Ichigo was locked in a cage of his reiatsu, cursing the sadistic old man and his 'unconventional' training. The idea was simple; he needed to be aware of his reiatsu to control it, but the method the old man settled on was suffocating. Ichigo was too old and powerful for the kind of reiatsu bracelet children customarily used for this training.

Ichigo wasn't upset at being unable to use a children's toy, not to mention one that noticeably lit up to broadcast his failures of control. At least, he was first. Then he was introduced to the room of reflection.

Reflection, in this case, was not used metaphorically.

No, this small room was constructed, from ceiling to floor and wall to door, of Sekkiseki rock. The same rock formed the Seireitei's impenetrable walls, arranged so that, after closing the door, any emitted reiatsu was amplified and reflected on the room's occupants. Him, in this case.

Typically, only the most skilled stealth specialists, who needed to be aware of every subconscious pulse and quiver in their aura to hide their presence entirely, used the exercise.

Ichigo's use, however, was far less subtle. He needed to simply stand up, open the door, and leave the room, all under the pressure of his reiatsu. He also had an escape token that would remotely release the door and, by extension, remove the reflection effect, though that counted as failing the exercise.

Since Ichigo emitted such a massive aura without being aware of it, the intent was to make him aware of when he cast it and help him learn how to suppress it through immediate and visceral feedback on what worked and what didn't. Ichigo was sure that object lessons on what his aura did to others were another unspoken benefit.

When the door closed for the first time, Ichigo weighted by his reiatsu; he could no longer breathe. That wasn't technically a problem for a pure soul who did not need breath. At least it shouldn't have been. But two very different things are telling someone they don't need to breathe and making them ignore that desperate need to 'get fresh oxygen right now, dammit.' When first time tried the room, he had barely made it to a minute by holding his breath before sending energy into his panic token, pushing through the door, and taking grateful breaths of the sweet, sweaty air.

His pride had certainly not fared well these last three days.

But Ichigo practically lived on grit and stubbornness, and he had defeated mightier foes than an inanimate room. He was certainly not one to give up or hesitate, not when the path ahead was clear.

He could not let his friends, his family, down. To him, it was simply not an option.

And so, he trained.

To Ichigo, at least, it was novel to train without focusing on something immediately applicable to combat. Still, he found that he enjoyed it. He enjoyed feeling his progress and seeing the fruits of his labors. He wanted the satisfaction of noticeable improvement.

Once he got past the breathing issue, he initially tried to time his attempts for when his aura was weakest, but he soon realized that the intent to stand, his intention to act, inevitably caused a spike in his reiatsu, and so such attempts were doomed to fail. He had also tried to simply ignore the pressure and power through, starting to stand only to fall to an errant pulse of his energy. Spending the rest of the time face down on the stone floor was, if anything, worse than sitting, so he soon gave up on that method as well. Eventually, he acknowledged that this was not an obstacle he could muscle his way through, so he resolved to try and find a way around. Telling himself that the pressure was all in his head could be ignored was entirely ineffective, and Ichigo suppressed the memory of his attempt and subsequent failure to crawl to the door. And so, he took a deep breath and contemplated: how could he control his aura?

It was a cruel irony that such meditation accidentally led to his first step forward.

The act of meditation brought serenity of spirit, and the resulting dip in pressure shocked him out of his hard-earned trance. Of course, having lost the stability of meditation, the pressure immediately returned. Still, for a moment, one glorious moment, he had felt like he was at the bottom of the pool instead of locked in a skin-tight suit of iron one size too small.

He was Ichigo Kurosaki, and now he knew what he needed to do next.

He may only have been training for a few days. Still, between a few tips from the old man and a method tailored to his circumstances, Ichigo found progress within reach. Add unrestricted access to the equipment he needed and more than enough stubbornness to make a mule jealous, and he discovered the awareness he had always lacked and the control he had always disdained to be increasingly attainable.

He progressed no further in the room than steadying his aura, straightening his back, and opening his eyes. Before, he was completely unaware of his reiatsu and energy, only focusing his power on an attack like the one that destroyed the sokyoku stand. Now he could feel the reiryoku coursing through his channels; he could judge and alter how much power he put into one getsuga tenshou versus another.

Ichigo could intentionally pulse his aura and feel the tension in the air around him when his pressure spiked. Admittedly he'd knocked himself over when he first learned to do so, but he had some conscious control now. He could also feel the reiatsu of others before it reached the point of physical suppression. He was amazed at how much he had missed before.

He sighed when he realized tomorrow was the time. The time for his friends to leave and for him to stay.

Tomorrow he would have to say goodbye.

He shook his head; he knew it was something he had been putting off, but his friends deserved to hear the truth from him.

And he had already asked them to meet.

'And avoiding it further would be cowardly.'

Zangetsu was right; it was time. He took a deep breath and turned to leave.

###

Chad, Orihime, and Uryu chatted as they waited patiently for Ichigo to get to the pavilion where they were meeting. When he did arrive, he hesitantly joined in the conversation while Uryu took a moment to assess what Ichigo and try to figure out what had happened. Of course, they had heard the rumors that something had happened during the captain's meeting, but there was no clear answer on what. His presence disproved the stories of the Captain Commander killing him in a jealous rage at his power or Captain Kuchiki striking the teenager down from behind with one of his many blades in an elaborate ploy to regain his honor. Overall he seemed much too healthy to have been given to Kurotsuchi for research material or Soi-Fon as a living sparring dummy.

If anything, Uryu noticed, he seemed calmer, though his aura did sing a song of resolve underpinned by a profound loss that was not there previously. Of all the rumors, suddenly him traveling to the soul society after school every day to captain one of the traitors' divisions seemed not just plausible, but a realistic fit for this mental state; it would match a sense of 'resolve', but the 'loss' was harder to pin down.

Ichigo's reiatsu control, though, was noticeably better, which if anything corroborated the rumors of getting sent to the Shino Academy. Still, his aura was far from what anyone besides a novice would call stable, which would indicate he was not sent back in time to kill Aizen before the latter had a chance to betray soul society. His aura was not at all 'hollow' enough to indicate a full transformation. Nor was he showing the spark of new romance. Captain Unohana would be jealous, at least according to some.

Not that he believed any of that in the first place, but Uryu was meticulous, and now powerless. He had decided that if he could not win a war of spiritual powers, he could ply his talents in a war of information. While he had long since begrudgingly accepted that he never would have best Kurosaki in power, even before leaving the clown with something to remember him by, he very much liked his odds in an intellectual fight.

He took a moment to adjust his glasses, making sure that the sun reflected in Kurosaki's eyes; it seemed like the conversation was turning towards their return to Karakura Town. At this, Ichigo clearly took a moment to center himself, and spoke to the assembled teenagers.

"I uhh… I actually have a confession to make. I, well, I can't go back with you. I have to stay in soul society"

Orihime looked stricken, Chad stoic, but Uryu was mostly irritated that he didn't understand. He saw some of the pierces, of course, but something else was going one here. And he hated not understanding things.

"You won't, or you can't?"

Ichigo siged. "I can't. I'm too powerful now, with too much reiryoku. It would be like the hollow bait thing, but all the time. It's too much of a risk"

The resulting silence was far from comfortable, each processing the revelation in their own way. With a stab of guilt, Ichigo noticed the tears in Orihime's eyes.

"So you're not going to go home, Ichigo? You can't come back with me?" Ichigo could only grimly shake his head, as he heard the hitch in her voice and saw the tears on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Orihime."

He watched sadly as she turned and fled, having heard her sobs as she sought solitude. This entire situation was just one gut punch after another.

Surprisingly, it was Chad who caught on to the first of Ichigo's omissions, and so broke the uneasy silence.

"It's us too, isn't it? Our powers?"

Ichigo sighed, having hoped that wouldn't come out. Then again, Chad was more intelligent than most gave him credit for.

"In part, though please don't tell Orihime. Yamamoto seemed afraid of what happens if the wrong mortal gets a hold of spiritual power." Uryu scoffed at this, he knew well what could happen there. Ichigo continued "Since I have so much more energy now, the risks are a lot higher. And the risk of attracting hollows isn't appealing regardless of degree." He was almost surprised that he wasn't angrier about it all. Sure, he was definitely upset at the situation, and sad that he wouldn't get to live with his family or go to school with his friends, but he felt tranquil about it. Sure, he had been dealt a poor hand, but Ichigo had tried wallowing in despair once, and he much preferred decisive action.

Still, it felt good to share with his friends. Now that he was in a better mindset about what had happened, he realized just how little time he had before they left. The room could wait, his friends were here, and ignoring them now so that he could earn the right to see them later would be an futile act of pride. He would enjoy this time that he had left.

###

"Orihime, are you there?"

Ichigo could only sigh to himself when she didn't open the door, hours after she had ran off, sobbing. He knew she was there, he could hear her, but she was definitely still upset. And she was probably mad at him. But he would damn himself before he would let her leave without doing something, anything, to make it right.

"I brought Ice Cream, you know. Red bean flavored." The room quieted at the sound of her favorite flavor of ice cream, and he knew he had her attention. "I even found a vendor selling french fries to put on top. I'd hate to have to eat this all myself." He really would; putting french fries on top of ice cream was just wrong on so many levels.

Tentatively, Orihime opened the door. The evidence of her sadness was clear on her face.

"Did you get gummy bears and sprinkles as well? You know it's not the same without them."

Ichigo pulled her into a tight embrace. "Of course I did, Orihime. I haven't forgotten."

She sniffed in his arms, and he could only hold her and tell her things would get better. Again he cursed the circumstances that kept him in the land of the dead. But his friend was here now, and she needed him. And so he steered her inside and began to make her abomination of a favorite dessert.

"So for the movie, I was thinking 'Pacific Rim,' mostly because it's the only one I could find with giant robots. Does that work for you?"

Orihime's grateful smile and eager nod were the only answers he needed.

He may only have a day, but he would treasure what time he had left.

###

The cruel nature of reality was that time spent waiting stretched while time spent living shrank. Still, one last day with his friends, one last day to be Ichigo Kurosaki, high schooler, instead of Ichigo Kurosaki, Shinigami, was a welcome thing. They had done nothing noteworthy, flitting between shops and stalls, stopping at whatever display caught their fancy and generally making the most of their time together. Thankfully Orihime had been able to join them, the ice cream intervention having done its duty, and so Ichigo treasured this time. He had also taken the chance to pull Chad aside; he hated to relinquish his brotherly responsibilities, but he knew his best friend would do his best to protect his precious little sisters.

"Chad, I know this is a lot to ask of you, but you've always had my back, and I wouldn't trust anyone else with them. Karin and Yuzu. Can you.." Here he trailed off, finding it difficult to articulate what he needed.

"Look out for them? Of course, Ichigo, you don't need to ask"

Ichigo looked slightly guilty. "I know that; it's just. They lost Mom already, and I don't know how they'll deal with my death, even if I am a spirit. Just keep coming over, will you? Let Yuzu know how much you like her cooking, and help Karin with her soccer drills. I can't be there for all of the moments that matter, but knowing that you'll be in their corner; that means the world to me."

Chad had never been a talkative man, instead of words placing his hand on Ichigo's shoulder and nodding solemnly. Ichigo was surprised when Chad replied, "You've had me over for dinner every at least once a week for years now. I might not have any family by blood, but your dad, your sisters, and you, you've been my family in every way that matters for a long time now. You never needed to ask me to look after them, Ichigo. My strength, my power, my soul; it will defend them to the end."

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief. He could trust Chad with his family because Chad was also his family. His brother.

"Thank you, Chad. I knew you would; I'm just grateful to have that reassurance."

They spoke no more until the final farewell at the Senkaimon. It was a bittersweet farewell, bitter for the loss of his friends and sweet for the future ahead. He would miss his friends, but he could not feel that his life, well afterlife, was only just beginning. That his future lay before him, full of branching paths and possibilities.

He remained resolved. And he was ready.

Notes:

We're starting to get into some of the progression aspects here, but Ichigo is no robot to just train like a soulless machine.

I had a bit of realization in this chapter, of Ichigo's friends that accompanied him to rescue Rukia, Chad and Orihime both are orphans, and all three are only children (ar at least have no living siblings). I'm head-cannoning that Isshin, being Isshin, will have at least looked out for Orihime and Chad. This also helps explain his friend's willingness to attack the soul society, which always felt a bit contrived to me.