Title: If you wrong us, shall we not revenge?
Disclaimer: The characters are borrowed, and I promise to give them back.
Spoilers: Up to chapter 187 and 188 in the manga. I stopped watching the anime after the Soul Society arc, so I have no idea if that plot twist has made it in yet.
While Ichigo doesn't know about his dad's little "surprise" yet in the manga, I'm guessing it's going to come out sometime during the big fight with Aizen. Hence, he knows about it in this story.
Summary: Urahara "cheers" Rukia up.
I'd like to dedicate this chapter to andraq and FirstxKiss, who wanted me to update soon – is 24 hours soon enough?
See, you review, and you might get a chapter dedicated to you!
"So, how is Rukia handling the whole 'guest list' shock?" Urahara asked Yoruichi as she was sitting down for breakfast a few days later.
She blinked blurrily at him, gripping her glass of milk. Really, what decent person was perky at 8 in the morning? "Rukia?"
When Urahara got up to grab the teakettle off the stove, she reached across and stole the grilled fish off his plate. He returned to the table to find his fish gone and Yoruichi giving him an innocent smile.
"She still seemed a little stunned," Yoruichi answered after he had sat back down. "Ichigo said she went through a bag of pocky by herself, and then half a package of cookies."
"Really?" Urahara took a sip of his tea.
Yoruichi hummed. "Ichigo ate the other half."
"So, she's no longer angry?" He seemed slightly disappointed.
"Nope." She licked off her milk moustache. "Just kind of stunned, I guess. Ichigo says it's weird to see her like this."
"Well, we can't have that." Urahara stood, his look determined. "Come, Yoruichi!" He posed dramatically, his cane pointed ahead and his fan in front of his face. "We shall go and cheer our young friend up!"
Ichigo opened the door and had to resist the urge to slam it in his visitor's face. Urahara was on the front steps, grinning devilishly. Yoruichi stood a few steps behind him, looking slightly sleepy.
"Oh, Kurosaki-san! It's such a beautiful day! We were just out for a walk when I thought we should…"
Ichigo grunted. "I suppose I should be grateful you used the door."
Urahara stood slack-jawed as Ichigo turned around and went back into the house, leaving the door wide open. Yoruichi and Urahara exchanged looks.
"Well, are we going in?" she asked, a hand on her hip.
With fan before his face, Urahara stepped into the house. Whenever he visited, it never ceased to amaze him how Isshin had settled into such a quaint, homey life, but he had always thought that former Captain was a little crazy.
The two followed Ichigo to the kitchen, where Rukia was sitting at the table. She glanced up, a bit glassy-eyed, from what looked like Soul Society paperwork.
Yes, Urahara thought, he definitely did not miss part of being a Captain.
"Ah, Kuchiki-san!" He beamed at her, ignoring the slightly annoyed look the short Shinigami gave him. "And how are you this fine morning?"
"Urahara, Yoruichi." Rukia smiled at Yoruichi, standing up. "We have some milk, let me get it. And I could put on some tea if you would like, Urahara."
"Oh, tea would be lovely!" Urahara settled himself at the table along with Yoruichi, glancing at the forms. Yep, KXR-5 forms – definitely boring paperwork. He suppressed a shudder.
Rukia seemed a little rattled. She nearly dropped the milk – much to Yoruichi's dismay – barely catching it at the last minute. Ichigo frowned and huffed before taking his fiancée by the shoulders and pushing her to sit at the table with the other Shinigami. He went to prepare the tea himself. When Rukia tried to stand back up, Ichigo growled at her to "sit the hell down and stop being a nuisance."
Oh, seeing these two lovebirds at work made his old heart melt.
Once everyone was settled around the table, Urahara set his fan down and put on a serious expression. "Kuchiki-san," he began, "I do apologize for springing the number of guests on you so unexpectedly."
"And I apologize for hitting you and Ichigo with flowerpots for not telling me sooner," Rukia returned elegantly. Ichigo snorted at this, clearly disbelieving the sincerity of his fiancée's apology.
"Oh, yes," Urahara rubbed the back of his head, "those took a while to replace. But, no harm done." Except to my throbbing skull.
"I'm just surprised," he continued, giving her a sympathetic look, "that your brother had failed to inform you of the change to your carefully laid wedding plans."
"Yes," Rukia was getting that slightly annoyed look to her eyes.
"I mean, this is your wedding."
"Yes, yes it is." She straightened up, the look of annoyance turning into a glare of irritation.
"I mean, a bride should be able to make the decisions when it comes to something as significant as her own wedding." Urahara accented his point by gesturing grandly with his hands. "I mean, this is one of the most important days of your life!"
Rukia's fist came down onto the table. "That's right!"
"And it just doesn't seem fair," Urahara was on a roll now, rising dramatically to his feet, "that your brother should completely rearrange the plans which you have worked on for over a month!"
Rukia jumped up to join him, her little fist pumping in the air. "No he shouldn't!"
"No, this is your day!"
"That's right!"
"You should be the one to decide how you want the ceremony!"
"Yeah!"
"And you should be able to decide on your guest list, not your brother!"
"You're absolutely right, Urahara!" Rukia slammed her fists down on the table, making Ichigo jump and Yoruichi move to protect her milk. She whirled dramatically towards the door, dragging a mildly surprised store-owner with her.
"Come on, Urahara!" She stomped out of the kitchen. "We're going to prep your gate so I can go to Soul Society and give my brother a piece of my mind!"
"That's the spirit, Kuchiki-san!"
Ichigo quietly poured Yoruichi more milk. Yoruichi raised her glass, Ichigo raised his teacup, and the two made a silent toast.
"You know," he began thoughtfully, "I kind of like it when she's angry like this. Especially when it's not at me."
A couple hours later, Ichigo stood with Rukia before Urahara's gate to Soul Society. His little Shinigami was nearly shaking with rage. He was happy she was back to normal.
Urahara was almost bouncing with glee. "You know the standard procedures…"
"Yeah." Ichigo waved his hand dismissively. "We got it."
As Urahara prepared to open the gates, a voice stopped them.
"WAIT!!!!"
Ichigo turned around in shock. "What the hell are you doing here, old man?"
Isshin came puffing up in full Shinigami gear. "Woo…Urahara…called me…told me…'bout Rukia…" He caught his breath. "Wow, that's quite a run. Not as spry as I used to be."
"I thought you said you were never going back to Soul Society?" Ichigo asked, crossing his arms and glaring.
"Oh, you know," Isshin waved his hand dismissively. "Got friends there I wanted to drop by and visit. Besides," he put his arm around son's shoulders, dropping his voice so only the two of them could hear, "do you really think I'm going to miss the chance to see Kuchiki Byakuya brought down a notch by his half-pint sister?"
Ichigo's lips quirked. Yeah, this was going to go down in Soul Society history. "Okay, old man. See if you can keep up."
"Everyone ready?" Urahara fluttered two yellow fans, each with red dots in the middle. "Yoruichi, you remember that devise I asked you to test?"
"Right here in my bag." She flashed the fanged grin. "We're all ready."
"All right then. Ready…" He raised the fans above his head. "Go!"
And with a flurry, the fans dropped and the gate opened. Rukia jumped in first, her face determined. Ichigo followed closely, almost as intense. Isshin flahsed a thumbs up before jumping in. And Yoruichi winked before she too faded from view.
Urahara went to pick up his hat that had blown off when the gate opened and dusted it off. Tessai smoothed his moustache and frowned.
"You purposely made Kuchiki-san mad," the store worker stated.
Urahara brought his fan in front of his face, smiling behind it.
"Mad enough that she would march into Soul Society and yell at her brother." Tessai pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his face stern.
"Yare, yare," Urahara fluttered his hand. "That flowerpot gave me a sore head for three days."
Wow, my muses have been inspired recently. Third chapter in less than a week, and I almost have another one done!
For those of you who may wonder why Urahara was having fish for breakfast, a common breakfast in Japan includes rice, miso soup, and some sort of side dish like grilled fish or pickles (pretty tasty, I love miso soup). Kind of weird for us Americans, but we're actually one of the few countries that eat cereals for breakfast. I was once served pork chops and green peas for breakfast when traveling in Eastern Europe.
As for the fans with red dots, you sometimes see them used to start sporting events – like tug-'o-war – and to cheer on competitors. If you watch Spirited Away (and if you haven't, what's wrong with you?), you can see these fans during the scene with the polluted river god.
Now, to respond to a few reviewers:
Green Amber: Oh, I think you're going to like the next chapter…
PraiseDivineMercy: I'm glad I could be a good introduction. The Bleach fanfic writers –including some of your fellow reviewers! – are really a fantastic community with lots of interesting stories. I hope you keep reading!
