family dinner
AN
hey, sorry about the late update me and by best friend found out total war rome 2s multiplayer desyncs had finally been fixed, then we discovered ff14arr...so no real excuse. also must give a shout out to Joker619 my beta reader, without him this story would be nigh illegible as always comments and constructive criticism is very very welcome. went for a bit of humour mixed in with this so let me know how I did, also with this we finally leave the into arc and move into the next
Ichigo was in trouble and he knew it. Of his two 'compulsory' visits to the human realm a month, this was his first, two weeks late. He couldn't really make any excuses other than that this was the first bit of time off he had taken having worked, trained and studied through the last three but ultimately that wouldn't matter, he was late. Ichigo couldn't help but laugh as he slouched out of the senkimon, he had faced down hollow that made Cthulhu look like a normal human being and battled people with the power to turn a major city into a wasteland within an hour, but nothing was more horrifying to him then facing the disappointed looks of Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki.
"You're very late Kurosaki-san."
"Shut up and give me my body getaboshi."
"What was it like sparring with Unohana-taicho?" Urahara asked, dodging the request.
"Not as painful as the first half an hour back home is going to be. Now hurry up and give me my body dammit! Yuzu's made a family dinner and every minute counts!" Ichigo almost shrieked back.
Urahara scooted off, his protégé's reaction more than enough of a reason to rush. Upon his return the older man would swear he heard a SNAP come from the younger man.
"What the hell did you do to my body!? No don't answer, I don't have time, but I'm gonna kick your ass when I get back!"
"Good luck Ichigo-kuuun!" the shopkeeper shouted after the bullet his friend had become "now, how to explain this when he gets back? Naaah I think I'll just take the beating, it'll save time, besides I really doubt he would understand anyway…" he finished talking to himself.
"Stop worrying, nee-san will be here. You know Ichi-nii, he always shows up at the last minute." Karin reassured her twin, and as if to answer her Ichigo charged through the door with a shout
"I'mheresorryI'mlate!" their older brother garbled out
"ICHIGOOOO YOUR THIRTY SECONDS LATE!"
With a crash that echoed through the night, Ichigo was reintroduced to his father's dropkick, sending him right out the door he just came through. With a sound similar to a bullet, Ichigo buried his fist in his old man's face following up with an elbow drop that would make any wrestler weep with joy.
"Do you have to do this every bloody time I walk through the door!" Ichigo shouted back
"The prodigal son returns," Isshin said in a voice somewhere between a pained groan and a joyous cry, "but what's with the hair? and the tattoos?"
"Tattoos?" Ichigo asked in confusion. Looking down at himself he saw what he hadn't noticed in his hurry to get home, "DAMN HIM I'M GONNA KILL THAT MAN!"
Urahara Kisuke shivered as a big dollop of fear worked its way down his spine, something telling him that the coming beating was going to be on a whole other level to normal as he wandered off to find a hole to hide in.
Yuzu stared at her brother, taking in the long shaggy hair, beard and the myriad of tattoos that had been revealed when he removed his coat when combined with his tall build it made for an intimidating sight. That her bother was using language she had never heard before to describe a man he called "getaboshi" wasn't helping matters. All in all it left her wondering what he had been doing for the last month.
"Um, Ichi-nii? Dinners ready." she called out interrupting his tirade
With a concerted effort Ichigo calmed himself down and took his regular seat at the table. All through dinner Yuzu kept glancing at her brothers new hairy, tattooed look. She couldn't help but notice that in a bizarre, highly intimidating way it fit him, or at least the thuggish reputation he had. For Ichigo the night was a blessing and a hassle all in one, it was the first time he had seen his family in a month and the simple act of sitting down and having a family dinner was an amazing feeling, even his inner world was quiet, both spirits following their masters lead in the simple enjoyment of the situation. On the other hand, how anyone could eat with a beard Ichigo has no idea; he could only guess it took some form of practice to get used to.
The silence was broken by Karin "so, Ichi-nii, how's soul society?"
"And what have you been up to since you left!?" Yuzu added exuberantly
Ichigo sat mulling the questions over for a bit. How was soul society? In dire need of modernisation if he was honest. It wasn't the ideals and such, that while out of date were still based in honour, duty and commitment, that were the problems, after all if any would know how a soul was judged it would be them. No, it was the stagnation of civil and martial, ideas and technology that was the big issue. How much more food could they produce if they used a modern understanding of plants, animals and land management? Not having to learn the hard way, bypassing the issues that come with learning as you go. Or a standard military training regime for their officers? Weapons couldn't be helped; they needed something that could channel the power of the soul. The Seireitei had more knowledge in that area then anything the mortal realm could hope to achieve in hundreds of years of study, even should they become aware of things beyond the everyday senses. The other problem was lack of unity, even one division of Shinigami was a force any country would be a fool to fight, but they could put up a far more unified, organised front then the Gotei 13 could, but to compound Ichigo's problem is that this structure also had benefits, any division cut off from the Seireitei could continue to operate with complete independence as long as they had their taicho with them and trying to find a solution was giving Ichigo a headache. How to get them to work together but maintaining their different ideologies and styles, the mobility and independence?
Coming out of his thoughts he answered the question as best he could though it was readily apparent the only one fully grasping the intricacies of it all was his father.
"And how have you been? What do you do?" Yuzu asked again.
Ichigo grimaced "Well to put it in the simplest terms possible, I've been having the living daylights kicked out of me. Kido with Rukia and a fukutaicho named Hinamori. Lessons where none of us have any idea how we are going to do this with my unbelievably huge reiatsu, or understand my apparent rejection by every element known to mankind. I spend once a week acting as Komamura sajin's punching bag, though I'm starting to give it back. I have to put up with Byakuya, Rukia's older brother, humiliate me every chance he gets in hoho training, I mean I knew the guy was fast, but it's like he's spent the last 17 months training simply so he can gut me at hyper sonic speeds..."
"I would put money on it son, you beat him and he won't soon forget that no matter how much he may respect you." Isshin interrupted
"The guy's nuts, absolutely nuts! To top it off I'm studying the nobility's customs, etiquette and duties with him, speaking of, you and I have to talk before I head back old man."
"Will do, sorry to dump it all on you but I'm sure you understand why I did it"
"Yeah I do, I don't really want the girls involved with soul society till they are older. Anyway, I'm also studying tactics and the duties of a taicho with Toshiro."
"Hey, I know him!" Karin exclaimed
"...He's dead."
"Hey what? I didn't say anything happened! I asked for his help with a soccer game, and he saved me from a hollow. Besides I haven't seen him in 17 months."
"...Alright" Ichigo said, ignoring his father who was rolling around on the ground gasping for breath through his fit of laughter
"And on top of that I have zanjutsu with Unohana."
Isshins smiling face transformed into one of pure pity "You poor, poor bastard." he consoled patting his son on the shoulder.
"Im also being taught by Yamamoto" Ichigo finished
"What's that like?" his father asked
"Lots of things, interesting, informative, utterly amazing, and sad. That old man has seen so very, very much and I really don't think most of its been happy."
"Death is a part of being a Shinigami, with how old he is he would have seen them come and go so often it must feel like he's leading a bunch of kids sometimes, but let me tell you something Ichigo, that man has an incredible weight pressing down on him every single day. Every Shinigami in the Gotei 13 from the lower recruit up to the taicho all have one thing in common, and that's the thought at the back of their mind that even if they fail, fall and die, there's still Yamamoto shigekuni for them to get through, I would bet even you've thought that. They don't always get it right but the Gotei 13 exists to destroy the great evils of the worlds, this mentality is held stronger and stronger the higher up the chain you go and none embody it more than him. How many times do you think he's been the last line of defence? Knowing he can't fail or something right out of a horror story will run loose. But let me tell you something else, I was watching his battle with Aizen as I tried to get through the barrier and he didn't fight like he normally would, he was ready to turn everything he had ever built into ash but didn't. He absorbed the flames from his shikai instead of letting them run rampant, it would have broken the barrier keeping Karakura in soul society and if we were lucky it would have killed only half the town but he could still have fought on. Even if he hadn't stopped them, why didn't he activate his bankai when Aizen was at close range? Why use kido?"
"It was one hell of a kido though and your forgetting that kid he fought" Ichigo said
"Yeah that's true with the kido, but he beat that Arrancar with his bare hands, you really think it could have stopped him? I saw his bankai years ago, and it surprised Ukitake and Kyōraku with how it had changed, Yamamoto may have grown rusty but he's never stopped refining his power, so why didn't he use it when Aizen was so close to him? I guarantee it would have turned the town into a wasteland but he would have won when no one else could, but he didn't."
"I'm really glad he didn't but why? We were on the ropes in that battle"
"I think that he decided to save lives over victory. Now I'm sure you've heard his view that some things must be sacrificed for the good of the whole but he chose not to make that sacrifice beyond himself, and how much do you think he's had to sacrifice over the years? I think it's because he was thinking, 'even if I fall, even if I die there is still another pillar of might, there is still someone for them to get through, there is still Kurosaki Ichigo'. For the first time in far, far too long he wasn't the last line, and really, as long as Yamamoto is around you can both think like that and choose to save lives as long as the other is standing instead of taking them because there is no other choice" Isshin finished
Ichigo leaned back on his chair in thought at his father's words, when he thought about it they made a lot of sense, and would go a long way to explaining the soutaicho's outlook on conflict and life, the poor man had never had much choice but to do anything he could to ensure victory no matter the cost. It was a heavy burden to take on but Ichigo swore then and there that as long as both of them lived he would do everything in his power to limit any more sacrifices on Yamamto's behalf, and he would learn from his mentor's mistakes so he did not repeat them.
The quiet was broken as a sniffling Yuzu wailed "Their trying to kill my brother!"
"Eh?!" Ichigo responded, completely thrown off by her response and the look in Karins eyes, and promptly lost his balance ending up on the floor with a solid crash. He spent the rest of the night doing his best to appease his younger sisters that it wasn't the case.