Bleach 1. The Eldest Kurosaki Child

Rating: T for now. It might become M later depending on how it turns out

Warnings: Swearing, violence

Pairing: Shiro/Hichigo x Ichigo ( for this, he will be referred to as Shiro), Renji x Rukia, possibly others

Small note: In this story, Rukia never met Ichigo but she did go to the human world and thus still got the hougyoku put inside her. Aizen arranged for her execution and successfully got the hougyoku but Yoruichi and Urahara managed to prevent Rukia's execution from actually happening. There are other bits and pieces in this chapter that won't make sense for now but will be explained in later chapters.

Summary: Slight AU Rukia and Renji are out patrolling the Rukongai districts when they stumble across something strange. A young man, either asleep or unconscious, holding a zanpakuto yet he doesn't seem to have even the slightest amount of reiatsu…

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership over Bleach or any of its characters (I'll keep dreaming though, maybe one day it'll come true ^-^)

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><p>It was a few weeks after Aizen's betrayal and the remaining captains, now fully healed, were gathered in a captains meeting due to a call from someone many had never thought they would ever see or hear from again (minus the moment he and Yoruichi entered Seireitei and prevented a huge mistake from occurring).<p>

"We will now begin the meeting," Yamamoto-soutaicho declared, "What is it that you wished to tell us... Urahara Kisuke?"

A large screen had been set up and was currently projecting an oddly dressed, pale blond man drinking tea.

Setting his cup down, Urahara flapped his signature fan open and said, "As we are all aware, Aizen has betrayed Soul Society along with Ichimaru Gin and Tousen Kaname." This sparked a series of pissed off expressions since that topic was still a bit touchy for some.

Continuing, Urahara said, "Another thing you all are aware of is that right now, the chances of winning against those three is pretty much nonexistent."

When some of the captains looked ready to protest, he said solemnly, "Every single person here, including me, has been exposed to Aizen's shikai which means all of us are susceptible to his illusions. Should he ever feel like it, he could make us all think the person next to us is an enemy and then we would wind up killing each other. On a single whim, he could obliterate us without even needing to get physically involved in combat himself. This is not an opinion, only a fact."

There was a heavy silence before Zaraki muttered, "Wouldn't really mind him doin' that."

The other captains either showed various expressions of exasperation or gave him disapproving looks as Ukitake, sensing a fight brewing, swiftly switched topics and said, "I don't think you would have contacted us just to tell us these things Kisuke. Do you have a plan of some kind?" Thankfully, the question got the others' attention and prevented another argument from breaking out.

"Yes I do..." Urahara actually looked mildly uncomfortable, as if he wasn't really happy with whatever he was proposing. Turning his attention to Toushiro, he said, "Hitsugaya-taicho, I do believe two young ladies were placed in your division going by the names Kurosaki Yuzu and Kurosaki Karin?"

Toushiro blinked and nodded before warily saying, "Yes but neither are strong enough to handle even a lieutenant much less people of those three's caliber."

Urahara flapped his fan in an almost nervous gesture as he replied, "I don't want them to be the ones to fight those three. Actually, I don't want them involved in the war at all but considering who they're related to, they undoubtedly will. Luckily or not, this also means the oldest one will get involved."

At the questioning looks he was receiving, Urahara explained, "Those two young girls only have average reiatsus, true. However, they are not the only existing Kurosaki children. The last one is their older brother and he is the one we need." "And what makes you so sure he has what it takes to fight on par with someone like Aizen Sousuke?" Kurotsuchi sneered. "Oh I'm quite certain he's got what it takes to defeat Aizen given he trains a bit more. After all, he's already reached the level of a captain putting aside his lack of knowledge in kido of course."

"I'm sure you all are wondering how he's achieved captain-class power but that's also going to have to wait since it's not extremely imperative at the moment. Right now, you just need to be rest assured that he has what it takes to potentially win this war. Unfortunately…"

They all stared intently at Urahara who had gone silent until said man finally lowered his fan to reveal a sheepish grin.

"I have absolutely no idea where he is!"

THUD!

Some of them fell over while the more refined people managed to just twitch an eyebrow in irritation as Urahara cheerfully laughed. When some began drawing their swords, he quickly said, "Now, now, calm down. I lied a bit with the last part; I do have an idea of where he might be. I'm quite certain he is somewhere in Soul Society or in the Rukongai districts."

Soi-fon snapped in impatience, "And how exactly did we not notice his presence? I'm sure we would have sensed someone with an abnormally high amount of reiatsu."

"Well that would be because he's been in the human world training with me. I do believe there is a bit of confusion. Up until recently, recently being yesterday, Kurosaki Ichigo has been human."

There was a stunned silence as Kyouraku asked, "Until recently meaning…?" "Meaning his corporeal body died quite unexpectedly due to a rather anti-clamatic accident and I had to perform a rather hurried konso. Kurosaki-kun's a rather… unique individual; if I hadn't performed konso right then and there, he could have turned into a hollow."

Byakuya raised an elegant brow as he stated more than asked, "The reason for this unique nature isn't legal is it?" Urahara looked thoughtful for a moment before replying, "Er, sort of half and half. Once you find him, you might be able to understand and I'll also explain more then."

"Kisuke, why were you training a human and why do you seem reluctant to let this Kurosaki Ichigo get involved?" Ukitake inquired curiously. The cheerful expression fell again as Urahara sighed and said softly, "I'll answer the first question later but as to the second one... he's simply just too young. Far too young to have to bear the burden of being the determining factor in a war that involves people he's never even met before."

"How old is he?" Komamura asked hesitantly. Urahara's eyes were completely serious as he replied, "He turned sixteen the day he died which was yesterday, sixteen in human years."

Doing a complete 180 in personality, he abruptly broke the stunned and heavy atmosphere by saying brightly, "But if he learns that his sisters are involved, then he'll definitely fight whether his help is wanted or not~ He treasures family more than anything else which is why I had to make sure those two were actually here."

"Now then, all we need to do is find our MIA person! Don't give me those looks; he's pretty hard to miss so this will be a cinch. Oh but he might not be awake…"

The soutaicho said sternly, "Enough, just describe the boy to us and we will send out search parties."

A dramatic flap of the omnipresent fan. "Alright then, here's a picture~"

Urahara's face vanished, replaced by a scowling young man's. Bright orange hair was the first thing that caught their attention before they noticed his eyes. Honey-chocolate orbs with what appeared to be specks of gold that revealed a fiery will as well as a hidden kindness and protective nature, seeming to captivate any who looked at them from their sheer intensity.

It was a look that belonged to someone who was ready to risk their life to protect a loved one no matter what and it most certainly should not be so painfully clear on such a young face.

"Wow, that's a pretty fierce look he's got there" Kyouraku commented, "Something tells me that gold isn't completely natural though. They're almost… eerily mesmerizing."

The exiled shinigami's face reappeared on the screen as he nodded and said, "You are correct however that will also have to wait until after we've found him. There are some things even I don't quite understand that he will have to explain, assuming he understands them himself."

Before they could press for more answers, he sang, "Have fun searching~"

There was another silence once the screen flickered black as Toushiro rested his head in his hand and muttered, "That guy just dumped all the grunt work onto us didn't he?" A chorus of sighs ensued before they discussed a bit more on how to conduct the search.

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><p>Meanwhile, while the whole meeting had been in session…<p>

"Remind me again why we're the ones doing the patrols out here?" Renji complained for what felt like the 50th time as he and Rukia roamed the Rukongai districts. "Because you idiot, as I've told you for the past two hours, I'm still recovering so I can't do any heavy-duty work. And Ukitake-taicho was worried about me doing these patrols alone so you were ordered to come with me by… nii-sama."

Wincing a little at having encroached on an uncomfortable topic, Renji quickly changed gears. He searched for something safe to chat about before settling with, "How long 'til your injuries heal?".

She seemed to look relieved at the simple question and sudden change and replied, "Not much longer now. Isane-fukutaicho told me that I will be fully recovered in about another week. How are you holding up?"

Both had been a little worried that the recent events that had occurred would make things extremely awkward between them so they were happy that they were able to continue to chat about casual, non-important things as they walked through a forest between two districts.

They had just begun to reminisce on their past when they quite literally, walked into a fated encounter that would challenge everything they once believed they knew.

Renji had just been saying, "Remember the ti-" when he tripped over something, doing a magnificent fall and landing with a resounding crash. "Renji, are you okay?" Rukia asked her childhood friend, torn between amusement and concern.

"Ouch, yeah. Geez what the he-"

He and Rukia stared at exactly what, better yet who, the former had tripped over.

A teenage boy with orange hair and wearing a yukata was lying on the ground unconscious, a sword grasped lightly in one of his hands. What really caught their attention though, was his reiatsu (or lack thereof) and the existence of a zanpakuto that apparently belonged to someone with absolutely no spiritual power.

"What the…?"

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><p>AN: Hmm there are so many possibilities for how this story will work out . My current stories have been a bit angsty so maybe I'll make this one a bit lighter... And as for pairings, the main one will be Shiro x Ichi but there will be others, both hetero and yaoi (I might have yuri but that's highly unlikely). Don't forget, please review~

I haven't decided if I'll put in deleted scenes at the end of each chapter in this story so if you like those, please tell me and I'll put them in :D


	2. Shirosaki

Disclaimer: …. Ok, I don't wanna say this for every chapter so I'll just say I have never owned Bleach or its characters (and I never will T_T)

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><p>"Why does someone out here have a sword?" Rukia asked, not wanting to lower her guard but finding it ridiculous to be wary of someone who was clearly unconscious.<p>

Renji was also cautious since they couldn't be sure if this was a trap of some kind. "Maybe he found it somewhere… or it's just an ordinary sword" he suggested although he clearly didn't believe his own words.

Rukia shook her head and replied, "Not possible. No ordinary sword looks like that."

The sword at first glance didn't seem very special at all, just a black blade with a black hilt but on closer inspection, there was a strip of white that ran from the tip down the sharp edge. Also attached to the hilt was a pure white ribbon, the two pure whites stark contrasts to the black theme the sword more or less appeared to have.

Renji nodded in agreement as he shifted restlessly. He couldn't explain why he felt anxious but it just felt like they were somehow being watched even though there wasn't any unfamiliar reiatsu nearby. He briefly entertained the thoughts that they were under an illusion or that it was the kid but dismissed both since they were highly unlikely.

The illusion didn't make sense since Aizen would have nothing to gain from tricking the two of them and the idea that the kid was watching them was ridiculous since he was quite obviously unconscious.

Deciding to ignore the feeling for now, he asked Rukia, "What do we do? Should we send a hell butterfly now and report this or bring this guy to fourth division and then report?"

Rukia frowned and thought over it before replying, "Let's take him back. I don't think he'd be able to do any harm even if he was an enemy since he doesn't have any reiatsu." Renji grunted in agreement and he hefted the limp body up before the two began hurrying back, both unaware that said limp body had tensed ever so slightly.

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><p>Preparations were being made to send out search parties in Seireitei and there was a feeling of curiosity and eagerness at the prospect of having a potentially powerful ally but before any could be deployed, Isane's voice resounded in the air as she used Bakudou 58: Kakushi Tsuijaku.<p>

_"Attention everyone! The target has been found and is currently resting in fourth division. Do not send out the search parties. Captains, please report to the fourth division for an impromptu meeting. I repeat, the target has been found. Captains, please report to fourth division for a meeting."_

There was a buzz of confusion and slight disappointment from the shinigamis as their captains were once again summoned for a meeting despite having only just recently left the first one. They had been hoping to be the ones to find the objective if only to brag about it to their friends.

The captains themselves were perplexed since they hadn't sent anybody out to search yet although Ukitake had a sneaking suspicion about who had found the missing Kurosaki Ichigo since there were only two shinigamis scouting Rukongai at the time.

Swiftly entering the fourth division, a familiar feeling of tranquility swept through them since Unohana's calming reiatsu coated the walls as a way to help soothe any patients coming in that were in pain.

Healers hurried to get out of there way as they strode down the hallways towards the room Unohana had set up as a 'special' patient room. It was a place for the kid to rest peacefully and it ensured privacy, a perfect place to hold an emergency meeting without any interruptions.

When the captains arrived, they were slightly surprised to see Urahara Kisuke and Shihoin Yoruichi already there looking quite comfortable but completely out of place with their clothes.

"Y-Yoruichi-sama!" The usually stoic Soi-fon looked like a lost puppy that finally found its master again the second she spotted the beautiful bronze-skinned woman.

After Aizen's betrayal, the two assassins had talked briefly and had reconciled once Soi-fon revealed her true reason for harboring bitter feelings for her former lady and Yoruichi explained why she hadn't taken Soi-fon with her when she left. Soi-fon had then developed her worship for her predecessor again and thus, here they were on friendly terms once more.

"Yo Soi-fon, Byakubo!" the cat woman said, a mischievous grin gracing her face when she say Byakuya stiffen ever so slightly at the hated childhood nickname.

"Refrain from calling me that ridiculous name" Byakuya ordered, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly in vexation when it looked like Yoruichi was about to call him something degrading again. Ukitake quickly played peacemaker as he said warmly, "It's good to see both of you again in a more... peaceful situation."

Urahara and Yoruichi smiled and nodded in agreement before greeting the other captains and introducing themselves formally. Once that was done, they settled into business.

"Right then, I don't want to worry anyone but I do believe we have a small problem~" Urahara did not look the least bit worried at this 'small problem' which only had the others feeling quite concerned.

He cheerfully brushed aside their worried expressions and announced,

"It appears that for reasons unknown, my poor former student does not have any reiatsu at the moment!"

Silence.

"I'm sorry Urahara–san, I think we misheard you," Ukitake said, "I could have sworn you just said that the boy who could help us win this war currently does not have any reiatsu."

"Actually, that's exactly what I said~ Oh, and it appears that he won't wake up for some unexplainable reasons…"

More silence and the annoyed expressions in some of their eyes clearly showed their desire to draw their weapons and put an end to the very infuriating man.

"Hold on a sec guys and calm down" Yoruichi said in a placating manner, "We can still figure this out."

Ignoring the skeptical looks she was receiving, she turned to the prone body lying on the bed and said, "Yo, I know Ichigo's out like a light but you should still be able to talk through his body. You're already in control and listenin' ain't ya?"

To the captains' surprise, the body shifted and started sitting up almost immediately as a voice mumbled something very lowly, "…"

Urahara beamed and said, "I apologize, we didn't quite catch that." The words got louder as the teen's head snapped up, pure gold eyes surrounded by pools of black narrowed in anger as he snarled in an odd, watery distorted voice, "I'm gonna fuckin' _kill_ you ya stupid sketchy bastard!"

Those eyes were most definitely _not_ the ones in the image Urahara had shown them.

And now, reiatsu could clearly be felt and swords were drawn when it became very apparent that it was the tainted one of a hollow.

"Urahara Kisuke, _explain_." The soutaicho said in a rather dangerous tone.

"Oh dear, this is why I said to wait until after I told them about this before calling him out Yoruichi-san." Said woman shrugged carelessly and replied, "They'd still be pissed either way Kisuke, might as well show first then tell."

The exiled shinigami sighed before saying, "Well no use crying over spilled milk. _You_ calm down, you're already agitating the shinigamis," he directed this towards the fuming hollow as he then returned his attention to the captains, "And the rest of you, please sheath your weapons, he won't attack unless you threaten his vessel."

Toushiro asked warily, "Is that wise? It still has a weapon of its own. And what do you mean by vessel?"

Urahara flapped his fan open and replied, "I can't do anything about the sword. It's fine, he won't do anything that will put his body at risk. You're more than welcome to try to get him to drop his sword I suppose, but that will only lead to fighting and bloodshed. And by vessel I mean the body he's currently using. Hold off any further questions about that since he is not exactly what some of you are thinking."

Weapons were reluctantly put away but tension crackled in the air since it was quite clear from the perfectly controlled reiatsu that the hollow was both smart and quite possibly strong. It was hardly reassuring that it was still in possession of a weapon.

Ignoring the tense atmosphere, Urahara brightly said, "Now then, introductions. Captains, meet the body of Kurosaki Ichigo and the one currently in control of said body, Shiro-san."

"Shirosaki."

Urahara blinked as the hollow fixed him with a deadly glare and snapped, "Th' name's Shirosaki. Only aibou's allowed ta call me Shiro."

"Ah, pardon me then Shirosaki-san. Back to what I was saying, Shirosaki-san is a hollow as I'm sure you all can see however he's a bit different from the ones you all are used to."

"What are you talking about? He's clearly just another hollow albeit a surprisingly intelligent one" Kurotsuchi scoffed.

A blur of orange and a bit of black.

Before anyone could react or even blink, a sword tip was pressed to Kurotsuchi's neck, a mere hair's breath away from drawing blood.

"Watch yer tongue shinigami, I ain't 'just another hollow.' I'm the king's horse and I'm much stronger than any of those pussies in Hueco Mundo. Remember that or I'll kick yer ass."

The other captains had been about to draw their weapons again when he let his sword tip drop voluntarily as he walked back to the bed and flopped down onto it. "Oh, an' if ya think hollows are generally stupid, then yer pretty retarded yerself. Only the weak ones are dumb, the stronger ones are a heck of a lot smarter."

Kurotsuchi looked ready to murder someone but was interrupted by Urahara as he asked, "Shirosaki-san, can you explain why Kurosaki-kun doesn't have any reiatsu?"

The pissed expression returned as Shiro growled, "It's sealed."

…

"I beg your pardon?"

"It's friggin' sealed ya deaf bastard! Ya see this?" he swung the sword up viciously. Urahara blinked and asked, "I've been wondering about that actually. Is that… Zangetsu?" When he received an unhappy grunt of confirmation, he said, "If I remember correctly, isn't he supposed to look… bigger?"

Shiro snorted and snapped, "No shit Sherlock. This," he brandished the sword again, "is the stupid old man's unreleased form. It's also where all of aibou's reiatsu is. I don't know how the fuck to get it back into shikai since fer some stupid reason, I can't do it. If I change it to th' one I use," the sword's appearance changed suddenly so that the black and white parts were reversed, "I can release it but it'll only be my reiatsu. Aibou's is still, fer some stupid reason, locked inside it. I think he has to release it himself but he won't fuckin' wake up an' it's pissin' me off."

"Zangetsu won't say anything?" Shiro scoffed and replied, "Th' only thing he's saying is that "everything will work out in due time" the senile, riddle-happy old fart. If I lend aibou my reiatsu, then he might be able ta wake up briefly but that's pushin' it since he might lose control an' accidentally kill somebody."

Urahara sighed and said, "Can't do anything about this right now I suppose. Well anyway, let me explain something." This was directed to the captains.

"Kurosaki Ichigo is not possessed by a hollow nor is he what can be classified as what many of you know as a vaizard. He used to be but as he is now, I'm not entirely sure what he and Shirosaki-san can be labeled as."

While Shiro growled a bit at the"labeling" part, Kyouraku asked, "And what exactly is so different about the kid that separates him from a vaizard?"

A flap of the fan.

"Shirosaki-san has the ability to form and maintain his own material body provided Kurosaki-kun permits him to. So in essence, the two are separate entities occupying the same body rather than being two parts of one soul like a vaizard. I suppose it could be a form of possession but since it is done with the consent of the body's rightful owner, that's not quite accurate either. In short, they are a living, walking contradiction."

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><p>AN: I love Shiro, he's so much fun to write X3 Anyway, the confusion grows! In the next chappie, we'll be seeing Karin and Yuzu and earing a bit of their story~ Hopefully, that'll clear up any questions about why they're already in the tenth division despite the rather short time crunch between when they died and when they became shinigamis. Anyway, since I love doing these things, I'll include them in this story too, Deleted Scenes!

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><p><strong><span>Deleted Scenes<span>**

_Are You Listening?_

"Hold on a sec guys and calm down," Yoruichi said in a placating manner, "We can still figure this out."

Ignoring the skeptical looks she was receiving, she turned to the prone body lying on the bed and said, "Yo, I know Ichigo's out like a light but you should still be able to talk through his body. You're already in control and listenin' ain't ya?"

There was silence as they all looked at the body in anticipation.

Nothing.

Yoruichi frowned slightly and called, "Oi, Shiro, you there?"

Still no response.

Urahara had a sneaking suspicion so he walked over and carefully listened to the body's breathing.

"Oh dear, I do believe we took too long chatting. It appears he's fallen asleep."

_Emergencies and Lunch  
><em>

Shiro snorted and snapped, "No shit Sherlock. This," he brandished the sword again, "is the stupid old man's unreleased form. It's also where all of aibou's reiatsu is. I don't-"

_Your mind's in disturbia, it's like the darkness is light  
>Disturbia, am I scaring you tonight?<br>Disturbia, ain't used to what you like  
>Disturbia, Disturbia<em>

"Goddammit!" Shiro cursed as he whipped out his phone and flipped it open, "WHAT? I'm in the middle of somethin' here!"

"Hi Shiro-nii, I was just wondering if you and Ichi-nii remembered the lunches I made for you guys" Yuzu's sweet voice said through the speaker.

Shiro smacked his forehead with his hand before speaking in a carefully neutral tone so he wouldn't upset her, "Yuzu, did Ichi not say that you weren't supposed ta call this number unless there was an emergency?" The others could hear Yuzu's upset voice say something as Shiro hastily replied, "I know lunch is important an' all but it's not qualified as an emer-"

_Sniffle  
><em>

"Fuck, Ichi's gonna be pissed."_  
><em>


	3. Story of the Twins

"So in essence, if he was to fight, then it would be as if he had the power of two people?" Komamura asked.

"Yoruichi grinned and said, "Even better. He'd be fighting with the power of two captain-class people. Both Ichigo and Shirosaki know bankai."

At the slightly skeptical but reassured expressions, Urahara cut in, "However, don't get your hopes up yet. We need to figure out how to wake him up first." Toushiro crossed his arms and asked with narrowed eyes, "And how exactly are we supposed to do that?"

Urahara and Yoruichi exchanged glances, looked at Shirosaki, and then looked back at each other before the former replied, "Well... we have an idea in mind but it's a teeny bit... risky."

Just his tone and wording had Shirosaki's hackles rising as he growled lowly, "I ain't gonna like this idea am I?" The other captains were equally suspicious and their suspicions were only heightened when the two flashed everyone false cheerful smiles and simultaneously replied, "Nope~"

They wondered if they should start running now.

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><p><em>Meanwhile near 10<em>_th__ Division_

"See them?" a male asked. "Heard they were just accepted…"

"So unfair. The rest of us had to go through the shinigami academy and they get to just enter a division?" a woman this time, her voice tinged with scorn and jealousy.

"…have private tutors supposedly since they know squat…" A couple snickers.

Karin's shoulders tensed and she was about to confront all the whisperers and show them what 'squat' they knew when a hand lightly touched her arm.

Yuzu's big, kind eyes gave her a gentle understanding look as she shook her head causing Karin to relax a bit but not much.

She scowled heavily and grumbled, "I hate this. It's not like we were the ones who asked to get put in here without going through the proper procedures."

Yuzu smiled and said optimistically, "But this is a good thing in the end right? Hitsugaya-taicho promised to do everything he could to get permission to send us to the human world once we got a bit stronger. Then we might find... whatever it is we're looking for."

Even as she said this with whole-hearted belief, there was no way Karin could miss the small pangs of hurt in her eyes whenever someone talked about them negatively.

She wished they didn't have to wait, that they were strong enough to go by themselves and figure out what they were looking for and find it. She hated seeing the barely visible tinge of sadness in her twin's reiatsu that was most likely mirrored in her own.

When they had first woken up in the 2nd district of Rukongai, both had felt a powerful, compelling need to see someone or something and had been surprised by the crushing feeling of despair and loneliness when they didn't see what they hoped to.

They had been lost –both physically and spiritually- and would have most likely starved to death if they hadn't been found by one Kukaku Shiba.

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><p><em>Yuzu was crying and Karin had no idea what to do or where to go, on the verge of tears herself even if they would only be out of frustration. She knew what their names were and was pretty sure that they had died but she didn't know how or why nor did she have any idea of where they were at the moment.<em>

_She wanted someone to come to their aid but even her imaginary savior's face remained elusive and unknown, just like everything else about their situation._

_Despite how scared and uncertain she was, she couldn't let them stay exposed outside like this. Having a makeshift goal in mind, she grabbed her twin's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Yuzu looked at her before rubbing her eyes and then weakly smiling in an attempt at showing bravery which briefly made Karin proud_

_She put on her own feeble version of her customary smirk and said, "C'mon, let's go find a place to stay." Yuzu hummed softly in agreement and after wandering around for a while, they eventually found a place that would work._

_It was an abandoned house far away from any places that seemed to be populated (later they would learn they had been sensing reiatsu) and hid away inside it._

_They spent the next few days just waiting there, hoping someone would find them and give them some form of guidance but as time passed, they were continually disappointed. _

_Two weeks later they were exhausted, famished, and sinking further into their misery. They were quietly discussing what to do next when the door of their temporary home was suddenly kicked down. _

_Karin had instinctively gone into a defensive position and she could feel Yuzu's body next to her, shaking but impressively silent with not a single sound escaping her, as someone strode into the room they were in._

_A woman with a fierce scowl planted on her face wearing a long skirt and a rather revealing top became visible, a man with what appeared to be a pig trailing in after her._

_She stamped her foot onto a low table in the center of the room and asked sharply, "Kurosaki Karin and Kurosaki Yuzu?"_

_The two looked at each other in surprise before Karin warily demanded, "Who wants to know? I'll kick your ass if you're just a creepy stalker or kidnapper."_

_A flicker of approval flashed in the woman's eyes as she grinned and replied, "I like your guts kid. The name's Kukaku Shiba. On the request of a friend, I'm here to take you to some people who might be able to help you provided they don't act like the assholes they usually are."_

_An exchange of glances._

_Yuzu spoke next in a soft but equally strong voice, a drastic change from how she had been when they first woke up, "And why should we trust you Kukaku-san? It doesn't sound like the people you're going to give us to will be very helpful."_

_Kukaku shrugged and said, "I have a personal grudge so my opinion of them is low but that has nothing to do with this. If I could help you with my own power believe me, I would. But what you guys need is something I can't help with so this is the only option" Another smirk that seemed grimmer this time. _

"_I'm sending you guys to a place called Soul Society. You can go there and see what happens or you can stay here and most likely die." _

_There had been no lies in her voice and eyes, only blunt honesty, so Karin and Yuzu hesitantly agreed._

_When they arrived at the gateway of Seireitei, Kukaku just demanded to see someone called the "sou-taicho" and after a bit of heated words and mild threatening, they were granted permission to see him._

_The meeting was brief; Kukaku had told the sou-taicho to let the two of them become shinigamis without "going through the bull-shit academy." When it looked like her request was going to be rejected, she whipped out a piece of paper._

_From the brief glimpse they had, it looked very official and the writing on it seemed familiar somehow, even more so when they saw the name signed at the bottom:_

_Kurosaki Yamamoto Isshin._

_Everything else happened really fast after that. They were suddenly accepted and received private tutoring from some of the strongest shinigamis and were then placed into 10th division. Their captain, though slightly baffled by their abrupt placing, accepted them without bearing any ill-feelings and Matsumoto Rangiku welcomed them with open arms._

* * *

><p>Karin was snapped out of her reverie when she and Yuzu suddenly found themselves getting suffocated by a pair of very large… assets.<p>

"Matsumoto-fukutaicho, we can't breathe" Karin deadpanned as Yuzu giggled happily at the friendly and familiar gesture. Their current captor pouted and whined, "Karin-chan, you've been spending too much time with taicho! I swear, your scowls are getting more and more similar by the day and your sense of fun is going down the drain."

Karin rolled her eyes and when they were finally released, asked, "Where is our midget taicho anyway?" Yuzu sighed and reprimanded her, "Karin-chan, Hitsugaya-taicho doesn't like it when you call him that! You should be a little nicer."

Karin scoffed and retorted, "He calls me a pain in his ass so we're even." It went unsaid that both the nicknames and the current bickering were never meant to be taken seriously and that they indicated the twins were quite close to the generally frosty captain.

Matsumoto smiled fondly at the two before saying, "Taicho's in an impromptu meeting. You two were taking a nap at the time when the announcement was made so you didn't know."

Karin raised an eyebrow while Yuzu tilted her head curiously and asked, "Wasn't he in one already?" The older woman shrugged and replied, "Another one was called for some reason or another. But whatever~ This just means I can slack off some more!" The twins fell over comically and sighed at her laziness before Karin smirked and asked slyly, "Where should we hide the paperwork this time?"

Yuzu shook her head in exasperation and amusement while the two mischievous females began plotting their next prank on their unsuspecting taicho. They had been about to start preparing it when all of a sudden, there was an eruption of Zaraki Kenpachi's reiatsu as well as a huge explosion that came from the direction of fourth division causing many shinigamis to wonder what in the world was going on.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry it took a while to get this chapter out. I'm trying to get a few other things done and its been making me fall a little bit behind. But its out! Anyway, look forward to the next chapter~

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><p>And of course, Deleted Scenes! (Only 1 this time, sorry guys! .)<p>

_Children_

They had been about to start preparing it when all of a sudden, there was an eruption of Zaraki Kenpachi's reiatsu as well as a huge explosion that came from the direction of the fourth division causing many shinigamis to wonder what in the world was going on.

Their question was answered when they heard said captain roar,

"GODDAMMIT! Yachiru, stop trying to make cookies!"

_Signatures_

_From the brief glimpse they had, it looked very official and the writing on it seemed familiar somehow, even more so when they saw the name signed at the bottom:_

_Kurosaki Iss- Yamamoto Isshin w_ith the first Isshin crossed out messily_.  
><em>

There was silence before Karin slapped her forehead to her palm and muttered, "Can't the stupid goat-chin even do a signature without goofing up?"


	4. Attack and Awakening

"So dead. Those two connivin' bastards are so friggin' dead."

This was Shiro's mantra as he fled from the maniacal demon behind him while resisting the urge to use his power. "Fantastic idea my fuckin' ass! What part of this is a good idea?"

* * *

><p><em>The Plan:<em>

"_Shirosaki-san, you know how both you and Kurosaki-kun have extraordinary instincts and do whatever it takes to survive yes?" Urahara asked. Shiro had a very bad feeling as he replied slowly, "Yeah… the fuck about it?"_

_Ignoring the agitated hollow's crude language, Urahara said, "Well you see, our glorious plan is this! Have Kurosaki-kun's body get attacked by a captain and pray that that jumpstarts him back to awareness~"_

"_Oi! Wait one goddamn second-"_

"_Oh and Shirosaki-san, you're not allowed to use your reiatsu for two reasons. One is that it would ruin the plan and two, its hollow tint will alarm the other shinigamis and then that'll just make a big mess."_

"_Hold on-"_

"_Good luck~"_

_A burst of reiatsu as Zaraki grinned and shouted, "I like this idea! No holdin' back right?"_

_Before Shiro could protest, Urahara and Yoruichi gave a thumbs-up and replied, "Right!"_

* * *

><p>Thus, here he was in his current predicament. "Fuuuck, aibou now would be a really good time to get your ass back in action or that lunatic is gonna kill yer body for real. An' people say hollows are monsters…"<p>

He vaulted over a wall and cursed when he heard Zaraki smash right through it, his laughter now mixed with the squeals of a little girl. Shiro blinked before risking a glance back, wondering if he had heard right. Indeed, there was now a little pink-haired girl ecstatically cheering on the giant she was riding.

"Let me rephrase that… and they say hollows have some serious issues in the head."

Flash-stepping onto the roofs of buildings, he sprinted, pointedly ignoring the man bellowing at him from behind to stop running and fight him like a man.

A vein twitched on Shiro's head as he grumbled about not liking to run but not wanting his aibou to get killed either.

"Hmm, maybe this plan isn't working…" Urahara mused as he and the other captains followed the trail of destruction left in the two demons' wake. "I think the better term is that it obviously isn't working" Kurotsuchi sneered smugly. Until one of the twelfth division barracks blew up at least.

As the scientist screeched and ranted over the loss of a magnificent laboratory, the other captains calculated how much the repairs would be.

* * *

><p>For a few hours, the destruction continued and by now, people had stopped wondering what was going on and had returned to their daily routines while the captains were quite displeased with the increasing damages.<p>

Soi-fon glared at the former twelfth division captain and hissed, "You better be helping with repairs Ura-" but stopped when she realized Urahara wasn't listening and that he was acting oddly. His body had suddenly stiffened and his face had gone completely serious, all traces of humor and cheerfulness wiped away.

They were about to question him when abruptly, everyone in Seireitei jerked their heads up as they sensed something that didn't bode well at all. "Impossible" Komamura muttered, "He isn't seriously attacking now."

To their dismay, hundreds of rips appeared in the sky as if it was falling apart, long thin white arms from some, blades and claws from others. The rips burst open fully and hundreds of menos grande and arrancar started raining down around the walls fortifying Seireitei as well as four lone people who remained in the air, their reiatsu more menacing than the rest.

"They look fucking weak" the teal-haired one snorted.

"They look no different from you trash" was the response from a smaller, more stoic hollow with what looked like two green facial markings that ran down his cheeks like tears.

"Grimmjow-sama, Ulquiorra-sama, you shouldn't waste your time here. And please refrain from fighting" this came from an arrancar with long blonde hair.

"Ilforte's right my lords. Please calm down and leave this to us, unless you wish to play" the last one said, his head covered by an odd-shaped mask with a small braid dangling from it.

A scoff and then the one known as Grimmjow snarled, "Don't order me around Ilforte, Shawlong." He raised his hand and a cero began forming. "I'll kill whenever I damn well please, weakling or not." A beam of red energy shot down, holding promises of mass destruction.

"Hadou #4: Byakurai."

An equally powerful beam of white light met the cero creating a huge explosion in the sky. When the smoke cleared, Byakuya, Komamura, Toushiro, and Soi-fon were between the clearly stronger arrancars and the rest of Seireitei, their weapons drawn.

"Why are you here?" Soi-fon demanded, "That traitor should know it's pointless to attack us here because of the barrier surrounding Soul Society."

They didn't look fazed as Ulquiorra asked, "You are referring to that pitiful ball that is as fragile as glass I suppose?" They bristled as Komamura snarled, "Try breaking it with your meager power and you will see just how 'fragile' it is hollow."

A pale hand merely dug into a pocket before pulling out a small dart. "Very well then, let me show you the drastic difference between you and Aizen-sama" the impassive arrancar said as the dart went flying. To their shock, the second it touched the barrier, a huge crack formed and the hollows leaped at it like starving hounds that were just offered prey.

"Impossible" Toushiro muttered but his attention and the other three captains' was redirected when the hollows began speaking again. "I suppose introductions would be prudent here. I am Arrancar Numero 11 Shawlong Kufang" the one with a braid said.

"Arrancar Numero 15 Ilforte Granz, a pleasure to meet you brothers."

"Che pointless shit, Grimmjow Jaggerjacques the Sexta Espada."

"...Ulquiorra Schiffer." It did not go unnoticed that he didn't say his number but they were forced to let it slide since they were suddenly attacked.

"This strength… you are espada are you not?" Byakuya stated more than asked when his blade met Ulquiorra's hand and only left a scratch. Ilforte, who was attacking Komamura, replied "Only Grimmjow-sama and Ulquiorra-sama are espada level. Aizen-sama didn't believe anymore were necessary to demonstrate our strength but personally, I think just us will be enough to destroy you."

Toushiro was about to prove him rong when he suddenly felt his fuku-taicho's reiatsu weaken and Karin and Yuzu's reiatsus flare and he glanced back. The distraction cost him as Shawlong used the opportunity to hit him directly with a cero, sending him flying through the crack in the barrier and crashing into one of the buildings. It unfortunately happened to be near the ones who got him distracted him in the first place.

"Wh- midget, I mean taicho!"

"Hitsugaya-taicho!"

Karin and Yuzu's worried voices forced him to pull himself painfully to his feet as he said swiftly, "I'm fine, that just caught me off-guard. Is Matsumoto okay?" Karin scowled as Yuzu replied, "She was slashed near her hip by a hollow that was sneaking up on us. She's not in critical danger or anything but-"

A shadow suddenly appeared behind her and both Toushiro and Karin cursed when they realized Shawlong was raising his sword and was about to cut Yuzu down.

Blood splattered and Yuzu blinked in shock. Karin had thrown herself protectively in front but Toushiro had slipped in in front of her and had taken the brunt of the swing and was now bleeding from a large gash on his shoulder.

Pushing the two back, he ordered between gasps, "He's too strong for you two to handle, get out of here" as he clutched his wound. "Hell no, you're barely standing taicho. You wouldn't stand a chance" Karin said bluntly as she and Yuzu drew their swords and got into position to attack. "Are you idiots? Neither of you even know how to use shikai" Toushiro hissed. "You protected us taicho, it's our turn to return the favor" Yuzu replied determinedly before she and Karin moved simultaneously.

While it was true that they weren't very strong, their coordination, partnership, and kidou abilities were flawless and they used them to their fullest.

Yuzu raised her hand and chanted rapidly, "Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws, Hadou #33: Soukatsui!" A blast of blue shot from her hand as Shawlong simply held his hand up and deflected it.

"Come now, is that it Miss?" he asked mockingly. He blinked when he realized Karin was behind him, her sword held up in one hand and he raised his to block her. What he didn't see was her other hand aimed at his stomach as she shouted, "Hadou #31: Shakkahou!"

Being the stronger of the twins, hers actually pushed him back a bit and he snarled, "You little-"

"Bakudou #4: Hainawa!" A golden rope lassoed around him and momentarily held him still due to the amount of reiatsu poured into it. The pause was enough for Karin.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens, Hadou #73: Souren Soukatsui!" Her hands were pointed directly in front of his face and the sounds of it impacting were far from weak.

The two then rushed forward, intending to land their finishing blows when they cried out in pain, blood spraying from wounds that suddenly appeared on their bodies.

"Quite annoying little flies aren't you two?" Shawlong asked as he wiped his undamaged face, sword dripping with their blood. He paused when Toushiro appeared in front of them, breathing harshly, and let out a mocking laugh.

"I'm a bit disappointed but I suppose it is to be expected. A captain, held down by such weak subordinates is truly a waste. I would have liked to have a more interesting battle but alas, you have to die. Don't worry; you all will be out of your misery soon. I'll even be generous; I will allow you, in your final moments, bear witness to my release form."

"Snip, Tijerita."

Bone armor surrounded his arms, upper chest, shoulders, and neck and the back of his mask extended to form a tail. Long sharp claws extended from his fingertips made from the same bony material as his armor.

Flexing his claws, he smirked victoriously but Toushiro just closed his eyes briefly before straightening up.

"Don't be so damn cocky hollow. Simply because you caught me off-guard before doesn't mean you have what it takes to win" Toushiro said coldly as he pointed his sword at Shawlong before calling, "Bankai, Daiguren Hyourinmaru!"

Icy cold reiatsu erupted around him as wings and a tail of ice appeared as well as ice claws around his feet. A guard wrapped around his sword arm and formed a small dragon head above his shoulder. His wounds were now encased by a layer of ice, preventing them from bleeding and hindering his movements. Shawlong's eyes widened at the huge increase in energy but before he could retreat, Toushiro was in front of him.

"Ryuusenka." The arrancar was instantly incased in a cocoon of ice that then shattered, leaving not even a single piece of its former captive behind.

"Your biggest mistake was thinking you were winning when I hadn't even used shikai or bankai yet. Sorry, looks like we didn't get to see what your resurreccion could do" Toushiro muttered wryly. As his wings cracked before shattering, his body gave out and he collapsed to the ground, blood once again running freely from his wounds. "T-taicho!" Karin and Yuzu cried out before running over to his side.

Yuzu began trying a basic healing spell as Karin asked worriedly, "Taicho are you okay-"

A thud and then relatively strong spiritual pressure pressed down on them.

They froze when they felt the enemy presence and with great anxiety and fear, looked back. A huge hollow with a mailcious grin was standing there, his sword high above his head and ready to cut all three down.

_'We can't block that!'_ Karin thought desperately.

_'I don't want Karin-chan or Hitsugaya-taicho to die!'_ Yuzu's mind screamed.

_'Save us...'_

A confident smile and a sense of security flashed from their memories and they suddenly remembered the one they had been searching for, the person who had promised to protect them no matter what.

"Help us... ICHI-NII!"

The hollow swung down and they closed their eyes, waiting for the final blow. When none came, they thought they had instantaneously died but then an overwhelming yet warm and familiar reiatsu flooded over them and they slowly opened their eyes. Black clothes were the first thing they saw but as their gazes trailed up, a shock of orange hair caught their attention before their eyes finally met familiar chocolate brown ones.

"Yo, sorry I'm late."

* * *

><p>AN: Dear lord that was long. Ichi lives! Woo-hoo XD Thanks for the reviews guys and look forward to the next chapter~

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><p>What's better than a ridiculously long chapter? Deleted Scenes!<p>

_Heaven vs Hell_

"Bakudou #4: Hainawa!" A golden rope lassoed around him and momentarily held him still due to the amount of reiatsu poured into it. The pause was enough for Karin.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far hells-"

She paused before smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand and muttering, "It's not hells is it?"

Yuzu giggled before replying, "Nope it's heavens."

Her twin groaned.

"Me and my damn cynical vocab."

_You're..._

The hollow swung down and they closed their eyes, waiting for the final blow. When none came, they thought they had instantaneously died but then an overwhelming yet warm and familiar reiatsu flooded over them and they slowly opened their eyes. Black clothes were the first thing they saw but as their eyes trailed up, a shock of orange hair caught their attention before their eyes met familiar chocolate brown ones.

Not.

"Oi Kon, why are you here? Where's Ichi-nii?" Karin demanded. Kon stumbled a bit from his cool pose and whined, "Karin, you ruined it! Ichigo's got the flu so we figured that if I just finished the scene then no one would tell the difference."

Yuzu blinked before saying apologetically, "Sorry Kon-nii but... Your back's too slouched, the way you're holding Zangetsu-san's all wrong, your hair isn't quite as messy, your scowl isn't as fierce, your eyes aren't at the right level of protectiveness, and... I think that's all. Oh and the way you positioned your feet is all wrong."

There was silence before Karin muttered, "Geez I noticed the scowl, the position of his hands, and his eyes were wrong but the rest?"

'We're just amazed both of you noticed _any_ of that...' was what the rest of the crew was thinking.


	5. Reunions

Sorry for the super slow update! Things have been quite hectic so I have been falling behind on my stories. But I finally have this chappie for you guys so enjoy~

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><p>Urahara and Yoruichi snapped their heads up when they felt the reiatsu of the only captain guarding Karin and Yuzu weaken considerably and a low-ranked but still powerful arrancar approach them. Knowing how bad it would be if the two were killed, Urahara glanced at Yoruichi and then looked back in the twins' direction, silently asking if she'd be able to get to their location and help them.<p>

"Crap, I don't know if I can make it in time!" Yoruichi hissed as she slammed her foot into a hollow, sending it flying and smashing into a bunch of others before its mask crumbled and it died. Urahara was about to respond when he paused and turned to look in the direction of Karin and Yuzu again, narrowly avoiding getting decapitated since the speed goddess quickly smashed the mask of a hollow sneaking up on him. She gave him a slightly agitated glare as she snapped irritably, "Yo Kisuke, now ain't the time to space out-"

"Do you feel that?" the man asked abruptly. Yoruichi blinked when her rant was cut off and slammed her elbow into yet another hollow before asking, "What are you talkin' about?"

Suddenly, she as well as many others both shinigami and hollow alike, froze when there was a sudden eruption of reiatsu, familiar to a select few but unrecognizable to the majority. The reiatsu was a pure gentle blue color and although it lacked the refined control of a captain, it lashed out with a fury that rivaled Zaraki's and a power that could only be matched by someone who had mastered bankai. The shinigamis were startled by the strength of the reiatsu and the purity of its color but the hollows stirred restlessly since their instincts could feel an underlying frightening presence hidden behind the beautiful color and it made them anxious and even scared.

And then the reiatsu plummeted to a much weaker level catching everyone by surprise. It proceeded to then rise and fall at random intervals until it settled on a mediocre level.

Getting over her momentary stupor, Yoruichi sighed and said, "Even when he just gets his power back, he lacks any finesse or control. Looks like Shirosaki's lendin' a hand an' keepin' his reiatsu at a safe level to use since it was released so suddenly." Giving Urahara an exasperated look, she added, "And it _was_ a better idea to get his sisters to call him out."

A grin spread across Urahara's face as he cheekily replied, "Perhaps~ But putting aside those minor issues… he woke up."

* * *

><p>"Yo sorry I'm late."<p>

Karin and Yuzu would have tackled there brother the moment they recognized him if it weren't for the fact that now wasn't such a good time for happy reunions and they were still aware that they had their injured captain to take care of.

Resisting the childish urge to run up to Ichigo and make him hug them, Karin said hurriedly, "Ichi-nii, our taicho needs medical attention..."

The weak, shallow breathing from the bloody captain only reinforced the urgency to get him to fourth division but both girls hesitated, reluctant to leave their brother to fight alone after he only just appeared. His reiatsu wasn't as strong as they remembered and it was a bit worrisome since he would be fighting an arrancar. However, their concerns were proven unfounded and unnecessary only a moment later.

Ichigo replied without turning back, "Then take him to a healer and leave this to me, I can handle something like this. Have more faith in your brother." The confidence and mild teasing in his tone reassured them and as they prepared to leave, they were startled a bit when he spoke again, a hint of pride seeping into his voice.

"You guys are strong enough to take care of yourselves and each other right?"

Yuzu practically glowed with happiness at his comment as she exclaimed, "Yup! You should see what we can do later Ichi-nii!" He kept his eyes on the hollow but a small sound of agreement was the only confirmation they needed and despite the gravity of the current situation, they couldn't help but feel a tremendous amount of joy.

Giving their brother one more longing look, the twins grabbed their weakened captain gently before disappearing using shunpo.

Letting his faith in their abilities quiet the worry he felt for their safety, Ichigo focused his attention on the hollow that had been about to kill his precious family. _'I can't use bankai right now since my reiatsu is a bit unstable from suddenly coming back but shikai should be more than enough to get rid of this guy.'_

A grumbling whisper drifted through his mind and he inwardly chuckled before mentally saying, _'Relax Shiro. If things get dangerous, you can come out alright? I just want to leave that as a last resort.'_

The displeased voice faded as Shiro's dissatisfied desire to fight was momentarily appeased.

A barking laugh caught his attention and he glared at the hollow who was now speaking in a mocking tone. "A weakling like you take care of me? Don't make me laugh! I thought you were strong when I felt your reiatsu at first but clearly that was just a fluke. Your power is only a bit stronger than those two pathetic little girls I was gonna eat." The hollow pointedly ignored the fear he had felt and the fear he was feeling even now as he roared, "I'll kill you first and then eat them!"

He crowed in victory for a few seconds but then he noticed Ichigo quietly said something. 'What happened before was only a temporary thing, it ain't nothing to be afraid of. This shinigami ain't so tough' he told himself. Sneering, he faked interest as he asked, "So sorry but can you repeat that? Were you begging for your life or something?" The hollow began snickering again, failing to notice the slight surge of power in his opponent.

"I said," Ichigo's reiatsu started fluctuating as anger meshed into it, mirroring the fury blazing in his eyes as he finished with a snarl, "Don't you _dare _talk about hurting my little sisters!"

He raised the unreleased Zangetsu and pointed the tip of the blade at the ground, the ribbon dangling from the hilt swaying a bit before seeming to come alive as it slowly swirled and wrapped loosely around the black and white blade, completely surrounding it in white. Outwardly, it looked like nothing changed; no flashy sparks of energy, no new shape, just a mummified sword.

Grinning condescendingly, the hollow asked, "That's it? And here I thought you were about to use what you shinigamis call shikai." The hollow was about to make another snide comment when Ichigo interrupted him.

"You talk way too much you know that?" His voice barely controlled, Ichigo hissed, "You made three mistakes. The first one was threatening my sisters." A slightly distorted tone was added to his smooth baritone as he continued, "The second was that you didn't flee when you had the chance." Gold was now mixed with honey brown as Ichigo looked directly at the hollow as he finished, "The last was that you thought this isn't my shikai."

The white appendage slowly unraveled, revealing a sword that was most definitely different from before. The blade was now more in the shape of an enormous butcher knife, the black part much more prominent than before with the white narrow strip still running along the sharp edge. The white ribbon danced in the wind caused by Ichigo's now flaring reiatsu before it settled down and just swayed near his hand.

Swiftly checking their surroundings, Ichigo made sure that there weren't any shinigamis that would be in harm's way, satisfied when he saw none were in line of his attack. Swinging the massive sword above his head, Ichigo gave one last heated glare at the hollow before swinging his arm down.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The hollow didn't even have time to react before it was completely obliterated by the black streak of energy with a small bit of white mixed in that followed the exclamation. Other unfortunate hollows behind him were also destroyed upon impact, the black attack leaving a trail of mass destruction in its wake.

The two espadas and their opponents were momentarily distracted as they all looked down when they heard a large explosion. They easily spotted the a clean path of nothing in the midst of a crowd of hollows and traced it back to the source of the atack. "And I thought Zaraki-taicho was the only one capable of causing so much destruction in one go" Komamura said dryly.

Grimmjow looked positively ecstatic but before he could charge down, Ulquiorra suddenly stated stoically, "Come trash, we are leaving." The captains looked at him with suspicion but made no move to attack when it became clear that what was happening could turn into a fight between their enemies which would be beneficial for them.

Grimmjow sneered at Ulquiorra before preparing to head down and attack. When the blue-haired espada looked like he was going to ignore him, Ulquiorra added, "Unless you wish to displease Aizen-sama, we are leaving. If you so strongly wish to join your deceased subordinates then by all means, feel free to remain."

That caused the other espada to pause. Ilforte had been struck down by Soi-fon and Grimmjow had sensed the moment Shawlong died and he made a noise of irritation at their uselessness. He also knew that their "lord" would be very displeased if he was the one who caused the fight to drag on and lose even more pawns. Growling lowly, he snapped, "Che fine." Fixing the captains with a malicious smirk, he said, "Don't think this is over shinigamis. The only reason we're retreatin' is 'cause there's only two of us here. The next time we attack, the whole party'll be here and it will be the day you breathe your last breath."

With those ominous parting words, a gargantuan was ripped open and they stepped through; one with a cocky smirk, the other with a speculative expression, and that was the last that they saw before the opening closed. Keeping their guard up a bit longer, they made sure that the espada weren't returning before they headed back into Seireitei.

Down below, the remaining hollows were being cleared up and injured shinigamis were being moved to the fourth division.

Ichigo hadn't been able to let Shiro run wild but he had let him vent out some energy via his attacks, a tinge of hollow reiatsu mixing with his own which thankfully went unnoticed. Breathing a sigh of relief, he now paid more attention to his surroundings.

Before he could however, two small bodies slammed into his stomach and he almost toppled over, arms instinctively wrapping around the two to protect them from the near-fall. Regaining the air in his lungs, he managed to wheeze out, "Good to see you guys again too."

Karin and Yuzu both began mumbling rapidly at the same time much to his exasperation and amusement. "I can't understand either of you when you're talking to my shirt and speaking at the same time."

Teary eyes met his as Karin demanded, "Where were you, you idiot?" while Yuzu blubbered out, "We m-missed you Ichi-nii!" Ichigo withheld a sigh from the two drastically different tones and phrases as he looked down at the twins with a rare fond look.

"Looks like you two have been doing fine without me." When it looked like they were going to object, he added, "You're much stronger than when I last saw you." A slightly sad look entered his eyes and the twins felt a bit guilty since technically they had left Ichigo when they died. Noticing their guilty looks, Ichigo quickly changed topics.

"Don't worry about what happened you two. It would actually be more helpful if you could tell me something I've been wondering ever since I woke up." When they looked at him curiously, he scratched the back of his neck and asked, "Where the heck are we?"

Silence. Yuzu then began to giggle as Karin smacked Ichigo's arm and asked in disbelief, "You spent so much time training with Urahara-san and you never heard anything abot Soul Society?" Rubbing the now sore spot, Ichigo gave his sister a mild glare and was prepared to retort when he suddenly found his face planted in a pair of very large assets.

"Ichigo, there you are! I was wonderin' where my favorite person to tease was~" Yoruichi exclaimed as she cold feel Ichigo's face heat up in embarassment while he frantically tried to get away. "Y-Yoruichi-san let go! Your... things are... are..." Snickering as he flustered in her hold, she pulled away and let him calm down, eyes dancing with amusement at the bright red color his face was.

"Still a virgin I see Kurosaki-kun" Urahara said as he also appeared, amusement and a hint of relief twinkling in his eyes. Ichigo gave him an annoyed glare in response causing him to chuckle before he smiled and said, "Welcome to Soul Society Kurosaki-kun."

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><p>AN: Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to get out but that might be the case T^T. Anyway, thanks again for your reviews! Oh and let me know if things are happening to quickly or if it feels like this is too rushed. For some reason, I have the most difficulty with pacing with this story so it would be much appreciated if I could get some feedback. Thanks~

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><p>The long awaited... Deleted Scenes!<p>

_Beautiful Fall  
><em>

Breathing a sigh of relief, he now paid more attention to his surroundings.

Before he could however, two small bodies slammed into his stomach. Unfortunately, his foot had been on the tail end of the ribbon attached to Zangetsu so when the two forces collided into him causing him to grab onto his sword, the cloth was pulled out from under his foot which resulted in an epic fall and a resounding crash.

Karin and Yuzu who had avoided getting caught in the fall, simultaneously started asking if he was okay.

"I'm alright, that just hurt like a bitch" Ichigo muttered as he sat up, rubbing his sore head. He blinked when he heard the sound of clapping and turned to see Yumichika looking positively ecstatic. "What the-"

"That was beautiful! I must say I've never seen a fall so beautifully executed in my life! Do it again!"

...

"Can I kill him?"

_Tea Time_

The two espadas and their opponents were momentarily distracted as they all looked down when they heard a large explosion. They easily spotted the a clean path of nothing in the midst of a crowd of hollows and traced it back to the source of the atack. "And I thought Zaraki-taicho was the only one capable of causing so much destruction in one go" Komamura said dryly.

Grimmjow looked positively ecstatic but before he could charge down, Ulquiorra suddenly opened a gargantuan and began rummaging around inside it. The captains and Grimmjow stared as the espada asked, "Ulquiorra... the fuck are you doing?"

Pulling out a tea table and a set of chinaware as well as tea and cakes, he calmly met their disbelieving looks.

"It is precisely three o' clock in the afternoon." Pouring tea into one of the cups, he proceeded to fish out a chair and sit down before he sipped the liquid and spoke again.

"It is tea time."

'But we're in the middle of a scene...' was the unanimous thought that echoed in everyone's mind.


	6. Explanations

The reunion between the siblings and the two exiles was cut short when the first-division fuku-taicho appeared and informed them that they were to meet at the first division for one more meeting before vanishing. "My, so many meetings recently!" Urahara said cheerfully.

"Why do I get the feeling they're because of you Urahara-san?" Ichigo asked warily. The man only beamed before leading them to the specified location, carefully avoiding the debris and destruction from the battle littered all over the once pristine and neat streets. Shinigamis were also all over the place, either observing and writing down the locations of serious damages or helping to transport the wounded.

Urahara and Yoruichi silently noted how the siblings reacted, feeling a bit guilty when they saw the flashes of sadness in their eyes. Their worries were relieved however, when they saw a familiar determined gleam in their postures that indicated that their resolves to fight hadn't been swayed. If anything, they had been amplified and the elder shinigamis inwardly glowed with pride for their bravery. Urahara glanced at Yoruichi and the message in his eyes was very clear, a sentiment the feline woman completely agreed with.

_"The war will be brutal on them but they will undoubtedly get through it. They are after all, Kurosaki children."_

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><p>When they finally arrived at the first division, Urahara knocked on the large double doors and patiently waited for permission to enter which was granted almost immediately. Stepping in, they saw that most of the captains were already present minus Toushiro who was injured and Unohana who was helping the wounded. Those present spared the new arrivals a glance before directing their attention to the sou-taicho who began speaking.<p>

"Young man, you are Kurosaki Ichigo yes?" Ichigo shifted a bit as he sensed Shiro's animosity towards all the shinigami present before casually replying, "Yeah that's me. Can I ask who's asking?" Some of the captains bristled at the disrespect as Karin sighed and muttered, "Ichi-nii, he's the sou-taicho." Receiving a blank look, she rolled her eyes and added, "As in the big boss you moron."

Scowling down at her, he retorted, "Well excuse me for not knowing who any of these people are. All Shiro told me was that they were, and I quote, 'pompous bastards who need a good ass-whooping.' Not very informative if you ask me." Urahara chuckled in amusement before pacifying the captains, "Don't blame Kurosaki-kun for his disrespect, it's in his nature to challenge authority and Shirosaki-san is a bad influence."

Ichigo looked like he was going to argue against that so Yoruichi quickly interrupted by speaking, golden eyes glinting with a bit of mirth but also seriousness. "So now that everyone's present minus a couple people, let's get this show on the road. All of us will do our best to answer questions but there might be things even we don't know so don't expect perfect answers."

Giving their consent, Ukitake hesitantly began, "I don't mean to offend you so I apologize if this sounds insulting but we do need clarification. Are you, in any way, affiliated with or allies of the traitor Aizen Sousuke?"

Ichigo shrugged and replied with his own question, "Was he the guy who sent those hollows here?" When Ukitake nodded, he then said with absolute certainty, "Whoever attacks my sisters is begging for an ass-kicking and like hell I'll be allies with such a person."

Pointedly ignoring the slightly crude language, Kurotsuchi picked up the questioning from there by eagerly asking, "You already know bankai and you're a vaizard yes?"

Ichigo blinked before saying, "Yes to the first part but I gotta hold off on using it until I get more used to having all my power back." Kurotsuchi looked excited at the prospect of such a promising specimen but a single warning glare from his predecessor shot his hopes down and he silently sulked.

Ichigo, who was completely oblivious to what just happened, finished his answer, "And I think I can say yes to the second one." When he received quizzical stares, he elaborated, "I don't know if Urahara-san told you or not but Shiro and I aren't your standard vaizard. We're a bit different." Kyouraku tipped his hat up and curiously inquired, "Kisuke mentioned that but can you tell us how so?"

Urahara stepped in since this was the more technical part that Ichigo might not know or not be sure how to explain. "Before we answer that, you need to understand the standard relationship between a hollow and a shinigami when they share a body. Normally, the two forces fight for dominance and push the other into the recesses of the consciousness."

"When Shirosaki-san first made himself known, that was how he and Kurosaki-kun interacted. I'm not entirely certain but I do believe something changed a couple weeks before your material body died that caused your relationship to change, am I right Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo nodded. "It's sort of hard to explain but I always had a feeling that Shiro wasn't telling the truth whenever he said he was going to take over my body and kill everyone I cared about. It didn't make sense because he should have known Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san would stop him since Yoruichi-san was usually nearby, watching our house in her cat form. If anything, his threats sounded more like incentives to encourage me to be strong enough to stop him."

Narrowing his eyes, Komamura asked, "Couldn't the hollow have been trying to trick you into lowering your defenses?"

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and said, "That's what Urahara-san thought when I told him but I think that's because neither of us could understand Shiro. We thought that since he was a hollow, he was evil and only felt negative emotions. But when I was thinking about it by myself, I thought that was wrong."

Sensing the disbelief and doubt, Ichigo lightly touched his sword to calm the now very restless Shiro before continuing, "Shiro wasn't evil, he was afraid of being alone."

Even Urahara and Yoruichi looked startled by the statement. Ichigo felt briefly amused by their surprise as he finished explaining, "Shiro really was only trying to make me stronger and even admitted it after I confronted him about it though it did take a bit of fighting. Moral of the story is that after that, we made a few promises to each other and things changed pretty quickly, we weren't in a fight for domination relationship anymore."

"Now, we trust each other and Shiro's become my closest friend and I trust him with my life."

Silence followed after his last statement and Ichigo unconsciously tensed, wary of their reactions. Some of their expressions, like the one on the sixth division's captain, were suspiciously blank, and Ichigo had a feeling they were not so approving of such a friendly connection between a hollow and a shinigami.

The heavy mood was dispelled however, when the doors opened once more and Unohana walked in, followed by Toushiro who looked a bit tired but otherwise much better than before.

The second Karin and Yuzu saw him, they nearly threw aside proper manners and ran towards him and it was only Yoruichi's swift reproving glance that kept them in place although relief and happiness still shined in their eyes.

Kyouraku's voice, tinged with amusement, rang throughout the large room, "Unohana-taicho, Hitsugaya-taicho! Good to see you two back among the living… er living dead."

The head medic simply smiled while the younger captain shot Kyouraku an irritated and exasperated glare before the two bowed to the sou-taicho and then took their respective places.

They were briefly filled in about what had already been discussed, neither of the new arrivals seeming to be fazed save for a quick glance from Toushiro towards his two charges who seemed to be barely resisting the urge to harass him about his health.

When they were done being briefed, they refocused their attention back to the former discussion, pondering over the many questions that were still unanswered. Surprisingly, it was Kuchiki Byakuya who spoke next, directing his words to the sou-taicho.

"I object to allowing this child become involved."

Gold flashed in Ichigo's eyes as Shiro's fury at the implied insult rose but a smack on the back of his head by Urahara's fan managed to re-establish Ichigo's control. Brushing off the venomous glare given by the fuming teen, Urahara asked, "And why are you so against Kurosaki-kun's assistance? He is the only one in this room who hasn't seen Aizen's shikai and is powerful enough to be a captain."

The indifferent expression didn't change as Byakuya replied, "And why would someone be willing to do everything in their power to fight a war that has nothing to do with them? This is not a matter that can be taken lightly and to expect a mere child to fight a shinigami who easily tricked the entire Gotei 13 is preposterous."

Cold hard eyes met warm, blazing ones as he finished by bluntly stating, "Someone so inexperienced in our ways will only drag us down, a nuisance we cannot afford to have."

Furious couldn't even begin to describe the raging fire in Ichigo's eyes and he looked to be only two seconds away from strangling the pompous bastard. Only the reminder that his little sisters were present and would bear witness to his homicide prevented him from showing the ass what an "inexperienced child" could do, although just barely.

Feeling a soothing pressure from Zangetsu, the only calm one in his mind, Ichigo forced his tensed body to relax and grabbed onto the last remaining strands of his already thin patience. _'Thou shall not kill even if the bastard deserves it. Thou shall not kill even if…'_

With the help of the mini-mantra, he was able to calm himself down enough to have a conversation that was not sixty percent profanities. Unleashing the full power of his and Shiro's combined glare, he managed to speak in a level tone that surprised even him.

"I don't give a flying fuck if you're centuries of years older than me, that still doesn't give you any excuse to judge me. I won't say something stupid like I know what it's like to fight in a war but I refuse to just sit in a corner and twiddle my thumbs. I'm going to fight and I don't give a crap if you approve or not."

Byakuya looked like he was going to retort but to his irritation, he was interrupted by Ichigo who defiantly stated, "I may be 'just a kid' but I don't do anything half-assed. I know my little sisters are going to fight and I won't let them do it alone."

Karin and Yuzu shuffled a bit guiltily but didn't deny his words as Ichigo gave them a brief smile before adding, "Besides, I have a debt to repay."

"I owe the captain over there," nodding in Toushiro's direction, "for protecting my sisters in the fight and sustaining all those injuries in their stead." Said captain looked slightly taken aback at having his actions being mentioned before his usual cool expression returned and he sharply stated, "You owe me nothing. Kurosaki Karin and Kurosaki Yuzu are my subordinates and my charges; it is only natural that I assist them when they need it."

Waving away his response, Ichigo replied, "Sorry but no matter the circumstances, you saved them and I owe you." Ignoring the small vein twitching above Toushiro's eye, Ichigo easily began speaking again, leveling an intense glare at Byakuya and silently daring him to refuse him again.

"I want to protect my sisters and repay my debt, that's all the justification I need to fight." The combination of his words, unyielding determination, and obvious tenacious stubbornness that so closely resembled certain other individuals finally won the argument as Yamamoto-soutaicho boomed out, "Kurosaki Ichigo will be permitted to fight in the war so long as he chooses to do so. The advantages he will be able to provide are crucial, and I will not tolerate any protests simply for the sake of pride."

His eyes opened and he firmly announced, "That decision is final and will not be up for discussion."

Ichigo took small pleasure from his victory before remembering the other reason why he had decided to fight, even before he had died and come to Soul Society.

"Besides those two reasons, there was one more: I need to fulfill Goat-face's last request."

That phrase earned him odd looks as Karin and Yuzu looked at him blankly, the latter timidly asking, "Ichi-nii, why are you talking about a goat? Or, a goat's face in this case…"

Now it was Ichigo's turn to be surprised. "What do you mean Yuzu? You should know I'm talking about Dad when I say Goat-face." Karin shook her head and said in confusion, "We don't know anything about a goat or parents Ichi-nii. We only know that we have you."

Stunned, Ichigo looked at Urahara uncertainly and the shopkeeper adopted a thoughtful expression before saying, "It appears Kurosaki-kun wasn't the only one who had something sealed. My guess is that for some unknown reason, the twins have had some of their memories locked away." At the alarmed look that entered Ichigo's eyes, he added reassuringly, "I doubt it's anything harmful since Aizen wouldn't have had time to do anything to them. It's actually highly possible that this was done by your father himself. And before you ask why, I'm going to say right now that I haven't a clue."

Karin groaned and muttered sourly, "Fantastic, this just gets better and better." Urahara grinned and said, "Actually, it does get 'better.' It's likely that he has also sealed some of your powers away like Ichigo's were for some inexplicable reasons~"

While the twins sulked and Ichigo tried to kill him for saying something like that so happily, Yoruichi brushed her long purple hair aside and asked, "Ichigo, what exactly did Isshin say to you? You were the last person who heard or even saw him right?"

Stopping his current action, Ichigo lowered his eyes uncomfortably and mumbled, "It's a bit… personal Yoruichi-san. I won't say everything that he said but the gist of it was that he wanted me to protect Karin and Yuzu since they would be the only family I had left and to protect Karakura Town so that my friends there could live peacefully. He said that in order to do both, I would have to get stronger and stop some megalomaniac from winning a war…"

He shifted agitatedly and Urahara spared him from saying more by suggesting brightly, "Well I think that's enough for today, yes? These kids need some rest after such an eventful day and you captains need to get to work on reparations."

Noticing the hints of mild dissatisfaction in their eyes, Yoruichi said, "Relax everybody. It's only expected that some things aren't said to people who are basically complete strangers. Get to know each other and become friends or somethin' and you might learn somethin' new."

Any protests were cut short since the strange duo had firmly latched onto the Kurosaki children and were dragging them off, calling back that they would meet Toushiro at his division when he returned.

The prodigious captain felt an eyebrow twitch in irritation as he muttered, "Why my division?" Kyouraku chuckled and lazily replied, "I'm sure it won't be that bad Hitsugaya-taicho. Anyway, we should take Kisuke's advice and get some stuff done."

There was a mutual consensus before the meeting was dismissed and the captains gracefully strode out of the meeting room, intent on prioritizing their duties before thinking about the odd meeting.

When he was finally alone, Yamamoto-soutaicho let out a soft sigh, the determined and stubborn look in Ichigo's eyes flashing in his mind only his face had been replaced by someone he had known for much longer.

Looking down, a sad almost fond look entered his eyes as he said so softly it was almost a whisper, "He truly is your child Isshin. And those two young girls are also undoubtedly born from you and that strong woman you were so taken with." The sounds of shinigamis running around, giving orders and carrying them out could be heard and he paused to let the familiar din wash over him before he quietly finished, "I am proud to call them my grandchildren, my son."

* * *

><p>AN: The worst enemy of all of mankind struck me for a while. Procrastination is truly a frightful enemy (T_T). I shall try (and hopefully not fail so epically miserably) to update more frequently. As a treat, I do believe this is my longest chappie yet! I think...

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><p>Moving on, Deleted Scenes!<p>

_Sickness_

Giving their consent, Ukitake hesitantly began, "I don't mean to offend you so I apologize if this sounds insulting but we do need clarification. Are you, in any way, affiliated with or allies of the traitor Aizen Sous-"

He abruptly began coughing and wheezing which alarmed the others as they quickly rushed to him, Kyouraku concernedly asking, "You alright Jyuushiro?"

Once he got his breath back, Ukitake inhaled and exhaled deeply before rubbing the back of his head in mild embarrassment and saying, "Sorry about worrying all of you like that. I'm alright now."

Some of them didn't look quite so believing as Unohana asked, "Have you taken your medications?"

Blinking, Ukitake realized something and said, "Oh, that wasn't a cough caused by illness." Smiling brightly, he explained, "I was eating a small candy Yachiru-chan gave me and I accidentally swallowed it when I spoke!"

_Sleeping Over_

The prodigious captain felt an eyebrow twitch in irritation as he muttered, "Why my division?" Kyouraku chuckled and lazily replied, "I'm sure it won't be that bad Hitsugaya-taicho..."

Later on, when he returned to his division, Toushiro felt a huge migraine coming. It looked like a tornado had run through and caused mass chaos and destruction before blowing something up since along with scattered papers and overturned furniture, there was charred marks and the faint smell of something that had burned.

Sighing, he spoke to no one in particular, "Is Matsumoto trying to feed you her poison?"

Various heads popped out of hiding spots including two he was very familiar with as Karin hissed to him, "Do something about her! She somehow managed to break through all the traps surrounding the kitchen!"

Toushiro pinched the bridge of his nose before asking, "Any victims?" Yuzu popped up and replied, "Only that guy over there who Ichi-nii is trying to save."

Said person was frantically attempting to shake a person awake. "Come on, don't die on me! I know its awful shit but don't give up!" Toushiro knew there was a reason why he hated having so many energetic people at his division.


	7. Decisions and Suggestions

While the captains were busy taking care of repairs, receiving reports, or doing paperwork, the siblings were ordered to stay put and to refrain from doing anything obstructive to the work of the shinigamis much to their disgruntlement. They were confined to a room in the 10th division with the two exiles temporarily until they were given permission to leave. The room was a bit small but quite comfortable, with two couches siting on opposite sides of a low table, a large desk, a couple bookshelves, cushioned chairs, and an elegant dark red rug draped across the floor.

The room was really nice but for the restless people in it, it wasn't very enjoyable. "What are we, little kids?" Ichigo grumbled. Urahara chuckled, "Well, in terms of age, yes you are. The shinigamis are centuries of years older than you after all."

Karin scoffed as Ichigo muttered, "Some of them sure don't act like it." Yoruichi quirked an eyebrow and asked, "You're thinkin' of Byakubo aren't ya? He _was_ bein' a bit of an ass during the meeting but he's always been a stiff so don't take it too personally."

"A bit is an understatement. Pompous bas- I mean jerk." Karin rolled her eyes and said, "Ichi-nii, its okay to swear in front of us. We probably know more dirty words than you could even dream of knowing anyway." Ichigo looked like he was going to demand exactly what they had been learning when Yuzu timidly spoke up, "Um, I-I don't…"

The rest of her words trailed off into incomprehensible mumbling which grew even less sensible when they turned their attention onto her. Karin sighed and said in a slightly softer tone than her usual gruff one, "Come on Yuz, spit it out." Yuzu blushed a bit before blurting out, "I don't think Kuchiki-taicho is a mean person!"

There was silence and she buried her face in her hands, afraid they would yell at her or argue against her. But instead, she felt a familiar hand pat her head gently and heard her big brother's voice speak with its usual warmth, "Chill Yuzu, I'm not mad. I want to hear why you think that."

Feeling more confident since she wasn't being automatically rebuked, she spoke in a bolder tone, "Um, it's just that… Kuchiki-taicho reminds me of Ichi-nii in some ways. Both act kind of scary since it's in their nature but are in reality, really kind inside. The only thing is, Ichi-nii isn't afraid to do what his heart tells him too." Playing with the folds of her robe, she softly stated, "Kuchiki-taicho is."

Yoruichi nodded approvingly, "Sharp and intuitive when it comes to reading people as always Yuzu. You're exactly right, Byakubo hates doin' anything that will go against his duty as a shinigami. That's both his strength and his weakness. He was even willin' to let his own sister die when there was a sudden declaration for her execution by the big, big bosses which turned out to be a farce cooked up by Aizen."

Karin and Yuzu's eyes widened; they had not been aware that Rukia, one of the first people outside the 10th division to befriend them, had been the one ordered to be executed. The only thing Toushiro had told them -rather tersely might they add- was that someone had been sentenced to death for stealing an important item, a lie he had clearly not believed for even a minute but had been unable to do anything to stop it.

Urahara tilted his hat down and said, "In the end, the combined efforts of myself, Yoruichi-san and some help from others (after a bit of bribing here and there) managed to clear the mess up and Miss Kuchiki was spared but it was an unpleasant experience for everyone, especially Kuchiki-taicho." Looking at Ichigo through shadowed eyes, he asked, "So does that change your opinion of him Kurosaki-kun?"

"No."

Yoruichi snickered, "That was a fast response. You really don't like him do ya?" Ichigo scowled and replied, "I get that he probably has his reasons for being so law-abiding but that doesn't give him the excuse to just watch his own sister die. I don't hate him; I'm just going to show him how to be a real older brother."

Karin smirked and stated more than asked, "You mean you're going to show him you can protect family and still kick the right person's ass right?" Ichigo returned her smirk with a grin of his own as Yuzu sighed at her older siblings' aggressive behavior, her own smile threatening to break out at their familiar antics.

Urahara and Yoruichi silently exchanged glances while Yuzu admonished her elder siblings playfully. On one hand, they were pleased they had succeeded in reuniting the siblings and making them happy again but on the other, they would be piling a ton of new burdens on them, burdens that could crush even some of the strongest people. Placing his fan down and for once, speaking without hiding his expression, Urahara asked, "Kurosaki-kun, I really need to clarify this. Are you absolutely sure getting involved in this war is what you want to do? You are aware of what doing that entails yes?"

The cheery atmosphere sobered at the man's sudden seriousness. Karin and Yuzu looked questioningly at their older brother since neither quite understood what Urahara was talking about. Ichigo sighed as he leaned back against the chair he was sitting in, seriously thinking about the question before responding.

"To be frank, I'm a bit scared. Goat-face told me that this Aizen guy was one hell of a terrifying bastard and that there was a pretty damn high chance that I could lose. And even if I won, there would still be inevitable deaths, maybe of people I didn't know or people that would be really close to me." A determined glint lit his eyes as he said, "But I have to try or everyone will die anyway."

"That's not what Urahara-san was asking."

The familiar slightly frosty voice of their captain captured the twins' attention as they whipped their heads to the door. "How long were you there midget?" Karin asked, puzzled. Scowling at her, Toushiro snapped, "Don't call me short when I'm taller than you! And call me by my proper title you impertinent brat." She stuck her tongue out at him which caused him to roll his eyes in exasperation. "And to answer your question, I only got here just as Urahara-san asked his inquiry."

Smiling a bit at their banter and slightly curious about the small tension that seemed to crackle between Karin and the young captain, Ichigo remembered what Toushiro had said when he made his presence known and asked, "What did you mean when you said that wasn't what Urahara-san was asking?"

Teal blue eyes flickered in his direction before the prodigy replied, "He didn't ask what you had to do, he asked what you wanted to do. There's a huge difference between those two." Striding into the room, he headed towards one of the unoccupied couches and began lifting one of its cushions and putting it back down. Briefly meeting Ichigo's gaze again, he said, "He wants to know if you're really willing to accept becoming a 'savior' of Soul Society."

Breaking eye contact, he began shifting things on the couch again before moving away and heading towards some shelves. As he examined them, Yuzu asked, "Isn't becoming a hero a good thing? Heroes save lives and in return, they feel gratitude and respect for them right?" Yoruichi plopped down on the floor and sat Indian-style as she explained, "While that's true and all, actually being a hero isn't very fun. You're essentially accepting the responsibility of many lives into your hands and once you're in, you can't back out. You have to be the one who goes against the big bad guy while everyone else deals with the small-fry and lackeys."

Urahara hummed in agreement and added, "Being a hero is almost like being a scapegoat. If you succeed, hurray everyone adores you and you have a happily ever after. But if you fail, they will put all the blame on you. I'm sure Isshin explained this to Kurosaki-kun which is why I'm just verifying that this is what he wants to do."

Karin pinned her older brother with a glare and said accusingly, "You weren't going to tell us that were you?" Ichigo had a brief deer-in-the-headlights expression as he quickly said in a placating manner, "Whoa calm down Karin! I was going to tell you, just..." Yuzu smiled brightly and finished for him, "You were just going to wait until after it was too late to back out weren't you Ichi-nii?" Although her smile was similar to her usual one, there was a certain frightening edge to it that spoke of promises of pain and misery.

Hell hath no fury compared to a younger sister lied to.

'_'Yuzu's scary when she's angry...'_ was the unanimous thought. The sound of Toushiro shutting a cabinet door provided a lovely distraction from the current conversation, one that Ichigo swiftly latched onto. Looking over at the captain, he curiously asked, "What are you doing? You sound like you're searching for something..." They watched as Toushiro moved the rug and lifted one of the floorboards up, a flicker of triumph flashing in his eyes as he reached down and pulled out a stack of papers. "I was looking for this."

Karin suddenly had an "Oh crap" expression as her captain calmly shuffled the papers into a tidy stack and said in a scarily neutral tone, "Two certain irritating individuals who make it a habit of trying to be the banes of my existence insist on hiding my paperwork and making me look for them." The air grew slightly colder as he icily asked, "Have anything to say for yourself, Kurosaki Karin?"

Said girl had her best innocent expression on as she replied, "I know nothing. Ask Matsumoto-san." The other occupants in the room blinked when they heard a petulant whine from behind the desk across the room, "Karin-chan, you traitor! It wasn't me!" Karin didn't bat an eye as she easily replied, "I'll call you Rangiku-neechan."

A figure suddenly leaped out from behind the desk as the 10th division's lieutenant announced with a flourish, "It was absolutely entirely my idea taicho! I couldn't help it, I wanted you to take a break. It was all in the name of your health!" Toushiro looked like he was about to strangle her as he grit out, "If you're going to make deals like that, at least do it when I'm not within hearing distance you idiots!"

As a full blown argument commenced, Ichigo looked at Yuzu and asked, "Is that normal?" She beamed, "Yup! Hitsugaya-taicho really does work too hard so Karin-chan and Matsumoto-san make it their duty to try to help him relax." "Is that really relaxing?" Yoruichi asked, amusement laced in her tone as they watched the verbal battle going on.

Ichigo glanced at where Matsumoto had been hiding and asked, "How'd she get there anyway? She wasn't there before..." Yuzu looked over at the desk and her eyes lit up with realization as she exclaimed, "Oh I see! That desk is hiding a secret passage the lieutenant of the 11 division made once. She made lots of hidden tunnels in different buildings since she was bored."

Not quite sure how he was supposed to respond to something like that, Ichigo just nodded before noticing Urahara had been unusually quiet for a while. Normally the mischievous man would have at least made a comment about the humurous events that had just transpired. Seeing his mentor had a speculative expression on his face, he tilted his head to the side a bit and asked, "Something wrong Urahara-san?" The scientist snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head, "No, nothing's wrong per say. I was just contemplating the best way to get you situated here since you seem insistent on helping in the war."

When it looked like he had fallen back into his thoughts, Ichigo sighed and coughed really loudly to get his attention back. Past experience with the other man in his contemplating mode had taught him that simply waiting for Urahara to finish thinking guaranteed several wasted hours. The cough managed to bring Urahara back to reality as he blinked and said, "Oh oops, apologize. I never finished what I was saying."

Settling himself down on one of the couches, he began speaking in a thoughtful tone, "I have an idea but it would be unprecedented and extremely difficult to pull off. I'm not even sure the soutaicho would agree. Or Shirosaki-san for that matter. He'd probably be the most against my idea." Ichigo blinked in mild surprise since he hadn't been expecting that. He could sense Shiro stirring restlessly in his mind again, expressing his obvious displeasure and apprehension about whatever Urahara was going to suggest. Toushiro and Karin had paused in their argument as the former warily asked, "And what exactly do you have in mind that would garner such opposition?"

Folding his arms into the sleeves of his robes, Urahara replied in a completely serious tone, "I believe Kurosaki-kun should become a captain of the Gotei 13."

* * *

><p>AN: Right, I lied. It will probably take me longer than I initially planned to get some of the next few chapters out for all my stories in the next two weeks. After that, I should have more time to work to my heart's content on them so please be patient with me!<p>

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><p>Deleted Scenes Time!<p>

_Fury of a Sister_

Yuzu smiled brightly and finished for him, "You were just going to wait until after it was too late to back out weren't you Ichi-nii?" Although her smile was similar to her usual one, there was a certain frightening edge to it that spoke of promises of pain.

Yuzu blinked when she suddenly remembered something and made a motion with her hands to indicate for a pause in the scene. When she was sure that the scene was paused, she faced her now very confused siblings and beamed.

If her previous smile had been scary, this one took the icing on the cake. Quailing under the might of the demonic smile, Karin whispered, "Okay Ichi-nii, what'd we do?" Ichigo grimaced slightly and whispered back, "Judging by that smile, I'd say... we did _that._" Karin groaned and muttered, "Seriously? We actually did _that_ again?" Everyone else looked at them curiously as Yoruichi asked, "Care to explain to us out of the loop people what _that_ is?"

Looking like they were about to face the devil himself (or herself in this case), they managed to form a reply.

"We forgot to capture Kon so she could use him for a dress up doll."

_Problems with Age_

Not quite sure how he was supposed to respond to something like that, Ichigo just nodded before noticing Urahara had been unusually quiet for a while. Normally the mischievous man would have at least made a comment about the humurous events that had just transpired. Seeing his mentor had a speculative expression on his face, he tilted his head to the side a bit and asked, "Something wrong Urahara-san?"

Said man retained his serious expression and Yoruichi worriedly asked, "Yo Kisuke, you okay there buddy?" A small sound echoed in the suddenly silent room as Urahara's face relaxed into a happy look. "Whew, I just couldn't get that little bit of gas out!" He blinked when he noticed the rather suspicious quiet and said slightly nervously, "Um, sorry?" A vein twitched on Ichigo's, Karin's, and Toushiro's heads as the captain snapped, "That's gross!" while the siblings shouted, "Die you disgusting bastard!"

"B-but it's not my fault! Old age makes you gaseous."


	8. One More Meeting

Ichigo was doing some serious reconsideration as he shifted a bit, itching to do something other than just stand as he waited for the old man to finish droning. Looking across the field he was standing on at his opponent, he really wanted to wring Urahara's neck. Good idea his ass! If he got killed during this, he was so going to haunt the stupid scientist forever.

His soon to be opponent noticed he was looking and cheerfully waved before making an exaggerated yawning gesture which brought a small smile to Ichigo's lips. At least the man had a sense of humor. Thinking back to why he was here in the first place, he could only conclude that this was all Urahara's fault, him and his stupid words of manipulation.

* * *

><p>A couple hours earlier…<p>

"_Are you insane?"_

"_Yep, it's official. He's lost his marbles."_

_Yuzu could only stare at Urahara oddly as her siblings let out their simultaneous exclamations. "Um… Urahara-san, isn't something like that…" Ichigo grumbled, "Insane? Hell yes! I haven't even been conscious here for longer than a day and he wants me to be a friggin' captain?"_

_Toushiro also looked like he was seriously questioning Urahara's judgment, skepticism evident in his eyes. "Urahara-san, with all due respect, you should know something like that would never happen. The other captains wouldn't approve much less the soutaicho especially since he hasn't even gone through the academy."_

_Matsumoto was also unusually serious as she added, "Besides the captains, there are the division members too. They're going to be highly critical and distrusting of any new person appointed to be their captain. I don't think they would take it too well if they find out their new captain is super young and uneducated in our ways." She blinked and called over to Ichigo, "Not trying to put you down or anything so don't be offended."_

_Yoruichi flicked her gold eyes to her and then focused on her best friend as she said, "What she's sayin' is true Kisuke. Normally I'm all for doin' one of your crazy stuntsbut this is really pushin' it."_

_Urahara calmly sat through all their arguments, not looking fazed in the least. When it looked like they had run out of things to say, he finally began explaining his own reasoning. "I never said this was going to be easy. I am perfectly aware of all the disadvantages in this." Making eye contact with all the people in the room, he straightforwardly stated, "But at this point, it's the best course of action to take."_

_Toushiro withheld a weary sigh before gesturing that everyone should take a seat somewhere, whatever Urahara was thinking was obviously going to take some time to understand. Nodding in agreement, they pushed some of the furniture around until they were gathered in a small circle. Situating themselves so they could face the person speaking, they looked at Urahara, indicating they were ready to hear him out._

"_Now then, there are multiple reasons why I suggested this. The first being that Kurosaki-kun will need something to do since his sisters will be busy with their own duties and me and Yoruichi-san will have to return to the Human World soon." Raising a hand to halt any objections, he spoke with a slightly sterner tone, "There is no use in trying to persuade the soutaicho to let us stay. We are exiles and nothing we do will change that. It's quite gracious of him to even let us stay for a couple days before we have to return."_

_Satisfied that certain individuals weren't going to make a fuss over the trivial matter, he was about to continue when Ichigo asked, "Couldn't I just stay in the Human World? Hollows aren't going to stop attacking souls there just because I died right?" Urahara raised an eyebrow. "Kurosaki-kun, surely you haven't forgotten?" When he received a clueless expression in response, Urahara sighed dramatically and said patiently, "You have some powerful allies there that will protect your home town."_

_Realization flashed in Ichigo's eyes which immediately switched to concern. Urahara understood the silent question as he said, "Don't worry about your friends. They have expressed their desire to help you in any way they can. I and Yoruichi-san will personally train them so that they will be handle arrancar-level hollows. As for espada, _those_ people will take care of them until stronger shinigamis have been deployed to the Human World. They are more than strong enough to handle tougher opponents."_

_Curious glances were directed at them as the others wondered what they were talking about. Before they could press for answers, Urahara suddenly snapped his beloved fan open and said cheerily, "That settled, let's move on! Hitsugaya-taicho, you pointed out that Kurosaki-kun hasn't been to the academy and thus has no knowledge of how Seireitei functions, correct?"_

_A bit irritated by the obvious change in topic, the prodigy nodded as Urahara continued, "Well, Soul Society is in dire need of captains and Kurosaki-kun technically has met the standard qualifications to be one. He has mastered bankai and has an innate leadership and charisma. I have already requested someone to teach him kido later so that will also be covered and paperwork requires no training, only legible writing and lots of patience. As for understanding the way of life here, it would be best learned through experience. Kurosaki-kun may be quite smart when it comes to lessons and learning material in classes but he is more apt to learn better by actually doing things."_

_Toushiro ran a hand through his hair in agitation as he replied, "That's great and all and I do see where you're coming from but regardless, I don't think this will pass by the other captains. For something like this to go through, you're going to need at least half the captains' approval before the soutaicho even considers it."_

_A sly smirk appeared on Urahara's face which worried them; a smirk like that never bode well for anybody. "Then it's a good thing we're under a time crunch." Ichigo looked like he really didn't want to ask so Karin spoke for him, "What do you mean by a time crunch?" Yoruichi was resting her head in her hand in exasperation as she replied, "Kisuke's sayin' we're gonna somehow get this done in the two days we're allowed to stay here."_

"_Are we being realists or idealists here?" Karin asked sarcastically. "Realists of course!" Urahara exclaimed cheerily. "Come now, you three siblings especially should know that we work best under extreme situations~" Ichigo fixed the full force of his scowling glare on the clearly confident man across from him and snapped, "Are you kidding? There's no way this thing will happen in two days!"_

_Matsumoto blinked and said, "Actually there is a way, isn't there taicho?" Pinching the bridge of his nose, the young captain replied warily, "Yes but that's a form of insanity of its own." Yuzu glanced at her captain curiously and asked, "What are you thinking of taicho?" Teal orbs met her brown ones as he stated, "Using the same way Zaraki-taicho became a captain. Proving one has the power to be a captain by defeating an already existing one. But since your brother won't be fighting for the 11__th__ division which specializes in simple sword combat, he's going to need to show that he can defeat a captain who uses both bankai and kido."_

_There were collective groans since the suspicion that Urahara was plotting something insane was verified. "Are you trying to get me killed Urahara-san?" Ichigo asked suspiciously. "I assure you that is not my intention. It might just seem that way!" While Ichigo tried to kill him, Yuzu asked, "Um Urahara-san, why are you so set on making Ichi-nii a captain? Surely there are other potential shinigamis here who have been taught Soul Society's ways and who might be better suited for the role of a captain."_

_Ichigo and Urahara stopped their antics as the latter said, "I was getting to that actually." Ichigo huffed in irritation but sat back down in his seat, glaring at his mentor to continue. "What I said earlier is partially why I want Kurosaki-kun to be a captain. He really will need something to do and Soul Society does need more captains. But those are weak arguments. Kurosaki-kun could simply help out various divisions and train to keep himself busy and what you said is also true Yuzu-chan, there are a few people who would make better options in terms of knowledge and maybe even skill."_

_His gaze sharpened as he seriously said, "But that it isn't what Soul Society necessarily needs. It needs captains yes but it also needs something more than that especially the 3__rd__, 5__th__, and 9__th__ divisions. The members in those divisions poured their hearts and souls into doing what they thought was right. They followed the words of their leaders, fought for them because it was their duty. But doing so only lead to betrayal. They don't know what they're supposed to be fighting for anymore."_

_"They need someone to remind them of that. And I don't know anyone better at that than Kurosaki-kun."  
><em>

_The room was silent as his words echoed in their minds. Toushiro, being one of the captains who had seen the effect of the betrayals personally, knew that there was no denying what Urahara had said was true. On the surface, the shinigamis in the three divisions were normal, going through the routine procedure of getting things repaired and sending reports in. But there was a certain sense of listlessness in their eyes, like they were lost and were only clinging onto the familiarity of their actions rather than believing that they were doing anything important._

_They had the eyes of people who were lost and had given up._

_The question was, could Ichigo help them?  
><em>

_Everyone was snapped out of their thoughts when Ichigo sighed and got to his feet, slinging Zangetsu onto his back. Without turning, he said, "Well? If we're going to get this done and over with, might as well start as soon as possible right? Apparently, I have someone's ass I need to kick within two days and a division to whip back into shape." _

_Urahara smirked victoriously while the twins sighed but didn't object. Their superiors still looked uncertain but Yoruichi also stood up and said, "No point in arguin' now. Once Ichigo's made up his mind, there ain't no way of makin' him change it."_

_Matsumoto glanced at her captain as Toushiro wearily sighed before saying, "Fine, I'll take you to the soutaicho now then." Fixing the twins with a pointed look, he ordered, "This time you two stay. Make sure Matsumoto does the paperwork since I have a feeling we're going to be stuck in yet another meeting and I doubt I'll have time to do it myself." Ignoring the petulant tongue being stuck out at him courtesy of Karin, he began heading out while muttering, "And if none of us are sick of meetings after all this then I'll be amazed."_

_Using shunpo, they once again hurried towards the 1st division. When they knocked and entered, they were met with a strangely unfazed soutaicho. Concealing his surprise, Toushiro bowed before straightening and speaking. "Yamamoto-soutaicho, I have brought Kurosaki Ichigo, former 12__th__ division captain Urahara Kisuke and former 2__nd__ division captain Shihoin Yoruichi upon their request."_

_The soutaicho didn't comment on this, he simply asked, "Will this require the other captains' presences?" Toushiro barely withheld a sigh as he replied, "Yes sir." Nothing more needed to be said as the order was sent out. Within a few minutes, the other captains filed in, a bit of displeasure evident in some of their eyes due to the repeated meetings although it was replaced by hints of curiosity when they saw the two exiles and their charge._

_When they were standing in their usual positions, the soutaicho slammed his cane down and spoke in a commanding tone, "Speak, Kurosaki Ichigo. What is it you wished to say?" If Ichigo was intimidated, he didn't show it as he determinedly said, "I want to become a captain." There was a brief moment of stunned silence at the spontaneous demand during which Shiro finally spoke in Ichigo's mind._

"King, ya ever hear of the word tact?"

_Telling Shiro to stuff it and stop criticizing his straightforwardness, he firmly ensured that his determination didn't waver in the slightest when the opposition began. "Preposterous" Byakuya said disdainfully. Ukitake gave him a slightly reproving look but also said, "I understand your powerful but to become a captain…" Kurotsuchi sniffed and said testily, "What Kuchiki-taicho said adequately fits. Such a ridiculous request will obviously be rejected."_

_Soi-fon sharply added, "We cannot simply accept a child into our ranks even if we are severely lacking in captains." Komamura's ears twitched a bit as he agreed, "Soifon-taicho is right. It would make it seem like the Gotei 13 is desperate and could demoralize the other shinigamis."_

"_Why don't we give him a chance?"_

_Kyouraku's lazy drawl cut through the protests like a knife slicing through butter. "Please tell me you're joking" Kurotsuchi sneered, "If you were, that was hardly funny." Smiling his usual light-hearted smile, Kyouraku replied, "I'm actually being quite serious Kurotsuchi-taicho." Directing his attention to Toushiro, he said, "If our little genius even bothered to let the idea be brought up then I think this is worth considering. Hitsugaya-taicho doesn't make irrational decisions and if it's a decision that is also supported by two former great captains then it definitely shouldn't be dismissed so quickly."_

_Zaraki grinned maniacally and barked, "I'm all for lettin' the kid in. If he's able to keep that hollow of his under control, then he's gotta be strong." His grin turned a touch more bloodthirsty, "I'll fight him and test to see if he's got what it takes if that's all that all you pussies are worried about."_

'I really, _really_ don't want to fight that guy.'

"Let me at him king! I'll kick his ass~"

'…You just want to play.'

_Quickly refocusing on what was going on outside his mental conversation, he blinked when he realized some of the other captains were now seriously thinking over the preposition. He felt much gratitude for the lazy-looking captain that had spoken on his behalf. Unfortunately, the majority of the captains still looked against the idea and he had a sinking feeling the matter wasn't going to get passed after all._

_Until Urahara and his stupid cunning mind spoke up._

"_Alright then, how about this: all of you will take a stance on this in a completely unbiased manner if," he had that irritating mischievous gleam in his eyes which Ichigo just knew he wasn't going to like, "… if Kurosaki-kun can land a blow on Kyouraku-taicho."_

'… Oh that bastard did not just do that.'

"Sorry king, that bastard _did _just do that. And judging by that guy's reiatsu and control, he ain't gonna be easy ta fight like the crazy brute over there."

'Shoot me now. Actually, better yet, shoot Urahara-san.'

"Gladly."

_To Ichigo's dismay, that wasn't where the problem ended. That irritating prick, Byakuya or whatever, simply had to add, "If he wishes to earn our consent then he must not only land one blow on Kyouraku-taicho, he must defeat him." It was official. Ichigo was royally screwed and that smug bastard knew it._

'Can I seriously do this?'

"King, yer thinkin' too much about it. Just do what ya always do. Haven't me an' the emo old man told ya enough times already?"

_Ichigo blinked before smirking ever so slightly._

'It's not a matter of "Can I do it?" It's a matter of "I have to do it," right?'

"Bingo."

_As Urahara and Yoruichi glanced at each with just the slightest bit of worry, Ichigo replied, "You're on." Even Byakuya, who had offered the deal, looked surprised. Ignoring the stares of disbelief, he looked at Kyouraku and said, "Ready when you are." Kyouraku grinned and lazily called, "Yama-jii, what do you think?"_

_The soutaicho looked like he wanted to sigh before he slammed his staff on the ground and announced, "A battle between Kyouraku Shunsui, captain of the 6__th__ division and Kurosaki Ichigo will be staged on the Sokyoku Hill in one hour. Are there any objections?"_

_When there were none, he declared, "Then this meeting is adjourned. Report to the specified destination in one hour. Dismissed!"_

* * *

><p>AN: Fight scene next chapter! That's gonna be interesting… Let's see if I can write one~ So anyway, I shall try to write longer chappies as thanks for all the reviews! Uhh… I think this one was longer than usual but it could just be my imagination… Anyhoo, keep the reviews coming and enjoy~

* * *

><p>As usual... Deleted Scenes!<p>

_I'm a Good Guy_

There were collective groans since the suspicion that Urahara was plotting something insane was verified. "Are you trying to get me killed Urahara-san?" Ichigo asked suspiciously. "I assure you that is not my intention. It might just-"

As he shifted his arm a little, a few papers flew out of Urahara's sleeve and landed on the floor. Curious, Karin and Yuzu bent down and picked them up and looked at them. There was silence before Karin calmly handed one over to Ichigo. After skimming it over, Ichigo did _not_ look like a happy camper. He grinned an obviously forced smile and said in a falsely sweet voice, "Urahara-san, what is this?"

Dangling in his hand was a long list titled, _Dangerous Stunts I've Planned for Kurosaki-kun to Pull Off!_ and had little check marks to mark ones that had already been done. Urahara tried putting on an innocent expression and replied, "Er... a joke?" Crushing the paper in his hands, Ichigo kept smiling as he said, "Let me do something so that we will all be laughing."

Urahara let out a small, "Meep," before fleeing with a pissed Ichigo hot on his heels.

_Alcohol_

Even Byakuya, who had offered the deal, looked surprised. Ignoring the stares of disbelief, he looked at Kyouraku and said, "Ready when you are." Kyouraku grinned and lazily called, "Yama-jii, what do you-" He paused before suddenly calling in a more urgent voice, "Yama-jii, what time is it?" The soutaicho pulled out a hidden pocket watch and replied, "4:30."

"Oh good, I haven't missed it yet" Kyouraku said cheerfully. Plopping down, he pulled his sake bottle out and proceeded to chug. Everyone else either slapped their foreheds with their palms or sighed as Ukitake said exasperatedly, "Shunsui, I don't care if you think its normal; it's absolutely not okay to drink alcohol so early!"

Kyouraku hiccuped before giving a drunken smile and saying, "Jyuushi, what're you saying? Anytime is the right time to drink!" He took another large swig before abruptly falling over. Before they could check to see if he was alright, Unohana's calm voice said, "He's fine everyone." When they looked at her curiously, she smiled gently and explained, "I was worried he would do something like this so I switched out his normal sake with the strongest liquor in Soul Society. It has enough alcohol to knock out a raging bull and can cause a hangover worse than drinking five bottles of vodka can make."

As she continued to smile, everyone could only pray to never get on Unohana Retsu's bad side ever in their lives.


	9. Battles and Games

Ichigo could feel adrenaline mixed with a bit of nervousness coursing through his body as he sensed the end of the soutaicho's ridiculously long speech, indicating that the battle was about to begin. Looking at Zangetsu's unreleased form, he mentally checked with his partners to see if he was ready to use all his reiatsu.

"_Yes, you should be fine. And even if you weren't, I'm certain Shirosaki would be more than willing to lessen the stress of suddenly using excessive reiatsu by taking any pain caused by it onto himself."_

"_Speak for yerself ossan. I hate pain as much as any other bastard out there."_

"_But you would still accept the pain in Ichigo's stead, yes?"_

"…"

'He's got you there Shiro.'

"_I hate you all."_

Smiling a bit at the antics of his two counterparts, Ichigo could feel some of his insecurities leave, letting him feel more grounded.

"_Got any plans for fightin' the old dude king?"_

'Um, kind of hard to say since I don't know what his sword- er swords can do. But I have this feeling he's exactly like Urahara-san: acts goofy when he's doing nothing important but really strong in combat."

"_Do you believe you will win?"_

Stupid Zangetsu for testing his resolve even now. Seeing that the old man was finally done speaking, Ichigo lifted his sword and swung it down, dark energy flaring out and encasing the blade as he did so. Grasping both hands around the hilt, he let the energy dissipate, leaving behind the familiar huge blade he was more comfortable seeing.

'If I look forward, I'll freak myself out. If I look backward, I'll get weak. The only thing I need to worry about is the present. Whether I win or lose won't matter until the end, I just have to give my all to kick this guy's ass.'

Zangetsu didn't say anything but his approval became evident when a thrum of power surged through the sword. Smiling a bit at Zangetsu's subtle support, Ichigo called to Kyouraku, "Ready… er… Kyouraku-san?" The lazy captain chuckled, "Got it in one kid. Let's get this show going~"

_Don't wait for your opponent to make a move. Make the first strike. Chances are, they won't do anything to catch you off guard since they will want to test you out too. Remember that this only applies if you're sparring with someone for the first time- do not act so rashly if it is an enemy.  
><em>

Heeding one of the lessons Urahara once taught him, Ichigo hurtled across the field rapidly, closing the distance between him and the other man in an instant and feeling the recoil from his blade connecting with another. Kyouraku whistled and said, "That's some speed you got there! And your strength isn't bad. However," his eyes took on a more challenging glint, "it will take more than that if you want me to even think about releasing my sword."

Ichigo scowled. Yup, this guy was definitely just like Urahara. The jerk even felt like he was holding back- there was absolutely no way this was his full strength. Suddenly dropping low, Ichigo shot his leg forward and wasn't very surprised when he only made contact with air. Quickly twisting his body, he supported his body with his arms while his other leg shot up, just missing Kyouraku's cheek before the two put some distance between them.

"Dangerous, dangerous~ That was a really close call…" Kyouraku said lightly as he touched his cheek. Ichigo kept a completely straight face as he replied, "Urahara's Guide for Fighting Rule #1: Use every trick in the book and original ones to win." Kyouraku blinked before chuckling and calling to the area where their audience was, "You're a terrible teacher Kisuke!" Said person just feigned a hurt expression before giving a thumbs-up to Ichigo who only sighed and muttered about cheap bastards.

"Well then, since you hit me with only a bit of back-up by your sword in what I presume is its shikai, then I'll get more serious." Ichigo tensed a bit as Kyouraku changed his stance a bit before chanting, "When the Flower Wind Rages, the Flower God Roars, When the Wind of Heaven Rages, the God of the Underworld Sneers."

Ichigo blinked. 'Gee, his swords are kind of like you Zangetsu-ossan, they get bigger when they're in shikai. His reiatsu's incredible though.'

"_Ichigo, do not let your guard down. This man almost resonates power and experience. It may be advisable to go into bankai now."_

'Eh? Does that mean if this guy goes into bankai, I would lose?'

"_It is highly likely he won't even go into bankai. That is how strong I believe he is."_

Ichigo mulled it over a bit before saying, 'Let me try with just shikai first. I want to try to make him show me what his sword can do." Sensing Zangetsu's agreement, Ichigo inhaled deeply before rushing forward again. "Ehh, you're not going to use the same trick twice are you?" Kyouraku asked, blinking when Ichigo suddenly wasn't in front of him anymore.

"Let's see, if not in front then…"

Spinning around, he blinked in surprise when his opponent wasn't there either. "Oh that's not good…" he said as he glanced up in time to see Ichigo already beginning to attack. Swinging his arm down, Ichigo poured reiatsu into his attack before releasing it.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

There was a loud explosion and then a cloud of dust rose, obscuring everything in a hazy smoke. Ichigo narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "That definitely shouldn't have been enough to get him-" Something suddenly appeared from the smoke and he swiftly jerked to the side, narrowly evading getting hit with what would have been a very painful kido spell although his arm still suffered a bit of damage.

Clutching the stinging wound, Ichigo resisted the urge to say cheater when the smoke cleared and he saw Kyouraku completely unscathed and protected by what he assumed was a kido barrier. "I really hate this kido stuff" he grumbled before removing his hand, revealing a completely healed arm.

"Oh? Is that Shirosaki-kun's regeneration ability?" Kyouraku asked curiously. "Must be nice! I want one too!"

'Is this guy seriously a captain? He sounds like a little kid...'

Remembering that he had just successfully avoided any damage in a split moment, Ichigo conceded that the title was well-earned if not a bit off. Noticing Kyouraku was motioning for him to come down, he landed one the ground again warily. "No need to be so suspicious, I just wanted to ask a favor" Kyouraku said in a placating tone. Lowering his sword a bit so he didn't look like he was on the verge of attacking anymore, Ichigo nodded his head to show he was listening.

"Would you go into your bankai? Katen Kyōkotsu actually wants to play for once and she gets really testy when I don't do what she wants. Besides that, I also want to fight you at your best. I can't say that I'll go into bankai myself since that would be lying but I will use the more special effects of my shikai even though I usually don't since I dislike playing her games. What do you say? We'll both be agreeing to do something we don't want to do."

Ichigo could tell he was serious and honest and weighed his options carefully. It was a bit of a blow to his pride to admit that the man could beat him without bankai but he was definitely not suicidal. If both Zangetsu and the experienced shinigami were sure he wasn't strong enough to handle it, then he wouldn't try although it made him curious as to why someone like Kyouraku couldn't beat the Aizen person if he was so strong.

Getting back to the point, he decided that since this wasn't a battle involving the safety of his friends, he felt a bit better about acquiescing to something he would normally never agree to.

"You've got a deal."

Raising his sword arm and letting the white ribbon wrap around it, he closed his eyes briefly before shouting, "Bankai!" An eruption of reiatsu and black tendrils enveloped him before vanishing in a strong gust of power, revealing Ichigo's bankai. His clothes were no longer the standard shinigami outfit but instead, now consisted of a long black cloak with the usual black hakama pants that he wore. Zangetsu had also changed so he was now completely black and much smaller and thinner than before.

"Tensa Zangetsu."

Not waiting for Kyouraku to react, he used his full speed to appear directly in front of the startled man before unleashing another powerful blast of dark energy. He felt more satisfied when this time, Kyouraku didn't escape completely, his clothes showing scorch marks from where they had come in contact with the attack and his hat now gone.

"My hat!"

Ichigo felt a vein twitch, "Are you and Urahara-san long lost siblings or something? He said the exact same thing when this happened." Kyouraku grinned and replied, "Sorry to disappoint but unfortunately, we're only friends. We do think along the same wavelength though!"

Adopting a more sober attitude, he inspected his clothes before sighing and saying, "Well, a promise is a promise. Just kido and normal attacks won't work at this point." Leveling a rather grim look at Ichigo, he stated more than asked, "Don't die on me alright kid? There's only one general rule with my shikai and it's 'If you win, you live. If you lose, you die. I'll try to make sure it doesn't get that far but even I can't guarantee that."

Ichigo really didn't like it when people said that since it usually meant they were about to do something that would seriously hurt. And the last part was hardly reassuring. 'Rule? Does that mean his shikai is like a competition or a game or something?'

Ichigo's suspicion was confirmed when Kyouraku said, "Then the first game we will be playing is… Irooni."

'Colorful demon? What he heck is that?'

Noticing Ichigo's puzzled expression, Kyouraku smiled a bit before saying, "I think it would be easier to explain if I showed you. Let's see, I'll say… brown for example." With an agility that caught Ichigo off guard similar to how he surprised Kyouraku, the man was suddenly crouched in front of him. Ichigo cursed and swiftly leaped up and away but not before his foot was nicked. The pain that stemmed from the wound hurt more than it should have, leaving Ichigo even more confused.

'Okay, calm down and think about it logically. Kyouraku-san called a color and then he attacked. The place he injured hurt more than it should have. Brown… more damage…'

Realization dawned on Ichigo and he decided to try a rather risky gamble. "Black!" Kyouraku had an "Oh shit" expression as Ichigo sent a wave of dark energy at him. Quickly using shunpo to jump to the side, he idly wondered if Ichigo had already grasped the rules of the game. The small distraction gave Ichigo enough leeway. In a single moment, he had reappeared next to Kyouraku and swung his sword, just in time to make contact with the outer side of Kyouraku's arm.

The result clarified both of their guesses. A spray of blood shot from what should have been a really minor wound and Kyouraku leapt back to give himself some time to inspect the rather large wound. Glancing back at Ichigo who looked marginally concerned, he waved with his good arm nonchalantly, "It's alright, this was my fault really. I thought it would take you much more than one example to figure out how the game worked but it looks like I underestimated you." Using a small kido spell to ease the pain he continued, "As you can see, in Irooni you announce a color and then try to land a hit on your opponent where that color is. The damage received is based on how much danger the color would place yourself in. Since black was extremely risky for both you and me, the damage I got when you nicked me was quite large."

"I have to thank you for not aiming at a more life-threatening location for now but showing such mercy in real combat will get you killed." Ichigo guiltily looked down. Urahara had said the exact same thing and he still couldn't follow his advice. Kyouraku shrugged with a bit of difficulty. "Ah well, I suppose its fine since this is only a spar. I don't think you're the type of person to hesitate like this if you were in an actual fight against enemies. But that's also why," a small cut appeared on Ichigo's shoulder and he immediately realized his mistake in looking away from his opponent when the cut turned into a humongous gash.

"Never let your guard down during any fight since according to a certain person's Guide for Fighting, any dirty trick is a-ok as long as it helps you win." Ichigo seriously wished he could take back those words since he was eating them right now.

Payback's a nasty bitch.

Kyouraku smiled lightly before glancing at his swords. Sighing, he called, "The game is being changed. Now, we are going to play Kageoni." Fun. Another game he had to figure the rules out without dying. Ichigo hated his luck right now. Whose great idea was it to fight this guy? Oh right, the pompous asshole and Urahara-san. Scowling even more, Ichigo warily watched Kyouraku in the hopes of getting a hint of what this game required.

He was not expecting the man to suddenly sink into his shadow.

'Oh now that's just not fair.'

"_Ichigo, this is a clue in and of itself. Think about what he just did and what this game implies."_

'What in the flying fuck am I supposed to get from a guy who suddenly got eaten by his shadow and a game called Shadow Demon- Oh wait a second.' Looking at his own shadow, his eyes widened when a shadow crawled to his and seemed to cut into its side, mirroring the injury that suddenly appeared on Ichigo's body.

'Well dammit, this game just got a place in my list of Games I Hate the Most. So attacking a person's shadow inflicts damage on the person as well. And it looks like manipulation of the shadows is okay too. But how the heck am I supposed to fight like that?'

"…_Ichigo, how much do you trust Shirosaki?"_

'Uhh is now really the time to be discussing this? I'm kind of trying not to die right now.' Sensing Zangetsu's slight impatience, he quickly rectified his response. 'I like to think I trust him a lot. Why?'

"_I wish to teach the two of you a different way of fighting."_

"_Now?"_

'Now?'

The simultaneous exclamations caused Zangetsu's eyes to dance with amusement a bit. _"Yes, now. It will make playing this game easier."_

Narrowly avoiding getting his shadow attacked again, Ichigo huffed in irritation before mentally snapping, 'Fine, but please tell me it isn't complicated.'

"_It isn't necessarily complicated but it will be a bit frightening for you Ichigo."_

That didn't bode well.

"_You will be giving Shirosaki control of part of your body. You will be in charge of focusing on only attacking the enemy while Shirosaki will move you out of harm's way. You will have to switch being in control in order for that to happen. It will be disconcerting and it will not work unless you can work together flawlessly."_

'… Isn't that cheating?'

"_No because Shirosaki is part of you and thus using his abilities would not be against the rules. But this will require a willingness from both individuals involved and a synchronicity of unparalleled harmony. Absolute trust and following each other's thought process is critical in this or else your body will be disorientated and then you will be vulnerable to any attack."_

"_I'm chill with tryin' but what if king and I screw up? Our fightin' styles ain't exactly classified as similar and we might confuse each other."_

"_And that is why trust is the key for this. I do not have high hopes that you will grasp this easily but in this stimulation of a life-threatening situation, I believe you will be able to figure it out well enough to fight. Do you wish to try Ichigo?"_

Memories of when Shiro had been trying to take him over flashed in his mind accompanied by the fear that had come each and every time. He was about to refuse vehemently when he forced himself to remember that Shiro was more than just a savage hollow trying to claim ownership over his body. He was his friend and irreplaceable partner and if he couldn't trust Shiro with something like this then he had no right to call on his power or to even call him by the affectionate nickname.

Taking a steadying breath, he evaded a few more attacks (that seemed suspiciously weak, as if Kyouraku was holding back) before mentally agreeing.

'Let's try it.'

* * *

><p>AN: I was hoping to fit the battle in one chapter but that would have been ridiculously long so the results of this experiment and the end of the battle will be revealed in the next chapter~ This story may take a bit longer than I originally planned in terms of updates since I have this urge to focus on my other story but hopefully the intervals won't be too long.

* * *

><p>On a completely different note, Deleted Scenes time! (This felt strangely ADD but whatevs)<p>

_Siblings_

"My hat!"

Ichigo felt a vein twitch, "Are you and Urahara-san long lost siblings or something? He said the exact same thing when this happened."

Kyouraku replied seriously, "Yes." Ichigo nearly fell over as he asked in disbelief, "Are you serious?" Grinning, Kyouraku waved a hand and said, "Just kidding~ You're reactions are so funny, I couldn't resist~"

'... Can I kill this bastard?'

_Oops_

Scowling even more, Ichigo warily watched Kyouraku in the hopes of getting a hint of what this game required.

He was not expecting the man to suddenly sink into his shadow. Or for the sound of him falling off the stage with a rather loud, "Ouch!"

Ichigo wasn't sure if he should laugh or be concerned until the man called in a rather childish tone, "Oh no, I'm dying! My sweet Nanao-chan, come save me with CPR!"

"Er, Kyouraku-san you do realize CPR is done when you're heart has stopped beating or have water in or have problems with your lungs right?"

"... *Hack* *cough* Nanao-chan... dying... *wheeze*... CPR..."


	10. Conclusion

"Let's try this" his ass. This was so not working.

_"Dammit king! If ya don't wanna look like Swiss cheese by the end of this then lemme take control! It's only gonna be for a few seconds so quit pushin' me back every damn time!"_

Ichigo knew this. He knew the days when Shiro was threatening him were over and that right now, he should be able to depend on him and trust him as much as he did with Zangetsu. He knew that if Shiro said he would give back control, then he would do it without hesitation.

The only problem was that it looked like his body wasn't so inclined to trust Shiro to the extent that his mind did.

Feeling the familiar slight tugging sensation that indicated Shiro was attempting to take over, he mentally swore to let him this time. But the moment when he felt black begin to cover the white in his eyes, he completely and utterly chickened out. Forcefully shoving Shiro back, he grimaced in pain when another one of the infernal shadows pierced him in the side. Clutching the wound, he jumped away to give himself more distance and to calm himself down_._

_"Again king?"_

_'I'm working on it alright?'_

_"For fuck's sake- How 'bout I just try an' take some control over something like an arm or your legs next time then? You'd have control over yer mind still that way."_

That might work. Ichigo agreed before sending a wave of black energy at a shadow that seemed to have an odd shape. He smirked in partial victory when he heard a surprised yelp and Kyouraku's voice whine, "That was mean!" Unfortunately, his victory was short-lived when he felt his legs moving on their own. Logically, he knew it was just Shiro but instinctively, he began fighting back for control- a distraction which resulted in yet another painful gash on his already profusely bleeding arm by a shadow sneaking up on him from behind.

Well, if that didn't basically spell out what Ichigo was only just beginning to realize, then nothing else would. Shiro also seemed to have caught on at this point.

_"... Ya still don't trust me."_

The ache Ichigo felt in his chest was not do to the numerous cuts littered there. It was a combination of Shiro's hurt and his own pain for not being able to deny that statement.

_"Shirosaki is correct Ichigo. Despite what you may wish to believe, you lack the absolute trust necessary for becoming true partners."_

So that's why Zangetsu had suggested to use this method of fighting: he had wanted him to realize that the bond between them was still fragile and would only act as a handicap in a fight- a handicap that would have proved to be fatal had this been a real fight (though this "spar" was proving to be quite deadly itself. He was going to _kill_ Urahara after this even if he wasn't completely at fault).

_"But that is not the only thing I wished for both of you to see."_

Stabbing his sword into the ground and narrowly blocking another shadow trying to sneak up on him, Ichigo could feel both his and Shiro's confusion. Trust Zangetsu to make his expectations ridiculously complex and have double meanings.

_"The desire to trust Shiro is not something to be over-looked. It is true that what you are trying to accomplish has never been done before and something that any logical shinigami or hollow would say is impossible to do. However, your capabilities are not measured by their standards alone since you acquired your abilities when you were still human Ichigo."_

_"If humans are known for something, it would be their tendency to defy logic."_

Ichigo still didn't see where this was going._ 'What does that have to do with anything?"  
><em>

_"Desire and a powerful will can make even the filthiest human rich if they are prepared to go through extreme lengths to get what they want. Likewise, even the weakest human can obtain the greatest of strength so long as they believe they can, and do everything possible to become stronger."_

_"Get to the freakin' point old man!" _Shiro really needed to learn to get some patience although Ichigo also wanted Zangetsu to hurry up and get to his point. It wasn't that he was irritated with the long speech or anything per say, it was more of the fact that it wasn't really easy listening to his inner spirits while dodging the things going on in the real world at the same time.

_"Ichigo, you are a shinigami and a hollow with the soul of a human and you desire strength. Shirosaki and myself are the epitomes of strength. Together, we can attain power beyond the man you are currently fighting and any other shinigami, beyond the strongest Vasto Lorde, beyond anybody's wildest imagination. But in order for this to happen, we must achieve a state of perfect harmony- a feat that is unheard of even among vaizards since they rely on dominance and control in order to utilize their power. You are not like them, you are different. Thus, if it is something you strongly wish for..."_

_"Then it is possible."_

It was times like these when Ichigo was relieved that Zangetsu was his zanpakto. Wise and observant, he noticed things no one else could and understood things only one who dwelled in his mind could understand and then conveyed his advice through lessons and experience and even gave him encouragement when the going got tough although he did tend to be vague and roundabout with his words.

_"You will not win this battle Ichigo."_

He could also be quite blunt at the most random moments.

_'Yeah, I figured as much.' _It was a blow to his pride but until he figured out how to get himself to fully accept Shiro, there was no way he'd be able to win against the 8th division captain or anyone else as strong or stronger than him. So that brought him to his next problem: how to end this "game" without losing his life. Kyouraku had said Katen Kyotsu was extremely whimsical and that when she wanted to play, she played until the end a.k.a until someone died. In other words, the one he needed to convince to stop was the sword. Why the hell was life (or death in this case) so bent on making things difficult for him? Was it even possible to talk to a sword spirit unless it was your own?

Ichigo sighed. Alright, he had no other choice. Screw it if he looked like an idiot or a nut ball for talking to thin air. Slamming his sword into the ground, he stated as boldly as he could for someone who looked like he was speaking to nothing, "Oi, Kyouraku-san and if she's listening, Katen Kyotsu. I'm going to forfeit this match."

There was complete silence and for a moment, he really did feel like he was talking to air until he heard Kyouraku's voice mutter, "Oh that's not good." Wondering what was "not good," Ichigo looked around and then saw what Kyouraku was worried about. Tendrils of shadows seemed to be curling in fury and dissatisfaction before abruptly lashing out straight towards him, something that Ichigo highly doubted was by his opponent's doing. Not budging an inch despite the threat that was currently hurtling closer, he continued quickly.

"It wouldn't be fair to either of you if we kept going. This fight... is boring for you isn't it?"

To his inward relief, the tendrils paused just before impaling him, a small indication that though she was angry, Katen Kyotsu was giving him time to talk. "We both agreed to fight using more or less everything that we had but so far, only Kyouraku-san has done that. I don't want to keep fighting so half-assed but I need a bit of time to come to terms with a few things. So... if you promise to let me end this with my life intact, then I'll promise that the next time we play,"

"You'll have more fun than you've had against anybody else."

The tendrils wavered a bit as if debating on this so Ichigo added another challenge as an incentive. "Next time, it'll be Kyouraku-san who forfeits the match."

Holding his breath, he stared at the shadows suspended in the air before releasing it in a relieved exhale when the shadows slowly backed off and slithered back to their origins.

"Well I'll be! That's the first time Katen Kyotsu has ever let one of her victims go after they lost one of her games!" Kyouraku exclaimed as he slipped out of a shadow nearby, a little roughed up but nowhere near as injured as Ichigo. Ichigo grinned weakly as the captain also said, "Though you're quite cheeky aren't you? I guess I'll have to be on my toes next time we fight huh?" Ichigo nodded and then sighed before muttering, "I thought I was going to die..." Kyouraku laughed and pat him on the back, quickly retracting his hand when he noticed the younger man wince a bit. "Whoops, sorry! Hey Retsu~ Give the poor kiddo here some treatment would you?"

A kind-looking woman with long black hair tied into a braid down her front gracefully shunpoed from her former location and landed in front of the two, "I was just about to do so Kyouraku-taicho however I would also like to take a look at your wounds as well. You did not emerge out of this unscathed either, yes?"

Although the rather frightening smile wasn't directed at him, Ichigo felt the same shiver of fear Kyouraku undoubtedly felt. Reason number one why he didn't like female doctors: they were extremely scary despite their friendly appearances. Yuzu hadn't acquired the skill of intimidating others yet but when she was pissed, she was very terrifying. He made a mental note to make sure Yuzu didn't spend a lot of time near the captain in the future.

A gentle warmth suddenly enveloped his injured arm and he looked at it to see his arm enshrouded by a faint glowing green light that instantly began closing all his wounds. The familiar feeling sent a small pang of sadness through him since it reminded him of what he had left behind when he'd died. The warm feeling generated from the kido spell was...

"...just like Orihime's..."

The woman glanced at him curiously, "Did you say something Kurosaki-kun?" Realizing he had let that slip out loud, he quickly shook his head and said, "Oh, uh no. I was um, just... wondering if you specialize in healing or something." That was a total lie but he prayed that she didn't notice The last thing he wanted to do was make the shinigamis aware of his friends and their abilities in the Human World and drag them into troublesome things.

The woman gazed at him speculatively before returning her attention to her task as she replied, "I am Unohana Retsu, captain of the 4th division. And yes, my division is in charge of healing any and all wounds. Thus," a scary pleasant smile was directed at him that nearly made him shrink back in fear, "Please refrain from doing anything purposely that will threaten your well-being unless there is a very good reason for it alright?" Giving her a slightly shaken nod, he relaxed a bit as she began healing his other wounds.

"So? What did everyone think?"

Kyouraku's lazy question reminded Ichigo of exactly why they had been fighting in the first place. _'Oh right... this was supposed to determine whether I could become a captain. I completely forgot.'_

_"Che, too caught up thinking of the princess?"_

Where Shiro got that idea from, Ichigo had no clue although he was confused by the sullen tone used to say that comment. Was Shiro upset that he was thinking about his friends back in the Human World? He couldn't fathom a reason why though now that he thought of it, Shiro had never seemed to really like his friends even among the other vaizards. His dislike towards Orihime had always been more obvious though and Ichigo wondered if there was a reason for that.

"...saki-kun? Kurosaki-kun?"

Jolting back out of his thoughts, Ichigo blinked when he realized people were looking at him expectantly and a bit questioningly. Recognizing the voice that had been calling his name belonged to the 13th division captain, he directed his attention to him and said, "Ah, sorry about that. What were you asking?" The pale, long-haired man smiled and repeated his question, "We were wondering if you could head to the 4th division to get some rest while we make a decision. Would that be alright with you?" 4th division meant medical wards, not somewhere he wanted to go at the present. Ichigo bit his lip and mumbled, "I... don't really like hospitals..." Not completely true, he did love his family's clinic but right at the moment, being in any place that resembled his home would stir up some feelings of homesickness and he didn't really want to deal with that.

"Oh really? Then Unohana-taicho, would it be fine if he returned to the 10th division?" Ichigo felt a bit of amusement when he heard Toushiro mutter, "Oh sure, don't bother asking the captain of said division first." Unohana also looked briefly amused before she adopted a thoughtful look and replied, "I don't really mind... however," and there it was, her sinister smile, "please refrain from doing any strenuous activities Kurosaki-kun." She received a nervous, fast nod of confirmation.

_'Holy crap she's scary.'_

"Um... can I use shunpo to get back?" he asked hopefully. The thought of walking lord only knew how far to get to the division was extremely unappealing. "I'm afraid not." His shoulders slumped a bit at the immediate response. He really wasn't injured enough that he couldn't do something like shunpoing back but he was very reluctant to challenge the frightening captain's authority. "You don't have to worry about walking back since you will return by riding on Minazuki with me."

"... Who?"

Unohana only smiled benignly before drawing her sword. _'You've got to be kidding me. We're riding on her sword?' _Being the creative person that he was, the only image his mind could conjure was them sitting on it like a witch did on a broomstick. It was not a pleasant thought. To his surprise, the sword began to turn into green gas that was morphing into quite a bizarre shape. _'Is that a manta ray?'_

When the smoke became solid, his suspicion was confirmed: it was most definitely a manta ray, a green manta ray with one eye and a mouth lined with extremely sharp-looking small teeth. He honestly couldn't say if it looked creepy or kind of cute in a funny sort of way. The medical captain lightly stepped onto its back and then gestured for Ichigo to do the same. _'I wonder if this is what a real manta ray feels like...' _It was almost like walking on green rubber which was a bit unexpected. For some reason, he had expected it to be slippery, slimy or something of the sort. Unohana patiently let him marvel at the texture of the skin before motioning that he sit down.

"If you are ready, then we will take off."

_'Take off?'_

The dead world really was different from the human world. It had swords that liked to play games and swords that turned into sea creatures that flew instead of swam. Lovely.

* * *

><p>When Minazuki landed in front of the 10th division, Ichigo could see Karin and Yuzu waiting outside. He really hoped they hadn't been sitting out there the whole time he was gone and he really, really hoped they didn't sense him fighting. The last thing he needed to do was worry them. Hopping off Minazuki's back and walking towards them, he barely managed to get out a, "I'm back!" before his arms were full with two siblings.<p>

"Ichi-nii, you're back!"

"What the heck were you doing that made your reiatsu go more all over the place than it already does?"

For not the first time, Ichigo wondered how these two could be twins. From the way the looked to their personalities, they were complete opposites. "Nice to see you again too Karin" he said sarcastically, lightly flicking her on the forehead when she carelessly shrugged and muttered, "Whatever." While he tried to figure out a way to avoid answering her question, Yuzu suddenly gasped and whispered in awe, "Ichi-nii, is that Unohana-taicho?" While relieved he had found a way to change topics, Ichigo had a bad feeling about this. "Yeah... Why?" Yuzu let out a small squeal of delight as she exclaimed, "I really admire her! When we first came here and began learning about shinigami stuff, she was the one who showed us a few healing spells. I was really happy when we were put into Hitsugaya-taicho's division but once we become better shinigamis, I want to join her division."

Karin rolled her eyes and said in exasperated affection, "She's been practicing her healing and defensive kido spells more than her offensive ones. Personally, I think she _is_ more suited for the 4th division than for this one." Ichigo sighed- there went his hope that Yuzu wouldn't get influenced by the friendly but scary 4th division captain. "I need to thank her for bringing me back here, do you guys want to talk to her?" Yuzu looked at him as if he'd become the messiah which he took as a yes so he led them back to where Unohana was.

"Unohana-san! Can you come down here for a sec?"

She lightly jumped down from her perch on her zanpakto's back and smiled, her expression turning a touch warmer when she saw Karin standing next to her brother and Yuzu hiding behind him. After the two girls gave their greetings, he said, "Thanks for bringing me back. I was really worried that I'd have to somehow find my way back here on foot." Her expression turned amused as she replied, "I would never do something like that Kurosaki-kun. It is only expected that someone escort you back but I appreciate your gratitude all the same." Slightly uncomfortable since he was unused to compliments, Ichigo gestured to behind him and said, "Before you go, Yuzu has something she wants to ask you." Yuzu let out a small squeak before blushing and stuttering madly. Unohana chuckled before kneeling down so she was eye-level with Yuzu. "What can I do for you Yuzu-chan?"

Recovering a bit of her composure after a few more stutters and mumbles, Yuzu took a deep breath and said with a strong, unwavering voice, "When I become a better shinigami, may I join your division Unohana-taicho?" Unohana blinked in surprise before giving her another warm smile and replying, "Of course. I would never reject the request of such a compassionate person such as yourself Yuzu-chan." Taking her hand into her own, Unohana added, "Train as much as you can so you will have enough strength to heal your reckless brother alright?" Yuzu was in a momentary daze since her idol was giving her encouragement and even holding her hand before she enthusiastically said, "I- I will!"

Standing up, Unohana rested a hand gently on Yuzu's head and murmured, "All three of you truly are such wonderful children." They noticed the small sadness in her eyes and smile but wisely chose not to comment on it. Ichigo hesitantly said, "Unohana-san, do you need to go? We don't want to hold you back." The kind smile was back, all traces of sadness completely removed as she replied, "Yes, I must be on my way. I will do my best to help lead our discussion at the meeting to a positive conclusion Kurosaki-kun." As she settled herself down on Minazuki's back, she looked down and said, "By the way Yuzu-chan..."

"The only thing that needs improvement is your strength and stamina. You, Karin-chan, and Kurosaki-kun are already wonderful shinigamis."

On that final note which had embarrassed all three siblings this time, Minazuki rose into the air and flew off, growing smaller and smaller into the distance before vanishing from sight. When the captain was out of sight, Karin ran a hand through her hair and said in an abnormally subdued voice, "Guess a lot of people here have something in their pasts that aren't happy memories." Yuzu nodded and said softly, "i wonder if Unohana-taicho had children before..." Ichigo looked at the twin before patting them both on the head, "Come on you two, stop being so broody. That's my job." Karin snorted as Yuzu protested, "But Ichi-nii-"

"If Unohana-san did have children and something happened to them that wasn't pleasant then you guys just have to make sure the same doesn't happen to you right?"

Yuzu blinked, her protests dying in her mouth as she thought over his words. "That's true..." Karin smirked, "Same applies to you Ichi-nii." "Hey, I'm not a kid!" Grabbing her twin into a headlock, Karin said, "We just gotta keep each other in check right Ichi-nii? So you watch over us and me and Yuzu will watch over you." Grinning at her captured sister, she declared, "Let's show these guys what it means to be family." Despite the hold her sister had on her, Yuzu smiled happily.

"Right!"

Ichigo watched them fondly, glad that they were looking energetic again. He couldn't really afford to have another worry stacked on his list, especially if it would distract him which his sisters' unhappiness would have undoubtedly done. It looked like they had their own plans for moving forward and he certainly couldn't fall behind them. There was a lot of thing that needed to be done but for now, he would take a small reprieve and rest until the captains finished deciding what to do with him. The issues between him and Shiro weren't going to be solved if he tried to rush things so he had to put their problem on hold but that was definitely going to be one of the first things he would start to work on.

He wanted to be able to trust Shiro as much as Shiro trusted him.

* * *

><p>AN: OMFG I finally got this chapter done! For some reason, I had a lot of difficulties with it (writer's block, computer crashes, changing events in the story b/c I didn't like them, etc). It didn't help that I was busy with a class for a month T.T Anyway, I'm glad I'm finally getting this chapter out and hopefully, the next few will be updated more quickly since I have them roughly outlined. I am sincerely sorry for the super long wait!

* * *

><p>Holy crap I missed writing these... Deleted Scenes! Actually more like a deleted scene side story but whatever. Only 1 since this chapter was getting really long. Sorry!<p>

_Flying_

The dead world really was different from the human world. It had swords that liked to play games and swords that turned into sea creatures that flew instead of swam. Lovely.

"... Unohana-san?"

Looking over questioningly since the script hadn't mentioned they would talk during the flight, she blinked in surprise when she saw Ichigo looking a bit pale. "Kurosaki-kun, are you alright?" Waving a hand, he managed to say, "Uh well, I forgot to say this in my resume but... I get motion sick really easily." Hurriedly, she ordered Minazuki to land while pulling out a medical kit. Pulling out a bottle of pills, she handed two to him which he swallowed, letting out a relieved sigh a his nasea slowly faded.

"That was quite unexpected. I'll make sure to give you these pills before we restart the scene. But I wouldn't have seen you as the type to get motion-sick Kurosaki-kun. How do yo do the scenes where you're moving around in the air?"

Ichigo blinked. "Oh, that stuff I'm good with. It's riding something that makes me sick."

Seeing her confused look, he explained, "You know how Urahara-san is a scientist both on and off-stage right? Well, one time he gave Shiro a car for his birthday. Shiro was really excited and he wanted to take me with him on the first ride so I agreed. Everything about the car was normal except there was this button that said 'Push me!' Naturally, we got suspicious so we didn't push it. But apparently, after an hour, the car goes into Agent Mode."

"Agent Mode basically means the car starts doing everything you'd see in some cliche action movie and even beyond that. It gets rocket boosters, missle shooters, wings, floaters for water, it even starts growing this animal hide-like substance and takes the shape of a huge flying bird. The problem is that the last thing it does is take off into the air and flies. That wouldn't have been so bad... if the rocket boosters didn't die after five minutes in the air. Apparently, the stupid 'Push me!' button lets out a huge parachute and that's what's supposed to help make the car land safely but since we didn't press it, we were sent flying through the air, crashing through trees, until we luckily landed in a canopy of really leafy trees. But it was the worst experience ever- it beat any roller coaster I've ever been on."

"So in other words... Urahara Kisuke is the reason why you get motion-sick?"

"Yup."

A sigh. "... Why am I not surprised."


	11. The Beginning

The meeting seemed to drag on forever and Ichigo was starting to get a bit agitated. He wasn't exactly nervous per say but he was very impatient and that made him unconsciously fidget. A lot.

Karin glared at her brother since for the umpteenth time, he drummed his fingers on the smooth mahogany wooden desk in front of the couch he was sprawled on, his eyes staring absently at the ceiling in boredom. "Ichi-nii, do that one more time and I swear I'll kick your ass" she all but growled out.

No reaction other than the continuous rhythmic sound from his drumming .

Yuzu barely managed to latch onto her twin's arm before she was able to do something drastic. "Karin-chan, calm down!" she cried as she held the raging raven-haired girl back. "Oh I'll calm down... once I break something!" By something, the gentler of the twins figured she meant their poor brother's fingers since that was what Karin's eyes were zeroed in on. She tightened her grip when said person's flailing grew more fierce and said desperately, "But that would cause problems for other people! Like Ichi-nii and Unohana-taicho and... and... Hitsugaya-taicho!" It was a slightly low blow to mention their over-worked captain but that was the only way Yuzu could think of to stop Karin's rampage and her intuition was right. Her twin's thrashing halted almost immediately and after waiting a few seconds with no indication of any more violent actions, Yuzu deemed it safe to let go.

She breathed a sigh of relief as Karin plopped onto the ground cross-legged and settled with grumpily glaring at Ichigo. She was annoyed at him but she knew well enough not to do anything that would add to the 10th division's captain's growing list of things that needed to get done. She might not do anything helpful like start on his paperwork but she also wouldn't give him _more_ work from any of her violent tendencies.

So she was stuck with glaring at her brother while he continued his infuriating drumming.

Said person would have responded to his sibling earlier -and maybe spared her from any more fidgeting- but just before she'd spoken, he had slipped into his inner world in search of his abnormally quiet spirits. Well, abnormal for Shiro at least. It would have been creepy if Zangetsu started gibbering away like a gossiping high school girl. But that was completely besides the point; he and Shiro had a few issues they needed to clear up and he owed the hollow an apology.

"Shiro?"

Wondering if he was still upset from the earlier events since the albino wasn't responding, Ichigo was torn between giving him more time alone in case he didn't want to talk or trying to find him. A pissed and moody Shiro was hard to deal with in a confrontation but a gloomy and dejected Shiro was hard to leave alone. Not that he'd ever really seen Shiro depressed so he didn't actually know what he would have behaved like but still... As he debated over his choices, he was completely oblivious to the shadow sneaking up behind him with a mischievous smirk that was a far cry from "depressed."

Ichigo was utterly defenseless to the white hands that were suddenly on his body, expertly finding and poking every ticklish spot he had. He couldn't even manage a sound of surprise before the the force of his attacker's body hitting his and the sudden tickling sent both him and his tormentor tumbling to the ground in a mess of laughter and tangled limbs. "S-Shiro! Stop... that!" he managed to gasp out between laughs as he tried to get a hold on the hollow's dancing hands. Shiro smirked, continuing his relentless onslaught undaunted as he sang, "Nu-uh king~" His smirk widened at Ichigo's hopeless struggles as he cackled evilly, "This is punishment for letting your guard down and letting me sneak up on you!" Ichigo really would have responded but he was currently having difficulty just getting oxygen flowing through his respiration system properly so coherent words were definitely beyond his ability. After a torturous three minutes, Shiro was finally satisfied and he relinquished his hold and let his king catch his breath.

At first, Shiro just snickered while his lungs gulped in blessed air -once he was able to, Ichigo had politely told him to stop laughing or he would make him regret it- but then the chortles had died down and instead, golden irises were fixed intently on Ichigo and his slightly flushed face.

Ichigo felt Shiro staring at him without his evil little snickers (surprisingly) so he glanced over questioningly, voicing his confusion when Shiro didn't do anything other than continue to stare. "Something wrong Shiro?" Said hollow actually looked caught off guard for a moment before he swiftly turned his head a bit and muttered, "Nothing" in an oddly subdued voice. Ichigo was still confused but his confusion turned into concern when he saw a tinge of red on the albino's cheeks. Leaning forward, he raised his hand and lightly pressed it against Shiro's head, asking worriedly, "Shiro, you're not sick are you?"

Shiro's reaction was... interesting for lack of a better word.

The red in his cheeks turned a touch darker as he pushed Ichigo back and exclaimed, "I ain't sick ya idiot king! I'm a hollow, not a human; I don't get shit like sicknesses an' diseases. You were just- I mean- Gah! Forget it!" If Ichigo was confused before, now he was completely lost. Shiro had never acted like this before and he wasn't sure about what to do. He sounded healthy so he wasn't sick as he had said but there was something clearly bothering him.

There was a slightly awkward silence.

Ichigo bit his lip and wondered if Shiro was acting funny because he was hurt by the lack of trust he had in him as shown in the battle before. He figured the tickling from earlier must have been Shiro's way of trying to mend things between them and now Ichigo had somehow made him uncomfortable again.

Something must have shown on his face because when Shiro looked at him, he sighed and said, "I mean it king, it ain't nothin' for you to worry about so relax." Ichigo still wasn't completely reassured. Shiro's lips suddenly curled into his customary smirk as he added teasingly, "You jus' looked like you had one hell of a fuck after getting tickled that I was surprised. Were my hands that skillful?" The small tinge that had colored Shiro's cheeks was nothing compared to the scarlet that filed Ichigo's entire face.

He cackled maniacally as Ichigo spluttered nonsensical words before finally managing to form a single short legible sentence that pretty much summed up what he had been trying to say before.

"You perverted asshole!"

That just made the cackling worse. "Heh, you're so easy ta tease king," Shiro snickered. Ichigo huffed and crossed his arms in a brooding manner (he obviously wasn't pouting) as he tried to will his blush away. It wasn't the first time Shiro had used innuendos and it wasn't like he used them infrequently -the hollow had seemed to make it his duty to embarrass him at least once every day. But even though he knew the hollow was only teasing, it still always made his cheeks flare up and his heart race every single damn time, something that made him inwardly cringe whenever it happened. He wasn't completely clueless; he knew these reactions were signs that he wasn't as immune to the subtle sexual references in the jokes as he tried to make himself out to be.

That wasn't what really bothered him. He could handle having a small attraction to Shiro so long as said person never realized it. What _did_ bother him was that he was the disappointment he felt every time despite knowing that Shiro was only jokin and he hated how his body reacted to what should only be a friendly banter. It felt like he was a hormonal teenager in heat or some school girl who thought every sentence the guy she liked said was an invitation to fool around and it was as if he was twisting their tentative friendship in a perverse way.

Pulling himself out of his self-loathing thoughts and glancing over, he noticed Shiro also looked like he was thinking about something really hard, white brows furrowed in contemplation and his body a little tense despite its deceptively relaxed posture. It was comforting to know Shiro had been too caught up on his own thoughts to notice Ichigo's unnatural silent behavior although it was a bit unnerving to see Shiro looking so... well not Shiro. He looked like he was trying to mimic Zangetsu what with the serious expression and slightly speculative expression.

He blinked in surprise when the albino suddenly spoke- not because he was spontaneously talking really but more so because he was speaking in an unusually hesitant manner.

"King, there's somethin' I've been thinkin' about and it's been confusin' the shit outta me."

Ichigo felt butterflies fluttering madly in his stomach when serious, sharp golden orbs focused entirely onto his brown ones. He wasn't sure why but the intensity of Shiro's stare was making him extremely nervous and causing his heart to thump wildly in his chest. He wasn't sure which of them started it but he was aware their faces were suddenly inching closer and he could see the faint sheen of what looked like uncertainty in Shiro's eyes. A blue tongue darted out and wet slightly dry white lips as Shiro's face drew even closer to his.

"King- no, Ichigo... I-"

And then Ichigo found himself forcefully yanked out of his inner world by an incredibly cold feeling.

Shooting up from his position on the couch, he collided painfully with someone else's head and both simultaneously released a yelp. Rubbing his head ruefully, Ichigo quickly became aware of the fact that he was soaked with very cold water. Scowling, he glared over at where he heard his sisters laughing, the glare softening just a bit when Yuzu handed him a towel while stifling her giggles.

"Thanks Yuz but mind telling me why I'm wet in the first place?"

Yuzu looked a little guilty but her amusement was clearly still there as while he dried himself, she explained. "The captains just reached a decision a while ago and they sent a messenger, Rukia-san, to tell you the verdict and also explain a few things to you but you weren't reacting to any of our calls." Here she gave him a scolding look that still retained some of her former concern from before he woke up and he muttered a quick apology which seemed to satisfy her enough so that she would continue. "We were really worried so Karin-chan tried dumping a bucket of water onto you but even that didn't work. So finally, we asked Rukia-san to make the next bucket of water colder and then we dumped that. I guess it took a while for the cold to register because you didn't react immediately like a person would normally would. Anyway, Rukia-san was leaning over you and checking to see if you were injured in some way but then you shot up and you hit heads."

Ichigo blinked and looked at the person he'd collided with, not even registering that it had been a stranger until now. She was very petite with short black hair that curved elegantly like a swallow's tail with a single long bang hanging down the middle of her face. Her hands were cradling her forehead, preventing him from seeing what the rest of her face looked like so he searched for an insignia of some kind that would let him know what her rank was. She obviously wasn't one of the captains and she didn't have the badge Matsumoto had so he figured she also wasn't one of the lieutenants. All in all, she seemed like a rather plain shinigami but he had a gut feeling that she was more than that.

The perfectly controlled reiatsu around her small frame was a rather clear indication she wasn't fresh out of the academy and the fact she had been given a duty by one of the captains hinted that she was well-trusted.

Abruptly her eyes, which had been screwed shut in pain, snapped open and she removed her hands and glared at him. "Apologize." He stared at her blankly. Her glare turned a touch more irritated as she said impatiently, "When you hit someone, you apologize." Ichigo could feel his own thin patience snapping- for some reason, this person really reminded him of the 6th division captain. She was now standing, her small form straight and rigid, and her large violet eyes were narrowed in a cold glare. And then there was her holier-than-thou tone too. He felt his rebellious belligerent instinct instantly take over.

"Make me midget."

Her expression was priceless. He mentally amended his earlier thought; she was far more expressive than the snobby captain. Her eyes had widened comically and her formal posture was all but wiped out of existence as she raged, "How dare you! I am _not _a midget! Just... I lack a bit in the height department!" She then seemed to realize she had gone off topic since she coughed slightly and said in a more dignified manner, "And I shouldn't need to make you apologize. A gentleman should know it's only common courtesy to apologize when he hits a lady."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow and made an exaggerated gesture of looking around. "Lady? Where?" The sarcasm was not lost on her. She looked like she was about to attack him when they both heard two voices whispering in the background.

"Told you they wouldn't get along."

"Eh? What are you talking about Karin-chan? They're already becoming good friends."

"... If by good friends you mean they argue like the way she does with the baboon then I guess yeah."

They paused when they noticed the people they had been talking about were now staring at them. Yuzu looked embarrassed to have gotten caught while Karin just said dismissively, "Don't mind us, just keep fighting like an old married couple." The responses were similar in the sense that they had the same meaning but the difference in the way they were phrased was very amusing.

"Who would want to marry a bipolar midget like her?"

"Why would I degrade myself to marry a vulgar brat like him?"

"Wha- who are you calling a brat shrimp? I'm taller than you!"

"Hmph! That's my line _boy._ Who are you calling bipolar and a small one at that? And height has nothing to do with age!"

Before the argument could explode again, Yuzu said brightly, "See Karin-chan? They'll be great friends! Ichi-nii already made Rukia-chan feel better even though she's been a bit down recently and no one else could cheer her up." Karin rolled her eyes and commented dryly, "A friendship started by Ichi-nii's natural talent of pissing people off and Rukia's violent tendencies. Great. It's the start of a beautiful friendship." The two older people stared at them in silence but the twins merely looked back at them, one with amusement glinting in her eyes and the other with happy approval.

It was hard to do anything to disappoint them.

Ichigo sighed and ran a hand through his hair before grinning and saying, "I guess you're not bad for someone who seems to be related to that Byakuya guy. I'm Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo." She looked like she was debating whether it was worth it to try to salvage her dignity and uptight image or just drop it.

She chose the latter.

Holding out her small slim hand, the corners of her lips curled into a light smirk as she said, "Kuchiki Rukia of the 13th division. It's a bit difficult to say it's a pleasure to meet you." He mirrored her smirk as he took her hand and shook it. "Feelings mutual Rukia." She scoffed before pulling her hand away, not without lightly smacking his as she said in a huffy, reprimanding tone, "And be more respectful! I don't completely understand your circumstances but you still shouldn't refer to Nii-sama by his first name and especially not as 'that guy' you uncouth fool."

Her harsh tone softened a bit when she looked at his two younger sisters.

"But I will let it slide since Karin and Yuzu strangely enough seem to adore you. They are surprisingly picky when it comes to accepting people and if they like you so much then there must be at least a shred of some respectable trait in you." Karin muttered, "Whaddya mean picky?" while Yuzu just smiled one of her usual sweet smiles. A soft smile graced Rukia's face briefly and Ichigo was now fully sure that he would like her- anyone who looked at his sisters with with such a gentle and even caring look was a person he could get along with even if they did insult him in every other sentence.

Sadly enough, the brief, soft look was replaced by her more business-like attitude almost instantly. "Now then, before I tell you anything, it would be best to fill you in on how things work here. First of all, we shinigamis..."

As she started what sounded like a ridiculously long explanation, Ichigo slipped into a semi-aware state, only paying half attention to what she said.

He had been quite startled when during the small bickering between him and Rukia, he had felt a sharp swelling of irritation within his mind that had decreased in intensity when Shiro had retreated to further into his inner world. The abrupt feeling had reminded him of Shiro's presence and that, in turn, had reminded him of what he and the albino had been discussing only moments before.

_'I wonder what Shiro was going to say... He looked...'_

Uncertain, nervous, possibly even scared, and if he dared to let himself hallucinate, lustful- all of the above had flitted through Shiro's penetrating golden orbs as he tried to say whatever was on his mind.

The situation had been bizarre now that he looked back on it- bizarre, surreal, and so damn_ tempting. _They had been so close to... to... Oh for Pete's sake, he wasn't that much of a virgin to not be able to even think of the word kissing.

They... had been about to kiss...

Suppressing the traitorous heat that was threatening to light up his cheeks, he squashed the tiny spark of hope in his chest, berating himself for letting something that was most likely not even romance related affect him to this degree. He belatedly told himself that he had been letting his hopes influence what he had seen and though the thought made his heart clench a little, he was glad he wasn't so out of it that he couldn't think logically.

Of course, his wonderful attempts went to shot when he remembered the last thing Shiro had been saying before they were interrupted.

Shiro had called him by his name. Not moron, not weakling, not any other derogatory terms. He hadn't even called him by the recently more usual "king."

Shiro had called him Ichigo. Just Ichigo. And Ichigo silently wished that he would do it again.

The tiny flare up hope he had ruthlessly squished didn't die completely and though he knew he was being stupid, he hesitantly decided to let it remain.

* * *

><p>AN: Hell must have frozen over. I have... _time_. Sweet, blissful time to do something enjoyable! One in a lifetime opportunity probably T^T. I'm sorry the updates just died. I didn't mean to go on hiatus but between school and work, free time to write/type seemed like a long-lost dream. I will probably be on hiatus again soon and so I can't promise regular updates until summer vacation (which seems so... far... _very_ far away) or maybe one of the other vacations.

I shall strive to update as soon as possible!

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><p>And the thing both readers and myself need... A good dose of humor from Deleted Scenes!<p>

_Candyman_

He wasn't sure which of them started it but he was aware their faces were suddenly inching closer and he could see the faint sheen of what looked like uncertainty in Shiro's eyes. A tongue darted out and wet slightly dry white lips as Shiro's face drew even closer to his.

Ichigo blinked.

"Shiro... why is your tongue rainbow colored?"

There was a veeery long silence before the albino whipped his head around so fast it was amazing he didn't crack it as he shouted furiously:

"God-fucking-dammit you bastard Hat and Clogs! Won't change the color of my friggin' tongue my ass! Crawl outta whatever hole yer hidin' in so I can shove you down one straight ta hell!"

Ichigo had been about to attempt to soothe Shiro when they both heard a faint noise that sounded like a tune and that was steadily growing louder until a white lucky cat statue rolled up to them on wheels, holding a small recording tape. Now, they could tell what the lyrics to the tune was.

"_I am the candyman,"_

"_Comin' from bountyland."_

"_I am the candyman,"_

"_Comin' from bountyland."_

The lyrics continued re-playing over and over again in the eerie silence.

Shiro wasn't fully satisfied until he had broken the record player and cat into tiny bits and Urahara became nothing more than a black and blue mess.

No one stopped him.

_Sufferings of a Virgin_

The situation had been bizarre now that he looked back on it- bizarre, surreal, and so damn_ tempting. _They had been so close to... to... Oh for Pete's sake, he wasn't that much of a virgin to not be able to even think of the word kissing.

They... had been about to...

To...

To...

Yuzu nearly went into hysterics when her very embarrassed, very flushed brother keeled over from the stress of just even trying to say the word in his head. While the younger girl was attempting to revive her brother, Rukia asked Karin in disbelief, "Even thinking words is too much for him?"

Karin sighed. "Yeah but it's pretty understandable." When Rukia looked at her in confusion, she only needed to say two names for everything to fall into place.

"Goat-face and Urahara-san were the ones who explained sex to him when he 'came of age.'"

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><p>I love Urahara and making him out to be such a fun and mischievous person XD. If anyone wants to know, the song in the first DS is Candyman by Aqua. The singer has a rather horrible voice but its a strangely catchy song.<p> 


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Bleach, Adventure, Romance