Life of Simplicity (Bleach Fanfic)

Simply Family *Ichigo*

When things had calmed down a bit, Ichigo and his father had found a room. The place was in truth, peaceful and quiet, where they figured that no one would bother them. They needed to talk about certain things. Even so, there was a collective silence between the two.

"So," the substitute shingami suddenly let out a deep breath.

"I am not quite sure where to start," the man sighed, glancing at the ceiling, in a usual Isshin fashion, the more serious kind.

"I'll start by asking, how long did you know I was running around fighting hollows?" came the first question out of his son's mouth.

"I knew…" Isshin paused, then placed a hand on his chin, and pulled his gaze back to the boy. "I remember clearly that night Ichigo, except for a few things. First off, I saw your little burglar friend."

"Burglar… you mean you lied about seeing Rukia when the two of us first met!" Ichigo wasn't so much angry, as shocked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I lied about seeing spirits just a few minutes before," the man shook his head, surprised that the boy had actually missed the obvious. "Then there was the fact, two people seeing a shingami, when people aren't supposed to would have been very suspicious. Are you sure you're my son?"

"Dad!" the teenager's face twisted in annoyance. "This is as bad as you suffocating me, because it wasn't the appropriate time. Or the fact that you ruined the moment, by correcting me. Sheesh. How do you remember when she used a memory modifier?"

"Same way others around you did, except I had my own spiritual pressure locked up," the man stated. "I went along with the truck thing, because Yuzu said that is what happened, and Karin backed her up.

"This also means that you knew Rukia's sob story wasn't true. That also means…" Ichigo shook his head in disbelief.

"… that I knew you had a teenaged girl staying in your closet," the man suddenly grumbled.

"Rukia isn't a teenager. She's over a hundred years old," Ichigo muttered, shaking his head.

"People age differently in Soul Society. She's still a teenager," the man shook his head at this.

"I get your point dad," Ichigo stated, as suddenly the door that had been closed, suddenly opened part of the way. Ichigo turned his head, to see two teal eyes peering in.

"I..." came the first syllable to both males name. The face belonging to the two eyes suddenly faltered. "Kurosaki, did you mean to say, he's your father?"

Ichigo watched as Hitsugaya Toshiro opened the door a little further, his eyes a little bit wide, glancing back and forth between the two. The teenaged shingami scratched his head. "I guess this is where I got my soul reaper powers from."

"I guess… that isn't so surprising," the small boy stated, yet his voice was still strained.

"Did you need something Toshiro?" came the junior Kurosaki's response.

"Ahh… no, I didn't need anything," the boy stated, his tone sounding a bit hurt about something, yet Ichigo couldn't figure out what was going on. The door then began to close. "I am sorry for interrupting."

"Damn it, Toshiro, it's obvious that you do need to talk to something," Ichigo grumbled, then turned to his father. "I am sure you wouldn't have minded if we held off on our conversation."

"The question is, Ichigo, would you have minded," Isshin stated, suddenly folding his arms across his chest and glancing at the ground.

"If Toshiro needed to talk to me, then I wouldn't have minded," the substitute shingami stated.

"What if you aren't the one he needs to talk to?" the man tried to dig something out of his son.

"I would have been upset, because he couldn't come and talk to me about it. He trusts me, doesn't he?" came the boy's quick response.

"Maybe it's because he trusts you, and respects you, that he backed off in the first place. It might also be something, he can't talk to you about, or it is something he has to talk to someone very specific, or it defeats the whole purpose," the man sighed, shaking his head.

"Toshiro needed to talk to you, didn't he," Ichigo sighed, suddenly getting what his father was getting at, then completely messed up again. "Why would someone as smart as Toshiro, need advice from someone who is as much of a baka as you are?"

This caused Isshin's eyebrows to rise. "Ichigo… obviously Toshiro once knew me, at some point. Maybe what he needed, wasn't advice, but that he was looking for something else. He used to be my lieutenant, before I left Soul Society."

"Toshiro… hey, you didn't practice your stupid parenting skills on him, did you?" came the boy's logical response.

"Yeah, I did. Let's just say, the three of you combined, were never near as a handful as he could be at times," the man gave a weak smile. "From the looks on his face, he had come looking for me, and hadn't realized you were also my son. Which means he hadn't realized that things had changed since I left. Of course, he had probably been elated, I was alive and not dead, so it didn't occur to him, there might be this kind of connection."

"So Toshiro's part of the family. Big woopy deal. I'm glad of it, because then he can't argue about me calling him by his first name… though that takes away some of the fun," Ichigo stated, only to be thumped on the head. He glared at his father. "What the hell was that for?"

"For being stupid," the man narrowed his eyes. "Obviously, he doesn't think he's part of the family. He feels replaced and left out. I need to talk to him, without you interfering. This is one of those times, its best you do what I tell you in the clinic, to stay out of the way, so you don't make it worse."

"So, your sure I can't be of help," Ichigo grumbled.

"If I can think of something, I will let you know. But don't go doing something stupid, which will make it worse. Because with Toshiro, when you make it worse, it isn't a minor worse, it is a big one," Isshin stated, slipping out of the room.

"Great…" Ichigo flopped onto the fourth division bed, frustrated at his life.