The Princess and the Tiger

Chapter 4

Decisions

(A/N

SOUNDS/sounds

Thoughts

(Last Time)

"Tie him up and let's get out of here," the redhead commanded as his cohorts did as ordered. "We caused too much noise. The police will be on their way."

They bound his arms and legs with chains, then gagged and blindfolded him. They then lifted the unconscious Ichigo up onto their shoulders and hastily made their way out of the alley. The leader doubled back and grabbed the wallet off the pavement. The horde of cats scattered and disappeared, leaving the alley vacant, dark, and quiet once more.

(Present)

As he came around to the waking world the first thing that assaulted his senses was a loud roar of cheers and jeers. The sound was blaring and unpleasant to his throbbing head. He tried to move in an attempt to muffle the obnoxious caterwauling. However, he soon discovered that his movements were severely restricted. He couldn't even roll over onto his side. Then there was the tight piece of choking fabric, pulling harshly at the corners of his mouth. His deep brown eyes slowly opened. His vision was blurred and greeted with a well beaten dirt floor. Dust tickled the inside of his nose as his breathing began to quicken as his brain started to register the danger surrounding him.

"Well, look who finally woke up," a mocking voice chided above him.

A moment later Ichigo felt a heavy weight slam down on the side of his aching head. It was the man's heavy boot-clad foot. He pressed down hard; the sole of the boot pinching Ichigo's tender ear. He slowly started to apply more weight and more pressure as Ichigo let out a muffled cry of pain through his thick gag.

"What was that? I didn't hear you," the man chuckled, picking his foot up and slammed it down again. "You need to speak up!"

Ichigo released another diluted scream, frantically fighting against his steel binds. The man that towered over him repeated his stomping several times more, before kicking Ichigo hard in the side, flipping him over onto his back. The hard metal links dug into his skin as the man's foot was slammed into his heaving chest, the air forced out of his lungs.

"Hey, don't fall back asleep," the man leered, bending down, bringing his tattooed face close to Ichigo. "We haven't even had our fun with you yet."

Ichigo's eyes were barely open and tears blurred his vision. He was trying to catch his breath but the chain binds were very tight plus the added weight of his attacker didn't help. He was fading in and out of consciousness. He could make out the group surround them, giving out commands on what to do next. That scared him as he had no means of fighting back. He was bound and gagged, forced to watch and listen to those around him spit and jeer at him.

He didn't understand what he had done to warrant this. He didn't understand any of it. He didn't know who these people were, where he was, or why they were doing this. His mind couldn't rationalize too much at the moment. He felt the foot lift from his chest only to find it being forced into his side again. He slid along the ground a good ways, the links of the chain leaving large gouges in the dry dirt under him.

"Kick him again!"

"Punch him! Punch him!"

"Teach him a lesson!"

"Wooooh! Yeah, he's feeling that!"

"Hit him in the throat!"

"Nah, the stomach!

"Kick his teeth in!"

At this point Ichigo had never felt so helpless as he felt the man grab him by his feet and start to drag him along the ground like a sack of potatoes. His head was being swung left and right with every random turn and twist. He finally came to stop only to have the man reach down and grab the front of his chains and to sit him up. Ichigo barely even had the strength to look up at his assailant.

"My, how the mighty have fallen. I was expecting a bit more from a beast such as you. Not much of a Panthera, are you?" the man scoffed, punching Ichigo square in the nose. Ichigo's head snapped back. "I mean, really, look at you! You're so damn pathetic you make me sick!"

Ichigo was dropped back to the hard dirt with a hard thud. His could smell and taste the blood in his nose and mouth. He felt a hand grab a fist full of his orange hair holding his head up over the dirt. At this point Ichigo couldn't even find the strength to open his tear soaked eyes. He had a feeling another hit was coming and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

CLAANK! CLAANK! CLAANK!

All of the jeering around him stopped instantly at the sound of something striking metal hard echoed out. Ichigo felt the grip on his head weaken and release. His head fell back to the dry earth with a meaty thump. What now?

"THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH! STOP YOUR ATTACK AT ONCE!"

It was a man's voice, a little elderly sounding, but still strong and commanding. Ichigo didn't know what was going on but at least his beating had stopped. He heard several feet scurry away from him as several more feet approached. Once again he felt unfamiliar hands on him but this time they seemed to mean no harm. At least not yet.

"Where are the keys to the locks? Give them to me," a woman asked, forcefully. "Damn it! He can barely breathe. He could suffocate! The keys! NOW!"

A moment later the sound of clanking keys fell at Ichigo's head. He felt the chains on him go slack the locks were removed. He drew in a deep breath. He was quickly unraveled from his metal binds as more hands started feel around him. His shirt was lifted up along with his pants legs, shoes and socks. More or less he was being examined. He still didn't have the power to open his eyes.

"Sorry, I'm so late! I just heard! AH! Holy shit! Is he going to be okay?"

He knew that voice. It was that cat from last night. He tried to open his eyes but he just couldn't do it.

"I won't know until I take a better look at him at my office. Bring me the stretcher!"

"Do not think this won't go without a server punishment," it was the elderly man again. He sounded closer this time. "All of you will now have to…"

At this point Ichigo just gave up fighting to remain awake. He got enough information that he was in much better hands. He drifted off just they picked him to put him onto the stretcher.

Orihime waited patiently at the café for Ichigo to show up. He was nearly an hour late. She sat with her back resting against the bench. She didn't know what was holding him up. She was starting to get really worried as he had never been this late before. Maybe he was still asleep at home? Maybe. She got to her feet and started towards the apartment. Hopefully she would find him sprawled out on the couch.

After a few minutes' walk she arrived and unlocked the door. Her heart sank not finding him on the couch and the bathroom was empty too. She reached into her pocket and called his cell but he didn't pick up. She hung up the phone and called his work to see if he was called in for some reason. They answered and told her he wasn't due for work until that evening. She then called his father's maybe he stopped by over there. He too had not seen Ichigo that day. He offered up the idea that maybe he went to visit his friends at the camp.

Perhaps that's what it was and he had just lost track of time. She closed the door back and walked back to the café once more to check to see if maybe he really was just running late. Still he was not there. She didn't know where else he could be. She didn't want to jump the gun or make a big fuss out of something until it became much more evident that something was indeed wrong.

She walked back to the apartment again, hoping that she had just missed him. Still he was nowhere to be seen when she opened the door and stepped in. She hung up her purse and sat down on the couch. Hopefully nothing had happened to him and that he was at the camp completely unaware of being extremely late. That's all she could hope for. She curled into a ball and turned on the TV. Maybe she could get her mind off it that way.

A few hours passed and still Ichigo had not returned or called. Worry had fully set in by this point. She called Ichigo's father again and told him that she still had no contact with Ichigo. Once again Isshin also said he hadn't seen him. He offered to come pick her up and start looking around other past haunts. Perhaps, he was other friends from his past like Keigo's.

They drove around for a few hours and a little after curfew. Isshin ran out of ideas of where to look and Orihime got a call from the newspaper office telling her that Ichigo didn't show up for his shift. It was looking more and more like they may have to go to the police. They didn't know where else to do. His phone would ring a few times and then go right to voicemail. She must have left like 10 messages by now all asking him to call her back right away.

"Are you sure you don't know anywhere else?" Isshin asked and Orihime shook her head as she gripped the shoulder strap of her seatbelt. "No? Are there any people that might have some sort of grudge against him? With his attitude I'm sure he's rubbed someone the wrong way."

There was that odd man with the blue hair and matching eyes. However, she was hesitant to bring him up. Ichigo didn't want the police to know about him and honestly Ichigo never really talked about him but… Her heart skipped a beat thinking about it. What if that man did something to him? She had no idea where to look for him. Worse yet, what if by sheer bad luck he was attacked by the tiger again or the jaguar? Ichigo would have such odd luck.

"I'm just so worried for him," she muttered, looking up at the orange streetlamps go by over the car. "He's never done this to me before! What… What if he was mauled again by one of those big cats?"

"Now, now! Don't think like that," he said, trying to force a smile for her. "That'll be like being struck by lightning twice."

"Interesting fact, a man in the U.S. was struck 7 times by lightning in his life time."

"Really…? Huh. Well, that's not at all pleasant… Look, Inoue, uh… I'm just out of ideas. I think it's about time to we go to the police."

"I guess you're right…" she moaned, hanging her head low. "I just wish he would…"

RRRIIING! RRRIIING! RRRIIING!

"WAAAAH!" Orihime jumped from the ringing phone in her lap. She quickly scrambled to pick it up. The number was his. She quickly flipped it open. "Ichigo—h-hey!"

Isshin quickly jerked the bright red phone from her fingers. He quickly put it to his ear. An angry scowl planted firmly on his face.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU STUPID IDIOT?" Isshin bellowed, pulling into a nearly empty parking lot.

"Oh, my, that was certainly quite the greeting," it was woman's voice.

Isshin paused his rant as he put the car in park. That was the last voice he expected to come out of the phone. It actually scared him that it wasn't Ichigo's voice or one that he was familiar with.

"Kurosaki, what's…?" Orihime asked as Isshin held his hand up to shush her.

"Who is?" he asked his tone was rather deep and concerned.

"I'm sorry to be calling you now so late. I wish I could have done so earlier. I just now located this phone. I'm Dr. Unohana Retsu. To whom do I speak?"

"I'm Dr. Kurosaki Isshin. This is my son's number! Where is he? What happened to him?" Isshin's voice was laced with worry.

"Is Ichigo okay?" Orihime asked, trying to lean in a little close to hear.

"Well, he's doing better than he was this morning. It seems that your poor son was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was attacked by a small local gang. They mistook him for a member of a rival gang. He was kidnapped and beaten up pretty badly. We got a rough idea of where the attack took place and discovered his phone on the ground. It's about dead now. I'll give you the address to my clinic and we'll talk more."

"He was attacked? Where the police contacted? He has a bit of a record they should have recognized him and contacted someone!" Isshin snapped into the phone.

"Yes, the authorities were called and the matter is being looked into."

"Then why didn't we hear anything from them? We've been out looking for him for our hours now. We were just about to try the police department!"

"I understand you're worry and I don't know why they didn't contact you but he's fine now. Please, sir, just calm down. Take some deep breaths and just breathe a bit for me. I'm going to give you directions and can come see him."

"Y-Yes, of course…" Isshin said, pulling a pen from his shirt pocket and started looking for some paper in the car. "Inoue, find me something to write on."

"Right," she nodded, frantically looking for an old napkin or receipt. She found one in the backseat and picked it up. "Here's something!"

Isshin grabbed the scrap of paper, putting it on the front of the steering wheel. He quickly jotted down the address and the directions to where the doctor's office was located. They exchanged a few more words before hanging up. Orihime had heard enough to understand Ichigo was assaulted by a gang. It was eating at her too as to why no one was contacted by the police.

Anyway, Ichigo was in a medical facility and being taken care of. At least he wasn't out in the street dead somewhere. Isshin pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the clinic where his son was located. He knew he'd get more information soon and wanted to know everything that happen and why.

When they finally arrived they were greeted a nurse. She bowed to them in greeting and took them down a hall towards an elevator. They got on going to the 3rd floor. They dismounted and continued on down a long hall before stoping a door to their left. She knocked lighting on the partly opened wood door before opening it. Ichigo was propped up in the hospital bed. He was covered his several large bruises and cuts. He half waved at them as they stood in the door.

"He's a little doped up on pain medications but otherwise alert," the nurse said as they rushed into the room and flanked his bed. "Dr. Unohana will be by shortly to talk with you. I'll bring an extra seat in."

She turned sharply on her heel and walked out. Orihime stood to his right and his father to his left. There was look of worry, relief, and anger on their faces as they looked down at him. This was going to odd to explain.

"What happened?" Orihime asked, gently grabbing his hand. "Why did a gang attack you?"

"It seems… I wandered onto their turf and didn't know it," Ichigo said, trying to turn to look at but it was hard with the brace on his neck. "They got the wrong idea about me. They kidnapped me and attacked me…"

"Where were you when it happened?" Isshin asked, looking down at Ichigo.

"Not too far from the apartment. I was just… Doing some walking around but I stumble into the wrong area," he said, trying to look up his father. "It happened rather fast."

"Did the police talk to you at all?" Isshin asked, gripping the railing of the bed.

"Yes, they did."

"Then why didn't we get a call from them about this and why didn't you let the clinic have our numbers! We were worried sick about you!"

"Hehe… For once he's more hysterical than you are," Ichigo half grinned at Orihime. "That's a first, don't you think?"

"This is no joking matter, Ichigo! You were missing for the greater part of the day," Isshin snapped, gripping the plastic railing tighter. "You had us all worried! Inoue and I have been out looking for you and your sisters have been waiting at home for a phone call. Why couldn't you get in contact with us? You said you talked to the police so I know you were awake."

"Maybe I just didn't feel like it…"

Isshin and Orihime were a little shocked by those words. He didn't feel like it? That was his answer? That was rather odd.

"Didn't feel like it? That's just stupid! You could have told us what happened at least! You could have given us orders not to visit until you felt like it," Orihime said as tears started to build in the corners of her eyes. "You didn't have to completely shut us out like you did! Why would you do that to us?"

He didn't answer her. They waited for a bit as nurse walked and set down the extra chair by Isshin. Still Ichigo remained quiet and wouldn't look at them. Finally, Isshin had had enough.

"Your fiancée asked you a rather important question," Isshin growled, gritting his teeth. "Why did you shut us out?"

Ichigo still kept his split lips sealed up tight.

"Ichigo, please, don't do this! Are you hiding something?" Orihime asked. "You do this when you are. What are you keeping secret?"

"If you know that much then you know I won't say anything on it," Ichigo replied a little harshly.

"I'm starting to think you instigated that fight," Isshin said, pulling his hands from the railing and folded his arms over his chest.

"I did no such thing. They attacked me first," Ichigo snapped back, through clinched teeth.

"That is indeed true," a woman said, walking into the room. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Dr. Unohana."

She was a rather thin woman with a gentle looking face. Her long black hair was braided in the front and she wore a white doctor's coat with nice shirt and long skirt. She had a clipboard in her thin hands as she approached them. Isshin eyed her a bit as she stopped at the foot of the bed. She smiled and but Isshin glared deepened a bit more.

"Hello. I'm Inoue Orihime," Orihime said with small bow.

"Nice to you meet you, Inoue. You must be Dr. Kurosaki, his father," Unohana said, turning to look at him.

"I am," he nodded as he was handed Ichigo's chart almost instantly. He looked at it.

"Well, Dr. Kurosaki, I'm sure you know how to read that but I'll sum it for you, Inoue," she turned to look back at Orihime. "Kurosaki was indeed attacked by a small gang this morning. They knocked him unconscious with a bokken, I believe, and then tried him up in chains so tightly that he couldn't breathe too well. After that he was kicked, stomped on, dragged, and punched. He was barely awake when I first saw him. Needless to say he's got extensive bruising and scratching on his face and torso. Not mention cuts and abrasions from where he was dragged on his back. Nothing was broken and there was no internal bleeding, which of course is good. The worse of the damages are that of a mild concussion, black-eyes, bruised ribs, and some badly pulled muscles in his neck."

"In other words I had the shit knocked out of me," Ichigo snorted.

"Yes, I guess that would be it in a nutshell," Unohana grinned. "I just didn't think that would be the wisest choice of words to use."

"I wouldn't make such light of it, Ichigo. You do realize you could have been killed, right?" Isshin said, looking over the clipboard at his son. "By the way, how did you get out of that mess?"

Dr. Unohana cleared her throat and let out a deep breath.

"Well, as luck would have it the gang was over-heard and a few good Samaritans came running and broke it up. He was transported here right after," she said, looking down at Ichigo. "He was in rather rough shape and unresponsive. That being said, I'd like to keep him overnight for observation. If all goes well he'll go home tomorrow morning."

"That's good that you could come back home tomorrow," Orihime smiled at him. "You know this really hasn't been your year. You got arrested, put in jail, nearly got mugged, mauled by that tiger, and then today you got kidnapped and beaten up by a street gang."

He just stared dully at her as she quickly looked away a bit sheepishly.

"Orihime, please don't jinx me anymore than I already am," he moaned, rolling his eyes. "I don't need anything else to happen."

"Yeah, you're right," she chuckled a little. "Not another word on it."

"Thank you. I don't need any more trouble this year."

"No, you don't," Isshin emphasized. "I guess we should be thankful that you're not in worse shape than you are. That much is fortunate."

"That much is true. The gang he got tangled up with usually do minor damage, much like schoolyard bullies. This, however, was indeed a first for them to be this brazen and rough," Dr. Unohana mused, crossing her arms. "Clearly you did something that really set them off but you don't recall what?"

"No. Hell, I just though they wanted my wallet. I even gave it to them but they tossed it to the ground without even opening it," Ichigo sighed. "I honestly have no idea what set them off like that."

That of course was a lie. This whole thing was. He did learn truth while he was in the clinic but he had to keep up with the fib about what really happened.

"Well, something sure did and it seemed a little personal, honestly," she said, shaking her head. "I am indeed sorry this happened to you. Oh, before I forget."

She reached into the pocket of her lab coat and pulled out a small business card. She handed it to Isshin. He looked it over briefly.

"That's the detective handling the case," she said as Isshin looked back at her. "He's worked on this gang before and knows them quite well."

"Kyoraku Shunsui?" Isshin muttered.

"Yes. He's rather good at what he does. He's got a few personality traits I'm not fond of but…" she answered with a shrug. "I'm sure he'll figure out something as to why they got so rough."

"Thank you. I'll give him a call in the morning," Isshin said, putting the card in his wallet.

"Well, there's not much more I can say. We did recover his wallet and we managed to find his cell in the alley where he was first attacked," she pointing to a bag on the widow sill. "His other belongings are in there too. Might want to bring him some fresh clothes tomorrow."

"I'll do that," Orihime answered.

"Well, that's about all I have. Do you have any more questions?" Unohana asked.

"I still don't understand why you couldn't call either one of us earlier?" Isshin grumbled, handing back the clipboard.

"He didn't want us to call. That's something you're going to discuss with him," Unohana shrugged. "Anything else?"

"Not at the moment," Isshin shook his head.

"Very well, then. I'll be calling it a night. My PA will be on call should you need anything. Just go to one of the nurses stations and they'll call her," she said, taking a step back. "I should see you tomorrow before he's discharged."

"Thank you," Isshin said as she turned and left. He let out a long sigh and turned back to Ichigo. "You don't have a history with that group, do you?"

"No, for the last time! I've never seen them until this morning," Ichigo grumbled with a disgusted snort. "I don't know what I did."

"I still don't understand why you didn't call me or your dad, though," Orihime said, taking a seat. "Why didn't you want us to know?"

"I… I guess I was a little embarrassed…"

"To be beaten to a near pulp?" Isshin huffed. "I'd be more scared than embarrassed. Did your pride take a pounding too?"

"Something like that," Ichigo sighed.

"Well?" Orihime said, crossing her arms.

"Well, what?"

"I think we need an apology from you."

"What for?"

"For making us pull our hair out," she shook a finger at him. "You have any idea what we went through trying to find you?"

"Yes, I think we are due an apology from you for this," Isshin agreed. "We spent hours trying to locate you. For all we knew, you could have been face down in the river."

He slumped down in his bed a bit more, switching glances between the two angry individuals on either side of him. He did owe them an apology and he knew that. He could tell that Orihime had been crying some. Her eyes were a little red around the edges and her lashes looked a little matted from dried tears.

It wasn't that he didn't want to call them, it was that he couldn't. After he came to in the small clinic he realized all too quickly that his troubles were only beginning. He was bandaged up, which was fine and dandy but he discovered he was still in restraints but these were cloth. In fact his feet were still in binds hidden from his father and Orihime under the heavy white blanket.

The clinic catered to the non-human variety, those like him and many others. Given that he was a tiger they feared him and for good reason. They didn't want him to just run loose and given that he just woken from a pretty bad ordeal, his mind was still racing. He woke up in flight or fight mode. He didn't know where he was or anything. It was just as well that he had been strapped down when he was first brought in. He was liable to really hurt those that were there to help him.

Once he had calmed down, which took a good while, he started to realize he was in a medical clinic. He knew then he was pretty much safe for the most part. That was when he was first introduced to Dr. Unohana and her medical staff. They made it rather clear, however, that they had a low tolerance for him. They would aid him on the condition that he would now follow their laws and stop hunting out in the streets. They understood his nature to hunt but told him the more he gave into that nature the more he'd continue and sooner or later he would get caught by the wrong people.

He, however, did learn the real reason he was attacked. It was two reasons in fact. One reason of course was because the local were-population was growing tired of him and the jaguar. Second reason was indeed a misunderstanding. It seemed that the black hairball from last night goofed when retelling her story to the others. She was so worked up and excited that she exaggerated a bit too much. Instead of saying that Ichigo had gently pushing her out his way, she said he knocked her back. When he held her down with his mouth to make point to leave him be she also made it worse than it was just from her excitement. In no way did he mean harm and she knew that but she didn't use the right wording to the others. So they took it upon themselves to get what they thought was retribution for her getting handled so "roughly."

He also learned something else that was rather harmful to him. That night—when he and the tiger merged it hadn't gone as planned. Dr. Unohana explained his mistake and what it would mean for him in the long run. She explained that Transcending was the act of a were-animal taking on a human form. There are only two ways to achieve it. One was called Shifting. It is where a were-animal consumes something human whether it be flesh or blood. They can do this over and over again to humans ultimately making themselves whoever they wish to be. They can have the eyes of one human and the skin tone of another.

Then there was what he tried to do and failed at. He tried to do Amalgamation. Amalgamation was the act of the were-animal taking over the body of a recently deceased human and basically live as that one human. They usually break ties with the human's family and friends to avoid getting caught. They use that person's identity and memories to live as a human. However, Ichigo wasn't dead just unconscious when the tiger Transcended. That was the problem and usually happened to were-animals that had no prior knowledge and usually perform Transcending on instinct.

When Amalgamation is performed wrong it is called Deterioration and never ends well for the were-animal. Deterioration merges the two in such away their minds perceive themselves as one so they never break the ties they need to because they still see themselves as human. However, it takes time for the new mind to settle right after Transcending and that is called Inhibition. Ichigo did confirm he went through Inhibition for about a month before his mind became "normal" again. However, that was the least of his worries.

Deterioration has one really nasty side-effect and can take up to six months to a year to show and is call that for a big reason. Deterioration merges two living beings together and sooner or later the animal side will begin to appear physically, distorting the human form. In a sense deteriorating it. This is what's known as Downfall and sooner to later Ichigo was going to experience it. He was told that it was painful physically and emotionally. Downfall came in various degrees of severity. Some case were as simple as hair and eyes changing colors to others being so distorted that the line between human and animal no longer exists. It had even been known to drive the person insane if the Downfall was bad enough.

It was a fate Ichigo was going to face rather soon and he didn't know how to go about hiding when it started. Not to mention how would he explain it to his family and Orihime? He couldn't tell her what he was. He didn't have the courage to say anything to her and she had no idea she was in a relationship with a tiger. The girl had a large soft heart but even the softest hearts can grow hard when tempered with bitter and ugly truth.

He had a lot more to be sorry for than just making them worry about where he was all damn day. He now understood that he couldn't keep hiding and lying to them as he had been. Soon or later his secret was going to slip out and what would happen then? He feared the outcome of their rejection. He feared it deep within his heart and just thinking about it hurt. He thought about cutting ties with them but he knew he didn't have the strength to do that again. He did it once with his father and the end result wasn't pleasant. He couldn't do it again. He just couldn't. He'd have to figure something else out maybe ease them into it somehow. But that was still farther down the line than what was going on right now.

"I… I'm sorry, okay? I really am," Ichigo sighed, crossing his arms over his stomach. "I really was embarrassed to tell you what happened. I hadn't been beaten up like that before so… You know it was a little awkward for me."

"I still don't see what was to be embarrassed about. Unless they touched you in a particular way," Isshin inquired. "

"OH, HELL NO! No, nothing like that happened," Ichigo quickly exclaimed, waving his arms, panicked. "It was just my pride like you said!"

"Fine," Isshin said flatly, dragging the chair over to sit down. "It was your pride."

Ichigo knew his father wasn't buying any of this. Isshin wasn't as clueless as he let on most of the time. Ichigo knew that all too well. And when his father was angry, which he was now, he let be known that he was onto a good lie. He was being somewhat being subtle about this, most likely because Orihime was in the room. Speaking of which, how much was Orihime buying into this? She was a lot more gullible but even so she could sometimes sniff out a pretty good fib from time to time. She however, had a habit of letting them ride while his father did not. He got away with a lot when it came to Orihime but not so much with his father.

"Ichigo, is something wrong?" Orihime asked, worry lacing her voice.

"No. Honestly, nothing's wrong. Look, the police will handle it. I'm here and I'm fine. I'm just a little black and blue."

"A little? If you were really fine you wouldn't be black and blue at all. I'll have charges pressed against them," Isshin drawled.

"You don't have to do that!" Ichigo said quickly.

"You were attacked, Ichigo! Why not?" Orihime asked, her face twisting in confusion. "They could easily do again to someone else. It's needs to stop right now."

"Did they threaten to get back at you?" Isshin asked. "Are you scared they may act on it?"

"Well, no… I mean… I-I don't know what I mean… Can we talk about this when I'm not high on pain meds?" Ichigo muttered, turning his gaze down. "I'm not thinking too clearly right now…"

"I can see that," Isshin said, leaning back in his chair. "How about this… We'll let you get some sleep and you get your head cleared. I'll come, pick you up, and take you home in the morning. Orihime has work. I'll take the day off to look after you until she gets home."

"You don't have to do that. You can drop me off at the apartment. I'm not like I was after the mauling," Ichigo insisted.

"I'd rather you weren't alone. If the attack happened close the apartment they may be out looking for you or something," Orihime spoke up. "I would feel safer if your father stayed with you. Please, Ichigo! Please!"

Dammit. He looked at that pitiful face of hers. Her lips were in a bit of a pout and her ash blue eyes looked so pleading. He couldn't say no to that sad face. He really couldn't. He shut his deep brown eyes and let out a long sigh. He caved in once again.

"Fine, fine… If it will really make you feel better Dad can stay until you get off work tomorrow."

"Thank you," she smiled, standing and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll be here around mid-morning," Isshin said, standing up as well. "I'll have a bag for you with clean clothes."

"Thank you," Ichigo said, following his father across room with his eyes.

"See you tomorrow afternoon. I'll let your job know what happened to you. Good night, Ichigo, love you," Orihime said, waving good bye as she stepped out the door.

"Love you too," he half waved back. "Be safe."

"Don't think we're not going to have a chat tomorrow, Ichigo," Isshin drawled, standing in the doorway.

"I know we are, trust me I know," Ichigo grumbled as his dad stepped out into the hall and vanished from sight.

He ran his hands over his scratched and bruised face. He knew his dad was angry, practically livid in fact. He made his father and fiancée worry and then he lied to them on top of that. His dad knew but Ichigo couldn't say anything. Especially, here in this small clinic. It was even smaller than his father's. He put his hands back down on his stomach and moved his ankles, feeling his binds pull on his skin.

"Dammit… I'm not looking forward to this 'chat' tomorrow…" he whispered, clinching his covers. He knows I lied to him and to Orihime. He's not going to let this go. Not by a long shot.

Morning dawned and Isshin arrived around 9:30. He had a small bag in his hands with a set of clean clothes tucked inside. Ichigo was up of course with the nurse leaving his room, having just redressed his wounds. Isshin walked in right after, handing Ichigo the small cloth bag. Ichigo changed out his hospital gown and into the clothes his father had provided him. Ichigo was careful with his neck as changed his clothes.

Isshin took notice that some of the bruising and scratching from yesterday had already started to fade. How was that even possible? Isshin still couldn't wrap his mind around that. Once Ichigo was dressed he put the brace back on and sat back down on the bed. Isshin was already sitting in a chair by then. Ichigo drew in a sharp breath through his nose and then let it back out.

"So… You are going to lecture me now or at the apartment?"

"I'd prefer at the apartment. You know we both can get rather loud."

"Eh… True enough." Ichigo shrugged.

Knock! Knock!

They both turned their heads to see Dr. Unohana entered the small room. She smiled at them as she walked up to the bed.

"Well, look at you, up and already dressed. Something tells me you're ready to get out of here," she laughed, holding some papers in her hands. "Well, everything checks out just fine. Of course you know you'll be sore for a few days of course, be mindful of your neck, and keep an eye on your abrasions. I just need a few signatures and once that's done you're free to leave. There are also some papers on concussions you might want to look over. You need to take it easy for a week as much as I know you're going to hate that."

Ichigo groaned taking the small stack of papers from her and she pulled out a pen from her pocket. He signed and dated where he needed and handed them back. She looked them over briefly and nodded finding everything as it should be.

"Okay, that's it. You're good to go," she said, looking back up at Ichigo and his father. "Have any questions feel free to call."

"Yes, thank you," Ichigo said, standing up carefully. "Ready?"

"Yes," Isshin said also standing, grabbing Ichigo's hospital bag with his old clothes in it. "Thank you for looking after him, Dr. Unohana."

"It was no problem. I hope you get things settled soon," she grinned, stepping to the side. "And I hope you get to feeling better."

Isshin walked out of the room first with Ichigo following a ways behind just a little bit unsteady on his feet. He was happy to finally be getting out of the clinic but at the same time he knew he'd soon have to talk to his dad. All things considered his father had been very patient with him. Perhaps, maybe even a little too patient. He knew it was coming sooner to later. Things had been pretty will balanced lately but all this tipped the scales. The fact that he was attacked then turned around and lied about why he was attacked really raised some red flags with his father.

They walked out of the building not talking or even exchanging glances, not even once. Isshin guided the way to car and got in. Ichigo followed, getting in the passenger's seat and shut the door. He buckled his seatbelt as he watched his dad start the car. No doubt he wasn't going to say too much until they got to the apartment. Isshin needed to keep his attention on the road and he couldn't do that if they started a full-blown argument.

"You hungry?" Isshin asked, pulling out of the parking lot and into the street.

"Uh… Yeah, some," Ichigo replied, looking out the window.

"Want to stop and get something?"

"Like where?"

"Don't know. Thought you'd like to pick."

"I don't care."

"Part of your problem…"

"Don't start that now," Ichigo turned to glare at him.

"Okay. Where do you want to eat?"

"I don't know. You pick, you're driving."

"And you're the one fresh out of the hospital so you pick."

Ichigo just turned to look back out the window as city's the buildings and its people dashed by him. This really was bad. They couldn't even agree on a place to eat. At this point Ichigo feared they would never really agree on anything. He closed his eyes and blocked out the morning sunlight. It was giving him a headache.

"Look… Do you just want to just go home?" Isshin spoke up.

Ichigo opened eyes and turned to look at his dad again.

"I… Don't know…" Ichigo mumbled just over a whisper.

"Are you that uncomfortable to be around me?"

"I…"

"You don't know? I'll just take you home."

"No… I…"

Isshin let out a loud huff as he came to a stop at a traffic light. He turned briefly to look at Ichigo. He had his eyes glued to the dark gray dashboard. His son couldn't even turn to look at him. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the traffic light.

"How about this? We just grab something at the next fast-food joint we see and get you home. Just be done with it."

"Fine…"

Isshin drew in another sharp breath, waiting for the light to change. Ichigo looked back out at the lightly tinted window. People walked by on the sidewalks, going about their daily lives. Ichigo wondered how many were real humans like his father or how many are were-animals like him. It was odd that he still considered Isshin his dad but he was his dad. It was weird really. He knew he was a tiger but he identified as human. He didn't even like to hear the words werecat or bakeneko or whatever. The car gave a slight jerk as it started to move again along the street.

Isshin found a small fast-food place and pulled in. He went through the drive thru and ordered. He then pulled around and picked up the order. Ichigo hadn't said much other than what he wanted to eat. They were on the east side of town and it would take a little while to get back to the apartment.

Ichigo continued to stare out the window when he noticed a familiar structure off in the distance with cars filling the large newly paved parking lot. It was the new zoo of all things. He snorted a bit as they drove by. Well, he honestly hadn't expected to see that place again. But he hadn't seen it before. The tiger had. But yet he was still the tiger. Once again it became weird. Was he the tiger or Ichigo? He ran a hand down his damaged face, feeling every little rough scab and swollen area. Clearly that gang saw him as the tiger but how did he truly see himself? He wanted to identify and had been identifying as Kurosaki Ichigo but could he truly do that? He also knew that he referred to himself as the tiger as well at times so what was he?

After a bit of a drive Ichigo and his father arrived back at the small apartment building. Isshin parked the car and got out first. Ichigo followed next and shut his door. Isshin fiddled with Ichigo's keys and opened the door. Ichigo stumbled in after his father, shutting and locking the door behind him. Now that they here and inside the apartment what was going to happen now? Now doubt the argument that he had been dreading was about to begin. Hopefully it wouldn't be anything too bad or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

Isshin walked over to the couch and set the food bag next to him. Ichigo took the farthest cushion from his father, leaving the bag of food with its own seat smackdab tween them. They still didn't say anything as Isshin separated out the food. He handed Ichigo his meal and grabbed his own. He unwrapped his food and glanced over at Ichigo. His son just had his food sitting in his lap, unopened.

"You're not going to eat after all?"

Ichigo hastily picked up the food item and opened it roughly.

"Hey, hey! Don't! Stop that!"

Ichigo tossed it back to his side onto the empty cushion. Isshin looked at the discarded food, half opened. He wrapped his food back up and placed it on the armrest of the grey sofa. He was no longer hungry. What was Ichigo's problem all of a sudden he was acting worse than before. Was it because he was anticipating an argument? In honestly Isshin knew it was coming too. He wanted to know why Ichigo was attacked and why he lied about it. Ichigo wasn't just going to come out a say it. The boy was too stubborn for that.

"You want to just get this over with?" Isshin asked and Ichigo nodded the best he could in the neck brace. "Okay… Since you want to just get this out of way so badly, why did you feel the need to lie to Inoue and myself last night?"

Isshin watched as Ichigo gave him a sideways glance. Isshin cross his arms over is chest as Ichigo turned away again.

"It was a personal issue."

"Care to share said 'personal issue?'"

"No."

"I didn't think so. Did you instigate that attack?"

"No. That much was true."

"Well, the attack seemed a little personal, don't you think? Like they had a grudge against you. Can you explain that much?"

"I didn't know them from a hole in the ground. All I know was that I said something to somebody, they retold it a different way, and then that happened."

Ichigo was just summing things up, leaving out any real detail. Isshin set his jaw some and adjusted himself a bit more on the couch.

"Did this someone have a vendetta against you?"

"No, it was a misunderstanding."

"And this misunderstanding got you kidnapped and beaten? Sounds like a pretty damn big misunderstanding."

"Well, that's what it was! That' all it was," Ichigo snapped getting to his feet in a haste.

"Okay! Okay! Calm down," Isshin replied. "Sit back down. I'd like to do this calmly considering your concussion."

"I'd rather not being doing this at all!"

"I know you don't but I need to know. Please sit back down."

Ichigo hesitated for a moment before plopping his butt back onto the soft sofa. He looked away from his father in a huff. Isshin unfolded his arms and rubbed the inner corners of his eyes with his right hand.

"Okay so it was a misunderstanding. That's not hitting on much but I'll take it—for now. However, why didn't you call, have the police call, or the clinic call us? And don't tell me you were embarrassed because you got your ass kicked."

"That was part of the personal issue."

"Ah… Okay. Ichigo, let me tell you something you may have over looked."

"That being…?"

"Most people see doctors, like myself, as someone that just heals people. We tell the patient what's wrong with them whether it's something as benign as a pulled muscle or something serious like cancer. But they don't think too much of the other side of our job. Sometimes we have to do actual detective work on crimes. Like why did this person get stabbed, how did this person get bitten by a dog, or why does this child have so many broken bones? Doctors don't just heal we help pick up the slack sometimes for criminal cases. I've done it more times than I can count. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"Yes."

"I just want the truth. I'd just like for you tell me what really happened. You've been keeping a lot from me. I just haven't said anything but I know something is wrong and I've noticed it well before this gang attack. I know I lost track of you for 3 years but even still there is just something odd about you I can't quite put my finger on."

Ichigo's whole body stiffed and his eyes widened. He slowly turned to face his father again. Amidst the anger and annoyance on his father's face there was real worry and confusion mixed in. Was there a big enough of change with him that even after having no contacted with his father for years that he knew something was different? His heart felt like it was in a vice grip and worry with touch of panic set in. His father noticed a change in him. No the change in him. Did Orihime notice it too?

"I-I can't tell you. I just can't. You... You wouldn't understand."

"How do you know you won't tell me anything? Listen, Ichigo for 3 years I lost contact with you. Three year with you I'm not getting back. So yes, I'm going to nosey about a lot of things about you. I'm really worried about you. Ever since your return into my life you haven't been the same. You really haven't."

"A lot can happen in three years and people change sometimes. It shouldn't be that big of a surprise that I'm not the same person I was before I left. I lived on the streets for 2 solid years for crying out loud. I'm going to change in some ways."

"No—it's something else," Isshin shook his head and Ichigo's tension started to build even more. "I never expected you to be the exact same when I saw you again. That would be stupid to assume that but there is something about you that just seems like…"

"L-like what? Tell me." Ichigo's mouth felt a little dry.

"Well, you just seem… Huh, now don't take this the wrong way but you…" Isshin was hesitating some and it was just eating at Ichigo's insides. "You really don't seem to be same person I should know. I've known you since the day were born and I watched you grow up day after day. When I look at you now… I mean really look at you, I don't see Ichigo. I don't see my son in your eyes. I feel like I'm looking at and talk to someone other than who I should be. I don't like that and frankly you scare me sometimes. Even looking at you right it doesn't really feel like I'm talking to…"

Isshin stopped talking and dropped his gaze, turning it towards the floor. Honestly, he didn't understand why that was. He knew that was his son it looked and sounded every bit like Ichigo but at the same time it felt like an imposter sitting beside him. Some sort of clone or doppelganger that took over his son's life and did a near perfect impersonation. Near perfect. There were tiny holes and Isshin could see them. He had no idea if Orihime saw them. She hadn't known him for that long so chances were very low of her seeing the same minuscule holes. He heard Ichigo draw in a shaky breath and slowly let it back out.

"Wh-what are you saying? I-I'm not your s-son?" Ichigo choked out, putting a hand over his rapidly pounding heart.

"I'm not saying that. I just… Damn. I don't know but you won't tell me anything that's wrong with you. You just keep telling me it's a 'personal issue.' You say I won't understand but you won't tell me anything about it. You're hiding something and I think you're physically hiding as well to a certain degree. I don't know how to explain any of this to you. I don't know how to convey what I'm seeing and feeling from you. I know you're my son but then there just something that's contradicting that. Like mimicry or camouflage… You're him but you're not him at the same time…"

Ichigo knew what he was getting at. He was everything Isshin had just said. His own eyes quickly fell to the floor as well. He was Ichigo but he wasn't Ichigo. He was a tiger but he wasn't a tiger. He bit his lips and knitted his hands together, setting them in his lap. He could show his father the tiger but the thought of rejection and ridicule felt like a 1,000 tons crushing down on his heart. He just couldn't do that. He couldn't even show Orihime. How could he think of showing his other side to his father?

He had time still until the Downfall set it. Maybe he could figure out something by then but he was running out of time so he had better start planning now. Silence filled the large room as neither of them looked at each other or made a sound. Isshin said what he wanted to get his own pains off his chest but Ichigo couldn't do the same. He wished he could but there was no way he could. People were cruel, even loved ones were cruel and they were usually the cruelest of them all. He squeezed his hands tighter together.

Should he bite the bullet and see if his father rejected him? No doubt he'd turn around and tell Orihime his secret. So maybe not. Something like this wasn't easy to keep to oneself. It was a large secret and the larger the secret the harder it is to keep it all in. No, he couldn't. He just couldn't let his father see the tiger hidden within. It would only confirm his suspicions but then again it could put his old man at ease. Would it be worth it though? He wouldn't show him the full tiger just enough to show him that he was indeed different but…

He didn't know what to do. He could show his father now and either accept the rejection or see if his father could accept it. Maybe he could wait until he started Downfall. The traits would show without him having to force out the tiger. Then again the longer he waited it could cause more problems. Maybe it would be good to have one person on his side. He wanted someone to talk to but then again was his dad the right choice? He was human after all and not a bakeneko and he would not understand too much. There were just too many variables to try and sort out. Did the pros outweigh the cons? He didn't know. He could show his father right now or just keep it hidden like he had been.

"I suppose… We'll just drop this for now," Isshin spoke in a low tone. "No point in dragging out this awkward conversation. It's dead anyway."

His dad was willing to just let it go for now and maybe it was for the best. Then again this might be his best chance to show him or this could be a horrible idea either way he looked at it. Right now he could keep his secret for a little longer or just show him the truth. What should he do?

(A/N Yes, what should he do? I'm giving you a chance to answer that for me. Yes or no? Should Ichigo bite the bullet or wait a while longer? I'm letting you all decided on what should happen. Let me now in the reviews. I'll tally them up and go from there. Thank you.)

Millie M. Banshee