Disclaimer: Well, I promised you an alternate ending, and here it is. Be prepared for tears, my friends; it'll be a sad one. Or, it will be if you cry easily. Oh, and also! I've got the first chapter of the sequel of this story posted! It's called The Hollow Stone! Please check it out!

St. Mark's School For Men

Alternate Ending

Byakuya felt as if something was calling him, or someone was calling him, but he just couldn't hear it clearly. Shrugging, he turned back to his book, which was surprisingly good, and ignored all other outside forces.

"I dont understand. I have to die? What does that mean?" Ichigo asked the Voice, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

You have to let go. You have to allow yourself to float freely; you need to give up all that holds you to the mortal world. Only then can you be free, and when you are free, you can be saved.

Ichigo thought about it, feeling a slight tugging at his temples. The spots tingled, as well as his arms, but he ignored it. "Well, that doesn't sound so bad. You said I'd be saved?" He asked, the slight tingling turning into an insistant burning sensation.

Yes. You must die. The Voice was turning fainter; it was getting harder to hear.

"What? I couldn't ge-OW!" He shuddered, the burning growing more intense with every second. It felt like a thousand needles were digging into his skin! What was going on?!

Ichigo tried to hold onto the fire around him; he tried to stay within that fire waterfall, but the burning was forcing him awake. He felt blinded by a sharp light shining right into his eyes, and heard a slight "pop!" accompanying each pull on certain spots of his body. His limbs felt weighted, he could barely move, yet he somehow managed to move his head to the side. He saw Orochimaru disengaging suction cups from his skin.

"Oh, you're awake, are you? That won't do at all." Orochimaru smirked, looking behind him.

Ichigo, with an effort, followed his gaze, yet tiny black spots were intruding upon his vision.

"Give him 30 more miligrams of the solution; that'll knock him out some more. I'm already drawing his youkai energy into the compartments. Start preparing for the transfer."

Ichigo felt a burn in his arm, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of his skin stretching tautly over his body, stretching beyond its limits. He was slowly fading; even he felt it. He heard a morose sound behind him, a small sound of protest, but it didn't potrude farther past the thick layer of pain surrounding him.

Orochimaru watched the Kurosaki kid's dull eyes flutter for a few seconds, before falling to conceal the deadening eyes. Taut limbs loosened, and all the tension in the room seemed to release. Orochimaru turned, and saw Aizen standing with two needles connected to two containers, filled with some blue essence.

"Are you ready, Orochimaru?" Aizen asked, handing him a needle. He pulled a strap of rubber onto his left arm, using his teeth to tie it and pull it taut over his forearm, before inserting the needle into his prominent vein. "Erg." He breathed, feeling a burn as the energy traveled into his bloodstream. Then there was only the feeling of pleasure, of vigor and youth running through him. He had to force himself to go slow, to not inject the energy too fast, lest it kill him. Next to him, he heard Orochimaru grunt, but he ignored him.

When at last both needles had finished injecting the last of the energy, Aizen breathed a sigh and threw the needle to the ground, along with the container. He felt so alive! He was full of energy, full of something amazing! He heard a gasp from the snake, and turned, studying the reformed man. Orochimaru's dark hair now shone in the light with new vigor, and his once pasty skin now glowed with health. Even his eyes were less dull.

"A-Aizen! You look like you're in your twenties again!" Orochimaru breathed, admiring that tan skin, that glossy hair and those vivid eyes. No more wrinkles, no more blemeshes. He looked so good!

"I know. I told you that energy would work." Aizen smirked, before noticing an absence of beeping. He turned to study the monitors connected to the teenager, sighing. "Great; he's dead. Orochimaru, dispose of the body. Wait, actually, just leave it. Burn this building to the ground. We can't have any evidence left."

Orochimaru nodded and pulled some matches out of his pocket. Aizen turned and walked out, relishing how his limbs no longer ached with age. He walked back into the school, and heard the distinct sound of weeping. It was coming from Byakuya Kuchiki's room. He shrugged. I wonder what his problem is. Actually, no I don't. I no longer care about anything; I have what I've always wanted. Eternal youth!

That day, and that night, as everyone in the school watched the "storage" building burn to the ground, the youkai mourned. They felt the loss of their King keenly, and tears were shed as they felt their own bodies burn with his. It was horrible. But no one felt the loss as keenly as Byakuya, who wished dearly he'd paid more attention to that odd sensation he'd felt earlier.

And that's the end. It's short, I know. But you get the gist. Ichigo would have died, and the bad guys would have won. Whatever. So, review, won't you? And don't forget to check out Hollow Stone, the sequel to this, please!

Ayame