Hey all, NaNo was fruitful and I'm very close to the end of DE - I suspect it will be somewhere around June. The end is in sight.
The next few days passed in much the same manner.
Kaito spent most of his time with Hanataro, but whenever his friend was busy he'd wander off to find Minami and Takara; they would wander around Seireitei or the nearest Rukongai villages, sometimes playing shunpo tag on the way to wherever Minami or Takara had decided to lead him. Otherwise he was with Ukitake and Kyoraku, trying to master whatever they felt like teaching him while Hanataro looked on.
(Keeping active was better than staying still.)
(And as a bonus, it let him avoid the awkward concern-worry-care of the teens.)
(He had no idea how to deal with them so he just… didn't.)
(It was fine.)
The routine was strangely peaceful, for all it felt exactly like the limbo it was: no one got into any fights beyond training spars, the teens didn't try to push the boundaries of their promise, and Seireitei… settled.
(Almost as if they'd always been part of it.)
(Had it been like this the first time?)
(He really didn't know…)
All in all, he didn't have much to complain about.
(Except for still being in Seireitei.)
(But… the days were counting down.)
(He'd be home soon.)
"Kaito-kun?"
Kaito hummed absently in response, then abruptly snapped from his thoughts at the gentle brush of peace-attention-focus against his senses. He blinked owlishly at Ukitake, then grimaced and ducked his head in embarrassment, focusing on the cup of tea in his hands; while he appreciated that the man had found a way to draw his attention without any physical contact, it was still… awkward, almost shameful, that he needed to be drawn from his thoughts so often, especially around a Shinigami.
Despite his best efforts to remain wary, Ukitake was just… too easy to grow complacent around.
(Ukitake is dangerous, his father had told him.)
(But not the sort to rely on tricks.)
(Which meant…)
Kaito grimaced and hauled his mind away from that train of thought before he could lose himself again. "Sorry," he mumbled into his tea, then huffed a sigh and straightened up to look at the man properly. "Was there something you wanted to say to me, Ukitake-san?"
Ukitake hummed and watched him for a moment longer, then smiled and said, "The rest of your group will be informed tomorrow morning, but I felt like you would want to know first: everything has finally been sorted out on our end, so the gate back to the Living World will be available for you use whenever your group wishes to return home. Thank you for being so patient with us."
"I… of course. Thank you for letting me know," Kaito said slowly, puzzled over why Ukitake would be thanking him. He'd just assumed the wait was inevitable and hadn't bothered to pester anyone about it, no matter how much it grated. Besides, there were plenty of reasons for them to spend a few relatively peaceful days in Soul Society; he certainly wasn't going to begrudge Inoue her lessons with Unohana or Kurosaki his time with Kuchiki Rukia, not when he was enjoying his own time with Hanataro and his own lessons from Ukitake and Kyoraku.
(He had no idea what the others had been up to.)
(Maybe he should have kept a better eye on them.)
(Well, nothing had blown up and no one had died, so it was probably fine.)
(…probably…)
Kaito shoved his sudden worries aside — there was nothing he could do abut what had already happened, so there was no use worrying over what ifs — and glanced at Hanataro. "If I'm leaving soon, I think I need to visit the Eleventh again," he told his friend, then smiled sheepishly at the look that earned him. "Not to fight! Well… if Kenpachi brings it up I won't say no, but that's not why I want to visit them. I just… want to ask Yumichika a few things. You don't have to come with me if you don't want. I know my way to the Fourth, now."
(He needed to know how the Division's paperwork actually worked, and if there was anything he should watch out for.)
(If he was going to do any of it, he wanted to do it properly.)
(Even if Yumichika was a bastard for saddling him with the position without asking.
Hanataro wrinkled his nose, reiatsu shading towards exasperation-amusement-fondness as he dryly said, "K-Kaito-san s-still takes the rooftops. Th-that's not 'kn-knowing your w-way'."
"I know a way," Kaito protested with a huff, more amused than anything by the teasing. "That's good enough, right?"
Ukitake chuckled and said, "Seireitei can be confusing the newcomers, that's true. I suspect the reason that more people don't go over is because most newly graduated Shinigami can't use shunpo as well as you can, and the ones that can are too busy trying to fit in." A small, teasing smile curled at the corners of his lips and made the corners of his eyes crinkle as he added, "But I suspect there might be a few brave souls willing to experiment now that you've made such a habit of it."
Kaito blinked in surprise at Ukitake's words, then winced and looked away as the meaning sank in, murmuring, "S-sorry," as he tried to figure out how Ukitake expected him to react.
(Was it a good thing for other people to follow his lead?)
(Was it something he was supposed to be proud of?)
(He suspected not.)
"Don't worry about it," Ukitake said gently, hands folding tightly in his lap instead of reaching out like he clearly wanted to. "You and the other have been a breath of fresh air, something we've sorely needed for a long time now."
Kaito narrowed his eyes and glanced up at the man suspiciously, but found only sincerity in Ukitake's expression and presence.
(He wasn't even surprised, anymore.)
(Ukitake seemed to live to disabuse him of his preconceptions about Shinigami.)
(He wasn't sure how he felt about that.)
Hanataro leaned into his side and smiled up at him, brushing reassurance-warmth-calm against Kaito's senses as he did. "I-if K-Kaito-san thinks he c-can make it b-back w-without help, th-then there i-is something I'd l-like to do. Ah… i-if that's o-okay?"
"It's fine," Kaito answered easily, nudging Hanataro's side as he did. "You really don't have to follow me everywhere, even if I do appreciate it. I know you have your own life."
Hanataro blushed and ducked his head, mumbling, "I d-don't m-mind. I l-like sp-spending time w-with K-Kaito-san."
Kaito huffed and gave Hanataro a slightly harder nudge. "Go and do whatever it is you want to do, I'll be fine. I even promise to come directly to you if Kenpachi and I get into another fight."
"Y-you mean wh-when," Hanataro responded as he straightened back up, amusement gleaming in his eyes. "I'll h-hold you t-to that pr-promise."
"And I'll keep it," Kaito said as he set his tea cup down and stood up, giving Ukitake a shallow bow once he was upright. "Thank you for the lesson," he told the man, the words coming easier than they had the first several times he'd forced them out.
(Which was probably a good thing, if he was being honest.)
(It was only right to thank the person spending their valuable time on teaching him, after all.)
"You're welcome," Ukitake said with a gentle smile. "Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you."
Kaito hesitated a moment, awkward-uncertain-wary, then deliberately shoved his concerns aside and nodded sharply in answer and said, "I'll consider it."
And before Ukitake could respond — before the man could find some new way to put him further off balance — he gave the man another shallow bow and strode from the room.
He made his way through the Ugendo and down the path at a swift walk, then leapt onto the rooftops as soon as he crossed through the gate at the entrance of Ukitake's property. From there, it was child's play to hone in on Kenpachi's familiar reiatsu and take off towards it.
As expected, it led him straight to the Eleventh.
Kaito landed atop the wall and peered into the Division compound, a bit surprised by how empty the whole place seemed; though maybe he shouldn't be, given that it was early evening and most of the work and training was done for the day.
Yumichika, however, still seemed to be in the office area of the Division, entirely alone and focused on something.
(Perfect.)
A little hop and he was down in the courtyard, making his way across to the office where he could sense Yumichika. He rapped on the frame and slid the door open without waiting for a response, but didn't step into the room itself. Instead, he slouched against the frame in the open doorway and waited for the man to acknowledge him.
Yumichika looked up from a stack of papers with a scowl. "I told you, I'm not— oh, Kaito-san. I didn't expect to see you."
Kaito shrugged and stepped into the office, trying to hide how awkward he felt as he said, "Ukitake-san told me that the teens and I can go back to the Living World soon."
"I saw that in the paperwork today, yes," Yumichika said cautiously, gaze focused on Kaito as he moved closer. "Was that all you wanted to say?"
"I…" Kaito grimaced as he paused a few feet from Yumichika and fumbled for the right words; asking for assistance would never be easy for him, he suspected, but there was no way around the necessity of it. "Give me a quick rundown of how Seireitei's paperwork works, please?"
Yumichika blinked, expression blank but reiatsu humming with surprise-confusion-curiosity. "You realize that clause was entirely for show, right?" he asked as he straightened his back and pinned Kaito with a steady stare. "I never actually expected you to do more than shuffle it around and send it back to me."
Kaito scowled at the man and folded his hands in his sleeves. "Paperwork is fine, though I don't promise to do all of it. Or even half of it. I never wanted to be a Shinigami or to have this sort of responsibility, but it's still something to do if I'm bored and I don't want to screw something up and give you more work on accident."
"On accident, he says," Yumichika repeated under his breath as he tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling in amused exasperation. "Which leaves on purpose—"
"You said to get better at revenge," Kaito interrupted with a smirk, then shrugged when Yumichika shot him a narrow look. "Look, will you show me or am I wasting both of our time here?"
Yumichika sighed but gestured for Kaito to approach. "Get over here, then. I'm only going to go over this once, so pay attention."
Kaito snorted at that, but stepped around Yumichika's desk and sank to sit at the man's side. "Thank you," he murmured as he scanned the forms in front of Yumichika, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
"Don't thank me yet," Yumichika grumbled as he set aside what he'd been working on and sorted through the stack of papers. A few moments later he pulled out a smaller — but still substantial — stack of papers and dropped them in front of Kaito. "I'm going to teach you about the most common — and most exasperating — paper that crosses my desk, and then I'm going to make you do the rest of this stack for me."
A quick look at the forms and Kaito already knew what Yumichika was saddling him with: damage reports and requisition forms. And the one right on top was detailing the repair work needed for the wall that Kaito and Kenpachi had busted up a few days back.
"Am I going to need to forge Kenpachi's signature?" Kaito asked warily as he eyed the signature lines at the bottom.
Yumichika laughed and shook his head. "No, anything like that I'll keep and bribe Zaraki-taicho into signing later if it's important enough. Things like this can be signed off on by any seated officer, though the higher ranked the better, usually." He leaned over a bit to open a drawer, pulling out another inkwell and brush and setting them by Kaito's hand. "I assume you know how to use this?" he asked, feathered eyebrow arching in dry amusement.
"I can read and write," Kaito told the man in exasperation, then set about carefully grinding and mixing the ink just like Urahara had shown him, though he refrained from adding reiatsu to the ink. "Well?"
"Try not to fall asleep," Yumichika taunted as he pulled the top sheet closer. "Here's how this all works…"
It was late in the evening by the time Yumichika finally deemed his work 'acceptable' and let him leave.
Feeling wrung out and exasperated by the sheer number of forms the Gotei Thirteen used, Kaito fled the division before anything else could happen; as much as he'd enjoy another spar with Kenpachi, he was tired and just wanted to relax in Hanataro's soothing presence.
A short trip over the rooftops, and even shorter trip through the now-familiar hallways of the Fourth, and Kaito was sliding the door to Hanataro's room open and slipping in without a thought, murmuring a soft, "I'm back," as he did.
"O-oh! Welcome b-back, K-Kaito-san," Hanataro greeted him from his seat…
…sounded by a ring of clothing and equipment?
Kaito gave the organized mess a puzzled look, taking in everything that Hanataro had laid out as well as the two partially packed bags at his side. "What…?"
Hanataro ducked his head, cheeks flaming red as he mumbled, "U-uhm… I uhm… I… I a-asked U-Unohana-taicho i-if I could uhm… if I c-could go w-with you? I-if… if th-that's still okay?"
"You—" Kaito cut himself off and glanced again at the evidence of packing, hardly daring to believe what he'd heard. "She agreed?" he whispered, desperately hoping it was true.
"It… uhm… it's n-not e-exactly like y-your contract," Hanataro said quickly, fidgeting with a small stack of clothing and not looking up at Kaito at all. "Just… just f-for a few weeks. Uhm… b-but sh-she implied that, uhm… th-that i-it could… it c-could become s-semi-regular. If… if that's okay…"
"That's more than okay," Kaito reassured his friend as he stepped around the piles and sank to the floor nearby. "I… honestly didn't expect her to let you come at all," he admitted softly, then cleared his throat and looked away, rubbing awkwardly at the back of his neck. "Ah… thank you. For this."
Hanataro wrinkled his nose and flicked a crumpled piece of paper at Kaito. "O-of course I a-asked," he said with more confidence than before. "K-Kaito-san asked me, a-and K-Kaito-san is my fr-friend," he added with a huff. "A-and… I'm a b-bit interested i-in the Living W-World, to b-be h-honest. K-Kuchiki-san told me s-some things about it, a-and I'd l-like to s-see it f-for myself."
"We can do that," Kaito said with a nod, already considering what sort of things he could introduce Hanataro to without seeming too native— maybe he could even find some books on Living World medicine for his friend? He'd never had an interest in it himself, not after his own childhood, but he still remembered the sort of books that Ryuuken considered the best and the man had to know something, didn't he?
(Ryuuken was a hospital director and well known doctor after all, that had to mean something, right?)
(Maybe he'd ask Tsukabishi if the man had any recommendations, too.)
(After all, Tsukabishi knew Shinigami healing and had been in the Living World for decades.)
(Tsukabishi's opinions would probably be better than relying on old memories anyway.)
(He'd do that.)
"Th-thank you," Hanataro said as he shoved a few more of his uniforms into one of his bags. "U-uhm… did you g-get wh-what you wanted?"
"To my regret, yes," Kaito said with a wry smile, then shrugged at the amused look that earned him. "I was asking Yumichika about how paperwork is done and how he expects me to send it back without coming back. And so he handed me a stack of papers to deal with."
Hanataro laughed, bright-cheerful-warm, and shook his head. "K-Kaito-san sh-should have e-expected that," he said in amusement, then shoved another few things into his bag and pulled the whole thing closed. "N-no one likes paperwork."
"I'm learning that," Kaito said dryly, then leaned forward to help Hanataro rearrange the things scattered around him. "Anyway, it's done. He called me 'acceptable', which I think is about the highest non-combat related compliment that I'm every going to get from him, and sent me on my way before I fell asleep at his desk."
"K-Kaito-san wouldn't be the f-first, n-nor the l-last, to d-do so," Hanataro told him with a shy grin, then glanced at the things he'd laid out and asked, "H-help me put th-the rest o-of this a-away? Th-then we can l-lay the futons out and g-go to s-sleep."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Kaito agreed. "Just tell me where to put things and I'll do it."
Hanataro smiled, so kind-warm-thankful that Kaito couldn't help but smile back, and rose to his feet. "Th-then lets g-get to it."
Kaito scrambled to his feet and grabbed a few things to put away, barely able to contain the raw, gleeful energy of knowing Hanataro was returning to the Living World with him; it was… it was everything he had hoped for and everything he hadn't dared to expect.
(He could go home soon.)
(He could go home and Hanataro was coming with him.)
(That was… that was…)
(Perfect.)
The next morning, Kaito stepped out of the Fourth and hopped up onto a nearby rooftop, wondering what he wanted to do with his morning; it was unlikely that they'd leave so soon after the teens being told, which gave him at least a half day to do… something.
(Not that he had any idea what.)
(Goodbyes, maybe?)
(That was something people expected, wasn't it?)
"I see you're becoming respectable," Yoruichi's voice interrupted his thoughts. "And you didn't even tell me! I had to hear about it through my darling little Soi-Fon!"
"What?" Kaito spun around to scowl down at the black cat sprawled out in the sunlight, trying to figure out what she meant; nothing quite made sense, except… except for Yumichika declaring him Fourth Seat without even a by-your-leave. "Are you… talking about the Eleventh thing?"
"'The Eleventh thing', he says," Yoruichi repeated, tipping her head back to stare up at the sky in exasperation. "Brat, Fourth Seat isn't exactly easy to acquire, you know."
"I didn't exactly ask for it, and you weren't exactly around to tell," Kaito snapped, crossing his arms over his chest and scowling down at Yoruichi as he did. "Yumichika just decided to foist it on me, and he probably wouldn't even have told me if I hadn't gone back to specifically ask!"
Yoruichi laughed and rolled to her feet, then effortlessly leapt onto his shoulder and draped over his neck like a living scarf. "Just wait until Kisuke hears about this: his son, member of the Eleventh!"
Kaito rolled his eyes in exasperation and turned back around, pacing towards the edge of the roof and hopping to the next one over; he didn't exactly have a destination in mind, but this wasn't a conversation he felt like having while standing still. "It's not like I had a choice," he muttered as he hopped over another street.
Yoruichi's tail thumped against his cheek as she snorted and said, "Maybe not, but he'll still be a hilarious mix of proud and appalled and I cannot wait to see it."
"Proud and appalled…?" he couldn't help but ask, stomach beginning to twist at the idea that maybe he should have fought harder against the appointment, that maybe his father would despise him for becoming a Shinigami, would tell him to go back to Seireitei no matter what the 'orders' were that Yumichika had prepared—
He yelped as sharp claws dug into his shoulder, bright sparks of pain snapping him from his thoughts.
"You worry just like him. Stop it," Yoruichi ordered with a tiny huff, then pressed her cold-cold-cold nose against the skin right behind his ear. "He'll be proud that you won yourself a place so easily, and appalled because it's the Eleventh and everyone knows what the Eleventh is like."
"Their reputation is that bad, huh?"
Yoruichi seemed to consider his question for a moment as they kept hopping across rooftops, then eventually bobbed her head and answered, "Their duty is to be the front-line fighters, the ones who stand their ground against all foes, who can take a beating and keep on going. It's what their first Captain established them as, and it's what every Captain who followed reinforced. Unfortunately, that tends to go hand-in-hand with a reputation for being fighting-mad and single-minded." She leaned forward a bit, her whiskers brushing against his cheek, and peered into his nearest eye. "You will find that many who don't know you will make assumptions based on your position in the Eleventh. Use that to your advantage."
Kaito turned her words over and over in his mind as he kept moving aimlessly over Seireitei's rooftops, not bothering to keep track of his progress; he'd heard much the same from others, but hearing it from her somehow felt… different.
He thought about sharp-clever-deadly Yumichika and cheerful-ruthless-observant Yachiru and bored-vicious-intense Kenpachi and could see how people might overlook everything that went into being the best at what they did.
But he was Urahara Kisuke's son and enough important people knew that, no matter how circumspect they chose to be about his family name, that his position in the Eleventh shouldn't matter.
(Especially after all the traps he'd scattered around Seireitei.)
(Surely someone had to have spotted how deliberately nonlethal the traps were, and how lethal everything could have been if he'd tried!)
(…right…?)
"Even though I'm… me? Even after all the traps I set?" Kaito voiced his doubts aloud.
Yoruichi snickered and rubbed her head against his chin. "Even after, my dear tiger in wolf's clothing."
Kaito wrinkled his nose and reached up to flick one of Yoruichi's ears. "It's 'wolf in sheep's clothing'," he reminded her dryly.
She snapped playfully at his finger and said, "No, I think tiger in wolf's clothing fits you better." When Kaito twisted his head around just enough to glower at her, she just bared her teeth in a wicked grin and added, "Everyone knows you're dangerous — you're in the Eleventh, after all — but not how dangerous. You fight like someone from the Eleventh, but only sometimes."
"I couldn't just try to fight everyone in Seireitei," Kaito said in exasperation, then froze mid-step and spun around, darting away from the direction he could suddenly sense Ukitake approaching from; no matter how much he was (reluctantly) coming to like the man, he'd rather stay as much out of Ukitake's sight as possible. "Ignoring that the Captains could crush me if they decided to work together—"
"Which they mostly won't," Yoruichi interrupted with a sniff, her tail thumping against his collarbone.
"—I'd have to fight to kill with most of them if I wanted to survive, much less win," Kaito finished, ignoring Yoruichi's interruption. "And they would only have to get lucky once. One of me versus all of them? I wouldn't have lasted the first day."
Yoruichi chuckled, then paused and leaned forward to sniff at the air. "Wait, wait, hop down here. I'm suddenly starving and you, my fine steed, owe me a meal."
Kaito snorted at Yoruichi's words but did as asked, not wanting to risk more claw marks all over his shoulder if he tried to ignore her; once on the street, however, he blinked at the sight of a familiar curry stand, the curtain partially pushed aside and the woman behind the counter frying up… curry bread?
Minami and Takara were even there, along with a small crowd of other Shinigami who were buying little paper trays of curry bread and then wandering off to eat.
"Really?" he asked Yoruichi dryly even as he stepped in line and tucked his hands into his kimono sleeves. "Is curry bread even good for you?"
"It is if I say it is," she said with a haughty sniff. "Get me two of those trays, I'm starving."
"I'm pretty sure that's not how this works, and I'm also pretty sure you can't even eat one tray in this form," Kaito said in amusement, even as he pulled out his pouch of money and began counting kan, pausing only long enough to nod to Minami when she met his gaze and waved.
(Actually, since they were here…)
(Now was a perfect time to tell them he was leaving, wasn't it?)
"You're certainly up early," Minami teased as she paid for her food and moved out of line, Takara at her side. "Couldn't sleep?"
"'Early' doesn't mean much when most people in the Fourth get up around dawn," Kaito told her dryly. "I am up at a perfectly reasonable hour, unlike them."
Takara snickered at his words and nodded. "Sounds about right," he said, then tilted his head and gave Yoruichi a thoughtful look. "When did Kaito-san get a cat?"
"It's more like I got him. No one owns a cat," Yoruichi replied with a small sniff, then cackled at the gobsmacked looks that her words earned her.
Kaito rolled his eyes and reached up to poke Yoruichi in the side. "One of these days, that trick of yours will get you in trouble," he told her fondly, then gave Takara a wry smile and said, "Don't mind her, she's just dramatic—"
"I am not!" Yoruichi yowled.
"—and currently hungry, which makes everything worse," Kaito finished.
Takara's gaze moved from Kaito to Yoruichi and back, realization slowly dawning on his face. "Kaito-san, is that…?"
Kaito shrugged, knowing how much Takara had once dreamed about someone like Yoruichi showing up in his life to teach him, and said, "A lot less dazzling in person, isn't she?"
Yoruichi's ears slowly flattened, and she leaned forward to give Kaito a narrow-eyed, suspicious look. "Kaito-kun~," she chirped, "is there something I should know?"
"Nope," Kaito replied without a hint of shame, biting his lip to fight off the smile that wanted to form. "No idea why you'd think that. Takara-san and I are just having a completely normal conversation that is certainly not about you in the slightest."
Takara clamped a hand over his mouth, shoulders shaking with laughter and the tension draining from his posture.
Minami rolled her eyes and planted a hand on her hip, pretending sternness despite the amusement gleaning in her eyes. "You two…" she murmured, then shook her head and said, "It's nice to meet you, neko-san," with as much politeness as she could muster.
"It's nice to see someone has manners around here," Yoruichi said with a playful huff, then shoved her cold nose against Kaito's skin again. "You're up next."
The stall owner arched an eyebrow at him as he stepped up to the counter. "Well, well, didn't expect to see you this early."
Kaito snorted and set the stacked kan on the counter. "Sometimes I get up early," he told her archly as she reached over to sweep the coins up to count them. "I just usually eat elsewhere."
"If you eat at all," the stall owner said dryly, her gaze pointed as she slid three trays of curry bread towards him. "Get some of that into you, and don't let the talking cat steal it all."
"Hey!" Yoruichi exclaimed.
He huffed and grabbed the trays as he stepped out of line so the next person could buy their meal as well. "I won't," he promised the woman as he tucked himself to one side with Minami and Takara, set the paper trays down on the counter so both hands were free, and took a bite of his food.
It was delicious, just like everything else he'd tried from this stand; the outer shell was perfectly crisp, the inner dough was soft, and the curry was perfect.
(He'd miss this place when he went home.)
(He really would.)
A pointed noise from Yoruichi had him using his off hand to lift another piece up to her so she could bite into it.
"If you get sick because of this, I'm not taking the blame," Kaito told her firmly, then rolled his eyes when the only response he got was a tail thumping against his cheek. He finished his current piece, selected another, and eyed the stall owner thoughtfully as he bit into it, wondering if he should tell her that he was leaving soon.
(He didn't even know her name, but…)
(She'd been kind to him.)
(Would she even care…?)
"Something on your mind, kid?" she asked as she transferred the next batch of curry bread from the pot and onto a rack to drain and cool. "You've got a look in your eyes."
Kaito shrugged awkwardly and looked away, only to find that Takara and Minami were also looking at him thoughtfully; he supposed he might as well tell all three of them at once, just so he didn't have to keep repeating himself. "The Captains've said that my group can go back to the Living World soon. I'm… not exactly sure when, since that's not up to me, but it'll probably be sometime in the next day or two."
"Or even this afternoon," Yoruichi added once she'd swallowed her own bite. "Who knows!"
Takara and Minami exchanged looks, their postures slumping a bit as sadness-grief-acceptance crept into their reiatsu presences.
"Hey, I'm not going to be gone forever," Kaito hastily added, suddenly glad for the clause in the contract that required he return every so often to stay for a few days. "I'll be back every couple of months, I promise!"
"Promise?" Takara asked softly, a touch of hope creeping in as he glanced up at Kaito.
"It's part of his contract with the Eleventh, kid," Yoruichi spoke up before Kaito could. "So you, you'll see more of him."
"O-oh!" Takara blinked in surprise and then smiled. "Then I look forward to seeing you again, Kaito-san!"
Kaito shrugged awkwardly and looked away, taken aback by Takara's enthusiasm. "Just make sure to keep practicing what I showed you," he said gruffly, then slanted a questioning look at Minami, wondering at her silence.
"Better not get into any more trouble," Minami told him bluntly, warmth softening her tone. "But I hope you enjoy your time in the Living World. We'll be waiting for you."
"Ah, well… no promises on the trouble? Things just… tend to happen," Kaito said with a grimace, then glanced at the stall owner to see how she was reacting to his words.
She just smiled warmly at him and said, "I'm glad you're finally getting to go home." When Kaito arched an eyebrow in confusion, she rolled her eyes, took a moment to scoop the next round of curry bread out of the pot, and told him, "Kid, you're good at hiding it when you try, but you've been moping. Go home. Relax. We'll be here when you come back."
Kaito ducked his head as a blush began to creep across his cheeks and shoved another bite of food in his mouth to keep himself from having to respond; he hadn't realized it'd been so obvious to people — had even strangers been able to tell? — but there was nothing he could do about that.
"Let's go wander around after we're all done eating," Minami suggested. "Since you don't know when you'll be leaving, we should probably stay inside Seireitei, but that's not much of an issue."
He swallowed and nodded. "That… sounds nice. I think I'd like that."
"Good," Minami said with a pleased smile. "There's still some places we haven't shown you yet, it'll be fun."
Kaito hummed in agreement, knowing exactly how large Seireitei was and how hard it was to find the interesting places without someone who knew about them leading the way; for all that Seireitei looked identical on the surface, there were plenty of nooks and crannies that didn't conform quite as much.
And even if there weren't, it was more time spent with Takara and Minami, two people that he… that he would definitely miss when he left.
(He… rather liked them, actually.)
(He didn't know how to feel about that.)
(They were Shinigami but… he'd miss their easy company when he went home.)
(*Then you'll just have to make the most of when you're here,*) Ichigo suggested.
Kaito nodded, knowing that Ichigo was right; if anything, they were just another reason to look forward to his mandatory visits to Seireitei every few months.
Maybe someday they could even come visit him in the Living World, but… he wasn't going to hold his breath on that one.
But making the most of the time he had with them…
He could do that.
And he'd start right now.
