Happy New Years!

11/5/14: I recently reread the story and realized that I had left a few mistakes in, so I am editing it now. I'm just fixing mistakes, no actual plot changes! ^^

2/3/15: Once more I was reading through this story, and I realized that I had a continuity mistake between this one and Baby Boom, so I am fixing it now. (Sighs)


Chapter 7

Once the younger men were safely escorted back to Renji's quarters, the three Visoreds went to run a few errands for them. "Since when did we become their errand boys?" Kensei griped.

Shinji grinned at him, "Now don't be that way! You know you're just as curious as the rest of us to see how this plays out. Carrot-top has always been such a prude; and now…he isn't."

"Heh, at least until he gets his senses back. Man he's gonna be pissed when he does!" Kensei had to grin in anticipation of what would happen next.

"That's why we're helping them this time. We can't let Ichigo humiliate himself in front of the entire Seireitei," Rose concluded. The three nodded to each other and took off to take care of the business their comrade couldn't handle right now.

Meanwhile Renji and Ichigo were getting comfortable back in the apartment. "Why're we stuck here again?" Ichigo asked as he flopped onto the sofa in the living room while Renji sprawled on the floor with his hands folded behind his head.

"Because you can't keep your hands to yourself right now; and when this is over you'll kill me if I let you embarrass yourself."

The younger man sighed, "I can't help it!" He grinned wickedly at his mate, "It's your fault for being so irresistible, Ren."

Renji sat up, grinning, as Ichigo slid off the sofa, "Again, Ichi?"

"I said I couldn't help it," was his mischievous response as he closed in.


"Sotaicho, are ya free?" Shinji asked as he poked his head into Kyouraku's office. Not only was Shunsui there but Ukitake-taicho and Kisuke Urahara were in the room as well. "Hey Kisuke what are you doing in the Seireitei?"

Urahara smiled grimly, "There's been some trouble in Karakura."

Kyouraku looked over at Ukitake as the other two greeted one another and muttered, "I think it was a mistake to establish an open door policy when I took over, Ju."

Ukitake smiled, "Really? I believe it makes sense even if it can be awkward from time to time."

"Yeah, but no one's talking to me. They're just do their own thing!" he gestured to the other two men.

Hirako turned back to the two men, "Sorry for interrupting, but I need to talk to you both. It concerns Ichigo and Renji," Shinji huffed.

"Damn, what did they do now?" Kyouraku groaned.

"Ichigo's finally become a man!" Shinji answered with a wide grin as if that explained everything.

Kisuke caught on and leaned in to listen avidly, "Really? It's about time!"

"Come again?" Ukitake asked.

The blonde turned serious as he began his report, "I'm sure you remember the one non-negotiable stipulation Rose, Kensei, and I had when we agreed to resume our duties? We wouldn't come back without receiving leave to have time off whenever we and/or our mates enter heat." When the men nodded he continued, "Well, Ichigo needs to be added to the list with the same stipulation. He went into heat yesterday and Abarai–taicho was the lucky one he chose. So I suppose they both should be added," he added thoughtfully.

Kyouraku sat back in his chair, "Well, damn."

"That's wonderful!" Urahara chortled. "What took him so long?"

Shinji scratched his head as he sighed, "I figure that it's because Ichigo was still alive. If he'd already been a full-time shinigami, it would have happened sooner."

The blonde ex-captain nodded his head, "That makes sense, I suppose." He turned to Kyouraku, "I'm here due to Kurosaki-kun as well. As I said earlier, we've had some trouble. After Ichigo's funeral his sister, Karin, was attacked. It looked like a mugging."

"That sucks, but random crap like that happens," Shinji responded at the same time as Ukitake asked, "Is she alright?"

Kisuke answered both of the men, "She's fine but got a scare and there seems to be some doubt now as to whether or not it was random. Officially Ichigo's death is being investigated as a murder."


Renji had quite the lecherous grin when Ichigo closed in and leaned down for a soft kiss. It quickly turned heated and the older man rolled them over so that he could more easily guide their lovemaking. As they began to seriously play on the floor of the living room, the younger man tensed and suddenly sat up sniffing the air like a retriever. His mate backed away with a questioning look, "Don't tell me you're already losing interest?"

Ichigo scowled in frustration at Renji, "No, I'm not. Don't you smell that odor?"

"The only scent I'm getting is yours and it's wonderful. Not odorific at all!" he grinned.

"Is that even a word?" Ichigo began and then he realized where he'd smelled that stench before. "Shit! We gotta get out of here now, Renji!" he yelled as he sprang up, Renji quickly following.


"What do you mean, murder?" Ukitake asked in a horrified tone of voice.

"The fire was started on purpose. A serial arsonist was setting fires during the previous couple of months; all within Ichigo's division. They were spaced out every two to three days like clockwork. And there hasn't been one since Ichigo died. The arsonist missed his next deadline. However a few hours after that first missed deadline Karin was assaulted. It was a failure only because Chad happened to be there and prevented it. It now looks like the fires were set to deliberately take down Ichigo and the killer has moved on to his sister."

The other three men were silent as they considered Urahara's assessment.

"Who would want to do that?" Kyouraku was all business now.

Kisuke shook his head, "We don't know for certain yet. As far as we know there's no reason for those two to have that kind of enemy. None of Ichigo's enemies would attack in so cowardly a way, they would want Ichigo to know who was attacking and why. And they certainly wouldn't go after his sister!"

As the captains considered his remarks, they heard an explosion rock the Seireitei.


"We gotta get out of here now, Renji!" Ichigo yelled as he sprang up, Renji following; quickly grabbing their zanpakutos on the way. They'd barely left the building when a huge explosion shook the ground and the blast knocked them off their feet and into a wall opposite the complex. Neither man stayed down for long, they began to make sure that the rest of the residents made it out safely.

Fortunately, not many people were home and most were shinigami who knew how to take care of themselves. It seemed like the epicenter of the blast was at their end of the building. Neither man knew what to think about it.

"This wasn't an accident," Ichigo stated the obvious. It's what they both were thinking. "I smelled the explosive earlier. I'd know that odor anywhere. God knows I worked enough fires set with it to last me ten lifetimes. I died in one of them, damn it!" he scrubbed his hands through his hair in frustration. Renji wrapped an arm around the younger man's shoulders and drew him into a comforting hug just as Kyouraku and company showed up.

"Are you guys alright?" Jushiro asked a bit frantically. Both of the younger men nodded and then Ichigo noticed Urahara.

"Kisuke, what are you doing here? Would someone please tell me how an arsonist from the World of the Living could set a fire here!?" he was yelling as he gestured to the building going up in smoke behind him. Renji wrapped his arms around his irate mate and Ichigo settled down almost immediately though he was still glaring. The change was so sudden the older men would have laughed if the situation hadn't been so serious.

"It seems to be under control now," Kyouraku observed as he looked around. "I think we need to go back to my office and compare notes. What do you say?" Kyouraku may have asked the others but his tone of voice brooked no arguments.


After the group returned to the Sotaicho's office and Nanao had settled down to take notes, Shunsui dove in, "Ichigo, are you certain the fire was caused by the same explosive that caused your death?"

The orange head nodded, "I personally worked seven fires set with that explosive. I'd never forget the smell," he wrinkled his nose at the memory. "This is insane…how can it be?" he stared straight at Urahara. "Kisuke, why are you here? You wouldn't be included unless you had some input on this; so tell me…what brings you by?" he asked suspiciously.

Urahara didn't flinch from the steady gaze of his former student, "You know me too well." He paused to consider his words before continuing, "The fires stopped the night you died." He let that sink in before continuing, "Karin was almost mugged shortly after your funeral. The police have connected the two incidents and have ruled your death a homicide." Kisuke knew he was stating everything very baldly but he also knew how much Ichigo appreciated straightforward bluntness.

"Is she ok?" was Ichigo's first question and when he received an affirmative he sighed in relief. "If both incidents are really connected, then it seems logical to assume the explosion today is connected somehow as well."

He looked sharply at Urahara and barked, "What's the connection? If someone is after both Karin and myself and they can attack in the Living World and here; who are they? Are they shinigami or Arrancar? And who's the target?"

Urahara sighed, "I don't know for certain, Kurosaki-san." When Ichigo looked as if he was about to question that statement; the blonde held up a hand to silence him. "I do have an idea but I need to speak to your father first. If it's who I think it is, Isshin should be in on this."

Ichigo sat back with a frustrated snort, "Then get out of here and talk to him already! Don't drag things out until someone else dies!"

The door to the office flew open and the men inside heard a very well-known voice bounce off the walls, "That won't be necessary!"


"What do you mean you failed?" the deadly quiet voice had the man shaking in his sandals.

"Wakahisa-s-sama, it couldn't be avoided. The g-girl's boyfriend was with her," he stammered out a quick reply.

"…And her brother? How could you make such a stupid mistake?" the older man questioned as he began to stalk his underling. "I thought you understood your assignment. The children were to be sent to the Soul Society, not targeted once they got there! I want them separated from that bastard and I want them never to meet again! Period. But you couldn't follow orders; you had to act on your own? I wanted Kurosaki to suffer, not get the jump on me!" his hand shot out, piercing through his subordinate's chest. The young shinigami never saw it coming and he was dead before he hit the floor.

Wakahisa wiped the blood from his hand and turned his back on the dead man as he began to dissipate. "You're up next, Shinobu. Don't screw it up," he quietly stated to a man dressed all in black standing in the shadows as he began to leave the room. "I don't like repeating myself. Make sure that I don't have to."

"Yes, Sir," a shadow separated from the back of the room as another man stepped forward and bowed his master out of the room.


Both Renji and Ichigo cut their eyes around to the door as Yoruichi, followed by Isshin, walked in. "You see? I brought him along!" she smiled at the men gathered and sat down.

The rest turned their eyes to the brunette standing just inside the door. "Sooo, you're Ichigo-kun's father," Shunsui made the observation as a statement rather than a question as he looked the other man over.

"Yes, Kyouraku-taicho…or should I say Sotaicho?" Isshin smiled at his sempai, it had been too many years and this was one of the few people he'd actually missed!

Kyouraku waved off the comment, "Nah, we're all friends here; however I want to know what's going on, and why we had an explosion in the Seireitei today."

As everyone settled down and Renji leaned forward to listen to the elder Kurosaki, his mate got distracted. Even though Ichigo was listening to what was going on he couldn't help himself; for the time being he was a moth to Renji's flame and he began to run his hand lightly along his lover's shoulders. Renji carefully took the roaming hand and lightly kissed Ichigo's wrist before linking their fingers together to keep the carrot-top from continuing his fun. Everyone in the room noticed the by-play but were too focused on Isshin to stop the flow of his narrative in order to tease his son.

"When I first joined my squad as a seated officer, I was assigned to patrol Karakura," he smiled at the memories. "Early on I noticed a group of three kids, two boys and a girl. The girl was constantly bossing the other two around even though she seemed to be the youngest of the three. One day the boy with silver hair and glasses pointed up to where I was perched on a roof and I heard him say that they should just ask me. They all proceeded to look up and wave me down to them," he laughed and shook his head. "I wasn't used to humans being able to see me and I almost fell off from the shock." Several of the shinigami present grinned at the visual as he continued, "They had to be middle school age about then and their names were Ryuken Ishida, Masaki Kurosaki, and Hisoka Wakahisa." There were several shocked faces in the room, Isshin noticed, grinning.

"Imagine my surprise when Ryuken rather arrogantly challenged me, asking if I was a shinigami and why I was even there since they had it under control. Right about then I felt a hollow and before I could do anything, he turned and shot an arrow right between its eyes. Those three kids taught me a lot about judging others based only on hearsay. They taught me so much over the years and as they grew up, we became friends."

"I think you all know now that Masaki and Ryuken were in training to become Quincys. Hisoka was different. He had the ability to throw up very powerful shields, similar to Orihime-chan's only he was fantastic with both defense and offense. He was strong and every inch a warrior. Kisuke had met them running around and was helping to hone their skills. By the time they were in high school, our group worked together to take down the hollows and we were practically invincible," he ran a hand through his hair in agitation and then sat down near Kyouraku's desk, his eyes distant.

"They were more than friends, they were family. During the kid's final year in high school, while I was back in the Soul Society, there was a massive hollow attack and Hisoka was hurt. I didn't know anything about this for years. Kisuke found him and…" his voice trailed off.

"I found him," Urahara picked up the story thread his voice tight, "right as he was dying. There was nothing I could do for him as far as saving his life; it was too late. However something weird happened when he died. His soul didn't come out as a usual spirit but as a shinigami. Another weird factor was he was unconscious; usually spirits are aware of everything going on around them." The blonde looked up at his audience, "I have to admit I wasn't thinking clearly at the time. All I could think of was that his human life was being cut short and that he didn't ask for this. I guess that wasn't quite true because no one twisted his arm to fight the hollows. He still didn't deserve to die so young."

"Anyway I did something I shouldn't," he continued. "I placed him into a gigai similar to the one Kurosaki-kun's been wearing for the past two plus decades. It mimicked a human body and would age. It would also let his natural talents come through so he wouldn't know. And I never told him."

The only ones not shocked by this were Yoruichi and Isshin, who already knew the story and Ichigo who knew Urahara. "Don't you know how reprehensible that was Kisuke?" Ukitake asked appalled. The blonde nodded as Kurosaki took up the narrative again.

"Up until then Hisoka and I had a friendly rivalry going on for Masaki's attention. It's safe to say we both loved her very much," he smiled at the memory. "That continued but I was able to finally pull ahead and when I asked her to marry me, she said yes. Two years later I faked my death, donned a gigai, and married my wife," he paused, eyes focused inward. "He took it with a good grace and we all remained friends."

"Masaki and I had three beautiful children, Hisoka became a bigwig in the Tokyo business world, and Ryuken became a doctor, married and had Uryu. Our fighting group broke up but our connections remained. And Masaki was the glue that held us together. Of course good things never last.

"When she died…" his voice trailed off again. He put his head in his hands and took a few deep breaths before raising his head and continuing, "When she died, Hisoka blamed me. He said it was all my fault that she was gone and her three children were left orphaned. He broke off all ties and I never saw him again. However on the anniversary of her death, every year, he's sent me a note; a reminder if you will that he hasn't forgotten and will make me pay."

The room was silent as everyone digested the story. Ichigo was the first to stir after his father was done, "If it's as you say and he's going for revenge, how could he come here? I mean he doesn't know he's a shinigami, right? He still thinks he's alive? If that's true how is it possible for him to have the ability to come here? Under normal circumstances all the fires would be connected…but how is it possible in this instance?"

Isshin shook his head, "I don't know, Ichigo."


A/N: I swear I re-wrote this chapter about four times before I got it where I wanted it. I know I jumped back and forth a lot but everything was happening at the same time so to me it made sense to write it that way. I just hope it built the tension the way I wanted it to rather than destroyed it or was too confusing. :)