Title: Dark matters

Rating: G

Pairing / Characters: kurosaki Isshin, kurosaki Ichigo, Inoue Orihime, Hitsugaya Toushirou, Ukitake Jyuushirou, Kuchiki Byakuya, Ishida Uryuu, Jinta, Ururu

Word Count: 1, 354 words

Warnings: Just for the manga, if you didn't know about Isshin

Summary: Inoue brings candy floss, Jinta is attacked, Isshin and Kisuke remember a terrifying incident

A/N: Damn it, this really irks me. This whole thing was intended to be a comedy, but I find that ONCE AGAIN it's taken on a life of its own and has taken a turn for the twisted. DON'T BLOODY ASK ME WHY. I DON'T KNOW.

FOR MY BROTHER, ICICLE…

'What the hell are you doing here again?' Ichigo asked grumpily.

'Saving your skin,' Hitsugaya told him.

Ichigo flared up at once. 'Listen here, brat, if you people were doing your jobs in the first place this would never have happened!'

Hitsugaya's eyebrow twitched. 'Oi. I'm a captain. And I'm older than you by at least two thousand years. And you're calling me a brat?'

Ichigo got right into Hitsugaya's face. 'Damn right I am. I'm captain level too, ya know!'

'Hmpf.' Hitsugaya turned away from Ichigo, eyebrow still twitching. 'Whatever.'

'Now now, let's not argue,' Jyuushirou said calmly. 'We still have much to do before this evening.'

Just then, Inoue bounced in, bearing a large, sugary mass on a stick. The same sugary substance decorated her hands and face, and Jyuushirou blinked.

'What on earth are you eating?'

'This?' Inoue asked innocently. 'Candy floss, Jyuushirou-san. Do you want some?'

Jyuushirou eyed the candy floss warily. 'Er…'

'Here, try some,' Inoue chirped, and handed him the entire stick.

'Er…'

Her eyes brightened. 'Oh, you've never had it before? All you do is break off a piece like this, and then you eat it. It's delicious, sweet and fluffy and Tatsuki-chan and I love to eat it sometimes after school when we've been working hard and did you ever find something that you wanted to eat after you've had a very long day and you feel like something sweet?'

Ichigo took one look at the bewildered captain's face, and pulled Inoue away.

'Inoue, let him taste the candy floss and sit here,' he said gently.

Inoue smiled up at him. 'If you say so, Kurosaki-kun. Ne, does Kurosaki-kun have something he likes eating after school?'

Ichigo chuckled. 'Yuzu normally makes the lunch, Inoue. It's something different every day.'

Once he was certain that no one was watching, Jyuushirou pulled a piece of the fluffy confection off the stick and put it into his mouth.

His eyes lit up. It was as good as the girl said, perhaps even better. Inoue glanced at him. 'You can have the rest of it, I don't mind. I can get more.'

'Oh, well, thank you,' Jyuushirou answered, breaking off another piece.

'What the hell is that?'

Ichigo looked resigned. 'Candy floss, Byakuya. It's sweet. You eat it.'

'Do you want some, Byakuya-san?' Inoue asked.

Byakuya looked disdainful. 'I refuse.'

Ichigo paced restlessly. 'It can do that?'

Kisuke nodded, eyes gleaming from beneath his hat.

'What else can it do? You couldn't have used it on me; Rukia was in Soul Society then so obviously there's another way to force a shinigami to get hollow powers – but aside from that, what else is there we should know about?'

'Nothing,' Kisuke told him. 'The other effects of the Hougyoku are unknown to anyone save myself, and I don't intend on telling anyone. Understand something, Kurosaki-san. There are certain things I am capable of that no other person, living or dead, can achieve. The hougyoku's other abilities lie in that area. Aizen could never use the Hougyoku in that manner even if he knew how.'

'Why?' Yoruichi questioned. 'If it can be done why can't it?'

'Because, my dear Yoruichi, he is not Urahara Kisuke. Only one thing can activate the Hougyoku, and that is blood. My blood, to be precise.'

'You mean that –'

'Correct!' Kisuke beamed at Ishida. 'My unique strength is the manipulation of blood, hence Benihime's special abilities. To use the Hougyoku in that manner, I would need to use it in conjunction with Benihime. She and I have an… agreement in that regard.'

The door flew open, and Ururu dashed in. 'Kisuke-san! Hollow sighted! Preparations for destruction are underway!'

Swearing, Kisuke leapt to his feet, cane in hand, murder in his eyes.

On my property… with my children… damn them to hell…

He made for the door, Ichigo and Yoruichi behind him, intent on destroying the hollow, and came to an abrupt halt.

Someone else was already taking care of the problem.

Jinta lay on his side, his bat in pieces. Ururu was hovering over him anxiously, but Kisuke's attention was taken by the tall, dark haired figure slamming a zanpakutou into the hollow's mask much like a punch to the jaw.

Ichigo felt his jaw drop when he recognized the shinigami dealing with the hollow as smoothly as any other captain would have.

'Dad…' he whispered, shocked out of his mind. So used to seeing an idiot for a father was he that the man in front of him with deadly intent in his eyes was totally unfamiliar.

Isshin landed lightly, sheathing his zanpakutou and kneeling down beside Jinta, lifting the boy into his arms gently.

'No need to worry, Kisuke, he'll be all right. I'll have a look at him now, but I don't think it's serious.'

'Dad?' Ichigo asked uncertainly. 'What are you – I mean – a zanpakutou – shinigami robes –'

Isshin didn't waste time with jokes. 'Ichigo, where do you think your strength came from? Yes, I am a shinigami, and yes, you're still my son.'

'But – your reiatsu –'

Isshin pushed past his son, still talking. 'Captain level, but I was never promoted; I left before they could do that, and I dare say you'll go the same way. We'll talk about this later, there's too much to be done and not enough time to do it in. come on now, close your mouth and go and make sure there aren't any more hollows out there.'

Ichigo blinked, and did exactly what he was told.

Isshin laid Jinta on the floor, expertly examining him. A few moments later, he sat back. 'As I thought, he'll be fine. A bit bruised, shaken, but otherwise unharmed. Keep him in bed for an hour or two, and he'll be as good as new.'

Kisuke brushed Jinta's hair back. 'All their training, and I still wonder if it was any good,' he murmured.'

Isshin glared at him. 'Training is good and well, Kisuke, and these children have been taught well – but you should know that sometimes even training can do no good in certain situations. Remember Zaraki?'

Kisuke groaned. 'How could I forget that? We were in bed for weeks afterwards; Unohana told me later that she was afraid she was going to lose Jyuushirou before his illness killed him.'

'Zaraki?' a new voice questioned. 'What happened?'

'Ah, Byakuya, Hitsugaya-kun,' Kisuke smiled at them. 'An old story… many years before I even left Sereitei for Masaki… we were ordered out to Zaraki to investigate unusual hollow sightings. Jyuushirou and Isshin went one way, Shunsui and I, the other. What we found…'

For a moment, Kisuke's eyes clouded over. 'It was worse than confronting a Menos. Jyuushirou nearly died, and Isshin and I were in bed for several weeks. Shunsui was lucky, he took the least damage. Unohana was able to heal him before he bled out completely. He still has the scars.'

'Worse than a Menos? What could possibly be worse than a Menos?'

'Don't you remember what I told you before? There are other things in Hueco Mundo besides hollows and Menos Grandes. Spirits so evil that hell itself can't contain them… denizens whose souls are in such torment that nothing can ease their pain save for the death of other, purer souls… monsters that I pray none of you will ever come across. We had nightmares for months afterwards, and it was only a child…'

Hitsugaya found himself shuddering. 'A…child?'

'A child,' Isshin agreed quietly. 'They once said that the worst hollow was the Grand Fisher – but they were wrong. What we saw – I don't even want to describe it to you. Not even combined were Shunsui and Jyuushirou strong enough to handle it, and I've heard about the matches they've had in Sereitei.'

'What on earth could be so bad?' Byakuya wondered.

Isshin's expression was bleak. 'Believe me, Byakuya, nothing on earth – nothing of earth. If you ever come across something like that, I would just close my eyes – because it would be the last thing you'll ever see,' Kisuke told them softly.