title: The Next Lifetime, chapter 2

spoilers: with the current developments, it's not very likely for there to be anything past about 418
blabber: Thanks for all those who reviewed, favorited, and put this story on alert. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It took a little longer than I planned, as this story is just kind of evolving as I write it.

Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite, Shueisha, and quite a few other people. Just not me.

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"What do you mean she doesn't remember? How is that possible? That parakeet remembered Chad!" Ichigo said, clearly quite flustered and upset by what Rukia had just told him.

"A parakeet that remembered Chad? What the?" she replied, clearly confused by what Ichigo was saying. "Look, no one's ever guaranteed to remember anything from their previous life. Actually, it's pretty rare for people to remember anything more than just a few details. Anyway, we don't have enough time to be getting into Inoue's situation now. Yamamoto-soutaichou wanted to see you as soon as you get here. We can talk about it after that."

"Stop the bullshit, Rukia. We'll talk about it now. I don't care if I'm supposed to be somewhere."

Rukia looked at her old friend to see a familiar expression from him. He didn't look very different than he did that morning when they'd learned that Orihime had been taken to Hueco Mundo. She'd gotten to understand, just slightly, Ichigo's feelings for the girl when she'd seen him so depressed after first encountering the arrancar. It didn't completely surprise her to hear that Orihime being injured trying to help him would be the problem that it was, but it was when she saw that look on his face when he promised to protect her that she knew he was serious. Her thoughts were confirmed at his reaction on that other morning, when Ichigo had even dared to yell that the captain-commander.

After defeating Aizen, it was hard for her to see the Ichigo that emerged. He may have looked like he was okay after a few months, but she could see that little bit of dullness in his eyes that he was trying to hide. She'd, of course, push him and tell him that it wasn't his fault, that it was Orihime's choice to trade her life to protect this whole world, especially him. She even told him how well she got to know Orihime during their month of training in the Soul Society and part of that was coming to understand how much she wanted to protect Ichigo. She'd told him it hoping that it would give Ichigo some piece of mind, but it had to opposite effect. To her, it even seemed like it strained their relationship a bit.

Rukia didn't have much time to attempt to make things better, she was soon promoted, taking Renji's place as the vice captain of the 6th division. Slowly, due to a combination of Ichigo projecting his emotional state onto his relationship with her and how busy she'd gotten as a vice captain to her strict brother, she fell out of contact with Ichigo.

"I promise, Ichigo. I'll tell you when it's over. You've held onto this crappy mood for sixty years, I think you can last another few minutes."

That was just the problem. Ichigo didn't want to hold onto it any more. He was dead now and so was Orihime. He wanted to get over this state he couldn't completely shake for the past six decades.

"You better make good on that promise," Ichigo said with a stern and serious tone.

"Do you think I would have promised you if I wasn't going to live up to it?" she asked with a smirk. "What kind of friend do you think I am?" Ichigo didn't have much time to answer Rukia's question, as they were outside the doors of the first division when she finished talking.

He looked at the doors with a sense of dread. Whatever was behind there, he knew, was not going to be good. The celebrations that he assumed were being planned–likely by Matsumoto so she could have an excuse to drink–were not going to be lurking behind those doors. As he pushed the doors open and entered, it was just as he thought, a private meeting with Yamamoto. With Rukia trailing behind him, Ichigo walked up to the captain commander, and waited for what the old man had to say.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," the old man bellowed. "Without your final attachment to your human life, you have finally become a true shinigami. However, now that you are a citizen of the Soul Society, you can no longer do as you please if you wish to call yourself a shinigami. It is imperative that you join the Gotei 13. Otherwise, we'll have no choice but to contain you."

Ichigo's scowl deepened. Of course this was going to be what they needed to see him for.

"This is about my hollow, isn't it?"

"It's simply a matter of safety, Kurosaki Ichigo. If you chose not to be part of the Gotei 13, where we can closely observe you, we cannot allow you to roam this world freely."

This was the last thing he needed. He wanted to start his new life. He wanted answers about Orihime. He didn't want to re-tread over this petty nonsense that seemed to follow him around.

"I'll join your damn Gotei 13, but not because you're forcing me to. I want to be a shinigami and protect innocent people from hollows. Is that all you need to say?" Ichigo asked, his impatience clear in his tone.

"It is not. Now knowing that you will become a shinigami, I would like to offer you a position as captain."

"Ten second ago, you were saying I was a danger to the Soul Society, now you're saying that you want me to be a captain?"

"Your power, as potentially dangerous as it may be, cannot be ignored. Ukitake Jyuushiro's illness has worsened considerably in the years since the battle with Aizen, and he is now at the point where he can no longer perform his duties as a captain. He has been waiting for your arrival to fully retire and wishes for you to take his place. The other captains have also agreed that you will be a satisfactory replacement."

"Ukitake-san wants me to take his place?" Ichigo asked incredulously. Yamamoto simply nodded in response. He'd grown to understand how respected the senior captain was, and at the moment, he wasn't exactly sure if her would do any good for the 13th division. He wasn't kind and charismatic in the same way Ukitake was, and he wasn't sure if the squad would welcome such a change in their leadership. "That's a really big hole to fill, isn't it? I… um… I guess I'll do it. No, I mean, yes, definitely, I'll become captain of the 13th division."

"Very well. There will be a formal announcement ceremony tomorrow, and you will officially begin your duties."

So it's really that simple? Ichigo thought.

"Uh, just one more thing," he hesitantly asked. "Where will I be sleeping tonight?"

"Even without a formal announcement, your agreement for the position makes you captain. That means that you're welcome to the captain's quarters within your division. Your haori should also be there. Any more questions?" the elderly commander asked with an impatient tone.

"Um, no, that's it."

"Kuchiki-fukutaicho, if you would please show Kurosaki-taichou back to his quarters."

"Yes, Yamamoto-soutaicho," Rukia said with a short bow before turning to leave, Ichigo following close behind her.

She was a little surprised when their trip to his new quarters was silent. Before they went into the meeting, Ichigo had been eager to hear any kind of information about Orihime, yet now he followed behind her in complete silence. Though short, the meeting that had just happened was certainly enough to cause a whirl of emotions in Ichigo, enough to make him set aside any further questions about Orihime for the moment. "We're here." Rukia was the first to speak when they reached the door of his quarters. "It's your new home."

Ichigo opened the doors to a large open space, which was certainly much larger than the apartment that he'd last called home. It was probably even bigger than a whole floor of his father's house. It seemed a bit barren overall. Ichigo figured that it was probably more full when it was Ukitake's residence.

Out of what little furniture was there, he could see that there was a package on the desk. It was the only thing on the surface. He walked over to see what had been left there for him. Carefully tearing the paper, he could easily see a portion of the black diamond outline. With a few more tears, he could see his haori. There it was, sitting in front of him, the most visible symbol of his position. Now there was something tangible to make the situation real in his mind.

"So you're not going to ask me about Inoue?" Rukia asked as she watched Ichigo hold up his new haori.

"I was getting to that," he replied in his usual grumpy tone. "I just want to know about her life here and what she's like. That kinda stuff. I mean, she doesn't remember her past life, but does that make her any different? Could she ever regain her memories?"

"There are things that feel familiar to her, but she'll never regain her memories. In using all her soul's power to the point of death, she arrived here having given up that part of her, but she's not really different from how you remember her. Her powers are the same, too. She even managed to become the 4th division vice captain in about ten years. I guess even without her memories, she's still very much the Inoue you knew."

"That's good." It was all he could think to say. Of course, he felt relief knowing that she wouldn't be different from the Orihime that he'd carried in his memory, but he was still reeling from the notion that she wouldn't remember him or anything that had happened to her. He'd lived the past sixty years of life hoping that, at least once he died, that he'd have the opportunity to apologize to her.

"And, Ichigo, when you do see her, don't say anything about her past. It may not seem like such an issue to you. All it will do is overwhelm and burden her, and it won't change anything."

"I understand," Ichigo replied with a low tone. "Rukia, I kinda just want to be alone right now, okay?"

"Okay, Kurosaki-taicho. I will see you at the announcement ceremony tomorrow," Rukia replied coldly. At this point, she'd been reminded of why he was so frustrating to talk with in the aftermath of Aizen. Something in him had kept him from allowing himself to accept what had happened. Despite an indifferent front, a sadness had stayed within in for far too long, and it was at the point where Rukia knew that the only person who could make a difference didn't remember any of it. Still, knowing the Orihime that she knew now, Rukia held out hope that maybe, even without her memories, that she could do something for Ichigo, because it was still so hard for her see him like that.

Ichigo, weary from an emotionally trying day, did little more but find his bed and rest until the announcement ceremony. Despite the many thoughts circling through his head, it did not take him long to fall asleep.

It didn't seem long before he was awoken by a message that had been encoded to a hell butterfly. It told him to meet in first division office for the announcement ceremony over and over again, until he woke and dismissed the damned thing.

Getting up, he straightened out his shikahusho, hoping that it was enough to hide the fact that he'd slept in his uniform. He threw on his haori as he walked out the door, ready to head to the first division headquarters. Somewhere between the divisions, it occured to Ichigo that it was very possible that Orihime was going to be there. She was a vice captain, and Rukia, also a vice captain, was also going to be there. In an instant, he went from being annoyed about the whole idea of an announcement ceremony to feeling completely anxious about seeing Orihime for the first time in over half a century.

He arrived at the doors of the first division headquarters, stopping in front of the massive doors, and took one last deep breath to calm his nerves before opening the doors.

Walking in, it was easy to see that all eyes were on him, and he tried his best to scan the room of largely familiar faces to try and find the one that he really wanted to see. He tried to quickly look for Unohana, but he was quickly interrupted by Yamamoto.

"I believe it is time to commence the accouncement ceremony." With that, the captains moved from their jumbled gathering into two lines, which Ichigo stood at the end of. "As many of you are aware, due to the escalation of his illness, the captain of the 13th squad, Jushiro Ukikate has asked to retire from the Gotei 13. At his request, we were told to consider the ryoka Ichigo Kurosaki, who was not long for his world. There were no objections to this inquiry, as his skills have proven themselves to be the standards of a captain of the Gotei 13. Upon his passing from his human life, a proposal was extended and accepted. And so, we do hereby officially appoint former ryoka Ichigo Kurosaki as captain of the 13th division."

A brief applause followed before the captains came up to greet him. He said his pleasantries, certain that later that day there would be an opportunity for a less formal meeting. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that familiar tone of auburn hair. Not wanting to seem eager to talk to her, he waited as Renji, who was now captain of the 5th division, teased him at length about how he looked in a haori. His patience soon paid off as Unohana was finally in front of him, her vice captain just behind her. Unohana said a few words of congratulations, before motioning to Orihime.

"As you may notice, my vice captain has changed since our last meeting. Isane-san is now teaching an intermediary course in healing at the academy, and Inoue-san has taken her place."

"I've heard a lot about you, Kurosaki-taicho," she said in her usual cheery tone. He'd missed hearing her say his name, though he knew that taicho suffix had to change. "It's a bit strange to try and greet a new captain in this manner, since I usually get to see captains when they visit our facilities. I hope not to see you in the 4th division, but not too often!"

With that greeting, Ichigo had no idea what exactly he was going to do, but he knew that he needed to get closer to her, and the warmth she exuded, than he had been in his previous life.

. To be continued.

This time around I do have one final little note. I just want to say it outright that I do not plan on having Orihime regain her memories. This story was really inspired by my interpretation of the five lifetimes, one love speech that no matter who Orihime is or what she does, she'll fall in love with Ichigo. Of course, the twist here being that this Ichigo is really still in his previous lifetime with a bit of baggage and yadda, yadda, yadda.