Chapter 3: Nothing Can Be Explained (RE-Bis- Part 3)

Written By: Ethorthecinderace_TCC_

Ichigo sighed as he rested against the back of his desk chair, the day was long, that much was true, but he couldn't help but smile as he looked up at the ceiling he thought of all the honest fun he had, the first time in ages it felt like. He looked over to where Makoto was sitting, resting most of the items she bought on the bed before packing them. He smiled one last time, before attempting to stand up and pack his things… before his phone alerted him of a call.

"Who in the?" Ichigo said before taking his phone out of his pocket and answering it, "Yo"

"ICHIGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shouted Keigo

"SHUT UP!" shouted Tatsuki before the sound of many impacts resounded from the other end before it was caught and Tasuki continued, "Yo, Ichigo, How are you feeling big guy?"

"Ay Tatsuki, Doing alright." Ichigo said before chuckling for a second, "Better than I have been these past few days."

"Well that is good at least." said Tatsuki, "you up to head to the movies with me and the guys? Chad, Orihime, and Uryu are gonna be there."

"Eh, sure why not… Wait, hold on a sec," Ichigo said before moving the phone away from his ear and calling out to Makoto, "Oy Makoto, Wanna go see a movie with a few friends of mine?"

"Sure. I will get ready."

"Sounds good," said Ichigo before he put the phone back to his ear, "Yha I am down. I just gotta bring a friend with me too."

"Oh really? Who is this Makoto person?"

"Oh, she is just a family friend, her sister is my dad's friend and they are coming over for a bit… I will expl-"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT! Ichigo has two hot babes at his place!" said Keigo before the sound of struggling and another set of impacts before Tatsuki continued,

"Sorry about that, I will make sure Keigo won't be too crazy around her!"

"Thanks, she definitely can't handle his stupidity." said Ichigo, "See you at the theater."

"See you there!" said Tatsuki before the call disconnected.

Makoto was back in the room a few seconds later, With Jacket in hand. "You ready?" she asked

"That was fast… How did you- Never mind. Yha Let's get going." said Ichigo before grabbing his jacket and Opening the window to his bedroom, before stopping… "Sorry, force of habit."

"Out the window?" asked Makoto

"Don't worry about it," said Ichigo before Grabbing Makoto's hand and dragging her out of the house.

It was 30 minutes later when they made it to the theater, snow bearing down on the people waiting there, buying tickets or lounging around after the movie they watched… or in Ichigo and Makoto's case, waiting for their friends to arrive to see the movie.

"ICHIGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" said Keigo, Launching himself into Ichigo bef- "BOOF"

"Oi, Keigo," said Ichigo nonchalantly after close-lining Keigo, slamming him into the ground and getting him into a headlock.

"YAY-OW- HE IS BACK TO NORMAL!" said Keigo

"Shut up you big lug!" Said Tatsuki before slapping Keigo's face lightly, "Still though, you're not wrong. Ichigo is mostly acting like his old self now. I wonder, what's up with you?"

"Eh, nothing too much. Met some family friends, spoke to a therapist, and… well one last thing," said Ichigo

At this point, Miziru was fully looking up from his phone, "Oh?" he responded, "What up"

"Well…"

"It wouldn't be a good idea to say the news no and ruin the movie for us before it starts," said Makoto before extending a hand to the Duo and the man on the ground in a headlock, "My Name is Makoto Nijima, it is a pleasure to meet you three."

"Pleasures ours!" said Keigo, who cast off the headlock he was locked in and extended a hand to Makoto, "The Name is Keigo Asano! And those two are Miziru Kojima-"

"Yo." said person commented

"- and this is Tatsuki Arisawa!"

"Wassup."

"Now, Ichigo has been through a lot ok, so be kind to him while you and your sister are at Ichigo's place, Kay!"

"Wow, Keigo not perving over a woman that Isn't Tatsuki? That is weird." Joked Ichigo

Keigo gasped and began to fight with Ichigo, Causing Mizuru and Tatsuki to start laughing at their antics, but it gave Makoto a chance to look over the three. The most notable thing out of the bat was Keigo's endurance, it was almost comical how durable he was. The second was Mizuru, he was seemingly almost on his phone throughout this entire conversation originally, and then there was Tatsuki, who was strangely looking at Makoto with concern more than anything,

Their clothes were interesting to her as well, with basically all three of them being dressed like old-style fashion models, Keigo was dressed the simplest, wearing a pair of blue jeans and some black work boots as well as a thick gray jacket over a light blue shirt, tucked away under a Red, white and blue multicolored scarf. Miziru on the other hand decided to wear something a little more casual. Such as black pants, white shoes that match a white hoodie with some designs on it, as well as a plaid ascot. Tatsuki was dressed in simple yet effective Pink sweat pants that matched with a pink shirt, and a green jacket that matched with a pair of green shoes.

Ichigo held off Keigo long enough in "their" playfight to ask, "Where are Orihime, Sado, and Uryu?"

The three looked at him in a tiny bit of shock before retracting into a small state of sorrow, Mizuru spoke up first, "They uh… they will be here as soon as they can. Something came up… you know how it is."

Ichigo seemed to instantly understand… "Oh… I see" he sounded sad as he said, "Well, I guess we won't need to wait too long…"

"Yha, they should be here in a few minutes." said Tatsuki, "You know them, they won't be too long."

"What are they doing?" asked Makoto, "Judging by your reactions it must not be the safest extracurricular activity."

"Oh, don't worry Makoto, they work with Uryu's father to deliver medicine out to the clinics around here. It gets a little dangerous with all the gangs running around tho." said Mizuru, "We just worry for them sometimes you know?"

"I guess that makes sense," said Makoto, "However, Me and Ichigo were out earlier, and we did not find any gangs."

"That is because we weren't searching fo-"

"WE'RE HERE!"

Makoto looked over to where the voice was coming from and saw three people. A bubbly girl with orange hair, a taller-than-average Mexican man who was currently… strangely shirtless, and a serious-looking teenager with medium-length black hair.

"Sorry for the wait, Fathers package took a little longer to get to the Yamagishi clinic than we thought." said the serious-looking boy, Uryu "To the point where Chad had to carry both me and Orihime here."

Chad only grunted in response as he took his shirt and jacket back from the Bubbly orange-haired girl before she walked up to Ichigo and Hugged him.

"Oh it has been so long! How have you been Ichigo?" asked who Makoto could only assume was Orihime

"Eh, Better I guess." said before they both absorbed themselves into their own little conversation

"Ichigo…" said Chad. He was now fully clothed, and somehow he appeared behind Makoto… before he pointed down at her, "Who is she?"

"Oh! This is-"

"Makoto Nijima," said Makoto.

"What she said," said Ichigo with a shrug, which caused Makoto to laugh.

"Nijima… Like Sae Nijima? The Prosecutor who is often seen doing work in Tokyo?" asked Uryu, "What is someone like you doing here?"

"Two reasons, the second one I elected to tell after the movie." said Makoto, "However, the first is simple, My Father and Ichigo's mom used to know each other, so me and my sister came to visit for the holidays."

"Interesting. Then you must have been sad to hear that Ichigo's mother had passed away many years ago?"

"Indeed I was. However, while I am not able to meet her, I see a lot of said traits in Ichigo over there, so I am glad to get to know him," said Makoto

"Yes… it does seem to be the case." said Uryu, "Just…" He looked over to Ichigo, seeing that Ichigo and Orihime were listening to the conversation, along with everyone else out of the friend group, "I would like to know the other reason."

"As I stated with Tatsuki and the others, I do not wish to ruin the mood of the movie-watching experience."

"Please… Makoto… It's fine." said Ichigo, "They are going to find out anyway."

"Find out what?" asked Keigo and Tatsuki at the same time

Ichigo sighed… and then he spoke, "I am going to be going to Tokyo on the 26th… and I am going to be there for the rest of the year."

Everyone looked shocked at Makoto and Ichigo. Orihime looked at him with fear and sorrow, Tatsuki looked shocked, Keigo looked as if he was going to cry, and Mizuru… looked blank, almost as if he was shocked… but his face couldn't twist into a shocked expression, Chad was the same… for the most part at least. His face was harder to discern for Makoto but under his mop of hair… there were tears… beginning to form on his face, Uryu looked shocked and almost appalled at the fact that he was leaving, to the point where he took Ichigo by the shoulder and started to drag him away, into their private conversation… That was before Makoto felt Taktsuki's hand on her shoulder.

"Tell us everything, you HAVE to be involved with this somehow!"

(With Ichigo and Uryu)

"What the Hell was he thinking!" shouted Uryu, "I mean seriously! Does he not know what the hell is going on! Has the soul society or that stupid hatted fool told him nothing!"

"Hey! Come on man I get your pissed but it is not that bad." said Ichigo, "Besides it is only for a year. It won't be too bad."

"A year? In Tokyo? Ha! What school did he set you up to go to?"

"Last I checked it was… Shujin? I don't know, I only know it is the same school that Makoto goes to!"

"Ok… that is not TOO bad, there aren't many spiritually adept people there… I guess if you wanted to do sports, last I heard the track team does a good job. But that is beside the point!" said Uryu "Do you know what the odds of getting eaten by a hollow over there? Worse than here!"

"Are you concerned about me? That's odd." said Ichigo slyly before patting him on the shoulder, "Please dude, Everything is gonna be fine. Besides, what is the worst that can happen"

Uryu only looked at him as if he was stupid, "Really?"

"Oh come on you know what I mean!" said Ichigo

"It seems like you still don't. You are at risk, you were anyway going out of the city, but not by gangs, there are not as many defenses against hollows as there are, here. You are going to be at risk there Ichigo. And as uncharacteristic of me to worry for the safety of a soul reaper, you are my friend… and I don't want you to get eaten by one of those things."

"That… is quite sweet of you," said Ichigo

"Don't get too sappy with me yet. Knowing the others, they are likely plotting to crash your family Christmas. And I am gonna be in on it somehow." said Uryu

"Yha… guess so," said Ichigo before looking down at his own feet.

"Go to Urahara's place tomorrow. I bet he would like to know, if he doesn't already." said Uryu, "Now come on. Let's head back to the others."

He walked off to join the others for a "WAIT!"

"What?"

"Thank you." said Ichigo, "Thank you… For worrying about me."

Uryu scoffed with a smile, "Shut up… I am just… Looking out for you ok."

"Says you and your face! You are giving away with that smile!" said Ichigo as he slung his arm over Uryu's shoulder, "Besides! "It's not like you care or anything, Baka!" "Yha right!"

"Shut up!" said Uryu.

They both walked back to the rest of the group to watch the movie.

(The Next Day- 12/24/2015, POV Ichigo)

I honestly hadn't expected to come back here again… then again… I didn't expect to lose my powers to start with, so that is something.

The sight before me was both familiar and homely, but it also pissed me off. The look of the black ceremonial ribbons over the paper sliding doors leading into the shop. The sight of the van on the side of the building, the sign over the door. Everything… It was strangely therapeutic to be here.

It was almost like I moved up to the shop without my own will, grasping the door and pushing it aside. The shop itself was empty, and the stock was just as fresh as ever, fresh candy and the supplies to make them. Heck even an ice cream machine. It was a really good cover considering what the shop itself was… Kinda made me wonder how Kon was doing… Kinda. But I walked to the back of the store, and opened another door, and of course, the door to the training room was opened as it usually was.

"Been a while… Hasn't it… Urahara-San?"

I turned, seeing Urahara Kisuke standing behind me. A smile, fully formed on his face, almost as if he wanted to smile more… but couldn't or his face would explode from happiness. He was holding back something else. I could tell that much from my mentor… and the one person that somehow pisses me off without trying, in the best way of course.

"Indeed it has." said Urahara, "Although, I am shocked you have not called my "Hat N' Clogs" yet."

"Well if you insist, Hat N' Clogs," I said

"Please, sit! I want to hear the details of how you have been!"

I did as asked, and as soon as I did a small black cat walked up beside me, I of course gave the cat some scratches on the knick of her neck. "Hello Yoruichi."

She only meowed in return for now.

"So! Ichigo, I heard from your father about what he is planning for you."

Yha… of course he would, "I guess you are also going to tell me how dangerous it is to go?"

"I would, your father also suspected as much, and other than the only school in the area that would be a benefit to you a lot more sketchy than your father thinks, I honestly think it makes sense for me and my shop to move locations!"

"Wait… REALLY?!"

"YES! This was agreed upon by all of us! Your father owes me a favor… or 500, so I thought, 'Why not make it 500 and 1!'" said Urahara, "He asked me to come with you, he asked for me to live with you too, but I don't have enough rooms!"

"So you decided to… Move Shops?"

"Yup!" said Urahara

"Honestly Ichigo, Did you think that we wouldn't do such a thing?" asked Yoroichi, who was currently sitting on Ichigo's lap.

"Yes… honestly, I did. Wait? What about the shop here?"

"Tessai will do a good job without us. If anything, I think he might need a vacation away from us." said Urahara, "Besides, I always wanted to franchise out. Maybe I think Shibuya would be a good place to build a shop!"

"I… guess Shibuya would be nice."

"Now you are thinking smart!" said Kisuke, "Now then, I guess we better get packing! As well as planning around that party your friends are planning to do tonight!"

"Besides, I think it has been long enough since you have last seen my human form, maybe now I can get a rise out of you… Nah, likely not, but you aren't going to know that," said Yoroichi

"Please… don't," I said,

I look down, Yoroichi looking back into my eyes, " All this…It's enough… there is no need for much more."

"Ichigo…"

"I just… I don't know… I know I shouldn't, because they are me, But… I miss them you know." said Ichigo

"I know you do." said Urahara, "If I were in your shoes, I know I would miss my Benihime-Chan. Any of us soul reapers would, but please, don't lose hope. There is a chance you can get your powers back, there is a chance you can be the good old you again."

"Yha… like that first part will ever happen." said Ichigo, "They said it themselves, there is no way I can get them back… they are gone… forever."

All three of them sat silent, until Urahara stood, and walked out of the room, into the one he came from. After a few moments, he walked back into the room, carrying something in his hand, something wrapped in what looked to be the remains of a scarlet yukata.

"We thought you would like to have this." said Urahara, "We and your allies thought it would be prudent you had it… at some point at least."

"What is it?"

"It is a gift, Open it," said Yoroichi

I grabbed it from Uhrahara, grasping it in my hand thoughtfully, and unwrapping it. It looked like… a stick, or a wooden dowel, one with a metallic insert at the top and bottom of it.

"What… is it?"

"It's a gift!" said Urahara, before being swiftly whacked in the face with a pillow

"I KNOW THAT ASSHOLE!"

"What he means is, it is a gift from Kūkaku Shiba, she calls it Tamarud." said Yoroichi, "She said it would be helpful if you were ever without Kon or any other soul candy. Sadly, she was going to give this to you before she knew you were without your powers."

"I see. Guess that is ironic."

"Still, it will be there when you need it, Kinda like a lucky charm, so keep it on you at all times. Now then, I am sorry to run you off, But we need to get packed before the party!" said Urahahra

"Right. I guess I forgot. I have at least a day before I get going…"

"Hey, don't worry Ichi, we will be at the party tomorrow too, besides, it is not like you aren't going to see us again after the fact!" said Yoroichi

"Yha… I guess you are right." I said. I stood up, putting Tamarud in my back pocket, "I will… I will see you guys soon then." I then walked out the door, before they could even say goodbye… it wasn't time for goodbyes yet anyway.

(That Night- 12/24/2015)

Christmas Eve, for anyone else, was a cheerful time of year. And it was right now too, although, currently it was a little more boring than Ichigo would have hoped, sure the party was going to start in a few hours, but he wished that he could at least have SOME fun helping to get it set up instead of packing for the 26th… then again, because of the festivities, Sae was thinking about having Ichigo and Makoto leave tomorrow instead, but clearly, with the level of begging his sisters did… that was not gonna happen unless something came up… which was unlikely.

A few knocks were heard on his door, "Come in!"

And someone did it was the very man that set all this up, his hands behind his back as if he was hiding something. "How's it going in here Ichigo?" asked Issen

"Honestly, Bored out of my mind," said Ichigo

He only laughed at that, "You say that, but considering what is going on down there, be glad you are not down there with them, It is honestly almost as bad as when it is packed in the clinic!"

"You say that like you're not having fun," said Ichigo

"Yha… I guess I am, I can barely even help though with everyone running around." Issen said with a smile, "I see you got most of it settled?"

"Yup, I got most of what I need in only a few boxes, which… I guess is good," said Ichigo

"What about all your other stuff? Gonna leave it here?" asked Issen

"I mean, why shouldn't I? I am coming back at the end of the year, Besides, I can just get decorations when I head over to Tokyo," said Ichigo

"Yha, you are not wrong there." said Issen, "Now then… uh… Look kiddo, I know this is early and all… but I got something for you." he said before unveiling a small present, "I know it doesn't look like much… but it is something to remember us by."

Ichigo reluctantly took the present from him, "Goat face I… why not give it to me later," said Ichigo before he tried to put it into Issen's hands, which were swiftly pulled away by him.

"Nope! Gotta open it now!" said Issen with a coy smile

Ichigo sighed, "Fine… I will open it… thanks, Old man."

"You haven't even opened it yet! But you're welcome, Ichigo."

Ichigo unwrapped the present, opened the box, and then swiftly closed it, "Dad, I can't take this! This is…"

"Your moms… I know." said Issen before opening the box again, "She would have wanted you to have it."

Ichigo looked in the box again, his hands trembling as he pulled out what was inside, it was a ring… it was both of their engagement rings, fashioned into a necklace.

"Dad… I can't take these."

"I insist you do. Because whether she was alive or not, she would have begged for you to have it! Hell, I would have been right with her doing so! I am not asking you to give it to someone you love yet, Hell I am not even asking you to wear them! But I want you to have them, to one day, use them, to have them with you in times where it seems dark… because, even if we are apart, and one of us is in the damn grave, we will all be with you. Your sisters, mother, and I are all gonna be there for you, even so far apart."

"Dad…" Ichigo and Issen stood silent for a bit. Ichigo looked down at the two rings, tears forming in his eyes… How long had it been since he cried?

"Now… I gotta get back to the others, we will get back to you when we are done setting up… ok."

He was about to walk out of the room… before Ichigo slammed into his back and wrapped his arms around him in a massive hug, crying… and saying thank you.

Issen smiled, "I will give you a few minutes to collect yourself. Come on down when you are ready ok."

Ichigo broke off the hug. And nodded, he slung the necklace around his neck. "Thanks…"

Issen smiled before rebuilding the broken hug, "You're welcome kiddo."

Ichigo returned it, and they were like that for a few minutes before they both broke the hug. "Ok, I am going downstairs, See you in a few minutes."

"Yha… see you in a few."

Issen left the room, leaving Ichigo to think. It was something that he had been doing a lot. But he was thinking about the future. What would the school he was going to go to be like? Would he make new friends? Would anything change with him mentally? Those were the big questions after all. But in the end, it doesn't matter to worry about the future when you are one step into it after all.

There was a knock on the door that roused him from his thoughts before the door opened. It was Makoto.

"Yo."

"Hi… so… everyone is ready for the party," said Makoto

"Why are you so nervous?" asked Ichigo

"Well. Inoue-Chan's overactive imagination was kinda getting the best of me," said Makoto

"Yha, I can see that, I had a friend who moved away not too long ago who also had to get used to her imagination, you start to get used to it after a while, heck most of us find it a little charming," said Ichigo

"I guess so. Anyhoo- oh you got Kurosaki-san's gift!" said Makoto, "No wonder he was crying so happily when he came back down."

"Yha, I thought he would." said Ichigo before he stood up, "I doubt I will ever take this off."

"You shouldn't, at least if I were in your shoes. Now then, your friends are waiting for you," said Makoto before walking out of the room, with Ichigo following behind her

"Good grief, I am coming!" said Ichigo, jokingly of course, as he walked behind her down the stairs to see the house decorated to the nines. A fake tree was situated where the couch by the window used to be, and it was decorated beautifully with lights, lanterns, fans, and bulbs. The tree itself was overlooking a table filled with presents big and small, wrapped in ornate wrappings, almost like they were wrapped in miniature kimonos. On the kitchen table was a proverbial smorgasbord of food and drink, with at least six buckets of Fried chicken being the centerpiece of the massive meal, with sushi and rice and many other dishes, thankfully none of Orihime's nightmare dishes, lining the table, and of course.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Ichigo smiled, looking upon his friends and family, as well as the Niijima family, as they pulled the backs of confetti poppers and popped them, as the confetti rained down on Ichigo, his sisters ran and gave him a hug

"Merry Christmas everyone." said Ichigo, he looked over to his father, who beckoned him to continue, "Thank you… for setting all this up for us. I know that this was not only on short notice but also so close to me leaving… I am sorry I didn't help with getting it set up, although, knowing all of you… I doubt you would let me."

"YOU DAMN RIGHT!" said Keigo, which caused everyone in the room to laugh.

"So let me just say, thank you… thank you all for everything. Now, enough of the depressing shit! You all set this up, so let's put it to good use shall we!"

His friends and family, as well as the Niijima family, rejoiced at the sudo speech, with Yuzu running up and practically dragging him to the table to enjoy the food before it got cold, and over the next two hours, they feasted. Eating delicious dishes, and speaking amongst each other. Hell, someone even busted out the booze and Issen and Urahara were drinking themselves stupid off sake. But the feast ended, and it was time for presents. But, before anyone could even spread the presents around, Sae's phone began to ring.

"Sorry, continue without me. This shouldn't be too long," she said before walking out the front door.

"Damn Makoto-san, doesn't your sister know how to NOT kill the mood?" said Mizuru, "Eh, no matter, Come on! Let's open these up!" he said before tossing a big present to Makoto.

"What is all this?" asked Makoto

"It is something that we all pitched in on, We thought it would be a good idea to get you something," said Tatsuki

"Thank you, but is it ok if I open it later?" said Makoto

"Nope!" said Orihime

"Bu-"

"Sorry Makoto, Gotta open yours first." said Ichigo, "I think the phrase was… Ah, got it, "Guests get first pick?" Is that right?"

"'No thank you, is also proper in this situation," said Makoto

"Damn. Welp! You can open this one now if you want?" said Ichigo before tossing a present into her lap.

Makoto looked at both of the presents she received… before setting the smaller one on the bigger one. "Maybe a little later"

"Eh, worth a shot!" said Orihime before catching a small present Ichigo tossed her way, "Thank you!"

"No problem," said Ichigo before tossing another present toward Chad

"Well, if that is the case, Why can't Ichigo open his first present?" asked Keigo, before tossing said present over to Ichigo, "Like THIS one!"

Ichigo caught it, before tossing one over to Keigo, "Fine. And here I was thinking I was the man, oh the hour-long enough."

"Nope!" said Keigo, Yuzu, and Karin before Yuzu continued, "Besides! This is gonna be the last time we get to see you for a while, and I think Keigo wants you to Closeline him again!"

"I DO NOT!"

The whole room laughed at that, even Keigo laughed at the interaction even if it was at his own expense. Thankfully Issen brought everything back on track, "Come on my boy, Open it up!"

"Yha yha, I am on it!" said Ichigo, playfully rolling his eyes as he unwrapped the present, and as soon as he opened it, he almost did a spit take in laughter, "Really? A Champion of Clotheslining trophy? Where did you even find this?"

"Mizuru," said Keigo as he stepped closer like he was gonna come and hug Ichigo

"Well, we both owe him one then!" said Ichigo before hugging him, "Thanks Keigo."

"Oh come on! I wanted that closeline!" said Keigo "Not tonight." said Ichigo as he broke off the hug, "Now, You open mine."

"On it!" Said Kiego before ripping the wrapping paper off the package in one fell swoop and opening the box inside, he was close to bursting into tears when he looked back at Ichigo, "R-Really?" he asked

"Yha. In fact. Why don't everyone open their presents now, because I honestly think it is fitting… especially now."

At his request, they did, minus Urahara and Makoto, and they all visually got the same thing: A photo album. The one that Keigo, Mizuru, and Uryu had held all the memories they had over their year of high school together, of notable moments they held together… and summer vacation. For Ichigo's family or people who knew him longer, it was a photo album, but with much different contents, for Chad, Orihime, and Tatsuki, it was all of the moments that the four had spent time together, condensed into photos that they had taken over the years, and summer vacation… and the day that Ichigo, Uryu, Chad and Orihime first Left from the soul society… one of the few memories that Rukia left behind, mainly because it was one that her captain's lieutenants took before they left that took it, and Rukia confiscated it from them. For Ichigo's Family, it was every single memory that they had taken photos for, minus stuff from his stint as a soul reaper of course. It was only a small gesture… but it was enough.

"I wanted you all to look back on these times happily. I didn't expect that you all would get so emo-" he was interrupted but most of the people hugged him in response. "I guess… it did more than I thought."

"N-No shit Sherlock!" said Karin in between her sobbing.

"We are gonna miss you Big Bro," said Yuzu

"Please… Be safe out there," said Issen

"I will… I love you guys," said Ichigo

"Well… this seems to be a bad time."

Everyone looked over to Sae after she said that.

"Makoto, Ichigo, we need to go, Now," said Sae

"What but the party's still going on!" said Orihime

"Well I am sorry to say, but my work called, There was another case of Mental Shutdowns that caused the deaths of about 6 dead, including the death of the parents of a little girl." said Sae, "I am sorry I am interrupting the party, I was unable to even negotiate any later than tomorrow morning."

"Why can't Ichigo and Makoto just stay here until the time you were originally supposed to go?"

"Trains are going to be down for the next week and a half, so unless Ichigo has a car I don't want to risk doing that. You all can pack up the presents and put them in my car. Ichigo, Makoto, grab your things, we are leaving now."

And reluctantly they both followed her orders. Of course, there was a little bit of verbal fighting between Sae and Ichigo's friends, but there was nothing they could do. Makoto grabbed her things as Ichigo said goodbye to his friends and family. And by the end of the hour, they left the house and got into the now-packed car. And soon after… They left Karakura town, and as they did, Ichigo fell asleep only to wake again when they reached Tokyo.

(Pov Ichigo, Location Unknown, Time Unknown)

That night…well, I guess you could say that my dreams were not as disturbing to me as you would have thought.

(Pov Ichigo)

"Hey!"

I stared at them, their visions burned into my mind… I didn't know how long I was out, but I could tell I was in my bedroom staring up at Orihime, Sado, Uryu… and… Rukia.

"Ichigo!" Orihime shouted in glee as I jolted up from the bed, my hand grasping at my sheets to even tell if any of this was real.

"Huh, Wha-, I am in my room?"

"Yes." Said Rukia, her voice, was kind, beautiful, and regal, but right now it was oozing sorrow. She took Orihime into a small hug as she spoke about something that was very much like her, But I couldn't hear it over Rukia's own, "You were asleep for a month."

"A month…" I said… shocked, my memory halted a second before I grasped at my chest, "That's right, My Powers!" I could feel their eyes upon me, their sorrow, their… everything.

"Ichigo."

I looked over to Rukia as she spoke, "Urahara told me. I understand you lost your soul reaper powers."

I sighed, "Then… you know. Looks like I did." I look over at her slightly, "Guess I'd better resign as a deputy soul reaper now."

"The first stage of loss brings intense pain, loss of consciousness, and the time-lapse the body experienced in the Dangai flows backward." said Rukia, "See how short your hair is? We didn't cut it. At this point, your soul reaper powers are gone. In the second stage, your remaining spirit energy stabilizes and you wake up. Shortly after that… all your remaining Spiritual power disappears"

I look at her, I look at them… I knew the looks they had of sorrow and pity… but I guess…

"I see. I thought so."

They looked at me, shocked at my statement.

"Y-your not shocked?" asked Rukia

"Nah, I kinda had a feeling that's how it'd be," I said as nonchalantly as I could… but I knew they could hear the quivering of my voice. I looked outside…, "Can I go outside?"

It was a few minutes later when I walked out the door to the clinic, I looked around the city, trying to find anyone else around… the picturesque landscape and cityscape around me showed me what I already knew, 'I can't sense any spirits.' I could feel the sound of footsteps beside me, it was everyone, and leading the pack… was Rukia standing before… them… God… this was… strange.

I had said goodbye to her before, but even then, I knew I would see her again… but now? My lord, I had to take in the details of her face and imbed it into my memory somehow. Her pale skin, Her dark hair, her purple eyes… she was beautiful… but then again… this was goodbye.

'Rukia's Presence… it's fading too. I guess my powers are disappearing.'

"It's time to say goodbye, Ichigo," said Rukia

"Yha… guess so."

She slapped my chest, "What don't look so sad! Even if you can't see me I can still see you!" she said, trying to make light of all this, but I knew…

"What good is that?" I scoffed, "That doesn't cheer me up at all. And I'm not looking sad either!"

We both laughed about that for a second, before I noticed something. she was fading away, turning into blue butterflies that were beginning to fly off into the sun above. I looked down at her, with her looking down at my feet. The butterflies flew off as she faded more and more.

"Give everybody… My regards."

"I will"

Soon it reached her head… And she was gone.

"Goodbye… Rukia," I said… to nobody at all before looking to the sky… "And thank you."

At that moment I awoke, looking upon the streetlights as they passed by… this was it… I was in Tokyo…

"Rukia… Boy, I wish you could see this… it is beautiful here."