So I'm back with another chapter for all of you who have been so patiently waiting. Just to let you guys know, this story is not my first priority since I started my Percy Jackson one first, but don't worry I'm still writing. Just don't be surprised when it takes me a few weeks to update.

Answers to reviews:

Ppsh: I mentioned the age thingy at the beginning of the story, but I guess you didn't catch it or I wasn't clear. This is slightly AU were Ichigo had lived several years after the defeat of Aizen with his shinigami powers and as a captain. With 8 or so years between him gaining his powers and his death and then the added two years of his disappearance, Yuzu and Karin would now be about 19-years-old. I hope that clears things up.

Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet: Yep, it is kinda fun to recreate this story, but I have to admit that I'm looking forward to the time when I get to write this story for real. Thanks again for the review.

Daricio: Thanks for reviewing! I wasn't sure if you were reading this story, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw your review. My updates are not frequent, but I'm still writing . I forget the exact reason of why I changed the age, but I think that it was because it would be easier for me to write because I don't think I portray really little kids that well, but also it would fit better into later parts of the story. I have enjoyed the editing this story (no offense to your original), but I have to admit that I'm looking forward to when I eventually start writing this for real

Mel72000: Yeah, Urahara can be super creepy sometimes, but I think clown-face is creepier…

Kurosaki Crystal: Wow, four reviews in a row for each chapter… Thanks for all your support!

Fangirl 15: Finally updating! Yay! Enjoy reading.

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything since I don't even have a job…

Chapter 4 - Rediscovery

When they all reached the bottom of the ladder, Ichigo was able to get a good look at the new surroundings. He knew that he should probably be shocked at just how big it was, especially since the ceiling to the place seemed to have been painted even, but with Urahara yelling about how surprising it, the boy was less inclined to make any comment.

"Nova!" Urahara called suddenly. A moment later, a ninja-like red-haired boy appeared in a red light. "Could you set up some targets for Ichigo?"

Nova nodded, disappearing again. Red light flashed several times around the large training area, and in their wake, large red and white hollow-shaped targets were left. Ichigo blinked, trying to figure out who this Nova was and how the targets were getting there. He decided not to ask.

"Okay, Ichigo," Urahara said cheerfully. He produced a sword from seemingly nowhere and handed it to the boy, hilt first. "For now, just go knock down as many of the targets as you can."

Ichigo looked dubiously at the sword before taking it in his hand. Immediately, the unfamiliar sword felt awkward and out of place in young hands. He gave it an experimental swing and then looked it over. "Whose sword is this?"

"It's just a nameless zanpakuto," Urahara answered. "They're given to students of the Shinigami Academy to use before they reach gain their own zanpakuto."

"Oh. It's too light," Ichigo complained.

Urahara nodded. "Understandable that you would think that, Ichigo, but you'll be using that one until you can release your own again. Go ahead and knock down some targets."

"Okay..." Ichigo was feeling very self conscious trying something he'd never done. As far as he could remember, he had never held a weapon; the closest thing had been when he had stolen Takeo's stick for a few hours. Now these people were probably expecting him to do it perfectly.

Slowly, he approached the nearest target and swung at it. He'd swung too hard. The sword knocked the target down, then ricocheted back and he nearly dropped it in surprise. Ducking his head in embarrassment, he glared at it.

"It's too light!" He called back to Urahara again.

"Then summon yours!" Urahara said cheerfully.

Now Ichigo glared at him. "How?"

"Don't think about it, just do it!"

"That's really helpful," Ichigo complained. He turned to the next target and used the fast step that Rukia-taichou called shunpo to get up close to it, swinging the nameless sword at it.

Once again, he overbalanced, almost falling over completely. Growling in irritation, he dug the blade of the sword into the ground and left it there.

I want my sword! Ichigo shouted mentally.

The response was almost immediate as the boy felt the presence of the old man shift almost painfully. Then say my name! the spirit called out.

"Zangetsu!" Ichigo cried, holding his hands out as if gripping a hilt. Immediately, it materialized; a giant sword, taller than he was, with a black blade, no hand guard, and a white hilt wrap.

Caught off-guard, Ichigo stumbled with the sudden weight in his hand. Turning red from embarrassment, Ichigo slowly picked himself up off the ground, hauling Zangetsu up with both hands and laying it at a resting position over one shoulder.

He turned back to face Urahara and the others. They were looking at him and his sword with varying degrees of surprise and amusement.

"I didn't expect him to get it so fast," Karin commented.

Yuzu hid a grin behind one hand. "I kind of expected the sword to get a little smaller, though. He can barely lift it!"

Urahara smiled widely. "Actually, I think it did get smaller. There's only so much smaller a sword like that can get, you know..."

Ichigo scowled at them. "You're making fun of me," he accused.

They all hurriedly exclaimed that they weren't. It wasn't a good idea to tick off a kid with a giant sword...

"On the contrary, Ichigo, we are glad to see you remember this," Urahara assured him. "Now we just have to see how far your memories of your sword extend. Knock down a few targets."

Ichigo nodded firmly. Zangetsu was quite a bit heavier than he'd expected, but it was his sword, and he would get used to it. He turned and flash stepped towards the nearest target, slicing it cleanly in half. He overbalanced slightly from the weight, but quickly caught himself and jumped at the next target.

One down. And another. And another. Slowly, with each target, his balance improved as he got used to the weight of the sword.

Finally, there was only one target left, perched way up on one of the tallest boulders in the room. Ichigo scowled at it. Climbing up to it would be difficult, but that wasn't what made him hesitate. There was something else.

He lifted Zangetsu high above his head, still focused on the target high above him. Ichigo felt his spiritual energy rise and pour into the extended sword. Zangetsu seemed to be humming, its own energy fluctuating in beat with the sudden increase of available energy. Not even hesitating to think, Ichigo slammed down his sword and a wave of energy cut through the ground heading straight for the target.

Seconds later, Ichigo blinked at the receding dust as it revealed at enormous gash that scarred the trainings grounds and left no evidence of the once-standing target.

The sound of clapping made Ichigo turn around, and he caught sight of Urahara with a crazy grin on his face. "He remembers Getsuga Tenshou, too. Very nice. And he's still standing, which means his reiatsu level hasn't gone down from what it used to be."

"Getsuga Tenshou?" Ichigo asked, turning back to observe the mass damage he had just caused. "Is that what it's called?"

"Yup!" Urahara looked pleased, waving his white fan at him. "Come back over here; I'll get Nova to set up some more difficult targets for you."

Ichigo laid Zangetsu across his shoulder, trying not to stumble under the weight, and walked back over. "More difficult, how?"

"I was thinking of some moving targets, actually," Urahara answered amiably. Nova nodded and vanished in a cloud of red.

While Nova set up the targets, Urahara turned to Rukia. "Rukia-san, I have a request."

She looked at him suspiciously. "You want to try actually fighting with him, right?"

"I can't think of a better way to see if he still has his bankai," Urahara confirmed. "He does the things he remembers whenever he needs to, and there's no way he would need his bankai to knock down targets, no matter how fast I get them moving."

Rukia shook her head. "There's no reason for him to need bankai right now," she reminded him. "Even if you want to see if he still has it. I don't want to force too many things on him at once. It was bad enough the first time you trained him."

"What if you were the one sparring with him?" Urahara asked. "You've trained with him before, you know him well enough to tell when he's reaching his limits, right?"

She sighed. "Not really. He never really had limits before."

"But you would know better than anyone else," Urahara reasoned.

"That's really not my call to make. I don't want to force this on him."

Ichigo looked from one to the other before speaking up suddenly. "Oi! Don't I get a say in this!" When the two turned to look down at him, he scowled and continued stubbornly. "I want to remember and if fighting is the quickest way…"

He could feel old man Zangetsu's approval at this, while on the other side of his mind, Shiro almost seemed to be sulking, for some reason... It made Ichigo hesitate again when he remembered his other self's obvious dislike towards the older him, but he didn't back down.

Rukia watched him carefully and then sighed, smiling slightly. "You never change. You're always so stubborn, Strawberry."

Ichigo scowled at her. "Don't call me that, Midget."

Karin and Yuzu both cracked up. Ichigo eyes widened and he turned red as he realized just how he had automatically reacted to her sudden comment.

Rukia looked shocked for a moment, then smirked, laughing slightly. "Sorry, Ichigo, that one's not going to work any more." She placed a hand on his head to demonstrate just how much taller she was than him.

He growled softly, hating the heat that rose in his cheeks, but he grunted a "Sorry."

She shook her head, still laughing. "No, no. It's not bad, it's just... You always called me that before, but it sounds weird coming from such a small you. It's cute."

He scowled again. "I'm not cute," he insisted. All three girls just grinned.

Isshin clapped his son hard on the back suddenly, almost making him fall over. "Sorry, son, but it's true. You are cute."

Ichigo's scowl deepened.

Urahara smiled widely, hiding half of his face behind his fan. "Well, let's get back to work. Ichigo, see if you can hit the moving targets that Nova set up, and when you're done with that, you and Rukia-san can have a short sparring match."

Ichigo nodded and stalked sullenly off, still irritated at the "cute" comments.

The targets appeared to be hung at intervals on three moving conveyer belts around the large room.

Ichigo didn't feel like figuring out how to knock them all down the right way, so instead he simply raised Zangetsu high in the air and brought it down in a slash. "Getsuga Tenshou!"

The resulting blue wave of energy blasted through the whole first row of targets, then doubled around and cut through the next, then the next before dying out.

Ichigo scowled. He'd missed one. Flash-stepping towards it, he easily sliced it in two before turning back to the group. "Not cute," he emphasized.

They readily agreed, but lips still twitched upwards in badly hidden amusement.

Urahara clapped. "All right, then," he exclaimed cheerfully. "Rukia-san, are you ready?"

Rukia frowned and drew her sword. Ichigo determinedly lifted Zangetsu in preparation, not giving away any of his nervousness. "I'm ready!" he called.

There was a moment of brief hesitation before Rukia finally nodded. The two of them leapt towards each other, and the match began.

Rukia's POV

Urahara whistled in appreciation as Rukia slowly pulled herself up off the ground. He helped her up, then turned and grinned at the orange-haired boy, who was now currently curled up on the ground, fast asleep, holding Zangetsu protectively.

"He held his own fairly well, I'd say!" Urahara said happily.

Rukia frowned, breathing hard. "At first, I held back because I didn't want to hurt him..."

"He sure didn't let you hold back, though, did he?" Isshin said proudly, puffing his chest out with pride. Karin shook her head but didn't make any comment.

Urahara smiled and, carefully prying the sword from the boy's strong grip and gave him a certain small plush toy to hold instead. Ichigo sighed in his sleep and cuddled the stuffed lion.

"I almost forgot I was fighting a child," Rukia admitted, wiping her brow in exhaustion. "It was just like training with him, before..."

Yuzu grinned. "He looks so cute in that outfit," she gushed.

Rukia laughed. "I never thought I'd hear someone describe his bankai outfit as being cute, and yet I have to admit, you're right—What are you doing?" The last part came out almost as a screech as the captain caught sight of Urahara positioned over Ichigo's sleeping form with Zangetsu pointed downward at the child.

Before anyone could react, Urahara plunged the sword straight down. Rukia leapt towards the two figures but was temporarily blinded by a bright light. When the brilliant flash dissipated, Rukia leapt forward again and drove her foot into Urahara's face.

Urahara immediately crumpled under the attack, and Rukia would have gladly given him more, but concern for Ichigo became the priority. She whirled around to rush to his side only to find Ichigo perfectly fine and still sleeping.

"What?" Rukia asked in confusion.

Urahara had been groaning on the ground, but after hearing Rukia speak, he stood up, completely fine, and walked over to her.

"I resealed Zangetsu inside his soul. He won't need it as a child and it'll be highly suspicious if you go back to the Soul Society carrying that particular weapon with you," Urahara explained.

Rukia watched Isshin come over and pick up his son before saying, "I guess that makes sense." She paused and shot an angry glance at the shopkeeper. "But you could have warned us that you were doing that."

Urahara shrugged and brought out his fan again to cover that stupid grin on his face. "I'm just glad it's been proven that he still has his bankai. That probably means he still has his Vaizard abilities, too. Though there's no good way to test that, and I wouldn't force it on him anyway..."

Now Rukia hesitated. "So have you come up with a plan for getting his memories back, yet?"

Urahara shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. The plans we make really depend on how exactly his memory is functioning at the moment. I think I have that fairly well figured out, if you'd care to hear it, but it's kind of a long explanation."

Rukia nodded. "Let's go up to the shop first." The rest agreed with this and they all climbed up the ladder, while Isshin followed more slowly with Ichigo carefully held in one arm.

After placing Ichigo on a futon in a back room, everyone gathered around Urahara's table and awaited his explanation.

"All right. How much do you know about how memory works?" Urahara asked.

"Not much," Rukia admitted. "It's never exactly been a necessary thing to know."

Urahara nodded. "Okay, then I'll start with some basics. Every person has two kinds of memory; short term memory and long term memory.

"Ichigo's short term memory is working fine, so we don't really need to go into that. Long term memory is what we're mainly going to focus on here. It is divided into two parts: declarative memory and implicit memory.

"Implicit memory is anything you remember unconsciously, without thinking about it. Part of this is procedural memories, or memories of how to do things."

Yuzu frowned. "So, you mean things like how to walk, how to speak, how to write..."

"Exactly," Urahara nodded in agreement. "Even complicated things, like how to activate your sword abilities. Anything you can do without having to think about each individual step. It can also include habits; stances you take while fighting-"

"Or, apparently, instinctive reactions to insults," Rukia murmured with some amusement.

"Right. Instinct is a good description of it, really." Urahara smiled. "Now, as you've just noted, Ichigo's implicit memories seem to have been completely unaffected. He still remembers how to walk, talk, how to use shunpo and other abilities, and he still retains other certain habits. He may not know why he does these things, or how and when he learned them, but he does remember them, and can do them—if he doesn't think about them."

Karin thought about this for a moment and then spoke up, "All right, so that means that the part that's messed up for him is the other part of long term memory that you mentioned?"

Urahara nodded again. "Right. The Declarative memory—or conscious memory—is further divided into two parts: semantic memories and episodic memories."

"And then it gets complicated again!" she complained with a sigh.

He smiled understandingly. "The human psyche is a complex thing, Yuzu-chan. I'm sorry; I'm trying to make this as simple as I can."

"I know," she sighed again. "Karin-chan, are you understanding this?"

Karin nodded. "For the most part. So, okay, two parts of the second part of long term memory. What are they?"

Urahara nodded and continued. "Semantic memories are your memories of facts. Tokyo is the capital of Japan; Yamamoto is the sou-taichou of the Gotei 13, and so on."

"But this part of his memory still works too, doesn't it?" Rukia said, one eyebrow raised. "He remembered that Kon was a mod soul and other various things..."

"Well, Ichigo's memories of facts from his previous life are obviously still there, but he can't access them readily. It's as if a filter of some sort is in place there, blocking most, but letting some through..." Urahara explained.

The others nodded and waited for him to continue.

"Now, the worst part of the block seems to be in Ichigo's episodic memory—the memory of events. Ichigo's episodic memories are either completely blocked, or completely wiped. Either way, he has no access to them. It's possible that the problem here, and in his memory of facts, are both caused by the same thing, but that's just a guess."

Urahara paused for a moment. "So, those are the basic facts of this problem. Any questions?"

Karin spoke up. "What does this mean for Ichi-nii?"

"A good question," Urahara returned. "I've a few ideas, but I'd like input. Suggestions, anyone?"

"We need to figure out how to remove this block on his memories, obviously," Rukia mused.

Urahara shook his head. "Not necessarily. We don't really want to remove it all at once."

Rukia blinked at him. "Why not?"

"See, here's where things get a little shaky. Ichigo has lost his past memories, but he still has the ability to form new memories and can readily access them; there is no filter or block of any kind, and so he remembers clearly not only every event that has happened to him since he arrived in Rukongai, but also every fact about his old life that he's been told or that gets through the filter. It's almost as if his mind has formed a new portion of long term memory altogether, a second Declarative section."

Karin frowned. "Okay. So?"

"Think about it. Each of those two sections, new and old, contain a completely different set of memories, and Ichigo has formed different personalities around each memory set that conform to how he has viewed the world.

"In his old set of memories, he was a fighter who didn't like authority, because of how he had been raised. In his new memories, he spent two years growing up in Rukongai, where he learned to fear the Shinigami, among various other things. Hence, his personality, while still being recognizably Ichigo due to his habits and instincts from before, has also been modified to fit his new perceptions.

"Because of this, even if we could lift the block on his first set of Declarative memories all at once, we wouldn't want to. The two personalities he's developed from each set of memories would clash with each other and fight for control. The sudden barrage of twenty or so year's worth of memories in a single sitting would also be hugely damaging to his psyche. Between the two effects, he could potentially go insane."

"That's a comforting thought," Karin muttered sarcastically.

Rukia shook her head in confusion. "So if we're not going to get rid of the block, then how...?"

"You misunderstand," Urahara said. "We do need to lift the block somehow."

Yuzu blinked. "But you just said it would make him..."

Urahara shook his head. "If the block lifts a little at a time, he should be fine. His old memories can slowly add themselves to his new ones, and he can cope with them little by little; his new personality can modify itself back to his old one."

"So, how do we go about removing the block just a little at a time, then?" Isshin asked seriously.

"Well, for one thing, we need to keep him somewhere familiar to him. The more new memories he establishes here, the less he will focus on his old memories, and he may end up forgetting them entirely. We need to keep him in familiar places and situations, with familiar people, to try and force his mind to try to connect to his older memories."

"You're sure that will work?" Karin asked dubiously.

"It's been working already," Urahara pointed out. "Random facts keep leaking through the block as he comes into contact with things of his past. When they do, they add themselves to his new memories."

Rukia frowned. "So we keep him around the places he knew? That's easier said than done. Staying in the real world is out of the question. He's a spirit now, and even if he got a gigai, people would ask questions."

Urahara nodded. "That's the main problem I've run into. Even in Soul Society, you can't take him to the parts of Seireitei that he spent the most time in. He's too young to blend in among the Shinigami, and the Sou-taichou told you to keep him low profile."

"I wouldn't say that living in the real world is out of the question for him," Isshin put in indignantly. "I raised him once, I can do it again. I can't think of a more familiar place for him than home."

Rukia shook her head. "And then what? Send him to school? Familiar people more than familiar places would be more important, and all of his friends in the real world have changed in two years. Some have even moved out of Karakura. Soul Society would be more stable for him."

"Urahara just said you won't be able to have him in familiar places in Soul Society!" Isshin argued. "His friends there won't have changed, perhaps, but he wouldn't be able to spend time with them. There, he'll be in an unfamiliar place and with unfamiliar people!"

"Not necessarily," Yuzu pointed out. "If he were living in Soul Society, you could at least take him on trips into Seireitei occasionally to talk to people. You couldn't do that as easily if he was staying here."

Karin nodded agreement. "And anyway, here might not be so familiar for him anyway. He hadn't been living with dad anymore before he disappeared, and Yuzu-chan and I moved out too, so staying with dad without us would be unfamiliar to him."

Isshin burst into fake tears. "My daughters are rejecting me again!"

Karin hit him. "We're just talking logic, you idiot! Soul Society's better for him!"

"What if he were to live in the Kuchiki household?" Urahara suggested suddenly, a look of contemplation on his face.

Rukia looked shocked. "Wait, what? Byakuya-niisama would never approve; he's never liked Ichigo."

"But it would make a good cover story," Urahara pointed out thoughtfully. "Kuchiki Rukia-taichou, distraught on the anniversary of Kurosaki Ichigo's disappearance, finds an orange-haired child in Rukongai and decides to take him in, in memory of Ichigo."

Rukia scowled at the suggestion. "Byakuya-niisama would never approve," she repeated.

Urahara smiled. "I'll talk him into it," he promised. "What do you think about it?"

"I..." Rukia hesitated. "I'm not sure. I guess it would work, and I'm certainly not opposed to having him around..."

Karin smirked. "Maybe you could get him temporarily adopted into the Kuchiki clan, even. It'd help his cover story; then you could take him into Seireitei to interact with people under the premise of training him to be a Kuchiki."

"That's a little too far," Rukia protested. "Byakuya-niisama definitely wouldn't approve, and neither would the rest of the Kuchiki elders."

"But wouldn't it be cool?" Yuzu giggled. "He'd be Kuchiki Ichigo for a while."

Rukia groaned, just imagining what Byakuya's reaction to the suggestion might be.

Urahara grinned, flipping open his ever present white fan. "Well, we don't need to decide all this now. For now, though, you should probably take him back to Soul Society. There's really nothing else I can do for him here. Even if Byakuya-san doesn't approve in the long run, you can at least take him there for tonight, correct?"

"I suppose," Rukia relented.

"Then it's agreed!" Urahara exclaimed as Isshin pouted in a corner.

Rukia sighed. "All right, then. I'll go get Ichigo." She stood and headed for the back room where they'd left him.

She walked in on an odd yet amusing sight. Ichigo, still fast asleep, was refusing to let go of the plushy that Urahara had given him and Kon, kneeling next to the child, strained to pull it out of his grip.

"I don't think he's going to let go," Rukia noted with a laugh.

Kon let out a cry of irritation, releasing the plushie and scowling at Ichigo. "How did he get that again?" he demanded.

"Shhh, don't wake him up," Rukia directed. "Urahara-san gave it to him."

Kon growled. "That no good... Why does he always do this to me?"

Rukia laughed again. "Which one? Ichigo, or Urahara-san?"

"Both!" Kon sighed. "What happened to him, anyway? I couldn't make out everything you guys were talking about from out here..."

"Urahara-san thinks he got reset," Rukia said simply, not feeling like explaining fully. "I'll have someone send your plushy back here tomorrow; I'm taking him back to Soul Society now."

Kon blinked. "He's not staying here? I thought you said..."

Rukia shook her head. "We've decided that he's going to be staying in Soul Society. We'll probably bring him back here occasionally, though, since Urahara-san will undoubtedly be coming up with things to try to get his memory back."

"...Oh. So that stuff he was saying before, that he couldn't remember things... He was being serious; he wasn't just messing with me?"

"Mmhmm."

Kon frowned. "Now I kinda feel bad for yelling at him."

Rukia just laughed again. "Except that you know that if he did have his memories, he probably would have said it just to mess with you."

"True." Kon glared at the boy, but then sighed and shook his head in amusement. "It's just hard to believe it's really him. I mean, two years, and then suddenly this?"

"I know what you mean," Rukia said, also sighing as she looked down at Ichigo. She leaned down and picked the boy up carefully, trying not to wake him up. He mumbled something in his sleep and instinctively nestled closer to her.

Kon smirked at him. "I never knew Ichigo when he was this small; it's just odd to see him doing... well, cute little kid things."

Rukia laughed softly and nodded. "I'll see you later, Kon."

Kon nodded. "Sure. Bye, Neesan."

Rukia smiled and turned to leave the room. Kon hesitated, then spoke up again. "Rukia?"

Rukia looked back with a questioning look.

"... Let the kid keep the plushie," Kon said reluctantly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "It's really his anyway, and maybe it'll, you know, help a little..."

She laughed a little. "I'm sure he'll appreciate it. Thanks, Kon."

Kon shrugged and waved her off. Rukia smiled again and left the room, going back to the main shop.

There, Ichigo's family said their brief—and in Isshin's case emotional—goodbyes, and then Rukia opened the trap door that led to Urahara's basement.

Yeah, towards the end, I got a little tired with the editing, so it's pretty much identical to Daricio's in the second half. Oh well. I'll be starting my own chapters very soon :D

~Bluesky21543