6 Chapter six: Urahara Kisuke.

Chapter six.

"You know, on second thought..." I muttered, as the smoke cleared, I saw her cross her arms across her chest with a knowing smile. "You might be more than just a cat."

"Right?" I heard her voice, so different to what her cat self sounded like, it left me astonished. Her tone alongside that smile made her feel captivating, provocative even.

"Uh…" Alright, I take pride in being able to handle these sorts of weird situations, and I know I asked for something nonsensical to happen, but I feel like a cat turning into a naked woman in the middle of the streets is a little too much!

"Oh, look at that…" The woman kept her smile as she walked forward, making all sorts of interesting looking things move. "You sounded so sure of yourself before, and yet…"

"You have grown so quiet all of a sudden." She finished, so close to me I had to take a step back. "Well, a teenager is just a teenager at the end of the day. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the first time you got to see a woman like this, mhm?"

I gulped, there was something about her, I don't know what it was, but her purple hair, her dark skin and those unnatural, golden irises, it all made one hell of a combination.

"You better burn this image into your brain." I heard her chuckle, amused at the effect she had on me, no doubt.

"I…" Alright, I did say I was into older women, but I feel like I might have just developed a new sort of fetish.

I am not sure how much time it would have taken me to snap back from whatever trance I was in without some outside help, but it seemed like I was in luck.

I heard something falling from our left, making both me and the dark-skinned woman turn to face that way.

"Um… Excuse me but…" The face of a middle aged woman who had been walking near the area greeted our sight. "Who are you talking to?"

"Huh?" I gave the woman a weird look, was she on drugs? Had she somehow missed the sight of a naked woman standing no further than a meter and a half from her?

"Ah." The dark-skinned beauty gave the newcomer a blank stare, almost as if she cared little about being seen like that. "Yeah, that's right. You don't know about it."

"I don't know about what?" I asked, ignoring the other woman as I focused on the… Was she even a cat-girl? I dunno.

"Hm… This isn't a good place to talk about that. Unless, of course, you want everyone to think you are suffering from some kind of mental illness."

"You know… Considering the fact I just saw a talking cat turn into a naked woman, I might just be." I said, managing to get out an awkward smile as the random woman began taking distance from me.

"You scared her." The cat-girl pointed out, sounding amused as she watched the woman run off, thinking I was on some hard drugs or something, no doubt.

"Yeah, thanks for that…" I muttered, peeking as discreetly as I could towards the naked woman. "You said this isn't a good place, right? Then where would one be?"

Hot and weird as this entire situation might have been, I am kind of interested in how the fuck did a cat turn into a woman.

There's also the fact she was invisible, to that woman at least, so… Yeah, consider me interested. Did I say she was hot? Cuz, well, she is.

"I could have gotten onto that earlier, but you had to pick me up out of nowhere." The woman reminded me, which was fair enough. "I have been observing you for a while, and it didn't take me long to realize there is much that you still remain ignorant about in regards to the spiritual side of things."

"With that in mind…" The woman trailed off, turning her back at me and offering me one hell of an interesting sight. "Let's meet tomorrow night, in District Mitsubiya. Sounds good?"

"That's… I'll need something more specific than that!" I told her, there was no shot I would be able to find her without more accurate instructions.

"You'll be able to feel me, trust me." The woman assured me with a strange smile, and I gave her a surprised look.

This was the first time someone other than me mentioned the concept of 'feeling' someone, something which I thought was unique to me.

"You…" I watched as she turned back into her cat form, leaving me with the feeling of wanting to see more. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Yoruichi." The woman, now back in cat form, replied to me. "You'll be seeing much of me in the near future, if things go as I expect."

"I wouldn't mind that." I replied, not even registering what I had said before the words left my lips.

"..." Yoruichi, weird as it might have looked in her current state, chuckled. "Your confidence is back, it seems. Well, next time, let us hope that confidence remains whilst I remain in my original form."

Yoruichi turned her feline back at him, taking small steps with her paws as she began walking through the sidewalk.

"I… I am Haru." I told her while she still remained within earshot. "I'll be there tomorrow."

"Well then Haru…" Yoruichi did not look back as she replied to me. "Let us meet again."

Again, all I did was blink, but that was all it took for me to miss the moment she decided to vanish, leaving nothing behind.

"God, she is hot."

[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]

"You plan on just staring at me?" I smiled in amusement as Ikumi gave me a deadpan look. I had been watching her clean the office while I sat on the couch, fixated on her.

"I am not just staring." I told her, smiling further as she gave me a 'huh?' in response to my words. "I am thinking as well."

"Thinking?" Ikumi gave me a weird look, turning around to face me as she took a break from cleaning the office room. "About what?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, after what happened last night with Yoruichi I was feeling like taking some revenge on someone.

Thing is, I had to wait for that, and so for now the best target I had within reach was Ikumi. Not like I was complaining about that, she was quite the looker herself.

"I'm thinking about how hot it would be if…" I dodged, not even flinching as she threw a book at me. God, she reacted fast. "If you wore a maid uniform…"

I crouched, dodging but another book headed towards me as I kept talking. I mean, she did ask me what I was thinking, right?

"I don't want to hear that!" Ikumi said, clenching her fist as she resisted the urge to punch me in the face. "You are unbelievable."

Shame, I wouldn't have minded if she kept throwing me books. I mean, those things sure do bounce when she does that.

"Yeah, I am awesome like that." I replied to her, stretching on the couch as I held back a yawn. "I mean, it couldn't hurt to try it…"

"Knock it off, Haru!" Ikumi warned me, pointing her index finger at me. "Kaoru is still up, I won't have his mind contaminated with…"

"If he was asleep, then?" I pressed, she had slipped there, and I intended to make the most of it. "Would it be alright?"

"You…" Ikumi gritted her teeth, and for the first time throughout the entire time I had known her, I saw her blush. The question is, is it from overwhelming anger or embarrassment?

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." I said, I was not quite willing to gamble my life on it. It was best to leave with a small win while I still could.

"I'll be leaving soon regardless…" I mentioned, gazing at the one window in our office. Through the curtain, I was able to just make out the moon in the sky. "It should be about time."

The moment I had left school, I headed straight to Ikumi's office and spent the rest of the day there, burning some time completing some jobs while I was at it.

I had warned mom I would be home late so there was nothing to stop me from meeting Yoruichi tonight.

"About time for what?" I heard her ask, an odd look present on her face. Her next words made her expression a little more clear. "You are not gonna go out so late at night, right?

God, what a woman. One second she is throwing books at me and in the next she is acting all protective.

"Hmh." I nodded at her, it had been a long time since I had feared… Well, anything? Fighting monstrous man-eating beasts on a regular basis does tend to do that.

"What's with that look?" I asked her, a cheeky smile on my face as I stood up. "I'll be just fine, there's no need to be worried."

"Well, I am." Ikumi replied, with so little delay and such a serious face it almost made me hesitate, almost. "If something happens, call me."

"I'll be out till late, though." I warned her, I had legit zero idea what Yoruichi wanted with me, but she had mentioned explanations.

"Couldn't care less." I heard her response and I couldn't help but smile. It was nice knowing she cared that much. "If something happens, you call me, got that?"

"Yes." I replied, though again, it's not like I had much to be afraid of to begin with. It had been a long time since I had encountered a being stronger than me.

[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]

"Well, I sure ain't feeling shit!" I groaned, kicking a tree with enough force to make it crack as I waited around a park.

Yoruichi had told me I would be feeling her, so I went with it and just headed to some random park to wait, but so far, nothing.

'Man, I left Ikumi for this?' I thought, frustrated at the fact I had been waiting for half an hour, cold and in the middle of some shit park.

I sat on the fixed benches near me, the uncomfortable seat doing little to appease me as I kept cursing.

Yes, I hate waiting, time is such a precious resource after all.

I checked my phone, looking for something to distract me as I became more and more irritated.

'I could call her…' I thought, thinking about Orihime. We had talked a bit and she did sound a little more energetic. 'Nah, it's a bit too late for that.'

"..." I sighed, resting against the bench as I tried to focus, perhaps it was me who wasn't trying hard enough?

It was then that I felt it, I felt something! Yes, two things in fact. Soft, round and big… Wait.

I snapped open my eyes, leaving me staring at 'something', something pressed on me with so much force I couldn't breathe.

Acting on instinct, I pushed that something back, shaking off whatever had been on me as I stood up from the bench.

"Bahahaha." I recognized the voice in an instant, even though I had not heard her laugh ever before. "You sure are rough, most would kill for that."

Yoruichi was in her human form, this time however she was dressed in some form fitting orange clothes and black pants.

"You… Yoruichi." I thought, realizing just what had been pressed on me a second ago. "You said I would feel you!"

"You got to feel them, alright." I heard her response, making me speechless for a moment as I realized what she was talking about.

"I thought…" I trailed off, I had been under the impression she meant feeling her presence, but that's obviously not what she meant.

"Oh, that was the idea at first." Yoruichi replied, almost as if she had read my mind. "But then Kisuke told me I could be attracting some unwanted attention if I did that."

"Plus, isn't this so much better?" Yoruichi finished, sounding a little too amused for someone who had just smashed her breasts against the face of a teenager.

"Kisuke?" I asked, the name was unfamiliar to me. "Who is that? You also mentioned some unwanted attention. You mean those monsters, right?"

"Hm… That's a lot of questions." Yoruichi mused, looking north as I followed her gaze. "Follow me, I'll answer them on the way."

[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]

Yoruichi and Haru walked alongside the other, the pair remaining silent for a while as the female pondered how to begin her explanation.

"Let's see…" Yoruichi began, pursing her lips as she came to a decision. "Let's start with the basics, then. You know what I am?"

"I gave it some thought." Haru replied, still thinking about the implications of what he was about to answer. "You are… Well, I could be wrong but, a spirit."

"Spirit, huh? That's an interesting term." Yoruichi replied, smiling a little. "There's more accurate descriptions to use on them, but sure, spirits do exist."

"..." Haru remained silent, she had not answered his question.

"I am a Soul Reaper, a Shinigami." Yoruichi explained, stating it as if it was nothing more than the most normal of concepts. "In other words, a regulator."

"Regulator?" The black haired teen asking, feeling a little skeptical about the whole thing. "Regulators of what, exactly?"

"It should be obvious." Yoruichi stated, a car passing through the street as she talked. "The crossing of souls. Soul reapers are guardians of the souls."

"Their job is to ensure the safe passing of souls, those who have become lost for whatever reason." Yoruichi carried on with her explanation, and he decided to remain silent as she kept on talking. "I imagine someone like you is quite familiar with this sort of soul. You must see them as those harmless spirits that wander around. We call them…"

"Konpaku, in other words, a soul." The woman finished, making a turn to the right as they reached the end of a street. "Though perhaps the ones that seem the most familiar are Pluses. You know those with a chain coming off their chest? That's what we call them."

"Yeah… I am familiar with them." Haru replied, seeming a little bitter all of a sudden. "I'm not sure I would call them harmless, though."

"Hm… You seem to harbor some sort of resentment towards them." Yoruichi noted, crossing her arms beneath her chest as she spoke. "Yes, Pluses can turn into Hollows, but that in most cases is not an issue as long as a Shinigami arrives in time."

"Hollows?" Haru asked, though he had a decent idea on what she meant. The name was sort of self explanatory.

"Those monsters." Yoruichi replied, making a stop in front of a shop as she headed towards it. "A Plus becomes a Hollow if their chain is allowed to corrode, as a result, they lose their hearts."

Yoruichi came to a halt as she arrived at the entrance of the shop, opening the door under the gaze of the teenager.

"Well.. This place is a mess." Haru commented, coughing a bit as some dust settled down.

"That's kind of a rude thing to say." The new voice made Haru and Yoruichi turn towards it. Urahara smiled at them as their gazes met, waving his hand. "I am quite proud of this shop of mine, best in the entire business."

Haru examined the man, his gaze focused on him as he got his first look. He was a tall, slim man with light skin; his most distinctive traits being his gray irises and blond messy hair.

"Kisuke Urahara." The man introduced himself, leaving no room for confusion as the two locked gazes. "Pleased to meet you."

"Haru Miyagawa." The teen replied, nodding at the man in response. "You are the one she was talking about, then."

"Indeed I am." Kisuke replied, waving his fan around. "You had nothing but good things to say about me, I'm sure?"

"Yeah, right." Yoruichi replied, resting her back against the wall as she spoke. "I didn't tell him much, just got done with the basics."

"Oh?" Kisuke smiled, if the principles had been dealt with, then that meant he had free reign in regards to where to lead the conversation. "Well, that is convenient… But I believe we should let Miyagawa-san ask whatever he wants first."

"I appreciate that." Haru replied, sitting in front of the man, there was a pillow right in front of him so he assumed it was meant for him.

"You have any questions, then?" Yoruichi asked from the side, her golden irises fixated on the teen.

"As of right now?" Haru asked, there was one thing that he felt needed to be addressed immediately. "Yes, I have got one."

"Why me?" Haru asked, tilting his head to the side. It was something that bothered him ever since his first conversation with Yoruichi. "I mean, I'm assuming there is some sort of reason for us to be here. I can't imagine she has been watching me just because."

"Well, that is a simple question to answer." Urahara replied, he had been the one to ask Yoruichi to take a look at the teenager, after all. "You are special, that is the truth. I thought we could find some benefit from working together. You could learn a lot from me, and I…"

"Well, I could use someone with your set of skills." Urahara finished. "How's that for an answer?"

"It tells me a lot and nothing at the same time." Haru replied, though he couldn't hide he was a little intrigued. "You could use someone like me, sure. The question then becomes, for what?"

"Well, that is a little more complicated to answer." Urahara admitted, he seemed a lot more serious all of a sudden.

"In other words…" Haru began, scratching the back of his head in annoyance. "You don't trust me enough to give me that answer? Fair enough, I suppose."

"It's not as bad as it sounds." Urahara said, though he did smile at the teen's reaction, he was being a lot more understanding than expected. "Let's imagine there is a Hollow that needs to be taken care of, and there is no Shinigami around to deal with them."

Haru gave him a short nod, prompting him to finish with the example. The man threw a phone at him, and he caught it with his hand.

"You could track them with that." Urahara explained as Haru opened the phone, the screen displayed something that looked similar to a radar. "You take care of them, then whenever there's some free time… You could come here and train, that's about it."

"Train…? Here?" Haru asked, more than a little doubtful as he looked around the small shop. "No offense, but this is a little too small for me."

Urahara's smile widened, as if he had been waiting for this exact moment throughout their entire conversation.

"Follow me." Urahara said, standing up so fast from the spot Haru had to run after him.

[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]

"How… How is this even possible?" I asked, standing in the middle of a training field so big I couldn't even see the end of it.

"This is what I like to call the 'Urahara Shop Study Chamber'. Quite impressive, right?" Urahara said, doing some sort of exaggerated movement with his hands as he swung a cane around.

"Yeah, it's amazing." I agreed, looking around the place as I basked in the scenery. "Name sucks ass though, it needs some fixing."

The ground was a desolate land, big enough to hold hills and some trees in it. I even managed to spot some walls from here, painted to look like a fake cloudy sky, much like the roof.

Perhaps what was the most impressive of it all was that this was beneath a small, average looking shop.

"Oh, we can work on the name in the future." Urahara assured me as I turned back to face him. His right hand held his cane as he spoke. "If there is indeed such a future for us."

It's not possible a man like him with all these sorts of strange things couldn't take care of some monsters. There is a catch, I know.

What is his reason behind helping me develop, as he phrased it? Perhaps such development would be of use to him in the future? If so, then that works just fine with me. I want to get stronger as well, after all.

"You kidding?" I asked, I couldn't help but smile at the man's antics. He was offering me a discreet place to train, plus actual training? "I am in, of course."

"Oh… One last thing." The man raised his finger as he got me to look towards him. "I did say I could provide some training, right? Then how about we have a short spar?"

"You wanna fight me…?" I asked, a little doubtful as I looked the man up and down. He felt strong, the question is, how strong?

"I wouldn't go so far as to call it a fight." Urahara waved his hand, smiling as he took a step towards me. "I need to see where you stand in terms of power."

I gazed to the side for a second, Yoruichi had remained silent throughout most of our conversation but now she looked interested.

"Well, I am in." I replied, fists raised as I sized him up. He wasn't on guard, he didn't even look like he was about to fight.

"Oh? Fists, is it?" I heard him say, something about the smile he gave me was a little unnerving. "I can work with that. Shall we begin then?"

End of chapter six.