A/N: Soooo sorry it took me so long to post this chapter! It didn't really turn out as well as I'd like...but I felt bad for not having posted. So here you go! Let me know what you all think! ^^

~Watched~

Running a hand through his orange hair, the Keeper let out a low whistle. The scene before him looked like something straight out of those horror movies he used to watch as a kid. The side of the house looked normal enough but the entire front door had been ripped off, frame and all. Two standard police officers waved Ichigo inside, indicating they had not touched any evidence yet and were awaiting permission to proceed with evidence-bagging according to procedure. The smell of decay and blood filled his nostrils as Ichigo stepped gingerly inside. Up in the corner, the standard televisor was hanging by a wire, its screen smashed, creating spider web cracks through the surface. Framed photos of Aizen were thrown sporadically on the ground, broken glass littering the carpet. The original wall color was hard to detect since nearly every inch of it was covered in deep red blood. Stepping on the glass carefully with his thick boots, Ichigo moved over to the kitchen counter. Several gold embossed gala invitations lay strewn across the counter top, telling Ichigo that whoever lived here was probably a loyal party member to Aizen, definitely upper class. "This whole area screams Grand Fisher to me." He muttered, closing his eyes for a moment. Every scene was almost the same. Blood covering the walls. Front door ripped away. Loyal party members were always the victims. It seemed that this murderous monster had yet again escaped unscathed, leaving not a single trace of evidence of himself behind. Anger boiled in the young Keeper's veins. He was always just one-step behind! Frustrated, Ichigo slammed his fist into the wall, the sticky red blood adhering to his now bruised knuckles. "Damn it! I'll never get revenge on that fucking bastard at this rate!" His mind flash backed to the first time he had been told about Grand Fisher; the bastard responsible for his family's death.

"I can tell yer angry, Kurosaki. It's written all ov'r yer face." Gin Ichimaru's grin never slipped as he paced in front of the preteen boy. "But what I can't understan' is why yer so angry with me." He stopped, suddenly bending down in front of him. "It wasn't me that made the mistake of killing yer family. No, my boy. That was the Thought Police." Ichigo said nothing, only scowling deeper at the silver haired man in front of him. "If yer interested, I can tell ya how that happened." The captain sat down in his chair backwards, studying the orange haired boy through his narrowed eyes. "It was a monster named Grand Fisher. Ya see, he's been workin' for the rebels, murderin' off loyal people and such. Squad 12 finally caught him through sheer luck and were commencin' with their form o' torture. Well amidst the pointless babble, screams and curses, he spat out yer family's name. Kurosaki. That's why they murdered yer family. Although I suppose they could have just brought them in for questioning. Kurotsuchi would have none of that. As soon as he walked in, he ordered every name given to be annihilated by the Thought Police. When they returned, everyone in the interrogation room was torn to shreds and Grand Fisher was gone." Ichigo's amber eyes burned with fire as he gripped the edge of his seat, white knuckled. Gin Ichimaru chuckled, his eyes opening slightly allowing a glint of light to be reflected through them. "All that anger. All that hatred. We need to redirect that. You think you're angry with Aizen…you think you should hate the Thought Police. But my dear boy, you are mistaken. It's not them you should hate. It's Grand Fisher. If it wasn't for him, your family never would have been on that list boy."

It had to be a dozen times that Gin had spoken to him about this. Each time, redirecting Ichigo's anger to Grand Fisher. This form of conditioning was common among the "risk" type personalities like Ichigo's. A hero complex will only go so far to serve Aizen. Shaking his head as if to disperse his thoughts, Ichigo continued through the house not even stopping to gawk at the dismembered body parts. He had already become numb to the images of violence. Glancing in each room, Ichigo scanned the area quickly; making sure every single bit of evidence was engraved in his mind. So far, no miraculous clue as to where Grand Fisher appeared. It was always like this. A fruitless effort. Just as he was about to turn away from the last room on the right, something caught his eye. A book…haphazardly covered with a blanket rested against the bloodstained floor. Amber eyes narrowed as Ichigo stepped into the room, carefully avoiding getting blood on his black uniform. There was something different about this room. Groove marks littered the carpet in several areas. Marks that resembled the edge of a sword. Blood spatter was clearly shown on the sheet that partial covered the book as well as the surrounding carpet yet strangely, there was not a single drop of blood on the book itself. Its violet leather-bound cover remained clean of any debris. i Now…isn't that a little odd? /iPicking up the book slowly, the young keeper began to flip through the pages. It was thick and at first glance appeared to be a scrapbook of some kind. Various newspaper clippings, photographs and articles pasted with notes scribbled hurriedly in a long cursive drawl. As Ichigo continued to flip through the pages, he noticed a horribly drawn bunny adorned the bottom left corner of each one. If he moved the pages fast enough, the bunny seemed to smile wider. It couldn't have possibly been drawn by anyone over the age of three. Even HE could draw better than that! The keeper's lips twitched in what would have been a smile in any other circumstance. Before his smile could form, however, Ichigo noticed that each article, each photo, each scribbled note…all had to do with Aizen. Mistakes in the government, photos of the dictator in his youth, written calculations of his progress. Definitely Anti-Aizen. Groaning softly as his bones cracked, Ichigo stood up and slipped the book inside his coat pocket. For a small second, Ichigo was grateful that Grand Fisher had torn the televisor in this room. Scowling deeper as he picked his way back outside, Ichigo ran a finger over the handle of his gun, holstered behind his sword. He always preferred his sword but on occasion, his gun was more appropriate.

"Sir!" The two officers stood side by side at the entrance as he stepped out. "Permission to proceed inside!" Ichigo studied both of them for a moment, coming to a decision in his mind. "Yes but first…I have one question."

"Sir?" One of the officers turned toward him, his light brown mustache twitching in annoyance. The other officer also looked at the Keeper with curiosity.

"Did either of you notice any item untouched by blood?" Amber eyes flashed as they locked with each of the officers duller brown ones. "Sir?"

"Don't make me repeat myself. Answer the question."

The younger officer stepped forward slightly. "Sir, there was a book…in one of the rooms. It only stood out to me because it wasn't blood red like everything else." The older officer, not wanting to be outdone by his younger counterpart also stepped forward. "I noticed it as well sir. Though we did not touch it as per procedure."

Ichigo studied them a moment longer before exhaling softly. "I see. It is unfortunate. Your fate is sealed." Without hesitating a second longer, the sound of two shots rang out against the clear day. Both officers fell to the ground slowly, a dull thud as their bodies crumpled. Ichigo's gun was already back in its holster as he turned away. "I didn't really want to have to kill you. I hate killing like this. But I had no choice. You shouldn't have seen the book." He glanced back, taking a single offending news clipping from the book and holding it in his hand. "Trust me. Killing you like this is more merciful than anything those bastards in the Thought Police would do to you." Closing his eyes, Ichigo walked back to where Mizuiro was waiting, a block away with the car running.

"There you are boss! I heard gunfire. Was everything alright?" He noticed the way Ichigo gripped the paper in his fist tightly, almost as if he was afraid to let go. "Yes. I need to make my report. Let's return."

The assistant switched the gears and began driving as soon as Ichigo was seated. "I take it we missed him again, huh?"

Ichigo's scowl only deepened. "Don't worry. I swear on my soul I'll kill that bastard." Without another word, Mizuiro drove back toward their office, silently glancing at his boss and shivering at the fire in those amber eyes. "I will begin the paperwork for this case while you report in to Captain Ichimaru." Ichigo nodded, letting Mizuiro park and step out of the car. "See ya tomorrow, boss." He hurried away, still shivering slightly and wondering when his boss would finally catch that monster …and what he would become after.

"No helping it now…" Ichigo muttered as he too stepped out and walked into the building. His captain's office was on the upper floors and to the right as the keeper ignored the glances from his companions and stepped inside swiftly.

"Back already?" Gin was seated behind his desk, that ever present smirk still painted across his face. "I thought you woulda' taken longer to comb fer evidence?"

"No point in looking for something I know isn't there." Ichigo stood in the center of the room, his hands in his pockets of his uniform. "I've simply come to make my report."

Ichimaru was quiet for a moment longer before waving his hand. "Go on then. Report away, my boy."

Groaning internally at being called a "boy", Ichigo droned out his findings at the scene. "…-loyal party members, blood everywhere, the whole shebang." The captain nodded, still focusing on Ichigo. "and the reason? Fer why those two officers didn' report back?"

"They had seen this." Ichigo took the newspaper clipping he had pulled out of the scrapbook and dropped it on Gin's desk, allowing the paper to flutter gently to the surface. "It's clearly anti-Aizen. According to your laws, I had to kill them both instantly."

Studying the paper silently, Gin nodded. "Yes. The laws do state that. Pity fer them. If that is yer full report Kurosaki, yer free to leave." His grin seemed to widen slightly if that was possible. "I'm glad my favorite little keeper didn' get hurt on this assignment!"

"Tch…yeah right." Ichigo muttered, walking out of the room and letting the door slam behind him. That guy creeps me the fuck out. I wish he wouldn't take so much interest in me. Stepping out into the street, the Keeper turned in the direction of his apartment. His arm lightly grazed the bulge in his inner pocket where the violet scrapbook was hidden. At least…he didn't suspect anything. I don't know why this book interests me exactly…but I'm going to find out. If there was no blood on it..someone must have put it there AFTER the attack. Those grooves in the carpet…someone was fighting with a sword. Grandfisher doesn't use a sword. He prefers a butcher knife. I wonder. That's the first time I've ever seen markings like that at one of his scenes. What does it mean?

An hour later, Ichigo had showered and changed for bed. He brought his coat over to his half-hidden mattress, waiting until he was safely behind the wall before he pulled out the scrapbook. For a moment, the keeper simply stared at the cover, reflecting the moonlight off its deep rich color. Still not the right color. Close but her eyes are so much deeper….so much more lively…with more spark. He ran a hand through his hair. "I can't believe I'm still thinking about her. I've got to stop getting distracted like this." Calloused fingers gently began turning the pages, his amber eyes scanning the pages and reading the notes on the side of the pages. "As a young adult, Aizen wrote several dissertations stating that people with certain qualities should have more rights than those lacking. In his eyes, those who did not meet his standards were not worth his time at all." Photo evidence of the afore mentioned dissertations and papers were pasted on the pages as well. But no matter how many facts he read, amber eyes were always drawn down to those crappy bunnies on the bottom of the pages. "I feel like I've seen these before…but where?" Hours passed as he turned page after page, running his fingers over each pasted scrap; his hatred for Aizen increasing with each letter. "Damn…how long have I been reading?" The keeper rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. The full moon hung regally in the sky as the stars sparkled around it, partially hidden by the smog. Putting a hand on his neck, Ichigo looked down at the low-level street lamp, a glint of violet making him turn his head sharply to the right. He heard a girl cry out, standing up from the sidewalk with her left arm at a weird angle and her dark hair covering her eyes. There was something about the way the moonlight shined on her hair; something that tugged at his memory. There was a red headed man beside her whom helped her up, shushing her softly. He thought he saw the red haired man glance up at him but it was too quick for Ichigo to be sure. The darker haired girl leaned on her friend, shuffling away. There was something familiar about her. Ichigo frowned, trying to place it but coming up blank. "Maybe I'm just getting paranoid…" He hid the scrapbook under his mattress, pulling out his black sun and white moon charm. He held it up against the window as he lay down. The way the moon light glistened through the charm calmed his heart. He wasn't sure why but the it comforted him as he drifted off to sleep. His last thought revolving around the familiar eyes of the raven-haired girl.