Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Shattering Glass III
Ishida Ryuuken sighed as he reattached the chart to the foot of the bed. "There's nothing more I can do, Isshin. I don't have to power to bring his soul back." Isshin Kurosaki glanced up at his friend, still holding the hand of his son's comatose body.
"I know." Isshin wished it was otherwise. "Kisuke . . . Kisuke said there's still a chance for him to find his way back, as long as his body stays alive." Ryuuken adjusted his glasses. "How's Uryuu doing?"
"Training. Constantly. He believes it was his fault."
"How? None of us sensed that Hollow until it was too late."
"He had his bow, he should have drawn quicker." Ryuuken sighed. "I imagine Yasutora and Inoue are experiencing similar feelings of guilt?"
"Chad promised Ichigo he would always have his back and protect what he wanted to protect. The fact he couldn't see the hollow until after everything was over doesn't matter as much as the fact he could have been the one to take the hit if he had moved to cover Ichigo's back the moment Ichigo reacted." Isshin rubbed his eyes. "He's taken to stopping by everyday to check on the girls and me. Inoue-chan has started doing that as well, actually, though with her she brings groceries and pre-packaged snacks."
"They're good kids." Ryuuken scowled as he realized that Isshin was starting to turn as pale as the form on the bed. "And you need to sleep. It won't do for Ichigo to wake up only to have you collapse right after." Isshin looked ready to argue. "Go home, Isshin, you know I'll let you know the moment something happens."
"Thanks, Ryuuken." He left, and Ryuuken adjusted his glasses before glaring at the window.
"There are doors for a reason, Urahara, I would appreciate it if you used them."
"I'll keep that in mind for next time." Urahara Kisuke adjusted his hat before looking at the inert form of Ichigo Kurosaki's body. "How's he doing?" He moved forward as he asked, gently checking the pulse in the boy's neck.
"Stable, but his heart rate has spiked twice this past month. It settled rather quickly both times."
"Then he's still fighting to get back to us- or rather, his family." Urahara gave a small smile, before sobering quickly. "Ishida-san, there's been an unexpected development."
"That seems to be happening a lot these past few months, ever since Kurosaki-kun got attacked."
"The Central 46 has been massacred." Ryuuken stiffened and looked at Urahara. "Three captains have turned traitor, and well, I need you to do me a favor."
"No. I will not get involved in a Shinigami Civil war." Ryuuken scowled, and then for the sake of doing something made sure the blanket covering Ichigo was straight. "Shouldn't you have told this to Isshin?"
"Would you ask a drowning man to save another? Ishida-san, if-"
"No. I will look after and protect Kurosaki-kun, but I will not get involved in this war." For all his claims of not caring about the quincy, Ryuuken was still quick to summon his bow. "Ask someone else."
" . . . Very well, then. I'll leave Kurosaki-kun in your capable hands." As the exiled Shinigami turned shop owner left, Ryuuken scowled, before glancing at the prone form of Ichigo. He and Isshin had met in med school, and it had been pretty obvious at the time that the other had not been around technology at all. For all of Isshin's playing the fool, and of Ryuuken's own stubborn refusal to stoop to the other man's level, the two had managed to become friends of sorts. They'd never been close, but there had been a couple nights, before Isshin's powers had been completely drained away, where the two had taken down wandering hollows together. They'd both been in the background for each other's wedding, and Ryuuken had to stopped to visit the maternity ward when Ichigo was born (Isshin doing the same thing, though lying it was to check on a regular at his clinic). Ryuuken had always kept an eye on the Kurosaki family, in particular Ichigo since he could sense the boy's Reiatsu clearly.
Ryuuken had warned Isshin about it, especially because the former shinigami had lost the ability to sense it for himself. (Isshin had come to him a couple of days ago, reporting that his own power was starting to return. He could see shapes again.) But he hadn't thought that a hollow would get under their radar so easily- either Urahara or himself usually sensed it, and normally the shinigami representative took care of it. With a soft sigh he absently fixed the boy's orange hair, making a note he'd have to get a nurse to cut it soon. They'd failed to protect, and suddenly, the lines between the worlds had fallen apart.
The worst part was watching the body in front of him barely cling to life (Though was it really life when he knew the soul was elsewhere?) and feeling both grateful and guilty because he kept thinking at least it wasn't my son. He shoved that thought down, and left to continue his rounds.
Miles away, another Quincy was hitting, and destroying, several practice targets. Ishida Uryuu growled, and reluctantly stopped shooting as the last of his targets exploded in smoke. Panting slightly, the sudden sound of clapping made him whirl and lift his bow once more- only to see Urahara leaning against a tree.
"Impressive destruction, Ishida-kun."
"Urahara-san, what brings you here?" They'd met outside Kurosaki's hospital room, the shop-keeper asking questions about the attack, and the sudden spiral of learning that Kurosaki was the son of a shinigami, that his father knew and was even somewhat close to, and suddenly everything he thought he had known quickly tilted on its axis as the town's residents who were spiritually aware and awake suddenly marshaled themselves because a hollow that no one had even noticed until it was too late was an anomally that meant trouble.
Needless to say, he'd gotten quite a headache with all the revelations that happened in such a short time.
"Well, I need a favor, to be perfectly blunt. I know you and Kurosaki-kun weren't even on speaking terms when he . . . left, but if I told you there was a chance I could send you to where his soul was, what would you say?"
" . . . What are the odds of both of us coming back?" He owed Kurosaki- owed him not only for the hit he took by getting in between them and the hollow, but also because he had missed taking out the hollow before it escaped, taking Kurosaki's soul.
"Right now, less than fifty percent. I'm working on making sure that changes, but I wanted to know if you would do it."
"I might not like Shinigami, but that doesn't change the fact that I owe Kurosaki, even though he's half of one. I'll be ready whenever you are."
"Wonderful!" Urahara smiled, and left. He felt a little bad about going behind Ryuuken's back and dragging Uryuu into the war, but it would be the only way- the only chance- to get Ichigo's soul back from Hueco Mundo. The smile slipped off his face. There was a factor that he had not told anyone, not even Yoruchi or Tessai, but the possibility existed that even as a (technically) living soul, Ichigo could become a hollow.
If that happened, then the fight that would follow would kill Ichigo for good. Hirako Shinji and the vizards had been a bit more optimistic, but their optimism had included Ichigo losing control of a limb, even being unable to re-enter his body.
Urahara sighed. He had been keeping an eye on Isshin's eldest since after the incident that killed Kurosaki Masaki. He would have loved to have met the kid before- maybe pretending to be an old school friend of Isshin's? The boy just had an aura that screamed 'easy to tease'. Yoruchi had given her seal of approval when Ichigo had chased off some boys that were hurting a cat.
Pushing the wishes of what could have been away, he entered his shop, only to sigh as he saw the group of shinigami that were waiting for him. Why were things always so difficult? Of course, it's going to get worse before it gets better- that always happens.
Chaos theory- simply put, a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a storm somewhere else. Little things really do matter:
"For want of a nail, the horseshoe was lost,
For want of a horseshoe, the horse was lost,
For want of a horse, the rider was lost,
For want of a rider, the message was lost,
For want of a message, the battle was lost,
For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail."
(I have no idea where this came from, but this is how I remember it going.)