Disclaimer: I never have and never will be the owner of Bleach. I only manage to create fiction off of fiction, nothing more, nothing less.

Update: Some new material was added to the chapter during its revision.

Enjoy the Chapter

Prologue (Revised 6/9/12):

Ichigo felt a muscle twitch in his upper jaw for the umpteenth time as he paced in the tiny room that the shinigami guards had shoved him into earlier that morning.

He must've been crazy to think that the Soul Society would just let him leave after all he'd done. You didn't just waltz into the Soul Society with a couple of friends, break down all of their defenses, defeat multiple captain-ranked shinigami, illegally save a girl from execution andthen just waltz back out.

A ryoka, let alone a human ryoka with powers that rivaled a Captain's own wouldn't be allowed on his own after something like that.

Of course, he hadn't been thinking that earlier. In fact, for some crazy reason, he'd had the notion that everything was as right as rain. He'd saved the girl and, well, attempted to stop the bad guy (he didn't really want to think about that fiasco right now) and so it seemed reasonable to assume that he'd be heading back home for a well deserved entry back into normalcy.

Right? Wrong.

Ichigo had only made it two steps towards the Senkaimmon meant to take him out of the Soul Society before that woman captain, Soifon, had appeared at his side and snapped a reiatsu blocker to his wrist without so much as a by your leave.

He'd barely managed an outraged, "What the- ?" before he'd been pulled away from Orihime, Chad and Uryu, led through the maze that made up the Goteii 13 and placed in the damn holding cell he was in now.

At first he'd thrown a huge tantrum; kicking at the door, swearing loudly, threatening to rip through the entire Goteii 13 again, the whole shebang. But a few hours of no response had him simmering down to a low boil.

The bracelet Soifon had snapped around his wrist blocked any power he had to punch through the walls around him and the guards outside were either deaf or simply didn't care about the number of profanities the youth they were guarding knew.

So he'd begun pacing back and forth across the tiny space, forcing himself to think about the situation calmly. Chad, Orihime, and Uryu hadn't been confronted like him, so hopefully they'd been allowed to go home. They were safe, and that was one less thing to worry about. And hopefully Yoruichi was pleading his case to the shinigami, whatever that case may be.

After all, aside from tearing through the Goteii 13 like it was tissue paper, he'd always been fairly responsible with his powers and it wasn't like he was planning on breaking any more rules in the future.

Although, he thought, freezing momentarily. There were those few minutes during his fight with Byakuya that he'd lost his control completely. Ichigo touched his face slightly, thinking of the mask he'd had to rip off.

Maybe he wasn't so safe to be around after all. And maybe Byakuya had told everyone else about that incident. He took in a shaky breath.

The door opened and a man Ichigo recognized as Rukia's Captain walked in quickly. Ukitake Juushiro.

He dropped his hand from his face immediately, "Ukitake, what's going on?"

The captain looked uneasy, but he attempted a smile, "Hello Kurosaki-san, sorry to keep you waiting for so long."

"So am I allowed out of here then?" Ichigo demanded, skipping formalities.

Ukitake sighed, "I'm afraid that's not going to be possible Kurosaki-san."

A growl rose in his throat as he stepped closer to the sickly man, "Why the hell not? Your Head Captain never charged me with anything, and it's time I went home!"

Ukitake winced at his tone of voice, "I know you're upset, Kurosaki-san and I'm terribly sorry for the confusion. Head Captain Yamamoto only placed the order to detain you a few minutes before you were due to leave."

"Want to tell me why?" he snapped impatiently.

"It has been decided that you are too much of a threat to be left unsupervised," Ukitake began gently, explaining, "Kurosaki-san, you hold power that rivals some Captain-class Shinigami. It would be unwise to leave that powerful of a resource untrained and left as a Substitute. "

So this wasn't about his episode with Byakuya then.

His relief at that fact almost overcame the anger he felt at hearing the rest of that sentence. Almost.

"What does that mean? You guys want to train me?"

Ukitake winced again, "Not exactly."

"Then what? Whatever it is it can't take long, summer is almost over and when it is, my life starts up again. I have to go to school and help my dad at the clinic. I can't just stay in this cell forever!"

"The order's been released to kill you."

Ichigo's blood turned cold and he took a step back from the man before him, suddenly more than aware of how powerful the fragile-looking man actually was. Ukitake could kill him in a second while he was defenseless like this.

Ukitake held up his hands quickly, "Oh no, it's not like that, Kurosaki. I'm only talking about your human body. Captain Yamamoto has ordered that it be destroyed immediately. You see, a Substitute Shinigami can't be trusted to fully understand the rules and guidelines that the Goteii 13 follows, let alone follow them himself. As a human they have too many connections to the human world and they can easily be pulled from duty. Normally this can be overlooked, but because of your power and our current situation the Head Captain feels it would be best to have you become a full Shinigami immediately."

His look of horror was still frozen on his face.

"Is that supposed to be acceptable to me?" he demanded, outraged. "Do you people honestly think I'd be okay with this? What the hell are you thinking? There's no damn way I'd join your group if you killed my freaking body!"

Ukitake looked somewhat miserable himself, "I understand your frustration, Ichigo. And I apologize that you fell into this for trying to save a member of my division. But this is in consideration of what's best for the Soul Society. A unit from the Onmitsukido has already been sent out into the Human World in search of your body. It's only a matter of time now."

If only there were a more reasonable way of expressing disbelief, outrage, and horror in one facial expression. As it was, Ichigo only managed to look mildly constipated.

"Are you people insane? If you kill me, I will NOT join you, or help you at all for that matter! In fact, I'm pretty sure I'd feel the need to kick your ass!"

With a troubled expression, Ukitake continued hesitantly, "I'm afraid it isn't that easy, Kurosaki-san. When one dies and comes to the Soul Society, they lose all memory of their previous life. Once your body is killed, the connection that makes you human will be lost and you will undoubtedly forget that any of this ever happened."

"What?" Ichigo cried out, even more alarmed than before. He'd forget everything? His family, his friends, the whole freaking arc he'd just gone through to rescue Rukia?

Despair began to build and he felt light-headed. Sitting on the bed, so not to collapse completely, he stared desperately at Ukitake, "What about my friends?"

"They were allowed to leave peaceably, although they put up a mild fuss after you were taken. I believe there are orders to erase their memories once they've arrived back in the world of the living," the Captain said gently, "they'll be left alone after that."

"And my family?" he asked.

"Their memory will have to be altered as well. Everyone will be left to believe you accidentally died somehow."

Silence ruled the room for the next few moments until Ukitake sighed, "I apologize again for putting you through this, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo didn't even bother to respond.

He was going to be freaking killed. His friends and family were going to forget him. He was going to end up serving some crazy old grandpa for who knew how long, and he wouldn't even be able to remember how much they'd already screwed him over.

Ugh. That was the last time he played the hero. Although, he thought in despairing amusement, he wouldn't remember his sworn promise not to. With his luck, his stupid dead self would run off to save someone at the first moment.

And worse, he'd be doing it without his friends, who wouldn't even remember him, except for maybe Urahara, and Yoruichi.

Thinking of those two brightened his thoughts. They both worked outside of the Gotei 13, both were incredibly powerful, and he liked to think both of them wouldn't just let Ichigo be whisked away without a fight.

He let out the breath he'd been holding.

Old Hat-and-Clogs wouldn't just leave him to die.

Everything was going to be okay.

Kon walked down the street idly.

He was admittedly bored. The excitement at getting to be in a human body, even one like Ichigo's had long since warn off in its novelty. Now, he was just ready to get back to doing his own thing.

And suddenly he was surrounded by twenty ninja shinigami.

Freezing in midstep, he swallowed drily, "Uhm… Can I help you?"

A young woman flickered into his vision. She was short, but still not too bad on the eyes. He managed to remain somewhat calm until he noticed her familiar haori.

Crap! A shinigami Captain was standing right in front of him…. Along with twenty lackeys! He was dead meat!

He backed away from her hesitantly, raising his hands up in defense, "Now, now. Surely we can talk about this—" he started feebly.

He didn't even see a flicker of movement before he felt something dangerously sharp pierce his body twice.

"Damn," he muttered feebly, before his body fell to the ground and his capsule rolled out of its mouth. Ichigo's body died within seconds.

The Onmitsukido squad and Captain disappeared immediately after.

A few seconds later a desperate Urahara shunpoed onto the scene. Taking a look at the body he realized he'd been too late.

"Well… shit."

Ukitake watched Ichigo uncertainly. He'd expected more yelling, perhaps even some furniture throwing, but surprisingly Ichigo had calmed down.

He opened his mouth to say something comforting, but snapped it shut a few minutes later. What could he say? The boy was about to be killed. And he was far too young to easily accept the reasons.

Hey, sorry that we're going to have to kill you soon and take you away from everything you love. But, you know, being a full-time shinigami won't be too bad. Dental's good.

Or.

Can I get you a book to pass the time? A glass of water? I wouldn't want you to be too bored while we wait for the others to kill your body.

Suddenly, the door of the cell slammed open and two guards collapsed inwards as Yoruichi stormed in, "Alright Ichigo, I'm here to get you out of here. Don't worry, I told Urahara to watch your body."

Ukitake allowed himself to feel a small amount of hope for the boy. After all, he wasn't a cruel man and the 16 year old before him deserved to live out the remainder of his human life before being sucked into Soul Society politics. Ichigo jumped to his feet and exclaimed, "It's about ti—"

The boy froze suddenly, his expression going slack as he fell flat onto his face with a loud thump. Immediately a huge surge a reiatsu rushed collectively through the room in an instant backlash of what Ukitake could only assume was the boy's death. Both he and Yoruichi stood stock still, letting the impact of the moment fully sink in.

He cautiously turned to the form of the former Second Division Captain. She was known to explode into rage when upset and this had most definitely been upsetting.

He'd rather not become the scapegoat she used to beat her frustrations out on. It would undoubtedly be an unpleasant experience.

She looked surprisingly calm considering.

"Shihoin-san?" he asked hesitantly. He froze when she directed a calculating stare in his direction.

"Yes, Captain Ukitake?" she asked pleasantly enough, causing him to swallow.

"Are you well?"

"Probably not," she admitted. "But after I punch in a few skulls, I imagine I'll feel ten times better."

Seeing his horrified look, she continued, "Don't worry, Ukitake-san. You're not on that list just yet. No, I was thinking of two a little more closer to home."

Yoruichi's eyes had picked up a certain feral quality as she continued talking, slowly turning to the she walked out completely, she added as an afterthought, "Watch after him," she gestured towards the unconscious Ichigo, "while I'm gone. And don't think I'm going to let the Soul Society brainwash him completely, I'll most definitely be back."

And with a faint swish, the Goddess of Flash was gone to extract an undoubtedly painful vengeance.

He released a faint sigh of relief. His pity went out to the two poor souls she had mentioned. If the killing intent he'd felt coming from her as she talked was anything to judge by, they wouldn't be getting off lightly.

The sound of faint snoring interrupted his musings and brought his attention to the boy on the floor.

In his death, he already looked years younger than his living self, as all souls did when they first entered the Soul Society. It was a guilty reminder that he was only 16 years old, an incredibly young age for a newly created soul.

The Gotei 13 had enforced the death of a child so that it could save its own skin.

He felt the weight of his own age bearing down heavily at the thought. But he had learned how to push his guilt back into the recesses of his mind a long time ago. There wasn't anything more he could do about it.

For now it would be best to get Ichigo off the floor. From that backlash of power earlier, he probably needed to be checked out at the Fourth Division. It wouldn't do to have him be unintentionally injured after all that they'd already put him through.

Clearing his throat, he called out softly, "Kiyone, Sentaro. You can come out now."

His two stumbling Third Seats fell out from behind a wall panel into a sobbing mess on the floor, "We apologize for following you, Captain! We only hid in the interest of your welfare!"

He prevented from rolling his eyes, "Yes, yes. Would you be so kind as to take Kurosaki-san to the Fourth Division? And try not to jostle him too much please."

Kiyone jumped to her feet, "Captain! I would be happy to do so! Thank you for giving this responsibility to me personally!"

Sentaro rapped her over the head, "Idiot! Can't you see that the Captain was clearly asking me to do it? You could never handle such an important task!"

He sighed quietly, interrupting them before they got too carried away, "Would both of you kindly do it, please?"

They saluted smartly, "Yes, sir!"

Grabbing Ichigo quickly they ran out the door, arguing about who was the better carrier the entire way. "And don't forget to not jostle him please?" Ukitake hopelessly tried once more.

When he was entirely alone, save for the two incapacitated guards Yoruichi had handled earlier (who wouldn't be getting up for quite some time), he thought some more about Ichigo's situation.

The boy had obvious talent, and because of Capt— Aizen's betrayal he would be rushed through the academy so that he could be placed in a division quickly, if not placed in a division from the start.

For both his and Yoruichi's consciences he did want to look after the boy, so it'd be best if he could place him in his own or even Shunsui's division. That way he could keep a decent eye on him. The fact that the child was made of particularly good Vice Captain material, well, that didn't hurt his interest either.

Of course, he wasn't the only Captain who'd want the powerhouse. Off the top of his head he knew that Kenpachi, Kurotsuchi and Kuchiki already had strong interest in the boy specifically. And everyone always competed some when a new potential high-ranking shinigami passed through training. He shuddered just remembering the struggle everyone went through when Shiro-kun first showed up. Of course, the boy was promoted to captain so quickly there really wasn't much of a chance for the Captain of 10th to rub his victory in before he was run out of house and home.

Ukitake took a deep preparing breath. Between Kurosaki and Aizen, things were sure to be busy for a good while. As it was, he couldn't waste any more time.

Urahara had known it was coming. He had realized it the moment he had seen Ichigo's dead body. But that still didn't mean he was ready for it.

He raised his hands up defensively as he backed away from the feral woman in front of him, "Now, now, Yoruichi. Surely we can talk this out?"

She gave no response except to take another looming step forward.

He gave a weak chuckle, "Come now, you know I didn't mean for Ichigo-kun to get killed."

A cat's low growl shot across the room.

"You hardly gave me enough warning here," he whimpered, "and how was I supposed to know the Soul Society would move so fast? Normally there is soo much bureaucratic tape."

Apparently the excuses weren't good enough, he realized, as Yoruichi's form shot across his vision.

Well, shit.

He seemed to be thinking that a lot lately.

Soifon suddenly felt incredibly giddy. She frowned at the feeling, analyzing it critically. Emotion rarely escaped her tightly drawn reigns of control, and when it did it usually revolved around one of two things. Her precious Yoruichi-sama or Yoruichi-sama's horrid, despicable, undeserving, lazy, stupid fiend of a friend, Urahara. That easy-going, no-good, stuck-up bastard.

Normally any emotions felt towards the latter were distinctly negative, and yet, her instincts told her she felt giddy over that piece of trash. She thought about it a moment more before smirking victoriously, suddenly identifying the emotion exactly. It was the feeling one got when their enemy was being humiliated in the worst way imaginable.

She could only hope the emotion was whole-heartedly accurate. There was a good probability it was, her instinct rarely lied about such things.

She returned to walking with a bounce in her step, not for once thinking that in precisely three hours and thirty seven minutes when one unfortunate shopkeeper had been swept up, she would experience a similar fate.

To be continued.

Author's Note: Here's an idea that's been building up in me for a while now. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Tell me what you think!

Thanks for reading,

StrictlySomething