Disclaimer – I do not own Bleach, though I wish I could just be in that world!

Warning - Contains spoilers for those who have not read the manga as of chapter 528, volume 59.

This is my first fanfic, so bear with me while I get the hang of writing for you lovely people!

~Enjoy!

Pictures of You

Chapter 1 – Last Picture

It was the end of the dojo session and yet again Tatsuki had beaten Ichigo. He was beginning to wonder if he would ever be able to win against his best friend. The rivalry was great, spurring him forward, but he wished that once in a while she would let him overcome her. Instead of him landing on his butt almost every time, wanting to cry while the tomboy grinned from ear to ear. It's humiliating, but he laughs it off once a few drops have spilled over and wants to fight again.

Ichigo had met Tatsuki when he was four, when he first came to the dojo. Being new to kendo, his first ever fight with her lasted a short while, ending with a hit to the stomach (the most painful thing he had felt so far) and him crying. She always claimed it took one hit in ten seconds to make him land on his knees, but he likes to think it was a little longer than that, more like twenty seconds at least! A little pride never went a miss. At school, the two of them were in the same class, but it was not until Tatsuki saw Ichigo being bullied by two boys about his hair, did they really become friends. It was difficult for Ichigo to make friends, children and parents alike seemed to get a 'weird' vibe from him, resulting in many wide births from passers by and snide remarks. The little boy with fiery hair was grateful to the girl with short black hair and blue eyes, sealing the bond to his only friendship.

"Hey Ichigo," Tatsuki called. "Have you got a coat? Looks like it's going to rain."

He looked up at her from tying his laces. "No, but Mama is picking me up." He could not help but smile to himself.

"Alright then, see you at school tomorrow." She ran to the dojo door, waving behind her.

"Bye," Ichigo waved back, and proceeded to walk towards the door after having picked up his bag.

Masaki unfurled her umbrella when the rain started, knocking on the wooden panelling of the building ahead, just as Tatsuki almost collided with her upon turning out of the door.

After quickly bowing, "sorry Mrs. Kurosaki, I wasn't looking," having righted herself, Tatsuki saw the radiance that was Ichigo's mother. "He's just coming," motioning inside.

"That's quite alright, Tatsuki. Do you want me to call your Mama to pick you up? It's really pouring," Masaki offered.

Ichigo is probably going to want to have his Mama to himself before getting home to the rest of his family.
"Thank you Mrs. Kurosaki, but Mama wouldn't have finished work yet and I don't live far," she declined in the politest way possible.
Having shortly paused, she looked back into the dojo and waved: "I'd better get going, nice seeing you," running down the street before Masaki could reply. He's going to have a goofy smile on his face, like usual.

At that point, Ichigo came out of the sliding door and joyously barrelled into his mother for a tight hug after missing her all day. She smelled as wonderful as ever to Ichigo, and was as warm as ever. He felt his mother laugh under his embrace, wrapping her arms around him in return and kiss him through his fuzzy hair. His safe place was always in his Mama's arms, only letting go of her when she patted him on the head motioning for them to go home before they got too wet.

They walked in the streaming rain, Ichigo held tight to his Mama's hand to keep under the umbrella and stay as close to her loving presence as possible. His whole world evolved around her: he woke up and fell asleep to her smiling face, was surrounded by her affection even when they weren't hugging, and always heard her laughter with Papa, Yuzu and Karin. Masaki was like the sun, with Isshin, Yuzu, Karin and Ichigo surrounding her like planets, drawn to her embrace as if she had her own gravitational pull. Everything about his Mama made him feel wanted and loved, and with that he could always smile even after a bad day.

Walking along the rushing river that ran through Karakura Town, combined with the pattering droplets on the umbrella, muffled his Mama's soft voice, which irritated him. But, it didn't matter because she was smiling, so he was smiling. That is all it took, a smile for a smile, to protect the happiness of his precious Mama. After all, Ichigo's Papa had once told him that his name had the meaning 'to protect one thing' (as well as strawberry, but we won't mention that!)

"Sweetie, what would you like me to cook for dinner tonight? It's your turn to choose," Masaki asked kindly.

He wondered for a moment, excited with the options, "Umm, the fish one is good!"

"Karashi Mentaiko?"

"Yeah!" He bounced with more excitement.

Masaki giggled to herself, her son is such a bundle of joy. "Good choice, and if you finish your homework before eating then I have a special treat for you and your sisters after."

With that remark, Ichigo's eyes lit up with intense affection for his Mama - the kindest in the whole, wide world. His mind rifled through the possibilities of what the surprise could be: ice-cream? a game? staying up after bedtime to watch a film?!

The cogs in his brain slowed their whirring when he caught a sight ahead. It was blurry at first, but there was a silhouette of someone... no a kid like him, standing at the very edge of the river bank. She would get swept away by the current if she fell in, deeply worrying Ichigo. Getting closer, he saw the kid was actually a girl, wearing a somewhat traditional Japanese white cloak and dark bobbed hair. He wondered if the girl was really there. Sometimes they weren't, which scared him. Once, Ichigo had asked Tatsuki if she could see the people who stared right at them, in all seriousness, but she knuckled him saying that he was reading too much manga for his own good. He lightened up immediately afterwards, laughing it off like the joke his friend had thought it was. But, it dawned on him that there might be something different about him. He was never going to tell his dear Mama about it, if she worried too much then her smile would waver. It wasn't like he could tell the difference between the real people ,who everyone could see, and the ghosts anyway, so he mainly ignored the problem.

Though, this time it felt different. The very edge of the girls' outline was fuzzy, yet there seemed to be such a loneliness surrounding her. She felt so real. It stirred something within Ichigo, a foreign feeling - it felt like he wanted to help.

He looked up to his Mama for reassurance, to see if she could feel the same thing. She was staring blankly ahead and holding firm to Ichigo's hand. Was it his imagination that his Mama was clutching his hand tighter than before?

No, it's okay, she's not real. Just an over-active imagination, Ichigo, he scolded himself.

Unfortunately, he was only content for a fraction of a minute until he felt compelled to look again - the person ebbing at his curiosity. The girl had turned round, arms out-stretched with her face upturned to the pouring sky, poised to fall backwards into the raging torrent of the river.

She's going to drown! Ichigo ripped his hand out of his Mama's and ran towards the girl, to stop her, to protect her from falling to her death. She must be real, why would a ghost want to drown themselves?

"Ichigo?!" He could faintly hear the echo of his Mama's shout.

He stopped in front of the girl, who had given up the poise, thinking she was having second thoughts. Suddenly, the form before him begun to distort, like static interference on a TV. Only now did he notice that despite the rain, there was no sign of her clothes or hair being wet. The face dropped down from the sky, opening her eyes to Ichigo to dramatically reveal piercing, animalistic yellow eyes staring straight into his. Pulling a cocky grin, the small, distorting girl rumbled in her chest with a laugh deeper than expected of someone her size, slowing transforming into a much taller, fanged, clawed creature.

"Aha, you look tasty, boy!" The creature spat.

"Ichigo! RUN!" Ichigo could hear Masaki bellowing.

His poor childish mind could not comprehend the horror he was witnessing before him. He wanted to back away, put as much distance between him and this thing as possible, but his legs refused to budge. Adrenaline rush quickly disappearing, he felt a coldness wash over his body that had nothing to do with the rain. Ichigo thought he could hear splashing behind him of someone running, but sparks blurred his vision before he could turn - he collapsed into darkness under the immense pressure the monster was emitting, leaving it behind.

~Masaki~

Picking her son up from kendo practice was a perfect excuse for Masaki to spend time with her precious first-born. The innocent, joy-filled faces of her children and the hero that was her husband was all she needed to be content. Holding onto Ichigo's hand whilst walking in the rain, she was thankful that even in clouded, miserable skies there will always be rays of light around her. Masaki would do anything to stop those embers from going out.

Walking along the river, she could feel a mass amount of unfamiliar, concentrated reiatsu as if it were being compressed. She looked around, there was no-one in sight a part from themselves and girl beside the water up ahead.

Children shouldn't have this much spiritual energy, she shook her head to herself. Looking at her own son beside her: another child holding a vast amount of power.

Masaki looked at Ichigo to find him staring at the girl, who seemed to be entranced by her presence. Thinking about it, he had been quiet for a while, when compared to his normal, talkative self. In a hope to distract him from the powerful being ahead, she asked what he wanted for dinner and provided an alternative trail of thought: a surprise after dinner. The plot seemed to be successful, Ichigo's face was now animated with delight and intrigue of a different sort than before. As for the actual surprise, she will have to think of one before they finish dinner. No matter, Masaki was sure that the little boy would prod her for information, thus giving her an insight to what he was hoping for.

Coming closer to the girl, Masaki gripped her son's hand tighter, quickening her pace to avoid trouble. The figure by the river appeared to be taller than Ichigo, maybe older? She hoped that she was not old enough to properly detect Reiatsu yet. If she did then she might be curious of Ichigo's leaking reiatsu levels, he will need to be taught how to control it in the future - maybe even seal it?

The girl turned round, lifting up her arms. Please, leave us in peace. Masaki wished.

At that point, Ichigo wrenched his hand out of Masaki's and ran towards the girl, leaving her's lifted from the force beckoning after him.

"Ichigo! Come back!" Masaki shouted after her son, though the last part was drowned out by the rise in strength of the wind through the trees. The rain having become a storm.

The previously compressed reiatsu was now being released in waves from the girl, rushing round Masaki, changing the little girl's form into a more beast-like creature.

Shit! It's a hollow!

"Ichigo! RUN!" She shouted with as much force as she could, whilst running to protect her precious little boy.

She was not going to allow the disgusting creature to hurt a hair on her child's head. Charging towards the hollow, she gathered reishi to form her spirit bow. For once being glad she was a Quincy - granting her the ability to protect and shield what meant most to her. Ichigo crumpled to the ground in front of her, filling her with an even more intense hatred, she mounted her iconic bow with a buzzing reishi arrow. Masaki leaped into the air to grant her the best hitting angle without getting Ichigo caught in the fire. She pulled back on the humming string, ready to let loose the arrow intended to sink straight into the hollow's mask. To rid the world of its foulness.

When her spirit weapon dissipated.

All of Masaki's reiatsu drained out of her, pulled by an external force. Eyes widened in shock as she fell out of her leap. The hollow took its window of opportunity, raised its hand towards the falling women in a spear-like form. Having had her power robbed, there was nothing she could do to stop her fast descent. She fell on the sharp talons piercing through her stomach, forcing her to wretch up blood from the torn organs and she slumped around the outstretched arm.

The hollow chuckled to itself, it had fun killing this one. Dropping the body, it began to prepare to consume the soul of this women, but halted... A far more powerful, and superior soul entered the city, flickering into being. Wanting to consume this new soul, over the now spiritually drained soul belonging to Masaki, the hollow jumped over the river toward the new presence. Promising itself that it would come back for the boy later. In a couple of years his soul will mature and become even more tasty.

He'll be more of a fight then, it laughed inwardly.

~x~

Masaki willed strength into her arms as she pulled herself closer to Ichigo, splattering more blood with each strain and shooting pain. She reached up to stroke her beautiful, first-born's face, knowing this was the last time she would set her eyes upon her son. The last picture of him ingrained in her mind. She only wished now that she could have said goodbye to Isshin, thank him for saving her all those years ago; to see her two little toddlers, Yuzu and Karin, grow up to become the envy of all girls around.

At least I was able to protect you, she thought as a tear rolled down her cheek. She pushed her body to embrace Ichigo, her last breath leaving her.

Isshin was seated at the dining room table, pouring over the mountain of paperwork for the clinic. He had been a bit too laid back with it lately and now it had come back with vengeance, to bite him in the backside. It did not bother him though, as he could sit working whilst watching over his adorable little girls playing with one another, waiting for his wonderful wife to come home with their endlessly smiling son. They would all sit down to have a great family meal and go to bed, to rinse and repeat for the next day - as was the Kurosaki household way. Enough to encourage any man to tackle his paperwork.

Masaki and Ichigo should be home soon, Isshin thought, having looked up at the clock. He decided to take a brief break from his signatures and tick lists in order to put the kettle on, ready for Masaki and to make a quick brew for himself.

He proceeded to carry his mug of coffee back to the dining table, in order to commence with his work, when it hit him... Intense pain brutally attacked the inside of his chest, causing him to double over, having dropped his cup which shattered across the floor. He heard his daughters scream for him. Isshin's chest became more and more constricted, forcing his body to slide onto the shard-covered floor. Yuzu and Karin dropped their colouring and rushed to his side, looking for answers. Unable to understand what was happening to their precious Papa.

SNAP.

A rope-like force that Isshin had not been aware of broke off. Its whiplash caused his keeled over torso to whip backwards into the kitchen cupboards behind him. Children could be heard wailing and wisp touches across his skin were felt, but Isshin's shocked mind could not comprehend the outside environment of his body. Only what was occurring on the inside. First there was utter emptiness, as the cord he was once unaware of was now gone. Second, there was the drowning feeling of loss. Third, a warm buzzing steadily encompassed the emptiness and loss. He begun to recover his senses. The feeling was familiar to Isshin, one that he thought he had abandoned years ago to save a girl who was being consumed by a hollow.

No... Masaki, you can't be..., Isshin refused his heart to believe, even though his mind knew differently.

Isshin peered through puddled eyes to his two beautiful daughters. Each blink sent a new cascade of tears, which caused his girls to cry more themselves. Probably out of not knowing what was going on, or how to stop it what was hurting him. They just stared at each other in shocked silence, while Isshin's senses were becoming more clearer by the second - heightened by the return of his shinigami powers. He could feel small concentrations of reiatsu from his children, it was familiar even without having consciously felt them before. His reiatsu detection radius was slowly became wider. Isshin could feel another familiar concentration of reiatsu not far from where they were sitting, but this energy was far more vast than those of the girls in front of him and it was pulsating. It felt so familiar, and the one holding it was in danger.

Ichigo.

Another condensed reiatsu was departing, it was emitting intense hatred, which could only be matched to a... hollow. Isshin frantically searched for Masaki's, his love's, reiatsu, but could not find it anywhere. Putting the entire set of circumstances together, he finally allowed his heart to believe what his mind knew. Grief flushed across him, sending his being cold. Yet, he knew his son needed him from what Ichigo's spiritual signature was telling him. He had to fulfill his duty as a father, and save his son.

Isshin picked up Yuzu and Karin, not bothering to grab a coat for the storm outside. He rushed to his neighbour and knocked.

The door opened, oh too slowly. Isshin put his confused girls down.

"Mr. Kurosaki?"

"Mr. Kubo, I'm sorry for the short notice, but can you please look after my girls for the night?" Isshin tried to keep the pleading tone out of his voice. His panicked expression seemed to tell the man in the doorway enough to silently accept the girls.

With this, Isshin turned his back and rushed towards Ichigo. Stay alive, my son. Calling an ambulance as he ran.

Ichigo had gradually gained his feeling, as he drifted out of the foggy blackness. He could feel rain pattering on his face, his body and clothes sodden making him shiver uncontrollably. He wondered how long he had been lying on the floor, knocked out, and why his Mama had not taken him home yet.

Mama... Images began blurring through his mind. Ichigo tried to remember, yet unconsciously trying to block them out at the same time. He became aware of the pressure against his chest and arms wrapped around him, as if in an embrace. But, there was no warmth of life being emitted from them. Ichigo's eyes flew open to find the centre of his world lying limp across his body. His precious Mama's blood soaked into his clothes. He quickly wriggled out from under his Mama's dead body. He tried to reach out his shaking hands to touch her, but he could not. They instead covered his face and he let out a despairing scream.

No, no, no... Mama, please wake up. Please. Why?! This is all my fault. I'm so stupid. A stupid little boy who wasn't even strong enough to protect his Mama. What am I going to do? What is in a name if I can't even protect people. If only I hadn't gone to that girl, no.. that monster. Mama would still be alive. Isn't it time to make dinner now, Mama? You need to get up. Yuzu, Karin, Papa.. Me, we all need you! Please. This is all my fault...

..."Ichigo!" He was ripped out of his despair upon hearing his Papa's voice. A pair of strong, warm arms wrapped tightly around his small, shaking frame.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Ichigo, so, so glad," Isshin whispered, as he wept into his son's shoulder. Gripping him tightly, as to not let him disappear.

Ichigo could hear sirens in the background. He looked over his Papa's shoulder to the form of his cold Mama lying on the floor. This was the last picture of memory made with his Mama.

A/N: I hope you guys liked this. I really wanted to write Masaki's death from the different points of view of her family, while knowing she was a Quincy. I do plan to write a couple more chapters, maybe? I would really love if you could leave a review to let me know what you thought. Perhaps leave some suggestions for improvements, or what you want to happen?

Let me know~