Disclaimer: No, I do not own Bleach, or any of the characters etc contained within its works. Now that that's said, I do own this universe, and the character of Hara – you're welcome to play here (Hara needs to get out more) but please drop me a line beforehand.
While I'm on it, my friend, the incredibly talented katamisan has posted a pic of Hara on deviantART. Here's the link katamisan.deviantart. /art/Hara-93642362 Just add the .com after the deviantart when writing in the address.
Across the Board
Urahara Kisuke hesitated, carefully setting the thin chest on the table with the greatest delicacy. Shadowed eyes traced the few faint scratches marring the varnished surface of the plain wooden lid; the shopkeeper pursed his lips and blew, scattering the dust of decades in one noisy exhalation. Deft fingers gently unclasped the simple bronze catch, neatly setting the lid to the side.
Urahara paused, eyes unblinking as he surveyed the two opposing armies arranged upon a checkered board. Slowly, cautiously, he lifted the pristine chessboard from the box, careful not to disturb the precarious balance of the plain stone chess pieces standing at attention on opposite sides of the board. He set it down on the low-lying table, kneeling in one easy motion to perch behind the board. Calloused hands absently straightened a few discordant knights before stilling, settling on either side of the board as the former captain drew in a long, slow breath.
Kisuke raised his head, eyes still hidden beneath the curve of his hat as he turned to face the opposite side of the table. His expression was curiously blank; little to no emotion disturbed the visible counters of his face as he gazed across the board.
"White takes first move." Urahara's words sank into the silence permeating the empty room as he tipped his hat, staring into the shadows drifted through the air.
"Thank you, I remember."
A single pawn moved on the table.
Urahara was quick to respond, a black pawn sliding into place with a soft click of stone. The shopkeeper didn't look down, all his attention focused on the opposite side of the board. "It's been a while since we last played." His tone was carefully conversational.
"Ninety-one years. Nearly a century." A dark hand toyed with a chess piece.
"I should have known you'd keep track."
"How could I not?" Soft laughter underlined the words. "You knew the date as well as I, Kisuke." The words lingered in the air, rich with twisted amusement.
The ex-shinigami's lips quirked as he inclined his head slightly, as if to acknowledge some small, unspoken concession. His hand moved, black chess pieces nearly dancing beneath his ministrations as they swept across the board with deadly intent. "True, true."
Quiet for a moment, the only sound the quiet rasp of stone against stone, until Urahara's voice shattered the silence. "You'll forgive me if I wasn't quite eager to play with you earlier. After all – you were rather rude, last we talked." A faint smile twitched at the edges of the former captain's mouth.
"I am never rude!" The dark voice sniffed, a tone of mock indignation coloring the echoing tones. A knight was waved carelessly through the air in exaggerated affront, overdone outrage clear within his words. "I am insulted, Kisuke, truly insulted to think that you hold me in such low regard!"
A bright smile unrolled across the shopkeeper's face, features transfixed with a sudden grin. "My dear – you wound me so!" A fan abruptly appeared, whirling flamboyantly through the air as the blonde wailed dramatically, sleeves flapping. "You cut me to the quirk!" Urahara clutched his chest in parody of an injury. "How could you say such things!" He sniffed, blinking overly wide eyes.
"Kisuke!" The voice sobbed, barely-concealed glee clearly permeating its faux sobriety. "After everything – I thought – I truly thought we had something! How can you accuse me of this, after all we've been through!"
"Kaisuke!" Urahara spread his arms wide, robes billowing in the air as he stared across the table.
"Kisuke!" The other voice echoed in perfect counterpart.
Urahara held the pose for a long moment before collapsing into giggles, shoulders shaking as he convulsed in peals of genuine mirth. His chuckles merged with the soft laughter echoing from the shadows, filling the room with reverberating echoes of amusement.
Eventually, the noise died down; Urahara wiped one hand across his face before returning to the board, broad smile firmly set in place as he settled at the table.
"I've asked you not to call me that, you know." A bishop moved into position; Urahara glanced at it for a quarter-second before turning his eyes away, maneuvering another piece into place with a lazy flick of his fan.
"What, Kaisuke?" Urahara shrugged. "My apologies. Still – " he glanced up, lip wobbling, eyes pathetically wide beneath his bangs. "It's not as if it's a bad name, is it?"
"It's not my name." It was a simple response; Urahara accepted it in silence, attention turning back to the chessboard and the shifting battleground of black and white.
Silence reigned for a brief period, unbroken save for the movement of chess pieces. Urahara watched the board with a smile of lazy enjoyment. His eyes were sharp behind his hat, belying the easy confidence of his grin as they darted to the space beyond the black and while squares delineating his world. They were predator-sharp as they met and matched an equally mirthful grin.
"So the game begins again." The dark voice was meditative.
Urahara glanced up. "Yes." They both knew he wasn't referring to the chessboard.
"It has been a long time since we had a proper opponent." The other seemed thoughtful; Urahara imagined dark lips pursing into a contemplative frown as pale eyes stared into the distance. "What are the stakes?"
Kisuke shrugged. "Only what we have gambled before."
"And thus the reason for this conversation becomes clear." The quick movement of white chess pieces never slowed, ruthlessly proceeding across the board. "You wish my aid."
Urahara's grin was beguilingly innocent. "I merely wish you to be fully appraised of the situation, my dear Kaisuke-kun." A black chess piece snapped into place, somehow managing to avert the white tide.
The former captain felt the press of unseen eyes. "You wish me to know that this pretender would threaten those things to which you know I hold some form of attachment. You wish me to be made aware that he would think to take from me what is mine." The word was a hiss of sound. "You are equally aware that I can not, and will not, allow such a travesty to occur." A chess piece moved. "In short, you attempt to force my hand and enlist my willing aid. You forget, my dear Kisuke, that I do know you."
The ex-captain's grin was devoid of humor, as sharp as his eyes. "Now, now, Kaisuke, would I do something like that?" His teeth shone bone-white as he flashed a shark-shape smile.
"You are more than capable." The voice responded dryly. "I do try to keep abreast of current events." It breathed out a soft whuff of laughter. "I know you far too well to fall for such petty tricks, Kisuke."
"You forget, Kaisuke, I know you equally well." Urahara's grin was sharp as he tipped his hat to his opponent, sliding his queen forward. He paused for a moment, leaning backwards to admire the slim figure gracing the board. "At least the chess pieces are lovely this go-around. I particularly like our choice of respective queens." His eyes trailed suggestively across the plain, unadorned features of the marker in his hands, lingering briefly in lascivious admiration.
Genuine amusement seemed to echo from the shadows as the two shared a companionable chuckle. "They are rather adorable, aren't they?"
"And they blush so sweetly as well! You'd never think it of them." Urahara laughed softly.
"You can't help but poke them just to see how they spark and fizzle" the dark voice chuckled, laughter choking his voice in fond remembrance. "The explosions are just so, so – " it hesitated, searching for a word.
"Pretty?" Urahara suggested.
"Cute." The other voice smirked. "Of course, you can't tell them that – they'd head off to sulk in a corner for an hour or so if you were even to insinuate such a notion."
"Too true." Kisuke frowned slightly before a sly grin began to creep across his features. "Of course, it can be incredibly fun to entice them out of their scowling fits…"
"True, true…" The other echoed, a leer plain in the hollow wastes of its voice. "That pout is adorable in and of itself."
"It should be classified as a bankai-level power." Urahara chuckled, glancing down at the board. His eyes narrowed. "And with that – check." He moved his bishop swiftly forward, settling it decisively in place.
"Checkmate." The other countered, heavy satisfaction plain in his voice.
"Really?" Urahara's eyes darted to the chessboard, unconcerned. "I don't quite see – oh? That is a clever move." He looked upwards, expression carefully amiable. "I congratulate you. But I think you'll find that my castle here blocks out that move."
"No, if you look at the position of my knight – "
"But that's canceled out by my pawn, here, see…"
"Which is, in turn, neutralized by my bishop –"
"Which my king holds in check – "
Fingers scattered across the board as the two attempted to unravel the deceptively complex rhythms of check and countercheck before they paused in unison. The two were silent for a moment, both frowning at the board. "It seems to have resulted in a stalemate, Kaisuke-kun."
"Again." The other voice responded petulantly. "Why must our games always end without a winner?"
Urahara shrugged. "Sometimes the only way to win is not to play."
Silence. "You got that from a movie." The dark voice stated flatly.
"Films hold surprising insight to the deeper truths of life." Urahara muttered, returning to his contemplation of the board. He frowned. "I really can't see a way out of this for either of us. It's truly remarkable, how we always seems to cancel each other out." He shrugged. "I suppose we're too evenly matched for one of us to ever prove predominant."
"I won't accept that." The other voice stated, shadows swirling on the other side of the table as he prepared to depart. "I can't."
Urahara's eyes were steady. "Neither would I, were I in your place." He did not rise from his seat at the table.
The knot of darkness paused. Ghostfire eyes were briefly visible, peering down at the shopkeeper through an uncertain weave of constantly shifting shadows. "By the way, Urahara – I noticed several occasions where you could have easily captured several valuable chess pieces of mine, if only you were willing to give up a single soldier. Why is that, I wonder? You didn't hesitate to sacrifice any of your army – save for your queen."
The ex-captain simply grinned. "Neither did you."