Shadow Lifted

A/N: The bold lettering will indicate yelling from now on in this particular story. Also read bottom A/N

Beta:DazLex

Chapter eleven

(Tuesday Morning)

Ichigo awoke with a groan. "I'm not looking forward to today." He rolled out of bed shuffling to the bathroom coming out twenty minutes later. He returned to his room getting dressed before making his way downstairs. When he got downstairs he was greeted by the twins who thanked him for spending time with them last night. He patted them both on the head before looking to his father. "Hey dad can I talk to you outside for a minute?" Isshin seeing that his son was serious adopted his serious face before getting up and following him outside. "What's this about Ichigo?" Ichigo took a deep breath before sighing. "I need some advice. I'm going to talk to Chad, Uryu and Orihime but I don't know what to say to them. Once I learned you were the reason everyone was avoiding me I started to wonder why out of everyone they decided to go along with it. They were the last three I would've expected to do

it." Isshin rubbed his chin for a moment before putting his hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "I can't say for sure why they agreed to my stupid plan in the first place but all I can say is give them a chance to explain themselves before you make a rash decision." Ichigo thought over his father's words before agreeing to the idea. They went back inside to enjoy breakfast before Ichigo went off to school.

(Ten Minutes Later)

When he got to school he was stopped outside the classroom by Tatsuki. "Yo Ichigo you ready." He greeted her before rubbing the back of his neck. "Yea Tatsuki, we'll do it during lunch though." Tatsuki nodded at him before they entered the class.

A few hours later lunch arrived. Ichigo and Tatsuki made their way up to the roof. Heading over to the small group. " Inoue, Ishida,Yasutora." The three looked up when they heard their names being called only to be met with a slightly angry Ichigo. "I think it's time we have a little talk." Uryu shifts his glasses. "About what Kurosaki." Ichigo's eye twitched slightly. "Don't play dumb with me you know what I want to talk about. How could you three go along with my father's plan out of everyone you three decided it was a good idea to avoid me I thought you were better than that. We made a pact stating the four of us would always be together. Instead after the fighting was over and the dust cleared you all broke that pact. What happened to trusting in one another." He looked over at Orihime. " I put my life on the line for you in Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra killed me twice during that rescue attempt and what did I get in the end of it all. Nothing besides you being afraid of the form I took to protect you, yes I wasn't in control of it but I transformed to protect you and in the end you distanced yourself from me." As Orihime looks down to think. Ichigo looks at Uryu. "You Ishida, what you did is understandable we are enemies after all. You were right a Quincy and Soul Reaper can never be friends however I thought I could prove you wrong. We fought side by side through so many battles and when you lost your powers I never tried to push you away I bugged you to not crawl back into that shell you first had when I decided to try and be your friend. So why didn't you try to help me was it your stupid quincy pride or were you tired of playing back fiddle to a shinigami so you let me crash and burn. He then turned his head to Chad. "I want a legitimate answer from you we were brothers even before the spiritual world came into our lives so my question is why you. how could you?"

As he came down from his rant he took a few deep breaths before looking back at the three. "Well who wants to go first." They all looked hesitant at first but Orihime spoke up. "We were trying to protect yo-"

"Bullshit, you expect me to believe you abandoned our friendship to protect me. What kind of a fool do you take me for. If that was even slightly true you would've stuck around. There's a bunch of things we could've done that didn't involve you bringing up the spiritual

World." Orihime stuttered for a moment to find her words. "But it's true Kurosaki-ku" Orihime was again stopped mid sentence but this time it was by Tatsuki who without hesitation slapped her across the face.

"Never call him that again you lost that privilege when you abandoned him. How could you? You always told me you loved him and I always encouraged you even though I had to bottle up my true feelings. Not anymore though I have what you wanted and depending on how the rest of this talk goes our friendship might be over." Tatsuki took a deep breath before stepping back beside him and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Ichigo looked to her and their eyes met for a brief moment. He then looked back over when he heard an uncharacteristic groan out of Uryu's mouth.

"I guess there's no point hiding it. What Orihime said was partially true we were protecting you but also we were being selfish. Shortly after your victory over Aizen your father overheard a few members of the new central forty-six. He didn't give us the full rundown but Mayuri Kurotsuchi discovered that your powers were not vanishing but instead burying into the deepest part of your soul. You're father was just about to walk away when the conversation took a turn for the worst. They started talking about if you ever got your powers back you would be apprehended and handed over to Mayuri for human experimentation under the pretence of bettering the elite's of Soul Society and getting rid of the unknown variable."

Ichigo took a moment to gather his thoughts as Uryu kept talking. "Your father immediately brought it to the head captain's attention who promptly killed the lot of central forty-six who would conspire to do you harm. The head captain then told your father if you ever regained your powers you would be relocated to the soul society for proper training and then take on a captain's position when your training was complete. Your father had other plans and wanted you to stay in the human world so he as you know approached us with the plan and we agreed because you are our friend and we want you here with us as long as possible. So that is why we kept our distance we didn't want to reignite your powers. In the end we tried to keep the pact we made by more or less braking it. We are sorry we let it get so bad we were blinded by our selfishness to notice you suffering and in the end we failed as your friends." All three of them got up and bowed to him while asking for forgiveness. Ichigo just stood there so much information running through his mind. He soon collapsed onto the floor putting his head into his hands. A few minutes passed before he spoke.

"I will forgive you however our bonds as friends are broken so we must rebuild this friendship from scratch also we will not apologize for what happened today." Ichigo got up and went to walk away before turning around. "Tomorrow is a new day I hope we can become friends again." Ichigo and Tatsuki left the roof to go eat their lunches leaving three disappointed students on the roof. "So now what" Uryu looked over. "Well Orihime I believe we start over he gave us a second chance now let's not screw it up." Chad gave a grunt in approval and the three continued their lunches.

Ichigo and Tatsuki are sitting under the large oak tree eating lunch. Ichigo puts down his lunch and leans against the tree. "Did I overreact?" Tatsuki looked up from her food. "What do you mean?" He rubs the back of his head. "I mean was it right what I said to them, all they were trying to do was protect me." Tatsuki grabs his hands. "What you said was completely justified. Yes they were protecting you but they could've told you instead they selfishly avoided you just to make sure you don't get your powers back. Honestly you deserve to have your powers back for everything you've done. In truth I believe you deserve the captain position the head

Captain would offer you you have the skills to be a leader." Ichigo stared at her for a moment before giving her a hug. "Thank you Tatsuki I needed that well my mind is made up at some point I will regain my powers and become the best damn soul reaper soul society has ever seen." She gives him a hug. "I'll be with you the whole way." They share a quick kiss before heading back to class. Soon school ends and Ichigo followed by Tatsuki make their way to the kendo dojo. Once they arrive Ichigo changes and goes out to meet with the rest of the kendo club. After an hour of practicing form and strikes Touka Asagami stops the class to address everyone. " As you know this thursday is the monthly kendo tournament. This month we are facing Koudo high. For the rest of our time we are going to hold a free for all match to determine who will compete. Only five of us can represent Karakura high. However there are only four spots open since I'm captain I'm required to compete." Touka Asagami stepped to the side as the nine remaining members of the kendo club looked at one another before spreading out. The resounding boom of a boken striking the floor was all that was needed for the match to commence. Ichigo decided to stick off to the side and observe the fights. As time passes Ichigo begins to notice out of the eight club members fighting only three show promise in learning to fight on par with him and Touka. He decides it's time to join the fight but instead of making himself known he lowers his body as close to the ground as possible and with movements one would not expect from a man such as himself he makes his way over to the spar closest to him. he takes a moment to wait for an opening and chooses the moment when the two fighters break apart. He rushes in and delivers a slash across the back of his opponent with the boken causing him to stumble Ichigo then uses the boken to knock the leg out from under him effectively eliminating him from the match.

Just as ichigo stands up he feels a wave of killing intent being directed at him and is forced to dodge as a boken just misses his shoulder. Ichigo turns around just in time to stop the next strike as their blades continue to struggle against one another Ichigo decides to give a proper introduction. "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki." The girl looks up and ichigo is left stunned as he looks upon the face of a slightly older Rukia before Ichigo has a chance to say anything the girl speaks. "My name is Hisana Kosedo it's a pleasure to meet you. They break apart and Ichigo readies himself the two soon lock swords again and Ichigo knows he has the upper hand. As they continue to go back and forth neither giving ground they are stopped by the voice of Touka. "That's enough this free for all is over the four of you left standing please step forward." Ichigo and Hisana disengaged before stepping forward followed by one male and another female. "The four of you have showed the most promise and power as swordsman I'd like to take this time for us to all introduce ourselves. I'll start my Name is Touka Asagami I'm a third year and captain of the kendo club." She looked to Ichigo. "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki I'm also a third year and I'm the newest member of the kendo club." Ichigo looked to his right. "My name is Hisana Kosedo I'm also a third year and vice-captain of the kendo club." Ichigo leaned forward to look at the two remaining members only to brace himself in fear of falling down. He recognized those faces from when Kukaku showed him a picture of her late brother and wife. He was now looking into the faces of both kaien and miyako shiba and all he could do was replay the story rukia told him while they introduced themselves. "My name is Kaien Bokasu I'm a second year and this is my trusty boken Nejibana." He held up his boken and pointed To the final person. "My name is Miyako Akibane I'm also a second year. My job is to run inventory on the bokens and other gear." They all gave each other a curt bow before straightening up again. "Now then since introductions are out of the way I'll chose the order in which you will compete. Our opener will be Bokasu followed by Akibane. Our third will be Kosedo, Kurosaki you will be our fourth and I will close out the competition. That is the order in which we all will fight does everyone agree." A resounding yes was her answer. "Very good class dismissed I'll see you all on thursday. As everyone went to leave Ichigo stopped them. "Hold on there is something I want to ask you I know we all just got introduced but I'd like to have lunch with you all on thursday I'd like to know about the people I will fight with." They all gave him a critical look before agreeing. With that done Ichigo walked over to Tatsuki she gave him a smile before tilting her head slightly. "What had you so shaken up you looked like you saw a ghost." He returned the smile. "Three actually those three other kendo members are the reincarnations of Hisana Kuchiki, Kaien Shiba and his wife Miyako Shiba. I didn't think they would go through the cycle of rebirth so quickly. It usually takes a hundred years for a soul to go through the cycle of rebirth but it's only been sixty years for Hisana. More surprising is it's only been forty years for Kaien and Miyako. So I was just surprised to see them is all but enough about that. Come on I'll walk you home before I go see Yoruichi I need some advice concerning this and about what we learned earlier." She gave him a quick kiss. "Sure let's go Ichigo." They left school grounds and made their way to Tatsuki's house. When they arrived she gave him another kiss before going inside. When the door closed behind her he started off to Urahara's shop. When he arrived he was greeted by a black cat. "Hey Ichigo what brings you here." He looks up to see Yoruichi laying across the sign on the front of the shop. "Actually I'm here to see you I need some advice about a few things and I know I can always talk with you." She got up from her position and stretched before jumping onto his shoulder and nudging his face. Ichigo took this as an okay to walk and entered the shop. Heading for the back room before settling onto the ground. Ichigo was surprised when instead of Yoruichi jumping onto the table she jumped into his lap and got comfortable. "What's wrong Ichigo." He started to pet her. "I learned some very eye opening stuff today. It turns out that Chad, Orihime and Uryu never wanted to abandon me they tried to protect me but they said they were blinded by their selfishness." She gave a slight purr. "I don't get it how can they protect you by abandoning you it doesn't make any sense." Ichigo moved his hand to the back of her head. "I didn't get it either byut dad overheard the new members of central forty six talking. Mayuri discovered my powers were not disappearing but going into a hibernation like state. Before he had a chance to leave my father also caught the start of a new conversation. He said if I ever regained my powers I would be captured and taken for experimentation to better the soul society and to get rid of an unknown variable." Yoruichi looked up at him. "What did your dad do?" He took a breath. "He went to the head captain with the information and the head captain executed them. Old man Yamamoto had another idea though when I get my powers back I'm to relocate to soul society for proper training and then work under a captain of my choice before taking one of the open captain spots. That's the reason why they kept their distance they didn't want me to go." Yoruichi growled slightly at the reasoning. "Just because they didn't want you to leave is no reason to let you crawl in your shell and suffer. They broke your trust and destroyed the friendship you all had. However on a better note I'm surprised the head captain did that he must think highly of you to not only kill those who would talk ill will about you but also hand you a captain's position after necessary training." Ichigo gave her ear another scratch. I know what you mean I wasn't expecting old man Yamamoto to do that. I decided after hearing everything that I would become the best damn soul reaper captain the soul society has ever had and now I have no doubts I will regain what I lost and come back stronger than

ever." As Ichigo continued his declaration Yoruichi looked up at him. "I'm proud of you Ichigo you deserve it more than anyone. You put more on the line than any of us. Aizen wasn't your fight but you fought him anyway." Ichigo looked down at Yoruichi. "Thanks Yoruichi I know it wasn't my fight but i became friends with the people in soul society and I chose to protect them." She Nuzzled up against his hand. "I know Ichigo you're a protector till the end."

Ichigo gave her a smile. "I'd take on the world if it means keeping my friends and loved ones safe." Yoruichi purred into his hand. "I'm sure you would but you came here with two problems didn't you." Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck. "You're right I almost forgot. Is it possible for souls to go through the cycle of rebirth faster than others." She looked up at him a bit confused. "Why do you ask?" He gives a sigh. "Well in my kendo club we were having a free for all to see who will represent Karakura high in the monthly competition." She tilts her head. "So what's the problem?" Ichigo looks down and pets her head. "The problem is the other three students. I've seen there faces a few times so i know I'm not going crazy. Plus their names are the same. My other three teammates are the reincarnations of Hisana Kuchiki, Kaien Shiba and Miyako Shiba. It's a little unnerving since I've heard so many stories about the kind of people they were." Yoruichi repositions herself in Ichigo's lap. "If that's what is bothering you don't worry I'll have Kisuke look

Into it." She stretches before jumping onto the table. "Do you need anything else?" Ichigo stood "No I think I'm good thank you for listening to me." "No problem Ichigo I'm always here if you need me." He walks towards the door and opened it. "I know Yoruichi. I'm off now I hope you can make it to my kendo competition seeya Yoruichi." Bye Ichigo I'll make sure to be there."

A/N: Hello everyone I'm not really sure where I want this to go. I know this is just a story of the time between his power loss and getting said power back. But I doubt you all want to hear a day by day of Ichigo's life. So I would like to hear your thoughts. Should I continue with the day by day or should I just pick a few individual days in the week to focus on. If yes pick some days I do have a list of what Ichigo does during the week.

Monday:Kendo Practice

Tuesday:Kendo Practice

Wednesday:Train with Tatsuki

Thursday:Kendo competition/Train with Tatsuki

Friday:Date night

Saturday:Teach Karate with Tatsuki/Spend time with twins

Sunday:Train with Yoruichi/Kisuke