Kumiko woke up the next morning, due to the sound of soft snoring in her ear. Blinking the sleep away, taking note of her surroundings she couldn't figure out quite where she was, until her eyes landed on her friend snoring softly in her ear. Regular hat missing from his head, messy blonde hair falling in his face made him look a lot more innocent than she knew he truly was. Stretching slightly, she felt his arm tighten around her waist.

Clingy even in sleep she mused to herself

the decision of if she she go back to sleep or not was taken away by the now awake captain. Eyes half open, he mumbled a "morning "

"morning Kiske" she replied, rolling over to face him, noticing while she was fully clothed he at least had his top off.

"how're you feeling this morning?" He asked her, rubbing his tired eyes.

"better, I slept well. The embarrassment is just a deafening roar today" she smiled at him "care to explain how I ended up in your bed?"

A lazy laugh rumbled in his chest " you fell asleep on my lap yesterday, so I carried you here and put you to bed. I stayed up late finishing some work, so decided to crash with you, save me coming back early so you didn't wake up alone "

"sorry you had to carry my heavy ass all the way here" miko said, only half joking

"pfft" urahara scoffed pushing her face away "you don't even weigh half as much as you think you do"

She scoffed at him, not believing his words

"you talk in your sleep you know"

Kumiko tuned to look at him shocked "i do?" She asked

" who's Ayumu ookami?" He asked

she smiled hearing the name, "my zanpakuto " Kumiko answered easily, looking towards the door where it stood

"dream wolf? You'll have to explain more about him one day". He asked, genuinely interested

Stretching, Urahara got out of bed, showing that he indeed was wearing long trousers in bed. "Come on, I'll make us some breakfast, we've got loads to discuss today" coking his head towards the door.

Kumiko too got out of bed, adjusting her crumpled Shihakusho, following Kiske through the door into his office and continuing through into his "mad scientists lab" where a small kitchenette was in the corner

"I'm afraid scrambled eggs is the best I can do " he chucked over his shoulder as Kumiko sat on his big black swivel chair near another desk filled with chemicals, careful not to bump into said table for fear of blowing herself up.

"scrambled eggs sound perfect". She replied " you don't use those pans for your experiments do you? " she added playfully

"only my failed cooking experiments " he told her, cracking a few eggs in a jug. "I'm afraid I burn anything that isn't an egg being scrambled"

"you know, I'm actually a really decent cook. You should come over and let me cook for you soon, repay you for all the meals you've bought me " miko told him, realising most of what she's eaten the past week had been paid for by Urahara.

I've got to stop letting him pay for things she thought, friendship goes two ways, maybe we can go out for some drinks soon my treat

deciding to keep that thought for later, the smell of eggs filling her nostrils

"yeah? What you cooking me?" Urahara asked, moving the firming eggs around the pan

"what's your favourite? " she countered, watching him scoop the eggs into two bowls and headed over . Passing one to her, Urahara then took a seat on the wooden stool next to her

" probably Shogayaki, with rice and gyoza" he admitted, taking a big spoonful of the too hot eggs. Regret immediately raising to his face as he started to fan his hand in-front of his open mouth

Kumiko laughed at his antics, blowing on her eggs, so not to meet the same burning pain as her friend.

Ginger pork she thought I can definitely cook that

"did you speak to captains Ukitake and Kyoraku last night after you hauled my sleeping ass back?" She asked, taking another cooled down bite of her eggs, which for being cooked by the self proclaimed food burner, actually tasted really nice.

he nodded, swallowing his food, getting another spoonful ready "they were still here when we got back, after I chucked you in bed, we all sat out talking for a while" taking another bite, he saw she had stopped eating with a slight blush on her face. Stopping her thoughts from turning sour her continued "they wanted to make sure you were ok, they were both really worried. Kyoraku thought you might hate him" he told her, lightly pushing her bowl closer to her, telling her to resume eating.

"why would he think I hate him? It wasn't his fault"

"he beat himself up pretty badly, was saying how he should have controlled his Reiatsu better. He was fully blaming himself for your crying " happy that she had resumed eating

"idiot, it's not his fault, how can someone plan for that?"

Urahara shrugged "seemed everyone was blaming themselves really, not wanting to accept it for what it was". Both Kumiko and himself were guilty of that the previous night. Seeing her now empty bowl he went to grab it when she stopped him,

"you cooked, I'll clean" she offered, grabbing his bowl, walking over to the little sink and began washing

putting the last bowl away into the cupboard she turned around to follow and already standing up urahara back out to his office. Going over to his desk, Urahara pulled on his black Shihakusho top and fixing his hat on his head. Remembering what he had said in the makeshift bedroom she asked him "what things do we have to discuss?"

Urahara sat down at the table, indicating she should do the same. When sat opposite him he bagan

"the three of us talked about it last night and decided we think it's best we continue documenting your reactions to all of the captains". Holding his hand up to stop her protest he added " please let me explain"

at her nod he continued "we feel.. I. Feel it's important for us to fully be aware how your reactions could effect you in a serious situation. A time might come when you will have to fight alongside side another captain, and for yours, and their safety we need to be fully prepared for what might happen. If you had encountered Kyorakus spiritual pressure for the first time on a battle field, you would have been unable to protect yourself, and Kyoraku would have been distracted and having to need to protect both himself and you"

so far Kumiko couldn't find anything in his explanation needing to be argued

"go on, there's more" she told him

"we decided the other captains as well as the head captain need to be made aware of what happens to you while met with captain level Reiatsu. To prevent you being sent unknowingly into a dangerous situation". A look of horror settled on her face,

"EVERYONE has to know EVERYTHING" she tried to clarify, clearly embarrassed about her reaction to Kyoraku.

Urahara winced slightly, understanding her hesitation but pressed on "unfortunately we think it's for the best, not to leave a stone unturned and so on". He said with a wave of his hand

"I know it will be difficult for you, but we want to bring it up in a captains meeting later today. You won't have to be there for the initial discovery, and I will be there with you when you discover what happens with the other captains, probably a few lieutenants too down the line"

Kumiko groaned into her hands "and here i thought this couldn't get any more embarrassing". He smiled at her fondly,

"It'll be embarrassing for Kyoraku too if it makes you feel better, he had a very similar reaction " he laughed, gently tugging her hands away from her face

"it doesn't make it any better". She said grumpily, causing him to laugh

"also. "

"there's more?!" She interrupted him

"also,". He continued ignoring her outburst "I want to start a special training for you. I want to see if we can get you to a place where you can ignore the force of these emotions, and at the very least get you to fight and protect yourself through them"

falling back onto the floor, arms spread wide at her sides she asked

"is it too late to just be one of your mad scientist experiments instead? That sounds a lot less painful"

Urahara laughed at the notion


Kumiko stood in her kitchen, easily measuring out ingredients for a sweet lemon dessert she had grown to love from her time spent in the world of the living. Urahara had sent her home for the day, while he got his documents ready for the upcoming captains meeting. Looking at the clock hung near her door, Kumiko noted it would start in the next half hour

should give me plenty of time to get this finished she thought, planning to share it with her friend as a surprise for him taking care of her the night previous. Putting the flakey pastry into the oven to cook, Kumiko began work on the lemon filling, dipping her finger into the deliciously sweet and tart goo, bringing it to her mouth to taste the final product.

Perfect she decided captain sweet tooth will love it she smiled, pushing the concoction to the side, she began mixing the eggs and sugar for the fluffy meringue that will top the tart, gently wiping at her nose.

Putting the finished product to the side and taking the tart base out of the oven to cool, Kumiko headed to the bathroom to clean up when she was stopped by a knock at her door. Glancing at the clock again, Kumiko decided it couldn't be urahara at her door, the captains meeting not having started yet. The last person she had expected to see when peering around the opened door, was captain Kyoraku, wearing his signature pink kimono and fisting a big bouquet of pink Lilly's, uncertain look on his handsome face

"hi" he breathed