Hello!

This chapter and the one prior are a little break from our current story, but rest assured Karin will be back next chapter! And she'll be having some fun with Toshiro! So please, enjoy this chapter, although Karin only makes an appearance in conversation! It's full of Urahara/Yoruichi goodness.

NOTE: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT! YOUNGER READERS MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS CHAPTER. JUST A WARNING! ^_^

Still rated T for Teen, but with SEXUAL THEMES…younger viewers read at own risk.

I do not own anything from Bleach, but Tite Kubo is awesome. Read the Manga! ^_^

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! ENJOY THE CHAPTER!

Sincerely,

Romania Black

Chapter Fourteen

I give you a gift greater than myself,
I give you a gift you cannot give yourself,
I give you a gift made by ourselves,
I give you a gift better than ourselves.

"Do you need me to do anything else, Mr. Kisuke?" Ururu's voice was melancholic as she laid her head on the cotton pillow of her cot, her fine hair spread out like wisps of darkness against the white covers.

Kisuke smiled his eyes invisible against the shadows from his hat. "No, everyone's asleep now. Thank you, Ururu." Kisuke patted her head gently and went to shut the door.

"Goodnight, Mr. Kisuke," Ururu smiled feebly, pulling the covers to her face.

"Goodnight, Ururu." He slowly shut the door behind him and walked down the corridor back to the front of the shop.

The Shoten owner sighed to himself; they were all finally out and asleep. Tessai had a room to himself, where he'd retired to a short while before he put Ururu to bed. Jinta was in the same room as Ururu, but he'd fell asleep as soon as they'd made it back, an unusual surprise to Urahara. Apparently he'd had too much partying.

Speaking of too much partying, Kisuke chuckled to himself. Renji had showed up on his doorstep in the arms of Rukia and Toshiro. Not expecting anything like this, it was an amusing sight for Kisuke to say the least, though they didn't share his sentiments. He'd put Renji to sleep in the room with the Mod Souls who lived there with him. Toshiro agreed to sleep there as well, to keep an eye on the passed out Renji, and Rukia, apparently adamant about not staying with Renji or Toshiro, had been given a bed inside the Shoten's broom closet. At first, Kisuke was reluctant to give her such sleeping quarters, but she insisted she was used to it. He couldn't imagine where she stayed at in the Kurosaki household, and the very act of thinking of such a place gave him a good chuckle.

The main room of the Shoten was quiet, white and blue moonlight shining on the items filling the shelves. Urahara quietly gave it one more look over, before opening the small wooden door on the ground, and grasping the ladder leading to the space below the shop.

He leapt to the ground and looked around; the vast desert like area was quiet, a small breeze almost seeming to blow. It was sunny, as if in the middle of noon in the real world. No matter how many times he looked at this artificial 'world' he'd created under the Shoten, it never ceased to impress him. He stretched and flash-stepped forward, over several boulders and rock faces, until he reached his destination.

A small hot spring was in the middle of this wasteland-appearing battleground. Kisuke usually came here after everyone was asleep to soak and gather his thoughts before going to bed.

As the steam rose from the pool of scalding water before him, Kisuke dropped the black robe he usually wore throughout the day into a tangled pile at his feet, stepping out of his wooden clogs simultaneously. He was about to take off his hat, when he stopped, his fingers lingering on the brim of his hat. He glanced around with mingled confusion and anxiety.

Someone is here with me, he suddenly felt the figure's presence. Is that—?

"Tsk, tsk," The figure was already inches behind Kisuke. The Shoten owner was frozen, his hand slowly lowering from the hat. He turned on his bare feet slowly to meet the intruder, as her sensuous voice filled the air around him. "And after all this time, Urahara, I thought you'd be able to sense me coming a mile away."

Yoruichi was in front of him now, her leathery brown cloak gathered around her figure, her yellow eyes meeting his.

"Kisuke," She gazed worriedly at his face, her eyebrows arching sadly, "Look at you…you look terrible."

Urahara shrugged off the comment, his gaze keenly focused on her own disheveled, ragged face, "You don't seem in the position to say such a th—" he was cut off as she threw the cloak to the ground. His eyes immediately ran to her stomach, which looked smooth and flat in her black jumper. "Yoruichi—you're not…"

"No," she sighed, slightly irritated that so many people were only now discovering this; "I haven't been for two weeks." She raised a hand to his face, and ran it along the scruff hair starting to form a beard. Her eyes formed a soft, saddened look as she took in his gaunt face and his pale skin. "Have you really been worried about me all this time?"

He raised a hand to touch hers that lay on his face. "I didn't know what was happening, and I couldn't ask of course, because—"

"Kisuke," She cut him off, and lowered his head to hers and softly kissed him, her lips pressed gently against his. He ran his hand along her arm and traced her neck as he savored her kiss with a longing he'd carried for almost three-fourths a year.

"I haven't seen you in so long," He whispered, his gray eyes looking fondly at hers. It'd been so long since he had the taste of her in his mouth, the fruity smell of her breath was a drug to him, and it had been his only addiction since he'd met her all those years ago…

She seemed to remember something at that moment, because her face lit up with remembrance. "Oh, Kisuke, the reason I came here…"

"To see me?" The shopkeeper asked timidly, but with a glint of childish hope in his voice. Yoruichi laughed; This is why I love him… she thought tenderly as she reached behind one of the hot spring rocks. The shopkeeper's gaze followed her curiously.

"Of course, but moreover," She lifted a black satchel from the rock, eyeing it and then Urahara, who looked bewildered. "He hasn't moved since I left earlier…he's constantly tired, so I blame that." She looked down at the satchel once more, smiling affectionately, "It's not bad though, he sleeps a lot. Keeps quiet."

Kisuke's eyes widened as her words sank in. "Yoruichi…that's…."

"Yes," She reached into the satchel and pulled out a bundle wrapped in black cloth, the same that made a Soul Reaper's kimono. "I know it was risky taking him here from the Mansion," She walked towards Kisuke with fear in her eyes, mirroring his own, "But I had to. I wanted you to see him."

Holding out his arms in the most timid fashion she'd ever seen him display, she placed the bundle in them as he pulled his arms back towards him, cradling the mass of black fabric. He lifted a fold of the material to gaze inside the bundle and let out a small gasp of a sigh, his gray eyes sparkling in the artificial sunlight.

It was a baby. A small but rather large baby for its age, with dark honey skin, a round face, and thick locks of the darkest chocolate hair, one particular lock fell in between its eyebrows in a similar fashion to Urahara's. Almost as if upon command, the baby opened his eyes as Kisuke held him. His eyes were amber, almost burnt orange.

Apart from the small lock of hair in between his eyebrows, the baby favored Yoruichi in almost every way. Kisuke breathed almost silently as he gazed in wonder at the baby in his arms.

"Well?" Yoruichi smirked at her lover's gaping expression, "What do you think?"

"He's beautiful," Urahara breathed after what seemed like an eternity of silent gazing. Kisuke looked up, smiling broadly, "He looks just like you of course!"

Yoruichi rolled her eyes, "That's what Soi Fon said too, but I figured she was just being nice."

Kisuke gave her a suddenly cautious glance, "Soi Fon knows?"

The Shihouin narrowed her eyes, taking a more serious stance, "Yes. But only she knows as of now…" her voice trailed off and she looked away. "I…I was planning on informing others soon, but…"

"What?" Kisuke was gripping the child near him.

"Kisuke, I am still the Shihouin clan leader; of one of the last four Great Noble families. But now, our son will be expected to assume that leadership when he's of age…there's no other Shihouin that close in line for the title—"

"I know that," Urahara frowned with slight impatience, "We both knew that when—"

"—But the other Shihouin members cannot know he's yours," Yoruichi stated bluntly. Her eyes were intensely glowing against the sun's glare. She gave him a soft, saddened look, but it was laced with bitterness, "That's what I've been trying to say. If they knew you were the father, despite all that you've done for the Soul Society, it would still sully our noble family reputation in their eyes if they knew that you—"

Kisuke had her chin cupped with one of his hands, the other holding their child between them. "I knew that from the start, Yoruichi. I've always known…" He glanced down at the baby, who'd already closed his eyes and started to drift back to sleep. "But this, this is what I've always wanted…"

Yoruichi stared at the baby, her mouth forming a small, softened smile, "I know. We agreed if Aizen was stopped…we'd try…" She smiled deeper now, remember those days of relieving peace after the battle.

"And now," Kisuke gently rocked the baby in his arms, "I won't ruin this boy's chance at a good life in the Soul Society." He gave his lover a firm, determined stare. "Tell them whatever you have to, Yoruichi. Tell them he's someone else's, tell them their father died in battle; tell them whatever makes them happy. But we won't let them know he's the son of a low class Rukongai boy your grandmother adopted into her dojo those hundreds of years ago." He smiled his traditional Urahara grin, and Yoruichi saw the man she knew before his current look of ill health and worry.

Yoruichi took the boy from Kisuke's arms, and gently laid him on the ground, tucked up in the black satchel of fabric near the spring, the steam gently cascading around him. She looked back up at Kisuke, "Very well; If that's what you want, I'll do it, Kisuke," She gave him a smirk, "But only if it'll mean you'll look better from now on." She checked him over considerably, "You are truly looking shabby, you know."

Her lover grabbed her by the hips and pulled her in towards him slowly, "Yoruichi, you are my best friend, so I'll be honest—"

"Say anything about my appearance," She interrupted with a sly grin, "And I'll take you out here and now for insulting an until-recently-pregnant woman."

Kisuke was an inch from her face, "What I was going to say, was to be honest, I have been waiting for you to come and see me for quite some time."

"Oh?" Yoruichi gave him a confused smile, "Why is that?"

"Because a certain shopkeeper has been without his best friend and lover for almost a year, and quite frankly," Urahara grazed a hand to the back of her head, "he's none too ready for her to leave."

And with that, he opened his mouth and swallowed her in a kiss; a deep passionate kiss that only a man who'd been without the love of his life for so long would give. The two wrapped their arms around each other and in the tangle of embracing, Kisuke running his mouth up and down her dark skin as if inhaling her very being, and Yoruichi skimming her hands through his sand-colored hair, the two fell to the ground; the baby soundlessly asleep a yard from them.

A removed black jumper, white pants and shirt later, the two lovers were lying against a rock face, not too far from the baby who still was sound asleep, much to their surprise. Exhausted, Yoruichi was cradled in Kisuke's arms, his black cape draped over the two of them, though not quite big enough to completely cover their fully exposed bodies.

Yoruichi had her neck stretched out, as Kisuke ran his lips up it in a dozen soft kisses. She sighed, "So, I heard from Division Twelve that an Arrancar was in Karakura today."

"Well, yesterday," Kisuke sarcastically commented, as he lifted his lips from her skin, "and yes, but we didn't get much of a chance for interrogation. There were two of them, but they vanished almost as soon as they arrived."

"What do you think they were after?" Yoruichi looked puzzled; Kisuke looked deep in thought, as if he hadn't came up with an answer yet.

After a long pause, "They obviously were looking for us," Kisuke noted, his brow furrowing, "otherwise they wouldn't have made themselves known so quickly."

Yoruichi looked worried, "Why on earth would they want to engage Soul Reapers out of their element?"

"I don't know," Kisuke sat up straighter, the black robe now almost fully on Yoruichi, "but it probably wouldn't be a bad idea tomorrow to let the Soul Society know that reinforcements will be needed here." He pointed to the black satchel containing their child.

His lover raised an eyebrow, "You think they'll return?" She handed him the baby carefully. Kisuke's eyes darkened as he rocked the boy gently in his arms, looking down at him with a grim stare.

"Yesterday was a warning of some kind," He glanced at Yoruichi, whose head was on his shoulder, staring at the child as well, "We need to be prepared for anything."

"Agreed," Yoruichi whispered, her face nuzzling against Kisuke's. She hummed softly as she kissed his cheek, and the shop owner could have sworn she was purring.

He smiled, despite the seriousness of his voice, "You should take the boy and go back to the Soul Society." He dropped the smile slightly; "It's not safe for him here anymore."

Yoruichi rose to her feet slowly and grabbed her black jumper, draping the black robe on Kisuke's shoulders and tossing him his white robes, as he continued to hold their child. "I knew I wouldn't be able to stay long," She hesitated, "I had Byakuya watch the gate for me."

To this, Urahara actually laughed out loud, rousing the baby only to a small sigh. He grinned, "I bet you got a good kick out of that."

"Whatever do you mean?" She said coyly, grabbing the leathery cloak from the dirt. Urahara merely shook his head slowly,

"Nothing…poor guy; you have him wrapped around your pretty little fingers don't you?" His gray-hazel eyes gleamed at her with a knowing look.

Yoruichi had her hand tucked gently under Kisuke's chin, "No, but it sounds like another guy I know," she coolly kissed him, as he transferred the baby into her arms.

Breaking from their kiss, Yoruichi gave her lover a confused look, "You never asked his name, Kisuke."

The shop owner smiled deeply, but it wasn't a pleasant smile.

"I don't want to know now. I know you'll have to raise him in the Soul Society, and he'll probably become a Soul Reaper…am I right?"

Yoruichi gave him a disbelieving sarcastic look, "The son of the two of us? What are the odds of that?"

"Don't joke, Yoruichi. In any case, I don't want to hear about him from anyone else in the Soul Society except you…so," He smiled at the bundle in her arms, "For right now…I'd rather not know his name." He scooted his bare feet in the sand a little.

Wrapping the satchel's strap around her arm, she turned from Kisuke, smiling to herself. He never changes…does he? "Fine." She smirked, "But don't think I named him after you."

Kisuke laughed out loud for the second occasion this evening, "I would hope you'd name him something respectable." He matched her smirk, "But Yoruichi…"

"What?" Yoruichi was headed to the ladder, before turning to face him one last time. Kisuke straightened, now fully dressed, his hat plopping onto his head.

"Don't make me wait as long before seeing you next time."