The Soul Society. This is were the spirits of people who have passed away comes after they've died.
Rukongai or the Rukon district is were all these souls live after their deaths. Here, complete strangers can live together as families. But a young boy wasn't that lucky. He lived all alone and did his best to survive in the poor district he lived in.
But what the boy didn't know was that his life soon would change.
It was a rainy day and the young boy sat under a small roof in an alley to hide from the rain. He looked at all the people walking inside their houses to take shelter from the bad weather. It was then, two people that he had never seen in the district before walked past him.
It was two Soul Reapers.
One of them had white hair and wore a white Haori over his black Soul Reaper clothes.
The other man had a pink kimono over his Soul Reaper outfit and Haori with some sort of straw hat on his head.
Suddenly, the white-haired man stopped and walked back to the alley were the young boy sat. The boy was scared at first but when he saw the kind smile the man gave him, he got closer.
"Hi there. Why are you sitting here in the rain?"
"I don't have anywhere to go"
"Don't you have a family to stay with?"
"No one wants to take care of me. They either say that they don't have space or that they don't like kids my age"
The man's smile turned from happy to looking a bit sad.
"Why would someone not care of a child. Especially one this young.
-Then... How about coming with us"
"You?"
"Yes. It must be better than sitting here in the rain"
The boy looked at the man who now smiled of happiness at him again. This made the boy smile too. He nodded and the man picked him up into his arms.
"What's your name?"
"Katsurou."
"It's nice to meet you Katsurou. I'm Jūshirō Ukitake
-And this is my friend Shunsui Kyōraku"
"Hi kid"
"Hi"
They then started to walk towards the gate that connected Rukongai with the Seireitei, the home of the Soul Reapers. As they walked in, Jūshirō looked down at Katsurou who had fallen asleep in his arms.
"What are you gonna do with him Jūshirō?"
"Take care of him of course"
"Do you think he'll like it?"
"I believe so"
They kept walking and soon, they reached the house were Jūshirō lived.
"I'll see you tomorrow Shunsui"
"Right, see ya Jūshirō"
With that, Shunsui walked away while Jūshirō walked into his home. As soon as he walked into the house, he meet the oldest of his five younger brothers.
"Hey Big brother, you're not staying at your division today"
"Not today."
"That's great. I bet sis will be happy"
He then noticed the child his brother was carrying.
"Who is that?"
Jūshirō smiled a little as he shook Katsurou awake. The little boy looked up at him and then at the other man in the room. He seemed a little scared since he tried to hide his face in Jūshirō's Haori.
"Don't be scared Katsurou. This is my younger brother Tatsuya"
"Nice to meet you little guy"
"Nice to meet you too"
Tatsuya gave the boy a smile.
"Can you please help him get dry and get some new clothes"
"Sure"
Jūshirō handed Katsurou to his brother and they walked down the hall. As they did, Jūshirō walked to his own room where he took off his wet uniform and changed to dry clothes.
When he stepped out of his room, Tatsuya came with Katsurou. The little boy was now dressed in a red kimono instead of the ripped clothes from before.
Jūshirō smiled and together the three of them walked into a bigger part of the house were two women and four men sat.
"Big brother Jūshirō, said one of the women.
-Are you staying at home today?"
"Yes Ayame"
The woman who was the youngest of his sisters got really happy to hear that. The others then stood up and looked at Katsurou.
"Who's this little guy, asked one of the men"
Jūshirō looked down at Katsurou and then at his siblings.
"His name is Katsurou. Shunsui and I found him abandoned in Rukongai on our way home. I couldn't leave him there so I brought him with me"
"Are you gonna say what I think you're gonna say"
Jūshirō looked at his brother and then at the boy before he knelt to look him in the eyes.
"Katsurou."
"Yes"
"Do you want to stay here in the Seireitei and become my son?"
He could see how the little boy's eyes widened at the question.
"Are you sure you want me as your son?"
"Yes. I don't see anything wrong with you Katsurou. All I see is a boy in need of a loving family and I'm willing to give you just that"
Katsurou was quiet before his big brown eyes meet Jūshirō's hazel eyes.
"Can I call you dad?"
"I would be more than honored if you want to call me that"
He could see small tears of joy appear in the corners of Katsurou's eyes before the little boy hugged him. Jūshirō hugged him back before he lifted him up into his arms and stood up.
The others around them all smiled. They had a feeling that this boy would bring so much joy to their older brother.
"Katsurou these are the rest of my siblings"
"Welcome to the family little guy, said one of the men
-I'm Ryouta"
"My name is Izumi"
"Kazuki is my name"
"I'm Kenta"
"My name is Ayame"
"And I'm Kenji"
The little boy couldn't help but let a smile cross his face. He had been scared about these people but they all seemed really kind.
"From now on, you not only have me but also five uncles and two aunts to call your family, said Jūshirō"
"Aunts and uncles"
"That's right kid, said Kenji"
The family then sat down for some dinner and they all couldn't help but smile at the shyness Katsurou had to having food placed in front of him. He seemed almost afraid to touch it.
"It's okay Katsurou, all of that is yours to eat, said Izumi"
"Are your sure?"
"Yes"
He looked at the food before he took a bite of some of it and he really seemed to like it which made the others around the table happy.
After dinner, they all sat down in the big room they had been in earlier. After a while, Katsurou fell asleep with his head resting on his new father's chest.
"He's so cute, Ayame whispered"
"Yeah, it's sad to think that someone like him lived in Rukongai, said Kazuki"
"Which district was it, Tatsuya asked"
Jūshirō sighed as looked at the boy.
"The 75th district of west Rukongai"
"That high up, said Tatsuya surprised"
"Yes. Both Shun and I couldn't believe that a child this young lived in conditions like that and on his own"
"No one was taking care of him, said Kenta surprised"
"He had no family or no one to live with. They either told him that they did't have space or that they didn't like kids his age"
"That's really horrible of them, said Ryouta"
"It is but that's the hard truth of Rukongai's worse districts"
Since it had been a while since they all were together, the 8 siblings just talked about different things for a long while before they all decided to call it a night.
Since Katsurou didn't have a room of his own in the house, Jūshirō decided to let his son stay with him. He figured that it would be the best since everything was so new to the boy.
So he laid the still sleeping boy down on the futon in his room and covered him with the quilt. He then changed to a sleeping robe before he laid down next to him.
He carefully brushed a piece of hair away from Katsurou's face before he whispered...
"Welcome to the family, Katsurou Ukitake... my son"
After that day Katsurou lived a very happy life in the Seireitei. He finally had a family who all loved him very much.
But he soon got to learn something about his father.
It was a sunny day about two months after Katsurou was adopted by Jūshirō. They were sitting in the garden behind the 13th division along with Shunsui and his lieutenant, Lisa Yadomaru.
But it was then Jūshirō started coughing violently. Shunsui was quickly by his side, placing an hand on his back.
"Lisa take Katsurou to our division while I get Jūshirō to Unohana"
"Right"
Lisa picked up Katsurou and Flash Stepped to the 8th divsion were they sat down. She looked down at the boy and saw a mix of worry and fright on his face.
"It's okay, there's no need to worry. This is not the first time that happens to captain Ukitake"
"But he was coughing so bad and I saw blood"
"He never told you?"
"Told me what?"
"Your father has an illness that flares up from time to time"
Both turned their heads and saw Shunsui come towards them. He sat down next to Lisa and placed the boy in his lap.
"What do you mean uncle Shunsui?"
"For as long as I've known Jūshirō, he's always had that illness. It may look bad but he'll be okay after some rest"
"Right. Were is he now?"
"I took him to Unohana at the 4th divsion but he needs to stay there for a few days so you'll stay with me until then since your aunts and uncles are away"
"Okay"
Two days later: 4th division.
"Are you really sure you want me to take care of him?"
Jūshirō looked at the big Soul Reaper who stood in the room
"Yes. Shunsui is going on a mission and my siblings are visiting Rukongai for a few more days. I know that he've only meet you two or three times but he seems to like being around you.
-So please Komamura. Can you look after him until I'm well enough to leave the 4th"
The big Soul Reaper, Sajin Komamura was quiet for a moment before he nodded.
"I'll do it"
"Thank you"
Sajin bowed before he left the 4th division and made his way to the 8th. There he saw Shunsui sitting outside with Katsurou in his lap. When he got closer, the captain gave him a smile and stood up with the boy in his arms.
"I thought you had a mission, captain."
"I do Komamura but I managed to talk Old-man Yama into letting me wait until someone came to look after Katsurou"
"Well I'm here so you and your division can leave"
"Right. Be nice to Komamura now, okay kiddo"
"Right Uncle Shunsui"
Katsurou hugged Shunsui before he was handed over to Sajin.
He walked out of the 8th division and decided to take Katsurou to a place only he knew about.
"Were are we going Mr Komamura?"
"There's no need to be formal with me, just call me Sajin.
-As for were we're going, you'll find out soon"
They walked through a bunch of trees until they came to a small field. There Sajin placed the little boy on the ground.
"Go on. Why don't you run around and play a little"
Katsurou smiled a little before he started to run around on the field and Sajin sat down, keeping a close eye on him. Even if it couldn't be seen, he was smiling under his mask.
After a while, Katsurou came and sat down on Sajin's leg.
"Why are you hiding your face?"
"Because I'm different from others"
"How?
Sajin looked down at the boy before he reached up and took off the mask that covered his face. Under it, Sajin had the face of a brown furred wolf.
At first he thought the boy got scared to see his face but when Katsurou reached up to try and touch his face, Sajin's thought changed. He lifted him up and the boy started to strok his hand over the fur.
"So this is why you hide your face"
"Yes. You are the only person besides Head-captain Yamamoto to know what I really look like. Others have only seen my masked face. I'm afraid about how they would react if they saw my true face. I'm afraid to scare them"
"I'm not scared"
"You aren't but others might be. I'm not human after all and I don't know how people would react to have someone like me around them"
"I'm sure that someday they will accept you"
"That makes me glad to hear you say. It's really kind of you"
Katsurou smiled at him and Sajin couldn't help but smile back.
Every day after that, Sajin took Katsurou with him to that field. He took it as a chance to take off his mask while also playing with the young boy. During those days, the two of them became good friends.
A week after Sajin was asked to look after Katsurou they were sitting in the 7th division when Sajin's captain, Love Aikawa came and told Sajin that Shunsui was waiting at the 13th division for them.
They made their way over there and outside the barracks, they meet Shusui. Sajin placed Katsurou on the ground and he ran over to the man who picked him up.
"Hey there kiddo.
-Has he behaved well Komamura?"
"He has behaved amazingly well"
"That's good. Now come on you two, there's someone who's waiting for us"
They followed Shunsui to the other side of the barracks and there on the porch sat Jūshirō. He turned his head towards them and smiled when Shunsui placed Katsurou on the ground and he ran up to his father to hug him.
"I've missed you dad"
"I've missed you too. It's been empty without you around"
"So are you okay now?"
"Yes, I'm feeling much better now"
The captain then looked up at Sajin.
"Thank you for looking after him Komamura"
"No problem captain. It was fun and I'll be glad to do it again sometime"
"Thank you. I'll kept that in mind"
Not long after that day, Jūshirō couldn't help but notice that besides Sajin, there was no one else that his son called his friend. There weren't that many children in the Seireitei so it could explain how he didn't have friends in his age.
But there was one person that Jūshirō though may be a good friend to his son. They were after all close in age, only two or three decades seperated them.
Jūshirō was walking around the Seireitei with Katsurou next to him.
After a while they meet an elderly man dressed in a captain uniform with a scarf around his neck.
"Hello captain Kuchiki"
"Hello to you as well Ukitake. Out for stroll are we"
"Yes. Of course you take the chance when there's not much work"
"I agree with you"
He then noticed Katsurou who was hiding slightly behind Jūshirō.
"And who's this?"
"This is my son Katsurou. I suppose you've heard about him"
"Ah yes, I have"
Jūshirō then looked down at Katsurou who still was hiding behind him.
"Katsurou this is Ginrei Kuchiki and he's a captain like me"
The elder man looked at the boy who stepped out a bit.
"Nice to meet you sir"
Jūshirō smiled before he picked up his son.
"He's really shy around people he haven't meet before"
"I understand that. It can't be easy to go from the life he used to have to the one he has now"
"You're right. And speaking of life changing... How's Byakuya doing?"
"Still taking his father's death really hard but I understand him. He loved Sōjun very much and since he's still young it's hard to lose a parent"
"I see"
Ginrei stroked his mustache before looking at the two.
"Why don't you come with me to my home for some tea"
So the two followed Ginrei to his home at the Kuchiki manor.
"Welcome home Lord Ginrei"
"Please prepare some tea for me and my guests. And tell Byakuya I wish for him to join us"
"Of course my lord"
Ginrei then led Jūshirō and Katsurou through his home to a bigger room were the doors were open so they could look out at the garden.
Soon the door opened and a black-haired boy just a few years older than Katsurou entered the room.
"You wanted to see me grandfather"
"Ah yes Byakuya, come sit with us"
The boy walked over to the table and sat down next to his grandfather.
"Byakuya you already know captain Ukitake"
"Hello Byakuya"
"Nice to meet you again sir"
Byakuya then look at Katsurou.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Katsurou"
"He's captain Ukitake's son, said Ginrei"
A servant then came in with some tea for them that they drank in silence before Ginrei turned to his grandson.
"Byakuya why don't you take Katsurou and play in the garden"
"Play?"
"That's a good idea Ginrei. Why don't you teach Byakuya that game you always play with your uncles, Katsurou"
"Okay"
The two boys got up and walked outside to the garden were they started to play tag.
"You know Ginrei, those two are quite alike in some ways"
"In what ways?"
"Both of them are sons or in Byakuya's case, grandson to the current head of the families. It's pretty much decided that they will both take over as the next head once you and I step down. Both have been through hard times in their lives despite their young ages"
"You're talking about Byakuya losing both his parents before he even became a teenager"
"Yes. In Katsurou's case, he had to spend many years of his life in one of the worse parts of Rukongai before I found him"
"That is a hard thing for someone that young"
They looked out at the boys and Ginrei could actually see a slight smile on Byakuya's face.
"This is the first time I've seen Byakuya smile since his father's death"
"Suro seem to have that effect on people. He always finds a way to make them smile"
"Suro?"
"It's just a little nickname I have on Katsurou. It seems to stick as well since Shunsui and my siblings all call him that"
"I see"
The two captains then watched the boys play while also taking the time to talk about some work related things.
After a few hours...
"I guess we should take our leave now. I have a few things at the 13th to do before it gets dark"
"Okay"
The two stood up and walked out to the pond were the boys were looking at the Koi.
"It's time to go Suro"
"Okay"
Katsurou got up and stood next to his father.
"It was nice having you here Ukitake"
"It was. Thank you for inviting us captain Kuchiki"
"And you young Katsurou"
"Yes sir?"
A slight smile appeared on Ginrei's face as he looked at the boy.
"Feel free to come back and play with Byakuya again"
"Really?"
"Yes. You would like that too, right Byakuya?"
"Yes grandfather. I had really fun Katsurou"
"I had fun too"
The two captains smiled at the boys who seemed to have become friends already.
Then, Jūshirō and Katsurou left the Kuchiki manor and made their way home to their estate.
"We're home"
"Welcome home you two, said Kenji"
"Where have you been, Kazuki asked"
"Why don't you tell them that Suro. I need to get back to my division for a few hours"
"Okay dad"
So Jūshirō left to finish his work for the day while Katsurou told his aunts and uncles about the hours they spent at the Kuchiki manor and how fun he had playing tag and other games with Byakuya.
A few months later.
Winter had come to the Seireitei, making the days colder.
"Okay, we're going out to find something for Juu, said Tatsuya"
He and Izumi looked into the room were their siblings and Katsurou sat. The boy was curled up next to Kenji in front the fireplace.
"Right, said Ryouta"
The two oldest then left the house and Katsurou looked curiously at his uncles.
"What are they going to get?"
"It's your father's brithday today so they are gonna get him a gift, said Kenta"
"I want to give him something too"
"Then why don't you draw something for him, said Kazuki
-I've seen how much you like to do that"
"Okay"
Katsurou got up and left the room for a moment before he came back carrying some things that he placed on the table.
While he sat there drawing, his aunt and uncles all started to clean and do other things around the house.
After a while, Katsurou looked up from the drawing.
"Uncle Ryouta"
"What is it Suro?"
"Could you help me with something"
"Sure"
Ryouta knelt behind the boy and looked at his drawing.
"I'm sure Juu is gonna love that"
"You do?"
"Yes. So what did you need help with?"
"I want to write something on it but I don't know how"
"I see. What do you want to write"
Katsurou whispered it in his ear and his uncle smiled before gently taking a hold of the boy's hand.
"Let's do it this way. I'll guide your hand to write the characters"
"Okay"
Ryouta then slowly moved his hand so Katsurou's hand followed and wrote the characters for the word he wanted to write.
Once they were done, Ryouta let go of his nephew's hand.
"All done"
"Thank you uncle Ryouta"
"No problem"
Katsurou smiled and hugged his uncle just as Tatsuya and Izumi came.
"We're back"
"Did you find anything, asked Kenta"
"Yeah but it took some time. Juu isn't the easiets to find gifts to"
"I agree with you Tatsuya, said Kazuki"
"So what you been doing, Izumi asked"
"Cleaning to make sure everything looks nice when Juu comes home, said Kenji"
"Good, that makes things easier"
Tatsuya then noticed the drawing on the table.
"Did you do that Suro?"
"Yes. I wanted to give dad something too, so uncle Kazuki said I should draw him something"
"I see. I'm sure he'll love it"
The rest of the day, the eight of them spent just relaxing. Some of them sat down reading books or in front of the warm fireplace.
When the sun later started to set, they heard the door open and close.
"I'm home"
"Welcome home Juu, said Tatsuya"
"You have a good timing, dinner is almost done, said Kenta"
Jūshirō smiled at his brother before looking at his son who had his hands behind his back.
"You got something there Suro?"
The boy nodded and Jūshirō knelt to his height. Katsurou then held out his hands and his father took the paper he held.
A big smile spread across his face when he saw that it was a drawing on the two of them. But it was the words writen on the bottom that made him smile the most.
"Otōsan daisuki"
He then looked at Katsurou who had this big smile on his face.
"Happy birthday dad"
A few tears of joy made their way down Jūshirō's cheeks as he placed the drawing on the table before pulling the boy into a big hug which he happily returned.
"Thank you Suro"
He then let go of Katsurou and dried his eyes before looking at him.
"Even thought I didn't get it today, do you know what the greatest gift I've every gotten is?"
"No"
Jūshirō stood up before he picked up Katsurou.
"It's you that are the greatest gift I ever gotten. The day I found you and adopted you into the family, I got the son I've longed for for many years
-Katsurou daisuki"
This time it was Katsurou's turn to place his arms around his father.
"Otōsan daisuki"
He was then put down as the seven people around them all smiled at the two.
The family then sat down and enjoyed the rest of this special day together.
As the years passed, Katsurou grew out of his shyness. His family also started to teach him writting and reading as well as how a member of a lower nobility should behave.
He also started to help taking care of his father when he got sick. Everyone around him saw how much he loved to be of help and even Retsu Unohana, the 4th division captain noticed that Jūshirō seemed to recover faster ever since his son started to help taking care of him.
It was bright and sunny morning in the Seireitei when Katsurou woke up. He stretched his arms before he stood up and folded his futon before placing it in the corner of the room.
He changed his sleeping robe for his favorite Kimono that had been a birthday gift from Shunsui. It was dark blue with a pattern of flowers on the sleeves and bottom.
He then picked up the book he had been reading the previous day before he walked out of his room.
"I'm going to dad's division"
"Okay, said Tatsuya"
Katsurou smiled at his uncle before he left the estate and made his way to the 13th division.
There he walked through the barracks to the back were he sat down to look out over the garden. This was a habit he had picked up from his father. Sitting outside like this was really calming and when his father wasn't sick like this day, they would sit together at the estate until his captain duties called for him.
"Hey. Morning kiddo"
Katsurou looked behind him and saw Kaien Shiba, a man who had joined the division a while back.
"Morning Kaien"
"You hungry?"
"A little"
"Good I brought a little extra then"
Kaien sat down and placed the tray he had been carrying between them. On it was some onigiri. They picked up one each and started to eat.
"I guess you're here to see the captain"
"Yes. He said yesterday that he was feeling better so I'm gonna see how he is today"
"For being so young you sure act very mature."
"I just don't want my father to start working until he is completly fine or else it won't be long until he's sick again."
Kaien looked at the boy and smiled. Then he stood up and picked up the tray.
"I better get to work like the others"
"Right"
"See ya latter kiddo"
"It's not kiddo. It's Katsurou or just Suro"
Kaien chuckled at him before he walked away. Katsurou then decided to get going as well.
He made his way towards Ugendō, were he had learned some years ago was were his father always stayed when he was sick.
He quietly walked in and saw that Jūshirō was asleep. So Katsurou sat down and started to read his book. After he had read for a while, he heard a slight groan and saw that his father was waking up so he put the book down.
"Morning dad"
"Hey Suro"
"How are you feeling?"
"Better than yesterday"
"That's good. Maybe you'll recover quicker than Mrs Unohana thought"
"Perhaps."
Then a squad member appeared in the door with captain Unohana behind him.
"Good morning Miss Unohana"
"Good morning to you as well Katsurou.
-And how are you today captain Ukitake?"
"Better than when you were here three days ago"
"That's good. Maybe it's because you have such a good little caretaker right here"
Katsurou smiled at her kind words. He then watched as Reiatsu started to glow around Retsu's hand and she placed it over Jūshirō's chest. After a moment, a slight smile appeared on her face.
"I would say about two or three more days in bed and then you can return to your duties."
"Right"
Retsu smiled a little before she stood up and left them.
"Told you dad. Last time she said one and a half week or something. Now you just need two more days"
"You were right."
Jūshirō raised his hand and placed it on his son's head before he ruffled his hair which made the boy laugh.
Three days later, Jūshirō was back on his feet and it was just in time for the ceremony to welcome a new captain.
Kaien and Katsurou were out on some errands for the division and once they were done they weren't that far from the 1st division.
"Hey Suro, the meeting should be over soon. How about we go over there and wait for your dad?"
"Sure"
So the two of them walked over to the 1st division and after a while they saw all captains come.
"Well well look who we have here, said Shinji Hirako the 5th division captain"
"Hey there Kaien, kiddo, said Kensei Muguruma captain of the 9th division"
"Hi captain Muguruma, said Katsurou."
"How many times do I have to tell you that it's okay for you to call me by my name since you're not an officer"
"Sorry"
"So why are you two here Kaien, Jūshirō asked"
"The kid helped me with finishing a few errands and we decided to wait for you since we were nearby"
"That's kind of you"
Kaien grinned before the two looked at Katsurou. The young boy smiled as he was greeted by all captains and then he noticed the new face among them.
"Mr Urahara you're a captain now?"
"Yeah, I took over as the captain of the 12th division"
"That's awesome. I'm sure you'll make a great captain"
"Well thanks Katsurou"
"See Kisuke, even Jūshirō's boy thinks you'll be a good captain, said the 2nd division captain, Yoruichi Shihōin"
"I hear you Yoruichi"
Katsurou smiled at Kisuke before he ran up to his father and Kaien. They said goodbye to the captains and returned to the 13th division.
Once they got there, they sat down on the porch and someone came with tea for them.
"About the offer I gave you Kaien..."
"Do you want me to say it again? I'm not going serve as your lieutenant"
"Why are you being so stubborn? I'm starting to take this personally"
"You know as well as I do that there are lots of others who deserve to be lieutenant more than me"
"There you go again. You're always putting duty before friendship"
"I think you should feel honored Kaien, said Katsurou"
"What was that kiddo?"
"You should feel honored that my father wants you to be his lieutenant. It shows how much he trusts you to be the one to lead the division when he's not feeling well."
"That's enough Suro, said Jūshirō"
"Sorry. But you know I'm right dad"
"You are but if he don't want to we can't force him"
"Right"
Jūshirō placed his hand on Katsurou's shoulder and smiled at him which made the boy smile back.
For 9 years, there was peace in the Seireitei. But one night, several captains and lieutenants were somehow exposed to something called Hollowfication. Kisuke as well as Tessai, the Kidō corps commander were both taken to Central 46 and accused for everything that happened.
It was very late when Jūshirō returned to his home. A lot had happened that night and now, five captains, four lieutenants and the kidō commander had all been sentenced to different punishments including death due to this thing called Hollowfication. But they had all disappeared before anything could happen to them and Yoruichi was also gone.
"What's happening around here?"
He quietly opened the door to the estate and walked inside were he was surprised to see that Tatsuya still was awake.
"Juu, you're back later than usual"
"A lot has happened tonight Tatsuya. Captains and lieutenants has somehow been through experiments to make them into Hollows and Kisuke Urahara was accused for it"
"That doesn't sound good"
"It isn't good at all. All of them has also disappeared from the Soul Society entirely"
"How's that possible?"
"We don't know"
Jūshirō let out a sigh before he and his brother started to walk through the house.
They stopped outside Katsurou's room and quietly slided the door open. Jūshirō smiled when he saw his son fast asleep with one arm over a plushie that looked like a dog.
He then closed the door just as quietly and the two brothers kept walking through the house.
"How do you think Suro is gonna react Juu? He looked up to those guys"
"I don't know. We'll have to wait until tomorrow"
He then coughed a little and Tatsuya put a hand on his shoulder.
"You okay?"
"This has just been a stressful night, that's all"
"And you have work tomorrow so you'll only get a few hours of sleep"
"Master Genryūsai actually told me before I left the last meeting that I should take tomorrow off and for once... I agree with him"
Tatsuya looked surprised at his brother. During all his years as a Soul Reaper, Jūshirō never liked when he had to take days off due to his health because it happened quite often.
That was until Katsurou became a part of their lives.
After the boy had vitnessed his father's illness for the first time years ago, Jūshirō had started to take days off right as he was starting to feel sick instead of ignoring it for a few days when it usualy got worse.
The two brothers then walked to their rooms so they could get some sleep.
The next day.
Katsurou walked through the house to the kitchen were his aunts was making breakfast.
"Morning aunt Ayame, aunt Izumi"
"Good morning Katsurou, said Izumi"
"Can I help with anything?"
"That's sweet of you. Why don't you fill those bowls over there with some rice"
"Leave it to me"
Katsurou walked over to were the rice and bowls were. After he had filled two of them, he noticed that there were eight bowls instead of nine.
"Aunt Izumi you've forgotten a bowl"
"No we haven't. Your father came home very late yesterday and Tatsuya said that he was starting to feel unwell. So we decided to let him sleep for as long as he need and bring him something to eat later"
"Okay"
The eight of them then sat down to eat and once they were done, Katsurou sat down with Tatsuya for some studying.
"How's this uncle Tatsuya, he asked after a while"
Tatsuya looked down at what the boy had written and nodded.
"That's good. You're really getting the hang of these more advance kanji"
"It's still a bit hard but I'm starting to get it"
"That's a good thing"
He ruffled the boy's hair and then, Izumi came into the room.
"Katsurou could you do me a favor?"
"Of course"
"Come with me then"
Katsurou followed his aunt to the kitchen were she held out a tray.
"Can you take this to your father? He should wake up soon so I made something for him to eat"
"Of course"
"Thank you"
Katsurou took the tray and walked to his father's room were he used his foot to open the door.
"Hi Suro"
"Hi dad. How are you feeling?"
"Okay. A little pain in my chest but it's not as bad as it usualy is"
"Taking the day off to rest was a good idea then"
"Yes"
Katsurou placed the tray on the table next to the futon.
"Aunt Izumi made you something to eat"
"That's kind of her"
The boy smiled before handing his father the bowl of rice.
"Uncle Tatsuya said you were home very late last night. Did something happen?"
Jūshirō looked at his son before he sighed.
"The captains of the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12 division along with the lieutenants of the 8th, 9th and 12th has vanished"
"Vanished?"
"Something happened to them last night and , they all disappeared from the Soul Society. Yoruichi has also disappeared"
"So they're never coming back"
"I'm afraid that might be very true"
It hurt Jūshirō to see the sadness that appeared on his son's face.
He put the bowl back on the tray before gesturing for Katsurou to sit down next to him. Once the boy had done that, he wrapped an arm around him and Katsurou put his head on his father's shoulder as a few tears escaped his eyes.
"I'm gonna miss them"
"I know Suro. We all will"
He stroke his fingers through Katsurou's hair before giving him a sidway hug.
Soon, life returned to normal in the Seireitei and the missing people were replaced by new captains and lieutenants.
Daisuki= I love you
Otosan=father/dad