If there was one word that could be used to describe Ichigo Kurosaki, it would be beloved. Because she was. Very, very beloved. And if there was another word that could be used to describe her- it would be dangerous.

Because she was that too.

Though if anyone were to ever ask Kisuke Urahara- then he would use words to describe the girl as fierce, protective, determined, and of course, remarkable. He would also use the word, his, to describe her as well. But that had more to do with his deep and unshakable admiration for her.

But if he were brutally honest though, he would easily admit that he loved the brat. And how could he not? She was everything mentioned above and more.

He had watched her from the time her mother had passed. Carefully working as a shadow parent whenever Isshin forgot something or simply didn't want to be near her while mourning his beloved Misaki. And as much as he wished he could say those days didn't impress certain things upon him- he would be lying through his teeth.

But not nearly as much as being close to her had changed him.

The day that she had accidentally syphoned all of Rukia Kuchiki's power into herself and awakened as a Soul Reaper...was the day that he went from shadow parent and casual observer of the world to something more hands on.

After all, the girl needed training. Even if he objected to the fact that Rukia had started said training.

Her spirit energy had startled him with its unfathomable depths. Just as she had on the rare occasions when he'd been able to see her fighting Hollows up close.

He had always felt so proud of her every time that she won. Even if he never bothered to say it aloud. And then as time passed the girl had begun to amass strays.

Chad, Orihime, and Uryu.

And despite himself, he started to adore them too.

Chad's gentleness was something that he hadn't expected from the giant teen. Especially since he seemed so damned menacing up close.

Orihime's optimism was contagious and often made him smile even on their darkest days. And then there was Uryu... He really enjoyed the boy's rational mind and then there was the fact that he and Ichigo usually got into brawls over the most ridiculous things.

Needless to say, he decided to keep the kids.

He already thought of Ichigo as his own, so it was a pretty easy thing for him to begin thinking of the others as his too.

Time passed, and his kids grew. Not just as children but as fighters. And aside from himself they all seemed to amass more people. Strays, sure.

But they were all interesting enough for him to not mind.

Yoruichi, took a shine to Ichigo, her affection or her was second only to his own. She even attached herself to the girl as if she were a fretting mother. Taking the time to train, teach, and help Ichigo and the other kids whenever they were into something that was perceived as too dangerous for just the four of them to handle on their own.

And Ichigo was almost constantly into things. Fights. Coup d'états. Rebellions. She even wound up being in wars on occasion. But all of them were manageable for her. Up until the last one.

The Winter War turned out to be a troublesome affair for all of them. Mostly because it was one of the few battles that he didn't dare sit out of. Not when it was every hand on deck and the stakes were so damned high.

Of course, he didn't fight alone. Everyone was there fighting.

But it was Ichigo who ended it.

No one knew it at first, not even the kid herself. But she had reached such new and unfathomable heights with her power- that the Soul King had hand-picked her to take his place once he died.

It was difficult for him to fathom. It was even more difficult for Ichigo to wrap her mind around since she hated the very idea of being put in charge of all of creation. But it couldn't exactly be helped since everything had been unraveling before she finally stopped Yhwach from annihilating everything in existence and re writing it.

Because of the events that unfolded that day- Ichigo had changed considerably.

Physically, she was still the same as the eighteen-year-old girl that had saved everyone and everything in creation. But despite that...she was no longer a human. Nor was she a Hollow, a Quincy, or a Soul Reaper.

No- his girl had basically given the universe and it's rules a great big middle finger and become a God.

Naturally, this caused her even more problems since people- mostly from Soul Society- kept pestering her to take her place in the Soul King's palace and rule over everything and everyone. Which wasn't something that she cared for in the least since it was a huge frigging job, and she really didn't think that she was suited to do it.

After all, she was just an evolved human. One who literally had the power of creation at her fingertips.

What the hell did she know about being a frigging God?

Not that he was complaining any since her denial of what she was now meant that she wasn't going to just up and go somewhere where he couldn't see her again.

It did however mean that regardless of her wishes or desires; that she no longer had a place in the human world. So, after having some seriously grueling conversations with him, and the rest of her friends. It was decided.

Unanimously at that.

That because none of them could ever imagine a world without her...that they'd just have to follow her to wherever she was planning to go. After all, she was their hero. Their savior. And most importantly, their friend.

They weren't just going to let her run off and have more adventures without them!

That would just be irresponsible of all of them.

After that, the decided on how long it would take for each of them to wrap up loose ends and say their goodbyes to their families, friends etc.

A month after their last meeting, everyone met Ichigo at the designated place with a bag in hand to carry their meager and unreplaceable belongings in.

He stood close to his girl. Having promised Isshin that he would watch over her for as long as he was alive, he was taking his promise to his old friend as seriously as possible.

While Yoruichi, Tessai, Ginta, Ururu, Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Kukaku Shiba, and her younger brother Ganju Shiba, Rukia and Renji took their places on either side of them. And behind them...were at least half a dozen more people that they hadn't been expecting in the least. Some of whom were.

Rukia's brother, Byakuya, Toshiro, Rangaku, Kenpachi and Soi Fon.

Since the Reapers had come to try and change Ichigo's mind and failed. Then some of them decided on the fly to follow her too.

And the rest from there...well, that was history.