“You gonna be alright, Kazue?” Renji asked, placing a warm and comforting hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off of course, but I appreciated the gesture all the same.
“I’ll be fine.” I told him testily. I knew I’d feel guilty for it later, hell I’d probably apologize to the idiot but right now I had to have my head in the game or I’d most likely strangle Kisuke Urahara on his own doorstep.
The shop was quaint and to be honest a little freaky looking but then again, what could I expect from the former Captain of Squad Twelve. In my opinion he had always been a little on the strange side. In fact in reminded me much of his quarters at the Squad Twelve barracks; musty, dank and smelling a little off.
What did surprise me, however was the behemoth of a man that showed us inside. He introduced himself as Tessai. It took a few moments to connect the dots but when I did my eyes went wide as I stopped walking. Suddenly Renji collided with my backside nearly spilling me out onto the floor. “What the hell? Are you alright?” Renji asked frantically, grabbing my arms to steady.
“Yeah,” I choked out. “Just surprised.”
He looked confused for a moment when I looked pointedly at the muscle-bound man in the blue apron. “Idiot, don’t you know who that is?”
Scratching his neck in true Renji fashion he shook his head to the negative. I scoffed, smacking him lightly on the shoulder. “It’s a wonder you made Lieutenant. That’s the Commander of the Kido Corps, or at least he was, before he was exiled for killing those Captains.”
I blinked. “Told what, Renji?”
He growled out in frustration as a kicked a display case next to me. “Those bastards! How could they send you without briefing you? No, wait… I’m the idiot, I should have known and told you myself!”
He was in near hysterics by the time his rant was over and he was literally panting for the force of his heaving breaths. Myself, I was more confused than ever, having not the foggiest clue as to what in the hell he was talking about.
“Did you ever think, Abarai-san, that maybe they were afraid of her ire.” A voice chuckled from behind me.
I whirled around, coming face to face with the man accused of killing my brother and uncle. “Kisuke Urahara,” I snarled. “Let’s get this freaks show over with, I wanna go home.”
“As you wish, Eishima-san, why don’t we rest in the sitting room, Tessai is brew some of his delicious tea.” He said, flicking an ugly paper fan out to cover the lower half of his face. I didn’t like it. Kisuke has always been a queer fellow but I didn’t like not being able to read his face, especially when one considers his shady background. We followed him without word, listening to the clinking of his wooden shoes, it was about enough to drive me mad. At this point I wanted nothing more than to forget about my duties, smack that sarcastic grin of Urahara’s face and return home… to where shit was still normal.
A snarl met my ears just as we passed through another doorway and into the stale yellow light of Kisuke’s sitting room and when he stepped away to sit I thought I might have a heart attack. Honestly, I should have known better than to be even remotely surprised by anything Urahara has walking, crawling or slithering around this place but I still sucked in a breath at the sight of the blue haired man growling at me like a wild animal, clutching onto a heavily pregnant and sleeping, white haired female.
“Now, now, Grimmjow, they aren’t here for you.” Kisuke chided, shaking a finger like he was scolding a child, then his voice turned serious. “So stop that.” The man, Grimmjow, only response was to growl louder flashing me his glinting white fangs. “Fuck off, Shinigami. I don’t want them here.” For some reason as the azure haired man said this his eyes zeroed directly into mind and if I hadn’t been as pissed off as I was I might have been impressed by their deep blue color.
Renji scoffed from behind me, leaning casually on my shoulder as he snapped at the man. “Deal with it, Espada. We got our orders and no ex-plaything of Aizen’s is gonna stop us.”
The Espada stood, his fist clinching and un-clinching at his sides, jostling the fair haired beauty laying across his chest. “I’ll show you just how much of an ex-plaything I am, Pineapple!”
“Grimm, shut up.” The woman murmured from her spot on the floor. She was scowling up at him with pale yellow eyes and her lips pursed. Obviously she was pissed at being woken up, and I guess if I was about ready to burst, I would be too.
 |
| Mari Yushima |
“How far along is she?” I asked after calming down from my hysteria. I generally was curious. I knew for a fact that this woman was a fellow shinigami, or used to be and that man was an Arrancar or at least that’s what his spiritual pressure told me. Their offspring would be quiet interesting indeed, not to mention beautiful.
His eyes narrowed for a split second, those impossibly blue eyes boring into my soul before he finally cracked a smirk. “She’s term.” he said retaking his seat and gathering said woman into his lap, his arms poised possessively around her midsection. His face softened as he gazed down at his once again slumbering woman and kissed the top of snowy white locks. “I like this one.” he whispered. “Want to go to be?.”
The woman nodded and tried to stand. Her legs were as wobbly as a new born colt and while I might not have seen a lot of pregnant woman in my time in here on earth I still knew that they should be able to walk upright. But I assumed that with the strain of carrying a half soul reaper/half Arrancar child might be a little much on her body. As I watched them disappear I felt a pang of jealousy that I had not felt in years. Maybe Renji was right and I needed to finally find someone of my own.
Renji huffed next to me. I could tell he had gotting fed up with the deafening silence a while ago and it seemed after thirty minutes of nobody saying anything that he snapped. “Alright, Urahara what the hell. Why was it so important for Eishima-san to be here?”
My head whipped towards him, cocking an auburn brow as I mouthed, ‘Eishima-san?’. He shrugged like he didn’t know what I was talking about and turned back to face Kisuke. Never since the day I had met Renji had he ever called me anything but Kazue, Eishima or bitch.
Of course the idiot in question slapped out his ornamental distraction and began fanning himself like he had scarlet fever. “Oh… well,” he chuckled nervously. My crimson eyes narrowed and my nose scrunched up. The bastard was up to something and I’d bet a whole year pay that it wasn’t good. The last time he had that look on his face he had just spilled some UN-namable substance on one of Yoruichi’s good kimono. What the hell had he done now?
Finally having enough of his spluttering and beating around the bush, I slammed my hands down on the table, causing everyone but the big guy from the Kido Corps to jump. “Come off it, Kisuke and tell me what fuckery you’ve gotten yourself into this time!”
Kisuke’s face fell for a moment, obviously shocked by my outburst before he beamed at me. “There now, that’s the kind of reaction I was hoping for.”
A low growl built up in my throat. “What the hell does that mean, Urahara?” I demanded leveling him with that special glare. The glare every woman learns from her female mentor. Mine was probably more scary than most to him because of who I’d learned it from. It was a well know fact that Kisuke was a chicken-shit when it came to Yoruichi and it made it all the more satisfying when Kisuke’s face paled and his started to sweat.
“Now, now,” he clucked, waving his fan at me in a passive manner. “No need getting all flustered.” He said before his face turned serious. “I’ve called you here to help me with a little project given to me by the Head Captain.” “And that is?” Renji asked, his own face mirroring mine in aggravation.
“Just a little recruitment,” he replied nonchalantly, waving his fan in a silly fashion.
I gaped in exasperation. “Recruitment?” I asked, my voice rising a touch along with my rising anger. “Recruitment!” I growled, my carefully controlled temper slipping. “What the fuck do you mean, recruitment!?”
Kisuke’s cute humor was gone by the time I was done yelling and Renji looked like he wanted to crawl in a hole and hide. Both of the kids I had met earlier were gone and I figured they wanted no part of the beating I planed of giving the blond man in front of me. I might only be at the rank of Lieutenant but I was trained - personally - by Yoruichi, leader of the Punishment Force and I knew how to handle myself. The only one who didn’t seem moved by my outburst was Tessai and I knew the reason behind that as well. That man could have me pinned and killed with a simple Hado or Bakudo in a matter of seconds and while I was also good with Kido, this man was the Commanding Chief of the Kido Corps for a reason.
“Please calm yourself, Miss Eishima.” Tessai said politely, but in his deep tone I could detect the warning within. He was silently telling me that he would intervene if I kept this up. As much as my brain was screaming at me not to challenge a man like him, my temper was too far gone to control my mouth. “Stuff it, Tessai. I was just woke up in the middle of the fuckin’ night to come here, thinking it was some kind of an emergency only to find out that I’m been dragged here to play some sort of sick version of a recruitment officer! I have every right to be pissed!” I howled, throwing my arms up before I stood and stomped out into the cold night air.
It took several sessions of deep calming breaths before the heat left my face and my heart finally slowed. I hadn’t gotten that pissed in a long time and somewhere in the depths of my soul I knew it wasn’t because of my assigned “mission”, it was a hurt that ran so much deeper and if I was honest with myself I owed Kisuke Urahara an apology. It wasn’t his fault brother died. It wasn’t his fault he was exiled. It was just fate and I had to learn to except that.
I stayed out on that porch for most of the night before the click-clacking of Urahara’s wooden geta’s filled my ears. He stopped just in front of me but before he could say anything I blurted, “I’m sorry.” Not even bothering to hide the tears that formed in the corners of my eyes. “I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“You know,” He sighed, filling the space next to me. “I sat at my desk for hours that night, fighting with my own instincts that were telling me to… If I had just went to Tessai sooner, your brother might still be alive and for that, I’m sorry.”
It took every bit of restraint I had not to break down and ball like the little girl who still missed her family so much. It felt like my chest was breaking open but I held it in, just barely. “I was there when Shinobu was murdered. I saw everything and it’s not your fault, Kisuke.” His face took a dark expression as he swung me around at the shoulders to look at him. “What do you mean, “You were there?”
My eyes widened at the realization of what I had just said. “I-I I hid in the bushes. No one knew I was there. I ran- When I saw what happened to Kensei-Ojisan… I just couldn’t.” I cried, utterly humiliated and disgusted with myself.
Warm arms engulfed my body as Kisuke cooed into my hair, “It’s alright, Kazue. It’s not your fault either. You were still just a child yourself, without Zanpakuto there was nothing you could have done.”
Sniffling into his shoulder I wound my hands tighter around his waist, “I missed you when you left, Kisuke. You and Yoruichi.”
“I should have brought you with me. I knew I should have… but I didn’t, forgive me.” He whispered, stroking my the long locks of my hair.
“No,” I sniffed. “No, you were right to leave me behind. I needed to get stronger and I wouldn’t have done that if you had been around to fight my battles for me.”
We stayed like that until morning, wrapped in the comforting embrace of an old friend. It was a little after day break when I sat up and wiped the crusty remnants of my dried tears from my eyes.
“So,” I said with an embarrassed chuckle. “What’s this recruitment job?”
Poking my ribs slightly he replied, “Apparently your Commanding Captain is still having a hard time filling Captain’s seats and he’s asked me to go on a little assignment to look up some old friends.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
He smiled lecherous at me for a moment and I wondered if all the things Yoruichi had told me over the years about him were true? It certainly appeared that he was a pervert and I was no longer a child. “Just trust me when I say that if anyone can smack some sense into this… friend, it’s you.” His eyebrows wiggled with enthusiasm and I couldn’t help but laugh at him. I had missed the weird bastard, after all.
“Pervert,” I muttered, smacking him hard across his bicep.
His face contorted in pain for a moment before he rubbed it and complained that I was more like Yoruichi than what he would deem comfortable.
“If only you knew,” I told him playfully, thinking about his reaction should he come poking around in my room in the middle of the night. It would be worth a thousand orgasms to me to see his reaction. It would be priceless.
~
It was just after noon when we were finally in our gigai’s and we were ready to head out. We were headed to an area around Mt. Gongen. It was remote but as it was one of Urahara’s friends it really didn’t surprise me that much. Although, being in a gigai and having to take human transportation, sucked.
It was just after nightfall when we arrived at the unexpectedly large manor. Even in the miniscule moonlight it was breathtaking. Beautiful seemed a bit understatement when confronted with this old and stately group of buildings and it made me wonder if this was one of Kiskue’s noble friends.
We had just stepped foot onto the little gravel path that led to the porch of the main house when the shoji door opened and a voice I hadn’t heard in over a hundred years asked, “What are ya doin’ here, Shinigami?” I thought my head might separate from my body right there. It was that same voice I’d heard over and over again in my dreams. It was wrong, on so many levels that I was too cowardly to look at him. I was scared, scared that it might be the same man. That man… the vision of his face was my first arousal and was still the only thing I could masturbate too and come that hard, sickening or not.
Kisuke smiled at the man. “Hello, Hirako-san, I do believe that I’m a little lost. I’m not really sure where I am.” Kisuke replied cheekily, any idiot could tell that he was full of shit.
The man growled low in his chest as he stepped out onto the porch, directly in Kisuke’s face. “Ya really think I’m that stupid, old man?”
“Old?” I heard Urahara cry, sounding more hurt than I knew him to be. “You’re older than me by a few hundred years, Hirako, how can you call me old?”
I spluttered, my head jerking up, expecting to see a man that more resembled the Captain Commander than the youthful blonde in front of me. Oh, it was definitely him and he was just as beautiful today as I remembered. His hair was a little shorter, flowing only down to the middle of his back rather than down past his ass I like I remembered, but those haunting honey eyes were no different. I gasped as they rose to meet mine and I felt I was going to experience a stroke when his lips turned up into a smoldering smirk. “Who the Doll face?”
I stood there dumbly, staring at the man dressed in an all black suit and black fedora before it caught up with me what he had just said. My eyes narrowed instantly and I heard Renji mutter a quick “Oh shit” under his breath before I snapped. “What the fuck did you just call me?”Hirako’s eyes widened and he took a nervous step back. “Kisuke,” he whispered. “She ain’t gonna eat me, is she?”
In true Urahara fashion he whipped out his fan, chuckling lightly, “Of course not, Hirako-san. This is just my lovely escort. Miss Kazue Eishima.” While the tone of his voice was humorous if this man knew Kisuke as well as I thought he did, well he should know that that voice was never one to be trusted.
I was surprised however when Hirako gasped and immediately bowed, “Pleasure, Eishima-san, Shinji Hirako at yer service.”
As thunder rolled overhead Renji who was still standing next to me, curiously flicking his eyes from left to right huffed out angrily. “Cut the crap, Shinji. Can we come inside before we get soaked.”
