Disclaimer: I do not own these charters. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

THE QUESTION a.k.a. THE HOOK a.k.a. THE SUMMARY

Anyone who has read the manga knows the story. The fanfics tend to agree with it. In most realties Ichigo Kurosaki stops to help a girl's spirit. A group of skateboarders are recklessly knocking over her memorial on the side walk with their boards. Ichigo scares them. Because of this he is late returning home. He misses the seven o'clock curfew. He gets in a fight with his dad. He storms up stairs and meets the shingami Rukia. What if this didn't happen? What if those skateboarders were not there? What if Ichigo came home on time that night? How does this change things? Let's find out.

CHAPTER ONE: THE SOUL REAPER

Ichigo Kurosaki was a lanky fifteen year old. He had brown eyes. He had bright orange hair which most thought was dyed. His hair got him into a lot of fights with people who thought he was a troublemaker. Today though he hadn't had to fight. Today had been completely uneventful. Strangely Ichigo was sort of bored. Few people would have known this. Ichigo was always scowling. He walked down the street past the vase and flowers of a girl who died recently. The ghost of the girl waved at him. Ichigo had the power to see ghosts. He didn't why he had this power. He had ever since he could remember.

Ichigo walked in front of the clinic his family ran. Their house was part of the same building. His dad was a doctor. Ichigo kicked off his shoes when he got in the house. He walked into the dining area which was an open space connected to the kitchen. His little sister Yuzu was putting out the food. Her twin Karin standing nearby. The twins were eleven. The twins were as different as night and day.

Yuzu was girly. One barrette decorated her short brown hair pulling a third of her bangs to the left side of her head. She was smiling sweetly. She had an apron a clear sign she had been in the kitchen. She was the one who cooked the family's meals.

Karin had jaw length black hair. She was very tomboyish in her appearance and in her attitude. She was wearing a sports team shirt. She was never afraid to speak her mind. She looked mildly annoyed. She didn't smile very often. She never cried.

Their dad Isshin came into the room. "A few minutes later and you would have missed curfew," he said. Isshin had a goofy grin on his face. That smile was all too common. It annoyed Ichigo greatly. Isshin had black hair. When one looked at him and Karin one knew they were related; but their personalities were quite different. Isshin was almost never serious. Today, it seemed was no exception.

Ichigo glared at his father. "The rules in this house are too strict. What kind of parent sets such an early curveiw?"

"I'll have you know, my rules are perfect," Isshin boasted.

"They're a double standard," Karin said, "Ichigo gets away with more. It's not just because of his age." "I do not!" Ichigo shouted. He instantly regretted. He didn't believe that his sister deserved his anger. His old beard face father was a different matter. "Dad, you more like a kid than man. When are you going to grow up?"

"Never I suspect," Karin said, "Even for a man in his forties Dad you're embarrassing."

"Hey now," Isshin said, "It's not fair. Two of my children are ganging up on me!" Tears poured out of Isshin's eyes. He was the only person his kids knew who could cry on demand. The fakness, the over exaggeration was obvious. Isshin went and stood by the gigantic poster on the wall. It was a poster of the Kurasaki siblings' mom. Yuzu looked a lot like her. In big letters their mom's name was written. The poster had the message, 'Masaki forever.'

"Mother," Isshin spoke loudly to the image of his wife, "where did I go wrong in raising our children. It must be adolescence. Why else would our kids be so cruel me? What can I do to change things?"

"Try taking down that ridiculous memorial poster of mom first," Karin said, "Let's eat before the food gets too cold." Karin sat down to eat.

Ichigo sat down at the table across from Karin. She stopped the movement she was making with her chopsticks for a moment. She stared at him. "You seem calmer, brother."

"I haven't gotten in a fight or talked to a ghost today," Ichigo said.

Isshin sat next to his son. "If you want a fight," he said, "Challenge me!"

Ichico shook his head. As his dad leaned towards him he shoved him away. "Shut up! Behave!"

"It's like I said about the ghosts, just ignore them," Karin said, "I do it all the time. It doesn't matter if you have high specs. It doesn't matter if you're a special level A spirit medium who can see, talk to, and touch ghosts. They can't affect the normal world. No spirits can."

Karin leaned against the table. There was an intense expression on her face. "So long as you ignore them it's them it's the same as if they don't exist."

Yuzu looked disturbed as she sat down. "That's kind of harsh," she said. She glanced back and forth between Karin and Ichigo. Her face brightened into another smile. "You know I'm kind of envious you. I only see blurs."

"At least the ghosts aren't bothering me," Ichigo said.

Karin smirked. "You think so?" "Oh," Yuzu said, "That's right. You've been having a lot more trouble with ghosts lately."

Ichigo served himself food. He picked his bowl and chopstick. He almost choked as his father gave a too strong pat on the back.

"You never tell me!" Ichigo's dad exclaimed. "You never tell me anything!"

Yuzu pointed at Ichigo's right shoulder. "It looks like you might have a new person to help."

"What?" Ichigo turned his head. He jumped knocking over the chair. There was the spirit of a middle man with glasses touching his shoulder.

"You're taking this much too seriously," Isshin said grinning his goofy grin. "Live. Relax. Enjoy your youth. Don't worry about the ghost. Don't act like you're so special."

"You can't even see them!" Ichigo shouted. He point angrily at his dad then the ghost. The ghost looked cowered and scared.

"I hate to say that Dad's right," Karin said, "But he is."

Isshin beamed. His smile was that wide. "You do love me!" He stood up and walked over to Karin with his arms wide ready for a hug. "Come to Daddy! Admit that you're not yet cold and jaded toward the world. Say that you still love your dad!"

Karin stuck a out leg tripping Isshin "Not when you act like that I don't!" she said. She sipped from her bowl draining it of liquid.

Ichigo picked his chair back up off putiing back where it belonged.

Ichigo suddenly looked up. "What is that?" A howling sound filled the air. Isshin was still on the floor. A monter with a skull like face came straight through the hole in the wall Ichico's dad stood up only be thrown by the monster. Isshin landed in the kitchen. Yuzu screamed. Karin dropped her bowl and stood up. The monster was coming toward Yuzu.

"No!" Ichico yelled. All he could think was that Yuzu was in danger. He ran between her and the monster.

"Why are you screaming?" Yuzu asked as she stood. "What happedn to the wall?"

"You can't see it?" Ichico looked in the white face of the monter. It was gigantic. It's hand reached and picked Ichigo up. He was lifted several feet above the floor. The monster's grip was squeezing him.

Karin ran at the monster with a pot like it was a club. The monster's free hand batted her away like was nothing.

"Where is it? What's doing this?" Isshin asked.

Karin was on her knees as she said, "I don't know. I can't see well!"

Is this some kind of spirit? Ichigo thought, I've seen countless ghosts. None like this! This thing, this monster… It's grip… Too tight Am I going to die? It can't end like this! Yuzu! Karin! Dad! They're in danger!

There was nothing Ichigo could do. Try as he might he could not break free of the monster's grasp. He found himself being flung to the floor.

Lying on the floor Ichigo struggled to sit up. My body… Too heavy… Ichigo watched in horror as Karin attacked the monster again only to slashed down by the monster's claws. Blood poured out slowly from her. The monster lost interst in her. It moved closer to Ichigo. Isshin ran near the monster. The monster cut him down. Yuzu screamed then passed out.

Ichigo turned and saw his own body. That's impossible. That can't be me. I'm not dead. There was a chain going out from the body. His eyes stared along the line of the chain. It went to his chest. There was a chain on his chest. The monster clawed at the chain. Ichigo bit at his lips. He grimaced from the pain.

The monster stopped. A girl was standing near it. She had a sword in hand. She was dressed in a black hakama. She fought the monster. She moved with grace and skill. Her hair was just above her shoulders. Her hair was black. She was as small, as petite Ichigo's sisters. Her figure suggested that she was a bit older than them. The monster had a hole in its chest. The girl's blade went through it. The monster disappeared.

The girl ran over to Ichigo. She got on her knees beside him. "Good," she said, "The chain of fate has not been severed."

"Is what this is?" Ichigo asked. He gestured at the chain weakly. "What was that monster? I watched it come through the wall. Dad couldn't see it. Yuzu couldn't. Wh-" Ichigo gasped in pain. "What was it?"

"You saw it? Before?" The girl's face showed her shock.

Ichigo looked at his family. They were too still. "Dad… Karin…"

"They will be alright," the girl said, "They are not dead." She put a hand on his chest. Everything went black.

The next thing Ichigo knew he was being jumped on by his dad. He was in bed. His dad was yelling "Good morning!"

Ichigo pinned his father to the floor beside the bed. "You bastard! You've got a lot of guts attacking your son when he sleeps.

"I have nothing left to teach you!" Isshin said. Ichigo's eyes went wide.

"Your injuries," Ichigo said.

"What injuries," Isshin asked, "Am I injured? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Ichigo said. Vague images flashed in his mind of his father getting hurt. It was dreamlike. It was something about a monster. He couldn't what it looked like. Ichigo shook his head as he let his father up.

A few minutes later the entire family was outside staring at the gapping hole in the wall of the building. "

"… but it sure was a miracles," Isshin said, "For a truck to hit the house and nobody gets injured."

Ichigo stared in disbelief. "How is possible that we weren't hurt? The real miracle here is that no one woke up."

"Some miracle," Karin said sarcastically. A baseball cap was on her head. She crossed her arms. "It's because of that, that the criminal got away." She shook her head. "How could we not have woken up?"

What's really going on? Ichigo thought, Did a truck hit the house? Somehow that doesn't seem so? What other explanation is there? That dream… It's all faded and distant. I can't remember anything but the sight of Dad and Karin. They looked dead! Ichigo shuddered. He closed his eyes and breathed deep. Get a grip! It was only a dream! Or was it?

NEXT TIME: THE PRINCESS AND HER BROTHER!