#grandpa Ginrei?

[sunflowersandcherryblossoms]

I find it kinda funny in the Fullbringer Arc when Tsukishima is being all "I know all about your fighting style now", when talking about Byakuya's Safe Zone and how to counteract it by actually going forward instead of trying to avoid the petals from Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, because THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT ICHIGO DID ON THE SOKYUKU HILL DUELL!

"Who told you about my safe zone?"

No one, my good bitch! He saw everything he needed to see in your Sokyuku Hill memories!

[byakkibreak]

au where ginrei’s actually alive and after byakuya comes back to the manor after the last war he just hugs him because he thought he almost lost his only grandson u_u

[recurring-polynya]

~ This is the last TBTP What If? I send you, I swear: Option a) What if Ginrei had been sent in place of Love? Option b) What if Sojun had been sent in place of Lisa? Option c) What if both?

I have stated before that I am just “no thoughts, head empty” when it comes to the Vizard, generally. Like, I like them just fine, I just don’t have anything interesting to say about them.

On the other hand, I have always wanted to write a Soujun story and I’ve never come up with a good hook. The thing I like about option b is that, because Soujun canonically died not super long after the TBTP arc, from Soul Society’s POV, this possibility would be pretty much exactly as in canon up until basically the Fake Karakura Town arc.

Well. Unless the most face-blind teen in Karakura manages to put two and two together.

Did Polynya stay between 500 and 1000 words?: 3049. I will be in the dumpster if you need me.

| ao3 | ff.net |

🌙      ☕     ���

“Renji! Hey! Renji!”

The lump of blankets groaned and shifted slightly.

Ichigo looked around for something to poke him with, but Renji was bunking in Urahara’s storage room, and Ichigo really didn't want to touch anything. There was Zabimaru, but it seemed deeply disrespectful to prod a man with his own zanpakutou. He resorted to nudging what he guessed was Renji’s shoulder with his foot.

“Renji, it’s only 9pm. Why are you asleep already? Are you someone’s grandpa?”

The tip of Renji’s nose emerged from the blankets. “Train hard, sleep hard. I did Hikotsu Taihou twelve times today. Leave me alo--Ichigo?” The a pair of squinty eyes joined the nose. “‘Zat you? Where you been, man?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ichigo replied. “Where’s Rukia? She wasn’t at my house.”

Renji started to retreat back under his covers. “‘Where’s Rukia?’ ‘Renji, I can’t find Rukia.’ Is that all the good I am to you? What makes you think I even know where Rukia is?”

“Do you know where Rukia is?”

“Well, yes, she took Inoue back to Soul Society.”

Ichigo felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his head. Inoue had left the entire plane, and he’d been so busy training, he hadn’t even noticed. His stomach knotted. His training was important, and obviously, Inoue was in good hands, but still... “For…for Inoue’s protection?” he stammered, immediately hoping that Renji wasn’t awake enough to notice how pathetic he sounded.

Renji was too busy yawning, his already long face stretching out to comic proportions. “Naw,” he said, when he had gotten his jaw back where it belonged. “They went so her and Rukia could punch each other in the face. There aren’t that many safe training areas here in Karakura, and Chad and I are already using the training buttes.”

“I honestly cannot tell if you’re kidding or not, but I am going to take you at your word that Rukia is not available.” Ichigo took a deep breath and hoped against hope that Renji didn’t sleep in the nude. He reached down and, in a move his old man would have been proud of, whipped off Renji’s blanket and hurled it across the room. “Get up. You’ll have to do, instead.”

---

Ten minutes later, the two of them set out into the night. Renji was scowling, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his leather jacket.

Ichigo jerked his chin at the big grump. “I can’t believe you sleep with your hair in a braid.”

“You can fuck right off, it prevents breakage and locks in moisture. You gonna tell me where we’re going, now?”

“The all-night coffee shop down the street.” Ichigo sucked his teeth. “Say, Renji… you know how sometimes you’re a pretty chill dude who does what he knows what’s right in his heart, and other times, you’re a huge, bull-headed shill for the Gotei?”

Renji’s eyebrows furrowed with suspicion. “Yeah, what of it?”

“This is one of those times I need you to be the first one. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

“You know I can’t make promises like that.”

“Dude, you’re staying with a guy who was banished from Soul Society for unforgivable crimes.”

“Believe me, no one hates that fact more than me. Besides, the higher-ups know about him, they’re just pretending they don’t.”

“I’m only bringing you because Rukia isn’t available. I tell you, Rukia would be copacetic with this.”

“Rukia doesn’t have to write official mission reports and then give them to her brother to sign.”

“I’m almost positive that Byakuya would let this slide, too.”

Renji stopped dead in his stride. “Who are we going to see, Ichigo?”

“You’ll see,” Ichigo replied, as he closed his eyes and kept walking.

“No promises!”

Ichigo knew Renji well enough though, to recognize that he had what he needed in that shouty defensiveness. Rukia sometimes insisted on extracting ceremonial promises from the man, and Ichigo often wondered if she realized how unnecessary it was. “I’m just trusting you to be a bro, then.”

There was a heavy sigh, and then some heavier footsteps as Renji trotted to catch up again.

The coffee shop was painfully dated, and not in a cool retro way. Isshin hung out there occasionally, for the purposes of checking in with some of his older patients who didn’t always come by the clinic when something was bothering them. The seats were big banquettes covered in old, cracked red vinyl. The smell of coffee only took the edge off the cloying undertone of cigarette smoke.

Ichigo had a flash of misgiving at having left a person from Soul Society out of his sight for an entire fifteen minutes, even though, strictly speaking, he was the one who wasn’t supposed to leave the Vizards’ warehouse hideout without a chaperone. Fortunately, the chaperone in question was exactly where Ichigo had left him, although he had since obtained a cup of coffee and a large slice of sweet potato pie.

“You’re back!” he said cheerfully as Ichigo and Renji slid into the seat across from him.

“So…” Ichigo said slowly. “The person I wanted you to meet wasn’t available. This guy’ll have to do.” He jerked his head to the left. “This is Renji. He’s Byakuya’s vice-captain.” Ichigo paused. “Renji, this is Soujun. He’s one of the people I’m training with. He’s… um…well…”

A strangled choking noise was coming out of Renji. “You’re…you’re Kuchiki Soujun. You disappeared a hundred years ago.”

“How did you know?” Ichigo asked, surprised. Soujun looked mildly embarrassed, his cheeks coloring slightly.

“Dumbass, look at him! All Kuchiki look like that!” Renji’s face suddenly paled. “Ichigo, you know he’s not just…any…Kuchiki, right?”

“Well, yeah, ��cause he told me.” Ichigo hadn’t actually expected Renji to know Byakuya’s dad by name, but on the other hand, he’d always been of the impression that Renji slept with a huge scrapbook of Byakuya’s stat sheets and press-clippings under his pillow. Furthermore, out of all the Vizard, Soujun was by far the most normal looking, with his floppy haircut and his math teacher sweaters and his wire-rimmed glasses. He looked like a neighbor you’d see buying bok choy at the supermarket or waving to you on the way home from school as he pruned his boxwoods. Ichigo had seen swap between that snarling samurai-faceplate of a mask away and his doe-eyed, kindly dad-face a dozen times already, and he still had trouble believing that a Hollow lurked beneath the surface of Soujun’s soul.

“Hello there, gentlemen.” An elderly waitress with a nasally voice greeted them. “Can I get you anything?”

“Coffee,” Ichigo replied.

“Coffee,” Renji seconded.

“Since when do you drink coffee?” Ichigo demanded.

“Chad turned me onto it!”

“You sure you want to drink it this late at night, Grandpa?”

“You woke me up, and it helps me think, so shut it.”

“Bring them each some of this pie,” Soujun added. “It’s got really wonderful flavor! I think it’s the nutmeg.”

“Thanks, sweetie!” The waitress gave Soujun an all-too-saucy wink that made Ichigo shudder deep in his soul. “Be right back.”

Ichigo briefly considered if they ought to be more circumspect about their discussion topic, but he figured that ancient all-night diner waitresses must hear all manner of crazy stuff and probably believed almost none of it.

Soujun was squinting curiously at Renji. “Which…which branch are you from? You aren’t… you aren’t related to Kuchiki Kouga, are you? My sister was sent away so shortly after his death… oh… oh no…”

“I am not related to you at all, sir!” Renji sputtered, waving his hands frantically. “100% Rukon-stock, me!”

Soujun’s face screwed up in confusion. “You…must have married in, then?”

A loud snort escaped through Ichigo’s nose, and Renji stomped on his foot under the table. A stony cast had come over Renji’s face that took Ichigo strangely back to the second time they fought each other.

“I’m not connected to the family at all. I realize that’s unusual, and if you’re pissed off about it, you’re not alone.”

Soujun blinked, confused. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it! I just…” He sighed.

“You’re such an ass,” Ichigo kicked Renji in the ankle. Unfortunately, Renji was wearing leather boots, and Ichigo’s toes took the worst of it. “He just wanted to know how Byakuya is doing and I didn’t know anything beyond the basics. He’s a super nice guy, so get outta here with that chip on your shoulder.”

Soujun waved his hands, an exact mirror of Renji thirty seconds before. “No, no, Ichigo! I can only imagine how my family reacted, and it would be very natural to assume I would have similar feelings!” He sighed and then carefully arranged his face back into his usual cheerful smile. It would have been mildly creepy if Ichigo hadn’t seen Rukia do the same thing a dozen times. There was probably a whole chapter on it in the Kuchiki Textbook. “There’s no Heir, is there, Lieutenant?”

“No,” Renji replied frankly. “Captain Kuchiki was married briefly, but Lady Hisana passed away before they had children.”

Soujun’s face fell. “He’s alone, then. Ichigo said that Byakuya is clan head, so I assume my father has passed.”

“Well, he’s got Rukia!” Renji defended. “Lady Hisana’s sister. He adopted her.”

“She’s the one I wanted you to meet, but she had to go back to Soul Society,” Ichigo clarified.

“And Captain Kuchiki Emeritus is still kicking around! He retired and lives up North Rukongai way. My impression was he did that to show how much confidence he had in Captain Kuchiki, y’know, when he turned over the reins.”

“Oh!” A strange look came over Soujun’s face. If there was something he was going to say, though, he held it, as pie and coffee arrived, including a refill for Soujun.

Renji played with his fork as he watched the waitress depart again, then turned back to Soujun. “Look, I don’t want to be rude here, but I gotta ask… where have you been, Lieutenant Kuchiki? It’s been, what, a century?” His nostrils flared briefly. “Don’t mean to be pushy, but Soul Society’s got a lot of enemies right now and you’re asking me to speak freely about a man I’m duty-bound to protect.”

Ichigo watched both of them as he chewed his pie slowly. The fact was, all of the Vizard had been maddeningly noncommittal about what their stake was in the coming conflict. It actually hadn’t occurred to him that Soujun had been a lieutenant, but he supposed it made sense, being Byakuya’s dad and all.

Soujun took a long sip of his coffee and very carefully put his cup back down again, turning it with his fingertips until the handle pointed exactly to the right. “I’m sorry, I never caught your family name.”

“It’s Abarai.”

“Lieutenant Abarai. It’s your title now, not mine. And as someone who once held that title, not to mention the father of the man in question, I appreciate your circumspection. May I ask…what do you know about my disappearance?”

Renji took a bite of pie. “This is good pie.”

Soujun beamed. “I told you!”

Renji took a deep breath. “You know how Soul Society is,” he said slowly. “It likes to forget. It especially likes to forget the things it isn’t proud of. You were ‘lost.’ That’s what people say. After twenty years, they fill out a death certificate and close your file, but people still say ‘lost.’ Lotta vice-captains get lost. It’s a shit job, but I’m sure you know that.”

Soujun gave a soft snort through his nose.

Renji pretended to be engrossed in dumping a rather upsetting quantity of sugar into his coffee. “But if you know who to ask, there are always people in Soul Society who remember.”

Soujun narrowed his eyes while Renji tasted his coffee, and then proceeded to add even more sugar to it.

“So while it doesn’t get talked about too much, I happen to know you didn’t get lost by yourself. I also happen to know that some important people got banished not long after, which mighta been warranted or it might be some classic Soul Society scapegoating, who’s to say?”

A chill ran down Ichigo’s spine. Was Renji talking about Urahara and Yoruichi? None of the Vizard had ever mentioned them, but it suddenly defied belief that they wouldn’t know about one another. Then again, Soul Society probably banished a lot of people.

Also, since when did Renji know things? Ichigo had expected him to be at least as confused as Ichigo himself had been upon meeting the Vizard. He sure did hope Renji was gonna stick to that chill bro thing.

“But you don’t know what happened to us.”

“My understanding,” Renji replied, while vigorously stabbing off an over-large bite of pie, “is that information was restricted to the captain level.”

Soujun gave off a rueful laugh. “Ah! So my father knows. Perfect.”

“Would you come back if you could?” Renji asked, and there was a weight to the question that Ichigo hadn’t expected.

“Yes,” Soujun replied instantly. “I would anyway. I can’t speak for the others.”

Renji tipped his head to one side, as if he were talking to Ichigo. “Hollows are nasty creatures. Sometimes they can fuck you up without killing you. All shinigami understand this. A shinigami would rather face a noble death than become the thing we hunt.” Renji shrugged. “In theory. In practice, one of the reasons so many people get ‘lost’ is ‘cause it’s a lot nicer than saying we had to hunt ‘em down as a monster.”

“We’re not monsters,” Soujun said stiffly. “We pose no danger to innocent souls.”

“Why not report back, then?”

“That wasn’t the case at first. We’ve got a handle on it now. But…well, historically, the leaders of Soul Society have been much less willing to listen to reason than you, Lieutenant. In classic Soul Society jurisprudence, you get declared dead after twenty years missing, but an execution order is good until it’s rescinded. Furthermore, there’s…some business that we need to take care of. But when that’s done…well, some of us would like to try. To come back. I guess…what I really want to know is…” He squeezed his hands into fists. “Byakuya always liked things to be clear-cut. He always wanted to do what was right, he always wanted to follow the rules. I just want to know if he would want to see me again.” He sighed. “Or if he would rather I just stayed lost.”

Ichigo chewed the inside of his cheek, wondering what he would say, if he were the one who had to answer this question.

“He still likes his rules, for sure,” Renji said airly, scraping the last of his pie from his plate. “But he knows people are more important. At least the people he cares about.” He ate the crumbs off his fork. “Which doesn’t add up to very many people, to be honest, but I’m absolutely sure you’re one of ‘em.”

Soujun’s eyes had gone very soft and very misty.

Renji jerked his chin at Ichigo, and in the exact same gruff tone of voice that Rukia used when she felt things were starting to go sappy, grunted “Oi, Ichigo, you gonna eat that pie? I’ll take it if you don’t want it.”

Ichigo realized suddenly that he hadn’t even touched his. “Try it and you’ll pull back a stump,” he snapped.

“I’ll buy you more pie,” Soujun promised Renji.

---

A short time later, Ichigo and Renji stood in front of the diner while Soujun settled the bill.

“Thanks for trusting me on this,” Ichigo mumbled. “I understand how you’re putting your neck out.”

Renji squinted up at the stars. His breath was visible in the cold air. “I got a lot of plausible deniability on this one. So I ran into some guy in the Living World who’s got the same nose as my captain. How was I t’know? This is what the Gotei gets for pretendin’ people are dead and tryin’ to forget them away.” He was thoughtful for a moment. “By the way, you can tell Captain Outoribashi that his old lieutenant still misses him and rails about his disappearance to her son and his shithead friends when she’s had too much to drink.”

“Captain?” Ichigo echoed.

Renji looked back down at Ichigo, cocking an eyebrow. “Pay attention to what’s around you, kid.”

Ichigo suddenly wanted to tell Renji everything, to ask for his advice. Renji had just extended an enormous amount of trust to him, and he didn’t even know what the Vizard were, what they were capable of. “You weren’t lying, were you? I mean…you really don’t know what happened to Soujun and the others. It’s not just--”

“Did I say I didn’t know?” Renji interrupted. “Think about the time you fought my captain, Ichigo. Think real hard about it.”

Realization crashed into Ichigo like a Rukongai boar. Byakuya had seen him turn into a Hollow. The man had barely reacted to it, which Ichigo hadn’t thought much about, because he was busy trying not to be a Hollow at the time, but looking back on it, it wasn’t a non-reaction, it was a controlled reaction. Which was pretty in-character for Byakuya, sure, but you’d think that most Gotei captains would at least be a little surprised by the idea of a shinigami who could pull out a mask. And…and Rukia had known about his Hollow, although she’d never said how. Renji said the captains at the time had been told the truth…and Byakuya’s grandfather had been a captain…

Ichigo’s eyes darted back to Renji, who was just watching him patiently. “Byakuya knew?”

“He didn’t know, but can recognize a trail when he sees one. Geez, dummy, do you really think I would be staying at Urahara’s if I wasn’t under Captain’s private orders to try to get some info outta that guy?”

Ichigo realized he was making the face of a landed fish.

“Speakin’ of which, I’m not a huge fan of this training you’re up to, but I’m trusting you that you think it’s necessary. If you can bust out again, though, come see me.” A smug smile crept across his face. “I will be at Chad’s.”

[midnightactual]

In chapter 452:

We learn that Ichigo had a “grandpa Rin” and several cousins. Now you might be thinking that Tsukishima just made these up with his powers, but he can’t do that. Per Ginjō in CFYOW:

“So if you want to know what happened in that original past...there was never a half-Soul Reaper like Kurosaki. I was the only deputy Soul Reaper. So in that case, who killed my friends in my memory?”

“Wait a second. Aren’t they part of the past that Tsukishima altered…?”

“Tsukishima’s ability, the Book of the End, can stick Tsukishima into other people’s pasts. He can place memories and events relating to himself into other people’s histories, but he can’t just conjure up someone who never existed. So the person we thought was a half-Soul Reaper was actually just one of the Soul Reapers I killed after I went into a rage.”

Tsukishima must replace someone who actually exists. For Orihime, he was Sora. For Chad, Oscar Joaquin de la Rosa. For Byakuya, seemingly Ginrei (or maybe Yoruichi). He can do anything he wants after that point (to include beating Final Fusion Aizen) but he has to start with a real person. So...

Who is grandpa Rin, and how does Ichigo have cousins?

Isshin doesn’t have family on Earth. Masaki is the last of the Kurosaki household, which is why she was taken in by the Ishida to begin with. Fanon likes to imagine Uryū is Ichigo’s cousin because Masaki and Ryūken lived under one household, but they weren’t actually related (hence the marriage) and “Rin” is a weird thing to call Sōken. But wait, it gets weirder!

This, 燐じいちゃ, does say “grandpa Rin” but that kanji for “Rin” is really strange:

Grandpa Will-o’-the-Wisp. Nothing sussy baka about that at all.

Now onibi are typically blue which does indeed suggest a Quincy, but that would mean that all three Kurosaki siblings were openly exposed to Quincy powers to come up with that nickname. And even if it is Sōken, Uryū would only be one of their cousins. Who would the others be? Uryū is an only child. Did Sōken have other children besides Ryūken?

Or is this someone else entirely?

(Either way, it is totally canon legit to come up with your own Kurosaki cousin OCs.)

[cooliogirl101]

rip Byakuya's social/flirting skills. How old was he mentally, 12-15? Yoruichi and his grandpa would be sighing in despair non-stop had they seen this and went "where did I go wrong with this boy". He was all like "she's in a rare good mood, don't ruin it!" and then did precisely that. Not once, but twice!

He’s like 14 in that AU and yeah, he’s got a loooooong way to go.

And yup, you summed up Yoruichi and Ginrei’s reactions pretty well.

(“Quite a charmer you’re raising there, Ginrei-san,” Shunsui stated, wryly amused.

“I don’t understand,” Ginrei murmured, resting his forehead in his palm. “Sojun was never this bad.”

“…maybe we should do something?” Juushiro suggested. “For Hisana-chan’s sake, if nothing else.”

“Seriously,” Yoruichi muttered under her breath. She had her head buried in her arms. “This is getting painful to watch.”)

[mrpuppett]

a/b/o!verse notes bc i like it and no one can stop me and also doing this shit is the only thing keeping me from spiraling into a pit of despair

- basically omegas are pretty rare just in general across the board because of a combination of generally higher reiatsu levels (along with alphas) and general outside environment requirements needing to be met. - so u don’t really see a lot of omegas born out in the rukongai or even seireitei - omegas in general are pretty highly valued alongside alphas because both have higher than average base reiatsu levels and have high fertility rates (ex. omegas that can give birth are more likely to have lots of kids/omegas that can’t give birth are generally more virile)

- omega nobles are even more valued bc they’re v rare and usually hidden away for protection. Byakuya said fuck that imma do what i want IT’S NOT A PHASE GRANDPA

- Ginrei just kinda had to deal w that

- heats/ruts =/= sex for everyone bc that’s dumb :: heats usually result in outside stimuli, both emotional and physical, becoming amplified and therefore positive stimuli of any kind (like cuddles and SOFF things uwu) are needed. Ruts usually result in alphas getting their protective/aggressor instincts amplified, which makes the Gotei a fucking nightmare to be around sometimes - Byakuya’s the only omega captain, because the other omega captain, Gin, had decided to run off to the desert w Aizen and then die SOOOOOOOOO

- The rest of the captains are all alphas. Yes, even Ukitake. #notallalphas

- There’s no omega discrimination or anything in the Gotei-13, just not a lot of omegas are around in general, and while there are a good chunk of omegas in Seireitei, alphas tend to dominate in fields where they’re sent out a lot for FIGHTAN (because they’re like puppies and will tear up the whole damn place if u let them get bored) Omegas will keep the whole place running smoothly (see: Nanao)

- I’m basing a lot of this shit on introverted and extroverted characteristics

- I’m not very creative lol

- Byakuya takes suppressants because even though there’s systems in place to provide a safe environment for omegas/alphas to have their respective heats/ruts, he doesn’t wanna lose out on precious PAPERWORK TIME

- He’s /supposed/ to go on leave once a year for health reasons but never does and it has resulted in literally everyone watching him like a cat that’s about to knock over ur prized roses

- Especially Renji

- mostly bc renji loves mothering byakuya to death once a year and not get senbonzakura’d for it

- i’ll probably write more but eh

- is anyone even gonna read this tho lol

[hoshikonobleach]

19 Rukia/Hoshi please! Maybe late 1800s? Honestly whatever speaks to you I'm into it

GASP. Y’all, here it is… the first Ruki/Hoshi on this blog. Enjoy it. 

19. historical AU (historical period of your choice)37. arranged marriage AU49. psychic connection

watch me FAIL lmao. This one is LONG. And I hope I did it justice. Rukia’s a lot closer to her personality when she’s with Ichigo & the others. And Ichigo is a sweetheart someone pls love him (besides me)

From a young age, whenever Rukia went to visit her grandfather in the summer, she knew never to go to the Urahara Manor. It was just something that you didn’t do. When she was allowed out to play with the other children, they would always dare each other to go and touch the front gate of the Urahara Manor, and some would report back saying they heard a noise or saw a figure, and that would cement Rukia’s fear even more.

There was something about that place that made her senses act up. And it was on her way home, so she would pass by it. Normally, she would uphold the Kuchiki Ideals. Walk, not run, through anything that scared you. But now, she only ran. She knew Renji wouldn’t tell on her. They would make a game of it—whoever ran past the Manor the fastest had to by the other ice cream next time.

Rukia hadn’t bought Renji one single ice cream.

But today, Renji and the other kids couldn’t play something about summer homework. And Grandpa Ginrei had given Rukia money to buy ice cream on that hot summer day for them both, hoping that she’d hurry before his son got back and scolded them for not doing any of Rukia’s extravagant list of activities. Rukia had the two ice creams—an ice cream sandwich for her grandfather and a weird looking character ice cream for herself—in hand as she walked by the house, excited to eat, when she heard it.

“I-I-Is someone there?” Her little voice quaked with fear. She was across the street, but the cries sounded like they were only a foot or so away from her. Despite everything, Rukia took slow steps across the empty street and stood in front of the house. “H-H-Hello?”

The street in front of the Urahara Manor was mostly deserted. The town was about a mile in the direction Rukia came and her own home was about a quarter mile away from this place. All the other houses were rundown around it.

“Why won’t anybody play with me?” The voice, much clearer, cried. Rukia peered in through the gates. A young girl, about her age stood there, hands rubbing against her eyes as she cried.

“You have a scary house.” Rukia blurted out before she could stop herself, then slapped her hand against her mouth. The girl pauses, looking up at Rukia. Her eyes are red and puffy, but lighter than her bright red hair. “U-Uh, I’m… I gotta go.”

“Wait!” The girl reaches out, running towards the gate and slams into it. The look on her face is pleading. “Y-You can hear me?”

Rukia tilts her head. “Y-Yeah?” She says, blinking. “You’re talkin’ real loud. Crying loud too.”

“D-Do you wanna play with me?” The girl asks, hope filling her silver eyes and Rukia almost says yes, then she feels the ice cream dripping down her hand.

“I can’t!” She yelps, which startles the girl into falling back. “B-But, tomorrow! Tomorrow I’ll come back!”

“You promise?” The girl stands again. Rukia nods, sticking her pinky through the bars of the gate.

“Yeah, pinky promise. You do it like this.” Rukia gestures for the girl to copy her, which she does, “I pinky promise to come back tomorrow or I’ll stick a thousand needles in my armpits! Or that’s what Renji says anyway.” The girl giggles, wiping excess tears from her eyes.

“Then it’s a promise.” The girl grins.

“I’m Rukia.” Rukia finally says, pulling away.

“Hoshiko.”

Rukia awakes with a jolt, sitting up and startling her maid. Momo jumps, almost dropping the tea tray she had been carrying. “L-Lady Rukia!” She yelps, her eyes wide, “Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” Rukia replies, her voice breathless, “I just… I had a dream—more like a memory, I guess.”

“Oh?” Momo puts the tea try down on the cart, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. “Is it the nerves?”

“Maybe,” She replies, “I dreamt about the summer home, when we would visit Grandfather Ginrei. And my friends from that town.”

“Hm,” Momo hummed, “Your husband-to-be is from that town, so maybe it resurfaced some memories. It has been some time since you’ve been there, right?”

“Yes,” Rukia finally pushed back the duvet and swung her feet over the edge, “Grandfather became too sick to live on his own when I turned sixteen. We haven’t been there since, now I am twenty-one.”

Momo pours Rukia’s tea while Rukia herself moves around the room, opening the curtains and windows, letting in the fresh air. “Well, today is a happy day, is it not?”

“It’s certainly a sunny one.” Rukia replies. Her fingers pause on the back of her sitting chair. “Momo,” Momo looks up, setting down the tea pot. “Do you think I’ll like him?”

“He seems very likable.” Momo replied, “From all the stories I’ve heard… it seems he has an easy time befriending people.”

Rukia feels a ghost of a touch on her skin, and in her mind, she sees red hair and a bright smile. Somehow, she doesn’t think she’ll like her suitor much.

Her dress is large, nearly taking up more room than it should as she stares out the window for the tenth time. Her grandfather chuckles, sipping at his mid-morning tea while Rukia huffs, sitting down on the sofa. “Are you hoping, perhaps, they’ve gotten lost?”

“If I said that, Byakuya-nii-sama would surely had my head.” Rukia replies, “So instead of saying it, I shall think it and think it loudly.” At this, Ginrei laughs, and one of the attendants enters the room, “They’re pulling their carriage around to the front!”

Rukia tenses, her hands freezing where they are and her eyes go wide. “I was just as nervous,” Ginrei says, “Meeting your grandmother. Though, we did come to love each other.”

“I’m already in love.” Rukia blurts out, then slaps her hands against her mouth. Ginrei chuckles.

“I know. As was I, at that time.” Ginrei sounds wistful, and the look on his face is far off. “Maybe you should make yours eternal.”

Byakuya is already outside when Ginrei and Rukia arrive. The carriage pulls to a stop and it’s quiet for a moment, before the door is slammed open and a boy flies out, landing right at Rukia’s feet.

“Guys, we’re supposed to be making a good first impression.” Another voice says. Rukia notes that the horses aren’t startled and the driver looks bored.

“My son should be more prepared to meet his new fiancé! Instead he’s playing around!” At this, two more people come falling out of the carriage. A large man with facial hair and a much younger man with glasses, dressed in white. Two girls follow him, then another man, much larger and tanner than the rest. And then finally, another girl.

Before she can get a clear look at the girl, the boy on the ground finally stands up, blocking Rukia’s view of her. He is tall and well-built and his bright orange hair is exactly as she’d imagined it and Rukia blinks. He acts as if he hadn’t been tossed five feet from a carriage. Really, the only thing noting he had been tossed was probably the dirt marks on his clothing. “Sorry about this lot. I’m Ichigo Kurosaki. You’re Rukia?”

“Yes.” Rukia finally says, “R-Rukia…. Um, Kuchiki. Please to make your acquaintance.” She bows and he laughs.

“We’re to be married, but you act so distant. I hope we’ll be good friends.” Ichigo then says, “I brought my entourage, I hope this is alright?” He turns to Byakuya who merely nods. “That’s my dad and sisters, that’s Uryu, and that’s Sado, and the girl is—“

“Hoshiko.” Rukia breathes out, startling Ichigo.

“Er, yeah, do you know each other?” He steps out of the way when Hoshiko comes barreling towards them and slams into Rukia, sending them both to the ground.

“Rukia! Rukia! I was so worried when you didn’t come back! I thought you hated me!” The girl cries, hands gripping onto Rukia’s dress.

“Of course I don’t hate you!” Rukia yelps back, “I could never! I’m sorry I didn’t say anything to you when we left.”

“I’m so glad we’re reunited!” Hoshiko cries, sitting up and pulling Rukia with her. She then hugs Rukia around the neck, “Don’t leave like that again!”

“Not to, um, break this up,” Ichigo cuts in, “But, Hoshiko, how do you know Rukia—er, Lady Rukia?” Hoshiko pulls away for a moment, standing and pulling Rukia with her, though she doesn’t let go of the girl at all.

‘Rukia’s a friend of mine from childhood. I met you guys the summer she stopped coming to Karakura Town.’ Rukia watched, puzzled at the hand movements Hoshiko made.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Lady Rukia, friend of Hoshiko.” Ichigo finally says, though it sounds a little odd to Rukia. Hoshiko looks at him, and Ichigo nods, “Let us have fun tonight.”

“I’m confused.” Rukia says at the banquet that night. She and Ichigo are dancing across the ballroom floor. “What was Hoshiko doing with her hands? All that.. stuff, and how you guys did it back or... just spoke.=”

“You don’t know?” Ichigo raises an eyebrow. “She was signing. It’s what people who can’t hear or speak—or don’t want to speak—do to communicate.”

“Hoshiko can speak just fine.” Rukia argues, her eyes gliding across the room to where Hoshiko dances with Ichigo’s father. The two laugh as he spins her around much more aggressively than any other dancing pair. “I’ve heard her voice, it’s lovely. She can sing as well, and that’s divine.”

“She can’t.” Ichigo says, “She had a disease at birth, which muted her for life. I don’t know how you manage to figure out everything she’s saying when she doesn’t speak.”

“Because she is speaking.” Rukia gets a little louder, before coughing and lowering her voice. Her cheeks tinge pink and she looks down.

“They say,” Ichigo changes the subject, “That how you know someone is your soulmate… you’re able to hear their voice even when they don’t speak. Like some kind of mind connection or something.”

Rukia hums, but Ichigo continues speaking, “When I saw you two in the garden earlier, all I heard was you speaking—and Hoshiko wasn’t signing. She was just sitting there, listening and nodding and making wild gestures. It made me really think about my decision tonight. I knew there was nothing else I could do.”

“Decision?” Rukia echoes. Ichigo nods and they stop near the middle of the dance floor, coincidentally near Hoshiko and Ichigo’s father. “What do you mean?”

“I’m breaking off the engagement.” Ichigo says loudly, and without preamble. The look of shock on Rukia’s face is enough to make Ichigo laugh. He motions Hoshiko over and breaks away from Rukia. “I’d very much rather not fight Hoshiko for your hand in marriage. So, it was nice meeting you, Lady Rukia, but I’ll take my chances elsewhere.”

Ichigo bows to her, before signing at Hoshiko and then walking away with his father. Hoshiko takes Rukia’s hands and they begin dancing as if they had never stopped. “Ichigo’s always like that, don’t mind him.” Hoshiko grins, “He’ll find someone someday. Did you know this was his third broken engagement? That’s why I was surprised when such a noble house sent a letter.”

“To be honest, it’s because I’ve had just as many broken engagements.” Rukia replies, “I must confess, Hoshiko, I have often thought about you and longed to return to you.” The words make both of the girls blush and Hoshiko looks away.

“I was supposed to be the one laying down all of these cheesy lines.” Hoshiko pouts, then laughs. “I wonder if your brother will allow this. If he is looking for benefits, House Urahara has much to offer. I handle business with many people from different lands and my father is a very bright inventor. We have many allies and much to offer.”

“I don’t care if he doesn’t.” Rukia surprised herself. What surprised her even more was that she meant it. “I want to be with you, I… I love you, Hoshiko.”

“And I love you, Rukia.”

[sunflowersandcherryblossoms]

My Dream Has Your Eyes... - LadyMorgaine76 - Bleach (Anime & Manga) [Archive of Our Own]

Guess who's writing another AU?

[sunflowersandcherryblossoms]

The Kuchiki Clan:

A grandpa who's too tired for this shit (Ginrei)

A pretty unknown woman who's portrayed at least as loving her husband (Unnamed Aunt)

ONE idiot (who married into the family) who majorly fucked up (Kōga)

A cinnamon roll, too pure for the Soul Society (Sojun)

An unknown woman who, taking in account her husband was the cinnamon roll, must have been a good person (Unnamed mom)

An autistic dork who makes too many promises because he's that fucking loyal to his loved ones

A mistake that ended up causing the plot point for the Soul Society Arc. Dead On Arrival (Hisana)

A gremlin who's also a dork. Hero worships her big brother.

Some parts of the fandom and Kubo himself:

"Bad people! Cold and detached. Maimed the Soul King (Thousands of years ago. Other people who are dead and don't contribute for the story. )

The Shiba Clan:

ONE actually good person that died way before Bleach even begins. The one who actually resembles Ichigo in various manners. (Kaien)

One lazy ass, lying asshole, who deserted his family, his Squad and was a mediocre father. Likes to peek under one of his daughter's underwear 🤢 . Keeps important secrets from his son. (Isshin)

A violent woman who mistreats her brother and basically everyone around. Loud and rude. As ONE useful ability. (Kūkaku)

One loudmouth, rude, violent man who's been pretty much abused by his big sister, because apparently Shiva's are supposed to be raised by punching and insulting them. (Ganju)

The kindest soul in that family. Married into the family. Origin unknown but Anime version looks a bit too much with young Byakuya... (Miyako)

Everyone and their mother:

"Such good people... See? They helped Ichigo when he arrived in Soul Society... They didn't think maiming the Soul King was necessary" (Didn't stop it either, but...)

Do you see the irony?