The Kurosaki household was chaos incarnate, but it was warm chaos.
Lavairiis learned this within his first week. Isshin Kurosaki was loud, affectionate to the point of being overwhelming, and ran his medical clinic with the same boisterous energy he brought to family dinners. Masaki was the calm in the storm, though her smile held a mischievous edge that explained where Ichigo got his stubbornness.
And Ichigo himself—nine years old and already scowling like a tiny delinquent—had taken one look at his new little brother and declared: "If anyone messes with you at school, tell me. I'll handle it."
Lavairiis had burst into tears. Happy ones, for once.
Now, a week after that rainy night, he sat in Isshin's private office while both parents watched him with gentle curiosity. The sketchbook lay open on the desk between them.
"So," Isshin said, his usual grin replaced by something more serious—the expression of a man who'd once been Captain of the Tenth Division. "Masaki told me what you can do. Show me?"
Lavairiis nodded nervously. He'd spent the past week experimenting, discovering the rules of his power. His pencil moved across a fresh page, sketching something simpler this time—a small, round creature with stubby limbs and a friendly face.
"Kirby," he whispered, feeling the strange familiarity of the name. "Come out and say hello."
Pink light bloomed from the page, and the little puffball materialized on the desk, blinking large blue eyes at the assembled adults. It opened its mouth and released a cheerful "Poyo!"
Masaki's hand flew to her mouth in delight. "Oh my god, it's adorable."
"It's a Fullbring," Isshin said quietly, leaning forward. His trained eye caught the details—the way spiritual pressure flowed from the boy into the sketchbook, then into the summoned creature. "Your soul is bound to that book. The attachment, the memories associated with it... they've manifested as a power."
"Full...bring?" Lavairiis tested the word.
"A human ability. Rare, but not unheard of." Isshin exchanged a glance with Masaki. "Some humans with spiritual awareness can develop powers by bonding with objects. Yours is... unique. I've never heard of one that creates other beings."
Kirby waddled across the desk and patted Lavairiis's hand with a stub-arm, as if sensing his nervousness.
"Can you make him do things?" Masaki asked.
"Yes. He listens to me." Lavairiis concentrated. "Kirby, can you... um... jump?"
The pink puffball inhaled, puffing up to twice its size, then launched itself into the air with surprising force, bouncing off the ceiling before floating gently down.
"How long can you maintain him?" Isshin's question was clinical, but not cold.
"I don't know yet. Maybe an hour? Then I have to let him go back, and I need to redraw him later if I want to summon him again." Lavairiis hesitated. "The knight... Artorias... he was different. Bigger. Stronger. He took everything I had, and after he faded, I couldn't summon anything for two days."
"The more powerful the creation, the more it costs you," Isshin mused. "That's good information. It means you need to be careful, kiddo. No summoning giant knights unless it's an emergency, got it?"
"Got it," Lavairiis agreed quickly.
Masaki reached over and ruffled his hair. "This is a gift, Lavairiis. A precious one. But Isshin and I need you to promise us something."
"Anything."
"Don't tell Ichigo yet. Or the girls when they're old enough to understand." Her expression was kind but firm. "Your brother is already starting to see spirits. That's going to be hard enough for him. If he knows his little brother can summon... what did you call that knight?"
"Artorias. I don't know why I know that name." The memories were still foggy, like dreams half-remembered. Sometimes he'd sketch something and the knowledge of what it was would just be there—game characters, creatures, warriors from stories he shouldn't know.
"Well, if Ichigo finds out too early, he'll either worry himself sick trying to protect you, or he'll do something reckless trying to be as special as you." Isshin's grin returned, softening the warning. "Let him be a normal kid a little longer. When the time is right, we'll tell him together. Deal?"
"Deal." It made sense. Ichigo already had enough on his plate, and Lavairiis had no desire to burden his older brother.
Besides, he understood instinctively: this power was his responsibility. His to master, his to control, his to use carefully.
Kirby chose that moment to attempt inhaling Isshin's pen, prompting a scramble to retrieve it before the puffball swallowed it whole.
In the chaos and laughter that followed, Lavairiis felt something settle in his chest—a warmth he'd thought he'd lost forever.
He had a family now. A home.
And he'd do anything to protect it.