Isshin Shiba couldn't hold back the grin that was growing on his face as he slowly made his way up the cobblestone path that lead to the Shiba Mansion. It had been more than a month since he'd last stayed at his childhood home, having been tied up with different affairs and missions with his squad in the Gotei 13. From Hollow attacks in the East Rukongai to training the newest division recruits, Isshin had begun to feel as though he was being worn a little thin. Luckily, the captain of his division noticed his exhaustion, and decided to send him on his break a week early, and for once the stubborn Shiba man did not try to fight him. A break would do Isshin good, and besides, it would be nice to see his niece and nephews again.
"Maybe Kaien finally made it into the Shinō Academy while I was gone," he wondered aloud as he stepped towards the large front doors of the mansion. The thought brought a bright smile to his face, and he sighed. His nephew's desire to be a Shinigami was unrivaled, and once he added his own skills to that desire, Kaien could easily overcome any hurdle in his way. "I'd better tell Byakuren-taicho to save a spot for him in our division, then," he said with a soft chuckle.
Smiling again, he looked up at the dark-tinged oaken doors and sighed once more. Slowly, he raised one single fist up to the door, and gave it a strong, loud knock. Grinning like an idiot, Isshin stepped back, snickering inwardly over the reactions he would be getting once the door opened and his nephews and niece found him standing there, a week early for his break.
Isshin stood there, smirking, for about another five seconds, and then groaned. He was not one for patience, and waiting even another minute for his relatives to open the door was going to drive him insane. Shaking his head in annoyance, he stepped back and gave the doors a good, solid kick, before shouting, "HEY KAIEN, KUKAKŪ, GANJU?! WHERE IS EVERYBODY?!"
The creak of floorboards above him and a loud scuffle across the floor above him reached his ears as he entered the estate, and before he was even five steps into the foyer, three figures appeared at the top of the stairs, staring in shock, surprise, and excitement at the man before them. "Uncle Isshin?!" the trio cried in unison. The Shinigami chuckled and leaned back, he arms folded across his chest.
"Hey now, is this any way to treat your uncle? I get my week off from work a week early, and this is what I get? No one was even at the door to welcome me in! I mean, really, I thought you loved your unc—oof!" Isshin was cut off as the two youngest Shibas tackled him with a powerful hug, and Kaien walked behind them, smirking like a freaking devil.
"Uncle Isshin!" Ganju cried, hugging the large man's torso as if his life depended on it.
"We missed you, Uncle!" Kukakū shouted, crushing the stalwart Shinigami with a hug just as strong as her brother's. Isshin sighed and hugged them back before quickly peeling the two off of him.
"I missed you kids too," he said, smiling. Quickly, he looked over at Kaien, the black-haired boy now at the base of the stairs, still smirking. Isshin grinned and bounded over to him, clasping the youth's hand in a firm handshake. "And Kaien, how have you been this last month I've been gone in the Seireitei?"
Kaien smiled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Well, you know, been pretty good, besides trying to keep these two from killing each other, and getting denied once again from joining the Shinō Academy." At this, his uncle looked up in shock and quickly glared darkly.
"Seriously, Kaien? Who were the men in charge of the tests this time, Kaien, who?" Kaien grimaced, already feeling the killing intent dripping off of his uncle. As angry as he was at the Shinigami, he also didn't want to lash out at them. Besides, if Isshin went after them, they wouldn't live to see the next sunrise!
"R-really, Uncle Isshin, it's fine! I just need to work harder next time…" Kaien paused, seeing the cold scowl the Shinigami was giving him. After a moment, the Shiba youth sighed and hung his head in shame. "Kyōshi Kiseki, head of the Shinō Academy, and Sōsuke Aizen, fourth seat of the Fourth Division." Isshin nodded slowly, the names processing in his mind, and then turned sharply around, his right hand on the handle of his Zanpakuto as his rage built.
"Those idiots, I should go and teach 'em what Shibas can really…" Before he could even reach the Shiba Mansion's large doors, though, he paused. There was a strange feeling in the air, a new presence that he hadn't noticed before. Frowning, he closed his eyes and bowed his head down as he focused on feeling the reiatsu.
Kaien, noticing his uncle's silence, stared at him in worry, then to his two siblings, who were just as worried and curious. After a minute, Kukakū decided to be the one to voice all three siblings' thoughts. "Um, Uncle Isshin?" she asked, her voice taking on a surprisingly soft feeling, "What are you doing?"
Her question fell on deaf ears as the Shinigami continued to reach out, his mind utterly bewildered. The reiatsu he was feeling was a strange, abnormal reiatsu. He had been a member of the Gotei 13 for fifty years, and never in his life had he felt a presence quite like the one he was feeling now. In some ways, his reiatsu resembled that of a fellow Shinigami; heck, it even felt like he was feeling Kaien's reiatsu, but way stronger. But as he dug deeper, he also felt a dark, demonic aura upon it like unto a Hollow's, and another presence beside it, like a Quincy's, yet not exactly the style he was expecting.
"What is this?" he asked softly, turning towards the stairs.
"Uncle…?" Kaien asked, just as the Shinigami sped past him, using a quick and agile shunpo to climb the steps. In less than a second, Isshin was standing outside the door the presence was emanating from. The firm frown still present on his face, Isshin unsheathed his Zanpakuto and kicked the door open to find…a surprise.
Lying in a bed, wrapped in several large bandages and looking as though he was on the edge of dying, was a young man. He was dressed in the usual black shihakusho of the Shinigami, and his hair was a vibrant orange. What shocked him the most, though, was that the man before him almost looked identical to Kaien. Feeling the reiatsu of said Konpaku and his fellow siblings, Isshin sighed and sheathed his Zanpakuto, turning back to them.
"Okay kids, what's going on here? Who is this guy?"
Kaien, being the oldest, shrugged and walked up beside the bed. "I dunno. I found him unconscious in a crater, about half a mile away from here. I was actually going to show you to him when you came, but I was so surprised that I almost didn't have a chance. I thought, maybe, you know, you could take him to the Fourth Division and have him examined." Isshin frowned, looking down at the strange young man, and turned his voice to Kaien.
"And why does he have your face, Kaien?" At this, the young man frowned and looked over at the unconscious Shinigami.
"That is a good question. And again, I don't know." Isshin sighed, collapsing into a chair.
"Great. I just got a week to myself, and suddenly this…thing shows up! Why can't I have some peace in my life, at least for once in my life?!"
"First of all, my name is not 'thing'. It's Ichigo Kurosaki."
Everyone in the room froze. Isshin felt a bead of sweat run down the back of his neck, and slowly he turned around in the chair he was in. The orange-haired Shinigami was sitting up, a look of annoyance plainly set on his face. Isshin stared in shock and began to open his mouth to respond.
"And second of all," the young man continued, cutting off whatever Isshin was about to say, "you have no right to complain about your life, man. I've lost everyone I love and care for, almost in the blink of an eye. So don't talk about having no peace in your life, when my life hasn't seen an ounce of peace since I was eight and my mom was killed by a Hollow!"
Once again, the room fell into silence. No one was certain what to do. Finally, after the surprise left his face, Isshin sighed and stood up, nodding to the boy in the bed.
"I am sorry, Ichigo was it?" The Shinigami nodded, so Isshin continued. "Anyway, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that about you. Had I known—"
"You wouldn't have complained so loudly," Ichigo finished, a whisper of a smirk on his face. Isshin nodded, sighing.
"Yeah…it's just…I've never met a Konpaku with such a strange reiatsu signature as yours. I mean, you look like a Shinigami, but you have traits of Hollow and Quincy in you as well, and even a signature similar to members of the Shiba Clan. I was completely shocked…just who or what are you?"
Ichigo frowned, Isshin's words washing over him. What do you guys think? he asked internally, directing his question to his Zanpakutos.
I say we tell 'em, Hichigo said, surprising Ichigo.
Seriously, Hichigo? You think we should tell them about who I really am? The Hollow Zanpakuto shrugged, smirking wickedly again.
Sure, I mean, why not? It's not like they'd believe you! Ichigo glared at his Hollow's response. But, if they did believe us, then we'd have a pretty good ally on our side. After all, aren't the Shibas like major big-shots in the Seireitei? Some royal family or something? If we get them on our side, if they believe us, then we'd have a lot of support from others. Plus, they could maybe swing for us to get into the Gotei 13, and then we can get closer to the source of our anger; Aizen.
Both Ichigo and his elder Zanpakuto felt shock overcome their souls. …Did that idiot actually have a good idea that for once did not involve skewering someone on the end of our sword? he asked in shock.
I believe he did, Ichigo, the Zanpakuto said, a calm smile on his face. Hichigo sneered at both of them.
Shut it, both of you! I can have good ideas…I just choose to follow the more maniacal side of my personality than my actual intelligence! Ichigo rolled his eyes, smirking.
Whatever Hichigo, anyway, we're agreeing on this, right? I don't want to go and blow our whole secret without all of my soul backing me up. The Zanpakuto just gave the former Substitute Shinigami and comforting nod, and Ichigo smiled, turning back to Isshin and the others. The eldest raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Well, Ichigo Kurosaki?" Ichigo sighed, and nodded.
All right, here goes nothing. "Well, you might want to sit down for a bit, all of you, because this could take a while…"
"…and so now I'm here, without even my Shikai release available to me, the weight of the world on my shoulders, and no clue as to how I'm going to kill that sick freak Aizen," Ichigo finally said, ending the two-hour long explanation. Slowly, he looked over at the others around him, and couldn't help but smirk at their surprise. Isshin's jaw was almost literally resting on the ground, Kaien's eyes looked like they would pop out of his head, and the two youngest, Kukakū and Ganju were lying unconscious on the ground.
Isshin was the first to recover, moving his hand to his mouth and gently setting it back in place. Frowning, he turned to Ichigo and opened his mouth, his mind struggling to come up with the correct words for his question. "…so…you're my son…in the future?" he finally managed to ask, his head swimming. Ichigo frowned, but nodded.
"Yeah, in my timeline at least, I'm your son. But, if I succeed here, and stop Aizen before he can corrupt the Gotei 13, then you may never meet my mom, and I'll never be born." He paused, scratching his head in confusion. "Or…I will be born, but not the same…or I'll just disappear, and come back as someone else…damn it, Uruhara, why didn't you mention how screwy time travel is?!"
Isshin chuckled softly and sighed. "I see, that would explain why you feel like a Shiba." Frowning suddenly, he looked up at Ichigo and leaned forward. "So, what now?"
The question seemed rather vague, but Ichigo could tell what the man was asking. "I don't know. I suppose I could try to join the Gotei 13, but I honestly don't know how to do that. I think Renji or Rukia mentioned something about an academy…crap, do I have to go to school all over again?!"
"You probably wouldn't be able to make it in, Kurosaki-san," Kaien said, frowning. "I took the entrance exam earlier today and didn't make it. And I've been preparing for years." Ichigo sighed. Of course, come so far, and now, another barrier. Suddenly, though, Isshin smirked, standing up.
"Don't worry, I plan to get both of you in that school." Ichigo and Kaien stared in shock.
"Really, Uncle Isshin?" Kaien asked, surprised. "But what about what Kiseki-san and Aizen-san said?" Isshin scowled, almost spitting as the name hit him.
"You heard what Ichigo just said. That Aizen's no good. I'm not listening to anything he says, not as long as I still live and breathe. And as for Kiseki, well, I'm certain I can twist his arm into opening two spots in his student body for you guys. Especially if I threaten to remove all of Shiba Clan's funding for the school." Both Ichigo and Kaien smirked, nodding.
"Trust me, Ichigo," Isshin said, smiling confidently, "we will succeed now where we failed in your timeline. Now then, get some rest. You'll need it, because tomorrow you, me, and Kaien are taking a trip to the Shinō Academy."