Misaki looked at the tiny infant in her arms. She had never thought she would be a mother...not after the incident. It was a miracle she had survived at all.

So seeing the tiny little girl in her arms, she knew there was no way she would give her up. Besides, there was her nature to consider.

Normal infants didn't subtly shift their features to match their parents over the course of two weeks. Where she had foreign features before, she now looked much closer to Japanese.

Masaki didn't care, and Isshin was all too happy to adopt the child as his own. Besides, it was unlikely anyone would question she was their daughter since they were moving to a new city.

Ichigo was a bright, happy little thing that had no end of admirers. However she became a fierce protector the day the twins were born. Masaki could see the unending love Ichigo had in her eyes, observing Yuzu and Karin in their crib.

For the next few years, Ichigo acted like any other girl her age. When she displayed an interest in martial arts, her father didn't hesitate to sign her up for the classes.

A few years later...

If Ichigo was driven before after her sisters were born, it was nothing compared to how she reacted to her mother's injury.

They had been attacked on the way home, and Masaki ended up paralyzed from the waist down. She had barely survived long enough for the surgery to save her life.

Worse was the fever Ichigo got after the fact. Isshin was torn between helping his wife and keeping his eldest alive.

When she recovered, Ichigo threw herself into her lessons to the point even the teacher had to get her to calm down. She had to meditate every night to control her rising temper which had gotten worse.

Isshin almost dreaded to find out what she would be like once puberty hit. He would give her credit...she never once raised her fist or her voice to her sisters and mother.

It was when she started getting into fights with other children that he knew he had to do something. Which was why he called in a favor.

"You want me to train your kid?" said Yoruichi.

"Ichigo has too much energy and a temper to match," said Isshin.

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow.

"You want me to teach her how to fight?"

"She needs a proper teacher, if only to give her an outlet," said Isshin.

"I make no promises," said Yoruichi.

One meeting was enough to convince her that Isshin was right...the girl would go stir crazy in her twice-weekly classes. She was already itching to let out some of her energy, and it was only a matter of time before she started picking fights.


Ichigo felt it said a lot about the progress she had made in martial arts that her favorite teacher threw her a sword.

"We're going to switch things up for a bit. I'll attack and you'll defend," said Yoruichi. "No martial arts except for footwork."

It took Ichigo a few moments to find a hold that she liked with her sword. Yoruichi knew the girl picked things up ridiculously quick in terms of fighting, but this was ridiculous.

Oddly enough, Ichigo also had an instinctive knowledge of how to properly apply make-up to cover her bruises and adjust her hair in such a way that it would stay out of her face but still somehow look both trendy and stylish.

(It baffled her friends that Ichigo seemed to swing between total tomboy to a fashionista without batting an eye.)

"Not bad. Won't be long before you're ready to handle a real sword."

"It helps that the kendo club keeps approaching me to join them," said Ichigo. "Dad said if I wanted to, he'd pay the fees for me to join."

"Your friend Tatsuki is part of the martial arts club, right?" said Yoruichi. Ichigo nodded. "I'd go with the kendo club. You'd get more from sparring with her personally than you would from the club itself, and things are going to get a bit more hectic so I won't be able to train you."

Ichigo pouted at that. She enjoyed training with her teacher, as Yoruichi pushed her much further than her regular teachers did. She presented a real challenge Ichigo could enjoy compared to the more consistent teacher.

"Hey, cheer up. I asked a favor from a friend of mine and you might be able to start learning something new while I'm away."

"...Does this have anything to do with the fact..."

"So they finally told you."

Ichigo nodded. She had been in shock upon learning she was adopted, but her sisters and parents had made it clear that they didn't love her any less. However it did explain quite a bit.

For one thing, Masaki had taken pictures when they first found her to help them locate her actual parents. Ichigo was very shocked when she saw them, because she could tell at a glance that the child in the photo was not Japanese.

Another thing was the fact she had never had to suffer the headaches of pimples or having a bad hair day...regardless of how she cut her hair, it always seemed to style itself to at least look presentable.

It was to the point that all her female classmates went to her first for advice on their clothes/make-up, despite the fact she was a well known fighter.

"Just because you're adopted doesn't make you any less their daughter. Besides, from what Isshin told me you're likely the reason why Masaki had the twins at all."

"What?" said Ichigo, surprised. Her parents had left that out.

"Masaki was infertile, something to do with a bad infection from a wound she got fighting hollows," said Yoruichi. "However around the time you were four or so, Masaki found out she was pregnant with the twins. The doctors were adamant that she couldn't have kids, so everyone was taken aback by the news."

Ichigo was absolutely stunned at this revelation. She knew her parents always commented on the twins being 'miracle babies', but they had made a point to never treat them any differently than they did their eldest. Ichigo certainly never saw them as anything other than her baby sisters.

"Are you saying that I did something to mom that allowed her to have the twins?"

"We're not entirely sure what you are, other than their daughter," admitted Yoruichi. "However you do pick up fighting styles abnormally quick, and you seem to have an instinctive knack for altering your features to better suit your surroundings."

It had not escaped anyone's notice that Ichigo's body had subtly started to alter itself to better match Yoruichi's own, even if the rest of her features matched her parents. Isshin had despaired over the fact his daughter's bust line was already starting to gather unwanted attention from the boys in her class, though thankfully his daughter seemed oblivious.

Ichigo would need time to digest this information. She had never questioned her place in the family...she still didn't. The love her parents gave her despite the fact she wasn't their biological daughter was very much real. They didn't treat any differently than the twins even though she knew the truth.

"We'll pick this up next week. Right now we're going to have a girl's day," said Yoruichi.

Ichigo didn't argue.

Either way the conversation gave her a goal to work towards. Specifically finding out who her birth parents were and if they were worth contacting in the first place. That and find out what exactly she was, since she knew that other races were very much a thing.

Mostly because of the incident when she nearly got killed by a hollow and had thought they were just things everyone saw until Yoruichi had told her everything.


Ichigo grimaced as she attempted to put on a shirt, only to realize that it was too tight. Again. She knew growth spurts were a thing, but this was ridiculous.

With that in mind, she went through her closet and found all the shirts she had that were of similar size and swiftly began separating them into two piles. Much to her dismay, the majority of them ended up in the 'no longer fit' pile, with a much smaller pile of shirts that did to some extent fit.

When she came downstairs, her mother took one look and sighed.

"Another growth spurt?" she said.

Ichigo nodded, and started making some cereal. She could cook to some extent, but her attempts usually ranged from "questionable" to "barely edible".

She blamed Orihime's influence. The girl had the weirdest sense of what was appropriate to eat and while most of her concoctions were edible to some extent, they required a rather...open...mind to eat it.

"We'll go shopping later," she promised. Ichigo had the worst habit of waiting for her clothes to become too tight before she bothered to clear out her closet. As it was, the twins generally didn't mind wearing the ones she had outgrown because they knew their sister had impeccable tastes in fashion.

Besides, if they were too small on Ichigo, then the only way she could even wear them was to show entirely too much skin for Isshin to be comfortable with.

"Another shopping trip?" said Isshin, when he came down later from dealing with a patient.

Masaki nodded. She rather enjoyed the trips, as it gave her time to bond with her eldest.

"Actually, Ishida-sensei was commenting on how his son rarely has enough cloth to work with in his sewing hobby," said Isshin.

Ichigo perked up at that.

"You think he'd be interested in some of my old clothes?"

"I don't see why not. I know Yuzu and Karin rarely keep all of them and this way they won't go to waste," said Isshin.

"How old is this boy?" asked Masaki.

"He's the same age as Ichigo. I know they attend the same school," said Isshin.

Ichigo winced...she had a terrible time with faces, but she was good at picking out flaws in people's make-up and clothing.

Coincidentally she was the unofficial queen bee of the school because she rarely hesitated in using this ability to cut down the more catty girls in her age group. Add in the fact she was the captain of the Kendo team and most of the looser girls rarely bothered her.

Masaki brightened.

"Why don't you call Ishida-sensei and ask if his son would like to join us?"

Ichigo could use a new friend or two.

"Great idea! So long as he doesn't try anything..." said Isshin beaming.

"Is this the same Ishida who happens to be mom's third cousin?" asked Ichigo.

"I believe so," said Masaki.

"Might be interesting to actually meet him then..." mused Ichigo.

Her cousin turned out to be a serious, if well kept looking teen with glasses. He eyed the outfit Ichigo was wearing with a blank expression.

Ichigo sighed.

"Now you see why we're going clothes shopping. This shirt is the only one that still remotely fits me," she said.

"I see," said Uryu. "If that's the case, then what were you planning to do with the old ones?"

"Karin and Yuzu get first dibs on my old outfits, with Tatsuki and Orihime claiming anything they like. Whatever is left we usually donate," said Ichigo shrugging.

Uryu pushed up his glasses. He'd reserve his judgment for the end of this excursion.

Several hours later...

"How on earth did you manage to secure such high quality fabric at such a low rate?" said Uryu.

He was grateful that they had made a stop at the hobby store, but he never expected Ichigo to be so...cutthroat during the exclusive sale.

Ichigo snorted.

"Please, Yoruichi-sensei is waaay worse when her favorite snack is on sale. Besides, mom usually has me do the grocery shopping anyway once I got good enough with using my elbows," said Ichigo.

Ichigo might not be able to cook very well, but she was a shark when it came to the sales. Since her mother was paralyzed, she couldn't join the other housewives in the battle for the bargains...but her daughter was another story.

Ichigo had long since learned how to use her keen eyesight to getting the best deals before anyone else, and her training allowed her to beat out the other housewives for the good stuff and make it to the register before they could.

Uryu looked at his cousin in her new outfit. She had changed the second she had bought something that fit her properly.

His estimation of her went up after that, and it had only risen further after the sale.

Masaki watched the two bond with fondness. It was clear Uryu was falling under his cousin's charisma like so many had. Ichigo had a keen eye for fashion, and Uryu had a lot of old projects that were gathering dust. The idea of making dresses that suited her stature appealed to him, because it would give him something to do. Besides, Ichigo could help him make the outfits more appealing to others, which meant he could do commission work to earn more money to buy materials with.

It was good to see the cousins getting along.