Sorry it's been so long, but I've been busy with work. Plus I'm moving soon. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

I don't own Bleach. Or it's characters.

Also, the little ooo's are just page breaks.

Chapter 3—First Partner's First Mission Part 2

Ichigo waited outside Byakuya's office, arms crossed over his chest. Rukia had gone in to give the report almost ten minutes ago. What was taking so long? Finally, the handle turned with a click and the door opened.

"Hey," Ichigo said, getting up off the wall. "How'd it go?"

"Fine," Rukia answered tersely. "He's glad we managed to get the knife away from Ichimaru and said that we might be a little closer to catching him."

"You don't sound fine."

"I'm just a little tired, that's all," Rukia mumbled, glaring at the floor. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay then..." Ichigo said, blinking in surprise. He looked back at Byakuya's door and could see the man through the window. He had a strange expression on his face as he finished organizing papers...he almost looked...disappointed. Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed together for a brief moment before he turned again and called after his partner.

"Hey! Hey, Kuchiki!"

She slowed her pace, but she didn't stop and Ichigo had to jog to catch up to her.

"Hey, what happened in there?" he asked as they walked. Rukia crossed her arms, not looking up at him.

"Nothing."

"Did he chew you out about this?"

"No."

"Listen, Ichimaru getting away wasn't your fault. It was—."

"He didn't yell at me."

"Rukia." Ichigo said sternly. They were in the parking garage now and he stopped her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It. Wasn't. Your. Fault. If anything, it was mine. I screwed up, not you, and he got away. If your brother told you off for it, I don't care who he is, I'll set him straight."

"Don't bother," she said with a small smile. "He didn't yell at me. I'm beating myself up. Ichimaru got away and even if it wasn't my fault, I shouldn't have let it happen."

Ichigo sighed and let her go. She started to head towards her car again and Ichigo raised his voice.

"He did say something though, didn't he?"

Rukia paused, not turning around. "...it's possible."

That was all she gave him, getting into her car and driving away.

oOoOo

It was nearly midnight by the time Ichigo pulled into the hotel he was staying at. He groggily punched the elevator button for the fourth floor and stood, his thoughts swirling over the day's events.

"He puts too much pressure on her," he muttered to no one in particular. The elevator dinged and he shuffled out, realizing just how tired he was. As soon as his door was open, he flopped face-first onto the bed. "I wonder if they're like that outside of work..."

oOoOo

Rukia sat up straight in her bed, not sure if her alarm or her dream had woken her up. She looked over at the clock. 3:24 AM.

The dream then. What was it again? She tried to remember, but the harder she thought, the faster it slipped away. Rukia sighed and fell back onto her pillow, however now that she was awake, she couldn't go back to sleep.

Thud

That was the front door... she thought, sitting up again. Byakuya? But what's he doing home so late? Rukia pulled the covers back and got up, deciding to go downstairs to greet her brother. Just before she reached her bedroom door, there was a shattering sound, like a bowl breaking. Byakuya wasn't clumsy enough to do that. She slowly back-tracked for her gun before silently opening the door. Voices floated up to her from the kitchen. Quietly padding down the carpeted stairs, Rukia held her gun in front of her. Two shadows slowly turned from vague blobs to the figures of people as her eyes adjusted. Making a split-second decision, Rukia lowered her gun, sneaking up behind one of them. Rukia rammed her gun into the back of his neck and he collapsed to the floor. The lights flicked on and she leveled her pistol at the other intruder. Light washed over the room to reveal a tall, blue-haired man standing calmly with his own gun aimed at Rukia's head. He laughed lightly and pulled the trigger, barely missing her left temple.

"Damn thing," he muttered, looking down at his gun. "Never shoots straight."

Before he could take aim again, Rukia quickly shot him in the calf, sending him sprawling to the floor. He screamed, clutching at his leg and she took a few steps closer, gun aimed at his head.

"Who are you?" she demanded. The man glared up at her, swearing through his gritted teeth. Without warning, he threw out his arm, knocking her legs out from under her. Her gun fired when she hit the ground, breaking a window. Rukia had shut her eyes as she was falling, bracing herself for the impact. When she opened them again, the man was standing and she was looking down the barrel of her own gun.

"You missed me," the man sneered. "Where's the knife?"

Rukia slowly got to her feet, hands in the air. "I'll show you."

"Hmph. You agents aren't as dumb as you look. Go on then," he said, jabbing the gun at her back. In a quick, fluid motion, Rukia turned and snatched the gun from him. He reacted just as quickly, punching her in the face before grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back with one hand and wrapping his other arm around her chest. The man squeezed tightly, starting to cut off the air. "You're so little. It's adorable that you thought you could fight me..."

He tightened his grip and Rukia felt something crack, but stifled the cry of pain that followed. She kicked backwards, surprising him enough to squirm free and didn't hesitate to fire at him. The bullet grazed his upper arm and he growled at her, ready to attack again.

"Stand down," commanded a voice from behind Rukia. Byakuya had his own pistol aimed at the man's head. Rukia relaxed a little, stepping back, next to her brother. The man, taking a glance at his unconscious partner and realizing he was beaten, raised his hands in surrender.

oOoOo

Something wet pressed up against Ichigo's face. He opened his eyes and saw the beige walls of his hotel room, but only out of one eye. The other was squished closed by the bed. He realized, sitting up quickly, that he'd been drooling in his sleep.

"Gross," he mumbled, wiping his face. He'd fallen asleep in his work clothes, his gun still strapped to his side. He stretched with a large yawn."What time is it?"

The clock showed 5:45 AM in dull red numbers. He had fifteen minutes to get to work. "Crap..."

Ichigo leaped out of bed, threw open his suitcase and quickly pulled on a clean shirt, sprinting down the stairs to the lobby. A concierge called after him as he dashed for the door.

"We have a free breakfast in the room just over there, sir, if you're hungry."

Ichigo paused for a second, his stomach growling at him. "Uh...yeah, yeah. I'll take something."

A minute later, he was shooting out the door, a piece of toast dangling from his mouth as he pulled his jacket on. He sped to headquarters, relieved there were no cops. Stumbling into Byakuya's office, he leaned forward on the desk.

"Sorry I'm late, I—oh." Byakuya wasn't there. Ichigo flopped back into the chair and let his head fall back, trying to catch his breath. A few minutes later the door opened and Byakuya entered, bags under his eyes. He stopped, a little surprised to see Ichigo.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked, sitting in his chair.

"Uh...Just waiting for the next mission," Ichigo lied. No reason for Byakuya to know he was late.

"I don't have anything for you right now. I'll call you when I do. For now, you can help Rukia interrogate someone."

"Oh, uh...okay. Right."

Ichigo left the room and headed down the hall, making his way into the large room. The walls were lined with doors, all leading to different hallways and offices. He paused, letting a few people walk by him.

"Where's the interrogation room again...?" he muttered to himself. Ichigo looked around the room for a minute or two before spotting Rukia across the room, leading a much taller, blue-haired man towards what must have been the interrogation room. "Hey! Kuchiki!"

Rukia stopped, turning to look at him. Ichigo paused as he noticed the large bandage on her left cheek. He jogged over to her and as he got closer he saw more. There was a large bruise forming underneath her left eye and a cut down the middle of her bottom lip.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked. She nodded at the handcuffed man in front of her.

"He did. But he was nothing I couldn't handle. He broke into my home last night and I dealt with it," she said as they walked. Ichigo couldn't help but notice that she was holding herself differently. He narrowed his eyes, watching the way she breathed shallow and fast so that her chest didn't rise or fall very much. Broken rib?

"Why did he break into your house?"

"That's what we're going to figure out," Rukia said, opening a door and leading the man into it. "Attach him to the table for me, will you?"

Ichigo nodded, undoing one of the man's handcuffs so that he could loop it through the small bar on the table. Taking the opportunity of a free hand, the man swung a fist at Ichigo's head, but Ichigo caught it and cuffed him again. The two sat in the chairs across from him, Ichigo slouching with his arms crossed, Rukia sitting straight, hands on the table, readying an electronic recorder.

"We'll start with your name," she said, placing the recorder in the middle of the table. The man smirked, sitting as far back in his chair as he could.

"Why don't you tell me your name so we can get a little more acquainted later?"

"Answer her question, smart ass," Ichigo snapped. The man just continued to smile.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. Don't forget it, you'll be hearing it all over."

Ichigo sat up a little. "Oh, yeah, I think I've heard of you. You're one of Ichimaru's lackeys right?"

Grimmjow lurched forward, ramming his fist on the table. "I'm no lackey. I'm just as good as any of them. He should be working for me," he grumbled, slouching back again.

"Is that why he sent you with a partner to steal the knife for him?" Rukia asked. Grimmjow's grin was replaced by a scowl and he glared at her.

"Watch what you say, Shorty. I could snap you in half easily. Hell, last night I almost did. Would've if your brother didn't have to save you. Anyway, I wasn't there for him. I want that knife for myself. They wouldn't know what to do with it. All Ichimaru's gonna do with it is sell it on the black market to some half wit. He's supposed to hand it over to Aizen. Who knows what he'll do?"

"So you were trying to steal the knife?"

"Damn right I was!" Grimmjow exclaimed proudly. Rukia smiled lightly and stopped the recorder. She stood up, tapping Ichigo on the shoulder to say he should do the same.

"Thank you, that's all we needed."

Grimmjow smiled right back and Ichigo looked at Rukia, a little confused. He followed her out of the room, leaving Grimmjow handcuffed to the table.

"We didn't have all the information," Ichigo started, "why did we stop?"

"Because someone else can deal with him and his friend. We have enough of a confession to at least arrest them. We'll get more out of him later," she replied, a little distracted. "I'm going to see my brother for the next mission. You're welcome to join me."

"He said he'd call me when he had one," Ichigo said, grabbing her shoulder. She flinched and he let go. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm just a little sore, that's all," she said irately. "And I'm sure he'll have something."

"Alright..." Ichigo said slowly. "I'll wait outside, then."

Ok, I honestly don't remember how to spell Grimmjow's last name, but my internet's being to stupid to google it. Anyway, I'm pretty sure this was longer than the last one. I'm moving here in a few days, so I'll update when I can. I also need to update another story on here... Anyway, read and review and stuff.