A Conversation With Isshin
Author: The Rose Society
Rating: T
Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Tite Kubo and respective entities. Borrowed by myself without permission. Plotline and badly written fic are generated by myself.
Quotes from the manga: "Every time you and I connect with each other, a little bit of heart is born between us. Heart isn't something inside you. But whenever you think, whenever you remember someone, that's when heart is born. If you were the only one alive in the whole world, heart wouldn't exist now, would it?" ~Shiba Kaien
"Whenever you fight from this point on, there is one thing that you must never do. And that is to die alone. Our bodies are composed entirely from Reishi. If we die, our bodies will disintegrate and become part of the reishi that makes up Soul Society. And when that time comes, where will your heart go? Your heart will be passed on to your friends. If you pass it on to your friends, then your heart will always live on within them. Kuchiki, that's why you must never, ever, ever die alone." ~Shiba Kaien
Kurosaki Isshin checked on his son, as he did every morning, afternoon, and evening. Kurosaki Ichigo had been in a coma of sorts since that decisive battle with Aizen Sousuke that resulted in that greasy hair bastard's arrest and the slow loss of Ichigo's shinigami powers. Shutting off the light and closing the door to Ichigo's room, he went downstairs to check on his daughters. Two heads, one with his beloved Masaki's coloring and one like his own, were seated on the couch together, watching something or another on television. Taking a look around, there was one dark-haired person missing. He shut his eyes and called upon his shinigami powers (he had missed them dearly, watching on the sidelines as danger befell his family time and again was torturous) and traced the reiryoku of one Kuchiki Rukia to the roof of the clinic.
Curiosity brought him to climb up to the roof to join his petite third daughter. She sat with her legs in front of her, clasping her knees, watching the sky get painted in ever changing colors as the sun set. Her gaze did not turn to him, even though he knew she was aware of him.
The silence was broken after a few minutes. "Is everyone gone?" Rukia asked, still looking out into the distance, violet eyes almost...opaque with deep thoughts.
Settling his large frame next to her, Isshin studied the sunset as well as he replied, "Aah. Orihime, Uryu, and Sado all left when I went to check his condition. They said they'd be back again tomorrow and asked that I bid their 'see you laters' to you." He almost wanted something to fiddle with in his hands but settled for spreading them behind him to support his torso as he leaned back. There was a heaviness in the air but he wisely kept biding his time. Rukia would speak when she wished.
Rukia did not respond verbally but she did hear the words of the older man...no, former shinigami taicho. Silence, pregnant with potential, filled the space between them once more.
When the last dredges of sunlight lay tiredly below the incoming night sky, Rukia broke the silence with a small sigh. "Kurosaki-dono-"
A deep, rumbling chuckle came from the normally boisterous man. "So polite, Kuchiki-san. Did you renounce your status as my third daughter?"
A light splash of pink colored Rukia's pale cheeks at the older man's teasing. "N-n-no, but," she hesistated, "Kurosaki-dono was a taichou of the Gotei-13 and the head of a branch of the Shiba clan, which was once one of the Great Noble families. As such, you deserve to be treated-"
Isshin reached over and ruffled Rukia's hair. "I deserve to be treated as your father, my third daughter. I left Soul Society and all that taichou and Great Noble families stuff behind years ago. Here, I am just a father and a doctor." He patted Rukia's mussed hair twice before returning his hand to its position behind his back.
Rukia rested her chin on her knees and looked down at her feet while she mustered up the courage to speak again. Isshin watched her curiously when she shifted her position to face him, drawing her legs elegantly into a seiza position and bowed awith such grace to him. "Kurosaki-san, I don't know if you knew, but I wanted to apologize. I already tried to apologize to Shiba Kuukaku-san, which she accepted, more or less, but I did not know you were a part of the Shiba clan and I know this is terribly overdue, but I wanted to apologize for killing Kaien-dono-"
"Slow down, Rukia-chan, and breathe." Isshin gave Rukia's bowed head an amused look and smiled when she raised her head to look at him. "You're rambling."
Breathing deeply and slowly, Rukia once again reviewed the speech she had been trying to craft in her mind ever since learning that Ichigo's father was once taichou of the Tenth Division and Kaien-fukutaichou's uncle (which floored her). When her synapses fired again, she realized that meant Ichigo was Kaien's cousin, which explained the resemblance, and left her in the uncomfortable position of being the woman who killed Shiba Kaien...twice. Ever since learning all this shortly after they returned to the Living World and had settled Ichigo's comatose body in his room, Rukia had been left with nothing to do but recover from her injuries, take care of any Hollows in Karakura, deal with her sadness that once Ichigo woke up, it would mean the steady loss of his powers was almost at an end, and wrangle with the knowledge that the family she had been informerly adopted into (and really loved and admired) was the same one she had caused such a loss to.
Once more, her soft voice broke the silence. "I am so very sorry for killing Kaien-dono." Simple. Direct. So few words that carried all of her heavy memories of the rain.
"Apology accepted, though not needed, Rukia-chan." Isshin gave into the impulse and put a hand on Rukia's shoulder. "I know you have carried a heavy burden, Ganju and Kuukaku have told me as much after you had been to see them. I also know you killed that Espada who wore Kaien's face," Rukia winced at that, "which I wanted to thank you for."
Rukia fisted the material of her dress over her thighs, staring down at her lap. "You shouldn't thank me-"
"Why not?" Isshin tilted his head to the side. "I heard from Urahara, who got copies of the mission reports from the Gotei-13, about what happened. The Espada was not my nephew, but something with his appearance, and needed to be killed. It nearly cost you your life." Rukia bowed her head again and Isshin squeezed her shoulder. "How could I not thank you for all that? You, who my nephew left his heart to."
"Besides," Isshin withdrew his hand, turning to sit crosslegged across from Rukia, and crossed his arms over his puffed chest. "I owe you many more thanks for taking such good care of my idiot son, risking your life, and helping him to become a powerful shinigami at such a young age." At this they both shared a small smile of both sorrow and pride in Ichigo. "Even though he is losing his powers now, I am indebted to you. He had been at a standstill ever since my beloved Masaki was killed; when you came, you woke him up." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Once he wakes up and the last of his power fades, you'll go back to your life in Seireitei and the Gotei-13, right?"
Rukia nodded, frowning slightly at Isshin over the shift in topics.
Giving her a big grin, Isshin declared, "Don't be a stranger, ok? You'll always be my third daughter, so you should come home even if my boorish boy can't see you. There is always the option of a gigai. And even if it is a short visit and you don't use a gigai, still, come to say hello. Karin and I can see you now. Even though Ichigo might not be able to see you, you can see him. Especially when he is in the shower, since you can pass through walls! I still have hopes that I will one day be able to thank you for bearing me my future grandchildren!"
Blushing and spluttering madly, Rukia goggled at the cackling, perverted Kurosaki elder. When his laughter died down and Rukia regained her composure, she smiled gratefully at Isshin. "Thank you, Kurosaki-san. It seems that it is always thanks to the Shiba clan that I can find a place to belong."
Isshin flashed her another warm smile. The two returned to sitting side by side to watch the first stars appear in the night sky.
Below them, another tiny, fizzling burst of reiatsu was detected by them both. Another bit of lost power, they both knew, and both mourned. A somber, sorrowful taste drifted in the night air before being carried away on a breeze.
"This will always be your home, Rukia. You will always be a part of this family and we a part of yours. Likewise, Ichigo may no longer be a shinigami, but the heart created between the two of you will never be broken," Isshin quietly stated.
He may not be able to see Rukia's expression as she nodded then bowed her head once more, but he could see in the silvery moonlight the tears that quietly fell upon Rukia's lap.