Reconciliation

Hitsugaya and Hinamori walked slowly back to the 4th Division infirmary in silence. Though all around them were Shinigami of all ages and ranks discussing Kurosaki's speech, the two childhood friends were alone with each other, each not sure how to broach the subject, but each knowing that if they wanted any sort of privacy it would have to wait until they reached Hinamori's room.

Several minutes later, they sat opposite each other: Hinamori on her bed, Hitsugaya on the visitor's chair. They sat quietly for a moment, before both opened their mouths.

"Momo, I…"

"Shiro-chan, I…"

"You first," they said together, realizing they'd spoken at the same time. "You go first, Momo," Hitsugaya quickly reiterated.

Hinamori hesitantly nodded. "I… I don't know what to think anymore, Shiro-chan. I knew Aizen-taicho for years… he helped me reach fukutaicho, and I was faithful. Why does Kurosaki think he knows Aizen-taicho better?"

Hitsugaya knew what Hinamori was asking. "You mean, why does he think Aizen was lonely," he clarified.

Hinamori nodded miserably. "If he was lonely, how come no one ever saw it? How can Kurosaki be so sure?"

"Momo…" Hitsugaya decided to give her a quick lesson through firsthand experience. "Draw Tobiume."

"What?"

"Draw your Zanpakutō," the taicho insisted, reaching for his own Hyōrinmaru, "and touch Tobiume to Hyōrinmaru."

Confused, the fukutaicho did as Hitsugaya asked, and when the Zanpakutō touched, Hinamori gasped. "Is this…?"

Hitsugaya nodded. "I've asked Hyōrinmaru to amplify it a little so you can feel it better. You can feel my emotions, right?"

"I feel… pride? Concern?" Hinamori whispered. It was a wholly new experience for her.

"And in your Zanpakutō I feel fear, confusion, doubt, and now wonder and awe," Hitsugaya answered easily. "Those who are skilled enough and powerful enough, can interpret the emotions and resolve of their opponents from just a single instance of their blades meeting. Kurosaki Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu met Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu far more than just once, Momo. Aizen's strongest emotions were laid bare to him, as bare as mine are to you now. That is how Kurosaki knows, and he has no reason to lie. In a sense, he knows Aizen now far better than anyone ever has, or ever will."

Hinamori chuckled weakly, bitterly. "Aizen-taicho was so lonely, then… and I never noticed…" She shrunk in on herself, trembling as she released her grip on her sword to hug her knees to her chest.

"Momo, it's not your fault," Hitsugaya murmured, standing up and moving to sit next to his best friend.

"It is, Tōshirō!" she argued fiercely, turning bloodshot eyes in the icy taicho's direction. "If I had just seen it, then Aizen-taicho wouldn't have been lonely and he would still be alive now!"

"Even if you had seen it, what could you have done?" Hitsugaya contended, his voice becoming stern in his attempt to make Hinamori see reason. "Singlehandedly fixed everything that Aizen saw was wrong about Soul Society? If it could have been done so easily, Aizen would have done it himself!"

"What do you think Aizen-taicho was doing? He was trying to fix it, and Kurosaki killed him!" Hinamori yelled.

"Yes, Kurosaki killed him," Hitsugaya agreed. "And Kurosaki himself called it a tragedy, because there were no right answers. Aizen wanted to fix Soul Society, and Kurosaki wanted to protect his town. They both were doing what they thought was right, and Kurosaki won."

"Kurosaki didn't have to kill him!" Hinamori screeched.

"And Aizen didn't have to give up immortality!" Hitsugaya answered loudly, putting both hands on his friend's shoulders, desperate to make her see. "You heard Kurosaki! Aizen was IMMORTAL with the Hōgyoku! I watched him regenerate completely from having his chest blown open, and his head disintegrated! He could not be killed, Momo, not unless he WANTED to die!"

SMACK! Hitsugaya's head twisted, a red mark on his left cheek blooming from where Hinamori had slapped him. The fukutaicho trembled, and tears trailed their way down her face as she looked regretfully at what she had just done. "You… you watched Kurosaki kill him?" she uttered in horror.

The master of ice and snow returned his eyes to those of Hinamori. "Yes," he said quietly, his expression stony, and Hinamori knew she'd crossed a line. "I did."

"How could you?" she begged to know. "How could you just let Aizen-taicho die?" She couldn't understand it; Hitsugaya was her best friend, why couldn't he have given Aizen-taicho a chance to explain…?

"It is unbecoming of me as a taicho, but… my reason for letting Kurosaki kill Aizen was vengeance for almost killing you, and for tearing your heart out and trampling on it. And I would happily have done the deed myself given half a chance." Hitsugaya rose from the bed, and Hinamori could only watch, unmoving as he began walking to the door, picking up and sheathing Hyōrinmaru. He paused as he reached for the handle. "You've always been more important to me, Momo. But you need to see that Aizen died because he chose to, and very few will grieve his death because of his actions. I will not be one of them."

"And Kurosaki?" Hinamori asked quietly.

"I have come to know Kurosaki Ichigo well during my time spent in the living world, so I say this with all confidence. He grieves for being forced to take a life, and you heard him wish that Aizen had gone about things differently, and call his death a tragedy. But Kurosaki will not regret saving his people." Hitsugaya opened the door then, and quietly left Hinamori sitting there staring where he'd been.

Unohana walked in a few moments later, seeing Hinamori quietly crying. I knew taking her to hear Kurosaki's speech was a bad idea, she thought to herself as she sat down. "What's wrong, Hinamori-chan?"

Hinamori just cried harder. It was too much to bear – she'd just slapped her best friend, who insisted that Aizen-taicho wanted to die, who'd in fact watched him die, who'd said in a perfectly calm voice that he'd have killed Aizen-taicho himself if the opportunity had presented itself. Kurosaki, who had been so monstrous in the living world, had taken the time to tell all of Soul Society that Aizen-taicho was a good person, so was he really a monster? But Kurosaki had also said that Aizen-taicho had been immortal, so for Aizen-taicho to die, then Aizen-taicho had had to want to die like Shiro-chan had said, but that meant that Aizen-taicho had left her and that hurt so terribly much. And then Hinamori truly realized that she'd just slapped her best friend and suddenly an inkling of fear wriggled into her head that maybe Shiro-chan didn't want to be her best friend anymore…

Hinamori clutched her head, shivering from head to toe. "I don't know what's real anymore…" she breathed. "Is Kurosaki a monster or is he not? He threatened to, to rape me in the living world, but then he turns around and tells everyone that Aizen-taicho was a good person? And then I think that maybe Aizen-taicho put an illusion on me, and it's so painful for me to think that might be true. And it hurts, it hurts so bad to think that Aizen-taicho wanted to die, that he could have chosen to live but didn't. And I'm afraid, Unohana-taicho."

"Afraid of what?" Unohana gently pressed.

"I slapped Hitsugaya-taicho when he was just trying to make a point." Hinamori looked up with vision blurred by tears. "I slapped him. What's wrong with me? Do I drive away everyone important to me?"

"Of course not, Hinamori-chan."

"But Aizen-taicho left me, and I didn't slap him!" Hinamori wailed. "Hitsugaya-taicho couldn't even stand to look at me after that! He went all frigid and left!"

"Do you want to apologize to him?" Unohana asked quietly.

"What sort of question is that? Of course I want to apologize to him!" Hinamori answered, her voice watery. "I didn't mean to do it, and he's my best friend, and I think I hurt him and I didn't mean to, and…" She trailed off when she saw Hitsugaya reenter the room. "H-H-Hitsugaya-taicho?"

"I saw the mark on his cheek and guessed what happened," Unohana admitted. "I asked him to stand outside the door and listen for a few minutes before he left. I'll give you two some privacy," Unohana left the room before anyone could protest.

"Tōshirō, I'm…"

"I know, Momo," Hitsugaya interrupted softly. "I should have expected it, now that I think about it. You've been loyal to Aizen for a long time… for anyone to suggest that Aizen was suicidal would trigger an emotional response. But don't worry…" He offered a half-smile. "You'll have to try a lot harder than that to get rid of me. You're my best friend too, Momo."

"Do you… do you really think that Aizen-taicho wanted to die?"

Hitsugaya nodded. "Yes. I don't see how else Kurosaki could have finished him, to be honest – the Hōgyoku's regenerative powers were amazing… Aizen would have had to purposely stop them to die."

Hinamori swallowed hard. "Was there anything I could have done differently?" she questioned quietly.

"No, I don't think so, Momo." Hitsugaya sat down on the bed next to his best friend again. "Now I have a question for you."

"Yes?"

"Do you feel up to seeing Kurosaki and talking to him, with me here to monitor? He's outside and wants to speak with you."

Hinamori stiffened. Fear coursed through her veins, but she managed to slowly nod her head.

"Are you sure?" the taicho queried gently. "I can deny him if you wish."

"N-n-no," Hinamori stammered. "I…" She took a breath to steady herself. "I need to know for sure. Let him in."

And so it was that a few moments later, Kurosaki Ichigo stood in the same room as Hinamori, leaving Zangetsu outside the room. He was glad to have thought of that, as Hinamori looked rather relieved to see Ichigo unarmed. "I…" Everything that Ichigo had planned to say to Aizen's old fukutaicho seemed to have vanished from his brain. He sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm no good at this. I just wanted to apologize, and give you my condolences."

"Apologize?" Hinamori echoed.

"Yeah. For what you heard in the living world. I mean, I know I didn't do it, but you heard it anyway, thanks to Aizen's illusions, and well, I know my reiatsu with my mask can be frightening…" Ichigo's voice had started off strong, but he ended it almost mumbling.

"Aizen's illusions?"

Ichigo blinked, then realized that Hinamori probably didn't know yet. "I'm sorry, let me try to start over. Aizen put an illusion on you in the living world when you appeared so I wouldn't fight him, because he knew I wouldn't hurt an innocent. The illusion he put on you was designed to make you see me as the enemy, and Aizen told me that the illusion me threatened you…" He glanced at Hitsugaya out of the corner of his eye, before deciding to just end the sentence there. "So, I wanted to apologize."

There wasn't a single note of deception in Kurosaki's voice, and his body language said the same. Even his reiatsu exuded remorse. But Hinamori still wasn't sure. Out of the corner of her eye, Tobiume glinted at her.

Use what you just learned… see into his innermost emotions, Tobiume suggested in a voice that Hinamori could only just hear.

Good idea. "Kurosaki-san… I have a request."

"Name it."

"Please bring in your Zanpakutō, and lay the blade on my own."

Ichigo nodded wordlessly, and stepped outside for a moment to retrieve Zangetsu. After coming back inside, he carefully set down the sword of his soul upon Tobiume. What's she trying to do?

Focus, Ichigo. What happens when two Zanpakutō meet?

Ah. Ichigo understood now, and mentally tried to push his emotions into Zangetsu.

Hinamori barely kept from gasping – Kurosaki was far more powerful than Tōshirō, and she was getting very strong feelings that seemed to almost reverberate into her being. She felt sorrow, she felt pity, and confidence, and determination that could shatter dimensions. She felt worry, and weariness, but nowhere did she feel a hint of falsehood. Kurosaki was telling the truth.

She couldn't bear it anymore, and withdrew Tobiume, her hands shaking slightly. Kurosaki had such powerful emotions! Hinamori felt ashamed of herself, not only for thinking Kurosaki a monster just earlier that day, but for once again feeling wetness gathering in her eyes. She'd never cried so much in a single day, and it was scarcely half over. But Hinamori could not help it; if Kurosaki was telling the truth, then Aizen-taicho had truly put her under an illusion, and betrayed her once again. She didn't know what to feel anymore. Should I feel relieved that Kurosaki isn't out to get me? Or hurt that Aizen-taicho put me under an illusion and made me fear Kurosaki so? Should I feel ashamed that I've put so many people through so much, or happy that I have such good friends? In the end, she just felt… drained.

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Hinamori found herself asking. "I should be the one apologizing to you. I disobeyed orders, was swayed by Aizen-taicho…. I attacked you!"

Ichigo wasn't really sure what to say to that. "It was nothing" sounded like an insult to Hinamori's skills, which was not what he wanted to say, despite how ineffectual her attacks had been to him in the living world. But Ichigo couldn't just let Hinamori apologize to him, either, or he'd feel like a huge jerk. He finally settled with "You attacked me because you were threatened, and Aizen had just proven himself in your eyes. No apologies needed."

Hinamori had no idea what to say either; she was so emotionally tired, and needed time to deal with the revelations. She settled with "Thank you."

"I also wanted to offer my condolences about Aizen," Ichigo murmured. "I heard he was your taicho and rather important to you. I'll try to stay out of your way in the future… I imagine looking at me is hard, given what happened. I hope you get better soon." He picked up Zangetsu and began to make his way out.

The fukutaicho suddenly realized that she had one more question she was dying to ask. "Kurosaki-san…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Aizen-taicho would be satisfied with the way things turned out?" Hinamori asked. "Now that the Central 46, who he had the most problems with, is going to spend a very long time fixing the rest of Soul Society?"

"Yeah… I think he would be." Ichigo gave her a tiny assuring smile. "It might not be the way he had envisioned everything getting fixed, but I think he'd be happy that it's being worked on."

Hinamori returned the smile gratefully. "Thank you, Kurosaki-san." If Kurosaki, who Shiro-chan said would know him best now, thinks Aizen-taicho would be happy with the results, then I think I can be too. I'm going to miss you terribly, Aizen-taicho… but I think now I can start to move on.

Ichigo stepped out quietly, followed by Hitsugaya, and encountered Unohana listening quietly at the door. "Thank you, Kurosaki-san," the healer said, the corners of her lips upturned. "You've helped far more than you know."

"Eh?"

"Don't you see, Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya queried exasperatedly. "You convinced her that you were telling the truth, and she doesn't seem to fear you anymore."

"Oh. Well, glad to help." Ichigo kept walking towards the door.

"I believe she could work with you now," Hitsugaya told him pointedly, keeping pace.

"I'll be glad of that if she gets stationed to the living world, but I understand she's needed for her division, since it has no taicho," the Substitute replied, purposely ignoring Hitsugaya's blatant hints.

"Kurosaki! You are not unintelligent, why are you avoiding the question of whether you are interested in the 5th Division taicho position? You must be aware by now that you are being considered for it!" Hitsugaya bluntly pointed out.

"Because I am not sure I want to become a taicho of Soul Society," Ichigo answered steadily. "I still have a life to live, Tōshirō."

"It's…!" Hitsugaya sighed, cutting himself off. He'd never get through to Kurosaki, so why even bother? "I suppose I can see your point."

They reached the door and opened it. Ichigo blanched and quickly closed it again upon seeing and hearing what he swore must have the majority of the female Shinigami population. "Not to mention… I don't think I could deal with the fangirls."

Hitsugaya looked at him unsympathetically, but privately amused. "That's an occupational hazard of being out of the ordinary," he stated matter-of-factly. "Best to learn how to deal with them now; they'll only get worse if you disappear for too long."

Ichigo would have scowled at the short taicho, but was too busy trying to figure out another way to leave. Luckily for him, Unohana took pity on the young man and cleared her throat to get his attention. "We do have another exit just that way," she commented lightly, and her smile broadened when she saw the Vizard dashing in that direction. "Now then… Hitsugaya-taicho, I do believe we need to have words with Kyōraku-taicho."

"Yes, we do," Hitsugaya agreed. He was not looking forward to how large the paperwork would grow from taking on some of the Central 46's work.

A half hour and a trip through the Senkaimon later, Ichigo once more stood in Karakura. He sighed and began making his way to school so he could retake his body. Assuming Kyōraku's plan works, then I won't need to worry about Soul Society coming to kill me. Then I just need to… focus on living, I guess. But what do I want out of life? The answer to that was simple, yet profound. I want to live a life with happiness, and to die with no regrets.

Ichigo remembered something his father had said immediately after the Vizard's fight with the Grand Fisher, shortly after gaining Rukia's Shinigami powers. "Live well, age well and go bald well… and die after me. And if you can, die smiling. If I can't, I won't be able to face Masaki." It was one of the times that Ichigo acknowledged that his father was a wise man, despite his usual overenthusiastic actions. But at the time, he hadn't fully understood all the implications of Isshin's words.

"'Live well, age well, and go bald well,' huh?" Ichigo muttered softly.

It felt strange, thinking about the future as he was; Ichigo was used to living in the moment, occasionally making plans for days and weeks ahead, but not years. That was the way he'd been before he'd become a Shinigami, before he'd gotten caught up in the war. During the war, he'd had to start planning and thinking about the future, judging the pros and cons of each decision. The war changed me, the Vizard realized somberly, unsure if he liked this change.

You are simply more aware of cause and effect, Zangetsu murmured. It is a natural effect of growing more mature.

Ichigo sighed again as the school came into sight. I can't wait for that vacation. It'll be nice to just relax… Right now though, I need to see how school went with… Kon… His eyes shot wide open as he suddenly remembered that Kon was in his body. Flickering into Shunpo, he materialized right by his body inside his classroom, startling his friends. Ignoring that, Ichigo quickly gave his body a brief once-over; no bruises, no cuts or anything. His body appeared unharmed.

"I've been good!" Kon swore quietly, looking at the true owner of the body he was in defiantly.

Ichigo sighed in relief. "Thanks, Kon. Sorry, I don't have your lion body with me, but I really do need to get back in my body so I can handle the rest of school."

"Fine, fine."

Pushing his Shinigami badge against Kon's head, Kon's natural green pill came out. Catching it before it could hit the floor, Ichigo slid into his body easily and subtly shifted Kon into his pocket. Then he began trying to catch up on what he'd missed, using Kon's notes. Wait, Kon took notes? Ichigo looked again. To his astonishment, the constantly-irritating Mod-Soul had indeed taken notes for Ichigo, and they made sense! Then he noticed Kon had also left a message written down at the top of the paper.

Ichigo, I'm taking these notes for you just so you aren't stuck inside all day trying to make sense of it. It's not healthy, I tell you! You need to get yourself a girl and have some fun! And in return for this, I want to come along on that vacation of yours so I can see Rukia-nee.

Ichigo smirked. No wonder he didn't get into trouble today. Alright, Kon. You've earned it.

His better mood was ruined, however, as soon as school ended for the day. He was immediately cornered by his friends, including Keigo, Tatsuki and Mizuiro. Though he hadn't been asked any questions yet, Ichigo sighed and began explaining. "I was asked to join Soul Society today as one of their taicho, to replace Aizen."

Ishida scowled and began to turn away. "Did you accept?" Chad asked simply.

"No."

The Quincy blinked and looked at Ichigo questioningly. "Why not?"

"Why is everyone asking me that?" Ichigo demanded, losing his temper. "Does everyone expect me to just turn my back on everyone here? Karakura is far more important to me than Soul Society!"

Ishida looked at him evenly. "Because it might have been the only way for you to protect us."

The Vizard deflated, seeing the archer's point. "I didn't become a taicho because it's smarter for me to stay here."

"So why'd you go to Soul Society, then?" Inoue queried innocently.

"The biggest problem for us was the Central 46," Ichigo began. "They're the ones in charge in peacetime, and they're the ones who ordered the Vizard executed. Between the Gotei 13 and the Central 46, the 46 are the more xenophobic. Kyōraku asked me to come with him to help him disable their ability to order the Gotei 13 to kill us."

"Why would they kill us?" Inoue gasped. "They're friends!"

Ichigo groaned. Damn it, I forgot she didn't know. "It's all politics, Inoue… We're friends with the enforcers, not the guys who make the rules, the Central 46. To the Central 46, we're too powerful to let live unless we work for them. You reject reality. I'm a Vizard. Ishida's a Quincy and verbally declares Shinigami to be his enemy. Chad has Hollow-like powers. We're as far from them as we can be. They don't have any reason to like us, and we have the potential to cripple them militarily."

"Simply put, they fear us," Ishida put it succinctly, pushing his glasses up his nose and making them flash. "And as we've learned in history, humans have a tendency of killing that which they fear and don't understand."

"But… But…!" Inoue looked at the pair of rivals in shock and disbelief. "No! I can't believe that our friends would try to kill us!"

"Just like Byakuya didn't try to kill Rukia despite her being his sister?" Ichigo reminded her darkly.

"Allies in Soul Society would likely defend us, yes," Ishida admitted. "But that in turn would spark a civil war, because not everyone would agree."

"Exactly," the Vizard concurred. "So it was better to cut off the Central 46 entirely so our friends would be the ones in charge."

"How'd you do that?" Keigo asked curiously. "I mean, if the Central 46 is the government, what could you have done?"

Ichigo looked rather sheepish, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, apparently I'm sorta famous?"

"How famous?" Ishida questioned mercilessly, not noticing Inoue start paying very close attention. "What exactly did you do, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo sighed and looked at the Quincy resignedly. "I told Aizen's life story. All of what I knew and all that I suspected. To what looked like just about everyone in the Seireitei."

"Huh?" everyone asked together.

"E-E-Everyone in the Seireitei?" Inoue whispered in a stammer. But, but…! No!

"How do you know so much about Aizen?" Tatsuki inquired, confused. "You two were enemies, right? Is it some Shinigami power or something?"

"Something like that for some of it. Other parts I've picked up here and there," the Vizard admitted. "Anyway, Kyōraku took advantage of my speech and passed a law that forces the Central 46 to take care of the problems that led Aizen to rebel before they can address other issues. It'll take them, say, until we're all dead and gone to finish."

Ichigo thoroughly enjoyed the looks of shocked silence for a few seconds before turning and walking away with a smirk on his face. "I'm getting some ice cream. You all coming?"