Bleached Wings

By Raindrops 28

Summary: Bleach/Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles cross-over. In order to have the Dimensional Witch destroy the Hogyoku after the disastrous war against Aizen, Ichigo must agree to travel with Syaoran and Co. What changes will result from this?

Pairings: Past Ichigo/Byakuya, Clone Syaoran/Clone Sakura, Tsubasa/Tsubasa, Fai/Ichigo/Kurogane

Warnings: Blood, fighting, Kurogane's mouth, time travel mind-fuckery (seriously, Tsubasa got confusing at the end), heavily and mentioned yaoi – why are you reading Clamp works if you're against that sort of thing?

Also, this fic was supposed to be a one-shot. A ridiculously long one-shot, but a one-shot nonetheless. I already have one epic length fic going on, and I'm not turning this one into one as well. Therefore this fic will concentrate on the large changes Ichigo's presence has brought on, any skipped scenes should be assumed to be canon or so close to canon there was no point in writing the differences.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles.

That put out of the way, here's the first chapter!

Chapter one: The Witch's Store and Hanshin Republic

It was over. The war with Aizen was finally, blessedly, over.

Ichigo breathed in deeply.

Over. Finished. A thing of the past.

The war with Aizen and the traitors Tousen and Gin (who had double crossed Aizen, to no avail.) had only lasted two years, yet the devastation it'd wrought was crushing. So many people had died that the Gotei 13 had almost collapsed.

Ichigo closed his eyes.

His nakama…the captains…the lieutenants…

Ichigo and his friends, aided by the Vizards and Urahara had managed to hold the Gotei 13 together for a year after the death of Yamamoto, who'd been felled by Wonderweiss. Things had almost seemed to be looking up when Ichigo had managed to convince the highest Espada to defect and join their side.

Nel…Ulquiorra…Grimmjow…Harribel…Starrk…all their fraccion….

It'd all been for nothing. Aizen had made sure that they fell, suffering his wrath for daring to leave his service. With the Hogyoku, Aizen had a limitless supply of Arrancar to take their place.

Things had gotten worse after that. So many began dying every day, Ichigo really shouldn't have been so shocked when the first of his friends fell and became one of them. Keigo had deserved a better life, and Mizuiro, despite the indifference he'd displayed towards him through his life, had never really gotten over his death.

It hadn't been fair. Nothing that happened after Rukia's failed execution was. Two years was so short of a time, yet it seemed like a lifetime to Ichigo. So many things had changed so quickly.

And among them had been Byakuya. During the war, he and Ichigo had grown close. Ichigo clinging to the stoic noble as a pillar of strength and stability, and Ichigo provided a breath of fresh air and release from Byakuya's constant duties as a the head of one of the Four Great Noble Families and a Captain of the rapidly degenerating Gotei 13. They balanced each other out, Ichigo becoming more mature and level headed, and Byakuya loosening up and remembering to act a little more like he had when he was young and defied all the clan to marry a street rat from Rukongai. They had been comrades, friends, lovers.

And even he had been taken away from Ichigo. Aizen had taken a perverse pleasure in ripping away all of Ichigo's precious people. Pay back, Ichigo mused, for ruining all of his plans so consistently.

None of that mattered now. Not now, not after Kugo Ginjou and his ragtag band of Fullbringers had joined up with Aizen then double-crossed him, providing an opening for Ichigo to be able to perform his Final Getsuga Tensho. It had cost them all their lives, but Ichigo had made sure to repay them – by cutting Aizen's pansy-monster-butterfly-ied ass in two with his final technique.

And now it was over. Aizen was dead and gone, the Hogyoku was quickly being sealed away by Urahara, and Ichigo was rapidly losing all of his powers.

Ichigo felt his eyes close one last time as the last of his powers fell away from him.

Everything was finally over.

Descending into unconsciousness, Ichigo didn't hear Urahara's scream as the Hogyoku broke free of its bindings and flew towards him.

XXXTHISISAPAGEBREAKXXX

Of course, nothing in his life could be that easy.

He couldn't just lose all his powers after killing Aizen and live out whatever was going to be the rest of his life. Things just didn't go that smoothly for Ichigo Kurosaki.

The Hogyoku had chosen him as its new master, leaving Aizen to his death and binding itself to Ichigo, insuring his powers did not vanish after casting Mugetsu. Ichigo was happy that Zangetsu-no-ossan and the hollow didn't have to die to destroy Aizen, but Ichigo wanted nothing to do with the Hogyoku. It needed to be destroyed; vanished from the face of the earth so no one could wrought such destruction with it again.

And that was what brought him to the present, with Urahara-san, Yourichi-san and Tessai-san pushing all their reiatsu into a kido that would take Ichigo to a woman called "The Time-Space Witch"; someone, Urahara assured him, would be the only person capable of destroying the Hogyoku where Urahara had failed, and Ichigo could only oppress.

The kido was a one-way trip, and Urahara couldn't guarantee that the Witch would send him back, nor what her price would be. Ichigo had volunteered. He didn't care if he couldn't come back; there was nothing he had to return to. Urahara still had Yourichi to live with, while Ichigo had nothing. He had no scrupled over paying whatever it took to get rid of the last remnant of Aizen's army.

Urahara had placed his human body – which Ichigo had not reentered since his extrusion in the Dangai before facing Aizen for the final time; it simply wouldn't be able to handle Ichigo's reitasu as it was now – and had placed it under a nearly unbreakable kido, guaranteeing its safety for whatever lied ahead of him at the Witch's place.

Looking over the kido spell to Urahara's grim face, Ichigo had no regrets, no matter what awaited him on the other side of the spell.

XXXTHISISAPAGEBREAKXXX

Yuko Ichihara felt her heart pound uncomfortably within her chest. Before her was a group of travelers that she had been expecting for many, many years – yet there was one standing before her, having just exited a spell she easily recognized as a kido employed by none other than Urahara Kisuke, that she had not expected.

Ichigo Kurosaki.

It took great effort to not display any of the shock she was feeling to her customers. In all of the visions she and Clow had shared over the futures of these children, never had she seen Ichigo Kurosaki join them. In the rare visions in which he made his way to her shop he was always, always, either too early or too late to send with these children on their journey.

And yet, here he was, standing before her, clothed in the garb of his most powerful, yet costly, attack – Mugetsu.

Yuko took a deep breath to settle herself. Had Clow known that Ichigo would make his way here on time? He had always been more powerful than herself…it was possible that he simply never told her. Even after all the time she knew him Yuko would never say she knew everything there was to the person known as Clow Reed. He'd always been a vague bastard.

Focus. Ichigo Kurosaki was before her, quietly regaining his bearings, as her other customers watched him warily. Yuko was not surprised. Ichigo was a shinigami, and they, however unconsciously, knew he was to be treaded lightly around. Fai, in particular she noticed, was hiding his confusion.

Yuko hid a smile. If she had not been able to foresee Ichigo's joining, than Fei Wong Reed certainly hadn't – and had thus not been able to inform Fai.

Clenching her fist lightly, Yuko hid her glee and rapidly beating heart. She could use this. She could defiantly use this. An unknown player that neither she nor Fei had been able to see coming… It was risky, she knew. This could turn out worse than the ending she and Clow had originally hoped for…and yet…she could not help but believe in the future.

Perhaps Hitsuzen was finally giving her a break.

XXXTHISISPAGEBREAKXXX

"Are you the Time-Space Witch?"

"I have been called that. Do you know where you are?"

Looking at the woman in front of him, Ichigo felt strongly that she knew exactly who he was and what he'd gone through. The idea was uncomfortable, and Ichigo felt the Hogyoku pulse slightly, but he quickly pushed down on it. He brushed the feeling aside, Urahara had known her, after all.

"A shop that grants wishes. For an appropriate price."

"That is correct. And what is your wish?"

"For this to be destroyed." Ichigo said simply, holding out the small sphere for her to see. The two men standing behind him seemed confused.

"The Hogyoku. I see. However, that is not within my capabilities."

Tensing slightly, Ichigo remained calm. The woman was not telling the full story yet, and he'd find out why.

"Why? I was assured that it would be."

"Your information was not incorrect." Yuko said. "But perhaps I misphrased. It is within my power to destroy it, but it goes against the laws of this shop to so."

"What law would that be?"

Yuko eyes closed.

"The law against taking a life. That object has something amounting to a soul – which you very well know. To snuff that soul out of existence would be against the laws of this shop, and thus a wish beyond my capabilities to fulfill."

Standing in silence for a moment Ichigo contemplated his options. The Time-Space Witch seemed content to let him take his time.

"I see. Then is it within your abilities to take this and ensure it can never be used again, by anyone?"

"That is within my capabilities. It comes with a steep price, however."

"I knew it would. What sort of price will it be?"

"Something equal in strength to the desire and difficulty of your wish. It will have to be something very precious to you. Something of the same sort that those children behind you have paid."

Ichigo frowned (not that anyone could see it under Mugetsu's mask) and glanced over to the ones behind him. A man dressed almost entirely in black was scowling at him, impatient, while a boy clothing an unconscious girl was clearly confused and frightened. The blonde smiled calmly at him, though Ichigo could immediately tell it was fake – many of the Clan Elders of Byakuya's clan had tried fooling him with similar smiles when they had first gotten together, but Byakuya and Yourichi had trained him to make sure he never fell for them. Eventually, the Elders had no choice but to give in and allow the relationship.

"And what have they paid?" Ichigo asked, trying to gauge what he'd be asked to hand over.

Yuko revealed their prices easily – whatever they had taken with them that was their most important belonging: a magical seal, an heirloom sword, and for the boy and girl, their 'relationship' – the girl would never remember the boy who was trying to save her life.

Ichigo frowned, pushing unpleasant memories down, and thought. The most important thing he had left was Zangetsu. Would he have to hand over his Zanpakutô, soul and all?

"That would not be an appropriate price." Yuko spoke, and somehow Ichigo was unsurprised that she had guessed (or was she telepathic?) what he was thinking. "It would be inappropriate for the same reason that I cannot destroy the Hogyoku instead of sealing it away."

"I see." Ichigo replied. "Then is my reiryoku an appropriate price?"

"No." Yuko frowned. "That would be too much. Your power greatly surpasses the Hogyoku's, which is why you are able to subjugate it to your will right now. The price and the wish are not even."

Ichigo breathed in deeply. This was taking longer than he thought it would, and the boy behind him was getting anxious. Ichigo could understand his worry – Ichigo could feel the life dripping out the girl he was holding at a rapid pace.

"Then if my full power is too much, would this 'form' I am in be an even price?"

Yuko's eyes narrowed.

"You would give up your status as a god?"

"Yes." Ichigo replied, ignoring the shock that passed over the four gathered behind him. He never wanted to be one in the first place – that had always been Aizen's goal.

"Very well then. The form you are in will be a sufficient price to bind the Hogyoku. By giving it up, however, you should know you can never again reenter it; you will remain the strength you were at before entering it for the rest of your life. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes." Ichigo said simply. It wasn't like he had anyone to protect with the power he had left anyway. "But you said 'bind.' Am I right in guessing there's more?"

Yuko gave a tired smile. "That is correct. Your wish is two-part – thus I will need two different prices. You've agreed to the price of sealing the Hogyoku, but not insuring anyone can ever find it again."

"What price would I have to pay to ensure such?"

"You must agree to travel with the children behind you." Yuko said simply.

Though Ichigo showed no other reaction to the news than to glance behind him, the other four freely showed their shock. Syaoran, in particular, was surprised. Did this mean the Witch was telling this man? god? That he had to help Syaoran and the others in their goals?

Ichigo frowned. Since she said 'children' Ichigo guessed she was talking about the brunette that was clutching the dying girl. Just by looking at the boy's face, Ichigo could tell he was an honest, good kid. Ichigo came to his decision – it wasn't like Urahara hadn't known there was a possibility that Ichigo wouldn't return.

"Very well. I will go with them."

"Is that your final decision?"

"Yes. I came prepared to give up much more to rid the world of the Hogyoku."

"I see." Yuko nodded, "Then I shall grant your wish."

Raising her arms, Yuko easily summoned her magic circle underneath the two of them. Slowly, the bone mask, black hair and reiatsu that had been summoned by the use of Zangetsu's final technique seemed to melt off of Ichigo, encircling the Hogyoku and forming a black cage that bared a familiar mask motif, until all that remained was the orange haired teenage Ichigo had been before the final battle.

Yuko smiled, holding the Hogyoku's new cage in one hand as she picked up Soel with another. Quickly summarizing the conditions that they might expect to find in other dimension, Yuko asked Syaoran once more if he was truly determined to continue his journey.

"Yes!"

"Sincerity and determination. No matter what a person wants to attempt, those are needed. And it seems that all of you are well provided with both. And so…you may go!"

With that Yuko activated Soel's dimensional-traveling magic for the first time, and as her wings enveloped the travelers, she sent one last smile to them before they were obscured from each other's vision. It had been years since her heart had been so light with hope for the future.

"I wish you all the best of fortune on your journey!"

XXXTHISISAPAGEBREAKXXX

"Sakura!"

Ichigo glanced over from where he had sat down after awakening in an unfamiliar room. The blonde man approached the boy first, introducing himself as Fai. The boy was named Syaoran, and the girl he was holding was the 'Sakura' he'd shouted after.

"What should we call you?" Fai Asked, bringing attention to Ichigo, who had been entirely silent so far.

"Ichigo. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo said shortly. The man in black snorted.

"Strawberry?" Ichigo felt an old, familiar vein throb at the mistake.

"No. It's written as "Number One Guardian Angel". Not as "Strawberry"."

"And Kuro-san over there. What'll we call you?" Fai asked.

"I am not "Kuro-san"! I'm Kurogane!"

As the newly introduced Kurogane was promptly harassed by Mokona (as she had introduced herself) and Fai, Ichigo's attention was taken by Syaoran, who was clutching Sakura desperately.

There's very little life left in her…Ichigo thought, noticing that the boy seemed to realize this as well. Suddenly, Fai moved towards Syaoran, grabbing his clothes rather inappropriately.

"Waaa!"

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Is this what a piece of memory looks like for this child?" Fai asked, holding a feather giving out rather impressive reiatsu waves. As Syaoran looked on in shock, Fai continued his explanation. "It was stuck on you. Only one, though."

Ichigo frowned. Kurogane might not have noticed, distracted by Mokona as he was, but Ichigo had. Fai had not taken that feather from Syaoran's clothes. Fai had removed it from his own and, with a slight of hand, made it seem as if he'd grabbed it from Syaoran.

As the feather was reabsorbed into Sakura, breathing life back into her, Mokona began eagerly explaining how she would be able to track down feathers, to Syaoran's delight. This, of course, brought up the topic on whether or not each of the travelers would be assisting Syaoran in his goal of retrieving all of the princess's feathers.

Kurogane outright refused, something that Syaoran accepting easily and admirably, while Fai agreed to help so long as he did not endanger his own life in the process. This left only Ichigo to answer whether or not he would help. Ichigo contemplated his answer for a moment before speaking.

"My price was to agree to travel with all of you. Technically, the Witch never said anything about helping any of you." As Syaoran began to nod grimly, however, Ichigo gave him a slight smile. "However, I'm not the sort of person who'd leave children in desperate need of help to themselves. I'll help, however I can."

The smile he received in return was almost blinding in its relief and joy. It'd been a long time since Ichigo had seen someone so happy.

XXXTHISISAPAGEBREAKXXX

Ichigo had been rather relaxed during Sorata's explanation of the Hanshin Republic, but of course that didn't last long. Kurogane had begun to fall asleep during the lecture, and it seemed that Sorata didn't appreciate it.

"You! Wake up!"

At the same moment that Sorata had pointed his finger at Kurogane, Kurogane was slapped across the back of his neck by an unseen projectile.

"What was that?!"

Kurogane immediately began searching for the origin pf the attack, Syaoran leapt over to provide a shield for the unconscious Sakura, Fai stood up and steeled himself for another attack, but Ichigo had different idea. He had seen Sorata point at Kurogane, and his reiatsu rise when Kurogane was attacked, so Ichigo did the only thing that made sense to his fresh out-of-war mid.

Summoning Zangetsu's blade, Ichigo wasted no time in placing it dangerously close to Sorata's pulse.

"What did you do?" Ichigo asked dangerously. Sorata, however, didn't seem to understand his seriousness.

"Huh? It was my Kudan, what else? You have one right there in your hand!" Sorata exclaimed, still clueless to their hostile reaction.

"Kudan?" All four of the travelers chorused. Understanding seemed to dawn on Sorata's face.

"You don't know?! Sure you don't! You all come from different worlds! You wouldn't know!"

Sorata quickly moved out from Zangetsu's blade, and began writing on the eraser board behind him. Sensing no ill intent, Ichigo quietly let Zangetsu return to his soul and began listening to his explanation. It didn't make much sense to Ichigo, though. Looking around, however, Ichigo could see that he was not alone in that sense.

Sensing that, Sorata sighed before smiling.

"Well, I guess a Kudan is just something you have to see to understand. Now then…I've pretty much told you all there is to know about this country…"

As Sorata and Arashi explained the bedroom arrangements, Ichigo glanced back at the room Syaoran would be sharing with Sakura. For a moment, he almost thought he saw something glow that felt like Fai, but it quickly disappeared, and Ichigo dismissed the thought.

The next morning however, Ichigo realized he could feel small traces of Fai's reiatsu within Syaoran's right eye.

XXXTHISISAPAGEBREAKXXX

Later that day, all four of them were enjoying lunch with Masayoshi after witnessing a Kudan battle for the first time. While the battle had done its job of giving the travelers an understanding of what Kudan were (and why Sorata had thought Zangetsu was one) they had also learned that somewhere in the mess Mokona had sensed Sakura's feather.

They didn't have any hope of finding who'd carried it during the fight, so for now they were letting Masayoshi guide them around. Of course, even something as simple as lunch couldn't go smoothly; and Syaoran's outburst over the Hanshin Republic's incarnations of Clow Kingdom's King and Priest had all of them in a contemplative mood.

Ichigo could barely hear Fai's conversation with Kurogane, despite sitting right next to them – a white noise had consumed his mind. Would he, in the course of Syaoran's journey, run into other world's incarnations of his friends? Would he have failed them again, or would they be living happily, as Syaoran's King and priest were?

Ichigo felt his heart clench painfully. To see his friends once again…to see Rukia, alive and well, not tormented over the continuing life of the Novena Espada…to see his sisters again, not burdened by constant hiding, aware they were targets for being so close to Ichigo…to see anyone alive again…

To see Byakuya again…

Ichigo didn't think he could handle that. Not yet, not so soon, if ever.

Fai, noticing that Ichigo had turned rather pale, called his name softly. Ichigo closed his eyes and, rather forcibly, pulled himself together. That was a bridge he would cross when the time came, and no sooner. For now, he gave a ghost of a smile to Fai, and turned his attention to eating the lunch Syaoran had already paid for.

XXXTHISISAPAGEBREAKXXX

The rest of the day was rather eventful, with Syaoran being called out by a rather fat man (whose name Ichigo couldn't be bothered to remember), who was apparently a rival of Shugo. Ichigo didn't take much notice of the battle, only noting that a): Kurogane acted rather like Kenpachi during a fight (which wasn't really a good thing. The former Captain's love of battle and consequent habit of holding back his strength for a longer fight had cost the man his life.) and b): Kurogane was probably a ninja or a samurai, with the way he fight like a professional, and rather proudly, declared he fought only for a princess named Tomoyo.

Later that night, Sorata had decided to explain the existence of Kudan further, and reveal that he thought of Kudan as the "guardians" of everyone in the Hanshin Republic. The idea that Sakura might have one attached to her seemed to sooth Syaoran, and Ichigo decided not to reveal that he couldn't sense one attached to her. With only one of her feathers returned to her, Sakura was barely alive, let alone having something strong enough to resemble a soul for the Kudan to attach themselves to.

The conversation continued, and Syaoran revealed he'd had a 'strange dream', which was apparently how Kudan usually reveal themselves to their 'masters'. This, of course led Fai and Kurogane to reveal they had also had a strange dream the night before, and thus reveal that Fai also had a Kudan attached to him.

And now the others were looking at him expectedly, clearly wondering if he also had a kudan attached to him. Ichigo sighed.

"I didn't dream at all last night. And I can't sense a presence attached to mine like the kudan attached to the rest of you."

Sorata frowned. "You don't? That's strange…everyone in the Hanshin Republic has one. Even visitors will have a kudan attached to them for the duration of their stay."

"I don't think it's particularly odd." Ichigo said, surprising everyone. "Now that I know what these 'kudan' are, I know why none of them attached themselves to me. I showed you my blade yesterday, remember? That was not an ordinary blade – it's a zanpakuto. And every Zanpakuto has a soul residing within it, and mine is named Zangetsu. So the Kudan of this country were probably able to sense Zangetsu residing within my soul, and thought I already had a Kudan, so none of them tried 'attaching' themselves to me."

"Oh?" Fai mused, amid everyone's surprised stared at Ichigo. "Does everyone in your world have one of these 'zanpakuto' like the kudan of this country?"

Ichigo frowned, taking only a moment to decide how much he should reveal, before deciding he might as well tell them a portion of the truth. They were bound to find out about the origin of his powers anyway, and it wasn't like that knowledge had to be told in context of the Winter War.

"No. Only a very certain type of person can wield a zanpakuto. The only people who wield a zanpakuto…are shinigami."

Eyes widened, and Kurogane began spluttering before he spoke in a rather strangled voice.

"S-shinigami?! You mean as in 'death gods' shinigami?!"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at this; apparently his and Kurogane's worlds had some similarities features.

"Yes. I'm a shinigami – or at least, I was."

Fai eyes narrowed as Kurogane regained his composure. "Was? So that was what the Time-Space Witch had you hand over as your price…" Fai's brow furrowed. "But why do you still have zanpakuto if you are no longer a shinigami?"

Ichigo sighed. "I gave up my status as a shinigami, but she could not remove Zangetsu from my soul as part of the price. Didn't you hear her? It's not within the laws of her shop to destroy a soul, and every Zanpakuto has a soul that is born from their shinigami's soul."

Fai smiled, his eyes sparkling now that the confusion had been cleared.

"Hmm…so that's how it was? But you know…shinigami are sprits, no? I don't remember having the ability to see sprits at all…"

This caught the others attention, as Kurogane grunted in agreement, and Syaoran relayed he didn't have that ability either, but that Sakura did. Ichigo decided to explain, least he come to a world where he expended too much energy and the others ended up not being able to see him.

"You don't have to have the ability to see sprits to see me. I've always had the ability to 'force' those without the ability to see sprits to see sprits that are physically close to me. In this case, however I'm reversing it – I'm using my power to 'force' you to be able to see me…it takes energy though, so if I suddenly disappear and only Sakura can see me…"

"You'll have expended too much of your energy?" Fai finished, and Ichigo nodded.

XXXTHISISAPAGEBREAKXXX

Things got complicated the next day, Masayoshi, who was guiding them around once more, was kidnapped, along with Mokona.

This lead to the discovery that Mokona was responsible for translating their different languages so they would be able to understand each other. This also led to the discovery that Ichigo and Kurogane's world's languages were similar enough that Ichigo and Kurogane were able to somewhat able to speak other.

While Ichigo had been unable to read the ransom letter, Syaoran had, and they had simply followed him until they were back in range of Mokona's magic, enabling them to speak to each other again.

Ichigo mostly observed the fights that broke out after arriving, only paying mild attention to Syaoran's and Kurogane's observations about Fai's ability to fight. They were good deductions, but weren't anything Ichigo hadn't already concluded on his own.

When Primera's reasons for trying to kidnap Syaoran were revealed however, Ichigo only sighed, annoyed at the childishness. Kurogane had buried himself in the magazine that her fans had thrown at him, and, after a moment, Ichigo joined him, mildly amused and surprised to find it seemed to be that world's version of a manga serialization magazine.

He was interrupted from looking further into it when Syaoran, prompted by Mokona's observance that one of Sakura's feathers were nearby, accepted Shugo's challenge of a rematch. Ichigo's attention was taken away from the battle (where he was pleasantly surprised of Syaoran's level of skill) by Kurogane and Fai's observation of the very same thing.

"Yes. He's not just a child with an interest in archeology. Maybe…he went through a lot of things."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed at Fai's choice of words. There had been a small hesitation between the last words of Fai's sentence; as if he was deciding weather or to elaborate or say was teetering on the edge of saying something else.

"Is that observation from foreknowledge, Fai?" Ichigo asked.

Fai's eyes widened, taking in the wording of Ichigo's question, as Kurogane turned his eyes towards them. Fai frowned, looking unusually serious, before smiling and hiding his thoughts once more.

"You could say that."

Kurogane's cowl deepened at the strange interaction, before filing the encounter away for later. He wasn't Tomoyo-hime's top ninja just because of his strength; he was trained to spot out suspicious happenings that could point to a hidden threat. For now though, he would concentrate on watching the kid, since Fai and Ichigo seemed to be in a staring contest.

In the distraction, though, none of them caught Masayoshi's desperate watching of Syaoran, and his sincere plea to become stronger. While Masayoshi's kudan went out of control, revealing that it was his Kudan, not Shugo's that contained Sakura's feather, Ichigo's gaze finally left Fai's face.

Fai let out a soft breathe of relief. When Fei had given him information, he'd not only never mentioned this man, but also had left him with the impression that it was Kurogane that he needed to be wary of. While Kurogane certainly seemed observant enough to warrant careful treading, Fai could already tell it would take some time for Kurogane to become truly suspicious of him. Yet when Fai had mentioned Syaoran's hardships, Ichigo had, somehow, managed to sense that Fai had more knowledge of those 'hardships' than he should.

Fai frowned. He'd have to be more careful.

XXXTHISISAPAGEBREAKXXX

"I won't die. Since I still have something that I have to do, I won't die."

Ichigo suppressed a twitch. Syaoran really reminded him too much of himself. Scowling, Ichigo hoped Syaoran would not suffer the same fate as himself – losing the most important things to him, despite his resolve.

In the end, Syaoran was able to retrieve the feather from Masayoshi's kudan, by displaying an admirable amount of willpower in withstanding Syaoran's kudan-produced flames long enough for Syaoran to grab the feather from within his own kudan.

What happened afterwards was not particularly shocking, no matter how heartbreaking it was.

XXXTHISISAPAGEBREAKXXX

"Who…are you?"

Of course, as per the Witch's price, Sakura did not remember who Syaoran was. Fai quickly distracted the dazed princess, and neither Kurogane nor Ichigo were surprised when Syaoran quickly disappeared through the door, standing outside in the pouring rain.

"I thought…he might start crying then." Fai mused, coming back to stand between them as he looked out of the window to Syaoran's back, who was being comforted by his kudan . "Sakura is Syaoran's most important person. So when she asked "Who are you?" I thought that he might start crying then. He's…probably crying now."

"Anyone who doesn't cry can't become strong. No matter what happens, after you cry then you can face the problem better." Kurogane said roughly, and Ichigo didn't have to guess if he was speaking from experience.

"That may be true," Ichigo said, face tightening as memories bubbled up to the surface, "but, in the end, it doesn't always help. Sometimes…crying and then facing the situation…only makes it seem bleaker, more hopeless."

Fai and Kurogane's expressions darkened, before Fai looked back at Syaoran, summoning his kudan and prompting Kurogane to do the same. "But…crying when you need to is another way to show strength."

Ichigo closed his eyes. That was true as well. Reaching down to his soul, Ichigo felt Zangetsu's approval. It would do no good for Syaoran to loose heart so early in his journey. Ichigo pulled, and Fai and Kurogane watched as a man clothed in black appeared between their kudan and walked towards Syaoran.

XXXTHISISAPAGEBREAKXXX

Syaoran looked up from where Fai and Kurogane-san's kudan sheltered him from the rain through a sort of embrace. An older man had walked towards him, and Syaoran was oddly reminded of Ichigo-san.

"Are…you Ichigo-san's zanpakuto?" That was what Ichigo had called it, "Zangetsu, I think he said."

The old man nodded in an approving sort of way, before placing a single hand on Syaoran's head.

"You've only just begun your journey. Though this was not something you did not expect to happen, it hurts nonetheless. Abandon your fear. Move forward, never stand still. Retreat and you will age. Hesitate and you will die. That is the motto I have drilled into my wielders heart, and it was that thought that kept him from succumbing to despair and forfeiting is life, and all he held dear in the process. That child is precious to you, is she not?"

Syaoran nodded, his face hardening.

"Then be strong, for yourself, and for her; for she cannot be strong herself yet. Support her, and rebuild. You said yourself that you had something you must do, and that you cannot die. Give into despair and it would be the same as dying. Do you understand, Syaoran of Clow?"

Syaoran nodded. He would not let Sakura die. She was his most important person, and that would not change, even if she could never remember him before they began this journey. The zanpakuto was right. He could rebuild, create new memories that they could be both remember. Even if he was the only one who remembered those times had not been erased. Besides him, his own kudan nudged his hand, as if agreeing with the man's words. Fai and Kurogane's kudan also made what Syaoran assumed were agreeing sounds.

Sakura would not die; Syaoran would make sure she recovered.

XXXTHISISAPAGEBREAKXXX

"When I was sleeping…who…held my hand? It felt…so warm!"

XXXTHISISAPAGEBREAKXXX

They left Hanshin the next day, Sakura still dazed, and Masayoshi being awarded with a membership to Shugo's gang.

Their journey had just begun.

A/N: The white Mokona will always be referred to as a 'she' in this fic. While during the duration of Tsubasa and xxxholic both Mokona's stubbornly refuse to assign themselves a gender, in the book "Soel to Larg" (or the Horistuba drama CDs, too lazy to look up right now) they implied that the Black Mokona was a boy, and the white Mokona was a girl. Therefore they shall be referred to as such in this fic, since I don't want to have to refer to them as 'it'.

On Yuko calling Ichigo a god – well in bleach Ichigo and Aizen, during their final fight, were in a 'transcendental' state that surpassed both Shinigami and hollow barriers. While the Hogyoku was transforming Aizen, Aizen said the Hogyoku was capable of breaking down the barrier between the divine – he was becoming a god. I thought about having Yuko say 'transcendental' instead of 'god', but decided it was easier this way. Since Ichigo admitted to being a spirit, the others don't think it's strange that he still has powers; they just think he gave up his status as a shinigami.

Also, to those who have followed me to this fic from my other fic, "School Daze", sorry. While in School Daze the reason behind why the Fullbringers decided to join Ichigo against Aizen is a central plot line, it has no real role in this fic. The only reason I included them against Aizen in this fic is because later on, Ichigo will be some of their incarnations in a different world, and I needed a way for him to be familiar, but on good terms with them.

As of posting this chapter, I have already almsot 7 chapters of the 13 planned chapters for this fic - going halfway through the Tokyo arc. This means there will be regular updates for this for a while at least.