DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach. I may own some merchandise, but not the franchise.

Now, on to the other side of the story.

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The day before Sapphire's discovery of the "new" Kisuke

Kisuke yelped and dropped the large package he had been trying to carry into the storage room. He rubbed his back where he had pulled a muscle. The package wasn't heavy, so he couldn't understand why he had hurt himself so easily. He tried to make his way to the kitchen, but a sharp pain in his left foot prevented him from going anywhere. What's happening to me? he thought. The answer laid in four words:

"You're getting old, Urahara," Ichigo said from the open front door.

Kisuke turned and looked at his reflection in the window. The dark circles around his eyes, the wrinkles on his face-he wasn't exactly a spring chicken. "I guess I am," he agreed.

"I can help you with that, old man," Ichigo said with a dangerous flash in his eyes. "First of all, the hat needs to go." He plucked the hat from the shopkeeper's head. Kisuke tried to take it back, but the pain in his back wouldn't let him. Ichigo took Urahara by the collar and dragged him away, never to come back the same again.

A few hours later

Ichigo spun Urahara around in his swivel chair to let him see himself in the mirror. He couldn't believe his eyes. The man in the mirror before him wasn't Urahara Kisuke but something to the extent of the white version of Flavor Flav. The only thing missing was a giant clock hanging from his neck.

"What did you DO to me?" he panicked.

"Don't worry about it," Ichigo said sadistically. "You just need some 'reworking.' Now, listen very carefully to the songs I'm about to play. You're going to learn to like them, even if it kills you."

The orange-haired boy turned on his stereo and put in a mixed CD. Urahara cringed at the first lyrics he heard. "I wake up in the mornin' feeling like P. Diddy..." 'Why is he torturing me like this?' he thought. First he stole his favorite hat, then he made him look like a rapper, and now he was torturing him with pop music? Kisuke was sure that Ichigo had it in for him.

After a few hours of listening to pop artists such as Ke$ha, Rihanna, and Lady GaGa, Kisuke started to adapt to the genre of music. After all, some of the songs were kind of catchy, and they did have an upbeat sound. He started to catch on to the general customs of pop culture, even if they did seem a little out of character for him. Even his opinions on his traditional dress were starting to change. Everything about pop culture became appealing to him. Eventually, Ichigo had completely reformed his mindset.

Of course, Kisuke grew up without the influence the younger generations had access to. No matter how much he learned or changed, he wouldn't completely change his old ways. In the end, he wasn't completely able to adapt to the slang or the attitude that Ichigo brainwashed him into.

When Ichigo was finished with his transformation of Urahara, he took the striped bucket hat and started digging a hole in the backyard to put the old hat to rest. He couldn't help but laugh at what he had done. Urahara was happy, so he thought it was perfectly fine if he made a fool of himself. Aside from that, he couldn't wait to see the look on Sapphire's face when she saw the new Urahara.

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Thanks for all the reviews! (And for the record, I actually enjoy pop music. I only thought it might be torturous for Urahara)

~Kai