A/N: Next chapter is up! Enjoy! First, the Review Responses:

skylark dragonstar: Yep. Very interesting twist, huh? And you'll find out in this chapter.

Guest: Yep, he ran away. And Renji is my second favorite Bleach character. The first is Hitsugaya. ;)

The Endless Hourglass: I know you guys need more. That's why I'm writing more. Just for you.

metsfan101: Thank you!

ExorcistWhite: You'll find out later on.

Musical Ninja: And what exactly do you think I have in mind? :) (PM me if you want to answer.)

550: Yep, they came.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. All credit goes to Tite Kubo.

~9~9~9~9~

Chapter 9: The Great Encounter of Reckoning

The only sounds that were heard were the sound of Toushirou's pounding footsteps running across the sidewalk pavement.

'No regrets...' Toushirou thought. 'I have no regrets. Karin and Yuzu are fine. So is Oto-san...But Ichigo...he won't be. He'll never be fine until he finds me...'

*Flashback 1*

Little Toushirou fell asleep on the couch that night and had woken up in a room he had never seen before.

An older boy with orange hair came over to him.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Just fine...who...who are you?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo, and you're Toushirou..."

"Yeah...nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. This is my room you're in. Like it?"

"I guess..."

Toushirou looked back to Ichigo, who merely smiled.

Toushirou eventually smiled back. It was small, but it was real.

*Flashback 2*

The next morning, Ichigo put his shirt as he told Toushirou, "You know...if anything's bothering you, you can talk to me...You can tell me anything. You know that."

"I know, Ichigo, but trust me, nothing is bothering me," Toushirou said, and left it at that.

Ichigo wasn't buying it. But he let it slide.

*Flashback 3*

"I'll do it," Ichigo spoke up.

"Ichigo," Toushirou muttered.

"Don't worry, Toushirou...I'll be just fine. Now, give me that blade, Shinigami."

*Flashback 4*

Isshin got up and walked past Ichigo, saying, "Go ahead, Ichigo."

Ichigo swung Toushirou's arms over his shoulders and hoisted him up piggy-back style. Toushirou hissed in pain at the new position of his shoulder. Ichigo muttered a quick apology.

*Flashback 5*

Toushirou let the tears flow. He buried his head into Ichigo's shirt and sobbed.

"Don't worry, Toushirou...Just let me handle everything..." Ichigo whispered.

*Flashback 6*

"He's not really your brother, though, is he?"

Ichigo paused right away.

"Not biologically, no! But he still acts like it! Isn't that enough?! " Toushirou inwardly smiled.

*Flashback 7*

Toushirou paused. 'How do I say it?' He hung his head. He took a deep breath. "Are you...feeling okay?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Momo walked up to them, but said nothing.

"No reason..." He paused again. "I'm sorry. All this time I haven't been thankful for what you've done for me. You saved me six years ago. And ever since then...you've tried to fill in that hole in my life. So...thank you."

"You're welcome."

*End Flashbacks*

'I'm sorry this is how it has to be, Ichigo...what I said after school today...I really meant it...no one could ever replace you...'

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but...Ichigo, I love you...as one would love his older brother..."

Toushirou felt a tear roll down his cheek, but he ignored it. There was no one nearby to see his tears.

'And Hinamori...no one could replace you either…'

*Flashback 1*

As Ichigo sliced the hollow across its mask as hard as he could, and it disappeared for good, Toushirou turned toward the bunned girl. "Kurosaki Toushirou..."

The bunned girl gently smiled before stating her name. "Hinamori Momo..."

*Flashback 2*

"And I'm Hinamori Momo, her cousin. And I'll be sitting next to you, uh, Toushirou, right?" Momo said.

Ichigo freaked out, while Toushirou simply said, "Y-Yeah..."

*Flashback 3*

"I think he knows that," Toushirou said, putting down his book and taking Momo's juice box out of her hand. He took her straw and poked the hole with it and gave it back to her. "There."

"Thank you, Shirou-chan..."

Toushirou paused. He slowly turned to face her, but said nothing. 'What did she just call me?' Instead, he said, "No problem."

*End Flashback*

'My life was great here. No doubt about that...a family that I could finally call my own...friends whom I could confide in...friends who didn't mind if I released my anger on them...friends and family I could lean my shoulder against and spill out my deepest, darkest secrets to...'

"I'll miss you all...but...I don't belong here...I'm sorry..."

"So..." Toushirou abruptly stopped. Why didn't he sense it until now? "Finally realized it, huh? Finally realized, you're not a normal human? In fact, that you're not a human at all?"

A red-haired man in Shinigami robes jumped down and swung his sword at Toushirou, narrowly missing him, not to mention, scaring him half to death.

"Who are you?" Toushirou muttered.

"I understand that apparently you have amnesia," the red-haired man went on. "So it's no surprise that you don't remember me. Interesting, though..."

A blond haired man jumped down and landed beside the other.

"I know you two...but I can't place my finger on it."

"Hmm. Nostalgia, huh?" the red haired man went on. "That's what making you remember things, but at the same time, not remember things. Very interesting. Momo didn't tell us about that. She just said that you had amnesia."

"Hinamori...you know her?" Toushirou asked.

"Of course, she's one of our best friends," the red haired man went on. "And she's one of yours too."

"What are you talking about?" Toushirou narrowed his eyes. "I only met her in mid-May."

"No, you've known her longer than that," the blonde haired man said.

Toushirou merely stared at the two Shinigami. "I won't ask again. Who are you?"

"Abarai Renji, Lieutenant of the Sixth Division," the red haired man said.

"Kira Izuru, Lieutenant of the Third Division," the blonde man said.

"And you are Hitsugaya Toushirou, former Captain of the Tenth Division..."

Toushirou's world went absolutely still. It was so quiet, he swore that he could hear a pen drop somewhere in the distance.

Ichigo stood over the toilet as it flushed. "Geez...it's nearly midnight and Toushirou still hasn't come home."

He heard a mumbling. He looked everywhere around the bathroom. When he looked behind the toilet, he found Kon all tied up unable to speak because of the tape.

"Kon? What the hell are you doing here?"

"MMMM MMMM MMMMM!"

"It had not been even a full four months after you were promoted to Captain when you and the Thirteenth Division Lieutenant were called to Central 46 and you never came out." It appeared that Renji was enjoying this. Apparently, he enjoyed making Toushirou uncomfortable.

"But your friend did and he was promoted to Captain in your place. Six years later, we got a call from Momo, who was on a long-term mission in the World of the Living, saying that she has found someone who looked just like you. But the thing was, it was you," Izuru was not making this any easier for Toushirou at all.

"Abarai, Kira, go easy on the boy," a mysterious voice sounded out from the darkness. The figure stepped into the street light, revealing...

"Oh, forgive us, Kuchiki-taichou..." Renji said before turning back to Toushirou. "Kuchiki Byakuya, Captain of the Sixth Division...he was also a friend of yours..."

Toushirou said nothing.

"Hitsugaya-taichou...we meet again..."

Toushirou tensed up.

Ichigo had freed Kon, but now Kon was giving off an awful smell.

"Thank you, Ichigo, for setting me free!"

Ichigo sprayed somemore disinfectant on Kon.

"What was that for? You would honestly do that to a friend after he's been through one of the worst experiences of his life."

"We're not friends! And you stink, pal!" Ichigo said, holding his nose. "I'm only worried about Toushirou."

"Oh! Toushirou! That's right! Look at this note here! I was about to start my journey when I decided to say goodbye to you first. When I opened the window, I saw Toushirou at the desk, writing something. I asked him what he was doing, but then he tied me to the back of the tiolet and told me not to tell any one else."

"So, shouldn't you be long gone by now?"

It was Kon's turn to punch Ichigo in the face. "No! I didn't write the letter. Toushirou did."

"What?" Ichigo opened the letter and read:

'Dear, Ichigo,

I'm sorry, but there are reasons I must go. Please, don't go looking for me. I'll be in a place where you probably won't find me. I don't belong in this world and that's why I am leaving. Goodbye and thank you for everything,

Toushirou'

Ichigo sat down in his chair, speechless.

"He...left? I don't believe it." But, then something hit him.

"I'm sorry. All this time I haven't been thankful for what you've done for me. You saved me six years ago. And ever since then...you've tried to fill in that hole in my life. So...thank you."

"That...was his way...of saying goodbye...?!" Ichigo asked himself. "Why didn't I realize that until now?!" He snapped his head toward Kon. "Cough it up! NOW!"

"Huh?" Kon figured it out. "NO!"

Ichigo chased Kon all around the room, until a voice from the window caught their attention.

"Well, it seems that you're in a pretty big bind this evening," Urahara said. "Mind if I help speed it along?"

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A familiar echoed through Toushirou's head.

He turned around to see Ishida Uryuu, carrying a grocery bag. "You...What are you doing here?"

Uryuu answered. "I was passing by after going to the crafts' store. I mean, come on, it wasn't like I sensed Shinigami here in the neighborhood and rushed over here with a bag full of thread to use an excuse to use when I finally caught up with you."

'He's a bad liar,' Toushirou thought.

"Who the hell are you, kid?"

"Just a classmate of Toushirou's."

Renji sliced Uryuu bag, leaving only the handle in Uryuu's hand.

"I said, who the hell are you, kid?"

"Now you've just pissed me off. I'm Ishida Uryuu, a Quincy and a classmate of Toushirou's." Uryuu turned to Toushirou. "It's seems that I was correct about being a Shinigami after all. I thought I was just imagining things. I mean, why else would Shinigami be after you?"

Toushirou said nothing. 'I guess Ichigo was right about them being friends after all. Why else would he have come?'

"A Quincy, huh?" Renji asked.

"Yes, a Quincy, and I really hate Shinigami."

Ichigo ran. He jumped from tree to telephone pole and went on. If only Momo was with him. She could sense Toushirou's reiatsu faster than he could.

'I've never been more afraid in my entire life...Not scared for me...scared for Toushirou...'

Uryuu was down, blood pouring from various all over his body.

"Ishida!" Toushirou yelled. If they could do that Uryuu, a Quincy, then they could do worse to Ichigo, a newly born Shinigami.

"Now, kid, where were we?" Renji said.

"Don't call me that, Pineapple," Toushirou muttered, finally getting the courage to stand up to these three Shinigami.

It seems that it worked, because Renji was speechless.

"That's right. Don't call me that! And get away from Ishida! Now! Don't ever hurt my friends again!"

Uryuu looked up at Toushirou.

"Look, kid," Izuru started.

"NOO!" Toushirou smacked his hand away and ran towards to Ishida.

"So...you finally...called me friend..." Uryuu struggled to get a small smile out. Tears swam through Toushirou's eyes.

Both of them were brought to the attention of Izuru, who said, "I knew you're defensive abilities were amazing, but damn, kid...you didn't have to nearly cut my hand off..."

Izuru was right. His hand had a huge nasty cut on it.

"Why you-!" Renji finally found his courage and voice. "You'll pay for that." Renji charged at Toushirou.

"No, stop it, Renji!" Izuru said. But, there was no stopping him.

Until someone grabbed his wrist...

"I don't think so. To get him, you go through me," the man who stopped Renji said.

"I-Ichigo!"

The carrot top, with his sword out, leaped and gracefully landed in front of Toushirou.

"You okay?"

"Dammit! I told you not to follow me!" Toushirou yelled, tears threatening to flow freely.

"You are you, kid?!" Renji demanded.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, substitute Shinigami, and older brother of Toushirou...and I'm here to kick your ass...No one hurts Toushirou and lives to tell about it..."

"Shinigami, huh?"

"Don't underestimate him, you two," Byakuya said from the shadows. "I heard that it he who defeated the Menos Grande two days ago."

"Yeah, right...this guy?! I bet you don't even know your zanpaktou's name..."

"What? Name?"

"Yeah. Every zanpaktou has a name... Mine is "Hoero, Zabimaru!""

Ichigo felt a sudden pain in his shoulder. Renji's transformed zanpaktou had sliced him right in the shoulder.

"Ichigo!" Toushirou cried out.

"Now die!"

"Stop it!" Another person had interfered.

"Now what?!" Renji asked.

"Stop it right now!" The girl jumped down and landed in front of Ichigo.

"No way...Hinamori...what are you doing here?" Izuru asked.

"I'm here to save Shirou-chan!"

~9~9~9~9~

A/N: Oh, noes. What now?!

Hoero: Means "Howl", Renji's shikai phrase, changed to "Roar" in the English Dub.