The Rain Stopped
By:: Melissa

Disclaimer:: I do not own anything from this story. Everything belongs to Tite Kubo, creator of Bleach. Constructive criticism is welcome. No flames please.

Chapter 6

Kisuke looked proudly at his new home, the sign still gleaming in the sunlight. He tilted his hat on his head, putting his eyes in the shadows. He rubbed his hands together, unable to decide if this was really what he wanted or not.

The sign above the door read, "Urahara Shop," advertising his yew type of business. He laughed to himself, surprised that no one noticed that a new shop had popped up over night. The grin on his face quickly slid off, unable to be truly happy. He signed sadly, already missing the place he called home. But he couldn't go back and he knew it. Walking back inside the shop, his odd shoes clicked against the floor.

He sat sadly down onto a pillow, looking at the chaos in the new shop. Boxes were everywhere, shelves were halfway assembled, and cleaning items were scattered everywhere. He knew he could manage this shop on his own but it was rather lonely.

Kisuke was now an entrepreneur. A seller of items from Soul Society that shinigami in the human world could buy for themselves. Some of them were his own inventions and some of them weren't. There were Soul Candy, fake gigai, different candies and sweets, also a rare candy called Space Candy, and a lot more. He got up, picked up a box and started sorting through the items inside. His eyes were sad and downcast, the pain of leaving Soul Society still fresh. He started pulling items out of the box when he heard the door open. He turned around, looking at the new arrivals.

Coming into the house, Tessai Tsukabishi, Ururu Tsumugiya, and Jinta Hanakari looked at Kisuke and smiled with glee. Kisuke looked at them in stunned silence, his eyes going wide.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kisuke asked, still surprised.

"We've come to help you run the shop," Tessai said, picking up a box and sorting through the items.

"But…what about Soul Society? Don't you want to stay there?" Kisuke asked, knowing that he would give anything to go back to Soul Society.

"Not if our captain is gone. We don't want to follow under anyone except for you," Jinta exclaimed, picking up a broom and pretending to fight with it.

Tessai, Ururu, and Jinta were all friends of the famous former captain. All of them were as strong as shinigami and were very good friends. Kisuke had been there for them just as much as they'd been there for him.

"Hey, squirt, come over here and help me." A melodic female voice reached Kisuke's ears as he turned around to look at the door. Jinta glared at the door as he opened it, despising being called squirt.

Yoruichi walked through the door, two heavy boxes in her arms. She set them down on the ground with a thud and brushed her hands off. Looking up at Kisuke, she smiled and went over to stand next to him.

"Yoru-chan, where have you been?" Kisuke asked, his mind reeling with a million questions.

"I went to go pick them up," she said, pointing at the three newcomers. "And I picked up some more boxes from the station."

Kisuke smiled at her, thinking that he could get used to this. To being in the human world. He picked up a box and started sorting through the items, believing that he could be happy here.

That night, Kisuke tucked in Ururu and Jinta into bed, the store having some order to it. Tessai had turned off his light and Kisuke couldn't find Yoruichi. She wasn't in her room and no where in the house. Getting worried, Kisuke went outside and saw her standing on the roof, looking at the stars.

"Hey," Kisuke said, hopping up onto the roof. Yoruichi turned around to look at him but turned back around to the stars quickly.

"Hi," she said softly.

"What's the matter?" he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know, Kisuke… I just don't know," she muttered, turning to look at him, sadness in her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know what I want anymore, Kisuke," she said sadly.

"I don't know what you mean," Kisuke said softly, his mind working furiously to put two and two together.

"I miss home. I miss Soul Society. I miss my family and friends. I want to go back but I know that I can't go back. I wouldn't be able to see anyone and I would be a disgrace. I don't know what to do, Kisuke." She sat down, putting her head in her hands.

"You didn't have to help me, Yoru-chan. You could've just stayed in Soul Society with your family and Soifon and your position…." Kisuke started to say but was cut off by Yoruichi.

"No, I couldn't have just stayed and not help you. I made a promise, Kisuke, I made you that promise. And I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't help you. To condemn my best friend? I couldn't do it. But I don't know if I could stay here either."

"Can't stay here? What do you mean?"

"There are too many memories here. Too many memories of home, of my family, of everything I left behind. And I don't think I could handle that now. Not now. The sadness of leaving is still fresh and I don't know if I could be strong enough to not crack. Kisuke, I'm tired and I don't know if I could handle all of this right now." She looked up at him and smiled sadly.

"I don't understand, Yoruichi….what are you trying to say?" Kisuke looked at her, his eyes scrunching up.

"Kisuke, I'm leaving. Tonight. If I stayed any longer, I wouldn't want to come back at all. Oh, I'll come back every once in a while…. I just need to leave now. I can't take it anymore. I just…need time." She stood up and faced the stars, her back to Kisuke.

"Where will you go?" he asked, his heart crashing to the ground.

"I don't know. Somewhere. I'll find some place. I should tell you this now… every month a shipment of items will come into the station. Just things that you can sell. So don't forget about that." she turned toward him and smiled. "I'll be back to visit soon, don' worry."

"But what about…. What about us, Yoruichi? What will happen to us?" Kisuke was trying to grasp any type of reason for her to stay. Any type of excuse.

"I don't know, Kisuke, I haven't thought of that... you know I'll always love you….but maybe 'we' should just…."

"No! Don't even suggest it. I love you, Yoruichi and I don't want 'us' to end." He stood up quickly, his eyes going wide. He walked over to her and took her hands into his.

"How would we make it work, Kisuke? It wouldn't work. I'm sorry, Kisuke… but this has to end." She dropped his hands and backed away slowly.

"Yoru-chan…"

"Stop, Kisuke. No more excuses. No more reasons. I'm leaving." She looked at him sadly. "Goodbye, Kisuke." A single tear trickled down her cheek as she tried to smile at him. She quickly wiped it away and jumped off of the roof, leaving Kisuke standing there in shock.

Kisuke stood there till the sun rose in the morning, looking out across the skyline, just waiting in earnest for her to come back. But she never did. Tessai came out and looked at his boss, worry on his face.

"Manager, you okay?" Tessai asked, drawing Kisuke's attention.

"What? Oh, yes, I'm fine…." Kisuke looked down in amazement at Tessai, as if he didn't know he was there in the human world at all. He looked at the sun and squinted, just realizing that it was morning.

"Come down here, you'll catch a cold," Tessai said, motioning down at Kisuke.

"Alright, I'll be down in a minute." Kisuke looked down at Tessai again and smiled a little bit. Tessai went into the house and shut the shop door with a snap. Kisuke looked again at the rising sun and sighed. He knew in his heart that she wasn't coming back. At least not for a while. And that pained him the most. He wanted her back. He wanted her with him. But he knew that she would never stay with him. Not for more than a week. Maybe even less. Climbing down from the roof, he sighed and went directly to his room, not stopping to say hello to Ururu and Jinta.

He climbed onto his futon and laid there until it was noon. He just laid there, staying at the wall, still waiting for her to return to him. He knew that Tessai was worried about him. He knew that Ururu and Jinta were worried as well. But he didn't care. He just wanted to be left alone to wait for his goddess.

A single tear ran down his cheek, crying himself into a dreamless slumber.

So this is the actual last chapter of this story. There's still an epilogue to come but this is the actual end. A little sad, a little depressing but hopefully with the epilogue it'll be more bittersweet. I didn't know how Kisuke knew Tessai, Jinta, or Ururu before...cause they seem like pretty good friends that knew each other for a while...so i just made it where they were members of the same division...but if i'm wrong, please don't hesitate to correct me and i'll be sure to revise this chapter with the correct information. also, sorry it took so long to update this chapter. I've been busy. xD so enjoy and please review! Thanks!