After a rigorous afternoon of training, Ichigo, Toshiro, and Rangiku were heading back to the Kurosaki clinic with Karin fast asleep in her brother's arms.

"Thanks for being there for Karin, Toshiro. I can tell that she appreciates it." Ichigo said to the squad ten Captain.

"I was honored to help, even if it was only for moral support." Toshiro replied.

"Don't be shy Captain, you just wanted to go because you like the girl." Rangiku said tauntingly before receiving an icy glare from her superior officer.

"It's not like she's unearthing some great secret Toshiro. Admit it; you're interested in my sister." Ichigo said as Toshiro remained silent.

"Attempts at any sort of a romance would be futile at both mine and Karin's age. We still have many years before any such ideas could hold genuine meaning. During which time we may discover a romantic interest in someone else or we may not. But that does not prevent me from at least attempting to maintain a healthy relationship with her." Toshiro finally replied.

"You're just a wealth of denial aren't you?" Ichigo asked as they finally reached the clinic.

"Hey look what the cat dragged in." Ikkaku said tauntingly as Ichigo and the others finally arrived.

"What are you doing here Ikkaku?" Ichigo grumbled.

"Well that's no way to talk to your sisters' protectors." Ikkaku said tauntingly with a grin as Ichigo passed by with Karin still in his arms.

"I would suggest holding your tongue Ikkaku before someone cuts it off and sends it to Captain Zaraki." Toshiro threatened. Ikkaku quickly fell silent.

"Where's Karin's body?" Ichigo asked Rukia.

"In hers and Yuzu's room. How did practice go Ichigo?" Rukia asked as she followed after Ichigo.

"Pretty good really. Hekireki Megami is a pain in the ass though." Ichigo said as he motioned for Kon to follow after them.

"Oh I almost forgot. Your father wants to speak with you in private once you're back in your body." Rukia said as Ichigo nodded.

"I wonder what he wants." Ichigo said as they climbed the stairs.

"I don't know. He never said anything. But I get the feeling it was important." Rukia said.



A few minutes later…

Ichigo had returned to his body and returned Karin's to hers as well. He slowly approached the door to his father's clinic office. He paused a moment before finally knocking.

"Come in Ichigo." Isshin replied from inside. Ichigo slowly opened the door to see Isshin sitting at his desk and looking somberly through a photo album of pictures that ranged from his and Masaki's courtship to the modern day.

"Rukia said that you wanted to see me." Ichigo said as Isshin nodded and turned towards him.

"I wanted to talk to you about your mother Ichigo." Isshin said as he pulled open the lap drawer and pulled out a small black box. Inside was a glove with a spirit eviction symbol on the palm. He proceeded to shed his body and enter his Soul Reaper form. Ichigo caught the hint and used his badge to enter his Soul Reaper form as well.

"Okay? What about her?" Ichigo asked.

"You remember back when you had first become a Soul Reaper and the anniversary of your mother's death rolled around? Then you ran into a Hollow?" Isshin asked as Ichigo's mind flashed back to his encounter at the cemetery when he faced Grand Fisher. Ichigo clinched his fists in anger at having let the monster get away.

"I remember. I assume you remember too?" Ichigo asked as Isshin nodded.

"I do. I know of the outcome of that battle too." Isshin replied.

"I wanted to go after him but Rukia insisted I let him go to recover my strength." Ichigo said as Isshin nodded.

"One of the things that made me one of the longest lasting squad eleven Captains was knowing which battles I could continue and which battles I couldn't. Meaning there were battles I could and usually would continue to the end and battles like yours and Grand Fisher's, where we were both too badly injured to keep fighting. I believe Rukia made the right call in suggesting you let him go." Isshin said as Ichigo sighed.

"I still haven't seen him since that battle. I've been wanting to find him so I can kill him and avenge mom personally." Ichigo said as Isshin rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about Ichigo. That won't be necessary anymore." Isshin said as Ichigo arched a confused eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

"It was before the Arrancar first appeared in Karakura. A while before Ulquiorra and Yammy appeared suddenly. You were in the middle of some confrontation and had put Kon in your body. Grand Fisher returned and mistook Kon for you. He gave chase, hoping to kill you out of revenge for defeating him the last time. Fortunately Kon had the help of Lirin, Kurodo, and Noba to help distract him for a while but it wasn't quite enough. Fisher nearly destroyed Kon but fortunately a certain retired Soul Reaper Captain stepped in and rescued him." Isshin said as Ichigo's eyes widened in shock.

"Fisher surprised me with one thing though. He had become an imperfect Arrancar, complete with a Zanpakuto nearly as tall as some of the buildings downtown. However his strength was weak and I was able to slice through both him and his Zanpakuto in one swing. I killed Grand Fisher, Ichigo. I know you wanted to be the one to end him, and it would have been poetic justice in a sense. You being the one he was initially after but instead getting your mother and if you had been the one who killed him then it would be a righteous killing. But you weren't the only one who bore a grudge against him. Masaki would have been the first to condemn me for wanting revenge but I had no other choice. I killed him not to avenge Masaki's death but to give us all closure. To know that the beast that killed her had been put down like the rabid monster he was is enough. But it still doesn't bring her back." Isshin said as he glanced towards Ichigo.

Tears were running down Ichigo's silent form.

"I was hoping that you would forgive me." Isshin said.

"For what? You deserved to be the one to take him down more than me." Ichigo said as Isshin sighed and shook his head.

"No Ichigo, neither of us was. You're forgetting that Grand Fisher killed untold numbers of people during his fifty four years of terror…Human and Soul Reaper alike. We were not the only ones effected by his rampage…we're just some of the many relatives to his unfortunate victims. I just happened to be the one to kill him. There was no magic pointer or game show wheel that chose who the one to kill him would be. It just happened that way. Although I did want you to be the one to deal the killing blow. I confess that part of me wanted vengeance and that's just natural human instinct." Isshin explained.

"So why tell me? Why not tell Karin and Yuzu? They deserve to know." Ichigo said as Isshin nodded.

"I agree full heartedly but I don't believe they're ready to know yet. I want them to be a little older so that they can take it more easily than they would now. Besides I want you to be there when I do explain to them." Isshin said as he reached into his desk and pulled out a packet of cigarettes.

"I thought you only smoked on the anniversary?" Ichigo asked confused.

"Talking about this makes me somewhat sentimental. This is kinda how I honor her memory. I would ask you to join me but you have no business smoking young man." Isshin said as Ichigo smirked with a chuckle.

"I don't ever plan on smoking anything dad…well except for those LeBlanc goons that keep trying to take Yuzu at least." Ichigo said as Isshin chuckled.

"Your mother would be proud of you Ichigo. She'd be proud of Yuzu and Karin too." Isshin said as Ichigo leaned against the wall in thought.



That night…

Most of the other Soul Reapers had gone back to their respective homes and Ichigo was lying awake in his bed with Kon slumbering atop him and humping the sheets while muttering to himself. Sickeningly the names Orihime, Rangiku, Nel, and even Rukia kept being mentioned by the perverted mod soul. Finally Ichigo had enough of the mod soul's behavior. He picked him up and punched him in the face to wake him up.

"HEY! WHAT GIVES?!?!" Kon yelped.

"You're talking in your sleep and it's disgusting!" Ichigo growled as he reached for his badge off the nightstand.

"I can't help it if I dream about Orihime getting soaked with baby oil and-!" Kon yelled but was quickly silenced by Ichigo shoving his badge against the doll's head, causing Kon's pill to pop out of the doll's mouth.

"That'll shut you up till morning." Ichigo said as he put the pill in a small plastic cup on his desk next to where he put Kon's doll body.

"What was that about?" Rukia asked as she opened the closet door.

"I thought you were asleep?" Ichigo asked as Rukia yawned.

"I was but Kon's shouting woke me up." Rukia replied.

"Sorry. But since you're up, can I ask you something?" Ichigo asked.

"What's on your mind?" Rukia asked back.

"Something that's been bugging me for a while, but just not as much as recently." Ichigo replied.

"What's the problem?" Rukia asked.

"Hollows eat human souls to grow stronger right?" Ichigo asked.

"Not just human souls. Animal souls and Soul Reapers work too." Rukia corrected.

"I know that but, what happens to the souls when the Hollow is destroyed by a Zanpakuto?" Ichigo asked.

"Hard to say. Depends on the souls past life. If they committed great sins during their life they get sent to the underworld. Otherwise they go to the Soul Society." Rukia explained.

"So hypothetically, an innocent soul is eaten by a hollow. The hollow is killed by a Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto. The soul goes to the Soul Society right?" Ichigo asked as Rukia nodded.

"That's the accepted belief but it is incredibly hard to find even one particular person in the Soul Society." Rukia replied.

"Hypothetically, would a soul be able to be brought from the Soul Society back to the World of the Living?" Ichigo asked as Rukia pondered.

"It's possible but forbidden except in extreme circumstances. It violates the Soul Society's laws. A soul cannot return to the World of the Living unless they are a Soul Reaper and even then not unless they're given specific orders. And that is never a permanent posting. It has been recorded before that certain souls have been brought to the world of the living to assist in a Soul Reaper matter, like convincing the soul of another to allow a Konso to be performed on them. Usually in cases like that, the Soul Reapers take great strides in trying to reunite the two souls back in the Soul Society. Otherwise it's strictly forbidden. It's considered unfair for a soul to return to the world of the living on a permanent basis because it would be considered a second life. There are no exceptions. Curiously however your father seems to be an exception. I don't know why though." Rukia explained.

"I see. Thanks Rukia." Ichigo said as he climbed back into his bed.

"Why did you ask about that, Ichigo?" Rukia asked out of concern.

"No reason. Just curious." Ichigo replied but Rukia didn't buy it.

"It's about your mother isn't it? You were hoping that if you found her in the Soul Society that you could bring her back here. They would track her down and imprison her in the Seireitei for that along with imprisoning you in the Nest of Maggots or possibly even execute you for committing such a crime. However there is a different solution." Rukia said as she sat up.

"What?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"If your mother applied to the Soul Reaper Academy and became a Soul Reaper then it's possible she could get assigned here. There is another option though in that she could be hired on as an assistant to one of the Soul Reaper Captains. Then she'd be able to live in the Seireitei and you could visit her when you're there." Rukia explained.

"How would we do that?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Well…I could talk to Captain Hitsugaya or my Captain or even my brother to see if they could work something out. Heck maybe even your Aunt could find her." Rukia suggested.

"Would you do that for me? I would myself but I don't know how." Ichigo asked as Rukia nodded with a smile.

"I was going to anyway before I told you about it Ichigo. I'll start in the morning." Rukia replied as Ichigo smiled back. He then got back up, walked over towards her and kissed her on the lips.

When he pulled back Rukia was blushing bright red with a shocked expression before she grabbed him by the back of the head and pulled him back into a kiss.

At that moment they knew that they were no longer just friends…they were more than friends…they truly were in love.



That morning…

Ichigo awoke back in his bed. His mind then quickly flashed back to last night which seemed like a blur to him. He quickly checked himself under the covers and breathed a relative sigh of relief as he saw that he was still in the clothes he went to bed in. He looked over towards the closet just in time for it to slide open and for Rukia to emerge still in her pajamas.

"Hey." Ichigo said to the groggy Rukia.

"Oh. You're awake." She said with a smile.

"Help me out here. What happened last night?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Easy, we kissed rather passionately which was followed by wild animal sex." Rukia replied with a cheeky smirk.

"Okay now I know you're kidding." Ichigo grumbled.

"Of course I'm kidding! Remember? I told you that we should stop before it went too far but you slipped on an old roller-skate in the closet and hit your head? Any of that ring a bell Ichigo?" Rukia asked curiously as Ichigo scratched the back of his head only to feel pain on the very back of the skull.

"Oh you got that when you slipped." Rukia chuckled. Fortunately all the memories were clarified by Rukia's explanation.

"Good." Ichigo mumbled as he turned to put Kon's pill back in the lion doll.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rukia asked.

"It means I'm glad we didn't do anything we regret last night." Ichigo replied, not really in the mood to argue at the moment.

"Oh so you would regret sleeping with me if we did sleep together is that it?!" Rukia asked as Ichigo groaned. That was not the argument to be having at that hour in the morning, especially with an overly sneaky father and sister in the house.

"Ugh no. I mean that it's way too early." Ichigo grumbled.

"I don't think the time of day has anything to do with this conversation Ichigo? Are you offended by the thought of sleeping with me?" Rukia asked as Ichigo wanted so bad to just scream into a pillow at the moment.

"No I meant it's too early in our relationship to go that far!" Ichigo clarified. Fortunately Rukia caught on by that point.

"Why didn't you just say so in the first place?!" Rukia asked as Ichigo let out a frustrated groan.

"Because any minute now, my dad is going to come crashing in and try to murder me like he does every morning and I really don't want him listening to this conversation." Ichigo explained as a look of realization swept over her face.

"Oh." Rukia said as she blushed somewhat embarrassed by the whole concept.

They stood in silence until…

"GOOD MORNING ICHIGO!!!" Isshin shouted as he flew in from the doorway, only to crash into the bottom of Ichigo's foot and then suffer a blow to the back from Rukia.

"DON'T YOU EVER GIVE IT A REST?!" Rukia shouted.

"Ah Rukia (wince) you obviously need (wince) no training from me so (wince) let's just keep this between Ichigo and (wince) me okay?" Isshin asked from the floor.

"Umm…No." Rukia replied with a smirk as she started grinding her heel into Isshin's back.

"Okay just OUCH checking." Isshin grimaced in pain as Ichigo stepped on him on his way out the door.

Downstairs, Karin and Momo were watching TV with bowls of cereal in their hands on the couch as Nel (outside of her Gigai) looked through a fashion magazine and Yuzu finished preparing a bowl of cereal for herself so she could join the other two.

"Morning." Ichigo said as he entered.

"Ooh Ichigo check it out! Aren't these outfits just amazing?! Do women here in this world actually get to wear some of this stuff?!" Nel asked excitedly as she looked at the magazine.

"I think it's time you and Rangiku got together or something. Make a day out of shopping or something." Ichigo grumbled with his back turned towards the Arrancar.

"Hmm, I may just have to do that." Nel said in awe as she continued to flip through the magazine. Ichigo was fixing his own breakfast when he suddenly felt an all too familiar spiritual pressure approaching fast.

"What the-?!" Ichigo asked and without warning a blond and red blur smashed through the sliding glass doors but Nel blocked the flying object with her Hierro enhanced skin, not getting a scratch on her. Before anyone could blink, Ichigo and Momo had shed their bodies and were in their Soul Reaper form.

Before the dust could settle however the blond and red blur shot straight at Ichigo and pinned him to the refrigerator. Ichigo blinked in disbelief of who it was.

"H-H-H-Hiyori! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING SNAGGLETOOTH?!" Ichigo asked angrily before getting a slipper slap across the face.

"You're coming with me dumbass!" Hiyori growled as she quickly dragged Ichigo out the broken door. Nel quickly rocketed after the two with full speed.

"What just happened?" Karin asked confused.

"I don't know but I would very much like to find out." Momo replied with a stunned expression.



End Chapter 30.

Soul Reaper Illustrated Guide

"Hey Uryu, I was wondering…" Renji said as a drop of sweat ran down his face, "…when did you realize that clothing design was your thing?"

"When I was young. I would alter the outfits for the stuffed animals I got when I was a child." Uryu replied as he ran a needle and thread through a strip of cloth.

"It's a good thing you've got steady hands. Otherwise you could stab yourself with those needles." Renji said.

"It comes with my father being a surgeon. I got his steady hands but medical work doesn't interest me that much. Besides, this helps me improve my grip on my arrows as well as improves my accuracy." Uryu replied.

"Okay then one more question." Renji said as Uryu stood up.

"There, all done. What's your question?" Uryu asked as the camera zoomed out to reveal Renji standing in a pink dress.

"WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE WOMEN'S CLOTHING?!" Renji shouted angrily as Uryu sweat dropped.

The End