It had been several weeks since the battle with Aizen when Urahara went to visit the Visoreds. It was Lisa who answered the door.
"Ah, Lisa!" said Urahara, "May I come in?"
She nodded and moved out of his way to let him past.
"How's Hiyori? And everyone else, of course," he asked, coming past her into the warehouse that served as the Visoreds home.
"We're all recovering well. And Hiyori's wounds have more or less healed, but she still hasn't woken up. Shinji's barely left her side. Here, you can see her if you like." She led him to a little bedroom where Hiyori lay, still unconscious, on the bed. Shinji was sitting in a chair nearby, a book in his lap, but his head was nodding forward as he slept. Urahara looked at his former lieutenant. It made him slightly uncomfortable to see the normally rude and fiery Hiyori looking so vulnerable. Come on, Hiyori, he said silently, you're stronger than this. Wake up already, dammit. As they entered the room, Shinji stirred and saw him.
"Ah, Urahara. Nice of you ta drop in," he said with his usual grin, which lost some of it's effectiveness due to the dark circles under his eyes.
"We need to talk, Shinji," said Urahara, "Come on. Lisa can take over for a while, can't you, Lisa?" Without waiting for a reply, he steered Shinji out of the door. The two men headed up to the roof.
"You know," said Urahara, once they were seated, looking out over Karakura town, "I have something in my shop that can help you get rid of those bags under your eyes. They'd be gone in no time!"
"Ever the businessman, ain't ya?" replied Shinji.
"Heh. Sorry. Couldn't resist. So that's a no, then?"
"Yup."
They sat in silence for a while.
"Aizen was sealed yesterday," said Urahara, abruptly.
"Good. The bastard more than deserved it."
"And I've been pardoned."
"Will you go back?"
"No. I have my shop to run, don't forget. But it does make my dealings with Soul Society easier."
Silence again.
"And you've been officially pardoned too. All of you."
Shinji digested this for a moment.
"Will you go back?" asked Urahara.
"No. At least, I won't. I can't speak for the others. But there's no place for us there anymore. Things have changed. We've changed. And no shinigami's really gonna want a bunch of Visored's hangin' about."
"So what will you do now?"
"Ya mean, now we've had our revenge and repaid our debt? I dunno. We've been livin' together for 100 years. Maybe it's time ta move on. Spread our wings, so ta speak. I kinda thought bein' a teacher might be fun..." he mused. "Of course, we're not doin' anything 'til Hiyori wakes up."
"Naturally. I wouldn't worry though. She's strong-willed. She'll be back kicking you in the face before you know it." Urahara stood. "Well, I've done what I came here to do, so I must be off." He looked at Shinji. "Whatever you decide to do, know that you're always welcome at my shop. Oh, and Shinji?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
And so Urahara headed back to his shop, and Shinji went back downstairs to the other Visoreds – to his family. Because whatever they did now, they would always be that. Family.