Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo and those people/companies that publish Bleach. I own nothing except my meagre attempts at playing in his sandbox.
Warnings: Pretty much everybody's mouth, described violence (it IS Bleach, after all), Also unbetaed
(Everything's green) - Subconscious flow of thoughts
(*Why is everything green?*) - Uryuu actively thinking
(*Because it is.*) - Ichigo actively thinking
(*Who th'hell cares?!*) - Shiro actively thinking
(*Peace, hollow.*) - Old Man Zangetsu actively thinking
Uryuu stared thoughtfully into his tea, turning Ichigo's words over in his mind, even as Urahara watched him across the table. Could they actually accomplish anything? Could they turn aside the fate that had woven itself around Ichigo and him?
(Could he even live with himself if he didn't try?)
"I need an identity," Uryuu spoke up, finally lifting his head to meet Urahara's gaze. He held himself steady, trying to portray a confidence he didn't actually feel. "I need an identity and a way to blend in."
(Could he survive everything falling apart on him again?)
"Ooh? You won't announce yourself?" Urahara asked, an amused glint in his shadowed eyes.
Uryuu snorted, glowering at Urahara, and growled, "I would rather not have anyone else jump to the conclusion you reached, even if you did it in jest."
Urahara's fan came to rest in front of his face, hiding his grin from Uryuu. "Like your past self?"
(He could chase his past self off. Take his place. At least this version of himself would never have to know the terror of war.)
Uryuu made a noise of agreement, brushing his thoughts aside. No, he was a stubborn person, determined to show up the Shinigami. There was no way he could drive his past self off, not without causing irreparable harm to the teen. "I… didn't really get along with Ichigo at first. I'd rather not strain that connection more than necessary."
(*Understatement,*) Ichigo muttered, remembering the first prickly moments between them. Two self-professed loners, circling and snarling as they tried to settle into a comfortable rhythm.
(*Shut up.*)
"I could make you a gigai, I suppose," Urahara mused, as he examined Uryuu over the top of his fan. "Not much I can do about your bone structure, because having a gigai be that different would be very uncomfortable, but your coloration…"
Uryuu blinked, trying to piece together why Urahara was bringing up the fake bodies that Shinigami used to walk among the living. "A… gigai? Why?"
"You haven't realized? No, I suppose you wouldn't," Urahara said softly, as he flicked his fan closed and set it down on the table in front of him with a deliberate care. "I suspect, if you traveled to Hueco Mundo, that I managed to complete a method to transform your human body into reishi. Whatever happened when you and Ichigo merged, or possibly even when you came back in time, you're a soul now, not a reishi construct that I could reconstruct with some research."
It took everything he had to keep his fingers from shattering the tea cup in his grasp, as the meaning of Urahara's words hit him like a punch in the gut. His breath came in short, sharp pants, vision going grey along the edges. He wasn't even alive anymore. He was a soul. He belonged in Soul Society, except he didn't because this wasn't his time and…
A large, warm hand wrapped around the back of his neck, grounding him in the present as Urahara's voice finally broke through the white noise that had filled his mind.
"Just breathe. In, and out, focus on my voice," Urahara said, as he knelt beside Uryuu and coaxed him through the next several breaths, until Uryuu slumped forward, body trembling but breathing even once more. "I apologize. I should have watched myself a bit better than that."
"No, it's… it's fine," Uryuu forced out, as he took a drink of his tea and tried to put his scrambled thoughts back into order. Ichigo's concern and support was like an anchor, and he held tight to that feeling to give himself a bit of stability. "I needed to know and… I don't know why…"
"I do," Urahara replied, as he finally lifted his hand from the back of Uryuu's neck and sat back down in his previous spot at the table, then bowed to Uryuu. "You've barely had time to process your friend's death, much less arriving in this time, and then I drop another bombshell atop you without warning. Forgive me."
Uryuu considered telling Urahara for a moment of the three months spent in the dangai, of his grief and his grieving and his acceptance of his new reality, but held his tongue. Something like that… it was private, and he didn't know Urahara enough, much less this version of the man, to speak of it. "It's fine. I… I'll be fine."
Urahara slowly lifted from his bow, his eyes shadowed by his hat and yet still so piercing that Uryuu had to look away. Perhaps he wasn't fine, but what choice did he currently have but to keep moving forward?
Urahara didn't look like he believed Uryuu for a second, but obligingly let the topic go and began to speak again, though his cheerful tone was perhaps a bit too forced to be real, "I could even make your hair and eyes pale, we could say you're my son!"
"I'll look like myself with pale hair," Uryuu muttered into his tea, as he took another sip of the cooling liquid. Urahara's statement finally wormed the rest of the way through his buzzing thoughts, and Uryuu choked on his mouthful, "Wait, your son?!"
"Oh, don't be so skeptical!" Urahara replied, a wicked grin on his face that gave Uryuu a very bad feeling. "I'd make a wonderful father!"
(*Hat'n'Clogs has a plan,*) Ichigo moaned. (*We're never going to escape it now!*)
Privately, Uryuu agreed with the sentiment, though he would still try his best to escape.
"We look nothing alike," Uryuu insisted, as he narrowed his eyes at the mad scientist across from him. "How you intend to convince people we're related is beyond me."
"Why, by saying you took after your adorable mother!"
"And who would that be?"
Urahara shrugged and waved a hand as if brushing the matter aside, though his piercing gaze never left Uryuu. "Does it really matter? I can say Yoruichi found you on a run through Soul Society, and brought you to me to keep you safe from retribution and the attentions of the Shinigami. Your past selves would believe it of me, and the others won't care beyond the point that I'm vouching for another stray."
Uryuu hesitated, pushing as much of his jumbled thoughts to the side as he could to give this suggestion his full attention. He wanted to reject the idea outright, but Urahara was right; he'd have believed the man capable of having children, on account of the fact that nothing Urahara said could be immediately discounted as wrong. It was slowly hitting him just how old so many people he and Ichigo knew actually were, and how little of their pasts they were aware of.
One thing stuck in his mind, though. "You said my reiatsu feels like, well, a combination of mine and Ichigo's. How will you get around that?"
"Hmm, that's a bit more troublesome, true," Urahara admitted, as he rubbed at his chin and stared off into space for a bit. "I think I can fix that, though. I'll just need to tweak the settings I used to hide my reiatsu from Seireitei. Maybe turn it into some sort of amulet you can wear in your spirit form."
(*Are we actually going to go along with this?*) Ichigo asked in wonder, (*Are we actually going to pose as his son?*)
(*You said he's the one most likely to make us a place,*) Uryuu reminded his friend, even if he privately shared Ichigo's disbelief. It had to be the way his thoughts kept scattering that kept him from finding a rational argument to the contrary, there was no way he would have gone along with this otherwise. (*If you have any better ideas, I'm all ears.*)
"So! We need a new name for you!" Urahara announced, his voice outwardly cheerful but his gaze wary as he watched Uryuu. "You'll use Urahara, of course, so we need a good personal name! How about Ichirou?"
"I will make your life miserable if you call me that," Uryuu growled, narrowing his eyes at Urahara.
Urahara raised his hands in surrender, the wariness in his gaze fading slightly as amusement crept in. "Katsuro? Fumio? Osamu? Eiji? Oooh, how about Ryuu?"
"Isn't the whole point of giving me another name to draw attention away from my resemblance to my past self?" Uryuu asked.
"Well, yes, and I suppose Urahara Ryuu is as much a mouthful as Urahara Uryuu," Urahara admitted willingly, before he shot Uryuu a smug smile. "But remember, your mother named you, and she never met Ishida Uryuu."
Uryuu hesitated, tempted for a brief moment to cling to his identity, to just let the pieces fall how they would. It was the easy way out, but…
(Enshroud the world in a moonless night, Kakure Ichigo!)
His blade was named Ichigo. Uryuu and Ichigo. Ichigo and Uryuu. One similarity could be overlooked — a coincidence, a happenstance, something to find amusement in and find common ground over — but two? Two identical names, with a blade and a bankai suspiciously similar to Kurosaki's own?
No. Even Kurosaki would start piecing the clues together, and Inoue might accidentally stumble across the truth in the midst of her madcap ramblings.
"No," Uryuu reluctantly admitted with a shake of his head. "I can't be Uryuu here. And if you even think about calling me Ichigo, I will make sure to make your life a living hell."
"My, so vengeful at such a young age!" Urahara exclaimed, then chuckled nervously as Uryuu's glare darkened.
Uryuu sighed through his nose and set his empty cup of tea down on the table. He thought back to the names Urahara had mentioned, trying to pair them up with the family name he was apparently going to be stuck with.
(*We could always go with something else,*) Ichigo reminded him. (*Just because he suggested it, doesn't mean we need to consider it.*)
(*I vote we call ya Tora!*)
He pinched the bridge of his nose at Shiro's suggestion. (*No. I refuse to be called anything related to cats, tigers, or kittens. Besides, we're apparently going to have Urahara's hair color now, so no more stripes.*)
(*Tch, ruin my fun why don'tcha, Koneko,*) Shiro grumbled, though Uryuu could sense only amusement from the spirit.
"What's this?" Urahara asked, as he leaned across the table and stared thoughtfully at Uryuu. "I thought you looked a bit distracted a few times before, but… you're actually holding a conversion with your other spirits right now, aren't you? Fascinating!"
Uryuu leaned away from Urahara, unused to such blatant disregard for his personal space while he was in his right mind. "Can't you?"
Urahara grinned and sat back, his fan coming up to cover the lower half of his face. "Well of course! But usually only in combat or when I've just returned from Jinzen. Not many Shinigami are capable of speaking with their blade outside of meditation at all, you know."
He shrugged uncomfortably, looking away from Urahara as he was once more reminded of how strange his very existence was. "If there is anything I have learned, it's that Ichigo breaks all the rules. It seems to be catching."
(*Hey! You're acting like I'm a disease or something!*)
(*Because you are. A horrible one, that grows all over everyone you meet,*) Uryuu responded, his mental voice flat. (*There's no other explanation for why I would hunt out loopholes just to follow you.*)
(*Mean!*)
Urahara's amused laughter brought Uryuu back to the present, and he shot the man an exasperated look.
"Maa, maa, you just make such cute faces, my son!" Urahara proclaimed, as he fluttered his fan.
"Please tell me you aren't going to be as bad as Kurosaki-sensei," Uryuu muttered, as he carefully folded his hands in his lap in order to keep himself from fiddling with the empty tea cup in front of him.
He was alarmed to see a thoughtful expression cross Urahara's face, and a cold chill went down his spine. What had he just done?!
"Well, it would be a bit difficult to get a giant poster of your mother," Urahara mused, his eyes glinting with amusement. "But I could probably find a way to surprise you at every opportunity!"
Uryuu shivered. Kami, let the man not be serious about that!
"I am going to insist that you live here for a time at least," Urahara continued, the amusement dropping and his tone turning serious. "Your cover has you being a soul from the Rukongai, which means you'll have no experience with the Living World. While we can get away with you adapting quickly by saying you inherited my intelligence, that can't cover anything. All I ask is that you speak with me about your plans before you implement them, if you have the time. There may be some information you don't have, which could lead to a worse outcome than before if not taken into account."
Uryuu nodded slowly. He didn't like the idea of sharing his space with so many others, not after living in an apartment by himself for several years, but Urahara's reasoning was logical. "Very well. So long as you accept that I won't always be able to come to you first."
The twisted, bitter smile that crossed Urahara's face startled Uryuu, so out of place was it on the normally cheerful man. "Trust me, I know what it's like to have no time. All I ask is that you try."
"I will," Uryuu solemnly promised. He might be wary of Urahara, but the man was going out of his way to help him. He was certain there was at least one ulterior motive at play already, but that was okay. They both wanted Aizen's death, if for different reasons, and Uryuu had no problem being a hidden knife aimed at Aizen's heart.
"So!" Urahara chirped, his mood taking an abrupt one-eighty. "Decided on a name yet?"
Uryuu hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded. "I think… Kaito."
"Urahara Kaito," Urahara mused softly, as he tapped his fan on his chin. "It has a bit of a ring to it. Well then! I'll get started on your paperwork, and then to designing your gigai and that amulet I promised. In the mean time, you should probably hide down in the basement. Kuchiki-san shows up often enough that I'd rather not take the chance of her spotting you like this, if you have no plans on telling anyone who you are."
Uryuu (Kaito, he was Kaito, new-name-new-face-new-life. An ocean instead of the pouring rain. Kaito.) nodded his agreement. He rose from his seat as Urahara reached over and pulled aside a tatami mat to reveal the hidden trapdoor that led into the underground training room. The trapdoor shifted aside easily, revealing the hole and the huge ladder that led down into the depths.
Kaito hesitated, then glanced at Urahara and said, "I would rather not go back to school. At least… not right away."
Urahara made a thoughtful noise. "Well, I see no reason for it. I'll buy some books, and we can say I'm home schooling you if it ever becomes important. And being from the Rukongai, you'd not have much organized schooling. I think… yes. You'll be from one of the upper-middle districts. Poverty won't have defined your life, but you'll still have needed to work to feed yourself, and won't have had the time or resources to dedicate to the sort of schooling the Living World prizes. And for your peers here, hmm…"
"School avoidance," Kaito suggested after a moment, as he considered his options. His intelligence and nature had seen him top of his class, previously. Best to at least somewhat distance himself from that, even if he wasn't going to play stupid. Couldn't play stupid, not with a father like Urahara. "Combined with absent guardians before you took me in. No one to keep track or care if I went, and a haphazard dedication on my part to learning on my own."
Urahara eyed him carefully, then nodded in acceptance. "It does make it easier on my part to make your records, at least. Who remembers a kid that never shows up?"
"Thank you," Kaito said, as he committed the framework of his new life to memory. He would have to repeat it to himself often, just to cement it in his mind, but he was certain he wouldn't forget. For now, it was enough.
He descended down the ladder, into the vast chamber that seemed to stretch on forever. It still took his breath away, even though he had seen it several times. The idea that Urahara could create something like this, hidden under his tiny little shop, boggled the mind.
"I wonder if it actually takes up all this space," he mused aloud, as he employed a few hirenkyaku bursts to carry him away from the ladder. "Or if it's some kido effect."
(*Well, there's probably at least some kido involved,*) Ichigo spoke up. (*He did say he built the thing in a single day and night, though… obviously he was lying about the when if this is here right now.*)
Kaito hummed thoughtfully, then sat down on the dusty ground and leaned back against a rock, staring up at the painted ceiling. He felt… so very drained. Not just physically exhausted, though that played a part, but mentally as well. He was lost, adrift in a time he had already lived through, forced to take another name and rebuild his life from nothing. Finding out that he wasn't even truly alive anymore… just another wandering soul, stranded in a world that was no longer his.
Sleep drowned the world in black before his thoughts could spiral further down.
Uryuu (Kaito, he was Kaito) awoke with a jolt, the feeling of eyes on him pulling him from his rest. His body protested the awkward position; his back was sore, his shoulders knotted, and his legs were so solidly asleep that Kaito was almost terrified to move them. It would be a new level of torture, he was certain.
Urahara was seated atop another rock, his hands toying with his fan as he waited for Kaito to gather himself.
"Oh good, you're awake!" Urahara chirped as soon as Kaito focused on him. "You didn't have to sleep down here. The back of the shop is private, after all!"
Kaito gave a tiny shrug as he started to massage life back into his legs, wincing at the growing feeling of pins and needles. "I didn't mean to."
"Hmm," Urahara hummed, as he eyed Kaito. He flicked his fan to point down at something laying on the ground at his side. "I finished your gigai while you were asleep. I'll need more time to make the amulet, so try not to get yourself knocked out of it in front of others, alright?"
"By who?" Kaito grumbled, as he carefully stood up and waited for his legs to steady. "As I recall, the only two knocking people out of their bodies around here were you and Kuchiki. So unless you have plans…"
"My, so paranoid about your precious father!"
"A father you admitted that I've never met before I was summarily abducted by a talking cat," Kaito replied flatly, as he finally took the few steps over to the gigai and stared down at it. It… really didn't look much different from his past self, Kaito was sure. Though the spiky, flaxen blond hair was a bit startling, and the lack of glasses made his face look… odd. "You realize I'm legally blind without my glasses, right?"
Urahara shrugged, as if such a thing hadn't even crossed his mind. "Well, I was already fiddling with your eye color, so why not that, too?"
Kaito narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze between the flaxen haired gigai and the shopkeeper that had created it. With such a startling difference in certain aspects between himself and the gigai… "You realize people will start to question why the never see your son out of his gigai."
The bright grin that crossed Urahara's face was in no way reassuring, and neither was the way his free hand reached up to tilt his hat down slightly before shifting it back up. "You wound me! Thinking your dear father wouldn't think of such a thing, honestly!"
"Urahara," Kaito growled, as he clung to his temper and resisted the urge to reach out and strangle the frustrating man.
"Maa, maa, why do you think it's taking me so long to make that amulet of yours?"
That was… both reassuring and a bit terrifying, Kaito had to admit. It was one thing to know that Urahara was a genius, a mad scientist who could create things that no one had ever seen before, but it was entirely another to see that genius turned towards a purpose.
Urahara grinned brightly, as he flourished his fan and gave Kaito a small bow, acknowledging the understanding in Kaito's gaze without him having to say anything. "Do try not to lose it when I make it!"
With a sigh, Kaito knelt by the gigai and reached out towards it. He hesitated, hands partially sunk into the body's shoulders, before he gathered up his courage and slipped into it the way he had seen Ichigo slipping back into his own body.
It felt like slipping into a suit, all rigid lines and constricting fabric. He took a moment to just breathe, leaving his eyes closed and just focusing on little things, like moving his fingers and touching the dusty ground beneath him. The sensations reminded him a little of when he was wearing the sanrei glove, distant and dulled by a thin barrier between himself and the world.
"You'll get used to it," Urahara spoke up. "Give it a bit to synchronize with your spirit, and it'll feel just like your real body."
"This is… normal?" Kaito asked, as he slowly sat up and stared down at his hands, realizing only then that his skin tone was slightly different. Slanting a glance up at Urahara, he decided that the man had tweaked that to better match his own, continuing to play up the idea that Kaito had gained his mother's build and his father's coloration.
"I never could figure out how to work around the synchronization stage," Urahara admitted with a shrug. "Infusing some reiatsu into it first helps, but there's always a disconnect between soul and gigai in the beginning. It's made worse for you because I'm forcing your gigai to alter the way your reiatsu reads to others."
Silence settled over them, as Kaito stood and started to move around, testing the gigai and trying to settle into it. A proper spar would work better, he was certain, but he still felt so tired, like he hadn't just slept for who-knows-how-long down here, and even longer back in Hueco Mundo.
(*You're going to have to watch your skill set,*) Ichigo spoke thoughtfully, then continued when Kaito sent a feeling of curiosity his way. (*You're posing as the son of a Shinigami, so all those Quincy skills you have will be out of place.*)
Kaito frowned, then reached up absently to touch his glasses, only to mentally curse when his finger touched the bridge of his nose instead of the metal he expected. That was going to take some getting used to.
(*I didn't realize how often you do that.*)
(*It's a habit,*) Kaito responded, as he rubbed at the side of his nose. (*One that most people with glasses have. It will be… odd to be without my glasses. I've had them almost as long as I can remember.*)
"Urahara, I'm going to need to learn shunpo," Kaito said, breaking the silence between them. "Ichigo's right, this fiction we're building will fall apart if I use my Quincy skills too blatantly."
A thoughtful look crossed Urahara's face, as he tapped his closed fan against his chin. "Well, I can ask Yoruichi to teach you. But I doubt you'll be able to keep all your skills under wraps forever."
"Then what do you suggest," Kaito bit out, as he turned to face Urahara and crossed his arms over his chest. "Because I'm not staying out of this mess, not when I can change things for the better."
Urahara held up his hands in surrender. "Hold on, now, I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that we need to come up with a reason why you would have those skills. A simple answer would have your mother being a Quincy soul, and remembering some of her skills. She could have taught you the archery aspect at least; it would have given you access to another source of food, if you were good enough to hunt small game."
Kaito stiffened and looked away from Urahara, abruptly reminded of that psycho who had bragged to him about hunting down and experimenting on Quincy souls that entered Soul Society. If this fiction they were building had been truth, Urahara would have been lucky to find him still alive after all this time.
"Kaito..?"
He shook his head sharply, not wanting to speak his thoughts aloud. "It's nothing. That's fine. My past self won't like the idea of it, but I doubt he'd ever be happy with any story we could come up with."
(*Yeah, you were a bit of an asshole in the beginning.*)
(*Thanks,*) Kaito grumbled, though he knew the comment was warranted. He really hadn't given Ichigo a reason to like him in the beginning.
"Well, how about we go upstairs and introduce you to everyone!" Urahara chirped as he hopped down from the rock and strolled past Kaito towards the ladder leading up. "I did tell Tessai the truth, of course, but he's agreed to the story, so it'll all be fine!"
Reluctantly, Kaito followed Urahara back up into the shop proper, where the other three people who called the shoten home were gathered. He felt… nothing, as he stared at them. Jinta had always been a nuisance, and Ururu so shy she was nearly a non-entity the few times Kaito had visited previously. Even Tessai had mostly been just a polite, calm presence who served drinks and otherwise kept to himself. He didn't know them, hadn't seen their fate in the future he had left. They were just familiar strangers, and it was something of a relief to realize that.
Urahara's hand touched his shoulder, giving him a gentle nudge forward so that he stood a step in front of Urahara. "Kaito, meet Tsukabishi Tessai, Tsumugiyo Ururu, and Hanakiri Jinta. Everyone, meet my son, Urahara Kaito!"
"Pleased to meet you," Kaito said, keeping both his tone and his bow polite. It wouldn't do to insult the people he was going to be spending time in close quarters with.
"Eh, whatever, you better not make a mess around here," Jinta grumbled, as he slunk out of the room and back outside.
"F-forgive him," Ururu stuttered softly, as she bowed deeply, her near-permanent blush growing darker thanks to Jinta's callous words. "I-it's nice t-to meet you!"
"Welcome to the Living World," Tessai added, with his own small bow.
"Tessai will show you to your room," Urahara told him airily, as he brushed past Kaito and headed out of the shop. "I'll be back later!"
"This way," Tessai said, as he led Kaito deeper into the store, barely pausing long enough for Kaito to remove his shoes. He slid the door open and indicated the room. "Urahara-san's room is across the hall from yours, and mine is next to his. Jinta and Ururu share a room next to yours."
Kaito slipped into the bare room, noting the built in closets along the wall and the tatami mats that covered the floor.
(*I guess you'll have to get used to sleeping on a futon,*) Ichigo said, as Kaito began investigating the closets. (*He's very traditional.*)
(*So is Soul Society,*) Kaito pointed out, as he found the closet that held his bedding. The rest of the closets were mostly empty, with only a few small things scattered around. Hopefully Urahara was going to buy some clothing for him while he was out, because the jinbei the gigai had been dressed in was clearly the man's own, and hung loosely on his frame. He was just glad Urahara preferred pants that only came down to his knees, otherwise he would have had to roll the legs up in order to move. (*If I'm supposed to be from there, this is what I'd be used to.*)
After a brief moment of debate, Kaito pulled the bedding from the closet and began to set the bed up. Maybe it was the fight with Aizen, or being sent back in time, but it felt like he hadn't slept at all despite having spent more of the past hours asleep than awake. The chance to sleep on a real bed was just too much to pass up; maybe then he would finally feel rested and awake.
He hesitated at the last minute, though, hand hovering over the belt that held the shirt closed. This was more than a shop, it was a home, and home meant bath.
Mind made up, Kaito turned around and left his room, going in search of Tessai. Sleep would be welcome, but a bath… that would be glorious.
"Good moooooorniiing, Kaito!"
Kaito sat up with a start, jerked out of his sleep by both the words and by Ichigo's violent reaction to them. As Ichigo filled his head with curses, Kaito just stared blankly at Urahara and tried to process the abrupt switch from sleep to wakefulness. The man was standing in the doorway, fan out and covering his lower face, but Kaito was certain there was a smirk hidden by that fan.
(*I. Am going. To murder Hat'n'Clogs,*) Ichigo snarled. (*Tell him that. And tell him that if he dares try to act like Goat-face, I will have no compunction against teaching you exactly how to deal with annoying idiots this early in the goddamn morning.*)
Still entirely unsure of what was happening around him — why was Ichigo so furious, and Urahara so amused? — Kaito reluctantly played relay for Ichigo. "That was… probably not wise? Ichigo is threatening to kill you, now, and also to teach me 'exactly how to deal with annoying idiots this early in the goddamn morning'."
Urahara just laughed, waving the comments away with a casual flip of his fan. "Well now, we can't have that! I just thought you'd like to know that breakfast will be in a half hour! No need to become violent!"
(*There is every reason to become violent! The world doesn't need a clever version of Goat-face!*)
"Apparently Ichigo believes there is a reason," Kaito replied dryly, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and only just stopped himself from reaching out to find his glasses. "Thank you, Urahara. I'll be out shortly."
"Of course!" Urahara then nudged a couple of bags further into the room with a foot. "Here you are, some fresh clothes. They should all be in your size."
Kaito watched as the man stepped back, sliding the shoji door closed as he left, then rose from the futon and moved to investigate the bags.
(*Really?*) Kaito asked with a sigh. The bags were full of jinbei, in all sorts of colors. Dark greens like Urahara wore, along with some dark blues in a variety of shades, a few reds, greys, even a deep purple. Most of them were plain, without any patterns to be seen, but a few of the blues and one grey had stripes, and…
(*Oh hell no!*) Kaito snarled, as he held up a jinbei covered in embroidered tigers. Shiro's raucous laughter echoed through his head, loud enough that he barely heard Ichigo's amusement laced voice.
(*Look at what was under it.*)
Almost dreading the answer, Kaito looked down, and just stared. Cheerful cartoon characters covered the entire thing, in bright, primary colors that stood out against the more subdued jinbei that Urahara had otherwise filled the bags with.
Kaito clenched his jaw, reminded himself of how bad an idea it was to attempt to murder the person giving him a place in this timeline, and resolved to bury the two patterned jinbei deep in a closet and forget they existed.
(How had Urahara even found a child's jinbei in his size?!)
He would have to go shopping at some point, Kaito thought, as he unpacked the bags and folded the new clothes away into a closet. Jinbei were fine, even if he wasn't accustomed to wearing such things, and the three kimono and accessories that Urahara had bought would work well for any formal occasions, even if he couldn't think of an immediate need for them.
By the time everything was put away properly, and he was dressed and presentable, food was set out on the table and the other four residents of the shoten were gathered around waiting for him to arrive.
"Thank you for the clothes," Kaito said, as he sat at the open place.
"You're welcome. Can't have my precious newfound son looking like a vagabond, after all!" Urahara replied, as they all started to eat. The meal passed in mostly silence, broken only by Urahara reminding Jinta and Ururu about their chores for the day, before he turned back to Kaito and said, "You can do what you'd like for now. I'm still putting your papers in order, so try to avoid getting into trouble?"
Kaito nodded, then considered what he could do for the day. He was still feeling tired, drained in a way that left him wanting to do nothing more than just curl back up and go back to sleep.
"I'm… going to meditate a bit," Kaito admitted to Urahara, as he rose to allow Ururu to finish putting the table away. "I still feel drained."
"Hmmm." Urahara moved closer, peering at Kaito curiously. "Really? But your reiryoku reads at Captain level currently. I had thought… hmm…"
Kaito shifted awkwardly under the man's stare, taking a step back in an attempt to regain a bit of personal space. "Is that… a problem? I mean, for the gigai."
"No, no, it won't be a problem," Urahara reassured Kaito absently, as he fiddled with his fan and continued to stare thoughtfully at Kaito. "The gigai will adapt, and if it starts giving you problems just tell me. Well! If you're still feeling drained, I'll be sure to call you for lunch."
Kaito nodded, then retreated back to his room, glad that he could finally get away from Urahara's considering stare. Being the focus of such intense scrutiny was nerve wracking at the best of times, especially from someone who was capable of the things Kaito knew Urahara could do.
He settled down on his futon and retreated into his mindscape. He came to in the same room that he had left his three spirits in earlier, when traveling from Hueco Mundo to the Living World.
Ichigo glanced over from his spot against the wall, amusement flaring in his gaze momentarily, before he went back to watching the steady rise and fall of Zangetsu's chest. The older spirit didn't look like he had moved at all, still in the same position that Kaito had shifted him into, and still as deeply asleep as before. Even Shiro didn't seem to have moved, though the doppleganger was sitting up and grinning toothily at him.
"The Old Man hasn't woken, yet," Ichigo said, as Kaito settled against the wall next to him. "And Shiro and I keep drifting in and out of sleep."
"Yeh, cause we're still recoverin', Aibo," Shiro replied around a yawn, as he propped his head up on one arm and stared at the two of them. "I dunno 'xactly what happened when that kidou exploded, but… we burned ourselves out. An' then I made it worse when I ran—"
"We wouldn't have survived if you didn't," Kaito cut in bluntly. "I know that. At least we're alive to be tired. And that's all it is, right?"
"Damn straight!" Shiro snarled, as he sat up and glowered at Kaito. "It's jes gunna take some time, some rest, an' real food. So no more filtering reishi, Koneko, ya got that?"
"All of which we can get here," Ichigo broke in, before Kaito could snap back at Shiro. "So I guess that tells us what we're going to be doing for the next while. Sorry, Uryuu, but I guess we probably shouldn't go out exploring the town just yet."
Kaito shook his head. He'd already figured that bit out for himself. With the way he was feeling, even a minor Hollow getting the drop on him might be dangerous, though he doubted one could kill him even now. Still, being wounded would only set his recovery back further, and that wasn't something he was willing to chance. Not when he didn't know how much time he had before Aizen made his move.
"You should probably get used to calling me Kaito," he reluctantly brought up. It was nice to hear his real name, but he couldn't afford to react to his past self's name. "Just in case you have to take control and get questioned."
Ichigo grimaced, then shrugged in resigned acceptance. "Yeah, you're right. So, what should we do? I know we have to rest, but can't we do anything?"
"Work on syncin' up by y'selves," Shiro muttered, as he laid his head back down, exhaustion creeping back up on him. "Y'were gettin' pretty good at the end of that fight wit' Aizen. Not takin' each other over, but jes workin' t'gether."
Kaito and Ichigo shared a look, as they considered it.
"It might be a step towards you getting bankai on your own," Ichigo offered thoughtfully. "Either way, I don't see why not."
"Alright," Kaito agreed willingly. He couldn't rely forever on Shiro and Ichigo to make up for his shortcomings, after all. Being able to use bankai on his own would be a relief, and something he was definitely looking forward to. It had already been proven to him how the lack of bankai was a detriment to his ability to face Captain-class fighters head on, especially when he couldn't rely on his Quincy skills to see him through.
He was determined. He would face Aizen as himself, not as a passenger in his own body.
Kaito found himself settling into a routine. Enforced meals with the rest of the Shoten residents, then time spent by himself in either his room or the underground training room while the others went about their day. Occasionally, Urahara would ask him to help clean up after a particularly busy day for the shop, but that was the only real interaction he had with anyone outside of meals.
He knew it couldn't last — Urahara's considering looks were enough to warn him of that — but he enjoyed the relative normalcy while he could. Even the pretense of a routine, of a normal life, helped Kaito feel calmer and less stressed, and he found his exhaustion slipping away day by day until he almost felt rested again.
So he was almost expecting something to happen to disrupt that when he came to the breakfast table that morning. Kaito arrived at the table to find a sixth place set out with a saucer and nothing else. Nor were any others sitting at the table yet, when Urahara was usually the first awake and waiting.
(*Looks like Hat'n'Clogs found Yoruichi.*)
Kaito made a noise of agreement as he folded his legs and settled into his place at the table. He hadn't expected the feline to appear quite so soon, but the sooner he started properly training, the sooner he could made a difference. So Kaito poured himself a cup of tea and settled in to wait for the others to arrive.
When he was about halfway through his cup, a black cat sauntered into the room and hopped up onto the table in front of the saucer. Golden eyes landed on him and fixed him with an unblinking stare, as the cat sized him up.
"So," Yoruichi started. "You're the kid I apparently absconded with from Soul Society."
Kaito raised his cup slightly in a half-mocking salute. "Indeed. And you're my abductor from all I ever knew."
Yoruichi laughed, her tail coiling around her legs and her eyes sliding partially closed. "I think I like you, brat. Kisuke! Get in here, you coward! I'll play my damn part."
The tension that had coiled in Kaito's stomach upon Yoruichi's arrival relaxed, as she accepted the fake story they were crafting. There had always been a possibility that she wouldn't, that she would reject him and force them to create another reason for his existence.
"Coward?" Urahara yelped, as he tumbled through the opened door and hastily took his spot at the table. Jinta and Ururu followed after him, confusion on their faces as they tried to make sense of what the others were talking about. "I was just letting the two of you meet alone!"
"Technically, I already know her," Kaito pointed out, as he watched Urahara pour some milk into Yoruichi's saucer. The feminine pronoun sounded odd to him in the face of the masculine voice coming from the cat, but he remembered what Ichigo had said, when that woman had plummeted from the sky to slam into Aizen. Yoruichi, he had called her. "I may not have interacted with her much, but I have met her."
"Ah! But not this version!" Urahara chirped, as he served himself from the food that Tsukabishi set on the table. He then frowned at Jinta as the boy started to shove Ururu's hand aside to serve himself first. "Jinta…"
"Sorry boss," the boy grumbled.
Kaito shot Urahara a glower and served himself, not wanting to get into the technicalities of his situation over breakfast, and especially not when Jinta and Ururu were present. Not only was it far to early to debate over knowledge and versions, but the other two weren't entirely aware of Kaito's origin, and he wanted it to stay that way.
The customary silence settled over the breakfast table, as they all ate their meals and started to mentally prepare for the day.
"So you want to learn Shunpo?" Yoruichi spoke up, as she finished the last traces of milk in her saucer and settled back to give herself a bath. "That's what Kisuke told me."
Kaito nodded, setting his bowl back on the table and giving the cat his full attention. "Yes. I need to learn. I'm an acceptable swordsman, but without some method of fast movement…"
"Then we'll start today," Yoruichi decided, as she flicked her tail and jumped from the table. "Things are starting to heat up around here, it's best that you get as much practice as possible."
"Ah, I almost forgot!" Urahara spoke up, as he rummaged through his sleeves for a moment, before pulling out a silver chain with a coin sized pendant dangling from it. He tossed it to gently to Kaito. "That should keep you safe, even in your spirit form. Try not to lose it!"
He snatched it out of the air and examined it, feeling the light pressure of Urahara's reiatsu emanating from the entire thing. The pendant was just as silver as the chain, and was inscribed with the kanji for protection and luck along the edges, with a koi in the center.
(*Well, at least it doesn't look terrible,*) Ichigo commented, as Kaito pocketed the necklace.
"All done? Then let's get to work." Yoruichi settled in front of the trap door to the training ground, and waited patiently for Kaito to lift the mat and open the door, before she leapt down.
"Hai, hai," Kaito murmured, as he followed her down the ladder. Even after all the time he'd spent in the room, he was still wary of just… jumping down the way she had. Perhaps if he was free of the gigai first, he would try it, but he still found the fake body a bit uncomfortable at times.
The second he set foot on the ground of the training room, he had the very disturbing sensation of being shoved free of the gigai from behind. Kaito wheeled about, a snarl on his face, and only just kept himself from lashing out at Urahara.
"Well, how else do you expect to train as a Shinigami?" Urahara asked in amusement, his fan flicking out to cover his lower face as his cane settled back on the ground.
"A bit more warning would have been nice!" Kaito grumbled, as he knelt to pull free the pendant Urahara had just given him. At least putting it on now would prevent him from forgetting about it until the worst possible moment. The chain slipped over his head and settled around his neck, the pendant a small weight against his skin as he tucked it under his shirt to prevent it from being seen by others. Instantly, his vision blurred, and Kaito reluctantly pulled his glasses off, setting them down on the chest of the gigai.
That drew his attention to his attire, though, and Kaito frowned at the slightly tattered, and distinctly Quincy, clothing that he was still wearing. "Some clothes wouldn't go amiss either, I suppose."
"But of course! Anything for my dear son," Urahara responded, as he flicked his fan closed and tucked it away in his sleeve again.
"I will never get used to that," Kaito grumbled, as Urahara left the training ground, leaving him alone with Yoruichi. He ran a hand through his hair, grimacing at the slightly spiky texture that it still had even with the disguise that was woven into the pendant.
"It's not like you need to immediately," Yoruichi spoke, her voice distinctly female this time, letting Kaito know that the cat had transformed back into a woman. "Kisuke's story has you not knowing him until now."
Kaito turned around, wondering at Ichigo's spike of alarm, and promptly felt heat flood his cheeks. Hastily, he turned his head to the side, averting his eyes from the very naked woman across from him, and barked out, "Put some damn clothes on!"
"Awww, but you're so adorable!" Yoruichi exclaimed, as she sauntered closer to him, her movements enough to draw his gaze back to her against his will.
Kaito squeezed his eyes shut, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is how you look when you transform?! If I really was some poor soul from the Rukongai, I'd probably be traumatized for life because of you!"
She laughed right next to his ear, and Kaito felt like he would never stop blushing. She was so close to him that he could feel her reiatsu brushing against his, and he took a large step back, trying to regain his equilibrium.
"But you're Kisuke's son! He's always rolled with the punches," Yoruichi said with another laugh, as she finally accepted defeat and started to move away.
"Probably because he has no other choice," Kaito retorted. "Did you ever give him a chance to do anything but be as crazy as you?"
"Hmmmm. Nope!" She cheerfully admitted.
Kaito cracked an eye open as he heard her returning, hoping that she had at least put something on, but ready in case she hadn't. When he saw her wearing the same style of outfit that she had been wearing the last time he saw her, Kaito allowed his hand to drop back to his side, even if he couldn't hide the blush still staining his cheeks. That had been… far more than he ever wanted to see.
A dangerous smirk crossed her face, as she started to circle Kaito. "Now then, let's see how fast you actually are!"
Kaito bit back a yelp, as she just vanished and reappeared right in front of him. Her hand reached out and tousled his hair, her grin growing wider when he tried to knock her hand away. Shaking off his surprise, Kaito leapt away and vanished in a burst of hirenkyaku.
"I thought you were here to learn shunpo?" Yoruichi asked from his left, amusement creeping through her voice as she tugged on his hair lightly. "That wasn't shunpo, my silly student!"
"A bit of instruction would be nice!" Kaito snarled, as he batted her arm aside again and darted away.
"It's just pure speed," Yoruichi retorted, still next to him despite his efforts. "Hohou pushed to its limit."
Kaito narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. Hohou pushed to its limit, she had called it — was it really that simple? Ichigo had been using it when they were fighting Aizen together, so if he could remember how that felt, remember how his friend had moved…
Carefully, he reinforced his body and pushed himself forward, striving to cover distance the same way Ichigo had.
"Better!" Yoruichi said, as she patted him on the head. "You've got the idea, now, so let's get practicing!"
"Must you constantly play with my hair?" Kaito grumbled, as he knocked her hand aside again.
Her cheerful laughter was his answer, as he felt Yoruichi tug on his hair again. "You're it!"
(*Better get moving,*) Ichigo suggested, as Kaito remained stationary, dumbfounded by the playful nature Yoruichi was displaying. It was… jarring, hearing her laugh so freely, as she toyed with him all in the name of training. Even the banter she had exchanged with Urahara, in that undone future, had an edge to it, an underlying seriousness.
Another tug on his hair snapped Kaito out of his surprise, and he leaped forward, jaw clenched. He would show that damn Shinigami!
"You're getting better," Yoruichi praised him, as she hopped up onto a rock next to where he sat. "Nowhere near fast enough to catch me, but you've definitely improved!"
"Thanks, I think," Kaito murmured, as he tried to get his breathing back under control. Shunpo relied on an entirely different concept than hirenkyaku, and his legs were burning with the ache of it. He still found himself slipping into hirenkyaku when surprised, but a few more days of training like this and he thought he'd have the beginning of some control over his responses.
Yoruichi laughed, then jumped down and sauntered back towards the ladder. "Well! I feel like food and then a nap. We'll train some more tomorrow."
He waved a hand absently, too tired to do much more than lean against a rock and stare up at the ceiling again. Though at least he didn't feel worn to a thread, just exhausted from training. A few minutes of rest and he'd be able to get up and make his way to the surface, before Tsukabishi got it into his head to follow through with his threat of dragging Kaito to meals if he tried to skip.
(*I wonder what's going on outside,*) Ichigo spoke up.
Kaito shrugged. He hadn't given it much thought, too caught up in finding his balance and sleeping, but now that they were mostly recovered… (*I don't know. We could ask Urahara, I guess. I'm still not sure I want to… well.*)
No matter how much it felt like cowardice, the idea of venturing out into Karakura filled him with hesitance. The idea of seeing Ichigo, whole and hale, clawed at his mind. He wanted to. He needed to, if only just to reassure himself that things could still be changed. But at the same time…
(*Yeah, I get it.*)
This wasn't his Ichigo. This Kurosaki didn't know him from a random resident, and while he could rebuild that friendship, did he really want to?
Ichigo, his Ichigo, settled into silence, a steady presence that helped Kaito wrestle his breathing back under control. The darkness creeping along the edges of his vision slowly retreated, and Kaito leaned forward, putting his head into his hands as he tried to just breathe. He could never tell when one of these episodes was going to strike, when the panic and fear would just overwhelm him, leave him paralyzed and barely able to breathe, with memories (blood-death-fear-agony) playing like a movie he couldn't shut off, couldn't mute, couldn't look away from.
"Back with us?"
Kaito shot to his feet, ignoring the protests of his legs, his bow materializing in his hand. He had two arrows forged and aimed straight at Urahara's chest before he even realized who had spoken.
Urahara remained seated on the ground, his hands carefully open and resting on his knees as he stared up at Kaito.
Reluctantly, Kaito allowed his weapons to dissolve back into reishi, as he slowly sat back down.
The thoughtful look in Urahara's eyes made Kaito uncomfortable, and he found himself unable to hold the man's gaze, instead looking off into the distance.
"Would you like to talk about it?" Urahara asked into the silence, his tone light. When Kaito said nothing, when the silence resumed between them, heavy and weighted, Urahara spoke up again. "It's normal, you know. Reliving something like that, questioning yourself, thinking 'if only' or 'I should have'. Jumping at the smallest thing—"
"Wanting to kill someone?" Kaito asked, his voice low.
"Mmm, yes." Urahara agreed. "Wanting revenge, wanting to make them hurt… or wanting to make yourself hurt. Those are pretty common reactions too."
Kaito frowned, his gaze drifting down to the dusty rock at his side. Did he want to hurt himself? He… didn't think so. Gin's words, mocking and cruel, about throwing himself head first into combat without regard to the life he held in trust… those had cut deep. Kaito had spent some time considering them while in the Dangai, and resolved to never again act so heedless.
Besides, hurting himself would only hurt his ability to see Aizen dead.
"Why do you…" care, Kaito bit the word off, finished his sentence another way, "Know all this?"
"Because I've been there," Urahara admitted freely. "Because I've seen other people there. Because I've seen what happens when things like this get ignored, and it's never pretty."
"You've been there?" Kaito snarled as anger flared through him, a rush of rage that shocked Ichigo into silence and left Kaito on his feet, dao materialized and point resting firmly on Urahara's throat. "You've been there?! Ichigo died because I was too goddamn slow and too goddamn weak! I thought I could take on any of those bastards, and not only do I have to be saved by that goddamn clown freak, but then Ichigo is killed right in front of me!"
Urahara's calm gaze, the understanding light in his eyes, it all drove Kaito further into his rage. How dare that man sit there, just accepting being held as sword point like that! How dare he just listen, as a line of blood trickled down his neck from where Kaito's blade had cut him.
"And then I find I've managed to prevent even the chance of Ichigo moving on properly! But does that really help? No! Because even with Ichigo as part of me, I'm still too goddamn slow and too goddamn weak to do anything!" Kaito glared down at Urahara, fighting the urge to just… strike. To make the man hurt. To make Urahara stop looking at him like that. "So even though I promised to take care of everything, Ichigo still has to keep me alive, and I can't even manage to handle one goddamn traitor captain on my own, and…"
Kaito bit his lip, focusing on the pain to keep the tears at bay. The rage drained out of him in a rush, leaving him feeling empty and so very, very tired. He crumpled to the ground, letting his sword dissipate as he buried his face back into his hands. Ichigo remained silent in his mind, a quiet support that hurt almost more than the hollow feeling in his chest. Even Shiro and the Old Man settled, extending threads of support to him that finally sent him over the edge into tears. Tears that fell silently, as he bit back the sobs and tried to muster the energy to stop crying in front of Urahara.
An arm settled over his shoulders, and Urahara's reiatsu coiled around him like a big cat, warm and dangerous. "Crying's pretty normal, too, no matter how much we'd rather deny it."
"Did you..?"
"Cry? Yeah." Urahara paused a moment, then Kaito felt him shrug. "Sometimes I still do, after a bad nightmare. There are just some things that hurt more than others, but it gets better. Slowly, but it does. You just have to take one day at a time, and set yourself goals to accomplish that are within reach."
"It won't ever get better," Kaito snarled, though his words lacked heat. The empty feeling in his chest just made it so difficult to muster up the energy for real emotion.
"Won't it?" Urahara asked. "What evidence do you have that it won't?"
"What part of 'Ichigo's dead and it's my fault' don't you understand?"
(*Hey! No! It's damn well not your fault, and I resent you saying that!*) Ichigo snapped, stirred from his silence by Kaito's words. (*I made the choice to fight Ulquiorra on my own, and I underestimated his strength. Those are my failings and I won't have you taking that onto yourself.*)
"But…" Kaito murmured aloud, as he struggled to find an argument and failed. Ichigo's reiteration of Zangetsu's reassurance from so long ago eased a knot that had only been loosened by the Old Man's original words. "I'm still weak…"
"Then grow stronger," Urahara said. "You've already started that, by resting and healing, and now by learning from Yoruichi. A step forward is still a step forward, no matter how small. You know how the traitors fight, now forge a path to a future where you can win."
(*Ask him for a tenshintai. We don't have time to get your bankai the usual way, so we'll just do it the way I did.*)
Kaito scrubbed away the last of his tears and gathered his composure as best he could. He still felt empty, numb to the world around him, but… Ichigo's idea was a good one. "I need bankai. Ichigo… Ichigo suggests I ask you for a tenshintai."
For a moment, Kaito was afraid Urahara would deny him. But eventually the man nodded and said, "It will take me a week to build one. Take this time to learn everything you can from Yoruichi, because you'll need it."
Waa! I'm sorry! Real life devoured me whole and only spat me back out today. Next chapter should still be on schedule, even if I'm having trouble getting it written because it just... doesn't want to be written. Because things happened and I ended up having to restructure the order of all the other scenes I had written.
Also, no, Uryuu/Kaito is not going to turn into a whiny mess, he's just in a bad place right now. The sheer amount of everything that was thrown at him in short order (while blunted by the three months in the dangai) is being compounded by being back in time. I'm not going to pretend that I'm any sort of expert on PTSD and ASD (Acute Stress Disorder, which is a bit more accurate to what Kaito has, since the symptoms have only just begun to show), but it is a natural reaction to everything he's been through, especially seeing Ichigo dying in front of him.
And school avoidance is an interesting concept, and isn't (precisely) illegal from what I've been able to discover. Japan's education laws only require that adults see to it that children attend school, but makes no mention about a child's obligation to attend school. So adults could get in trouble if their children aren't being educated, but the kids can't be. (At least that's what I've managed to gather. Still, it's pretty neat.)
Ja ne!
