Understanding II: School Daze (Bleach Fanfic)

Parental Prerogative

Isshin watched the small child as he was propped up in the hospital bed. The child was abnormally silent despite the fact this normally would have been the time that Toshiro would have been blabbing and explaining everything. The man let out a deep sigh and reached up to scratch his dark hair. "Toshiro..."

Two teal eyes glanced up with a disturbingly relaxed look, one that seemed fake. "Yes taicho?

"Do you mind telling me what happened to you today? I swore you were supposed to be upstairs resting." The man crossed his arms and sat down in the chair. "I wonder if he doesn't think what happened was a big deal or he's purposefully trying to hide something from me." Toshiro's face faltered suddenly. "He's keeping something from me."

Toshiro glanced at his hands. "You promise not to be mad at Karin if I tell you everything like you want me to tell you?"

"I'm already mad at her for not coming and getting me when the situation was obviously out of her hands." Isshin closed his eyes in frustration, again rubbing the top of his head.

"She didn't know that I could have healed myself using kido, so..." The boy didn't expect the man to suddenly stand up and come towards him. He suddenly found himself clutching a stinging right cheek where the man had chosen to slap him hard.

"You think you could have handled those injuries on your own Toshiro?" The man felt like everything he had worked for with the boy was suddenly crumbling to pieces.

A smile crept across the boy's face and he shut his eyes. There was honestly something creepy about the look, not to mention off setting about what Toshiro said next. "I think it is better that you be mad with me about the situation then her."

Isshin suddenly grabbed the boy by the front of the hospital gown and placed his face right in front of the child's. "You think I am mad at you? Are you an idiot?"

The smile left the small taicho's face. "You slapped me though. I did something wrong, didn't I?"

"You really think that the emotion I am feeling right now is anger?" The man let go of Toshiro's clothing, his mood darkening drastically. "I'm angry with Karin, yes. But the feeling I am feeling right now the most is fear. When Ichigo brought me up to his room and I saw you like that, I thought I was going to lose you."

"That has nothing to do with you slapping me!" The boy's eyes suddenly flashed with anger and frustration.

"It doesn't? My fear of losing you abated when we got you fixed up. And then you had to go and say that." Isshin snapped the words out. "As I said Toshiro, do you think that you could have handled those injuries on your own?"

"Taicho..." Two small hands clutched the bed sheets tightly. "I understand that I am supposed to be acting more my age. I also understand I am supposed to be accepting the fact there are going to be times that I am going to be treated as a child until I am full grown. However... I am a shinigami, a captain of the gotei thirteen. Don't treat me like I'm a child when it comes to my abilities in this regaurd."

The man gritted his teeth and there was a resounding slapping sound across the other cheek. A tear managed to trickle down on that side while a small had reached up and touched it from shock. "Why? You've never treated me like this before. Why are you so mad at me?"

"I am not mad at you. You're scaring me Toshiro." Isshin took a deep breath and sat down, figuring this method was not working for obvious reasons. "This isn't about me thinking you couldn't heal yourself like the other high ranking officers. It has to do with the fact that you had an injury that needed to be healed by another person and your reiatsu was tanking."

The man continued, "My problem is your inability to assess the situation when it comes to yourself. You aren't aware of the things that may hurt and kill you and you brush off the fact you almost died as if it was nothing. And you wonder why I am upset?"

"It is the cold hard truth that all shinigami die taicho. I resolved to that fact a long time ago, long before you left Soul Society."

Isshin found himself glancing up again. While Toshiro didn't have his eyes closed, that grin crept across his face again. The man stood up and reached for Toshiro's face. The boy flinched but he managed to grab his face and force two teal eyes to look him straight in the face. A level of fear at how the man would react was obviously there.

"Do you understand that you are scaring me again Toshiro?"

"You're just mad at me." The boy glanced down and tried reaching up to pull the hands away.

"No you don't!" Isshin snapped the words out. "What you just said confirmed what I was afraid about, what I've been afraid of since I found out about you being sent on this vacation of yours. You confirmed what I think everyone else has been worried and fearing, that you don't care if you get hurt and you don't care if you die."

Two teal eyes glanced away in frustration. "I don't see the point in the conversation we're having taicho."

"Except you're doing it again!" The man grumbled. "Please look me in the face." The man frowned when he realized he was getting no response. "I asked you, if you realized that you were scaring me."

"Taicho isn't scared of anything..." Toshiro continued to look at his hands.

Isshin let out a sigh. "I'm scared of my children getting hurt or dying." The man watched as the boy pulled away, refusing to look him in the face. The former taicho of the tenth stood up. "Look, I'll leave it at this today as you have enough to think about. I'll ask you tomorrow what happened between you and Karin."

He got all the way to the door, when he heard a small voice from behind him."Taicho! Wait!"

The man glanced over his shoulder and smiled at the boy. He saw that Toshiro had gotten back into the bed and had pulled the sheets back up. The child still refused to look him in the eye. "What is it Toshiro?"

"I didn't just scare you, did I? Could you tell your family not to worry about me?"

The smile suddenly disappeared from the man's face. "You aren't exactly fine either."

"I'm not saying to tell them I'm fine. And please don't get mad at her. It isn't fun to be yelled at, even when one deserves it."