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A Shadow of What Was	By : katami Category: Bleach > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 49594 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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- 14
Author's Notes: Not sure what to say, so I shall thank everyone for reading and remind everyone that nothing says love like a review.

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It had taken four hours of reports and work but they were finally alone, all the problems seen to, just them. And it was perfect, thought Karin, smiling faintly and snuggling closer to her lover. Hitsugaya chuckled softly as she began tracing designs on his chest, batting away her hand. Karin laughed, catching his hand and pulling it to her heart. It was rare to see Toushirou relax and forget who and what he was. She treasured every second she saw him that way. Most people didn't understand why she loved him, to them Toushirou was as cold and unapproachable as ice; but laying with him, hearing his laughter and seeing the open joy in his eyes it was impossible not to love him.

Her hand crept back to his chest and Toushirou caught it, frowning at her playfully. "You're trying to trickle me."

"No, I am tickling you," she said, rolling atop him and beginning to tickle her lover. Toushirou squirmed and laughed, trying to escape her fingers before grabbing her and rolling her under him, trapping her hands above her head to stop the assault. Karin grinned up at the Shinigami above her, letting her eyes slip closed as a strong hand caressed her cheek, continuing down her neck and shoulder to gently cup her breast. She moaned softly and Toushirou leaned down to press his lips to hers.

"Love you," he whispered softly against her lips, drawing a whimper from her. No matter how many times they said the words, each time was moving and special. Maybe it was because she knew she might lose him, or maybe it was because she knew it was only thing they could give each other. Whatever it was, the words were always something to be treasured.

There was a banging outside but Toushirou ignored it to continued kissing her, they had Matsumoto to act as gatekeeper to her captain's private quarters. A job she took very seriously since having been promised a place in the bridal party when they married.

"You can't go in there!" yelled their gatekeeper as the door slid open. Karin felt Toushirou stiffen and his captain's mask snap back into place. She tugged the blankets up to cover herself and glared at Abarai Renji and Ishida Uryuu's smirking faces. She could understand the smirks, it had to be nice to be on the other side of being discovered for once. Behind them was Matsumoto, looking stickened for a second before she spotted them and began cooing about how sweet they were and how in love. Karin had the horrible suspicion that if the other woman had a camera there would have been pictures to immortalize the moment.

"Shut the hell up!" snarled Hitsugaya, releasing her and moving to sit next to her, blanket pooled in his lap. "Why the fuck are you in my quarters?" roared the 10th captain as Karin reached out a hand to gently touch his shoulder. Toushirou didn't move closer to her, but his eyes flicked to her for the briefest second and the icy rage in him warmed slightly.

"It's important and it happens to deal with your brother-in-law. We thought you'd like to be involved," announced Ishida in his huffiest tone. The Quincy didn't take well to being yelled at.

"Ichi-nii?" she demanded, sitting up and wondering what could concern her brother and be so important as to risk interrupting them. Hitsugaya did not handle interruptions well.

"We'll let you get dressed and explain," murmured Renji, tugging both Matsumoto and Ishida away and leaving them to grab their robes. She slid on a dark purple kimono she kept there, watching as Toushirou struggled with a glacial blue one that she had given him, anger making his movements stiff and jerky. Karin sighed and helped him into the kimono, taking a second to draw him close. She could feel the tension in him, Toushirou loved her, but he hated for others to know. What they felt for each other was something private, between just the two of them in his mind.

"It's alright, anata," she soothed.

Strong arms slipped around her and a weary sigh slipped out. "Are you sure you want to come? There are things...,"

"I saw you bring Ichigo home after burying Urahara, Toushirou. It can't be worse than that," she whispered, shuddering slightly at the memory. Her older brother supported between Renji and Toushirou, covered in blood, dried tears on his cheeks and a dazed, broken expression on his face. He had fought them when they tried to bathe him, clinging to his soiled robes and sobbing, clinging to the one part of his love he had left. The lover he had never told his family about, the lover he had just buried.

She heard Toushirou murmur comforts and pull her tight against him in silent support. "I love you. More than anything," he whispered fiercely.

"I know. And I love you."

Matsumoto was pouring tea for Renji, Ishida, and Rukia by the time they arrived. She could always be counted on to handle the niceties. "What is it that couldn't wait until morning?" growled Hitsugaya, earning a smirk from Abarai and Ishida. "And where the hell is Kurosaki?"

"Ichigo is why we are holding this meeting, hence it would not behoove us to invite him," murmured Ishida. "He's also still out in the field."

"What do you mean? What about my brother?" demanded Karin.

"If Uryuu is right," began Renji.

"There's no if, Shinigami," snapped the Quincy, glaring at his lover. "Unlike some people, I have no problem with delicate work." Karin frowned slightly. It was rare to see Uryuu and Renji yelling at each other. For all their differences and given the rumors of how they had started out, these days they tried to make an effort to get along. At least in public.

"Fine! Uryuu managed to track down the young man we encountered earlier today. The same young man who killed the hollow earlier this evening.," continued Renji, earning twin glares from Hitsugaya and Rukia. "He believes the young man, one Mizuno Hideaki, is the reincarnation of Urahara Kisuke."

The room erupted in chaos as Matsumoto and Hitsugaya began shouting that the idea of Urahara returning was ridiculous while Renji and Ishida yelled back that it was completely within the realm of what the former shopkeeper was capable of. Rukia tried to interject but her voice was lost in the confusion. And not for the first time, Karin thought it was long past time someone in her family had a long talk with Ichigo about just who and what this man he loved so much had been.

"Shut up!" screamed Karin, using the glare she usually reserved for stopping fights between Ichigo and her father. It worked just as well on a room full of screaming Shinigami, she noted, because each and every one of them grew silent and stared at her, blinking owlishly.

"Thank you, " murmured Hitsugaya with a slight smile for her, the twinkle in his eyes was unmistakable however, and she knew they would laugh over this later. "Now, what makes you think that this human is Urahara?"

"It is Urahara, Hitsugaya-taichou. Ichigo can tell and he confirmed it to me earlier this evening. If the young man Ishida found is really the same one I saw then it is Urahara Kisuke," whispered Rukia solemnly, her eyes down and her whole bearing contrite. Someone had screwed up earlier this evening , but Karin couldn't begin to guess what Rukia could have done to make her think she had earned Hitsugaya's ire.

"Mizuno-kun is the one you saw, Kuchiki-san. He told me he used kidou to kill a hollow earlier this evening. Whether he is Urahara or not can wait, it's enough that Ichigo believes he is," murmured the Quincy, taking a deep breath.

"Why is that, Ishida-san?" asked Karin, a sickening sense of dread filling her.

"Because Mizuno-kun has gone missing. He and I were attacked earlier this evening by Ichimaru and two Arrancar. I sent Mizuno-kun to the Urahara shop while I fought Ichimaru, but he never made. I believe Aizen took him," explained the Quincy and Karin felt the tension that seized the room.

"What? What is it?" she demanded.

"We barely kept Ichigo from storming Hueco Mundo when Aizen killed Urahara," explained Toushirou, laying a hand on her thigh. "If he believes this young man is Urahara and that Aizen has him...,"

Her brother would never let it go. He had staged a raid on Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime who was little more than a friend. He had been ready to do so again to avenge the mere memory of a lover. He would never leave someone he truly loved in the hands of Aizen and his goons. He would sooner die. He would charge into Hueco Mundo without a second thought for someone he loved. She knew because she would have done the same thing.

"Toushirou...anata," she breathed, unable to go on past the lump in her chest, the cold certainty that her brother was going to go running off and get himself killed. And she couldn't face that. She couldn't lose her brother any more than she could lose Toushirou.

She found herself lifted from her seat and wrapped in a comforting embrace, drawn tight against her lover's chest. For a moment she was honestly baffled, unable to believe that her proper Shinigami lover would abandon propriety so completely even for her. As gentle hands began to pet her hair she felt a wave of embarrassment for her doubt in him and in them. He loved her. She never needed to doubt that. He loved her and she needed the comfort only he could give her, and so he gave it, freely and without thought for his own feelings.

"I won't let him do anything foolish, koi," he murmured softly, glaring at the rest of the room, daring them to make something of him comforting her. Karin smiled weakly up at him and the scowl on his lips, only Toushirou could comfort someone while scowling. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled deeper into his warmth.

"I know you won't, anata."

"Then I would suggest we sedate him because Ichigo is not just going to wait for us to confirm that Mizuno is Urahara or that Aizen has him," murmured Rukia.
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A Shadow of What Was