Summary: Rookie cop Ichigo learns that some things are most definitely not what they seem, especially when he gets partnered up with Rukia. Meanwhile, Urahara offers Renji a "get out of jail" card when he asks him to infiltrate the mob known as the Gotei 13. At the same time, the Ishida heir goes missing, and it's up to Special Operatives Chad, Orihime and Tatsuki to find him and bring him back.
Written for NaNoWriMo redux, December 2005/January 2006, which took place on lj. In total, it's about 86, 000 words, approximately. I've edited it slightly for typos, but not really much else. The writing isn't my best, but it's my first try at something that's not either humour/parody or cotton candy-esque romance. There are about thirty chapters, give or take, and I'll be posting as I edit, which probably won't be very quick.
Ichigo flattened himself against the wall before the door could swing into his face. A tall man walked out, his curly hair hanging to his chin, his features partially obscured by the ridiculous hat he was sporting. "Apologies! I didn't expect for anyone to be waiting outside," he boomed when he noticed Ichigo.
"So I noticed," muttered Ichigo, eyeing the speaker curiously. He was in a tailored suit, but his tie was quite loud, a Hawaiian print with small tropical fishes and other kinds of aquatic sea-life swimming lazily in silk, the cuffs of his expensive shirt unbuttoned and folded over the sleeves of his Armani jacket.
"You look like a tall, strapping," Ichigo winced, "lad. I'm Shunsui Kyouraku." The other man held out a hand, which Ichigo took gingerly. "You are..."
"He's one of my most promising rookies," someone said from being Kyouraku. Ichigo refrained from groaning as he saw his section chief, grinning and looking ridiculously pleased for no goddamned reason.
"Ahh, Urahara, just the man I wanted to see." Kyouraku released Ichigo's hand, and Ichigo refrained from flexing it. This Kyouraku fellow had a grip. "I believe you wanted to ask me something?"
"In my office." Urahara paused as he examined Ichigo and the papers in his hands. "I'll take those," he said, holding out a hand, and Ichigo sighed as he handed his reports over. "Go on break. You look beat."
"I haven't even started yet," growled Ichigo, but Urahara waved his hand.
"It's fine, your partner's not even here yet. Go on, shoo."
Feeling minorly put out at being treated like some kind of domesticated animal, Ichigo obeyed nonetheless. He paused at a snack machine, grabbing himself a pop and bag of chips before stumping his way to the canteen. He had the afternoon shift, which started a half hour ago, and Rukia still hadn't shown up. Popping the tab of his Sprite, he took a long drink. When he set his drink down, he raised an eyebrow when he saw someone enter the canteen that he never expected to see. He got up and tapped the newcomer on the shoulder.
"The hell you doing here?" he demanded.
Renji jumped and swore. "Can't I come grab a bite to eat?"
"You don't even work here," Ichigo grumped, but walked back to his seat. Renji grabbed a large carton of milk and a straw before sliding into the seat across.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Ichigo opened his bag of chips and took one, offering one to Renji, who grabbed a small handful. "Looking for Rukia?"
"Yeah, kinda."
"Kinda? What the hell does that mean?"
"Was in the neighbourhood. Thought I'd drop in and say hi."
"You can't just drop in on a cop," hissed Ichigo.
Renji shrugged and opened his carton before taking a swig from it. "Why not? Not like you guys were on patrol."
"How would you know?" demanded Ichigo. When Renji did not reply, Ichigo rolled his eyes and pushed a wayward strand of hair from his forehead. "You guys fucking or something?"
Renji spat his milk out, drenching Ichigo with saliva and dairy, as well as the table. "Fuck no!"
"Holy motherfucker, you're paying for my drycleaning," howled Ichigo at the same time.
"You shouldn't have asked such a stupid question then!" shot back Renji.
Grabbing a few stray napkins, Ichigo wiped his face. "I need to change, and I've only one uniform in my locker," he muttered.
"Hey, you on break?"
Ichigo glanced at his watch and shrugged. "Until Rukia gets her ass here."
"Can you fight?"
Ichigo thought back to his first spar with Rukia. "Yeah," he admitted, grabbing his trash and tossing it. "Kinda."
Ichigo's first fight with Renji was nothing like the one with Rukia; neither of them held anything back, and Ichigo spent less time studying his opponent than attacking. He had a feeling that with Renji, it was better to not let him think, to act on instinct and reflex without holding back.
Renji was good. Even better than Rukia in some respects. Where Rukia was agile, cunning and sly, Renji was straightforward, his form not always perfect, but his punches and kicks landed more often and made Ichigo's body reel with just enough sensory impact to disjoint, but not bruise. Rukia's control was imperfect but quicksilver; Renji's was consistent.
After ten minutes were up, Ichigo called time and Renji nodded. "Not bad, Carrot Top," said Renji.
"Not bad yourself," Ichigo replied, walking around the empty room to loosen muscles that were already beginning to stiffen.
"You fight too clean though," Renji said. "If we were on the streets--"
"--I would've been dead in less than two minutes."
"That's not what I was going to say," Renji said. Ichigo looked up from his stretching and saw Renji grin. "You would've been gone in a minute."
"Fuck you," Ichigo said.
"When you're out there," Renji made a gesture with a hand that Ichigo interpreted as 'the streets,' "use every advantage you can get. Make them if you can't get any." He shrugged. "Just advice; wouldn't wanna see you die too young. I don't have the money for flowers or cards."
"You wouldn't be invited to the funeral anyway," muttered Ichigo.
Renji snorted. "If your old man was around, I wouldn't want to go. Ready for another match?"
Ichigo clambered to his feet and shifted his weight to the balls of his feet, when the door to the gym was flung open.
"Ahh, Ichigo! Just the person I wanted to see! Come with me." Urahara's eyes flickered over to Renji. "You too, Abarai," he added, almost as an afterthought.
Ichigo grabbed his sweater and shrugged it on, exchanging a look with Renji, whose jaw suddenly seemed tighter. "You know him?"
"Unfortunately," replied Renji. When he did not elaborate, Ichigo opened his mouth, but Urahara held up a hand.
"Not now, Kurosaki. He can explain later. Officer Kuchiki hasn't shown up yet, has she?"
"Err," Ichigo coughed. "I don't think so," he offered. Then added, "But I haven't checked."
Urahara waved a dismissive hand. "That's fine. Your father and I were no saints either when we were rookies." Chuckling, he led them into his office and they sat down, watching him make coffee. "I've a mission for the both of you." He tossed Ichigo a machine, which he barely caught. It was a tracker, and on it, a small dot was moving away, the radius getting larger and larger. "I need you to tail Shunsui Kyouraku."
"That weird guy from earlier today?" Ichigo asked.
"Only for a few hours. Here's his profile." Tossing a thick folder before them, Ichigo opened it and flipped through it quickly. "He owns six television stations?"
"As well as three newspapers, one of them being a heavily political, and a radio station," Urahara filled in. He looked at Renji, who was struggling to maintain a neutral face. "He's one of the leading moguls of Hong Kong media, and we suspect that he's been hiding a few things from the public."
"Such as?"
"Classified information." Urahara handed them their coffee before making another one for himself. "What we want to find out is what his connection to the Gotei 13 is."
Ichigo, who had been taking a drink, immediately choked. Renji's face was going through an amusing array of expressions, the primary one being dismay. "The fuck?" Ichigo sputtered. "Why me?"
"You're an exceptional officer, never mind that you're a rookie," Urahara said. "And you're Isshin Kurosaki's son." A faint smile found its way to the Section Chief's face. "There are few things thicker than blood."
"Yeah, like a fucking bullet to the brain," snarled Ichigo, throwing the file back onto the desk. "How long do I have to do this?"
"Just until dinner. It's a temporary assignment, rest assured. Anything to say, Abarai?"
"No."
"Good. You're both on the job as of now. Dismissed."
They stood up and left. "No point in changing now," said Ichigo.
Renji shrugged his jacket on, checking his pockets to make sure that his guns were still there. "Go ahead, I'm going to use the toilet first," he said, and backtracked. Curious, Ichigo agreed, but knew that his new partner was lying. Waiting for thirty seconds, he trailed Renji back to Urahara's office, following a hunch. Placing his ear against the closed door, he heard:
"--asn't part of the fucking deal."
"We never specified what was in the deal. As far as I'm concerned, anything dealing with the Gotei 13 and this precint will also involve you."
"Fuck this shit, I'm outta here."
"So's Officer Kuchiki then."
Ichigo's blood turned to ice. He continued listening.
"You can't hold that against me forever."
"You can always go back to jail."
"You said yourself that if I didn't agree to the deal that she'd be gone. You backing out?"
"Things can change."
"So can the shape of your face."
"Careful, Abarai. What are the odds that you can walk out of this building without at least thirty cops leaping on your sorry ass?"
There was a pause and then a growling sound. Realizing that Renji was about to leave, Ichigo skittered away from the door and down the hall, around the corner and waited at the designated area. When Renji returned, his colour was high, but he seemed remarkably composed.
"Let's go," Ichigo said, twirling his keys.
"Yeah." Paused. "Park the car at Star Ferry."
"Why?" Ichigo peered at Renji, who scowled.
"Just trust me on this."
It was a short drive; they weren't too far from Central, and Star Ferry, while expensive, wasn't so difficult to find a spot as Ichigo had feared it would have been. Once out, Ichigo checked the tracker, and noticed that they were substantially closer to Kyouraku (the target) than before.
"Now what? We walk?"
Renji glanced at the tracker, and seemed to think. Finally, "No, catch a cab. Less conspicuous."
"How the fuck do you know this shit?" Ichigo demanded, jogging with Renji towards the taxi stand.
"What do you think?" hissed Renji. He seemed to be in an unbelievably foul mood. Once they were close to Lan Kwai Fong, a small street full of bars and karaoke lounges (Ichigo had spent many nights ticketing inebrieted teens for underaged drinking), Renji stopped the cab, motioned for Ichigo to pay the guy (which he did, grudgingly) and they clambered out of the car. Once the taxi had departed, Ichigo drew the tracker out of his jacket a little, no longer surprised to see that they were even closer to their target.
"Follow my lead," Renji said to him in a low voice. "Don't talk if you don't have to. Try not to get shot to shit if I'm not around."
"I'm not a--"
"--rookie?" Renji took a deep breath. "I'll explain things after this is over, okay?"
"Fuck that, I want to know what I'm getting into."
Renji looked at him, and Ichigo was struck by how much meaner Renji suddenly looked, the way his tattoos stood out against his pale skin and red hair. "No you don't," he said. "But if it really matters, I'm known around here."
Ichigo opened his mouth to protest, and snapped it shut when the implications of the statement seeped into his brain. Renji Abarai, the guy on parole, the one his dad had busted for exporting drugs, rumoured to have been in a gang. "Well, lead the way Red fucking Riding Hood," he said.
Renji smacked the back of his head and strode off, walking to the end of the hill and then ducking into a corner, down the street and then into another street. They stopped in front of an escort club, and Ichigo blinked and checked the tracker. Renji gave him no time to think before slipping inside and after a moment's hesitation, Ichigo followed.
A pretty girl came up to them, but sat back down when she noticed Renji. The escort club was empty as it was still early in the day and Ichigo guessed that it had just opened. Kyouraku was sitting on a sofa, surrounded by a bevy of beauties. He did not notice their entrance. Renji sat down not too far from the bar, raised a hand and ordered a whiskey on the rocks. After a moment's hesitation, Ichigo asked for a Coke, drawing up the hood of his sweatshirt.
"You a wuss?" Renji asked once their server had left. Ichigo shrugged.
"Don't like alcohol. 'sides, shouldn't drink on the job."
"Whatever."
"How the hell did you know he was--"
"Later," interrupted Renji. The backdoor to the bar opened, and Ichigo looked up to see a young woman. She had glasses, her hair was bound back with a few wisps escaping from it. Her skirt fell exactly to her knees and the shirt was buttoned almost all the way up. Her suit jacket matched her skirt perfectly, its sleeves ending just where her wrists were. She was hugging a folder and clipboard to her chest. Sweeping her eyes across the floor, she saw Kyouraku (the target, Ichigo reminded himself) and her lips thinned before she walked towards him, dipping under the small exit from behind the bar without bothering to lift the heavy wood. She stopped before him.
"Sir," she said, her tone heavy with disapproval. Ichigo sipped his pop.
"My dear Nanao" said Kyouraku.
"I've come to give you this."
"Sit down! Have a drink with me," he said, waving at the sofa. A girl immediately moved over but Nanao declined with alacrity, Ichigo was amused to note.
"No thank you. I must go back to work."
"Do you work all hours of the night as well as day?" Kyouraku asked in a mournful tone.
"I work as long as Mr. Ukitake needs me to," she replied in a clipped voice.
"Lucky Jyuushirou," he said, in the same tone.
"Sir," it sounded more like a warning than anything else to Ichigo. He looked at Renji, who seemed more than slightly amused by all of this.
"Excuse me ladies, but business calls," he said, kissing the cheeks of each of the girls around him and handing them bills. Ichigo thought it could have possibly been his imagination, but he swore that he saw Nanao's lips tighten. When the girls had disappeared, Kyouraku stood. They walked back towards the bar and he lifted the heavy wooden separator for them, lowering it back down gently and into the back. Ichigo was about to stand up, but Renji pushed him back down.
"That should be enough for that rat-fink bastard," Renji said flatly. "Let's go."
"Why are you in such a hurry, Abarai?" a voiced asked from behind them. Renji's spine stiffened, but Ichigo turned his head around curiously, his hood falling down to his shoulders.
"Good evening, Mr. Aizen," replied Renji.
"And to you, Mr. Abarai. Who is your companion here?"
"Just a friend," Renji said, waving a hand. "Ichigo, this is Mr. Aizen. Mr. Aizen, this is Ichigo."
"You may call me Sousuke," Mr. Aizen said, offering his hand. Ichigo took it reluctantly. "I hope this isn't brash, but could I ask for your surname?"
Ichigo hesitated. "Yasutora," he lied. Chad surely wouldn't mind. "But call me Ichigo instead."
"Hmm, interesting. What do you do for a living, Ichigo?"
Ichigo decided that he didn't like this man. He seemed too nice and genial. "I'm a sales clerk," he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets and enjoying the feeling of his semi-automatic in his hand.
"I see." Aizen's eyes dropped to his pockets, and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "I hope I will see you again."
"Yeah," Ichigo replied, half-heartedly. "See you around."
Once Aizen had left them, Renji grabbed his drink, downed it, and said, "Let's blow this joint."
For once, Ichigo didn't argue. He left a couple of bills on the table, drained his pop. Once they were back in Ichigo's car, the doors closed and windows closed, Renji let out a long sigh and his shoulders seemed to relax slightly. "I'm hungry," he announced, reaching deep in his pocket and taking out a cigarette. Ichigo plucked it from his hands.
"Yeah, well you owe me an explanation," Ichigo said. "And I don't want my car to smell.
Renji scowled, but put the cigarette back in its package. "Haven't you figured it out yet? I'm a double agent. For that rat-fink of a bastard," he added.
Several things in Ichigo's mind clicked. Then he frowned. "A double agent in the Gotei 13? How the fuck did you manage that?"
"You don't want to know," Renji said wearily.
Ichigo studied him for a while, noting the dark shadows under his eyes. With a shrug, he decided it wasn't really any of his business and turned the key in the ignition. Pulling out of the spot, he remembered the conversation he had overheard through Urahara's door. "How you know Rukia then?"
"Told you before. Fostered together."
"You guys kept in touch?"
"Yeah, something like that." Renji leaned his head back, reached out with a long arm and turned on the radio. "You think Rukia's at work yet?"
"Probably. Why?"
Renji grabbed Ichigo's cell phone from the holder and began flipping through the phone book. "Think we can get her to pay for our dinner tonight?"
Ichigo snorted. "What do you think?"
end chapter nine
Notes: I was rereading this chapter and saying to myself, "Wow. This really makes no sense!" Err, more filler, I guess you could say. It was mostly me going, "Hee, IRR!" and "ICHY/RENJY!" and all sorts of idiocy. I think my threesome tendencies are becoming obvious.
Also, if I had to rewrite it, I would probably have had Renji and Ichigo take a taxi to the IFC and just walk to Lan Kwai Fong. Lan Kwai Fong/Central area is also where the famous kilometre-long escalator is, and where the majority of the Wong Kar Wai movie "Chungking Express" takes place. "Lan Kwai Fong" is an area full of clubs. In reality, if the Hyourinmaru really did exist, it'd more likely be a high-rollin' illegal gambling den behind a very famous Chinese restaurant. Hee.
It weirds me out to realize that people read my lj for this AU. I feel like no one on FFN is reading it much. Heh. But I do appreciate the reviews.
Happy Hols, everyone! I'll, uh, try to have the next chapter out faster.
Up next: (Infernal Affairs) Nanao, Shunsui and a mission objective (or something)! Also, Byakuya and we meet the head of the Gotei 13 at last.
