Author's Note: It's been a while since I updated this story. My difficulty from doing so came from a recent family incident that forced me and my family to find a new place to live and naturally I had to drop everything I was doing for a while, I was even forced to withdraw from my final semester of college. But that's all in the past now and everything's finally stable once more and I find myself with more free time on my hands these days. I'm fast approaching where I want to be with this story; hopefully that will help with getting the chapters finished quicker. I also finally worked Unohana back into this story for some much needed drama and gave you all a pretty big reveal at the end of this chapter to keep you interested! ;)
DISCLAIMER~ As always, Bleach- which is now sadly on it's final arc in the manga- is the property of Tite Kubo.
It had actually gone better than he had hoped. At least Ichigo was still alive and Kisuke had already formed a new plan. It seemed that their sudden negative was on the verge of becoming a positive.
Ryuu, Yoruichi, and Kisuke had arrived minutes before Byakuya and his lieutenant left with Rukia to the Soul Society, leaving Ichigo lying bloody and powerless on the ground. Kisuke was the one who rushed them to Ichigo's house and sent Ichigo after Rukia. They stayed at a safe yet observable distance and with the use of one of Kisukes devices, masked their spiritual pressure from Byakuya.
When the Senkaimon had closed the three made their way to Ichigo's body. The boy was barely conscious, having lost so much blood from the wounds inflicted by a Captain class Soul Reaper. Uryuu who had arrived before Ichigo had suffered injuries while trying to save Rukia, gave them a few parting words before heading off on his own. Ryuu knelt down beside Ichigo's body and looked over his wounds. Ichigo groaned and looked up at the older man.
"M-Mr…Hiromasa?" he managed to ask.
"You're turning out to be quite the surprise, Ichigo," Ryuu commented with a smirk. "Go ahead and sleep."
Not that Ichigo had a choice; the loss of blood finally caused him to pass out in the street. Ryuu hoisted the boy up onto his shoulder, making sure not to exacerbate his injuries any further.
"Well, let's get him back to the shop. He's in for quite the rude awakening," Kisuke stated before turning on his heel and heading back in the direction they arrived in.
"What do you think?" Yoruichi suddenly asked.
"About what?" Ryuu asked curiously.
"About Byakuya," she clarified.
"Oh…he's taller," Ryuu answered before continuing onward.
Yourichi let out a frustrated sigh as she followed after him.
A scream rang out through the Urahara shop. Ryuu and Kisuke made their way to the room where they had let Ichigo rest.
"Looks like he's awake," Kisuke said with a grin behind his fan.
"Why Tessai chose to wake him up like that is beyond me," Ryuu remarked.
"He claimed it was the only way to make sure Ichigo was truly alright."
"Really? Traumatizing him and not using any healing kido was the only way to make sure he was alright?" Ryuu asked unconvinced.
"Why don't you ask him?" Kisuke inquired with a shrug.
"No, I'm staying clear of that weirdness," Ryuu replied.
They opened the door and saw Ichigo lying bandaged up in his futon looking around at his new environment in confusion.
"You shouldn't move around so much Ichigo," Kisuke stated casually from behind his fan as he walked into the room. "Your wounds haven't healed yet. If you move around so much you might die!"
"Laying it on a bit thick don't you think?" Ryuu asked with a deadpanned look.
"You think so?" Kisuke asked, appearing to be genuinely stunned.
"Mr. Hiromasa? And you, you're that "hat and clogs guy"!" Ichigo said in realization. "So…this is where you live?"
"Correct!" Kisuke replied, snapping his fan shut.
"You guys…saved me?" Ichigo asked with a frown.
"What's with that tone?" Kisuke asked. "You make it sound as if we made a mistake."
Ichigo said nothing, but placed his hand over his wounded shoulder. Ryuu could see that the boy was hurting and the pain wasn't just physical. He had been beaten almost instantly by his opponent and wasn't able to save his friend. He probably didn't feel worthy of saving.
"Oh right! Did you guys find Uryuu? He got hurt too! Is he here?" Ichigo asked worriedly.
"Nope!" Kisuke answered.
"Your Quincy friend took a beating, but his injury was far from severe," Ryuu explained. "Kisuke treated his injury and then he just got up and walked away. He was actually more concerned about you."
"Uryuu? Yeah right," Ichigo replied unconvinced.
"It's the truth!" Kisuke exclaimed. "He told us to focus on healing you. He said he wasn't the one to beat those guys. I believe his exact words were "The only one that can save Rukia is him"."
Ichigo's scowl deepened.
"Only me? What does he expect me to do? Rukia's already back in the Soul Society!" Ichigo shouted angrily. "How can I follow her there? How the hell am I supposed to rescue her? There's no way!"
"You really think there's no other way…to get into the Soul Society?" Kisuke asked dangling the bait before Ichigo.
"What? So there is a way?"
'That certainly got his attention,' Ryuu thought.
"How? How can I get there?" the orange-haired teen demanded. "Tell me how!"
"I will tell you…under one condition," Kisuke responded calmly. "Starting right now, for ten days, you will learn how to fight properly with me."
"What? You're telling me to train?" Ichigo shouted incredulously. "You think I have time for that? Rukia could be executed by then! I need to get there as fast as possible!
"You are quite the frustrating person," Kisuke said frankly.
Ryuu watched his expression calm and his arms crossed over his chest as Kisuke pushed the butt of his cane against Ichigo's head and knocked him down with absolutely no effort all while vaulting over the former substitute Soul Reaper and landing behind him.
"Don't be stupid. If you went to the Soul Society now, you'd die," Kisuke stated matter-of-factly.
Ichigo could only look up at the candy salesman, beads of fear induced sweat dripping down his face as Kisuke's cane hovered one dangerous inch from his face.
"You really think you can stand up to them now, without you powers?" Kisuke asked. "I let you fight those two Soul Reapers. I figured you'd understand physical results better than words or warnings. I wanted you to realize just how large of a gap in power you are from the rest of them. You're weak right now and a weakling barging into enemy territory is as good as committing suicide. You want to rescue Rukia? Don't make me laugh. If you get yourself killed, there'll be no one to blame."
Ichigo's fearful expression intensified just a bit, causing Ryuu to smirk. At first he always wondered how a guy like Kisuke could have possibly been in the Stealth Force, but the conversation he just watched washed away any doubts. Kisuke was a scarier man than people realized.
"I think he gets the message, Kisuke. Back off before he wets himself," Ryuu said with a light chuckle.
Kisuke flashed Ryuu a light grin before standing up and removing his cane from Ichigo's face before continuing.
"The Soul Society usually allows a grace period lasting up to a month before a convict is executed for the maximum penalty," he explained. "It is the same in Rukia's case. We'll only be troubling you for ten days."
Ichigo gave an annoyed scowl at Kisuke's explanation. He clearly didn't like being made a fool out of for his lack of knowledge regarding the Soul Society.
"When you've finished your training, it will take seven days to open the door to the Soul Society," Kisuke continued. "So once you've arrived in the Soul Society, you will have thirteen days. You have more than enough time."
Ichigo said nothing, appearing to be lost in thought.
"In ten days…will I get be stronger?" he asked.
"Of course," Kisuke answered. "If you really want to save Rukia, you will need a will stronger than steel. If your determination is anything less than wholehearted, it's worth nothing. So for ten days…can you be seriously determined to fight?"
Ichigo looked away from Kisuke and out the window. Kisuke might not have thought so, but he was asking quite a bit of the young teen. To suddenly have to abandon any notion of normalcy within your daily life and be thrust into a world he was centuries to early from understanding was truly an unfair price to pay.
"If I don't do it, no one else will," Ichigo finally spoke up. "I guess I have no chose! Let's do it!"
Ryuu and Kisuke shared an amused smirk.
"Well then, I hope you're ready for Hell, boy," Ryuu said with an evil grin that made Ichigo shudder.
Later that day
All the occupants of the Urahara shop stood outside in the lot, except for Yoruichi who had run off somewhere to take care of "the other prospects", as she put it.
"You really think he's ready for this Kisuke?" Ryuu asked curiously as he paced back and forth across the shop's front lot.
"Ichigo hasn't been a Soul Reaper very long and he does lack true combat and field experience, but his growth rate is unlike anything I've ever seen in someone so young. If you're asking if I'm sure he'll get one hundred percent stronger, I truly can't answer for certain, but I can promise you that he will depart for the Soul Society ready, willing, and able to fight," Kisuke stated confidently.
"I say you should just have Tessai wrap him and I in that crazy space…time…whatever thing that he does and have me bang out a month's worth of training," Ryuu said.
"As great as that idea sounds, Ryuu, using that "space time thing", as you so aptly call it, would not work out for what I have planned exactly, and besides I thought you wanted to get him to the Soul Society alive. Do you really think he could survive a month under your tutelage?"
"Hmm…probably not. Alright, point taken," Ryuu relented.
"Just have a little faith Ryuu…Ah! Speak of the devil," Kisuke announced when he noticed a familiar presence at the front of the lot.
Standing before them was Ichigo.
"Oh, welcome, Mr. Kurosaki!" Kisuke greeted enthusiastically. "How are your wounds?"
Ichigo responded by ripping open his shirt and showing them the scars that had formed. They had healed rather nicely thanks to Tessai's kido mastery. A normal person would have most likely still been hospitalized.
"I'm good," Ichigo said.
"Perfect!" Kisuke exclaimed.
"What did you tell your family?" Ryuu asked curiously.
"That I was staying over at a friend's house."
"Oh? Did you say it was a girl?" Ryuu teased.
"It does sound like an excuse to do the "hanky panky" doesn't it?" Kisuke said teasingly as well.
"I'll kill the both of you!" Ichigo growled.
"There will be time for that later, child," Ryuu said his tone slightly daring. "Right now, let's just get you to learn the basics of actually holding a weapon."
"I already know how to do that!" the teen said defensively.
"Oh, I saw. Very cute; swing enough times and hope you manage to at least cut them," the veteran Soul Reaper replied with a smirk.
Ichigo's scowl deepened, but Ryuu could see the light tint in his cheeks that proved his embarrassment.
"Trust me, Ichigo. When we're done with you…you'll be just below adequate."
"Screw you!"
"Whoa! Where did this giant room come from? How long has it been here?" Kisuke asked after the group made their way into the underground training area.
"I have no idea, Mr. Urahara, I'm just as stumped as you are," Ryuu said, playing along with Kisuke's pretentious ignorance.
"You two aren't fooling anyone, you know," Ichigo grumbled.
"You're right, Mr. Kurosaki! There's no need to hide this 'study hall'," Kisuke replied keeping up the charade. "It's a masterpiece created by the culmination of great style and our advanced technology that I built all for you! It-"
"Don't overdo it, Kisuke," Ryuu said in mild annoyance.
"Aw, but it was such a vast undertaking that I completed it in one day!" Kisuke pretended to whine.
"And I'm sure it's a fascinating story, but we have work to do, no?"
"Oh very well," the exiled eccentric said with a shrug. "I'll tell him the story another time."
"I don't really care," Ichigo said casually as he proceeded to stretch. "You guys are saying we have work to do, so let's get started already."
"Impatience doesn't win battles, Ichigo," Ryuu reproached.
"But his spirit is to be commended," Kisuke noted. "Then we shall grant you your wish. Shall we begin?"
Before Ichigo could ask what Kisuke meant, the odd shop owner thrust the butt of his cane against the boy's forehead. Ichigo's soul was propelled from its mortal shell and sent tumbling back still attached via soul chain.
Once he stopped rolling, he looked up and glared furiously at Kisuke.
"What the hell was that for?" he demanded as got to his feet only to find the task much more difficult than usual. The teen looked down and found the chain that he had no doubt seen multiple times during his tenure as a Substitute Soul Reaper.
"This is your first time, isn't it? To be separated from your body as nothing more than an ordinary soul?" Kisuke asked knowingly. "I imagine you're finding it difficult to breathe right now? Moving is also proving to be difficult, is it not?"
"How do you…" Ichigo tried to ask, but found himself stopping to catch his breath.
"During your last battle," Kisuke began, "the source of you power, your Soul Sleep, and the booster for that power, your Saketsu, were both destroyed by the one called Byakuya Kuchiki," Kisuke explained. "Basically, you're just an ordinary human soul with no spiritual powers whatsoever. If you want to fight a Soul Reaper, unless your spiritual power is restored you won't stand a chance."
"The first thing you're going to learn is how to move the spiritual body of yours freely. Spiritual power has a very powerful effect on the spirit. In other words, the more your spiritual powers increase, the sharper the movements of your spiritual body will be. If you can move your spiritual body faster than your mortal body, then that means you have made a full recovery of your spiritual power."
Ichigo for his part looked very confused. Ryuu knew from Tatsuki's description that the boy could be a bit dense at times. He was most likely just waiting for the lecture to end.
"I don't really get it," Ichigo stated. "What exactly do you want me to do? Gymnastic exercises or something?"
"Don't be a smartass, Ichigo," Ryuu chided.
"Maybe it would be better if we just started?" Kisuke suggested. "Hey! Are you ready?" he called out in the direction behind him.
Ichigo looked past the shopkeeper and spotted Ururu walking towards them using her skirt to carry some rather comical looking fighting gear.
"N-Nice to meet you," she greeted meekly.
"Um…hello?" Ichigo greeted back unsure of what was going on.
"Your first lesson!" Kisuke stated cheerfully. "Try fighting Ururu."
"What?"
"The rules are simple: as soon as one of you is no longer able to move, the lesson ends! So just try to knock her out before she knocks you out!" Kisuke explained.
"Are you out of your mind? You want me to fight a little girl?" Ichigo exclaimed.
"Oh? I think she prove to be quite a challenge in your current state," Kisuke replied nonchalantly.
"What'd you say?" Ichigo demanded angrily.
"Please put these on," Ururu said as she dropped the second set of gear and began putting on her own.
"What? Wait, I'm not gonna-"Ichigo tried to protest, but was cut off by Ururu.
"Please put these on or you will die," the tiny girl said.
"Wha-" before Ichigo could even get the full word out, Ururu was already two inches away from his face with her fist reared back. As soon as her small fist made contact, a massive dust cloud erupted.
"You see…I told you so," Kisuke said grimly.
A few seconds later, most of the dust had cleared and Ururu was finally visible, but Ichigo was nowhere in sight.
"He's not getting up," Jinta noted.
"Do you think he's dead?" Tessai asked.
"Good question," Kisuke replied.
"There he is!" Ryuu stated upon seeing Ichigo come sliding out of the dust cloud looking no worse for wear.
"Good, he's alive," Ryuu said with a relieved sigh. "Kisuke, I leave this in your capable hands," Ryuu added clapping his friend on the shoulder before heading towards the ladder that led up to the shop.
"We'll take good care of him!" Kisuke called out.
Ryuu exited the underground training and the shop. He had faith in Kisuke's training methods- strange though they may be- and decided he wasn't needed for Ichigo's training. He would oversee the youth's progress over the next ten days, but Kisuke was right in stating that any training regimen Ryuu had lined up would have most likely resulted in the boy's death. Besides, he had to get his own affairs in order. He would need to find someone else to man the dojo, and eventually break the news to his students that he was departing. He would be leaving the World of the Living for the Soul Society with Ichigo.
Honestly, he did feel bad that he would be leaving his students behind, especially Tatsuki, but this was world was not his home. His home was in the Soul Society, his life was in the Soul Society, and the love of his life was in the Soul Society. As much as he had come to care for his students, he couldn't stay in Karakura Town, it wasn't where he belonged.
All he wanted was to hold Retsu in his arms again. Soon, he would be one step closer to having her back.
"I'll get it!" Yuzu Kurosaki announced as she hurried towards the door upon hearing the doorbell. She opened the door and looked up in surprise at the man behind it.
"Mr. Hiromasa?"
"Hello, Yuzu," Ryuu greeted with a friendly smile. "I'm here to see your father. Is he home by any chance?"
"Yes, please come in," Yuzu answered politely as she opened the door further for her guest. "He should be in the living room. Follow me."
Ryuu followed the little girl into the Kurosaki house and was led to the living room where Isshin was found sitting on the couch reading the newspaper.
"Daddy, Mr. Hiromasa is here to see you," she said aloud.
Isshin's ears perked up at the mention or Ryuu and turned his head around to give Ryuu his best impression of a surprised friend. The crafty patriarch probably sensed Ryuu's spiritual pressure a mile away and was well aware of who had rung his doorbell.
"Ryuu! What an unexpected surprise!" Isshin exclaimed cheerfully.
"Well, I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop in and say hello to my favorite family," Ryuu replied with a grin.
"Well, don't just stand there, take a seat," Isshin insisted gesturing to the armchair next to the couch.
"Can I get you anything, Mr. Hiromasa?" Yuzu asked.
"No thank you, Yuzu, I'm fine," Ryuu replied.
"Okay. Daddy, I'll go get started on dinner now," the tiny youth stated before hurrying off into the kitchen.
"She's going to make some lucky man very happy one day," Ryuu mused.
"No one's good enough for my little girl," Isshin scoffed.
"I assume you know why I'm here," Ryuu said knowingly.
Isshin folded up his newspaper and let out a long sigh.
"How's he doing?" he asked.
"When I left, he was still alive," Ryuu responded.
"That's a start I suppose."
"Are you really alright this?" Ryuu asked curiously.
Isshin leaned back against the couch and stared at the wall, appearing to be in deep thought.
He had allowed his son to take part in training that could potentially get him killed in order to take part in was essentially a suicide mission. Was it poor parenting? Of course it was. No self-respecting parent would knowingly allow their child to take part in such danger. Did he want his only son to actually do this? No. He would have preferred it if his children had remained blissfully ignorant of the world he once belonged to. It seemed that that was just a futile dream at this point. In retrospect, perhaps he should have anticipated it.
In any case, it wasn't like he could stop Ichigo; he knew his son too well. Even if he put bars on his window, the boy would have found a way to break free and run off to rescue his friend. That was Ichigo's most admirable trait as well as his biggest flaw.
"To ask if I'm okay with just letting my son run off to a place you and both know would chew him up and spit him back out if he screws up…yeah, I guess I'm fine with it," Isshin finally answered.
Ryuu let out a dry laugh. Isshin was always able to make light of any situation, no matter how grim.
"Isshin…I owe you an apology," Ryuu stated with a light frown.
"Captain Hiromasa is apologizing? The world has gone mad!" Isshin exclaimed.
"I don't have to do this you know!" Ryuu snapped.
"No, please, go on, this is a first!" Isshin said with a chuckle.
"You didn't deserve my anger during our last visit. It was wrong of me to get upset over you merely stating the truth," Ryuu continued doing his best to ignore his former Third Seat's buffoonery. "But understand, Isshin, I miss my wife, I miss my home. I would do anything to get it all back."
"I understand, Ryuu," Isshin said his expression turning to one of sympathy. "I don't blame you for being upset. You had everything you held dear taken from you. If I were in your position I'd probably be ready to break through the gates too…but have you actually thought about what would happen when you ran into Retsu?"
"Constantly."
"And?"
"I honestly don't know."
"Have you considered Aizen might be planning on that exact scenario?" Isshin inquired.
"Kisuke has already warned me of that. It does sound like something Aizen would do," Ryuu said in agreement. "He probably expects me to go back and make a run straight for him. Perhaps use my loved for my wife against me. I'll know soon enough."
"What do you…you're leaving," Isshin stated in realization.
Ryuu nodded. "As soon as your son's training is complete and Kisuke finishes his entry point into the Soul Society. That's part of why I came, Isshin, to say goodbye. Whatever happens, whether I live or die, I won't be coming back to this place."
"Your mind's made up then?"
"Yes. I've waited too long, Isshin. It's now or never."
"You do realize that you may have to fight your old comrades, not just your wife," Isshin pointed out. "Are you strong enough to fight them?"
"Physically, yes. If you're asking if I'm emotionally ready for it then I don't have an answer."
"Just be careful, Ryuu. Your enemy is not someone you can beat with a single stroke," Isshin warned. "When I left the Soul Society, Aizen already had everyone wrapped around his finger. He's the last person anyone would accuse of being the monster he truly is. You'll never get him to confess and if you manage to kill him without proving your innocence…there will be nowhere for you to run."
Ryuu was silent for several moments. He knew Isshin was right. His former Third Seat was always so damn perceptive despite behaving like a fool. Fortunately, Ryuu had already resigned himself to his fate. He would either stop Aizen or die trying. If he succeeded, at least the Soul Society would be safe…Retsu would be safe.
"Either way, I have to stop him before it's too late…if it isn't already."
It was rare for Retsu Unohana to have any personal time. Her rank as Captain of Squad Four and duties as the most skilled medical expert in the Seireitei rarely allowed for any time to herself. Tonight had been just one of those rare moments were there were no serious injuries to attend to and a miniscule amount of paper work. She chose to spend this precious time by drinking tea on her patio beneath the moonlight.
The Seireitei had been in uproar lately. It had been quite some time since a formal execution had been announced. It wasn't the nature of the crime that had been the cause of so much gossip, but rather the identity of the perpetrator.
The Kuchikis had always been an example of a law abiding family. They followed every word of the law to the letter and would sooner renounce their station and liberties than break it for any reason. Hence the shock when a member of the Kuchiki family was convicted of treason by granting her powers to a human.
Retsu did not believe in passing judgment on others based on hearsay alone. She did not know the full story and therefor decided not to form either a positive or negative opinion on Rukia Kuchiki. Not that it was any of her concern. Her first and foremost charge was the protection of the Seireitei from threats both foreign and domestic and it was not her place to involve herself with what was a family affair and not just a crime that fell outside her own jurisdiction to begin with.
These were all thoughts she quickly pushed away for the sake of enjoying her evening. The night was so serene. It would have been perfect if she had someone to share it with.
She instantly recalled a person she would have shared a night like this and so many others with. He was the first thing she thought of when she woke up and the last thing thought of when she retired for bed. Her husband, Ryuu Hiromasa…or former husband as many had been calling him.
Ryuu's supposed involvement in the heinous crimes against the former captains and lieutenants of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads had come as nothing short of a shock to her one hundred years ago. She never once believed that the man she loved could commit such an atrocity. When his guilt had been announced by the Central Forty-Six and then the Head Captain, it marked the first time in her long tenure as Captain that Retsu Unohana had broken her calm demeanor and vocally and fervently objected her superior.
She refused to believe such a thing could be true and insisted that there must have been some mistake, but with her husband's abandonment of his post and all too sudden disappearance from the Soul Society, she found herself unable to stop the torrent of doubts that had flooded her. She couldn't recall a time when she had cried so much in her entire life. Her husband had been branded a traitor and vanished from her life. What only served to twist the knife further was the incredible news she had spent days preparing to tell him before the incident.
Ryuu was going to be a father.
The memories caused a sudden surge of emotion to course through her and without her realizing it, a single tear slid down her cheek. She brought her face to her hand and wiped the tear away, but it was too late. More tears had begun to fall as the memory of the only man she had ever loved tormented her.
She wept. Like on so many other nights since that day, Retsu Unohana wept alone and heartbroken.
