Uryū stood beside the bed and stared at him. "You're him. You are Ichigo."
"How can you possibly think that? You've been coming here for weeks," Ryoto said with an exasperated sigh. "I'm not your friend. Is this some sort of extended play act or something?"
"No, it's not. Somehow, it's you! Look!" Uryū said, pulling his wallet out of his pants and pulling out a small picture. "See?"
Ryoto took the picture. There were several people in it, a girl with lighter hair, Uryū, a taller dark-skinned boy, and someone that bore an uncanny resemblance to him. He blinked, staring at the picture. The hair, the body, everything was right about the picture. Obviously, the person in the picture was younger than he was, but still, he could see how someone could mistake him for this guy.
"Look, I've been here for five years, so I can't be your friend," he said, handing Uryū back the picture.
"But he's been missing five years!" Uryū said, putting away the picture in his wallet again. "You could be him. What were you doing before you came here?"
Ryoto looked at him then scratched the back of his head. "Uh, I don't know."
Uryū stared at him. "What do you mean, you don't know?"
"I mean, I don't have any memories from before I woke up here five years ago!" he said with a sigh.
"Then you really could be him! You are, I know for sure!" he said.
There was a gentle knock at the door. "Come in," Ryoto said.
Kamiko looked in the door. "Is everything okay? I heard loud voices?"
"This guy thinks I'm his missing friend still!" Ryoto said and waved at him as he tied his obi.
"I don't think, I know now!" Uryū insisted. He hadn't put away his wallet yet, so he pulled the picture out again to show Kamiko. "Look. This is him. He disappeared without a trace five years ago, and the police could find no evidence of what happened to him no matter what they tried. His family regularly checks the morgues for his body even still. Ryoto is Ichigo!"
Kamiko looked at the photo, brows scrunching. "Five years ago, you say?"
"Yeah, I'd have to look up the exact date, his father would know it, but yeah. There are too many coincidences," Uryū insisted.
"Ryoto, maybe you should listen to him. This is too strange," Kamiko said as she gave Uryū back the picture. "We have no idea who you are, after all. I've kept you off the grid for the last five years out of fear of the Yakuza finding you and linking you to the death of those men five years ago."
"Yakuza?" Uryū asked, eyes wide.
"Yeah, Ryoto tried to interfere when Mayumi was being attacked by a Yakuza man. He was beaten and somehow managed to survive when the men were dead. We took him out of there, so we don't think the Yakuza ever put him with the death of the men, but to be safe we've kept everything under the table, if you know what I mean," Kamiko said with a nod. "If you have family out there, Ryoto, you need to go back to them."
"What about the girls? What about you? I can't leave After Dark," Ryoto said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "If I weren't here, who knows how many bad johns you'd get."
Kamiko walked over and hugged him. "I appreciate it, but you need to think about this. This could be your past."
"Well, I'm not going to believe it based on some blurry picture and one guy's gut feeling I'm this person. I want some concrete proof," Ryoto said with a definitive nod of his head.
Uryū thought for a moment. "DNA. We could run a DNA test against your father. That would prove the relationship," he said.
Kamiko nodded. "I know a doctor who has access to the equipment necessary. He works in a genetics lab. Running a simple comparison between samples would be easy for him. Can you get this man to come here?"
"If it means he gets his son back, he'll come," Uryū said with a look at Ryoto.
"Well, nothing can be done tonight, it's nearly three in the morning," Kamiko pointed out. "Make a call come morning and see if your friend's father can be here this week sometime, and I'll contact my friend at the lab," she said.
"Will you come stay with me until we find out?" Uryū asked Ryoto.
"I'm not changing my life on some john's whim," Ryoto said, crossing his arms in a huff. "I find out I am this person, then maybe I'll go see these people."
Uryū sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll go and call back tomorrow when I get an answer from him."
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
Uryū sat on his bed and stared at the phone. How was he supposed to make this call? What was he going to tell Ichigo's dad? That he found his son working as a sex worker at a love motel and he'd already fucked him several times before he realized it was him for sure? Yeah, that would go over well…
He screwed his courage up and dialed the number.
"Uryū?" came the answer on the other end. "What are you calling so early in the morning for?" Isshin asked.
"Kurosaki-san. I have found Ichigo."
There was a long silence. "What? Where? How?" he said finally.
"It's a long story, but the short version is that I found a guy that looked like him. His eyes are a bit different, but then I felt his reiatsu, so I know it's him. He won't believe me that I know who he is, though, and the only way to prove it to him is with a DNA test," Uryū explained.
"What do we have to do?" Isshin said softly.
"The woman he works for knows a doctor that can run it under the table and off the books. Seems like there may be some Yakuza issues that led to him losing his memory. Seems like he got into a scuffle, and somehow, they ended up dead, but he survived, though they don't know why or how. I have a feeling it has to do with his Zanpakutō spirit being hollow and still there."
Isshin was silent again. "Alright. Tell me where to come."
"Well, it's a place called After Dark. It's a love motel." Uryū didn't want to go on.
"He's working at a love motel? How can he be working without an identity?" Isshin asked.
Uryū licked his lips. "Well, that's the issue. He's not using an identity, the woman he works for, Kamiko, has kept everything tightly wrapped, which is probably why the police couldn't find him. But she's a Mistress."
"A Mistress? At a love motel?" Isshin asked, sounding a bit confused. "Uryū, I'm not clear. What has he been doing?"
Uryū cleared his throat. "Sex work."
Isshin was quiet for a long time this time. Then he spoke. "And you found him, how?"
Now it was Uryū's turn to go silent. He swallowed hard and debated what to so to that. "Someone gave me a card for the love motel, and I went to check it out. He was there. I thought he looked like Ichigo, but he said his name was Ryoto and that he'd been there for a while."
Again, Isshin was silent. "I see," he said after a while.
"I can text you the address and you can come there. Just let me know when so Kamiko can have her doctor friend there at the same time," Uryū continued.
"Alright. Is there any way you can get him to come stay with you until then?" Isshin asked.
"I tried. He says he's not going to change his life for someone like me, and outright refuses to leave the girls that he works with at the love motel. I guess he's sort of become their protector while they work," Uryū explained.
Isshin sighed. "Some things never change, I suppose. Alright, I'll schedule a day to come there and hopefully we can convince him that we know it's him. I'll contact Urahara about any ideas to try and get his memories back, but without knowing what caused him to lose them, that may be difficult."
"Will you tell his sisters?" Uryū wondered.
"Not yet. We'll wait until he comes back for good. We just have to prove this to him, in any way we can. We can't leave him in that life," Isshin said the last with a sad tone to his voice.
"Getting him to leave it may be more difficult than you think. He's happy there, and he has no reason to leave right now at all." Uryū paused, trying to come up with a good way to phrase things. "He's not ashamed of what he does, Kurosaki-san. Not at all, so even if he gets his memory back, he's got five years of being this Ryoto. He'll have changed for it."
Isshin was quiet again. "We'll do our best, Uryū. I'll talk to you soon," he said, hanging up the phone.
Uryū sighed and put down the phone. What was he supposed to tell him? That he'd been having sex with Ichigo for months and didn't realize it? That he'd gone to a love motel and bought a night with a guy that he thought looked like Ichigo? He sighed again and got up to go to the living room. He was sad that Ichigo, or Ryoto, refused to come with him. He wanted to get him out of the life he was in, just like his father did, but Uryū didn't think it was that easy. Five years, and it was everything he had known.
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
Ryoto had heard from Mistress Kamiko that Uryū and this "father" of his were coming today. He came out of the bathroom to find Yua sitting in the living room. He smiled at her and she got up and come over.
"What if it's true, Ryoto?" she asked, looking a bit worried. "What if you are this person?"
"Then I guess I'll uncover my past," he said with a shrug.
Yua looked at him for a moment. "But what about your life with us?"
"No one said I'd leave," Ryoto said, patting her on the head. "I don't even know what the results are gonna be yet, so don't worry so much."
He headed out and went to After Dark where Uryū was meeting with them. He was dressed as he normally did, in a floral yukata, with his hair pulled up in a messy bun on top of his head. He'd done some light makeup because he intended to work tonight, no matter what these people thought. He wasn't changing his life for some john that claimed he was someone else.
"Ryoto," Kamiko said as he came in. "Uryū and his friend have come. We're waiting on Dr. Yei. He should be here anytime to collect the samples. I put them in the entry foyer with the girls."
"Alright, I'll go see them," Ryoto said with a nod as he headed into the next room.
He saw Uryū sitting on the sofa with a dark-haired man with stubble on his chin who was wearing a loudly colored floral shirt. He stood up as he entered the room.
"Ichigo?" he said, looking at him.
"Maybe," Ryoto said, looking back. "We'll see what the DNA says."
"I know my son," he said. "You're him."
Uryū stood up. "Ryoto, this is Isshin Kurosaki. He's Ichigo's father, and he brought some pictures to try and jog your memories."
"Whatever you want to try. I still don't think I'm who you're looking for," Ryoto looked over and say Mayumi and Tomoko standing to the side listening intently.
"Come, please, sit down and look, at least," Isshin said.
Ryoto sighed and shook his head. "It won't help, but I'll look."
He sat down on the sofa and Isshin pulled out a book, some kind of photo album it looked like. He opened it to the first page and Ichigo looked at the photo. It was someone that looked like a younger version of him, except the eyes were chocolate brown in color instead of the golden color his eyes were. The hair, the body, everything looked the same. He flipped the page and saw pictures of this person with two girls, one with black hair and one with slightly lighter hair. He paused and put a finger on one of the faces.
"It's familiar," he said in a disbelieving voice.
It was familiar, eerily so. It was like looking at something that was just beyond the edges of his memory. Those faces, they triggered something. He shook his head as he closed the book. He was starting to get a headache. Could it be true? Could he be this person they were looking for after all?
"That's because you're Ichigo. And those are your sisters, Karin and Yuzu. You've helped take care of them since your mother was killed when you were nine. They've missed their brother over the last five years," Isshin said softly. "So have I."
Ryoto looked at him, that strange familiarity washing over him again. He didn't know what to think, though.
"Ryoto, Dr. Yei is here," Kamiko said from the doorway. "Let's use a room."
Ryoto stood and was followed by Uryū and Isshin into one of the rooms. Dr. Yei was a short man with trim black hair and a pair of round framed glasses. He smiled and put a doctor's back on the bed in the room.
"First one, sit down please," he said, gesturing to the big chair in the room.
Ryoto went and sat down. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to take a small blood sample. It's the easiest to test, and it will come back the quickest. About two weeks." Dr. Yei tied his arm with the rubber tourniquet.
"Two weeks? There's no way to have an answer sooner?" Isshin asked.
Dr. Yei took a blood sample with practiced ease and looked at him. "It has to process, and that's the fastest I can get an answer."
Ryoto stood up and let Isshin sit down and watched as Dr. Yei took a sample from him. He carefully labeled each vial with their names, though Ryoto only had his first name, since he'd never been given a surname.
"And no one will hear of this that's official, right?" Ryoto said. "Like, no police will be involved?"
Dr. Yei nodded. "It will just be within the facility I work. No one will get the information except for you. It will be done with discretion."
"Alright, because the last thing I want is police to be involved," Ryoto crossed his arms and looked at Uryū, who had been strangely silent since he introduced Isshin.
"Ichi- Er, Ryoto," Isshin said with a sad look across his face. "Will you consider coming back to Karakura Town?"
"This is my home. I can't leave the girls. There would be no one here to protect them if I left," Ryoto said, waving a hand dismissively at him. "I'm not changing my life for someone I might be related to."
"Consider at least not working," Uryū said softly.
Ryoto glared at him. "What difference does it make if I work? Look, you're just another john to me, Uryū, no matter how you might feel about this friend of yours."
Uryū's eyes went a little wide and Isshin turned to him with a strange look. "You left that part out."
"Oh, he didn't tell you that?" Ryoto said. "That's what he was here for. He's bought my time many nights, and he just recently decided that I didn't just look like his friend, that I was his friend who he was in love with. I don't really know why he all of a sudden thought this fantasy of me being this Ichigo turned to being real."
"There's more to it, but I'll explain later," Uryū said, looking at Isshin.
"I'd like to know what it is, too, you know," Ryoto said crossing his arms angrily. "To suddenly go from fantasizing that I was this person to believing beyond a doubt that I am him."
Kamiko showed Dr. Yei out, leaving them alone in the room. Uryū turned to Isshin, then turned to Ryoto. "Look, have you ever, you know, seen things other people can't?" he said after a few minutes.
"What?" Ryoto said, feeling very strange about that question. "If I did, I'd be crazy, now wouldn't I?"
Uryū sighed. "I know how to try and get your memories back, if you'll let us try."
Ryoto glared at him. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but I think it's time for you to go," Ryoto said, gesturing to the door. "Just get out of here. Kamiko will call when we hear from Dr. Yei."
Uryū didn't say anything else, only nodded. Isshin sighed. "I know it's you, son. Please think about it."
"Whatever you say, old man," Ryoto said as he led them back to the door.
Uryū turned back and looked like he wanted to say something, but he instead turned away and left with Isshin. Ryoto shut the door and shook his head.
"What do you think?" Kamiko said.
"I think they're nuts," Ryoto told her as he shook his head.
"You should consider the possibility. It's just too convenient that everything lines up like it does. What are your plans if the results come back proving you're this guy's son?" she said as they walked back into the foyer.
"I don't know for sure. Why should I change things even if it's right?" he asked.
"Because you might have family. If that man is your father, it would mean that you need to go back. You can't abandon your responsibility to your old life," she said gently.
Ryoto sighed. "I know you're right, but I don't have to like it."
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
"You slept with him?" Isshin said once they got to the car. "More than once?"
Uryū felt his face heat. "It was a mistake."
"Multiple times?" Isshin asked, looking at him.
"Look, I wanted to tell Ichigo how I felt, but I just thought he wanted to be with Orihime. I never thought he'd return my feelings, and now I'll never know, because even though I'm sure Ryoto is Ichigo, he doesn't feel the same way I do." Uryū ran a hand through his hair. "Even if we give him back his memories, he's not going to be the same person again."
Isshin started the car. "He'll be changed. But what do you think will return his memories to him?"
"He's releasing reiatsu. That's how I know it's him. So, he's still a Shinigami, just with his power drained, maybe. Soul Society may have a way to give him his power back, and maybe his memories would come back, too."
"Do you want to come back to Karakura Town with me and talk to Urahara?" Isshin said. "Or do you need to be at your hospital?"
"I've got some time saved up," he said. "Take me with you," he said.