Summary: Ichigo thinks that his mom's soul got eaten and that he will never see her again. So does everyone else. What happens when he learns that he's known her ever since his trip to Soul Society?

Helpful note: Ichigo's mom's name is Masaki.

Another helpful note: When one letter is bolded in the beginning of a word, that means that the perspective has changed.

*Disclaimer* I do not own bleach… though I wish I did…T-T

The Truth behind the Kurosaki's

"Hey, Orihime!" Ichigo called out, skipping towards her.

"Hello, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime replied, dazzled by him, as usual. She spoke her thoughts.

"No, no, you've got it all wrong my dear," Ichigo spoke softly, brushing some of Orihime's long auburn hair behind her ear. "You are the beautiful one."

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun, you're too nice." Orihime sighed with happiness as Ichigo put his arm around her.

"This must be a dream," Orihime murmured.

"It is. Wake up."

"W-What?" Orihime woke up with a jolt.

"Seriously," Her friend, Tatsuki said. "You have to tell him about your feelings for him!"

"NO WAY!" Orihime gasped. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Orihime's black haired friend asked irritably.

"Because…" Orihime trailed off and headed to the small kitchen in her apartment. "I'm going to make some tea!" She said.

Tatsuki sighed. Fine. If you won't tell him…I will.

Ichigo was in his room. He was on his bed, facing the ceiling. The orange haired 15-year-old sighed. Ichigo had woken up from another nightmare: the same one, actually. In his nightmare, he had a flash-back of when it happened. A flash-back of that cursed day when his mom died… He remembered it too well. Usually, Ichigo ignored it as hard as he could and went back to sleep. But for some reason, tonight the teenager just broke down. Ichigo started to shake violently. Cries that belonged to a horror movie escaped his lips. Tears fell from Ichigo's hazel eyes as he wondered if he would ever see his mom again. Of course not! Ichigo scolded himself. She got eaten by that hollow! Ichigo forced his sobs to stop just long enough to choke out, "Mom… I'm sorry!"

Orihime came back to the table with two steaming hot cups of tea. At least she could make something taste right (You can't mess up with tea)! She gave one cup to Tatsuki and sat down on the opposite side of the table from where her friend was sitting.

"Thanks!" Tatsuki said. Now that she had made up her mind to tell Ichigo about Orihime's feelings for him, her mind felt clearer.

Orihime was silent for a few moments.

"Tatsuki?" She began.

"Yeah?" Her friend replied, sipping the tea. It was refreshing.

"How come Ichigo is always scowling?" Orihime put down her cup and glanced at Tatsuki, waiting for a serious answer. Tatsuki had known Ichigo since elementary school: she definitely knew.

"Well…" Her friend sighed. She told Orihime about what happened to Ichigo's mom when the orange haired boy was only nine. Tatsuki explained that his mom had accidently been run over by a truck driver who is still unknown. And Ichigo was there when it happened. When Tatsuki was finished telling the story, Orihime was close to tears.

"Poor Ichigo…" Orihime whispered. "No wonder he rarely smiles."

Rangiku, Ishiin, and Toshiro were sitting in the living room at the Kurosaki's place.

"Are you sure no one will hear us?" The 10th squad captain asked quietly.

"Don't worry Toshiro: All the Kurosaki children are at school, including Ichigo," Ishiin replied.

Toshiro sighed with relief. "Good."

"Let's get to the point here." Rangiku said. "Should we tell Ichigo what really happened?"

Ishiin snorted. "I'm surprised he hasn't figured out already. You look exactly like the picture on our wall!"

"Speak quietly," Toshiro whispered. "Just in case."

The other two nodded.

"I think we should wait a few more days," Ishiin said. "We can't tell him too early: Who knows what will happen?"

"I agree with you, dear," Rangiku said to Ishiin. "You're so reasonable!"

"Why, thank you, love!" Ishiin whispered. "I haven't seen you in so long! I missed you!"

"Aw, me too!"

The white-haired captain sighed in disgust. Yuck. Romance.

Ichigo was at school. The morning bell hadn't rung yet, but so far the orange-head hadn't spoken to anyone. Why did that have to happen to her? Ichigo thought repeatedly. If only I could see her one more time, I could apologize for what happened… Ichigo hid face behind his hands as his scowl deepened. Why couldn't I save her?

"Kurosaki-kun?" Ichigo looked up to find Orihime watching him with worried eyes.

"What is it?" He asked the auburn haired girl. Ichigo tried to seem as regular as possible.

"Here, Kurosaki-kun," Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise as Orihime gave him a box. "I know what it feels like, to not have parents. I think I can relate to your mom's death, even if it is just a little bit."

"Th-Thanks, Orihime," Ichigo stuttered, taking the box. It was small: light blue with a violet ribbon keeping the lid closed.

Just as he was about to open it, Orihime whispered in his ear, "You know, my aunt's sister-in-law died on the same day. I never met her, but…I still got sad. That day, I felt pain, just like you. And every day, on that day, I feel pain…just like you."

Orihime quickly walked away and Ichigo watched her. I never knew that, he thought. Ichigo paused as he looked at the box in his hands. I'll open it later.

School was over. Finally. It was a dark night, but Ichigo's window was open, as usual. The teenager sat on his bed with the box Orihime had given him in his hands. Silently, Ichigo pulled the violet ribbon and it came undone. He lifted up the lid and took out the spherical object inside the box. It was an oval shape. On the front, in curvy handwriting, was the word Hope. Below that was an uncomplicated drawing of an angel. Ichigo looked at the sky. Thanks, Orihime.

Toshiro and Rangiku watched Ichigo open the box.

"You know, isn't it dangerous for Ichigo to keep his window open? I mean, there are bandits and thieves and—"

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Rangiku, the boy is not on the first floor. Even if they did try to enter, Ichigo can take care of himself."

"Well, what if he's asleep? Never mind, I wouldn't let anything happen to him anyways. If a bunch of ninjas just happened to make it in that house, I'd…"

Toshiro stopped paying attention and thought of what would happen when they broke the news to Ichigo. Would the boy be upset? Overjoyed? Embarrassed? Toshiro was thinking about this so much that he didn't notice the huge hollow right behind him until he heard its voice. It smiled at Rangiku in its creepy way and said,

"Long time no see…Masaki.

Hoped you liked it! This is my first fan-fic, please review! I will update soon, and there will be more chapters! Tell me what you think!