"Are you sure..."

"I'm sure I have things handled here Ichigo. After all, this used to be my job."

Ichigo's mouth twisted slightly, his mind still worrying about Toshiro knowing full well that the young taicho just had his world turned upside down; he himself had his entire world turned upside down and knew how he personally felt about that. Despite his feelings, he couldn't think of a single argument to use against his father, his mind remembering how easily the man told him off regarding helping in the clinic.

A sigh escaped his mouth. "Fine. I'll go home."

The Substitute Shinigami thus found himself heading back to the living world. The sun, of course, started rising, his mind still focused on how Toshiro was, in fact, handling things, the nagging feeling remaining in the back of his head as he entered the Kurosaki household through the window. Only, he didn't find his body their waiting for him which in turn meant Kon was downstairs.

Letting out a sigh, he headed down the stairs, freezing upon hearing Yuzu chat away with Atsuo discussing whatever they were making for breakfast. He started down the stairs, hoping nobody would notice his presence, but if anyone did...

The person in question, Karin, spoke up. "Uncle Atsuo, something the matter?" Ichigo's eyes blinked where he stood on the stairway, his breath sucking in, and then he heard his younger sister say, "Wait!"

What happened next Ichigo honestly didn't expect, but the handle of a wooden spoon at his throat and the man he called uncle his entire living life giving him a look which could kill honestly sent shivers down his spine. For a brief moment the man continued glaring before his eyes blinked, then his mouth opened, the shock registering on his face. "Ichigo?"

Ichigo's own eyes blinked, his mind remembering how the head taicho extended a pardon to the man in front of him, yet Isshin conveniently forgot to – well, say anything regarding the matter regarding Atsuo while he was still in soul society and instead sent him home. He took a deep breath, Yuzu's chipper voice piping up from the main living area. "Don't be silly uncle Atsou! Ichi-nii's right here."

Atsuo's head turned, muttering so only Ichigo could hear him. "We'll talk about this later. Get that stranger out of here."

"Wait. You know Kon isn't..." Ichigo froze, watching the man glared at him, his mind wondering exactly what went down between Kon and the man. Of course, Karin, who he'd not talked to regarding being a Substitute Shinigami was out there, making things even more awkward, but the way Atsuo gripped his robes meant he wasn't getting away with taking off. He stepped into the room, watching Karin raise an eyebrow, but also how she looked at their uncle nervously.

Kon of course saw him, relief washing over his face upon seeing him, his eyes looking at Atsuo with definite leeriness. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the body, letting the green pill pop out of his mouth and into his hand. Quickly, he stuffed the object into his pocket. "What's for breakfast Yuzu?"

She looked at him, tilting her head and smiling. "Don't be silly. You already asked me that."

"I guess I did." Ichigo watched Atsuo move into the kitchen.

"Do you know when dad's coming back?"

His head turned, his eyes focused on Karin. The look on her eyes, she definitely seemed worried, but she pushed her chopsticks around. "What?"

"Seriously. I know about this Shinigami stuff Ichigo." Karin glanced at her utensils. "And Uncle Atsou doesn't like Kon. He knows Kon isn't you. And..."

"And?"

"I got hit by his reiatsu."

Ichigo's breath sucked in, his voice speaking in a whisper. "Wh..."

"He didn't mean to."

"Karin."

"He saw Kon as a threat to me and Yuzu and went all defensive. It..." Karin's lips pushed together. "He's also confused."

"What..."

"I don't know. He just feels confused."

Ichigo's lips pushed together, remembering his sister telling him about how she could sense how the parakeet boy felt, not to mention he knew she was super sensitive to spiritual things. "Karin, I can't..."

"Can't or won't?" She let out a sigh. "I know about Shinigami, you know."

"That..."

"I met one."

"When?" Ichigo's eyes blinked.

"The other day."

"That..."

"Toshiro played soccer with us."

"Wait. What?"

"Technically he stepped in to help us out because one of the middle schoolers was a jerk and injured me on the field, but still..."

"Okay. Now that sounds more like something Toshiro would do."

"Toshiro?"

Ichigo's eyes blinked, his head looking up at Atsuo. The man – in all honestly he suddenly felt Karin was right. The man in fact did seem confused, yet Ichigo couldn't place his finger on why. He took a deep breath. "You know Toshiro as well?"

"I don't know."

Ichigo stared at the man, unsure of what to think of Atsuo's reaction. Yuzu, on the other hand, peeked in from the kitchen area of the downstairs area. "Who's Toshiro?"

"Karin's boyfriend." Without missing a beat, he reached for the cup of tea in front of him, lifting it to his lips only to feel Karin kick him under the table, her eyes glaring at him. "Hey..."

"That isn't..."

"Toshiro and you are dating?" Atsuo's eyes blinked, then he shook his head. One of his hands reached up and ran through his hair as if he were trying to make sense of something.

"No, we're not. Ichi-nii's being a jerk."

"I am..."

"Something happened to Toshiro, didn't it?"

"That..." Ichigo stared at her, watching his sister glare at him. He sucked in his breath, wondering how she'd picked up on that, particularly since he didn't think he was even thinking about how he was worried about Toshiro. Instead of answering his sister, he picked up his cup of tea and took a deep swig.

"You were deflecting, weren't you?"

"I was thinking it would be fun to tease Toshiro about..." Ichigo pondered what Karin said. "Honestly, I don't know."

"What happened to Toshiro?" Atsuo asked, making Ichigo freeze, his hand reaching in so he could suddenly finger Kon's pill, his mind screaming he wanted to flee.

"Yes, what happened to Karin's boyfriend?"

"Uh..." Ichigo glanced over at Karin, who glared at him.