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Tag	By : LilMonk Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 11403 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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
- 17
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Disclaimers:Bleach is the sole property of Kubo Tite. I only own this fanfic.

Sunset

Making a toast to the starless sky, only a faint sliver of moon could be seen. Did milk taste better in a different form? He would ask his best friend
that question, except she was no longer around again.

Aizen Sousuke had gotten what he wanted, but at least the merry band of rescuers had returned alive and their mission accomplished. Kurosaki-san had been understandably furious at his predicament and were it not for Yoruichi intervening, Kisuke was certain the youth might have been spoiling for a fight
to the death. She had helped before things became a real mess, something they
were both used to.

What he couldn't get used to though, was her return to Soul Society this time. Before, he could predict what she went there for and when she would come back; little details he didn't worry about but now� it was different. Staying only for one night before leaving again- The new bamboo flute broke in his tightened grip. Reaching for the 300 ml bottle of lukewarm Sapporo sake to wash
away the cloying blandness of that viscous liquid, he took a deep swallow of
the mild alcohol.

Hm, it was unusual. Self-pity and a carefree nature like Urahara Kisuke's did not go together. Perhaps it had to do with the awkward minutes they'd spent together before her most recent departure.

Did you solve your problems?

I did. Kisuke, Yama-ji and... others... Seirei-tei needs my aid. They are greatly weakened by this terrible turn of events and
with this recent message-

I understand. You have to leave. Go with my blessings and be careful.

Kisuke...

Not looking around, even as the gentle pressure of her hand came to rest on his shoulder. She should have stayed in feline form. That way, he wouldn't have turned his back on her, to try and avoid seeing pleading emotion in those quixotically endearing features. He knew. Her happiness was waiting to reclaim her. Part of him rejoiced, even as an innermost portion of him shrank and crumbled.

Best friends would not deny their valued counterpart. Listening to the sound of soft footsteps, muffled footfalls carrying her away from him... It was
the only night that clocks didn't matter, and neither did the world around him.
Then the next day, it was back to business. Trying to rein in Jinta, attempting
to make Ururu less timid and teasing Tessai not to slack in manual labour as he
did the paperwork. Ichigo would constantly drop by, and so did Chad, Ishida and
Orihime� adding more interesting distractions to his days.

It was good that way, so he would only be plagued by thoughts of her at night.

Snap out of this, it's not beneficial.

Playful advice that had been traded back and forth in casual banter was now only a dull self-reminder. Memorable whims of their earlier days, just like
everything else. The childish glee she displayed upon swiping his piece of
stewed conger eel and running off, him in hot pursuit until they fought
themselves into exhaustion. Testing out his latest advancement in glue with her
hair, resulting in a cropped haircut that wonderfully distinguished the
mischievous imp from everyone else.

What was with this funk? It wasn't as if she was abandoning him permanently, or throwing away their friendship. Excessive knowledge and intelligence couldn't deter useless emotions though. She made everything else
seem livelier, exaggerated versions of themselves. The one time a blushing
Kisuke found himself in a compromising position during one of their frequent
tussles, he�d been first to declare his honest intentions. Seeing open
admiration on sunny innocence and her smile... he would do anything to preserve
it.

As time went on, that conviction was severely tested. Sometimes, he wondered what preserved him in the role of �steady harbour of neutrality�� was
it to keep them both safe? Probably. Habit and time had made it so convenient,
potentially unstable alterations would not be welcome. Between his tiresome
research, daunting missions and irksome politics of the upper brass in
Seirei-tei, he couldn�t handle any more trouble--He created enough for himself.
Thus, the melody of their friendship never wavered. There were no openings for
any changes.

He�d closed the avenues; she�d kept them shut.

The presence of a third party was the binding seal.

The times he�d been this close to introducing a new element to their relationship had always been around extremes. Seeing her asleep
on a grassy knoll after a long, draining day, peaceful countenance entrancingly
vulnerable and her lips... They�d been ascending the official ranks of
Seirei-tei then. When he�d held her after that hellish battle, even as she wept
for the wound she inflicted due to his own weakness� They�d abandoned Soul
Society together. As she stood there, unguarded and appealing to him for
understanding and some form of objection, he did nothing. And she�d left
him.

He had betrayed her that last time, by not being frank.

It was for the sake of their sanity. Ever the accommodating friend, he played his part dutifully, but he had underestimated the stakes. This time, she might not be coming back... of her own free will.

Free will could be such a painful thing.

But it also led to the most unique, unclassifiable memories.

Like the
first time he�d witnessed Benihime�s true materialization.

Relatively
humanoid in appearance, black mussed curls intertwined with rose-coloured paper
was twisted close to her scalp, with two long skinny braids trailing down the
back. Lash-less, pupil-less eyes and dishevelled robes a deeper shade
matching those plain ornaments, arms hidden behind the waist like a bashful
child� Yoruichi had to deck him across the head so he�d stop gaping. The zanpaku-tou�s
spirit gave the impression of a small maple tree brought to life. This rag-clad
street urchin was the epitome of a hazy verge between adolescence and
adulthood, and that impish giggle in response to his best friend�s request to
start the deadly experiment�

How could
he attack such a frangible-looking thing?

Then
multiple fragments of the weakness from his soul had appeared, laughter vanished and the
unearthly sprite gestured for him to begin.

Rust red,
reed-thin; overly long fingers resembled razor-sharp metallic joss sticks
reversed in prayer, not giving her any trouble or awkwardness with grasping a
sword--while additionally clawing out painful results in close quarters--as she
lunged towards him. The crimson aura now surrounding this� girl gave tattered
robes magnificence akin to living, breathing fire. Seriousness made her much
older than that youthful face appeared to be, and increased his confusion. But
at least the urge to be kind was gone.

It was too
easy to forget Yoruichi was anxiously watching out for him.

With each broken weapon, Benihime would utter a single sentence of wisdom.

�Without the urge to crush me, you�ll die.�

And he would respond.

�I�m trying.�

Then that thin face would lapse into a strange smile, and not give a totally unrelated reply in that sexless, ageless voice of hers until another
sword was broken.

�Stop trying to hit me, and hit me already!�

�Your nagging's as annoying as Yoruichi�s!�

Amidst the cruel dance of brutally drawn blood, fleeting sharpness of vicious pain and improving adeptness at gauging and countering her moves, they
were gradually coming to a poignant understanding of each other. Her mystery
was overwhelming, and absolutely engaging to all the senses.

When the Tenshintai fell over into the dust, Kisuke nearly gasped in horror. Then he realised everything wasn�t over yet, but merely a brief
respite.

Although he couldn�t understand why Yoruichi was prone to scowling, or waspishly frosty whenever she talked to him during that period of achieving
bankai.

And it continued the day after; stalking grace laced with cunning danger, watching each other too intently and greedily making trivial observations, more
verbal exchanges to build a bridge of indeterminable materials, and- It was not
helping. She was pure poetic beauty, when skilfully defensive. One half wanted to prolong this utterly fascinating experience, the other half wanted to shred his opponent into bloody spatters all over the dusty
ground. Besides, there was the limitation factor of �detriment to self� to
consider� Harm himself, and it would indirectly affect his zanpaku-tou�s
spirit.

Byakuya had gotten off lucky, without having to be so savage towards
Senbonzakura, by using the usual method (if what was surmised about that
zanpaku-tou�s spirit might have been like, was true).

Careless intimacy had been unexpectedly rewarding, towards the end of another day. Nails lodged within his flesh but missing all the vital organs and
main nerves, she�d whispered the secret of achieving bankai with this method. Shocked into ending the deadlock of their blades, he�d instinctively sliced off her left
arm in the process to put more distance between them.

Hearing a soft whimper, seeing an expression of pain crossing deathly pale features as his opponent stiffened� Yoruichi�s shouted reminder was the only
thing keeping him away.

Day Two ended rather abruptly, and he still couldn�t fathom why his best friend was even more temperamental than usual.

Staring at his zanpaku-tou as he relaxed alone in the hot spring, Kisuke was considering everything he knew. Last night�s dream about its spirit was not helping.
Unspoken interaction with mutual responses, impossible intellectual fantasy and
finally, amazingly vivid passion� Finish the experiment, and all he�d be left
with was bittersweet oddness. One bridge would be crossed, but another burned. After
all, when true understanding of self had been achieved, what need was there for
further consultation, except remembering from time to time?

Burnished metal gave no answer. But after much musing, he knew what to do. All resistance to his original purposes was gone, even if a melancholy ache
lingered.

Day Three was much shorter than anticipated. But it was also the most stressful, especially when his blade finally accomplished his goal. Fragments of her
weapon falling to the ground, spindly fingers wrapped around the hilt of the
true zanpaku-tou he had recognised and buried through her heart� his
Benihime looked up at him, supported against his chest. Eyelids wavering,
trembling fingers reached for his face.

�I miss that shade of green��

He�d forgotten the underlying issue about his eyes.

Watching the warm light dim in those closing eyes, he told her.

�I�ll remember.�

Their chaste kiss had been every bit as sweet and
revitalizing as the dream of their togetherness� until he was holding a lifeless dummy in his arms
once more, glowing zanpaku-tou jammed through its stocky body.

After being roughly smacked around the jaw and shouted at for molesting a priceless Shihouin artifact, he didn�t see a surprisingly angry commander for
three days.

Women were too hard to figure out.

Although thinking back, Yoruichi had said the same thing when he�d personally ascertained that the Hougyoku
captured his success, and after they'd abandoned Soul Society, prior to this alternate bankai theory.

I miss that shade of green�

Benihime. Yoruichi. There was a promise to keep, and as to irreversible change that couldn�t be rectified� trying made up for it. Or so he hoped.

Hence the hat. Depending on the time of day and darkened with the shadow cast by the brim, his eyes might look like its original hue for a short time.
His clothes were poor imitations for compensation.

Fingering powdery smoothness of worn koto strings, he was looking at the moon and remembering their shared philosophy about it while musing.

Someday, we�ll meet again. Until then, keep
yourself and the others such as Yamamoto-sensei safe. Whoever completes the
circle first doesn�t matter, but I�ll try to find a way to be accepted into
Soul Society� so that you can come back to me�

0o---------------------------------------o0

Definitions

Hougyoku:Precious gem
containing Urahara Kisuke�s technological secrets on how to merge shinigami and
Hollow to form a true hybrid.

Tenshintai:Life-sized doll
from the Special Covert Operations unit, capable of drawing out and allowing the
Soul Slayer�s spirit to solidly manifest in the real world.

A/N:Regarding Kisuke�s eyes, think back to the cause for that chapter of �Shihouin Yoruichi Vs. Urahara Kisuke�. Sorry about the long wait.What
I wrote about Benihime and Kisuke�s bankai here is imagination, so don�t
take it as canon, except for the 3-day time limit. The next chapter to tie in with the manga will be the last
for this fanfic, unless a magnificent brainwave inspires me to continue.

nickel: Thanks
for the encouragement. No reviewer has made me blush/ lose my vocab before, but�
yup. Thank you.

allyluv:
Thanks for the appreciation. Regarding your questions, that link to the site
with my full profile will hopefully, give a thorough enough answer.
- 17
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