Revisions of Us: Sequel to Revisions of the Regrets. It's been nearly two years since Rukia went back to the Soul Society after their dangerous escapades. With her gone he has taken some shocking action. 11 1/2 year old Ichigo, only holding a notebook as reminesce of the war, has come to the realization he can not fufill the promise he made her. IchiRuki

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

Disclaimer; Bleach is not mine, it is copyright the almighty Kubo Tite.

This is Part 2, I strongly suggest you read Part 1 (Revisions of the Regrets, accesible through my profile) first. Or else you might find yourself hopelessly lost and confused.

Chapter 1; The Way Things Became

Ichigo leaned against the hard wall of the clinic watching the flashing lights and commotion as they loaded the dying victim into the back of an ambulance. A young, redheaded girl cried and screamed as the others tried to pull her away from his side. He watched the struggle nearly emotionless before a small smile began pulling at his lips. "That's her, isn't it?"

"The girl from 'The Book'? Yes, it seems so. Did you catch her name?" Responded a voice that only he could hear.

Ichigo shook his head slowly. "No... it happened a lot later than I thought it would, she's almost twelve now, I wonder if it was effected... but it looks like it should be her. 'The Book' didn't give much description... but if it is then her name is Inoue Orihime. She's one of them, right? She's one of our nakama."

"Was." Reminded the voice. "Do you plan on making her a nakama again?"

"I can try. 'The Book' said she really liked me, maybe she still will." Ichigo said, hugging the black notebook to his chest.

"...I'm a bit surprised. You're being extremely calm about the scene in front of you, if she is going to be your nakama shouldn't you at least feel a little sympathy? It's not like you."

Ichigo let out a short laugh, sweet and innocent, in a very childish manner. "Shiro-kun, you've never been concerned about sympathy, it's not like you. Besides, this is just an event that was set in the fabric of time. We've known it would happen for over a year now. Why should I be upset?"

"I only meant that you're changing. Usually you'd be bubbling like a baby by now."

"Of course, I need to be strong if I'm going to be a shinigami! I know she said not to rush it but... I think the day I die will be a very joyfull one, for the both of us. I wonder how well we used to get along! I wonder what type of conversations we had!"

"You've read 'The Book' millions of times. You were afraid of me and I kicked your butt up and down these blue buildings whenever I got the chance!" The words were followed by a heartfilled chuckle.

"You do sorta look like one of those demons in the horror movies." Ichigo retorted with a pout. "I never lost though..."

"I let you win!"

"You can't say that! You remember just as much as I do! Which is really nothing at all... I wonder if I would've been powerful enough to defeat Aizen if we had been working together instead of fighting..."

"If your parents know about the book and shinigamis and everything, why haven't you told them about me?"

"Well... I guess... I don't want them to know. They read the book. It would just scare them if I told them. I don't thinked they'd ever accept you... they would really freak out." Ichigo replied, feeling apologetic.

"They'd freak out, about sweet little me?" The voice asked sarcasticly.

"Yes, I'm sure sweet little you would shock their socks off. Don't act like you don't know why. You are more voilent, Shiro, and... basically just very rough around the edges."

Masaki came over to stand next to him. Her glowing beauty seemed to pierce through the darkness. "I really hope he's going to be alright...Who are you talking to, hunny?"

Ichigo grinned up at her. "I'm talking to Shiro-kun, Mama."

"Tell your friend I said 'Hi' for me." Masaki requested with a smile.

"Well, tell her hello back for me. Go on, I can hear her. Throw in a compliment or something." The voice urged.

"Shiro-kun can hear you. He says hello and wants me to tell you that your eyes are gorgeous." Ichigo told his mother, feeling the slightest bit awkward. Gorgeous eyes...I should've thought of something better than that.

Masaki looked around the empty space wondering where the spirit might be. "Thank you very much. I'm sorry, but Ichigo has to come in now."

It had taken awhile for her to get used to seeing him talking to ghosts, and reacting to them and the things they did. "It's getting late, let's head in, Ichigo."

"Yes, Mama." Ichigo tagged along behind her obidiently. He quickly grabbed her hand. "Hey, Mama. Can we offer that girl to stay the night at the clinic?"

"Her brother is being taken to the hospital, and then your father is taking her over. That's very kind of you to be thinking of her like that but she'll probably want to stay with her brother."

Ichigo shook his head. "He is not going to... If he's not going to make it. She doesn't have any other family. Wouldn't it hurt to be stuck home all alone after that?"

Masaki assumed his slip-up meant he'd seen the brother's ghost. "Oh! Oh...well, if he doesn't make it we'll offer."

"Thank you, Mama." He smiled.

xxxxXxXxXxXxXxXxxxx

After getting his teeth brushed and after he'd kissed his parents goodnight Ichigo had retired to his room. He flicked the light off before plopping down onto his bed. "I guess this is goodnight then, Shiro-kun?"

"Whatever, Ou-chan! Your sarcasm is almost unrecognizable." The hollow laughed.

"You know I wouldn't go to bed just yet, it gets to be too early for bed at this time when the demons in your head want to discuss things with you." Ichigo teased, keeping his voice low so that no one would over hear him.

"A demon, am I?"

"A hollow." He corrected himself.

"Perhaps I should go ahead and devour you for that mistake." A very strange sensation washed over him, as if his whole body were becoming numb.

"Stop, Shiro-kun! Stop that!" Ichigo said. The feeling receeded, leaving his body a little shaky. "Don't play like that!"

"I actually scared you." Shiro laughed. "You should remember that I'm not someone you want to betray."

"I'd be more afraid of you betraying me." Ichigo stated frankly.

"Listen to me, Ou-chan. I will betray you only once you betray me or our cause. Until then you musn't fear me, for I will not harm you or your people." Although the way he worded it made it sound enavitable. Ichigo nodded his head in an empty agreement; he couldn't find his words.

Knock, Knock, Knock

Ichigo pressed himself into the bed uncertain whether it was better to pretend to be asleep or admit he was still awake. After a second his mother opened the door.

"Hey, hun. Are you still awake?" She asked.

"Sorta." He answered unsuredly.

"I just wanted to let you know that girl is staying in the clinic for the night." Masaki said.

"Really? That's...very kind of you, Mama!" Ichigo flashed her a grinny thumbs up.

"It was your idea," She waved. "Goodnight then, pumpkin."

"Goodnight, Mama." He waited for her to close the door and for the sound of her footsteps to fade down the hall before he kicked his feet excitedly. "Did you hear that Shiro? She's staying here tonight!"

"Of couse I heard. That's fantastic!" That voice responded.

"I hope my parents don't notice who she is." Ichigo frowned.

"Well, then tell them." The hollow stated.

"I can't just tell them. At this point it doesn't make any sense to tell them." He argued.

"They'll notice, sooner or later they will realize what you are doing. They read the book, something will click in their heads. You can't keep secrets forever, Ou-chan. They will figure it out. They'll know about this girl, they'll know about me, and they'll know what really happened in the Soul Society. Wouldn't it be easier to get everything out in the open? Go tell them." Shiro urged. "Go on, go tell her! If your dear mother finds out from someone besides you she's not going to trust you anymore."

"No! I can't! I can't worry her anymore. I've caused her enough pain for one lifetime." Ichigo growled, distressed. "My Mom doesn't need to know about this stuff. She can't do anything about it, it would just scare her. I owe it to her, I have to protect her from the truth, Shiro. It's the least I can do. I love her very much...he loved her sooo very much. After what I did, I wonder if he loved her more than I do, if that's possible..." A few tears dripped down his cheeks, he held his head in his hands. "I love her, I do. But he never would have... never could have made her so sad as I did."

"Come on, Ou-chan. You are him. Rukia was the one who told you that, I'm shocked you would forget! Don't be so weak, big shinigami don't cry. It shows vulnerability, which is the last thing you want to show your enemy. Nothing says kill me like showing vulnerability. He understood how it works, you've gotta look prepared to kick some buttocks no matter how bad things get. I know you can do it, because you are him. But you just have to try."

"I'm sorry, Shiro, I'm trying." He sniffed. He rubbed the tears off his cheeks and slipped back down beneath the covers. "You understand though, don't you?"

"To an extent. Since you seem so sure, I will leave it alone."

"Thank you." Ichigo muttered before closing his eyes, and closing the conversation for the night.

xxxxXxXxXxXxXxXxxxx

O-nii-san...I woke up to an Orange-headed angel. He must be an angel... I've never seen him before... his hair is so refreshing...it's like a glass of orange juice... and he looks so happy...he has such a big grin...he can't possibly be tainted with human sorrow...I opened my eyes and there he is, waiting for me. Did I die too, O-nii-san? Orihime tried to wrench open her sleep ridden, sorrowful eyes so she could further explore this mystery before her.

"I'm sorry if I woke you." The said angelic persona apologized, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her. His legs kicking as he tentatively watched her.

The light catches so beautifully on his bronze eyes, O-nii-san, there's no way this boy is anything but another being. Orihime cuddled into the comfiness of the bed, feeling blessed by his presence. "I'm not dead am I?"

"No, you're not dead. You're very much alive." He assured her.

"...What is your name?" She inquired. "If you have one."

"Of course I have one." He laughed. "My name is Ichigo."

The angel has such a cute name too. Orihime watched him so aweinspired. It felt like he eased her aching heart. "Do you know my name?"

"I do." Ichigo nodded, he hopped off the edge of the bed to stand before her. "You're Inoue Orihime."

She smiled. "Yes, that's right. What are you doing here?"

"I was making sure you were alright, I wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened." Ichigo explained.

"That's very kind of you." She was trying really hard now to wake up all the way, this was a miraculous happening and there was no way she wanted to dooze off now. Not when she was in his presence.

"Don't force yourself. You need to rest." Ichigo stated so gently, his words alone felt as if they could lull her back to sleep.

"You will tell O-nii-san that I love him, won't you?" Orhime requested quietly.

"Of course I will." Ichigo agreed.

"Why did he have to go?" She sniffed. "Why didn't O-nii-san have to die?"

The angelic child paused for a moment. "It was his time. His time here was over. I know saying that doesn't help much, but you see on the grand scale of things, he'd finished all of his tasks. His death is going to change your life. I'm sure it will be hard at first, but so many things are going to happen that wouldn't have otherwise been able to. You'll see, things will get better after a while. Will you trust me?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Then know that you'll be okay, your brother will be okay, and that things will get better." Ichigo claimed.

Orihime's eyes teared up. "Thank you so much."

"You have to rest now, Orihime. Go back to sleep." He encouraged, turning to leave.

"Wait, Ichigo." Orhime stated before she could stop herself, she really didn't want the angel to leave her. He must have things to do. I can't make him stay here. "I-I...I want to give you something, if I could, please."

"Sure. What is it?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Close your eyes." Orihime requested. Ichigo obeyed, standing beside her bed he closed his eyes. Orihme pushed herself up to be leveled with him, she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his smooth, pale cheek. Beaming she carefully laid back down. O-nii-san...I kissed the angel. His skin is very warm.

Ichigo opened his eyes, a little bit surprised. "Thank you."

Orihime nodded, finally curling into the covers. Ichigo gave it a second before leaving. He could see the sadness in her eyes, he nearly wanted to cry himself.

So now you feel sympathetic? I can't tell which part you're being deceptive with. C'mon, which is it? What about last night? Shiro pestered.

Ichigo carefully closed the door behind him before he quietly replied. "Forgive me for being excited last night."

He went up to his bedroom to get ready for the day of school. The rest of the day was pretty usual. He was in middle school now, unfortunately Tatsuki had been placed in the other sixth grade class so he didn't get to see her as often, although they still played after school. At the very least she always walked him home, in her book he'd been getting a little too far away, so her walking him home had sort of become more of a commandment. So he didn't find it in the least bit surprising that Tatsuki was waiting outside for his little orange head to appear in the crowd.

"Hello, Tatsuki." He greeted.

"Yo." She replied simply as she slipped in beside him. They walked down the streets, navigating the now familiar route homewards. The chit-chat was light, but when that died down Tatsuki started in with a very serious expression.

"Hey..." Tatsuki began. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Ichigo laughed. "Like what?"

"I mean anything serious. You haven't talked to me in months, it makes me worry you might've started stowing stuff away. I'd never forgive myself if you turned into a bitter person."

"People change, Tatsuki, and it's not your fault when they do. Sometimes life just happens and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Besides, I've been doing fine. You ought to stop worrying about me." Ichigo replied without even glancing in her direction. A long time ago he'd lost his ability to lie to her. She could sense when he wasn't being straight with her and he had trouble sticking to a false answer. So they both knew he'd never ever get away with a lie and Tatsuki knew very well when he tried to. So to her his 'I've been doing fine' translated to her as 'life is difficult and complicated and I don't really want to talk about it right now'.

"I can't stop worrying about you! I can't. It's like some anxiety I have that something horrible is happening to you, or is going to happen to you. Don't you think a little too much life has happened to you?" Tatsuki grabbed his shoulder to stop him as she, herself halted. "Look at me, c'mon Ichigo, don't be like this. If you don't talk about things they don't go away."

"You're not my therapist, Tatsuki." Ichigo reminded in a quiet mutter.

"Well, I'd feel better if you actually went to a therapist or something." Tatsuki stated blatantly.

He looked at her hard, to get his point across. "Sometimes life happens Tatsuki, it just does. Bad things happen to everyone, right now I'm trying to go on with my life. Your trying to get me to discuss things that are gone and done with doesn't help me. I know what happened, I haven't forgotten, but I don't want to be stuck there like sometimes it seems you want me to be. I want to be here, where I am, with my family, and my life."

Tatsuki's jaw dropped. "I don't want you to be stuck on the past. Just maybe... maybe I am with you, and it concerns me that nothing that happens seems to have gotten resolved. No one seems to have sought any closer and it makes me wonder how you can all live like that. You went missing for half a month, your parents still haven't got a clue as to what happened. Can they really not care about it this much that they'd just pretend it didn't happen? God! They're just like you. You never tell them anything! What is it between all of you that makes problems so...undiscussable? So... not worth your time to address? I don't know how to describe it. I know if you were my son I wouldn't rest until I knew what happened."

"You're not my mother." His voice was actually soothing. "And I told you what happened."

Tatsuki looked down, feeling like she was loosing her mind, but her voice was calmer. "I just don't understand you. It's all in the name of perserving happiness, but are any of you really happy? When you boil it down, are any of you really, truly happy?"

"I am." He answered. Tatsuki turned back up to look at him, her mouth slightly agape. "I know you probably don't believe me, but I am happy. I don't think everything in life has to be going right in order for you to be happy. If that was the case then we'd all be miserable. My life's not perfect, but I'm happy. Even if I'm sad about something, I'm still happy. I have a house, a family that loves my, a great friend, three meals a day, everything I need, so why shouldn't I be happy with my life?"

"It's not that simple!" Tatsuki rejected. "It can't be! There's more too it."

"This is what I meant when I said that sometimes it feels like you want me to be stuck on the past." He calmly told her. "How do you see me, Tatsuki? What do you see here that makes you think this stuff?"

"You...you...you always look so fricken depressed to me." She admitted. "It always looks like there's that look in your eyes...that blank, dead-inside look. Even when you smile, it's always there! It looks like part of your soul is missing or something."

He gently shook is head. "I'm all here, Tatsuki. This is all just in your head, you worry way too much about me, you're creating your own reality."

"What does that mean?" She laughed lightly.

"It means you're projecting your thoughts onto the world around you, and making it seem true." He quickly explained as best that he could. "Come on now, let's get going. I'm willing to bet we look sorta silly standing here."

"Do people really care if we stand on the sidewalk?" Tatsuki asked.

"Of course they don't." He laughed, spinning around. "We ought to walk anyway though."

"Wait, wait." Tatsuki called. "I've got another question."

Tatsuki and her questions. Ichigo pursued his lips. "Yes?"

"Did anything ever happed to you that I don't know about?"

He smiled a bit oddly, knowing he was throwing her in a loop. "Of course."

"Well what kind of something?" Tatsuki questioned, running to catch up to him.

"Lot's of things have happened to me that you don't know about, lots and lots, Ta-Tsu-Ki."

"Hahaha, very funny." She grumbled. "You know what I mean, a serious answer."

"My life's not a book, Tatsuki, I don't need to give you every detail." Ichigo politely reminded. "You don't tell me everything, please respect that sometimes there are things I'm not going to tell Tatsuki-chan. I'm not trying to be mean, or to keep you away, but I'll be very frank with you right now; there are things I will absolutely not tell you, ever. For my own reasons, selfish or otherwise." They were nearing his house now, Ichigo paused to confront her. "Listen to me, I'll share things with you about this whole bizarre life of mine, but you've gotta stop prying. If I say no, that means no."

It was one of those strange moments, with the intensity in his eyes, and in his words, that he felt like something else. When he spoke that way, almost detached from the world she knew, it scared her. It scared her not in the same way she felt when he was hurt, that kinda fear one feels when watching a scary movie, or when one is almost hit by a car. It was a different kind of fear that was felt like a black hole in her stomach, making her wonder how very detached from her world he was. He was the oddist part of her life, almost like a piece of the wrong puzzle had gotten mixed up in her box. He would so blatantly state such strange things... he acted strangely! He was something else for sure. "Alright...sorry."

If he were a book... Tatsuki walked him up to the door. "So, I'll pick you up in the morning for school, alright?"

"Nope." Ichigo rejected. "You certainly will not. You've been worrying waaay too much about me, you don't need to baby gaurd me everywhere I go. Go out, make some new friends, Tatsuki. You need more people in your life."

"What if I don't want new friends, I like you as my friend... and I do have other friends." Tatsuki responded.

"Then hang out with them. Let yourself worry about your own problems-"

"Stop this, there's nothing wrong with me wanting to spend time with you."

"Well then, I hereby ban you from seeing me tomorrow." Ichigo declared. "Just one day, give it a try."

Tatsuki shook her head emptily, lost for a retort. She did not want to follow through with his plan. But what he said next certainly struck a cord. In a disapproving manner he shook his head. "You know, you're the last person I ever expected would be babying me like this."

"Fine, fine, fine! One day." Tatsuki gave in, turning away. If he were a book... he'd have to be a mystery novel. She waved herself away from his house. The longest mystery novel in the world, the hardest to solve, but most of all... Tatsuki cracked a smile, looking up at the blue sky, she silently laughed at the fact that she was actually 'officially' banned from seeing him. But most of all he definitely would be the very best novel in the world.

"I'm home!" Ichigo called, slipping off his shoes.

"Big Brother!" Yuzu shouted, grinning. Her pink randoseru hanging off the back of the chair where she sat at the table.

"Homework?" Ichigo inquired kindly.

"Yup. We're learning about nouns. It's pretty tough." She slid off her chair to run give him a hug.

"It sounds tough!" Ichigo agreed, exagerratedly but not mockingly. He rubbed her head affectionately. "Where's your sister? Shouldn't she be doing her homework too?"

Yuzu pouted, shaking her head disapprovingly. "She said she would do it later."

"Well, I'm sure she'll get done, don't worry, Mama will make sure of it." Ichigo coaxed. Yuzu nodded more in acceptance then in agreeance. He looked up, his mother was patiently watching him from the kitchen, hands paused, from chopping vegetables. She smiled so big when his eyes met hers. Masaki set down the knife as he came into the kitchen. "Hey Mom."

"Welcome home, honey." Masaki gave him a great big warm hug. "My, you're getting taller aren't you?"

"Just a few inches, I think I might actually be getting taller than Tatsuki." He claimed rather proudly.

"Tatsuki-chan? No, you can't get taller than Tatsuki-chan." Masaki denied jokingly.

"I'm telling you, last time we measured I was almost there! Maybe even a quarter of an inch above her!"

"My goodness, I don't believe it! You really are growing!" Masaki laughed. "So, how was school? Did everything go alright?"

"Yeah, it was good, nothing new really." He replied, for some reason feeling a little bit of anxiety when he answered. It wasn't like something bad had happened that he was trying to dodge. It was almost as if he lived in two different worlds, the one out there; with Tatsuki and Shiro-kun and the rest of his stupid problems. And then there was this one, this small little perfect world with this prescious woman whose happiness he must preserve. His other world just wasn't something she should be concerned about, it was unnecessary and to a point problematic. How could he ever give his mother the eternal bliss he strived to give her if he told her of his troubles, if he told her of Shiro-kun, or if he told her of the things he and Tatsuki discussed? "Hey, Mama..."

"Yes?" Masaki answered.

"Do you think we could go to the park or something?"

Masaki smiled. "Of course we can, let me put this in a bowl first. Do you mind if your sisters come?"

"Of course not. I'll go find Karin..." Ichigo flashed her a big smile.

xxxxXxXxXxXxXxXxxxx

Masaki stood and watched, her children no longer needing assistance on the playground; they were growing up. Her oldest was even getting too old to come here, although she brought them here out of his insistance. Occasionally she'd join in a game of tag or something, but there was no more catching them at the bottom of the slide or holding them up so they could try to cross the monkey bars. It saddened her just a little bit to see her babies getting older, as it did all mothers to watch their little chickadees gaining independence and growing farther and farther away, until she could no longer protect them from all the harshness of the world.

The setting sun warned of the coming darkness. We should start heading home. Masaki reminded herself. She looked up, finding her children amongst the colorful metal shapes alit manevolently by the sunlight. Her girls faces were adorn with smiles, they were engaged in a game with each other, treking across the playground. Ichigo was poised at the top of the slide his face softly set, yet out of tune, as if a warm memory had risen from the back of his mind before he slid down. She knew very well what was going on in his mind. She'd recently made a point now to watch him carefully, not just overflow him with love and affection but to observe him intently so she could figure out all of her sons bolts and gears; how they turned. She wasn't very good at figuring out what he was thinking but she knew that look. He was thinking about her; about Rukia. It only lasted a second, he never looked sad, but yearning. As if he wished to revisit that memory once more. Why wouldn't he be thinking of her? This was her park after all.

Masaki walked to the bottom of the slide, smiling up at him. "Hey." She gently prematurely broke him from the short trance.

Ichigo blinked. "Hello, Mama."

"Are you ready to go home?" She asked him.

"Sorta, I really wanted to play with Mama." He replied sounding a bit disappointed. "Am I getting too old for that? Maybe we should find something else to do."

"I'm sorry, let's find something to play at home." She apologized, cursing herself for being a bit distracted that day. For there truly was nothing more she wanted then to play with him. She broke into a grin. "We'll play all night! Alright? We'll have tons of fun. You'll never ever ever be too old to play with me, if you really want even when you're 50 years old I'll take you to play on the play ground!"

"Thank you!" He cheeped, sliding down to her.

At the bottom of the slide he was too big to catch, too heavy for her to lift up and snuggle. Instead Masaki wrapped her arms around him, resting her head beside his. For some reason hugging him made her feel sad. She understood that alot of the time he put on a front. But it was exactly what she did, she never wanted her children to see her upset, so she made sure she only showed them happiness. That turned out to be one of her biggest mistakes as a parent. That was all he ever showed her anymore; happiness. Not just happiness, but an overwhelming condensed happiness seemed to have arisen that was a few years too juvenile. She hadn't seen him express any other emotion in a long time. They were still in there; just not for her. It had been a year since she'd seen her little crybaby cry.

"I've been kind of out of it." She whispered to him. "I didn't mean to ignore you or anything. I'm sorry."

"Please don't apologize to me anymore, Mama." Ichigo requested. "I shouldn't have said something that made you feel guilty."

Masaki released him, wondering why it was so bad of her to apologize to him. When he made no move to get up she sat on the bottom of the slide beside him. For a minute Masaki wondered if she should say something to him, of his hiding away from her, but she hadn't a clue how to begin. She glanced over curiously, his eyes seemed a bit unfocused as if he were lost in thought, his hand lightly rubbing the other's wrist. The bold black bracelets still blaring from each as they had been for a long time now.

She took a deep breath. "Do you miss her?"

"Wha?" Ichigo turned to his mother, who hadn't mentioned Rukia to him in a long time. It sorta caught him off gaurd.

"Do you miss Rukia?" She asked again, gently. Finally she was drawing something new from him. It wasn't a question he could really just grin, and simply answer in a light hearted matter. At the very least what she understood about him was that this did matter to him, enough so that when he looked at her his eyes lacked that usually childish gleam.

Is it that obvious? Ichigo nodded slowly. "Yes..." If Mama could tell... "I do miss her." Would it bother Mama, to know that? I don't think she liked me being with Rukia. So would it bug her, would it upset her if she knows I do?

"You're bad at hiding it." The hollow whispered in his ears.

He smiled, in attempt of quick recovery. "It doesn't matter though, does it? I've got Mama!"

She'd gotten in, and she didn't want out just yet; this impenetrable fortess he'd locked her into she knew, for her own protection and preservation of happiness. "It matters to me. Those are your feelings, Ichigo, and I care about them."

Ichigo stood up. "I care about your feelings too, Mama. It's getting late, you were saying we should head home, right? We'd better get going, Dad will start to worry."

Masaki reluctantly stood up. "Yeah, you're right."

"Well, let's go then." Ichigo ushered.

xxxxXxXxXxXxXxXxxxx

Without out anymore troublesome prying they had made it back to the house. They all did their homework while Masaki finished up dinner. They had a great family dinner, during which Ichigo found out that Orihime had left while he was at school.

"I've still got a to finish up my homework." Ichigo claimed after they were finished with the meal.

"Alrighty, good luck!" His parents wished him. He clammered up the stairs, and with a half-minded sigh sat down at his desk.

"She didn't come this month either." Ichigo muttered aloud, crossing off the current day on his calender. "Just some older lady, Sakamoto, I think"

"Maybe you should stop waiting for her. It's been almost two years. If she was planning on coming back don't you think she would've come already? She told you not to do anything stupid so you get sent to the Soul Society, remember? What does that sound like to you?"

"I don't know." Ichigo answered, although he did see what the hollow was hinting at.

"Yes, you do know. What do you think she means by not doing something stupid and winding up in the Soul Society?"

"Not to die, or do anything that would get me killed." Ichigo responded to his hollow in a voice a student might respond to their teacher.

"Why do you think she's implying you might do something to get yourself killed?" It further pursued.

"Because she knows how stubborn I can be... and maybe she realized after she didn't comeback I'd become distraught, I don't know if I'd kill myself to see her again though. That might be a bit of a drastic assumption."

"Well, if she was in danger and that was the only way you could get to the Soul Society to save her, would you?" Shiro queried.

Ichigo dropped his head, knowing the answer well. "In a heart beat." His hand shook as he set his penicl down on the desk.

"Come on, you're not going to start crying, are you?" Shiro asked, exasperatedly.

Ichigo shook his head, taking a deep breath. "No, of course not. I just feel so stupid, I should've seen this coming. Of course she wasn't planning on coming back. I should've been able to guess that, you know? Instead of putting myself through the agony of waiting for her. Looking around the corners...wondering when she's going to show up."

"It's better to swallow the truth then obsess on things that just aren't meant to be. If you can learn to face the truth head on, you'll become stronger." The hollow lectured.

"Aren't hollows supposed to be more based around lies and bad things like that?" Ichigo inquired.

"Hollows are born from pain and loneliness, and with a head-on attack you can inflict more pain. So it sort of is a hollow-ish thing to say." The voice joked, finding its answer funny.

Ichigo threw himself onto the bed with a weighty sigh, allowing all his life's problems and complexities to hang in the air around him. Taking a moment to set them infront of him, but out of his mind, to acknowledge them but not dwell, for just a moment so he could peacefully break away from his life and take a breather. Even his hollow kept silent in order to give him a break. Shortly, Ichigo rolled over, because life didn't like him to be absent for very long; it always found someway to suck him back in.

"You know she means a lot to me." Ichigo muttered. "I thought we'd gotten to be pretty cIose..."

"Maybe she was just using you, to get rid of Aizen for her."

"Of course not! That's ridiculous, Shiro! Why would you say that?!" Ichigo gaped.

"I told you, sometimes you gotta swallow the truth. It might be something like that, so you've gotta be careful, Ou-chan. She read the book and believed it, but did she feel anything? We can't say for sure. She might've seen a problem, and seen a solution."

"I don't care whither she felt something or not, Rukia's not that kind of person! I didn't even solve anything, I couldn't defeat him. There was no problem solved. If it somehow turns out to be the truth I'll face it then, but I refuse to believe she'd beguile me like that!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Then what do you believe, Ou-chan?" Shiro question.

"She ditched me..." Ichigo sat upright. "She ditched me and I have no clue why she would."

The End

A/N; The Sequel, I know it's a bit strange, I think it will add more spice and something nice to our plotline. Please let me know if you want to keep this going. If you think the turn it's taken is a bad direction we can just end it with part 1 or somethin'...

-Shiro