Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own Bleach, I barely own anything!... any way I hope you enjoy this story

Arc 1: How Events Changed

Chapter 1

CLACK!

"Great job Ichigo!" Masaki Kurosaki exclaimed, Masaki was a beautiful mother of three children, somehow still keeping a great figure, in her mid thirties she had long brown hair and was wearing a simple dark purple dress.

A nine year old Ichigo looked up at his mother with his big amber eyes; pride was obviously shining in them.

"Thanks mother!" Ichigo was at his sword training class dressed in a typical white training kimono which somehow worked well with his spiky orange hair and was currently sparing with one of the older students. "Watch me finish him." The dojo they were in was a small room with a simple layout; it had a wooden floor that reflected the artificial light from the ceiling lights. There was not a lot to the room other than some chairs for resting, and various weapons wooden and steel littering three of the walls, the final wall that was almost all glass, also held the entry door that showed a very dreary day with very dark and ominous clouds.

And it started again a nine year old Ichigo Kurosaki was sparing with a student four years his senior and was winning.

"Masaki your son is a prodigy!" exclaimed Sensei Daichi, a tall aging man in his late fifties with short black hair, also wearing a white training kimono. "This kid can fight at a tenth year level and he has only been here for four months!"

Masaki looked up in surprise "Really you think so?"

"Of course Masaki, I have never seen one kid grow so quickly, he has already mastered everything I would show a regular student in that stayed here for ten years."

"Really, he has mastered this that quickly." "Isshin and I must have passed on our fighting traits to our son." "I bet there are still many things you could show him, and are you sure he needs such a huge bokken (wooden sword)?"

Masaki and Daichi both look at Ichigo currently using almost a completely offensive form of sword fighting on the student he was sparing with, the only strange thing was instead of having a shoto (short sword) like most of the students he was holding a daitō (long sword) that was as long as his body.

"I wasn't really sure about it at first, but after a week I realized that he has a higher than average natural strength that allows him to wield it effectively. And after the basic workouts he has been doing he now has the stamina to wield it to" Daichi replied.

"Hey Daichi-jiji … am I done for today or do you have something else for me?" A very excited Ichigo asked with his formerly conscious opponent lying on the ground bleeding from his nose.

"Ahh Ichigo haven't I taught you restraint!" "That is the third time this month." "And don't call me old you should respect your teacher." Exclaimed Daichi.

"In your dreams Jiji, and he dropped his guard it's not my fault." Ichigo said still trying to hold in his energy.

"No Ichigo you must learn when your opponent is at his limits! You may be a prodigy on the physical side but you still have much to learn on the thinking side." Daichi replied trying and failing to look wise.

Masaki was trying to suppress a giggle behind her hand "Ichi honey, you did a great job you just have to learn when to let up on the attack, if your opponent is getting weaker and is making more mistakes the fight is coming to a close and you should be able to finish him with a grapple move like your karate instructor has shown you.." Masaki said to her downtrodden son.

"Really? Okay thanks for the advice mom! You always know what to say unlike the Jiji." Said Ichigo sporting his huge cheerful smile that Masaki loved to see so much.

"You can go spar against Aoi… try not to send him to the hospital." Interrupted Daichi a playful smile on his lips.

"Don't worry about it Daichi Sensei I'll be careful." And with that Ichigo and Aoi started there spar… which lasted about ten seconds. Aoi came charging in with a quick overhead attack hoping to catch Ichigo off guard. Ichigo sporting a scowl had one reply "tch" and quickly swung his bokken horizontally to collide with Aoi's overhead strike. But Ichigo being as strong as he was just batted Aoi's bokken directly out of his hands, and then Ichigo moved in and quickly brought him to the ground with a grapple, and finished with his giant (for him) bokken against Aoi's throat. "Nice try Aoi but I win" Said Ichigo still sporting a scowl.

"Man Ichigo can't you ever let me win?" Replied Aoi a pleading expression on his face, "what does that make it like 12 and 1 in your favor?"

"More like 15 and 0, I am still undefeated!" Ichigo stated now smiling down at Aoi with his hand extended to help him off of the floor.

Plip plip plip

Daichi looked out the window of his small dojo with surprise "It wasn't suppose to rain today… hmm that is strange, well Ichigo now that you have progressed this fair I declare you my official apprentice!" "This kid will surely be able to win nationals in a couple years." A small gasp was heard from both Ichigo and Aoi "I'll make a fortune!" Daichi said to himself out, not knowing he was speaking out loud.

"Really Jiji?" asked little Ichigo with an obvious happy gleam in his wide amber eyes, while Masaki was in the background with an obvious sweat drop. "He does know he spoke out loud right?"

"Why yes my young student, you have way too much potential to just teach you the basic curriculum! I must pass on my vast knowledge of sword fighting! But you will have to promise to stop calling me an old man!"

Masaki tried to hold but she just couldn't "Hahaha, you would have to be delusional to think Ichi would promise that, and your vast knowledge." Masaki asked a mischievous smile on her face.

"Dah! Of course my vast knowledge, I am a master of the art known as sword fighting." Daichi replied getting flustered "Of course I won't be able to get him to show me respect."

"Hahahaha, mom stop messing with Sensei Daichi!" Ichigo exclaimed with a playful smile on his face.

"Okay honey, but what do you think about Daichi's proposal?" Asked Masaki more serious now.

"Are you kidding me of course I'll become his apprentice, I love learning this instead of karate it just feels more natural."

"Haha now I have a prodigy in my tutelage, I swear that you will be on the scale of a master by the end of two years!" exclaimed Daichi with a proud look on his face.

"He says it feels more natural? Now I'm sure of it Isshin and I have passed on our fighting skills. Hopefully it is just or fighting skills, I know he can see ghosts but I can't feel a strong reiatsu on him." Thought Masaki "Well honey now that you are finished up I think it is time to head home before the storm gets to bad."

"Okay mom, let me get ready" replied Ichigo.

Five minute later Ichigo emerged from the bathroom with his spiky orange hair, he also was dressed in some worn out blue jeans and a long sleeved orange t-shirt with blue stripes. Him and Masaki were leaving the dojo hand in hand soon after.

"Good bye my young student and goodbye Masaki!" Yelled Daichi.

"Good bye Jiji!" Yelled back Ichigo with his bokken still strapped to his back.

The rain is getting harder we got to hurry. Thought Masaki.

Author Notes-

I hope you like the story; can you guess what is going to happen next? I would like to hear if you have any constructive criticism. So please leave a review.