Operation: Big Brother - Book II - Ch 1

A/N: I've decided to continue the sequel here since it's easier for me not to create another story (and I already have so many stories on my profile that people say it's confusing).

Here is the beginning of Book II. Those of you who read the preview in the previous version of the interlude will recognize a few paragraphs in the middle of this chapter, but it's almost entirely new material. I have a new plot outlined, with more humor and fluff as well as action. I've spent quite a bit of time imagining how all of the canon characters and situations might change in this new timeline, and how the friendship between Aizen and Ichigo will continue and develop.

This story picks up immediately after the end of Book I chapter 8, as Aizen and Ichigo leave the Royal Realm for Karakura Town.

(Originally posted 9/14/14.)

XxXxXxX

Ichigo's eyes widened as they entered the Royal Realm transport station. "Wow. This is so different from how it was before." He craned his neck trying to look everywhere at once. Rather than a temporary gate and a rough-cut tunnel through which you had to run for your life, he had entered a vast hall that appeared to be the bustling hub of an active transportation system.

Fluted columns supported a wide, glass-domed ceiling that rose several hundred feet above the white marble floor. Thousands of people, human, shinigami, and even hollows, were weaving their various ways to their destinations, singly and in groups, calling, laughing, and chattering. They were arrayed in a bewildering variety of costumes, some familiar like shinigami robes or jeans and T-shirts, and some even more bizarre than he had seen on Uryuu's drawing pad.

Aizen glanced around with a pleased expression. "So there was not as much commerce between the Royal Realm and Soul Society in your timeline? It's been a particular focus of mine. I had this station built to enable easier travel between the dimensions. The free flow of ideas and goods has strengthened all of the worlds." He pointed in the direction of a tall black gate that stood three times Ichigo's height. A large crowd was queued up in front of it. "That's our destination. The first portal will take us to the world of the living, and from there we go to Karakura Town."

Ichigo gave Aizen a sidelong glance. "You built this all? So you're pretty happy being king, huh?"

"It keeps me busy." Aizen bypassed the line at the main portal and strode to a smaller gate at one side, where a man in white robes stood guard. The man snapped to attention at the sight of him.

Aizen put a finger to his lips, smiling. "I'm here in an unofficial capacity, so I'd appreciate it if you kept it quiet."

"Of course, sir! Right this way, sir!" He opened the small gate. The man bowed deeply as they passed through and Ichigo snorted to himself as Aizen returned a small, smug smile. One thing that hadn't changed was Aizen's big ego. He still loved attention.

It only took a single step through the portal and they were in another, smaller room. A shinigami manning a second portal bowed to Aizen and entered a set of coordinates on another console. They were through in the blink of an eye.

Once back in Karakura Town, walking through the familiar streets, Ichigo's pace quickened. The thought that his mother might be alive again filled his heart with incredible joy. It was as though the sun had risen again after a long, dark, cold night.

"Mom," he thought with a rush of emotion, as the nine-year-old boy he had once been remembered her, larger than life and more brilliant. He remembered the last time he had held her hand, that rainy day half a lifetime ago. He remembered the shock and devastation of the moment when he had called to her and she didn't get up, didn't move, never moved again. It had taken him a long time to realize she was gone forever. The one person who never cried and never got mad, who could wipe away every single bad thing just by taking him in her arms. She was the sun in their family, the first person Ichigo had ever wanted to protect. When they lost her that rainy day, the sun had set forever.

Or so he thought.

He was so lost in his memories that he almost forgot he was walking beside the man who was once his worst enemy.

"So," Aizen asked, "what was I like in the timeline you came from?"

Coming back to himself, Ichigo snorted. "Do you really want to know?" He looked the taller man up and down. "You wanted to be king, but you seemed to think the way to go about it was to become a mass-murdering traitor."

"Is that so?" Aizen's eyes glittered with curiosity. "Tell me some of the things I did."

"Let's see." Ichigo rolled his eyes at Aizen's unhealthy interest in his own darker side. "Used souls for human experiments that led to their deaths or hollowfication, experimented on hollows to make them stronger and set them to kill shinigami, framed Urahara for your crimes and got him exiled, slaughtered the Central 46…"

"Wait, the entire Central 46?" Aizen interrupted him. "I killed all 46 members of the central government?"

"Uh-huh," said Ichigo, glaring at him.

Aizen leaned on a railing at the side of the roadway, gazing off into the park beyond. "I must have been a very bitter and angry man in your world," he mused softly. "I can't see what purpose such an action would have served."

Ichigo shrugged, scowling. "Maybe they just didn't do what you wanted. You certainly didn't seem to care what happened to anyone who stood in your way."

"But there are so many better ways to get what one wants." A smile ghosted over his lips. "For example, bribery and persuasion can be very effective."

Ichigo snorted. "You sound like you speak from experience."

Aizen ran a hand through his hair. "Indeed. I had operative control of Central 46 even before I was named captain-commander, by the simple expedient of having formed close bonds, due to my generosity with gifts and loans, with several key members," he admitted. "Do you judge me for that?" he asked softly.

Ichigo aimed an intense look at him from under lowered brows. "I guess it's better to be a slimy politician than a brutal mass murderer."

Aizen laughed, a low, rich chuckle. "You are refreshing, Ichigo. Very few souls in the three worlds would dare say those words to my face." There was a note of something odd in his voice. Could it have been—sorrow?

"Isn't that part and parcel of being king, having the respect and admiration of all? It's what you wanted, isn't it?"

Aizen gazed out into the trees. "It's what I thought I wanted." His voice dropped until Ichigo could barely hear it. "But it seems that admiration is the furthest state from understanding."

Ichigo stared at him, taken aback at hearing the quotation in such a different context. "What do you really want?"

"I— never mind." Aizen shook his head. "We can talk of that another time," he said briskly, stepping away from the railing. They walked on in silence for a few moments; then he raised an eyebrow. "So tell me, how long did I get away with any of the other things you said I did?"

"A long time. Way too long." Ichigo scowled at him.

"Hmmm." Aizen looked far too intrigued for Ichigo's liking. "I always wondered what I could do with Kyouka Suigetsu." A tiny smirk tilted his lips upward. "It does seem a little drastic. Sounds like my other self was just looking for attention."

Ichigo groaned. "You could say that." He shot the taller man a sidelong glance. "I assume that in this timeline, you've behaved much better?"

"I've never done any of those terrible things you mention." He looked thoughtful. "Well, most of them. You might say I framed Urahara that one time…"

They turned a corner and the Karakura Clinic, just the way Ichigo remembered it, appeared in front of them. Ichigo broke into a run. He pounded up the front steps, pulled open the door and stood to one side, braced for an attack.

"Hey!" he shouted into the dimness within, "I'm home!"

Nothing happened.

He cautiously peered around the door jamb. "Goat Face?" But his crazy dad did not come running out the door to center-punch him.

He sniffed deeply. A delicious scent was wafting out of the open door, and cheerful music sounded from the direction of the kitchen. Ducking his head, he slipped inside and followed the mouthwatering odors.

He stopped in the kitchen doorway, transfixed by the scene in front of him.

A tiny, golden-haired dynamo was busily stirring three different pots at the stove as music blasted out of a set of speakers. Then she zipped to one side and chopped up bok choy on a cutting board, all the while shouting out directions to the other person in the kitchen.

Isshin wore a white apron and was obediently filleting fish on another cutting board, nodding as he followed his wife's rapid-fire instructions.

Ichigo gaped. His mother was much smaller than he remembered, but if possible, even more vibrant and alive.

"Mom," he said, and she turned.

"Ichigo!" A brilliant smile spread over her face. "You're back, from wherever that shyster shopkeeper was trying to send you." She scowled and waved a wooden spoon. "He thought he was pulling the wool over my eyes, but it was soooo clear he was lying. He was sending you off someplace dangerous, wasn't he?"

"Mom," Ichigo said again, tasting the word on his lips in wonder, and then he was in her arms. He buried his face in her hair. He was taller than her now, and she felt slight and delicate. "Mom." It felt like a part of him that had shriveled up long ago was coming back to life, like a desiccated plant might regrow after a rainfall, like a thirsty man in the desert might open his eyes and cry tears of joy upon seeing the life-giving pool of water before him. "I missed you so much," he whispered. "I love you."

"Well!" Masaki said, a note of gratification in her voice. "Whatever he did couldn't have been that bad, if you're that enthusiastic about seeing me after only three days. If I recall, someone was a little grouchy about being asked to do his homework last week." She held him at arms' length, eyes searching his face. Her hands tightened on his arms and she frowned. "What happened? You look like you've gone through hell. Are you crying?"

"Uh—" Ichigo began, not sure how he was going to explain everything, but just then Aizen appeared in the doorway. Masaki's eyes widened.

"You!" she shouted, letting go of Ichigo, darting forward to hit Aizen over the head with her wooden spoon. "What have you done to my boy this time, Sousuke? Why can't you stop getting other people into trouble?"

Ichigo gaped at the sight of his mother hitting the man he had known as Soul Society's greatest enemy—and who was now practically a god—over the head with a kitchen spoon.

Aizen ducked and put his hands over his head to defend himself against the attack, half laughing. "Masaki, no, I'm innocent this time, I swear it," he insisted, his brown eyes wide.

Masaki glared at him. "Don't think you're going to give me that puppy-dog look and get away with everything like usual." She brandished the spoon again.

Isshin leaned on the counter, shaking his head and grinning. "He always gets away with everything. It's his bankai, the puppy-dog Gaze of Innocence." His eyes flicked to his son. "Hey, Ichigo, welcome back."

Ichigo cast a glance at Aizen, who did indeed appear to have perfected a wide-eyed look of wounded innocence, half-penitent and half-smiling. He spread his hands. "Why is it that everywhere in this realm I earn respect except in the Kurosaki household?"

Masaki snorted. "Maybe it's because we all can see right through your mask. Or maybe it's because—"

The corners of Aizen's mouth turned down slightly. "Don't I get credit for being the person who brought you two together?"

"Credit!" Masaki scoffed. "One of your illegal experiments got away from you and Isshin had to subdue it to keep it from ravaging the human world."

"Hey," protested Aizen softly, "it did bring you out of that Quincy fortress of yours. Besides, the king makes the laws, so it wasn't completely illegal."

"Don't try to give me any of that crap about it being part of your plan." She wagged the spoon at him. "You didn't plan that I would be infected with hollow poison and require a lifelong bond with this clown over here," she gestured at Isshin.

"Well," Aizen said, shooting a pleading look at her husband, "It did turn out for the best after all, didn't it?" He peered at Isshin from under the long bangs which had fallen in his eyes.

Isshin laughed and scooped his wife into his arms. "He's right on that one," he said cheerfully, planting a kiss on the top of her head. "It's hard to hold it against him when it brought me the love of my life." He grinned. "I mean, you were about to tie yourself to that sullen stick in the mud Ishida Ryuuken." He gave a mock shudder. "Anything was worth it to save you from that fate worse than death."

Masaki shook her head, but her annoyance was spent. She gave Aizen one last glare. "It's still true that experimentation on hollows is illegal. And that's as it should be, since they are sentient, after all."

"I just did it to keep Kisuke in line," he said, eyes wide and innocent again. "You know how he likes to experiment."

"Stop it with the puppy eyes!" she shouted, threatening him with the spoon one more time, but she was giggling now.

Aizen grinned, captured the spoon with an easy swipe, ran one finger over the bowl and licked it. "Mmmm, delicious," he proclaimed. "What are we having for dinner?"

"Did you just invite yourself over for dinner?" Masaki put her hands on her hips, then sighed. "Oh, never mind. Goat Face, set another place, will you?" She gave Aizen a half-hearted glare. "You can spend the time telling me what you did to my son this time."

"Not me. Kisuke," Aizen said, but as all three of the Kurosakis turned to glare at him, he sighed and asked, "Can I help set the table?" He essayed a charming smile which only broadened as they all let out matching resigned sighs.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. It seemed that in this timeline Aizen had turned his manipulating skills to charm and beguilement rather than outright deceit, but some things were the same as always: his ethics were still shady.

On the other hand, he thought to himself, smiling happily as his mother laughed at something else Aizen said and put the finishing touches on their dinner, who was he to complain, considering how things had turned out?

XxXxXxX

Dinner felt surreal to Ichigo, sitting at the large wooden table with both his parents and his sisters and Aizen of all people, everyone bickering just like a normal family. He stared at his sisters covertly. Yuzu seemed shyer and a little silly, more carefree. She still liked to help her mother in the kitchen, but the heavy responsibility of having to assume the duties of a mother at such a young age was gone. Her shoulders seemed straighter and the shadows he remembered in her eyes were completely missing. Karin was still a grouchy tomboy, but the bitter edge he remembered seemed to have softened. She went on and on about her latest soccer match, and Ichigo was glad to see that some things didn't change.

But most of his attention was focused on his mother. It had been so many years since he had last seen her, and it just felt like he could never get his fill of gazing at her and feeling his love for her permeate his heart. Missing his mother had been like having a hole in his heart, a wound that had never fully healed, the sense of something vital in his core that had been forever lost. He had sometimes had dreams in which she was still alive, and he always awakened from them with a sense of joy that pierced him to his center… only to be eclipsed by bitter sadness as he remembered the truth.

Just in case, he pinched himself under the table to make sure he was still awake. Then he sighed and leaned back in his chair, feeling content simply to study her face. She was every bit as cheerful and lively as he remembered from his early childhood, still the center of their household, and Ichigo couldn't help but grin at every single one of her jokes. Isshin was quieter, less goofy and more at peace. His adoration of his wife was obvious in every gesture, every glance he sent her way.

"Ichigo," said Masaki suddenly, "what's wrong with you?"

Ichigo gulped and almost choked on a bite of taro root. "Me?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

Masaki waved her chopsticks at him, eyes narrowed. "There's something really different about you." She tipped her head to one side. "You just seem, I don't know, like you were changed by whatever happened these past three days… You're smiling more than usual but I see, um, kind of an underlying sense of sadness too." She squinted at him. "You've always been such a grouchy teenager, Ichigo, as though you were looking for something missing in your life. You and I haven't always seen eye to eye recently about the kids you chose to hang out with, or your never wanting to spend time with your family, but today you just seem happy to see us, something I haven't seen in years." She took a breath and continued scrutinizing his face. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you looked more mature. But that surely couldn't have happened in only three days, could it?"

Ichigo looked uncomfortable. "Uh," he mumbled, running a hand through his hair and making it stand up.

Isshin chimed in. "He's also in better physical shape, and his spiritual pressure is much more well-defined." He ran a measuring glance over Ichigo. "Was this another of Kisuke's shady accelerated training programs?"

Aizen leaned back in his chair, saying nothing but watching the interplay between the three Kurosakis with a slightly amused expression. Ichigo darted a glance at him and saw that he wasn't going to get any help there. Bastard, he thought, lowering his eyebrows.

"It's a long story," he hedged.

Isshin and Masaki exchanged a glance. Masaki folded her arms across her chest. "We've got plenty of time," she purred with a dangerous glint in her eye.

"Uh," Ichigo began, "um, in that case …" His voice trailed off as he tried to think how to frame the story. Then he shrugged and just dove right in. "What do you think about time travel?"

Masaki narrowed her eyes at the apparent non-sequitur. "What? It's an interesting science fiction concept. So? What does that have to do with anything?"

Ichigo heaved another big sigh. "Well, it turns out it's actually possible…"

XxXxXxX

Ichigo had been talking nonstop for at least an hour. Dinner was finished but no one had wanted to stop hearing the story long enough to leave the room to clear the dishes.

The rest of the family had finally stopped looking at him as though he had gone crazy. At least Aizen had backed up his story.

Masaki shook her head. "I'm going to eviscerate Kisuke," she declared. "So does that mean you've been gone for months in the past when we only thought it was a few days?"

"Uh, yeah," said Ichigo, "but it's even worse than that." He swallowed, worried they were going to be upset. "You know what it means that I'm from another timeline? It means I don't remember anything of the past eight years with you. My life was completely different."

There was silence for a moment. It stretched out for a while and Ichigo began to feel a little uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to apologize, but then Isshin said, "Well, to be honest, son, in the last couple of years you'd really taken a wrong turn."

"Yeah," piped up Karin with a glare, "you haven't been a very nice person lately. Ignoring all of us, cutting class, skipping your homework, hanging out with lowlifes."

Masaki said, "You know, I had really been thinking that you needed a purpose in your life." She adjusted the chopsticks on her plate. "Now, it sounds like you had one in that other timeline. The situation was terrible, but it actually sounds like it helped you grow up." She was quiet for a moment. "Not that I'm too happy about the idea of you risking your life in those crazy shinigami wars, nor," she said with a sharp glance at Aizen, "of you fighting the alternate version of this guy who seems to have been even more of a douchebag than he is here." Aizen managed to look both contrite and smug as she continued, "But it seems like it all turned out for the best."

"Yes," Yuzu said softly, "I know you're a good person, Ichi-nii, but you've been making some bad decisions."

Ichigo shook his head. "Well, then—"

Masaki said at the same time, "But what I really want to know is—"

The loud piercing warble of multiple soul pagers sounded in the room. Ichigo instinctively reached for his pocket, and then he noticed that Isshin, Masaki, and Aizen had all pulled theirs out.

He stared at the text, one he had never gotten before. "Unable to connect to server to verify license."

"My license? What does that mean?"

Isshin smirked. "Well, either you didn't pay your soul pager bill, or we're under emergency protocols." He glanced at Aizen. "The last time it happened was when the connections between Soul Society and the world of the living were severed without warning."

"Huh?" asked Ichigo. "What's going on?"

Aizen bent over his device. "I'm getting a message from Kisuke," he told the others. "All connections and passageways between the worlds have been shut down. He's routed around the blockage to get me this message and is holding open a shielded senkaimon for me to return." He rose from the table smoothly. "My dear Masaki, I greatly regret that I won't be able to stay for one of your wonderful desserts. It seems Soul Society is under attack. I'll need to return at once."

"I'll go with you," declared Ichigo.

Masaki said, "What?" and then she caught herself. She and Isshin exchanged a glance.

Isshin glared at Aizen. "I thought you had destroyed all of Soul Society's enemies! Who could this be?"

Aizen furrowed his brows, still reading. "No information on the identity of the enemy."

"What are we standing around chatting for?" shouted Ichigo, scowling ferociously. He turned to his parents. "You both stay here with the girls," he said. "They'll need someone to protect them. Don't worry."

"Yes," said Aizen calmly. "Ichigo saved the world once, why not a second time?"

They headed out the door.

XxXxXxX

A/N: I hope you felt I did justice to Masaki. I went through and reread every single chapter of the manga where she appeared, and tried to get a feeling for what she might be like.

Any specific questions you want to see answered about this timeline?

Should I continue the sequel?

NOTE 8 Sept 2017: Don't worry, I have not abandoned this story – I've just had an extremely busy year in RL with work and family illness. I hope to be able to get back to this soon. Thanks for all the reviews, faves, and follows – every time I see one in my inbox it reminds me I need to finish the partially-written chapter I have on my computer. I appreciate the gentle nudges! :)