A/N: A large group once again to thank. Assault Godzilla, hitsugayatoushiro1220, bcsaturdai, SuperSaiya-jinGeek, sblack13, Aralana J'Lee Lovings, "TheDudeAbides," okami11235, Chichita, hollownature, yuffie097, Kiss of Imortality, blackbubbledancer, "some guy," karling08, Dracula7899, theaCoi, "Jabamaca8," and OPrincess ShinigamiO. And thank you to those that put this or its author on their lists. I have to thank "TheDudeAbides" for pointing out an error in chapter thirty-two. It has been fixed. And in case anyone else besides hollownature made bets on who spiked the punch during the party, the culprits were Isshin, Urahara and Shunsui. I think you'll all enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Bleach characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Tite Kubo et al.

Saying I Will

The Return

Ichigo woke as the sun filtered through the window. Rukia's light weight was nestled against his side, one arm draped across his chest. Glancing at the raven haired Shinigami, the daiko took in the sight of her in his shirt. It wasn't the first time she had commandeered one of his shirts for an impromptu nightgown but it was the first time he had willingly forked one over.

The freshman decided that he liked her in his clothing; almost as much as he liked her in nothing at all. Last night had been full of surprises. Ichigo had known that Rukia had been planning something special for his birthday. Simply getting Chad's help to buy him guitar strings and a tuner wouldn't have necessitated countless hours spent in hushed whispers with Inoue.

Resisting the urge to wake her up to repeat their activities of the night before, Ichigo brushed a kiss against her forehead and rose. Pulling on a pair of lounge pants, he sat cross legged on the floor next to the bed and with his practice sword, began to meditate.

After several minutes of deep breathing, the orange haired war hero was plunged into a place he hadn't seen since before Aizen was defeated. Tall buildings made entirely of glass and steel rose high in the sky. Bright sunlight was accompanied by wisps of clouds and a warm breeze.

"This is new," he said to himself, noticing for the first time that the buildings were no longer on their sides. "Guess that makes sense though. My world has been set right with Rukia's return." He stood cautiously on the roof of one of the buildings, half afraid that he would fall. Gazing out over the silent city, he searched for signs of his Zanpakutou or Hollow. What he found in the center surprised him.

A replica city model of Karakura sat protected by the infinitely tall skyscrapers. It was like what it had been during his darkest hour during the war but now there was no sign of the flood that had had consumed his inner world. Even more startling was the park in the center of it all, something that did not exist in the real Karakura.

Light snow covered the ground. Trees in full bloom were covered by delicate ice crystals and sitting beneath the largest of those trees on a bench was a woman in white. "Sode no Shirayuki-san," Ichigo said quietly, unsure if she knew he was there.

"Kurosaki-san," she smiled in return, getting up to join him. "I wondered when you would come."

"How is it possible that you are here? I thought that Zanpakutous were limited to their wielders' inner worlds."

"You should know by now that what seems impossible isn't always so. Last night your heart and soul melded with Rukia-sama's. That made it possible for me to come here."

Bright color blossomed on his face as Ichigo recalled what had transpired the night before. The thought of their Zanpakutous knowing discomforted him. "Ah, yeah."

Laughing softly at the young man's embarrassment, Shirayuki continued without further elaboration. "It has been my job to protect both you and Rukia-sama from danger while Zangetsu sleeps. However, I believe that it's time for him to reawaken."

"About time," Ichigo muttered, following her into the high-rise. "Shirayuki-san, you haven't been bothered by Hichigo, have you?"

"That nuisance? No, he's still sound asleep. He won't be pestering anyone anytime soon." A small, satisfied smirk on her face made him wondered exactly what she had done to ensure that.

"Good."

They entered a room much like Ichigo's old one at the clinic and found the "old" man sleeping. His slumber was deep and Ichigo was almost afraid to try to wake him up. "How do I do it, Shirayuki-san? Zangetsu's always been in his shikai state. I've never had to release him."

"You must find the one word or phrase that best describes him. What does he represent? How does he work? Why does he work?"

"He exists to protect. That's the whole reason I became a Shinigami in the first place. To protect and defend my family, my friends and my love."

"Then call him forth, Kurosaki-san. You don't have enough reiatsu to leave him as he prefers but for the moment, I think that he'll be content with just being awake."

Noticing for the first time the simple blade in his hand, Ichigo searched his mind for the one thing that would call his sword spirit from sleep. "Hogo shi, Zangetsu!"

Rukia woke; the loss of the warmth next to her dragging her from sleep. Her head pounded and parts of her body previously ignored were sore. "I'm going to kill Ichigo's father and anyone else who was involved in spiking the punch," she grumbled.

Pulling the sheet up so that it was tucked under her arms, the female Shinigami looked around the room; her eyes squinted almost entirely shut. Ichigo sat next to the bed, his legs crossed and the practice sword her captain had given him across his lap. She took a moment to admire the strong planes of his shoulders and back before reaching out to touch him. Running her fingers through his soft, orange locks, she called his name. "Ichigo," she tried once more right before a wave of his reiatsu knocked her back.

Blue energy swirled around the small sword until it took the shape everyone was so familiar with. The giant "meat cleaver" with the wrapped hilt and trailing ribbon appeared once the flash of power had subsided. In front of them Zangetsu stirred, rising from his enforced slumber.

"Ichigo," the older man greeted, his eyes smiling in welcome.

"Ossan," the daiko said in return.

"Zangetsu!" Shirayuki cried. The two spirits embraced. Ichigo had no doubt that their forced separation had been as difficult on them as Rukia and his had been. He didn't stop to wonder how they even had been together in the first place. The two Shinigami had swapped or shared power more than once in their relationship.

"My dear," the male sword spirit returned.

Feeling like a voyeur, Ichigo turned away, taking the moment to swing his sword. The familiar motions came back easily and the daiko tried to release a small Getsuga Tensho just to see if he had the power. The "small" wave of energy blew out the side of the building they were standing in.

"Easy, Ichigo, you do not want to waste your reiatsu. Go on and practice. Your friends are calling you."

A large wave of spiritual pressure flooded the apartment, waking everyone who wasn't still exhausted from the party. Ishida was the first to become conscious, his head telling him that despite the "benefit" of releasing tension, drinking was definitely something to be avoided. Holding his head, the Quincy stumbled towards his friend's room, recognizing the reiatsu that was pouring from within without trouble.

"Damn Shinigami, never could control it," the archer grumbled.

The door swung open and Ichigo stood grinning in the entryway. "Good morning," the orange haired hero greeted before his own excitement gave way to a grimace. "Remind me to never drink again."

"Likewise," the Quincy said before frowning. "Drinking increased your reiatsu?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"No, I don't think so. I don't know what did. I just woke up feeling really great and meditated. I was able to go into my inner world and I found Zangetsu. After waking him up, I just had so much power."

"Excellent, now maybe you can rein it in before a Hollow shows up. None of us are in any condition to go destroy it." A distinct howl in the distant told both warriors that it was too late.

"No time; don't worry, I've got this." Grabbing his badge, the daiko slammed it against his chest.

Ishida watched the process, partly annoyed and yet happy for his friend at the same time. He heard a groan from Ichigo's bed and flushed when he realized that Rukia had spent the night there. She glanced up just as her boyfriend's body flopped onto the floor.

"Ishida, Ichigo?" she inquired not sure what had just happened. She remembered trying to get Ichigo's attention when he was meditating and then a surge of his reiatsu blew her back. Ichigo's badge was once more working as it was letting everyone know that Hollow was nearby.

"I got this, Rukia. Can you put Kon in my body while I'm gone? I don't want Yuzu to see it and freak out."

"Sure," she mumbled. Dashing out the door, Ichigo drew his sword and disappeared to go take care of the Hollow that had appeared. Ishida stumbled away, only wanting to go back to sleep. Rukia blindly did as she was asked, her own body still not feeling up to par. After sticking the mod soul in her beloved's body (much to Kon's delight), Rukia climbed back into bed and returned to sleep.

Isshin, who had also awakened at the first brush of a Hollow against his senses, rolled over onto his back and grinned at the ceiling. His son had "become a man" during the night and was now exorcising his first Hollow in over two years. "That's my boy!" he shouted, and immediately had to grab his head as the hangover spread pain throughout his body.

Karin woke, Yuzu just rousing. "Ichi-nii," she murmured. The explosion had brought a Hollow but she knew her brother was taking care of it and loving every second of the freedom that being a Shinigami again gave him.

"Karin-chan?"

"Go back to sleep, Yuzu. No one's getting up anytime soon."

"Okay."

Orihime squinted, shielding her eyes at the bright sun that was coming in through the living room windows. How had Rangiku-san gotten her to drink so much? "Uyruu, was that Kurosaki-kun I felt?"

"Yeah." The informal answer was so unlike him that she blinked in confusion. "Can Shun'ō and Ayame cure hangovers?" the archer asked.

"Probably," his girlfriend answered, reaching onto the coffee table for her hairpins, only to find Baigon snoring away. Sitting up, she looked around the room. Tatsuki was spread out between Mizuiro and Keigo on the floor while Chad was over by the windows. She sensed some kind of barrier between her best friend and the boys so Rukia must have protected her before going to bed. She had taken the couch while her boyfriend had spent the night in the larger of the two chairs.

Her friends all accounted for; she continued to look for her flower spirits. Ayame and Lily had found their way to the empty chair while Shun'ō was flopped over an arm. It took a few minutes to find the other two but when she did, a laugh escaped. Tsubaki and Hinagiku were draped over the nearest lamp, snoring.

Orihime vaguely remembered calling them forth although for what reason presently escaped her. "I think that they're indisposed," she said apologetically.

"Please don't tell me that they're affected by you drinking."

"No, but I do believe they got drunk too."

Ishida looked at the flower spirits, disbelief covering his face. He didn't remember watching them indulge. "I don't even want to know." The Quincy sank back into the chair and groaned.

Shinigami were the bane of his existence.

Ichigo returned to find his friends either nursing a hangover (Orihime and Ishida) or still asleep (Mizuiro, Keigo, and Chad). The only one he didn't see was Tatsuki. She wandered back into the room, took one look at him in his Shinigami garb and shouted,

"You've got your powers back!" Those that were awake, including Ichigo, moaned and mumbled protests. "Babies," the martial artist spat. "How is it possible for you all to have a hangover on two or three cups of spiked punch?"

Ever the scholar, Ishida raised his hand. "Reishi. Sake from the Soul Society is made up of pure reishi. As beings with spiritual powers, we are affected by it."

"That doesn't make sense," she argued.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," he shot back. "How else would Orihime's flower spirits get drunk too? And I'd like to point out that some of us indulged more than others."

"The flowers are drunk?" Ichigo questioned.

"Uh-huh," Orihime seconded. "Or rather, they were." The group of friends stared at the manifestations of Orihime's powers and sighed.

"I have a bad feeling about last night," Ichigo said. The others could only agree.

A/N: Hogo shi means "protect and defend."