Chapter 6: Getabushi

Ichigo had never been as scared as he was in that moment. His heart pounded in his chest and he swore he cold feel his heart in his throat too. He refused to release his twin's hand as he ran, even as she screamed at it to let her go. Mom had told him to run so fervently that he had known that he had to listen to her. He loved his mom and seeing her hurt so badly had made him ache inside but he was so small and the monster had been so big. He suddenly tripped on his feet as his shoes became untied and as he went down so did Verena. He felt a sudden pressure seize through the air and heard his sister gasp as she suddenly couldn't breathe. Grabbing her he pulled her into an alley and hid behind a dumpster. Covering her body with his, Ichigo prayed that somebody would come to help them.

It was then Ichigo felt something drip on him that wasn't rain, but was wet and sticky. Looking up he saw a different monster cackle high above them thinking they were easy prey. As its mouth came down to grab them with its sharp teeth, Ichigo felt something snap inside him. Suddenly he felt as if he was falling backwards into a sea of darkness and as he fell he saw a white haired being with gold/black eyes rise up past him.

Don't worry King, I'll take care of it. he said causing Ichigo to wonder, who is was that was about to help them.

Black seeped into Ichigo's eyes as gold took over his pupils. A hissed escaped his lips as he lifted his visage up at the monster trying to kill him. Raising his hand up and pointing a finger at the creature a ball of red energy formed and blasted upwards towards the sky. As the energy connected with the creature s head, it was obliterated.

Verena had looked up at her brother the moment that she had heard the hiss escape his lips. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw her brother create a ball of energy that had suddenly shot forward from his hand and killed a creature she hadn't known had been there moments ago. As his eyes turned back towards her she was left breathless as those black/gold eyes looked back at her. He placed a finger had his lips, a silent request for her to be silent about what she'd witnessed before his eyes returned to their normal color. When his body slumped forward towards her, Verena caught him and held her brother close to her. Silently she began to cry. Verena did not understand what had happened nor why it had happened; but she did understand one thing and that was that nothing would be as it was.

Sudden noise caused Verena to turn her head sharply towards the entrance of the alley see a man wearing geta shoes, a cane and a striped bucket hat. Her eyes were wide with fear as he approached her, his wooden shoes making a clicking sound with each step. Tightening her embrace upon Ichigo as he he bent down to her cold and shaking body. He spoke a single word before unconsciousness claimed her. "Sleep."

Kisuke watched as the girl slumped forward against her twin's already unconscious form. Looking behind him, Kisuke spotted one of his old companions appear from thin air. "Shinji." he greeted his old friend.

"Felt somebody release a cero nearby." he said with his usual swagger as he approached the once long ago captain his once long blond hair was cut to his chin. Noticing the twins, he raised an eyebrow at them.

"Likewise." was Kisuke's response as he ran his hand over both children trying to sense which one had done so with a bit of kido, but found that whoever had done it was now back in the inner world of one of the children. Sighing he stood up and looked towards the vizard. "It was one of them, but I cannot tell which one."

"You better figure it out soon or else we'll have a problem on our hands." Shinji said briskly before looking around himself. "We don't need the Shinigami looking around this town." he pulled his newsboy cap down over his eyes as he turned to leave the alley, a man with corn rows waited by a truck nodded at him as he did so.

When Kisuke poked his head out of the alley he smiled at his childhood friend. "Tessai." he waved at his friend to come help him with the children.

Masaki held Isshin's head on her lap as he laid gasping in pain, a gurgling sound coming from his throat as he tried to breathe. "Ma...saki." he gasped her name blood dripped from his mouth as he did so, his body was breaking down from the inside out.

She grasped his hand to her face. "I'm here." she said quietly as tears began to fall from her eyes.

His eyes slowly opened, allowing him to see the woman he loved. "You...mu..st find..them." he gasped.

She shook her head. "I'm not leaving you Isshin." she said tearfully when suddenly the air filled with powerful spirit pressure. Looking towards the horizon Masaki witnessed a pillar of red energy shoot into the sky.

"Cero." Isshin whispered. "Find them." he spoke once more before his breath left his body forever, his body shimmering before Turning into spirit particles and floating off into the night.

Masaki covered her face with her hands as she cried when she felt the presence of somebody watching her. Looking up she saw an older man that she recognized looking at her. Older with slightly greying hair, but still had those gentle and caring eyes. Soken Ishida looked at her with such caring eyes. He moved from the sidewalk and gently placed his hands upon her shoulders.

"It is okay to cry child." he said gently having seen what happened. "After your time of mourning is over, come find me and I will help you become strong once more."

She grasped his hand. "We have children." she stated.

"Then I will teach them as I do my own grandson." he stated confidently as he helped her stand even as her tears overtook her once more.

When Ichigo woke up he found himself in a bed that wasn't his own. Next to him Verena laid wide awake as she watched him, her hand clashing his tightly. "Sis?" he questioned her with uncertainty.

"You okay Ichi?" she asked him in a quiet voice.

Okay, that set off alarms in his head. His sister did not do quiet or meekness and that was definitely what she was doing. "Yeah." he answered with a frown. "Are you?"

She nodded as she pulled him closer. "You scared me." she mumbled in his chest.

"Sorry." he replied with honesty in his voice. "Mom said to run, so I grabbed you and ran." She nodded against his chest. "Sis, where are we?"

"I believe I can answer that question." came an unfamiliar voice. Turning his head Ichigo frowned as he looked at the strange man in the bucket hat, geta shoes and oversized clothes. "My name is Urahara Kisuke, though my friend's call me Kisuke, acquaintances call me Urahara." Kisuke said as he used a paper fan to cool himself.

For some reason neither of those names seemed to fit the man in Ichigo's opinion. "Where are we Getabushi?" he asked once again.

"Eh?" he questioned. Geta what? he asked himself, not quite getting the name the boy had used.

Ichigo looked at the man with an annoyed look before looking at his sister who giggled. "Is he fer real?" he asked her causing her to giggle again.

"Of course I am." Kisuke said with a sigh. "As to answer your question, my doubting friend, you are at my home and business."

"Business?" Ichigo inquired quizzledly.

"I am the proud owner of Urahara's Candy Shop." he announced happily.

"Candy shop?" Ichigo repeated gaining a nod from the strange man."Are you a pervert?" Ichigo questioned causing Kisuke to deflate in defeat.

A chuckle gained Ichigo's attention casing the boy to look towards a cat who suddenly was being glared at by the strange man. "Hush Yoruichi." he commented towards the cat.

Ichigo felt a bad feeling bubbling up as sweat dripped down his neck. The guy is talking to a cat like it understands him. he groaned inwardly.

"He's a smart kid." the cat responded back.

Ichigo's jaw dropped. "Ichi, the kitty talks!" Verena exclaimed.

No shit! "I've got ears Vere!" he yelled back his shock still evident. He turned his attention back to the other two occupants. "Okay, what the heck is going on?" he demanded

"What's the last thing you remember?" Kisuke inquired as he batted the paper fan at his face.

"Running." he stated quickly.

"Think about it." Kisuke said gently.

Ichigo groaned as he flopped back on the futon and closed his eyes. A flash of white blazed before his eyes. "I.." he began. "I saw a kid that looked like me." he said still thinking out loud. "He said something, but I don't remember what it was. I do remember wondering who he was." Kisuke looked at Yorichi who gave him a look. "Does that help?"

"It does Ichigo." Kisuke said as he stood up to leave.

"Hey Getabushi?" Kisuke turned towards the boy. "How'd you know my name?"

Kisuke chuckled. "I'm a friend of your parents, Masaki and Isshin." he answered before closing the sliding door and walked into the store area where he found Masaki waiting.

"Are they okay?" she asked.

Kisuke knew it was best to tell her the truth, but he didn't want her to be fearful of the boy. "The twins have a lot of reiatsu within them. I have examined them and I believe Ichigo may become a Shinigami one day soon, especially with how much reiatsu he has." he sighed with he saw her shoulders sag a bit. "They could both become Shinigami, but Verena could also become Quincy. Ichigo has...something there. It's quite possible he may have some hidden Quincy powers."

"They'll need training, no matter what." came an elderly voice from the doorway.

Kisuke looked at the older Quincy, who had showed up out of nowhere, and gave him a nod in agreement. "Perhaps Ishida, perhaps." he said ominously.

M-Angel: Sorry about the week long delay it took to upload this chapter to this story. I got sick and only just recovered. I'm also working on chapters 7-10 in advance, just incase this happens again. So what do you think of the story so far?

To answer a reviewer, Indiferent - Thank-you and yes. I was quite shocked when I received that review and because of it I have turned on my profanity filter in my reviews since some people cannot help themselves. I've been here for close to 13 years now and this is the first time someone has left a comment like that on one of my stories. I love writing and seeing something like that, really annoys me; especially since I cannot remove it.