Disclaimer: Not mine

Chapter 4

Harry told his story calmly, watching Ichigo's reaction. Some would say he was crazy for telling a kid he had just met but he had too. There were a lot of parallels between the two of them and he would not do to Ichigo what Dumbledore and the others had done to him. He had been led like a lamb to the slaughter, lied to and manipulated from the day his parents were killed. Ichigo had been used and tossed aside once already, whatever happened next had to be his choice. It felt strange telling someone his life story, no one had ever asked and since he had left Britain he hadn't made any close friends. He got to Voldemort's defeat and paused to let Ichigo process everything.

Ichigo stared at Harry, mind spinning from all of the information. A hidden magical world…that wasn't hard to believe after being exposed to Soul Society. Harry's life officially sucked more than his did. Boy-Who-Lived…who came up with such ridiculous titles. How had Soul Society not gotten involved? Or had they and that was why Harry was alive? Why tell him, a stranger, all of this?

"Ready for the next bit?" Harry asked after a while and Ichigo nodded. So Harry went on to explain his post-battle 'coma' and what it meant. He spoke of Hades and Arawn, how they had come to him and explained what had happened to him. He told Ichigo of his travels over the last nine years, seeing the world and meeting various Death gods.

"So, Japan was next on your list?" Ichigo was a little wary now. Had their meeting been on purpose?

"Mmmm, not originally, I was happily settled in a nice Greek villa," he admitted. "Hel, she's the Norse goddess of Death in case you didn't know, came to me with an issue. They told me the basics of what had happened….and that this Soul Society relied upon a human teenager to win the war. I don't know the exact details as no one outside of Japan does. And no, our meeting was not arranged, I had planned to look you up eventually, but I did not expect to see you last night. When I did see you, I couldn't just walk away and leave you there like that," Harry explained gently.

"Why are you telling me this?" Ichigo demanded and Harry smiled sadly.

"Because I've been used and manipulated by people with power, I don't want to do that to you. I would like to hear your part of everything that happened, but only when you're ready. What I am more interested in right now is what the hell happened to you?"

"What?"

"Ichigo I can feel your pain from here, it is literally soul deep," Harry offered gently.

Ichigo looked away, ashamed. He was so good at hiding it and here a stranger, someone he'd only just met, could see it when no one else could. "I'm fine."

Harry sighed and shook his head but let it rest for now. He wasn't dying or anything and if he was managing then he had no right to interfere. "If you say so. At least tell me who did this to you?"

Ichigo hesitated and then sighed. "Me…I did it," he forced out and Harry frowned in confusion. "The only way to stop Aizen was with the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō," he explained, it hurt to think about let alone admit what he had done.

The Final Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer, Harry mentally translated. "So, some sort of Shinigami technique?"

"Yeah…one with a price. I stopped Aizen at the cost of my powers. I'm just a normal human now, can't see ghosts or anything anymore." His hands weren't shaking, they weren't! and then warm hands clasped his, stopping the tremble.

"It feels like a hole's been punched through you," Harry whispered and Ichigo nodded. "No one should ever have to fight a war and it sucks even more when its kids or teenagers. You're not alone Ichigo, I know what it's like to be a child soldier, even when you don't see it at the time. I want to help you, the mess with the Soul King can wait as long as it needs to. I think I can heal you, stop the physical pain."

Ichigo couldn't help staring. Was he for real? No one else had ever offered something like that? They all treated him like an adult. His Dad had told him to keep quiet, to not scare the girls, with his nightmares, he hadn't sat with him or offered to listen. He didn't blame his friends over that either, they were just as young and inexperienced as he was. But Urahara and Yoruichi? They should have known they would all need help to deal with what they did and saw. He hadn't seen Shinji and the others since the end of the war, but he didn't blame them. They'd been pardoned and accepted back by Soul Society, something they had longed for, for longer than he had been alive. He hadn't expected to hear from them for months, so he still held out hope they wouldn't abandon him. Rukia hadn't contacted him and despite how young she looked she should have known they would need help. And yet here was a stranger, someone here not to help him but deal with Soul Society and the Soul King's mess, offering to ignore all of that to help him. Death itself…himself…was prioritising Ichigo's wellbeing. Since when did that happen to him?

Harry got up and left him to his thoughts, just puttering around in the kitchen and glad it wasn't a school day since Ichigo would be running very late by now. He closed his eyes and stretched out his senses, double checking no one was checking up on Ichigo but there was nothing nearby. He could sense a group steeped in death across town, probably at the odd shop he had found and marked out. And then there was one off on its own, a Shinigami on patrol maybe? He opened his eyes as he heard footsteps approach.

"When you said heal me…can you bring them back?"

Harry turned to face him, placing the plate of sandwiches on the bar top. "Bring who back?"

"Zangetsu and Shiro, my Zanpakutō and inner Hollow," Ichigo whispered. "They merged at the end, said they were two parts of the same being but…"

"You miss them both," Harry finished for him and Ichigo nodded. "I'll need to take a closer look, see what the damage is before I can do anything. Do you have anywhere to be today?"

"No," Ichigo shook his head. His homework was done, and it wasn't like he had anyone to hang out with anymore. "Can we start today?" he wanted them back, not so he could fight Hollows, but because they were part of him and he felt empty without them.

"You sure about this? We did only just meet last night," Harry cautioned, worried that Ichigo would throw himself into this so quickly. Was the pain that bad or was he just that desperate to have the voices back?

"You haven't lied to me, I know it. It feels like I can trust you. You've been more upfront to me than my own family. Either I trust you to do this or I stay like this," he was pretty good at picking who to trust and every sense screamed he could trust Harry. If he was a Shinigami again then wouldn't he be his boss in a way?

Harry studied the teen closely and then nodded and stood. "Follow me," he led Ichigo into the hidden level of the home, the part set apart for magic and smirked when amber eyes widened, although the scowl didn't move, it seemed to be Ichigo's default expression. Harry transfigured a chair into an examination table and then handed Ichigo a medical gown. The teen looked from it to him but then stepped behind a bookshelf to change and then he laid down. "You need to lay still, so I am going to immobilise you. If you want me to stop or take a break just say so, understand?"

"Yes."

"Okay then." He quickly immobilised Ichigo using the spell medi-wizards did to keep their patients still but still able to communicate.

Ichigo tried to move and nothing happened, his body wouldn't respond. He took deep breathes, he would not panic. "Harry?" he was relieved that he could talk.

"Alright?" He paused and looked at Ichigo, taking in the way he was breathing.

Ichigo focused on his breathing…. he had to do this. "Yes."

Harry nodded and went to work, scanning in depth with magic and his powers as Death. What he found made him feel sick, two thirds of Ichigo's soul were sealed away, thankfully not ripped away. It had to be pure agony…and on top of dealing with the memories of a war he never should have been involved in….it was surprising he hadn't simply thrown himself in that river instead of just sitting on the bank.

"That bad?" Ichigo could still see and the look on Harry's face was not comforting.

"Your soul is still intact, thankfully. I've seen the repercussions of a torn one, it's not pretty," he admitted, he wasn't going to lie to him about the damage. "Two thirds, which I am assuming correlates to your two friends, has been sealed off very tightly. Even if you died and passed on…it might not be fixed without help." Help that by the sound of it had not been offered.

"Old man seemed to think it'd be permanent, he didn't want to teach me the technique but there was no other way," Ichigo answered, relaxing a bit since he didn't feel a thing.

"Well I've found nothing is permanent when I'm around," Harry flashed an encouraging smile. "This is where it'll get uncomfortable, even painful, just keep breathing. Tell me to stop if you need it, scream if you want."

Ichigo swallowed and closed his eyes, breathing deeply and then his world exploded in white hot pain. He grit his teeth, trying to hold in the scream of pure agony that wanted to break free. If he could move he'd be writhing and jerking. It hurt!

TBC…