The alarm clock woke him up.
Sun coming through his window helped wake Ichigo Kurosaki up that much quicker.
He pulled the covers off him, slid his legs of the bed and turned alarm clock off all in one move. It was something he'd gotten to practice quite a bit over the years.
"Looks like it's another sunny day outside." He remarked, somewhat sleepily, seeing his silhouette displayed on the floor of his room.
Suddenly he heard something up above him, like a spider crawling on something that made a lot of noise.
"Goooooood mooooooorniiiiiiing Ichigooooooooooooo!" A loud yell came at him from his ceiling as the thing descended from its impossible perch on the ceiling.
Ichigo quickly stood up and moved away from the bed, allowing his father to fall onto the bed and bounce up into the air, soon caughti in his son's grasp and thrown across the room into a wall.
Instantly the man fell to his feet on the floor, in an exaggerated ninja-death-stance that looked like it belonged in a comic book.
"You're supposed to wake up at six-thirty. It's sixt-thirty-one." He spoke cryptically, despite the grin on his face.
"Shut up! What kind of dad clings to his son's ceiling and tries to crush him when he wakes up one minute late?!" Ichigo replied with unnecessary loudness.
"Being on time is important, Ichigo. How will you get a big hard-charging job if you're never on time?"
"Shut up!" He yelled before the two charged at each other.
*Five minutes of loud noises and banging around later*
The Kurosaki family sat at the table, eating their breakfast quietly; Karin ate her cereal with her eyes closed and a solemn look on her face. Yuzu was eating her own cereal but glanged between her father and brother nervously.
Ichigo ate normally, and as much like Karin in that he ate with his eyes closed and with a solemn face.
Meanwhile, Isshin, their father, ate his cereal with his face covered in band-aids.
"So, Ichigo, how's work at your school going?" Yuzu asked, trying to make conversation.
He glanced at her as he finished his cereal.
"Oh, you know. The usual. Alright I guess." He responded before drinking the remaining milk in his bowl quietly before standing up.
"Speaking of, I should probably get going."
"Yes, my son. Be sure to get to school on time. If you don't how will you ever get a big, hard-charging diploma-" His repeated "lecture" was cut off as a milk bowl was thrown from his face, a small layer of milk left on it as he angrily pulled the thing off.
"See ya, Karin, Yuzu." He remarked, picking up his backpack and walking towards the door.
Their home was attached to the "Kurosaki Clinic"; their father's small medical building where he treated minor injuries for other people and, more often than not due to them crashing around, himself.
Because the householf and the clinic were the same building his sisters and he usually tried to leave as early as possible so Isshin could open up the clinic. As he made sure to stay with his kids until they left for school.
On his way to the door, however, he heard a knock at it, and wore a somewhat curious expression as he walked over to it and opened the door.
Outside stood a man in a white suit and blue tie. His blond hair looked like it was conditioning or something each morningHe wore a smile, though Ichigo couldn't tell if it was genuine or if he just wore it like an accessory.
Still, he didn't give off a real bad vibe or anything.
"Good morning." His calm, soft voice spoke as if he'd been practicing the phrase all morning.
"I'm sorry to bother you. I know the clinic is not open yet. But I was wondering if I could speak with your father. Is he here?"
Normally if a random guy in a suit showed up to talk to dad he'd just brush by them, thinking they wanted the property or something, but it didn't feel like this man was here to buy the clinic.
"Uh, yeah, sure. Dad! Someone's at the door for you!" He spoke loudly back into the room to his father, who dropped the goofy attitude and came over to them.
"Thank you, Ichigo. How can I help you, sir?" He asked the man with a friendly smile.
"I'd like to ask you a few questions, actually. If you're not too busy." the man responded with similar friendliness.
"Not at all. Would you mind waiting at the front of the clinic for me? I'll be there in a minute then we go inside and talk there."
"Sure. I'm in no rush."
"Uh, dad," Ichigo spoke, not sure what to do.
"Go on, Ichigo. You'll be late for school."
"Oh, right. See ya later."
"It was nice to meet you." The man spoke, stepping well out of his way.
"Yeah, you too." Ichigo responded, walking by and away from the clinic, wondering who the man had been.
He jumped from roof to roof, searching for any traces of spiritual pressure he could find.
For the most part though it seemed like the strongest anyone in this town would be that they'd have enough spirit energy to maybe see him.
"What the hell? Aizen had us coming here all the time and there's barely anyone woth noticing. And it looks like those soul reapers stationed here were either withdrawn or are hiding their spiritual pressure so I can't find them." He thought in irritation.
Either way it was a pain to find someone to fight.
He'd half-hoped that when that soul reaper Ichigo Kurosaki sensed his spiritual pressure in the world of the living he'd come running. But he never showed.
And for some reason even though he was more or less at full strength Grimmjow couldn't open a Garganta; the pathway to Hueco Mundo, he couldn't just go back there and start fighting the Espadas who'd attacked and knocked him out of Hueco Mundo.
Grimmjow ground his teeth together as the buildings and streets passed by beneath his feet at the realization that he wouldn't be able to kill all the Espadas.
Not all of them had attacked him before, but that didn't change the fact that all of the Espada, 5th and above, thought they were better than him. And that ticked him off more than anything.
Suddenly he sensed Ichigo's spiritual pressure nearby. It felt like he was already fighting too.
Grimmjow forgot about his musings as he smirked and quickened his pace, now heading specifically towards where he'd sensed the soul reaper's spiritual pressure.
"So, mister...." Isshin began, not sure what the man's name was.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Solomon Goldsmith. I'm from a medical corporation, actually."
"Ah, so you heard how good of a doctor Isshin Kurosaki is and wish to hire him at double the normal salary!" He joked, the two sitting down at a table in the back room of the clinic.
The man's smile turned upward for a moment, as if in humor.
"No, I'm afraid not, mister Kurosaki. Don't worry, I'm not here to buy you out either."
"Well, that's certainly a good thing to know. I'd have hated to welcome a man into my humble clinic if he'd intended to do such a thing."
"I understand completely. Actually..." He began, shifting into a more comfortable position in his chair.
"My questions have absolutely nothing to do with medicinal research or pharmaceuticals."
Isshin blinked, seeming somewhat confused.
"Then what have you come to talk about mister Goldsmith? I don't mean to be rude, but if I were to have a patient come into my clinic I would feel guilty not tending to them if we were talking about something unimportant."
"Please, call me Solomon. I have enough people calling me mister Goldsmith as it is." He spoke, more friendly than usual and closing his eyes for a few moments.
Isshin nodded.
"Very well, and you can call me Isshin. So....Solomon... what are we talking about?"
Solomon's eyes opened, revealing much less friendly and much more serious eyes.
"Have you ever heard of Chiropterans, Isshin?" He asked.
Isshin's expression was very sereious now as well.
"Chiropterans? You mean like Chiroptera? Bats?"
"In a manner of speaking. Chiropterans are in the same family as bats. Though they are exceedingly different in almost every other way."
"To be honest, I've never heard of them before. Are they a recently discovered species?"
"Not entirely." Solmon spoke, shifting somewhat again.
"You see, humans 'discovered' them back in the eighteen-hundreds. However, due to an.... accident, all of the humans who knew about Chiropterans died. Afterwards, over time, a small group of people learned of their existence again. Yet the public, in general, has absolutely no idea of their being whatsoever."
Isshin sat back in his chair, not sure where the man was going with this.
"I take it your company recovered a sample of them or something along those lines."
"Not at all. You see, only a few people in my company know about Chiropterans, and those that do are not the kind of people you are likely to see out on the street every day."
"I don't see where you're going with this Solomon."
He gave a quick chuckle.
"Yes, I apologize. I know it must seem as if I'm rambling on. But you see, like humans, Chiropterans fight amongst themselves. And, like humans, they kill one another. Though their reasons tend to be narrower than the variety in which humans find the motivation to murder one another."
He stared directly into Isshin's eyes, making sure his words went straight to the man's soul.
"But Chiropterans, though they live much longer than humans, are far fewer in number. And it is due to this exceedingly low population that they are on the brink of extinction."
Isshin's serious expression lessened significantly and a grin formed on his face again.
"Ah! I see! You'd like a donation to your organization to help protect the Chiropterans! Don't worry, no need to put on a front! I, Isshin Kurosaki, have never been one to turn down assisting endangered species! Just let me get my checkbook. What is the name of your organization again?" He asked, pushing the chair away and standing up.
"I think you misunderstand me, Isshin. You see, I am from a pharmaceutical company; Cynch Flech to be be specific, and I am not here for a donation. What I am here for is to ask for help from people like you."
Once again, Isshin's smile and carefree expression faded away.
"And what kind of people would that be?"
Solomon stared into his eyes again.
"Soul reapers."
The man's eyes widened in surprise, obviously unaware that there were other people who knew his secret.
"What?! How did you-"
"Cynch Flech is connected to other organizations as well, and altogether we have incredible clout and power. Especially when it comes to discovering things about others. But I am not here to blackmail you, Isshin. I simply want to know how I can get into contact with others of your kind."
"And why would you want to do that, mister Goldsmith?" He asked, switching back to formalities.
"...humans are weak..." The blond-haired man began.
"They cannot kill Chiropterans. Or at the very least, they do not know how to do so, let alone without going overboard and killing the entire species because of one or two 'bad apples'."
The clinic-owner was paying attention good now, and he knew that his words weren't being wasted.
"But there are Chiropterans who are like humans, and will not listen to reason or logic. All that they want to do is kill the entirety of their species. And due to certain properties that they possess, no other Chiropterans are safe when it comes to dealing with them."
"On the other hand...." Isshin continued for him, a certain coldness entering the room despite the fact it wasn't very cold out.
"Soul Reapers are superhuman in terms of strength and would be immune to whatever 'properties' you were referring to. In addition to that, they have certain abilities themselves that would at least make them an equal for the Chiropterans if it came to a fight."
Solomon smiled in satisfaction.
"You're a quick man, Isshin Kurosaki."
"What I don't understand is why you came to me. If you know that I haved Soul Reaper powers then you undoubtedly know that I also am not in contact with them anymore."
"Yes, I know that."
"Then why come to me?"
Solomon leaned forward, placing his hands on the table, looking down before looking back up into Isshin's eyes.
"Because you are doctor Isshin, and I knew you would understand that I cannot rely on either humans or chiropterans. You've experienced suffering, both on your own part, and the pain of others. It is not something most know; the feeling of pain at the conflict of humanity."
Isshin sat down again, listening to what he had to say, and Solomon was grateful for it.
"I was one too, a doctor, a long time ago. I was a doctor in World War two. Every day I experienced people's suffering and suffered myself, wondering why and how we could do this to each other. There were people with missing fingers, toes, arms, legs, eyes... people dying not ten feet from me. And all I could do for the victims of these atrocities was try and keep them alive and heal them. Only for them to go back out into that war and get wounded again, or killed."
He could see the sympathy, the compassion in the man's eyes at the knowledge that he had witnessed such things.
"And now, the same thing is happening again, but with Chiropterans. But this is a species that cannot withstand the massive casualties incurred by a war among all of its populace."
His eyes filled with determination, violent determination even.
"I will not simply stand by and put bandages on the wounds of the fallen this time. But I cannot stop the war on my own. Due to their similar strength and far superior numbers, if the Soul Reapers were to get involved they could be used as a police force, at least until the Chiropterans made peace with one another. That is what I wanted to ask you, Isshin Kurosaki; will you help me save an entire species from becoming extinct?"
Inside his eyes, along with the determination, was a sort of pleading hope. One that he'd thought had vanished from his soul many years ago.
The man sighed, placing one of his own hands on the table.
"You sure can make a speech, Solomon." He spoke, a grin coming back to both of them.
"I'll see what I can do. At the very least I have a friend who should be able to help you out. If I cannot find a way to contact the Soul Reapers, he should be able to help. Please come back to my clinic in a week. I'll have an answer for you."
Solomon gave him a genuine smile and bowed his head before they both stood up and he shaked the man's head in thanks and understanding.
"Thank you, Isshin. I am glad I came here."
The man hardened his grip on Solomon's hand, in reassurance.
"I am glad as well. Perhaps someday we can speak with one another over a more positive matter."
His smile grew bigger.
"I look forward to that day with all my heart and soul."
He stared down at the house with ice blue eyes. A look in them like a predator that had discovered the home of its pray.
"Found you, soul reaper."