The Power to change the future: A bleach Fan fiction

I don't own bleach, Wish I did. Bleach and all characters in this you recognize belong to Kubo Tite, any others are my own characters inspired by Kubo Tite's Genius

All was silent in Karakura town, several years after the Winter war. Aizen's defeat had been a incredibly hard fought victory for the Gotei 13, even with so much outside help. It was more or less the unified belief that none of it would have been possible if it weren't for the help of the Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo, although there were those who would argue to the extent of this. One of the people who would argue against Ichigo's importance was the Captain of the tenth division Hitsugaya Toushiro, not because he had anything against the carrot top but because most people tended to over hype his role. It was the captains after all, who had taken out the vast majority of the Espada, who had prepared a defence to protect Karakura, who had been at the front lines of the battle from the beginning, no not quite the beginning, Hitsugaya had to mentally correct himself. As always, the Ryoka had been the charging force that had made Soul society move against its usual plans. Hitsugaya sighed aloud at his current thoughts, none of that was particularly important right now; he was sitting waiting for Urahara Kisuke and Kurosaki Isshin to finish saying their over dramatic goodbyes to Kurosaki Karin, whom was to be brought to soul society to be assessed for her recently gained shinigami powers. Hitsugaya groaned irritable as Isshin burst into a fresh set of tears and continued to clamp his daughter in place, wasn't half an hour long enough already? Glancing to his side he saw an equally irritated Kurosaki Ichigo who was gritting his teeth quite visibly.
"I'm gonna beat the hell outta him if he doesn't hurry the hell up." Ichigo muttered darkly. Hitsugaya put on a mask of indifference.
"Hmph, That would probably be nice Kurosaki, but chances are you'll just drag this out longer than it already i-" Isshin broke into yet more tears and Karin looked as though she was having trouble breathing. "-s… sigh"
"That's it. OI C'mon old man let her go we shoulda left twenty minutes ago!" Ichigo yelled storming over to his father.
"But Karin-Chan is my precious daughter, even if she is going to be a strong shinigami soon; she's still my little girl." Isshin sobbed, Urahara tried to look like he was tearing up as well, but the poorly concealed smile told Ichigo that he was simply enjoying the show.
"Yeah well, we can't wait any longer; Toushiro's probably bored to tears now." Ichigo said trying not to give into his frustration and simply beat his father into submission.
"Yeah… Otou-san… I…. really have…. To… Could you loosen up a bit?" Karin just about managed to yell causing her father's grip to slacken.
"Ahahaha, I'm sorry. But remember to take care of yourselves." Isshin said seriously. The siblings nodded in affirmation.
"Yeah don't worry about us Otou-san." The Fifteen year old Kurosaki Karin said confidently. Ichigo met his father's gaze.
"I'll take care of her, I promise." Ichigo vowed and, after one more tearful bear hug from their father the two made their way over to the tenth division captain. "Let's go Toushiro."
"That's Hitsugaya-Taicho to you Kurosaki." Hitsugaya reprimanded.
"Eh, does that include me Toushiro?" Karin asked innocently causing a vein to throb on Hitsugaya's head.
"Yes it does, now let's go; we've wasted enough time as it is. The Sou-taicho's probably angry at how late we are." He commented before using his Zanpakto to open the Senkaimon. Before long the three disappeared following three Hell butterflies to Soul society. Standing in The Basement of Urahara shoten, Isshin sighed heavily before turning to his good friend with the shady expression.
"They're really gone huh?" He commented sadly.
"Don't worry, she may not be her brother but Karin-Chan is very strong, I'm sure it'll be fine. Now then… We still have to discuss that other matter." Urahara said mysteriously. Isshin frowned but nodded.
"Yeah let's talk."

Arriving in Soul society was an incredible experience for Karin, who looked on at the place in awe. Taking note of her surroundings and the fact that many people walking around were all shinigami mystified her to a degree. Ichigo let a small grin cross his face at his Sister's obvious excitement, but it was cut short by Hitsugaya's voice.
"You can sight-see later; we have a meeting to attend." The Young Captain muttered before walking off. As the two followed Ichigo leant down a little to whisper into his sister's ear.
"So why was it Toushiro that was sent? Apparently he was sent because he knows you or something?" Ichigo asked curiously. Karin nodded.
"Yeah, he helped me win a soccer match once and saved me from a hollow." She stated simply. Ichigo blinked but nodded.
"Oh…" He trailed off. Karin looked at him funny.
"What do you mean 'oh'? What were you expecting?" She asked slightly hot-headedly. Ichigo looked contemplative then shrugged.
"No it's just… I never figured Toushiro one for soccer." He said off-handed. Karin blinked then looked at the Captain, he really didn't seem the type at the minute, but she supposed that was the glory of the Gigai.
Arriving at the meeting, both siblings seemed nervous, for different reasons. For Karin, she was here to be tested for a Substitute Shinigami position, but for Ichigo, it was to see if he could become a full time shinigami. While Ichigo relished a normal life, things had gotten restless for him when all his friends moved away. He'd stayed in Karakura in order to keep everything safe, but nothing ever really happened and as his friends moved across the globe for further studies, he'd lost track of them for the most part. Yeah he still got phone calls from Inoue and Chad, and the occasional e-mails from Ishida, but it just wasn't the same. Here, in Soul society he could make a difference, and he knew a heck of a lot of people here. It hadn't been an easy decision though and even now, the Sou-taicho and others were trying to make sure he had made the right choice. Now standing before twelve captains was not exactly the easiest thing he'd ever done. Ichigo did a double take, he had heard about Renji becoming the new third division captain, but he hadn't heard anything about the new fifth division captain standing next to the pineapple head. He didn't get a chance to look very long as Yamamoto spoke up.
"This meeting is now officially in session. First off I would like to welcome Kurosaki Karin to Sereitei." He paused in his speech to regard the girl who managed a slightly strangled 'thank you' which earned a quiet chuckle from the Sou-Taicho. "And I would also like to welcome back Kurosaki Ichigo once again."
"Thank you." Ichigo said appreciatively. The Sou-taicho didn't stay on pleasantries very long as, before he knew it, Ichigo had been asked a series of question by each of the captains to determine if he was ready.
"Are you willing to part with the living world so early in your life?" Was the question of Unohana Retsu, captain of the fourth division.
"Yeah, I mean, I'll miss it but it isn't like I'll never go back. There are hollows to deal with after all." He replied.
"Will you abide by the laws of Soul society?" Was the Question of Kuchiki Byakuya, captain of the sixth division. Ichigo had to smirk at that one.
"Only if they aren't totally stupid, such as having my sister executed or something like that." He said firmly. Despite the worried glances of several people at that, the sixth division captain surprisingly let his mouth twitch upward into a smile for the briefest of seconds. The questions were fairly straight forward, some even overly simplistic such as Hitsugaya's query about whether Ichigo could use formalities. Ichigo made no promises to that one. When most of the captains had asked their questions, an unfamiliar voice spoke.
"Kurosaki, Will you follow the orders of the captains gathered here? Or do you plan to do everything as you always have without much regard?" Was the stern question of the new fifth division captain. Ichigo looked at him properly now, the man had short and spiked back silver hair, sort of like a mix between Ichimaru Gin and Hitsugaya, he had Deep blue eyes that were currently fixed on the un-answering shinigami-to-be. The only other thing to note about him was a strange sash that had a load of pouches coming from his right shoulder down to his left side where his Zanpakto sat.
"I'll follow orders but… Who're you?" Ichigo said trying not to sound completely defiant. A smile crossed the man's face.
"I'm Yokoshin Shiryuu, captain of the fifth division. It's a please to meet you Kurosaki Ichigo." He said in a friendly tone, catching Ichigo off guard. From the earlier expression he'd though this guy would be stern and unsociable, but he seemed to have the ability to lighten up some.
"Uh… yeah Pleasure." Ichigo replied lightening up himself.
"Well, it seems that there are no complaints. From now on you will be an official shinigami of the Gotei 13. Congratulations Kurosaki Ichigo, you will be placed in the fifth division under Yokoshin-Taicho until further notice." Yamamoto announced whilst several captains gave smiles/smirks/homicidal grins, mentally Ichigo was glad he wasn't in the eleventh squad as he walked over to his new captain's side. Yamamoto then turned his attention to Karin, who obviously felt like she didn't belong there at the minute. "Kurosaki Karin, we will now decide whether or not you are up to the task of being a substitute shinigami."
"Uh, Yes." She responded in an almost yelp. Bar Toushiro and her brother, she didn't know any of the people here, though she had heard some mentions about Kuchiki Byakuya before, but that still meant that she was in a room full of strangers, powerful strangers. With a slight motion from Yamamoto the doors opened and the man with the strange afro that had guarded Karakura town for a while walked in. Karin sweat dropped when he gave a victory pose for seemingly no reason.
"Kurumatani Zennosuke, reporting as ordered." The Shinigami with the afro stated. Yamamoto nodded.
"Kurumatani Zennosuke, you will be the opponent to asses Kurosaki Karin's combat abilities at current. This is only a light sparring match, you are not permitted to release your Zanpakto and Kido must be toned down. Is that understood?" The shinigami nodded. "Then come to the centre both of you and begin."

"Um Hi?" Karin asked as they got into the centre of the room. The Afro shinigami smiled at her.
"Don't worry Kurosaki, I'm an Elite Shinigami, I know what I'm doing." He said drawing his Zanpakto. Karin nodded and drew her own, a standard length katana with a green hilt and A guard that circled around the blade in the shape of an animalistic eye. Waiting momentarily to make sure they were both ready, Karin decided to take the initiative and charged at Zennosuke, bringing her sword down on the Shinigami. As Zennosuke moved his sword up to block, he found swiftly that he was being overpowered easily and so angled his blade down to let it slide off. Karin lost her balance as Zennosuke threw her off and fell forward, but got back on her feet in seconds before charging again. Ichigo watched his sister with a worried frown as she lost her balance again. He knew that she was stronger than this guy, but had no idea how to fight using that strength. It was one of the reasons he'd asked for her to come to soul society, to be properly trained, however with how badly she seemed to be doing right now it didn't seem likely. Shiryuu looked at Ichigo and gave a weak smile.
"Don't worry Kurosaki, she's showing a lot of potential, I'm sure they'll take that into account." He reassured. Ichigo sighed.
"Yeah maybe, but if she can't even beat this clown…" Ichigo muttered worried. For Karin it wasn't fun either, she was nervous, scared and positive she was making a fool of herself. She wanted nothing more then to run right there, this was probably a bad idea to begin with. To his credit, Zennosuke wondered if maybe he should let the girl hit him to pick her spirits up, but the fact that his wrists were in pain just from redirecting glancing blows led him to immediately deny that thought. Without realising it, Zennosuke had been pushed back to just in front of the door. He finally figured this out when he heard running and what sounded like mild arguing before he got a door in the face courtesy of a newcomer.
"Forgive the intrusion but an emergency has come up at the 11th division barracks!" A gruff voice spoke. This voice belonged to a rough looking man with black hair and green eyes who despite having run from his division didn't seem all that tired.
"Who are you and what is this Emergency?" Yamamoto boomed causing the newcomer to freeze up for a few seconds.
"Er right, sorry. My name's Kodora Kajumaru, fourth seat of the eleventh division." The man spoke bowing politely before turning mostly to his captain. "As for the emergency, Kusaji-fukutaicho is attempting to cook again. Madarame and Ayasegawa are attempting to hold her off but we need the captain to stop her."
"You are Excused Zaraki-Taicho. Please prevent your Fukutaicho from blowing up the barracks… Again." Yamamoto declared.
"Yeah all right. Kodora, stand in my place till I can get back." Zaraki said before darting off. Kajumaru blinked a few times.
"WHAT! I can't stand amongst captains you…" Face palming he turned to Yamamoto to bow and leave when he found everyone's stare on him. "I… should be going right?"
"Aren't you the Kodora-kun who's been asked to train many of the elevenths new recruits?" Ukitake Jyuushiro , the thirteenth division captain asked earning a quick nod from Kajumaru. Clapping his hands together happily he pointed to Karin. "Seeing as you knocked our text opponent unconscious, would you evaluate Kurosaki Karin-Chan for us?"
"Huh? Me? But I…" Karin saw all the captains bore holes in the intruder, and was silently thankful. She felt a lot more at ease now that the attention wasn't solely focused on her. As Kajumaru walked over to her she gave him a cocky smirk.
"You ready for this?" She challenged. Kajumaru sighed standing there with his arms folded.
"Yeah, come on already." He spoke irritably. Karin Blinked a few times before pointing at his still sheathed Zanpakto.
"Um, don't you need that?" She asked wondering if the guy was mentally handicapped. Kajumaru glared at her whilst she gave him an 'are-you-stupid' look.
"If I need my sword then I'll draw it. Until then…" He shunpoed forward with a solid kick to Karin's head, the force of which sent her reeling back. "I think I'll just kick you around some."
"Urgh. What the heck was with that movement?" Karin groaned as she got up. Kajumaru appeared behind her and kicked her in the back sending her to the centre of the room again.
"It's called Shunpo; it'll be something you need to learn. You obviously can't attack so running away is your best bet." Kajumaru jeered.
"Why you!" Karin gritted her teeth as she saw him disappear again. Given that he had not come into her view again she assumed he was behind her and swung out with a great deal of force. Kajumaru expertly evaded the blade as it flew by his face, but he was surprised at the sheer force he felt coming off of it. Karin glared at him before charging again and kept trying to slash him. Kajumaru began dodging each blow while trying to feel the strength behind each blow. As expected of a Kurosaki, there was a lot to be felt. As her blade nicked his Shuhakusho Kajumaru for the first time realized that her swings accuracy were improving as she went. As a swing came dangerously close to his midsection he withdrew his own sword and the two clashed.
"Not bad." Kajumaru commented as Karin grinned.
"I knew you'd need that." She said trying not to sound smug. Kajumaru's face, which had been relatively bored up until this point turned into a small expectant grin.
"Don't get cocky just yet. You're still new to this." Kajumaru said quietly before throwing Karin off of him with ease. Karin stared at him shocked. "You're strong Kurosaki, but right now I'm stronger." He said sheathing his sword and turning to Yamamoto. "Is this enough?"
"Yes, go and wait by the door please." The Sou-taicho commanded and Kajumaru complied. Karin looked up nervously at the aged captain as he stared at her. "Kurosaki Karin. You have displayed a lack of knowledge in all four forms of combat a shinigami is expected to know. You have also shown that you're combat skills are far below average."
"…" Karin looked down in embarrassment as the Sou-taicho spoke. She knew he was right but she had really tried, didn't that count for anything? Ichigo on the other hand was close to bursting out and yelling at Yamamoto about being unfair. But Shiryuu's smirk and nods to the other captains who all wore similar expressions confused Ichigo. Looking at the Sou-taicho himself, Ichigo noticed a ghost of a smile on his face.
"However!" Yamamoto boomed catching both Kurosaki's attention immediately. "You have also displayed great strength and potential, and that you can develop rather quickly under the right training. Therefore, I officially grant you the title of Substitute shinigami."
"Thank you thank you thank you!" Karin burst out whilst Ichigo broke into a full blown smile. Zaraki was just walking back in by this point, charred and with one of his long spikes of hair still on fire.
"What did I miss?" He asked his subordinate who leant against the wall next to the unconscious Zennosuke.
"She got accepted." Kajumaru said shrugging. Zaraki grinned.
"Good, if she's anything like her brother then things'll get fun around here." Zaraki practically growled.
"Now then, you'll need an instructor to teach you." Yamamoto began drawing everyone's full attention on him again. Several of the captains looked like they wanted to volunteer, but the look on the Sou-taicho's face told them he had already decided. Hitsugaya was the first to catch on to the fact that he was looking at someone rather than staring into space. Following his gaze he saw the bored looking eleventh squad member still standing there waiting to be excused. Soon enough everyone caught on and looked his way.
"Wait what?" Kajumaru asked as it began to dawn on him.
"Him?" Both Ichigo and Karin yelled and pointed only catching on after the man's statement. Yamamoto cleared his throat silencing the room full of murmurs.
"Kodora Kajumaru, I'm appointing you as instructor of Kurosaki Karin." Yamamoto ordered. Kajumaru spluttered out his excuse.
"I-I can't, I've got new guys to train." He said hoping it would get him off the hook. Unfortunately his captain supplied a solution.
"Then just train her alongside them when you have to. That should be easy right?" Zaraki offered shrugging. Ichigo however was now very appalled by the idea of his younger sister in the eleventh division.
"Why can't a captain train her?" Ichigo suddenly shouted out. Yamamoto gave him a look that told Ichigo that he was either treading dangerous ground, or was making a fool of himself to the Sou-taicho's entertainment.
"Are you suggesting I let Zaraki-Taicho train her then?" Yamamoto spoke and Zaraki looked like he would jump at the chance.
"No! I mean what about Toushiro or Byakuya?" Ichigo tried. Both captains would actually have minded volunteering, the thought of training a Kurosaki into showing some respect appealed to them. But going against the Sou-taicho's decision did not.
"I have enough to deal with sorting out the paperwork, let alone training your sister." Hitsugaya said looking away.
"I have heard that Kodora is quite capable, Kurosaki Karin should be fine under his tutelage." Byakuya spoke as if he didn't care. Ichigo mentally dubbed them as 'traitors' and then tried one last attempt.
"Well, I could train her?" he asked. The Sou-taicho shook his head.
"You're strength is great…" Yamamoto began.
"And you're very fast." Soi Fon Added. Yamamoto glared at the second division captain and turned his glare upon the next person who spoke.
"But you're kido is terrible." Hitsugaya commented.
"And you're spiritual control and senses are dull." Byakuya added.
"I've heard you're Hakuda isn't much to write home about." Kyoraku Shunsui, the eighth division captain added in a sing song voice as if it were a game.
"you're sword form is rather rough." Ukitake added.
"Enough!" Yamamoto boomed to cut off the little game that was circulating around the captains. Looking to Ichigo again he shot a meaningful glance. "Do you have anything else to ask?" Ichigo just shook his head in resignation. Turning his attention to Karin he repeated his question but she just squeaked a no. Afterwards the meeting was dismissed where many of the captains gave half-hearted apologies to Ichigo who accepted them by saying that he could take any of them if it came down to it. Shiryuu pulled him away before Renji took him up on the offer.

Now sitting in the fifth division barracks, Ichigo and Karin sat down eating their food quietly. Every now and then, someone would come in to check up on them but they just smiled and shooed the visitor away. Finally deciding to break the silence, Ichigo spoke.
"So, what do you think of Soul society and being a shinigami?" he asked staring at his sister who paused to think.
"Well, it's certainly a lot different then I imagined. I never expected there to be so many Shinigami either. It's surprising, and a little worrying." She admitted slumping a little. Ichigo blinked.
"Worrying? Why?" A simple statement, but one he needed to know the answer to.
"Well. It just seems that I have so much to work for to be, accepted or something like that." Karin shrugged. Ichigo smirked.
"Oh is that all. Trust me, by tomorrow you'll forget all about stuff like that." Ichigo stated confidently.
"By the way Ichi-nii. I was meaning to ask for a while now… Why did you freak out earlier about Kajumaru?" she asked slyly. Ichigo knew she thought he wanted to train her himself, which was true, but there was a much bigger concern for him.
"Because he's from the eleventh, and the captain of the Eleventh is a nut job called Kenpachi who is trying to kill me. And will probably try to kill you if he thinks you're strong." Ichigo said more than a little concerned. Karin tried to digest the information.
"I-I thought you guys were all friends?" She asked now worried.
"That IS friendship to the guys in the Eleventh." Ichigo smirked. Karin's cry could be heard from anywhere in the fifth barracks.
"NO WAY!"