Revisions of the Regrets: The butterfly effect. The war is drawing to a close, victory tilting dangerously away from the shinigami. Desperate for any hope our hero stumbles upon another answer that seems like everything he ever wanted, but suddenly his mind is racked with doubts. Can love reach across time to hold on its 'only one'? IchiRuki

Rated T for language and violence. Spoiler warning for those of you who are not up to date.

Bleach does not belong to me but the poems/quotes at the beginning and ending of each chapter do and I ask that you do not use them without my permission. I work hard to come up with something for every chapter.

Chapter 1; DOOM is Upon Us

"Like a fleeting, sweet fragrance;

The taste of life with you swirled around me;

Before disappearing...

Like it was never there."

The sound of clashing metal, screams, and a variety of nerve wrecking sounds filled the cold night air above Karakura Town. Chaos was everywhere around him. Ichigo tried to wipe the away the sweat that had been stinging his eyes. His hands were shaking uncontrollably as he searched around him for some meaningful task. Large holes distorted the sky, shinigami and hollow alike poured in and out as the war spread through each dimension. He, himself, had already killed thousands of hollow but they still kept coming. Frustrated, he tightened his grip on his zanpakutou.

From the center of the raging war dark red wisps of energy swirled around the Hougyoku that was suspended in the air. Ichigo watched it; wondering if there was something he could do about it... it was difficult to battle without hurting anyone else. What if he could end this all by destroying that? Slowly, almost in a dazed state, he approached it, trying to ignore the horror that surrounded him. As he stood before it, the energy fluctuated before being sucked into the small orb. Along with it all sound seemed to have gone as well.

Nooo... is it finally time, is it ready?!

Thump...Thump... Ichigo unconsciously grabbed the front of his shihakushou as he slowly looked down at the world beneath his feet. There was already commotion in the streets below as the war, invisible to them, damaged their roads and buildings. He watched fearfully as the red energy formed a large circle in the town.

"No..." He gasped. Everything within that circle would soon be gone. He grabbed Zangetsu's hilt with both hands. Growling, he attacked the orb, swinging with full force. It stopped inches from the Hougyoku as if it were surrounded by some invisible force-field. Sparks spattered between the two. No...No... He attacked with a series of chopping strikes, but each was as unsuccessful as the first. He quickly struck the blade out in front of him, the bandage tail wrapping around his arm.

"Ban-kai!" He shouted. His whole being was engulfed by his now black reiatsu as his sword changed forms. Finally, the reiatsu dispersed. Wasting no time Ichigo swung the ebony black blade. "Getsuga Tenshou!"

The orb was immersed into dark energy, and for one hopeful second Ichigo waited. But the Hougyoku remained unharmed. With a deep inhale he charged towards it and, using the power of his bankai, tore at it so fast it was almost as if all sides were hit at once. Still, it didn't work! Ichigo peered down. The buildings, streets, cars, people, everything closest to the perimeter of the circle was rising, breaking into thousands of tiny particles.

"No!" Ichigo panicked. Those were his friends... his family... everyone he knew and the place where he grew up... He reverted his sword back to shikai and placed it on his back. The Hougyoku needed the 1 mile radius of spirit rich soil for the spirit energy, right? If that was the case then maybe... maybe he could substitute it. He knew he wasn't really too good at this but it was worth a shot. He reached forward with both hands; they were halted by the barrier. Sparks shot out as he fought to keep his hands in place. Ichigo shut her eyes, concentrating hard. He could feel the reiatsu as it channeled through his hands. The orb absorbed it, Ichigo decided to heighten his output level, daring not to look down. Even if he couldn't fix what had already been taken, at least he could save what was still there... The tide suddenly seemed to have turned, instead of him giving his reiatsu he could feel it being sucked out of him. The rate was growing exponentially. Realizing something had gone wrong as the sense of fear twisted in his gut, Ichigo quickly tried to pull back... but it was almost as if his hands were glued to it.

xXxXXxXXxXXxXx

Rukia swung forward, her zanpaktou easily slicing through the hollows white mask. She let out a small sigh as the hollow disappeared into the air. Her eyes searched the buildings around her; it seemed that this part of town was now evacuated. She felt Ichigo's reiatsu fluctuate somewhere in the air above her. He must be fighting; at least I know he's alive. Don't go doing something stupid and getting yourself killed. Rukia cleaned her sword with the edge of her sleeve. It was hard to fight with all these other battles going on around her. She could hardly use any of her shikai's moves without hurting someone. Suddenly she felt the odd change in his reiatsu, it was steadily increasing, but at the same time disappearing entirely. It wasn't the slow burned up fashion that was generally the result of battle. Shoot! I should at least check on him. She searched around the sky, as her eyes fell on the Hougyoku, glowing and swirling with a blue color she felt her heart skip a beat. The figure there... Ichigo?! What the heck does he think he's doing!? Rukia ran and kicked off the ground into the air towards him.

She approached cautiously what looked like an out-of-control disaster. The young shinigami had his hands out, holding onto force field around the Houkgyoku. His eyes were wide, in a blank stare. His entire body was spewing out reiatsu that was being gobbled up by the orb in front of him.

"Ichigo!" She cried out, giving him a shake, but his expression didn't change. "Ichigo! Snap out of it!"

But it just didn't work... Rukia pressed herself against his back and reached over his shoulders. Her body felt chilled by the cool, blue reiatsu, her whole body was immersed in it. Slowly she put her hands on top of his. They were as cold as ice. She grabbed them, trying to pry her fingers between them and the force field, but she couldn't seem to get a good grip. With what little grip she had she tugged on his hands. Come on, Ichigo! Cut it off! If you can't cut off all this spilling reiatsu it will all be devoured... and then... She pulled with all her might, her strength heightened by her fear of what could be the outcome. The air was filled with a vacuuming sound as it fought her, then, finally, his hands popped off and the two were sent backwards in a streak of blue.

Gaining her balance, Rukia struggled to hold onto him. He was so heavy... but she couldn't let him drop to the ground. She strained, her arms were already aching from just holding him up. She looked down at the giant crater beneath them for a safe landing spot. She managed, just barely, to land safely on a broken street at the edge. Huffing, she carefully laid him down on the ground. He still wasn't snapping out of it! What was she supposed to do?! Rukia watched him for a second, hoping he would come to. Frustrated, she grabbed her head and started pacing.

"Please, Ichigo, how many fingers am I holding up?" Rukia asked, holding two fingers in front of his wide blank eyes. I got him away just in time... it's almost all gone... how am I supposed to fix this? I know how to heal but... this isn't a wound. Reiatsu was something one would slowly regain. So...I need to wait, but how much longer do we have? Rukia bent down and scooped the orange-headed boy's torso up. Hugging him tightly, she tried not to cry. Blood fell like rain from the sky above them as the shinigami continued to fight the now losing battle.

"Please," She closed her eyes and rocked him back and forth. "Hurry and come back. Ichigo... Ichigo..." His reiatsu was returning, she could feel it, but at a rate so much slower than it had been taken.

In this moment of chaos, though be it strange, she felt like she wanted to be with him. He stirred, she lowered him down, placing his head on her lap. Her attention was drawn away from him as there was a sudden energy spike. The Hougyoku began to bulge and change.

"...Rukia?" Her attention snapped back down. Ichigo was watching her, a little life having returned to his eyes. Over all he seemed extremely tired, but fighting it with all he had. "What happened?"

Rukia didn't know whither to smile or hit him. "You're body went into shock because of the rate your spirit energy was being taken... you idiot! Just what were you planning on achieving with that kinda stunt?! You could've-" She stopped as he turned away, looking in the opposite direction at the large crater in the ground. She watched as his eyes narrowed, filling with a pained expression.

"It didn't work..." He muttered, letting his eyes shut.

"Hey," Rukia said, her voice softening. "Don't you go givin' me such a weak look like that, Ichigo, or I'll have to hit you. You did your best, it was just... out of your hands."

He turned up to the sky, his glazed eyes searching it for some form of comfort. But even the sky, in all its purity, was not freed from the chaos. It was constantly obstructed by the continuing clash of shinigami and hollow. "That means that... we've lost, haven't we?"

Before she could think up some meaningful answer her attention was once again drawn to the sky. A new figure had entered from one of the many holes in the sky. The signature of his reiatsu was recognized by everyone; Aizen Sousuke. His spirit pressure alone dropped several lower level shinigami to the ground. The white-clothed figure slowly walked across the sky towards the Hougyoku that was now bulging and twisting.

"Aizen." Ichigo growled, pushing himself up. Almost in a playful manner he placed his hand on Rukia's head and used her as support to get onto his feet.

"Stop! You shouldn't move!" Rukia shouted at him, hurrying to her feet as well. He gave her an annoyed glare.

"Rukia, I'm not wounded. I just feel tired. Besides," He said, smirking. "I don't know what's more uncomfortable to lay on; the road or my sword. If you're so concerned maybe you should take it off next time..."

Rukia thumped him on the head. "Well sorry if I was more concerned about your life then your comfort!"

Rubbing his head, and cursing under his breath, Ichigo turned back up to the sky. Aizen was engaged with four of the captains, whose rank was only recognizable at such a distance by their white haori. Only seconds later all four captains plummeted to the ground, covered with deep, profusely bleeding wounds. Rukia watched as darkness hardened his features into a cold glare. His trickling reiatsu licked at her with an intense blood lust. He pulled out his zanpaktou, the bandages somehow magically unwrapping themselves from the blade. His stance changed, he seemed ready to shoot up after the ex-captain.

"Ichigo, stop!" Rukia shouted at him. The orange-headed shinigami rounded on her. From his intensity at first he seemed mad, but his features softened slightly upon seeing her grime covered appearance. He figured he must look just as messy as she did... although the difference was, even so dirt-covered, she was still so darn cute. His lungs were greedy for air, he was breathing heavily, his whole body felt weak. If she followed, which he knew she would, he was lacking the strength to protect her. It would, inevitably, get them both killed.

Ichigo walked up to her, with his free hand he grabbed her by the base of her neck and pushed the young girl up onto the sidewalk, until her back hit a parking meter. Rukia winced in pain as her aching body came in contact with the metal.

"Ichigo! What the hell are you-" She shouted, but she was cut short as Ichigo pressed his lips against hers. Caught up in the moment of shock and confusion, Rukia didn't feel his hands maneuvering around her body. When he pulled back he couldn't help but grin at the beat colored redness of her face.

Rukia stared up at him, eyes wide and totally flustered. But she regained her composer as Ichigo gave a quick yank with his hand and her arms were pressed tightly against her sides. He brought the handle of his zanpaktou up to his face and, using his teeth, tore off the bandage tail that usually streamed from the end. Rukia looked down at the tight knot that was now right above her navel.

'...Wha-" She started but cut herself off as her orange-headed friend took a few steps back, admiring his work with a tired stare. Rukia tried to move, but failed on account of the fact that she was actually tied to the parking meter.

"What are you doing? Why..." She started, feeling annoyed and used, but with a quick glance up at the sky she realized exactly what he was doing. "No..."

"No! No! You idiot! What do you think you're doing! Stop! You're gonna get yourself killed!" She screamed at him, arching her back and trying to break free. Ichigo looked back over his shoulder at her.

"Don't move!" He shouted, although he held a mocking grin she could see a glint of sadness in his eyes. "Don't you dare even try to come after me. If you do... I will never forgive you."

Rukia was a bit winded from having her own words thrown back at her. He was already off the ground before she realized it. "Noooo! Ichigo! Get back here! You can hardly even stand, you wont last a second like this! Please! I-CHI-GO!"

Her screaming didn't phase him, his mind was set. If they were going down, he wasn't going to give up without a fight. Maybe, just maybe, he could stop this.

Aizen was standing before the morphing Hougyoku, a some-what 10 feet above him. Silently without a noise, Ichigo swung his over-sized zanpaktou at Aizen's back. It was met by a hand as Aizen turned to face him. Grabbing the blade, Aizen waved the sword up and down with a small smile. Desperate to hold on, Ichigo was flung around wildly.

"Ah, it's you again." Aizen said with an air of know-it-all-ness as he pulled on Zangetsu. Holding onto his sword Ichigo was drawn closer to his enemy. With a bit of shunpo he managed to duck under a punch but at the same time Aizen twisted his zanpaktou and ripped it from Ichigo's hands. Ichigo quickly shunpo-ed behind him but he was instantly met by the blade of his own sword. Blood spattered from the fresh wound down his chest as he skidded backwards in the air.

Ichigo cursed as the pain coursed through his body. He didn't have anytime to think as Aizen appeared next to him, swinging another attack down on his head. Ichigo just managed to dodge to the side in time to not be cut. He could still hear Rukia screaming at him from below, he knew that if she calmed down getting out of that would be easy... Aizen tossed the large sword behind him, at the same time swinging a side kick at Ichigo.

A natural reaction, he blocked with his right arm. The force of the kick sent a wave of pain through his arm that resounded with a sharp cracking. He squeezed his eyes shut, groaning, as several waves of pain ran through his arm. Unable to react fast enough he was met by another kick to the top of his head that sent him barreling down towards the crater.

Shoot... I didn't even scratch him. How weak... why am I so weak?! I can't give up, I can't die yet... not yet. I can't let the everyone down. With his good hand his made a grabbing motion in front of his face. White particles seemed to appear out of thin air as they constructed the hollows mask that soon covered up his dirty features. His downward decent would soon be over, he needed to act fast. Without hesitating Ichigo struck his hand out, up at the sky, up at Aizen. I've never done this before... He focused all of his reiatsu into his outstretched hand. A vacuuming noise filled the air as a small, red ball began to form in front of his outstretched palm. Then the world seemed to become muted for a single second before a beam of destructive energy shot up at the ex-captain. Aizen easily stepped to the side, dodging the flashy attack. Annoyance glinting in his yellow eyes, Ichigo prepared himself mentally for the pain he knew he was about to feel.

Sure enough, he crashed into the crater, creating a smaller crater upon impact. The sharp pain surged through his body in continuous waves. Ichigo gritted his teeth, his back arching and his whole body stiffening as he fought not to be subdued by it. His whole body straining against it, so as not to cry out, so as not to give into the darkness. His strength was both a blessing and a curse, he knew if had been weaker... well, he'd have gone 'splat'. Finally, after several long minutes, it died down to a horrible aching feeling. He could feel the cold trail of the coppery liquid as it leaked from the corners of his mouth. His mask was cracked into hundreds of pieces that were slowly sliding off his face.

Ichigo forced open his still yellow eyes. I can't let him win... no matter what. He slowly slid his good hand up to his face, repairing the crumbling mask. It doesn't matter what happens... as long as he doesn't win... He pushed himself up, ignoring the painful protests that were being made by his body, he slid his mask up to the top of his head so he could see better. No matter what. I must... On his feet again Ichigo scouted towards his fallen zanpaktou that was stuck in the ground several feet away. He could feel the blood in his lungs... it felt almost as if he was drowning... As soon as he reached it he double over, his body wracked by coughing as it tried to rid himself of that blood. Finally it ended. Ichigo grabbed onto the hilt, wiping the blood that had begun to run down his chin. I must... Black energy swirled around it as he pulled it from the ground. The blade morphed and changed, hidden by its black veil. Protect.

"Ichigo!" He heard the freed Rukia shout as she ran down the steep crater wall. "Stop it, you moron! You're gonna get yourself killed!"

He glanced back at her, pulling the mask back over his face. Does she really expect me to just give up? Did she want Aizen to just get away with it?

"At least we can fight together! You don't stand a chance like this! Please, you know you don't stand a chance alone! Let me fight with you!" Rukia shouted, getting closer and closer every second that passed.

Ichigo looked back at the sky where Aizen was approaching the now key shaped formation of the Hougyoku, trying to steady his shaky body. He felt weak all over... pain all over. I don't want you to feel this. Even if I'm like this, I still stand a much better chance, so you getting hurt is... unnecessary. "Shut up. I told you not to follow me." He said darkly before kicking off into the air. Rukia was shaking with anger.

"Just what does he think he can accomplish?!" She growled under her breath as she drew her zanpaktou. He has to realize that he doesn't stand a chance! He's always rushing into battle without... no, he's not a kid anymore... he can tell when an opponent is stronger... he can tell when he's beat. But that wont stop him, will it? Ichigo will always fight, no matter what his chances are. It's not that really he believes he can win, or that he will be able to accomplish anything. He's just not the type of person who can just sit by and watch. With a running start Rukia kicked off the ground, shunpo-ing after him.

xXxXXxXXxXXxXx

Aizen smirked, examining the key that was floating before him, a gleam of triumph in his eyes. He reached out to grab it but his hand stopped inches from the handle. He could feel the approaching reiatsu that slowly seemed to be growing stronger and stronger. The ex-captain swirled around, catching the dark, black blade with his right hand.

"You're still alive." Commented Aizen, unsurprised. Ichigo watched him contently, hate boiling in his hollow-like eyes. Black energy leaked from his body, licking at the air around him. Before Aizen could counter-attack, Ichigo ripped his sword back, scooting back through the air. In a flash he appeared on Aizen's side. Aizen stuck his arm in the black bankai's path before it could decapitate him. Cursing, Ichigo disappeared again.

"Hakudou no Sanjuuichi! Shakkaho!" - "Getsuga Tenshou!"

Aizen heard the consecutive shouts on either side of him. He smiled and stepped forward. The two attacks collided behind him, the crescent easily breaking through the red spell.

Rukia gapped, shocked as the attack flew towards her. Before she could react, Ichigo appeared in front of her, his arms outstretched protectively. The arched force plowed into his top section, causing him to slide back a few inches. A torrent of energy slipped around his body, disintegrating the top of his shihakushou and burning like acid at his newly exposed skin. Only small strands managed to pass, but nothing of consequence. The crescent slowly died away, leaving his entire torso raw and blistered.

The shock of such pressure against his broken arm hurt so much worse than the burns did. Even though it still felt like his top was engulfed in flames. Ichigo grabbed his broken arm, holding it out of harms way, pressed against his side. His breathing was heavily labored as his lungs were desperate for what little air they could get. The world became unfocused around him. A jagged crack ran up the center of his bone like mask.

Ichigo shot an annoyed look back at Rukia, his hand releasing its hold as it came up, once again, to his mask. Rukia caught him wincing as he used some of the little energy he had left to fix the crack. She felt a shiver run down her spine as she met his dark eyes. This was the second time she'd seen him fight with his mask on, but she'd never seen it this close... was that really him?

"Go back, and stay out of the way." He snarled, turning back to find Aizen gone from where he had been standing. He quickly drew the sword he had hastily shoved into his oobi belt.

"Hadou no Kyuujuu, Kurohitsugi." The callous tone of Aizen's voice rang in the air around him. The two shinigami looked around fearfully but they didn't see him anywhere. Rukia gasped as dark, black energy spread under her feet. A mere second later sides shot up and she became entirely closed in. Her heart was thumping, she knew what was coming. She could hear Ichigo pounding hard on the side. She could her him shouting her name frantically.

"Ichigo!" She cried, banging on the opposite side of the eerie wall. He watched helplessly as large, black blades appeared all around the black box. With a cry of anguish Ichigo tore at the blade closest to him, slicing through it with his zanpaktou. It dissipated into the air. Before he had time to destroy anymore the blades shot forth, penetrating the box from a variety of angles.

"No!" He shouted. The box faded, and vanished, leaving no trace that it had ever even existed in the first place. A bloodied Rukia dropped, plummeting to the ground. Ichigo lurched forward to catch her but was caught as a cold hand wrapped around his throat.

"Let go of me! Temee!" He screamed, watching the falling Rukia. He glowered at Aizen, thrashing Zangetsu wildly at the brown-haired man who held him. But Aizen caught his sword and bent the blade up at a right degree angle before ripping it from Ichigo's hand.

A small smile spread across his face as he watched the representative struggling in his grasp. Ichigo yanked at the hand on his throat desperately. Still holding him, Aizen made his way over to the Ouken, his grip tightening with every step.

"Look around you, kid. It's over. You'll never defeat me." As he spoke Aizen slowly broke into particles that in turn dissolved into nothing. As soon as the grip on his throat was relinquished his midsection was met by a sharp pain. Through his blurry vision he could just make out the shiny silver of a blade protruding from his stomach. His body convulsed before slumping back onto the blade it was impaled on. His mind was slipping into the darkness. Slipping away... As was Rukia's life, having crashed unprotected into the crater bellow.

He reached out, taking a hold of the Ouken, his hand felt extremely heavy and hard to move. Please... don't let him win... he thought, his hand fell back to his side with the key.

The thousands of shinigami that filled the skies froze, turning to look at the limp figure of the representative. The reiatsu, the enormous, encouraging energy that they all had been able to feel, that had given them the sense that, as a force, they were unstoppable, was now disappearing, fading away. Under all those watching eyes, he was there... and then... he was gone. Completely disappearing, the key he had had spun in the air for a second before falling into the crater.

Aizen frowned slightly at the air Ichigo had occupied a moment before. The white garbed man pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket and used it to wipe the blood off his sword. The boy had been an interesting case for sure... and one of the most amusing shinigami he'd killed today...

xXxXXxXXxXXxXx

Nearly all of the Espada and higher rank Arrancar had been sent to attack the Soul Society. Thus most of the seated officers were protecting their home. In the living world the past few days had showed little more than garden hollows so only squads of unranked shinigami had been sent. Ichigo and his human friends stayed in the World of the living to help protect against what they saw as an obvious distraction.

Renji and Rukia had gained permission to fight in the living world with their nakama. Until now none of them had faced an opponent stronger than Gillian class. But here Renji stood, face to face with one of Aizen's ten Espada.

His large, snake-like bankai slithered around him protectively. Blood stung at his eyes as it flowed down his head from the freshly inflicted wound. "Heh, you're not bad."

The yellow-haired espada watched him contently, over all undamaged. She readjusted her grip on the short zanpaktou that she held at her side.

Renji felt Rukia's sudden drop in reiatsu. He cursed loudly, preparing for another attack. He had to finish this fast. Pressure changes could be felt all over, but he could recognize hers with out a doubt. C'mon, Ichigo, take care of her. He willed, afraid he might be too late. He could feel Ichigo, whose own reiatsu had been raising and dropping to extreme levels, was near her. No matter how many times the kid was beaten down he seemed to stand up again and again.

Then... her's disappeared entirely. Nooo! He shouted inwardly. That just can be right!

Halibel regarded the shinigami thoughtfully, studying his expression. Another heavy reiatsu faded and she watched as the red haired shinigami became panicked.

Both of them?! No! T-that's just not possible! They can't be- it's just not possible! Renji's throat tightened, he allowed his eyes, after much of a struggle, a glance behind him. It was almost as if he were expecting to see the two laying on the ground, dead, behind him. But there, there was nothing.

"Friends of yours?" The arrancar asked.

Renji rubbed his forehead. "Heh...yeah..."

xXxXXxXXxXXxXx

Slowly his feeling, that he really thought he'd never regain, returned. He had thought he was gone... he had thought he was dead. The textureless ground below him radiated with a soft warmth. He was laying, stretched out, on his stomach. He felt... so tired... he just wanted to cuddle to the warm ground and sleep. But he began to realize that he felt no pressure from the surrounding reiatsu's, he heard nothing. Ichigo tried to open his eyes but was instantly blinded by the light.

It took some work but he finally was able to open them. The ground he was on was pure white, completely flat, and so was the sky above him. Both continued on forever into the distance, faintly illuminated.

He felt no more physical pain, the light from the ground seemed to pulsate through his body. It was calming, it was encouraging... relaxing... Ichigo closed his eyes. I guess I am dead after all.

Rukia... she died too I could feel it. I could feel her life disappearing... so would she be here or am I alone? What happened to reincarnating and all that? Hah... so is it really just emptiness after all? Ichigo rolled onto his back, opening his eyes again, he looked to his other side. He had, of course, been expecting more open whiteness.

Instead he was shocked to find a huge building looming over him. The whole architecture looked like that of an old Greek temple. There were four long lines of blue-tinted crystal pillars that extended far back into the structure before ending with a beautifully framed door. A long, blue with purple trimmed carpet ran through the center to the door. Other than that the building was completely white. The roof above him was extremely thick. The whole complex was on a two foot platform that dipped into a set of steps at the base of the rug. The lowest of which was but a few inches from his hand.

"Wow..." He muttered, gaping at the building. Forgetting about the coziness of the ground, he stood up, once again surprised. For he was not wearing his shihakushou, all he had on was a simple white t-shirt and shorts. If this wasn't death, what else could it be?

He felt drawn to the door, even though it hardly stood out from the rest of the structure. Carefully he made his way up the steps, thus far too intrigued to wallow on his loss. The thick top was apparently hollow, the crystalline pillars ran up into the dark shadows. It was so dark up there... and it gave him a strange feeling that he was being watched. The rug was soft and fluffy, it seemed to wrap his feet in the homely coziness this whole place seemed to offer. Through the pillars he could see the continuous white that carried on its foreverness to the sides of the great building.

He was almost to the door when, as if out of nowhere, a figure appeared before him. The figure, who looked like a man from what he could tell, crouched on the ground holding a long, golden spear to Ichigo's throat. He had a bushel of messy, white hair and dark red eyes that seemed to hold a sullen look to them. Blue cloth, that matched the carpet, covered his face from the bridge of his nose, down to his shoulders. There were golden plates on his shoulders from which hung a golden banner that extended down to his waist, baring a bold, white, embroidered Kanji on it. Other than that he was wearing a clean, white shakushou, a white oobi belt, and white tabi socks.

"What business do you have here?" He asked Ichigo in a strong , masculine voice. Ichigo gulped, staring down at the sharp spear that was inches from his throat. Another blade pressed into his abdomen and a new voice spoke from behind him.

"Heion, you realize that Kami brought him here." The voice was soft, feminine, but Ichigo didn't dare to move even a little.

"I don't care! What does he need with a creature like this?! I mean, look at his hands! They're covered in blood!" Argued the one in front of him. What? He carefully moved his hand until he could see it, but it seemed perfectly normal to him.

"Maybe blood, but not life-"

"That depends on who you ask. But even if you don't count hollows, he would've killed that man if he could." Heion spat.

"They purify the hollows. That's the flow the universe took in this dimension, unless you've forgotten. That man wants to kill Kami, he would've been helping us by killing him. I don't see how you find this boy a threat." The women stated, not giving in in the least.

Heion stood up, keeping his spear point straight at Ichigo. "Did you even look at his spirit? It's-It's revolting. How can some screwed up experiment like this... thing serve Kami any purpose?"

"If Kami brought him, let Kami see him!" Stated another voice, older sounding. Slowly Heion lowered his spear, watching Ichigo almost fearfully. When the blade slipped off his stomach Ichigo whirled around.

Immediately behind him were about a dozen people who looked like clones of the guy who'd stopped him first. The only difference was the white embroidered Kanji on their golden tapestries. What the hell? I have to be dreaming, there's no way this could be real. He, himself, didn't have a weapon but all these other people... or whatever they were, all had those long, golden spears. So perhaps it was best, for now, not to upset them.

"We're sorry for that. We don't really understand why, but I guess Kami wants to see you." He heard the feminine voice from before but he really couldn't figure out which one was talking.

"Yeah, sorry for interrupting." Apologized Heion, who was still standing behind him. "We're Kami's Royal Guard, we only wish to protect and support him. Ai and I don't always see eye to eye, but I guess if Kami wants to speak to this monster then let him." The white haired guard sounded a bit disgruntled and seemed to only half-way be talking to Ichigo.

Ichigo tried to restrain from taking any physical action. "A monster! It's repulsive!? What gives you, of all people, the right to say things like that?"

"You're a sad excuse for a child of the Earth."

"You-"

"That man's coming!" Squeaked a shaky voice from somewhere in the crowd of seeming clones.

"The boy's heart is pure, let him through, Heion." Ai commanded sternly.

"If you're blind..." Muttered Heion, annoyed. He was the only one of them that Ichigo could tell who was speaking, mainly because he was separate from the rest. Despite his bitter arguing Heion opened the door and motioned for Ichigo to go in.

Ichigo half-rolled his eyes before entering the building. One minute he had known that he was and that Rukia was...dead. Now he was stuck in some sort of weird hallucination with a bunch of freaky clones. He rubbed his face, hoping to lessen his growing headache. He snapped out of his trance, back into the now. The whole building seemed to be one enormous room.

An enormous room that was, for the most part, empty. Two giant gears were on either side of the room attached to the walls that were slowly turning, filling the emptiness with a low cri cri cri. Other than that there was a large, throne like chair right across from the door. Here too it was, unsurprisingly, white. Ichigo glanced around in awe, before his eyes finally came to rest on the figure in the chair. This person was the only person here. He was a very handsome, young man, with shoulder length silver hair and a spotless white suit. He had his head leaning on his hand watching Ichigo with interest. For a moment the two silently observed each other.

"My, my, my... you are a very pitiful being, aren't you. Kurosaki Ichigo." The man chimed, sitting up straight.

"Stop it." Ichigo growled. "What's wrong with you people? I don't see how you of all people have place calling me such things."

The man chuckled but slowly the smile fell off of his face as he stared intently the orange haired child before him. "Very pitiful indeed."

"I'm not pitiful or disgusting, listen- there's something I have to tell you."

"You know, you're the first person I've seen who didn't react to me saying their name before they've introduced themselves." He laughed. Ichigo could feel his nerves wearing down but her realized that hadn't even thought about it.

"What else do you know about me?" Ichigo asked carefully and curiously.

"More that you'd want me to."

"What do you mean by that?" Ichigo forced, uncomfortably. He felt a hand lay on his shoulder, the man was gone from the chair. In an instant he was standing by Ichigo's side, facing the opposite way.

"We can read you like an open book." He muttered, his voice now dark and sinister. "We can see all those feelings you keep bottled up inside, all of those fears you try to ignore. We can see what you are and why; a crockpot of all the stages in the circle of human evolution. But you weren't always that way, right? You keep telling yourself that you don't care about fitting in, but that's not true anymore. After you saved that woman, she told you she wanted to stay there. She was the thing you needed the most but you acted as if it were nothing. Was it that night, or one of the following that you lay there trying to pretend you didn't feel what was growing inside of you... that you realized your support was gone, she was gone. That you were alone, and you were changing . I can see how pained you've become, seeing your friends expressions every time you pull that mask over your face. You need the power but you hate yourself for using it. You wish that they could some how just accept you, because now you feel that they are all, to some extent, afraid of you. Please tell me, did I get it right?"

"B-but, that's not possible... there's no way in hell that someone... that anyone could... this has to be a hallucination..." Ichigo stuttered. "Maybe I didn't die... maybe I'm in a comma..."

The man let his hand slip off Ichigo's shoulder, frowning in disappointment. "I thought the Royal Guard would've at least mentioned who I was."

"Kami? That means that you're God? Does that mean I am dead? Where's Rukia! Is she still alive?!"

"People don't come here when they die."

"Then why am I here!?" His voice was raising, he still felt very shaken up from what Kami had said earlier.

"I brought you here because you were practically knocking on my door, begging for help." Kami answered, his voice melting back into an almost sarcastic tone. Ichigo stepped backwards, trying hard not to be confused, not to be shocked. The Ouken...that's right, I grabbed the Ouken... "Kami, Aizen's coming, he's going to-"

"Kill me?" Kami cut him off with the rest. "I've been aware of this for a very long time. Just like I knew you would come, and just like I know what the end of all this will be. Listen, there's something none of you understand. Life is... like stages. We work and work, learn more and more, and we evolve! Forever stretching our horizons. Evolution begins in the 'zero dimension', the start of dimensions. A rock for example is a being of the 'zero dimension'. A rock cannot move unless acted upon by other forces, it is a single point of consciousness. The seed for a conscious being. That conscious being will eventually learn what it is to be in the 'zero dimension' and what is gained. It will become a first dimension being, then a second being, then a third dimension being like you. Each stage holding more lessons than the last, more life times. With each stage more ability is gained thus more lessons are to be learned."

Ichigo blinked dumbfoundedly. "I... don't think I'm following you... and I don't really see what that has to do with Aizen."

"You see, humans seem to have many fancy names for me but I am merely a 4th dimension being. As a third dimension being you have now gained the ability to experience to 'move through space', the only limit being your very own body. I have gained the ability to 'move through time'', the only limit being my body. But the problem is that, like space, time is infinite, so what you see as time is the space or length between two points on infinity. It's just a blink of an eye. What can be learned in the blink of an eye? Nothing! And if one cannot learn one cannot evolve. So with my abilities I have 'contained' time on this planet so that time can be processed, lessons learned, and evolution takes place."

"Listen, Kami," Ichigo started with a sigh. "That's all very interesting but you said yourself he was coming! Shouldn't we be figuring out some way to stop him?"

"I told you I know how it turns out, because to me it's already happened. Unless you don't trust me, Ichigo. I guess perhaps you don't need everything explained, you just want it done, right?" Kami asked, walking back to his chair, he swirled around and plopped down. "A long time ago these people learned hate and they could no longer hear me, so I could no longer help them. I can only hear their pleas ringing in my ears, but finally someone's come, and I can help. Even if I rewound time again and again they'd make the same choice because they wouldn't be able to see why it was the wrong choice. So by helping you, I will help the world."

"Enough of that! Would you quit all this rambling! I swear, even when it sounds like you're gonna stop you just don't! Just tell me the point already, what are you getting at?!" Ichigo shouted in frustration. Kami grinned.

"Very well, I'll just go ahead and straight out ask then. The thing you regret the most; the mistake that killed your mother. How would you like to take it back?"

Chapter End