Kisuke’s wings are an aberration in that they don’t seem to exist. Yet he can absolutely still fly and it confuses the hell out of people. What is actually happening is his wings are made of energy that isn’t normally visible to humans/shinigami but hollows can see it. Ichigo also ends up being able to see them. And is therefore very confused when people tell him Kisuke has no wings.
prompt from Discord user Yuurei
There’s something bothering Rukia.
Ichigo casts her a sidelong look as they leave the Urahara Shoten, wondering what about the place — or the residents — has gotten under her skin. This isn’t the first time she’s returned from the Urahara Shoten with a crease between her brows and her delicate, ice-pale wings tucked tight against her back, but he still has no idea what she’s reacting to.
Sure, Hat’n’Clogs is an oddball and the definition of shady, but the man doesn’t seem to be lying to them about anything: avoiding the entire truth, yes, but Ichigo hardly expects honesty out of a man like that.
(Urahara seems the sort to have a past, and Ichigo’s seen what that does to a person.)
(So long as the man doesn’t betray them, Ichigo doesn’t care.)
Rukia catches his glance and huffs, crossing her arms over her chest and muttering, “I’ll tell you when we get home.”
“Alright,” Ichigo agrees easily, not in any rush to force Rukia to speak of whatever’s been bothering her; it hasn’t affected their work so far, so he’s content with not knowing.
(Even if it’s driving him to distraction trying to figure out what’s wrong.)
Still, it doesn’t take long for them to get home and head up to his room, where Rukia immediately hurls herself down on his bed and props her chin on her crossed arms. Her delicate wings flutter and then still, and she grimaces a bit as she slants a glance at him and says, “I don’t know how you can just… just not react to Urahara-san.”
Ichigo blinks in surprise, then tugs the chair out from under his desk and straddles it, crossing his arms over the back and resting his chin atop them. “Not sure what you mean,” he tells her honestly. “I react to Hat’n’Clogs being… Hat’n’Clogs every time we go there. It’s hard not to, you know?”
Rukia scowls at him. “I mean his lack of wings!”
“His— what?” Ichigo pauses to digest Rukia’s words, wondering what the hell is up that she can’t see Urahara’s frankly gigantic wings. The man doesn’t even attempt to hide them, with the way he constantly rustles and flares and gestures with them as he talks; in fact, Urahara’s wings are a better judge of his mood and honesty than anything else about him, which is…
Well, now that Ichigo thinks about it, it’s a bit weird, isn’t it?
In Ichigo’s experience, the shadier a person, the better control they tend to have over their wings. Urahara though is like… like Yuzu, almost, without any real filter between his mind and his wing motions. Between that and the way Urahara’s wings ripple with color as he talks, Ichigo’s been feeling pretty confident on his read of the man lately.
“Do you— doesn’t everyone have wings?” Rukia asks as she sits up a bit. “All the humans I’ve seen so far do!”
Ichigo stares at her for a moment, then slowly asks, “You really don’t see any wings on his back?”
“No!” Rukia exclaims, then narrows her eyes at him and asks, “Wait, you see wings on him?”
“Yeah, I just… thought his whole ‘I’m a shady shopkeeper, look at me’ routine was bothering you,” Ichigo admits a touch wryly. “The disconnect between the words he’s speaking and what his wings are saying can be jarring until you get used to reading him.”
Rukia gapes at him in shock, then tumbles off his bed and darts over to latch onto his arm, practically yanking him out of his chair as she marches towards the door. “Come on,” she demands as she pulls him out of his room. “We’re going back to the shoten and figuring out what’s going on right now.”
“I don’t think—” Ichigo cuts himself off with a sigh and lengthens his stride to catch back up to her, knowing he’s not going to be able to talk her out of anything when she’s in a mood like this. He gives Yuzu a sheepish smile and a wave as they cross the main room and go right back outside.
(He just hopes Urahara doesn’t take offense at anything that’s about to happen.)
(It’s hard to tell with the man sometimes, even with the tells that his wings give off.)
Rukia pulls him to a stop the instant they come within sight of the shoten, and Ichigo immediately sees why: Urahara is outside talking with Jinta, his back to them and his wings partially flared for balance. He seems in a relatively good mood, Ichigo judges as he takes in the crimson feathers laced with gold. There’s no sign of any of the colors Ichigo’s learned to be wary of, though there’s no telling how long that will last.
“Do you really see wings on him?” Rukia hisses at Ichigo.
“Yeah. You don’t?” Ichigo gives Hat’n’Clogs a thoughtful look, trying to figure out if Urahara’s wings are some sort of… who knows. Illusion, maybe?
(But why an illusion that only Ichigo can see?)
(Or maybe that only Ichigo can see through?)
(… no, that makes even less sense.)
“No!” Rukia grumbles as she leans closer, her eyes narrowed and her attention honed down to a laser focus that Ichigo… actually sort of feels sorry about.
If there really is something weird going on with the man’s wings, Ichigo kind of regrets bringing attention to it; he knows what it’s like to be singled out for something he can’t — won’t — change about himself, and he honestly wouldn’t wish that sort of attention on anyone.
Hat’n’Clogs notices them quickly, his wings closing tight against his back as he rises to his feet and turns to greet them. “Maa, the two of you are back sooner than I expected. Do you need anything else?”
Ichigo eyes the way Urahara’s wings are twitching and the spots of blue-violet that are creeping in across the crimson, then clamps a hand on Rukia’s shoulder and says, “Nah, we were just out for a walk,” despite the offended hiss that Rukia aims at him.
Acid green blooms across Urahara’s wings, though the man’s expression doesn’t betray whatever emotion he’s feeling; a variant on surprise, Ichigo suspects, though he’s not quite sure what exactly acid green might indicate.
(He’s already discarded any preconceptions he has about what colors mean what emotions.)
(Urahara just doesn’t fit into any neat box no matter how Ichigo considers him.)
(Which is perfectly fine, he didn’t really expect the man to, but it still means he’s feeling his way through the dark.)
(Well, he’ll learn.)
“Ah, well, if you do end up needing anything…” Hat’n’Clogs says leadingly, his gaze lingering on Rukia for a moment before sliding back to Ichigo; it’s clear he’s expecting them to say something about his wings — is expecting them to comment on his wings — and that just makes Ichigo all the more intent on not.
“We’ll keep it in mind,” Ichigo declares before Rukia can speak up, then pinches her shoulder just in case.
“Ichigo!” Rukia yelps with a scowl, swatting at his arm.
Ichigo snorts and jerks his head in the direction of home. “Come on, dinner’s about ready,” he says mildly. “You wouldn’t want to make Yuzu sad by missing it, would you?”
Rukia’s scowl deepens and she wavers for a moment, casting a confused look at Hat’n’Clogs, before she gives in with a sigh and pushes past him. “Fine,” she mutters. “But we’re talking about this later.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Ichigo says with a shrug, already expecting a long, rambling lecture from her about… whatever it is he’s stumbled across this time. Not that he particularly minds; it’s interesting to try and piece together what Soul Society is like from the hints she accidentally drops during each one. So far, he’s picked up on a rather telling divide between the noble houses and the average Shinigami, along with some disturbing hints on how loosely regulated the Divisions are, and a whole host of other tiny details that he’s pretty sure Rukia has no idea she’s giving away.
He’s pretty sure this will reveal a whole new array of details about how Shinigami feel about an individual’s wings, which will give him some idea on how they’ll expect him to act if he ever meets other Shinigami.
Still… it’s strange that she can’t see Urahara’s wings; maybe he’ll ask his friends, see what they say about it.
(The mystery kind of suits the man, if Ichigo’s being honest.)
(Who knew there were invisible wings out in the world?)
(Weird.)