He stared.

And stared.

And stared some more

"The fuck are you doing here?" he questioned staring blankly at the bulky old man who towered above him "so rude, maybe I will have to beat the manners into you" Ichigo glared "bring it, say why haven't you killed me yet?" he asked as the old man smirked "because you haven't become a threat yet, grandson".

Yamamoto.

Ichigo swore looking up at the oldest known shinigami "fuck"

Then he registered what the man had said.

"Wait, grandson!" he exclaimed "w-what do you mean, if I was, if I was" his eyebrows reached past his fringe as he remembered the words of Yamamoto in their future fight.

"Know that your death meant something, my grandson"

his eyes narrowed "so I am" he muttered reaching back to the zanpaktou on his back he drew it partially "why are you here?" he questioned as Yamamoto smirked "to train you, in sereitei, I have a facade to maintain, as it's leader to keep order and prevent dissention amongst the ranks" he tapped his cane "but, when out of the public eye" he focused a soft gaze on the teen who tensed "I can aid my grandson in his endeavours, even more so if he has been assigned a mission to destroy the soul society by the soul king" Ichigo raised an eyebrow to which Yamamoto answered the unasked question.

Why?

"Because I support the soul king, not the sereitei, and if it his wish that the establishment be torn down then very well, I shall support his decision, if only indirectly" Ichigo nodded masking a snicker and sighed "better get started then huh?" Yamamoto nodded and disappeared in a shunpo to which the carrot topped boy nodded several seconds later and disappeared in his own lightning fast shunpo.

Basement

A plume of dust was kicked up in the basement as the two powerhouses stared each other down "what will your training be, grandfather?" Ichigo asked, placing a hand on both zanpaktou "the greatest training you can ever receive, is from an enemy, and so, Ichigo Kurosaki" the cane clutched In Yamamoto's right hand lit up in roaring red flames.

"I shall be your enemy"

the wood of the legendary weapon began to disintegrate, revealing a sleek Black sheath, a traditional wrapping on the grip of the katana "Ichigo Kurosaki, I shall hound you day and night until the time comes that you are required to leave, I will hound you during your meals, during your sleep, at any time I shall attack" the ancient shinigami's blade began to waver as the heat began to build around the katana "now, grandson, it is time to fight" the old man's eyes slipped open halfway, revealing cold brown orbs.

"Reduce all creation to ash" he spoke as Ichigo's eyes widened, his spiritual energy rushing to his feet as he retreated across the mountainous terrain.

"Ryuujin Jakka"

And just like that, the flames of the most powerful zanpaktou melted any outcropping rock, to lava.

Ichigo cursed as he leapt into the air, desperation driving him as searing flame came inches from incinerating his body.

"Lesson one" Yamamoto whispered in his ear "never retreat to the air" with a mighty swing he backhanded Ichigo in the ribs, snapping several on his left side like twigs "RAGH!" Ichigo growled as skidded on the floor slouching while cradling his ribs "fight Ichigo, the enemy will not care if you die" Yamamoto swung once again, but this time Ichigo, with a straightened arm skidded back from the hit, directing all the kinetic energy into his legs "HAH!" Ichigo yelled as he swung with his left hand balled into a fist, colliding with Yamamoto's cheek.

But sadly, the man didn't budge.

"Was that supposed to do something?"

Ichigo's eyes widened, not in panic, but in sheer pain as Yamamoto's fist came rocketing up the middle, right through his defence and buried itself against his sternum where Ichigo could have sworn that the bone holding his chest together was buckling "AGH!" he let out a bloodcurdling scream as he was sent careening back into an artificial mountain .

"You have much to learn, my grandson".

Timeskip - 1 Week (nooooooo)

It had been a weak since Ichigo's initial, brutal beat down, but he had learned, Yamamoto had beaten instinct, reaction time, Kido and bakudo into him.

"Again!"Yamamoto roared as Ichigo held his hand out, his entire form slouched in exhaustion "S-Shakkaho!" he whispered firing a glowing red fireball at the man who scowled and batted it away "higher!" he commanded concentrating on the boy who would complete the task of what he assumed was the soul king "Soukatsui!" he shook as he fired a ball of intense blue flame "better" Yamamoto thrummed as his staff began burning, revealing the katana hidden beneath it "and now, you are to be tested" Yamamoto slowly unsheathed the katana "reduce all creation to ash Ryuujin Jakka" despite being run into the ground not minutes before Ichigo recovered enough strength send out a wave of reiatsu, beating on the flames of the dragon god "you must be faster Ichigo" Yamamoto swept the hilt of his zanpaktou to the side and sent out a wave of crippling hot flame to which Ichigo repeated his action and leapt into the fire, utilising the shield that his reiatsu created he came out unharmed on the other side, disappearing as soon as his feet touched the floor.

"HA!" Yamamoto turned on his heel, his entire hulking body leaning into the strike that Ichigo struck down on the old man with "impressive, my grandson" he idly commented feeling his feet start to shift beneath him, the earth giving way under the teens swing "but it's not enough old man, I need to be stronger, I need to be faster!"

"I NEED MORE POWER!" with the last of his strength and all his remaining spiritual energy he roared and pushed through Yamamoto's guard, cutting an inch into Yamamoto's left shoulder before he succumbed to the strain and collapsed dead tired onto the smooth rocky ground, melted and cooled by their ferocious collision, but Yamamoto stood rigid over his descendants body brushing off the cut as a lion would a fly, thus proving him.

As the strongest shinigami in existence.

Next day

It was the day after their battle and Ichigo was sat kneeling opposite his grandfather who was peacefully sipping a cup of herbal tea "so, grandfather, how are you going to help me after this period of training is over?" he questioned as the old man's eyes slid open halfway revealing steely brown orbs "as the head captain I can order squads as I see fit, it is my orders that are absolute, the gotei 13 are the first line of defence in which, should I not be able to contact them, the captains will be able to take control of their squads and issue orders independently so that they do not fall apart" Ichigo raised an eyebrow "I never knew that" he commented as the head captain gave an uncharacteristic sigh "of course you didn't, it is a well kept secret in the gotei 13" Ichigo nodded "and so, my grandson, tell me of your plans to destroy the soul society" the carrot topped boy sighed much like his grandfather "I plan to use a series of events that will soon come to pass, this cluster of events will slowly weaken the gotei 13 and, with my own addition I'm sure that I can slowly tear the society down" Yamamoto nodded "sound reasoning, you cannot destroy a way of life in 1 day, for the remnants will rise against you" Ichigo splayed his arms above his head and stretched eliciting the popping of bone and a subtle wince as his injuries from the day before stung terribly "well, I have to at least keep some form of attendance at my school, so I'll have to leave now" Yamamoto nodded "remember, my grandson" Ichigo's face became grave "I know" Yamamoto tapped his cane, irritated at being interrupted.

"the next time we meet" Ichigo sighed.

"We fight as bitter enemies"

the teen rose to his feet after setting down his finished cup of tea "one for the road?" he asked feeling strangely sentimental.

"hn" Yamamoto grunted as he stood up and stepped round the table to embrace his grandson gently.

"I'll make sure you don't die gramps" Ichigo muttered pulling away.

Turning, the head captain pulsed his reiatsu causing two rice paper doors to fade into existence, they opened slowly bathing the room in white light "don't make promises you can't keep" he said disappearing into the space between the doors.

Turning away Ichigo had a solemn expression "I know gramps, I know" with the interaction over Ichigo sighed and stepped over to the doors of the main Urahara shop "Urahara, it's done now how long until the portal is ready" the blonde haired man whipped out his fan and waved it in front of his face "well well that was quick, how did it go?" the teen quickly became irritated "stop deflecting the question, how long" the shopkeepers face became serious as his fan snapped shut "1 week, it should be adequate time for your friends to train" Ichigo nodded slowly "very well, I'm going to be attending school for the next week then, I can't let my grades slip or I'll get kicked out, and my father would go ballistic if I did" Kisuke nodded with a grin "hn" the blonde shopkeeper blinked and Ichigo was gone.

"What an interesting boy"

The shinigami appeared on top of the Kurosaki clinic, carefully as not to make a sound that would alert the inhabitants "hm" back flipping he used the bar attached to the roof edge to swing himself into his room "I'd give that a 9" he muttered as he made to sit on his bed.

ICHIGOOOOOOOO!" his ears twitched as his father leapt at him "hey dad" he muttered leaning back, watching with a small smirk as his father flew over his head and crashed through his window "you're going to replace that right?" he asked his father who cried loudly as he fell off of the first floor and landed unceremoniously on his skull.

Who said business before pleasure always applied?

It certainly didn't to him.

Well hope you like the surprise, anyway the chapter is a bit shorter as I can't really work on longer ones at the moment because I have a new head of faculty at my college and she's a BITCH. She's taken away all my writing days 'sniffle' but enough, I have to suck it up. I don't know when I will be able to post again. Hopefully soon.

See ya!