Ichigo's Final Farewell
There he stood above the smoldering wreckage of soul society where his final battle with Yhwach had leveled what little hadn't already been completely destroyed by the furious battles raging before. He looked upon the body of the dead god with disgust as he sheathed his zanpakuto. As he turned his back to the corpse, he saw Sosuke Aizen's dismembered and bleeding figure on the ground. He walked over to the former shinigami, a slight sadness in his eyes as he knelt to the man before him.
"Aizen," he said softly, rolling him over to find his eyes closed and a pleasant expression upon his face. He was certain the former captain was dead until his lips parted and he coughed, softly, pushing blood from his lungs out.
"Ichigo Kurosaki," he said, opening his eyes and looking at him, making a clear effort to focus on the young man before him. "Thank you."
"Why are you thanking me?" Ichigo asked softly. "I wasn't able to stop him before he could do all this damage."
"You helped me eviscerate anyone who sought to rule over me," Aizen replied with a smile, reminding Ichigo of the conversation Yhwach was having with Aizen before he and Renji had leapt in.
"I wouldn't have been able to do it without Kyouka Suigetsu's amazing power," Ichigo said with a sad smile.
"Ichigo," Aizen said, closing his eyes as the effort became more than he could bare. "Believe me. You would've found a way to defeat him, with or without me."
Ichigo looked at him as he spoke, watching his blood seep into the broken ground.
"Aizen, we gotta get you to some help," he said, lifting the him up.
"No, Ichigo," Aizen said, his voice faint. "Please, just leave me."
"What are you saying?!" Ichigo shouted as he looked down at him. "I can't just leave you to die after what you did!"
"I used all of my strength as well as all that the hogyoku could muster to battle him," Aizen explained. "My soul will rapidly destabilize and I will soon be nothing but spirit energy anyway. Besides, I'd rather spend my last few moments as a free man, rather than be sentenced to the depths of that dark pit again."
Ichigo looked sadly at the man before gently laying him back down on the ground. He watched as Aizen's spirit energy began to destabilize and his body started to shine brightly. In the center of his chest, where the hogyoku sat, was the brightest point on his body. It seemed as though the hogyoku was beginning to devour his soul as he lie dying.
"Aizen-" Ichigo began as he saw the discomfort on his face.
"It's fine, Ichigo," he said, grunting through the pain. "I knew this would happen. I used too much of the hogyoku's power to stand in defiance of Yhwach. Now, in order for the hogyoku to balance itself, it will absorb my soul and all of my remaining spirit pressure."
Ichigo watched as the ball of light surrounding the hogyoku burned brighter and more intense and Aizen's spiritual form destabilized further until the light completely absorbed Aizen's body before fading away. Ichigo, having covered his eyes with his hand as the light became too intense, moved his hand away as the light faded and saw the hogyoku resting gently on the ground where Aizen's body once lie.
"Ichigo?" grunted Renji as he stood from a pile of rubble near him.
"Renji, I'm glad to see you're alright," Ichigo said as he walked over to his companion.
"Yeah, thanks," Renji replied as he shook off some of the dust and walked over to Yhwach's corpse. "So... It's finally over, huh?"
"Yeah," Ichigo said, staring down at the body before them. "It is."
The two men stood silently over the body of the god, silence pervading the environment. Even the wind had ceased, almost knowing that the scene was too solemn to be disturbed. Many long moments passed as they stood silently, before Renji turned on his heel and began walking away. After another moment, Ichigo turned on his heel and followed the other man.
As they walked, a silhouette appeared above them, landing with a thud behind Ichigo.
"Well, hello, Ichigo," said the figure from behind him as he produced an oddly striped hat and placed it atop his head. "Feels like it's been forever!"
"Hey, Urahara," Ichigo said, solemnly without turning to face him.
"Ichigo," Yoruichi stepped forward, having finally released the form Kisuke had put her into. "You did very well."
As he stood, silent, she stepped up behind him, gently setting her hand on his left shoulder. She could feel the tension in his body and he trembled slightly, despite the confidence he emitted.
"Ichi-" she began.
"I know, Yoruichi," he interrupted, still not meeting her gaze, but simply shrugging off her hand. "I had to do it. I don't regret it, either."
"Then what-" Renji began, looking puzzled at the strawberry.
"I was too weak to do anything before!" Ichigo said, turning to face them all, a deep anger and depression shining bright in his light brown eyes. "I was too weak and now, dozens of my allies and friends are dead, some of my best friends are hurt severely, including Orihime, who I vowed to always protect! How can I just hold my head up high after the amount of death and destruction they caused before I could finally act?!"
"Ichigo," came a soft voice from behind him, causing his eyes to widen as he spun quickly to see a still-very-injured Orihime being carried to him by Chad and Rukia. Uryu, who'd also finally returned after the conclusion of the battle and cleaning up his wounds, they all assumed, walked over and took Orihime from Rukia.
"Orihime..." he said, his eyes beginning to water as he felt the shame at allowing her to get this injured. "I'm so sorry.. I should've kept you from the fight and protected you.. I swore to you after Ulquiorra took you that I would always protect you."
"Ichigo, please," Orihime said, again, quieter this time as she finally came close enough to him to reach out to him. As she stretched her left arm to touch his face, her body began falling forward, but Ichigo caught her before she could hit the ground.
"Orihime, I'm so sorry," he said, softly; gently laying her down on the ground to prevent from agitating her wounds.
"You gave me the one thing I've always wanted," Orihime whispered, smiling up at him softly. "I finally got to stand and fight with you! I was always just in the safe zone, healing the sick or wounded, but, in this fight, you actually asked me to fight beside you!"
Ichigo's eyes widened as he heard the girl's words.
"Orihime..."
"Ichigo, I have never been as happy as I was when you told me to fight alongside you," she said, smiling and lifting her right hand up to brush his hair off of his face and lightly caress his face, her eyes locked onto his own.
"Orihime?!" another familiar voice rang and the sound of someone running towards them could clearly be heard as the two stared at each other for a moment as Orihime comforted Ichigo. As the pair turned to look, Tatsuki came running up along with Keigo, Mizuiro, Yuzu and Karin. All of the girls came to a stop beside Orihime, Tatsuki collapsing to her knees as she examined her best friend. "Orihime, are you alright?!"
Tatsuki's tears began to surge down her face as she noticed more and more wounds on her friend's body.
"I'll be fine, Tatsuki," Orihime said with a soft smile. "Thank you so much for worrying about me, but how did you guys get here anyway?"
"We have tickets to come and go from soul society freely," Keigo explained, holding the tickets out to Orihime.
"Why-" she began to ask but was interrupted by Tatsuki standing up quickly and striding around the injured girl to the strawberry. As she reached him, she grabbed him by the front of his shihakusho and pulled him down so that he was on his back on the ground and she had one knee pinned to his chest, her right hand cocked back, ready to punch him before unleashing her strongest punch ever directly to his face. She felt her knuckle break, but she couldn't feel the pain as the rage-induced adrenaline rush numbed her to the pain. She kept a steady barrage of strikes landing on his face, each doing more damage to her knuckles than his face as she began to sob uncontrollably.
"Damn you, Ichigo!" she shouted at him through the sobs as she continued her assault. "You were supposed to protect her! You were supposed to keep her from getting hurt!"
Ichigo looked away, ashamed, as the girl ceased her barrage.
"I know," he said softly, unable to meet her gaze. "I failed. And I'm sorry."
As he said this, Tatsuki noticed multiple injuries covering his entire body and her tears began to flow even more and her sobbing became uncontrollable as she hammered her fists away at his chest, yelling out uncontrollably, in sadness and anger and feelings she wasn't sure she'd ever felt before and was confused on how to express.
"Damn it, Ichigo!" she screamed, collapsing over top of him, sobbing as she did so. "Why did you get hurt so much before you finally decided to kick that guy's ass? Why didn't you win sooner and protect Hime?!"
"Ichigo did what he could," Urahara stated, coming forward looking like the Frankenstein monster. "Pardon my new appearance. I had a rather difficult battle myself."
All of Ichigo's friends and family, as well as the others present, turned to hear his explanation.
"Ichigo was nowhere near powerful enough before to handle Yhwach. Also, he was stopped numerous times by him and had part of Yhwach living within him until just recently. Anyway, after much arduous training and having to research his past and his family, he finally came to be powerful enough to be able to stand against Yhwach, given he had the proper assistance. If he hadn't had the people helping that he did, he'd have certainly been unable to protect all of you in the way he did."
Tatsuki's sobs never stopped in Ichigo's chest as she held onto him, clinging to his uniform as though her life depended on it. Quickly, his two little sisters joined her atop him, clinging to him as though he was driftwood in the middle of the sea.
"I'm sorry, Tatsuki," he said softly, causing her to look up.
"Don't be sorry," she answered, after catching her breath. "You won, didn't you?"
"That's all that matters," said a teary-eyed Karin, rubbing her crying face against her brother as she clung to him as desperately as Tatsuki.
"Let's get you healed so we can go home and have curry together, ok, big brother?" Yuzu sobbed out as she clung to him tighter than the other two combined.
As Ichigo looked at the people around him, he found a small smile creep at his lips and he rubbed Karin, Yuzu and Tatsuki's heads lightly before just letting them cry it out. As he laid his arms down away from his occupied sides, he felt a gentle hand rest on top of his own.
"Thank you, Ichigo," Orihime said, barely above a whisper. "By the way, Keigo, where did you get those tickets from, and why?"
"Well, Captain Kyouraku dropped by after school one day in the middle of our path," Keigo explained. "He told us he wanted to talk to us about..."
As he approached the subject, he looked away and scratched the back of his head, uncertain if it was an appropriate time, place or anything to discuss this. Before he could come up with a decision, he heard Mizuiro continuing for him.
"He came to discuss soul society affairs and their effects on our world. After he explained to us, he gave all of us tickets to come see everyone. Now here we are."
Keigo sighed as he listened to him explain and deliberately leave out key information.
"It's true," stated Head Captain Kyouraku as he emerged from a shadow, his eye patch barely hanging over his face as Lieutenant Nanao Ise helped drag him into the area. He was very much worse for wear as he was gently rested in a sitting position against what remained of a barracks wall. "I gave them the tickets and the reason, I'm afraid, has become dozens, if not hundreds of times more probable than original estimates."
"What?!" Tatsuki and the others exclaimed in unison, staring at the captain, none of them wanting to believe what he'd said.
"I'm truly sorry," came Urahara's usually cheerful voice, all too serious. Everyone, with the exception of the Head Captain, looking at him in shock. "I'm afraid, he's right."
"No!" Tatsuki shouted, standing up rapidly, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. "You said a one in ten thousand chance, damn it! What the hell happened to those odds?!"
The tough demeanor of the girl was quickly shattering as she tried to fight off the new development as best she could. As she looked around, anyone other than the recipients of the tickets and Kyouraku and Urahara seemed completely confused.
"We're truly sorry," Urahara said, stepping towards Tatsuki and Ichigo. She quickly dove over Ichigo, her arms wrapping around him as though he was going to fade away any instant.
"No!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "No no no no NO! You can't take him!"
"What is she talking about, Kisuke?" Rukia shouted, temporarily pausing her healing of Orihime.
Urahara sighed softly, noticing the piercing look even coming from Yoruichi.
"Ichigo's far too powerful and his spirit pressure is far too unique for him to be able to safely return to the world of the living without causing problems there. So, in order to protect the world of the living, we must keep him here."
Orihime's eyes widened in shock that was quickly replaced with sadness and tears streamed down her face. Yoruichi looked at her friend in shock before casting a sorrowful glance towards Ichigo.
"Besides that," Kisuke further explained, "his spirit pressure is so high that his own human body would no longer be able to contain it without spontaneously combusting."
"Ichigo..." Orihime said as she found the strength to cry.
"Ichigo..." Yoruichi said softly, her eyes cast away from him.
"Big brother!" Yuzu and Karin shouted as they collapsed sobbing atop the orange haired teenager.
As the atmosphere of unbridled sadness and anger of betrayal seemed to suffocate the happiness of victory, Ichigo stood, once again, from beneath his sisters and walked to stand before Urahara, who looked up into his eyes, slowly, expecting rage, but only finding a mature acceptance.
"Kisuke," Ichigo said, smiling gently as he looked at his once-mentor. "Thank you."
"Ichigo?" Tatsuki said, her eyes widening as she stretched a hand to reach out to him. As she came closer, he finally turned to face her, smiling gently again as he caught her in her forward stride.
"Tatsuki," he said softly, barely above a whisper. "Thank you so much for worrying about Orihime. And thank you for bringing Yuzu and Karin here."
"Ichigo," Keigo began, standing slowly, disbelief on his face. "Hey man. Why are you talking like this? Why does it sound like... like you're saying..."
"Keigo. Mizuiro. Thank both of you for being their for Tatsuki when I could not or would not be," he said to them with a smile.
Orihime, now healed enough to stand weakly on her own, stood and walked over to him, nearly collapsing until he gently lifted her up.
"Orihime," he said, staring into her eyes. "I could not have asked for better help in my one on one battle with Yhwach. Thank you so very much."
With that, he pulled her into a deep hug and rested his chin on top of her head as she blushed a brilliant shade of crimson.
"Yoruichi," he said, after releasing the beautiful girl from his hug and striding over to the girl. "Thank you so very much for everything. You've helped me through everything and were always the voice of reason when I couldn't think clearly."
"Stop it," Tatsuki said softly, at first, her eyes cast down as she clenched her fists and bit back her cries, tears falling down her nose and onto the ground.
"Renji. Rukia. Uryu. Chad," Ichigo said, walking over to face all of them. "Tell everyone else I said thank you. And to all of you, thank you for picking me up when I was lost. For standing beside me even when things were beyond your abilities. For helping me to become a better man."
"Stop it!" Tatsuki shouted this time, her tears soaking her face as she stared at him angrily. "Stop talking like this is goodbye you jackass!"
Everyone froze, their tears streaming down their face as they watched her stride over to him. She grabbed him, once again, by the collar of his shihakusho and lifted him up, weakly. Her sobs were audible as she held him there and continued to shout at him.
"You think I'm just going to stand by and let them take you?!" she screamed through the sobs. "They can't take you out of the living world! You matter too much to too many people there!"
"Tatsuki," he said softly, his own eyes beginning to water and a gentle smile still sitting on his face.
"And even if you can't come back to the world of the living..." she tried hard to bite back the sobs. "And... and even if you can't come back to us... We'll be coming to see you all the time!"
As she delivered these vows to him, everyone else's sobs continued pouring forth.
"You can't just accept this, damn it," she said, finally collapsing forward and into his arms, her still-injured fists slamming against his chest with what little strength she could muster to strike him. "You have to fight this! Just like you fought all these enemies before!"
He smiled softly as he held the crying girl to his chest and tears streamed down his face, gently falling in her hair, to neither of their concern.
"Damn it," she nearly whispered, losing all her strength to fight. "You have to stay with us... Have to stay... With me..."
At this, his eyes widened momentarily before his smile widened and he held her just a little tighter.
"I'm truly sorry, to all of you," came a booming voice from nowhere until they all looked up and saw a man with a giant caligraphy brush falling down towards them and landing softly next to the group. "But I must be disappointing all of you."
"What do you mean?" Yoruichi asked, wiping away a small tear before anyone could see she'd been crying.
"As we all stand here, enjoying our reunion, the worlds of the living and the soul society are rapidly collapsing and, if the lynch-pin position that the soul king once occupied is not filled, then everything you all know and love will come to a violent, painful end."
The group's silence was palpable as what the man was saying sank in.
"So you're suggesting that we make Ichigo the new soul king?" Urahara said, looking seriously at Ichibe Hyosube, the monk who names all.
"I am more than merely suggesting it," Ichibe stated blandly before lifting his brush and marking the charachters for soul king on Ichigo. "I am making it so. Now, it is his power that shall maintain the balance of the worlds."
"So that's it, right?" asked Karin, taking her brother's hand as she stared at the man. "He'll be able to return to the world of the living now that his power is being siphoned to do that, now, right?!"
The shinigami already knew what this meant, as did Ichigo, and they all cast their eyes away as the others' cries became more urgent.
"His power is going to hold the worlds in place, right?" Tatsuki yelled at the man, clinging to Ichigo as tightly as she could.
"He can come home, now, right?!" Yuzu asked, urgently, tears welling in her face as she awaited the response.
"Everything's over now, right?" Keigo shouted, anger filling his voice as tears of rage filled his eyes.
"We can all go home... right?" Mizuiro said, a mildly worried expression on his face.
As the others began to grasp the exact implications of his new title, Ichigo felt a hand grab his own, gently and turned to see Orihime, still barely standing on her own beside him. She grabbed his hand with both of hers and he felt the warm tears as she shed them, landing on his arm and hand.
"Ichigo," she said softly, knowing full-well exactly what this meant as the sobs started taking over her and the rest of his friends.
"Damn it you bastards!" Keigo shouted, running towards Ichibe and grabbing the man by the robes, shaking him violently. "Why can't you just leave him alone to live a normal god-damned life?! Why can't he just come HOME?!"
"I'm truly sorry," Ichibe said, sorrow deep in his voice.
The entire group of friends collapsed to the ground or clung to Ichigo as they all wept at the news that he would never be returning to them and their world.
"Well," Tatsuki sniffled, looking into Ichigo's eyes as the two of them held Orihime and his sisters up. "At least we'll be able to come see you here in soul society."
"Well..." Kisuke said, scratching the back of his head nervously as Ichibe and Kyouraku exchanged glances with him and one another. "You see..."
Everyone fell silent as the sadness of the revelation dawned on them. All eyes turned towards Ichigo who's face was unreadable as he looked over to Urahara and Ichibe.
"I see..." he said after a moment's pause, a sad smile dawning on his face as his eyes dropped and his head lowered shortly after.
"NO!" Tatsuki and his sisters shouted in unison, clinging to him even harder, their wails renewing as they sobbed into him. The rest of their strength fell from their tears as they clung to him and they all had difficulty remaining standing, so Ichigo knelt down so that he would still be at their level as he spoke softly to them.
"You can't go, big brother," Yuzu cried as Ichigo moved to her and hugged her, kissing her forehead softly. "Please..."
"Ichigo," Karin whimpered as he walked up to her, wrapping his arm over her shoulders and pulling her into the hug with Yuzu. As they all held each other tightly, Isshin arrived alongside Ryuken, both men looking sadly upon the state of the children. As they walked in, Isshin slowly, solemnly, walked over to his family and wrapped his arms around his daughters. Once the girls felt him there, not even concerned that he was in his shinigami uniform, they quickly turned to their father, clinging to him as they wept loudly.
"Daddy!" Yuzu cried out as she gripped his uniform tightly. "Ichi's not coming home!"
"I know, sweetie," Isshin said, rubbing his sandpaper-like face against the top of her head as he tried to comfort her. He looked at his son, his own eyes slightly watering as he smiled at him. "Your mother would be so proud of you, my son."
"Thanks dad," Ichigo said, a sad smile across his face as he cast his eyes back down. "I hope so."
After this sad moment passed, Ichigo approached Tatsuki and Orihime, who held each other as Orihime sobbed into Tatsuki's shoulder sloppily and Tatsuki wept but softly and held in most of her pain so she didn't appear to be weak. He gently laid his hands on either of their heads and stroked their beautiful hair. Keigo and Mizuiro approached Ichigo slowly as he knelt beside the young women.
"Hey man," Keigo said, barely able to hold back his overzealous sobs. "For old time's sake, one more time?"
Ichigo turned to face his friends with a warm smile.
"Sure, Keigo," he said, standing as Keigo backed up. He watched as Keigo wiped the tears away before smiling as much as he could and running towards him in the same ridiculous fashion he always did.
"Iiiiiiiccccchhhhiiiiiiigggggoooooo!" Keigo shouted running towards his friend, arms outstretched and wailing at him as he ran towards him, waiting for the impact of his friend's fist or foot into his face, when, suddenly, he felt his whole body hit and an arm over his shoulders. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Ichigo holding him under his left arm with a smile on his face.
"Yo, Keigo," Ichigo said, his smile broadening as he looked at his friend, who's face contorted into the most ridiculous grimace of sadness. He laughed softly to himself as Keigo wiped away the tears with his arm. He looked up to see Mizuiro walking towards him, a slightly saddened expression on his usually neutral face. "Hey, Mizuiro."
"Good to see you again, Ichigo," Mizuiro said with a smile as he walked over to Ichigo, both of them locking each other into warm, brotherly embrace with Ichigo's right arm over his shoulder. Mizuiro looked over at Keigo and scoughed slightly, knowing he was the same way inside. "What a crybaby."
"You take that back!" Keigo said, face changing immediately to anger as he confronted his other friend.
As the two got into their usual bickering match, Ichigo released them and walked over to where the remaining shinigami and arrancar had finally gathered, already having been briefed by Isane, who'd arrived shortly before Ichibe and had worked her magic to heal Orihime as rapidly as possible before transmitting the news to all of the others.
"Hey guys," he said, a smile adorning his features as they all stood in various states of damage. "So, you heard the news, huh?" He scratched the back of his head as he said this.
"Yeah, we heard," Grimmjow growled, arms crossed as he looked away from him. "Even if you're the soul king, you owe me a god-damned rematch. You hear me?! Don't think that this settles things between us!"
Ichigo smiled.
"I'll be looking forward to the rematch, Grimmjow."
"Ichi..." Nel said from behind Grimmjow, before pushing her way past the other espada. She looked at Ichigo with a sad smile, tears welling up in her eyes as she ran forward, wrapping him in a warm embrace.
"Hey Nel," he said, holding her for a moment before they released each other. "It's been a while, huh?"
"Too long," she said, wiping away tears with a sad smile on her face.
"Well, I'm sorry that we had to meet again in the middle of all of this," he replied, placing one hand atop her green-haired head. "Were you guys able to free Tier Harribel after I got there?"
She nodded, barely able to hold back her tears, biting her lip to keep from audibly sobbing and placing a hand over her mouth as her eyes squeezed tightly closed.
"Good," he said, smiling as he embraced her. "Thank you for all of your help. You and Grimmjow."
"Agh!" Grimmjow responded, still not looking at the kid.
Ichigo chuckled softly as he moved on from Nel, who'd, by now, joined the human girls in their grieving. He moved towards Byakuya and the other remaining shinigami, glancing over at Grimmjow, briefly, who had a deeply disappointed expression on his face. He turned to face the shinigami, once again, smiling brightly at them.
"It was truly an honor to meet all of you," he said, looking at every face. "Kenpachi," he met eyes with the severely exhausted captain briefly. "Thank you for teaching me to enjoy fighting. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to truly learn my true power."
Kenpachi grunted and waved his hand in dismissal, to Ichigo's amusement.
"I agree with that blue haired freak," he said, pointing his jagged blade at Ichigo. "You and I are going to cross blades again someday. We have to fight one last battle, all out."
Ichigo nodded at the pointy-haired man before turning to Byakuya, who was looking mildly indifferent towards him.
"Before you speak, Ichigo Kurosaki, I must tell you something," he said, holding a hand up to pause him. "I have found fighting you and fighting alongside you to be some of the most fulfilling battles I've ever endured. I cannot thank you enough for saving Rukia, and for all of your assistance in so many other things. If Hisana were still here, she'd have wanted me to give you this."
Without another word, Byakuya produced a kenseikan hairpiece for Ichigo.
"I hereby award you this, on behalf of the entire Kuchiki clan. From this day forward, you are an honorary member of the Kuchiki clan, until the name has withered away to dust."
Ichigo looked at the three triangular, ivory hairpieces in awe.
"Thank you, Byakuya," he said, looking into the man's eyes deeply before the two men shook hands.
"Shall I adorn you with them?" Byakuya asked him. Ichigo nodded and knelt before the head of the Kuchiki clan as the kenseikan were placed in his hair. As he looked up, he saw, for possibly the first time, a smile warmly crossing Byakuya's face.
"Thank you," he said again, standing and bowing to him.
After both men rose from the bow, Ichigo turned and walked over to Rukia who had clearly been crying and was trying to hide it.
"Ruki-"
Before he could even finish his sentence, she was on him, her arms wrapped around his neck as she held him tightly as the sobs came out and she wailed.
"Ichigo!" she yelled as she held on to him by the neck, her toes not even reaching the ground. "You jerk! You just had to be the hero, didn't you?"
He smiled as he stroked her hair.
"Well, someone's gotta be, right?" he said with a small laugh.
She continued to sob into his shoulder as Renji stepped forward, a pained expression on his face.
"Well, Ichigo," he said, standing behind Rukia as he looked into his friend's eyes. "Don't worry. I'll take care of everyone for you."
"I know you will, Pineapple-head," Ichigo replied with a smile. Instead of a bitter retort, Renji looked sadly away. Ichigo reached up slowly and lifted Rukia like a child off of himself, holding his hands in her armpits as he handed her to Renji, who pulled her close to him as she continued to cry out.
"Don't forget about us, strawberry," Renji said as Ichigo moved on to the remaining lieutenants and captains and other seated officers.
As Ichigo came to stand before what little remained of the 13 court-guard squads' leadership, he looked sadly at the severe injuries and near death state of many and wondered how many had even made it to the point they were at then.
"Thank you, all," he said softly to them. He bowed slightly, noticing all of the eyes on him showing sadness and pain, whether it be because of him or because they'd lost so much in the battle, he may never know. He watched as Kurotsuchi worked tirelessly at preserving what was left of Nemu, and Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon attended to a large wolf which, to Ichigo's eyes, vaguely resembled Captain Komamura. He looked to see many corpses, including many of the visoreds who'd returned to their posts as captains and lieutenants, being covered with what spare cloth could be found, many being covered in sheets with their squad numbers on them. He watched as Kensei and Love and more were covered as their squads wept over their corpses. A deep sadness filled him once again as he stepped towards the corpses. He noticed all of the eyes locking on him as he walked over to the corpses and gently rested his hands on their heads, through the blankets.
"I wish I could've done more sooner," he said, softly, apologizing to his other mentors, his own shame and guilt filling him as he looked away. "I should've saved you all, but I was too late."
A gentle hand rested upon his shoulder as he knelt next to the bodies, eyes cast downward in shame. He looked up and saw Rangiku standing above him, a grave look on her face.
"Ichigo," she said, softly. "You mustn't blame yourself for their deaths. If you do, it'll turn to poison in your heart and slowly begin to destroy you from within."
He looked at her, not sure of how to respond as she squeezed his shoulder gently. He allowed himself to continue grieving as more of the bodies, what ones could be found, were lined up in a massive formation and covered before his very eyes. As he continued to grieve, Rangiku knelt down beside him, hugging him from the side and whispering into his ear.
"You did what you could when you could," she said as she brushed his hair and held onto him. "They wouldn't want you to grieve over their deaths, Ichigo. I know because Gin was the same way."
Ichigo looked into her eyes again, seeing the tears building in them as she remembered the only man she'd ever truly loved.
"Gin didn't care that he was dying," she said, trying not to sob. "He only cared that Aizen's plan be stopped. And when you did that for him, he was at peace." She looked deeply into his eyes again after a moment of looking away and gathering herself. "Don't you see? You fulfilled all of their goal. You defeated Yhwach and brought peace back to the world! You did what they knew had to be done and they would only thank you right now if they were given the chance."
Ichigo wiped away the tears and patted Rangiku's shoulder as he stood with her.
"Thank you, Rangiku," he said, smiling sadly at her. "I never thought about it that way."
She smiled as the tears flowed freely down her cheeks. She nodded to him as he turned away from her and she turned to the group of girls all in a circle crying with together, also noticing that Isshin had begun to cry with his daughters, but only softly as he smiled still, watching his son say his final farewells.
Ichigo stared at Yoruichi for a moment as she looked into his eyes. Her amber eyes bore into his very soul and he accepted the contest until she suddenly leapt upon him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"God, I'm so proud of you," she said softly into his ear. "I knew you were an amazing kid from the first time that we met. Now, you're all grown up and you've saved the world more times than any of the rest of us."
"Thanks, Yoruichi," Ichigo said with a smile. As he held her, he noticed what looked to be a younger, flatter-chested version of Yoruichi staring intently at him. He cocked his eyebrow slightly. "By the way, is that your little sister over there?"
"That's my little brother," she said with a laugh as she pulled away from the hug, keeping one arm over his shoulders as she turned to face her brother with him.
"I don't look that much like a girl, do I?!" Yushiro said, blushing angrily.
"It's not that," Ichigo said, holding up a hand defensively. "It's just that your face looks just like your sister's!"
"Are you saying I don't look that feminine Ichigo?" Yoruichi purred provacatively in his ear, causing him to blush furiously as she laughed at the sight.
"Well, anyway, my name is Ichigo Kurosaki, and yours?" he asked the young boy.
"Yushiro Shihouin," the boy said, reaching out and shaking his hand.
"Take care of your big sis, ok?" Ichigo said with a smile as he escaped Yoruichi, who'd hidden her face as she wiped away a couple of stray tears she'd been unable to hold back.
"Oh shut up," Yoruichi said, her voice cracking and silencing her quickly as she bit back a sob. "He doesn't need any encouragement."
"Don't worry!" Yushiro said with a smile. "I'll protect her no matter what!"
With that, Yushiro approached his sister, who waved him away as he tried to comfort her as the tears streamed down her face.
As Ichigo continued on to Kyouraku, he saw Ukitake's body being taken to the formation as well as Unohana. He looked sadly at the woman who'd always been a very maternal figure to him anytime he was around her; and Ukitake was so sickly in appearance and Ichigo found his sadness unbridled as he brushed his hands along theirs while he continued to Kyouraku, finding the man staring at Jushiro's body with a deep sadness in his own dying eyes. Isane had quickly moved to him after stabilizing Orihime. Nanao was weeping as she also put forth all of her effort into assisting in healing him, her zanpakuto lying on the ground.
"Head captain," Ichigo said, respectfully bowing.
"I should be the one bowing to you, Ichigo," Kyouraku said, his usual wit and humor replaced with a grim solemnness. "You've done more for us here in soul society than I could ever have asked for." His eyes drifted downwards, shame filling the lackluster eyes as the light in them grew dim. "I'm so sorry for dragging you into this so many times. Even Old Man Yama regretted, deeply, using you the way we had."
"There's no reason to be sorry," Ichigo said, sitting before the head captain. "I chose this life and chose to help you all when I did. This entire battle was always mine because I chose to help. My involvement is no one's fault but my own and I won't accept anyone else trying to blame themselves for it."
Kyouraku finally broke his gaze from his deceased friend and met the brown eyes of the boy in front of him, no longer a child, but a hardened man.
"You'll make a great king," Kyouraku said with a weak smile, his body paling more and more.
"Captain?!" Nanao screamed as she tried to stabilize him. "Captain you have to hold on!"
"Nanao..." he breathed, looking at his beautiful young lieutenant. "Sweet, beautiful, young Nanao-chan... I can't tell you how proud of you I always was and how happy I am to see the strong, beautiful young woman you are today. Your mother would be so proud of you."
Nanao's eyes filled with water as she clung to her captain with every ounce of strength she could muster.
"Please don't die, Captain," she said, holding him closely as her sobs rang out through the assembly and many of the other shinigami ran over to assist Isane in stabilizing him. "Please! I can't lose you!"
As she said this, she felt his body go fully limp against hers and his skin rapidly becoming ice cold. Her sobs wracked her whole body as she held him to her heart, rocking back and forth as she kept calling for him to wake up and come back to her. Ichigo felt his heart breaking even further as he approached Nanao. He heard her cursing her zanpakuto and noticed the item finally, feeling the ominous aura radiating from it. As he watched the torturous moment, he reached out and grabbed her zanpakuto.
"I see," he said after a moment's pause, entering the world of the zanpakuto. "So this is cursed." After a brief pause, he looked at Nanao who was nearly hysterical as she continued crying out for her captain. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Nanao," he said, softly. "For your strength through these most troubling times, I shall relieve you of your curse. It's the least I can do, after all of this."
As she watched, Ichigo walked away, carrying the ceremonial zanpakuto with him, storing it within the robes of his shihakusho.
Finally, Ichigo reached his allies in the Shiba clan, bowing to Kukaku and Ganju, who both bowed solemnly in return.
"Well," Kukaku said, punching him over the head. "It's been an honor, kid. If you ever want some fireworks in the royal palace, just let me know."
"I'll keep that in mind," Ichigo smiled. "And thank you so much for all of your assistance. It's been a true honor to work with you and your noble family."
"Ah quit with the sentimental bullshit, Ichigo," Ganju said as he threw an arm over his shoulder. "You've helped us too. It's the least we could do."
Ichigo smiled at the remark before bowing again and continuing back to his friends to wrap up with the goodbyes.
As he approached them, a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he looked over to see the hogyoku reacting to the corpse of Yhwach. He walked over to the corpse and hogyoku, curious to see what was happening. As he watched, the mass of black with eyes that once covered Yhwach now rose into the form of a single man with no arms and its head was barren.
The rest of the crowd watched as the hogyoku lifted off the ground and move towards the center of the chest of the entity, which was now completely detached from the corpse of Yhwach. As they watched the last bit of shadowy substance leave Yhwach's mouth and form the entity, Yhwach completely disintegrated into a pool of energy that was quickly absorbed by the hogyoku as it merged with the figure.
"What the hell is happening," Ichigo asked Urahara as they all watched.
"Amazing," Urahara said as he watched the soul king's body reforming. Suddenly, ground around the figure was struck twice and, when the dust settled, both of the soul king's arms were now just shadowy figures as well, standing beside the form, before merging completely with the form. As the form continued to shimmer and shift, finishing taking its form, Ichigo saw its skin pale and finally start to look like the body of the soul king.
"Ichigo Kurosaki," a voice rang out in the air as the figure's eyes finished forming and locked onto Ichigo, despite the strangely shaped pupils.
Ichigo looked nervously at the figure before him.
"Yes, sir?" he said, showing as much respect as possible to the figure before him.
"You have served my court quite well, young one," he said as he stepped forward to Ichigo. "I thank you deeply."
"I can't accept your thanks, sir," Ichigo said, shame once again filling him. "For it was I who-"
"Who cut me down because my son forced you to," the soul king reassured him. "You were facing a god, child. One can only expect so much of a mortal in those times."
Ichigo continued to avert his eyes as the being before him praised him.
"You have fought well and shown great courage," the soul king said, walking even closer to him as he continued. "Your strength is beyond anything I've ever seen a shinigami attain before, even Ishibe. I will grant you one request before we must return to our place and continue our duties of balance in this world."
"I see," Ichigo said, his eyes roaming around as he thought of what he could do and how he could finally save them all, as he'd wished for all along. "May I ask you some questions before I make my request?"
"Of course," the soul king said, an apparent smile in his eyes. "Best not to make ill-informed wishes, eh?"
"What has happened to the souls of the people killed by the quincies?" Ichigo asked.
"Are you asking if they were truly destroyed, like the shinigami believe happens when quincies 'kill' hollows?"
"Yes."
"The answer is no, they aren't 'destroyed'. The souls of the beings killed by quincies are simply turned into pure reishi with no form. The amount of energy remains the same, but the concentration differs because this new, formless reishi can drift between the world of the living and soul society unguarded, or, even, get stuck in the dangai."
"So will the reishi eventually return to being a soul?"
"Yes, but the amount of time it takes is extremely variable."
"So could we potentially restore all that was damaged by the quincies?"
"Easily."
"I see," Ichigo said, finally realizing a way to accomplish what he truly wanted to. "One last question."
The soul king gave him an amused look and Ichigo knew that he already knew the question.
"Since your form has returned..." Ichigo started softly. "Do I still have to go to the palace with you?"
There was a long silence and, as the silence continued, Ichigo noticed that everything and everyone around the two had frozen in the middle of whatever they'd been doing.
"No," came the reply of the bemused soul king. Ichigo sighed in relief before the soul king rose a hand. "However, your spirit pressure is necessary in the palace."
"What do you mean?" Ichigo said, confusion covering his face again.
"I mean that the spirit pressure that you possess is unique and even I couldn't foresee such a being as you existing before you came along. My eyes were blinded by my son, yes, but your spirit pressure is full of untold amounts of power that could easily be the key to restoring the world to what it once was."
"I see," Ichigo said, sadness returning to him as he looked upon his friends.
"There are only two ways which this can be done," the soul king said after a moment.
"Two ways?" Ichigo asked, meeting the soul kings gaze.
"Yes. Either you join me in the palace and use your energy to help me restore balance..."
Ichigo thought about this momentarily before looking into the soul king's eyes again.
"And the other option?" he asked, warily.
"You give all of your powers up to this item, known as the hogyoku, and became an average soul yet again, able to return to your human world as a normal man," the soul king explained, his eyes no longer shining with amusement, but, rather, locked in seriousness. "I am choosing to avert my gaze to your answer so that I cannot effect your choice. I want this to be completely your choice, young one."