Disclaimer- I don't own Bleach or any of it's characters.

The Killer

Chapter one

Smoke made the air hazy, causing the cramped club feel even more suffocating than it already was. 'The Killer' was the hottest night club in Tokyo, known for it's loud music, bright lights, great drinks, and beautiful guests. If you didn't dress right, you wouldn't get in, if you didn't act right, you didn't get in. All in all, you had to be perfect, a great actor, or both. Kira just happened to be good at fooling people. He wouldn't say it was 'acting', more like 'persuasion'. But then again, what was the difference?

"Oh, don't make that face, Kira! We'll get kicked out!" Kira looked down at the bouncy girl next to him. Hinamori Momo had been his best friend since first grade, and their friendship hadn't diminished yet. "You look like you're about to hurl, Kira! Snap out of it!" Her brown eyes shone, making her look much older than seventeen years old.

"Hinamori, I hate to point it out, but if anyone realizes those IDs you had made for us are fake we'll be kicked out AND thrown in a detention center. Maybe we should go ahead and leave..." Hinamori puffed out her cheeks and stepped in front of Kira, making him either stop or knock her over. He stopped.

"I am not, I repeat, NOT leaving until I see Shirou! You can leave if you want Kira, but I'M staying." With that said, she stomped off into the crowd, and Kira didn't try to follow her. She was so stubborn, she wouldn't leave until her job was finished. He sighed and shook his head. He couldn't leave her all alone in a club, filled with goodness only knew how many perverts and probably just as many psychos. But what was he supposed to do? He had come only to help her out, but now she was nowhere to be seen, and Kira wasn't very interested in dancing or drinking to pass the time. He was interested in leaving.

Again, he sighed and plopped down in a chair where he could watch the exits. Just in case. He watched as bodies flung around rapidly on the dance floor, not only looking painful but just plain stupid. What did people like about looking like idiots, getting smashed, and inhaling enough second hand smoke to give someone lung cancer? It just didn't seem logical. He watched as a girl about as tall as Hinamori, dressed in a maroon dress walked inside from...the fire exit? Well, that was suspicious. She tossed her black hair behind her and spoke quietly into what looked like a bottle of beer. That was even more supicious. She turned her head and looked straight at Kira, almost as if she had heard his thoughts. He quickly looked away and acted like he was talking to somebody.

He waited a few seconds then looked back only to find that she had disappeared. He knew it really wasn't any of his business and that he should just leave it alone but...He stood and hurried to where he had seen her. He looked around but saw no sign of her. But where had she gone? Into the crowd? If so he would never find her, but she also could have slipped out of the fire exit, and if she had he could still catch up to her. He looked around once more, but still not seeing her, he slipped out the fire exit and into the humid night air.

----------

Rukia sighed and leaned against the cool green marble sink in the ladies bathroom, relief washing over her. Her cover had almost been blown, or was it already blown? She hoped not, but the guy with blonde hair had been giving her a rather odd look.

Was he one of them? She had never read a file on him, but maybe he was new? Somehow, he didn't seem the type.

Well, she wouldn't take any chances. If she saw him again she would simply...dispose of him. Right then though...she had more important matters to deal with. After quickly checking her makeup and touching up her powder, Rukia exited the bathroom.

She scanned the area thoroughly, but didn't see the blonde anywhere. Good, she didn't want any unneccesary bloodshed.

After ordering a fuzzy navel, she perched herself on a barstool and waited. She checked her watch and it said 12:49. Good.

The target would be here any second. Masculine laughter boomed behind her and she knew they had just walked up, but she didn't turn. Instead she calmly sipped her drink and ignored it until she felt a big hand rest on her shoulder. Bingo.

She turned around and looked up into the face of the tall man standing right in front of her, hoping her face didn't reveal anything was off.

She asked, "Yes?" and calmly took another sip of her drink, trying to look innocent. The man looked slightly imposing, a good foot and a half taller than her, with red hair and oddly tattooed eyebrows. She would have found them disturbing if she hadn't already seen them plenty of times before. "Hey babe," The man said, grinning wolfishly. "I hate to make you move," She seriously doubted that. "-but, you're in my seat." Rukia blinked. Once, twice, exactly as planned. "I'm sorry but, this is my seat." She said, then promptly turned towards the bartender again. His friend laughed. "Renji, sounds like she's not gonna move."

He growled. "Shut up, Ichigo. Hey you," He spun Rukia around. "Didn't you hear me? I said, move."

The guy with the orange spikey hair glared sourly, he obviously didn't like being told to shut up. Again, Rukia looked at the man. No, Renji. "I heard you," She said, then took another sip. "But, I'm not moving." Renji's eyes narrowed at that. "And why the hell not?" Rukia sat her drink down and crossed her arms stubbornly. "Because I'm sitting here and I don't feel like moving. If you want you can sit beside me." Renji looked speechless at that, but quickly recovered and instead of the expected glare he grinned and leaned down to where his face was close to Rukia's. "Ok honey, if you want that seat, I'll gladly let you sit in my lap, but that is my seat. Ask Tousen if you must, he knows." He motioned towards the bartender who looked like he didn't want to get involved.

Rukia glared, performing perfectly so far. "I don't think so, buddy. Just go sit somewhere else." She turned to face the bartender, Tousen, again. She could hear Renji make a shocked noise from behind her and figured he would be getting violent pretty soon.

Well, whatever happened, happened. A hand rested on her shoulder and once again, she turned around. But, instead of Renji (Whom she thought it would be) she was looking up at Ichigo. His face was unreadable, calm, but when he spoke his voice was warning. "I suggest you move, before he gets really mad." Her stomach tightened. Why? Was it fear? No, it was something different. "And if I don't? What are you going to-" Ichigo grabbed her by the waist and lifted her easily, then set her on another barstool. "I told you to move." Ichigo smirked slightly before sitting in the stool next to the one she had been sitting in originally, which was now occupied by Renji. She sat silent for a second, she hadn't expected that. Well, she would simply have to continue on as if nothing was wrong.

"Geez, calm down. Why is that stool so different from any of the others anyway?" She asked as Ichigo slid her drink to her. Renji grinned, obviously calm now. "It's not, but I like it best and I always sit here." Yeah, she already knew that much, she had seen him sitting there a good fifteen times, sometimes with women, sometimes with Ichigo, sometimes alone...

But instead of voicing her thoughts she simply said, "Oh."

Renji looked, no, leered at her, looking like he appreciated what he saw. She certainly hoped so, because if not she was gonna have a hard time. He ordered a drink, as did Ichigo, then turned his attention to her. "I don't think I've seen you here before, what's your name?" She looked at him, smiled. "My name is Kimi, and yours is Renji, right? At least I think that's what..." She turned to Ichigo and looked at him questioningly. "Ichigo." He said. Again, she already knew who he was, and that he was at The Killer every night, drinking, partying, and having a good time. Too good a time.

"-I think that's what Ichigo called you." His grin turned into a smirk. "Yes, I'm Renji. So is tonight your first time, Kimi?" Rukia felt her stomach do the odd clenching thing again. "E-exscuse me?" "I asked is tonight your first time at The Killer?" Rukia felt her face heat up. So he didn't mean it like that..."Um, yes, yes it is. I felt like having some fun so I figured I would come here and let off a little steam." Shit, she was getting flustered. Ok, she had to calm down or else she would blow it. Ichigo glanced at her, gave her a quick scan. "Is that so?" Ichigo asked, standing. "Then would you like to dance?" Rukia froze. What was going on? He wasn't supposed to be interested, Renji was. But if she refused his offer her cover might be blown, and if she failed... She smiled and also stood, forcing her legs not to give out. "Yes, I would."

----------

The alley that the fire exit led out to was pitch black except for a puny light right beside the door. Kira couldn't tell how long it was, but from where he stood it looked endless. The stench was almost unbearable, and if he didn't know better it smelled a lot like...blood? His stomach lurched, trying to empty it's contents. If he decided to pursue his curiosity and found something he wasn't supposed to... He was about to walk back inside when he heard it. A woman, and it sounded like she was in pain. Could it be the girl in the red dress? What if she was in trouble? What if she was being...His heart thumped rapidly and every cell in his body told him to go back inside and act as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn't heard anything.

But...he couldn't just leave. He had to know what was going on, had to help the woman. He glanced at the door once more before quietly making his way down the alley, towards the sound. Another sound of pain, and this time he was sure it was a woman. It was closer this time too. He pressed his back to the hard red brick wall and slowly looked around the corner, holding his breath. Three figures stood in the shadows, one holding something that looked like...The hairs on the back of Kira's neck stood up straight. No, he couldn't have been... The figure tossed what he was holding away and it landed mere inches from Kira's feet.

He looked down and his stomach dropped. It was a woman, but not the one he had been following, and she was...His entire body started to tremble. They had killed her, he had just witnessed a murder and if they found him they would surely kill him too. He needed to leave, but his legs refused to move.

"Dammit, that tasted like absolute shit." "Shut up, Ikakku. At least you got to eat tonight. Aizen has been very generous, despite your constant idiocy." "Yeah right, Iba. As if you've done something right lately. You let that little bitch Orihime get away from you."

"You both need to shut the hell up. You're lucky he hasn't gotten rid of you!" The alleyway was silent for a second before they started speaking again. "Have you found it yet?" One of them sighed. "No, not yet. I've been looking everywhere but..."

"You know Urahara's onto us, right?" "Yeah, we need to work quickly." "Well, let's go back in and continue then, no sense in wasting time out here." A sense of dread washed over Kira when he heard their footsteps approaching. They were going to find him!

"Hold on a sec guys, you had better clean up this mess you've made. If somebody were to find these bodies," Bodies? As in, more than one? Kira felt sick. "-then we'd be in deep shit with Aizen. Now hurry up." A grunt escaped one of them and the woman next to Kira was dragged away. That's when Kira noticed her neck, and the two thin trails of blood running down it. What..?

"Hey, Hisagi, looks like someone decided to listen in on us." Kira looked up and realized that one of them was standing right next to him. Glaring at him. He was roughly shoved away and a man with black spiky hair scowled at Kira, standing only a few feet away. "So, I guess you heard everything huh? Well.." He approached Kira. "I guess we'll just have to deal with you." He reached forward and grabbed Kira's throat, but instead of snapping it, he pulled him closer, eyes burning with something powerful. "I'm sorry, but you shouldn't have been spying on us so.."

He slowly lowered his face and Kira instinctively punched him in the side of the head with strength he didn't even know he had. The man stumbled a bit, took a few steps backward and Kira took the opening and ran as fast as he could in the other direction. He heard footsteps thunder behind him and they only made him run faster, towards the door leading into the club. 'Please, let me make it! I don't want to die yet! Not here in this dingy alley! Please!' The footsteps were getting closer, proably only a few feet behind him. The door was fifteen feet. Ten, five, two...He burst through the door, but didn't stop running.

He ran into the packed dancefloor and looked around for Hinamori, but she wasn't anywhere in sight. 'Forget her,' He kept running, never slowing down. 'She doesn't know who they are and they don't know who she is, she'll be safe.' He gritted his teeth. 'I'm sorry Hinamori. If I die tonight I hope you live a long life full of good things.' 'Idiot!' His mind screamed back. 'You won't die if you lose them! Keep running! Hurry up and find somewhere to hide!'. The bathroom? No. The bar? He glanced at it and saw the girl with the black hair standing by it talking to a guy with orange hair. Shit, he couldn't stop. He could run back outside, but his gut told him not to. So his only option was the bathroom. He thought for a second before running into the ladies room. He was relieved to see it was empty and quickly got into one of the stalls. He could only pray they hadn't seen him go in.

He heard the door open, then footsteps. Cold sweat covered his entire body when the footsteps stopped right in front of the stall. They had seen him come in.

----------

Rukia was following Ichigo onto the dancefloor when a tall man with black hair and dark sunglasses stopped him and started speaking to him in hushed tones. Iba Testuzaemon. Ichigo nodded a couple of times and Iba was gone in a flash. Ichigo turned to her and offered an apolgetic look. "Sorry," He said as he motioned Renji over from the bar. "But something's come up. I'll see you later." With that said he strode over to Renji, talked to him for a second, then they both disappeared into the crowd. So something had happened, and it obviously didn't concern her, or else they wouldn't have let her go. She had to tell him about it.

She walked into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror, pressing a small button that was on the bracelet she was wearing on her right wrist. To anybody else the button would have simply looked like a fancy gem, but she knew better. A crackling noise came from the bracelet, then his voice. "Yes, Kimi? Did something happen with the assignment?" "No, nothing putting me in danger at least. Something has obviously happened though, the whole gang's in a panic over something." "Is that so? Well, do your best to find out what, but don't risk exposure."

"I won't, Urahara, you should know that." "I do Kimi, but you're just so cute sometimes that-" Rukia quickly pressed the button again and his voice instantly cut off. She sighed and was about to leave the bathroom when she noticed someone was in the stall behind her. Not only that, the shoes she saw weren't women's. Dammit. If it was one of them then she had to do something.

She could easily knock him out but then he would simply report what he had heard later and if she killed him then they would figure it out soon enough anyway. Her best bet would be to knock him out. She readied herself then kicked in the stall door. The blonde haired man staired back at her with wide eyes, looking terrified. "Who the hell are you?" She bit out. He backed up. "M-me? Who are you? Are you with those guys?" Those guys? He couldn't mean..." What do you mean 'Those guys'? WHo are you talking about?" "T-The ones...that were in the alley. They killed a woman and I heard them talking and then they were running after me and- and-.." Realization dawned on Rukia. So he was the reason they were in a panic, and if they found him, they would surely kill him. He could be useful later on.

Rukia stepped into the stall and held the door closed, the blonde stepped back again, looking worried. "Don't worry, I'm not with them. But I know who they are, and if you heard them talking they're going to want you dead." "Y-Yeah, I kind of figured that when they said they were going to deal with me." "Ok, we need to get you out of here without them noticing. Can you run?" he nodded. "Good, because if they see us you're going to have to haul ass or you'll be caught. Got it?" He nodded again. The door to the bathroom opened and somebody walked in.

Rukia motioned for the guy to get on the toilet and stood perfectly still, hoping they didn't notice that the door was broken. The footsteps stopped and somebody knocked on the stall door. "This one's occupied." Rukia called out, hoping she didn't sound as uneasy as she felt. "Have you seen a strange man come in here?" It sounded like Iba. "Strange man? No, I don't think anyone's come in since I got here." "...Ok, thanks." Footsteps then the door opening and closing. Rukia sighed in relief.

"So they really are chasing me.." The guy said from behind her. She turned and looked at him. "What's your name?" She asked.

He looked at her a second before answering. "Kira, what's yours?" "You can call me Kimi for now. But we have to get out of here and fast. Do you have a car?" Kira nodded and stood up. "Good, give me your keys. What model is it? He reluctantly handed over his keys before saying. "It's a black Altima." Rukia nodded and walked out of the stall. "Where is it parked?" "Close to the door, to the left." "Ok, when I say run, get your ass to the car as fast you possibly can, ok?" He nodded again. "Ok then," Rukia said as she gripped the keys tightly in one hand and something that looked like a small bottle in the other. "Let's go."