PLEASE READ:

First, let me say how SORRY I am that I'm updating so late! I got a Mac Book for Christmas and was learning how to use it. When I transferred everything over to my Mac I didn't realize that I couldn't post stories because the software for the Mac is VERY different from that of Microsoft. I had to figure out how to convert everything that I've typed into a document FanFiction could recognize. It took a while and, again, I am SO SORRY! I actually have a lot of updates, so…be ready!

. . .

Well, you guys kept asking for more, and here it is. I will say though that the updates when always be coming this quickly. I only got this one up because I'm on Christmas break from work and school. More than likely the chapters will be coming up every week-to-two-weeks. I know that's very different from how I'm updating now, but that's usually how it works.

And I have to point out that, in this story, the battle with Aizen ended without anyone having to die and without Ichigo losing his Soul Reaper powers. I know it's dull and boring, but that's the way it's going to work in this story.

Here's a thanks to the most recent reviewing party:

Kaneko Aikawa (First Reviewer)

SailorIchiruki

Well…guess that last chapter wasn't enough. I'll have to do better! And thanks again for being so patient! I love you all for reading and following!

Anyway, let's not keep you from the excitement! Enjoy!

Chapter Three: Where Am I Even Going?

I looked around at the town and the dark street. There was no one in the immediate area, and the only light was provided by the moon and a few street lamps. It looked like there was a market and a few other stores along the road, but nothing too exciting - it seemed like an ordinary town. There was, however, nothing that would help me find the way I needed to go. If I knew what his Spiritual Pressure felt like, it might be easier for me to find him…

"Oh!" I said aloud, not really meaning to though. "What was it that Uncle Byakuya said about Ichigo…?"

"Ichigo was never very good at controlling his Spiritual Pressure, so he shouldn't be too hard to find."

That made me wonder: "Any Soul Reaper should know how to control their spirit energy. If there are hollows in the area, they'd sense him right away. Maybe he's a lot busier than I originally thought." I looked around again, making sure the coast was clear, because I thought I had heard something. "I wonder if I could find him just as easily."

Concentrating, I searched the nearby area for released spirit energy, one that seemed as though it were out of control. It was kind of like closing your eyes and trying to see that barely noticeable light through the dark. Except this light wasn't unnoticeable – in fact it was almost blinding!

My brows knit together in confusion as I hurried in the direction of the 'light'. "I wonder what kind of Soul Reaper he is." I shook my head, smiling to myself. "I'm not here to investigate. Hisana and Byakuya wanted me to have a life with my parents – they've given me that chance. In time I'll learn more about them, so I guess I shouldn't question everything all at once."

In no time at all I came to the last intersection near where the light had shown. "Okay, so it should be one of these houses." I bit my lip, inspecting the houses one by one. "But…which one?"

There were only three houses along a rather short street; directly across from the houses was a hill that led to a park. To the left was a dead-end with no street to travel down at all - in fact, there was a fees blocking any access. To the right the road expended long enough to fit the three houses and then cut left again. I remembered passing over a river not too long before coming to this street, and decided to keep that in mind as a kind of landmark.

"Well," I mumbled, sighing, "I guess I better look and see which house it is."

With my luck, it wasn't the first house. It was a nice home with a few windows and silly garden statues in the yard. There were lights on upstairs and down in the larger portion of the house. The name on the mailbox read 'Ishida Family' on it, and with a big flower on it. For whatever reason, the name rang a bell, but it wasn't the house I was looking for.

The next house wasn't it either. It was pretty small and had an empty bird cage hanging on the porch. I didn't understand what that meant or what it was for, but I didn't want to know. There were a few lights on in that house as well, but it seemed a little less lively than the first. The name on this house's mail box read 'Sado'. That name seemed familiar too, like I had read it somewhere. But I was sure I had just mixed that name for someone else's.

The last house on the corner had to be it. It wasn't anything like the other two houses. It was a little taller than the first one, and had a slightly bigger yard than the second one. There were noises coming from the house, and lights on in almost every room. The color choice for the house was puzzling and really made it stick out: pale yellow. And there was a bunny character hanging on the front door – it looked hand made. I checked the mailbox…

I don't know what possessed me to touch the letters, but I did.

"…'Kurosaki.' This is it." My heart hammered in my chest suddenly, and I gulped."This…is where my parents live."

My nerves were sky-rocketing, my heart pounding faster and harder I feared it may break free from my chest. I wasn't sure why I was so nervous. No, I knew why I was nervous. But…why did I feel scared? It never crossed my mind until now that…they may not want me anymore. I mean, they gave me up for a reason, right? If they didn't want me when I was born, then why can I assume that they want me back 16 - or 1600, depending on what place I'm referring to - years later?

I stared at the house for a few minutes, watching shadows pass across the windows. Uncle Byakuya and Uncle Reji taught me to never show fear, and to swallow it quickly if I was going to defeat my enemy. Right now, my enemy was my own fear; how does one fight that?

As I stood there, unseen at the end of the house's walk-way, I tried to come up with the best way to approach the situation.

Option one: burst in, demand to see Ichigo and explain the situation.

Option two: knock on the door, apologize for intruding and ask politely to see Ichigo and explain the situation.

Option three: wing it.

I sighed. "I guess its option three."

I had barely lifted my foot to take a step when, suddenly, I sensed someone behind me, and then there was a sharp object at my back. Then, as if appearing out of nowhere, another Spiritual Pressure became noticeable behind me. One of them I recognized – Ichigo's.

But…that's impossible! I was just sensing him from inside the house a moment ago. How did he get behind me so quickly? And who else is there with him?

I nearly jumped when a voice sounded from behind me. "I don't know who you are, but you're not needed here," one of them said from behind me, his voice gentle but full of warning. "This town is already under watch. Leave now, and I don't want to sense your spirit energy anywhere near here again."

Shit! Way to get yourself into trouble already, Nanami! I thought bitterly to myself.

Slowly, I reached for my Zanpakuto. "I…I'm not going to hurt anyone," I said, very slowly pulling my sword from its sheath. And just as slowly I extended my arm out beside me… And dropped it. It hit the ground with a surprising loud clatter. I put my hands up as a sign of defeat. "There. See?"

There was a long pause before the pressure on my back lightened up and then was gone.

"Let her talk," another voice said out of nowhere; it was another guy. "She may have a reason for being here."

"Who are you?" the guy I presumed to be Ichigo asked. "I've felt your Spiritual Pressure before. Do I know you?"

I felt my eyes widen. He recognized my spirit energy. It's true, I was releasing some of the spirit energy, but I didn't think it was enough for them to sense. I have never been in the human world before, so there's no way anyone knew who I was. And if he recognized my Spiritual Pressure, then does that means…

"I'm…looking for Ichigo Kurosaki," I nearly choked out. Why was it so hard for me to talk all of a sudden?

"That'd be me. Now, who wants to know?" he asked, seeming unsure to give me anything more than that without answers for himself.

"I need to talk to him. I…I have a message for him."

He scuffed. "Any messages from Soul Society come through our orders about Hollows in the area. If it's so important, then the Head Captain can talk to me himself."

The Head Captain knows where my parents live? He knew this who time?

I clenched my eyes shut for a moment. It wasn't the time for those questions – I can always ask those later.

"I'm here by the request of the Fifth Squad Captain, Byakuya Kuchiki. He sent me with a message…for Ichigo Kurosaki."

His voice hardened, and it sounded like that of panic, and maybe even pain. "What? What happened? Is it my daughter? Is she okay?!"

"Ichigo, calm down. Let her tell us the message first. The last thing we need is for you to jump to conclusions like you've done in the past," he second guy from earlier said. He seemed to be the 'think first, attack later' type of person. This time his voice was directed to me. "You can put your hands down. Just tell us what you were sent here to say."

Slowly, I put my hands down, letting them hang at my sides. "The Captain…" I had never called Uncle Byakuya that before, so it was almost weird for me to say it aloud to someone I didn't know. "Captain Kuchiki was under strict orders to keep your daughter safe and hidden, correct?" I asked, still not facing him – it seemed as though I didn't have to strength to.

A growl of frustration came from behind me. "That damned Byakuya. He got her into trouble, didn't he?"

I shook my head. "No. She's fine. She's…" Here in front of you. "…perfectly safe."

I never thought that speaking in third person would be so hard…

"Then tell me: what does this message have to do with Nanami? Tell me what happened, or I will be forced to go find out myself."

I felt my whole body tighten with expectation. "Y-You know my name…" I said in a voice that was almost inaudible. He knew my name – he knew he had a daughter named Nanami. He knew I was living in the Spirit world!

"Take it easy, Ichigo! You know you can't go back to Soul Society – not unless you want to get yourself killed. And us along with you."

"What would you have me do, Uryuu? You have a daughter – would you leave her in danger if you knew you could stop it?"

There was a pause. "No, and you've already stopped that of which was endangering her. She's safe – you heard the Soul Reaper." I heard him sigh. "Hmm. Come to think of it, you never gave us a name. And please tell us the message, before my friend here tears apart the town."

I sad, pitiful smile crossed my face. My heard was still beating hard against my chest and I fought to keep my voice even. "I came here to deliver a message from Byakuya Kuchiki. He said…that you had better take care of her."

Surprise was in Ichigo's voice, as well as understandable confusion. "W-Wha…?"

Finally, after standing there with my back to him for what felt like a century, I turned to face him. It took me only half a second to find him, and it wasn't quite what I was expecting. Ichigo Kurosaki…was tall. I was pretty tall, too, but ever standing a few feet away I felt as though he towered over me. He had bright orange hair, which was nothing like my long black hair that reached my lower back. His hung long and barely touched his neck, though it shadowed his eyes. My eyes. We had the same amber eyes, and we also shared the same look of surprise.

With a shaking breath, my smile growing at the thought of finally meeting my dad, I said, "The Captain said that you had better take care of your daughter. And so…he sent me to you." Tears pricked my eyes out of nowhere, and I watched his face turned to that of realization. "I'm Nanami – I'm your daughter."

For a long moment, Ichigo said and did nothing. Pain. Sadness. Delight. Hope. Joy. Slowly those emotions passed over his face, and at one point it was all at once. The Zapakuto he had in his hand slowly lowered to the ground, as if the weight of it had become too great.

"N…Nanami…?"

I felt a tear slide down my cheek, and I nodded a few more times than necessary. "…Dad?"

How long have I been waiting to say that to someone? How many years did my heart ache not knowing who my parents were?

Then, the large Zanpakuto slipped from his grip and hit the ground just as mine had earlier.

Before I could process what had happened, he was suddenly there in front of me, having Flash Stepped in front of me. I felt strong, warm arms encircle me, nearly engulfing my whole body as he wrapped me in a hug. His Soul Reaper uniform whipped suddenly as he held me tight to his chest. The shock that radiated from my body numbed my movement. All I could do…was stand there.

"Nanami… Stupid girl…" he said softly. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Shakily, I moved my arms from my sides and hugged him back, not holding him nearly as tightly as he held me. In spite of myself, I laughed and said the only thing that came to mind.

"Hi."

To that, he chuckled. Gently, he pulled away, holding my shoulders at arms-length. "You're really Nanami? This isn't a sick joke, right?"

I wiped the remaining tears from my eyes, embarrassed that he saw them on our first meeting. "N-No. It's really me."

A wide warm smile touched his lips and lit up his face. "Good."

That warmed my heart. So…they did miss me - they did want me after all. But that still left a few questions I have been dying to get answers for.

From behind him, the other man with him, Uryuu, spoke up, smiling. He wasn't a Soul Reaper, but he had a strong spiritual pressure – I'm not sure what he is.

"Congratulations, Ichigo." Ichigo liked over his shoulder at the man behind him. "You're finally reunited with your oldest daughter."

"Thanks, Uyruu."

Puzzlement embedded in my expression. "Um…'oldest daughter'?"

"Hmm?" The Soul Reaper looked down at me, and then realization filled his eyes. "Oh, shit! You don't know you have siblings, do you?" He scowled lightly. "Then again, I guess you wouldn't know. The life you would of had here was kept from you all this time, wasn't it?"

Slowly, I nodded.

He scratched the back of his neck, looking over at Uryuu. The dark haired man just sold by and watched the scene before him. "Damn, then I guess you have a lot of questions, huh?"

Not trusting my voice, I nodded again.

Siblings… I had brothers and sisters! I didn't really have a lot of close friends because I shared the Fifth Squad Captain's last name, and he was well known and feared by some. So, the closest thing I had to a family was the people I left at the gate. And here I was getting to meet my parents and brothers and sister—

Wait… "What…What about my mom?"

This time he seemed slightly panicked, as if the thought of his wife no knowing was a scary thought. "Oh, God. Rukia!" He looked down at me again. "When we sensed your Spiritual Pressure I left her inside to come investigate. Geez, she's going to be so surprised…"

"Well, since the coast is clear, I'm going to give Orihime the good news," Uryuu said, already walking back to the first house I had passed.

Ichigo waved to his friend. "Alright. 'Night, Uryuu."

I started putting the names together, and a headache was forming. "Uryuu…Ishida. Ichigo Kurosaki. And…Orihime. Why…why do all of those names sound familiar?"

If I wasn't allowed to remember my past, then why did all of those names sound familiar, and why did I get a headache all of a sudden just thinking about it?

He shrugged, walking over to pick up his Zanpakuto. "They've been my friends since high school. We've all fought together, for each other."

I smiled to myself ignored my slight headache, replacing my own sword back in its sheath. "Friends sticking together this long; sounds like a family."

"Speaking of family…" He pushed me toward the house, and although it was a gentle nudge I still stumbled. Puzzled and a little annoyed, I looked back him. But he was just smiling like a fool. "I think it's about time you met them."

END!

No, not for the whole story; just for this chapter. I needed to end it hear because in the next couple of chapters we find out why Ichigo and Rukia left their first child in the hands of Soul Society. And trust me when I say that can take a while. Nanami also has to learn the basics about living in the human world.

Keep in touch to find out what happens next! And I promise the next updates will NOT take as long as this one did.

Thanks For Reading!

-Aly