A/N: The shortest chapter yet... but as it stands this is the conclusion. It was so much fun to write! And I hope it gives the story as a whole justice. Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, fav, and/or followed. There will be other stories eventually. The plot bunnies are strong with this one.

Enjoy!


9The Point of No Respawn

Ichigo glanced over the wire fence and into the courtyard. Every time he was in view Uryu was either ignoring his attention or frowning. A tiny twitch just above the eyebrow as the blue gaze narrowed. It didn't really matter which. Both were equally annoying. Both were driving him crazy.

After he was left standing alone in the park, Ichigo started walking. He went far. Following the streets until he had looped around and passed his house twice. Which was thankfully empty each time. Then the sky grew dark and a set of thick clouds rolled in. Yet he kept his pace. Odd that not even one Hollow appeared the rest of the day.

Maybe I just didn't notice… That seemed to be the theme of his life. He never noticed his mother's powers. Or his friends. Hollows wondered just as diligently as regular spirits. And Uryu sat but not three desks away from him for almost half a year. But I'm looking now. He wanted to shout it. Instead he ended up cowering. He felt wounded leaving him to watch from a distance. It must be that pride Ishida likes to talk about…

"Did you guys fight or somethin'?"

Ichigo sat up straight and nearly spilled his bento that had been balancing neatly on the edge of his crossed legs. The deep rumble unexpected since he hadn't heard it in weeks. He looked over at Chad taking a seat next to him. "What?" He gave Chad his best confused expression.

The gentle giant sighed at him and turned to look in the direction Ichigo had been staring. Perfectly posed under a fully bloomed tree reading sat Uryu. His stark black hair sticking out from all the vibrant spring and normal school colors. Ichigo frowned and maneuvered the uneaten lunch box again to accommodate his slouch. He watched the thin hand spray over the spine of the thick brown book. Fingers that were so delicately deft at pulling scattered reshi and lacing thread and fabric turned a page. And he shouldn't care about wanting to hear the soft skin against rough paper. Or to see the bumpy ridges that were scars stretch as the bent joints. If they're still there.

Ichigo pulled back to see Chad giving him a strange expersion. One of those knowing looks that came with a half smirk and slightly lidded eyes. "What?" This time he asked with annoyance. The expression continued. He sighed. "We didn't have a fight."

"You sure?"

"No…" He wasn't. And that was what made it worse. Ichigo glanced back towards the poised raven reading and suddenly becoming jealous of a book. Chad sat there silently as if waiting for more of a response. "There has to be something before there's a fight, right?"

For quite some time Chad said nothing. They sat there in the unique silence that was their friendship. Orihime skipped by and saw Uryu. She waved and stopped to talk. Of course Ichigo couldn't hear them but he could clearly see their faces. Uryu looked up from the book to give her his attention. Smiling slightly at something she said before nodding.

"I've seen the way he looks at you."

The unexpected words made Ichigo jump. "Eh?" He wasn't aware that they had been looking at each other a certain way.

Chad continued to grin. "Especially the other night when you two fought Ginjo." Ichigo sat there expressionless, hoping his face wasn't turning red. "Kinda like how you were just looking at him."

"I dunno what you're talking about." He snipped, turning his full attention back to his forgotten bento. Sticking his chopsticks in to pick up a ball of fried Tonkatsu. He concentrated on chewing. We do not give each other those kind of looks! His cheeks were actually burning now. But it wouldn't be all that bad… after all, he's Tori-ko. And Uryu was attractive when he actually paid attention.

A groan from nearby made him look up. Tatsuki stood tall, one hand on her hip and another firmly placed on her forehead. "Please tell me you didn't actually screw it all up, Ichigo?"

He opened his mouth to reply but Chad hummed and nodded. "As you see they aren't sitting together." Tatsuki sighed heavily.

Ichigo sat there blinking. A part of him knew he could be dense but- No, "Wait, you both knew?!" They stared at him. "Why didn't either of you tell me?!" Chad shrugged and looked away.

"Because it's not our place." Tatsuki knelt down to sit. "What did you do anyways?" She asked as she watched Uryu finish talking with Orihime, wave and lift the book back up to eye level.

"I don't know." That much was the truth. "One moment Ishida's telling me he's Tori-ko then the next he's doing that fancy Quincy two-step across town. And all I said was I didn't believe him." Ichigo frowned. It was more or less denying the fact of Uryu's online identity. I should've just ask him to prove it. That was one idea that had crossed his mind. But he knew our nicknames… and the phone number…

"Ho-boy…" Ichigo glared annoyingly at Tatsuki. "I told you to sort it out. Not get pissed off."

"I didn't." He snapped then cringed, turning his gaze back to his now half eaten bento. "Ok, maybe…" Ichigo confessed. "Look, I wasn't expecting-"

"Figure it out." Tatsuki cut him off suddenly. "Don't get mad." She jab a finger into his chest with each word before standing up and stomping off.

"Really, she should work on her temper…" Ichigo mumbled to himself. Honestly, he had been figuring everything out. Not like I haven't been analyzing every word Ishida said. He sighed a bit sadly. Turning towards Chad he frowned. "How did you know anyways?"

Chad smiled. "You really aren't that observant are you?"


I'm not going to screw up. I'm not going to- "Shit," Ichigo chewed his bottom lip anxiously. His foot and finger tapping in sync as he waited. The screen swishing in hues of yellow, red, and brown as the background music switched to something livelier. He really sucked at this waiting game. Five more minutes. The time ticked slowly on. He could have spent it doing something else. Maybe pick up a few things in his room. Take his laundry down stairs or even rummage the fridge for a soda drink. It wasn't like it would matter if he was late.

The tiny numbers on the top of his screen finally changed over. Ichigo's fingers flew across the keyboard, clicking loudly as he entered in his credentials. This is it. He took a deep breath as the background changed. Don't screw up. Everything faded in. Once click told him what he needed to know. Thank you Tatsuki. He still wasn't sure how she had pulled it off but he wasn't going to waste it.

/Shingtesu: Don't log off/ He sent quickly.

/Shingetsu: Just hear me out ok?/

Ichigo watched the guild roster. A minute passed. No answer came but the name stayed firmly in lit. With a deep breath and swallow he continued to type.

/Shingetsu: I'm sorry I freaked out on you.

/Shingetsu: I know it shouldn't matter. Nothing else did just like you said.

/Shingetsu: It's just so scary how close to home it all was. That it had been you all along when it could've been anyone. You took a chance and I pushed back. I'm not like that and you know it./

The curser continued to blink in the chat bar. Like a clock hand or drippy faucet testing his sanity. And it did well. Another five minutes passed and he couldn't stand it.

/Shingetsu: Just say something already please!/

He groaned; resorting to begging, and online just like how they first met. How ironic. Rejection at its finest. Mocking him from the very beginning. Were we just not meant- The chat chimed.

/Atotori: You're an idiot you know that?/

Then he was gone. A blink and a thump and just like that Uryu had logged off. "No, wait!" Ichigo stood up quickly yelling at his computer screen as if it could help. What the hell did I do wrong this time? His hand was on top of his phone before he knew it.

"Hollow! Hollow!"

The sound froze him on spot. A tiny cry muffled from inside his bag. The badge's eyes blinked red from the dark confines bellow.

"Hollow! Hollow!"

"Dammit!" Snatching up the wooden piece he hit his chest and flew. Or rather shunpo over the fading blue sky. Distracted as he was, Ichigo didn't take the time to enjoy the breeze. The nip of a coming storm bellowing out his Shinigami robes more than normal. And the lightness that came with the ethereal form heavy as was the half loomed clouds.

To make matters worse, half way towards the otherworld beast it screeched. Raising its head high and roaring as the bone mask shattered. The pieces of its tall form dusting away in the distance. Ichigo stopped, frowning as he stood high in the sky. There was no use going forward. Nor back home… A fat drop of water smacked him in the face. He ignored it as he took his time wondering back the way he came. The sky opening up in a strange half light rain.


He really is an idiot. Uryu lowered his bow and watched the distant rain roll in and the wild, vibrant energy stutter out. With a sigh he ducked under the roof and sat on the railing. He fiddled with his phone listening to the patter above. Perhaps he was going to have to do more than wait. But as good at planning as he was figuring out how to strategically get Ichigo alone again was difficult. There should be a book on 'How To: Seduce a Shinigami'. Er, if there isn't one already in the Seireitei… Not that he was trying to seduce anyone for that matter. Talk to, yes. He owed Ichigo an explanation for his actions regardless.

So Uryu decided that fate would most likely present another opportunity. After all, he certainly wasn't going to implore anyone else into helping out. Not when every time Orihime tried to talk to him about Shingetsu led him to changing the subject. She really doesn't know. And that was what made it so difficult.

"Ishida?"

He looked back over his shoulder on his way home from school three days after they last spoke online. The tight brow and working jaw standing out more than the burning sun. Uryu had always been good with words. So why was it so difficult now?


Great, now what? Uryu stopped when he called out. The daylight catching the silver frames as he turned, distracting from any expression the Quincy might have had. They stood, a few feet apart in the middle of the street. Ichigo with his hands in his pockets feel quite dumb. Silence dragging on in between the chirps of a couple of nearby birds. But he's not running away.

"Ishida, I-"

The air suddenly electrified. Static blue zipped to point in his direction. Ichigo stopped, thinking how dull the condensed reshi looked compared to the sapphires behind glass. Which now he could see and stared at just as sure as those unblinking gems looked at his. He remained still, listening to the hum of energy from the drawn arrow. If it was a test, be dammed if he lost face. But there was a hollowed cry nearby and thud of wings. A shadow only they could see started to pass just as Uryu raised the sleek bow just a bit and fired.

He couldn't help but think of all the times they had fought together. A vicarious friendship so unresolved it had led them to this moment. Uryu in his Quincy whites and all instead of the mute gray school jacket. Not that Ichigo was say the unique outfits were the most flattering of clothing. Yet it did do something for the thin archer's waist that made a perfect place for his hands to rest if he ever decided to try.

The frazzled reshi sawed the air as it flew passed and neither of them looked to watch the Hollow dissolve. Uryu lowered his bow and gaze. With it he took Ichigo's heart. Yet as the Quincy walked away there was no rush or malevolence. So Ichigo followed.

It seemed to be the right thing as Uryu kept a steady pace even though he didn't look back. But Ichigo knew Uryu could feel his retisu on the trail. They walked, Ichigo slightly behind, through the park and beyond the normal paths to a tiny grassy spot next to a river surrounded by trees. Uryu continued on towards a pile of stone boulders, taking one to sit upon and faced the river. Is this where he wanted to take me- Shingetsu- before? It was peaceful. Pure and untainted. Something he had not really thought about in a long time. Here, in the personal oasis, it was sanctuary.

Ichigo stepped up closer and took a seat just behind Uryu with their backs facing. They almost touched. He could lean back and rest into the sharp shoulder blades. "Ya know," he began. It felt easier to sit this way. "Talking with you is… complicated."

"How so?" Uryu asked from his spot behind him.

Ichigo shrugged. "Er, well complicated might be too much. It's just that you're always- Well, you've got this way of-" He sighed. "Ok, it's just complicated in general."

Uryu sighed back. "Yeah,"

It felt good to know he wasn't the only one that saw it that way. It made him smile. "I wish things were easier between us. Then all this might not have… well you know… been so-" He really didn't want to say that word again. "Complicated."

"But it is." Uryu sounded unsure. "Was. I don't know anymore."

"I am sorry."

For a while neither spoke. Uryu didn't even have to answer him. He's right, I am an idiot. Ichigo looked up at the sky and breathed in the fresh air. Now what do I do?

"I wasn't expecting you." Then Uryu was talking almost out of nowhere. Wispy and a little unsure. "Either of you. Yet you're so much like Moony it scares me."

Ichigo started. Why would that matter?

"Since you came into my life you were this force. And no matter what I did you managed to break down any wall I had built. I didn't want to be your friend. Even online you insisted. Maybe I'm just as blind. Because of what we are. Then when I was Atotori things changed. And it didn't matter who was on the other end." Uryu breathed in a deep unsteady breath. He found himself turned around watching. The fine muscular lines of Uryu's neck and shoulders tense. "I just… I want it to be like that now and-"

Ichigo stopped him. Sliding the hand not holding his weight up to touch Uryu's chin. The Quincy froze but allowed him to guide his face so they could look at each other. "Tori-ko," the name seemed to bring an ease. Yet Uryu remained still as the stone they sat upon. So he pushed forward, letting his hand graze over the sharp jaw. "I do too."

Of everything the kiss was expected. It was simple yet a little messy in mutual acceptance. And for the first time Ichigo really looked and saw. Reitsu soaring and tame against his own. It had taken flight towards the moonless sky. They parted, looking a bit awkwardly at each other. Ichigo brushed the stray bangs away from the glasses to see the sparkle dance between his eyes and somewhere else left unknown. He cleared his throat and did his best to look serious.

"It's nice to meet you, Ishida Uryu."

-FIN-


Final thoughts: Ichigo and Ishida have always had this unique way of communicating in my head. I see it as they just understand what each other is talking about no matter how dense Ichigo is and how stoic Ishida can be. Nonetheless, I don't see this as an end to their gaming adventures even though the story is finished! That and I don't ever plan to stop writing about these two. Who knows, maybe I'll eventually do a bonus chapter to this someday!

For Kiiroi Yumetobe/Kwun-Kwun

Thank her for she was the inspiration for me to write this story. I know I can't ever thank her enough.