Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Shades of Grey	By : SilverKytten Category: Bleach > Yaoi - Male/Male > Urahara/Ichigo Views: 3536 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. All characters associated with the series are the property of Tite Kubo; I am simply borrowing them for my own amusement. No profit/money is gained from any of my writing.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. All characters associated with the series are the property of Tite Kubo, I am simply borrowing them for my own amusement.

Commiseration

Urahara Kisuke loved to sleep. He wasn't particularly lazy, and he didn't even have to sleep that long, he just loved that peaceful, drifting feeling. He had decided, however, that there were certain things that were infinitely more enjoyable than sleep, not the least of which was waking up to a hand around your cock and a hot tongue stroking your nipple.

"Don't you ever sleep?" he murmured, his head falling back on a gasp as Ichigo bit down on the hardened bud.

"I have to be up soon anyway." Ichigo licked a trail up his exposed throat.

"And I suppose you think that means that I need to get up as well?" Urahara's voice was husky as he tipped his chin away, baring more of his neck to the slow caress.

"You're already up, Kisuke." Ichigo lips tickled against his jaw as he gave the cock in his hand a gently squeeze.

"Why do I think you're to blame for that as well?" he groaned, turning his head to capture the younger man's lips.

Ichigo shifted his weight more firmly atop the blond and sank into the kiss. Hands snaked up his back, pulling him closer, kneading softly at his muscles. They hadn't bothered redressing last night and their bare skin rubbed together enticingly, providing the most delicious friction that went straight to Ichigo's groin. The writhed together, hot and consuming, as though trying to crawl into each other's skin.

Ichigo slid lower, lips trailing over the chin, rough with stubble, tongue dipping into the hollow between the delicate curves of the collarbones. Urahara gasped, arching into the sweat slicked skin pressing against his aching arousal as Ichigo slid across him, pausing briefly to pay his respects to the tightly coiled nipples. He continued his slow journey, tongue flicking over ribs, teeth nipping at the stomach muscles that twitched under the torturous assault. He lapped gently at the sensitive skin just inside the jutting hip bone and had to hold the older man down as he jerked off the ground.

"Gods, Ichigo." Urahara's eyes snapped closed and his hand found its way into the mess of orange hair, pressing him closer.

Ichigo moaned against the tender flesh, dragging his mouth sideways until his nose brushed against the straining erection. He could smell the arousal thick in the air and licked at the moisture already smeared across the other man's stomach. His panting breath ghosted across the bobbing head hovering just in front of his lips and Urahara bit back a groan as he twitched involuntarily.

Ichigo's tongue darted out, smearing the pearls of liquid around the velvety skin before drawing him into his mouth. Urahara couldn't stifle the noise he made that time, his hand tightening in the hair, fighting the urge to push the younger man down. Ichigo's hands slid up to hold his hips, thumbs stroking circles over the hypersensitive hipbones as his head slowly rose and fell. He moaned around Urahara's length, loving the taste of him, and reveling in the way the vibrations made him writhe against the floor.

Ichigo pulled away panting, searching out the pale gaze and found the other man watching him, eyes glittering with desire.

"Do you want me to fuck you, Kisuke?" he purred silkily, running his tongue up the vein on the underside of his cock and watching his eyes darken slightly.

"Is that what you want?" Urahara panted, unwilling to give in just yet.

Ichigo just smirked and cast around for the bottle they'd had last night, finding it half tucked under the futon as if placed there intentionally. He fell forward again, taking Urahara into his mouth, relaxing his throat so that he could swallow him to the hilt. The older man groaned, throwing his head back and biting his lip. Ichigo worked him mercilessly with tongue, and throat, and a little bit of teeth until the former captain had both hands fisted in his hair and was thrusting helplessly against him.

He managed to get the lube open and coated two fingers. Urahara drew his knees up instinctively when he felt the slick pressure sliding down behind his balls. Ichigo teased his opening gently, drawing off his cock enough to swirl his tongue around the head.

"Do you want me to fuck you?" he repeated, lapping at his flesh, one finger slipping in to the first knuckle.

"Gods…uhhh…stop talking and do it." He was straining against the finger, trying to drive it deeper.

It drove Urahara crazy with need when Ichigo wanted to top and he could already feel his sanity slipping. The younger man usually just wanted to be fucked, because he wasn't terribly experienced and he worried about doing it wrong. As far as Urahara was concerned, the worries were unfounded because Ichigo was an amazingly fast learner and this was one lesson he'd excelled at.

The finger slipped in all the way and Urahara felt his eyes start to roll as Ichigo returned his attention to trying to swallow him whole. The finger twisted and curled, dragging a rough cry from him as he bucked wildly. Definitely a fast learner. The second finger slipped in and there was a tingling, stretching feeling as Ichigo scissored them gently. Urahara was whimpering and he bit his lip again, forcing his eyes open.

"Just do it, Ichigo." He couldn't wait any longer.

Ichigo pulled back and grasped his hips, pushing his knees up towards his chest. He poured a little more lube over his own arousal and aligned himself with the waiting body, drawing a steadying breath before pushing into the welcoming heat. Urahara moaned deeply as they slid together and he could hear Ichigo hiss above him. They lay there panting for a moment as they adjusted, more for Ichigo's sake than his own. The tight, pulsing heat was always a bit overwhelming for the younger man.

A few breaths later Ichigo was back under control enough to move, retreating slightly and then slipping back inside, all the while watching the other man's face. Urahara knew what he was looking for and angled his hips, rolling up to meet the thrust, feeling a jolt of pleasure surge through him. As soon as he saw the shiver pass through the other body, Ichigo began to pick up his pace, pounding into him with long, steady strokes, gritting his teeth against the building pressure.

They found their rhythm together, rocking into each other, incoherent noises falling from parted lips. Urahara braced a hand against Ichigo's forearm, thrusting harder against him, wringing a cry from them both. Ichigo didn't have the stamina to keep up this pace for long, but his body refused to pull back, refused to slow down. Urahara didn't seem to be doing much better, soft cries tumbling from him at nearly every thrust. No matter what he did, he could never keep quiet when Ichigo was pounding into him like that.

Urahara reached up and grabbed a handful of hair, dragging him down for a heated kiss. "Gods I love it when you fuck me like this." he moaned, nipping at the younger man's lips.

Ichigo shuddered, nearly coming on the spot as the words rolled over him. He loved it when Urahara said fuck almost as much as the other man loved the sound of his own name from Ichigo's lips. He sat back, reaching out to grasp the arousal between them, sliding his thumb across the weeping tip. Urahara came instantly, choking on a groan, already too far gone from the constant stroking against his prostate. Ichigo managed a hand full more thrusts into the pulsing body before he lost himself, a harsh cry ripping from him, stinging his throat.

Ichigo pulled out gently, wincing as his oversensitive flesh complained. He collapsed next to the other man, raising a hand to brush some of the hair from his eyes.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" It was hard to sound worried when you were still panting through the afterglow of an orgasm.

"Does it look like you hurt me?" Urahara sighed in amused exasperation, rolling over to throw an arm over the younger man's chest. "You never hurt me; you're amazingly good, in fact."

Ichigo smirked, his eyes slipping shut. "I guess I had a good teacher."

"Let's just say you have natural talent." Urahara corrected, tracing soft patterns on his ribs. "Thinking of myself as your teacher makes me feel old."

"Well then you're not going to like the reminder that I have to go soon or I'm going to be late for school." he breathed, bringing his own hand up to grip the arm across his chest.

Urahara groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing his forehead against Ichigo's shoulder. 'You're so cruel." he pouted, though the guilt that coursed through him was all too real.

Ichigo didn't respond, just threaded his hand into his ash blond hair, enjoying the last few minutes of peace before he had to brave the outside world.

(*)

Ichigo slipped quietly into his house, setting his keys on the table before heading upstairs. He hadn't planned on the fiasco last night so he'd left his school uniform in his closet when he'd gone out. He scowled at the fact that he was in school at all, but that fight was long over. His father had insisted that he finish the last year, probably in hopes that he could have something of a normal life someday. Ichigo laughed bitterly. Normalcy was overrated.

He flipped the light on in his room and was about to kick the door shut when he noticed a figure curled up on his bed. He closed the door quietly but it was already too late, the light had been enough to disrupt her slumber. He watched as she stirred, brushing dark locks back from her face as lashes swept up over sleep clouded eyes. Her gaze sharpened instantly.

"Ichi-nii, you're home." She pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"Hey, Karin, what are you doing in here so early?" He dropped down next to her, reclining against the wall.

"You didn't come home last night." She leaned back as well, her knees drawn up in front of her.

"I don't come home a lot of nights." he pointed out ruefully.

She nodded but didn't reply. Out of all of his family, she knew him best; she understood what drove him to be what he was. He'd managed to keep the majority of the war away from his family, but he hadn't always been successful. At 13 she was already more of an adult than half of the people he knew and as much as he hated it for having to be this way, it had brought them closer. She had that look in her eyes, the same one that he saw in his own every time he looked into a mirror. She was weary and damaged. She was also never going to break; he recognized that in her too.

When everything had ended the Shinigami had come, like they always did, to modify the memories of the humans that had been unwittingly involved. They had come for Karin and Yuzu, because they were human and more importantly because they were children. Children shouldn't have to see death and blood; they shouldn't have to know those things that no one wants to know. They had come but they hadn't been prepared. They gave no warning, just tried to go about their business without a care for what they looked like barging into the house. Karin was vicious when she was angry, which was probably why she had survived everything she had, but she was frightening when it came to protecting Yuzu.

The first Shinigami through the door had barely managed to raise his hand and she was already on him. He tried to throw her off but she kicked him hard enough to crack the wall he hit on his way down. Ichigo had heard about the plan to late to stop it and had burst through the door just as she launched herself bodily at the second man, screaming for Yuzu to run. It was the same scream he'd heard her use when the Arrancar had broken down their door, looking for him, looking for Rukia. He'd almost killed them in that moment, for coming into his home, for causing that look in Karin's eyes after he'd promised her that it was over. In the end, it was Byakuya of all people who saved them, having seen Ichigo's flight and followed to restrain him. Karin had turned on them both and only his own sharp command had stopped her from flying at the captain holding him down. She had been two months from her 12th birthday, and she had been ferocious. Nothing he'd been through had prepared him to see that look in her eyes as she crouched ready to strike, ready to kill. She would have died for him, for Yuzu, and he loved her for it even as it broke his heart.

When the situation had been explained to her she'd snarled at the Shinigami, refusing to be altered, refusing to disrespect those who had been lost by choosing to forget them so easily. It hadn't mattered by that point, once they saw the level of her reiatsu they doubted the procedure would have worked anyway. They modified Yuzu. She would have broken.

"Dad was pissed earlier." Karin's voice broke through his musings and he rolled his head to look at her.

"I bet he was." he smirked humorlessly.

"Because of you?" she was frowning, more at her own thoughts than at him.

"I'm sure he sees it that way." He turned back towards the empty room. "Shouldn't you have been asleep by then?"

"I was," she admitted, still watching him. "He was mad enough that it woke me up."

"Was it the noise or the reiatsu?" he asked, lips tightening as the anger started to simmer.

"A bit of both," she sighed, "Are you okay? You're not in trouble are you?"

He knew that she didn't mean with their father. "No, we're just having a difference of opinion on how I should live my life."

She laughed, small and sharp, but it was a laugh. "That almost sounds like normal teenage shit, how weird is that."

"Don't say shit," he admonished without any heat, cracking his own half smile at her take on things.

She rolled her eyes and leaned over onto his shoulder, maneuvering his arm so that he was holding her. They just sat there for a moment in comfortable silence, lending each other their support. Like all things in their lives, though, it wasn't meant to last. The light in the hall flipped on and they heard heavy steps ascending the stairs. The knob turned and the door flew open to reveal Isshin, hard eyes flashing. He seemed to draw up short at the sight of his daughter curled against the son he'd been seeking.

"Would you excuse us, Karin, I need to have a word with your brother." His voice was hard and his attempted smile felt more like glass than anything.

"What did you do?" she demanded, pulling away from the embrace to glare at her father.

Ichigo dropped a hand onto her shoulder, stilling her rage. "It's okay, Karin, it's better if you just go."

She gave him a hard look but nodded, sweeping out the door with one more glare at the man half blocking the way.

"What do you want?" Ichigo muttered as Isshin closed the door behind him.

"You know what I want." He had that same patronizingly calm tone from the night before and Ichigo wasn't in the mood to deal with it.

"I think we said all we needed to last night." He dragged himself off the bed and went to his closet, pulling out a uniform and tossing it over a chair.

"The hell we did." Isshin bit out, taking a couple of steps towards him before forcing himself to stop. "You don't really think I'm going to allow this to continue, do you?"

"See, I definitely remember talking about this last night." Ichigo pointed out as he pulled his shirt over his head. "I already told you that it wasn't up to you."

"I'm still your father, Ichigo, whether you like it or not." That tone he kept using was starting to grate on Ichigo's last nerve.

"I know who you are, but this isn't your business." he ground out, stepping out of his pants and into his uniform.

"I'm not just going to stand back while you ruin your life." Isshin's voice was rising and Ichigo felt a small thrill of success at having broken through that horrible, false calm.

"No one's ruining anything," he snapped back. "No one's getting hurt and I'm even still going to school. You're the only one causing a problem here."

"What about your sisters, do you think you're setting a good example for them?" Isshin was closer now, his face flushed with anger.

"Don't you dare bring them into this; you know it has nothing to do with them." Ichigo snarled, his own temper slipping through his fingers.

"The hell it doesn't, they need you here," he bellowed.

"I'll always be here for them, and you know it." Ichigo's eyes narrowed to icy slits.

"You weren't here for them last night; you were off getting into dangerous fights and running around with that damn pervert." They were nearly toe to toe by now.

"So now it's my fault? I thought you were all about blaming Kisuke. Why don't you make up your mind?" Ichigo mocked, knowing that his sisters could probably hear every word but beyond caring by that point.

"It is his fault! You might be to blame for being shortsighted and stubborn, but you're a kid, that's part of life. He's way too old for this shit, he knows better. I should kill him for what he's done to you." Isshin raged, wisps of reiatsu dancing dangerously around him.

"If you lay a hand on him I'll make sure you regret it." Ichigo felt his own reiatsu starting to rise. "Kisuke hasn't done anything worse than be there for me when I needed someone."

Isshin was beyond furious as he reached out to grab his son again. "He's nothing but a traitor and a pervert who took advantage of a kid who was too hurt and stupid to see what was happening."

"You know nothing about Kisuke and even less about me if you think that's true." Ichigo wrenched his arm away, trying to move around the larger man.

"Stop calling him that." Isshin was nearly screaming as he blocked his path again.

"I'll call him whatever the fuck I want." Ichigo pushed him hard, sending him staggering backwards a few steps. "We've fought and killed and nearly died together, you have no fucking right to say anything."

"Where do you think you're going?" Isshin yelled after him as he finally ripped the door open.

"I'm going to school. You remember school, right? It was your idea after all." Ichigo sneered at him from the doorway, daring his father to stop him.

They both stood there for several long moments, neither willing to be the first to look away. Isshin finally growled, a hard and angry sound in the back of his throat. "I want you back here as soon as class lets out."

"Sure, whatever." Ichigo pivoted sharply on his heel and disappeared down the hall.

"I mean it, Ichigo," his father called after him. "This conversation is not over."

There was no answer from the retreating back and Isshin slammed his fist into the wall in frustration. He hadn't meant to yell, but everything he planned to say seemed to fall apart every time he pictured Ichigo standing there last night with Urahara's arms wrapped around him. He growled again. He was definitely not done with his former friend, not by a long shot. He was going to protect his son whether he liked it or not.

Ichigo stormed into the kitchen and wasn't surprised to find both Karin and Yuzu there. Karin was sitting at the table and simply gave him an appraising look as he passed. Yuzu looked terrified. One look at her wide eyes and trembling lip and Ichigo felt his rage slip away.

"Don't worry, Yuzu." He folded her into a hug, awkwardly patting her back as her breath hitched. "I didn't mean to yell like that."

"What's going on?" She sounded like she was crying into his shirt.

"It's nothing, just me and dad fighting. You should be used to that." He was trying to tease but he couldn't manage the tone. He exchanged a look with Karin over the top of her head.

"Come on, Yuzu, Ichi-nii's going to be late for school if you don't let him go." She pried her sister off Ichigo, handing her a tissue and looking at the clock. "Actually, we're going to be late, too."

Yuzu nodded shakily, wiping at her eyes and running to retrieve the lunches she'd made. Ichigo pushed them both out the front door, glad to be escaping before their father decided to make another appearance. It was bad enough fighting in front of Karin, who at least remembered why there might be tension, but doing so front of Yuzu, whose memories were all soft and gentle, was unforgivable. He vowed to make sure the girls were as far away from the next argument as possible.

As they walked he did his best to lighten the mood, trying to remember stories from a happier time. By the time they parted ways Yuzu was smiling again, and Karin and Ichigo were wearing the masks they showed to the outside world. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough.

(*)

When the bell sounded at the end of the day Ichigo was surprised. If anyone asked him what had gone on in his classes he'd have had no answer for them, it all seemed like a blur in his mind. A couple of friends asked if he had plans that night, but he told them he was busy. They accepted it easily; they were used to it by now. Sometimes he wondered why they still tried. They waved goodbye cheerfully and turned in the opposite direction, leaving him alone on the sidewalk. He looked up the street towards home but felt the anger already beginning to stir. He went the other way.

When Urahara's shop came into view he felt the tension finally start to slip out of him. He had no idea why the other man's presence was so soothing to him but he was grateful for it. He silently noted that Isshin should be grateful for it, too, if he really knew what was good for him. He pushed the thought aside, not wanting to think about home or the fight that awaited there.

He slid open the front door and found Ururu sorting through items on one of the shelves, pausing now and then to jot down notes on a pad. She blinked up at him when he drew near, blushing slightly as she recognized him.

"I'll get Kisuke-san," she mumbled, eyes still on the floor.

"Thanks." He couldn't quite hide the smirk at her reaction.

He hadn't even made it out of the room when the other man joined him, stepping through the door and running an appraising eye over him.

"I take it things didn't go well with Isshin?" he enquired, leaning against the wall and folding his arms across his chest.

"We got into it this morning." Ichigo confirmed. "Loud enough for the girls to hear."

Urahara winced, pulling his hat a bit lower over his eyes. "Must have been bad for you to still be so angry."

"It was just the same shit." Ichigo growled, stalking slowly towards him. "He just yells and doesn't listen."

"He's worried about you." Urahara pointed out, dropping his arms as the younger man edged closer. "I think maybe you should reconsider distancing yourself from me."

"I thought we already went over this. I gave you an answer." Ichigo reached up and pulled the hat free, studying it for a moment before tossing it over his shoulder.

"Ah yes, I believe it was along the lines of 'fuck that', or something equally well thought out." His eyes slipped part way closed as fingers tangled in his hair.

"See, I knew you remembered."

Ichigo leaned in to run his tongue over Urahara's lower lip before following with his own mouth. The older man gave in immediately, his lips parting to allow his tongue to twine with the one begging entrance. Ichigo moaned softly, pressing himself forward into the other body. Urahara's hand came up to grip the back of his head, pulling him in deeper, slanting his head so that he could reach every corner of his mouth.

Ichigo slipped his hands from the pale hair, sliding them down to grip the older man's wrists and pin them above his head as he took control of the kiss. Urahara made a sound somewhere between approval and need as he shifted forward, grinding against him. The kiss grew a bit more frantic, tongues dueling for control, small sounds escaping them both.

"I can only assume that you're the Kisuke dad was yelling about this morning." Karin's voice was like a bucket of ice water and the two men fell apart, eyes wide.

Ichigo turned his head slowly and found her leaning on a shelf a few feet away, idly twirling Urahara's discarded hat between her fingers. She was smirking at him; the look of amusement traveling all the way to her eyes and in spite of his embarrassment he was glad to see the emotion there.

"How long have you been standing there?" he asked lightly, still facing the older man and willing his erection to go down.

"In this particular spot? Only for the last little bit." She cocked an eyebrow at him, looking much older than her years. "I was over there for the 'fuck that' part of the conversation." She motioned vaguely at the door.

"Don't say fuck," he corrected automatically, finally turning to face her and adjusting his shirt nervously. "You should have said something."

"I did say something," she pointed out, eyeing Urahara curiously. "So you're the traitorous, perverted child molester?"

Urahara made a small choking sound that was part horror and part amusement. "I see Isshin hasn't lost his touch."

She almost smiled at him but it died away quickly as her brows furrowed. "I remember you from the time I spent with Jinta. You're Shinigami, you were there when…" She frowned, her jaw snapping closed against the memories.

"I was there when Rukia was killed protecting you and your sister," he finished for her, feeling her wince like a knife through his own heart. "I'm surprised you remember, you were badly injured."

"I always remember," she gritted out, refusing to give into the tears that stung her nose.

"So do I," he assured her, his voice soft and rough. "So does your brother."

She nodded sharply, dropping her eyes to the ground. Ichigo closed the distance between them, dropping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against his side. She was getting tall, he noted as her forehead brushed his collarbone.

"I'll make some tea." Urahara murmured, moving off through the doorway and leaving them to follow at their leisure.

(*)

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked once they were seated at the table, staring into their steaming cups.

"I came here after school looking for you," she admitted with a wry half smile.

"Why?" He wasn't angry, just curious.

"You were so mad this morning that I figured you wouldn't go home. I was worried." She sipped at her tea.

"How'd you know I'd be here?" He could guess at the answer, but he wanted to be sure.

"You and dad were yelling about Kisuke this and Kisuke that. I couldn't think of any other Kisuke besides Ururu's boss so I thought I'd start there." She rolled her eyes a bit as if to say it was obvious, and turned her gaze to the man in question. "Are you really fucking my brother?"

Urahara barely managed to not choke on his tea and Ichigo made a little noise of outrage. "I told you not to say fuck."

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure dad told you not to fuck a guy whose old enough to be your…grandfather? Great-grandfather?" She swung back around to look at the blond. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Old enough not to answer that," he replied with a smirk, having finally regained his composure.

"It doesn't matter how old he is." Ichigo glared, his earlier irritation with his father not completely buried yet.

"I didn't say it did." She leveled him with that same amused look from earlier. "I was just pointing out that if you don't have to listen to dad then I don't have to listen to you."

He balked at her and thought he heard a snort of amusement from his right. "So this doesn't bother you at all, you're just interested in saying fuck?" he asked incredulously.

"Which part's supposed to bother me? The part where he's a guy, or is it just the age? I guess the fact that he's one of dad's old Shinigami friends is a bit weird, but whatever." She shrugged at him.

"So you don't think I'm being taken advantage of by some pervert? You don't think I should be with someone my own age? That I should be trying for a normal life?" He still wasn't sure what to make of her reaction.

"Fuck normal. We passed on that a long time ago." She smirked at him, sipping at her tea again. "Besides, what do I know, I'm only 13."

Urahara actually did choke that time, coughing violently into his sleeve. "She certainly is your sister, isn't she?"

Ichigo finally cracked a smile. "I guess she is."

They sat in silence for a minute, just studying each other curiously. Ichigo watched his sister watching Urahara and wondered if he should have told her about this sooner. He hadn't really wanted to bring it up with her, especially when she was so young, but she seemed to be taking it well and it would have saved her a lot of worry at night. He wondered if this was the age confusion that Urahara mentioned sometimes, where going through horrible things together seems to blur that maturity line. The whole thing seemed weird.

"So how long has this been going on?" she asked Urahara, accepting his offer of a refill.

"About a month," he replied easily, sounding for all the world like he wasn't talking to a 13 year old girl about his private life.

"And my dad didn't find out until last night?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Correct," Urahara confirmed.

"He's not taking it well," she pointed out helpfully, turning her attention back to Ichigo.

"How'd you pick up on that?" he asked, the sarcasm heavy in his tone. "Why are you taking this so well, anyway?" he added as an afterthought.

"Like I said, there's no reason for it to bother me." She shrugged. "You're my brother and I love you no matter what."

He just shook his head in a bemused manner, marveling at how strong their connection had become.

"Besides," she continued, dropping her gaze into her tea, "I kissed Toushiro last year, so I don't really have room to judge."

He blinked for a moment. Urahara blinked for a moment.

"Toushiro as in Hitsugaya Toushiro, captain of the 10th division?" Ichigo shouted.

"Calm down, it didn't mean anything." She looked up at him, the sadness back in her eyes. "I was just so happy to see him alive that it just happened. We use to play soccer together sometimes. It was fun."

He couldn't think of anything to say so he just stared at her like she'd grown another head. He was having enough trouble picturing his 12 year old sister kissing a Shinigami captain without the added trouble of being unable to imagine Toushiro doing anything fun. He just shook his head, realizing this was the most ridiculous he'd felt since returning from the war. It was almost nice.

The screen slid open and Jinta appeared, having been drawn by Ichigo's sudden exclamation. He spotted Karin and the two immediately began chatting like it was an everyday occurrence. Ichigo watched the pair, still reeling a bit from her revelations, but happy to see her interacting so freely. He realized that he was probably the only one she had to talk to that really understood where she was coming from. It was good for her to be around other people who had been there. He suddenly wished he'd brought her here before.

"We should go, Ichi-nii." She had turned back to him at some point.

"I was going to stay here tonight," he admitted, looking over to Urahara who was returning his gaze quietly.

"I know, but dad was pissed enough that he'd just come here again." She sighed.

"I can handle it," he assured her, eyes narrowing.

"I think it would be better if you went home and tried to talk to him," she pushed. "He's just going to be more upset if he has see you together again."

"She's right, Ichigo." Urahara cut in before the younger man could respond. "You're always welcome back if things go too badly."

"Fuck, Kisuke, I don't want to fight with him." Ichigo ran an agitated hand through his hair.

"I know, but you don't want to stop coming here either so it's kind of unavoidable," he pointed out ruefully.

Ichigo sighed in defeat, recognizing the truth of it all. "I suppose it's better not to run," he admitted.

Urahara smiled sadly and Karin moved to stand.

"You're welcome here any time." The former captain assured her.

"Thank you, Kisuke." She bowed slightly, with the same sad smile.

Ichigo leaned over him and kissed him thoroughly, ignoring the gagging sounds coming from Jinta. "Keep Benihime close," he whispered against his lips.

"I intend to." His eyes were cold and serious.

Ichigo nodded and Karin said her goodbyes to Jinta and the suddenly rematerialized Ururu. They left together out of the front door, walking silently side by side. She shivered once, even though it was a warm evening, and he slipped his arm around her shoulders again. He honestly felt better than he had all day, even knowing what awaited him at home. Somehow, just knowing that both Karin and Urahara were willing to support him no matter what made facing his father just a little bit easier.
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Shades of Grey