Okay so I have a couple of followers already :) No one has reveiwed yet please feel free to tell me what you think. It will not be everyday that I put out two chapters in less than a day but I will continue to strive to update as much as possible.

That being said this chapter skips ahead a little and really goes in to what is going through Ichigo's mind as he remains powerless

I hope you like it and please dont forget to reveiw

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH IF I DID ICHIGO WOULD HAVE TOLD RUKIA HOW HE FEELS A LONG TIME AGO

_Chapter 1_

The Rain Falls

Ichigo Kurosaki : Age 17

Occupation : High School Student

Cannot see spirits

-Almost a year later-

Everyday he wakes up before the alarm and everyday he looks over to the closet where a certain raven haired shinigami slept or once slept. It has been almost a year since he had saw her and the pain was still the same every morning. In the beginning it was the hardest the alarm would go off and he would go open the door to tell her to get ready, only to find the folded sheets and the mattress where she once slept. He would find himself absently asking her a question, as she was perpetually by his side, only to be answered by silence. For those that knew him best they could see him slipping back into the mindset he had right after his mother died. He was hollow, devoid of the joy of life that one his age should have.

It took some getting used to not seeing spirits and hollows roaming around the town. There was a time when he would have gladly given that ability away. There was more than one time when he was younger that they had scared him to the core. Before he understood what they were and that they couldn't hurt you.

He was wrong. He had never been so wrong. Ichigo would never forget the day that his mother died. The day he should have been protecting her, but she protected him instead. It wasn't until later that he found out exactly what happened, that the little girl he thought was in trouble was just a ruse by a hollow named Grand Fisher. That even if he had of known there was nothing he could have done to help. That didn't matter at the time though. When he called her name and she didn't answer he had been terrified. When he realized she was lost, a part of him died inside. He blamed himself. He vowed that day that he would live up to his name "one who protects". Deep within his soul that was the day the rain started.

From that moment on he did everything he could to help. He wouldn't allow anyone around him to feel pain if he could help it. No matter what he did or how much he helped he couldn't make the pain of that loss go away. He just couldn't get strong enough so that he knew he could prevent his loved ones from feeling that kind of pain again. He was to blame, it was his fault. He was the one that had ran after that little girl. He should have been stronger. He should have known that something wasn't right.

Then that fateful day came when Rukia was injured and shared her powers with him so that he could protect his sister from the rampaging hollow that was tearing through his house. When she did that she awoke something in him at his very core. At last he had the power to truly protect everyone. That was the day she walked into his life. That was the day the rain stopped.

It was all over now though. He no longer had powers. He no longer saw spirits. He no longer had Rukia. At first he was certain that she would come and see him in a gigai as it would be simple for her to obtain one from Urahara. As the days and months went by it became apparent she that she either couldn't or wouldn't come. He didn't know of course that for the better part of the first four months she almost never let him out of her sight. She was there suffering in her own way. As if she was sinking into quicksand and the only vine was just out of reach. After a time it slowly became easier. Falling back into a normal life was not as hard as he thought it would be. The main things he retained from all his training was his speed, strength and agility. He had trained so hard to overcome the final battle that his body was in above peak physical condition. He used this to an advantage, the local teams at the high school was willing to pay handsomely for him to fill in when needed as it almost guaranteed a win. The hardest part was when he saw his friends rushing off to fight a hollow that had appeared. Uryuu, Sado, and Orihime all still had their abilities and had taken on his responsibility to protect the town. Every time one of them ran off he felt a little more useless. It was unbearable.

He took odd jobs and hung out with his friends when he had time. He tried to become a normal teenager again. He thought he did a rather good job of covering up the anguish that he was feeling inside. Although they would never tell him his friends knew better. They could see through the front that he was putting on. Anytime someone mentioned Rukia his eyes would show pain. Sometimes just for an instant but it was there. The worst part of it was that they did not know what they could do or say to make things better. True in the beginning they knew she was still there. They could see her in the distance watching. They even approached her to see why she would not come forward and talk to him. She simply had said that it would be to painful. They had lost each other and he was going to have to learn to live his life without her. She was just not ready yet to truly say goodbye. In her mind she knew she never would be. At her request they had not told him. The pain of knowing she was there and not being able to say anything would have been to much.

This is how the year had gone for Ichigo. The Hero of the Winter War quite possibly one of strongest shinigami in existence, other than a few Captain's and even they would have difficulty with him at the peak of his power, was back to being a high school student. His days no longer used to protect. His days no longer used to train to get better. His life would never be the same. He hated every second of it. Sometimes he wished that none of it ever happened. On those days it hurt the most, on those days he remembered who stopped the rain, on those days he wished he had got that one last moment to tell her everything before she faded away into nothingness. He loved her and she would never know.

Those were the worst days.

The sky is darkened by the constant rain. The world which was once bright and sunny isnow perpetually bleak and dreary. Even his company, the self proclaimed Hichigo has fell into a stupor from the boredom and the dank that surrounds them daily. Alone he stands waiting. Although he did tell Ichigo the truth that if he released the final Getsuga Tenshou he would lose his powers, he did not tell him that there was no way to get them back. A zanpakuto is part of its wielders soul and as such is always a part of them. Zangetsu stood on his perch which was made of the black cleaver like sword that was almost as famous as its wielder. He knew that Ichigo wants to be able to protect his family and friends down to the very depths of his soul. All he wanted to be able to do was protect was Ichigo. Together they were an unstoppable force to be reckoned with, apart neither was complete.

Looking up he called his master's name again in vain. Soon he would be able to hear him again, he knew that things were already in play that would allow him to help his master protect again. This time no matter what he would not allow things to go this far. This time he will show Ichigo his true power.

For now though the rain still falls.