Always a Hero Comes Home

It was getting late as Ichigo Kurosaki made his way to his destination. The orange haired Shinigami's stride was wide as he lifted his eyes to the sky above him and noted that it would be dark before his mission was accomplished.

Slowly, the vibrant sun began to set upon the now mellow world, saying one last goodbye with its beautiful light before disappearing over the side of the nearest hill. And with this farewell of the sun's last rays, Ichigo finally came to his journey's end.

There, upon the other side of the field he was currently crossing, was a small cottage and white picket fence surrounding it. From within the modest home, light sprung forth making shadows dance across the yard in strange patterns before reforming and repeating the movement. It seemed that the inhabitants were walking back and forth in the kitchen, working together on preparing their evening meal.

Ichigo sighed quietly as he forced himself to keep walking. The young man didn't enjoy the thought of interrupting a family dinner, especially when they looked like they were having such a good time. But he had agreed to come here to pass along a message, and Ichigo always kept his promises.

So after several more minutes of wading through the thick grass and wild flowers, the reaper finally came to stand at the gate- and then with only a handful of steps- before the cottage door. Tentatively, Ichigo raised his hand to knock at the wooden surface, preparing himself to say what needed to be said.

Then about a minute after he lowered his hand, the door swung open to reveal a pretty woman with dark hair and a polite and yet no-nonsense expression who gazed at him steadily.

"Good evening. Can I help you?"

Ichigo studied the woman for a moment before he regained his nerve. "Hey, are you by any chance . . . Chi-Chi?"

The woman's eyes showed her surprise.

"Why, yes! Yes, I am."

Ichigo gave her a small smile. "Then I've come to the right place. . . I'm here on behalf of your husband. He wanted me to give you a message."

Chi-Chi looked even more surprised. "Goku . . . Goku sent you?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

A single tear ran down Chi-Chi's cheek as she opened the door wider for the teenager. "You'd better come in then. We're just having some dinner; we'd be honored if you share our meal."

Ichigo nodded his acceptance, "Thank you, Ma'am, I'd like that." Then at Chi-Chi's further prompting he entered the house.

It was a humble dwelling by all standards, but it spoke solely of a peaceful existence. And as the substitute reapers' eyes caught sight of a family photograph on the mantel-piece, his mind replayed the events that had brought him to this house . . . the events that had caused this moment to take place . . . And he was glad he had come, despite his original discomfort.

Two days earlier . . .

Ichigo swore as he dived to the side, barely avoiding the scrambling teeth of the Hollow that he was fighting. The teenager had moved quickly, but apparently it hadn't been quick enough. One of the monster's protruding canines had effectively torn his Shinigami robes and cut into the flesh of his right side.

Luckily, it wasn't a serious wound- more blood than actual damage. But it was still enough to fuel the reaper's anger, as he raised his Zanpakto high above his head and brought it down upon the creature's mask with a loud thwack. With the momentum of the attack the Hollow's head split in two, killing it almost instantly.

No. Not killing, Ichigo reminded himself as lowered his sword and leaned against the wall of the alley where he had been fighting, taking a moment to catch his breath. It's 'cleansing'. Rukia would beat my butt for calling it anything else.

The substitute soul reaper- upon collecting his breath- pushed away from the brick wall and quickly exited the alley. The gash in his side was starting to ache now after the initial adrenaline had worn off, but the orange haired Shinigami didn't let it slow him down. He couldn't let anything stop him . . . not when there was so much at stake.

Ichigo had been called out on reaper duty earlier that night due to a flocking of Hollows in the busy city areas. At first it had seemed like they had just picked the spot at random, but after nearly two hours solid of fighting Hollows, Ichigo could say that their appearance wasn't a coincidence. Something or someone was making them gather, and it was his job to find out that cause of the sudden infestation.

Ichigo Kurosaki ran through the night-time streets as if the very devil was on his heels, cutting down the many Hollow's that stood in his path- and some who didn't- with the vengeance of a demon. And this was how he continued to fare until he ran down yet another alleyway and was met with a most unexpected sight. Lying in heaps- for the length of a city block- were large piles of ashen dust. The ground was seemingly carpeted with the strange colored grains, and Ichigo was immediately hesitant to walk through the unknown mounds.

After several long moments of debate, the teenager took a deep breath and began to creep through the ash. It crunched loudly beneath his feet, but other than that nothing happened. And when nothing jumped out of the grains to attack him, the reaper bent down to give the substance a closer look.

Upon further examining the dust, Ichigo's eyes nearly popped from his head as understanding took hold.

The different piles of colored dust were all that was left of. . . Hollows . . . Someone had reduced their bodies to ash, effectively cracking their masks and disintegrating their spiritual prisons in a seemingly effortless attack.

But who could have done such a thing? Who could be powerful enough to blast a Hollow to shreds and yet still leave their original human spirits unharmed?

Ichigo wasted no more time in running across the grains and moving forward, following the trail of colored piles directly to the person responsible. And as the reaper passed countless more streets filled with the ash, he realized that this was the reason the Hollow's were flocking. Whoever had been able to accomplish this, would have had to have had incredible spirit energy, and thus would have attracted all the dark spirits in the area.

I bet the bastards expect their prey to fight back. Ichigo chuckled out loud as he sprinted past the last piles of dust. Whoever this guy is, he's done a bang up job. I've never seen so many cleansed Hollows.

Then, as he crossed another section of streets and businesses Ichigo finally spotted his target, and his pulse instantly quickened. For the scene playing before his eyes was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

In the center of the city square- surrounded by more Hollows than a single mind could estimate- was a man. The man -who from Ichigo's perception was a spirit-, had a bright golden aura about him, and the spikiest head of hair the reaper had ever seen (his own included). But it wasn't the man's aura or hair that held the teen's attention, but rather the fact that he was holding his ground against the horde of nightmares creatures.

The man's expression was calm as he faced them, though his eyes were absolutely concentrated on his goal. His clothes were those of a dojo combatant; his stance that of a well-trained fighter.

Ichigo watched in silent anticipation as the man lifted his hands into a fighting position and began to yell over the din. At first, the reaper couldn't make out what it was he was saying. But then, as a bright light began to form around the fighter's hands, Ichigo heard the battle-cry carried on the wind.

"KA-MEEEE. . . HA-MEEEE. . . . HAAAAAAAAAA!"

As the man finished yelling the strange word, a power wave of blinding bright light erupted and engulfed the square, and Ichigo dropped to the ground to shield himself with his spirit energy. But the blast was stronger than anything the teenager had ever experienced, and thus he was only able to defend himself for half the blast time.

As his energy shield fell away from his now sedentary form, the substitute reaper began to slip into unconsciousness. But not before he had time to witness the horde of Hollow's turn to dust and their spirits soar upward. Then, as he watched the pale light of the spirits as they went back to the Soul Society, Ichigo passed into darkness without another conscious thought.

Ichigo didn't want to wake up . . . but someone was shaking him . . . talking to him. So slowly, the orange haired reaper opened his groggy, clouded eyes.

Someone was hovering over him, looking worried and speaking to him. But the teen couldn't focus his brain enough to hear what they were saying or observe details of the strangers' face.

Ichigo fought the fogginess anxiously and after a minute of recovery he was able regain his faculties. It seemed that the person hovering over him was in the middle of a sentence.

"-Gosh, I didn't see you over here! Sorry about that. . . My Ki attack was a bit stronger than I'd plan."

Ichigo took a better look at the man who was currently crouching beside him, and instantly recognized his face. It was the same guy who had dusted all the Hollows! He looked different though . . . he no longer had golden hair or the earth-shattering aura about him, but he was most definitely the same guy.

Ichigo moved to prop himself upon his forearms before coming into a full sitting position. Then once he was steady, he turned his brown eyed gaze to the spirit who was watching him anxiously.

"How long was I out?"

The spirit smiled widely, "Only a couple minutes. You took the Kamehameha blast better than anyone I've ever met. There's not a scratch on you!"

Ichigo assumed that the guy was referring to his incredible light show when he said 'Kamehameha blast', but didn't linger on it as he stretched painfully and asked the more pressing question.

"Who are you, man?"

The spirit held out his hand to enthusiastically shake the reapers' as he introduced himself. "I'm Goku; it's nice to meet you! . . . Oh, and I'm sorry about your friends. . ."

Ichigo accepted the handshake, but quickly shook his head. "Ichigo Kurosaki. And they weren't my friends. I was actually trying to track them all down before they could hurt anybody. But it looks like you did the job for me."

The spirit named Goku smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Oh gosh. . . Sorry for interrupting your fight, Ichigo. I wouldn't have fought them at all, but they just wouldn't leave me alone."

"It's your spirit energy," Ichigo explained, as he shrugged off the apology. "The Hollows wanted to consume you because you're so powerful. Though I doubt they realized you'd be able to take them on so easily."

"My spirit energy? . . . Those guys wanted to eat me? . . . Whoa, things sure have changed around here."

"That's probably because you're a spirit now."

Finally, Goku's smile dimmed and he seemed to grow serious with the topic.

"Yeah, I suppose I am. . . I originally didn't want to stick around too long. I would have gone straight to King Kai's place to train, but there was something I needed to do first."

Ichigo didn't have the slightly clue who 'King Kai' was, but Goku's admission made him curious.

"What stopped you from leaving?"

Goku gazed directly at Ichigo then, though his dark eyes seemed to look right through the reaper, as he answered.

"This isn't the first time I've died, Ichigo . . . And I'm sure that it probably won't be the last. I had something that I needed to see through before I go, so I have to stay."

"You've died before?" Ichigo's eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

Goku gave him a small smile. "There are powerful gems called the Dragon Balls that have the means to grant any wish. When I died before my friends asked the mighty Dragon to bring me back."

"And it worked?"

Goku nodded, and Ichigo gave a long whistle. That was some pretty heavy stuff to grasp. But despite the fact that guy had cheated death he seemed almost wistful.

So Ichigo asked, "What did you need to see through?"

Goku's face shone with old memories as he said, "I made a promise to my wife and son that I'd come back."

Ichigo felt emotion stir deep inside him, as memories of his own mother filled his mind. He would have given anything to see her again, and he knew that Goku must be feeling the same way about his own family. . . But as a substitute Shinigami, Ichigo couldn't let him stay indefinitely in the World of the Living. They'd both end up paying the price for such a choice.

"I'm sorry, Goku. But you can't stay here," he said with some difficulty. "Spirits who have died have to return to the Soul Society or they become a danger to everyone. And I don't want to have to fight you down the road; you'd make a hell-of-a Hollow."

Goku was silent for a moment before he nodded, "I understand, Ichigo. I wouldn't want to cause anyone any trouble."

The reaper watched as the spirit's face fell, and found himself speaking before his mind could catch up with his mouth. Though forever after, the reaper couldn't bring himself to disagree with his decision.

"Do you want me to give your wife and kid a message?"

Goku's face immediately lit up like a Christmas tree. "You wouldn't mind?"

Ichigo shrugged, "Nah, I don't mind. What do you want me to say?"

The spirit's face nearly split with the magnitude of his grin as he stood from the ground, and then in turn helped Ichigo up. Then he met the reaper with a confident expression, as he said, "Tell Chichi and Gohan that I love them! And that I'll be back before they have time to miss me!"

Ichigo couldn't help the small smile that quirked his lips as he nodded his agreement. And for some strange reason, as the substitute soul reaper pressed the hilt of his Zanpakto to Goku's forehead, he couldn't bring himself to question the man's sincerity. The man was impossible to doubt, and the teenager was glad to have met him, even if he had knocked him out for several minutes.

Then as Goku's spirit was engulfed in the familiar pale light of peace, and he waved to the Shinigami one last time, Ichigo Kurosaki knew that somehow Goku would find a way to keep his promise. Somehow, Goku would always find a way to return home.

A/N: Hey guys! This is a birthday present to one of my very dear friends who is a huge Dragon Ball Z and Bleach fan! ^^ I've never written for either fandom and I've only seen the first 2 seasons of Bleach so hopefully I didn't kill it too badly. lol XD (I tried my bestest! ;p )

Were Ichigo and Goku in-character? Was this alright for a first attempt? *worried grimace*

Anyway, I love yall and hope you're doing well! Tatty bye! *hugs and kisses to all*

~Lyn Harkeran