Admiration (Bleach Fanfic)

Rescued

Rain poured down in the town, drenching him from head to foot as he sat on the sidewalk, his body way to heavy to move, frustrations building within his mind. He had gone for so long without food and that he might very well die where he was, and no one would truly know what had happened to him, all in thanks to that treacherous man, 001 Aizen. Hope was bleak.

If all living souls could see him, he would have to say that he was quite sure he would have caused a stir now, as he had been sitting there, propped up against the wall for quite a few days now. He couldn't tell for how long, as it had been raining quite strongly, so there was no sunshine to allow him to guess by. But if the number of times he saw familiar faces coming and going, he would guess three to four days.

He wouldn't be able to last much longer and knew that he was lucky enough to have lived this long, what with having lost his powers, and other factors. Factors like his body being frozen to the bone due to the rain, causing his temperature to drop, or the lack of food in his belly. He also had come to have quite a bruising from his fall. But his mind focused more on what he would be missing due to his death.

Shiro-chan, he figured, would have to be pulled out of weather like this, as the child had no idea about the cold around him, and never had the audacity to bundle up unless it got very bad. He would have made a comment to Rangiku and Isshin though about making sure they bundled up. This caused Isshin to shake his head yet again.

"I can't be thinking about what he might say… that doesn't help me," he muttered aloud again, knowing that people would tend not to hear him.

"Who would say what that wouldn't help you?" came the sudden voice from above.

This caused Isshin to suddenly look up in sudden surprise. A young woman, closely equivalent to his age likely, stood in front of him, an umbrella in her hand. She had beautiful eyes and strawberry blond hair that was even more curly then Matsumoto's. He realized then he shouldn't think such thoughts at times like this, but his mind wasn't exactly thinking right. "How can you see me?"

"Answer my question first," she smiled, bending down so that she could see him better.

"He's… a child I know, a brilliant one, who thinks that he is an adult when he really isn't, though he tends to give more sound advice then most adults I know," Isshin stated.

"So… what would he have said that wouldn't have helped you," the woman smiled.

"Oh… I am sure he would have come up with something," Isshin gave a half smile. "I was just thinking about how the weather would phase him, and he wouldn't bundle up, but he would tell everyone else too."

"Would you like my help?" the woman smiled at him.

"You… haven't exactly answered my question," Isshin muttered.

"Well, if you think about it, as a shingami, you should already have known that certain souls are born with high levels of reiatsu and can see the dead," the woman laughed. "I didn't think I needed to answer. By the way, my name is Masaki."

"Isshin…" he stated firmly. "I don't see how you can help. Even though no one could see me, it isn't good for a male to stay with a single female."

"Who says I'm single?" the woman laughed.

"Says the fact that you have no wedding band," Isshin sighed.

"So you caught me," she smiled. "Don't worry… I shouldn't know the term reiatsu, so that should tell you someone taught it to me. I am going to go to them for help and I will be back as soon as possible. Try to hold out that long."

As he saw her retreat away, his senses dulled and he found himself falling asleep.

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