Chapter 23: Cities You'll Never See on Screen (Team – Lorde)

"You know, Uryu, I ought to smack that stupid look right off your face. You just fucked up our entire lives! Now, we're officially Mafia guys! I didn't sign up for this shit, dude!" The red-headed pineapple Renji ranted to his best friend as they walked down the wide halls from Sir Kurosaki's study to the hospital quarters given to them in the warehouse.

"Funny. You never had any complaints when you agreed to deal drugs before," Uryu pointed out as he pushed his glasses up.

"Yeah, well… That was different. I knew who our contact person was and it was not that serious at all." Renji stopped walking and faced Uryu, putting his lanky arms on Uryu's shoulders.

"Dude, this thing that we walked right in is not like that at all! This is fucking legit, man! They fuckin' have their own hospital! They operate in 27 countries! Sexta's group only operated in five cities! Do you understand the magnitude of joining this group?!" Renji spoke as he shook Uryu's shoulders.

Uryu turned serious too, pushed Renji's arms off and took off his glasses. "Of course, I know. Why do you think I joined Ichigo's group? This is the only chance that I have to finally get close to that Sosuke Aizen!" He hissed at Renji.

Renji clucked his tongue and stroked his long red hair.. "I'm still annoyed by the fact that you didn't tell me about that, you know? Some "best buddy" you are," he said as he made air quotes. Tensions started to boil between the two best friends.

"Yeah, I know, man." Uryu sighed. "To be fair though, I didn't even tell Orihime about this." Renji noticed Uryu's last comment.

"You sure are full of secrets.. Ishida," Uryu' best friend observed. "It's no wonder Orihime always seemed to want more from you…"

"I know that. Why do you think I broke up with her? She definitely deserves someone better than I am."

"Err… Sorry 'bout that," Renji cleared his throat awkwardly before composing himself. "Just make sure that you will tell me important things from now on. This is a life and death situation. One mistake and I'm sure Sir Kurosaki will not hesitate to murder us."

"Sure, I'll do that," Uryu nodded in agreement with his best friend.

"Yeah. Good." The taller of the two nodded in return. "Our worries aside, man… Do we really need to memorize all of these?!" He waved a slightly thick wad of paper in Uryu' face.

"I guess so." Uryu looked at his own bundle. "I've heard that organized crime groups have their own rules and regulations, even rituals. It's another sign that Ichigo Kurosaki's group is something to be feared."

"Man, I know you want to keep looking badass Mr. Four Eyes, but you need to learn to call the boss 'Sir Kurosaki,' not Ichigo." Renji warned his best friend.

"Psh. Just because I'm now in the Mafia, it does not mean I'll kiss that orange hair freak's ass all the time."

"Too bad for ya dude. It's the number one rule. Time to swallow your pride, Uryu. Here, read this," Renji showed him the rule.

True enough, when Uryu looked down into his own paper, there it said under the heading Ponyatiya (the Understandings), the first rule was to call Ichigo "Sir Kurosaki." To show Ichigo's status as the symbol of the group's authority, they need to call him by the title "Sir."

Renji's best friend curled his mouth in chagrin. "Oh, well. You're right." He looked back at the taller man. "I guess I'll have to call the guy 'Sir Kursoaki.' Damn."

"Yep." Renji had a serious look on his face as he addressed Uryu. "This is no time for arrogance, buddy. If you really want to avenge your mom, then you must be prepared to be at Sir Kurosaski's beck and call. He's your only chance."

"Right." Uryu agreed before he walked ahead, Renji following at his heels.

Because Ichigo had fallen asleep on her, and the fact that she herself was too sore to move, Rukia just decided to sleep too. When she woke up, Ichigo was already freshly showered, a white towel wrapped around his waist, showing off his V-shaped body. Rukia curiously observed Ichigo's build as he selected his clothes, his back to her. This was her first time observing him so closely. Even when they fucked before, he left before she woke up and the room's lights were always turned off at night.

He must have felt her eyes on him because he turned around and met her violet gaze. He smirked at her, his canines barely visible. Great. He was back to his usual cocky self.

"Yo." He greeted her.

"Hey," she greeted Ichigo.

"I have an early meeting, someone important is here, so if you need anything, tell the nurse who will come to check you later."

"Yeah… about that, I actually want to go home now. Aside from the dull pain in my injuries, I think I can manage on my own. The only problem that I have is that I don't have extra clothes here and I want to shower 'coz I feel really dirty," Rukia informed the mob boss.

Ichigo stopped looking for clothes to look at her in disapproval. "Kanō actually recommends that you stay in bed for three whole days of rest."

"Well, I think I remember him telling me that, but I'm worried more about my job. And even though I know that you made excuse letters to the school, I can't really afford to be absent for too long because I already did that two weeks ago."

The mob boss crossed his arms as he frowned at her. They had a silent standoff for a few moments before Ichigo finally said as he pulled his long orange strands of hair out of his face, "No. You need to follow the doctor's advice. I know you're stubborn and all, but this is something that you cannot fight, if you know what's good for you."

Rukia sighed and felt quite annoyed with the response she got. "Alright, I'll stay. But can I at least take a shower? And maybe walk around to stretch. I'm not used to just lying down."

Ichigo smirked after hearing her. "I actually like it more if you have no clothes at all." At her not impressed expression, he quickly amended, "But I had my men do some shopping for you. Here."

The mob boss crouched down and pulled out paper bags from under the bed. He handed them to her, and when she checked them out, she saw pairs of underwear, shirts, and tank tops, and pants.

"Wow. Thanks." She tilted her head to look at him. "How did you know my size?"

"I can know a girl's size by just one look," he said as he crossed his arm, his smirk still placed on his face, still remembering the panties he still secretly has from her.

Rukia blinked at him. "Oh. Right. I won't ask you how you do that; I don't think I would want to know the answer."

Ichigo shrugged. "Whatever." He then started to dress in front of her.

"Yo, are you just going to dress in front of me? What happened to the notion of privacy?" She asked him with her violet orbs becoming wider..

"It's not as if you haven't seen all of it before, so what's the problem?" He then dropped his towel abruptly. Luckily enough, he was already wearing boxers.

She scoffed at him. "Ugh. You're hopeless." She then turned on her other side, determined to sleep again.

When she woke up again, the sun was already high in the sky. She looked at the clock beside the drawer and found that it was already 10:30 am. She heard knocks on the door and remembered that there was supposed to be a nurse coming in to assist her. She told him to come in and the door opened to reveal a white-haired guy who appeared to be just a few years older than her. Most of the men in the group were mostly in their early 30s, though Ichigo seemed to be in his early 20s, maybe 22-25 years old. He was about 6'1, thin, his face was quite sharp. His long white hair covered his eyes.

"H-hi, Lady Rukia," the guy stuttered a bit. He seemed a bit shy and strange.

Rukia grimaced a bit at the title he used. It really was not necessary. "Hi. Errr… just call me Rukia, please. I swear I'm no lady at all."

"Y-yes, but it's part of the rules, Ma'am," the guy told him with an unsure smile. For some reason, the man's nervousness made Rukia more comfortable. He reminded her of her early days in the escort service, awkward and fumbling.

"Oh." Rukia thought for a bit. "Well, I guess you can call me that outside, but here in this room, please just call me Rukia. I mean, it makes me feel old when you call me "lady" when it seems like we are almost the same age."

Her words probably gave the guy some confidence and he beamed a shy smile at her. She noticed a tattoo partly covered by his sleeves in his right forearm. Interested, she asked him about it. The guy revealed it to her and it showed a tattoo of a rose and a knife. The guy went on to tell her that all members of Ichigo's group apparently had the tattoo as part of the Vizard Mafia culture.

That made her gape at him in wonder and she asked if all tattoos had meanings in their group because she remembered that Ichigo also had a tattoo of a large wolf on his back, aside from the stars on his knees that the mob boss had showed her last night. The shy guy told her that yes, all the tattoos had meanings. The most common tattoo, the rose and knife, meant "blood for treason," a warning for every member to remain loyal to Ichigo. She then asked him about what the wolf etched on Ichigo's broad back might mean, and the nurse told her that it roughly means "thief's break heat's done." Confused, Rukia asked him to explain it to her better, but even the nurse had difficulty because it was supposed to be a Russian phrase and hard to translate into English. What the nurse emphasized was that the tattoo was something that was to be worn only by the highest bosses.

Rukia found everything to be fascinating. The culture of tattooing, their meanings, and their role in group dynamics tickled the aspiring sociologist in her. Satisfying herself with what she learned, she asked the guy where the bathroom was, so that she could finally take a bath. The nurse made a move to assist her, but she kindly told him that she could handle herself. The shy guy seemed hesitant but ultimately allowed her. He still hovered around though, as if expecting her to fall to the floor anytime.

True enough, she had no problem at all, since the pain in her head and side had dulled already. Only the graze on her thigh remained a bit painful, but nothing she could not handle. If she were to be honest, she endured far more serious wounds than that. Eager to assist, the nurse took it upon himself to prepare her tub, but what she really needed was just a quick shower. The nurse, who she found out was called Piotr, still assisted to make sure her water was hot to make her feel more comfortable.

After showering, Gin Ichimaru gave her some pain-reliever and some antibiotics to drink. By then, she was already dressed in a sleeveless purple dress that reached up to her knees, and a pair of wedges for footwear. She was not too keen with her clothes, but she had no choice since all the clothes in the shopping bags were too revealing for her taste and even the underwear were all in lace. She didn't know if it was what Ichigo told his men to buy or if the men just got the things that they thought all girls would wear.

Not used to not wearing it, she asked Gin if she could have her hoodie and phone. The shy nurse told her to wait for a bit and he went out of the room, probably to ask about her personal things. When he returned, he only had her phone in his hand. Apparently, the hoodie was too dirty and was still in the laundry. This did not surprise Rukia at all. After all, she did remember being thrown to the trash can and crawling on the cement ground.

Seeing her exposed forearms, it was Gin's turn to ask about her tattoos. She gladly told him that the patterns were used to indicate a warrior status in the manga series she read. They talked for a bit and she found out that the shy nurse was just a year older than her and that his family had served the Vizard clan for decades now, and after his older brother died, he replaced him in the group. She was surprised to find out that he really was a pre-med student right now, being sent to school by Ichigo, to be Dr. Kanō's assistant and future successor to the group's surgeon.

"Gin, Ichigo gave me permission to walk around the house. I probably would get lost here, so can you accompany me?" Rukia asked her nurse.

"Yes, of course. Sir Kurosaki told me about it this morning. So where do you want to go?"

Uryu and Renji were up early for some training as neophytes of the Vizards. With them was Sir Kurosaki's right-hand man, Sado. Uryu was still very much annoyed that he had to call the arrogant mob boss "Sir Kurosaki." Sado was discussing the fifth law about "not losing one's reasoning abilities when drunk" when Renji suddenly asked the right-hand man a question.

"What would happen if someone violated one or more of the rules?"

"We throw you to the gulag," Sado answered in a deadpan voice.

At Renji's noticeably pale expression, the right hand man chuckled. "Joke." Both Uryu and Renji chuckled nervously, relieved that Sado was just kidding. They'd learned from their world history class about gulags being horrific labor camps, but in the context of a Mafia group, it must mean death.

"If you ever break a rule, we commence a council meeting first to decide what to do to the violator, then we punish him accordingly. If the mistake is light, the member would just receive 20 lashes on their back. If the mistake is heavy, we would kill him," Sado continued.

The two college students were visibly swallowed. They both watched as Sado raised his right sleeve and exposed his tattoo of a rose and knife, the same tattoo they'd seen in all members during the first day they were taken in the headquarters.

"See this? This tattoo means 'blood for treason,' a reminder for everyone of what would happen to them if they ever betray the Vizards."

They continued walking around the headquarters, being introduced to everyone as neophytes. They reached a gym with other vors training in it. The gym was impressive, with modern equipment and facilities. Some men were training with a punching bag, some were simply walking on the treadmill, and others were using dumbbells.

Renji, becoming excited at the sight, breathed out a "wow." Sado smirked proudly.

"Yes, this gym is free for all. Sir Kurosaki made this so that the men will continue to be in good shape," the right-hand man commented.

They entered the room and examined some of the equipment while the men glanced at them as they trained. They were close to finishing inspecting the room when they saw Rukia and a tall, lanky white haired guy walking beside her. From the tattoo in the guy's arm, it was evident that he was also part of the Vizards. Rukia was glancing around the room as Sado nodded to the guy walking beside the girl.

Rukia walked alongside Gin as he introduced her to the Mafia members they ran along the hallway. She couldn't help but feel self-conscious as they shook her hand excitedly while calling her "Lady Rukia." Some even bowed down to her, thanking her for finally "taming down the Don." Rukia didn't know how to act when this happened, so she was thankful for Gin's intervention. It was funny because the men, who all had such scary demeanors, seemed to have their own brand of sense of humor. It seemed that Ichigo was right about no one being who they seemed at first.

In any case, she could not help but wonder in her mind why Ichigo was called the "Don," when that is used for the Italian Mafia, not the Japanese. She voiced this question to Gin who laughed and told her that it was just one of Ichigo's titles, especially while he was here in Japan, since Japanese members found it easier to pronounce.

They reached what seemed like some kind of gym where other members were working out. She saw Sado, Renji, and Uryu from afar as they walked towards it. She couldn't help but glance around the area. If she were a normal girl, she probably would have drooled and soaked her dress. This was a paradise of men, really well-built men, except for the fact that they all had this dangerous aura surrounding them. But she supposed a normal girl would not have minded that. After all, they said that girls like bad boys. She was just not sure about her own preference though. Well, Ichigo was definitely the baddest of all bad boys… But she did not feel that way for him, right?

Her musings were interrupted when Sado greeted them as they reached the three men in the middle of the gym. By this time, all the members training in the gym stopped and looked in their direction. Rukia could feel the weight of their stares, making her feel self-conscious again. It was the first time she'd seen them after the standoff with the goon and it was reassuring to see that they both seemed to be doing well.

"Lady Rukia! I see that the dress suited you so well!" Sado exclaimed rather loudly, gaining more of the attention of the men.

After hearing what Sado called her, all the men training stopped what they were doing to greet her simultaneously with a loud and formal "Good morning, Lady Rukia!"

She supposed it would be rather rude if she did not at all acknowledge them so she smiled, a bit awkward, and greeted back, "Uhmm… Hi! Good morning? I suppose…"

"Hey, you're wearing a dress! And Jesus fucking Christ, I didn't know you have tattoos!" Renji addressed Rukia, which surprised her. The last time they had spoken was when she was 11, and now, he was suddenly friendly to her. Was it because they were together in a life-threatening situation? In any case, since she was asked, she supposed she should answer.

"Yeah." She looked down and shrugged. "It was what they gave me, so yeah. As for the tattoos, I've had them since a year ago, but I just covered them up with my hoodie."

"I've always wondered why you never took it off… Now, I know." Uryu turned to Renji. "And must you state the obvious?"

Renji rubbed his head, a bit embarrassed. "Well, it's just that I don't remember Rukia ever wearing a dress before." He turned to Rukia. "Right?"

Rukia nodded. "Sure."

Uryu stared at her, making Rukia a bit uncomfortable. "Hey, Rukia." Orihime's ex called her attention.

"Yes?" She answered.

"Judging by your tattoos, does that mean that you have always been a member of the Mafia and just kept it a secret?"

The question shocked her, but she could see where Uryu was coming from. "No. I'm not a member of this group or anything, though I must admit that I have been associating with the boss." Rukia glanced at Sado who was listening to their exchange with amusement evident on his face.

"I think Sado could explain it better than me," she finished.

Rukia's classmates then looked to Sado for an explanation. If Sado revealed her brief past as an escort, it honestly wouldn't offend her. After all, it seemed like there was no sense in keeping it a secret when they had essentially found her in a den of Mafia members, which they were now included in.

"It's hard to explain and I don't think Sir Kurosaki would want me to discuss it, but he definitely thinks that Miss Rukia here is very important as of now. Since no girl had been important enough to actually be introduced to the entire Mafia, it just makes sense to call her Lady Rukia, because she's virtually the highest-ranking female in our group, though I'm not sure if Miss. Rukia fully agrees to that," Sado said.

Since the attention was shifted to her, Rukia had to give an answer. "Yeah, I actually don't really feel comfortable with being a 'lady' or whatever. As for my relationship with Ichigo, I must say that we have reached some semblance of understanding, though definitely not of the romantic nature. I told him how I see him and he seemed to have understood that."

There was a bit of awkward silence before Renji blurted out, "So does that mean that you're Sir Kurosaki's girlfriend, in simple terms?"

"No. Definitely not." At Renji's distressed expression, she amended. "It's really complicated to explain, but we've done some things that would probably be considered to be for couples, but that's because I used to be his personal escort."

Uryu interjected. "Escort? Which kind? The kind who goes to social functions when hired or the kind that… er… provides sexual favors in exchange for money?"

Rukia answered without beating around the bush. "The latter."

The shock that registered on Uryu and Renji's faces was a bit entertaining for Rukia to see. She must admit that she would have given anything for a camera right now, just to record their reactions. Both their mouths were open in horror. They couldn't believe what she said. They probably couldn't believe that someone like her used to be a prostitute, but how could she blame them? Even though she still had trouble believing it just a month after she stopped being one.

Uryu recovered first. "Oh. Okay." He averted his eyes for a bit, then glanced back at her. "I-is that how you came to know Ichigo–I mean, Sir Kurosaki?"

"Yeah." Rukia shrugged. "But because I stopped being an escort and have worked a normal job in the restaurant, I stopped doing things with Ichigo too… It's just that it seemed like fate had other plans… so that's why I'm here."

"So let me put it this way. You and Ichigo are not really involved, but only physically. However, Ichigo seems to be interested in you so you two are in some kind of an agreement?" Renji clarified.

"In some ways, yes. But again, it's not in a romantic way."

"That's confusing," Uryu complained.

"Trust me, I know." Rukia agreed with his observation.

Gin, who had just been observing them until now, spoke up. "I-I think we have confused more than answered anything, but whatever. It's hard to tell what's on Sir Kurosaki's mind anyway. So Lady Rukia, where do you want to go next?"

"Well, what do you suggest?"

Sado, seeing that they all have the same goal, decided to just follow them while discussing the rules to the two neophytes again. They passed through the parking lot where Ichigo parked his luxury cars which got Renji to exclaim again:

"How could one have that much money?!"

"When you operate in 27 countries, that is very much possible. All those cars are smuggled through," Sado answered.

"You know what? I'm actually more interested in how a mob boss who operates in 27 countries never got caught," Uryu intoned.

"Sir Kurosaki has a lot of connections, that's why," Gin answered this time.

"Well, then, I guess it's confirmed. He's the illuminati," Rukia joked around.

"Nah." Sado disagreed. "He's actually Chuck Norris."

Gin laughed and agreed too. "He's Chuck Norris alright! Once he threw a grenade at the police chasing him; it killed 50 of them. Then it exploded!"

When none of them laughed, Gin added, "It's lame, I know."

Renji burst out laughing, and then Uryu followed. Rukia, on the other hand, was kind of questioning herself as to why she thought it was a good idea to go with them again.

Rukia had fun exploring Ichigo's Mafia den but after about an hour, she felt a bit exhausted. The painkillers Gin had given her might have been wearing off so she asked him to take her back to Ichigo's room. She still had a hard time memorizing the den's interior so she did not know how to go back. It was in the hallway leading to the room where crossed paths with the one person who was crossing her mind these days. Ichigo.

"Yo," he greeted her as he saw her first. "I see Gin has taken you on a tour?" He asked with a smirk.

"Uhmm, yeah. I got a bit bored in the room. I hope it's alright with you."

"I knew Gin was with you so I guess it's fine. I would have wanted to be the one to tour you but this supposed meeting held me up."

It was Rukia's turn to ask. "Oh, that. What happened to your meeting?" She asked.

"It got canceled, not sure why, but I came back here to check up on you.." Ichigo said.

"Oh, it didn't get canceled, alright!" An unknown voice appeared from behind Ichigo and Rukia.

Down the hallway were two older gentlemen. A lean, light blonde man wearing a green striped hat, with strains of hair covering his face, and an older tall black hair with thin facial hair around his mouth who resembled Ichigo a bit appeared right in front of them. Why does everyone seem so dang tall to Rukia?

"Dad?! Kisuke?!" Ichigo shouted at both of them. His eyes widened as he was shocked to see his father here so soon. "What are you doing back from your honeymoon so early?"

"Well, business matters. Kisuke and I received an important tip about a former friend. Right, Kisuke?" Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's father, glanced over at his friend, Kisuke Uruahara.

Kisuke Uruhara didn't answer, so Isshin prodded him. "Hey, are you listening there Kisuke?"

Kisuke was too busy staring straight into Rukia's soul. He was shocked. Could it really be? Instead of answering, Kisuke uttered something softly, as if in disbelief. "Daruki…"

Isshin's eyes widened as he heard that name and he followed Kisuke's line of vision, which Ichigo copied until they came to rest at Rukia who was standing there with a clueless countenance.

Ichigo saw how his father suddenly looked like he saw a ghost. Confused. Wondering what the fuss is about, he asked out loud. "Dad, who's Daruki? And why are the both of you looking at Rukia like that?"

Both Kisuke and Isshin stuttered and remained silent for a moment, trying to compose their thoughts to what they're about to say. Ichigo felt flustered from a lack of a response from either of the two. "Damm it, answer me!" Ichigo angrily shouted at the both of them. "Who's Daruki?!"

Kisuke blanched as if he got burned by the question. Isshin was the one who answered the question.

"Ichigo," Isshin began speaking, taking a huge deep breath that sucked all the air out of the hallway they were standing in.. "My son….Daruki is this lady's mother…."

AN

1. Long long chapter yes haha!

2. I made Gin a bit OOC I feel like lol.

3. Yes, the guest actually guested it right! No pun intended! Dark Rukia (Daruki) is Rukia's mother! :O What's your thoughts and reactions to that? See you next time!