Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. It's property of Tite Kubo.

Author's Note: Hi! I'm back! Sorry I'm so late but I didn't have much inspiration for this one-shot until it hit me like an hour ago. Which is why this particular chapter is not edited. But oh well. I did my best. So today's one-shot has more comedy towards the end than during previous one-shots because of a certain character which is involved, but it does have a serious topic. Hope you enjoy it.

As always, thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Thank you all!

See ya!

for you, anything

Prompt: sacrifice

Summary: What would you sacrifice for the most important person in your life? Easy. Everything.

Ichigo has never been one to have deep conversations with his father.

He figures that, had his mother been alive, she would have been his closest confidant.

And although good ol' goat-chin has good advice every once in a while, he has always portrayed this goofy character that doesn't convince people to rely on him emotionally speaking.

Karin has said so before too.

So when Isshin one day asks him to sit down and talk, Ichigo is not sure what to feel.

He wonders what other deep family secrets his dad might reveal.

Last time they had had a serious conversation, he had unveiled not only his true identity but his mother's.

What else was there to say?

Was Ichigo some kind of alien on top of everything else?

As one can imagine, he feels nervous when he sits in front of his father on the table.

His sisters are out, so they won't get interrupted.

A fact that doesn't give him much confidence.

"So, Ichigo, how have you been?" Isshin starts by saying.

And he doesn't really know what to say.

His father has never cared much for chit chat, but Ichigo answers anyway.

He's fine.

Some of his classes can be a bitch and job's tough, but he can't complain.

He's healthy and his Shinigami skills are still top notch.

There's not much else to inform.

But thanks for asking.

His dear old dad asks him a little bit about college and his work, and he answers as best as he can without it being too obvious he doesn't know why they are even talking.

"And how's Rukia-chan?"

So there it is.

The true reason his father wanted to talk to him.

Frankly, Isshin doesn't need to ask about Rukia.

He had just seen her over the weekend.

But Ichigo answers anyway.

"She's fine. Probably overseeing training at the moment."

"I see."

His father nods as he sips his coffee.

"So I take it you'll be going to the Seireitei this weekend, correct?"

He's a little surprised by this question too.

It's been a routine, that if Rukia comes to Karakura one weekend, the next he'll visit her in the Soul Society.

It's been like this for a while now.

But again, Ichigo merely answers.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

His father shrugs.

"Can't I be curious of what my only son is doing?"

"Yeah, but you never had before."

Not even when he was going to Soul Society or Hueco Mundo, risking his life to save others, had his dad asked him about it.

Probably because he already knew.

Isshin smiles at him, but it is a sad sort of smile, unlike his usual grins.

"I guess you're right. Still, it's never too late to be curious."

Ichigo supposes that is true.

"Is that all you wanted to ask?" He enquires, itching to stop with this conversation.

"Actually, no." His father says.

Now he's a little bit intrigued.

"So what else did you want to talk about?"

"How's the Soul Society? Is Byakuya-kun treating you well? What about the other Shinigami?"

It is kind of weird his father is questioning him about the place he had left so long ago.

But he answers as best as he can.

The Soul Society is recovering at a great speed.

Though you can still see remnants of the devastation.

Not to mention some Shinigami are very traumatized by what they had seen and the people they had lost.

Ukitake-san's presence is still greatly missed.

Byakuya probably treats him better than he treats other people, excepting Rukia.

He always welcomes him for tea time and dinner.

They have sparred once or twice and both have had fun.

Well, Ichigo's had fun.

It's hard to tell with Byakuya.

The other Shinigami are mostly cordial.

Ichigo tells his father a little bit about his other friends.

Of how they have taken him to explore other parts of the Soul Society he hadn't seen before.

And excluding an incident with a few trainees, all Shinigami have been very nice to him and accepting of his visits.

His father listens to him intently, adding a few things here and there.

"I see you're getting used to life there."

The way goat-chin says these things makes Ichigo worry.

"Yeah, I guess."

"And how has Rukia been liking Karakura?"

His dad asks him then.

Ichigo replies as best as he can.

Rukia likes going to the park a lot.

He had taught her to roller skate recently, and you had taken a liking to it.

She likes going to the movies too and eating ice cream at the parlor.

Then there's a store that sells cute things that she enjoys visiting.

(He may or may not have bought Rukia's new bunny necklace there)

She's also taken a liking to video games and they play often.

But most of all, she enjoys exploring places she has never seen before.

Isshin agrees that it seems like Rukia's having fun.

And that he is glad for it.

She deserves it after all.

"Well, I guess things will be difficult for you two." His father says at last.

"What do you mean?"

"That when the time comes, one of you will have to leave their world behind. And since you both enjoy each other's world and are well-received in either, it's going to be a tough call."

Oh.

Well Ichigo had never seen it that way.

He realizes that to be with Rukia, there is a lot at stake.

This life of being half in Karakura, half in Seireitei won't last for the rest of his days.

And eventually one of them will have to permanently move to the other's world if they want to remain together.

Ichigo just had thought it'd take years until they reached that point.

So he really hadn't thought about it until now.

"I guess so." He simply answers. "It's still too early to know, though."

Isshin turns serious then.

"I don't think it's too early to begin thinking about it. You're growing up and every day you will become older and older, while Rukia will stay the same for many more decades. Eventually people will wonder why you are hanging out with someone that looks like a teenager."

That is true.

But if he had cared about what people thought of him, he would have dyed his hair black years ago.

So he lets his father know.

"Maybe you don't care, but what about Rukia-chan?"

That's no brainer either.

Ichigo knows Rukia will stand by his side no matter what.

However, his father is right on one thing.

They should talk about that eventually.

"I'm sure we'll reach a compromise." He tells his dad.

"Maybe. But remember that Rukia-chan is already a lieutenant and is on the path to becoming a captain, would you ask her to sacrifice all of her achievements to come and live here?"

No.

He wouldn't ask that of her.

Ever.

"Or would you be able to sacrifice your life here on Earth, literally, to go live in the Soul Society with her?"

Ichigo finds that question a little bit easier to answer.

Yes.

He would.

Because he likes being a Shinigami.

He would live happy if he were one and that was his profession.

He has no qualms living there.

He wouldn't feel alone.

But most importantly, he would do anything for Rukia.

She has become his priority.

If living in the Soul Society was what benefitted them both, then he most certainly choose to live there with her.

And even if it wasn't, Ichigo would still sacrifice many things for her.

If someone were to ask him "What would you sacrifice for the most important person in your life?"

It would be easy to answer.

Everything.

"Yes. I would. That and much more." He tells his father.

Isshin chuckles and shakes his head.

"I see the apple didn't fall far from the tree. But I can't blame you. If I were younger and single, I'd totally sacrifice many things for Rukia-chan!"

That comment earns him a punch to the face.

"You don't have to get jealous! I was just saying!" His dad says while he rubs his injured nose.

"Quit joking, then!"

"But anyway, I'm glad to see you're serious! I didn't raise you to be irresponsible with the feelings of a young lady!"

"Of course I'm serious and I'd never hurt Rukia's feelings."

Ichigo admits.

"Well done, son! You make daddy proud!"

"Yeah, yeah." He dismisses his father's praise and begins to stand up.

"If this is it, I'm gonna leave and─ Wait a minute! Was this a test?!"

"Gotta be sure you're on the right path! I wanna be a grandfather someday! Just not too soon, so try and be careful, I've got a pack of condoms in the clinic!"

Ichigo sighs loudly.

"Whatever. I'm leaving."

And as Isshin watches his son go upstairs, he can't help but smile.

"You really do make us proud, nee Masaki?"

A/N: So this is kind of like when Rukia had to stand up for her relationship with Ichigo while talking to Kyoraku. Just now Ichigo basically comes clean about his intentions with his father. That this thing he has with Rukia is not just for the moment. It's forever. And he will make sacrifices if necessary. Not that Rukia would ever ask him to. But he would anyway. And Isshin just wanted to see how serious he was. He was glad to see Ichigo is very committed to this relationship. He can't help but tease him though.

I ended it on a humurous note because tomorrow's one-shot it's going to be funny.

Hope you liked it!

See ya!