Hola bleachers~ :) Yah I know, the update on this story is terribly late and I sincerely apologize for that. Life is always busy and I just never had the time to complete the chapter. Another reason towards the tardiness of the update was that this is a fairly lengthy chapter. I think it's roughly the combination of two chapters of my writing.
I did choose "Love is Blindness" interpreted by Jack White. I do know that U2 are the geniuses behind this beautiful song but quite frankly, I love Jack White's version. There's this agony and deception towards the broken relationship Rangiku has with Gin and I believe that this song will most certainly allow the audience to understand the situation Rangiku will have to face in the future.
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter and who followed and favorited "Mafioso's Beloved Bullet." Thank you so much for the continued support 3
Alright I'll stop blabbering haha enjoy!
"Love is Blindness" - Jack White
One, two, three
Two, two, three
Love is blindness,
I don't wanna see
Won't you wrap the night
Around me
Oh, my heart
Love is blindness.
I'm in a parked car
On a crowded street,
And I see my love
Made complete.
The thread is ripping
The knot is slipping.
Love is blindness.
Love is clockworks,
And it's cold steel
Fingers too numb to feel
Squeeze the handle
Blow out the candle
Blindness
Love is blindness
I don't wanna see
Won't you wrap the night
Around me
Oh my love
Blindness
A little death
Without mourning
No call
No Warning
Baby, a dangerous idea...
Almost makes...sense
Love is drowning
In a deep well
All the secrets
And no body else to tell
Take the money
Why don't you honey
Blindness
Love is blindness,
I'm so sick of it,
I don't wanna see
Why don't you just take the night
And wrap it all around me, now
Oh my love
Blindness
Oh, I'm too numb to feel...
Blow out the candle.
Blindness...
"Yeah…well it was about time ya got me out of that shithole." Grimmjow mumbled under his breath.
Kaname titled his head to the escaped prisoner, "Is that how you respond to your superior?"
"What else am I supposed to fucking say?" Grimmjow calmly responded to the blind bastard. He knew what Kaname wanted him to say. He hated it. He hated referring his boss as that stupid name, "Should I remind you how it was your fault that I was caught."
The dark skinned man quickly exposed his gun to Grimmjow's face, his index finger ready to pull the trigger, "You already know what could happen if you don't respect our leader." Kaname tried to avoid that mistake which happened years ago, and thankfully, he was forgiven.
"Now, now, Tousen." The brown haired man raised his hand up, his palm facing his two men from stopping this nonsense, "We must understand that our Sexta was imprisoned for a while now. He must feel very exhausted."
"But –"
"Kaname, please withdraw your weapon. Remember we only use them when it's necessary."
The blind man scowled as he forcefully tucked his pistol behind his belt, his fingers still itching to throw a bullet on Grimmjow's head. He never understood why his boss assisted Grimmjow to escape from the authorities and still keep him as his Sexta. He was useless and almost never followed orders, "Yes… Lord Aizen."
"How was your time in jail?" Aizen's fingers wrapped around a tall glass half filled with wine. His intense brown eyes glanced at a serious Espada. A small smile graced his lips, finding the stiffness of Grimmjow's shoulders enjoyable to see. He knew the hatred his employee had about being captured by the DEA: it was a nightmare brought to life for the blue haired man.
Grimmjow's short azure eyebrows slightly lowered at his boss's comment. He didn't want to remember not even a second of that terrifying cold jail cell. He never got along with anyone and became too much of a conflict with the other inmates because of his hot headed attitude. Grimmjow shook his head, vibrant blue orbs eyeing the man who helped him escape, "Tsk." The muscular man ticked his tongue, lips tightening into a thin line, "It ain't even worth mentioning…"
Aizen lowly hummed, instantly dropping the conversation and shifting to a more important topic, "Well, I must let you know that during the time you were imprisoned, the business needed to proceed." He walked towards his mini bar, taking out a shorter glass with a couple cubes of ice, "Vodka?"
Grimmjow lazily shrugged, "Sure…"
"As I was saying; it has taken us over a year to produce our merchandise but the day has come, Grimmjow." Aizen brought the wine glass near his lips, "We will be having one of the largest deliveries in fourteen days and I need you to have the warehouse ready for the shipping by then."
"What time did they say?" The spiked haired man grabbed his drink, "I'm guessing it's not the same warehouse."
"Of course not. After your capture, I had to search for a more hidden warehouse: one where the authorities will have a hard time looking for."
Sōsuke reaches in his suit, exposing a folded piece of paper, "Here; that's the address. I was never informed at what time but call that phone number and ask."
Grimmjow shortly nodded, accepting the mission. His eyes stared at the address knowing exactly where the warehouse was located at, "Alright. I'll gather my Fracción to arrange everything."
The handsome drug Lord walked back to his chair, leaning his back on the cushioned fabric, "I hope you don't fail me, Sexta."
4:26 P.M. – NYPD's Conference Room
The olive skinned detective stood there, with his hands behind his back. Strong chin slightly tilted up, wide shoulders straightened, hazel eyes glaring at the emotionless image of their fugitive's mugshot displayed on the board: he was responsible for their officers' deaths. His jaw tensed at the flashback of seeing his mens' lifeless bodies covered in blood. Amagai's eyebrows narrowed with anger, 'That son of a bitch is going to pay for everything he's done…'
His thoughts then transitioned to his beautiful DEA partner, wondering where she could be at and remembering the meeting they were supposed to have. They agreed to meet up at four o'clock sharp and Izuru cancelled, asking for the rest of the day off… but seems like he's gonna be working alone tonight.
His door suddenly swung wide open, spotting a familiar rushed young woman with a large folder, "Rangiku! I'm glad you showed up." He crossed his arms, leaning his body weight on a wall, "Thought you were gonna ditch our meeting for a date or something," Titling his head towards the agent.
A small smile curved her full lips, finding his sense of humor quite pleasing to listen to once in a while; especially in a career like theirs, "Sorry Detective Amagai. I know I'm late but I've got something that will definitely interest you."
He took a seat next to her, watching her flip through multiple pages, finally taking out one specific sheet and handing it to the detective, "I managed to get my hands on the complete file when Grimmjow was captured 3 years ago."
His golden brown eyes looked up at Matsumoto and back at the file. He carefully read all of the important details, as he was listening to the strawberry blonde officer, "Grimmjow was not working alone when the DEA arrested him and it wasn't just marijuana what he was distributing – it was also cocaine."
Amagai's fingers rested on his forehead, attempting to release part of his stress, "I knew there was something about him that was out of the picture." He muttered under his breath.
Rangiku scooted her chair closer to her partner, taking out another page from the pale yellow folder, pointing her finger to certain information that she found important for their case, "Luppi Antenor." She stated out loud.
"Who's this guy?"
She crossed her long legs, leaning her back against the chair, "The day we found Grimmjow about to commit homicide, Mr. Antenor was the victim."
They both observed the only picture Rangiku was able to get of Luppi, but out of luck, she was able to get a very clear image of the youthful man, "Well, he doesn't look too much of a victim. This Luppi guy might be the person we need to help us capture Grimmjow."
Shūsuke placed his thumb under his jaw along with his curled index finger over his chin. A small smirk grew on the attractive investigator, "You managed to get our first suspect in less than 48 hours. I've got to admit – I'm impressed."
Rangiku's shoulders lightly shook at her laugh, "I try my best." It wasn't easy getting that piece of information, since it wasn't her mission but Matsumoto had a few tricks up her sleeve.
They both allowed the silence fill their air, only listening to the mumbling sounds of police officers talking outside of the office and the constant ringing of telephones across the hallways, "Hey… I know I sound stubborn but do you think we can still have that partner of yours involved with this case?"
The busty woman crossed her arms, trying to hide the discomfort in her face, "…I-I don't think that'll be possible, Amagai-san. He's not…really here …" Her big sky blue eyes lowered to the ground, wishing she could stop being so obvious with her lies. Sometimes she wondered how she successfully accomplished her undercover missions.
"Can't you at least ask him? I'm positive we'll capture our target faster if we include him into the case!"
Rangiku suddenly stood up, facing the board with Grimmjow's mugshot. Her eyes tried to avoid those few tears accumulating over her sparkling sapphires, "He just can't, okay?!" Her chin softly trembled, swallowing those familiar agonizing cries she had last night at her hotel room.
Just with the mention of that man sent a cold shiver up her spine.
The olive peached skinned man also stood up, taking a few steps closer to the agent. He couldn't understand why the hell she didn't want him in the mission? "Why do always try to ignore your co-agent, huh? It's like your trying to avoid him."
There had to be a considerable reason towards why she was fully avoiding this mysterious DEA agent.
The long wavy haired girl pursed her plump lips together, repeating to herself to stay strong – to not demonstrate weakness… but it was him that made her feel like this. It was him that made her tears drain out of her eyes; he was the one who caused all of those cries. She was sick of listening to Amagai always bugging her about that man when she only wanted to live her life without the mention of his existence. Out of frustration, the curvy federal officer cocked her head, fully facing the county detective, "Because he's dead!" She loudly responded to his stupid question.
Big snowy blue eyes trembled with hidden emotions; emotions that refused to spill yet it was quite visible how much pain she was storing in her heart. She stared at him with anger, but Rangiku wasn't angry at him for asking, she was angry at herself for showing feebleness; especially in front of a man. But for some odd reason – with Shūsuke – it was okay. There was no motive towards why she easily demonstrated her inner sadness to a complete stranger. Although she tried her best to smother her gloom with angry eyes, she knew Amagai was a clever man.
He didn't need to see tears to understand how painful it was for Rangiku to tell him a past comrade had battled death. Amagai could see right through those dense blue-gray eyes, trying to cover up her true feelings. They sparkled with a mysterious darkened past. There was so much to this woman and with every minute that passed by, he grew curious.
His unique hazel coffee orbs lowered, blankly staring at the dull ground. Both of them kept their silence lingering around their atmosphere, waiting for one another to speak up. A deep breath flew out of Shūsuke's lips, his fingers running across his raven locks, "…Rangiku, I apologize for insisting so much…" His legs made their way towards the DEA agent, seeing her conservative body language as she crossed her arms under her chest with upset pupils emptily staring at the board. He rubbed the back of his neck, mentally slapping himself because he was terrible at comforting others, "…I-I had no idea about him being –"
The busty woman shook her head, lifting her eyes to look at her new colleague, "No, no I should be the one apologizing. You had no idea about Gin and I shouldn't have avoided the topic…" Rangiku walked closer to their table, organizing the files she had gotten from DEA Headquarters, "…But now that you know about him, can we please not speak of this again?"
"Okay…" 'Tell her something you dumbass! Can't you see that you were smart enough to pick a touchy subject for her?!' His conscious was right but what the hell could he say to make her feel better? He slumps his tired shoulders, thinking of something good enough to say. His thoughts were interrupted as he looked at her hurriedly gathering all of her belongings, "…You're leaving already?"
Matsumoto hung her purse over her shoulder, one arm holding the large file, "I'm sorry Detective Amagai, I think it'd be best if I leave." This conversation was getting too personal for her. Besides, he's just a stranger who already knows too much and Rangiku wasn't going to allow anyone to reveal that part of her past. She promised herself and to Gin that she'd look for a brighter future and never look back at what had already happened.
Without a second thought, the ebony haired man gripped onto Matsumoto's arm before allowing her to walk out of that door, "Wait…" Where are those goddamn words he was organizing in his head a few moments ago? If they were going to continue working together, he wanted to work tremendously with his comrades, especially with his federal affiliates.
He leveled his chestnut hazel eyes to Rangiku's vivacious sky blue ones, "…You see – well, I wouldn't want to…" Shit, he really was gruesomely awful with comforting others.
Rangiku didn't snag her arm back, only looking at the mental conflict Amagai was having. His head finally shifted closer, still therapizing himself before blurting out one of his casual stupidities, "…I'll be honest with you, I'm not very good at reacting to these things." The busty agent slightly raised her eyebrows, finding it quite obvious about that statement; she only kept quiet, listening to each vocal that slip out of his lips, "…We may not know each other but I want you to know that if you want , we could always talk about anything over coffee."
The handsome investigator's face faintly reddened at his last comment, "– Not that I'm asking you out on a date..! Well it's not that I wouldn't go on a date with you; I'm sure you're a wonderful –"
A short feminine laughter interrupted Shūsuke's blabbering, placing her hand on his brad shoulder. His head leveled to hers; glancing at that smile he had seen not too long ago, "Thank you, Shūsuke … I know it's difficult to talk about this. Our comrades have passed away for the safety and integrity of our nation and it's up to us to finish their deed."
Amagai slightly lifted a corner of his lips, creating a faint smile, "Your welcome…" He didn't know why, but he liked the thought of someday, becoming friends with Agent Matsumoto. They didn't know each other too well but all he knew was that they had one thing in common: they craved for justice.
Manhattan, N.Y. – 9:38 P.M.
There weren't too many people out at this hour. All he could listen to was the sound of his shoes clacking against the ground, the sound of his short takes of cold breath, and a few distant cars passing by him. Although his eyes felt suspicious at every person he'd spot walking by.
Luppi walked passed by his leader's office, overhearing certain familiar voices that mumbled behind those large double doors. 'They're still talking?' He asked himself.
"I wanted to mention something about that faggot you got as your Sexta."
One of his eyebrows rose, curious to hear what Grimmjow had to say about him. The slender young man took a few closer footsteps to the door, carefully listening to every detail that rumbled out of that door, "Luppi? What about him?" The fair skinned man heard Aizen-sama's voice now, imagining him sipping on his usual tea as he heard the sound of the elegant cup thump on a table.
"Because of him, I was thrown into jail and he took my position as the Sexta. Don't be surprised if you end up seeing that idiot dead."
A small chuckle peeked out of the office's doors, hearing a small sigh from Aizen, "Do what you must. I carry no interest for him. Although he was quite an interesting young man."
Luppi tucked in his hands in his pockets, nervous black pupils shifting from left to right. He was frightened of spotting Grimmjow's face near him; he was afraid of dying in the hands of that blue haired freak. He recalled not too long ago how Grimmjow was going to beat him up until death began to call for Luppi. He's been wanting Luppi dead ever since the DEA had arrested him and Grimmjow wasn't going to rest until he'd see the purpled-eyed man's heart stop beating, "He wants to kill me… he wants to fucking kill me…" His inner thoughts roamed around his head.
After he heard their conversation, he needed to escape Long Island. There has to be a way out of these gruesome cities. Perhaps move out of the country, change his identity, and find a new job. There was no way he was going to be anywhere near that murderer; Grimmjow loved to see the people he mostly despised suffer in his presence. His eyebrows lowered at the thought of Lord Aizen: he never kept his word. Aizen didn't care about his men; he only cared about his power and money that evolved around him.
Luppi cocked his head to the side, his big nervous eyes shaking with fear. There was definitely somebody in that darkened alley. His arm went behind his back, fingers gripping onto a pistol hidden behind hid jacket, "Who's there?" He loudly calls out.
Two dark figures expose themselves into the pale yellow street lights. It was a man and a woman, both well-dressed citizens with what seemed to be golden badges tucked on their belts, "Let me guess… cops?" Antenor still kept his guard, with his fingers still gripping onto his gun behind his back.
The woman had a voluptuous hour glass figure with long strawberry blonde hair, accompanied with a tall muscular dark haired man. Those kinds of people sickened him; they were only puppets who followed rules from ignorant superior officers that loved to blame innocent people for the corruption that already existed in this world.
Amagai and Rangiku demonstrated their badges to the paranoid suspect, "DEA and NYPD… Luppi is your name, right?" Shūsuke asked as he noticed Luppi taking a few steps back, "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. We just want you to join us for a quick interview."
Shaky lavender eyes nervously tremor at the sight of the authority. He rapidly swings his arm towards Rangiku and Amagai, attempting to intimidate them with the only weapon that could possibly protect his rights, "How do I know you're not just tricking me?"
Both officers raised their palms to their defense, as Matsumoto proceeded to take a couple of steps towards their first suspect, until Luppi's nervous pistol pointed directly to the apricot haired beauty, "Don't even think about coming any closer, doll face! Unless you wanna end you're life right now."
"Look Luppi, we're not armed at all; see..." Luppi glanced at both of their belts empty. Huh, they really don't have anything, except for their two way radio devices and badges. He looked back at the busty agent, his finger still placed on the trigger, "…We just want to talk to you about a situation that we have going on right now. Detective Amagai and I believe that you're the only person that can help us out."
10:51 P.M. – NYPD Interrogation Room
The Arrancar's head shifted everywhere, catching every single detail that the small room offered. There wasn't too much: one single lamp dangling on the center of the table, a fairly large window completely facing the precautious man, and a couple of chairs arranged right in front of him. The sound of the single door opening caught his attention, spotting that DEA agent and the detective walking towards their seats. He noticed them carrying these yellow folders, resting them on the surface of the steel table.
"Can we please get this over with already? I've been waiting here for almost an hour. What the hell took you guys so long?!"
"We apologize for that Mr. Antenor, but we had a hard time getting permission to proceed with this interview with our superiors." Matsumoto opened the folder, flipping a few pages for the image that she was able to borrow from DEA Headquarters. She slid the picture across the table, allowing their suspect to thoroughly observe, "Do you know this man?"
Amagai and Rangiku could see by the way his lilac colored eyes narrowed at the sight of their fugitive. Just the way his body tried to hide that faint shiver of fear or the way his jaw tensed at only the image of their escaped prisoner, "…Well, do you or do you not recognize this man?"
His big eyes leveled to the two investigators, keeping the silence to himself, "…N-No, I've never seen him in my life…" He muttered under his tongue.
Rangiku arched one of her long eyebrows, immediately noticing the lies he was spilling out of his mouth. It was very clear to her that he knew who the dangerous man was by the way he stared at the mugshot, "…Luppi, it doesn't favor you to lie." She said with a more stern serious tone of voice echoing within those four walls.
"We know you work with Grimmjow. But there's far more than just marijuana and cocaine, isn't there?" Amagai leaned in, resting his elbows on the table with firm toffee orbs that would catch every physical hint on Luppi, signaling that their suspicions were absolutely true.
"I don't know who that man is, okay?! There, I answered the million-dollar question: now can I leave?"
"Listen… we've got a very promising offer that you would perhaps be interested in." Rangiku glanced at Shūsuke, seeing his nod for approval to her future words, "…I understand that confessing about this is difficult but we're here to help."
The curvy woman took a deep breath before proceeding, praying that this will work for the best, "We've got two options for you Mr. Antenor; one: you cooperate with the investigation, tell us all you know about Grimmjow and there will be no charges to your name…"
"…Or two: you can keep quiet and protect whoever that man is paying you thousands of dollars and sentenced to jail for life." The raven messy haired man crossed his arms, now relaxing his back against his chair, "Your choice, kid."
Luppi lowered his head, eyes now blankly staring to the steel-like table. Various thoughts and voices rushed in his head, his slim hands creating fists of frustration.
Grghh! Gah! Gugh!
Constant violent punches and agonizing pleads were the only things that could be heard.
"Grimmjow you bastard..!" Luppi could barely talk with his dark blood interfering with his ability to speak, "S-Stop…" The muscular man roughly pushed him to against a wall, Luppi's weak body not able to contain the large amount of unexplainable pain that ran down his feeble fibers. He was positive that he was going to die like this; he couldn't feel himself breathe anymore.
"Shut the fuck up!" He felt his cold large hands wrapping around his neck, already tightening the circulation of Luppi's veins, "I've waited so long to see you die…" He could hear that dark enthusiast laughter ringing so close to his ears.
He remembered how brutally Grimmjow was going to kill him 3 years ago until that suited man came in and restricted that monster with handcuffs. A large frown drew across his face, "…Well?" He heard Rangiku interrupt that gruesome flashback, still allowing silence linger in the room.
Do what you must. I carry no interest for him.
Luppi gulped the bitterness at the sound of Lord Aizen's voice in his head. A profound scowl overcame his emotions, recalling his majesty's exact words earlier today. All those fucking years following orders, obeying to his every rule, gifting him with all of his trust, just so untrustworthiness would wait for Luppi at the end of the road.
Rangiku and Amagai stood up, both looking at a conflicted young man, "Luppi, we've got a couple more things to complete by the end of tonight. We can wait for your decision but the choice must be taken before sunrise. Just please remember that not only will you be discharged from prison but you'll also be part of the witness protection program; we will protect you from anything." Rangiku wished to hear something from him but not even a push of stored breath did he want to release.
The wavy haired beauty felt the detective's hand on her shoulder, turning her head towards Amagai, "Rangiku, I think it'd be best if we give him some time to think about this."
The youthful Arrancar only kept quiet, his eyes still glued to the table, yet he could see both crime partners departing from the interrogation room.
2 Weeks Later: 12:05 A.M. – Albany
Out of all nights, this one felt oddly chilly. A strange breeze was depicted during the ride towards the city of Albany with a sky filled of dull stars. Rangiku's sight skimmed through the long van, looking at each brave individual that was assigned to join this dangerous mission. Her large sapphire hues landed on Izuru with his pale eyelids lowering to the ground. She observed how he locked his fingers together, trying to contain his nervousness from spilling out of his body. He's such a bright young man, recalling how he confessed to her that one of his dreams was to one day become a DEA agent as well. A soft smile graced her full lips, realizing how quickly she's grown in her career. Not too long ago, she sounded just the same as Izuru, aspiring to become one of the country's best agents and now look at her. Rangiku had faith that Kira would soon enough join her as another co-agent. There was so much to this rookie; she only hoped NYPD could see his intelligence.
Then there was Shūsuke… his face held a cold-stone look, wondering if he had any fears of facing these deadly criminals. Despite the few weeks she's gotten to know her new partner, she admired his dedication towards the safety of the city. How committed he really was with his work and spotting him in his office in the middle of the night, researching for every single important detail that he could find. Rangiku greatly respected officers like him.
Her eyes wouldn't pull away from the handsome investigator, genuinely concerned about his safety. She was afraid of losing another comrade in the hands of those sickly ignorant criminals that contaminated the innocent lives with drugs. They only kill whoever interferes with their selfish ambitious, "…Are you okay?" His voice interrupted her thoughts.
Rangiku straightened her shoulders, giving him a small smile with a short nod, "Yeah, I'm fine…" She looked down to her black leather boots, until she felt a comforting hand on her forearm.
Sky blue orbs met with sandy brown ones, giving her a faint sincere smile, "Everything's going to be alright. We're definitely going to capture Grimmjow tonight: you'll see." His encouraging voice was the only thing her ears wanted to devour. She needed that positive reinforcement, hoping that his words will come true.
"I hope you're right…" Her eyebrows narrowed, looking back at her long flat boots, "For some reason, I've grown scared that we might lose one of our comrades…" She quietly confessed about her worries, wondering if any of her back up police officers heard her. Rangiku was one of the leaders of this mission and she didn't want to expose any sort of apprehension in front of every single soul that wore a bullet proof vest.
"Don't think like that. We brought most of your best officers to help with the mission. Everything's gonna turn out alright." Shūsuke was right; they had one of the best most skilled armed men of the city, there shouldn't be a reason why she'd doubt this mission's future success. Besides, this isn't the first time she's been sent to capture another drug dealer.
"Rangiku-san, looks like we're here…" Rangiku turned around, following the voice that was right beside her: Izuru stared out the window, seeing a fairly large elegant warehouse. Its structure seemed strange for its lonely location.
All of the officers stepped out of the police van, as Rangiku lightly shook her head with disapproval, "This is the place?" She asks out loud. There was something about the warehouse that seemed quite cynical. This couldn't be the place that Luppi had confessed about.
From what I know, there's going to be a large shipment in about 2 weeks at Albany. I overheard Grimmjow talking about this with the group of guys he's in charge of.
She remembered that same night they had captured Luppi, he agreed to tell them everything he knew about Grimmjow. The only condition he proposed was to be provided with the witness protection program.
The messy raven haired man stood beside the busty agent, crossing his arms over his chest, "That's what Luppi said. I do suggest us being twice as careful with this mission. Remember; we did negotiate with a criminal. All of this could be a trap."
"I'm aware of that. That's why I requested more police officers to join us. We'll have the entire area surrounded. Shūsuke , you take group A towards the southern area," Rangiku shifts her head to the side, "Izuru, you'll take group C and head east, and I'll go search the west side of the warehouse. We already got the northern part blocked, so no one can escape."
"Wait, you're not telling us you're going alone, are you?" Izuru stepped closer to Rangiku with concerned deep blue eyes.
"Someone has to, Izuru. Let's just hope nothing too serious occurs." She noticed the young man's sharp eyebrows narrowing with distressing fear for the agent. He was very much troubled about her safety. Her hand rested on his shoulder, giving him an assuring smile, "Everything will be okay, trust me."
Inside the Warehouse
Grimmjow leaned his back against his chair, his lips surrounding a cigarette, inhaling the strong tobacco smoke. His beady blue eyes glanced to his side, spotting his Fracción stacking pack after pack of Aizen's merchandise, "Sir, we're conscious about our time frame but I don't think we'll be finishing up by the end of tonight. The shipment arrived a tad late and it'll take us a few more hours to unload."
The handsome spiked haired man quickly stood up, "Aizen left clear instructions and if you don't start movin' your lazy asses," The Sexta's fingers grazed the grip panel of his gun, still tucked in his belt, "I'll personally introduce you to a friend I have…"
The blonde young man silently gulped his fear for Grimmjow, taking a few steps back to his working zone, "Y-Yes Sir…"
"Keep on workin' on the stock, I'm gonna step out for a bit." He tilted his chin up, pushing the white smoke away from his lips, allowing the light swirls of smoke integrate with the air.
Fingers tightly secured around the gun, her back pressed against the wall trying to keep herself quiet. Her blue eyes peeked into the next hall, seeing everything clear. Rangiku quickly proceeds, taking rapid discreet footsteps until reaching the next corner of her own security.
She stays still, not a single puff of breath to be released, as a couple of nicely dressed guards pass by her darkened corner. Her head gradually ganders out into the hallway, observing the men's shadows abandoning her mission area.
A deep relieved breath extracted from her lips, tense shoulders finally slumping from her enemies. Matsumoto points her weapon in the air, lowering a bit at the sound of her ear piece signaling contact. Her other hand reached out to her radio, fingers gripping on to her communicator, "Agent Matsumoto…"
"Rangiku! Are you doing alright on your own?" The voice of a familiar young man made the strawberry blonde woman smile; he was worried.
"I'm fine, Izuru. What about you and your group? Any injured men?"
"No. I've been attempting to have brief contact with Detective Amagai but the radio connections has been lacking. I only hope nothing happened to him."
Rangiku noticed the troublesome tone of voice Kira was using, quickly growing concerned for the handsome raven haired officer, "Izuru, please! I'm sure he's doing alright too. Remember he's got a whole group of cops behind him." She gulped all of her anxieties, thinking that someone in this group had to keep their head strong.
"I can't really tell you where I'm at…" She cocks her head out into the hallway, as blue orbs caught every blow of mysterious wind that surrounded her. Seemed like the area was still safe and clear, "…but I'm positive that I've gotten closer to Grimmjow Jagerjaquez. I can already feel the close proximity of that man."
A stressful sigh messaged through Rangiku's radio, "I still don't agree with this plan. You need someone with you. Did you forget how dangerous Grimmjow is?"
"I'll be fine. Trust me; he's not the first fugitive I've captured." Her eyes darted at the manly figure passing by the hallway. The same rush of cold dry air of that man gave her startled shudders at the intimidating atmosphere he foreshadowed, "…I've gotta go, Izuru."
Rangiku's grip secured on her gun; a serenating breath traveled carefully through her lungs, calmly exhaling all of her fears. She lifted her eyelids, as big determined sapphire eyes followed the sight of her mission, 'Alright Rangiku, here you go…'
Light ghosted footsteps are what she attempted to keep in mind. Usually she was very skilled with this task but Grimmjow seemed like a very cunning man – in fact a little too cunning. One thing she learned as a DEA agent was to never underestimate the enemy. They were definitely bright people but wrongfully utilize that intellectuality to destroy themselves and the world's virtue.
Her back pressed firmly against a wall, all fingers still tightened onto her handgun. Deep adrenaline takes of breath made her busty chest uncontrollably move up and down, as rapid pants soared through her full lips, "Damn…" She cursed at herself. Grimmjow could've spotted her if she didn't go into hideout on time. He's suspicious of some peculiar organized movement in the warehouse – that Rangiku was positive of. But that didn't mean this mission could already be considered failed: her target was still out in the loose. Her head peered out again, still seeing circulation of people in the halls. She glanced at a certain door that the muscular spiked haired man had entered.
The armed woman flinched at the sense of a hand over her nervous shoulder. Matsumoto quickly turned around, her weapon now facing this unknown person. She titled her head, trying to observe the stranger's identity in this darkened area, "Don't try anything funny…" She lowly commanded.
"…Whoa there." A few footsteps advanced towards startled federal agent. The limited dim lighting that they barely had exposed a familiar raven haired detective, surrendering to Rangiku's threatening defense.
The strawberry blonde agent relaxed her shoulder blades, withdrawing her handgun from accidentally injuring one of her comrades, "What the hell are you doing here?!" She loudly whispered, "I could've easily thrown a bullet at you!"
He stepped closer to the angered woman, strong hazel-brown eyes glaring at his colleague, "I couldn't allow you to go alone, Rangiku. Can't you see it's too dangerous for you?!"
The busty officer placed her hand her hip, rolling her eyes to the same speech she's heard from multiple men she's been paired up with, "I've done this thousands of times, Detective. I don't see what the problem is."
The tanned man crossed his arms, narrowing his dark eyebrows, his lips pursed with frustration, "The problem is that I'm not allowing any officer alone in any mission."
Matsumoto impatiently ran her fingers between her thick apricot colored locks, wondering how the hell could she get this guy off her back, "I think it'd be best for everyone if you return to lead your group; I can handle this alone."
Before she could even depart from her hideout, Rangiku felt a tug on her forearm, cocking her head to the stubborn investigator. He just won't give up, will he? Did he forget that she's one of the country's best federal agents? That she's prepared to take any sort of attack from their enemy? Must she remind him that Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was her fugitive in the first place?
"Commissioner Ukitake caught up with the group and ordered me to search for you."
'Oh perfect.' Her conscious decided to take part of this situation. Rangiku mildly gritted her teeth with irritation, attempting to not give away her dislike to the change of plans. God damn it, no mission could ever go as calculated. And it's not that she didn't appreciate partnering up with Amagai, it's just that there are certain tasks that she preferred to perform individually.
She took another therapizing breath to control all of the stress she was bottling up in her lungs, extracting every run of air from her nostrils. If it wasn't for Commissioner Ukitake, the curvy agent would've immediately sent her partner back to his original squad, "… I just spotted Grimmjow enter that door over there. It seems like almost no one enters that room, so it should be an important zone of the warehouse. I'll enter and search the area while you guard the entrance."
She instantly saw Amagai's mouth half way opened, ready to argue about leaving her alone. Her hand airing right in front of the precautious man, signaling him to not even say what he was thinking; Rangiku didn't have time to dispute, "It's far better to have someone guard the entrance, Amagai-san. They cannot have open targets, especially if we're in their territory."
Matsumoto could tell how much he didn't agree with her strategy. The way his frown grew and his shoulders stiffened at the thought of all the possibilities Rangku had of hurting herself; he just didn't want to see her get wounded – yet he trusted the golden red haired beauty, "…Fine." He muttered under his breath.
Her head tilted to the side, observing the low consistency of the hallway traffic. Sapphire eyes shifted from left to right, feeling the confidence on advancing with the operation. Both officers quickly moved across the hallway, backs pressing against the nearest wall, and fingers firmly grasping onto their weapon.
"Alright…" Amagai saw his partner checking the load on her gun, preparing herself for any possible danger hazard that could occur, "I'll enter and search for the fugitive. You'll stay here and guard the door."
The olive skinned man shook his head out of disapproval, hazel brown eyes glancing at Rangiku, "You've got to be kidding me," A low sarcastic chuckle was the only way to respond to Rangiku's risky plan. For some reason, she loved making her life more difficult than it already is, "You going in there without any sort of company or backup would only demonstrate a weakened surrounding and they'll only feel more confident about winning this war."
"And that's exactly what I want them to believe; let them have their fun." Matsumoto took a breath before proceeding with their task. Without taking another look at her partner, she called out his name, "Detective Amagai…"
….No response… Rangiku knew he was angry at the plan she had armed, but she's done it thousands of times and he had no other choice but to believe in her. This really wasn't the right time to be giving her the silent treatment, "I'll signal you in once I capture Grimmjow."
The front door was oddly opened, her forearm slowly pushing the door to its exposure, hearing nothing but the silence tightening the room's heavy atmosphere. The gun still in Rangiku's defense, she was more than ready to take action and attack any enemy who dared to interfere. Every single careful footstep was fully calculated, every intake of inhalation was strictly limited, and every nervous blink of eye was illegal to Agent Matsumoto. One wrong move and she could be a dead girl.
The area was too quiet for her taste; Rangiku didn't like it one bit. She smoothly shifted to her left, her long eyebrows narrowing at such a nauseating sight.
There he was.
It was the same spiked up bright blue mane that reflected quite similar on the mug shots the DEA was able to provide for her. It was the identical strong muscular stature that was opinionated with the witness Detective Amagai and Rangiku were able to interrogate.
Matsumoto slightly raised her weapon a bit more, leveling to his height. All fingers completely secured on the firearm, observing how calmly yet lazily he shifted his head to the side, eyeing the light red head agent, "Drop the packed cocaine and put your hands behind your head." Her demanding low tone of voice only made the handsome fugitive snicker with his cigarette hanging out of his lips.
…What the fuck was he laughing at? Wary orbs took in every detail of this man's face. She wanted to remember Grimmjow's every centimeter of his troubling façade, "And what's so funny?" She coldly asked.
Ignoring her question, Grimmjow smoothly approached the beautiful agent, now a couple feet of a distance. Her eyes were able to observe every skin particle that fused into what this ghastly human being had formed into. Because of the participation of this man in the drug trafficking business, thousands of citizens' lives were destroyed and even terminated.
His fingers flicked the worn out cigarette to the ground, smashing the tobacco with the tip of his shoe, "Looks like you finally got me." A fake sigh of surrender flew out of his mouth; beady eyes stared down at the smashed cubeb and looking back at Rangiku, "I wouldn't point that thing at me if I were you."
"I said put your hands behind your head, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez!" She was getting impatient with this guy. It irritated her on how he wasn't viewing her as a threat of authority.
The blue haired escaped criminal humphs at the confidence this woman had. Rangiku saw an instant horrifying toothy grin from this man, only making her feel a bit uneasy with the sound of that maniac devilish laugh that brutally echoed in her ears, "You women think that anything you fucking say goes." He lightly shakes his head, "I ain't going back to that shitty cell…"
A small smirk curved on her full lips, wondering if he had any idea of NYPD completely surrounding the area, "Sorry for being a letdown but you're coming with me either way, handsome."
"You're a stubborn bitch aren't you?"
Rangiku felt her entire body completely freeze at the sense of a cold pistol softly pressing under her jaw. She could feel all of her blood drain to her feet, numbness crawling to the tip of her fingers. The DEA agent couldn't believe that this was happening to her.
She got caught.
She instantly worried about Amagai, knowing he was alone guarding the door, 'God damn it…' Rangiku silently scolded herself for endangering he partner like this, 'This is my entire fault…" The curvy federal officer scowled at Grimmjow, seeing that stupid cocky smirk flashing across his face. She couldn't believe that she'd allow Grimmjow distract her to let some other bastard capture her instead from behind.
Agent Matsumoto still had no idea who the hell had her under his control with that pistol still near her neck pulse. Her heart couldn't stop beating with utter anxiety, only to feel his breath so near her ear. His breath felt wickedly warm yet strangely comforting. Rangiku feared of an abduction or an instant shot from this man, knowing that he had her life practically in his hands.
Her eyes widened at the sound of this man's beautiful voice caressing so close to her ear, only making her tenderly gasp to such familiar vocals rumbling near her back, "Now Grimmjow, where are yer manners. Ya shouldn't be treatin' women like that."
Welp! Guess who finally made his first appearance?! X)
I hope you guys enjoyed today's chapter and - as always - had a blast writing it. It was so much fun and I hope you guys are liking it so far. I think that this is very different from many ginran AU stories. I honestly haven't seen anything like this in and I do believe that this AU is a perfect fit for the forbidden love that Gin and Rangiku do have in Bleach.
There will be so much to this story as we go on with it. There will be background stories, many more characters to introduce, more and more conflicts that our protagonists will face. I do hope to see you guys on the rest of this journey with me. :)
Please leave your beautiful reviews and let me know what you think of this second chapter! Thank you everyone~
~Sephire
Chapter 1 Review Responses
Ichihime94: Interesting story, can't wait to read it! I misse Gin, but I'm sure he will make a grand entrance soon enough!
- Thank you Bren! I don't think that we can live without Gin haha that's why I have to write fanfiction lol Kubo won't even give us a flashback of him like come on! Gin's one of his popular characters!
Noraye92: Yayyy, new story. Good old fashioned crime drama. Gotta respect the classics.
- haha yup! I haven't seen any ginran fanfic like this one so hopefully the mafia like crime drama works out! Thanks for the review!
NicciWolf: Quite like this. Hope you continue
- Thanks! Glad you're liking it so far ^-^ This is a different AU from other ginran fanfics so I hope you guys like the plot and everything. Thank you for the review! :3
