Universe: Bleach

Parings: None!

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Adventure

Disclaimer: Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

Warnings: Some Spoilers for Fade to Black, Mild Swearing and Violence.

Author's Note:

Sorry for not getting this up yesterday guys! I was so tired I didn't want to risk missing something when I look through it.

Anyway here is Part III and we finally get to see what has happened to Ichigo, we also see the consequences of Soul Society losing their memory of their hero; here's a clue for your guys, it's not good.

So enjoy and if you have time give me feedback! Later guys ^_^


Fade to Black: Memories of the Black Sun

Part III


South Rukongai: District 78; Inuzuri

Ichigo twitched in his sleep before releasing a groan as he reached up to rub his eyes; with some effort he sat up and pushed back the futon cover to reveal the white yukata he wore.

"Where…where am I?" Ichigo whispered to himself as he looked around the familiar looking cabin; his brown eyes without their usual hard edge looked like the eyes of a teenager, innocent and curious.

Looking beside him Ichigo saw a pile of clothing sitting next to him, slowly he forced himself to his feet and grabbed the kimono in his hands; he easily slipped it over his shoulders and folded it over his chest before tying the obi around his waist.

The kimono was a muddy brown but on the left side of his chest was a golden dragon that matched the golden obi around his waist.

Now dressed Ichigo made his way over to the closed window and pushed it open, wincing when the sunlight shone in his eyes before they adjusted.

"This is…"

Ichigo sighed as he walked around the empty streets of Rukongai. His normally spiky orange hair was now flat against his head.

His Shihakusho was soaked through and he himself was shivering, the storm had stopped but it was still pouring it down with rain.

He knew it was strange but being outside with the rain was helping him stay calm, he knew he was going to regret it later but for now he felt at peace.

"...Rukongai." Ichigo finished with a small nod after the memory faded; his mind was all fuzzy and his ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton balls but at least he knew where he was now.

His attention was drawn away from the window by a soft sound to his left; quickly he turned around only to blink in shock when he saw two figures standing there.

"W-Wha-?"

"Ichii!" Hoshi cried out as she threw herself at Ichigo forcing them both to the floor; the orange-headed teenager laid their stunned for a couple of seconds before he sat up and tried to push the strange girl off of him.

"W-what are you doing? G-Get off of me! Who are you?"

"Onee-Chan, you know he won't recognise you if you don't let him see your face." Kazuki called as he rested his scythe carefully against the wall; Hoshi sniffed as she slowly released Ichigo and sat up while whipping her watery green eyes.

"I know that." She huffed before she took a deep breath and looked up.

"So Ichigo, do you recognise us?" Hoshi whispered hopefully and she had to stop herself from hugging Ichigo once again when his eyes widened in recognition.


Seireitei- 1st Division

"Captains. Give me your status reports on the situation." Generysai ordered having no time for pleasantries that day; the remaining 7 Captains stood before him, all of them showing signs of exhaustion and worry for the situation they had found themselves in. It had been a long day and the Head-Captain hoped to have some good news thrown upon him but he doubted that would happen

"The destruction from the Spirit Particles liquid covers 200 Spirit Miles centered on the south-east direction; the last attack destroyed the South Gate and partly entered Rukongai but has yet to harm any of the residents there. At least 1/3 of Seireitei has been destroyed." Juushirou grimly reported looking slightly sicker than usual.

"What of the casualties already brought in?"

"I've never seen anything like it Head-Captain. The Spiritual Particles have completely consumed the victims and has turned into hard stone that is impossible to break through; I'm afraid that it is also makes it impossible for me to tell who is dead or who is alive." Restu reported sadly while rubbing her forehead; Generysai glanced at her noticing the unfamiliar movement as the 4th Division Captain usually hid her pains well.

"What of Kurotsuchi?" He asked her next and Restu sighed as she allowed her hand to drop she looked at the Head-Captain while shaking her head.

"From what I can tell he is completely unaware of his surroundings. He has no idea what he did or why he lost himself in such a way; in fact it appears nearly all of his memories are gone."

"What about this incident with Rukia Kuchiki of the 13th Division?" Generysai demanded angrily; he didn't have time to deal with an unseated officer misbehaving.

"I really can't explain her actions at all Head-Captain. From what I've been told Kuchiki was spotted coming through the Senkaimon, she then admitted she had been in the Human World without permission. After that she refused to explain why she had been there in the first place and seemed quite agitated while talking to Vice-Captain Abarai." Juushirou murmured and the Head-Captain grunted before he looked over at where Byakuya Kuchiki stood.

"Do you have an explanation for your sister's actions, Captain Kuchiki?"

"I do not. I have no explanation for Rukia's action but I promise that when she is found I will personally question her." Byakuya coldly stated and Generysai nodded in understanding.

"What has your Vice-Captain got to say?"

"Renji says that he had questioned Rukia why she was in the Human World but she refused to answer him; she only continued to shout about this 'Ichigo' person and even showed great distress when Renji admitted that he didn't know who she was talking about. Renji also claims that she attacked him somehow, making him see things that aren't real before she escaped." Byakuya finished by closing his eyes with a small sigh; he didn't know why he had to be dragged in the middle the problem that was his sister and his Vice-Captain. The two of them were normally great friends but if one says something the other doesn't like that it's usually Byakuya who breaks up the fight.

"How did an unseated officer escape a Vice-Captain?" Shunsei Kyoraku questioned in slight shock and Byakuya looked at him in slight irritation; even though his expression stayed cold.

"Neither did battle; Rukia escaped because Renji was receiving word about the 2nd attack and the members of our Division wasn't watching her." Byakuya stated simply the words 'Don't insult their strength' clearly heard to the other Captains.

"I don't like this." Toushirou Hitsugaya muttered as he closed his eyes while crossing his arms over his chest; Juushirou looked at him in confusion, wondering what the small Captain was getting at.

"What do you mean, Captain Hitsugaya?"

"Something doesn't add up here. We're missing something, I'm sure of it." Toushirou explained as he tried to get his thoughts in order; before Juushirou could ask any more questions though the Head-Captain smashed his cane on the floor with a loud bang.

"This is most likely the worst situation the Gotei 13 has ever faced. With the way things are and also the way she acted I am placing Rukia Kuchiki as our prime suspect for this incident; she will be captured and questioned immediately!" The Head-Captain shouts and the 7 remaining Captains have no choice but to comply.


Night had fallen across Seireitei the sky pitch black from dark clouds that promised rain was soon to come; a group of 5 Shinigami ran past a storage building without even noticing the person hiding in the shadows.

"What are we going to do, Nee-San? We have to find Ichigo." Kon said the moment the Shinigami were out of sight and Rukia sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I know that Kon but with the whole of Seireitei out looking for me we've got to be careful; besides I get the feeling Ichigo isn't even in Seireitei anymore." Rukia admitted and Kon blinked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean, Nee-San?"

"Remember what Urahara said? He believed that the person behind the Spiritual Particle liquid attacks was the same person who had taken our memories of Ichigo. If that's true then we really should be following where the liquid attacks." Rukia summarized and Kon's black eyes widened in realizations.

"The South Gate!"

"That's right. I'm pretty sure the person who's behind all this has moved in Rukongai; if we find the mastermind behind these disasters then hopefully we'll find Ichigo." Rukia said with a small smile which Kon returned with his own.

"That's great! Then I can rub it in Ichigo's face how I, Kon-Sama and Nee-San saved his ass!" Kon laughed and Rukia shook her head as she once again looked down the street.

"It's clear. Let's go." She whispered before quickly using Shunpo to disappear from the alleyway she had hidden in.


South Rukongai: District 78; Inuzuri

Hoshi sighed in relief the moment she found where they had hidden the candles when they had lived here before; she couldn't believe that the cabin had been untouched for 1 and ½ but she was also glad about it. It meant they didn't have to find a new place to stay.

It didn't take her long to carefully light up the dusty candles and soon the cabin was lit up with the small glow from the flames; with a grin she looked over to where Kazuki was heating up some miso soup they had managed to create, the one thing she and her brother had lived off before Ichigo had found them.

"It's done." Kazuki called out quietly and Hoshi quickly grabbed two small bowls for him to fill up; after he was finished she quickly brought them over to where Ichigo was waiting patiently.

"Here you go, Ichii!"

"Thank you." Ichigo whispered gratefully as he accepted the small bowl of soup and smiled when the warm bowl heated up his cold hands; carefully he blew the hot liquid before taking a small sip.

"Is it alright?" Hoshi asked in concern and Ichigo grinned as he pulled the bowl away from his lips; he didn't want the strange girl worrying over such silly things.

"It's great." He reassured and Hoshi cheered happily before she started drinking her own; Kazuki quickly covered up the pot before taking a seat in front of the two with his own bowl.

"Can I ask you something?" Ichigo questioned as he placed his bowl down beside him before he reached inside his kimono.

"Of course! What is it?"

"You asked if I could recognise you earlier and while I do admit something is familiar about the two of you, I just haven't got any clear memories of you." Ichigo said as he pulled out a folded piece of paper covered in scribbles on both sides.

"Did you give this to me?"

"You don't like them?" Hoshi questioned sadly as Ichigo continued to look at the strange letter he found in his kimono; in the corner of the letter sat two drawings that Ichigo realized were the siblings.

"Of course I like them. I must admit I've seen better drawings but I've seen worse too; you've done really well." Ichigo praised but Hoshi froze when she heard what he said.

"You've seen worse? Who's was it?" She questioned carefully but Ichigo blinked in confusion before shaking his head.

"I can't actually remember." He admitted causing Hoshi to release a silently sigh of relief.

"You gave us this letter when you were staying with us, so I tried copying the pictures that were on there for you." Hoshi explained with a grin and Ichigo nodded in understanding.

"Why aren't your names on here?" He asked next and Hoshi sighed as she looked to the side before smiling sadly.

"We don't have names."

"What? But you told me your names were Hoshi and Kazuki." Ichigo objected and Hoshi nodded as she stood to her feet.

"That's true but those aren't our real names. You promised you would give us names when you saved us." Hoshi hinted as she walked over and placed her hand on Kazuki's shoulder.

"I promised…?"

Rain was pouring all over Rukongai; as the rain poured a small flame light lit in a small hut.

Ichigo sighed as he placed a wet cloth on the sister's forehead to try and bring her fever down.

"Onee-Chan..." The brother whispered as he wrapped himself tighter in the blanket.

Ichigo let out a cough before he handed some warm soup over to the little brother.

"Can't have you getting sick too, don't worry your sister will be fine." Ichigo said simply, the boy smiled slightly as he accepted the soup.

"Do you two have names then?" Ichigo asked as he wrapped himself tighter in his own blanket and blew on the hot soup.

"No...We don't have any..." A weak voice said, Ichigo looked down to the sister blinking up at him with hazy green eyes.

"You don't have any? Well how about I give you one?" Ichigo asked, the boy perked up and the sister pushed herself up slightly.

"Y-you'll give us a name?" The boy asked and the girl coughed slightly.

"Why? Why are you helping us?" The sister asked as Ichigo handed her his own cup of soup.

"Because I want to. It wouldn't be right for you not to have a name, ne?" Ichigo asked; the sister and the brother slowly started to smile.

"What's your name?" The brother asked and Ichigo smiled slightly.

"I'm Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo said, the brother blinked at him in confusion.

"He...who protects...what a lovely name." The sister whispered before she coughed, Ichigo smiled as he damped the cloth on her forehead again.

"I'm surprised you worked that out, most people confuse it with Strawberry." Ichigo said and the sister smiled.

"It wouldn't suit you. Do you know what to call us?" The sister asked; Ichigo nodded as he smiled.

"I've already thought of one." Ichigo said simply, the brother suddenly cheered as he started jumping up and down.

"Yeah! A name! A name!" The brother shouted, the sister clamped her hands in excitement; being too weak to get up because of the fever.

"Hey, calm down." Ichigo ordered but he was smiling; the brother jumped at him and hugged him around the chest and Ichigo couldn't help but laugh slightly.

"That's right I remember now. You two are those siblings that I saved!" Ichigo realized with a grin causing Hoshi to grin happily.

"Tell us Ichii! What are our names?" Hoshi questioned impatiently causing Ichigo blink in shock.

"I didn't give you the names back then?" He whispered as before he closed his eyes and tried to bring the memory back.

Instead flashes appeared in his mind; the younger siblings looking up in fear, screaming his name as he felt a hand on his throat, a Shinigami with black and purple eyes swinging down a sword and finally him screaming as blood sprayed in the air.

Ichigo chocked as his hands went to his hair before falling down to his knees; Hoshi and Kazuki quickly knelt down to his side as his body shook with vicious trembles.

"Ichii! Ichii are you alright?"

"Ichii!"

Finally Ichigo managed to catch his breath and allowed his hands to fall from his hair; he looked up at the two siblings sadly while shaking his head.

"I'm sorry but I just can't remember." He whispered causing Hoshi to look down to the ground in disappointment; Kazuki sighed as he helped Ichigo sit back down on the ledge while Ichigo tried to get himself back in order.

"What have I been doing all this time?" Ichigo questioned knowing full well that the memories he was seeing was some time ago seeing as the siblings were small kids back then; Hoshi heisted unsure of how to answer him and Kazuki quickly answered instead.

"You've been sleeping, Ichii. You've been asleep for a very long time." Kazuki explained with his normal emotionless voice and Ichigo blinked at the two of them in confusion.

"Sleeping?"

"Yes that's right! You were injured quiet badly and fell asleep but don't worry; we won't let anything happen to, okay? We're going to be together forever." Hoshi said with a grin which Ichigo shakily returned.

Sadly he couldn't help but feel that something just wasn't right with the situation he found himself in; something inside him was telling him that he was forgetting something important.

But what?