After two more days of rest, Ichigo was released from Squad Four's infirmary.

He was offered a place to live in Kaien's, which he begrudgingly accepted in the end.

The ginger himself was currently resisting the urge to punch Kaien in the face.

'This guy won't shut up for at least five f***ing seconds!'

Kaien kept talking about his younger siblings Kukaku and Ganju.

At first, it wasn't very irritating....but then Kaien started to squeal like a little fangirl and made cooing noises at the simple memory of them! Ichigo also resisted the urge to facepalm himself.

Also....it hurt to be reminded of those two....

Kukaku and Ganju really started to treat him like family when they found out that he was related to them.

'Oi, oi, oi!  It's raining in here, King!'

Ichigo shook his head slight and blinked his tears away.

'Sorry.'

"Ichigo?  You alright?"

The ginger snapped his gaze up and noticed that they had stopped walking; Kaien was frowning with concern at the hybrid.

"Are you okay?  Do ya' need to sit down for a bit?"

Ichigo dully shook his head.....before sending a small, amused smirk to the other.

"Nah.  But I'm getting a headache from your incessant chatter."

Kaien blinked in surprise before pouting childishly.

"'Incessant chatter'!?  I'm just tryin' to strike up a conversation, Strawberry-chan!"

Ichigo sighed exasperatedly at the nickname.

"I thought I told you not to call me that."

Kaien merely smirked widely, lips nearly reaching from ear to ear.

"Ohohoho~?  Are you maaaaaaaaad~?"

Ichigo deadpanned the other before walking past Kaien; the ravenet let out a whining sound before skipping behind Ichigo, prodding playfully at the ginger's shoulder.

"Aw, come on Ichigo!  What do you want me to call you then?  Ichi-kun?  Go-kun?  Ichigo-kun?  Ichigo-san--?"

"Wah~Ichigo-san, you're a really scary kid, ya' know."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Kaien was stunned by the sudden outburst.

He was further surprised when he saw a pain in the hybrid's eye--dark shadows haunted the brown iris--before it was hidden by his orange bangs.

"Don't....Don't call me....'Ichigo-san'........."

The ginger took a shuddering breath as he slowly started to walk ahead of the ravenet, keeping his gaze set firmly on the ground; his shoulders were tenser than usual.

"It....It brings back bad memories."

Kaien watched Ichigo's slightly shaky frame; the ravenet swallowed.

"U-Um...sorry....I--"

"Please.  Just...just lead me to the Shiba Clan's estate...."

The ginger sounded tired.

'Raining again...King....'

'I know, I know...just....sorry....'

Zangetsu's voice came in, gruff yet comforting.

'It's not your fault, Ichigo.  Just take deep breaths.'

Kaien seemed hesitant to catch up with Ichigo.

The ravenet took in a deep breath before steeling his emotions, quickly trotting to catch up with the ginger.  This time, Kaien kept a reasonable distance from the other and stayed silent.

~~

"I'm back you little brats!"

"Nii-san/Onii-chan!"

Two little blurs of black, red, white and green ran into Kaien, who fell onto his bottom with a grunt of surprise

Ichigo couldn't help but be a bit surprised at the size of the two.

Tiny.

'Ichigo, you do remember that this is hundreds of years in the past.'

'Ah....I guess that would make sense that they're little kids then....'

Kukaku, dressed in a red yukata, clambered on top of Kaien, playfully pulling at the taller's hair.

"Hi, Nii-san! How was your day?"

Ganju plopped himself to sit on Kaien's lap.

"Yeah, did you kill a lot of Hollows?"

Kaien chuckled softly.

"Otouto, we don't kill Hollows, we purify them."

Ganju waved his tiny hand in the air nonchalantly.

"Whatever."

Kaien scowled playfully before pinching Ganju's cheek.

"'Whatever'? Respect your elders, brat!"

Ganju flailed and swatted at Kaien's hand.

"Let go! Ya' old coot!"

Kaien let tick marks appear on his head.

"Say what...?"

Ichigo, who kept himself quiet in the background, couldn't help but quirk a small smile at the scene.

As if sensing the ginger's gaze, Kukaku lifted her head from Kaien's shoulder and turned to see Ichigo standing there.

"Oi, Nii-san, who's that?"

Ichigo stilled at the sudden attention and looked away quickly as Kaien also glanced over at the ginger hesitantly.

"Oh...um..." Kaien took a deep breath. "Guys...this person here is a distant cousin of ours; his family is...away at the moment.  Please welcome him to our house, alright? He's going to be staying here from now on."

Ichigo now felt three pairs of eyes on him; the ginger briefly shifted from foot to foot before managing to look at Kukaku and Ganju. But it only lasted for a few seconds before Ichigo lowered his gaze to the wooden floor underneath his feet.

"Nice...nice to meet you two. My name's Shiba Ichigo."

"...'Strawberry'?"

Ganju immediately started to laugh, tumbling off of Kaien's lap, clutching his stomach.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA, 'STRAWBERRY'!? WHAT KIND OF NAM--!? PFFFT--!?"

Kaien quickly swatted Ganju's head, frowning a bit at his little brother; the memory of Ichigo's earlier outburst was still fresh in his mind.

"Oi, settle down yo--!"

Suddenly...a soft chuckle was heard.

Kaien blinked dumbly in surprise as he looked over at Ichigo.

There was a small smile on Ichigo's lips.

There was some sort of wistfulness in the ginger's uninjured eye.

Ichigo shook his head lightly.

"It's just 'Number One Guardian', kiddo."

Ganju made a sound of understanding, rolling slightly on the ground.

"Oooh! Sorry about that, man. 'Strawberry' still seems pretty funny though!"

Kaien was surprised that Ichigo accepted the weak apology; the ginger seemed amused and....fond...?

Ichigo sighed softly before crouching down in front of Ganju, quirking a small smile.

"You're Ganju-kun I'm guessing? Shiba-san told me a lot about you."

Kaien called out to the ginger.

"Kaien's fine, Ichi-chan."

Ichigo barely twitched at the nickname before sighing.

"Kaien-san told me about you, Ganju-kun."

Ganju grinned widely.

"I hope he's told you I destroyed thousands of Hollows with my bare hands!"

Ichigo inclined his head as he smiled slightly with amusement.

'I kind of imagined Ganju to be like this as a kid, so I'm not surprised.'

'Really?  I thought the Pig-lord would be some sort of drooling mess that destroyed every single f***ing thing he touched, Kingy.'

'Do not be rude, Hakuryuu.'

'Whatever, ya' old sh**.'

Ichigo nearly rolled his eyes at the interactions between his swords as he kept listening to Ganju drone on excitedly about--most likely--fake tales about himself.

"--then it was like 'PA-CHOW'!  With one fist, I destroyed hundreds of Hollows!  I'll use the Shiba Clan powers to help bring more honor to us!  Then all of the other Clans will see how cool we are!"

Kukaku lightly slapped the back of Ganju's head, sighing exasperatedly before looking over at Ichigo.

"Ignore his rambling.  Welcome to the family, Ichi-nii-san."

Ichigo blinked at the name.

"Er, what?"

Kukaku huffed.

"Welcome to the family, Ichi-nii-san!  Are ya' deaf!?"

'Awww, she's thinking of you as her big brother, King--!'

"Onii-chan!"

Bubbly personality.  Big, brown eyes.  Caramel-brown hair.

"Ichi-nii..."

Laid-back.  Onyx eyes.  Raven hair.

Ichigo flinched slightly.

The ginger forced a small smile at Kukaku, trying to sound a bit playful as he spoke.

"Eh, you wouldn't want me as you brother.  I'm pretty...boring."

Kukaku, not noticing the other's discomfort, raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?  You seem pretty interesting already, Ichi-nii-san."

Kaien quickly noticed that Ichigo was closing off slightly and ruffled Kukaku's head.

"Al~righty!  Ichi-chan here is pretty tired--he traveled a lot before meeting us.  I'm going to lead him to his room now--don't destroy anything!"

"No promises/Whatever!"

The two ran away, pushing at each other playfully as they turned a corner--away from sight and hearing range.

Ichigo's shoulders sagged with relief.

Kaien coughed softly to gain the ginger's attention.

Once his eyes came in contact with a lone brown one, Kaien smiled tentatively at the hybrid.

"So....I'll take ya' to your room."

Ichigo blinked and nodded his head, following the ravenet down the halls.

~~

"Here we are..."

Kaien slid a paper door open and walked in before stepping to the side, letting Ichigo follow him in.

"So, you have your own bed, bathroom and view of the Shiba garden.  Holler if you need anything, alright?"

Kaien hovered at the door as Ichigo wandered about the room for a bit.

The ginger slid one of the paper doors on the other side of the room to see the Shiba garden.

"Tea, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

"Ya' know, you can just say my first name, Byakuya."

"I am not a rude brute like you are."

"Wow.  I'm trying to be friendly."

Ichigo stared at the green grass before kneeling on the edge of the corridor outside of his room, placing his hands on his lap; he had his back to Kaien.

"Arigatou...Kaien-san.  You can leave...."

Kaien smiled brightly.

"Alright!  I'll call you in for dinner when it's ready."

Ichigo raised and waved one of his hands to show he understood before putting it back on his lap.

Kaien furrowed his eyebrows in concern before he stepped out of the room and slid the paper door closed.

Once the door had closed, and the footsteps receded to nothing, his Hollow part decided to materialize out into the open, sitting on Ichigo's right side.

"Gah!  I thought he'd never leave!"

Ichigo shifted his eyes to the side and narrowed them slightly.

"Quiet down, Hakuryuu.  We don't want to get caught."

Hakuryuu rolled his eyes and huffed, resting his cheek on his palm as he crossed his legs Indian-style.

"Im sure we can knock his head in hard enough so he could forget a few things, Kingy."

Ichigo swatted the other's head, a small, exasperated sigh escaped his lips.

"No."

"Ichigo, you should get some rest while you can."

Zangetsu drifted on Ichigo's left side; the elderly spirit frowned.

Ichigo sighed once more.

"I got it, I got it......."

The ginger grimaced and placed his face in his hands; he grew silent as he curled into himself slightly.

Zangetsu gently placed a hand on the hybrid's shoulder.

"You're afraid to go to sleep."

It wasn't a question.

It was a statement.

Ichigo didn't respond.

Hakuryuu sighed loudly before slapping the ginger's back roughly.

"Kingy, we'll do better.  There won't be any dreams to wake you up, alright?"

Ichigo sighed before punching Hakuryuu's shoulder, a small smile on his lips.

"That hurt you f***er."

His Hollow merely grinned widely.

~~

Ichigo looked at the familiar, tall buildings around him--his inner world.

He glanced down from one of them as saw an ocean of water surrounding the area.

Ichigo looked up.

The sky above was no longer blue; it was a cloudy gray.

The ginger sighed softly, sitting down on the edge of the building he was on.

"Something troubling you, brat?"

Ichigo turned his head to the side and blinked in idle surprise.

"Tensa...zangetsu...?"

A white cloak fluttered in the non-existent wind.

A single black horn shimmered dully under the gray sky.

White hair swayed gently.

Mismatched blue and silver eyes gazed down at Ichigo.

The ginger took a sharp intake of breath.

"What are you....?"

"Don't worry. We're not fighting like last time. Fusing together is simply...comforting in a way. It also makes it easier to keep your nightmares away in this form..."

Ichigo sagged in relief.

Tensa raised an eyebrow.

"You really thought we would fight?"

Ichigo sighed.

"The supposed last and first time I met you, all we did was fight, fight, fight. We never had a single moment where we talked peacefully--that is until you stabbed me."

Tensa tilted one corner of his mouth to smirk slightly before turning stone-faced again.

"What's wrong? Your thoughts are all over the place."

Ichigo ran a hand over his face; his single eye gazed into the distance.

"....I'm just....a bit confused on what to do right now...." The ginger brushed his hand through his hair before leaning back on both hands. "Like...where to start in this time line? Not only is there Yhwach to deal with...but Aizen too. He**, I'm confused if I should let Shinji and the others get Hollow-fied by the maniac. I mean....Shinji and the others get strong that way...being Hollow-fied.  Also.....I might get....you know....born again...?"

Tensa blinked before raising his white eyebrows in understanding.

"Oh."

"Yes.  'Oh'."

"But you have yet to find out where Isshin is."

Ichigo grimaced.

"This is the Shiba estate; I'm guessing that he'll show up, sooner or later...."

The ginger fisted his hands on his sides.

".....He really was a stupid old man....."

The words held no bite to them--only deep sorrow.

Tensa drifted out to stand on the open air in front of Ichigo; his head was cocked to the side as he studied his wielder.

".....Do not rush yourself, Ichigo."

The white-haired spirit looked up at the cloudy sky above.

"Have patience.  It will take time to accomplish anything at this point.  And do not worry," Tensa leveled a stern gaze at Ichigo. "We will not fail."

Ichigo blinked in idle surprise before quirking a small smile.

"Always the serious guy, Tensa."

The white-haired spirit merely huffed and drifted up higher.

"....Kaien is approaching.  You should wake up soon."

"Alright...."

~~

"--YOU CHEEKY LITTLE SH**!"

"WHAT!?  WHY YOU'RE A CRAZY, DEMONIC LADY!"

Ichigo chewed on his shoyu chicken and white rice as he looked at the scene before him in amusement.

It all started with Ganju accidentally hitting Kukaku with a chicken wing; the sauce got all over her clothes.

It had soon turned out into a full out food war between the two siblings.

Kaien was growing impatient and embarrassed by the two's actions; he set his food down with a loud 'thunk'.

"WILL YOU TWO STO--!?"

Smack!

A  small dish of daikon managed to hit him in the face.

The dining room became silent.

Ichigo continued to eat quietly as he watched and waited for Kaien's reaction.

The small dish fell from Kaien's face--small, pickled radishes littered or stuck to his face.

Veins pulsed visibly on his neck and head.

"Ganju.....Kukaku....."

The two younger siblings gulped audibly; Hakuryuu cackled--apparently, Ichigo's blades split up.

'Bwahahaha!  They're gonna get it~!'

Zangetsu sighed.

'Such poor children.'

Ichigo merely waited for any movement to occur.

Kaien suddenly flash-stepped and grabbed Kukaku and Ganju by the scruff of their yukatas.

The elder brother grinned maliciously at both of them as he lifted them up in the air to his eye-level; one of his eyebrows were twitching out of irritation.

"You guys.....settle down or I will--!"

Spalt!

Simultaneously, Ganju and Kukaku smashed a bowl of rice and shoyu chicken into Kaien's face.

The bowls stuck comically to Kaien's face as Ganju and Kukaku high-fived each other.

The bowls fell off of Kaien's face.

The ravenet was livid.

"Why.  You.  Tw--!?"

"Pfffffft--!"

Kaien blinked in shock.

"Haha!"

He turned his attention to a certain ginger who was sitting a few meters away from them.

Ichigo had a fist to his mouth, trying to hold his.....laughter?

That was definitely a big smirk on his face.

Kaien blinked again in shock.

Once again, the ravenet was surprised by the enigma called Kurosaki Ichigo.

'Hey, Kingy.....it's actually a bit sunny in here...'