"All right, but only under a few conditions. First, when I say it's time to go we go. Stay out of the way and don't wander off alone. Agreed?" The class shook their heads.
"Your dad's good, Bess," Nan said while watching Renji.
"Izuru isn't bad but I wish my uncle were here," Ameil said a bit sadly.
"I love it when Dad goes into bankai mode," Bess said proudly. "Karin, aren't you going to watch?" she asked, turning around. Karin was in the back field kicking around her soccer ball.
"Hey," two little voices from behind them said. They belonged to Daisy and Demi, and were followed by Momo's grandmother.
"Hey Gran," Nat greeted. The kids turned and nodded in acknowledgement. "Can we play with you, Karin?" Demi asked.
She groaned, but said "Fine."
"Wow, look at Ikkaku!" Jinta said admiringly.
"Do you guys think he misses fighting?" Dan asked thoughtfully. "I was kind of worried about that too," Nan said sadly.
"What if he wants to go back and no longer be our teacher?" Bess worried. "If he goes, I will cry," she said firmly.
"Hey, why do you guys look so sad?" Ikkaku said, suddenly coming up to them.
The kids looked at each other, and Jinta blurted out, "We were worried that you miss fighting and would go away!"
"Never, I do love fighting but I also love teaching. I have missed it for many years," Ikkaku said with a smile. He was already secretly regretting the day his students were going to graduate. "I actually missed you guys over the summer, you know."
"You got to see us," Nan pointed out. "Yeah, and we did stuff together too. Remember, Ikkaku?" Dan said.
"Yes, of course I do," Ikkaku said fondly.
"Hey Ikkaku, look, I can do that soccer ball trick now!" Karin said proudly.
"Great job, Karin. You are getting very good," Ikkaku complimented. "Not as good as us boys, though" said Demi.
"I will be so good that I can beat any boy," Karin said, sticking out her chin. Ikkaku smiled; little did he know that the children would always come to him with their issues even as adults.
"All right, I'm going back now for 15 more minutes, then home for chores."
"Ok!" the kids agreed. Jinta soon joined Karin and the Aizen twins. The night held a delicious dinner and then bed. The kids found themselves exhausted from fun and excitement.
"Jinta, come here and take your cough medicine," Ikkaku called.
"I hate that stuff, why do I have to take it?" Jinta complained. "Because, sweetheart, you have a cold and we want you to be strong and healthy," Ikkaku said, giving him the medicine. The boy was still coughing quite a bit but Ikkaku trusted Tessai when he said the cold wasn't getting any worse.
"Put socks on when you sleep!" Ikkaku yelled at the red-headed boy who was noisily running up the stairs.
Jinta coughed all night and before leaving for a few early morning errands, Ikkaku instructed him to stay in bed. On his errands, he stopped by the Squad 4 barracks and asked the captain to stop by in the afternoon. He then went to give Kisuke an update.
"I'll let you know what Unohana says, Kisuke," Ikkaku said.
"Thanks Ikkaku, maybe I should have been a bit more concerned."
On his way home from picking up a few items at the store, a black cat jumped in his basket.
"Yoruichi, I don't want you distracting my students." The cat jumped out and after being petted by the children, she went to find a warm bed.
Ikkaku grabbed a piece of toast and headed to the classroom. After class in the afternoon, he went to check on Jinta; the miserable boy was even was worse.
"I think it might be pneumonia," Unohana told Kisuke and Ikkaku.
"My goodness, what should we do?" Kisuke said in surprise.
"He should stay here. You're busy with a store and Tessai can look after him here," Unohana said.
"Oh, and it can't spread," she added before Ikkaku asked. After Kisuke went to visit Jinta, Unohana turned to Ikkaku.
"Monitor his fever and make sure he doesn't get too dehydrated. Also, if you can move him to the guest room-"
"Absolutely," Ikkaku said very nervously. After hearing the news before dinner, the children talked among themselves.
"I'm sure he'll be fine, Ururu," Yuzu said in an attempt to cheer up her friend.
"What if he dies?"
"NAN!" Ikkaku said, half-rising from his chair. He calmed himself, remembering that they were still children, and told them, "Jinta will be fine, I promise."
After some thought, Ikkaku decided to cancel his training class to keep an eye on the normally feisty little boy.
"Dinner," Tessi announced. At the table, everyone felt a little better after saying an extra prayer for Jinta.
"Thanks for staying," Ururu told Ikkaku timidly when everyone was going up to bed.
"Of course, you guys are my main priority, Ururu." He affectionately patted her head.
"What about your other students?" she asked.
"They come second," he said with a smile.
When everyone was safely in bed, Ikkaku told Tessai, "You know, I think I will feel a bit better when Ichigo and his friends come to train. I'm so nervous with them down there with so little protection."
"They still have, Rangiku, Toshiro, Yumichika, and the three adults," Tessi replied.
"Yeah, but of the three adults two have not fought in at least twenty years and the other couldn't care less," Ikkaku said in frustration. "And with Kisuke worried about Jinta, he is even less focused."
Just then, Yourichi hopped on the table dexterously and drank her milk. Ikkaku looked very annoyed, but she said, "I'm a princess, remember?" before he could complain, then hopped on his lap. He gave a tired sigh but stroked her black fur softly.