Breath of Life
Connecting with Family~
Kaien sat in the bed staring at the wall in front of him in an attempt to remember the memory that Karin showing up almost triggered, but found that it simply wasn't coming. He pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose, only to find himself opening his eyes again as he heard a glass of water being set down on the table next to his.
"Nii-sama?" The man looked right at the man.
"I see that Yuzu and Karin came to see you." Isshin stated before sitting down on a chair next to the bed. He nodded his head at the candies that were left on the table.
"The meeting didn't go well. Seeing one of the girls triggered a memory, but it just didn't come." Kaien continued to pinch his nose.
"Well, I had the feeling you weren't feeling well because your rieatsu fluctuated. I brought you some medicine that should take care of the headache." Isshin folded his arms across his chest. "It would actually be good for you if got up and moved around, though it would be best to stay in the house while you can't control your own rieatsu."
"What is this rieatsu you're talking about?" The other man frowned at Isshin, his eyes reflecting a level of worry that was almost fearful.
"Don't worry about it. You'll remember when you remember. Until then stay in the clinic or the house and you'll be fine." Isshin got up to head to the door. "I need to go and check on my other patients. I wont be closing until dinner time so you're going to be on your own for figuring out something to entertain yourself."
Kaien took the medicine before lying back down. Soon the medicine took effect and he got up and headed to the house area. He opened the door and stepped into the room in time to see the dark haired twin speaking with a young man with orange hair. The teen was the first to speak up. "So what exactly are we going to do for dinner?"
"I don't know. Normally Yuzu would be cooking dinner right about now."
"I could try cooking something." The man watched as the other two suddenly turned to look at him with rather shocked looks on their faces.
"Oji-san."
The orange haired teen remained silent for a few minutes before speaking up. "They're right. I do look like you except with different coloring." He then blinked a couple of times. "Do you know how to use any of the stuff in the kitchen?"
Kaien glanced over at the stove and other items. "I will if someone tells me how to turn them on I think."
"Um... sure." Karen got up and walked over to the stove and began to show him how to use the oven and then the other devices in the kitchen before showing him the cookbooks that Yuzu had gathered.
The dark haired man began examining the contents of the refrigerator. "Thank you Kukaku. Is there anything the two of you want for dinner?"
His nephew suddenly set the paper down with a loud thump from where he was sitting and turned his head to look at Kaien from an odd angle. "Kukaku?"
"Did I say anything wrong?" The man's dark eyes looked at the two while his face twisted up in confusion.
"My name isn't Kukaku. It's Karen." The small female went and sat down next to her brother. "Who is she though?"
"Kukaku?" Kaien frowned as he closed the refrigerator and headed over to the cookbooks. "I don't know. As for what you guys would like to eat?"
"I'm fine with whatever you cook." Karen suddenly whispered something into Ichigo's ear only for the older teen to wave her off. "I'll tell you later."
The dark haired female turned to the older man. "I'm fine with whatever you cook oji-san."
"I think I'll make this as I know I have the ingredients for this meal." The man then went to work while the dark haired preteen turned on the television. Whatever show she was watching helped to pass the time as the meal cooked. Eventually the dinner was almost finished. "Karen and... your brother, could you set the table for dinner please?"
The orange haired teen stood up while Karen stared at her uncle in disbelief. "It's Ichigo."
"Strawberry?" Kaien had a confused look on his face.
"Not strawberry. Dad says it means one who protects." The teen stated. "Come on Karen and help me."
The small female moved to help her brother with the dishes. The man let out a sigh. "That is a relief. That sounds more like a name my brother would give one of his kids."
"Oh, believe me. A lot of other people make the assumption that my name means that." Ichigo commented as he got to work setting things on the table.
"That's funny... you also like puns." Karen laughed. "Last time I checked you really like the number fifteen."
"I guess he gets that from his father."
"Me and pops are nothing alike," the orange haired teen grumbled.
"Sure." Kaien began to bring the dishes over to the table. "I guess now would be a good time to let your father and sister know that dinner is ready."
"I'll go and get..." Karen headed over to the stairs only to pause. "Yuzu, you're up."
"Did you guys order dinner? I was about to come down and make something." The female blinked a couple of times.
The corner of Ichigo's mouth twitched as soon as he saw the look on the brown haired twin's face. "Umm... Yuzu. You don't need to be getting mad at us."
"I wanted to make something for oji-chan!" The small female suddenly spoke up in a lecturing tone.
Kaien's face twisted up in confusion. "I'm sorry Yuzu-chan. I went ahead and cooked dinner."
The next thing he knew the small female was looking at him with wide eyes and her lip trembling. The next thing everyone knew tears were rolling down her cheeks at a fast pace. "But I wanted to cook dinner for oji-san!"
As if on cue Isshin came in. "Yuzu, whatever happened?"
His brother spoke up as the corner of his mouth twitched. "I'm sorry nii-sama, but I didn't expect this to happen."
"What exactly did you do to get this kind of reaction?" The man glared daggers at him.
"Apparently I didn't know that making dinner for everyone would cause this much of a problem." Kaien felt the corner of his mouth continue to twitch. "I am really sorry."
The next thing he knew made him thankful that the medicine he had taken was still in effect. Isshin turned to Yuzu and tried to hug the girl. "Yuzu-chan! Come to papa bear! He'll make things all better."
"As if!" Karen launched a hefty kick into the man's chin and the next thing Kaien knew Isshin was running over to what must have been a memorial for his wife as the man began to sob to her.
Kaien carefully walked over so that he could see what he had missed since coming into the room, only to find his mouth twitching even more. "Nii-sama..."
Karen noticed his reaction and pulled out a chair for the man to sit down in. The younger of the dark haired male buried his face in the palm of his hands. Ichigo let out a deep breath before sitting down. "Don't worry, its always like this."
A clicking sound was heard as Ichigo began to dish up food onto his plate and then the plates of the others. He paused when he heard his uncle speak up again. "The nii-sama I know was never like this."
His dark haired niece paused from eating her food. "How do you really know that? Last time I checked your memories were missing, so there could have been times where your brother wasn't prefect. The man I know is this major goofball all the time."
"No... something tells me this isn't normal for him." Kaien stated.
"You should eat it up." Ichigo piped up. "I think its his way for making up for the fact mom's not around. It's now become a bad habit."
