Ok, so I have been out of the fanfic game for a long time, but I have been toying with a story for the past year or so after re-watching my favorite series for the thousandth time. Being that my story is taking place so long after the Winter War, I wanted to do a spelled-out update of the major players in both the main story and my story. Of course, the normal disclaimer that I don't own any of this stuff or these people, except my OC. I won't being doing a ton on the original main players, but they do cameo so hopefully this info will help keep the story straight. I'm going ahead and rating this story an M because of language, violence, maybe lemons… we will see how it goes, but better safe than sorry.

Like I said, I'm out of practice writing, so I'm kind of nervous. Please comment and let me know what you think, any tips or editing suggestions, etc. I would really appreciate it!

Roughly 7 years after the winter war, no split stories or after events.

At this point:

Kurasaki Ichigo: Ichigo is finishing medical school at Osaka Medical College. He has been gone, barely visiting home for the past 5 years, but still has aspirations of running his family clinic, even if he doesn't relish the location. He avoids Karakura town, feeling like all is lost there and that even his friends would look at him differently. He failed at every try to get his powers (or at least sight of the Shinigami) back throughout his high school years. He abandoned the dream, and his home and friends, when he left for school.

Ishida Uryu: Graduating early from Fukuoka University on island of Kyushu- a small school and far removed- Ishida came home with a medical and business degree. Determined and idealistic, he has taken over some of the new operations at his family's Karakura hospital in Karakura Town He specializes in research and treating rare diseases, knowing that if the hospital can't get bigger, it must get better in order to procure the funding needed to run it. He has been back for 2 years and will still don his Quincy uniform and carry on his work against hollows when needed. Still hopelessly in love with Inoue, he focuses mostly on his work and her.

Inoue Orihime: After Ishida finally told her his feelings for her, they had a high school romance that ended when Ishida left for college. Inoue stayed and attended the local Karakura College, specializing in nursing. She began working at the hospital as a nurse about a year ago. Her and Ishida's relationship seems to be rekindling slowly as they work together in the hospital. She stays out of fights with hollows, or anyone for that matter, but will covertly use her healing on what seem like hopeless cases, under the watchful and hopeful eye of Ishida, in hopes of helping the desperate as well as aiding the hospital in its growth.

Yasutora Sado: Mildly famous, Sado paid his way through the local college by being a popular MMA fighter. He ended his career after 3 short but undefeated years to focus on school, having made enough money to fund a modest life if he wanted. Sado owns a small building company named Abuelo's. He rarely sees the rest of the group but will occasionally have coffee when Inoue invites him and fight the random hollows that pop up with Ishida when Renji, as guardian, doesn't eliminate them first.

Kuchiki Rukia: A woman obsessed, Rukia has never in 7 years left Ichigo's side, though he doesn't know it. She has given up her place in Soul Society after they were unable to help Ichigo, or unwilling in her mind. She seems unrecognizable, lost to her own fanaticism and love of Ichigo. Her brother has quietly left her access to his home in Soul Society open since she would not be allowed in after going AWOL on her duties. She has never come back through the gate.

Abarai Renji: Renji returned to his tutelage under Kuchiki Byakuya but his heart was no longer in it. Finally admitting his love for Rukia to himself seals the deal and he relinquished his title of Lieutenant of Division 6 to become the sole Shinigami protector assigned to Karakura Town. He attempted to aid Rukia, but when her love of Ichigo is revealed and she turns on him due to his inability to help, he realizes that there is no hope for him. Growing angrier and more despondent every day, Renji relegates himself to wasting away as the gaurdian of Karakura Town, avoiding Soul Society and any memories of her there. Byakuya, however, did not revoke Renji's access to his personal gate, with the clause that if he ever used it, it would be an immediate reassignment to come back as his lieutenant.

Hisagi Shuhei: While still driven by fear of his killer nature and zanpakto, Shuhei has a singular driving goal of growth and self-control. His strenuous training has paid off as he became captain of the 9th division 3 years prior. Soft spoken and isolated, even Matsumoto has a hard time breaking his concentration. While never one to have close friends, his closest was Renji who has been absent for the better part of 6 years. He is loathe to admit the "weakness" he feels in his isolation and throws himself into his Soul Society work and developing a rapport and training regimen with the newest addition to combat training- Grimmjow.

Grimmjow Jagerjaques: Captured after the Winter War, Grimmjow was treated as a prisoner for years and questioned extensively by Korotsuchi Mayuri on all things related to hollows, arrancar, Espada, and Hueco Mundo. After 4 years, he was released by the new captain, Hisagi Shuhei, and given a chance to funnel his aggression and prowess as a combat instructor. He detests what Soul Society stands for but doesn't mind Hisagi, as he recognizes the darkness in him is much like his own. He maintains his flippant attitude, enjoying scaring the new Shinigami and trying to rile Hisagi into a true battle, but enjoys his new work. While he plots a revenge in private, he is actually wary of acting out too much lest he lose his privileges and be subjected to torture or confinement again.

Mara Oliviera (OC): A 25 year old American woman racked by an incurable auto-immune disease, Mara has come to Karakura Town for an experimental treatment at the hospital there, led by a young but studious Dr. Uryu Ishida. She has been treated for 6 months with no change. Unremarkable in looks, as her body has been ravaged by disease, she is eye-catching with her large brown and gold eyes and galaxy colored hair. After a major downturn in her disease 5 years prior she has begun seeing ghosts and hollows and the clarity of what she sees increases everyday that she gets closer to death.

Preface:

Renji settled himself on the stone edge at the base of the fence next to the café overlooking the river. How many days had he done this now? Hundreds, surely. The breeze blew north, bringing an edge of humidity with it despite the darkness. The café lights were on inside, though the window shutters were still drawn, as the early shift prepared breakfast ingredients to fill orders. A small sliver of light fell across Renji's face and he closed his eyes, listening to the familiar sounds of the morning. The knife hitting the chopping block defined the cadence of the seconds as they ticked by, interspersed with the soft sound of the flowing water.

Slowly, the sounds grew. The woosh of the shutters as they lifted and low voices heralded the coming of morning as the earliest commuters swung through for coffee, tea, or breakfast for the road. Still, Renji sat, eyes shut, just listening. Then he heard the chirping of the birds that gathered at the waters edge. Sunrise.

Renji finally opened his eyes to see the light beginning to edge its way across the sky. He watched as the haze from the clouds blended with the receding blackness, waiting for his glimpse of heaven. And suddenly, there is was. The sky was painted lavender in the early morning light. The river took on the same hue, reflecting the lavender back up and around.

It's like being submerged in her eyes… Renji thought to himself. He allowed himself just as long as the lavender sunrise lasted to dwell on her and that was all. He told himself everyday that he would stop, yet everyday saw him coming back to the same spot to see the brief moment when the sky was like her eyes. Rukia… if only you…

Click-Squeak-click-SQUEEEEAAAK

Rengi sighed as the dissonance yanked him out of his reverie just as the last shades of purple left the sky. Fuckin' great, she's back. Can she not get that damn thing fixed? Turning his head from the now clear sky, Renji focused on the other color that had been plaguing his existence for the past six months. Blue.

Perhaps color is inadequate. The girl approaching shone like a sapphire in the sunlight as she approached, but upon closer inspection, her hair was really a mix of blues, greens, teals and blacks. Either way, it shone in on Renji's day like a big, bold… annoyance. He didn't know why the girl had begun coming to this café every morning, but he knew he didn't like it. She hadn't done anything wrong. She was quiet, except for that damn walker she pushed, and she didn't cause a fuss, except to ask for an umbrella to be put up at her table to protect her fair skin. No, it was something else…

Narrowing his eyes, Renji examined her closely. Why does she need that stupid umbrella anyway? How pale do you need to be?

Her blue hair, while remarkable, seemed to only accentuate the paleness of her skin and even her lips, bringing out the delicate blue veins under her eyes. Her eyes were large, perhaps overly so in her wan face, brought out even more by the fact that they were dark brown with even darker lashes. She was small, swallowed by the large black hoodie she wore every day. He could tell she was thin, too thin to be in good health, because of her slender hands and thin legs, wrapped in leggings, that she crossed on the chair as she sat. Gauging the height of the table and walker, Renji estimated that she was petite, perhaps only an inch or two taller than… Her.

Don't go there, dumb ass! He chastised himself, trying to banish those purple eyes from his mind. He looked back at the girl (woman? He couldn't truly tell her age) just in time to see her taking off her glasses, rubbing her face, before casting her eyes to the pale morning sun over the river. He held back a gasp as he saw the gold reflected in them, shining even brighter than her hair. The sunlight reflected off her skin, making her appear carved from marble.

It looks like someone made her out of precious gems. She would be beautiful if she weren't so obviously frail.

His annoyance returned as she turned from the sun to face him and he remembered why she irked him. She stared straight in his direction, a suspicious cast to her features as her eyes met his. That's why he didn't like her.

It's almost like she can SEE me.