Bleach: No Longer A Substitute

Welcome to my second story. I have been a big fan of Bleach ever since i first watched the anime, eight years ago. However i was truly satisfied with how the story continued after the defeat of Aizen. If anything, i felt at times that it would have been better if it had ended there. Which is why i decided to rewatch the entire anime again and write this story, which serves as my own take as to how the anime would have continued after the end of the Fake Karakura Arc.

I hope you enjoy it, and please feel free to comment and point out the issues it might have. The thing i love so much about Bleach is that for a Shonen anime it is very deep and complex and i tried with all my heart to capture that depth. So feel free to point out ways it could be improved. After all, it's only the second story i write.

I don't own Bleach not its characters, they are owned by Tite Kubo and by Studio Pierrot.

Chapter 1: Death Is Only The Beginning

Our story begins in a common, simple bedroom of a two store house, one with a bed, a closet, a desk and a wardrobe. The light of the sun, shining through the clear and beautiful skies of the city known as Karakura Town had just begun to make its way through the window of the room, illuminating the one who occupied the bed.

A still asleep tall, lean and well built teen that had spiky orange hair wearing a white sleveless shirt and black trousers. He was none other than Ichigo Kurosaki, the former Substitute Soul Reaper, the victor of Sosuke Aizen, and the hero of the Winter War, now just a normal human being, having lost his powers with that final attack he used to nearly kill the evil leader of the Arrancar Army, who waged war towards the Soul Society after a century and more of plotting, raising an army and creating the device he would have needed to evolve into in his own words "A being that transcended both Hollows and Soul Reapers", overthrow the Soul King and remake the world in his image. That attack, appropriately named "Final Getsuga Tensho" destroyed his illusion-conjuring Zampakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu and weakened him to the point of allowing the sealing Kido that Kisuke Urahara had planted to finally take effect and finally seal the vile and megalomaniac Aizen once and for all.

After which Ichigo went through the inevitable process of losing his powers. Not too long after reuniting with his friends, he collapsed on the ground screaming in pain and passed out. That was just the beginning.

He woke up ten days later in Rukia's house, once again surrounded by his friends, by then having completely recovered from the many injuries they sustained during their battles against the fearsome Arrancars, the members of Aizen's army. It was then that he learned that the first stage of the loss of his powers aside from much pain and the loss of consciousness for ten whole days, reversed the flow of time his body experienced in the Precipice World, also known as the Dangai. In other words, the 3 months he spent there learning the Final Getsuga Tensho, which equalled just one hour of time in the living world, due to the difference in time passing there being 2000 times denser compared to the living world (In other words one hour in the living world is equivalent to 2000 hours in the Precipice World, that is, 3 months), were simply gone, as if he never lived for those 3 months. And by that point, his Soul Reaper powers were already gone.

After which it was only a matter of time before, in the second stage, his remaining Spiritual Pressure would stabilise itself before vanishing completely. And that is exactly what happened 20 days later. He could no longer sense spiritual presences anymore. He had just enough time to say goodbye to Rukia, the one who had given him everything before she faded away forever, thanking her for everything she did for him and giving the regards to all the other Soul Reapers he had become friends with.

After which he resumed his life as a normal human again, with the difference that he could no longer see ghosts again. And today was no different. In fact, right at this moment, as it had become custom for many, many years, just as our former hero was about to wake up…

"GOOD MORNING, ICHIGOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Came an all too familiar and goofy voice. And for the hundreth, if not thousandth of time this year, his dad, Isshin Kurosaki, a tall and muscular man in his forties with spiky black hair, brown eyes, thin facial hair around his mouth and on his cheeks and wearing a white pijiama with pink spots behaved like a child and tried to wake his son up the same way he did for 10 years and more. That is, by jumping on him.

(OST: "Head in the Clouds" = https/watch?v=K-4VtZO1a7g )

And as it turned out, for the umpteenth time, due to how loud Isshin usually was, Ichigo opened his brown eyes and calmly and swiftly slammed his right hand on Isshin's face, stopping him mid-air before slamming him to the ground with a comical thud.

As his dad comically grunted in pain, Ichigo sighed in slight annoyance and boredom and calmly remarked "For real dad, when will you decide to grow up? Even Karin and Yuzu aren't children anymore." this whole thing had been going on for so many years that he just coudn't even bring himself to get mad everytime his dad acted so childishly. Actually it was so embarrasing it wasn't even worth getting angry over it.

"Hehe… You really have gotten strong my boy….. There really is nothing left for me to teach you, my son….." casually muttered Isshin, his head still being pressed on by Ichigo's right hand.

"Ugh, how is he my dad again?" thought the orange haired strawberry with a sweat-drop. How did his dad used to be a Soul Reaper was beyond him.

"Breakfast's ready!" came yet another voice from the lower floor, this time a cute and girly one belonging to Ichigo's older sister, Yuzu. And with that Ichigo put on his grey school uniform and along with his dad, went downwards and promptly saw that Karin was already sitting at the table, eating rice with the soy sauce and other vegetables while Yuzu was in the final steps of cooking the scrambled eggs that she would often make for her older brother at breakfast. Ichigo took the time to spare a glance to his sisters. Both Yuzu and Karin had definetely begun to grow up and become more womanly with their curves as they turned 13 not too long ago. Yuzu's light blonde hair had now grown to shoulder length and was now tied in two pigtails with pink cherry bobbles behind her ears, with her her hair clip on her right pigtail. Likewise her face had become even more prettier than it already was, what with her light brown eyes and all. Karin on the other hand, now wore her black hair that she got from her father and matched the color of her eyes, in a short ponytail and her bust, unlike Yuzu's had begun to develop. Needless to say she had begun to become more attractive just like her older sister.

"Morning Yuzu. Morning Karin." greeted Ichigo as he sat down, with a casual tone. Then Yuzu set down the eggs she made for her brother and the orange haired teen smiled sweetly at her. Then Isshin took his seat at the table and all four of them began to eat.

Midway through breakfast Ichigo noticed that Karin, without even taking her eyes off her bowl seemed to nonchalantly poke at something with her chopsticks. Although Ichigo coudn't see it, she was poking at the spirit of middle-aged man's glasses which was looking at her with hearts in its eyes due to how pretty she looked.

With a funny, bewildered look he asked her "Something going on, Karin?" to which his younger sister replied stoically, with her eyes closed while she was drinking her soup "Nothing." Ichigo merely shrugged and resumed eating.

"So…." chimed in Isshin, after a few minutes of silence to lighten up the mood "Got any special activities planned this winter holidays with your friends?"

Ichigo merely shooked his head before answering "Dunno. Keigo said he was gonna throw up a party at his sister's house next Thursday. Even invited Uryu, Chad, Orihime and me." he paused before his face took on a awkward expression "That being said, i'm not sure his sister will agree to it given how…. "violent" she is." upon remembering that one time a few months ago, when she outright crushed her brother's balls with one of her bare hands for forgetting to buy some milk. Needless to say, poor Keigo coudn't sit well for a whole week after that. Honestly the more he thought about it, the more Mizuho reminded him of Kukaku due to ho temperamental and aggressive she was.

"I think you should go, big brother! I mean you're on your final year of high school, right?" chimed in Yuzu, sitting on his left, just as happy as any day. That was something Ichigo truly loved about her. How she always seemed happy in spite of how after her mother died, she decided to take care of the housework despite her young age on a daily basis.

"Your point, Yuzu?" he asked her, still keeping his casual look on his face.

"You don't know if you'll see them again after you graduate. It's possible they will all go to different collages after high school. So i think that taking the opportunity to spend time with them like this, will leave you with some very fun and sweet memories when you'll have your own family!" declared his older sister with a sweet and caring smile on her soft lips.

Only to then be chastised by Karin who remarked "You don't have to remind him, Yuzu. He'll be a grown man in a few years. You should think more about yourself and enjoy your adolescence while it lasts." she then paused before looking at her dad and adding "And before you end up like this clown over here." causing her dad to comically gasp in shock and his eyes to widen.

"Aww, come on, Karin! Why must you always be so mean! Dear Yuzu was just giving Ichigo some sisterly advice! And besides you could bring some friends home yourself, you know!" sobbed Isshin like a child, dismayed that his daughter was treating him like that while Ichigo and Yuzu sweat-dropped at their father's childish antics.

"Oh please, all of them would stop hanging out with me if they met you." snorted Karin in response, earning a cute chuckle from Yuzu while Ichigo simply smiled and petted Yuzu on the head for the advice she gave him "Don't worry, Yuzu, i will." he replied tenderly, while looking at her in the eyes.

But while Yuzu smiled back, Isshin sobbed even more and without a shred of dignity, he went to the poster of his late wife on the wall, hugged it with downright disturbing vigor and cried out "Oh Masaki, do you see how our beautiful daughter treats me? After all the years i've raised her and all the baths i've given and all the diapers i've changed, she still won't let me meet her friends! MY PRECIOUS LITTLE GIRL DOESN'T LOVE ME ANYMORE!" he cried out, causing his son and daughters to sweat-drop again.

Ichigo then took the opportunity to get up from the table and say "Later guys." and with that he walked out of his house's door with his bag rested on his left shoulder.

(Soundtrack ends)

As he exited his house, he took the time to think back at what happened just a year ago. Honestly, he coudn't believe that a year had already passed from his battle with Aizen. He also coudn't believe how well it went when Orihime, Uryu and Chad revealed to Tatsuki and the rest of his friends what Ichigo had been doing in all those months ever since the night Rukia gave him her powers. Then again, there wasn't much room for doubt given how Keigo, Tatsuki, Mizuiro, Chizuru and even Don Kanonji had witnessed the godly Aizen with their own eyes, the former captain, empowered by the Hogyoku having gone after them just to test his powers. If anything, Ichigo was glad they accepted it without any questions, even if Tatsuki had her own share of scolding to give him for lying to them the entire time.

"Morning Ichigo." came the voice of one of those friends, Mizuiro Kojima, waiting for him so that they could walk together to school. The young man had changed the style of his black hair: it was now straight and it covered his ears. In a way it made him look quite a lot like Ikkaku's friend, that flamboyant Soul Reaper called Yumichika Ayasegawa. Except Mizuiro still looked very young for his age due to how soft and sweet his face looked.

Ichigo merely smiled and waved at him before he stopped and spared one final look at his house, which was also the privately owned medical clinic "Kurosaki Clinic" which specialised in just about any injuries or diseases except major surgeries. Karin, Yuzu and sometimes, even Ichigo often assisted their father Isshin as nurses. He thought back at what happened with Karin a few minutes ago. From the looks of it, it seemed that in the last year, his younger sister's spirit energy started growing stronger, thus she could see spirits even better now. Although from the looks of it, Karin wasn't too thrilled about it. Then again, some dead people's souls could be quite annoying given how some people were just as strange in life as they were in the afterlife.

"Morning, Mizuiro. Let's go." greeted Ichigo after putting his thoughts aside. And with that they left for what was going to be yet another ordinary day in Karakura Town.

Yet again, for another day, as soon as Ichigo and Mizuiro reached their school and made their way in the corridor, in which students from all years were chatting with each other before their respective lessons would start….

"IIIIIIICHIIIIIIIGOOOOOOOOO!"

The extremely goofy, overdramatic and hyper active voice of Keigo Asano rang through the corridor as the brown haired teenager once again darted through the corridor and through many other students before launching himself towards Ichigo in an attempt to hug him.

This time, Ichigo, with a bored look, greeted "Yo." simply sidestepped to the left and as a result, Keigo fell on the ground with a loud and comical thud.

Mizuiro simply rolled his eyes at yet another of his goofy friend's charades and casually said "Oh well. See you later guys."

"Yeah. Guess i'll see you later at lunch, then." said Ichigo, while Keigo still lied on the ground, mumbling incomprehensible pained noises.

Then as Ichigo made his way to his classroom, he promptly spotted none other than the last of the Quincies, Uryu Ishida, already sitting on his chair, reading his maths book for the interrogation of today. He hadn't changed much in the last year, aside from the bangs of his chin-lenght black hair now hanging mostly on the right side of his face and the rest behind his left ear. And he was still, as Keigo often put it "The Number One Nerd of Karakura High School." much to his chagrin. Not that it should be surprising given the rich family he came from and his aspiration to become a doctor.

"Hey there, Uryu!" casually greeted Ichigo after smacking him wholeheartedly on the back, causing him to gasp, let go of the book he was reading and grunt in pain.

"What the hell did you do that for, you idiot?! I was in the middle of revising for tomorrow's interrogation!" he yelled back at him, ever the melodramatic fellow.

Ichigo merely sighed and asked "You never change, man. Like, do you always have to be so uptight? Life isn't just about school and studying, you know." while resting his bag on his own desk.

In response Uryu simply readjusted his glasses, closed his blue eyes and scoffed "Mmph. How typical for someone as stubborn and simple-minded as you. Except that one always has to set goals in his life. Life is short and-"

"Yeah, i can see why you're not popular with the girls." teased Ichigo, interrupting his eloquent speech and earning a funny scowl from the black haired nerd.

"What does that even have to do with… You know what, forget it." began again the irritated black haired Quincy before changing the subject "More importantly, did you bring back that history book i lent you? I need it for the exam next week."

Remembering the book he had asked from him to study from for the same exam next week, Ichigo nodded and replied "Yeah, don't worry. I've got it right here." but as he began to search for it in his bag…..

His eyes widened slightly after seeing something else. A wooden pendant with an X engraved on it and a cartoonish looking skull engraved in its center. His Substitute Soul Reaper Badge, the device he would often use to separate his soul from his body which allowed him to continue his duty before the Winter War and the Arrancar Invasion took place. And like that, all at once, dozens of memories came back.

Noticing the worried, contemplative and somewhat gloomy look on his face, Uryu asked "Ichigo? Is something wrong? Did you forget it?" his voice remaining as calm and collected as ever.

Taken out of his thoughts, the orange haired teen replied "Don't worry, i got it." with a fake annoyed tone before pulling the book out and handing it back to his friend.

"Well now, you two seem to be in good spirits today."

"Hi, Ichigo! Hi, Uryu!"

Came two more voices of two teenage girls, two more of Ichigo's friends as they entered the class, a teasing one and one so sweet and enchanting, one would be quick to mistake it for that of either an angel or a fairy.

The first voice belonged to a beautiful, lean but well built teenage girl of average height with long almost lavender colored hair that reached past her shoulders and brown eyes. Tatsuki Arisawa, the local tomboy of Karakura High School and karate prodigy, the first friend Ichigo had ever made. She had known him for 13 whole years ever since they met at the dojo she used to train. It was there that they learned karate together, in fact not once was Ichigo able to beat her in a karate match. They shared many happy and sad events, including the pain and the coping Ichigo had to deal when his mother died eight years ago.

The second voice belonged to an even more gorgeous girl of average height that had light grey colored eyes, long waist-lenght orange hair, worn in bangs tucked behind her ears with hairpins and a slender yet curvaceous phisique, complete with a pair of large breasts. She was Orihime Inoue, Tatsuki's childhood friend and the same girl Ichigo and his friends fought with all of their might to save from Aizen and his army's clutches when the Fourth Espada Ulquiorra Cipher kidnapped her and forced her to join the Arrancar army due to the danger her power to reject reality posed to the former Captain of Squad Five's plans. In many ways, she was the complete opposite of her purple haired tomboy friend: a girl so kind, friendly, optimistic and sensitive that she would go as far as heal even those who once sought to hurt her and her friends mere minutes ago. So powerful was her kindness, that she simply was unable to bear any grudges. And now, one year later, her body had become much more womanly and her hair was fuller and wavier, her bangs framing her beautiful face without the need of hair clips that now hanged over her ears.

"Morning Tatsuki. Hi, Orihime." casually greeted Ichigo as the two girls sat at their respective desks. As the rest of the students then began to sit at their respective desks, the orange haired teen noticed that one of them seemed to be missing.

As he then saw Keigo sitting next to him, he asked him "Hey, now that i think about it, where's Chad? Been a few days since i last saw him."

In response, Keigo leaned on the back of his chair, stared blankly at the ceiling and replied "He said he wanted to find a high paying job in order to get some money. Apparently he was considering joining the soccer team."

Raising a brow in slight surprise, Ichigo remarked "That's new. I never thought of him as someone obsessed with money. That said, he would definetely make for a great goalkeeper." realising that given how massive he was even for his age and how surprisingly nimble he was, it seemed like the perfect role for him in a team.

Putting his hands behind his head, Keigo said "Who knows? He might be saving some money for after graduation." he then paused and looked away before continuing "He might even move out after he's done with school. He did say to me that he wanted to make himself a career out of boxing." then an annoyed and dejected look made its way on his face "It sucks, man. That way, he won't have time to hang out with us." he finally declared.

"That's funny. You make it sound like he actually ever wanted to hang out with you." remarked casually Ichigo, causing his brown haired friend to nearly jump out of his chair.

"WHAAAATTT?!" cried out Keigo, turning towards the orange haired teen, his eyes already teary eyed and beginning to comically wave his arms left and right "What the hell is your problem, man?! I have better stuff to do than wasting Chad's time when he has to work so damn hard and earn money!"

"Then why did you even invite him to that party at your…. you know what, forget it, i don't wanna know." lectured Ichigo, embarassed at his friend's childish anticts, that even made his fathers's look awkward "How is he my same age, again?" he thought, with a sweat-drop.

At that moment the teacher entered the class and after announcing "Alright class, take your seats.", today's lesson began, the first of several. And from then on, things got averager and averager, as they were each day. However, during those lessons, Ichigo took the time to hold this Substitute Soul Reaper Badge and look at it with a blank and purposeless gaze with even a hint of melancholy in it.

"Ever since i lost my Soul Reaper powers, my combat pass has also stopped. Visual barrier's gone and the Hollow Alarm doesn't go off anymore. Now it's nothing more than a piece of wood. I even forgot that i left it in my school bag. Still, it's the only evidence i have left of my Soul Reaper past."

Thought back Ichigo, recalling all the fond memories of his time as a Soul Reaper. The night Rukia gave him her powers, the many battles against the Hollows, the many souls he rescued and brought to the Soul Society via Konso, how he and his friends faced the entirety of the Soul Society by themselves in their quest to save Rukia, mistakenly sentenced to death due to how Aizen had deceived and manipulated everyone within the Soul Society by conjuring the illusion of Central 46 with his Zampakuto Kyoka Suigetsu while the real members of Central 46 were dead all along….. and finally his battles against the many powerful Arrancars and his quest to save Orihime. Even though he didn't choose to become one, he liked being a Soul Reaper and most of all he had the power to protect those he cared about, his greatest motivation for living, other than wanting nothing more than a simple life as any other human being.

He then spared a glance at Uryu who was standing right in front of the class board, being picked by the teacher for today's interrogation and, predictably, carrying it out flawlessly as befitting of a "nerd" such as him.

"And now it's Uryu who's taken over exterminating the hollows i used to handle. I just hope he doesn't overdo things and upset the Soul Society." he mused to himself in his mind, recalling how, unlike the Soul Reapers who purify the spirits of the sins they committed as Hollows through their swords, thus allowing them to enter the Soul Society as Pluses, when Quincies killed Hollows, they destroy all of them, even what's left of their former human soul, thus affecting the spiritual balance of the worlds. Though, from what he heard apparently he had begun to work with Kisuke, having agreed to go after them only when the owner of the Urahara Shop would ask him to.

"Speaking of the Soul Society… Ever since our last goodbye, Rukia hasn't come to visit Karakura Town even once…" he mused again, this time in sadness, thinking back to the young, black haired woman that had given him the strength to protect those he cared about. The bond of friendship he shared with her was a very powerful one: he owed her everything for what he did for him and his friends and for how she didn't think twice about leaving her post in the Soul Society with Renji and join Ichigo and his friends in their quest to rescue Orihime from Aizen's fortress, Las Noches.

Later, at the roof of the school

After an ordinary lunch with his friends, Ichigo was now staring aimlessly towards the view the roof of the school offered of Karakura Town, leaning his chest on the guardrail and drinking orange juice. Most of his friends had already left, leaving him with only Tatsuki and Keigo to keep him company.

"So, have you thought about your plans for the future?" asked the lavender haired tomboy, who was leaning on the guardrail on her back, pulling him out of his gazing trance.

"Huh? You mean after High School?" he asked casually, after turning his head slightly towards her, earning a nod from her. He then gazed back at the view before him and simply sighed and replied "We still have some time" while taking a sip out of his juice.

Keigo, who was stretching his back by putting his feet on the lower horizontal bar of the guardrail and by holding onto the upper when with his hands then jovially chimed in "Well, we're about to start getting some career counseling after this semester so you'll have to start thinking about that stuff pretty soon." while getting up and also resting his back towards the guardrail, besides Tatsuki.

"You also had good grades to start with too, but then you bottomed out." pointed out the lavender haired tomboy with a casual smile, causing Ichigo to scowl in annoyance, look away and snort "Stop reminding me. Had a lot of stuff going on last year, it coudn't be helped. And besides, i'm still above average."

As he resumed sipping his juice, Keigo sat down and asked him "What about Rukia?" causing Ichigo to gasp in slight surprise "I wonder how she's doing these days." while staring at the wide blue skies that had few clouds today, remembering the fond memories of the time Rukia spent as a normal human girl after she gave her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo, until the Soul Society finally found her and brought her back.

Taken slightly aback by his brown haired friend's question, Ichigo, narrowed his eyes slightly at him and asked "And what does Rukia have to do with anything?"

"Well, she could at least drop by once in a while and say hi to us. She hasn't done that even once, since she left a year ago. Bit cold if you ask me." pointed out Tatsuki, with her eyes closed and her voice somewhat filled with worry towards her former friend.

Ichigo then closed his eyes and promptly turned his back on the guardrail before resting it on it and said "She's not cold. She likely was relieved of her duty to watch over Karakura Town." he then paused, reopened his eyes and with a somewhat melancholic tone, he declared "Her not coming back here is normal."

Said melancholy did not go unnoticed by both Keigo and Tatsuki. With a worried and empathetic look, the former asked him "You do miss her a lot, don't you?" only for Ichigo's face to become cold and emotionless. But the two teenagers could also see a tiny hint of sadness in it.

"Of course i don't miss her." he declared, while beginning to walk away from them, his left hand in his pocket "After 16 years i finally get to live my life as a normal human. I hope it stays this peaceful until i die." and with those words he left, leaving Tatsuki and Keigo alone.

Many moments of silence passed as the wind flew by, caressing the skin of the two teenagers before Keigo broke it "He didn't truly mean what he just said. Right, Tatsuki?" while getting back on his feet and looking at her with much empathy and despondency.

An equally saddened look formed on the lavender haired teenage girl's face as she lowered her gaze downwards, closed her eyes slightly and replied "Of course he didn't. No matter how much of a tough guy exterior he puts up, he can't hide it with his voice. He really does miss her a lot."

Keigo coudn't help but smile "You can't really blame him for that. Rukia was such a kind girl. Ever since she came to our school, little by little i saw how Ichigo began to open up and become more cheerful and easygoing thanks to her. And that was before we knew that he had gotten himself into all that scary "Soul Reaper stuff"." he replied while looking away as a cloud briefly obscured the sun.

"Ever since his mother died, he's been unhappy. Yeah, he had us but he kept the most important part of himself locked up deep inside him. I guess that by becoming a Soul Reaper, getting the power to protect everyone and making so many friends in that so called Soul Society, little by little, it made him happy." continued the brown haired teenager, now staring at the view of Karakura Town "He doesn't just miss her. He misses being a Soul Reaper in general. Ever since Rukia made him one, he's never been happier in his entire life. And look at him now. He doesn't even give a damn about his future. That's how badly losing his powers affected him. He really didn't deserve that after everything he went through to protect us." he concluded, while lowering his head downwards, an even more saddened look forming on his face.

Tatsuki coudn't help but smile at Keigo's words. He really had come a long way in the last year in spite of still having some goofy tendencies, ever since their standoff against the godly Aizen. And like her, he had understood far too well, the new melancholy that now troubled their friend: the void left when he lost his ability to see spirits along with his Soul Reaper powers and by extension the young woman who had given him everything.

Placing a hand on Keigo's shoulder, causing him to look at her beautiful brown eyes, she kindly spoke "You really have matured a lot, you know that? Your self from a year ago would have never said something as insightful as that." the brown haired teen just looked at her with a slight blush. He didn't know how beautiful she would look when she would act so kindly instead of just kicking the crap out of anyone who would annoy her and Orihime.

"Give him time, Keigo. I know that someday, he will get to see his friends again. I just can't help but have the feeling that things are about to change pretty soon and…" she paused after seeing the way Keigo was staring at her, entranced by her beauty "Ehmmmm….. why are you looking at me like that?" her voice taking on an awkward tone, matched by her uncomfortable face.

With most of his blood rushing to his head, Keigo declared "You're so pretty…" actually causing her to blush, before he got on his knees, put his hands together and with stars on his eyes, he exclaimed "PLEASE BE MY GIRLFRIEND! LET ME, KEIGO ASANO PROTECT YOU AS WE-"

"IN YOUR DREAMS!" she yelled, while slamming the back of her foot on his head, making him hit the floor with his face. That being said, a part of her actually felt….. charmed by this bold approach. No one had ever tried to hit on her so boldly. However, what little liking of it she had of it, dissappeared as soon as Keigo muttered, his face still pressed on the concrete floor "Wow… It even feels good… to be kicked like this…"

Tatsuki sweat-dropped "I take it back….. he hasn't changed one bit…." she remarked in her mind in dissappointment.

(Ost: "Never Meant To Belong" original 2004 version = https/watch?v=zO_532nbu0c )

Later on in the afternoon as the final lesson ended, Ichigo had taken his bag and had begun to return home. And ever since his earlier conversation with Keigo and Tatsuki, he coudn't stop thinking back to what they said. And they were right: no matter how much he tried to deny it, he greatly missed Rukia, and not just her but all the friends he made in the Soul Society and just being a Soul Reaper in general.

"It's true. Being able to see ghosts never made me feel superior to others…. I never thought of making a living out of it…. By using my unique gift to help people i didn't know….. All i ever wanted was a normal life, without seeing ghosts…." those were the thoughts that haunted his mind as he once again looked back to everything he did after Rukia gave him his powers.

"Well i finally got what i wanted didn't i?" he thought, while walking through the school's courtyard, heading home. But deep down it wasn't true. He missed his Soul Reaper friends. He missed Rukia. He missed having the power to protect those he cared about. He had no idea that returning to the normal life he had before meeting Rukia would have left him with such a void in his heart and soul.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice one particular person in front of him. Said person let out a cute "Oof!" after being hit on by him, snapping Ichigo back to reality.

And upon seeing who that person was, Ichigo smiled softly and greeted "Oh, hey Orihime."

The beautiful orange haired teenage girl turned towards him after gasping cutely and with her signature sweet smile, greeted back "Hi, Ichigo!"

And after that, an awkward silence made settled in in which the two teenagers simply stared each other. Orihime blushed at the way Ichigo was staring at her until she broke the silence and asked hesitantly "So, umm… are you doing anything after school today?"

Ichigo simply shooked his head and gently replied "No. I'm free as always."

"I see. Then…." replied even more hesitantly the orange haired girl before she finally mustered the courage and asked him "Then would you like to walk me home….. Ichigo?" while putting her left pointer finger on her lower lip and looking away slightly with another blush.

Ichigo smiled tenderly He always loved how sweet and innocent Orihime was. She always reminded him of her mother and that was why she liked her so much. The two had started dating lately. Ichigo would often come to her home and they would study together. Orihime even went the extra mile and even cooked for him or for when he would even bring Uryu and Chad to study with him. Truly, in spite of the harrowing experience of being held captive in Las Noches and all the psychological torture she went through, she moved on with a smile on her face. It mattered not to her at all for now she and Ichigo had begun to date.

He then put his left arm around her shoulders and gently said "Of course." showing his kindest side, one he would show to very few people, causing the teenage girl to smile happily. And with that they left heading for Orihime's house.

Ichigo and Orihime were walking through the streets of the city, heading for the latter's house through the shopping district of the city, where many people were either going to work, returning from it or going shopping. The streets were just as lively as they were in the morning and even today, there was quite a lot of traffic on the road.

"So, ummm…. How was school today?" asked Orihime, breaking the silence that had settled ever since she and Ichigo left the school.

"The usual. Uryu being the number one nerd, Keigo being a goofball as always, Teacher Misato being well…. Herself." he casually replied, with a somewhat dry tone, which didn't go unnoticed by the sweet girl. "Still don't know where Chad is. He's really been skipping school a lot lately. I wonder why." he added with a hint of worry for one of his greatest friends.

An equally worried look made its way on Orihime's face as she looked at her boyfriend and replied "I have noticed it too. He says, he's found a job lately but i didn't really get the chance to talk to him."

"Well at least he's gonna earn some money. Maybe even enough to move out after he graduates. Speaking of which….." he paused before turning towards Orihime and saying "I never quite figured out how you managed to live all alone in your house after your brother passed away."

Only for a saddened look to form in the girl's light grey eyes upon recalling the memories of her brother Sora's death. He was everything to her. She and her brother were the victims of abusive parents. They put up with their abuse until Sora finally decided that enough was enough and before he turned 18, he and then 3 year old Orihime ran away from them and eventually made their way here on Karakura Town. From then on he made it his duty to raise his younger sister until, tragically, nine years later, he died after the injuries he sustained in a car crash when Orihime was just 12 years old.

After recalling all that happened, she replied "I actually have a distantly related aunt that gave me some money. She agreed to give me more money the higher grades i get. That's how i managed to stay there for the first year. Of course that was before i met Tatsuki and afterwards…. " she paused while stopping and looking Ichigo in his brown eyes "You, Ichigo…."

An equally saddened look made its way on Ichigo's face. He cursed himself for asking her such a question and bringing back all those painful memories. After all, he was there when her brother, having become a Hollow after lingering in the World of the Living for 3 whole years came back for her, intending to take her for himself in order to live together once more. It was only because of his intervention that she and Tatsuki didn't lose their lives that night and eventually Orihime's love for her brother allowed him to momentarily regain control of himself and purify himself with Ichigo's Zampakuto after learning that ever since his death, his younger sister had always worn the hairpins he brought her for her 12th birthday, over which she had an argument with him.

"Orihime….. I'm sorry…. I shoudn't have said that." he apologised, looking downwards in guilt for making her relieve those memories. To his surprise however, Orihime reached out for his left cheek with her right hand, caressing it. Looking him in the eyes with affection, she reassured "It's okay. He's in the Soul Society now. And i'm sure he's made his own share of friends there. I'm sure he's happy there. More importantly….." she paused, before inching her face closer to Ichigo in spite of the blush on her cheeks, causing the orange haired strawberry's lips to part away upon seeing how beautiful she looked. Her face then took on a look of concern and she declared "It's you who are unhappy, Ichigo."

The teenager shuddered and could only look at her with his eyes slighty wide and his face filled with nothing but dejection. She had him figured out. Like him, she always had a knack for understanding others.

"Ever since you lost your powers a year ago, you've been like that. I know that you miss Rukia a lot. The rest of us do so too. Back then there was something within you, a blazing fire, an unbreakable iron will. Your faith in me, Uryu, Chad and the others was what allowed you to face all those impossible opponents, rescue me and eventually defeat Aizen." She paused, reaching out for his other cheek with her right hand "But now you feel empty because she's dissappeared from your life, along with your powers. I know what it feels like, to have that unfillable void in your heart, to feel like you don't have anything in spite of your life being otherwise. I felt like that after my brother died."

Ichigo was nearly moved to tears by Orihime's words and from the sadness in her voice, he could tell that she felt the same way he did. She and Rukia were bound by a very deep friendship, a friendship that they consolidated when Rukia took her to the Soul Society and began to train her for the upcoming war against Aizen and his Arrancar Army. When she left, she too began to miss her. The memories of the time she spent as a human were some of the fondest Orihime looked back to.

"O…. Orihime…" Called out Ichigo, empassioned by the affectionate look the girl was giving him before she smiled passionately and inched her face even closer, her lips only a few centimeters from his. She then declared "Ever since i met you, that void in my heart dissappeared. So, please Ichigo, let me do the same for you. Let me be the one to protect you after everything you have done for me….."

(Soundtrack Ends)

Both of them felt their hearts beginning to beat faster as passion and desire began to fill them. However before Orihime could declare her feelings towards each other…..

….a soccer ball landed close to Ichigo's feet. Both teenagers were pulled out of their passionate moment by it and Ichigo knelt down and picked it up, looking at it for a few seconds. Then a kid who looked to be no more than five years old, wearing an orange shirt and red shoes came in front of the two teenagers and asked kindly "Can i have my ball back, please?"

Only for a frown to form on Ichigo's felt as he looked the kid straight in the eyes and declared "Listen kid, try to be more careful next time. There are cars going by that will splatter you on the pavement if you're not careful." he coldly adviced, making the kid scared.

Only for his fear to turn into awe as Orihime knelt down next to Ichigo in front of it and sweetly said "It's okay. He may look and sound scary but he actually has a heart of gold, deep down." entrancing the kid. Honestly he thought he was seeing an angel.

Then Orihime, funnily enough, began to make a series of funny expressions to entertain the kid. One of them which unnerved even Ichigo, had Orihime's eyes closed in a way that they resembled the number 3 while her lips were pressed together so much that Ichigo thought she resembled Gin for a moment. She even went as far as extending her tongue out upwards slightly, making it look like a triangle.

"She sure has gotten better at making faces…." he internally remarked with a sweat-drop, having forgotten her more silly antics.

"Hahaha! You're so funny!" exclaimed the kid, while pointing at her and laughing cutely.

Ichigo smiled at how easily Orihime's kindness and silly antics, beamed up that little kid. He then gave back the kid's ball while saying "Alright. Now go ahead and get outta here. It's not safe playing soccer around here." earning a nod from the kid and a smile from Orihime as well. From time to time, he too was capable of being this sweet.

And with that the teenager couple left and began to cross the road once the green light of the traffic light lighted up. However Ichigo noticed out of the corner of his eye that the kid was still playing on the other side of the road.

"Mmph. Should have guessed it would have been useless talking some sense into him. Oh well, not my fault if he ends up squashed by a car." frowned Ichigo to himself in dissappointment. But then…..

The soccer ball suddenly ended up in the middle of the road. The next moment, Ichigo's eyes widened as the kid without a care in the world, began to walk right into the road to get it back.

"WATCH OUT! DON'T GET ON THE ROAD!" he yelled to no avail, alerting Orihime who noticed the danger the kid had put himself in. Her eyes widened upon seeing a red car driving much faster than the rest, heading straight towards the kid, not intending to slow down at all.

"OH NO! I won't be able to move him out of the way with my Shun Shun Rikka in time!" she panicked in her mind, knowing that, at that distance the car would have been faster and by the time she had summoned her powers the kid would have been already dead. Worse, by summoning one of her barriers to protect the kid, the car could have crashed into it, injuring whoever was driving it if not outright killing them.

Then the unthinkable happened.

"GET OUT OF THE WAAAAAYYYYYY!" Screamed Ichigo before, without a second of hesitation, he rushed towards the kid, mere moments before the car would hit him and pushed him out of the way.

The driver, a man in his fifties accompanied by his wife, was laughing with her, when the woman noticed the kid and the teen before them on the road. She screamed "LOOK OUT!" in order to get her husband to stop the car, but it was too late.

Orihime could only watch in horror, with her eyes and mouth wide open as the car struck Ichigo head on right after he succesfully pushed that kid away. His body went limp in an instant due to the force of the impact and it flew upwards over the car as it finally stopped after two more seconds. Time itself seemed to stop as the body of the teen she had developed feelings for, flew upwards over the car before crashing on the pavement with a sickening thud.

Oddly enough, Ichigo didn't even feel a bit of pain as the car struck him and everything went blissfully dark. Then, a few minutes after, he woke up and sat down, while rubbing the back of his head.

"That's odd. It's as if i was never hit by that car. I don't even feel a bit of pain." he mused to himself, not understanding why he was completely unscathed after being struck by a car.

"EIJIRO! Thank goodness you're okay!" came the voice of a woman that snapped him out of his thoughts. He then turned towards the direction it came from and promptly saw the same kid from earlier, hugged by what he presumed was his mother.

"Well, at least he's alright….." He mused to himself again, this time with a hearwarmed smile.

However that smile dissappeared the moment he heard a horrified gasp behind him. He turned around and saw Orihime, looking at him with in horror and disbelief, covering her mouth with her hands.

"I-Ichigo….." she weakly managed to call out, earning a confused look on the strawberry's face. He looked at her quizzically before asking casually "Ehmmm….. Orihime? Why are you looking at me like that? You look like you've seen a g-"

Only to stop mid-question upon hearing a metal sound as he got up. His puzzlement turned into shock and horror upon seeing that on his chest, a metal chain was attached onto it.

"W-WHAT?!" he shouted in disbelief which soon gave away to even more dismay as the moment he reached for that chain with his hands, he noticed that a white aura surrounded them.

With his brown eyes trembling and many gasps coming out of his mouth as he looked at his hands in terror, he weakly managed "N-no… Don't tell me….."

His fears were confirmed the moment he heard several voices behind him.

"What a brave young man… he gave his life to save that kid….."

"God bless him…."

"What a tragedy….. To die at such a young age…"

It took a whole ten seconds for Ichigo to muster the strength to turn around and look. He regretted that almost immediately for as soon as he did, he froze upon seeing several dozen people surrounding the same car that had struck him, while two policemen took the car's driver under arrest. An ambulance had also arrived. And most importantly…

Carried by two of the ambulance's crew on a stretcher bed was none other than his lifeless body.

And as the full realisation of what had happened hit him straight on like a truck, Ichigo could only do one thing.

"OH, YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING MEEEEEEEEEE!" he finally screamed in a mix of horror, frustration and bewilderment while clutching the sides of his head with his hands.

And just like that, a simple car, driven by a reckless driver, had accomplished what Byakuya Kuchiki, Kenpachi Zaraki, the Espadas Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, Nnoitra Gilga, Yammy Llargo and Ulquiorra Cipher and even Sosuke Aizen himself, all failed to do.

Ichigo Kurosaki was dead.

But little did he know, that this was just the beginning of a new journey.