Alexis pulled herself up into a familiar, ancient tree and began to climb, pausing only long enough to check that Benihime was following her. They needed a quiet, secluded place to talk if she was right about Benihime’s reason for showing up, and she knew just the place.

“Interesting place to talk,” Benihime murmured as they climbed higher.

“Not there yet.” Alexis sat on a thick branch and looked around, double checking for anyone in the vicinity. The hour worked in their favor though; it was rare for anyone to be awake at this hour unless they were forced to be. Quincy as a whole tended towards night owls, and many of them were turning in around this time of day.

(She was only awake because worry gnawed at her stomach and made sleeping difficult.)

(She knew what Erich’s answer would be.)

(Why did he have to be so selfless?)

Seeing no one, Alexis carefully stood, holding onto another branch to help her balance, and hoisted herself up one last level and into a strange crook where the tree had bent and the crown had split. From here, she could barely see the ground below for all the leaves and branches in the way, and she knew the same applied the other way as well.

(They’d hidden out here many times before, tucked away and whispering their plans long into the night.)

Benihime hauled herself up after Alexis and looked around in surprise and pleasure. “My, what a retreat you have here.”

“No one will find us here so long as we keep our voices down,” Alexis said as she sat, legs dangling from the branch she’d chosen. It wasn’t as comfortable as it used to be — the little hidden spot was better suited to children instead of adults — but it was private and she knew no one else knew about it.

“Such a shame we have to be quiet,” Benihime purred, leaning into Alexis’ personal space and smirking. “But I suppose I’ll take what I can get.” A letter appeared in her hand as if by magic and she held it out to Alexis. “Here you are, a missive from my chosen.”

Alexis sighed at the continued flirting and took the letter from Benihime. “Going to sit there and watch me, are you?” she asked while unfolding the letter and tilting it to catch the first rays of dawn.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Benihime said as she edged closer, nearly resting her chin on Alexis’ knee.

She gave Benihime a look then concentrated on the letter; it was a simple missive, brief and to the point, asking her to bring her hunting party to Candy Shop in order to provide Erich with a safe escort back. And for all its simplicity, it left her with more questions than it answered.

Urahara’s writing felt… stilted and awkwardly formal in a way she’d never associated with him. It felt like he had so much more to say, like the letter in her hands was the excuse and not the message itself, something she could show Seigmar without worry.

Which would also explain the messenger at her feet, staring up at her with attentive golden eyes. And the comment about marrying her if the plan fell through.

Alexis rubbed the paper between her fingers and fixed her gaze on the leaves above her head, letting her mind meander through the possibilities. Urahara was almost certainly offering them a way out of their guild, but the only one that she knew would work, the only one audacious enough to silence everyone, was marriage to a true outsider, one that no one would accept into their guild.

An outsider like a former Shinigami guild member.

An outsider like Urahara himself.

“Your chosen has interesting plans,” Alexis said as she folded the letter back up and tucked it away in a pocket. “May I ask what the rest of his message is?”

Benihime blinked up at her then smiled and rubbed her chin against Alexis’ knee. “You catch on delightfully quick. I see why Erich is so enamored of you,” she said with a pleased rumble. “My chosen offers to be the secret lover you two intend to marry, but Erich refuses to even tentatively accept without your agreement.”

“As is his right,” Alexis reminded Benihime sharply, flicking the Entelexia’s nose in reprimand. “Something like this can’t be decided by only one person, not when it requires my cooperation as well.”

Benihime jerked back and wrinkled her nose in offense, ears flattening and tails thumping against the tree. “But—”

“No. You should well know that a story as intricate as that requires full participation from all members of the story. One little mistake and the whole plot unravels.”

Benihime’s ears drooped and her shoulders slumped, making her look like a very miserable feline. “I know,” she muttered sullenly. “But Erich looked so miserable at having to leave, and even he admitted the idea was the best one available…”

Alexis rubbed at her forehead and debated how to answer. Benihime was correct that the idea was the best, but did she really want to tie herself to a man she barely knew? Was it worth the pain and frustration that was likely to come of it? All she knew about Urahara was filtered through Erich’s perception of the man, and that painted a very… interesting picture.

To hear Erich talk of him, Urahara was a flighty man, given to unnecessary flirting and equally unnecessary side-trips that made travel take forever. He never did his paperwork and avoided many official responsibilities, leaving Erich and Tsukabishi to handle most of it themselves. He frustrated Erich to no end, and yet…

And yet he was also a man who Erich trusted with his life. A man who Erich admired for how he handled the two children in their guild. A man who Erich had never once hesitated to stand beside no matter how much grief it earned him.

Trust like that… well.

Call her curious, but she’d wanted to investigate for years. Her fiance had good instincts, and there had to be something to Urahara if he had stayed for so long without true protest.

“Alright,” Alexis said at last, giving a small smile as Benihime perked up instantly. “I make no promises on our eventual decision, but I do promise to speak with Erich about it.” She paused to consider her next request, then forged on anyway; if she was going to get involved with the man, she might as well learn as much about him as she could, from as many sources as possible. “Will you tell me about Urahara? I must admit that I know… very little.”

“Why, of course I will!” Benihime chirped, wriggling closer and draping an arm over Alexis’ lap. She smiled, slow and sly, and began with, “He’s a curious one, my chosen is…”