Your stop for the official unofficial ending of Bleach! This is an IchiRuki AU created by i-am-shepard-commander (but you can call her Shep for short). This is her attempt at making an ending/continuation more in line with established canon up to chapter 685.
i fucking hate the stupid shit called bleach now including ichigo and rukia but still i support people like you who actually post a sensible alternate ending I hope wsj may get a brain and make an alternate ichiruki end too But nice blog anyway !
Making this alternate ending is the only way I’ll be able to put Bleach to rest once and for all. I tried just moving on, but I was left with such a feeling of emptiness, knowing that so much had yet to be resolved, that I couldn’t not do something.
I love how some people like that anon from the other day completely bypass the fact that I am giving not just IchiRuki and IshiHime closure, but other characters such as Rikichi and Keigo a more happy outcome as well. This isn’t just about the ships when it comes down to it, but the series’s continuity and character consistency. I don’t know how anyone can stomach what happened to Ichigo and his friends/family in the World of the Living.
Thank you, though! I hope I can do our beloved cast justice (and after what Kubo did to them, that shouldn’t be too hard).
Or you could just stick with the ACTUAL canon instead of ripping off Kubo you unimaginative hack. And anti-Ichigos dad cut? Wow how petty and superficial you Rukigos all are the same. Delusional petty morons that don't know what love is like. I pity your kind. Your just jealous nothing you put out will ever gain the fame that Kubo did. Delete this waste of space blog and get over yourself.
*Ichigo’s**you’re
Lack of grammar aside, I do believe “Origo” came before “Rukigo”, so who is the unimaginative hack now?
And why do you care what I post on my own blog (which I will not be deleting, by the way). I have every right to use the Bleach tag, every right to post an alternate universe. I’m not hurting you or your precious canon, and if my AU happens to make more sense than the actual canon, then that’s no one’s fault but Kubo’s for not following his own damn established canon prior to 686.
This will be the only hate mail I respond to, not because I don’t welcome other points of view, but because trolls like you aren’t looking for a civil discussion, you’re looking for a war and I won’t stoop to your level and give you the satisfaction. (Nor do I have the time to waste my life on such trivial arguments; I’m an adult that works 50 hours a week with a home to upkeep. I have very little free time and I will spend it on things I enjoy, thank you very much.)
Hey, everyone! Been awhile since I posted here last, and I apologize for that, but I’ve just had so much on my plate lately that I haven’t been able to do a thing. Anyway, beneath the cut I have my proposed ships and occupations for my Bleach AU. You will notice that some are blank, meaning that I am still deciding on their profession, and I would very much appreciate your feedback! I’ll only be listing those crucial to the plot for the most part, though I will touch lightly upon some minor characters that Kubo threw under the bus :)
Ships
Ichigo/Rukia
Uryu/Orihime
Urahara/Yoruichi
Izuru/Momo
Keigo/Tatsuki
Jinta/Yuzu
Kensei/Mashiro
Characters / Occupations
Ichigo Kurosaki / Co-Captain of 13th Division
Rukia Kuchiki / Co-Captain of 13th Division
Uryu Ishida / Quincy, fashion designer
Orihime Ishida, née Inoue / baker
Yuzu Kurosaki / employee at the Urahara Shop
Karin Kurosaki / shinigami in training, enrolled at the Shinigami Academy
Isshin Kurosaki / owner of the Kurosaki Clinic
Kukaku Shiba / head of Shiba family
Ganji Shiba /
Tatsuki Asano, née Arisawa / dojo instructor
Keigo Asano /
Mizuiro Kojima /
Jinta Hanakari / employee at the Urahara Shop
Chizuru Honsho /
Ururu Tsumugiya / employee at the Urahara Shop
Riruka Dokugamine /
Yasutora “Chad” Sado / volunteer firefighter, vet
Yukio Hans Vorarlberna /
Renji Abarai / Vice-Captain of 6th Division
Sosuke Aizen / Soul King
Akon / Vice-Captain of 12th Division
Yumichika Ayasegawa / 3rd Seat of 11th Division
Momo Kira née Hinamori / Vice-Captain of 5th Division
Fandom: Bleach
Pairing(s): Ichigo/Rukia, Uryu/Orihime, Urahara/Yoruichi
Rating: T
Genre: Romance/Adventure
Support it on: fanfiction, AO3
And on into Tomorrow
Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Rest of Their Lives
Yhwach came apart.
It wasn't a surprise to Ichigo that Yhwach could be killed but rather that he had. No, that he was, for the battle had not been won yet.
Holding Zangetsu firm, knowing that if he faltered or lost faith for just a second that Yhwach would reform, Ichigo cleaved through the Father of the Quincy with all his might. The muscles in his arms burned and his eyes stung as sweat and grime dripped into them, but he did not stop, did not waver, and with a sickening snkt and a bubbling gulp Yhwach was in two places at once, in a way that no man should ever be. Ichigo's blade kept singing, cutting through the air as he completed the arcing blow that had cut Yhwach's life into literal halves.
The inky darkness that the Quincy God was swathed in, that cloaked his deathly pale flesh, was flung out like droplets of water across the bright blue sky. Stretched thin, as if some invisible force was pulling at the pieces of him from every direction, Yhwach's head jerked upwards, eyes rolling back to expose the milky whites, mouth opening and closing but no words coming out, just the rasping burbling of a dying man.Yet Ichigo did not tear his gaze away, even as Yhwach was rent asunder, as any semblance of what he was and used to be was scattered on the wind and the pressure bearing down on his chest finally, finally relented, for then and only then was it over.
Over.
It was...over.
Ichigo felt his feet move, his vision blurry, eyelids drooping, and then he was swaying forward...
“Ichigo!”
And just like that, with one word, his name, his brown eyes focused and his spirit stirred as strength returned to his spent limbs.
Rukia.
It didn't take him long to find her, attuned as he was to her spiritual presence. She was below, looking up at him, her right cheek marred by the beginnings of a bruise, dirt and dust coating her sweaty forehead, but alive, so wonderfully and joyously alive and—
—beautiful.
The thought spat itself out before he could think to swallow it, and maybe it was the leftover adrenaline muddling his thoughts and clouding his judgment, or maybe it was because they had been to actual hell together and back, or maybe it was any other number of countless things, but in that moment he didn't care. She was beautiful. She was the light of his life. Without her he'd have perished long ago never knowing of what he could be, what he was, having lived a meaningless, powerless normal life.
Because of her, her selflessness, the Worlds would continue to exist, his friends continue to breathe, his family continue to be. He owed everything to her, really, even though she'd doubtless scoff and say she owed him just as much. Neither one of them was really keeping tally, of course, and they didn't do things for one another because of some perceived list of paybacks. They did things for each other because they were Ichigo and Rukia, because their destines had been linked together long ago by some red thread of fate, because they wanted to, because they were—
“Did you really think that was the end, my son born in the darkness?” a hot breath hissed along Ichigo's neck. Ice ran down his spine despite the warm tickle and he spun around, Zangetsu meeting nothing but air as he swung. Something like ice coalesced in his lungs and he struggled to breathe as phantoms hands closed around his throat. His head was thrust brutally upwards with a snap, spittle flying as his airway constricted. “I will take away everything that you hold dear, Ichigo. If I am to go, then so be it! But I will not go into the nothingness alone.”
And then the hands were gone and he was falling to his knees, gasping for breath, eyes watering. But instead of allowing himself of moment of respite, he was pushing himself downwards towards the ground, using the moment from the invisible menace that had held him mercilessly in its throes to propel himself towards—
Rukia.
Yhwach materialized behind the small shinigami that was his light, his breath, his life. He watched as her eyes widened, the venomous spiritual pressure crashing into her like a raging wave that threatened to drag her under. A warrior to the end, Rukia went for her sword where it was sheathed at her hip, left thumb pushing up against the cross-guard as the right hand closed around the grip. But she wasn't fast enough. And neither was Ichigo.
The substitute shinigami could do naught but watch as Yhwach ran Rukia through, as his dark blade pierced her through the center of her being, as her eyes bulged in shock and lips stretched wide in a silent, agonized scream. Her limbs went slack as black veins erupted from where her chest had been punctured, blobs of eyes bubbling across her skin as her flesh lost its lively hue and grayed.
Time seemed to slow as the black mass that was Yhwach consumed her, as Ichigo reached for her and she for him. His eyes narrowed and teeth gritted as he reached for her, as their fingertips brushed, as the darkness devoured her wholly—
“Ichigo!”
“Rukia!”
“Rukia!”
Pain blossomed across Rukia's face as Ichigo's head collided with her nose. She jumped back as blood spurted from her nostrils, clamping a hand over the crimson geyser. Red gushed onto her gloves, and though they were no longer the pure white they had been when Byakuya had presented her with them nearly a year ago, she couldn't help but mentally cringe at the stain the blood would leave.
“Idiot!” she gasped. “Watch where you put your head!”
Through the blinding blur of salty tears, she watched as Ichigo blinked, confusion creasing his forehead. It took him a few blinks to realize where he was—some company's barracks, or rather what was left of them, wooden beams and bedsheets serving as a hastily constructed roof and door—another few for him to survey the state he was in—wrapped in bandages from head to toe—and a couple more for his gaze to finally settle on her and recognize whose nose it was he had smashed.
Rukia readied herself, fully expecting some smart retort to slip from his parched and cracked lips, but instead of getting into his usual grumpy state, instead of his eyebrows furrowing and mouth souring into a frown, his brow lifted and his jaw went slack.
The blood slowed to a trickle and Rukia lowered her hand, biting her lip as concern tied her gut into knots. She reached towards him hesitantly. “Ichigo…?”
“Rukia.”
Rukia jumped, startled, as Ichigo flung himself forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. A light blush dusted her cheeks as she felt him bury his face in between her breasts, his lips continuing to move even as he pressed her closer to him, and she could feel her name falling from him like a prayer over and over—Rukia, Rukia, Rukia.
Huffing, Rukia glanced up at the thin white sheet that served as the only barrier between them and the rest of the patients crowded into the wrecked halls. Instead of chiding him like she should have, she found her arms winding around strong back, closing any gap there had been between them. The tears she'd held at bay finally broke free—though later she'd blame it on the smashed nose instead of any tender emotion—and she felt a heavy weight lifted from her shoulders.
They'd made it.
She remembered the relief she'd felt upon arriving at the battle with Yhwach. Having done her best to ease Inoue's pain with a quick healing spell, she'd dashed after Renji and Ichigo, only to find that she was too late, that the battle was over, that Yhwach was finally, finally dead and this feud of hate settled.
Ichigo had been standing tall in the sky with his blade out, his back to her as Yhwach had spoke his last. Ichigo had been tired, they all had been, yet his stance had been one of pride, of victory, as what was left of Yhwach had dispersed.
“Ichigo!” she had called out to him, her voice strong despite the exhaustion gnawing at her.
His head had lifted and he had turned around, the word, “Yo”, leaving his lips before his eyelids had fluttered shut and he had swayed forward, oblivious to the world around him, ignorant of the very important fact that he was standing on nothing and that the ground was a long, long way down and that's when she'd known she loved him.
It had occurred to her what an inopportune time it was—him falling, her flash stepping as fast as her aching body would allow, pushing herself to her limit and beyond because this was Ichigo—but occurred it had, her already pounding heart pounding harder. So hard, in fact, that she had been afraid it would burst.
And then his unconscious body had crashed into her and her arms and back had strained under his full weight as they both had plummeted towards the unforgiving ground below.
All she had been able to think about was cushioning Ichigo's fall, of saving him even if it meant getting hurt herself, and then Renji's tattooed and calloused hand had closed over hers where it gripped the back of Ichigo's tattered robes, and Uryu had been there, too, his cold, pale hand touching hers, and Chad with his kind and gentle sort of strength, the ground rushing up, up, up…
Rukia's head had jostled between Ichigo's forehead and Renji's sweaty chest as something had caught them, mercifully stopped their deathly plummet. When her brain had stopped rattling around inside her skull and her vision had righted, Orihime's weary smile had greeted her from down below, gratitude and something else that Rukia hadn't been able to identify playing across her battered face.
The almost crushing pressure of Ichigo's arms tightening around her brought Rukia out of the memory.
“I thought I'd lost you...” he choked out, the words muffled.
“Fool,” she said into his hair, breathing in his scent. Whatever Isane had used to bathe him and dress his wounds failed to cover up the smell that was uniquely Ichigo, the smell of wind and steel, and copper. Whatever nightmare he'd been caught in, she was there, had been there, watching over him, and she always would be. Always. “Fool.”
How long they remained like that, Rukia didn't know. She held him until his breathing had evened out, the air around them dropping in temperature. With some reluctance they broke apart, Rukia untangling her hands that at some point had wound themselves in his spiky hair. Ghosting a slender finger along his cheek, his large hand caught her small one, their eyes meeting and holding each others gaze.
Something had changed between them. A line had been crossed when he had reached for her and she for him and nothing was ever going to be the same ever again. She knew it. He knew it.
“Rukia—” he started haltingly. “I—”
“Oh! There you are!”
Ichigo's hands left Rukia's, her arms snapping to her sides as Renji brushed the cloth hanging from the broken wooden frame aside. The tattooed shinigami blinked in confusion, Rukia's face no doubt as red as his hair as she felt her cheeks burn. What was on Ichigo's face she could only guess as she refused to look at him lest their secret, whatever it was that had transpired between them a moment ago and was continuing to worm its away around inside her, was made known before either one of them could pinpoint what it was.
“Ooook...” her old friend shrugged. “What's going on with you two?”
“N-nothing!” Rukia squeaked, despite her attempts at angry bravado. “What do you want, Renji?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. Kyoraku is looking for you. Something about Captain Ukitake—”
Ukitake.
“I understand,” she cut him off, hands balling into nervous fists. “Thank you, Renji.”
“Rukia...” Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Ichigo started towards her, attempting to swing his legs over the lip of the bed, groaning. “Wait...”
“I'll be back soon, Ichigo,” she promised him, forcing herself to stay focused on what was in front of her, even when every fiber of her being was crying for him, begging her to stay. Approaching Renji, she put a hand on his arm and squeezed gently, avoiding his questioning gaze. “Renji, take care of him for me.” And with that, she was gone, flash stepping away before either man could object.
If she had stayed, she would have seen Renji standing there, scratching his head, left eyebrow raised as a red-faced Ichigo had turned around on his cot and pulled the blanket over his head.
totalgeekblog replied to your post“Can't wait to see what this blog holds! anything that will help with...”
so excited about this!!!! thank you for doing this!!
Thank you! I am excited that so many people seem to be interested! I am more than happy to share this with you all; Bleach meant a lot to me and I’ve followed it for well over a decade, so to have it end the way it did...it crushed me, as I know it did to many others. However, the IchiRuki fandom is still alive and well despite the blows we’ve taken. We have years and years of material to draw on and inspire us, touching moments, and a bond so strong that it defies death itself.
I do apologize for not getting the first chapter revised and updated! It’s underway. It just turned out that I had more to change than I had originally anticipated. The new ETA is sometime tomorrow night, after I get off of work at five.
Can't wait to see what this blog holds! anything that will help with my tattered shipper heart will be great!
I'll do my best to create something worthy of the manga we once all loved so dearly! There will be lots of IchiRuki goodness to heal your soul, not to mention adorable next gen kiddos running around here in a bit.I've already started Phase 1 of this AU with my fanfic (which I will be revising the first chapter of today and posting links/reposting to tumblr after I get off of work) "And on into Tomorrow", which covers the immediate after effects of Yhwach's short lived reign and Soul Society's plans for recovery.I'll be making profile pages for the kids and drawing up reference pictures as well as post work doodles.If there is something specific you'd like to see, please let me know! If everything goes according to plan, I'll have years of material to write and draw.
Reposting these here as this is my Official Unofficial Bleach Ending blog! Commissions drawn by @pugletto of Kurosaki Ichigo with his oldest child and firstborn daughter, Shiba Hisana, and an aged up Shiba Suzuna (fourth child of Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia) and Shiba Yuko (seventh and youngest child of Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia).
