It was a quiet walk home. Ichigo didn't have a lot to say, and was still feeling rather tired after not having been moving around for the last few days. One of the things he enjoyed most about Urahara was that the man did not feel the need to fill the silence. He appreciated the man so much for that, and really never knew how to tell him.

They turned down the small side street, fast approaching the Kurosaki Clinic and house. "You don't have to come in, Kisuke," Ichigo said, squeezing his lover's hand gently. "I'm sure you've got things to take care of."

"Are you sure?" Urahara asked, turning to look at him. "I don't mind coming in, if it will make you feel more comfortable."

Ichigo shook his head. "No, I think I just want to be alone with my family." He ran a hand through his his hair. "Not saying you're not family, but..."

"I understand, Ichigo." Urahara stopped walking. "I'm not certain what time I can come over and see you tomorrow."

His shoulders sagging, Ichigo nodded. "I understand. I know that you must have been neglecting a lot of things, waiting patiently for me to wake up." He stopped walking as well, quickly putting his arms around Urahara to hug him. "But...don't make me wait all day for you, okay?"

"I'll do my best," Urahara whispered, holding Ichigo close to him. The orange-haired teen let out a soft sigh as Urahara's hand began to rub small circles on his back. "Call me if you need to."

Pulling back, Ichigo gave his lover a small smile. "If I do that, then I'll never be off the phone with you. I always need you, Kisuke."

"Baka," Urahara chuckled. "You are a terrible liar."

"I guess." Ichigo kissed him softly before pulling back. "Okay. Wish me luck." He began to short walk up to his front door.

Urahara watched from the street. "You don't need luck." Ichigo couldn't see, but the shop keeper had a small smirk on his face as Ichigo walked up to the door.

"Yeah, yeah." Ichigo said, shaking his head. He placed his hand on the doorknob and found that it wasn't locked. What the hell. He should be keeping this door locked. Twisting the knob, Ichigo opened the door and stepped into his house. "Hello? Is anyone here? I'm home."

"Onii-san!"

Yuzu came running out of the kitchen, wrapping her arms around Ichigo in a death grip hug. Ichigo grunted as the air was knocked out of him, but quickly let it pass as Karin joined his other sister in hugging him tightly. "G-Guys, it's not like I've been gone that long!" He wheezed out as both of his sisters continued to hug him as tightly as they could.

"We're just happy to have you home, Onii-san!" Yuzu said, her voice pitched higher than normal. Ichigo saw that her eyes were watering as she let go of him.

Karin stepped away from him and nodded her head. "Dad said you were on a field trip." He saw her raise her eyebrow at him. "Is that true?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation. He tried to communicate with his sister that he would talk to her later, not when Yuzu was around. She seemed to understand and backed off, giving him a nod. "Where's dad?"

Yuzu walked back into the kitchen. "He's still at work. He should be home soon. He knows dinner is going to be ready momentarily."

"Always looking out for us," Ichigo said, ruffling his sister's hair. She protested, but soon began to giggle. "I'll be right back, okay? I just want to set my stuff down in my room."

He walked up the short flight of stairs, listening to his two sisters continue to talk amongst themselves. As much as he enjoyed being at Urahara's shop, he was happy to be back home. Opening his bedroom door, he walked in and closed the door behind him. Dropping his school bag onto the floor, he let out a huff of air at the sight of his room.

"I-chi-go!" A small stuffed lion began to run towards him.

Moving to the side, Ichigo heard the stuffed lion hit his closed door. "Hi, Kon. Sorry if you were worried about me."

"I told him what was going on," the small bluebird mod soul said from his bed. His eyes widened, not expecting to see her there. "What? I wanted to make sure he knew what had happened before harassing you."

Ichigo sat on his bed. "No, no. It's fine, Ririn. I just wasn't expecting to see you here. Are the other two with you?"

"No, it's just me." Ririn jumped off the bed. "Kon, don't pester him, okay?" She shook her tiny wing at him.

Kon pouted, crossing his arms over his small stuffed chest. "I was going to do no such thing. I don't need you here to babysit me!"

Turning to look out his window, Ichigo saw a reassuring sight. Shinji was sitting on the roof of his neighbor's house, his Zanpakutō on his lap. Sliding the window open, Ichigo raised his hand up. "Oy, Hirako!"

"Konbanwa, Kurosaki-san!" Shinji raised his hand, his cheshire smile crossing his visage. "Nice to be home?"

"Very much so." Ichigo nodded. "Listen, I'm gonna head downstairs for some dinner with my family. I'll be back up here soon."

Shinji nodded, standing up on the roof. "Alright. Enjoy your food!"

"Do you want me to bring you back some? I don't mind." Ichigo asked.

The Visored bowed his head. "That would be very nice."

"Okay. Then I'll bring food up to you soon." He closed his window and looked down at the two mod souls. "Can I trust the two of you to behave while I'm downstairs with my sisters?"

Ririn nodded. "Of course, Ichigo! I would never do anything him."

"Liar!" Kon said, hopping up onto the bed with her.

Ichigo got up from his head and shook his head. "Just don't make too much noise, okay?" He headed out of his bedroom, closing the door behind him. Listening, he couldn't hear the two mod souls bickering, much to his satisfaction. He headed back down the stairs and into the dining room. "Mmmm...it smells good, Yuzu. What are we eating?"

"Fried rice!" Yuzu said. "Sorry, we didn't get to go shopping today like I had wanted to, so hopefully this is okay, Ichi-nii."

Sitting down at the table, Ichigo smiled. "I'm sure it's going to be delicious, Yuzu. Don't worry about me. I'm just happy to be back home."

The front door slammed open. "Hello?" Isshin came charging in. "Is...is that my family I hear?"

"Hi, Otou-chan!" Yuzu said, staying with her rice concoction. "Ichi-nii is back home!"

Isshin ran over to Masaki's shrine, collapsing down in front of it. "Masaki-san...our boy! Our boy is home!" The overly dramatic crying was beginning to grate on Ichigo's nerves, but his sisters giggled in delight at their silly father.

"Knock it off, ojii-san." Ichigo said, rolling his eyes. "No need to be that way. I'm home. Get over it." He met his father's eyes as the man began to quiet down.

Isshin walked over to him and threw his arms around him, hugging him tightly. Ichigo groaned, but secretly appreciated the rare moment of affection from his father. He knew that his old man probably had been just as worried as Urahara. Ichigo gave his father a small pat on the back, about as much affection as he was willing to show to the man who he would get into physical fights with. Isshin pulled back and gave Ichigo a pat on his face, a silent understanding passing between the two of them.

"Food!" Yuzu said, sitting the large bowl of fried rice in the center of the table. "Eat up!"

The rest of dinner passed by without incident. When dinner was over, Ichigo grabbed a bowl and began to put more rice into it. "You're still hungry, Ichi-nii?" Karin asked, an eyebrow raised. "You ate so much already."

Ichigo laughed nervously. "Can't I still eat more? There's plenty still, Karin."

"Leave your brother alone, Karin-chan," Isshin said. "Go ahead and take that up to your room, Ichigo. Just remember to bring the bowl back down." The two looked at each other, Ichigo thankful that it seemed his father understood just who this food was for.

Taking the bowl and a pair of chopsticks, Ichigo made his way out of the dining room. "That's not fair!" He heard Karin say to Isshin. "You never let us take food up to our room!"

"Now, Karina-chan, when you get to be Ichigo's age..."

Ichigo didn't bother to listen to the rest. Opening the door to his room, he saw Shinji sitting on his bed, staring at the two mod souls as they argued with one another. Ichigo shut his bedroom door and shook his head. "You two have been still at it this entire time?" He walked over to his bed and handed Shinji the bowl of rice. "Here you go. Did you want some water?"

"No, thanks." Shinji said, digging into the rice.

"Ichigo!" Ririn said, running over to him. Ichigo bent down and held out his hand, allowing the small bluebird to step into his hand. "Kon is being ridiculous."

"I am not!" Kon said, his black bead eyes narrowing. "It's not my fault you don't listen to reason."

Ichigo held up his free hand. "Listen to me. This is going to stop right now. I'm too tired to deal with your constant bickering. Kon, leave Ririn alone. Ririn, leave Kon alone. You two can play nice together, yes? It's been a very long week, and I just want to sleep in my bed, a peaceful night's sleep."

The bluebird hopped off his hand. "Sorry, Ichigo." Ririn walked over to the closet, dragging Kon with her. "Come on, Kon. Let's leave him alone."

"But...but..." Kon shut up when Ririn threw him a death glare and pulled him into the closet, closing the door behind the two of them.

Flopping face first on the bed, Ichigo sighed loud. "That good, huh?" Shinji said, smirking. "You know they just care for your well being. That's what they were arguing about. Who gets to keep you company." Shinji set the empty bowl on his desk and got up. "Get some sleep. I'm going to go back outside. When you wake up, we're going out."

"Out?" Ichigo said, turning his face to look at the standing Visored. "Where...where are we going to go?"

Shinji pat Ichigo on the back as he stepped over him and crouched on the window frame. "It's a surprise. Get some sleep, baka."

"O-Okay..." Ichigo stuttered as he let out a loud yawn. He had forgotten how comfortable his bed was, and how it molded to his body perfectly. He turned his head back into his pillow, beginning to breath deeply. He vaguely heard Shinji jump out of his window, but was almost asleep and didn't have the strength or energy to make sure the Visored had made it back to his perch safely. Relaxing into oblivion, Ichigo fell asleep fast.

…

The next morning, the sky was cloudless, the sun shining brightly. Ichigo stretched out on his bed, happy that he didn't have to set his alarm to wake up. He looked over at his clock and saw that it was just past 9 in the morning, a record for the teen. He was normally awake by 8 on the weekends, having to be up by 6:30 on school days. He sat up and let out a low groan.

"Finally."

Ichigo let out a yelp as he heard Shinji's voice. He looked over at his desk and saw the Visored sitting there. Covering himself with his blanket, Ichigo shook his head. "What are you doing in here?"

"Waiting for you to wake up. And you're finally awake. Go take a shower. We've got somewhere to be." Shinji grinned. "And why are you covering yourself up? You know you fell asleep in your clothes, right?" He let out a cackle.

Running a hand through his short hair, Ichigo blushed. "Right. Clothes." He got up and saw that he was indeed still fully dressed. "Let me go take a quick shower, and then we can go. Okay?" He grabbed his towel from the hook on the wall.

He didn't wait for the Visored to say anything. Walking out of his bedroom, he headed to the bathroom and quickly shut the door behind him, before anyone stopped him. Ichigo turned the water on in the shower to be hot, but not scalding, and quickly got undressed. He stepped into the shower, groaning low as the water beat against his back, relaxing his muscles. Not knowing how much peace he would have in the shower, Ichigo began to wash up. His body was still a little stiff from not having much use, but hopefully their outing today would help get him back into shape. He didn't want to be like this and then have another attack happen.

"You're such a wimp." Shut up, Shiro. I am not. "Well, look at it this way. If you do get attacked, just let me take over. I can beat them, no problem." Fuck off. When I need your help, I'll ask for it. Until then, don't meddle. "Awww...Come on. You're going out on a date with the Visored today, right? Let me come out and play with him. He enjoyed it last time." Shiro! I said no more! And it's not a date. We're just hanging out as friends. "Right. Friends who fucked."

Leaning his head against the shower wall, Ichigo felt defeated. He knew that there was partial truth to what Shiro was saying, as much as he wanted to deny it. Shaking those thoughts out of his mind, he finished washing his hair and got out of the shower. Looking at himself in the mirror, he saw that he could stand to shave. Taking the shaving cream can from the medicine cabinet, Ichigo lathered his face and grabbed his razor. Being careful with his face, as he hadn't shaved in over a week, he moved the razor across his stubble, grumbling as the hair protested its removal from his face. He didn't have the stubble that his lover had, but he still had enough that it bothered him. Rinsing off his face, Ichigo applied some aftershave, taking some of the sting away, and making him smell nice in the process as well.

Her wrapped the towel around his waist and unlocked the door. "Finally!" Karin said, her legs twisted together. "You took too long in there."

"Sorry, Karin!" Ichigo said, chuckling. "It's free to use now."

He watched his sister dash into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. He walked to his father's room and knocked on the door. "Come in."

"Hi, tou-san," Ichigo said, opening the door a little. "I'm going to go out today. I should be back home later."

Isshin looked up from his small work desk he kept in his bedroom. "Fine. I'll be at the clinic."

"Okay." Ichigo made his way back out of the room.

"Ichigo?" Isshin said, standing up from his chair.

Pausing, the orange-haired teen looked back. "Yes?"

"I'm glad you're home."

Ichigo grinned. "Liar." He headed out of the room, listening his father chuckle as he closed the door behind him.

Walking back into his room, Ichigo saw that Shinji was back outside. "Oy! Kurosaki-san!" Shinji waved. "Get dressed so we can go! Love is here to watch your place!"

Sitting on the roof was indeed Love, with a manga in hand. Ichigo nodded and grabbed some clean clothes and got dressed out of sight of the window. He grabbed his phone and knocked on the closet door. "Listen, I'm going out for a few hours. Feel free to go to Kisuke's or stay here, it doesn't matter to me." Walking over to the window, he spoke to Shinji. "Meet me downstairs. I'm not jumping down there in my human body."

"Yeah, yeah." Shinji said, twirling his newsboy cap on his finger. "Fine."

Ichigo made it outside without any bother from his family. He approached the Visored, who was leaning against a telephone pole. "Where are we going?" Ichigo asked, sticking his hands in his pocket, as there was a slight wind in the air.

"Just follow me, please." Shinji said, grinning. He began to walk fast, making Ichigo take longer strides to keep up with the lithe Visored.

"Why are you walking so fast?" Ichigo grumbled, finally walking side by side. "Listen, if you're taking me out to eat, you can forget it. I'm not hungry."

"Awww...don't be like that Kurosaki-san!" Shinji grinned, slapping his hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

The substitute shinigami groaned. "Why the fuck are you calling me that? What happened to Ichigo? Look, I know I got mad last night. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get upset at you. I was more frustrated that everyone was keeping shit from me. I hope you're not treating me with kid gloves because of that."

"Yeah, well." Shinji said, coming to a stop suddenly. Ichigo ran into the blonde's shoulder, stumbling for a second before Shinji's hand grabbed his elbow and held him up. "I know how it looks to you. I get it. But you must understand, Kisuke is just trying to keep you protected."

Sighing, Ichigo shook his head. "No, Hirako. That doesn't excuse him from not telling me things. I mean, come on. He tells me he loves me, says he trusts me, but can't tell me the truth about what was coming. It's one thing to keep me in the dark. But he said he was expecting something like this to happen. He was expecting Aizen to try something. Why couldn't he have said something to me?"

They arrived at their destination, a small pier that had carnival rides and extravagant fair food. Ichigo turned and looked at Shinji. "You're joking, right? You brought me to a boardwalk?"

"What?" Shinji asked, placing his newsboy cap back on his head. "Come on. You need to let out some of the stress that's in your body, and not through sex." He dragged him over to a cat and mouse roller coaster, Ichigo shaking his head and chuckling.

Paying for two tickets, they got into the contraption. "What makes you think I need to blow off some steam?" Ichigo asked, gripping the lap bar as the small car took off, making it's ascent up the first lift hill.

"You keep holding a grudge against Kisuke for not telling you about Aizen. Use your head, Ichigo. Why do you think you've been training with us so much since you got back from Soul Society?"

Before Ichigo could answer, they banked hard to the left, and banked left again, the fast turns making Ichigo's stomach twist, making him holler out in delight. "I thought that he wanted me to get control over Shi...RO!" Ichigo shouted as they whipped around a few more turns, before making their descent down the first hill.

"Right...to fight against the coming threat of Aizen!" Shinji yelled as they banked some more, the roller coaster moving faster and faster with each turn.

They began to go up and down a few small hills, Ichigo screaming "I HATE THAT MAN!" and laughing hysterically as the ride began to slow down. They crawled into the unloading area, hopping out as quick as they could, so the next riders could climb aboard. Ichigo grinned and took Shinji's hand without thinking. "Come on!"

He dragged the Visored over to a swing ride, dropping his hand as he got out money to pay for the ride. "Sorry about that," Ichigo blushed, not realizing he had taken the man's hand without asking. "Force of habit."

"I'm not complaining," Shinji said, a small smirk on his face. "However, I don't think Kisuke would appreciate it too much."

Ichigo rolled his eyes, pocketing his change and handing Shinji a ticket. "Yeah, well. He's busy today, and said that he wouldn't be around until later. You're right. This is fun. I do need to let off steam that's not through sex. Besides, the sex I would need to have in order to make me feel better, I can't have it here. Kisuke doesn't have the proper equipment here."

"Ichigo!" Shinji burst out laughing. "Thanks for that over share. Really."

Handing their tickets to the ride operator, they each chose a swing and sat down. As the ride began, Ichigo closed his eyes, just allowing himself to enjoy the moment. The wind blowing against his face, no other cares in the world, except for just what was happening. He had a feeling that it wouldn't be like this again for some time. He was grateful that the Visored had dragged him out, instead of moping around his bedroom, waiting for Urahara to call him. Ichigo knew he had to just enjoy each moment, and he had to learn to just let his lover be. He laughed out loud as the ride began to pick up momentum, swinging his feet with each dip of the ride, the exhilaration racing through his body.

When the ride ended, they got of their seats. "How about some food?" Shinji asked.

"I'm starving!" Ichigo nodded, dragging the Visored out of the ride, heading to the small stand that advertised different types of crepes. "What do you want? I'll buy."

Shinji shook his head. "No, no. I can pay for my own."

The two ordered their crepes and walked over to a small table, sitting down together. They watched as people rode the rides they had just been on, listening to the girls scream the same way each time they went down a hill. Ichigo chuckled, shaking his head. "Thanks for bringing me here, Hirako. I'm having a lot of fun."

"Good," Shinji said. "Want to go on another ride after this? I hear there's a ride where you go really fast, and then go upside down." The Visored smirked at the last part, and Ichigo couldn't figure out why that was so amusing to the Visored.

"I think that's a good idea," Ichigo replied, finishing off his crepe. He hopped up from the bench. "Let's go!" He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, making him stop in his tracks. Taking the phone out, he saw that he had a message from Urahara. "I hope you are having fun at the boardwalk with Hirako. I'll be by your place tonight late. If you want, I'll spend the night?" Ichigo quickly replied. "Yes, please. I am having fun. Was this your idea? ;)" He waited for his lover's response. "Guilty as charged. Go, yell some more. I love you, Ichigo." Ichigo grinned and texted back a returned statement of love and placed his phone back in his pocket.

"Kisuke?" Shinji asked, noticing the immediate change of demeanor in Ichigo's body.

The substitute shinigami nodded and smiled. "Come on, I want to yell some more." They raced over to the ride which Shinji had just talked about, handing over the money to the ticket booth. They both screamed as they rode the thrilling ride, paying to ride the ride five more times.

It was exactly what Ichigo had needed. A breath of fresh air, and normal teenager thrills. He couldn't wait to see Urahara in just a few short hours, hoping to not be too exhausted by the time they were finished at the fair.

…

A/N:Let's just call this chapter the calm before the storm. Up next, an evening rendezvous with Kisuke. ^_^ Thanks for reading!