Disclaimer: KTNM

Chrysanthemums & Peaches – Chapter 17

Hitsugaya was sitting on the couch channel surfing, his boredom scribbled all over his face as he frowned.

"Just where the hell was Matsumoto?" he thought crankily, as he stared at the flickering television screen, observing what looked to be a comedy program of some sort that was displaying humans at their crudest. He flipped to another channel, which really was no better as it appeared to be three female celebrity idols cooking for a panel of judges. The older man in the middle cringed and told them all they would make horrible future wives. Then, as if someone above cared enough to save him from his boredom, the doorbell rang.

"Matsumoto! Just where the hell have you been?!"

"Oh, taichou, sorry, I got sidetracked…"

"Side-tracked?! Matsumoto, you told me you were coming home two, no, now it's three hours ago!"

"Geez, you don't have to yell, taichou—"

"Well, where have you been? That's some detour you took, seeing as the supermarket is only ten fucking minutes from here!"

"Hey, why are you getting so upset?! I said I was sorry!"

"Matsumoto, you called me from the supermarket three hours ago to tell me to help you bring the groceries up the stairs because the elevator was broken. I was down there for half and hour and you didn't show up. I called you like ten times! Then I came up and waited for another two and a half hours for you to call me. For three hours, nothing. Not even an email or anything—"

"Geez! Why are you so upset?! Take a chill pill or something!" Matsumoto retorted, before realizing what she had said. "Oops, I didn't—"

"That's not funny, Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said grumpily. "Well, I had a meeting that I was supposed to go to two hours ago, but I was waiting for you to come home!"

"Well, why didn't you just go without me? I would've managed if you had just called me!"

"I did try to call you, but you didn't answer your phone!" Hitsugaya shouted as he opened the sliding door to the veranda.

"Where are you going?!"

"To my meeting!" said Hitsugaya, waving his hand to open the portal to the Soul Society.

"Why're you opening the portal there?"

"Because it's convenient and I'm already late—"

"But I'm still talking to you—"

Matsumoto chased after him as Hitsugaya got ready to pass through the gate. But when she extended her arm to grab the thick ebony cloth, sparks flew and bright flashes of golden light scattered as her fingers passed through the gate.

"Ouch!" Matsumoto said, her hand recoiling in pain.

"What's the matter?" Hitsugaya said worriedly, turning around.

"I don't know, I just reached my hand like this and—OUCH!"

Hitsugaya came out of the portal and stuck his hand in first to find he did not have the same reaction.

"Matsumoto…" he said, his eyes narrowing. "Have you gone through this portal recently?"

"No, why? Ouch—" she said shaking her hand to relieve the tingling shock she received to her index finger when she tried a third time. "Why can't I go through the portal?"

Hitsugaya waved the portal closed and walked over to his laptop to turn it on. The screen flickered as thousands of words and symbols appeared on the screen, scrolling down for what seemed to be endless data. When the data came to the end, it flashed black for a second before prompting him for a password, which he readily supplied. Following the prompts, Matsumoto watched as Hitsugaya maneuvered the system effortlessly until he came to a halt.

"It's not there," he sighed, closing the laptop and putting it into sleep mode.

"What's not there?" she asked.

"I didn't see your name. If there was a restriction on you moving through Gotei 13 portals, it would have listed your name in that program. But the latest entries were Ichimaru, Tousen, and Aizen."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if your name is in that database, that the second your reiatsu touches a Gotei 13 created portal, a seal prevents you from passing through. The seal placed on the portals is strong enough to keep most out. The effect is similar to the shock you just experienced. But sheer determination and a high pain tolerance can enable extremely powerful shinigami to pass through. They sometimes create a 'reverse allow list' which basically says that only those on this list will be granted passage through the portals. Sometimes they do that when they 'lock down' and only usually those of taichou class are allowed to pass through during those periods of time. I was checking both of those lists and your name wasn't on the former, nor was there any 'reverse allow list' in effect currently."

"Oh…"

"Which means something else is not right…"

"Something…else…?"

"Could it be the gigai…?" Hitsugaya mused to himself.

"Taichou?"

"Come," he commanded, grabbing her arm.

"Where are we going?"

"To pay a certain shinigami researcher a visit…."

0-0-0-0-0

The pair stood outside Urahara Shoten for a good five minutes knocking and ringing the doorbell before Hitsugaya became irritated enough to start pounding on the glass windows.

"URAHARA!" shouted Hitsugaya as he rapped sharply on the panes.

The door slid open, revealing the yawning shopkeeper.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, what can I do for you today?" he asked, scratching the back of his head as he stifled another yawn.

"We've got a problem. I thought you said these gigai can go back and forth between the Material World and the Soul Society effortlessly."

"They can," he said, leaning lazily on the doorframe.

"Didn't you say that the gigai automatically separates from the soul once we hit the barrier between the two worlds?"

"It does—well, it's supposed to."

"Well, explain to me why we can't cross back into the Soul Society. Have you been giving us defective merchandise again?"

"Absolutely not. Please come in," the sleepy shopkeeper said, bowing humbly. "Allow me to examine you personally, Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Not me, Matsumoto, you pedophilic pervert—" Hitsugaya said, slapping the wandering hands sharply and storming in.

"Excuse us," Matsumoto bowed.

"Tessai, tea!" called the former taichou as he sat his guests on two floor cushions in front of him.

"Roger that, tenchou!" called Tessai from the kitchen.

"Now what seems to be the problem?" asked Urahara.

"To make a long story short," began Hitsugaya. "I was late for a meeting and so I opened a portal on the veranda of our apartment. She ran after me and as soon as her hand passed through the gate, we heard a crackle and a burst of light."

"Was it painful, Matsumoto-fukutaichou?" asked Urahara looking at her hand.

"Yes."

"Do you think you could pass your entire body through the portal?"

"No, it was quite painful, so I wouldn't dare try it with my entire body…"

"Well, do you think you could manually separate out of the gigai so that I could see if there are any physical discrepancies?"

Matsumoto did not move.

"Matsumoto-fukutaichou?" Urahara arched an eyebrow.

"Matsumoto, he's talking to you. Separate from the gigai!"

"I can't…" she mumbled.

"What?"

"Taichou, Urahara-san…I can't…" she said, bowing her head in shame.

"Matsumoto, explain yourself—"

"Let me ask the questions, Hitsugaya-taichou," the former taichou, said calmly. "What sort of difficulties are you experiencing?"

"I—"

"Why didn't you say anything earlier!" demanded Hitsugaya suddenly.

"Taichou…"

"Hitsugaya-taichou, perhaps it would be better that you had some tea with Tessai…Ah here he is now with the tea—while I speak with Matsumoto-fukutaichou about her difficulties in separating herself from her gigai."

"But—" protested Hitsugaya.

"Hitsugaya-taichou!!" Tessai said jubilantly handing him a cup of steaming tea.

"Don't worry. I just want to find out a few more details and maybe run some tests."

"Fine…" Hitsugaya conceded begrudgingly as he watched them disappear down the hallway that led to the laboratory.

After about fifteen minutes, Matsumoto emerged. She sat on one of the cushions adjacent to her taichou's and took a sip of the tea that had now turned lukewarm.

0-0-0-0-0

Urahara emerged solemnly about half an hour later. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto stood up, but Urahara dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

"I think the both of you should sit down for this," Urahara said quietly, sitting on a cushion opposite them and gesturing for Tessai to bring some more tea.

"Did you find what the problem was?" asked Hitsugaya.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, Matsumoto-fukutaichou," began the shopkeeper. "Do you remember the first time I explained what a gigai was and how it worked?"

"Yeah…" answered Hitsugaya.

"Do you remember the first thing I said about gigai?"

"Of course, that they operate like fully functioning human bodies."

"Yes, an impressive impeccable memory you have there, Hitsugaya-taichou. Well, I developed the gigai you two have personally and so, I can guarantee that they are fully functioning gigai—fully functional all the way down to the organs—in fact, I was so skillful in my invention, that well, even the reproductive organs are functional…"

"The reproductive organs…I don't like where this is going…"

"Well, to be honest, my original intent for the gigai was never to test the procreative capabilities of an artificial body. There has been little research due to the ethical nature of the topic…"

"The ethical nature?" said Hitsugaya, his eyes narrowing.

"Well, for starters, the gigai and the soul itself are two separate entities and when we were first researching the possibilities, we came to one central question. What happens when the gigai and the soul are in conflict?"

"What do you mean in conflict?"

"Take for instance if you get sick—as the human body is sometimes susceptible to. We as shinigami researchers can't fix all the problems, you know. Anyway, say your gigai catches a cold. If you separate yourself from the gigai, does your soul bear any effects of the cold?"

"Does it?" asked Matsumoto.

"We had mixed results. Some souls that had higher amounts of reiryoku or higher reiatsu were able to separate themselves without feeling any of the effects of the illness; however, there were others who were forced to remain in their gigai until the illness passed."

"What does this have to do with us? Matsumoto is of fuktutaichou class. Even if she had a cold she shouldn't—"

"Taichou, let's listen to what Urahara-san has to say," said Matsumoto quietly.

"It's a delicate subject," sighed Urahara. "But it appears that your fukutaichou—that is, well the reason why she cannot go back to the Soul Society, and I'm assuming she cannot call out her zanpakutou, is because her soul has become fused to her gigai."

"Fused to her gigai? What is that supposed to mean?" asked Hitsugaya as he tried to process what was being said.

"Well, it's not really fused, but it's more like it has been joined with the gigai hopefully temporarily."

"How long are we talking?"

"I'm thinking about eight more months—"

"Why eight?"

"Well, it's probably been a month since the problem manifested…"

"It's a problem that goes away in nine months?" asked Hitsugaya becoming more and more puzzled.

"Not really…." said Urahara slowly.

"Nine months…nine months…why would Matsumoto be stuck in her gigai for nine months unless she's—"

"Bingo!"said Urahara, fanning himself with his fan.

"Are you serious?!" shouted Hitsugaya, losing his cool—much to the surprise of everyone.

"Very serious, Hitsugaya-taichou," affirmed Urahara.

"That would mean that she's…"

"Uh oh…" warned Matsumoto.

"P-P-Pr…she's gonna have a kid?!" sputtered Hitsugaya.

"Well said, Hitsugaya-taichou! As to be expected from the youngest shinigami to become a taichou!" beamed Tessai.

"Where did you come from?!" demanded Hitsugaya.

"Tessai, I think there's some inventory to unload—" said Urahara.

"Tenchou—"

"Tessai," warned Urahara.

"Yes, tenchou," bowed Tessai as he exited.

"Now, for our 100 million yen winners…" said Urahara, turning to them once more.

Hitsugaya gulped. "…Um, is it mine…?"

"Don't look at me, Hitsugaya-taichou. Ask your fukutaichou. As far as I'm concerned, it's a human baby, the paternity of which can only be tested by the methods developed here in the Material World."

"Matsumoto?" he said looking at her.

"Would you rather it not be yours?" she said staring down into her hakama.

"I'm asking whether or not it's mine," pressed Hitsugaya.

"Could you recognize it as yours?"she asked, clenching her hakama tightly.

"Whether or not I choose to recognize this child as mine does not change the fact that it is still mine, if it is mine to begin with."

"Are you ready to be a parent, taichou? You're so young," said Matsumoto, finally meeting his gaze.

"I could ask the same of you, Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Touché, taichou. But I'm still older than you."

"Answer my question. Is it mine?"

"Proba…er—"

"What was that?"

"Yes—it's yours."

"Alright then." Hitsugaya paled and took in a gulp of air. "Urahara, what are our options?"

"Hm?

"I want to know our options. I mean is this detrimental to her health or what? Is there anything we need to be aware of?"

"Well, for now, since the gigai is now the home to both souls, your fukutaichou's and the baby's, it appears that the two souls are connected and since one is a shinigami but the other is not, this creates the inability for her to exit from her gigai safely. We both know that only shinigami—well souls—can enter the Soul Society. For now, Matsumoto-fukutaichou will not be able to enter the Soul Society."

"What happens if she tries to enter the Soul Society?" asked Hitsugaya.

Urahara fanned himself for several moments before staring straight into Hitsugaya's eyes.

"She will die."

Hitsugaya felt a chill run up his spine.

"It will be the same as if a human with a little bit of reiryoku were to try to enter the Soul Society. I can guarantee that if she tries to enter the Soul Society before she carries this child to term, she along with the child will perish under the pressure of the barrier. You know as well as I do that those barriers are meant to keep living things out and right now, Matsumoto-fukutaichou is considered to be more 'living' than 'non-living', in the human sense of the word. You are a shinigami as far as the Soul Society is concerned, Hitsugaya-taichou, and thus, are considered to be 'non-living'. You have a gigai which you can easily separate from should the need arise. The non-living can exist in the world of the living. However, Matsumoto-fukutaichou's existence is…well, I would have to say it's not 'non-living'. She's not 'living', but she's not 'non-living'….and beings that are not 'non-living' i.e. made up completely of reishi, cannot pass through the portal leading to the Soul Society."

Hitsugaya sighed.

"So what are our options?"

"Well, for one, you can carry the child to term and keep it. Two, you can carry the child to term and give it up for adoption. Or, if you really don't want it, you can abort it. The thing with this last option is that it is time sensitive. The longer you wait, the more complicated the procedure will become and the higher the risk you will face, Matsumoto-fukutaichou. This is not to say that carrying the child to term is without its risks. Either way, it will be a risk for you. If you are forced through the gateway back into the Soul Society at any time before the child is born, you will die. Also, if you try to force yourself out of the gigai to call out your zanpakutou or to use kidou, you will also most likely die from the instability that will result. You will be very vulnerable to say the least. You must weigh the risks carefully and decide whether you want this child."

"What do you want to do, Matsumoto?" asked Hitsugaya.

"Oh, and one more thing, the two of you must consider. Since you are both high profile individuals, you must also consider your careers. While there is nothing written forbidding relationships between shinigami officers of rank, please be mindful of your positions. I know the two of you are pretending to be a couple here in the Material World, but in the Soul Society, things are different. If you are not married, then Hitsugaya-taichou is legally not bound to you, Matsumoto-fukutaichou. It may be his child, but he is not legally responsible for it. You have 90 days from the birth of the child to petition that he recognize the child, if you don't file for anything, he owes nothing to you and this child. But if he is married, then this child becomes public record. Everyone will know this child, as members of the Gotei 13 are required to register their children, but more importantly, members of the Gotei 13 are career shinigami. They sacrifice having children for the protection of freedom."

"Abort it," Matsumoto whispered.

"Huh?" said Hitsugaya dumbly.

"Abort it, taichou," Matsumoto said looking away.

"What?!"

"Just abort it."

"Matsumoto, this is a life we're talking about! That is a child in there!" he shouted pointing towards her midsection.

"I know," she said, looking away.

"What? Did you know you were, you know…?" he asked, flailing his hands helplessly.

"Did I know I was pregnant? No."

"Then how can you decide so quickly after having just heard from Urahara?!" he demanded, suddenly raising his voice.

"I know what I'm doing!" she shouted back.

"Don't be so reckless!"

"I'm not being reckless! I'm being perfectly rational. I'm saying that we should abort it."

"I mean it's your body, so the decision is pretty much yours, but don't you want it?"

"Does it matter?"

"Well, if you don't want it, then I don't want to force you into carrying it to term—"

"Well, I'll just leave you two to discuss this…it is a big decision, so I don't want to put any additional pressure on the two of you…" said Urahara, bowing and stepping into the shadows.

"I don't want it!"shouted Matsumoto.

"Well, you don't have to get so upset, Matsumoto!" shot back Hitsugaya.

"Why are you being so persistent?!" she yelled.

"I'm not being persistent! I don't want to force you into anything as life changing as this, is all I'm saying!"

"Who's forcing who into anything?! You said the decision was mine, right?"

"I did—"

"So why are you questioning my decision? Do you not trust me?"

"It's not that I don't trust you—"

"Then what?"

"It's a baby and I just—"

"Look, taichou, you're too young—"

"That has nothing to do with it! Clearly it wasn't about age when you opened your legs and I stuck my—"

"Why is it that you get so defensive when it comes to your age?!"

"Because you and everyone else keep throwing the fact that I look like I'm 10 in my face all the time! It's irritating as hell!"

"Can you blame them?! When you get so upset about it like a child?!"

"No! Hey, that was low, Matsumoto. But goddamn it, when you do it—Aaauugggh! Never mind. Forget I said anything. This is turning out to be more trouble than it's worth!"

Hitsugaya slammed his fist on the table.

"Are you trying to say I'm troublesome?" Matsumoto said, slamming both her palms on the table as she rose up to him.

"Yes!"

"What?!"

"I mean, no! I mean, yes you tend to attract trouble, but that's not what I'm talking about—"

"Then tell me, what are you talking about, because I'm not liking it one bit—"

"I'm just saying this argument is turning troublesome! Besides, is that how you feel about me, that I'm always too young…. that I'm old enough to have sex with you, but not old enough or good enough to be the father of your child? What the hell is up with that?!"

"Hey, I never said you weren't good enough. I'm just saying that we're both really young—"

"Too young to be parents—"

"Yes!"

"Matsumoto, this is not like shirking paperwork! We can't just sweep it under the rug and expect it to go away!"

"I'm not saying to sweep it under the rug, I'm saying, let's get rid of it!"

"Why are you so anxious to get rid of it?!"

"Why are you so anxious to keep it?!"

"Because!"

"Because what?"

"I don't know, because I feel responsible! I want to do the right thing—"

"Responsible? The right thing? Taichou, I don't need your or anyone else's pity—"

"It's not about pity, Matsumoto! Why the hell are you being so difficult?!"

"I am not!"

"Matsumoto, you know what, whatever!" Hitsugaya got up and stomped out of the shop into the downpour that had just begun minutes earlier.

"Taichou! Where are you going?!" she shouted after him, thunder rolling ominously from a distance.

"Somewhere other than here! I don't know why you're being so difficult! Urahara, thanks for the advice!"

"Yes, we'll be in touch!" Matsumoto called as she shoved the sliding door shut behind her.

"Always a pleasure," waved the jovial shopkeeper.

"Sound familiar, Kisuke?" purred a low voice from the shadows, two dark arms making their way into the shopkeeper's open clothing, scratching his chest lightly with her nails.

"Mm?" he hummed, as he removed his hat and pulled a loose thread from it. "Too familiar…though as I recall, it wasn't a matter of you being stuck in a gigai…"

"Is it really okay to be leaving them alone like that?" she asked, nipping at his ear.

"They need to work this one out on their own. It takes two to tango, Yoruichi-san. That child will put their relationship to the ultimate test. But the sweet thing about all of this is that both of them are trying to do what they believe is best for the other. He doesn't want to force anything onto her or cause any unnecessary suffering on her part, which is why he's leaving the decision in her hands. But she was worried about his career, yet it was so obvious that she wanted to keep it. How sweet is that—Yoruichi-san?"

"Kisuke, I hate when you get like that. Stay out there until you return from Planet Sap."

0-0-0-0-0

The two high ranking 10-bantai individuals were getting soaked by the rain, which seemed to be coming down even harder than when they left the Urahara Shouten. The rain drowned out any sound, so they had resorted to finishing their argument later. Hitsugaya was not using his shunpo, but he was farther ahead, leading the way home. Matsumoto trailed behind him, sulking.

"Stupid taichou…" Matsumoto muttered to herself, pouting as she plowed through another dirty puddle whose grime invaded her sandals. Frowning, she kicked a large piece of gravel along the side of the pavement, watching the broken piece hop, roll, and tumble through puddles. They were nearly home, and she was about to kick the stone again, when the tip of her sandal got caught in the asphalt, causing her to lose her balance. Feeling her body fall forward, she closed her eyes instinctively and flailed her arms in an attempt to regain her balance, but she ended up reaching forward to brace herself for the eminent fall that never came. Looking up, she saw that she had sort of fallen into the arms of someone.

"Taichou…" she breathed. "When did you…"

"Careful, if not for that baby's sake, for your own, Matsumoto," he said quietly, as he helped her to her feet before walking towards the apartment complex. "I gotta go back to the Soul Society. I'll fix the paperwork inconsistencies for the time being. You can decide whether or not you want the baby. All I can give you is ten days. Whatever you decide, I will support you. Though if it makes any difference to you, I would have raised that baby with you, not because I had an obligation to, but because I wanted to…"

Hitsugaya did not turn around to face her, but simply waved his hand to signal the opening of the portal.

"Taichou!" Matsumoto called, running to him and wrapping her arms around him seconds before he passed through the gate. "I'm sorry, for being selfish—"

"Don't get to close," he said gently, pushing her away from the slight vacuum that the gates produced.

"Taichou…"

"Matsumoto, I trust you to make the best decision," he said as he stepped through the sliding doors into the white light.

0-0-0-0-0

While Matsumoto stayed in the Material World, Hitsugaya was busy discreetly covering up any suspicious documentation that Matsumoto had left behind prior to her departure for the Material World. It was a long process that took him nearly a week to complete in its entirety. Hitsugaya knew that if he was ever caught, he would face immediate execution for tampering with and altering official records.

He had just finished altering the last document on the sixth day and had been on his way back from returning the file when he overheard two lower ranking shinigami talking.

"Hey, so you wouldn't believe what I just overheard between the shoji doors—"

"What?"

"They suspect Matsumoto-fukutaichou of treason—"

"You're kidding?! Why what happened?"

"I dunno, but I overheard Kyouraku-taichou talking to Ukitake-taichou and telling him what he overheard someone telling Yamamoto-soutaichou. Someone apparently told Yamamoto-soutaichou that Matsumoto-fukutaichou has been contacting Ichimaru Gin over the past few days. She was seen talking to him somewhere in Karakura Town not once, but on several occasions. The content of the conversations is unknown, but the fact that it is multiple times…."

"So what is Yamamoto-soutaichou going to do about it?"

"Well, he doesn't want to take any chances, so he's probably gonna have her arrested and brought in for questioning—"

Hitsugaya needed to hear no more before he was off with a flash to the main headquarters. As he used his shunpo to bound over the roofs, he grabbed the cell phone that Urahara had given him and dialed the only number in its record.

"Urahara," he said solemly.

"Yes, Hitsugaya-taichou?"

"Bad news, they're sending forces to arrest Matsumoto and bring her back to the Soul Society. According to them, she's been contacting Ichimaru…"

"Is it true?"

"I don't know, but all I know is that if she passes through that portal…"

"I got it. What would you like me to do?"

"Just find her and hide her from them. I'll stall them and figure something out. You're a genius, make it so that there's no way they can find her."

"Hitsugaya-taichou..."

"Please, I'm counting on you! I have no more time. Please, take care of her!"

Hitsugaya stuffed it into his uniform as he landed in front of the main meeting hall. There were sounds of muffled voices coming from within and Hitsugaya knew that the loudest belonged to the soutaichou. He burst in to find the 1-bantai taichou briefing the Special Task Force led by 2-bantai taichou, Soi Fon.

"Do not kill Matsumoto-fukutaichou. Do you hear me? You just arrest her and bring her back here in one piece—"

"If she struggles?"

"Then subdue her. It's 51 of you against one of her. Do not kill her. She may have important—"

"Matsumoto is not guilty of any crimes!" shouted Hitsugaya entering with a bang. "She knows nothing and was only acting under my orders. I knew that he had contacted her once, but I continued to use her as bait in an attempt to lure out Ichimaru. I should have informed everyone and I did not. I am truly sorry and I take full responsibility. Do not arrest her. If there's anyone you should be looking for to blame this on, it should be me."

"Hitsugaya-taichou, do you know and understand the stakes here?"

"I do. As her commanding officer, I take full responsibility."

"I see," said Yamamoto, leaning heavily on his staff. "Soi Fon."

"Yes, sir!"

"Lock up Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Right away!" she said bowing before the older man. "Hitsugaya-taichou, this way. Please come quietly."

Hitsugaya closed his eyes and led the way with the petite taichou at his back.

"All of you," Yamamoto said facing the squad that had been gathered.

"Yes, Sir!" they bellowed in unison.

"Find and arrest Matsumoto-fukutaichou as well."

"At once, sir!"

Hitsugaya's heart skipped a beat, as Soi Fon ushered him out of the meeting room.

"Dismissed!"

Please, Urahara. Don't let anything happen to her…

Urahara turned off the speaker phone mode and closed his phone after having heard what Hitsugaya had allowed him to hear unbeknownst to the other shinigami.

"Yoruichi-san?" he said to the feline sitting on his lap. "We need to find Matsumoto-fukutaichou at once. Can you help me?"

The black haired cat hopped off Urahara's lap and ran to the closet. She emerged fully dressed seconds later.

"Fifty of them right?" she grinned stretching her legs. "Just knock them around a bit while you get the girl right?"

"Sorry to bother you from your nap," the shopkeeper said, grabbing his hat.

"Let's make it a game, Kisuke, for old time's sake…"she said tying her hair up and shrouding her face with a turban like veil.

"Who can complete their mission and be back here first?"

"Loser has to be the winner's slave for a day?"

"You're on, Yoruichi-san."

"See ya," she said, hopping out the window in a flash.

Urahara watched her for several seconds.

"One…two…three…four…five—" Urahara disappeared just as quickly, to miss Tessai who had come up looking for him.

"Tenchou?" Tessai called. "I could've sworn he was here just a second ago…"

0-0-0-0-0

To be continued….

Yay!!! Finally an update for C&P…So sorry to keep you waiting. How was the latest development? There's lots more planned. Battles, sacrifices, heartache, and surprises at every corner.

Yumichika: Ikkaku, did you hear?

Ikkaku: (digging his nose) What?

Yumichika: Hitsugaya-taichou has been arrested.

Ikkaku: WHAT?!

Yumichika: and that's not all—

Kenpachi: (suddenly barging in) She's knocked up!

Ikkaku: What?! With whose kid?!

Kenpachi: Ain't it obvious? The little pipsqueak knocked her up—

Yumichika: (pouting) Taichou! You took away my thunder! I was gonna tell him!

Ikkaku: Wait, even taichou knows already!

Yachiru: Yeah, get with the program, baldie!

Ikkaku: Shut up! Besides, how the hell does he know so goddamn much about 10-bantai?

Yachiru: Because he spends lots of time with Byaku-neechan—

Ikkaku: Kuchiki-taichou?!

Byakuya: (suddenly appearing from behind) Is there something wrong with that?

Ikkaku: Nothing at all, Kuchiki-taichou!

Byakuya: You called me 'nee-chan' just a second ago didn't you?

Yachiru: Because Ken-cha is my daddy and you are going to be my mommy, is what—

Yumichika: Okay, that's enough for now…Anyway, thank you for the update, Mayonaka no Taiyou. Please keep writing!