Woot, squeezed one in there! Shorter than my usual chapters, but a 'tis real game-changer, this one!

Disclaimer: *insert teary admittance that no, bleach is not the property of this author*

Enjoy!

Chapter 14 –

"Aizen…he wanted me to come over to his house."

"Fuck."

A heavy silence ensued and Ichigo didn't know what to say. He could see Grimmjow's face tightening in anger, lips pressing in a thin line as he mulled it over. Finally, the silence was broken, Grimmjow looking at Ichigo with fire in his eyes.

"I'm coming with you," he declared, his tone leaving no room for argument.

But Ichigo tried anyway. "But – you can't! What if he sees you?"

Grimmjow shook his head, tightening his grip around the smaller man protectively. "I'll wait outside – hide in his backyard or something."

He felt fingers dig into his chest. "He has security, remember? You can't just hide out for an indefinite amount of time. Especially since you're staying still, making it that much easier to pinpoint you!"

Grimmjow rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Then I'll park around the corner or something. I've done this before, Ichi, you don't need to worry."

Ichigo loosened his death grip on his chest, relaxing back against the sofa. "Well, alright then. But we need something that'll let you know if I'm in trouble."

Grimmjow hummed contemplatively and heaved himself out of the cushions. "I got just the thing." he announced.

Walking over to his dressing table, he crouched down and popped open the very bottom drawer, riffling through its contents with an intense look on his face. Ichigo couldn't help but lean over the back of the sofa, pillowing his head on his forearms, as he watched Grimmjow with a curious gaze. Eyes flicking to the clock, he frowned slightly at the time, knowing they didn't have much before he needed to be at Aizen's doorstep.

Opening is mouth, he called out, "Grimm—"

"Aha!" he was interrupted by a loud crow. "I thought I lost them for a sec!"

Standing up on his knees, Ichigo craned his neck to see what Grimmjow was so excited about. "What do you have there?"

Grimmjow twisted his upper body around, shooting Ichigo a triumphant grin. "Well, it's not much…," holding up what looked like a miniscule, black earpiece, he continued, "but, this little baby will go in your ear while you're with that bastard."

Biting his lips, Ichigo held out a hand for the device, turning it this way and that and eyeing it critically. "But this is only for giving out commands, though. How's it gonna help us?"

Grimmjow grinned as he settled beside him again. Taking the little gadget, he pointed out a small indent on the bottom. "Nope, not this one. This'll also function like a microphone, meaning I'll be able to listen to everything that's being said."

Ichigo gave a slow nod. "So, I'm assuming this comes in a pair?"

Grimmjow snorted, rolling his eyes at the obvious comment, before leaning forward to fit the tiny device into the oranget's ear. Tilting his head to the left to give him more room, Ichigo looked at Grimmjow with a soft smile. "Thanks for doing this."

Grimmjow smirked, leaning forward to capture those smooth lips in a soft kiss. "You can never take too many precautions when dealing with that sick fuck. Trust me, I know." Blushing slightly, he mumbled. "Besides, I don't even want to imagine what it'd do to me if ya got hurt."

Ichigo smiled gently, carding his fingers through the brilliance of Grimmjow's azure hair. "I know." He said simply. Trailing his fingers lightly down that strong face, he whispered, "We better get going, or Aizen will be suspicious."

Grimmjow licked his lips, a fierce battle waging inside of him. His instincts demanded he keep Ichigo there, but the rational part of him knew that that would cause even more trouble than it was worth. Even then, the bad feeling in his stomach only intensified as he led Ichigo down to the garage, picking out the most inconspicuous vehicle for the drive. Settling in, he buckled up, glancing at his passenger out the corner of his eye and picking up on the nervous vibes practically rolling off him. Reaching over, he laced their hands together, giving it a firm squeeze at the questioning look in those liquid amber eyes.

"You'll be fine," he promised. "Remember, I'll be right there."

Receiving a shaky smile in response, Grimmjow had to forcibly tamp down on the oily feeling in his gut.

He had a really bad feeling about this.

He parked a couple blocks away from Aizen's house, turning the car off and sitting back in his seat. Turning his head, he watched Ichigo unbuckle his seat-belt and open the car door, laying a foot outside. There, he stopped, turning to look back at the blunet. On a whim, he gave him a quick, but hard kiss, leaving them both tingling pleasantly.

"I'm right here," Grimmjow assured him again and only then did Ichigo get out of the car, closing the door shut behind him. Jamming his hands in his jean's pockets, he strolled along the sidewalk, trying to mentally remember the directions to his captain's place.

Looking around, he took in the quiet street, lush in greenery, the houses themselves all freshly painted and glowing brightly under the sinking sun. It made him wonder what made a setting like this appeal to Aizen. Was it the seeming innocence of the place, or the way it all looked so new and untouched by the outside world? To Ichigo though, it looked too staged – he knew he would never be comfortable in a place like this, devoid of any personality or life.

That reminded him of his own house, and whether or not he'd be able to keep it. He honestly couldn't say how that would pan out, because both he and Renji had saved for the house together, so it wasn't like any one of them had more claim than the other. And then there was the whole divorce process itself. Ichigo couldn't help letting out a tired groan at the thought of all the legal hassle.

Lost in his dreary thoughts, he didn't even notice when his feet unconsciously carried him to his destination. He was a good couple of meters past the house when a soft-spoken voice penetrated the fog.

"Detective Kurosaki, you finally made it," Ichigo flinched slightly under the overly-warm tone, before plastering a polite smile on his face and turning around to face his superior. "For a second, I was afraid you'd gotten lost on your way."

"No," Ichigo laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head as he walked forward to greet the smiling brunet. "I'm sorry, sir. You caught me just, uh, as I was getting out of bed."

Aizen quirked an eyebrow, motioning for Ichigo to enter his home. "Oh, at this time? My, Ichigo what happened to sleeping at night?"

I would've, except I was fucking your son so…"I-I was working on the case, sir. The time just flew by."

Aizen nodded, closing the door behind Ichigo, drawing him smoothly to the living room. "Ah, yes. The case. That is something I wanted to discuss with you." Smiling quietly at him, he gestured to his clothes, and for the first time, Ichigo noticed that he was wearing a slightly mussed apron, littered here and there with old stains, "But as you can see, when you didn't show up, I decided to make myself a late lunch. Now that you're here, would you like to join me?"

The tone was gentle, but Ichigo couldn't help picking up an undercurrent of forcefulness and danger in that silky voice. Shifting uncomfortably, their eyes caught, and Ichigo's breath caught as he looked into a sea of emptiness. Quickly looking away, he missed the slight smirk of Aizen's face as he tried to keep his emotions in check.

"Of course. It would be my pleasure, Captain."

Aizen waved his words away. "Oh, no need for formalities here. You are a guest at my house, Ichigo. I would love it for you to be as comfortable as possible."

Ichigo bowed his head hesitantly and Aizen smiled again, but this time, it seemed brittle. "Well, then. Follow me to the dining room and I'll set everything up."

Clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white, Ichigo narrowed his eyes at Aizen's retreating back. The whole exchange felt like a game and he didn't like that. It felt like Aizen was toying with him and he'd much rather that the older man just come out and get whatever he wanted done with already.

As if picking up on his thoughts, a calm voice sounded in his ear. "Patience, babe. Don't let your guard down. If there's one thing he likes, it's playing mind games with his prey."

Ichigo heaved out a slow breath, following behind Aizen to his large and airy dining room. Looking around, he noticed the kitchen on the opposite side, where Aizen was busy taking something out of the oven and humming silently to himself.

Turning away from the slightly creepy sight – okay, a lot creepy – Ichigo made an effort to smooth over his expression, sitting down at the massive dining table and looking out into the garden while he waited for the food. Once again, he couldn't help noticing the particularity of everything – the grass cut trimly, the flowers arranged in neat rows, not one petal out of place. Even the trees seemed to follow the fashion, no sign of any discoloured leaves, rather odd for this late in the season. It was all…too picture perfect.

Suddenly a plate of steaming chicken was placed in front of him, with a side of white rice and steamed vegetables. Looking up, he watched Aizen place a similar plate in front of him, except his chicken seemed to have been substituted for tofu.

Picking up his fork, Ichigo picked at his chicken. "Pretty western meal you have here, Captain."

Aizen dipped his head gracefully. "Yes, I was in the mood for western tonight. If it's not to your liking I could serve you something different."

Ichigo blinked at the generous offer, before giving a short laugh and waving it off. "No, it fine. It's very good."

Aizen tilted his head questioningly. "You haven't tried it, Ichigo."

The oranget felt his face flame hot at the blunder. "Uh, no I haven't…But it looks good!"

Receiving an amused nod, Ichigo blushed again before digging into his meal, eyes intent on the plate in front of him. He heard Aizen pause for a second, feeling the prickly sensation of his eyes boring into him before he too picked up his fork and started eating. After a couple minutes of heavy silence, Aizen finally set his utensil down and took a sip of his water.

"So, now that we have some food in us, why don't you tell me about the case?"

Ichigo swallowed nervously as his mind whirled for something to say. "It going well, sir. There have been some very…promising leads and I think that they will lead up to the killer in no time."

Aizen folded his hands under his chin, face adopting a polite smile. "Really? And here I thought this case would take months of work. Tell me, how did you come by your leads?"

Ichigo breathed out slowly. He'd have to tread carefully here. "It was purely by accident actually. Some…old friends of mine knew some little tidbits. They helped me track down someone else who was very helpful."

"And who was this man?"

"He…wants to remain confidential right now…I'm sorry I can't be more forthright, Captain."

Aizen sat back in his chair, placing his hands comfortably on his lap. "Oh, that's fine Ichigo. It's the nature of the business, yes? Now, I know you were looking into a particular young man at the beginning…what was his name?"

Ichigo felt his eyes go wide as Aizen rubbed his chin in thought. "Ahh, that's right! Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, I believe."

Hearing said man's breathing get faster in his ear, Ichigo bobbed his head, if a bit erratically. "Yes, that was his name. Unfortunately, after a thorough investigation, it was made clear that he did not have especially strong ties to the case."

"So, he is not the killer?"

"No sir, though he has a questionable past, Jaegerjaques is not the killer we're looking for." As soon as he said it, his heart stopped and he heard a loud hiss in his ear. Looking over, he saw Aizen sit up straighter.

"Questionable past, huh? Tell me, Detective, what does that entail exactly?"

Ichigo's throat closed up as a stream of colourful insults sounded in his ears. He wanted to slap himself for the mistake. Panic coursed through him as Aizen's expression turned hard at the silence. Leaning forward, he braced his hands on the table, their food all but forgotten.

"I'm waiting."

Ichigo opened his mouth, to say what he didn't know, when they were interrupted by someone knocking at the door. Ichigo sat frozen in his spot, as Aizen's eyes flicked to the hallway, boring holes into the wall. Suddenly, his hard expression cleared and a soft smile stretched his lips.

"Ah, that must be my other guest. Wait here, Ichigo, I'll be back with a surprise." Throwing him a playful wink, he got off his seat and strolled casually towards the entrance. Behind him, Ichigo shuddered as disgust clawed through his chest. His body sank back against the chair as the tension slowly left him with Aizen no longer there. Closing his eyes, he focused on keeping his breathing in check, letting the soft and assuring murmurs in his ears calm his system. But that peace was shattered when an eerily familiar voice crashed into his bubble.

"Mah, Ichi! Yer here too? Oh, this is so exciting!"

Ichigo's head whipped around, wide eyes landing on a bone-white face, a thin smile stretched across pale lips.

"Gin." the word fell from his lips in a burst of air, shock written all over his face. He felt his surprise echoed in his ear, as Grimmjow growled and muttered quietly to himself.

"W-what are you doing here?" he stuttered, body frozen in panic as a horrific realization suddenly hit him, making his stomach turn in fear and anger.

If possible, Gin's smile stretched even wider, body leaning back against Aizen, who'd come in after him.

"Why don't you answer that, Aizen?" he cooed in sickly-sweet voice, turning his head to brush his lips teasingly against the older man's pulse.

Aizen looked on at the exchange, face glowing in something akin to victory. "Gin is…a very close friend of mine. But I'm curious, now. How could you two possibly know each other?"

Gin jumped up and down excitedly. "Oh, let me answer that! Please!"

Aizen laughed, turning to Gin with an indulgent smile. "Why, of course you can. Tell us, did something happen lately that maybe I should know about?"

Gin hummed playfully and tapped a finger against his stretched lips. "Weeell, you wouldn't believe it, but this really funny pair came to visit me."

Ichigo's fingers clenched helplessly as Aizen shot him a small smirk. "And what did they want?"

Gin crossed his arms against his chest, snuggling back in against Aizen. "Well, they were asking me about some really…interesting things."

"And did you tell them anything?"

"I couldn't help it, ya know! They were just so…" licking his lips, he continued. "…desperate."

"I understand," Aizen smiled, flashing sharp canines at Ichigo, causing a shiver to run down his back. "We played a decent game and it was good while it lasted," letting go of Gin, he walked closer to a frozen Ichigo. "But now, it's time we end it."

Fire blazed through Ichigo at the realization that his life was suddenly in danger and he leaped out of his seat, positioning the chair in between him and Aizen. Seeing as his weapon was still at his old house, he knew he had no way of defending himself – save for fists – if it came down to a real fight and plus, he'd be willing to bet that these two were packing some major firepower. The only thing he could think of was to distract them until Grimmjow came, but he'd be damned if he'd lie down and submit in the meantime.

"Fuck you, asshole. You may have pulled a fast one this time, but you're not getting away with it."

"Ahh, the clichéd line the hero spouts at the villain. But this is not like the stories," he hissed. "I am not some pathetic B-grade evil guy. I'll kill you with my bare hands if it means preserving my life's work!"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the slightly manic expression on the brunet's face. "Grimmjow told me you were kind of unstable, but I didn't entirely believe him. Now, though, I know you're a crazy bastard."

Straightening up, Aizen tugged at the collar of his pressed white shirt, his eyes as hard as flint. "True genius is hard to recognize, Ichigo Kurosaki. You can't hope to judge me from your meager perspective. The things I've done for this city are incalculable in their measure!"

Distract, distract! Where are you, Grimm? "And how is committing mass murder helpful to this city? In what sick world is taking a life, any life, justifiable?"

Aizen's eyes took on a faraway look. "I did it to protect everybody. I exterminated the filth when no one else had the guts to do so! They should hail me as their king!"

"You're a cop, Aizen, so where's your moral code? What happened to arresting the bad guys and putting them in jail for the rest of their lives? You could've done that, but instead you broke the very law you'd sworn to uphold!"

"Don't talk to me about a moral code! Life isn't black and white – it's only a world of grays. And in that world, I had to look on as I saw my city taken over by trash! As those rotten animals took something beautiful and pure and destroyed it right in front of my eyes. Where were your precious cops then, I ask you?" Ichigo remained silent as Aizen seethed quietly in front of him. "I know! They were getting fat off the city right along with the filth!"

Ichigo sat back, body tense as he tried to find the words to go along with the feelings roiling inside of him. He'd known that the situation in Karakura had gotten especially bad when some notorious crime bosses had decided to shift their operations to their little town, hoping that would cause them less trouble. Crime had skyrocketed, drugs had become a common sight at street corners, and hundreds of women had turned to prostitution as a way to get quick cash. He understood wanting to solve the problem, but to do so in such an extreme way? That, he didn't get and hopefully never would.

"Aizen…" he started, but just then a loud crash sounded around the house, shaking the walls with its intensity. Ichigo jumped as Aizen spun his head around to where a cloud of dust was slowly settling.

"Grimmjow," Ichigo breathed, as relief crashed over him, making his knees go weak at the intense feeling.

Sure enough, Grimmjow barged into the room, shaking his head to dislodge the bits of wall and ceiling all over him.

Aizen turned to face his wayward son as the blunet flicked a wary glance at Gin, before settling his hard gaze on his estranged father.

"What the fuck are you doing, Aizen?" Taking small, measured steps towards him, Grimmjow's eyes bored into Aizen's.

"Grimmjow, my boy, You have no idea how very disappointed I am to see you here," Aizen tsked, shaking his head slowly in mock-frustration.

"Like I give a shit about yer opinion," Grimmjow snarled back. "I'm here to stop you and take back Ichigo."

Aizen smirked derisively. "You think you have the gall to stop me, boy? Without me, you'd be nothing, worse than the dirt that clogs the streets." Sensing that he had his attention, he pressed on, lips peeled back in disgust. "You think I don't know that you've been fucking around with my man behind my back? You think I don't know what you've been up to all this time?" his voice turned into a near-roar. "I am your father! I know you better than anyone else ever will – you are what you are because of me! And you still think you can stop me. Pah!" turning his back to the blunet, he sniffed scornfully. "I'd like to see you try, boy."

Grimmjow clenched his hands against his side, fingers aching to reach for the automatic hidden at his waist. "I am your son…and that is precisely why I'll stop you."

Standing back, Ichigo saw many things happen at once. He saw Aizen smile, signalling to a cackling Gin, who, in a lightning-fast motion, reached into his shirt and drew out a gleaming gun. Time seemed to slow down as his eyes flicked to Grimmjow, watching as he too reached in his waistband, drawing his own weapon.

His heart slowed down, as a loud shot rang out.

"Ichigo!"

So here's the thing. This story's soming to an end, but now, there are two ways we can go from here. But I want you guys to decide. Meaning you can either have A HAPPY ENDING or A SAD ENDING. But you gotta REVIEW FOR THAT!

Until next time :D