Chapter Text
Ichigo sighed, walking into his class after the craziness of last night, having a sword shoved into his guts while gaining weird powers and striking down an even stranger monster. And when he awoke this morning, he had to help try and clean most of the mess from the fight, which meant he missed a half day of school. He dealt with his friends, getting a bit annoyed by Keigo’s hyperactivity.
“Hey, Ichigo, do you have a twin sister or something that you never told us about?” asked Mizuiro, typing away on his phone as he gestured towards the desks.
“What? No.” Ichigo denied, his brow furrowing as he looked where his friend pointed. He ended up choking on his spit, seeing the same woman from last night. Her mess of black hair spilled down her back, her face set into a passive frown as she rested her chin on the heel of her palm. On top of it all, she was wearing the girls’ school uniform! Feeling a strange chill go down his spine, Ichigo marched over, just barely noticing her desk diagonally behind him on his right side. “What the Hell are you doing here?!” he hissed, leaning down so they were face-to-face.
She merely blinked, her aqua-green eyes focusing on him as she tilted her head slightly. It unnerved the teen how similar they looked, with the exception that her face was more feminine than his and the obvious difference in hair and eye color. “I’m attending class, obviously.” She stated plainly, eyes flat as she stared at him blandly. Another chill went down his spine. He has seen that exact expression on his own face numerous times. “You have questions, I get that, but now really isn’t the time.” She stated, gesturing to his desk. “After school, come with me and I’ll explain.”
“At the very least can you give me your name? You didn’t bother giving it last night.”
“Kohaku. Shiba Kohaku.”
After school ended, Ichigo met up with Kohaku by the gate and they traveled to a nearby park. It was deserted as she took a seat on one of the picnic tables, her bag placed next to her as she pulled out a phone that had the Great Waves off Kanagawa casing, with a charm strap that had fireworks. Flipping it open, she quickly typed something before placing it against her ear.
“I might’ve made a small miscalculation, so I might not be back for a while,” she said simply, tapping her index finger against the back of her phone. “Well, you don’t really need me to explain everything, cause I’m pretty sure you can feel it…” she looked to the side, her ears tinged pink. “If you’d be so kind… YOU DICK!” Ichigo jumped, not expecting her to raise her voice. “Keep your grubby hands off my snacks! I did not consent to share my snacks with you when we married, you asshole! You touch my KitKats and I’m gonna shove a firework so far up your ass!” Kohaku ranted, her eye twitching. “Love you, too, but suck a dick you ass… Yeah, that’s fair. When this is resolved I’ll cook something up and we can take a trip somewhere. Maybe Osaka?” She nodded. “I’ll keep you updated when I get a chance.”
She sighed, closing her phone as she gave Ichigo all her attention. “So, you remember my crash course last night about Hollows, Pluses, and the like?” she asked.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t explain why you’re in my class.”
“I was already a part of the roster before today. I just never had a reason to show up until now,” she explained plainly. “Originally, I wanted to monitor you from a distance, due to your high reiatsu. Last night sorta forced my hand, given how close the Hollows were getting, so I stepped in to take care of them.” Kohaku then jabbed her finger into his face. “Another reason, which is more personal, deals with your face.”
Ichigo jerked back, looking offended as he swat at her hand. “What does my face have anything to do with this?!”
“Possibly everything, kid. You can tell how similar it is to my own, yeah? If it weren’t for the fact you have different coloring, it’d be easy to mistake you for my actual twin.” For some reason, her eyes looked sad when she told the orange-haired teen that little nugget of info. “Because of me giving you my power— which, by the way, you took all of when it was only meant to be half! So now I’m the powerless one!— it’s now my responsibility to train you in the ways of Shinigami so you don’t get yourself or anyone close to you killed by mistake. So get ready, kid, ‘cause we’re gonna go through another crash course!” She pulled on a glove with a skull on the back and quickly slammed her hand into his chest, somehow forcing him out of his body.
The orange-haired teen was a bit dazed, his head spinning as he watched her easily catch his soulless body and sat it on the picnic table. “A little warning would be nice!” Kohaku snorted, crossing her arms over her chest as she rolled her eyes.
“It’s not as if I had a Soul Candy on hand to let you make a choice to switch into your Shinigami form.” She waved her hand flippantly. “We’ll primarily focus on getting your Zanjutsu up to snuff, possibly Hakuda for any unarmed combat that might happen, for sure I’m gonna drill in some Kido lessons, and Hoho if needed.”
“Zanjutsu? Hakuda? Kido? Hoho?! What are these things?” Ichigo demanded, his head spinning as he tried to absorb the new information.
Kohaku sighed heavily as she straightened her back. The change in her demeanor caused him to correct his own posture. “Zanjutsu is a fighting technique dealing with your Zanpakuto, which is the abnormally large sword on your back. Hakuda is an unarmed fighting technique that makes use of your body in a fight, similar to the martial arts that are taught here in the World of the Living. Kido is spells that require strong spiritual power and are separated into two main categories: Hado and Bakudo. I used one such spell on you the other night, and you somehow managed to break through it with sheer willpower alone. No way in Hell will I let anyone skip out on learning Kido. It’d be embarrassing for me, given that I’m a Shiba. We use Kido for even normal things, like making fireworks. Hoho is high-speed fighting movements based on the art of Shunpo. That’s pretty advanced, and most can get by without knowing it, so it’s not on the top of my list to teach you.”
“Okay, but why go and do all this work?” Ichigo questioned, brows furrowed in confusion.
Kohaku smirked, cupping his face in her hands, making the teen’s ears warm. “I see your stupid face, Kurosaki, and it reminds me of home. For all I know, you are my kin, and as such, I want to teach you enough that what happened last night doesn’t happen again.” She then pulled on his cheeks, making him cry out in pain. “We Shiba stick together. So get ready, kiddo, ‘cause lessons start now!”
“Hey! Stop that! It hurts! And I’m not a kid! My name is Ichigo, so use it!” he shouted angrily as he pulled at her wrists.
Kohaku was a very hands-on kind of instructor, Ichigo soon found out. She had him practice swinging around his Zanpakuto, and with each mistake, she would come up and place him in the proper form while explaining it. It was a nice change for once.
“If I’m going to be honest, I am surprised you even have a Zanpakuto… It’s unheard of to have one without having an asauchi first.”
Ichigo paused mid-swing, confusion painted across his face. “An asa-what-now?”
“An asauchi. It’s a nameless Zanpakuto one gets when they first enter the Shin’ō Academy, which is normally referred to as the Shinigami Academy. They normally take the form of a normal katana, and will eventually change over time as their user imprints more of their energy onto the blade, which allows someone to learn the name of their Zanpakuto.”
“They have names ?”
Kohaku chuckled, amused as the spirit of her Zanpakuto made a sarcastic comment. “Yes, they have names. Over time, they develop their own spirit and become your partner. For instance, mine is called Hanabishi. He’s a powerful personification of the Shiba Clan, given that we’re originally a family of fireworks and explosives experts. Once you learn their name, you can gain access to your shikai, which gives special abilities to your sword while also altering its appearance usually,” she explained calmly. “For me to release Hanabishi, I just have to say ‘Bloom across the night sky, Hanabishi,’ which causes my sword to change forms.
“Hanabishi is special because two-bladed Zanpakuto is extremely rare. When released he takes the form of twin kodachi with the ability to cause explosions which I can use in a variety of ways, such as blinding an enemy.” She smiled softly, which sorta freaked Ichigo out. “Hanabishi is a sarcastic old geezer who only cares about his fireworks and our cherished people. He’s the manifestation of what I think it means to be a Shiba. A Zanpakuto spirit is like your reflection in a pond. Sure, the ripples might distort it a bit, but it is still you. And as such, to take care of your Zanpakuto, you need to also take care of yourself. Hanabishi is my most trusted confidant. If I can’t trust him, then who can I trust?”
Ichigo sighed, thinking heavily as he stared at the giant sword in his hands. “So, how does one communicate with their Zanpakuto?” He was honestly curious about what the reflection of his own soul would look like.
“Jinzen. It’s a form of meditation that lets you enter your own inner world and communicate with your Zanpakuto, though I don’t know how that’d work in your case, ‘cause you’re using my powers.” Kohaku explained eyes narrowed a bit as she stared him down. “Though you might get your own powers after mine return. This could’ve jumpstarted yours, honestly, and if you’re my kin you would’ve been born with such powers anyways.”
“You keep saying that, but what makes you think we could be related? I’m human!”
Kohaku snorted in reply as she smirked at the youth. “Yeah, but that’d only be half right. Us Shiba are a weird bunch, to put it mildly, so it wouldn’t surprise me if one made their way here to the World of the Living and ended up starting a family. Though it’d have to be one of my close relatives. It’d be the only explanation for your looks.”
“Huh?!”
“You look exactly like my twin, Kaien, Ichigo. The only difference is your hair and eye color…” Her smirk widened. “Your temper is very similar to my sister, though. So unless there’s proof to the contrary, I’m going to fully believe you’re a close cousin.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And as such, it’s my duty as the head of our clan to take care of you and help you stand on your own two feet. That also extends to your sisters. Karin and Yuzu are their names, right?”
Ichigo scowled, glaring at his supposed cousin. “I don’t need anyone to protect me!” He argued.
She responded by flicking his forehead hard enough to send him flailing backward. “Not until I’m done training you, you won’t. Once that happens, you can stand on your own two feet and protect anyone precious to you.” Ichigo rubbed his forehead, glaring at the woman. “I’ve lost enough family, Ichigo. So I’m gonna work you hard so I don’t have to worry about you. That way, instead of me shielding you, you can stand alongside me and fight on your own.”
Ichigo paused as Kohaku’s head snapped up, her eyes narrowed as she focused. “What?”
“A Hollow. It’s close, so be ready. Make sure to aim for the mask, Ichigo.” She explained calmly, listening as the howling got closer. “There’s a young boy’s spirit that hangs around this park, right?”
“Yeah, what of it?” questioned the teen.
“A lonely child is being hunted by a monster and you have the power to save him. What choice do you make?” she asked, just as the boy broke through the treeline, a large Hollow gave chase.
Ichigo rushed forward, his eyes focused as he slashed at the Hollow. First, he cut off its legs before stabbing his blade deep into the Hollow’s face. “Geeze, do ya wanna become monster chow, kid?! Just move on already.” He grumbled, crouching down to be at the same height as the whimpering boy. Using the butt of his Zanpakuto, Ichigo pressed it against the boy’s forehead and performed a konso.
“Can’t ya be a bit nicer to the brat?” Kohaku asked sarcastically as she came over with his body slung over her shoulders in a fireman’s carry. Ichigo was struck speechless at how effortlessly she was able to carry his— literal— dead weight. With not even a grunt, she sat his body next to him, his back propped against her legs. “Time to rejoin the living, Ichigo. Just touch your body and your soul will rejoin it. Just a warning, whatever happens in your soul form will reflect on your physical form once you re-enter it. Kido can help with that, but don’t expect me to patch you up every single time. Ya gotta learn how to treat yourself.”
On his way home, Ichigo came across a black and tan Shiba Inu whining as it followed after the teen. Sighing, he crouched down, eyes drawn to the paper clutched in its mouth. “Whatcha got there?” he asked, taking the paper. The dog proceeded to sit, tongue lolling out of its mouth as its tail wagging in excitement.
Take the dog home with you, or else.
It was Kohaku’s handwriting. Annoyed, Ichigo could feel his eye twitching as he stared down at the canine. “Seriously? Why is she dumping her dog on me?” He then noticed there was more written on the note further down, the handwriting vastly different from Kohaku’s, and looked to actually have been written in reverse before being erased.
PS, don’t freak out later. Unless ya want Kohaku ta smack ya.
Looking over the letter, Ichigo glared at the panting dog. “What the hell…” the dog barked once, resting one of its paws on his knee. “You better be housebroken,” he groaned, standing up and easily picking the dog up as well. He was just done with the day. Once he got home, Yuzu gushed over the dog while Karin wondered if the old goat face would allow them to keep the dog. Ichigo just wanted to kick Kohaku’s ass over the whole thing. The dog simply soaked up the attention, slowly moving over to Karin and staring up at the young black-haired girl.
Karin pressed her lips into a thin line, trying her hardest not to smile as the dog placed a paw on her leg. With an exaggerated sigh, she began scratching the dog behind its ears. “So where is she gonna sleep, Ichigo?” she asked, nose scrunching up as the dog licked her hand.
Ichigo scowled. “Probably in my room.”
He thought he was seeing things when the dog seem to shoot him a dirty look, yet when he blinked, the dog was panting happily. Groan, the orange-haired teen stood up and began walking upstairs to his room, the sounds of claws echoing behind him. Opening his door, waiting for the dog to enter before closing it, and then falling back on his bed. Ichigo was fully intent on taking a nap.
“You’re lucky I like making a good first impression, otherwise I would’ve bit you back there, Ichigo.” His eyes snapped open and darted around, trying to find the source of the voice. It sounded exactly like Kohaku. “Down here, brat.” Ichigo looked down, staring at the Shiba Inu. The dog’s tail wagged, aqua-green eyes glittering with mischief as its maw opened. “Easier to explain away a dog rather than a strange woman having to stay with you.”
A cold sweat broke out down his spine. The dog talked. It fucking talked to him! Ichigo yelped as the dog ducked under his bed and pulled out a large bag.
“Unless you wanna get an eyeful, I suggest turning around.” The dog snickered. Ichigo rolled over, facing the wall as he heard shuffling behind him. “You’re so precious. Kukaku would eat you up with how shy you are,” he heard Kohaku snickering as his desk chair creaked.
Cracking an eye open, Ichigo spotted his black-haired female doppelganger perched on his desk chair, wearing a pair of dark jean capris and a ¾ length sleeve button-up shirt. She smirked at him, barefoot tapping in the air as she played with a burnt orange leather dog collar. He sat up and looked around, not spying the talking dog but seeing a dog bed and a few toys already in place. “Where did you come from?! Where’s the dog?!” he demanded, standing up and looming over the woman. Kohaku frowned, shoving him back with her foot.
“Back up, kid. The dog is me. It’s something only I and someone else can do, and it takes very little spiritual power to do it,” she explained. “Until my powers return, and you’re fully trained, it’s best for me to stay close by seeing as you can’t really sense reiatsu for shit currently.”
Ichigo stared, confused as Kohaku fastened the collar around her neck. “But a Shiba Inu? Isn’t that a bit too on the nose?”
“You clearly don’t have a sense of humor.” She stated, pulling out a few items from a large bag. “Also, you should get the latch on your window fixed. It was easy as hell to get in here and place this stuff beforehand.”
“What?!” Ichigo jumped up and checked his window. Sure enough, the latch was broken. It didn’t take him long to figure out just who broke it. “That stupid goat face!” He groaned. “I’m gonna kill him one of these damn days.”
Kohaku didn’t say anything, just pulling out her calligraphy set. “You finished your homework earlier?” she asked, tags jingling as she shifted about.
“Yeah, why?”
“Then let’s get started on some basic Kido, then.” She dipped the brush into the ink, the parchment already set as she began writing. “Us Shiba are proficient in Kido that causes explosions and have created a few of our own which we applied to our fireworks. For this type of Kido, we tend to use ink as a conduit, making it into a seal.” She showed off her work, the lines crisp and clean. “Seeing as you have such vast reserves, this would be the safest method to teach you until you have a firmer grasp on your control.” Kohaku took out a smaller slip of paper and began working on it, the ink glowing faintly as she channeled her reiatsu into it. “Eventually, you’ll be able to make seals like this that you can anchor somewhere.”
Ichigo looked at the characters, easily recognizing Protection which was the largest of them. “What does this one do?” he questioned, sitting down on his bed.
She looked at him from the corner of her eye as she put the finishing touches on it, pushing the seal closer to him so he could see it. “I made this a few decades ago. It was originally made for protecting children. This needs to be hidden in your sisters’ room, so what happened the other night doesn’t happen again. As long as they’re within that space, they’ll be safe.” Ichigo picked the seal up, examining it thoroughly as he took in each detail. “This type of Kido is all about intentions when creating them, which is also the core source for the other forms. After mastering the intention, the rest is just basic math to figure out how much energy to input to get the desired output,” she explained. “It’s actually how our family teaches the kids Kido when they start showing signs of hunger.” Kohaku stood, gesturing for Ichigo to take her spot.
He did, eyes focusing on the materials spread before him. “So if I can figure this out, I’d be able to protect Yuzu and Karin better?” he questioned, picking up the calligraphy brush.
“It would make it easier, yes, mainly if Karin learned it as well. Between the two, she’s the one to worry about because her reiatsu is stronger, though nowhere near your level.” Kohaku sat down with a frown, running her fingers through her hair. “It’s honestly unacceptable for anyone in the Shiba family to not train their kids to control their energy! If I find out who it is, I’m gonna wring their damn neck…”
Urahara fanned himself, hiding his sadistic smile as Kurosaki Isshin sneezed. “Need a hankie?” he asked sarcastically, leaning against the doorframe of his shop.
“No, I’m fine. Maybe some cutie is talking about me?” he suggested cheerfully, laughing as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Urahara sighed heavily as he adjusted his bucket hat, shading his eyes even further. “More like a certain former lieutenant plotting your murder for how you’ve been handling your children’s heightened awareness. She’s already made contact with Ichigo and is connecting the dots.”
Isshin turned serious as he pulled a cigarette from his back pocket, taking a long drag after lighting it. “Ichigo and Karin do take after that side of our family,” he exhaled. His eldest niece loved children, he knew that very well, and how protective the young woman could be over their family even before becoming the head of their clan. “She makes for a better teacher for Ichigo than I ever will.” He took another drag, the smoke curling around his head like a hazy crown.
“You do know when the time comes, she and the others are going to take Ichigo to train him. Hell, she’s going to take all of your children the moment she finds out their exact relationship to her due to your own carelessness, Isshin. And even without her Noble status anymore, she is well within her right to remove them, and there’s nothing you can do. Hell, depending on how it all goes, I might even lend her a hand, Isshin.” Urahara stated, casting the other man a stern look. He did not like his warnings being ignored by those that should know better.
“Keep your hands off my family, Kisuke.”
Urahara fought the urge to slug the man, and instead snapped his fan shut sharply. “I offered you help all those years ago because of my friendship with her. She would’ve beaten me to an inch of my life if I didn’t at least attempt to offer you a hand, Isshin. However, if she wants my help in keeping her family safe, I have no reason than to give her a hand.” He jabbed the tip of his fan into the sternum of the dark-haired male. “Now I suggest keeping yourself out of sight of a certain Shiba Inu when you go home, Isshin, unless you’re ready to tell those kids of yours everything,” Urahara warned, going back into his shop and sliding the door shut with a flick of his wrist.
The blond sighed heavily, taking off his hat as he disappeared into the living area connected to his shop. Tessai walked in with a tea set and sat it down on the round table. “You okay there, Kisuke?”
The ash-blond male smiled warily as he sat down, picking up a cup and staring into it. “Are Jinta and Ururu in bed?” he asked, taking a sip.
“They are.”
“Kohaku is going to be pissed when she finds out. And I honestly don’t blame her after all that’s happened…” His shoulders sagged, feeling the weight from the century they’d been exiled to the World of the Living. The elder Shiba sibling was one of his closest friends after Yoruichi and Tessai, Unlike those two though, Kohaku engaged Urahara in long discussions dealing with possible inventions and the combinations of the Shiba family’s brand of Kido that could be applied. He remembered how they would all sit around drinking, with Kaien trying to reign in his rambunctious sisters, only to get dragged in and wrestle with them both.
He even remembered a certain long-haired blond Captain that would visit the siblings, a Cheshire grin spread across the man’s face as he antagonized Kaien. Kohaku would even egg him on, enjoying the chaotic energy that only her family could cause. It got to the point where the scientist made one of his hidden training areas within the Shiba Family’s main house.
“Well, you know that once she does find out, he’ll support whatever choice she makes.” Tessai calmly took a sip of his tea.
Urahara choked on his tea as he began laughing. “Are you surprised? He’s absolutely whipped by Kohaku. And the Other is obsessed with her and her Other,” he reminded his friend. “Happy wife, happy life, as they say.”