Ch. 1 Introduction and Greetings

Ichigo was just having a normal day at school watching the going on around in disinterest as Ms. Ochi taught and wrote on the board. He glanced over to see Keigo passed out at his desk, drooling with a textbook sitting up right. Chizuru on the other hand was drooling as she daydreamed about something (probably about groping Orihime again). Ichigo rolled his eyes as he looked over to see Mizuiro sneakily texting on his cell phone and Chad, Tatsuki and Orihime were studiously paying attention at the board. The orange head sighed in boredom as he stared out the window, thunder rumbling. "Looks like it's going to be a boring and rainy day." He muttered under his breath. Just as he said that, lightning flashed getting brighter and brighter every time until it nearly blinded him.

After clearing away the spots, Ichigo was shocked to find that he wasn't in class anymore but in an empty room. Having no idea how he got there, Ichigo inwardly groaned at the situation he was in. "Me and my big mouth." He muttered in annoyance before he heard a yelp and turned to see the room was not so empty after all. In the room with him were some of his classmates, his family, and some weird characters who all looked just as confused as him. There was Chad, Orihime, Tatsuki, Keigo (who was the one who yelped), Mizuiro, and some guy with glasses and wearing the same uniform as them. Ichigo vaguely remembered seeing him in his classes before but he was never good with names or faces. Then there was his dad and sisters, Yuzu and Karin, and the weird characters who had a strange kind of menacing aura around them. He was definitely going to make sure him and his family and classmates stay away from that particular group.

There was a blonde man with a bucket cap on his head and geta shoes (I'll call him Hat N 'Clogs, Ichigo thought absentmindedly), a black cat, two kids, a buff dark skinned man with glasses and cornrows in his hair (he might be taller than Chad), a man with a really creepy smile and a bowl haircut (Piano Mouth), a blonde midget girl with blonde pigtails and red track suit (Snaggle Tooth), one guy with a star-shaped hairstyle, another with bleached hair and that looked like he'd been in the army, a really weird girl with green hair and an orange and white jumpsuit on, a raven headed girl in a sailor suit, a long-haired blonde musician looking guy, and a really fat man in a green suit and pink hair. What really made him suspicious of them was that most of them carried around katanas. 'Seriously, who carries around swords around in this day and age?'Ichigo thought in exasperation as he went over to his family, keeping a wary eye on them.

"Dad, Yuzu, Karin. You guys alright?"

"Ichigo!" his sisters exclaimed happily, knowing that as long as their big brother was here with them everything would be okay as they ran to him. His father donned a serious look for once on his face as he assessed the situation.

"Holy crap! Where the hell are we? Have we been kidnapped?" Keigo panicked as he ran around the room in a frenzy with his arms flailing around.

Orihime hummed in thought as she considered it a real question. A metaphorical light bulb lit up in her head as she tapped her fist into her palm. "Oh! Why yes, it looks like we've all been kidnapped. Ooh! Better yet, maybe aliens abducted us!" everyone sweat-dropped at the random assumption…well, except Keigo.

"A-aliens…?" he stuttered nervously. Orihime nodded.

"Yeah! It's like that movie I saw where they captured humans who are chosen for their cause to examine mankind. And when they do, they probe them for information before they suck out their brains by using their tentacle like arms. Or ooh, better yet! They cut off the top of their skulls to surgically remove the brain and put them in jars or use them as paperweights! Or they could be used for meals instead." They all stared at her for her cheerful response, as if shewas the alien in the room.

Tatsuki shook her head in exasperation as she patted her friend's head. "Orihime, I highly doubt that we're – "

"AAAHHHH! I DON'T WANT MY BRAIN TO BE SUCKED OUT OF MY HEAD AND USED AS A PAPERWEIGHT! SOMEBODY GET US OUT OF HERE! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! HEL – "he was suddenly cut off when Ichigo knocked him on the head so hard, his face slammed into the ground with his butt in the air as a bump grew on his head. Anyone who didn't know Ichigo personally all stared at him dumbfounded.

"There, you better? Now quit whining already." Keigo then suddenly got to his feet as he got in Ichigo's face while clutching his head.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS, ICHIGO?! How the hell are you not panicking right now? We just got abducted by some aliens and got transported to god knows where in the universe, and you're annoyed because I'm WHINING?! We could all die here because some aliens are going to probe us and use our brains as paperweight or eat them for lunch." He then started sobbing anime tears while the orange head just stared at him in annoyance. "WAAHHH! I DON'T WANT MY BRAIN TO BE SUCKED OUT OF MY HEAD AND GET EATEN! I LOVE MY BRAIN! WAAHHH! UGH!" then Tatsuki was the one to cut him off this time as she punched him in the face, causing his nose to bleed. A tick mark appeared on her head as she glared at him in annoyance.

"Quit your whining already! If aliens really did abduct us, I doubt they'll be sucking anything out of that empty head of yours. And even if you did have a brain, it's probably as small as a raisin from the amount of times you actually use it!" Keigo sat in the corner in a fetal position with a depressed aura.

"You don't have to be so mean about it." He pouted. Ichigo rolled his eyes before looking around to see if there was a way out. Other than the people, there was basically nothing in the room. His eyes then spotted a door with a screen embedded into the wall. Seeing everyone just talking to each other in whispering tones, he took the initiative and walked over to the door causing everyone to stop what they were doing and watch him. Ichigo stepped up to the screen and studied it. He tapped the glass with a finger and it lit up. Green letters appeared on the screen and he read it out loud.

"'Please scan handprint to open door. There will be an explanation once you step inside.'…Seriously?" Ichigo looked back at the others, wondering what to do. Some just shrugged looking just as unsure as he was. The teen looked from the screen to his hand before shrugging. What could hurt? He put his hand against the screen and it scanned before it beeped in confirmation. The door slid open on command and Ichigo took a look inside, only seeing a dark room. He turned back to the group with a confused expression. "…Uh, I guess we go in?" with that said they all followed his lead and stepped inside before the door closed behind them.

It was pitch black for a second before, suddenly, another door opened and in came some more strange characters whom also had swords and in black kimonos. Some even had white haoris on. The strange characters in Ichigo's group along with one of his classmates and dad (Huh?) all tensed up in a defensive position while the other group tensed in also a ready position or stared in shock. Before a fight could break out, a holographic projector turned on in front of them.

BUZZ!

The first thing on the screen to show up was a big gray eye with pale skin surrounding it.

"What the hell?"

"Hello? Is this thing on?" said Kisuke's voice as it came out of the speakers.

"Huh? Hey, it's me!" exclaimed Hat N 'Clogs in both amazement and confusion.

"Wait a second, so this is your fault why we're all in this mess!" Ichigo accused in anger. The Soul Reaper in hiding held up his hands in innocence and shook his head vehemently as everyone glared at him.

"No really, I swear I didn't do this! At least I don't think I did?"

"What do you mean you think, huh?!" The blonde midget yelled suspiciously. "If this is one of your hair brained schemes again I swear you're gonna regret it, ya hear me?"

Hat N 'Clogs (who is now called Kisuke) sighed as he brought his hat over his eyes. "I assure you all, if I did do this I don't remember any of it. Besides, why would I do this to myself as well?" he had a point, why wouldhe do this to himself as well?

"Hmm…" the eye then backed off showing Kisuke in a green and white striped hat with a black haori and a green shirt underneath. "Yoruichi, are you sure this is on?" the camera then turned, showing Yoruichi's face.

Yoruichi looked into the lens, closing in on her eye. "I think so? The red light is blinking so it's clearly recording."

"La-Lady Yoruichi…?" Said a raven headed midget in a white haori as she stared in shock.

"Hmm, it seems I'm there as well." Said a deep voice.

"Huh?" said Ichigo as he looked around for the voice.

"Down here." The teen looked down to see the black cat staring up at him. "…Hi there."

There was a dramatic pause before Ichigo and his friends and sisters exclaimed in shock. "WHAT THE HELL?!" "Cool! A talking cat!" "Wow! Are you an alien?" were the responses.

"Wait a second, how the hell can you talk?" the cat chuckled.

"Well, since I can talk it's obvious that I'm not an actual cat. See, that woman up there is actually me when I'm not in this form."

"O…kay? But how come your voice is so deep?" Yoruichi tilted her head in amusement.

"Cat's don't talk." Was her only explanation causing the orange head to narrow his eyes at her in annoyance while the rest of his friends just stared blankly.

"Lady Yoruichi!" the shapeshifter looked over to the woman and stated calmly to her.

"Why don't we talk later, Sui-Feng. After we figure out what is going on first." Before Sui-Feng could respond the video started up again.

"Alright, turn the camera to me!" Yoruichi then turned the camera, facing it to Kisuke who appeared on the screen almost at full height. His cane in one hand and his fan in the other, the background showing that he was in a Shinto style living room.

BUZZ!

"We going? You in position?"

"Yeah, go ahead." She answered, giving him a thumbs up on the screen. "Annnd action!" She giggled. "I've always wanted to say that!"

"Yoruichi!"

"Oh, right! Annnd go!"

"Thank you." Urahara cleared his throat before grinning with his fan out. "~ HELLOOO EVERYONE! ~"

"Seriously?" said Ichigo, voicing out what most of the occupants in the room were thinking.

"If you're watching this, it means my device to send you all here was a success. Now then, most of you must be wandering, 'How did I get here? Why am I here? What's going on?' Well, be confused no more, because I'm going to tell you!"

"Get to the point already!" said Tatsuki.

"Just get to the point; stop dicking around."

Kisuke on-screen shrugged. "Eh, just wanted to lighten the mood. Now then," he snapped his fan shut, "what I am about to tell you will probably make you all think I'm crazy!"

"Already do." Said Hiyori. Kisuke pouted.

"But I can assure you, what I am about to say is the complete and honest truth. The current timeline I am recording this…is eleven years from your future."

Everyone stared in disbelief at what he said before some exclaimed in disbelief while the most skeptical of the whole group disproved the whole thing. "Ooh, the future! Do you think there maybe robots in the future?" said Orihime and everyone just stared at her as if she grew a second head.

"I know, I know. You're all probably thinking, 'That's crazy!' or like 'That's insane! You've gotta be joking!' Well don't worry, I know a way for you all to believe me."

"Kisuke, you know how Ichigo will react when he finds out you did this?"

"Me? What do I have to do with this?!" exclaimed said teen.

"I know, that's why I'm making this video beforehand!" in the background, you could hear a slap as if someone was face palming."Anyways, in the next room you'll be going to after this clip I have documented every moment of your lives and put it into a sequent like TV show for you to watch. Your lives played out before you as you all learn about your past and your future. Simply put, I'm making you watch your future."

"Okay, now I know you're lying. This is such bullshit!" said Tatsuki as she glared at the screen and the man before them. While they all argued the legality of all this, the four oldest people in the group went off to whisper in the corner.

"This is most concerning, if what Kisuke Urahara is saying is true we could very well tip the balance of the timestream by simply watching our future." Said a woman with her hair wrapped in a braid in front of her.

"Not to mention, everyone's privacy as well as ours will be exposed to all eyes here." The man with white long hair added.

"On the other hand, we can finally know what is really going on and how Isshin and the rest of them survived all this time. We can find out where they have been hiding and why they have been gone for so long." Said the man in the straw-hat with a pink kimono on he stared off to the woman in the sailor's outfit.

"Master, what is your input on all this?" the three all turned to the oldest man in the little circle as he had a contemplative look. He hummed in thought before speaking.

"Let us observe for now before we jump to any conclusions to the 'why' and the 'how'. Then after, we can then take action." The three nodded before turning back to the hologram.

"Now, you must be curious as to why and how I did this. Well I'll tell ya why!" He cleared his throat again before he became serious, looking like a completely different person. "To put it simply, if I sent this and brought you all to this room...It means something terribly bad has happened in my timeline. And for this, I needed you all to watch so you can all fix the mistakes that have been made and make our future better."

Now they all looked concern, what mistakes that were so bad he had to bring all of them to watch their future.

"Just to inform you, I wouldn't have done this if it was a last resort; this is just a precaution. So far already we have lost a lot of good people and maybe more people will die later. Or worse…the end of all life itself."

"Daddy?" Yuzu whimpered before her father kneeled and hugged her.

"Shh, it's alright. I'm sure it won't come to that." He whispered to her, even though he wasn't sure.

"Again, I wouldn't have done this if it weren't life or death. Now then," and just like, he was back to his cheerful self. "as to the how part, to put it simply I used and gathered your reiatsu and reiryoku, so I can put it into a stream of visual data."

"I KNEW IT!" exclaimed Kisuke in his excitement while everyone else either stared at him in shock or confusion.

"What the hell is reiatsu and reiryoku?" asked Ichigo. Kisuke explained.

"Reiatsu (spiritual pressure) is an aura like energy that people can exert and use to their advantage while reiryoku (spiritual energy) is basically potential energy that hasn't been tapped in yet and is stored in the person's body and soul. Mostly with humans that have the ability to see ghost and spirits have this inside them and can have the potential to use it."

"Huh…Wait what do you mean 'mostly with humans'? Are you saying you're not?" Kisuke just grinned secretively as he brought his hat over his eyes.

"So, you really are an alien!" Said Orihime excitedly causing everyone to sweat-drop. 'Seriously, she's still on that?'Ichigo thought as the blonde male just told her that no he wasn't an alien, causing her to pout in disappointment. "Oh…But wait, why am I here? I can't see spirits."

"Neither can I." said Chad who had been silent this whole time, which is not unsual. Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro shook their heads.

"Well, I can't actually see ghosts, but I do sometimes sense their presence. But my big brother Ichigo and my sister Karin can." She said happily, causing the people in the kimonos to stare incredulously at the two. Ichigo looked over the corner of his eye, noticing that neither his father nor his other classmate contributes to any of those claims. How odd? He ignored it for now to answer Orihime's question for Kisuke.

"Well you guys wouldn't be here unless you had the potential or will be able to see spirits overtime. I'm sure you guys had made some sort of impact in the future?" the others nodded, taking his word.

"Now the way to do this was that I have measured your reiryoku and reiatsu over the years, along with everyone else's, and will probably be continuing on until I send you this clip back along with your stories. You see, the funny thing about reiatsu and reiryoku…is that it's not only the source of your powers…but also the connection to your very soul. In other words, your reiatsu and reiryoku is the very essence of everything about you. Your thoughts, your memories, your experiences, your emotions, everything that makes you 'you' are all there for everyone to see...Well, not really until I made it happen, of course." The onscreen laughed at this, proud of his work.

A clowned face man growled in frustration at this. He had been working on this secretly for 50 years and already his predecessor beat him to it.

"And I found a way to utilize that by making a device that can scan each and every one of your spirit energies and access them into visual form. But I made it easier for you to access by making them into a movie like sequence in the next room for you, so you're welcome!"

'What's a movie?'Thought the people in the kimonos and a few in the non-kimonos.

"Now then, here are some things you need to know before you watch the first episode. The first is that every time someone makes a comment in any moment of the show, the video will pause and restart back up when everyone is done talking. You know, just to see if you guys want to add in your two yen and such. The second is that there will be intermissions in between episodes to give you all a break, until after two or three episodes a day and it's night night for you all. And trust me, you will know when it's time to stop and start again." He cleared his throat again and put his cane on his shoulder as he became serious. "Now one of the reasons why I did this was not just because I wanted to give you an insight on the future…it's to embarrass all of you, of course!" Kisuke laughed at his joke.

"The hell did you say, Hat N 'Clogs?!" said Ichigo as everyone glared at him.

"But don't worry, I'm not leaving myself out of the picture so there might be some embarrassing moments of me too."

Suddenly, a bell ringing came in from outside as a door slid open and closed. "Yo, Kisuke! Ya here?" Kisuke looked into the direction of the voice and grinned.

"Huh? Was that me?" questioned Ichigo.

"Ah, and there's my proof." He then leaned into the camera and whispered conspiringly. "Don't worry, I'll even give some early inside scoop as to what you will learn from the show."

"Yo, Hat N 'Clogs!"

"~In here Ichigo!~" he called back before the camera turned to the door as it slid open. In came an older looking Ichigo with longer hair that was tied up in a ponytail and in a leather jacket, black jeans, combat boots and a red graphic tee while an older Uryu came in behind him with side bangs instead of a 'V' hairstyle, rounded angular glasses, a white dress shirt, grey pants suit, white dress shoes, and a grey tie with crosses decorating it and a vest. In his arms was a tablet that he was currently staring at with a stylist in hand and a messenger bag hanging off his shoulder.

"HUH?!" the two teens exclaimed as they all stared in shock.

"Whoa, Ichigo is that you? Your hair has gotten super long, dude!" stated Keigo. Ichigo didn't answer as he just continued staring at his future self while Orihime admired how much more handsome he had become.

"Wow, Big Brother! You look so cool!" said Yuzu as she had stars in her eyes.

'But why am I there? And why am I following him around and standing behind him like I'm his secretary?!' Uryu thought as he studied the scene. His future self looks so calm and content while at the same time looking proud and confident. Uryu was so confused.

"Ah, Ichigo! Uryu! Glad you could make it on such short notice."

"Alright Kisuke, what's this all about? I'm kinda busy at the moment, so make this quick." He then glanced over to the camera and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What the hell is Yoruichi doing with a camera again?"

"I'm glad you asked, Ichigo. Can you please just turn to the camera and tell us about yourself?"

Ichigo just stared at him. "…What the hell are you up to now, Hat N 'Clogs?"

Kisuke gasped in shock as he donned a hurtful expression. "Wha? I am appalled of you to think I would be up to something! How abhorrent of you, Mr. Kurosaki!"

"Oh, shut up and cut to the chase! I'm on a tight schedule here and I don't need you wasting my time here!"

Kisuke laughed in amusement. "Alright, I gotcha. I was asked by the head of the Soul Reaper Academy to give an introduction as to who you are for new recruits."

"Soul Reaper Academy? What's that?" asked Mizuiro.

"I'm sure it will be explained later." Said Yoruichi.

Ichigo growled in annoyance with a tick mark on his head. "Seriously, Kisuke? You dragged me all the way here for this?!"

"Come on, Ichigo. Just do this for once, it'll be the only time, I promise. Besides, do you really want me to tell the future of the Soul Society all those embarrassing moments in your life?" he stated slyly causing the orange head to pale.

"Soul Society?" Ichigo repeated.

"Again, later." Said Yoruichi. Ichigo glared in annoyance.

"Alright, alright fine. What the hell do you want me to say?" he then glared at the camera. "And that thing better not follow me around again or I swear to god, I will murder you where you stand!" Kisuke made a calm down gesture with his hands as he sweat-dropped nervously.

"Now, now, no need to get violent. It's just to encourage future Soul Reapers, that's all. You don't even have to do anything, just talk that's all."

Ichigo gave a considering look before giving in with a sigh. "…Fine. What do I have to say?"

"Just talk about yourself and your family as well as your lineage and your reason for fighting, that's all." Said Kisuke as he gave an encouraging smile.

"Lineage?" Ichigo muttered.

Again, Ichigo gave him a considering look before sighing and turning to his companion. "Hey Uryu, how long do we have?"

"About an hour until then." Said the Quincy.

'So that's his name. Uryu.'

The orange head than turned towards the camera fully and cleared his throat. "And action!" called Yoruichi as Ichigo stared towards the camera while Kisuke moved off-camera.

"Hi, my name is Ichigo Kurosaki – Shiba, Substitute Soul Reaper. I'm currently 25 years old and the next heir of the Shiba clan on my father's side. My father's name is Isshin Kurosaki where you may know him as Isshin Shiba in the Soul Society. My dad is the current head of the Shiba clan and was a Soul Reaper Captain. I have two sisters who are twins, Yuzu and Karin. My mother's name was Masaki Kurosaki and was a Quincy. On the day my parents met, my father was on mission to the World of the Living when he heard a report of a weird Hollow that had been spotted.

"He was attacked by the Hollow when my mother swooped in and saved his life. In the process, she was injured and was beginning to Hollowfy. But because she was a Quincy, she was dying and to repay her my father saved her life with the help of Kisuke Urahara. In the process, my father lost all of his Soul Reaper powers, so he had no choice but to live a life as a human and later became a doctor after falling in love and marrying my mother.

"The Hollow that had almost killed my mother was sealed in her soul before transferring over to me when I was born making me a Vizored, a Soul Reaper born with Hollow powers instead of gaining them or accidently gaining them. She was then later killed by a Hollow when I was nine by protecting me but was unable to protect herself when she realized she had lost all of her Quincy powers and my father was still powerless…But enough about that, on my mother's side I have an uncle named Ryuken Ishida and a cousin named Uryu Ishida."

He then gestured to Uryu behind him who gave a casual wave with his stylist in response, not once taking his eyes off the tablet. "And because not only am I a noble on my father's side, but also Uryu, my sisters, and I are also direct descendants of the Soul King because of our Quincy heritage and by Yhwach himself, the former maker and father of Quincies. As you must know, my name does not mean 'strawberry' but 'he who protects' or 'number one protector', just in case you all get it wrong. And because of that, I have lived by it. To protect others, nothing more. That is my reason for fighting, to protect those who can't themselves. Even if it means I die in the process." At this, his cousin finally looked up and narrowed his eyes in annoyance, looking as though he had been over this with him many times and was not pleased still. But otherwise, didn't say anything. "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki – Shiba, and I am the first Human-Soul-Reaper-Hollow-Quincy hybrid."

The whole room was in stunned silence. A couple were confused, not sure of some the things he said while the majority was in shock. On the Soul Reaper side, they couldn't believe what he said and didn't know which part to be shocked about first. The boy being a hybrid, the boy being a noble, or the boy being basicallythe prince of the Soul Society!It at least answered a few questions some had on seeing the boy as those stared at him.

Meanwhile on the human side, Ichigo's friends weren't sure what the meaning of that speech meant but it sounded significantly important to the rest of the room. They were though saddened for Ichigo's loss and how he actually lost his mother. Uryu was significantly shocked. He had cousins,another family he didn't even know about and were Quincies too. Never mind them being half Soul Reaper or Ichigo being part Hollow as well; he could care less about that! All that mattered to Uryu was that…he had another family and he wasn't aloneanymore. He wasn't the last one. 'Finally…'

Ichigo and his family were the most speechless out of all of them, Ichigo more so. He had no idea; there was a whole other part of himself that he didn't know about and he had a cousintoo. What really shocked him was that…it wasn't his fault after all. His mother didn't die because it was his fault, it was a Hollow's fault (whatever that is). Even though she did die protecting him, she at least died knowing what she was doing and did it the same way she did for his father. Even though she didn't have whatever powers she had before, she still knew what to do and because of that. Ichigo felt like an entire weight just lifted from his shoulders, filling him with undeniable relief. But that changed when he realized she was still killed by something and it was probably still out there. That filled him with fury.

"Daddy…is it true?" Yuzu whimpered out hesitantly, tears gathering in his eyes. "Was…was Mommy killed…by a monster?" Isshin felt like his heart broke as he stared solemnly at his daughter.

"Yes, Yuzu…It's true." That opened up the flood gates as she collapsed into tears on the ground. Her twin was trying so hard not to cry but couldn't help it as she clenched her fist in grief and anger. Everyone watched them in sympathy as the family grieved.

"What is a Hollow?" Ichigo questioned in a monotone voice as his eyes turned empty with a neutral expression on his face. Isshin turned to his oldest son and sighed.

"A Hollow is a deceased human soul that has stayed on Earth for too long and has turned dark after losing its heart. When a soul turns into a Hollow, they become a ravenous, mindless beast who feed on other souls or the souls of their loved ones to fill that empty void in place of their heart. N-not you of course, Ichigo, I'm just stating a fact." The teen nodded but didn't say anything as he waited for his father to continue. "As a Soul Reaper, it's our duty to hunt down these creatures and purify their souls so they can pass on to the Soul Society – which is what Humans call heaven – and help them into the cycle of rebirth."

"I see…Did that Hollow have a name?"

"…Yes, his name is Grande Fisher." At the name, several gasps were heard from the people with the kimonos (who were now called Soul Reapers), which meant that this Hollow was probably considerably dangerous and still out and about.

"Hm."

"Ichigo…you know if I had my powers I would have gone out there to save your mother, right? I would never have deliberately put both your lives in danger." At this, Ichigo gave him a ghost of a smile in return as some spark returned to his eyes.

"I know you would have, Dad."

"We know that too, Daddy." Said Yuzu as she and Karin gave their father a hug. "Please don't blame yourself."

"It's wasn't your fault, Goat-Chin." Isshin smiled softly before offering up his arm to include his son in the group family hug, which Ichigo reciprocated full-heartedly before breaking off.

"And Mom…did she really know what she was doing?" Isshin nodded.

"Of course, she did; she was trained to kill Hollows and knew what to do."

"What is a Quincy anyway?"

"Ask your cousin." Right, his cousin Uryu was a Quincy too just like his mother. Thatthere was going to get some getting used to. Ichigo then turned his questioning eyes on him who had already approached the family. Uryu adjusted his glasses as he began to speak.

"There's a long history behind it all, but I won't get into that just yet. Quincies are another race of humans that are born with spirit energy and are able to utilize and manipulate that spirit energy to defend themselves against Hollows. Unlike Soul Reapers though, we do not possess the ability to pass on their souls but obliterate and erase them from existence. And there are very few of us left because of that reason, but like I said I won't get into that just yet. Anyways, unlike a Soul Reaper whose primary weapon is a sword, we Quincies use a bow and arrow as our primary weapon to defend ourselves with."

"I see…and you said there are few of us left right? How many of us are there?" for a moment, Uryu didn't look like he wanted to answer that, but he answered anyway.

"Including my father, we are all that is left of the Quincy race." He said in resignation, causing some to stare in shock. Ichigo couldn't believe it, they were the last ones? What the hell happened to have caused this? Urahara stepped up.

"I think that's enough questions for now. How about we go back to the clip and get all of our answers taken care of by watching the videos?" everyone silently agreed as they turned back to the hologram.

Ichigo scowled even deeper after he finished and turned in the direction where Kisuke probably was. "There, happy?" Kisuke chuckled as he stepped back onscreen next to Ichigo.

"Very much, thank you. The recruits will be delighted to see this."

"Is that all you need from me?"

"That's pretty much it!"

"Good."SMACK!

With that, Ichigo punched Urahara in the face – leaving him with a bloody nose – before turning and marching towards the door with Uryu in tow.

Everyone either winced or laughed in amusement at the shopkeeper's pain. That had to have hurt.

"Come on, Uryu. Let's go." He grumbled out in annoyance.

"Told ya it was a waste of our time." Said Uryu.

"Shut up!" the other snapped back before leaving through the door. Yoruichi laughed in the background as she turned the camera back on Urahara whom was tending to his nose.

"Told ya he wouldn't be happy. Imagine what he would do to you if he found out about this whole TV series thing?"

At the retort, Urahara felt a chill down his spine and looked over to see the teen giving the death of all death glares. Kisuke gulped nervously. He didn't have to imagine it, he already knew.

Kisuke brushed it off with a casual wave of his hand. "He can kill me later. And anyways, thanks for watching! Just to let you know, I will be showing up on more of these segments and give you an insight on all the characters on the show and their lives. For now, the room I transported you all in is in a pocket dimension I created for this very purpose and enabling the humans who can't actually see spirits. Accommodations will be provided for you for the remainder of your stay here as well as food that automatically restocks itself, so you won't go hungry. After you finish, I will send you all back to the exact moment I took you from and hopefully…you will give us a better future. In the meantime, I will give you all an hour to get acquainted with each other. The door to the room is set to open in an hour and the show will start once everyone is seated. Please don't kill each other. Good luck!" with that, the hologram went black with only three words.

~ Enjoy the Show! ~

As the projector turned off and the lights turned on, everyone stood in awkward silence unsure of what to do. "Well…that was mind blown." Ichigo didn't know who said that, but he couldn't help but agree. The teen sighed tiredly as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well, we have an hour; might as well make the most of it." He stated, breaking the ice. Everyone than began walking around and started talking amongst themselves while Ichigo's classmates stayed with him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yoruichi and that other Soul Reaper – Sui-Feng he believed was her name – race off towards a corner. Probably to get over some issues they have with each other. He then turned his attention towards Uryu. "So, you're my cousin huh?"

"It would appear so, though my father, Ryuken, didn't tell me anything about me having an aunt or cousins. So, I guess it was both a shock to us." Ichigo nodded with a grin as he held out his hand.

"Nice to officially meet ya. Ichigo." Uryu stared hesitantly at the hand before grasping it with a small smile.

"Pleasures all mine. Uryu."

"Hi! I'm Yuzu!" the voice startled him before he looked down to his left to see the light-haired twin smiling up at him.

"And I'm Karin." He jumped again to his right to see the other twin just looking up at him with a blank expression.

"H-hello?" he replied awkwardly before he was suddenly put into a headlock by Isshin.

"It's nice to see you again, Uryu! I haven't seen you since you were a baby." He said happily before he let the poor boy go. Uryu fixed up his hair and adjusted his glasses before starring at his uncle like he was insane.

"Really? And how come we haven't heard this before?" said Ichigo as he narrowed his eyes at his dad with his arms crossed. Isshin began to perspire nervously.

"Uh, well…it just…slipped my mind I guess?"

"Really? It conveniently just…slipped your mindfor 15 long years, huh? How very odd." He stated, his tone turning dangerous.

"Uh…yeah?" the man chuckled nervously as his son continued to stare at him.

"Hmph." Before he knew it, Ichigo stepped on his father's face into the ground with an angry look. "You stupid old man! I'm gonna kill you for that!" Isshin just continued twitching on the ground in pain. Uryu stared in bemusement at the display of the abuse while his other cousins just watched on unaffected. He turned to them confused.

"Does this happen all the time?"

"Yeah. You get used to it." They replied as their father got to his knees and started sobbing at a framed picture of his wife he got out of his lab pocket.

"MASAKI! Your son is so cruel to me! He keeps on beating up and threatening his old man. How did we raise such a delinquent child!"

"Oh, shut up! It's your own damn fault for not telling us we had another family member in the first place. Now put Mom's picture away already so I can properly kill you!"

"Now hold on, there's no need for you to do that." the group turned to see a well-endowed woman with a fake right arm coming up to them along with a much younger looking version of Isshin. Isshin perked up at the sight of them as he got up to hug the two.

"Kukaku! Ganju! It's incredible to see you bo- "he was cut when a well-placed kick was given to him in the face as he was greeted by the ground again.

"BECAUSE I'M GONNA KILL HIM MYSELF!" the others just stared in shock as she started beating the man into the ground. "You bastard old man! Not once have we gotten a single letter from you nor did you let us know that you were alive at all, dammit!" Isshin just laid there barely conscious as she finally stopped with a breath of exhaustion before turning to the kids with a smile. "Anyways, it's nice to finally meet you all! The name's Kukaku Shiba, your cousin. And this is my little brother, Ganju Shiba." Ganju waved in greeting as they all finally relaxed.

"Oh, so your part of the Shiba clan I was talking about up there." He held up his hand with a polite smile. "Ichigo Kurosaki, or well Ichigo Kurosaki – Shiba now I guess." Kukaku stared at the hand looking unimpressed before looking blankly up at him.

"What is this a charity event? Family don't do handshakes." The teen was then grabbed roughly before being squeezed into an embrace, surprising him. "We hug it out, of course!" Ichigo just smile before returning the hug as his sisters came up when they separated.

"Hi! I'm Yuzu! And this is my twin sister Karin and our cousin Uryu!" she greeted.

"Well hey there! The names Ganju Shiba!" said Ganju as he ruffled their hairs and slapped a hand down on the Quincy's shoulder. Kukaku smiled at the sight before turning to Ichigo with a wistful smile confusing the teen.

"Something wrong?" his cousin shook her head.

"Nothing, you just…look so much like our late older brother." At this, Ganju stopped smiling having a solemn expression. Everyone watches in confusion, not knowing why they suddenly turned sad.

"I do?" she nodded as she took out a picture and showed it to them.

"Our brother, Kaien. He and his wife died a long time ago, but if he were here now you would look just like him." In the picture were two people. One was a brunette woman with soft features while the other could very well be Ichigo's twin with black hair and blue eyes. They all stared in amazement at the likeness.

"Holy crap, he really does look like me!"

"He could be like your twin brother, Ichi-nii!" said Yuzu as Kukaku took the picture back and put it away.

"Yeah, it really surprised us when we saw you. We thought our brother was actually reincarnated or something." She stated with a smirk.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking…what happened to them?" they stiffened at the question before Kukaku answered.

"Hmph, Miyako, his wife, was a Soul Reaper while our brother was her superior officer. She and a few other Soul Reapers went on a scouting mission about a Hollow terrorizing a district in the Soul Society…but something went wrong. The Hollow they were hunting killed the other soldiers and used this strange ability to use Miyako's body as some kind of meat suit as it ate her from the inside." This stunned them. "The Hollow, Metastacia, used her body to invade her squad posing as her and killed some squad members before they chased it out into the forest. Kaien…he wanted to protect her honor and chased after it along with his captain and another Soul Reaper he was mentoring. But…when he did catch up to it, it used him as a meat puppet and tried to kill his captain and the other Soul Reaper. They tried to save him...but it was too late, and the other Soul Reaper had no choice but to kill her mentor in his honor…She was devastated from what I heard." The four were astonished into silence.

"…Who was the other Soul Reaper?" just as he asked that, a raven-haired Soul Reaper stepped up slowly to the group with downcast eyes. They turned towards her, the four having confused looks while Kukaku narrowed her eyes and Ganju had a look of outrage.

"That's her! That's the Soul Reaper that killed our brother!" the four gasped in shock while the girl flinched.

"What?" said Ichigo.

"Ganju…"

"But Sis- "

"Ganju!" he turned to her to see disapproving eyes. "Let me handle this." She stated in a warning tone. Ganju looked like he wanted to argue but then realized to cut his losses and scoffed. The female Shiba inwardly sighed before turning her hard gaze towards the Soul Reaper. "Rukia Kuchiki, the Soul Reaper who killed our brother Kaien." Rukia didn't say anything as she continued to stare at the ground solemnly. "I know who you are. You've got some nerve showing your face to me. What do you want?"

"W-wait, Kukaku- "she interrupted Ichigo with a raise of her fake hand.

"Now I ask you again, what did you come here for?"

Rukia remained silent, not sure how to go about it. She closed her eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry." She looked up into her eyes before bowing. "I…I know I should have come sooner. I wanted to, but I was a coward. I should've apologized to you the first chance I got. But the longer I waited, the harder it seemed to become, until…I ran. I ran and I'm sorry- "

"Stop. That's enough." Rukia looked up startled to see Kukaku scratching her head in annoyance. "What is this? The world's longest apology?"

"I'm, um…I'm so sorry – oh!" the Shiba lady knocked her on the head, causing everyone but Ganju and Isshin (who was still unconscious) to stare in bewilderment.

"Enough, I said!" she stated.

"Oh!" Rukia stood back up as fixed her hair, looking lost. "I um um…"

"It's alright."

"Huh?"

"I mean it. Anyway, I already heard the whole story from Ukitake. I know that Kaien's death wasn't your fault. And I know that ever since that day, you've been carrying more than your share of guilt over it. So long ago I decided in my heart that if you said just one word of apology, I would forgive you." Rukia stared her and Ganju, who gave a solemn nod, in amazement and realization. 'Of course. She knew Kaien, better than anyone. She knows what he would have wanted. Huh, all this time I was only thinking of myself, when she's the one who was hurt the most by the loss of her brother.' Rukia began tearing up.

"Oh, thank you. I'm just so sorry I – "with a grunt, she was suddenly tearing up for another reason as Kukaku gave her a punch in the face. She had a tick mark on her cheek as Rukia sported a bloody nose.

"Enough apologizing."

"Um, ok." She muffled out as she held up her nose. "I'm sorry – "Kukaku growled as she held up a fist threateningly. "Wait. I mean, thank you." Everyone just stared on in confusion; it was the weirdest apology/acceptance speech they had ever seen.

"And you!" they jumped as she turned her sights on them, specifically Ichigo.

"Wha – me?"

"Yes you! Don't think I didn't hear you just call me by my name, you little brat! From now on, all of you are to call me by 'Kukaku-neesan' and nothing else, got it?"

"Uh?" they all stated dumbly before she growled and raised her fist up, causing them to perspire in fear. "Yes, Kukaku-neesan!" they blurted out fearfully.

"Hmph, good. Make sure you all remember that." they all nodded obediently. When she looked away satisfied, Ichigo leaned in towards Ganju nervously.

"Your sister's a piece of work."

"Yeah, try living with her." Ichigo sighed before he felt someone starring at him and looked to see Rukia who had a wistful smile.

"What?" Rukia hummed.

"You really do look like Kaien…" then all of a sudden, she stiffened in realization before bowing in respect, making everyone look at her in confusion. "I mean, it's an honor to meet you, Sire!"

"HUH?!"

"Forgive my disrespect, I had momentarily forgotten that I was in the presence of one of the members of the Royal Family, My Lord!" Ichigo just choked on some air, not sure what to do as he stared at her incredulously. He then groaned in annoyance as he scratched the back of his head.

"Give me a break, will ya? I just found out about my lineage, so there's no need for such formalities."

"But Sire – "he held up a hand to her face.

"No 'Sire' this or 'My Lord' that, okay! Besides, I never liked formalities anyway, so for now just call me Ichigo."

"My Lor- "she was then smacked on the head again, but this time by Ichigo.

"What the hell did I just say, dammit?! If you can't even do that then you can just stop talking!" Rukia rubbed her head again before smiling with a nod. 'He is definitely a Shiba…'

"Very well, if that is what you wish…Ichigo."

"And you can call me Yuzu!" startled, she turned to the twins and the Quincy. Her twin nodded.

"Karin is fine." Rukia smiled.

"Very well. And you, monsieur?" Uryu just stared at her with an unreadable expression before he adjusted his glasses.

"Don't take offense to this or anything, I don't have anything against you per say. It's just that Quincies and Soul Reapers are natural born enemies and plus, I don't know anything about you to allow you to call me by my given name."

"Huh? Quincies and Soul Reapers are enemies?!" his cousin said incredulously as Uryu nodded.

"It dates back to over a thousand years of bloodshed and hatred, but that was a long time ago. And since my cousins are part Soul Reaper and their father is a Soul Reaper, it'll take some time to get over that." Rukia nodded.

"Well if it helps, you don't have to think of me as a Soul Reaper?" she stated as she held out her hand. Uryu stared at it before nodding and slowly grasped it.

"Uryu Ishida."

"Now that that's cleared, so tell me honestly. What's the Soul Society like?" Ichigo inquired and she gladly explained everything in detail she knew about it and the Seireitei as well as the different Rukongai districts (his cousins putting in their input now and again), not leaving anything out and trying to not sugarcoat it. Just when she was explaining all of the different squads in the Seireitei and the noble clans, the guy with the piano mouth walked over with a Cheshire grin. Ichigo raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Well aren't you a rude one, but I'll let it slide since I'm in the face of royalty." The teen's eyebrow twitched at that. "The name's Shinji Hirako, I'm a Vizored." This surprised them at the declaration.

"A Vizored, huh? That's a Soul Reaper with Hollow-like abilities, right?"

"Right on the money, kid! That makes us kin!" the teen stared at him flatly.

"Great. I'm in a little club; sounds fun." He said sarcastically, causing Shinji's eye to twitch.

"It is not a club!"

"Whatever." Shinji looked like he was going to wring his neck.

"Hirako…" they all turned to Rukia who had a thoughtful expression. "Hirako. Now where have I heard that name before?"

"You should have heard it, since he was a captain of Squad 5." They all turned their attentions to see three male Soul Reapers in white haoris walking towards them and the other with a badge on the side of his arm. One with long bleached out hair and the other with raven colored hair and hair accessories with a schooled noble-like expression. The other one had red spikey hair tied into a ponytail, making him look like a walking pineapple head.

"Captain Ukitake. Brother. Renji." Ukitake nodded in hello at his subordinate before turning his eyes and smiling pleasantly towards Shinji, whom had a guarded expression towards them.

"Hello, Shinji. It's very good to see you again, old friend."

"Jushiro, long time no see." Said Shinji as he grinned with guarded eyes. "So, what? Are you here to execute me?" Jushiro turned sad eyes on him while everyone else looked incredulous.

"Execute? What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo inquired, not sure the hell is going on.

"Hmph, if you must know kid. In the Soul Society, it's against the law for Soul Reapers to acquire Hollow abilities." Ichigo's breath hitched.

"It is true." They turned their sights back at the old captain. "In the eyes of our government, it is against the law for Soul Reapers to gain Hollow abilities. And the punishment for that is execution." They all gasped in horror. "But rest assured, I did not come here to sentence you. I have come here out of the goodness of my heart to get the full story of what really happened that day."

"Oh, I see… After all these years of condemning us without letting us explain ourselves, you suddenly want the whole story 'out of the goodness of your hearts'?" Shinji stated narrowing his eyes suspiciously at him, causing the man to lose his smile. Before an argument could break out Ichigo took charge and intervened, looking very much annoyed and confused all at the same time.

"Okay, enough!" they all paused in surprise as the teen glared at both the men. "Before things get hostile, can either of you tell us what really happened?" Ichigo inquired. Ukitake smiled in relief and nodded.

"Certainly." He cleared his throat. "100 years ago, many low-ranking Soul Reapers began to disappear. When we tried to find them there were no traces of them nor were there any bodies. We sent out investigative teams out, but they also began to disappear and not heard from again. Squad 9's captain, Kensei Muguruma, at the time decided to take it upon himself to investigate the cause, so he along with his lieutenant and a few high-ranking officers went off to seek answers. They were all mysteriously cut down by an unknown assailant and their reiatsu disappeared.

"After that, the Head Captain hand-picked captains of Squad 5, Shinji Hirako, Squad 7 Love Aikawa, and Squad 3 Rojuro 'Rose' Otoribashi to investigate along with the Kidō Corp's lieutenant Hachigen Ushoda and Squad 8's lieutenant Lisa Yadomaru while Squad 12's lieutenant Hiyori Sarugaki went with them to collect samples at her captain's request. They too suddenly disappeared until they were found in one of Squad 12's labs with Hollowfied masks on and Kisuke Urahara, captain of Squad 12 at the time, and Captain of the Kidō Corps Tessai Tsukabishi standing over them.

"Since Squad 12 specializes in science, we believed that Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi were the culprits at the time and tried apprehending them. They disappeared after escaping along with Yoruichi Shihoin, Captain of Squad 2, going with them and taking the Hollowfied captains and lieutenants. We never heard from them again and believed they had all died…That is until now, of course." Everyone just stared incredulously at him; the story sounded so outlandish that they had no choice but to believe him. Jushiro smiled pleasantly. "Now that you are here and indeed alive and well, I would very much like to know your side of what really happened that day, so we can finally get our stories straight."

Shinji scoffed. "Why should I, it's not like you'll believe us, since you all practically hunted us like dogs without letting us explain our side. Don't get me wrong, I like you Jushiro and you're a good man, but how are we supposed to trust you guys after that?" he stated, the hostility clearly being heard in his voice and causing the sickly man to lose his smile once again.

"I assure you Shinji, there is no foul play here. All I want is the truth, that's all." The blonde Vizored stayed silent. He didn't know if it would make any difference if he told them, since he and the rest spent the last hundred years in hiding from the Soul Reapers. Because of that day he lost his faith and trust in the people he used to work with. He didn't think he could ever do that again.

"Come on, Shinji," The blonde turned to Ichigo who gave him a serious look. "just give him a chance; it can't hurt to just tell him what really happened. This could be your only chance to get your stories straight without swords pointing at your throat."

"And why would you say that?"

"Because I can tell that he's not lying." Said Ichigo with complete conviction.

"Uh huh. And how do you know that?"

"It's the Shiba sense." They turned to see Isshin finally awake and looking very serious. Everyone but the rest of the Shibas looked confused.

"Shiba sense? What's that?" asked the teen. Kukaku answered.

"It's a family secret, but the Shiba family have always been able to see into the hearts of others."

"'Hearts of others'?" Uryu repeated. Ganju answered.

"Meaning that if a Shiba has strong enough spirit energy, we can practically see into another's heart and get to the truth. There have been some instances in our family history that had strong enough spirit energy to even read another's thoughts." Their eyes widened at this new piece of information.

"Cool! So, I could be able to read people's minds?" exclaimed Yuzu.

"Wow, well that's a relief. I thought I was just going nuts." Everyone balked at the orange head. Ichigo stared at them confused and looking exasperated. "What now?" Ganju pointed an incredulous finger in the teen's face.

"Hold on a second, Ichigo! You mean to tell us that your able to read people's minds?!"

"Uh, sometimes? Dad, weren't you able to do that?"

"Well yeah, but only when I'm in the heat of battle and when I'm at my height. And even then, I could only hear whispers! Are you telling me you can do that without any effort?"

"…Well I didn't say without any effort, per say. But like I said, I thought I was going crazy at the time, so I just ignored it and it only happens when I guess their thoughts are really loud. Other than that, I'm pretty much just a human lie detector." Everyone stared in amazement, especially the Shibas. Here was a teen at 15, whom was practically an infant by Soul Society standards, and he could do it like it was nothing when it takes a Shiba to have the spirit energy of a captain class Soul Reaper to do it.

"Wow! My big brother is so cool!" exclaimed the light hair twin who had stars in her eyes.

"Come on, Yuzu, it's not really all that cracked up to be. I mean, I have to practically shut their thoughts out of my head just for me to be able to focus in class and study."

"Don't be so sure, Son."

"Huh?" the teen looked back to his father and his expression fell flat when he saw his father having that look in his eyes again. 'Oh great…'

"Your sister is right. A gift like that should not be brushed off so easily. In fact…IT SHOULD BE PRAISED AND SHOWERED UPON WITH ADORATION FOR THE GIFT IT IS!" his father shouted with tears in his eyes and his fist held high. The Soul Reapers and Uryu stared at him in puzzlement while his family just watched flatly. 'And here comes the picture.'"MASAKI! Our beautiful son is a prodigy! I'm so proud of him! Our son is not a delinquent, after all! The only thing that can make this special is that he gets a girl- "SMASH! Everyone but the Shibas and the twins winced and stared in bewilderment at Isshin on the ground again making an imprint; his son with a tick mark on his head and his foot on his dad's head again.

"Shut up and go back to sleep already, you lousy old freak!" they Soul Reapers and Uryu were speechless. What was wrong with these people?! "Anyways, Shinji," the blonde shook himself out of his stupor and looked back at him, "you should tell these people the truth. Not because you should trust them, but because the truth needs to be out there and set things right. For you and the rest." The Vizored gave him a considering look before turning to Ukitake.

"I'll have to discuss this with the rest of the Vizoreds; this isn't just my story to tell, really." The sickly captain nodded in understanding.

"I see, then I shall wait until you can tell me. It seems like we'll be here for a while so take your time." Shinji nodded and went to walk away before he paused to look back with his Cheshire grin.

"For what it's worth, it really is good to see you again, Jushiro."

"Likewise, old friend." With that said, he walked away towards the rest of the Vizoreds.

"By the way, who are you guys anyway?" Ichigo inquired, causing the man to look slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, where are my manners. My name is Jushiro Ukitake, Captain of Squad 13 and Rukia's superior, Your Majesty. Your cousin, Kaien, was my lieutenant actually."

"Just Ichigo is fine, really; I hate formalities. Nice to meet ya." He then turned to the noble looking man who not once showed much expression on his face nor has he said anything.

"I am Byakuya Kuchiki, Captain of Squad 6 and head of the Kuchiki clan as well as Rukia's brother. It is an honor to be in you and your family's presence, Sire." Ichigo sweat-dropped.

"Again, just Ichigo is fine. Nice to meet ya, Byakuya." Byakuya's eyebrow twitched slightly at him saying his given name so casually but didn't say anything. Ichigo then stared flatly at the redhead. "And what you about you then, Pineapple Head?" the redhead got a tick mark at that.

"Who are you calling Pineapple Head, Carrot Top?!"

"Lieutenant Abarai."

The redhead winced at his captain's warning tone before he took a breath and bowed. "I'm Renji Abarai, Sire. Lieutenant of Squad 6 and Rukia's childhood friend. It's an honor to meet you."

"Lieutenant? When did that happen?" Rukia asked. Renji then had a smug look.

"Just before you left for the World of the Living. I wanted to tell you when you got back from your mission."

"Well congratulations, Renji; I'm so proud of you." Renji rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Come on."

"Just take it or leave it, Lieutenant Pineapple Head."

"I told you it's Renji Abarai! Or are those ears on your carrot top of a head just an accessory?"

"Don't call me Carrot Top! If you don't want to be called a pineapple, then get a new hairstyle!"

"Well if you don't want to be called a carrot top, then dye your hair already!"

"KNOCK IT OFF, BOTH OF YOU!" with that, Rukia knocked both their heads ending the argument. Realizing what she did, she immediately started apologizing. "Ah! I'm so sorry! I have no idea what came over me!" Ichigo groaned and glared at her.

"Ow! The hell was that for, you midget!" her eye twitched at the insult.

"…What?" she said in a venomous tone.

"How about you just mind your own damn business, you little brat!" she twitched even more as she glared at him.

"Little…brat? Who are you calling a little brat, you damn Strawberry!"

"My name is not Strawberry, or can you not hear from all the way down there!"

"Why you…"

"Rukia." At her brother's warning tone, she backed off (though not without giving him the stink eye). And just in time too as two more people approached the group. One was a busty strawberry blonde woman with a pink scarf around her neck and a lieutenant's badge while the other had a captains haori and looked like the twins age with spikey bleached hair and turquoise eyes.

"Hi, I'm Rangiku Matsumoto! I'm the Lieutenant of Squad 10 and this here is my captain!" her captain nodded in greeting.

"Hello, I'm Toshiro Hitsugaya. Captain of Squad 10. It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesties. Your Highnesses." He spoke politely.

"We just came to introduce ourselves since your father, Isshin, was our captain back then."

"Oh, so you were my old man's subordinates. You don't have to use formalities around us, we don't care. The name's Ichigo. These are my sisters, Karin and Yuzu, and my cousin Uryu." They nodded in greeting. "Anyways, what was my- "

"TOSHIRO!" Suddenly, Toshiro was lifted and up in the air by a now awake (again) Isshin who had a bright smile on his face. "Look at you! I knew, I just knew you would make captain after me! And look, you've even grown a bit."

Toshiro gave an annoyed stare. "Please put me down, Captain Shiba." Isshin put him down and ruffled his hair as he laughed joyfully.

"I'm sorry, it's just been so long since I last saw you, that's all. And I'm not your captain anymore so there's no need to call me that. Hey, Rangiku! Still looking as stunning as ev- UGH!" Rangiku punched him in the face and started kicking him multiple times while everyone just sweat-dropped. Looks like it's just not Isshin's day.

"Idiot Captain! I cannot believe you were alive this whole time and didn't even let us know! I told you when you went on that mission, you should have brought back up!" as she continued to abuse their father, the twins and Ichigo (with Uryu standing next to the other teen just observing) started to have a conversation with Toshiro.

"Hi, I'm Yuzu!"

"And I'm Karin." He nodded to them both.

"Hello."

"Aren't you a little young to be a captain?" Karin inquired as she studied him. He really did look like he was their age.

"Well I may look young on the outside and I am the youngest of the captains, but I'm actually quite older than I look. Souls in the Soul Society tend to age at a much slower rate than humans, depending on their reiatsu."

"How old are you?" Ichigo asked curiously. The young captain shrugged.

"Well the years kind of blur together after so long of not keeping track, but if my math is correct, I believe I'm…" he then counted on his fingers. "86-years-old." They balked at that.

"Holy cow!"

"Whoa!"

"Wow, then that would make Dad ancient. Though if you are the youngest, I'm guessing you don't get to act your age much if you're around adults all the time." Stated Ichigo. Toshiro looked at him confused.

"'Act my age'? I'm not sure what you quite mean."

Karin stepped in. "What my brother means is that you don't get to go out and have fun with kids your own age is all. You know, since you are still considered a kid in the Soul Society." That got a look of understanding out of him.

"I see, then no I don't get to do that at all, really. I have a squad to look after and paperwork to do, especially when my lieutenant goes off to go drink while I have to do her share of the work sometimes. So, no I don't really have the luxury to be a kid and have fun. Besides, I never really had an interest in things that kids my age like to do (except for spinning tops), even before I became a captain and I'm considered a prodigy child." That gave all four of them sad looks, feeling sorry for him. Yuzu clapped her hands as she then had an idea.

"Well, now's your chance! Since we're two of the only kids that look around your age physically, you can have fun with us. We'll even ask those other kids too."

"And you don't have to do any stupid paperwork or look after your squad, since we have all the time in the world here." Karin added. This shocked Toshiro; he never thought about actually having fun and relaxing for once in his life.

"I…I don't know; I don't even think I actually know how to have fun at all. Let alone act like a kid." Ichigo dropped a hand to his head, making him look up at the teen in surprise.

"Don't sweat it, Toshiro- "

"That's Captain Hitsugaya! Um, my Lord." The teen shrugged.

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm sure they'll help you, so don't worry. Just have fun, be a kid, relax once in a while. After all, this is practically your vacation." The young captain looked up at him with a slight blush before looking away with a slight smile.

"Hmph, alright then." Ichigo gave another ruffle of his hair and a thumbs up, causing the boy to give him a bigger more child-like smile while Yuzu cheered in the background and Karin draped an arm around his shoulders. Meanwhile, Jushiro, Isshin, and Rangiku smiled at the scene, glad to see the boy finally open up while Byakuya looked indifferent. Rukia and Renji on the other hand gaped in shock. "By the way, Jushiro, have you seen Captain Aizen and Captain Tosen anywhere?" that snapped him out of it as he looked confused.

"Sosuke Aizen and Kaname Tosen are not here?" he began looking around the room, trying to find the missing captains.

"No, and I've searched everywhere, even in the other group. Lieutenant Hinamore and Lieutenant Hisagi couldn't find them either."

"How strange…"

"Maybe they're not important enough or have enough significance to the future to be here?" Uryu imputed.

"Perhaps, though it is strange why they are not here since every other captains and former captains of the 13 Court Guard Squads is here as well as some seated officers and Rukia. Plus, a handful of humans." Toshiro sighed.

"I'll just let them know what we think for now before we find out for sure when I see them."

"Very well then." Ichigo suddenly felt a chill down his spine, like someone was watching him. He turned to the source and found a clowned-face man with a weird hat on and a white haori, signifying him as a caption. The weird looking man was staring at him with creepy interest and Ichigo didn't like that.

"Hey, Ukitake?" the man turned to the disturbed teen. "Who's that clowned-face guy over there? I don't like the way he's staring at me like that." that got everyone on guard, some going so far as to grab the hilt of their swords.

"That would be Mayuri Kurotsuchi," said Jushiro, regretfully. "Captain of Squad 12 and Head of the Department of Research and Development after Kisuke Urahara. He is a very intelligent man…but also can be very dangerous."

"Rumor has it that he takes delight in experimenting on his squad members, on some others that catch his interest, and sometimes on himself." Said Toshiro as he stood in front of Ichigo to better protect the teen, glaring at the insane man until he looked away.

"Experiment?! If that's true, then why is he still a captain?" said Uryu, incredulous at how the Soul Reapers could let a man like thathave such a high position. Byakuya was the one to answer, having a note of disdain in his tone.

"Believe us, if the circumstances weren't as such we would gladly put him back in the Maggot's Nest where he belongs. But Central 46 deemed him worthy enough to keep the position since he is currently the smartest person in the Soul Society, along with having no further proof of his actions to hold court." He narrowed his eyes, showing how displeased he was of this. "Kisuke Urahara was a fool to let him out."

"Kisuke was the one to let him out?!" Ichigo exclaimed in shock. Jushiro nodded solemnly.

"When Kisuke found out how intelligent the man was, he brought it to our and Central 46's attention that he could utilize that gift for the benefit of the Soul Society. After much debate, Central allowed him to bring him out of imprisonment as long as Kisuke kept a close eye on him. It went well at first, the man barely did anything without Kisuke watching him like a hawk; Kisuke being the only one to keep a leash on him.

"But after the incident with the Vizoreds, Mayuri Kurotsuchi took advantage of this and had free reign to do whatever he pleased since both the captain and lieutenant were out of commission and he had the highest rank being a third seat at the time." Ichigo and Uryu looked like they couldn't breathe while the twins looked scared at the thought of their brother being experimented on.

"That's…that's awful. You mean there's really no one to take his place?" the orange haired, his blood running cold when the Soul Reapers shook their heads in resignation.

"Hopefully with Kisuke here now, we can finally have the Vizored incident cleared up and have him to take back his position, if he wants it back of course. If not, then at least he would do a better job than the rest of us to be able to rein him in enough so he won't be a threat here."

"Not to mention if he does want it back, he can finally keep a tight leash on him, or better yet put him back in the Maggot's Nest where he belongs." Toshiro added, still keeping his guard up.

"Hopefully these videos of the future should shed some light on the disgraceful man's crimes and finally incarcerate him. For now, My Liege, it is in you and your family's best interest to stay away from him." The noble informed and the others nodded. Just then, the door opened to the other room, signifying that their hour was up. Conversations halted as they all stared at the door.

"Well, looks like it's time." Ichigo announced before they all filed through the door towards their future.