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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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Author's Notes: Together again. *grin* Hope you all enjoy.

I'm glad everyone enjoyed Rukia and Ryuuken. They are just so much fun together. Although the real fun is going to be when all these relationships come to light.

And my story for Y-con is original, Affie and Rysha. I might post it though. I can never tell with my original work - I am very insecure about most of it.

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Ichigo paused on his way past the training chamber, something nagging at the edge of his senses and drawing him toward the rocky room. He stepped inside, not sensing anyone, and sighed softly. He wasn't much in the mood to train, but a little activity wouldn't have been totally unwelcome. With another soft sigh he set off over the uneven terrain, figuring a lap or two might tire him out enough to appreciate Ishida's couch.

He rounded a rock and froze as he found himself less than three meters away from Mizuno Kisuke. Ichigo stared at the younger man, held captive by those wide gray eyes that stared at him with a mixture of shock, longing, and wariness. The blonde was the first to look away and a faint blush tinged his cheeks. "Kurosaki-san," he murmured in a soft, polite tone - so unlike anything Urahara had ever used.

"Mizuno-kun," he managed to squeeze out around the lump in his throat. "What are you doing here?" he asked before his eyes went wide as he realized that the blonde shouldn't have been there. Not alone. "What the hell are you doing here all by yourself?"

The blushed was new but the smile and the twinkle in those gray eyes were pure Urahara. "I snuck out," murmured the blonde, as if sneaking past guards was something he did everyday.

"How did you get past the guards?" asked Ichigo, the old tone disarming him and softening the frown that had been tugging at lips since realizing that the young man was once more, for technical purposes, essentially missing.

"If I tell you, I might not be able to get out next time," replied the younger man and Ichigo couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright." He couldn't say no to that face, which he reflected, had lead him into trouble more than once. It had also led to Tessai finding about him and Urahara in an event involving the two of them, chocolate sauce and the kitchen counter. "Just no hide-and-seek, please," he teased, a small thrill going through him when Kisuke laughed and smiled at him. "So why are you down here?"

"I was bored and...I wanted to be alone. I haven't been alone since this started," explained the younger man softly, his expression growing heavier.

"I can go if you'd like," murmured Ichigo, wanting to kick himself as the words came out. He didn't want to push, but it felt good to just be near the blonde. Kisuke's reiatsu had been a subtle and welcomed presence against his senses all day, soothing him and easing the loneliness inside him. It wasn't the same as it had been with Urahara, but it was close

"That's alright. There wasn't actually anything to do here except practice kidou and everyone would sense that," muttered Kisuke and Ichigo recognized the look of frustration. For someone who had claimed to be allergic work, Kisuke had hated being bored with a passion.

"Well, what would you like to do?" he asked, shifting Benihime and sitting down. Gray eyes locked instantly on the sword and stared at it with fascinated wonder while fingers twitched, clearly wanting to touch her.

"Would you like to see?" asked Ichigo, unbuckling Urahara's zanpakutou from his waist and offering her to Kisuke.

A delicate hand took the sword, the blonde still staring at her. "Benihime," he breathed almost reverently. Ichigo watched as Kisuke drew his sword, a slight frown coming to his lips and hurt blossoming in his eyes. "I can't hear her," he whispered, looking as if he might cry. Ichigo reached out to reclaim Benihime, silently cursing. He had hoped Benihime would be able to talk to Kisuke at least a little. The lost, mournful look on Kisuke's face as the younger man trailed his fingers over the blade spoke volumes though and Ichigo wanted to kick himself for helping to put that look on the blonde's face.

"Careful," he warned as Kisuke hissed, a red line appearing across the blonde's index finger. Kisuke stared at the welling blood and then at Benihime before running his bloody finger over her blade. Ichigo watched as the blood vanished into Benihime and a faint crimson aura suffused her. At the edge of his perception he could hear her singing, her voice raised in joyous welcome to her master.

"Better?" he asked, already seeing the answer on Kisuke's face. The blonde looked mesmerized and his joy was a palatable thing. Ichigo touched his hand and gray eyes stared at him, easing the tight, painful place inside him. "Wanna try sparring with her?" he asked, unable to help himself.

Kisuke grinned, taking a few swings with Benihime to get a feel for her balance. Ichigo chuckled and drew Zangetsu, waiting for Kisuke and cursing when, like Urahara, the younger man lunged at him with no warning.

He rolled backwards off the rock he had been sitting on to avoid the blow and quickly retaliated with a vicious over head swing. Kisuke twisted aside and lashed out with his foot, trying to sweep his feet out from under him. Ichigo leapt back, his eyes meeting the blonde's and sparkling with delight. Despite being human the younger man would have done Urahara proud. He was quick and graceful with an aggressive style. "Not bad. A little slow," he taunted, delighting in the offended look that flashed over Kisuke's face before a wicked smile replaced it.

"You were saying something about slow, Kurosaki-kun?" retorted Kisuke, turning quickly and slashing at him. Ichigo jerked back, Benihime's tip grazing the edge of his robe, and he could hear Urahara laughingly chiding him for being too eager.

He hopped back to avoid the kick Kisuke leveled at him and the younger man looked impressed. An instant later Benihime was swinging at him and Ichigo barely blocked the blow. A quick twist of his wrist freed Zangetsu and he whacked the blonde's arm with the flat of his blade.

"Where in the world did you learn that?" demanded Kisuke, his tone sharp and curious.

"Too many hours sparring with the captain of the Eleventh. He loves to get in close and lock up a blade. I had to come up with some way around it or keep getting sent to the Forth. Unohana-taichou isn't nearly as nice seeing you for the fifth time in ten days," he told the blonde, leaping clear only to have Kisuke close on him again. He grinned and lunged for the youngster, nearly impaling himself on Benihime as Kisuke switched the sword from his right to left hand.

"Where the hell did you learn that?" demanded Ichigo, nimbly dodging a left handed thrust.

"I trained myself to be ambidextrous after I broke my arm in third grade," replied Kisuke.

Ichigo lunged at him, delighting in watching that lean body twist skillfully out of the way. "You fell off the roof, didn't you?" he asked, smiling in delight as the blonde blushed.

"I did not fall off the roof," snapped Kisuke defensively, before mumbling, "I fell of the ladder coming down from the roof." Ichigo laughed and Kisuke scowled; Ichigo didn't have the heart to tell him that the scowl just made him adorable. "And it was not my fault. I was testing some theories on wind sheer - theories that were turning out to be right, I might add - when my parents came home early. If they had given me an accurate ETA I would have been safely back in bed when they got home rather than scrambling to get down a ladder in the rain."

Ichigo howled with laughter and the annoyed pout, so very like Urahara's when he was laughed at, only made it worse. Kisuke whacked him with the flat of his sword and Ichigo dropped to the ground laughing harder. He reached up and dragged Kisuke down next to him, giving him a quick hug that seemed to wash away his anger because a second later the blonde was chuckling softly into his shoulder. "It's not that funny," he warned Ichigo, pulling back slightly, but the redhead could see he was amused as well.

They were still sitting together chuckling when Ichigo noticed Kisuke rub at his right arm where he'd been hit. "You okay?" he asked, gently pushing the blonde's fingers away and trailing his own delicately over the reddened flesh. The skin was unbroken, but the younger man would have an interesting bruise in the morning. "Guess that was a little too hard. Come on, I know something that'll help," he murmured, standing and pulling Kisuke to his feet. He led the younger man to the mineral pool, laying Zangetsu aside and carefully taking Benihime from Kisuke. He shed his haori and had loosened his gi when he caught Kisuke staring at him, his look frozen somewhere between blushing embarrassment and hunger. "Come on, the water will be good for you and help heal the bruises," he explained carefully, moving to pull Kisuke toward the water's edge only to have the blonde flush crimson and flinch away.

"Sorry," they both mumbled awkwardly. Neither knowing what to say beyond that.

Finally Ichigo turned his back and returned to removing his robes, wondering if he had shattered the camaraderie he had been building with the blonde. His gi and hakama joined his haori on a rock, but he decided his boxers would probably be better on. He sighed softly for better times when he and Kisuke had finished spars with a long soak and then slipped up to bed together.

"I'm not him...Urahara...I'm not," came Kisuke's soft voice as he slipped into the pool. The hot water stung but Ichigo hardly noticed it, intent on the forlorn figure hovering nervously with his back to him.

"Come have a soak, Kisuke," he pressed gently, his heart nearly breaking as the blonde jumped and turned to look at him, scared and uncertain. "Come on," he urged, watching as a green T-shirt fell away to reveal a chest that was both familiar and new.

All the old landmarks were gone, but the skin was the same pale alabaster and his nipples were still the soft coral Ichigo remembered. The shoulders were wide, as wide as he remembered, but the younger man lacked the muscle Urahara had had. He was still waiting to settle into his final growth, the one that would take him up another centimeter or two and see him fill out a little more.

Kisuke blushed and undid his pants, revealing brightly colored boxers that Ichigo just knew had to be Renji's work. The blonde stumbled halting to the pool and Ichigo gently dragged him in, wrapping the younger man in his arms, amazed that Kisuke allowed the contact. "And I know you're not my Kisuke. It's okay," he told the other man quietly. He settled Kisuke carefully on a ledge carved out of the rock, one look telling him that the blonde wasn't up for talking about Urahara. He looked terrified, like he might pass out or crumble if pushed.

"Did you like Benihime?" he asked, smiling reassuringly and settling across from the blonde.

Kisuke smiled, looking relieved be discussing a safer topic. "She's beautiful. She...She liked it with you, you know?"

Ichigo nodded, "I get the feeling she and Zangetsu are friends. Hell, I think she can even get along with Shirosaki."

Kisuke giggled. "If she could get along with Grimmjow I'd be really impressed," he told the redhead, seeming to brighten as Ichigo laughed.

"No one can get along with Grimmjow. I think he considers it part of his charm. He's not bothering you, is he?" asked Ichigo cautiously, not liking the Arrancar around the blonde but also remembering that Ishida thought Kisuke was fond of the overgrown furball.

"No, just over-protective. It's like having another mom. And Jyuushiro and Shunsui flirting with him is just disturbing," grumbled Kisuke. Ichigo stared at him, wide-eyed and not sure which part of that scared him more - the idea of Grimmjow playing mommy or the idea that Jyuushiro and Shunsui might want to bed the psychotic feline.

"I don't want to know. I really don't want to know," he breathed, trying to push both pieces of information from his consciousness.

"Tell me about it," muttered Kisuke, a slightly horrified look on his face but warmth in his eyes.
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A Shadow of What Was