Here's the long awaited sequel to Forgiveness! Yes, there was another one that I removed, but I've had this one saved in my computer for so long, and I just recently found it half-finished, so I thought I would clean it up and make it the start of my real sequel. Anyways, I don't own Bleach. Or Ichigo and Renji (even though I want to), or any other characters in the series.

If you haven't read Forgiveness, then I'll give you all the 411: Following a near-death experience, Ichigo confesses his love to Rukia. Latter on, around chapter 4, Rukia becomes pregnant. They have a son named Takeshi, and that's where the story ends. This story picks up three months later.

Reviews aren't mandatory, but they are appreciated!

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A light breeze picked up, a few dried leaves floating onto the deathly quiet path in front of him. With his head bowed in remorse, Ichigo made his way down the deserted path, his empty brown eyes not bothering to look ahead. His face showed no expression, his eyes showed no life, the only thing that proved he was still alive was the fact that he was walking. His feet skidded and dragged in the dirt, but he never broke his stride.

What would be perceived as a normal routine hollow hunt was really nothing of the sort. There was no inevitable threat that was foretold in an order from the Soul Society, just the quiet silence that surrounded the shinigami. Where he was headed, no one could really tell, not even him. He walked forward without a said purpose, without any visible motivation, such as a friend in danger or an arrancar attack.

Ichigo just needed to get away. To get as far away from the people he loved as possible. To get away from his home, from everything he has ever known. It would be safer that way, he had convinced himself before leaving. His son, Takeshi, his friends, Rukia, they would all be safer if he just let go and never returned. He would never be able to hurt them that way.

How could he have let this happen? He was supposed to be in control of the demon that lurked within his soul, the monster that reminded him that there was something that could, and almost had, destroyed everyone he had loved. A sharp twang of guilt shot through his heart as he remembered what had happened.

"Ichigo! Stop!" Renji firmly stood in front of Rukia and growled at the said shinigami, his sword pointed outwards. His anxiousness rose as Ichigo stalked towards him, half of a hollow mask covering his face. His piercing yellow eyes bored holes through Renji, and he crept closer, a laugh building in his throat.

"C'mon, kid. If ya get outta my way, I won't 'ave to kill ya just yet." Hollow Ichigo snickered, his sword outstretched, as if he were challenging Renji to a duel. "This ain't Ichigo ya talkin' to anymore, so don't even bother."

"You're not using Ichigo to hurt his wife and son. If you take one more step, I will not hesitate to kill you." Renji snarled, his voice threatening.

Hollow Ichigo erupted into another fit of laughter. "I ain't buyin' your bluff, kid. If ya kill me, you're killin' Ichigo too. You wouldn't do that, not in front of little Rukia an' their kid." He looked at Rukia, his eyes narrowed, the sick smile still plastered on his face.

"You're not going near any one of them!" Renji swung his sword, the blade barely missing it's target. He jumped back from the counter attack and pulled Zabimaru up in a defensive position. "Ichigo! Snap out of it! Don't let this thing destroy your family!"

Something strange flashed across Hollow Ichigo's eyes, and for a brief moment, turned from yellow to brown. He gripped his head, a low growl drifting out of his throat. "Damn it, Ichigo! Stay outta this!" A scream erupted from his mouth, sounding as if he and Ichigo were screaming in unison.

A new, familiar voice came out, strained and raspy. "You…damn…hollow." Ichigo's fingers clawed at the mask, and finally hooked under it's raw edges. "Leave…my…family…alone!" With a bloodcurdling scream, he ripped the mask off of his face. Ichigo stumbled backwards, clutching his face. When he opened his eyes, they went from Renji to Rukia.

"I-I…wha-" He stuttered, not believing how he had almost killed his family. "R-Rukia, I-I'm." A wave of nausea hit him, and he felt bile rising in his throat. He dropped now to one knee, not able to look up. His mind was in a foggy haze, and he couldn't keep his eyes open.

It had taken Renji four hours to convince Ichigo to go anywhere near Rukia and Takeshi, and when he finally agreed to come within eyesight of them, it was Rukia that had to go to Ichigo. When she reached out a hand and touched his face, he flinched back, like he had never had any kind of physical contact with another person what so ever. His whole body was tense, like he was ready to jump away.

Ichigo had left shortly after that, once everyone had gone to bed and fallen asleep. He had left a short note, simply explaining why he had to leave and that under any other circumstances, wouldn't even have thought of leaving. He had not left any clues as to where he was going, because even he didn't know where it was he was going. Maybe Europe? Australia? The U.S.? As long as he couldn't hurt anyone like that again, it didn't really matter to him.

He wanted to convince himself that this was the right thing to do, leaving everything behind. If he had something inside of him that could wipe out everything he cared about, how could he protect them? He lifted his head, turning it back towards where he had come from. His senses began picking up familiar spirit energy. She couldn't have followed him, could she? The reason he left without any goodbyes was because a clean break would've been easier to deal with. Ichigo just kept walking, not bothering to stop and wait. He knew Rukia was following him, he could sense her spirit energy, but he made no attempt to elude her.

"Ichigo?" He stopped, but didn't turn around. "Ichigo, please, just talk to me-"

"About what?" Ichigo's voice was empty, holding no feeling in it what so ever. He still had his back turned to Rukia, but his head was halfway turned towards her.

"Why did you just leave? You didn't say anything to me or Renji, and I wake up in the middle of the night to find a note saying that you had to leave because you couldn't protect me or Takeshi. Why would you-"

"Do you really want to know why I left, why I said that I couldn't protect you?" Ichigo cut Rukia off, fully turning around to face her. His expression was pained, grim, and deathly serious. "Because I almost killed everyone that had ever meant anything to me earlier today, just because I couldn't control some God-forsaken hollow inside of me. I told myself that I would protect you and Takeshi at all costs. How can I do that if I'm a threat to the both of you?"

Rukia couldn't answer that. Was Ichigo truly serious, this leaving because he was a threat? "How can you be a threat, Ichigo? How the man I love think that he could kill me?"

Ichigo's expression softened slightly. He took Rukia's hands in his and sighed before continuing, his voice becoming gentle. "I would never, never, choose to hurt you like this unless I had a choice. But what good am I if I can't even control this, this thing inside of me? You can't even begin to believe how hard it was for me to leave."

"But then why did you leave? You could've at least said goodbye." Rukia moved into Ichigo's arms and leaned slightly against him, her head pressed against his chest.

"Would you have honestly let me go if I had said goodbye?" He cupped her face with his large hands and tilted her head up so that she was looking into his eyes. "I left like that because it would have been easier for you to let go of me. You still would've had Renji, and let's face it, when it comes to you, he's completely harmless."

"Ichigo, Takeshi needs a father."

"He needs someone who can't hurt him, and can protect him. After what happened today, I'm convinced that it can't be me. Renji's perfectly capable-"

"But you can't leave, Ichigo!" Rukia buried her face into his shoulder, her grip on the fabric of his shirt tightening. Ichigo felt a surge of guilt begin to chew at his resolve, and he wrapped his arms protectively around her. Maybe this was where he was supposed to say that he wouldn't leave. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a small sniffle from his chest where Rukia's head lay. "Please don't leave me alone."

That desperate plea made Ichigo stop. Leaving her alone. Why did that make him have second thoughts on leaving? He sat in silence, contemplating on the situation. He sighed, opened his mouth to speak, closed it, then spoke in a hesitant tone. "Rukia, I-" Ichigo looked down at her, a smile slowly replacing the scowl that once covered his face. "You really won't let me leave, will you?"

His smile grew wider when he felt Rukia shake her head into his chest in reply. Ichigo tightened his protective embrace around her. Rukia looked up at him with tear filled eyes and gently placed a hand on the side of his face. "You really thought you had to leave to protect us, didn't you?"

Ichigo sighed, trying to find the right words to use. "Rukia, every night when I go to sleep with you next to me, I'm always afraid that something will happen the next day that will take you away from me. I'd never, never, forgive myself if I hurt you in any way."

"So does that mean you're not leaving?" Rukia looked hopefully up into Ichigo's brown eyes.

"Yeah, that's exactly what it means." Ichigo's expression softened, as did his eyes. "I'm sorry. That was really kind of a dumb thing to do, huh?" He sheepishly chuckled at how obvious his comment was.

"Yeah, it kind of was." Rukia slightly smiled before gently pulling Ichigo's face towards her own and softly placing her lips on top of his. Whatever little space between them was closed when Ichigo tightened his embrace around her waist, pulling her small body to his larger one. He felt her hands go up the side of his face and become entangled in his orange hair, firmly keeping his lips connected with hers.

Ichigo broke the kiss, completely out of breath. He leaned his forehead against Rukia's, a warm smile adoring his face. "Want to go home?"

"More than anything." With that, Ichigo and Rukia walked hand in hand back to their house.

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Pretty sappy, huh? Well, I was in a sappy kinda mood, so this was just the perfect thing for me.

Please Review!