For Gratitude

It was not a big town; it was not a long walk, but the moments dragged on as they approached the scene, near a crossroads at night in the rain. He lay face down; the white and black robes were a nostalgic sight even on such a new face: orange hair, the massive sword. She almost wanted to laugh, but that would seem inappropriate over a guy who might die; then again, they were going to save him; 1 boy whom their fate would depend on; they might be saving him just to put him back on the ground again. But first Kisuke dealt with the Quincy; he was cold and polite, even injured; she played dumb, played the cat: a barely noticeable shape on Kisuke's shoulder, before slinking off to be even less conspicuous. So far no one's seen me, thinks Yoruichi; I can put off the point I become officially 'involved' in these humans' lives. She had no doubt it would happen, but it would be more fun for them and her if it was a surprise; she'd not had a chance to see anyone shocked by a talking cat in a while, and this kid seemed like the type to take it 'well'. For now Ishida-kun seemed more concerned about the other boy:

"Thank you for tending me; I am fine; instead, please help Ichigo." Noble selflessness in one so young? Or perhaps a desire for revenge? "Right now the only one who can fight those bastards is not me." Very true but do you realise that you're talking to 3 people who could fight those bastards and win, who did nothing but watch and wait? Will it ever occur to you to wonder why we let this happen to either of you? "Please heal Ichigo; the only one who can save Rukia is him." Now that was a true statement; they couldn't go back, and she wouldn't do it alone, not in the way it needed to be done. The only one who could save Rukia, no buts; he was essential to the plan. As Ishida strode off into the night, proud enough to ignore the pain, Urahara turned his attention to Ichigo. The boy had done what he'd wanted. Because of Kisuke's help, he'd been able to face them as a shinigami, so now he would be grateful; he would trust Urahara; he would accept the training and advice without questioning why it was given; he would believe Urahara wanted to help him. That was the idea anyway: trust, hope, a higher goal. If someone's offering you a way to achieve what you want then perhaps you don't ask questions. Tessai rejoined them with the boy's body; Yoruichi could only wonder if it had been easy to steal away a whole person unnoticed; she suspected that the pretences of jumping through the boy's bedroom widow were only necessary when Ichigo was conscious; at least one member of that family would be fine for the corpse-like form of Ichigo's body to leave via the front door. Tessai carried Ichigo back to the shop; his strong body, seemed made for manual labour, hid well his abilities as a master of an almost magical art. Healing was a form of Kido so, now they were out in the open and the shinigami had left, Tessai could use his art freely; he took over tending to Ichigo's spirit form before placing him inside his physical body once more: the prefect healing gigai, with his Shinigami powers fading, this was the only way for the boy to survive the remainder of the night. After the main repair work was done he decided it would be best to use his own body to warm the boy, keeping him close so he could be constantly monitored at the same time; also, they would know the instant he regained consciousness. When Ichigo awoke the show would really begin.

"Tencho! Ichigo has regained consciousness, Tencho!" The shout disturbed her cat nap . Yoruichi waited in silence while Urahara rushed into action. She heard only the odd word, most of them from Ichigo who was much louder:

"There's NO WAY!" he had woken up angry and full of energy to go out and fight again. It was more than they could hope for. She heard Urahara lay his bait, quiet though his words were:

"Do you really think there is no way to get to the Soul Society?" This definitely had the desired reaction.

"How!? HOW CAN I GET THERE!?" Playing into our hands much, little Kurosaki-kun? He was the kind of guy who could get worked up easily, always the most fun type to tease. "TRAIN WITH YOU! I don't know why Rukia's going to be executed. You are one annoying person!" Yoruichi got up, stretched and headed for the room, just to see; if a cat made an appearance it might still be only a cat; there would be no reason for Kurosaki to notice her. The scene was ridiculous; the injured boy was still only partly dressed, only partly out of bed and Urahara had him pinned to the floor, the tip of his cane aimed between his eyes:

"I let you fight them before so you would realise the difference between you." Wow, that was almost admitting to being manipulative; would the boy notice? But the speech continued. Ichigo didn't even catch on that he was sent out to get beaten, that all his pain could have been avoided. The moment where Kisuke convinced the boy was occurring before her. "You won't stand a chance against the Soul Society." This certainly sounded like Kisuke when he was angry; he was genuinely worked up. "Stop being so childish; don't use others as an excuse to kill yourself." Urahara backed off, his main points made. "The Soul Society allows a grace period of a month before executions." The boy glared; with all the truths he'd had to swallow, he seemed to be accepting that she shop keeper was right. "It will take seven days to open the door to the Soul Society; we will take 10 days to annoy you; after you arrive you will have 13 days: plenty of time." That was easy for the guy who didn't have to go to say. 13 days where she would be the one on the front line, a fugitive against the whole of the Soul Society. Surrounded by amateurs, Yoruichi found she was getting as excited by the idea as she was annoyed, and stopped herself. The boy was sent to school with medication; maybe he'd be in fit shape to work on later; Yoruichi didn't know much about pills.