Ladies and Gentlemen!
Given that option 2 in the latest poll got pretty much almost every vote in its favor, that's the one that i'll go with! Thank you guys for taking the time to give me all that advice! As a reward, here's a lil' preview of the next chapter!
Only for her green eyes to widen in astonishment as soon as she got a better look on his face, causing her to stop talking at once and letting him go. That longer, spikier hair….. Those more mature and sharp facial features…. Those eyes, carrying much more experience and maturity…. She coudn't believe it. She coudn't believe that in front of her eyes, now stood a reflection of her older brother, barring the hair and eye color.
Yoruichi and Ganju, who had recovered from his sister's scoldings, could only look upon in awe the moment they saw Kukaku, always sporting that cocky and confident grin on her lips and once infamous through the entire Soul Society for her fiery temper, turn into the complete opposite of who she usually was the moment her eyes saw how Ichigo looked like now. The former Substitute Soul Reaper, now aware of his heritage and that the beautiful woman in front of him was in fact his aunt, looked into her green eyes with a bit of nervousness and uncertainty on what to do or say next, taken completely aback by this change of character as he was, as Kukaku hesitantly, but slowly placed both of her hands on his cheeks and leaned closer towards him. For a few seconds she gazed into his eyes and face before, with her eyes shaking in amazement, she spoke "Ichigo….." a tender and joyful smile slowly forming on her lips "You've grown…. And you look just like him…. You look just like Kaien….."
Those words, spoken with a passion and affection he never thought he would hear from her, made Ichigo understand everything and he returned the smile, now knowing that his family had been here all along and he never knew it, until several days ago "Kukaku…. I know now." he told her as he gently placed his hands on Kukaku's and slowly took them off his cheeks "Dad told me everything. His past, who he actually is, why and how he left the Soul Society, everything, even about the other brother you and Ganju had. At first i was angry at him for having lied to me my whole life but then i understood why he did it, especially since Aizen was already putting his plans in motion 20 years ago." he held her hands tenderly as he declared "Still, i'd have never guessed that you, of all people, were actually my aunt all along. Life can really be strange, don't you think?"
Ganju's eyes went blank with shock "A-Aunt?!" he sputtered out as he got back on his feet "No…. There's no way….. You can't possibly mean that….."
But before he could continue, an exasperated Kukaku sighed, slowly removed her hands from Ichigo's, threw them in the air in frustration and walked slightly away from him, all the while grumbling "Ugh, i knew it. That dumbass…. What kinda father waits for his son to die in an accident before telling him about his true heritage?" which made Ichigo's own eyes widen in astonishment, his irises comically constricting "That's just like good'ol Isshin. Always doing things his own way, like a true Shiba. Still, how that idiot managed to raise a family is beyond me."
Several seconds of awkward silence passed before…..
"YOU KNEW?! YOU KNEW ALL ALONG THAT I WAS YOUR NEPHEW AND YOU NEVER FUCKING TOLD ME?!
"THAT DANDELION AND I ARE RELATED, SIS?!"
Both Ichigo and Ganju comically yelled at the same time as they both pointed their fingers at the current head of the Shiba Clan, much to Yoruichi's amusement. This was definetely going to be a long day.
"Quiet down boys. I'll explain everything in a shortwhile. But in the meantime….." Kukaku ordered the two males in front of her before snapping the fingers from her remaining hand, after which Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko came through the sliding doors holding many plates full of food in their muscular arms "Let's eat some good food!"
:)
Btw, thanks DRADX for pointing out that weird line in chapter 1. I fixed it. Thing is, english is not my natural language as i'm from Italy so, inevitably, some lines are going to end up weird XD