So here is chapter three of LEFT OF THE MURDER... I started to give a little back story on the characters involved. I hope everyone enjoys it!

-Z


Byakuya was seated in a chair by the window, drinking a scotch neat, when Ukitake knocked on the door.

"Come in," Byakuya called out in his decorous tone. Ukitake entered. He was paler than usual and his shoulders sagged. Byakuya could tell that he was getting sicker with time. Ukitake was dressed simply in a fitted white t shirt and blue jeans. His white hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck. Byakuya glanced up at him with a questioning gaze.

"Yoruichi Shihoin and Kisuke Urahara are here," Ukitake said in his calm, deep voice.

"Send them in." Byakuya murmured. Ukitake nodded and headed towards the door. A few moments later the couple entered Byakuya's bedroom and closed the door. Yoruichi sat at the edge of his bed and regarded him with her cat like gaze. Byakuya eyed her cautiously. They were close friends at one point, but time had changed so much. Byakuya barely knew her anymore. Kisuke nodded in Byakua's direction then opened the small black medical bag he was carrying. He extracted a small red vial and a syringe. Kisuke looked at the two items with a grim look on his face before turning to Byakuya.

"Are you ready?" Kisuke asked quietly. Byakuya nodded and pulled his shirt off.

Yoruichi frowned as she eyed the two puncture wounds on Byakuya's chest. The skin was torn and ragged, as if the bite mark was never going to heal. Kisuske stepped forward and with a sigh inserted the syringe into the first puncture wound. Byakuya winced and bit down on his lower lip. Kisuke took a moment to refill the syringe then injected him one more time.

It took a moment for the pain to set in but when it did Byakuya felt as if his skin was on fire. Pain crawled under his skin causing a choked growl to leave him.

Byakuya squeezed his eyes shut and took another sip of his drink. He opened his eyes again to see Yoruichi staring at him.

"In time this will get easier," she said kindly. Byakuya glanced at her but said nothing.

"You were bitten by an ancient vampire and have fought the vampiric impulse for years. That concoction that Kisuke cooked up should keep this infection from spreading."

Byakuya nodded and finished his drink.

"I am aware of my current situation and it is not my impulses that worry me." Byakuya glanced out the window. The woman he loved had not only killed the one person that he held dear to him, she blessed his with her dark kiss. He hated her for that, but he hated himself even more for allowing it to happen.

Nearly ten years had passed since that horrific day, but the memory was still fresh in his mind.

He had just returned to the world of the living, but this time he was not alone. His sister in law, Rukia had accompanied him this time. He remembered that it was a warm day in early spring. The cherry blossoms were in bloom and Byakuya was in a better mood than usual. He had made a decision a few days prior to that and a certain level of excitement still coursed through his veins. He wanted Rukia to meet his beloved, because he had decided that it was time for him to reveal the truth about their relationship and make it official. He understood the rules of her world.

Vampires did not get married in a classical sense the way humans and soul reapers did. Instead, they believed in having a Chosen that was to be the one you devote yourself to for the rest of your existence. It was a relationship that transcended death and Byakuya was ready to commit. All he had to do was wait for the sun to set.

Their hotel rooms were right next to each other on the sixth floor. Byakuya had stripped down to just a pair of boxer briefs and decided to take a nap until sunset. It was the sound of scream's that woke the dark haired shinigami from his slumber.

He jumped out of his sleep and pulled on his jeans. As he headed for the door the smell of smoke hit him. Byakuya yanked the door open and went to Rukia's hotel room. the door was ajar and to his dismay she was nowhere to be found. Byakuya ran to the end of the hallway and took the stairs straight down to the lobby. He stopped dead in his tracks when he hit the main entrance. The door was barricaded, locking him in, and littering the floor were random bloody limbs and internal organs. His eyes widened as he began to tear through the piles looking for some sign of his sister in law. After a few moments of searching and he still did not find her, Byakuya paused. Heated, angry tears slid down his cheeks. He wiped them away and looked around. It was not the time for tears. He still had not found Rukia.

Byakuya was about to take down the barricade when he saw her. She was dressed in all black, her strawberry blonde hair flowing all around her. She entered the room from the service entrance and behind her Byakuya could see fire blazing. Byakuya took one step forward then paused. His heart seized in his chest when he saw that his beloved was dragging Rukia's behind her by the hair.

What are you doing?" Byakuya asked trying to keep his voice level. She looked at him, her eyes glowing ice blue.

"I just wanted to see you." She dropped Rukia to the floor and began to walk towards him. "Then I found her, outside of your door, with that foolish expectant smile on her face. How long have you been fucking this little girl?" She asked.

"There is nothing between us," Byakuya replied. "Don't do this."

She disregarded his warning and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed her cold lips to his skin before sinking her fangs into his steely chest. Byakuya tried to fight her off but her bite felt as if it wasleaving some kind of venom in his body. His limbs felt heavy and he was dizzy. Byakuya slipped to the floor. She loomed over him with her wrist to her mouth. Moments later he felt her lips touched his. He gagged as the metallic taste of her blood entered his mouth. She pulled back and smiled at him.

The last thing Byakuya saw before falling unconscious was his beloved draining the life out of Rukia.

Byakuya was jolted out of his memories by a knock at the door. Before he could allow entry, the door swung open. It was Soi Fong.

She was the only woman on the task force. Byakuya rarely saw her as she had the entire top floor of the mansion to herself and she was not one to fraternize with the other team members. Her short hair was a mess and it looked as if someone woke her from her slumber.

"Captain Kuchiki, Chad and Uryuu are back. They spotted a vampire." Soi Fong said in her serious tone.

Byakuya jumped to his feet and pulled his shirt back on.

"Have everyone meet in the dining room."


Orihime lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. She sighed and closed her eyes, tired of counting the cracks in the ceiling. She was trying to sleep but that was near impossible when the club below was still packed with patrons and music still poured out of the speakers. Orihime rolled onto her side and reached for the lamp. She flipped the light on and sat up. She picked up a small hand mirror off of her dresser and gazed at her reflection.

She looked almost exactly the way she did before the transformation, but still there were some fundamental differences that she had not grown accustomed to. Her large gray eyes were more vibrant and when she did not feed they turned silver, like mercury. Her auburn hair was nearly touching her waist and it was fuller and shinier. Her smooth skin was paler as if made out of porcelain, which was a stark contrast to her full cherry red lips.

People often commented on her looks, telling Orihime how beautiful she was. Orihime was not self deprecating, but all of the attention made her somewhat uncomfortable. Orihme set the mirror down and glanced out the window. It was nights like this, when she was completely alone with her thoughts, that scared her the most. She was forced to think about the past.

Orihime never had a relationship with her parents. For as long as she could remember, her older brother had taken care of her, then he passed away suddenly and Orihime was left alone. The unbearable sadness of being without her brother was eased by her best friend Tatsuki. The two had become close, and Orihime had come to rely on the tough spiky haired girl. The two were as close as sisters and they looked out for each other.

So when Tatsuki was found murdered in her bedroom, Orihime felt as if a piece of her had died too. Orihime helped organize and pay for the funeral. What was done to Tatsuki was so vicious that it had to be a closed casket funeral. The murderer eviscerated her small muscular body, Orihime knew that much. She had not recovered from her friend's death and the night that she was attacked by Rangiku she had been standing on the roof of Tatsuki's home. When Mistress Rangiku drank her blood, she could not help but wonder if the Mistress could read thoughts. Did she know that Orihime wanted to bring her life to an abrupt end? Could the Mistress sense her sadness and desire to leave this world?

Orihime asked herself that question over and over again, wondering if her vampiric fate was somehow her own fault. Orihime shook her head as if to banish her bleak thoughts. In a way the Mistress saved her from a life of lonliness and gave her a home. There was no one left to miss her.


Ichigo Kurosaki was in his bedroom doing push ups. There was a full moon and the bright silvery glow of the moon filtered into the dark bedroom through the sheer curtains. Ichigo was restless. He found that working out usually let him blow off steam and helped him to focus. But the rules and restrictions placed on him by Byakuya were becoming too much for him to stomach.

Captain Kuchiki was the only one that knew what Ichigo really was. Kurosaki was not like the rest of the soul reapers and he had no intention of making his secret public knowledge. He did not know how the others would handle it. Ichigo stood and flexed his strong muscular back, then cracked his neck in frustration. Because Byakuya knew his secret, Ichigo was under constant surveillance. He could not prove it but he was almost certain that there were video cameras hidden somewhere in his bedroom.

Ichigo took a deep breath as he felt his temper flare. He was tired of being trapped in the house waiting for something to happen. Byakuya almost never sent him out on any reconnaissance missions. The only thing Ichigo had to occupy his time was working out. He looked in the mirror hanging on his closet door. He had to admit that he was even more toned and muscular than usual, but it's not like he even really cared. Ichigo was already an accomplished fighter and there were no women around for him to impress. But even if there were, he would not have bothered.

Ichigo had never found a woman that held his interest. His friends always found that to be strange but it was the truth. Ichigo sat at the edge of his bed. At that exact moment, Ichigo wished he had someone in his life. Someone that he could share his secrets with, without worrying that they would reject him, like so many other people had done in the past.


After a few hours of making love on the floor in her office, Rangiku and Aizen were dressed and seated on the couch. Rangiku did not love Aizen the way that she had loved others in the past, but she found him to be undeniably good looking and intelligent.

They were both ancient vampires that had lived for centuries and understood humanity and the way the world around them worked. These were all things that the mistress considered when she chose him as her companion. It also did not hurt that Rangiku knew that none of the other women in her coven wanted to be with him. That would have caused unnecessary jealousy and conflict. Sosuke Aizen was handsome, but something about his calm demeanor intimidated the other coven members. It just turned Rangiku on.

Aizen was caressing her shoulder with the tips of his fingers. He sighed and glanced at her, smiling.

"You really must do something about that body. He is decomposing faster than I would have assumed," Aizen said.

"I think I may have been too impulsive. I cannot let my children see what I have done. They were quite fond of him." she said thoughtfully.

"Yes. This is true," Aizen looked at the body thoughtfully. "Let me call Starrk to clean up this mess. He wouldn't really care to say anything about it to anyone."

"Thank you Sosuke. What would I do without you?" Rangiku kissed the corner of his mouth as a small smirk played across his lips.

Aizen took out his cell phone and called Starrk. It only took a few moments for the blue eyed vampire to make his way up to the office. Starrk stood in the middle of the room staring down at the corpse. He pushed his hair back and knelt down. With one hand he grabbed Ulquiorra's corpse and flung it over his shoulder. He nodded at the Mistress then Aizen before exiting the room.

The door clicked shut and Aizen turned to Rangiku with a smile.

"I guess that's taken care of," he mused. Rangiku nodded then went to her desk. She had a number of things to take care off before sunrise and she had been putting it off for days. She planned on having Orihime take care of all of the simple tasks. Aizen wandered over to her desk and grabbed the small black leather bound notebook sitting atop a pile of papers. He flipped through it casually then smiled when he found the page that had "Orihime Inoue" written across the top.

"So I am to assume that she does not know that it was you?" Aizen asked smoothly. Rangiku looked up at him, confused. "The death of her best friend. I see here that it was planned and orchestrated by you."

Rangiku smiled and set down the papers in her hand.

"My Ulquiorra took care of that one for me. Tell me how else would I have gotten her to join my house?"

Aizen snapped the book shut and dropped it on the desk. He rounded the desk and took Rangiku's face in his hands.

"You are ruthless," Aizen murmured. He bent down and ran the tip of his tongue across her lower lip. He paused for a minute to look out the window. There was still a few hours left before sunrise. Aizen yanked Rangiku out of her seat and pushed all of the papers on her desk to the floor. he gripped her waist tight the lifted her onto the desk.


Well that is chapter 3! I hope everyone is digging it lol. Please R&R! Oh and thank you Makary and Nypsy for the reviews!