They had made it back to the shop before the sky had decided to open up. Ichigo had fallen asleep in Urahara's arms, exhaustion winning out. Being as careful as he could, he placed Ichigo in one of his extra rooms, Yoruichi tending the others in the same fashion. If he had thought they would do well to be together, he would have placed them all in the same room. But each of their bodies were damaged in different ways, and it would be easier to allow them to be healed.
"Is he okay?" Ririn asked, standing at the sliding door of the room. "He...he doesn't look so good, Urahara-san." Her voice was timid, unused to seeing the substitute shinigami in this predicament. None of them had seen him like this. Not in a very long time.
Placing a bandage around Ichigo's forehead, careful to not jostle him too much, Urahara gave a small nod. "He'll be okay, Ririn. He just needs sleep right now. Is -"
"I'm here, boss." Tessai made his way into the room. "Do you want me to take care of Ichigo, or do you want me to take care of Sado?"
Biting his lower lip, Urahara closed his eyes. "Take care of Yasutora-san. Orihime-chan's fairies have been alerted?"
"Hai," Tessai said, still standing in the doorway. "What about Ichigo?"
"I don't want to assault his body with kido just yet. I want him to try and bounce back as much as he can before subjecting his body to more," Urahara sighed. "Ririn?" He turned to look at the tiny blue bird. "Would you mind going and get Noba and Kurōdo? I would appreciate it if the three of you would keep watch over Ichigo."
Ririn nodded. "Of course, Urahara-san." She walked away from the room and began yelling for the two other mod souls. Urahara chuckled qiuetly.
"What are you going to do, boss?" Tessai asked.
The three mod souls came back into the room and sat near Ichigo's head. "What happened to Kurosaki?" Kurōdo asked . "He doesn't look so good."
"I will explain to everyone later what happened. For now, please just watch over him." He ran a hand through Ichigo's orange hair, brushing more of his hair off of his forehead. The teen let out a soft groan of pain, even though Urahara's hand was barely touching him. Standing up, Urahara looked at the three. "If anything, and I mean anything changes, come and find me."
The three mod souls nodded and kept close to Ichigo's body. Urahara walked out with Tessai, heading towards the room where Sado had been placed. "Just take care of him. I think..." He spoke very low, so that only Tessai could hear him. "I think that he did not survive, but thanks to Orihime-chan's fairies being able to reverse what had happened, he survived."
"Did you see who did this?" Tessai asked, the shock evident in his voice.
Urahara nodded. "Please excuse me, Tessai. I need to go and make a few phone calls." He walked off, not really in the mood for telling him just what had happened. He was still trying to process everything. He could see the man with those piercing green eyes, mocking the two of them. It wasn't something he had been prepared for, and he was still trying to figure out what had happened.
Wandering into his small storage closet, he walked over to his small desk and picked up his phone. Dialing the one number he did not want to dial, he took a deep breath and prayed that this would go a lot smoother than he was anticipating.
"Mushi mushi!" The sound of a young girl's voice came on the line.
"Is Isshin there?" Urahara asked, placing his head in his hand. He could hear Kon in the background, talking real loud with, Urahara assumed, Ichigo's other sister. He let out a soft sigh, feeling better knowing that Ichigo's body was fine, for the most part. Who knows what sort of things happened to Kon this afternoon. He hadn't bothered to ask Ichigo as they were making their way back to his shop.
"Yes! One moment, please!" The young girl said. "Otousan! Otousan!"
He heard the other man pick up another phone. "I've got it Yuzu!" The young girl hung up the other phone, leaving just Isshin on the line. "Hello?"
"Isshin." Urahara said.
"Something happened." Isshin said. It wasn't a question.
"I'm afraid so," Urahara's voice began to waver. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "There's been an incident."
"I'm coming there." Isshin said. "Is Kon safe?"
Urahara held his head in his hands. "Honestly, I'm not certain. Just...bring Kon here. Your girls will be fine. When he comes here, then I'll have a talk with you."
"Fine." Isshin said. "I want one of your guys to keep watch on my house while I'm gone and Ichigo isn't here."
"Of course," Urahara replied. "See you soon." He hung up the phone and sighed. Well, that went better than I had hoped. He picked up the phone and dialed another number.
"What's going on, Kisuke?" Shinji's voice came over the line. "You're lucky. I just came back up from the training facility."
Urahara put his head back in his hand, closing his eyes. "So, you don't know what's happened yet, do you?"
"No...? Kisuke, did something happen after Ichigo left here?"
"Yes. Look, just come to my shop. I'll explain when you get here. Also, whoever you've sent to watch Ichigo's house tonight, send another. I need to make sure that house is protected." His voice began to waver. "Please, Hirako..." He took a deep breath.
"You got it. I'll be there soon." Shinji hung up the phone, leaving the line dead.
Looking through his small phone book, Urahara dialed the last number. He was hoping that the teen would not be asleep, or would not be in a situation where he could not answer the phone. I am so glad that I made them write down their numbers for me. The phone rung once, twice, and on the third ring, someone picked up.
"Hello?" Ishida's voice was groggy, sounding as if he had just woken him up.
"Good evening, Ishida-san."
"Urahara?" His voice became more alert. "What's going on?"
"I'm requesting that you come to my shop this evening. There's been an incident, and I would feel better if you were here." Urahara said, leaving out key details.
"Has Sado been hurt?" Ishida's voice took on a frantic pitch.
Taking a deep breath, Urahara nodded his head, knowing that the other could not see him. "Please, just come here."
"I'll be there soon," Ishida hung up the phone, clearly not pleased that Urahara had evaded the question. But the shop keeper knew better than to tell him his lover was hurt. He wanted the teen to get to his shop in one piece, not being reckless with grief.
He stood up and walked out of the room, thankful that the worst part was over. He headed to one of the small rooms and saw that Yoruichi was busy shoveling bowl after bowl of rice into her body. Urahara shook his head, fascinated by how his friend would replenish her body with food in a way no other human he knew could. "How are you feel?"
"I've been better," Yoruichi said, pausing a moment in her eating. "I should have activated Shunkō sooner."
"You did what you could. We both did." Urahara said. "I think that if we had gotten there any later..."
Yoruichi picked up her rice bowl and began to eat again. "Don't think like that, Kisuke. Don't think in 'what if's'. We got there when we got there. Everyone is here."
"Yes, well. And the others are on their way."
"Did you call Isshin?" Yoruichi asked, looking at him from behind the rice bowl. " Urahara nodded his head. "How'd that go?"
"About as well as I expected it too. It's going to be a long night, Yoruichi." He pulled off his hat and ran a hand through his hair.
Yoruichi nodded. "I expect it will be. I expect that we've got a lot of those coming." She stood up and brushed off the grains of rice that had not made it to her mouth. "Do you want me to go to Seireitei?"
"Yes," Urahara nodded, placing his hat back onto his head. "I...I don't think I can leave here. I don't think I want to. Not after what has happened."
Yoruichi walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. She gave him a good squeeze, knocking the wind out of his lungs before she let him go. "He's going to be fine, Kisuke. Remember, no 'what if's'." She stepped back and looked at him. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
"With all the people that are coming here, yes. I'm sure I'll be fine. Go and talk to Seireitei. Be back as soon as you can be." He moved to the side, allowing her space to walk out of the room.
She gave him a smile. "We've got this, Kisuke. I know it doesn't feel like that, but we do." She disappeared and made her way down to hall, heading towards the opening to get down to the training center.
He began to brew tea as he cleaned up the rice bowls Yoruichi had plowed through. As he was setting them out to dry, he heard the familiar chime ring through the house, signaling someone had entered the shop. Who will be here first?
"Where is he?" Ishida appeared at the sliding door. Of course, the young lover.
Urahara walked over to where he was. "This way." He walked towards the second door on the right and slid the door open. There was Sado, Tessai sitting by his side as he used Kido to heal the quiet giant. Ishida rushed into the room and sat by Sado's head. "Careful...he was hurt pretty bad."
"Wh-What happened?" Ishida asked, placing his hands on his lap, the anxiety palpable in the room. "Why didn't someone tell me sooner?"
The shop keeper placed a hand on Ishida's shoulder. "We only just got back a few moments ago. It was a very rough afternoon. Just be with your lover for now, alright? He needs to feel you here."
"I understand," Ishida said. He began to speak in a low voice to Sado. Urahara saw a sudden shift in the giant's sleeping position, and felt his heart give a little as he saw a small smile begin to appear on Sado's face.
He heard the sound of the bell ring once more. Taking his leave from Sado's room, he walked out to the front and saw Isshin, Kon and Shinji all standing together. "Thank you for all coming so quickly."
"What happened, Kisuke?" Shinji asked. "Was it another abnormal Hollow?"
Urahara shook his head. "No" He looked at Kon. "Did you bring the lion with you?"
"Yeah, it's right here." Kon held up the small stuffed lion. "Why?"
The shop keeper looked at Isshin and Shinji. "If you'll excuse me for just a moment." Without waiting, he took Kon by the arm and led him to his room. He took Benihime and poked Kon in the chest, popping the blue mod soul out of Ichigo's body and catching the blue marble with his hand. He placed the mod soul back into the lion's body and gently laid Ichigo's body down on his bed, feeling safer now that it was close by.
Kon stretched in his body. "Where's Ichigo?"
"Across the hall. The other mod souls are watching him." He pointed to the room across the way.
The tiny lion walked over to the room. "We'll keep him safe." The lion slid the door open and closed it behind him.
Urahara walked back out to the shop and saw both Isshin and Shinji still waiting in the same spot that he had left them in. "Would you two like some tea?"
"I'd just like to know what the fuck happened to my son," Isshin's voice took on a tone of anger.
Not bothering to offer again, he walked into the room where Yoruichi had been and poured three cups of tea, waiting for the other two to follow him in. When they were all seated around the table, Urahara began.
"This afternoon, there was a huge spike in reiatsu. After the Hollow incident yesterday, to say I was surprised that another one so quickly would be a lie. I was almost expecting it, yet I could do nothing about it. Both Yoruichi-san and I raced to where we could trace the energy. But we were not the first to arrive."
"Ichigo." Shinji said, taking a small sip of his tea.
Urahara nodded his head. "That would be a good guess. But, actually, from what we came upon when we arrived, I believe it was Yasutora-san and Orihime-chan that were first on the scene. I don't know for certain, because everyone was hurt very badly after their fight. I plan on asking questions when they wake up, but for now, they're all being healed."
"What did this to them, to hurt them so bad?" Isshin asked. "It's not..." He let out a soft gasp. "No, it can't be."
Knowing exactly what his friend was thinking, it hurt Urahara's head to have to give him a small nod. "The two that we met were Arrancar. In fact, not only were they Arrancar, but they seem to be the ones we've been expecting."
"Aizen." Shinji spit out.
"I'm afraid so," Urahara said, sighing. "They even mentioned him by name. Calling him 'Aizen-sama.' They..." He did not want to tell them what else had been said, but he knew that if he didn't, it would just make things more difficult for him later. He looked at Isshin. "It seems that they were sent there to observe Ichigo."
The color ran out of Isshin's face. "No."
"We always knew that that would be a possibility," Urahara said. "And it seems that I was correct in assuming that. I'd like to propose that he stays here, with me, until we can get a better understanding of what's going to be coming next."
Isshin gave a small nod. "Fine, Kisuke. Are the rest going to stay here as well?"
"Yes," Urahara said. "I have no idea when there will be another attack. I know we would all feel a lot safer if everyone was centrally located." He looked into his friend's eyes. "I'm so sorry that I was late, Isshin. I didn't mean to get there after them. I was hoping to get there before anyone else, but there...there just wasn't enough time."
Ichigo's father shook his head. "Kisuke, I don't blame you. You did what you could. I know that we've been waiting for this to happen. There's a part of me that's glad that it's finally been presented to us." He took a deep breath and stood up. "I'm going to go back home to my girls." Isshin looked at Shinji. "You'll still watch our place?"
"I will always have someone out there," Shinji nodded. "We'll keep you guys safe."
"Thank you," Isshin walked to the door. "Kisuke...thank you for telling me. I...I doubt that Ichigo would have."
"It's not a problem," Urahara said, picking up his tea. "I'll give you a call when he's awake."
"Thank you," Isshin left the room. Moments later, the door chimed as he left.
Shinji looked at Urahara. "Why do I get the feeling you didn't tell him everything?"
"They are strong," Urahara spoke quietly. "So much stronger than I had anticipated, Hirako. And...they've been made aware of us."
The Visored's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, the smaller of the two knew who Yoruichi and I were. By name. And by our fighting techniques." Urahara slumped forward. "This is far worse than I had thought it would be."
Shinji shrugged his shoulders. "So what? Of course they would be made aware of your fighting styles. Remember, you were a taichou when Aizen was a fukutaichou. It would make sense that he would know your fighting style."
"I suppose," Urahara looked at the table. "I don't know when Ichigo is going to be up for training. I know that right now, what he needs most is to heal. I just pray that Aizen doesn't send more here in the meantime."
"Where's Yoruichi? Was she badly injured as well?" Shinji asked.
"She's gone to Seireitei. Telling them what happened here this afternoon. I would have gone with her, but..."
Shinji placed a hand on his shoulder. "Your place is here." He stood up. "Why don't you go and check on Ichgio? I'm not leaving here tonight. I'll stay and make sure everything is okay."
"Thank you," Urahara spoke softly.
"We'll come up with a plan tomorrow." Shinji walked over to the door. "Don't stress yourself out about it right now. There are more important things to worry about than that."
Urahara nodded. "You're right." He stood up and walked out of the room, not bothering to clean up anything they had left behind. He walked to the room where Ichigo was and slid the door open.
"K-Kisuke..." Ichigo's voice was thick from just waking up.
He sat down next to him and took Ichigo's hand, being as careful as he could be. "You should go back to sleep, Ichigo. Now that you've woken up on your own, I'm going to start healing you."
The mod souls quietly exited the room, not letting the two of them, leaving them completely alone. "Is..is everyone alright?" Ichigo asked. "No one...got seriously hurt, right?"
"Everyone is safe," Urahara said. "Now, go back to sleep. When you wake up, you'll be back in my bed." He ran a hand over Ichigo's face. "How's that sound?"
Ichigo exhaled, groaning softly in pain. "Sounds...wonderful..."
"Rest now," Urahara said.
Ichigo slipped back under, his closed eyes tightening in a wince as he tried to shift his body. Urahara began to silently began to kido on his lover. He hoped that when Yoruichi returned, she would be bringing good news. He could use a little right now.
...
A/N: Poor Urahara. Thanks for reading!