Inspired by the song Marchin' On by OneRepublic (it may improve the feel of this drabble if read while listening to that). I hope people like this and that it's not too confusing. Has not been beta-ed as always so beware of mistakes.

Once upon a time there was a princess.

"Mommy? Where are we going?" The child squeezed his mother's hand and stared up at her. As always, she had a calm smile on her face though this time he felt as if there was something more to it that he was missing. Rather than getting an answer from his mother he felt a prod on his shoulder and looked over at his younger sister sitting beside him. She held a finger up to her mouth in a gesture to shush him. He frowned at her but said nothing more.

She lived with the stars and the sky and the rain yet to fall.

He looked around at the other passengers on the train. People were staring, some trying to be subtle about it others not so much but all were entranced by his vivid honey coloured hair. It annoyed him at times but he didn't mind it too much. The train itself was what was getting to him, he thought. Yeah, it was the train's fault he was feeling like this.

Though the rain was sad, she liked the rain.

His throat felt tight and dry and his chest ached painfully. Were it not for his mother he might've asked that his heart be pulled out right now if only it'd stop hurting. He squeezed her hand again and she squeezed it gently back, understanding. He felt the tears well up in his eyes but he fought them, blinking furiously. He had to stay strong. He had to, for her. He'd promised.

The thunder didn't scare her either, rather reminding her of a certain rhythmically pounding heart.

After some time they'd arrived. As they walked out onto the platform, he heard a voice call out over the crowd of people and for a moment his heart soared and his large brown eyes widened. The crowd before them shifted, parting for the person charging through toward them. His chest continued to ache faintly.

One day she'd asked a knight, the man whom she loved, to keep that heart beating, to hold it within himself and treasure it.

"Ichigo…" he heard his mother breathe barely above a whisper. He moved forward to stand in front of her protectively. Finally the crowd parted to reveal the person they'd travelled all this way for. There was a long painful silence before his sister ran forward with a cry to hug the now kneeling man. He was frozen for a moment, battling it out in his head before he too ran forward to the man at full speed. Only to then kick his shin.

As the knight watched as the shimmering tears fell from the princess's face he steeled himself and turned to the battle before him.

"How could you! How could you leave mommy like that!" He cried causing both the man before him and his mother to wince. "And then…and then we went to your…your…" The bright haired boy shook his head roughly. He couldn't hold back the tears any longer. He flung his arms around his father's leg to join his sister. "Don't die again, Daddy… You're not allowed…"

The man's eyes softened. And he ruffled his son's hair, hugging his children for a brief moment before lifting his gaze to his wife, taking note of the tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Orihime."

She swallowed and broke out a smile so bright the sun paled. "I'm just… happy to see you alright again. Thank you for coming back…Ichigo."

Her voice, his heart, the world, everything was shaking, but he held strong and in his eyes he held a promise.

"It took a while to convince Soul society to let me back here, and then I needed to see Urahara about getting a gigai but I managed to get everything covered. I already started unpacking some things at the new place," He said softly.

"So…Am I…Did you…?" He trailed off unsure of how to word his question.

"Next to your mother", Orihime answered just as quietly, knowing what he wanted to ask. Through their un-breaking gaze, he sent her a silent thank you.

Ichigo touched his son's shoulder and he let go along with his sister so that his parents could embrace tightly. As they held each other, his mother began to cry happily.

"I told you I'd come back," his father laughed, his voice shaking.

He tries to keep it to this day.

He had promised after all.