Declaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of it's characters.

Pairings: Kisuke x Ichigo, Ukitake x Shunsui, Renji x Byakuya, Kira x Shuuhei, Ikkaku x Yumichika, Grimmjow x Chad, Rukia x Orihime, Yoruichi x Soifon, Shinji x Nel, and Gin x Rangiku, Uryu x Hitsugaya

Chapter 1: After the War

Kisuke was sitting at his table when he saw something move out of the corner of his eyes. He knew who it was so he didn't get offensive. When the figure came into view it was none other is dear friend Isshin Kurosaki. He also knew why he was here.

"Hey Kisuke, how are ya?" Isshin asked trying to be his usually excited self but failing.

"I'm okay, just waiting to hear from Soul Society." Kisuke said worried.

Just then a Hell Butterfly came through the window and landed on Urahara's hand. The mask that he wore so well was suddenly cracked with worry. He looked up at Isshin and Isshin looked back at him.

"We are needed on the front line immediately." Kisuke said getting up and running out of the door.

"Okay but why now." Isshin said getting out of his gigai.

"They said they would explain when we got there." Kisuke said using shunpo when he got outside.

When they arrived it was utter chaos. They couldn't believe the destruction the war had caused. There was bodies everywhere. But that was not what bothered them. What bothered them was that they couldn't sense Ichigo's reiatsu here. They saw Captain Ukitake with several people. Kisuke knew all of them as friends of Ichigo. They ran over to Captain Ukitake and the others almost getting run over by Division 4 healers that were trying to save everyone that had be hurt. Standing with Captain Ukitake was Kira, Rukia, Captain Zaraki, Yachiru, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Renji, Captain Byakuya, Captain Hitsugaya, Rangiku, Chad, Orihime, Shuuhei, Captain Shunsui, Shinji, Yoruichi, Captain Soifon, Head Captain Yamamoto, Captain Unohana, and Uryu.

"Captain Ukitake what was so important that you needed the both of us?" Isshin asked before Kisuke could.

"Well we need your help trying to find your son Isshin." Captain Ukitake said sadly.

"What do you mean?" Kisuke asked really worried now.

"Well you see he was fighting Aizen, and well they suddenly took their fight someplace else before anyone could stop them." Captain Ukitake said looking sad and scared.

"Damn that boy, why would he do that?" Isshin asked getting angry with his hot-headed son.

"We believe he did it so that no one would get hurt if he and Aizen used their full power. But that has been several hours ago. We would have started looking sooner but the fighting has just stopped, Gin surrendered and we found out that he was working as a spy. We must find Ichigo and Aizen and put an end to this war fast." Captain Ukitake said urgently.

"Fine, but we should split up into pairs." Kisuke said taking charge.

"That works." Isshin said.

"So who is pairing with who?" Shuuhei asked curiously.

"This will be the pairings. Captain Ukitake with Captain Shunsui, Rukia with Isshin, Captain Zaraki with Yachiru, Ikkaku with Yumichika, Renji with Captain Byakuya, Captain Hitsugaya with Rangiku, Chad with Orihime, Shuuhei with Shinji, Yoruichi with Captain Soifon, Head Captain Yamamoto with Captain Unohana, Ishida will go alone since he prefers it that way, and Kira will go with me." Kisuke named off the pairs quickly.

"If anyone finds Ichigo, please send a signal so that we know and that I can immediately come to heal him." Captain Unohana said calmly but with authority.

"Lets go Kira." Kisuke said heading towards the woods.

Kira nodded and followed after Kisuke. The others watched them leave. They all knew how Kisuke felt about Ichigo even Isshin knew. They knew that he was taking this hard. Everyone knew that Ichigo never just vanished without a reason. But they was curious as to why Kisuke had picked Kira to go with him instead of Isshin. Even Isshin was curious about his choice. They all let it go for now. There was more important things to worry about so they all split up to look for Ichigo.

"What do you think will happen if Urahara finds Ichigo first and he is in really bad shape?" Yumichika asked Ikkaku.

"I don't know, but I just hope that he don't lose his head if Ichigo is hurt really bad." Ikkaku sighed.

"Yes well I just hope that this war hasn't effected him mentally." Yumichika sighed.

"What do you mean Yumi?" Ikkaku asked confused.

"Well he is strong, but so young. We shouldn't have to rely on him to end this war. I just don't want to see the effect it might have on him." Yumichika sighed sadly.

"I know what you mean. He grows on a person. There is just something about him that everyone is drawn too." Ikkaku thought out loud.

"So you noticed that too. I will fill sorry for Urahara if this war has affected Ichigo the way I think it has." Yumichika sighed sadly again.

Everyone was really worried about Ichigo. They all knew he was young and never should have been brought into this war, but they had no choice he was very strong and they needed strong people right now.

"I'm worried what this war will do to Ichigo." Captain Unohana stated to Head Captain Yamamoto.

"I know I'm worried too." Head Captain Yamamoto sighed.

"I also hope that Kisuke doesn't find him first." She stated again.

"Why is that?" He asked curious.

"Because it is never good to see the person you love, suffering and traumatized by something like war." She sighed sadly.

"Yes that would be most unfortunate." He sighed.

"But I also hope that Isshin and Rukia don't find him first either." She sighed.

"I agree, a father should never see their child like that. But something else has me worried as well." He said.

"What would that be?" She asked curiously.

"I have a bad feeling that something more than this war may have traumatized Ichigo." He stated sadly.

"I see, well lets hope that's not true for everyone's sake." She said hopefully.

Kisuke and Kira had been running for awhile now, but decided to take a break for a minute. They were sitting in the shade of a large tree. They had no clue as to where to look for Ichigo.

"I really hope that Ichigo is alright." Kira finally said.

"Me too. I really hope that I find my Ichi soon." Kisuke sighed.

"You love him that much?" Kira asked curiously.

"Yes, very much. I don't want to see him hurt. I also never want to seen a frown on his face again. Seeing a frown on his face can break a persons heart." Kisuke sighed sadly.

"I know what you mean, someone like him should never have to frown." Kira stated.

"That is very true. You want to know something funny." Kisuke smiled.

"Sure." Kira tried to smile.

"I get really jealous sometimes." Kisuke laughed.

"Really why?" Kira was curious now.

"Because my dear Ichigo has a way of drawing people to him and not ever realize what he is doing." Kisuke laughed.

"Yes I know what you mean. There is something that draws people to him. He has a way of making you think that everything will end the right way. He is definitely a one of a kind. To be honest I'm kind of jealous of you Urahara." Kira laughed shyly.

"Really why?" Kisuke was curious.

"Because you have someone like Ichigo. He is extremely special in so many different ways. I just wish I had someone like that. I would love to have someone who could brighten the world around them. To have someone that could put a smile on anyone's face with only a few words or actions." Kira sighed.

"I never knew anyone but me saw that in Ichigo." Kisuke laughed.

"Urahara, to be honest we all see it. That is why we are all looking for him, because we want to be able to smile all the time and to know that everything will be okay in the end. He really is a ray of hope to everyone and nobody wants to lose that kind of hope." Kira smiled.

"I do believe your right." Kisuke smiled. "Shall we continue to search for him now?"

"Yes, sir." Kira smiled.

So they got up and continued through the woods. Suddenly with any warning at all they both felt Ichigo's reiatsu flare up dangerously high. They knew in that moment they were in the right place. But they couldn't understand why it was so high. Was he in trouble. They took off running at full speed towards the reiatsu. Kisuke was worried and extremely scared at what they would find. Kira wondered if anyone else had felt Ichigo's reiatsu spike like it did. He hoped for Kisuke's and everyone's sake that Ichigo was okay.

"Kira we have to hurry. I have a really bad feeling about this." Kisuke shouted.

"Yes, sir." Kira agreed.

They continued to run as fast as they could. Ichigo's reiatsu spiked again. Kira was wondering what was going on just a minute ago no one could feel Ichigo's reiatsu but now it was spiking every several minutes. Something wasn't right about this Kira thought. Something is terrible wrong. When they got to where they felt Ichigo's reiatsu they were horrified at what they saw. They saw blood everywhere. They saw Aizen's body laying close by so they walked over to it. They could tell just by looking that he was dead. So Ichigo had killed him, but where was Ichigo. That when they heard pained screams close by. They froze in their tracks. Kisuke knew that voice and took off running towards a rock wall. Kira ran after him worried that he wasn't going to be able to handle what he saw. When they got to Ichigo it was worse than Kira feared. Every part of Ichigo was covered in blood. He had cuts and bruises every where on his body. What was worse was that his clothes were missing. Kisuke dropped to his knees beside Kira. He started to cry and crawl over to Ichigo.

"Ichi?" Kisuke whispered.

"Urahara are you okay?" Kira asked worried.

"Ichi answer me please." Kisuke whispered getting ready reach out to Ichigo when he looked up.

"Oh no." Kira said shocked.

When Ichigo looked up Kisuke and Kira were frozen because his once lively eyes were lifeless. They held no emotion like they once did. When Kisuke tried to reach out and touch Ichigo he flinched. This made Kisuke cry even more. What could have happened to do this to the once lively and hot-headed teen. Kira could take a guess but he didn't want to. This really was worse than he thought it would be.

"Ichi?" Kisuke whispered again.

"Ki…su…ke." Ichigo breathed out harshly.

"Yes Ichi it's me. I'm here." Kisuke whispered with a small smile.

"Kisuke…I'm…scared." Ichigo whispered.

"I know Ichi but I'm here. I wont let anything touch I promise." Kisuke reached out again and he didn't flinch away.

"I'm cold Kisuke. Please I'm cold and tired." Ichigo started to shake and cried into Kisuke chest.

"I know Ichi. But you have to stay awake okay." Kisuke said rubbing his back gently.

"Urahara, what do you want me to do." Kira asked sadly.

"Go find his clothes please. If anyone else felt his spike in reiatsu then they will come, but I don't want them to see him like this." Kisuke said not leaving Ichigo.

"Yes, sir." Kira said walking way to find the clothes.

"Kisuke I tried to stop him, but he was so strong and I was tired. I was finally able to stab him through the heart and I crawled away. But I couldn't stop him I'm sorry Urahara." Ichigo cried some more.

"It's not your fault Ichi. I don't blame you. I'm here no one will touch you again okay." Kisuke said trying not to cry.

"I'm so tired Urahara. Can I go to sleep yet please?" Ichigo asked tiredly.

"Not yet my dear Ichi. Not yet okay." Kisuke said getting worried.

Kira finally came back at that point with Ichigo's clothes and handed them to Kisuke. Kira really wanted to collapse to his knees and cry. It wasn't fair. He kept asking why Ichigo. Why did it have to be him.

"Ichi is it okay if Kira helps me with your clothes?" Kisuke asked gently.

"Yeah, but that's all nothing else." Ichigo said scared.

"Okay, all he is going to do is put on your top okay. I will put on your bottoms okay?" Kisuke asked.

"Okay." Ichigo whispered.

"Kira come help please. I can sense the others coming quickly." Kisuke said calmly.

"Yes sir." Kira came over and put on Ichigo's top but he still flinched at the closeness.

About five minutes after they got his clothes on everyone came to where they were. They stopped in their tracks though when they saw the sight of Ichigo. Isshin was the first to pull it together and went towards his son who was laying against Kisuke. When he went to touch his son he flinched away. This shocked Isshin to his soul. He then looked at Kisuke for help. He didn't understand. Then he nearly had a heart attack when he saw how dead his son's eyes were.

"Oh god Kisuke what the hell happened to my son." Isshin's voice was cracking.

"A lot more than anyone can imagine Isshin." Kisuke choked.

At this point Ikkaku and Kira pulled the emotional Isshin away. Nobody knew what to say or do. Captain Unohana finally stepped forward slowly and gently trying not to scare the teen.

"Ichigo is it okay if I touch you to heal your wounds." Captain Unohana said as gently as possible.

Ichigo only nodded his head to scared to talk. But everyone still saw him flinch even at her gentlest touch. This was not everyone's favorite person. This was just his shell. Yumichika looked at Captain Zaraki and Ikkaku with tears in his eyes. Rukia was hugging Isshin trying to calm him down. Shuuhei and Shinji were to shocked to say or do anything. Chad and Ishida were trying to calm down Orihime. Captain Soifon was trying desperately to consol Yoruichi who was on her knees crying. Captain Hitsugaya was shocked beyond compare. Rangiku was with Orihime crying her eyes out. Renji was trying to help Rukia calm Isshin down. Captain Zaraki went into complete shock when he saw Ichigo's eyes. Ikkaku was trying to calm down Yumichika. Captain Byakuya was in shock but didn't show it. Captain Shunsui was trying to calm Captain Ukitake down before he got sick again. Head Captain Yamamoto was trying to hold back his tears. He was also trying to help calm Captain Ukitake down.

"Well I have healed him as best as I can. Now all we can do is wait." Captain Unohana sighed sadly.

"Kisuke can I go to sleep now?" Ichigo asked with a dead voice with made everyone feel worse.

"Yes dear Ichi you can sleep now." Kisuke whispered.

"Please don't leave me." Ichigo whispered falling asleep.

"I wont I promise. You just rest now okay." He whispered.

"Where should we take him?" Kira asked walking up on the other side of Ichigo.

"We are taking him home." Isshin yelled angrily.

"I think he should go to the Soul Society." Renji said sadly.

"I think I would have to agree with Renji." Captain Unohana sighed.

"But you can't." Kira stated angrily.

"Why the hell not Kira?" Rukia snapped.

"Because I have seen how he has been the only person that can even touch him without him flinching. Nobody else can even get near him not even his own father. You take him to the Soul Society away from Urahara and there is no telling what would happen if he woke up. I have seen it personally to know that you can't take him away from Urahara. Damn it don't you all see he is broken and the only person that can maybe fix him is Urahara, but all of you are wanting to take him away." Kira was yelling at all of them.

Everyone was shocked that Kira of all people was yelling. Everyone could see how angry he was. Nobody could say anything for several minutes.

"Fine then Kira what do you propose we should do?" Captain Hitsugaya asked.

"I think we should let him stay with Urahara. I think Urahara, Ichigo, and a few others should move to some place quite so that Urahara could help Ichigo get better. The other few that should go should only go to help keep watch over Ichigo but not have to much contact with him. They would be more like bodyguards." Kira said.

"That's actually not a bad idea." Captain Ukitake said with a small smile.

"I agree." Captain Shunsui said.

"But what about Urahara's shop. He can't just leave it." Renji stated.

"I can leave it in Tessai's hands." Kisuke finally spoke up.

"But how many bodyguards do propose they should have?" Captain Zaraki asked curiously.

Kira looked at Kisuke and they both said at the same time. "We think that there should be at least 6 people."

"Why so many?" Captain Unohana asked curiously.

"Because at least one person with have to help Urahara and the others will keep guard around the house." Kira said looking at Kisuke and Ichigo.

"Okay, but who should be the one person that helps Urahara with Ichigo. You said it yourself he wont let anyone else near him?" Renji asked curiously.

"It will be me." Kira said flatly.

"Why the hell should it be you." Rukia yelled.

"Because he let Kira get close to him for a minute." Kisuke said flatly.

"Then who do you propose the other five people should be?" Ikkaku asked.

"Well I think it should be…" Kira began.

"We think it should be Ikkaku, Yumichika, Renji, Rukia, and Shuuhei." Kisuke finished for Kira.

"You both have thought about this haven't you." Captain Ukitake laughed half-heartedly.

"Yes from the moment we found him until before you all got here." Kira and Kisuke said.

Then everyone turned to Head Captain Yamamoto. "I think we can all agree that the only person that can really touch Ichigo is Kisuke. I personally don't want to keep Ichigo away from him for the simple fact that Kira is right. We could do more harm than good if Ichigo was to wake up and Kisuke was not there. I also agree with the rest of Kira's idea. But I will want weekly reports on his progress as well. We will even help get a house big enough to house everyone. But I would also like to add one more person to the list."

"Who?" Kisuke asked worried.

"I would like Captain Gin to go along as well." Head Captain Yamamoto stated.

"I can agree to that." Kisuke said with a small smile.

"NO! I wont let this happen." Isshin yelled.

"Isshin it's the only way." Captain Ukitake pleaded.

"No he is my son he should be with his father and sisters." Isshin yelled.

"But Isshin you can't even get near him." Captain Shunsui stated.

"I can. He is my son and he is going home with me." Isshin yelled again.

"Isshin you can't do that. You could cause more harm than good trying to get close to him like that." Captain Unohana stated flatly.

"NO! He is going home with his father." Isshin snapped.

"Enough. Isshin get a hold of yourself. He will go with Kisuke and the other out in the country. Nobody but me, the Captains, and the ones that are at the house will know where it is. I will be given weekly reports on his recovery and progress. I'm sure that he has even shut out his Hollow and Zangetsu at this point. Which means that he will more than likely have to relearn Zangetsu's name, but I'm more than positive that the Hollow will still be there. But if his condition should worsen I will have no choice but have him executed on the spot, because he could become a danger. Am I understood by all that are here." Head Captain Yamamoto said sternly.

"Yes, Head Captain Yamamoto." Everyone said.

"Good, now all that are going with Kisuke and Ichigo are to follow me now." Head Captain Yamamoto said walking away.

Everyone that was mentioned followed him. Kira stayed behind to help Kisuke with Ichigo. Kira grab Zangetsu and followed closely behind Kisuke. Kira was feeling a little bit guilt about the whole mess. He felt bad for Isshin and everyone that was not allowed to go with them. But he really felt bad for Kisuke. It must be heart breaking to see your love in this kind of state. If he was Kisuke he didn't know if he could handle it or not. He was completely in awe at how Kisuke could wear his mask right now. They was walking some ways behind everyone else.

"Urahara you know it's okay to cry. They wont see you or think any less of you if you did right now." Kira said politely.

"Yes I know Kira, but I need to be strong for Ichigo." Kisuke said with a small crack in his voice.

"I see, but the Ichigo that I have come to know doesn't want people worrying or trying to be strong for him. He sees it as he is suppose to be strong for everyone around him." Kira stated.

"Yes I know but right now he needs people to be strong for him and not the other way around. I want and need to be strong for him." Kisuke said lightly.

"I really want to be of some help. I feel so useless right now. He has done so much for everyone, but it feels like there is nothing I or anyone can do for him." Kira sighed.

"Just being there for him is more that enough help for him." Kisuke looked back at Kira and smiled.

"Do you think we should catch up to the others now?" Kira asked.

"That might be wise to do." Kisuke stated, but just then Kira and Urahara got a big shock. Standing in front of them was none other than Zangetsu.

"Zangetsu what are you doing here?" Kisuke asked shocked.

"I'm worried about Ichigo." Zangetsu said.

"Why?" Kira asked confused.

"I can't seem to communicate with him." Zangetsu sighed.

"What do you mean can't communicate with him. You have never had that problem before." Kisuke stated worriedly.

"Trust me I know. Not even his Hollow can communicate with him." Zangetsu stated.

"That's totally impossible." Kisuke stated bluntly.

"Kisuke listen to me. Ichigo's inner world is raining really bad. It's to the point where it is flooding." Zangetsu stated seriously.

"How is that possible?" Kira asked shocked and confused.

"Has he been traumatized that bad Zangetsu?" Kisuke asked scared.

"Yes, it is worse than even your mind can imagine Kisuke." Zangetsu said sadly.

"How long?" Kisuke chocked.

"How long for what?" Kira asked confused.

"At the rate of the flooding, maybe six months to a year. Me and the Hollow are trying to hold back the flooding but it's not working. " Zangetsu sighed.

"That's not long at all." Kisuke sighed.

"Kisuke you must not let the rain get worse. If the rain gets any worse the time will be even shorter than that." Zangetsu warned.

"I understand. You have my word that I will not let it get worse and that I will try to get the rain to stop for you." Kisuke promised.

"I have faith in you Kisuke. But be warned he may never be the same Ichigo again." Zangetsu bowed and then faded away.

"Uh….Urahara what was Zangetsu talking about?" Kira asked confused.

"You know how we all have inner worlds right?" Kisuke asked.

"Yes." Kira said.

"Well Ichigo told me about his once." Kisuke said fondly.

"Really, I bet it's cool." Kira said getting a small smile on his face.

"Well I wouldn't say that but it is really strange." Kisuke laughed.

"How so?" Kira asked curiously.

"Well you see he told me that his inner world was full of sky scrappers." Kisuke said.

"What's so strange about that?" Kira asked confused.

"Nothing really, except that his whole inner world is side ways." Kisuke chuckled.

"Well that is strange." Kira chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, but the worst part is his inner world is highly connected to his emotions." Kisuke sighed.

"So what does that me exactly?" Kira asked confused.

"It means when he is depressed, stressed, or traumatized then it rains really bad, but it should never flood." Kisuke said confused.

"But if it shouldn't be able to flood then how is it happening?" Kira asked even more confused.

"I think that he is far worse than we a regionally thought Kira, but for now I want this to stay between just us. If it is worse then they will just want to execute him without trying to help him." Kisuke said flatly.

"I understand completely." Kira smiled at him. "My lips are sealed until you are ready to tell anyone."

"Thank you." Kisuke smiled lightly.

"Your welcome Urahara." Kira smiled.

"Kira please just call me Kisuke." Kisuke laughed.

"Yes, sir." Kira laughed as well.

I hope you liked it so far. ^_^

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