Breakdown of the Sphere

I do not own Bleach.

Chapter 1: Endings Aren't Always New Beginnings

…

Why?

Why must all things come to an end?

Ichigo watched as Rukia slowly disappeared. It was hard to, being as they went through a lot together. However, Ichigo knew it was inevitable and would have happened someday. Defeating Aizen had been his greatest priority, and now was his greatest victory, but all victory comes with sacrifices, and this was one of them. As sad as it was, he relished in the fact that Rukia had been the start of his whole adventure into the world of the Shinigami, and was happy that she would be the last thing he saw as his journey ended.

Ichigo continued to watch even as not a single particle of Rukia was left. Being that he could not sense spiritual presences anymore, he did not feel his friends come up to him until Chad cleared his throat.

Chad looked in the direction where the small girl went too. "She's waving to you, from inside the Senkaimon." Ichigo smiled a little, but his eyes remained sad.

"Heh, Kurosaki," Uryu pushed up his glasses, "Never thought you would be a sentimental type of guy." Furious, Ichigo turned on the glasses wearing male.

"Sh-Shut up!" he yelled as Uryu calmly turned away. "It's just-I-I mean-Well…"

"Ichigo," the larger man in the group calmly consoled the orange haired boy. "We know what you mean. It's okay."

"Yeah," Orihime put in, "I mean, you and Kuchiki-san got along very well, and you guys went through a lot together. It's understandable that you would be sad that she won't be here anymore, or the fact that you won't… well, be able to see her again." She ended with a quiet note in order not to sadden the former substitute shinigami, but he remained with a semi-smile on his face.

"Yeah." he merely said as he turned toward the rest of them. "How are you guys holding up? What happened when I left?"

"Inoue healed us all," the Quincy responded. "And we just waited." None of the three dared ask what happened when Ichigo left. They heard the story from everyone else while Ichigo was asleep. The group stood in silence, none daring to even breathe as they watched the sun go down.

"Well," Chad suddenly turned to them, "I better go now." Orihime blushed red.

"M-Me too!" she exclaimed. "I'm meeting Tatsuki and we…" She trailed off, looking nervously at Ichigo. He merely looked down.

"Well then," the Quincy perked up, feeling the tension in the air. "Let's go!" Quickly they all bided each other goodbye. Soon only Ichigo was left.

"It's not raining." Ichigo murmured to himself, looking at the darkening sky. Always, when something bad had happened, it would rain. It had happened when they went to the graveyard, when Rukia was taken back to Soul Society, and when… when his mother died.

But it's not raining, Ichigo thought. It wasn't. It was dark, but the sky was clear of only a few clouds. Is this a sign that this is good? Looking around, Ichigo saw no one. Taking in a deep breath, Ichigo decided to do something he had not done for a while.

"So mom," he started, feeling like an idiot for talking to the air, "I was able to protect someone." His confidence began to flow into him. He looked to the sky. "I hope you noticed from Soul Society, and that you were proud of me." He looked down, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to do so before. You know, in protecting… you."

Instantly, Ichigo felt his mother's arms around him, and her warm comforting voice saying, It's okay. All his life, he wanted to protect those he loved, but always they seem to slip through his fingers. But now, protecting Karakura, protecting Soul Society, protecting all those whom he grew fond of… that was worth it. Worth giving up his powers and giving up his status of being the strongest shingami. It was even worth never seeing Rukia again.

"Yeah, everything is good, isn't it mom?" Ichigo murmured. As he turned his back on the last bits of the sunset that still lingered in the sky, he felt the bright radiance from his mother bearing down on him. Quietly, he entered the Kurosaki Clinic, at peace at last.

…

Rukia watched as her friends disappeared from her sight. The door to the Senkaimon closed, and she turned around and walked into Soul Society. Quickly, she made her way to the 13th squad barracks, watching not to walk into anyone she knew. At this moment, she wanted to be alone.

She entered into her room and slammed the door shut. Gasping, Rukia sank to the floor. Why was she feeling this way? She felt an aching burn in her stomach, and a lump caught in her throat; most of all, she felt… lonely.

I'm not alone! Rukia tried to reason with herself. I have all my friends and family here! I'm not… alone… Despite this, deep in her heart, she knew the reason for her sadness. No matter what she told Ichigo, she would not be seeing him again. Never. Not even watching him though he could not see her. And that thought dragged her heart to the deepest pits of her stomach.

Rukia felt something roll down her cheek. Touching it, she found a wet drop on her finger. Tears, she thought, something I shouldn't have. Something a Shinigami never feels, Sadness. And why am I jealous? I should be happy for him! He can finally have a normal life! One with no shinigami duties, or bad guys trying to kill him every second, or… me…

As much as Rukia wanted to tell herself to be happy for Ichigo, and the rest of her human friends, she couldn't. The mere thought of them growing up, and forgetting her was enough to send more waterfalls. This time Rukia did nothing to stop them.

"Rukia?" the voice rang out from outside her door, "Are you there? Can I come in?" Mastumoto didn't wait; she just pushed her way through.

"Rukia!" the older woman didn't hesitate to run to the younger girl's side. As they were the only females on the Hitsugaya rescue team sent to Karakura a while back, they had grown rather close.

"What's wrong?" the strawberry-blonde sank down next to the raven-haired girl. "Why are you crying?"

"No-Nothing." Rukia choked out. Obviously Matsumoto didn't take this. She leaned over and hugged the younger one.

"You didn't tell them?" she said softly. "You didn't tell them, about… your new assignment?" Nodding, Rukia began to sob quietly. She heard Matsumoto sigh.

Rukia had been chosen to lead a team into Hueco Mundo and they would stay there to ensure no trouble came out of it. She accepted, but most knew only because her brother made her. Going on this team would mean staying there for a while, and no seeing the human world. By the time her service was over, they would all be long dead, and chances of finding them in Rukongai would be close to zero. Plus, they might even be reincarnated and not remember Rukia. Soothingly, Matsumoto rubbed her back.

"Perhaps it was for the better." she heard Matsumoto murmured. Rukia sobbed harder. "You know Soul Society won't have a care for the humans after a year. It's better to cut off ties now." Silently, the two women sat there, one crying, one looking out the window.

…

Why Gin?

Why did you have to leave me too?

Seeing Rukia cry reminded Matsumoto of how she cried over Gin's dead body. Of how she refused to let go, and only did when Renji and Shuhei dragged her away from him. Soul Society gave him a hero's funeral, but Matsumoto wanted more. She wanted Gin to be alive, so that they could eat dried persimmons again, with no worries. So that they could do all the things they did before Gin joined Aizen, even before Gin became a shinigami. Back when they lived such carefree days.

But those days were over. Now they were burdened by betrayal, loyalty and unspeakable love. At least, love on Matsumoto's side. She could never see into Gin's empty shell. She never knew what he was thinking about, or what his emotions were. Despite being the closest one to Gin, she was probably the one who knew least about him. Part of her knew she wished to go back to the old days, where all this didn't matter.

However, that could never happen. She could only relive the good times in her head. Sincerely, that was enough for her. Focusing on the good that Gin had done was what kept her going-besides drinking of course. It was what she did for most of her time as a shinigami, drinking away the bad, and thinking primarily of the good times she and Gin shared.

Now, she had a new memory to reflect on. It had started sad, but ended up being the one thing she would never forget about Gin. It was the biggest thing he had done for her. Gin had left her with nothing; all ties cut off, and he had separated himself from her completely. While this left an ache in her chest, she knew that Gin did it… did it for her. He left her with a big hole in her heart so that when the time came, she would be able to move on.

…

Three men sat on nothing. Around them was nothing. Nothing at all. Their surrounding area was… nothing. Nothing was there.

"This sucks." the white haired one said. His always-present smirk was gone and all that was left was a frown.

"Yeah." a younger teen sat next to the first. Their third companion sat silent.

"Sooo…" the first spoke after a long pause, "We wait?"

"Yeah." the other answered again. Still silent, the third stood. Another long pause.

"It won't be long," he finally replied. "He won't take long." And from there, all three stayed in their position, waiting for the king to finally get on the horse again. They would wait as long as it took, forever waiting for the king to be reunited with the horse, for the time when the horse would take the king to victory once again.

…

Four figures stood in silence over the Kurosaki clinic. In the way they were positioned, they could easily attack the orange-haired boy that stood on the street, staring at the sunset. However, at this moment, all they would do is watch. As the sky grew dark, the boy went into the clinic. At this, all four figures dashed off, watching, and waiting for the perfect time to strike.

…

Wow! I wasn't really expecting that many people to like my story! Of course, it might be the fact that I did a whole lot of advertising (¬_¬). Well, this is an edited version of the story, because I had a bunch of mistakes in the previous one. And, to those who asked, I have decided to continue this. Previously I had written this in hopes that you, as the readers, would let your imagination run with what could happen next. However, I got a lot of reviews saying, "Please update!" and… well… a story started! This is post 423, just to let you know. Really, I already had an idea in my head, but didn't want to start it. Looks like I will now.

Thanks to all the people who reviewed the original chapter, and thanks to someone who wishes to remain anonymous who helped me edit this! Also, thank you so much for all your reviews! Really made my day when I went to my mail and saw another review email. And for the person that asked, Matsu and Ginny will have a part in this story. Not to give nothing away though.

And as always, I would appreciate a review! Anything would be great, have it be a compliment, criticism, or just a plain hi! Thank you and see you next chapter!

~~~EeLgIrL (^.^)