"What's on your mind, Kisuke?" Ichigo asked as the two of them walked down a side alley, coming closer to where Ichigo lived.

Looking over at Ichigo, he gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "What makes you think there's something on my mind?"

"There's always something on your mind, Kisuke." Ichigo said, chuckling. "I doubt your mind is ever quiet. Besides, you've been quiet almost the entire walk back to my house, and we're almost there. So, naturally, I think that there is something wrong."

The pale blonde shook his head. "No, there's nothing really wrong. I'm just an old man who seems to be occupied by his thoughts."

They had arrived at the Kurosaki clinic. Ichigo turned and looked him in the eyes, his auburn eyes soft. "You know that you're a terrible liar, right?"

"Ichigo..." Urahara said, averting his eyes. "Alright. Yes, there is something on my mind. But it's really not that important. I just need to go and check the area where the others came into contact with that Hollow this afternoon." And hope that it's nothing.

Ichigo opened the front door of his house with his key, transferring his book bag to his other shoulder. "So, does that mean you're not coming in?"

"I..." Urahara began, but before he could finish he was interrupted by someone.

"Don't pressure him, Ichigo." Kon appeared from the side of the teen's book bag, starting to stir up trouble. "If he's got stuff to do, then he's got stuff to do. Besides, I'm sure your sisters have made a delicious-" He was cut off by Ichigo pulling him out of the bag and popping the small, blue pill out of him.

Urahara sighed. "Was that really necessary, Ichigo? He's just concerned."

"Are you not coming in, then?" Ichigo said, his auburn eyes glancing into Urahara's averted ones. He didn't bother to address Urahara's question. "Never mind. I can see that you have things to do. Good night, Kisuke. I won't be able to come to the shop after school tomorrow because Hirako wants me to train again."

Urahara could feel his heart breaking as he listened to his lover's voice become almost detached. "Well, perhaps I'll stop by the Visoreds facility, then." He placed his hand on Ichigo's shoulder and gently turned him around to face him. "Until tomorrow?" He leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss against his lover's cheek.

"Alright. Be safe," Ichigo said, walking into his house. The substitute shinigami closed the door behind him, leaving Urahara on the porch, alone. Turning around, he headed back out towards the street.

Taking a deep breath, Urahara could feel the familiar reiatsu of another shinigami. "Isshin? Is that

you?" He said, looking up and down the street. "I can feel you reiatsu, you know."

"Of course you can," Isshin appeared from behind a wall. "I'm just as capable of cloaking myself as you are, I just choose not to." He walked over to Urahara. "What are you doing here so late?"

Urahara began to walk away from the Kurosaki Clinic, knowing that his friend would follow him. "Your son was training late, so I said I'd walk him home. I thought you would be pleased that it was me and not Shinji."

"Is that the short haired blonde?" Isshin asked, walking next to him. Urahara gave a nod of his head. "I know when he's outside of our house. I've picked up on his reiatsu."

The shop keeper stopped walking and looked at him. "You can? That's not good, Isshin. That means that Ichigo may be aware of his presence as well. I'll have a talk with him and tell him to increase the level of his cloaking abilities."

"Relax, Kisuke. He doesn't know. If he does, don't you think he would have said something to you by now?" Isshin said, continuing to walk towards the next block, the two of them walking the familiar path to his shoten. When they came to the next intersection, Urahara led them off to the left, rather than the right. "Where are we going?"

Holding Benihime in his hands, Urahara spoke quietly. "You're probably right, Isshin. But it seems that he's not that happy with me right now, so I don't know. Maybe he's upset at me because he knows I've got someone watching him. Maybe he's just upset because we haven't seen each other as much as either of us would like." He sighed and placed Benihime on the ground. "We're going to a place where Ichigo's friends had a unique encounter this afternoon."

"Aizen?" Isshin asked.

Urahara shook his head. "I don't think so, but this is why I'm heading over there right now. You don't have to stay with me if you don't feel like it, Isshin. Tessai and Yoruichi should be there."

"If you don't mind the extra company, I'd like to join you." Isshin said.

The two walked to the small area where the three had encountered the Hollow. Both Tessi and Yoruichi were there, talking to one another. "Took you long enough," Yoruichi said, turning around to face them. "And you brought Isshin."

"Nice to see you as well, Yoruichi-san," Isshin bowed his head, smirking.

Urahara looked at Tessai. "Did you find anything?"

"No." A man of few words, the bespectacled man shook his head.

Yoruichi walked over to them, her hands crossed over her chest. "Here's the thing, Kisuke. There's no trace of anything. If this is where Ichigo's friends saw the Garganta open, there's no residual of the tear happening. Which, if you think about it..."

"Is rather odd. So, you did find something. Although, it's nothing." He walked around the area and closed his eyes, trying to see if he could sense anything. There was nothing. "How very odd."

"Do you think he's trying to cover up his tracks?" Isshin asked, standing next to Tessai.

The tall man shrugged. "It's hard to say with Aizen-sama."

"Now, now, let's not jump to any conclusions," Urahara shook his head. "We don't even know if he's the one responsible for this."

"Tssch," Yoruichi said, shaking her head. "Even if it wasn't him, it was a powerful Hollow that we need to be made aware of. Or, something else that can control the Garganta."

"Someone opened a Garganta?" Isshin asked, his voice a bit aggressive. "Kisuke, why didn't you tell me? Where was Ichigo?"

The shop keeper turned and looked at him. "I told you that he was safe. Why don't you listen to what I say?"

"Right, I'm sorry. So, he was training at the time of this attack. Were the others hurt?" Isshin asked.

Tessai shook his head. "No."

"I think this is all the information I was expecting," Urahara said, sighing softly. He looked at Isshin. "I think you should head back home. If anything comes up, I will let you know."

Isshin nodded. "Arigato, Kisuke." He bowed to Tessai and Yoruichi. "Nice to see the both of you again."

"Yeah, yeah," Yoruichi said, smirking. "Be on guard."

Ichigo's father walked back towards his clinic, leaving the other three standing in the street. Urahara looked at his two friends. "I'm going to head back to Ichigo's place. I need to have a word with Hirako."

"Okay. We'll see you back at the shop." Yoruichi shape-shifted into her feline form. Tessai bowed to him and walked towards the direction of his shoten, leaving him alone on the street.

Once he felt Isshin was far enough ahead of him, Urahara began to walk along the side of the street, keeping Benihime close to his side. He closed his eyes and felt the Visored's reiatsu, just as Isshin had observed, albeit it faintly. He bounced and hopped up onto one of the telephone lines, and saw the short haired Visored sitting on top of a house a block away from the Kurosaki clinic. He used shunpo to make his way over to the man, who stood up when he landed next to him.

"Kisuke?" Shinji said, looking at him. "Is something the matter? Did something happen?"

Urahara shook his head. "No, nothing happened. Except, I need you to dampen your reiatsu more."

"What? What do you mean? Could you sense me?" Shinji asked, genuinely concerned. "I thought I was doing an okay job."

The pale blonde smirked. "If this is an okay job, then perhaps we should step it up to be an outstanding job. Isshin remarked how he could feel you."

"Ichigo's father?" Shinji's eyes became enlarged. "He could sense me?"

"I'm afraid so," Urahara said, nodding his head. "Now, I don't think Ichigo has caught on yet."

The Visored looked at him. "You still haven't told him you've got someone watching him? Oh, Kisuke. Don't you think that's a bad idea?"

"Yes, well, I will admit that the situation isn't ideal." Urahara pulled his hat down, shielding his eyes from Shinji's. "You can go for the night. Be back here tomorrow, first thing in the morning."

Stretching, Shinji nodded. "You got it." He began to walk across the roof. "Kisuke?"

"Hmm?" Urahara said, standing at the edge of the roof, about to jump down.

"Tell him. It's going to blow up in your face if you don't." Shinji turned and began to shunpo across the houses, making his way back to the Visored facility.

Instead of falling to the ground, Urahara jumped from house to house, stopping at Ichigo's neighbor's house. He could see into his bedroom at the height that he was at, and saw that the lights were off in his room, appearing to be fast asleep. He saw that the teen's bedroom window was ajar, making Urahara smile, yet his heart ache at the same time.

Ichigo was sprawled out on his bed, his head planted firmly into his pillow, his back to the window. After he had eaten with his sisters, he had trekked up to his room and got undressed and fell fast asleep. He was emotionally exhausted, after having to push himself over and over to make Shinji happy. He had left his window open because it had been hot in his room when he had gotten home, and never bothered to close it.

The weight shifted on his bed, making his eyes snap open. He was about to let out a loud yell when a hand clamped over his mouth. "Ichigo, it's just me," Urahara spoke softly, not wanting to wake anyone in the house.

His breath caught in his throat, Ichigo sat up and looked at his lover, who was sitting on the edge of his bed. "Kisuke?" He panted softly, still trying to calm down his hammering heart. "What...What are you doing here?" He looked over at his alarm clock. "It's 2 in the morning."

"I know," Urahara said, taking off his hat and setting it on the floor next to Benihime. "I...I felt awful when I left you earlier. I wanted to come and see if you were awake. I didn't mean to frighten you."

The substitute shinigami shook his head. "You didn't frighten me. I mean, you did, but it's okay. I'm just glad I thought to yell first instead of attack." A hint of a blush appeared on his cheeks as he laid back down on his pillow. "Kisuke...? What are you doing?"

Urahara had gone over to his bedroom door and had quietly turned the lock, making it so no one could burst into the teen's room unexpectedly. Ichigo's eyes stared as his lover began to remove his clothing, walking back over to his bed as he did so. By the time he arrived back to his bed, he was completely naked. "What? Would you rather I put my clothes back on?" He turned around and began to bend over.

Ichigo grabbed his wrist and pulled him down onto his bed, effectively trapping the man into laying next to him. "Of course not," Ichigo said, nuzzling the side of his neck. "I was still waking up...but now you've got my full attention, Kisuke."

"Oh, do I?" Urahara chuckled softly. "Well, I suppose that's good. I rather like having your full attention, Ichigo." He turned his head and let his lips graze against Ichigo's, the teen's lips a touch dry. Ichigo moaned softly as Urahara raised his hand and began to stroke his thumb against his cheek, deepening the kiss.

The two let their tongues clash together in a dance for dominance, the older man's relaxing to allow the younger's to lead the chase. Urahara gently pushed Ichigo to lay on his back, keeping their lips and tongues interlocked as he began to lead the kiss. Ichigo moaned, trying to move back into the dominant position, but Urahara was persistent. He kept his hand planted firmly on Ichigo's shoulder, the teen unable to move.

The orange-haired teen broke off the kiss, gasping for air as Urahara lowered his head to his lover's neck, kissing the soft skin with great care. Ichigo's hands threaded through Urahara's, moaning softly. "Oh...how I've missed this," Ichigo arched up as Urahara's mouth began to travel down his chest.

Looking up at his lover, Urahara smiled. "As have I..." He pointed to the pillow. "Perhaps it would be a wise idea to mute yourself this evening? I know it doesn't matter at my place, but we're not alone in this house."

"We're not alone at your place," Ichigo said, reaching behind his head to pick up his pillow.

Kissing the soft skin of Ichigo's stomach, Urahara chuckled softly as Ichigo's body arched off the bed. "Yes, but my tenants don't care how loud you are. However, I'm pretty sure if your sisters were made aware of our activities, it would be another story, yes?"

"Point taken." Ichigo said, laying back down, his head resting against his mattress as he covered his face with his pillow.

Urahara kept placing soft kisses along Ichigo's lower stomach. When he got to his arousal, he stuck the tip of his tongue between his teeth and rubbed it across the head. Ichigo moaned loud, his moan muffled effectively by his pillow. "Besides, I like to drive you wild, Ichigo. Hearing your loud moans are a ridiculous turn on for me, I'm afraid. So, I do everything I can to hear them." He let the tip of his tongue continue to dance upon the crown, reaching up to hold Ichigo's hips still.

His blonde hair fell into his eyes as he allowed his lips to slip over the crown of Ichigo's arousal completely, sucking him further into his mouth as he listened to his lover's muffled moans. Ichigo's free hand reached down and gently pulled on Urahara's hair, the shop keeper moaning in approval as he began to suck on Ichigo's arousal with vigor. He felt Ichigo's hand tighten in his hair, signaling to him that he was doing exactly what his lover wanted. Urahara pressed his nose to the soft orange curls at the base of Ichigo's arousal, letting his tongue rub along the kept his left hand on Ichigo's hip, making it so the teen did not buck against him wildly.

Throwing caution to the wind, Urahara released the grip he had on Ichigo's hips and moaned low as the teen began to buck his hips, pushing himself deeper into his waiting mouth. Urahara began to suck on him faster, enjoying how rough Ichigo was being with him, reveling in how erotic the muffled moans were to him as he kept sucking on him harder. He felt Ichigo pull on his hair hard, sending a shiver through Urahara's body as he relaxed his throat, preparing for what he knew was about the happen. He let out a loud moan as Ichigo released, swallowing everything that was given to him, sucking every last drop of his lover's essence.

Ichigo removed the pillow from his face, panting hard from the lack of pure oxygen and from the intense orgasm he had just experienced. He looked down at Urahara and let out a low moan as he felt the man's tongue rub up and down his sensitive arousal, locking onto the man's grey eyes. "Kisuke..."

"Shhh...It's okay, Ichigo," Urahara said, licking his lover clean. He moved up his lover's body and laid next to him. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss against the side of his mouth. Before he could pull away, Ichigo had turned his head into the kiss, kissing his mouth. Urahara let out a surprised gasp, which Ichigo took to let his tongue enter his mouth, kissing him deeply. Closing his eyes, Urahara wrapped his arm around Ichigo and moaned into the kiss.

He let his tongue brush against Ichigo's, hearing soft moans escape from his throat as Ichigo tasted himself on his tongue. They kissed each other like this until Ichigo had made it so Urahara was laying on his back, and he was now straddling his waist. Urahara broke off the kiss and looked up at Ichigo. "What...aah...what are you doing...?"

"Your turn to use the pillow, Kisuke..." Ichigo reached down and grabbed a scarf he had worn the other day when the weather had been brisk. Urahara stared up at his lover, not quite sure what he was doing, but then let out a low groan as Ichigo placed the scarf between his lips, effectively gagging himself from making too much noise. Grabbing the pillow, Urahara placed it over his face. And not a moment too soon, for as soon as it was over his face, Ichigo had lowered himself down onto his arousal, quickly pushing himself in as deep as he could go.

Both men let out loud, muffled moans as Ichigo began to roll his hips, pushing Urahara in deeper and deeper. With a thrust of his hips, Urahara felt Ichigo tightened around him as he hit his lover's sweet spot. Ichigo's nails dug into his pectorals, making the shop keeper scream out in delight, thrusting his hips harder into his lover. He gripped Ichigo's hips blindly, holding them still so he could control the pace. Ichigo rocked his body against his, falling on top of his chest. Urahara could feel how hard Ichigo was, and began to rock against him, feeling his lover's arousal rub between their two bodies. The bed creaked with the extra weight, but neither of them noticed. They only cared about what each was doing to the other's body as they both chased after their release. Urahara felt Ichigo clamp down around him, and soon felt the hot liquid against his stomach as Ichigo reached his second climax. That last clench was Urahara's undoing; he quickly followed his lover over the edge, moaning loud into the pillow.

They laid there, panting together and Urahara removed the pillow from his face, and Ichigo removed the scarf from his mouth. Ichigo stayed laying on him, neither of them wanting to move an inch. Urahara raised a hand up and gently brushed some of the hair out of Ichigo's face. "We should have done that earlier..."

"I tried," Ichigo said, looking up at him. "But you said you had to go and do something."

Urahara sighed softly and closed his eyes. "That's why you were upset with me. I'm sorry, Ichigo. I wasn't thinking." He held the teen close to him, hugging him gently.

"It's okay," Ichigo said, a soft yawn escaping past his lips. "You came back. That's what matters to me, Kisuke."

"That I did." He ran his hand through Ichigo's hair, watching as he yawned once more. "Get some sleep."

Ichigo gave him a small nod. "Will you be here when I wake up?"

"Maybe. If I'm not, you'll see me later." He placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "Sweet dreams, Ichigo. I love you."

Soft snores filled the room, much to the shop keeper's chagrin. He made himself more comfortable and closed his own eyes. He had forgotten how nice it was to fall asleep with the person that he loved the most, as the two of them had not had a chance to do something like this since they had returned. Before another thought could filter through his mind, sleep came upon him, clearing his mind of all thoughts.

…

A/N: Ah, pillows. How useful they are. ^_^ Thanks for reading!