Disclaimer: I do not own the Bleach franchise it is owned by Tite Kubo.

Unexpected Deviations

Chapter 1

Urahara silently but discreetly eyed the young woman sitting opposite from him across the table. She'd implied she was a time traveler, and while he knew better than to dismiss it out of hand as an impossibility, it was still quite…improbable, even for one such as him.

But…if it was true…then why? And how?

"So…Miss Karin Kurosaki…" Urahara delicately began. "…from what you've told me earlier…I'm assuming you're some kind of time traveler…"

"Yes, I am." Karin immediately replied. "You don't believe me?"

"Well, you must admit it is a rather outlandish claim."

Karin snorted. "Maybe," she admitted. "But for the likes of you? No…I'd say it's only because you've never really thought about much less actually tried doing it before that you think it's as outlandish as you say it is."

"I'm not really sure what you mean by that." Urahara said with an embarrassed smile. "After all, I'm just a humble storekeeper. I wouldn't really know anything about time travel or other stuff like that."

"Sure…whatever you say." Karin said with a roll of her eyes. "But I do know, though, that you used to be the Captain of the Twelfth Division of the Gotei 13. I also know that you founded the Shinigami Research and Development Institute (SRDI), and it was in that time that you made the hougyoku."

Urahara's smile faded, and while he didn't quite look stern, the shadow over his face cast by his hat made him look quite sinister. "You know quite a lot." He said neutrally.

"That's because you told me all that!" Karin snapped, slamming a hand on the table. Then pausing, she took a deep breath, running a hand over her eyes. "Sorry…it's just hard…I keep forgetting you're not the Urahara I know…will know…damn it, this is making my head hurt."

"…not the Urahara you know, huh?" Urahara muttered before giving a small laugh. "I suppose you'd be frustrated when it seems like I'm pretending like I don't know what I should know."

"The details are all in that disc I gave you earlier." Karin said with a sigh, seeming to slump onto the table, resting her weight on her folded arms. Between that and a deep weariness in her eyes, Urahara immediately recognized someone with a lot on their shoulders.

"Just how old are you, Miss Kurosaki?" he asked.

"Hard to say." Karin said. "After Yhwach replaced the Soul King and merged the worlds together, it didn't matter anymore."

Urahara's eyes went wide at what she said. "What did you say?" he asked in disbelief.

"I said Yhwach merged the worlds together." Karin repeated. "After that…well, while I can't really say if Humans actually became immortal, all of us left never really seemed to age. I mean, the few kids that managed to get born still grew up, but the remaining Shinigami always said our aging was on par with theirs than with Humans before, well…you know. But we never really managed to know for sure, because…"

"…all the Hollows wandering around meant no one really had a chance to grow old enough to actually die naturally." Urahara finished with narrowed eyes. "Yes…if what you say is true…and the Quincy King either killed or replaced the Soul King to merge the worlds back together, then the resulting world would be overrun by Hollows. Restless souls wouldn't have a peaceful afterlife to rest in until they can be born anew, while ones lost to past regrets wouldn't have a world of their own to nurse their grudges in. Likewise, in a world where life and death would have lost their meaning, there'd be no difference between Humans and Pluses, so it's no surprise the former would age at the same rate as the latter. Not to mention the sheer vastness of ambient spiritual power and particles in such a world…"

Urahara trailed off with a shake of his head. "How did this happen?" he asked. "You don't need to give me the details. I'm sure this disc – which the me of the future probably gave you, considering you mentioned I'm only one able to find a way to travel through time – will give me those soon enough, but surely you can give me the gist of things."

"I know that my brother became a Shinigami tonight." Karin said. "Over the next few months, he and Rukia will handle things well enough, only for Soul Society to send her brother and his lieutenant to take her back for punishment. After they destroy the powers she gave Ichigo, anyway. From what you've told me, it's illegal to give Humans Shinigami powers or something."

"And…?" Urahara prompted.

"You helped my brother regain his Shinigami powers." Karin said. "Then he and his friends go to Soul Society to rescue Rukia. They succeed, but they fail to stop Aizen from getting the hougyoku which you hid in Rukia. He exposes himself in the process, though, so there's that."

"And forcing him to run to Hueco Mundo." Urahara guessed, and which Karin confirmed with a nod.

"From there he managed to kidnap one of Ichigo's friends…I think it was Orihime?" Karin continued. "Sorry…it's hard to keep track of names. They've…they've been…dead, a long time where I come from."

"…take your time." Urahara said after a moment, noting the deadness in the way Karin worded herself. "But not too much time; I doubt we have much to spare."

Karin briefly closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. "Ichigo leads the rest of his friends to Hueco Mundo to rescue her." She eventually said. "Aizen leaves most of his Arrancar behind to tie them up, while he takes his strongest ones to Karakura Town. The Shinigami manage to trap him in a 'fake' Karakura Town, though, and get rid of the Arrancar he brought with him."

"But it wasn't enough, was it?" Urahara asked.

"No…from what you told me, Aizen and his lackeys cut down the Gotei 13 afterward." Karin said with a shake of her head. "Well, they managed to kill that guy, Tousen, I think his name was. But Aizen and Gin managed to get to Karakura Town, where Aizen killed Gin for stabbing him in the back. Then Ichigo showed up, and sacrificed his powers to weaken Aizen enough that you could seal him."

"…if he'd become strong enough to defeat the Gotei 13, then that's probably the best outcome we could have hoped for." Urahara worriedly mused.

Karin shrugged. "Anyway," she continued. "Brother eventually regained his powers, after working with, then getting double-crossed by a bunch of Humans with weird Hollow powers. He became a Substitute Shinigami again. But…"

"…I'm guessing this is when the Quincy made their move." Urahara said.

Karin nodded. "Their first attack on the Seireitei killed over half the Shinigami." She said. "This included three captains, one of them being Old Man Yamamoto. You and Toushirou always told me this was the biggest defeat of the war."

"Toushirou…?" Urahara echoed, only for Karin to look away and give a cough.

"The Royal Guard intervened after the Quincy temporarily retreated to regroup." She said instead. "They gave Ichigo and Rukia special training, but while they were gone, the Quincy attacked again and destroyed the Seireitei. The Shinigami managed to kill several of the Sternritter, but when Ichigo and Rukia arrived, Yhwach took the chance to reach the Soul King Palace."

"Of course!" Urahara burst out as he made the connection. "Getting back down to Soul Society would have opened up the seals that normally protect the Royal Dimension. And it takes time to close them up again, which would have allowed Yhwach to pass. But…the Royal Guard…"

"We always assumed Yhwach and his Elite Guard killed them." Karin said with a sigh. "Ichigo and Rukia went back up with several captains, but only you, Toushirou, and Yoruichi ever came back."

Karin clenched her hands into fists. "I wasn't a Quincy at the time." She admitted. "Just…just someone who could see ghosts. Then there was this really bad earthquake…and the sky…the sky and the Earth just…just split open…"

Karin trailed off, unable to speak, shaking and wide-eyed as she remembered that terrible day. "…Karin…don't let go…please don't let me go…I…KARIN…!" her twin's last words echoed in her mind, and Karin closed her eyes tight.

"Shh…" Yoruichi Shihouin said, suddenly next to her, rubbing her back. "Easy…easy…I won't ask who you lost, but it was obvious. Take your time pulling yourself back together, and then continue."

Karin jerkily nodded, shakily reaching for her teacup and drinking half of it in one go. "…I…it was hard after that." She said. "There were Hollows everywhere, and things worse than Hollows. Urahara said they were pieces of the Soul King's spite and malice let loose, after Yhwach killed him and stole his powers. Eventually though, we managed to pull things together by just a bit, and started fighting back properly."

Karin took a deep breath. "We'd never have gotten as far as we had – for all the good it did – if the Shinigami and the remaining Quincy didn't start working together." She said.

"So Yhwach betrayed even the Echt Quincy in the end." Urahara said.

Karin snorted. "Of course he did." She said. "Bazz-B once told me that the Quincy were his first and last victims. Yhwach can't feed on Shinigami or Hollows, you see. It has to be Quincy. The Quincy who refused to bow to him were the first. Then the ones he thought 'impure' were next. The 'pure' Quincy followed. And after that…after he fused the worlds together, he made sure no one could become Shinigami ever again."

"What?" Yoruichi gasped in surprise. "How is that possible?"

"The Almighty." Karin replied. "It's complicated. The details are in Urahara's disc, but let's just say Yhwach has the ability to see every possible future and choose which of them would become reality. Together with power stolen from the Soul King, he was able to keep any new recruits from…well, becoming Shinigami."

"But the ones who were already stayed Shinigami?" Yoruichi asked.

"Yes." Karin said with a nod.

"It makes sense." Urahara said. "I've heard of this before, from Ryuuken. Apparently, the Almighty only works on the future. It can't change the past. At least as far as we know."

He paused, and then focused on Karin. "So that's why you became a Quincy?" he asked.

"It was the only way to fight back…to survive…" Karin said softly. "…but it wasn't enough. We fought for years, you know? Decades…but it wasn't enough. It just wasn't. He picked us off one by one, and those of us he didn't kill the Hollows did. Eventually, we realized we couldn't win, so the Urahara of the future came up with the idea of going back in time, to before we lost the war."

"Win it this time around, huh?" Urahara said with a sigh, pulling out the disc he'd gotten and giving it a hard look. "And we already have Aizen to deal with…"

"Can we win?" Karin asked in a small voice. Urahara and Yoruichi looked at her then, and saw it. It wasn't that she didn't have the resolve to fight, because she clearly did, and that was the problem. There was a resigned, hopeless air about her, a look they hadn't seen in centuries. The last ones they saw with that look had been the veterans of the Quincy Genocide centuries ago.

Men and women who no longer believed in what they were fighting for, but still fought on, because they had nothing else left.

Karin would fight until she died, regardless of whether they could win or not. She just didn't know any other way to live.

Not anymore.

Urahara sighed. "It's not going to be easy." He said. "But I'd say we've got a shot. I just need to think it over for a bit first."

"What do you think, Kisuke?" Yoruichi said, as she returned to Urahara after showing Karin to a guest room.

Urahara hummed as he sat in front of a terminal, the disc plugged in and the computer working at unlocking its contents. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, Yoruichi?" he asked.

"Kurosaki's settled in as best she can on short notice." Yoruichi said. "Tessai's even fished out some fresh clothes out of the stores for her, and will be bringing some food for her later."

"I see." Urahara said, Yoruichi staying silent for several moments until he started speaking again. "You see it too, don't you, Miss Onmitsukidou Commander?"

"That girl…no, that young woman." Yoruichi said softly. "She's been through more than just rough times. She's not even just a survivor either. She's an old soldier, who's seen and fought things no one should even have to see or fight. She just might be telling the truth."

"The story she gave us was a bit disjointed," Urahara pointed out. "Not to mention clearly meant to provoke sympathy from us. Given her stated situation, it's understandable, but it could also just be a ploy to throw us off our guard."

"Do you really think so?" Yoruichi asked.

Urahara sighed. "To be honest," he said. "I am hoping this is some ploy of Aizen's. Because if it isn't…"

"…then it's much worse than anything Ryuuken ever thought it would be." Yoruichi said. "Should we tell him?"

"I'll hold off on that for now." Urahara said. "He might insist on seeing Kurosaki, and considering her state of mind, and Ryuuken not being the most sociable of people, it wouldn't be the best idea out there. We might have to put our foot down, and I'd rather not get into any serious arguments right now. Not when I need to focus on…this."

"On the other hand, Ryuuken is a doctor." Yoruichi pointed out. "He just might be able to help her."

"True, but we don't know how that might impact her combat ability." Urahara countered. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

"…fair enough." Yoruichi conceded, not liking it at all but seeing the necessity through the eyes of a military commander. "Ryuuken aside, what about Isshin? He's got more right to know about his, well, daughter from the future than anyone else. And the same goes for his children. It might also actually help her while also positively impacting her combat ability."

"It's possible, I suppose." Urahara conceded. "That said, I'd hold off on that too. Don't forget, she's a future version of Karin Kurosaki. The same Karin Kurosaki that's sleeping in Isshin's house right now. I'd like to think and test this out before putting them in the same room together. Our goal is to keep both Aizen and Yhwach from tearing the world down, after all. It's not to end the world ourselves by accidentally setting off a temporal paradox that might happen should the past and future versions of the same person meet each other."

"Point taken." Yoruichi conceded in her turn. "But, what about Ichigo? Even with your original plans, you and him are going to be rubbing shoulders quite often. It's not entirely impossible they bump into each other."

"…leave that to me." Urahara said after a moment. Then his terminal made a sound, and after looking at the screen, he gave a sigh of defeat.

"What is it?" Yoruichi asked.

"You know what I said about hoping this is another of Aizen's ploys?" Urahara asked back.

"Yeah?" Yoruichi prompted.

"Considering I unlocked this thing using a personal cipher we never put on paper and known only to me, you, and Tessai," Urahara said pointing at the disc plugged into his terminal. "It certainly looks like Kurosaki was telling the truth."

"So now what?"

"…we are in serious trouble."

There was a knock at the door, and Karin briefly made sure she looked presentable before responding. "Come in." she said, and the door slid open to expose the hulking form of Tessai Tsukabishi.

"I've brought you some food, Miss Kurosaki." He said, coming inside with a small tray, which he placed a short distance from her futon. "Please have something to eat before taking your rest for the night."

Karin nodded, knowing better than to turn down an opportunity to have something to eat. Back where – or was it when – she came from, food was a luxury not everyone could get. "Thank you, Tessai." He said. "I will."

"Well then," he said with a nod and preparing to leave. "I take my leave. I shall return after some time to take the tray."

"Um…" Karin began, and causing the huge man to turn to her curiously. "…I know I've come here under fantastic and, well, unbelievable circumstances, so it means a lot that you've all welcomed me as well you have. So…um…I'd just like to say…thank you very much."

She bowed as she said that, and after a moment, Tessai nodded. "No, it's not as unbelievable as you think." He said. "However, I will allow Kisuke to explain that to you. Nevertheless, your gratitude is welcome, so please, relax and enjoy our hospitality while staying as our guest."

With another nod, Tessai left, closing the door behind him. Alone in her room, Karin stood still and silent before sighing. Rubbing an arm, she slowly approached the tray of food, and then sitting on the floor, poked at it with the provided chopsticks.

"Pork cutlets…" she thought to herself. "…how long has it been since I had pork cutlets? Real food…how long has it been since I've had anything to eat that wasn't synthesized by Mayuri and his group?"

Sighing, Karin sat back on her haunches, staring up at the ceiling. And she just stared, for several long minutes, nothing in particular coming to mind. Then blinking, she reached into her shirt, a cheap, mass produced one given to her by Tessai on Urahara's behalf, and pulled out a golden locket. For a few moments, she just rubbed it with her fingers, before she finally popped it open.

Instantly, her expression brightened, a soft smile tugging at her lips as she stared into the locket for several moments. "Yes, you're right, Toushirou." She said softly. "I shouldn't waste good food simply because I was getting sentimental."

Closing her eyes, Karin closed the locket, and tucked it back into her clothes. Then taking a deep breath, she once again picked up the chopsticks, and began to eat.

A/N

Well, Karin's made contact, and Urahara starts to realize just how worse things can get.

Two guesses who Toushirou is, but you're only going to need one.