A/B: Just a small note: This is Shiro inside Ichi's head. This is Ichi and Shiro speaking out loud together (except for one instance where it's Zangetsu speaking within Ichi's mind). This is Shiro speaking out loud. And when both are arguing with each other it's sort of a LOTR Gollum reference; looking to the right is Shiro, looking to the left is Ichi, it's all about which eye is facing his family.

Chapter 4 - Family

"Onii-chan, are you sure this is something you want to do?" Her soft voice was tainted with worry.

He looked up from where he was setting the table. The stove made the small house hot in spite of the weather outside, and the spikes of his hair stuck to his forehead. Setting the pile of plates down, he used the back of his wrist to wipe the offending strands back. "Yuzu, it's not like that." He couldn't hold her worried gaze any longer, so he glared at the disks as though the swirls of porcelain held all of the secrets and troubles of the universe.

"Then what is it like? Otou-san and Karin-chan just gloss over all of this stuff like I'm not going to be able to understand." She put her delicate hands on her slim hips and altogether looked like the little mother she'd been since their own died. In one of her fists she clutched the wooden spoon she'd been using to stir the curry on the stove so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

He bit his lip, looking up at her and trying to take her in, to find something of the little sister he'd always known. "I'm sorry, Yu-chan. We tend to forget that you're just as strong as the rest of us." He shook his head and sighed. "Sometimes I think you're stronger than the rest of us. I don't know how you do it every day, you know?" He took a seat next to the stack of plates, and his breath escaped his lips without conscious thought.

Easy, Aibou. I'm here. Shiro's voice echoed in his head, and placed a hand over his forehead, closing his eyes with a mental smile of gratitude.

"Onii-chan?" Unbeknownst to him, Yuzu had crossed to the other side of the table to sit where she could look at him. She could tell something was bothering him ever since he got home half an hour ago. It'd been six weeks since she'd last seen him, and the physical additions on his neck and face had been a shock. But she accepted them. To her it didn't matter what he looked like on the outside, whether he was getting tattoos or letting his hair grow longer, he was still her Onii-chan, and that was all that mattered. The two met eyes when she reached out to touch his hand, and she watched with no small amount of fear as his left eye inverted.

"You know about Hollows and Shinigami now right, Yuzu?" His voice echoed slightly. At her nod he continued. "I am what is called a Visored. I have a Hollow inside of me. He's not dangerous, not like the ones that Rukia and I fight regularly, and he helps me. He's the reason that I've been away for so long. There's other stuff going on, but I want to wait until Goat Face and Karin are here. Okay?"

Yuzu tilted her head to the side for a moment and frowned, seeming to consider something. "I only have one question, Onii-chan."

"Yeah?" His stomach clenched, the chill of fear worming its way through Shiro's defenses.

"If you're a boy, and your Hollow is a boy, how come you're pregnant?" Her face had none of the fear from a moment ago, and though her expression was similar to his signature scowl, confusion and interest were all that he could read from her reiatsu.

However, he was too dumbfounded to comment on that. "H-how did you know!" He gripped the table and licked his lips nervously. He hadn't even said it out loud to himself yet.

"I don't know, but I think it's like you and Karin being able to see ghosts. I know she's there, even though I can't see her." She smiled then, looking completely innocent, in spite of being 18.

Unconsciously both of Ichigo's hands cupped the lack of bump beneath his navel. The reiatsu curled between the Old Man and Pain in the Ass pulsed at the motion. He still stared at his younger sister, the one everyone thought was going to be 'normal', Human in every sense of the word until she died. Memories played out in his mind, scenes of Yuzu seemingly knowing things or making comments that just didn't quite add up at the time. He had assumed that she was just being oblivious, unable to comprehend the world around her but affected by it nonetheless. Now he wasn't so sure. Perhaps her ability to know in an instant what each family member needed was her power.

"How long have you been able to do this sort of thing, Yu-chan?" His voice echoed a bit as Shiro paid more attention as well.

"Oh, I don't know. Since about the time that I discovered Bostov-nii running around pretending to be you a couple of years ago. He tried, and I love him too, but nobody can replace you, Onii-chan." She smiled brightly then and internally both sides of Ichigo groaned.

However, just as he was about to ask another question the front door banged open and Karin's voice cut through their discussion. "Lay off, Goat Face! You never grilled Ichi-nii this bad!" The dark haired Kurosaki twin stormed into the kitchen, her clothes torn and rumpled, the baseball cap she still wore sometimes was missing, and a smudge of dirt on her face was tinted with the dark brown of dried blood. She also had the beginnings of a black eye and held all of her weight on her left leg, her right one cocked slightly at the knee to avoid putting too much pressure on an ankle that was already turning purple.

"Karin, it doesn't matter what I did or didn't do with Ichigo, you are not supposed to be out there hunting on your own. You know that! It's why Jinta and Ururu were transferred to your school." Their father, looking slightly more ragged than he used to, followed the girl closely. He'd discarded his office coat already, and was in the process of removing his tie.

"But I don't need them! Toshi's taught me everything I need to know. More than Ichi-nii had when he was younger than me! He still doesn't know how to cast kido!" Karin raved, grabbing a juice box from the fridge.

Isshin slammed his hand on the table, crushing the tie. It wasn't often the Kurosaki children saw their father like this, but with Karin's behavior becoming more and more reckless over the last year he was less the goofball he'd always been and more the kind of presence that made Ichigo truly believe he'd once captained a division of the Gotei 13. Just as he was about to say something else, the hybrid cut him off.

"Karin, you don't have a Zanpakutou yet. Your soccer ball and kido are great, better than mine for sure, but without a Zanpakutou all you're doing is injuring the Hollow enough for it to retreat. You can't truly defeat it." Both sets of dark eyes swung to look at the orange haired visitor. He swallowed, quickly standing from the table and half-smiling. "H-hey, Goat Face." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"OH MASAKI! OUR BELOVED SON HAS RETURNED TO GRACE US WITH HIS PRESENCE! AND HE'S BECOME SO MANLY WITH HIS FACIAL TATTOOS! COULD HE HAVE JOINED A GANG? WHAT SHALL WE DO, DEAR MASAKI?" Isshin wailed, flinging himself at Ichigo. If Shiro hadn't been half on the surface the orangette would have wound up on the floor. As it was, Shiro was able to make Ichigo's body swerve so that the older man fell on the floor face first. Thus, Goat Face bounced back up onto his feet, "VERY GOOD, ICHIGO! LIVING ALONE HASN'T DULLED YOUR SENSES!"

"Geez, Old Man, what're ya tryin' ta do! Ya can't be doin' that sorta nonsense wi' Ichi no more!" It was Ichigo's mouth that moved, but the voice was all Shiro.

This caused both of the brunettes to freeze. Isshin immediately dropped his act, frowning in a fair duplicate of his son's scowl. Coincidentally, Karin snagged her soccer ball from the hall and held it under her foot, also mimicking her older brother.

"Ah! Karin, Goat Face, relax!" Ichigo's eyes went wide, and he took a step or two back from the glowering Kurosakis. His left eye was still inverted, and he turned to that side, "Damnit, Shiro. You know that wasn't how we were going to deal with this."

He turned back to the right, Shiro speaking again, "Sorry, Aibou, but yanno—the cub."

"I know, I know, but I could have handled it. Just because Gri—" Ichigo's normal voice hiccupped and for a moment his face crumpling with unspoken pain at the sound of his Alpha's name. He wrapped both arms around himself, oblivious to the concerned looks he was receiving.

A few seconds and he stood up straight again, hands at his sides, but his head still bowed so that his hair shadowed his face. "Aibou needs a few minutes. I'mma keep lookin' at the floor so's I don' scare ya. It c'n be tough lookin' me in the eye, er so Aibou tells me. 'Rin-chan, could ja put the ball away? It's botherin' Aibou. He's worried yer gonna—" His voice was echo-y and held a cold edge that didn't belong to the twins' brother, but he cut off and half tilted his head, as though listening to something. Then he murmured, "A'ight I won't tell 'em, but ya gotta do it soon, Aibou. Puttin' off'll only make it harder. Yanno."

Yuzu was the only one to move when the person that appeared to be their brother stopped talking. She crossed between her sister and father to stand in front of him, effectively blocking any attack the two behind her could pull. She reached out and took the orangette's left arm, "Shiro-nii, it's ok. I won't let them hurt her." She bent to smile up into the inverted eyes.

"Yuzu," Isshin began, stepping closer to his youngest daughter. "Who is Shiro?" His voice was quiet, serious, and held the kind of edge that meant he would take no fooling around.

She smiled back at her father, "Shiro-nii is Onii-chan's inner Hollow, and he's not really scary, he's just protecting the baby."

Father and daughter blinked at the tawny haired female as though she'd grown a tail, or a second head that only spoke in riddles. Karin's voice seemed to work better after a few moments of fish mouthing, "'Zu, what the fuck?"

"Karin-chan, language!" Yuzu chided, waving her spoon at her sister. She put her hands on her hips, sporting a frown that made Isshin's heart clench in memory. "Both of you need to go get cleaned up, dinner will be ready in a moment, and the rest of this conversation can be held off until then." When both hesitated in leaving the girl alone with her brother, she made shooing motions with both hands, inadvertently wielding the spoon like a weapon.

Reluctantly both turned and left the kitchen. Once they were alone Ichigo flopped back into the chair at the table where he'd been talking to Yuzu before their interruption. He sighed deeply, closing both eyes and wrapping his arms around his ribs. When his little sister brought the big pot of curry to the table from the stove to serve the plates he smiled up at her.

"Thank you, Yuzu." His voice and eyes were back to normal, but Yuzu could tell Shiro was just under the surface, as he had been before.

"Of course, Onii-chan. Mei-chan is just as important as you are, and if Shiro-nii thought he needed to protect her then it's only right for me to help him, right?" She giggled and hauled the pot that had once been bigger than she was oh so long ago.

He continued to be amazed by the way his littlest sister had changed in just the few months it had been since he'd lived here full time. Within his mindscape, Shiro chirped, Yu-chan's pretty smart, Aibou. I like 'er.

Shaking his head, Ichigo was about to say something to her further when his father and other sister returned, now better put together. Isshin still wore his dress shirt and slacks, but the top few buttons were open, his belt and tie were gone, and he'd brushed the gel from his hair. Not that it stopped standing on end, but it wasn't as shiny. Karin had cleaned her face, placing a sticky bandage over the scrape, and changed out of her dirt-stained tee shirt and shorts into jeans and a tank top that showed off just how physically fit she was as compared to her sundress wearing twin.

Both sat opposite Ichigo, watching him closely. If the last four months, since his birthday, hadn't completely wiped him clean in ways that he'd only experienced once before he would have been more annoyed at their scrutiny. However, he found he just couldn't muster the energy to care. He met his father's gaze once before becoming fascinated with using his chopsticks to push the vegetables around on his plate.

"So, Ichigo…" His father began.

"Yuzu, could I have some plain rice please?" The Visored ignored his father for a moment, trying to keep his stomach's churning under control.

The tawny-haired twin smiled, "Of course, Onii-chan." She was gone to the sink with his plate and back again with a fresh serving of rice, slightly smaller than normal, and a cup of ginger root tea garnished with mint and lemon.

The medical professional in Kurosaki Isshin blinked in confusion, and the look of pure satisfaction on his normally disgruntled son's face made all of his continued questions double. He cleared his throat, attempting to be innocent. "Your mother preferred to brew the mint with the ginger before adding lemon and sugar." He appeared to be focused on his plate of curry, but was watching his son with a trained eye.

"Mmm. That's how Urahara-san did it, but I like both. As long as it makes the confounded nausea go away for a few moments I don't care how it's made." Ichigo purred over the mug, wrapping both long-fingered hands around the warmth. He knew he was beginning to babble, but couldn't bring himself to care about that either. "I can't seem to get warm today. Of course, I think a lot of it has to do with the situation. I just can't believe he's gone." He felt the sting of tears again, cursing the dependency of his station. For the first time, he met his father's gaze head on, though the chocolate-amber orbs were overly bright, "Has there been any luck at all since Kurotsuchi failed?"

"No." Karin was the one who answered, feeling left out. "Toshi says that they're doing all they can but Hueco Mundo is just as sealed off now as it has been for weeks." She turned to glare at their father, "Which is why it's fine for me to be out practicing right now!"

"Just because there haven't been any Hollows actually seen in the last month and a half doesn't mean that there aren't any, young lady! You are supposed to have someone with a Zanpakutou with you at all times when you go out 'practicing' as you so blithely put it." Isshin rounded on his dark-haired daughter as though their previous argument had never been put to rest.

The object of his frustration growled, "But there aren't any Hollows! Shinji and the others even confirmed it! Nothing in OR out!"

"You don't know that!" Was the only thing the worried parent could come up with as a come-back. All it got him was another growl, and Karin sank lower into her chair, slouching and 'not' pouting.

Ichigo cleared his throat, "Karin, Dad is right. It's too dangerous to go out without a Zanpakutou." But before Karin could enhance her sulk, or Isshin could dissolve into the overly proud goofball he usually did about things like this, Ichigo continued, "But, Tou-san, Karin is right too. Right now—" He had to clear his throat again, "there won't be any Hollow activity at all."

"How do you know, Ichigo?" His father sounded tired. This wasn't the life he wanted for his children. He'd married the Human woman that was the light of his life in order to avoid having to see his children right for their very lives. He'd nearly lost his only son more times than he liked to count, and he'd be damned if he had to see either of his precious baby girls forced into that situation. Sure Aizen was captured, the other two traitors dead, but the Hollow world still existed, and the blasted beasts still threatened the lives and safety of all that he held dear. He wound up so caught up in his thoughts that he nearly missed Ichigo speaking to him.

"My mate is among those missing." The orangette said very quietly. His right hand slid up to his neck and stroked the backwards '6' that was branded into his skin. He focused his entirely too expressive eyes on the plate of untouched dinner.

That announcement brought another round of serious interrogation from both his father, who knew more about Hollow habits than he liked to let on, and from his sister, who knew her brother better than anyone else in the household. Eventually the whole story from his birthday onward, with a few minor personal details left out, was explained to his family.

At the end of it Karin frowned and rubbed her temple. "So, let me see if I get all of this. Ichi-nii's got an inner Hollow, named Shiro, that's apparently his partner, NOT evil and out to consume his soul, but they haven't always been partners, only since Ichi-nii went off and let himself be topped by that Arrancar—"

"Grimmjow." Ichigo cut in.

"Grimmjow—that was hanging around the house six weeks ago. So, now they're not only partners but can evidently share Ichi-nii's body equally. Does that about sum it up?" Karin asked incredulous that her brother would just roll over and 'take it'.

Ichigo was about to answer when Yuzu scolded, "Karin-chan! Otousan!" breaking into the conversation for the first time since Ichigo started explaining. Both sets of dark eyes looked at her, which made her swallow loudly under their scrutiny. "Onii-chan did what he had to. Can't you see how tired he is? This isn't easy for him. I don't know much about this whole mating thing that Otousan and Onii-chan are talking about but to my understanding he's dealing with something along the same lines as when Kaa-chan died." Everyone around the table flinched. "But his lover isn't dead, just missing. So, isn't it our job as a family to pitch in and help Onii-chan to find him?" The blonde homemaker stood up then leveling the closest thing to a glare she could manage at her father and sister.

Ichigo stood with her, taking the plates from the table, and not meeting either one's gaze. For the first time since he discovered that he'd imprinted on Grimmjow he regretted it. He knew his father wouldn't understand. The man was a full Shinigami. The only reason he wasn't back with the Gotei 13 was because he'd fallen in love with the orangette's mother. Although blurring the line between Shinigami and Hollow was no longer the death sentence it had been a hundred years ago, the Visored was pretty sure having an affair with one was still that much worse than having the same kind of relationship with a Human. He set the dishes in the sink, ignoring the concerned look he was receiving from Yuzu, and scraped his still mostly full plate into the garbage. He couldn't tell them about Little One now. The way they had reacted to his relationship, if it could be called that, was bad enough. The last thing he wanted to do was run the risk that his father would try to hurt her.

Yuzu gave him a half smile, taking his now empty plate from him. His left eye had bled black again, the stripes underneath more obvious. She reached up and ran her fingers through the hair near his ear. He nodded and left the kitchen, heading to his old bedroom.

Reaching the room that had been his personal domain when all of his interaction with the Shinigami had begun so many years ago he was pleased to see that nothing had been changed since he moved out. He stretched out on his bed, an arm flung over his face as Zangetsu tried to bolster both Ichigo and Shiro's spirits from within. He couldn't give in, but it was just so hard not to fall into the open pit of despair that pulled on his heart. He was so caught up in trying to maintain his external mask that he missed his father joining him.

The black-haired ex-captain, leaning against the door frame, watched his son rubbing slow, tender circles under his navel. After a few minutes of hard contemplation, reading the substitute's reiatsu, Isshin spoke, "There's a child isn't there?"

Peering out from underneath his arm, the black and gold left eye was visible in the light from the hallway. He scoffed, his voice distorted again, "Fer an ex-captain ya certainly aren't ta bright are ya, Pops?"

Nodding, Isshin crossed to the desk chair and sat down. "I know that the theory is that mated Hollow pairs can conceive regardless of gender, but when I left the Soul Society the theory hadn't been proven."

"Yeah, well, Aizen'd already fucked wi' the place at that point." The sarcastic, distorted voice continued, never once revealing Ichigo's other eye. "Yanno, Aibou didn' come here fer a fuckin' second round of personal interrogation. He thought, for some strange reason, that he'd be welcome here. Now though he's not so sure. So, we're gonna take a nap cuz the Little One needs it and then we'll leave. Head back ta the Shoten er somethin'. Maybe shack up wi' Shinji. Least they know what he's dealin' with better'n ya seem ta."

Isshin didn't say anything for a while, his face closed off. The hybrid had almost drifted off when his voice broke the thick silence again. It was tight, heavy with restrained emotion, and quiet. "I'd like to speak to my son if you don't mind, Hollow-san."

"Feh! I won't waste ma breath debatin' that sentence but the name's Shiroitsuyo, Pops. Git used ta it." The reiatsu around Ichigo shifted, and the eye watching his father cleared back to the color his mother gave him. His voice, though strained, was what Isshin was used to hearing as well, "Yeah, Tou-san?"

The ex-captain cleared his throat. "So, uh, I guess there's nothing we can do but move forward huh?"

"Goat Face, don't go there."

Meeting his son's glare, Isshin squirmed a little bit. He couldn't keep eye contact, "I just don't want you stuck in something that could hurt you more than it already has."

He's lying, Aibou, Shiro hissed within Ichigo's mind.

'I know,' Ichigo answered. 'But I don't understand why. I thought he'd be happy that he was going to be a grandfather.'

Perhaps, it has something to do with genetics, Zangetsu chimed in softly. Your own grandfather required significant—shall we call it persuasion?—before he was willing to accept Visoreds.

Ichigo agreed with the other two, continuing to stare his father down. After a few more minutes, when the older Shinigami didn't continue and wouldn't meet his eyes, Ichigo sighed. Getting up from his bed. He straightened his shirt. His mouth drew into a tight line as his father still didn't look at him directly. Without another word he left the room lest he say something he would truly regret. He passed Karin in the hall, and the two met eyes for a moment before the orangette returned back downstairs.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Goat Face." The black-haired 18-year-old leaned in the doorway of her brother's old room, arms crossed over her chest and an eyebrow raised.

"Stay out of it, Karin." She'd never heard that level of darkness in her father's voice, and frankly, it chilled her down to her core.

Yuzu looked up as Ichigo joined her in the living room. He looked just as tired as before, with a darkness in his mismatched eyes that pierced her heart. She bit her lip before smiling at him, "So, I was thinking that I'd make Mei-chan a blanket? Do you think she'll want bunnies or duckies better?"

The normality of his sister's question made him laugh. His smile actually broke through the haunted look in his eyes when he looked at her. Sitting on the other side of the couch, his right hand immediately settled on the non-existent bump as it had periodically since he woke up. "I'm sure whatever Oba-Yu makes for her will be perfect. She'll love it."

Even though his voice was back to that duality from before, Yuzu simply smiled and dug out a small notebook from under the cushion of the couch. Her pencil flew across the small paper fast enough that Ichigo had to check twice to make sure she wasn't using reiatsu. He shook his head, just watching his gentle sister.

"Still planning on going to university for graphic design?" He asked, relaxed enough to let Shiro simply sit in the back of his mind cuddling Little One.

Yuzu merely nodded, chewing on the end of the pencil, her feet tucked up and her head bowed over the tablet. She was so absorbed that she didn't feel Karin lean on the couch, peering over her shoulder at the design she was working with. She didn't jump though, when Karin spoke, which further added to Ichigo's suspicions about the blonde's own special abilities.

"That fer our niece or nephew?" The brunette's voice was off slightly, unsettled.

Yuzu held the pattern of the baby blanket out so both of her siblings could see it. Both edges were lined with hopping rabbits, and there was indicated a ribbon of satin woven both above and below the rabbits. "I was thinking of knitting it in soft pink, or maybe purple?"

"But what if it's a boy?" Karin asked, looking between the two.

"It's a girl." Ichigo and Yuzu responded at the same time, and all three laughed.

The orangette smiled, closing his eyes for a moment, "I can feel her reiatsu. She's only 6 weeks old but I can tell she's a girl." Karin scoffed and plopped down between the two on the couch, rolling her eyes.

"Let me guess, it's a Hollow thing." She raised her eyebrow at her brother, who nodded. A few moments of silence passed among them, Yuzu turning to a new page and doodling the ducky blanket option, Ichigo resting his head on his left hand propped against the back of the couch, and Karin crossed her arms, stretching her long legs out in front of her.

Catching himself from falling asleep again, Ichigo's head snapped up blinking to clear his fuzzy vision, focusing on the scratch under Karin's left eye. "So, what happened?"

"Huh?" The brunette frowned lightly, her attention broken out of her thoughts.

"Well there aren't any Hollows to purify, so how'd you scratch your cheek?" He pointed.

Karin rubbed the broken skin, and a flash of color ran across the bridge of her nose. Yuzu was the one who answered though, "Hitsugaya-kun was here today."

Ichigo raised his eyebrow and a smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. The older brother in him tried to be stern, but Shiro's influence made him more entertained by his sister's flirtations than anything else. "So, 'Toshi' isn't just a nickname cuz he's training you huh?"

"Aw, lay off. Like you have room talk, Mr. Beta!" Karin made to punch his arm, but held back feeling Yuzu's knee brush her own. She huffed, "Don't tell Goat Face. He doesn't like that I'm dating Toshi. So, anytime we wanna hang out, we gotta 'train' to avoid suspicions. So, we spar for a bit, and I slipped on a patch of ice. Caught a mouthful of dirt, and there must've been a nail or something on the ground. I didn't even know I'd scratched it until Goat Face showed up."

"So, then ya weren't alone? Why make a big deal 'bout it then?" Shiro's voice echoed through out of nowhere.

Karin jumped, "Shit!" She glared. "Warn me, Baka! You can't just switch personalities like that and expect everything to be all yoi."

He actually looked apologetic, "Sorry, 'Rin-chan, but I haven't gotten ta talk ta ya like ever! Afore this whole matin' thing, Aibou and I weren't 'xactly on the best o' terms."

Ichigo snorted, "That's the understatement of the year."

Karin pinched the bridge of her nose. "This bouncing back and forth is giving me a headache."

Before anyone else could say anything, Isshin returned from the second floor. All three looked up at him with varying expressions. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, "I think it's getting a bit late. Maybe Ichigo should head back to Urahara's shop before it gets too much later? I'm sure he'll want to be as close as he can be to where the information from the Soul Society will arrive."

"But, Otousan, I thought Onii-chan would—"

"It's fine, Yu-chan." Ichigo cut her off, standing. He wiped his palms down his hips seeming to be smoothing his clothes. "It was good to see you guys. Daisuki desu, minna." He hugged Yuzu, and smiled into her hair when Karin hugged him from the other side. Chocolate eyes looked into dark brown for a moment before he stepped around his father's planted form to gather his shoes.

As he was about to leave, Yuzu handed him a jacket. "The wind will be colder now that the sun's gone down." She tried to smile, but the tension between father and son kept it from reaching her eyes.

"Be careful on your walk, Ichi-nii." Karin put her arm around their sister in support.

"Arigato, Karin-chan." He smiled that half smile from before again, and left the house that was no longer his home.

Across two worlds from Karakura, a figure, drawn up by its wrists against a smooth stone wall, groaned as light splashed across its face. Cerulean eyes squinted at the drastic change of lighting, and a mouth too dry to speak literally cracked into a sneer.

"Well, well, well, it seems the subject still refuses to admit that it is under our mercy. Draw up another dose of the serum." The figure in the doorway leered, the light glinting off of its golden teeth. "We are close. So close. Soon we will be able to extract the part of you that you do not deserve, filth. Then the real fun will begin." The grating voice paused for a moment, "You know, you're lucky. The female slipped into a coma before reaching this level of serum, and the other two males didn't even last that long. You are the last, be thankful."

A/N 2: Glossary:

Aibou - partner (typically taken to the level of homosexual relationships)
Shiroitsuyo - white power (Shiro only uses his full name with people he doesn't respect in any way. Isshin's blatant disrespect and hatred of him cuts him to the quick because he's essentially the Shinigami's son as well because he is half of Ichi.)
Mei - neice
Oba-Yu - a hyphenation of Yuzu and Oba-san which is roughly "aunt"
Daisuki desu, minna - I love you, guys (different from aishiteru yo because daisuke lacks the sexual connotations)
Yoi - fine, good, hunky dory
Otousan/Tou-san - father
Toshi - Toshiro (ONLY Karin is allowed to call him this! But we all know how well Ichi listens to him. XD)