So, it's been a very, very long time since I've updated or posted anything. However, I have a reason for this. Not going to say what it is, but know that I do have one. I plan to be a lot more active and try to post at least once a week, time permitting. This new story takes inspiration from Loyal Kriegsman's story Shinigami of the Shinto. If you've read that story, there will be some similarities that they said I could use. However, this story will be my own and differ in many ways.

I think it's stupid to say this, but I do not own anything related to the shows/manga's Bleach or Highschool DXD.

Karakura Town

The final bell was about to ring at Karakura High school, and everyone in Ochi-sensei's class was already dreading going home because of the bad storm going on outside. Ichigo was sitting at his desk looking out the window watching the rain. He had never liked the rain because it reminded him of the day that his mother died and how old man Zangetsu used to complain about the rain in his inner world. So, to him the rain was a bitter reminder of all that he had lost and sacrificed.

Normally, Ichigo would be walking home with his friends on a school day, but ever since he had lost his powers. The spiritually aware out of his group had started to pull away, always saying they had something to do when he tried talking to them.

He tries not to get mad at them, but sometimes it is hard because when they finally look him in the eyes, he either sees pity or they look at him like he is made of glass. He also hadn't seen Hat 'n clogs since his powers full vanished. His dad had also been strangely absent lately, always going out of town and leaving him to care for his sisters. When he did see his dad though, all he got was those same glances of pity, and it was really starting to piss him off.

Finally deciding to at least pay attention to the last few minutes of the lecture, Ichigo turned away from the window and almost fell back in surprise because in front of him was a small ball that looked like pure moonlight. He didn't know what it was, but the orb made him feel homesick. Causing him to reach out towards it unconsciously, he realized what he was doing and brought his hand back a second later. He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice what was happening in the rest of the classroom. Such as his spiritually aware friends glancing his way in surprise or the piece of chalk that smacked him in the middle of the forehead.

"Kurosaki, pay attention! Despite your better grades, you still have room to improve, so please pay attention." Yelled Ochi-sensei before finishing in a normal voice.

"Yes, ma'am…sorry," said Ichigo quietly, causing the teacher to become concerned at his tone given how subdued it was.

"Are you ok, Ichigo? Do you need to go to the nurse's office?" Asked Ochi-sensei in a concerned tone.

"I'm fine sensei, just got lost in thought for a second." Answered Ichigo sincerely, appreciating the concern his teacher showed for him.

With his brief conversation done, he looked back to find the orb that reminded him of home, and he couldn't find it anywhere. Despite being gone, the feelings that the ball made him feel remained, causing him to have a small smile. Not long after, the final bell rang and Ichigo stood up just as Tatsuki approached his desk. He was very grateful to Tatsuki because she had not changed how she treated him. She had even taken him to the dojo a few times to train and they were once again the best of friends. The only change is that now he could win some in their bouts. This small gesture from her to include him made the day-to-day abandonment by his other friends easier.

As they were walking to the door to leave the classroom, he saw Orihime, Chad and Uryu start walking towards them. When he saw this, his scowl got just a tiny bit bigger because their timing couldn't be coincidental. He sees something spiritual in class and then the friends who have been slowly distancing themselves over the last 17 months finally decide to talk to him. He can feel Tatsuki tense beside him.

"Hey, Kurosaki-Kun!" Said Orihime excitedly with her usual energy, trying to cover the guilt she is feeling for ignoring her friend and crush for so long.

"Kurosaki," Said Uryu emotionlessly, trying to act normal, but he couldn't hide the guilt Ichigo saw in his eyes.

"Yo," the gentle giant known as Chad said as he tried not to think about the fact that over the past year and a half. He has ignored his best friend, who always had his back.

Ichigo just kept walking, not even bothering to look at them as he left the classroom, heading to the lockers to get his shoes to go home. This made the three trying to talk to him feel sad, even though you could only tell on two of them. Based on the tears building around her eyes, Orihime looked the most affected by the blatant dismissal and was close to crying.

"Why did Kurosaki-Kun ignore us? We are his friends?" Asked Orihime sadly looking at Tatsuki.

"Can you blame him Inoue, you all have basically written him out of your lives now that he doesn't have any powers. He might not show it, but you all have deeply hurt him." Said Tatsuki a little harshly, even though that was not completely her intent.

"We only wanted him to be safe and were worried that hanging around him would endanger him. We did it because we care about him." Said Chad looking down.

"Do you think that he cares about that, or do you think he focuses on the fact that his friends ignore him now. Ichigo knows there isn't anything he can do anymore, but when he did have powers, it didn't stop him from hanging out with all our friends despite the risk." Said Tatsuki as she turned away from them and walked out the door.

Timeskip to after dinner time

Ichigo was sitting on his bed, looking out the window staring at the moon since the storm had passed. He didn't know why he liked looking at the moon, but it always calmed him down and made his soul feel at ease. Maybe because his Zanpaktou was tied to the moon, it's a subconscious feeling to be calmed by it. Just like how Old man Zangetsu probably hated the rain because he also hated the rain.

So deep in thought, he didn't hear his sisters knocking on his bedroom door for the last couple of minutes. His two sisters had been increasingly worried about him over the previous year, he had never been very expressive when he was happy, but they could tell when he was. However, whatever happened to their brother over a year ago changed him, he was perpetually sad and it got worse every day.

They also noticed how most of his best friends stopped hanging out with him and outright ignoring him. Which made Karin want to beat the shit out of them; even the ever-gentle Yuzu also wanted to inflict bodily harm for what they did to her dear older brother. This also made them very grateful to Tatsuki for standing by their brother. They could also tell that Tatsuki's feelings toward Ichigo weren't strictly that of friendship. Karin and Yuzu always managed to tease her about it when Ichigo wasn't in the room.

"Screw this. I'm going in!" Said Karin angrily, trying to hide the worry she felt as she turned the door handle.

"Karin, don't. He might be changing or wants to be left alone." Yuzu said softly, trying and failing to hide the worry she felt. Given how today, Ichigo acted more down than usual, which really worried her.

When the door opened, they saw their brother sitting on his bed looking out the window with his arms resting on the window sill and his head on top of them. They watched him for a minute to see if he would notice them, when he didn't they decided to speak up. However, before they could say anything, they saw Ichigo jolt before he started looking around his room, not even noticing them.

Finally, he stopped looking around and focused on something that looked like a small silver ball right outside his open window. They watched their brother reach for it and when he touched it, the ball released a tremendous amount of bright light. When their vision came back, Ichigo was gone and both girls became scared.

"Ichi-Nii! Where are you? Answer me!" Yelled Karin with tears falling from her eyes as she whipped her head around, hoping her brother was pulling a dumb prank.

"Nii-San, where did you go? Please stop it. You're scaring me?" Sobbed Yuzu, who after the loss of her mother, couldn't handle the thought of losing somebody else she cared about, especially her beloved brother. The twins kept calling his name for 5 minutes before deciding they needed help and knew of only one place to get it. So they both ran for the front door grabbing their shoes as they headed to the candy shop that weird guy owned who told them that if anything strange ever happened to their family, go there. It didn't even register to the two girls that their father had once told them the same thing after they caught him talking to the man who owned the shop.

Right before the twins opened the door Ichigo's POV

While watching out the window, not noticing his sister's knocking, Karin's angered shout on the other side or when they finally opened the door. Ichigo was thinking about all of the things that he missed, such as the ability to protect everyone, and the…well, he didn't know what to call them anymore because friends don't abandon people for over a year. He wanted to believe that they all had good reasons, but he couldn't imagine what they were, except for the soul reapers. Old man Yamamoto probably ordered that they leave him alone now that his usefulness had expired.

This made the pain from the abandonment worse because that meant his friends cared more for their orders than him. Which after all he had sacrificed really drove a knife into his heart because despite acting like he was bothered all the time. He honestly did care for everybody he called friend.

'Too bad they don't feel the same.' Ichigo thought to himself sadly. While he was sitting there, no doubt causing a downpour in his inner world if he still had one because of his depressing thoughts. Ichigo suddenly felt like someone was ruffling his hair, like goat-chin used to before he started attacking him at every chance. So comforted by the gesture that he hasn't felt since his mother's death, he didn't notice that it put a halt to his depressing thoughts. It took him a second to become alert to the fact someone was doing this while he should be in his room by himself.

He was suddenly jolting up and looking around his room, trying to find the source of the feeling. He saw the same silver ball from earlier flying around his room, he followed it with his head. He never noticed his sisters standing there watching him before the ball stopped right outside his open window within arm's reach. He started to reach for it and when he finally touched it, that feeling of peace returned to his soul as he was blinded by beautiful silver light.

Unknown Location

When Ichigo opened his eyes again, the first thing he noticed was that he was no longer in his bedroom anymore because he was now looking at a beautiful purple sky with the brightest and biggest moon he had ever seen. The next thing he noticed was all the floating islands that were in the air connected by bridges, all leading to a brilliant golden temple in the distance.

When he turned to look behind him, he saw a beautiful silver temple that looked a lot like the Kiyomizu temple. Next, he noticed a tall, handsome man in silver robes with black hair smiling at him. Naturally, he got into a fighting stance from being transported to a strange place with a strange man. The man just smiled kindly at Ichigo before turning and heading to the temple.

"I know you're wary, but there is no need to be nervous Ichigo. You are in Takamagahara and this is your home…Son." said the unknown man while looking over his shoulder, having a fond and amused look on his face while looking at Ichigo. Despite his reservations, Ichigo felt no deceptions from this man. So he followed him in the hopes that he would finally get some answers. Maybe he will also ask why this man's presence seemed to calm him so much.