I just want to thank everyone for all the reviews I got for this story. It's a lot for a new fanfic, so I'm grateful. And I know this took longer than the rest, but I was in the middle of customizing and getting more settled into my fan fiction profile. I also went back through a Naruto phase and kind of pushed Bleach to the side for a bit. But enough of that, here's the chapter! :)

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Previous Karakura Park

Ichigo found Karin hiding in the branches of a tree at the same time that Rukia found his younger self a quarter mile away.

"Hey Ichigo, I found Ichigo!" Rukia yelled. "Get over here Ichigo so you can meet Ichigo! We don't have all day Ichigo!" She then proceeded to tug the small orange-haired boy out of the bush he was crouching in. Must have been a game of hide-and-seek for him to get into this position, Rukia thought.

"Rukia quit messing around! You know it's confusing as hell when you talk about both of me like that!" came the angry reply. "Call me Ichigo and him Ichi or something like that. I'm bringing Karin over now." The older orange head came running around a tree towards Rukia with little Karin on his shoulders (much like carrying Nel). She'd become pretty friendly with the man from the future in a short amount of time. When he'd first found her, he'd acted so comfortable it was hard not to smile and laugh at his personality and warmth. This was a completely different side of the teen Karin had first gotten an impression of. On a subconscious level, she was able to sense her older brother in him, though she would deny it completely if asked. The feeling was on such a deep scale she didn't even know it was there.

"There you are. I have Ichi right here," Rukia used the new nickname for clarification and nodded to the boy she was currently trying to pull out of the brambles by his brown hoodie.

"Big brother? Are you stuck?" little Karin asked curiously.

"No, don't worry Karin, I can get out of this!" Ichi said, and he gave his little sister a huge smile. Rukia flinched with surprise. Her eyes darted between Ichigo and Ichi, comparing the beaming little boy to the scowling high schooler. The small action wasn't missed by Ichigo, who looked uncomfortable with the whole situation. Rukia shook her head quickly to Ichigo's relief. She could think about these kinds of things later. Rukia huffed with annoyance as she tried to yank the hoodie again. How did this kid get himself stuck so good? She smirked, unknowingly quoting Yoruichi from a short while earlier. Always in trouble no matter what the age.

"I'm going to need your help Ichigo, Ichi here is wedged in here pretty tightly."

"Oh yeah, I remember now, his name is Ichigo too!" the younger one said. "Why's that?"

"It's pretty cool huh? You both are protectors, that's why," Rukia grinned at the younger boy. He was really cute, it was hard to imagine that the Ichigo she knew was like this at any point in time. The orange hair and brown eyes were the only things convincing her that this was really a younger version of her friend. She turned back to the said friend. "Now don't just stand there like an idiot, come on and help!"

"Yeah, sure thing," Ichigo hurried over and started to assist with the tugging while he observed Ichi subtly. He remembered how he used to act like this kid before Mom... He grunted and pulled harder. Karin's gaze wandered and she saw her parents coming with Yuzu from a distance. She ran to them with a squeal of joy. Orihime, Uryu, and Chad were with her parents, as they hadn't been able to find Karin before Ichigo and Rukia. They had already met up with Kisuke, who was in the middle of a conversation with Isshin. The two men nodded at each other and Kisuke ran off with a black cat who was probably Yoruichi, Rukia figured out, right before-

"Got it!" the two soul reapers said in unison as they finished pulling Ichi out of the bush. Unfortunately, he got scratched by some of the sharp thorns on the pesky shrub as he tumbled out. He sat there for a moment and stared at the two shallow cuts he had on his arm. Then he started to sniffle. Karin and Yuzu, seeing that their older brother was going to cry, ran over and started to join him. Pretty soon, all three kids were sobbing their eyes out. Then something extraordinary happened. Masaki calmly gathered them all together with a motherly smile on her face and hugged them gently but firmly. Ichi, Karin, and Yuzu's tears slowed to a stop and they started smiling at their mom. She looked at them with kind eyes and gave a little chuckle while putting two big Band-Aids on her son's arm. It took all of five seconds for the three kids to go from full out crying to full out laughing. It would've brought a smile to even Byakuya's stone face.

"That's so sweet," Orihime breathed softly to herself. Her heart felt like it was going to melt, the scene was so lovable and warm. Then she let it sink in that the beaming boy really was the younger version of the usually scowling teen. "Ichigo, were you really..." she turned to look at the teen whose life had suddenly become so exposed. But he was gone, with only a few leaves fluttering to the ground where he'd been standing.

"Where'd he go?" Chad looked around, a little worried.

"He must really have loved his mom," Uryu said quietly while pushing his glasses up further onto his face. They glinted completely, so his eyes were unreadable.

"Ichigo never cries like that now," Orihime added with another whisper.

"Stop it all of you!" Suddenly Rukia shouted, breaking the quiet that had settled near the friends. "You can't stand around feeling sorry for him, it never works, believe me. Instead, we have to find him and drill some sense into that thick head of his. Come on!" she flash-stepped away with the others stumbling after her some distance behind.

Isshin had seen the entire thing, and he was baffled. Just when he thought he'd figured out these people and his older son too. He glanced over at his beloved wife, who was playing a game of tag with the kids. They were obviously winning, but only because she let them. What did the guy with glasses mean, what had happened to the Masaki in his older son's time?

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