Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. I think I have some Oxyclean somewhere though.

Author Note: Well, here we are with my second story and my first Bleach story. I would like to thank anyone that has views this story, but double the thanks to anyone who has followed me as an author. I hope everyone enjoys this story at least as much as Son of the Green Beast.

Karakura Town was in the midst of a downpour as a relatively small group somberly partook in food as a loving woman was cremated. The Kurosaki family and some of their close friends were mourning the departure of Kurosaki Masaki from this plane of existence. Kurosaki Isshin, husband of the late Masaki sat trying to comfort his still very young twin daughters. The light-haired daughter, Yuzu, bawling her eyes out, while the dark-haired daughter Karin looked to be completely withdrawn.

Kurosaki Ichigo, the nine year old son of Isshin and Masaki, and also the only witness to her death, sat alone in the corner. He blamed himself for her death, as she died after pulling him away from a rushing river. His memory of the event was incomplete, shock having taken most of it from him. He had rushed to the river to save a young girl that looked to be falling in, and then he had opened his eyes and his mother was on top of him covered in blood. After that event, he had barely spoken, remaining alone and struggling to understand that his mother was never going to be there for him again.

"Um...hello, Ichigo-san." Ichigo turned his head, surprised that someone would willingly speak with him right now. A boy his own age wearing glasses with long, dark hair was looking at him. Ichigo was confused who this boy was, and why he had come to the funeral. "I'm Ishida Uryu, my dad said he and your mom were cousins, so that makes you and me cousins to." Ichigo stared blankly for a few minutes, before his brain caught up to meeting a supposed new family member.

"Oh, isn't your father the one that runs the big hospital?" Uryu smiled a little when his new cousin responded. His dad had said that he had grown apart from Masaki after she had married Isshin, and until a few days before the funeral hadn't even known that he had three cousins living in town. Uryu loved his grandfather, but he found it hard to spend time with his parents. Finding he had more family was something he began to look forward to, even though it had been a terrible event that allowed them to meet.

"Yes, but I don't spend much time with him. Usually it's just me and my grandpa hanging out. He's teaching me to be just like him." Uryu smiled wider thinking of his time with his grandpa and the training he was being given. Another thought struck him though, thinking about how he hadn't known about Ichigo until three days ago. "Wait, how do you know about my father?" Ichigo decided that talking with Uryu might be a good idea, after all, how often does someone meet a brand new cousin? "My dad runs the Kurosaki clinic, he mentions an Ishida Ryuuken every once in a while."

Ichigo quickly followed his answer with another question, hoping to learn more about his newly discovered family. "What does your grandpa do that you need to start learning from him so young to be like him?" Uryu's face went blank for a second, he hadn't meant to say anything about that, it had just slipped out. After weighing his options, Uryu decided that since Ichigo was related to him that he must already be able to see spirits. If Ichigo saw spirits, then he had reiryoku and reiatsu to some degree, and thus should learn to at least control his energy even if he didn't become a true Quincy.

"My grandpa is training me to use my Quincy powers so that I can fight evil spirits called Hollows. You can see spirits to, right Ichigo?" Ichigo's mind flashed to his mother's death, remembering the way the girl at the river had seemed to float in the air for a few seconds. At first, he had attributed that to an illusion because people can't float and spirits seemed to prefer not to when they had a full body. He had never even considered that there were evil spirits that wanted to hurt people.

"Uryu, what do Hollows do that makes them evil?" Uryu turned momentarily pensive, before responding slowly. "They...eat people's souls. Shinigami can free the devoured souls by purifying Hollows, but Quincies destroy them utterly. Grandpa said that when I'm done training, I'll be able to distract Hollows and protect everyone around me until the Shinigami come to help. Oh, Shinigami are powerful spirits that try to protect the balance between life and death."

Ichigo, for the first time since his mother's death, grew hopeful. 'If I can learn to use my abilities, maybe I can find the Hollow that killed Mom and help a Shinigami free her.' "Do you think I could learn how to fight Hollows? Or maybe just learn to better recognize them to help spirits run and stall long enough for one of those Shinigami to show up?" Uryu outwardly looked to be considering the question carefully, but inside he was thrilled! He could have a cousin to help him one day and maybe they could both be Quincies if his Grandpa agreed to train Ichigo to use his powers, or maybe just move souls and people to safety while he distracted them.

"Well, I don't know, but I'll ask Grandpa if he can help you. Maybe he could even give you Quincy training!" Uryu was excited, even with the somber mood going on around them. Ichigo was deep in thought, however, and just graced his new favorite cousin with his first smile in days. 'I will become stronger, and more aware. I will protect my sisters and never let anyone down like I did Mom again!'

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A few days later, Uryu took Ichigo to visit Soken, Uryu's grandfather. Uryu was barely able to hold his enthusiasm that his grandpa agreed to help Ichigo with his reiryoku, even though he had said that he wouldn't be able to train Ichigo as a Quincy. In the woods outside town, Ichigo met his grand uncle, standing on the bank of a river with a small, sympathetic smile.

"Hello young one, you must be my grand nephew. I wish I could've gone to your mother's funeral, but I was ill, I'm not so young as I used to be." The man, while rather short, seemed friendly. His eyes had a light twinkling in them, and his demeanor and gray hair, moustache, and glasses made him come off as a gentle character, not an exterminator of evil beasts. Ichigo was confused at his looks, but bowed respectfully anyway.

"Yes, I am Kurosaki Ichigo. Uryu has told me a lot about you, Ishida-san." Soken gave a warm smile, before waving away the formality. "We are family, Ichigo, no need to be so formal." Ichigo was relieved he wouldn't need to keep that up, in spite of his parents' teachings he still had a distaste for formality. "Now, I believe that Uryu told you that I can't train you to be a Quincy, but that I can help you with your reiryoku, or overall spirit energy, and reiatsu, or spiritual pressure. There are reasons for this, but suffice to say, I don't have enough time to train you from stage one of being a Quincy and Uryu who has three years already at the same time."

Ichigo nodded, he hadn't wanted to be a Quincy really anyway. If he killed a Hollow as a Quincy, he might accidentally destroy his mom's soul. "I understand, I'm taking karate and I'm going to branch out in other skills to help my ability to defend my self, I just want to grasp my energy better." That statement was mostly true, although what Ichigo wanted most was to figure out how Shinigami powers worked, so that he could purify Hollows and save their victims. Soken gave a light sigh, he wished he was able to tell Ichigo the real reason why he wouldn't train him, as he had agreed with his son that Ichigo shouldn't be told of his father being a Shinigami. It would just breed more anger in a boy who had more than a healthy amount already.

"Alright, Ichigo, I'm going to teach you some meditation exercises in a moment. First, I'm going to 'flex' my reiatsu so you can feel an example of what it can be like. Everyone's reiatsu is different, even if only slightly. Now, hold still." The old Quincy gathered a large amount of reishi in his bow, straining his abilities to produce a large wave for the boy to feel. He knew the child would have felt his energy clearly already, if not for the large amount the boy exuded subconsciously. His body began to glow a silvery color, almost like condensed starlight.

Ichigo sat stunned at the feeling this old man was giving off. No wonder Uryu was so proud of him, he was making Ichigo feel like a weight was on his shoulders, before it was suddenly released with the large blue arrow he fired down the stream. "Now that you know what the energy, or at least my energy feels like, you should be able to find that same power in yourself. It is easiest for a first timer to imagine some form of container, filled with the equivalent of what you believe your energy to be. I phrase this the way I do because if you imagine my energy when you do it, you will just remember the sensation of my energy and feel a phantom sensation. Your personality, outlook, experiences, feelings, and a number of other factors affect what your power will appear to be and feel like."

Ichigo nodded, this man was obviously experienced as a teacher. His explanation was clear enough for the nine year old to understand exactly what he was saying. "Good, since you understand, envision your container. When you're done, dive into your power, and discover who you are." Unknown to the assembled group, Ichigo had been affected by the reiatsu the Quincy gave off. The light the Quincy gave off ended up becoming a torch to guide Ichigo to his destination, one that shined brighter than a thousand suns.

When he finished his 'container', which he saw as a spring, he mentally dove into it. The feeling was intense, he felt as if he was weightless and could even 'see' an intense golden light through his closed eyes that he knew wasn't the sun. His skin felt warm and he was overwhelmed enough that he opened his eyes, and saw that he was glowing intensely in a golden aura. He panicked and tried to shut his reiatsu off, unable to handle the way he felt right then. Soken assisted him by grabbing on to his arm and absorbing some of his excess, before firing off arrows that were gold instead of his own silver.

When Ichigo calmed down, Soken and Uryu checked him to make sure he was alright. 'I can't believe this, the boy has more raw reiryoku than I would ever have expected. I knew he would have a lot, but that was insane!' Soken kept his thoughts hidden, before he spoke to Ichigo once again. "Ichigo, you have a naturally high amount of power, I want you to meditate daily, for at least one hour. When you do so, close your eyes and imagine your container being walled off, with only small openings for your power. Breathe deeply and evenly when you do so, and keep your power as suppressed as you can. You have enough power to influence the spirits of those around you subconsciously, and that is dangerous."

Ichigo was still reeling from the way his energy had felt, but managed another quick nod to show he understood. "Also, if you have enough time, I suggest both increasing your martial arts beyond just karate, and picking up some form of relaxing hobby. Uryu sews, I whittle, and having a hobby like that can help keep your mind clear and focused. It can assist your control, and soothe your nerves when things are rough." Uryu nodded eagerly to Ichigo, proud that his grandpa had so much advice and that his cousin was so naturally strong.

"Thank you, Soken-san. I will try my best to follow your advice, and I will meditate just as you said. Uryu, we should spend some time together when we're both free. Sayonara." Ichigo returned to where his father had been waiting, knowing that he wouldn't need much time to get what training and wisdom the elder Quincy could give. Isshin sighed when he saw Ichigo come toward him, wishing once more that he could still see and feel the other world.

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Two years passed, and Ichigo had made a great deal of progress controlling and suppressing his energy. He had also calmed greatly and kept to his word about following Soken's advice. Whereas originally, Ichigo had only spent time learning karate, he had decided to increase his training by learning jiu-jitsu and even began training at a koryu, Niten Ichi-ryu. He specialized in Nito Seiho, or wielding an odachi and kodachi simultaneously. He had also picked up a hobby, and started playing guitar. His favorite band was Bad Religion.

Unfortunately, this day was another funeral, one being held for Ishida Soken, who had been overwhelmed by a group of large Hollows, his stamina no longer enough to last in a battle of attrition. Ichigo had been there just as much to help Uryu as he had to lament his own grief. Uryu had told him of how the Shinigami team arrived too late to help his grandfather, and how they were to blame for Soken's death. "Uryu, I know you are in a lot of pain now, but it is the Hollows that killed your grandpa, not the Shinigami.

Uryu glared at Ichigo, bitter at the loss of his closest family member. He knew Ichigo had felt similar when Masaki had died, but no one in mourning wants to accept that other people had felt pain like theirs. "I lost my mother to a Hollow, and now the wisest man I have ever met was taken from his grandson because of these beasts. The Shinigami have a huge area and many people they need to help, and a number of duties they must take care of, but until the day we wind up in Soul Society, we wil never know why they didn't make it in time."

Ichigo tried to help Uryu over the next few months, and into years later. He advanced to top ranks in his classes, was a top ten student academically, befriended a kind giant he decided should be named 'Chad', and honed what his skills he had as much as possible. The only thing that kept Uryu from hunting every Hollow that appeared in town was Ichigo's admittance that he was afraid it would destroy Masaki's soul at one point. The two cousins remained friends, but rarely saw one another as Ichigo's workload and training even after finishing formal instruction took up too much time, and Uryu became convinced that if he tried hard enough, he could prove his grandfather right, and make the Shinigami come to value the aid of the Quincy.

Life was going smoothly with the exception of his father's 'surprise' attacks for Ichigo, and the thugs that attacked him for having orange hair. Having both a locking/grappling art and a striking art meant that Ichigo had a variety of skills to mix and match though, and the fact he was easily stronger and faster naturally than the thugs was only compounded as he tried to teach himself to access his raw power in bursts of energy to sharply increase his abilities. The first time he tried he used too much strength and hospitalized a thug by shattering his sternum, but he practiced on trees until he had a better feel for the power afterwards.

Ichigo would have stated that he was having a good day so far. He spent some time with his friends and convinced Uryu to help the kyudo club in competitions, tried something his oldest friend Tatsuki's friend Orihime cooked, which to his surprise actually tasted okay, and even finished all his homework early enough to visit a spirit not too far from his house. When he arrived, however, his day was going to become significantly more irritating.

"You smashed Yama-bro, man! Let's get him!" Ichigo didn't even take a step as he flattened the group of punks that knocked over a vase of flowers he made for the little girl Plus. He also didn't say a word to them, and when the conscious members asked why, he just pointed at the broken vase. "Thank you for scaring them off." The meek voice of the Plus Ichigo found a couple days ago came from behind the streetlight, making Ichigo smile. "Don't mention it. I'll put a new vase and flowers in tomorrow, okay?" A smile and nod replied to him, before he ruffled the girl's hair and walked home.

"I'm ho-" Ichigo's announcement was stopped short as he ducked a roundhouse from his father and executed a leg lock. "Dad, we've been through this, You haven't hit me since I was fourteen, and it isn't gonna change anytime soon." Isshin made a pained grimace as his son stretched one of his legs in the wrong direction, before responding as he usually did. "No son of mine is going to be a delinquent and miss his curfew! Dinner is at seven, and it is a quarter past right now!"

Ichigo just released his man-child father and greeted his sister's instead. They were more mature than 'goat-chin' easily. "Hey Yuzu, Karin. How was school today?" Ichigo ignored the sounds of his father crying to a poster of his mother about 'damned teenage hormones ruining our son', and instead gave one of his rare smiles to his sisters. Yuzu, the younger, lighter haired sister, who had taken over their mother's chores around the house, was first to answer.

"It was fine, I just hope I'm ready for that test next week." Karin, a somber dark haired girl that had adopted her older brother's permanent scowl, just grunted noncommittally and pointed over Ichigo's shoulder. "Hm?" Ichigo turned and faced a middle aged man wearing glasses, or at least his top half. "I don't get it. I stopped leaking my power like I used to and can suppress it almost perfectly now, so how do these guys keep finding me?"

The spirit just shrugged before Ichigo held his temples and went to his bedroom. Not long after sitting down, Ichigo saw a pure black swallow-tail butterfly flap its way into his room, followed by a petite black haired woman dressed in a black shihakusho wearing a sword. 'Shinigami? What the hell is she doing in here?' "It's near…" The words were spoken lowly, but it was enough for Ichigo to hear.

"What's near, is there a Hollow close by? If there is, why can't I sense it?" The woman ignored his questions and gazed around his room, her attentions focused on finding the...giant spirit in a room far too small for it to hide in. Until she was kicked in the back and introduced to Ichigo's floor. "Hey Shinigami, I'm talking to you!" Ichigo maintained a rebellious attitude and temper even with all the discipline he learned for his martial arts. The Shinigami blinked, then quickly spun to face her attacker.

"Wait, you can see me? You know about Shinigami?" Ichigo's scowl became more severe than usual. "Did it look like I was talking to someone else? Of course I can see you, and yes, I know all about the functions of the afterlife." The girl blinked owlishly, she hadn't been briefed on anyone aware of them in this town, it wasn't exactly common knowledge after all. The Shinigami was already fed up with all the attitude this teen was giving her though, and decided to show him exactly who he was messing with.

"Bakudo number 1: Sai!" Ichigo felt his arms snap behind his back painfully, and barely managed to remain standing to glare down at the midget that just cast a spell in him. "What the hell midget! I answer your questions after you break into my house, and now you're trying to paralyze me?! Maybe Uryu was telling the truth when he said Shinigami were all just arrogant bastards." The petite woman glared back at him, barely hiding her surprise that he had been able to remain standing, though it seemed apparent that he couldn't walk.

"How dare you call me a-" A shrill scream and a deep roar sounded while she attempted to berate the disrespectful punk whose home she broke into. "Yuzu!" Ichigo quickly did what he needed to escape the binds, accessing the deep wellspring from which his power flowed, and took out the blocks. The same harsh gold aura surrounded him as when he was nine, but now, at fifteen, it was twice as bright and flowed out so much his body could no longer be seen. An audible snap was heard as the spell broke, before Ichigo charged down to rescue his sisters.

'He...He just broke my spell with raw power as a human! That shouldn't be possible! There was enough energy in that display to rival a fifth seat, what the hell is he?' the petite woman snapped from her daze and charged outside, only to witness as Ichigo dodged the Hollows claws and grabbed his sister. She dashed to the Hollow and slashed its mask in two, defeating the beast. She sheathed her sword and turned to Ichigo, only to be struck hard by another Hollow that had shown itself.

'Damn it! I got careless and didn't make sure the area was clear. The only option left is...' "Hey kid!" Ichigo looked to the downed woman as she called to him, his sisters currently safe as the creature was interested in him alone at the moment. He sprinted to the light she was at as the Hollow dealt with the enhanced blow he gave it. It hadn't been enough to truly wound the beast, but he had bought a few seconds. "What is it Shinigami, do you have a plan to beat this thing?"

The Shinigami nodded, before holding her sword blade out to Ichigo's chest. "I'll give you my powers, but I have to stab you in the chest to make it work." Ichigo didn't hesitate before grabbing the blade, and looking into the eyes of the wounded warrior in front of him. "Kurosaki Ichigo, how about you?" The woman looked back at him, before speaking and thrusting her blade in unison, "Kuchiki Rukia"

A massive explosion of the golden reiatsu from before came from Ichigo's body, blinding both Rukia and the Hollow that had just managed to turn to them. When their eyes recovered, a now dressed in white Rukia and the Hollow saw Ichigo wearing a Shihakusho, with two blades in his hands. His left hand carried a sword longer than a wakizashi and shorter than a katana, a white scabbard for it in his sash. His right hand gripped a sword falling somewhere between an average katana and a nodachi in length. Its golden scabbard lying directly below the other on his left hip, the traditional method for carrying two swords used by medieval samurai. His body continued to glow for several seconds, before he angled his body toward the Hollow.

'I only meant to give him half my strength, but he took it all. He even has dual Zanpakuto like Ukitake-taichou' Rukia's thoughts were interrupted when the Hollow unleashed another roar before charging Ichigo. It tried a swipe with its claws at Ichigo, but a quick blur from his right hand and the Hollow's arm disconnected. Ichigo decided to finish up quick and leaped up to the Hollow's face, stabbing his short sword into its forehead, purifying the Hollow and all of its victims souls.

Ichigo picked Rukia up and took her in with his family, before returning to his body. The switch back to flesh and blood was too severe for Ichigo to handle at the moment though, and he passed out. A certain blonde with a bucket hat, geta sandals, and a cane walked to the only person still conscious at the Kurosaki home, a wide grin on his face. "Well Ms. Kuchiki, seems you might need a little help…"

Endnote: Love it, hate it, be completely indifferent for it, another uncommon pairing universe select change story from Jarek Gray is now in the works. I do hope everyone likes this idea though, and that it gets some reviews of course. Oh, and for everyone used to my rapid updating pace, I am taking a full load of classes starting the eighteenth, so expect my rate to decline to once a week per story at that point. It might slow down more if I get too bogged down though, but bare minimum of one per story every other week.