Together Again

By: Hitokiri Musei

Rated: K+

Summary: "Let's be together again, in the next life." Sequel to Together. Hints of HichiIchi.

Warnings: AU, post-war, and next life scenario. This is a direct sequel to my story "Together." If you haven't read that, you'll probably have trouble with this one. Hints of yaoi, but not really a lot.

I had someone ask for a sequel, and this is what came to me. I hope ya'll like it!

I don't own Bleach. I cry.

Rukia had not been there long when she was joined by Orihime and the others from Karakura. The black-haired shinigami felt her heart breaking as she heard Orihime start crying quietly, placing her face in her hands and looking away from the sad sight before them. Tatsuki looked at the curled figures with sadness in her dark eyes, tears filling them slowly.

"I should have been here…" Orihime sobbed. "I could have saved them…"

Ishida reached out to put a hand on the girl's shoulder, his own face somber and sad. "Orihime, this isn't your fault…"

The girl turned, flinging herself against the taller's chest and sobbing into his shoulder. The Quincy blinked in shock at first, but then wrapped an arm around her shoulders, allowing her to cry against him.

Chad wasn't far behind them all, and he closed his eyes sadly, shutting out the image of Ichigo curled up against his Hollow. "I wish I had been here to help. Ichigo always trusted me to have his back, and I wasn't here."

Rukia smiled wryly. "Even if you had been here, he wouldn't have let you help him, for fear of you getting hurt."

Tatsuki snorted through her tears. "Yea, that's Ichigo all right."

A large warm hand decended on Rukia's shoulder, and the black-haired girl raised her watery violet eyes to look into Renji's saddened face. "Come on, Rukia. We need to take them back to the Soul Society. That way they can have a proper sending off."

"I don't…" the girl looked back to the couple. "I don't have the heart to move them."

All was silent for a moment, and then Chad sighed faintly. "I would rather have Ichigo put to rest in Soul Society then here in this place. I can carry one of them, but someone else will have to carry the other."

Everyone there knew that Chad was perfectly capable of carrying both of them, but they also knew that the large man didn't want to carry them over his shoulders, which would be what would happen if he had both. He wanted to be able to preserve Ichigo's dignity, and carry the man in his arms.

Renji stepped forward, Zabimaru's bankai vanishing as he sheathed the sword. "I'll carry Shiro. You take Ichigo."

Chad nodded, glad that the redhead had agreed to let him carry his friend. Ichigo was one of his best friends, and he wanted to be the one to take him home. He moved forward, followed by Renji, who crouched on the other side of the two.

It took them a moment to actually reach down and begin to untangle the two bodies. Shiro, ever Ichigo's protective Hollow, was wrapped around the orange-head even in death, trying to keep him safe. Ichigo was cradled in his careful grip, and the orange-head had curled into that protective embrace.

Chad sadly began the task, carefully moving Shiro's arm from where it was wrapped around Ichigo's waist, unlocking his fingers where they were gripped around Ichigo's wrist. Renji performed the task of untangling their fingers, carefully allowing Shiro to fall back into his grasp as Chad managed to get Ichigo away from him. Both bodies were limp and heavy, reminding both men of the finality of death.

Ichigo looked tiny and childlike, cradled in Chad's arms like that. Tatsuki was reminded sharply of when they had been young, when she had first met Ichigo in the martial arts gym, holding onto his mother's hand with a huge smile on his face. She looked away, more tears falling down her cheeks, her heart thumping.

Shiro was the same, but even in death the Hollow seemed to retain some of his protective and hostile air around him. He was a white copy of Ichigo, and with those frightening and exotic gold/black eyes closed, his enormous presence shrank significantly, making him appear as small as Ichigo did. Renji held him carefully, almost reverently against his chest.

Rukia sighed. "Come on, you guys. Let's take them home."

The rest of the group nodded, and they walked across the sands to where the gates were being opened to take them home to the Soul Society, and away from the death and destruction of Hueco Mundo.

Ichigo and Shiro had been honored like true heroes for their services in the war. Both had been formally accepted and recognized as true shinigami, even though Shiro was a Hollow. Because of the services that the both of them had performed, whether it had been separated or as one, Yamamoto-soutaichou had been willing to honor them both.

The shock that had moved through the Soul Society at the death of the great and widely known shinigami-daikou had been swift and sad. Ichigo's memorial service had been large and almost a Soul Society wide event, many people coming to honor the orange-headed shinigami who had been involved in their lives in some way. It was a shock to see how many people Ichigo had touched in his years as a shinigami.

The captains had even been humbled by this experience. Rukia had been in shock when her Nii-sama, Byakuya Kuchiki himself, had bowed his head as the bodies of Ichigo and Shiro had passed him, bending at the waist in a gesture that was never seen from such nobility. Other captains, such as Hitsugaya Toshiro, Ukitake Juushiro, Unohana Retsu, and Kyouraku Shunsui had gone to one knee in respect, though all captains had bowed to the two.

Rukia had felt a flow of pride and happiness through her heart at the sight of the memorial for Ichigo and Shiro. She knew that both of them would have wanted to go out this way, honored and recognized for who and what they were, and for their accomplishments.

Later that night, the memorial had turned into a party all night in the Seireitei, honoring Ichigo's life. There was drinking, games, and story-telling, and all throughout the darkness Ichigo's life was celebrated. Though there were tears and hugs, everyone was smiling and glad that they had known the explosive orange-head.

He had been a friend to remember, and a hero that all of them had been waiting to see for some time. He had given them so much, and never asked for much in return, and they were happy to have had him in their lives, so all night they made the Soul Society shake with their celebration of him.

And, in honor of the protection that Shiro had given Ichigo, and that the both of them had give to all of Soul Society, they were laid to rest side by side up on Soukyoku Hill, where they could always watch over the Seireitei.

Rukia, Renji, and Hitsugaya had taken up the task of going to Ichigo's family, who was anxiously awaiting news of him. When the war had escalated even more, the orange-head had finally had to come clean to them, and let them know where he was going. When all three shinigami had showed up on his doorstep, Kurosaki Isshin had known in his heart what had happened.

Yuzu and Karin had been beside themselves, and Karin had cried for the first time in many years. Isshin himself had felt the sadness, but restrained himself, telling his twin daughters that Ichigo had given his all to protect them, and that he had truly lived up to his name. Staying strong for his daughters, the former shinigami taichou had held the two close, smiling and thanking the three for coming to him personally.

Because there was no body in the real world, as Ichigo had gone through the Reishihenkanki, converting his entire body to spirit particles in order not to leave his body in the real world for a long period of time with Kon, Isshin and his family had been formally invited to attend the festivities in Soul Society, and all three had joined in the celebration and memorial services.

All of Ichigo's friends could only help but smile as they watched his father stand in front of the endless group of shinigami, once more proudly wearing his uniform, only to ruin the dignity of the moment by cheerfully and hilariously recounting some of Ichigo's most embarrassing moments. They knew that Ichigo would no doubt want to be up there beating the hell out of his old man, but they also knew that the orange-head would have laughed along with them.

And every year after the war, for one night the Soul Society was lit up in celebration for the one man who had shaken their foundations. One man and his Hollow.

Ichigo Kiryoku was startled awake in the middle of the night, his chocolate brown eyes flying open to stare at the darkness of his ceiling. His hand stretched out automatically to his right, and encountered the slightly cooler skin of Shiro.

The orange-headed 15 year old rolled over, slipping up against the body of his twin brother. Shiro groaned, and then opened his golden colored eyes, looking down into the orange hair of his twin. "Wha's up, Ichigo?"

"A dream. Fighting…" Ichigo shivered slightly. "Hollow?"

A grin twisted Shiro's features. "Ya finally remembered, eh King?"

Ichigo looked up at his brother, and then grinned in response to the others. "Yea. Yea, I did, Shiro." He laughed lightly. "Well, we said we would be together again in the next life, right?"

Shiro snorted. "And ya thought that I was lyin' didn' ya? I told ya in our last life; yer my King, and I ain't gonna leave ya alone."

Ichigo grinned, laying his head down on his twin's, his Hollow's, shoulder. "I wouldn't want it any other way, Shiro."

Kiryoku means inner strength.