Disclaimer- I do not own Bleach.

Chapter Twenty-Six- Insight

After a short break during which everyone traveled around and gave one another a hard time about their fights, the winners as well as the losers, Ukitake called the participants forward for the semi-finals. Ichigo and Rukia walked toward the Head Captain, followed a short distance behind by Captain Kyouraku and Nanao, and then Renji and Matsumoto brought up the rear.

Shiro stood in his place in front of Kin and Hinamori, his head tilted slightly to the side.

"What's the matter Shiro-chan?" Kin asked as she gazed down at the boy, a questioning look in her eyes.

"I don't know who I should be cheering for," Shiro said, his gaze focused on the six combatants who would be taking part in the semi-finals. "It's a three way toss up between Ran-san and my parents."

"I have an idea kiddo," Kin said, smiling down at the young boy and running a hand through his unruly white hair. "Why don't you wait to see who is paired up with who? You may not have to chose, at least not until the next round."

Shiro nodded, realizing that the Squad Ten vice-captain had a very valid point. There was a chance that none of the three people he was supporting would fight one another in this round. It wasn't a good chance since the draw was completely random however it was still a chance.

"Alright," Ukitake said as he offered the basket with the new numbers, one through three, to the group of combatants that were assembled in a semi-circle in front of him. "By now everyone should know how this works so if you'll chose a number then we'll get on with the semi-finals."

The combatants all nodded and, one at a time, they drew numbers from the basket that the Head Captain held in his outstretched hand. Then, once everyone had a number and had glanced down at it, Ukitake asked, "So who has number one?"

Matsumoto and Kyouraku both raised a hand at the same time and as they glanced toward one another they couldn't keep the grins from spreading across their faces. The two of them were often together, usually drinking, however they had never sparred.

"This could be interesting," Matsumoto said as the other combatants stepped back, leaving her and the Squad Eight Captain alone in the center of the battleground.

"It could at that," Ukitake said, eyeing the two combatants with a small smile on his face. "So do you guys want to set any specifications for this battle?"

"Can we settle this by seeing who can drink the most sake?" Kyouraku asked, his tone hopeful as he gazed at his best friend.

"No," Ukitake said, shaking his head. "Now do you have any battle related specifications?"

"No," Kyouraku said, obviously disappointed that he wouldn't be able to drink until this tournament was over. The Squad Eight Captain drew his twin blades from the sash of his shihakusho and turned to face Matsumoto, who had also drawn her sword. "When this is over we'll have to go and get a drink."

Matsumoto offered her drinking buddy a charming smile. "Are you sure Nanao will be okay with this?"

Kyouraku smiled and then cast a glance toward his vice-captain. "What do you say Nanao-chan? Will you be jealous if Rangiku-chan and I go out for a drink?"

"Do whatever you want," Nanao snapped, blushing bright red and glaring over at her captain. "And I'm NOT your Nanao-chan!"

"I think it would have been more exciting if the two of them had been paired up," Shiro commented, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two Squad Eight officers.

"That would be something," Ichigo said, shaking his head. "Something boring. Although Nanao might enjoy having the opportunity to fight her captain, I seriously doubt whether Kyouraku would raise his sword against her."

"Aww," Shiro whined, his gaze going back over to the two actual combatants. "Guess I'll just have to be content watching Ran-san fight with him."

"Guess so," Ichigo said, shaking his head once again.

Shiro turned his attention back to the battlefield and he watched intently as Matsumoto blocked a series of intense blows from Kyouraku's dual blades. The two combatants crossed blades again and again, neither able to connect a blow with the other. Then they abruptly jumped back a couple of feet and turned to face one another, swords held up and eyes locked on one another.

Kyouraku smiled as he gazed over at Matsumoto.

Matsumoto returned his smile. "What do you say we take this up a notch Shunsui-san?" This said, Matsumoto held up her sword and said, "Roar Haineko!"

The blade of Matsumoto's zanpaktou disintegrated in a cloud of smoke however Kyouraku twirled his twin blades and caused a tornado to fly toward his opponent, disrupting the ashes that comprised the Shikai of her zanpaktou. Growling in frustration the Squad Ten Captain said, "Bankai!"

Kyouraku gazed over at Matsumoto intently as the huge cat comprised of ash formed at her side however there was a confident look in his eyes as he held up his twin zanpaktou. Matsumoto attacked the Squad Eight Captain in much the same way that she'd attacked Hanari however this attack didn't work quite as well against Kyouraku. He merely swung his zanpaktou and created the whirlwind which, while unable to destroy the Bankai, was none the less able to knock it's attacks off course.

This went on for quite some time and Kyouraku was able to completely overwhelm Matsumoto, who finally held out the hilt of Haineko and recalled the ash cat, which reformed into the zanpaktou's blade. Then she nodded her head in the direction of Captain Kyouraku. "You win."

A broad smile spread across the Squad Eight Captain's face and he walked over to the spot where Matsumoto stood. "That was excellent and I meant what I said about getting that drink when this is over." Then he winked at the Squad Ten Captain. "Just as friends though. No offense but no one can compete with my Nanao-chan."

"I am NOT you're Nanao-chan!"

Both Kyouraku and Matsumoto threw their heads back and laughed at her reaction. A slight blush coloring her face, Nanao glared at them from her spot a few yards away however the expression on her face only caused them to laugh harder as they made their way back to the spot where the others were standing.

"Well that was interesting," Ichigo commented as Kyouraku and Matsumoto each took the spots that they had vacated when they'd taken the field for their battle; Matsumoto coming to stand beside Kin while Kyouraku came to a stop beside Nanao. The Squad Eight Captain casually wrapped an arm around the shoulders of his vice-captain and was rewarded by an elbow to the ribs.

Head Captain Ukitake smiled briefly at the exchange between his best friend and Nanao and then he faced the group once more. "Alright who has number two?"

"That would be me," Ichigo said.

"And me!" Renji exclaimed, emerging from the group and offering Ichigo a cocky grin. "You're going down Kurosaki."

"Yea yea," Ichigo said as he and his former rival walked toward the center of the battleground. "I've heard that one before and I'll believe it when I experience it, which means never."

Renji growled low in his throat however he chose not to respond to Ichigo's taunt. He'd show Ichigo what he was made of and nothing that he said at this point would affect the outcome of the battle so he decided to remain silent and let Zabimaru do the talking..

Kind of shocked that this confrontation hadn't occurred earlier in the tournament Ukitake took his place at the center of the battleground with the two combatants. He gazed at Ichigo and Renji and asked the by now familiar question, "Do either of you have any specifications for this battle?"

Knowing that her husband and her best friend had been rivals for as long as they had known one another Rukia gazed intently over at Ichigo and called out in a commanding voice, "Ichigo's not allowed to do that one thing and he knows what it is!"

Confused by this statement from his mother Shiro turned and gazed up at Rukia. "What's Dad not allowed to do?"

"Don't worry about it Shiro-chan," Rukia said with a smile, ruffling her son's white hair. "It's nothing important."

Shiro could tell that his mother was hiding something from him however he could also tell that she was unlikely to give him the information that he sought With a sigh of resignation the young boy gave up and turned his attention back to the two combatants who were facing one another on the battlefield.

"So," Ukitake said, turning back toward the two captains who were standing in front of him. "We've established the fact that Ichigo's not allowed to do that one thing, which apparently he should be able to identify on his own. Anything else?"

Ichigo and Renji simultaneously shook their heads and Ukitake nodded. "Alright then. Begin."

Head Captain Ukitake made his way back over to the spot where the spectators were assembled while Ichigo and Renji stood in the center of the battlefield and had a staring contest. The two long time rivals glared at one another until Renji broke eye contact. Ichigo smirked at his rival and drew his zanpaktou.

"There's no way I'm going to lose to you this time Kurosaki," Renji said as he pulled his own zanpaktou from it's sheath. "Howl Zabimaru!"

"He isn't wasting any time," Ichigo thought to himself as he dodged the furious blows from Renji. Most of the battles thus far had began with swordplay however Renji had chosen to immediately use Shikai. The man wasn't playing around. Ichigo grinned. "Guess it's only fair since Zangetsu is always in Shikai form."

Ichigo was jarred from his thoughts by another series of furious blows from Renji and this time he used Zangetsu to block the attacks from Renji's zanpaktou. He offered his opponent a taunting grin. "Is that the best you can do bone-boy?"

Growling low in his throat Renji once again swung his zanpaktou in the direction of Ichigo's head however once again the orange haired captain deflected the blows with ease.

"Same old attack," Ichigo taunted as Renji pulled the links of his sword back together. He shook his head and held up Zangetsu. "I think I know how we can turn this battle up a notch. Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu!" A black aura surrounded Ichigo and when it dissipated he held a normal looking katana in his hand. The only distinguishing characteristic of this sword was the fact that the blade was midnight black.

"I still can't believe that's his Bankai," Shiro muttered, more to himself than to the others.

"I know Shiro," Rukia said, running a hand through her son's snow-white hair once again. Her son had repeatedly asked to see Ichigo's Bankai however when his father had relented and shown it to him Shiro had laughed and told Ichigo that what he'd done couldn't possibly be Bankai. Ichigo was still irritated about that fact.

"So you wanna play it like that huh Ichigo?" Renji asked as he gazed over at Ichigo. "Fine by me." Renji held up his sword and opened his mouth to use his own Bankai however his words were cut short as Ichigo flash-stepped toward him, swinging his sword furiously. Renji was forced to cease his attempts at Bankai as he used his sword to block the furious blows from his opponent. Apparently Ichigo had decided that he wasn't going to give Renji time to use his Bankai.

"What the hell Kurosaki!"

"Come on Renji," Ichigo taunted as he continued to rain down blow after blow. "Use your Bankai."

Renji held up his sword, prepared to use it's second level of spiritual release, however his eyes widened as Ichigo held up Zangetsu and swung the sword furiously. "Getsuga Tenshou!"

Even though he successfully blocked the majority of the attack with the blade of his sword Renji was knocked off his feet by the force of the blow. The Squad Nine Captain fought to get to his feet however he stopped as Ichigo appeared over him, holding the tip of Zangetsu to his throat. Glaring at his opponent but realizing that he had been beaten Renji inclined his head to Ichigo. "You win."

Ichigo's Bankai faded immediately and with a grin he sheathed Zangetsu. Then he offered his hand to Renji and helped his rival to his feet. "Keep practicing Renji. You lasted longer that time."

"One of these days I'm going to beat you," Renji muttered as he and Ichigo made their way back over to the group.

"So you keep saying," Ichigo said.

"Winner Kurosaki," Head Captain Ukitake called out as Ichigo and Renji rejoined the others. "And that leaves Rukia and Nanao as our last combatants for this round. Combatants please step forward."

With a glance toward her husband Rukia stepped forward and together she and Nanao followed the Head Captain out toward the center of the battleground. Once the trio had reached the usual spot Ukitake turned to face the two combatants. "Would you like to set any specifications for this battle?"

Rukia glanced over at Nanao. "What do you say Nanao-san, shall we settle this with kidou?"

After a moment's thought the vice-captain of Squad Eight nodded her head in agreement. Both were masters of kidou and this seemed to be the best way to determine who was the better fighter.

"Very well then," Ukitake said with a nod. "This battle will consist of kidou only. You may begin."

Head Captain Ukitake stepped back out of the way and the two combatants faced one another. The two women stared at each other for a moment, sizing up their opponent, and then Rukia held up her hands and cried out, "Red Flame Cannon!"

A red burst of energy shot from Rukia's palm and flew toward Nanao, who stood calmly facing the attack.

"That seems kind of basic," Shiro commented as he watched Nanao easily deflect the attack from his mother.

Ichigo nodded, his eyes focused intently on the battlefield. "They're sizing each other up. Trust me, this battle will pick up in intensity."

After deflecting the attack from Rukia, Nanao launched one of her own. Her kidou was equally low level and also easily deflected by Rukia. She watched as the attack flew through the air and landed struck the ground several yards away. Nanao couldn't help but be impressed with Rukia's skill; not only had she deflected the attack but she'd also diverted it's path away from the bystanders.

Nanao nodded, a determined expression in her eyes.

"Come on Nanao-chan!" The silence was shattered by the shouts of the Squad Eight Captain and although Nanao didn't look over at him a slight blush colored her cheeks. "You can do it!"

"One of these days. . ." Nanao muttered under her breath. Then her attention shifted back to her opponent and she held out her hands. "Binding Chains of Fate!"

"That's a new one," Shiro exclaimed as he watched the chains burst from the ground and attempt to wrap themselves around his mother, who jumped lithely through the air, shattering the chains with Pale Fire Crash.

From her spot in the air Rukia gazed down at Nanao, whose face held a look that was somewhere between shock and admiration. Obviously Nanao hadn't been expecting for her to counter that particular attack and Rukia knew why. Binding Chains of Fate was an extremely advanced kidou, so advanced that many Shinigami couldn't even do it, and it was incredibly hard to defend against. "Six Bars of Light!"

Nanao adeptly dodged the binding kidou that Rukia launched toward her and held up her hands. "White Lightening."

"Not good," Rukia thought to herself as she watched the attack fly toward her. It was extremely hard to dodge kidou attacks in mid-air due to their speed, which she was sure that Nanao knew. Deciding at the last moment not to even attempt to dodge the attack Rukia allowed the bolt of reiatsu to get within mere inches of her before she used the exact same attack to cancel it out.

Smoke erupted around Rukia and the crowd gasped as she was momentarily surrounded by the huge cloud. Shiro sucked in his breath, straining his eyes for some glimpse of his mother. Hearing the boy's sharp intake of breath Ichigo gazed down at his son and he saw the concerned look in Shiro's blue-green eyes. "Don't worry kiddo, she's fine."

Shiro gazed up at his father and Ichigo offered the boy a comforting smile and placed his hand on Shiro's shoulder.

"Prism Burst!"

There were cries from the crowd as a rainbow of colors suddenly cut their way through the cloud of smoke. Fortunately Ichigo and Shiro had been focused on each other and thus weren't blinded by the effects of Rukia's kidou. Nanao however wasn't quite so lucky and she stumbled backward as the kidou temporarily robbed her of her ability to see."

"Bakudo Number 62, 100 Stepped Rails!" Rukia called out and watched as Nanao was struck by the binding kidou that she couldn't see. Surprisingly, even sightless, Nanao managed to dodge all but the very last bars of the attack, which effectively pinned her to the ground.

"Nanao-chan!"

"Calm down Shunsui," Ukitake said in his calm voice, turning to face his best friend and gesturing toward the battlefield. "She's fine."

As the Head Captain was uttering these words of comfort to his friend Nanao was pulling the bar of energy from her shoulder. She tossed it to the side and gazed over at Rukia, who had landed lightly on the ground a few yards away.

His gaze focused intently on the two combatants Shiro's eyes suddenly widened as his vision flashed to the sight of several angry Shinigami. He knew that they were after him, although how he knew that was beyond him, and he suddenly found himself facing the same attack. He couldn't make out who was aiming the attack at him, the images were blurry, however he could almost swear that he felt the pain.

"Winner Rukia!"

Shiro was jarred from this rather disturbing vision by the voice of Head Captain Ukitake declaring his mother the winner. Shaking his head in an effort to clear his blurry vision Shiro gazed over at his mother and watched as she helped Nanao to her feet. Then the two women rejoined the group.

"Okay," Ukitake said once Nanao and Rukia had joined their ranks once more. "So that leaves us with three combatants which I must admit, with some embarrassment, that I did not think about. So now how do we decide who fights who?"

"I think I can help you out with that little dilemma Jyuu," Kyouraku said as he once again attempted to wrap his arm around Nanao and was once again rewarded with an elbow to the ribs. "I forfeit which leaves Ichigo and Rukia to fight for the title."

Head Captain Ukitake briefly thought about this proposal from his best friend and finally decided that he would allow Kyouraku to forfeit if only for the fact that he would get to watch Ichigo and Rukia go at it. He was sure that the rest of the crowd, Shiro especially, would really appreciate it. "Very well. Captain Kurosaki will fight Vice-Captain Kurosaki in the final round."

"All right!" Shiro exclaimed, his gaze shifting back and forth between his mother and father.

"Try not to sound so excited about it," Ichigo told his son. "I mean, you couldn't possibly want to watch me fight with your mother."

"Oh yes I could," Shiro said with a smirk.

"Shiro-chan," Kin said, her gaze going to the young boy. "Aren't you torn as to who you should be supporting?"

Shiro shook his head. "I'm not picking sides. I just want to watch them fight."

"All right then," Ukitake said. "Shall we begin the final match?"

"That depends," Ichigo said, eyeing his wife warily. "Do I have the option to forfeit?"

"No," both Ukitake and Rukia said at the same time.

"Dammit," Ichigo said as he followed his wife and his superior out to the center of the battleground. "Didn't think so but I thought I'd give it a try."

Ukitake assumed his usual spot and Ichigo and Rukia stood in front of him, facing one another. "So, do you guys want to set any specifications for this battle?"

"Well," Rukia said thoughtfully. "Ichigo still can't do that one thing that he knows he can't do but everything else is fine."

Ukitake nodded and turned his attention to Ichigo. "Is that alright with you Captain Kurosaki?"

"I guess it has to be," Ichigo said with a shrug. "You heard the boss."

Chuckling softly to himself Ukitake nodded and then stepped away from the battlefield. "You may begin," he called out once he was a safe distance away.

"Hey Grandpa Ukitake," Shiro said, thinking that it was strange that the Head Captain had started the battle from a distance this time when every other time he'd stepped away after the fight had began. "Why did you come back over here before you said they could start?"

Ukitake opened his mouth to respond to the boy's question however it became unnecessary as the ground underneath Ichigo's feet suddenly exploded as Rukia unleashed Pale Fire Crash.

"Never mind," Shiro said, focusing his gaze back on the battlefield. "And I still want to know what the one thing he's not allowed to do is."

Ukitake pointedly chose to ignore that last comment.

"Dammit!" Ichigo swore from his spot a few feet away. He'd managed to dodge her attack however it had been close and his clothes were covered in dust as a result. "I should have said that you couldn't use kidou."

"You should have," Rukia said in a taunting voice. "But you didn't."

"This has been a long time coming," Kin said as she watched Rukia firing Red Flame Cannon at Ichigo repeatedly. "I think Rukia's getting some revenge for all of that paperwork that she had to do because Ichigo wouldn't."

"Hmm," Ukitake said as he watched Ichigo drawing his sword. "Hadn't thought of that but you might be on to something."

His intense gaze focused on Rukia Ichigo pulled Zangetsu from his back and held the sword out in front of him. Rukia offered him a smile that would have been charming under any other circumstances as she drew her own sword and pointed it in his direction.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

Using her flash-step Rukia dodged the attack from Ichigo, which she had anticipated, and raised her sword. "Dance, Sode no Shiraiyuki!"

"Wow," Shiro said, gazing over at his mother with a shocked expression on his face It was in this moment that he realized for the first time that he'd never actually seen his mother release her zanpaktou. In fact she usually fought with kidou.

"First Dance White Moon!"

"Oh no you don't," Ichigo exclaimed as he jumped out of the way of the attack. Then he raised his own sword and called out, "Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu!"

Ichigo's sword transformed into it's Bankai form, which greatly increased the Squad Five Captain's speed. He dashed toward Rukia, swinging Zangetsu furiously. Rukia blocked the blows from her husband's zanpaktou and then jumped back a couple of feet. "Well, if you want to play it like that. Bankai!"

Shiro watched, his blue-green eyes opened wide, as a tremendous white aura surround his mother. Then something erupted from the tip of Sode no Shiraiyuki and a huge bird-like creature formed over Rukia's head. "It looks like a phoenix," Shiro thought to himself. "Except that it's white. . ." The young boy's voice trailed off as he was assaulted with yet another vision, this one stronger and more vivid than the ones he'd experienced up until this point. He saw his mother standing on the battlefield, a few yards away, and he saw her unleash this very same attack. But that was impossible because he'd never even seen his mother release her zanpaktou. There was absolutely no way he could have seen her Bankai, in fact he hadn't even known that she could do Bankai.

Eyes glazed over, Shiro clutched the sides of his head with his hands and sank to his knees.

"Shiro-chan!"

The sound of Kin calling out to the young boy got the attention of everyone who was standing beside Shiro and they all gazed down at the child who was now curled into a tight ball on the ground. Ukitake dropped to his knees beside Shiro and gently shook the child. "Toushirou!"

The Head Captain's words did nothing to snap the boy out of the trance that he appeared to be trapped in and Ukitake jumped to his feet and yelled, "Ichigo! Rukia!"

The two combatants immediately ceased their battle and their eyes shifted over to the spot where the crowd was assembled to watch the fight. Rukia gasped in horror as her gaze fell upon her son, who lay curled up on the ground, his hands clutching the sides of his head as though he were in a tremendous amount of pain. "Shiro!"

Rukia immediately flash-stepped over to the spot where her son lay, followed closely behind by Ichigo. When the two parents arrived at the spot where their son lay they both immediately dropped to their knees at Shiro's side. "Shiro-chan," Rukia called out in a soft voice. "Can you hear me kiddo?"

A few moments passed and then Shiro loosened his hold on his head and slowly opened his eyes. The child slowly raised his gaze to his mother and their was confusion evident in his eyes. "Mom. . . your Bankai, I've seen it before."

Unsure of what to tell him Rukia chose to say nothing. What she did instead was to pull her son into her arms and hold him. She ran a hand through his snow white hair and rubbed his back in a soothing manner. Rukia knew that her child was suffering and she was desperate to do something however she knew that there was nothing that she could do.

"I think we should take Shiro to Squad Four," a kind voice said from above the small family.

Rukia gazed up and she saw the kind face of Captain Unohana. There was concern in the eyes of the Squad Four Captain and Rukia nodded her head in agreement. She gently scooped Shiro up into her arms and then got to her feet. Ichigo stood along with his family and he wrapped his arm protectively around Rukia's shoulders.

"Mom I don't need. . ."

"We're going Shiro," Ichigo said, knowing that his son was going to say that he didn't need to go to the infirmary.

This effectively ended Shiro's arguments, as well as the tournament itself, and together the Kurosaki family, along with Ukitake, Unohana and Isane left the training grounds and made their way across the Seireitei to the Squad Four barracks. As was typical with this level of vision Shiro soon lost consciousness and, leaving him in the care of Isane, the others made their way to Captain Unohana's office.

"Things are getting worse with him," Rukia said as soon as the door of the office had been closed. "I don't know how much longer he can handle this."

"I know how you feel Rukia," Unohana said in her calm voice. "But telling Toushirou what the visions really are could cause more damage to the child than merely allowing him to have them."

"But he thinks he's going crazy," Ichigo said, his intense gaze focused on Unohana.

"And telling him the truth could cause him to actually go crazy," Unohana said in a firm voice that was completely out of character for her. "My assessment of the situation has not changed. I still think that this needs to remain a secret from the child."

Ichigo and Rukia shifted their gazes to Ukitake and they saw that the Head Captain held a sad but determined look in his eyes and they could tell from his expression that he was going to side with Unohana. Unshed tears appeared in Rukia's eyes and Ichigo wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Come on Rukia, let's go."

A/N- The end of the tournament and we didn't even get to see who won. I took a few liberties with this chapter, Rukia's Bankai among them, however since this story is AU I figured that would be okay. Hope you enjoyed this latest installment of Shiro's story. Feel free to review and let me know what you thought. (You know if you people would just review then I wouldn't have to keep writing this) Please. Until the next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.