Author's Note: Alright guys you should know before reading this that the story is set in AU. Ichimaru Gin did not betray the Gotei 13. Instead, Mayuri took his place. I also wanted to try something different with the pairings. I'll let you find out with whom by reading, but feel free to comment. This is a prologue so there is nothing slow about it, I basically created it to explain what has happened leading up to the story. Well I hope you enjoy it! I have most of the next chapter made already so it will be up fairly quick. Reviews are appreciated!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters.
Prologue
With the end of the winter war there came a new era in the Soul Society. It was not the defeat of Sosuke Aizen or the end of the Arrancar threat that brought on some much change. It was the casualties that were a result of the mass of violence that caused the Seireitei to transform. Four Captain Positions in Gotei 13 were left unmanned after death and treachery took its toll. Which death caused the most panic and grief? It was that of Captain Commander Yamamoto. In the final battle with Aizen, Yamamoto had fallen victim to his zanpakuto only minutes before Kurosaki Ichigo arrived from Hueco Mundo.
The others who were lost during the battle of Karakura town were Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Komamaru Sajin. Of course, only two memorial services were held and those were for Yamamoto and Sajin. It was known that Mayuri had followed Aizen and Kaname Tosen into Hueco Mundo thus betraying the Gotei 13.
Despite the crushing grief that the remaining Captains held in their heart, the now open positions must be filled as soon as possible. Central 46 had yet to replenish their ranks so it was completely up to the remaining Captains to choose who would be brought in.
There had been a long debate about who should be chosen as Yamamoto's successor and it eventually came down to Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro. It was appropriate considering that both had trained under Yamamoto. After the selection had been narrowed down to them two they were left to work it out between each other. Both were equally qualified so it would not impact the Seireitei negatively either way. After what seemed like hours, another Captains meeting was called to announce that Kyoraku Shunsui would be the shinigami to replace the late Captain Commander.
All were pleased with Shunsui becoming their leader except for him. Still grief-stricken, Shunsui doubted his ability to make lead the Gotei 13 in the right direction. Finally after taking some time for soul searching the swordsman decided that there was no sense in dwelling over the situation and to just attack it head on. So a new debate began, who were the individuals that would fill the open Captain positions?
The twelfth division was the easiest to decide on. Who best to lead the Department of Research and Development than the one who started it? Since the revelations that Sosuke Aizen's treachery it was clear to everyone that Urahara Kisuke had been innocent all along. Everyone voted and the subject was contacted, Urahara Kisuke was reestablished as Captain of the twelfth division.
Now there had to be selections made for the fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth divisions. The high-ranking officers could not turn a blind eye to the much needed help that was provided by the Visoreds during the final battles of the Winter War. Some of the members had been members of the Gotei 13 before being submitted to hollowfication by Aizen. There were two that more than qualified for the captain seats, because they had held them before. So more voting and connects were made before it was confirmed that Muguruma Kensei and Hirako Shinji would be joining their ranks once more. Shinji would be taking Aizen's place as Captain of the fifth division while Kensei replaced Kaname Tosen in the ninth division.
They decided that there was a lieutenant already working under Kuchiki Byakuya that had also proven himself during the war. Not as fuzzy but a worthy successor of Komamaru Sajin none the less. So Abarai Renji was named the Captain of the ninth division. Jushiro later mused that the shinigami had finally achieved one of his goals by being considering equal to that of Byakuya, the Kuchiki clan leader simply grunted in response.
Only one position was left that needed to be filled. By this point all of the new captains had been summoned and went through the proper ceremonies so there were several more shinigami in the meeting room. Kisuke was the first to express his thoughts by stating that since Shunsui was the former Captain of this specific division that it should be he who chooses who should fill his former seat. All the others agreed and offered to give the new Captain Commander some time to think but were surprised when he stated that he already had someone in mind.
The mere mention of Kurosaki Ichigo caused the entire room to become silent. Kenpachi Zaraki countered by saying that the boy had lost his powers after defeating Aizen. Before anyone else could make their opinions known Kisuki explained that it was possible for Ichigo's powers to be returned. They would all have to place a segment of their spiritual power into a object that could serve as a transportation device to Ichigo. Shunsui quickly charged him with the task of creating such an object before they continued.
A week passed until Kisuke brought a sword he developed before the rest of the captains. Eventually they all agreed and placed a fraction of their powers into said sword. Shunsui then sent Kuchiki Ryukia and Abarai Renji to the material world to convince Ichigo to come back with them.
It took quite a while for Ichigo to agree that coming to the Seireitei was the best decision for him. The boy's father, Isshin, was the one that finally convinced him.
"It would be what you mother would want. To have the power to make sure that no one else will have to suffer the fate that she did."
Ichigo agreed and spent the next several days saying goodbye to his loved ones before returning to the spirit world with Rukia and Renji. Upon entering the Seireitei, Ichigo was greeted by Zaraki immediately impaling him with a strange glowing sword. It wasn't until after the fire-headed boy finished screaming about how crazy Kenpachi Zaraki was that he realized that he was once more a shinigami.
After accepting his title and going through the ceremony Shunsui charged him with a task. He must choose a lieutenant to serve as his second. Considering how dense Ichigo could be at times, this proved to be quiet challenging. He spent days begging/fighting with Madarame Ikkaku to come be his lieutenant but his reply was always the same.
"I would be honored to stand as you're lieutenant, but I wish to fight beside Kenpachi-taicho until I die in battle."
That ended as a failure, but Ichigo couldn't help but admire how loyal Ikkaku was to his captain. In all honesty, Ichigo wanted Rukia to come to his division but knew that she would want to serve Jushiro. Finally after several days of pulling his hair out, Ichigo surprised everyone by stating that he would choose Yadomaru Lisa to return to the eight division and once again fill the lieutenant seat. Everyone questioned his decision but Shunsui just chuckled because he knew why he had chosen his former second. The girl was a fiercely loyal fighter and only those who had fought close to her would share the bond that Ichigo and himself had with her. So yet another Visored was brought into the Gotei 13.
After that was settled the next few years were pretty uneventful, but it gave Ichigo time to learn things that all Captains should know. Such as Kido and how to control/sense reiatsu at a Captain's level. There was also the massive amounts of paperwork to get used to but Lisa helped with that on most occasions. It turned out that Kurosaki Ichigo had been a outstanding choice for Captain after all and even Byakuya admitted it.
Through these years there had been some very confusing relationships developed. First there was Rukia, and this was nothing new considering the undeniable attraction to each other since the day they met. Finally Ichigo got the courage to sit her down one night and confront her about what was going on between them. It got pretty awkward and could only be compared to a brother asking a sister about her love life. Rukia admitted that she had questioned their relationship as well but had come to realize that her heart belonged to someone else, Abarai Renji.
Surprisingly, this revelation didn't hurt Ichigo's feelings at all. They continued to talk about what sort of relationship they did have and Rukia explained that Ichigo was just as much as a brother to as her as Byakuya. Just the mere idea of being kenned to Byakuya scared the shit out of of him so he left it alone after that.
Third wheel, Ichigo quickly learned just what the true meaning of the two words meant after hanging out with Renji and Rukia for several months. It wasn't like he had a choice, the two were his best friends and he wouldn't just quit being around them because they were in a romantic relationship.
The second confusing relationship was with that of his lieutenant, Yadomaru Lisa. The woman was very calm and collected but still had a fun side once Ichigo got to really know her through the years. He also quickly found out that much like Rukia, Lisa was not afraid to smack him over the head if he did or said something stupid. Ichigo decided that it was not healthy to just be a couple's tagalong and started spending time with Lisa outside of work along with Shunsui and his lieutenant, Nanao Ise.
After a night out at the bar with Ikakku, Ichigo stumbled back to the barracks with a little too much sake in his system. One thing led to another and suddenly the boy was kissing his lieutenant, but instead of getting smacked to the ground the woman kissed him back. That was the start of a whole new relationship between the two that didn't become public until a year later. Lisa had been badly injured and Ichigo skipped an emergency Captains' meeting to stay beside her bed in the fourth's barracks.
It was nearly a decade before tragedy struck..
During the final moments of the Winter War, Kaname Tosen had escaped back to Hueco Mundo. It wasn't until ten years later that contacts in the realm of hollows spotted the shinigami and reported it back to the Seireitei. Captain Commander Kyoraku charged Captain Kurosaki and Captain Ichimaru to track down the treacherous swordsman and deal with him accordingly.
As any Captain of Gotei 13 would do, they accepted the mission and dealt with Tosen. The man had been weak due to paranoia over the years and Ichigo was able to dispatch him easily. Just after the orange-headed Captain dealt the final blow Gin drove his zanpakuto through his partner's chest cavity. This surprising act of treason brought Ichigo to his knees all while asking why despite the blood running out of his mouth. The last words he heard before dying were Ichimaru Gin's explanation.
"You may be a shinigami, Kurosaki-taicho, but you are also a hollow. Central 46 decided that it is time to weed you half-breeds from our ranks. So I was asked to take out the strongest before we continued with the rest. We couldn't confide in the rest of the Captains because they are simply too blind to see what is best for the Gotei 13. But don't worry, I'm sure we can convince them to see it our way."
Gin then shunpoed away but not without letting one of his chuckles sound through the empty desert. Ichigo's dead body was left lying beside Kaname Tosen.
Gin then broke the news to the other captains saying that a massive explosion had occurred during Ichigo's battle with Tosen, both of their bodies being incinerated in the process. Despite the devastation, many of the captains were skeptical about the whole situation. Tosen's power was nothing compared to that of Kurosaki Ichigo, how could he have fallen in battle?
It was impossible to console Lisa after she found out and she eventually fell into a great state of depression. Shunsui tried his best to talk to Lisa, but she explained that nothing would be able to mend the wound she now had. The soul society had a memorial service for him where thousands attended from both the material and spirit world.
While everyone grieved Captain Kurosaki's death the Central 46 planned their next move. A move that would wipe the rest of the visored shinigami and those that would defend them away. Now that Ichigo was out of the way, the political group saw nothing that could stop them from achieving their plans for purification.
This is where the true legend of Kurosaki Ichigo begins.
