Chapter 10: I'm seriously lacking any imagination for a chapter name.

Update.

LEGO!

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Demon/Hollow talking"

'Demon/Hollow thinking'

"Spirit Talking"

'Spirit thinking'

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.

Chapter 10: I'm seriously lacking any imagination for a chapter name.

The group of 5 walked along the pathway to Soul Society silently. Ichigo mainly paying attention to how ugly it was, "Seriously, you think they could renovate it or something..." he said off-handedly, hands in his pockets, Byakuya looked at him in the corner of his eye, walking in front of him.

"Soul Society has better things to do, and you have better things to think about. You should be more worried about this situation." he said.

"What would I have to worry about? You said I would be treated like a normal shinigami, so what would the problem be?" he asked.

"I think what Kuchiki-Taichou is trying to say is that you aren't handling this like we thought you would, we were expecting you to be more panicked at this whole situation." Aizen said, his tone still friendly, although the way he was looking straight at Ichigo showed him truly.

"Eh, it's not like I had much over there anyways. Besides, I was expecting something like this to happen when I learned who I was the son of. I'm just surprised you guys found out, changed the plan a bit." he admitted, Byakuya looked at him.

"What do you mean 'Changed the plan'? What were you planning?" he asked, his tone suspicious, Ichigo shrugged.

"I had just been wondering how I would handle the situation when talking to people as powerful as you, although that's irrelevant now." he said, complementing them on purpose, "I knew I would have to watch myself."

"You didn't seem to care all that much when faced with the real deal." Hitsugaya pointed out, Ichigo shrugged.

"I couldn't feel much evil intent coming from you guys, you seemed about as friendly as I could have imagined you." he explained.

They stayed silent after that. Reaching the end of the tunnel a couple minutes later, "When we enter the Soul Society, you will follow us to the Squad One barracks, where we will host a meeting with all the captains, including your father, who was allowed to join because of the circumstances, and you will explain your retailing of events." Byakuya said.

"Sounds good." he said nonchalantly.

"Rukia, you will go back to the mansion. Go rest, these events must have been taxing on you." he said, a small amount of worry seeping into his voice.

Rukia's eyes widened, "Yes, Nii-sama!"

Ichigo looked at Rukia quickly, analysing her reaction to what he had told her. Mainly being disappointed, it was obvious she idolised her brother for some reason, why? He didn't know, and he didn't care, idolisation wasn't a good thing, no matter towards who it was, especially not somebody like him.

They walked put the portal, being greeted by carefully lined up guards, all with their faces covered, 'Take that off, you look stupid.' he thought, feeling a small bit of anger towards Soul Society for forcing their people to wear something like this, and also a small bit of anger towards the people that had agreed to drop all respect for themselves to wear it.

"Can you use shunpo?" Aizen asked.

"Yes, although I probably can't keep up with you guys." he lied, it wouldn't do for him to be as fast, if not faster, than captains.

"Alright, then you can follow us, we'll slow down for you." Aizen said as the three captains took off, leaving Rukia and Ichigo behind.

Ichigo looked back at her, giving her a peace sign and a "Cya." before vanishing.

Rukia soon followed suit, going towards the mansion to digest all that had just happened.

Ichigo soon caught up to the captains, who had indeed slowed down for him. Byakuya looked at Ichigo's technique carefully, surprisingly, he found no flaws, small mistakes that made him slower, 'He shouldn't have such a mastery over shunpo yet. It's obvious that he could go faster. He's trying to appear weaker than he is,' he huffed internally, 'Smarter than what I would expect from the child of Isshin Shiba.'

They stopped in front of a huge door, with the emblem for the first division painted on it, Ichigo looked at it with bored eyes, 'They really like sucking themselves off don't they.' he thought.

Byakuya pushed the doors open slowly. They lead into a huge room, with 11 people in it, 9 of them lined up in two lines of 4 and 5, with one looking over them all. The last person was on the sides, looking expectantly at the door.

'The 9 last captains, the Captain-Commander, and my dad.' he thought, glancing at them all, trying to figure them out a bit, 'The Captain-Commander feels as powerful as Urahara made him out to be, I don't wanna mess with him, yet. All the other captains, aside from the creepy looking chick, the buff one, and the overly relaxed one, and my dad, are fodder.' he concluded after a small peek into their reiatsu, 'They seriously demoted one of their most powerful captains over something like this. By the looks of it, they really need him, if the only replacement they could find for him was Hitsugaya. Idiots.' Ichigo thought. He looked towards Isshin, who was staring at him with a shocked face, "Hey." Ichigo said nonchalantly, "It's Ichigo by the way, Ichigo Kurosaki." he told him, "I would appreciate it if you could hold this off until we're done with this." he finished, his tone an even one of boredom the entire time.

Most of the captains were surprised, some shocked, at the careless tone in the boy's voice when talking to his father for the first time. Isshin, for his part, seemed to snap out of his thoughts as Ichigo spoke, regaining a composed face, "If that's how you want to do things, that's fine. Although I want you to tell me what happened to Masaki." he said, his tone unwavering.

"Oh, mom? She died 6 years ago, killed by Grand Fisher." Ichigo told him.

The captains were once again caught by surprise, and some shock, at how he talked about his dead mother like he was talking about the weather. Isshin though, was shocked once again.

"What?" he whispered, "That's impossible! She-" Ichigo raised his hand.

"Calm down Isshin, I'll explain it to you later." he said, he didn't want Isshin yelling out that his mother was a quincy. The man nodded, calming himself down.

Ichigo turned back towards the captains, "Captain Commander Yamamoto something something, and the others I don't know. Mind enlightening me?" he said. A small black haired captain, who Ichigo had identified as fodder, grit her teeth.

"Don't address the Soutaicho like that boy! You will address him with respect." she yelled out.

"Jesus christ, calm down." Ichigo said as he held his ears, "It's not my fault that I don't know his name."

Said Soutaicho, had obviously heard enough, as he slammed his cane down, "Enough! I will tolerate your disrespect for now child. You are simply here to tell us your version of events after you met the shinigami Kuchiki Rukia, after that you will be taken to your dorm in the Shino'o Academy." he said, his voice commanding, although to Ichigo it was annoying, as he grit his teeth.

'Fucking hell, do you seriously have to slam your cane that loud! And for fuck's sake stop yelling, I can hear you!' he thought, 'Is the only way for you to get respect around here to make loud noises?' he ranted angrily, although externally he was straightening himself out, standing straight in front of the captain, "Of course, although I would still appreciate it if I could get your names." he pushed a bit.

"Fine, child." the Captain Commander said, his voice frustrated, "I am Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto," 'That's a long ass name.', "And I am the Captain Commander of the Gotei Thirteen."

"Sui-Feng, Captain of the Second Division of the Gotei Thirteen and Commander of the Omnitsukido."

"Wait a second here." Ichigo interrupted, "I asked for your names, not a short biography, just your name and Division'll be enough. 20 words or less here, time ain't free." he said, tapping his wrist as if a watch was there.

A lot of the captains grit their teeth at the teen's disrespect, although they held their comments for themselves.

Aside from one captain, who didn't bother holding in his laughter, "I like you, kid!" the captain yelled out. Ichigo rose an eyebrow.

"Uhhh, thanks?" he said hesitantly.

"Don't worry about Kenpachi-Taicho here, he gets excited." a captain, with grey hair, a sly smirk and slit eyes, said, "I'm Gin Ichimaru, Captain of the third division."

"Unohana Retsu, Captain of the fourth Division." the creepy lady said.

"Aizen Sosuke, Captain of the fifth Division. Although we have already met." he said with a kind smile.

"Kuchiki Byakuya, Captain of the sixth Division."

"Sajin Komamura, Captain of the seventh Division." A huge man said, a bucket covering his head.

"Shunsui Kyoraku, Captain of the eighth Division." One of the captains who Ichigo hadn't identified as fodder, said.

"Kaname Tosen, Captain of the ninth Division." a black man with a purple visor covering his eyes said.

"Hitsugaya Toshiro, Captain of the tenth Division."

"Kenpachi Zaraki, Captain of the eleventh Division." the man who seemingly 'liked' Ichigo said.

"Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Captain of the twelfth Division." A Egyptian Pharaoh said.

"Jushiro Ukitake, Captain of the thirteenth Division." a friendly looking man with white hair said.

"Now that the introductions are over, you will tell us your recollection of events since you met Rukia Kuchiki." the Soutaicho said.

And so Ichigo told them the story of how he met Rukia, excluding almost everything that had actually happened, and basically summing it up to how he had saved her from the hollow, let her stay at his apartment, how she had taught him about hollows and how to fight them.

"I see." the Soutaicho said, "It seems your side of things isn't much different then what we thought it was. Which is good for you. Very well. I will now ask a captain to escort Kurosaki to the Shino'o Academy. Ukitake-Taicho, if you would." he asked, Ukitake nodded, "Very well, you are now dismissed. Isshin, you may talk to Ichigo after he has finished his business at the Academy." All the captains, aside from Ukitake took their leave.

Ukitake walked up to Ichigo, bowing slightly, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kurosaki-san. I would like to first thank you for what you did for Rukia-chan. I fear to think about what might have happened had she been left to her own devices after the loss of her powers. So for that, I thank you." he said politely. Ichigo waved his hand dismissively.

"It's nothing, I was the one who had gotten her in the situation in the first place. It was the least I owed her." he said.

"Nevertheless, I thank you." he insisted.

"I guess you're welcome. Is she part of your division? She never did mention that." he asked. Ukitake nodded.

"Yes, she's been in my division for a long time now, although she is still unseated, even though she could easily be at least tenth seat. Don't tell her, but it's because of her brother, Kuchiki-Taicho, he doesn't want her in a position that could put her in even more danger, so he asked me to keep her unseated." he told him.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, by now the two were on their way to the Academy, "And you accepted? Why?" he asked, "It seems to me that would be a bad thing towards her morale and confidence."

"Indeed, it is." he said sadly, "I can see that she wants to ask me about her position, but she doesn't. I would promote her, but I don't feel I have the right to go against her brother's wishes, it's family business after all."

"I can't say I agree with that. But then again, things like these are different in Soul Society than in the real world. Why don't you give her a chance to prove herself to her brother? That might get rid of his worries towards letting her be in a higher position." he suggested.

"I've thought of that, I just need to find a way to make it seem like it happened naturally, and be sure it doesn't endanger anybody else." he explained.

"I understand. If you need help with it, you can ask." he told him, Ukitake turned his head towards Ichigo, his face questioning, "She's my friend after all. I can tell you after all the fights I've seen her take part in that she is better than an unseated officer, it's the least she deserves after all. Although I have a feeling a test may be coming for us all soon." he said.

'His face isn't all that's similar to him... I'll need to talk to Rukia-chan, I don't know how she dealt with something like this.' Ukitake thought, "Thank you." he said gratefully, "I feel it too, with all that's been happening I feel like Soul Society is going to be facing a challenge harder than we've had to face in a while."

'You don't even know the half of it...' Ichigo thought.

They made their way to the Academy in silence after that, "I'll warn you now before I might forget to tell you, Ichigo." Ukitake broke the silence. Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"What is there?" he asked.

"Ever since Isshin was discovered of having a child with a human, the honor of the Shiba clan has been a bit tarnished, it is said they might lose their rank of 'Great Noble Family.' because of this. And since you are a member of the Shiba clan, even worst, the child that caused all this, some students might try and use that against you. I'm sure you can see what I mean." Ukitake said.

Ichigo shrugged, "I don't care honestly, it won't be any worst than when kids tried to bully me over my orange hair, besides, in this school I can at least prove them I'm worth something." he told him.

Ukitake smiled, it was almost like he was talking to Kaien, "That's good to hear, and with that mentality, you'll get far. Hopefully you'll be able to restore the Shiba Clan's honor, I used to have a good friend that was it's head, he unfortunately died a couple decades ago. I would hate to see his family's reputation torn over something like this. You remind me a lot of him you know." he said.

"Really? Who was he?" Ichigo asked, intrigued.

"His name was Kaien Shiba, he was my lieutenant, he was also very close to Rukia, although that's a story for her to tell. And yes, you remind me of him. Not only because you could be twins, but also because you exude the same aura, you feel the same." Ukitake told him.

"I won't say that doesn't sound a bit creepy." Ichigo said, to which Ukitake chuckled, "Thanks though."

"You're welcome, now follow me, we'll get you signed up." Ukitake told him.

They walked through the halls of the academy for a couple minutes. Ichigo observing where he would be going to school, and living, for a bit of time.

The school was very prestigious, Soul Society obviously didn't hold back when designing it. He also spotted a lot of the students looking at Ukitake in awe, he guessed captains didn't often come around the academy. Especially not captains as universally liked as Ukitake, it was easy to tell that he was a more liked captain among them all, he was pretty sure that if Kenpachi walked around these halls, students would be running in fear. Some students also questioned what Ichigo was doing walking next to the captain, they of course didn't get any answers.

They arrived at what looked like a check-in desk, "Hello." Ukitake said to the woman at the desk, who was looking down at her papers.

She looked up, her eyes widening when she saw who had addressed her, "O-oh! Sorry Ukitake-Taicho! What can I help you with?" she sputtered, blushing.

Ukitake smiled kindly, "You're fine. It's nice to see people aren't slacking off." she blushed a deeper shade of red, "I'm here to sign in a new student. I know it's the middle of the school year, but I would like an exception to be made, as this is a special case."

"Of course." she said, "Is that him?" she asked, looking at Ichigo, Ukitake nodded, "What's his name?"

"Which one would like to go by, Ichigo?" Ukitake asked.

"Can I go by both?" Ichigo asked.

"Of course. I understand you wouldn't want to leave your mother's name." The captain answered.

Ichigo nodded, "Kurosaki-Shiba Ichigo."

The woman's eyes widened a bit, "Is that him?" she whispered at Ukitake. Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"You do know I can hear you right?" Ichigo asked rhetorically, the woman's face reddened a bit in embarrassment, "Yes, I'm the long lost son of Isshin Shiba."

"I see." she said, writing his name down. She asked a couple more administrative questions to fill out the form, "That's all, you know just need to take the Academy test to see which class you'll be in." she said.

"When is it?" he asked.

"It's in half an hour, at the first training ground." she answered.

"Ok, is that all?" Ichigo questioned, to which she nodded, "Alright, thanks." he said.

"Thank you very much." Ukitake told the woman as both of them walked off.

"So what's this test all about?" Ichigo asked.

"It's a simple test to determine your classes. What year, if you'll be in the normal or advanced class. But don't worry, with your lineage you'll most likely be in the advanced class. Probably as a second or third year, given your experience." Ukitake explained.

"Sounds good."

"Now, we have half an hour until the test, would you like me to give you a tour?" Ukitake asked.

"Sure."

And so they toured around the school, ending up where the test was supposed to be taking place, "Here we are, now if you'd excuse me, I would love to watch your test, but I have to get back to my division." Ukitake said.

"No problem, thanks for everything." Ichigo replied as Ukitake shunpoed away. Ichigo walked towards the door's to the training ground, opening it.

"Ah, good, you're on time." he heard a voice say, he turned towards it, being greeted by 4 people sitting at a table, "I'm Gengoro Onabara, the main teacher for class 1# of the academy, the accelerated class, which you might have the honor of joining. But that's not what's important. Are you ready?" Ichigo nodded.

The test went on for 10 minutes. And by the end the teachers were... surprised, to say the least.

"Uuuhhhhhhh... Are you sure you belong in the Academy?" Onabara asked, flabbergasted. Ichigo rubbed his neck sheepishly.

He had more or less destroyed the test, he had tried to hold back as much as he could, but even then he had made the reiatsu machine overload. He had also completely outclassed the year 6 students who were meant to test him.

"Yeah, Rukia did tell me I was impressive." he said.

Onabara rubbed his forehead, "Tell me about it, although even with all this you still have some parts that are lacking, for example, your history, knowledge of the functioning of Soul Society and Kido, aren't too crazy, aside from that, your reiatsu level, zanjutsu and Hoho are though the roof. Your control over reiatsu is incredibly high as well, so you'll definitely be good at Kido. Well, there's not much debating, you're in the sixth year advanced class. Normally we wouldn't put you that high because of lack of experience, but you basically acted as a Shinigami for two weeks, which also explains why you're at such a high level." Onabara sighed, "Talk about a prodigy, even Gin and Hitsugaya don't hold a candle to you. Congratulations! You're been accepted into the Shino'o Academy! You can go pick up your dorm room key, uniform and schedule at the check-in." Onabara said.

"Yep, thanks!" Ichigo said as he walked out, 'That test was ridiculously easy, their standard for a shinigami must be really low...' he thought as he made his way towards the check-in, remembering where it was, "Oh hey, you again." Ichigo said as he walked up to the same woman who had first checked him in.

She looked up in surprise, "Oh, did you pass your test?" she asked.

"Yep," he said as he dropped the papers he had been given on the desk, she read through them, her eyebrows raising more and more as she continued.

"Sixth year advanced class? Impressive." she said, "Well, here's all you need. Good luck." she said as she handed him his uniform, keys and schedule, "Your room number is on the key, you can find a map of the dorms over there." she pointed at a sign, "Oh and also, since you joined in during the middle of the year, you won't have to share a dorm." Ichigo internally sighed in relief at that.

"Okay, thanks." Ichigo said as he walked off.

Minutes later he was in front of his room, dorm 412.

'Welp.' he thought, 'Here goes nothing.'

A young man ran through the doors that led to the Soul King's resting room. He was sweating, his scraggy brown hair sticking to his forehead and his square glasses sliding off his nose, he took a pause to catch his breath, his hands on his knees.

The Soul King looked towards the doors, seeing the young man, "What do you want?" he asked.

"Father!" the boy yelled out, "Is it true?" he asked, still breathing heavily.

"Is what true?" he questioned, although he already knew.

"That you sent the Hogyoku down to search for the next Soul King?" he answered.

"Yes, it is true, the Hogyoku has been sent down." the King confirmed.

"But why? You said I would be the next heir." he asked.

The old King sighed at his child's immaturity, "I said you would be the next King if I couldn't find a proper heir. I told you, the next Soul King isn't chosen by lineage, but by who the Hogyoku deems worthy, and if it can't find anybody, then the child of the Soul King is chosen. And there is still time, so unless the Hogyoku can't find anybody, you won't be the next Soul King." he explained.

"But I'm just as worthy as anybody the Hogyoku could find! You know that!" the child yelled.

The King shook his head, "My child, there is still a lot you do not know, there will always be somebody more worthy, there is somebody more worthy than you, than me. I can't simply choose you to be the next Soul King because you think you are worthy."

"How can I prove it to you then? That I'm more worthy than anybody the Hogyoky could find." he asked.

The Soul King sighed, "I'm afraid you cannot, if the Hogyoku does find somebody, then it will be indisputable, and I can feel it, there will be somebody soon, somebody that is even more worthy than I am, somebody who we will never be able to rival. I'm sorry, but you will never be able to be Soul King." he said firmly.

The child, who had by then, caught his breath, looked up into the eyes of his father, eyes tinged with betrayal, tears welling up in them. Then turned around, running off.

The King looked at his son as he ran off, feeling older than he had in a while, 'I'm sorry, Aizen.' he thought sadly.

Aizen woke up with a gasp, sitting up. The sweat making his hair stick to his forehead.

'I haven't had that dream in a while.' he thought, 'Is it because of you, Ichigo? Did meeting the person who destroyed my one dream wake up those memories?' he questioned.

He smirked, a condescending smirk, the one he never showed anybody, 'No matter, that is irrelevant now, that dream is now but a distant fantasy, I have moved on to bigger things. And for that, both my father and you will have to die.'

Dun dun duuuunnn!

I seriously have nothing to say.

Feel free to ask questions.

Thanks for reading.