~*~ Thank you for bearing with me! Things have settled down a bit for me, and I was able to get this chapter written up. Hopefully I can update about every two weeks, but don't hold me to that. ~*~
**Hope you enjoy it!**
Sins of the Father
"The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children…"
The Merchant of Venice (3.5.1)
Chapter Ten
Dogs
"Ichi~GO!"
The young doctor easily dodged his father's over-enthusiastic embrace, turning to laugh as Isshin's momentum carried him right into the wall.
"Tha's naw funneh," Isshin Kurosaki grumbled, holding his hand over his nose as he turned around.
Ichigo just grinned in reply.
"Where's Kon? At least he usually fights back." Isshin looked around his front hall anxiously.
"Kon's coming up tomorrow. He and Orihime had tickets to a play tonight," Ichigo explained.
"A play? My Kon going to a – Wait! Did you say with Orihime?"
Ichigo nodded.
Isshin made a suggestive motion about the size of her chest.
"That Orihime? Who lived down the street?"
"Dad!" Ichigo frowned.
"What? Don't tell me you didn't notice?" Isshin scoffed.
Ichigo rolled his eyes and headed down the hall toward his old bedroom with his bags.
"Why didn't Tatsuki come with you?" Isshin asked, tagging along behind his oldest boy.
"She had to do some make-up classes at the dojo and she had a paper to finish for college. Where are Karin and Yuzu?"
"Karin moved into the dorms at Christmas –"
"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that."
"And Yuzu is out with her boyfriend this evening." Isshin giggled conspiratorially.
Ichigo turned around sharply.
"What did you mean by that?"
"By what?" Isshin looked clueless. Ichigo had no doubts he, in fact, was.
"'Yuzu's out with her boyfriend' – Hee hee," he mimicked.
A grand smile lit the older man's face.
"He's going to propose to her!" Isshin cried in a manner akin to a teenage girl spilling a huge secret.
"Really? You gave him your blessing?"
"More like my warning," Isshin replied, suddenly serious.
"Well, good for them. And that warning goes double from me and Kon." Ichigo grinned as he tossed his bags in his room and headed back toward the living room.
"Oh, he knows. I think he'll be good for her."
"We'll kill him if he's not."
Isshin laughed in agreement as the two settled into the comfy, overstuffed armchairs in the living room.
An uncommon quiet settled over the Kurosaki residence as Ichigo mulled over his thoughts.
"Dad?"
"Yes, son?"
The strange calmness and seriousness in his tone caused Ichigo to look up. Isshin motioned for him to continue.
"I have this patient."
"Living or dead? 'Cause I can't help dead."
Ichigo smiled.
"A living one this time, Dad."
"Ahhh…." Isshin stroked his beard reflectively. "Go on…"
"Three doctors have already given up on him," Ichigo began, concern evident in his features.
"Even good ol' Byakuya?"
"Yeah…." Ichigo shook his head in disgust. "Dr. Kuchiki was the first to give up on him."
"Wow… Must be a tough nut to crack."
Ichigo scowled at Isshin's poor choice of words. His father shrugged apologetically.
"I fix bodies, Ichigo. Not minds. That's your department."
Ichigo let out a bitter laugh. "That and keeping my twin brother in line."
Isshin smiled. "Sounds like Orihime might take that job away from you."
Ichigo smiled back. "Yeah… Hopefully."
"About this patient…" Isshin prompted.
Ichigo settled back into the chair with a sigh.
"He's not crazy, Dad."
"Then why is he there?"
"I'm not sure. He's very intelligent. Very cryptic. I asked him for a clue and he told me: 'The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children'."
"Sounds like he has some daddy issues."
Ichigo shook his head. "I don't think that's whst he meant by it. He didn't seem reflective when he said it, more like he was using the word 'father' collectively."
"Sounds to me like this is a case for your old Professor."
"I've talked to Dr. Urahara already. He suggested that, from my description of his behavior, Gri – er – my patient…" Ichigo flushed and stumbled over his blunder. "Urahara said I should go along with his whims. That he's playing a game with me – with us doctors – and if he's tiring, going along with him will make the game no longer fun."
"You're treating Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez?" Isshin barely hid a look of amusement.
"How did you –"
"I treated him when he broke the window, Ichigo. I know exactly what you're talking about. When he regained consciousness, he immediately started playing games with me. He acted like the pain was so unbearable that he needed more medication. He almost overdosed fatally when we gave him a morphine drip he could control. Then he went through withdrawals, along with that horrible injury…"
Ichigo's jaw dropped. He had not heard the whole of the story from Dr. Kuchiki and the details shocked him.
"You'll catch flies that way, son," Isshin commented wryly, snapping him out of his stupor.
"I had no idea…"
"The poor kid's got something bothering him, but I have to agree with you on one thing," Isshin continued, "he doesn't have issues with his father. While he was in the hospital, he had a framed photograph of his parents. He was very protective of it. Didn't want anyone to touch it; barked at the nurses if they did. I caught him a few times through the window in the door… Middle of the night and he'd be talking to that picture or just staring at it… Gave me the impression he loved his parents."
Ichigo shook his head, overwhelmed by the information.
"I get the same impression… Dr. Kuchiki didn't want me to have any preconceived notions, so I haven't heard much about Grimmjow's past… I wish I had. Knowing all this helps me put the pieces together."
Isshin was quiet as he watched the gears grind away in his son's mind. A wave of pride washed over him.
I don't think I did too bad a job raising our kids, eh, Masaki? he thought, a grin lighting his features.
"Oh, Dad. I have one more thing I want to ask you."
Isshin was startled from his thoughts.
"What?"
"He wants a cat. Sincerely. I don't believe he'll harm it, but… I don't know… Should I talk to Dr. Kuchiki about it?"
Isshin grinned. "I'll talk to him for you, if you like."
"No, he shouldn't know I spoke to you. It violates the doctor-patient –"
"Yes, Ichigo, I'm aware. But I was his attending physician at one time." Isshin raised his hand to wave off any further complaint. "I won't say anything if you don't want me to, though. But let me tell you this: when the therapy animals came to visit those who had been in the hospital for an extended period of time, he always asked to see the cat. He loved the beast. Never saw him be gentle with anything, cleaned up more broken glass in that room than any other, but with that cat… He was a completely different person. He's not going to harm a cat."
"Thanks, Dad." Ichigo smiled.
"You know, if I remember correctly, that photo somehow got left in his room. It's in my office upstairs, I think," Isshin reflected. He darted out of the room at the same time Ichigo's cell phone buzzed in his pocket.
"What's up Kon?" he answered casually. The reply from the other end of the line made him go white as a sheet. "She what?... Where are you?... Is Tatsuki – … Okay, good! I'll be there as soon as I can. You take good care of her!"
Ichigo hung up the phone and rose shakily as Isshin came back into the room.
"What's wrong, Ichigo?"
Ichigo looked up at him without seeing him.
"He hit her, Dad. He hit her, busted her head open. She's going to need stitches, possible amnesia."
"Who hit who?"
Ichigo grabbed his father's shoulders.
"I've got to go. I need you to do me a favor. Find me a white cat, female if you can, okay?"
Isshin frowned at his son. "You're not making any sense, Ichigo."
"I've got to get back… Can you just…"
Isshin nodded. "It's okay. You go. I've got the next couple days off and I'll be right behind you."
"Thank you." A bit of calm settled over Ichigo before he dashed to grab his things.
Three hours later, at almost nine o'clock in the evening, Ichigo walked into the waiting room at the hospital. On the drive home, his father had called to inform him that Yuzu was now engaged, he had managed to find a kitten already, he still had the photo, and that he would bring it all up tomorrow morning. Ichigo, in turn, filled him in as best he could about the situation at hand.
Kon stood as Ichigo entered the waiting room, a slightly disappointed look on his face as he realized who it was. He sat back down.
"Oh, hey man. The doc's supposed to be here in a minute. They're keeping her overnight just in caser her brain swells. We should know something soon…"
Ichigo nodded and looked around. "Where's Tat –"
He broke off Tatsuki and Orihime came through the door, vending machine coffee cups in their hands. Tatsuki rushed up to him and hugged him tight.
"Oh, Ichigo, it's just horrible," she said into his shoulder. He held her close and gently rubbed her back.
Orihime sat down by Kon and took his hand.
"I helped her out as best I could, but it was a pretty bad gash. I don't know what he hit her with,"
Kon placed a protective and soothing hand over Orihime's.
Ichigo and Tatsuki sat down next to them.
"Okay, explain to me what happened again."
Kon turned to Orihime and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry about the play, but I'm glad I was running late this evening."
Orihime smiled. "I think I can forgive you this once."
Tatsuki rolled her eyes at the lovey-dovey couple.
"I'll fill you in," she sighed. "Kon was getting ready for their date when he heard a frantic knocking on the door. He answered it and found her bloody and about to pass out, begging him to help. So Kon called Orihime because he figured her nursing skills would come in handy. I had just got home, so I drove her over. Then we brought her here when we saw how bad it was… And now I'm going to go kill the dog that did this."
Ichigo pulled her to a halt as she started to rise from her seat and she grudgingly sat back down. He shook his head and then adjusted his glasses.
"And now we're just waiting for the doctor?"
Tatsuki nodded and fought back a yawn.
"Now it's 'hurry up and wait'," she said softly.
Thirty minutes later, the door to the waiting room opened.
"Miss Inoue?" the doctor asked.
Orihime and Kon rose to speak to the doctor while Ichigo and Tatsuki waited with baited breath. After a moment, Kon motioned for them to follow and they were led through several halls to the doorway of an Intensive Care Unit.
"We've sedated her, but she seems to be doing all right. She asked for you all a few minutes ago, but I'm going to have to ask you to let her rest a while longer before we allow you to visit with her," reported the doctor.
"Thank you, sir," Kon said to him as they observed the slight form under the layers of hospital blankets; attached to IV solutions and monitors.
"She's lucky to have friends like you guys…"
Ichigo looked up at the doctor. "Yeah, real lucky… If we were such good friends it wouldn't have come to this."
"You can't blame yourself, but there is some… well, some news. Good or not, she's agreed to press charges, but we couldn't understand the name she was trying to give us," the doctor informed them. "Do you know who might have done this to her?"
"Yes. I know who it was," Kon growled through clenched teeth. "It was that dog, Nnoitra Gilga."
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**Hope to be back to updating regularly soon! Thanks for reading!**
