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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
- 68
- 69
- 70
Author's Notes: Many thanks to all those reading this story. I am going to try and have the next chapter out before I head to con, but make no promises on that since it is shaping up to quite long.

I would like to thank all the people who reviewed and assure people that we will be seeing more of my favorite little fox.

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Shirosaki stalked back into the soulscape with a pleased smile on his lips and a vicious glint in his eyes. It had been immensely satisfying to beat the hell out of Inoue Orihime. He had broken one arm and a number of ribs (it was hard to keep track - but he was sure it was more than 2 and less than 20) and the soft tissue hits would have the bitch pissing blood for a week. It would have been more satisfying to rip her soul out and devour it one tiny piece at a time, but he figured popping up at random for the next few years would be just as much fun and have the added bonus of terrifying the idiot. Hell, the king got moody if he was cooped up too long anyway, this just gave them a reason to take a lap around the town.

He strolled across the red bridge into Urahara's soul to glance around. If the blonde man was linked to Ichigo he wanted to keep track of things - since things affecting Ichigo invariably affected him. Not that he wasn't fond of his nobler counterpart in his own way, but sometimes the king needed a good swift kick to get his head out of his ass. And since no one else seemed to want the job...

He glanced around the blonde's soul shocked by the changes. A green garden to match the one in Ichigo's soul now met the bridge on Urahara's side. The plants were all young and small, but all looked to be taking root. Benihime appeared to be making firm inroads into her host and was clearly making herself comfortable. No mist hovered in the garden and he thought he detected a thinning of the mist beyond, as if things were clearing.

He wandered out onto a dusty street littered with small, cramped houses. And set in amongst them, looking just as it always had, was the Urahara shouten - all it needed was the brats out front and he could have been standing in Karakura. Shirosaki growled softly and glanced around cautiously, Hat-n-Clogs might not have been the hard nosed son of a bitch the captain was, but the old guy still wasn't someone to fuck with, and the shop was his place.

Nothing moved and the front door was open wide. The pale figure moved carefully nearer and slipped inside when nothing accosted him. He frowned and looked around the shouten interior. He had never actually been in the shop proper, but he was familiar with it because Ichigo was. He prowled the main room before venturing further in, instinct telling him that was where he would find his quarry.

"Come into the kitchen, Shirosaki-kun," came Urahara's bright voice. "I won't bite...Kurosaki-kun would be most annoyed if I did."

Shirosaki grumbled about fucking perverts but wandered deeper into the shop. He found the blonde in the kitchen, a cup of tea in his hand and another waiting on the table. "Tea, Shirosaki-kun?"

"How the fuck did ya know I was comin'?" he demanded with annoyance, sitting and giving the tea a disdainful glance. The blonde looked just as the Hollow remembered him, same shadowed eyes, same devil may care grin, same patient air of certainty...and same stupid ass hat.

The shopkeeper smiled and sipped at his tea, saying nothing, merely watching the Hollow's cup with an air of expectation. Shirosaki growled softly and took a sip. Urahara's grin went up a notch, but the blonde also answered him. "This is my soul, do you really think I would be unaware of what occurs in it?

Shirosaki shrugged his acceptance, admitting that the other man was probably right, he noted changes in Ichigo's soul pretty fast.

"I suppose I should commend you on the most original wake up call I've ever experienced."

The bastard had waited until he had taken another sip before speaking...causing him to spit it out and glare darkly at the grinning man even as a blush rose on his pale cheeks. Bastard. Miserable, grinning, perverted asshole.

"Smile Shirosaki-kun, you wouldn't want your face to stick like that, people might mistake you for Ichigo." He hissed an insult at the other man, earning nothing but another peel of laughter before Urahara went on. "And you might want to reconsider raising that kind of power until things are more settled. It's rather...dangerous at the moment."

The Hollow frowned but nodded before another thought occurred to him. "Hey! If you're awake again why the fuck are you here? Shouldn't you be back there?" A wave to indicate the world beyond the soulscapes.

Urahara smiled, that really annoying one that had always charmed Ichigo while at the same time making him want to throttle an answer out of the blonde. Shirosaki decided he didn't know what the hell his counterpart's problem was since all the smile made him want to do was punch the man. He held back because last time he had started a fight with Urahara it hadn't exactly gone according to plan. That, and he was in no mood to have to explain to Benihime why he had felt the need to pop her master in the face. She was sure to be all kinds of pissed if he laid a hand on the bastard and a pissed Benihime was not good for him getting any.

"It isn't time yet," murmured Urahara quietly, something more than a little dangerous glittering in those shadowed eyes.

"Fuck time," growled the Hollow. He personally couldn't have cared less what the old man did, but Urahara in charge got Benihime and Ichigo what they wanted. A happy king meant less rain and Shirosaki was all for that. And a happy Benihime promised more sex for him. Another win in his book.

Urahara's laughter was bright and merry, a contrast to the darkness that had been lurking in his eyes. "It's nice to know some things never change. Patience is a virtue, Shirosaki-kun. And in this case a necessity as well."

"What the fuck does that mean? If yer back ya should get yer ass back out there and quit jerking everyone around. People are waiting on yer lazy ass," snarled the hollow.

"It means that while in the short term it might seem beneficial for me to return, perhaps even overpower and subdue my younger self, I am choosing to take a more long term view. Trust is not built with violence and I refuse to spend the rest of eternity at war with myself," murmured the former Shinigami, his cup settling lightly on the table with an air of finality.

Shirosaki glared menacingly at the blonde, not understanding in the least. How the hell was the idiot going to come back if he was just going to sit here waiting? What was the fucking point of that? "What kind of stupid ass plan is that? Waiting! Why the fuck even come back at all if you ain't gonna be you? What the hell is the point?"

The captain's gray eyes pinned him from beneath the green and white stripped hat, cold and hard, before the blonde grinned and a fan appeared from within his sleeve (or at least Shirosaki hoped it had come from his sleeve because he was not up to any other freaky shit from Urahara - the man was crazy enough without fans appearing from nowhere). "Now, now, Shirosaki-kun, if you're not careful I might think you cared," teased the blonde, that annoying smile flashing across his face. "And I never said I wouldn't be back, only that the timing isn't right yet. There is a method to my madness, Shirosaki.

"That being said, I would suggest you leave unless you wish Benihime to discover you here. My princess does not share well and I doubt she would be pleased to find you in what has traditionally been solely hers."

The Hollow nodded, that was one trait he and the princess shared - they were both fiercely possessive of who and what was theirs. He stood and started heading towards the door when strong fingers closed around his wrist. He was about to turn and demand to know what the blonde wanted when the world suddenly shifted. He found himself on the floor, Urahara straddling his hips and the blonde's forearm pressing hard into his throat. A little more pressure and the old man could seriously do some damage. "One last thing, Shirosaki-kun. If you hurt my princess, I will hurt you. I helped make you, so believe me, I can break you," murmured Urahara, his tone light and soft, as if he wasn't speaking of anything more important than the weather - not threatening a person's life.

Shirosaki hissed outrage before a dark smirk flashed over his lips. He slammed his reiatsu into Urahara and tossed the older man off him. The blonde hit the far wall with a satisfying and solid thud and Shirosaki had Zangetsu at his throat an instant later. "Learned a few things since the last time, you bastard," he grinned, wincing as reiatsu wrapped around his throat and strong fingers closed around his balls.

"And it's cute you thought those were all my tricks," smirked the former Shinigami, his hand tightening warningly. He might have been able to kill the blonde had he wanted to, but he would have paid for it, realized Shirosaki.

The Hollow grinned and slid his sword away from the other's throat. Gold eyes caught gray and both were filled with wry amusement and understanding. Respect, realized the Hollow. The blonde respected him as another presence to be reckoned with, just as he recognized and acknowledged the same thing about Urahara. "My king for your princess?" offered the Hollow with a smirk.

Urahara laughed, releasing him. "I don't see a problem with that."

Shirosaki straightened his robes, giving the other man one last smile. "Ya ain't so bad for a crazy ass retard. Get yer butt back out there soon though, I'm getting sick of all the damn rain." Laughter followed him from the shop and the Hollow couldn't help but be amused. Maybe the king had better taste than he had given him credit for. Hat-n-Clogs wasn't that bad...for a guy who was clearly batshit insane.
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A Shadow of What Was