A/N: I recently ventured into the Bleach section of this site as I had run out of things to read in my usual hunting grounds. After my adventures in that section of FanFiction this idea for the start of a story was rolling around in my head and I was eventually forced to write it down. I'm sure other people who have published things on this silly site know what I mean. The idea just bounces around inside your head incessantly and putting it to paper is the only way to exorcise it from your thoughts.

So here you go. Enjoy it or don't. I just needed this out of my brain.

Sókyoku Hill, The Day of Rukia's Execution And Aizen's Betrayal

"Why?" Captain Ukitake asked as Aizen slowly ascended higher into the negación light.

"To seek greater heights." Aizen replied as though it were the most obvious answer in the world.

"Have you really fallen so far Aizen?" The white-haired man asked with a scowl.

"Do not kid yourself Ukitake-taichou. No one was standing in heaven to begin with. Not you, not me, not even god. However, the unbearable vacancy of heavens throne ends now. From now on...I will stand at the top." Aizen lectured as he slicked his hair back and shattered his glasses with a slight squeeze of two fingers.

Aizen smirked at the stunned faces of everyone and opened his mouth to say farewell when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

The sky above the execution ground cracked in a manner similar to that of a garganta. Only instead of the recognizable black tear in reality opening up it was instead a swirling purple and black portal that warped into being.

Aizen raised his hand up and signaled for a stop; he was curious about whatever this new development was. The three traitorous captains stopped ascending just before they reached the top of the protective golden light.

All parties stared at the portal in confusion and anticipation with their breath hitched. None of them had ever seen anything like it.

A single object shrouded in a combination of black, blue, and red reiatsu rocketed out of the tear in space and crashed into the ground directly below the triangle of light pillars. The multicolored object was obscured in a cloud of dust and rock as the ground shattered from the impact.

The shinigami officers on the ground gripped their swords tightly and Aizen looked down with a carefree smile as they all waited for the dust to clear from the mysterious objects impact.

Aizen's smile slipped into a frown as he heard a quick and very short buzz sound come from within the dust.

Sonido.

Aizen spun around and his eyes widened slightly as he saw what he assumed was a Vasto Lorde floating in the air in the space between Ichimaru, Tōsen, and himself.

The creatures mask wasn't particularly unique. A simple design of a demonic skull with two large horns pointing forward and a pair of black lines streaming down over the face. The part that was astonishing however was that the creature was wearing a shihakusho that looked remarkably similar to that of Kurosaki Ichigo's. Not only that, he was also wielding a zanpaktou that appeared to be a longer, spikier, version of the boy's bankai.

Aizen allowed his gaze to briefly fall down onto the orange headed boy he had just crushed effortlessly not two minutes ago.

Ichigo was still lying on his stomach in a small pool of his own blood as he stared wide-eyed at the new arrival. It seems the similarities were not lost on him either.

The Vasto Lorde opened it's mouth and roared loudly causing the area to suddenly flood in a dense wave of hollow reiatsu that forced many of the weaker onlookers to fall to their knees and clutch at their chests. The gillians up above that were maintaining the negación light panicked in the presence of a far stronger hollow and immediately started to retreat back into the safety of Hueco Mundo.

The golden pillars vanished and the three floating rocks the defecting captains were standing on began to plummet back down to the earth. Aizen, realizing his escape route was closing quickly, jumped off his pedestal towards the closing garganta up above. He'd ponder over the existence of what this creature was later. For now he had to get away from soul society and the captain-commander.

He was only a few feet from safety when the masked creature appeared in front of him with the fastest sonido he'd ever witnessed and kicked him in the chest sending him hurtling towards the ground.

"Aizen-sama!" Captain Tōsen screamed. The blind man drew his sword and charged the hollow with a look of fury on his face.

Tōsen raised his sword high and brought it down hard, planning on sinking it deeply into the hollows skull.

His body froze however when the creature simply held one finger up and stopped the blade mid-swing.

Tōsen began to sputter and tried to think of something to say when the creature started to laugh.

"Oh man you should see your face! I've always wanted to do that! Goodbye Kaname." The creature said. It's voice a distorted version of Kurosaki Ichigo's.

With it's second hand the being gripped down hard on Tōsen's arm as a blindingly bright red cero began to rapidly charge between its two pointed horns.

"Wait! Wait!" Tōsen pleaded as he struggled against the vice-like grip on his arm.

The cero unleashed at point-blank distance, completely consuming the upper half of Kaname Tōsen and continued to stretch across the sky for hundreds of meters. Tōsen's terrified screams were muffled out by the distinctive vroom sound that all who had seen a cero fired were familiar with.

Down below a wounded captain Komamura cried out in anguish at the death of his lifetime friend and tried to lift himself off the ground to go avenge him. He was stopped when the captain commander gripped his shoulder tightly, sending a silent message of 'Wait for now. We will deal with this intruder in a moment.'

The masked being released his grip on the now severed limb he held and immediately sidestepped to the right to avoid a long sword from running him through. Ichimaru Gin retracted the blade and changed his stance in preparation to try again.

Ichimaru sent the mental command for his blade to extend again when he suddenly found himself face to face with the beast and staring into a pair of yellow iris's behind the mask.

"Now now Gin. Don't misbehave. I'm pretty neutral when it comes to you. Sit down, don't get involved, and I'll actually let you live." The being spoke.

Gin's narrow eyes opened slightly and he adopted a look of confusion. It was quickly replaced by one of pain as a punch to the stomach blew all the air out of him. The masked being watched impassively as Gin was launched away from the force of the hit and almost grinned at how easy this was turning out to be.

He felt a presence appear behind him and quickly swung his sword around to clash with Aizen's blade. The air split and a great shockwave was produced from where the two swords collided.

"Who are you?" Aizen questioned. His face no longer smug and serene but one of barely contained anger. "Why have I never seen you in Hueco Mundo? Why do you bear such incredible resemblances to Kurosaki Ichigo?"

The being just laughed as the swords pushed against each other. "Come on Aizen. You're smarter than that. There's only explanation." He raised his free hand up towards his mask and tilted it upwards slightly to allow his opponent to see his face. "...because I am Kurosaki Ichigo!"

Aizen was silenced and his eyes widened further as he looked upon the visage of a much older Ichigo. At the very minimum he was a decade older than the one lying on the ground down below. The older Ichigo's sword suddenly erupted into black and red flame-like reiatsu and Aizen jumped away as he felt the attack coming.

"GETSUGA TENSHO!" Ichigo roared.

"Bakudō #81: Dankū!" Aizen countered.

The black and crimson wave of energy that exploded from Ichigo's sword was only stopped by the kidō barrier for a fraction of a second before the defensive wall shattered and the attack continued on toward it's target.

Aizen capitalized on that split second delay however and managed to jump out of the way allowing the dangerous tidal wave of energy to pass him by.

Aizen skidded against the air as he stabilized himself using the ambient reishi present all around him. 'Impossible...No one has ever been able to break-'

He was startled out of his thoughts as the older Kurosaki appeared directly above him and silently fired a second wave just as powerful as the first. Aizen screamed as the reiatsu scorched his skin and the attack pressed him downward until it hit the ground and detonated.

Aizen pushed himself off the ground and tore off the tattered remains of his burnt haori. He looked around and saw the other captains watching the battle intensely, waiting to intervene if an opportunity provided itself. He started calculating possible avenues of escape when his opponent descended from the sky looking rather gleeful at Aizen's predicament.

In that moment Aizen's anger finally got the better of him and the last vestiges of control escaped him. "NO! I will not be stopped! Not by the Gotei 13, not by any hollow, and most certainly not by you Kurosaki Ichigo! I don't care anymore how there are two of you! JUST DISAPPEAR! HADŌ #91: SENJŪ KŌTEN TAIHŌ!"

Ten bright pink shards of energy materialized all around Aizen and launched in unison towards the older Ichigo. The masked man made no move to dodge and willingly let the ten points of light connect and then explode in a terrific light show that completely obscured his form.

Aizen smirked triumphantly as his attack connected head on and then raised his sword in preparation for attack from one of the captains on standby.

"You know Aizen...I suppose I should congratulate you." A familiar distorted voice called out. "You won. Your plan worked. The war, the Espada, overthrowing the Soul King, it all worked just as you planned." Ichigo said as he stepped slowly and ominously out of the dissipating pink light with nothing more than a few scratches.

For the first time in over several hundred years Aizen felt fear begin to invade his mind.

"For 14 years I had to live in your new world. 14 years of my allies and loved ones slowly being killed as you picked us off like insects to play with for your amusement. I lost everything to you Aizen."

Ichigo appeared directly in front of his foe and stared directly into his eyes. "...you should've killed me when you had the chance."

Ichigo swung his sword upward to place a deep gash across Aizen's torso, from his hip up to his shoulder. Aizen attempted to parry the move by blocking with his sword but his effort was only met with his sword being cut in half right before his eyes. Blood spurted out of Aizen's body and the man gasped in pain at the first wound he had ever received since becoming a shingami officer.

Ichigo grasped the momentarily stunned man by his shoulder and launched him into the air like a ragdoll. Ichigo followed his opponents trajectory with his hand and a golden spark of kidō ignited on his fingertips.

"Bakudō #61:Rikujōkōrō!" Ichigo chanted smoothly. Six thin but wide beams of light appeared and slammed into Aizen's midsection and froze him in place. The sudden jolt of being stopped from flying through the air snapped the man out of his stupor and he immediately began to strain against his bindings.

Knowing that just one binding spell would not be enough to hold Aizen for more than a moment Ichigo immediately followed it up with two more. "Bakudō #63: Sajō Sabaku! Bakudō #79: Kuyō Shibari!"

A thick golden chain constricted tightly around Aizen's upper chest and eight black orbs with purple lining appeared around him with a ninth one hovering in front of him.

Aizen's struggling ceased and the man began to panic as he realized he was well and truly caught for the time being.

"I hope you enjoy this next move Sōsuke...I made it just for you." Ichigo said softly as he sliced his own palm open with his blade, getting the necessary blood onto his weapon for his next technique.

Aizen seemed to have some vague idea of what Ichigo was about to unleash and he grit his teeth together as he pushed harder against the imprisoning kidō.

"GETSUGA..." Ichigo began. His blade now coated in a torrent of black and bright red reiatsu.

Aizen pushed his own spiritual pressure against the bindings and was rewarded when two of the beams from the rikujōkōrō fractured and began to fall apart.

"...GRAN REY..." The reiatsu around the blade exploded in length and it extended behind Ichigo for several meters.

Aizen pushed harder against his restraints. The remaining light beams all fell away and the golden chain began to crack. However, the nine miniature black suns still held strong.

"...CERO!" Ichigo swung his sword forward with both hands and unleashed a cataclysmic level attack into the sky above.

"NO! IT'S NOT FAIR! I ONLY WANTED TO-" Aizen screamed in futility as the attack enveloped him completely, reducing his body down to the particles that made it up.

When the light finally died down there was nothing left of Sōsuke Aizen beyond the Hōgyoku that was in his pocket which plopped down on the ground with a little chink sound.

Ichigo approached the little orb on the ground and picked it up to inspect it. There was a teensy little crack on it but besides that it was in pristine condition. You would not even notice the damage if you weren't looking for it.

Ichigo whistled in appreciation. "Damn Kisuke this thing really is practically indestructible..." he mumbled to himself before pocketing the device.

Several people descended all around him in a circle. The captains of squads one, two, seven, eight, and thirteen all stood menacingly with their hands on their weapons. Ready to draw on a moments notice. At least they tried to look menacing. Komamura looked like he could barely stand and the other three who were not Yamamoto all looked incredibly nervous about this confrontation.

"Identify yourself." The captain commander demanded.

Ichigo ran his hand over his face and his horned mask dissolved into particles. "Weren't you listening Jii-san? I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. It doesn't really matter though...It should be happening any moment now." Ichigo said as he adopted a peaceful expression and looked towards the sky.

"What will be happening any moment Ichigo-san?" The 13th captain asked with a friendly tone, although with his hand never loosening the grip on his sword.

"Just one more moment Jūshirō. Then I'll be out of your hair." Ichigo closed his eyes and took on a stance as though he were approaching his own end.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Ichigo san?"

Ichigo opened his eyes and looked at his own hands in amazement. "I don't understand..." he mumbled.

"Kurosaki! My patience is wearing thin. Explain yourself now! Why do you claim to be the same ryoka boy that is lying over there being healed by his friend? Why do you have a hollow mask and what exactly are you waiting on? I am not in the mood for games!" Yamamoto said sternly as he steeled his eyes on the young man in front of him.

"Okay! Okay! No need to get so angry Jii-san. It's bad for your health. I don't need you dying on me again. I don't get what's so hard to believe about me being from the future but it should be obvious by this point that that is the truth of the matter. I'm confused because Kisuke Urahara told me that once I had come back in time and defeated Aizen then the timeline I came from should no longer exist. I should've vanished alongside it moments after Aizen was killed. I don't understand why I'm still here..."

"KUROSAKI!" roared Captain Komamura. "Why did kill Tōsen! Surely with your power you could have spared him! To end his life so easily is-"

"I killed him because he was the enemy Sajin." Ichigo interrupted. "I haven't intentionally spared an enemy in 12 years and I'm certainly not going to start with that murderer. He killed friends of mine. He killed friends of yours. In fact he's actually the one who killed you."

Komamura pounded his fist into the dirt in frustration. "That's...that's..."

"Umm If you don't mind me asking myself Kurosaki-san. You sure do seem to be familiar with all of us. Were we really that close in this future of yours?" Captain Kyōraku interjected.

Ichigo laughed. "Of course we were Shunsui. I can't even begin to count the number of drinks you, me, and Stark have shared over the years. When Jūshirō was killed the three of us were drunk for two days straight." he finished somberly.

"Stark?" the man questioned.

"Oh! That's right! You haven't met him yet. He's a seriously powerful arrancar who defected from Aizen's ranks into our own after some stuff happened that I really don't want to talk about. Gosh I really can't believe I'm in the past. Still seems like all a dream...Don't worry though Shunsui you're gonna love him. He's even lazier and more carefree then you are."

"Oh...I see..." Captain Kyōraku said as he put on an awkward smile at the idea of having an arrancar as such a close friend.

"Kurosaki. Get back on track. You haven't answered all of my questions." Yamamoto said as he tried to recapture the conversation.

Ichigo sighed. "Look Jii-san I wasn't expecting to even be here at this point. I really did think I was simply going to fade away alongside the timeline that produced me. Can't we do this tomorrow? Call a captains meeting or something so I don't have to explain all this stuff over and over to everyone. I'll give you the whole run down. How the war went, who died and in what way, the arrancar that Aizen has already gathered, what's the deal with my mask, other unfortunate shit that went down, I'll talk about it all. For the moment though I really feel like I need to go speak with those guys over there." Ichigo finished talking and pointed his thumb in the direction of his past self and the companions he had brought with him.

Yamamoto gave a nod of his head and tapped his cane. "Very well. But that meeting will be in three hours. Not tomorrow. Do not be late Kurosaki. If you are then I will hunt you down myself."

Ichigo ran his hand through his hair in annoyance. "Yeah yeah I got it old man. Always such a stickler about punctuality..." he grumbled.

Yamamoto turned to leave and with him the rest of the captains did as well. Kyōraku and Ukitake did so with small smiles, Komamura looked incredibly depressed and broken, whilst Soifon just seemed annoyed at Ichigo's existence in the first place.

Ichigo waited for them all to leave before he turned in the direction of his younger self and all his friends simply staring in his direction. In a single flash-step Ichigo bridged the distance between the two instantly and stood in front of them.

"Yo! Hope we're all doing okay over here. So...how much of that were you all able to hear?" he asked lightly, trying to keep the mood jovial and upbeat. This was no doubt weirder for them than it was for anyone else.

"Enough." Uryū said as he pushed up his glasses.

"Future Kurosaki-kun is so cool! Not that normal Kurosaki-kun isn't cool too!" Orihime yelled while holding her fists up in excitement.

"How did you...with the mask..." Present-Ichigo said from inside Orihime's healing barrier. The boy still too shell-shocked from this whole scenario to say anything more.

Chad remained silent ad stoic but gave a big thumbs up to future Ichigo to show his support.

Future-Ichigo chuckled at the different reactions of his past friends and lit up the tips of two fingers with a spark of kidō. "Damn I really missed you guys... I suppose that since I appear to be here to stay we've got some stuff to talk about. Hope the rest of you don't mind but each of these should be done in private. Just be patient for your turn. Lets start with my favorite smug condescending beautiful bastard shall we?"

Ichigo snapped his fingers and released the kidō he was holding. Five simple orange rectangular barriers appeared, trapping him inside a small isolated room with Uryū.

"You're going to start our conversation by insulting me?" Ishida questioned.

"Hey. I said you were my favorite. That's the important part. Focus on the positives. Now I'm afraid I have some good news and bad news for you Uryū. Good news is this. Congratulations. You get your powers back. I don't know the details but your father does. All I know is he helped you the first time around. The bad news I'm afraid is much larger. That's really all I have to tell you. You were one of the first casualties in the war. You got your powers back and then took on an opponent you really shouldn't have. Originally you died not three months from today."

"I see..." Ishida mumbled with a hand on his chin as he processed the information. "So you picked me first because our conversation would be the shortest?"

"Basically. It really is good to see you again though Uryū."

Ishida said nothing more and gestured a request to leave. Ichigo waved his hand and a chunk in the center of one of the barrier walls swung open like a door.

The quincy walked out of the opening and a moment later was replaced by Chad who had to duck to enter the small room.

Ichigo chuckled as the silent giant was forced to sit down to avoid bumping his head on the ceiling. "Sorry about that Chad. In hindsight I should've made the room bigger."

"It's alright Ichigo."

"God...I barely recognize you Chad. Still wearing your hair over your eyes huh? Trust me, the ladies like it more when they can see your face."

"I'll be sure to remember that Ichigo." Chad replied in a deep monotone.

"Well go on then Chad. Ask whatever you'd like. I'm all ears."

Chad gazed downward and seemed to sink into his thoughts. "Should I assume I was involved in the war you talked about as well?"

"Yes."

"You told that Aizen guy that you lost everything right?"

"Most everything yes."

"How did I die?"

"Actually...you didn't. At the end there were only eight of us left that had any real power. You and I were two of them. All the other survivors in our camp were normal humans or shinigami with so little strength they really aren't worth mentioning. In fact the future version of you almost came back along with me. Something happened last minute though and...well it doesn't matter anymore I guess."

Chad looked at his right arm and clenched his fist tightly. "So I will get stronger?" he asked with determination in his voice.

Ichigo smiled. "You got way stronger Chad. Way way stronger. I've seen your power evolve at least six or seven times. You almost had a full body armor thing going on in the last sparring match the two of us had. If I'm honest though Chad I'm doubtful that you'll be able to reach that level of strength again. We were at war. Each of our friends were dying one by one. You got stronger to protect those that were still alive. Now that the war has been prevented you won't need that power. You can worry about mundane things like homework and getting a job. Of course if you want to get stronger regardless of that then I'll be happy to help you train."

"Thanks Ichigo."

"Of course. It's no trouble. We'll talk about it more later. Do you think you could send Orihime in next?"

Chad nodded silently and stood up as Ichigo once again recreated the door.

Fast-forward half a minute and Orihime bounded into the room with her usual cheery disposition and bright honest smile. For the first few seconds both parties were silent. Orihime looked at future-Ichigo expectantly waiting for him to start the conversation while Ichigo simply stared at her with half-lidded eyes. Drinking in her whole form. After awhile Orihime realized the way he was staring at her and she began to blush and squirm under his gaze.

"Um...Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo realized what he was doing and snapped himself out of it. "Sorry about that Orihime. It's just...I never thought I'd see you again. It's been so many years. You're just as beautiful as I remember you."

Orihime's blush increased from both the compliment and the casual use of her given name. "No no It's alright future Kurosaki-kun...I don't mind." she protested as she waved her hands in front of her.

"Please Orihime. Call me Ichigo. Or future-Ichigo if you really want to keep distinguishing between the two of us like that."

"O-Okay future-Ichigo." she said as though testing the unfamiliar name. "What did you want to talk about?"

Ichigo smiled. "I'm going to help you get him." he stated calmly.

Orihime looked confused. "Get who future-Ichigo?"

"The other me. The one outside this room no doubt getting annoyed that he gets his turn last. I'm going to help you make him yours. You're in love with him right? That's why you joined him to save Rukia? Because you'd do anything for him?" Ichigo asked.

Orihime turned the color of a bright red tomato and she began to stammer out denials over the accusation. Ichigo thought it was one of the most adorable things he'd ever seen.

"There's no need to hide it from me Orihime. I'm from the future remember? Besides I can tell you that your feelings for him aren't unrequited. That boy out there may hide his emotions behind a brick wall but trust me he does have them. He may not be 'in love' with you right now but he does like you. Certainly he's attracted to you. I remember what I was like at that age. I use to think it was somehow degrading to my female friends if I admitted to myself that they looked good. Like it was somehow immoral to ever look at them as a woman instead of just as a friend. What an idiot I use to be."

Orihime folded her hands in her lap and stared towards the ground. Her embarrassment not allowing her to raise her eyes. "So...Kurosaki-kun likes me? Does that mean future-Ichigo likes me too?" Oriihime then imagined a fantasy of two Ichigo's attending to her and she had to hide her face in her hands as her blush came back with a vengeance.

Ichigo sighed and his mood noticeably dropped. "Look Orihime...I'll tell you the truth. You were killed around four years into the war. I have no doubt that I was in love with you. You were the kindest, most caring, and most selfless woman I've ever met. Not only that but the sex was incredible..."

Orihime 'eeped' in embarrassment.

"...but when you died it destroyed me. Shattered me into a million pieces. I almost gave up on living entirely. I existed without purpose for months. However...after some time...someone was able to piece me back together again. You will always be my first Orihime but she is the one who saved me when I was at my lowest. She is the one whom I married and wanted to have children with. So I'm afraid the answer is no Orihime...I don't feel the way I once did about you. In my heart there's only room for her. Do you understand?"

"I do future-Ichigo." she said, her eyes slightly misting from the story.

"But we're getting off topic now. All I really wanted to say to you is if you ever need help knocking some sense into the other me then I'd be happy to oblige. I'm sure between the two of us we can convince him to see what an incredible woman is waiting right in front of him."

Ichigo stepped forward to the auburn haired beauty and caressed her cheek softly before planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Thank you Orihime. For everything. Even if you don't remember most of it. Please send in the idiot me when you leave."

Orihime nodded with a big smile and a sniffle. She stepped one foot out and then turned as if to say something but she must have thought better of it because she silently turned around again and left.

Ichigo needed to only wait for ten seconds before his past self shambled in through the doorway. Still wounded and fatigued despite spending several minutes under Orihime's healing powers.

"Good lord look at you man! You can barely walk. Just ask your hollow to regenerate you already. This is pathetic."

Past-Ichigo scowled. "I don't know how to do that! And you should know that because you're supposedly me! I didn't even know about that hollow bastard until I fought Byakuya an hour ago!" he yelled at his older self.

Future-Ichigo opened his mouth to retort but stopped midway. "...Oh yeah. Sorry about that. 14 years is a pretty long time to remember the little details. I didn't make friends with him until after Rukia was saved."

"You're actually friends with him? That monster tried to take over my body!" Past-Ichigo said in surprise.

"Of course I'm friends with him. He's practically my brother. He'll be your friend too if you just give him the chance and be polite. What you have to remember is he didn't ask to be trapped inside someone else. He's bitter about it. You would be too if the situation were reversed. Letting him be in the drivers seat every now and again is a pretty small price for the power he offers us."

Past-Ichigo huffed and grumbled to himself. "...I'll think about it."

"Good. Now there are actually a number of bombshells I want to drop on you but in hindsight I really should let you hear them from someone other than me. So next time you see our idiot father tell him that you want to know everything about the Shiba's. He may try and dodge the question so make sure you press him on it."

"The Shiba's? Isn't that Ganju and Kukakku's last name?"

Future-Ichigo smiled. "Yes. Yes it is."

"Bu why would the old goat face know anything about them? He doesn't even know about soul society or me being a shinigami."

"I think you're going to soon realize that the old man knows a lot more than he lets on. But once again, it's better if you talk to him about it. I can see your literally about to pass out from today's events so I'll cut our conversation short and we can continue tomorrow. There is one thing I want you to promise me right now though. Actually It's more of a demand really."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Past-Ichigo asked with an annoyed look. Not liking to be given direct orders from anyone.

"Once all this is over, after you've gone home, rested, and have addressed the situation with your hollow, I want you to take Orihime out on a date."

Past-Ichigo's jaw dropped and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "What! What are you some kind of perv! Why do I need to do that!"

"Because younger more stupid version of me, you like her and she more than likes you. When I was in your shoes she and I danced around each other for way too long before I finally grew a pair and made a move. So I'm gonna be clear here. It's not wrong to think of her romantically or sexually. It's not rude nor degrading. Being noble is overrated. There's a beautiful girl nearby waiting for you to grab her and hold her close. Why do you think she followed you here to soul society? It wasn't for Rukia I'll tell you that. Also I'll tell you the same thing I told her if it makes any difference. The sex is incredible..."

"YOU TOLD HER WHAT!" Past-Ichigo screamed as he went beat red.

"Hey now. No need to scream. God was I really such a prude back then?"

"YOU CAN'T REALLY BE ME! THERE'S NO WAY I BECAME SUCH A PERV!"

Future-Ichigo rubbed his temples in frustration. This may take a little longer than he thought...

Two Weeks Later….

Future-Ichigo, who now went by the name Ichigo Shiba to avoid confusion with his younger counterpart, was currently laying on the roof of a building in the seireitei totally relaxed and half-asleep as he listened in on some shinigami below talk about mundane unimportant things.

He'd have to say this past two weeks had gone rather well. His past self and all his friends had returned to the human world with promises to stay in touch and he had successfully carved himself out a permanent stay in soul society as an ambassador of sorts to the arrancar who now ruled Las Noches in Hueco Mundo.

Over the course of several meetings with the remaining captains and the captain-commander Ichigo gave intricate profiles on the Espada and the other arrancar and he was confident that if he played his cards correctly he would be able to secure peace between the two.

Espada's 2, 5, 9, and 10 would probably end up needing to be eliminated for their violent and sadistic tendencies but the rest should conform and be happy to not go to war. Numbers 6 and 8 were a bit of a coin toss but Ichigo was able to convince Yamamoto to not hunt them down for the time being. He had grown to like Grimmjow in his past life despite the mans abrasive nature and Szayel seemed like he could become a valuable asset that would be a shame to simply kill off.

He also managed to save the life of Ichimaru Gin by convincing the others that the man was secretly a double agent after Aizen's life the whole time. While he was at it he also told them that Mayuri Kurotsuchi was a double agent who was secretly on the side of Aizen. That last claim may not have actually been true but Ichigo always hated the clown so fuck him. The sadistic fucker experimented illegally on members of his own squad in secret and there was no way that wasn't high treason. Especially when it almost always ended in their deaths. Ichigo knew he'd never be able to prove the actual crimes that Mayuri committed so he made the best out of a situation where the other captains were temporarily taking his word as gospel.

The fact that Mayuri tended to skip captains meetings only made it worse for him when he wasn't available to defend himself.

"Oy Ichigo! What are you doing up here?" A familiar voice called out to him.

Ichigo cracked an eye and saw the petite form of Rukia Kuchiki jumping down next to him. "Just hanging out." he replied.

"I almost didn't see you. How did you hide your reiatsu so completely?" Rukia inquired.

"Just a little trick I picked up over the years."

"I see. So...any particular reason you're 'just hanging out' over the Shinigami Women's Association?" Rukia asked knowingly.

"Her reiatsu comforts me. You know that." Ichigo responded as he closed his eyes again and felt a cool breeze pass through his hair.

"Oh ho? And you can actually single it out among all those women down there?"

"Absolutely. I'd know it anywhere." He answered as he turned lazily onto his side.

"Any chance you're going to tell me who it is?" Rukia asked as she elbowed him lightly in the side.

"Definitely not." Ichigo answered with a small grin.

Rukia huffed. "I don't see why you wont just go talk to this woman you claimed to be married to."

"Because it would be wrong." Ichigo stated matter-of-factly. When he saw Rukia wasn't convinced he sat up and looked her straight on. "Look Rukia. I know pretty much everything about this woman. Her likes, her dislikes, her family, her dreams and her secrets. I know her insecurities. I know everything she's proud of in herself and I know her favorite ways to make love. I have all this intimate knowledge about her but she doesn't know anything about me. If I tried to force a relationship on her using this knowledge to my advantage then It would be nothing more than manipulation. I can't do that to her. I need to wait for it to happen naturally. If it even happens at all."

Rukia looked skeptical. "But if you don't ever approach her then how is it ever going to happen naturally?

Ichigo opened his eyes again and looked annoyed. "Rukia I told you I was married in my old life in confidence. Don't force this issue."

"I already have." she said with a wide mischievous grin and then pointed in the direction behind Ichigo.

"Huh?" Ichigo gasped before he turned around and spotted the tip of a microphone being held up through a high window nearby that had likely just captured the private conversation. Ichigo paled and started to sweat.

"Bye Ichigo! You can thank me later!" Rukia said as she then quickly fled the scene.

"Wait Rukia! Damn it come back here!" He yelled to her retreating form. Ichigo jumped over to the nearby window to snatch the microphone when he realized it was connected to a long black cord. Ichigo's eyes widened in horror as he traced the black cord to it's origin point. The microphone was feeding into a pair of speakers that had announced his story to hundred's of shinigami women in the large hall.

Many of whom were now looking at him with cartoon hearts in their eyes.

"Shiba-sama! Is it me? Am I your wife?" A girl Ichigo had never seen before called out.

"No It's me! Shiba-sama loves me!" another one yelled.

"No way it's you! Not with your body being like that." A third said

"What did you say you hag!" the second girl bit back.

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he watched fangirls bicker over being the hypothetical object of his secret affections. "Later I am definitely going to kill Rukia for this..." he promised himself.

Ichigo jumped down into the room from the high window and ran his hand through his hair. "Arggggghhhhh stop! Would everyone please stop shouting! Why do so many of you care about this?"

A petite voice spoke up. "Um...well...um...people have been in a pretty depressed mood ever since the betrayal led by Aizen-taichou. I know that I've certainly been..." 5th squad lieutenant Hinamori trailed off as her expression darkened.

"What she's trying to say is people need something light-hearted to talk about. A beautiful romance story about our new captain-class shinigami is just what the doctor ordered!" 10th squad lieutenant Matsumoto finished. "So who is the lovely maiden who stole our Ichigo's heart?"

Several women Ichigo didn't recognize all lined up after Matsumoto's statement and struck seductive poses. Showing off their curves and assets of various sizes.

Ichigo put his hand over his face and heaved a big sigh. "Alright...fine. I suppose this is happening."

Ichigo walked with purpose to the center of the room. At first it seemed like he was going straight for the line of women who were posing for him but to all of their disappointments he simply pushed straight through them.

He moved through the crowd slowly, leaving saddened women behind him, until it was clear who he actually was approaching. More than a few people gasped when they realized his intended target.

Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu sat in the corner of the room smiling as she turned the page of her newest book. She was far too absorbed in the story she was reading to be anything more than vaguely aware of what the other women in the huge room were up to. Something to do with Ichigo Shiba's love life. They should really leave the poor man alone. His business was his own.

"Isane."

The shy girl's concentration was broken from her book as she heard her name called. The silver-haired woman looked up in confusion and saw that Ichigo was standing above her and offering her his arm.

"Take a walk with me?" The orange-haired man asked politely.

Isane looked around and saw that most of other women in the room were staring at her with either anger, jealousy, or a genuinely happy smile. Her sister Kiyone in particular was giving her two thumbs way up and was practically bouncing in excitement.

"Oh...um..alright." she said nervously from all the stares.

As the second love of his life hooked her arm through his and the pair slowly ambled out of the building Ichigo had never been so glad that Urahara had been wrong about him disappearing.

Life was turning out to be pretty good.

A/N: If you enjoyed this then leave a review I guess. If anyone wants to continue this storyline on their own please feel free to. As I said before. I just needed this out of my brain.