The Long Way Home

Part Nine

Unahana had not been surprised to see that Orihime had company. The two young men were both asleep in their chairs, so she had not disturbed them. She had what she needed and had left without ever waking them up.

She was now standing outside the Kurosaki residence. Waiting.

It didn't take long for Isshin to come out to her. "Greetings, Issshin. May I offer you my condolences at this time." She reached over and kissed him gently in the cheek. "I am truly sorry this has happened to you."

"Thanks." He looked up and down the street. "That's nice to know, but why are you here?"

"I wanted to update you on Orihime's condition. I understand she is a dear friend of Ichigo's."

"She is." Isshin's face fell. "Was. Damn it."

Unahana reached out and gently squeezed his arm. "These times will be hard, of course. But Ichigo's legacy in this world will live on. His heart already beats in a young woman's chest." She looked up to the lights in Isshin's apartment. "I know this information is confidential, but there is a comfort for you in it. Your daughte's will find comfort in it and I am sure with Ichigo's abilities, he will come back to this world to serve its lost souls. I am sure you will see him again here."

Isshin sniffed. "I know. But I..." He sighed. "How is Orihime?"

"She is strong, but she is tangled up; her resistance is fading. I will need her friends when the time comes. For now I know the strength of the antidote she needs. I will return to the Soul Society and begin work immediately. She should recover, but it won't be anytime soon and her friends will play a large part in that."

"Thank you for coming, Unahana. I appreciate it."

She smiled at him. "We are friends of old, Isshin. How could I not come round at this time?" Another gentle peck on his cheek, a squeeze of his arm and she was gone.

Isshin turned his gaze to the sky, looking at the stars.

And cried.

It was midday and the sun had decided to come out and bathe the small yard in sunshine. Ichigo was scrubbing at clothes that had to be washed, trying not to think what the various stains might be.

Hiroko had explained to him the proper way to clean the clothes as he had no clue. No one he knew washed clothes by hand. He just threw his stuff in the wash basket and when It was his turn he'd put them in the washing machine. It was hard to wash them by hand, but he took some pleasure from the fact that he was making Hiroko's life a bit easier.

"You're actually quite muscular, Ruko." Hiroko was now hanging clothes on the line. She nodded down at his arms, his slaves rolled to stop them getting wet. "You are stronger than you look."

Ichigo smiled. Out of this whole mess, Hiroko was one the one good thing to have happened to him

Well, that's not exactly true. You remember the feel of him, don't you?

Ichigo ducked his head so Hiroko couldn't see his face. "Thanks. I'm sure you must be stronger though, if you do this all the time by yourself." He thought back to what Kenpachi had said, 'I can sense what you're hiding.' He closed his eyes and tried to focus on his own spiritual pressure, concentrating, finding the sense of it and searching for more. He quickly found Hiroko's and turned to her in surprise. He could feel the power she was hiding deep inside of herself. A red ribbon floated around her, but very close to her body. Hiding.

Before she saw him staring he turned back to the task in hand. He wasn't great with the whole spiritual pressure thing, but he could tell that she had some power behind her. He thought of his own power, of Zangetsu. He paused in his scrubbing and looked down at his hands. He always felt comfortable holding his sword, no matter the worries and fears of any battle. Zangetsu was a part of him and he missed that.