Does not own Bleach. Rated T for Language. Spoilers up to the Thousand Year Blood War Arc, so … yeah. Enjoy!

A Fraction of a Soul

"Ichigo, No!" His Mother's cry made Ichigo hesitate, turning back from saving the girl, a flash of light, a rumbling sound, and Ichigo was being pelted by rain, the river rapidly rising, quickly over taking him.

"Aw, hell no." A stranger's voice said, grabbing him and keeping Ichigo from being swept in a current. "Hang on King, I'll send you back, but you're not going to like it ... damn, I'm gonna fuckin' murder 'em!" Ichigo saw a stranger wearing old-fashioned white garments and a black mask, but barely registered what was happening as the river surged.

Once again, he was back on the river, but his mom was there, and she wasn't moving, no matter how he shook her. He started to cry, and that was how he was found by a policeman who was checking the levels of the river.

Meanwhile, in his inner world, a very annoyed Zanpakuto was swearing as it flooded.

Zangetsu was going to kill the idiots who had the bright idea to send the king back in time.

Because they completely screwed it up.

Instead of all of King going back, it was just him. And instead of going back to when Rukia was rescued or even when Rukia jumpstarted King's powers, he'd ended up just after that stupid bastard Grand Fisher had killed King's mother because that stupid Quincy took her powers just before the fight.

Damned Hat and Clogs was gonna to die a painful death, and he was gonna tear Kurotsuchi into so many pieces the bastard would never be able to pull himself together again.

Ichigo's Inner world was flooded, all there was in it was a playground, the river, the Kurosaki home and clinic and a dojo. The inner world of a child who hadn't yet started to want to reach to the sky.

On the upside, the quincy powers Ichigo had also took a blow when what'shismustache had stolen power, they were dormant and sleeping in the Kurosaki home, and in a fit of pettiness, Zangetsu moved the bastard into the attic and locked the door.

Now he had to do something about the flood, and figure out how he was gonna train his King when the kid was way too young for this shit.

He slumped down by the river, trying to remember how long it would take for Isshin to act like a father and help Ichigo. That would be the best way, because Ichigo needed someone outside of himself right now, and Zangetsu didn't know how to comfort.

Beat the crap out of his king until the other fought back and took control, yes, comfort and coddle was a bit out of his range.

Crap, he might actually need the quincy manifestion to help, he'd known how to comfort their King. Zangetsu looked at the home where he'd locked the old man, and then with the maturity he was known for, snorted and flipped his middle finger. "I can take care of our King without you, bastard, I'll figure it out on my own!"

There was no response, and Zangetsu sighed. Might as well check out the dojo then.

It was several weeks after the death of his mother that Ichigo was confronted with how selfish he'd been, by his little sisters and his father, that he dreamed of the place where the stranger in white had saved him from drowning. The river was still rather high, and raging, but it wasn't too far above the normal levels.

"You're back. Wasn't expecting you back so soon." The double tone made him turn to see the masked figure from before. "At least you dried this place out before you came back, thanks king."

"Why are you calling me King?" This was so real, but at the same time, oddly dream like.

"Cause you're the king of this place. You're tiny now, though, maybe I should call you Prince instead?"

"My name is Ichigo." Ichigo corrected, and the figure sighed.

"Yeah, you've got a long way to go, prince." The mask turned to the river. "Wasn't your fault, you know."

"Mom couldn't see her."

"Nah, you were the one that was too focused on saving someone you didn't see the danger."

Ichigo flinched and the river started to rise. The masked man noticed, and sighed.

"Prince, you weren't strong enough, that wasn't your fault. And it's a bit late for talking about how you should've handled that situation, so let's talk about getting stronger so that it doesn't happen again."

"How?" Ichigo looked at him, and this time the man pointed to the dojo he learned Karate with Tatsuki.

"I'll train you. It won't be easy though."

"I'm not supposed to go somewhere with a stranger."

"Prince, we're literally inside your heart, I am a part of you, your zanpakuto."

"But I don't know your name." Ichigo paused. "What's a zanpakuto?"

"A zanpakuto is born when someone of a high enough spiritual pressure like yourself can interact with spirits. That's the simple version. And you're not ready to know my name, Prince, you've got to get much stronger for me to tell you that, you can come up with something and I'll accept it."

Ichigo wasn't so good with naming things, but he decided he'd keep it simple. "… can I call you Zan?"

The figure stared at him for a moment, before laughing; it wasn't a pleasant sound, as it came out more like a hysterical cackle that eventually devolved into chuckles. "Yeah, little Prince, Zan is fine." The newly dubbed 'Zan' gestured for him to follow, and this time, Ichigo followed. "You're already in your inner world, Prince, but I'll give you the basics of meditation anyway, so you can come here anytime you want. Then you'll show me what you know of Karate- you've got some impressive looking trophies, Prince, but we're gonna be working on actual fighting." Ichigo nodded, and entered the Dojo.

A quick change and he took the first position, demonstrating to Zan the different blocks, kicks and punches that he knew.

Under his mask, Zangetsu grimaced as Ichigo over extended and wobbled. It could've been a lot worse, he reminded himself. It could have also been a lot better, but Zangetsu was taking anything that helped Ichigo train as a good thing.

"Alright Prince, here's the plan for training." Zangetsu decided. "We'll practice all the stuff you learn, and then spar. Ask questions if you're not sure of somethin', alright?" And while they were at it, he'd teach the kid to reign in his reiatsu, otherwise he'd attract more hollows … or maybe he shouldn't bother? That was how he'd met Rukia …

Damn it, he should've been paying more attention when the two idiots were talking to his king about what not to do, he'd been too busy resting up for the trip.

A pattern developed after that. Nights when Ichigo wasn't worn out and could meditate, they would go over what Ichigo had learned, would spar, try and reign in the wild reiatsu that continually expanded (not an easy task, but Zangetsu remembered a few times where stealth had been vital to protect Ichigo, and so put his dislike of restricting his power in favor of helping) and Zan would answer questions that Ichigo asked. It was usually about fighting, and the different methods of fighting single opponents versus multiple ones.

That said, Zangetsu occasionally forgot that Ichigo was a smart kid; a little too smart, as one of the questions he asked made Zangetsu pause.

"Zan, I know I'm gonna be strong … but what happens if I get attacked by something stronger than me right now?"

"I'll protect you, Prince, don't ask stupid questions." It would put way too much strain on the kid's body, however, if he physically manifested; his spiritual presence, while strong, was still just too damn young for that kind of strain. Not to mention the bastard Aizen had kept tabs on his King, and so had- shit, Hat and Clogs.

And Zangetsu had been training Ichigo to control his power, because of how much trouble his uncontrolled energy had caused, and there was no way the bastard hadn't noticed Ichigo's spirit energy fluctuating during the process.

Shit-shitty-fuck, why did the two manipulators have to pay attention to the king as a kid?

Well, even with that risk, Zangetsu wasn't going to not protect his King, but still, the two were dangerous, especially since Ichigo's power did have a tinge of hollow to it.

And it wasn't like there was going to be a reason to manifest while Ichigo was a kid, he'd be fine until he was a teen, and then he could defend himself with the sealed blade.

Zangetsu resolutely ignored the chill down his spine that told him he'd jinxed them.

Because there's only a handful of Time Travel gone wrong fics I've found, and not many of those for Bleach, and I thought this might be fun. Zanpakutos are part of their reapers' souls, so ... yeah.