Serendipity

Eyes of the Unknown (Part 3)

"—!?" Shinji shouted in surprise when her practical but stylish footwear slammed into the back of his head with enough force to knock him off balance.

His eyes widened as he whipped his head around to see who his attacker had been. His initial reflexive reaction was to assume it had been Hiyori, but after that first split-second, he had realized it couldn't be because it hadn't been a flip-flop, and his assailant had been way too stealthy for it to be her. He doubted she even knew the meaning of the word 'subtle'. Still, he was slightly taken aback to see a completely different blonde staring back at him.

His sixteen-year-old daughter had an extremely unimpressed look on her face.

"Oi. That's one hell of a way for a daughter to greet her beloved father," Shinji said sardonically, lowering himself to stand on the ground like a normal human being, clearly chagrined.

He rubbed his head while he watched her pull her sandal back on. No wonder it had hurt. The soles of her shoes looked much thicker and harder than Hiyori's. He really shouldn't have let her babysit his cute little girl so often... She was a bad influence.

"And don't throw something like that at people's heads! Are you trying to give me brain damage!?"

Seren rolled her eyes at his overly dramatic reaction. She had already witnessed him taking hits that were at least ten times worse than that from Hiyori-nee. He'd survive.

"Honestly? I thought you'd dodge it. I'm not that good at hiding my presence. Besides, I'd say it's a bit late to be worried about brain damage after seeing that wonderful display of your total lack of common sense. It's numb! Your sense of what's normal as a human being is totally numb! Who just floats in midair like that while wearing a gigai!? If you're going to go around blatantly defying the laws of physics, then at least make sure normal people can't see you!!" Seren scolded the 110+ year-old man.

They couldn't really do much to prevent spiritually sensitive people from seeing him without it, but anyone who was strong enough to see something on the same level as a Shinigami should be used to seeing weird stuff by now, so they should know better than to mention something like that to the people who couldn't.

"Anyway, I'm surprised that no one else noticed you, especially the three peeps that just left. Was that Shinigami him, Kurosaki Ichigo?" she asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at him.

She could tell he had some crazy powerful spiritual energy, and the other two weren't too shabby either.

"Oh, that... It's fine. No one ever bothers to look up anyway. You see it all the time in movies," Shinji said carelessly as he waved her worries off. "And yeah, that's him, Kurosaki Ichigo... Wait, what are you doing out here? You know you nearly gave me a heart attack earlier! I thought you might be Hiyori coming after me again... Did Urahara turn you down after all?" he asked, grinning, as he elbowed her in the side playfully. If so, then Love owed him ten bucks.

"No. He said I could stay as long as I promised to do what he tells me to," Seren said, frowning slightly. Why did he have to look so damned pleased with himself about the possibility that Urahara might have sent her packing? It was kind of pissing her off.

Shinji's smile faltered slightly.

Damn. Looks like he lost the bet after all.

"Then why are you wondering around here instead of hanging out at the shop?" he asked, furrowing his brow slightly in confusion. She usually stuck to Urahara like glue. In fact, it had been down right annoying when she was younger, because she would even cling to him when it was time to leave. They almost had to pry her off with a crowbar one time...

"Well, I needed some air..." she replied reluctantly, avoiding his eyes. "Let's just say... I saw something that I really wish I hadn't..." she added a little grimly, smiling wanly as the unwanted memory came flooding back.

Ignorance really was bliss...

"What? Don't tell me you found that guy's porno stash or something?" Shinji teased. His laughter died when he saw the look on her face. "Eh? Seriously!? ... What kind was it?" he asked, whispering behind his hand in a conspiring tone. He just couldn't help but be curious since even after having known Urahara for over a century, he still couldn't tell what the crafty ex-captain of the twelfth division was thinking half the time. The man was annoyingly hard to read...

"Don't ask me something like that!! It was XXX-rated stuff that not even Lisa-nee would buy!! And they were all really tan and busty brunette goddesses!!" she whisper-yelled back incredulously, still answering despite how appalled she was. "I never realized that kind of woman was his type..." she mumbled under her breath, eyes cast in shadow.

But Shinji heard her anyway, and his own eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared at her in shock.

No... Frickin'... Way...

"No waaay!! Don't tell me you like that perverted bastard!?" he shouted in disbelief as he grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her, begging her to deny it. Just how long had this been going on!? Was Urahara secretly a a lolicon!? Seren was way too young for him!! If that bastard laid a hand on her...!!

Seren sweat-dropped. This was exactly why she hadn't wanted him to know. She knew he'd react like this. As far as Shinji was concerned, she was still his adorable baby girl, and he had a habit of scaring off any boys who looked like they might want to ask her out. He'd even told her once before that she wasn't allowed to date until after she was married... I mean, WTF? How was she supposed to get married if she couldn't meet anyone, and how was she supposed to date if she was married? It didn't even make sense!

Well, whatever. She might as well come clean with him. If she denied it and he caught her lie, he'd just freak out even more, and he'd probably end up interrogating Urahara just to make sure he wasn't trying to secretly elope with his baby girl or something equally ridiculous...

"Don't worry, Dad. It's true that I like him, but it's just a one-sided love. He still treats me like a kid, so I'm pretty sure he has zero interest in me as a woman," Seren said sadly, flinching slightly as she was stabbed by her own words. Having to admit that out loud had hurt more than she thought it would.

"..." Shinji narrowed his eyes a little as he stared at her, scanning his daughter carefully for any signs that might indicate she was trying to pull the wool over his eyes.

He was both relieved and concerned to find that the heartache in her eyes was 100% genuine. He wasn't ready to hand his little girl over to anyone yet (especially someone who was so much older than her), but he didn't want her to get hurt either. It was obvious her feelings for Urahara were much deeper than just a simple, girlish crush.

"I'm sorry..." Shinji said as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close in a protective fatherly embrace, trying to comfort her. "I didn't mean for you to have to make that kind of face. I was just worried he might have been seducing you or something..."

"He wouldn't... I'm obviously not his type..." Seren said, smiling a little bitterly as she hugged him back. She felt like crying, but she wouldn't let herself. It felt like she'd really be giving up on Urahara if she did.

"... Well... since I've missed my chance to make a dramatic entrance on my first day as a 'transfer student'... how about I treat you to something before you go back? We can have a little father-daughter date~!" Shinji suggested playfully in an attempt to distract her from such a depressing subject and hopefully cheer her up.

"Alright, it's a date," she said, smiling wryly as she shook her head. How could she possibly turn down free food and fun? Their little outing would probably give her enough space to act normally again by the time she returned to the shop.