Urahara blinked his eyes open, sighing happily at seeing his own bedroom light, and not the too bright one in the hospital. "How you feeling?" Kumikos soft voice called from across the room. Urahara sat up, leaning against the headboard to see her. Finding her curled up on his bedroom chair reading one of his books.
"good. How long was I asleep?" He asked rubbing his face to chase away the sleep, the stubble there scratching his palms
"about two hours?" She told him, getting up to sit on the bed with him "how are you really feeling?"
"I'm ok, a little tired. But I'm glad to be home" he said leaning back heavily on the headboard content
"it's lunch, are you ready for food?" Kumiko asked him, accepting his answer as honest
"when have you known me to turn down a meal?" He smirked at her
"I forgot who I was asking" she laughed getting up "I'll go make us something "
"I'm not sure what you'll find. There wasn't much there before I ended up in hospital " he warned her, thinking back to what might still be edible, he wrinkled his nose at the possibilities
"shunsui went to the shop before going to the office" Kumiko smiled at him from the door"I cleaned your fridge" she added with an amused look before walking away
"you didn't have to do that. My wallet should be in the kitchen. Take some money to give to shunsui" he called after he as she walked to the kitchen
only stopping to call back "don't be silly. I'm going to eat too, he won't accept your money"
urahara sighed, not wanting to waste the energy arguing. He will just buy shunsui a few bottles of sake as a thank you when he was able to escape Kumikos care. Looking over to the window and seeing it closed, Urahara slowly stood up from his bed. Deciding he was stable on his feet, he walked over gingerly, pulling it open wide.
Leaning on the ledge, Urahara looked out into his garden enjoying the cool summer breeze. Uraharas mind started wondering . He was struggling. Kumiko was a good distraction, but he couldn't shake the anger he held over what he discovered in his chart
he had a zanpakuto to his throat, he should be dead right now. The fact someone held his life in their hands, and chose to let him live with the reminder. He couldn't wrap his mind around it
I can't even walk up the damn stairs he thought annoyed. Planning to get himself in his training room as soon as he could
"what are you doing up?" Kumikos voice pulled him from his emotional thoughts "get your ass back into bed!"
"it's fine miko" Urahara told her with a forced smile so not to worry her "im allowed to do small trips remember?" He walked back to his bed to get the concerned look off her face and easily climbed back in. Kumiko sat next to him, pushing her legs under the still warm blanket before passing him a plate
"thank you"
"you can thank me by keeping your ass in bed" she told him, picking up her own sandwich and taking a bite
"I want a shower in a bit". He started, watching as Kumiko quickly chewed her food so she could object "I'll relax for a little while longer. Then after a shower I'll go back to sleep for a bit" he promised, trying to ease her concerns before taking his own bite
finally swallowing, Kumiko began "ok. But your not showering alone"
urahara nearly choked on his sandwich at her words, coughing loudly before roughly swallowing it down
"come again?" He asked now that he no longer had food stuck in his throat
"you couldn't even walk up the steps, I'm not letting you stand in a hot shower for who knows how long. What if you slip and bang your head?" She told him, not willing to accept no as an answer, her stubbornness easily matching his own
"im not going to slip" he told her with a roll of his eyes before eating his sandwich to hide his blushing cheeks " you're not coming in and watching me shower Kumiko"
"I am"
"what are you going to do? Stand there staring at me naked?" He laughed by the ridiculous notion
"I can't believe I'm showering in front of you" urahara mumbled stepping into his shower, towel wrapped firmly around his waist. Kumiko stood leaning against his sink, staring towards the bathroom door
"im not even looking" she smiled at his embarrassment "you agreed I could stand here so stop grumbling "
"I only agreed because it was this or a sponge bath" he reminded her of her earlier threat, checking she was looking towards the door before taking his towel off and putting it towards the side. Turning the shower on, Urahara stepped under the warm spray, leaning his hands on the wall and closing his eyes. A groan slipped out of his mouth at how good it felt finally getting clean.
Urahara looked down at his body, fingers tracing the light scars there left from the attack. Unohana had said they'll fade, possibly disappear all together. But for now they were a stark reminder. Washing his body quickly to not dwell on it, Urahara started to wash his hair when he started feeling a little dizzy.
Hand firmly planted on the wall to steady himself as the room started to spin. Ignoring the soap in his hair, Uraharas hand went toward the shower handle to switch the water off, accidentally knocking his body wash bottle to the floor with a bang
"kisuke!" Kumiko said, rushing toward him
"one minute " he panted, finally turning the water off. Taking a deep breath he grabbed the towel, and wrapped it around himself just as Kumiko quickly pushed her way into the shower and wrapping her arm around him.
"what happened? Are you alright?" She pressed him, gripping his waist firmly
"just felt a little dizzy, I'm ok" he said leaning more heavily on her than he was aware "I still need to rinse my hair"
"I'll do it, come on" she told him, pulling him from the shower. Leaving him by the sink she quickly grabbed the stool from the corner behind the door and put it next to him
"sit" she directed, pushing gently on his shoulders
"I feel alright now miko, I just got a bit dizzy " he told her, room no longer spinning, but sitting regardless
"the heat probably didn't help, here. Lean back to the sink" she told him, guiding him back so his hair was over the sink, and turning the water on
as Kumiko began gently massaging the shampoo into his hair for him, she noticed he had closed his eyes
"you ok?" She asked gently, searching his face for any discomfort
"hmm? Oh yeah, it just feels really nice" he told her softly
smiling, Kumiko continued to gently scratch at his head, giving it a good clean. After massaging his head and throughly washing his blonde locks, she grabbed a cup and began filling it with fresh water to pour over him, getting rid of the suds
happy it was now clean, Kumiko grabbed a clean towel and began gently drying it, looking at his relaxed face
"where's your razor?" She asked him breaking the silence
opening one eye he looked up at her, "in the cupboard, why?"
"I'm going to shave your face" she told him, going to collect what she needed
"I can do it tomorrow " he told her, watching as she gathered what she needed
"were already here" she said, placing the things next to her "I won't cut you, just lay back and relax"
urahara gave in, closing his eyes again. Kumiko gently wet his face with warm water before applying some shaving foam to her hand and rubbing it into his skin, the hair there gently scratching her hand
rinsing her hands, Kumiko grabbed the razor, before looking down at his face. Gently resting it against his neck, Kumiko glided it up, slow scratchy sound following her movements. Urahara stayed completely still, not wanting to jostle her in any way.
Happy with the now hair free line she had created, Kumiko started again. Soon his hairy chin disappeared, leaving behind smooth skin. Inspecting her work, Kumiko moved his face about to check all the angles
"there he is" she smiled down at him , wetting a clean cloth to wipe the remanence of foam left behind "I think I did a pretty good job"
feeling her finish Urahara opened his eyes and began rubbing his jaw "feels good. Thank you".
"you feeling alright to walk back to the bedroom?" She said, putting everything away
"yeah I feel fine. Just a little tired" he told her sitting up
Kumiko rested her arm around him as he stood, leading him back to the bedroom to get changed
shunsui walked lazily through the 1st barracks, arms crossed behind his head. Mind wondering to Kumiko and what she might be doing. The idea of going home alone tonight playing on his mind. He had enjoyed crawling into bed with Kumiko every night. Waking up to her every morning.
"shunsui" a voice broke through his thoughts, stopping his slow pace to turn to the speaker
"Yoruichi " he greeted kindly, lowering his hands
"I just heard you took urahara home this morning? " she said catching up to him, following him in his unrushed pace to the captains meeting "how is he?"
"fine, Yoruichi. Kumiko is with him now. " he told her, smile coming to his lips "Unohana decided he needed a babysitter for the night"
Yoruichi laughed at the information, knowing how much her friend hated being babied. "Good, she'll keep him in line. That leaves you with nothing to do tonight right?" She asked him slyly
"I was just going to have an early night" he told her, wondering what she had in mind.
"you've gotten old" she laughed at him as he sent her a mock hurt look, clutching his heart dramatically "come have some drinks with me instead. I could use the company"
"everything alright?" He checked looking subtly down to examine her face, looking for any evidence of distress
"fine. I just need a drink, and you're better company than my lieutenant " she told him, refusing to take no for an answer "we can go to the bar you like"
"you're not going to allow me to say no are you?" He raised an amused eyebrow at her wide smile
"absolutely not" Yoruichi grinned "we can invite jushiro too"
"do you know what this meeting is about?"
"I think it's just a catch up of how things are going" Yoruichi told him, stretching her arms above her head. "Nothing significant has happened as far as im aware"
"good, we've had enough going on as it is" he told her, thoughts going back to Kumiko.
The large wooden doors came into view as they turned the last corner, spotting Unohana slip gracefully through them.
Walking into the room, the pair headed for jushiro, having a conversation with captain komamura
"how is the hunt for a new lieutenant?" They arrived to hear the large wolf ask him
"slow. I've been too busy recently to seriously start my search. I have an idea though" he told him, smiling at the two who joined them
"yes, I had heard about the fire your 3rd seats had caused" he smiled down at him, amused by their antics
"you think you've found someone though? To be your lieutenant?" Yoruichi interjected, Kyoraku listening in interested, he hadn't heard about a potential match
"it's still a work in progress. I've not even approached them yet, it might not be something they want" jushiro smiled politely, ignoring the questioning look from his oldest friend at his secrecy
the sound of a door closing announced the head captains arrival. The conversations came to a halt as they all took their positions in line, waiting for him to speak
"captains meeting will now begin." He told them authoritatively. "Captain Unohana, let us begin with you" he said, turning to one of his longest standing captains
"thank you head captain," she began taking a step forward "captain Urahara has been released from my care, with instructions to continue to heal at home" she told the room" I believe he should be well enough to slowly return back to work next week"
the head captain nodded, as she stepped back in line "captain Kurotsuchi. What do you have to report"
"I've nearly finished the device to track akabane When he activates his banki." He said annoyed, having been dragged to this meeting instead of finishing it "a few more days and I will begin testing" he finished
"captain kutchiki and myself have been preparing to accompany captain Kurotsuchi to the world of the living" captain Hitsugaya interjected
"Captain Yoruichi" captain commander turned to her, "has your team occupying Kumiko Satsukis home discovered anything ?"
"no sir. They've not reported anything suspicious" she confirmed, sparing a glance to Kyoraku who had hidden his face with his hat
"If I may captain?" Amagai stepped forward " the numbers of the hollows in the 47th district has increased. With urahara currently out of commission, we could use the help of another division."
"how many are we talking?" Shunsui asked him from a cross the room
"at least 30 a day" he told him with a straight face, concerned for the welfare of his subordinates " there has been reports of hidoi also. My lieutenant has requested the help of lieutenants abari and Hisagi, who thankfully accepted "
"captain komamura, I task you with helping the 3rd in ridding these hollows" he directed his largest captain
"yes head captain" he replied, nodding at amagai
"if that is all." The head captain asked the room. When no one stepped forward he stood up "the meeting as ended. Continue with your work"
Yoruichi walked over to shunsui, nodding to jushiro to join them "right, drinks?" She asked them, clapping her hands together
shunsui chuckled "alright Yoruichi, let's us have some drinks. You coming juu?"
"I'll join you for a while" he gave him a small smile, knowing he couldn't keep up with these two when they drank together. Usually resulting in someone having to carry them home.