Untitled fic

Author: autumnsoliloquy

Fandom: Bleach

Characters/Pairings: Isshin, Kurosaki Ichigo x Kuchiki Rukia

Spoilers: Bleach Manga 423

Warning: PG

Disclaimer: Bleach obviously does not belong to me. You know the drill.

A/N: Not my best fic, unbeta-ed, but I just had to write this plot bunny out somehow.

Just as he expected, he felt her reiatsu within vicinity at the same time every day. It was always just as he finished clearing up at the clinic to call it a day, so once he was done with work, he would cross over to the main house. And sure enough, he found her standing at the same spot by the door, staring somewhere in the direction of the stairs, appearing pale and ethereal like a ghostly apparition.

"Instead of just staring in that direction, why don't you just go up there for once?"

Rukia jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. Isshin sniggered inwardly at the girl's reaction. He made a mental note to tip Urahara again for giving him a reiatsu-masking gigai.

"Ojiisama, you scared me."

Isshin poured himself a cup of tea and sat on one of the chairs around the dining table. He made another cup and set it at the end of the table, motioning the invisible occupant of the room to join him for afternoon tea.

"Thank you for the offer, ojiisama. But I won't be staying long..." she said hesitantly, making a motion to leave.

"Ah, but you stayed much longer yesterday, Rukia-chan. And the day before too," Isshin grinned mischievously. "And the day before that."

Rukia hung her head low as a response, and Isshin almost felt bad for his teasing. He only wanted to make her smile.

It's been two months since his son completely lost his shinigami powers, taking along with it his ability to sense spiritual entities. Everyday since then, the young female shinigami would visit the house at this time of the day, but she would never step beyond the boundaries of the living room. She would simply stand there as if mulling things over, as if waiting for something. In a sense, Isshin understood what Rukia was feeling. His young idiot of a son has yet to make a move and do something, and yet the situation is such that the onus is on the girl to make the move. Ah, young love, Isshin thought. Young people can be so stupid sometimes.

Isshin took a sip of the hot tea. "You should visit Ichigo tomorrow in a gigai instead." Masaki's smiling face on the wall poster seemed to approve of his idea.

Rukia hesitated for a while, but it seemed that this idea has been playing over in her mind for some time. Finally she spoke, "I don't know if I should."

"Rukia-chan," Isshin directed his gaze at her. "You do know that my son is an idiot, right?"

This managed to steal a smile from her lips, making Isshin feel very accomplished with himself. "If you keep waiting for him, nothing will happen."

Rukia said nothing in response and merely stared at the legs of the table as if in deep rumination. All of a sudden, there was a sound of feet thundering down the stairs, and in a flash, Kurosaki Ichigo appeared at its foot and made his way towards the dining room.

Rukia looked surprised at his sudden appearance. Isshin almost forgot that it's not just Ichigo who hasn't seen her for a while; she has denied herself of even looking at his physical form too. He wondered if it was for the reason that she did not want to have to face up to Ichigo not acknowledging her presence, and judging from the look on her face as Ichigo strode past her obliviously towards the dining room, Isshin wondered if he could have done anything to prevent it from ending up this way.

"Oyaji," his son said as he pulled up a chair beside him. "You free to talk?" Ichigo looked like he had something important to say, but was trying to be casual about it. But Isshin knew his son well.

"I need to ask you something."

Isshin was about to run to Masaki's poster in tears about his happiness that his son is finally opening up to him, but Ichigo seemed to have expected such a reaction from his father, so he pre-empted by saying, "This is really important, Oyaji."

Isshin returned to his seat and was immediately the picture of a serious father. "Well, if you put it that way... Since you have abandoned trying to look cool in front of your dad..."

"Please help me regain my powers."

The seriousness in his son's request almost took Isshin aback. Granted, this was not the first time he's heard such determination and maturity in his son's voice. During the War in Hueco Mundo, Ichigo's maturity upon finding out that his father was a shinigami surprised Isshin too. He guessed that perhaps, he's been underestimating his son a lot. Or perhaps, it's because of the girl standing in the shadows in the adjacent room, unseen and presence unfelt.

Rukia's gaze met with Isshin's, and slowly, the female shinigami started to move towards the door.

"Stay," Isshin said out loud, too loud perhaps, that both Ichigo and Rukia appeared startled. "Stay with us, here, your family."

Ichigo looked confused, but eventually his confusion turned to frustration. "Where's the link even, Oyaji?"

Ichigo looked as if he was about to give up on a serious conversation with his father, but Isshin was contented to see that even though Rukia's back was still facing them, she no longer headed for the exit but rather stood rooted to the spot.

"Ah forget it. Why do I bother trying to-"

"When I married your mother, I gave up everything, including my powers."

Ichigo was about to storm off in annoyance, but the sudden turn in his father's tone of voice returned him to his seat.

"I could have just kept my shinigami powers and still live as a human, but I chose not to. In a sense, it was my way of telling your mother that I gave up everything for this family, that I no longer have this back-up safety net should I regret things and return to Soul Society, which I never thought I would regret and I still don't regret doing all the things I did."

"When you were born, I wished and prayed that none of my children would inherit my powers nor ever have to set foot on Soul Society, but it seemed that fate was not on this father's side. In the end, you did become what I never could be."

Isshin looked at both kids and they were both deep in thought at his words. "I promised your mother that you will live a long fulfilling life. Now that fate is finally on my side and took you away from the dangers of Soul Society, why should I help my own son back into it? You chose this, Ichigo. Now don't regret it."

Ichigo stared into his father's eyes with determination. Isshin was expecting a backlash from his teenage son, but instead Ichigo sighed. "I guess it's unfair of me to ask you this favour." And with that, he walked away.

"It's Rukia, isn't it?" Isshin called out.

Ichigo stopped in his tracks just in front of the girl he couldn't even see nor feel. Rukia turned around to face him, scrutinising the face of the one she has not seen in a long while.

For a moment, Ichigo said nothing, and Isshin just watched the two children standing there and laughed sardonically at the tragedy of the situation. The finally, Ichigo spoke so softly that Isshin could barely hear what he said.

"You gave up your powers for Okaachan. I don't want her to have to make that decision, Oyaji. That's why... That's why I need to regain my powers. If you could give up your powers for Okaachan, what's the difference in me trying to regain my powers for her?"

Rukia reached out her hand to touch Ichigo's face, but he could not feel her. He sighed and said as he walked away, "Sorry I asked you this impossible request, Oyaji. I will find other ways to regain my powers, but I will definitely do so, I promise you that."

"I'll be going, Ojiisama," Rukia said, trying to hide her disappointment from something she expected but has not truly prepared herself for.

"I hope that helped you sort your mind out. See you around, Rukia-chan!" Isshin called out to her fading figure.

"Rukia?"

Ichigo turned around. "Rukia!"

"She's gone, my son."

"Why didn't you tell me she's here?"

Isshin smiled to himself. "She'll be back tomorrow. And hopefully, by then you'll be able to see her."

Concrit would be nice.