Author's Note: Well. This certainly isn't early September. Better late than never? So, here's the start of the Part 2. Originally I had intended Chapter 11 and 12 to be one long 37 paged chapter, but thought better of it and split it in two for thematic reasons. It's also the reason I waited till both chapters were done before posting. Anyway, it's here now for all of you to read.

TL;DR I hope you enjoy Chapter 11

Part 2 - Never Look Back

Chapter 11: No Goodbyes

Uryu's death came and past. It was a flash, one push of the sword. There had immediately been a roar of spiritual energy. Their reiatsu moved like a mad song, the notes rising and dropping at random intervals, the tempo changing, the pitch was every sound at once; there was no rhythm or logic to how it went. It was an explosive way to celebrate. The song was stopped by Aizen, as he called his Espada together to give some kind of speech. The Espada went silent in all forms and listened to whatever he had to say. This lasted ten minutes, after which, Szayel had another arrancar pick up Uryu's body and carry him away somewhere. The rest of the Espada followed.

Ryuken couldn't hear what happened. He didn't know if his son had parting words or the wretched announcement Aizen gaze. He watched for signs of life or hope, and at best found madness. Isshin didn't fare much better. He was misty-eyed, and stood behind the glass with a fist clenched. He beat the screen with his fist as they exited, crying something Ryuken's mind filtered out. When his cigarette was done, he walked over to the bed and lay down. Nel was still passed out on the floor.

"Everything's going to be okay, Ryuken. Death isn't the end. We're all going to get out of this fine," Isshin yelled. It was a nice show of bravado, though Isshin couldn't hide the lines of worry in his face. "Let's take some time out. We should think of a plan before we do anything."

Isshin wasn't speaking to anyone in particular and seemed to be yelling at the ceiling. Ryuken didn't react. He tried to look at Isshin in mild agreement that that was exactly what he wanted to do next. His body just didn't want to move. It took ten or so minutes of silence before Isshin sat down. He placed his zanpakutou against the glass, before he lay against it.

"This is only a minor setback. We'll have both of our sons in no time," Isshin announced, not as fiercely this time. "I'll keep watch for now. You can relax for a bit."

It didn't take long for Ryuken to fall asleep. He hadn't slept since they arrived in Hueco Mundo, a time which felt like days. But, he never really felt tired until now. He felt the weariness seep in once the sword cut into Uryu's heart. He didn't want to stand, or even sit up. He was gone seconds after he closed his eyes.


The lights in Ryuken's office were off. Not intentionally, Ryuken just hadn't bothered to turn them on. He was feeling particularly lethargic today. He had a cigarette in his hand, ready to be lit, but he never reached for his lighter. He looked at it as if it was a curiosity, questioning why he took the cancer stick to his lips every day. It was a momentary phase. He'd smoke it when he felt like it. Until then he was satisfied to listen to ceiling fan spin and let its wind blow against his hair. On days like these, it seemed all he ever paid attention to was the wind.

After a few minutes of fiddling with it in his hands, Ryuken returned the cigarette to its pack. He took his glasses off, placing them neatly on his desk, and then inclined in his chair. There were still a few hours left until he could leave, and he hadn't touched any of the paperwork. That was fine. He would let it pile up for a while. He was sure no one expected him to be efficient today. His secretary had put most of his calls on hold. The doctors avoided him as well. Their heads would be down when he walked through the halls, the extent of conversation being, 'I'm so sorry for your loss.' He'd nod, mumble a thank you, then continue down the hall.

Most of them questioned why he was even there. They didn't ask him directly, but Ryuken could hear them mumble just outside his door.

I thought he'd take today off.

Come on, Ishida, missing a day at work? He'd come even if it was his funeral.

I heard they were estranged anyway. Like, they haven't talked in years.

Whatever, it's not like it bothered him. Did you see him this morning? It's like it never even happened.

It was good to hear he had supportive employees. It was fine. As long as it didn't impact their work they could say what they wanted. Ryuken tried to clear his mind, get all of this nonsense out of his head. He shouldn't be concerning himself with gossip. He glanced at the paperwork on his desk. It was mindless, tedious work. It was all budget management, legal check-ups, and proposals needing approval. A lot of it was garbage. Ryuken picked up the first sheet to see if it was anything worth his time. It turned out to be a request from the oncology department. They wanted an increase in funds (who didn't?) so that they could buy a few tablet PCs. The request detailed their use and why they were necessary, all the while trying to impress him with phrases like 'technologically irresponsible to overlook' and 'beneficial to all potential recipients'. He had enough. He put the paper aside in a pile he labelled 'irrelevant'.

He was about to look at the second form when he heard a knock at the door. Immediately, Ryuken sat up straight and placed his hands on his desk. He wasn't supposed to have any appointments today. He told his secretary to shoo everyone else away.

"Hey, can I come in?" A voice called from the other side.

Ryuken relaxed. It was Isshin.

"You might as well," He replied coolly.

Isshin opened the door, revealing he was wearing a black suit with his hair slicked back.

"I am very sorry for your loss," Isshin said at once, slightly bowing his head.

"Thank you," Ryuken said, for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. "Though, I did tell my secretary not to let anyone through."

Isshin made a knowing grin. "She tried, but I ignored her."

"Right."

Ryuken tried to come up with a wittier response, but that was all that came out. The room went quiet for a few seconds, as he tried to gather his thoughts. He was met with further silence. After a few minutes he had had enough. "So, is that all you came to say?" Ryuken said, clearing his throat.

"Yeah, I didn't really think this out," Isshin chuckled. Ryuken felt irritated by Isshin's nonchalance. He picked up his glasses and slid them carefully onto his face, his look grim.

"What are you doing here, Isshin?"

Isshin pulled out a chair from the wall and sat down. "I wanted to see how you're doing, that's all."

Ryuken took out his pack of cigarettes and placed it on the table. He reached into his other pocket and grabbed his lighter, putting on the table beside the cigarettes. He wanted to light one right there, but he held off, staring them down. His eyes looked up at Isshin, who was waiting for some kind of response.

"Dreadful." Ryuken replied. He didn't want to say something spiteful, but it came out anyway. "My father's dead. What did you expect?"

His father had passed away pitifully. A last stand against hollows. What kind of seventy-five year old man fought the dead. It was stupid of him, ridiculous. Absurd. At least it provided for a good allegory, the old man fighting death to his last moment. It was as if he was trying to create his own legend, like the stories he told Ryuken as a boy, and now fed to Uryu. And the boy would never be able to forget it. Soken had died right in front of Uryu's eyes, scarring his son for the rest of his life. What did his father hope to achieve? He should have known the Shinigami wouldn't arrive on time. They had never defended Quincies before, they weren't about to start with a single old man. There was no sense to it at all.

Soken accomplished one thing with Uryu in this. He had cemented the Quincy myth. He had seared the image of a Quincy fighting to their death against the hollow, perhaps even against the Shinigami. He had been sure before, Uryu could grow out of wanting to be Quincy. He would need a job and a proper education at some point, and there would be little time to be a superhero. Ryuken didn't know anymore, and worried that his father's death would create more trouble in the future.

"Nothing special," Isshin half-grinned. "I thought we could talk. We haven't done that in a while."

Ryuken opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. Isshin didn't deserve it. Once more, the quiet set in. Isshin tried to keep up a faint smile, but Ryuken could see it fade as time went on. Neither liked the silence, but it was usual outcome to their conversations, at least in the last few years. Ryuken could recall a time when they had spoken more openly. They had talked about their futures, their jobs, and sometimes their families, when Isshin could work it out of Ryuken. But now there wasn't much to say. Ryuken didn't want to talk about his personal life, and to be honest he didn't want to hear about Isshin's. Part of him didn't even want to see Isshin anymore. His family had enough interaction with the dead.

"You can smoke if you want. Don't hold off for my sake," Isshin said, eyeing the pack on Ryuken's desk. With one hand, Ryuken swiped the lighter and cigarette box from his counter, then dropped them in the desk drawer.

"I can assure you, it's not for your sake." Ryuken said, trying not to glance at the desk drawer. Now that Isshin had mentioned it, he did want a cigarette, but he knew it wasn't worth his time. This was his addiction calling. It would be his choice when he finally lit one, not a compulsion. "They're not working anyway."

"Not working? If you're smoking them right there shouldn't be a problem," Isshin said. He brought two fingers to his lips, breathed in, and then pretended to blow smoke ring. He seemed proud of his pose.

"I don't smoke because I think it's cool. They help me relax when I need to," Ryuken muttered, briefly giving Isshin a sharp look. "It's just – I've tried and they don't do anything. I'm trying to control myself."

Ryuken said the last part quieter than the rest, though he wasn't sure why he said it in the first place. Usually, he would prepare every word before he said it. Those ones came out on their own.

"If you're so on edge, why did you come to work?" Isshin asked, leaning back in his chair. His arm rested on top of the backrest. He seemed on the verge of tipping the front legs of his chair into the air.

"One death doesn't mean the world has to stop. Besides, this work will have to be done eventually. If I take the day off it will still be here tomorrow," Ryuken answered and placed his hand on top of the large pile of paper in the centre of his desk. He didn't want to go through the tedium of doing it, but it was his responsibility. He couldn't abandon it so readily. "Speaking of which, I should get back to it. You can-"

"Doesn't look all that important," Isshin said, swiping a sheet of paper off of Ryuken's desk. "How much have you done so far?"

"Give that back." Ryuken reached over the counter and tore the document from Isshin's hands. His work had sensitive information pertaining to the hospital. It would be a legal concern if Isshin read too much of it. He put the paper back on the top of the pile with the rest of it. "I don't question how you do your job. Stick your nose out of mine."

"Ryuken, I'm trying to help you. We haven't had an easy conversation since your wife died, and that was eight years ago," Isshin replied, sitting up straight, his voice no longer relaxed. "To be honest, I don't know if you've talked to anyone else either."

The silence returned. Ryuken gathered his thoughts, working on different responses. He rejected the first three outright, all created from spite. The fourth reply wasn't accurate in what he was trying to convey. The fifth one worked.

"This is neither the time nor the place. You're right, it's been a while, but there's nothing we can do about it." Ryuken said and gave Isshin a plain look. Isshin shot a disappointed look back. Ryuken ignored it. He grabbed the form he had pushed aside, and placed it in front of him, followed by a blue pen. "If you don't mind I do have work to finish. We'll talk some other time Kurosaki, perhaps after the funeral."

Isshin nodded.

"Yeah, I hope so." He stood up and walked to the door, but hesitated before leaving.

"Hold on, nearly forgot," Isshin said, turning back to Ryuken. "How's Uryu taking it? Him and your Dad, they were close weren't they?"

Ryuken didn't look up. He continued looking for places to sign and things he needed to check off. When Isshin didn't take that as his cue to go, he said, "Goodbye Kurosaki."

Before Isshin could leave, Ryuken's phone rang. He sighed and took the phone from its dock. Isshin peered over to watch him. Ryuken gestured for him to leave already. To his credit Isshin opened the door, but stopped before exiting. There was someone in his way. He tried to move around them. The person made no effort to do the same.

"Hello, Mr. Ishida? There's a Mrs. Jaeger here to see you," His secretary said quickly. She pronounced the name Jaeger with some difficulty.

"I said I didn't want to see anyone today," Ryuken asserted. He tried to twist his head so he could see what was blocking Isshin's way. "Did you already let her through?"

"I tried to stop her!" She said, incensed. "She's an old woman, and she said it was important. And quick. If she's not out in five minutes, I'll call security myself."

"That won't be necessary," Ryuken sighed. "I'll deal with her. Thank you, Ms. Ito." He hung up the phone , slamming it a little harder than he'd like. He turned to Isshin who had already moved out of the woman's way. Mrs. Jaeger had pure white hair, as if she had had it even in her youth, and her face was covered in wrinkles. The woman appeared no younger than sixty, possibly around his father's age, and moved with a methodical gait. She wore a brown hoodie that had a zipper going up the middle, and had the word 'love' printed across the centre in English. Her clothes were modern and looked a little too youthful for her age. Ryuken was used to seeing his father keep the same clothes for thirty years, refusing to buy so much as a shirt since he was forty-five.

In her right hand she carried a small bouquet of white lilies. Mrs. Jaeger nodded to Isshin as she moved past him. Ryuken tapped a finger on his desk, not sure what to make of the situation.

"I would like to pay my condolences to Mr. Ishida," Mrs. Jaegar said with a slight accent and placed the bouquet on Ryuken's desk. "It's not much, but it will have to do." She continued, looking at the flowers.

Ryuken gave his standard response. "Thank you, though I think it would too be put to better use if you gave it at the funeral. If you waited until then-"

"Oh, I won't be around that long. My son is in Tokyo on business, and I thought I'd stop by to say a few words," Mrs. Jaegar interrupted.

"I see. Then thank you for taking the effort." Ryuken said, eyeing Isshin in the background. He needed to get out. This was an especially private matter that he shouldn't watch. Instead, he stood against the far wall, with a smug look on his face. He barely noticed when the woman picked up his family portrait from his desk.

"Your father told me a lot about you. You two had quite the interesting life. I doubt any of it was easy, but I hope you learned to appreciate him. He was certainly proud of you," she said as she studied the portrait. Ryuken was about to ask for it back, when she put it down anyway. "Your wife was very beautiful. It's such a shame what happened to her."

"I'm sorry, but how did you know my father?" Ryuken said. "I didn't know he was close to any Europeans, and he's never mentioned you before."

The woman made a small smile. "Well, there were only so many Quincy your father could confide in. I just happened to be the one he chose."

Ryuken immediately checked for any reiatsu coming from the woman. While there hadn't been when she entered the room, bits of spiritual energy leaked from her body as if to prove her claim. Still, Ryuken couldn't get a sense for how powerful she was glanced between the woman and Isshin. Isshin was studying Mrs. Jaegar for the same signs Ryuken was. When he caught Ryuken's gaze he shrugged. He could tell about as much as Ryuken could.

"Kurosaki, I'd like to talk to this woman alone."

"No, the Shinigami can stay. Without any powers, he doesn't pose a threat," Mrs. Jaeger said, her voice louder and more assertive before. Her lips made a teasing smile as she talked. "Besides, it's about time that a Shinigami paid attention to Quincy affairs."

"You heard the lady," Isshin replied. "I'll just hang here like a wallflower."

"Fine. Let's stop playing these games. Who are you, and what do you want?" Ryuken frowned. He released some of his own spiritual energy to the same level as hers, to make sure she understood that he wasn't going to react well to any kind of intimidation.

"Don't think otherwise, part of the reason I'm here is to say goodbye to Soken."

"And the other part?" Ryuken asked impatiently.

"Nadia."

Ryuken reclined back into his chair. He looked away from her, gathering his thoughts. He would have been adverse saying anything about the girl on normal circumstances. Isshin standing the corner made it much harder.

"So, you're her grandmother." It wasn't a question. Once she had announced she was a Quincy, it quickly narrowed down who she was. Ryuken had thought that most of the European ones had died out, but he supposed the some remnants of the older generation still lingered. He would have guessed it earlier had her surname been the same as Nadia's.

"Right on, bucko. I trained that prodigy since she was four years old," Mrs. Jaeger said, with a slight chuckle. "I just wanted to know something for sure." She paused and her face slowly became sombre. Ryuken imagined she was putting together the words in her head, rolling around different collections of words. For whatever reason, she chose the most blunt one. "Did you kill her?"

Ryuken was prepared to answer the question. It was her family. They had a right to know. He eyed Isshin. The ex-shinigami seemed passive, only watching like he said he would. Ryuken hoped Isshin had no idea what was going on and wouldn't take his response at face value. He told her he did and when she asked why, he explained the circumstances in as simply as he could. He was only acting as a Quincy. Once she had become a hollow, it was his responsibility to eliminate her. The woman was calm for the most part, as if his explanation only confirmed what she already knew. At the end of it she nodded her head, and turned to Isshin.

"I hope you heard that Shinigami," She declared. She sounded indignant, offended more by Isshin than the actual man responsible for the deed. "I don't hold any particular resentment towards you, but this is what your people have done to us. They took all responsibility for purging hollows and defending the people, and yet you let us die when they attack. Soken and Nadia are only the most recent ones. My daughter and son-in-law were victims too." Mrs. Jaeger made a deep breath, and let her appearance soften for her last comment. "Next time you get in touch with your superiors, please, let them know I said that."

Isshin stayed silent for a moment, then smiled and raised his arms into the air. "Sure, if I see them, but to be honest, I don't think I'll be seeing them any time soon. And I don't think they'll want to see me."

"I know your type. You won't stay out of the fray forever, and when you do, remember what I said," she said and made the same tiny smile she had made before.

Ryuken was enraged. This woman used his father's death and her own granddaughter's death so that she could make a useless diatribe against the Shinigami. He wanted her out of his office as fast as possible. He released a little more of his spiritual pressure to show his disapproval, though the woman matched him instantaneously.

"Are we done here?" Ryuken asked as he tapped a finger on his desk. "I've clarified what you asked. Now I need to get back to work."

"Yes, I think we're about done here. Thank you for your time, Mr. Ishida, and do send my regards to little Uryu. He must be bawling his eyes out with grief." Mrs. Jaeger said, then imitated a bow and walked right out the door. Once her spiritual pressure disappeared, Ryuken relaxed and suppressed his own confident that she was finally gone.

That left only him and Isshin. Isshin shot him a look of concern and tried to approach his desk.

"I-"

"You should have left when I told you to,"

"So we're just going to ignore what you said? Ryuken, you admitted to killing a young girl." Isshin said, as he tried to level his voice as not to sound aggressive. "Doing your job as a Quincy. We both know you don't actually believe that. "

"I don't want to have this conversation." Ryuken said, picking up his pen and turning back to the page in front of him.

"Then what do you want to talk about? There's the one we didn't finish, " Isshin put his hands on the other side of the counter and leaned towards Ryuken. "Your father's dead and you've got a kid at home who needs your attention. Working like this isn't going to make that fact go away!"

"Get out of my office." Ryuken murmured just loud enough that Isshin could hear. His voice was a perfect neutral, with just enough force. "Or, I'll force you out myself."

Isshin nodded, and gradually moved away from the desk. He took a breath before saying anything. "I got you. We'll talk some other time." Ryuken heard him walk straight out of the room.

Ryuken continued to work until he had only a few forms left to fill. The pile was on the right side of his desk, filled with blue ink that marked approval, disapproval, and anecdotes necessary to finish the job. With only a few left, he put his pen down and looked at the massive pile of useless paper placed in front of him. He wanted to kick it over. He wanted to grab it, toss it across the room at that woman, at his secretary, maybe even at Isshin.

Needless to say he didn't. He opened his drawer and saw the pack of cigarettes lying there. He picked it up along with the lighter. He quickly prepared a cigarette, holding it between his fingers and lips, as he brought the lighter's flame to its end. He inhaled a breath slowly and released it into the air. For the first time he noticed the rings the smoke made, and watched them rise to the ceiling. Watching these brought him more relaxation than the cigarettes did.

After a few minutes of nothing, the same headache and silent aggravation, he dumped it into the ashtray and then stuffed the rest back into the drawer. He picked up his pen and spent the rest of the day writing.


Ryuken awoke to find Isshin punching him. Ryuken grabbed Isshin's wrist as soon as he became conscious and flipped him onto the ground. Ryuken stepped out of bed and made a kick that stopped just in front of Isshin's face. Isshin started laughing.

"Glad to see you're up!" He said as climbed off the ground. He brushed some dust off his clothes with his fingers then stood proud beside Ryuken.

"Has anyone told you that your wakeup call is atrocious?" Ryuken said.

"My kids tell me that all the time."

"Maybe you should listen to them." Ryuken used the ball of his hand to wipe the grain from his eyes, and was surprised to find that he cheeks were wet. He must have cried during his sleep, unless Isshin had been carefully dripping water onto him. He felt embarrassed and tried to hide it. He wiped his cheeks with his hands as consciously as he could. Isshin didn't look like he noticed anything, and Ryuken was glad to have kept it that way. He sat back down on the bed once he had stretched his arms and legs.

"Why'd you wake me up?" Ryuken asked, though he was happy to be awake. His dream had become far too melodramatic. He understood why his mind went to such a dark time in his life, but he didn't want to linger there any longer.

"Look at Nel," Isshin said with a grin. Ryuken had almost forgotten about her. He looked over to where Nel had collapsed, and found a different creature there instead. It was an adult woman, her body buxom and tall. She was curled up in ball, her long green hair covering her back and her feet. The simple gown Nel had worn ripped in half so that half of it look like a tank top, while the bottom half worked as a skirt. The skull on her forehead was no longer cartoonish, and instead looked like a flattened ram's skull. She didn't seem unconscious, just asleep. As he studied the changes, she stretched out and turned over, revealing the number three tattooed on her back. Ryuken felt a surge of confidence.

"When did she transform?" Ryuken said. His tone was curious, as he glanced back to Isshin to give some kind of report.

"You can't really tell time in here, but I'd say about thirty minutes. It was immediate too. Once the transformation started, there was a quick light show, and then she came back all grown up," Isshin answered. Ryuken felt like a doctor again as he examined Nel (or Neliel he supposed) from afar. It had been years since he had done any hands-on medical work. Hospital director meant he was an administrator and liaison, and rarely interacted with any patients. He imagined this was nothing new for Isshin. His clinic had no shortage of patients.

"Do you know what provoked it?" Ryuken shot back. Isshin hesitated before responding.

"I knocked on her head with the end of my sword." Isshin explained. Ryuken did a double take, incredulous.

"Don't kid with me, we don't have the time." Ryuken responded, scowling at Isshin.

"That's exactly how it happened. I checked if she was conscious a couple hours ago, and since her breathing patterns normalized, I knew she was asleep. So, a few minutes ago I bonked her head with Engetsu to see if she'd wake up." Isshin chuckled. "See, my wakeup calls are good for something after all."

Ryuken kept scowling.

"For my sanity's sake, I'm going to assume what you did just helped the process along." Ryuken said, turning back to Nel's sleeping form. "It was the prompts that made her faint in the first place."

She tossed around a bit and moved a few of her limbs to get more comfortable. Ryuken took it as a sign that she was starting to wake up. This was an opportunity. He didn't have any work to return to, or any bill of efficiency to uphold. Those were disregarded the moment he was trapped in Las Noches. Escape was the first priority. Once he was out, he had might as well finish the job he started. Even if Uryu was dead, that didn't mean he was beyond saving.

Ryuken needed to think pragmatically. Assuming they didn't cut off his soul chain on the spot, there was still time before his soul chain corroded. Since they were in a realm that was composed entire of spirit particles, it would speed up the process as fragments of the chain would dissolve to energy to help build the environment. If he was lucky, Ryuken had about a day to put Uryu's soul back in his body. The one saving grace was that he didn't have worry about the body decomposing. Hueco Mundo didn't have bacteria to break down a human corpse and body function wouldn't deteriorate so long as the soul remained intact.

If they did cut off the chain, he didn't really have a solution. It would produce a weaker hollow, but if they did, that was it. Uryu would be dead and soon after he would be a hollow. The best Ryuken could come with was finding the Inoue girl before the damage was irreparable.

A to-do list came together in his head. He was going to need to find Uryu or Inoue first. The hope was that if he found Uryu quickly, he could do most of the healing and 'repairs' on his own and Isshin could focus on the rest of the children. If he found Inoue before Uryu, he could convince her to heal Uryu even after a point of no return. Ryuken had limited knowledge of how Inoue's abilities worked beyond what he had observed. From what he saw, she could, given the time, conceivably bring someone back from the dead. The idea troubled him, that anyone should have the power to bring the dead back to life, but he decided he would use it to his advantage now and contemplate it later. Much later. Now wasn't the time to have a crisis of philosophy. They weren't just killing his son, they were turning him into a monster. That was inexcusable.

He checked for Sado's reiatsu and sensed it moving somewhere on the other end of the throne room. It didn't wane at any point, though, it was a little higher than he remembered it being. However he achieved increasing his reiatsu since they arrived, the boy seemed to be handling himself well. Sado could be put out of mind for now.

It took him a few seconds to recall that Ichigo was here too. He put that boy aside as well. Until Uryu was secure, that was Isshin's priority, not his.

Nel made one grand stretch, signalling that she was finally awake. Ryuken and Isshin walked toward her slowly as she stood up and looked at her surroundings for the first time. Her zanpakuto arrived and was held in rope around her hip. Once she saw them, Nel instinctively grabbed the hilt of her zanpakuto.

"Nel? Nelliel? Do you know who I am?" Ryuken asked and moved his arms away from his body in an attempt to appear non-threatening.

It took her a moment to respond. "Yes."

"Can you say my name?"

"You're that jerk, Ryuken."

Ryuken sighed, but continued regardless. "Good, because I need to ask you a favour."