9 I wouldn't mind a hug either.

Chapter nine.

''…'' A pair of blue eyes opened up with a slow pace, almost like if their owner didn't want to wake up at all. ''Nghh.''

The very first thing that Kuromiya felt once he woke up was an almost intolerable pain in his stomach, like someone had decided to pick his intestines up and make a knot with them.

'I did survive, then.' He thought, looking absent mindedly at the room's ceiling. He didn't even bother to look around the room, after all the boy already knew where he was.

The little room where he was resting at was fairly small and simple. The floor was made of wood, and so where the walls all around him, the room was completed by a simple japanese styled door, much like the one that the shinigami's had used in order to return to the Soul Society.

''…'' Right next to him was the still unconscious form of Ichigo, resting on a futon covered by a few blankets, just like him.

'It looks like Ishida already left.' Kuromiya noted, since there was a third empty futon at his left, where the quincy had likely been resting on not too long ago.

The black haired boy tried to stand on his own feet, however just sitting down caused him to hiss in pain. Unable to handle it, he flopped back to bed.

''That's what you get for being so reckless.'' The voice of a woman caught his attention, apparently someone had entered from the door behind him for a while.

''Yoruichi.'' Kuromiya called, he didn't even need to look back in order to know just who was talking to him. ''Where you the one who brought me here?''

The woman was wearing her traditional orange outfit, which was very pleasing to the eye to say the least.

''Mhm.'' Yoruichi nodded, both of them making eye contact for the first time since the battle against the soul reapers. ''Kisuke had his hands full with the other two.''

''I must be lucky then, I got the cute girl to carry me around.'' He joked in an attempt to lighten up the mood. ''I just wish it was under better circumstances.''

''… You're an idiot, you know that?'' Yoruichi questioned him, but judging by the smile that the beautiful woman was sporting, she wasn't really angry at all. ''But you're right, you sure are one lucky guy.''

''Mind giving me a hand? I can't seem to be able to get up on my own.'' Kuromiya ended up asking after a few more seconds of comfortable silence. His slight smirk revealing that he wasn't done talking just yet. ''I wouldn't mind a hug either.''

''I don't think you should be moving just yet.'' She told the pale boy, still watching him from across the room with her arms crossed around her chest. ''If you end up hurting yourself you will be spending even more time in bed.''

''You sure are quite interested in my health.'' Kuromiya pointed out to her, even if he knew she was right. It still sucked for him to be wasting his time on a bed, though he had to admit this were the consequences of his own choices.

''I won't apologize for worrying about you.'' Yoruichi's words managed to get his attention back on her. ''Even if he says that you needed this fight, I don't agree with him.''

Both of them knew she was referring to the fact that Urahara had allowed him to go, despite the fact that he knew fully well what the end result would be.

''It's still me who decided to go, though.'' Kuromiya argued back, after all the shop keeper was under no obligation to babysit him. ''… I must admit, I didn't think you worried about me.''

''... Nmmh.'' A sudden noise coming from the futon next to the boy managed to get their attention, putting an end to their conversation. That sound was coming from Ichigo, who starting to wake up too.

''… I'll be calling Tessai to check up on the both of you.'' She announced, leaving him alone with a very confused Ichigo.

''Where am i?'' Next to him, the orange haired boy was now fully awake, which meant that he would probably have a hundred questions inside his head.

''You know Urahara, right?'' Kuromiya turned towards the boy, who was now hissing in pain just like he had done a few minutes ago. ''Don't move too much, we are all beaten up.''

''Huh, Kuromiya? How are you… How am I alive?'' Ichigo still recalled every single thing that had happened before he lost his conscience, and he was a hundred percent sure that both him and his classmate where fatally wounded.

''Jeez, you had already given up on me? Have a little more faith, Ichigo.'' Kuromiya admonished him with a smirk. ''Though I must admit, I thought I was a goner back there.''

''Tell me about it! I don't know how am I even alive.'' The substitute soul reaper confessed. Both classmates were all patched up. Kuromiya had white bandages all around his midriff, with medical adhesive tape sealing it closed. Ichigo wasn't doing much better either, since the upper half of his chest and shoulders was all covered up in the same bandages too.

''The two of you shouldn't move too much.'' Urahara warned them, now finally arriving at the room to check up on them. ''You'll end up opening up your wounds if you do.''

Waving his hand fan in front of his face, both of them weren't able to see his slight smile, so it was hard to tell what his mood was.

''Urahara…'' Kuromiya found it hard to talk to the man, after all he had ignored his warning and even then it was still the shop keeper that had saved him.

''… Oh, so this is your house.'' Ichigo realized, remembering the words of his classmate from before. The frown on Ichigo's face didn't go unnoticed to anyone inside the room, and it was quite unexpected to say the least. ''Where you the one who saved us, Urahara?''

''Oh? Not the response I was expecting.'' Urahara commented, leaning closer to Ichigo with slight curiosity. ''It almost sound like you didn't want to be saved.''

The orange haired teenager looked away from the man, his glance landing on the floor as if he was avoiding to look at them. Inside his mind, several images from last night were repeating themselves nonstop.

''Quit with that depressing attitude, Ichigo.'' Kuromiya interjected, it was almost pathetic to see someone with so much potential being so depressed after a single loss. ''Neither of us are dead, so stop acting like it's already over.''

''… You're right, neither of us…'' His eyes widened, realizing that someone that had been fighting together with them was missing from the room.

''Ishida already left.'' Knowing what he was thinking, the blue eyed boy decided to inform him about the quincy's current state. ''His wounds were by far the less serious ones, if we survived there's no way that he didn't make it.''

''He's right.'' Urahara confirmed, making Ichigo release a sigh of relief. ''That boy left a few hours ago, but before that, he did ask me to take good care of the two of you… He also said that the only ones who could save her where the two of you.''

''… Hah.'' Ichigo laughed, the thought of saving Rukia from what he could guess was her execution didn't seem really possible to him. ''… Saving her? What am I supposed to do?''

'Yikes, he's going to snap.' Kuromiya thought, after all his body language was too telling for anyone even a little experienced on such matters. Fortunately for him, he wasn't quite as emotional as Ichigo.

''Rukia's gone back to Soul Society! How am I supposed to go after her!? How am I supposed to save her!?'' Ichigo didn't make any attempt to hide his frustration, screaming at his heart's content all the things he was feeling. ''I can't!''

''For someone so persistent, you sure are giving up fast on her.'' Kuromiya lazily commented, his snarky attitude now back on full display. ''If Urahara didn't have a way to take us there, he wouldn't be mentioning it at all.''

''!?'' Ichigo's attitude did a completely one-hundred-an-eighty turn, widening his eyes at the implication that those words left in the air. ''Is there!? How do I do that? Please tell me!''

Ichigo ignored the pain it caused him to get up, walking up to Urahara and asking him with barely hidden desperation about how to get in the Soul Society.

''I'll tell you, of course.'' Urahara calmly answered, raising a single finger to the air. ''But I have one condition.''

Kuromiya decided not to interrupt their conversation, after all he knew fully well what this was about. Instead, he opted to look around the room, searching for a certain someone that should be around.

'There you are.' He thought, spotting Yoruichi walking around the door in her cat form. 'I'm getting the hang around feeling someone's spiritual pressure.'

''Condition?'' Meanwhile, Ichigo and Urahara went on with their conversation.

''Yes!'' Urahara nodded. ''For ten days starting from now, I wan't you to study fighting with me.''

''St-st…? What's up with that!? You're telling me to train?'' Ichigo took a few steps away from the futon, now under a meter away from the shop keeper. ''We ain't got time for that! We don't know when Rukia'll be killed over there! Forget that, we gotta go right n…''

''You just don't get it.'' Urahara muttered, grabbing his hat with one hand and moving it downwards until it shadowed his eyes. With his free hand, he hit Ichigo right on his forehead with his wooden cane, sending him back to the ground.

''…'' Once Ichigo looked up, he found himself looking straight at Urahara, who was now kneeling in front of him, keeping him on the ground with his cane against his forehead.

''What I'm telling you right now is…'' For the first time since Kuromiya had known the man, his attitude was no longer the one of a goofy shop keeper, but of the one man who was capable of outsmarting the likes of Aizen. His gaze was more than enough to make Ichigo quiet down, now gaining his full attention. ''The way you are now, you'll just go and die there.''

''Do you think you can win a fight against them with the way you are? This time, I went ahead and let the two of you fight them. I thought the best way for the both of you to understand it would be through fighting them.'' His cane released a deadly yellow aura, making it seem even more threatening than even a sword would be.

''… With the current strength that both of you have, even teaming up won't make the slightest different. With your current strength you won't be useful in the Soul Society.'' Urahara explained, his shadowed eyes making him all the more intimidating. ''Why do you think Kuromiya-san isn't talking? Do you think he doesn't want to save Rukia? No, he does understand that without training nothing will change at all.''

Listening to Urahara's monologue in first person felt entirely different to Kuromiya than when he had simply listened to it through a screen. Despite the fact that he almost knew by memory each of those words, it felt like he was listening to them for the first time.

''You're weak.'' The blonde man added, not even bothering to sweeten his words. ''When a weakling enters enemy territory, it's called suicide. You gotta save her right now? You gotta grow up… Don't use other people as an excuse to die.''

'Auch.' Kuromiya flinched, even if not all of those words were directed at him, it still felt quite harsh coming from someone like Urahara. Ichigo had yet to utter a single word, hearing in complete silence with shocked eyes to what the man had to say.

''I'm sure he has his reasons, Ichigo.'' Kuromiya ended up deciding it was a nice moment to join the conversation. ''I doubt he would ask for ten days without knowing we got at least that much time.''

''Spot on!'' Urahara complimented, walking up from the ground. He started moving around the room, walking around them while hitting his closed hand fan against the palm of his right hand. ''Soul Society costumarily takes a one-month grace period before execution of death row prisoners.''

''Execution!?'' Ichigo said, forcing himself to sit down once again.

''Starting now, I'll bully you two for ten entire days. Afterwards, it will take me seven days to open the gate to the Soul Society.'' He added, his mysterious smile finally back on his face. ''Then thirteen days once we reach Soul Society, it should be more than enough time.''

Ichigo's brown eyes hardened, his mind recalling the lone figure of Rukia disappearing in between those luminous doors.

''In ten days can i… Can we become strong enough?'' Ichigo asked, his hair shadowing his eyes from everyone's gaze.

''Of course!'' Urahara replied, as if it was already a done deal. ''Both of you have shown the potential to improve at frightening speed. The question is, can the two of you survive a life-or-death situation with me?''

''It's not like we have other choice.'' Kuromiya answered, ignoring the pain from his stomach and walking out of the futon. ''Either we do that or we can't get her back, and I'm not about to go down without having a rematch.''

''I agree.'' Ichigo said, walking next to his classmate. ''It's not about if we can do it, we will.''

''Mhm.'' Urahara had a dangerous smirk on his face, and answered to their words with a short approving nod. ''That will do.''

. . .

''… You're dropping out of school?'' Urahara asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

''It's pointless for me to waste my time there when I can get stronger here with you.'' Kuromiya replied, his face not showing any sort of doubts. ''We have ten days, and I intend to use them down to the last second.''

This conversation was being held right at the center of Urahara's store, both were sitting together at one of the steps next to the entrance to the shop.

''Oh? Where's this whole determination coming from?'' The blonde man asked, a slight smile adorning his face. ''Is it because of your recent loss against that man? If so, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself, that man was Byakuya Kuchiki after all.''

''It doesn't matter if he's someone important or not.'' Kuromiya argued back, shaking his head to the memory of him being cut down in an instant. ''I could tell he was restraining himself, and even then I failed to even scratch him.''

''… Will your family be fine with you dropping out of the school?'' Urahara ended up asking, accepting his decision without a second thought.

''Hm…'' The teenager trailed off, unsure about how to answer. He had learned a bit over a week ago that some alternate version of his sister existed here too, which was responsible of sending him the money necessary to live. ''I doubt my sister would care, she's having fun on Germany right now after all.''

''Then I won't stop you.'' Kisuke concluded, raising up from the steps. ''Let's go down, I've something to show you there.''

''…'' Kuromiya nodded, walking after him without so much as a second thought. He still was injured, since it had been not more than half a day since he had regained his conscience, but there was no time to waste.

. . .

'This doesn't even feel real at all…' Inside Karakura's High School, Ichigo was having a hard time believing that after the events from the last few days, everyone could behave as if nothing was going at all.

Walking up from his class desk, his gaze shifted towards the spot were usually had been sitting at not even a day ago.

'… Not even one of them remembers her.' Ichigo thought, walking out of the classroom with his mood completely ruined.

. . .

''Isn't it incredible, Kuromiya-san!?'' Urahara childishly asked his companion, waving his hands around the massive place at which they had arrived. ''Who would have thought that there would be a place this big right below this humble store of mine!?''

''… Right.'' Unsure on how to react to Urahara's goofy antics, he forced himself to remember that this person in front of him was a genius, an incredible genius with no match.

''At least show a little bit more emotion!'' The blonde man told him, his mood now dampened by the lack of a reaction from the teenager. ''You're no fun at all.''

The two of them were inside an incredibly massive place, but that wasn't what was impressive about the place itself. Even though it was supposed to be underground, all the walls surrounding them appeared to be like someone had stolen a piece of sky and decided to place it inside there.

The terrain wasn't quite as crazy, since it looked like someone had placed a few mountains inside the place, making the ground around them be nothing more than rocks from every single angle.

''… So, how are we going to do this whole training thing?'' The blue eyed boy asked, moving a few strands of his black hair away from his eyes.

''I've a few ideas for that, but first…'' Urahara grabbed something from inside his green shihakushō, throwing it directly at the surprised boy.

''This is…'' He muttered, having in his hands the asauchi that he had dropped back when Byakuya defeated him. ''So you picked this up, huh? I'm sure you want answers but…''

''Actually, I don't.'' Urahara stopped him mid-sentence, dismissing his words with a quick hand gesture. ''You're entitled to your own secrets, I've my own secrets too after all.''

''… Thanks.'' Kuromiya answered, knowing the man it was obvious that his scientific curiosity had to be screaming at him to bombard the teenager with questions, but decided against it.

''Now, do you know how to use a sword?'' Urahara questioned him, after all he needed to know the extenct of his abilities before even starting.

''Not really.'' Kuromiya confessed, his gaze lingering on the asauchi in his hands with a disappointed look. ''I've been fighting with instincts alone, I just counter with what feels like the most comfortable answer.''

''We will have to work on that, then.'' The shop keeper decided, walking around the place with pensive eyes. ''When fighting against an opponent with even strength, the difference will lay on that skill after all. We have about a few hours until Kurosaki-san gets here, so in the meantime I will test you out.''

''Test me ou…!?'' Before he could finish his sentence, Urahara charged at him with his cane drawn, showing for the first time the sealed form of Benihime. He drawed his own sword too, and tried to prepare himself for the attack as best as he could.

Clashing their swords one against the other, Kuromiya was forced back more and more, being overwhelmed with ease.

'The hell is up with this strength?' He though, finding himself unable to withstand the clash of their swords. Deciding that it wouldn't do him any good to maintain the contact, he took a quick step back and casted Bringer Light, intending to make some distance in between them.

What followed was something that he wasn't expecting, because the very moment he used his high-speed movement technique, he appeared around thirty meters away from their original position, however…

Just behind him, he felt Urahara's hand touching his shoulder with a bit of force, pushing him right back from where he had just been. Rolling his way along the ground, the boy forced himself to stand up, his guard up once again.

''… I've seen you use that technique a fair amount of times.'' The store owner started, slowly walking towards him.

''So?'' Kuromiya asked, not understanding what he was getting at.

''When you cast it, just a second before you perform the technique you have a tendency to move your leg towards the direction you are planning to go towards.'' Urahara explained, making the boy widen his eyes in surprise. ''This last time you moved a step back, that's why I already knew where would you end up. And that's why I'll know that…''

Not giving the teenager any time to swallow the information, Urahara charged one again at him with his sword ready to slash. This time his speed was many times faster, forcing him to immediately use Bringer Light to get towards him, however this time he decided to counter with an attack on his own, appearing right next to Urahara, flanking him from his left side with his sword aimed at his throat.

Just before his blade made contact with the man, he was forced to stop his move or else the blade that was grazing his chest would pierce his heart. That blade of course belonged to no other than Urahara himself.

''That's why I knew that you would attack me from the left too.'' Once again, the man had predicted the exact position from where he would launch his attack. ''Though not all enemies will be able to do this, it's still is something we will have to fix.''

''… How do I get rid of that?'' Kuromiya questioned him, a frown making itself present in his pale face. ''I had never noticed I had that habit.''

''Believe me, once I'm done with you, there won't be even a single bad habit left in you.'' Urahara's words sent a chill down his spine, making him pick his guard up for a second time. ''We still have more than a half a day after all…''

. . .

Five hours later.

''How did you even manage to make a place this big below your store?'' Ichigo asked, entering the underground training place. ''I don't think this is even possible…''

''Well, I'm glad you asked!'' Urahara answered, waving his fan around his face. ''I just happened to find this here, I had no…!''

''… Quit messing with me, you expect me to just believe that?'' Ichigo asked with a raised eyebrow, ignoring the man's antics.

''You and Kuromiya are just so boring!'' The man complained with a pout, wishing he had someone who would appreciate his superior sense of humor.

''Now that I think about it, where's… Eh?'' Perhaps due to the fact that he had been too distracted with Kisuke's dumb explanations, Ichigo had failed to notice that someone was lying on the ground. ''Kuromiya!? Are you alive?''

''Haah, aaah.'' The fifteen-year-old black haired boy's chest was almost exploding, his ragged breathing making it difficult to even give a proper answer. ''H-he's insane, I-ichigo. Don't l-listen to him.''

''… Huh?'' Ichigo tilted his head with a lost expression, thinking that his classmate had gone insane after just a few hours with the shop keeper.

''My, my, you're conscious again?'' Kisuke answered, smiling at the exhausted boy. ''You're feeling up for a little more training? I'm sure Kurosaki-san would appreciate the help.''

''F-fuck you, o-old man.'' Kuromiya barked back at him, his energy completely depleted.

'I'm sure Kuromiya is just exaggerating… Right?' Ichigo thought, now feeling up quite a bit more alert than before.

''Now, let's start with regaining your powers, Kurosaki-san.'' Before the orange haired soul reaper had even time to consider, Urahara poked his forehead with his cane.

''Wa-wait!''

. . .

Ten days later.

''Why are we stopping, Urahara? We still have time left.'' Ichigo asked the man, since he had just interrupted the fight between himself and Kuromiya.

Ichigo was right now wearing his shihakushō, which meant that he had been able to effectively regain his powers. Resting at his back was his newly acquired zanpakuto in its shika release, Zangetsu.

''This is actually per my request.'' Kuromiya interjected, walking right next to the orange haired boy. Right now he was wearing a blue long sleeved t shirt, with simple black pants, though his clothes weren't for battle, it was all he had at the moment.

''Huh? Did something happen?'' Ichigo asked to his classmate, unsure on just what the problem might be.

''Don't be silly, Ichigo.'' Kuromiya answered, as if the boy was crazy for not knowing what he wanted. ''I want Urahara to explain to us a few things about their captains. Where you really planning to just go head on without knowing anything about them?''

This was something that the fullbringer wanted to do, since in the original timeline Ichigo and his group had gone to the Soul Society with close to no information about their enemies or their capabilities. The fact that they didn't know at the very least the name of each captain was beyond unacceptable.

''That's right.'' Urahara answered, nodding at him. ''I have made a list, but keep in mind that it might be outdated since it has been around a hundred years since I've been there.''

''…'' Ichigo had to agree that it was a good idea to at the very least know a little about them, it wouldn't hurt to spend an hour on it.

''Let's start then, shall we?'' Urahara asked, clearing his throat. ''This people, you must avoid at all costs…''

End of chapter nine.