Summary: (Rewrite) Well, that didn't go quite according to plan. After using mugetsu and defeating Aizen, Ichigo finds that the cost was much higher than he had anticipated. The use of mugetsu cost him not just his powers, but his life as well. Now brought before the Soul King, Ichigo is given a second chance as a reward for his sacrifice.

Author's note: Hello everyone! Welcome to the rewrite of this story where I will try, keyword try, to improve upon the first version. Hopefully this will go well and not be nearly as rushed as the first try.

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

"Zanpakuto"

Chapter 1

"Mugetsu"

With a swing of his arm, the skies over their battleground was engulfed in what seemed to be an endless night. It was over, the lone teen had accomplished a task which many before him had tried and failed. 16 year old Ichigo Kurosaki had defeated the traitor Aizen, who had defeated many of the most powerful centuries old warriors of the gotei 13, with a single swing of his sword no less. And now there was not a single speck of matter left of the traitor or his little marble which cause this whole conflict to begin with.

As the light returned to the sky Ichigo could feel his his own power levels falling rapidly. All was silent for a time, however soon enough a familiar face flash stepped his way over towards Ichigo.

"I see its finally over then…" Kisuke Urahara stated while looking over the battlefield, a large and long gash running for miles on end, signifying the use of the extremely powerful sacrificial technique. Ichigo looked over his shoulder towards Urahara, the madman behind the creation of the damned marble that started it all. As he was about to speak up Ichigo started to feel a rather strong pain in his chest. Grimacing slightly, he assumed it was a side effect of his powers leaving him. He turned fully to face Urahara.

"Yeah, I guess so," he responded."

"Do you regret it?"

"Hm?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow

"Using that technique, soon enough your powers are going to disappear. So do you regret it?" Urahara asked, though something didn't seem right to him. Yes Ichigo's powers should be fading, but the rate at which his energy was disappearing was much faster than he would have assumed it should be, it was quite alarming as a matter a fact. Just as Ichigo was about to respond however, the pain in his chest seemed to become much, much worse. He doubled over in pain, writhing in agony..

"ICHIGO!" Urahara yelled as he rushed over to his young student. However just as he was about to reach out to Ichigo there was an explosion of light, followed by a heart-wrenching scream from our young hero. After the light subsided Urahara looked to where Ichigo was once on the ground… but nothing was there…

Ichigo woke up with a start.

'Wha… what just happened?' He thought as he opened his eyes. As he sat up from the ground he was laying on he winced. One of his hands went to his chest, where the extreme pain had subsided to a dull ache. After taking a moment to compose his thoughts he finally took a look around him. Well, needless to say the still black haired teen was shocked. He found himself in a rather large room fit for royalty. It was a large and long hall, the floors were a light absorbing black, much like the color of mugetsu. Down the hall there were large pillars which stretched for what seemed like miles, as the ceiling was so high that the room seemed to have its own set of clouds. The pillars themselves were a pristine ivory color, each with a banner colored a royal purple cascading down the fronts of the pillars.

Now looking down the hall itself he could see a blood red colored carpet stretching all the way down to what appeared to be a throne, which seemed to be occupied by a person. Well, seeing as he had nothing better to do immediately he decided to get up and walk over to this throne. Perhaps that fella would know what is going on at the moment. As he approached the throne he was able to get a better look at the man, as now it was apparent this was a male, which was sitting upon the throne.

He looked to be a gentleman in his upper 40's with a head and face full of graying black hair. His eyes were odd though, the sclera was black with white pupils resting in the center. He was wrapped in a cape that was colored a royal purple, much like the banners present along the hall, though this was trimmed with a spotless white fur. Ichigo finally arrived a few feet away from the throne, the regal looking man on the throne observing him all the while.

"Welcome, Ichigo Kurosaki." The man spoke in a voice full of authority which commanded respect. Ichigo's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"How do you know my name?" He asked, a bit suspicious of this stranger. A small gust of wind tore by his head, making his long black hair fly about slightly.

Wait.

Black hair? He glanced at himself and noticed he still appeared the same way he had when he used saigo no getsuga tensho. That couldn't be right. He knew that he should have lost his powers shortly after the use of that technique, so what was happening? There was something odd going on for sure…

"Well if I didn't know the name of the young man who protected both myself and all of the worlds then what kind of king would I be?" And with those words the dots finally connected in the black haired teen's head, this regal looking man in front of him was none other than the soul king himself! Now Ichigo was certainly NOT one for formality, But when the being that literally holds the balance between the worlds together is in front of him, well, this is probably the single person he would not want to anger.

"Then… that would make you…"

"The soul king." The being replied, a small amused smile adorning his face at the sight of the slightly shocked expression upon the teen's face.

"Well, er, sir. Is there any reason you have me here then?" Ichigo asked, uncertain of what he could be needed for since his powers were going to be gone soon enough.

The soul king relaxed him with a warm smile, one that could put anyone's mind at ease.

"Indeed there is. I would firstly like to congratulate you, and to thank you for what you have done. You succeeded where others with centuries more experience than you had failed. You have given the ultimate sacrifice, part of your very own soul, to save countless others from that madman Aizen. For all of this… you have my thanks and my deepest gratitude. If there is something that I could do for you, you need only to ask."

Ichigo just waved a hand dismissively. "Really it was nothing, anyone else in my position would have done the same, there's no need for any sorta reward."

But then an image flashed before his eyes. He saw the combined form of Zangetsu, shedding a tear while saying goodbye. He shook his head to dismiss the image.

"Well… actually there may be one thing." The soul king smiled, as if he expected this, but gave his full attention regardless.

"If it is possible, I would like you to keep my powers from fading. I want to be able to keep protecting others, and that would let me do it in the best way."

The selflessness of this boy, no, this man before him seemed to know no bounds. He has and would gladly lay his own life on the line out time and time again if it meant he could protect others.

"I could do that…" Ichigo began to smile a small amount, "However…" and just like that Ichigo's smile dropped back into a frown.

"It would not be possible for you to continue existing here in this dimension. You see, I had to grab your soul before you could enter the cycle of reincarnation."

Ichigo was confused. "Why would I be going into the cycle though? I thought that using mugetsu was only supposed to remove my powers? Unless…" Ichigo's eyes went wide with realization. Ichigo realized exactly what had happened. The pain in his chest, the explosion, the cycle… Ichigo's soul had destroyed itself from the imbalance of power. Old man Zangetsu never mentioned anything like that! Once he got his powers back he and Zangetsu would be having a nice chat about keeping secrets from him.

It was then that what the soul king had actually said clicked in Ichigo's brain. He could continue to exist here. But why? He was here now wasn't he? Why couldn't the soul king just return him back to his family without any issues?

"But…" Ichigo began slowly, "Why wouldn't I be able to return? I'm here now aren't I?"

The soul king's smile became slightly grim, which did not comfort Ichigo in the slightest.

"You see, there are some rules to this universe which even I must follow. Bringing back the dead lay in those rules. It cannot be done, it would upset the balance greatly. And by all intents and purposes you, young man, are dead."

Ichigo hung his head. Now he wouldn't be able to see anyone ever again. He had died without getting a chance to say so much as even a goodbye. He thought back to the faces of his friends and family. He wouldn't get to fight with Chad anymore, or deal with Orihime's crazy cooking. He wouldn't get to punch his old goat chin whenever he made some inappropriate comment anymore and his sisters… his sisters. This thought made him the saddest. He wouldn't get to see his sisters anymore.

They would have to grow up on their own without their big brother to support or protect them. His eyes glistened with unshed tears. Though they never fell, he refused to let them. The soul king, deciding to try to snap the teen out of his depression, spoke up.

"Do not despair Ichigo. There is still a chance for you yet." Ichigo looked up, having composed himself quickly. "As I said, you cannot continue to exist in this dimension, however I have never said anything about other dimensions. I am able to send you to another, different from our own. Here you would be able to form new bonds, find someone new to protect.

The soul king's smile became one of amusement, "Perhaps you will even be able to find yourself someone to fulfil your father's wishes for grandchildren." Ichigo's sputtering and red face made the soul king chuckle, something he hasn't done in quite some time.

"I will warn you, however, that your powers will not be the same as before. I will not tell you the true changes, but be aware that what you have wielded in the past was but a shadow of your true power."

Ichigo was confused, but he nodded anyways. Zangetsu wasn't his true power? Before he could continue his thoughts the soul king spoke up once more.

"I must ask, since our time is limited, do you wish to continue on to another life? Or do you wish to travel to a new dimension? Know this, the chances for seeing your friends once more are slim at best, though not entirely impossible. So what is your decision?"

Ichigo thought about it for a second. There seemed to only be benefits here, there wasn't any drawbacks. Well, obvious drawbacks. He got the feeling there was more to this than the soul king let on, but that wasn't terribly important. He would get to continue to protect others with his true set of powers, whatever they may be. And the soul king had said that there was still a chance he may be able to see his friends and family once more in the future. No matter how small the chance was he was determined.

"I accept." He said with a smirk. The soul king gave him a large smile.

"Very well, then prepare yourself, Ichigo Kurosaki. I have given you more than enough to start your new life with, but where you go from there depends on you."

With one final nod the soul king gestured towards Ichigo, who began to disappear into thin air. The Ichigo heard the soul king speak up once more before he had completely disappeared.

"Good luck Ichigo Kurosaki. May you find peace where you end up."

And with that, Ichigo's world became dark as unconsciousness took him.

Author's Note: So, first revised chapter done! Took me a bit to figure out, though seeing as the chapter was a short one and I reused the first bit it wasn't terribly hard. I did end up streaming this while I wrote it, though no one has turned up so either this isn't a very good idea to stream or the time was a bit early for many people. What I think may be a better idea is to put my discord in my profile so that I can use that. I could sit in voice chat whenever I type and have a channel for ideas or criticisms. So I will put a link to that in my profile so that can be done. So, how about addressing a review?

So this review was by Aesir19, who asked if I could consider doing a sort of harem with one or two other peerage queens, such as Grayfia. I will say that is an interesting idea. However I'm not sure with my current experience I could actually pull it off properly. I will certainly keep it in mind as I enjoy the idea, but as I said it may not end up very good. I will have to see how things turn out, and possibly try to think of another person/ an OC that could be paired with Sirzechs so that Millicas is still there. Or I could cut him out entirely. Hrm, well regardless I will give it some thought and see how things turn out, though I will like to give it a try.

Also I would like to thank all of you who have given support by following the first try on the story, and I hope that this one ends up being a bit more to your liking. Hope you enjoyed and have a nice day!