Noriykoi: Okay I got this out a lot quicker than I thought. I seriously thought it would take a while. Oh well don't know when the next chapter will be out but hopefully within a week.

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own. Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo.

Chapter 2

Isshin Kurosaki was brooding. It wasn't a habit he allowed himself to indulge in often, as he could spend days trapped in his own little world. Most of his brooding sessions centered on whether he was ever going to return to soul society. He probably would, and even though he broke a law he'd only get a slap on the wrist because of who he was. For now though he had three reasons to stay within the living world. Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu.

His children were his world, all he had left of his beloved Masaki, a living proof of the love they shared. Ichigo blamed himself, but Isshin never blamed him, he had almost lost Ichigo that day too. Although Ichigo never found out about it, but he had been pushed out of his body and his chain was damaged, but thankfully didn't break. It took hours of careful work and memory modification so that Ichigo would not remember his out of body experience. Isshin had hoped that that was the last time he had had to call upon knowledge of his old life. He should have known he wasn't that lucky.

At first, due to the loss of his powers, he really didn't know that Ichigo had become a shinigami, but he knew the truth within a few days, once the memory modifier wore off, not to mention Kisuke told him too. He spent many nights debating on what to do. Should he tell Ichigo that he was aware of what his son was doing? He should, he knew that, but in the end he just couldn't bring himself to say anything. So instead he watched, partly relieved when Kisuke told him Byakuya had severed his soul sleep. Then his world shattered when Kisuke asked if he gave permission to return Ichigo's powers.

He wanted to say no, but instead he told Kisuke it was Ichigo's choice. It hurt even more when Ichigo accepted. But he could understand, and that's why it hurt so much. He wished he had said no, so that his son didn't have to suffer this life. He should be living, not fighting for the dead. In the end, no matter what he desired, it was necessary. If they wanted to protect both the living and the dead from the bastard with a god complex, Ichigo was their last hope, because even Isshin had seen Aizen's shikai. He clenched his fist, nails cutting into his palms leaving bloody crescent marks behind.

He hated this, hated that he was unable to protect his son. Hated that his son's chance at normal life had been ripped away from him, for the sake of protecting them. Hated that his son no longer had the choice to live his life the way he wanted.

And now…

Now Ichigo had been raped by his own inner hollow. And there was nothing anyone could do to help. He felt so useless, he had regained his powers for the purpose of protecting him, and he couldn't do anything.

"You look like you could use a drink," Kisuke said holding up a cup of sake.

"Why is it Ichigo that has to suffer for our sins? Why is it that in the end there's nothing we can do?" Isshin asked as he took the cup giving a tentative sip. "Why is it we're so useless?" He turned to Kisuke almost desperately. "Can you answer that Kisuke?"

Kisuke's hat shadowed his eyes. He took a large gulp of sake before answering. "I don't know why things turned out like this. But at the very least we can be there and support them in everything they do. And you Isshin, even if you can't protect him from everything, you've equipped him so that he may protect himself. In the end that's all we can do."

"I hate that that's all we can do. But I hate Aizen most. His delusions of godhood have ruined so many lives." Isshin threw his head back to take a large swallow. "How's Ichigo doing? Has he woken up yet?"

"Yeah, he has, and since then he's been training nonstop. He keeps working himself to exhaustion. I think it is his way of coping, and keeping the nightmares away. I am going to send him home soon though. Give him a chance to be a normal teenager for a while. The Vizards say that his battle can wait a little longer, and I have a feeling you want him where you can see him." Kisuke said quietly. Normally at this point in a conversation he'd add some ridiculous comment, but in the state Isshin is in, he really didn't want to chance his luck. Isshin could be vicious when provoked.

"That's right; I want him home for a while. I know that I can't stop him, but for now I just want him with me, and I'm afraid, I'm scared that something's going to happen and Ichigo will be lost. I should have never agreed." He finished off his cup and filled another. "Send him home, Kisuke. I want to spend what time I can with him."

III

Ichigo was thinking. Thinking about his life up to this point, thinking about the power he held and how in the end all his power amounted to nothing against his inner hollow. Was he really that weak? Wasn't his hollow's power supposed to be a reflection of his?

He fingered the mark on his neck. No matter what anyone did, it wouldn't go away, it wouldn't heal. When he entered his human body, it was still there as a scar. He didn't understand why it wouldn't go away. Shinji knew something, but wasn't telling, and he was always watching him, like he expected the hollow to take over at any moment.

He still couldn't understand why his hollow would do 'That'. It made no sense to him, but then how could his inner hollow be an arrancar. Well that might be because he was known to do the impossible, like achieving Bankai in under three days, impossibly high spiritual pressure for a human, learning things that should take centuries in days. And now, instead of an inner hollow he had an inner arrancar. Well wasn't he just the poster boy for the impossible.

Of course he didn't know that his inner hollow or arrancar, wasn't really his, but instead a natural arrancar who had took residence in his soul in order to survive and heal his wounds, then promptly ate Ichigo's real inner hollow taking its appearance. Maybe if he knew these facts, everything would make a lot more sense to him. But of course he didn't, and he would not until it was much too late.

"Hey, Ichigo-kun," Urahara's voice brought him from his musings.

"What do you want?"

"I think you should go home for a while."

Ichigo froze. Go home, but… He stopped his line of thought. Why he was suddenly scared? It's not like they knew what happened, and if he had his way they never would. Besides, he missed his sisters. How long had it been since he'd seen them? It felt like a life time. Hell, he even missed the old Goat Face and his surprise attacks.

"Perhaps, you're right. I don't want to fail this year completely, do I?" Ichigo finally said after a long moment of silence.

Urahara studied Ichigo's tense form. He knew that it wasn't the real reason why Ichigo had agreed. He hated himself for all the pain Ichigo was going through, because in the end everything that had happened to Ichigo was his fault. If he hadn't created the hougyoku, if he hadn't tried to breach the barriers between human and shinigami, then Ichigo wouldn't have to suffer any of this pain.

"Ichigo," He called to the teen as he was leaving. Ichigo turned almost confused. "I'm sorry."

Something Urahara couldn't recognize flashed across Ichigo's face.

"Don't worry about it Geta-Boshi." He replied as he turned to head home. "I've made my own choices, what comes of them is not your fault…" And with that Ichigo was gone. Urahara snorted. That boy was such a naive fool.

III

The arrancar within Ichigo sighed. He wished the rain would stop, but in the end it didn't matter. Only a few more days to go, and then he would be free of this prison, his power fully restored. If he had taken refuge in anyone else, he would have had to manage on the spirit energy for years. But Ichigo's was so powerful, it only took months. He was getting impatient. He'd have a physical body soon and he'd be able to claim his mate properly.

Of course he had to break him first, and he needed a way to control him until he managed to do that. Well, he supposed he could always threaten his family. Threaten to kill them in front of him if he didn't obey. Of course there was always the chance of that backfiring majorly. He could always just use physical force, because in the end he was much stronger than his little queen. And his queen was going to get much weaker in the following weeks. He looked up at the growing soul again. It was even brighter now, and so beautiful.

"Enjoy what time you have left in the human world Ichigo, because I'm going to take everything away."

Noriykoi: Wow, this is depressing, but I hope it satisfies the masses.

Geta-Boshi- Sandal-hat

Shinigami- Gods of Death.