Sorry for the fact that I haven't updated like I said I was going to… There's no excuse good enough for you, so I won't even bring one up.

This is what I've got for you. It might be shorter than the others—I'm not entirely sure—but its a chapter nonetheless.

It's been a while since I've had to list the people who reviewed for the story… I might be a little rusty, so let me know if I miss-spelled your username, or it I missed your name all together by mistake. I enjoy reading the excitement you all have for the story, so keep it up! I lot of the names I recognize, so thank you guys SO MUCH for reading and reviewing for so long! Love you all!

Reviewers:

Xxsakurachan97

Valerie Michaelis

Kaneko Aikawa

Elfen Children

Quickslice

Phantom Claire

(Facts)

ilovebks

StarChild 97

Guest

syd (posted for chapter 3)

And because I feel bad for not writing in a while, I'll respond to a few reviews.

To Quickslice: Your enthusiasm is…amazing, to say the least. Haha. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. And, as a writer, I'm glad that my puzzles are stumping you. But everything should start to clear up in the next few updates. :)

To whoever posted "Facts": That was my mistake. Thanks for straightening that out for me. And I'm not sure if I explained it already or not, but Ichigo doesn't lose his powers in my story. That whole thing with Aizen wasn't as big of a fiasco as the Anime or Manga made it seem. Ichigo defeated Aizen with the help of others, and got to keep his original powers. That's it. And then obviously the part about receiving his "new powers" doesn't happen either. I'm sorry if that's undesirable by anyone.

To Elfen Children: Thanks for the encouragement! Sorry it took so long to get a chapter up. I wanted to point out that since you are the only one that reviewed for the previous chapter 5 (which was deleted) that you may not be able to review for this chapter 5. I'm pretty sure you can still review (if you'd like) by signing in as a guest. Just sign your username at the bottom and I'll mention you in the next chapter!

To syd: Thank you for the review! I thought I would add you in on this list so that I didn't have to go though the trouble of adding it to the ch 3 list of reviewers. :)

I hope you like it and it meets your expectations!

Enjoy!

(Please let me know if I switched from 3rd Person to 1st Person POV. I've been writing other stories and papers for school in 3rd Person that I might have randomly (off and on) started writing that way in this story. If I do, just let me know where and I will fix that ASAP. Thanks.)

Chapter Five: Who is this guy?!

"Are you sure you have to go tonight? This can't wait until the morning?"

"Rukia, stop bugging her, will ya? If she doesn't go now, I'll get a call from Hat and Clogs himself, and then I'll have to hear how we don't visit like we used to."

"Well, fine. Excuse me for being excited about seeing my eldest caught for the first time in 16 years. You don't have to whine about it, Ichigo."

I couldn't help but smile at how my parents were acting—they seemed to have very different personalities than Aunt Hisana and Uncle Byakuya. If it were anyone else, I probably would have though they were being immature. But somehow—even know I'd only known them a few minutes—this behavior seemed…right.

"I'll stay there for the night and be back by morning." Realizing how forward I was being, I added, "If that's okay…?"

Ichigo nodded. "Tomorrow is Saturday, so everyone will be home."

I felt my brows scrunch together. "Oh, that's right. Your human time-table is…expressed differently—you name each of the days, and seven days are called 'weeks'."

He made a weird face.

I must sound stupid to him, I though to myself. I scratched the back of her head nervously. "Sorry. I've never been to the human world, so I'm still getting used to the idea of living."

Rukia nodded in understanding, glancing up at her husband. "For as long as I've lived here, there are things about how they tell time and celebrate holidays that I still don't understand. Sooner or later, you'll get the hang of it."

Ichigo chuckled and wrapped his arm around her slender shoulders. "Be safe, Nanami. We'll see you in the morning."

A little voice was heard on the other side of the door, catching their attention. They ushered the younger child inside—Was that my younger sibling?!—and before they could turn around, I was already gone. It wasn't fair for me to keep them from the family that was waiting for them inside. For now, I would deal with being an only child. Because tomorrow, that wasn't going to be the case.

A smile passed over my lips at the thought of having an actual family. Someone who would look up to me and depend on me. It sounded like a big responsibility, but I was excited nonetheless.

Ichigo—I mean, Dad—said that this Urahara guy could help me get a Gi-Gai, a body that I could walk around in. Somehow it didn't seem as though it was going to be that simple. Just like how I don't fully understand the human world, Dad didn't seem to understand how being a Soul Reaper worked.

I arrived at the destination in no time. It was a small little building and the end of an alleyway. A small beam of light came from the sliding doors, and that for whatever reason seemed to draw me closer. As I approached and was about to open the doors, someone appeared on the other side and threw them open, making them slam against either side.

"You must be the Soul Reaper we were expecting!" A man in a green-and-white striped had said a little too cheerfully. "Please, come in, come in! All Soul Reapers are welcome!" He took her by the arm and began pulling her inside.

"Y-You can see me?" I stuttered, barely able to keep up with his sudden fast-pace walking.

He smiled brightly at me over his shoulder. "Of course I can see you. I'm a Soul Reaper, too, you know."

I didn't. I hadn't realized until I dug deeper into my focus and realized a second later that he was, in fact, a Soul Reaper. He was incredibly good at masking his Spiritual Pressure. I probably would have looked right past it if it weren't for my keen senses that Uncle helped me develop.

My first impression of this man was that he was strange, but I appreciated his hostility.

He lead me to a room with a table, and he took a seat on one of the pillows. "Please, have a seat. We'll discuss what you've come to me for."

I took my Zanpakuto from my hip and placed it on the ground beside me as I sat down across from him. "I thought you said you were expecting me."

Now that he seemed to calm down some, his expressions have as well. He suddenly seemed wiser and more alert than he did a second ago. "Yes, I did say that, didn't I? Well, then I guess that would mean that I know exactly what you need and what you're here for, wouldn't it?" He chuckled nervously, with a silly grin on his face.

But the expression on his face said it all.

I crossed my arms over my chest, looking at him accusingly. "You have no idea who I am." I wasn't a question. And a flash of guilt crossed his expression.

She laughed nervously. "Ah, well…no. But I haven't had a customer in a few weeks and thought that you were going to make a purchase from me…" His whiny voice reminded somewhat of the my father just a few minutes ago.

Customer? Purchase? Just who is this guy?

I sighed. "Look, Mr. Urahara. I father sent me here saying that I could get a Gi-Gai from you and—"

"You're father?" he said, interrupting me.

I made a face of disapproval for his rudeness, but still nodded. "Yes. I came here from Soul Society to find my parents, not that it's any of your business."

He was silent for a minute, deep in thought. Some kind of realization came to mind and his expression softened. "So the day has finally come…" Then he said more loudly: "Ginta! Ururu!"

Only seconds passed before two more people joined us. A young man and a young woman. They were both about my age, if not older. The young woman with dark hair was wearing a pale pink skirt that ended just after her knees and a white t-shirt. The young man, who's hair was a deep red, was wearing a pair of worn blue jeans and the some white t-shirt. It almost seemed as though it was their uniforms.

"Yeah, Urahara," the man said lazily, stretching his arm behind his head. "What is it now?"

"What is it, Mr. Kisuke?" the woman asked a little more politely than her companion.

Without turning to them, he said, "I need you to get a room ready for Miss Kurosaki. She'll be staying with us for the evening."

The young man, who's name she assumed was Ginta, looked from him to me, as if just realizing that I was there. Then he sighed, hand still resting on the back of his head. "Yeah, yeah. I'll do it."

"And I'll prepare some tea and snacks," the young woman, Ururu, said. She casted me a smile on her way out, closing the door gently as she left.

Kisuke didn't thank them, but instead said, "And Tessai?"

Suddenly the door opened on her left, opposite of where they had com in at, and a man with dark hair and glasses appeared kneeling on the other side. "Yes, Mr. Kisuke?"

"We need to prep a Gi-Gai." The man with the striped green hat paused, his face growing serious. "A permanent one."

The man nodded and closed the door again.

My head was spinning—just who is this man?

"Y-You called me Kurosaki…. But I never gave you my name. How do you know how I am?"

He glanced at me, but was more interesting in whatever was in his journal that he just trusted into the table in front of him. "I've known your father for as long as he's been a Soul Reaper. Even helped him on his quests. That man has a way of surprising me, I'll give him that." His eyes met mine again. "And you're no different, Nanami Kurosaki. You've surprised me, and I don't dare doubt that you've already paid a visit to Ichigo and Rukia."

I nodded slowly, not really sure what to make of the situation I was currently in.

How did I go from meeting my parents to meeting this strange man who offers me a place to stay in his small little store. I thought that maybe this man was some kind of creep that lead strangers into his "shop" to rape them or something sick like that. But now I'm starting to believe that he has a whole cult of people out to rape me. Great. Just were exactly did orange-hair man send his oldest daughter?!

I might as well ask, I thought to myself. Can't be any harm in getting some answers.

"Mr. Kisuke?"

The man's eyes widened as if he didn't expect me to speak. "Uh, yes?"

Saying his name aloud, I started to recall some of the teachings from our lessons from Soul Society's history. "Kisuke Urahara. Once a former member of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. You were Captain of the the Research and Development Division. Until you turned your back on your comrades and retreated to the human world." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Am I right so far?"

The man rubbed the stubble on his chin, as if debating if he wanted to admit to something. "Yes," he said after a few moments of thought. "Yes, I was a member the Court Guard Squads. Yes, I was the Captain of Research and Development. And yes, I retreated to the human world. However, you don't quite know the full truth, I'm afraid."

I glared at him, offended. "Are you saying that Soul Society's history books and scrolls are false? Are you to sit there and tell me that I've been lied to?"

He folded his arms over his chest. "Haven't you been lied to about what happen to your parents for all these years?" His voice was even, though that was because he knew that he was right.

"They don't have anything to do with this," I said between clenched teeth. He was really starting to annoy me now. And there wasn't much keeping me from jumping over this table and beating his ass. What does he know? What gives him the right to say something like that to me?

"Ah, but they have everything to do with this." He gave me a knowing look, and something inside me said that…he was right. What were my parents hiding from me?

"What do you mean by that?"

The man watched me for a moment, his eyes studying me. It was like he was trying to figure out how to put his words together. Finally, he said, "Nope. Can't help you there. That's Ichigo's job."

I groaned. "In other words, you don't want to be the one to tell me because you're afraid of how I might react."

A smile crossed his lips. "You're very good at reading people," he said, as if it were a mental note. Then he shrugged, that smile still on his face. "But, yeah. You're right. Don't want you turning your anger on me."

I was still annoyed but decided to be the bigger person. I wasn't going to get mad at an innocent man that didn't know what he was talking about. that conversation was just going to have to wait for when she went back home.

Home. To my parents—my real parents. Where I had a family—an actual family.

Butterflies danced in my chest just thinking about it. I was more than happy to finally meet the people I've loved long before I knew they were alive—let alone that they were my parents. They were my heroes because of the legacy they left behind, and because of the good they've done. I've always looked up to my Uncles—both Byakuya and Renji—because we've been helping me control myself and training me to be the best. And I strived to make them proud. Now that I have my parents, I have the chance to have a life with them and learn what I can from them, and thats more than satisfying.

Hat And Clogs man, who had thankfully left me to my thoughts for at least a few moments, spoke up again. This time, however, there was no joking around. He had a very serious look in his eyes.

"I have to ask you, because it involves the process of getting you a body that will last for as long as you are live here in the human world."

I looked up at him, confused.

"Your father has abilities many Soul Reapers his age couldn't have in a lifetime. That's why he was chosen to protect this town, and why they rewarded him with the chance to have a family. Soul Society owns him everything for the protection he's given not only the human world, but Soul Society itself."

He paused, taking a deep almost unnecessary breath. "And because of the power he processes, it was my belief that he may have passed that power down to you. So, tell me, Nanami…do you contain within you the power of a Vizard?"

Haha. SORRY!

I know you've been waiting so long for an update, and the one you get is really short…but I PROMISE there will be more! I'm working on it right now as you've read this chapter! (Had some time to kill before my first class started.)

Thank you for all of the reviews you guys have posted. They've actually been good reminders, so if I'm not updating quickly, keep up reminding me! They actually help quite a lot. And I am SO sorry to those who have been patiently waiting for an update since I've started this series… I have no excuse you haven't heard before, so I'll spare you from hearing them again.

I hope this very, very late update doesn't deter you from reading on. Stay with me, guys!

Thanks For Reading!

(Also, as it is pretty obvious to you already, my username has changed. And as a way to shorten that, I've condensed it down to 'Romni' why I sign the end of each chapter. Just an FYI if you're confused when you see the very last line of this chapter.)

—Romni