Alternate: Stand
Word of the ryoka's arrival into Soul Society spread quickly throughout the rest of Rukongai, although by the time it reached Masaki Kurosaki it was far too late for her to do anything except pray.
A small boy, who had previously been a parrot, told her one morning while she was tending to her garden. He was excited, also revealing to her that he had met the ryoka before when he was in the living world.
"Miss Masaki! Miss Masaki!" the boy had asked, pulling at the hem of her dress in a way that felt familiar to her.
She had smiled pleasantly at him, allowing him to catch his breath before continuing with what he was about to reveal.
"I met a group of ryoka a few days ago," he had said, still breathless from running all the way to her house, which was about two districts away from his own.
"Ryoka?" she had asked, mulling over the word, as if it held some great power. "What about these ryoka?"
The small boy had a grin from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling brighter than she had ever seen. "They were from the town we lived in! Karakura!"
She had let out a small gasp, as it was quite rare to find people you knew that had resided in the same town as yours. Rukongai was a big place, and for someone to come from Karakura meant that there was a small chance that they might possibly know a few important people close to her heart.
"Go on," she had said, urging him to sit down, "tell me more…please."
The boy had smiled widely, refusing to sit and instead blurted out, "There was the man who saved me! The one with the spirit arm! You remember what I said about him, right?"
She had nodded knowingly.
"Then there was the girl with the magical fairies!"
She had blinked, feeling another sense of familiarity. A lifetime ago she had been blessed by the power of those fairies, and to know that they might have possibly found someone else to protect had filled her with a sense of pride.
"A Quincy was among them as well!"
Quincy? She had remembered Isshin talking about a group called the Quincy one day. They were a group of spiritually empowered humans, much like herself, only that they relied on the energy around them as opposed to their inner spiritual strength.
"But the most important thing was I saw someone, someone I think you might know, Miss Masaki."
Her eyes had grown wide at that point, growing excited by the very prospect.
"He had orange hair, and he carried a long sword on his back, and he was very powerful."
"Ichigo…" she had whispered, knowing that it could not be anyone but her boy.
He had gone on to talk excitedly about the fight the ryoka had with the Soul Society guardian, and how they had entered into the main court, and that they were rumors that they were actually winning fights against lieutenants and captains.
Masaki had known of her son's potential, especially after witnessing her husband's strength when he had first rescued her all those years ago. She had no doubt that Ichigo would become as powerful as his father, perhaps more so.
Still, she had prayed, hoping for her son's safety in the upcoming battles that he would face, because she knew the path of a Soul Reaper would not be easy. While she missed her son and family dearly, she did not want to greet Ichigo until it was his proper time to go to the afterlife.
Days later, when she was informed personally by Captain Ukitake of the events that transpired in Soul Society, a smile brimming with motherly pride became etched onto her fair features.
"He saved Rukia Kuchiki from execution," Ukitake had added, looking incredibly relieved, "if not for him, she would've been killed."
She had told him, "Captain Ukitake…my son saves the people that he cares about, even if he has to stand against heaven to do so."
End