AN: Yay for another chapter! I'm going to attempt to make this one a bit longer than the others…just bear with me a little. ^-^

Problems with History and Creativity

"Hai, Captain-commander. The incident with Kurosaki-kun has been taken care of…I don't think that they really suspect anything, but to be on the safe side we are keeping to ourselves so no other incidents happen. Yes, yes, I know…Oh, someone just came in the lab. Talk to you later, Old-man Yamamoto!" Urahara clicked off of the program on the computer that he was using to contact Soul Society just as Sam and her father walked in. It had been several days since the incident with Ichigo, but the Tok'ra still looked at Urahara and Ichigo like they were demons from the deepest pit of hell.

Not that there really were true demons there, according to Kurosaki. Just really twisted spirits.

…or maybe that described Urahara after all. Go figure.

Upon noticing the older Shinigami, the two "humans" stopped talking, but continued into the room. "Hello, Dr. Urahara. My father and I were just wondering how the translations were coming." Sam cocked a hip onto the counter, crossing her arms over her chest. He father choose to stay standing, his very stature screaming "military at-ease." She saw the video-chat program up on his computer, and cocked an eyebrow. "Who were you talking to? Not anyone that we would have to arrest you for, I hope." Her tone was, surprising to Urahara, mostly sincere.

"Ah! It was just an old acquaintance of mine from back home. He was assisting me with the context of a sentence. I must say that he was most interested in how we came about the artifacts, but alas! There was nothing I could tell him other than, 'Nya-nya, I got them fi~rst!'" Urahara swiveled around in his seat so that he was facing the two visitors. "As for how the translations are going, out of the 539 photos that are located on this computer, we have deciphered and translated approximately 215, Ichigo and I. For only being here three weeks, that's not too shabby if I say so myself!" The fan was once more pulled from his sleeve and splayed in front of his face. "As I like to say to a rival of mine back home, 'Kya-ha! My research techniques are better! Eat your heart out, Mayuri!'" The Shinigami started to cackle, his eyes shining from under the brim of his hat. "However, that is beside the point. I think that we have read enough that we can start looking at the actual, physical artifacts that you brought back with you…that is, if it's OK with your people." The fan snapped shut, showing his smiling face.

As Sam looked at the elder Japanese man, she recalled what her father had revealed to them at the briefing so soon after Ichigo's battle with Teal'c.

They were all sitting at the table in the conference room, waiting for Selmac to answer the questions that the General had asked.

Will you tell us what you know about the boy? What is so ancient about a kid so young who is not inhabited by a symbiote?

Sam's father took a deep breath, and let Selmac take control. "I will start with how I learned about the race of creatures known to us as Dis'tra Kalash, or-"

"The Master of One's Soul**…roughly translated." Daniel interrupted, awe in his voice. He had never heard of this aspect of the society of the Goa'uld or To'kra.

Selmac nodded his head in Daniel's direction, a small smile curling up the corner of his mouth. "Rightly so. For me it all started when I took my first host. I had been mildly interested in the mythos and histories of our peoples, from before we became two different races. One myth that I found was a very brief story about the great beings whose job it was to carry the souls of our hosts upon death to whatever it is that lay beyond. I believe the closest creature that American culture has is…a Grim Reaper? Yes, a grim reaper. It was how they traversed the many existences that are felt and not felt by our peoples…but that was all I could find on the subject when I was young. Then, about 50 or so years ago, a good friend of mine was delt a mortal wound that even his symbiote could heal. He started to speak in a very, very old language that I later discovered was called Meta'Remoc, 'To say, conclusion of the journey'. Even the name of the language has connotations of death.

"Before he breathed his last breath, he looked over my shoulder and said, 'Take me away, Shinigami,' in that long dead language. Not a minute later, a great presence filled the room, much like the one the young Kurosaki exhibited when his other…persona took over. So, armed with this new name for the creatures of death, I did some more research. When I discovered Earth had a culture that spoke of these creatures…and that they were Japanese." Selmac took a deep breath, wondering how he was going to continue. "Eventually, I decided to do a search in the records for all creatures of Death…and discovered that they only started to really become known in the times of the Ancients. They were revered by them, worshiped and praised for their vast knowledge in that which lay beyond our dimension. It was even said that they helped them reach Ascension, but of course we can't verify that without talking to one of the Ascended ourselves." His gaze briefly touched on Daniel, even knowing full-well that the young man had next to no memories of his time on the next plane of existence. "Sorry, I'm getting a bit off-topic. Either way, in those same texts it talks about the Empty Ones, those whose souls could not go on due to either unfinished business and an unwillingness to leave our plane, or being turned into one by another Empty One. They were creatures of hunger, hiding behind masks so their shame couldn't been seen by those they killed and ate. Creatures of animal instinct…and war."

Daniel took a deep breath in, and the sound brought everyone's attention to him. "Sorry…it's just that, when Ichigo was fighting…well, wait. Selmac, did these Empty Ones have black sclera and golden, glowing eyes with bone-like masks?"

The Tok'ra nodded, and Daniel leaned back in his chair. "Well…that's what I saw appear on Ichigo's face when his other personality took over. A skeletal, bone-like mask with two blood-red stripes going from his forehead to his jaw with glowing black and gold eyes. Yet…it was almost like someone was making me hallucinate, because I could see his normal features just fine underneath the mask. And the name Shinigami seems so familiar…" He rubbed his face, then shook his head. "I don't know, my head feels like a jumble of twisted knots."

Selmac gave Daniel a smile. "Do not fret, Daniel. I, personally, have never seen either an Empty One or the Dis'tra Kalash, so I can't verify that that is actually what Ichigo is, but I am very suspicious. We don't know if he is a danger to you or any of your allies. Just watch your backs."

And, even after discussing other security issues and when the Tok'ra would leave, they were watching their backs, even though it seemed impossible for the eccentric elder Japanese man to be involved in a diabolical plot to end the existence of anything more than rice pudding or a tuna sandwhich.

It took Sam a moment to realize he was waiting on her for a response to his previous question. Right…looking at the physical artifacts… "I don't see what the problem would be with that, though you may want to ask Daniel in case he has things in some specific order."

Jacob smiled. "I would be more than willing to go and fetch the young doctor. I shall return momentarily."

Sam smiled, "Thanks, dad."

As the elder Carter left the room, Sam turned back to Urahara. "So, this friend of yours…does he have a name?"

"Ah, yes! Yamamoto Genryusai, though most of us just call him old man Yamamoto. He is an old dragon, but he knows his stuff. He actually taught my teacher, if that tells you how old he is." Urahara leaned back in the chair, his hands behind his head as he started to rock a bit. He frowned a bit. "Though I guess it's not really that strange…my teacher was nobility, and a crazy old cat at that. However, I don't think that I could love a woman any more than I did her.**" He glanced at Sam's expression. "Oh, you find it surprising that I know nobility? Trust me, it's no one you would know…they have kept their status secret for many, many years. I only know because she got pissed at one of her butlers when I was in the room one day. Never laughed so hard at seeing a man being put in his place by a hand-to-hand combat trained woman."

At this, the door to the lab opened again, and Daniel, Jacob, and Ichigo filed in. "Sorry I wasn't here earlier, even though I was planning on it. Ichigo and I were just talking about the strange script that we found on the artifacts…" he trailed off, noticing Sam's mildly shocked expression. "What's up?"

Sam quickly shut her mouth the rest of the way, and backed—slowly—away from Urahara. "Nothing…I was just leaving. See you guys later!"

Urahara just started to laugh at all the confused expressions, and Ichigo dropped his face into his palm.

"Hmm…I can see why the technology was having issues. As I'm certain your Sammantha Carter guesses, this produces a…I guess a kind of EMP field around it, I would guess at a constant radius. And this insulation material? I've never seen its like before. Neither the rock. It's very peculiar." Urahara was hunched over the Styrofoam container, all technology within a 15 foot radius cleared out. "Do you see these striations in the rock, though? That means that it is natural, not man-made. The insulation is artificial, some advanced light-weight anti-EMP…well, ceramic, I guess. It's quite extraordinary. Here, Ichigo, take a look and tell me what you see. Why not make this a learning opportunity for the both of us."

Ichigo came over and picked up the smallish shard of rock from Urahara's hand. As soon as his skin came into contact with it, he knew what it was…actually, before. Because the rock never even touched his skin, repelling his reiatsu so that he couldn't even tell what texture the rock was. Seki-seki…Now to just find out how it got into the World of the Living…

"Hmm…Oh! Daniel, can we name this stone? Unless, of course, we discover that it is already known by another?"

Daniel looked mildly alarmed. "Why are you asking me? You need to refer to it as something in your notes."

Urahara made a giddy noise, then wheeled around to look at Ichigo. "I will leave that task to you, then, great Idiotic Apprentice! What would you like to call this stone?"

Now it was Ichigo's turn to look stunned. "Uh…"

Urahara frowned. "'Uh' is not an acceptable name for a stone. Please find something else to call it…something…creative."

Ichigo gave his mentor a flat look. "Seriously? Well, fine then. It seems like it was supposed to be a barrier for technology, so why not call it Seki?" Ha, chew on that, Urahara! I will just get even more UN-creative!

Unfortunatly, Ichigo forgot the fact that the more normal people in the room knew nothing about the real stone. "Wait," Daniel said, being the first to bring attention to this fact. "Doesn't that mean, 'barrier,' in your native language?"

Ichigo blushed, and Urahara laughed. "That it does! Have you been brushing up on you modern Japanese, Daniel-sensei?"

Now it was Daniel's turn to blush lightly. "In what little free time I have, yea. I had never been fluent in Japanese, but I figured it might be nice to put another language besides ones that I can't use in public under my belt." He smiled lightly, thinking, 'It also won't hurt so we can keep an eye on you easier…even though I don't want to trick you.'

It seemed, though, that Urahara saw through it if his frown was any indication. The expression only stayed on his face for a second when he wheeled around to Ichigo. "Why don't we double up the word and call it 'Seki-seki'? I like the sound of that." The expression Urahara gave Ichigo said, 'Two can play this game, and I am older and have more experience. Ha!' "We should also work on the spoken form of your Ancient Japanese…Oh! Why don't we try to read the next 100 photos aloud! The first one who fails has to buy the other a gift when we get home!"

The dread on Ichigo's face was priceless to Urahara, who carefully concealed his glee behind feigned innocence. "What? Do you not like the idea, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo sighed. This was going to be one long-ass vacation…why couldn't it be over already?

AN2: Sorry for the long wait...I hit a bit of writers block for how Selmac explains how he knows what he does. So I plunged through it like a bull in a china shop, and feel that the result was only slightly less disasterous...so sorry if it sucks, but I had to get it out SOMEHOW.

For the Goa'uld language translation( the first **), I went to (removing the spaces and replacing (slash) with / ) w w w . tokra resistance. co m (slash) dictionary. ht ml and played around with some words...

As for the second ** set, I'm a HUGE Urahara/Yoruichi fan...be happy that I have kept out all of my favorite pairing references thus far, and will try to from now on...but I had to have something fill the space from when Jacob left the room to when he came back a short time later with Daniel and Ichigo in tow. Sorry if you don't approve, but this should be the only reference you get in this story.

Good day, and as always, I LOVE reviews!