Disclaimer: I miss my bunny Temi, he went with my Mom on vacations… I obviously do not own Bleach.

New chapter humans. Enjoy!

There's an OMAKE at the end, check it out.

#20#

Sosuke had been born and raised on the south side of Rukongai and had stayed there for as long as he can remember. In the 67th district things aren't as bleak as the lower districts, but it still leaves much to be desired.

He knew he was different, even without Mai's input on the situation, he knew it was odd to be hungry like a clock three times a day if he ate at the appropriate times and he knew it was odd to have to do meditation to control his power. Mai's explanation about reiatsu and potential was helpful though, and he always wondered what he would have done without his pseudo Mother.

Mai was a normal soul, she didn't eat and didn't get hungry, yet she still found it in her heart to raise him and earn money to feed him; a total stranger. Mai would always say it was the right thing to do, that while we are all different from one another, at the core we're all the same.

Sosuke believed her.

As time went by, he came to understand who Mai really was. She had been nobility once upon a time, the eldest daughter born to inherit a noble title and wealth she didn't even want. Mai had always loved to paint, Sosuke knew that, but he had not known that she loved any type of artistic activity; from drawing to dancing, some of those not exactly fit for a noble. Mai had known this, and so had her family, but when it became obvious that she had inherited no spiritual pressure what so ever, they started to become even more intolerant towards her behavior and activities.

"I wasn't befitting for noble life." She would tell him time and time again with the slightest ting of sadness behind her gray eyes.

Sosuke found this unfair and vividly remembers throwing a temper tantrum or two which he now feels ashamed of. In the end Mai had been thrown out of Sereitei and the first through fifth district had been banned to her by Central 46 themselves. He never understood why, but know that he thinks back, Mai always had a moment of passing, albeit vindictive glee when she happened to mention her father. He wondered why, now he knows.

Mai had been part of a lesser clan, and her father was the most against her extracurricular activities, always comparing her to the first born of the other noble clans, including the Great five. One day he had had enough and told her she would get married to another noble and that she was expected to behave and serve her husband as a good noble wife. Obviously, Sosuke cannot see fiery Mai agreeing to this, and she hadn't.

However, that hadn't been the end of it. Mai's father had blackmailed Mai with marrying off her little sister, and for Mai, that was unacceptable. So she had accepted, but every time Mai did anything he did not approve of, Mai's sister got the brunt of her father's rage. Needless to say, one day he crossed a line he shouldn't have; did something inexcusable and unforgivable that made Mai snap, the consequences be damned.

She killed him to protect her.

She got exiled for saving her sister.

She had been wronged.

That was what Sosuke thought. It shouldn't be fair. And it wasn't fair. Mai was the kindest person in the world, yet they called her exile a soft verdict. They said it had been for her own good as well, that her noble heritage had been taken into account. Sosuke knows, even if Mai doesn't say it, that her exile had been worse than death if that means she can't see her little sister, and live with the knowledge that she never will.

Honestly, Sosuke could not understand how she didn't hate the central 46 and the being that controlled them.

Then Mai had fallen ill, and Sosuke had had no choice but to pick up the workload and earn money to eat and buy medicine for Mai. But nothing she took- nothing the Rukongai doctors did ever helped. As time passed by, she got worse and worse. He had run out of options, and if he wanted her to survive, he would have to swallow his pride and seek help elsewhere.

Sereitei had been his first thought. Mai's old clan had been his second. But once he got the chance to voice his concern, try and get heard and granted his petition that would hardly cost them, they turned him away with sneers and curses.

He hadn't tried it again.

In the end, mother luck still shined upon him, and placed a shinigami retired from the fourth on his path. He agreed to help, but the treatment would be costly, and even though the man tried to help and shoulder some of the cost, it was still a lofty amount.

So Sosuke did the next best thing he could think of with his abnormal spiritual pressure, and uncanny ability to learn and master anything he was taught. He joined the Academy, and hoped a Shinigami's salary would help him save Mai.

The first weeks were brutal, he had gotten a part-time job in a little store close to the Academy, and thanks to his enrolment, all his food was covered by the school. But even his prodigious abilities had him dropping dead each night for bed after hours of school, work and then homework coupled with training. He felt it would be hard to last the full six year requirement.

And then he met Shiba Ichigo.

The man was hard to describe. But every time he tried, his brain formulated the peculiar idea that god had decided to combine a tornado, a Tsunami, some… world peace, atomic bombs from the future –whatever that is- catastrophe, harmony and ponies into a single soul on a whim.

So Shiba is hard to understand, and nosy –not to mention sadistic- to the point of wanting to tear out your hair. He seems to do crazy and ridiculous things on a whim, but then all of a sudden, bang it makes sense!

Like that one time he had just suddenly started to carry a compass on his person for no reason. He held onto the thing like a life line, and when questioned why, he would set his frown in a hard line while he gave you a look like if the end were near.

"I'm teaching Shinji-chan bankai." Would be his enlightening answer. Then, two weeks later this Shinji had learned bankai and Sosuke found out the guy had a Shikai that disoriented your senses –or something like that, Shiba (the youngest, Yasahiro ) had explained.

Or that one time Ichigo had stated that dogs would be good shinigami!

Suddenly a rumor starts going on that the recently graduated Komamura Sajin –who wore a bucket over his head- was not human.

After many other scenarios, Sosuke came to a conclusion. For all that he felt he was above his year mates in power, and that he had been taught to seal his reiatsu since a young age, he felt he was no match for Shiba Ichigo unless he artificially enhanced himself – and even then, he could never become all seeing like Ichigo seemingly was.

One time, he had accidently mentioned how Shiba seemed to be omnipresent because he knew everything that was going to happen, had already happened, or would happen, in front of the orange head. The orange head had thrown his head back in laughter and almost chocked two minutes later when he couldn't stop. That had been scary.

But in reality, Sosuke knew that no matter how much he wanted to deny it- no matter how scared he was at the prospect, he found himself admiring Shiba Ichigo.

That was the day he unofficially joined the Shiba-taichou Fanclub.

Then Shiba found out Sosuke was juggling a job and school –he knew it would happen sooner or later- and the first thing he did was pull Sosuke aside one day after his shift, with an expression that had him honestly freaked out before they had shunpoed away at top speed, reaching the 67th district in record time.

He stopped outside what Sosuke recognized as his own home, and felt the color drain from his face.

"It's admirable." He calmly stated, as if he hadn't just discovered his most well-kept secret. Mai was ex-nobility after all, and Shiba was a Noble Clan Head. "But you cannot keep this up Sosuke."

Really, Shiba was just voicing out loud what he didn't want to accept and he found himself hunching his shoulders at the harsh reality. The helpless feeling lasted for less than half a second, but it was still the worse he had ever felt. The next second Shiba had placed a hand on his head and ruffled his hair –like he had seen done to Yasahiro and Isshin- before giving him a smile.

"You concentrate on your studies Sosuke." He had calmly advised "I'll make sure Mai is taken care of."

And that was the day Shiba –or Shiba-sama out loud- became Ichigo-sama.

Later on he had decided it was time to investigate exactly what impact Ichigo-sama had in the C46 ruling. Because let's be honest, the reason Mai is out there is because C46 commanded it that way, and if Shiba Ichigo had something to do with this declaration…

It turns out Ichigo-sama is some sort of puppeteer that the puppets don't even know about. They think they are free, but as Sosuke's brilliant mind goes through law book after law book, he comes to the realization that if Ichigo-sama hadn't done what he had done, the assassination squad would have gone to kill Mai and many others like her long ago.

Many rules that were about to be passed, or many old laws make Sosuke grimace, and the more he reads, the more he finds out that Mai could have been killed, tortured, imprisoned, assassinated and poised many times over if this hadn't been fixed before. He finds his ire at the C46 grow to unrecognizable levels, and the more he thinks about it, the worse it gets. It grows and grows, and suddenly he also hates the Soul King for allowing this all, for letting the C46 get away with these inhuman acts, and mainly just forming the C46 to begin with.

Then he sees Ichigo-sama walking leisurely through the market before the man catches his eye and waves with a small smile. Almost instantly Sosuke's ire, hate and rage disappears as a sense of relief washes over him instead.

He thanks whatever deity out there for making sure Ichigo-sama had been born as he was, and when he was. He thanks Ichigo-sama in his thoughts, because unintentionally the man has saved him from grief many times over and if that isn't a life debt, he doesn't know what is. Then he thanks him again, because otherwise, he's pretty sure he would have brought forth mass murder and world domination with maybe overthrowing the Soul King thrown into the mix either wise.

He can't wait to see what world Ichigo-sama is creating.

#20#

He's different.

Ichigo might be unfair in the way he's comparing Sosuke to evil master mind, contact wearing, horrible fashion designer for evil armies Aizen. But he does, and what he sees is not all bad, and the way he unintentionally made Sosuke into a more normal kid from Rukongai is nice. He finds it heartwarming that Sosuke cares for someone like Mai, and a little, truly sadistic part of himself that he likes to keep under lock and key cannot help but sympathize with the brunet. C46 would have really screwed him over at least fifty times, and Mai a couple hundred. The soul king took no interest –and has taken no interest now- in making sure the Central doesn't go over their head, so really, Ichigo can understand.

He does not approve.

But if he has it his way, it won't happen. Here he is not the Ryoka boy who suddenly gained Shinigami powers. He's a respected captain, he's a Clan Head, he's nobility, and his voice means a lot more than he might actually imagine. The way everyone shuts up when he has something to say, makes him feel fluffy and humbling in a way that his him questioning if he has turned into a girl in his old age. He makes a difference though.

So he doesn't question it. He takes what he can get, and what he cannot, he finds another way –always has. He feels the Council is changing for the better, and if everything goes to plan, there will be no megalomaniac ex-Shinigami Captains fused with Hōgyoku's to worry about.

In reality he has only known Sosuke the boy for a little over four months, and anything can happen in the future. But he has high hopes, and the way Sosuke now smiles when Isshin, Yasahiro and he go out to get dinner, has him optimistic.

It can work.

#20#

"You want to introduce him to Kisuke-kun!?" Yasahiro squeaks as they walk towards the academy gates to go pick up Isshin and Sosuke for the weekend.

Ichigo knows he shouldn't be using his status to get the boys out of school, but he really doesn't care. It's for the greater good! Making sure genius kids do not turn into evil overlords is important after all.

"But of course." He nods as he shares a conspiring grin with Shunsui. Honestly, the man is older than Ichigo's 590 years by a couple decades, why the man still acts like a child half the time puzzles him.

The small brunet looks like Ichigo has slapped him with a dead fish covered in jam. Ichigo would like to think that what he's planning is nothing out of the ordinary, and if Aizen hadn't been hell bent on world domination, he thinks Kisuke would have gotten along swimmingly with the other genius. Maybe Yasahiro realizes this too –not the future information, mind you- because his expression is stuck somewhere between horrified and exasperated.

"Ji-sama, if we do that Kisuke-kun will go all sciency on us and we won't get to pl- umm, talk and debate politics like big kids?" he gave a nervous smile as Ichigo snorted.

"Yeah right," Shunsui, god bless his tactless brain "You kids just want to play."

Yasahiro bristled but didn't deny it as he turned the other way with a light blush dusting his cheeks. Ichigo shared another cocky grin with the eighth division Captain as they arrived at the gates.

"Ichi-ji!" Isshin called enthusiastically as Sosuke just looked to the side as if he couldn't care less. Ichigo might have believed it if he hadn't been so versed in people reading.

"Yo!" Ichigo greets with a grin as he ruffles the raven head's unruly hair. "Missed me so much brat? I just saw you three days ago."

"As if!" Isshin crosses his arms defensively even though they all know it's for show.

Ichigo's grin widens as he switches target "Hey'a Sosuke, ready to go?"

The brunet academy student sighs as if he doesn't know why he even agreed to accompany them before he gives Ichigo an expression that he refuses to call a pout.

"As if I have any other option." He states grumpily.

"Nop!" the orange head states happily before herding them in the right direction "I told Ki-kun and Yo-chan to meet us up at Sokyoku, so we'll be shunpoing there."

"Sokyoku hill?" Isshin questions wearily as he furrows his brows "Wouldn't that mean that-" his eyes widen when he catches Ichigo's happy smile.

"Yes."

That's the last thing he hears as he's suddenly whisked away at the speed of light making him feel like two seconds away from puking, and his vision a blur of colors that has him thinking a rainbow has decided to dance the tango around him for some reason. Once he can stand up straight without feeling like curling up in a fetal position, he sees that Sosuke, while a little green, has fared better than he has. Yasahiro got a ride with Shunsui-ji, so it's obvious he's as dandy as ever.

"You still can't shunpo without feeling sick?" a sickingly sweet voice interjected from somewhere on his right "How cute."

Isshin growled as he turned around to glare at Yoruichi "Shut up! As if you don't get pale when Ichi-ji shunpo's at top speed!"

Yoruichi takes offense in this and instantly bristles. But there is something in her expression that has Isshin thinking that so long as he involves his ji-sama in the same sentence, the Shihōin can't really get mad. He's proven right when Ichigo merely offers a smile that has her turning her nose up as she crosses her arms over her chest even as a light blush dusts her cheeks. Honestly he finds it creepy, but when he asked Ichigo-ji about it, he just smiled vindictively and winked.

He doesn't know what to make of it, but he thinks Ichi-ji only finds Yoruichi's little crush amusing and cute in a not-pedophile kind of way… if that makes sense.

"So," Ichi-ji brings them to attention. "I brought a new brat to play with, so I hope you all know how to be nice."

There are immediate protests about how they are not brats thank-you-very-much, but Ichigo easily waves off the claims and turns to give introductions.

"Now, this is Aizen Sosuke." He places a hand on Sosuke's shoulder while he keeps his grin firmly nailed on his face as he turns to Kisuke "He's from Rukongai, so you two have that in common -among other things."

Kisuke nods, but doesn't expect much.

He should have known, that questioning Shiba Ichigo was one of the most stupidest things a human being could ever do. He had thought he had already learned that lesson, but it turns out his brain just cannot keep up.

#20#

Turns out Sosuke and Kisuke become the bestest of friends after they figure out just what else they have in common. They babble about theories and science in a way that has the rest staring for half a minute before filing it away as a lost cause and turning to do other things.

Yoruichi groans at this, but in the end she cannot decide whether to feel glee over the fact that she won't be subjected to crazy talk, or horrified with the mere thought of what two-of them could cook up.

Yasahiro looks like he had expected this from the very beginning and only sighs in exasperation before conjuring a book of out of nowhere and burying himself in his studies nose deep.

Isshin looks like he wants to pull his hair out before turning to get support from his elder twin only to find him nerding too. So instead he really pulls his hair and cries miserably to himself –Ichigo is oddly reminded of how his own Isshin –Goat face- would cry when they were mean to him.

Shunsui looks vaguely horrified for a second before he turns around discreetly and shunpos away. Ichigo knows this could only mean one thing; the man has decided going through this suffering alone is unfair and will most likely bring Jῡshirō from the collar if needed.

Kisuke has sparkles in his eyes, and he almost seems to want to pull out the contraptions he invents and sometimes carries in his pocket but is trying to restrain himself at the same time. Ichigo gives him five minutes.

Sosuke appeared to be miffed for half a second –seeing his ex-nemesis… future ex-nemesis so human is humbling- before rising his eyebrows all the way to his hairline and tentatively starts to hold his own side of the conversation. As the words go by, it has become obvious he'll rival Kisuke's sparkle eyes in no time.

And Ichigo… Ichigo had expected this all along so he's not really surprised. He only smiles knowingly, herds the rest of the chicks in a different side of the hill, and prompts them to play tag. Needless to say this gets their attention instantly, and before he knows it, everyone seems to be having fun.

#20#

"So in reality, So-kun is your would-be future nemesis?" Shunsui asks skeptically as he pauses his sake intake.

Jῡshirō looks confused too, and if Ichigo weren't trying to be serious here, he would have laughed at their expressions. Instead he looks ready to pull out his hair but refrains from doing so since they are walking through the streets of the first district and it would look weird.

"Yes," he repeats for what seems to be the fifth time "but my presence here has changed so many things, his reason for going evil is pretty much disappearing."

Jῡshirō hums as he gets over his shock before pointing out "Aren't you getting a little over your head?" The unimpressed look Ichigo gives him has Jῡshirō rephrasing his words. "Like, sure you're important and all, but has your existence really made such a big impact on the future?"

Ichigo harrumphs "Well it's not like a meant to change C46 in a way that helped avoid his childhood trauma. I just moved around the inhuman parts I could."

Shunsui and Jῡshirō share twin sighs of resignation, like if they are erringly familiar with the way Shiba Ichigo seems to work in an almost magical and mysterious sort of way. Ichigo feels he should take offense in that, but decides it's too much trouble.

"So, do you have any plans?" Shunsui asks instead as his eyes absently scan the stores.

"Ichigo doesn't work on plans," Jῡshirō points out seriously even though he cannot cover the mirth shining in his eyes "fate just likes to work in his favor most of the time."

"And the rest of the time, she's a total bitch." Ichigo grumbles to himself as he gives his best friends the stink eye "And don't make me out to be some sort of unnatural being." He grimaces "It's bad enough I heard Sosuke saying something along those lines the other day."

"Really?" Shunsui looks too excited at the sound of his suffering "What did he say?"

Ichigo turns to Jῡshirō instead when it becomes obvious Shunsui is not in one of his sensible moments. But as he meets the white-haired man's eyes, he sees the edging curiosity growing there as well.

"Ugh!" he complains "I need to get better friends!"

Shunsui rolls his eyes so hard he almost strains himself "No you don't, you love us and you know it."

"Ichi can't live without us." Jῡshirō points out with a serious nod that leaves Ichigo baffled.

He really hates how they can tease him as if they are still only apprenticing under the captain commander. As if they were less than a century old and can actually excuse their childish behavior. Ichigo knows they're not really serious per say, even though he's certain they mean their words. It doesn't mean that he can't get outwardly annoyed even if the fluffy feeling at the pit of his stomach remains.

"If I could get rid of you two, I would have done so a long time ago. But you guys are harder to get rid of than cockroaches." He bristled, making the other two share a smirk before laughing at his expense.

Ichigo stops to give an irritated growl before it becomes too much and he joins in the laughter. It takes some time for their chuckles to subside, but when it does, Ichigo still feels like he's on cloud nine as Shunsui outstretches a fist.

"Friends?" he surrenders as Jῡshirō's fist joins his.

Ichigo snorts and adds his own "Best friends."

The grin they share feels like the best thing in the world, and the way their eyes shine gives him the impression that they think so too. His life has been tranquil and happy lately. All the hardships he has gone through have stayed in the past where they belong, and little by little, he has come to regard his current life as his real life. The life he is living now is his, no matter what he initially came to do.

He's content.

"Wait a second!" Shunsui yells from out of nowhere as he pushes Ichigo to the side and dashes towards a stand that had been behind him. "Look at this!"

Ichigo turns around, and when he finds himself staring at Shunsui's starry eyed expression as he admires a flowery pink Kimono he had seen many times before, he remembers –even if not at that very moment- that what is destined to happen, happens.

Now, in the present, he only sighs and shares an exasperated look with Jῡshirō who also looks resigned. That Kimono is bound to be bought by Shunsui, so they might as well get used to seeing the brunet in pink now too.

"IT'S ON SALE~!" Shunsui squeaks like a rabid women on a warpath to the mall specials.

Really, what else can they do but laugh at their friend?

To be continued…

People have been insistent on more Guidebook for Shiba Life, so I'm gonna add a decree per chapter. If any of you have ideas, let me know through PM.

-*OMAKE*-

"Decree number 19!" A young Wataru yelled during dinner, making everyone stop their fight for the last piece of pie.

Everyone on the table turned to him with an angry expression as he kept on smiling like if everything were fine with the world. When it became obvious they had no other option, they all took their seats while grumbling under their breath.

"Ok!" yelled Ryōtaro at the end of the table "at the count of three everyone."

The entire table looked somber and serious as their eyes stayed glued to their target.

"One, Two and Three!" was their cue.

"ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS!"

Decree number 19 of Shiba Life: If a fight for the last piece of a certain dish ensues, the debate of who gets it shall be decided by rock, paper, scissors.

-*END*-

And that is chapter 20 my friends. Now, many have been mentioning about who is older than who, and who grew up with who, but I've checked the wikia, and there's nothing really concrete. Also, this is an AU, so calm down and enjoy the show. The order with which the Canon characters appear here have a reason.

Besides that I hope you liked, I know many of you have been excited at the prospect of a not evil Aizen, so I recommend you all to just continue reading and see if Aizen will be evil or not.

I always found it stupid that we never got a reason for Aizen's evilness, so I tried to give him a backstory… even though it might be lame.

Please review!