AN: This came to me while I was looking over Yuyake's story, and since she did a version of how she thought Ichigo should get his powers back, I figured I'd do the same. Starts off 16 months after the defeat of Aizen, hope you enjoy! Let me know if there are any problems or difficulties in the story, and I'll hopefully fix them. R&R
~Maito Uzumaki
Ichigo was up, laying on his bed after getting dressed, staring at the ceiling. He had been up at three again, scowling as he couldn't get back to sleep, though he did wonder. It was 7 A.M, and usually by now his father comes in and-
"GOOD MORNING ICHI- Ugh!" Isshin yelled, sending a flying kick towards his son, who simply deflected it with his hand and sent his father's kick into the wall over his bed. Ichigo examined his hand, feeling less pain than usual, but said nothing. Isshin slowly pulled his foot out of the wall over Ichigo''s bed, frowning. Maybe he's getting worse. Usually he at least says something, this time he didn't even make a sound, Isshin thought, mentally noting to keep an eye on his son.
"I'm headed out," Ichigo said, getting up and walking out of his room, not even giving the slightest emotion, though his usual scowl was on his face. It had been 16 months since he defeated Aizen, but also it had been 16 months since he'd been able to see Rukia, and that was one thing he missed. Each and everyday, he'd visit Urahara, to see if he could find a way to get his powers back, and each day he was even more angry. He started walking out of the house, ignoring his sisters' worried glances. Isshin came down the stares, planning to follow his son until Ichigo turned, sending a glare at his dad as he walked out the door. He walked on the sidewalk, ignoring his surroundings, focused on his route to the former captain's place. Soon, he was halfway to Urahara's, and he was still hoping for the best, though he knew inside what the outcome is. He kept the scowl on his face, until he heard something that made him stop.
"Ichigo, I know you can't hear me, but I'm sorry I had to drag you into all of this," he heard a voice say, and turned, though he couldn't see anything. He would've sworn that it was Rukia that had said that, though he knew it couldn't have been. He lost his powers, and thus couldn't hear or see any of the Shinigami or hollow.
"Who ever is there, come on out. I heard you, and know you're there," Ichigo said, readying to defend himself. He heard a gasp and the rustle of leaves as something dropped out of the nearest tree, though he didn't see anything.
"You can hear me?" the voice said again, though this time it seemed as though it were directly in front of him.
"Yes, I can hear you! What the hell is going on!" he yelled out frustrated, before he was tackled to the ground by some unseen force. He pushed whatever it was off of him, though he stayed on the ground, confused.
"Your powers, they're coming back!" the voice yelled, and he started to suspect that it was in fact her.
"Wait, who are you? I know you're a Shinigami, but I can't place your voice," Ichigo said, calming down as the spirit pulled him to his feet, much to his surprise.
"It's me, you strawberry," the voice said, and Ichigo jumped in surprise. Only one person ever called him that.
"Rukia!" He yelled as an idea popped into his head, one that might help move his power along. "Hold on a second, I have to check something!" He walked over to a tree and sat in the shade, ignoring the midget as he reluctantly got into a meditative pose, closing his eyes and tuning out the world. He opened his eyes, seeing the inner world of his slowly flooding, though the rain overhead stopped as soon as he entered. Skyscrapers were everywhere, and the water was slowly draining into the streets.
"So, the king returns to visit, oh how thoughtful of him," a familiar voice said, dripping with sarcasm. Ichigo turned, finding Hichigo, who was giving a malicious smile. Zangetsu stood on a flagpole quite a distance behind the hollow, his eyes closed as he meditated
"Good to see you, you maniacal little bastard, though I came to talk to somebody else," Ichigo said, gesturing to his Zanpakuto's meditating form.
"Of course, sire. Though, as soon as you get those powers of ours back, I want a rematch," Hichigo said,
"Of course, you idiot. Now, go run off, I came here to talk to Zangetsu only," Ichigo said, throwing a quick glare before walking over to Zangetsu.
"Hello there, Ichigo. I'm glad to see that the rain has stopped. That can only mean one thing," Zangetsu said, not opening his eyes as Ichigo looked up at the old man.
Ichigo smiled up, before saying, "You bet it does. So, is there any chance you can speed me up in regaining my powers old man?" Ichigo said, catching Zangetsu's attention.
"Well, the only real way I can think of is to fight me," Zangetsu said, looking down at Ichigo as a blade appeared in his hand, one similar to that of Ichigo's Shikai blade.
"Hey, how am I supposed to fight you?" Ichigo questioned, jumping out of the way as Zangetsu jumped down, bringing the sword in a high arc. Zangetsu quickly pulled his blade out of the ground from which it slammed into, creating a slight crater.
"Use your instinct. Imagine as if you are fighting your hollow for control, let your instincts take over and will yourself to win this battle," Zangetsu said, charging at Ichigo, bringing the sword in a sweeping motion, narrowly missing the orange haired boy. Ichigo dodged, and he brought the blade around again, this time nicking Ichigo's clothes, enough to show a rip, but no injury. Ichigo stood still this time, closing his eyes as Zangetsu brought his sword down in an arc, aiming for the top of the boy's head. He frowned, not seeing Ichigo move as the blade came closer and closer to his head. He closed his own eyes, preparing to meet flesh in a few seconds, but was surprised when he heard the clang of metal on metal, his sword being stopped. Zangetsu opened his eyes, finding Ichigo with the Shikai, blocking the attack.
"Let's fight," Ichigo said, pushing the blade off of his own, gasping when he saw Zangetsu go Bankai, turning into a younger version of himself.
"Let's step this up a notch," Zangetsu stated, Ichigo trying unsuccessfully to go into Bankai. Zangetsu lunged forward, and Ichigo barely pulled his sword up in time to block the attack, his eyes widening as Zangetsu disappeared. He turned, bringing his sword up and blocking a swipe, Zangetsu disappearing again. He turned again, just barely holding back the power of the attack. "Getsuga Tenshou!" Zangetsu yelled, a blue wave erupting from his blade and engulfing the both of them, seconds later exploding, sending both of them flying backwards, Ichigo's casual outfit being shredded, leaving a torn pair of pants and the sleeve on his left arm only, his chest bare with light burns on it. He landed on his back, panting. Zangetsu fared better, only a few cuts and a burn on his right hand. He smirked, eliciting a growl from Ichigo, who was slowly standing up, albeit, a bit wobbly, Hichigo just chuckled, having seen the whole thing.
"Damn, old man. Was all that necessary?" Ichigo said, noting that Zangetsu dispersed the Zanpakuto and reverted to his normal self.
"No, most of that fight was because you despaired and ceased to walk forward . Had you kept trying to reach me and Hichigo, you would've had your powers back a long time ago, but instead, the most you did after a few months was start visiting Urahara, which threw you into an even worse state of despair. Now get back out there and talk to the queen," Zangetsu said, Ichigo watching as he became one with Hichigo, who snickered at the comment from Zangetsu.
"I guess all that time I rubbed off on him," Hichigo said as Ichigo's inner world faded away, and he opened his eyes, finding Rukia staring worriedly at him. He looked around, checking to make sure nobody was watching, and leaped at the raven-haired girl, confining her into a bone crushing hug.
"My powers are back!" He yelled, smiling happily before realizing he was still in public, returning his face to that of a scowl and stepping away from her. Rukia just smiled brightly, warming Ichigo for some odd reason.
"C'mon, let's get to Urahara's!" Rukia said excitedly, flash-stepping away, Ichigo following. They arrived, and walked into the shop, finding Uryuu and Toushiro, much to both Rukia's and Ichigo's surprise, talking peacefully as they stood, waiting for Urahara to arrive.
"Ichigo, I see you're surprised to see me," Toushiro stated, turning his full attention to the boy. Ishida turned, smirking as he saw Ichigo stare in surprise. Urahara entered the store, having just ran a few errands, smirking when he saw the four of them.
"Toushiro, why are you here?" Ichigo asked, eliciting a glare from the short captain.
"It's captain Hitsugaya to you!" Toushiro yelled, angry at the missing formality.
"Captain Hitsugaya, why are you here? I mean, I have everything under control with Ichigo," Rukia said, bowing in respect.
"I came on Yamamoto-sotaichou's orders to pick up the report personally, for some odd reason," Toushiro said, thinking back to his meeting.
"So, I take it Ichigo has his powers back," Ishida said, changing the subject as he pushed his glasses up, a tick mark appearng on Ichigo's forehead.
"Why the hell do you have to always push your glasses up?! They don't even need to be pushed up!" Ichigo yelled.
"Because it looks cool, you idiot!" Ishida shot back, causing everybody to sweat drop. Urahara just cleared his throat, gaining all of their attention.
"So, Kurosaki, I see you have your powers back. That, I have to say, was sooner than expected. I would've thought it would be at least one more month before you started just sensing the presence of Shinigami or hollows," Urahara said, Ichigo turning to the blonde man.
"Stop pointing out the damn obvio- wait, you knew I'd have my powers back? Why the hell didn't ya tell me that a while ago?!" Ichigo said, receiving a slap to the back of the head via Rukia.
"Hey, he didn't want to get your hopes up just in case he was wrong, strawberry," Rukia said, giving him another slap to the back of the head for good measures.
"Stop calling me that, midget!" Ichigo yelled, a tick mark appearing on the raven-haired girl's forehead. Everybody else in the room sweat dropped; not even 20 minutes with his powers back, he was already arguing with Rukia like it was an everyday occurrence.
"Oi, I'm not a midget, you're just overly tall!" Rukia shot back, Ichigo glaring.
"It may seem that way from your position, though your just short!" Ichigo shot back, earning himself a kick to the shins.
"I'm not short!" Rukia yelled, angry. She got even closer to Ichigo, who was staring down at her.
"I wonder when they're going to notice," Urahara said to the others, and they just nodded. Rukia and Ichigo were so close you would swear, had it not been for their faces, they were going to kiss.
"Yes you are, you midget!" Ichigo yelled back, Rukia kicking him in the shins again, causing him to bend over to hold his shins, only it was because of a certain midget he never got there. He had forgotten about her standing there and when he bent down, his lips met hers, whose head was aimed up to look at Ichigo. They both jumped back at the same time, hearing all of the others chuckle caused them to blush.
"So, when's the wedding?" Urahara asked, the other two in the room gasping, knowing the wrath he had just unleashed.
"I am not interested in this midget!" Ichigo yelled, his face turning redder. He regretted those words, though, as a grin came across Urahara's face.
"I'm not interested in this strawberry either!" Rukia yelled, Urahara's grin becoming ear to ear.
"Oh, really Ichigo? Should I tell everybody here about all those times you came to me, wondering how Rukia was? Or, Rukia, should I tell everybody how you personally requested a two year long mission to monitor Ichigo?" Urahara said, dodging a flying kick from Ichigo, which moved him into place for rukia.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia yelled, enraged as she released her Zanpakuto.
"My, my, you two are perfectly in sync," Urahara said, dodging a swipe from Rukia as Tessai came in, stopping Ichigo who aimed a well placed kick towards the blonde.
"Stop. There will be no killing Urahara today," Tessai boomed, Rukia sheathing her sword as Ichigo muttered something.
"Alright, now that we got that out of the way, let's talk in private," Urahara said, ignoring the glares he got from Ichigo and Rukia. Urahara led them down the hall in the back of his shop, nodding to Jinta and Uruu as he passed them, and into his tea room.
"So, what did you want to talk about, Hitsugaya-san," Urahara said, sitting down. He gestured for the rest of the group to sit, and they complied.
"Well, what I needed to know now is useless. Captain Yamamoto wanted me to come here and gather information on if there was a way for Ichigo to regain his powers and also to get a report on him from Kuchiki-san," Toushiro said, frowning.
"So, Ishida, what are you here for?" Urahara asked, turning to the quincy.
"I came to ask if I could use your underground training fields to continue my training," Ishida said receiving a nod from Urahara.
"You know anytime that these training grounds are open for Ichigo and friends. Lastly, since I suspect already what you came here for, let's get started," Urahara said, confusing the boy.
"Wait, get started with what?" Ichigo asked, receiving a malicious grin as he was hit with Urahara's cane, knocking his soul out of his body.
"We're getting started with reacquainting yourself with using your Shinigami and hollow powers," Urahara said, walking out of the room and opening the trap door that led down to the training area.
"Alright, but I warn you, I'm not holding back on any of you if we spar," Ichigo said, following Urahara down the ladder, Rukia going next, followed by Toushiro then Ishida. They got down onto the ground, instantly spreading out.
"Ok, this is a spar to see how much you remember of how to fight," Urahara said, grinning.
"Bring it, Kurosaki," Ishida said, readying his spirit bow.
"Let's rock," Ichigo said, pulling out his Zanpakuto and going Bankai. He noted Rukia's silence and the distant look in her eye as she unsheathed her sword. He ignored it, figuring he'd ask about it all later, and got ready to fight. Toushiro followed suit, readying for this 4-1 match. They all smiled confidently as they charged Ichigo, who smiled back.
AN: So, there's chapter 1, hope you enjoyed, don't be afraid to criticize, and don't forget to review if you liked or had any criticisms.
~Maito Uzumaki