Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach in anyway, I only screw around with the original story for educational (making fanfic) purposes.

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

"Hollowfied Tensa Zangetsu"

Comment on the above: Ichigo will have his shinigami powers but exactly like when he fought in the dangai, there is no Hollow and Zanpaktou, they are merged.

#1#

'Before I defeated Aizen, I thought that being normal was what I always wanted. After losing my powers, I noticed how wrong I was.'

'I hated how everyone acted around me, treating me like glass. They would be careful not to mention a word about that other world and change their conversations when I was nearby. Even my sisters that were more aware of the spiritual world would talk about those stuff! Yet never in my presence… I was alone…. Being a useless, normal, everyday human and trying to make me unaware of that world was making it worse than if they talked about it at my face.'

'I couldn't take it….! So, I did the only thing I could think of. Two years after the war, after I graduated high school, I left my home –which felt less warm than ever before- and left only a note behind…'

'I never regretted my decision even 10 years later. Because the thing that made me break wasn't the talk about hollows or shinigami that I occasionally overheard. No, what broke me was the cold shoulder I would get. I felt betrayed. So I never regretted it.'

'Even now.'

#1#

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

The annoying beeping sound resounded throughout the entire room even as a low groan was heard besides it. A man in his late twenties, twenty-eight to be exact, was having trouble waking up as he blearily opened his eyes and turned towards his nightstand.

"Okay, okay, I'm up now."

He turned the alarm clock off and stood up to stretch and make a big yawn before blinking to further wake himself up.

The man had pitch black hair that passed his neck slightly, messy bangs covering up most of brownish amber eyes. He was tall at 1.81 cm, but had the slim and muscular build of a swimmer. His features angular and obviously handsome, with peach colored skin that was tanned just the right shade.

The raven head walked to the bathroom lazily and took a quick bath before going downstairs to grab some toast and coffee in the kitchen for a light breakfast. He was thinking about practicality. After all, he had to review the last chapter of his latest novel before his annoying editor came by to demand it to be finished even though the deadline was still two weeks away.

Grabbing his laptop, he sat on a black leather couch in the living room, toast in mouth and coffee on low glass table, black framed glasses in place and ready to read. Eyeing the screen and taking a sip of coffee every once in a while, he was almost finished when a sudden knock at his door alerted him of visitors. Knowing only one person would ever come up to his door before being stopped by security, he went to open the door before she decided to kick the door down.

"Open the door! I know you're in there!"

Louder knocking was heard until he opened the door with a sigh while shaking his head at the person standing on the other side. At his door, was a women in her late thirties. Brown hair tied in a tail at her left side, green eyes and white milky skin. She wore a business suit and low black heals that helped her with the petite height she had.

"What took you so long?"

"It's a long trip from the living room to the door."

"Hum, you always make excuses. Well I'm tired of your god damn excuses, Ichigo."

Not even waiting to see if he would let her in, she walked past him and into the living room, foregoing the formalities and sitting on the couch cross legged while taking a bite of the toast on the table like if it were her own home.

"Is the story done Ichi-chan?"

Ichigo, which had been left behind in the entrance, came in with a glass of water and placed it in front of the woman. He took a seat right in front of her and didn't even take a second glance in her direction as he concentrated on his laptop.

"I'm giving it a last minute review." The raven head muttered in an even tone.

The green eyed women just nodded as temporary silence graced the room. The editor concentrating on staring at the man, and Ichigo concentrating on his work.

A full ten minutes later, the writer sighed and took off his glasses to place them on the coffee table. He shifted, glancing back at the women and passing a memory stick.

"Okay, it's finished."

Giving a nod at the statement, she grabbed the archive and put it in her bag.

"Now, the other reason I came here personally." She stated expertly with an amused smirk.

"Isn't it to just bug me?"

Being offended by the other's comment, she scowled and slammed her hand on the glass coffee table –her anger not reaching its highest limits even then.

"Bug you!? I wouldn't have to come here all the time if it weren't for possibility you could just die and no one finds out! You have no friends, you live alone in this big ass pent house at the top of a building, you have no communication what's so ever with anyone and you NEVER go out unless it's to go jogging!"

"If you break the table you're paying it." Ichigo stated absently.

The women just bristled "What?! You're the one with the money!" She shook her head to shrug off the distraction "And that's not the point!"

Letting out a big sigh and calming down, she crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes to try and compose her shaken state. She honestly didn't know why she bothered in the first place. Ichigo never reacted to it anyway!

"Don't you get that we worry about you?" She muttered lowly, and defeated "Everyone at the editorial do. Heck, even the boss does; and you know how that shitty geezer is."

"I can take care of myself. I'm not a teenager anymore." He grumbled in response, his pose mirroring that of the women.

"We know you're not. But… how do you want us to not worry when you're like this?"

Raising an eyebrow at the comment but not really incurring as to what she meant, he could only stare back at her and hope she understood.

"I mean look at yourself." She elaborated "Since I became your editor, I think I can read people easier since you're so blank and rarely have an expression. Then there's the fact you never go out and haven't contacted your family since you left."

Looking down, not wanting to retort at all, the only thing Ichigo could do was respond while completely avoiding eye contact –his fisted hands being much more entertaining.

"I have no need to." He responded softly –mournfully.

Hard, green eyes softened at seeing her writer with such a solemn expression. She wished she could do something for the former orange head. After all, she was the one that discovered his talent and helped him get to where he is now -where he can't even go out his door without finding someone wanting an autograph.

"Like I said in the beginning Ichigo, no more excuses. The boss won't take a no for an answer anymore, nor will he ask you for permission. You're going on a forced vacation."

Not saying anything, Ichigo just kept looking down in defeat. He knew this would happen sooner or later. It's not like he didn't want to go out, it's just that he felt safer in his apartment. Since he left home -and dyed his hair black- he has never tried to contact his family.

"We're sending you to a smaller town away from the city. Maybe that way you'll get some fresh air, a change of scenery. We already rented you a house for a month. And you'll have to do you're shopping yourself, no hiring someone so you can stay indoors all day long."

"Alright." He spoke up grudgingly "And where are my forced vacations?"

Smiling once she saw the resigned expression on the former orange head, she took out a pen and paper from her bag with a set of keys to go with it. She scribbled down an address before handing it over to the man.

"It's a town named Karakura."

Ichigo looked up to see if his editor wasn't joking around with him with only slight, wide eyes. Sure, no one knew where he used to live. But who knew, this could all be some bad joke, right?

"Wh-What?"

Blinking in confusion, she couldn't miss the slight surprise in Ichigo's eyes. Eyes that held such loneliness one would believe he lost everything once.

"Have you been there?"

"I-I used to-…" He spluttered incoherently "…it's my hometown."

"Oh…"

The room went in silence. She didn't expect the town to be one he knew, less of all were he used to live. After all, Ichigo always kept his past a secret. They only knew he left his hometown once he graduated from high school because he couldn't bear being in that town anymore. And that's all, no details, no why's, no nothing. The best the company got from him was: I left in bad terms with my family and friends. So they knew they weren't dead or anything cruel like that. But the depressed look was all they needed to not push the boy for answers. Now he wasn't a boy, he was a man and he needed to face his problems sooner or later.

"Mizuki…" He whispered inaudibly.

"Yes? I didn't hear that last part, sorry."

"I said, when do I leave?" Ichigo said louder.

Mizuki couldn't help but smile seeing that he wasn't acting like a kid behind their mother's skirt. At least he was trying to face his problems.

"Tomorrow. The place is furnaced already, just take clothing and anything else you need."

Nodding in understanding Ichigo stood up from the couch and stretched his sore muscles, hearing a pop here and there where bones cracked back in place.

"You shouldn't stay seated all day." She reprimanded "Do some exercise in between your work."

"Nah, its better do it all in one go."

Sighing in defeat Mizuki stood up from the coach as well and went towards the door.

"Well I have to go. Take care Ichi-chan."

"… You're only a decade older" Ichigo pointed out after staring at the women in blank exasperation "You can't call me Ichi-chan."

Pouting at the lack of expression coming from her writer, she could only slump her shoulders in defeat once more.

"The day I get an expression from you that isn't a scowl or blank, is the day I'll celebrate till dawn."

"Well good luck with that."

Taking route once more to the door, she opened it and stood right outside to give her final goodbyes to the man.

"Have fun Ichi-chan!"

Ichigo slammed the door shut and turned around into his house to pack with an uninterested expression.

"I will without you." He muttered under his breath.

"Ah~, don't be so mean. It was funnier when you actually got flustered by all kind of comments." A voice pointed out from no-where-in-particular.

"Like I care what you think" The raven head responded with equal blankness.

"See what I mean?" The zanpaktou-hollow noted.

"You know… I hate how sometimes your hollow side comes out more than your zanpaktou one."

"Like I care what you think."

"Touche."

Ichigo was actually pretty happy by now –in contrast to his earlier mood in having to think about his family. Talking to Tensa, he remembered the first time he heard him 4 years ago. For a second there, he thought it was a dream. After all, he did lose his shinigami powers after defeating Aizen. And for them to return 8 years later, was actually satisfactory.

'It's been 12 years since the war…" He thought solemnly, yet nostalgically "10 years since I left home right after I finished High school. And even now I feel betrayed. Was I thrown to the side because I was useless? Will they try to use me for their battles if they know my powers came back?'

All those thoughts passed his mind more than once, and now he was actually glad he had gone to a new plain of existence after his dangai training and no one could feel his reiatsu.

"It's not raining is it...?"

"No it's not…" 'But there's no sun anymore' Tensa thought silently.

Sighing and feeling down, Zangetsu couldn't help but think that his welder was in a bad state even if it didn't rain anymore. Ichigo rarely even scowled anymore, let alone smile. Even if he didn't want to, he just hoped someone recognized him. It would do him some good.

#1#

The next day, Ichigo woke up before his alarm because he needed to leave early so as to not arrive late in Karakura town. He started loading his car with boxes full of books, notes, storyboards, erasers and cases with clothing and other stuff he would need.

When he finished loading the car, he left the garage and went to take a shower before leaving. Once he showered he changed into black jeans, dark blue, long sleeved, button up shirt hanging loosely instead of being tucked in, and black shoes.

Once he was done, he took a last glance at his house, locked the doors, made sure to close all the windows and made his way to the garage and drove away; leaving the city behind and taking the road.

After a long drive, he started to see a familiar sight. Buildings that started to make him feel nostalgic, streets that made him think of so many memories. He searched in his pocket to find the address Mizuki had given him only to pale at seeing he knew right away where that was.

Around the corner from the clinic.

"Just my luck." He muttered grouchily.

Taking the familiar route to his new house, he drove into his driveway and inside the garage.

He sighed, getting off the car and stretching since it had been a long ride. He scanned the empty garage and sighed once again before walking towards his trunk.

"Great, now time to unpack."

The house wasn't as big as his house back in the city. But he liked it more than the old one. It had four bedrooms -a master bedroom and three others with barely enough to be considered habitable- three bathrooms -one connected to the master bedroom with a big tub and the other two scattered throughout the house- a homey living room, a kitchen the same size as the one they had in the Kurosaki household, and the most important part, a big studio with shelves and various books.

"This is better than I thought." He spoke absently "Though there're too many bedrooms. It's just me, why would I need three others?"

Seeing as he hadn't eaten dinner, he went to the kitchen to try and find something to eat. Entering the kitchen, he opened the fridge to find nothing, the drawers, and nothing; as well as every single place in the kitchen, empty.

"They couldn't have filled in my kitchen…? Oh well, let's go shopping."

Grabbing his keys and heading towards the door to go shopping he left his house behind and walked through familiar paths. He had gone to the market where he used to go when he lived there, and was surprised to find someone he knew so soon.

Inoue and Ishida were shopping, though what really surprised him was the baby bump that Inoue had.

'Wow! Never expected that one. Good thing I dyed my hair black or I would have been caught right away.'

"Maybe you should greet them."

'I don't think so, I'm okay how I am now. I'll be leaving in a month anyway.'

He was about to walk away to continue his shopping when he overheard the orange-haired women speak to the raven head. He continued grabbing his things, but also kept an ear on the conversation.

"Ne Uryuu-kun, maybe I can cook tonight and make you something special."

Ichigo looked back to see a smiling, but nervous Ishida trying to get out of letting her cook and couldn't help but feel a twitch of his own lips trying to do their best to smile.

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

'So she still cooks weird.' He thought amusingly.

Ichigo couldn't help but smile slightly at hearing his friends so happy. He was glad they had gone on with their lives too.

(Someone inside Ichigo's inner world was smirking at the success he suspected. He was happy that Ichigo had smiled even if barely noticeable.)

Ichigo, not really noticing where he was going, suddenly bumped into Inoue which almost fell on her bottom if it weren't for Ishida that caught her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm such an air head. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"No, it was my fault. I'm sorry."

Turning around in a hurry before he was discovered, he went to pay and leave.

Or tried to anyway.

"Kurosaki?"

His eyes widened in shock but he stayed still and didn't turn to look at the Quincy. He suspected the man had a calculative gaze plastered on his face and was actually scared to find what he expected.

"Don't be silly Uryuu-kun, Kurosaki-kun doesn't have black hair."

Narrowing eyes at the unresponsive black haired man he had in his grasp, Ishida couldn't shake the feeling that this man was their long lost friend – the fact that he had yet to respond in any way made his suspicions increase.

On the other hand, Ichigo couldn't breathe without feeling he would choke. He felt terror thanks to the possibilities that passed through his head. So many unrealistic outcomes coming to mind, it wasn't shocking that he stated to panic.

'I can't let him know it's me. He'll tell the others. They'll notice I got my powers back. They'll think I'm useful again, they'll-'

"It is you, isn't it?"

Looking back to see Ishida again, he couldn't help but feel his breath hitch in his throat. And before he could process anything, he shook off of his friend, and ran away; hearing the pleas from Inoue and Ishida to stop.

He didn't know what to think. Why did he run? Why did he feel such terror at being discovered? He wasn't afraid of them. So why? Why did he feel so betrayed, lonely and hurt?

Why…?

To be continued…

Hope you like it and thanks in advance to those that have favorite, followed or reviewed.

(Note: Revised version. Edited -grammar, redaction etc. - 27/03/15)