Chapter Twenty Three: Big Blue Watery Road, Part 1, Find the Clock

"O-okaa-san?! Otou-san?! How?! What are you doing here?!" Mizuho stuttered out as she backed away from her parents.

Momo smiled sadly at her daughter, "It seems, Mizuho-chan, that your father wasn't as much of an evil bastard as I had originally thought."

At this, Sosuke rolled his eyes, "'As much of an evil Bastard'? So I still am one?"

Ichigo snorted in amusement, "I would say that's true."

Momo scoffed, "He's not half the one you are, dearest nephew."

Ichigo nodded, "Point. Very valid point."

Mizuho stomped her foot in aggravation, "Would somebody like to explain to me what the hell is going on here?!"

Sosuke Kurosaki cleared his throat before speaking in as calm a voice as he could manage, "Here's the thing, Mizuho-chan. All of us here are Vaizards, a sub-species of Shinigami that has hollow traits, and in some rare cases, an inner hollow."

Mizuho grew puzzled, "I thought a inner hollow was gained when the barrier between Shinigami and hollow was broken down?"

Sosuke shook his head, "That's close, Mizuho, but that's not entirely accurate. You see, the Vaizard are a breed of Shinigami that are 'tainted' in that they are born with a predisposition that makes their spirit particles part pure Shinigami part pure hollow."

"What's a 'pure hollow'?"

"A pure hollow is a soul that is reincarnated as a hollow, as in it starts its new cycle as a hollow from the very beginning, as opposed to becoming a human, dying, and then not going to soul society quick enough. A pure Shinigami, on the other hand, is a soul that is reincarnated as a Shinigami from the beginning. Basically, in both cases, they skip the whole human phase of their existence."

"So Vaizard and Arrancar are..."

"They are pure Shinigami with a hollow taint, and pure hollows with a Shinigami taint, respectively."

"So I'm..."

"You're a half-Vaizard, half-Shinigami. Just like your cousin Ichigo here."

Mizuho crossed her arms in front of her, "How exactly is he my cousin again?"

Sosuke smiled, "His mother is my sister, Masaki Kurosaki."

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The woman stared at the letters painted on the window of the Doctor's office. Clenching her fists, she turned around quickly and made her way to the Nurse's Station.

"Excuse me," she said, "Can you tell me where I can find Dr. Kurosaki? I need to see him."

The nurse nodded at the woman, before turning towards her computer. She rocked back and forth on her heel as she waited patiently for the computer to finalize the link to the main Vaizard Database. "It'll just be one second, ma'am, and I'll have the Darkest's location for you."

The woman's eyes widened in surprise, but before she could collect her thoughts, the nurse spoke up once again, "I can't quite seem to ascertain his exact location, but I can tell you where Shaolin is a the moment. She seems to be at the offices of one Dr. Ishida. Hmm...I wonder why that is?"

The woman responded, "Her elder sister married that Dr. Ishida. He's a Quincy."

The nurse made a little noise of understanding, "Well, anyway, find Shaolin and she'll be able to tell you where Ichigo-sama is."

"And why would she know?"

The nurse quirked an eyebrow, "You haven't heard?" The woman shook her head, and the nurse continued, "Evidently she and Ichigo have been lovers for some time now. Which was strange when I first heard about it, but apparently he had somehow managed to get himself flung into the past, so I guess it's not as creepy as it originally seemed."

The woman smiled at the nurse, "Thanks so much for your help, miss."

"No problem, ma'am. It's good to have you back."

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Hiyori spoke up from the rock she was perched on, "Oi, Keigo, what did Ichigo want to talk with you about earlier? It's seemed rather shocking to you, to say the least."

Keigo glanced at the young looking woman, "He told me that my father wasn't as much of an evil sadistic bastard as I originally had thought."

She cocked an eyebrow, "Do I know him?"

Keigo didn't answer her question. He instead stood up and drew his sword. "How about we train for a little bit, Hiyori-san?"

She smirked and shrugged her shoulders, "Why not? Sounds like fun! Though I still want an answer to my question."

Keigo laughed lightly, before unleashing the full force of his spiritual pressure. He slowly reached up and pulled a hand through his hair, causing it to slick back in a eerily familiar style. His eyes narrowed dangerously, and his mocking smile caused Hiyori to jolt in surprise at how closely he resembled...

"Did you figure it out yet, Hiyori-san?"

"Y-you're Aizen's son!?"

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Ryuuken opened the door to his office once again, this time with a clipboard in his hands. His wife and sister-in-law looked up expectantly at him. He sighed, wishing he had a cigarette, before he said what he came to say, "Congratulations, you're having twins."

Tears of joy immediately started forming in Shaolin's eyes. "I, I, I'm going to become a mother," she breathed. "I can't believe it, I'm going to be a mommy!"

Megumi gave her sister a tight hug, "Congratulations, little sister. You'll be a great mother, I just know it."

All of sudden, there was a knock on the door to the office. Ryuuken glanced at the door and said, "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not that important that you can't talk to my receptionist about it first. So go away, I'm busy."

There was another knock on the door, but before Ryuuken could tell the person to go away yet again, a woman simply walked through the shut door as if it weren't there.

The dark orange, almost brown, haired woman smiled at Shaolin before saying, "It seems as if I'm going to be a Grandmother. Let me guess, he still hasn't proposed as of yet?" Shaolin shook her head, her eyes wide with shock at the sight of the woman standing in front of her. "So where is he, Shaolin? Where is my son?"

"Ichigo's at his cousin's at the present moment, my lady."

The woman smiled sweetly at the Captain of the Second Division. "Please, Shaolin, you're carrying my future grandchildren. You can call my Masaki."

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TBC

AN: Sorry for delay, but college is a bummer, and when it comes to my Fanfics, it's almost like I have ADD at times, so it can be hard to just sit down and finish an entire chapter in one night like I used to.

(Music Track: I'm on a Boat – T-Pain ft. the Lonely Island.)