Ichigo woke up in the morning after a restless night, thanks to a small devil in his closet. He yawned and made his way to the bathroom to get ready for school. When he was finished, he knocked on the closet door. Rukia popped out dressed in her uniform, ready for the day.

"What is your deal?" Ichigo asked, without even bothering to say good morning. He was thoroughly pissed off at her for what she had done a few hours before. Sure, he had been having a nice dream and was probably making a ton of noise, but the way she had awoken him was not very polite. He couldn't help it if he was having an erotic dream. Last time he checked, his subconscious didn't like to be controlled. Just ask Shiro.

Rukia poked him in the chest. "What's my deal? Why do you keep hanging around an older man?" Ichigo looked at her with shock in his eyes. Old man? Since when was that an issue? "Do you not want me to be around anymore?" There it is.

Looking at her with his mouth agape, he couldn't think of anything to say. He turned around and began to head out of his bedroom. "Ichigo, wait!" Rukia stopped him by holding onto his arm.

He turned around and pushed away her hand. "No. You wait. You have no idea what's going on here. You were hurt, Rukia. You haven't been around here in awhile. I'm sorry I found myself a new playmate, someone to hang out with. If it bothers you that much, I'll stop hanging out at his shop. Will that make you more comfortable around me?" Ichigo shrugged out of the way and left Rukia standing there.

Feeling Shiro wanting to come out, he took a deep breath and relaxed. He shook his head and made his way out of the house. The nerve of her. What's it to her that I've found friendship with Urahara while she was back in Soul Society? He began his walk to school, finding his mind wandering back to when things has begun to become different.

~A Few Months Ago~

After the attack with the Bounts, Rukia had gone back to Soul Society to recover from her injuries, leaving Ichigo alone once more. To pass the time, Ichigo found himself visiting Urahara's shop more and more often. Usually it was just for a short visit, to pick up some candy, and other times he trained. Something about the ex-captain made him feel almost normal, instead of constantly feeling like he was going to be under attack from a Hollow, or worse - the traitors of Seiretei, Aizen and company.

"Oy!" Ichigo stepped through the sliding door to enter into the shop. He looked around and saw Jinta leaning on a broom behind the counter.

"You again?" The small redhead remarked. He blew a bubble with the gum he had been chewing.

"Now now, Jinta. Be nice to Kurosaki-san." The man he had been coming to see appeared from the back, hitting the redhead with his fan. "And what brings you to my place today?"

Ichigo shrugged. He really wasn't sure why he had decided to come here. He had only shown up here before to learn about his powers and to train to fight the evils that seemed to pop up in his life. "Didn't feel like going home." He set his books down by the front of the shop. "Do you mind if I go downstairs?" He didn't wait for an answer and headed down the familiar path to head underground.

"Ichigo?" He had grabbed Kon from his bag and brought him down to use him. "You gonna train?" The mod soul asked, looking up from where he was being held in Ichigo's hand.

Instead of answering, Ichigo popped the mod soul out of the stuffed lion and popped it into his mouth. He exited his body, letting Kon take over for a bit. He stood, feeling the weight of Zangetsu on his back and took a deep breath. He had only been back in the real world for roughly a week and he already felt empty without the petite shinigami around. He knew that it was better for her to heal at the Kuchiki manor, but it didn't mean that he didn't miss her. He hated that fact, and so he threw himself into what he knew would distract him.

"He sure seems upset about something," Urahara remarked to Kon in Ichigo's body as he appeared at the bottom of the ladder. "Do you know what's going on, Kon?"

The mod soul shook his head. "I think it may have something to do with Nee-sama."

Urahara nodded his head, understanding finally dawning. Of course, Rukia. He sighed and pulled his hat down, his signature gesture he seemed to always perform whenever he was nervous or upset about something. He knew that the teen had been spending a lot of time with her since she had returned to help them fight the Bounts, but then had become injured once more and had to stay back. He hadn't realized that Ichigo would be so affected by her not being around. But then again, he was a teenager and she had changed his life, so why he hadn't though of the shinigami before now was beyond him. He twirled Benihime in his hand and proceeded to walk over to where Ichigo was practicing alone.

"Urahara." Just a name.

"Kurosaki. Why are you unhappy?" Urahara watched as the teen turned around to look at him. He saw him return Zangetsu to his back and proceeded to keep Benihime sheathed as well. "You come to me to practice, yet you didn't wait for my answer when you showed up in my shop." He watched as Ichigo's shoulders began to sag in defeat.

"I don't know," he heard him whisper. He was afraid to approach the teen, not wanting to scare him off. He knew that if he took things slowly, that the boy may actually open up to him and let go of his feelings of loneliness.

"It never was supposed to be this way," Ichigo said dejectedly. He sat down on the ground, putting his hands on his face. "She wasn't supposed to get hurt again."

"Ah...you must be speaking of Rukia." Urahara did his best to play dumb, whipping out his fan and sticking it in front of his face.

"Can't put anything past you, can I?" Auburn colored eyes looked up at him and Urahara became mesmerized by the look there. Ichigo looked completely lost. He sat down in front of him.

"She didn't get hurt because of you," Urahara said softly. "She'll be back here soon enough. Now come on, I don't want to see you sad anymore." He stood up, holding his hand out to the younger man. He felt a jolt of electricity pass between the two of them when their hands touched - a spark that hadn't been there before. Oh Kami, no. Please. I can't do this with him, Urahara thought to himself. He watched Ichigo, seeing no changes in his manner and gave a soft sigh of relief. Not that he hadn't thought about doing things to him before, but he wanted Ichigo to keep his innocence as long as he could. "Ichigo," he said. "Why don't you come here as often as you like, whenever you find yourself becoming upset or depressed that Rukia isn't around?"

Ichigo nodded his head. "You wouldn't mind? I may be around a lot." He brushed off the back of his hakama and scratched the back of his neck. "I'll do my best to not keep you from doing your work up in the store."

Unfolding his fan and beginning to fan himself, Urahara laughed. "Kurosaki-san, you don't have to worry about me. I'm always around if you need a sparring partner." He turned away from the orange-haired substitute shinigami and made his way back up the ladder to his store.

Watching the black coat disappear up into the store, Ichigo felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Voicing his concern had seemed to help him a lot as well. He looked over at Kon. "Alright, time to go back." He knocked the back of his own head to pop the Mod Soul out and placed it back in the stuffed lion, stepping back into his own body.

"Geez, Ichi. You don't have to hit so hard." Kon grumbled from the ground where Ichigo had dropped him.

"Baka," Ichigo muttered. He was right, he shouldn't have hit him so hard. Now his head was starting to hurt. He sighed and made his way back up the ladder, to face his problems in the real world.

~Present Day~

He sat at his desk at school before anyone else had arrived. He didn't know what else to do. He didn't feel like heading over to Urahara's shop, although a teeny tiny part of him did want to. He hated the fact that after spending so much time there he was being questioned about it now. He escaped there to not be sad that she wasn't around! But...now that she was back, he still was spending time over there, because he liked being around Urahara. What was wrong with that?

Letting his head fall to the desk, he sighed. "You know, you may put a hole in your desk if you hit your head any harder," he heard the voice he had just been thinking about say. He looked up from his desk and stared at wonder at the man that was standing in the classroom's doorway. He felt his heart jump in his chest.

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, slightly dazed from seeing him this early in the morning as well as from hitting his head just a bit too hard.

He grinned as he watched the fan unfold itself in the familiar gesture. "What? Can't a shopkeeper check up on one of his favorite customers?" Urahara said, still standing in the door.

"It's 7:30 in the morning. Why are you even awake?" Ichigo laughed.

"Like I said, I was just checking up on you. I'm in tune with your reiatsu, Kurosaki-san. I felt you feeling dejected from a mile away. I wanted to make sure you were fine." He tipped his hat and began to turn around. "And it appears you are. So, I'll be seeing you?"

Ichigo stood up and walked over to him, clutching his arm softly. "Do you want to meet me somewhere after school? Get out of the shop for a bit?" He looked down at his hand on the muscular forearm and felt himself blushing at the contact. What is wrong with me? This is Urahara. I shouldn't feel this nervous. And yet, the butterflies wouldn't seem to calm down inside of his stomach. He looked up and saw the pristine grey eyes looking back at him, not shaded by the brim of his hat.

"Is that what you would like?" Urahara said in a hushed tone. Unknown to Ichigo, Urahara was suffering from the same inner monologue.

Nodding his head enthusiastically, Ichigo squeezed his arm. "Very much so. How about we meet at the Korean BBQ place right down the street from your shop?" He did his best to not sound too eager at wanting to be out in the real world with him.

"Very well," Urahara said. He snapped his fan on Ichigo's hand and he quickly withdrew it. "I'll see you this afternoon, then." And with that, he disappeared from the hallway, jumping out the window to not be seen by the students that were starting to filter in.

"Oh! Kurosaki-kun!" He turned to look the other way and saw Orihime and Tatsuki walking over towards him. "Was that Urahara-san disappearing out the window?" Her innocent look made Ichigo relax.

He nodded. "He just wanted to make sure things were alright. He said he felt a Hollow but then it disappeared." A part of Ichigo hated that he was lying, but he knew it was better this way. He knew that when he met with the shopkeeper after school he would hopefully have more answers.

Orihime, Tatsuki and Ichigo wandered into the classroom. Ichigo looked up when he felt the petite shinigami enter the room. She looked at him with sad eyes and he felt his heart drop once more. He hated making her upset. She sat down next to him.

"Morning Orihime-chan!" She said cheerfully.

"Hi Rukia-chan!" Orihime replied happily.

Ichigo tuned everyone out and just sat at his desk, willing the time to pass by faster. If he had to endure her being upset all day today, he was going to explode. He looked up at the clock. 7:55am.

Crap.

A/N: Okay, so there you go. That's why Rukia has been upset. Love triangle? Or just simple jealousy? We'll just have to see...Also, have no fear. Citrus is coming up next. ^_^