Chapter 15
Isshin felt very stressed. The Gotei 13 was down six captains and three lieutenants. The Kido Corps had lost their captain and lieutenant.
"Damn," he muttered. "What the hell is going on?"
The doors slammed open and Rangiku stormed in with Yumichika at her heels.
"Captain! Have you seen Ichigo anywhere?!" Rangiku exclaimed.
Isshin looked up in alarm.
"I haven't seen Ichigo since the incident," he said. "Why?"
"She's gone missing," Yumichika said. "We've been trying to find her for the past three days."
Isshin stood up.
"What happened?" he demanded.
"After the incident and the news about Captain Urahara being a traitor for doing illegal experiments, she just shut down. A squad member said something offensive about Captain Urahara and she almost killed him. Captain Zaraki was barely able to stop her from going on a rampage. After that, she just disappeared."
Isshin gritted his teeth. He grabbed his zanpakuto and slid it through the sash of his shikakusho.
"I'm going to go to the Shiba mansion," he said. "I'll see if she's there. If not, we'll decide what to do then."
Without waiting for a response, Isshin flash stepped past them and out of the squad 10 barracks. He flash stepped to the mansion as fast as he could, probably breaking a record in the process, but at the moment, he could only focus on finding his daughter.
He went straight to her bedroom and knocked on the wood.
"Ichigo? Are you in there?" he called.
There was no response, but he could feel her spiritual pressure within. He sighed.
"I'm coming in," he said before opening the door.
It was dark inside. He could see Ichigo huddled in the corner with her back facing the door, her zanpakuto leaning against the wall next to her. He quietly walked over and knelt down. He put a gentle hand on his daughter's shoulder. Ichigo didn't even respond.
"Ichigo, look at me, please," Isshin said quietly.
Ichigo didn't acknowledge him for several long moments, but Isshin didn't push. Finally, she turned towards him. Isshin's eyes softened as he noticed the tear tracks on her cheeks. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy and the chocolate brown orbs looked blank. Isshin drew Ichigo into a hug.
"Don't worry, Ichigo," he murmured. "Everything will be all right."
"How?" Ichigo's voice was soft and cracked a little. "How will it be all right? I just learned Kisuke is a traitor and now he's gone and I'll probably never see him again. And on top of that, my best friend is likely dead."
"Do you truly believe that Kisuke is a traitor?" Isshin asked softly.
Ichigo wiped away a tear that had escaped and was trailing down her cheek.
"Of course not," she said. "But I don't know if it's because I truly don't believe it or if I refuse to believe it."
"What does your heart tell you?"
Ichigo closed her eyes and leaned her head against Isshin's chest.
"That he could never do such a thing," she muttered.
"Then believe that," Isshin said. "Hold onto that, Ichigo, and you will see him again one day. Nobody knows the true story right now, so there is still hope."
Ichigo pulled back a little to look him in the eyes.
"What do you believe?" she asked.
"Honestly? I don't know what to believe," Isshin admitted. "But what I do know is that there is more to this story than what's been told, so I won't jump to conclusions."
Ichigo sighed and pulled away entirely. She ran her hand through her messy, somewhat greasy hair.
"What's going to happen now?" she asked.
"I don't know," Isshin said. "The head captain will probably start by finding replacements for the open captain and lieutenant positions."
Isshin stood up and held a hand out.
"Come on, Ichigo," he said. "Your friends from squad 11 are worried about you. And you know Hiyori wouldn't want you to mope around like this."
Ichigo nodded and grabbed her zanpakuto before taking Isshin's hand and standing up.
"You have good friends in that squad," Isshin said. "And don't forget, you can always come to me to talk."
Ichigo smiled slightly.
"Thanks," she said softly.
However, just when things were starting to get better, it all came crashing down just as quickly.
Ichigo clenched her fists tightly, digging her nails deep enough to draw blood. Yumichika was quiet as he took one hand, uncurled her fingers, and checked the crescent shaped cuts in her palm. Ikkaku was on Ichigo's other side, looking grim.
It had been two years since Kisuke disappeared along with the other captains and lieutenants, including her best friend, Hiyori. And now, Isshin had disappeared as well. He had gone to the world of the living without permission to help a few squad members with a Hollow problem. A few days later, he was reported missing. There had been several searches for the squad 10 captain, but they were all fruitless.
When Ichigo first heard the news of her missing father, she had almost run through the Senkaimon to search for Isshin herself, but she was stopped and practically dragged back to her squad. Her attempts of escape landed her in a cell in the squad 11 barracks. Shortly after that fiasco, the head captain forbade her from stepping foot in the world of the living due to her spiritual pressure starting to go out of control. So, Ichigo was forced to sit in her cell in the squad 11 barracks, awaiting any kind of news from her captain when he came back from the captain's meeting that had been issued twenty minutes ago. Yumichika and Ikkaku were sitting with her inside the cell; whether they were there to offer her silent support or to prevent her from escaping the cell, Ichigo didn't know and didn't care.
Kenpachi finally came back. It had been several days since Isshin's disappearance and there had been many search parties to attempt to find him.
"Captain?" Ikkaku asked.
Kenpachi sighed. He opened the cell, which hadn't been locked in the first place. Ichigo stood up, Yumichika and Ikkaku following her. They stepped out of the cell and stood in front of Kenpachi.
"Captain Isshin Shiba has officially been declared dead. His spiritual pressure disappeared and there is no sign of him anywhere," Kenpachi said. "Apparently, there had been strange Hollow readings that he went to investigate against the orders of the head captain. It is assumed the Hollow killed him."
Kenpachi looked at Ichigo.
"I'm sorry, Ichigo," he said.
"Thanks for telling me," Ichigo said softly, bowing slightly.
She walked out of the cell area.
"Ichigo, wait-!"
"Let her go, Ikkaku," Yumichika said quietly. "She needs to be alone right now."
Ikkaku sighed but stayed where he was, leaving Ichigo to herself.
Ichigo let her feet lead her. Anywhere was fine; she just had to be alone for a while. She stopped and looked up. She recognized the area and walked over to the secret entrance to the underground training area Kisuke had shown her once. She flash stepped to the bottom and looked around. She hadn't visited this place in two years, not after Kisuke disappeared. She and Kisuke had often sparred here, but after his disappearance, coming here had been too painful for Ichigo.
She collapsed against a rock and closed her eyes.
"Damn it, old man. Why did you have to disappear too?"
A tear trailed down her cheek before she could stop it.
"That stupid goat face," she whispered, clutching at her hair. "Stupid Kisuke...damn it all! Why couldn't I do anything about it?!"
Because you're weak.
Ichigo gritted her teeth at that double toned voice.
"Now's not a good time, Zangetsu."
So what, you're just going to cry until you feel better? That's pathetic, Ichigo.
"I just wish I could've helped them. I wish I were stronger," Ichigo muttered, another tear falling.
She heard Zangetsu sigh.
You truly are pathetic, Ichigo. I almost can't bear seeing you like this. You want to get stronger? To protect the ones you hold closest?
"Yes, I want that more than anything," Ichigo whispered.
Then I guess I have no choice but to grant you your wish. Ugh, but you're going to have to work very hard for this. You want to get stronger than you already are? You have a long road ahead of you, Ichigo. I hope you are prepared for it.
"What are you trying to say, Zangetsu? Are you talking about more specialized attacks or something?"
She heard Zangetsu laugh and Ichigo scowled.
Nothing like that, Ichigo. Getsuga Tensho is the only specialized technique I will ever teach you. Of course, there are many variations of that technique, but that's not the point. What I'm going to teach you is something beyond Getsuga Tensho.
"What is it then?" Ichigo asked, frowning at those foreboding words.
I'm going to teach you bankai.
