Force of Souls Chapter 44 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Force of Souls! As Ichigo’s group returns to Karakura Town, there’s plenty of things to do. First, punch Urahara at least once for this shit! Second, head home. Third, give Isshin a beating for never telling Ichigo ANYTHING about…well…EVERYTHING! Four, let Kūkaku meet Karin and Yuzu, the family she never even knew she had! After that…honestly, a little down time would just be great. But that may not last too long.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 44 – Return to Karakura, Family Discussion

Step back across the threshold of life,returning to the home left behind.Questions asked,explanations given.Discovery, family, and heritage.

Within the path of the Senkaimon, Ichigo, Chad, Tatsuki, and Orihime marveled at the difference between the path they’d taken to get to the Soul Society and this one. The walls were still rare odd and dark, ever shifting at the edges, but the Kōryū wasn’t slowly closing in on them. There also didn’t seem to be any sign of the Kōtotsu, which was a welcome change.

“I like the path better this way.” Tatsuki commented as they jogged through the tunnel between worlds.

“The butterflies are pretty.” Orihime smiled at the Black Swallowtail Butterflies that flew above the heads of each of the Shinigami.

Yoruichi looked over her shoulder at Orihime. “Only Shinigami can handle Hell Butterflies, that’s why Chad has to stay in the center of the group. The Kaikyō Kotei (Realm Boundary Fixation) that the Senkaimon performs using our Reiatsu will fail if any Reiatsu not of Shinigami origin approaches the walls.”

Chad nodded in understanding. “Got it.” He had no desire to be trapped by the eerie blackish walls of the Kōryū.

“I see the exit.” Rukia said as a square of light could be seen ahead of them.

“Do we know where they set the Senkaimon to open up?” Kūkaku asked as the exit got closer and closer.

Ichigo blinked at that. “Uh, no…shouldn’t it be somewhere that won’t cause any problems?”

The group passed through the exit at that moment.

A pair of shoji doors appeared in the air, unseen by anyone without enough innate Reiatsu to see the spiritual. They opened slowly, allowing six Black Swallowtail Butterflies to flutter out first. Then seven people all exited at the same time, mid-step in their jog.

Glancing down as the Senkaimon closed behind them, Ichigo, Orihime, Tatsuki, and Chad all went wide-eyed at seeing the ground so far away.

“WHY’RE WE SO HIGH UP?!” Ichigo yelled out as they started to fall.

“Chad!” Tatsuki saw Chad falling, the human unable to stand on the air like a Shinigami could with proper Reiryoku control.

Boom

A blast like an air cannon went off and the group was hit with what felt like a thick cloth tarp. The cloth surrounded the group, practically squeezing them into a ball together as it carried them through the air.

“Hey?!”

“What the hell?!”

“Ow!”

“Oof!”

The grunts and cries of surprise were partially muffled by the ball of flying cloth.

“YEAH!!! HERE IT COMES!!!” Jinta yelled out, his large iron kanabo held over his shoulder like a baseball bat, the huge smirk on his face making it clear what he was about to do.

“What was that?!” Orihime asked from within the ball of cloth.

“I heard it too.” Chad’s muffled voice was still heard as the ball flew towards Jinta at speed.

Jinta cocked back his kanabo a bit more to get the biggest swing possible. “JINTA HOMERUN-”

Tessai appeared behind Jinta in a blur of Shunpo, his arms spread wide. “Tessai Death Catch!”

“Wha?!” Jinta’s confused exclamation was cut off as the ball of cloth hit him and trapped him between it and Tessai’s rock-solid body.

Tessai rolled through the air, controlling the spin of the ball of cloth with precise Reiryoku control as he turned the roll into a spin, gradually slowing the speed.

“I’m going to be sick…” Rukia gurgled out from the spinning.

“Hup!” Tessai landed steadily on top of a large flying cloth in the air, similar to the material wrapped around Ichigo’s group.

Ururu, her large over the shoulder cannon still smoking from firing the special tarp projectile, took the cloth off of everyone and gave them a polite bow. “Hello, again.” She said softly as the group tried to get their bearings back.

“Welcome back, everyone…” Urahara sing-songed from the front of the flying cloth, his folding fan in his right hand and his cane in laid out in front of him.

“Hat n Clogs…” Ichigo grumbled as he sat up.

Urahara looked over his shoulder with a small smile. “Welcome back, Kurosaki-san.” He didn’t get to say more as Yoruichi and Kūkaku’s fist drilled into the top of his head, flattening him against the flying cloth.

“Kisuke, you idiot!” Yoruichi hissed out at her oldest friend.

Kūkaku growled at the man she’d just laid out. “The hell were you thinking, jackass?!”

“Sorry…” Urahara mumbled out, holding the top of his head lightly with his left hand.

Yoruichi and Kūkaku both sat down again, still annoyed by the unwelcome surprise, but not angry enough to hit Urahara again.

“So…” Urahara said without looking up. “…you know about me.” It wasn’t a question, and Ichigo knew it was directed at him.

“Yeah.” Ichigo said, his tone a mix of flat and understanding.

Urahara surprised Ichigo as he sat up and took his bucket hat off his head, holding it against his chest as he bowed his head, kneeling before the much younger Shinigami. “I’m truly sorry.” The honest and sincere apology went a good way to cooling off any lingering anger that Ichigo held for Urahara putting Rukia into the dangerous situation that she’d been in back in the Seireitei.

Ichigo sighed, his plan to punch Urahara in the face put on hold, for now. “Stop. It’s all right. I’m not mad at you. Yoruichi has already told me what your intentions were. It wasn’t right to do it without telling Rukia though, so apologize to her more than me.” He ran his hand through his hair and then bowed his head to the still kneeling Urahara. “We couldn’t have even gotten to Soul Society to save Rukia without you, for that, we owe you a lot. So don’t apologize.”

“All right.” Urahara said after a moment raising his head and sitting back on the flying cloth. He turned to Rukia and bowed his head again, nearly placing his forehead against the cloth, even from his sitting position. “You have my deepest apologies, Kuchiki-san. I shouldn’t have pulled you into my own plans against Aizen as I did. Taking advantage of the incident that befell you was wrong. You have my word that such a thing will never happen again.”

“Thank you.” Rukia said softly, lightly touching her chest where Aizen had reached into her, trying to find what he believed had been within her. “I’ll accept your apology…and hold you to your promise.”

Urahara slowly sat up, a small and thankful smile on his face for her forgiveness.

Ichigo leaned forward a little from where he was sitting in front of Urahara. “Just tell me one thing.” Getting a quick nod from the other man, Ichigo continued. “Did you keep the truth from me because you thought I’d give up if you told me what was really going on?”

“Ah…” Urahara looked surprised for a fraction of a second…and then his normal teasing smile came out as he opened his folding fan right beside his face. “Exactly!”

Wham

Ichigo’s fist briefly warped Urahara’s face and flattened the man onto his back.

Urahara clutched his free hand over his nose, feeling a little blood leaking out. Ururu was at his side a second later, handing him a tissue from a small pack she pulled from her pocket.

‘He’s gotten even stronger. It seems things went as I thought they would in the Seireitei.’ Urahara thought as he held the tissue over his nose.

“That makes me mad.” Ichigo said with a rough tone as he sat back down. “Like I’d ever give up on saving Rukia.”

Rukia couldn’t stop the pink that colored her cheeks, but she smiled happily as she leaned into Ichigo’s side. “Thank you, Ichigo.” She said softly, humming gently when his arm warmly wrapped around her and held her close.

The flying cloth flew over Karakura in a specific direction, landing in front of the Urahara Shoten a few minutes later. The instant that everyone had stepped off the strange item, it fell to the ground, looking completely normal. Tessai started to fold the huge cloth up with help from Ururu and Jinta while Tatsuki, Orihime, Chad, and Ichigo all took a deep breath, the familiar air of their hometown filling them for the first time in a while.

“It’s late, so I should get home.” Chad said with a smile as he held out his fist towards Ichigo.

“Thanks for all the help, Chad.” Ichigo fist bumped with his best friend, a grin on his face.

Chad nodded with a small chuckle. “Any time, Ichigo.” He said his goodbyes to everyone else, along with a polite bow, and then started walking down the street, heading towards his apartment.

“Lead the way, Ichigo.” Kūkaku requested while looking around the Living World, not having left the Soul Society in more than a century. Things had most certainly changed from the last time she’d been here. “We need to have a family discussion.” The way she clenched her fist, and made her knuckles pop, was a clear indication of just how the ‘discussion’ would be held.

Ichigo held up one hand. “Wait, we still need to get back into our bodies.”

“Do you want to stay at my place tonight, Rukia?” Orihime offered with a bright smile, eager to have her girlfriend stay with her.

Tatsuki stretched her arms over her head as Rukia smiled at Orihime. “If Rukia’s staying with Hime-chan, then I guess I can head home for now.” She wouldn’t mind sleeping in her own bed for the first time in a while, that was for sure.

They walked into the Urahara Shoten and into the back, taking a right at the hallway behind the sliding door, they quickly found the semi-large guestroom. Lying in three separate futons were Ichigo, Tatsuki, and Ichigo’s bodies, all looking exactly as they had before the three had gone off to Soul Society.

It only took a second for them to slip into their physical bodies again, the Gikon that had been residing within dispersing as the actual souls entered. The eyes of all three opened a second later as they sat up in the futons.

“Huh, I was expecting to be a bit stiff.” Tatsuki said as she slipped out of the futon and stood up.

“Did the Gikon move our bodies around while we were gone?” Orihime asked Tessai and Urahara as she patted herself down a little.

Tessai nodded to his student in the Kidō arts. “Indeed. We felt it was best that your bodies lived as normally as possible while you were away.”

Ichigo rolled his shoulders a little and found his body feeling just like it always did. “Thanks for taking care of us this whole time.”

“Of course, Kurosaki-kun.” Urahara waved it off with his folding fan. “Miss Kuchiki, I have a Gigai prepared for you, if you’d like.”

“Thank you.” Rukia said, though her violet eyes looked at him suspiciously.

Urahara held his hands up in front of him. “Not that one, I assure you.”

Rukia nodded at that, never wanting to touch the power-draining Gigai that Urahara had created again. She left the room for a minute or so before returning in a new Gigai, dressed in a simple sundress of white, with a stitched in design of simple green stalks and purple flowers near the bottom hem.

“You look so cute, Rukia!” Orihime giggled brightly, wrapping her girlfriend in a warm hug.

“Rukia always looks cute.” Tatsuki said with a warm smile for her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around Rukia as well.

Rukia smiled, accepting the double hug with a soft smile on her face. “Thank you, Orihime, Tatsuki.”

Kūkaku spoke up once they were ready to go. “Alright, now lead the way, Ichigo.”

“Right.” Ichigo started heading towards the Kurosaki Clinic, everyone following along and comfortably chatting amongst each other.

The walk was a bit lengthy, having to cross Karakura Town almost entirely, but it was something that Orihime, Tatsuki, and Ichigo did almost every day, given that Karakura High School was not that far away from the Urahara Shoten. As they were coming to the crossroad that would lead to Orihime’s apartment, Kūkaku took hold of both Orihime and Rukia’s shoulders, steering them on the path towards the Kurosaki Clinic instead.

Orihime tilted her head, even as she started walking again. “But my apartment is that way.” She pointed to the street they were passing.

“I told Ichigo that we’d be having a family discussion, you two are family, so you’re coming along.” Kūkaku said simply as he let go of their shoulders. She couldn’t help but grin a little at seeing the cute blushes on Orihime and Rukia’s cheeks at being counted among the Shiba Clan again.

“What about me?” Tatsuki asked with a playful smirk as she pointed down the street that led to her home, which was only about two streets over from the Kurosaki Clinic.

Kūkaku lightly pushed Tatsuki towards Ichigo with one hand. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Yoruichi got a laugh out of Tatsuki’s little joke, sidling up to her Hakuda student and wrapping an arm lightly over the younger woman’s shoulders. “This is why we get along so well, Tatsuki-chan.” She gave her lover a cheshire smile, and got a grin in return from Tatsuki.

Once the Kurosaki Clinic came into view, Ichigo smiled at his family’s home. While it was late, some of the lights were still on, indicating that his family was still awake. He pulled out his housekey from his pocket and put it in the door with barely a thought, as soon as he opened the door he called out as he always did. “I’m home…”

“WELCOME BACK…ICHIIIIGOOOO!!!!” Isshin came around the corner and launched himself, feet first, towards his son in a double flying kick.

Wham

Isshin only had a split second to wonder why TWO fists had nailed him in the face at the same time, before he went flying backwards a bit and slammed down onto the floor with a thump. “Augh!” Isshin held his face, kicking his feet in the air overdramatically. “Who would dare to interrupt the bonding between father and son?!” He sat up and went still, his eyes wide in shock as soon as they landed on Kūkaku, her fist still extended from her punch. “Ku…Kūkaku?”

“Dad! You can’t be so loud this late, you’ll make the neighbors mad!” Yuzu said as she came around the corner and into the entryway.

“Welcome back, Ichi-nii…” Karin greeted, but trailed off as she saw all the women with her brother, including the raven-haired woman with the absolutely MASSIVE rack. “…was Orihime not big enough already?” She asked, looking slightly upward to meet Ichigo’s eyes.

Orihime blushed at that. “Karin-chan…”

“Onee-chan!” Yuzu beamed as she greeted Orihime, nearly throwing herself into the older girl’s arms, hugging her warmly.

“Yuzu-chan!” Orihime’s blush turned into a beaming smile as she hugged Yuzu back, snuggling the girl that she’d considered her little sister ever since Yuzu had first called her ‘Onee-chan’.

Tatsuki grinned at Karin, the two ‘tomboys’ fist bumping. “Hey, Karin-chan.”

Karin smiled back. “Hey, Tatsuki-nee.” She motioned with her head towards the two unfamiliar women. “Who’re they?”

“Family.” Kūkaku answered as she stepped past the two on her way to Isshin.

“Huh?” Yuzu and Karin both looked confused at that.

Isshin was about to stand up, the shock of seeing one of his last living relatives so suddenly having worn off, but as soon as he rose to one knee, Kūkaku’s hand grabbed the top of his head in a painful grip. “Ow! Ow, ow, ow! Kūkaku!”

Kūkaku bodily pulled Isshin to his feet with her iron grip on his head. “You’ve got A LOT of explaining to do, Shiba Isshin!”

“Shiba?” Yuzu looked curious about the family name.

“I like her already.” Karin said with a small smile, seeing her goofy dad getting set straight.

Yoruichi, thoroughly amused at Isshin getting manhandled by Kūkaku, decided to introduce herself to Ichigo’s little sisters. “Good evening, I’m Shihōin Yoruichi, pleased to meet you both.” She gave Karin and Yuzu a gentle smile after, getting a warm smile from Yuzu in return.

“Kurosaki Yuzu, nice to meet you, Shihōin-san.” Yuzu introduced herself properly with a short bow.

“Kurosaki Karin, a pleasure.” Karin’s introduction was shorter, but no less proper than her twin’s. “How do you know our brother?”

Yoruichi glanced at Ichigo once, a playful grin on her lips. “Ichigo and I met a while back, after he left home. Since then, I’ve helped look after him a bit…all the way to the point that we’ve shared a hot spring together.”

Ichigo sputtered at Yoruichi being so brazen while talking to his little sisters. “Yoruichi!”

Yuzu’s eyes were wide and her face burned a dark red. “Ichi-nii! You already have Onee-chan and Tatsuki-nee!”

“When did you become a playboy like Mizuiro?” Karin deadpanned at her brother.

“I am not!” Ichigo instantly denied the comparison to his playboy friend who specifically dated older girls.

Kūkaku’s sharp voice got everyone’s attention. “You disappeared out of nowhere! We all thought you were dead! Only to find out that you have an entire family here! But you haven’t upheld ANY of the Shiba Clan’s traditions! Your children don’t even know their own heritage!” Her grip on Isshin’s head got tighter with each recrimination of his actions since disappearing from the Soul Society.

Isshin took hold of Kūkaku’s wrist and pried her hand off his head, but his over the top antics had completely vanished. “I had my reasons, Kūkaku.”

“I’m aware.” Kūkaku said, her green eyes boring into Isshin. “Yoruichi told me everything already. That’s why I haven’t done more than hit you once…yet.” She looked over at Yuzu and Karin for a moment. “Why haven’t you told them? Why didn’t you tell Ichigo? Are you ashamed of your own family? Or did you think them never knowing would somehow protect them?”

“I didn’t want to drag them into all of this… If Yoruichi has explained everything to you already, then you know the one responsible for everything and what he’s capable of.” Isshin said in the most serious tone that Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu had EVER heard their father use before.

Karin surprised everyone when she stepped forward. “Is this about Ichigo running around in that black outfit with a katana?”

Ichigo whipped around to look at Karin in shock. “You knew?!”

“She must’ve seen us going out on orders…” Rukia said quietly, not realizing that Karin had just as much spiritual perception as Ichigo. ‘I knew that she could see Pluses, but I thought she would only be able to see Shinigami and Hollows as vague blurs at best.’

“What’s going on?” Yuzu was clearly confused and didn’t like being out of the loop regarding her family.

Yoruichi looked at Kūkaku and then both women completely suppressed their Reiatsu, not letting a trace of their Reiryoku escape their bodies. To Yuzu’s eyes, both women suddenly became a bit blurry and nearly see-through, she gasped, putting both hands over her mouth.

“Y-You’re ghosts?!” Yuzu exclaimed in shock, now recognizing both Kūkaku and Yoruichi as spirits, since they looked like the ghosts that she was able to notice around town occasionally. “But wh-why can I see you like you’re regular people?”

Kūkaku gave Yuzu a gentle smile as she let her Reiatsu increase just slightly again, making her appear like a normal person to the young girl’s eyes once more. “Because we have enough spiritual presence to interact with the physical world.” She dope slapped Isshin upside the head without even looking at him. “This idiot hasn’t told either of you anything that he should have. He also hasn’t taught you how to control your abilities and make use of them either.”

Isshin rubbed the back of his head, even if the slap hadn’t really hurt him much at all. “I was going to…once everything was handled.”

“That didn’t exactly work out, old man.” Ichigo said with a long, almost tired, exhale. It would’ve helped him A LOT to have known about the Hollows at the very least when he’d been helping out some of the ghosts around Karakura Town over the years. ‘If I had been able to tell the difference back then, mom would probably still be here with us.’ That horrible day would stick with him for life, and while he had slowly started to move past it by killing Grand Fisher and freeing his mother’s soul from within the Hollow…blaming himself for over a decade wasn’t something that went away in just a few months. The love of his girlfriends had gone a long way to helping him stop holding onto the guilt and misery though, and he was much better off than he had been before starting his relationship with Tatsuki and Orihime, and then Rukia, and now Kūkaku and Yoruichi.

“You didn’t tell them anything and it almost got you all killed.” Kūkaku said to Isshin, the blunt truth making the older man grimace as he recalled the Hollow attack on their home. “And even after Ichigo discovered his innate Shinigami power, you still didn’t tell him anything.” She looked annoyed at Isshin and poked him strongly in the chest. “He’s more than old enough, and plenty strong enough, to learn Raikōhō, and yet you didn’t even uphold THAT family tradition.”

“Raikōhō?” Karin and Yuzu both tested the unfamiliar term with curious looks.

Orihime smiled at Yuzu and leaned in. “It’s the name of a spell, Yuzu-chan.” She saw the confusion on the younger girl’s face melt away and a bright smile, with equally sparkling eyes, appeared on Yuzu’s face.

“Magic?!” Yuzu had always wanted to have the ability to see ghosts clearly and help them with ‘magical powers’ like her big brother did…no matter how many times he’d told her that he could only see and talk to the spirits.

“Uh huh!” Orihime said with a bubbly giggle. “I learned some spells too.”

Yuzu looked even more amazed now. “Really?!” She’d always liked Orihime, and considered her to be a ‘big sister’, so finding out that she’d learned spells made her ‘Onee-chan’ even more amazing in Yuzu’s eyes.

Orihime pulled Yuzu into a warm hug. “Yep! I’d love to teach you and Karin-chan too!”

“Okay!” Yuzu beamed at Orihime and then looked over at Karin excitedly. “Real magic, Karin!”

“Hah…” Karin sighed, her usual attitude when it came to spirits and the like coming out. “I really wanted to just live in perpetual denial about all this spirit stuff.” Sure, she knew that was impossible…especially after being attacked twice by those monsters.

Tatsuki smiled and put her hand on Karin’s shoulder. “I get that, Karin-chan. But I learned too, because it let’s me protect those I care about.” She pulled Karin into a side-hug and smile when Karin accepted it, and even hugged her back.

Karin squeezed Tatsuki a little, taking some comfort in her ‘Nee-chan’. “I’ll listen; I want to know what’s going on too. If I can help Ichigo and lookout for Yuzu, then I guess I can deal with this spiritual stuff.” Her words were genuine and the look on her face showed the depth of empathy that she usually hid away from the world with her toughness.

‘We really are alike, aren’t we?’ Tatsuki thought to herself as she held Karin for a long moment.

“Yes, you both hide how you really feel behind your tough exteriors.” Mōsho’s voice came from within her mind with an almost playful chiding tone.

Tatsuki barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. ‘Yeah, yeah…I’m still working on it. Cut me some slack already.’ The light laughter she heard from her Zanpakutō was warm and almost teasing.

Kūkaku pointed towards the couch. “Everyone sit down. Isshin has things to tell you all.” Without giving him a choice, Kūkaku dragged Isshin in front of the couch while everyone else sat down.

Yuzu and Karin sat on either side of Ichigo, each of them taking one of his hands and holding them. Ichigo gently squeezed their hands, letting them know that he was here for them, just as he always was before and always would be going forward.

“Well…” Isshin sighed heavily, having always known that this day would come, but now that it was here…his own memories and emotions were welling up a bit. “…I guess I’ll start with our family.” Seeing Yuzu and Karin leaning forward just slightly with clear interest, Isshin realized that he, perhaps, should’ve been a bit more forthcoming with his own past…even if he had to alter a few details. “Yuzu, Karin…daddy comes from a place called the Soul Society. It’s what you’d call the afterlife.”

“Huh?” Yuzu blinked at that part in confusion.

“What the heck is that supposed to mean, Goat Chin?!” Karin looked like she thought he was telling them a tall tale.

Isshin looked towards Kūkaku, but she only gave him a look that practically screamed ‘I told you so’, and that she’d only step in if she had to. This was his mistake for not telling his children, and he had to own up to it and fix it.

“The Soul Society is where the spirits of people go after they pass on.” Rukia leaned forward to look over at Karin and Yuzu, a gentle smile on her face for the two younger girls. “We Shinigami send Pluses, the ghosts that you two are familiar with, to the Soul Society through a method called Konsō, the Soul Burial. We also slay Hollows, spirits that have fallen and lost their hearts, to protect the Pluses and living people from their unending hunger.” She kept the explanation simple for the girls and smiled warmly at them once both girls nodded in understanding.

“That’s why I have the black shihakushō and the katana.” Ichigo told his little sisters, making Karin look at him for a moment before her eyes widened.

“You’re saying that you’re a Shinigami…a death god?” Karin looked at Ichigo for a moment, and when he nodded, her eyes looked at Tatsuki, then Orihime, Rukia, Yoruichi, and then Isshin. All of them gave her a nod of confirmation.

Yuzu, after seeing the nods, couldn’t contain her curiosity. “Does that mean…since dad is a Shinigami, all of us,” She motioned to herself, Karin, and Ichigo. “Are Shinigami too? What about mom?”

Isshin nodded, even as a little melancholy entered his eyes. “That’s right, Yuzu-chan. Because I’m a Shinigami, all of you were born with the same spiritual power. But your mother was human…a spiritually aware human, part of a people known as the Quincy, but still human. That’s why your innate Shinigami power didn’t manifest from birth for the three of you. Children between Shinigami and humans isn’t normally possible.”

“Then how’re we all here?” Karin questioned, looking warily at her father.

“That would be with the assistance of my old friend, Urahara Kisuke.” Yoruichi told the two little girls with a smile that radiated care and affection for her ‘soon-to-be’ little sisters. “But we can go over that a bit later, okay?”

Yuzu and Karin nodded after a moment to look at each other and think about it.

Isshin continued from there. “Over twenty years ago, I was part of the Shinigami forces known as the Thirteen Court Guard Squads…I was the Captain of the Tenth Squad, in fact.”

“Who would ever make you a captain of anything?” Karin deadpanned, making Isshin slump slightly.

“That hurts daddy’s heart, Karin-chan.” Isshin mumbled, lightly putting his hand over his chest.

Kūkaku and Yoruichi both snickered at the disbelief from Karin.

Ichigo, Rukia, Tatsuki, and Orihime all blinked, picturing Isshin as Rangiku’s captain. ‘Is the Captain of Squad Ten always a bit of an oddball?’ They all shared the same thought a second later without realizing it.

“Well, there had been incidents of Shinigami going missing or dying in the living world. So, as a Captain, I went to investigate and figure out what was going on.” Isshin’s eyes were a little unfocused as the memories came back to him. “I ran into a strange Hollow, it had jet-black armor as part of its form, including a horned helmet…but the skin beneath appeared bone white, as did its long hair down its back. The strange red core in its center was almost like a heart, and its mask was similar to a human skull, completely white without any color. It was the strangest Hollow I’d ever encountered…and it was powerful.”

Karin and Yuzu leaned into Ichigo more; both could vaguely recall the attack of Grand Fisher at the cemetery…even through the memory alteration.

“I fought it, but after a short time I learned that it wasn’t just some strange Hollow, it was a Menos, but one that fought more like a Shinigami than a Hollow.” Isshin said, still able to recall the cold rain of that night, the strength behind the blade-like arms of the Hollow every time they clashed. “Right after I’d activated my Shikai…I was struck from behind by Aizen.” That made Ichigo, Rukia, Tatsuki, and Orihime all suck in a short breath. “I didn’t know that at the time, however. I just realized that the strike had been made with a Zanpakutō.” He could still vividly recall that pain in his back, the hot blood flowing down his skin, and his own anger at realizing their was a Shinigami traitor aiding the strange Menos.

“Wh-What happened next?” Yuzu asked, her eyes full of concern that brought a bit of warmth to Isshin’s heart.

“I kept fighting the Hollow.” Isshin answered simply, giving Yuzu a smile. “But even after I managed to take off one of its arms, it still came at be with the same force and ferocity. That’s when your mother stepped in, an arrow of Reishi nearly struck the Hollow from behind, forcing it to abandon its attack on me.” The smallest of smiles appeared on Isshin’s face at that memory, the first time he’d ever met the young woman that later became his wife. “She continued to fire at the Hollow, arrows flying through the air, but it was fast, she couldn’t land a blow. Then she did the most insane thing I’d ever seen before…she stopped using her power and let the Hollow bite into her shoulder.”

Yuzu sniffled a little, imagining her mother in pain like that. Karin squeezed Ichigo’s hand tightly, barely calming down when he squeezed back.

Isshin gave his children a proud smile as he told them what happened next. “Then, even while the Hollow was gnawing on her shoulder, she used her injured arm to hold the back of its head still, condensed all her power down into a tiny bow and arrow barely bigger than her hand, and put it to the side of the Hollow’s head.” Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu leaned forward a bit more without even realizing it. “And then in a burst of blue light, she blasted half of its head to nothing!”

“Mom was a badass…!” Karin actually had a smile on her face at hearing about their mother’s strength.

“Mom was really cool even back then, huh?” Yuzu wiped the little tears from the corners of her eyes as she smiled at her dad.

“She was amazing.” Isshin agreed with a warm little smile. “But as the Hollow was dying, the red core in its chest rapidly expanded as its Reiryoku went out of control. I threw myself forward, grabbed what remained of the Hollow’s head and threw it behind me, putting myself between it and Masaki before it exploded in a massive fireball.” He grimaced and rolled his shoulders once, something that all three of his children picked up on. “That nearly put me out for the count then and there, but your mother wouldn’t let that happen. Even as I lay there, I thanked her for saving my butt…only for her to thank me for saving her. So I told her we were even then. But she insisted on healing me, despite her own injuries.” The wistful smile on his face made Yuzu, Karin, and Ichigo all smile a bit. For all that their dad was a goof, he truly loved their mother more than anything, and it showed every time that he spoke of her.

For a time after that, Isshin told everyone how he’d returned to the Soul Society and the Seireitei and been pardoned for leaving without orders…only because his actions had eliminated a Menos that targeted Shinigami. His story continued with his desire to thank Masaki properly and how he’d left the Seireitei again without permission shortly after returning. He barely noticed how Yoruichi, Kūkaku, and even Rukia deadpanned at how lackadaisical, and damn near insubordinate, he was as a Captain. But then the story took a horrible turn when Isshin discovered that Masaki had been infected with a lethal toxicity from the strange Hollow, something that was nearly tearing her human body apart as it fought with her Quincy Reiryoku.

“That’s where Urahara came into the picture.” Isshin glanced over at Yoruichi once. “He knew the symptoms that Masaki was going through, because he’d seen them almost a century prior. Masaki was undergoing a process called Hollowfication while still a living human.” Yuzu whimper and clutched onto Ichigo, while Karin nearly crushed his hand in hers. “There was no way to return her to how she’d been before the Hollow attack…only a way to save her life. She needed something to balance out the Hollow Reiryoku and slowly purify it.” He looked at Ichigo for a moment before he continued. “Urahara created a special Gigai that would pass off any Shinigami that entered it as a regular human, and it could allow him to bind Masaki and I together, using my Shinigami Reiryoku to counter the Hollow Reiryoku. I agreed immediately, because it was the right thing to do for the one that had saved my life. If just giving up being a Shinigami and living as a human until the day she passed on would keep her soul from being destroyed, I didn’t need to know anything else.”

“So, you saved mom.” Yuzu had a happy little smile on her face now.

Isshin nodded, smiling at his children. “Of course. There was no way that I’d let her die because of me.” That got him smiles from both Karin and Ichigo as well. “Your mother graduated high school not long after, leaving the Ishida family’s home shortly after. She didn’t tell me much, but apparently, after being infected with Hollow Reiryoku, that was the only ‘proper’ thing she could do as a Quincy.”

“Ishida? Like Uryū?” Orihime asked while raising her hand in the air as if she were in class.

“Yes, Uryū is Ryūken’s son. Masaki and Ryūken were cousins, and Ichigo and Uryū are…third cousins…or maybe second cousins twice removed? It’s fairly distant.” He rubbed his scruffy chin in thought, not recalling just what degree of separation Masaki and Ryūken had from each other. “Ryūken and I don’t keep in contact very much, but we do talk once in a while.”

Karin waved her hand in front of her, clearly not interested in some distant relations that clearly didn’t have any desire to contact them. “But what happened between you and mom after that?”

Isshin couldn’t help but chuckle at Karin’s focus on Masaki. “After that, the only thing I had from my education that I could really apply was some medical skills. So, with some help from Urahara, I was able to open this clinic. Masaki often came by while she was in University to tease me about my white coat.” He let out a soft laugh at the memories of Masaki coming into the clinic just to poke fun at him. “I told her that I’d lost my Shinigami powers and been kicked out of Soul Society. But I knew she didn’t believe that… I was a bad lair, and her intuition was sharp. A lie like that meant little to us…whether it was a lie or not wasn’t important. With her, any lie felt meaningless. She would see through all of them, and would forgive me for them. In a movie we saw together, an old man compared his wife of many decades to the sun. It was just a sad and boring movie. All I remember was Masaki bawling her eyes out. But that line stayed with me. Masaki was like the sun…she attracted everything, forgave everything, illuminated and spun everything around. I was just happy to be spun around by her.” He looked at his three children with a soft and warm smile; his eyes filled with his paternal love for them. “And that’s how you three were born.”

Yuzu and even Karin stood from the couch and moved to hug their dad, grateful to learn about their mother and everything that had happened before they’d been born. Isshin hugged them back warmly, gently running his hand up and down their backs to soothe them both.

“But if mom was a Quincy…how did she…” Ichigo couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence, but Isshin knew what he was going to ask.

“When we found out Masaki was pregnant with you, Ichigo, we wanted to make sure that there would be no problems. As I said, Shinigami and humans can’t normally have children together. But the Hollow Reiryoku that was still held in check by the bond between me and your mother was something Masaki worried over. So, we asked Urahara for help one more time.” Ichigo’s eyes widened, but a gentle hand on his shoulder from Yoruichi helped keep him calm. “He created a seal that was connected to our bond, and used it to ensure that the Hollow Reiryoku would be purified and never touch you directly as you grew within your mother. But that same seal locked away Masaki’s Quincy power as well, ensuring that none of it would touch you either, keeping your small soul from being affected by either of the two types of Reiryoku, lest they clash and destroy it. That seal remained on you even after you were born, taking the purified Reiryoku with it, and keeping any problems from arising when your mother was pregnant with Yuzu and Karin.”

Ichigo sat there in stunned silence for a moment, just processing what his mother and father had given up back then to ensure his and his sisters’ safe births. “Mom protected me, by giving up her power…”

Isshin stepped forward, letting Karin and Yuzu out of his arms as he placed both hands on Ichigo’s shoulders. “And then you protected your sisters so that they could be born safely, Ichigo. You’ve lived up to the name your mother gave you since you were born.” He gave his son a proud smile, seeing warmth return to Ichigo’s eyes a short time later. “Masaki would defend you or your sisters with her life no matter what. Not having her powers didn’t change that at all.”

“Thank you…dad.” Ichigo said, after a moment to get a handle on his emotions.

“After that, you know the rest. Meeting Rukia and receiving her Shinigami Reiryoku unlocked your own, breaking the seal that had slowly passed the purified Reiryoku into you since your birth. That, in turn, freed my power to start returning as well…meaning that I could no longer hide you from the threats that existed in the spiritual world.” Isshin finished the tale of memories with a small sigh.

It was quiet for a bit, Ichigo standing up silently to hug both Karin and Yuzu, and all three siblings accepted Isshin wrapping his arms around them to complete the family hug. Orihime smiled softly at the touching moment, as did Tatsuki, who gently pulled Orihime and Rukia into her arms. Rukia couldn’t help but compare the gentle family embrace to the warm moments between her, Byakuya, and Kōten when they were home. Kūkaku smiled softly at seeing her family coming together with the truth now known to all of them. Yoruichi smiled as Kūkaku leaned into her and wrapped her arms around her lover in a warm embrace.

“So…I still have a lot of questions.” Karin said once the family hug ended a while later.

“Me too.” Yuzu nodded eagerly, smiling up at Isshin and Ichigo.

Isshin chuckled at that, happy that his daughters were curious about their heritage and the powers they were born with, but hadn’t fully come into just yet. “Daddy will answer everything for you!” He declared brightly, picking both of them up with one arm each.

Karin naturally squirmed and tried to get out of the sudden hug. “Let go, Goat Chin!”

“How do I learn spells?” Yuzu asked excitedly, her eyes nearly sparkling, not having any problem being held by her dad.

The energy within the Kurosaki home changed, becoming warm and excited as Isshin answered questions from Karin and Yuzu. Yoruichi and Kūkaku were both happy to explain things to the two girls that Isshin wasn’t the best at, or didn’t know as deeply.

“So, we’ll eventually get one of these Zanpakutō swords too?” Karin asked, looking mildly interested.

“Yep! It’ll be like your other half, and learning its name will unlock its power, that’s called Shikai.” Isshin told her with a bright smile, not realizing just how happy it would make him to teach his children about being Shinigami.

Yuzu was bright and cheery, her excitement nearly making her bounce in place where she was sitting on the couch. “I wonder what my Zanpakutō will be called? What’s yours called, dad?”

Isshin smiled and tried to look cool, miming placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. “My Zanpakutō is called Engetsu (Scathing Moon)! It’s a fire type Zanpakutō!”

“Really?” Tatsuki perked up at that. “My Zanpakutō, Mōsho, is a fire type too.”

“My future daughter-in-law takes after me?!” Isshin’s over the top acting had returned as he threw his arms into the air with a big smile on his face.

Kūkaku rolled her eyes, knowing her ‘uncle’ would never change, before addressing Yuzu with a little grin. “For whatever reason, the branch family line that you come from almost always has moon-related names for their Zanpakutō.” She pointed at Isshin and then Ichigo. “Engetsu and Shingetsu, for example.”

Yuzu looked between Ichigo and Isshin with a cute smile. “So mine could be something like that too?” She took up an adorable thinking pose as she rattled off a few names. “Gingetsu (Silver Moon)? Gengetsu (Crescent Moon)? Kagetsu (Flower Moon)?”

“Can mine be ‘Leave me alone moon’?” Karin asked with a roll of her eyes, keeping up her ‘cool and tough’ attitude.

“You don’t get to name your Zanpakutō yourself, Karin.” Ichigo told her with a light chuckle.

Orihime hugged Karin with a grin. “Would that be a Hangetsu (Anti-Moon)?”

Tatsuki laughed a bit at that. “If I supposedly take after your dad, maybe you’ll take after Rukia?” She grinned at her girlfriend, making Rukia smile at both Tatsuki and Karin. “Your Zanpakutō could be Shirogetsu (White Moon).”

“We can worry about Zanpakutō names after both of you have come into your Shinigami heritage.” Kūkaku said with a warm smile for both Karin and Yuzu.

“It would be for the best, given the current situation, for both of you to start learning the Four Shinigami Arts, just in case.” Yoruichi agreed, giving both girls a playful head pat.

Isshin nodded seriously. “We can all go to Urahara’s tomorrow. He has the only place where we can teach you without worrying about interruptions.”

“Well, I guess I should be heading home, it’s later than I thought.” Tatsuki looked at the clock as she stood up from the couch.

Yuzu tilted her head at that. “But you all weren’t even supposed to be back from that camp until tomorrow afternoon.”

Ichigo blinked once and then walked over to the calendar in the kitchen to check the date. He saw ‘Ichigo’s comes back’ written in Yuzu’s handwriting on the next day of the calendar. “Huh, we did get back a little early.”

“Huh, maybe I should sleep over with Orihime then.” Tatsuki grinned at her girlfriend temptingly.

“Why not just sleep over here with us?” Yoruichi asked with a sexy little smirk on her lips, her golden eyes filled with clear desire. “I’m sure we can all squeeze into Ichigo’s room if we get…close~”

Karin and Yuzu both blushed bright red at Yoruichi’s words.

Isshin cut in with his arms crossed over his chest in an ‘X’. “No hanky-panky!”

“Are you going to make us aunts already, Ichigo?!” Yuzu blurted out, looking at her big brother with wide eyes.

“Damn it, old man!” Ichigo’s leg nearly blurred as he slammed his foot into his dad’s face. “Look what you did!”

Isshin crashed to the floor with an overdramatic cry of pain. “AAAGGGHHH!!! N-Nice kick, my son… I have nothing left to teach you…”

Rukia knew such antics happened in Ichigo’s home, but seeing them up close always made her stare. “This is very different from any other noble house.”

“But it’s fun, right?” Tatsuki grinned widely at Ichigo trying to stomp on his goof of a dad, all the while reassuring Karin and Yuzu that he had no plans to make them aunts any time soon.

“It’s still warm and loving.” Orihime giggled, able to tell that neither Isshin nor Ichigo were actually harming each other for real.

Kūkaku sighed at the contained chaos of her family. “Well, he’s not forgotten how to act like a Shiba at home, I guess.” She would’ve punched Isshin’s head into the floor herself if they’d been at the main home back in the Soul Society, but this was his home, so she’d let it go for now. “Just pin his head to the floor already, Ichigo!” She called out when the roughhousing started to get annoyingly loud; proving her own Shiba blood.

Karin yawned as she eyed the stairs that went up to their bedrooms on the second floor. “Even with everything else, our family is still the same weird as always.”

Things would calm down a short time later. Karin and Yuzu went up to their shared bedroom to sleep. Isshin went to his room, making sure to mouth ‘No hanky-panky’ to Ichigo before closing the door of the master bedroom. Ichigo only rolled his eyes and entered his room with his girlfriends. While the bed was too small for all of them, Rukia and Orihime were happy to pull out the spare futon and set it up. The six of them would cuddle up for the night, once more making Ichigo the envy of most men as he had Rukia lying on top of his chest, Orihime curled up into his left with Yoruichi spooned behind her. Tatsuki was pressed flush against his right side with Kūkaku pressed up against the other ravenette’s back, making Tatsuki hum in approval of feeling the warm softness of Kūkaku’s bare tits against her.

“Goodnight, love you.” Ichigo said with a yawn, getting a chorus of goodnights in return, along with a warm kiss from each woman before they all settled in for the night.

It had been an emotional day, but the Kurosaki/Shiba family was nearly all together again and closer than ever before as the two remaining lines finally met. The family only hoped that there would be enough time to prepare everything before Aizen launched any attacks and began the war between the traitors and the Seireitei in earnest.

-End Chapter-

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Everyone has returned home to Karakura Town and can get some rest.

Kūkaku punches Isshin and then uses an ‘iron claw’ on his head while lambasting him about not telling his children anything about their heritage and upholding Shiba Clan traditions. We all knew Isshin was in for a bit of a beating, right? lol

Urahara apologized, but still ended up getting a few punches himself! Two from his less than gentle ‘welcome’ as they all fell from the Senkaimon. And one for doubting Ichigo’s resolve!

Yuzu and Karin now know about their father and mother. The heritage they were born into, and the innate Shinigami powers that haven’t fully awoken just yet and require training. Yuzu is excited to learn ‘magic spells’ and get her own Zanpakutō. Karin, meanwhile, keeps up her ‘disinterest’ in the spiritual, even as she agrees to learn about her own power.

Ichigo, the lucky punk, gets to enjoy a cuddle pile again with his girlfriends tonight! Kicks dirt in envy

Will there be enough time to get things prepared before Aizen launches his first move against Karakura and the Seireitei? Will something else happen first from a completely unrelated group?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!