Haha, I got this chapter out sooner than the last one! Go too much free time!

xD

Oh, and this is the last chapter. Thank you for lingering with the story.

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Chapter 15

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Rukia walked into Ichigo's room the next morning, only to find it empty. She looked around, nothing hidden in the nicely made bed, Zangetsu no longer leaning on the wall, no signs that life had been in the room yesterday. However, as she turned to leave, the small shinigami noticed a slip of paper placed on the 'inside' of the door – you can't see it if you're entering, but you can see it when you leave. She gently took it out of its holding place and opened it.

Guys, don't bother looking for me. I've left Soul Society, as well as my general life for a while. Don't expect me anywhere for a while, try not to look for me. I don't want to repeat what happened with Renji.
-Ichigo

The 13th division member dropped the note, and ran out of the room. She immediately started scanning the Seireitei for any hints of the orange-haired substitute shinigami, but it was as if he vanished completely. Her first thought was to tell someone she could trust, so she went to Byakuya, who had mellowed out since the big Seireitei break-in to rescue her.

"Kurosaki is missing?"

"Hai, nii-sama. He left a note in his room, saying he doesn't want to be found for a while. I don't know how long that while is though."

"Well, have you tried looking for his reiatsu. The boy keeps spilling it like a cup with no bottom anywhere in it."

"I have. I can't find it, anywhere."

"Have you tried looking in the human world?"

Realization hit the younger of the two siblings. She bowed to her older brother, and ran out the door. Drawing out her zanpakuto, she focused on Urahara's shop, and opened the portal. As soon as the doors permitted her to, she ran through them.

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About 8 hours earlier...
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"Oh, you're back early, Kurosaki-san." said Urahara, as Ichigo came through the portal that lead to his shop. "How was your trip?"

"I don't want to talk about it. I want you to do something for me."

"What would that be...?"

"I want you to teach me how to suppress my reiatsu."

"I'm not sure I get what you're hinting at, Kurosaki-san."

"If you won't do it, I may have other ways of doing it."

"Why so intent to learn kidou so suddenly, Kurosaki-san?"

"I don't want people to be able to find me. It's gotten to be a problem I can't handle anymore."

"Really now?"

"Will you do it or not?"

"I will, on the condition you let Rukia-chan know where you are, and why you're doing this. I think I understand your reasoning, but she'd like to know. Also, I want you to pay me."

"Pay you? You're the reason I'm asking for help, idiot!"

"What'd I do to you?"

"You put me in this situation in the first place!"

"How so?" the shop owner asked sheepishly/sarcastically.

"Just answer my fucking question Urahara!"

"Yare, yare. So demanding. I'll do it, and you won't have to pay. Geez, you have no sense of humor, Kurosaki-san."

"When do we start?"

"Hm... how about now? No one is here, and everyone in Soul Society is asleep. Besides, maybe along the way I can get a summary of what happened over there. Maybe find a way of convincing another shinigami to get a copy of Mayuri's notes on you."

"Whatever. We're training in the basement, right?"

"Yes, I'll be down there in a minute."

Urahara walked over to his desk, and wrote on a sheet of paper that the shop was closed for a little, before coming down to meet Ichigo.

The shop owner went over the basic rules of kidou to the orange-haired vaizard, knowing that this was the only subject that would take Ichigo weeks, maybe even years to figure out. They had agreed to meet at night, when most people were asleep, and they would have a smaller chance of being interrupted.

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Present...
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"Urahara-san!" Rukia voiced as she popped into his shop. "Have you seen Ichigo? He vanished from the Seireitei yesterday."

The shop owner looked thoughtful for a second, before flicking open his fan and remembering the threat/plead that Ichigo had given him earlier.

"Urahara-san. Don't tell anyone that I'm in this world. Don't tell them I was here. If you do, I won't hesitate to hurt you."

"Ara, what a threat, Kurosaki-san."

The young shinigami flash-stepped behind him at a speed that even the former 12th division captain couldn't keep up with. Zangetsu was pointed at the back of his neck, its owner glaring daggers more numerous than Byakuya's Senbonzakara Kageyoshi.

"I mean it."

"Right, as you wish, Kurosaki-san."

"Thank you."

"Can't say I have, Rukia-san. Why, did he do something wrong?"

"He has fucking vanished off the face of Seireitei, and I can't sense him here! What do you think?" she screamed, pissed at Urahara's coy attitude toward the situation.

"Well, I'll let you know if I see him, Rukia-san."

She left the shop to search the city. However, Ichigo was seeking daylight shelter with the vaizards, hiding in Hacchi's barrier.

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"Ichigo, why are you here?" asked a surprised Shinji.

"Don't want to talk about it, Hirako."

"I thought once you mastered your hollow, you'd never be seen near us again."

"You want me out of your hair? I've got a condition."

"What?"

"Help me learn kidou. Because I can't control my reiatsu, people can easily find me. I don't want that anymore."

"Wait. You want to learn kidou?" the blond vaizard questioned with a slight laugh.

"Yes."

"Alright. If you learn this, you better not come to us for anymore help. You're one of the biggest idiots I've ever met, bringing all your problems to us." a voice said from behind Shinji. It was Hiyori.

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1.5 years later...
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Ichigo leaned on Zangetsu, keeping himself relatively perpendicular to the ground below him. He had just fended off another of Hiyori's attacks, using both his zanpakuto and a byakurai (a bakudo spell).

Shinji walked up to him, and put his hand on his shoulder.

"You actually mastered kidou. Who'd have ever thought you were capable?" he said sarcastically.

"Tch."

"Hey, we helped you for the past year and a half, you could at least thank us."

"Thank you. I'll be leaving now."

Ichigo took Zangetsu out of the ground, and replaced it on his back. He slowly walked out of the training grounds to visit Urahara for his usual nightly practice with the shop keeper. Both the vaizards and the former shinigami captain had helped him increase his control of his reiatsu since he first requested it. To his relief, the vaizards and Urahara hadn't gotten any information out of him, and were unaware of his hole.

"Ah, Kurosaki-san. Welcome, here for the usual training?"

Another add on to the orange-haired shinigami's relief was that all the shinigami, family members, and friends had no idea where he could be; which was due to the amazing feet of Urahara not saying anything about Ichigo's location.

"Yeah. It'll be the last one too."

"Really? I didn't think you'd be going off so early."

"It's been over a year, Urahara-san."

"True. Well, let's get you ready!"

They both climbed down into the basement, which was insanely similar to how most of the training grounds Ichigo found himself in. They both got in their fighting stances, with Zangetsu leaning against a rock. Urahara's idea to get him to learn kidou faster was do do it without his zanpakuto, and amazingly enough, it worked.

The shop owner released Benihime, and charged at his pupil. Ichigo dodged it, and mumbled an incantation, releasing another Byakurai at his opponent. Urahara jumped out of the way, sending an Blood Strike (A/N: ya all know that Kisuke can do something similar to Ichi's Getsuga, right? Well, since he has a "Blood Sheild", that is what I'm calling his long distance slash thing) at the air-bound shinigami. Ichigo countered with a Shakkahou, and landed within the dust cloud the collision caused.

After about 4 hours of fighting, Urahara sheathed his sword, and walked over to a semiconscious Ichigo. Both of them had used a lot reiatsu in the past hours, and were tired.

"Nah, Kurosaki-san. How about you stay here tonight. You look barely conscious."

"No, that's okay Urahara-san."

Ichigo started walking towards the ladder that lead to the shop, and his way out. However, before he reached the bottom of the ladder, he had fallen over, asleep. The shop owner laughed gently at this, and let him rest where he was. He climbed out of the basement, and closed the door, covering it back up under the tatami mat.

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Ichigo looked around, he had somehow managed to show up in his side-ways world. He didn't want to be there, it held way too many memories. The shinigami knew that coming back to his world was inevitable, but he didn't want to come back so soon.

"Wha' the hell are ya doin' here, King?" asked an annoyed hollow.

Kuroji had been extremely anti-social, not even bothering to try to take over Ichigo's body. However, he wasn't the easiest of beings to convince to the lending of reiatsu. Fortunatly, Ichigo had beaten the crap out of him to the point the hollow didn't seem to care anymore, and lent him the reiatsu when Ichigo needed/wanted it.

The orange-haired boy turned his head so he could see his counter-part, and quirked an eyebrow.

"I have no idea why I'm here. Do I need a reason, Kuroji?"

"I tol' ya ta stop callin' me tha'."

"You're going to live with it. It's your name."

"I ain't got a name."

"Yes, you do. I gave it to you over a year ago."

"I don't remember acceptin' a name from you."

"I do, so live with it."

Ichigo's short temperness was wasted on his hollow, but thinking back on how Kuroji acted before the dissection incident, he couldn't help it. He had been able to calm him down when he was pissed at Kurotsuchi for digging into his body, this new Kuroji couldn't, didn't do anything similar.

The shinigami turned to leave, but Kuroji's voice stopped him.

"King. What happened to us a year and a half ago? I know I existed before tha', I jus' wan' ta know what happened, 'cause I don' remember anythin' before that. But I know I've been around longer, why else would you act so pissed a' me all the time? Especially when I havn' done much to ya." the hollow said; a bit distracted, like he was trying to remember his past, but it wasn't coming to him.

Kuroji looked at his king, with curiosity in his eyes, as well as determination. Ichigo however, thought that saying nothing would be the best thing to do. He left his inner world, leaving a confused hollow in his wake.

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The orange-haired shinigami stirred from his sleep, to find that he was still in Urahara's training room. He sat up and rubbed his head. He was defiantly not expecting himself to wake up here. Getting up, Ichigo brushed the dust off his shihakusho, and walked over to his exit.

He had a little trouble opening the door, seeing as the mat was on top of the door, which swung outwards. Ichigo used all of his weight, and shoved the door opened. Climbing out, he noticed three familiar figures standing in the shop.

'Oh, shit.'

"Ichigo...?" asked a surprised short shinigami, with not-to-brilliant drawing abilities.

"Kurosaki!" exclaimed the short white haired captain.

"Ah, you're finally awake, Kurosaki-san. How are you this morning?" asked the cheerful shop owner.

"Eh..." was all he could get out of his mouth. The shock of having two shinigami that knew him, be in the shop he happened to sleep in the previous night was not what he expected.

"Ichigo!" Rukia ran over to the orange-haired shinigami, who fortunatly closed the door before she got to him.

She jumped at him, hugging him. Tears of happiness were rolling down her eyes, burrying her head into his chest.

"Where the hell where you these past months? Most of Soul Society was looking for you!"

"Wha-? Really?" questioned the stupified shinigami.

"Obviously. Do you think any shinigami would lie about something like that?" stated Hitsugaya.

"Guess not."

Ichigo pried the ecstatic shinigami off of him, before standing up.

"Well, I'll be off." said Ichigo as he headed toward the door, only to be spoken to again.

"Where the fuck are you going, Kurosaki?"

"Out."

"You've been 'out' for over a year! I have the right to know where you're going as your superior."

The taller shinigami stopped where he was, and turned his head to face the 10th division captain. A scowl was present on his face, and not his normal one.

"Toshiro, I hold no rank in Soul Society. I am not part of any of the Gotei, so you are not my superior. I am an individual, under no one's command but my own."

Both Rukia and Urahara stared at the pissed off shinigami before them. Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes.

"Ever since the arrancar war, I have been your superior, Kurosaki."

"No, you haven't."

With that, Ichigo left the shop. He was followed by all three of them, who kept a distance from the short tempered boy and the vaizard. Taking Zangetsu off his back, Ichigo closed his eyes, and focused his reiatsu into his zanpakuto. The blade glowed a tint of purple, blue shinigami reiatsu mixed with the dark red of a hollow. He raised his blade and cut a hole in the air, opening up a black gash infront of him.

"What is that, Ichigo?" asked a shocked Rukia.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened. "Don't tell me that's..."

"I thought I told you guys I didn't want to be near others now. It may have been over a year, but I still don't want any unnecessary contact with shinigami."

"You're talking like you aren't one, Ichigo..." stated Rukia, a bit perplexed at the boy's choice in words.

"Kuchiki, he isn't a shinigami. He's a vaizard, one that needs to be supervised if he doesn't yeild soon. If he loses control again, we could be in an even worse situation than last time! We need to apprehend him."

Ichigo wheeled to face the group of three that were seeing him off. He looked slightly annoyed, with a glint in his expression that said he knew something no one else did.

"Toshiro... I'm not a vaizard. I never was."

"Then explain your hollow abilities, Kurosaki!"

"Simple, just because I have the reiatsu of a hollow, and a shinigami doesn't mean I'm a vaizard."

"What else could you be? An arrancar?" asked Hitsugaya, in a tone that seemed like he made a decisive blow to Ichigo's logic.

The orange-haired teen had to think for a second before he could answer. "I'm probably more arrancar than vaizard."

The captain stared at him, but before he could get anything out in protest, Ichigo cut him off.

"I had about a 95 percent completed mask, and the hole in my chest before I grabbed Zangetsu from within me as a konpaku. I'm neither arrancar, nor vaizard. Hell, I don't know what I am."

"Then... then that's the reason Aizen held such great interest in you! He was looking to build, create, and control a complete fusion of a shinigami and hollow! You're a his perfect hybrid!"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes, their color slowly becoming black and yellow. A scowl of pure loathing appeared on his face. His tone of voice becoming insanely violent and higher, kinda like Kuroji's voice. The hollow mask forming, in a pulled to the side kind of way.

"I don't belong to anyone. Not you, Aizen, Isshin, Kisuke, or even that bastard Kurotsuchi. I ain't no one's property!"

He turned around, the hollow mask still forming on the side of his head, instead of over his face.

Rukia started to slowly walk toward him, as he walked into the portal. Once most of his body was in it, it started to dissolve. He looked back before it vanished completly.

"If anyone comes after me, don't expect them back in one peice."

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The End
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Okay, the story is over! The down side is, you are stuck with the ever present cliff-hanger; the up side, I'm most likely going to write a sequel. I'm going to aim for about 85 (at 82 or 83, I'll start writin' it) reviews before I start/post chapter one of the next story, so you all should know how to get it out sooner.

Please pardon the OOCs, they'll be popin' up in the sequel a lot more than this one.

I'm still amazed at how long this turned out to be. This story was originally planned out at four chapters; and surprise, surprise, I almost square that number. I guess I learned that I shouldn't limit my stories... because they'll be long anyways.

Review, and let me know what you thought of the story.