Serendipity

Cigar Blues (Part 2)

Kurosaki Isshin's white captain haori fluttered in the cool night breeze as he stared down the massive Hollow known as Grand Fisher.

"Kurosaki... I see..." Grand Fisher said as he stared down at the Shinigami who had just introduced himself only moments ago. "You are Kurosaki Ichigo's..."

"Father," Isshin finished for him, smirking.

"So, that's Kurosaki Ichigo's father? He looks kind of familiar..." Seren mused as she watched Isshin's little Mexican standoff with Urahara from a safe distance away, peeking around the corner of the office building they were hiding behind.

After seeing how massive Grand Fisher was, and his partially removed mask, she had wondered if they should help, but Urahara insisted that they should let Isshin handle it on his own. He had his own personal reasons for wanting to fight it.

Isshin picked up the omamori that had fallen to the ground after blocking the Hollow's attack. "Hey! Catch, Kon," he told the mod-soul in his son's body as he tossed the protective talisman to him. "This charm was meant for you to begin with."

'H-He even knows my name!' Kon thought, shocked. Beads of nervous sweat formed on his brow. "Si... Since when...? When did you figure out that I wasn't Ichigo?" he asked.

"From the beginning," Isshin replied simply. "Ever since the day we went to visit Masaki's grave... when I saw you enter Ichigo's body for the first time. Think about it. I've never once called you 'Ichigo' while you were in his body. I may look like a fool, but my senses are quite keen."

Kon could help but stare at the man before him in awe. He just couldn't believe this was really happening...

WHAM!

"Huh!?" Kon shouted, flinching in surprise, when Grand Fisher suddenly slammed his fist into the ground, shattering the concrete. Isshin remained perfectly calm, unfazed by the hollow's scare tactic.

"I see... if his father is a Shinigami, then Kurosaki Ichigo is the real thing... Now I understand why I lost to him," Grand Fisher said. "However, Isshin, or whatever your name is... I have no interest in you," he declared as he pointed at the powerful Shinigami before him. "My reason for coming here tonight is to kill Kurosaki Ichigo. If you're his father, then you must know where he is. So, hand him over!"

"Hell if I know where he's gone. He's not a kid anymore," Isshin said carelessly. "Anyhow, I'm a non-interventionist when it comes to parenting."

"Liar! You're pretty strict with the girls," Kon interjected, sweat-dropping.

"Yuzu and Karin are different! Girls and boys are different! Very different!" Isshin protested defensively, sweating nervously, as he pressed his hands together and waved them back and forth to emphasize his point.

Seren sweat-dropped. He'd probably get along pretty well with her dad... they both had the same overprotective attitude towards their daughters.

"Besides, even if you have no interest in me, I came here to cut you down!" Isshin said boldly, turning his attention back on the Hollow. "So if you don't treat me as your opponent... It'll cause problems."

Grand Fisher's eyes widened in surprise as he started at the shinigami.

"Heeeh–––" he laughed mockingly as his lips curled into a devious smirk.

Isshin frowned slightly as the Hollow continued his fit of maniacal laughter.

"You came to cut me down!? You sure talk big for someone who looks like a Shinigami!!" Grand Fisher roared with laughter. "Surely, you don't think that I'm just a regular Hollow!? Look carefully!" he shouted, shattering his mask. "This is... the extent... of my power!!"

"!!" Seren gasped when she felt the powerful surge in his reiatsu. Her eyes widened as she watched him begin his transformation. "This... Is that... an arrancar!?"

"..." Urahara said grimly as he watched the fight. This was exactly why he had brought her along.

She needed to see this.

"So... so damn big..." Kon said nervously as he stared up at the transformed Hollow. "It's nothing like the menos I saw before...!"

Grand Fisher had become as massive and tall buildings around them, and his mask had been completely removed from his face, and reformed into two huge tusks coming out of his shoulders. He had never seen anything like it...

"Menos, you say? Don't group me with the likes of them!" Grand Fisher said with disdain. "I'm an..."

"Arrancar!" Isshin interjected suddenly. "A group of Hollows who have removed their masks and attempted to gain the powers of a shinigami. Am I right?" he asked, smirking at the look on Grand Fisher's face.

"Surprise, surprise. You're actually pretty knowledgeable," Grand Fisher congratulated him rather patronizingly. "So then... You should know very well that you cannot win against this sword!" he declared confidently as he drew a katana from the sheath on his back.

"A zanpakutō...!? It's friggin' huge...!" Kon exclaimed incredulously.

"That's right! The size of a zanpakutō is relative to the strength of the spiritual power of the one who wields it!" Grand Fisher boasted. "With a twig-sized zanpakutō like yours... there's no way you can beat me, fool!!"

"... Is that so? Then, why don't we... give it a try?" Isshin suggested calmly as he shifted his stance, preparing to draw his sword. He grinned up at the Arrancar fearlessly.

"Looks like you're... one of those Shinigami... who disregards their common sense," Grand Fisher said, frowning in annoyance. "Fine then."

FWISSSH! SLASH!

In that split-second, the Shinigami and Arrancar struck simultaneously. A powerful and precise blow sliced clean through its target, revealing a glimpse of the crescent moon through parted flesh.

Grand Fisher moaned in pain as he fell to his knees, leaning against his sword for support. He had lost.

"Allow me to... teach you some of the basics. All captain class Shinigami are consciously controlling the size of their zanpakutō. Otherwise... they would have to swing around a zanpakutō the size of a skyscraper, much like what you're doing," Isshin said calmly as he sung his sword to remove the blood from it before sheathing it again. "Remember this, you cannot judge an opponent's strength by how large his zanpakutō is. Don't talk about a Shinigami's strength... until you can understand that, boy," he concluded as blood spurted forth from Grand Fisher's wound, and the Hollow's body fell.