Shunpo to the Future! – The Fate Altering Decision

Disclaimer: Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo.

Although he didn't show it on his face, Kyoraku Shunsui was getting somewhat worried about the welfare of his comrade. His sharpened spiritual senses told him that Kurosaki Isshin had been facing a particularly malevolent spirit force, similar to a Hollow's. Normally, he probably would have gone right away to assist Isshin as soon as he felt that spirit energy but he had been instructed specifically to keep the Quincy out of that fight. Besides, Yamamoto was determined not to have Shunsui engage Agent Strawberry as well since three captain-level Shinigami fighting at full power was a sure fire recipe for disaster.

He could sense one of the large spirit powers weakening bit by bit before it dropped sharply. 'Damn… I gotta finish this right away.' The hard part would be to draw the Quincy out where he can get in a quick and disabling blow. Although Soken was far from matching some of the stronger Quincy archers he had fought during the war, he could probably match their abilities given a few years of proper training.

To make the hard part even more difficult, he had to stay close to his subordinate. Although he was certain that the Quincy wouldn't resort to using Senna as a hostage to get a free path towards the battlefield where Isshin and Agent Strawberry were fighting, he had no intention of taking that risk.

There was some good news… he could sense that the Quincy was starting to run low on energy since his arrows were getting a little bit sloppier each time they were fired. He was also getting a little bit slower with his Hirenkyaku. It must take a lot of power to maintain that strange technique of his… or maybe he hasn't fully mastered it yet.

"Senna-chan. I need you to do something for me." Shunsui made a quick gesture with his hands.

She nodded once as she recognized the silent order before making a few hand gestures of her own as she gathered some spirit power. "Ye Lord! Mask of flesh and bone, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, Upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Hado No 33: Sokatsui!" The blue kido spell she fired from her palm covered a large area in front of the two.

Shunsui waited until he sensed a flicker of spirit energy fly away from one of the trees and chained a few flash steps together to get into position for his surprise attack. As he got up close to the Quincy and saw his shocked eyes, he murmured a small apology before slashing the young man's body in several places with his daisho set. The cuts were by no means lethal but they were enough to put him in no condition to fight. His body became paralyzed again as the binding spell's effect reasserted itself.

"D-damn…"

The Eighth Division Captain sheathed his weapons away before approaching the Quincy. "I'll drop you off at a medical clinic in the city before we leave. Senna-chan, please watch over him for now."

"Yes, sir."

Before Shunsui could leave, Soken spoke up softly. "Just so you know… I forgive you."

"…… hm?"

"You S-Shinigami operate like a military, right? All you were doing w-was follow orders and I can f-forgive you for that. Besides… even if I did defeat you, I would probably be powerless against your s-system… your cruel, cruel s-system…" Those were Soken's last words before he passed out.

Senna had a rather disturbed look on her face. "…… what was that about?"

"It's probably some traumatic babble," mumbled Shunsui. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

OOOOOOOOOO

To a normal observer (or at least any observer with spiritual awareness), it looked as if Kurosaki Ichigo was calmly strolling towards the man that he would execute with his sword. For the young Shinigami himself, each step felt heavy as doubts and 'what if' thoughts continued to plague his mind.

This is no time for doubt or hesitation. The time to strike him down is now. It's the only way to repay mother for what she has done for us.

Yes……… no, wait…!

Don't wuss out on me now, Ichigo! When we agreed to take this road, we promised not to let our resolve weaken! Now finish it!!

He stopped at a position just out of Isshin's reach and raised his sword slowly for the finishing blow.

The other man looked up wearily into the eyes of the one who had bested him. "W-wait…"

"SILENCE!! THE DEAD SPEAK NOT!!!" The sword began its descent right towards Isshin's head.

"What is Kurosaki Isshin to you?!?" It was amazing how he had been able to speak coherently even when exhausted. It was also a good thing that he didn't say it a second later since the grey zanpakuto stopped only an inch from his neck.

"……… what?"

"Earlier, you s-said that I couldn't be Kurosaki Isshin. Y-you must have had a very different view of that man… so what w-was he to you?" wheezed the older Shinigami.

Although the Hollow side of him was screeching something about hurrying with the final blow, Ichigo paused as memories came to his mind. "He was…"

"YOU'RE LATE!!"

"Only punishment awaits those who would disturb our family time, no matter what the reason is!!"

"…… an annoyance…"

"You let your guard down!"

"…… a sore loser…"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"…… a moron…"

"Good as new…"

"…… a healer…"

"Do your best, Yuzu!"

"HAHAHAH!!! That's my soccer superstar!! Hey, everybody!! If you want Karin's autograph, just wait after the game and- OWWWW!!!"

"Live to the fullest, age to the fullest, go bald to the fullest… and die long after I do. And if you can… die with a smile."

"…… a family man…"

At the thought of him being a family man, Ichigo's anger rose to the surface again. His father had all that power… and he still let mother die at the hands of that filthy Hollow…

"And here are some lovely roses for my Masaki-chan…"

Wait a second… he saw how much his dad loved his mom every day before that tragic rainy day in June. If he had the power… he would have done something. Did he lose his powers like Rukia did?

Who cares about that shit?! Cut him down now!!

Ichigo forced himself to take a few steps back.

What the fuck are you doing?!

I can't do this… I don't know what happened for sure at the time but I know that he would have given his life for her if he had the chance. Besides… if she were seeing this now, she would be heart broken…

But she isn't!! She will never know!!

What right do I have to decide which timeline is better than the other…? Yuzu and Karin won't be there at all… but Aizen will still be seeking to sit in Heaven… and everyone else would suffer…

His left arm immediately shot up to grip the edge of the Hollow mask.

Dammit!! Let go, you idiot!! You're going to let this trash live?!?

If I kill him here and now, I won't be able to get any answers when I get back!

He began to pull hard on the mask in an attempt to rip it off while the other voice's tone had a pinch of desperation in it.

LET GO!!! Can't you see how close we are to fulfilling what you've always wanted?! Drive that sword through that bastard's chest!!

Shut up!!

Use a cero!! Anything… just finish him off already!!!

KNOW YOUR PLACE, HORSE!!!

With that final thought and a loud cry, Ichigo ripped the mask off of his face and felt his body explode in pain as the white colour from his coat and the grey colour from his zanpakuto exploded into residual spirit particles, leaving only black behind. His body felt like it had gone through a 24 hour death match marathon with Zaraki Kenpachi.

He stabbed his sword into the ground and used it as a crutch to stabilize himself while he breathed heavily. He had to get enough strength back to get out of here quickly. No doubt that someone would have picked up the sharp flux of spirit power when he forced Isshin to deactivate the Moon Shadow world.

"…… family man, huh?"

Ichigo took huge gulps of air to try and recover his energy. "…… yeah…"

"What did you look up to me as? A brother? An uncle?"

"………"

"Or a father?" The youth looked up to the older man who had a contemplative look in his eyes. "That last one would make a lot of sense, would it? The things you said about the way you saw Kurosaki Isshin… it was as if you looked up to him as a father, right?"

"You can say that…" It wasn't as if Isshin thought he was really going to be his biological father, right?

The older man relaxed a bit as the anxiety that he felt from Agent Strawberry's threat died down. "Heh… I feel strangely honoured. Someone like you looking up to me as a father… you really don't have much of a father figure in the realm of the Royal family, right?"

That seriously came out of nowhere. "…… what the hell are you talking about?!"

"It's okay! Here, I'll even let you hug your pseudo-papa!! COME INTO MY EMBRACE, STRAWBERRY!!!" For a guy who had been whooped badly, his voice regained enough energy to perfectly emulate the Kurosaki Isshin that the younger Shinigami remembered. And that was unbelievably disturbing.

"HELL NO!!"

"Once we get better from our injuries, how about we go on a father-son Hollow hunting bonding trip?"

Rather than shouting his head off at the Tenth Division Captain again, Ichigo merely smiled fondly. "Heh… I suppose I'm glad you're acting this way. Even here, I can still rely on you to act like a total dumbass and ruin a serious moment."

"Are you implying that I'm a dumbass?!" Isshin had gotten into 'angry-papa' mode, just like the younger Kurosaki remembered when he was late for dinner.

"I'm not implying you're a dumbass… I'm saying that you ARE a dumbass!!" It was at that point that he noticed something was wrong…

The six swords that were part of Isshin's bankai that formed the Moon Shadow world… 'Where did they go?!' He turned around to see the six blades, lined up in two single file lines slowly dragging their way towards him.

"Oi, what the hell are you doing?!"

Isshin managed to get up to look his adversary in the eye. "Aha!! You've done well to discover my super sneak attack but it will do you no good since you've let your guard down! Although I can't comment on how many traits I share with your version of Isshin, I can agree on the fact that I don't like to lose as much as him! I have my pride as the Tenth Division Captain to think about after all!"

"That's it! I'm coming over there to beat your sorry ass!!" Ichigo started hobbling towards the other Shinigami as fast as he could.

"Hahaha!! Do your worst!!"

And that was how Kyoraku Shunsui found the two a mere moment later when he flash stepped into the area. Agent Strawberry had his fist buried in Isshin's right cheek while one of his swords had whacked itself against the young man's orange hair. As both Shinigami fell backwards on to the ground, the Eighth Division Captain had to admit that was the weirdest end to a duel he had ever witnessed.

He reached into his kimono to grab his communicator. "This is Eighth Division Captain Kyoraku Shunsui to all units. Mission complete. The target has been subdued."

"Roger that. We will rendez-vous at your location and prepare the senkaimon shortly."

With a heavy sigh, he placed the device back into his clothing before approaching the unconscious youth with orange hair. He bore an unbelievable resemblance to that prodigy who's currently serving as the Thirteenth Division's Vice-Captain…

'Wait a second… could he really be Agent Strawberry? He certainly might have the talent to pull it off…' After pondering about it, Shunsui banished the thought. Not even a guy like Shiba Kaien could unleash the raw amount of reiatsu he felt a while back. And speaking of that raw reiatsu, he was bothered by how much higher it felt than Isshin's own reiatsu after the captain had released his limit and used bankai.

He knelt down and noted the sword that was firmly in the youth's grip. 'A long black nodachi… is that his bankai? Very unusual…' He turned around when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps and some heavy breathing. "Senna-chan? What are you doing here?"

"That guy's dog found us and started barking really loud until someone finally came by the area and picked up the kid to get to the hospital." She paused when she saw the unconscious orange haired Shinigami. "Is that…?"

He nodded. "The Infamous Agent Strawberry. You can help carry him back through the gate while I fetch Isshin."

'Oh my God… he looks so much like Kaien!! But that coat of his really makes him look cool and fits nicely against that upper body of his! That orange hair makes him stand out… like a crazy punk!! Whoever is out there… thank you!' Had Shunsui seen the animated look in his subordinate's eyes, he would probably have felt sorry for Ichigo. Senna had been one of the more active members of Shiba Kaien's fan club while he was working towards his vice-captain position in the Thirteenth Division. Of course, when the man recently got married to Miyako, one of the lower seated members of the division, fan club activity died down. In fact, there was supposed to be one last meeting before the club formally dissolved. Now, it looks like that the club meeting agenda would shift from talk of formal dissolution to talk of the man who will take their place as their new idol.

Senna was well aware that the gossip mill was something to be reckoned with and knew she won't be able to keep this little secret to herself for long. Her best course of action would be to try and convince the others that she would be the best to act as the club's 'representative' when speaking to the youth. It wasn't going to be easy however. Matsumoto Rangiku isn't one who is easily fooled and neither is Ise Nanao.

As she grunted while she lifted the youth's frame up on her shoulders, a small black cat leapt away from where it had been secretly observing the fight between both Shinigami and made its way back into the park's forest area. It continued to run until it saw the injured boy with glasses and a man with a cane, an ugly green fedora and trench coat, brown dress pants and dress shoes. "He's in their grasp, Kisuke." The dog started running up to the cat and was about to bark when it got a scare by being the recipient of the cat's glare. It started whining and went back to its injured master.

The man finished inspecting the wounded Quincy before slinging the boy's body over his shoulder. "Well, you saw for yourself how free spirited he is. I wonder how long it'll be until he becomes too much for Soul Society to handle. Can you go on ahead and ask Tessai to get the medicinal herbs ready?"

OOOOOOOOOO

Ichigo found himself looking at a clear blue sky as soon as he drove his fist into Isshin's cheek and immediately recognized where he was. "That was a good job of getting your ass handed to you… you idiotic King."

When he heard the voice of his Hollow, his hand went instinctively towards Zangetsu's hilt just over his right shoulder and grabbed nothing but air. He looked behind him to see that the sword wasn't even strapped on his back. "The hell?"

"Over here."

It took him a moment to find out where the voice was coming from and was surprised to see his zanpakuto hovering inches above the surface of one of the many skyscrapers in his inner world with his Hollow mask facing him. "What… is this?"

"This is the result of you being a total dumbass and ripping off the mask when our powers weren't ready to desynchronize!"

It was strange seeing his zanpakuto shake angrily as the Hollow screeched its displeasure at him. "So you aren't trying to take over my soul?"

"You made it pretty clear who's the King and who's the Horse for the moment. And right now I'm in no shape to try and take over your soul. Maybe later…"

Ichigo took a few steps forward to look his Hollow mask square in the eye. "Now I want an explanation on why you sounded so desperate to kill him."

"You're a smart guy, Ichigo. You figure it out. I'll give you a big fucking clue… look right in front of you and tell me what you see…"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

A huge sigh came from the other voice. "I knew you were slow but this is ridiculous… remember when I told you that I am Zangetsu?"

"What's that got to do with anything?!" He was about ready to strangle his sword for acting like a cryptic bastard.

"Clean out your ears and listen carefully because I'm only saying this once, dumbass. Zanpakuto are a Shinigami's partner in battle and are sentient beings who share a particular aspect with their wielder. Like a dream, a goal, a desire or a personality trait. Take for example… the red pineapple head and Zabimaru. Both of them are pretty cocky fighters who are confident in their own abilities to win. Then there's the aristocratic bastard and Senbonzakura. Both are graceful… and deadly. Now… why don't you think about what particular trait you and I share?"

Ichigo closed his eyes and started focusing on what possible traits he may share with his own sword. Then… a particularly recent memory hit him.

She was willing to sacrifice her being to protect her children. What kind of son would we be if we aren't willing to return the favour?

An image of her face flashed before his eyes. "We share the desire to protect the one person that I couldn't save…"

"Dear old mom…"

He looked at the Hollow mask as he spoke again. "But what was the point in trying to kill him?! Even if she never met him… what's to prevent her from being eaten by Grand Fisher or some other Hollow?! I still don't get your reasoning!!"

"Hollows are driven by instinct… for me, it meant killing without hesitation. Combine that with the shared need to protect between you and your zanpakuto and what do you get?"

The pieces of the puzzle came together for Ichigo. "…… so that's it. The only way you knew how to protect someone was to kill whoever threatened them. You saw that man as someone who had power to attract those who would threaten her. You saw him as an indirect threat. And you couldn't just wait around for Grand Fisher or some other Hollow since you don't have the patience for that…"

"Give the man a fucking prize…" That was the last thing he heard before he felt himself leaving his inner world.

OOOOOOOOOO

When Ichigo woke up, he felt himself lying on a bed in a dimly lit room. He also became aware of several things:

1. His zanpakuto and the device in which he used to travel through time were no longer in his possession.

2. And neither were his Shinigami robes. In fact, all he was wearing was a fundoshi, the loincloth normally worn during Hadaka Matsuri.

3. His entire body felt very relaxed. He could see that there were a few white patches all over his skin.

4. His legs were seriously getting a hell of a massage.

He lefted his head to see that there was a woman wearing a standard Shinigami captain's uniform with a long braid sitting by his legs. Her hands were glowing, an indication that she was applying some healing kido, while she continued to rub and massage the youth's legs. She then noticed that said youth was looking right at her in confusion and smiled. "Good morning."

"Morning? How long was I out?"

She paused for a moment to remember when he had been passed into her care before continuing her work. "I believe it was 14 hours from when you were picked up and taken to the Fourth Division's General Relief Station."

Ichigo merely laid his head back on his pillow. "Thank you, Doctor…?" He trailed off when he couldn't quite recall her name, even though he knew that he had seen her once while staying in Soul Society in the aftermath of Aizen's betrayal.

"Fourth Division Captain, Unohana Retsu. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Agent Strawberry."

He gave a small groan. "Just call me Ichigo… and can you tell me what have you done to my body?"

"Very well, Ichigo-san. When you had arrived in my care, I was rather shocked at the amount of damage that your muscles had taken. It was as if you applied some sort of extreme stimulant to force the muscles to give you more speed and power during your last battle against Kurosaki-taichou before suddenly yanking away the stimulant, sending them in some sort of withdrawal. The patches on your body are relaxants to help your body relax while I used some healing kido and some massage therapy to start rebuilding your muscles. I have already completed the other areas on your body."

"Really? Thanks…"

"I'm unsure of what type of stimulant you applied to your muscles but for your own sake, you mustn't do that again! After all, it would be a shame if something permanently damaged your nicely developed muscles," said Unohana while she continued working.

Those last few words rang in the youth's mind. 'Did… she just hit on me?'

She then noticed the strange look her patient was giving her and blushed slightly when she remembered her last statement. "Oh my! Perhaps I should have rephrased that better!"

"So… why are you guys going outta your way to treat me? Even though I defeated that other captain of yours… how is he by the way?"

"He's recovering well even with the amount of injuries he had from the battle. And as for why you're being treated, it's simply my job. As a doctor, I will do everything in my power to help one who is injured."

He sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. Uh… not to sound ungrateful or anything but I would have thought that I would be in jail or something for not coming along with you guys."

"There was quite a debate on what to do with you. Kurotsuchi-taichou really wanted you in his laboratory for study. Soifon-taichou and a few others believe that you are a threat and should be locked in the Shrine of Penitence as a precaution. Baishin-taichou was interested in getting you to be the Eleventh Division's zanjutsu trainer so they could better fulfill their role as a combat division specialist. Right now, all of that doesn't matter since your body isn't in any condition for you to do much of anything besides talk. And Yamamoto-soutaichou is very interested in getting some information out of you. He should be sending a representative to conduct a private interview with you shortly." The glow from her hands vanished and she gave a soft exhale.

"Thanks for everything," mumbled Ichigo.

Unohana merely smiled again. "You're welcome. Now you take it easy, young man."

"Unohana-taichou? How is he?" Ichigo froze when he heard that polite male voice speak from outside the room.

She got up from her stool and opened the door to allow her visitor in. "He's awake now. Would you like to start the interview?"

"If you don't mind."

'Shit…' He tried moving his arm or his leg but found that they weren't ready to respond to the signals that his brain was sending to them.

"Very well. I shall leave you two alone but if you require any assistance, my office is just next door. Now if you excuse me, I need to review the photos taken for this patient's medical file." After receiving a polite 'thank you' from the visitor, the female captain gracefully stepped out of the room and gently closed the door behind her.

'Shit!'

He heard the scraping of the stool as it was brought closer to his upper body. His eyes traveled upwards and saw a man dressed in the standard Shinigami uniform and a white haori. What stood out to him the most were four things…

The messy brown hair…

The simple square framed glasses…

The green hilt of the man's zanpakuto…

And finally, that false smile…

"Allow me to introduce myself… Fifth Division Captain, Aizen Sousuke. On behalf of the Gotei 13, I would like to ask you a few questions. I assure you that anything you say will not leave this room so please feel free to tell me whatever is on your mind…"

'SHIT!!!'

Chapter 8 Preview!

"Ah! Kurosaki-kun is in danger!! We have to save him, Ishida-kun!"

"But what can we do? It's not like we can go back in time ourselves, Inoue."

"Oh!! If only we can go back to the past!!"

"That can be arranged."

"Who are you?"

"They call me the dea-diddly-evil!"

We interrupt this preview to bring you this disclaimer: The Devil Flanders is the intellectual property of Fox Television. Thank you and enjoy the rest of this preview.

"Anyways, I have here a very easy device that will allow you to travel back through time! All you have to do is sign here and the device is yours!"

"…… it's a toaster."

"That just makes it very easy to use! Just pop some bread in, press the button and voila!"

"Ooh……"

"I think we'll pass, Devil-san… let's go, Inoue."

OMAKE: Shinigami's Cup Golden!

Ichigo glared at the Hollow mask in front of him. "Didn't you ever stop to think for a second that if we killed Isshin, we would cease to exist?!"

"Bah! You're pathetic!! I can't believe that you subscribe to the stupid gaijin theory of time travel! You're thinking too linear like that dumb movie you saw… Back to the Future, was it?"

That kinda came out of nowhere. "Wait a second… I'm thinking linear? So what are you thinking?"

"Once an event occurs, there is no way to prevent it. Even if you tried going back to the past to prevent that event, all you would do is create an alternate timeline where that event never happened in the first place. The original timeline where that event occurred would still exist! So if we killed Isshin here, the Ichigo in this timeline would not exist but since you're the Ichigo from another timeline… it wouldn't matter! That was what I was thinking!"

"And what the hell type of dumb time travel theory is that anyway?"

"Remember when Trunks tried to alter his devastated future in Dragon Ball Z? Even though he stopped Androids 17 and 18 from going on their rampage, his home timeline still didn't change! It was still the same devastating future as before! And let's not forget how surprised he was when he saw that there were three extra androids created by Dr. Gero! Androids 16, 19 and 20 and Trunks got all like… 'where the hell did they come from?' before… OI!! Where the hell are you going?!"

"Back to the living world. And I hope that in our next meeting, you will be speaking normal Japanese instead of Otakunese."