Chapter 7 - Man of the Paradise Flower (A frustrated parent)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'Inner speech/thoughts'

'Inner hollow/Zanpaktou speech'

xxx

Seeing his own son on his knees, whispering words to the wind in hope it would carry them to his dead mother almost broke Isshin's heart. Witnessing the boy in his rare moment of weakness, when he looked as vulnerable as a small child caused him to squeeze and shut his eyes closed. Just as one of his daughters had done a long time ago, Isshin too, had vowed to never cry again. He wasn't allowed to. He had let too many people down. The only thing remaining was to be strong for those who still mattered. So he held back his tears.

Isshin Kurosaki had watched, hidden in shadows, as Ichigo had battled the one hollow greatly responsible for the death of Masaki Kurosaki, his late mother and Isshin's late wife. It had been a powerful scene. Emotions had been packed so tightly, they had almost overflowed. But he had done it. Ichigo had done it. He finally moved on and forgave himself for that rainy night six years ago.

'…I wanted you to live well, age well, even to go bald well and to die after me. But most importantly, I wanted you to die with a happy smile on your face, Ichigo. None of these happened.' He thought and, after Ichigo finally left the scene, stood up with his face pointed to the cloudy sky. He let the rain wash over his face and over his sad smile.

"Ah, Masaki will be angry."

He walked, his shinigami clothes getting wetter with every passing step, until he hid under a stand, leaned to the side and stared at the small group of teenagers in the distance.

Those were friends of his son while he had been still alive. As he had been following Ichigo ever since he had felt his reiatsu entering the Karakura Town again, Isshin had also seen the look on his son's face after he had noticed them. The five high-school students. People he had spent most time with. Isshin knew that despite the sadness of not being able to join them once again, Ichigo had been happy to see them unharmed.

What he didn't know was just how close to mortal peril some of them had come. It was only thanks to Isshin's timely interventions that they were able to walk and talk like nothing had happened.

After Ichigo had died, Isshin had vowed to protect his son's friends from any harm. The idea came to him accidentally and he had caught it like a man drowning in the sea of sorrow and regrets. He couldn't do nothing when Masaki had died, when his daughters had died and not even when his son had died. Protecting those close to him had felt like an obligation to Isshin. Ichigo had unwillingly left them alone. Now, they were Isshin's responsibility.

This sense of duty to shield them from further harm had proven to be right. First ones had been Orihime and Tatsuki. Isshin could recall the grimace on his face when he had been forced to protect the bubbly girl and her fierce tomboyish friend from her own brother turned hollow. He had grimaced not because of the attack alone. He had done it because, in a small part of his mind, he could have actually understood the reasoning of the hollow. Isshin had felt disgusted with himself after that. He had successfully prevented the hollow from taking Orihime's and along with it, Tatsuki's souls, though and that was what mattered in the end. Their memories had been replaced and so far, it seemed it was working well.

The second person was Chad. One day, Isshin had found him seriously injured and from what he knew about the sturdy boy, it must have been the first time he had been in such a serious condition. Not long after that, Chad had escaped from his clinic, causing the hair on Isshin's neck to stand. He had felt a lingering presence in the boy's wounds. A presence of a hollow. He had followed Chad. In the end, the boy had been protecting a soul of a small boy embed within a caged bird from constant attacks of a wretched hollow. Isshin had dispatched him easily but once again, with a grimace on his face.

Isshin was a man of conviction. He never really hated Grand Fisher nor the other hollows for their deeds. They weren't really beings that lived based on what they believed. Instead, they were pushed forward by their instinct of hunger, never-ending thirst. But occasionally, there was a twisted hollow, whose soul had been wicked even before dying as a human. The one who had harmed Chad was one of those hollows and Isshin had watched the Gates of Hell swallow him with eerie satisfaction.

Based on what he had seen in Ichigo's fight, it seemed Grand Fisher had been a real bastard during his life too, but that was a bit different.

He sighed.

Those two attacks had been the only ones so far and, fortunately, none of the victims appeared to be suffering from any consequences. Isshin had been worried. Worried that the hollow energy may have caused some sort of a reaction within the teenagers' souls. That they would be dragged into the world they were not yet prepared. Into the world they were supposed to enter only after dying. He had consulted Urahara about this matter but the scientist had assured him that nothing was wrong.

Urahara Kisuke.

Somehow, Isshin felt a bitter taste within his mouth and so he spit his saliva on the ground beneath his feet. It wasn't as if he hated the man. On the contrary, he was quite fond of him. He had helped him greatly all those years ago. Truthfully, Isshin regarded Urahara as his friend. Along with him also the others within the Urahara's Shop. And even the white-haired, cold-blooded, emotionless and distant certain surgeon. He even trusted Urahara. With his life.

But he also knew that, as most people, even the scientist was keeping dark secrets. And even a best friend can harm you given the right push from a wrong direction. He was aware of the man's plan concerning his own son. At least of some details. Now that was something Isshin didn't really like. However, he did not have many other choices. Ichigo was far too special… being. He was predestined for things he shouldn't have been predestined to. To be the center of the world.

In time.

His legs carried him to Urahara's shop and, after a brief talk with Tessai, a large-built and stoic man working as Urahara's assistant who was in reality something completely different, he sat down and waited for the scientist himself.

"Howdy Isshin-san, I believe everything is alright with our young friends?"

Isshin waited until the man seated himself in front of him and took a long, deep breath. There was something he had been lately thinking about for long hours and the sight of his son only solidified the thought. And Urahara could keep a lookout on the kids.

"I want to go there, Kisuke. I just saw him. He's suffering alone, I can feel it. He needs somebody. There is nothing keeping me here anymore. I should have returned as soon as he passed on."

The lack of preface briefly surprised the scientist, before he hid his face behind the small fan in his left hand. The carefree expression faded and was replaced with a serious gaze.

"And are you truly sure you are the one whom he needs?"

Isshin opened his mouth but no sound came out. The retort caught him off-guard. Once again, the man showed just why everybody thought of him as a genius not just in a field of science but also in human interaction. His words were precise and the question cut deep. Isshin almost felt a stinging sensation within his soul. It must have appeared on his face too, because Urahara's gaze lessened.

"Sorry."

Isshin raised his hand and waved it a little.

"No, you're probably right. I haven't been exactly a perfect parent… not that I would ever admit it." He tried to smile but failed spectacularly.

"Ah, well, if it helps, you're still better than Ryūken-san."

"…got that right." Isshin snorted quietly.

They thanked Tessai when the man brought two mugs of warm tea and took a few sips, the silence slowly growing too loud.

"Even then, I must say I don't think it is a good idea. Returning to Soul Society that is." Urahara stated after putting the mug back on the table.

Isshin blew on the hot liquid, trying to cool it off a bit, before mimicking the man and putting the mug down too. He sighed, hard.

"I'm not saying that you should never go back but I would want you to wait at least until 'he' shows his true face. Going back right now would practically be a suicide. Aside from testimonies of exiled shinigami you have no proof. It would be a claim against a claim and guess whose words Yamamoto-san would believe." Urahara continued in an attempt to drive a point home.

"I know, I know damn it. I'm just so… frustrated!" Isshin unexpectedly snapped and slapped the table, almost flipping the mugs. Just barely, the tea stayed inside of its containers and Urahara rubbed his chin. He knew he would have to placate the man or he would storm the Seiretei without any sort of a plan.

Like his son certainly would.

"Don't worry about young Kurosaki-san, though. He has already befriended Kuchiki-san so it's not like he's completely alone there."

He knew that was the right thing to say as Isshin cracked a small smile, only the sadness preventing it from turning into a lecherous one.

"My son, intimate with a girl? Never thought I would see such a day come."

Urahara paled at those words. The report from Yoruichi about what Ichigo had gone through since passing on stuck in his mind. He was sure the day the boy would become intimate with any woman had become more distant than ever. If he ever would. Urahara sincerely hoped he would. He needed some pleasure in his life and so far, such things had been extremely rare. At that rate, the boy would become a different person. In a bad sense. Although, he could somehow twist and use what was slowly unfolding in Karakura Town to ensure his allegiance…

This thinking brought more unpleasant thoughts to Urahara's mind. He suppressed them until Isshin left but once he did, they surfaced again.

"Do you think it's wise? Not telling him about it?" Tessai popped into the room to clear the table, his eyes purposely not aimed at the scientist, who took down his hat and scratched his head.

"I don't know, Tessai-san. But, seeing as I don't have answers, I'm rather glad he didn't mention it. I wouldn't want to lie to him again." Urahara sighed, his thoughts filled with an image of various hollows.

Hollows. Urahara Kisuke was quite certainly unsettled by the lack of understanding of the hollow within the soul of Kurosaki Ichigo. The one that had apparently, and quite obviously, merged with the boy's zanpakuto. Yes, Urahara knew about him. It was impossible not to know about it, seeing as he was the one who had dealt with him some time ago.

But what Urahara didn't know was what was going on inside of Ichigo's soul. He didn't know if there were some side-effects. He didn't know if the hollow was already taking over the boy. He didn't know if the boy had met him. He didn't know anything, only what he knew. And that wasn't much. Certainly, he had some experience with a similar case.

But Kurosaki Ichigo was something completely different. A whole new kind of existence. Also, at the moment, the boy was one more thing.

An impossibility. An oddity.

Kurosaki Ichigo should not have been alive. His soul should have collapsed on itself the moment his human body lost its pulse, the moment his human shell stopped working. He should have undergone a certain phenomenon.

Soul-suicide.

It was quite simple, actually. All of it was just one big equation. An equation with four variables. And right now, the equation within Ichigo's soul lacked one variable. The most important one. The one he had lost on the day he had died.

But Ichigo lived. The sheer absurdity of the situation caused the scientist to marvel at it. After a long time, something finally caught him off-guard, unprepared. He was ready for all of his plans to collapse once he found out the boy had died. But after listening to Kuchiki-san, he knew there was still hope. Now, he waited.

He was not idle all those weeks since the boy had passed on, though. Urahara was a man that liked to have multiple plans at hand. So he prepared a solution for the moment when troubles would come. It was a simple solution. Extremely easy solution. Usable in human world. Questionable in Soul society. And even if that failed he still could use that thing he had taken back from the girl.

'Ah well, no need to fret over little things. I'll worry when the time comes.'

With that, he closed the door to a certain dark room with no lights, no windows and almost no furniture, save for one bed.

…

One Kurosaki Ichigo was currently not feeling that much satisfied with himself. He had been a while ago, after he had finally avenged his mother. Not so much after he had returned to the Soul Society through the Senkaimon to see a stern looking group of shinigami waiting for him. Without giving him a single piece of explanation, they accompanied him to the office of the Academy's principal and, after opening the door for him, dumped him there.

By then, Ichigo had an idea what was going on. After all, what he was attending was practically the same thing as a high-school. And he was right on the mark.

"Kurosaki, Kurosaki. What am I to do with you?" The principal, an aged man with burly eyebrows and completely bald head muttered while tapping the table with a pen. Ichigo was silent. For now, there was no point in saying anything.

"I'm sure you've realized what this is about. You're a smart kid. Rude and brassy but smart nevertheless." The man continued and stared at Ichigo, who couldn't resist and gave him a stink eye. The principal smirked, expecting such a reaction from him.

"Now, I don't know the reason for your hollow hunting and frankly? I don't really care. It's not something you should do when attending the human world in a group. Not to mention that was your first trip. That the hollow you came across was Grand Fisher, a bastard that has been eluding us for many years is even worse." He put down his pen and placed his palms against each other. Ichigo couldn't help it and not be impressed.

'They even know the name of that bastard?' He mentally cursed. This reaction didn't escape the sharp gaze of the older man.

"Ah, yes. Thanks to the 12th Division we are able to efficiently monitor the human world, especially if we know what we are looking for. Don't think you can disappear just like that. But, I'm drifting from the original point." The principal took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes.

"Your actions could have cost you your life, along with the lives of other students. Save your breath and don't try to defend yourself." He raised his hand to stop Ichigo when he noticed him opening his mouth.

"Grand Fisher was not a weak hollow. If he had fought any other student, he would have easily killed him. Then he would have gone after the other ones. You are lucky you didn't get other student involved in the fight. Or worse, get them killed. There is nothing that could justify such a reckless action. You're still in the academy so your punishment will be light but after you join Gotei 13, such a thing has its own name. Insubordination."

Ichigo silently clenched his fists. He wanted to snap at the man, to tell him the real reason behind his fight with Grand Fisher. But he didn't. The man in front of him didn't deserve to know. It was something that had happened and was going to stay only between Grand Fisher and Ichigo. A personal matter. And he could take a 'light' punishment. Seeing the one responsible for his mother's death getting dragged to the place where he belonged to had certainly been worth it. He even got over the sour taste in his mouth that he felt because of a different reason.

The principal even acknowledged it. Grand Fisher had been eluding the shinigami for several dozen years. Now, Ichigo had slain him.

Shouldn't they been thanking him?

He obviously didn't do it for such a reason and he wasn't expecting any praise or recognition for his fight. He didn't want anybody slapping him on his back and saying 'damn kid, you did well'. But completely ignoring the fact that he, a student of just few months, had done something other shinigami from Gotei 13 hadn't been able to do for such a long time was just plain ignorance.

'Or maybe they are embarrassed.' He thought in his own inner voice that sounded too sly for his own tastes.

Half an hour later, he emerged from the office not being able to remember half the stuff the principal had been muttering. It sounded just that much unimportant and, to him, self-righteous. The only piece of information he needed to keep in mind was about his punishment.

The principal hadn't been lying, it really was light. To Ichigo, somebody who spent most of his time locked within his room or somewhere in the academy area, training, it was even lighter.

'Your punishment will be having to spend the next four weeks solely within the borders of the Academy ground. When you study, in the academy. When you train, in the academy. During free time, in the academy. Want to go and grab a beer at the pub nearby? Too bad, you can't. No friends from outside the academy can visit you either. Unless you are given order from an officer of Gotei 13, you are not allowed to leave the academy premises. Is that clear?'

Ichigo actually snorted. The principal tried to sound threatening but, from Ichigo's point of view, he failed badly. Really, trying such a punishment on a person whose daily routine barely contained any sort of entertainment? Hilarious.

The only thing that could have been denied him were Rukia's regular visits. And even that was improbable, seeing as she was a member of Gotei 13, a noble and sister of a Captain. She could come and visit him without any troubles.

Not that he wanted her to visit him. Not really. He didn't want to hear some sort of news, to just chat and he certainly didn't want to spend some time in a company of another human being. Soul. Shinigami. Whatever. Point was, he really didn't enjoy the feeling of being important to somebody.

Okay, fine, maybe a little. But that was just because Kazumi would have scolded him for trying to close himself off from the outside world. His little sisters too, would have been angry that he was punishing himself.

He threw out his hands, not really caring he was in the middle of a long hall, heavily populated with other students. He was fed up with his own train of thoughts. Well, it was more like a locomotive that bludgeoned its way forward with an engine worth of thousands of horse power.

Fine, he enjoyed Rukia's visits a bit. There, are you happy? You deranged locomotive without an engine-driver!

"Haaah… I'm tired." He muttered when he finally heard the click of the door, leading to his room opening. Throwing all of his things into the corner of the room and taking all of his clothes off in a single movement, he jumped into the bed and closed his eyes. His body ached a little and craved a short sleep. And he would give it to it. Even with slightly masochistic tendencies, he wasn't about to punish himself like that.

…

"Kurosaki, come here. The rest of you can go, the class is over."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. Once again, Gengorō wanted to talk to him after class. It had become a regular thing in the past few weeks and Ichigo was slowly losing the battle with his own patience. Ever since the main instructor got the whiff about him going alone to fight a hollow, he had been quite adamant in trying to make Ichigo talk about his reason. Not directly, of course. However, Ichigo was not a stupid kid anymore and had realized after a while that that was the true purpose for all those lengthy discussions about nothing in particular. With a sigh, he dragged himself to the man. Surprisingly, the main instructor wasn't as eager as he had been in their last meeting. Instead of an affable expression, he gazed at Ichigo with serious eyes and Ichigo smelled trouble. Once he got close to him, Gengorō handed him an envelope.

"Since you are not yet accustomed in using hell-butterflies, I was told to give this to you. It's supposedly from the Captain of the 8th Division."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow but, aside from that, gave no other reaction. He grabbed the envelope and opened it to find a small memo. Gengorō's gaze grew intense.

"What did you do?"

Not really hearing the man, Ichigo silently read the message.

'To: Kurosaki Ichigo-kun
From: Kyoraku Shunsui

I'm not one for proper formalities so I'll cut them out, Ichigo-kun. You have already noticed my name and probably heard I'm a Captain of the 8th Division. I have something I would like to talk with you about. Jūshirō, I mean Captain Ukitake, has mentioned the case you and Rukia-chan are working on. I'd like to offer my help with that and so I'd like us to meet. I'd say that whenever is okay with me but I'm afraid my Nanao-chan will insist this to happen as soon as possible. Therefore, it's possible she'll be waiting for you at the entrance to the Academy this evening already. I hope you'll come.

Kyoraku Shunsui.

P.S: Do you like sake?

P.P.S: Don't be afraid of my Nanao-chan. She looks strict but is a sweetheart.

P.P.P.S: Gotta go, Nanao-chan looks angry!'

Ichigo blinked. Twice. Third time. When even after blinking four times in a row didn't help clearing his mind, he sat at the nearest chair, feeling a headache coming. He completely ignored Gengorō as the man was clearly trying to pry some information from him and he let his head fall.

'Ichigo-kun? Nanao-chan? Rukia-chan? Do I like sake?'

He rubbed his head.

'The heck is wrong with this guy? Is this how a Captain of the Gotei 13 writes a message to a student?'

A frown appeared on his face after he read the letter one more time.

'Ignoring the weird undertone of this message, he offers help with the case? Just like that? I mean that is the purpose of this memo. The rest is just an unimportant gibberish. Or was that an intent? To make me feel secure, like I was going to meet a friend and not a Captain?' He pinched the bridge of his nose.

'Yeah, I'm probably too paranoid. At the very least, I can hear what he wants to say. It couldn't hurt to meet another Captain, and a famous one at that.'

Truthfully, Kyoraku Shunsui was indeed a very well-known figure among the shinigami of Gotei 13. He had been a Captain for centuries now and from what Ichigo had read, he had even been a student of the very Captain Commander. That told Ichigo he was not a person he would want to anger.

At least not at the moment.

…

When Ichigo directed his steps towards the entrance of the Shino Academy, he was unsure what kind of person would be waiting for him. Really, based on the message from the Captain of the 8th Division, his expectations were all over the place. On one hand, the Captain himself appeared to be an easygoing man and he had described the one who would come for Ichigo as a 'sweetheart'. On the other one, Ichigo couldn't shake the bad feeling in his gut, telling him he should prepare himself for somebody completely else. For somebody that is not a sweetheart.

When he finally saw the person, he cursed his own instinct. He didn't even need any sort of confirmation that that was really the person mentioned in the memo. He was completely sure it was her.

"Kurosaki Ichigo I presume. My name is Nanao Ise, a Vice-Captain of the 8th Division. I came to escort you to the Captain." A slim, sharp looking woman in her twenties introduced herself while pushing her glasses up her nose. Ichigo, despite not being that much socially skilled, immediately noticed one thing. This woman had a no-nonsense attitude. Just how could she and the Captain that had written the memo make a pair was a mystery to him.

'Sheesh, uptight much?' He wondered when Nanao barely let him nod to confirm that indeed, he was Ichigo Kurosaki and curtly spun around.

The walk to the 8th Division barracks was uneventful, long but most of all, extremely quiet. Nanao herself did not speak a single word and Ichigo, comfortable enough with silence, did not try to spark any conversation. It wasn't like he wanted to befriend every single person that he met. If she preferred silence, then good for her.

Instead, he used this time to study the Vice-Captain in a series of short glances, not wanting to make her suspicious of him. Although, since he was keeping in a certain distance behind her, he was confident she barely even paid any attention to him. And he had to keep a distance. She was a woman, after all. A woman he did not know. Subconsciously, that thought made his body a bit stiff.

He had been handling his discomfort at being near any women fairly well during the classes. He had had to. The Academy wasn't males-only so there were bound to be some girls. But they were only students. He wasn't feeling threatened by them and so he was able to handle their presence. But a Vice-Captain? Just knowing that the woman walking in front of him had to be rather powerful chilled him from within his bones. A strong woman could overpower him. Just like before.

He angrily blinked and pushed the thought into the back of his mind. It was useless to think such things. It wouldn't help.

He laid his eyes at the Vice-Captain again.

His first impression of her didn't change no matter how much he looked at her. She was indeed a slim and youthful woman. Her long black hair was kept pinned back, with flat bangs hanging to the right side of her face. That was all Ichigo could find out with his glances. Just her appearance. Anything, and everything else was carefully guarded. Her posture was literally sending waves of 'don't get too friendly with me' to her surroundings. But maybe that was just a defensive mechanism. Ichigo didn't know. She wasn't pleasant but she also wasn't unpleasant. She just… was.

Sure, as he had noted, Nanao appeared to be a bit uptight, strict and had a no-nonsense attitude. But that wasn't really saying anything about her as a person. Those were just shallow characteristics. He wasn't able to perceive her heart.

He let go of these notions once the two of them arrived to the barracks and, after a short moment later, to the office of the Captain of the 8th Division.

Nanao knocked three times before entering the room.

What "I brought Kurosaki Ichigo, Captain… Captain! What did I tell you?! You won't be giving any sake to the student! No, wanting to make him feel comfortable in not good enough of a reason! And don't give me those puppy eyes, you know well it doesn't work on me!"

Ichigo stopped in mid-step with an unreadable expression on his face. Suddenly, he understood why such a strict looking woman was a Vice-Captain of this division and most importantly, a Vice-Captain for its Captain. He decided to wait for a moment. He didn't really want to witness any embarrassing scene and have his opinion on the Captain formed by such a thing.

While waiting, he took a look around and observed his surroundings. But nothing really stood out. It was just another division area. Until his eyes fell on the insignia of the 8th Division.

'A Strelitzia, huh? If I'm not mistaken, its other name is Bird of Paradise flower and it is associated with liberty, magnificence and good perspective. Now that is interesting.' A sad smile formed on his face. One of his little sisters, Yuzu, had really liked flowers and he had used to help her with taking care of them. Because of that, he had absorbed some of the knowledge about them. But that was a long time ago.

"You can go in, Kurosaki." Nanao had returned from the office and motioned the silent teen to go inside.

…

What awaited him in the room was a fairly young-looking man leisurely lying on a mattress, clad in a shinigami clothes with a pink, flowered lady's kimono on top of his captain's haori and a straw hat on top of his head. Well, fairly young for somebody of his age. The man had a pleasant smile on his face but his eyes were cunning, full of flamboyant spark but also filled with centuries of experience. It caused Ichigo to momentarily lose his guard. That unpleasantly surprised the teen. He somehow felt the man could be a dangerous enemy.

"Maa, maa there's no need for such a hard stare, Ichigo-kun. I really won't give you any sake. My Nanao-chan already threw it out." The Captain said in a really sad tone. Ichigo's eye twitched at the 'Ichigo-kun' but he left it alone. It still beat 'Kurosaki-san' that he heard almost every day at the Academy.

"Right." It was the only response he could come up with but it didn't seem the older man was bothered with the lack of formality. On the contrary, his smile widened.

"Ah, what kind of a host am I. Make yourself at home, Ichigo-kun. Since sake is out of the question, I suppose a nice, hot cup of tea is acceptable?"

Ichigo quietly nodded and sat down on a nearby mattress. Either the man was trying really hard to make Ichigo feel safe and comfortable or that was his true nature. Ichigo wasn't sure. A short moment later, he had his palms around a small cup filled with a steaming hot liquid.

"You are just like Jūshirō described you, Ichigo-kun. However, even if I say that, it's true only if we're talking about appearances. You certainly don't feel like a student nor like a young man. You feel older." Shunsui stated in a pleasant tone.

"And I'm not talking about your spiritual energy which, for some reason, feels like it's being forcefully contained." If he had actually taken a sip of the tea, Ichigo would have been coughing like a person suffering from a tuberculosis at the moment. Since he only brought the cup close to his mouth, his hand and because of that, the cup, shook a little. The Captain's remark was too close to truth. Shunsui continued as if he didn't notice anything but Ichigo saw the corners of his mouth curl upwards from amusement.

"It's your whole face. Your expression and your body language. It's like you've been through some stuff. Which is almost enough to make me believe in your story, even though I actually haven't heard a thing yet."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes.

"You should not trust me that easily."

Shunsui actually laughed at that.

"True. So I take it you don't trust me either? That I want to help you with your case?"

"I'm… suspicious." The teen gave an honest answer, causing the Captain to nod his head.

"Good. It seems you can use your common sense even in the presence of a Captain. That's good. Most of the students wouldn't. Which makes me worry about the future of Gotei 13." He sighed and, for a moment, looked less cheerful.

"But, that's not the reason I have called you here, is it?" He continued with a newly formed smile.

"Yeah, it's not."

"Obviously, you can refuse my offer and I won't make any deal out of it. It would be completely okay. I'm not here to force you into anything. I can also understand your suspicion, which is probably higher than when you have been talking with Jūshirō. After all, I am a Captain of the 8th Division and you have met and have been forced to fight to death one of my subordinates." Ichigo frowned, the words bringing back some memories.

"I thought you didn't know a thing from my story."

Shunsui apologetically smiled and raised his hand.

"Well, I don't. I just noticed that one of my men has been missing for quite some time, heard about the case when Jūshirō and Byakuya-kun visited me and I just connected the dots. I told them I want to hear the whole story from you first."

Ichigo blinked.

"I see."

"So, what is your answer?"

With a single nod, Ichigo accepted the offer and began telling the Captain of the 8th Division his story. His whole story. Without omitting anything. Shunsui had made only one condition before Ichigo had started to talk.

"I need to hear the full story, Ichigo-kun. All of it. Be it something unpleasant or something that you'd like to forget. Normally, I wouldn't ask for such a thing but since you want to take this to the Central 46 you'll be forced to repeat the same thing for them. And I think trying it now, in a more…pleasant environment, would be a good test to see if you're able to do it at all."

Ichigo had begrudgingly agreed and braced himself for the two memories that still haunted him. He managed to reveal most of his story with breaks only to take a breath and to sip a bit of his tea. He did not feel very relaxed while doing so, but Shunsui had proven to be a great listener and, slowly, his body stopped being so stiff. For a brief moment, he paused after telling the Captain about him meeting Rukia and Yoruichi. There were two reasons for that.

The first one was that he debated with himself if he wanted to continue, to tell the man about how Kazumi had died. The wound in his heart was still fresh. But, as it had been stated before, the full story was needed.

The second one went largely unnoticed by Ichigo. It was Shunsui's reaction when Ichigo had mentioned Yoruichi. The Captain had narrowed his eyes and had taken a long gulp of the tea to mask any further emotions. It didn't seem like he had been angered by the name, though. It was more like he had been doubtful, hopeful and confused at the same time. By the time Ichigo had decided to continue, he had already schooled his expression, coming to some sort of a decision moments before that.

Ichigo ended his tale with his fists clenched under the table. He was still feeling burning hatred towards the man that had killed her. But, as Kazumi had told him once, time was the best healer and so was able to cool down rather quickly.

"That is quite a serious accusation, Ichigo-kun and I must say, I'm surprised you even told me this. I suppose that means you don't think it was me whom Kazumi-san had been talking about?" Shunsui responded to the story after a short moment of silence. Ichigo noticed the man was no longer smiling. He shook his head.

"No. I had enough time to think about the whole thing, to recall every single word Kazumi had said before her death. The man I'm looking for is… well, it's like had the whole thing planned ahead of time. A man of such caliber wouldn't let any of his subordinate go into those brothels. They could have interrupted or damaged his plans. Which cuts you out of the list of suspects. At least that's what I think." Ichigo said. Shunsui tilted his hat with a cunning expression.

"That is true, Ichigo-kun, however, I must point out a flaw in your thinking. Let's say, hypothetically, that I'm that man. Why should I stop my men from going there? If I'm planning so many steps into the future, I have also many back-up plans. I could easily let my men go there, to avoid suspicion in case you'd think exactly what you do now. To throw you off the mark. There is also a question of accomplices. How do you know he doesn't have any?"

Ichigo grimaced. He didn't think about that.

"Maybe. I still don't think you're the one I'm looking for just because I don't feel you are. You don't fit the character. I've read about you and it just doesn't fit you. Such a plan I mean. Frankly, the whole idea, the whole plan, is just plain ridiculous. What would a Captain of Gotei 13 gain by stalking me? I'm a nobody."

Shunsui filled the cups with more tea and sighed.

"A nobody, huh?" A strange expression briefly appeared on the man's face but before Ichigo could comment on it, the Captain started talking again.

"You mentioned something about those men who have caught Kazumi-san. They've been wearing some sort of cloaks?"

Ichigo scrunched up his face, trying to remember the details.

"Yeah, if I remember correctly Yoruichi-san said they were designed for hiding reiatsu. Why?"

"…it's nothing." Shunsui replied after a moment, his calculating gaze pointed on the wall behind Ichigo.

The teen scowled.

"You know, I have the feeling you're more interested in the identity of that mysterious man is than in the case about the brothels. Almost as if you don't think of them as a problem."

An imperceptible smile flashed across Shunsui's mouth before it vanished.

"Ah, on the contrary. I'm very much interested in them, too. And actually, one of the reasons I've called you here is because I wanted to thank you for destroying them."

"Thank me?"

Ichigo didn't even notice how easily the man had changed the topic of the conversation as he was busy being confused. The Captain nodded.

"Yes. I'm aware you've met one of my nieces? Yuno-chan to be precise."

Ichigo pointed his sight upwards, trying to recall a person with such name. A smiling face of a girl with pink hair popped into his mind. He occasionally caught her staring and smiling at him during some of his classes.

"Right, yeah, I met her. Or more like she came to introduce herself. Weird girl… uhm, sorry." He blurted out his thoughts about the girl before he could stop himself from doing so and so he shifted in his seat, feeling embarrassed. Shunsui wasn't angry, but he wasn't smiling too.

"I understand. Yuno-chan is… well, she had a bit of a bad past. I don't think I'm in liberty to say all the details about it but I think I can say some parts so you could understand her behavior a little."

He took his hat down and put it on the ground next to him, an action which was meant to mask the distant gaze of his eyes.

"When Yuno-chan was younger, she was a sweetheart. A kind, shy, smart and always cheerful and her parents loved her. Well, at least that's how it looked like to us, to others. The reality was completely different. Long story short, it turned out her father was never there for her, busy spending his days and nights with women other than his wife. Her mother found out but did nothing about it. Instead of confronting her husband, she took the anger and hate on Yuno-chan. She neglected her, abused her, did many horrible things to her until one day, Yuno-chan couldn't take it anymore and ran away." He paused and took another sip from the tea. Ichigo was silent, but Shunsui could see the thick vein on the teen's neck throbbing.

"It took us only two weeks until we found her but… well, we found her in a brothel similar to those you have destroyed. I, nobody knows what really happened to her there and she had been barely alive when we found her. But Unohana-san, the Captain of the 4th Division and our best healer had confirmed that, thankfully, the girl had never been raped. But she had still suffered severe psychological trauma. Well, that's not the worst thing that has happened." Shunsui continued, a tired and sad grimace crossing his features.

"It turned out we weren't the first one to find her there. Her parents did it before us but apparently, wanted to leave her there and Yuno-chan snapped." He closed his eyes.

"She killed both her parents with her own hands."

A heavy silence followed Shunsui's words. Ichigo had troubles remaining calm and so he caught he corners of the table to keep himself from jumping in anger. The table shook.

"That's why, I think that Yuno-chan is thankful to you for what you have done. I heard that most students are aware of the rumor surrounding you so it's understandable that she knows about your deeds. Most likely, she sees you as her savior of some sorts."

Ichigo, with his eyes closed, had a pained expression on his face. He pitied the girl, he truly did but what made him so irate was something different.

"Tell me one thing. If you found a brothel like that, why haven't you done anything about it?" His voice trembled in a suppressed anger. Shunsui's downcast gaze fell on the floor.

"Frankly, we have been too worried about Yuno-chan that we simply destroyed that one brothel and tried to forget about the whole thing. I have no excuses for that."

Ichigo felt torn. He wanted to bolt out of the room, so that he wouldn't do something stupid, like punching the Captain in the face. At the same time, he could understand what the man must have been going through at that time. The fear at not knowing what had happened to his niece and fear of her well-being. Deciding on the third option, he punched the ground on his side and said nothing to the man. It may have been rude but it was the best he could do at that moment.

A long, awkward silence followed his action. Ichigo was trying to swallow the emotions built up within him and Shunsui just seemingly waited for him to do it. When the teen appeared to be somewhat calm, the Captain rubbed his chin. An idea had struck him.

"Ichigo-kun, I want to ask you one question."

"…ask."

Shunsui shifted his legs into a more comfortable position and, with a serious expression, stared at the student in front of him.

"Ichigo-kun, let's say you have a large garden full of flowers that you love very much. You go to great lengths in taking care of them, even pay a gardener to do it in your absence. One day, an accident happens, that you had no control over. A terrible, horrible accident which turns some of your best flowers into plants with cannibalistic instinct. We can call it a virus. Everything points to the fact that those plants could easily turn on the other flowers within your garden and start to indiscriminately kill them. As you have scarce information on the virus, what would you do? Would you give those flowers-turned-plants a chance or would you quickly get rid of them?"

Ichigo returned the stare with one of his own as he listened to the question. At the end of it, he frowned. What was the point of a question like that? Flowers? It seemed very random and quite nonsensical. It would have made Ichigo snort, if not for the fact that the Captain's expression remained serious, not even a hint of a smile on his face.

'Is there some deeper meaning to this question?' He wondered and tried to think about it. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't come up with any sense behind it. However, seeing as the man took it that seriously, he resolved to give him an honest answer.

"Well, getting rid of them would be a logical conclusion. Still, if I really loved those flowers, what would interest the most was the accident itself. Why did it happen? Was there no way of preventing it? What if it happened again?"

Ichigo almost gulped when a rare, dangerous smile formed on the Captain's face. Indeed, dangerous was the right word for it and, for a moment, the man finally looked like somebody that had been in his position for that long and had been forced to do things Ichigo didn't think he would like to hear about.

"Good answer, Ichigo-kun. Yes, good indeed. Now, let's say I agree and we investigated the accident and we came to one conclusion. It wasn't really an accident. Somebody was behind it and we have two suspects. One is a gardener that has been in your service for quite some time now. He was responsible and reliable, always took care of the flowers and in return, those flowers bloomed every time. Never once he had been angry at those flowers, even if they tripped him or didn't want to grow the way he wanted them to grow. He always had a smile on his face while taking care of them, he was always polite and kind, friendly and helpful. Second suspect is a new gardener, one that you have hired only a few weeks before the accident. He was earnest but a bit odd, easy-going but a bit shy and liked to conduct experiments on flowers, plants and anything else in your garden. Liked to try new things. Sometimes he caused troubles, flowers sometimes did things just to spite him and in return, he scolded them by not giving them his attention for a while. The question is, who do you find more suspicious?" Another lengthy explanation caused Ichigo to deepen his frown. It seemed like the man was really trying to point at something Ichigo was not able to see. Thinking about the question, the teen knew the answer before he could delve into things.

"The first one. Definitely first one. I don't know a single person that could act friendly and cheerful all the time. To act like nobody could anger you. In my book, he is the one more suspicious. The second one sounds like a more logical suspect at first glance but he really isn't. Somebody that likes to experiment usually takes precautions in case something bad happens. If he's really earnest and he worked for me only for a while, he would have admitted his guilt. At least, that's what I think." Ichigo answered honestly and for a short while, Shunsui did not react with words. Only his dangerous smile widened.

"…so you're that kind of person, huh? Should have known…" He muttered and brought the cup of tea to his lips. He took a gulp and replaced the dangerous smile with a cheerful one.

"I see, that is an interesting answer, Ichigo-kun. Thank you for that. Now, to return back to the original point of this meeting, I will help you. I'll contact Jūshirō and debate things with him. It'll take some time before we can take this to the Central 46, though. In the meantime, I think you should meet the Captain of the 2nd Division, Sui-Feng-san. She's… well, she was trained as an assassin from a young age so she may appear a bit unapproachable but her opinion could change things. I'll send her a message asking her when she could meet with you."

Ichigo blinked.

"…if you think it's for the best."

He was still in disarray from the questions about the flowers but it seemed the meeting was already ending.

"I do. Oh, and so I won't forget, I have a message from Jūshirō. He says that Rukia-chan is on a mission in the Human World so she won't make it for today's meeting with you." He said jovially, causing Ichigo to rapidly blink few more times.

"Uhm, right, thanks."

'Why is a Captain passing a message from an unseated officer to another Captain? I don't think that's very usual.' Ichigo thought but opted not to voice his thoughts.

…

After Ichigo left the office, Nanao entered the room and found her Captain with an odd look in his eyes, sitting stiffly on the mattress and absent-mindedly sipping the rest of the tea.

"Is something wrong, Captain Kyoraku?" She asked, a first hint of emotion appearing on her usually strict face. Shunsui put down the cup and picked up his hat.

"Nanao-chan, I need you to secure a permission to enter the Daireishokairō for me. I want to check something…" He said while staring straight into her eyes. Even though Nanao looked surprised, she nodded immediately.

"Understood."

…

"You have got to be kidding me." Ichigo growled and hastily stopped his own little training.

Everything had been going fairly smoothly these past few days. He hadn't received that many stares as usual, be it glares or gazes of admiration. It seemed the ruckus of the man others called Tora attending the academy was finally dying down, allowing Ichigo to spend his classes in a moderate peace. His skills and abilities had been steadily progressing. He was gaining more and more important information. The case he and Rukia were working on seemed to grow under the care of three Captains and soon, he was going to meet yet another Captain. Those feelings of unrest and anxiety he had been feeling ever since Kazumi had died were slowly calming down. He was even able to, once in a while, get a good night sleep where he didn't just toss around on his bed. Moreover, he had been able to increase his skill in the use of that one Kido he had learned. Performing Hadō #63, Raikōhō with an incantation now only rarely caused any sort of explosion or malfunction. All in all, life had been pretty good in Ichigo's opinion.

But, as he stared at the face of a Vice-Captain of the 6th Division, he realized it had been too good to be true. Something was bound to happen sooner or later. He was just that lucky.

"Yeah. It's nothing life-threatening, Unohana-san assured me herself. Still, she's unconscious at the moment and was hurt badly. Normally, I wouldn't bother to alert just anybody but you're… well, we both know Rukia would be happy to know you have visited her. If you're the one who can bring a smile on her face then I can't protest." Renji said, clearly trying to stop the irritation from entering his tone.

"…sure." There was more Ichigo wanted to say to the irate Vice-Captain but he knew it was useless. The redhead had apparently his own issues with Rukia. Ichigo had deduced it already. Despite that, he left it like that. The two of them, Renji and Rukia, had to straighten things out between themselves without him doing it for them. It just wasn't right.

While they flashed across the Seiretei in a series of Shunpo, Ichigo voice one of his other thoughts.

"Do you know what exactly happened?"

"No. We're all waiting for Rukia to wake up. But from her injuries and the reiatsu within them, it seems she has encountered an enemy different from hollows. Empowered humans of some kind."

End of chapter 7.

I'm back! Although, it's questionable for how long... (as I've mentioned in my profile, I'm working while attending another university = too little free time)

Well, this chapter was without any actual fight. It was more about information and there was a lot of it in this chapter.
I hope you caught some details. Moreover, I do hope you understood the talk about flowers. One hint, it's a metaphor.

So, Shunsui met Ichigo and knows about Yoruichi, Isshin wants to go to his son, Urahara acts behind the scene, Ichigo shouldn't be alive and
is going to meet Sui-Feng soon. Who did Rukia run up against? Aizen still didn't make his move but it's in close future now. Stay tuned for more :D

*Regis_JN - I liked it in canon too.

*Orange3WhiteSkew - well, Renji is quite stubborn. I do hope I'll handle his character well enough.

*readme_silly - I replied to you in a PM but so the others would know, here's a part of it: "If I've gone overboard with trying to state Ichigo's shortcomings, then I'm sorrry. I didn't think I've done it that much. It's not like I wanted to make Ichigo flawed just because; I think it's only logical he should be bad at Kido, despite what he had achieved."

*blarg7865 - in a sense, he will.

*Uranos - I think I want him to have an access to some of Quincy powers. They should develop in time. Well, romance won't be primary drive for plot, but indeed, Ichigo needs healing so there may be some of it.

*OoOXylionOoO - You'll see in time but it should be quite obvious.

*mythics101 - He'll get a name later. It seemed appropriate for him to end up in hell and I also wanted Ichigo to see gates of hell. Only Uryu will appear later in the story. Thanks to Ichigo not sticking in the Human World after he gained access to his powers, Orihime and Chad remain powerless. Maybe I'll change my mind later but for now, I don't think so.

Thank you all for your support, for every review and every view.

R&R and till next time!