"Suiten Sakamake, Nejibana."

The light died down, but the shock remained.

In my hands I held a beautiful crystalline trident, shadows of non-existent ripples of water shone on the deadly weapon, the sound of waves rushing up to kiss my lone eardrums.

The difference was spectacular. Not only was the pain in my muscles relieved, but new energy was now running through my veins. The strain of battle only moments before was gone, replaced with a new sensation of uniting with one's sword spirit into one whole being. We were one, Nejibana and I, and no one would tear us apart.

Gripping his own identical copy of the magnificent trident before him in his own hands, Kaien couldn't help but ask the one question that was nagging at him from the back of his mind.

"W-who are you?"

I twirled Nejibana, water twirling around me in a glimmering beauty. "My name..." I started with a twinkle in my eye, "is Ichigo Kurosaki, Kaien Shiba. I'm sorry I ever took yours." With that said, the black-haired lieutenant was left pondering on the meaning behind that statement. I didn't give him long, though, as I leaped forward, glimmering trident in hand, and attacked.

"Urgh!" Kaien half shouted, half groaned as the force behind my attack slammed into him, sliding him backwards and causing his sandaled feet to leave imprints on the ground muddied ground.

Pushing back with more force than necessary, I was able to fling myself far enough to feel comfortable with the amount of distance put between us. Never lowering my shikai, I leveled my hard gaze onto a confused Kaien. Obviously he had no idea what had just occurred, and I don't blame him.

I cleared my throat before bringing a hand to my bangs plastered to my forehead by the annoying cascade of rainfall around us and pushed the hair to a more comfortable position. "I don't want to fight you." It was said as if one were speaking of the weather. "And...I knew that one day it would come to this, but I always denied it."

Kaien lowered his zanpakutou as he realized I was not prone to attack again for a while, if ever. "You should have told me," he ground out bitterly, still angry with me. It was not something I could deny. It was the truth. I should have told him, but I didn't.

"You're right."

The shinigami lieutenant looked up, searching my gaze for something, anything. With a sigh of relief, Kaien's shikai sputtered out and formed back down into his simple katana before it was placed at his hip. "I trust you."

Smirking, I swirled Nejibana for emphasis before letting my own identical zanpakutou do the same. I felt the beautiful spirit's smile as a soft whisper of wind caressed my cheek.

I barely noticed as I felt Rukia's presence appear next to mine and the rain around the scene started to lessen, if only slightly. I'm sure, I thought, both of them will want answers.

Right on cue, Kaien's face lost its lopsided grin. "Ichigo." You would expect him to ask a million questions that I had already planned out answers for, right? Nope.

"You are a Shiba, right?" His voice was uncertain, almost as if... No, that couldn't have been hope...

I glanced at him from where I was standing slightly sideways. "Yeah..."

He breathed out a sigh of relief. "That's a relief. I almost thought I lost my baby cousin." He smirked at my scowling expression.

Mentally berating myself for the awkward explanation I was unprepared to give, I responded with an awkward, "Well...I am your cousin, but I'm also not. It's a little..." I rubbed the back of my neck as I searched for the word, "complicated."

He raised an eyebrow. "Will it explain everything?"

I huffed as I looked away, eyes accidentally falling on a strangely silent Rukia in the process. "Yeah."

"Good!" he suddenly exclaimed cheerfully. "Now let's get out of this rain." He walked over to Rukia and I, latched onto our separate uniforms, and practically dragged us until we were under the roof of the abandoned building. He leaned up against the wall of the building and sighed, his raven dark bangs coming to fall over his eyes in soaking wet mops. "So what are you?"

"I'm a 'what' now?!" I shouted in indignation. A smirk was all I got in response. "Ugh..." I rubbed an eye with my thumb. "Don't think I'm weird or anything, but..." What could go wrong? "I'm from the future," I deadpanned.

Blank looks were all I got in response.

"Subtle."

Shut up.

Kaien suddenly kneeled over as if in pain. I was about to run to him to see what was wrong when I suddenly realized the source of the issue. He was laughing. Hard.

A tick-mark appeared on my forehead as I waited with ever-building irritation at the man. After what seemed like a minute, he stood straight and wiped a lone tear from his eye. His eyes were filled with mirth and his face was twisted in an amused grin. "The future? Seriously, that the best you got?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm not joking."

"'Course you're not."

I twitched my eyebrow as I slowly explained to him what had happened with the Hat-'n'-Clogs guy and the time before and leading up to meeting him. After finishing, Kaien couldn't help but let his amused smile fall from his face. "Now that you say that, it all kind of makes sense. You know...the pass and family clothes."

I tilted my head down in acknowledgement.

Someone cleared their throat. "If you're really from the future like you say you are, then what of your reiatsu and zanpakutou? Are you the future Kaien-dono?"

I chocked on my spit when I heard the last bit. "I-Uh...I... I guess you could say that."

Kaien looked incredulous. "But you said your name was Ichigo Kurosaki. How are you me? You're even weaker than me!"

Looking at him with a defeated expression, I sighed. "I'm not you, but I am. Does that answer your question?" My eye was twitching again.

"Calm down, Ichigo. They don't understand. Don't expect them to."

"Please don't tell anyone else."

Both soul reapers raised their eyebrows. Rukia was the first to speak. "Alright."

Kaien remained quiet. Noticing his silence, I glanced over to him and scowled. "Well?"

"No."

I was not expecting that. Startled, I asked the question on my mind. "What?"

"I said no. I will not tell anyone else but my captain."

I nodded my head at him. That I could understand. Clenching my teeth, I prepared myself for their questions after one simple sentence. "Kaien... I'm your reincarnation." I definitely could have worded that better.

Both soul reapers seemed taken aback. "Y-you're what?" Rukia whispered as she glanced from me to him. Gears clinked together as she finally understood.

"Eh?" Kaien's face was blank. Thinking back on everything I had said, he realized now that if he believed my tale of time-travel, then there was no denying what had come after that. After all, no trace of amusement could be found anywhere on my features. I was not pulling a half-assed joke.

"I see..." Rukia looked down to the ground, a sullen expression on her features. "How did you...he...die?" Kaien stuck his hands in his pockets as he looked at her.

"I don't know," was the only response I offered the poor girl.

"I see..." was her repeated answer.

A small smile spread across Kaien's lips as he walked forward and grabbed both of our shoulders. "That's in the future, right? I'm still here, Rukia." He looked down at her and offered the raven head a wide toothy grin. He looked to me before adding with a slightly more serious tone, "Let's get away from here. Don't want to catch a cold."

I offered the best smile I could conjure at the time. "Yeah." Looking over at Rukia, I forced it to widen a tiny bit farther, "Let's go."

Rukia's head lifted to reveal her pale face stained with tears. My smile automatically dropped upon seeing it. To my surprise, though, she managed a weak smile. "Yeah...Let's go, Kaien-dono."

She never noticed as both men in her presence nodded their heads.

And Nejibana smiled.

[Meow]

Alright guys, ready for a small side story to start? I have to have something right?

P.S. - Don't forget about Ichigo's roommates! –wink-

Haha I wonder what Ukitake-san's reaction would be.

Please review, favorite, and follow! :D ~Turtle~

(-cough- Sorry for the –cough- short chapter –cough-)

I REGRET NOTHING