Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any Bleach characters, nor do I own any rights to Bleach. This is purely a fanfiction of my own, although I would not mind if Tite Kubo took some ideas from it.
` It had been a very long night for Ichigo Kurosaki. Arrancars had been hold Karakura Town in a grip of terror, and he had been doing everything he could to save his friends and his hometown from utter destruction. Ichigo knew what he had to do even though he absolutely hated to even think about it—to become a full-time soul reaper and attend the soul reaper academy. Rukia brought up the subject once before, but she never really forced the issue. She informed him that if he really wanted to improve his soul reaper skills, he would need to attend the academy. Renji even told him once, "Ichigo, things are great here in the land of the living, but I'm a soul reaper, and it's the life I've chosen and become accustomed to. If you'll ever be honest with yourself, you will know that you've become used to this life as well. There's no going back Ichigo, because you already crossed that line a long time ago. You can't just continue to live this double life of yours, and not lose your sanity. Just accept who you are and become a full-time soul reaper."
Renji's words kept coming back to him, and he thought, "What if Orihime finally dies? How will you continue to protect her? Darn it!!" Ichigo looked hurriedly around the house for his father. Finding him in his clinic office, Ichigo walked in.
"What can your old man do for you, Ichigo?" Isshin said in his deep, gravelly voice.
Ichigo sighed, "Dad, there's something I've been meaning to tell you about for awhile now, but I've been putting it off until now. Don't freak out on me when I tell you this…" Ichigo paused for a deep breath, "I've become a soul reaper!! I didn't really want to be a soul reaper, but…" Ichigo's usually strong, defiant voice began to trail now. Ichigo regained his composure, "But I couldn't let the hollows kill Yuzu, Karin, and you!!!"
Isshin looked very surprised, and interrupted him. "When was this??"
"Do you remember when that truck driver ran into our clinic in the middle of the night? Well, there was no truck driver anywhere near our clinic. That night, a huge hollow broke in our clinic, and was trying to kill all of us. You were hurt pretty bad."
"Why was this kept a secret from me?"
"Because that was the night I first became a soul reaper. Rukia Kuchiki and Urahara wanted to keep it a secret from you. So they gave you and my sisters a different memory of that night's events."
"Hmm, " muttered Isshin, "Memory replacement. Interesting concept."
"Dad," Ichigo began sobbing, "Karin, Yuzu, and you are the only family I've got!!! I'm sorry Dad!!"
Isshin stood up from his chair, and bear-hugged Ichigo. "Son, I'm glad you finally told me, but I already know about you being a soul reaper. Urahara told me all about it." Isshin said with a smile. "The double life is a real pain, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is. Say…how would you know that Dad?!!"
"Because I'm a soul reaper too. Deep down Ichigo, I always wanted you to follow in my footsteps in being a soul reaper, but I didn't want to force it on you. In fact, I tried to keep you from it, considering the risk involved. But I know about the circumstances surrounding you becoming a soul reaper, and I understand completely. I'm proud of you, and your mother would have been very proud of you also. Gotta stand your ground for what you believe in."
"Dad," Ichigo found his voice again, "I want to become a full-time soul reaper, and the soul society has an academy that helps you learn how to control your powers, learn soul reaper etiquette, and history. I admit I'm doing well on my own, but I wouldn't mind learning more about my powers.
"Ichigo, you sound like me when I was about your age. I had a talk with my father back in the soul society before I joined the academy and the Gotei 13. Soul reapers weren't liked at all in the Rukongai district I grew up in, and let's just say there was a reason for that. I won't bore you with the details, but let me just say this: be careful!! Urahara told me all about you being a vizard, and while the soul society may like you as a soul reaper, they still don't trust vizards. I wish you the best of luck my son, and go for being an officer in the Gotei 13."
"Thanks. Later Dad." Ichigo said thoughtfully.
