The two sons of Kurosaki Masaki
"That's a ghost, Ichigo," a calm voice spoke, just as Ichigo was about to drop his mother's hand to run and see if he could help the girl standing dangerously close to the rivers edge. Instead he turned his wide eyes to the man who'd spoken. "She's a ghost," the man repeated. Ichigo glanced at his mother and then narrowed his eyes a little, trying to determine if the man was real or not. His mother just smiled at him, not acknowledging the man who'd spoken from behind them. With a quiet laugh the man said, "I am a soul, too, but I can help her. Why don't we see you and your mother safely back to home and I'll come back to see if I can help, hm?"
Ichigo looked back, and could only scarcely see the girl anymore, and nodded.
[scene break]
Back at the Kurosaki Clinic Masaki send her son to change clothes, and as soon as her little boy's steps indicated he was safely in the second floor she turned to the man.
"Who are you?" she kept her voice calm and low, not wanting to attract the attention of any of her family.
The young man didn't seem surprised, he just smiled at her, if somewhat bleakly.
"Tell me, Kurosaki-san, do you believe in time travel?"
Thrown off by the question Masaki opened her mouth to answer, only to close it again, unsure. After a moment she replied, "I am willing to believe many things; I don't see why time travel couldn't be possible. How is this relevant?"
"It tells me whether to be truthful or not. Your willingness to at least consider such a thing as time travel possible allows me to be truthful. In a nutshell, my mother was the center of my and my family's world, when I was 9 she was killed because I couldn't tell a human apart from a soul. Or, as it happens, a hollow's bait. Given the chance I wanted to change that."
Eyes widening Masaki drew her conclusions, bringing her gaze to analyze the young man before in greater detail. His orange hair drew her eyes first, then his eyes. She gasped, "Ichigo?"
This time, instead of a small smile like he'd given her before she was gifted with a smile she recognized from her son. It was more of a confirmation than his nod could have ever been.
"It technically not allowed, but I just couldn't… I could not let you die. So, uh, have a great life, a long life, okay Mom?" His face looked slightly bewildered like he couldn't believe what he'd just said and Masaki's heart went out for the boy.
"Can I…?" she asked, opening her arms slightly.
"I'm a soul, Mom," he answered, making a face Masaki had also seen on the face of her son before; discontent. "I have to go, I don't want to change the timeline too much, and if dad saw me…" he left the end hanging.
Masaki could only nod.
"I'll be around." And with that Masaki suddenly found herself alone in the hallway. Taking a few deep breaths she went to start dinner.
Over the years she caught glimpses of a figure with orange hair, but it wasn't until her Ichigo turned 15 and encountered a Shinigami girl named Kuchiki Rukia that she spoke with him again. He told her to act like she didn't notice anything, he was very vague but implied something important was going to happen and Ichigo running around playing Shinigami was a big part of that. In those few months Masaki caught her son looking at her few times like he wanted to tell her something, but always backed away when she asked.
Then one morning older Ichigo was back, waiting for her in the kitchen, saying he'd like to talk with both her and Isshin, after the kids were in school. She'd nodded, but gotten a little worried when her Ichigo so clearly wasn't Ichigo, but the entity Isshin referred as Kon. Trying to act as everything was as always, taking a note that Karin was looking at her brother slightly suspiciously, Masaki made sure her children were on their way before asking her husband to sit back down.
"He wants to talk with both of us," she told him. He'd kept the older Ichigo a secret, until their son had become a Shinigami and she'd felt they needed to have a talk.
Isshin had barely time to settle back into his chair when there'd been a knock and the young man Masaki had gotten used to thinking as "older Ichigo" entered the kitchen. They got so involved in the discussion of wannabe gods and upcoming war that their half-drunk teas were forgotten.
When it was only Masaki and her husband sitting at the table, she looked him deeply in his eyes and said "When he gets back I believe it's a time for a family talk."
"The girls, too?" Was all Isshin said.
"Yes," Masaki answered with a decisive nod, "Karin already knows something."
Her husband nodded, "Well, I better get the clinic open but I think I'll swing by later to have a talk with Kisuke…" Isshin's tone of voice made Masaki's smile gain smirk like properties. She was pleased to know her husband wasn't too keen on Urahara Kisuke's involvement, or rather, the way he'd been involved. Only way that man was going to get away scot-free was if he'd acted drastically different in this timeline than he had in the one older Ichigo was from.
Notes: I had to, the idea wouldn't leave me alone... And stylistically a part of me wanted to leave the story on that one encounter, but I just couldn't.
Anyone, anywhere, ever want to write this one into a proper story feel free, as long as you let me know.