Warning: Story has original characters (OCs). May be OC-centric.
Ichigo watched his sons with fond interest.
The twins walked a little ahead of him; unknowing victims of his scrutiny.
It was hard to believe that it's been over a century since he became a father.
Though there is no one in Soul Society who didn't know who they were, the three of them could easily be mistaken as brothers.
Tweak a few physical traits and the boys could be (and really are) carbon copies of him.
Yasuhiro, the first-born, has his father's bright orange hair and his eyes are a shade of violet like his mother's. He is a serious and composed soul, as is expected from the future leader of a noble clan. At a very young age it was apparent that this one was overtly empathetic - his excessive consideration of others had put himself at risk so many times that Ichigo and the family had to teach and assure him that it was okay to seek help and that it was never a burden to do so.
While he has many impressive aptitudes, he is not one to bask under the spotlight.
It was fitting when he discovered that the power he wielded was the element of fire. It is without a doubt that a level-head is needed to keep such a destructive zanpaku-to in check.
Satoru, the second-born, has his mother's dark hair and his father's amber eyes. This one almost didn't make it; a complication during childbirth. But somehow, he saved himself. How he did it while inside his mother's womb remains one of life's (and death's) mysteries and no one in the family questioned his fate or his perseverance. He is a mischievous soul; almost always getting himself into trouble then being able to charm and negotiate his way out of it... most of the time.
He is very talented like his twin, but unlike his brother, he enjoys being in the limelight.
His power over a water-type zanpaku-to compliments his ability to adapt and manipulate circumstances in his favor.
Even as they strutted, the twins' differences were evident: Yasuhiro's movement had that stiff, polished quality about it while Satoru's was rough and casual.
Ichigo had the boys' Uncles, Byakuya and Renji, respectively, to blame for that.
But despite their glaring polar-opposite personas, the brothers have always been close and have had a mutual respect for one another.
As their father, he is grateful that his sons got along as it would have been challenging, to say the least, for him to have refereed between the two powerhouses should they have been at each other's throats all the time.
"Yasuhiro! Satoru!"
Ichigo chuckled seeing the blush that crept up his eldest son's cheeks.
There is only one soul who can ruffle his otherwise rigid demeanor like that.
She was a new arrival; having crossed over only months ago after her death as a human.
But she was no stranger to the family.
The woman had run up to them then paused to catch her breath: the upper half of her body bent with her head down and gasping for air. Ichigo smiled at how the mannerism reminded him of her mother when they were very young.
"Hello, Manami."
She straightened herself; the flush from her sprint evident on her face.
"Uncle Ichigo! I didn't see you!" she bowed to him. "Please do not think that I am disrespecting you!"
Then she does something uptight that reminds him of her father.
He reaches out to pat her on the head; a gesture of affection and assurance.
"I take no offense. How do you find the academy so far?"
She was standing now, relaxed and relieved.
"It's not bad, Uncle. There are a lot of interesting things to learn about being a Shinigami."
"You better not let Uncle Uryu hear you say that, Quincy." Satoru teased, nudging his childhood friend.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Dad's had a change of heart a long time ago, you know that. Oh! Did you know that he's being offered a teaching position here?"
"Ah, I've heard about that from Shunsui-Soutaicho. Ishida is playing hard to get, as usual."
The black-haired beauty giggled. "Dad can be difficult like that. But you can tell that he's very interested. Besides, it would be nice for more Shinigami to know about the good (of) Quincies and not just the bad."
There was a sudden, brief flare in someone's reiatsu.
Yasuhiro gave away nothing with the expression on his face.
"Are the other Shinigami treating you well, Manami?"
Ichigo could detect the underlying anger in his son's tone.
"If anybody's giving you trouble, just say so." Satoru jumped in, placing an arm around her shoulders. "Yasuhiro will fry them to a crisp. And I'll drown them in their own tears."
"Oh, no! Nobody's been mean to me."
"Manami, this is a time of tolerance and understanding. Do not for one second think that covering up for…"
"I know that, Uncle, and I very much appreciate your concern for my well-being. But nobody has hurt me. Most of the Shinigami are hesitant to approach me, actually. Maybe because of our history? I'm not really sure, but I'm doing my best to show them that I don't bite."
She had that same warm, optimistic smile that Orihime has when faced with uncertainty.
"Good. That's good to know." Yasuhiro murmured as he looked away; his face still flushed.
Satoru rolled his eyes and Ichigo held back the urge to laugh.
"We're looking for Rukia. Any chance you know where she is?"
She nodded. "Auntie should be done with her speaking engagement by now. Shall I bring you there?"
"Escorted by the prettiest first year to grace these halls. I'm surely the envy of the whole academy."
If this were some other hapless female, Ichigo would have pried the poor soul out of his own son's arms.
But Satoru's relationship with the girl was nothing but brotherly affection; the exact opposite of how Yasuhiro felt about her.
The twins were already ten years old when Manami Ishida was born.
Meeting her the first time, as a baby, Yasuhiro already had some sort of obvious fascination towards her.
She aged normally, as any human would, and Ichigo's children maintained their friendship with her; regularly visiting (in gigais) and she would sometimes, on very special occasions, visit them in the Seireitei.
Decades passed and action and adventure were eventually replaced by leisurely walks and quiet picnics.
She reached to live to a hundred years then passed, peacefully, in her sleep.
As the product of parents with high amounts of spiritual pressure, her soul retained its youth despite her body withering over time.
It was his children who went to fetch her.
The same way Ichigo and Rukia insisted on when it was their human friends and family that had passed.
Manami never married.
She never could imagine herself with any of the men who courted her, she said years ago.
"It feels I need to wait a little longer for that someone."
Satoru smacked his twin up the head (one of those rare times he would get physical with and disrespectful of his brother).
"She's not stupid." He ground out in frustration. "If you know that she's your soulmate, then she knows that you're her soulmate."
The memory sparked an idea.
"Yasuhiro, why don't you walk ahead with Manami? Satoru and I have something to discuss."
His son suddenly looked like he wasn't breathing.
Satoru easily picked up on the plan and moved to shove his brother towards the unsuspecting girl.
Yasuhiro ungracefully fell flat on his face.
Manami blue eyes went wide with worry and fussed over him.
"Honestly, Dad, I love you and you're my idol and all that, but I'm so glad that I did not inherit being clueless from you."
"I'm just glad you and your brother are as tall as I am."
Satoru chuckled and agreed.
After Manami applied a quick healing kido over the small cut on Yasuhiro's nose, they made their way towards the hall where Rukia was at. She was invited by the Academy's administrators to speak before the soon-to-be graduates before they are assigned to their respective divisions.
"Hey, Dad, I think Mom's got a new bunch of admirers again." Satoru said, pointing to the small crowd of males that surrounded his mother.
Twitch.
"Dad, they're only speaking to her." Yasuhiro said, blocking his view and forcing him to look at him instead.
Manami knew the things that got her Uncle riled up: unwanted fans of the Thirteenth Division Captain was one of them.
"Daddy, please, those Shinigami have NOTHING on you."
And the darling of the Kurosaki, Kuchiki and Shiba households makes her appearance.
Hitomi, the youngest, is the mirror-image of her mother with her ink-black hair and purple eyes. Before she was born, it was a matter of naming her either after Rukia's sister, Hisana, or Ichigo's mother, Masaki. However, the moment she looked at her father when he first held her in his arms, he decided, surprising everyone, to give her a different identity.
She is a paradox of her own: elegant yet clumsy; sensitive yet tough; uncertain yet brave; headstrong yet guarded. Her instincts, even as a child, were honed like a seasoned warrior's. It was a mistake to treat her like a fragile doll (as Ichigo and her brothers would learn) but it doesn't stop the males in her family from hovering (or meddling) when it came to her… everything.
When her zanpaku-to first manifested itself, there was a little apprehension as to how she would use it. After all, the ability to distort reality was by no means something to belittle. But she had proved long before that her heart and mind were in the right place and it was clear that she would never unleash her power for her own malicious purpose.
The princess turned to her best friend and hugged her tightly.
As if they haven't seen each just a few days ago.
"So, has my brother declared his undying love for you, yet?"
Yasuhiro was waiting for the ground to split open and devour him.
The blush on Manami's cheeks did not go unnoticed by the rest of them.
"Satoru is such a catch, but as usual, I have broken his heart." She casually replied, reverting to an answer that she created for whenever she was cornered by her soul sister like that.
The two love birds are going to need intervention sooner than later.
"Ichigo."
The small group turned to acknowledge the presence of the new arrival.
"Rukia."
The petite Shinigami crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"You almost suffocated the students."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You have no reason to be jealous."
"I'm not jealous."
"Right." she put a slender hand on his chest. "Well, it would be nice if you could reign in your spiritual pressure a little more as some of them are still finding it difficult to breathe."
The former Daiko blinked and did as he was told… he was still unaware, most of the time, when his reiatsu was all over the place.
"Sorry." He muttered.
"Thank you." She said, while she smiled up at him.
He smiled back.
Only she can calm him like that.
"Hello, there are single souls here!" "Get a room, you two!" Hitomi and Satoru shouted at the same time.
Their parents can be so mushy without them even realizing it.
And the siblings just love to tease them whenever they were like that.
Yasuhiro and Manami snuck a glance at each other only to hurriedly look away, embarrassed at catching each other in the act. Silently, they hoped that someday, they would be the same.
Now if only one of them would actually confess to the other.
"So, Mom," the older twin spoke, trying to divert his attention elsewhere, "how did the lecture go?"
Rukia beamed with pride as her daughter answered for her. "She was wonderful! Everybody listened and asked her so many questions!"
The Shinigami of the hour stood by her husband's side and had taken his hand in hers; their fingers automatically intertwining.
Hitomi animatedly recounted her mother's words and her audience of three would occasionally refer to the seasoned soul for more details and inputs.
Ichigo retreated back to his thoughts as he watched the scene unfold before him.
This is his life.
His present.
The once future he had dreamed about.
The destiny that he fought (and won) for.
And NO ONE, NOTHING, can dictate to him otherwise.
- THE END. -
Author's Notes:
So I was ready to reply to my readers' comments/reviews when this narrative happened in my head...
I have finally decided on names for my version of Ichigo and Rukia's children. I've even conjured up a child for Uryu and Orihime.
I will be reverting back to my usual Snippets format the next time around.
Thanks for reading!
P.S. Name meanings found on the internet:
Yasuhiro - 1) calm and leisurely 2) most calm 3) most respectful 4) abundant tranquility
Satoru - 1) daybreak 2) enlightened 3) fast learner 4) knowledgeable 5) perceptive 6) persuasive 7) understanding 8) wise
Hitomi - pupil of the eye (side note: usually given to girls with especially beautiful eyes)
Manami - 1) affectionate beauty 2) love sea
P.P.S. The Kurosaki kids would all make it into the special accelerated classes at the Shino Academy (because come on, their parents' awesomeness would be in their DNA). The boys have graduated and are already members of different divisions while Hitomi would be graduating soon. They may be nobility, but they all refused to use the influence of their families to gain admission and positions into the Gotei Thirteen.
P.P.P.S. Special mention to Byakuya and Renji who would be awesome Uncles and be such (good and bad) influences to Ichigo and Rukia's children.