The sun was setting over Karakura town, it's fading rays casting an orange light over the man lying on top of his roof. He had taken to watching the sunset up here, and he would often stay in that same spot late into the night watching the stars come out. The other's had long ago learned not to bother him when he was here. It was his shelter for awhile, a place to reflect on far too many things. A cigarette dangled out of his lips, nearly forgotten in the weight of his memories. The Winter War was over, but the physical battles had been nothing compared to what they were all dealing with now. Everyone had lost something. For Kisuke, the loss ran deep, a crack in his soul that was unknown to any living creature. The only person who ever could have known was dead now. Aizen Sousuke: the man that most of Seiritei would forever label as a traitor, but the man that, for nearly a century, Kisuke had called a lover. It was those times that haunted him now. The memories seemed so fresh to him, sometimes feeling more real than the present that he was living in.

It was graduation day at the academy, and final exams scores were posted on the wall in the main hallway. Kisuke walked purposefully up to them, secretly eager to see his score. He was a prodigy by anyone's standards, graduating a full two years ahead of schedule. He knew that his professors tended to grade him ever more harshly than other students because of that. Even so, he expected that he would be at the top of the class. He usually was, even though he put very little effort into his schoolwork. As he walked down the hallway he had to wade through the crowd of people who had already reached the lists, pulling their fingers down them in order to find their names. Kisuke sighed inaudibly with frustration. He knew he should have gotten here earlier in order to avoid all the other students, but he had been up late working on an experiment, and he just couldn't be bothered to get up this morning. He would have to wait.

"Oh, I am so sorry. Are you alright?"

Kisuke looked up, startled, at the sound of his lover's voice. Sousuke was standing a few feet in front of him, apologizing to another student whom he had accidentally bumped into.

"No, no, it's alright, Aizen-san. No harm done. I know how pushy people can get when trying to look at the scores." The student, who's name Kisuke didn't know, laughed lightly. "Speaking of, have you seen your score yet?"

Sousuke smiled politely. "No, I haven't. I was just about to look for it." He turned to Kisuke. "Have you seen yours yet, Ki?"

Kisuke shook his head. "I've been trying, but these people", he gestured to the mass of students jammed against the wall "seem to have beat me to it."

Sousuke smiled, and stifled a laugh. "Alright, shall we look, then?"

Kisuke nodded at him.

Sousuke cleared his throat softly. "Excuse me." The handful of people nearest to him turned around to look at him. "Ki and I need to see our scores. Could you please let us through for a moment?" His tone was as courteous as always, and everyone responded positively. He always seemed to have that effect on people. The crowd began to move aside to make way for the two of them.

They walked up to the papers and began looking through them to find their names. They knew they would be very near to the top, so they started there. In fact, Kisuke was the second person on the list, ranking below only one person in the entire class of hundreds. The single name above his was one that he knew intimately: Aizen, Sousuke.

He smiled and turned to him. "Congratulations! You got the top score! Man, I don't know how you managed to beat me." He smiled wider and put on a joking tone.

"Thank you." Sousuke knew him well enough to know that he was faking. Kisuke was a bit upset at having come second, and his lover knew it. "But I'm sure you were very close behind. You're brilliant, after all."

Kisuke blushed at the praise, but it did make him feel a bit better. Sousuke leaned forward and kissed him on the top of the head, a subtle show of affection to re-affirm his words. Kisuke pulled away from him.

"Come on. Other people are waiting, and we need to go change into our uniforms."

Sousuke agreed, taking Kisuke's hand and leading him out of the throng of people still fighting toward the papers on the wall. Kisuke was quiet for a few minutes as they walked.

"How did you do it?"

"Hm?" Sousuke looked up at him, pulled out of his own thoughts.

"How did you beat me? I've never had anything but the top score before."

Sousuke thought about it for a moment. "I don't know, Ki. I can't say I have some big secret. I just...did, I guess."

Kisuke made a non-committal noise in the back of his throat, still a bit sour about the grades.

Sousuke smiled. "I suppose it's just because I hang around you so much. All that intelligence must have rubbed off on me."

Kisuke couldn't hold back a laugh. "That has to be it. You sapped the brains right out of me. Besides, I didn't get much rest the night before exams. I was working."

Sousuke raised his eyebrows. "Another one of your experiments?"

"C'mon, don't say it like that", Kisuke whined. "It's not like they're toys."

Sousuke's tone was amused. "Alright. Then what were you making this time?"

Kisuke immediately brightened at being able to talk about his research. "I'm developing a kido that helps to regulate body temperature. It could keep you warm in a cold climate, or cool in a hot climate. It would be perfect for fighting, especially in the winter, or in Hueco Mundo, because you wouldn't have to wear cumbersome layers to keep up your body heat."

Sousuke nodded thoughtfully. "That does sound helpful. Did anything come of it?"

Kisuke shook his head. "No, not yet. It's not easy developing new kido. It's stressful not only on my brain, but also on my energy. I have to test it out repeatedly, and you know how firing kido repeatedly drains you."

"It does."

Kisuke kept talking. "And I have to wait and work on it at night, when all the patrols are lax. They tend to frown upon students doing unauthorized kido."

"You mean blowing things up."

Kisuke pretended to be offended. "I'm not blowing things up! I'm doing this for the sake of science!"

Sousuke raised an eyebrow. "And how many of your attempts 'for science' caused an explosion?"

Kisuke was silent for a moment. Sousuke waited patiently. "Well...about fifty of them. But that isn't that many!"

Sousuke laughed aloud. "Not that many, right. How long have you been working on this one?"

Kisuke sighed. "A couple of months now."

Sousuke was impressed. "That's a long time for you. I'm surprised you've kept at it for this long."

"Well, what can I say, I've got a lot of stamina." Kisuke smirked at him.

"Hmm, want to test that?"

"Do we have time?"

"We can make time. Everyone is still looking at grades – we won't be missed until the ceremony starts in another hour."

"True. Where are we going?"

"Your dorm. It's closest."

"'Kay."

Without further words, the two of them began walking faster to get to Kisuke's room as quickly as they could. They shut the door behind them and immediately began pulling off each other's clothes. They kissed passionately, then fell on the bed together, molding their bodies around one another.

Once they were finished, Kisuke lay on Sousuke's chest contentedly, listening to his heartbeat. Sousuke's fingers were idly running through the blond man's hair. They both breathed evenly. Kisuke moved closer, snuggled up to the warm body beside him. He always loved cuddling, especially after sex. Sousuke smiled and wrapped his arm around the smaller body at his side. Kisuke smiled.

"I love you, Sou."

The response was immediate. "Love you too, Ki."

Sousuke's voice echoed in his head as Kisuke pulled himself out of the memory. He pulled one hand up to his cheek to find that they were dry. It had taken him a year, but he had finally broken the habit of crying over these things. He took a drag of his cigarette, inhaling deeply, then pushed the smoke back out past his lips. He flicked his ashes off the edge of the roof. He sat up. It was getting late, and he might as well go inside and get some sleep.

Ichigo pushed his bowl away from him and stood up from his chair. "Thanks for dinner, Yuzu. It was delicious."

"Oh! You're welcome! Do you want some dessert?"

"Nah." He threw up a hand behind him in a wave as he began walking up the stairs to his room. He slid his shoes off by the door and flopped down heavily on his bed. He was tired. His head swam with the strain of everything that he had done today. He had killed several high level Hollows who had been working together. His energy was nearly depleted.

In the War, all of his friends had died. Rukia, Renji, Chad, Ishida, Inoue – all of them were gone. In addition, the shinigami population had been nearly halved. There were no extra soldiers around, so Ichigo alone had been put in charge of keeping Karakura town free of hollows. The work was a lot less demanding now that the War was over, but it still wasn't easy. No one else wanted the job because the town reeked of bad memories for them. He had to wonder why they thought it would be any different for him. But, since he lived here anyway, and he did want to protect the town and the people in it, he agreed to the job.

Work kept him busy most of the time, but there were slow days, and there were always the nights. He was lonely. He had graduated high school the year before, somehow making up all the work he had missed during the War, and now he had no school friends to talk to. He spent time with his sisters, but he couldn't really talk to them. They were too innocent. After finding out that his father was a shinigami, Ichigo had hoped that the man would start acting like an adult, and they could build a true relationship. That hope had been dashed soon after the War was over. Isshin didn't lie about what had happened, but he still acted just as much like a child as he always had. Ichigo was alone. He closed his eyes, hoping to fall asleep quickly tonight. The dream came upon him unexpectedly, the memory achingly clear.

The sand of Hueco Mundo were red, stained with the blood of so many – himself, his friends, and his foes. There had been too much bloodshed here, and he knew that there would be more before it was all over. He was so tired. His body was broken. He could barely lift himself off the ground anymore, but he kept trying. He didn't have a choice. He had to win, because he had to protect his friends. That was how it had always been. He put his weight on his sword and pushed himself up off the ground. Yammy was still bellowing.

"YOU FOOLS! I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. Wouldn't this guy give it a rest? He was tired of all the speeches, all the drama surrounding these fights. He just wanted to end this, take his friends, and go home. He didn't want to fight anymore. He rushed at the Espada again, swinging his sword widely at his stomach, hoping to slash him open. Yammy's arm came out quickly and slammed him backwards through the air, just like it had every time before. He hit the ground hard, but forced himself to get back up. The giant was lumbering toward him.

"Is that the best you can do?" Yammy laughed.

"You wish!" Ichigo yelled back, running at him again. He pulled his sword back and prepared to strike. Then, at the last moment before he reached the enemy, he changed his trajectory and jumped high into the air. Yammy looked up into the sky, confused.

Ichigo lifted his blade. "Getsuga Tensho!"

The blast of energy rushed toward the Espada quickly, but he brushed it aside. He threw his fist in the air and caught Ichigo directly in the face. The teen fell to the ground, panting for breath. Yammy was stomping toward him again. The Espada reached him, and threw a large fist into his stomach. As he lay there fighting for breath, he saw Yammy's mouth open. He flinched. Moments later, a red cero came rushing toward him. He had no chance to move. It hit him full force. His eyes wouldn't open. He couldn't get off the ground. From his prone position, he heard Rukia's voice nearby.

"Tsugi no mai! Hakuren!" The sound of her ice wall building filled his ears, followed almost immediately by the same ice shattering as Yammy let out a roar.

"Do you think that's enough to faze me, bitch?"

Rukia screamed. Ichigo forced himself to open his eyes. His vision blurred. He tried to stand. He couldn't do it. Rukia was still screaming.

"I'll kill you, you ant!"

Rukia screamed one last time, then Ichigo felt her reiatsu vanish. She was dead.

He woke from the fitful dream quickly and opened his eyes wide to stare at the ceiling. There would be no more sleep tonight.