Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo. I haven't acquired any new Bleach products since my last update…which was nearly 7 years ago! Holy crap!

Twenty-Fifth Glimpse: Business as Usual

(1:15 AM)

Rap, rap, rap… Rap, rap, rap…

Rap, rap, rap… Rap, rap, rap…

From her perch on the bookshelf, Yoruichi's ears twitched with agitation while her eyes remained determinedly closed. "Kisuke…get the door."

Rap, rap, rap… Rap, rap, rap…

Urahara blinked lazily, reluctant to leave the warmth of his futon. "If I ignore it long enough, maybe it'll go away."

The cat released a breath that was akin to a snort. "When does anyone ever just go away when they want something from you? You're the owner here, so go take care of your business."

Rap, rap, rap… Rap, rap, rap…

"Hai, hai," the ex-shinigami sighed as he sat up. "As usual, you bring up a good point, Yoruichi-san." He didn't have very many customers, but the ones he did have tended to have odd demands and a lack of regard for the hours of operation posted outside his shop. And, as she said, they never did just go away.

Wrapping his jacket around his shoulders as he ventured out of his room and into the shop, Urahara unlocked the door and slid it open, revealing his first customer of the day: Kensei.

Without preamble, the vizard simply stated what he wanted. "I need passage."

Truth be told, Urahara wasn't surprised to see him. This wasn't the first time, after all. "Just out of curiosity, Muguruma-san," he began as he tried to stifle a yawn with his hand, "have you ever considered rescheduling your dates with Halibel-san to a more…conventional hour for such activities?"

Kensei scowled as he fisted his hand in the shop owner's clothes with intimidation. "It's not a date, damn it! It's a fight!" Then he backed off with a grunt. "And I'm definitely going to win this time," he mumbled, a personal pep talk.

Urahara raised a brow. It seemed all his visitor heard was the first half of his question, completely tuning out the second and more relevant part of it. Well, if he didn't want to talk about time, they could at least talk about money. "You still haven't paid me for my services, yet." This would be his sixth time opening up the portal to Hueco Mundo for him.

"Just put it on my tab," Kensei said, slapping a hand on Urahara's shoulder. "Or the next time your car breaks down, you can bring it down to the garage, and I'll fix it up for free."

"Yes…my car," the blonde man said dryly. He owned no such thing. Deciding it was better to just get this over with so he could go back to sleep, he adjusted his hat and turned around to lead the way. "Well, Muguruma-san…right this way, and I'll get you to your fighting date."

"It's just a fight!" the vizard insisted as he followed Urahara down to the underground training room.

"Mm-hm. Of course it is," the shop owner replied patronizingly. If he couldn't get payment out of the guy, he could at least get some enjoyment out of irritating him. "Might you be interested in bringing her some candies?" he inquired, putting on his salesman persona. "It would be the gentlemanly thing to do, even if it is 'just a fight'."

"No," his customer replied curtly.

"Are you quite sure? Our store has a rather large and unique selection, if I do say so myself. I guarantee she'd love the gummy hollows!"

"I said no."

"Then might I interest you with some—"

"Damn it, Urahara! Just open the damn portal!"

The exiled shinigami hid his amused smirk. "Hai, hai."

(7:00 AM)

Rap, rap, rap… Rap, rap, rap…

Who could it be this time? Did people really not understand that the store didn't open until eight in the morning? Urahara slid the door open, dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep the previous night.

Ishida Uryuu stood on the other side, primly dressed as usual with a polite smile on his lips. "Good morning, Urahara-san. Sorry to bother you so early, but I wanted to leave this here before heading out to work." He opened the box he was carrying in his hands.

Urahara eyed the contents of the box with a slightly raised brow. "Another Quincy outfit, I see."

"To replace the last one I had stored here for Uriya," Uryuu explained. "It's a completely new design," he added with barely contained enthusiasm. Since his son had already worn the other one into battle when he and the Kurosaki siblings went to Hueco Mundo to retrieve Nel, it was only natural that the boy should get a stylish upgrade if there should ever be another encounter.

"As I recall…Uriya-san had elected not to wear the cape," Urahara divulged with a hidden grin, noting the two white capes that were in the box. "He mentioned something about drawing the line with, and I quote, 'that useless piece of decorative cloth'."

Ishida's eye twitched as he once again felt Uriya's arrow to his heart. Really, he should have expected it. He knew the boy well. "He wouldn't know style even if it slapped him in the face," he grumbled under his breath. Then, turning his eyes back to the ex-shinigami with more confidence than he felt, he simply stated, "He'll grow into it."

"Very well. I will keep it in a safe place," Urahara replied as he looked at the burden that had been dropped into his hands. "Have you had breakfast, yet, Ishida-san?" he asked, changing the subject. "Would you be interested in buying a chocolate covered cookie zanpakutou? It's very filling."

Uryuu adjusted his glasses. "Thank-you, Urahara-san, but I've already had breakfast. Besides, I'm a Quincy. I won't eat a zanpakutou. Please excuse me, or I'll be late for work." With a slight bow of farewell, the raven-haired man turned and left.

Urahara pondered as he watched the other man leave. "Perhaps I should look into chocolate covered Quincy crosses."

(10:23 AM)

The shoji screen door slid open with a forceful bang as the Kurosaki father and son duo tumbled in, both already in shinigami form. Ichigo had an iron grip on Ginjo's robes as he half-dragged the boy into the shop, both sporting the famous Kurosaki scowl on their features.

Urahara merely observed as the loudest and most obnoxious pair entered his shop as though they owned the place.

"You can let go, old man!" Ginjo boomed. "It's not like I'm gonna bolt! I happen to like kicking your ass!"

"Shut up!" Ichigo hollered, not letting up at all. "I can't believe you're already playing hooky this early in the morning! Classes started less than two hours ago!"

"You ain't got no right telling me this! You used to play hooky for weeks at a time!"

"Wha-? Who told you that?!"

"Mom."

Ichigo cursed under his breath. Damn it, Rukia! "I did it to keep the dimensions from falling apart! What's your excuse?!"

"I did it to keep my sanity from falling apart," the boy drawled, unapologetic.

Ichigo faltered as he whipped around to face his son. "Are you even listening to yourself?!"

Ginjo crossed his arms. "Hooky is hooky. I don't see how yours is any better than mine."

"Argh!" This time, Ichigo grabbed the boy by his blue locks before dragging him along with renewed vigor.

"Hey! Hands off the hair, you bastard!"

"Urahara-san! I need to go teach this kid a lesson!" That was all the acknowledgement the orange-haired man gave to the shopkeeper before disappearing down the hatch with his son.

Urahara adjusted his hat. "Hai, hai…whatever you need, Kurosaki-san."

(12:07 PM)

"Kisuke-san, lunch is ready," Ururu said, poking her head out from the back room.

Urahara smiled. "Thank you, Ururu."

Before he could stand, the front door slid open as a tall man with sunglasses and a star-shaped afro stepped into the shop. Lunch would have to wait. "And how may I be of service to you today, Aikawa-san?"

Love leaned an elbow on the counter in front of Urahara, an uncharacteristically serious expression on his features. "Hey, man. I'd like to commission you to make a device for me."

"Oh?" Urahara flipped his fan open, using it to hide the intrigued smirk on his lips. This could be promising. It was always exciting when people asked him to make something…especially something he shouldn't be making. "And what exactly is this device supposed to do?"

The vizard rubbed his chin in thought. "Well…it's sort of like a metal detector…except I need it to detect arrancars instead."

Urahara raised a brow. "Hollow detectors have been in existence for a long time, Aikawa-san. It's pretty standard equipment."

"No, no. I know, man," Love said, waving his hand dismissively. "But I need it to detect just high-ranking arrancars. Espada-level, actually. Oh! Better yet," he said, snapping his fingers as though he'd just had an epiphany, "make it so that it only detects upper class Espada." He nodded to himself with a satisfied grin. "Yeah. That'll do."

"Why, may I ask, would you need such a device?" He really was curious. There weren't many upper class Espada to begin with, and most of them were either dead, reincarnated, or, in the case of Neliel and Halibel, not particularly in hiding.

To that, the vizard donned a serious frown. "I'm trying to track down my business partner." Starrk was getting better and better at dodging him. He had to find a better way of locating that lazy guy.

"I see…" Urahara said, processing that bit of information he hadn't been privy to. "Well, something like this should take me about a week."

A wide grin spread across Love's features. "Thanks, man! I owe you!"

"Yes, so…about the payment?"

"Just put it on my tab," Love said, straightening up to his full height. "Or if you wanna start reading my manga series, 'Dye', come down to our bookstore, and I'll give you a free copy. I'll even sign it for you!"

Urahara blinked. "…I'll just put it on your tab, then. Before you go, would you like to purchase a bag of hollow chips? They're the perfect snack to munch on while reading manga. And they now come in original, sour cream and onion, and barbeque flavors!"

Love looked at the bag Urahara had magically produced from within his sleeves, the image on the cover showing what looked like potato chips cut into the shape of hollow masks. "Uh…no, I think I'm good. Thanks anyway, man." With that said, he took his leave.

Heaving a silent sigh, Urahara went to eat his now lukewarm lunch.

(2:34 PM)

When Urahara heard the door slide open, he looked up to find the captain of the Fifth and the lieutenant of the Tenth striding into his humble store.

"Urahara-san!" Rangiku greeted with her sunny smile. "It's been a while!"

"Only about a month or so, I believe, Matsumoto-san," the ex-shinigami replied. It hadn't been that long. Really, these two probably came to the living world much more often than they should.

"Really?!" the strawberry blonde woman exclaimed, honestly surprised. "It felt a lot longer than that."

"You've just been itching to come back and shop," Renji commented dryly from beside her with a roll of his eyes.

"Nothing wrong with that," she returned easily with a toss of her hair.

"And how are you today, Abarai taichou?" Urahara inquired, his typical smirk on his face.

"You can drop the formalities, Urahara-san," Renji voiced, feeling just a tad annoyed. For some reason, being called captain by this man always felt like he was being mocked. "I'm off duty anyway."

"Well then, Abarai-kun," Urahara grinned, "I presume you're here for your gigai?"

"Ah."

"Jinta!" the blonde man called, placing a hand by his lips. "Please bring out Abarai-kun and Matsumoto-san's gigai from storage!" Turning back to his visitors, he once again put on his best salesman's smile. "It'll be just a minute. Why don't you have a look around and see if anything else strikes your fancy?"

"Let's go hit the bars, Renji!" Rangiku suggested, ignoring that subtle sales pitch and beginning to make plans for the day.

"What, now?" the red-haired man asked, incredulous.

"Well, yeah," she replied with a why-wouldn't-we tone of voice. "We're only going to be here till midnight. Every minute counts!"

"It's too early for you to get wasted."

"It's never too early!"

"Forget it. We're stopping by Rukia's place first."

"Oh, hey, that's a great idea! She can come with us!"

"Here you are!" Urahara interjected, holding out a lookalike doll to each of them. "Your gigai, good as new!"

Renji grabbed his, though his mind was still preoccupied with what his companion had just said. "No way! We're not going to get her drunk. Especially not in the middle of the day!" His concern for the raven-haired woman's wellbeing aside, his head would be on the chopping block if word were to ever get back to Byakuya.

"Aww…you're no fun, Renji," Matsumoto replied with a slight pout after putting on her gigai.

"How about it, you two," Urahara interjected once again, presenting an item in his opened palm. "Care to purchase a soul pager mint dispenser? Mints are your best friends at a bar. You never know when you'll meet that special someone and feel the desperate need to have minty fresh breath!"

The pair blinked at the shop owner, then at each other.

"Not today, Urahara-san," Renji said, waving it off as he turned to go.

"Thanks for the gigai! We'll be back at midnight!" With a more pleasant wave of her own, Matsumoto turned and followed after the redhead with a spring in her steps, picking up their conversation where they'd left off. "I know! Let's go buy something for my taichou!"

Renji heaved a sigh. "No matter how many times you bring back a peace offering, he's still going to be pissed at you for being late to work the day after coming here on your day off. You know that, right?"

"Well, what am I supposed to do about it?" she asked as though it was not her fault.

"Try not being late," he deadpanned.

"You're asking the impossible."

Their voices faded as the door slid shut behind them.

Urahara looked at the box of mints in his hand. "Well…can't say I didn't try."

(3:51 PM)

"Oi, Urahara!"

It was Ginjo…except his expression was a little too happy and his eyes lacked a certain sharpness for him to truly be Ginjo.

The blue-haired youth walked in with purpose, rubbing his hands together as he smiled like a madman. "I just got this brilliant idea! Something that'll be the answer to all men's prayers. It'll be revolutionary! And I need your help to make it happen. You see, I was thinking—"

"No," the exiled shinigami said with finality before the boy even began to explain.

The boy's jaws dropped a few inches. "But I haven't even told you what it is, yet!"

"Whatever it is, the answer is no, Kon-san," Urahara repeated easily, his tone allowing no room for argument. Why? Because whatever it was that Kon wanted, Urahara knew it would be something that wouldn't go over well with Ginjo. He had no interest in incurring the Kurosaki boy's wrath…well, at least not in this manner. He had his own methods of annoying the devil.

Before Kon had a chance to retort, a green-haired young woman clad in a high school uniform glided gracefully into the shop with a beaming smile on her lips. "Good afternoon, Urahara-san! Is Grimm here?" She had followed his addictive reiatsu to this place as soon as school was out.

Seeing who had just stepped up beside him, Kon suddenly stood up straighter, puffed out his chest, and frowned till the muscles in his eyebrows hurt. "Whaddaya want, squirt?" Maybe today would be his lucky day, and she'd throw herself on him the way she always so readily threw herself on Ginjo…that lucky, undeserving bastard!

Nel smiled up at him and ruffled his hair. "Hey, Kon." And that was all the attention she gave him before turning back to the shopkeeper.

Kon deflated. Damn it! One of these days, he'd pull the perfect Ginjo imitation. One of these days, he'd finally get a taste of true heaven!

Urahara tried not to look too amused as he gave the former tercera Espada his reply. "Downstairs with his father." Those two hadn't left since they got here this morning.

"Great!" If possible, the wattage of her smile turned up another notch. Placing her school bag on the counter, she unzipped the top and a white sheep plush doll emerged, looking disgruntled. "Paku, it's your turn!"

"About time," the mod soul griped with an exasperated breath. "I hate being stuck in this fluffy thing. Now, hold out your hand."

Nel did as she was asked and held an opened palm out to the stuffed sheep. Then the act of self-gagging immediately commenced as Paku shoved her hoof into her own mouth. A few seconds and some decidedly unappetizing sounds later, a little green pill was regurgitated onto Nel's hand along with a blob of saliva.

Urahara quirked a brow. It wasn't the way he was used to seeing it happen, but he supposed it worked just the same.

"Thanks, Paku," Nel said after swallowing the pill and getting pushed out of the faux body, glad to be out of its confinement. "Enjoy your time in the gigai! I'll see you later!" With that, she headed for the hatch to the underground training room.

"What the heck are you talking about?" Paku said, trailing after her partner with slight agitation. "If Ginjo-sama is down there, then obviously I'm coming with you!"

"Wait, wait, wait! Paku-chan!" Kon said hurriedly as he tried to follow. "What about hanging out with me?" They were both out of their stuffed animal shells and in awe inspiring and envy inducing bodies. What better time than now to start building their beautiful everlasting relationship?

Paku whipped around and, with a malevolent glower that looked downright wrong on Neliel's features, drove her power-enhanced fist into Kon's face without second thought, completely forgetting that it was her beloved master's body taking the damage. "Stay away, you creep!"

Urahara sighed as he watched Kon fly across the room, knocking down a couple of shelves along the way. He'd have to get those fixed…again.

By the time Kon got back to his feet, both green-haired beauties had already disappeared. Rubbing his aching face with dejection, he headed for the door just as another person stepped in. It was another girl in high school uniform, this one with a long brunette braid down her back and a pair of frameless glasses perched atop the bridge of her nose.

Urahara took note of the newcomer, perking up with interest. A real customer?

The girl blinked up at the blue-haired youth with recognition and a bit of surprise. "Kurosaki?" She didn't think she'd see him…or anyone else for that matter…here at this rundown place. If the real store hadn't sold out of note cards, which she'd need for her studying tonight, she wouldn't even think to come here herself. "Asano has been looking for you all day," she supplied dryly, "and annoying everyone else in the process. You really should think about skipping class a little less often. You missed another math quiz." As one of the very few people from their school who didn't have the tendency to do a deer-in-headlights impersonation at the mere sight of him, she thought she ought to at least say something.

Seeing who it was, Kon's expression immediately brightened, his misery forgotten. "Miiiiiiichiko-chaaaaaaaaan!"

That whiny voice made Michiko's blood freeze. Her eyes widened as she realized which 'personality' she was dealing with here. This isn't Ginjo…it's Kinjo!

Kon took her hand gently into his, completely unaware of her changing mood. "Running into you like this outside of school…it's definitely fate, baby." He bent down to place a kiss on her hand…only to be met with air. "Hm?"

The girl had already bolted as though her life depended on it.

"Wait! Michiko-chan!" the mod soul hollered as he gave chase, though he wasn't the only one anxious at the sight of her retreating back.

Urahara had also jumped to his feet with an outstretched arm. "Wait! Miss! I'll give you a discount!"

Alas…it was all in vain.

(4:38 PM)

The door slid open with a bang, and at the entry stood a mildly agitated blonde.

"He ain't your protégé, so why the heck are ya keeping him at your playground?" Shinji demanded.

"It's simply not in my power to control which playground the boy's father decides to take him to," Urahara replied offhandedly as he continued his task of taking inventory, standing in front of the shelves with a pencil in one hand and a clipboard in the other.

The vizard frowned. "That damn Ichigo. What kind of father is he, teaching his kid ta play hooky?" Ginjo was supposed to go see him after school for the next kidou lesson. Originally, he had planned to teach the boy a higher class kickass spell, Hadou Negative Eighty. Now, with his mood souring, he will probably just pass on a wimpier one…like maybe Bakudou Negative Two or something. "I gotta go teach them both a lesson!" Mumbling curses under his breath, Shinji stomped past Urahara to join the growing group in the underground training room.

(5:22 PM)

Rukia stepped in, an uncontainable excitement shining in her eyes. "Urahara, is it here, yet?"

"Ah, I've been expecting you, Kuchiki-san," Urahara grinned. Retrieving a box from one of the shelves on the wall, he held it out to the petite woman. "This came in for you yesterday from Soul Society. Please check to make sure it is the product you ordered."

Setting the box on the counter, she hurriedly opened the package and pulled out the item inside: purple pajamas, a size or two too small to be for Himeko, with little Chappy the Rabbit prints everywhere. Holding it up, she stared at it, eyes glittering with admiration. "…it's so cute!"

Urahara fanned himself nonchalantly. "Well, I'm glad you're happy with your purchase, though I do feel sorry for your husb—" He came to an abrupt stop when he caught her pinning him with an icy glare as though daring him to finish his thought. The shopkeeper gulped then cleared his throat, grinning widely. "You have exquisite tastes befitting a member of the Kuchiki family! Would you like a bag?"

(7:55 PM)

The uninvited guests in his underground training room had finally filed out of his shop and headed home about an hour ago. The shelves Kon had knocked over earlier were once again standing. Everything was back in order. Quiet.

Urahara tapped his fingers on the counter as he scanned over everything in his shop with a dejected sigh.

Sitting curled up on the counter beside him while licking her paw, Yoruichi paused mid-lick to look at him from the corner of her eyes. "Something the matter?"

"It occurred to me that nobody actually comes here to buy candy." Quite a few people came by today. Not one of them had been interested. "Perhaps it's time to consider pulling some of the products." It would be a shame. He was rather fond of the sweets. A lot of them were rare finds, unavailable at any other store. Why was it that no one else appreciated them?

"It's not a bad idea," Yoruichi replied casually as she returned to her grooming. How it had taken this long for him to reach this conclusion was a mystery she would never solve. It wasn't like those things ever sold well to begin with.

Her agreement on the matter didn't really help lift his spirits. "Well, I might as well close up shop for the day," he said as he got to his feet. It was five minutes till closing time anyway.

At that moment, the screen door slid open with a last minute customer. The pleasant sound of her jovial laughter floated into the shop before he even saw her face.

"Urahara-san! Yoruichi-san!" Himeko greeted, waving enthusiastically as she entered the shop with a skip, Uriya following leisurely behind with his hands in his pockets.

At the sight of the orange-haired girl, the exiled shinigami smiled like his soul had been recharged. "Himeko-chan. What brings you here this evening? Nothing too dangerous, I hope."

"Eheheh…I just have a sudden craving for marshmallows," Himeko admitted with a sheepish smile. "You still have them in stock, right?" She mentally crossed her fingers.

"Ah," Urahara said in understanding as he went over to the shelf holding the confectionery she desired, picking up a bag. "Is this what you're looking for?"

"Yes!" she beamed as he placed the bag in her hands. "The Gotei Thirteen marshmallows! Uriya, come look at this! They have the thirteen divisions' insignias printed on them!" she said as she opened the bag, fishing out a piece for him. "Can you guess which one you got?"

The Ishida boy took one look at the tulip printed on the marshmallow and replied, "Second Division." He didn't have to guess. It was information he learned during his Espada days.

"That was fast!" she exclaimed. "Try it. It's yummy!" She popped one into her mouth. "Mmm…" She nodded appreciatively.

Uriya blinked apathetically at the marshmallow in his hand as he deliberated. Personally, he did like marshmallows. They reminded him of his childhood when he used to go camping with his father. He didn't have a very positive feeling about it being from this rundown shop, but since it was not a made-by-Hime food item, it should at least be relatively safe to eat. Taking a leap of faith, he put it in his mouth.

"What do you think?" she asked.

He gave his honest reply. "It tastes just like any other marshmallow."

Himeko laughed. "Don't be disappointed just yet! There are a couple of special ones!" She rummaged through the bag until she found what she was looking for. "Aha!" She pulled out a pink piece, dropping it into his hand. "Sixth Division! They made it taste like sakura because of Byakuya ji-chan's zanpakutou. Isn't it cool?!"

To that, Yoruichi snorted. "He probably isn't happy about it," she said under her breath. She could just imagine that brat's eye getting twitchy over something like this.

Oblivious to the cat's side commentary, Himeko continued with her treasure hunt until she pulled out a sky blue piece. "Tenth Division! This one is minty fresh since Toushirou-kun is all about the ice!" she explained, adding it to Uriya's growing collection. "And there's just…one...more…special one…" She shook the bag, peeking in with one eye. "Found it!" She smiled triumphantly as she placed a green piece in the boy's hand. "Fourth Division! This one actually has a cough drop in it!" she laughed. "I have no idea why it's green though. Gin-chan thinks it's because people turn green when they get sick," she said with a shrug.

Uriya put the blue piece into his mouth.

"Well?" Himeko asked expectantly.

"It's fine," he stated simply.

The Kurosaki girl rolled her eyes with a huff of fond exasperation. "You're so hard to impress." It seemed impossible to ever get an enthusiastic response about anything out of him.

To that, the young Quincy couldn't help but smirk, ever so slightly. "My father says that often." Besides, she was far too easily impressed. Between her and himself, he felt they had a pretty good balance.

"Speaking of your father," Urahara interjected casually, "he came by this morning to drop off a brand new Quincy outfit for you. Care to see it?"

"It's not necessary," the teen replied without a second thought. A moment later, he added, "Keep the outfit. Burn the capes." Because he was absolutely certain that man had brought capes. Plural.

The shopkeeper hid his amusement behind his fan. The boy knew his father well.

In the meantime, Himeko had ventured off to explore the shelves, returning with a small plastic bag in her hands and a great big smile on her features. "Gummy hollows! I haven't had these in a while. I used to eat them all the time!" she said, showing them to the boy.

In truth, Uriya could go a couple more lifetimes without even the thought of eating hollows. However, he didn't want to ruin her fun, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

"Oh, but you know what would be neat though?" she continued, asking nobody in particular. "If they had Shun Shun Rikka hard candies! Then I could wear them in my hair! And when I get hungry, I can just pluck them right off and eat them! Wouldn't that be fun?! But I would probably need to wear more than just two. Otherwise, they'd run out way too fast!" She laughed cheerfully.

The corner of everyone's lips tilted up to varying degrees. It was difficult to be completely unaffected by her sunny nature.

Then Himeko took a deep breath and turned to the exiled shinigami, her brows suddenly creasing with seriousness. "Urahara-san…I've finally made up my mind. Today…I'm going to do it."

Urahara raised a curious brow, caught off guard. "Oh?" He had no idea what she was talking about.

"Yes," she nodded. "I've only seen it once…many years ago…but I've decided the time has come for me to get that," she continued, holding up a finger for emphasis. "The Chain of Fate Bonbon Deluxe!"

"Ohhhh…" Quite frankly, Urahara was surprised she even remembered. She had only been five years old. During the time period when Ginjo had just discovered his shinigami powers and would sneak off on his own, Ichigo and Rukia had dropped her off here on more than one occasion for him to help keep an eye on her while they went looking for her troublemaking brother. To keep her occupied and amused, he had shown her various odd and unusual items in his possession, and she would always ooh and ahh at everything. It was nice to be reminded of that rare gem in his memory bank. He adjusted his hat, carefully keeping his expression neutral. "Well, let me go get it for you. Please wait here."

He disappeared into the back and returned a few minutes later with an ornate rectangular wooden box that looked like it could be housing a sacred katana. Placing it in front of his customers, he opened the lid with a salesman's grin. "I present to you…The Chain of Fate Bonbon Deluxe."

As suggested by the name, what was inside the box appeared to be a very long multicolored chain attached to a hexagon-shaped piece at one end. While the girl's eyes sparkled with awe, the boy was more skeptical. "So, it's hard candy in the shape of a Chain of Fate."

"It's at one to one scale, and it has an impressive twenty-foot long chain!" Urahara elaborated. "Each chain link is in a different flavor, including all the flavors you can and can't imagine! It gives a whole new meaning to encroachment and poses a challenge to all sweets lovers out there," he said, pointing his fan at Uriya with a dramatic pause. "How long will it take for you to reach the end of encroachment?"

"Are you sure you really want this?" Yoruichi chimed in. It was probably the exact same chain she said she'd seen way back when.

Uriya was having that very same thought, but since Himeko had stomach lining of steel, he wasn't too concerned.

"Yes!" the orange-haired girl replied. "I've always wanted this, but the chain's soooooooooo long, I didn't think I'd ever be able to finish it! But…" She shrugged her shoulders lightly. "…there's more of us now. So…" she looked to the Quincy boy with a small inquiring smile.

Uriya raised a brow at her unasked question. Then he heaved a silent sigh. "I suppose I can help you with this…encroachment business." He was training his stomach to handle much worse. Expired candy was nothing. "I'm sure Ginjo and Neliel wouldn't mind either." Those two will eat anything.

"Yay!" Himeko literally jumped for joy, giving Uriya a quick hug in thanks before turning back to the shopkeeper. "We'll take it! How much will it be?" she asked, pointing to everything she picked up.

Urahara waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about it. It's yours."

"Eh? But—"

"You're our one-hundredth customer this month!" he announced with a grin. "According to company policy, the hundredth customer shops free! Congratulations!"

Himeko blinked. Now that she thought about it…she was the hundredth customer of the month a lot…or the fiftieth of the week…or the twelfth of the day… "Urahara-san!" she said with a reprimanding pout. "I can understand when it's just the typical candy, but this is the Chain of Fate Bonbon Deluxe we're talking about here!" It was ultra gourmet in her eyes! He can't just give that away!

"It's policy," Urahara reiterated with a casual shrug, "and company policy is absolute."

"Yeah, but still… You can't… It's just not good business!" she stammered.

"On the contrary, it's a long term business strategy that has kept us running for years," he explained calmly.

Uriya looked from one to the other as they continued to argue. Seeing that this was going nowhere, he placed the bag of marshmallows and gummy hollows into the wooden box, closed the lid, and hoisted it over one shoulder. "Hime. Let's go." He began heading for the door.

"Eh? Uriya, wait!"

"Have a great evening, and come back again!" Urahara called after him in an almost singsong manner. "And Himeko-chan…don't forget this," he said as he pulled out an item from inside his sleeve.

At the sight of the lollipop in his hand, Himeko gave a helpless chuckle. "Strawberry… My favorite." Heaving a sigh of resignation, she accepted the offer. "Thank you, Urahara-san," she said with a warm smile. "For everything."

The exiled shinigami and the cat watched as the girl caught up to the boy and left the shop, chatting happily as she went.

"So," Yoruichi began with a smirk, her tail swaying lazily. "You complain about how nobody comes to buy candy. Then when the one person who actually comes here for candy shows up…you give them away for free."

"Wow, look at the time!" he exclaimed, dodging the conversation. "It's way past closing! I better close up shop before someone else comes in," he said as he headed for the front door.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "And what about pulling products?"

"Hm?" he replied distractedly as he closed the screen door. "We should be fine for a while. I'd hate to see them go."

She shook her head, unsurprised by his response. He really was a hopelessly crappy businessman. Stretching her body with a yawn, she got up and left, leaving him to finish his work.

Once the door was secured, Urahara turned out the lights, ready for a nice bath. Tapping his closed fan to his chin, he mumbled thoughtfully to himself as he went. "…Shun Shun Rikka candies, huh?…"

(12:17 AM)

Rap, rap, rap… Rap, rap, rap…

Rap, rap, rap… Rap, rap, rap…

"Kisuke…get the door."

Urahara opened his eyes and stared dully up at the ceiling with a sigh.

A/N: Hey, guys! It's been…forever. Wonder if anybody still remembers this story and what all happened in it. Or are you asking…what is Kensei's deal with Halibel? Why is Love looking for Starrk? And who is this Michiko girl? Heh…

I was looking through my laptop, and I came across this unfinished chapter that I'd been working on like maybe 3 years ago. It was already about 80% done, so I figured I should finish it up. I'm feeling a bit rusty, though…haven't been in these characters' heads in a while. =P But even though I haven't been in their heads, they still live in mine. Haha.

This is the first time Matsumoto has ever appeared in the story. Initially, it was supposed to serve as an introduction, as she was going to play a part in the follow-up story. But…it's looking like that story will probably never happen now. I'm sorry Matsumoto. =(

Urahara…he keeps a strawberry lollipop up his sleeve at all times just in case he runs into Himeko. Haha!

So, will there be another update? Mmm…probably not likely? But since I'm updating now after nearly 7 years (that's so insane)…never say never, right? But if this does happen to be the last chapter, it's not a bad one to end on. It's a nice little summary where most characters either show up or get mentioned.

Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated! Would love to know who's still keeping tabs on this little thing! XD