UraIshi AU Ch. 3
Title: Unravelling Threads of Fate
Rating: PG-13 for now. May change depending on what I decide to do. XD
Pairings: UraIshi
Summary: AU. Ishida has had a hard life. With the help of some friends, it finally looks like things are going to work out. When he meets a bizarre and cheerful man named Urahara Kisuke, the two are inexplicably drawn to each other. But when Ishida discovers the truth about Urahara's past and its ties to his own, difficulties arise.
Notes: Yes, I am odd for being so infatuated with this pairing. Here's my shot at trying to explain it in an AU. And I am determined to finish a multi-chaptered story at least ONCE. lol
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the genius KT. ♥
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2
When Ishida had stepped back inside the building after a few moments of peace, Rukia had pounced on him, asking why he had disappeared like that when there were so many people wanting to speak with him. He had apologized and explained how he was feeling overwhelmed. Softening, she had promised to stick with him and help answer some questions. The rest of the night went smoothly and eventually the crowd thinned until the last few groups were walking out the doors. Ishida found himself scanning them, searching for another glimpse of a grinning face if possible. He doubted Urahara had stayed much longer after getting hauled off by such a furious looking person, but just maybe…
“Oh, is Ishida-kun looking for someone?”
He started and blinked wide-eyed in slight embarrassment. What’s wrong with me? I barely spoke to the man…
“A-ah! No, no, Inoue-san. I’m just gathering my thoughts.”
Blinking curiously, Orihime just shrugged a little before smiling brightly and throwing a handful of confetti over him. Ishida watched the little coloured pieces of paper flutter down to the ground as Rukia and Ichigo walked up to stand beside her.
“Congratulations, Ishida-kun!”
“Con… what for?” His eyebrows drew together into a confused frown as he stared at the three standing before him.
“Don’t be an idiot, Ishid-Ow!”
“I think what Ichigo means is that tonight was such a success for you! Don’t pretend like you didn’t notice.”
“Yeah, sure, that’s what I meant.” Ichigo rubbed his arm, scowling down at the little black-haired girl.
"We're proud of you, Ishida-san."
"T-thank you..." A faint smile touched his lips as he looked at them. He had his first step into a new life.
~~~
“Kisuke.”
Urahara leaned back in his seat and smiled lazily at the buildings racing by outside. After being dragged away from the party, a cab had been called to get them back to the hotel. He thought it was unfortunate that he had been forced to leave the earlier conversation. Especially when the other participant was a rather pretty person.
“Kisuke.”
He’d have to find out if there was some way for him to meet Ishida again. Urahara couldn’t understand it but he wanted to talk to the boy some more. Partially because Ishida reminded him of something and he wanted to find out what.
“Kisuke!”
“Yes, Yoruichi-san?”
“What were you doing when I found you earlier?” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. “You weren’t molesting the poor kid, were you? I know that when you have too much alcohol you-”
“I assure you, I did no such thing. And I only had half a glass!” Urahara added in a mock-offended tone.
Shaking a hand impatiently in his direction, Yoruichi propped up one arm on the headrest. “Yes, yes, whatever you say. What I wanted to tell you is that we need to discuss your finances.”
“What for? Ever since I hired you, you’ve been doing what I asked, correct?”
“Yes, but…”
“It shouldn’t be a problem then. Especially with the interest over the time I was gone, there should be more than an adequate amount of funds available to me. I could probably live my life five times over in absolute luxury with the amount that’s there.” Turning his head away from the window to look at her, Urahara quirked an eyebrow from underneath his hat. “So what is your concern? The savings account hasn’t vanished due to some unforeseen circumstance, has it?”
“Of course not!” The dark-haired woman glared at him. He was practically asking her if she had screwed up with her job! “I just needed to know if you wanted to get your fair share of the company’s profits since you left.”
Urahara fell silent to glance out the window again. The hotel was a block away.
“Short answer: no. Now I know you want to argue with me, but it’s rather late for this kind of talk, don’t you agree, Yoruichi-san? How about a dinner meeting next week?”
Taking a deep breath to stop herself from screaming at him, Yoruichi nodded. “I’ll let you know when I’m free.”
“Sounds lovely.”
Urahara waved at her from the curb as the cab moved back into traffic. Shifting in her seat to look forward again, she let out a frustrated sigh. He never answered questions directly. The woman's eyes drifted to the digital meter at the front of the cab, causing her to curse under her breath. She was going to have to pay the whole fare. Bastard.
~~~
“Ishida-san!”
Ishida looked up from his sketches to watch Rukia racing up the studio stairs towards him. A week had passed since the fashion show and things were mostly back to normal. Other than a few hours of freedom assigned to him every day so that he could work on his own designs, Ishida was back to deciphering the small designer’s doodles. To be honest, he felt relieved. He needed this simplicity, this comfort zone, until he felt ready to go off on his own.
“You’re coming to dinner with me tonight.”
“D-dinner? …tonight?”
“Yes!” Planting her hands onto her hips, Rukia grinned at him. “I just realized that this would be another perfect opportunity for you. I’ve been invited out to dinner by some fellow designers. Normally, I would take Ichigo but this is a great way for you to make connections! Besides, he always gets bored. So how about it? You don’t have anything planned, right?”
Ishida mutely shook his head.
“Great! Dinner’s at 6:30. It’s a rather fancy restaurant, so you’ll need to dress up. Go ahead and leave the studio early if you need the extra time to get ready. I’ll come by with a cab.”
“Kuchiki-san, why-?”
“Why am I helping you so much?” Dragging a chair over to Ishida, Rukia sat down, propping her elbow up on his desk. “Listen, Ishida-san, we all know you’ve had it rough. You deserve to have a happy life and I don’t think staying here is going to do it. It would be a pity to waste a talent like yours and since I have the means to help you, I will. I know you hate pity but this isn’t that at all - it’s recognition of an ability.”
What could Ishida say? He had thought it was pity and even if it still was, the fact that Rukia addressed the matter made him feel that he could accept all the support despite it. She was only trying to help. It meant a lot to Ishida when people tried to help him since his childhood had a significant lack of affection.
“If that’s the case, I can only thank you for such generosity, Kuchiki-san.”
Smiling, she pat him on the arm and stood up. “I’ll come get you with the cab at around 6 PM then.”
With that, Rukia went off to check on the progress of the prototypes for her new designs, leaving Ishida to continue working while there was time. He left the studio an hour before Rukia was supposed to arrive, giving himself plenty of time to get back to the house and get ready. After showering, he changed into one of his few formal outfits: a black suit on top of a pale-blue shirt and navy-blue tie. Ishida started to grow nervous as he waited for her but firmly pushed the feeling away. If he was going to be successful, he needed to gain some confidence.
When he saw the cab stop outside the house, Ishida raced downstairs to climb into the car. He barely heard Rukia’s compliment on his outfit and she pat him reassuringly on the shoulder as they pulled to a stop beside the restaurant entrance. He noticed she was wearing another Hell Moth dress as she stepped out of the taxi, this one a longer design with the trademark red ribbon curling patterns over the fabric. Ushering him inside, they were directed to their reserved table and settled down to wait for the other designers. When they arrived, they introduced themselves eagerly to him, having heard many things from Rukia, but Ishida couldn’t remember a single name. All because what happened later in the evening made him forget completely.
As they spoke amongst themselves, Ishida found his gaze drifting idly about the restaurant. As his eyes passed over the front entrance, they widened at the figure that stood there, accompanied once again by the one who had dragged him off a week ago.
Urahara Kisuke.
The two were led to a table and he watched them as they spoke to each other. Urahara was facing his way so he could see every grin and frown, eyes shadowed by that odd hat again. When Urahara stood up and went in the direction of the men’s restroom, without thinking, Ishida excused himself politely from the table and headed the same way. Only when he finally stood in front of the restroom door did he stop to think.
What in the world am I doing? Following him to the bathroom? I’ve become a stalker for a reason I don’t even know. Frowning at himself, Ishida ran his fingers through his bangs. Why do I want to talk to him so badly? The only thing he’s done is…
That was it. Or at least part of the reason.
…the only thing he’s done is save me. Without even knowing who I am, just for the sake of doing something nice because he recognized that I needed help.
Ishida couldn’t remember ever meeting a perfect stranger who would so freely help him out. His friends, if he could call them that, had know him for at least a few years beforehand. His one model in life, his father, had gone through life solely for his own purpose. He had never helped anyone without gaining something first or expecting something in return. To meet someone like Urahara, Ishida considered it remarkable. And it touched him.
I want to talk with him because I want to know more about him.
So caught up in his realization, Ishida didn’t notice when the bathroom door opened again.
“Oh! If it isn’t Ishida-san!”
He stared up in horror at the face currently looking amused and slightly curious back at him. Ishida decided that he should have gone somewhere else to have his epiphany, rather than standing outside the men’s washroom staring into space.
~~~
Urahara had scheduled a dinner meeting at one of his favourite restaurants. When the two were seated, Yoruichi wasted no time in getting down to business.
“Okay, Kisuke. You told me to wait, so I waited. Now tell me why you don’t want your share of the profits.”
“What do I need it for? Like I said last week, there’s enough money in the savings account for me to live several times over.”
“And yet you still wear that ugly hat,” she noted flatly, taking a sip of her water.
“I resent that!”
“Fine, your hat isn’t ugly. But what do you mean, “what for”? It’s your entitled share!”
“I don’t need it and honestly, I don’t want it. Especially when I know where that money came from.”
“Kisuke…”
Urahara shook his head, idly tracing the seam of the napkin with a finger. “I’m perfectly happy with the funds I attained during my work. If you can’t understand that Yoruichi-san, I think you’ve spent too much time around the “new” company. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to the restroom.”
He stepped into the bathroom, merely to give himself a moment to collect his thoughts alone. Things had changed too much in the time he was gone; people were changing too. When Urahara stepped out of the washroom, the last thing he expected to see was the young designer from the party appearing absolutely enthralled at some thought… or the wall. He had to admit it was a nice surprise though. He was starting to wonder how he would ever track the boy down again.
“Oh! If it isn’t Ishida-san!”
Urahara smiled at the look on Ishida’s face as the younger man coloured slightly. He really could be quite adorable. Urahara vaguely wondered if he should really be thinking something like that.
“A-ah! H-hello, Urahara-san. Er… how are you?”
“I’m doing quite well! I hope things are going well for you?”
Ishida nodded, trying to force the embarrassment off his face.
“That’s good! You know, it’s funny to meet you here. I was trying to find a way to contact you after the fashion show.”
“What? I-I mean, you were? That is odd… I was hoping to meet with you again too.”
Urahara blinked and observed him quietly. He had a feeling that his life would become very complicated if he spent anymore time around this Ishida Uryuu. But he was never one to back away from trouble.
“How about lunch?”
“Eh?” Ishida stared at him blankly.
“Tomorrow. It’s a Saturday so you don’t have work, am I right?”
“Well, I tend to work on my designs a few hours in the morning that day…”
Urahara waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I can pick you up at the studio then. I’m quite sure I know where it is.”
“Oh, well… okay.” The dark-haired boy found himself smiling a little at the thought of lunch. Grinning, Urahara touched him lightly on the shoulder in passing.
“I’ll drop by around noon. See you then, Ishida-san!”
Urahara was certain he was getting into trouble.
A/N: Oh look, foreshadowing. LOL Let me know if Ishida's reasoning makes any sense. It was late when I finished this. XD
To Chapter 4
X-posted to kurosaki_clinic, asterisk_plus, uraishi
Rating: PG-13 for now. May change depending on what I decide to do. XD
Pairings: UraIshi
Summary: AU. Ishida has had a hard life. With the help of some friends, it finally looks like things are going to work out. When he meets a bizarre and cheerful man named Urahara Kisuke, the two are inexplicably drawn to each other. But when Ishida discovers the truth about Urahara's past and its ties to his own, difficulties arise.
Notes: Yes, I am odd for being so infatuated with this pairing. Here's my shot at trying to explain it in an AU. And I am determined to finish a multi-chaptered story at least ONCE. lol
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the genius KT. ♥
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2
When Ishida had stepped back inside the building after a few moments of peace, Rukia had pounced on him, asking why he had disappeared like that when there were so many people wanting to speak with him. He had apologized and explained how he was feeling overwhelmed. Softening, she had promised to stick with him and help answer some questions. The rest of the night went smoothly and eventually the crowd thinned until the last few groups were walking out the doors. Ishida found himself scanning them, searching for another glimpse of a grinning face if possible. He doubted Urahara had stayed much longer after getting hauled off by such a furious looking person, but just maybe…
“Oh, is Ishida-kun looking for someone?”
He started and blinked wide-eyed in slight embarrassment. What’s wrong with me? I barely spoke to the man…
“A-ah! No, no, Inoue-san. I’m just gathering my thoughts.”
Blinking curiously, Orihime just shrugged a little before smiling brightly and throwing a handful of confetti over him. Ishida watched the little coloured pieces of paper flutter down to the ground as Rukia and Ichigo walked up to stand beside her.
“Congratulations, Ishida-kun!”
“Con… what for?” His eyebrows drew together into a confused frown as he stared at the three standing before him.
“Don’t be an idiot, Ishid-Ow!”
“I think what Ichigo means is that tonight was such a success for you! Don’t pretend like you didn’t notice.”
“Yeah, sure, that’s what I meant.” Ichigo rubbed his arm, scowling down at the little black-haired girl.
"We're proud of you, Ishida-san."
"T-thank you..." A faint smile touched his lips as he looked at them. He had his first step into a new life.
~~~
“Kisuke.”
Urahara leaned back in his seat and smiled lazily at the buildings racing by outside. After being dragged away from the party, a cab had been called to get them back to the hotel. He thought it was unfortunate that he had been forced to leave the earlier conversation. Especially when the other participant was a rather pretty person.
“Kisuke.”
He’d have to find out if there was some way for him to meet Ishida again. Urahara couldn’t understand it but he wanted to talk to the boy some more. Partially because Ishida reminded him of something and he wanted to find out what.
“Kisuke!”
“Yes, Yoruichi-san?”
“What were you doing when I found you earlier?” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. “You weren’t molesting the poor kid, were you? I know that when you have too much alcohol you-”
“I assure you, I did no such thing. And I only had half a glass!” Urahara added in a mock-offended tone.
Shaking a hand impatiently in his direction, Yoruichi propped up one arm on the headrest. “Yes, yes, whatever you say. What I wanted to tell you is that we need to discuss your finances.”
“What for? Ever since I hired you, you’ve been doing what I asked, correct?”
“Yes, but…”
“It shouldn’t be a problem then. Especially with the interest over the time I was gone, there should be more than an adequate amount of funds available to me. I could probably live my life five times over in absolute luxury with the amount that’s there.” Turning his head away from the window to look at her, Urahara quirked an eyebrow from underneath his hat. “So what is your concern? The savings account hasn’t vanished due to some unforeseen circumstance, has it?”
“Of course not!” The dark-haired woman glared at him. He was practically asking her if she had screwed up with her job! “I just needed to know if you wanted to get your fair share of the company’s profits since you left.”
Urahara fell silent to glance out the window again. The hotel was a block away.
“Short answer: no. Now I know you want to argue with me, but it’s rather late for this kind of talk, don’t you agree, Yoruichi-san? How about a dinner meeting next week?”
Taking a deep breath to stop herself from screaming at him, Yoruichi nodded. “I’ll let you know when I’m free.”
“Sounds lovely.”
Urahara waved at her from the curb as the cab moved back into traffic. Shifting in her seat to look forward again, she let out a frustrated sigh. He never answered questions directly. The woman's eyes drifted to the digital meter at the front of the cab, causing her to curse under her breath. She was going to have to pay the whole fare. Bastard.
~~~
“Ishida-san!”
Ishida looked up from his sketches to watch Rukia racing up the studio stairs towards him. A week had passed since the fashion show and things were mostly back to normal. Other than a few hours of freedom assigned to him every day so that he could work on his own designs, Ishida was back to deciphering the small designer’s doodles. To be honest, he felt relieved. He needed this simplicity, this comfort zone, until he felt ready to go off on his own.
“You’re coming to dinner with me tonight.”
“D-dinner? …tonight?”
“Yes!” Planting her hands onto her hips, Rukia grinned at him. “I just realized that this would be another perfect opportunity for you. I’ve been invited out to dinner by some fellow designers. Normally, I would take Ichigo but this is a great way for you to make connections! Besides, he always gets bored. So how about it? You don’t have anything planned, right?”
Ishida mutely shook his head.
“Great! Dinner’s at 6:30. It’s a rather fancy restaurant, so you’ll need to dress up. Go ahead and leave the studio early if you need the extra time to get ready. I’ll come by with a cab.”
“Kuchiki-san, why-?”
“Why am I helping you so much?” Dragging a chair over to Ishida, Rukia sat down, propping her elbow up on his desk. “Listen, Ishida-san, we all know you’ve had it rough. You deserve to have a happy life and I don’t think staying here is going to do it. It would be a pity to waste a talent like yours and since I have the means to help you, I will. I know you hate pity but this isn’t that at all - it’s recognition of an ability.”
What could Ishida say? He had thought it was pity and even if it still was, the fact that Rukia addressed the matter made him feel that he could accept all the support despite it. She was only trying to help. It meant a lot to Ishida when people tried to help him since his childhood had a significant lack of affection.
“If that’s the case, I can only thank you for such generosity, Kuchiki-san.”
Smiling, she pat him on the arm and stood up. “I’ll come get you with the cab at around 6 PM then.”
With that, Rukia went off to check on the progress of the prototypes for her new designs, leaving Ishida to continue working while there was time. He left the studio an hour before Rukia was supposed to arrive, giving himself plenty of time to get back to the house and get ready. After showering, he changed into one of his few formal outfits: a black suit on top of a pale-blue shirt and navy-blue tie. Ishida started to grow nervous as he waited for her but firmly pushed the feeling away. If he was going to be successful, he needed to gain some confidence.
When he saw the cab stop outside the house, Ishida raced downstairs to climb into the car. He barely heard Rukia’s compliment on his outfit and she pat him reassuringly on the shoulder as they pulled to a stop beside the restaurant entrance. He noticed she was wearing another Hell Moth dress as she stepped out of the taxi, this one a longer design with the trademark red ribbon curling patterns over the fabric. Ushering him inside, they were directed to their reserved table and settled down to wait for the other designers. When they arrived, they introduced themselves eagerly to him, having heard many things from Rukia, but Ishida couldn’t remember a single name. All because what happened later in the evening made him forget completely.
As they spoke amongst themselves, Ishida found his gaze drifting idly about the restaurant. As his eyes passed over the front entrance, they widened at the figure that stood there, accompanied once again by the one who had dragged him off a week ago.
Urahara Kisuke.
The two were led to a table and he watched them as they spoke to each other. Urahara was facing his way so he could see every grin and frown, eyes shadowed by that odd hat again. When Urahara stood up and went in the direction of the men’s restroom, without thinking, Ishida excused himself politely from the table and headed the same way. Only when he finally stood in front of the restroom door did he stop to think.
What in the world am I doing? Following him to the bathroom? I’ve become a stalker for a reason I don’t even know. Frowning at himself, Ishida ran his fingers through his bangs. Why do I want to talk to him so badly? The only thing he’s done is…
That was it. Or at least part of the reason.
…the only thing he’s done is save me. Without even knowing who I am, just for the sake of doing something nice because he recognized that I needed help.
Ishida couldn’t remember ever meeting a perfect stranger who would so freely help him out. His friends, if he could call them that, had know him for at least a few years beforehand. His one model in life, his father, had gone through life solely for his own purpose. He had never helped anyone without gaining something first or expecting something in return. To meet someone like Urahara, Ishida considered it remarkable. And it touched him.
I want to talk with him because I want to know more about him.
So caught up in his realization, Ishida didn’t notice when the bathroom door opened again.
“Oh! If it isn’t Ishida-san!”
He stared up in horror at the face currently looking amused and slightly curious back at him. Ishida decided that he should have gone somewhere else to have his epiphany, rather than standing outside the men’s washroom staring into space.
~~~
Urahara had scheduled a dinner meeting at one of his favourite restaurants. When the two were seated, Yoruichi wasted no time in getting down to business.
“Okay, Kisuke. You told me to wait, so I waited. Now tell me why you don’t want your share of the profits.”
“What do I need it for? Like I said last week, there’s enough money in the savings account for me to live several times over.”
“And yet you still wear that ugly hat,” she noted flatly, taking a sip of her water.
“I resent that!”
“Fine, your hat isn’t ugly. But what do you mean, “what for”? It’s your entitled share!”
“I don’t need it and honestly, I don’t want it. Especially when I know where that money came from.”
“Kisuke…”
Urahara shook his head, idly tracing the seam of the napkin with a finger. “I’m perfectly happy with the funds I attained during my work. If you can’t understand that Yoruichi-san, I think you’ve spent too much time around the “new” company. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to the restroom.”
He stepped into the bathroom, merely to give himself a moment to collect his thoughts alone. Things had changed too much in the time he was gone; people were changing too. When Urahara stepped out of the washroom, the last thing he expected to see was the young designer from the party appearing absolutely enthralled at some thought… or the wall. He had to admit it was a nice surprise though. He was starting to wonder how he would ever track the boy down again.
“Oh! If it isn’t Ishida-san!”
Urahara smiled at the look on Ishida’s face as the younger man coloured slightly. He really could be quite adorable. Urahara vaguely wondered if he should really be thinking something like that.
“A-ah! H-hello, Urahara-san. Er… how are you?”
“I’m doing quite well! I hope things are going well for you?”
Ishida nodded, trying to force the embarrassment off his face.
“That’s good! You know, it’s funny to meet you here. I was trying to find a way to contact you after the fashion show.”
“What? I-I mean, you were? That is odd… I was hoping to meet with you again too.”
Urahara blinked and observed him quietly. He had a feeling that his life would become very complicated if he spent anymore time around this Ishida Uryuu. But he was never one to back away from trouble.
“How about lunch?”
“Eh?” Ishida stared at him blankly.
“Tomorrow. It’s a Saturday so you don’t have work, am I right?”
“Well, I tend to work on my designs a few hours in the morning that day…”
Urahara waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I can pick you up at the studio then. I’m quite sure I know where it is.”
“Oh, well… okay.” The dark-haired boy found himself smiling a little at the thought of lunch. Grinning, Urahara touched him lightly on the shoulder in passing.
“I’ll drop by around noon. See you then, Ishida-san!”
Urahara was certain he was getting into trouble.
A/N: Oh look, foreshadowing. LOL Let me know if Ishida's reasoning makes any sense. It was late when I finished this. XD
To Chapter 4
X-posted to kurosaki_clinic, asterisk_plus, uraishi