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Unknown

05:

It was such a surreal moment for Ichigo to experience.

It wasn't that it was the first time he had ever seen a legitimate ghost. He had sent several souls on Earth to the Soul Society, and prior to him knowing about the place, he had always been able to see them along with one of his younger sister Karin. He had interacted with them, sometimes not even knowing they were spirits as what had happened before his mother died.

It's just that he hadn't seen any legitimate ghosts in Soul Society itself. He knew everyone that resides in the place were all souls, but they look human. Not to mention he could also touch them and feel their warmth.

But Harry's family exuded unnatural coldness that he associated with ghosts back in the human world, even from the few distance he was in. They also had that all white appearance on them and their voice sounded like an echo and so far away yet they were just there in front of him, closer to him.

But they have solid form. When they shook hands with each other earlier, he could clearly touch them and feel their flesh, unlike the true ghosts back in Karakura. True, he could touch those ghosts. But it had felt like solid smoke, or mist. The ghost-like people in front of him weren't. They were solid as any other souls that reside in Soul Society.

Only, their skin was too cold.

He couldn't understand how Harry could touch them and not even shiver. He decided to not ask and just chalk it up to one of his abilities as the Master of Death.

But he couldn't just not ask about what Harry had said.

"What do you mean by your kind Harry?"

Harry looked at him blankly for a few seconds before he had that look of understanding in his eyes. "Right, you're a muggle," Harry mumbled before speaking in his normally soft voice that was slowly getting steadier and louder nowadays. "I, and all the people here are magical people,"

It was his turn to look blankly at them. "Magical? And what's a muggle?"

"Magical are people who can use magic to perform many things back on Earth. Wizards for male and witches for females and-"

"There is magic?" He couldn't help but cut off to ask in disbelief. Harry nodded his head.

"Yup. We have school, government, work, those sort of things. We're hidden to avoid another witch hunts,"

"Those were real?" Harry gave him a look.

"Of course. Every myth has some truths,"

Oh, that's right, Ichigo thought, face palming himself inwardly.

"Muggles are the term for non-magical people," Harry then continued from his previous statement.

He frowned at that. "That sounds offensive. It feels like you're telling that non-magical people are maggots," he said bluntly. The term 'muggle' did sound like maggot to him. Or mugging. No matter, he didn't like both of it.

Harry blinked before looking like he was thinking about it. "Huh,"

"It's a term that has been around even before we were born. I think purebloods created that," Harry's mother," Lily said.

"Pureblood?"

"Those are people that has both their parents as magicals, half-blood for those with a magical and muggle parent and muggleborn for those with both muggles for parents," Lily answered. The others just nodded.

"Magical people still has quite an ancient tradition even in the future when muggles have advanced already. We're all Pagans because we're more in tune with the nature and our surroundings," James continued.

"Pagans? That religion is ancient," At least that's what I remembered when I came across it on one of my school research before I became shinigami, he thought to himself.

"Paganism is not really legal in the Wizarding World now though," Ron said in a slightly subdued voice.

Neville nodded grimly. "Ever since Voldemort was first defeated. Me and my Gran still practices it, though we have to be discreet about it,"

"Oh? I thought…" Ron stopped before he finished his sentence. He then grimaced. "I suppose I should not be surprised. Your Gran was scary. I don't think she would have followed what the Ministry said about Paganism,"

Ichigo noticed Harry looking confused so he asked.

"Are you a Pagan Harry?" he looked at him before slowly shaking his head while looking uncertain. Neville and Ron both nodded in understanding.

"Well, Harry did live with muggles," Ron said, then grimaced. His eyes looked like it was blazing with suppressed anger before he visibly calmed himself with difficulty. Neville was the same, though he had an easier time calming down.

"Harry is somewhat of a Pagan," James interjected, making them all look at the ghostly man, – who had adjusted his glasses with his shaking hands – even Harry. He looked confused.

"My… sister," Lily's normally warm voice was infused with so much venom Ichigo was surprised she hadn't screamed in fury. He couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the unusual reaction when Harry's 'muggle' family was first mentioned. It didn't sit right with him. It suggested that there was something wrong even before Harry became an adult. It made him think that it might have been one of the factors why Harry was the way he is right now. Not all of course, just some of it. "…and her family wanted to beat the magic out of him. Harry wanted magic to be real and prayed for it every day ever since he first managed to apparate himself to safety. Mother magic answered. He prayed to her ever since,"

I didn't get all of that, he thought to himself.

'Then pay attention Ichigo,'  Zangetsu admonished. He heard Shiro cackling and he rolled his eyes inwardly.

I am paying attention. I just got stuck at 'beating the magic out of him' part.

"Praying to mother makes me a Pagan?"

"In a sense… At least to us. You did pray to mother Magic than any other out there," he saw Harry have that contemplative look in his eyes for a few seconds before he shrugged his shoulder in a careless manner that he was getting acquainted to with how much he turns to that reaction as default.

There was silence inside the cave, though it was comfortable and wasn't stifling at all. He was used to that already, but he saw one of the ghost-like teens fidgeting, looking like he wanted to say something but was determine to keep his mouth shut. He looked at the other male teen but he just pointedly looked at him but didn't say anything. He turned to look at the female teen but she just hummed. He chuckled silently when the teen huffed before finally speaking.

"Mate, why don't you go out for a bit?"

Ichigo watched as Harry immediately stiffened.

Maybe this could persuade him to go out at last, he thought in interest.

. . . . .

"Kaien, do you have a hidden twin?"

Said man nearly fell off his chair when he heard what his captain asked. He jerked his head to look at his captain with an incredulous expression on his face.

"A hidden twin?" he asked, putting emphasis on those two last words. Kaien couldn't think of any reason why his captain would ask that particular question. It wasn't as if he had a twin, ever. Also, he was sure there was no other who looked exactly like him in their family.

If there was, he would know. The Shiba's might be a big family, but all of them were rather close to each other unlike the other noble clans.

His captain seemed quite nonchalant as he stopped writing on his paperwork and stared at him fully. "Yes. Shunsui was most assured he had seen your twin yesterday night," he said mildly.

"But- I don't have a twin!" he said, bewilderment evident in his voice. His captain looked at him for a few seconds before he sighed.

"That was what I told him but he was adamant that the boy he had seen looked like you."

"Huh."

That… isn't out of the realm of possibilities. Some Shiba's scattered out of Seiretei, going so far as to live in the districts of Rokungai. That was what he and his siblings had done before they had to go back. Maybe they had relatives there that hadn't come back to Seiretei, preferring in Rokungai instead.

Maybe those lost relatives looked like him, a close resemblance. But for Kyouraku-taichou to think it was his twin… too close of a resemblance?

He contemplated on that thought even as he absently continued doing his paperwork. Multi-tasking was not difficult when he had long of years of practice doing the exact same thing.

Maybe the rest of the family knows something about it?

"I have no twin Taichou," he started, just to really let his captain know he was being serious. Ukitake-taichou nodded in understanding and he let the breath he didn't know he was holding out of his chest. He didn't know why he was tensed. He just couldn't help it.

"I believe you Kaien, don't worry," his captain said seriously.

"… We'll look into it though. Kyurakou-taichou wouldn't say something like that if it isn't true,"

"You should. You never know. Soul Society is huge,"

There was no talk about it again, both of them concentrating on their paper work. Kaien though couldn't help but think.

Does he really have a twin?

. . . . .

"I don't want to," Harry said solemnly. Ichigo's hope wilted a bit, but not that much. He still held onto the thought that his family, even if they look ghost like now because they are apparently a reishi, would help him with his priority mission at the moment.

Get Harry out of this dreary cave.

"Harry, dear… you won't be alone," Harry's mother, Lily said softly. She cradled the black-haired teen to her chest. It was miniscule but he saw how Harry's frame racked in shivers for a second.

"I'm fine here," he said stubbornly. Ichigo felt the urge to groan but resisted. They weren't paying any attention to him at the moment and he was fine with it. He wanted them to concentrate on how to get Harry away here. He was sick of looking at the stone walls of this cave.

He could sort of understand why Harry liked it here. This place is his personal comfort, his home. Once you're familiar with the simple place, it was easy to feel calm here. There is something… protective about this place. Once, he chalked it up to Death's presence, the entity's dedication of protecting his Master. Now, he still thought of that – he can't disregard Death because he really is too protective of Harry – but he can add Harry's family in the equation now.

It was easy to understand how their presence made the place feel like home than Death's.

"Harry, Voldemort is gone," Harry flinched, his eyes wide open as he stared at his ghostly father in surprise. James, though he looked angry and at the same time sad, didn't stop looking at his son sternly. "He's being punished in hell, along with all of his accomplices, particularly those that… did those things to you. Death made sure of it," Ichigo's eyes narrowed, quickly taking in the words and the looks every ghostly figure in the cave was giving at those words and making sure to analyze those later.

He really didn't like the picture that his mind was painting about Harry's life before he died. According to Death – at least what he had told him before chucking him into the direction of Harry's cave – that his Master died when he was only 18 years old.

Even he, when he fought in the war with the Megalomaniac Shinigami, managed to reach the age of 20. What killed Harry?

It wasn't the first time he asked that question to himself, but he never voiced it. He didn't want Harry to think about unpleasant thoughts too much especially when he knew with certainty that Harry was tortured prior to his Death.

The thought never fails to raise his protective instincts. He had the urge to snarl and murder anyone who looked Harry the wrong way was strong that he had to give considerable effort not to have his reiatsu react with his anger. His reiatsu was hard to control in the first place so it took everything in him to hold it in.

"So don't be afraid anymore. I know the thought of being outside this cave is terrifying, dealing with people. But you are not alone. You have us. We are reishi. Without us, this world won't exist. We have consciousness, we have our core. Everywhere you go, we are there. We will always be there,"

Harry looked like he was stunned speechless and Ichigo could understand. He was too, but in a different way than Harry's.

He just remembered that these ghosts are Reishi and Harry's family. They are literally everywhere. They are the oxygen of this world. They could be with Harry everywhere, and with this talk of them having consciousness, their core, that meant they would know exactly what is happening around. They are Harry's reliable spies without anyone knowing.

That is terrifying. How much power does Harry have in his hands?

And he didn't even know it. If he read Harry's character right, that information…

"You won't leave me?" Harry said in disbelief tinged with hope. Ichigo could feel his heart twinge at that. Harry, the Master of Death, having an abundant amount of reiatsu in his delicate body as well as a second energy that he could vaguely guess as his magic, sounded like a child needing assurance.

"We won't," every ghost-like people inside spoke at once and Harry's countenance changed.

He smiled, genuine and bright. It was like the dreary cave was transformed into a beautiful home right in front of his eyes. Harry's emerald eyes glittered in tears and shone with such love and relief he could feel his troubles go away.

It was a potent smile and he was happy to see it.

He looked on the side as Harry cried in relief being surrounded by his ghostly family. He smiled. So he was right.

The information only made Harry think about his family being with him every hour of every day.

All that power in the hands of a gentle soul.

He couldn't think of any other being the master of Death.

Once again, he was glad to have met Harry.

TBC.

A/N:

Hi guys! Long time no see! I am taking back the monthly update thing I said coz my device broke. All my works are practically in hiatus until I finish writing them (each chapters) ON MY PHONE. That really sucks. It really is a good thing the partial of this one was saved online.

Anyway, hope you liked this! Forget about the Pagan part. I'm not an expert and it won't be discussed anymore. Sorry...

Next chapter: Harry finally goes out of the cave, yay! Prompts for this one? What do you want to happen on Harry's first experience out of his cave after many years? Also, Kaien will have a meeting with the Shiba's.

Alright, be happy for my update! Love, love all of you who liked, followed and reviewed this one. I didn't really expect the overwhelming response. Keep it coming though, It's addicting. :)

Review!