Prologue:
Please read the Author's Note before you read this chapter. Otherwise this, the chapter before, and the next chapter, will make no sense.
This chapter contains spoilers for those who only watch the anime and do not read the manga. You have been warned.
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Yamamoto and Isshin Kurosaki approached Orihime Inoue, who was bent over Ukitake and healing him. They knelt before her. The girl shrank back, and pleaded with them to stand. They refused, however. "Oi Yama-jii! Old man! What are you up to? You're freaking Inoue out!" yelled Ichigo.
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Twenty years ago
"My King, her Lady has given birth to a royal child!"
"The omens do not bode well, my king."
"Treason."
"Sacrilege."
The Royal King sat on his throne. He knew all and saw all, and could change reality and bend time, ensuring his will be done. Yet even he was bound to a Higher Power, and certain realities, such as birth and death, were not in his hands.
He glanced at his newborn. The infant lay in his hands, smiling peacefully, unaware of the urgent whispers of advice around the King. He could not bear to be parted with his child already.
Yet he must. For her sake, for if the omens held true, then the life and death of the entire Royal Family would be at stake. Destiny and power beyond imagining was at stake, if this child should fall into the wrong hands.
"And where should we send the child? Is not the Throne of Heaven the safest place, for who may ascend to this throne?" asked the King.
"The King's Key was forged once. It can be forged anew. Any pretender to the throne could arise from the Spirit World below us," went the chatter of the advisers.
The King sat back on his throne. "Very well. Summon Yamamoto Genryuusai."
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"My King, perhaps the Royal Child should be sent to the real world."
"Is that not dangerous, Yamamoto? What if she is attacked?"
"She is but an infant now. Unless her powers are somehow awakened, there is a possibility that she can grow up without attracting much attention. Besides, my Lord, you could send a member of the Royal Guard to watch over her. I have a place in mind… a place with extremely high spirit energy. This will ensure she does not grow up spiritually dull and unaware. I have three loyal and powerful agents in the town who will also help ensure her safety."
"And why not Soul Society then," questioned the King. "Would my Child not thrive under the protection of the Gotei 13?"
Yamamoto's eyes narrowed. "It is to my shame, my King, that I am unable to receive this child. I believe there is some treason afoot within the walls of Seireitei, yet I have no proof nor have I been able to weed out the traitor decisively. The Royal Child would be compromised in Soul Society, and on my old head, I am unable to bear that burden."
"The real world then. My Child will need a guard. Someone from the Royal Guard. Some have worked under you too, Yamamoto. Who would you send? I would prefer one who has experience with dealing with powerful hollows."
"Indeed, my Lord. We have a former Captain who was elevated to the Royal Guard a few years ago."
The Royal King nodded. "He is a good choice."
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"Your reiatsu and shinigami powers will be sealed. They will only reactivate if the Royal Child is found to be in danger. In no way will you compromise your identity and reveal who you are. The only others who will know of your identity and mission will be the shinigami agents of the Gotei 13 in Karakura Town."
"I, Isshin Kurosaki, hear and obey my King and Liege!"
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The advisers huddled around the throne. "There remains the issue of the family to which the Royal Child is to be entrusted, my King.
Another voice piped up. "The signs seem to point to a family in Karakura Town, but the man of the house is abusive. They would not be fit to receive the Royal Child."
The Royal King clenched his fists. "Yet the signs are never wrong, for if they were, we would not be taking any such actions. There are Fates that even I cannot defy, Powers that I must submit to. If the heavens have chosen that family, then to that family my child shall go." His voice dropped. "Perhaps it is indeed an irrevocable fate, that this family should have my Child's title in their family name."
He turned to look at the child tenderly. "Hime. Princess. One day, you shall rightfully return to us."
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The present
"What matters is that you are safe, Princess," said Yamamoto and Isshin in unison.
