Kisuke was calm by the time he returned home, rage tucked away within the depths of his soul and plans already forming to handle Ryuuken if it became necessary. For Uryuu's sake he hoped it didn't, but Kisuke had never claimed forgiveness as a virtue. He'd allowed the man to walk away with his life intact, but he would neither forgive nor forget a single word Ryuuken had spoken.

(Let him make a single misstep. Let him cause Uryuu another ounce of pain…)

(Ryuuken would never see his death arrive.)

No one asked where he'd been when he stepped through the door and settled back into his seat, but Uryuu watched him with guarded, wary eyes. The boy had no doubt sensed Ryuuken lingering just outside the shoten, and given the last time they had interacted…

(Probably best he hadn't killed Ryuuken, but oh how he wanted…)

Kisuke smiled warmly at Uryuu and leaned over to ruffle the boy's hair. "Nothing to worry about," he reassured Uryuu. "I took care of it."

The disbelief in Uryuu's eyes stung, but the way he hunched in on himself and refused to look at Kisuke again felt like a physical blow. He had no idea what was going through Uryuu's mind but there was no way it was anything good.

(He just kept finding more reasons…)

(No. He wouldn't kill Ryuuken. Not yet.)

(Uryuu needed him more.)

Ichigo looked between them with a thoughtful frown, then looked past Kisuke and proceeded to tuck his homework away and close his textbook. "We'll see you tomorrow," he announced as he packed his things away and turned to help his sisters do the same.

Kisuke scrambled for something, anything, to say in response; he didn't want Ichigo to think he didn't want them around — the opposite was true, in fact! — but he didn't want them to be uncomfortable either! He needed to speak with Uryuu alone, but that could be easily accomplished by asking the boy back into his lab. There was no reason for Ichigo and the others to leave—

"Stop thinking so hard," Ichigo said with a huff and a cute little scowl. "It's just late and we need to go home."

"Ah…" Kisuke blinked and glanced behind him to see Tessai standing in the doorway behind him. He relaxed when Tessai nodded in agreement and turned back to the table. "Well then! Have a safe trip home and I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Uh huh." Ichigo stood and slung his backpack in place, then helped his sisters into theirs. "Bye Tsukabishi-san! Bye Hat'n'Clogs. Bye Uryuu-kun!"

"Bye," Uryuu mumbled, fidgeting with a pencil and not looking up from the table. He didn't say anything more as Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin left, waiting until silence descended upon the shoten before he asked in a monotone voice, "He wants me to return, doesn't he?"

Kisuke grit his teeth and swallowed the fury that tried to rise. He busied his hands with serving himself another cup of tea, ignoring Tessai's concerned look and focusing on Uryuu. "Do you want to go back?" he forced out in as soft a tone as possible. But when Uryuu began to nod despite the resignation in his expression, Kisuke gave the boy a hard look. "The truth, if you will."

Uryuu froze, dropping the pencil back onto the table and staring up at Kisuke with a heartbreaking mix of disbelief and hope. "I don't have to?" he asked softly.

"You never have to return there unless you want to, Uryuu-kun," Kisuke reassured, lifting an arm in invitation for a hug. "You're welcome to remain here as long as you want."

Uryuu shuffled closer and collapsed against Kisuke, burying his face in Kisuke's side and trembling like a leaf. "I don't want to. I don't. Don't make me…" he pleaded, hands grasping at Kisuke's jinbei and tugging at it with each repetition. "He scares me…" he admitted, barely loud enough for Kisuke to hear.

Kisuke wrapped his arms around Uryuu and held the boy close. "I won't, I promise. You don't have to go anywhere that you don't want to," he said. "We could even make this official if you want. Then no one could force you ba—"

"Yes!" Uryuu pulled away just enough to stare up at him, tugging at Kisuke's jinbei again. "Please? I… I don't… want to go back…"

He smiled and ruffled Uryuu's hair, then settled back as Uryuu scowled at him. "There's some rules we need to agree on together then, alright?" At Uryuu's cautious nod, Kisuke continued, "First, unless you'd like to change anything we've already agreed upon, that all stays the same. Your room, the chores we agreed upon, everything."

Uryuu made a noise of agreement when Kisuke paused, then tentatively asked, "And… the new rules?"

"I'd like you to call if you're going to be late back, just so I know you're still safe," Kisuke began, then paused to debate his next words. Uryuu would want to continue learning his Quincy arts, Kisuke suspected, but was it worth bringing it up immediately? Probably, if only to lay everything out from the beginning. "And any time you want to practice your Quincy arts, I would like either myself or Tessai to be present, okay?"

"Why?" Uryuu asked. He tilted his head and frowned a bit, looking up at Kisuke. "Are you a Quincy? I… I thought there weren't any others?"

"Reiatsu manipulation can be dangerous, especially when you're learning something new," Kisuke explained. "And… ah… no, I'm not a Quincy. I was once a Shinigami—"

"What?!" Uryuu jerked away and tumbled backwards, eyes wide. "Y-you're—why would you care then?! Sensei died because you Shinigami came too late, and—and—" he broke off with a sob, scrubbing at his eyes and knocking his glasses askew.

Kisuke pulled out his fan and fidgeted with it, forcing himself to not look away from Uryuu no matter how uncomfortable it made him. Uryuu deserved the truth — deserved to know it was the truth — no matter how much it hurt to explain. "Seireitei — where Shinigami live — is… rotten these days. It's… it's been that way for at least a hundred years now." He gently set his fan down on the table, then folded his body into a full seated bow facing Uryuu. "I apologize, Uryuu-kun, for being unable to do anything for your grandfather."

Uryuu sniffled and snuffled further back. "Rotten?"

"There are those who want power for themselves and who have no concern for the lives of others. People like me are… gotten rid of, however possible. I was lucky to escape with my life, and even now I live in hiding." He grimaced and collected himself, mind darting through the possibilities. Delayed Shinigami response didn't make sense with what Kisuke knew of Aizen's schemes, unless the Hollows the boy's sensei had fought were some of Aizen's creations? But that would mean…

Kisuke swallowed his bile and breathed through the urge to retch.

(Either the Twelfth was working for Aizen or Kurotsuchi had decided to go rogue.)

(Neither option was a good one.)

(His fault. All his fault…)

"Was… was sensei..?"

"I don't know," Kisuke answered, straightening up to look at Uryuu. "He could have been targeted or it could have been a side effect of something else. My knowledge of the current schemes are dated and I hear so little news from Seireitei these days…"

Uryuu stared down at his hands, clearly mulling over Kisuke's words. Silent tears trickled down his cheeks before he roughly scrubbed the traces away.

"You don't need to make a decision tonight, you can take as long as you need to think on it," Kisuke said soothingly, resisting the urge to reach out towards Uryuu. He doubted it would be welcomed right now. "I mean what I said before; I will never force you to go back and you can stay as long as you want. If you tell me you want nothing to change, then nothing will. If you tell me you want to live somewhere else, I will see to it that everything is handled. Whatever will make you most comfortable, Uryuu-kun."

"Why?" Uryuu asked plaintively. "Why are you… you're a Shinigami, why do you care?!"

"Shinigami aren't inhuman, we have emotions and attachments just like you," Kisuke murmured, hating how useless the words were in the face of Uryuu's experience but needing to speak them. "Besides, I'm not a very good Shinigami at this point, being an exile and all." He watched Uryuu struggle with his words, then leaned forward a bit and said, "Go get ready for bed, Uryuu-kun. Sleep on your decision for as long as you need, and don't be afraid to ask if you have any questions. I promise I will make whatever time for you that you need or want."

Uryuu nodded stiffly and rose, keeping his attention on Kisuke. "Good night, Urahara-san," he murmured as he retreated from the room."

"Good night, Uryuu-kun," Kisuke replied, trying to keep his body language open and calm. The minute Uryuu left the room, however, Kisuke gave up the pretense and slumped over the table, burying his face in his arms and giving himself a moment to wallow.

(Damn he'd made a mess of that conversation.)

(Look at him, master assassin and renowned inventor, tripped up by a single conversation with a kid.)

(He really wasn't cut out for this parenting thing…)