Real life's been kinda kicking my ass, hence the lack of updates for three straight weeks. Think I've finally started to get a hold of everything again, tho. We'll see.

As the days passed with no sign of Uryuu relenting, Kisuke tried not to fret over him where the Kurosaki siblings could see. They didn't need to know how deeply Uryuu's words and suspicion had cut—

(When had he become so compromised?)

—and didn't need to worry themselves over something that would resolve itself in time.

(He hoped.)

So he squared his shoulders and swallowed his unease, pretending that everything was under control.

(It wasn't. Oh how it wasn't.)

(Control slipped through his fingers and anger-fear-helplessness burned like bile in his throat.)

Uryuu was once more like a ghost, drifting between his room and school as if on a loop. He moved in silence, gaze never quite focused on anyone around him, and whenever Kisuke tried to approach him, tried to speak to him, he would flinch and retreat as if burned.

(And Kisuke burned with him.)

Karin and Yuzu and Ichigo weren't fooled, no matter how he tried. Every afternoon they stayed with him, cheerful and bright and kind the way he didn't deserve but didn't have the heart to deny. Their warmth beat back the edges of gnawing despair once more making a home within his chest. It wasn't enough but it helped, and that was all Kisuke could ask for.

His acceptance of their attention only made them cling tighter; Yuzu cuddled into his right side while Karin used his left side as a backrest as she read. Pinned between the twins, Kisuke couldn't move an inch, much less turn to stare at the empty hallway that led to Uryuu's room.

And Ichigo… Ichigo watched it all with a small, pleased smile and tangled them all up tight-tight-tight in his wild, protective reiatsu.

(How could they see through his masks so easily?)

(Was he losing his touch?)

It came to a head on the fourth afternoon. Yuzu asked for Kisuke's help, holding up her science textbook in question, and Ichigo took that moment to rise.

"Be right back," he said as he stepped around the table and headed into the back.

Kisuke suppressed a sigh as Ichigo left and tried to turn his focus to helping Yuzu. Maybe Ichigo would know what to do. Maybe Ichigo could get through to Uryuu where Kisuke was unable to.

(Maybe Uryuu would even forgive him.)

Fretting wouldn't get him anywhere. He needed to give Ichigo a chance, needed to give Uryuu space, needed to do everything that his instincts refused to allow. It was… it was like science. Everything in its time and place.

And right now, it was neither his time nor his place to impose upon Uryuu's space.

So he forced his mind to focus and absently monitored both Ichigo and Uryuu's reiatsu in case he needed to intervene. He doubted he would, given what he could sense from both of them, but better safe than sorry.

Hours passed while he waited for Ichigo to return. Not that he was left to his own devices, though; Yuzu and Karin were brilliant little extortionists in the making, conning him into helping them prepare for an upcoming test and doing their best to make him focus on them.

Still, it was a relief when Ichigo slipped back into the room, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Give him a bit more time," he announced as he knelt and opened his arms, clinging tight to his sisters when they scrambled to hug him. "Be kind and don't crowd him too much when he returns, okay?"

"Yes, Ichi-nii," Yuzu agreed cheerfully while Karin nodded. "We'll be good!"

"Thank you."

When Ichigo looked up at him in question, Kisuke nodded his understanding. A part of him grumbled at being given advice by a child, but… Kisuke knew his own limits. If Ichigo said to be patient and give Uryuu a bit more time, then he would.

The three siblings left soon after, gathering up their things and trooping out the door with cheerful farewells. Silence fell in their wake, the silence of being alone, and Kisuke sighed and poured himself more tea.

(He wasn't alone.)

(Tessai's quiet strength lingered in the stock room, prepping for the following day while Yoruichi, smug and content, got in his way.)

(His friends would never abandon him.)

Kisuke wanted to get up. Wanted to join his friends and tease Yoruichi and make Tessai give him that exasperated I-disapprove-but-I'm-still-laughing look of his. He wanted to turn his brain off for once and just live. But there was a chance — a slim chance, but still a chance — that Uryuu would come looking for him. While Uryuu remained awake, Kisuke would remain available.

So he drank his tea and waited, mind roving through the possibilities.

Tessai and Yoruichi had both gone to bed by the time Uryuu crept from his room and slunk into the common room, a blanket wrapped around his body and his eyes red-rimmed from crying. The boy paused and gave Kisuke a wary look, then ducked his head and crossed the room to take his seat.

"Good evening, Uryuu-kun," Kisuke offered softly, using a touch of kido to reheat the pot of tea and pouring both of them a cup.

Uryuu mumbled a greeting in response then fell into silence, fingers plucking at the hem of the blanket and gaze never leaving the tabletop.

Kisuke resigned himself to finding Uryuu a new place to stay, given the boy's nervousness. He was a bit too young to live on his own yet, but maybe Kisuke could con Isshin into housing the boy for a couple years. He didn't want to, given Isshin's inability to cope with his own children, but it was—

"Do you… do you still want me?" Uryuu asked, his voice small and his body curling inward.

"Of course," Kisuke answered immediately, tucking away his shock-relief-joy at the question and smiling warmly when Uryuu looked up at him in surprise. "I will never change my mind on accepting you into my home, Uryuu-kun."

"Oh," Uryuu breathed out, blinking rapidly before pulling the blanket closer and looking away. "U-uhm… I… I agree to the those rules and, uhm… I think… I think I'd like to make this official?"

"You're certain? Doing this will make me your legal guardian," Kisuke reminded Uryuu just to make certain the boy understood that they were talking about more than just new rules.

Uryuu chewed on his lip for a moment, then took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm certain."

Kisuke couldn't resist a pleased noise at the confirmation and grinned at Uryuu when the boy looked up. "Thank you, Uryuu-kun. Truly. Your presence is a joy to me and I'm glad you didn't decide to leave."

Shock spread across Uryuu's expression, and then a tiny, shy smile crept in. "You… you'd have let me stay even if I said no?"

"Of course I would! I would never turn you away, Uryuu-kun."

Uryuu fidgeted then asked softly, "Even if Ichigo-san and his sisters were to want to stay, too?"

"Even then," Kisuke confirmed, surprised and pleased by the use of Ichigo's given name. Uryuu clung to formality the same way Ryuuken did; to see him relaxing that within the bounds of the shoten was a promising sign. "The four of you are different people and none of you can replace another." It wouldn't take much to add another few rooms to the shoten either… well, he'd bring it up with Tessai in the was no harm in having spare rooms as a just-in-case.

Uryuu stared at Kisuke with narrowed eyes as if trying to discover a lie, then gave a shuddering sigh and rubbed at his eyes, knocking his glasses askew. "You said… you said you wanted me to only practice Quincy arts with you or… or Tessai," Uryuu asked as he readjusted his glasses and squared his shoulders. "Does… does that mean you can teach me?"

"Not precisely," Kisuke said, then continued before Uryuu's expression could fall too much. "I'm not a Quincy and I never studied their arts, but I have access to information and I'm very good at reverse engineering skills from descriptions. Between the two of us, I have no doubt you'll become an incredible Quincy."

Uryuu perked up at Kisuke's words, excitement creeping into his reiatsu. "You promise?"

"I promise." He doubted Ryuuken would give him access to any of it willingly, but Kisuke didn't need him to be willing. The man was enough of a workaholic that Kisuke doubted Ryuuken would even notice if Kisuke helped himself to whatever Quincy paraphernalia he wanted. And Yoruichi could slip into Seireitei to dig up records of Quincy for hints of other skills they might have.

Uryuu edged around the table towards Kisuke, then paused to look up at him questioningly. When Kisuke lifted an arm in silent invitation, Uryuu slipped in and cuddled against his side with a murmured, "Thank you."

Kisuke hugged Uryuu close and ruffled his hair, grinning at Uryuu's sleepy protests. But Uryuu didn't pull away, just cuddled closer and yawned, reiatsu turning hazy with mingled exhaustion-relief-contentment. He tugged Uryuu into his lap and held him close, marveling at the trust Uryuu had in him even after discovering his past.

The boy's slight weight in his arms was comforting, a sign that he was not as much of a failure as he'd thought.

(He'd do his best to live up to their expectations.)

(It was the least he could do for them.)