Had an amazing exam today, Praise be to God, and am so happy I decided to post the next chapter! Yay! Now then, sit back, relax, and enjoy the chapter!

Chappie Numero Cinco: Revelations and Delays

"We can safely say that we have reached a dead end."

-Urahara Kisuke

I

It was a peaceful weekend morning, far from the turbulent storm of sentiment that overshadowed the Kurosaki household a few days back. Orihime cheerfully hummed to herself as she cleaned the living room table, while Ichigo sat in silent contemplation, newspaper in hand. His eyebrows grew closer together, and he called for his wife to come take a look at the first page.

'Throne's Eye Diamond Looted' It said in bold. The account described how a valuable diamond was stolen from a museum in New York last Friday. Nobody was caught, though many were suspected. Ichigo frowned and shook his head. "Last month, there was something else like this, wasn't there?"

"Mhmm, the Pharaoh's gold neck plate."

"Police suspect a gang's work. Further inquiry in procession. Hmm… that doesn't look too good." He turned the page to the business section, and the two went about their own work soon after.

"Oh, Ichi-kun! I almost forgot!" Orihime exclaimed in the middle of dinner. "Rangiku-san said she's coming over tomorrow, at five in the evening."

The man choked on his food and coughed, lifting teary eyes that were furious. "Not her again! Why is she coming here anyway?" he whined.

"She said something about a girl's night, and we haven't met in so long, Ichigo!" Not the teddy bear eyes…

"Fine… I guess I'll do some more research then, tomorrow."

Tomorrow came too soon, and before he knew it, Ichigo was clenching his jaw as he glared at the rather boisterous woman currently hugging the life out of his wife.

"Oh Hime! Sweetheart, it's been way too long!" cried Rangiku, and Ichigo huffed and mumbled something about not long enough. She turned to give Ichigo a sly smile. "I trust you have been taking good care of my Hime-chan."

"What's that supposed to mean!? Of course I'm taking care of her, I'm not a heartless bastard you know!" he spat. The woman merely smirked and flung her honey-coloured hair back. "It's hard to tell with that constant scowl, berry-kun."

Rangiku Matsumoto was a lively young woman, who worked at the fashion department at the Tokyo University. She was a fun-loving and loud individual, though she tended to be quite lazy at times. She picked up rumours like an antenna picks up radio signals. But nevertheless, she was a devoted friend, and could always be counted on when times were hard.

'Do it for Hime's sake', Ichigo chanted in his raging mind. He forced a smile and spoke through gritted teeth. "Listen Matsumoto. I'll leave you all alone now, try not to break anything, okay? And no fancy surprises when I come back." He narrowed his eyes. She bellowed and wiped the tears away, giving him the most innocent look. "What makes you so suspicious, Ichigo?"

Orihime watched back and forth between the two in amusement, they were always such a comical twosome!

At his cue, Ichigo bid them a quick farewell and left the house, warning Rangiku one last time against any 'funny business'. She waved off his concerns and shut the door at his surprised face, turning back to face the girls mischievously. "No then… who's ready for a manicure!"

Many hours passed, and the two were soon sitting by the sofas talking about trivial things. The last time they did something like this was shortly before the… accident… and that was nearly two years ago. The clock ticked quietly in the background, and when it read 8:15, a knock was heard on the door. Orihime quickly jumped to her feet and practically sprinted to the door, out of breath when she opened it. "Ichi-kun! Welcome home!"

He said nothing, only staring at her. Orihime hardly ever wore make-up; she looked lovely with just a touch of powder. So now seeing her face all made up and new, she was almost unrecognizable. Extremely beautiful, but unrecognizable.

"Ichigo?" she worried, waving her hand in front of his eyes. He broke out of his daze and smiled crookedly. "Hello, Hime. I'm sorry, you look so different." She pouted and looked down. "You mean you don't like it?"

"Of course I like it. It's you, Hime. You're always beautiful." She grinned and clapped her hands, pulling him in and shutting the door. Rangiku was already ready to leave, and she smirked coyly upon seeing the flustered man. "Don't worry, berry-kun, I'll leave Hime-chan all to your greedy self!" she teased, and he brought his hand to his tired face. "Shut up, Rangiku."

"By the way, I haven't seen Sousuke-san around lately." She wondered. She and Ichigo worked in the same building, and occasionally she would catch a glimpse of the very fashionable Aizen Sousuke in the elevator or the lobby. The man was a fashion icon, and in her books, that made him an idol!

Frowning deeply he looked at the wall. "He's gone to Chicago again."

"I figured he was out. Did you see his new car, though? That sleek black one he got last Friday?"

"Matsumoto, I don't care." though it wasn't a total truth. Even Ichigo was impressed at the sight of the car Aizen came in that morning. No decent man can forget a car like that. "He can get a unicycle for all I know."

"He's quite posh, isn't he?" she sighed. "Maybe that's one of the benefits of being an American citizen. You get to drive a-"

"He's an American citizen?" Ichigo and Orihime both exclaimed in utter astonishment.

"Why, yes he is. I though you knew that." Rangiku turned wide eyes towards her audience. "He's born in America; I think his father was an American. Though that must mean his mother was Japanese. It's cool to be a mixed breed, isn't it? Why, just last week…"

But no one was listening to her. Ichigo shared a look with his wife, and both silently thought the same thing. Aizen… was an American citizen?

II

You have (1) new email!

From: Chad Yasutora

To: Ichigo Kurosaki

Good news, Ichigo. I've spoken to the lady. She's finally agreed to the arrangement, and I've already sent you the book by courier. It should reach you soon, within three days at most. It's the same as you described- old, red leather, worn, yellow pages, but there is no name on the first page. Same title. You should have it soon.

Take care. I'll be here for a month.

…

You have (2) new emails!

From: Ichigo Kurosaki

To: Sado Yasutora

Got your message, Chad, thank you. But it's been three days, and the book hasn't arrived yet. Maybe it'll be here by tomorrow. Thank the woman for me, good thing she agreed.

….

From: Ichigo Kurosaki

To: Sado Yasutora

Five days, Chad, damn it! We haven't received it yet, I went to the post office yesterday and they said no package of its description has arrived as of yet. Where is it? Lost at sea? It's not a plastic bag for God's sake!

You sure you sent it to the right address?

…

*Chad is online*

Chad: The post office confirms sending it to your address, Ichigo. You still didn't get it?

You: No.

Chad: It'sbeen ten days.

Chad: Ichigo?

You: I'm here, Chad. Sorry about that.

Chad: What are we going to do now?

You: You think someone intercepted the book on its way here? There's no problem with the courier, all other packages reached on time.

Chad: You can't be sure…

III

"Ichigo!"

He jolted up, annoyed and surprised at the same time. He glared at the woman standing with her hands on her hips, before he looked back down to his paperwork. Rukia Kuchiki sighed in vexation and leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms. "No sign of the book yet?"

He grumbled in the negative and reclined back in his chair. "There's no mention of it in the administrative office in this building, and frankly the guy at the post office is getting on my nerve. We're supposed to return the book to the owner in two weeks."

Rukia frowned in concentration, her violet eyes focusing on the desk. "What about the whole Allen Stephens business?"

"Nothing happening there either. We don't know anything more about any of them." He looked absolutely agitated as he spoke. "Aizen's still frolicking in America, and we've been prohibited from checking employee's personal records."

"So you really think Aizen is an American citizen?"

He finally looked up at her, the conviction apparent in his brown eyes. "Yes. But there's something there that we're miss-"

BEEP!

Ichigo and Rukia shared a startled look as they glanced at the answering machine, the secretary's voice sounded crisp and clear. "Kurosaki-san, Kisuke-san would like to meet you in his office."

Rukia smile wearily. "It's almost like a bad boy being called to the principal's room." She sniggered.

"Shut up, Rukia."

Back at Urahara's office, Ichigo opened the door to find his superior pacing the length of the room thoughtfully, finally looking up as he heard the click of the door. He broke into a wide grin. "Ichigo-san, good to see you again! How is the door, does it still creak?"

The man stared at him in bewilderment. "You called me here to ask about my door? Did Rukia put you up to this?"

Urahara chuckled before taking an envelope from his coat pocket. "Not exactly. This mystery is taking too long to figure out. I need you to do an errand for me."

"Alright?" Ichigo was handed the white sachet, which he eyed curiously. "What's this?"

"We've exhausted all the resources available to us here, and there's no further information we can dig up on Redmund, his brother, or Stephens. Thanks to your wife's immense contribution at the library, we can safely say that we have reached a dead end." He smirked.

"And you're saying that's a good thing?"

"I'm saying it's time to go to America."

Ichigo stared at his companion incredulously. "Did I hear you right?"

"Inside that envelope are two airplane tickets that'll take you to Chicago for two weeks. You can choose whoever you wish to accompany you, and when you're there you should find as much information as you can about Allen Stephens from the Human Resource Centre, and also investigate the history behind the mysterious author and his brother. I'll let you know how things go here."

To say he was taken aback would be quite the understatement. Ichigo was thoroughly bowled over by the news. Of course Urahara would have everything planned out.

"I can take one companion?" he wondered. Urahara nodded.

"Yes, tell me by tonight who you decide on. Till then, I suggest you better start packing."

IV

"You're going to Chicago? That's good isn't it Ichi-kun?" Orihime forgot all about her fried rice. She really must have been surprised.

"I guess it is. Do you want me to get you anything?"

"No, just come home safe. I can't come along, can I? I guess I'll stay with Tatsuki for two weeks, or she can come here." She wondered.

Ichigo reached out for his wife's hand, fully aware of how saddened she must be at the thought of him leaving without her. She loved travelling, but there was just no way he could take her.

"Hime, you know I would love it if you were there," he began. "But… I just can't. Not after last time."

Orihime knew it was silly to think something could go wrong this time. There was no excavation, no tunnels… and no child. She sighed and gave him a sweet smile. "Of course, Ichigo-kun. Don't worry, I'll be fine. All the best, I'll go start packing your bag then."

He never said it often, but Ichigo sure was blessed to have Orihime as a wife.

V

The young history teacher sat silently in the teacher's lounge, munching on her bento. Tatsuki was busy for the day, and Orihime was just too tired to really make sensible conversation. She'd been feeling queasy, almost losing her appetite even though it was her favorite bento. It was three days since Ichigo left, and she'd heard that he'd reached Chicago safely, along with Uryu Ishida to accompany him. She smiled, the two of them always made a good team, neither of them cared enough to realize it. But her lunch was interrupted by the chime of her ringtone.

"Hello?"

"Kurosaki-san, this is Urahara Kisuke. Hope I didn't disturb you."

"No you didn't! I wasn't busy at all, how are you Urahara-san?"

"I'm alright. We finally got the book."

She chocked. "Really?"

"Yes, but something doesn't look right. Would it be too much to ask if you come down here after your shift to take a look at it?"

"I'll be there before you know it! But tell me Urahara-san, what's wrong?"

A pause. "It seems to be exactly the same as the other one you'd read not long ago. Well except... do you remember the page with those foreign words in the other book?"

"Yes?"

"Well, it looks like someone's torn off that page in this one."

..

..

..

*gasp* When are we going to get some answers?

I'm sure you sugarplums expected that, arent you the smartest little plumcakes? *smirk* I hope no one's getting a cavity because of the extra dose of sugar today, I'm just really happy!

Did you take a moment to thank God for giving you such an awesomazable life? Well, do it now!

Nothing else to say, eat all your vegetables folks and drive safe!

Please do review if you think it deserves it, it makes me absolutely ecstatic when I see that you guys are enjoying it! A special Orihime style hug goes out to alice hc, erica, Ermilus, sunflowerspot, and guest(Sorry sweetheart, I wish I had a better way to address you)!

Thank you to all those who faved and followed! *hugs*

God bless us, every single one!