inside. They stopped in their tracks to reach the cat when they noticed the other Ichigo's. They soon started to talk with their other halves, Yoruichi forgotten for the moment. It was really a sight to behold.

SEVEN DOWN

ONE LEFT

UNOHANA:

Unohana was enjoying her break from paperwork and the idiots of the elevens that always managed to injure themselves. Slowly drinking her tea, she savored every sip, letting the warms travel through her body and help calm her nerves. She was sitting outside, having decided that fresh air was far better for her body than sitting in her small office and listening to the yells of all present. It was then that she suddenly noticed a black dressed person coming toward her. She didn't move her gaze away from the beautiful scenery, but even thought it was hard to notice she was alert and she believed that she would be able to react to any given situation that may arise. That person sat down next to hear, still not saying a word and out of the corner of her eye she could see that this person was also gazing at the scenery. She was about to turn her head, destroy the pleasant quiet and politely ask the person about his business with her when he started to talk.

"It is quite a beautiful day, isn't it?" The person next to her had a quiet yet strong voice. It spoke of old age and wisdom that she had been missing in a talking companion since a long time ago. She turned her head, looking at, what she believed to be an old person next to her, only to notice his weird appearance. His cloak seemed to be alive, moving around him like it was a part of his body and disintegrate at the end. At that moment Unohana knew that this person was no mere soul. Only zanpakutos had such factures.

"May I ask who you are?" She finally asked, hoping to get a straight answer instead of a riddle or a joke that zanpakutos where always so eager to use.

"I am Zangetsu, Ichigo's Zanpakuto. I believe that you have been searching for me." Unohana didn't know whom to thank for this small wonder so she thanked whoever first came into her mind. She didn't show any of those emotion on the outside, she had a reputation to uphold after all, but it seemed that Zangetsu could read minds, since he started to chuckle.

"I won't give you any riddles. Those are for Ichigo to solve. You have your own zanpakuto that will give you tests and trials for you to solve." Letting out a small sigh of relieve she nodded and started to stand up, him following her example.

"I will bring you to the other soul pieces, so you may merge together into one soul again. I believe that every other soul piece has already been found." Zangetsu only nodded in response, looking over the scenery with a longing gaze one more time before letting Unohana lead him to the nearest senkaimon that lead to the human world around Karakura Town. Unohana would swear that he heard him mutter about to little green in Ichigo's inner world before he left through the senkaimon. She let a small smile graze her face, before turning around to returning to her division. The smile was destroyed when she heard an explosion coming from the directions of the elevens. If it was those idiots again, she would strangle them personally with her hands before patching them up. Could they never do anything without destroying something and injuring themselves?

EVERY SOUL PIECE FOUND!

You can see that I have changed the first chapter quite a bit. The story itself will remain the same, but I am trying to improve my grammar and writing style so please tell me what you think is better. This, or the one before?

Please review and give me your opinion.

Many thanks