Kurosaki Isshin knew where his son had been hiding, and he had a good guess why. Urahara Kisuke had been feeding him information, and there wasn't anything that man didn't know about what was going on in their town. He'd been kept informed on the trip to Hueco Mundo and how Ichigo and his friends were recovering, and knew his son was at least in capable hands when it came to the Vizards. That would have to do for now.

What neither of them liked, and could do nothing about without drawing suspicion and causing trouble with Soul Society, was that someone else was keeping a close eye on things as well. They knew Aizen had his hand in there somewhere but where and how wasn't completely clear. No, the problem was the watcher in Soul Society. They couldn't cut off their data feed, because it would alert them to their awareness of it and might cause a bigger mess, all they could do was control what information got through.

They just didn't know what information already had been received.

It had been missed at first, because in situations like the one they were in Soul Society kept a close eye on the area and it didn't come across as weird to have a general surveillance net. It might have been too little too late to discover that this net was taking detailed information on all four of the children who'd gone into Soul Society after Rukia, monitoring each of them as closely as if they were spread open on an examination table.

There was little he could do without interfering directly, and that would expose him not only to Ichigo but to Soul Society as well.

So he waited, and he trusted in his son to do what was right and have the strength to carry the responsibility of his fate. Knowing that what he had become would one day have Ichigo unwillingly made an enemy of Soul Society like the Vizards before him. All he could do at this point was stand back and watch, continuing on in his role as father and try to be the mentor he knew his son deserved.

Isshin hadn't expected Ichigo to return home so soon, and it would have been a lie to say he wasn't surprised by suddenly feeling Ichigo's reiatsu headed to their clinic rather than Urahara's shop for a return visit to Hueco Mundo. It wasn't an unpleasant surprise, and for the first time in a little while a good mood settled over him, teasing his daughters more, and even making a playful joke about Karin and the Shinigami she'd dragged home with her.

The redhead was one he recognized, a friend of Ichigo's who'd fought side by side with his son before. He'd even risked his life to go into Hueco Mundo for Inoue. He trusted the boy, and trusted that even with the obvious change in what Ichigo was he would stand by his side as a friend.

Humming to himself happily, he went about his evening activities around the house as usual, raining down his fatherly love on his daughters. Ichigo would be walking in the front door any moment, and for a brief time they could be a happy family again, even if it might only be for a few more days, maybe a couple of weeks, before he had to make him disappear under the radar.

The door swung open, and a very angry teenager stormed into the house. The aura around him wasn't just anger though, it was fear, Ichigo was trying to hide something he thought even normal people would notice. So Isshin stepped back to watch how things would turn out.

Yuzu was the first to say something, the one to miss her brother the most. "Ichi nii? You're ho-"

"Not now." Ichigo was rushing up the stairs, running away before they could find out whatever secret he was hiding.

"Hey! Don't talk to her like that. Get back here you big jerk!" Karin jumped in to defend her sister, to try and call her brother out and get him to be the brother she knew so well. It didn't work.

Instead he was stuck with one fuming and ranting daughter and one crying.

"Now, don't cry. Ichigo just needs to have Daddy show him some love, and that mean will die right out of him." He jumped, throwing his arms up in preparation for the big fatherly hug he knew his Yuzu needed. "Daddy's got enough love for everyone, I'll hug all the tears out of you!"

"You leave her alone." Karin punched him upside the head, and he fell over, giving her the victory. He tried not to smile as he jumped back to his feet, clutching the side of his face. "I have some for you too, enough for my precious children to know that they're cared for for all of their lives and beyond." He reached after them, but let Karin pick up the ladle and put an arm around Yuzu to lead her back to the kitchen and calm her down.

As much as he loved his daughters he knew they understood each other better than he understood them. Girls were different creatures and didn't thrive off of tough love like boys did.

So as tears streamed down his face, a trick he'd mastered years ago when joking with Masaki, he regretted that this was all he could do for his children, and had to let them figure things out on their own. He wasn't in the position to help them with this, so he'd just have to pray that those that could help them would.

-------

Healing from his fight with Ichigo had taken a lot longer than it should have. Grimmjow had spent the better part of the first week being patched up, and the next week being cut open again. Szayel Aporro sure knew what he was doing as a doctor, but had a tendency to wander away from the task at hand, and between the fist fights that followed all that second week and only being allowed to be treated directly by the Octava... Well, Grimmjow hoped he never got more than a scraped knee ever again.

That was the worst of it though, he'd been put in the Octava's care, given a hard scolding and turned loose. All the real punishment had been his own doing. He was pissed, no he was fuckin' pissed. Killing the Cuatra didn't seem so bad of an idea right about now, but if he went an did that he'd be sure to really get it. Aizen didn't like people messing with his pets.

So he was picking fights with others, people he could get away with picking fights with. There weren't many who could even get his blood flowing when they stood up to him, so he went after groups. There were plenty of weaker Arrancar to kick around, and he did a lot of it. They just happened to learn fast, and came in big groups after the first couple of rounds.

He scuffed his black boot against the monotonous white hallway floor. Maybe he'd tell Aizen 'sama' that if he threw enough weaklings in all at once he could just overwhelm the opposition. If half a dozen Fraccione could give him a black eye before he beat them into the ground, and a dozen could work him into a sweat just imagine what a couple hundred could do. There were enough useless Hollows around anyway.

It pissed him off more that Aizen didn't give a rat's ass what he did or where he went even after he kidnapped his little doll and healed Ichigo. He could go and visit the useless bitch and have tea with her if he wanted, and their lord wouldn't say anything. No, Tousen had got mad again, and for a minute he thought he might lose another arm, but what would be the point when they could just heal it back outta nowhere?

This place didn't make any sense, what the hell were the people in charge on? Why the hell were they even in charge? Fuckin' stupid, all of it. Sure Aizen was strong, sure he wasn't afraid of nothin', but that didn't mean he wasn't running the whole organization into the ground.

Grimmjow pulled his fist from his pocket and slammed it into a wall, cracks spider-webbing out before it gave way and a hole appeared. They weren't going to fight, they were just going to sit and wait, and he knew Ichigo was off getting stronger again. Well like hell he'd lose, he'd been training and fighting and killing, he was more than ready to take on Ichigo and that crazy bastard in his head. What was more, he wasn't going to let that green eyed emo bitch stop him again, even if he had to pause and kill him first he was going to have his fight and enjoy it. Fuck Aizen, fuck taking over Soul Society and killin' God. He'd never fought God, and with all those guards he had to be a weakling with more responsibility than he knew what to do with.

A thought struck him, spreading a grin over his face. It had worked last time, maybe it would work again. He'd steal the little bitch and take her and wave her in front of Ichigo's nose to get the fight good and going in him. Then, when he was done kicking one ass plenty more would have shown up so he could keep on fightin'. He'd fight his way right up the ladder too, see how many Espada he could take out before he got killed. Hell, he'd been working hard, maybe he'd blow right through them and get to take on Aizen himself. Wouldn't that be a laugh, killing his enemies enemy for them, maybe they'd make him a king.

It wasn't a half bad thought, he could work with the Shinigami if they decided to treat him right. The took care of their own, he'd even seen 'em going out of their way for the crazy humans who'd busted in here to try and free their friend.

It was something to think about, maybe he'd just beat Ichigo almost to death, then drag him outta here and join there side, that way when Ichigo got better he could kick his ass again. Sounded like fun.

-------

Ichigo woke up some time just before noon, right when the sun was as just the correct height to be right in his eyes. He tried rolling over one direction first, then another, getting comfortable again, but a nagging voice and the occasional poke to his ribs mad him sit up.

"Fine, I get it, I'm awake." He tossed his pillow, but the only thing it hit was the far wall. "Keep your hands off me."

Appearing sitting on the edge of the bed, the Hollow had it's legs folded and his head propped up in his hands. "Is that any way to say good morning?" His bad mood hadn't worn off from the day before and Ichigo found he was sorely tempted to strangle the psychopath. "I just thought I'd let you know your little friend is gone."

That got Ichigo's attention. He looked to where Renji should have been sleeping on the floor but there was only a messy and very empty futon. "When the hell did he leave?"

"Some time late last night. You were asleep." The Hollow seemed bored, not really caring about the situation.

"Why didn't he tell me he was leaving, why didn't you tell me?" Ichigo grabbed the front of the Hollow's pajama's colors inverted from his own. "Do you know where he went?"

"I didn't think it was important, you were so sure he could be trusted after all." He scowled, scratching at his white hair, making it even more dishevelled. "I'll bet he went to go tell everyone we're about to go on a killing spree, eating every soul that gets close." The scowl turned into a smirk at the thought. "Maybe we should, just to spite him."

"Shut up." Ichigo rolled out of bed and started throwing on clean clothes. "We're leaving."

"Don't tell me you plan on looking for him? If he went back to tattle on us it's already too late."

"I know that." Ichigo snapped back, throwing his pajama shirt at the Hollow's infuriating face. "Which is why we are leaving."

"Now you're thinking Aibouu. If we stay here who knows how long it will be before they decide we're not on their side anymore." Standing he put his hands on Ichigo's shoulder's, a very rare serious look crossing his face as their eyes met. "I won't let those pretend friends of yours kill us, as long as you don't forget your part of the bargain." And despite knowing that the Hollow was an evil, manipulative bastard, Ichigo somehow felt that he was being honest at least in this one thing.

"Come on, let's get going." Throwing some clothes into a bag he wondered if taking his body along would be worth it.

-------

"Are you just going to leave that there?" A too familiar voice asked, causing Ichigo too look up from where he was hiding his own body in a back alley. Urahara Kisuke stood at the mouth of the alley, familiar form silhouetted in the bright afternoon sun.

"I thought you said you had us hidden." Ichigo hissed, admonishing the Hollow that was supposed to be masking their reiatsu.

"I do Aibou, but no one's perfect. Look at you you can't even think of playing a game of hide and go see with anyone who knows how to look for reiatsu." He would have thought the Hollow was joking if it weren't for the obvious frustration in his own voice. It seemed that his counterpart was little better at hiding than he was.

"Oh you're very well hidden, but you should have thought about that before I started following you." Urahara covered the smile on his lips with the plane paper fan he carried. "But dumping your body here, or should I call it a corpse now that you're done with it, dumping it here seems unsanitary. If you leave it alone long enough it will rot, and stink up this whole area if someone doesn't find it fast enough."

"I'm not dumping it, I'm just hiding it for a little while." Ichigo countered, trying to cover for himself. He figured the best way to avoid people would be to avoid most of the population and disappear. Humans couldn't touch him without a body, not normal ones anyway.

Urahara shook his head. "Hiding it in a pile of garbage is bound to get it discovered by someone pretty quickly. The police will be swarming the area, they'll call your family to identify the body and it'll just be a horrible mess." The way he said it, because Ichigo had already considered that the police would find it and he'd be declared dead, made it seem like he was being a real asshole. "If you're missing you can always come back, and there's always hope for your family."

"I'm not running away." Ichigo's eye twitched as he was spoken right over.

"You could always put it somewhere safe, you know, preserve it in case you ever need it again. Coming across gigai that aren't handed to you by Soul Society is hard, and if you don't occupy a body it dies." Urahara gave him a stern look. "You already died once, remember. This corpse isn't connected to you anymore."

Unconsciously a hand came up to where the chain had been cut on his chest. There were only black and white shihakushou there now, but he remembered how weird it had felt at first to be dead. Even if it wasn't permanent. Well, he supposed it was with the way it was being put to him now. "What do you suggest then, I freeze it? I don't really have a freezer people won't be getting into."

"No, no, no. That's no good, freezer burn is unpleasant. There are much better options." He waved his hand vaguely. "Bring that, I'll show you."

"We shouldn't trust him, after all look what happened with the last person you trusted. Ran off to tell the whole world our secret." Somehow that didn't sound like it made the Hollow too angry, more he seemed like he thought it was funny. Ichigo didn't claim to understand the Hollow though.

"I know, shut up." Ichigo considered it for a long moment, it was a difficult choice, to trust Urahara or not on this. On one hand he'd already been discovered trying to dispose of his own body, on the other Urahara didn't know his secret, and he wasn't going to make that same mistake again and tell him, despite all the help the man had been in the past. He still needed him on his side to get into Hueco Mundo soon. "We still need him to get into Soul Society, so we'll see this one out and be ready to run if we need to, but we're not telling him anything."

"Aibou, there's another way." The Hollow insisted, angry that once again his opinion was being overruled. "We don't need this guy. He'll just sell us out too. He might even be leading us into a trap now. The Shinigami have had more than enough time to set one up."

"I kind of like the idea of being able to use my body again after things die down." He felt invisible hands pulling at his clothes, trying to drag him further down the alley, urging him to flee and just leave his body there. Ichigo swatted at where they were, knowing it wouldn't have any real affect, he was just feeling an impression from the Hollow. "Don't touch me."

"Fine, have it your way." And suddenly as that the hands were gone, and for the first time in a while Ichigo felt alone in his own head.

"Well, are you coming?" He snapped back to the present, where Urahara was still waiting for him to follow him back to his shop.

"Yeah, I just zoned out there for a second." He slipped back into his body, standing and brushing his jeans off. "Lead the way."

They walked back to the shop in silence, and it was complete silence. Ichigo became more than a little unnerved by the lack of snarky commentary from the Hollow. He couldn't possibly be angry over this still, could he? It was just one carefully made decision that would, hopefully, benefit them both in the long run. After all, even if they did plan on disappearing off the planet for a little while it didn't mean they couldn't come back and live normally after some time.

Who knew, if Urahara was as good as his word, even if less and less people were proving to be lately, maybe in a hundred years Ichigo could pull his body out and dust it off and be a person again. If the unsteady truce between the two of them lasted that long, or if he wasn't betrayed or killed before then.

When even by the time they'd reached the shop the Hollow hadn't put in one word Ichigo finally decided it wasn't a bad thing and he'd rather live without the annoyance while he could.

"I suppose you're still in the middle of getting ready to go after Orihime chan again?" Urahara asked as Ichigo slid the shogi door shut behind him, kicking off his shoes. "How has your training been going for that?"

"It was going fine." Ichigo answered uncertainly, not sure if this was just small talk or if the other man was trying to get something out of him.

"Was, is it? Then it's not now." The closed fan tapped against his chin. "Well I suppose until you're ready to run off to fight again you can train here. Or until you think that you need to run away again." He said it casually as if it made no difference to him. "Whatever you're hiding from won't find you here. I've spent the last one hundred years right there and had no problems what so ever."

Ichigo hesitated, waiting for the no and all the reasons why it wasn't a good idea. How that there still could be a trap, or he could be trying to lead them into a false sense of security... but it was dead silent. Funny how the voice in his head had become commonplace in such a short time.

"If it's not any trouble. I'm sure you've got your own stuff to do; this is a shop isn't it?"

"Don't be silly, I can manage; I have plenty of help, and I was fine closing down to help train you before." Urahara laughed, waving his fan to dismiss the idea. "With that settled, let's handle that body of yours. It must be quite a burden if you want to get rid of it so bad." He turned and made his way deeper into the shop, leaving Ichigo no choice but to follow or stand in the door like an idiot.

He was led back into the store room where all sorts of things and stock sat collecting dust. Ichigo wasn't sure what exactly happened, but before he knew it he was helping stuff his body into a crate covered in seals and spells that made no sense to him. It wasn't so much a crate either, it looked like one but weighted a ton and had a huge room on the inside of with with metal wall.

"Lower it in carefully, if you bruise it now those will keep until you take it out again." Urahara warned, standing back as Ichigo tried to lower his own weight into this box. It wasn't easy either. Despite the alternate dimension on the other end, the opening was too small, and he was having to squeeze his body into it without pushing it so far that it dropped the last couple of feet.

"This isn't exactly easy." He muttered, barley catching himself before he slipped.

"Come now, if you can invade Sereitei you can handle something as simple as storage." It was meant to be encouraging, Ichigo reminded himself, not condescending. "Good. Now we just put on the lid and label it so we don't get it mixed up with anything else."

"How many more bodies do you have down here?"

"I don't know, I keep a lot of things on hand, you never know what you'll need." For some reason his laugh was more bone chilling than the Hollows was at times. "Now let's set you up with a room. It's already getting late in the day so we can set you up with some training exorcises tomorrow."

Ichigo got the feeling that this was going to be an unpleasant little stay. But he had to admit at least he could train, hide from Soul Society, and get into Hueco Mundo when he felt he was ready to try and face the Espada again. Not only them, but he'd be taking on Aizen, and depending on Soul Society's timing maybe even some Shinigami again. "Sounds good. I think I'll go to bed early tonight. I haven't had a good night's sleep in a while."

"Tsk, tsk, rest is another important part of training. Both your body and mind need a moment every once in a while or something could snap. Then who would that benefit?" Urahara admonished him, but it was almost like he was trying to tell Ichigo something different that what he was saying. Seemed like it but Ichigo couldn't figure it out if he was.

"No one. No one at all." He agreed.