"Urahara-san!"

Ururu ran into Urahara's room, bowing her head apologetically as she called for her manager in a frazzled voice.

"What is it Ururu?" Urahara knew something was wrong.

"Ukitake taicho is in the shop. He doesn't look very good."

Urahara patted Ururu's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile as he made his way towards his shop.

He saw Ukitake taicho sitting on a nearby chair looking very weak and tired. Urahara made his way to the sick taicho, holding out a hand when he reached him. Ukitake looked up as Urahara approached and took the hand that was offered.

Urahara led Ukitake to his room and guided him to his futon.

"I'm sorry Urahara-san for coming like this."

"Nonsense Ukitake-san. Rest for the night, we'll talk tomorrow."

Ukitake woke up with sun glistening into the room. A foggy sleep still swept over Ukitake's mind. He didn't know or remember where he was. It didn't smell like his own room, it smelt of jasmine tea and of flowers. It was a nice smell, very soothing. Ukitake didn't want the fog that clouded his mind to disappear. He felt like he was in a blissful state, no care in the world. But the sunrays shone onto his face, making him shift and frown. He finally opened his eyes to see a man who was sitting next to him, gazing into his eyes. A hand brushed a stray hair out of Ukitake's face.

"How are you feeling today Ukitake-san," said the man in an enthusiastic tone.

The cloud had finally dissipated and Ukitake realized that it was Urahara looking down at him with a large smile on his face. The white head noticed that he couldn't see Urahara's eyes properly: his always-present hat shadowed them. As Ukitake raised a hand to try to remove the hat, Urahara's own hand shot upwards and took Ukitake's.

"What's wrong Ukitake-san?"

Ukitake faltered. He didn't realize what he was doing. He apologized and reassured the ex-taicho that he was fine. Urahara shrugged and offered Ukitake to join him in the living room for some tea and breakfast. Ukitake gladly accepted and set himself into a sitting position. Urahara realized that the man was still weak and needed help getting up, so he put an arm around Ukitake's back and hoisted him upwards slowly.

They made their way to the table in the living room without much difficulty. Ukitake sat down while Urahara went to the kitchen to boil water and prepare something to eat. As the sick taicho waited, he looked around the room and noticed that there were no other occupants in the house. He did not hear any other voices and he did not feel any other reiatsu apart from his own and Urahara's.

Urahara came back into the room with a tray and offered a teacup to Ukitake who promptly accepted it.

"Where are the others Urahara-san?"

"Oh, they had some errands to do. Nothing to worry about, they will be back in a few days."

A few days? Ukitake wondered what they could possibly be doing. Ukitake shrugged inwardly, dismissing the thought as he sipped his tea.

"Ukitake-san, was there anything you needed me to help you with? Is Unohana taicho's medication not working to your liking?" Urahara thought it be best to go straight to the point. He did not like to see the captain sick like this.

"I wondered if you could make some adjustments to the medication. I feel fatigued most of the day and it is becoming worse as the days go by."

"Hmm…I'll have to run some tests to get a clear idea of what is going on."

"Thank you Urahara-san. I am truly grateful that someone like you is around. Unohana taicho has done all she could for me - bless her soul. And I couldn't possibly go to the 12th division captain for help. He honestly scares me a little."

Urahara laughed at this piece of honesty as he sipped his tea. It was true that the 12th division captain was a bit on the crazy side. The next moments were passed in silence as the two ate and drank.

"Well then I'll go do the necessary preparations for the tests I'll need to perform. I'll come get you when I am ready, Ukitake-san. You are welcome to roam around as you wish." Urahara gave Ukitake a big grin as he stood. He then made his way down the hallway, no doubt to his room.

Ukitake sat a couple more minutes, drinking his tea peacefully. He was happy for the quiet, which he rarely got in his division. His lieutenants never left him alone, not even for a second. He thought back at how he was able to come to the real world in the first place.

He was at his desk in the 13th division, doing paperwork as usual. His lieutenants were in the same room, ready for action if ever something were to go wrong with their taicho. Ukitake had then stood up and went for the door, his lieutenants already at his heels.

"Where are you going taicho?" one said.

"I will come and join you in case you need my services," the other said.

"No! I will go! I was concerned for taicho first!" the first shot back.

"But-"

"Enough!" The combination of their bickering and his fatigue was getting to his head. "I would just like to take a walk outside to get fresh air. You do not need to assist me, thank you. However, I would like you two to do a special service for me. Take this letter to Kyoraku taicho."

The two lieutenants were excited for the special mission. "Anything you say, taicho!"

Said taicho handed them the letter and quickly made his way outside.

Ukitake laughed as he thought of the words he wrote in the letter. He had written to Shunsui that the letter was all a ruse to get his lieutenants away from him. He also explained that he was heading for the real world to visit Urahara-san for medication.

Ukitake sipped the last drops remaining in his teacup. He looked around Urahara's living room, looking for anything of interest. He didn't know much about the ex-captain's past. He only knew him as a person who would lock himself up in his lab, never seeing the light of day. The white haired taicho stood up, deciding that it would be nice to take a walk around the house - after all, he was curious about Urahara. He made his way to the front of the house where the shop was. His hand skimmed through the products that were on display on the shelves, examining what the ex-taicho sold at his shop. He noticed that there was a candy section full of yummy treats. He smiled at the display, happy to see the vast selection of some of his favorite treats.

Ukitake left the shop after several minutes of exploring and made his way to a room, which had a sitting chair and a small bookshelf. There were not many books in the shelf that sparked Ukitake's interest. However, he found a small black book that was unlabeled. Curiosity overtook the taicho as his hand gripped the back of the small book. He pulled the book off the shelf and immediately looked at the front cover. There was nothing written. It was just a plain black leather book with no embossing or lettering of any kind on the front or the back. Ukitake frowned at this suspicious book as he opened it slowly. It had several blank pages in it, save a few that had some scribbles of illegible writing here and there. As he skimmed through the pages, a piece of paper fell out of the book and landed on the floor.

Ukitake noticed the paper on the floor and bent down to pick it up. He flipped it around and noticed that it was a photograph. A warm feeling swept over Ukitake's heart as he looked at the photo. Urahara was there, with a clean-shaven face and no hat covering his eyes. This was the first time Ukitake saw his eyes. They were the color of a mid-afternoon sky, truly beautiful Ukitake thought. It's a shame he wears that hat all the time; his eyes are stunning, full of emotion. A younger Ururu and Jinta were also in the photograph along with Tessai, who still had the same mustache. Ukitake chuckled when he noticed that Ururu had a mesh of hair in between her eyes that parted in two just above her nose, exactly like Urahara had his own hair. Ukitake couldn't help but think of the two as parent and child they were so similar.

Ukitake's thoughts were interrupted as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He gasped in surprised, jumping a little with fright. The photograph slipped through his hands and fell back to the floor. Ukitake turned around and saw Urahara bent down, retrieving the photograph. Urahara stood back up and looked down at the photo. Ukitake felt a heat rise up to his cheeks, embarrassed that he was caught snooping through Urahara's personal belongings. He noticed that Urahara had kept his hand on Ukitake's shoulder; even as he had bent down to pick up the photograph. They were now very close in proximity. Ukitake could clearly hear every breath Urahara took. He tried to read what Urahara was thinking as the latter looked at the photograph. Unfortunately, Urahara was still sporting that old hat of his, so his eyes were shadowed.

"Is everything all right Urahara-san? I'm sorry if I invaded your privacy…"

Urahara looked up at the man, looking as if he had forgotten he was there.

"No, you did nothing wrong. And I am alright. The photograph just brought back some memories is all… My, the children have grown so much since then." The last bit seemed more as a thought Urahara had said out loud, because he was now staring back at the photograph, not paying any more attention to Ukitake.

Ukitake placed his hand over the one that was still on his shoulder. A bright smile, unlike any one of those famous grins that usually occupied the face, formed on Urahara's features. I wonder what he's thinking. Ukitake felt at ease watching the ex-taicho reminisce in silence. It was nice to see someone at peace.

"You really do care for these children," Ukitake thought out loud.

"I care for them as if I were their father," replied Urahara, lifting his head to look at Ukitake. "I'm grateful they are a part of my life. I had forgotten about this picture. Thank you Ukitake-san for finding it." Urahara turned the hand, which rested on Ukitake's shoulder, so that he could grip Ukitake's hand. Ukitake replied with a genuine smile and a small squeeze of the hand.

Urahara placed the photograph inside his robes, a hidden pocket no doubt inside. "I have finished the preparations. We can begin testing now." Ukitake placed the book back on the shelf and followed the ex-taicho.

Ukitake returned to Soul Society the following morning. Urahara said that it would take a few days to analyze the results of the tests and thought it would be best to return home before Ukitake's fukotaichos got worried. They are probably already worried, thought Ukitake, chuckling inwardly.

The day was spent no differently than any other day. Shunsui had passed by to chat - looking for updates of the visit to Urahara's - Ukitake's fukotaichos were as clinging as ever and the paperwork was slowly pilling up.

Night had come at last. Ukitake climbed into his soft fuiton and fell asleep instantly. Suddenly, Ukitake woke with a start, coughing hysterically. He felt a terrible pain in his chest as he clung his hand to his heart. Blood splattered on the sheets as he coughed. He was having trouble breathing as blood shot out of his mouth. The pain went straight to his head and he passed out in a pool of blood.

TBC