Kiss Your Shinigami Goodbye, Quincy

Even before Ishida Uryū stepped into Kurosaki Ichigo's bedroom, he sensed the reiatsu of his mortal enemies. However, this was not the first time he had to rein in his instincts and withhold drawing out his bow. If Hollows were here and an explosive ruckus was not tearing down half the house, then they must be what Ichigo deemed "friendly." A Quincy would never dare call any of them that, but...Uryū was a bit unique in that respect already.

He recognized the two beings. They had helped Ichigo in Hueco Mundo. Nel and...well, names made little difference. They were friends with Ichigo, and for the sake of acknowledging the help they provided in rescuing Orihime, he listened to their troubles. Uryū stood against the wall, far away from these troublesome creatures, and said nothing.

Hueco Mundo was in trouble. Excellent!

The new queen was captured. Even better!

One of their friends had been captured. Good!

Not good.

A friend of theirs was a friend of Ichigo. Uryū saw the eagerness to help in Orihime's face and the quiet determination in Chad's brow.

"I'm sorry. I can't come with you this time."

He looked aside, dreading to make eye contact and see the disappointment, or worse yet, anger in their faces. Why should he feel guilty? What unspoken rule said he had to help these people?

"Ishida-kun..." Orihime's tender worry was like an arrow to his heart.

"Ishida..." Chad's shock and slightly reprimanding tone made Uryū's face tighten even more.

He felt torn. Did they not understand his position? Didn't they know what he was?

"Right."

Uryū looked up in a moment of surprise at Ichigo's understanding tone. The one he feared to upset the most had a passive smile instead. Although his body language said he was still a little disappointed, the gleam in his eyes was like a whisper of reassurance.

"After all, Quincys exist to destroy Hollows."

Those eyes soothed Uryū's heart, yet the guilt was still there, gnawing at him, tugging at the pit of his stomach. He knew he shouldn't have to give excuses, yet the four of them had gone through so much. They had battled shinigami captains, Arrancar, and Espada! To abandon them felt...well...traitorous!

Ichigo gave a stretching yawn to shatter the tension. "I knew you'd say that, but then you'd be sulking if I hadn't called you."

That emotion of guilt instantly mutated into annoyance. "You..." That damn Kurosaki!

"Don't worry," the ginger-haired teen said with a cocky smirk. "We can do it perfectly well without you."

Uryū wanted to slap him...and hug him. Ichigo was the only person in the world that understood Uryū this well. Only he could chase away the dark feelings in Uryū's mind while soothing the concerns of everyone in the room. Annoying brat!

A shadow appeared in the window. Uryū looked mildly troubled to see the meddlesome Urahara crouching there.

"Oh. You seem to be having fun. Shall I arrange your trip to Hueco Mundo?" he asked with a smug smile.

Of course, the geta-wearing store owner shocked them, but Ichigo recovered quickest. "Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks a bunch, but...well, can you guys give me and Ishida a moment? I just wanna clear this up with him so there are no hard feelings."

Orihime tittered. "Ahh, I love it when you two are so friendly together. Kurosaki-kun, Ishida-kun, you're both so cute together!"

Both boys blushed a little, coughed something out of their throats, and felt a bit of sweat drip. "Uh...thanks?" they both questioned.