A/N: I was, quite literally, blown away by the response I got to the prologue. Thank you so much to all my amazing reviewers. The general consensus from you all was that you wanted an update. I bow to the formidable force of peer pressure. I was going to wait with this part, but I was inspired by many reviews. I even found myself writing at 3am, believe it or not.

x

The Heir Apparent
Chapter 1 - Seireitei's Superstar

Ichigo stood silently in front of his mother's grave, a bundle of assorted flowers in his hand. It wasn't the anniversary yet, that was still nearly two months off, he'd just felt like coming here in the wake of all that had happened. He bent down and put them beneath the tombstone.

'Well, here I am again, mother,' he said, crouching. 'Its been a while, I guess I've been busy.' Hollows, Arrancar, shinigami and their traitorous captains. If this time last year he had been told all he would become involved in, he would have thought he teller an unhinged loon. He gave a short chuckle. 'I'm a hero now, the saviour of Soul Society. You would be proud.'

A tear ran down his cheek, he didn't bother to brush it away. He always cried a little when he visited his mothers grave, but this time the tears weren't bitter ones.

'Yuzu and Karin are fine,' he continued conversationally. 'Dad too, as crazy as ever.'

'And your eldest son is still an idiot,' said Rukia's voice from behind him.

Ichigo immediately tried to twist around, but he was still crouching and the attempt left him sprawled on the floor. He was up in an instant, shaking his fist.

'Didn't you know it's bad manners to interrupt people when they're talking to the dearly departed!'

'Even if they're dead too and are interrupted by another dead person?' she quibbled.

That had him confused. 'Huh, I'm not dead, am I?'

'Urahara severed your soul chain, if that's not dead what would you like to call it; unlinked?'

'This is just great,' he said, turning his head way from her, 'I've been interrupted from praying to my mother by a midget shinigami who just came to say that I've been dead for nearly a year and nobody bothered to inform me!'

'You should have worked it out yourself,' she said, ignoring the midget comment, then her face grew serious. 'She's not here.'

'Of course she isn't,' he said angrily. 'That stupid hollow ate her, I have to find it.'

'I already tried,' she said sadly, 'He's gone, Ichigo. Aizen probably transformed him into an Arrancar, and if he was there's a good chance another shinigami killed him.'

'If she's been freed, then I'll go to Soul Society and find her!' he said.

'She won't remember you.'

'What?' That cockatoo boy who'd met Chad in Soul Society, he'd remembered.

'Souls that were consumed by hollows and are released by a Zanpakutou don't retain any of their memories, except those who were only consumed a few weeks before or less. Neither do people who were hollows. It's better that way.'

'I'll find her anyway!' Ichigo insisted.

'How?' she said, 'Her soul won't necessarily look like her mortal body. In fact it's probable that it won't once the soul chain is severed. The body is formed from the DNA of both human parents, not the appearance of the soul.'

'Then how come I look the same?'

For once Rukia didn't have an answer. 'I honestly don't know,' she confessed, 'I never really thought about it. Perhaps we should speak to Urahara.'

'He's in Soul Society now, Ishida told me, he took Mayuri's place.'

'Then the next time we go there.'

Ichigo turned and walked off, heading back home. After a moment Rukia followed, and they walked together in compatible silence. He would sooner eat Orihime's cooking than admit it, but he felt better just with her being around. She understood him better than anybody else.

'So, what's been happening up there,' he said, indicating toward the sky. Soul Society wasn't there of course, it was everywhere and nowhere at once.

'We've finished patching up the wounded and doing all the military funerals,' she said sadly. 'Thirteen division is in a mess, with no captain or lieutenant. But most of the other squads have found replacements.'

He remembered that terrible last battle, her cry of horror when Gin had cut down Ukitake. All the dead and wounded, how Tousen had escaped in the end. His fight with Aizen, drawing all the power he could from his hollow, and even then only just managing to win. He would never forget his enemy's look of total astonishment and last words: 'My plan failed?'

'I spoke to Urahara recently,' Rukia said. 'He's made a version of Zaraki-taicho's eye patch for Chad and Inoue. Except for them it will be an armband.'

'That's good,' he said.

He was well aware of Soul Societies ruling in the matter. Although they had turned a blind eye to their abilities during the war when things were desperate, they had the potential to unbalance the material world. Just like Ichigo before them, they would affect the people around them until they started developing spiritual abilities of their own. Soul Society had ruled that their powers had to be contained or sealed away. What was strange was that he hadn't heard anything yet on what was happening to him. After all, it was he who had given them their abilities.

Ishida was exempt from the ruling since, as a Quincy, he inhaled rather than exhaled spiritual energy. But he had been forbidden to kill any more hollows on the pain of death, for a hollow killed by Quincy arrows was destroyed utterly; not purified and sent to Soul Society like it would be with a Zanpakutou. Interestingly Chad and Orihime's power worked more like hollows, the research had found. Those they killed would be absorbed, adding to their strength, and released upon death.

'Will they be getting it soon?' Ichigo asked.

'I gave it to them before I came to see you. By the way, what happened to Inoue, as soon as she saw me she wouldn't stop crying and wouldn't tell me why.'

Ichigo knew. His mind flicked back immediately to the last time he'd seen her.

He'd been sitting staring into space on the school roof after lessons, thinking about things. He'd been doing a lot of that lately. Perhaps killing someone did that to you, left a permanent mark that could not be erased. Orihime found him there, and started on her usual silliness. He didn't bother to acknowledge, he was used to it by now. Then there was one line that cut through his thoughts like an electric shock.

'Kurosaki-kun, I love you.'

He turned and gaped at her, 'HUH?' then remembered that this was Orihime he was dealing with. She said the weirdest things all the time. She probably just meant as a friend. 'Thanks, Inoue, I love you too.'

'You do?' she said, clasping her hands together happily.

'Yeah, you're a good friend, one of my best friends.'

'Nothing more,' she said softly, her grey eyes shimmering.

It was then that he looked at her, no, really looked at her. The reason why she had been awkward with him before Rukia had come, the way she had acted around him after. The way she said his name, and constantly repeated it. How she had cried out his name when Ulquiorra had blown a hole through his chest.

'Sorry, Inoue,' he said. 'I just don't… You're one of my best friends, like Chad. Like Ishida and Renji.'

'And Kuchiki-san,' she whispered.

His throat seized, he didn't know what to say. Orihime twisted away, tears flew sparkling to the ground as ran.

'She told you, didn't she?' Rukia demanded, drawing him back to reality.

'Yeah,' he said, looking away. Orihime's last comment had his heart in turmoil, how did he actually feel about Rukia. She had taken Chad's place as his best friend, but there more to it than that. She knew all his buttons and how to press them seemingly instinctively, yet she sometimes understood the inner workings of his mind better than he did himself. He rubbed his temples, he'd been doing too much thinking recently, his head hurt.

'Idiot, you could have put it across to her softer.'

'Hey,' he growled, but his heart wasn't in it. Actually, how had Rukia known about her feelings, had Orihime confided in her?

Suddenly there was a whooshing sound, and he looked around. They were surrounded by black robed shinigami, and in front of them a very cool looking…

'Nii-sama,' said Rukia, astonishment written on her face. 'What are you doing here?'

Kuchiki Byakuya ignored her and turned to him. 'Kurosaki Ichigo, I have orders to escort you to Seireitei with all possible courtesy.' He said the words evenly, but even so his dislike filtered through, and made Ichigo bristle angrily.

'Why should I go with you?'

'Ichigo, my brother wouldn't come to the material world without a good reason,' Rukia said.

'Captain-commander Yamamoto wants to speak with you,' Byakuya explained, closing his eyes in an annoyingly superior way.

'Why?'

'That is between you and the Captain-commander.'

'He could have chosen another captain for the task,' he groused audibly.

Rukia slapped the back of his head, pitching him forward into the pavement. 'Being given a summons by a captain is a great honour. And nii-sama brought a lot of members of his division with, I've never even heard of that happening before. So show some respect.'

'Ow, right,' he said, coming to his knees and rubbing his chin, conscious that the other shinigami were watching him and snickering. He gritted his teeth, was there any way to salvage his dignity? 'Give me five minutes.'

'Very well,' said Byakuya.

He ran the short distance back to his house, which he found strangely deserted. Why hadn't his father tried to ambush him, where were Karin and Yuzu? Deciding that they must have gone to the park or something, he went up to his room.

'Eh, Ichigo,' said Kon, who was lying on his bed looking up from a dirty magazine.

'WHERE DID YOU GET THAT!' he cried.

'Why do you care,' said the lion pushie, jumping up indignantly. 'What's wrong with me enjoying the delectable fruits that blossom all over this beautiful world!'

Ichigo gagged at the way he waved his bottom around as he said it. 'It's not so much you looking at it than WHAT'S IT DOING IN MY ROOM.'

With that he grabbed the struggling toy and stuck his hand down its throat, withdrawing the green pill. He threw the pushie in the corner, swallowed the pill and felt his spirit separate with his body.

'I'm going to Soul Society for a bit,' he explained, 'Look after the girls. And if I hear about you doing anything perverted while in my body, I'll get Ishida to sew a dress on you and give you to Yuzu.' He held up the magazine, 'And I'm getting rid of this.'

'Waah, Ichigo,' Kon cried as he jumped out of the window. 'Oh well,' he shrugged when the shinigami representative was out of sight, and reached below the bed to pull out five more.

'That was seven minutes,' said Byakuya when he arrived.

Ichigo snorted. Who else would get annoyed about such a tiny difference.

'What's that in your hand?' said Rukia. She was in shinigami form, her Gigai nowhere to be seen.

He looked down to see that he was still holding the offending magazine. He turned red and threw it into the nearest dustbin, which bore the legend 'Keep Japan Clean'.

'A little entertainment for while you're there?' said Rukia coyly.

'Sh-Shut up,' he muttered, wishing that he could disappear on the spot. His ego was in tatters. Some of the sixth squad members were inching closer to the bin to retrieve it, but a sharp glance from their captain put an end to that.

'Lets go,' said Byakuya and opened a gate to Soul Society.

x

'Do we have to, nee-chan,' Ganju complained.

Kukaku raised her fist and leered threateningly from her usual seat in the spacious hall that the Shiba manor was built around. 'What was that, you don't think it's a good idea?'

Ganju immediately waved his hands around frantically, 'It's brilliant, nee-chan,' he said quickly, 'we would definitely get back our status as a noble family. We could even end up higher than the Omaeda's. There's just one tiny weenie little problem.'

'And that is?'

'You've got one too few arms.'

Kukaku's angry expression faded, she tilted her head and scratched her chin thoughtfully. 'Point. Well, if that's the case, we'll just have to heal it.'

'Ah, didn't we already try every single type of healing kido?' said Ganju.

She flashed a winning smile, 'I think we're going to take a little holiday, Ganju.'

'Huh?'

She clapped her hands. 'Koganehiko, Shiroganehiko.'

The two big men opened the sliding door, standing side by side they half shouted, 'HAI.'

'Start packing. We're going to Karakura town!'

'HAI,' they said again, and shut the door again.

'Nee-chan, how are we going to do that?' said Ganju, 'We're not soul reapers, we can't use the gates to go between worlds.'

'That's why it pays to have influential and powerful friends,' said the older Shiba pointedly.

'I have friends,' he grumbled, thinking of his boar-riding gang.

'Those are lackeys and leaches, not the same thing at all. Now prepare yourself, in a few days we'll be back on the path to honour and prestige.'

'Never knew that mattered to you,' he muttered as he left the room.

x

The gate opened on the outskirts of Seireitei, and they proceeded from there at a relaxed walk. Soon though they found the streets lined with shinigami from every squad, cheering and whistling, chanting 'Ichi-go, Ichi-go'. He was stunned. Some were holding out pieces of paper, probably for him to sign. Strangely, none of them held out pens with their paper. Byakuya said nothing, but his annoyance at the spectacle wouldn't have been more plain if he had been tearing at his perfectly groomed hair.

'Wow, I guess you've become quite popular, Ichigo,' said Rukia, her eyes wide.

'Well, I did defeated Aizen,' he said, puffing out his chest. Who would have thought it, Kurosaki Ichigo, Seireitei's first superstar!

'Don't let it go to your head, dolt.'

'Too late,' he replied with a smirk.

He had never appreciated before quite how many shinigami there were. They were lined three ranks deep on either side of the road, and it just went on and on. He knew that there were twenty ranks of seated officers in the divisions, but he had never guessed as to how many unseated shinigami there were. There must have been a few thousand cheering him, there were probably even more stationed in the material world. Hopefully this was just a once-off thing, since this was his first time here since that final battle. Flattering though it was, it would be a bit much to have to endure every time.

At the end of the road were the all the captains lined up with their lieutenants. Ichigo recognised most of then, if he didn't know their names. Old man Yama, there with the white haired man he'd beaten with his bare hands when he was coving Renji's flight with Rukia. Yoruichi gave him a friendly smile, and Hiyori a scowl. How those two would get along he had no idea. Kira was the only one representing third squad, they still had no captain. There were the two women he recognised as the captain and lieutenant of Hanatarou's squad, the fourth. Shinji was there with Matsumoto, he must have arranged to swap with Toshiro, who was standing next to the old fifth lieutenant on the other side. She was refusing to look at him; what was her problem?

Renji looked cocky in his new captain's haori, the sunglasses guy next to him. As soon as Renji could afford another pair they would be the sunglasses squad. The breezy flower-cape guy Kyoraku was with his secretary. Kensei was with the scarred 69 guy. Hell, they both had the same tattoo, though in different places. He already had the ninth division labelled in his mind as the 69er squad. Kenpachi was leering at him with short-stuff on his shoulders, who waved cheerfully. Urahara fidgeted next to a girl Ichigo didn't know. Two were there for the thirteenth, a dark man with a funny beard and hairstyle and a short woman who looked more like a boy, but neither had the lieutenants armband or captain's haori.

'Who are those two?' he said to Rukia, pointing discreetly.

'Kiyone and Sentaro, the third seats of my division,' she said out of the corner of her mouth. 'And don't point, it's rude.'

'I wasn't making it obvious!'

'Yes you were.'

'No, I wasn't.' Arguing was difficult when you didn't want everyone watching to notice. 'What do you mean, third seats? I thought it was only one shinigami to a seated position.'

'It's rare, but if they are the same power you can have two or more sharing the same seat,' she explained. 'But then there has to be the relevant number of gaps below. For example, thirteenth squad doesn't have a fourth seat. And you can't have people sharing the captain's and lieutenants positions.'

'Why not?'

'That should be obvious, strawberry.'

Ichigo was just about to retaliate with his own name-calling when Byakuya said, 'We're here.'

'Right.'

He started making his way towards the large building that the captain was pointing at, then noticed that Rukia wasn't following him. 'Aren't you coming?'

She shook her head. 'This only concerns you and the captains. I'll see you later,' she said, and walked back to the crowd, where she was promptly ambushed by Matsumoto. The crowd was starting to disperse, the lieutenants and officers organising their divisions while the captains headed towards the building he was walking to.

Renji caught up with him. 'Surprised?' he said, tugging his thumbs under his haori. 'Bet you didn't think I'd be getting this!'

'Actually I did,' said Ichigo.

'Really?'

'Yeah. Byakuya found you useless and the only way to get rid of you was to promote you.'

'Why you little…'

'Look on the bright side,' he added, patting the man's shoulder, 'At least we'll always know for sure who the weakest captain is!'

'Aw, that's harsh Kurosaki-san,' interrupted a familiar voice.

Ichigo turned to look at the man who had joined them, 'Urahara,' he said after a moment, 'you look…'

If it hadn't been for the platform geta he wouldn't have recognised him in shinigami uniform. He actually looked reasonable in his white haori, not like the washed out salesman Ichigo had always known him as. And that awful platform hat was gone.

'You're right, Abarai-san is currently the weakest captain,' he said, 'but that's only because he hasn't had his Bankai long enough for it to have matured properly.'

'Urahara-san,' said Renji.

'What do you mean, matured properly,' Ichigo said. 'Once you've got it, that's it, isn't it. Unless you go Vizord.'

'It's true, there is a limit on the level you can reach as a shinigami,' said Urahara. 'But that limit isn't reached as soon as you achieve your Ban release, you have to work with it for years before you reach your full potential. I expect Abarai-san's snake will be getting twice as big and fast in the coming decade, and he'll probably learn new abilities for it.'

'What about mine,' Ichigo demanded, 'I had full use of my power immediately.'

'Because yours is different,' he explained patiently. 'An ordinary Bankai is a massive form or effect which cannot be maintained for long, yours though is a compression of sorts, quite unique. Even still, I think you had problems during your first use.'

Ichigo nodded, remembering the way his bones had slowly broken during his protracted fight with Byakuya. It hadn't happened during subsequent uses, fortunately.

'Ha ha, Ichigo's unique, he's a freak,' laughed Renji.

'Shut up, pineapple.'

'What was that, strawberry?'

That was the second time he'd been called that today, the first being by Rukia. That reminded him, the thing he'd wanted to ask Urahara. But then they were walking through the doorway into a large hall, and all the conversation between captains died down, and an air of formality settled over them.

'This is the place where we have the captain's meetings,' Renji whispered in his ear.

Ichigo wasn't listening, for he had just caught sight of three familiar faces. 'Yuzu; Karin; Pops,' he cried, running up to them. What were they doing in Soul Society?

His sisters were in smart-ish normal clothing, Yuzu in a cute dress and Karin in jeans and a shirt, but his father was in shinigami uniform. There was a zanpaktou at his side. Worse still, he had a lieutenants armband and a captain's haori draped over his shoulder, although neither had a division number on them.

'Hello Ichi-nee,' cried Yuzu.

'Took your time,' muttered Karin.

Ichigo ignored them and pointed at his father, 'What the hell, you're a shinigami!'

'So, what if I am?' cried his father, equally emotionally. 'Like son like father, as I always say.'

'You never say that! And there's no way you became a shinigami because of me.'

'Well, I didn't, but technically it isn't impossible…'

'Shove it, old man. When you were planning telling me this?'

'Well, I was thinking about your and Rukia-chan's wedding…'

Ichigo would dearly have loved to have hit his father at that moment, but was aware that they were drawing looks from the captains, who had formed up around them. Some, Renji especially, were fighting to contain their laughter; while Byakuya's gaze had a definite frosting to it.

'So, what are we here for?' said Ichigo as Yamamoto took up his position in front of the Kurosaki family, and did something he never would have expected in a hundred years.

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryusai; captain-commander of Gotei thirteen; the most powerful man in Soul society; the wielder of the strongest fire-type sword; veteran of more than ten thousand battles, knelt down and bowed his head to the floor. All around, the other captains were doing the same.

Ichigo's cry could be heard even outside the building 'WHAT IS GOING ON!'

x

A/N: Here's the deal, sometimes at the end of a chapter I'll treat you to a short piece of crack. You'll know it's crack because I'll say crack in the sentence before. So don't crack up, just enjoy the crack. And please don't sample the powdered version.

(Tousen Kaname is seen standing in his white uniform in the ruins of Las Noches.)

Tousen: Good evening. As the last remaining member of the triumvirate, I would like to explain to you the concept of Justice.

(Big letters flash across the screen: JUSTICE ACCORDING TO TOUSEN. Suitably epic music plays in the background. When they are gone, Tousen is back, but now in the background Pesche and Dondo are holding a banner with that legend; while Bawabawa slithers around them.)

Tousen: I have dedicated my life towards the pursuit of perfect Justice. To that end, I follow the path of least bloodshed. It has been difficult, but time has not swayed my dedication. Even when I slaughtered my fellow members of the ninth division, betrayed my captain; lieutenant and others and helped start the most horrible war Soul Society has ever seen, threatening the very balance soul reapers are meant to maintain, I did not abandon my purpose.

(Perche, Dondo and Bawabawa fall to the ground with an almighty crash.)

Tousen: (smiling sagely) It should be my middle name.