Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, or any of the characters used in this fic. They all belong to Tite Kubo: the genius behind the captivating manga that started it all. I only own any of my original characters that I choose to include, as well as any of my own original plot ideas.

Ch 21: Nothing To It

She didn't like it, being kept in the dark. Understanding his foolish tendencies was one thing, but accepting them? It was simply out of the question.

Little had been said the previous evening. She'd asked her questions, and he'd given her the cold shoulder. A common thing, as of late. Akemi, on the other hand, had been bounding around the room, asking Retsu questions about why everyone else in her daycare got to say "daddy" all the time.

Mayuri had looked a bit ill after that, and it was enough to tell her that something was out of balance.

That was why she'd done things this way, leaving before he could wake so she could have a chance to talk to Toshiro. She'd been up and out by six-thirty. Besides, he wouldn't tell her anything. Again. So, her best bet was to go to the source.

It was a bit of a shame that the boy had to put up with Mayuri more than she did, for Retsu knew quite well that he rubbed the youth the wrong way. Toshiro was everything that a person would associate with justice, while her sadistic love interest purposefully went out of his way to oppose the boy's beliefs.

She'd have to talk to him about that later.

The glass hissed silently behind her, the air that caused a gap slowing down the door's progress. Retsu couldn't pinpoint why the station smelled this way, let alone the name of the scent. It was airy, but watered down and fresh, somehow. There was a young man sitting at a desk behind a window, his head shooting up from a book as she approached. He smiled at her, scribbling something on a sheet of paper before handing it over.

"The captain's office is down the hall, and on the left," he said, still smiling as he leaned out the window. "Just take this first right and pass the stairs and elevator. His door will be open."

Thanking him, Retsu did just that, noting just how many doors there were in this place. Some seemed to be for meetings, one for the break room, and another with a bolted lock that she assumed held the records of the officers. But that was just a guess. There was no sound as she walked past the elevator, which was different in comparison to the University. At all times of day, there would be at least one person using the device, not wanting to be bothered with several flights of stairs.

She caught sight of the directory beside the silver panel, realizing that one of the stops would take a person down to the basement level. Well, now she knew where Mayuri spent his days on the investigation team.

"What do you mean, he's not there? He expressly said that he'd be there this morning!"

The shouting was coming from an open door, the nameplate on the wood reflecting her young friend's name. Retsu stood in the door, patiently waiting for the bristling boy to calm down and end his phone conversation. But, from the way he had turned red, she assumed he was genuinely upset.

He groaned, flopping backwards into his chair, the wheels sliding across the floor a bit. "I don't care if he told you not to hand it out, Tessai. He knows something related to this case, which means that his instructions to you are rendered useless. Now, I'll ask you again: What's his number?" Toshiro leaned over the desk, nodding as he wrote something down. "You're sure that's right? All right, then. But my previous request still stands. The moment he shows up, you call me. Yes. Thank you."

The receiver dropped onto the base, Toshiro's coloration returning.

"Something wrong?" she asked, inching through the door. "You don't normally get that worked up, Toshiro."

The boy turned, the scowl fading into the background as he insisted she sit down. Even if it was gone, that angered face of his, she could still see it behind his eyes. Previous years of babysitting the boy for his parents had shown her that much.

When she'd sat down, the captain had leaned over his desk, hands clasped together as if he were nervous. He had reason to be. They'd only seen each other once or twice over the last five months, each busy with things that had been deemed important. Of course, he didn't look like he'd gotten too much sleep lately. There were light circles beneath his sea-blue eyes that he swiped at with a fist, trying to usher away the sensation of fatigue.

"Have you had anything to drink?" she asked, worried.

Toshiro nodded, grabbing his mug and turning it upside-down. "Matsumoto brought me some coffee and an omelet this morning. It's appreciated, but..."

"You hate coffee."

He smiled, straightening up. "You still remember."

The way he looked, it was as if he'd expected her to forget. As if she ever could. Even as a little boy, Toshiro had possessed a strong sense of what was right and wrong, which applied to all aspects of life. On one occasion, she'd accompanied him and his family to dinner, where he'd insisted upon ordering from the adult menu, complete with a steaming cup of coffee. When the food had been delivered, the boy had taken one bite before grabbing his napkin, sputtering into the cloth. The drink had burned his tongue, and he'd proclaimed that it was just dirt and water in a cup.

He'd hated it since.

"You're not here to talk about me," he said, shaking the snow globe that had sat on the corner of his desk. His eyes looked up to meet her, seemingly disappointed. "You came for something else."

There was no time for words, his hand darting into a drawer to withdraw a stack of folders. If Retsu had counted right, there were about seventeen, easily matching the number of victims in the case. It made her wonder where he was going with this. The folders, all dull gray in color, were dropped in front of her, Toshiro reaching over to open the one that sat atop the stack. He flipped a few pages, pulling them towards himself, reading the records upside-down. His eyes widened suddenly, finger stabbing the top of one of the pages, looking rather grim.

She looked it over, even referencing the photos, finding nothing strange about the report in the slightest. Retsu looked up at him, eyebrows raised. "It looks fine."

Toshiro sighed, hanging his head. "That's the problem. It's too damn perfect. They all are." He jabbed another line on the page, that familiar scrawl staring up at her. "He chronicled details that couldn't have been determined just from an examination of the corpse. If there's no gunpowder on the body or clothing, then how the hell could he have known it was on the scene?"

A good question, but Toshiro's implication was unthinkable.

"Photographs," she argued pointedly, turning the page. "You do include photographs in the file before the autopsy, don't you?"

He looked taken aback, opening his mouth several times before exhaling the breath that he'd held in. "Okay. You win." The captain raised his hands in defeat, allowing them to fall into his lap. "But that doesn't mean I trust him. You might, but I think that's a mistake."

"That's actually why I came." She remembered the previous evening when she'd been sitting at home, Mayuri's distant tone echoing through the phone. Distraction was all she'd sensed, and not the kind that made the gears turn in his head. "What happened yesterday?"

Toshiro looked positively guilty. "I said some things," he replied flatly. "A little girl was killed, and he didn't seem the least bit bothered by it." He was trembling, eyes on the floor. "Said that looking into her death was a waste of time... That he makes it a point to avoid emotional attachment."

Now, the first part of that was easy enough to believe. Mayuri had said more than once that he couldn't stand children, what with their noise and constant need for attention. But, if the latter portion of that statement were true, then what was she doing with him? If he had said that, was it some way of implying that she was included?

"What exactly did you say?" There was really no point in asking. She already had a pretty good idea.

White hair hung in his eyes, making him look even more ashamed. "I'd rather not repeat it..."

The blaring of the phone caused the two to jump, Toshiro's hand snapping it up with precision. She didn't hear what he was saying to the person on the other end, let alone register how pleased he looked. Retsu had other things on her mind, curious as to whether or not this boy had managed to get a rise out of Mayuri that even she couldn't. If he had, she wouldn't envy him. She'd just have to integrate his methods into her own.

The receiver slammed against the side of the desk, just loud enough to get Retsu's attention. She looked up expectantly, trying not to let on that Toshiro's unknown words had sent her mind reeling. He was looking disheartened again, standing and heading towards the door, motioning for her to follow.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking up at her. "You need to leave. We've found another victim."

"Who?" It was the first thing she'd thought, only to come out of her mouth at the same moment. Even if he told her that it wasn't her concern, she'd insist. At least Toshiro would give her the satisfaction of knowing rather than being kept in the dark all the time.

His hands fell into the pockets of his pants as he walked down the hallway, staring straight ahead. "This is a big city, Retsu," he said matter-of-factly. "One of the biggest in the world. I doubt you knew him, let alone heard about him, but he's a street vendor in the area. We were trailing the man due to our suspicions that he was dealing in illegal drugs, but..." A sigh. "Looks like we'll have to close that case."

Street vendor? That sounded so familiar. There was a face in her mind, one that seemed to appreciate the world, but she couldn't quite place a name beneath it. What was it?

"On second thought, you should come," he said, checking his uniform for his badge and gun.

"Why?" To the police, she was just a civilian. If anything, she would have expected Toshiro to, again, tell her to go home. He'd asked her before, so why the sudden change? What could she do that his men couldn't?

He rubbed his head sheepishly, looking a bit embarrassed. "I wasn't going to tell you. I shouldn't tell you, but I can't do this myself. Mayuri won't talk to me. At least, not without making it difficult."

"He's there?" Retsu said, jaw dropping. "Mayuri's... But how? When I left, he was..."

Toshiro took her hand, leading her down the hallway to the doors as a patrol car pulled up by the curb. "He found the body."