And here's another chapter for all you lovely people! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did writing this chapter, and a big thank you to EternalDream for being my beta!
As always, Standard disclaimers apply
The Ties That Binds
Chapter 9
Isshin carefully watched Kakei and Ichigo fight. As Kakei's powers were linked with Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka, he'd advised the boy not to use them, even in training. He had agreed, though Isshin could tell he wasn't happy with his grandfather's decision. His eyes wandered over to look at young Sora, his little hands clapping as Renji sat him on his shoulders and held him up. He wondered what could've happened to his grown grandson that made him grow up to hate his father. As far as Isshin could tell, Sora had grown close to them, especially his Aunt Yuzu. He also seemed to have developed a friendship with Renji and Rukia, as well as the rest of Ichigo's friends. So why hate Ichigo…
"If you stopped leaving all the damned time, you would know!"
Kakei's earlier outburst would've meant that Ichigo did return at some point, only to leave again. How often and how long would be the next question.
"Are you two actually sparring? Do something!" Renji demanded, annoyed as he watched Ichigo and Kakei fling half hearted attacks at each other.
Isshin grinned when Ichigo threw Renji an insult. He was sure that while Kakei was more than happy to release his pent up aggression towards his father, that he wasn't prepared to do so with Orihime hovering at the sidelines, worriedly looking on as she watched Ichigo her dearest love and her son do battle.
"Perhaps we can teach them how to really fight," Isshin spoke, nudging Renji in the side.
"Hell yeah," Renji responded with a grin. He took Sora off his shoulders and handed him over to Rukia.
"Just don't break him too much, Renji-san," Karin called out, an absent smile spreading across her lips as she watched Rukia cradled Sora in her arms. "You know how brittle old people get."
"Karin," Isshin said, placing his hand over his heart dramatically. "Don't you have faith in your father? Surely you can't believe I'd lose?" When he got no response from his daughter, he decided to switch tactics. "Sora-chan...you're on Grandpa's side, right?"
Sora cocked his head to one side before laughing and pointing at Renji. "JiJi!"
The rest of the group just laughed as Isshin pouted at his grandson.
Before the fight could resume, Yuzu spoke up. "Ichi-nii. Kakei-kun. Would you two mind accompanying me to the store please? I'd like to cook for everyone tonight."
The group watched in interest as Kakei and Ichigo shared a long look with each other before Kakei nodded his head. Isshin grinned, knowing full well Yuzu had an ulterior motive in asking the two to shop with her.
"Good idea, Yuzu. Kakei, Ichigo, I trust you'll look after her, hmm?"
The two have him a nod, and Yuzu smiled as she waved good bye to everyone.
-0-0-0-0-
On the way to the grocery store, Yuzu tried in vain to have Ichigo and Kakei speak to each other, but to no avail.
"Mou...Sora-chan is just as stubborn as Ichi-nii,"she thought to herself as they finally reached their destination. Out loud she said, "Ne, Ichi-nii, Sora-chan. I'll just go inside on my own. You'll probably both be bored inside. I promise I won't be long!"
Before the pair could protest, Yuzu had already run inside the store, leaving them behind with an awkward atmosphere.
Sora leaned against the wall behind him, arms crossed, unwilling to initiate a conversation with his father. He seethed as he glared at Ichigo. It was strange, seeing him this young. His memories of his father were erratic. Ichigo Kurosaki was a man who'd come and gone so many times that it was hard for Sora to remember exactly what he even really looked like, apart from the hair that he'd inherited from him. Hair that had become speckled with some grays and silvers thanks to stress and time.
Ichigo on the other hand, didn't know where to begin. He couldn't understand the hostility his son had against him, and it made him worry. What had he done—or rather, what would he do later—that was so bad that it would cause this kind of hostile reaction from his son?
Neither decided to speak up first, and Ichigo was saved from any more awkwardness when his Substitute License badge beeped. "Shit. Stay here!" Ichigo ordered, and his body slumped to the ground, his soul already running in the direction of whatever had caused the badge to act up.
"Bastard!" Sora snarled, hating that he'd just been left behind again, and to top it off, he'd been ordered to stay put by somebody he detested. As if Ichigo had any right to order him to stay put! He really should have just left Ichigo's body out in the open…but that probably would have caused problems for his Mother and Grandfather, and he just couldn't do that to them. Instead, he looked around for a good hiding spot and to make sure nobody had seen Ichigo's body collapse, and then moved to the side before dumping his father's body behind some shrubs. Knowing his Aunt Yuzu, she'd be in the shop for at least another half hour. That would give Sora plenty of time.
He used his senses to track down where the hollow was. He arrived on a hill not far from where they were earlier and stood behind a tree for a moment as he watched his father fight. He refused to admire how cleanly and how efficiently his father fought. There was a strange reiatsu underlying Ichigo's power that Sora couldn't figure out. All he could tell was that there was something entirely sinister behind it.
As a couple more hollows appeared from the sky, he unsheathed his Zanpakuto from behind him and joined the fight. Ichigo turned around just in time to see Sora jump from behind to slice through a newly arrived hollow.
"I thought I told you to stay back!" Ichigo cried out as he dodged an attack from the hollow.
"Just wanted to make sure you don't slip up. You look a little out of practice!" Sora yelled as he called out Tsubaki to finish the job.
The older Kurosaki chose not to respond as he avoided a swipe from a hollow with claw that looked like it came from an American horror movie. As they fought, Ichigo watched over Sora from the corner of his eye to make sure he was fine. Deep inside him, he felt a surge of pride as he watched his son fight. It took him back many years ago to when Rukia had first transformed him into a substitute Shinigami.
Like his younger self at that early stage, Sora was a decent warrior, but his fighting abilities relied more on power than tactics. Sooner or later, he was going to face an opponent who would be able to easily read him, and he may not just loose the battle but also his life if he didn't learn to fight with more precision and control.
"Try not to make the first move," Ichigo instructed as the pair crossed paths. "Watch your opponent."
Sora sneered at the advice. "I don't need lessons, especially not from you!"
His son's attitude irked him, but before he could say anything else, Sora spoke again.
"I'm not planning on letting Soul Society rule my life! I can fight just fine. Protecting my mother and my family is all I care about!"
Two other hollows appeared, but it wasn't the number of hollow that worried Ichigo. He'd handled a lot more years ago when Ishida was foolish enough to use hollow bait. So what had Ichigo's attention right now was how the hollows they fought were too weak, almost as if someone was having fun at their expense. There was a slight reiatsu that floated in the background, but it almost felt like there was a blanket over it that was protecting its true identity. With a final slash to one of the hollows, he briefly turned around to make sure Sora was still okay before dodging an attack from a different hollow.
"You really think you can win all the time?"
"I know I can!" Sora replied, just as he finished off another hollow.
"Don't be so cocky!" Ichigo snapped, his temper ready to break.
"Why not? It sure as hell worked for you!" Sora retorted, turning around to face off against Ichigo.
The hollows seemed to have stopped reappearing for the moment, so the distant father and son were left standing on their own.
"If you have a problem with me, just say it!" Ichigo spat out as he sheathed his Zanpakuto behind him.
"I don't have a problem with you!"
"Really?" Ichigo asked. "Because you sure as hell act as if you do!"
Sora sheathed his own Zanpakuto. "You have no idea how lucky you are that Mom was back there in the training grounds, because there is nothing I want more than to beat the shit out of you!"
"Then fight me!" Ichigo challenged, his hollow rejoicing in his cage as it felt Sora's reiatsu flare. "Orihime's not right here now, so you want to fight me? Then do it!"
"With pleasure!"
Sora and Ichigo began to fight, their Zanpakutos clashing, both unaware of the spiritual energy they were both releasing. While Sora launched offensive attacks against his father, Ichigo tried only to counter attack, unwilling to strike his own son, much to his hollow's displeasure. Both were concentrating too much on each other, and they failed to feel or see Yuzu heading straight for them, begging them to stop.
-0-0-0-0-
"Ichi-nii! Sora!" Yuzu cried out, running towards the two as fast as she could. "Stop it!"
She knew something was wrong in the middle of her shopping. It was more of an intuition rather than a spiritual awareness that something had gone wrong. She'd immediately exited the store without purchasing anything. She'd looked around outside and noticed two crows heading straight for a nearby hill, and, not knowing why, she ran towards the hill. She tripped in her haste to get up the hill quicker and hobbled her way to the top. Once she saw her brother and nephew fighting, she felt as if her heart would stop in fear. She stood there in shock for a moment, hands clenched as her eyes started to water.
"Ichi-nii! Sora, that's enough! Stop!"
Either they weren't listening or they couldn't hear her, so she made a foolish move to run towards them.
"Stop this! Ichi..." she stopped speaking when her body was stopped in place, as if she'd run straight into a solid mass of wall. She felt as if she could not breathe, like someone was chocking her, and her hands flailed up to her neck to try and stop whatever was pressing her airway shut.
Ichigo and Sora turned around at the same time as they felt a hollow appear, and both were horrified to see Yuzu in the hollow's mercy as it began to choke her.
"Let her go!" Sora yelled out, and the hollow laughed as it threw Yuzu to the side before launching itself at Sora. It was followed by another hollow, which blocked Ichigo's path long enough that he was unable to stop Yuzu from hitting the tree her body was flying towards.
Yuzu closed her eyes and waited for the impact which never came. She opened her eyes and saw a pair of startling green eyes that gazed down on her with worry and an emotion she couldn't identify. It looked very much like affection, but she'd never really met this man before, so why…
"Are you alright?"
His voice was soft, and Yuzu could not explain the feeling that coursed through her. Cradled safely in his arms, she could feel his strength radiating throughout his body. There was something about the way he was looking at her that made her feel different, and before she could even try to think what it meant, Sora's voice broke through the haze.
"Mamoru! What the hell are you doing here?" Sora asked in clear aggression and agitation from behind them.
Mamoru didn't turn around to address the young man, and Yuzu, who was still in shock, could only look at her savior again. Sora had already warned her about Mamoru, but there was something in his eyes that made her breath hitch…
"Oi! You think you can take your hands of my sister now?" Ichigo was distrustful of anybody he didn't personally know, but if Sora disliked this man with what looked like even more hatred than he had for his father, then it gave Ichigo even more cause to not trust the man holding his sister. However, in light of that, he also wasn't going to be stupid and do anything that could get Yuzu hurt.
Yuzu felt Mamoru slowly release her, as if he were reluctant to do so. Before she could thank him, she winced as she stumbled, and she remembered her ankle.
"Ichi-nii...I think I sprained my ankle."
Before Ichigo can say anything to her, Mamoru laid her down gently, and Yuzu could've sworn her brother snarled as Mamoru touched her ankle.
"Hey! Keep your hands away from her!" Sora cried out, and Mamoru just whispered words that Yuzu barely understood.
She looked down in wonder as the pain she felt earlier disappeared.
"Thank you," Yuzu said softly. Her eye met Mamoru's, who simply gave her a slight smile. She was very aware that his hands were still on her ankle.
Ichigo and Kakei, now united in face of a common enemy, glared at the scene before them. Neither of them could attack Mamoru, not with Yuzu so close to him.
"Are you hurt anywhere else?"
Yuzu shook her head, and Mamoru gently placed her feet on the ground after he helped her stand up. When he stepped back, he barely had a chance to move before she saw Sora practically leap at him. Her grown nephew grabbed Mamoru by the lapel of his uniform and disappeared.
"What… Where did they go?"
Ichigo kept silent since he had no clue where they'd gone either. He didn't like the faraway look in her eyes as he brushed the dirt and grass off of her and checked her for any more signs of injury. "Are you okay? What are you doing here?"
"I felt like something was wrong, so I went out of the store, and you were both gone! What happened? I brought the two of you with me so you could talk, not fight!"
"We did talk!" Ichigo replied, unused to seeing the disappointed look Yuzu was throwing at him.
"Couldn't you have done it without trying to hurt each other?"
"I wasn't trying to hurt him, he was trying to hurt me. And besides, if fighting me for real is the only way he'll talk then..." Ichigo paused as he tried to feel Sora's reiatsu, to see if he needed help.
"Go to him, Ichi-nii. I'll be fine. My sprain is healed, and there's nothing else wrong with me."
She could see the dilemma her brother faced, and she tried to give him a brave smile. "I promise I'll go back down and stay at the shop," she murmered, and placed a hand on his arm for reassurance. "Go and make sure Sora is okay, ne?"
Ichigo spotted a black cat on top of a tree branch, and, knowing his sister would now be safe, he nodded his head. Before he could move, Yuzu stopped him for a second.
"Please don't hurt Mamoru-san. He did save my life twice."
"I won't," Ichigo promised her after giving it brief consideration. His son, on the other hand, could do whatever he wanted to the red-clad man. "Go back to the store. We'll be there soon."
-0-0-0-0-
In an abandoned building, Mamoru leaped backwards from Sora's attack.
"You never should have come here, Mamoru!"
"Do not make me fight you, Sora Kurosaki," Mamoru replied as he dodged another attack from the young man.
"What are you planning, you bastard? Are you going to kill her now instead of waiting a few more years?"
At his accusation, Mamoru's hands clenched. "It was the only way to save her."
"Bullshit! I've heard that line before! I didn't believe it then, and I sure as hell don't believe it now!"
Sora launched another attack and this time, Mamoru drew his own Zanpakuto. His sword clashed against the younger man's, and Sora tried to mask his surprise when he felt his hand wobble from the force of the attack. He had never battled the man before, and unlike Jiro and Seishiro, his attacks had more force behind them. Sora grit his teeth as the force of Mamoru's attack caused him to slide backwards.
"I saw you stab her through the chest. How could you hold her and tell me that you love her?" Sora yelled, angered when his arms began to ache from just a single attack.
"To save her soul." Mamoru replied, easily deflecting anohter attack from the young Kurosaki. "You asked me why I killed her, and I told you."
Sora just screamed as he tried to lunge at Mamoru, who again easily avoided his attack.
"She was already dying. She was helping a child escape from one of our men when she was struck with the soul poison. You know what would've happened next. There was only one way I could save her."
"Liar! There is no cure!" Sora cried as he made another lunge at Mamoru.
The older man dropped to the ground and swept his leg at Sora's feet, causing him to crash to the ground. Mamoru flipped his blade away from Sora, and the young boy glared at the disc that hung on the hilt of his Zanpakuto.
"Who told you that? Yamamoto?" Mamoru shot back. "The poison is designed with a specific kidou that makes our clan immune to the poison. The kidou we have attached to our Zanpakuto can either destroy the soul, or save it. Not to save the life, but the soul. Do you understand what I am saying, Sora Kurosaki?" At his silence, Mamoru continued. "Would you rather it have been that her soul was destroyed, forever denied the chance of being reborn?"
Two crows fluttered and landed on Mamoru's shoulders. At their caws, Mamoru nodded as he looked over to where Ichigo was, body poised to attack.
"Leave, young one. Our fight has drawn the attention of my brothers and your friends."
"I'm not finished with..." Sora stopped because Mamoru had already disappeared. "Bastard!"
-0-0-0-0-
Earlier at the Urahara store, everyone had felt the wild explosion of reiatsu from both Ichigo and Sora. Rukia and the rest of the Vizards stayed behind with a protesting Orihime. The rest tried to locate Ichigo and Sora, but the appearance of more hollows halted their progress.
Now that they were all back, Ichigo and Kakei sat in silence as Isshin glared at the two of them. The trio were in one room; everybody else in the other. The former Shinigami captain very rarely showed his anger, but this time, the anger was out in full force as he stared at his son and his grown grandson.
"All I expected when you both accompanied Yuzu to get some grocery shopping done was to protect her in the event that there was a hollow attack. What I do not expect was for the two of you to put her life in danger!"
In another room, Yoruichi almost regretted giving Isshin the full report of what she saw. The rest of them stayed silent, unused to this side of Isshin Kurosaki.
"Kakei, I know you have a problem with...with Ichigo. But this Ichigo is from this time. He has not committed the transgressions that have angered you. Try not to treat him with the same anger. And you, Ichigo. You told me you had to leave to have better control of your powers and your temper. Control of which you did not display."
At the silence that greeted him, Isshin announced his decision loud and clear.
"You're both grounded."
"WHAT?" the two shouted in response.
"You heard me, grounded. Unless there's an actual life or death situation either here or in Soul Society, neither of you are stepping out of this store until you get your issues sorted."
He didn't give them a chance to reply. He walked out and slammed the door shut. He gazed impassively on the audience in front of him, who looked back at him shock.
With a wink, Isshin gave a two thumps up sign before walking out of the shop, leaving everyone in a stunned silence.
-0-0
End Chapter
Thanks to all your reviews! Your reviews keep me going! :)
Anna: Thanks heaps, and I hope you enjoy the next chapters! Nypsy: I hope to keep you happy all the way through! There will be a companion to Mamoru's Interlude and more Momo soon. Ichihime supporter: And here's another update for you! Glad I gave you something nice to read after your exam! The Dessa: I try to make them at least 4 pages... but sometimes, I do get that extra kick and some chapters are longer than others, and I will try to keep them coming at least once a week, or every two weeks.. there will be more Mamoru/Yuzu too! Xtremefairy: Momo is very smart! Perhaps to smart? Hehehe... Magdalena88: Thanks for the review, and hope you enjoyed this too!