"You're aware your son is a shinigami?"

Much to his credit, he didn't jump up when a voice addressed him, even though he had been completely alone. Apart from the stray cats, that was; but until now he had not counted them in being able to hold a conversation. Not the way humans did, at least. (They had, in fact, been fighting viciously over an abandoned cardboard box with presumably some food on it, judging the smell; he had half and half entertained the idea to cool them off with a bucket of water. He decided it was too much effort.)

He glanced back at his house, where his daughters were sleeping. The light in his son's bedroom was still on.

He walked further into the street, counting on it that it would follow him. And indeed it did, jumping up a low brick wall, yellow eyes peering expectantly at him.

"Who are you?"

The cat seemed to grin at him. "Oh, right. I never showed it to you before. Ah, I guess I never found the… perfect opportunity. I'm with Urahara Kisuke."

He raised his eyebrows. Urahara, huh. "That's all I get?"

"That's all you get for now," confirmed the cat. "Back to the question."

He eyed the cat once more. It seemed to pick up on his hesitation, because its tail swept down in annoyance. "Fine, fine. Come closer." When he did, the cat jumped on his shoulder and brought its face to his ear. "It's Shihouin Yoruichi."

He tried to look the cat in the eye.

"You don't believe me," the cat concluded.

"It's not that. I had wondered where you had gone to. Now I'm simply wondering how a former head of the Shihouin clan got herself stuck into the form of a cat," he said. "Amale cat. At least I got myself stuck with a pretty girl and wonderful child- "

The cat had set its teeth in his ear.

"I'm not stuck. I'd prove it to you, but you'd only like the 's no fun in revealing myself if I don't get any shocked reactions."

"Are you implying I wouldn't be faithful to my dearest Masaki? How cruel!"

Yoruichi grumbled. "You're aware of your son?"

He sobered up.

"Of course. Considering who his parents are… I might not be able to feel his reiatsu, but I know it's there."

"We thought you had to know he'll be leaving in a couple days for the Soul Society. He has a strong sense of justice, your son. The shinigami who awakened his powers is being sentenced for death. He wants to save her. We're helping… Kisuke made a miscalculation. We need that girl back here."

"Oh, a girl?" he interrupted.

"I'll be going with him and his friends," Yoruichi continued, ignoring the remark. "Most likely, we'll be stopping by the Shiba clan for their cannon. It'd be a better idea than going straight through the gate, at least. Do you want me to tell them about Ichigo?"

"Oh, that's right. I don't suppose they know about my children."

He sighed and looked away from Yoruichi, watching the dark sky instead. As loud as it had been a couple days ago with all the fireworks in the sky, it was quiet now, and the only lights in the sky came from the stars.

"It's probably for the best," he finally said. "Kuukaku knows how to handle that sort of information - as long as she doesn't tell him. I think he needs to hear from his father. Anyway, it might make them more willing to help in the first place."

"My line of thinking exactly," said Yoruichi.

"Thanks for coming."

"It's nothing. Isshin, one other thing. Kisuke trained your son… but it didn't entirely go the way it was supposed to go. He suspects that Ichigo didn't just inherit shinigami powers."

"So… Quincy powers?"

Yoruichi winced.

"No. That of a Hollow's. We can ignore it for now, but Kisuke thinks it will only be a matter of time before he gets overwhelmed by it. I only got the brief explanation, so it doesn't make much sense to me, but he seems to think the Hollowfication is inherited rather than something that happened by chance. I'm not entirely sure what that means for Ichigo."

"I think I do. Good luck. Tell Kuukaku I said hi."

The cat jumped off the wall.

"I will."


When needed, Hirako Shinji had a lot of self control. He set his cup down gingerly and closed his eyes, processing the implications of the bomb Urahara just dropped.

"That's bloody fantastic. What makes you think a bunch of children can sneak into Seireitei and retrieve someone who is sentenced to death? Besides, since when is such a crime vile enough to warrant a death sentence? They must be completely off their rocker."

Urahara only looked at him.

"We must assume the worst."
"Nice. And again, why are you counting on a group of kids?"

"Yoruichi will lead them."

Shinji growled.

"As capable as she is, it's still madness to think they'll make it out of there alive, let alone keeping the hougyoku out of his hands. I think you lost this round before you even started it."

He cast down his eyes. "Like I said. We have to assume the worst."

His remorse was genuine, and while Shinji had picked up on that, he wasn't feeling generous enough to forgive him right then and there. No matter how much he owed him.

"Damnit, Kisuke. What am I going to tell the others?"

"The truth. And tell them to get ready."


Delivering such news wasn't going to be easy, he thought. He was led out by the back door (It had apparently been hidden by kidou for all unless you knew where it was, no doubt a new fabrication by Tsukabishi Tessai) and simply stood still on the street for a few minutes.

He walked home the human way; it gave him more time to think.

In a way Urahara Kisuke had explained what had been going on lately, but he didn't count on leaving with even more questions. Apart from the scenario where Aizen got his filthy hands on the hougyoku, there were things that just didn't add up. The death sentence, for one. That should have been prison instead. Two months, three, tops. Maybe a stripping of rank if she was a seated officer - he wasn't sure. But this? No matter the feelings he harboured for the Soul Society, this was unnecessary even for them. It was not as if that Kuchiki girl was dangerous. According to Kisuke she could barely perform the easiest of kidou.

And that was another thing. Since when were they going to execute someone from the noble clans unless they were charged with high treason? He couldn't remember someone was executed at all, let alone someone from the noble class. Was Aizen behind this whole set-up? Or was he just getting paranoid? Sometimes it seemed those two thoughts blended together.

"Yo, Shinji! What's with that ugly face you're making?"

He looked up.

"Hiyori."

A short blonde stalked towards him and pulled on his tie as some sort of greeting.

"Ack! Hiyori, you're choking me - "

"Wimp."

She then stopped and looked around, taking in her surroundings. She frowned.

"What were you visiting him for? Rose said you were acting weird lately."

"Nothin'."

She looked unimpressed.

"That's not gonna work on me. Spill it out, baldy. Or I'll make you."

He shrugged and beckoned for her to follow him. "I'll tell you when we're back. It's something that concerns all of us."

"Or you can tell me now," she insisted. "If he's involved - "

"It's Aizen," he said. "Happy?"

He saw her tense, head sharply snapping towards him. "How d'ya mean, Aizen?"

They hadn't heard about Aizen in decades. Or rather, they didn't know what the man was up to. They were betrayed a hundred years ago, which was really quite a long time - and Aizen never moved further to his true goal. Whatever that was. Instead, Yoruichi repeatedly reported that Aizen seemed quite comfortable in his role as Captain of the Fifth Company. There were no strange accidents. No experiments on shinigami - none that she had heard of. (Not by Aizen, anyway; Kurotsuchi Mayuri, Kisuke's former subordinate was an entirely different story.)

Aizen was waiting. As such, so were they, but unlike Aizen they didn't know what they could expect.

"Kisuke thinks he'll make his move soon. I'll tell you about the details when we're back. All of us need to hear this."

"Fine," muttered Hiyori, settling into defeat for now.

They continued walking home in uncharacteristic silence.

"Hey Shinji."

He watched a bird flying high above their heads.

"Why are we walking?"

"Felt like it."

They didn't say anything after. They didn't have to.


Urahara wasn't entirely sure whether this would be a hopeless expedition. When had found Ichigo in the rain, together with his Quincy friend, he thought they would have no chance. But the Quincy had recovered, Ichigo's other two friends had been training their abilities with Yoruichi and Ichigo had made the most progress of them all. But even so, four teens and Yoruichi was not quite enough for a rescue mission.

They had time, but not all that much. He just hoped the Shiba's would be cooperative. As far as he had heard, they didn't have much reason to be.

He stared at the senkaimon. This was as far as he could go. This was all he could do. He failed. But it didn't mean Kurosaki Ichigo would fail; he was only fifteen, but he had potential. He really did. The boy had grown in just a few days and he would continue to do so on their journey, he was sure of that.

Was it going to be enough?

The senkaimon looked tempting. He lifted a hand. It had been a hundred years. Maybe - just maybe…

His fingers sizzled and burnt as they made contact with the portal. He clenched them into a fist to subdue the pain.

"It's all up to you… Kurosaki."

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Tessai."

Urahara stood there somberly for a few more seconds, before turning around, smiling brightly. He knew he wasn't fooling Tessai. Still, it had become a habit.

"Alright! Come on, there's work to do."


If Ichigo had thought that he could sneak out of the house quietly, he had been deadly wrong. Isshin wasn't just going to let him leave without a little goodbye.

(Admittedly, he had help from Yoruichi, who had swung by once more and told them when they were going to leave. In retrospect he hadn't needed the help with all the ruckus Ichigo had been making just now.)

For someone who was going to be traveling alone at the age of fifteen, leaving the house at one in the morning without any luggage to speak of… it was all a little fishy. However Isshin wasn't going to berate him on that; it was best for everyone if he kept up the façade of clueless father. At this point, he doubted that Ichigo would buy it, but he hadn't commented on it.

After seeing him off with a little lucky charm he checked in on his daughters; but neither Karin or Yuzu had been awoken by their brother's yelling.

Perhaps it was a good idea to check Ichigo's room to see why. He usually didn't get spooked that easily. Isshin contemplated for a bit before shrugging. It could wait. It could've been a spirit.


The following morning Yuzu got the fright of her life when she entered Ichigo's room to clean.


Ichigo was already becoming a handful, Yoruichi decided. His friends weren't so bad; they were naive but cautious and willing to listen to her. Ichigo just dived in without thinking. She hadn't really wanted to expose themselves; especially not to the likes of Ichimaru Gin.

It wasn't a surprise he had become Captain.

"So, what is this really about?" asked Kuukaku. She had been alone, drinking alcohol on the platform, until Yoruichi joined her. "With Urahara involved there must be an ulterior motive."

"It has to do with the hougyoku," Yoruichi said.

"Ah. That shinigami kid. He looks an awful lot like…"

Yoruichi bowed her head.

"He is Isshin's son."

"Oh? So he has children now?"

"Three of them. He says hello, by the way."

Kuukaku smiled. "It's good to hear from him."

She shoved the cup of sake into Yoruichi's direction, but she declined.

"I forgot. Want something else instead?"

"I'm good."

Kuukaku relaxed and stretched her legs.

"Does Ichigo know about his father's heritage?"

"No. His children have no idea he is a shinigami at all. He wants to keep it that way."

"Fair enough. Heh. So you weren't lying when you said he was an untrained shinigami. I found it hard to believe. He's really crap when it comes to controlling his reiatsu . I wonder if he'll be able to do it at all."

"I have faith in the boy," said Yoruichi, even though she was doubting it as well. But if Ichigo wanted to succeed, he simply must; and because he was so stubborn, he'd probably manage.

She wanted to ask Kuukaku if there was some food left after all.

That question was promptly whisked out of her mind as soon as the gulf of reiatsu hit her. That wasn't good. It was no doubtedly Ichigo's - but this was far from keeping the spiritual power in control. No, this was an incredible force, pushing its way out.

One of the pillars that held the Shiba Kuukaku banner was shaking slightly.

Kuukaku beside her scrambled up and ran back into the building. Yoruichi quickly followed. This was immense. If Ichigo learnt how to wield it better, they might have a good chance after all.


Waiting for news was one of the hardest things in life, even if you were technically dead. There was no way of knowing how Kurosaki and his merry band of friends were doing; the one person who could safely travel through to Seireitei and back had gone with them.

So while they were waiting, they were sparring, trying to bridge the time somehow. There wasn't much else to do. Until they came back from the Soul Society - if they came back at all - they couldn't set things in motion. There were too many different outcomes. That said, Urahara Kisuke already had a few plans in mind which he had shared with Shinji, but it was nothing definite.

"Hirako-san, don't you want to try?"

Shinji loosened and tossed his tie aside after it had been ripped to shreds by Urahara's zanpakuto. Granted, his shirt wasn't much better, but that at least didn't get in the way.

Kisuke hadn't come out of their match entirely unscathed, either.

"Try what? You mean my mask?"

"We'll save that for another day. I meant that."

He gestured vaguely towards the senkaimon.

Shinji was tempted to say the least. Exile had not been his verdict - he was supposed to be taken down, really, and he didn't want to think about what would happen if he was, as they had put it, being dealt with as a Hollow. There was not much point in banishing a dead person, was there? But he didn't know whether they were assumed dead or missing, and Soul Society probably didn't want to take any chances.

"Nah. I'll pass." He twirled his own sword.

"Sakanade agrees."

Kisuke almost skipped towards the senkaimon and patted the sides. "Nothing will happen if you don't get granted entry. I promise."

"I have a hard time believing you."

Nevertheless he walked over to the portal as well. It was ingeniously crafted. Shinji was no Hachi and probably couldn't fully appreciate the craftsmanship that had gone into it, but he was still impressed. Especially if you considered that it successfully let live humans go into the Soul Society - how did worked he didn't know. And he wasn't thatinterested in it to ask Kisuke.

"I suppose this is one of those one-way only portals."

"We don't know for sure - we haven't tested it! But you - "

"No."

"Of course we won't send you in, Hirako-san. After all the trouble we went through to keep you and the others hidden, it'd be quite a shame to have you pop up in the Soul Society all of a sudden. Just try to touch it. It'd be useful to know regarding your status."

He eyed Kisuke warily. He sheathed his zanpakuto and lifted a hand towards the senkaimon. His hand went straight through it. He suddenly felt like an idiot; right now, he was just sticking his hand through a frame. He had been played. How embarrassing. Shinji quickly withdrew his hand.

Kisuke seemed to find it hilarious. Oh, but of course he did. It must've been payback for utterly destroying his hat beyond recognition that it had ever been a hat.

"Oops! Forgot to activate it."

Shinji sent him a halfhearted glare.

"We can test if you want, though."

"Nah. I don't feel up to that. 'Sides, I don't believe they believe we're dead. I don't know what the Gotei 13 is told, but I doubt it was anything nice. Aizen played us all like Chopin played the piano; with subtlety and nuance. Aizen was someone buried under layers of fake niceness ."

Kisuke raised an eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look, I got that phrase from Rose."

"Hardly subtle. If you think about it. But I give you nuance."

"Urgh."

Kisuke gave the senkaimon a pat. "Would you say no to some wine?"

"What kind? Oh, never mind, I'll drink anythin'."


And so another day passed. The date they would come back crept closer. Urahara was almost anxiously awaiting their return.