Kurosaki Ichigo.
Age 17.
Occupation: High school student
He cannot see ghosts.
He has no shinigami powers.
And he will never see Rukia again.
"KUROSAKI - KUUUUN!"
Ichigo turned around to see Inoue flying down the school hallway at him, her arms spread wide, causing various amounts of students to dive out of her path in fear. She skidded to a halt in front of Ichigo and smiled up at him.
"How are you today?" she asked. "Did you have a good lunch?"
Ichigo shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"It was fine." Except for Keigo, talking about things he didn't want to hear about. Things. Her. "We have class now right?"
Inoue nodded. "After school, I have sewing club with Ishida-kun! You should join the club!"
"No thanks," Ichigo answered, a strange picture of Inoue sewing a dress on Ishida popping into his head. "I'm not really a sewing person."
Ichigo walked with her to class, listening to her chatter. But even when class started, his mind was far away. The afternoon was muggy outside, and the humidity affected the inside of the classroom too, prickling under his skin. He zoned out, resting his head on his hand and staring out the windows.
She had climbed through those windows once, he remembered. After Soul Society, after he hadn't seen her for a while. She'd kicked him in the face.
He frowned, tallying up in his head all the times she had punched or kicked or otherwise abused him. What a ridiculously high number! What a ridiculous relationship!
"...Don't you miss her?"
"Of course not."
Of course not? Bullshit. He missed her.
He missed her.
How could he not miss her? He wouldn't even care if she kicked him in the face again if she'd just show up in that window...
Ichigo rubbed his hand across his forehead, anger swelling up inside him. Stupid! What use were thoughts like that?
She was a shinigami, and he wasn't anymore. He couldn't see her, couldn't talk to her, couldn't...whatever.
Pointless.
"Stupid, Keigo!" Ichigo mumbled, staring out his bedroom window. Even after he got home, (saving some random guy's backpack on the way) that conversation was still ricocheting around in his head.
He thought back to when he had last seen her, 17 months ago, right after he had woken up. Five minutes awake and already her presence had started fading. All because of his powerlessness.
"Don't look so sad," she'd said. "Even if you can't see me, I can still see you."
"What a stupid thing to say!" Ichigo yelled, chucking his pillow across the room. "Do you mean you're going to spy on me while I'm changing or something? Pervert! Stupid, Rukia!"
Rukia.
He recoiled slightly, staring at the pillow lying on the floor. It had been a while since he'd said her name aloud. He'd heard others say it every once in a while, like today, but it tasted different when he said it.
"This is goodbye, Ichigo."
"So it seems."
He could still see her face in that last moment, when they'd just been standing there, looking at each other, as she faded. There's been something there, in her expression, something that made him want to...
He'd wanted to kiss her.
If he thought about it, he could remember that he'd tried to in that last second. He'd leaned forward, just a tiny bit, just enough to close the distance, but she was already gone.
"Damn it."
He slouched over, staring at his empty hands and the cracked wooden floor beneath them. What a stupid time to realize that now. What a stupid time to remember that in her face he'd seen that she wanted him to kiss her.
Ichigo closed his eyes, feeling out with whatever senses he had left. Come on! Was it really all gone? She could be standing right next to him this second.
"Rukia?"
No.
His shinigami powers were gone forever.
And so was she.