Remember to vote on the pole, the votes are tied at the mo so vote, vote, vote XD

If it ends up a tie I might make a separate ending with the other tied choice as a different story but I'd rather not have to do that :P

I had a real debate on if I should kill off Rukia and well… you'll see the conclusion I came to… :P

I own none of the rights to Bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo.

Dead Investigators

'Kuchiki,' the word stuck with him as it echoed around his mindscape threatening to drown the world in rain. Back to how it was before, when everyone had died leaving Mugetsu with no hope and only the idea of saving the town he'd grown up in. The spirits who'd been up to their usual antics had frozen as the word reached them, they called out to Mugetsu, pleading for him not to think the worst. Their words didn't reach him. The rain crashed down on them, a storm that they all feared. Reminding them how glad they were to have each other in the vast lonely world of Mugetsus inner soul.

"Who?" Mugetsu ground out. His fists clenched so tightly that his nails bit into his skin causing blood to slowly drip to the floor.

"We don't know their name yet, but it's female. We'll find out when we get there." Anubis replied before adding, "Shall I meet you two there?" He looked at Mugetsu then to Grim who nodded allowing Anubis to disappear.

"Mugetsu…" Grim began not sure what the appropriate action would be.

"You don't need to say anything, just take me there." Mugetsu murmured, "It might not even be her…"

"Give me your hand then." Grim said as he reluctantly held out his. Mugetsu didn't bother to ask why as he numbly lifted his hand up to Grim. A cold smooth surface grabbed his hand and pulled him along into darkness.

~/~

Kuchiki Manor

They arrived outside the gates of the manor. Grim argued with a few officials that Mugetsu was now a temporary part of their investigation squad, but Mugetsu didn't pay attention. He was too busy trying to summon up the hope that one of his friends hadn't died again, that he'd failed to protect another person even after starting over.

They were let in eventually and Mugetsu proceeded to follow Grim around the extravagant mansion, not that he noticed. People whispered as they passed by. Excited. Scared. Desolate. A mix of emotions filtered through the air, Mugetsu and Grim being the only reason for a hint of excitement. The walk felt long, not that it was. They entered a few rooms and as each door slid open it only made Mugetsus heart beat that much faster.

They stopped and were followed by another argument, one that was shorter than the first. When it was over the final door slid open, Mugetsu looked up and despite thinking about it for so long he wasn't prepared for what he saw.

Lying in what must've been her dyeing pose was the familiar raven haired girl who'd given him the ability to protect others. She lay upon a futon, obviously having been killed while she slept, gazing up towards the celling with her mouth pulled into a slight smile, one he'd come to know so well. One of her eyes was covered with a mass of hair while the other was open, the vacant mistiness of it only made Mugetsu even more speechless than he already was. But he didn't turn away. He continued to study her almost untouched body. Her hands were pulled up to her chest, lying just over her heart with one on top of the other. The reason for that as Mugetsu could see was to try and hide the wound for as long as possible. What had given it away were the specs of blood that lay just below her folded hands.

"Rukia…" Mugetsu whispered brokenly, a few tears ran down his face but he promptly whipped the away. Why? Why had he failed to protect her again? His sadness soon began to turn into anger. Anger that he was afraid would boil over and consume him. He didn't want to be reliving this again, it had been bad enough the first time.

"Time to inspect the body," murmured Grim as he walked towards the body, shooing all onlookers away leaving only three people in the room. Mugetsu only watched as Grim gently lifted one hand up and placed it to the side, and then repeated the process with the other.

"This is different…" Anubis observed.

"It's brutal, obviously someone was angry." Grim growled.

"How did they manage to cover up all the blood?"

"Illusion." Grim moved his hand over the wound that was so clean yet brutal and revealed the true mess of not only the wound but Rukias body.

"Very angry." Anubis corrected. Mugetsu eyes were wide as he looked at the now bloodied and battered body.

Her heart had been torn from her chest leaving a sticky gaping mess of blood, bone and tissue. The bones arched inwards showing that her chest had been punched into right the way through, the heart pulled along with the punch. Her legs were now both broken, their bones piercing her flesh from the inside out as they lay at inhuman angles. One arm was missing having been ripped off in the same manner as the heart leaving a spray of blood along the wall opposite but no sign of said arm. The other was burnt to the bone leaving nothing but the smooth but slightly charred surface of white visible. The face was the same, still a slight smile that now chilled Mugetsu to the bone was still there, the eyes open and one still covered by slightly blood soaked hair.

Everything in the room was a mess, not that it was surprising. Blood along with other unmentionables saw strewn around the room covering everything and soiling the place with its stench.

Mugetsu couldn't move. How could anyone do this? This was something you'd expect a hollow to do, only they wouldn't leave the body. How hadn't anyone noticed? And how was her body still here? He didn't want to believe it. Rukia wasn't so weak as to be taken out in her sleep. Then there was the smile. Who smiled while that was happening to their body? While they were being ripped to shreds in front of their own eyes?

"How did you know there was an illusion?" Mugetsu whispered, not trusting his voice to be any louder.

"You're expression and everyone else's reactions. We can see through illusions unlike normal soul reapers and this one was one planted by someone very powerful, yet still has the same signature as your attack on Aizen." Grim mused before he sank into deep thought and left Anubis to explain everything else.

"You're probably wondering how the body's still here aren't you?" He asked receiving a nod from Mugetsu, "If the body isn't completely destroyed it takes a while for it to break down depending on the person's spiritual pressure. Fortunately she had a decent amount and her attack happened at the right time, when people were waking up, so she was discovered quickly and they were able to preserve the body for us."

"She shouldn't have died at all, I came back to stop that! To stop it all!" Mugetsu said his voice building to an aggressive roar as his temper rose.

"You knew her." Anubis sighed his eyes filled with understanding. "We've all lost someone in these murders, that's why me and Hades were so quick to accuse you. We wanted someone to blame and we wanted our revenge sooner rather than later. But there's nothing you could've done, it's not your fault."

"It is though… if I hadn't killed Aizen then she wouldn't have been targeted. I caused this, again, I dragged her into something just like before…" Mugetsu muttered as he walked over to the body and knelt beside her. Ignoring the protests of the others he pulled Rukias face to his chest in a broken hug. Not caring he was covering himself in blood Mugetsu hung his head over her lifeless shoulder as he repeatedly whispered sorry into her now crimson coloured Jinbei. More tears ran down his face and a bigger storm raged through his inner world the spirits barely able to take much more of his grief until Grim pulled Mugetsu off Rukias corpse and dragged him to the other side of the room.

His movements were hesitant as he brought his skeletal hand up to Mugetsu face, muttering a few words as he did so, "I'm sorry for doing this kid, it'll wear off later but right now we need you in the right frame of mind."

A light flashed from his hand causing Mugetsu to blink. The tears stopped and so did the storm. But he couldn't feel anything. No sadness found its way into his mind as a satisfied Grim pulled him back to the body. The body that received no reaction from him.

"What did you do?" His voice was emotionless, almost lifeless, as he asked the question.

"One of my abilities is to lock away someone's emotions," Grim replied as he stared at the body. "Let's see, the killing blow was obviously the ripping out of the heart but why would they go to the extent of hiding their handy work? They've never done so before."

"Maybe they only wanted a certain person to see the damage." Anubis suggested indicating towards Mugetsu, "They're trying to gain his attention now seeing how the idea of framing him has been discarded."

"True but what do they have against Mugetsu?" Grim turned to Mugetsu, "Know anyone with a grudge against you?"

"Aizen's dead and I doubt his espada would bother to do all these murders, it's not their style."

"Come on kid you've got to have more enemies than that."

"I don't unless you count Tousen."

"Tousen's been in prison since you killed Aizen and there's been nothing to suggest his escape." Anubis paused in thought, "Unless Mugetsu doesn't know them directly, they could've been related to Aizen in a way…"

"Seems possible, but you said they're too many people who're involved with Aizen to know who it is." Grim said.

"I know but there I've got a list of people who were and we've got another list of who knew where the witness was placed. If we compare them it'll narrow it down, then we go from there."

"And if it's more than one?"

"We investigate all possible leads."

"You pre-"

"Shhh!" Mugetsu said silencing the whole room as he stood with his ear against the other paper doors which lead outside. The others looked at him curiously as he continued to signal them to stay silent a trademark scowl forming on his emotionless face as he strained himself to hear something they couldn't.

Mugetsu heard a slight tap on the other side of the doors and that's all it took before he burst through them and came face to face with the murderer.

As quick as he burst through the door the figure jumped backwards into the middle of the garden. Their body was completely covered by a gold trimmed black cloak and a hood was pulled up obscuring most of their face from view leaving only the mouth visible.

A cruel grin pulled onto their face as the pulled a bundle out from their cloak. And the bundle turned out to be the heart missing from Rukias chest.

"Hello, Mugetsu." The poisonous feminine voice called before taking a bite into the blood dripping heart.

Sorry guys for killing Rukia, please don't kill me D:

If I didn't kill her off I thought it might be too predictable, and now Mugetsu has a reason for wanting to kill this mystery person so I guess it's all good :P

Jinbei – I think they're pyjamas… not sure if they are though…aha..

Next time: Someone's Watching Your Pain