After his wife had died, his father often told him, "Ryuken, you cannot hide from your heart, nor can you abandon your heritage."
He had brushed those words off as inconsequential, despite the ache their truth brought up deep within the center of his soul.
When Soken was taken by the accursed shinigami, he buried that pain even deeper, and dove even further into the business of saving the living. The dead were the shinigami's business. The way of the Quincy was obsolete, and he had wished time and again that his little Uryu would give up such foolishness.
Time proven the young man to be every bit as stubborn as he, however. By this point, the junior Ishida had already proven himself in battle numerous times and Ryuken himself had granted the boy the tools he had so foolishly thrown away in the Soul Society. Frustrating as he was, he was still Ryuken's son, and the heart of a father will always beat first and foremost for his child. It mattered not how foolhardy that child was.
Ryuken fought his way through the strife which had followed within Karakura while the dark-haired Ishida was away in Hueco Mundo with his comrades – battling to save the Inoue girl and the world. Miraculously, the side of proverbial angels won, but by an uncomfortably slim margin.
They were all fools to think peace would last after the final horrors of that narrowly won war had passed. No one, however, could have predicted the current situation.
The silvered Quincy stood side by side with his offspring and the tattooed Shinigami, bracing against driving snow and squinting at the maw around which the angry sky writhed.
"Holy crap," the American on Renji's other side muttered once she broke away from the building they had just been in.
Above them, nearly lost in the driving snow, floated two figures clad in black lined white.
One was tall and thin, black hair flickering in wind that somehow left the ridiculous spoon-shaped collar auraing his head alone.
The other was shorter, but solidly built, lean arms crossed over his bared chest, blue eyes the same shade of his hair fixed on the quintet below. "Tch," his abrasive voice drifted down to them. "This's who we're s'posedta take care of? Shit, and I thought this was gonna be a challenge."
Ryuken quirked a brow. At least he wouldn't need to worry about witty banter.
Renji snorted, "All healed up huh, Grimmjow? I seem ta remember Ichigo leavin' ya bleedin' in the desert."
"Idiot, this isn't the best place to pick a fight." Uryuu muttered at the red-headed reaper under his breath, pushing his glasses up his nose. Ryuuken was inclined to agree with his son's assessment.
"Now, now, Abarai-san, no need to provoke them." Shunsui spoke up calmly, after murmuring something quietly to the lone woman amongst them, and then waved a hand at the two. "If it's all the same to you two, I'm afraid the weather is simply frightful, perhaps we can wait until the sun comes out to continue with our little party, ne?"
"What, runnin' away already? Are ya really that scared t' face us?" The tall one shoved the shorter one's shoulder. "You handle 'em, they're too weak for me. If they need th' help of a girl, they sure as hell can't stand up t' my power."
The elder Quincy glanced over at the young woman, only to find her rolling her eyes at the Espada's stupidity. "I dunno, guys. Looks like they're just up for chatting." Diana pulled the collar of her jacket up and ventured into the tempest, hauling Renji by the cuff of his jacket with her. "Let's go." The tattooed man bent close as they went to listen to what the shorter whispered to him.
Ryuuken caught the quick glance she shot back at them, and read in those bright eyes that they needed to take this somewhere a little more isolated.
"Oi!" The spoon called in annoyance, "Where ya goin'?"
Ryuuken followed Di's example, ducking his head against the wind and sensing both Kyoraku and his son following. They all ignored the two above them.
The two red-heads were already halfway through the parking lot by the time Grimmjow swept down at them. Ryuuken made out a flash of yellow light at the woman's side, just before she brought her suddenly solidified blade up to block the Espada's.
"Hey, kitty-kitty," she crooned with a wicked grin as Renji's gigai ran for their car once the shinigami had left it. "I'm sorry, I'm all outa nip." And she shoved him back just as Renji moved in with a strike of his own.
Ryuuken was distracted from their fight when the taller Espada came flying at him. In the span of a second, his bright blue bow was summoned, and burning bolts of energy flew at the advancing energy.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Uryuu doing much the same, and Shunsui's gigai also making a bee-line for the same car Renji's was.
The Espada ignored the arrows as they splashed uselessly against his heirro. He did however stop short when Shunsui imposed himself between the elder Quincy and himself.
With a charming smile, the shinigami captain shoved the bigger man back with his katana. "I'm afraid you really have the wrong idea about us." He followed the initial block with a lethal swing of his wakizashi.
Ahead, Renji was exchanging frenzied blows with the blue-haired adversary as Diana ran for their vehicles.
The woman looked back at the two humans and yelled back in her broken voice, "Puff! Get to your car!"
"Puff?" Ryuuken muttered and glanced at Uryu questioningly. He got a shrug in reply as his son bolted for their rented car. The elder simply shook his head and dug his keys out as he ran.
Under cover of snow, twin engines started up and the two Grand Vics roared out of the parking lot.
Within a few moments, Diana's voice sounded in his ear, courteously of the Bluetooth situated there. "Renji and Shunsui are back in their gigai. We've lost those two idiots for now, but follow my lead. I'm probably more used to driving in this weather than you are."
"Diana?" The silver haired man asked tersely.
There was a pause, before her wary voice answered. "Yes?"
A silvered brow quirked. "Puff?"
A rough snicker made its way over the line, just before rather off key singing floated its way over the wireless connection, "Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea…"
It took him a moment to realize she saw him smoking for the first time before they took off for the trip. The man groaned. Wonderful. "Enough, Diana."
"What?" Her snicker had somehow evolved into a laugh. It was beyond him how she could go from serious to jovial so quickly. "It's cute!"
This was going to be a long, long trip.
So sorry this took so long to put up! Life's been insane, and I had a wicked block to get through. Thanks so much to my buddy at DA, kallylovessesshomaru.
Also, I finally got the battle scene from chapter 24 of Hollow Hunters up. It's on my profile as Hollow Hunters Battle. Yeah, catchy title, 'eh? *facepalms* I'd also cleaned Chapter 24 up as well, since there were some pretty stupid errors throughout.
Regardless, I hope this was worth the wait! Thanks so much for reading!