Chapter Text
Prologue
The Rain that Falls
"Goodbye Rukia……"
The words that he never thought he would have to say came out all too easy. As he looked into her eyes that had so many different emotions flashing through them that he even he himself, who knew her best, couldn't keep up with them. She was his best friend, his confidant, his partner, his "so much more than she will ever know" person. He felt as if her very soul was being shown to him through those violet orbs. Volumes of unsaid words, things they both wanted to say passing between them without a single sound uttered. As she started to fade from his vision, the familiar feeling of her presence fading away. He searched for a way to have just one more moment. He didn't want to confess everything. Not here, not when it could be a whole other lifetime until he could see her again. Just one moment is all it would have taken to tell her. But now his chance was gone. She was leaving even though neither one of them wanted it. What could have been the last true smile he would ever have formed on his lips as the final traces of her faded away. Her eyes telling him more than words ever could.
"Thank You…."
The sacrifice was necessary. He had given up everything just to take down a wanna-be god. He had saved them all. Willingly, he had given up his powers to save three entirely different worlds from the selfish desires of a madman. He gave up his power to protect. He gave up his pride as a Shinigami. He gave up the friends that he had met in Soul Society. But deep inside in a place that he didn't let anyone see, the thing he had given up most of all was Rukia.
On that day deep in his soul, the rain began to fall once more.
She stood there knowing that he couldn't see her even though she was only a mere arm's length away. Her violet orbs blinking away the tears that flowed freely. Her hopes were gone. Her dreams of what could have happened were torn from her. She thought that after everything that had happened, she would have been able to see if maybe her deepest desire would be realized. That maybe she could be happy. That perhaps…..just perhaps she would be able to find out if he felt the same way as her. She was truly proud of him. She knew what he had sacrificed when he had willingly given up the very power that he used to protect others to defeat Aizen. She could read it in his eyes. Her entire world was crashing down around her. As proud as she was of the brave warrior that he had become and everything he had done. In the deepest recesses of her heart, she was falling apart.
The last month had been torture for her. Watching him as he slept in a coma as his power drained away. Watching as he struggled against a low level hollow that he should have been able to deal with easily. She didn't know what to do or say to make him feel better. All she could do is be there for him the best she could for as long as she could.
In the short amount of time she had known him, he had changed so much for both her and the Soul Society as a whole. His reckless abandon and the drive to conquer whatever was set before him had inspired her regularly. As time had gone by she had begun to notice that she felt happier when he was with her, felt as if his power was giving her own power the same courage to reach levels that she never thought possible. She had attempted to hide all the emotions that were begging to be released from her as he looked at her for what they both thought was the final time. Trying was easy. Doing it was like telling the sun not to shine. She knew that he was reading every emotion that played across her eyes. They knew each other so well that they could have an entire conversation without saying a word. In her life, she had never had someone like this, someone that knew everything about her and accepted her for all of it. She knew she never would again. It was only recently, within the last month in fact, that she realized exactly how much he truly meant to her.
As the weeks went by she watched as his pained eyes glazed over with normality. She watched as he nonchalantly went about his day to day life without his former gusto and pride. She watched as he withdrew from his friends and family. She watched it all. She watched without being able to be there for a comforting word or a shoulder to lean on. Without being able to give him the sharp kick in the shins that he needed in order to get himself back on track. She watched until she couldn't take the pain anymore. Then she returned home, back to the Soul Society that felt empty without her friend beside her. As she walked through the Senkaimon, she left a piece of her heart with that orange-haired, infuriating, courageous, prideful man that she loved. The man she loved but she would never be able to tell until he passed from this life. The mask that she has learned so well to keep on, the one that hid all her emotions became a permanent resident on her face. Rukia Kuchiki had lost more than her friend. She had lost someone as close to a soul mate that was possible; if those things even exist.
From a distance, he watched the exchange between the two.
He saw the raw emotion in both of their eyes and could only guess the unsaid words between them. In the end, he had only ever wanted to see his son happy. Having lost his dearest Masaki years ago, he knew a little of what Ichigo was feeling. He had happily watched the two of them gradually come to terms with the way they felt about each other. It was amazing to him that the two had taken so long to see what nearly everyone around them could see as bright as day. The day she gave him her powers he felt it immediately, after all, he WAS a former Captain. He had watched as his son's powers grew even faster than he thought they could. He had to keep them in the dark just to keep his secret hidden. Just four months ago he had finally revealed that secret to his son. (Of course, to everyone else it was only a little over a month due to their training in the Dangai Precipice World) He knew of course why Ichigo was so powerful. It ran in their family's blood. It had always run in their family. He closed his eyes allowing a moment to think of the life he left for Masaki. The life that one day he would have to tell his son about.
A familiar presence soon appeared behind him.
"You've already made your decision haven't you….?"
It was a question but possessing individual questions that were generally already answered before even asked.
"He deserves to be happy. He has sacrificed so much for so many people. Sacrificed more than I think he will even admit to himself. I have always thought of her as my third daughter anyway. It will be good to see them both get what they truly deserve."
Isshin Kurosaki, the former Captain of Squad 10 who had given up both his life and position for love looked into the eyes of one of his oldest friends.
"You do realize that you are voluntarily giving up his life? If we go forward with this there is no turning back. Are you sure you want this for him? He can now have the ability to live a normal, carefree life."
Knowing the answer before it came Kisuke Urahara, former Captain of Squad 12, and possibly the smartest man on all three worlds, closed his eyes.
"She is his life, and I think he is just now realizing it. To ask him to go about the rest of his life without her in it is too much after what he has gone through. I know the consequences and the choices he is going to have to make once we go through with our plan. I already know what his answer is going to be as well, and so do you."
Nodding with a grin the later announced, "It will take a little over a year to prepare."
"So be it."