Thank you for the support I hope you're all enjoying this side story while I work things out in Not Again! The purpose of this story is to explain how Kasumi and Masaki met Urahara and Isshin. I hope I can do this well and not upset people with any out of characterness that may come up. I think Urahara would have been the one to change the least as he has been exiled for several centuries by the time this story starts. Anyway, without further delay...
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Masaki?" Kasumi was being dragged by her friend after they had left the strange shop. She looked back over her shoulder with a slight blush remembering the handsome, if unrefined, man that had saved them from the monster.
"No." Masaki herself couldn't get her mind off the shop either, though her mind was more focused on the man that had helped them leave. She smothered the thoughts as she felt her face warm with a blush and coughed into one hand to disguise the fact.
"Masaki, you should have at least said thank you to him. He saved us from that monster." Kasumi stumbled a bit as Masaki continued to drag her in her wake.
"Kasumi that guy was a pervert that carted you off as soon as he got a chance." Masaki got angrier just thinking about the creepy pervert and what he might have done to her friend if the guy with the cigarette hadn't stepped in.
Kasumi watched as Masaki's expression went from angry to dreamy as she stewed on the happenings in the shop. Grinning she tries to goad her friend into reveling her thoughts about its occupants. "He was pretty cool looking though." She watched her friend's expression slyly to determine her reaction, hoping she was distracted enough by her thoughts.
Luck was with Kasumi as she heard her friend's reply. "Yeah, that cigarette made him look really cool." The dreamy look on Masaki's face became even deeper and she got a pink tint to her cheeks as her eyes widened slightly realizing what she'd said. "Uh..."
Kasumi giggled and the two stopped, Masaki releasing Kasumi's hand. "So you like the bad boy types Masaki?" She grins at her friend's deepening blush.
"Sh shut up, Kasumi." Kasumi's teasing had thrown her further off balance than she was before and she turns away to hide her growing blush.
"Do you want him to save you next time?" The grin remained.
"Ah... Uh..." Masaki suddenly finds a way to turn the tables on her friend and grins herself. "No, I don't think I like being the princess in need of a knight to save me. You seem to be perfectly happy with being rescued from monsters by that shaggy guy in the hat though."
"Ah..." It was now Kasumi's turn to imitate a tomato as she blushed brightly at her friend's insinuation. "It, it's getting late. We should get home." And she hurries on past Masaki while ignoring her friend's quiet laughter.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Urahara was lounging in a back room of the shop with Isshin looking at him curiously, lazily using an arm propped on his knee to hold his head up. "So... Kisuke. I never pegged you for having a fetish for younger girls." He watched his friend for any sort of reaction.
"Mmm, but all girls are cute and should be treated with respect Kurosaki-san." Nothing but a playful grin on his face.
"And that's why she was screaming at you about being a pervert?" A raised eyebrow and Isshin looked a bit confused.
"Mmm, no I believe that was because I stole away her friend so I could get them to both come here for their own safety." Urahara's expression went from playful to serious rather quickly and it shook Isshin from his jovial mood.
"Their safety?"
"Mmm. They were both able to see the hollow I had gone to deal with and surely you noticed they both have large amounts of reitsu?" He tapped a fan to his chin in a thoughtful manner.
Isshin scratches his head while he thinks about the meeting he had with the girls. "You're right, but we can't just keep them here. They have families and school."
"Then perhaps we should keep an eye on them to keep them safe. Their power seems to be a new development though or they would not have been so shocked at seeing the hollow." Urahara looks to his friend for a response.
Sighing and scratching his head again Isshin looks up at Urahara. "I think I should keep close to them then. I'm sure that if that one that was yelling at you saw you she would throw a fit." He closes his eyes and scratches his head again, "Geez I hope they don't live to far apart."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The next day Kasumi and Masaki went to school having almost forgotten about their strange encounter the day before. It wasn't until lunch when the girls saw the man with the cigarette standing outside the school by the gate, that they realizede the incident in the shop had really happened.
"I wonder why he's standing out there Masaki." Kasumi was casually eating from her bento as she gazed out the window at the man.
"How should I know? I just hope that the creepy pervert isn't out there as well." Masaki bit into her sandwich and watched as one of the teachers went out to the gate to ask the man to leave. "He really shouldn't be smoking on school grounds, student or not."
Kasumi grins at her friend, "So, do you want to go and ask him why he's here?" She giggles good-naturedly at her friend as she chokes a bit on her juice she had been sipping.
"Kasumi!" She nearly whined as her friend's giggles became full fledged laughter. "It's not that funny." Masaki huffs and looks back out the window to see that the teacher had gotten the man to leave the school grounds, though he was now standing across the street from the school. "I do want to ask about that monster though."
Kasumi sobered up at bit at the mention of the monster. She was concerned about it herself. While she had never seen something like that before it reminded her of her father's stories about demons and she wondered if it was things like that which inspired the tales. "I wonder if there are more of them."
Masaki looked at her friend with concern, remembering the wording that the creepy guy in the hat had used when describing the monster. "I hope there aren't, but I have the feeling there are." Making up her mind she finishes her sandwich and grabs her bag. "I'm gonna go ask that guy, he may know what the deal is with those monsters."
Kasumi watched her friend go out the door and then saw her come out from the building a few minutes later. Sighing she keeps watch as her friend goes across the street to the man with the cigarette.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Isshin was standing across from the school, lazily trying to decide if he should actually light the cigarette in his mouth to pass the time till he would follow the girls to their homes. He had already had to deal with two hollows that had come after them. As he was contemplating what he should do he didn't see the spitfire blond approaching him till she had snagged the cigarette from his mouth.
"Smoking is bad for your health." She tossed it aside and avoided eye contact with him as he looked at her in surprise at her sudden appearance. "Even if it does make you look cool." She said the last quietly and with a blush on her face as she tried to compose herself.
Isshin sheepishly put a hand behind his head and laughed lightly, "Thanks. I've been trying to quit so I usually just keep an unlit one in my mouth though. But I think that having a cute girl tell me it's bad for me I may have found better motivation." He smiles jovially at her as her blush deepens and she seems to get a bit angry.
"Well excuse me. How was I supposed to know?" She glares at him, her blush forgotten at the perceived insult. "Anyway I came to ask you about that monster that attacked my friend and I yesterday."
"Hmmm, you mean the hollow?" He looks at her curiously as she nods.
"Yeah, if that's what they're called. There aren't more of them are there?" She looked at him a bit worriedly having voiced her question and fear.
Isshin just looks at her and scratches his head, turning away at her hopeful look, "There are lots more. Sorry but you should know the truth about that at least. Kisuke may have gone about it the wrong way but he had brought you and your friend to the shop for your own protection. The fact that you can see those monsters means that you'll look even more appetizing to them and they will keep coming after you and your friend."
Isshin looks back at the girl and almost feels sorry for her as he sees the look of fear on her face. "But..."
"Don't worry. Nothing's going to get you or your friend. I'm going to be staying near you two at all times so that if a hollow comes after either of you I can stop it." He smiles at her and she feels her knees get a bit weak. Masaki had never been as much of a romantic as her friend, Kasumi, but to hear that a guy was willing to risk his safety to make sure she and her friend were safe was getting to her.
"Uh... I guess I should apologize to your friend then. I said some really mean things to him." She looked ashamed at her actions toward the man that had only been trying to help.
Isshin laughed at her comment about apologizing. "Don't, you were mostly right anyway. Kisuke tends to act without thinking when cute girls are involved and so while he wanted to keep you safe he went about it the wrong way." Isshin grins at her and she looks at him with a bit of shock. "Don't worry, that's just the way he is."
"I think I should worry if that's just the way he is." Masaki sweat dropped at his comment, but blushed as his smile made her feel safe.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
That was a cute chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. I would have gotten this up yesterday but we had a tornado warning and I was too distracted to work on it. Class was canceled though. Anyway the next chapter should have more fluff between Kasumi and Urahara.