Bleach 1. Chapter 1

_**Paradise**_

**Warnings: Slight AU, slight OOC'ness, language, (possible) adult situations**

**Pairings: Urahara/OC, various others**

**Enjoy.**

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><p>She didn't know why the odd little shop attracted her gaze, but it did. It was hidden in not-so-hidden way, surrounded by buildings that looked to be mostly empty. It seemed to be well maintained, if not eye-catching, save for the fact it was the only building of its type in the immediate area.<p>

Come to think of it, she wasn't sure how she even got to this part of town. One moment she was on a busy street and the next she was standing in front of the Urahara Shoten, quite obviously alone and not belonging. Oh well. She was a little thirsty, after all; maybe they had drinks for sale.

Shiratori Aika slid open the rice-paper door - _'You don't see many of these doors on shops anymore, especially in such an incorporated area_' - and stepped inside. It was smaller in here than it looked from the outside; she suspected the shop itself was small and that whomever ran it lived in the back. There was no one in sight at the moment, however, but there were three steaming cups of tea on a table in the raised back of the room.

_'They'll be back soon,'_ Aika surmised, and began to look around. There didn't seem to be any drinks of any sort. All they seemed to carry was candy, in fact, something Aika found strangely amusing. Sighing to herself softly, she had all but made to leave when the sound of someone returning to the room made her stop.

It was a man, and a strange looking one at that. He was very large, but not in a fat way- more muscular and broad. He wore an apron and rectangular glasses, was tanned with a handlebar mustache, and his hair was pulled back into cornrows. Raising a brow, Aika shifted the strap on her shoulder and bowed shortly. "Hello."

The man jumped slightly- apparently he hadn't noticed her. He bowed lowly, and gestured around the room. "Welcome to the Urahara Shoten. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Aika shook her head. "No, I was just looking around. I was walking past and saw the sign- I came in to see if you had anything to drink, but it's obvious that you only sell candy." The man nodded, and opened his mouth to respond when the sound of the door opening behind him made him turn. Aika's brow rose in confusion as an even stranger looking man appeared.

This one was tall and thin, but a muscular frame could be discerned from underneath the green shirt and pants he wore. A green and white coat hung on his shoulders, but the strangest things by far were the odd green-and-white striped hat and wooden geta he wore.

"Ah, a customer!" He said in a cheerful voice, and Aika bowed once again. "How may we, the Urahara Shoten, serve you?"

Aika shrugged. "You can't. I only came in to look for a drink-" She paused as the man bent towards the table and procured an empty cup from seemingly out of nowhere. Picking up the steaming kettle, he poured the liquid and offered it to her.

"Fresh jasmine. Only 280 yen," he said, voice still cheerful. Aika hummed to herself, pleasantly amused, and took out her wallet, trading the money for the cup of tea. _'What a strange place.'_

Setting down the cello case on her shoulder, she sat on the raised floor when the two men moved to allow her access. She sipped the tea slowly, savoring the flavor – she had nowhere important to be.

"I'm sorry if this sounds intrusive, but do you live around here?" Hat-and-clogs asked pleasantly, sitting next to her and pulling out a fan. He held it against his face, effectively hiding his features with the help of the shadows cast by his hat.

"I do now," Aika replied holding the cup in her lap. "I'm studying at the music conservatory a town over." She gestured to the cello case. "Karakura was the cheapest in apartments, so I opted for the longer commute." She took another sip of her tea, draining it to the halfway point. "I'm originally from Kyoto."

Urahara nodded in response, fan tapping against his upper lip. "I see. Well, welcome to Karakura, miss...?"

"Shiratori. My name is Shiratori Aika," Aika responded. "And you are...?"

The man's grin was impossible to hide, even behind his fan. "Urahara Kisuke, at your service. Lucky me, to have young girls find their way to my shop~!"

Aika stifled a grin. "It _is_ pretty hidden. You must not get a lot of customers."

"You'd be surprised." Urahara's grin grew even wider. "I know it's hard to believe that a poor, handsome, perverted shopkeeper like myself to be popular, but I often have to fight the hordes of pretty young women clawing at my doors."

This time Aika laughed out loud. "I find that hard to believe. If you're so open about being perverted, I'd think the girls would stay away. If they were smart, that is."

Another grin. "Then why aren't you running for the hills if I'm so openly perverted?" Urahara's fan closed with a snap, and a kind of steely glint flashed in his eyes.

Thinking for a moment, Aika shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'm not very smart, huh." She grinned, and finished off her tea. Setting the cup down, she stood, picking up her cello case. "Thank you for the tea and your hospitality, Urahara-san." She smiled, and left through the sliding doors, back out into the sun, feeling the steely gaze into her back.

She stopped out on the street, and looked back to the shop. She didn't know how she got there, or why she went in, but she liked it. It was weird, and mysterious, and it smelled like an adventure, ready to be explored. _'For now, I'll wait,'_ she told herself, going down the rest of the road.

But she'd be back.

She could feel it in her bones.

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><p>Urahara stayed seated long after Aika had left, fan tapping against his chin, eyes locked on the closed door. It wasn't until Tessai opened the door behind him that he gave any sign of consciousness.<p>

"Boss?"

"Hmm." Urahara stood with a small groan. "You noticed it too, then."

Tessai gave a slight nod. "I didn't even feel a glimmer of any sort of signature, spiritual or human. It's not like she's repressing it on purpose; there's nothing there to begin with."

Urahara was silent. It was very unusual- no, _unheard of_- for a being to have no signature at all. It was possible, for those with high enough ability, to mask your signature to the point of it being unnoticeable, and many humans had signatures so low they were at a near zero. But they still _had_ them. That girl hadn't one at all, and that was _very_ interesting.

"Keep an eye on her," Urahara said finally. "I have a feeling we've stumbled upon something important.

"More like she stumbled upon us," Tessai said quietly, and Urahara merely left.

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><p>...<p>

...

_The rain fell hard, harder than he'd ever seen it. It wasn't even the rainy season. _

_ Coupled with the dark nights and recent events, the rain complimented his mood...and his mission._

_ The streets were silent, neon signs from shady shops adding to the inhospitable feel that hung in the air. He wasn't welcome here. But he had a job to do. A job only he could do._

_ Soon enough he came to a stop in front of the hospital where he knew she would be. Or, be shortly. She might not be here yet; but she'd be here soon, that much was sure. That gave him comfort, knowing that this one part of the plan was cooperating._

_ Even if nothing else in the world was._

_..._

_.._

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><p><strong>It seems pretty ambiguous right now, but things will speed up soon. <strong>

**Thanks for reading._  
><em>**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank to _Nila101_ and _The Fox Knight_ for reviewing. It's much appreciated.**

**Warnings: Slight AU plot, slight OOC'ness**

**Pairings: Urahara/OC  
><strong>

**Enjoy.**

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><p>She'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't want to visit the Urahara Shoten again, so Aika did just that after her afternoon classes were over. She took the same side street and stopped in front of the same location, exactly how she had yesterday, save for the fact she now carried a violin case instead of a cello case.<p>

Sliding open the door, she stepped inside the shop, this time setting down the violin case near the door. Everything was the same as yesterday, even down to the cups of tea on the table, except there were now two young children of at least middle school age sitting at said table, doing what looked like homework.

The boy, a red haired grumpy-looking thing, looked up as the door shut with a click. "Whaddaya want?" He mumbled, tapping his pencil on the table.

Aika shrugged. "Just looking," she replied, and bent to examine the shelves. The boy humphed, and returned to his work. "Don't steal nothin'."

Frowning, Aika looked up from her browsing. "Do I look like someone who steals candy?" When the boy merely rolled his eyes, Aika laughed. "Do you two live here? Urahara-san didn't seem like the kind of person who has kids." _'But then again, he does run a candy shop...'_

This time, the girl looked up, a droopy expression on her face. She was cute, Aika decided.

"No," the girl said quietly. "We work and live here, but Urahara-san isn't our father. Not in the traditional sense, at least."

_'Maybe they're adopted,'_ Aika thought. Pulling out of box of strangely shaped gummies, she turned the package over. _'There's some weird stuff here. Stuff I've never even heard of.'_

"Ah, look who has returned~!" The same cheerful voice made Aika look up, and she smiled softly. Urahara stood behind the table, in the same getup as the previous day and his fan flapping in front of his face. "I didn't think we'd see you again so soon, Shiratori-san."

Standing, Aika shook the package of gummies. "Turns out I have a latent addiction to candy. Must've awoken it yesterday after walking in here."

He merely smiled, and poked the red-haired boy in the back. "Jinta-kun, please ring Shiratori-san up."

Grumbling, Jinta stood and accepted Aika's money. Popping a green gummy into her mouth, Aika thanked him. Turning, she picked up her violin case and slid open the door.

"Would I be correct in assuming you'll be here tomorrow, same time?" Urahara called, waving his fan to the young woman. Aika paused, and shrugged, a hint of a grin tugging at her lips.

"Maybe." The door slid shut with a click, and Urahara could hear her footsteps fade as she moved away from the building.

"...You always attract the weirdest people, boss," Jinta mumbled without looking up from his work. Ururu looked up from her book.

"I thought she seemed nice..."

Jinta snorted. "Of course _you_did. You're weird too. Weird minds think alik-OW!" Rubbing the top of his head, Jinta looked up at Urahara. "Why'd ya do that for?"

Snapping his fan open, Urahara looked down at the young boy with amused eyes. "Stop teasing Ururu-chan, Jinta-kun, and go inform Tessai that the thing we talked about earlier is a go."

Looking confused but deciding not to comment, Jinta stood and left the room. Ururu gazed up at Urahara, a question in her young eyes.

"Urahara-san? Was it just me or did that girl have no signature at all?"

"You are correct," Urahara replied, sitting across from her. He rubbed his chin with his palm, and gazed off into the distance. "As far as I know," he continued, speaking more to himself than anything, "There have been no reports of a being naturally having no signature at all.

Behind them, the door to the back of the shop opened and Jinta returned, Tessai in tow. The larger man held a small box in his hand, which he set on the table.

Urahara pulled the box closer to him, and tapped on its lid as Jinta and Tessai sat themselves. "Any luck?"

Shaking his head, Tessai placed his hands on his knees. "I haven't come across any knowledge of a being with no registry at all. There are several instances of things created to block such signatures, including that cloak you had, and it's hard to make sure, but from the limited contact I had with the woman I found no sign of any kind of _thing_blocking her signature."

Urahara was silent as he pondered Tessai's words. The man was a kido master; if he said there was probably no kind of spell hiding Shiratori Aika's signature then there probably wasn't. But they had to make sure, get every conceivable option out of the way before daring to delve into the unknown. This was science, after all.

"She'll be back tomorrow," he said suddenly, opening the box and taking out the object inside. "We'll be able to make sure then."

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><p>However, Aika did not show up the next day. It wasn't until Thursday that she appeared, this time without any sort of music case in her hands.<p>

"I thought I'd been dumped," Urahara said jokingly as Aika browsed his wares once again. Nose crinkling in humor, she looked up at the shopkeeper.

"I work on Wednesdays," she said, picking a package off the top shelf. "In the conservatory's repair and maintenance shop."

"Do you like your job?" Ururu's voice popped out from where she was seated behind Urahara. A frown creased Aika's features, and she shrugged.

"Not really, no."

Raising a brow, Urahara hid a small grin behind his fan. "Hmm? But surely you must love music and instruments. Isn't that the perfect part-time job for a musician?"

Aika paused, and chewed on the inside of her cheek. "I do," she said, "But I love my instruments. I would never let anyone else touch them; they've become a part of me, an extension of my body and soul. I would never let anyone else clean or repair my violin or cello, and when I'm doing it to other people's instruments it feels like I'm violating something sacred." Shrugging in faint embarrassment, she returned to the candy. "I dunno. I just think that it is each individual's job to take care of their tools. I wouldn't shove it off to some other person."

Nodding like he understood (which he did, in a way), Urahara drew a small box from his pocket and hid it in his sleeve.

"Here we go," Aika said cheerily, holding up two different packages of candy. "How much do I owe ya?"

Flipping his fan shut, Urahara tapped it against his chin, smirking lopsidedly. "Ohoho~! I'll let you have them for 480 yen and even toss in this special one-time only prize, limited edition-edition!" He pulled the box out, which was now decorated with pink question marks. "What'll it be?"

Aika, placing one hand on her hip, seemed to think it over before pulling out her wallet. "It's a deal." Trading bills for candy and box, she shook it, brow furrowing at the clacking sound inside. "What is it?"

"Open it, and you'll see." Urahara sat cross-legged on the floor, arms folded across his chest.

Pulling back the folds of the lid, Aika drew out a thin chain to which an upside-down crescent shaped charm was attached. Examining it with her fingers, Aika looked up at the man. "A necklace?"

"Not just any necklace," he said mysteriously. "The metal used to make it was found at the tip of Mt. Fuji four hundred years ago by a wandering samurai. He took it back to his shogun, who had the ore made into a special pair of swords for his loyal samurai. The blades felled any foe the samurai came across, and were passed down through his family until they ended up in someone's storage shed. An old, famous jeweler found them and, not realizing what they were, had them scrapped for metal and made them into the lovely item you hold today. They're very rare; I'm giving them away to very few people." _'Just you, actually...'_

Frowning in disbelief, Aika clipped the necklace around her neck, letting the charm settle just above her breasts. "I like it," she admitted, running her fingers through her hair. "I usually don't wear much jewelry, but I think I'll make an exception here."

_'Good',_ Urahara thought to himself as Aika turned to chat with Ururu. _'Because it'd be a pain in the ass to have someone follow you and place it on you discreetly.'_

"It actually has supernatural powers," he said, drawing the young woman's gaze. "It will keep your enemies away from you, but only so long as you keep it on."

Nodding in humor (she obviously thought this was all a joke), she thumped a fist in her palm in mock aggressiveness. "People don't mess with me anyways. But okay. I guess it's always good to be protected." Smiling at him with an incredibly trusting gaze, she pulled the door open and paused. Brow raised, Urahara watched her with a question in his eyes.

"It's, um, okay for me to keep coming by, right?" Aika asked unexpectedly, fingers tapping against the wooden frame of the door. Urahara could see her chewing on the inside of her cheek from where he stood.

"Well, it's definitely not hurting anyone," he said, smiling almost serenely. "And I'm sure we could think of something to talk about if you came by as you have been. I mean, there's only so much a musician and a lowly, sexy, modestly handsome shopkeeper _can_ talk about, but..."

Immediately her face brightened. "Okay, cool!" She waved to Ururu, and left, the door shutting with a click behind her.

Urahara was still smiling after her footsteps had faded. A small cough made him look down, and he met Ururu's eyes for a moment. There was an unasked question lingering in her eyes, eyes which Urahara had always suspected knew far more than their young age admitted. Shaking his head softly, Ururu looked away, but a small smile split her lips before their eyes lost contact.

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><p><em>He made it in without being noticed. It was easier than he had expected; apparently there had been an explosion a few hours ago and victims were still being brought in to the hospital to be treated.<em>

_ Fortunately he did not have to go anywhere near where those people were. The room he wanted was near the top, where it was quieter. Closer to the sky and the heavens._

_ The rain was still pouring, and as he silently walked the sterile halls of the hospital droplets poured off his cloak and onto the pristine floor. _

_ A nurse brushed past him, but even if she wasn't so absorbed in something on a clipboard he doubted she would have seen him. Karakura was known for it's abnormally large number of spiritually aware humans, but the chances of him bumping into one here was still pretty rare._

_ Luckily for him, because he doubted any person able to see ghosts would know what to do with a shinigami in their halls anyways. Although, a shinigami in a hospital couldn't really be called unusual, could it? No, it was quite fitting, actually._

_ But he wasn't here to harbor in death. He was here to ensure life._

_ At least that was the plan._

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading. Review if you liked it.<strong>  
><em>


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to Nila101 and Hayden Shaolin David for reviewing. I appreciate it a lot.**

**This one is a bit longer. I hope you like it.**

**Warnings: Slight AU, slight OOC'ness,**

**Pairings: Urahara/OC**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>"Urahara-dono, I think you should come see this."<p>

Looking up from where he was tinkering with something, Urahara's gaze was drawn to where Tessai knelt in the doorway. Nodding, Urahara rose and followed the man down the hallway.

Opening the door to his own room, Tessai stepped forward to a blinking monitor near the back. Urahara was familiar with it; it was one of his inventions, after all. It kept data from all the reishi ans reiatsu sensors he had placed around Karakura. Including the one designed as a necklace he had given to Aika.

"What is it?" He asked Tessai, peering at the numbers and words streaming across the screen. Moving forward, the larger man swept a finger down the list of sensors, to a small gray dot at the end of the list. It stood out from all the others, which were bright green.

"The sensor in the necklace given to Shiratori Aika has ceased to work," Tessai said gravely. "I noticed it a few minutes ago."

Narrowing his eyes, Urahara pulled up the data on the sensor. "Hmm...seems like it gathered data for a little over three hours before it shut down. I wonder what happened..."

"At first I thought perhaps she had taken it off," Tessai added. "But it was still designed to take samples even when not connected to the test subject. It's like it shorted out or something. Rather strange, wouldn't you agree?"

Nodding, Urahara straightened, still frowning. "Very unusual indeed. Whatever mystery surrounds her, it is very intriguing..." He was now faced with a problem. At first the plan had been to collect data surrounding Aika from the small sensor in the necklace. It was designed to take samples of the signatures around her and how they reacted in her presence, but that had obviously failed.

Looking at the data the sensor had managed to gather again, Urahara noticed something strange. "Look," he said, pointing to the numbers listed down the screen. "She came into contact with several humans." He pointed to a list of blue numbers.

"The humans signatures dampened as she was in contact with them. The closer she was, the lower they were, and as she drew away they began to rise to their normal levels."

Tessai nodded. "That suggests whatever force that could be hiding her own signature is being projected as a field, and has effect on those around her."

"Hmm...the question is whether she is doing it herself, or some sort of spell or object is creating the effect." Urahara stepped away from the monitor, rubbing his chin.

"And whether or not she is aware of it remains to be answered as well," Tessai added. Urahara merely 'hmm'd' in response. He didn't think she was aware of the spiritual world, not as they were at least. But there always was that possibility.

Thanking Tessai for his notice of the changes, Urahara left for his own private quarters. Locking himself in with a small kido, he sat and began to ponder his predicament.

_'The problem now lies in how I'm going to monitor her. Assuming she keeps coming to the store nearly every day, I could monitor her closely the short time she is inside, but that's not long enough. No, I need a way to keep her here, for at least an hour every day in order to solve this mystery.'_

Right now, his best theory was that she was merely a freak of nature, to be completely blunt. It was entirely possible, especially within such a spiritually enriched place as Karakura. There could be people like her all over the world, completely unknown because to all spiritual senses, they did not exist. They were untraceable to almost every spiritual-based extent.

However, several obstacles were confronting this theory. The first was that she was from Kyoto; she had only been in Karakura for a few months at the most. He didn't know her exact age, but he'd put it at nearly twenty, making her in her first or second year at the conservatory. That gave her very little time to be influenced by the area's own brand of enhancement.

The second was that there was the possibility she was not human. She could be shinigami, hollow, or some completely different being with the ability to erase their spiritual signature. She could even be an enemy, although Urahara highly doubted this. If she wanted to harm someone in Karakura, she would have most definitely gone for Ichigo or one of the others. She wouldn't have waltzed into his shop to strike up a conversation, completely exposing her uniqueness for all to notice.

_'It's all very muddled,'_he thought, laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. It was nearly midnight, and most of the city was probably asleep by now. Including Aika.

_'I need to find a way to get her to stay...'_Closing his eyes, he ran through what he knew about her, his extraordinary mind racing through all different possibilities. 'Nothing, nothing, nothin-wait!'

Bouncing up, Urahara released the lock and strolled down the hallway. "Ururu-cha~n!" He called, opening the door to the young girl's room.

She awoke, rubbing her eyes in confusion. "Urahara-san?"

Smirking, he flipped open his fan, holding it in front of his face.

"How would you like to learn to play an instrument?"

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><p><em>'Phhhhhh~'<em>Aika blew gently on her tea, and took a small sip. She sat at the small table this time, directly across from Urahara who watched her with calculating eyes.

Letting out a satisfied sigh, Aika set down her cup and folded her hands in her lap, staring at Urahara in amusement.

"Let me get this straight. You would like me to teach Ururu-chan how to play the violin?" She tapped her nails against the polished wood as Urahara nodded, his hands folded inside of his wide sleeves.

"Your words had a huge impact on her," he said solemnly. "When she came to me, practically begging to learn how to play an instrument, I promised her I would find her a teacher as dedicated as she deserved. And of course, you were the first that came to mind."

A small smile graced her lips. "I see," Aika said. "And, uh, how many people capable of teaching the violin do you know?"

Urahara hesitated, and shrugged. "I'll pay you," he said hopefully."

Pretending to think it over, Aika rubbed her chin in a light mockery of Urahara's own mannerism. "Deal," she said, extending her slim hand to shake Kisuke's considerably larger one. Her hand fit securely in his own, and she was tempted to leave it there. However, he withdrew his hand almost as if he had been shocked, and pulled out his fan.

"Excellent. What days can you come by?" Flipping his fan open, he waved it lazily in front of his face.

"Hmmm..." Thinking over her schedule, Aika picked over her options. "Well, I'm free after school every day except Wednesdays. I can come by any of those days. It's entirely up to you and Ururu-chan."

"How about everyday, then?" Urahara said quickly. If she agreed, it would be perfect. Ideally he would have liked her to come every day of the week, but he'd settle for six.

Raising a brow, Aika chewed on her lip. "Uh, okay. I guess I can do that. Is the time I've been coming by good? Or should I come later?"

"That's fine," Urahara replied. "Ururu and Jinta get home about twenty minutes before you arrive. They're doing chores at the moment, but Ururu can do hers later." Flipping his fan closed, he rose, as Aika did the same. "Does everything sound good to you?"

Smiling, Aika nodded. "Yeah. Before this, I really had nothing to do after school except practice. This'll help me keep myself occupied and help with violin practice. I think I still have my first violin as well, so you won't have to buy one." Shooting him another grin, she stepped down the raised platform and went to the door, where her cello case waited.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then," she called, and then left.

Mentally celebrating, Urahara sat back down and drew his own cup of tea closer. It was perfect; he'd now be able to start analyzing the strange young woman on almost a daily basis.

'The only thing she didn't ask about was the pay,' Urahara realized after a moments thought. He _was_going to pay her, but he deeply suspected she would have agreed to teach Ururu even if he hadn't offered to pay her.

_'How strange...'_

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><p>Cars whirred by as Aika made her way back to her apartment, cello case slung over her shoulder. Several people stared as the smallish girl with a large black case that threatened to topple her over strolled past them, but she hardly paid them any mind. She didn't know exactly why, but she was excited to have a legitimate reason to keep returning to the Urahara Shoten.<p>

'_This is getting exciting. I feel like I'm on the verge of a great discovery...'_She tingled with the opportunity of excitement. Shiratori Aika might look like a mild-mannered music student on the outside, but on the inside she thrived on discovery and adventure. And out of all the people she'd met so far in Karakura, Urahara seemed like the most likely candidate to set her on an adventure.

_'Not to mention he's not too bad to look at. A little scruffy around the edges, but that makes it all the more realistic.'_ Smiling to herself, she tightened her grip on her cello case and continued home.

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><p>Over the next couple of days, Aika came by just after Ururu and Jinta returned from school to begin to teach Ururu how to play the violin. As the young woman sat with her young student, Urahara kept himself seemingly busy in the background, all the while monitoring how she interacted with the different kinds of pressures and tests he enacted around her.<p>

So far, it was obvious she wasn't sensitive to reiatsu at all. At several points Urahara bombarded the space around her with different levels of his own reiatsu, sometimes assisted by Tessai, but she didn't do so much as flinch. The same couldn't be said for Ururu, however, who was becoming increasingly more distracted by the barrage, and was having trouble concentrating on what Aika was trying to teach her.

_'Sorry, Ururu-chan,'_ Urahara apologized mentally as a particularly large hit made Ururu visibly flinch. She shook her head as if to clear it, and politely asked Aika to repeat what she had said.

The second thing he noticed was that his spiritual pressure dampened and slowed as it reached an area of about six inches surrounding her. While it completely washed over Ururu in its full force, as soon as it hit that area around Aika it slowed considerably, rolling over her like a wave slowed by the beach.

_'It _is_ like a field,'_ Urahara commented to himself as the last wave dissipated. _'And she seems to have no idea it's there.'_

Other than the slow progress he was making on her supernatural abilities, he had learned quite a bit about her personal life. She had been born and raised in Kyoto, and was in fact just a few months over twenty years old. She was nearing the end of her first year in the music conservatory, where she was studying the cello, violin and piano. She was there on a scholarship, and her parents and grandparents were paying for her apartment and bills for the time being. She returned to Kyoto for a week every semester, and was not in a relationship at the moment. All in all, a relatively normal person, save for the fact she had no signature.

He also managed to analyze the sensor hanging around her neck. It had shorted out, just like Tessai had assumed. The reason why was unclear, and he couldn't really ask for it back without it seeming suspicious, but it didn't really matter. Besides, studying it gave him a scientific reason to stare at her chest.

Aika wasn't bad looking, Urahara decided on the end of the third day of her tutoring Ururu. He had taken a break from the reiatsu tests to give Ururu a chance to actually _learn_ something. She was beginning to like learning to play an instrument, and was showing a natural talent for it. And as Urahara sat in the back of the room observing, he continually found his gaze drawn to her teacher.

She wasn't very tall, but she wasn't extremely short either, reaching to the bottom of his chin easily. Her hair was dark, not black though, and shone in the light of the shop. It was of medium length, cut simply into straight layers. She often had it pinned up into a loose bun, her bangs held back by pins or a thin headband. Her eyes were dark brown and wide, with lashes that were lighter than her hair, making him think that perhaps she dyed her hair. She rarely wore makeup, and her skin was clear. She was thin, but had curves in pleasant places, although she was obviously not built for sport or endurance. Her breasts were also pleasantly round (not up to Inoue or Yoruichi's level, but nice nonetheless).

However, it was her hands that he kept noticing. They were slim and pale, like lilies, with nails perfectly groomed and shiny from clear-coat. They were scar and cut free, and when she played an instrument they curled perfectly around where they were supposed to go, making Urahara believe that they were an extension of the instrument into her body. The one time her hand had touched his had also felt deeply personal, like he could read her mind through the soft skin. He had to release them immediately, slightly afraid of what he might find there.

"They're my tools," Aika had said one day, talking to Ururu. "I hear the music in my head, and the sounds come through my hands. Take care of yours, Ururu-chan, and they will become your most valuable asset."

It was also clear how she had gained the scholarship to the conservatory; she was good at what she did. She had explained that she had started out on the piano when she was five, but quickly fell in love with the violin and cello. When tasked with making a choice at the conservatory, she had opted for all three instruments, a difficult but rewarding road ahead of her. Musicians weren't always the luckiest with job opportunities, but Urahara suspected that she would go far with what she had.

All in all, Urahara would definitely not complain if she kept coming by. She was nice, intelligent, talented and provided a unique opportunity for scientific research. And she wasn't completely ugly, which was a bonus in his mind.

* * *

><p>One evening, after a lesson, Aika surprised Urahara with a few observations of her own.<p>

"You keep staring at me," she commented as Ururu excused herself to go to her chores. Urahara flipped his fan open, legs askew as he leaned lazily against the wall.

"Bah. I'm merely observing that you treat my precious Ururu-chan with respect and kindness." Inside, he wondered how she had noticed. Maybe he wasn't as sneaky as he thought he was...

With a lopsided grin, she leaned her elbows on the table. "If you say so, but it's hard to believe a man who's so open about being a pervert."

Inclining his head in response, there was a moment of silence as neither one of them felt like saying anything. The quiet buzz of the lighting was all that could be heard, until Aika yawned.

"I should be going," she said, starting to rise. She hadn't brought along any instrument this time, and went to the door empty handed, opening it to the cool evening air.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" Urahara asked suddenly, surprising himself slightly, and obviously her even more. He'd never offered before, and she had left much later a couple other times.

There was another paused. "No," Aika replied, a small smile on her face. "I really don't live too far away. I'll be okay."

Nodding, Urahara waved his fan in departure. "Goodnight, Shiratori-san."

Another smile. "Goodnight, Urahara-san."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading. Review if you liked it. Review if you didn't. I really don't mind.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you SO much to Nila101, Aleiafae, anna, xfang-girlx, Apple-blossom-tea, and Juliedoo for your wonderful reviews. I really appreciate it. :)  
><strong>

**Warnings: Slight AU, slight OOC'ness,**

**Pairings: Urahara/OC**

**Notes: In case it wasn't clear, this takes place in the seventeen month period between the end of the Aizen arcs and the beginning of the Fullbringer arc, so in case you aren't caught up or anything, there may or may not be spoilers.  
><strong>

**Also (you can't really read the writing) do you like the cover I made for **_Paradise? _**I might change it in the future, but for now, I think it's okay.**

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>The convenience store air conditioning cast a nice breeze through the air. It was nearing summer in Karakura, and the store was a nice break from the increasingly harsh rays outside.<p>

Aika walked down the drink aisle, opening and closing the cooler doors to make a chilly breeze. Her afternoon class had ended earlier than usual, so she was killing some time in the corner store before she made her way to the Urahara Shoten.

While she was sure she'd be welcomed at any point she arrived, she was becoming increasingly frustrated with how things were turning out. She had been so sure that the residents of the Urahara Shoten would be the ones to thrust her headlong into some sort of adventure, but so far nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She was three weeks in, and wondering if her hunch had been a flop.

In all honesty, though, she would still enjoy her time there even if it wasn't exactly what she was looking for. Aika had begun to discover she liked teaching music, and Ururu was a good student. Besides, it ate up a good part of the time that had been wasted doing nothing before. At least she was doing something productive.

Getting the feeling that the cashier was becoming annoyed with her, Aika chose a drink for herself, Ururu and Jinta. They had treated her to many cups of tea over the past three weeks; she could at least bring them something tasty in return.

After leaving the store, she began making her way to the Urahara Shoten. She would end up being a little early, but that was okay. It'd get her out of the heat, and maybe Urahara-san was around. She enjoyed talking with him.

Hoisting her cello case up higher on her shoulder, she smiled to herself. She enjoyed talking to him _a lot_. He was an unusual man, to be perfectly straight with it, but Aika liked that about him. The strange thing was, though, that she knew barely anything about him. Where he was from, how old he was, or even how he came to set up shop in Karakura was all a mystery to her. Urahara himself seemed eager enough to learn about her, but whenever the questions turned on him he'd either make up ridiculous answers or excuses to leave. It was rather fishy, and she wondered if he could be hiding something.

_'Maybe he's a mass murderer, and keeps the bodies of his victims underneath his store,'_ she thought as she entered the side streets. _'Or an undercover spy, disguised as a shopkeeper.'_ Smiling crookedly, Aika stepped from the pavement to the dirt in front of the Urahara Shoten. _'That'd be pretty cool, if he was...'_

Sliding open the door, she stepped inside, sighing in relief when the cooler air hit her body. Setting down her case, she noticed Urahara sitting at the table, head lowered. His hat and hair covered his face from where she was standing, and Aika didn't know if he was asleep or awake.

"Good afternoon," she called out, walking towards him. He was silent, and Aika cocked her brow. _'Huh?'_

"You okay?" She stepped onto the raised platform and stood at his side. His head was still lowered, but Aika could see his eyes were open. They stared at the table, blank and glossy. Getting the feeling that something was wrong, she knelt and poked his cheek.

"Hey, are you-_WAAAAAAAAAAAAH_!" She jumped back as Urahara deflated like a balloon, his formerly sturdy body now a floppy mess of green plastic. Stumbling off the platform, she flattened herself against a shelf, eyes wide. _'What have I done? I broke Urahara-san!'_

Suddenly, the door behind the door slid open, and another Urahara appeared, this one upright and not deflated. Behind him stood Tessai and the kids. Taking one look at the deflated replica of himself, Urahara immediately picked it up and handed it to Tessai.

"Oops~! Looks like I forgot to pick up after myself. Put that away, will you Tessai?" Nodding, the larger man disappeared back down the hallway. Turning back to where Aika was standing, he smiled apologetically. "Sorry. Are you okay?"

Nodding slowly, Aika detatched herself from the shelf and eyed him warily. Brows raised in confusion, Urahara stood patiently as she made her way towards him and poked him in the side.

"You're not going to deflate too, right?" She asked, completely serious. Gazing up at him with an intensely furrowed brow, she crinkled her nose when he laughed, whipping out his fan and patting her on the head with it.

"Silly girl, people just don't _deflate_."

Her frown deepened. "Then what the heck was that? It looked and felt just like you!"

"Just an invention of mine, a doll to be exact," Urahara replied, moving the fan in front of his face. "You see, I'm a bit of an inventor on the side. That was just one of many projects I'm working on."

Aika froze. "Urahara-san, I didn't think you were that kind of person!"

"What on Earth do you mean, Shiratori-san?"

"You have kids in the store!" Aika clutched Ururu and Jinta's shoulders protectively. "How can you raise them in such an environment?"

Looking utterly bewildered, Urahara snapped his fan shut and scratched the side of his head with it. "I'm afraid I have absolutely _no idea_ what you're talking about, Shiratori-san..."

"You know, I thought you were joking with the whole pervert thing, like it was just a weird way of picking up girls, but now I can see you are a _total degenerate_, Urahara-san. And even going so far as it have it your likeness...and leaving it out in a candy store where someone could just come in and see it there!" Aika glared, her nose crinkling. "I should report you!"

Smiling uncomfortably, Urahara-san looked at Ururu and Jinta. "What is going on here, because I think I'm missing something..."

Looking up at him with wide, droopy eyes, Ururu cleared her throat. "I think Aika-chan is under the impression that you manufacture sex toys, boss."

There was a moment of silence before Jinta began to laugh manically, dropping to his knees and clutching his stomach. "_What?_"

"..." For once in his life, Urahara Kisuke was at a loss for words. His mouth opened slightly as if to say something, but it merely hung open, the sides twitching as he looked from Aika to the closed door behind him in horror.

Sighing, Ururu looked up at her violin teacher. "I assure you, Aika-chan, that Urahara-san does not manufacture sex toys in any way, shape, or form. That thing you saw was merely a prototype of a project Urahara-san has been working on for a while, a project that has no sexual implications or designs. At all."

Still looking wary, Aika put a hand on her hip and frowned. "Really?"

Ururu nodded. "Yep."

"Oh." Scratching the back of her head, Aika grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, then."

_"S-sorry? Sorry?" _Urahara threw his hands in the air and covered his face with one palm. "You accuse me of being a degenerate and imply that I sell sex toys and all you say is _sorry_?"

Aika's nose crinkled once more. "It was an honest mistake! What was I supposed to think, seeing a human-like rubber doll sitting in the home of a shady self-proclaimed pervert?"

Jinta groaned from his place on the floor, and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Ya know, boss, she has a point." Giggling, he pulled himself off the ground and sat crossed-legged on floor. "_Sex toys_...that was great...you shoulda _seen_ the look on your face!" He looked up at Aika and smirked, laughter threatening to break out again. "I like you, woman."

Raising a brow, Aika managed a grin. "Thanks, kid."

Throwing his hands in the air once more, Urahara moved to the back of the room. "I'm going downstairs," he announced, and promptly left.

Shrugging, Aika shuffled back to where she had left her case and the supermarket bag. Tossing the drinks to Ururu and Jinta, she sat on the raised platform and popped open her own, taking a long drink.

_'Sorry, Urahara-san.'_

* * *

><p>Silently fuming, Urahara slammed open the door to his workshop and stormed to a screen at the back of the room. Tessai, looking up from where he had been storing the inflatable gigai, scratched his nose.<p>

"Are you alright, Urahara-dono?"

"Fine," Urahara lied through his teeth, busying himself with the screen and the data upon it. _'That woman...'_

He wasn't sure why her accusation had hit him so hard. Under most other circumstances, he might have played it off gracefully, or even gone as far as to play along, enjoying the amusement from the accusing party's horrified reactions. But when Aika had seem so affronted and disgusted, he just froze, heart palpitating.

Deep inside, the idea that she would be horrified by him shook him deeply. _'It's only because I need her to stay so I can study her. She's an experiment, an anomaly, nothing more. Just a variable, a test subject, that's all. She doesn't mean anything else to me. Data...that's all she is. That's all that matters.'_

* * *

><p>"Very good, Ururu. You're getting much better," Aika told her young student as she finished demonstrating a lesson she had given her. "I'm impressed."<p>

Ururu only nodded, but Aika could tell she was pleased. "Thank you, Aika-chan." Setting her violin down, she pulled the case to her as the sliding door behind them opened and Urahara walked through.

"Could you give us a moment, Ururu-chan?" Urahara asked levelly, looking at Aika. The young girl nodded, leaving her violin where it was and leaving through the same door Urahara had arrived in, sliding it closed behind her.

Settling himself on the floor across from Aika, Urahara slid his hands into his sleeves. There was a moment of silence as both parties examined each other.

"I'm sorry for overreacting and assuming," Aika said suddenly. "It wasn't fair of me."

Nodding to show he accepted her apology, Urahara sighed. "And I apologize for overreacting as well. You know little about me; it was only natural that you would jump to conclusions...no matter how explicit they may be."

Smiling, Aika slid her hands across the table and put Ururu's violin back into its case. "It was a very lifelike model. I was positive it was you until the moment it collapsed. I was worried you were sick or hurt or something."

Trying to ignore the slight fluttering in his chest when she said she had been worried about him, Urahara smiled as well. "It was merely a prototype. The finished project will be much more realistic. I want it to be able to walk and talk as well. That was just the beginning, the likeness part."

Aika nodded, leaning her elbows on the table. There was another pause before Urahara realized she was listening intently, and wanted him to go on.

"It wasn't supposed to deflate when touched, so it's back in the workshop," he continued, thumbing backwards into the shop. "I left it out after I was tinkering with it out here." Smirking, he flipped open his fan and waved it in front of his face. "By the sound of your scream it must have scared you big time."

Frowning, Aika stuck out her tongue. "It surprised me, that's all." Tapping one of her slim fingers against the hard wood of the table, she studied the intricate grain before looking back up at him.

"You said you were an inventor," she said slowly, thinking on her words before she spoke them. "What kinds of things do you, uh, _invent_?"

Hiding his face in the shadows of his hat, Urahara grinned behind his fan. "That's a secret, m'dear."

Pursing her lips, Aika sighed. "You said yourself that I don't know anything about you, Urahara-san. And you know _all kinds_ of things about me. Wouldn't you say it's fair for me to know _something_ about what you do?" Sitting back, she gestured around the room.

"Look at this place! You can't honestly tell me that this is _anything_ but a front." She slammed her hands on the table, and leaned across to the once again bewildered man in front of her. Inches from his face, she stared intensely into his eyes, noses almost touching, foreheads almost touching, _lips almost..._

_"Where are the bodies?"_

_ SLAM! _Urahara hit the floor, fan covering his shocked face. _'This woman...!'_

Aika stood, a triumphant grin on her face. "I knew it!" She climbed over the table and sat astride the weary mans chest. "I knew it was too good to be true! I mean, a _candy shop_? I should have seen it the first day I got here!"

"Shiratori-san, really, please..."

"You're Yakuza, aren't you? You manufacture weapons and stuff, dangerous stuff, and the candy store is your front! It's brilliant, really. I mean, who would suspect a candy store?"

"I think you've seen too many movies, Shiratori-san..."

"And the day I got here, I must have walked in on something weird, right? You were doing something in the back, a drug deal or something, and to distract me you gave me tea and invited me back, knowing that it would make me less likely to suspect anything. But I'm smarter than that, Urahara Kisuke!"

"I'm beginning to doubt that..."

"Ururu and Jinta must be members too. And that big guy is your muscle, beating up anyone who gets in the way. That's why I saw him first that day!"

Knowing he was getting no where, Urahara merely looked up at the ranting girl. Aika's chest was heaving, her eyes were wild. And from her position on his chest...To anyone who happened to walk in at the moment, it would look very..._complicated_.

"I want in," Aika panted, looking down at Urahara. "I've always wanted something like this." Sliding off his chest, Aika sat next to him, hugging her legs to her chest.

As he was sitting up, Urahara's hat slid off, plopping to the floor. Ignoring it, he gazed at the woman. 'She's glowing,' he realized. 'The adrenaline rush from that, it's like she's been reborn before my eyes.' Even as he watched, she shivered slightly, and he could see the chill going down her spine. It was almost beautiful, her reaction.

An idea spawned in his head. "You want in, eh?"

Aika looked at him. And nodded. "Yes. I'll do anything. I'm not scared."

_'Oh, but you should be.'_

"Okay, then," Urahara grabbed his hat, and brushed it off. "Come in tomorrow, and I'll test your abilities. If you pass, then I'll send you on a...mission. A starter mission. To see how _not scared_ you say you are."

This was perfect. However weird it was, however it came to be, it was perfect. This was his chance, his chance to _really_ test her strange ability more completely than he had been already. Now he could see how far that ability went, and how far she was willing to go. How far he could _make_ her go.

Aika smiled, holding out her hand. "Deal."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading. Sorry it took so long for an update - I've been more than a little obsessed with the Avengers and catching up on Game of Thrones. <strong>

**Review if you liked, review if you didn't!**


	5. Chapter 5

****Sorry, this took longer than expected. I had to take a Bleach break...the latest chapters have been a little to much for me. :(****

**Thank you to shikaboo, animefreak635, Seeing Sasha, Nila101, Apple-blossom-tea, ArmyGirlWash, and xfang-girlx for reviewing the last chapter, and to everyone who watched/favorite'd it. It's appreciated.**_  
><em>

**Warnings: Slight AU, slight OOC'ness, minor spoilers  
><strong>

**Pairings: Urahara/OC  
><strong>

**Notes: It'll be clearer in the chapter, but I've assumed Urahara had a hand in the fates of post-war Vizards and Ichigo. Other than that, nothing else should be spoiled.  
><strong>

**Enjoy.  
><strong>

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><p><em>No...<em>

_It wasn't supposed to happen like this. There wasn't supposed to be so much pain. So much blood._

_Humans rushed around him, doctors and nurses. They rushed through him and past him, some empty handed and some carrying machinery. A pair of women sobbed just outside the door, their cries adding to the panic._

_"My baby...where is my baby?" A moaning wail crawled up his spine. He turned to see a woman on the bed in the center of the hospital room looking around deliriously. A man stroked her forehead, his eyes awash with tears. "My baby...save my baby..."_

_He clutched the thing in his hand, a look of shock and fear etched onto his face. He didn't know what to do. 'No...'_

_The doctors began to huddle around a bundle on a table, trying to bring the small person wrapped in the blanket back to consciousness. And the woman in the bed kept moaning, her lower body covered in blood. The crying from the hallway got louder. The shinigami swallowed roughly, and walked to the bed. This mission was paramount, a mission only he could fulfill. He could not disobey._

_"Please..."_

_The shinigami looked at the mother, his eyes wide. She stared at him, eyes full of pain and grief and a lingering glimmer of hope, and he wondered if she could see him. "Pleeaase...save my baby...my daughter..."_

_He looked at the object in his hand, and for a moment he faltered. It was not meant for the child, and it was unlikely that it would even work...but even if it did, he would be breaking his orders, breaking the laws he had sworn to uphold. If anyone found out..._

_"Please..."_

_-0-  
><em>

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><p>-0-<p>

The next day Aika arrived at the store decked out in what she called her 'battle garb'. It consisted of a tight sports bra under a loose shirt, sporty sweats and running shoes. Urahara wondered what exactly he was getting himself into.

_'Fortunately this will give me a better chance to examine her personally, in a more hands-on environment.' _He watched her as she entered the store, a wide grin on her face.

"Welcome, Shiratori-san."

She frowned. "Don't I get a cool codename or something?"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Urahara waved his fan in front of his face. "Er, not yet. Not until we've seen what you can do, and decide if you're...acceptable."

Aika nodded. She seemed to be taking all of this very seriously. '_What kind of girl wants to be a gang member?'_ Urahara smiled softly. Her imagination wasn't that far off, though, he supposed Technically he _was_ on the other side of the law, since he did sell black market items from the Soul Society. But it wasn't like he was a crime boss or anything. _'That's more up Yoruichi's alley...' _He had the feeling his friend would like Aika very much, and was slightly grateful that the woman was not around at the moment. _'Who knows what kind of messes they'd run into together?'_

Gesturing for her to follow, he led her up to the back of the store front, opening the sliding door to reveal the small room where the trapdoor was hidden. Dropping her bag on the ground, Aika put her hand on her hip. "So, where are you going to _assess_ me?"

"Here," Urahara replied, pointing to the floor. Aika looked down, and then around the room.

"Here? Isn't this room kind of sma-_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH_!" A high pitched shriek echoed through the room as Aika fell through the trapdoor, which Urahara had so sneakily opened.

Peering over the edge, he peeked through to watch her plummet towards the ground. Taking a small sphere from inside of his sleeve, he threw it in after her. "Try not to land on your head, Shiratori-san!"

-0-

* * *

><p>-0-<p>

In the ten or so seconds she was falling, Aika had two thoughts.

One was that she was probably going to die, and she should have known better than to have trusted a weirdo like Urahara...and the second was that she was _so _going to murder him if she managed to survive.

The ground rushed towards her, and she instinctively closed her eyes and waited for the impact. However, she was suddenly jerked upwards roughly by the back of her shirt, and the next thing she knew she was drifting slowly to the ground.

Looking up, she saw a giant parachute emblazoned with Urahara's face hoisting her up, connected to her by something sticky on the back of her shirt. _'I should have figured something like this would happen...'_

She landed with surprising grace, knees buckling only a little bit. She knelt, catching her breath and her bearings, and willed her heart down from where it had jumped into her throat. It was after it had returned to its normal beating state that she realized she was in a very, very, _very_ big room. It looked like it had been plucked from a desert somewhere and plopped here underneath the Urahara Shoten. _'How is this even possible?'_

"Have a nice ride down?" A familiar voice asked cheerfully. Turning, Aika glowered at Urahara, who was waltzing towards her with Tessai and the kids in tow.

"I think I prefer stairs," she answered, dusting off her hands. "Why'd you do that?"

"I wanted to see how well you respond to unexpected and dangerous situations," Urahara replied, watching as Tessai gathered up the parachute. "You did very well." He studied her pleased expression. "Almost a little too well, honestly. You hardly flailed and panicked at all. A little too comfortable with the idea of dying, in my opinion."

Aika shrugged. "I nearly died when I was born. Besides, I have a history of escaping extreme disfigurement and/or death in the past. I'm actually pretty convinced I'm invincible."

Urahara raised a brow, and his smile faded. "How intriguing. You say you're invincible?"

Aika laughed, and nodded. "Just about. Whenever I'm in a situation where you'd think I'd be injured, I just manage to..." She shrugged again. "Not get hurt, I guess. It's always been like that."

She remembered back in middle school, when she had been walking to her after school piano lessons with some friends. They had been walking over the bridge when the sound of screeching tires had made them stop and turn. Aika had barely turned when she was knocked backwards, falling to the ground. The impact knocked the breath out of her, but when she got up she realized she wasn't hurt, save for being a little sore. Her friends, however, had scrapes and bruises from the minor car collision that had rammed into them from behind. She went to the hospital with them, and even the doctors were surprised when they examined her and discovered no injuries. That hadn't been the first or last time she had been in similar situations either, and they all ended up nearly the same.

"Is that why you're so eager for the rush of danger?" Urahara asked, and Aika thought it over. Sure, she loved the feel of an adrenaline rush and the prospect of adventure, but she had never thought of herself as a danger addict. 'Now that I think about it, though...'

"You could say that, I suppose," she mused. "Although I'm not exactly eager to throw my life away easily. I guess I'm just used to getting away unscathed."

"That's not necessarily a good thing," Urahara commented. "A sense of when to back away is a valuable thing to have, Shiratori-san."

"I agree," Aika said, putting up her hands. "Don't tell me you're trying to turn me away now, Urahara-san."

Flipping his fan shut, Urahara smiled. "Of course not."

-0-

* * *

><p>-0-<p>

An hour later, Urahara sat on a boulder next to Tessai and watched as Aika dodged baseballs thrown by Ururu and Jinta. They were filled with a kido Urahara had designed, based off an Arrancar's _bala_. However, these were different in that they sent out spikes of spiritual energy aimed to sting the enemy. So far she was doing pretty well, but there were marks on her skin where a lucky shot, usually thrown by Jinta, had met her soft skin.

He had told her that it was to see how well she dodged oncoming projectiles, and she still seemed all too eager to go with it. Her words earlier had piqued his interests, and he was all too happy to oblige.

"It's just as we thought," he remarked to Tessai, who nodded in response. "It most likely is a shield around her, and now we know it not only stops oncoming attacks by reiatsu and reishi, but physical stimuli as well." He also knew that she was not completely invincible like she had jokingly said. It was possible for her to come under harm. He would classify her as more durable than anything. _'I wonder...If she was aware of her ability, would it impact it's protection at all?' _Informing her of such a reality might not be the best thing, however. Not yet, at least.

Now that Aizen was out of the way, things were relatively calm. The Soul Society was quiet, Hueco Mundo was quiet, and he had Ishida taking care of any hollows the shinigami were not around to handle. And while it got boring at times, in between his plans for Ichigo and re-introducing the Vizard to the Gotei 13, the last thing he wanted was an issue surrounding this latest anomaly he had been playing with. Who knows what kinds of things someone like Kurotsuchi would do to her?

_'I'd find her pickled in a jar somewhere in his laboratory...' _Urahara frowned. No, she was _his_ experiment. He wouldn't let anything compromise his analysis of Shiratori Aika, not until he found exactly _what_ she was.

"Hey!" A shout made him look up. Aika stood below him on the ground, looking up at him and panting. In her hand was one of the baseballs, which she tossed back and forth lazily. "This is fun and all, but don't you have anything else for me?"

Tapping his open fan in front of his face, Urahara leaned over the edge of the rock. "I can see down your shirt, Shiratori-san~!"

_WHACK_. The baseball hit him squarely in the jaw, and he tumbled off the boulder. Groaning, he looked up to see Aika standing over him, her hands on her hips.

"I know you're a perv and all, but don't push it," she said warningly, and squatted down to his level. "I didn't hear your answer, by the way."

Frowning in what was mostly mock pain (those baseballs _hurt_), Urahara sighed. "You seem to be pretty adept at the physical parts in our particular line of work. What remains to be seen, however, is how well you fare in the other aspects. Particularly intelligence gathering."

Aika frowned. "You mean like spying?"

Urahara nodded. "Exactly. One of the most important jobs in a mob belongs to those who can gather information quickly and discreetly. It's always good to stay one step ahead of your enemies."

Smiling, Aika rubbed her hands together. "I get to spy on someone? Who?"

Thinking fast, Urahara cleared his throat. "Er, a rival gang. They're based over in the next town- it'll be an all day mission, so you'll start tomorrow morning. You can get out of school, right?"

Aika nodded. "I've already asked for the entire week off. I'm in good standing, and no one asked questions." Urahara hadn't thought they would. On the outside, she was the perfect mild-mannered yet slightly eccentric music student. A week away wouldn't hurt her. '_Unless these missions do...' _But he wasn't going to let that happen, not if he could help it.

Looking up, he saw Aika had stood and was now offering her hand. Grasping it gently, he let her help pull him up, marveling at how soft and supple the skin on her hand was. Her fingers were strong as well- he figured playing instruments all your life would help to strengthen your entire hand. Despite that, they were still extremely feminine, and so light he was afraid to crush them, as if they'd shatter like porcelain flowers.

"Thank you," he said, and they stood awkwardly in front of each other. Aika smiled, and rubbed a developing bruise on her arm.

"Do you want some tea?" He asked quietly, not knowing what else to say. He was trying hard not to see her as anything more than an interesting question, a figure in a mountain of variables, but it was getting tougher and tougher. Something about this woman was intriguing, in a way he had never experienced before.

"Sure," Aika replied, and smiled, sending a ray of warmth through Urahara' chest.

-0-

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><p><strong>Reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to xfang-girlx, XxAlexMarihaReyesxX, animefreak653, Emily W, Amber, ROGMethos, Sara, Meril13, FrenziClara, ChocolateWolfey, and This for reviewing. And thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited as well.**

**I apologize for not updating in over two years! I've been ridiculously busy, and honestly haven't been as interested in Bleach as I used to be. I'm getting back into it, though, so bear with me.**

**Warnings: Slight AU, slight OOC'ness, spoilers**

**Pairings: Urahara/OC**

**Notes: Minor spoilers, if you haven't been up to date on the Manga! It's been over two years now, though.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>"You are having <em>way<em> too much fun with this."

Aika crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you mean?"

Urahara shook his head, waving his fan in front of his face. "Your outfit, Shiratori-san. It's _ridiculous_."

"Excuse me?" Aika asked, looking down at her clothes. She wore a black turtleneck and black leggings, black combat boots, and had her hair pulled back into a tight bun. "I'm pretty sure spies wear these kinds of clothes. And it's not like you have any room to talk. I mean, _geta_? And that _color_..."

"Ahem," Urahara interrupted her, snapping his fan closed. "There's no need to be _rude_."

Aika rolled her eyes. "Fine. Tell me where I'm going then."

"To a warehouse, on the east end of Karakura," Urahara replied, glad for the change in topic. "A group of, er, rival candy store proprietors operate out of there. I want you to spy on them, and bring me any information you can."

"Another mob operation," Aika said thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. "Why do so many of them use candy stores as a front?"

Resisting the urge to smack himself in the face, Urahara merely handed her a crudely drawn map of the area. "Don't get caught," he warned her.

"Don't worry!" She waved her hand in front of her nose. "I've seen the movies. They won't get any information outta me!"

"You don't have any information to give away," Jinta drawled from the wall he was standing against. Aika stuck her tongue out, and dashed out the door, humming what might have been a James Bond tune under her breath.

Scoffing, Jinta looked at Urahara. "This is dumb, boss. Why don't you just tell her she's a freak of nature and do tests on her? It'd keep her from runnin' around dressed like an idiot."

"Don't talk about Aika-chan like that," Ururu chided. "She's nice."

"And you're a big baby, but that doesn't keep me from talking about you," Jinta sneered, before turning back to Urahara. "You could knock her out or drug her or somethin', and just wipe her memories after wards. You do it all the time."

Urahara didn't reply. The kid had a point- all this sneaking around and pretending wasn't really getting him anywhere. It would be easy enough to render Aika unconscious for a period of time, long enough for him to get a better idea of where her particular ability was coming from. However, those kinds of tests were very invasive, and something about it just did not sit well with Urahara. He liked having Aika around, and poking about in her intestines wasn't something he planned on doing.

"No, Jinta-kun. That won't work." Reaching into his shirt, he pulled out two flattened metal discs, and handed one to both children.

"I want you to follow Shiratori-san, and watch her progress. These devices will record flucuations in spirtual pressure or changes in reishi density around a certain target. They'll also hide your spiritual pressure, to an extent. Because Shiratori-san isn't detectable by reishi devices, the discs are calibrated to the people she's on her way to survey."

Taking the discs, Ururu and Jinta turned them over in their hands. "And who is that, boss?" Jinta asked, sticking his in his pocket.

Smiling, Urahara looked down at his two charges.

"Oh, just some old friends..."

-0-

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><p>-0-<p>

Peering around the corner of a warehouse, Aika scanned the area for any sign of life. The map Urahara had given her said that the rival mafia's hideout was around here somewhere, but so far she hadn't seen anyone. No people, no animals, and nothing suggesting a mafia group operated in the area.

"But that's exactly what they'd want you to think," she murmured to herself. Rounding the corner, she made her way to the largest warehouse. It was on the end of the block, and seemed like a good place to start looking for clues.

The front was unassuming and looked to be impenetrable. The concrete outside the door was worn in some places, like it had a lot of traffic across it. Unable to find a way in from this side, Aika decided to go around the back in the hopes that she could find some clues.

She was in luck, as it turned out, because she had barely gone around the corner of the building when voices could be heard from the back. Pressing up against the side of the warehouse, she slid around the side, and watched the events unfolding in front of her.

A lanky man with an odd, irregular bowl cut seemed to be arguing with a short girl with pigtails and sandals. The man seemed to be extremely exasperated and used wide hand gestures, while the girl merely crossed her arms and looked away. Frowning, Aika concentrated on trying to hear what they were saying.

"...Come on, Hiyori! What was I supposed to do?" The man said. The girl scoffed.

"You coulda said no, ya dumb baldy!"

_'Baldy?'_ Aika wondered.

"You know that wasn't an option," the man continued. "Besides, I don't see what's so bad about going back! It's our home!"

The girl turned on him. "No, this is our home, dumbass! Those idiots back in the Seireitei wanted to kill us! And now you're skippin' on back, ready to answer to that old irrelevant geezer once again!"

The man sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. He looked like he wanted to shout at her, but only shook his head.

"Please, Hiyori," he said, much more softly this time. Aika had to lean forward to hear what he was saying. "I don't want to go back without you."

"Well, you're going to have to," the girl called Hiyori finished, and stomped off towards the warehouse. Aika leaned back as to remain unseen, but watched her go into a door at the opposite end from where she was at. The man watched her go, then sighed again and followed.

Aika waited until he was out of sight, then began to walk towards the door. "I wonder what that was all about," she muttered to herself. "They seemed really upset with each other."

The door to the warehouse wasn't locked. Aika cracked it open and peered inside, careful to not let herself be seen. It opened up into a large room piled with all shapes and sizes of boxes and crates, but no people to be seen. It was dimly lit, and she couldn't see to the back of the room. Deciding it looked safe enough, she slipped inside and ran towards a large pile of crates.

_'What's in here?'_ She wondered, looking around. _'Drugs?'_ Trying to open one of the crates, she lifted with all of her strength, but they were bolted shut. _'Damn it.' _Sneaking around, she went from pile to pile, trying to see what the strange people could be hiding.

Suddenly, she remembered the two arguing people from before. They didn't seem to be in the room. _'Where did they go?'_ Peeking up over a large box, she scanned the area. There was a door a few feet away, on the right, with a dim light coming out from beneath it. _'There.'_

She was about to check out the door when a noise from behind startled her. It sounded like something metal falling from high up. Heart pounding, she slid across the floor, hiding behind a stack of canvas covered crates. Her eyes darted up to the catwalks above, scanning for signs of movement, but saw nothing. _'Maybe I should go.'_

The door with the light opened, and a tall, bespectacled woman peeked out. She had two braids, and wore what looked like a high school uniform. Aika watched her carefully from her hiding spot, making sure she couldn't be seen. A bead of sweat trickled down her brow. Her outfit was a little stifling. _'Damn. Urahara-san was right. I can't let him know...'_

The woman looked around. She must have heard the noise from before, and had come to investigate. _'What is with these mafia types and their weird outfits?' _Aika thought. _'You'd think they'd try to blend in a bit more.'_

The woman finished her scan of the room, then saw the front door. _'I forgot to close it!'_ Aika panicked slightly.

"Shinji, Hiyori, you dumbasses!" The woman called behind her, before stepping out into the main warehouse and going to the entrance. "You forgot to shut the door!"

Aika dared to let herself breath. _'I should get out of here,'_ she decided. _'As soon as that woman goes back...'_

There were footsteps behind her, and she froze.

"And what do we have here?"

-0-

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><p>-0-<p>

Jinta squirmed under Ururu's strong grasp as the two watched one of the Vizards approach Aika, who was hiding down below them. They were on the catwalk above, watching the events unfold.

After they had slipped inside after Aika (idiot had left the door open), they climbed as silently as possible to watch her progress from above. However, Jinta nearly fell when he slipped on a piece of newspaper, causing a metal pipe to fall to the ground. He had nearly fallen as well before Ururu grabbed him and held him to the ground.

"They found her," Ururu whispered. "Should we help?"

Jinta squirmed again, finally throwing the girl off him. "Hell no! She got herself into this mess, she'll have to get herself out of it!"

"But Jinta-kun-"

"Shh!" The red-headed boy shushed her, and pointed as Lisa and another Vizard took Aika through the door. "Just watch."

-0-

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><p>-0-<p>

"Sooooo," Shinji drawled, twirling his hat on one of his long fingers as he paced in front of Aika. She sat in a chair, hands clasped in her lap, gaze pointed downwards.

_'I'm such an idiot for getting caught.'_ She had frozen when a tall blonde man had found her behind the crates, and had accompanied him and the woman in the uniform into the back room. It was more homey than the rest of the warehouse, and several other people were inside, including the two she had seen arguing earlier. The tall man from before seemed to be their leader, as he was currently interrogating her.

"What's your name?" He asked. Aika frowned, unsure of what to say. _'Should I lie...?'_

"Yuu," she said finally. "Katoaka Yuu."

The man smiled, a long, creepy grin that showed all his teeth. "Okay, Yuu. What were you doing, sneaking around our warehouse?"

Shrugging, Aika sighed. "I was...looking for my cat. I thought I saw him run in here." The short blonde girl from outside snorted, but Aika ignored her.

"Sure you were," the man said. _'Shinji, that's his name,'_ Aika remembered suddenly. _'The blonde girl was...Hiyori?'_

"Yep," Aika said cheerfully. "I guess I was wrong, so I was just about to leave..." she trailed off. The man raised a thin brow, but didn't argue.

"So soon?" He asked, flipping the hat onto his head. "You don't want to stay for some tea?"

"Uh, no thanks," Aika said, standing. "It's nice of you to offer, but I should really be going..."

"Oh, of course," Shinji said. "Gotta go find your cat, right?" He opened the door for her, and Aika quickly skirted past him.

"Mmhm!" Waving slightly, she hurried through the warehouse and left, crying "Here, kitty!"

Frowning, Shinji shook his head and went back to the other Vizards. "What a weirdo."

"You're telling me," Rose said, perched on a couch on the other side of the room. "Was it just me, or did something about her creep you guys out?"

The others murmured assent, save for Hachi. The large man stood in a corner, hands clasped together, eyes closed, looking quite confused. Only Shinji seemed to notice.

"Somethin' wrong, Ushoda?"

The large man opened his eyes. The usually sorrowful look on his face seemed to deepen.

"That girl...had no spiritual signature."

Kensei, lounging on the couch next to Rose, shrugged. "So what? Tons of humans don't."

"Incorrect," Hachi replied. "Every being, living or dead, has some sort of detectable spiritual signature. Many of them, especially humans, have ones so low that they are nearly undetectable, but they are still there. That human, however, does not have one at all." The rest of the Vizards were silent, and he continued.

"There is a barrier outside this building," he said. "Not one quite so powerful as when we were training Kurosaki-san, but a barrier none the less. She passed through it, and I did not notice."

"So, like Orihime-chan?" Mashiro offered.

Hachi frowned. "No. Orihime-chan slipped though my barrier, but that's just it. Her power was so similar to the barrier that I created that she could make her way through. And besides, Orihime-chan was still detectable. I could sense her spiritual pressure." He looked up at the door Aika had gone through. "That girl, though...The barrier's power was completely nullified at the points where she passed through. Like it was canceled out. If I hadn't seen that human with my own eyes, I would deny that she even existed."

There was more silence. Hiyori looked up from where she had been sitting, and stared at Shinji.

"Are you going to report this to the Gotei 13?"

Shinji paused. "Nah," he said. "What would they do? Kurotsuchi would just want to experiment on her."

"We can't just ignore this," Lisa murmured.

With a small grin, Shinji twisted his hat to the side. "I ain't gonna tell Soul Society," he said. "But there's someone else who might have some answers."

-0-

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><p>-0-<p>

"I don't get it," Aika said, sipping the cold drink Tessai had brought her. "Why'd they believe that stupid lie?"

Urahara sat across from her at the table, an amused look on his face. "You must have been _very_ convincing, with that outfit and all..."

Rolling her eyes, Aika yawned. "Whatever." Finishing off the drink, she tossed the empty bottle in the trash and stood. "I should be going. I told a friend that I'd tutor her tonight."

Standing as well, Urahara walked her to the door. He'd have to wait until Ururu and Jinta returned o discover what exactly went on. He hadn't expected the Vizards to discover Aika's presence.

"Oh!" Aika straightened, after putting on her shoes, and handed Urahara an envelope. "Next weekend is the conservatory's first showcase of the year. I'll be performing in the orchestra, and was wondering...well." She looked embarrassed.

"There are tickets in there, if you guys wanted to come. I mean, Ururu-chan's been doing so well, so I figured she might want to come and watch."

Looking inside the envelope, Urahara saw four tickets. "What about your parents?" He asked. "Wouldn't they like to attend?"

"They are!" Aika said hurriedly. "But we're allowed to invite people, and just figured..." She trailed off, and picked up her bag. "You don't have to-"

"We'd love to," Urahara interrupted her. A bright smile appeared across Aika's face, and Urahara was glad his fan covered his. "Um, for Ururu-chan, of course-"

"Of course!" Aika said, but her grin didn't go away. "I'll see you then?"

"Absolutely."

Still beaming, Aika waved as she headed down the street. Urahara watched her go for a bit before ducking back inside, stuffing the envelope into his shirt.

"Boss?" Tessai looked like he wanted to say something, but Urahara swept past him. He wasn't sure he'd be able to hide the color on his cheeks.

_'What is going on?'_

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><p><strong>Reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading.<strong>


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Bleach, Adventure, Romance