From the first time I laid eyes on her, I knew I had found the thing that was missing in my life.
She was everything I had always said I wanted and so much I never knew I'd needed. Smart, Funny, mischievous, beautiful and Lethal. My perfect partner.
It took near 200 years of work, but eventually, finally... She made me hers. The day she did is still one of my best memories ever:
In the deep heart of Soul Society there is a mountain so large even the bravest, or most foolhardy, Shinigami dare not even dream of its peaks. You can walk for days and still be under it's shadow...
At its peak is a small glade, hidden from even the most inquisitive eyes. Into that glade walks a small, but familiar, black cat.
Purring, she walks about, rubbing against the trees, lapping water from the ice cold stream. she circles in the grass, padding it down flat before laying out in a sunbeam.
a few minutes later amidst crashes, swearing and much shouting, I emerge into the clearing, sweat pouring down my face, I'm covered in scratches and tree sap.
My eyes cut across to the cat, who has now transformed into my lifelong friend and love, Yoruichi, her face split in a feral grin.
"You got here then? Took your time..."
Despite my exhaustion and slight simmering anger, I feel a grin spreading across my face. Why am I totally, utterly incapable of staying angry at her?
"Yeah, sorry I was delayed by the small matter of climbing a mountain higher than god... Why on earth did you bring me all the way up here, there's nothing and no one here, what's the poi..."
Yoruichi has removed her Haori, underneath she is wearing something quite new. A Slinkly black outfit, hugging her curves like a second skin, but leaving her back and perfect caramel arms exposed.
On seeing my stunned face, her grin spreads even wider.
"You like?"
I try to focus, but that's all but impossible. So I settle for getting enough of my brain back working to speak, while the rest basks in adoration.
"Yeah, it's... It's quite something."
She let's out a throaty chuckle, running her hands down her sides "It's a little something I've been working on. I use it for advanced hand to hand techniques... But I must admit, it has other uses."
the implications of what she says have the desired effect. What little is left of my brain shuts down completely.
"So.. Er.. Is that why we're here? You want to test it out your new combat techniques? Is that why we're so... Isolated?"
She throws her head back and laughs hard, I know I'm missing something here, but even my prodigous brain can't handle the assault it's under right now.
She stands up and walks towards me, her hips swaying hypnotically, I am entranced.
"No, Kisuke, I had something a little different in mind..."
Kisuke? She NEVER calls me Kisuke... What is going on here?
"We've known each other for a long time" as she says this, as she stares deep into my eyes, her arms come up they slide around my neck and I'm a broken man. The outfit killed me, the walk buried me, but those eyes... They do more than a 1000 hollows ever could. I've lost, completely, utterly... and I just can't find the power to care.
"I've known for... most of that time that you wanted me. To be truthful, I wanted you too... But I wanted to wait till I could find the perfect time and place to show you just how MUCH I wanted you."
It takes a second for me to realise what she's saying. She can't mean what I think she means, can she? Am I about to get everything I've wanted since the first day we met?
She leans in and kisses me softly "You've hunted me for centuries, Kisuke..." She unfastens her new outfit and it slips to the floor, without thinking my hands slide around her, exploring areas I've only dreamed of to this point. "You've finally caught me, what will you do with me now?"
Suddenly, my brain surges to life, a thousand thoughts a moment burn through my brain. 99% of them things I want to do to the goddess now naked in my arms.
I pull her close and kiss her deeply, my hands running down her back I feel her quivering gently, somehow, I doubt it's due to the cold.
I carry her to the banks of the stream and lay her down, she looks deeply into my eyes.
"Kisuke... If we had to, if it came to that... Would you leave this all behind, for me?"
"Of course!" I don't even need to pause, there is no thought required in my answer "For you, Shihoin Yoruichi, my love, no matter what it was, I would do ANYTHING."
she smiles, running my hand down the side of her face, I lean in to kiss her again.
Sorry, the rest of that memory is just for me.
Centuries pass and our love only grows. the Mountain Glade was out of the range of anything except for Yoruichi's prodigious Shunpo, or my technology, so whenever we needed a little private time, to be together as man and woman, we would sneak away there.
Time changes all things, but Nature changes slower than most. Time may have changed Soul Society, Squad Zero gone, Shunsui as Captain Commander and the Seireitei all but demolised by the Wandenreich... But thanks to Kurosaki Ichigo and our brave captains, they were eventually defeated and order was restored.
But to look at our Mountain Glade, you wouldn't know anything of these siesmic shifts in our world. The Glade was still untouched, the grass still grew, the steam still flowed.
And once more, a familiar cat walks in, settling herself down in her usual position at the edge of the stream.
Once more, there is a crash in the trees as I push through, not quite as exhausted as I was that first time, but pretty close.
"Calm down, my love" She purrs to me from her seat "You've still not recovered from Askin, you'll be no good to me here if you pop those stitches."
I can't help but laugh, knowing what she has planned for me tonight.
"Bah! I am Urahara Kisuke, Captain of the Gotei 13, I will not be beaten into submission by an errant Spruce!"
Her laugh is the sweetest music I know, deep, sultry and heartening, it makes the pain in my chest subside despite the exertion of the climb. I walk over and collapse next to her, she pulls herself up onto one arm, leaning on my side she kisses me softly. I glance down at her and see the briefest hint of fear in her eyes.
"I really can't believe we survived all that... I hope we never go through anything like that again."
I lay back, staring up into the sky as I run my hand through her silken hair.
"It was a close one, I'll give you that. I honestly don't know what we would have done without Ichigo, I hope he gets the peace he deserves now."
I hear her growling softly, a grin spreading over my face.
"Well, if we're talking about people getting what they deserve..." She climbs up on top of me and kisses me soundly. I relax into it, feeling my pains ease as my hands slide down her back, so slender yet stronger than steel.
After what feels like an eternity, but still far too soon she pulls back. I have the barest moment to drink in her perfection, when the worst happens.
Before I can move her, before I can shout, before I can even think, the Reishi arrow pierces her heart.
Hundreths of a second later, but still terrifyingly too late, I spin her to the floor and jump up. My loyal Benihime already in my hand I charge forward, my brain a fire of rage, directed at this mere Soldat standing in front of me, he must be a final remnant, left over from the purge. Lost all the way up here he had no idea that the war was over, no idea that he lost and should just give up. Instead, with one shot he took from me the most precious person in my life.
I slash down savagely into his face, but he springs to one side and dodges me. Damnit, I'm still too slow, my side is a mass of stitches and my arm already feels too weak, this peon should be nothing, but a mixture of my hatred, my wounds and the deep seated fear that she is truly gone is throwing me off.
Distracted by the million thoughts burning through my brain, I don't notice his counter attack. The blade bites into my shoulder, I scream with rage and jump at him, my blade snaking left, right, high, low, cutting everywhere and nowhere as he blocks every hit.
I feel my stiches popping one by one, I feel myself slowing further and further, I see the grin on his face as he senses my weakness.
I don't have time for this, She is dying. I don't have time for this, I'm bleeding out. I REFUSE to believe this, I refuse to believe that after all we've survived, all the trials and imposibilties we've overcome, we will both meet out ends at the hands of a nobody like this.
No.
Not today.
I am Urahara Kisuke, Captain of the gotei 13, and this is NOT a sword in my hand.
This, is a Zanpakutou. MY Zanpakutou.
BANKAI! Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame!
Is it overkill? definitely.
Do I care? Not in the slightest.
I need this guy dead, yesterday. I need to help Yoruichi, NOW.
I see his eyes widen, he knows what happens next.
Avlokitisvara rises from behind me, the stitches that hold the world together are now in my hands. Without really thinking, I seal the wounds in my side, the pain is like honey in my mouth, I savour it as I prepare to heap it all and more on the poor unfortune in front on me.
I start my restructuring with his legs, I remove the bones and sever the tendons, stopping him from moving. I then use his own bones to nail his arms in place.
Next, I restructure myself; wounds sealed, I reform my arms, drastically increasing their strength, far beyond what my skin is capable on containing. As I move them I feel the skin tearing, but no sooner does it tear, it is restitched, stronger than ever by my blade. Each time this happens I increase the strength further.
By the time I've crossed the short distance to him, my upper half is grossly out of proportion, my arms and torso swollen with muscles, the blade held ready.
"YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER FROM ME!"
I slam the blade down through his skull, his head all but explodes from the force applied to it. Blood, brain, and bone fly everywhere, the blood runs down my face like tears.
Enemy destroyed, I return my body to normal. With the red fog cleared from my mind, suddenly the weight of everything comes crashing down onto me.
I sprint over to her body and lift it into my arms, holding her tight.
"Ki..Ki... Kisuke.."
She's still here!
I almost drop her in my shock, but her eyes flicker open and my heart soars.
"Thank the gods you're still alive! It's okay my love, I can fix this! You'll be okay! I promise!"
a tear runs down her face, she smiles sadly.
"My... My dear sweet, Kisuke..." her eye slip closed for a second that feels like forever, but then she starts to speak again "You know you can't fix this, no one can. Even your Bankai, for all it's power cannot heal a mortal wound. The only person who could have saved me at this point is Unohana, and she's long gone."
I know she's right, I know that our only hope is months dead, but I can't, I WON'T except this.
I reach deep, knowing there is one chance, one small hope. I call out to my Zanpakutou, knowing that it will be unwilling to take this step.
Avlokitisvara descends on us, her cloak encloses us and bright red light shines through, her job done, she vanishes into nothingness.
The light clears and I still sit there, holding her in my arms, her chest blessedly free of injury.
"Wh..What?!" Filled with vital energy she jumps from my arms, I stay kneeling, drinking her in, taking the time to memorise every single facet of her beauty. Wondering what I ever could have done to deserve such an amazing woman in my life. My best friend, my only lover, my soul mate.
"This... This isn't posible! I know your blade almost as well as you do Urahara! This isn't possible!"
heh, she's calling me Urahara... I'm in trouble now.
I try to stand and falter slightly, fresh blood soaking my Haori.
She's right though. It's NOT possible for my Zanpakutou to heal a mortal wound.
However, it is well within it's power to transfer that wound from one person to another, if the recipient is willing.
I collapse to the floor, the last thing I hear is the love of my eternity screaming my name, and I think of our first time here, together.
"Kisuke... If we had to, if it came to that... Would you leave this all behind, for me?"
"For you, Shihoin Yoruichi, my love, no matter what it was, I would do ANYTHING."
Anything.
The End.