"Tch. Figures Ichigo would get himself captured by some captain. He's too scared to go all out on someone, even when people's lives are at stake. Fine, I accept. But only because I trust you and I owe the kid a small debt. But just to make sure you guys won't try anything funny, I'm going to stick my minion with you, just for insurance," Kukaku agreed and walked up to a door off to the side.
"Minion?" Isshin questioned. Apparently the word brought up many memories resulting Isshin's face to go sour once more.
"Debt?" Masaki repeated.
Rukia stayed off to the side of the whole conversation, wondering the leader of the Shiba had forgotten her or something of that manner and trying to figure out whether she should apologize now or get it over with later. She felt no tension from the female leader, but still feared she held a grudge against her for the event from before.
"My minion is actually just my little brother. And as for the debt, it's his fault I'm in that little strawberry's debt. So it's going to be his problem to tell the story to you all. Hey, are you ready in there?"
"Uh, just a minute! Okay!" Behind the door, shuffling was heard and the voice was muffled. It was definitely male and seemed to be panicking from the sudden call.
"This is my brother, Ganju Shiba," Kukaku introduced and opened the door to reveal a man still quite young. He wore a huge grin and his eyes closed, looking very happy to meet the guests.
"It's an honor to meet you all," he smiled.
"I am assuming you heard the story from behind this door, am I right?" she asked. She didn't receive an answer for Ganju was too interested in Ichigo's family and friends, especially the Soul Reapers. They shuffled uncomfortably in his gaze.
"Hey, am I right, or am I wrong?" The Shiba leader asked, looking as if she was going to kill him on the spot.
"U-uh, yes! I heard the story, big sis. S-s-sorry about that!" the younger brother quickly blurted out.
"Good. That's what I thought," she smiled, "Take them upstairs to the dojo. And tell them the story of you and Ichigo. Don't leave out any details and make sure you tell them you're sorry for what you've done to their son."
Without a second thought, the younger brother quickly scurried upstairs, guiding the group to the dojo. Masaki was finally understanding why her husband had such a bitter reaction to this woman. She also wondered if her son, if they ever met, had the same feelings.
"Wait. Rukia Kuchiki. You stay here. I would like to have a word with you," the leader asked and watched as the petite Shingami froze in sudden fear.
Rukia quickly turned around. Her violet eyes watched as elder sister walked up slowly, almost like a cobra about to attack. Not sure what to do, she bowed down in an attempt to ask for forgiveness for her sin. Her hands were on the ground and tears flowed out of her eyes. She tried say sorry, but the words wouldn't form. Memories of her tutor reappeared in her mind, causing the sick feeling in her stomach to come back again. Footsteps were heard, but not much else.
Suddenly, the hairs of Rukia's head were pulled up and brought her to her feet. Kukaku's face was now very close to Rukia's own. A small frown was found on the Shiba's leader face as her hand released its grasp on the Rukia's black hair. Said hand was then put on her hip, but her face still wore the small frown.
"Don't bow to me," she said.
"I-I'm very sorry. Th-that day, I tried to sa-"
"Be quiet," Kukaku ordered. The raven haired shinigami was getting the feeling that she was very disliked by her tutor's sister and decided to follow her words.
"Ukitake told me the circumstances you fell under. If it weren't for you, Kaien would probably be considered a enemy of Soul Society and would have killed many officers and others before getting killed by someone else. You shouldn't have to apologized," she explained. The raven haired shinigami looked towards the ground at the sound of her tutor's name. She couldn't face the memory of Kaien's death. The thought of it wanted to make her vomit. But it still gave her some reconciliation that the Shiba leader had at least forgiven her for her actions, even though Rukia couldn't do so herself.
"I am sorry," Rukia said and was hit in the head by the Shiba leader.
"What did I say? I said that you shouldn't apologize. Now don't let me hear you say those words again!" she ordered. She reminded Rukia too much of Kaien, almost as much as her friend she was trying to save.
"I'm so- I mean, thank you very much for the advice, Master Shiba," the petite officer said after seeing the threatening eyes of the elder sister.
"Now go. I'm sure you wouldn't want to make your friends worry about you being alone with me," she said and turned around. Rukia bowed in gratitude and quickly climbed up the stairs. So quickly, that she didn't notice the small smile on the eldest sister's lips as she left the room or the single tear coming down her cheek.
"Kaien, I hope you know, she cared for you very much. Thank you for letting me meet her," she prayed and slowly followed her guests out the door.
"Big Sis is sometimes way too hard on me," the youngest of the Shiba clan sighed. Inside the dojo was quite large. It was almost as big as the first floor or maybe even bigger of the Kurosaki Clinic. In the center were sitting pillows for each of the guests set by servants ahead of time. Ganju sat in the center of the group, and waited as the cat and the couples sat down.
"So, you are Ganju Shiba?" Masaki asked in an attempt to break the silence.
"Yeah. Has Ichigo talked about me? Did he say how great I was?" asked Ganju, feeling a bit proud for just knowing the carrot top.
"Nope! You're a complete stranger to me!" she happily answered, crushing any bit of pride Ganju might had have. The remaining guests sweat dropped at the mother's reaction.
After regaining his composure, the younger brother cough to gather attention and began his story.
"A while back, probably a few years, I still rode with my gang through Rukongai. I would always do it at night, even though my sis told me that was when Hollows were most prone to. Hollows were still rare in Soul Society, but when they did appeared, they were strong. I had never encountered one, until that day. It was night out and we somehow got lost into the higher ranked districts,"
//Flashback\\
"Hey, Big Bro, I think we should turn back. Something isn't right about all this," a member of Ganju's gang suggested.
"No way, Bonnie is leading us somewhere. It's probably like a giant stash of money, or something like that," the leader of the gang rejected and continued on way. He check the clock on one of the member's back. It was still seven.
Minuets turned into long hours and before they knew it, they were already lost. Time was running quick and Ganju began to worry about actually being lost and not being able to get back to his sister in time.
Finally, a sign was found. But instead of being an ordinary sign, it was a happy omen for the gang.
"See! Bonnie was leading us to our safe haven. We'l just check this sign and follow our guts to get home, like real men!" the "Big Brother" encouraged and walked up. Suddenly, the happy omen just turned into their death sign.
80th District of Rukongai, Zaraki.
The gang was gathered up in hope to wake up from their nightmare and into a home in safety. But no one woke up. Everyone stayed closely knit together and shuddered at every sound made.
Before long, a spirit appeared. The spirit wasn't the kind you'll see at the lower districts, though. It was a violent, and apparently saw killing fun, spirit. In his hand was a knife and on his face a crooked smile. Weren't they lucky.
"Hey. I haven't had meat for a long time. You think I can borrow your boars from you guys." he asked, but the gang knew it was not a request. They remained silent, whimpering next to their pigs.
"No? And I thought I could have a peaceful meal. I was actually considering sharing with you guys for being so nice. But that might have been boring. I think I'll just have to take it from you!" he cheered and lunged towards them. With the his "Younger Brothers" defenseless, Ganju stepped up and grabbed for his weapon... which he left at home on his bed.
The younger Shiba sibling was caught in attacking zone of the killer, and prepared himself to get stabbed painfully by the man. But the blow never came. It was blocked by a giant sword held by kid who probably not even twelve. The sword looked too big for him to carry, but the fact seemed false.
Looking more closely, the "Big Brother" saw that the kid was more cute than intimidating. Their attacker saw otherwise and ran away crying.
The child turned behind him and looking slightly worried. Several bruises and scratches were covering said child and bandages were wrapped over his hands. But despite all the handicaps, the kid still beat the murderer and successfully protect them from him.
"Hey, are you okay? You guys aren't hurt, right?" he asked. His voice was slightly tired, but still held a strong tone in his voice. It was when he walked into the moon light did they notice his clothes.
And the last thing Ganju wanted to do it thank the child shinigami.
"Che. I could have taken him. You didn't have to come and save us. So why don't you go home to your mommy and get away from here. This place is really dangerous, if you didn't notice," he spoke with such authority that could make anyone get ticked at him.
"Oh yeah? Sorry, I couldn't tell. Your screaming had me all confused," he sneered while wrapping his sword with cloth again.
"Well kid, you should go home and get away from here. We adults have some business to attend to. And you're welcome," Ganju smiled.
For a moment, the carrot top was stunned at the stupidity of the last statement from that man and then asked,"For what?"
"For saving your sorry head. If we weren't here, that murderer would have come after you and no one would save you," the gang leader explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Nah uh! My, uh, friends could have taken him if I couldn't! And besides, you guys were here screaming like a baby. I thought it was some damsel in distress, but I guess I was close!" he laughed. Then, as if he just remembered something, he held out his hand. At first, it seemed like an attack, but instead it was a greeting.
This kid is weird,Ganju thought, Why bring manners into this conversation now, of all times?
"I'm Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo," he introduced. Ganju and his friends would have laughed at the name, but angering a kid with a very large sword wasn't the best idea.
"Ganju," the man said and got back on his boar. The "younger brothers" followed their leader and gathered their pigs and rode them as well.
Without another word, the boar gang rode off.
//End Flashback\\
"Turns out, he followed us for a good half an hour before telling us that we were going to wrong direction and heading towards deeper into Zaraki. He guided us out without fail, but it took us all morning. In the end, I was punished and Big Sis had said she owed him big time for bringing me back. He would come around here sometimes, but not much. It was more or less him coming here on accident then on purpose since we move a lot.
Masaki, Isshin, Yoruichi, and the newly arrived Rukia took the story in very slowly. It was apparently new to all four of them. It was the always caring mother who was awarded the first reaction.
"You are to tell me that my son Ichigo Kurosaki, who wasn't even at the age of twelve back then, was at the most dangerous district in Rukongai and you let him leave, not knowing where he was going!" she yelled.
"H-hey, lady, we wanted him to stay if anything! But he said he needed to go back to his friends, whoever they were," the storyteller explained in an attempt to defend himself.
"Did you ever find out?" Yoruichi asked.
"Nah. Ichigo is too stubborn for his own good. I could never get an answer from him, or at least a good one. He would always tell me that they were strong or something like that," Ganju replied.
Rukia stayed quiet. She had never heard this story before, despite being Ichigo's friend for a few good years. If this was true, then it must have been before he was transferred into her division. Now that she thought about it, no one talked about the sudden transferred. It was restricted by their captain. Not even her lieutenant talked about his previous squad.
"Rukia, did you know anything about this?" Isshin asked.
She shook her head and thought some more on the subject.
"Speaking of which, aren't Shinigami restricted on going out of the city's walls without permission? Judging from the story, Ichigo didn't seem like he was on a mission or something like that. He seems like he was training for a match or something," the wife observed.
The group thought more on the topic, but it wasn't much since Kukaku opened the door very loudly, interrupting any train of thought anyone may had have.
"Looks like my brother told you his story. We are sorry we couldn't keep him, but he was very persistent on leaving. But no matter, tomorrow we will start training so you may save your son. But tonight, we eat!" she yelled and platters of food appeared brought by servants.
The sour look on Isshin's face reappeared meaning whatever this training was, it wasn't going to be pleasant for most of them.