Hello everyone!

This story was requested by darkassassin619. In this story Ichigo will have a harem but since I can't help myself it will also have some sprinkled IchiRuki. Also at the end Ichigo will end up with Rukia. Anyway, hope you guys like it :).

darkassassin619: I incorporated your ideas into the plot, let me know how they turned out =D

Chapter 1

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It was late at night and a little orange haired boy shivered and coughed in a dusty alley. His eyes were closed and he was scrunched up in a corner, his little arms hugging his legs. 'I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry…' He told himself over and over. He must have been no older than eight, but still, at that tender age he had to be strong enough to fend for himself. He didn't know his family and had no one to call a true friend. He was strong and determined enough to survive and take care of himself during the day but when the night fell this became a difficult task to do. He was scared of being alone and of the uncertainty of letting his guard down even if for only a second…

"Boy." A firm voice was heard as it echoed in the narrow alley. The little boy quickly perked up and stood in a defensive stance as he glared at the unknown man walking towards him. He was wearing glasses and a black coat over a black outfit.

"Go home. This is no place for kids to be roaming around." The man said.

Ichigo was perplexed. He wasn't used to people simply approaching him because they were nice or worried about his wellbeing. "Ok." Was all he answered and ran off to find another spot to spend the night.

The middle-aged man simply stared at the back of the little boy as he ran away. Since the boy left so quickly the man figured he must have had a place to go so he continued to head home. A few minutes of walking later he noticed a bright mop of hair on top of a tree. He immediately thought of the little boy from earlier so he walked closer to the tree and cranked his neck to look up. When he got there he noticed the little boy perched on top of the tree and it appeared that he was trying to sleep.

"Boy!" He yelled. Ichigo quickly opened his eyes and tentatively looked down. 'Damn it it's that old man again.' He thought cursing his luck for meeting the pesky stranger yet again.

"Do you need a place to stay?" Zangetsu asked since he figured the boy must be homeless.

"N-no thanks…." Ichigo said weary of the strange man.

"Let me offer you a hot bowl of soup then." Zangetsu said as he lifted the paper bag he was holding.

Confusion was clearly noticeable on Ichigo's face. He could turn down going to a stranger's home in a heartbeat but food was a different story. The random vegetables in said paper bag made his mouth water. He hadn't been able to steal anything from the market earlier today and the piece of bread he managed to get his hands on was taken from him by a group of older kids. He stared at Zangetsu for a few seconds. Although he definitely looked like an odd man he decided he would take a chance.

"Alright." Ichigo said and climbed down from his spot on the tree landing with a thud.

With that Zangetsu nodded and quietly led him to his home. When they got to the humble home he offered Ichigo a seat. Ichigo sat there and stared at the middle aged man cook. He soon stopped shivering as the small home quickly warmed and filled with the delectable smell of fresh soup.

…..

Zangetsu set two bowls down on the table and motioned for Ichigo to go and wash his hands. The little boy could use more than just washing his hands since his little face was a bit dirty and his clothes ragged but that would do for now. Ichigo thanked the man and ate his soup in a flash. Zangetsu wondered how he was able to eat so rapidly if the soup must have been burning hot but he figured the boy must not have eaten like this in a long time. Without a word, Zangetsu got up and gave the little boy another portion. Ichigo thanked the man again and although he took the bowl shyly he finished it just as fast as the first.

"Thank you sir." Ichigo said with honest brown eyes when he was done and stood up.

Zangetsu nodded and stared at the boy as he inched closer to the door.

"You can do as you chose but my earlier offer still stands." Zangetsu said and with that left Ichigo alone in the kitchen.

Ichigo stood in the same spot for about ten minutes wondering what he should do until he started to hear the old man snoring. It was a really cold night and he really didn't feel like going back to that tree again. He looked at the blue and orange flames of the small fire in the kitchen, he figured if the old man trusted him enough to already be snoring away he couldn't be that bad. Ichigo looked around trying to figure out where to make himself a comfortable spot when he noticed the man had left an extra blanket by the kitchen. He grabbed it and quickly made himself a spot on the floor by the warm fire.

After that night Zangetsu took Ichigo under his wing. He fed him every day and even cleared up a small room for him in his house. Ichigo hated taking anything for free so Zangetsu said he could take care of the house and run errands for him when he was gone on business trips. Everything went about without a hitch until one night when Zangetsu was out of town for one of his usual "work trips"…

Five years later...

Thirteen year old Ichigo was home alone making himself some soup. He was sitting at the table, his head resting on his arms and his eyes closed as he waited for the food to be ready when he heard the door open. He figured Zangetsu must have come home early so he turned around with a smile. His smile quickly dissipated and turned into a frown when he saw a bunch of hoodlums invading the small home.

"W-w-what do you want? This isn't your house get out!" Ichigo yelled angrily and picked up the small knife he cut the vegetables with off the table.

"Huh? If it isn't the carrot top brat….what? You think you're better than us since that stupid man took you in?" A tall boy with a creepy glint in his eyes said as he inched closer to Ichigo while the other boys ransacked the small house.

"If not robbing other people's homes makes me better than you then yes, I am better than you!" Ichigo said angry as he clenched his fists.

Shortly after, the creepy boy's fist made contact with Ichigo's jaw and he stumbled backwards. Ichigo became furious and wanted to retaliate. He wanted to use the knife he was holding onto as a weapon but there was something in his heart preventing him from doing so. He instead threw the knife to the side and punched the boy back. They started getting into it punching each other back and forth until the other guys noticed and pinned Ichigo down.

"Not so big and bad now, are you carrot top!" The leader said as he laughed at Ichigo's disadvantage. He then kicked him in the gut and Ichigo grunted in pain. "Serves you right for acting all high and mighty…let's go boys." He said and the group followed him laughing.

Ichigo just laid on the floor as he saw them leave with a few valuables. At that moment Ichigo didn't know what hurt more, his pride as a man (young man), the beating he had received, or the fact that he had let Zangetsu down. He really looked up to Zangetsu and wanted to make him proud. Knowing that Zangetsu trusted him to take care of things when he was gone gave him a little satisfaction since that was the only way he could repay him for everything he had done for him, but he wasn't able to do even that. He wouldn't know how to face him when he came back…

The next day Zangetsu came back from his trip. He opened the door and set his traveling bag down. He was expecting to see Ichigo and was surprised to not find him at home. He looked around and everything appeared to be clean and in order. He figured everything must be fine so he made himself a cup of tea and sat down to relax. As he was peacefully drinking his cup of tea he noticed the table and one of the legs of the chairs had a smudge of blood. He immediately got worried because there was no reason for the chair or the table to be tainted with blood and secondly whenever he came back from a long trip Ichigo was always there to see him back. His intuition told him something must have happened so he went to the only place he knew Ichigo would run off to.

…..

"I had a feeling you'd be here." Zangetsu said smoothly as he leaned against the tree with one leg up, his coat flapping with the wind.

Silence….

"You know I've known you since you were a little kid so there's no reason to be embarrassed about anything…" Zangetsu said.

"But I let you down! I betrayed your trust!" Ichigo suddenly said full of frustration and punched the branch of the tree he was sitting on.

"You're all shook up, how about you come down and tell me what happened." Zangetsu said in his usual calm voice.

A few minutes later Ichigo jumped down from the tree and started telling Zangetsu what happened the night before. When he was done his fists were clenched again and his chest was moving up and down as he recalled the embarrassing events.

"Ichigo, are you the type of person who gets discouraged and gives up after something doesn't go your way?" Zangetsu asked and Ichigo turned his deep brown eyes to look at the man, "I know you're not, otherwise you wouldn't be here today. You shouldn't let fear get in the way of what you want to protect." He then took a deep breath and said, "I think you're finally old enough for me to tell you…have you ever wondered about what I do for a living?"

Helloooo again!

This first chapter was fun to write. So do you guys have any idea what Zangetsu does for a living and what he does on his "work trips"? You'll find out next time :).

P.S. I'll try to update secret to my soul this weekend too if I get a chance. My updates in general will be spaced out a bit more because of school and stuff but I'll try to update whenever I can :)