"Where is he!?" Isshin shouted angrily, ignoring the shouts from outside for him to shut up. It was early in the morning and some people were still trying to pull themselves together from the night before. But Isshin Kurosaki was a firm believer in Dwarven customs involving family matters; if you have a problem, you trumpet it. Anyone who insists on keeping family matters private is a no good spy who beats their wife. "How could that boy not come home last night!? How could he make his sweet little sisters' worry like this!?"

His rant was cut short by one of the 'sweet little sisters' kicking him hard in the back and knocking him to the floor. "Shut up you old goat. Ichigo is fine. I doubt even the plague could slow our idiot brother down by much." Karin said trying to get the man to stop bothering the neighbors.

"How could you say that Karin, Ichigo was already injured and it isn't like him to stay out all night." Yuzu asked her twin, clearly still worried about their brother despite what Karin had said.

"You call that scratch on his arm an injury? I'm telling you, he just stayed at mom's grave last night and dozed off. He'll be back here in a few minute, or less he is probably already down at the docks doing his job. I think the mermaids were sending up a shipment of clams today." Karin said with a shrug. "It's no big deal. It's only been one night."

"Just one night? How can a daughter of mine be so blind to the evils a man can accomplish in just one..." Isshin started but was stopped when the front door open and Ichigo's voice rang through the house.

"I'm home! Now stop annoying the neighbors!"

Isshin dashed towards the front of the house to where they would usually see to the injured. "Ichigo were where you last ni..." Isshin started, but froze mid sentence. Right next to his beloved son was an attractive young girl with black hair and dark violet eyes. "Oh god it happened!"

"Huh?" Ichigo said confused as his father shoved him out of the way.

"Don't worry Miss, I will make sure that my boy takes full responsibility for his act..." This time it was a foot to the face that stopped the overly jumpy father.

"Don't make assumptions you goat faced bastard!" Ichigo roared, preparing to get into a brawl with his father. Isshin seemed equally ready to jump all over his son.

"As enlightening as this demonstration is, I am going to have to ask you both to stop. I didn't come here to waste time, I came to get my answers." The girl's icy voice stopped the father son duo cold.

"Oh... she's a Sorceress, isn't she?" Isshin asked glancing to his son.

"Yeah, her names Rukia, ran into her and some kind of fire monster in the marsh outside the city." Ichigo confirmed.

"Oh..." Isshin said again before muttering a short string of choice dwarven phrases, most involving the thieves of luck. But when he stopped her tried to put back on his smiling face. "Well Ms. Rukia, what can we do you for? We don't have much in terms of herbs in the area but what we got we are willing to share."

"No need." Rukia said, shooting down his offer quickly. "I am here because of your son. Are you aware that he was gifted in magic? That he is a Source?"

Isshin's mouth twitched and then fell into a sad expression. "Yeah, I know."

"Dad, what's a Source?" Yuzu asked, looking curiously at the Sorceress from the doorway of the dividing wall that separated the house from the hospital areas.

"A source is someone who is born with great magical talent." Isshin said calmly. "Anyone can become a sorcerer with enough training, but no amount of training can bridge the gap between a normal pitter and someone with talent."

"Wait, so you knew all along that I was this source thing?" Ichigo said, seeming surprised.

"Of course I knew. You showed so many signs of being connected that it would be impossible not to know." Isshin admitted, seeming upset that he was caught keeping secrets.

"You do know then what happens to a source when they remain untrained, don't you?" Rukia said, regaining attention. "With your average Source that doesn't receive training, they go insane. They began to see visions and there grip on reality is weakened. They stop feeling sensation and act out in rash and uncontrolled manners. They are a danger to themselves more than others though. They usually end there own lives or just sit around giggling madly to themselves."

"You mean our brother is going to end up like that?" Yuzu said, covering her mouth in shocked horror.

"No, because Ichigo isn't a normal Source. From what I have seen, his ability to draw on the force is far greater than a normal Source. He isn't just a danger to himself, he is a danger to everyone. If he lost control of himself he could destroy your entire town." Rukia said, earning herself looks of shock.

Isshin glared at the girl in front of him. "I know what you are trying to do. Your trying to get me to give up my son. You want to have him, to mold him however you want. Sorry to tell you, but someone beat you to it. He already has a Sorcerer waiting for him."

"Since when!" Ichigo shouted in surprise, more surprised that his father had made arrangements with a Sorcerer than that the Sorceress wanted to kidnap him.

"I promised the man sixteen years ago that Ichigo would be his to train." Isshin said, his voice sounded deeply ashamed.

"Dad, Ichigo is only fifteen." Karin pointed out.

"You knew that he would have powers before he was even born?" Rukia said, narrowing her eyes.

"Something like that." Isshin said before taking a deep breath. "Well, looks like everything is coming out. I doubt a Sorceress is going to just leave without getting the full story so you might as well make yourself comfortable. We got a spare room in the back for long term patients, assuming that the rumors that Sorceresses can't get the pokes is true. This story will take all day. About time I tell the kids anyways."

"Tell us what?" Ichigo asked, feeling weird about the whole situation.

"The story goes all the way back to when I first met your mother. Has to in order to explain everything properly." Isshin said before taking a seat and leaning back.

)))

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was twelve when my grandfather dragged me with him to the Lords castle where he worked as the captain of the guard. It was the first time I had gone there, since I was not exactly trained in how to talk to the stuck up pricks, but they put up with my grandfather, so I suppose they weren't that picky.

My grandpa, Coprick, was a dwarf. He might just have been the dwarfiest dwarf that ever walked the surface and he taught me everything I know. Even when I was twelve I still got to look down at him, used to really piss him off. I can still remember how he braided his bread. He claimed it was for style, but I know better, he wanted it to be just a inch longer so that it would reach his waist. A dwarf isn't consider a real man till his beard reaches his waist.

He and my grandmother were the ones who raised me after my father died in a mining accident and my mom caught her death of some illness or other. So I didn't exactly have much say in the matter when he grabbed me on morning and dragged me out of the house.

"Let go of my you old goat! I don't care what you say, I'm not going to go to that damned castle! I've got my own things to do without your shitty job getting in the way!" I'd shouted at the old man. Like all dwarves, he wasn't tall, but he had a vive like grip and was stubborn as the mountain, so arguing was pointless, but it was also a part of daily life.

"Now you be shutting your trap. I'd have half a mind to be taking my rod to you and reminding you whose in charge. I told you that the Lord's boy sons have put forward the idea that they want to become Knights instead of following their father's example and becoming a good ruler of people. So I been charged with seeing that they get there education in the sword and you are going to help me." My grandpa said to me.

"I don't see why I should be forced to spar with a couple noble brats just because you've got to teach 'em which side of the sword is the pointy end."

"Who ever said you'd be sparring them? I need a warm body I can beat black a blue without the boys' lady mother getting all snarky." My grandfather gave me that grin he had, the one that stretched out his face and made it look like he was really planning on killing a guy. So I throw my fist at him and we started to scrap right there at the castle gates.

Any how, that's when I first saw your mother. Her childish giggles distracted me long enough for my grandfather to get me into a lock and pin me against the ground. The old dwarf got lucky that time. But as I tried to spit the dirt out of my mouth, I looked up and saw a young girl, around ten years old, looking over at me from inside of a fountain pond.

Your mother had shoulder length acorn colored hair and the most gentle smile... but I hardly noticed since she was butt naked.

'Wait... what?'

Yeah, your mom didn't really understand things like modesty back then... actually, she didn't understand it until she turned sixteen, but that is later in the story. From my grandfather's smug position of being ontop of my back he started to exchange pleasantries with your mother, seemingly oblivious to the fact that her body was on display. "Oh, good morning Lady Marigold. I see you managed to get out of the tower again."

'Marigold, that's not our mother's name.'

We had to change our names later for reasons I'll get to. I was called Darcole Shiba back then. Now where was I... Oh, right, she had seemed to be as clueless about her own clothes being missing as my grandfather.

"It's good to see you to, Mr. Shiba. I managed to slip out while some of the servants were trying to find clean clothes from me. I'll remove the stains from the old ones later." She'd said with a large and pretty smile.

"Well, make sure that you don't stay in that pool for too long. Wouldn't want you to catch your death." My grandfather's manner had been joking, as if these was the most natural thing in the world.

"I won't. Remember, I am a sorceress! I don't get sick." She had responded proudly.

'Mom was a sorceress? I don't remember her ever casting magic?'

Would you all please stop interrupting me so I can tell the story! I will explain just give it time! It was around this time that she started to acknowledge my presence there.

"Who'd you bring with you today? I haven't seen him around before? A new recruit for the guards? He seems a little young for that." Her curious manner and tilt of the head had been so cure as to make me forget my position for a moment. That is, until my grandfather opened his stupid mouth.

"Naw, this be my grandson. Don't pay him no mind, he is just a useless meatbag that I brought along with me this morning." My grandfather had said, squeezing my neck a bit harder till I elbowed him in the gut hard enough to weaken his grip and turn the tables a bit.

"Who you calling useless you worn old drunk!" I'd shouted before half glancing at your mother before having to look away in embarrassment. "And why the hell are you just exchanging small talk! You aren't supposed to do that while naked!"

"Huh? Why not? What do clothes and talking to people have to do with one and other?" Your mother gave the cutest damn pout, and I was too dumbstruck trying to think of a way to respond to that question to realize my grandfather was on me again. But as I continued to wrestle with the old fart with your mother giggling and shouting her encouragement to the both of us, I found myself falling for her. And that is how I met your mother.

'I... I kind of wish I had never heard this.' 'Karin, don't say that. It's romantic.' 'It's weird as hell.' 'It explains so much... and yet so little.'

It wasn't supposed to explain everything. It's just setting the stage. I told you this was going to be a long story, so just keep listening.