Bleach is the property of Kubo Tite, whereas the returner premise for Moonfang is my own.

Moonfang Rising

I Inner circle reformation

--

In the middle distance, between life and death, thoughts stretch out for an eternity…

The final gasp, whether it be a word a curse or an inexplicable ramble, it echoes in the ears of the fallen for all of time.

'Did I win, or did I fail once more?'

This is the final thoughts of Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Ichigo"

'Did I win or did I fail once more?'

"Ichigo"

The final thought encompasses the being of the fallen, preventing any other thoughts or external stimulus from entering. Within the core of those words, the fallen relives every moment which lead to the uttering of such words. The lingering touch of emotions, pain, terror and shame only enhance the purgatory.

The world however continued to spin as it was meant to, the sun still rose and fell, the night still reigned for it's opposite half.

Even if two souls fought for all of eternity, Aizen and Ichigo, neither had the might to destroy the world entirely. As it was created by the king, it would never fall by anything other than his thoughts.

But Ichigo's world had been destroyed, the life that he lived, the humanity he sought to clench tightly while still being the mask and the sword, and the futility in the realization that the life he had was no longer possible.

He had lost his ability to love, when Rukia had fallen. And while the remaining pieces of his soul still remained, unbroken from his existence, a fierce and unrelenting anger took hold, one so furious that not even Inoue's rejection could heal it.

'Did I win, or did I lose Rukia all over again?'

Though with Zangetsu, Ichigo was never truly alone and thus never without any hope. And in the twilight of his last moment, Ichigo remained unable to hear the old man reaching out, just as he had been the first time they met.

"ICHIGO!" Reiatsu thundered open the eyes of Ichigo, and tore the eternal song of words from his ears, and brought forth the name from an unmistakable voice.

"Old man, is that you?" He answered.

"Always Ichigo", replied the man in a dark tattered body length cloak, with yellow transparent glasses covering his eyes.

"Is this the end, am I going to pass on?"

"Not if you don't want it to be Ichigo", the sword replied to it's master, which of course drew the most curious of expressions upon his face.

Zangetsu took Ichigo's stunned silence as a 'you may continue'.

"It would seem we have obtained the attention of the king…"

"The king?" Ichigo's eyes had widened to the limit of shock.

"He has granted us a get out of jail free card."

"Get out of jail?" Ichigo replied, scratching his head, getting a little irritated at Zangetsu beating around the bush. It's not like the orange haired boy had anything better to do, but if there was a chance he could live again, he wished the old man would get on with it!

"He's restructured existence, so that you can have that which you've always wanted, you just have to kill Aizen one more time."

"Are you insane Zangetsu, I barely beat him this time?" An asterisk appeared in Ichigo's forehead but the old man cut through his offensive measures.

"You'll be returning Ichigo, with your full strength in tact, to a time when he wouldn't expect you to be so strong."

"Returning through time huh?" Ichigo mulled it over in his head for a moment longer than a breath.

Even if it turned out to be the biggest mistake he had ever made, Ichigo turned to the old man ready to sell his soul once more, if it meant he could see her face once more. To stare into her amethyst eyes he'd do anything at any cost, even time travel.

"You should know Ichigo…" Zangetsu felt the affirmation of yes echoing through his partner's soul, "the king trusts in your judgment, and he's done this so that you can live in payment for all the suffering you've endured."

"Take my hand Ichigo, and I'll guide us to a moment that best suits our situation."

Nodding somewhat gravely, Ichigo drifted over and took the left hand of Zangetsu, who with his right, threw back the curtain of nothingness which had surrounded them, unveiling a mosaic of time and space that no one could describe even if they tried.

The closest definition would make it appear like a painting, though it wasn't two dimensional, at the very least it was three or four, with moments spread everywhere and nowhere in particular or with any defined order.

The canvas was the entirety of Ichigo's life, painted by through his choices and illustrated brightly with the moments of the most relevancy.

The goal was a moment with the most possibility of success. So Zangetsu chose an insertion point just before the first venture to soul society, as to prevent many of the suffering instances that occurred, as well as the primary objective.

Grasping the instance in question with his pointer finger, Zangetsu initialized the sequence for the return, but swiftly shifted his hand around to touch various other moments, ones which his thoughts had aligned within close reach, saving traces of their parts, and tucking them away without Ichigo noticing the transaction.

To himself, Zangetsu smiled, wanting to see the look on Ichigo's face when he realized what had just happened, though knowing him it wouldn't occur until they were staring him in the eye once more.

"Come Ichigo, we ride, back to another time!" Zangetsu roared clenching the younger half of himself as they dove into the moment held within the mind of the zanpakuto, leaping into it as if it was a portal in its own right.

The mosaic of his life shimmered away, and they were transported into a middle ground of countless colors. But the distance between Ichigo and the past also held a partial visage of the earth rapidly resetting backwards.

To a slowing world they came, falling upon the open blues and greens, through the whites of clouds without so much as a trace of flame.

And Ichigo felt himself become heavy with a gravitational pull that could've been by his estimation to be around ten times the normal drag.

It was however the will of his soul to merge with it's predecessor, and thus balance out their signature in this world. The gravity of the pull was an everlasting system of order which had to be accomplished, or it would create instability beyond reckoning.

Within the seemingly empty hand of Zangetsu, several pulls existed within his grasp, and still without the noticing of Ichigo, the old man let the souls find and right themselves within the former world.

This was the very sort of instance, in his past, where the reunion of his soul could take place within a moment of his own transition.

For it was within the bowels of the Urahara shoten, deep within the pit, and within the crumbling inner world that the returner finally appeared.

--

One soul departed for the eternal home of the Shinigami, Sereitei.

One drifted away from the city, to a place near a waterfall, where a young man was about to embark on his own style of training, as mandated by his deceased master.

Two remaining souls were linked together, for their destination was the same…

An abandoned building where a cat was trying to teach them how to acquire their latent abilities.

Breaching the dimensions that existed between earth and heaven, the soul of a Shinigami didn't fight the pull that sought to reunite him with the vessel where he belonged.

Into the rukongai he burst, and then straight through the white road gate, as a Shinigami, his presence wasn't anything unusual, thus the gate did not fall and thus the shield didn't disrupt his movement.

Over countless comrades and allies he sailed through the air like a bird, on a wind that could not stop, nor would stop even if he tried to fly along another course.

It was so close now, the port awaiting the new returning vessel, the one that it would merge with, the one moored in this timeline.

Entering the compound of the most popular captain of the age, the soul finds its way into the barracks, where a lone Shinigami walks back to his post, pondering over his conversation with the most publicized prisoner in Sereitei to date.

The Shinigami staggers and then falls to a knee as his own soul fragments for a moment, and accepts the other without hesitation or the even choice of refusing.

Through a gasping panting breath, the Shinigami manages to lean upward against a wall, clenching his chest as his heart thunders for a moment. His eyes then open with images he's never seen, feelings never felt, hardships and echoes of a time that had yet to come to be.

Memories and recollections fill his mind and reconnect with the present.

The first action of the new Abarai Renji, is to shift his head back to the rear, as his mouth is slightly agape, eyes wide at the presence that sits quietly in a cell behind him, some fifty feet or more. A presence which had every right to be there in that time, but he was still used to his own time, a time where she didn't exist anymore.

'Mother of god?' is all he can manage to stammer in his quieting head.

The voice of the baboon filled the inner ears within him, Zabimaru answered his master's gasp with a musing of the reality which they had just become a part of. Even though the two were separated due to the ban on wearing weapons in a time of piece, Zabimaru was still a piece of his soul, that remained whether or not the sword was affixed to his side.

'Zangetsu, what have you done to us?'

'Zangetsu…' Renji spoke to no one but himself and the other part of himself which inhabited the blade.

'As in Ichigo's zanpakuto… Zangetsu?'

'Well isn't this a surprise, from your memories Renji, I'd say we've taken a permanent stroll down memory lane. And our previous full might is still with us, perhaps a bit stronger!'

'Time travel? Impossible…' Renji stumbled for a moment more and then returned to the cell he had just departed from, only this could confirm his fears and confirm the possibility that he had just returned to a point years in the past.

Peeking his head around the corner suspiciously, he glanced back and then around in the fraction of a moment.

'Rukia…?' Renji's heart nearly leapt out of his chest, from the acknowledgement that it was true.

He had come back.

Her head was turned to the left, she sat silently with neither a smile nor a frown gracing her lips, she seemed to be focusing on her predicament, and barely noticed the swift appearance then disappearance of his head.

'That's Rukia alright', Renji face palmed as he couldn't believe it was true. He realized then that his return was too great a secret for him to keep for very long. He had to tell someone, and while he had grown to have a great relationship with Kuchiki-taicho in the future, the present one would call such a tale the means for dismissal due to insanity.

There was only one person he could trust with such a tale, the one who had taught him how to achieve Bankai.

'Ikkaku, I hope you haven't been drinking too much, cause you'll probably want to after you hear about this…' Renji thought as he strode wholeheartedly to visit with his combat mentor.

--

In order to obtain their latent spiritual abilities, Yoruichi knew that Sado and Inoue had to simply focus on what mattered. The key to themselves was the question of what did they want to achieve at the moment their powers appeared?

But more importantly, what reason did they have for venturing to Soul Society, for it would be the foundation of their resolves.

For Inoue it was the protection of her beloved friend, Tatsuki, who protected her like a sibling, whom Inoue considered to be a sister.

The reason for her resolve was no different, because Ichigo was someone she loved as well.

"Inoue…Sado, why do you want to go to soul society?" Asked Yoruichi.

"I…"

Seamlessly, the future became relevant knowledge to her.

For so long Inoue had been powerless in her inability to do anything to aid her friends. Her only weapon in Sereitei was hope, but it was a foolish hope, one that she didn't realize until the time she conversed with Ulquiorra within the fifth tower.

Fearlessly, and relentlessly, Inoue lived her life from then on with the knowledge that her heart was one with everyone else.

Reality came to her in the blink of an eye, achieving the ideal of what the future had taught her, and the fact she had the chance to prevent the demise of Rukia, which, would bring a smile to the one she loved the most.

"I want to protect Ichigo, and my friends!"

The six fairies of the rikka burst into sight by that invincible resolve.

Shunyo, Ayame, Tsubaki, Baigon, Lilly and Hinagaku appeared, materializing from her headpins, and Inoue then greeted them warmly.

Turning next to Chad, Yoruichi reiterated her original question, "Why then do you wish to go to soul society?"

'Isn't obvious', said a voice from deep within his core.

'Yeah!' Sado replied to the voice unaware and uncaring, since it was none other than his own voice speaking out. His resolve was the strongest among the group, he didn't need a lengthy time to rebuild his thoughts and reaffirm himself, his will was never subject to change based on the moment. Three years whether it be future present or past, he would stand back to back with Ichigo throughout any fight.

Darkness pooled in his fist as if it were a spring, and down his forearm it flowed, until it had reached his shoulder and rose upward from it.

In the wake of the reiatsu, revealed a scarlet and black armored segment. Thin and compressed, the armor had none of the original wrist wings or the two dorsal points, only the single fin, as it was the day he left for Hueco Mundo.

Sweat dropped down the face of Yoruichi, who hadn't expected either of these kids to be so powerful. Strength flowed from them, as if they were the very tides themselves, surging forward relentlessly.

'Could this Kurosaki really have this much influence over them?' She thought amidst her surprise.

Yoruichi seemed lost in her own thoughts, which was an irregularity for the feline, so the words "Ichigo must be with Urahara" passed in and out of her ears without any recourse.

She nearly face vaulted once more when Inoue and Sado leapt from an open window, vanishing from sight in a shunpo like technique.

--

Chad's movement was basically no different than the hollow echoing movement, or sonido. He dashed above the world below at speeds a normal human and even Shinigami couldn't dare to dread.

Inoue on the other hand was using her abilities more openly, with the external rejection shield set behind her. The shield cut its way into the force of gravity, rejecting its hold on her and thus using the negated energy as a means of propelling herself forward. Using her abilities in such a manner was a means of misdirecting gravity to suit her needs.

--

Knelt firmly on a rock beside a rushing stream stood the second to last member of the Quincy race. His honor hung like a leaf on a tree, very tender and fragile, thus his desire to strengthen himself for a comeback.

Holding a bowing stature, like an apprentice, before the gift box from his departed master, Uryuu reached out to activate the training measure that was as much a gift as it was a mark that would permanently change his appearance.

Such a thing to Uryuu was irrelevant, appearances were nothing compared to inner strength, and the glove within the case held a possible future that he couldn't even dream of then.

It was then though, with the ushering of a breeze upon his back, that the future came to him.

The transition was seamless and painless, the arriving soul passed through the pores of his skin and through the membranes and muscles into the very core of his being. In an instant, it was over, leaving him all of time to mull over what had just occurred.

Illusions erupted in his mind, countless images feelings and textures of reiatsu that were beyond his ability to rationally conceive. As one second passed, and another and another the concept of illusion shifted into living memory, a recollection of that which had not yet occurred.

"I remember this time…" his voice stumbled and then righted itself after the second word.

His tones were slightly darker and deeper, for one whose age had increased, and thus had lost some of it's youthful beginnings.

"As if it were yesterday, and yet it wasn't. I fought for my life yesterday, and narrowly defeated that arrancar."

"Nevertheless I find myself pondering the existence of miracles, for the younger version of myself who stood here only moments prior, claims that this is three years prior to the time I know it to be. Is this a dream created by Aizen?"

Off in the distance, his attention shifts, as he detects a blossoming of strength not unlike his own sudden change. Then another.

'Inoue and Sado-kun, they've done it too?' Uryuu wondered silently.

'This must truly be a dream then?'

Seconds later, slight bursts of spiritual energy denoted that the two in his sights were on the move, both centering on one location…

'This direction…' Uryuu honed his amplified senses, detecting traces upon traces of reiatsu from a location underground. He then picked up on subtle reverberations of reiatsu, outlining a situation similar to his own predicament.

'This reiatsu… is Kurosaki?!'

"Could this be reality?" Uryuu spoke aloud, as he reached down for the box he had not yet opened, placed it within his pack with a respectful tenderness.

He then took an wide stance, honing all his abilities to the energy deficient nature of living world. Thrusting out his arms, in a horizontal yet outward form just like his legs, Uryuu gathered all the reiryoku in the area, bending it to his will and forming it into a more suitable attire for him.

'There's enough for a mantle,' Uryuu considered, 'pants and a shirt, the defensive armor…not enough for the full attack armor then.'

When he opened his eyes, he had donned a partial alabaster cloak, pants and a long sleeved shirt, with it's backside bearing the Quincy cross.

After a thorough check of his attire for imperfections, Uryuu noticed that his ability to create a uniform was on par with his future self, possibly even a trace better.

The creation technique was obviously a modified version of the puppet ability which allowed for the use of limbs that were immobilized. Uryuu pushed it a step further, using his knowledge in the field of clothing creation to use the technique constantly as an defensive armor.

Unfortunately, Uryuu's younger self did not possess any of the Schneider blades, and the ability to re-create that artifact was beyond his maximum potential. This of course made him have to forego his favorite means of travel.

Ishida Uryuu, the strongest Quincy alive, followed the pace of his nakama then, dashing from sight using flying legs screen to reform with his inner circle.

--

"Manager, shouldn't we do something? He's becoming a hollow!" Roared Jinta as he watched Ichigo's face erupt with an alabaster colored mask.

Pure white reiatsu streamed into the air from Ichigo's pores, but suddenly it shifted, from entirely hollow to a perfect blend of the two, thus taking the dark cherry hue that was synonymous with Ichigo's Bankai.

The air began to shiver and shudder, growing colder and colder, ultimately releasing a level of power that Ichigo should not have had by Urahara's estimation.

'There was always the possibility of him becoming like Hirako-san, in taking this method that is.'

"Not yet Jinta-kun, the fact that his body remains is a sign of his resistance, wait just another moment, it's still possible…"

Jinta sensed then that there was more his boss wanted to say, but out of fear he didn't press the issue.

'It's possible that we turned him into something wrong.'

Within his inner world, Ichigo followed the red streak of reiryoku to the box containing his zanpakuto hilt and thus his Shinigami might.

As Zangetsu roared for him to retrieve the hilt, another voice quieted the old man's cry.

The pressure emitted from Ichigo suddenly stabilized, and the breakdown of his inner world began to reverse, with the boxes rising upward with a stunning speed.

"It isn't over yet Zangetsu, because I am with you", the returner's voice echoed triumphantly within his inner world, as his mere presence had restored the buildings and even righted them horizontally as they were meant to be.

"What sort of magic is this?" Zangetsu demanded.

"Why is there another me…?" the original Ichigo prodded as a somewhat taller version of himself stood next to him on the plane of a skyscraper. He wore not a Shinigami uniform, not a proper one, but a black skin tight overcoat with tattered lower edges. He held a black daito in his starboard hand, a longsword.

The true Zangetsu came into being with a similar shuddering that erupted from his real body.

"So that's how it is… Ichigo, we've been given the most spectacular of gifts… The necessary might to save Rukia, because he's done it once before…"

"He's done it once before…what do you mean old man?"

But before either Ichigo or the old man could reply, a sinisterly dark voice rang out from Ichigo as if he were a speaker.

"Don't tell me I'm gonna have company in here?"

"Where did that voice come from?" the younger Ichigo demanded.

"From me", spoke Shirosaki as a bust of him phased up out of the returner's torso to regard the younger Ichigo.

The younger backed away slightly in fear of the monstrous version of this other Ichigo.

The elder took one look at Shiro and with forceful eyes made the hollow retreat back into him, but not without singing a tune.

"Such a lovely place, such a lovely place, but such an ugly face…plenty of room in the hotel Kurosaki…ahahahahaha!"

"What in the hell was that?" Exclaimed the visibly afraid younger Ichigo.

"There's little time to explain, all will be made relevant when the two of you draw that zanpakuto."

"Okay then…" Ichigo's resolve fluctuated a little, but reaffirmed when he simply glanced into the eyes of the other version of himself…

His eyes showed no fear, and teemed with hope.

The hope of saving Rukia, the hope of protecting the future and the hope that he could live in peace with everyone.

"Let's do it!" Ichigo roared as the other joined his left hand with the respective other as they grasped the hilt.

"For Rukia…" Spoke the younger.

"For Rukia…" Spoke the elder.

Pulling the hilt from the box, the two Ichigo's became one.

Their first task as a unified being, was the collect the energies that danced around them, for not a single drop of the future's precious gift would be wasted.

All of it would be directed to the saving of Rukia.

And…

And the destruction of Aizen for the last time.

As if he were the bottom of a drain, he collected all of the light around him, instead of letting it escape in an explosion.

Kurosaki Ichigo, the returner didn't shoot out of the hole as he had done once before, he rose slowly, and deliberately, giving himself the necessary instances to gather and reaffirm his thoughts.

So much waltzed through his eyes a second time, the countless battles, wars and enemies, the ones that bought him time, the ones with whom he had kinship, and the enemies turned trusted friends.

Friends, for they were the reason he returned. He would fight so that Ishida, Chad and Inoue wouldn't have to be burdened with such a desperate future.

For Rukia, even if she was to never show the level of emotion he held for her, for Ichigo it was enough just to see her alive once more. Just for that expression of disbelief, Ichigo then pledged to devote his entirety to the witness of his soul of this time, that he would save Rukia at any cost.

Ichigo vowed that this time he would not lose her.

And with that resolve, he then could face the light of day.

A definite force had appeared from the hole in the earth, yet it remained concealed by debris and dust that drifted softly in the air.

But Urahara had yet to discern whether or not their efforts had been successful. The Kurosaki-san before him was considerably strong as expected, but he had unique twinge of darkness to him, a pseudo hollow presence, as well as the Shinigami aura.

While the efforts of the being wasn't enough to make anyone take a knee, the chill that ensued just from being within his orbit was legitimately ferocious.

Urahara cleared his throat, wishing to reach out vocally to the being within the dissipating cloud, "Kurosaki-san is that you?"

The new Ichigo heard the unmistakable tones of Kisuke and realized for a moment that he wasn't exactly acting true to history. For he wasn't wearing the hollow mask. But even still, his aura was enough to make Urahara suspicious, so there was no point in exposing his entire hand, so he kept the mask a discarded thought.

A voice then replied to the geta sandal wearing man, but it was free of the retribution and anger he had expected.

Urahara assumed a hotheaded response from Ichigo, and much to his visible dismay, only the tones of a solemn depth echoed.

"Urahara-san," he spoke, "let me introduce you to my zanpakuto".

Sensing a killer intention radiating from the boy, Kisuke leapt back, removing the cane-like sheath from his sword.

"Once more shall our fangs pierce the sky ZANGETSU!"

Kisuke was right to instinctively dodge, as a black cherry burst of reiatsu released from the tip of a not yet visible blade, careening right for him.

Within his shield of blood mist, Urahara watched the wreckage unfold as a canyon had split down the middle between himself and Ichigo.

It wasn't a mere ditch either, it was a canyon at least ten meters deep!

With Ichigo now brandishing the enlarged steak knife that was his moon cutter, Urahara was left without the ability to speak, even though he had many questions.

"How?" Spoke the flabbergasted Urahara Kisuke.

A voice and a corresponding equally vehement presence answered his question, but not before two other presences could join her.

"It's a miracle", spoke Inoue, "It truly is a miracle."

Unmistakable strength and presence echoed in Sado Yastora, Ishida Uryuu and Orihime Inoue, as Ichigo stood there in disbelief of the fact he wasn't the only returner. Distraught was plastered on Ichigo's face, and as Urahara turned, he understood why.

And, as Zangetsu surmised, the received reaction was equally priceless.

--

--

A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read the reinvented Return of the Moonfang. I did this for many reasons, because I had strayed too far from the canon storyline, and I had turned Ichigo into an entirely different character. Also I accept the mantle of blame for not adhering to the wishes of so many of you who wanted me to "hurry the hell up and get them to Sereitei". But while I was having fun with the story I had been writing, it had been such a burden trying to maintain impossible plotlines.

In essence, I was trying to bring everything together for one over complicated mess.

Reading the manga of bleach has enlightened me to the truth of the characters I had been writing about. So I decided not to tarnish their names any further. I have increased the number of returners this time, but I have also reduced Ichigo's power, and my perception of the power scale in bleach. I have also removed the presence of the king, in the sense that if Zangetsu was the king then thus Ichigo would be, and it brought a level of omnipotence that Ichigo has never had.

So we'll see how this goes. Hopefully it will turn out well.

Thanks for playing along everyone!

CeriaHalcyon