This is a small one shot that was bouncing around in my head that I had to get out because it can't fit in with the plot of my other Bleach story and I was getting the two mixed up sometimes. It's also my first attempt at writing fluff, so I've done a weird type of formatting. There's going to be a line break in the story like the one after this note. That's where I originally planned to end this, but I decided to add fluff. That's what comes after the break.

All characters and images are owned by Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump Magazine. I don't claim ownership over anything.

"Mugetsu."

With a single word, a massive wave of darkness raced towards Aizen. As it drew closer, what could be described as his face didn't change. At the last moment, he reached out a hand and swatted Ichigo's last hope away like it was a fly. As Ichigo's hair regained its natural color and his mask wrappings shattered, he could only gape in horror at what happened.

"You were a fool, Kurosaki." Aizen said as he walked toward the kneeling teen. "You thought you could challenge the power of the hogyoku and this is the result." By now Aizen had reached Ichigo who looked up with dead eyes. His one chance to finally defeat Aizen had failed. He had failed. "You were an interesting experiment," Aizen continued "but you have run your course." He raised his blade above his head and swung down at the substitute shinigami.

"Guah!" Ichigo's eyes shot open. "Hah hah haaaah" Once his breathing was back under control, he looked around to see where he was. It didn't take long for him to recognize the walls and ceiling of his room. In a rush, memories came to him. He remembered fighting Aizen. Having to use the Final Getsuga. It had only been a week ago, but he could already feel the consequences of using it beginning. It was already getting more difficult to see spirits; soon he would be just another human.

Looking at the clock told him it was a little before 5:00 AM. Realizing that he wasn't going to get any more sleep, he decided to go for a run in hopes that it would help him clear his head. Doing his best to not wake his sisters and avoid his father, he got dressed and headed out.

He let his mind wander and thought back on his adventures as his feet carried him wherever they wanted. It's funny. he thought to himself. I've never wanted to be able to see ghosts, and once I became a shinigami, that feeling multiplied. But now that it's gone, I miss it.

The sound of splashing brought him out of his thoughts. He realized that he had ended up above the riverbank where his mom was killed. At the edge of the river another early runner was washing off, but the early morning mist made him hard to make out.

The figure stood up and turned around. The woman, he corrected himself, looked at him before calling out and causing an unwanted shudder.

"Hey Ichigo. I didn't know you ran this early." Tatsuki called out. Even through the mist, it was hard to mistake Ichigo's hair.

Despite her calm greeting, simply seeing Ichigo aggravated Tatsuki. She was still sore about Ichigo hiding his second life from her, though she had an idea why he did it.

Ichigo felt he would rather fight all the Espada again than face Tatsuki right now. The last time he had talked to her was right before he dragged Aizen away to prevent any more collateral damage, and that had barely been a greeting. He knew she was upset with him for not explaining his life as a shinigami. The scars from when she punched him through a window were a testament. But he could feel her eyes on him. There was no way he'd be able to get away. "Hey Tatsuki." he answered as he resigned himself to whatever lay in store and walked down the slope to her.

Once he reached her, an uncomfortable silence filled the riverbank broken only by the flowing water. Finally, Tatsuki broke the silence.

"Is this what we've become? Are we really that far apart now?"

Ichigo wasn't sure how to answer. He had trouble remembering the last time Tatsuki had sounded so despondent. It honestly sounded like a stranger was standing next to him. "What…what kind of an answer do you want me to give? You already know everything we went through. What more could I say?"

Tatsuki gave a sad smile. "That's just it. I don't know what you've done." she said as she sat with her knees wrapped in her arms. "The only things I have are a basic understanding of what Soul Society is, what I've seen, and the theories I've made."

Ichigo looked down at the top of her head. "But Keigo and Mizuro said that Urahara-san told you everything."

"No." Tatsuki shook her head. "The shopkeeper told them everything. I left before he could explain. Orihime's literally been begging me to let her tell me what happened, but I've told her no too."

"I don't understand." Ichigo said confused as he joined her on the ground. "After what happened at school…" he rubbed the back of his head "I would have thought that you'd jump at the first chance you had for answers."

"So did I." Tatsuki sighed. "You knew exactly where Orihime was, but you lied straight to my face and told me the life of my friend was none of my business." Ichigo had the decency to look down in shame. "Keigo, Mizuro, and I even followed you into Urahara-san's basement." She ignored the shocked look on his face and continued. "I heard what you said before you left through that gate, about how you'd explain everything when you got back, so I decided to put my trust in you one more time. Then when I see you again, I can barely recognize you. You were taller, your hair was longer, you were even carrying your dad on your shoulder." She wasn't able to contain a small snicker at the memory. "But what had changed the most" she said seriously "were your eyes. They weren't the eyes of a kid. They were the eyes of someone who had traveled a long and difficult road. That, more than anything, gave me a hint about what you've been through." The air stilled as she leveled her gaze at him. "So, I'm still waiting for you to explain."

Whatever Ichigo had expected to find in those eyes wasn't there. There was no anger or sadness or pain like at school. There was no stunned shock like before he beat Aizen. All he saw was patience, hope, and a little warmth.

"Haaaaah" he let out a deep exhale before beginning. "Do you remember when we were kids and you asked if I could see ghosts?"

"Yeah, you said you couldn't."

"Well, I lied."

…

"And I guess Urahara-san had put some kind of seal on Aizen, because as he was regenerating, a bunch of lights appeared on him and he was sealed away."

It was now well past dawn as the mist began to burn away and Ichigo's throat felt extremely dry after talking for so long. But he felt it was worth it. Tatsuki had been silent the whole time, simply taking his story in. Whatever distance that had been between them, well it was still there, but he could tell that it was much shorter than when he'd woken up.

"So you still haven't seen the Hollow that killed your mom?" Tatsuki asked quietly. Listening had revealed a lot of things to her, one of which was how much pain: physical, mental, and emotional, Ichigo had gone through. She wasn't sure if she could have gone through what he had and come out as well and sane.

"Grand Fisher? No, but I don't think I'll have to search for him."

"Why's that?"

"I think it has to do with my dad. Kon seems to know the whole story, but he's not talking. Either way, I wouldn't be able to do anything anyway. I can already feel my powers fading."

"Your Hollow too?"

It wasn't a question asked out of fear. It was simple curiosity. Ichigo realized it was the first time someone without one of their own had talked about his Hollow without fear tingeing their voice. It was freeing in a way. "He's gone too. He and Zangetsu fused together before fusing with me. I lose one, I lose the other."

"As long as you have closure. I know it still eats at you sometime." Tatsuki said. "I just have one more question."

Something in her voice disturbed Ichigo. It wasn't as prominent, but she sounded like when she asked where Orihime was. There was a weakness there that he wasn't used to hearing from her. He looked at her and tried his best to look sincere. "Anything."

"Why did you never tell me? Did you think I wouldn't believe you? That I wouldn't know I was in over my head? I feel like you didn't trust me enough to tell me about all of this. Look at what had to happen before you told me."

There was a tremble in her voice that was completely foreign to Ichigo. How did I not see how much this bothered her. "No, I just didn't want to see it." he told himself. "I didn't tell you…" he started "I didn't tell you because I guess I didn't want to get you involved. When I first got my powers, I didn't know what to do with them. Then Ishida showed up with his dumb challenge and Orihime and Chad got powers. Suddenly it wasn't just me fighting and risking my life. When you began asking, I didn't know what to do. I didn't want another friend facing that kind of danger."

"So you were okay with Orihime fighting, but not me?" Tatsuki asked with a dark tone.

"That's not it!" Ichigo protested. "If I had the choice, no one else would have been involved. But that's not what happened." he said with resignation.

"You had plenty of chances especially after Orihime was kidnapped." Tatsuki said. "You could have explained what was going on."

"I…I didn't want you to have anything to do with this life. You're my oldest friend."

"I glad that I still count as a friend." Tatsuki interrupted with an edge to her voice. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Please don't be like that. I know I screwed up, but I'm trying to make up for it. If you got involved, I wouldn't have anything left of my life before I became a shinigami. You were a reminder of how the life I wanted was."

"Except I did know what was going on." Tatsuki cut in. "I was there when Sora attacked Orihime. I heard the Hollow at that Don Kanonji shoot. I fought a Hollow I couldn't see. I overheard the blonde transfer student and you talking about Vizards. I was there when you fought the blue-haired Arrancar that night. I've seen your mask. I nearly had my soul sucked out by an Arrancar while everyone around me did. I watched them die! I even stood up to Aizen and saw the guy with the silver hair try to kill him. And you know what? The whole time, I knew everything tied back in to you somehow. So imagine how it felt for you to brush me off and say it didn't concern me."

Her rant was stopped by Ichigo wrapping his arms around her. She couldn't remember a single instance since his mom died that Ichigo had given a hug. What happened next surprised her even more.

"I'm sorry." Ichigo choked out. How he missed all this, he didn't know, but at her words, he began to remember bits and pieces. She had been at Orihime's house and the Don Kanonji filming. She'd always been on the fringe of supernatural events. I should have seen it. "If I had known, I would have told you everything from the start. I was an idiot thinking you would be safe in ignorance. Please forgive me."

He sounded so small that Tatsuki wasn't sure how to react. All trace of his tough facade was gone. Ichigo had dropped it for her. All she saw was Ichigo for who he really was: a kind soul who cared deeply for his friends and would go to any length for them. He really didn't know. she realized.

Wrapping her arms around him, she responded. "I can't really say no after this, can I? I forgive you, but you're still going to have to work to gain my trust back."

"Thank you. Thank you for giving me another chance. Honestly and truly, I am sorry."

"Isn't that what friends do?" Tatsuki asked with a small smile. "They forgive and forget."

The two stayed like that for a while and watched as the rest of the mist burned off.

"This is kinda nice." Tatsuki said. "Just the two of us here. It feels natural in a way."

"Yeah, it does. I never realized how much I missed the feeling." Ichigo agreed. "So, are we back to being best friends?" he asked.

Tatsuki was quiet for a moment. "I don't know. Is best friends all you want to be?"

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked breaking the hug and looking at her in confusion.

"We both agreed that it felt natural to be alone together. I'm just curious if "best friends" is as far as you want us to go." She answered with the faintest of blushes dusting her cheeks.

"Are you saying you want us to go out?" he asked, his voice cracking a little.

"I never said that. But since you brought it up, could you see us…together?"

Ichigo was going to vehemently deny it immediately out of fear of retaliation on Tatsuki's part before he noticed how she was sitting. It probably would have been lost on anyone other than him and maybe Orihime, but something felt off about her posture. And then he realized; she's nervous. Just like how he let down his mask for her, she was letting her's down for him. She's serious about this. "I'll be honest." he began. "I haven't really thought about us…like that, but maybe it could work. I mean, we both know a lot about each other already, and we've been friends since we were five. It's not unheard of for childhood friends dating. But, what about Orihime?"

"Oh? So you do know she has an enormous crush on you." Tatsuki said surprised before taking a somber tone.

"I'm not that oblivious." Ichigo huffed. "She's nice, but she can be too nice sometimes. She also has her head in the clouds a little too often than I think I'd like, though she's become much more grounded after everything she's been through. Do you really want to do something like this to her. Don't girls stop being friends over stuff like this?"

"I don't want to get in her way, but you're the only guy I really know. Guys aren't exactly lining up for me, ya know? Most in our school are too scared of me to ask me out."

"They're smart to be scared of you." At the look he got, Ichigo quickly continued. "But they're idiots for not seeing how beautiful you are."

"…You think I'm beautiful?" that was definitely not an adjective Tatsuki was used to hearing describe her.

"Well, you're not ugly by any means. You may not win any beauty pageants, but I wouldn't want you to. The people who care about that stuff do everything they can to mask their natural selves. You're Tatsuki. You're headstrong and not afraid to call people out on their mistakes. You'll stand by your friends and I wouldn't have you any other way. You're beautiful in a way only you can be."

Tatsuki was quiet for a moment before leaning over and putting her head on his shoulder. "When did you figure out how to answer a question without answering it? I should punch you for not giving me a straight answer, but I'll let it slide this once. So, do you want to give us a shot? I'm willing if you are."

Ichigo sighed. It still felt strange to be having this conversation with Tatsuki, but he realized that he hadn't lied once throughout it. He did find her beautiful in a way only she could be. He wouldn't want her to change. She was Tatsuki, the girl he'd looked up to when he was young. She had been there for him when he cried for his mother. She'd waited through everything that had happened the past year for him to talk to her, and she wanted to be his. "Sure. This may be the craziest thing either of us have ever done, but we're doing it together. Tatsuki-chan, would you go out with me and be my girlfriend?" Suddenly, Tatsuki beaned him on the head with a fist. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"You idiot. Why'd you decide to add chan now?" She brought her face extremely close to his. "And yes, I'll go out with you." she said as they brought their lips together.

So there's my attempt at fluff. I feel like I have friendship (at least Tatsuki's and Ichigo's) down pretty well, but writing love is still new to me. This was also a chance for me to write with just existing characters, and I think I did pretty well. Did you like it? Hate it? What could I have done better?