Chapter 7; The Seraph and the Sepulcher

"Horou! Horou! Horou!" Screamed the little device, its eyes flashing as it vibrated. Ichigo pursued his lips, unpleased. On cue the four nakama stood, already stiff with tensity since it had entered December.

"I'm feeling really sick!" Orihime complained, running to the door. "I'm going to the nurse!"

"We are too! We're gonna go with her!" The boys shouted for lack of a better excuse as they chased after her.

Ms. Ochita caught Ichigo by the collar of his shirt. "Not this time, Kurosaki."

He turned around to reason with her but the sight outside the window caught his attention; hundreds of hollows in the sky.

"I don't have time for this. Please take care of it." Ichigo requested, pressing the device into the center of his chest. His soul was left standing as his body slumped back into the teachers arms. The class gasped.

"Don't go out there!" Tatsuki shouted, standing abruptly. "There are too many of them. You can't take them all at once!"

"I told you not to concern yourself with me." Ichigo barked rather darkly. He had no patience, no time to deal with this right now. He hadn't talked with Tatsuki at all since he'd returned from Hueco Mundo. Orihime probably spilled some of the beans, but that was inevitable. "If you want to help wait until the amount of hollows die down then get as many people you can to leave town."

"Since when did exterminating those monsters become your responsibility?!"

"I don't have time for this!" He called back to her as he left. The majority of the class was staring at her as if she were insane.

"Somebody call 911!" Ms. Ochita screamed, laying Ichigo's body on the ground. A handful of students rushed to aid her.

"Man, what was that? Kurosaki just fainted?" Muttered one of the boys.

Keigo looked at the boy curiously. "You really didn't see that? Ichigo, he just..." Keigo turned back to the door. He's at it again. But he'll come back, right? He always does...

xXxXXxXXxXXxXx

"Was that a good idea?" Ishida asked.

"What was I suppose to do?" Ichigo had a tone to his voice that was a mixture between annoyance and whining at being accused.

"You should be more discreet. Use the janitor's closet or something, not a room full of people." He continued to scold.

"What am I, Superman? I'm a Shinigami-"

"Representative."

"Thanks, Ishida, that means a lot. I'm a Representative Shinigami and frankly I don't have time to be discreet. When you see outside you'll understan." Ichigo responded angrily.

"Frankly I don't need a window to tell what's going on outside, because I can sense the hollow's reiatsu." Ishida teased.

"Hey, you shouldn't give Kurosaki-kun such a hard time. You usually know better than to argue with him." Orihime cut in, as the group hurried down the hall.

"I'm being logical. He can't fight if he gets too tense, so I was trying to figure out what we could do about it. Rukia usually knows what to do and that seems to be to argue with or otherwise scold him. But I can't tell if it's working..."

"Yes, he's a sucker for the tough love speeches." Chad agreed with a nod.

"Would you guys shut up?!" Ichigo growled, his face red. The others couldn't help but laugh. Sadly the fun ended as soon as their feet landed on the ground outside. They only had a second to take in the sight.

"There's four of us, four directions on a compass; let's split up." Ishida suggested.

"I'll take north, towards the center of town." Ichigo claimed.

"Alright, I'm going west; let's meet up at the river after we get 'em all." Ishida said.

"I want east! Please?" Orihime pleaded.

"Are you sure Tsubaki can handle this many at once?" Ishida asked. "Maybe Kurosaki should go Northwest, Chad South, and Orihime will come Northeast with me."

"I've gotten better; Tsubaki's been doing just fine." Orihime was afraid of being a fifth wheel and just being in the way.

"No, Inoue, I think you should listen. Tsubaki isn't fit for mass destruction and if something happened to you we'd all die. You're the only one of us who can heal." Ichigo told her with a gentle smile.

If Kurosaki-kun says so, I guess I can't argue. Orihime agreed.

"We should go." Said the tall, darker-skinned Chad.

They stacked hands, silently wishing Renji were around to give them a chant.

"If anything stronger then a Gilian comes through we regroup. Like Ishida said, let's meet by the river, after you clear your section. Then we'll go out for burgers, my treat." His three friends smiled at him sadly before they broke off and went their separate ways. If it was what it appeared to be, then much more horrid things were awaiting them. Each couldn't help but wander if they would actually be able to do something so minial. But he'd given each of them a hope, an image to try to fulfill and work towards.

Progressing down the street was slow but he made it out of the domestic territory and into a patch of taller business structures and office buildings. His movement was almost like a dance; slash, step, turn, he moved his right hand to the very tip of the hilt in order to angle the force so it crosssected his body and ran through the mask of a hollow who was trying to sneak up behind him. Ichigo pulled his sword back, its magnificent blade was stained red by the blood of many hollows.

He would choose ten, dull beasts any day compared to a skilled fighter like Byakuya Kuchiki. Oh, yes, he could take on ten at the same time at his current state. The problem was they just kept coming.

His reiatsu seemed to be attracting the hollows to him like bees to honey. The instinctual creatures would risk anything to have a taste of his soul. Ichigo was doing his best to fend them off, where Kadoburii street met Gaiko, every time he looked down one street it seemed more congested then it had been. The disgusting things began crawling down the sides of the buildings.

In one unfortunate swoop the defender became the victim. Ichigo ducked under a set of claws, he took the opening; he lunged forward and slashed through its torso. Without hesitation he drove the full length of the blade through the mask of a bear resembling hollow to his left. A second hollow jumped right through its disintegrating body and tore at him with a hungry grin. He knew he was completely surrounded; he didn't even have time to release his bankai.

Ichigo stopped the hollow's head with his zanpaktou but it was so shallow it didn't even crack the mask. He pushed the beast off but it didn't back up. Instead, without warning its head shot forward, the hollow's teeth chomped down on his upper arm.

Ichigo's entire left arm was inside the hollow's mouth. He tried to pull it out but the hollow only bit harder, determined no to let him go. At such a range he could hardly angle his zanpaktou to get a decent cut on it. He slipped Zangetsu between them and pushed it into the hollow's mask with no swinging force at all. The blade slipped about half-an-inch into the boney white but his action wasn't met without recoil. The hollow chomped down, its dull teeth sinking into his flesh.

Its mouth began to pool with drool as it got its first tastes of the shinigami's blood. Ichigo groaned as the pangs hit hard. He pushed Zangetsu harder but it only caused the hollow to bite harder.

A smaller hollow jumped onto his back. It sniffed around for a moment before chomping down on his right shoulder.

Panic set in. He was seriously about to be devoured by hollows. They didn't even want him dead first, they'd just eat him up nice and fresh. Ichigo had to make a quick decision. It's me or my arm. He pushed as hard as he could he could into the hollow's mask.

"Damn it!" He bellowed as its teeth sank completely through the tissue and began cracking at the bone. At last Zangetsu slid through and the hollow slowly dissolved. As the pressure was released the blood began to roll down from his now mangled upper arm.

Ichigo stumbled back, almost falling over from the weight of the one on his back. He took a single breath before jamming the tip of his zanpaktou up into its jaw.

"You stupid hollows...you're not gonna pull one over on me." He panted. "Like I'd lose to you..."

His shihakushou stuck to his skin from the sticky mixture of sweat and blood. That was a mistake. I can't really lose to these garden hollows. Not me. This is just the beginning.

Shadows around him grew. The hollows who'd been clinging to the sides of the building hurled themselves at him. For several frightening, long seconds Ichigo disappeared beneath the heaving mass of monsters.

The hollows were thrown back in an explosion of blue reiatsu. Ichigo was standing in the clearing, a handful of abrasions and scratches visible on his features. His torso was hunched, his shoulders heaving with each breath as he glowered at the surrounding creatures.

His amber irises were swirling with a cool blue. As soon as one tried to move towards him they were all hit hard by a wave of reiatsu. The pressure was so strong they were pressed onto the ground. Another wave rolled over them, stunning the ones who'd tried to crawl over their comrade's bodies. The pressure intensed, the hollows broke away into spirit particles. Again and again, wave after wave of reiatsu was emitted from the shinigami. It splashed down the streets like water, crushing them into them in to obliteration.

Slowly, being pulled more from the core of his soul, the reiatsu was becoming black. So that the hollows realized two things before they were destroyed; that he was a force to be reckoned with, and in truth he was one of them.

xXXxXXxXXxXx

"Tsubaki! Koten Zanshuun, I reject!" Orihime shouted, extending her arms. Tsubaki jetted forward, slicing through the large tiki-mantis creature.

"Wow, is that Kurosaki-kun?" She asked, looking over her shoulder.

The Quincy fired eight successive arrows before lowering his bow. "Jeez. What does he think he's doing?"

"Maybe he's in trouble. Should we check on him?" Her voice showed apparent worry.

"That idiots just pouring it all out. If he's going to use that much energy he might as well use his Bankai, but he probably has some kind of plan. We can worry about him if his reiatsu disappears, alright? I'm sure he is fine, Kurosaki's just being... Kurosaki." Ishida coaxed, his voice as soothing as he could manage. "About Kurosaki though. I don't suppose you know why his reiatsu feels like this? What I mean is he's changed since when he became a shinigami. Slowly, it feels eerie and darker. I wonder if something happened to make it that way... Do you know anything about it?"

Orihime's eyes averted his, taking a little too much interest in her shoes.

"What is it?" Ishida urged.

She didn't know if she should tell him. But she was in quiet a pickle now and she wasn't a very good liar. It was such a miraculous event yet she'd been too afraid to ask him about it. She was too afraid to even mention it. No! She shook her head. I can't be afraid. How would Kurosaki-kun feel if he knew I was too afraid of him to speak? "Maybe... back in Hueco Mundo... when we were all separate I was with Kurosaki-kun and Nel...Kurosaki-kun...he...he..."

She trembled at the memory. Ishida's assumption flipped upon the analysis of her actions. His face distorted in a combination of horror and disgust. "What happened? What did he do? He didn't hurt you did he?"

"No, no. Of course not. It was a mask."

"A...mask? He put on a mask?"

"A hollows mask, and his eyes were... I was afraid at first but I realized he was doing it to protect me."

Ishida could only stare at her, eyes popping in disbelief.

xXxXXxXXxXXxXx

"Ka-Tsu!" Ichigo shouted in triumph. Despite his exaggerated, arrogant grin he was breathless and wobbly. "Kurosaki Ichigo, Shinigami Representative, and the one who just took out sixty of you damn hollows without even lifting a finger."

Now the streets were empty with the exception of the occasional sprinkle of spirit particles and some stranded, black remnants of reiatsu. Inward he frowned at the technique. If he could do that to hollows then what about other shinigami? Human souls? His power was expanding to the point that his spirit pressure was becoming deadly.

That should be the most of it, for my part. He randomly selected a direction, down which he hobbled warily. He felt... empty inside save for the low slush of reiatsu he'd clung to for the sake of living. Hopefully no random passerby's were in close enough range to be killed as well. If his pressure was even strong enough to kill a human, which was a doubt he desperately clung to.

"Ichigo! Hey!"

He turned around, surprised when Tatsuki nearly barreled into him. "What are you doing here? I told you to stay put."

"Since when am I obligated to follow every word you pour out of that big mouth of yours? I saw what you did-" Tatsuki was spurting when he absently cut her off.

"You were close enough to see that? Guess there's hope for humanity after all."

"Ichigo, stop walking! You're bleeding!" She gasped in horror.

He surveyed his blood covered arm. "Oh no. Looks like I sprung a leak again...I'll have to get that fixed."

"I don't know what's scarier; the fact that your arm looks like it's about to fall off or that you're trying to be funny." She mumbled haughtily, chasing after him. "Stop. Stop. Stop! Where are you going?"

As they turned down another street he glanced up at the signs. "Down Mikan."

"Would you stop it, you know what I'm talking about so drop the sarcasm! It's like your still ignoring me! You've been back for almost a week and you haven't said a thing! I followed you because when you left...I thought that maybe you wouldn't come back. I couldn't let you just leave again! Why can't you tell me where you're going? Why do you keep disappearing without even a word?!" Tatsuki cried.

"It's none of your business." Ichigo replied shortly.

Her fists pounded angrily on his back. "I saw you leave! You said you would apologize when you came back home!"

"But I can't be Tatsuki's friend again." He shouted in protest. "Not until this is over! You're an idiot for not listening to me. If you can see them that means those monsters will try to eat you too! Then what, Tatsuki?! Then what am I supposed to do? Why must you make it so difficult for me to protect you?!"

"Who asked you to protect me? I never asked you to save me from any of it!"

"You friggin' idiot! You have absolutely no idea about what you're saying. If you have no clue about what's going on then keep your mouth shut! What I'm trying to protect you from? This is what I'm trying to protect you from." He gestured to himself. "Yes, Tatsuki, yes. I am bleeding!" He grabbed his upper arm with his right arm and then held his blood covered palm out to her. "Do you know how much freakin' blood I've lost in the last few months?! I can survive this kind of life style, I can take the damage, and I can take the lack of sleep, the worry, the stress. But Tatsuki, you couldn't go on like this. You can hardly even stomach all this blood, can you? Chad and Inoue are really good comrades but it's a mistake I hope I never make again. I will NOT let you cross this line!"

Tatsuki stared at him through teary-eyes. "When was it that you crossed that line? You weren't always like this... Ichigo... what happened to you?"

"I crossed that line long before you ever noticed."

"Stop this, please, come back." She begged.

"I'm not coming back to that side." He told her. "I don't belong there anymore."

"Then when are you planning on apologizing? You promised, when it was over!"

"I'll apologize when this is over."

"You didn't ask for this! You didn't ask to fight monsters and get half-killed doing it! You don't have to give up everything for this."

"What do you know about me?! You don't know what this even is! For the longest time, this is all I ever wanted, and I have it now. Now I can protect people, I have the power to protect the ones the others can't even see. If you really want to do something for me, maybe right now the best thing would be for you to let go. If I don't come back to you then please, Tatsuki, promise me you'll let me go."

"How could I let you go?!" She shouted. He quickly grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her back, driving Zangetsu into the air she had just been as a hollow lurched forward.

"See. And you said you don't need protection." He scolded, as Tatsuki's wide, frightened eyes met his. "How did you get close enough, earlier, to see what I did?"

"W-well, ah... the monsters were so focused on you they didn't even see me. All of that blue and black stuff that filled up the streets was coming out of your body, why were you glowing like that?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Humor me."

He stopped. His amber orbs met her eyes with, at last, a grin. It seeped through his skin and, for a solid minute, his body was engulfed in icy blue flames, flickering at the surrounding air.

"Whoa!" She gasped in astonishment. "You can do that at will? That's amazing!"

"It's not that big of a deal." He shrugged, realizing he shouldn't be so bodacious about it. Just about every shinigami could do something like that. In reality he was very poor in that area of skill. "Alright, Tatsuki, I humored you. Now can I ask something of you?"

"...sure." She agreed slowly.

"After we reach the river, and make sure all of the hollows are gone, please go to my house. In the top drawer of my desk there's an old pocky box. Inside is some money and six passes for the bullet train. Give three to my dad the other three are for you and your parents. I don't care what you have to say just get them to Okinawa. Get out as soon as you can and get as many people as you can to go with you."

"What are you saying?"

"Just promise me you'll do it."

She felt infuriated yet scared. "Why? What's happening? What are you doing?"

"I'll tell you when it's over, okay? I'll tell you everything but right now I just need you to promise." He pleaded.

"Fine, I promise."

"Hey, did Orihime say anything about what happened last week?" Ichigo asked out of curiosity. His good hand quickly grasped his left arm as the stinging increased.

"Are you alright?! Maybe you should lay down or something!" Tatsuki shouted in alarm.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I've had worse, I'm not gonna die. Orihime?"

Tatsuki gawked skeptically.

"Tatsuki? What did Orihime say?" He asked again.

She couldn't help but stay stuck on the fact that he was injured. Her friend was no longer the fragile child he'd been through the earlier years of their childhood. She tried to study him, looking for hints to what he might be thinking or feeling. Why is he being so sarcastic? If he was trying so hard to cut the lines with me then why is he talking to me now? She came to no conclusions and thus gave into his question. "Just something about a castle and a knight in shining armor coming to rescue her."

Tatsuki noticed the tinge of red on his cheeks. "Is that so?"

It was probably the simplest version, the most light-hearted. Ichigo refrained from making any revisions knowing that the actual story was a lot darker than a simple fairy tale.

"You know, you've always been her knight in shining armor." Tatsuki hesitantly stated.

"Is that so?" He repeated, keeping his eyes on the path ahead. There was awkward silence that lasted until he said. "We're here."

"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime shouted with a mile-wide smile as they emerged. The others were already waiting on the grass by the river.

"Man, Kurosaki, looks like those hollows chewed you up and spit you out!" Ishida hollered.

"Shut up!" He growled, seeing that his friends were completely unscathed. "You can just stand there and fire your pretty blue arrows! My only long range attack is Getsuga Tenshou and if I fire those willy-nilly the town'll be destroyed before Aizen even leaves Las Noches!"

"Maybe the Gotei 13 will teach you some kidou." Orihime suggested.

"Too bad you can't use a cero." Ishida said in a nonchalant manner but there was a meaningful look in his eyes.

"Why is Tatsuki here?" Orihime asked.

"I followed him." Tatsuki replied with a light laugh.

"I couldn't send her back with all these hollows around." Ichigo defended.

No one else there thought it strange but Tatsuki was surprised that, as they came to the bottom of the hill, Orihime strode up to Ichigo. He made no move of objection as she gently grasped his injured arm. The wound was hard to view through the mess of fabric and blood.

"May I?" She requested, pulling lightly on his sleeve. She wanted to roll it up to look.

"I got hurt on my shoulder too. I'll do it, Inoue." Again Tatsuki was the only one who was surprised when he carefully slipped his arms out of the top of his shihakushou and folded it over his oobi belt. Orihime took a bottle of water out of the tan bag she had slung over her shoulder. She carefully poured it over his arm, washing away the blood. His arm had two semi-circle gaps on either side.

"Those are teeth marks!" Ishida exclaimed, he'd been watching Orihime's progression. "They really did chew you up and spit you out!"

"Be quiet." Ichigo muttered. "I made a mistake, it wont happen again."

"Souten Kisshun! I reject!" Orihime gave him an encouraging smile as the orange barrier surrounded his arm. She moved to his other side to inspect his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Tatsuki asked. "What's this for?"

"She's healing him." Chad answered. It was the first time he'd said anything since they'd arrived.

Tatsuki wanted to watch the procedure but the now exposed bloody flesh made her cringe away. "You can really heal something like this?"

"I've seen worse. Kurosaki-kun can be really reckless sometimes." Orihime shook her head in disapproval.

There is was again. Worse. He'd said it. She'd said it. "Then what is the worst you've seen?"

Their group was silenced by the question, nobody wanted to answer. She would've pestered them about it till they answered if in that moment their Representative Shinigami hadn't released a stream of curses.

"Maybe you should just bandage me up."

"Kurosaki-kun..." Orihime followed his gaze to the sky.

There was a large black crack extended across the sky. Surrounding it the sky was once again covered with hollows. Before either could speak several fuming missiles rammed into the lowest group, exploding them. A wide, white carpet came fluttering over the river. On it were the group of Urahara's workers with Mr. Hat in Clogs himself perched right up front.

"Finish up! We'll hold them off for now. We don't want one of our best fighters out so early in the game!" Urahara shouted down to them from the same carpet they'd all ridden after their adventures in the Soul Society.

"Thanks, Urahara-san!" Orihime called, waving enthusiastically.

"Guess this is it." Ichigo stated in a tone of solemnicy that his nakama's expressions reflected.

"What is all this?" Tatsuki asked, agape.

"A war."

It was the day then on known as Day Zero.

xXxXXxXXxXXxXx

Masaki stood over her husband. Isshin's head was laying atop his folded arms, his body hunched over his desk. "Isshin, dear, wake up!"

He stirred, his eyes opened to a blurred view of his bright clinic office. "My God, Masaki, your torso is protruding from the mattress!"

"Calm down, it's okay; you fell asleep at your desk." Masaki said, her voice surprisingly stern.

"What a weird dream..." Isshin mumbled, sitting up straight. His tired eyes moved to the door. Through the glass only darkness was visible. "What time is it?

"A little after eight."

"Man! I forgot about Ichigo. I was supposed to-"

"That's the thing." Masaki interrupted. "I thought maybe he was upset so I was trying to be lenient...but it's been dark for over an hour and he still hasn't come home."

"He still hasn't come home..." Isshin repeated.

"You can do that sensor thing, can't you? I want to be sure that he's alright, I'm getting worried." Masaki asked.

Isshin blinked, his minds gears were still a bit sticky from having just woken up. Where... where... where... It was as if his body forgot to work because suddenly his heart and lungs hurt, his stomach felt twisted and sick. He's gone? He can't be! But I can't find his reiatsu! He abruptly stood up. "As a matter of fact, I'll go get him."

"Alright..." Before Masaki could get another word out he was out the door. He didn't even take off his long, white doctor coat.

xXxXXxXXxXXxXx

The rain had started pouring down from the sky, watering everything it could touch. The doctor's shoes made low splashes every time they hit the sidewalk. It was raining so hard that there was a little layer of water, like a huge puddle, on the ground.

Isshin was walking from his son's school, for the first time ever he was thanking the heavens that his son had a 'leakage problem'. It was so far his usual path straight home. With every step his guts twisted and turned in some obscure fashion. He was going straight home, just like I asked him to.

Isshin came to the end of the street, the dimming street light flickered with a low buzz. Laying now muddled and wet from the rain, beneath this light, there was a rose. He gently lifted it out of the water and twirled its stem, but it marked the end of the trail. No!

His hand trembled, shaking so badly that he could no longer hold onto the rose. It dropped back into the watery street as Isshin dropped to his knees. He was already soaked to the bone, shivering and shaking. "No...this can't be happening..."

"He can't be gone!" He bellowed up to the dark gray clouds. "He can't!"

xXxXXxXXxXXxXx

Without knocking or even hollering some greeting Isshin marched right through the small candy shop up to the inside entrance. He practically slammed the doors open, not caring to close them behind him. The main room was empty.

When he went back into the hall Yoruichi and Urahara were rushing towards him to see who was causing all the ruckus.

"...Isshin?" She asked, she was standing several feet in front of the shop keeper. "You're drenched! What happened?"

Isshin tried to catch his breath. "He's gone! My son is gone!"

Yoruichi shot a suspicious look back at Urahara. He raised his hands in defense. "It wasn't me!"

Yoruichi placed her hand on his soggy shoulder. "It's okay, we'll-"

"No, it's not okay!" He yelled, hysteria entering his voice. He threw the wet rose to their feet. "His reiatsu is gone! The path was a dead end! I couldn't find him! It was my fault! If I hadn't... if I hadn't fallen asleep then I might've been able to stop it! Don't tell me it's okay because it's not! Don't tell me it will be alright when you're not the one who has to go home and tell his mother that he's either been abducted or he's dead! How am I suppose to tell Masaki?!"

"Hey, hey. We'll find him." Yoruichi tried to coax. Unfortunately it wasn't something she was very good at. "C'mon, let's sit down."

They directed the wet doctor back into the main room, sat him down in front of the round kotatsu, and gave him a blanket and a cup of tea.

"You investigated. Do you have any theories?" Urahara asked curiously.

Isshin pulled on the blanket he had draped over his shoulders, the only thing it seemed to be accomplishing was getting the blanket wet. "If It was another human then he's far out of town, far enough that I can't even feel Ichigo's reiatsu. Maybe it was the Gotei 13, inspecting the sudden rise in spirit energy levels. Or... a hollow... Did you feel any new reiatsu today?"

"Sorry, no, nothing noticeable. But remember there are those in the Spirit World who are exceptionally skilled in masking their presence." Urahara pointed out. Although be the reminder otherwise useless, it was meant to help diminish his friend's guilt.

"We'll contact the Soul Society and see if we can't get any information. You focus on the human aspect." Yoruichi suggested.

"What about the hollow aspect?" Isshin asked reluctantly.

"Let us check off our other options first. If it was a hollow then we can't do anything about it. So for now let's go with the idea that it's not a hollow until were 100 percent sure that it wasn't anything else." Urahara agreed, their plan being to preserve hope as long as they could, until they found out his fate.

"Thank you, really, thank you." Isshin bowed his head.

"Not at all, not at all! Anything to help an old friend." Urahara laughed.

His eyes were blanketed with sadness. "You know what? I was waiting for him to come home. I was going to tell him that I was a shinigami. I was trying to make everything right..."

"But life isn't fair. Sometimes doing the right thing is a whole lot harder then we ever imagined." Yoruichi stated as she leaned forward to pour him more tea. "I promise, Kisuke and I will do everything in our power to help you find him."

Isshin thanked them again, dreading what was coming next. "I should head home..."

"Does Masaki know where you are?" Urahara asked.

"No, I left hours ago." Isshin shook his head in a dreary manner. "I told her I was going to get him; I never said anything about his reiatsu being gone."

"I'm sorry."

Isshin just bowed his head further.

"Alright you two, I'm going out. Good luck, Isshin. Stop bye if anything new comes up." Yoruichi waved as she walked out the door.

"I should leave too." Isshin stood up. "Bye, Kisuke."

"Take care of yourself."

xXxXXxXXxXXxXx

The feline looked up in disgust at the clouds. Its beautiful coat was matted down. The street light above it blinked several times before going out completely. Dead end.

Its large, yellow eyes blinked as it meowed feebly in defeat. This rope extended no further.

xXxXXxXXxXXxXx

At first she thought perhaps they were talking but after it got past twelve she started to worry. He'd been gone for four hours. Surely he would've called or sent some sort of shinigami mental telepathy message. Boys are boys, they don't always think of calling. But every passing second brought about more dreadful thoughts.

Masaki was sitting at the table, staring at the door way. When finally, around 2:30, the door squeaked open. She jumped out of her seat. Isshin walked in, sullen and wet. The whole time she stared out the door behind him, expectantly, but he shut it behind himself.

"W-where's Ichigo?" She stammered, fear taking a stab at her guts.

"Masaki." Was all he replied with.

Silence. Long, dreadful silence.

"Where is he?" She demanded.

Isshin's head was hung. "I don't know."

"What do you mean? How can you not know?! You're Mr. Shinigami with your super sense and magical demon spells!" Her voice showed more disbelief then anger.

"It doesn't work like that. Since I woke up I haven't been able to feel his reiatsu."

"When you can't feel his reiatsu...it means...?"

"He's gone."

"What are you talking about...he's gone?" She laughed with hysteria.

"I'm sorry, Masaki. I'm so sorry." He apologized, slipping his shoes off. "When we say we can't feel someone's reiatsu it means we can no longer feel their presence. They have to be far away, or somewhere else, or...they're dead."

"No." Masaki gasped. "You're lying!"

"Well, Ichigo couldn't mask his presence if his life depended on it... so only three things could've happened."

"And whose fault is that?!" Masaki stung her husband in a sore spot.

Isshin was taken aback, wordless. Masaki bustled past the door, but he quickly grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find my son."

"You can't go out right now; it's pouring out there and it's late. You'll get sick, Masaki."

"I have to find him, Isshin!"

"He has been kidnapped! What do plan on finding?!"

"My son!"

"I know this is probably my fault! If it's because of his reiatsu... I understand. That's why I promise, we'll find him. We are going to find him..." He swore but Masaki still tugged anyway.

"I have to try." She pleaded. "How can I just take your word that I won't find anything? How can I not do a thing when you barge in here telling me he's gone?! He's my baby, Isshin; he's still just a little boy. If I raised him right then he knows that if anything ever happens I will never give up looking for him. As is a child's right, he's expecting me to save him! How can you just ask me to sit still?!"

"Please, just calm down, Masaki! He'll be alright. We'll find him. We'll find him." Isshin attempted to calm her down.

"I'm his mother!" She shrieked, tears bubbling as she ripped her hand out of his. "You're not understanding me! I'm his mother, I have to try!"

With that she ran out the door, Isshin hurried after her. "Stop, Masaki! Please at least get dressed properly! You don't even have shoes on!"

The rain had had already drenched the top half her lilac t-shirt and was running rivers down her skin. Masaki swirled around, shaking her head. "Not yet. Don't leave the girls alone. Eventually their going to ask about their brother, so make sure you know what you're going to tell them! Call in, make a police report. I'll come home when I find him."

"He is not somewhere you can find him, Masaki!" But she was already disappearing into the dark sheets of rain. "Masaki, please come back here! Masaki! Masaki! MA-SA-KI!"

His bellowing voice faded into a pleaing tone as he repeated her name one more time. "Masaki."

His reaching arms, his pleading arms found nothing to hold onto. His torso slumped in defeat as he stared after his beautiful wife.

Chapter End