Takashi whistled to himself as he carried Yuki on his shoulders.

It had been several days since his talk with Kurosaki and he was doing his best to find out things for the teen. It wasn't going too well, though. People who put out hits often tried to conceal their identity. He was at least getting an idea of who he needed to question, though. Takashi was seriously thinking of calling in Ichigo for backup. He was powerful, but unless he wanted to yank out souls in job lots he could still get his head kicked in. And he had a bad feeling that pulling out too many souls could attract attention to himself.

Right now, though, Takashi was doing something completely different. It was Sunday and the whole family had the day off, so they were going to a petting zoo. Yuki loved every moment of it, although that was most likely because of the ride. She adored being on his shoulders rather than the stroller.

She also adored the animals and from Takashi's shoulders, she was able to pet many things. He squatted down so she could pat a goat on the nose, grinning as Tanis gave her a piece of food. The little toddler offered it to the goat and laughed as she immediately ate it. When they reached the birds, Takashi gently sat Yuki on the ground so she could get a toddler's eye view of them. They were much smaller than the goats.

"Aren't the peacocks pretty hun? Can you say peacock?" Tanis said to her and Yuki screwed up her little face with effort.

"Cwock!" She managed and Takashi burst out laughing as her parents winced.

"Wow, that'll go over well at daycare. Try saying pea, cuddles." Takashi encouraged her, pointing at the bird. "Peacock!" He coaxed her and she tried again.

"Pwea!" She squeaked out and he laughed as Yoshi picked her up with a smile. "Pwea… cwock!"

"Good job Yuki!" Tanis gently fluffed her hair and Takashi followed behind, smiling, as Yoshi carried her for a while. He couldn't carry her too long – he had a back condition – but he loved to do it. After a while he tried to put her in the stroller but she started to cry, reaching out towards Takashi. She knew who might carry her for a bit longer.

"Aw. Let me have her." Takashi took the kid (cub) with a smile and just carried her in his arms. Yuki fell asleep after a while, lying in his arms. He knew from experience that if he tried to put her in the stroller she would wake up, though, so he carried her as they left the petting zoo and headed for the car.

"Ah, to be young and strong again." Yoshi said with a smile and Takashi smiled back. The other man was five years older than Tanis and not really in the best of health. He had a stressful job, although the family situation was getting better.

Takashi knew that Tanis and Yoshi had both been surprised when he started pitching in and making himself useful. They'd thought of him as a burden, but he was determined not to be that. He knew there couldn't be dead weight in a household (fraccion) and he needed to prove himself to them. The only awkward thing was the fact that he was younger and stronger than Yoshi. Some primitive part of him said that should make him the head of the household, but the rest of him knew that was crazy. Tanis and Yoshi were married and had a child and only the (alpha pair) ones in charge could have children…

Shaking aside the odd, almost feral thoughts, Takashi helped Tanis buckle up Yuki in the car seat. She woke up and started to cry, but her pacifier managed to fix that, along with a bit of soothing.

"Are you sure you want me along for this, Tanis? You could just drop me off at the house." Takashi asked. They were going to see their parents for a Sunday dinner. Before Takashi had turned over a new leaf, when Yuki got sick they had usually asked her grandparents to look after her. They weren't retired, though, so that often didn't work out. But now Tanis turned to him instead, so they had to make special time for the toddler to see her grandparents.

They weren't too eager to see him, though, and Takashi knew why. They'd gotten burned a lot worse than Tanis and seeing him giggling in a high when they'd confronted him about it, well, they'd been pretty damned mad. Tanis patted him on the shoulder, making him blink.

"It's okay Takashi. They've seen the drug tests, they're willing to give you one last chance." Tanis said and Takashi noted the 'last' part. But that was fair enough. He wouldn't need more chances.

So he went along with Yoshi and Tanis to his parents' home. It was on the outskirts of Karakura town and Takashi could remember that when he'd been a small child, it had been surrounded by trees. But Karakura town was growing and now it was surrounded by more houses. They still had a nice yard, though, by any standards.

Tanis knocked on the door and it was quickly opened by their mother. Takashi surreptitiously examined her. He hadn't seen her for a while and there were more grey hairs and wrinkles, but she looked healthy enough. She was in her mid-fifties and quite active, spending her weekends on hiking and jogging.

"Hi mom." He said with a smile as she and Tanis hugged. Her name was Michelle, but using that would be way too formal. He was still her son, after all. But his mother ignored him for the moment, exclaiming over Tanis's growing baby bump. His sister had finally told him she was pregnant.

"Please come in! Do you know if it will be a boy or a girl yet?" She asked and the women started chattering about baby things. Takashi didn't listen too hard. All the little things a baby required seemed odd to him. And his father had just entered the room.

Takashi was shocked by how bad he looked. It had been over a year since he'd lived with his parents, and clearly things had changed a lot. His dad looked… old. Creaky, tired, and his skin was a rather yellowish color. It looked very unhealthy.

"Hi dad. Um, are you okay?" He said weakly. His father gave him a look that made him cringe a bit. Exasperated and slightly hostile.

"I have cancer. Which you would have known, if you'd ever called." He said shortly and Takashi winced. Memories told him this was pretty mild, as far as parental guilt trips went.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't think you'd want to hear from me after, well, you know." He said humbly and his father looked a touch surprised. Memories told Takashi why. In the past, he'd made excuses for himself but hardly ever apologized.

Takashi frowned a bit as his father went to greet Tanis. It was odd. He remembered writhing in shame and guilt as his parents whipped him with their words. He'd deserved every bit of it and he'd known it, which had only made the shame and guilt worse. But he'd reacted by trying to defend himself, trying to justify the unjustifiable. Now… now he felt completely different. He didn't really feel any shame or guilt about not contacting his parents. Just a mild chagrin at knowing he had definitely failed in his responsibilities and a quiet commitment to do better. He could say he was sorry, since he planned to not do it again. Why had that simple thing been so hard before? Takashi couldn't understand it.

Takashi had no particular compassion for his father. People (humans) lived and died, it was the nature of things. But his parents were still a resource and he would give them what they wanted and needed in return for receiving their support in life. Support he had already taken, when he was just a child (cub). Satisfied with his reasoning although wondering if it was normal – he hadn't thought this way before – Takashi began setting the table.

"Do you need any help, mom?" Takashi asked, looking over the food. It was fairly typical fare, rice, lightly pickled vegetables and a whole baked sea bream. Also some miso soup which his mother was ladling out into bowls.

"If you could take these to the table." She said and Takashi nodded, taking two bowls of soup. He set them out, then went back for more. Soon the soup course was served and Takashi sat down to eat with everyone else.

"It's good." He said, swallowing the salty soup. It was tasty, although he'd never liked it much before. His mother gave him a slightly surprised look but smiled.

"Thank you. Tanis says you've been working as a dishwasher?" She said and Takashi nodded. "Do you have any plans for the future?" There was a vague sort of wistfulness in her voice and Takashi understood why. She'd wanted better things for her son, but he'd never cooperated with any of her dreams.

"Yeah, kinda. Tanis is already training me on how to be a line cook." Takashi said as his spoon scraped the bottom of the bowl. The food might not be filling, but it was good. "I figure I can work my way up to sous chef. Or maybe I can go back to school, try to get some kind of education." Takashi was seriously considering that. He'd hated school before, but he'd been bullied unmercifully. Now he was sure he could take those bullies and rip them apart. It made a difference. "Maybe I can get an apprenticeship in the trades." That would involve working with his hands, and Takashi was good at that. His mother smiled encouragingly as his father grunted.

"I'll have to see it to believe it." His father said sourly and Takashi scowled. Tanis spoke up hastily.

"He's telling the truth, father. He's been doing very good work at the restaurant." Tanis sounded defensive, Takashi noted. Then he turned his attention to Yuki. She wasn't looking very happy and some sixth sense (reiatsu sensing) told him what was about to happen.

"Uh oh." He quickly went to Yuki and removed her from her high chair just as she started to cry. "Hey Tanis, can I have the diaper bag?" She had a nice big bag she took everywhere. It contained everything a young mother would need to deal with a little girl. His mother and father were looking at him in something like shock but Tanis just handed over the diaper bag. Takashi held Yuki with one strong arm, looping the strap around his other arm before gripping her with both hands. "Thanks. D'you mind if I change her in the bedroom?" He asked his mother who was rapidly recovering from her shock.

"No, not at all!" She said and Takashi left the room to take care of the mess. And it was really quite a mess. He spread out a disposable piece of paper onto the bed before setting the toddler down, and it was a sensible precaution. Her diaper was so full it was oozing.

"Yuck. You're a dirty little kid." He muttered as he cleaned her off. Tanis was just starting to potty train her, but it couldn't happen too soon as far as Takashi was concerned. He carefully sealed up the dirty diaper, putting it into the diaper bag before putting a bit of baby powder on Yuki's bottom and fixing her up with a new diaper. The toddler started trying to crawl away, enjoying the feeling of the bed, which made it more interesting. "Oi! You're gonna land on your head, cuddles." Takashi grabbed her and tickled her before managing to get the diaper on. Yuki giggled happily, grabbing his hair as he lifted her into his arms. "C'mon, you should try to eat something." She'd done fairly well on the miso soup, but there were fish, rice and veggies left to go.

When he brought Yuki back out, Tanis shot him a triumphant look and his parents were looking rather subdued. Yoshi was clearly staying out of it, whatever it was. Takashi just ignored the interplay and got Yuki back in her high chair, fastening the bib around her neck. Then he picked up the little plates of food and put them in front of her. Then he took his place at the table. She didn't need help eating, although a lot of it would end up on the floor.

Takashi sampled all the food, although he didn't eat much of any of it. It was okay, but it just didn't fill the hole inside him. He would have to find another hollow to eat, preferably tonight. Fortunately the things seemed to be everywhere. There was no shortage of real food for him.

His family talked about various things, including their upcoming vacation. His parents were going on a cruise, something his father had always wanted to do. Takashi thought the idea was fascinating, and he vaguely wished he could do something like it someday. But unless he started making much better money, it would never happen. Yuki started fussing and Takashi abandoned what was left of his meal to play with her. Soon he was giving her a horseback ride, grinning as little feet dug into his sides and tiny hands gripped his hair.

"He plays with her?" He heard his mother whisper to Tanis. She sounded shocked and Takashi frowned as he thought about the past. He hadn't played with Yuki? No… he definitely hadn't. She had annoyed him and he had stayed as far away from her as possible. Yet, she didn't annoy him at all now. Strange.

"All the time." Tanis sounded proud of him and Takashi smiled to himself. He wasn't supposed to overhear, but his hearing was excellent. Yuki kicked his sides, impatient with him, and Takashi made some more horse sounds for her. It was still utterly hilarious and made him grin.

Eventually, supper was over and they got ready to leave. Takashi was surprised when his mother suddenly hugged him.

"It's so good to have you back." She said tearfully and Takashi hugged her back, his cold heart feeling almost warmed. "We were always so worried about you. Promise me you won't go back?" She begged and Takashi winced to himself. He knew this wasn't the first time she'd asked him to make that promise. Words were cheap and he'd given it before, but he'd never meant it.

"I'm not going back to drugs, mama. As soon as I get all my debts paid off, I'm going straight as an arrow." Takashi said comfortingly and she took a deep breath before nodding.

"Debts? What sort of debts?" His father asked suspiciously and Takashi flashed him a sad smile, letting go of his mother.

"My old dealers." He said simply. His father scowled and his mother bit her lip, and Takashi could guess what was coming. "You can't pay them off again, mama. Dad deserves his cruise and this is my problem." They'd paid off his debts twice already. He couldn't ask that of them again. His mother sighed but nodded.

"Good luck Takashi." She said and Takashi nodded before leaving the house. He appreciated that.

Luck was something he would need.

Takashi closed his eyes, curled up in his hideaway.

He was spying on someone relatively high up on the illegal food chain. Takashi wasn't entirely sure of his position. He was sure if he was caught he would be shot out of hand, but that only gave him a thrill of excitement. The prospect of his own death did not alarm him. The thought of imprisonment was far more frightening.

He couldn't see what was going on, from his place in the attic. But with his ear pressed firmly to the floor, he could make out the voices below him. Takashi curled his lip as he heard the man discussing a punishment they were going to meet out to a particularly obstinate whore. It sounded grotesque. He'd been at this for hours and he was starting to wonder if he'd ever find out anything useful.

Then he finally hit pay dirt as someone came in to report. A lot of the reports were done in person, not with phone calls, Takashi had noticed. They were probably worried about surveillance. Phone lines weren't that secure and cell phones were even worse.

"…Tried to get him, boss. He put four of my men in the hospital." Takashi licked his lips. This sounded like it could be Ichigo. "Maybe a sniper?" Takashi's eyes narrowed and he snarled at the thought. That was what he was worried about. Kurosaki could take care of himself in a fight, but a guy on a roof with a gun, what the fuck could he do about that? Except die.

"Maybe. Unfortunately, the police get quite upset about that sort of thing." The guy said. "Possibly a good arson of his home?" Takashi winced. That was even worse. Ichigo would have a fit when he heard about that plan.

"Maybe. I know a guy… but how much are we getting paid, boss? Maybe we should negotiate a raise in the fee, yah?" The new guy said and Takashi grumbled under his breath. How much were they getting paid? He wanted to know.

"Maybe. But it takes a week to get a message through my contacts in Tokyo." Takashi's eyes widened at that. Tokyo? The hit was coming from Tokyo?

That was all the useful information he got from the meeting. When the guy left, Takashi left too, crawling through the small hole he'd created in the roof. The power blasts he used had many wonderful, varied applications for someone with fine control over them. Someday soon, someone in this house would be noticing a massive leak. But he didn't care.

He had plenty of information for Ichigo.

"Fudge fudge fudge." Takashi muttered to himself as he worked the dye through his hair. "Fudge!" Normally he would not have censored himself. Tanis could curse like a sailor, especially when someone burnt the food or over salted the soup. However, there was a rule. No swearing where Yuki could hear. Despite not having much of a vocabulary, she was a genius at picking up all the wrong words.

Takashi had realized this morning that his hair was white. Not just sandy blonde, but white. And while it didn't bother him much, he didn't want to worry everyone. So he'd worn a cap this morning and gone out to buy some hair dye. Now he was working it in, returning his hair to a more anonymous sandy blonde color. He finally finished and looked at himself in the mirror critically.

"It'll do." He was back to a sandy blonde shade, which he thought looked rather good on him. His skin had lightened but stopped at a very pale color, so it matched well. Cleaning up the sink – he'd gotten dye everywhere – he put the towels in the hamper and grabbed a shirt out of his room. Tugging the fabric on over sculpted abs, he went to the kitchen.

Today was his day off, so he was watching Yuki. She was being a very good toddler at the moment and was asleep in her playpen. Takashi had two plans for supper tonight, one that took almost no effort and one that was a bit more elaborate. He was glad to see he could use the more elaborate option. Smiling to himself, he began making pasta dough. He sifted the flour together, then cracked a good six eggs into it. This would be rich pasta, but that suited what he wanted perfectly.

Humming to himself, Takashi made a filling of tinned crab mixed with ricotta cheese and spices. He knew this would be good, it was one of the recipes from Tanis' restaurant in fact. She made a kind of fusion cuisine, combining Japanese techniques with French and some Italian. Fresh ravioli went over very well in Karakura town. He was just packing the completed raviolis into the fridge, wrapped in saran wrap, when the doorbell rang. Yuki woke up with an unhappy screech and Takashi grinned. He went to get her before opening the door one-handed. He knew who it would be.

"Uh, thanks for inviting me over." Ichigo said with a smile, dropping his backpack near the door. Takashi smiled back, meeting warm brown eyes. Although Ichigo couldn't see his. Takashi was wearing his usual shades. He hardly ever took them off anymore.

"It's not a problem." Takashi said lightly. "Everyone is working, it's just me and the kiddo, so we can go over our action plan." Yuki wouldn't understand any of it, which was good. "Hey, can you hold her while I get the veggies on the go?" He'd already sliced them up and was just waiting for Kurosaki to arrive. He nodded and took the toddler as Takashi lightly coated the vegetables in olive oil and popped them into a pre-heated oven. "They should be done in thirty minutes or so. I'll start the ravioli five minutes or so before I need to get them out, it doesn't take long at all." Fresh ravioli cooked almost instantaneously. Ichigo looked a bit taken aback.

"You really shouldn't have gone to all this trouble." He said a bit uncertainly and Takashi laughed as he pulled a dish out of the fridge. It was scalloped potatoes, he'd already made it much earlier. He popped it into the oven along with the vegetables to warm it. He could have used the microwave but the oven was already on, so why not?

"It's no problem at all. I enjoy cooking." He said truthfully. He was getting a real taste for it, no pun intended. "You want some tea? Water, coffee?"

"Tea, if you could." Ichigo said with a smile as he gently ticked Yuki. The toddler laughed and squirmed, asking to be put down. He set her on the floor and she toddled over to Takashi, gripping his leg and babbling happily. He blinked and looked down, momentarily stymied.

"Hey cuddles, I have two cups of tea here. Hmph!" Setting one down he scooped her up, smiling. She grabbed his neck, hanging on happily.

"Unca!" She said and Takashi laughed before bringing the tea to Ichigo. He was watching them with a small smile on his face.

"It's been so long since Karin and Yuzu were that small, I can hardly remember it." He said nostalgically. Takashi blinked. Those were the names he sort of remembered, the names of Ichigo's sisters. How had he known that? It was so strange.

"I'm sure they were really cute. Hey Yuki, you willing to sit in your high chair? …Ah. No." As soon as he tried to put her in it she clung even more tightly to his neck. "I guess someone wants to be held. Well, okay." He went to get his tea, taking the toddler along for the ride. "So you had a fight and put four guys in the hospital?" He asked. The guy he'd spied on hadn't mentioned Ichigo by name, so he could be wrong about who he was talking about. But from the shocked look on Kurosaki's face, he wasn't.

"Yes, I did… how did you know about that?" He asked, surprised. Takashi gave him a quick grin.

"I managed to eavesdrop on some dude and a guy reporting to him. They mentioned four thugs getting sent to the hospital and I figured it was you." He said but then his grin faded. "I've got some bad news. We might want to think about going to Tokyo."

"What? Tokyo? Why?" Ichigo asked and Takashi grimaced. He didn't have the money for hotel rooms, and he doubted Ichigo was much better off. He was still in high school.

"Because the hit is coming from someone in Tokyo. And that asshole I was spying on was talking about some really fucked up ways to kill you. Like, setting your house on fire." He said and Ichigo swallowed hard, looking sick. "And since that would barbecue your sisters too, it would probably be good to get out of town anyway. The other thing he was talking about was getting a sniper and while that would spare your dad and sisters, it would be really hard for you to avoid. This shit is getting pretty serious."

"Yeah." Ichigo said softly before drawing a deep breath and letting it out. "What would you recommend?" He asked and Takashi grimaced before picking up his tea and taking a sip.

"I honestly don't know. I don't know anyone in Tokyo and I don't have any money. I could probably make contacts with drug dealers and shit there pretty easily – I know how it goes – but where would we stay?" That was his main concern.

"Hmm. Maybe Urahara would have an idea." Ichigo mused to himself and Takashi frowned. He vaguely remembered a guy wearing a striped hat, with straw yellow hair. But he was sure he'd never seen him before in his life. "And if they're talking about setting the house on fire, I should probably talk to dad." He sounded like he was looking forward to that like a hole in the head. Takashi could sympathize. He didn't even want to think how Tanis and Yoshi would react if he were the one being targeted.

"You should dye that hair of yours when we leave. That'd make it hard for them to find you." He suggested and Ichigo gave him an outraged look. "What? You're really easy to spot."

"Oi! Whatever. Is that all you've found out?" He asked and Takashi nodded.

"Yeah, no idea who's got the hit out on you." He glanced at Yuki. She was dozing off, her head against his shoulder. "I'm gonna try to put her in the playpen." He really needed both hands free for the ravioli. She would probably wake up, though. But he got lucky and she stayed asleep as he set her into the playpen. "Good stuff. Let me get that ravioli on the cook." They could talk as he finished dinner. "So we went to school together, you know." He said casually as he got the ravioli in the pot.

"Really? I don't remember you at all. Did we share any classes?" Ichigo asked and Takashi shook his head as he added some more salt to the water.

"No, and I looked different back then. I didn't have pipes." He flexed one arm, making the other teen laugh. "And my hair and skin were darker. I'm not sure why, but my hair decided to turn white. So I know all about using hair dye." He didn't want to worry Tanis and Yoshi, but he also didn't want to be easy to spot.

"I get the point. You would look good with white hair, though." Ichigo said with a smile as Takashi drained off the ravioli and began plating them. He was going to finish them simply, with just a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper as well as freshly grated parmesan. Tanis always kept a huge block of it in the fridge.

"Maybe I'll let the dye grow out after we're all done this. I'd tell you more about myself, but it's mostly 'got high, passed out.' Repeat into infinity." He said and grinned as Ichigo laughed. "So tell me about yourself. You've got sisters?" He pulled the vegetables and potatoes out of the oven, adding them to the plates. Ichigo nodded as he set them out.

"Karin's a bit of a tomboy…" He began describing his family and Takashi smiled as he listened, sipping his tea and sampling his food. It felt like he knew all this, but he didn't mind hearing it again.

In fact, it was quite pleasant.