a/n: Italics flashback
"Yorouichi, Isshin… They took him… The Secret Mobile Corps took Kisuke away, and… they're making their way here…"
"What?! How the hell did that happen?!" exclaimed Isshin.
"Classes just ended, The sempais, Kisuke-kun and I were heading out of the academy. They surrounded us at the gate. Yorouichi's father was there, and Nakatsu Touya as well, he moved so quick that I didn't notice that his zanpakutou was already at Kisuke's neck. We tried to help Kisuke but he told us to step back and that we should leave. The mobile corps then held him down, and I heard one of them say that they were headed to this district. We rushed as soon as they were out of sight." explained Retsu in one breath, she spoke calmly despite the obvious anxiety and fear she felt.
"We… couldn't do anything about it, We're sorry…" Jushiro said he was looking down on the floor, the rest of them felt so helpless. Yorouichi couldn't believe what she was hearing, it seemed so surreal. Retsu moved next to her and held her shoulder to calm her down, she was trembling in fear.
"You have to get out of here Yorouichi. They'll forcibly drag you out of here." said Shunsui.
"Yeah, you guys go hide her, I'll have to stay here, I'll ask them if they could let go of Kisuke." said Isshin. Retsu and Jushiro held Yorouichi on both sides and began dragging her out to the back door.
"No!" she broke from their grasp. "I'm not leaving him! I'll stay here!"
"Don't be stupid! Kisuke would definitely get mad at you if you didn't go!" said Isshin
"The potion! I'll change back to a cat, they won't be able to tell it's me, once they get here and they realize that I'm not here, I-I'm sure they'll leave…" she said, but she really didn't believe her own words that the mobile corps would simply go quietly when they had gotten hold of her.
"But the potion's not perfect yet right? You might not be able to change." protested Shunsui
"I don't care. I'm not leaving him!" she said again. She feared for Kisuke's safety. At least if she would be found here, she would be able to plead with her father not to hurt him and their friends.
"I can hear noise outside. They're here." said Jushiro. Yorouichi quickly opened Kisuke's desk drawer, and pulled out the vial. She hastily drank the contents and swallowed hard. It worked, she felt her clothes slip out of her, she was in cat form within seconds.
"Go! Isshin and I will be just fine!" she said in her cat form, her voice hoarse.
"We'll just be outside. Isshin, signal us with a kido once they've left" said Jushiro, as he dragged Shunsui through the back door. Retsu following right behind them.
"Isshin, don't do anything foolish…' said Retsu, her face full of concern.
"Yes ma'am!" Isshin winked at her Retsu smiled at him, as she disappeared behind the door. A couple of seconds later, The front door was knocked down by one of the mobile corps shinigami. They forcefully trudged inside the small house, Yorouichi's father and Nakatsu Touya at the center. Yorouichi hopped unto Isshin's shoulder, that's when she saw him. Kisuke's arms was being held down by two shinigamis. He didn't appear to be hurt. When Kisuke looked up and saw Yorouichi in cat form, he gave her a disapproving look.
"Who is this?" Shihouin Azuma, 2nd squad captain, and leader of the Secret Mobile Corps asked Kisuke
"My best friend. He lives here with me." he answered, not tearing his gaze from Yorouichi. She stared back at him, he looked mad.
"What do you want?" asked Isshin, they ignored him.
"Search through the entire house." Nakatsu Touya ordered to some of the shinigami. They began rummaging through the house, opening drawers, closets, looking under the bed and such.
"Good luck finding her here…" Kisuke spoke sarcastically. One of the shinigami holding him hit him on the face. Yorouichi flinched. The mobile corps, after awhile, stopped searching through the small house, it was pretty evident that she was nowhere in sight.
"Taichou, she doesn't appear to be here. And there are no signs of her that could prove that she was here." said one of the men.
"You…" The captain turned to face Isshin.
"What?" he answered rudely.
"Where is my daughter?" he asked
"Like hell I know! I haven't seen her for ages!" lied Isshin, he was relatively calm despite the overwhelming uneasiness he was currently feeling.
"You better not be lying, peasant." said Nakatsu Touya, as he grabbed Isshin by his collar.
"I've told you a hundred times already! I'm not hiding your daughter! Let go of him!" said Kisuke, Shihouin Azuma turned to face him.
"I am perfectly sure that you are hiding my daughter. If you still insist on your lies, then I'll have no other choice but to kill you." Yorouichi gasped at his father's words. She knew that he would really do it.
"You could kill me but you still won't find your daughter here." Kisuke glared at the 2nd division captain. Shihouin Azuma moved slowly toward him, and stopped when he was just a step away from him, he unsheathed his zanpakutou. Isshin held Yorouichi tighter.
"You don't mind dying then? For a peasant, you're really brave." said Azuma
"Why thank you for the compliment, Taichou-san!" Kisuke said smugly.
"Azuma-sama, allow me to take care of this commoner…" said Nakatsu as he stepped in, in front of Yorouichi's father. Nakatsu unsheated his zanpakutou and pointed it at Kisuke. "Prepare to die, mongrel." Kisuke closed his eyes and waited for Nakatsu's zanpakutou…
"NOOO!" Nakatsu and Shihouin Azuma turned to look at the source of the scream, it was the cat Yorouichi.
"A…talking cat…?" Nakatsu said in disbelief.
"Father, It's me! Yorouichi!" Yorouichi jumped down from Isshin's shoulder, and was instantly covered in white smoke, she quickly grabbed her clothes on the floor and hurriedly dressed while she was still covered by the smoke.
"Y-yorouichi?!" called Shihouin Azuma. He turned to face Kisuke. "You!"
"Father please! It's not his fault! I went with him on my own will…" she said, tears were beginning to form in her eyes.
"Why?"
"I wasn't… ready to get married yet… I asked Kisuke to take me with him and hide me… Please let him go, father." she held on to her father's arm and pleaded.
"This peasant should still be punished, Shihouin-taichou! Lying to a gotei 13 captain is still inexcusable!" said Nakatsu, his zanpakutou still pointed at Kisuke.
"Father please…" Yorouichi got down on his knees. "I beg of you, please let him go… I'll…marry Nakatsu-san…" her tears finally came down, she didn't know what else she could do, this was the only way she knew to save Kisuke.
"Yorouichi don't do this…!" Kisuke shouted.
"Let the boy go…" Shihouin Azuma ordered his men. The two shinigimis holding Kisuke instantly obeyed. Kisuke moved towards her but was blocked by Shihouin's men.
"Let us go." said Shihouin Azuma as he dragged his daughter out of the house.
"Yorouichi!"
"If you follow us, I won't hesitate to kill you…" said the 2nd division captain coldly as he unleashed his reiatsu, Kisuke and Isshin sank unto the ground with the force of his reiatsu.
"Kisuke please don't go after me… I'm sorry… This is the only way…" were the last words Kisuke heard from her as she disappeared from sight, and Kisuke understood.
"Oi! Don't stray too far from me, you might get lost!" he called after her.
"I'm not a little kid!" she retorted as she stuck her tongue at him.
"Right, and sticking your tongue out is not childish at all."
"Kisuke! Look at this stuff!" she squealed enthusiastically like a little girl, no one would have noticed that she was born into nobility. Kisuke sighed, marveling at the beauty of being with someone like her, as he strode toward her. Bringing Yorouichi to the market with him didn't seem like such a bad idea despite his internal protests.
"Look at all these vegetables! And some of them I haven't tasted yet!" said Yorouichi, eyeing the vegetables with a hungry look.
"Then shall I make something out of these vegetables for dinner tonight?" said Kisuke as he flashed her a smile.
"Sure! You know how much I love your cooking!" she smiled back.
"I'll take some of these!" Kisuke told the vendor. While paying for the vegetables, he noticed that Yorouichi was nowhere near him. He quickly scanned through the area, but her dark purple hair was nowhere in sight. Panic started to claim him. What if something bad had happened to her? Kisuke walked toward a random direction, hoping to find her. There she was at the bridge, glancing down quietly at the running waters below it. Kisuke sighed in relief.
"I told you not to go on your own…" His voice was loud, but there was no trace of anger in it.
"Sorry…. I saw the river and I wanted a closer look." she replied. Kisuke stood beside her as he stared at the river as well.
"Kisuke…"
"Hmm?"
"What would you do… If I was separated from you?" she asked. Kisuke raised an eyebrow at her.
"Huh?"
"Just answer the question…" she urged.
"Well… For one thing, I'd have kept a closer watch on you so you wouldn't be separated from me in the first place…"
"But what if, you couldn't do anything about it, and I was still separated from you?"
"I'm sure you already know the answer to that… I'll travel to the ends of Soul Society to find you no matter what!"
"B-but what if you did find me… but I told you I didn't want to go back with you?" she asked. Kisuke thought she was kidding, but her eyes say otherwise, she was serious.
"Yorouichi… what are you saying?" Kisuke gently grabbed her shoulders.
"Kisuke promise me… If ever I go away, don't go after me okay?"
"Why the hell wouldn't I go after you?!"
"Because it's something that I have decided myself, even if I was taken against my will, and the fact that I didn't escape from them means I've decided to stay for myself."
"I don't understand…"
"Kisuke please… Promise me…" she was begging now.
"Fine…" he answered, although he wasn't really sure what he was promising for.
"If ever I get taken away… Don't go looking for me. Go on with your life as if you had never met me in the first place, as if I had never existed. This is to protect you…
"Kisuke! What the hell are you doing just sitting there?!" exclaimed Isshin. The others went back to their house just minutes after the 2nd division left.
"Shouldn't we be going after Yorouichi?" said Ukitake
"Yeah! What are you waiting for?" added Kyouraku
"I can't… She doesn't want me, or any of you, to go after her…" he spoke so low that it was barely audible.
"Why the hell not?" demanded Isshin
"I promised her…"
"Kisuke-kun… are you going to give up on her so easily just because of a promise you made?" Retsu asked him.
"I don't know… what I should do… And even if we did go after her, what can five academy students like us do against an entire squad of accomplished shinigamis? I want to save her… I really do… But I can't involve you guys…"
"I'll have to admit… I…well, all of us here are afraid. But Kisuke-kun, we simply can't stand by and watch two of our friends suffer. We want to help you out…" said Ukitake. Kisuke's internal battle raged on. He wanted to go after her, he really did. But Yorouichi's words really stuck to him. What if she meant that she didn't want him to go after her because it was what's best for him?
"I…" Kisuke's thoughts, and the others as well, were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. Isshin turned to answer the door. It was a middle aged woman who looked oddly familiar.
"You… you're…Takiko?"
"Yes… I have come here to deliver this. This is from Ms. Shihouin…" she handed a letter to Isshin, scribbled hurriedly on the envelope was Kisuke's name. Isshin handed Kisuke the letter. He opened it and read:
Kisuke,
I love you. I always have and always will (If you're laughing at how cheesy that sounds, I'll punch you!) Which is why I'm doing this. The downside is that I'd have to marry that prick Nakatsu Touya, but on the upside, you and the rest get to be safe! Please don't hate me. And don't do anything rash either. You've always wanted to be a shinigami right? So now that I'm no longer freeloading off you, you can become a full time student again! Yay! I have been allowed by father to attend the academy again, maybe we'll run in to each other at the academy halls, but I'm not allowed to talk to you, so I'm apologizing in advance if I ignore you. Sorry if my goodbye letter is a bit weird, I haven't written a love letter before! Heehee… Kisuke… And remember what I told you before? Go on with your life… As if we had never met before. You promised me, you'd better not break it! Please tell the others that I'm really sorry… and that I'll miss them! Sorry… this is just something I really have to do. I hope you understand. Being with you was the greatest dream I've ever had, I wish I'd never have to wake up from it. Please know that I'll always be thinking of you, and all of the possible futures we could have had together. Goodbye, Urahara Kisuke…
Always, Shihouin Yorouichi
"What is up with this letter? It's pretty messed up…" Kisuke smiled, It was just like her to write something like this. So there really was no other way.Yorouichi was only thinking of his safety. She was sacrificing her freedom for him… If he saved her now, and end up dying in the process, Yorouichi's sacrifice would have been for nothing. Now he understood. She didn't do it because she didn't want to be with him anymore, it was for his own benefit. He would have to bring himself to accept the fact that they couldn't be together. He didn't think it'd be possible for him to go on like this… but he has to. He promised her after all. As If you had never met me in the first place. Her words stuck to him like glue. It wasn't going to be easy, but he had to at least try.
A/n: I deeply apologize for the oh so long delay… :-( I sank my teeth on this book series and I was, and still am, intoxicated by its venom. I just couldn't concentrate on anything else. Sorry…