I'm on a mission. A mission to stop this fandom meme that all Bleach dads are bad dads. Isshin was the prologue. With this the feature presentation can begin.
Enjoy.
Part I
The classroom clock ticked on, Uryuu nervously drumming his fingers to its beat. He'd tried to calm his breathing, to just look ahead and focus. It didn't work.
All the Quincy could see were the four "transfer students," Orikasa's eagerness to go to her training, the fact that Abarai wasn't even there–
Briiing!
He stood up silently, shoving his schoolbooks into his bag and marching towards the door. He ignored the looks at his back.
He was frustrated, okay? Even he was willing to admit that. Practically everyone around him was training, bettering themselves, and preparing for this brewing war. He, in the meantime, was struggling to even reach the starting line.
He hadn't gotten his powers back. In fact, he hadn't gotten even close. Hundreds of years of Quincy wisdom at his fingertips, and somehow there wasn't so much as a paragraph on how he was supposed to regain his powers.
Well, Uryuu was tired of waiting, and he'd gotten tired of looking a while ago. He had a perfectly viable option staring him right in the face, just waiting to be used. Of course, he'd been dragging his feet on this one, and for good reason. Even thinking about it had him grimacing.
There was the distinct possibility that his… father (ugh) knew something that Uryuu didn't, or at the very least had some tomes that he didn't. It was a worth a shot, anyway, a desperate, last resort shot.
(God, here Uryuu was, so desperate to not get left behind that he felt the need to come crawling back to the one person he'd jumped through hoops to avoid these last few months. He felt pathetic.
(When people asked him why he lived in an apartment alone while his father still lived in Karakura town he'd give them one answer. "It was closer to school." Most didn't buy it, however, so he quickly stopped answering the question entirely, which he was able to get away with, more or less. It was yet another perk of being unpopular, he supposed.
(The truth, however, was a little harder to explain to just anyone, and that was this: If he'd spent even one more moment living at home he would have gone insane. His father felt the same, the only thing they'd agreed upon in years. So, Uryuu left, and his life finally gained some semblance of peace.
(Never mind how barely a month later he picked a misguided rage filled fight with the first Shinigami he'd laid eyes upon…)
Uryuu walked right past his apartment and towards the nice part of town. His father's home was beyond the town center, just past the park, and barely one neighborhood over from the Orikasa residence. It was a long walk and Uryuu used every one of those aforementioned places to make it even longer.
He browsed a rack of shirts that were on clearance and bought nothing. He took a leisurely walk through the trees. He… almost stopped at the Orikasa residence before walking straight past. There was a decent chance no one was home, anyway.
He sure hoped Ryuuken wouldn't be home. It was then, of course, that he spotted a new looking silver car in his father's driveway.
Dammit!
His father's home was modern, large, and had a well kept front yard that was probably the envy of his neighbors. Uryuu thought it was an eyesore.
For a moment, Uryuu just stood there on the sidewalk, lingering. Ryuuken wasn't as "retired" as Uryuu had first thought, so it was likely that he already knew Uryuu was there. The man called his son a fool just about every chance he got. Uryuu didn't want to give him a reason to call him a coward.
Uryuu took a deep breath. He walked to the door, knocked twice, and waited, arms crossed. Barely a second later the door opened.
"Really, Uryuu?" was the first thing out of the man's mouth. He leaned nonchalantly against the doorway, a half smoked cigarette in his hand. "It took you this long to swallow your pride and ask me for help?"
Uryuu held back his retort. Don't rise to the bait. Don't rise to the bait!
"You're going to lecture me on pride?" he snapped out. Dammit!
His father took a deep drag of his cigarette, visibly annoyed. "Get in," he said, stepping away from the door. "You know where the shoes go."
He followed Ryuuken into the house and towards his office. The home was pristine, much cleaner than he ever remembered it being. It was like no one lived here at all.
Stepping into the office, Uryuu felt his anxiety spike. This office still did that to him. He didn't know why. He watched as his father stubbed out his cigarette in an overfull ashtray.
Ryuuken leaned against his desk, and turned to his son, eyebrow raised, waiting. Great, the bastard was going to make him say it.
Uryuu swallowed. "…Do you know how to restore a Quincy's powers?"
"Yes."
Uryuu's heart stuttered.
"Juvenile powers like yours are quite easy to restore," the man continued, "and the process should be even easier considering you are my so–"
"Excuse me?!" Uryuu yelled. "You could fix it this whole time and you didn't say anything?"
Ryuuken's eyes narrowed. "Would it have mattered? If you didn't think I could do it you wouldn't be here. Besides, I assumed you would not like my conditions."
"Conditions," Uryuu spat out.
"Yes, 'conditions.' I can restore your powers to you in a matter of days, but first you must promise me something."
Looking up at him with a grimace, Uryuu knew this wouldn't be good.
"You will stop associating with Shinigami."
Uryuu's heart actually stops, then.
"I…" he started, "you know I can't keep that promise."
"Those are my conditions."
"Of course, they are!" Uryuu barked. "Why? And don't start spouting crap to me about the 'Quincy Separatist Tradition.'"
"I don't have to explain myself to you," he said simply. "If I had my way, I'd wipe my hands of this whole affair. You're lucky I'm offering at all." With the he headed to the door, opened it and stood by. "Take it or leave it."
Fuming, Uryuu stayed stubbornly in place. With a frustrated sigh Ryuuken let go of the door, stepping out into the hall.
"Such emotion, and all for a few Shinigami," Ryuuken said. "You're a Quincy, aren't you? The choice shouldn't be hard."
"What would you know about being a Quincy?" Uryuu bit out. He, expectedly, got no answer. A growl escaping him he chased after the man through the hall. "You haven't been one for as long as I've been alive! You were too busy sitting in your office and yelling at Grandpa!" He followed him into the kitchen, dodging around the counter, still getting nothing from the man. His anger reached a fever pitch. "Why the hell did he leave his bow to someone like you?!"
His father stopped, and Uryuu just about deflated. That… might have been a step too far.
Ryuuken still wasn't looking at him. His back was to the boy. He was silent. It was unnerving.
Uryuu moved past it, or moved past him to be more accurate. Fists balled he went to the door feeling worse than he had before.
"I'll find my own way," he said over his shoulder "Sorry for bothering you."
The sound of clanking keys interrupted him.
"Fine…" Ryuuken said in a low voice. "I'll do it."
Genuine shock coursed through Uryuu. He really couldn't believe his ears.
"Do I need to repeat myself?" his father asked. "Go to the car. I'll meet you in a minute."
His father retreated back into the house, then, keys in hand, leaving Uryuu utterly dazed. He headed to the driveway wondering just what Ryuuken was thinking.
Part II
With a heavy frown on her face, Rukia watched as Ishida ran out of the door. He looked even more agitated than usual.
"What's his problem?" Keigo asked with a grimace.
Rukia's eyes lingered on the door, ignoring the indignant noise the teacher made as it was slammed. "He's been having a tough time, I think," she answered. "A lot happened in the…" she took a glance around the room, "you know."
"Uh… Rukia?" Keigo said flatly. "I'm not Renji. I can't read your mind."
Rukia made an interesting noise at that.
"She means the Soul Society," Ayasegawa said, passing by. Madarame trailed behind him, nearly bandage free. "Honestly," he muttered to himself, heading towards the door. Rukia cracked a shaky smile. There was never a dull moment with Shinigami around.
"Okay, that," Keigo stressed.
"I… probably don't have to tell you that Ishida's not the talking type, right?" Rukia asked carefully, gathering her things.
"Not unless he's saying something sarcastic," Keigo corrected, shouldering his own bag. Rukia rolled her eyes.
"If I just walked up and asked him what was wrong he probably wouldn't take me seriously," she finally said. "The only one that would have any chance at getting through to him is Renji, and he seems to think that the best way to deal with this it giving Ishida the time to 'figure shit out.'"
"I guess that makes sense," Keigo said with a shrug.
"Really?" she asked incredulously. She let out a sigh. "Guys."
The two left, chatting stiffly until they reached the school gate, parting ways. Rukia had plenty of work to do with Sode no Shirayuki and Ushōda. (She hoped whatever work Ishida was doing would help him, too.)
Part III
"To be among such natural beauty, to meditate and grow while surrounded by the wonders of the world, I believe there is no greater joy."
It was something Sōken had told Uryuu long ago. He'd followed it directly with the words, "Though, I may just be getting sentimental in my old age."
The first thing Uryuu had asked after hearing that was "what does 'sentimental' mean." The second was an enthusiastic endorsement followed swiftly by, "If that's true, then I want to be old, too!" his grandfather had fondly said that one day he would be, he could count on that.
Sōken loved that hideout. He cherished the place, holding it close to his heart, even when it made him sad. For those reasons, Uryuu didn't remember the place Ryuuken had driven him to, or at least not at first.
It looked like a cross between a low-rise office building and a steel bunker, right at the edge of town on a shady isolated lot. Eventually, Uryuu recognized it as the second Quincy hideout.
"This is still here?" he asked, awed.
"Of course it is," his father said flatly. "I spend a decent sum every month to keep it that way."
Uryuu nearly tripped over himself leaving the car the second it parked. He opened the building's door to large swathes of space and tinted glass walls. Stepping inside, he made a beeline for the storage area. All of the ancient weapons were lined across the walls neatly, though they were a bit dusty. In the the shelves below were countless books and scrolls, the spines containing text in Japanese, English, and even the original German.
"It's all still here," Uryuu gaped. He looked back to his father, only to see him adjust the Quincy Cross at his wrist, eyes averted.
"We're going to train," Ryuuken said simply.
"…I don't have a bow," Uryuu admitted slowly. He probably wouldn't be able to use a standard bow in his condition, anyway. He glanced back into the storage. It was possible there was an old training bow in here…
Before he had the chance to look a Quincy arrow flew by his face, knocking off a lock of hair and embedding into the wall across from him, dissipating as it hit. He spun around, saw Ryuuken readying another arrow, and darted behind the door, holding it in front of him like a shield. He jerked back when it bent inwards, smoking. He ran away.
"What the hell?!" he yelled over his shoulder.
"I did say we'd be training, didn't I?" his father asked with a raised eyebrow. He fired another arrow.
Uryuu dodged right, tumbling to the ground, cursing himself for not bringing any viable weapons. He should have seen this coming!
(How could he have? Uryuu never knew what his father was going to do next, what he was thinking. The man was damn near impossible to read.)
He jumped when he felt an arrow careening towards his feet, nearly tripped over a knee-high outcropping, and tumbled behind it to protect himself against another blast that had the concrete trembling under Uryuu's hands. It was as if the man was trying to kill him.
Stumbling up, Uryuu ran heading for a place that had a little more cover, a maze-like series of walls used for obstacle training. He glanced back at his father, and in that moment realized that, no, the man wasn't trying to kill him. It was the exact opposite, actually.
Ryuuken's face was blank, arm outstretched in perfect form as he aimed gracefully, arrow impacting a pillar behind Uryuu. He looked every bit of the perfect Quincy that Uryuu tried so hard to be. He was poised, calculated, and dressed in white he cut quite the imposing figure.
He also looked distinctly bored, steadily following Uryuu with his arrows, the only close calls being a result of Uryuu's own stumbling.
What on earth was this man getting at?
Uryuu grabbed the edge of the first wall the second it was within reach, planning to swing around it, only for it to get shattered into rubble by another arrow.
Oh, yeah. It didn't matter what his father was getting at. He was a crazy person.
The man kept going, too, until the sun set and the only lights left in the building were the cold artificial ones from above. By then, Uryuu was panting, exhausted, every other move ending in a stumble. Somehow, Ryuuken managed to make the grueling training of Letz Stil look easy in the span of a few hours.
An arrow came for Uryuu's head, the boy dodging down, though his intended graceful fall became more of a painful sprawl onto the concrete. He scrambled up, anticipating another arrow, only to notice his father adjusting his glasses, slipping his Quincy Cross back into his coat.
"I'm leaving for dinner," Ryuuken said. "We'll continue until midnight after I return. Clean yourself up in the meantime."
"…I… have… school," Uryuu panted out.
"I'll tell them your sick." With that, he left, barely sparing a glance.
Uryuu immediately regretted not coming up with some petty response the moment the door closed on him. He instead had to settle for angry grumbles as he dragged himself fully to his feet, inspecting his scraped hands. He wondered if there was a first aid kit in here, one that wasn't a hundred years old, anyway.
A bit of searching and he found that there was. It was shoved back on one of the shelves, dusty, and looking like it may have been about ten years old. Lucky for him, bandaids don't expire.
He found a decent bathroom in the back, one with running water and everything, and he "cleaned himself up," splashing water on his face and scrapes, knowing full well that his sweat soaked… everything else, would have to wait until he got back to his apartment.
Back to his apartment…
If all went well, he'd go back to his apartment a real Quincy again. He'd never admit it out loud, but he was starting to think such a thing was nothing more than a pipe dream.
Splashing his face once again, Uryuu shook his head, water splattering out from his unkempt hair. He didn't have time to do this. He needed to find something in that shed that he could actually use. For as good of a runner as he was, he doubted he could last until midnight empty handed.
He made a beeline for a spell book that he somewhat recognized, only to let out an immediate groan. He had a copy of this book back in his apartment in the original German. Damn, he'd been working on translating it for the better part of a year and it was just here in Japanese.
Cracking it open, he flipped to the offensive spells. It was doubtful he'd get to try them today, but with a few Gintō filled steadily overnight he'd have a good chance at tomorrow.
This was going to be a long couple of days.
Part IV
When through Kukaku's terrifying video phone Ichigo told Renji that they were to meet at the temple just outside of Karakura town, Renji thought he might be joking. Then, he remembered that Ichigo didn't joke and with a groan loudly asked his mom where his old backpack was.
He stuffed a few essentials inside, hooked Rukia's combat pass to the handle like some gaudy charm, and barely ten hours later he was trekking up the stone steps to the temple, getting side eyed by the sweeping monk that probably thought he was here to graffiti the place.
Whatever, he thought. It was too early for this shit. In fact, it was the asscrack of dawn. He probably should have remembered that the Gotei Thirteen were the Spirit military or something. Maybe, then, the schedule wouldn't have surprised him.
"You're late," he heard, anyway.
Renji frowned at the Shinigami, the man leaning casually against the activated portal behind him. He was smirking.
"Hey, if you want me to be on time, try giving me one," Renji snapped back. "None of this 'meet me at sunrise' bullshit."
With a heavy roll of his eyes Ichigo turned back to the portal, hand moving through as if to draw back a curtain. "It's the Soul Society," he said. "We don't exactly have digital watches." The Shinigami stepped inside disappearing. Scoffing, Renji followed.
The Senkaimon didn't look much different this time around, Renji thought. The walls were still goopy, slime still seeped into his sneakers, and it still smelled like rotten onions. There was a distinct lack of a murderous presence in the air, however, something that was highly appreciated.
Not having to run for your life helped, too.
"I should probably warn you," Ichigo started, a slight echo going off the walls. "The life of a Lieutenant's a busy one. I won't be with you to train twenty-four seven, but I'll be there when I can."
"So, what?" Renji asked. An odd noise sounded from just behind them, sending an involuntary shiver down Renji's spine. He walked a little faster. "A-am I supposed to just wander around while you're doing Lieutenant stuff."
"Yeah, if you want," Ichigo said with a shrug. "My Captain should be in while I'm not, though. He tends to like the company."
"Captain…" Renji thought aloud. "White hair? Kind of sickly looking?" His name was Ukitake, right?
Ichigo barked out a laugh. "That's the one. The same one that gave Rukia the Combat Pass." He side eyed its appearance at Renji's back, a smirk crawling on his face.
"Hey, what the hell was that look?" Renji snapped.
"Oh, it's nothing," Ichigo assured, "just that you've got a giant dumb crush on Rukia."
Renji stopped in his tracks in this absolute death trap of a portal, stuttering.
"I-I… Uh… W-well…"
"Ha! That proves it!"
"Shut up!" Renji yelled, running ahead to catch up. "W-what would you know?!"
"That you should tell her, dumbass," Ichigo snorted.
"B-but!" Renji let out a growl of frustration. "Maybe it's different in Shinigami land, but on Earth you can't just go out and say those things!"
"Yeah, yeah," Ichigo drawled out, stopping in front of the lit exit. "Come back to me when you've grown a pair. Besides, I'm pretty sure she loves you back."
"Wait, what?"
The two left the pathway, Renji completely off balance. They stepped into a tranquil garden, bright morning skies hanging above. There was a sparkling koi pond, tall grass arranged around it just so, and a large tree looming above it all, shade extending to the rooftops. Under that shade stood Captain Ukitake who had a smile on his face the second he saw them, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
"It's good to see you've arrived safely," the man said. "The Senkaimon can sometimes react strangely to outsiders."
Renji's brain stuttered back to life (looking for something, anything else to think about) just in time to send a suspicious glance Ichigo's way. He never warned him about that!
"Like he said," Ichigo responded calmly under the pressure, "we came back safely." He then focused back on his Captain, dodging Renji's ire like a seasoned pro. "Has anything come in while I was gone?"
Ukitake tutted, "You were barely away for half an hour. I doubt that something would have come in so soon."
"Ichigo!" a goateed officer cried out from the corner. "There's–!" He was cut off by a petite female officer shoving him aside.
"Lieutenant Sasakibe just called for a Lieutenant's meeting. he wants to–" She was cut off by the man clapping a hand over her mouth, muffling the rest of her words.
"He wants you to speak on taking the responsibilities of a Captain," he rushed out. He then let out a loud curse as the woman stomped down on his foot hard.
"That's… about it, actually," she finished. She sounded disappointed.
"I supposed I spoke to soon," Ukitake said with a laugh. Ichigo just groaned.
"See," he sighed out to Renji. "Give me about two hours. Chōjirō's meetings always go on forever. I'll be back to kick your ass, then."
"Those are big words coming from a paper pusher," Renji quipped.
Ichigo responded with a shark like grin, running off to the front and out of sight.
"Well, that ruins my chances of sitting you both down for tea, today," Ukitake said fondly. "You will still join me though, won't you?"
It took Renji a moment to even realize that the Captain was talking to him. "Uh… me?"
"Yes, you," the man insisted kindly. "Training trip or not, you are our guest. Sentarō, Kiyone, if you would…"
"Jasmine!" "The usual room, sir?" the two yelled over each other. Matching glares passed between them.
"…Yes," Ukitake said, smile strained. The officers hurried off, trying to outpace each other. "They mean well," he explained to Renji. "They're just a bit… enthusiastic!"
"I can see that," Renji said flatly. Ukitake let out a laugh.
"Follow me."
The man led Renji to what looked like a study. A low table with an intimidating pile of folders and papers on top was pressed against a window outlooking a flower garden. In the center of the room was a round table, well used cushions arranged around it, a bowl of watermelon candies on top.
"Please sit," Ukitake politely urged, "they shouldn't be long."
Renji did, fingers drumming against his knees… Why did he feel so awkward?
(That might have just been Ichigo's words messing with him, echoing in his hea–)
No, no, no I'm not going there.
The feeling didn't improve when barely a minute later Kiyone came bursting in with a fresh pot of tea, Sentarō behind her looking incredibly frustrated. The Captain waved them off with a thank you and a smile, insisting on serving the tea himself.
The man may have had the demeanor of a friendly uncle, but he had the looks of a classical painting, something that Renji found a little intimidating. There was something oddly perfect about the way he looked, even while just serving tea. The delicate hold of his hands, the fall of his hair as he went through the practiced motions had him silent.
(It didn't leave him with the same feeling as Rukia did just tossing him a soda from her fridge, a cola, his favorite; she didn't even have to ask.)
I said I wasn't going there!
Renji felt mildly better when holding his cup, offering a thank you of his own before taking a cautious sip.
"So…" the teenager tried, "you wanted to talk to me?" Why, he thought.
"I did," he said matter-of-factly. "I wanted to formally thank you for saving my Lieutenant."
Renji tried to hold down a blush, taking a strategic sip. "It was no big deal. You know Ichigo. He would have done the same for us." Besides he had to make sure a certain someone didn't get herself killed storming the Soul Society on her own.
"I suppose he would have." Ukitake took a deep sip of his own, a contented look on his face as he inhaled the scent of the brew.
It was then that Renji felt himself finally relax, thought that might have just been the tea.
"May I ask you something?"
Renji nodded.
"If you were to advise your friends against joining the war, would they listen to you?"
"…Excuse me?" Renji must have misheard him.
"I'm getting ahead of myself," Ukitake corrected. "Would you be willing to stay out of this war?"
Renji blinked up at the man. He would have surprised the high schooler less if he'd dumped his tea on him.
He continued, "It's just… you're all still kids. You shouldn't be involving yourselves in this. I'm barely comfortable with Ichigo getting dragged into this."
"I'm pretty sure some of us are gonna be in this one whether I like it or not," Renji finally said. Ukitake sent a glance to his bag.
"Yes, Miss Orikasa." Ukitake cleared his throat. "She won't be short of protection, I assure you."
"It's not about that," Renji said. "I know Aizen's targeting her or whatever, but Rukia would be sticking her nose into this whether he was or not. Whatever happened on Sōkyoku Hill, she took it personally, same with Ishida, and no offense, but there's no way in hell I'm letting them go in without me. They're my friends."
"…I see." Ukitake took another long sip of his tea, a distant look in his eyes. "This generation sure is something else."
They finished their tea in silence after that, the pot quickly emptying. With his last cup done and a few candy wrappers littering the table, Ukitake stood up, stretching out his back in a deliberate motion.
"It's time I start my work for the day," he said. "Sentarō and Kiyone, ca–"
The door cracked open, two heads popping in, one on top of the other.
"They can escort you to your room," the Captain continued, not missing a beat. Renji stood up, already tuning out the two's bickering as he headed towards the door.
"It was good tea," he said over his shoulder. Ukitake gave him a genuine smile.
"Feel free to stop by anytime… Oh! And one more thing." Renji stopped in the doorway. "Ichigo can be quite the sparring partner. Good luck!"
Renji gulped, accepting the warning with a nod as he was led out of the room.
A few minutes later and he was alone with his thoughts in a traditional guest room. He tried his hardest, but…
Great… I guess I'm going there!
Ichigo thought Rukia liked him back?!
Well, no, that wasn't really the word he had used. He'd said Rukia loved him, something that Renji found about fifty times more terrifying.
It wasn't the thought of Rukia loving him on its own that scared him, no, no, no. It was the idea that now that he knew (or he at least hoped he knew, that Ichigo wasn't somehow mistaken)…
Shit, I guess I have to do something about it, don't I?
Renji stood up, and began pacing the room.
There were a few routes he could take, here. He could go traditional, stick a note in her locker, and try his hand at a confession. He could go nonchalant and kind of just blurt it out one day when they're hanging out. He could also continue to waffle around for a while longer and say nothing out of fear of rejection.
(That last one sounded stupid, even to him, but the cowardly side of him clung to it like a lifeline.)
Fuck the cowardly side of me! I should just… just…!
Renji was going to do it. He decided right then and there. When he showed her his new skills, when he finally saw her mask he would say it.
Part V
"Here," Ryuuken said tersely. He was holding out a takeout bag.
This made Uryuu feel rather silly, crouched behind a pillar, scrawled notes of spells shoved in his pocket and feeling ready for anything. Warily, he crawled from his hiding spot, taking quick steps to his father and snatching the bag out of his hands.
Inside he found a sealed plastic bowl, warm to the touch. It was ramen and good stuff from the looks of it. Taking out the chopsticks and spoon he found a decent spot (a decent distance away) and started eating, cherishing it while he still had the time.
Through his slightly hazy glasses he glanced at his father, the man leaning against a wall and drinking a canned beer without looking at anything in particular. He'd ditched his white jacket and silver tie, the lilac sleeves of his shirt rolled up. He looked as casual as Uryuu believed he was capable.
"…Why?" Uryuu eventually asked after swallowing down the salty noodles.
"Hm?" Ryuuken sounded.
"Why… the change of heart?" Uryuu clarified. "You don't get those."
Ryuuken stayed silent, taking a long sip of his beer.
"I'm not an idiot," Uryuu continued. "I know you know why I'm here."
"Really? You're not an idiot, now?" Ryuuken asked sarcastically. Uryuu bit back whatever he was going to say in retaliation, giving the man the opportunity to continue. "Shinigami fighting amongst themselves is nothing new. Your insistence to fight with them, just because you happen to go to school with one, is more than idiocy. You're acting like a needy child."
"Oh," Uryuu snapped, "I'm friends with a few so that automatically means I'm doing this just to impress them, to stay on their good side."
"I never said that," Ryuuken said with a raised eyebrow. He took a long gulp of his beer. "And you're proving my point."
Uryuu bristled at that, attacking his ramen with a new vigor, slurping down the rest of it in record time. He roughly wiped his mouth, stood up, and said, "Let's just get back to training."
He wasn't ready for another huge fight to ruin this whole thing before it even started. He just wanted to get his powers back, go home, and go back to pretending like Ryuuken didn't exist.
Ryuuken took his empty beer can, tossed it with the bag and bowl, and readjusted the Cross on his wrist. He fired without warning.
This chapter makes the beginning of another mini-Hiatus. I'm going out of country again, (for my dad's birthday, funny that) and as a result the next chapter will not be here until JANUARY 11. I actually meant to tell you all last week. Whoops!
And, hey, no memes here, I'd genuinely love to talk with y'all about your views on the dads of Bleach (or Renji's upcoming confession?). So… yeah… comments… give me life…
