Chapter 10: The King's Past
Disclaimer: I don't own bleach! If I did, I'd be rich! Rich I tell you! Why? Cause bleach is the best anime ever! :)
Me: Okay, I know it took me a while, but I just couldn't decide about the past of Ichigo's family.
Ichigo: What the heck are you so worried about? I'm sure you did fine.
Me: That's not true…I only managed to finish one part out of three…
Grimmjow: Shut the fuck up and get on with the damn story! It took you way too long to get this done and I'm pretty sure that your readers are getting impatient.
Ichigo: Grimm, don't be such an ass! She did her best!
Me: No, it's fine. *sniffs*…. I know that I'm a disappointment and that I deserve it…. *sniffs*
Grimmjow: O-Oi… I didn't mean it like that! Don't cry! Come on, I'm not good with crying!
Me: B-But… I'm such an embarrassment! Sorry readers-tachi… *sniff* gomene! I really tried my best!
Ichigo: We know, so please don't cry anymore.
Grimmjow: *sighs irritably* Tell me what I can do to make you stop.
Me: Well~…
Ichigo: Grimmjow, NO! What have you done!
Me: I would like a bit more romance between you two….. Maybe, you could go on a date or something!
Grimmjow: If that's all I gotta do, then I promise that, as soon as Ichi's gramps is done with his story, I'll take him on a date, okay?
Me: Okay! *secretly smiles like a fox* I knew you wouldn't let me down!
I want to forget it all
To never remember
The way that it was…
If he wanted anything right now, it would be to know what was really going on. So, instead of rescuing Ichigo as he had originally planned, he listened to the conversation that was taking place below…..
Shunsui Kyōraku drank a bottle of sake and sighed as he waited for the story to begin. Although, he had a feeling that he wouldn't like what he was about to hear. If he was reading the emotion in the old man's eyes right, whatever he was going to relay was not pleasant….at all.
Silently, he crept closer and listened carefully. He was surprised about what he had heard…
"Where to start?...", said the king of the two worlds. He looked at his grandson before shifting his gaze towards his grandson's mate; taking note of their serious expressions. There was so much tension and anticipation in the air that you could practically taste it.
"I guess I'll start with you, Ichigo. You're probably wondering how I could possibly be your grandfather, correct." Ichigo nodded and waited for the old man to continue. It didn't take long before he did.
"I guess it started about two hundred and fifty years ago, when I first met your grandmother..." He sighed and looked towards something on the ceiling longingly causing the young couple to glance up as well. On the ceiling was a huge portrait of a beautiful woman. She had long orange hair that resembled Ichigo's own fiery mane and had kind looking brown eyes. She had the most beautiful smile Ichigo had ever seen other than his mother's own smile of course. Speaking of whom, she reminded him so much of his late mother. But, despite the similarities, he could also notice a few differences. For example: the color of her skin was much darker than his mother's skin and her eyes held a strong sense determination and will to fight. Ichigo shook off the memories that the woman in the picture made him remember and redirected his attention to his grandfather. He listened as the old man sighed and continued.
"She was someone very special, rare even. I fell in love with her before I even noticed it myself... and yet I knew that I could never be with her. You see, her family was alive and she, herself, was alive. I knew that I was forbidden to approach her, but I couldn't help myself and I did just that..." he said with a small smile. "I sneaked out of the palace and left my guards to handle any problem that could possibly emerge during my absence.
"She was sitting on the riverbank and I walked over to introduce myself. She smiled at me and, after introducing herself, we started talking. That night, we just made small talk and got to know each other. Then, we started talking about more important things little by little until one day; I finally got the courage to ask her out... "
He stopped and looked at them to see if they followed what he said. They both nodded, signaling him to continue.
"She agreed to it without any thought and we started dating. Eventually, she came to suspect something about me. She didn't even clearly know what she was being suspicious of me, but she could tell that there was something different about me. I felt guilty about keeping secrets from her and I decided to tell her. First, I took her to my palace. Then, I brought her to the white sands of Hueco Mundo. It scared her at first, but she decided that none of it mattered to her and she still loved me no matter what. A year later, we married and had three sons and a daughter. Sadly, they all died a year after their birth because they were too weak, too humanly vulnerable, and their spiritual power was far too weak for even babies to have. They were died so quickly and we couldn't do a thing to stop it. They all became hollows and two of them were eaten. But the youngest of them all managed to survive as a hollow."
He stopped for a second and looked at Ichigo. He returned the look with anxious eyes and waited for him to continue.
"The child's name was Rokujo." he said with a sad voice. "He, although a hollow, was still a very kind soul. He asked us to have one more child and told us that he knew a way to ensure the child's survival. And he did as he promised. He gave the child all of his spiritual power…..and died in the process."
RUKIA'S P.O.V
Suddenly, they both realized that the ground was only a few inches away from them and they had to stop their conversation lest they die from the impact. Opal's instincts kicked in and he grabbed her, bridal style, before they landed gracefully on the ground and he started looking her over for injuries. He found none and sighed in relief.
Rukia looked at the strange hollow. How come he's strange you ask? Well that's because he definitely felt emotions that hollows aren't supposed to feel….like worrying…
"Why…?" she asked. He looked at her; not really understanding what she was talking about, after all she wasn't clear about what she was asking him. He looked into her eyes and tried to figure her out what she meant, but failed to do so. She looked back into his eyes, waiting for him to answer.
"What do you mean?" he asked her and grew a bit irritated as she rolled her eyes.
"Why did you look worried about me like that? You're a hollow. You aren't supposed to have emotions like that." she said with such a cold tone that he almost shuddered; almost.
"Just because I'm a hollow, it doesn't mean that I don't have any emotions. For your information, aside from my instincts, I have all the emotions that you do too. I may be better off using my instincts, but I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't look down onme like I'm some kind of unfeeling robot." he said with a harsh voice.
After hearing that, she felt a bit bad for treating him that way. She didn't want to make him angry, in fact, she rather, for some odd reason, enjoyed his company."Sorry." she said with a small voice. He smiled softly at her and regretted his slight outburst. After all, she didn't know anything about him so it wasn't her fault. If it was anyone's fault, it was that soul that he had eaten so long ago. He felt like it was always trying to control him. It kept making him feel emotions that he shoudn't have been able too and he hated it for that.
"It's fine…" he said and she could only nod as he smiled kindly at her. "Anyway, shouldn't we head off to where that boyfriend of yours is?" he asked, half hoping that he was wrong about the "boyfriend " part and that she didn't have any romantic relation to the boy she was looking for.
"Huh? He's not my boyfriend." she said simply with the same voice that she had used only a few seconded ago, but her glare seemed deadlier at his assumption. "He's only a good friend of mine. He saved me before when I was to be executed because Souls Society was being stubborn and insisted that I had done a crime. He fought against all of Soul Society and that includes some of the captains. Amazingly, he won though and he saved me. I want to repay him, but not because of that. I want to help him because he's my best friend." she laughed. "Anyway, I have a feeling that he swings for the other team if you know what I mean" she winked at him and couldn't help herself but to laugh.
The boy next to her smiled sheepishly and discreetly sighed in relief. 'Well, at least she wasn't taken.' he thought to himself. 'Maybe I could convince her to be my mate after all of this…' he couldn't stop smiling goofily at his own thoughts and excitedly grabbed her hand before pulling her along.
"Let's go!" he said in a hurry and they both ran towards the beautiful white palace…
But I can't, I won't
It's in my nature
My heart
The way
That I was, and am now
"The child's name was Rokujo." he said with a sad voice. "He, although a hollow, was still a very kind soul. He asked us to have one more child and told us that he knew a way to ensure the child's survival. And he did as he promised. He gave the child all of his spiritual power…..and died in the process."
"He did what!" yelled Ichigo. The king nodded with a sad look in his eyes and glanced at the woman's portrait above them.
"He killed himself for the happiness of me and my wife. He knew how much we wanted a child who will stay a child and not turn into a hollow. An heir to my throne; someone who could replace me when I retired, so he saved our baby by sacrificing himself and transferring all of his bower to the child." the old man sighed and then smiled. "And that child, Ichigo, was your father, Isshin Kurosaki"
"We never wanted him to leave us. After all, all our other children died and we wanted him by our side forever. For a while, everything was perfect and we were happy. That is until your grandmother, Tsubasa, died. We felt alone again and Isshin couldn't stay here anymore. He wanted to go to the world of the living to see the world where his mother came from and I didn't stop him. Sometimes, I wish that I did, but at the same time I don't because that's where he met your mother, Masaki.
I want to try
To figure you out
Don't know why
To leave or to die
What about you?
Care to share your thoughts
To light the shadows surrounding you
Ichigo's dad was now officially worried. It's been a day and there's been absolutely no sign of his precious Ichigo. Sure, it's happened before, but, during those times, Isshin knew exactly where Ichigo was and, right now, he didn't.
He didn't tell Karin or Yuzu because he didn't want them to worry, but he could see that they were. It seemed like they could see through the lies that he said, but he wasn't sure because they wouldn't confront him.
Finally, he couldn't wait any longer and decided to visit his old man to ask for help. He was desperate to find his darling son that seemed to love to make him worry.
He would leave Yuzu and Karin at a friend's home, maybe with Kisuke, and would depart immediately. He wouldn't let his son get hurt anymore, not if he could help it. After all, he was the son of the great king of Shinigami and Hollows, King Togiri.