Chapter 10

Seireitei, one week after Aizen's betrayal

Ichigo really had to limit his movement according to Nightingale. Despite the woman taking things too far when it came to producing high quality medical care. Ichigo really didn't want to give the woman a reason to tackle him down and drag him back to the medical center. Luckily enough for him and his friends, the shinigami have decided to form a temporary truce.

One where the lower ranking mobs would not be allowed to attack them and let them rest up. As Aizen pretty much revealed that he orchestrated most of this mess. Which was supported by Komamura who was there to overhear things when he tried to kill Aizen. Along with overhearing other details when he was nearly killed by the traitor.

However now, Ichigo's concern wouldn't be the shinigami not holding their end of the bargain of this truce. Rather, the fact that Ichigo heard that Zaraki was looking for him and waiting to fight again. Luckily Ana was there to tell Ichigo and give him the heads up once he started moving around.

"I will not allow him to harm you." Ana said in a serious tone.

"I think that maniac's desire is just a fight. Not torture." Ichigo replied before sighing. "Not that it's any better." he added.

Ana nodded and stayed close to Ichigo as they walked around the Seireitei. When Orihime was heard coming from a distance with a set of clothes.

"Ana-chan! I made you a new outfit!" Orihime called out.

Ana was given a folded dress and immediately felt uncomfortable. She would have accepted the gift with a smile even if it wasn't something she wanted but it wasn't her style.

"Your effort is commendable." Ana said as she wasn't sure of what to do with the dress.

Ichigo then noticed a second dress in Orihime's arms. While Ichigo didn't have an eye for fashion or could detect details perfectly. He felt like the second dress was a bit smaller than the one given to Ana.

"Inoue, what's with the second dress?" Ichigo asked.

"This one is for Rukia. I even managed to get her size." Orihime said.

Ichigo just stared at the cute little dress with a blank expression.

"I didn't know Ana was taller than Rukia." Ichigo said bluntly.

Sure, Ichigo knew Ana's story is different because she's the a goddess in true history and that her current form is a weird factor meant to resemble her sisters. Yet something tells Ichigo that while shinigami age differently. Rukia won't be a tall woman or one of average height should she reach adulthood, whenever that is.

"I'm sure Rukia just needs milk, now I just wonder where she is." Orihime said.

"Hopefully out of trouble. At least now, it looks like they won't try to kill her anymore." Ichigo answered.

"I sure hope not." Orihime said.

Orihime was glad that her new friend was allowed to live but not so happy she was manipulated. As for Ichigo, he felt like he needed to have a long talk with Urahara. As it sounded like the buckhat wearing store owner was doing some shady things and all it did was cause harm in Ichigo's eyes. Probably bonk him on the head if possible, if Urahara can be remotely trusted, then there's a chance he might lie or hide details with the excuse that he didn't have a reason to bring it up.

"I hope she's not too busy." Orihime said.

"She's probably visiting that older brother of hers." Ichigo said.

With that, the pair decided to go looking for Rukia at a later time. With Ichigo continuing to move despite feeling sore as he didn't want to run into Zaraki.

Later that afternoon, with Kukaku

Kukaku sighed as she found herself stepping on Ganju's back after forcing the younger Shiba to do push ups. Which Ganju claims he can't do anymore as Kukaku was making him exercise all day.

"For crying out loud, I almost got killed several times!" Ganju shouted before being kicked in the back.

"You're up and standing aren't you? You can do more!" Kukaku yelled.

As Kukaku continued to hurt her younger brother. She was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat very loudly. Kukaku turned her head and smiled as it to act like a good host despite her position.

"Sorry, you know how inobedient little brothers are." Kukaku said.

"No, but I can take a guess." said the guest.

"Anyways, you're Kurosaki's boss right? Sorry, what was your name again?" Kukaku asked.

"Da Vinci, Leonardo Da Vinci." the guest said.

"Anyways, thanks for the set up. So are you planning to meet Kurosaki at the Seireitei?" Kukaku asked.

"Yes, my 'associates' and I hope to establish a contract given how the conflict has ended." Da Vinci answered.

"I see, well hopefully it goes smooth." Kukaku said before kicking Ganju away.

Ganju groaned in pain as he slowly rolled onto the ground. As he sat up, his eyes turned towards Rukia and his face became a scowl. Kukaku also noticed her and seemed mildly annoyed to see the girl who had a hand in her older brother's death.

"What do you want?" Kukaku asked.

"Hey big sis, this is the shinigami that Ichigo wanted to save." Ganju said.

"Yeah, I knew that much already." Kukaku said, surprising her brother. "But what I don't know is why she's here." she said.

Rukia slowly came forward and bowed her head in an apologetic manner.

"Years ago, I told you what became of your brother, Kaien. I was too cowardly to say this, but given how your younger brother helped to save me. I wanted to apologize for my mistakes." Rukia said.

Kukaku rolled her eyes, "Don't bother, I'm over it." she said.

"I insist, I didn't apologize before and Kaien was my superior. I let your family down and you still helped me, even if you didn't know that…"

Rukia's long speech about her wanting to atone came to an end with a punch to the head. One delivered by Kukaku who looked annoyed, but not for the reasons Rukia would expect.

"Stop apologizing! I heard the damn story from that white haired captain of yours!" Kukaku said.

"Eh? You mean Captain Ukitake?" Rukia asked.

"Yeah, that guy. He told me the whole story. I'm not happy with what happened to Kaien, his death left a hole in our family for a long time." Kukaku said, admitting she misses him to this day.

Which is a very natural feeling for anyone who has experienced loss. However it looked like Kukaky was not going to be angry and spiteful like Ganju. Albeit he isn't an extremist or anything like that when it comes to the shinigami.

"Kaien knew the risks and I did too. Its a sad truth, but I let go of my hate towards you a long time ago. So stop crying about it." Kukaku said.

"But-"

And Rukia earned another punch but this time, in the face.

"What did I just say?" Kukaku asked, ignoring that Rukia now has a bloody nose.

Rukia nodded, accepting that Kukaku forgives her and not wanting to further press the issue. Not without another punch in the face. However she can see that Ganju was a bit sour but wasn't going to hit her or say anything insulting.

Perhaps he just didn't want to give Kukaku a reason to hurt him any more.

"Anyways, you should get going. I got a lot of business and one of them is opening the senkaimon tomorrow for your friends from the land of the living." Kukaku explained.

"I see. Thank you for hearing me out." Rukia said.

"Next time bring snacks!" Ganju said.

Kukaku groaned and was about to say something when Ichigo arrived.

"If her cooking skills are anything like her art skills. You're better off fasting." Ichigo said.

"Ichigo." Rukia said, looking surprised to see him.

"I was looking all over the place for you. We did save you after all and you decided to disappear." Ichigo said.

Rukia sighed as she looked away.

"I just needed time to adjust with what's happened." Rukia said.

"I get that. You might want to think about resting when we head back tomorrow." Ichigo said.

Rukia sighed and was about to tell him that she was going to stay in the Soul Society. When Ichigo realized there were more people around.

"We can get to that later, Kurosaki. Today is a day of business." Da Vinci said, revealing herself.

Ichigo immediately looked irate by the sudden presence of the Italian artist.

"Did you make Urahara bring you here despite knowing there was a war going on?" Ichigo asked.

"I did but he told me the conflict should end after mentioning the fighting would end." Da Vinci said.

Ichigo felt the stress build up as his memory of Aizen stating that Urahara set things up. Which led to Rukia almost being killed and Aizen obtaining what he assumed is a very powerful artifact. Which is a lot worse because Aizen is somehow aware of Chaldea and the Grand Order.

"You are going to need to terminate that deal with him or at least demand more." Ichigo said.

Da Vinci looked confused, "Whatever for?" she asked.

"Where do I even start?" Ichigo asked.

After a long explanation that Da Vinci mostly understood. The woman looked a bit irked but it wasn't like she was pissed. She still had no complete idea as to what was going on or who was affected. Although, it did sound concerning to hear that Urahara gave power to someone who is aware of what happened in Chaldea.

"Well our deal was one sided already, but I'm sure to add more requests." Da Vinci said.

Ichigo looked like he wanted to hurt Urahara while Rukia felt satisfaction with what Da Vinci said. At least someone had to punish Urahara to some extent.

"Anyhow, I'm here on business with whoever rules here. Who is the head of this 'Gotei 13' that I heard of?" Da Vinci asked as she read from some notes that Urahara gave her.

As Ichigo was about to say something, he noticed a couple of figures disguised in cloaks with hoods were following close behind her. Ichigo could tell that they were heroic spirits and could see that Da Vinci was at least prepared for any potential conflict if the meeting didn't go so well.

A while later

In the headquarters of the Gotei 13, Yamamoto prepared a room to speak with Da Vinci and was ready to hear what Da Vinci had to say. Alongside him was his lieutenant, Chojiro Sasakibe, as well as the remaining shinigami captains who were fit to move. The rest were being represented by their lieutenants who could not arrive and had to take their place. Of course, Ichigo was also there as he was a member of Chaldea too.

"Greetings Yamamoto-dono, I represent the individuals from the land of the living. I am Leonardo Da Vinci of Chaldea." Da Vinci said, earning odd looks.

"As in the Renaissance Artist?" Yamato asked as he opened his eyes.

"Exactly, though it might be hard to believe who I am." Da Vinci said.

Yamamoto then turned his head to look at one of the cloaked figures.

"And them? Why do they hide their faces?" the head captain asked.

"Oh them? They were here for security reasons in case the conflict has not ended. I suppose there's no need for disguises now." Da Vinci said.

Without looking back, the first figure removed their cloak. Revealing a blond beauty with emerald colored eyes. Followed by a bright light that blinded most of the occupance in the room because of her high ranking charisma.

"Is she the sun or something?" Zaraki asked with an annoyed expression.

"Ken-chan! I can't see!" Yachiru complained as she covered her eyes.

"This is quite bright." Unohana said as she closed her eyes.

As most of the captains struggled against the light. Several lieutenants and captains of lesser strength had started to prostrate themselves. Acting accordingly in the presence of royalty because literal royalty was in here. Even Sasakibe struggled to fight back unlike his captain who could handle the pressure.

"Chojiro, what are you doing?" Yamamoto asked while looking out the corner of his eye.

"I cannot help myself, my captain. It's as if I am facing great beauty hiding behind reality." Chojrio said, confusing Yamamoto.

The First Division's captain then turned his head at the sound of loud thuds. Where he saw Ukitake and Kyoraku on the floor, prostrating themselves as well As Renji who had the worst of it. Soon enough, the doors opened and Bykakuya entered the room despite having been in the hospital the morning before.

"I apologize for my tardiness, I am here now and…"

Byakuya collapsed as he was also forced to bow down before the woman who removed her cloak.

"Perhaps having someone of high charisma was a bad idea. Still, this was the best negotiator I could find." Da Vinci spoke as if this was all an honest mistake.

"You brought her here?" Ichigo asked.

"Kurosaki, don't refer to King Arthur in such a way." Da Vinci said.

"K-King Arthur? But she is a woman!" Sasakibe said, voicing his confusion.

"Indeed, I am King Arthur and it is no mistake that the world thought I was a man as only a man could fulfill the obligation of being a king." said Artoria Pendragon in her Lancer form.

The very form that was stronger than her Saber form. The calm composed ruler of Camelot who was more understanding and more reserved compared to her Saber form or that of her true self in ancient history. As much as Sasakibe and the others wanted to question this, the regality that Artoria leaked made them silent.

"I apologize if my presence is a bit much. I cannot help myself." Artoria said.

"You are forgiven. Now let us move onto business." Yamamoto said, hoping to be done before anyone else makes a fool of themselves.

That night

After a long drawn out meeting with Yamamoto deciding to side with Chaldea. At least for now as Aizen had crippled the seireitei and the dragon from earlier had only further caused damage around the place. Only to end up escaping as many shinigami were either killed or left heavily injured.

Honestly, it looked like the only person who was really interested in this deal is none other than a certain psychotic shinigami captain. Not Zaraki, it was Mayuri Kurotsuchi who seemed to benefit.

"My division is grateful for the kind donation." Kurotsuchi told Da Vinci.

It was not that he was trying to be nice and everything. Rather, Kurotsuchi was very eager to tamper with the flashy equipment that Chaldea provided him. Now the captain had the same equipment that was provided to Urahara at his shop.

"Then I hope this will only further help with our relationship." Da Vinci said.

"Yes, it will for now." Kurotsuchi said.

As he said this, the members of the 12th division struggled to drag the large carts of heavy equipment towards Kurotsuchi's lab. Only to watch as Nemu passed by with a small red wagon that held what they assumed to be a fragment of a giant reactor.

"What are we carrying? A nuclear reactor?" One shinigami asked.

"A reactor, yes, but not a nuclear one. Now get moving." Kurotsuchi said as the shinigami continued with their struggle.

"Well then, I'll be on my way. Please contact my headquarters regarding any technical difficulties." Da Vinci said.

"Yes, thank you. I will keep communications open." Kurotsuchi said before moving on.

Da Vinci sighed as she got weird vibes from the 12th Division's captain. Then again, this isn't the first time she's witnessed strange characters with dark intentions or lack of a moral compass. Then again, she trusted Urahara who already screamed suspicious in terms of appearance.

"Well then, what do you suppose we should do Kurosaki?" Da Vinci asked as she turned to look at Ichigo.

Only to find him wearing an apron and working on a grill.

"What are you doing?" Da Vinci asked.

"Somehow I got stuck with cooking duty. No one trusts that ginger haired lady who can't cover her chest." Ichigo answered.

Da Vinci just stared at Ichigo who was cooking up a lot of meat. With Rangiku stumbling nearby with a bottle of sake on hand.

"Oh that smells delicious!" Rangiku said between slurs.

"Yeah, do you mind stepping back?" Ichigo asked.

Rangiku moved around the grill and moved close to Ichigo.

"Ah, just let me look. I can give you advice. I'm a good cook too." Rangiku said as she stood uncomfortably close.

What Ichigo didn't know is that Rangiku is a poor cook with her food tasting nasty. Luckily Ichigo did develop some skill in cooking food in the past year. Who knew ancient figures lost to time would be great teachers?

Another lucky thing, Nightingale arrived to gently remove Rangiku from Ichigo's side. The nurse then gave Rangiku a bottle of water after removing the bottle of sake.

"I think you had enough so please stop harassing the chef." Nightingale said.

"Aw! Water? I'm not even done with my sake." Rangiku whined as she reached for a bottle.

"You are going to wake up nauseous and with a headache. I am only preventing your hangover." Nightingale said as Rangiku whined.

"You're not fun you big boobed nurse lady." Rangiku said as she stumbled away.

Nightingale crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes as Rangiku left. She the turned to Ichigo who cooked up some ribs and put them on a plate before hitting a bell.

"Come and get them while they are hot and ready." Ichigo announced as a line formed up.

Da Vinci just chuckled at the sight of Ichigo being a chef again. Along with the time she decided to send Nicrosis to his school. It seemed like Ichigo's cooking was a sign that all was at peace.

Then Uryu arrived and had to try and fail to get everyone's attention in the most subtle way he knew how. Standing around and hearing his chest like he was trying to prove something.

"Ishida, what are you doing?" Ichigo asked.

"Nothing, just stretching out the new uniform. I could only do so much with what I had on hand." Uryu said, pretending that he wasn't showing off his new clothes.

"Is that a Chaldea uniform?" Da Vinci asked.

"Oh, is that what it was called? Well now it's now a modern Quincy standard uniform." Uryu said.

To the best of his ability and given his limited resources. Uryu messed with the uniform jacket's design and added the Quincy cross and adjusted the designs to avoid obscuring the cross. Although Uryu did wish he could do something about the pants as they were all black.

"I'm sure I can further improve it once we return home. Although I had trouble dealing with this weird power source on it." Uryu said.

"That's a mystic code. It's basically like a support tool embedded into your clothes." Ichigo said.

"…okay, I admit that's a nice Idea as confusing as it sounds." Uryu said.

Before Uryu could mutter another word. Ikkaku suddenly fell from the sky and landed on top of the Quincy. Prompting Nightingale to grab her medic bag and drag both Ikkaku and Uryu away.

"I see Florence is still healing people in her own way." Da Vinci said.

"Yeah, my guts still hurt from her trying to pin me down to fix a nasty scratch on my gut." Ichigo replied as he cooked more meat.

Da Vinci nodded before looking at the sky in curiosity. She wondered why Ikkaku landed on Uryu and how he was in the sky. That's when she noticed a pterodactyl flying in the sky and heard some sounds of excitement and fighting.

"Well that answers half of the question." Da Vinci said, realizing Quetzalcoatl is somehow responsible for what happened to Ikkaku.

"Oh yeah, Kenpachi or whatever his name is, found me earlier. So I made an excuse that I promised to fight Quetzalcoatl first." Ichigo said as he gave out another plate.

"I'm guessing you made no such promise." Da Vinci said.

"Of course I didn't, I knew that crazy goddess would accept any challenge. I guess she decided to grab Ikkaku and make it a battle royal or something." Ichigo said, caring little for the people getting hurt.

Da Vinci just sighed and decided to wait in line and get some food for herself.

Meanwhile, on the pterodactyl

Yachiru was standing on the tail end of the pterodactyl while somehow keeping herself balanced. At the same time, she was cheering on Zaraki while wearing a pink luchador mask.

"You got this Ken-chan! Don't let up! Use your back!" Yachiru shouted.

Zaraki growled as he already removed his eyepatch but wasn't using his zanpakuto for this fight. He relied solely on physical strength as he found some more entertainment in fighting the Aztec goddess. However it was frustrating given how he wasn't used to wrestling.

'The old man seriously did this in his youth? How did he do this without becoming a cripple?' Zaraki wondered.

His thoughts trailed back to the story he heard about Yamamoto. Apparently the old man was a fan of wrestling way back in his youth. Then he got out of touch with it and stopped practicing for the past couple of centuries. Unknown to Zaraki, Quetzalcoatl had managed to revitalize the love for the sport within the elderly captain.

"Ah, what's wrong Zaraki? Have you not practiced leg day?" Quetzalcoatl asked before kneeing Zaraki.

Zaraki grunted before finding himself being turned the other way and was held in a headlock. Zaraki struggled to break free of the hold by bashing his elbow towards Quetzalcoatl who only gripped him tightly.

"You want some leg work? How about you get some back work!" Zaraki yelled.

"I do not understand you." Quetzalcoatl asked.

She wasn't sure if there was some language barrier she had despite being able to understand people regardless of their native language. Then Quetzalcoatl realized what Zaraki meant when he used all his strength to push himself backwards. Forcing the Rider to fall onto her back with Zaraki landing on top of her.

"You like that?" Zaraki asked with a grin.

"I welcome it!" Quetzalcoatl exclaimed as she tossed Zaraki across the pterodactyl.

"Don't give up Ken-chan!" Yachiru shouted.

"I won't!" Zaraki replied as he shoulder charged Quetzalcoatl.

With the floating battle above the Seireitei continuing even longer.

The next morning

Zaraki woke up and found himself on the ground. He groaned as he felt some discomfort coming from his back. He realized he was somewhere near the second division's territory.

"How did I get here?" Zaraki grumbled.

"Ken-chan, I found you!" Yachiru yelled.

Zaraki turned and saw a damaged building where Yachiru stood on top of the broken roof while still wearing her luchador mask.

"Yachiru, what happened last night?" Zaraki asked as the girl jumped down.

"I don't know, you kept fighting the dinosaur lady and then you both fell off of the dinosaur. Then the dinosaur started acting crazy because I tried to drive it. Then I fell off and saw it crash around here." Yachiru explained.

"Well that explains the broken building." Zaraki said with a sigh.

"Also, the lady said you were a good fighter and pointed me this way. Then she went to find Ichi. Then I took a nap and woke up ten minutes ago so I can find you again." Yachiru said, finishing her story.

Zaraki growled, "Did I seriously get knocked out!? I'm finding that woman, then I'm challenging Ichigo again!" He said.

"You better hurry! Ichi might leave or Captain Smile might charge you for the broken house!" Yachiru exclaimed.

Zaraki rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I don't want to put up with Unohana complaining about property damage or something." He said.

Yachiru climbed onto his back and left the area. Not without hearing the damaged building collapse.

"…I'll tell them Madarame did it." Zaraki said.

"Right! It was baldy's fault!" Yachiru said.

In the hospital

The hospital found itself getting more patients thanks to Quetzalcoatl. With the woman wrestling with all the officers she could get her hands on. Obviously she didn't challenge Isane because the goddess thought it would be inappropriate because she is a doctor, nor did she approach Nemu who was a scientist and she thought Nanao had no upper or lower body strength.

So everyone including Ikkaku found themselves visiting the hospital yet again. Luckily they had Nightingale to lend a hand. Mainly because they were understaffed and Unohana thought the lieutenants didn't need as much attention.

"Her technique is unorthodox, but is so effective." Isane told Unohana as they watched Nightingale squeezing Renji with some bandages.

Along with pouring some iodine where some tears around his body were still exposed.

"No not that! Anything but that!" Renji yelled before screaming in pain.

"Should we step in at some point?" Isane asked.

The second division's captain was silent for a moment as she pondered on the question. Then an obvious answer came to Unohana despite how harsh it may sound.

"We have many injured from the ensuing battles. We cannot put our resources on the victims of horseplay." Unohana answered.

"Captain Unohana, forgive me for overstepping my bounds, but would wrestling a woman dressed like an ancient South American woman count as horseplay?" Isane asked.

"All forms of wrestling are horseplay. Just ask Captain Yamamoto and if you are fortunate enough, he may regale you of his favorite pastime." Unohana explained.

"Wait, what does Captain Yamamoto's hobby have to do… I'm sorry, I cannot process what you just said." Isane as she blinked in confusion.

Unohana just turned and left while Nightingale's patients screamed in pain. Isane just shuttered and decided to focus on patients that needed more immediate help. Hopefully no one else would complain about the lack of high quality of food as that has been the primary complaint lately.

"Hey Ryoka lady with the big chest!" Makizo Aramaki called out. "Don't you or your friends have the power to cook up some food?At least be considerate and pay us back that way since you did bust some of us up." He said.

Makizo's friends nodded, hoping to at least gain something from bothering the servant now that they were forced to play nice with them. However, Makizo and his friends suddenly found their mouths filled with tofu and other bland foods that had some form of nutrition. It didn't help that Nightingale literally punched the food through their mouth as it got stuck.

"You need protein, this is also a good alternative to meat." Nightingale said.

Makizo tried to argue and voice his opinion but the food tofu his words. It didn't help that Nightingale just punched the food and shoved it in deeper which made it a choking hazard. Luckily the nurse wasn't that stupid and helped push it further down until Makizo swalled the whole thing.

"There, now your hunger is gone." She told him.

"You psycho…" Makizo said before passing out.

"Who else is hungry?" Nightingale asked, causing all the men to shiver.

Hours later

Everyone said their goodbyes and prepared to return to the world of the living. With the shinigami seeing Ichigo's group off but not without giving the young man something to hold onto. Ukitake had presented Ichigo with a pentagon shaped badge.

"Here Kurosaki-san, as part of our current partnership. We have decided to name you a substitute shinigami." Ukitake explained.

"How does that even work?" Ichigo asked as he accepted the badge.

"Despite initial hostilities, you have proven yourself to the Soul Society. With this badge, you can use this badge to enter your shinigami form." Ukitake explained.

"Well that's going to be useful." Ichigo said as Rukia told him that she's staying behind.

Ichigo doubted he could just rush to Urahara's shop whenever a hollow attack comes. That and it would be creepy if Urahara conveniently appears whenever Ichigo needs to change. The man is already shady and he decides to send Ichigo a message with bloody writing on his bathroom mirror.

"Although I doubt this is good enough to pay you back for what's happened recently." Ukitake added.

"It's fine, I'll accept it." Ichigo said before looking around the place one more time.

"Hurry up, these guys gave us enough reishi to open a way back home but it won't be open forever." Kukaku said as she stood next to the senkaimon.

"We better hurry Kurosaki." Yoruichi said, in cat form once again.

"…I'm never going to look at you the same way again." Ichigo said, having Yoruichi's true form engraved into his memory.

"What? You want to see me without clothes again? I'm sorry, but there are too many prying eyes." Yoruichi said in a teasing voice.

"Don't say that!" Ichigo yelled.

What made it more less comfortable is the fact that Yoruichi had the voice of a man in this form. A middle aged one too, one that was flirting with him in front of a dozen pairs of eyes.

Yoruichi just laughed while everyone started saying their farewells to Rukia. Along with Orihime trying to force Rukia to take the sundress she made.

"Oh… thanks Inoue." Rukia said, trying not to sound rude.

"Promise me you will wear it every so often." Orihime said with a bright smile.

Rukia just nodded then just silently nodded to Chad who nodded in silence as well. Uryu told her to take care and Yoruichi said something similar. With Mash and Ichigo approaching her last.

"I'll miss you Rukia. You were the only other person I could relate to." Mash said.

"How so?" Rukia asked, sounding confused.

"Honestly, I never had a normal life so I'm glad I wasn't alone to feel so awkward in high school." Mash explained.

Given how Mash was originally predicted to die with how she was made. Normal schooling was never going to be an option for her. She was under Dr. Romani's care for so many years and now Mash was given the chance to explore the outside world. It also made Mash feel less awkward when she could relate to Rukia.

Although she didn't have as much difficulty with basic things like using a straw.

"Well I'm glad to hear that, but you shouldn't worry. You Ichigo to keep an eye on you." Rukia said.

Mash smiled before Fou asked her to carry him. Mash then grabbed Fou who stretched his paw towards Rukia to rub against her cheek.

"I'm gonna miss you the most, Fou." Rukia said.

"Fou, Fou." Fou said before going back to Mash.

Rukia then turned to Ichigo who looked stone faced as ever.

"Don't cry on me. I'll see you again." Rukia said jokingly.

"I should tell you that. Here." Ichigo said as he gave her a tissue.

Everyone suddenly noticed Rukia was all teary eyed as tears fell down her cheek so rapidly.

"What the heck? Did you use that stupid coin on me?" Rukia asked, thinking Ichigo somehow made her cry.

"Don't blame me, besides you will see me again. Who else will critique your artwork in the most honest way possible?" Ichigo asked.

Mash raised her shield thinking Rukia would try to hit him. Luckily Rukia tried to remain composed and not look foolish.

"Goodbye Ichigo, I know you won't change." Rukia said, knowing she wouldn't accept Ichigo if he became someone else.

Ichigo nodded before walking with everyone towards the senkaimon. Da Vinci and Artoria joined them soon after confirming to keep open communication with Yamamoto through Kurotsuchi who wasn't here as he focused on his new technology.

"That was an interesting conversation." Artoria told her.

"It was, now it is time to return." Da Vinci said.

Without looking back, Ichigo and his group left the Soul Society. Of course, they all began to run as they found themselves in the Dangai much to Ichigo's frustration. Seeing as the shinigami opened this gate for them, he wanted a safer route without having to deal with this hallway which looked like something out of a horror movie.

"Do we really need this route?" Ichigo asked.

"Only those with a jigokucho can take the safe route but only shinigami can handle them." Yoruichi said, annoying Ichigo.

At this point, Artoria summoned her steed and picked up Mash with Da Vinci jumping right behind her.

Achilles summoned his chariot which picked up Chad, Orihime, Uryu and Ana.

"Quetzalcoatl, can't you summon your pterodactyl?" Ichigo asked.

"Sorry, but this place is very small." Quetzalcoatl said, noticing how narrow the Dangai looked.

Ichigo groaned before trying to mess with his different forms. Nightingale and Quetzalcoatl watched as Ichigo quickly switched his zanpakuto's forms. Nightingale was about to ask what Ichigo was doing when he suddenly generated what looked like a sportbike.

Ichigo barely managed to keep it manifested as a pair of blades extended where the mirrors should be. At that moment, Quetzalcoatl jumped onto the back and wrapped her arms around Ichigo's waist while Nightingale jumped sideways onto Ichigo's lap.

"Hang on!" Ichigo exclaimed.

Nightingale wrapped her arms around Ichigo's neck and held on as Ichigo managed to speed up and led the way towards the World of the Living.

"What kind of power is that?" Achilles asked.

"That's very interesting to see." Da Vinci commented.

"Did Kurosaki just turn his weapon into a motorcycle?" Uryu asked with wide eyes.

Several members of the group were just confused by what they saw while the rest just ignored the amazing sight. That is until they reached the human world and found themselves floating over the sky of Karakura town.

"Uh oh." Ichigo said as he began to fall and lose control.

"Perhaps you should turn your sword into something capable of flight." Nightingale said.

"How are you calm!?" Ichigo asked.

"If I panic, my heart will race and…"

"Okay, never mind." Ichigo said as they continued to fall.

While Ichigo's Rider form was an amazing sight to see for the first time. All the exciting magic he showed immediately turned into disappointment. Too bad Rider form didn't have any wings but luckily Urahara prepared for everyone's arrival. With him arriving with a large floating cloth for Ichigo to land on.

"Holy…!" Ichigo shouted as he landed and hit the breaks as hard as possible.

"That's a nice ride, Kurosaki-kun. I see you also have pretty girls with you." Urahara compliments.

Ichigo glared at Urahara while Quetzalcoatl and Nightingale got off of his bike.

"You have no idea how badly I want to run you over right now." Ichigo said.

"Is it safe to assume that you know who I am?" Urahara asked.

Ichigo revved up the motorcycle causing Urahara to wince and remove his hat before bowing his head.

"I know, I got Kuchiki hurt with what happened. If it will appease you, I'm already injured. Very badly I might add." Urahara said as he lifted his face to show the bandages around his face.

Now Ichigo looked surprised, but would not forgive Urahara just because someone else gave him a beating. Seconds later, Achilles landed on the floating cloth along with Artoria who landed with her horse. With everyone giving the shopkeeper some odd looks as they saw his injuries. Which Nightingale quickly took detailed note of.

"He was cut by an animal with sharp claws and the bites further prove this." Nightingale said as she pointed at a bite mark on Urahara's neck.

"Okay, before we do anything. Would you explain why you look like you had a bad hangover?" Ichigo asked.

"Personally, I don't see myself as much o a drinker." Urahara said.

He then scratched his cheek sheepishly as he regaled them with the tale of the strange creature that came out of the battery.

Flashback, many days ago

Ururu was still on the phone calling Shinji and the rest of his group. Leaving Urahara and the others to try and combat the dragonic child who was attacking them. At one point, Urahara caught it and prepared to disable it only to be bitten on the neck.

"AH! Someone get the lizard repellent!" Urahara cried out.

"We sell that?" Jinta asked.

"Check the boxes with the newest inventory!" Urahara told him.

Jinta nodded and ran back upstairs to check any supposed lizard repellent. Leaving only Tessai to help with the removal of the lizard. He quickly tried to punch the creature only to let go and let Urahara take the punch while it ran in another direction.

"Tessai, while I appreciate that you don't hesitate. Perhaps you should time that better." Urahara said as he fell to the ground.

Tessai adjusted his glasses and nodded before turning his head towards the creature. He immediately began to chase it around and tried to tackle it. Only to jump high into the air and glide away with its wings. Tessai picked up some rocks before tossing them at the creature only to barely miss each time.

"This animal has great instincts despite being a newborn." Tessai noted.

As the chase continued, Shinji arrived with the rest of the Vizards who all looked ready to battle whatever apocalyptic threat they thought was attacking Urahara. Instead, they found the store owner and Tessai chasing around what they thought was a weird pet.

"What is that? A scaly turkey?" Hiyori asked.

"Turkey's do not fly." Lisa pointed out.

The group continued to watch the embarrassing chase with Hiyori looking the most annoyed. Obviously they expected a Hollow attack or literally anything else that would warrant a group fo former shinigami captains and lieutenants.

"What the hell do you want us here for, Urahara!?" Hiyori angrily asked

"This thing came out of our new stuff. Now its attacking us and wrecking up the place." Jinta said as he came back down.

"...you can't handle a flying iguana?" Shinji asked.

"I like to see you try and beat it!" Jinta yelled.

"Glady." Shinji said without any care.

Three minutes later, the strange creature was on top of Shinji and clawing at his face. With the man running around in circles as Hiyori chased after him with her sandal in hand.

"Hold still! I'll smack it off!" Hiyori yelled.

"No way! You're going to hit me!" Shinji yelled as he kept running.

"That's a necessary sacrifice I'm willing to make!" Hiyori replied, not really caring as she always hits Shinji.

Of course, like in the fashion of Looney Tunes style cartoons. Hiyori ended up hitting Shinji after the dragonic creature jumped off and ran away again. Hiyori began chasing the creature only for it to outrun her.

"Stupid scaly turkey!" Hiyori yelled.

Kensei had enough and stepped in, "How hard can it be to catch this thing!?" he angrily asked.

With his great skill in shunpo, Kensei tried to catch the creature only to miss each time. It was as if the strange creature could detect anyone who came close to it and immediately knew where to go to avoid their attacks.

"Hold still!" Kensei yelled.

"I got this, don't get stressed." Love said as he appeared in the direction of the creature. "Crush Them! Tengumaru!" he said as his zanpakuto turned into a kanabo.

Somehow the cartoonish antics continued with the creature barely avoiding the attack with Kensei and Shinji getting hit by Tengumaru. Being flattened and looking like pancakes as a result of all his missed attacks.

"Oh, I messed up." Love said before the creature continued to run around.

Meanwhile some of the more well composed Vizards were trying to think of a way to catch it as they realized the creature has heightened senses and reflexes. Along with a lot of stamina as no one in this room was slow by any means. However, just as they tried to step in, Ururu arrived with Miya who looked curious.

"Urahara-san, I received a call from one of your staff. Is something wrong?" Miya asked before noticing the mess.

Which continued with Hachigen almost catching the creature in a barrier only for it to jump high into the air. Resulting in Hachigen accidentally trapping Lisa and Rojuro instead much to his own embarrassment.

"How clumsy of me, I thought I timed that perfectly." Hachigen said before freeing his comrades.

Seconds later, Miya saw the creature flying towards her and with a stern look. She released a heavy aura that would have been ignored by those around the level of a lieutenant shinigami. However, the creature dropped onto the ground and began to back up a little. Where it realized a superior individual was in the room and demanded it to back down.

Urahara and the others were surprised by how quickly and calmly Miya was able to disable the creature. However, some of the Vizards felt slightly unnerved by Miya's aura.

'Why does this woman remind me of Unohana?' Shinji wondered.

As for Miya, she walked up to the creature who looked nervous. She bent her knees and looked at its face before noticing how much it looked like a mix of a human child and a dragon.

"Did you make this?" Miya asked.

"No, of course not. It came from Chaldea's donations." Urahara said as he pointed at a broken container.

"Wait, where are you accepting donations from?" Shinji asked.

Miya didn't fully understand complex donations but she was fully aware of Chaldea and their business. She just didn't understand why a sentient hybrid creature came to be. Then she noticed how much it looked like Ichigo as Masaki had frequently shown her photos of a child Ichigo before she passed away.

'It couldn't be a coincidence.' Miya thought.

"Hey random lady, what are you…" Hiyori tried to say before Miya picked up the strange child.

"I will contact your employers in the morning but in the meantime. I will keep an eye on the little one." Miya told Urahara.

By this point, Urahara was too injured and tired to be concerned. He just wanted the strange creature to leave him.

"Okay, thank you Miya-Chan. You're so sweet." Urahara said before collapsing.

Miya nodded and left with the child while the Vizards pressed Urahara for what Miya meant about "employer". To which Urahara would explain himself but the result would end up adding details which would end up angering Shinji's group.

End of flashback

Ichigo sighed as Urahara still looked embarrassed and seemed to still be hurt despite the attack. Either the child was very powerful or the former Shinigami captain needed a new gigai as his current one was still damaged.

"I still won't forgive you." Ichigo said, making Urahara grown. "You need to beg Rukia for forgiveness and also give her a discount on that bunny thing. What was it? Chappy?" he asked.

"Okay, that makes sense. I'll give Kuchiki free boxes of Chappy if she decides to come back." Urahara said.

"I want discounts as well." Quetzalcoatl said, earning a surprised look from Urahara.

"Well, I…"

"Discounts for everyone." Ichigo said sternly.

"Now wait here, I did a bad thing but…"

"You get a reduced salary as well." Da Vinci interrupted.

"I get paid!?" Urahara asked.

After a couple of minutes of bullying Urahara. The man cleared his throat and got back to business. With Ichigo asking if one of the reasons that Urahara kept secrets was in order to keep Ichigo from quitting.

"Yeah, that's one of the big reasons." Urahara said.

"Well I can't deny that you were important for helping me develop and save Rukia." Ichigo replied.

"See? All things are forgiven. At least once I give Kuchiki her box of Chappy." Urahara said.

Ichigo then drove the front wheel of his motorcycle into Urahara's face to everyone's surprise. Urahara cried out in pain as a large tire mark was printed onto his face.

"That's right, all is forgiven." Ichigo said sarcastically as Urahara fell onto his back.

"Anyways, I'll be dropping you all off now." Urahara said.

"This is where I'll jump off then." Uryu said as he saw his house coming up. He then looked at Ichigo one last time, "Kurosaki, remember this. We are opposites and after tonight, we will be enemies again." he said.

"Then I'll take you out right now." Ichigo said as he revved up his engine.

Uryu suddenly jumped off as quickly as he could. Ichigo stopped and sighed as Orihime and Chad came up to him.

"Don't worry Kurosaki-kun, Ishida didn't mean it. He's just bad at socializing." Orihime said.

"I doubt he'll want to fight again." Chad added.

"Yeah I know, he's just being a jerk." Ichigo said as he riveted his zanpakuto to a sword.

"Here's my stop! By Kurosaki-kun, Ana-chan and everyone else!" Orihime said before landing near her apartment.

Soon, Chad's apartment came next and stepped towards the edge. Where he nodded at everyone before leaping onto the sidewalk near his house. After that, Ichigo noticed that some of the servants began to glow.

"Kurosaki, never forget that when you need a partner. To come to your big sister first." Quetzalcoatl said with a smile as she slowly disappeared.

"Remember to take care of yourself, Kurosaki. Eat a healthy breakfast, wash with soap and practice regular exercise." Nightingale said as she closed her eyes and disappeared.

Ana looked at Ichigo and opened her mouth but said nothing. She just nodded which earned her a pat on the head by Ichigo. Ana smiled before disappearing as well.

"I guess this is my stop too. Don't be a stranger, Ichigo. I'm looking forward to fighting with a master who can join me." Achilles said before disappearing.

Soon enough, the journey led to the mansion that Miya maintains. Mash was about to get off when Artoria stopped her.

"Mash, you may be young and inexperienced but given this month's battle. Even if I did not witness it. I proudly acknowledge you as a member of my Round Table. In my eyes, you are worthy of being called a knight." Artoria said, earning a surprised look from Mash.

Mash nodded and had a look of determination on her face.

"Thank you, your majesty. I won't let you or senpai down." Mash said before jumping down and heading home.

Fou nodded at Artoria and everyone else before jumping through a portal. Where he presumably either appeared on Mash's shoulder or already made his way to her room. Leaving only Ichigo alone with everyone else.

"You were quite honorable too, Kurosaki." Artoria said.

"Save the speech, your majesty. I'm not all about praise but thank you." Ichigo said.

Artoria nodded, knowing Ichigo isn't the type who wants a medal and a lot of praise. Unless he was put through a lot of hell. Then again, he's pretty blunt and straightforward and wouldn't want to waste anymore time on such trivial things.

"You are a great master and a great friend to those around you." Artoria added.

Ichigo nodded before reaching the edge of the cloth and looking back at everyone one last time. He then jumped down and reached the old river bank where his mother died. He sighed and thought about his mother and hoped he made her proud in some way. Ichigo then quickly made his way back to Kurosaki Clinic while hoping Kon had not been messing with his body.

'It's good to be home, but I wish I had a better Summer Break.' Ichigo thought as he returned to his room.

The next morning

As if by some obligation, the Kurosaki family and most especially Ichigo, could not have a good peaceful morning without Isshin being himself.

"Good morning, Ichigo!" Isshin shouted as he tried to tackle his son.

Which resulted in Isshin getting a fist to the face. Isshin recovered quickly and tried to deliver a karate chop but ended up getting judo flipped onto the floor. Yet that didn't discourage Isshin's eccentric behavior as he refused to give up.

"I see your long trip has not weakened you. So I will reward you, by giving you one of these!" Isshin said as he tried to kick Ichigo.

Only for Ichigo to grab his father by the foot and somehow keep him floating up there with a single arm.

"Dad, you are just tempting me to use the foot in the mouth knot." Ichigo said.

"You mastered the ancient technique?" Isshin asked as if the martial arts move from the Simpsons were real.

Ichigo sighed and dropped his father. He then made his way down to the stairs while Isshin rambled on about Ichigo needing to keep his guard up. Leaving Ichigo tempted to use the five yen coin on his father and see if he can send him to some weird hallucination.

'Well, at least things will calm down today.' Ichigo thought as he went downstairs to join his sisters for breakfast.

Hopefully they wouldn't question him too much about where he was during the whole Summer. At least hopefully Karin doesn't, that girl is the most sensible and doesn't pry into her brother's life as much.

Later, at the mansion

Ichigo's right eye began to twitch as he saw the creature that Urahara talked about. Whom Miya decided to present to him along with Da Vinci who looked slightly embarrassed.

"What is this?" Ichigo asked.

Ichigo stared at the dragonic creature that looked like a child version of himself with scales and wings on his back. At least Miya had the decency to get the child dressed and behaved enough to not attack everything.

"Well, given the DNA samples and excess energy we took from you before you left to the Soul Society. I subsequently created your son using a homunculus we had stored." Da Vinci explained.

"What!?" Ichigo asked with a raised voice.

"Well that energy had to be stored somewhere. Your biology was an enigma and homunculi are typically made as batteries, so I wondered if I can store energy into a battery. Yes, I know that does not make any sense…"

"Papa!" the child said, interrupting Da Vinci's explanation.

"He's your son." Da Vinci said, summarizing what she meant to say.

"Papa!" the child said as he sniffed Ichigo.

"You have to be kidding me." Ichigo said as the child kept sniffing him.

"He has your DNA and some of your power. So it makes sense." Da Vinci said.

"Papa, papa, papa!" the child chanted as he leaned onto Ichigo.

Ichigo shivered as he felt uncomfortable with how the boy felt and how affectionate he tried to be. He didn't want to be rude or scare the odd creature but he had no idea what to do.

"And this attacked Urahara?" Ichigo asked.

"That was what I saw." Miya answered.

"Then why does he look like this?" Ichigo asked as he pointed at the child's odd appearance.

Da Vinci scratched her chin, "Well, you have been interacting with a lot of dragons. Especially in the singularity. That's part of my theory anyways." she said.

Ichigo's thoughts went back to when Mash and the other servants were helping to fight Jeanne Alter's dark forces. Which included a couple of dragons and even getting help from Siegfried the Dragon Slayer of Norse folklore. Ichigo wasn't sure if he somehow contracted something from the dragons, but his mind wasn't focused on what could have caused the mutation.

"If it helps, we discovered other DNA samples within the little boy. We don't know who it is, but that just means there's a mother out there that the child hasn't met yet." Da Vinci said.

"You're kidding." Ichigo said.

"Unfortunately not, but they were one of the selected masters that appeared on Day 1. However, the data is a bit corrupted so I doubt we will find the mother." Da Vinci said.

The child gently tugged on Ichigo's hand as if he were asking for attention. Ichigo sighed and gently ruffled the boy's hair as he began to lean his head against his father's stomach.

"If you're my kid, I might as well name you." Ichigo said as he kneeled beside the boy.

Despite how empathetic he tried to be. Ichigo was going to be terrible at naming the boy. Not that he wanted a son or asked to be a part of some weird experiments in this lifetime.

"Your name is Ryu." Ichigo said.

Everyone sweat dropped at how simple of a name he chose but Ryu seemed to understand enough and liked the name.

"Papa!" Ryu said.

Ichigo then looked at Miya and scratched his head.

"So, who exactly kept an eye on him?" Ichigo asked.

"I did of course, the little boy was stubborn but I'm teaching him basic manners." Miya said.

Ichigo nodded before turning to Mash who watched the whole thing while hiding behind the staircase handles.

"And what's wrong with you?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, I was unsettled by "Ryu's" initial appearance." Mash said.

To be fair, Mash came back home and found a strange creature that looked like Ichigo. She's seen weird things before but couldn't handle what Ryu was. Although it could have been a lot worse.

For example, Lancelot could have appeared in her room while dressed in a sexy cat costume. While telling her that he's her father and to squeeze him in certain places. Now THAT would be terrifying!

"Okay, I get it my "son" is weird to look at. Still, how do I take care of him?" Ichigo asked.

Miya snickered, "You are a father now. You have to learn with time." She answered.

"No, I meant how do I move around with him. I don't want to just dump him on you and with how he looks. It's going to be hard to let him run free in public places." Ichigo explained.

Now Miya was unsure as well. She liked that Ichigo is trying to be considerate and not lock up Ryu. However, it will be difficult to let the boy run in a park or eat at a restaurant without getting odd looks. Then again, they could buy some memory erasing products from Urahara's shop.

"That will be tricky, now won't it?" Miya asked.

"I'm sure someone at base can scrounge up some sort of camouflage for Ryu's skin and tail." Da Vinci said.

Though it may be tricky if anyone Ichigo knows sees him with Ryu. Obviously Ichigo can trust Orihime, Chad and maybe Uryu if he isn't a jerk about it. Except it will get tricky if a classmate or one of his family members see him.

"Papa?" Ryu asked as he gave Ichigo a curious look.

Ichigo's imagination

Isshin and his daughters were setting up dinner when they heard the door open.

"I'm back." Ichigo called out.

"Finally, we almost started without you." Karin said.

Then Isshin smirked and stood up.

"That's right, you were almost late for dinner!" He said, ready to body slam his son.

Only for Ichigo to calm walking in with Ryu in his arms.

"No fighting, I'm with a child." Ichigo said.

Everyone stopped and saw Ryu, causing everyone to drop everything.

"What is that?" Karin asked as she dropped her chopsticks.

"My son, Ryu. You and Yuzu are aunts now and dad is a grandpa." Ichigo said casually.

"Auntie… grandpa…" Ryu muttered.

Yuzu screamed before falling unconscious on the floor. Karin stood up and just pointed while muttering incoherently.

"Since when are you a dad!?" Karin asked as she stumbled.

Isshin took it the worst and ran up to Ichigo with an angry expression.

"Ichigo, who is the mother of this child!? And also, why didn't you tell me you got married!? Are you that embarrassed to introduce me!? Bwaaaah!" Isshin cried out.

His anger turned into depression as tears fell down his face. He then wiped them clean and looked at Ryu's face who reminded him a lot of Ichigo as an adolescent.

"He looks just like his grandmother." Isshin said, crying proudly.

Ryu subconsciously scratched Isshin's face, leaving a big mark on it.

"And he has my fighting abilities. You will grow strong, my grandson." Isshin said with a nod of approval.

End of dream

Ichigo frowned as he imagined that the part with his father was weird but likely very plausible given how empty headed he can be. However, the man can be smart and would notice that his "grandson" isn't human and already looks like he should be in elementary school.

So it was best if no one important could see Ryu at all.

"Well I'll think of something." Ichigo said.

Miya smiled, "Well then, if it helps, Francois already figured out the boy's diet and eating habits. Luckily he can handle certain foods." She said.

"Leave it to Chaldea to genetically engineer a butler with technology meant to save the world." Ichigo said.

That's when Francois suddenly appeared beside Ichigo and startled his master by presenting him with a long list.

"Here you go, Master Kurosaki. I believe these are you Ryu's preferred meals. Although I have yet to try some things." Francois said before handing over the list.

Ichigo took it and skimmed through the list. It just showed Ryu had a heavy diet of meat and animal byproducts. Along with a great desire for fish which he could figure out.

"Maybe I can take him out fishing. My dad never liked the idea of doing it." Ichigo said.

"Fish?" Ryu asked.

"Yeah, maybe we can catch a fish later." Ichigo said.

Being the perfect butler they are, Francois suddenly spawned a pair of fishing rods and a bucket of bait.

"Good luck gentlemen." Francois said.

Ichigo sighed, "Okay then, come on Ryu." He said.

Ryu followed after his father but before stopping as Ichigo looked at Mash.

"You're coming too Mash." Ichigo said.

"Why me?" Mash asked.

"If I'm this kid's dad then you're the godmother." Ichigo said, shocking Mash with his logic.

"Oh, how sweet." Da Vinci said.

Mash whimpered as Fou jumped on her shoulder and followed her out the door.

"You can be Aunt Mash." Ichigo added.

"Auntie!" Ryu said, making Mash blush.

"I'm sure they will be fine." Da Vinci said as the group left. "Anyways, I shall be on my way. Are there any adjustments you would like to request, Miya-San?" She asked.

"I will let you know." Miya said before watching as Da Vinci disappeared.

Miya sighed and returned to her room where she looked at the photo of Misaki and herself.

"Misaki, how would you put up with this?" Miya asked.

The next morning, at school

Ichigo yawned as he made his way to class while carrying Mash on his back. Both of them were still exhausted from entertaining Ryu all afternoon along with trying to put him to bed at night. The little dragon child was too energetic and it made him difficult to keep in one place.

"I need to buy an energy drink or something." Ichigo said.

"One tea for me, please." Mash muttered.

As Ichigo went to grab drinks for him and Mash. They were met by Keigo who had to raise his voice when he saw them in their odd position.

"Woah! What are you two up to!?" Keigo asked.

"Keep it down, my head hurts." Ichigo said.

Keigo then started getting the wrong idea as she saw how tired they both looked.

"Were you two on a…"

"Don't say anything inappropriate." Chad said, appearing behind Keigo.

Keigo practically screamed as he jumped in fear. He looked at Chad with wide eyes as he didn't hear the gentle giant approach him.

"Chad, don't sneak up on me like that!" Keigo exclaimed.

"You didn't hear me?" Chad asked, sounding confused.

"No! How is that you're huge, but you're so quiet?" Keigo asked.

Chad stayed silent as he tried to answer the question but didn't know what to say. Keigo sighed as he knew Chad was in deep thought. Only for Chad to say something else.

"You're not excused from saying something weird like you always do." Chad said.

"What? What are you talking about?" Keigo asked.

"You get jealous that Kurosaki can speak to women." Chad said.

Keigo face faulted because of how true it was. Though in his mind, Keigo thought it was unfair that pretty girls didn't find an excuse to approach him.

"Chad, I wouldn't be surprised if you got surrounded by cute girls interested in gentle giants or you attract hot tough girls that don't like to talk a lot." Keigo said as tears fell down his cheeks.

Chad didn't respond and instead chose to pick up Keigo by his arms and dragged him to class. Ichigo and Mash followed soon after they finished their drinks.

"Hey Mash, where's Fou?" Ichigo asked.

"He decided to stay home today. He's probably playing with Ryu." Mash answered before yawning loudly.

Ichigo sighed and wondered how his life would be adjusted. He was still a shinigami, even if he was a substitute, and still had a pile of work waiting for him by the end of day. He could only wonder what's waiting for him in the future and what conflict is going to hit this town or some other part of the world.

Meanwhile, in Hueco Mundo

Aizen sat at his table in his new attire. Before he got settled and began with the next phase of his plans. He had to better understand Esdeath and Amou as their actions were useful but even then. They just suddenly came to him days before his betrayal and the infiltration by the Ryoka.

"Is now a good time for you to better explain yourselves? Or should I remain patient?" Aizen asked with a calm expression.

It was tiresome to wait and wonder what Esdeath and Amou were hiding. Yet Aizen didn't show any annoyance by the lack of communication.

"That would take a while to explain. Right now, we can tell you there's some pretty big things happening." Esdeath said.

Aizen's silence and reserved appearance pretty much told them that he had lots of time to listen. Esdeath sighed as she was the one who had the most information.

"To summarize, there was something bigger than Goetia. For now, we can say it's something that is also glad that Kurosaki had defeated him." Esdeath said.

"You don't sound that concerned." Aizen said.

If something worse than the beast that wanted to destroy humanity was coming. Then Aizen would have expected more concern. Instead, Esdeath and Amou looked like they were preparing for something big but not in terms of defense or offense.

"We'll get to that soon. For now, we're here to observe and help however we can." Amou said, not being very specific.

Aizen just settled with that as there was no concern right now. Although that didn't mean he would ignore them. They say to never look a gift horse in the mouth but not all things come without a price. He just hoped that these two mystery girls would not cause him any sort of inconvenience while he works on sealing the Hogyoku within himself.


TO BE CONTINUED…

OMAKE #1 - Introducing the Wife and Son

Ichigo decided to be straightforward and tell his family the truth regarding Ryu. However, he decided to make it more complicated by making up a whole story. Somehow he thought that it would be easier to lie and say he was with a woman who gave birth to Ryu.

Perhaps it was because he was afraid of his father prying into things. It wasn't like it would be easier in comparison than explaining that he's a mage in a secret organization that developed time travel to prevent the extinction of humanity while also being a part-time shinigami that fights ghost/demon things called Hollows.

So Ichigo decided to run around Chaldea and looked around for certain heroic spirits. When he saw Kiyohime who was making tea for herself.

"Kiyohime!" Ichigo called out as he ran to her.

"Kurosaki-kun, to what…"

"Please be my wife!" Ichigo interrupted

Kiyohime paused for a moment before smiling and answering.

"Okay!" She answered.

"At least just for the day, okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Okay!" She repeated.

"Also I have a kid." Ichigo said.

Kiyohime suddenly looked pissed, "Who is the whore!?" She angrily asked.

"No one, my "son" was a homunculus that came to life because my power went inside of him." Ichigo said, making Kiyohime calm own.

"Oh…"

"Just please pretend to be my wife. Just so I can present Ryu to my family and make things up." Ichigo said.

"…okay!"

Later that day

Kiyohime put something nice on and stood beside Ichigo while Ryu held her hand. The little hybrid sniffed Kiyohime for a long while before noticing her dragon like traits.

"Mama?" Ryu asked.

Kiyohime instantly felt attached to her stepson and gently rubbed his head. Ichigo sighed in relief before opening the door and announced his arrival.

"Finally, we almost started without you." Karin said.

Then Isshin smirked and stood up.

"That's right, you were almost late for dinner!" He said, ready to body slam his son.

Only for Ichigo to calm walking in with Ryu and Kiyohime beside him.

"No fighting, I'm with a child." Ichigo said.

Everyone stopped and saw Ryu, causing everyone to drop everything.

"What is that?" Karin asked as she dropped her chopsticks.

"My son, Ryu. You and Yuzu are aunts now and dad is a grandpa." Ichigo said while casually wrapping an arm around Kiyohime who blushed.

"Who's that woman!?" Yuzu asked as her body trembled.

"Meet your sister-in-law." Ichigo said.

Kiyohime bowed her head, "Hello sisters and father." She said, greeting the family.

Yuzu passed out, Karin trembled in fear and like in Ichigo's imagination. Isshin reacted the same way but approached Kiyohime with respect and bowed his head.

"It is nice to meet you, I hope my dimwit son has not made you uncomfortable by knocking you up." Isshin said bluntly.

"Dad!" Ichigo yelled.

"It was a pleasure to carry my beloved's child." Kiyohime said, taking the role of wife and mother a bit far

Isshin then left and came back with a gift box.

"Please take this as a gift and a sign of welcoming you into the family." Isshin said.

"Why thank you." Kiyohime said.

Then Isshin tackled Ichigo onto the floor and held him in a headlock.

"Ichigo, apologize for knocking up this kind woman!" Isshin yelled.

"Get off me, you psychopath!" Ichigo yelled.

"Papa!" Ryu yelled as he climbed onto Isshin's back and began punching his head.

Kiyohime just sighed as she realized it would be difficult raising a son with her new husband. Not that she minded as she was willing to try and learn. She then went to make some tea for herself while Karin stared at, still shaking.

"So sister, please tell me about yourself." Kiyohime said, wanting to socialize with her new in-law.

Karin just passed out on the floor, leaving Kiyohime to sigh again. She then stared at her son and husband before waving her fan and hitting Isshin with a large body of water.

"Husband, enough horseplay. The same to you, Ryu. We have to wake up your aunts and have dinner like a family." Kiyohime said.

Ryu obediently wobbled over to the table and began eating as Ichigo sat unconscious sisters at the table before taking his seat. When Isshin also took his seat and acted like everything was normal.

"Now that we got that out of the way. Where did you two meet?" Isshin asked, being serious for once.

"…work?" Ichigo asked with a shrug.


Omake #2 - Lawyers and Contracts

The Vizards were told that they were now working under Chaldea. Most of them were unhappy and didn't enjoy the idea of working under someone again. Even worse, they blamed Urahara for this despite not actually working for the man.

If anything, the Vizards were just a helping hand that helped Urahara and vice versa. Now the man said that they were technically under contract which meant Da Vinci was their boss now.

After some negotiations, it seemed like only Hachi and Rojuro were content so far. Given the benefits and calm atmosphere, it felt nice to relax somewhere with the occasional level of sophistication.

"I never thought I would find myself at a performance with Mozart playing his own music live." Rojuro said with Hachi nodding in agreement.

Both watched in the opera house that Chaldea had installed for some reason. Both also tried to not just stare at Marie Antoinette as she was sitting at the front of Mozart's performance. Where the 18th century musician played the Marriage of Figaro.

"I wonder how our compatriots are settling in." Hachi said as he drank tea during the performance.

"I believe they are still negotiating with the "attorneys"." Rojuro replied.

With the attorneys

Shinji was wrapped up in Ana's chains as the girl kicked him and insulted him.

"Stop! Don't I have basic rights!?" Shinji asked

"Only competent men have rights." Ana said as she pulled on her chains.

"Ouch! Hiyori! Help me!" Shinji pleaded.

Hiyori just sat back on a fancy couch and watched.

"I think that the artist's lawyer had a good point. I feel like there's no room for arguments." Hiyori said.

She wasn't being fearful or submissive but saw there was no point in arguing with the current circumstances. Also, it was too hilarious to see a little girl being so cold and blunt with Shinji.

"You Vizards have no ranking system because you're a bad manager." Ana said coldly.

"Hey, why am I getting picked on?" Shinji asked.

"You have it the easiest." Ana said.

Shinjj struggled to break free of the chains. When he saw Love and a couple of others run down the hallway. Where they were being chased by an angry Heracles who was swinging Kensei around like a club.

"I demand to speak with my union representative!" Shinji shouted.

Ana responded by twisting his leg the wrong way and making him cry out in pain. Hiyori tuned out Shinji's complaint and read a magazine.

'I like that girl's style. Maybe this place won't be so bad.' Hiyori thought as she accepted her fate.

End of Omake