The Heir Apparent
Chapter 3 - Last day alive

'GOOD MORNING ICHI-GO!'

Without fail, every morning the entire Kurosaki household would be woken up by Isshin's antics.

Thud, BANG. 'DAMN YOU, OLD MAN, CAN'T YOU EVER WAKE ME UP WITHOUT TRYING TO KILL ME?'

'Urgh, I've trained you well, my son.'

Rukia sighed as she pulled on her school clothes and slipped out of Ichigo's closet, ducking calmly as Isshin flew over her head. It was a rather noisy way to start the day.

'Onii-chan, Rukia-chan, come and get your breakfast,' Yuzu's voice just managed to carry over the sounds of the fighting.

'Coming,' she called.

Breakfast was nearly as eventful as waking up, with Ichigo at his father's throat every few minutes for some comment or other. Apparently even the revelation of Isshin's secret hadn't changed things between them. They still showed their love for each other in a rather, ahem, physical manner. Rukia didn't mind, all the chaos and shouting between them, Karin's commentary, Yuzu's frantic attempts to keep the peace, while she chuckled on the sidelines.

It felt like home.

'Hey Rukia,' Ichigo said later when they were walking to school, 'We'll have to tell them tonight.'

'Yes,' she sighed. By the time they'd got back last night the girls were already in bed, and Isshin of course already knew. They'd had a perfectly rational discussion then with a man she'd previously suspected should be restrained and carted off to a mental asylum. It turned out, despite outward appearances, he could be sane when he thought about it.

'And Chad and them today.'

'I know.'

'They'll be sad,' he said quietly.

Rukia wasn't sure if he was still talking about his sisters, or was referring to their school friends. She murmured her asset.

'I'll be sad to go,' said Ichigo, looking up to the sky. A pair of birds of prey, too high to identify, were riding a warm air thermal. 'To leave all this behind.'

'Then stay,' said Rukia desperately, her emotions in turmoil. 'You can still back out of becoming a captain, you could get an armband like Chad and Inoue to seal your power and live a normal life. I want you to live a normal life.'

Ichigo looked at her, and smiled. 'I guess that letting go of some things is part of growing up. All my life I've been learning the truth of my name, Rukia. Ichigo, the first guardian. Over this past year I realised it fully, I want to spend my life protecting people from hollows, everyone; not just my friends. And what better way to do that than become a captain, it's the positions primary objectives, defending human souls.'

'Ichigo,' she said, unsure of what to say.

'And as for normal,' he continued, 'nothing's been normal since you came into my life.'

Her throat seized up, but fortunately she was saved the necessity of answering; for they had just arrived at the school gates. Tatsuki was there, talking to Orihime. They both waved and turned to them.

'Kuchiki-san, you're here!'

'Ichigo, you can't just skip school so often, where were you yesterday?'

It felt good to come back to school, if only for today.

x

Things hadn't changed a bit around school. The corridors still looked exactly the same, the faces were the ones he was used to seeing.

'ICHIII-GOOO' cried Keigo, charging towards him like hamster on steroids.

Smack, he met Ichigo's elbow.

'Morning,' said Ichigo, lowering his arm and walking on. Mizuiro passed and greeted him on his way to snidely lecture Keigo.

Things hadn't changed a bit.

The gang was waiting for him in the classroom. Ishida, looking impeccable, superior and aloof as ever. He really must have come out of the same mold as Byakuya. Chad, the original gentle giant. Ichigo though knew that he could be a fearsome warrior; stronger than most of the lieutenants in Gotei thirteen. Inoue, still a klutz, but could heal their most devastating wounds in minutes.

'Kurosaki, Kuchiki,' Ishida acknowledged, adjusting his glasses so that they reflected the light.

'Ichigo, Kuchiki-san' said Chad, with a short nod.

Inoue gave them an awkward smile, she'd already greeted them.

'Everybody's here,' said Rukia happily, standing beside him.

'Hey guys, there's something-' he began, but then the teacher came in and people started moving towards their places. 'I'll tell you during break-time.'

'Ah, we have a full class today,' said the teacher when they'd gone to their respective places and done their usual greeting. 'Even Kurosaki and Kuchiki, what's going on? You two, stand up please.'

What now, Ichigo thought as he rose. Rukia stood up beside him.

'I received a note from Ichigo's father that the two of you will be leaving us from tomorrow. Is this true?'

'Yeah.'

'And why are you going.'

'To gather more life experiences and skills.' Well, that was true.

'And where are you going?'

'To Sou-'

'-To South Africa,' Rukia said over him, stamping on his foot. Ichigo bit his lip, trying not to make his agony obvious.

'Really,' said the teacher, adjusting her glasses. 'There aren't too many Japanese people there, and it's a hotbed of crime and corruption. So why there?'

'He wants to live in a sunny country,' said Rukia, speaking very quickly and using her acting skills to make outrageous gestures. 'And meet Nelson Mandela. He needs to learn to speak better English, and Ichigo's decided to become a doctor specialising in gunshot wounds; so what better place to go? Isn't that right Ichigo?'

'That's right,' he said, gritting his teeth. He deserved the pain, he supposed, he'd talked them into a real pinch. But where in the world was South Africa?

'Shouldn't you wait until you're a bit older and going to university?' said one of the girls in the front row.

'It won't work if he can't speak the language by then,' Rukia explained.

'And what about you, Rukia-chan, what will you be doing?' said another girl kindly.

'I'm going to Vietnam,' she said.

That prompted a storm of protest from the class, 'Waah, they're not going together?' 'How tragic!' 'I thought those two were together.' 'Yeah, me too.'

x

'You're not really going to South Africa, are you?' said Ishida later, when they were all gathered on the roof together eating their lunch.

'No,' Ichigo confirmed.

They were all sitting on the top of the roof; her, Ichigo, Ishida, Chad and Inoue; as well as Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo. They were the only ones they had allow to know the true reason, since they had all become involved to some extent in the supernatural occurrences that regularly happened around them.

'Aw,' said Orihime, 'then you won't get to see the Hippopotamuses and Rhinosauruses.'

'Rhinosauruses?' said Ishida, scratching his head.

'You mean Rhinoceroses,' said Chad, knowledgeable as ever.

'But isn't it type of dinosaur?' she said with a confused expression.

'Dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago,' sighed Ishida.

Rukia covered her mouth to hide her smile. Honestly, Orihime could be so weird at times. She almost suspected that she did it on purpose.

'Rukia-chan, are you really becoming Ichigo's lieutenant?' said Tatsuki, drawing her attention away from the meaningless conversation.

'I will be,' she said, trying not to sound too proud.

'I take it that's an important position?'

'In Soul Society, there are thirteen divisions,' Rukia explained. 'They work directly under the government. Each division is led by a captain, that's what Ichigo is becoming. The lieutenant's are below them, and lead the division when the captain is away or otherwise indisposed.'

'Wow,' said Keigo, his eye's wide and shining. Then he started to sob, 'Rukia-chan is leaving us. Why oh why, Rukia-chan. Stay here for ever.'

'Shut up,' said Tatsuki, hitting him in the face. Keigo dropped like a stone and lay limp on the ground.

'I hope you didn't kill him,' Ichigo called out. 'That would really mess up my day.'

'Don't worry, he's just unconscious,' said Ishida, quickly examining him. 'Anyway, even if he was dead we could use Inoue-san's power to bring him back to life.'

'I don't know if it would work that well here, Ishida-kun,' said Orihime in a worried tone.

x

The day went all too fast, and before they knew it they were saying goodbyes to their closest friends. Ichigo felt emotional enough to pull them all into gruff hugs. He would see them again. Naturally Rukia didn't receive nearly as large a send-off from anyone, except surprisingly from Inoue. Apparently the two had become friends during his Vizord-training period before the winter war. The others had wanted to hang out more that afternoon, but they had too much to do before the end of the day to allow for that luxury. He promised them though that they would do that when they came for a holiday.

Ichigo spent part of the late afternoon packing away his clothes in boxes. He couldn't take them to Soul Society, and even if he could they would have looked completely out of place in the feudal-Japanese setting. Which was a pity, he was going to miss his 'Nice Vibe' T-shirt. So most would go to charity, while a small portion would be kept aside for whenever he visited.

Rukia meanwhile took Kon to Urahara's old shop. They'd entertained the prospect of leaving him with Yuzu, but the mod-soul had refused point blank. So he would be kept at the twelth-division bastion as both a mascot and a reference, since he was the last of the battle type mod-souls.

After she got back, they had the difficult task of explaining to Ichigo's sisters that they were going for good, and what they were doing. Yuzu immediately started crying, Isshin rushed to comfort her, while Karin tried to act stoic. But judging by her lack of usual biting comments, she was upset too.

'Rukia, Ichigo,' said Isshin in a serious tone, 'when I was in Soul Society I set aside some funds for you. Have fun with them,' he added with a smirk.

'Don't you mean you left them for Ichigo?' said Rukia, frowning.

'They're for you too, Rukia-chan,' said Isshin, smiling like a conspirator. 'I left strict instructions that you can only draw them together.'

'WHAT THE HELL!' Ichigo cried, standing up suddenly. 'I thought you were acting serious for once.' Damn old man, making not-so-subtle hints about what he expected from the two of them.

'Ichigo doesn't need you to play matchmaker for him,' said Karin. 'He's perfectly capable of doing it on his own.'

'KARIN, NOT YOU TOO!' he cried, while Yuzu's tears turned into giggles.

The mood was restored.

Later, the Kurosaki family stood at the front door, saying their farewells to them.

'Bye,' said Karin shortly, giving him one last hug.

'Take care; Onii-chan, Rukia-chan,' said Yuzu. She had finally been persuaded to let go of his leg.

'My son, I knew this day would come,' said Isshin in a gruff tone. 'When you would spread wings and leave the nest.' He started to sniff, 'I just didn't expect the day to come so soon.'

'Yeah, whatever,' said Ichigo, turning to go.

'Rukia-chan, look after my boy,' his father wailed, tears streaming out his eyes. 'Treat him well!'

He stiffened and half-turned. Just now the madman would be demanding grandchildren again. 'Quickly, run,' he said, grabbing Rukia's hand and sprinting off. His father was shouting something, he pretended that he couldn't hear. They didn't stop until they were out of sight.

x

Snap, crackle, pop.

(Kira and Hisagi are sitting together outside the third division barracks.)

Hisagi: I've noticed something, Kira. The thirteen protection squads are awash with good looking guys. But there seems to be a severe shortage of attractive women.

Kira: Is that so? It's true, you're a particularly fine specimen.

Hisagi: (grabs him by the collar) Damn it man, I need a girlfriend.

Kira: (pulls away, slightly flushed) Well, there's Matsumoto. She's got nice eyes and massive breasts!

Hisagi: Yeah, but she was with Gin.

Kira: What about Yoruichi, the dark-skinned goddess; Nanao, the sexiest secretary ever; and Hinamori, the original emo girl.

Hisagi: They're taken by Urahara, Kyoraku and Hitsugaya.

Kira: Rukia, she's sort-of hot. If you can get over her temper.

Hisagi: Either with Renji or Ichigo, depending on who you choose to believe. They can have her.

Kira: The Kotetsu sisters, Isane and Kiyone?

Hisagi: One's got the face of a child, the other is taller then me!

Kira: You're too fussy. How about Nemu? Nothing wrong with her.

Hisagi: Don't do clones.

Kira: (desperately) Yachiru and Hiyori? They've got nice, um, er…

Hisagi: Don't do children, honestly Kira!

Kira: Okay, that was poor. But how about this, the most beautiful woman in Soul Society, and she is definitely single. Captain Unohana!

Hisagi: Who decided she was pretty? She's just plain, well, plain. Besides, she's like; five hundred years older than me!

Kira: That's all the ranked women I know.

Hisagi: (crying) I'll never get a girlfriend.

Kira: (comes to his side and hugs him) Cheer up, you'll always have me!

Hisagi: (as Kira starts to fondle him) KIRA, WHAT ARE YOU…

(Dirty music rises in the background. Scene fades with Hisagi trying desperately to escape the blonde man's eager clutches.)