On the other side of town from where Orihime and Ulquiorra were enjoying themselves in the company of Mr. and Mrs. Taka's home, there was a disgruntled young man pacing in the dark ally behind his house talking heatedly into his cell phone.
"I don't give a shit what you say! I saw that dog alive and well just last night! Your people never got rid of him!" Ichigo screamed into his cell phone.
"Well, what am I supposed to do, carrot top?" the man on the other end of the line asked plainly. "I haven't even seen my boys since I sent them out on your request."
"I expect you to do what I paid you to do!" Ichigo yelled. "I paid you damn good money to get rid of that mutt! You better get it done or else I'm gonna come over there and kick your ass!"
The man laughed on the other end of the line. "That's a good one, carrot top! Maybe you'd be a bit more intimidating if you threatened to sick that chick's mutt on me again!"
Ichigo gritted his teeth and clutched his phone so tightly it cracked. This is what he had been putting up with for the past month. People were constantly mocking him because that damn mutt of Orihime's had beaten all of the thugs that had trespassed onto school property while he was being driven into the dirt. Saying things like: "Hey, Ichigo, do you need a puppy to take care of those big, bad bullies?" or "Ichigo, do you sleep with a little kitten at night to protect you from the monster hiding in your closet?" It was driving him insane.
"Don't mock me," Ichigo growled through clenched teeth. "Do you have any idea how humiliated I was when I went back to school after being shown up by that damn dog? People are still tormenting me! I paid you to take care of that damn mutt, so do what I paid you to do!"
"Well, what do you want us to do? My best hit-men have gone missing since you put in the request. How do you want us to get rid of the mutt?" The man chuckled slightly.
"I still can't believe you're willing to pay this much to have a dog killed. Can't you just put a bowl of anti-freeze out in his yard and wait for him to drink it? It'd be cheaper than what you're doing now, and it would be ten times more painful."
Ichigo rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No, he's too smart to fall for something like that. This is the only way."
"So what do you want us to do?" the man asked, all humor had been wiped from his voice.
"I don't care how you do it," Ichigo replied dully. "Do whatever it takes to get rid of that dog." He dug his nails into his palm to the point where he drew blood. "I just want that damn mutt gone!"
There was a short silence on the other end of the line.
"Alright, carrot top," the man replied, "I know a way to get rid of the mutt, but it's gonna take some time for me to get everything ready. It's not very subtle and it'll take me a while for me to find the guys willing to do something this stupid just to kill off a dog, but I assure you that this plan works one-hundred percent of the time."
"Good, that's all I wanted to hear." Ichigo had calmed down somewhat. "How long do you think it'll take you to get everything prepared?"
"It depends," the man said. "Normally we do something like this when we try to take out mob bosses or underground drug tycoons. We've never done this just to get a dog. It's gonna take me some time to find the guys stupid enough to carry out the job, and I also need you to give me some information about where the mutt's gonna be and when. If it all goes well, I could have it all done in a month at the very least."
"Alright, I'll get you the information you'll need. I'm counting on you and your men to get the job done." Ichigo hung up the phone and chucked it against the side of the house, shattering it on impact.
If Orihime's dog had just been your average, run of the mill mutt, he wouldn't be going so far to take him out. But this wasn't just an ordinary dog, there was something about him that wasn't right. That mongrel had somehow taken out all eight of those thugs whereas he couldn't even take down one.
No. There was something odd about that mutt. Not even dogs that were trained by the police or the FBI were that good. Something was going on, and Ichigo was determined to find out what; no matter what the cost.