I'm sorry. The whole idea of Ichigo being the reincarnation of Kaien just wouldn't leave me alone, even if it wasn't original. Anyways, enjoy!

2/18/16 - Chapter has been edited to feel/look/read better. :3 You're welcome.

3/24/16 - Chapter has been edited some more! Please be sure to check it out! (Big changes from original text!)

[Meow]

There always seems to be that one moment when either your mother or your father pulls you into the next room, kneels down near your ear, and gives you 'The Talk'. Well, this time it was a little different. Of course, my father had already given me the over exaggerated speech of my love life with a fountain of tears to go with it. It was a little… much. That's why I quickly planted my foot in his face, shoved him hard into a wall until long, skinny hairbreadth cracks sprouted from the wall outward. He nursed his broken nose days afterward and wouldn't stop ranting about how "My son doesn't love me!" and "He's growing up too fast!" while crying more waterfalls and clinging to the overly huge and unneeded poster of my mom pinned to the wall near our family dinner table.

No, this talk was much, much different.

"…Dad?"

I also knew that the situation called for me calling him something more…appropriate for the current situation.

My father sat solemnly on the other side of the room on a small fold-up chair he had brought from the closet of the back room we were currently in. Shortly after coming down the stairs and telling me, "Come upstairs and don't let your sisters follow you", I realized it must have been a pretty serious issue. My old man was never serious. For him to actually have a serious conversation without adding his specialty comedic relief, there was definitely something amiss.

Karin and Yuzu had exchanged curious glances toward each other as I stood up to leave the table and follow my dad upstairs. As I had walked up the stairs, all I offered them was a simple, "Be back down in a minute." They simply shrugged before going back to their respective dinner. They were mildly curious as to why Isshin happened to act the way he did, though, Karin especially.

Back in a random room on the second floor, Isshin sighed before bringing a large, calloused hand up to scratch his goat-like beard. "Er…"

My right eyebrow twitched before I released an exaggerated sigh. "What is it, Goat-chin? It better be quick or my dinner will get cold," I said, an irritable tone laced with my words.

The black-haired man lowered his gaze to the floor before muttering something that I couldn't quite catch. He slowly stood up. He lowered his gaze to the floor. What is up with him?

I blinked when I saw that he had slipped a red glove with a blue skull-like symbol imprinted on the top without my noticing. He placed the gloved hand on his chest, his body shooting backwards to meet the floor with a thump. I blinked. I blinked again. He was still standing there?

He disappeared. I felt a hand on my shoulder and quickly whipped around in shock and surprise. "W-what are you?" I questioned with slight fear in my voice. His face was grim, as if his whole world had changed for the worst.

Is this a fairytale?

"Dad…"

Isshin looked up at me, watery chocolate eyes meeting my own, silently pleaded for my forgiveness. At least, that's what I assumed.

"Son…" He chocked for a second, blinking back a small tear that refused to be pushed away. It trailed down his cheek, leaving behind a small trail of shimmering sadness. "I… I've kept something from you for…a long time…"

My eyes slightly widened at this. What could be so bad that my own father had to keep it from me? Gears clicked together. "I'm adopted?"

My father looked up at me, his brown eyes filling with a slight tint of mirth. "No, of course not!" He chuckled slightly, but it was different than all those happy-filled moments. His voice was empty. The laugh was forced.

My brow knitted together in a slight scowl, my lips turning down in a frown. This is not the type of situation I had ever expected to be in, more or less with my own dad of all people. He just wasn't capable of this kind of thing. "What then?"

Isshin moved his arms and hands to rest on his lap as he sat on a stool he pulled from the side of the room. It groaned at the added weight. "I was afraid of the consequences…" he said after a small period of silence. I stared at him for a moment. Afraid of what consequences? "I was afraid that if I told you, you would be unable to live a normal life."

"What do you mean?" I asked hesitantly.

Isshin sighed once more and ran a hand through his short, dark hair. "Before I...continue, I need to first tell you about my um...situation." He gestured at himself in his current strange choice of clothing then at his other…'body' lying on the other side of the room against the wall.

I frowned and glanced back at his copy lying slumped against the bare wall and then at the man standing in front of me. "Ya know, I was curious about that, but I wasn't sure if this was a dream, or me just going absolutely nuts. Or both."

Isshin grinned as he regained a sliver of self-confidence. "Yeah, about that…" he trailed off, "Erm… Here, let me explain."

He then went on to explain about soul reapers, hollows, Soul Society-basically anything that can be explained in simple terms-for about thirty minutes.

"So you're telling me that you used to be a captain in this 'Soul Society'."

Isshin nodded.

"And that you also used to be a soul reaper who fights against evil spirits called hollows and help send dead people to this Soul Society which is basically heaven."

Another nod.

"That," I looked over Isshin's shoulder and pointed at his double slumped across from us on the other side of the room, "is called a gigai, and by entering that it allows you to make contact with humans who without any sufficient amount of this…Reiryoku...wouldn't be able to see you otherwise."

Once more, Isshin nodded enthusiastically.

I stood up and pointed an accusatory finger at my father who wore a deadpan expression. "Like I could believe that crap!"

"Well," my dad started, raising a finger with an annoyingly out of place smile plastered to his face, "There are two of me, right?"

My confidence faltered for a second. "Um…well..." I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly, "Yeah..."

"Then isn't that enough evidence for you?"

A hazy image of someone hitting me hard on the head with their fist came to mind. Her face was obscured. "Are you that much of an idiot?!"

I put a finger to my chin and looked down at my feet for a second. "Well…maybe you're trying to trick me with some new magic trick you learned on the internet?" It came out more of a question than anything else.

Isshin's deadpan expression was enough. Well, I didn't believe me either.

I sat back down in from of the black-haired man. "Let's say I believed you," I started, "What does all of that have to do with what you originally wanted to talk to me about?"

The other man studied me carefully for a second before running a hand through his short black hair. "I was kinda hoping you would have forgotten about that by now. Heheh…"

I scowled, crossed my arms, and sent him an unimpressed look. Seriously, he could be overly annoying sometimes. Did he really think I had the memory of an old man?

"Spill it old man, my dinner's probably cold by now."

Isshin sighed. "I had a sister." My eyes practically conveyed my questions, but he provided no answer for me. He never told me I had an aunt. "She had three children. She... She died from giving birth to the last one." He stopped for a second to wipe his eye before continuing, "The three children's names were Kaien, Kukaku, and Ganju-all born in that order. They were the greatest nephews and niece I could have ever asked for…"

I blinked and hesitated before asking, "The way you speak about them… Did they die?"

Isshin huffed. "No, they didn't. Well…one of them did, actually. The oldest, his name was Kaien. He was an exemplary student, a prodigy. He whizzed through the Shino Academy like it was nothing. He quickly became a vice-captain of the Gotei 13." I kept my mouth shut even though I had so much to ask.

He stopped, and I took the chance to ask, "Why are you only telling me this now? And why is the family you never cared to tell me about suddenly something that I need to know about them right this second? Not that I mind..." I grumbled, my hungry mind wandering back to Yuzu's meal for the night.

"Well..." Isshin scratched the back of his neck, "you'll understand in a second. Anyway, he was killed by a hollow a few years before he achieved a higher stage of understanding-I should know, I helped him train-and possibly become a captain of the afterlife's military organization." he finished.

"And...?"

"Look, Ichigo…" He stared into my eyes and his lips pinched together into a hard, thin line. "Kaien…is you."

The revelation hit me hard on the head like a ton of bricks. "Eh?"

"You…" Isshin seemed deeply pained as he stepped forward and squeezed my shoulder, desperately trying not to choke as he forced out the words one more time, "are Kaien's reincarnation."

My mouth dropped open as I stared at the man. "W-what? How!?" I yelled at the man as I quickly shrugged off his arm as he went in for an embrace. I don't need this, whatever this is.

"I… I'm not quite sure either. All I know is that when you were born, the reiryoku you possess is the exact same as my nephew's…"

I stared at my father. "Er… What does that make you then…?"

"Your dad!" He grinned slightly. "Don't ever forget that. I'm just telling you who you used to be… So, when the time comes, you can choose the path you want to follow… That's all."

I stared numbly after my father's retreating form as he walked to his gigai, picked it up, and re-entered it.

He forced a strained smile onto his face. "Ichigo…thank you... Please don't be mad... You had to know. I couldn't keep it from you…" He then proceeded to walk out the door, but stopped at the sound of my voice.

"Goat-chin…thanks…for that."

He didn't even have to turn around for me to know he was smiling. "Of course, son." I heard the sound of the door closing as he left the dusty back room. As soon as I was sure he was gone and not coming back for some other earth-rattling revelation-not that he had another-I leaned up against the wall and clutched my head. The news was just now sinking in..

What. The. Heck.

What's even going on here? I only spent…an hour in here talking with my dad and I already learned one of the world's best kept secrets and then some!

I slowly slid to the floor, continuing to clutch my head as I lowered myself onto the ground. "Just who was this Kaien guy?"

Silence.

And then…

"I think I can help you with that, Kurosaki-san!" a cheerful voice announced from the direction of the windowsill. I quickly turned to the source, and sure enough, a man with messy, sand-colored hair was sitting on the windowsill. The window was open, allowing the chilly night air to enter the otherwise warm room. He had baggy, green upper and lower wear, along with a black haori draping over his shoulders with a white diamond pattern runing along the bottom edges. He wore a green and white striped bucket hat (something most people wouldn't wear, I noted), wooden clogs, and had, annoyingly enough, a paper fan hiding the lower half of his face from view (not that I could see the top part either, considering his choice of hat). I officially dubbed him Hat-n'-Clogs.

"Who are you?" I demanded. Who wouldn't feel cautious when a random stranger barges into your home and just casually sits there, watching you?

"Ah, Mr. Kurosaki, you flatter me, you really do, but my name is not something that should be disclosed in this specific...location." The man said enthusiastically as I sweat dropped at his words. Just who is this guy?

He continued as if he hadn't just said something that sounded suspiciously like something a criminal would say. "I couldn't help but overhear about your curiosity of Kaien Shiba, who happened to die several decades ago!" He stopped at my confused expression. "Oh, well… Apparently your father didn't exactly explain his certain family circumstances to you. I suppose that's to be suspected. Take up the issue of your current last name with your father some other time, hm?"

I pursed my lips. "What do you want?"

"Anyways, I happened to just finish a prototype for a new invention that I thought up," he stopped and fanned his fan over his face, his grin reaching his ears, "The time machine! Well...I didn't come up with the idea, but I was the first to actually make it work, right?" Is this guy for real?

"So…" He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black square device and threw it at me. Of course, having the sharp reflexes I have, I caught it. "Putting reiatsu into my invention activates it. Of course, you have no control over your own." He grinned at my panicked expression. "Don't worry, mine's completely locked tight!"

"How am I supposed to not worry?" I yelled as I fumbled with the device, preparing to throw it back to him. "You just activated it!" I yelled frantically, finally able to get a firm grasp on the object. I prepared to chuck it back with all my strength, but the device, it seems, had other ideas.

The room was quickly engulfed in light as the device activated and started its work. The last thing I saw was Hat-n'-Clogs waving to me as I disintegrated. "See you in a bit!" he said cheerily as the last of me disappeared, waving his fan at me and grinning. For me, any way.

"You are so dead when I get back, you shifty piece of crap!" I shouted to the nothingness that came after I disintegrated. I was in dark, dark space… There was nothing… Then…

Light shot everywhere, causing me to shield my eyes with the palms of my hands. When the light finally became bearable enough, I lowered my arms and took a glance around at my surroundings. I was in a forest, great.

A strange sensation in my left hand caused me to look down. A small piece of paper was there. I was clutching it so tightly that my knuckles were starting to turn white and my fingers went through the thin material. I slowly brought my arm up to my face and glanced down at the paper.

'Have fun meeting yourself! Don't worry, nothing you do here will change the future. I have a little something prepared for your return. Just don't lose my invention!

Sincerely, -K.U.'

I glowered at the small piece of paper before quickly crinkling it up into a ball and throwing it into a nearby bush. I realize something now. I really, really, really don't like that Hat-n'-Clogs guy.

[Meow]

Please review and favorite! Thanks! :3

3/24/16 - Wow... THIS FUDGING CHAPTER TOOK ME ABOUT TWO HOURS TO EDIT! I PRACTICALLY RE-WROTE IT!
-Woo... Glad I got that off my chest..