A/N: Thank you all for reading this! Review Reponses at the end of the chapter now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!
Thank you very much for so many reviews and favorites and follows! As a treat, at the end of the chapter, the very end, there is a special surprise for you all.
~21~21~21~21~
The Other Side of Me
Chapter 21: Redemption and Recovery
The battle may have been over, but the war had just begun. Everyone knew that. But all they could do now was recuperate and live in this peace for as long as they could.
Ignoring the Eleventh Division protests for better care, Kusaka stood in the doorway of his old academy friend's room in the Fourth Division in complete and utter silence. He merely stood there, watching his unconscious friend's chest moved up and down slowly, a sign that he was still breathing and still alive. His red choker, the devil's choke-hold as Kusaka called it, had been removed, in hopes that it would help him recover, as it was the main reason Toushirou had passed out at all. However, that red choker had been replaced by an oxygen mask, a sign that showed you he was seriously ill if he needed oxygen support.
Kusaka watched as Unohana checked Toushirou's vitals, the female Captain working in a careful, calm cycle. He watched her give off a small smile to no one in particular, which he assumed was her way of telling herself that Toushirou would be okay. He turned to leave.
"Wait, Kusaka-taichou," her gentle voice stopped him from taking another step. He paused. "He's alright, but he needs someone to talk to. Since his adopted older brother is still being healed, the next person on that list is you. So, please...talk to him...it's the only way he'll fully recover."
Kusaka gave off a short, intense silence, during which he was thinking. "I would, except...I have no idea what to say..."
"Just say anything," she was almost pleading. "Just say what's on your mind."
Kusaka paused once more, before replying, "I'm sorry, Toushirou..." he could tell that Unohana was a bit surprised that he had chosen to say such a thing. "I would say more, but...that was all I was thinking of saying..."
Without another word, Kusaka Soujiro left with a swish of his haori.
Kuchiki Rukia was also in the Fourth Division, hunting down a certain carrot top. After the battle, she didn't really get the chance to talk to Ichigo since the Fourth was nearly swarming the area, trying to get to those who were severely injured.
But she was here now, trying to find Room 18B, the room Kotetsu-fukutaichou said Ichigo was in, being healed by Inoue Orihime.
Unohana had mentioned something about taking a great interest in Orihime and her powers. Did she mean it or was she just kidding? No, Unohana wasn't the type of person to kid about something.
Rukai brushed it off and entered the room. Four familiar faces immediately looked up at her.
Orihime smiled widely, almost like an idiot. "Kuchiki-san! I was wondering when you would show up!"
Rukia lightly laughed. "Well, I'm here now. Hey, Uryuu, Chad. How are you two?"
"Better than about a week ago, that's for sure," Uryuu said, a faint smile across his face. Chad merely nodded.
Underneath the orange barrier, Ichigo smiled up at the one who gave him his powers.
"Good to see you again, Rukia..."
"Good to see you too, you idiot. Now rest, okay? When you get better, the soutaichou needs to see you..."
Momo stood amid a grassy plain. All she wanted was to be alone.
How could Aizen just mess with her emotions like that? What had she ever done to deserve this? It was the truth, but she didn't want to accept it. She knew Izuru and Shuuhei were going through the same thing she was and she knew they would help.
But she didn't want to burden them anymore than they already were.
Yamamoto set down his pen just as a knock came to his door.
"Come in," he said. The door opened to reveal the carrot top he had been wanting to see, in a black shihakusho.
"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Ichigo asked.
"Yes, I did," Yamamoto said. "As you know, there is an extremely powerful object within the young Hitsugaya's body, known as the Hogyouku."
"Yes, Sir. Yoruichi told me that it was created by Urahara Kisuke," Ichigo replied.
"It was, and his reasons for placing it within Hitsugaya's body is all his own, but that's not what I want to speak to you about. I'm giving you a mission, and I expect you to keep it for a long time. It's quite simple. Protect Hitsugaya and the Hogyouku until we can find a way to safely remove it."
Ichigo nodded right away. Protect Toushirou...
Hasn't he already been doing that since he met Toushirou on the side of the road on that snowy, fateful evening?
"Of course, Sir," Ichigo said, without a single doubt in his voice. "I will, and that's a promise."
Yells and cries of pain filled the Shiba Clan lawn.
"Onee-sama! I'm still hurt really badly! Besides, you're not really going to torture one of the heroes who rescued Hitsugaya-san!"
"I think I will," Kuukaku said, an evil smirk spreading across her face. "According to my resources, you were useless during the second half of the fight. So, therefore, you owe me one-thousand push-ups! Get moving, little brother!"
"AHHHH!"
Kuukaku stopped Ganju's torture when she sensed someone behind her. She turned to see Kuchiki Rukia standing there, a look of sadness and guilt on her young face.
"Oh, Onee-sama, this Kuchiki Rukia, the one I've been telling you about," Ganju said.
"I know who she is, Ganju. The question is...why are you here, Kuchiki?"
Kaien all filled their minds...along with memories of that night...
"I..." Rukia stuttered. "I-I...I'm so sorry..."
After a moment of heavy silence and tears on Rukia's part, Kuukaku smiled.
"That's alright, Kuchiki-san." Rukia looked up at the well-endowed woman. "That's what he would have wanted. He wouldn't have wanted his honor stained like that. It was a tragic end, yes, but...at least he died a happy man."
Rukia wasn't the only one hurting. Imagine what Kuukaku and Ganju must have felt. Kaien was their brother...
"Now, Kuchiki Rukia, I would like to invite you as a guest for dinner tonight..."
Rukia merely looked at Kuukaku and said, "Thank you, Shiba-san. I'd be honored."
Turquoise eyes opened to a dimly lit room and wandered around said room for a couple of seconds before finding brown eyes staring back at his own.
"Hey, Toushirou, glad to see you're awake," Ichigo said with a smile.
"Hey..." Toushirou replied, struggling to sit up, as he hadn't used his arms, or his entire body for that matter, in a week. "What happened?"
"You passed out, remember?" He nodded. He did remember. "Apparently you and I are connected because we both got out of critical condition at the same time."
"Critical?" Toushirou repeated.
"Yeah, you're sick, Toushirou. You have a fever, which was so high once that you had to put on oxygen." Ichigo took note of Toushirou's expression. "But like I said, you're getting better. You're fever is going down and you're breathing on your own."
Toushirou nodded, but soon asked, "Did Kusaka ever come in here?"
"Once or twice," Ichigo truthfully said. "Why?"
"I'm sorry, Toushirou..."
"No reason. Just wondering..." He had heard someone say this to him while he was still out, but he wasn't sure who it was. However, he did have a feeling that it was Kusaka and his feeling was correct. "Ichigo?"
"Hmm?"
"I apologize for all the trouble I caused...I just didn't want to see you get hurt."
Oddly touched by his words, Ichigo asked. "Was it worth it?" Now it was Toushirou's turn to be confused. "Coming to the Soul Society, was it worth it? I know it was for me, because I got to save you and make new friends."
After a short silence, Toushirou replied, "Yeah, because I got a glimpse of what my life was like here." Here he shot Ichigo his signature smile, which the carrot top returned.
Soon after this, though, Ichigo wrapped his adopted brother in a hug. "I'm so glad I got there on time..." he whispered. He couldn't imagine life without Toushirou around. After another moment of silence, not awkward, just contentment and happiness. "So...Hitsugaya or Kurosaki?"
Toushirou let out a small laugh.
"I prefer Kurosaki more..."
Unohana's voice tone changed so that it contained happiness three days later. "You are free to go, Hitsugaya-san."
Toushirou, in the human civilian clothes Uryuu had made him, replied with, "Thank you, Unohana-taichou, for everything. But could you tell me where Ichigo is?"
"I'm sorry, Hitsugaya-san, but I don't have even the slightest idea."
"I do," Kusaka voiced from the doorway. "I can take you to him."
"Would you do that, Kusaka-taichou?" He nodded. "Thank you very much."
On their way, down the hall a couple minutes later, Toushirou couldn't take the heavy silence anymore. He had to break it. "So...did you visit me at all?"
"Yeah...why?"
"I could swear I heard your voice...what exactly did you say? I kind of forgot. I think it was something along the lines of an apology, was it?"
Kusaka turned to him in surprise. So Toushirou would hear him.
Toushirou caught his expression. "I was in a coma, Kusaka, not dead. And there's nothing to apologize for. Things were hard and they're hard now, but we'll always be friends, understand?"
Kusaka's espression changed to a content smile. "Of course, Toushirou. Friends forever."
That very next morning was a tearful one. Rangiku was trying her best to get her dear friend Momo to stop crying. Ichigo and his friends were going home today, right now, so why did she feel so sad?
Because Toushirou was going with them.
Ukitake handed Ichigo something with a skull on it.
"What is this?" Ichigo asked.
"It's your very own Shinigami badge," Ukitake replied. "It proves to us that you are a certified Shinigami. You can also use that to come out of your gigai."
"Thank you," Ichigo said, smiling. He would keep his promise and this badge would help him.
As the five were about to enter the Senkaimon, Toushirou was stopped by a mere, weak, wavering, "Sh-Shirou-chan..." Said white-haired kid turned to face Momo, his childhood friend, one that he could always, as his resources told him.
"Hinamori..." There were tears in her brown eyes.
"Don't leave me here all by myself...all alone..." She needed him to stay with her, so she could keep him close. She didn't want to loose him like she did her Captain, her former Captain.
Momo felt arms wrap themselves around her. She felt her face go red, but she was oddly touched as Toushirou held her close.
"You idiot..." he muttered. "Trust me...I'll never leave you...even if I'm not here in person, I'll always be here in spirit..." She gave her a gentle smile, even if she couldn't see it. "Besides...we'll meet again...alright?" he pulled back to see her fading tears.
She sniffed and nodded.
He reached up and wiped a tear away. "Quit crying, for goodness sake. I thought you were the optimistic one. Geez..."
Momo stopped immediately. He sounded so much like his usual, stoic, icy self. This was a good sign...
She smiled widely, tears still staining her eyes. And all she could do afterwards was watch him leave.
Almost there...
The cleaner thing was still after them...
Nearly there...
Finally! They were out!
But there was nothing below them but air. Solid ground was miles below them. They all yelled as they fell.
But they were saved by some weird, giant paper airplane. At the front sat Urahara Kisuke with Kon in Ichigo's body.
"So...you guys survived. Great job!" He congratulated them all as Ichigo re-entered his body. Urahara got a thank you from everyone except the two Kurosaki brothers. "So...you heard all about me, huh, Ichigo?"
"Yeah...we all did..."
There was a silence before Urahara turned to them all and kneeled and bowed to Ichigo and Toushirou especially, taking his hat off.
"Forgive me!" He felt that it was his fault that this ever happened.
They were all surprised at his behavior.
"It's alright," Ichigo said. "I forgive you. But you shouldn't apologize to me. Toushirou's the one who took the brunt of it all."
Urahara's eyes met Toushirou's.
"You are forgiven..." the white-haired former Shinigami replied.
"Wow, I never expected to be forgiven so easily."
"But answer me this one last question," Ichigo interrupted as Urahara put his hat back on. "Why didn't you tell me this before I entered the Soul Society? You would have saved me so much trouble. Did you think I would be a coward and run away?"
Urahara paused before cheerfully saying, "Ding, ding, ding! You are exactly correct!"
Urahara's face met Ichigo's elbow that day.
As Ichigo and Toushirou stood outside on the Kurosaki front porch, Toushirou was hesitating to go in. Would they hate him for running away? Would they kick him out?
"They missed you, Toushirou," Ichigo interrupted the heavy silence, noticing Toushirou's pained expression. "Yuzu and Dad cried and even Karin shed a tear or two. Trust me. They'll be glad to see you."
Toushirou sent his older brother a grateful smile, which disappeared as soon as it came.
As if reading his brother's mind, Ichigo spoke once again, "And nothing has changed between us, Toushirou. Adopted or not, we're still brothers."
This brought a permanent smile to the young face. Toushirou turned the knob and opened the door.
He was immediately glomped by three people, all Kurosakis, all his family, all held a special place in his heart.
Kurosaki-Hitsugaya Toushirou never felt so content before in his entire life.
~21~21~21~21~
A/N: Review, please! Tell me how I did! X( Motivation block is killing me! T^T Review Responses:
Dragon Silhouette: Glad you liked it! And yes, the Hogyouku is still inside Toushirou. That was the big plot change. ;3
Toshiro with love: Thank you! Glad you liked it!
azure blue espeon: It's alright. Thank you so much for the advice! As you can tell, the responses are now at the end. :)
blizzard 10: Oh, Hyourinmaru's not gone. In fact, he'll appear in the next chapter somewhere. Big role? Can't tell you that. You'll have to read to find out.
The Awesome God Apollo: Thank you for the advice. And I am so glad you like it!
skylark dragonstar: You're back! Yay! I had a feeling someone would have the right guess as to what was really going on. Congratulations. You are that person. :) Anyways, yes, it does mean trouble. In fact, the first wave of trouble begins in the next chapter. :)
Shiro Neko: The plot change was actually Aizen unable to get the Hogyouku, but those are really good guesses and they are both true. Keep reading! This is not the last arc!
Espadakatsukreuz XIII: Thank you. :)
spotabc123: Thank you very much.
Rabytte: Thank you for the compliments. They mean a lot.
toshirolovehim: If you didn't already guess the plot change, it was the fact that Aizen didn't get the Hogyouku in time.
Korin no Hana: Ooo, a new reader! Keep reading. It'll get better. :)
AMMO121: Yay! I'm glad you love it!
Syl the tWins: Three words right back at you: Here it is!
FFVIIGirlX: Awesome! Thank you for the cookies! I'll share them with you all, my dear readers! I'm glad you like this story. I love this story. I love all of my stories, who doesn't like their stories? But anyways, keep reading. :) And you should get an account. It'll help you.
ShiraChan-Desu: Actually, I've gotten so many reviews that I thought up the next arc in like five minutes. XD But anyways, here's the next chapter. And I always love new readers.
eternal fire123: Sorry to break the intensity, but this chapter was needed. The next chapter brings it back. ;)
Musical Ninja: Alright. That's probably one of the best pieces of advice that someone has ever given. Thank you very much!
~~~Here's your treat!~~~
Warning: The following trailer includes spoilers for the next arc. Read at your own risk.
A new girl appears, and she's very mysterious!
"Hi, it's nice to meet you. My name is Senna."
"How the hell can she remember her past and I can't?!"
"Toushirou's right. Senna's a Shinigami. She shouldn't be able to remember her past."
"No, she can't be…she can't be the Shinenju…"
Some people notice certain changes in Toushirou.
"Urahara-san, I want you to teach me kidou. From the very top."
"I believe you are being visited by your own Zanpaktou, Toushirou-kun!"
"I don't care what it takes, Urahara! I'm just so sick and tired of watching on the sidelines!"
"It seems that my adopted son, and former subordinate, is starting to get his Shinigami instincts back."
Ichigo tries to keep his promise to the Soutaichou.
"It's your job to protect him, Kurosaki! How the hell could you so carelessly take your eyes off of him?!"
"I'm doing my best, Abarai! Obviously, my best isn't good enough!"
Sacrifices will be made.
"He deserves to live, not me. You've known him longer, after all."
"I don't get it…why won't the Hogyouku come out?"
"Sorry, Hitsugaya-kun…I really don't have any excuses on what we did to you…"
"Sorry, Ichigo…I'm sorry for letting him get to me…"
"No, Toushirou! Don't leave me!"
"Is he…dead?"
"I-I don't know…"
Bleach: The Other Side of Me, Arc 2: The Memory Rosary Arc!
Stay tuned to a fanfiction site near you!