Fucking hell.

Ichigo flopped back onto his bed in the hotel, draping one arm over his eyes in frustration. He had spent the rest of daylight in the library, flipping through yearbooks looking for Koga. Nearly six hours, four cups of coffee, and a handful of paper cuts later he had found not a single trace of him. The monotony and fruitlessness of his search has eventually angered him so bad that he had slammed his fist on the desk in front of him, drawing concerned looks from other patrons. After the outburst he had left, head hung in defeat as he walked.

Now calm enough to think, he felt even more upset about his failure as he realized something; Koga had either eluded every class photo of his life, or he wasn't from Chiba. Ichigo had scoured books from every public school in the area, looking through classes from 2001 to those from the current year, and he wasn't in any of them. Koga had looked to be a similar age to him in his dream or a bit older, so there should be no way he missed his year. Ichigo groaned again and rolled over, despair settling over him like a cloud.

He let his mind drift back to his vision of Koga, recalling the vivid images of his dreams that they shared. Ichigo was confused by them; what he had seen was clearly himself and his bedroom from the roof outside the window. He had considered that maybe his own thoughts and presence had corrupted Koga's own dream but he had never heard of that happening before. And though it was faint and distant, he could swear he heard Koga say his name.

If he already knows who I am, why hasn't he came to find me?

Ichigo ignored the disturbing thoughts before getting up and changing into a T-shirt and sweats and opening up the door to the veranda off the room. He sat down outside with his computer in his lap and pulled up his browser, staring at the screen with uncertainty. He pulled up a news site, browsing through to try and forget his melancholy, when he came across a story in the business section. He followed the link and scanned the full article. A company called Asahi Industries had recently began testing for a new type of computer software. There had been several investors in its production, both inside the company and from third parties. The company had seen a significant downturn in revenue since the third financial quarter of 2004, and the project was supposed to serve as a revival of the company once available for release.

But the story itself revolved around the fact that as of two days ago, the program had apparently been corrupted so badly that the development had been suspended and project deemed a failure. Asahi was crumbling in a downward spiral and reports indicated they wouldn't last through summer of the coming year. They had declined comment several times.

The last paragraph, however, was a comment from the VP of Acquisitions at Asahi's largest competitor, called Tiego Productions. She stated that she "was sorry to hear of their struggle" and that the industry was "simply a game of chance", indirectly saying that they had lost. Ichigo had an odd itching feeling as he thought of Teigo Prod.

Where have I heard that name before?

He searched the company name and looked up the name of the quoted woman and quickly lost his breath.

She was a short, petite woman, with a stylish blonde bob. Dressed smartly I'm a well tailored suit, she looked a bit smug and disinterested in her photo.

Kaizō Lirin.

The woman who met Koga in the alley.

Ichigo grabbed his unpacked bag and checked out, searching for the first train from Chiba to Teigo Productions headquarters in Tokyo.


"Yes, hello. My name is Kurosaki Ichigo, I'm a reporter for the Regional Tribune. I was hoping to speak with Kaizō Lirin-san about her thoughts on the Asahi project failure."

"I apologize Kurosaki-san, but Kaizō-san has already addressed the matter publicly and is declining further comment. Would you like to leave me your in-"

Ichigo hung the hotel phone back on its receiver, running a hand over his face. He had came to Tokyo the instant he recognized the female executive without second thought. It had never occurred to him he would have to find a way to contact her. He sat back in the small desk chair, eyes closed as her thought.

Well, what now?

After a few more minutes of thinking and moping, he stood up and changed into a pair of sleek jeans and a button down. Pulling his peacoat over top, he grabbed his messenger bag and computer and left the hotel on foot. After a twenty minute walk he was standing in front of a large apartment building. The penthouse suite had been rented to one Kaizō Lirin, according to a local real estate blog. Ichigo stood to the side of the building and waited. Of one thing he was sure: the doorman was familiar with all of the tenants and would certainly not let him breeze right past.

Just as he was starting to fidget, an older, well dressed woman abled by with her arms full of bags printed with designer labels. Her eyes were focused on the building ahead, but she was clearly struggling with her purchases.

I may have some luck after all.

"Excuse me, ma'am? Could I give you a hand with those?" Ichigo smiled his brightest, most innocent smile and said a little prayer to whoever may be listening. The small woman turned, looking surprised to see him, before returning his smile to Ichigo's relief.

"Oh, would you be a dear and do so? My residence is close, but these parcels are heavier than I expected."

Ichigo smiled again and took some of the bags, letting the elderly woman prattle on as they moved towards the building. She chattered all the way up to the doors and was unaware that as the large, well built doorman opened the entrance for them, he wasn't even breathing. He looked to the woman as she spoke, never making eye contact, but in his peripheral vision he saw the man give him a small frown and let his eyes linger. But Ichigo just laughed at something the elderly woman had said and breezed past, pretending there was nothing out of the ordinary. He didn't take another breath until the two were on the elevator.

They got off on the fifth floor and Ichigo played the good samaritan as the woman thanked him again for his help. He then returned to the elevator, waving as the doors shut and then inspecting his options. As he looked at the panel, he noticed that the first floor didn't contain any apartments; instead it housed the lobby and a small cafe in the back. He clicked the corresponding button and waited for the doors. As they opened, Ichigo tried to look underwhelmed on the outside instead of show the awe he actually felt.

Do people really live like this, he mused as he strode across the marble floors to a small table with large, leather chairs, finally able to take in the grandeur of the building. He set his bag down before approaching the barista and ordering a black coffee with a red eye. He cringed internally as he payed, the $7.95 a little too painful for caffeinated plant juice, but returned to his seat and awaited the drink. He had a decent view of the entrance. It was now 7:22PM.

He sat quietly and drank his coffee slowly, waiting and watching the doors as inconspicuously as possible. He thought he was going to explode when finally, at 8:49PM, the outer door was held open for a petite figure in an expensive looking suit, blonde hair pinned away from her face. Ichigo stood as evenly as possible and pulled his bag over one shoulder, walking towards the elevator. As she pressed the up arrow, the woman eyed him with displeasure. Ichigo just gave his attempt at a kind smile.

"I don't mean to impose, but I'm visiting my grandmother on the fifth floor. Can I take the car with you?"

"Certainly," she said while sounding entirely too uncertain, but nonetheless when the doors slid open Ichigo followed her inside. He hit the key for level five and she for the penthouse, placing a gold key into a slot next to it and turning it. The doors came to a close after what felt like an eternity, and he exhaled.

This is it.

"Kaizō Lirin."

The woman looked at him, eyes narrowing as she gave him a once over, but didn't speak.

"I know that you were behind the Asahi Industries project failure."

"What the hell are you talking about," she quipped in a low voice, sounding a bit more intimidating that Ichigo expected her to be.

"You heard me, Kaizō-san," he said evenly, trying to remain calm. "Somehow you sabotaged their program. That doesn't mean anything to me. I can assure you I have no reason to tell anyone...unless you give me one."

By then they had reached the fifth floor and the doors slid open again. Lirin hesitated for only a moment before pressing the button the the penthouse again and waiting.

"We will discuss this in private," she growled at him as the doors opened again into a spacious foyer. She removed the key from the elevator and strode inside, dropping her bag next to a closet. Ichigo followed her silently into a living room, where she gestured for him to sit. Once he settled into a large armchair, she sat across from him on the large white sectional, crossing her legs before eyeing him.

"So what is it you want, mister…?"

"Hoshimura," Ichigo responded quietly, giving his mother's maiden name instead of his own.

"Hoshimura-san," she said again, face scrunched like she had smelled something terrible.

"All I want is your help," Ichigo said tiredly, letting more of his emotion seep into the words. Lirin furrowed her brow a bit, lips pursed slightly with her frown.

"I'm confused, Hoshimura-san. You're blackmailing me for help with what, exactly? Do you need money? To make something - someone - go away? What?"

"No, nothing like that," Ichigo stuttered quickly. "I need help finding someone."

"Finding someone," she scoffed. Shaking her head, she stood abruptly and turned around, walking over to a small bar behind the sofas. She bent over gracefully and opened the cabinet at the front, pulling out a large crystal bottle full of amber liquid.

"You don't mind if I drink, do you Hoshimura-san," she called over her shoulder. "Well, this is my flat after all. Suppose I'll do whatever I please." She pulled a glass of ice from a separate shelf and poured the scotch over top before returning to the sofa and removing her heels, tucking her now free legs under herself.

"To be honest you aren't very good at this whole extortion thing, dear," she said with an amused tone as she sipped the drink. Ichigo frowned.

"I don't follow."

"Well, Hoshimura-san, you've caught me red-handed in what could be one of the largest scandals in my industry. But instead of asking for money or favors or status or what have you, you request my help in finding someone," she chuckled lightly. "Your naivety is almost rather cute."

"I wouldn't call it naivety," Ichigo said tentatively. "I just don't see the purpose in asking for anything that isn't important to me." Lirin cocked her head to the side and watched him close enough for Ichigo to grow uncomfortable. Finally she set her glass down and looked at him with gentler eyes.

"That's...very noble of you. Perhaps a bit stupid, but noble. So who is it you need me to find?"

"Its a man. You met him in an alley in Karakura two days ago. He has blue hair and eyes and he gave you a floppy disk which I suspect has something to do with the whole Asahi thing." The woman didn't speak for a second, eyes tracing the refracted light in the crystal glass in her hand.

"You mean Koga," she finally said quietly.

"Yes, Koga. Can you tell me how to contact him, or where he lives, or something? Anything," Ichigo said feverishly, sounding more desperate than he would have liked.

"I'm afraid I can't," she said, looking away uncomfortably.

"But why not," Ichigo yelled, "please I just want to talk to him -"

"No honey, I mean I really can't. I don't know any more about him than you do."

"What?"

"I may not be as important of an asset to the company as people may think," Lirin said with a sigh. "If you did your research you'll see that within the top sixteen players at Teigo Prod there is only one woman. And that's me. I put in the work to get there, sure, but I'm a lot more of a public figure and positive statistic than anything else. That night, I was sent by the COO, Kashito, to meet that man. From what he told me he doesn't know anything about him either, only that he was contracted to help us from someone way out of our reach. All I know is that he provided us with what we needed to destroy Asahi. I'm sorry."

Ichigo felt his hope crumble yet again and looked down to the floor in defeat. He gave himself a few moments breathing to try and wrangle in his emotions before standing and bowing slightly to Lirin. She stood as well and walked with him to the elevator. As the car opened and he entered, the woman placed her hand inside the door. She handed him a business card with a mobile number scrawled on the back, then looked up at him with an almost kind expression.

"Who is he to you that you want to find him so bad?"

"Apparently he's my destiny."

The elevator ride down to the lobby was only seconds long, but felt like an eternity of loneliness.