Honestly too lazy to write something up here. It doesn't matter. Only a few of you guys read this anyway. Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 22

Ichigo had so many questions. He, Shinji, and Grimmjow were seated on rocks in the hidden underground area underneath a traditional Japanese shop that he didn't even know existed. He didn't talk throughout the entire story that Shinji told him and even after hearing the entire story he didn't know what to say first.

He never really thought about what the afterlife was like, but he didn't expect it to be like that. He has asked his father before what his grandparents were like since he never met them, but he always shrugged off the question saying that they were probably happy in a better place. He didn't know that he was taken away from them and forced to work.

He didn't even know he had an uncle, or from what he heard, a long lost uncle. It only raised more questions that he didn't even know where to start with. He wished that he could meet him, but from the sound of the story it seemed like he is unable to do that if no one can find him. Shinji seemed to not even know if he was dead or alive.

As for his father, he didn't know he had a story like that. He never really talked about the past and always stuck to the present. It was probably because he wanted to keep his life as a shinigami secret from Ichigo. Why he kept it a secret is lost to him though. If he knew that Ichigo was going to become a shinigami or if he was always a shinigami then he would have liked a heads up on all that so that he would know how to use his powers better. His powers would have been incredibly handy when he was in America. Vampires came after him more than once and knowing how to fight with his powers would have been great. He didn't think about that at the moment though, all he could think about was whether his dad was safe.

Then there was the question about his sisters. Ichigo was twenty and his powers just awoken, but does that logic also apply to his sisters? They must have powers too or something since they share the same father. He never expected that the supernatural existence would carry such a big impact on his life to a point where he felt that his entire life was a lie. He felt foolish for thinking that he could escape his new reality before he discovered his own powers lying dormant inside of him. Was he some sort of idiot? This was his life now.

Grimmjow noticed his stiff expression and slunk and arm around him and pulled him into his chest. Ichigo relaxed into him and sighed as Grimmjow played with his hair. Grimmjow didn't really know what to tell him, this was new to him too. He didn't want to say that everything will be okay since he seriously didn't know for certain either. He never lost a fight and this time he was made a complete fool out of. He didn't know what was going to happen next.

The story that Shinji told them sounded like something out of a book or some kind of anime backstory, but for the guy that was nestled into his chest it really resonated and probably answered some questions, but only raised more.

They didn't sit like that for a long time before the two cuddling guys nearly fell off the rock when they heard a startling "boo" right behind them.

"What the fuck?" Ichigo called out as he whipped his head around, but his words died when he saw his father. His lab coat was in shreds and there were gashes all over him that looked incredibly painful. What was left of his lab coat was dyed red and his body was drenched in sweat.

"Dad," Ichigo said hoarsely. He stood up and immediately started to inspect his wounds. He never thought he would see his father in a state like that, but he was even happier to see him alive. He didn't know what happened, but he had no idea that his father could win against such a strong opponent.

"Hey, how's it going?" Isshin asked with a big goofy smile on his face. It didn't fit a man who was as torn up as he was and it sort of pissed Ichigo off.

"Can you not act like that? I'm seriously not in the mood for you to act like everything is okay. Just sit down and let me heal you." Ichigo said. His voice was depressed and desperate as if the life was drained out of him, but he was still clinging on to what remained of it. He was discouraged and didn't know what to make of himself or the situation, but he had no choice but to move forward and contribute where he could.

His father followed his orders and Ichigo held onto him as his eyes turned black and gold as golden hairs started to stitch together his father's open wounds. Grimmjow couldn't help, but realize that Ichigo's eyes looked just like how they were before when he was fighting that other shinigami. His eyes weren't his, but Grimmjow could sense that Ichigo was still there. Who exactly was that guy that took over Ichigo's body? Was he on their side or was he a different opponent all together?

"You know, I was happy to hear that you wanted to become a doctor just like me. Since you were little I was always the one that cleaned your cut and take care of you when you were sick. I never thought I would see the day where my son would have to take care of me." Isshin said in a calm tone. His goofy tone was gone, but it was replaced with a voice that sounded more adult. It was a voice that Ichigo didn't really hear that often, but it always meant that he was saying something significant when he heard it. "I didn't know that you would have healing abilities. It suits you." He sounded like a proud father and he never really expressed that side of him even though Ichigo knew that his dad bragged about him.

Ichigo stayed quiet. He was trying to focus on his father's shoulder that had a particularly large gash in it, but he seemed distracted. "Your powers were thrusted at you so suddenly. I wish you could have been able to cultivate them in a better situation, but you've come so far despite all the problems you have faced for the past month. I'm really proud of you and I couldn't be more impressed."

Ichigo's eyes didn't look like they usually did, but they had a solemn expression hidden behind his eyes that were shining like onyx as if he had tears in his eyes, but he didn't want to let them fall. He broke off the healing, physically and mentally exhausted. The darkness in his eyes started to swim away and leaving them in their normal state.

Grimmjow has never seen an expression like that before worn by Ichigo. His father was sitting there looking at him with complete pride as he looked at his son that he has brought up practically by himself as an adult. He was strong, but Grimmjow could tell that Ichigo didn't feel the same way his dad did. He felt weak and like a burden that always needed to be protected by his dad or Grimmjow. He wanted to learn to fight for himself and he's made a lot of progress, but it seemed like it wasn't enough.

"Okay cute father-son moment aside, did you learn anything from Kenpachi?" Shinji said, reminding everyone that he was still present and the situation that was going on just a moment ago. They all had stuff on his mind, but it was a complete mystery what he was thinking.

"That is what I wanted to talk to you about. You two are going to want to hear this too."

xxx

Isshin held his shoulder where blood was seeping through his white coat. He had it clenched firmly in his other hand, but it stayed held up in front of him. He wasn't willing to give up. This wasn't just for him anymore. This was for his friends and family. Most importantly he needed to win so he can protect his son.

He named his son Ichigo, to protect, because he wanted his son to protect his friends and family just like he was. He wasn't ready to protect himself though. There was no way he can last against his opponent, Kenpachi Zaraki if he couldn't even win against him.

"This is pitiful." Kenpachi groaned. "I haven't seen you in ages and I find you weaker then you were, what 200 years ago?"

Isshin gritted his teeth. "I haven't exactly been living the life of a shinigami for those 200 years."

Kenpachi tutted. "You see what happens when you go on vacation? You become weak. Your little stunt caused a big problem for the afterlife, you know? We wouldn't be scouring for shinigami if you just did what you were told and took out the hunters."

Isshin growled. "This again, how can a bunch of hunters cause a problem for the shinigami? It's the institution's fault for sticking their nose where it doesn't belong."

Kenpachi sheathed his sword. "This is boring. You aren't even worth capturing and even less worthy of killing."

"You know I'm right Zaraki, the hunters did nothing wrong. If shinigami are getting killed then it's their fault for getting involved." Isshin said to Zaraki's back who was walking away, hand raised so he can open up heaven's door.

He turned his head around to look at the bloody traitor. "That isn't the problem. Shinigami aren't being killed, we are understaffed. There has been an increase of deaths in vampires. As you know, they are harder to carry to the afterlife since we need to purify the soul before carrying it. More work means that we need more employees."

Isshin shook his head. "I know quite a bit about the movements of the hunter clans. I have connections, but there haven't been as many vampire deaths that came from hunters since Soken Ishida's movement. Things have died down quite a bit since then so I haven't heard of any shinigami threats that consisted of killing hunters. Something else must be killing them. Don't you see? This has nothing to do with the hunters. If you are going to insist on killing them then blaming me for the increase of vampire deaths isn't going to get you anywhere. If the institution insists on getting involved then they are looking in the wrong place."

Kenpachi opened the door that appeared in front of him. "I don't give a shit as long as the work dies down. If you know what's going on then take care of it he barked before disappearing."

The nerve of that guy, he always bossed him around 200 years ago even though Isshin was never even under him. They had equal rankings, but that guy always fancied himself the strongest even if it was a load of bull. He wasn't really in the right place to be saying anything with his bloody shoulder though.

The protective space shattered as soon as the opposing shinigami's presence left. Isshin sword disappeared. Shit, where was Shinji when he needed him. It would have been great if people weren't staring at him. He was bloody, but he wasn't bloody enough for a random stranger to desire being a hero and calling an ambulance for him. He needed to get out and find his son and his boyfriend. If he was right about Shinji finding them then they could only be in one place. He just hoped his hunch was right.

xxx

Shinji sat forward listening to Isshin's story on what just happened. If Kenpachi was telling the truth, which he probably was because he wasn't exactly smart enough to tell lies properly, then that had to mean that the reason why they were being tracked down was because of the vampire deaths.

"So was he saying that there have been a lot more vampire deaths?" Shinji asked. "That makes sense that they would be looking for more help and since shinigami powers are rare to start with then them being able to find four shinigami or in this case five then that would be a big help to them."

"Don't go saying unnecessary things." Isshin quickly said after Shinji's statement before he cocked his head to indicate that Ichigo was here. Seriously, was he still planning on keeping secrets from him despite the situation he was in? That seriously pissed Ichigo off to no end. No way was he going to let him do that. He'll have to figure it out himself this time and he wasn't going to let his dad get away with it.

Ichigo cocked his head to the side and started to dissect the sentence that Shinji just said before his father cut in. He started counting. Him, his dad, Shinji, Urahara, who was number five? If his uncle Kaien was missing then he shouldn't be included so it must mean someone else. That was when he remembered, his uncle had a daughter. He had a cousin that he never knew about. That meant she was alive.

"Wait, are you suggesting that Kaien's daughter inherited shinigami powers too?" Ichigo asked, trying his best to keep up with the conversation. He didn't want to be left out anymore even though he felt like a child who had to listen to a bunch of adults talk about business or politics. He was doing a whole lot better than Grimmjow who practically gave up on trying to understand what was going on. He silently vowed to just go with the flow and punch whoever needed to be punched if it came to that. He felt like a boyfriend at a family reunion or something. He didn't know who these people were, their history, or what was going on. Actually, that was basically what was happening now. He was the odd one out. The only vampire and had absolutely no input to put in.

"Uhhh, I forgot that I told you about that." Shinji said turning his head back and forth between a confused Ichigo and a glaring Isshin. "Y-yeah, I mean I'm not really sure. Maybe, I didn't see her do anything at your level." He said that last part to Isshin, hoping to somewhat redeem himself, but it seemed that he was still failing because Isshin's expression only turned darker.

"Wait, you know her?" Ichigo asked. "Dad, why haven't I met her?"

Isshin shook his head. "Her story is a bit complicated and we can talk about her later." Isshin dismissed, but Ichigo didn't let up.

"No, do you know where she is? We don't have a lot of family so if there is more that I don't know about then I want to meet them." Ichigo persisted. "Where is she right now?"

Isshin sighed; he knew he wasn't going to escape the question. He looked over at Shinji who was trying his best to look innocent, but it was hard to not awkwardly laugh when Isshin's death glares were directed at him.

He was usually goofy, but when he was angry and angry for a valid reason he gets incredibly scary. He did not want to be at the other end of his wrath, especially since he just came out of a battle that he nearly died in. He was probably storing a bunch of pent up frustration that he didn't want to release in front of his son or his boyfriend.

"Ichigo, I need you to understand that I didn't tell you for this stuff for your own safety. I was afraid that if you two meet then your spiritual presence would show up on their readings. It seemed that my concern isn't necessary anyway." Isshin said. "The last time I saw her she hasn't discovered her shinigami powers yet."

"Good, now why don't you tell me where she is or something then?" Ichigo asked getting more and more impatient. "We probably need all the help we can get."

There was silence for a second before his father answered. "America."

"WHAT THE FUCK, DAD? I was just in America. It's a big country, but can you narrow it down a bit and tell me where?"

His father was silent again before he exhaled. "You wouldn't like it if I tell you."

Grimmjow and Ichigo's eyes grew into saucers and Grimmjow didn't need the tracking spell to feel Ichigo's anger rising. Ichigo was about ready to flip some tables or something. "Dad, I was she close to where I was? She was close by wasn't she? If I knew then I would have went and met her!"

"Listen, you don't understand her situation. She's lived a pretty complicated life to this point. All you need to know is that she was adopted into a family that is able to protect her and you don't need to worry about her…Besides, she wasn't even in America when you were there. She was raised and still lives in Japan."

Ichigo was about ready to punch his father in the face, but Grimmjow immediately picked up on Ichigo's violent vibe and wrapped his arms around him to trap him in place. He literally just healed the man, but he looked like he was ready to tear him apart again. It seemed like he was full of energy too, so much for getting tired after using his healing powers.

The only thing that was able to keep him from attacking his idiot of a father was Grimmjow's monstrous strength. He was thrashing quite a bit to try and get out of his hold until he heard another familiar voice, one that he wasn't expecting to hear in a long time.

"Come on Isshin. Are you still keeping secrets from him?" Ichigo immediately went still in Grimmjow's arms. Grimmjow hesitated to let go, but he too was shocked to see who was speaking behind him.

Urahara's wooded clogs made a unique sound when he carried himself across the dirt floor of the huge underground area.

"Urahara, what are you doing here?" Shinji asked, getting off the rock so he could greet his old friend.

"Well for starters I live here." Urahara said pretty straight forward. "If you are asking what I'm doing back from America then I should remind you that it is finals week on campus and mostly everyone's gone by now."

He turned to Ichigo and Grimmjow. "Ichigo, you should expect to see your friends soon especially your friend Renji who was just accepted into the Kuchiki clan. I have overseen his vampirism and everything."

Ichigo sighed in relief. He didn't know that there was a weight on his shoulders that came from worrying if his best friend would be okay, but it seemed he was fine. He didn't die from the bite and he didn't turn into a ghoul even though he knew there was no way he was going to turn into one since it would take an hour and the blood of something that isn't a vampire to turn him into one.

"As for Kaien's daughter, she's going to be coming back soon too." Urahara added knowingly. "I gave Renji the address to this place since he insisted on trying to be of some help."

Ichigo immediately felt nervous. He knew how to act in front of Renji, but he never had to meet a long lost relative before. All he knew about her was that her dad went missing and that she may have inherited her father's shinigami powers. He didn't even know if he was going to be allowed to see her though even if he really wanted to meet her.

Grimmjow noticed his change in attitude and reluctantly let him go. Ichigo didn't usually let him hold him and since there was a lot on his mind and he was pretty depressed lately he wanted to be held even less. Then there was calculating that he didn't want to act like a couple in front of his family. It was nice to hold him just so he could remember that Ichigo was his after all the effort he went through back in America with Aizen.

"Now let's get back to serious business." Urahara said changing gears. "I overheard you guys talking about the large number of vampire deaths in recent years."

Shinji groaned sitting back down and leaning back on the rock he was sitting on to the point where it looked like he was going to fall off. "Why do you need to always try to have a dramatic entrance? If you were here for that long then why didn't you say something?"

Grimmjow didn't say anything. He didn't know what to add to the conversation, but he was curious about what Urahara had to say. He heard an entire story about the four's escape from the institution, but he still knew very little about Urahara. The only thing he learned since he got here was that he apparently lived here. Grimmjow didn't know what kind of taste Urahara had to have to live in a shop with a giant secret underground area, but his choice of clothing made that fact not too surprising. Urahara was a weird dude.

Grimmjow wondered why he decided to mettle in the affairs of vampires and hunters if he himself is a third party? Shinji said that it was some sort of revenge, but that couldn't be the only reason. The politics of vampire clans was already complicated and if he sprinkled on learning the politics and movements of hunters then he can only imagine just how much hard work he puts in to balance all three of the parties that he was involved with. That wasn't even including the fact that he was a shinigami runaway and was apparently the one who lead the escape.

"Don't question the things I do, Shinji. You wouldn't be able to keep up with me even if you tried to learn every little thing I know." Urahara said, waving his finger at him and opening up the fan that he carried around to cover his face. "Well, I just try to be dramatic to make things more interesting. It's a habit."

"Can you get back to what you were saying?" Ichigo asked hesitantly. At the pace they were moving they weren't going to get anywhere.

"Huh, oh right." Urahara stuttered for a second. That really took the serious air out of the situation. "Isshin, did Zaraki specify what kind of vampire deaths we are seeing?"

Isshin shook his head. "He only mentioned that there were a lot of them."

Urahara nodded. "I thought as much. Truth be told, I've seen an increase in vampire deaths myself, but the deaths are incredibly specific. Grimmjow you're not going to like hearing this, but you are going to have to bear with me for a second."

He waited for Grimmjow's confirmation. He has been uncharacteristically quiet the entire time he was sitting there. Even when they brought up vampires, something he should understand the most out of the other shinigami and Ichigo, he still decided to remain silent. Grimmjow nodded and waited for Urahara to proceed.

"Ichigo, I'm not sure you fully understand how vampires work since this one apparently has a bad habit of not telling you anything so I'm going to just explain what everything means after I say it." Urahara said directed at Ichigo.

Ichigo immediately felt stupid despite him not knowing anything wasn't necessarily his fault. It was mostly Grimmjow's and he was too wrapped up in his own shinigami business to care about how vampire stuff works. It was kind of selfish of him now that he thought about it, but it seemed that Grimmjow didn't really mind or that he at least understood.

"Alright, there has been an increase in vampire death. We already established that, but the vampires' deaths that have increased all have a specific trait. They aren't purebreds. They were vampires that were turned from humans, just like you Grimmjow."

Ichigo glanced at Grimmjow. He knew that Grimmjow used to be human, but he wasn't aware that vampires were regarded as purebreds and non-purebreds. Was there some sort of social standing for purebreds and non-purebreds? Was this really Harry Potter or something?

If someone was killing off the non-purebreds it sounds a like someone or a group was discriminating non-purebreds. He didn't know there was that sort of discrimination in the vampire world, but it seems like people would look for any stupid reason to categorize and hate others.

"Did purebreds regard themselves as superior to non-purebreds?" Ichigo decided to go with the safe question.

"Sorta, but things have gotten a lot better since most clans recruit humans that they turn and non-purebreds to increase their clan size. The discrimination against turned vampires was practically forgotten. If someone is trying to recreate any issues then that may cause a problem." Grimmjow answered.

"Precisely what I feel is going on right now." Urahara said, praising Grimmjow for answering Ichigo's question and leading him to the next point. "Now you see Grimmjow. This is the part where you get upset. All of the vampire deaths have some sort of connection to the Aizen clan."

A/N: Still too lazy to say anything. Oh well I'm just gonna shamelessly ask for reviews anyway.