After Ichigo's Reiatsu had settled Chad compared it to the others present in the room and reaffirmed the conclusion he had come to so long ago after Ichigo's fight with Jidanbo, 'he has the power, all he needs is experience.'. Every enemy Ichigo had fought had decades if not centuries of combat experience, and he still won. Even by the level of a taicho, Ichigo's power was top notch, his movements were faster and sharper than any other, each of his blows were like a hammer's strike. Chad hadn't been there for the final fight against Aizen, he could only wonder how much of that vital experience he had gained while training in the Dangai.
"Kurosaki, your Zanpakuto has changed." Ishida noted.
And so it had, instead of the cleaver with a cloth from the hilt it now had a curve to the blade making it look a bit like an oversized Bowie knife with a chain where the cloth was
"Eh? I guess I'll have to talk to old man Zangetsu about it." Ichigo answered.
Speaking of which, he could once again feel his partner within him. It was like a wall had been knocked down revealing something he had desperately been searching for. It could only be described as wonderful.
"Welcome back old man Zangetsu." Ichigo thought
"And to you, Ichigo" Zangetsu returned
"I understand your desire to leave immediately and converse with your Zanpakuto, however we need to arrange for completing your training in the Shinigami arts, as well as beginning the instruction of your friends and the study of the others abilities. Your grasp of the basics can only be described as sublime, that you have gone so far with so little training is beyond anything in recorded history; it can only be matched in ancient myths that are hazy even to me. However the basics will not suffice in your case. If you were taking the position of a regular taicho we could let it pass but that is not the case, as the sou-taicho, even one in training, we are the pinnacle of what a Shinigami can become; we must always push the limits of what is known, of what is possible." Yamamoto stated
"WHAT! THIS BOY IS THE NEXT SOUTAICHO?" Kurosutchi screeched. Remarks of surprise came from around the room though most were of a positive nature
"It was decided at a meeting by the senior taicho. Ukitake, Unohana, Kyroku and myself." Yamamoto answered
"May I point out that for the position of sou-taicho, even one in training, the nobility must approve?" Soifon said
"It has been approved." Byakuya replied
"I see, I must voice my objection to this, his disregard for the rules is getting to be rather famous," Soifon said before continuing "and the law still states that he must have recommendations from six taicho and approval from three others"
"I have no objections, but I can't say I know Kurosaki enough to support this decision" Komamaru stated
"I can't go with this." was Zaraki's answer. The room went silent in shock "The guy's a soldier, a fighter shouldn't be stuck with damn paperwork!"
"He has mine, combined with the senior taicho and Kuchiki taicho that's six" Hitsugaya answered with a gleam of joy in his eyes
"ARE YOU ALL GOING TO LET A CHILD LEAD US!?" Mayuri ranted
"Shut it Kurotsuchi, we all know the only reason your objecting is because of how close he is to the Quincy and Urahara. As for the three approvals, I think I speak for all us ex-vizard when I say go for it." Shinji said with finality, with Kensai and Rose nodded in agreement.
"Slow down guys I've already told jii-san I have no real interest in his job. It's more so I can move around and change stuff if I know a better way of doing it" Ichigo said
"Regardless of the real reason, this is still needed for you to take the position of next in line. Since you have the current sou-taicho's approval the central chambers can't interfere with this, however you should know they are already looking for a way to control you. There is no possible reason for them to keep you from the post in due time, but I think this will be a bit of a surprise for them. As well as your advanced training I suggest you come to me for instruction in how the nobility works." Byakuya answered
"Will do, but you already know my general opinion on them." was Ichigo's reply. Byakuya nodded in understanding
"Enough. We will make the arrangements necessary for you and your comrades. Go, speak with your blade." Yamamoto said finishing of the meeting
Ichigo was swarmed by his friends as he left the hall, though Byakuya and Toshiro held back with their usual stoic appearances.
"I want my rematch Ichigo, but I suppose it can wait till your back in shape." was the first words out of Zaraki's mouth, causing Ichigo to sweat
'A full year and he still hasn't let that go.' Ichigo thought in alarm.
Looking around he was pleased to see his nakama complete once more with the addition of Rukia and Renji to the group. It was strange to see Miziro, Keigo and Tatsuki involved in a discussion with Rukia about the duties and training of Shinigami but Ichigo felt that somehow it was right that they should be there.
"It's been a while Ichigo" said Rukia breaking off her conversation with the three new members.
"Yeah it has," Ichigo replied "so, fuku-taicho huh, how did that happen?"
"What, don't you think I'm good enough?" the small woman teased
"Not at all, it's about time you got promoted. I've seen how well you fight"
Before they could continue they were interrupted by Renji
"Hey strawberry long time no see how's the world treating you?"
"Renji you idiot, I know I taught you that it's rude to interrupt people when they're talking!" shouted Rukia
Ichigo smirked, "You can fight but still can't teach worth a damn, huh Rukia?. I'm worried about the future of the thirteenth division if you're in charge of the rookies." he quipped thinking back to his own lessons with her.
"Yep too true, I mean look how you turned out." Renji replied. Both of them received hard kicks to various tender body parts for their trouble.
"Anyway I'm off, talk to you later" Ichigo said ignoring Renji's jab, far too eager for his long awaited reunion with Zangetsu.
'It's true I'm not very good a teaching people.' Rukia thought as she watched Ichigo leave 'did I ever teach you anything more than the very basics?' Ichigo had praised her combat abilities, and she knew she had other talents he hadn't mentioned, but Rukia couldn't shake the sad feeling she had when she thought of what Ichigo was capable of, 'did I contribute to it in any way? Or was I just dead weight?' It was true that she had introduced him to this world, but any one of the over two thousand other Shinigami could have done the same. In truth it would have happened even without the Gotei 13, his father was a former taicho and his mother a Quincy, it had only ever been a question of when. Looking at her friends Rukia felt deficient. The swarms of hollows that had attacked Karakura town during Ishida's challenge to Ichigo wouldn't even make the young Quincy break a sweat now. If it was his style, Chad would sneer at the Menos Grande's cero if such an attack was directed at him and that left arm of his was capable of incredible destructive power. Renji had Bankai and was considered the strongest fuku-taicho.
Rukia felt she couldn't even help from a support position. Once again Ishida had an aspect of that covered; his analytical capabilities were second only to the likes of Aizen and Urahara, not to mention his feats at sensing Reiatsu. Even healing wasn't a possibility, Orihime could reject REALITY, and even if one of them died she could bring them back. The limits of her powers weren't even known, who knew what else she could do? Rukia had no doubt she was wanted, but couldn't shake the horrible feeling of being unneeded by her friends.
Ichigo sat in Urahara's old training ground under Sokyoku hill, his mind flooded with memories of his time striving for Bankai against Zangetsu. Bankai, it was supposed to be the ultimate Shinigami ability, he knew both he and his partner had come a long way since that time but was under no illusions of how far they were still capable of going. Ichigo sat down in the familiar form of jizen, after his time in the Dangai it was as natural as sitting in a chair at home despite the dirt. Forcing himself into his blade Ichigo soon woke surrounded by towering skyscrapers. Looking around, Ichigo had begun to feel whole for the first time in a year.
"Welcome back Ichigo"
Ichigo turned to see his partner, his friend, Zangetsu, and the feeling of being whole was complete. Ichigo smiled, if either of them were the type it would have been an embrace but the understanding was there, no more words needed to be said for greetings. Looking around Ichigo noticed a distinct lack of bloody insane hollows.
"Hey old man Zangetsu, where's he at?"
"Waiting, he is not sure how to approach you"
"Um, sword first screaming is his normal method, what's changed?"
"Think back Ichigo, you know what has changed"
Ichigo did as Zangetsu told him to, his partner had never steered him wrong before, and realised almost immediately what had changed. During the battle with Aizen the three of them had fused, there was an understanding of each other that had never existed before that battle. It didn't mean they didn't hate each other's guts, not by a long shot, but there was respect. The hollow knew just how powerful Ichigo was and how far he would go to accomplish his goals and the reverse was true. Ichigo could only imagine how this sense of respect was messing with the creature, hell now he thought about it, it was starting to mess with him, it just felt wrong, they each saw the other as their greatest enemy. Aizen had been dirt in Ichigo's eyes, powerful, dangerous, but still dirt, and until they were forced to work together alongside Zangetsu, his view of the hollow had been the same.
"Hey Zangetsu, this is messed up" Ichigo said to his blades spirit
"For once I agree, this is totally fucked up"
Ichigo turned toward the new voice
"So you did show up after all, and I was having such a good day too"
The hollow smirked in reply
"So you both intend to return to you pointless war against one another" Zangetsu said
"Damn straight, why wouldn't I, just because I have to acknowledge his strength doesn't mean I have to play horse and like it, I want the throne"
"I'm so sick of that analogy; you think you're a horse? A kings horse has pride of place in the stables, you nothing more than a rabid, hungry dog clawing as the door, hurry up and starve already" Ichigo snarled in reply. The hollow bared its teeth in response; both of them started reaching for the cleavers on their backs.
"ENOUGH, have you both already forgotten what the three of us can accomplish working together?" Zangetsu barked, halting the imminent fight "you have only managed to weaken each other with this useless feud. Are you both so incapable of accepting your other halves?"
This display of anger was so out of character for the stoic Zangetsu that it stunned both Ichigo and his hollow into listening
"You will not continue this war, you are both aware of the position the sou-taicho has entrusted us with. The soul society has become so mired in tradition and bureaucracy that they are no longer capable of effectively protecting the worlds under their charge. We have a chance to change this, we are responsible for the future of these worlds, do you both intend to throw this chance away with selfish infighting? Powerful neighbours need to work together, if all they do is fight one another they will not only destroy themselves but everyone caught in the crossfire"
The silence was thick and heavy after Zangetsu stopped talking, nothing was said for some time, both Ichigo and his doppelganger were lost in thought.
"Look, Zangetsu's right, this chance is too big to let slide. I'm not saying we have to like each other but, how about a cease fire" Ichigo said turning to the hollow. The hollow stood silent for a while before...
"Alright"
Zangetsu knew it wasn't the end. They had just agreed to not fight openly for the sake of others but were by no means allies, a cold war had begun.