Ichigo grumbled, the loud banging on the door pulling him from sleep. As he cracked open his eyes he wondered where Grimmjow was, rolling off the bed he heard the shower running and smirked. Moving stiffly he pulled on his sweatpants and opened the door. The same officer from yesterday stood there looking at Ichigo with a scowl. Ichigo raised an eyebrow and stepped aside allowing the officer to enter the room.
"I need to know where you were last night." Koga demanded. Ichigo looked at him in confusion, wondering what in the world was going on. He registered the shower turning off and moved closer to the bathroom door.
"Hey Grimm, we have company. Make sure you don't walk out naked." Ichigo called, turning back to Koga he finally spoke to the man. "I need coffee if you want me to be coherent for this, give me a minute." Ichigo walked to the table in the corner and set the coffee pot to brew. While he was busy doing this Grimmjow came out of the bathroom drying his hair. When he saw Koga his face transformed into a scowl.
"What the hell do you want?" he growled at the officer.
"I am here to question both you and Kurosaki, there was an incident last night and I need to know your whereabouts."
Grimmjow scoffed and turned to grab his and Ichigo's phones from the night stand. "Before we even consider having this conversation, we need to contact our employers. We won't talk to you unless they say it's ok and are present." Grimmjow lifted his phone to his ear and waited for Aizen to answer. After a brief conversation Grimmjow hung up his phone and walked over to Ichigo who was drinking a cup of coffee pointedly ignoring the large redheaded man. "Here Ichi, call Urahara, Aizen is on his way up already."
Ichigo took his phone and dialed, "Kisuke, get your ass up here, that cop is here asking us to account for our whereabouts last night." The phone line went dead and Ichigo tossed it on the table, "He's coming, probably bringing dad and Ojiisan as well." Ichigo pulled out a chair and looked at Koga, "You might as well sit down, your gonna be here for awhile." Koga took the offered chair and watched as Grimmjow answered the knock at the door. Aizen and Gin entered the room, the air of menace radiating from the brown haired man was thick causing Koga to swallow, visibly unnerved by the man.
"Ichigo, yah cawled Kisuke, nee?" Gin asked calmly. Ichigo nodded and Gin moved back to the door to answer the next knock. Kisuke, Isshin, Byakuya, and Yamamoto entered the room greeting Aizen and Gin. "If yah can hold a minute, I'll grab the chairs from the other rooms and we can figure this out." Gin slipped from the room followed by Grimmjow and returned quickly with chairs for the group to sit in.
"Now, officer Go, what may I ask is this about? Yesterday we told you everything we knew, even allowed you to speak to Ichigo without us there. Why do the boys need to account for their whereabouts last night?" Aizen asked, his voice was soft and pleasant, a stark contrast to the hard anger in his eyes.
"Last night someone entered Antenor Luppi's room at the hospital without anyone noticing and murdered the young man. Given the situation and the level of training your boys have, they are at the top of the suspect list. So I need to know where they were last night."
"You think that my son killed his attacker? In the hospital of all places. If Ichigo was going to kill the man he would have done it in the fight for his life not after the fact." Isshin growled his usual idiotic persona nowhere to be seen.
Ichigo looked up from his coffee and snorted, "You really are an idiot, there is no way either I or Grimmjow could get in and out of the hospital without being noticed. In case you haven't noticed with our hair we stick out. However if you must know, we were here all night. I'm sure that most of the floor will tell you that they heard our, um, activities almost all night."
The group just looked at Ichigo various looks of amusement and shock. Koga looked thoughtful for a moment and considered what the orange haired man had said. Admittedly he could imagine that either of the two could go anywhere without being noticed for their unusual hair color. He, however, did not really want to question the other guests concerning the noise level of the couple's activities. Sighing he looked at the old man and recoiled a little at the aura surrounding him, he had remained silent during the entire exchange, observing everything. The old man stood up and let a small glimmer of a smile form on his lips, turning to Koga he finally spoke, "Officer Go, I assume that we are finished here? As you can see these boys are not responsible for the crime you are accusing them of. I can personally vouch for the, ahem, vocal evidence of their presence last night, my room is directly above theirs. In the future if you have any questions for either of these two you will direct them through the legal department of Soul Society Inc. specifically Ishida Ryuuken. Now allow me to show you to the door."
Koga stood and moved to the door, the old man brooked no argument. He bowed to the assembled and took his leave.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
The previous night
Luppi awoke to an annoying beeping sound, his mind was fuzzy and sluggish. He tried to move but found his body unable to respond; only his eyes would move. Looking to the side he noticed the beeping was coming from monitors next to the bed he was laying in. He groaned as the memories of the day started to filter back into his mind, "That orange haired boy, what is he? I swear his eyes kept changing color and what was with that laugh and telling me that Ichigo wasn't there? Shit he could have killed me; I would rather face Nnoitra than him again." A shifting of the shadows in the far corner caught his attention, "Who's there?" He croaked, his voice was cracked and broken.
A dark skinned man with long braids and black glasses stepped forward; his movements were silent as he approached the bed. Luppi swallowed and eyed the opposing figure. The beeping from the heart monitor sped up as Luppi's heart began to race, he was afraid of this man-absolutely terrified. The man stopped and began to speak, "You have transgressed against a true innocent. Kurosaki Ichigo is your undoing. I will have justice for the harm you caused my godson."
"W-w-what do you mean? What kind of justice? That boy is no innocent; he is trying to corrupt my Grimmjow with his perverse ways." The look on Tousen's face told Luppi he has said the wrong thing. "I-I was only trying to protect my love, surely you can see that."
"My eye's see only the path with less bloodshed, the path to justice and protection of the innocent. Your path is not the one that these blind eyes can see. I am here to see that justice is served and the guilty are punished. I am here to send you to the next life, may your decent through hell enlighten you to the error of your ways."
Luppi opened his mouth to scream but could not, his heart had already stopped, his lungs no longer pulled in air, his eyes went wide as his world faded one final time to black. A small trickle of blood ran from his ear as the long thin blade was withdrawn. Tousen melted back into the shadows, no one ever knowing he was ever there.
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
Ichigo had been withdrawn from the competition due to his injuries, Kisuke was afraid that he would tear his stitches if he fought. He spent his free time watching his friends compete and practicing for the demonstration he was still giving at the end of the week.
Grimmjow sat watching Ichigo move across the floor wielding the large two handed sword. His movements looked like a dance, his partner graceful death in his experienced hands. He was so mesmerized by the man in front of him that he didn't notice the silent man that appeared next to him.
"He has improved greatly," Kaname stated quietly causing Grimmjow to jump. Rising to his feet he greeted the man never taking his eyes off of Ichigo.
"Hello Tousen, I am surprised to see that you are still here. I have heard about you from my fathers, and I can only assume that we have you to thank for the outcome of the whole Luppi situation."
"I am afraid that I do not know what you are speaking of, I follow the path with the least amount of blood. I am here to support my godson, nothing more nothing less. I am friends with your fathers, have been for many years, what they know about me is all true. I trust that now that you are a part of Ichigo's family, you will look upon me as an uncle as well."
"You are a strange man, had anyone ever told you that? I am one of the few that Aizen trusted with your information. In case of an emergency he said. So Ichigo is your godson? I would be honored to call you Uncle, if you so please."
"You would do well to heed Aizen's warnings about me; I am not one to be crossed. Love him well and treat him right or you will answer to me. I can see that Ichigo loves you, you have managed to get him to allow himself to love again, and for that you are in our debt. For that you are in our family and under my protection as well. I always know, you cannot hide anything from me."
"Uncle Kaname! What are you doing here? Stop threatening Grimmjow, he's a good man." Ichigo called walking up to the duo.
"Ah, Ichigo, I came to observe your practice, you are dragging your right foot when you should be gliding on it." Grimmjow raised his eyebrow, wondering how a blind man could see so much. "I also have a gift for you; Isshin should be here in a moment with it."
As the three sat and talked waiting for Isshin, Grimmjow couldn't help but notice how at ease he felt, his heart felt light. Isshin and Aizen entered the room joining the small group. Isshin carried a large box in his arms and a katana at his waist.
"Kaname, sorry for the wait, the officials were giving us a hard time."
"That is alright, I was not worried. Now Ichigo, I had this made for you, I am sure it will serve you well." Kaname took the box from Isshin and handed it to Ichigo. Sitting on the floor to open the large box, Ichigo was surprised to find a very large black sword with a no hilt. Removing it from the box Ichigo stood to inspect the oversized weapon. The sheath was white and appeared to have a white ribbon wrapped around it, pulling the sword free the ribbon fell away from the casing. The sword was as tall as Ichigo, it's blade as black as night, the ribbon wrapped around the tang, there was no hilt or guard. This sword was unique and amazing, it vaguely resembled the uchigatana he normally used, but had many characteristics of a berserker blade as well, its balance was perfect. Ichigo stepped away and took several swings to test it out; the blade felt like it was a natural extension of himself. No other sword he had ever touched felt this right.
"This is perfect, Uncle Kaname. How did you come up with this design? I've never seen anything like it before."
"I designed this sword when you were 10 years old. It was after I first saw you training with Kisuke, the sword spoke to me in a dream. You are now capable of mastering a blade such as this, so I had it forged."
"Ichigo, let's see how well you can handle that monster, I brought Engetsu so we can have a quick spar." Isshin said, grinning like a mad man.
"Let's go old man; I'll kick your ass!"
Father and son moved to the center of the room and circled each other, Isshin's experience against Ichigo's natural talent. Grimmjow sat down to watch what he was sure to be an incredible fight.
Ichigo launched at his father, sweeping in from the side, Isshin brought his sword up and blocked the blow sliding back several feet from the force of the impact. The two continued to exchange blow after blow, dancing across the floor in an exquisite display of skill and grace. After an hour of high energy sparring they were both panting and soaked through with sweat. Bowing to each other they rejoined their friends.
"Isshin, you have not lost a step in all this time. Your son will soon surpass you though, his skills are impressive. Ichigo tell me who was your sword master?" Aizen inquired.
"Uncle Kaname was my first sensei, he began teaching me when I was five, when I turned 10 ojiisan took over my training. I have also trained with Byakuya, Kenpachi, and Soifon."
"You have been instructed by the best, I am highly impressed with your abilities. I am sorry that I am not able to see you complete the rest of the tournament though. Your first match was intriguing. Perhaps you would consider sparring with me when we get home."
"I would enjoy that, Aizen-san. After Orihime clears me to fight again we will arrange something."
The group made plans to meet again for dinner and parted ways to get cleaned up. Ichigo and Grimmjow walked back to their room, the other guests giving the two a wide berth. They laughed to themselves thinking about the sight they made, two young men with outlandish hair color stalking through the halls of an upscale hotel carrying two very large swords. They figured that the police would be back again to talk to them soon.