A/N:

I'm back!

I sincerely apologise for leaving the story hanging for so long... I've been busy coping with some things and ditched writing for awhile.

Right now, I'm doing a full rewrite of this fic since I know that there's a lot of room for improvement. I'll try to post chapters weekly starting from the very beginning, so please do bear with me and perhaps follow me along this journey once again?

Lot of love to everyone who has read thus far!

The full story I have so far is still available on ao3, so head over there to read it.

For the new readers:

Italic - character thoughts
Bold - Zangetsu speech
Bold Italic - Shiro speech

"Yesterday, a traffic accident along ZhongShan Street resulted in one fatality. The deceased has been identified to be Kurosaki Ichigo of Japanese descent, who has been working in China for the past year. An unexpected build-up of …"

Kisuke's mind was whirling as the news report continued in the background.

After the war against Aizen had ended, Kisuke and the other Vizard were pardoned for their supposed crimes and were invited back to Soul Society.

They had been so close to accepting; So close to returning to the place that had shunned them for so long.

So very close – until Ichigo disappeared.

Ichigo's role in the war was pivotal to their victory and the human-turned-shinigami was worshipped as a hero by shinigami and citizens alike. By then, Ichigo was already more powerful than all the Captains – although it was never really tested. Naturally, the young Vizard was offered a position as Captain of a squad in the Gotei 13 since he already had the necessary battle skills and experience.

Ichigo had refused. He had refused and left.

He went so completely off radar that not even Kisuke could track him down.

Of course, without Ichigo as their anchor, none of the Vizards were willing to return to Soul Society, and they all remained in the human world to hunt down their friend.

Kisuke's fixation on finding Ichigo was borne from part-guilt and part-loyalty. The guilt from dragging Ichigo – a mere human – into a war of death gods and watching the boy crumble before his eyes yet not having the power to change it; The loyalty that Ichigo garnered through his stead-fast actions that transcended what words could ever achieve.

In all the eight years of staying in the human world and working with the other Vizards with the faint hope that Kisuke could somehow find the boy, they picked up not a single clue.

Until now.

"Kisuke! Did you see–"

Yes. Yes, he did. Kisuke hung up on a rambling Hiyori who had called about the news.

It took a moment for Kisuke to fully comprehend the situation, still seated in his shoten with a cup of tea in front of him.

Genius or not, shocking news was still shocking news.

Kisuke knew for a fact that the human body was extremely fragile no matter how powerful the soul was, and it was entirely normal for anyone to die at any time. He just never expected Ichigo, of all people, to reach the end of his human life so soon. No one really expects people they know, or even themselves, to just up and die like that.

Kisuke didn't know what to feel. All this time he had been searching, and it turned out Ichigo's death was what they needed.

The last thing Ichigo remembered as he was struggling for consciousness was the bus. It drove right into the side of his car, and there was so much blood around.

Was it his own?

He was barely conscious and could hear people shouting all around the wreckage. His body was felt crushed, but strangely, he couldn't feel any pain.

What happened to the kid? Was the kid alright?

Ichigo had been driving home that evening when a child who looked to be about six years old ran onto the road directly in front of his car.

There was also a bus driving toward him on the other lane.

He knew that if he didn't swerve away, the boy would die.

There was no time to think.

The people on the bus were more likely to survive a collision with him compared to the more vulnerable kid. The choice was obvious.

Ichigo blacked out again.

"Captain?" Nanao approached hesitantly.

It was still too early for her Captain to be up and walking through the barracks. Usually, she would have to search for him when he didn't bother to show up even by noon.

"Places to be, things to do…" was all Kyoraku offered as an explanation before he shunpo-ed in the direction of the First Division barracks.

An emergency Captain's Assembly had been called to order.

Such a thing was rare now that Soul Society was experiencing a time of peace, but the sudden reiatsu disturbance that could be felt throughout Soul Society two days ago was not a matter they could dismiss until the next meeting.

Even having waited two days for the Captains who were on away assignments to return was dangerous enough. Kyoraku suspected there was something else going on.

When all the Captains gathered in the Assembly Hall, Juushiro, Captain of the Thirteenth Division, reported without fanfare: "Kurosaki Ichigo has passed, and the disturbance is speculated to be due to his arrival here."

There was a long period of tense silence as every Captain in the room registered the information and implications of it.

To say Kyoraku was shocked was an understatement.

He had come prepared for additional information, but not for such news right off the bat.

"Where is he now?"; "Does Isshin know yet?"; "Is he coming here?"

Many questions shot out at once from the usually calm and collected attendees, which would have translated to outright panic among any other group, though it wasn't at all surprising since they were talking about the Vizard who had gone missing eight years ago.

Their Vizard.

Kyoraku didn't doubt for a second that the whole Gotei 13 had already unofficially adopted Ichigo into their ranks and deemed him a comrade – just look at all the Eleventh Division jocks always clamouring after Ichigo.

"We will be informing Isshin and his family before we proceed any further. Currently, Kisuke is executing his plan to locate Ichigo in Rukongai, so whether we manage to find him or not would depend on that." Juushiro said, since he was in-charge of external affairs of the Shinigami, including management of the Vizards.

"The ideal course of action would be to bring him into our ranks before something happens to him or other powers get to him. I'm sure he'd like to be with his family as well." Sui-Feng commented.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Ichigo left after the war for a reason, and he hasn't been in contact with even his closest friends." Kyoraku voiced.

He truly was disappointed that Ichigo chose to leave after all that had happened, but he couldn't really blame the boy – no, not boy. he was already an adult.

But still, Ichigo was very much a child in their world of death gods – he had only lived for a fraction of time compared to all the other Captains.

To have relied so much on him throughout the war was a blemish on their pride as Shinigami Captains, but they had no other choice. Ichigo was powerful and commanded great respect. He had the will and drive that drew people to him. Soldiers trusted him to lead them into battle.

But Ichigo's willingness to help had cost him too much.

Ichigo's family – Isshin, Karin, and Yuzu – were killed by Aizen's forces in the third year of the long and bloody war. His friends, Ishida and Chad, fell earlier in the second year when they were facing a particularly durable group of Aizen's hollow creations. Both times, Ichigo wasn't present. He was always sent to the most difficult battles right in the middle of Hueco Mundo, so much so that eventually, it became a fact that anyone being sent into battle with Ichigo had to be at least Captain-class or it was suicide.

Ichigo had blamed himself for their deaths. That much was obvious to the people around him. They could see him shutting away into himself with every death of someone he knew, but there was nothing they could do about it.

After the first year of war, it was all too obvious that Ichigo's power was absolutely necessary in their ranks. It was the only thing keeping Aizen from storming Seireitei and claiming victory at once.

When the war finally ended, Ichigo's family and friends already had their souls sent to Soul Society since only their human bodies perished. Isshin was reinstated as the Shiba clan head, while Ishida and Chad were offered seated roles in the Gotei 13 squads immediately.

Ichigo could have chosen to stay with them, but he didn't. He didn't even so much as visit any of them despite a few requests and some knowledge of where they were living.

Many of their comrades were puzzled, but Kyoraku could understand.

He had been the closest to Ichigo, after all. Throughout the war, they often trained and drank together. Sometimes during the rare lulls of the war, Kyoraku would find Ichigo lounging under the Sakura trees outside his Division's barracks.

Why Ichigo seemed to find comfort in his presence, Kyoraku couldn't even begin to explain, but he had always treated Ichigo like his own son and would never refuse whatever peace Ichigo sought.

Because they spent so much time together, Kyoraku could see that avoiding the people he cherished was Ichigo's form of love and comfort. It may have seemed contrary to others, but Ichigo was never one for outward affection. He didn't need to spend time with people or constantly call for their affection to affirm how he felt for them. Whoever Ichigo loved, he loved whole-heartedly, regardless of what the person did or felt. This was why just knowing that the people he treasured were safe was good enough for Ichigo.

It was what he had defeated Aizen for.

Ichigo could have chosen to avoid the war entirely if he had just stayed out of it, but he understood that as long as Soul Society was threatened, the whole world was essentially under threat as well.

The deaths of his loved-ones' human bodies were a regrettable outcome, but now that Soul Society was safe, his job was done.

Now that his people were safe, he wasn't needed anymore.

"I'll be going on a long trip that would last my lifetime. I just want to see what I fought so hard to protect – what I'll keep fighting to protect. I guess I'll next see you when I get to Soul Society.

"Bye, old man." Ichigo spoke only to Kyoraku before he left.

The message was clear: don't try to find me.

So Kyoraku respected his decision and kept this to himself for all these years, keeping up the pretence of occasionally searching for Ichigo along with the other squads.

Everyone wanted to find him so that they could either bring him back or simply thank him (or fight him, in Kenpachi's case). It was rather heart-warming to see that the Shinigami were loyal to their comrades.

Kyoraku didn't expect for Ichigo to face such an abrupt death.

He was resigned to waiting up to another century before Ichigo next appeared in front of him – after he has used up his human life.

This turn of events, however, wasn't unwelcome, especially now that there was another ominous threat looming in the horizon.

"You're dismissed."

The Captains' Assembly concluded with having four squads being placed under Kisuke's command to investigate Rukongai for the source of reiatsu disturbance, while the other Vizards monitor things in the human world.

There was a chance that Ichigo's soul remained stuck there and that the massive reiatsu explosion was something else entirely.

As the Captains were filing out of the hall, Kyoraku was asked to stay behind with the Captain-Commander. He paused in his tracks, giving Juushiro a sidelong glance to indicate for Juushiro to carry on without him.

"What do you think Ichigo will do?" The old Shinigami questioned with his gravelly voice.

Although this seemed to be a simple question from someone who was concerned about the Vizard, there was an underlying reason beyond the obvious.

Yamamoto-Soutaicho wanted to evaluate if Ichigo would become a threat. The power the Vizard contained was not something that could be easily written off, and if he decided to act on his own or join a faction opposing the Gotei 13, there would be trouble for them.

"I believe Ichigo would never bring harm to Soul Society voluntarily, but he will still do whatever he feels is right, and even I cannot predict his actions." Kyoraku answered.

"Very well." And that was the end of the discussion.

What happened?

You died, you moron.

Shiro, I'm sure Ichigo will need some time to… adjust. Quiet down.

Damn it, you old fart. We're fucking dead and you want me calm? That idiot sacrificed his life so we're stuck here and can't go back to human-ing. We were havin' so much fun travelling around, dammit. Why the hell was I-

Ichigo cut off the mental link at that point. He couldn't deal with a raving Shiro just then.

I'm really dead.

Except for the splitting headache when he just woke up, it didn't feel that bad.

Perhaps he was too calm about it, but ever since learning about the existence of Soul Society, Ichigo never dwelled too much on his own death – it was as simple as being brought from one place to another after all. He had heard that people lose their memories after coming to Soul Society, but Ichigo already decided that it wouldn't be a problem for him, considering his insanely high reiatsu level.

Also, most of the people he knew in his life were already in Soul Society anyway – he didn't have much to lose.

After giving his stomach a moment to settle, he was finally feeling less nauseas and not on the verge of puking.

Ichigo sat up to look around.

He was placed on a single futon at a corner of the room. There were a few other futons spread out across the area too, but no one else was around.

Extending his senses to feel outside the window, Ichigo could make out the bustle of a market with the familiar shouting and haggling.

This place didn't seem like any part of Soul Society he was familiar with.

"Ah you're awake." A kind-looking middle-aged lady walked into the white-washed room he was in.

"Where am I?" Ichigo needed to get his bearings first.

"This is District One of East Rukongai. You're in one of estates that we keep to house newcomers like you and it's been two days since you were found. I must say, your death must have been very terrible for you to bear those scars you have. Our doctors were shocked at first, thinking you might have been attacked here in the first District." She must have been talking about the many scars he got during the war.

On one of his raids where he had no back-up, Aizen managed to snare him in a trap and Ichigo was left in the mad-man's 'tender loving care' for two whole months before he managed to get free.

Those months were pure torture, both physically and mentally.

He never wanted to think about it again, and most people didn't know about those scars anyway.

Ichigo considered himself lucky to have been dropped in the First District. It was the cleanest part of Soul Society apart from Seireitei and this place had the nicest people and amenities.

If he had been dumped in the lawless outskirts of Rukongai, he would have much harder time getting to Seireitei. Right now, reaching the compound was his goal. It was the most comfortable place in this familiar yet strange world that he had avoided for eight years.

"You're free to go wherever you please now. In this District, we have the policy of not prying into a person's activities and you're free to change your life however you want."

This would work out well for Ichigo.

No doubt, if he simply told any Shinigami around that he was Kurosaki Ichigo, he would be welcomed into Seireitei with open arms. However, he didn't want a whole truckload of Shinigami descending upon him, and he didn't want to go in search of his friends just yet.

Ichigo knew that they all meant well and were trying to help him cope with the aftermath of the war in their own ways, but Ichigo still couldn't get past the guilt that trumped all other emotions whenever he recalls scenes of fallen soldiers, or the bodies of his dead friends and family.

He couldn't face anyone. Not yet.

Nevertheless, he would have to join the Shinigami eventually. Ichigo wasn't foolish enough to think that he could avoid them forever in their own domain.

For now, he would head to Seireitei.

The streets of Rukongai looked exactly like those out of his high school history textbook.

Short attap buildings lined the streets, with vendors carrying out their activities on the ground level and children crying in their homes on the upper floors.

This felt surreal.

It felt like he was in a dream, or maybe waking up from one.

The smells of Japanese street food were nostalgic and inviting, and the weather was at a perfect balance between temperature and humidity.

Had he had no plans, Ichigo would be lazing around somewhere to relax and cloud gaze and he could see why this might seem like Heaven.

Ichigo was walking to the prime residential area that housed the district representative where he could get information on entering Seireitei – or so he was told. He was given a map, but it was only a crude sketch so he had to stop along the way to ask for directions.

"Hey kid, where's the prime residential area?" Ichigo asked a small boy nearby who physically looked to be about eight years old – but you never really know, what with the whacky aging process in Soul Society.

"Tch. I'm not a kid! My bro's a Shinigami and he can kick everyone's ass, including yours, mister!"

Ichigo's face blanked.

That mocking tone… it seems like human condescension surpasses even death.

Figuring this wasn't worth his time, Ichigo simply walked on.

"Oi! Old man! I'm not done with you!"

Twack-

"Oomph."

Ichigo flipped over the kid who had rushed at him, then he simply starred down before letting go.

The kid ran off.

Kekeke bloody boy deserved it.

Oops. Ichigo might have let loose a little too much of Shiro in his gaze.

"Sorry, please don't mind him. He's got too much pride after his brother became the first Shinigami in this neighbourhood. The prime residential area you're looking for is just up ahead from here. You should see some signs in about fifteen minutes." The shopkeeper who witnessed the scene helpfully provided.

"I see. Thanks."

"You want to what?" Eito must be getting old.

He must have heard the boy wrongly.

"Go to Seireitei." Ichigo confirmed for the third time.

In all the years that he had been representative of this District, Eito had never met one so brazen.

"Look, Seireitei isn't a place you can just go prancing into at your own whim. Even I, from a minor noble house, would have to get permission just to enter the gates, much less set foot anywhere else." Eito tried explaining to the man.

"There must be some way I can get there." Ichigo insisted.

It seems this bright-haired boy – or man? – wouldn't take no for an answer.

He sighed.

Eito could tell that this was a stubborn man – his years of dealing with people made his intuition very reliable. Yet, there was a certain quality about this man that suggested a wealth of strength beyond ordinary comprehension.

"You can try enrolling in Shin'o Academy." He finally offered, reserving the knowledge that not just any average Joe could pass the entrance exam.

This man would eventually give up when he reaches his limit.

A/N:

I haven't yet decided if I want to change certain events in the story, but I guess I'll write with my intuition as always!

Thanks for reading and please leave a review on your way out :)

Feel free to drop me PMs for questions - I reply to those a lot faster.