I do not claim ownership of Bleach, its characters, or its original plot/story line.
"What you are explaining to me, is entirley irrational." Rukia crossed her arms.
"You already said that you don't want to return to the Soul Society. What other option is there?" Yoruichi exclaimed.
"There is nothing wrong with the idea of living in the human world, there is just one problem."
"Which is?" Urahara asked.
"Gigais are all traceable by the Soul Society."
"Honestly woman, have you already forgot the reason I got kicked out of the Soul Society."
"So what if I did," Rukia arms remained crossed as she looked away. "A detail as impartial as that must cetainly be useless to me."
"Geez, stop with the Kuchiki stubborness and just admit when you're wrong."
"Oh shut up why don't ya!" Rukia yelled.
"So how bout it then?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know? Are you sure you aren't feeling homesick."
"Of course I am!"
"Wow, she admited it without hesitation." Urahara said to Yoruichi.
"Certainly impressive." Yoruichi agreed.
"Just what are you two playing at here?" Rukia was yelling again.
"Calm it down. How about this, we take you back to the Soul Society. Using a way to ensure you aren't traceable. You can see your brother and Renji and make a final decision."
"You'd really...do that...just so I can make a choice."
"Of course, as I said before. Your survival may prove to be useful to me." Urahara shrugged her off. "So, do you want to?"
Rukia nodded.
...
Suprisingly enough, the process was simple. A portal opened and the three of them were in quite quickly. The hard part was waiting for the Serretei to be without a guard long enough for them to sneak in unoticed.
Urahara had all three of them take tablets that seemed to disguise whatever spirit energy they had as null. So when Rukia sat in the same secluded area she had so long ago, she observed the house until Byakyua finally returned. With Renji by his side.
"What is your take on the recent events that have occured within our squad?" Rukia could hear Byakyua asking Renji.
"I have certainly deduced the amount of slacking that has been happening has caused the other squads to look down upon our members." Renji said.
"Yes, and I believe the root cause of this is due to our current liutenant." Byakyua responded.
"Captain Kuchiki?"
"Although the final decsion is up to me. I want you to fight him for his position."
"Captain!"
"While I know killing for a position is tranditonally apart of Kenpachi's squad on entrance. I just want you to fight him to a point he is weak, so as to prove to the other's you are not to be taken lightly as the person Rukia grew up with."
"Captain," Renji said and after a moment of silence said, "As you wish."
Tears fell from Rukia's eyes as she listened. 'Renji, as a liutenatnt? Byakyua is the same as always. So cold and calculating. I can't return. I want to. I want to talk to them so bad, but I can't. I can't talk or look at Reni without getting angry that he had worked so hard for his position, while I am so weak now.' Rukia's thoughts only caused her to cry more.
"I want to leave." She said quitley as she turned to Urahara and Yoruichichi. "I agree, I want to go back to the human world now."
"Are you sure?" Yoruichi asked.
"Yes." Rukia answered.
"Very well then," Urahara got up from the ground and brushed himself off. "Lets go."
...
Rukia looked at herself in the mirror. The gigai, like all others. Held an exact likeness to her.
"While I do have a gigai that could transform a Soul Reaper into a human. I decided not to put you in such a position and I gave you a new design."
"What does this one do?"
"Well, since I absorbed some of the Reiatsu to help you recover more while you are in the human world. WIth a little time you could be able to use Soul Candy to go into Soul Reaper form and perform minor duties. However, if you stay in this form long enough, it'll allow your spirit energy to build up, as long as you don't try to use any spirit cannons that is."
"Why is that."
"Well, as you know-I can't just make your spirit energy go back to max level. So I'm trying to increase it as fast as I can."
"You still haven't told me why you need me." Rukia realized.
"Before I tell you something as confidential as this. I need to ensure you won't go running back to the Soul Society and give us away to big brother Kuchiki."
"You know I can't. No portal, no running away."
"However, I did say I would send you back if you wished it."
"You would? What about your oh so secret confidential information." She teased.
"I would simply seal you from relaying any information that could reveal what happened from the time you were rescued to the point you are home."
"Then why are you being so secretive?"
"Because I don't want to put a seal on you."
Rukia looked away from the man.
"How do I know you haven't already?"
"So many questions."
"Urahara." She warned.
"You would have marks. Undetectable but not unseen. To anyone else they would appear as Tattoos."
"Well thats good to know. Now, are you going to tell me what I will be doing for you or not?" Rukia was getting impatient, growing increasingly tired with the circles the two of them kept traveling in. She waited for Urahara to respond.
Instead he sighed, walked across the room and went to sit at the table in the room and gestured for Rukia to take her place across from him. She did as such and crossed her arms over her chest for what was probably the thousandth time since she had been rescued.
"Well?" She questioned and tensed as he sighed again.
"As unclear as this may seem. I need you to try and belive every amount of information I am about to relay to you." Kisuke talked slowly and didn't continue until he had recieved a nod. "Living in this town, is one Isshin Kurosaki." He paused. Hesitation still clearly written on his face.
"And?" Rukia fished for more.
"He is...a former Soul Reaper."
"Former?"
"Yes. Yes. He faked his death or went rogue or something of the sort. The point is. His location may have been disclosed to someone inside the Soul Society and quite soon he could be getting dragged back or demoted."
"What does this have to do with me? I'm a Soul Reaper too."
"Your role in this is quite elaborate actually."
"Explain."
"We need you to adopt his children."
...
Suffice to say, Rukia's reaction wasn't at all what Kisuke expected. She didn't flip a table or yell or shout in surprise. Instead she stared at his for a second and simple said, "Huh?"
It took a moment, but when she finally did come out of her trance, she started sweating profusley and shaking her hands to cut off whatever Kisuke was going to say next.
"Adopt! Okay, look. I may look like it but I am really not the type to marry some stranger out of gratitude to another. And yes my plan was to start over but this!"
"Marry?"
"Eh." Rukia stopped talking and shuffled away.
"Please Rukia, just evade any chance of embarrassing yourself and sit quitley as I explain."
Rukia's face turned red as she went back to her position across from Kisuke at the table.
"First of all, no marriage is involved in this. Second of all, ew. Third of all, this is a chance for you to start over and quite frankly. This option may not come to you as easy to agree to. I know. I just need you to listen."
Rukia nodded.
"Isshin and his wife Mikasa had three children together."
"Had?"
"Let me finish. Less than a month ago, Mikasa and their eldest got into an accident. Involving a hollow. It lured the boy, but the mother ended up getting killed protecting him. Isshin is planning on going on the run. To ensure the existence of his children, are not discovered by the Soul Society."
"If you don't mind me asking, why would his children be in any danger in the hands of the Soul Society and I didn't even know you could make a Gigai for growing children."
"That's my point. Mikasas wasn't a Soul Reaper. She was a human who married a Soul Reaper."
"That's not legal."
"So you understand. To some parts of the Soul Society, the reproduction between a Soul Reaper and a human being. Is not nessacarily looked upon as a matter held in high esteem. We fear that the Soul Society will not just capture and kill Isshin for his so call misjudgments, but they would do so and either kill or experiment on his children for being abombinations."
"So..."
"You can think about it. For now, I want to you to understand we do not have long until the Soul Society is hovering over us."
"I understand, I...I'll give you my final decision in the morning."
"Thank you."
...
Rukia had tried to sleep that night. She however, couldn't do so. Both for the fact she was steering her head around the decision she needed to make and the fact she felt so unfamiliar with her surroundings.
With the thought of the latter reason, she decided to go for an evening walk.
It wasn't late enough for the streets to be completley bare, however. The sun had already fled from sight and the only light being produced came from the many street lamps and the half full moon.
As she walked passed an alley, several voices could be heard.
"Hey! Just because your mommy's gone doesn't mean a punk like you won't get beat if he can't respect his elders" A snooty like voice said.
"Yeah." Another voice, just as annoying as the first agreed.
"Get off me!" A smaller voice yelled. "Let me go."
"Nice try!" The first voice spoke again.
Rukia glance in on this conflict. Sure enough, there were two mundanley structured boys. Picking on what seemed to be a smaller boy, with orange hair.
"Can't you defend yourself Kurosaki?" One of the boys asked, pulling on the boys hair.
"Let me go!" The boy tried to tear the other's hand off his head.
'Kurosaki?' Rukia thought.
"I guess he can't. After all. He gets beat by Tatsuki all the time." The two boys laughed, but were soon interuppted as a pipe came flying between the two and ended up impaling the brick wall behind them.
"What do you think you're doing?" Rukia asked them sweetly. In such a way that anyone from the Soul Society, would surely compare to the much beloved but terrifying Capatain Unohana.
"N..nothing." One of the boys stuttered out.
"Ye-yeah...absolutley nothing." The other shouted as they began to flee.
"Of course." She said, smiling.
After a moment, the silence of the alleyway was broken.
"Y-you didn't have to do that y'know." The little boy sniffled.
"Why do you say that?" Rukia asked him.
"Be-because, I'm a big kid and I can protect myself and anyone else!" The boy said.
Rukia smiled at him and leaned down to meet the boy's height.
"I know." She said as she pinched both his cheeks.
He shook her off with a red face.
"You know," Rukia began. "Its not safe to be walking alone at night. Maybe you can walk with me until you get home."
"Why would I do that?" He asked.
"Because, if you didn't. How would I know I'm safe?"
"You could carry that pipe with you." The boy suggested.
Rukia laughed and nodded, "Fair enough." She held her hand out. "Rukia."
The boy glanced at her hand and agreed to shake. "Ichigo." He said.
Rukia glanced at the wall where the pipe was stuck. "Think we'll get in trouble for that?" She laughed.
...
Rukia lay wide awake the next morning. After walking the boy home, she had returned to the shop and was happy to have felt tired enough that she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
At breakfast the next morning, it was only Urahara who sat at the table. Everyone else in the home was not present. Not that Rukia had actually had the chance to meet any of the other inhabitants.
"So?" The man inquired.
"Straight to the point." Rukia observed.
"I know you already made your decision." He stated.
Rukia denied this, but with one look from the man she gave up. "So what if I did."
"I just need to hear you say it aloud." He said.
Rukia sighed, "If need be, I will adopt the Kurosaki children."
Urahara clapped his fan closed and went to open the door. Revealing four figures.
There stood: Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo, and two small girls.
Isshin bowed his head where he stood. "Thank you for taking my children under your wing. I have already explained to them a few details about why I am leaving."
"Which are?" She needed to make sure she didn't say the wrong thing to the kids.
"To avoid conflict between my children and past associates. I will send money and letters frequently to ensure there are no financial difficulties and our correspondance is not cutoff."
Rukia nodded and looked to the children. Ichigo, was obviously staring at her out of recognition. While the smallest of the children had her face buried in her elder brother's shoulder as she cried.
"Due to the fact the location of their home was revealed as well. You and the children will be moving into a house not far in between this shop and their schools." Yoroichi explained as she entered from behind the man. For once, not in cat form. A fact Rukia did not oblige herself to explore. Instead, she leaned down onto the floor like the night before. Meeting the height of the children as she had done the night before.
"I've already had the courtesy of meeting Ichigo, so can I know your names?" She requested the two young girls.
"Karin Kurosaki," One of the girls, one with darker hair introduced herself, "and this is my twin Yuzu." She gestured to the blonde who had her face buried into Ichigo's shoulder.
Rukia already understood which of the children she needed to earn the trust of. Ichigo already experinaced her help and Karin seemed to be hiding the tears she had for her family. Yuzu however, was the most fragile. Not a month ago she lost her mother and now she was going to lose her only parent to a series of precautions to be taken for a problem she was not able to understand.
"Hello, Yuzu. My name is Rukia." She introduced herself. The girl's hold on her brother loosened as she looked at the woman.
"Hi." She greeted and went back to holding her brother's hand. Rukia smiled, knowing at the moment that was all she was going to get out of the little girl.
"Isshin." She aknowledged, getting up from the floor. "What is my apparent relation to the children?" She asked quitely.
"Family friend." He replied just as silently.
She nodded and looked to the other's in the room. "So when are we doing this?" She asked the other grown ups in the room.
"Now actually." Isshin told her.
"Oh." She said.
"We're going to finish moving everything into the new house and then you and the kids can begin living there starting tonight. I will be leaving tomorrow morning before you guys wake up." Isshin informed her.
"Right." Rukia nodded, everything still felt unreal to her at the moment.
With the end of the converstation all of the people in the room were ushered out of the living room, through the shop, and towards the new house.
To be continued in the next chapter...