Isshin needed some answers to all the questions he had from last night. If he had a petal for every ounce of confusion, curiosity, and questioning in his mind, he'd probably be able to replicate Byakuya's Senbonzakura. Thankfully, the clinic was having a calm day and his kids were at school, so he could take a visit to Urahara's and hopefully get some answers. Then again, trying to get answers out of Urahara could be like trying to grab onto a butter-coated eel. In layman's terms, difficult as getting rid of that basket on top of Komamura's head. Isshin locked the door and went the normal route to the shoten, or the route taken by denizens of the World of the Living. Technically, he was such a denizen. People greeted him every now and then, him returning such greetings with 'Hi!' or 'How ya doing?'. But that was simply common courtesy, and Isshin arrived at the shoten in decent time.
The bell signifying entry ringed clearly above Isshin's head and he found Ururu doing some coloring by a table. She was about Yuzu and Karin's ages with black hair and the most untidy bangs Isshin ever saw. She looked up from her coloring, seemingly knowing the question on Isshin's mind
"Dad's doing his experiments again." Ururu plainly stated, her focus more on whatever she was coloring than the former Shinigami.
"How long until he's done?" Isshin asked.
"Soon." Ururu answered, still focused on her coloring. So Isshin sat down on the tatami mats of the shoten and waited. Or at least he tried to. Isshin wasn't the most patient man in the world, but if it were for his kids, he'd wait till the worlds collapsed. Soon, Urahara came out from doing whatever it was that he was doing, that damned hat covering his eyes with a shadow and geta clogs clacking against the hard floor of the shoten.
"My, my, what brings you here to my shop, Isshin?" Urahara asked, voice cheery as usual.
"Private matters." Isshin responded, his tone serious. Ururu didn't need to be told to leave the room and picked up her things. Urahara sat across from Isshin on the tatami mat, playful attitude replaced by a more serious demeanor. It was a tad unnerving as to how Urahara could swap his moods so quickly, but Isshin put that matter to the side.
"Is this about Masaki's Hollow?" Seemed that Urahara was as perceptive as ever. Isshin nodded, his stress decreased a little bit.
"Yes. The Hollow transferred to my son's soul." Urahara didn't seem surprised, though it was hard to tell what the shopkeeper felt.
"Has the Hollow attempted to take over at any point?" Urahara took out his fan and waved it a bit, given it was a hot day.
"No. Well, at least not without Ichigo's consent. But that's not what I'm worried about, Urahara." Isshin said, worry sewing itself into the fabric of his voice.
"Then what is there to fret over, Isshin? It seems that Ichigo and the Hollow have a good relationship and your son hasn't shown any signs of hollowfication, has he?" Isshin gave him a confused stare and Urahara quickly realized the error in his statement.
"Oh, right. Given your background, you only knew how to determine hollowfication based on changes in the soul. Well, there are psychological and behavioral changes that prelude to the physical ones." Isshin was about to ask why that didn't happen to Masaki when he remembered that Quicnies were much more sensitive to hollowfication than other souls and often spelled doom for the unfortunate Quincy.
"Well, what are those signs Urahara? I need to know." Isshin said, his concern growing.
"The main ones are the body slowly rejecting consumables that don't mirror the diet of a Hollow-"
"You mean rejecting things that aren't the blood or flesh of a human?!" Oh Reio, what was going to happen to his son?!
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A Hollow Crown
FanfictionFor as long as Ichigo could remember, he's been able hear a voice that only he could hear. In addition to that, he was able to see the dearly departed and odd mask-wearing creatures the voice called 'Hollows'. This voice has also been one of his few...
