Chapter 16: Resurrected
Soul Society
Ichigo had just finished the paperwork for the day and was a little more than frustrated. Between being the squad eleven captain, training his newest students in Rukia and Toshiro, and making sure that Las Noches is in order, Ichigo was a little more than overwhelmed. But today was a somewhat special day. Today, in the world of the living that is, was the day his mother was born. Ichigo had been keeping tabs on events within the world of the living ever since he became captain of squad eleven. Fortunately for him, there were only a few days where he would have to watch out for. His mother's birth, the day Isshin would leave for her though he would have to be very careful with that timing, and the birth of all his friends. Ichigo figured out that since he was back in time and changing many things already, he would have to force some events to happen. His own birth would have to be one of his top priorities. He knew that he couldn't harm Isshin in any way and he couldn't make Sosuke create the hollow that attacked his mother before he was born, but he could try something else entirely. Both of his parents were madly in love with each other at first sight, so all he would have to do is force Isshin out of the soul society to be with her. That, and a few dozen other things as well. He remembered Shinji and the Vizards, but knew they wouldn't come back here. In his own time, they also helped in his betrayal by informing soul society of his growing hollow at the time. Since Ichigo has full control of the Hogyoku, his hollow was dead now. There was also the possibility with messing with this new time that many of his friends would be different. Maybe even himself. That was a risk he was willing to take to ensure these changes to the future.
Ichigo sighed and stood up from his chair. He grabbed his haori and lazily put it on as he headed out the door. He decided to take a walk around the Seireitei today and just relax for now to clear his mind. True to form, his plan was still solid and ironclad, but with what's about to happen in the world of the living, he would have to really calculate every factor now.
As Ichigo walked on, he had an idea come to him. He made sure that he went to a secluded area and hid his spirit energy from any prying eyes as he opened up a garganta to the world of the living. He quickly went through it and landed on a rooftop adjacent from a hospital. The sight of a bustling city was a refreshing thing he needed. He took a deep breath of the fresh air and then looked through a window to see a woman holding her newborn daughter. The little bundle was wrapped in a pink blanket and was fast asleep in her mothers arms. Ichigo smiled as he could simply feel that he knew who this girl was.
That was his mother, Masaki Kurosaki.
Seeing her like this really brought the first, genuinely warm smile from the usually cold captain. He looked right at her as she opened her eyes and looked out the window to him. She smiled and started to giggle a bit, causing Ichigo to do the one thing he hadn't done in a long, long time. He shed a tear. A real one too, not a fake one the used to distract Isshin that one night after he met Aka. A real one, and he wiped it away as he opened another garganta back to soul society.
He was now back in his room and took a deep breath as he would remember that smile for the rest of his life.
"Don't worry mom." Ichigo started to himself. "This time, things are gonna be different for you. I promise."
Short and sweet. Wanted to make this chapter to show that time travel does tend to mess with many things. Ichigo pretty much knows this and will be forcing things to his favor.
PEACE!