51, 98 Uryuu/Gin

alpharaposa

(Gin/Uryuu: 51: Accidentally Married, 98: Curses)

“Alright, who’s helping me hunt down the bastard setting fox traps in the woods. And who’s volunteering to babysit the annoying talking fox I saved,” Uryuu asks as he stalks into the shoten and glares at the handful of people around the table.

The white fox currently perched on his shoulder chatters a laugh and licks his face, saying, “It’s almost like you don’t like me, Uryuu-kun~”

He grimaces and wipes the spit from his skin, knocking Ichimaru’s muzzle away from his face in the process. “I don’t,” he tells the man-turned-fox with all the exasperation and annoyance he can muster. “I saved you from that trap on accident, asshole. I thought you were just a regular fox, not…” he waves a hand, trying to encompass all of Ichimaru’s everything without resorting to the sort of inarticulate flailing that he kind of wants to.

“Wait, is that Gin?” Kurosaki asks in astonishment, leaning forward to stare up at the white fox with wide eyes. “I thought you died,” he complains, nose wrinkled and an edge of relief to his reiatsu that Uryuu finds entirely understandable.

He wasn’t there to see the end, but he knows everything; there’s been one too many late nights sprawled around Urahara’s table, tongues loosened from drink and regret heavy in the air, for him to not. 

(He knows exactly what seeing Ichimaru’s useless death did to Kurosaki.)

(He knew exactly who he was saving — Ichimaru still has reiatsu, after all — he just… hadn’t expected the fox to be able to speak.)

(He should have known better…)

“Well, I sort of did,” Ichimaru admits as he jumps down from Uryuu’s shoulder and onto Urahara’s table. He gives himself a shake and then settles primly, tail around his paws and muzzle tipped up as he sweeps his gaze around the room. “Surprise, I got better!”

“Oh, but that’s wonderful,” Inoue says, clasping her hands together and staring at Ichimaru in bright-eyed excitement. “Were you always a kitsune? What’s it like? Oh, I bet it’s so much fun to explore like that! Do you have magic? Oh! What about kitsune-bi? I’ve always wanted to see what that looks like!”

“Er…” Ichimaru blinks, ears folding back and eyes a touch wild around the edges as he sends Uryuu a confused-uncertain-astonished look. When all Uryuu does is arch an eyebrow and smirk, Ichimaru bares his teeth and huffs a sigh. “I know what my damn reputation was,” he tells Inoue dryly, then sweeps his gaze across the others. “I cultivated it on purpose. But that doesn’t mean I ever was a kitsune, ya know. Thought you lot were smarter than that.”

“You’re taking being a fox rather well for ‘never was one’,” Kurosaki says as he leans back, arms crossed over his chest and brows furrowed in a thoughtful frown.

Ichimaru snorts and gives Kurosaki a flat look. “It’s been ten fuckin’ years.”

Kurosaki shrugs. “And you just now showed up. How do we know you’ve been around all ten years or not?”

“Yer a riot, kid,” Ichimaru says dryly, then twists his body around to scratch behind his ear with a hind paw. “The hell reason would I have to come crawling to you? We were enemies, an’ I doubt me stabbin’ Aizen changed yer opinion so easily. Besides, I’m fine.”

Uryuu narrows his eyes and reaches out with his senses, years of experience with Kurosaki and Inoue and especially Sado making him wary of the phrase ‘I’m fine’. Ichimaru’s neck is bruised from the trap, but he’d already known about that, and there are other bumps and scrapes from an active life as a small hunter. Beyond that, there’s nothing wrong with him physically that Uryuu can sense, so he reaches deeper, prodding at Ichimaru’s reiatsu without even bothering to disguise his actions.

“The hell do ya think yer doing?” Ichimaru snaps at him, tail bristling and ears flattening against his head. “I take back anything good I ever said about ya, yer my least favorite now.”

“My opinion of you has not changed,” Uryuu deadpans, resisting a smile at the way Ichimaru can’t suppress a tiny yip of amusement at his words. The urge to smile dies quickly though, and he frowns down at the man-turned-fox; Ichimaru’s reiatsu is all tangled up, worse than he’s ever seen before, even back when Kurosaki had no control or idea of what he was doing. And there’s even… “Why are we bound,” Uryuu growls as he mentally plucks at the thread of reiatsu tying them together.

“Er…” Ichimaru scrambles back a couple of steps, eyes going wide. “I don’t know?” he tries, muzzle lifting in an apparent attempt to display confidence but his tail tucking down against his legs. “Never seen the like in my life, honest.”

“Of course,” Uryuu mutters in disbelief, then tugs lightly on the tie and traces it back into the mess of Ichimaru’s reiatsu. Something has done a number on the man, and Uryuu suspects it’s not entirely to do with the new fox form. In fact, it almost reminds him of stories about— “Are you cursed?!”

“Why would ya ever think that?” Ichimaru denies immediately, staring up at Uryuu with all the fake innocence he can muster. But Uryuu stays silent, stays still, and something about that makes Ichimaru… wilt. “I don’t need yer damn help,” he mutters sulkily, looking away. “I’ve been workin’ on it.”

Uryuu tugs at the tie connecting them again, making Ichimaru yelp in shock-surprise-disbelief. “This says otherwise.”

“I was gettin’ there, an’ then ya butted in!”

“Ichimaru,” Kurosaki interrupts, voice firm-demanding-even in a way that easily caught — and held — attention. “The last time you tried to handle something so complex on your own, you died.”

“Only sorta died! I got better!”

Uryuu sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, already feeling a headache coming on. “And this time you likely won’t,” he says. And usually he wouldn’t bother, usually he’d just leave their former enemy be, but… 

(Kurosaki had been so devastated by such a useless, pointless death…)

(He isn’t going to be the reason Kurosaki has to face that again.)

Ichimaru barks sharp-defensive-angry and twists around, giving all of them a look of frustration. “The hell ya want me to say?” he demands. “Yes, someone fuckin’ cursed me! Yes, it’s why I’m a fox. Yes, the damn hunter’s after me. Yes, something fuckin’ happened when ya saved me and I don’t know what—”

“Oh!” Inoue smiles, and it’s a smile that makes Uryuu wary, because it’s a smile that says she’s put together pieces that no one else has. It’s the sort of smile that never ends well for him. “Maybe it’s a love-based curse, and Ishida-kun triggered the next stage by rescuing you!”

Ichimaru yelps in offense even as Uryuu makes a noise of despair; the worst part is he can see it. He’d known who he was saving while he was doing it, and if the curse took that as him caring for Ichimaru, then…

Oh, they were in trouble.

“I’m not kissing you,” Uryuu informs Ichimaru before the man can say anything.

“Aww, c’mon, not even a good luck peck on the forehead?” Ichimaru teases, tail swishing as he saunters closer. “Might bring ya luck!”

“You’re a fox.”

“Who was a man!” Ichimaru pouts up at him, then gathers himself and leaps—

Uryuu stumbles back with a bitten off curse, hands flying up to stabilize Ichimaru before those sharp claws can leave any more scratches in his skin. “Warn me before you do that!”

Ichimaru chatters a laugh. Leans in and licks—

Uryuu knocks Ichimaru’s muzzle aside and wipes his cheek clean again. “Stop it.”

“Well, this is going to be an interesting time,” Kurosaki says as he rises to his feet. “I’m going to fetch Hat’n’Clogs and we’ll see what he has to say.”

And with that, Kurosaki leaves the room, abandoning Uryuu to the non-existent mercy of Ichimaru and Inoue, the absolute traitor.

Why was this his life.

Ugh.