Five Years Later

"Watch out, Ichigo!" Rukia yelled as she dodged a blow from a hollow.

Ichigo dodged as well, avoiding a new enemy that had just came out of seemingly nowhere. He growled and manifested the mask to give his flagging energy a boost. The mask, while it functioned the same as it had before, had changed appearance. Instead of having red lines, there were red markings that looked a lot like the markings that one would see on a Koi. It was only one of the ways Ichigo had changed in the last few years.

He'd taken to cleansing as many hollows as he could. He saw it as a mission to save as many souls as he was able. He wasn't officially a member of the Gotei thirteen, but he was considered an honorary fuku-taichou of the thirteenth division. He worked side by side with Rukia, and they often took missions together when there were hollows invading either the World of the Living or Soul Society.

Right now, they were in Hueco Mundo, on a mission to help Grimmjow and Harribel with an Arrancar that was trying to amass a following again. It happened now and then, one would evolve, or one would be left over from Aizen's time, and they needed to be culled. There was a loose alliance between the previous Espada and Soul Society, one that Ichigo had actually negotiated a couple years before when Grimmjow had managed to make it, severely injured to the World of the Living when a rival Arrancar nearly killed him. Grimmjow had been reluctant, but Ichigo managed to convince him it was in both Soul Society and Hueco Mundo's best interest.

"Watch it yourself," Ichigo yelled as he sliced through yet another hollow.

-oooooo-

"So, Ichigo. Tell me, how have things been this month?" Dr. Isaki Sugai said as she sat across from the desk from Ichigo.

"Things have been good. I've been having fun with my friends' kids lately. I know I'll never have children of my own, so they're important to me," Ichigo told her.

Dr. Sugai was a tall woman, nearly as tall as Ichigo, which still surprised him. She wore her black hair neat and bobbed around her face, and she kept her pink rimmed glasses on most the time he talked, though she occasionally took them off and laid them on the desk when discussion got deep. Of course, he couldn't see this, but he heard the click when she would put them down, and his father had described her in detail to him. Ichigo had been coming to her for the last five years, at first once a week, and now once a month.

"Have you thought of surrogacy?" she asked.

Ichigo tilted his head to the side. "I suppose that would be an option, but I don't know of a woman who would do that for me."

"I think you think your value is lower than it is to your friends. You could ask Orihime or Rukia," she explained.

Ichigo thought about it. "That's a big thing to ask, to bear a child for me, and besides, what good is a blind father?"

She sighed, something she often did. "Ichigo, you're doing it again."

He turned his head and if he had working eyes, he would have been looking at the wall. "I know. I'm minimizing the importance of myself in relation to others."

"That's right, Ichigo. You are important to the people who care about you, and even as a blind man, you would be a capable father, especially with your two partners to help you."

Ichigo thought about it. "I'll think about it, alright?"

"That's all I ask. You've mentioned several times your regret that you won't be a parent, and I think you are selling yourself short in this situation. There are also adoption options that you might consider," she explained.

Ichigo nodded, turning back toward her voice. "That's true."

"Other than the parenting, any other issues come up recently?"

"Just one of my partners being too stubborn," he said, brow crinkling into a scowl.

"What happened?"

"He gets sick a lot. He has a lung disease that no one knows how to fix, something like COPD or emphysema, you know. He goes through periods of coughing blood, and will pass out occasionally, but he is hard to get to take care of himself. I end up making him stay in bed with me, then I get nothing done because he's being a brat," Ichigo grumbled.

He heard the smile in her voice. "It is good that you take care of him."

"His health is important to me," Ichigo sighed. "And I just can't make him realize that."

"You do your best, I'm sure. What of your other partner? Does he help?"

Ichigo nodded. "Of course, Omo does what he can, but he's not there all the time. I am. Shujin just is frustrating because he won't listen all the time, and I just want what's best for him."

"Do you think this need to take care of him stems from anything?" she asked.

Ichigo thought for a moment. "I mean, maybe. I feel like I need to repay him, in some ways, I guess, since he helped save me."

"I think more likely it stems from you being a caring individual, Ichigo. You want to see your partners healthy and happy more than anything, and that's a good thing. Have you had any problems with the learned behaviors?"

Ichigo shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Well, kinda."

"Kind of?" she asked.

"It was just a reflex. I didn't mean for it to happen, but when Omo got angry with Shujin over not taking care of himself, I just dropped to my knees and sat there for a while, staring at nothing until Omo came over and asked me to stand up. It was like I was stuck in place until he instructed me to stand, you know? Like I couldn't do anything until he said so."

"These things could happen for a long time, Ichigo, you know we've discussed this many times. There is no shame in them," she said gently.

"I know. I still felt bad, though because I heard Omo sigh in that way that said he was frustrated," Ichigo explained.

"Did you process the incident with him afterward?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I didn't want to talk about it."

"You know that processing these incidents is important when they happen. Doing so after the fact is not going to benefit you," she reminded him.

Ichigo nodded. "I know. And I should have, but I just couldn't. It was like being back there again, like I was being told to stay in order to avoid Owner's wrath again, even though I know Omo wouldn't ever hurt me like that. It just stays with me, sometimes."

"And it may always, Ichigo. We've discussed that many times, that these things are ingrained in you now, so it may not ever truly go away," she said.

"I know. But I can hope," he said softly, looking away from her again.

-oooooo-

"Ichigo!" he heard. He was still in the World of the Living and had gone to visit Orihime and Uryū and their son Eiichi.

He had just turned five recently, and he squealed when Ichigo smiled and opened his arms.

"Uncle!" he yelled and embraced Ichigo.

Ichigo always appreciated these moments with him and Orihime and Uryū. "Is Uryū at work?" he asked.

"Yeah," Orihime said and led him to the sofa.

Ichigo wasn't quite as good as Kon at being blind, but he'd gotten used to it enough that he could manage to go places on his own. He had a cane and had an excellent memory for the layout of Karakura Town, so he rarely needed to ask for assistance going to places like Orihime and Uryū's place and the therapist. He was also good at going to Karin and Yuzu's apartment where they lived together. Karin had gotten married to Jinta a few years ago, and Yuzu had a girlfriend, which had surprised everyone.

He stayed and played with Eiichi for several hours, having him give him toys and he would explain what they looked like to Ichigo. Eiichi didn't know Ichigo with sight like Rukia and Renji's daughter did, but Ichika was told to keep Ichigo's eyes a secret from Eiichi. One day, they'd take Eiichi to Soul Society, and he would find out Ichigo could see some of the time.

Afterward, Ichigo left, heading back home, and switching out with Kon. Kon took off downstairs to read one of the braille books they'd taken out of the library. It was amazing how much Karakura Town had accommodated him over the years, adding braille titles and adding braille signs to things throughout the town. He appreciated it quite a bit, but still as he stood in his room, he missed the World of the Living sometimes.

-oooooo-

Ichigo sat by the koi pond and watched the fish play. This was the one place he would always feel completely at peace. He remembered, keenly, coming here when he couldn't see and afterward with Jūshirō and Shunsui. The events that had occurred left their marks, something that was starkly apparent when Ichigo enacted his Bankai. There were red bands around his neck and wrists, and his scars seemed to stand out more. His shihakuso was similar to the first one, though it had a tight-fitting top with straps across the front of it. He knew there were more secrets to his power, but they were yet to be revealed to him. Until then, he was really and truly, at peace.