Chapter 18: I'm Coming Home

I flash stepped all the way to the soul society. By the time I got to the gates, it was already morning. The guards stopped me when I got there.

"Who goes there?" the guard asked. I looked up at him.

"Shinkiro Ukitake, 3rd seat of the tenth division," I said calmly. The guard's eyes widened in surprise. I guess I couldn't blame the guy. I mean I did go missing for 6 months.

"We have orders to take you directly to the head captain if we spotted you," the guard said nervously as he jumped down and stood beside me with his hand on his sword in case I tried to run away. I chuckled a little at this.

"That works out well then doesn't it? I actually was on my way there. I don't mind an escort though," I said teasingly. He didn't seem to find it very funny. Oh well. We walked in a way too serious silence all the way to the head captain's office. I hope Kuchiki-taicho didn't snitch on me for accidentally blasting a cero at him. Crap.

The guard knocked on the head captain's door, and I heard a faint voice say "Enter". The guard opened the door, and I walked in with the calm composure I learned while I was under Kuchiki-taicho. Ugh. I really do hate things got messed up between us. He's a pretty good guy in general. Oh well.

"Well well, look who has returned," Yamamoto-soutaicho said calmly, "Would you like to explain where you have been for the past 6 months?" I looked him in the eye, and he didn't seem very angry. I sighed. Maybe this was my chance to explain everything.

"I guess Kuchiki-taicho didn't tell you," I said questioningly and he shook his head, "I accidentally shot a cero at him." He looked shocked.

"Look, I didn't know I could do that. He did something that reminded me of some very bad memories of my past, and I panicked and somehow fired a cero at him. I figured no one would believe me over him and that I was going to get arrested and killed for accidentally attacking a captain. I also thought I would I be in trouble for having an inner hollow," I explained sadly.

"You know, Shinkiro, we do understand accidents in the soul society, especially after what happened to Rukia Kuchiki. The inner hollow isn't your fault, and as for you accidentally attacking Kuchiki-taicho, if he thought it was worth having you arrested for, he would have reported it," the head captain said kindly, "Also there are some people who have been very worried about you. You should go see your father as soon as you leave here. He has been worried sick about you."

I nodded and began to worry. Oto-san was already pretty sick. I hope me being gone didn't cause him to get more sick. The head captain dismissed me, and I headed over to the thirteenth division. I got to Oto-san's office and knocked. I heard a faint "come in", and I quickly opened the door and entered.

"Oto-san," I said happily with tears in my eyes. He looked up from his paperwork in shock and ran up and hugged me. That was enough to make me break down. I really missed him and all my friends. Oto-san was technically my only family, and I felt horrible for not telling him anything.

"Where have you been, Shinkiro? I have been so worried about you," he asked as he released me from the hug and looked at me inquisitively. I looked up at him sadly and explained everything to him. When I was done, he was very understanding, and told me if I ever disappeared like that again, I was so grounded. That made me laugh a lot.

"Now, Shinkiro, you should go visit Byakuya and Rukia. They have both been very worried about you," Oto-san said seriously. I laughed.

"No offense, Oto-san, but there's no way Kuchiki-taicho was worried about me," I said bitterly, "But I will go visit Rukia-chan." He looked at me sadly, and I just walked off towards the 6th division. Usually Rukia-chan was at the 13th division, but based on what Oto-san had told me, I could find her and Kuchiki-taicho near each other. I got to the office and knocked. I heard a stoic "enter" and I took a deep breath before opening the door.

I walked in to see Kuchiki-taicho, Renji-kun, and Rukia-chan. They all looked up, and their eyes widened as though they had seen a ghost. Well that's funny because we're all kind of technically dead.

"Um hi guys! Long time no see," I said my voice shaking a little with a nervous smile. Rukia-chan ran up and tackle-hugged me, almost knocking me over. I smiled slightly, returning her hug.

"I thought you were dead," I heard Rukia-chan saying sadly as she sniffled into my shirt. I patted her back comfortingly. I didn't realize six months would make people assume that, but I guess she had reasonable thought for that. Or not. Each of the Kuchiki siblings have their own odd quirks.

"G-gomen nasai, Rukia-chan," I apologized sadly. I looked up at Kuchiki-taicho. His face was back to the normal stoic look it always has. Oh great. This is where he ignores me or tells me to get the heck out of his office or worse-…

"Renji, Rukia, I need to talk to Ogawa-san alone," he said calmly. I glared at him. Oh yay. It's the worse option. Of course it is. The two addressed left while giving me pitying looks. As soon as the door shut, it was my turn to be blunt.

"My name is no longer Ogawa, Kuchiki-taicho!" I snapped angrily, "I'm not the one who looked at someone like they were a monster when I gave them a freaking flashback!" Kuchiki-taicho glared back at me, but said nothing.

"What's wrong? You think I'm a monster, don't you Kuchiki-taicho?" I sneered and then starting shouting, "Well guess what you'd be a monster too if you were raped every day for 4 years from 4 to 8 years old! And then were beaten for 10 years after that. When you pushed me into that tree, you gave me a flashback of the first time my adopted father in the world of the living raped me!" Tears were coming out of my eyes at this point.

"Shinkiro," Kuchiki-taicho was right next to me before I could blank. I looked up at him in shock. His tone was not cruel or angry. It was calm and borderlining…apologetic? What the heck?

"Gomen nasai, Shinkiro. You're not a monster, and I'm sorry I made you feel that way," he said calmly before slowly wrapping his arms around me, "You are much more than that." My eyes widened more before returning his hug. He leaned down to kiss me, and I pulled away. When I looked at him, he looked kind of hurt and then his face went stoic again. Crap. I hurt his feelings.

"Wait a minute, Kuchiki-taicho. Hear me out," I said quickly. He looked at me skeptically but stood still.

"I still like you a lot, but we can't pretend nothing has happened. Can we start over? Get to know each other better and stuff before we rush into a relationship again. I mean I'd love to spend more time with you and stuff, and I'd definitely be interested in us being in a relationship again. Just not right now ya know," I explained rather awkwardly. I looked up at Kuchiki-taicho and was happy to see that he smirked slightly.

"That sounds like a plan. We may start by evaluating how far you have digressed in your 6 months without training," he said matter-of-factly, "And I told you to call me Byakuya." I smiled as I started to head out the door. This might just work.