Disclaimer: how many times do I have to write this damn thing? anyway, I don't own Bleach and never will. (sob)

Bold/Italic: Shiro

Bold: Zangetsu

Italic: Thoughts

Chapter 4

And with that, the blade of destiny swung down . . .

He watched as Aizen looked down on his helpless friends and family, all defeated and broken, lying in heaps upon the Karakura battlefield, too weak to move let alone defend themselves. He himself was bleeding from his mouth, several gashes on his side, his mask crumbling on his face, a particularly nasty wound in his back where Aizen had stabbed him from behind as he killed Gin. Aizen smirked at him from beneath his gruesome hollow mask, then held up his hand. Even without his mask, he knew what was happening yet in that one moment when Aizen fired his powerful bala at his friends and the last remnants of the fighting Soul Society, he couldn't do anything but watch as they were blown away, and left dead or dying. The despair, the helplessness, the anger, everything he felt at that one moment combined into a vortex of reiatsu that engulfed everything. Aizen himself was almost blown away and the next thing Ichigo knew Aizen was dead with Zangetsu straight through his heart. Yet there was no victory cry, no feeling of relief, only despair and loss seemed to ache across the battlefield.

Ichigo awoke from his memories, lying on a green riverbank. The afternoon sun was shining over a great blue sky and ever so softly clouds passed overhead. Slowly he sat up, sighing and stretching his neck. Looking at the lapping of the water, Ichigo waited for his heart to calm down again. That damn nightmare had refused to let him go, constantly disturbing his sleep. To forget his past, Ichigo tried to remember the present.

He was fifteen now, in human years and already everything was going great. He had all of his old friends. He still met Tatsuki at the dojo every now and again after school; they would spar often, only for fun of course. He had never sparred against her for real but no reason for her to know that. She would be the National Woman Champ this year, he was sure, and already her reiatsu had risen higher than normal.

Then there was Chad, they had met in the same way as the last time-line and Ichigo was so happy to see him that he actually had to restrain himself from giving the quiet giant a hug every time they hung out. The big guy had actually already gained a lot of reiatsu and could see hollows and spirits. Every now and then he would come to Ichigo with a question about the spirits and what not and Ichigo would answer in the best way he could without revealing anything.

Orihime, sweet, gentle Orihime who had suffered the most during the war was there as well. Somedays he thought it would be better if she didn't have reiatsu at all and lived as a normal girl, but he knew secretly that they needed her. She healed them in ways she would probably never understand and she saved countless lives using her precious Shun Shun Rika powers. If she had to decide, she would have chosen without a second thought. Then there was Keigo and Mizuiro who was also starting to sense reiatsu, not that he could deter them at all. And of course the antisocial Ishida was always brooding in the back of the classroom, watching them.

But Ichigo could never escape his past memories of who they used to be and who they had become. He hated that no matter what he could never talk to Chad or Tatsuki like he used to, that he had to lie to and deceive the very people closest to him in order to make sure they didn't notice anything wrong. He was never smart like Ishida, who would know exactly how to plan for everything, or patient like Chad, who would merely wait for such events to come to him, or attentive like Orihime, always wary of every little detail concerning her friends. He wanted at least someone's help, to talk it out, make sure he wasn't crazy with his plan that he wasn't rushing into things. Yet he never would be able to. It was all very complicated and very tiring. With them, he was forced to put on a mask, a simple yet painful one, and although he was always happy that his close ones were alive and safe (a fact that kept him sane most of the time), he was forced to hide who he really was . . . that seriously powerful war veteran . . . and instead become a scowling sometimes grumpy sarcastic teenager that was merely living his human life, day by day. It wasn't so bad most of the time, he merely had to make sure he kept the mask on and never let it slip too often. It wore on his soul and his heart until some days he thought he would burst into flame for all the emotions and secrets he was keeping in.

But no matter how hard it got, or how tiring it was, he would see his friends' smiling faces as they hung out or his family's happiness as they had dinner together and in those precious yet fragile moments Ichigo's determination would steel itself and become as sharp and pure as Zangetsu's blade. He would protect this happiness, this life with every ounce of his not-too-inconsiderable strength. He bet his soul, after all.

"Oniichan, Oniichannnn!"

A call awoke Ichigo from his musings and he turned to smile at the most important person of all that he wanted to protect.

It had come to a great surprise to all when, nine months after Ichigo came back to the past and saved his mother, the fourth member of the Kurosaki siblings was born.

Kurosaki Arashi, six years old now, was by far the greatest gift Ichigo had ever received. He could still remember his shock and excitement when his mother announced her unexpected pregnancy. A little brother was almost too good to be true. Arashi had the soft fluffy brown hair like his mother and that goofy smile from his father. He was small for his age and a lot of times Ichigo feared he would break as easily as a delicate piece of glass. To say he was overprotective of his little brother was a bit of an understatement. But Arashi never noticed. To him, Ichigo was the perfect older brother. He found time, away from his friends at school and his schoolwork (which he flew through like he had done it before - hint) to pick up Arashi every day after school from the kindergarten and they would play for hours afterward. Now Arashi's smiling face was one more reason for Ichigo to make sure that everything went according to plan.

Ichigo stood up and looked down at his little brother's smiling face, tousling his hair a bit. "And how was school today, Arashi?"

The little boy's grin widened. "It was sooooo cooooollll! You should have seen it, oni-chan, we all got to paint with our fingers and I even got some paint on Sensei's pants when he wasn't looking. Hehe!"

Ichigo chuckled softly at the prank before bending down to pick up his little brother and put him on his shoulder. "I bet he was pretty mad about that."

Arashi shook his head, a mischievous smile on his face. "Nope!"

HOOOOWWLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

Ichigo tensed slightly as he heard a hollow yell from not too far away. He noticed however that Arashi seemed blissfully unaware of the monster. Thank God. Ichigo had been very careful never to expose young Arashi to any reiatsu. He wanted his little brother to grow up normally, with a life full of human joys and troubles. A life he would never have. His sisters however, developed reiatsu far too quickly, despite how hard he worked to keep his own down. Karin could already see spirits, and Yuzu could feel their emotions. Ah well, he would just have to protect them as much as possible. There were some things he just could not control.

"Hey Arashi, hold on to my back really tight, okay?"

Arashi nodded, grinning. He knew what was going to happen next and Ichigo was off.

"Yipee! Faster, Ichi-nii!" shouted Arashi as Ichigo raced home, his little brother on his back. Although he couldn't shunpo or sonindo in human form, his body was far too strong and fast for a normal teenager. Gangs ran away from him now instead of seeking him out for his orange hair.

The brother duo reached their house in record time and Ichigo let Arashi off at the front door. "Go inside and tell mom I'll be right there." Arashi nodded before running in. Ichigo sighed, turning to look at the three hollows that had followed him home. Every now and again hollows would be attracted to his unusual spirit signature. To tell the truth, he didn't mind it. For seven years, he had been forced to fighting these pathetic hollows and local gangs as means of training. Hell, Shiro put up a way better fight than this.

"Are you hollows hungry, eh?" Ichigo smirked as the hollows approached, two big ones that reminded him of spiky snakes and another small quick one that looked an awful lot like a spider. They stood before him shaking with hunger. Ichigo cracked his knuckles as all three approached. Ichigo waited for them to attack first.

King! Let me out! Please? I'm so bored! Shiro was complaining for the eightieth time today. Ichigo rolled his eyes as he avoided the first attack from one of the serpent-look-alikes. Jumping high up, Ichigo crushed the hollow's mask with a single punch and moved to the next two.

Why on earth would you want to fight these guys, eh? They are so weak.

That doesn't matter. I'm so bored in here I've been playing hide-and-seek with the old man and he keeps winning.

. . . Is that true, Zan? Ichigo asked, disbelievingly. Sure, they didn't have any real fights to speak of. But every week or so Ichigo would have a fight with his inner hollow and training with Zangetsu to keep his abilities honed. Surely that was entertaining enough to keep them occupied . . .

… yes, but that's only because I am bored as well.

Wow.

Speechless, Ichigo almost ignored the spider hollow that was creeping up behind him as he thought of Zangetsu and his hollow playing hide-and-seek in the metropolis that was his inner world. Somehow the image just didn't seem to fit and he kept on biting his lip to keep from laughing at the thought.

The speedy spider hollow jumped to swipe at the distracted Ichigo with one of its sharp claws just as the other large one thrust forward, its fanged mouth wide open ready to strike. Acting on instinct, Ichigo dodged the spider one first, grabbing its mask in his hand and tossing it into the other one, hard enough that both of them were blown away. They staggered up from the beating, glaring at Ichigo with their hollow eyes, but they were too slow. Already Ichigo had run towards them his hands grasping their masks and crushing them with his bare fists. He didn't even stay to watch as both dissolved into oblivion.

Ichigo turned his attention toward his inner tenants as he walked towards his home. I'm sorry, both of you, if I have been neglecting you anyway. But I will need both of you to help me make this timeline right. So please put up with it for a little longer.

Of course, Ichigo.

. . .Only if I get to fight a bit too. It's not fair that you get to have all the fun. Ichigo had expected as much from his whining hollow. Geez, how selfish could you get?

How bout when we get to Hueco Mundo, eh? I can let you go at least a little wild there.

Sweettttt! Hell yeah! I'm gonna kick some Vasto Lord's ass! Ichigo rolled his eyes. It was like bribing a child.

"Ichigo? Get inside, dinner's ready!" Masaki shouted from inside. The scowling Ichigo allowed himself a small smile as he walked into his house, the laughter of his family already ringing in his ears.

Isshin watched as his elder son walked in from the street. Thinking he had the upper hand for sure this time, he pounced only to be met by his son's right foot. "What the hell, dad?" said Ichigo as Isshin fell to the floor crying, a large footprint impression on his face.

"Oh Ichigo you've improved sooooo much, Daddy has nothing left to teach you," he lamented as the rest of the family giggled while sitting at the dinner table. Isshin watched as even Ichigo allowed himself a rare smile.

As they all sat down for dinner, Isshin observed his eldest son. In some ways, Ichigo acted his age. He got irritated easily, except when it came to his family and was known for getting into fights with delinquents and bullies. Not that Isshin minded that part; even from an early age, Ichigo never seemed to lose in fights and had an extremely strong sense of justice. Hell, one time when he was 11, he got into a fight with a couple of thugs at least three years older than him. Yet when he came home, Ichigo had not a scratch on him. The teachers that taught him tried to complain that Ichigo was a no-good delinquent who shouldn't go to school but they had no basis considering Icigo was usually one of their highest testing students, a fact that never ceased to amaze Isshin. Not only was his son smart, he had his friends too. Good, loyal friends who would stick by him and oftentimes Isshin saw them all down by the riverbank, chatting away about something that had happened at school. Yep, on the surface Ichigo acted like any teenage boy. It was when he looked deeper that Isshin began to worry.

He didn't notice it at first; normal people definitely wouldn't. Every now and again Ichigo's eyes would glaze off, and for a second, his eldest son would have this horribly morose expression upon his face as if remembering something incredibly sad. Sometimes it was a word or phrase that caused Ichigo to lose focus and Isshin would catch a glimpse of what he thought was the real Ichigo. It would only last a second before Ichigo would catch his mask slipping and scowl in his usual manner. It worried Isshin that his son never revealed his true emotions, that all they saw of Ichigo was only on the surface. Also those nightmares when Ichigo was nine, never stopped. Even now and again, some nights when he went in to check on Ichigo, Isshin would find his son actually crying, saying something like I couldn't save them, I couldn't save them, I'm so sorry, everyone over and over again and when he awoke quite suddenly Ichigo would have this painful expression of guilt across his face before his eyes would steel with a determination Isshin had never seen before on anyone. In that moment Isshin felt a horrible premonition creep along his spine.

It wasn't just those nightmares though; it was the other little things that only Isshin, as an ex-shinigami, would notice. For example, whenever a hollow howled into the night or during the day, his son would twitch as if bothered by something then look into the direction of the hollow before shrugging his shoulders and ignoring it, as if it didn't concern him. One time he even overheard Ichigo explaining to Chad what a hollow was. That at least confirmed some of his suspicions but only lead of more questions. If his son knew what a hollow was and could see them, why wasn't he afraid of them? Where did he even learn what a hollow was? At first guess, Isshin would have bet money that Urahara had something to do with it. But according to the mad scientist, he hadn't seen nor heard from Ichigo since they had gone to visit 7 years ago. If that was the case, then what had happened since then? Also when he was younger, especially around his younger siblings, Ichigo would display this very mature protective adult side of himself as if he had been through it all and knew just how to handle it. He never cried, never complained and acted in such a serious manner that sometimes Isshin forgot he was just a child. But a child he was and Isshin was determined to find out why his eldest acted this way.

"Dad, um are you okay?"

Isshin's thoughts were interrupted as a serious Ichigo looked at him from across the table. Isshin goofily smiled at him. "Why, of course, son, I was just wondering when you were gonna bring a girl home, tis all . . . Ouch!" He winced as a beet-red Ichigo kick him hard from underneath the table while the other three Kurosaki youngsters giggled again.

Masaki gave a disapproving glare at her husband. "Why, do you tease him so, Isshin? You know he is sensitive about those kinds of things."

Isshin smiled again a bit sheepishly. Quietly he noticed Ichigo was watching him with another small all-knowing smile on his face. Then with a sigh, Ichigo got up from the table, excusing himself and claiming he still had homework he needed to be doing. With a sad gaze, Isshin watched his enigma of an eldest son walk upstairs to his room, again pondering what was going through his mind.

With a groan, Ichigo collapsed on his bed.

Looks like your dad's onto you, King.

Ichigo rolled his eyes at that comment, as he rolled to lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. Thanks, Shiro. I wasn't aware of that at all.

I was just making a conversation, there was no reason to be snippy.

I wasn't being snippy. I'm just saying that your comment was unnecessary and . . . Ichigo paused as he watched a black butterfly floated into his room. Then with not so much as a whisper, his favorite shortie of a shinigami and best friend from Soul Society was there in the room.

Rukia.

Her broken form lay across her brother's. She had tried to protect her nii-sama even in her wounded state but ended up killing them both. The Arrancar that had destroyed them laughed maniacally, looking at them with a sneer. Renji, already heartsick at the loss of his rival and beloved, charged at the Arrancar but it wasn't until Ichigo and the rest arrived to help that the Kuchiki duo were able to be avenged.

For the past seven years, he had been practicing what he was going to say and what he was going to do, yet all in the course of a second, he had forgotten most of it. He watched her, the reason he became a shinigami, waiting for her to say something. It was after all the start of everything. And he needed to make sure everything went as planned.

"It's near."

He blinked for a second, not understanding. Ah she was talking about the hollow. It had been almost twelve years since he had heard her voice. And like most times, her voice brought him back to reality. He stood up slowly smirking and kicked her from behind. "It is near, my ass!" She looked around, glaring at him.

"Wha . . You can see me?" she asked, her eyes wide. "And you kicked me . . ."

He frowned at that. "Of course, I can see you . . ." He quickly dodged an attack to the side from his father who had barged into the room.

"Quit making a ruckus on the 2nd floor," Isshin shouted.

Ichigo growled back. "How can I not make a ruckus with you as a father?"

"Both of you stop making a ruckus or I'm coming up there and believe me, you don't want me to!" The two men sweat-dropped as they heard this coming from the true queen of the Kurosaki family.

"Yes Mom." "Yes, dear," they both replied, officially cowed.

Rukia smirked as she heard this. "Wow, look who's a little momma's boy."

Ichigo glared at her. "Quiet, you little twerp."

Isshin looked at Ichigo then at Rukia then at Ichigo again. "Who are you talking to, son?"

Ichigo inwardly sighed. His father's little act as a normal human was getting incredible old, but he might as well play along with it. He pointed to Rukia. "You don't see anything there?" Isshin shook his head and Ichigo sighed. "Ah, okay then dad, sorry I was making a ruckus now get out of my room!" He forcibly kicked his father out and closed the door before turning to the petite shinigami.

"So are you a ghost or something?" he asked simply.

Rukia shook her head before glaring at him. "I am a shinigami."

"A death god, eh?" he asked as he sat down comfortably into a chair, smiling at her. Rukia thought he looked like he was merely amused. "Are you here to kill me?"

"Aren't you afraid of me?" she asked inquisitively.

He shook his head smirking. "Oh no, until now I've only seen ghosts and hollows. You could be a figment of my imagination for all I know though why I would come up with such an unattractive shortie like you is beyond me . . "

"First Binding: Sai!" she angrily called out and Ichigo found himself unsurprisingly on the ground with his arms bound behind himself. He glared at her again. "What the hell?" She smirked at him. "Call me shortie, will ya? Hmph!" Then she brought out her sketchbook and Ichigo winced as she went on to explain the pluses and hollows and what she herself was doing there. He had missed her drawings, they were kind of cute, in a weird way.

"Did anyone tell you that your drawings suck by the way?" he commented, smirking, receiving the sketchbook in his face afterwards.

HOOOOOWWWWWLLLLLLLL!

Ichigo heard the hollow downstairs, his reiatsu rising slightly on instinct. As calmly as he could, he turned to Rukia. "Did you hear that?" It amazed him that she couldn't. it was an incredibly low-level hollow unable to hide its reiatsu in any way.

Rukia frowned at the human before her. Maybe he really was losing his mind. "Hear what?"

HOOOOOOOWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLL!

It was louder this time and Rukia definitely heard it. Quickly she ran to Ichigo's bedroom door and opened it, almost pushed back by the hollow's reiatsu. How on earth was I unable to feel it before now? It's so large. Then realizing something she turned to glare at Ichigo. How was he able to hear it before me?

"Shinigami let me go!" Ichigo shouted, pretending to struggle beneath the Sai spell. His hollow was cackling at his pathetic acting skills, but they were working and fooling Rukia effectively so it didn't matter.

"Ichigo . . ." Both Ichigo and Rukia turned to find Karin at the doorway, with haunted eyes and a bleeding head wound. Ichigo's heart grew very still and he forced himself to ignore the sudden bad memories assaulting his brain. "Ichigo . . . something . . . something attacked us . . . got mom, dad, Arashi, Yuzu . . . run!" Then effectively she passed out.

Ichigo could no longer pretend his ignorance or his calm. Every fiber in his being called out to him to rush downstairs and protect his family . . . so he did. Ignoring the suspicions that would be raised, Ichigo gathered a small amount of reiatsu and broke the kido spell easily, rushing past a wide-eyed Rukia after grabbing a bat. Downstairs, he found both of his parents as well as Yuzu lying on the floor, the house trashed by the large monster. His heart stopped at the sight of them but luckily after a quick check, he found all of them safe, only unconscious. Thank God . . . Where's Arashi?

Then he saw it in the middle of the street, the fishface holding his little brother in the palm of his hand. Arashi looked at Ichigo , his eyes wide and full of tears. "Ichi-nii?" Anger took hold of Ichigo, and his body moved out of instinct. The hollow didn't know what hit it, but it was hard enough to send its large body flying across the street, dropping its precious meal. Gently Ichigo caught Arashi before he hit the ground, finding his little brother unconscious and placed him down on the ground away from any battle. Then his eyes glowing red, Ichigo turned to face the incoming hollow, his bat raised and ready. "Come on, scum!"

However, just as the hollow was to attack Ichigo, Rukia stepped into the line of fire to take the blow. Ichigo growled, catching her frail body as she dropped, her sword scarring the hollow. "Shingami! What the hell do you think you are doing?" he cried, a mask of surprise and worry upon his face.

She looked at him with exasperation. "I couldn't just sit around and watch you sacrifice yourself for your family," she winced at the wounds on her shoulder and back. Ichigo sighed, muttering something under his breath. Rukia could have sworn she heard, You never change, do you? but she wasn't sure.

"Well then what should I do, eh? How can I protect my family and friends?" Ichigo asked tiredly.

She glanced at him, smirking and gasping at her wounds, she leaned against a wall shakily. "I will give you some of my power, but first you must stab yourself with this." Slowly she took out her sword, raising it to his chest. Surprisingly instead of fear or hesitation, she watched as the orange-haired teenager seemed to smirk and his eyes glowed with determination as he gripped her handle.

"Thanks, shinigami," he said.

She smirked at him again. "It's not 'shinigami'. Its Rukia. Kuchiki Rukia."

Ichigo gave a wry grin. "I'm Kurosaki Ichigo." And with that the sword stabbed, a blast of power echoing across the street.

(A/N: I thought of ending it there but then remembered in my almighty mercy to grant you an even longer chapter than before . . . don't hate me for it.)

Urahara Kisuke was a smart man, some could say. A little eccentric maybe, but his weird quirks often led him to new discoveries and inventions.

It was his most recent discovery that he found truly captivating, an enigma definitely worth investigating.

He had heard the howl attack his old drinking buddy's home even from his shop, miles away. Although he was only mildly worried over the attack, considering that Isshin was an ex-shinigami and couldn't possibly die from such a low-level hollow even while he was in gigai, he still wanted to make sure of the Kurosaki family's safety. Also he was acutely aware of the shinigami Kuchiki Rukia's presence and was keeping tabs of her whereabouts for further development. So he knew even as he strolled to the Kurosaki residence that there could be no lasting harm done. What he was not prepared for was the eldest Kurosaki boy's reaction.

He had arrived at the scene just as the orange-haired teenager had attacked the hollow with a bat with a speed and strength he had not been aware of in a human being. As he watched, Ichigo caught little Arashi in his arms, so gently and with such a morose expression that for a second, Urahara had feared the worst. Luckily he quickly noticed from his place in the shadows that Arashi was still breathing, merely unconscious. Silently Ichigo laid Arashi down on the ground, away from any battle then stood to face the recovering hollow, bat in hand.

The scientist, always perceptive to detail, noticed that the unusually confident air settling around the eldest Kurosaki sibling was something only battle veterans and experienced shinigami usually had. Not only that, but Ichigo's reiatsu was slowly rising, subconsciously as though in response to the heated atmosphere. Was this boy truly a prodigy born and bred to defeat hollows? Was Isshin right in assuming that his eldest son was more than the child of an ex-shinigami? Paying closer attention to Ichigo, Urahara noticed Ichigo's stance, his body tense as the hollow charge, then he relaxed as he saw Rukia take the blow from him, as though he had expected such an event. Peculiar would be an understatement.

Then there was the scene between Rukia and Ichigo. Even Urahara - an experienced and knowledgeable man - found the idea of being stabbed by a zanpakuto to release your own powers daunting to say the least. But this Ichigo had not hesitated in the slightest, placing her zanpakuto directly over his throat with a simple movement.

The sword had stabbed. The ensuing blast deafened and blinded the scientist effectively.

The dust settled slowly, causing the scientist to peer into the cloud. He couldn't see or feel anything from the shadows in the alley. It was as if his shinigami senses had been overwhelmed by a greater force. Then there was a vibration in the air, one that he felt spread along his body, before his sound and sight returned with gusto. Well, that was weird. But the thought was fleeting as he found that the hollow was still alive, standing near the center of the dust cloud. Quickly he also located the Kuchiki girl leaning against the wall. Hmmm . . . now where's the young Kurosaki?

The hollow was thinking along the same lines. Well . . . not thinking exactly. Hollows after all are mostly made of instincts. Somewhere in that miniscule animalistic mind, it felt that its prey was near. So with its empty eyes and other senses it searched, never realizing that the prey had never been and never would be. It was a predator.

Ichigo entered his shinigami form easily, taking only a small amount of Rukia's power to officially activate his own. For a brief (and foolish . . . at least by Zangetsu's standards) second, he let his true reiatsu leak out, relaxing his mind fully before reapplying the tattoo and sealing his body into his original shinigami form.

Are you sure this tattoo will continue to work, old man? he asked, eyeing the still glowing red lines on his right shoulder. His body felt heavy and restricted; his own reiatsu was stifling and thick.

Yes. Although it is rather unfortunate that you must seal your powers, it is necessary for our plan to succeed. After all, we must not tip our hand too early to Aizen, if he has been watching us for as long as he claims. Ichigo nodded in agreement.

Although he didn't like the feeling, Ichigo agreed with the wise old sword. With his reiatsu bound to ten percent still, Aizen would not change his plans and they would be able to predict his actions effectively. Yet despite the sealing, Ichigo felt the familiar rustle of his black hankama against his skin and the warm, firm handle of Zangetsu in his hand. It had been a long time since he had felt it. A small smirk made a way across his face. It felt good.

Waiting for the dust to settle, Ichigo stood confidently in front of the hollow, noticing with disdain that it hadn't sensed him yet. Good God, this thing is so weak. Truth be told, he could if he wanted to, kill it quickly and silently. The war had honed his fighting stealth and strategic mind to the point that he winced when he thought of the brash manner in which he had fought when he was younger.

Why don't you just put it out of its misery, eh king?

Ichigo chuckled slightly in agreement with his hollow. Can't be too flashy though, Shiro. You felt him too, right?

Hn. Shiro grunted in agreement. Ichigo could see his hollow half, scowling away in the darkness. That damn scientist ruins all of our fun.

The low-level hollow finally had sensed him, looking down and growling intimidatingly. Ichigo merely glared, hefting Zangetsu upon his shoulders. "Hey Fishface!" he shouted. At least in front of Urahara he could act like the idiot. The hollow growled again, then charged. Ichigo rolled his eyes, dodging the clumsy attacks, using normal speed, and slashed the hollow's mask with a single swipe. Smirking victoriously as the hollow dissipated to nothingness, Ichigo then turned his amber eyes to Rukia, only to find her staring at him with wide eyes. He frowned at her reaction. In his memory, everything had gone the same as before so what was she so shocked about?

Suddenly there was a sharp blow to the back of his head and just as his vision faded away, he saw a blur with green and white stripes upon blonde hair. Damn Kisuke!

Ichigo awoke in his human body, laying in his bed as though nothing had happened. The bump at the back of his head and the severe migraine that seemed to pound his temple begged to differ. Wincing slightly, he put his hand to his head and cursed the eccentric shopkeeper.

I swear, that scientist has about as much tact as Kenpachi. Geez . . . what's that cane made of? Steel?

I'm afraid, Ichigo, that this headache was not entirely caused by Urahara. The zanpakuto's voice seemed oddly ominous and Ichigo's body tensed as if expecting danger.

What do you mean, old man?

The seal upon your body, was meant to tone down your reiatsu to about ten percent, correct? Ichigo nodded in agreement. Well, your human body has still not fully adapted to the potency and strain of your reiatsu. Also I underestimated its power. Combined with the extra reiatsu gained from finally achieving your shinigami form, I fear that unless you expel all of that trapped reiatsu soon, your human body will suffer.

Ichigo nodded, understanding what he meant. So basically, I need to find an outlet to channel all of this excess reiatsu. Hmmmm but where can I go without being detected? His thoughts immediately jumped to the Vizard family. Hachi's shield would undoubtedly and effectively hide even Ichigo's reiatsu but to meet the vizards so early in the time line would unquestionably screw it up. So the big question? Change and adapt his plans to the best of his ability to cope with this new obstacle or suffer the consequential strain upon his human body, most likely suffering a shorter life span and the inability to fight in the War against Aizen? Decisions, decisions.

In truth, Ichigo was a master of worst-case scenarios, facing whatever obstacle that came his way head on without a hint of indecision. However, age and experience had calmed his thoughts enough that he could weigh the consequences of his actions rather effectively. Still with no one but the other halves of his souls to talk to, he found himself growing frustrated with the pent-up emotions that gathered like a storm in his mind. Growling in anger, he called to the advising sword.

Zan, I'll have to decide it later, okay?

As you wish, Ichigo. Just do not put it off for too long or permanent damage will start to appear. The zanpakuto's voice sounded worried. Ichigo grunted in agreement, then sat up in his room, wincing at the pounding headache. If these were merely side-effects, he'd hate to see what the permanent damage looked like.

"Like I could forget," he mumbled underneath his breath as he got ready for school. Grabbing his bag and slinging it across his back, he fixed his mask and calmly headed downstairs, where already he could hear their excited voices as they discussed the 'truck' that smashed through their whole house. He smiled slightly. Some things never change.

At the breakfast table, he listened quietly as his family recounted the story of the 'truck' and silently thanked whatever deity it was that at least his family was okay. As he ate the last remaining bites of his mother's delicious homemade breakfast (something he never took for granted), Ichigo pondered over his next move and felt a small smirk grace his features.

School at least would be entertaining for once.

A/N: To all who read this, I apologize for such a delay. As you are probably familiar with finals, essays, ect. I simply have not had the time to post this latest chapter. Luckily I made it rather long and can't wait to continue this story so expect more chapters soon. Also, please review and perhaps some ideas on where you think this story should go. Have fun!