X
The pale beauty stood in the front of the shop, hesitantly stepping farther in while she glared at Kisuke and me. Her black hair was meticulously well-kept, not one shiny lock out of place. Her wide purple eyes made my heart melt somewhat from the flame of nostalgia.
Rukia.
"Are you the shop owner?" she asked carefully, her eyes flicking in between us as I pressed into him farther.
"I am. Is there something I can help you with?" He smiled, waving his fan against the enmeshing heat coming down on us.
She frowned at me. "Why do you have a hollow here?" she questioned, voice rising enough to make Jinta and Ururu peek inside.
"Kokyu?" Kisuke asked, feigning surprise while he smiled.
"Kokyu?" Rukia worked her lips around my name as she stared at me distrustfully. Looking away from me after a long moment, she refocused on my mate. "I'm the new Soul Reaper assigned to this town. I was told I could buy goods here?"
X
I gave an audible gasp as I saw him round the corner, following almost crossly in Rukia's dainty wake. Kisuke looked at me in question, but my eyes were locked onto the young orange-haired boy.
Ichigo.
I continued to stare, my ears pounding as the duo entered the shop for some quick business. Ichigo frowned, looking around with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He looked anxious to get going, cranky that he had to be here.
I ignored Rukia's usual hard look, unable to take my eyes off him.
And all too soon, they were busying away, Ichigo's broad back turning the corner.
Ichigo… It felt like the lead weights that had rested on my heart since his passing had slipped off suddenly. Ichigo, you're…
A darker shiver passed over me as something came to my mind. I don't…exist here at all?
"Kokyu?" I leaned into the hand Kisuke put on my shoulder, falling into him. "Are you all right?" He rested his palm over the almost completely healed bite mark.
I nodded but nestled into him.
I've…gone and lost track of time again…
X
"Ichigo will need to be trained," Kisuke reiterated as we bedded down in his room. My nest had somewhat shifted and changed, now consisting of mainly his bedding and pillows unlike the previous random assortment.
I soothed him with a small hand rub as I tucked my shoulder in, leaving my wings out.
"He'll have to be able to go up against captains." Kisuke had a hand under the pillow and behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. While the bond was growing weak, I could still pick out the distinct pinprick of regret.
Why even let Rukia go in the first place? I wanted to question before Tsukishima's words rang in my ears.
Don't involve yourself in anything, Shiro remembered.
Instead, I could only wrap an arm around him while the cold of my mask pressed against his shoulder. The shadow of Ichigo—or rather his current iteration—rested, unconscious, in the back room I had previously stayed in years ago.
Looking at him felt like looking at a ghost, and I had studiously kept my distance after that first time. Don't involve myself in anything.
"Kokyu?" he asked, shifting to look at me.
I trilled quietly as he scratched at my feathers.
"Can you take your mask off?" The request made me pause in surprise. Kisuke, in the past, had been adamant about checking to see if my mask was still stuck at least once a month. But it had slowly fallen by the wayside, and it had been several years since he asked.
I couldn't even remember the last time I tried. I knew that I was well-healed, but not completely healed. I could gauge that off of how well the bite had healed.
But my mask…
I shook my head no.
Hiding his disappointment, Kisuke leaned over to kiss the top of my head.
X
I sat in the background, poised as I watched as Kisuke began to torment Ichigo. Ah, just like I had been treated. I reminisced as Ichigo ran screaming from the armed shopkeeper, believing his deception that he was out for blood. Or maybe just like Ichigo was last time? I wondered quietly to myself.
I jerked as Kisuke caught a bit of Ichigo's hair as the boy tried to make a stand and stop running.
Don't involve yourself, I reprimanded myself harshly.
X
I hesitated near the ladder to the underground training area as I watched Kisuke explain his home-brewed senkaimon to the kids.
The children stood almost at attention as they listened, the three looking slightly nervous. Ichigo looked like he was ready to jump in at any second.
Don't involve us. Shiro held me back as I tried to flap my wings to join them. We need to see if they can do it on their own.
I watched as Kisuke started the senkaimon up, the kids eagerly following behind Yoruichi as they hurtled toward the enemy.
Stay safe. Stay safe, I wished, a hand clasped to my chest as I stared after them.
Kisuke strode in front of the senkaimon and put his hand up. The resounding shock as he touched it echoed painfully through what was left of our bond. He truly had been exiled from the Soul Society, never to return.
I reached a hand out. "Hey…" Despite the distance between us, Kisuke looked back as I quietly uttered the single word. In one wingbeat I was by his side, my mask nestled into his chest as I tried to comfort him. His arm wrapped around my shoulders.
While the bond had been reduced to a few raised scabs on my neck, I could feel his mute, long-held grief trailing into me.
X
The days were tense after the kids left. Yoruichi had gone with them, and Tessai was trying to busy Jinta and Ururu with cleaning to distract them. Kisuke had shut himself inside his lab, focusing on complex equations that I couldn't read.
I was basking next to Kisuke's computer cabinet in the lab, nodding off, when he made the call.
"Hello. Shinji?"
My eyes slid over, my body still as I contemplated whether or not Kisuke knew I was awake.
"Yes, yes, this is Urahara." A pause. "Yes, well, it's probably hard to forget me!" Kisuke sang, trying to lighten the mood. "I have something that we need to talk about. Want to come over?" The invitation hung in the air for a moment while the voice on the other side paused.
"Great! See you then!" Kisuke sang, flipping his cell phone closed. He turned and put it down, his mouth pulling as he relaxed a little.
"Shinji's coming over. Are you okay with that?" Kisuke asked me, eyes glancing at me as a small thread of concern connected us.
"…yeah," I decided, my voice hoarse from underuse as it slowly returned to normal.
X
"Well? What's so important?" Shinji hovered in the doorway, hands on his hips. His mouth was twisted down, and his face pulled together like he was annoyed, but I had enough experience to know that he was putting up a show.
"I wanted to talk to you and Isshin and Masaki's son." Kisuke respected his space, standing well inside the shop.
"Yeah? The kid that's already a monster?" Shinji rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. You want me to train him," Shinji gathered.
"Correct!" Kisuke sang, smiling widely as he made fun.
"No way!" Shinji denied, shaking his head. "Do I look like I have the time for that? We just started a new gig at that new restaurant downtown," he complained.
"Not even for me?" Kisuke stuck out his lip, looking for sympathy as he overexaggerated.
"Definitely not for you!" Shinji yelled, letting Kisuke work him up. His fist tightened, and I watched with interest as he resisted the urge to clock my mate in the face.
"What if…I told you he has a hollow?" Kisuke flapped his fan innocently as he revealed his trump card.
"A hollow?" This made Shinji stop and remember himself somewhat. "How?" he asked, confused.
"It seems that the hollow passed to him from Masaki during birth," Kisuke gathered. I could feel gears turning in my head while I considered this. That hollow we sensed all those years ago… Was that you, Shiro? She chewed over the idea, unable to recall.
"Slippery bastard." Shinji put a hand on his head, looking stressed. He stared at the ceiling as he thought. "Yeah, fine. I'll do it," he agreed. "Poor kid's probably terrified."
"Actually, he doesn't know anything." Kisuke fanned himself.
"You didn't tell him anything?" Shinji asked, aghast.
"I didn't want to distract him," Kisuke confessed.
Shinji all but growled at him. "Kisuke, he's dangerous!" Shinji stressed. "He could—!"
"Yoruichi is with him. It's under control," Kisuke assured him.
This seemed to settle Shinji somewhat. He turned on his heel, ready to leave, before he turned back. "This is why things didn't work out between you and me," he accused Kisuke lowly. "You just take these liberties and—!" He cut himself off, looking down as he made a pained face.
"You would be dead without that vaccine, Shinji." Kisuke's quiet voice sent a chill down my spine.
Was Shinji sick?
"Idiot. That's not what this is about." Shinji's reiatsu swirled around us, upset. I distantly heard the slide of a door as Tessai expertly maneuvered the children away from us.
This made Kisuke pause.
"You don't get it, do you?" Shinji asked him boldly, his eyes dark.
"Consent." Kisuke's normal tight-lippedness failed as he gave in.
"You should have just asked," Shinji ground out as he left in a flurry.
I stared after him as I tried to put the pieces together.
X
I was alone in the shop when I felt four—no, five—reiatsu signatures return through a senkaimon.
Ichigo, I thought, hanging my head in relief. It felt as if I'd been holding my breath since they left.
He's okay. He's going to be okay.
X
The atmosphere in the shop changed after Ichigo returned. Tessai was tense, his eyes on the children more than ever as he warily let them outside. Kisuke locked himself away more and more, barely responding to Tessai when he tried to drag him out. Yoruichi was staying here as well, though instead of her usual sunbathing outside, she kept inside and close to the radiator.
In short, they were all on high alert for an attack from Aizen.
My feathers were dull from the continued stress, my wings aching for the real sky above us and not the false one painted below.
Aizen… I stared up at the rolling clouds as I felt Ichigo's spiritual pressure disappear where I knew the Vizards to be located. Are you doing this because of me? I put a hand on my stomach, recalling.
The hurt of the realization had faded with time even while I pushed it to the back of my head. But still, the guilt gnawed on me.
I didn't mean for this to happen. Any of it.
X
"Orihime…?" I blinked at Inoue in question.
"I want to try and heal you when I come back," she boldly repeated to my shocked ears.
"I…" My raspy voice faltered. "Thank you," I settled on, squeezing my hands together at the thought.
"Right. Thank you, Mr. Urahara!" She bowed politely to my mate as she followed Rukia through the senkaimon. I watched her go, trying to keep my eyes warm and happy despite the gnawing emptiness inside me.
She won't come back. At least not as she is now.
She won't, Shiro agreed.
X
I stared at the now closed home-brewed garganta the same way as I had in the past. A fist clutched against my heart, my wings poised to jump in after them.
"It's okay to rely on other people," Shinji's voice from another lifetime echoed in my ears.
Flash stepping to me as he felt my reiatsu fall in sadness, Kisuke wrapped his arms around me. "Kokyu?" he asked gently. "Is there something wrong?"
"We should have known…" I confessed, voice breaking as a stray tear fell onto his shoulder. "We should have known he'd take her." I shivered in his warm arms.
We should have known the first time.
Ichigo…survive!
X
Kisuke and Yoruichi were readying themselves for battle. I stared at them distantly in the background as he tightened a unique armor around her arms and legs. A unique alloy that was both stronger than diamond and lighter than a feather that he had bartered heavily for.
"Are you ready?" Yoruichi asked Kisuke, looking down at his painted arms.
The kido inscriptions glowed faintly against the darkened shop. Kisuke pulled his sleeves over the paint. Though it wouldn't do much good, Tessai had insisted we at least try to hide it that way.
"Kokyu…" Kisuke turned to me next, kneeling to where I had sat looking up at them. He put a hand on my shoulder as we looked at each other evenly.
"Don't die, Kisuke." I put a delicate hand on his cheek, not embracing him so that I could take a long look at his face. "Come home." I wished.
He gave me a small smile as my eyes began to fizz up. "It's going to be okay," he tried to assure me, his voice dipping as it tightened on the last word.
Unable to stop myself, I wrapped my arms around him and held tight. "I'm sorry," I whispered into his hair desperately, trying to memorize the scent one last time. "I'm sorry."
"It's going to be okay," he repeated and put a hand on my head, rubbing me gently.
I gasped when he pulled away suddenly, turning and disappearing. Yoruichi gave me a sad look before she disappeared as well. I sat there, arms still reaching out, as I let myself cry loudly.
Our powers are strong enough. We can destroy Aizen! I raged against Shiro.
We can't interfere! she screamed back, equally upset as our mate went toward his doom. Tsukishima said—
I don't care what he said! I wailed loudly as I felt the energy of the whole of Karakura Town start to shift. I don't care! I cried out as the town was transported to the Soul Society, a faux taking up residence in its place to protect the innocent souls.
X
"Kisuke!" I grabbed at his haori desperately the second he stepped into the shop, clawing at him wildly.
"Whoa!" He wavered on his feet, dirt and blood stains marking up his face. He was quick to bend down and embrace me. "I'm back." He nuzzled into my neck as I cried loudly.
"I thought—I thought—I thought you were—!" I gave up speaking and instead wrapped my arms, legs, and wings against him tightly.
"I'm okay," he assured me, trying to lean back to see me only for me to grip harder. "He's gone," Kisuke promised me. "It's going to be okay."
"Ichigo?!" I sobbed wildly, images of his death spiraling behind my eyes.
"Ichigo's okay," Kisuke assured me, and I gasped in a breath. "I'll make everything better. It's going to be okay." He squeezed me tightly.
Ichigo…!
X
The days after the end of the war felt like a dream. There were no Soul Reaper casualties. Aizen was defeated. Orihime was recovered. Kisuke and Shinji were safe.
Maybe a little too safe. I looked dryly at where they were drinking across from the table, the bottle Shinji had sporadically appeared with almost gone. I sat in between them, a nice water before me. Shinji was relaxed despite my presence, a temporary truce between us. The two were laughing about some inside joke, Shinji hunching over while he chuckled and Kisuke hiding his smile behind his fan.
Shinji's hand was on Kisuke's; Kisuke's free hand on mine.
"And then he said, 'I have an inferiority complex, but it's not a good one!'" Shinji finished the joke, howling.
Laughter bubbled in my throat at the idea, a warm feeling nesting inside me. I could feel the barest hints of humor from Kisuke as he laughed loudly, our bond almost fully gone as the last marks disappeared. Shinji's spirit ribbons danced in front of us in time with his laughter.
This is it. This is what I was missing, I realized suddenly, recalling how strange their relationship had made me feel initially. I found it.
X
Kisuke had started locking himself in his lab again. Shinji and I hovered closely by the door, our temporary truce now falling into permanency as our arms brushed.
"Kisuke?" Shinji called out in annoyance as he knocked on the door.
"I smelled Isshin Kurosaki on him the other day," I informed Shinji.
He gave me an interested look. "Maybe something with Ichigo, then?" he guessed, concern touching his brow lightly as he thought of my younger brother.
"Yes, yes! One second!" Kisuke complained through the door. We deadpanned as we heard something like a stack of papers falling over. The door flew open, and a dirty, ink-stained Kisuke was produced by the void. "What? What's going on?" He looked between us with worry.
"Nothing. Can't we just say hi?" Shinji shrugged, turned around, and walked away.
I giggled and fell into step with Shinji.
"Hey, guys, what—wait!"
X
"Put my power in this?" Shinji looked skeptically at the glowing blade Kisuke had brought us into the lab to see.
"It's for Ichigo. To restore his powers," Kisuke explained.
Curiously, I reached out to touch the blade. It looks so pretty… I hadn't been able to see it well last time, considering it had been used after I had been revived and before I woke up.
"Ah! It's delicate." Kisuke looked at me apologetically while he caught my hand.
"What's the big deal?" Shinji flaunted, his hand squeezing my free hand as he touched it, palm settling over the dull edge.
"Shinji!" Kisuke admonished, grabbing his hand while he still kept a grip on mine. "This is going to be a receptacle for all the captains and lieutenants to put their powers in! It's delicate!" he insisted.
Shinji looked at it thoughtfully. "They, uh… The Head Captain reached out and pardoned us." Shinji put a damper on the mood as he looked sullenly at the blade.
"That's good news, isn't it?" Kisuke frowned as I looked up at Shinji with knowing eyes.
"They offered me the Fifth Division back." Shinji looked at us before looking down. "I'm…I'm going to take it."
Kisuke stilled next to me, his hand tightening around mine.
"Humans just…don't live that long." Shinji looked off into the distance, his eyes seeing something beyond the horizon that we couldn't perceive. "Plus, I feel obligated, you know. After leading the Vizards all this time, some of them want to go back, and…I just can't let them go alone into that trap, Kisuke. Kokyu." Shinji squeezed my hand as he saw my acceptance.
The three of us fell silent as we took in his decision.
"Well!" Kisuke decided, dropping our hands to clap his together. "You can help me petition the Head Captain!" He smiled broadly.
Despite the bond now being completely gone, a strange emptiness in its place, I could tell that he was trying to distract us and himself from these feelings.
Shinji groaned, playing along. "Just trying to saddle me with your work!" he complained.
X
"Were you sick?" I tentatively asked Shinji as we sat on the Shoten's roof, enjoying the cool breeze.
"Not exactly." He sat up and yawned, only to lean back on his arms.
I waited patiently as he gathered himself, the sandy reiatsu around us shifting gently as he thought it over.
"I…was hollowfied by Aizen," Shinji admitted. "Like you." He assumed words I had never spoken. "But since I was a Soul Reaper, my soul couldn't handle the darker spiritual pressure. Kisuke made a vaccine for me—for us," he corrected himself quickly.
I nodded. "He didn't ask you before he stuck you, then," I gathered.
"Yup," he answered, a hint of attitude in his tone as he stared into the sky.
I nodded knowingly. "He does seem to have a habit of that," I agreed.
X
Try it, Shiro urged me gently while I stared into the mirror. The edge of my thumb was hooked under the edge of my mask, pulling it up slightly.
I was hesitant. What if I take it off and he doesn't recognize me? The thought had been floating around in my head for some time, the plausible deniability that held me tightly together against the idea that this was a different universe altogether from where I'd ever been previously.
Going against myself, I slowly lifted the mask up after more than two decades of wearing it.
My face was pale, my skin shiny in the yellow bathroom light. My eyes were vivid against the backdrop, brown and piercing. My lips were still full, still pink. I put a hand on my face.
I blinked, examining myself in the mirror. I smiled softly to myself. I'm still…me. The thought was reassuring.
"We're back!" Jinta's cry as they returned had me slipping the mask on, patting my hair down as I vacated the bathroom.
X
I waited patiently in the forest, both of my shikais pressing against me. The gun was holstered on my thigh, and my shadows hid me beneath the trees.
The two figures spoke rapidly in front of me.
I shoved a bush some ways away. Then another. Then another.
Each time, the two would look over and pause, tense, before going back to throwing daggers verbally.
The bush closest to them was shifted next, which sent the young black-haired man into a tizzy as he ran away. My eyes caught on the woman as she disappeared into a black hole, her face dirtied by tears and true sorrow.
I waited until she was gone, then flash stepped in front of the man. His eyes widened as he gasped from my insurmountable speed.
"I did it," I told him. "I stayed out of everyone's way. What now?" Ichigo lived because of him. The captains and lieutenants lived because of him. But what do I do next?
Looking confident, he relaxed in front of me. "Oh? Asking me for advice?" he countered with a small smirk.
I materialized my shadowy dagger in my hand, the weight of it almost odd after not using it for so many years.
His eyes narrowed at this. "Well, since you're serious…" I watched as he opened his book, removing his bookmark. "Let's see…" He brought out a pen and scribbled something down. He tore off the small note, and I frowned. "Here." He offered it to me.
My shadows wrapped around us as I accepted the small bit of paper, threatening him to try something. My brow creased at the coordinates and time. "What is this?" I asked him blatantly.
"Go there next, if you can." A small chuckle in his voice at my abilities.
My face darkened as I held my shadows in front of his neck in the form of a dagger. "How do you know about my abilities?" I pressed against his neck, enjoying the small bleed that picked up as I tried for one last answer.
"You honestly think I wouldn't cut someone with my Book of the End who could jump time and realities?" He smiled at me darkly.
Scoffing, I dropped my blade and shadows.
Can we do this? I challenged Shiro while glaring at Tsukishima.
It's a short jump so…probably, she answered slowly, not assuring me.
"Burakkuhoru." My spirit ribbons wrapped around us, disengaging with him as they focused behind me, falling into a circle. The familiar empty feeling of my bankai hung in the air as I let myself fall into it, insurmountable pressure immediately bearing down on me.
"If you're wrong, Tsukishima…" I called forth Shiro, using her powers to turn my eyes yellow. "We'll kill you."
The window in front of us closed on his terrified eyes.
I squinted down at the note, closing my eyes. Images flashed in front of my eyes as I tried to recall Kisuke lecturing me on coordinates decades ago.
I know where this is.
Holding the place and time in my mind, I twisted and turned as I looked for windows to the outside world. No, no. No. I passed them by as I floated farther into the void.
My eyes squinted as I took in a dark portal, marred by rain and blood. The stench of pure Quincies emanated from within. This one.
I grabbed the edge of the portal and swung myself in, holding my breath against the sheer pressure of the transfer.
The rain poured, drops of Mercury slanting onto my upturned face. I dropped to the ground, the mud squelching underneath my feet. The portal behind me closed, and I threw out my cobwebs as I tried to sense what was going on.
The Seireitei was in pieces, buildings knocked over, small fires burning where the rain couldn't quite reach. There was a putrid stench in the air, the mix of blood, guts, and gore making my nostrils burn.
Don't involve yourself in anything. I averted my eyes from the still arm that lay just out from under the rubble.
Don't involve yourself. I felt it as my net caught on things, flashes behind my eyes as I perceived what was going on. Some captains were fighting for their lives. Others I could not sense. Half of the lieutenants were left.
Don't involve yourself. I squeezed my eyes shut, ears pounding as shikais, bankais, and kido flew across the Seireitei.
Don't involve yourself. I could feel the Quincies, their reiatsu light and their spirit ribbons white, struggling to defeat the Soul Reapers.
Don't involve yourself. I held my breath as I pinpointed Ichigo and friends, all gathered together next to an impossibly strong reiatsu. The Quincy King.
Where's Shinji? My feathers stuck out at odd angles as I realized I couldn't sense him. I threw more cobwebs out only to feel emptiness.
Kisuke? I searched for my mate next, my heart dropping when I felt his barely noticeable reiatsu. Before I knew it, I was hurtling across the Seireitei as I flash stepped to him.
Looking over as I ran, I gasped when I saw Ichigo. His blade was raised to the Quincy King, the regal older man wielding an equal blade back toward Ichigo. They're going to behead each other!
I made to turn their direction before I managed to jerk myself back. I made a desperate noise as I looked on helplessly. I-I have to rely on him! It was a fatal blade to my heart.
Hands over my mouth and mask, I held back a scream as Ichigo disappeared for a half second only to reappear behind the King.
What?
Black was emanating from Ichigo's spiritual technique, dissipating from around the King as he kept his back turned. I watched as the King slowly drifted down in the air, a large gash forming in his midsection while his mouth moved around unheard words.
I screamed with fright as the gash appeared through him completely, cutting him cleanly in half. The King began to slowly dissipate, his reiatsu going back to the reishi that made up the Seireitei.
The King's eyes focused on me as his mouth began to disappear. Unable to form words, he only glared at me.
Terrified, I flash stepped away.
Kisuke! I alighted next to the collapsed man, ignoring Grimmjow, the hollow that Ichigo had fought so long ago now. He yelped in fear as I appeared, but I dropped down to my knees as I started to heal my mate.
"Don't you dare die, Kisuke Urahara!" I cursed him as I started to suture his internal organs in an attempt to stem the blood loss.
"Who…are you…?" His quiet voice made me pause. I looked at him with wide eyes.
"What? I'm Kokyu," I answered, confused.
He frowned at me, eyes clouded by the unseen shroud of death.
I ripped off my mask, my free hand applying pressure still as I yelled at him. "I'm Koi!" I tried.
The lack of reaction in his eyes had my heart turning wintry, a deep frost setting in.
"Keisei?" I slowly asked, my last hope for something. Anything. My eyes wildly flicked between his as I waited for recognition.
His eyes slowly slid shut, and I tried to push through the terror sleeking through my veins by doubling down on my efforts to heal him.
I felt the spiritual pressures around us begin to die down despite Grimmjow having left to join the fray. Slowly, one by one, the light of the Quincies began to extinguish.
"Oh?"
I held my breath, my attention split between Kisuke and him.
"Aizen," I greeted coldly, feeling pressed for time as I managed to somewhat stem the bleeding. I didn't look up when I heard his light steps approach us.
"Hm? I don't know you," the haughty voice responded. "Well, actually…"
I flinched at the light touch of his fingertips on my head and immediately smacked his hand away. "Get back!"
"Oh?" he laughed. "We're quite similar in power, you and I." He chuckled as he walked over to the strange-looking chair near us.
I could feel several strong reiatsus approaching us. Kyoraku, Soifon, and…Isane? I couldn't quite be sure of the third reiatsu.
Relaxing my hands and powers, I admired my handiwork while Aizen prattled on in the background.
"My mother and father were simpleminded. Powerless. I'm extremely grateful that I'm not of blood relation to them."
I began to look Kisuke over closer, lifting his clothes to check underneath for more injuries.
"Though, I do regret never meeting my biological parents. I always looked up to Captain Hirako as something of a parental figure."
My hands slowed down as my ears tuned him back in.
"By your reiatsu…you're my mother, aren't you?"
Slowly, I turned to stare at him with wide, terrified eyes. The captains arrived, Kyoraku holding up a hand to stop them as he evaluated the situation.
Aizen smiled at me, his perceptive eyes almost gleeful at my face.
"I see." He smirked. "I'm lucky to have such a beautiful mother." His finger twitched as if to hold a pen or brush to immortalize me on a canvas.
I shivered at the very thought.
"Don't be afraid." He smiled as Kyoraku took a step closer. "But I want to see all of you." I started to shift back and over Kisuke protectively as I felt a disturbance in his already massive reiatsu.
"Stop—!" Kyoraku yelled out, but I only had the ability to watch Aizen's lips as his power descended upon us.
"Tingshen we chu gudu de hua."
Aizen's spiritual pressure was grand. It was both light in nature and boundless almost by design. It felt like walking into the halls of a church, the twisted faces of sinners lining the footpath below. The weaker Soul Reapers around us choked while I froze.
It slowly dissipated around us. Taking advantage of the confusion of the lack of an attack, Kyoraku flash stepped to him and bound his wrists.
Not sparing me a look, Kyoraku ignored Aizen's words as he activated the chair, seals and wards wrapping around Aizen like fabric.
"Thank you for the note…Mom…"
I watched, face pale and hands clammy, as his last eye was bound.
"Take this away," Kyoraku immediately ordered Soifon, time not wasted.
"Kyoraku!" I stood on unsteady knees, my question still burning to be answered.
He turned to me and tipped his hat, his eyes narrowing as he tried to recognize me.
"Where's Shinji?" I asked, ignoring his confusion.
He frowned and looked up. "He's in the Soul King's Royal Palace." My eyes widened. "He was supposed to come back with Ichigo and the others," he admitted, looking at where Ichigo was hurtling toward us via flash step.
"How—how do I—" I held my head, a sudden wooziness overtaking me as I wavered.
Vision doubling, I slowly lowered myself to the ground, not noticing the others around me do the same. "Aizen, you bastard!" I hissed out, looking toward Kisuke's unconscious form and seeing that he was also in pain.
"It's okay, Kisuke. It's going to be okay." I cupped his face, whispering to him while I felt a small trickle of blood run down my ear.
I dipped my head as images passed through my mind.
Rukia, offering me her powers; jumping into the senkaimon after my friends; fighting against the Arrancar in Karakura; narrowly surviving Aizen.
The Seireitei, its old roofs looking new; Shunsui in my lap; JuushiroJushiro and Shunsui sharing my bed; Kisuke Urahara moving into his captain's chambers; drinking with Shinji; the storm.
Karakura Town, polished surfaces and a new sibling; coming home after a long flight; letting Rukia go again; running to Hueco Mundo; running away. Shinji. Ichigo.
Karakura Town, but older; the buildings weren't as high, the conveniences not quite so convenient; my heat; Kisuke and Shinji, sharing.
A large hand on my head, gruff from overuse and exhaustion. A familiarly strong scent.
I looked up, hot and heavy tears dripping down my face. "Kisuke…?"
His eyes were open now, and while they weren't completely healed by me, they focused on my face. The way that they focused on me, both knowing and hoping—
My true name rolled off his lips. I wrapped my arms around him and began to sob heavily.
"Kisuke…!" I kept my arms loose to be mindful of his injuries despite wanting to crush him. "Do you remember me…?" I asked, my heart soaring out of my chest. I brushed a lock of hair from his face, oblivious to the blood and grime from battle.
"Of course I remember you," he assured me, cupping my face. "I'm sorry I forgot." His eyes watered as the last of Aizen's power dispelled around us, memorizing my face as if it was for the last time.
I pushed my face into his chest, sobbing harshly as I felt Ichigo and others arrive.
"Urahara…?" I ignored my brother's hesitant voice. "Is that…?"
"Why don't we give them a second, Ichigo?" Kyoraku redirected him.
Kisuke soothed me, his hand running along my back, up and down. "I'm sorry."
I looked at him, wiping harshly at my eyes as my tears got in the way. He captured my hands and wiped my eyes with the edge of his sleeve. "I should have realized," he confessed, eyes heavy and face dark. Regret shone through his eyes like a lamp in the night.
"It's okay." I cradled his face in my hands as he sat up. "It—it doesn't make any sense." I shook my head, still not understanding my powers to their core.
His eyes softened as he drew me in close. His next question was directed to Kyoraku. "Where's Shinji?" His grip was tight on me, keeping me close enough to hear the tremor in his voice.
"Captain Hirako is—"
"Right here, you idiots!" he announced himself, landing next to us in a flash step. He was instantly on his knees, checking us both over. He pinned me with an intimidating glare. "What did I say?" He took my chin in his hand almost roughly.
"I'm—I'm sorry!" I broke down again.
Regret and a dash of hurt flashed across his face before he was embracing Kisuke and me. "You're so stupid. You're both so stupid." He leveled a second glare at Kisuke.
Kisuke was pinned by his look and could only manage a small smile. "I know," he whispered. "I know."
I sniffled, held between the two firmly as if they were never going to let go again. Shinji kissed the top of my head as I shuddered through another tear-filled spell.
Ichigo cautiously approached us, my name a question on his lips. Looking up toward him, my face crumpled. He was fine. He was unharmed. He was alive.
Springing up, I wrapped him in a hug as more Soul Reapers joined us. He squeezed me back. "I'm glad you're okay," he reassured himself as he looked me over subtly.
"I should be saying that to you." I tried to make a funny face at him, but my tears kept getting in the way.
He smiled at me softly. "Next time," he assured me, and I gave him a broken smile.
"Idiots!" Rukia's single hand collided with both my face and Ichigo in an impressive double smack as she screamed at us. We held our cheeks, both turning red, as we looked at her in confusion.
Rukia's eyes were watering, her reiatsu fluctuating wildly as she cried. "You—you—!" She held up a menacing finger toward me. "You—!" Her shoulders shook.
Renji, who had hung back until now, was quick to take her by the shoulders and pull her into his chest. He gave both Ichigo and me a confident smile. "Good to have the pair back together." He nodded at us surely. "Thank you for everything." My ears twitched and my heart thudded as he used my real name.
I never…I never thought I'd hear that name again. I tried to press through and ignore the tears chalking down my cheeks.
While Renji comforted Rukia, Kyoraku approached us. His big hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed. "Thank you." His eyes went between Ichigo and me but lingered on me.
I understand, I tried to tell him with my eyes. It's okay. We've had our time.
As if understanding, he flash stepped away the same way that Aizen had been escorted.
"Ichigo!" Uryu's shout made us both turn. Uryu, Orihime, and even Chad were running toward us.
"Guys!" Ichigo waved at them, jogging over. I watched as the kids checked each other over, a deeply set hearth alighting inside me.
The kids are all safe.
I jumped a little as Kisuke's hand fell on one shoulder and Shinji's fell on my other.
"You don't think we'd let you go that easy, do ya?" Shinji drawled, smiling down at me.
"Ah, probably not." I laughed with him.
"We're never letting go again," Kisuke assured me on my other side. My smile wavered as I looked up at him.
"Kisuke?" I asked, fresh, hot tears flowing once more.
He looked down at me again.
"Will you say my name?" I asked, looking at him desperately.
"Which one?" Shinji prompted.
"My real name." My eyes shined at the two of them, comets burning up in the atmosphere as I waited.
The name was sweet, bitter, and a bit of caramel mixed together. It was easy on their tongues, deep inside their memories. It made my heart stutter, pound, and freeze all at once.
I dipped my head as I cried that much harder.