As his lover had promised, Ichigo had indeed woken up in a bed. Whether or not it was Urahara's bed, he couldn't tell. But from the feel of the material, he was most definitely in a bed. He blinked a few times, trying to work the sleep out of his eyes before fully opening them. He tried to turn over, afraid that it would hurt, but found that he could do so with no pain.

"Good afternoon," Urahara's soft baritone voice soothed his ears, his lover's grey eyes slowly coming into focus. "How do you feel?"

Stretching his back, Ichigo let out a soft groan as his back released air from its joints. "I feel okay...Better than I was expecting." He yawned a tiny yawn. "What time is it?"

"It's around 3 in the the afternoon," Urahara said.

Ichigo tried to sit up. "Shit...class..." He began to panic, hating the thought that he had missed a day of school.

"Ichigo," Urahara said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's Saturday. No class today."

His eyes grew wide. "What? It's Saturday?" His heart began to pound hard in his chest. "But...but then...but then that means..." He couldn't get the words out.

"You missed almost a week of school, yes," Urahara said, his voice calm and soothing, contrasting with Ichigo's constant stuttering.

"A week! A week, Kisuke?" Ichigo said, shaking his head. "I can't miss that much school!"

Urahara shook his head. "Ichigo, you were not the only one to miss class like that. The others did not go to school either. Your teacher was contacted and told that you all had a horrible bout of food poisoning."

"Everyone...?" Ichigo closed his eyes. "Inoue."

"She's fine," Urahara said, nodding his head. "Thanks to her powers, she was able to heal herself completely, then worked on Yasutora-san."

Ichigo stood up from the bed, wobbling for a second before regaining his balance. "Is she still here?"

"Yes, everyone is still here. We felt it safer to keep everyone centrally located for the time being." Urahara said. "Would you like to go and see her?"

The orange-haired teen nodded. "Please?"

"This way," Urahara took Ichigo's hand, holding it gently.

Ichigo felt relief flow through his body the moment his lover's hand touched his. He wanted to talk to him, find out just what had happened, but he wanted to check on his friends first. He couldn't believe what had happened, still unsure of what or who he had fought with. He saw Urahara watching him as they walked down the hall together. He gave the man's hand a reassuring squeeze, and smiled when a smile appeared on the shop keeper's face. They kept silent as they walked towards the room which they had used on frequent occasion to house the sick and/or injured. Ichigo heard a scream come from behind the screen. Dropping Urahara's hand, he quickly slid the door open and saw the cause for emotion.

"No fair!" Orihime squealed, shaking with laughter. "You're not supposed to do that in the game, Ishida-kun!"

The three students were sitting at the round table, playing what appeared to be a board game. Judging from Orihime's outburst, Ishida had just taken advantage of something. Trying to calm his racing heart, Ichigo looked back and forth between his three friends. "Inoue, I thought you were in danger," he said quietly.

The strawberry blonde jumped up, blushing brightly. "Kurosaki-kun! I'm...I'm so sorry!" She bowed quickly. "I didn't know you were standing there!"

"It's alright," Urahara said, chuckling quietly. "He just woke up and wanted to see how you were doing."

She blushed deeply as she sat back down. "Oh...Okay." She grinned. "I'm fine! Are you feeling okay?" She tilted her head, looking at him.

"Yeah," Ichigo nodded. He looked around the room. "Chado?"

Sado gave a nod of his head. "Fine, Ichigo."

"You sure?" Ichigo didn't believe his friend. He remembered seeing him, lying on the ground, practically dead as Orihime's fairies had been healing Sado while he had battled the unknowns. "The last time I saw you, you didn't look so good."

Sado smirked. "The last time I saw you, we were in class. I'd say that makes us even."

"Good point," Ichigo said. He looked at Ishida. "You okay?"

Ishida pushed his glasses up in his nose and gave a small nod. "I am, Kurosaki."

Ichigo began to feel weak, and decided it would be best if he sat down on the floor, next to Orihime. "Kurosaki-kun?" She squeaked, unsure of what to do as he was starting to use her as a rest.

"Sorry," Ichigo said, closing his eyes. He sat back up once the wave of dizziness passed. "I just felt a bit dizzy."

"You've been asleep for too long, " Ishida said.

"I think I needed it," Ichigo said. He gasped. "My father."

Urahara cleared his throat from where he stood leaning against the door frame. "Your father is aware of where you are at. He's fine, Ichigo. Your sisters are safe as well. They are being looked after."

"By who?" Ichigo asked.

"By friends," Shinji appeared at the doorway. "I see he's finally awake."

Ichigo looked at him. "Are the Visoreds watching them?"

"Of course," Shinji said, taking off his newsboy cap and twirling it on his right index finger. "Why else would I know about who is watching over them? Tssch." Shinji smirked.

Ichigo looked at his friends. "But you all are okay?"

"More or less," Sado said.

Standing up, Ichigo nodded. "I'm glad." He looked at Urahara. "Can we go and talk somewhere?"

"Of course," Urahara said. He walked out of the room. Ichigo followed him without question, and watched as he began to descend down the ladder to the training facility. He followed him down the long ladder, his muscles protesting at so much physical use after sleeping for so long. When he got to the last few rungs, he hopped off the ladder.

"What are we doing down here, Kisuke?" Ichigo asked, sitting down on a nearby boulder. He took a few breaths, hating that his body was not cooperating the way he wanted it to. He looked at the ladder and saw Shinji had closed the hatch, leaving the three of them alone in the vastness of the training facility.

Urahara stood in front of him. "I wanted to come down here because I know how you get."

"What does that mean?" Ichigo immediately became defensive, the hairs on his arms standing up. "Kisuke, did you lie to me or something?" He stood up and took a defensive stance.

Shinji stepped in front of Urahara, blocking Ichigo's view of him. "Hey, Ichigo. Relax for a moment and let him talk."

"Relax? Relax? I've been asleep for the past four days! I think I've done enough relaxing for quite a while, thank you very much," Ichigo said, the anger in his voice evident.

"Right, and you almost died," Shinji said. "So, why don't you sit back down and stop acting stupid. Let him talk, Ichigo."

Sitting back down on the boulder, Ichigo glared at him. "What the fuck are you even doing down here, Hirako?"

"I asked him to join me in this conversation," Urahara said.

Ichigo met Urahara's eyes. "Why?"

"Because of what happened to you, Ichigo." Urahara stood in front of him. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I do. I fought against a really strong guy. And got my ass kicked."

"Do you know who they were?" Urahara asked, his voice quiet.

"No, but I know one had an zanpakutō. Do you know what they were?" Ichigo asked. "You do. That's why you're being so secretive right now, isn't it? What the fuck is going on, Kisuke?" He stood back up. "You know that I don't like secrets."

Shinji began stand up, but Urahara held out his arm to stop him. "After your fight with the larger of the two, Yoruichi and I fought against him and his friend. Do you remember the other man?"

"The one with the green eyes?" Ichigo asked, remembering how the one with green eyes had egged on the larger guy. But that's where it ended. "Why?"

Urahara let out a soft sigh. "Well, when they disappeared with the Garganta, he left with a few parting words. Two words that stood out among the rest." He looked at Ichigo. "It's what I've been worried about all this time. It seems as if they work along side Aizen."

"What?" Ichigo's heart stopped. "Are you saying that...that those guys...they..."

"I don't know what they are, yet. I know that they work for him. What they do for him, I'm not sure. But suffice to say, they reside in Hueco Mundo with him. I don't know any more than that." Urahara said, sitting down on the rock, a look of fatigue crossed his face.

Shinji looked at Ichigo. "You had better believe that you did the best that you could have with who you were fighting. From what I understand, Orihime-chan said that you did your best to protect both her and Sado. That you were able to take off the larger Arrancar's arm."

"So, it was an Arrancar. But then, why did he have a zanpakutō?" Ichigo asked, the anger having left his body after hearing the name Aizen.

Urahara shrugged. "That is the part we are not sure."

"So, they were Arrancar?" Ichigo asked. "That we know, yes?"

The Visored nodded as Urahara spoke. "Yes."

"Did Yoruichi get hurt?" Ichigo asked, his stomach dropping. "I...I couldn't protect anyone, could I? I'm not strong enough..."

Urahara stood up and placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "You did magnificent, Ichigo. Stop beating yourself up. You did far better than I was expecting." He took a breath. "No, she did not get hurt. Well, she did a little, but she won't admit it to anyone."

"Great," Ichigo said. "Where is she?"

"She's back in Seireitei. She left the night of the attack. We had to notify them of what had happened here, even though they should be monitoring this place already." Urahara gave him a small smile.

"Did you know what was happening?"

"I had an idea," Urahara nodded. "As soon as we felt the reiatsu change, we knew something different was going on. I'm sorry we couldn't get there sooner." He touched Ichigo's face, the teen leaning in to his touch. "Hirako...can you please excuse us?"

Shinji was already walking back up the ladder. "I'll be back in a few hours. I'm going to go and check on the clinic." He opened the trap door and closed it behind him, leaving Ichigo and Urahara alone.

"Ichigo," Urahara's voice was soft. He closed his eyes, turning his face more into Urahara's touch. "Ichigo, look at me." He opened his eyes, looking into Urahara's grey eyes. "You did everything that you could and more. I'm so proud of what you did."

A tear slipped from the corner of Ichigo's right eye. "But I didn't, Kisuke...Orihime...She got hurt. She got hurt badly. And then...then..." He felt another tear fall and didn't move to brush it away. He could feel the hot liquid rolling down his cheek. "Chado...Chado...I couldn't get there in time..."

"You got there in plenty of time," Urahara said, pulling Ichigo towards him. Ichigo wrapped his arms around Urahara, hugging him underneath his open haori. "Try and look on the positive of this event."

Ichigo rested his head against Urahara's shoulder. "What positive? That no one died?"

"That is definitely a positive," Urahara said, rubbing small circles onto Ichigo's lower back. "Ichigo...I knew that something was coming. I knew that it was going to be bad. I just didn't realize that it was going to be this bad."

He pulled back from Urahara. "How...how long have you known?"

"The moment Aizen was surrounded by the Negación on Sōkyoku Hill."

The orange-haired teen shook his head. "But...but why didn't you say anything to me? Kisuke, I hate when you do that! Why can't you just be honest with me? Is that too much to ask?" Ichigo could feel his walls begin to crumble. "Am I only your lover because I give myself to you? Is that it? You just like me for the sex? You can't trust me with something like this? Why do you keep these sorts of secrets from me?"

"Ichigo, please..." Urahara said. "I didn't mean it like that. I never told you because I thought we had more time. I thought that he wasn't going to strike yet. By my calculations, the Hōgyoku that he took out of Rukia should not have matured already. But, I suppose that's my fault for assuming he wouldn't figure a way around it." He reached for Ichigo, the teen allowing him to pull him back into his embrace. "You have to believe me, Ichigo. I was going to tell you. I just...I thought we had more time."

Letting his head fall forward, Ichigo sighed. "Is that why I've been training so hard with Hirako?"

"Yes," Urahara answered without hesitation. "I thought that if you learned to use more of Shiro's power, rather than have him take over your body, we might stand a chance to fight off an Arrancar attack."

He closed his eyes. "Looks like it wasn't successful."

"What did I say about looking at the positive?" Urahara said, placing his fingers underneath Ichigo's chin, lifting it up to look at him. "Stop being so hard on yourself, Ichigo. You won't win this battle by feeling sorry for yourself. I should know. I've been beating myself up pretty badly these last couple of days."

Ichigo looked up into his eyes. "Why, Kisuke?"

"Because I love you, Ichigo. Because I couldn't keep you safe. How you feel about not being able to protect your friends? Increase that by a thousand fold, and you know what I've been going through." He caressed Ichigo's face. "You mean everything to me, Ichigo. If I lose you? I..."

Ichigo silenced the rest of his sentence by placing his lips over Urahara's, kissing him softly. He said a nonverbal prayer to whoever was listening to not let his breath be too horrid after being asleep for a few days. He heard Urahara moan as he kept his lips pressed firmly against Urahara's. Ichigo broke off the kiss as he pushed on Urahara's chest, pressing him against a boulder.

Urahara let out a low moan as his back came into contact with the cold stone. Ichigo pressed his body against Urahara's, kissing the side of his lover's neck. "Say it again, Kisuke..." Ichigo said, grinding against the older man.

"You mean...everything...to...ah...me..." Urahara said, leaning his head back as their arousals rubbed against each other. "Ichi...go...you sure...?"

Nipping at his lover's lower neck, Ichigo moaned low. "I want more..." He pressed his hips against Urahara's. "Can we...can we go back upstairs?"

"What about the others?" Urahara said, letting out individual groans each time Ichigo nipped at his neck. "I...I don't think I can stay quiet, Ichigo." Urahara pushed against him. "You've been asleep for four days..."

Moaning, Ichigo bucked his hips more. "Then...let them...listen..." He lifted his head and looked into Urahara's eyes. "Are you telling me that you didn't once touch yourself at all while I was asleep...taichou...?"

"Mmm...no..." Urahara said, staring into Ichigo's auburn eyes. "I was too worried that you wouldn't wake back up." His admission of what he had been battling silently came out, his voice barely a whisper.

Ichigo held Urahara's face between his hands. "I am not leaving you. Ever. So, get that out of your head. Just because it took me a little bit of time to fully heal doesn't mean I was dying. I knew what I was doing, Kisuke." He brushed his thumb against Urahara's lips, moaning softly as he felt the tip of Urahara's tongue brush against it in a soft caressing manner. "So...how about it...?"

"How about...what...?" Urahara asked, his lips curling up into a smirk.

Reaching down, Ichigo cupped his lover's arousal with his hand. "How about...this, Kisuke?" Ichigo gave a gentle squeeze to Urahara's very apparent excited arousal. "Did you want me to make this feel good?"

"Kami, yes..." Urahara said, leaning his head back against the cool stone. "Let go of me...so we can go...upstairs..."

"No," Ichigo said, reaching into Urahara's pants. He wrapped his hand around his lover, giddy with lust and desire as he felt just how ready Urahara was for him. "I don't think I can wait, Kisuke...I want to hear you moan right now. I'd rather have your moans fill my head than...than..." He stilled his hand and pulled it out, hearing the sound of Orihime's body hitting the ground. He closed his eyes, feeling the tears begin to collect once more. "Damn it," he whispered, his voice cracking.

Urahara wrapped his arms around Ichigo. "Shhh...it's going to be okay, Ichigo. You shouldn't be pushing yourself to do something you're not ready to do right now."

"But...I want to," Ichigo let out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, Kisuke. I didn't mean to get you all riled up like that, only to just...just..."

"Blue ball me?" Urahara said, smirking. Ichigo blushed deeply and gave a small nod of acknowledgement. Urahara pressed his lips against Ichigo's forehead. "Come on. Let's head back upstairs. Now that you're awake, we've got all the time in the world. We don't have to rush back into this."

The orange-haired teen nodded. "Good plan. Besides, I'm sure my mouth could use a good cleaning, maybe some mouth wash."

"I wasn't going to say anything..." Urahara said, chuckling softly.

Walking over to the ladder, Ichigo groaned. "Thanks, Kisuke. Really." He began to ascend the ladder, adjusting his pants as he went up.

"No problem."

…

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. Up next, Ichigo and Kisuke...reconnect. ^_^ Thanks for reading!