Title: Oedipus Complex – Chapter One

Warnings: het (IchiHime, IsshinHime), May/December relationship

Disclaimer: These characters belong to a lot of Japanese people, namely people like Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. You'll notice how none of those are me. Not responsible for epileptic seizures or allergic reactions. May contain eye-and-brain-bleeding levels of radioactive ANGST and/or peanut products. Please sit a reasonable distance from your computer screen.

Author's Notes: No, I've not abandoned my other fics! I was just struck with this idea through some conversations with a couple friends and couldn't resist writing it… It just turned out a lot longer than I thought it would. So this is dedicated to Nocturne, as she's our Forum Isshin, and to Star-chan, who has been a great friend to me personally. Also, this is my 30th story on FFnet! Congratulations, me!

Ichigo entered the genkan, shaking off his umbrella and slipping off his shoes. Water droplets sprayed across the foyer as Ichigo shook himself out of his coat.

His muscles were tense, anticipating the attack he was sure was coming. His senses were on high alert, waiting for his father to spring his daily Welcome Home assault. For some strange reason, though, the expected attack never came. As Ichigo looked around curiously, though, he saw why.

His father was already in the front room, a meter or so from the door. Kurosaki Isshin was intently looking out the blinds at the rain-soaked February streets beyond. There was a focused frown on his face and his eyebrows were knitted together. Ichigo knew what was coming, even as his father turned to acknowledge him. He scowled defiantly in his direction, looking for all the world like a disgruntled, wet orange cat.

"What?" Ichigo finally challenged him.

"You know very well what!" Isshin responded, rising to his full height. He stalked over to where Ichigo stood and waited just a second before pummeling him in the head.

Ichigo could differentiate quite well between his father's various punches. This was not one of his usual surprise sneak attacks to test his reflexes. No, this punch clearly said "Stop being an idiot". Not only had Isshin made his intention clear from the start, telegraphing his movements plainly, he had struck Ichigo squarely on his crown, almost hammering him to the floor.

"Oww!" he squawked, grabbing his head before rearing back up in his fury, "What the hell was that for, old man?"

"You're going to just let Orihime-chan walk home alone? In the rain?" At this point, the older man was full-out bellowing, pointing down at his son. He must have seen the redheaded healer out on the sidewalk, walking away from their clinic, cheery yellow umbrella slung over her shoulder.

"What about it?" Ichigo groused, cleaning some water out of his ear with a finger, "She'll be fine. It's not like she's my girlfriend or anything." Isshin crossed his arms over his broad chest, his own scowl growing deeper to mirror his son's.

"Why would she want to be?" Isshin asked flippantly, "You've been ignoring that poor girl ever since you brought her back from Hueco Mundo three months ago!" Ichigo looked away, unable to meet his father's stern gaze.

"It's better for her that way," Ichigo groused, crossing his own arms defensively, "She got kidnapped because Aizen wanted to get to me. She's better off not getting too attached to me." He turned away, already tired of this conversation.

"Well, whoop-de-doo, aren't we the big, strong, stoic hero?" Isshin said sarcastically, "So what happens if someone comes after her again? Are you just going to say it's not your problem?" Ichigo turned back around, rounding on him.

"Of course I wouldn't!" he yelled, "But if she doesn't get close to me, we won't have that problem again, now will we?" Now their confrontation had escalated into a full-fledged screaming match.

"Oh yeah?" Isshin shot back, "What if she gets taken away from you in a different way?"

"What are you talking about now, old man? You're making even less sense than normal!"

"What if she's not always there for you?" Isshin asked, his dark eyes nearly black, "What if some other guy came along and treated her right, since you don't seem to want to?" Ichigo snorted, turning away.

"Good," he grumbled, "She deserves someone who'll treat her right." 'Someone who's not a freak,' he finished mentally. His father didn't need to hear that bit; it'd only give him more ammo.

"Yeah? You're okay with that?" Isshin asked, smirking, "What about those boys that went with you? Sado-kun's pretty good looking, isn't he? Or maybe she likes boys with glasses?"

Ichigo didn't seriously consider either option. Sure, every guy at school had a crush on Orihime. The fact that she followed the black sheep of the class around like a puppy only served to reinforce many of those crushes; after all, what girl would really be interested in a punk like Kurosaki Ichigo? Besides, if either Chad or Uryuu were interested in Orihime, Ichigo would've noticed by now... Right?

"Good for her," he finally dismissed his father's insinuations, "It's none of my business, anyway." Ichigo had finally had enough of his crazy father for one afternoon and moved to pick up his books. This time, the old man seemed to be deep in thought, a harsh scowl etched across his face. Ichigo was simply thankful he didn't try to stop him again.

As he stomped off to his room to start his homework, Ichigo didn't see his father's grave look.
"Is that so?"

Things went back to normal for the next three days. Nothing further was said about Orihime, and Isshin's daily attacks resumed. Orihime walked Ichigo home every day, and every day Ichigo dismissed her with a grunt. He would always turn away from her without thanking her or really even acknowledging her. He figured if he did this long enough, she'd eventually give up and find someone else to walk home with.

And on Friday afternoon, she finally did give up.

As Ichigo passed the school gates and saw that Orihime wasn't waiting for him as usual, a small feeling of relief washed over him. Sure, he was a little curious about her absence, but he reminded himself that this was what he'd wanted. He wasn't allowed to miss her cheerful countenance and pleasant voice. He had driven her away himself, after all. This was his decision.

But by the time he reached the walkway leading to his family's clinic, he was genuinely worried. She'd walked home with him every day for the past three months. What if she was sick? Or hurt? He just wanted her to give up on him, he didn't want anything bad to happen to her! And after the debacle in Hueco Mundo, she was always very careful to let him know where she'd be.

As he entered the house and wearily called out his arrival, his stomach clenched. Maybe he'd just give her a little call to see if she was alright. That wouldn't hurt his plans, right? Even as he tried to persuade himself otherwise, Ichigo knew calling her would only give her false hope. He'd just have to live with the upset stomachs and clenched teeth.

So preoccupied in his miserable thoughts was he, that Ichigo didn't even register the voices coming from the kitchen at first. When he finally did, he could make out his father, Yuzu, Karin, and another familiar voice that he couldn't quite recognize immediately. They all paused for a second, presumably upon hearing him come in, before his father called out to him.

"Ichigo! Come here! I've got a surprise for you!"

Ichigo groaned, but trudged into the kitchen anyway. Whatever his father wanted, he wouldn't be satisfied until Ichigo came to see him, so he might as well get it over with. When he got there, he wasn't surprised to see his father standing there, smug, sickening grin plastered across his face. What he was surprised to see, however, was that the huge, embarrassing poster of his mom that had adorned the kitchen for years was missing. That alone tipped Ichigo from being irritated to having a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"What, Dad?" he asked, turning his skeptical eyes back to his father. Isshin simply kept smiling that same irritating smile.

"Well, Ichigo, how do I say this?" he began, obviously excited, "I wanted you to meet your new mother!"

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. He didn't particularly care if his dad remarried or whatever; no one was obligated to be lonely forever just because their spouse died, in Ichigo's opinion. But there was no way in hell he would ever call another woman "Mom".

Before Ichigo could express his extreme displeasure, however, Isshin stepped aside to reveal the girl whom Ichigo assumed was his new girlfriend.

Ichigo's mind instantly snapped through several stages of reaction. First was denial; his father was joking, right? Next was anger; how dare that bastard date her, of all people? He knew better than anyone how Ichigo felt about her! Then came bargaining; maybe if he just grabbed her and threw her out of the house, this would fix itself? And finally was anger again. And his mind pretty much decided that this was precisely where it needed to be and didn't move on.

Why was his dad dating Inoue Orihime?