Disclaimer: I do own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong to Tite Kubo, Shonen Jump, Viz Media, and other affiliates.

Just a little plot bunny for a one-shot that struck me. It's also practice for writing for Bleach. I have plans! For example, the mysterious captain serving as Captain of Squad 10 between Isshin and Toshiro is an OC who will be featured in an upcoming Bleach story I plan to start soon. He's minor in this one-short, so don't pay him too much mind. I just don't think Toshiro would've made captain right off the bat. There had to have been a place-holder.

Read, review, and enjoy!

Isshin Shiba was not dead. Toshiro refused to believe otherwise.

Despite the fact it had been three years since he vanished and there had been no signs of his reiatsu since then, Toshiro to this day stubbornly refused to believe Captain Shiba had died. It just wasn't possible. For all his... eccentricities, Captain Shiba was one of the most powerful individuals Toshiro had ever met. When he was truly focused on something, like a battle, there was almost nothing that could stop him. He would not vanish or be slain quietly. He would kick up a firestorm in his wake if it meant getting someone's, anyone's, attention. That was the kind of man his captain was, and that was why he didn't believe Captain Shiba was dead. He wouldn't just disappear without letting someone know where he would end up. He had to be out there... somewhere.

So when an order came saying that one of Squad 10's officers was to be deployed to the World of the Living, Toshiro saw a golden opportunity.

"You want to go?" Matsumoto asked incredulously.

"Yes," he replied. "You asked for volunteers and I answered in kind."

"It's just this kind of assignment is a bit below your weight class, if you catch my drift," Matsumoto noted. She leaned forward and gave the third seat a knowing smirk. "Always the overachiever, aren't you? Tell me the truth, you just want to impress the captain!"

"I want to do no such thing!" he protested, blushing. "Why would I want to impress that moron?!"

By the captain, Matsumoto was referring to the man Yamamoto got to replace Captain Shiba a year after the latter's disappearance. Toshiro hadn't liked him at first, but as far as captains went he was okay. He was powerful and got along with the squad members... but he just wasn't Captain Shiba.

"It's nothing to be shy about! It's cute!" Matsumoto pulled the order paper out of her cleavage (Toshiro didn't want to know why she was keeping it there) and marked on it with a pen. "I'll go ahead and sign you up for it then. I'm sure the captain will be very impressed with your initiative!"

Toshiro scowled and walked away. He had a mission to prepare for, after all.

Matsumoto watched him walk away. She frowned. Toshiro...

"You know why he's going."

She jumped and glared at the speaker. "Captain! You scared me, why were so quiet?!"

The captain didn't answer. He instead repeated himself. "You know why he's going. He wants to look for my predecessor."

Matsumoto flinched at the bluntness, then sighed. "He still hasn't given up hope, even after three years. He really respected Captain Shiba, you know."

"I know," he confirmed. "Hope's a good thing to have, in most cases. It drove him to gain his Bankai a few months ago."

Rangiku blinked in surprise. Toshiro had? How come the captain knew and she didn't?

The captain crossed his arms. "In other cases though, if hope is not rewarded in the way the hopeful desires, it can only lead to heartache."

"Then will you stop him?"

"No, he can go. But he might not like what he finds."

. B . B . B .

The paperwork for the mission assignment was filed with almost alarming speed and the Senkaimon was opened for Toshiro. He would be filling in for Squad 13 in District 3600- Karakura Town- for approximately two weeks. He was to perform konso on any wandering Plus souls and slay any Hollows he came upon while there. At least, that was his mission officially. Toshiro had a personal one he planned to fulfill.

Karakura Town had been the last place Captain Shiba's reiatsu had been detected before it vanished, and, as far as Toshiro could tell, it had been the place his captain had planned go during that 'whim' that had irked Matsumoto so much. It was an ordinary enough town, if you forgot the fact it was known for abnormal levels of spiritual awareness. When Shiba had gone there the first time after the death of several shinigami, Toshiro had suspected that his captain had been hiding something. What had he found there? Had he encountered one of the rumored spiritually aware humans? Was that secret that was the cause of his disappearance?

This was what Toshiro intended to discover.

... And as they say, intent can only take you so far. Thirteen days passed in the blink of an eye and the third seat had found nothing.

Toshiro angrily sliced through the mask of a weak Hollow. Thirteen days. Thirteen days and nothing to show for it. He had searched when not performing his shinigami duties, of course- the city, the surrounding cities, the woods, that incredibly suspicious candy shop. He had stretched out his senses to their limits and almost exhausted his reiryoku, but nothing had turned up. There had been absolutely no sign of Captain Shiba.

And I only have one day left, he thought as the Hollow dissolved. He sheathed his zanpakuto. Captain Shiba has all the subtlety of train wreck. He should not be this difficult to locate, unless he were actively hiding. But why would he be hiding? Secrets or no, I can see no logical- or unlogical, since this is the Captain I'm thinking of- reason for him to stay away. He's not the kind of man to do something so horrible he couldn't come home. There's no explanation, unless...

Unless he were actually dead.

This realization came with crushing gravity. Was it possible? Could Captain Shiba truly be gone? Broken down into reshi and dispersed into the ether to be reborn decades from now? Or consumed by a Hollow and never to be seen again?

... Was it just him or was it getting harder to breathe?

... Crap, he was hyperventilating.

Toshiro took a few deep, calming breaths, He needed to get a grip. He still had one more day in the World of the Living, and for all he knew that could make all the difference. Calmed, he jumped into the air above the town and walked methodically across the sky, trying to gain his bearings.

One last day, he thought. He skimmed his eyes over the crowd of humans below. I'll spend the rest of the day searching. If I don't find him then... I'll give up. I'll accept Captain Shiba is gone.

He landed on the sidewalk near a large building that had several humans milling about. But who knows, maybe today will be the day. I'll find the right place, turn around, and-

"OUT OF THE WAY!"

Toshiro turned instinctively toward the source of the shout and his heart stopped. Strangely enough his first thought was, When was the last time he shaved?

What he said aloud was, "C-Captain?!"

He looked different. He was dressed in a tight long-sleeved shirt and those pants made of rough blue material that was popular amongst the humans. He had persistent stubble long his chin and for some reason was carrying the largest bouquet of flowers the prodigy had ever seen. But there was no doubt about it. The voice, the face, even the dull, unusually weak thrum of his reiatsu. It was Captain Isshin Shiba in all his glory... who had just run straight past Toshiro without so much as glancing at him.

"Captain, wait!"

He ran after his captain, who was sprinting at breakneck speed and ignoring all the people who had to jump out of his way. This alerted Toshiro that Shiba was wearing a gigai, otherwise the humans wouldn't be able to see him. Toshiro ran just fast enough so he was was directly next to the older man.

"Captain Shiba, where the hell have you been?!" he shouted at the noble. "Do you have any idea how worried we've been? Everyone thinks you're dead! They've already replaced you, and with an utter moron at that! What have you been doing?! Why can I barely sense your reiatsu?! Are you listening to me?! Captain!"

Captain Shiba gave no reply. Scowling, Toshiro jumped in front of him with his arms spread wide open. "Captain, I demand that you cease running immed-!"

Shiba plowed right into the third seat, causing the latter to be knocked into a mailbox while the former went sprawling into the concrete, flowers going everywhere.

"Ah, what the hell!" Shiba shouted, jumping to his feet. He looked frantically from side to side as a small crowd formed. "Who the heck did I run into just now?"

Toshiro pulled himself up and stepped in front of him. "It was me, Captain! Why are you not listening to me?!"

Shiba once again ignored the boy and started gathering up as many of the flowers as he could, mumbling about tripping over his own feet. Frowning, Toshiro waved his hand in front of Shiba's face.

"Captain?" Toshiro repeated. "Captain, can you... can you not hear me? Can you even see me?"

Sure, he could barely feel his reiryoku... which was actually at the level of an ordinary human, now that he thought about it, but that didn't explain why Shiba wouldn't be able to see him. Why...?

"Oh, screw it!" Shiba shouted suddenly, giving up on the flowers. He picked a couple of yellow roses out of the scattered blossoms and straightened up. "I don't have time for this! I can't keep them waiting!"

With that he took off, rounding a corner and heading into the big white building.

Toshiro stood there numbly. He had finally found his captain, but said captain was in a gigai and had not a shred of substantial reiryoku within him.

Captain Shiba had lost his spiritual powers.

Is this why he didn't return? He lost his powers? But why? Surely the R&D Department could have helped him or Squad 4, Toshiro thought. Why didn't he try to contact us? Why?!

After the realization had sunk in, Toshiro attempted to follow Shiba's pathetically weak spirit energy, but navigating that giant building (which was a hospital, he noticed) when Shiba had a head start was a major no. He resorted to following it from the outside, peaking inside windows to see if his captain had entered one of the rooms. For what reason was beyond him.

How did he lose his powers? Toshiro continued to think. Was it a hollow? Was he injured? He thought of a more recent incident with shinigami losing their powers. Were they stolen? That would explain why he didn't come back. To have your powers stolen is a punishable offense.

He stopped next to an open window. But Captain Shiba is no coward. If he did indeed have his powers stolen, he would have owned up to it... wouldn't he?

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud shout from the room the open window led to.

"I'VE RETURNED, MY DARLING!"

Captain Shiba.

"Shh! You'll wake him!" a female voice responded in a loud whisper.

Toshiro pressed himself against the hospital wall and suppressed his reiatsu as far as it could go. Then, very slowly, he peered inside.

The room itself was a private hospital room occupied with only one bed and one patient. The occupant in question was a pretty young woman with light, curly brown hair in a loose pony tail and wearing a fluffy robe. Her back was mostly to Toshiro, but he could tell she was holding something. Shiba stood next to the bed, smiling bashfully as he held out the roses.

"Sorry!" he stage whispered back. "Here, these are for you."

The woman chuckled. "They're lovely, Isshin, but you didn't have to run all the way to the florist's ten blocks away to get me those. They have some nice arrangements in the gift shop downstairs."

"Nonsense, Masaki! Today is a special day and you deserve only the best!" Isshin argued. He smiled softly. "You both do."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. Both? Who is this human woman?

"In any case, you're here just in time. They just gave him back to me," Masaki said with a smile. She adjusted her position on the bed, laying back and giving Toshiro an eyeful of what she was holding.

His eyes went completely round.

"So what do you say, Isshin?" Masaki giggled, rocking the little baby in her arms. "Want to hold your son?"

SON?!

Shiba grinned, tossing the roses over his shoulder and holding out his hands. "Do you even need to ask? Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

Masaki giggled again, gently passing the sleeping infant to his... father. Shiba took him with startling gentleness, cradling him in his broad arms. The baby was wrapped in a thick white blanket, with a little blue hat covering his head. The older man sat down on the bed and brushed his thumb against the baby's chubby cheek.

"Hey, Ichi-chan," he greeted softly. "I'm your daddy."

Toshiro felt a lump form in his throat as he saw the beginnings of tears glittering in his captain's eyes.

"Isshin?" Masaki spoke up.

"He's here, Masaki. He's actually here," Isshin said with a thick voice. "He's got a little bit of you and a little bit of me... he's going to be such a badass!"

"Isshin! Little ears!"

"I know, but I'm right!" Isshin cried, hugging the baby close. "Our kid is here and he's going to be freaking amazing!"

"Of course he is. Our 'number one guardian,'" Masaki said with a tired smile. She reached up and ran her hand over the baby's head. "This is your daddy, Ichi-chan. He's noisy and a bit of a dork-"

"Hey!"

"-but you couldn't have asked for a better one. He'll love and protect you with everything he's got."

"Aw, Masaki..." Isshin trailed off, obviously touched. He turned back to his son, nuzzling his face. "She's right, though. I promise, I'll always protect you and your mother. You are both precious to me and I'll make sure you're always safe. And hey, who knows? Maybe one day you can help me protect her. Would you like that?"

The baby yawned. The proud parents laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes," Masaki agreed. She leaned forward and kissed her baby's forehead. She then lifted her head up to Shiba, who in turn captured her lips with his own.

Toshiro jumped from the window, face burning. He flashstepped away from the building, and didn't stop until he reached the designated Senkaimon.

He had completed his mission. He was no longer needed there.

He'd discovered Shiba's secret, and he was lost to them because of it.

. B . B . B .

Isshin stared out the window intently, absently rocking Ichigo when he began to fuss.

"Isshin? Is something wrong?" Masaki asked.

"... No, it's nothing," he sighed. "Here, take Ichigo. I think he's missing his mommy."

Masaki did so and began to breastfeed the squirming infant. Isshin respectfully looked away and back out the window.

When Urahara had come to him saying a short, white-haired shinigami was searching the city, he immediately thought of his old third seat. But with Masaki so close to giving birth he'd shoved it into the back of his mind. There had been so much to worry about- getting to the hospital, what effect it would have on the Hollow in Masaki, etc, etc. If the shinigami were a matter of concern, Urahara would have told him. But then earlier, when he had fallen... he was sure he had run into someone. And while his powers were now practically nonexistent, he could still sense the slightest bit of reiatsu. Toshiro had been outside the window just now.

... He'd ask Urahara to send Yoruichi in cat form to Soul Society to be sure, but he didn't think he had anything to worry about. Toshiro wouldn't rat him out. The kid respected him too much for that.

Then again, Toshiro had probably thought he was dead, or at least not a powerless human. Discovering a theoretically dead man was still alive could make a person vaguely annoyed, especially someone like Toshiro.

Toshiro, who he had expected to take over Squad 10.

Toshiro, who still had so much growing to do.

Toshiro, who he had seen as a-

"Ichi-chan's done!"

Masaki had finished feeding Ichigo and now was just cradling him, rubbing her cheek on his. Isshin chuckled and laid down on the bed next to her, wrapping his arms around the both of them tightly.

Masaki and Ichigo are my family now. No use in feeling guilty, Isshin thought. He kissed Masaki's cheek and then booped Ichigo's nose with his finger. Still, I hope you get to meet your big brother Toshiro and your aunty Rangiku in the future, Ichigo. I think you'd like them.

Ichigo cooed, wrapping his tiny hand around Isshin's index finger.

Though hopefully that's a long way off.

. B . B . B .

"Toshiro, open up!" Rangiku called out, knocking on the door to his quarters. "Come on, it's been three days! You have to come out and eat at some time!"

After Toshiro had returned and given the most emotionless report in recorded history, he had locked himself in his room at the barracks and hadn't come out.

"To-shi-ro! I'm getting worried, what happened?!" She knocked harder. "TOSHIRO!"

The door suddenly opened and Rangiku's fist was caught by Toshiro. The boy looked dead tired, but other than that, he seemed fine.

She frowned. "Is everything okay, Toshiro?"

She fully expected his usual reply of 'that's Third Seat Hitsugaya to you'. That was not what she got.

Toshiro gestured inside. "We need to talk."

"Okay, let me get this straight," Rangiku said from where she sat on the floor across from Toshiro. "Not only did you find Captain Shiba, not only is he now a human... but he's married and has a baby?!"

"That's what you focus on?" Toshiro deadpanned.

"It's like a fairy tale! Death god meets human woman and they have babies!" She hugged herself. "I bet Isshin's baby was so cute! The Shiba have produced some real hotties over the years. That kid is going to have to beat back the women with a stick!"

Toshiro rubbed his tear ducts tiredly.

Rangiku became grave. "But in all seriousness, this is big. Everyone thinks he's dead, but he's not. You were right, so why did you leave this out of your report?"

"Don't act stupid. You know why."

Rangiku knew why. She just wanted to hear it from him.

Toshiro sighed. "... When I saw him again, all I could wonder was why he didn't come back. Why he didn't try to contact us if he lost his powers. But I know why now. It's them- that woman and that baby. His wife and son. He couldn't come back without leaving them behind."

He ran his hand over his face.

"That's why I left it out of my report. He had been acting secretive after that first trip. Maybe he met Masaki then. For all we know, he may have sealed away his own powers just so he could be with her. I'm not sure if there's specific laws against it, but I doubt the Central 46 would approve of one of our captains being in a relationship with a human. If they knew, they would drag him back here, maybe throw him in prison, and erase the woman's memories. I don't even want to think about what they would do with the child. A human and shinigami hybrid..."

The lieutenant got a mental image of a grinning Kurotsuchi and shuddered.

"So... we just say nothing then," Rangiku continued. "Just go on with our lives and pretend that Captain Shiba is dead."

"For all intents and purposes, he should be dead to us. He has abandoned his post and chosen to live as a human. That makes him a deserter at best, and a traitor at worst... but since we can't report him without damning him and his family, this is the way it has to be."

"And you're okay with that?"

"I have to be."

One look at Toshiro told Rangiku how much this hurt. It hurt worse for him than it did for her. For someone who rarely showed how he felt beyond when he was angry or annoyed, this was significant. What kind of superior would she be if she couldn't bear this pain as well?

"I guess I have to be too," Rangiku admitted. She crossed her arms and sighed. "This is so like him! That lazy bum decides to settle down and leave us with all the hard work. The least he could have done was discreetly let us know he was alright! I wish I had been there just so I could throw another tea tray at his head... and ask that lady what the heck she sees in a pervert like him. And maybe play with that adorable baby boy of theirs. I would be a great aunty!"

"Who would want you as an aunt?" Toshiro asked, sweatdropping. "You're just as lazy as Captain Shiba."

"What was that?!" Rangiku put her fingers in his mouth and pulled against his cheeks. "I worked plenty hard under Captain Shiba, thank you very much!"

"Only because he never did any work!" Toshiro argued, reaching up and yanking on her bottom lip. "You didn't work that much either! You delegated everything to me! You still do!"

They pulled at each other's faces for a few more minutes until a squad member poked his head into the room.

"Uh, lieutenant, third seat?"

They glared at him. "What?!"

The squad member flinched. "The captain wanted to see Lt. Matsumoto? Something about whether or not Toshiro is done with his early onset angst?"

Rangiku choked down a laugh and Toshiro mouthed 'early onset angst' in confusion.

"Well, duty calls!" Rangiku said chipperly. She patted Toshiro's head. "Don't you worry about a single thing. I'll just tell him you were bummed about not finding Captain Shiba."

"Angst?" Toshiro echoed.

"It's apparently a teenager thing. It means you're growing up!"

"Angst?!"

"He means it in the nicest way possible," Rangiku assured him. Giving Toshiro another patronizing pat on the head, she followed the squad member out the door, though not before giving him a conspiratory wink.

Once she was out the door though, she followed her subordinate with a somber expression.

I know how you feel, Toshiro. It hurts to get left behind, especially by someone you care for. I should know. But we have to be strong and bear that pain, because the day may come when we finally catch up. We need to be ready.

She smiled.

We will be able to walk side by side with Captain Shiba. Someday.

. B . B . B .

Toshiro shut the door behind Matsumoto, turned, and fell back on to his bed.

I know what I said, but I can't help but feel a little angry, he thought. He told me I was going to be a captain someday. I learned Bankai so I could move closer to that future. I also thought that maybe it would bring him home.

But nothing can- not even the coveted Final Release. He'll never see it. He's lost to us.

Toshiro knew he was the minute he saw Captain Shiba (or just 'Shiba' now) hold his son.

Those eyes- those dark brown eyes the prodigy had seen steely in battle or sparkling in laughter- had been so soft and so full of love. All for that human woman and that little bundle she gave him. Isshin Shiba had never looked at anyone like that, at least not in his memory. It reminded him of his grandmother and how she would look at him and Momo. To her, they were her entire world...

... And he would have to be a more of a monster than any Hollow to destroy Isshin Shiba's world.

He had wanted to bring Shiba home. Shiba already had one in the World of the Living, with 'Masaki' and 'Ichi-chan.' They were the secret he had been trying to hide from the others and with good reason. So Toshiro would say nothing- nothing to his new captain, nothing to the Head Captain, nothing to Soul Society.

After all, there really was no point. You can't get something lost back once it has moved far out of your reach.

Isshin Shiba's world was as far as it got.

. B . B . B .

One year after Toshiro discovered Isshin Shiba's whereabouts, the new captain of Squad 10 perished after only serving for a total of 3 years. Before this he named Toshiro his successor. The third seat passed the tests and was instated as Squad 10 Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya.

Fourteen years after gaining his promotion, Soul Society was invaded by a punk human-shinigami and his rag tag team of misfits to save a girl who was wrongly condemned. Toshiro only saw him after they were both released from Squad 4.

It took him approximately five seconds to realize this was Isshin Shiba's 'Ichi-chan.' However, he still said nothing. Even when he went to Ichigo's house as leader of the advance team. While Isshin's world had grown smaller in some aspects and larger in others, it was still as far away as ever.

But Toshiro was catching up.