A.N.: This is a request by lasherluke.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Chapter Ten: Ichigo's Rage

While Ichigo was fighting Yuzu…
Isshin vs Haschwalth

The Sternritter Grandmaster stood over the defeated Isshin Kurosaki, not a scratch on him. Isshin, on the other hand, had not fared so well, lying in a pool of blood. The Kurosaki father was just barely clinging to life, having been dealt many grievous wounds by the Quincy.

"How unfortunate for you," Haschwalth mocked, gripping his broadsword in one hand and his Freund Schild in the other. "You should have stayed in the World of the Living the moment you learned we rescued Yuzu from you."

"Rescued?" Isshin spat, looking up at the man with hate filled eyes. "You…turned my little girl…into a monster!"

"No, we made her what she was born to be. She is a Quincy. If anything, I've been more of a father to her than you have. I've nurtured her and helped her realize her potential."

"Don't…give me that crap!" Isshin seethed, struggling to rise to his knees. "You have no right to call yourself Yuzu's father! Fathers are kind and caring, who love their children. You don't care about Yuzu. You and Yhwach merely see her as a means to an end."

"All Quincies are here for His Majesty's purposes," Haschwalth countered. "Love and caring don't come into that." He raised his sword up above his head, ready to give the final blow to the wounded Soul Reaper. "Goodbye, Isshin Kurosaki. Chew on your failure as a father in Hell."

Time slowed down for the wounded Isshin as Haschwalth swung his blade. 'Masaki…I'm so sorry…I couldn't save our children…'

The blade was close to cutting through Isshin's head like a melon when the unexpected happened. A huge burst of white light cascaded through the ceiling and enveloped Haschwalth. Horror covered the man's face as he realized too late that he had been subjected to Yhwach's Auswahlen. "Your Majesty…why?" he groaned as his life force was drained away.

Making it to his feet, Isshin shook his head. "Surprised?" he couldn't help but taunt. "You said it yourself: you're just a pawn to Yhwach."

"Yes," Haschwalth nodded. "But the same is true," he gave Isshin a chilling smile, "for Yuzu."

Isshin's heart became filled with horror from Haschwalth's words as the man died in front of him, his handsome features being stripped away until nothing but his skeleton remained. When the light faded, the man's remains crumbled to the ground.

Panting, Isshin put a hand to his bleeding side and limped towards the exit. "Yuzu! Ichigo! Please be okay," he prayed.

"Mr. Kurosaki!"

Isshin turned around to see Ichigo's friends running towards him. "Orihime, Ganju, Chad."

Seeing Isshin so wounded, Orihime immediately summoned her barrier to heal him. "Hang on, I'll heal you!"

Ganju turned to look at the remains of Haschwalth. "Damn, man! I'd no idea you were that brutal!"

"That wasn't me. That was Yhwach. He used his Auswahlen on him." As soon as he was able to stand without blood pouring out of him he told Orihime to stop. "Enough, Orihime! I need to find my children!"

With Chad's help, Isshin made his way up the stairs, the tension mounting as the four made their way to the next room. Shrugging off Chad, Isshin threw open the doors. "Ichigo! Yuzu!" he called out.

What he saw inside the room broke his heart.

Yuzu lay in Ichigo's arms, the older brother cradling her tightly, tears running down his face. "Dad…" Ichigo looked up mournfully. "Yuzu…she's…"

Isshin rushed over to his children, the pain of his wounds paling in comparison to the pain in his heart. "Yuzu…what happened?" he asked his son.

Ichigo, still in his merged Hollowfied form, looked down at the little girl in his arms. "Yuzu…we fought and she was able to shake off Yhwach's brainwashing but then…but then…" Ichigo choked up and started to cry, knowing he'd been helpless to save his sister from Yhwach's treachery.

To Isshin's relief, Yuzu's eyes flicked open but he saw that the life was slowly leaving her. "Daddy…" she whispered, her strength fading.

"I'm here," Isshin cooed, taking Yuzu from Ichigo and holding her lightly in his arms. "Yuzu, I'm so sorry…" he cried.

"Daddy, I'm sorry…" Yuzu whispered. "I love you and Ichigo so much…"

"Stay with me," Isshin pleaded, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. "Stay with me, Yuzu."

"Dad…dy…" Yuzu murmured before her eyes closed shut, her spiritual pressure fading away.

"Yuzu!" Isshin shook his daughter but got no response. He couldn't believe it. Yuzu was gone. 'YUZUUU!" he cried with a father's anguish.

Seeing Yuzu die in front of him, Ichigo was filled with a rage that nobody had ever seen. His friends stepped back as he his spiritual pressure shook the entire castle. "YHWAAAAAAAACHHHH!" Ichigo howled in sheer rage. Ignoring his injuries, Ichigo grabbed his Zangetsu blades and took off running, heading straight for the Quincy king. "YOU BASTAAAAAAARD!"

"Ichigo!" Orihime called out but her cry fell on deaf ears. She and the others turned to Isshin and Yuzu, not knowing who they should try to help. Orihime thought about using her powers to try to bring back Yuzu but she understood that Yhwach's powers were beyond hers.

"Go," Isshin said, not even looking up, only looking at his daughter's frail face while he cried. "Ichigo needs you more than me."

"Mr. Kurosaki…" Chad started before Ganju put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let him be," the man said, turning away. "Let him grieve."

Orihime and Chad looked at each other before turning back to Isshin until they finally relented. "Okay…" The three took off after Ichigo, hoping to catch him before he threw himself headlong into the final battle, leaving Isshin in the middle of the ruined room holding his daughter.

"I'm sorry…" Isshin cried, clutching his little girl close. "Masaki, I failed. I failed our children," he confessed to nobody in particular. "I couldn't save you. I couldn't protect Ichigo. And now I couldn't even save Yuzu!" he sobbed, tears falling from his face and onto Yuzu's. "Yuzu…my little girl...I lost my little girl!"

"Not yet, you haven't."

Isshin turned his head to see who it was, expecting to see a surviving member of the Sternritter. His eyes went wide when he saw an old face standing in the doorway. Or to be more precise, he saw two familiar faces.

Ryuken Ishida pushed his glasses up as he stared at the grieving father. Beside him stood his son, Uryu Ishida.

"Ryuken…" Isshin breathed. "Why are you here? And how'd you get here from the World of the Living."

"When my father escaped from the Vandenreich, he used a hidden Gate of the Sun to flee to the World of the Living. We used the same gate to enter here." He looked down at the girl in Isshin's arms and narrowed his eyes. "Is that your daughter?"

Isshin nodded, tears coming back to him as he looked down at his slain daughter's face. "Yes…but she's gone…"

"I can help her."

The father raised his head so fast it was amazing he didn't break his neck. "What?!"

"I can save your daughter," Ryuken said with a smile.

To be continued

A.N.: If you're wondering why the Auswahlen automatically killed Haschwalth and yet didn't kill Yuzu right away…good luck figuring that out. The Auswahlen was pretty inconsistent. We saw it kill the N Sternritter instantly but Nanana, the U Sternritter, still survived after getting hit with it.