"So what are you anyway?" Hajime asked Ishida. "And what is your dad?"

They were all at Ichigo's house, working on their project. Now that Hajime's attention had been brought to it, there was something kind of off about Ishida. It was the same as how his father felt, not holy or unholy, not demon or demon slayer. Just weird. It was like absolutely nothing he'd felt before.

"I'm a Quincy." Ishida said and sighed as the two Kurosaki's both looked at him curiously. "Let me explain." He did, giving them a quick rendition of Quincy powers, how they worked, and how the Quincy had been almost exterminated by the shinigami. As he spoke, Hajime's bewilderment only grew.

"Wait, let me get this straight. You guys were spiritually powerful humans who were tired of being food, so you learned how to shatter Hollows with arrows of power. But because the souls were destroyed, the demon slayers got pissed and killed you all." He said and Ishida nodded, his expression set. "Why didn't they just teach you to use shinigami powers like the priests do? Or hell, just teach you how to use a focus stone to purify a spirit? Then you could have used the arrows to hold them in place and the stone for the finishing touch!" Hajime touched the stone at his throat as Ishida blinked.

"What is a focus stone?" He asked and Hajime sighed. There was going to be a lot of back and forth going on here, he could tell.

"A focus stone is a crystal you can focus your power through. Here, this is mine." He took off his necklace and handed it over to a bewildered Ishida. "I'm not sure you can use that, but I have no idea what kind of gem an aura like yours would call for. You feel damned weird. You can give it a try if you want, focus gems aren't bonded or anything." They could be used by anyone, and Hajime knew there had always been a few problems with theft. Ishida frowned at the stone, clearly not getting anything from it. "Try to let your power flow through it. It's easiest if you relax, like meditating." Hajime suggested, wondering if this was stupid. He probably should have demonstrated, but the main things the stone helped with were leaving his body, opening portals and purifying spirits. The first was a bad idea, the second was an awful idea and the third was impossible without a ghost.

"If that doesn't work you can try mine." Ichigo volunteered, taking off his sapphire. Ishida passed back the spinel and took up the sapphire, gazing into it for a moment. Then he blinked.

"I do feel something. Strange. I'll have to tell my father about this. And these stones can be used to purify hollows?" Hajime nodded as Ichigo took his necklace back.

"Yeah. But they won't stand around and take it, not like ghosts. I send ghosts on every chance I get, they creep me out." He said, a touch too frankly and winced as Ichigo lightly slapped him. "Hey!"

"They're lost spirits, Hajime. You shouldn't be such a jerk about it." Ichigo said sternly. Hajime rubbed his head and sighed. He knew Ichigo was very sympathetic to the spirits. When he'd taught the boy how to purify them, he'd insisted on spending time talking and reassuring them. At least he hadn't been dumb enough to try that with a Hollow.

"I'm a demon. I'm a bit of a jerk by definition." He said, making Ishida give a surprised laugh. "Anyway, enough of all this. If you want lessons, come visit us some other time. For now, are we all agreed on what we're doing?"

"I'm going to do the history and background of robotics, Ishida and you are going to do the current information and the practical demonstration." Ichigo recapped their decisions. "And we'll all put the presentation together as a team. Is that everything?"

"Right." Ishida agreed, putting his notes away but leaving the plans with Hajime. They had pooled their money, but it would be his job to hunt down the parts they needed. Hajime had a suspicion that he would ultimately be the one to put their robot together. He was good with his hands.

After Ishida left, it was time for bed. But Ichigo paused, hesitating.

"Hajime? Um… are you feeling better?" The albino smiled slightly at the hopeful tone in the teen's voice. He knew what Ichigo was looking for, and his cock twitched a little at the thought. Ichigo was getting good at pleasing him, and after several days of abstinence, Hajime was actually quite interested.

"I'm feeling great. Come with me, master." Hajime said with a soft, rasping chuckle as he took Ichigo's hand. He heard the teen's breath catch in a soft gasp, the boy following him to his room. They always did this in his room, for some reason. Hajime wasn't about to question it and really he didn't care anyway. As soon as the door closed, Ichigo pulled him close and kissed his demon deeply.

Hajime immediately noticed that something was different. Ichigo was shaking slightly and as Hajime gently touched his shoulders, he could feel the singing tension in the teen.

"Master? What's wrong?" Hajime asked softly. Ichigo hadn't been this nervous even his very first time. Chocolate brown eyes met black and gold and there was a pause before Ichigo managed to blurt out the cause of his apprehension.

"I – I – Hajime, I want you to take me." Ichigo said in a rush, and Hajime blinked. So far, he had been the only one penetrated. That hadn't bothered the albino a bit, in fact it was far more common for him than the other way. Most masters preferred to assert their dominance over him, and many times he had been a woman. Being penetrated in that shape was perfectly natural. "I'm scared." Ichigo admitted in a small voice and Hajime smiled sympathetically, reaching up to gently touch soft orange hair.

"It's alright Ichigo. I know what to do." He said, gently drawing the teen to the bed, then gently stripping away his clothing. Ichigo helped with that, and soon the naked teen was sitting on the bed and looking at him with eyes that were too large and full of apprehension. "Calm down, Ichigo." Hajime decided the boy needed a bit of relaxing first, and nudged the boy onto his stomach. He could feel Ichigo tense beneath him, but instead of doing anything intimate Hajime began to work on his shoulders and back.

The demon knew how to give a massage. In fact, it had sometimes been part of his duties. And he had already purchased some essential oils, for his own baths. Those oils found a use now as he warmed a few drops with his hands and slowly worked them into Ichigo's skin.

"Hajime, what are you… oh…" Ichigo moaned softly as Hajime found a knot and began to slowly work it out. Agile white fingers dug in almost painfully, but then brought relief.

"You're too tense, master. You need to be relaxed for this." Hajime said softly. If Ichigo couldn't relax, he was not going to do this, no matter what the boy said. Hajime refused to hurt him. But it seemed that relaxation was going to happen. Ichigo was melting under his hands, turning into a warm puddle of pleasure.

"Mmm." Ichigo's eyes were half-closed now, and Hajime smiled at the sleepy happiness on the teen's face. "That feels so good…" He moaned softly and Hajime bent over, gently kissing his cheek as he worked on massaging the teen's thighs. For a moment he considered going all the way down to his feet, but Ichigo had school tomorrow. Time was short, if the teen wanted to get a good night's sleep.

So instead of going any further, Hajime went to his bed stand, looking for something else he'd stolen recently. Stolen, because stores wouldn't sell things like lube to minors, and Hajime had no ID to prove he was older. He hadn't been sure Ichigo would ask for this, but he liked to be prepared.

"Hajime?" Ichigo flipped over onto his back, then swallowed as he saw the little tube in the albino's hand. "Is that…?" He asked as Hajime slid back on the bed, noting with a smile that the teen was half hard. A gentle hand on his length, slowly stroking him, made it more than half.

"Yes. I thought it might be wise to have, in case you needed it, master." Hajime said as the teen moaned, arching into his slow strokes. Warm, human hands dug into the bedsheets and Hajime paused a moment in his stroking, flipping open the lube and quickly coating his fingers. Ichigo watched him, eyes warm with desire but still apprehensive as the albino gently touched him, sliding a finger inside as his other hand went back to teasing his length.

Hajime watched with a smile as Ichigo moaned, riding out the small amount of pain and discovering the pleasure of being pumped and penetrated the same time. The teen didn't even seem to notice when a second finger joined the first, and Hajime searched gently inside him. He knew when he found the right spot, because Ichigo jumped a bit, his eyes going very wide.

"What… what was that?" He gasped out and Hajime laughed, looking at Ichigo's cock. There was a pearly bead at the tip now, and as he watched it broke and slid down the length, sliding into bright orange pubic hair.

"Your prostate, master. It feels good, doesn't it?" He asked with a smile as he slowly, teasingly drew a finger over that spot again. Ichigo arched, moaning in pleasure and spreading his legs in a way that made Hajime swallow. The demon was very hard now, desiring his master just as much as Ichigo desired him. A third finger joined the first two and Ichigo made a small, pained sound but didn't protest as Hajime continued stretching him. "Hmm, yes." He muttered to himself, reaching for the lube again. He slid the oily stuff over his cock before gripping Ichigo's legs, spreading him out and lifting him slightly. The teen made a soft, pained sound as the pure white cock slowly, carefully slid inside him, forcing past that tight ring of muscle. Hajime paused as he was fully seated, black and gold eyes watching the expression on Ichigo's face attentively.

"Hajime." The way Ichigo said his name, thick and heavy with desire, sparked the demon's desire and he started to move without thought. "Ah!" There was no pain on Ichigo's face though, just pleasure as Hajime brushed against his prostate, torturing him with his slow and careful pace. "Hajime, oh god…!" Sweat was beading on warm, sun kissed skin and Hajime licked it away, smiling as he speeded his thrusts just a bit. He was playing with the teen, driving him crazy, and enjoying every bit of it. "Nnngh!" Ichigo whimpered in pleasure, completely undone by what was happening to him. Hajime groaned, eyes slitting as his own needs pushed at his control.

But there was no need to control himself so firmly now. Hajime hissed softly as he began to take Ichigo more roughly, going faster and harder into the hot, tight heat beneath him. Ichigo was incredibly tight, not surprising at all for an anal virgin. Hajime was panting softly, his breath stirring Ichigo's hair as instincts and practice let him find the teen's prostate again and again. He slid a hand into that orange hair, bringing the teen into a deep, passionate kiss as their bodies moved together. Warm hands grasped his shoulders, fingernails digging into white skin and leaving small marks that vanished as quickly as they came.

Hajime let his hand slide down to the back of Ichigo's neck, gently massaging the skin with his fingers as he smiled into the teen's face. Then he dipped his other hand down, hips moving as he found Ichigo's length and stroked the hot, straining flesh.

"Ichigo." Hajime said, his voice a soft hiss as his eyes met warm brown, and he felt a strange tingle in his chest. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before, as though something deep inside him had trembled. Then he made a soft mew of pleasure as Ichigo tightened around him, the teen gasping and keening softly as Hajime's thrusts took on an urgent note, becoming slightly erratic as the demon came close to his release. Hajime smiled, then pressed his lips firmly against Ichigo's, swallowing the boy's scream as the teen tensed, his release splattering across his belly and onto the bed. The way Ichigo's muscles trembled and clenched around Hajime took the demon with him, and Hajime hissed as he filled the teen with his colder seed.

But if the teen minded the temperature, it wasn't evident. Hajime thought he probably didn't. He'd been told before that his lower body temperature was rather pleasant, and his semen might be soothing on recently irritated flesh. Hajime just looked at Ichigo for a moment, meeting brown eyes and feeling something odd inside, just for a moment. Then he froze as he realized what it was.

My bonds. Did they… tremble? Hajime swallowed heavily before leaning down to give Ichigo a deep, searching kiss. He wasn't sure about what he'd just sensed, but the bonds were still in place. Perhaps he was just imagining things. Perhaps the hope in his chest was just an illusion.

But he could have sworn he felt the bonds tremble.

Hajime stepped into the shop and looked around curiously.

It had taken a lot of sniffing around the town to find this place. Shops like this didn't advertise much. Back when he'd lived in India, they were pretty easy to find though. Just ask anyone on the street where to find the mystical stuff and you'd at least have an idea. Half the shops they'd send you to, though, were the crap stores. They had stuff that was more superstition than fact, or just too weak for a real priest to use. But the person who ran those shops usually knew who carried the real goods, and they were willing to share the information. At least, no one had ever refused Hajime.

Karakura town was quite different. Orihime had been able to direct him to a store that sold Ouija boards and shit, but a quick check there had told him it was all crap. Even the mystical 'crystals' were so badly flawed as to be completely useless as focuses. When he'd asked the girl at the desk where to find the real stuff, she'd had no idea what he was talking about. It had been a bit embarrassing.

So instead, he'd started sniffing out power signatures. He'd finally located this store. It had some very strong power signatures, including wards that would keep out most demons. However, Hajime was not most demons. He could have shattered the wards with simple force, but that would be a hostile act. So instead, he used the power of his holy bonds to gently penetrate the wards, fooling them into letting him in.

So now he was standing inside the shop and feeling quite baffled.

"Maybe this place is owned by someone who does magic, but doesn't sell magic stuff?" He said as he picked up a pez dispenser. "Soul Candy. Soul? Weird." Hajime wasn't interested in candy, though. He set it down on the shelf, and kept looking. "Nngh. Where is everyone?" He muttered. There wasn't even anyone at the cash register, and he was getting absolutely nowhere in his search.

"What the hell do you want, whitey?" Hajime almost jumped at the voice and looked down, a bit shocked to see a redheaded kid glaring at him. "Who are you anyway? You feel weird." Hajime frowned as he realized the brat had some power. That was annoying.

"I'm Hajime Kurosaki." He said, smiling as the kid winced at his raspy voice. "Who are you? You work here?"

"I'm Jinta Hanakari. Kurosaki… do you know a girl named Yuzu?" There was a light in the kids eyes and Hajime blinked behind his sunglasses.

"Yeah, I'm her cousin. Why?" He asked, wondering if this kid liked Yuzu. A suspicion that was confirmed a moment later.

"I knew it! She's my goddess. What can I do for you?" Bemused by the sudden change in attitude, Hajime pulled a list out of his pocket and handed it over. "Huh? What's all this?"

"The stuff I need. It might be hard, I'm from India so I don't know what that shit is called in Japan. And we use a different alphabet so I kind of had to write them the way they sound." Hajime admitted. He knew this was going to be hard. "I figured I could just do it by smell, but I dunno, I can't seem to find what I want here." He didn't see any bins or jars of the sort he'd always seen in India. The kid scowled, scratching his head as he looked at the list.

"Let me talk to the boss." He said and Hajime idly looked around as the kid went into the back. Hajime grimaced as he felt the approach of demon slayer energy again. He flashed his holy bonds while quietly easing towards the door. He didn't want a fight inside the shop.

The guy who showed up with the kid felt like a deep, quiet pool of power to Hajime. He looked pretty weird, though, wearing a white and green hat and tromping around in wooden shoes. He smiled in a friendly way, extending a hand to the demon. Hajime hesitated before taking it. He could see the man quickly noting his black fingernails.

"So, Hajime is it? What precisely are you? I don't think I've ever felt anything like that power you flashed at me before." He said easily and Hajime frowned, hiding his shock. He didn't recognize the power of the gods?

"Temple power. Have you shinigami forgotten the power of the temples? Or has something happened to the temples?" That was a chilling thought, and might explain how his ivory ball had ended up in a tourist shop. Hajime shook his head as the man looked puzzled. "Nevermind. Look, I need some stuff for a potion, and also to make some really good incense."

"I see. Well, I'm afraid I don't know what most of this is. Can you perhaps describe what you need?" Hajime nodded and took the paper, looking at each of the names and describing the attributes that he needed. The shopkeeper produced a little notepad and started taking notes. "That sounds like frankincense. Interesting. Ah…" He frowned as Hajime described the properties of one particular component to the incense. "That sounds illegal. Do you mean marijuana?"

"I don't know. Drugs don't work on me at all." Hajime said truthfully. "I can't even get drunk. I'm making this up for a friend." The stuff in the incense was meant to free the mind from normal constraints, while the items in the potion included herbs that were known for opening the mind to spiritual powers. If Hajime could get Ichigo to focus under the influence of the potion, there was a chance he would be able to get Zangetsu to manifest. And once he did, even with artificial aides, it would get easier and easier. Doing it the first time was the critical step. The shopkeeper considered the list for a moment then smiled.

"Perhaps you should tell me what you're trying to do." He suggested. "I might have some ideas." Hajime hesitated, not sure if he really wanted to share the information.

"I don't know. Are you going to tell the other shinigami about it?" He said warily and the man's smile widened.

"Oh, no. I'm an exile, actually, so we don't talk much." He said easily and Hajime relaxed a little. "I'm Urahara Kisuke, by the way. But please, just call me Kisuke. And you are?"

"Hajime Kurosaki. Okay… I'm trying to help my trainee achieve bankai." Hajime said and the other man's eyes widened. "The incense is to free the mind, while the potion opens the mind to spiritual powers. It also has herbs that activate the third eye, if you know what I mean." Clearly he didn't, so Hajime tried to explain. "Like, sensing the future. Anyway… it's a common technique the priests used when they had a student they knew would get bankai, and wanted to hurry them along a little." The problem with bankai was that it could take decades. The priests dealt with students who had a mortal lifespan, unlike the shinigami, so they did not want to wait for decades. "Do you have anything like the potion? I need to make the incense myself, fresh blood is an ingredient." And demon blood worked even better than human, if anything. Urahara swallowed and shook his head.

"We have nothing like that. However… there is something I have to help someone achieve bankai. Can I ask why you're doing this?" He asked and Hajime scowled.

"Promise me you won't freak." He said warily. He thought this guy hadn't quite realized he was a demon, since his wards should have kept a demon out. Urahara nodded. "I'm a demon, but I have a soul and I'm bound to obey the owner of my balls… what?" He asked as the man sniggered.

"Sorry… it's just… I assume the balls you're referring to are not the ones I just pictured." He said and Hajime blinked before scowling. If he'd been human, he would have blushed, but that was another thing he couldn't do.

"My ivory balls. Maybe we can bring them over to show you sometime." He said, a touch grouchily. Hajime wasn't worried about anything happening to the balls, they were indestructible and if they were lost or stolen, would return to Ichigo completely on their own. "Anyway, the local shinigami has been on my case and she said she was going to tell her brother about me, like it was a threat. So Ichigo wants to learn bankai." His student was really quite determined, in a quiet way. Hajime thought it was a good idea, although he didn't want Ichigo to push himself too hard. He did have his own bankai, not to mention the full release on his powers. Although Hajime desperately didn't want to use that. He'd never once used it for any of his masters, because none of them knew about it, and what they didn't know about they couldn't specifically command him to use. And the power itself was too dreadful. But for Ichigo, Hajime thought he would.

"Hmm. Well, I do have a way to force the spirit in a zanpakuto to materialize." Urahara said with a smile. "But I do have a price." Hajime nodded, unsurprised. "I want to study you." That made the demon blink. "I've never heard of a demon with a soul, and it's fascinating to me… would that be acceptable?"

"Well, maybe." Hajime said warily. He'd let Isshin give him a physical, but he was sure the demon slayer meant far more in depth tests. "I'd have to talk to my master about it. And he would have to be present for the tests." He said firmly. Ichigo worked at a clinic, he would know what was normal and what wasn't. Urahara just beamed at him. It was a little alarming.

"Of course, of course! I'll need to discuss the bankai training with him anyway. When would you like to bring him?" Urahara asked and they quickly set a date, two weeks in the future. Final exams were coming up, and the science project needed to be finished, so there wasn't really a lot of time until classes were done. Hajime mentioned that and Urahara just laughed. "Yes, I know. We'll probably have to wait for any serious tests and bankai training until school is out. Although, you're going to school?" He sounded rather surprised and Hajime shrugged.

"We got reported for truancy. I look like a kid, after all." He pointed out and Urahara laughed, pulling out a fan and waving it.

"A demon going to high school. Delightful! Well, meet me when your classes are over and I'll show you something amazing." With that promise, Hajime left the shop. Idly, he thought about trying to buy some marijuana and frankincense. Maybe he could at least get the incense done.

He didn't want to depend on nothing but a man he had just met.