Does Man Make the Monster?

Chapter 8

Kintsugi

(A/N Wow, a new chapter so soon? Whaaaat? Oh, yeah! I hope you enjoy this. Also there's a little surprise at the end. I hope you enjoy.)

SOUNDS/sounds

Thoughts

Inner Voices

(Last Time)

"You're mine, Hawk," the ghoul yelled, charging straight at Ichigo.

Suddenly Hawk vanished in the blink of an eye. The ghoul hurriedly tried to locate his pray only to feel a strong, bone shattering kick land on the side of his head. He was sent flying into the crumbling remnants of the old foundation. He painfully sat up and blood ran into his eyes. How did…? How did Hawk do that? He wiped the blood from his eyes and glared up at the bleeding Dove. His head was swimming from the impact. He slammed his eyes shut and shook his aching head slightly, trying to clear it. When he opened his eyes again he felt his heart skip a beat. Hawk was glaring down at him with eyes that were a molten gold against charcoal black and a devilish smirk stretched his lips. He only had a moment or two to register what he was looking it at as Hawk suddenly vanished from sight.

The ghoul frantically looked around the abandoned area, trying to see where he was but Hawk was nowhere to be found. He put a hand over his racing heart and his stomach did a couple of flips. He knew what he saw just now. He wasn't knocked that damn hard. He shuttered remembering those burning eyes. Even a ghoul's kakugan weren't quite that intense. He got back to his feet and looked around a little more. Fear gripped him and he bolted back down the shadowy alleyway. He didn't think it would be wise to stick around to see what would happen next.

(Present)

Ichigo stumbled once again into his apartment and closed the door. He slid his back down the flat surface of the door and landed roughly on the floor. This lately seemed to be a good spot to sit. He needed to get his head straight. He knew what he did to that ghoul and it was every bit a conscious decision. It was his own actions and his alone. He was glad he didn't do that Toshiro's subordinate. That wouldn't have ended well. He put his hand on the still open wound that marred his chest. The one on his shoulder was no better. They hurt like hell and were taking their sweet time to heal.

It was most likely because the damage was caused by a zanpakuto. The large cut to his face he had received from the Gourmet didn't last nearly this long. So… Kagune could cut him but the damage quickly healed. Zanpakuto could cut him but it left his wounds open for much longer. Well, this was good to know for the future. He carefully leaned forward, resting his head on his knees. He clinched his teeth in pain and hissed softly with every shaky breath that passed his teeth. He just needed to concentrate on healing. He curled into a bit of ball and tried to regulate his breathing to help some with the pain. A small puddle of blood started to collect on floor under him.

"Kurosaki?"

He flinched at the sound of Kusaba's worried voice. He clinched his teeth tighter and gave a bit of a shudder.

"Go away," Ichigo snapped.

"You're bleeding a good bit. Maybe you should go to the hospital," his voice sounded even more worried than before. "You could bleed out on the floor otherwise."

"I'm fine, Kusaba, go away," Ichigo almost growled.

Kusaba looked down at Ichigo and scratchedthe back of his head. He had never heard Ichigo sound so aggressive before. He put his hand back down to his side and let out a long sigh. He took a couple steps closer and went to touch him.

"Don't touch me," he cautioned, still keeping his head down. "Just leave me alone. Please…"

"I'm worried about you, you know?" Kusaba said, pushing up his glasses. "You're bleeding so much…"

"I said I'm fine," Ichigo snapped again.

Kusaba hung his head low. He wanted to help Ichigo but there wasn't much he could do. Everything it tried to touch his hand just passed right through so you couldn't bring the man anything that might help. He took a couple of steps back and sat on the floor a few feet from him. He didn't feel right just leaving Ichigo truly alone. He wondered where Ryoko was. She was usually Ichigo's rock when he was down like this. He just wanted to be supportive in some way. He let out a long sigh but kept his tongue silent. He'd just have to wait out Ichigo's stubbornness.

A couple of hours passed and Kusaba was sprawled out, asleep on the floor. A little bit of a snore escaped his mouth.

SH-SHHHHH…

He sat up startled at the sudden sound behind him. Was that the shower running? He straitened his glasses and looked over to where Ichigo had been previously. He was no longer at the door but the dark crimson puddle still remained. There was also a trail of red footprints leading off to the bathroom. He crawled a little ways to look at the clock in the kitchen. He'd been asleep for a while. It was nearly dawn now. He got back to his feet and stretched a bit.

"Well, clearly he didn't bleed out…" Kusaba grumbled and walked through the front door and looked out into the city from the elevated walkway.

He ran his hands over his face, pushing his fingers up under his specks. He felt his own wound under his fingers. The one the Rabbit had given him that ended his short life. He pulled his hands from his face and adjusted his glasses again. He looked back at the apartment door with a solemn expression. What was Ichigo's problem? It was eating at the former investigator. Should he even really try and talk to him. They used to be friends. Not really close friends by any means but… He huffed a bit. What was about it Ryoko that Ichigo liked so much? He clicked his tongue and decided to walk back in.

He looked down at the puddle of thick red liquid at his feet. There was a lot on the floor. How did Ichigo manage to survive that? He really wanted some answers. He was tired of being left out of the loop. It wasn't like he could tattle on Ichigo. Not that he would but… He shook his head and walked back to his original spot on the floor. He would truly confront Ichigo when he got out the shower. He was tired of getting the run around.

Ichigo stood in the shower just letting the hot water wash the blood from his skin. The wounds were nothing but long pink marks that looked like they would vanish soon enough. He regretted snapping at Kusaba but he just didn't feel like being around anyone. He was trying to get his mind straight. For some reason his mind just went primal when facing off against the ghoul. Maybe it was his training that just triggered him to do what he did. He didn't act that way to Tachibana. Thank goodness he didn't. However, was this going to set him back? He souldn't have gone off like that. He had to much riding on himself to be acting like that. He made a promise to his hollow that would clean out his emotional baggage and fix things. That didn't seem to be happening. Damn it why did have to act out like that?

After a couple of minutes he decided to scrub off the last of the stubborn blood that wouldn't just rinse off. He knew a little of his hollow instincts came out against the ghoul. How much he really didn't know. He rested his head on the smooth wall of the shower. At this rate he was going he wasn't going to fix his inner world. It was probably more flooded than ever. His hollow must be pitching a huge fit. He need to fix this and fast. His time was super limited so he better get his problems sort out real soon. He pushed off the wall and turned off the water. It was starting to get cold anyway.

He pushed back the curtain and grabbed his towel. He dried his hair and body with it before wrapping it tightly around his waist. He walked over to the sink and wiped the thin layer of condensation from the cool mirror. He studied his face a little. It looked like it always did with its trademark scowl planted on it. He leaned in a little more to look at his eyes. There were little flakes of gold glittering in the chocolate of his eyes. He took his hand and went to pull down his bottom lid but paused. He cast his eyes down at his fingers. His black nails were a lot longer than he remembered and they seemed to come to a dull point. He opened the cabinet hidden behind the mirror and pulled out his nail clippers. He tried to cut them back but no matter how hard he tried they wouldn't cut.

"Great…" he grumbled, putting them back and closed the cabinet back.

No doubt they would only grow longer and sharper. Little by little things were changing. He stepped back from the mirror to have a good look at his chest and shoulder. Yeah, there were barely any marks left. He paused again. There was another change. He didn't see it until he looked in the mirror. This one he didn't mind too much. Ichigo was always lean with very good muscle tone but now he had very, very good muscle tone. Yes, this he could actually live with. He smiled a little and flexed some. Yeah, this one he liked but he couldn't say too much about the other impending changes. He looked at his toes. Okay, even they seemed to be growing talons. This was just another oddity to add to his list.

He stepped back up to the sink and grabbed his electric razor again. Keeping his hair trimmed was turning into a real pain. It kept growing longer and seemed to have grown a little thicker over time as well. It took him a while but he finished up and cleaned off his shoulders. He had to keep a broom and dustpan in his bathroom now to keep up with all his hair trimmings. Honestly, his bathroom could be mistaken for a salon with so much hair found on the floor. He cleaned up the trimmings and walked out. He kept a firm hand on his towel to make the short trip to his bedroom.

"Uh, Kurosaki…?"

He turned hearing Kusaba's weak voice. The man looked rather nervous.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked, still keeping his distance.

"M'yeah, I'm fine now. I'm sorry I snapped at you," Ichigo said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I shouldn't have done that to you. That was mean and rude."

"You were in pain so you know… I can't really blame—"

"It was more than that. Thank you staying but still giving me my space."

"Yeah, sure… Uh, how are your wounds?" he asked, taking a step forward, looking at Ichigo's chest.

"Much better," Ichigo murmured, turning back around. "Thank you for asking."

"They're healed, aren't they?" Kusaba asked but he already knew the answer. "I saw when you came in… That wound should have bled you dry or close to it."

Ichigo touched the very last traces of the cut. Normally, yeah, but thanks to his healing ability it actually saved him. Though now he knew to be careful with zanpakuto. Clearly his physical body was much different that his spiritual one.

"Can you at least face me proper?" Kusaba demanded, crossing his arms, his tone changing to anger. "I won't say you avoid me but you kinda sorta do… You and Fueguchi are like two peas in a pod and I'm left out. We were okay friends once but now you just…"

Kusaba did speak the truth. They sort of excluded him from a lot of key things. It was only at matter of time before he would finally have enough and confront someone. Ichigo let out a heavy sigh and finally turned to face Kusaba directly. Kusaba looked at the barely there marks on Ichigo's well-toned chest and shoulder. He narrowed his eyes some behind his glasses.

"Well… I know you're not a ghoul as many times I've seen you go through an RC gate," Kusaba said, sternly. "So mind explaining?"

"I'm an Esper and leave it that."

"I will not! I already figured that out considering you can interact with the dead like me and Fueguchi," Kusaba snapped, almost stomping up to Ichigo. "Be honest with me for once, damn it! What is really going on with you? You should be in the same boat as me with that wound you sustained! But look at you! You're as healthy as can be with a barely-there mark to show for it!"

Kusaba wasn't going to take a half-assed answer this time. That much was made perfectly clear. Ichigo had rarely seen Kusaba this mad and he only let his temper flare if there was a good reason. Clearly this was a good reason. Ichigo slowly closed eyes drawing in a breath. He opened he's eyes again and met Kusaba's.

"Hollows. Have you learned what those are, right?" Ichigo asked, pulling up his towel a little more.

"Yeah… Those giant creatures with the toothy white masks that gobbled up other ghosts," Kusaba shivered slightly. "I've seen them around here and there. Why?"

Ichigo stared at him for a moment and Kusaba waited for a reply. Okay so…?

"So, what about hollows?" Kusaba asked, feeling a little uneasy at Ichigo's strange silence.

"There are different kinds, did you know that? The ones you see down here… Average. Not really all that strong. Bottom feeders. Above them are Menos class they are broken down in subgroups. Gillian are large towering hollows and dumb, hive minded. Then you have Adjuchas they are the next evolution; they are smarter, smaller, and stronger. Then you have the top of the top Vasto Lorde. Extremely rare and stronger still. They are almost human like appearance and intelligence," Ichigo stated and Kusaba looked a little lost.

"And what does this have to do with you?" Kusaba asked, looking rather annoyed and confused. "What do I care about hollows? I want to know what's up with you."

"I just told you. Think back a bit. I need to get dressed," Ichigo turned and walked into his bedroom, shutting the door.

"Just told me what?" Kusaba grumbled to himself, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You didn't tell me jack… Just different kinds of hollows. Not much of an answer. What do I care about these stupid types… Of…"

He slowly pulled his hand away from his nose. Those Vasto whatevers… Are human-like? What? No… No way. Ichigo was pulling a fast one. He had to be. He was just getting more flustered. He waited a couple of minutes for Ichigo to come out. Ichigo opened the door dressed in a t-shirt and green plaid PJ bottoms.

"That wasn't an answer," Kusaba snapped.

"I'm not in the mood to just spell things out but I guess I'll have to," Ichigo responded in an agitated voice, walking back up to Kusaba. "I'm hollowfying."

"You're what?" Kusaba stared at him dumbfounded.

"I'm turning into a hollow," Ichigo said, walking by him to the kitchen. "A living hollow."

"You're joking, right? Hollows are spirits," Kusaba pointed out, following him a little ways. "There's no way that you can be become a hollow."

Kusaba suddenly found a set of dull, black talons in his face. He stumbled back to the floor in fear with a small gasp of surprise. How did Ichigo move so…? He looked up at Ichigo a little slack jawed.

"I'm not lying, Kusaba. This is really happening," Ichigo stated, displaying his nails to the former investigator. "Things are not turning out well for me. Tomorrow I'm handing in my resignation. I'm sure you know that much and this is why. I can't hide this for much longer."

Kusaba just stared up at him in silent shock. He got his answer. He almost wished now that he hadn't pressed the subject. Ichigo turned around and walked over to the fridge and started rummaging through it. Kusaba got up to his feet and remained just outside the doorway. He really didn't know how to respond to this. This wasn't anything like he was expecting.

RIIING! RIIING! RIIING!

Kusaba almost jumped at the sound of a ringing cellphone. It was coming from the door. Ichigo dropped what he was doing and hurried over to the small device. He snatched up the phone from the floor and answered it.

"Hello?" Ichigo said in a hushed tone.

"Kurosaki, I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you," Toshiro's voice sounded. "You sound tired. Did I wake you?"

"No… I haven't been to bed yet that's all," Ichigo said, looking at Kusaba, who just stared at him a little confused.

"I hope you don't think this too forward of me but I got in contact with Urahara," Toshiro sounded rather uneasy. "He's told me the situation with you as of late."

"I see. So you know about my problem?" Ichigo asked, picking up his feet and moved towards his bedroom.

Kusaba remained in his spot as Ichigo walked into room and quietly shut the door. That clearly meant "keep out." Kusaba sighed. There was no telling when he'd come out. He might as well just leave for now. As it was, he suddenly felt very uneasy being in the apartment. He picked up his own feet and out the door he went.

Ichigo shut his door and walked over to his futon. He didn't want Kusaba to hear this conversation. He had still been rather rude to him. It had to be his mood. He was just in a piss poor mood end of story.

"Yes. I do regret hearing this news," Toshiro sighed. "So far I'm the only one in Soul Society to know of this. Tachibana has a gag order on him. It's a good thing he doesn't know your current state."

"Are you going to make a report to the head captain?"

"No."

"What?"

"I'm not going to make a formal report. I owe you a couple favors so… For now, I'll keep it to myself. Not even Matsumoto knows."

"Are… Are you serious? Why?"

"You are the hero of the Winter War. I have a gut feeling you won't turn on us regardless of what you become. I'm putting my trust in you, so don't make me regret this, Kurosaki."

"Thanks. I'm glad you trust me. I-I really mean that."

"Yes, well… I am you doing you a favor so do me one tiny favor in return. Don't draw attention to yourself. You know we have scanners that look for hollows. Especially, high level ones."

"Oh, yeah… Damn, I forgot about that. Have I been a blip on the radar yet?"

"As far as I'm aware, no. You're only saving grace might be that you are still living. The scanners have certain calibrations to root out interference. If that's the case unless they are specifically looking for you, they won't find you."

Ichigo let out a long sigh of relief. So as long as he doesn't do anything outlandish he would be okay.

"That's good to know. Um, how much did Hat 'n' Clogs tell you?"

"Enough. He's still working on something to help suppress your hollow. He's not sure when he'll get it finished and he knows he's racing against the clock. How much time do you think you have?"

"Not much. I'm shooting for two weeks but my gut is saying a week or less. There have been a few complications."

"Complications? This is not looking good. How much have you advance so far? Urahara hasn't been updated in a little while."

"I'm having to cut my hair twice a day, my nails are rock hard and slowly turning into talons. An average blade can't cut my skin. The only things that can hurt me are zanpakuto and kagune from ghouls. Then there's—"

"Ghouls?! What the devil are you doing messing with them for?" Toshiro sounded rather shocked.

"Urahara didn't tell…? Well, I became a Ghoul Investigator after the War."

It was Toshiro's turn to sigh.

"Not a nice bunch, are they? You do know that spiritually ghouls are the same as human souls, right?"

"I've only just recently learned this and I've stopped hunting them. I'm resigning for that reason and because of my transformation. I don't need the CCG hunting me down, too."

"Yes, I wouldn't want that either. I'm surprised you went that route."

"I wasn't aware at the time I started. Only when my hollow awoke did I start to see the spirit world again. I realized I had made a large error."

"At least you realized. I can't fault you for not knowing but your father should have told you."

"Yeah… What?" Ichigo looked surprised.

"Your father should have told you," Toshiro groaned.

"Well, he didn't…"

"That idiot Isshin…" Toshiro sounded annoyed.

"Um, this might sound stupid but… How do you know my dad?"

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yeah…"

There was a long pause on Toshiro's end of the line. That couldn't be good.

"H-he… You haven't asked about his past?"

"I mean… It's blatantly obvious he was a shinigami but… The subject never really came up…"

There was a long groaned on Toshiro's end of the line.

"I honestly thought you would have known by now."

"Known what?"

"Kurosaki, you father was my captain. He was once captain of Squad 10."

Ichigo looked like lightning had struck him.

"Hello?"

"…"

"Kurosaki, are you still there?"

"Y-yes…" Ichigo squeaked out, finally pushing the knot out of his throat.

"I honestly thought you knew."

"W-well, I didn't! Oh, wow…"

"Yes, a big 'wow' indeed. Ask him—when you see him. Okay?"

"I will… Oh, I will… I'm assuming he defected?"

"I'm not inclined to answer that. You want the details…"

"Ask him. Got it."

"Hm? Oh, is it that the time? Let me go. I have a captain's meeting here shortly. I'll get back in touch with you later."

"Sure. That's fine. I need to get some sleep anyway. It was nice to, uh, talk with you?"

"Yeah… It has been quite a while. Until later. Bye."

"Bye," Ichigo hung up and just fell back onto futon.

Sleep. How he wanted sleep but his mind instantly went to what Toshiro had said about his father. Honestly, the subject had never even once been brought up. Why didn't his dad tell him? He sighed and rolled over, pulling up the covers. That was for another time. Sleep was what he needed more than anything right now.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

That sounded like the front door.

"Ugh, now what?" he sat up and walked out of his bedroom.

He walked over to the door and looked out the peep hole. Kaneki? What did he want so soon? Ichigo went to step back to open the door feeling something sticky underfoot. Oh, shit the puddle of blood! He never cleaned it up. He opened the door just a crack.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, looking at Kaneki.

"Actually I was going to ask you that. I was off to school and smelled a lot of your blood," Kaneki stated in a hushed tone. "A-are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"It's bit of a long story but I'm fine, really," Ichigo said, putting on a smile. "There's nothing to worry about. You go on."

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking worried.

"Yes, go. You can't linger, remember?" Ichigo made a shoo gesture with his hand. "I'm fine. I promise."

"Okay, I'll see ya," Kaneki said, fixing his satchel and kept moving.

Ichigo closed the door back and let out a long sigh. He looked at the bottom of his bare foot. Gross. He'll have to that clean off. He hopped on one foot back into the bathroom and washed of his foot again. He dried it off and headed off into the kitchen. He got some bleach from under the sink and a new roll of paper towels. All he wanted to do was go to bed.

He wiped up what he could and laid down a little bleach to pull out a little more of the staining. He cleaned that up and saw the trail he left earlier leading to the bathroom. That he'd clean up later. He looked back into the kitchen and put the back the food he started to pull out earlier. He put everything away and walked back to his bedroom. He just put one knee on his bed when...

RIIING! RIIING! RIIING!

"OH, c'mon!" Ichigo snapped, punching the bed in frustration

That was his actual cellphone. He walked back into the bathroom and remembered it was in his soiled clothes. He quickly picked through the clothes and answered the slightly bloodied phone.

"Hello…?" he grumbled.

"Hi, Ichigo! I'm sorry, did I wake you?" it was Akane.

"No, I haven't been to bed—yet…" he groaned, his eye twitching. "So… What's up?"

"I'm cleared to go home today. I thought maybe you'd like to take me?"

"Oh?! What time are you getting out?"

"Around 11 I think. I know you still can't come onto the grounds but I can meet you just outside them."

Ichigo pulled the phone from his ear to check the time. It wasn't quite 8 yet. He placed the phone back to his ear.

"Yeah, I'll be there. I'll have a taxi. It'll be better than having to ride the bus system," he answered her, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm glad you're getting out finally."

"Yeah, well they were worried about infection due to where the incident took place and wanted to make sure everything was closing well."

"Well, I'm happy you can finally come home. I'll be there. Don't you worry about that. If you feel up to it I'll buy you lunch."

"I'd like that. I haven't seen you in far too long. Yes, I'd really like that."

"Okay, when I pick you up I'll let you pick the place, how 'bout that?"

"Sounds great! I'll see you when you get here. I'll let you get a little sleep."

"Yes, please. I need sleep…"

"See ya in a little while. Bye-bye!"

"Yes, bye," Ichigo hung up his phone.

He then made a beeline for his bed and fell face first into the covers, his feet still on the floor. Damn it, he'd just stay there like this. He didn't care anymore. He hastily fixed the alarm on his phone before throwing it gingerly to his side. He buried his face in the covers and finally drifted off to sleep.

Akane stepped out the front glass doors of the hospital with a large bandage on the left side of her face. Her long red hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her hospital bags were clutched tightly in her hands. It was nice to finally leave this damn place. She stepped off the grounds and looked around the crowed sidewalk. She spotted Ichigo off to her right waiting with the cab like promised. She happily waved to him and ran over.

"Ichigo," she exclaimed, coming to a stop in front of him. "It's so nice to finally see you."

"Yeah, same here. I'll take those," he took her bags and opened the door for her. "I'm surprised your father isn't the one picking you up."

"He has to work today. He's taken off so much time to be with my his boss has gotten a bit fussy about it," she snorted, sliding in the back seat. "I told him that you would pick me up instead he was okay with that."

Ichigo slid in right after and closed the door.

"So where to first?" Ichigo asked.

"Home first. I need to drop this stuff off," she said, putting one of the bags at her feet. "I don't need to bring all this to the restaurant."

She gave the cabby her address and off into the Tokyo traffic they went. It would be a little time before they got to her apartment. The traffic was always bad in this area.

"Glad to be out?" Ichigo asked and she let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Hell, yes… I'm so damn happy to finally leave that hell hole," she slumped down in her seat a little a long moan. "So what have you been up to?"

"Well, not too much. Staying at home mostly," he shrugged. "I go back into work tomorrow."

"I still have another week of leave but I'm resigned to the office only on my return," she grumbled, crossing her arms in a huff. "I'm supposed to have off another week but I told them I was and could come back sooner. I'm just dreading the paperwork that's back up with both of gone for so long."

"Well, they want to make sure you're okay so maybe you should take the second week," Ichigo pointed out and she snorted. "I'll be stuck in the office for a while, too. I know I'll have a mountain of paperwork just like you said. So don't feel so bad."

She sighed and looked at her reflection in the window. Nearly the whole left side of her face was wrapped in a bandage. All of this was that bitch's fault! And far as he was concerned it was Incognito's fault too for not snatching monster fast enough. She gritted her teeth.

"That damn Rabbit," she hissed, touching her bandage.

"Let's try not to think about that, okay?" Ichigo said, putting on a smile and pulled her hand from her face. "You're just freshly out of the hospital. You should enjoy this time and not think about stuff like that."

She smiled a little and looked down her hand lightly clinched in his. That was strange. Ichigo was wearing a pair of nice dress gloves. Ichigo wasn't usually one to wear gloves and I wasn't even that cold outside today.

"Gloves?" she noticed as he let go of her hand.

"Yeah, I did some deep cleaning the last couple of days of my apartment. I forgot to protect my hand from chemicals and they ate my hands up," he fibbed, looking at the cotton cloves. "I have a salve on them my dad told me to buy. The gloves are to help keep the medicine from rubbing off too quickly.."

"Oh… I hope they get better," she said, looking up at him.

"They'll be fine," he waved her off.

She looked up at his face. There was something different about him. She couldn't place her finger on it. Something had changed about her partner that should just couldn't quite placed. He was just appearance but attitude towards did seem quite the same either.

"So, how's your nose? It looks good," she said, looking at it. "I don't even see any bruising."

"Yeah, it's doing good. It's sore at time but it's much better," he smiled at her. "So... I might make this worse but how your eye?"

"It's sore but it's doing much better," she repeated and he chuckled.

"I see what you did there," he sighed, elbowing her slightly.

"Oh, haha!" she elbowed him back.

They grew quiet for a moment and she took this time to really look at him. There really was something about him that wasn't quite right. It was eating at her something terrible. There was something off about him.

"You look good. You lose weight or something?" she smiled, looking him up and down.

"Not really, I was able to put in a little time extra at the gym," he replied. "But I haven't really lost weight."

"You have a new hair style," she pointed out. "That looks good on you, too."

"Yeah, I sort of like it," he said, running a hand over his head.

"But you do know… You're graying a little…" she said, pointing to a sideburn. "Not a lot."

His smile faded and she didn't understand why. Was he worried about going gray? It happened to a lot of investigators. Stress gets to them and a lot go gray early. She scratched the back of her head, feeling uneasy. Maybe she could fix this conversation.

"I-I think it makes you very distinguished," she said proundly, putting on a big smile. "Uh, more mature I'd guess you'd say. You've seen my dad he has this gray strip running right here at his right temple."

She pointed at her head but his mood already seemed to be as dead as it could be. Her own smile faded. She knotted her hands and looked down at them resting her lap. She sighed and crossed her arms. What the hell was his damn problem all of a sudden?

"What you're problem?" she asked, her tone turning dark. "You're not acting like yourself."

"I didn't get much sleep," was his only response.

"I know when you're bullshitting me. We've been partners for far too long," she snorted now with her own scowl marring her face. "Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?"

He might as well get it out in the open.

"I'm quitting…" he mumbled and she looked at him wide-eyed.

"Wh-what…?" she breathed just over a whisper, her voice nearly got locked in her throat.

"I'm quitting the CCG," he answered, turning to look out the window. "I'm handing in my resignation papers when I go in tomorrow."

She felt like she was just hit with a bucket of ice water. He was quitting the CCG? He heart felt a bit tight at those words. Honestly it scared her. Why? For what reason? She didn't understand.

"Why…?" she asked, leaning forward, trying to look at his face.

"I can't take it anymore," he breathed. "It's becoming too much for me."

"But you… I don't understand. It was almost like a passion for you," she stated but he just shook his head. "Why are you quitting? Give me a real answer, dammit!"

"It's mentally killing me. I can't stomach it anymore," Ichigo blurted out, trying not to snap at her.

"Have you talked to a company psychiatrist?" she asked and he shook his head. "I think you should before you—"

"I've made up my mind on the matter," he said, coldly. "I'm sorry but I'm leaving. I honestly can't stomach it anymore. I had time to think about it over these last few weeks. I'm going back home to Karakura town as well."

"You…? Back home? Is something wrong? It sounds like you're running from something," she stated, worry all over her face. "Are you in trouble with someone?"

"I'm not in trouble and I'm not running," the latter part was a lie. He turned to look back at her. "I just can't deal with this job anymore. I miss my home as well. My family is very tightly knit and I'm tired of being away from them."

"So you're just…" she still couldn't believe this. She ran a hand down her face. "Please, think this through!"

"I HAVE! I have thoroughly thought everything out," he finally snapped at her and then cringed. "I'm sorry. God… I shouldn't have yelled… But… I just can't handle it anymore. I'm sick of it. Totally sick of it."

She leaned back in her seat and looked out her own window. Something was really bothering him. She could see it as clear as day now. He was scared of something. If she pressed more he'd just push away even more. There was no point hounding him for more information. She pursed her lips some and put her head on the cool window. What was he scared of?

"You're scared… I know that much," she murmured. She knew better than to ask but she just had to. "What's has you this way?"

"Personal issues," was his sole reply.

She closed her eye and lightly shook he head. She knew he wouldn't answer her. Why did she waste her breath? They fell into silence for the rest of the ride to her apartment. He got out first and held the door for her. She got out next and he took her bags again. She lead the way up to her apartment she opened the door and they walked in.

"Set them by the door," she ordered, pointing to a clear spot by the door.

He set them down as instructed. There was a faint smell of spoiled food and old trash that lingered in the air from her absence.

"Ugh, it smells," she said, walking over to the trash can, she pulled out the bag, and tied it off. "I'll take that out to the dumpster later."

She sighed and turned to look back at her partner. He was just so freaking glum. She often wondered if he was bipolar. He changed moods in a snap.

"You still want to go out to lunch?" she asked, leaning against the kitchen table.

"If you want," he replied dully.

"What I want is for you to freaking smile, Mr. Grumpy-pants," she grumbled, pushing off the table and marched up to him.

She grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him back out the door. She shut it and locked it back. She then faced him again. She pursed lips and her lone eye narrowed. He took a weary step back, knowing that look all too well. She then grabbed his collar again and yanked.

"Just for the shear way you're acting I'm going to order the most expensive thing on the menu," she snapped, pulling him towards the stairs. "You better have enough cash, partner!"

He gave a weak laugh as she started to drag him down the stairs. If there was one thing he responded to it was play fighting. Hopefully she could lift his mood doing this. She hated seeing him like this and she hated that he was leaving the CCG. He wouldn't give her a straight answer. That hurt her but if it really was a personal issue there wasn't much she could do. It was his battle and his alone. She pulled a little harder on his shirt.

"Pick up your damn feet!"

"Ow, h-hey! Don't pull so hard!"

Akane tried her best to lift Ichigo's spirits during lunch. He put on a smile for her but she knew it was counterfeit. There was only so much she could do but did what she could. They had a fairly nice lunch and she did indeed order the most expensive item. Ichigo had just enough cash on him to cover. That also left them without taxi fare. So they opted to walk back instead. This might be the last real time they really hung out together if he was going to leave town.

It took them a little while to make it back to her apartment. When they got up there he helped change her bandage. He finally got a look at what was left of that side of her face. There wasn't much of that side her face that was damaged. It started at the bridge of her nose and nearly stretched to her ear and down to the corner of her jaw. It ate up the top left corner of her face. There was plenty of bruising and a lot of stitches. The area was still puffy and would be that way for a while. He fixed her a new bandage and then helped her with cleaning up. He cleaned out the old food and he took out the garbage. He did a couple more things for her before heading home.

He was practically dragging his feet by the time he made it back to his apartment. He unlocked the door and stepped it. He dropped his keys and hat on the small table. He draped his coat over a chair while kicking off his shoes. Bed sounded really good right now. He didn't even feel like changing. He stumbled towards his bedroom.

"Ichigo! There you are," Ryoko said, walking into the apartment. "Kusaba said you got hurt bad this morning. Are you okay?"

"Hey, yeah… I'm fine now. I'm just dead tired right now," he said, turning to face her with a weak smile. "I don't mean to be rude but can I get some sleep?"

"Oh, uh, sure… I'll let you get some sleep," she said as he turned back to his room. "Do you want me to wake you a certain time?"

"No, just let me sleep," he grumbled, walking into his room and closed the door.

He climbed into his bed and within a minute or two he was out like a light. Ryoko looked at the closed door and sighed. She had wanted to talk to him but obviously that had to wait. Kusaba said that he and Ichigo got into a small argument and that he finally learned what was bothering Ichigo. Kusaba wasn't sure about Ichigo anymore. Ryoko had felt compelled to smooth out a few things so Kusaba understood the situation better. He promised to keep his mouth shut about her telling him so much information.

There was no telling when he'd wake up. She might as well return to Anteiku. Yomo and Yoshimura had been trying to figure out how to break things to Touka at the very least. However there was one big hiccup. Touka was frightened of birds. Yomo suggested buying a rabbit but Yoshimura wasn't sure if a rabbit would work as far as talking went. Yoshimura then jokingly suggested that they put her in a bunny outfit. However, she had a feeling Yomo's friend Uta was going to have an odd project on his hands. The thought of her inside the bird in a bunny outfit sounded funny. She giggled a little and shook her hand. She'd have to see just how well that would turn out.

She turned to leave and instantly stopped dead, looking at the door. She took a couple of steps back. There was a person leaning against the closed door. She never heard anyone come in and she had never seen this person before either. He was looking into a phone with a large duffel bag strapped over his small, thin shoulder and a sleeping bag at his feet. His large teal eyes then snapped to her as he put the phone down and pushed off the door. His hair was stark white and pulled back into a tiny ponytail with a long piece hanging over his left eye. He was dressed in a simple red and white striped t-shirt with a black leather coat and ripped up jeans. However, what got her most was that this person was young. He looked maybe no older than 7 or 9 and 9 was really pushing it.

He stared at her for a moment before going back to his phone. She didn't know what to do. The boy had a strange presents about him that she just didn't like. She shuttered a bit as he suddenly put his phone up in his coat pocket. She took a couple careful steps back, looking down at the boy.

"You a friend of his?" he asked sternly, looking up at her.

"Y-yes," she stammered, giving a small head nod. "Who are you?"

"An old acquaintance," he said, walking around her, towards the bedroom.

"Oh, wait! I'm sorry but he's sleeping," she stopped him before he knocked on the door. "He's not feeling too well."

"Yes, well I need to talk with him," the boy replied.

"Can't you wait just an hour or two at the least," she pleaded with him. "Please, I don't think he got much if any sleep last night."

He looked at her with his teal eyes narrowing.

"Fine," he said, stepping back from the door and she sighed in relief. "I'll talk to you instead."

What had she gotten herself into? He walked over to a chair, sat down, and took off his duffel bag. Why was he carrying such a thing? Come to think of it the boy was solid. How did he get in? He was making her very uneasy.

"Let's start's with the basics. I'm Hitsugaya Toshiro," he said as she stared at him. "I'm the captain of Squad 10. Simply put, I'm a shinigami."

"You're a… You're a shinigami?" she choked out, pointing a thin finger at him. "But you look… Well…"

"Young?" he drawled.

"Well, that but… I was going to say solid, uh, living," she said, pulling at her braid.

"If need be we can take on a physical form. We wear faux bodies call gigai," he said, dully. "We do this if we have to interact with the living."

"Oh," she breathed.

"And you are?" he inquired.

"I'm Fueguchi Ryoko," she answered quickly, still feeling uneasy.

"How long have you been a spirit?" he asked, looking her up and down.

"Around 3 weeks."

"So not long at all."

"No," she shook her head.

"Hm. How involved are you with Kurosaki?" he leaned back in his seat and crossed his small arms.

"I'm, uh… We're just good friends! That's all!"

"Not what I meant," a teal eye twitched.

"Oh, you mean do I know about his…?"

"Yes."

"You're not going to hurt him are you?"

"No. I don't believe he's a threat but I do want to ascertain that for myself to be certain. He has nothing to fear from me," the young captain stated. "I merely wish to observe him with my own eyes. If nothing else I'm protecting him."

"Protecting him? Can you stop him from changing?" she asked, taking a careful step forward.

"I personally cannot. However, he has been in contact with one that might be able to," Toshiro said, looking at the worried woman before him. "We're going to try and help him the best we can. But he has hinted that his time might be drawing faster than what was originally predicted."

She didn't like hearing that. She hung her head at that news. He was running out of time and fast. It stung to know that she honestly couldn't help him.

"Why are you hanging out with him?" Toshiro inquired as she looked back up at him.

"It's a bit of a long story," she answered.

"Well, if you want to let him sleep for a while this will help kill time," he stated with a faint smile. "I've got nowhere else to be anytime soon. Please, tell me your story."

She looked at the boy in front of her. This would be a good way to kill time. She closed the gap between them and sat on the floor. He looked down at her with the most stunning eyes she had ever seen.

"I first met him three weeks ago or so. I was out with my daughter, Hinami…"

Ichigo eyes slowly opened. The room was nearly solid black, save for the scant city light that filtered in through the edges his curtains. He reached for his phone not finding it. Oh, yeah… He stretched out and reached into pants' pocket. He turned it on and was nearly blinded by the screen. He fumbled and the phone fell on his face. Ow. He picked it up again. It was about 3 in the morning. Damn, he slept that long? He turned the screen off and rubbed his burning eyes.

He forced himself to sit up and got to his sock-clad feet. Thankfully he didn't start work until the evening so he could get a nap this afternoon. He opened the door and headed towards the bathroom only to pause. He noticed something that shouldn't be there on the floor. He flipped on the bathroom light to see what it was. The ambient light spread across the living room. He saw a small dark blue sleeping bag on the floor. He stepped back to remove his shadow from the person's face. He was surprised to see the familiar face of Toshiro sound asleep. His white hair was a good bit longer than he remembered and the fair locks covered most of his sleeping face.

When did he get here and why was he here? This was certainly a surprise. Ichigo stepped into the bathroom and gently closed the door. When he finished his business he carefully stepped out. Toshiro was still sound asleep, snuggled into his sleeping bag. Ichigo wondered if he should wake the small captain or not. He had no idea when Toshiro arrived. He rubbed his chin slightly thinking it over. If Toshiro came all the way down here he clearly wanted to talk to him face to face. Ichigo sighed and walked over to the sleeping boy. He knelt down and lightly shook his shoulder.

Toshiro moaned before ducking down into the darkness of his sleeping bag. Ichigo snorted a bit. He shook the boy a little harder this time.

"Toshiro… Hey, Toshiro, wake up."

"Mmm… Matsumoto, go back to sleep… Middle of the night…" he ducked down deeper.

Well, clearly he wasn't getting up. Ichigo got back to his feet and tiptoed into the kitchen. He grabbed some snack foods and quietly walked back to his bedroom. He shut the door and sat back down on his futon. He'd eat something and see if he couldn't get a couple more hours of sleep. He'd talk to Toshiro most likely after daybreak.

"Toshiro… Hey, Toshiro, wake up sleepy head."

"Hmm… Wha…" Toshiro rolled over, rubbing a sleepy eye.

He was quickly greeted by Ichigo standing over him. What time was it? He sat up rubbing his sore back. Sleeping bag or not floors weren't great to sleep on. He looked at the window clearly it was morning and the sun was up. He rubbed his eyes again as he let out a yawn.

"I have breakfast if you want some," Ichigo said, standing up straight. "Toast's a little burnt though…"

"Bathroom first," Toshiro groaned, pushing out of his sleeping bag.

He stood and stumbled to his destination. He shut the door behind him. Ichigo walked back into the kitchen and finished setting out everything. Toshiro returned a couple minutes later and sat down at the small table. He rubbed his sore neck.

"I saw your duffel bag. You moving in or something?" Ichigo asked, putting some butter on the blackened toast. "I wish you had told me you were coming."

"I did. I called you like 4 times but you didn't answer the phone," Toshiro answered, looking at the toast. "Burnt, huh?"

"Okay, it's almost charcoal," Ichigo groaned. "It's was the last of my bread, too."

Toshiro put a few eggs on his plate and grabbed a piece of bread shaped charcoal. He picked up the jam, hoping it might make the hard, blacken bread go down easier. He grabbed a couple pieces of bacon as well.

"So, why are you down here?" Ichigo asked, picking at his scrambled eggs.

"I wanted to check on you personally," Toshiro answered, picking up his mug of milk, hoping to wash the bread down.

"Can you do that? I thought captains had to have special permission," Ichigo pointed out.

"I have permission. I merely said I was going down to visit Urahara," Toshiro said and Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"That was it?" Ichigo asked.

"I 'explained' that Urahara needed help with an experiment and that he asked if I could help him," Toshiro stated, putting a bit of egg in his mouth. "We're at a time of peace right now and I'm using vacation time anyway…"

"Still…" Ichigo said a little unsure.

"I have my limiter on. I wanted to keep an eye on you. Not all of that was a lie. Urahara did ask me to do this as well," Toshiro explained. "Both Urahara and your father are worried about you. And looking at you, I am too."

Ichigo's face fell a bit at the captain's words. Did he look bad or something? He ran his hand through his mop top. He hadn't cut it yet. He would do that just before he started work tonight. To make matters worse after Akane pointed out the small white streak he started to see a few more streaks since this morning peppering his orange locks. Honestly they were coming in as bleached highlights. The rebellious punk in him liked it. He wanted to try something like this a couple of times in his youth but he already caught hell just for having orange hair. He opted not to as he didn't want to make the taunting worse.

"I look that bad?" Ichigo voice cracked little.

"Well, you don't look great," Toshiro stated, bluntly. "Not so much physically as emotionally. This is taking its toll on you."

"Yeah… I know it is," Ichigo said, grabbing his own cup of milk.

"Kurosaki, be honest with me… If Urahara can't find a cure or a suppressant in time can you handle becoming a hollow?" Toshiro asked and Ichigo blinked. "I don't know how your inner world works but when I get too emotional my world fogs up so much I can't see my hands in front of my face."

"My world floods. Literally floods," Ichigo sighed, setting the cup back down. "My hollow managed to pull me into that world and showed me what I was doing. I've been trying to fix it since. He warned me that if I wanted to stay me when the change happens my world can't be flooded. I got a good look at my mistakes while I was there and mess I've made for myself. I know what I have to fix inside myself but he has his doubts about me fixing my conscience as did a lot of bad things the past few years. I don't know, maybe he's right... I'm starting to see that I don't even know where to start or even how to do this. To make matters worse my times is about out."

"I see... Sounds like you've got a a mess on your hands," Toshiro pointed out, picking up a piece of bacon and looked at before taking a small bite. "So you want to clear your conscience from the bad choice you made? So, let's address the most obvious thing I think that's bothering you. I'm guess most of this mess comes from past regrets. The quickest but not easiest way is to just accept what happen and move on. You can't fix what's already happened."

"I know that," Ichigo bit out, covering his face with his hands.

Toshiro let out a long sigh. Ichigo wasn't dealing well at all. Toshiro looked at his mug seeing a few small hairline fractures. He picked it up and looked it at closer.

"Kurosaki, try this. Think of your emotions ornate and fragile ceramic pot that you use. Over time the pot develops a lot of cracks, mistakes, and a few pieces have broken off just from normal wear and tear. You clearly can't throw this pot out but you know how damaged it has become," Toshiro held up the slightly damaged mug out to Ichigo. "You try to fix it with glue and hide the cracks but the glue is weak. The cracks keep opening and the pieces fall back off. By the end of it all you have an uglier mess on your hands than when you started. You need something that can hold up and stay. Are you familiar with the art of Kintsugi?"

"Kintsugi? That's where gold is used as a bond and filler for pottery."

"Yes, exactly. Instead of using weak glue that horribly hides mistakes, use gold. Turn those ugly imperfections into beauty. Yes, you can still see the cracks but that's the beauty of it. You've turned them into something better. They will always be there but you know the pot, your emotions, are that much stronger and even more beautiful for it. It's those imperfections that have turned the broken pot into art. Basically, Kurosaki, instead of covering up your wrong doings like they never existed let them make you into something better. It's not worth trying to hide everything you'll only damage yourself more. Fix what you can and learn from it to stave off future damage. Just accept the fact you made mistakes and don't make them again."

Ichigo leaned back in his seat and let what Toshiro said sink in. His emotions were a fragile pot and the mistakes were the cracks he made. Instead of a pot it should be his crown that he shattered. He needed to prove he could still control his horse when the time came. But first he need to figure how to reforge that zanpakuto of his. If it was made out all the negative things he's done in the past then I need to really let go off a those regrets and start doing what's right. Thankfully he already started that but how much work was it going to take? He'd do whatever it took to make sure he got rid of such a thing. He was going to take a lot of work to atone for what he did. First and foremost he needed to fix that crown if he wanted everything to work. Zangetsu will be his horse again maybe then he could get that zanpakuto to change once he took full control again. He slightly smile at the thought of getting control of his life again.

"Feeling better?"

"Hm?" Ichigo focused in on Toshiro again.

"You smiled a little. I asked if you felt better," Toshiro answered, going back to his food.

"Yeah, some…" Ichigo said, picking up his fork again. "Thanks."

Toshiro only nodded and the two finished eating.

Ichigo took part of the day to show Toshiro around Tokyo and taught him the dos and the don'ts of the city. Honestly, it was nice to finally have someone there that understood his issues best. Maybe he should have had his dad come up to begin with. If Toshiro alone made this much of a difference for him his dad could have been a good rock as well. Although he didn't want to pull his dad away from his clinic for too long. It was the family business after all. It's what paid the bills.

Toshiro was taking everything in that he saw and storing it all to his memory. Ichigo was turning out to be a good guide as he often walked these streets while out on patrol. He pointed to where the safe spots were and where to try to avoid. Toshiro just followed him around like a little shadow. Ichigo bought them both a small lunch before returning back the apartment around mid-afternoon.

He explained to Toshiro what he had been up to lately as far as getting ready to quit the CCG and trying to help out a few honest ghouls before he cut town. It seemed fair enough but he told Ichigo not to go overboard. He also pointed out the ramification of just cutting town. His family would be hounded and scrutinized by the CCG trying to find where he went, resignation or not. It would not end well if he just up and left right after quitting. Just quitting so suddenly alone might send up some red flags especially if this Mado character was watching him.

The captain was right but what else could he do? He couldn't stay in Tokyo. He didn't feel safe there and that's why he wanted to go back to Karakura. Ichigo, in a bit frustration, joked about faking his own death. However, that got Toshiro thinking. They might actually be able to pull off such a stunt by using a gigai that looked like Ichigo. Of course Ichigo wasn't sure of that.

Toshiro explained that it would keep the CCG off his trail and keep his family safe. If they thought he was dead they wouldn't pursue him. Toshiro got on the phone with Urahara and explained his idea. Urahara was on board the moment the plan came from Toshiro's lips. Urahara said he would develop a gigai that looked like Ichigo, however, that also meant having to put the suppressant project on hold for a day or so. Ichigo agreed if it would help tie up any loose ends.

It already helped that Ichigo had stated some mental instability. Between talking about exhaustion, his sudden fainting spell, getting into that fight, and telling his partner he wasn't mentally well… That laid out a good path for him. Once he put down his reason for leaving followed by his "sudden death" Ichigo would be off the hook scot-free. The CCG would leave him and his family alone.

Ichigo decided to let Toshiro and Urahara work on the finer details. It was about time for him to get ready for work. He'd have to let Ryoko know about what was about to happen. He told Toshiro to tell her know and the man with her, Kusaba, of their plan. Toshiro agreed as Ichigo went to get ready for work. He cut his hair short again, got dressed in his street clothes, and grabbed his cleaned suit out of the closet.

He grabbed his ball-cap, coat, and keys. He slipped on his sneakers and opened door. Toshiro already knew not the open the door for anyone. Ichigo had talked to his neighbor earlier that day to told him that someone would be staying with him and to not be alarmed. Toshiro briefly saw the young man on the walkway. He was several years younger than Ichigo, possibly late teens to early 20's. Toshiro had an inkling that the young man might be a ghoul.

Ichigo waved good bye and locked the door. Well, this was it. He turned towards the stairs and started walking. He would be handing in his resignation shortly. He hated doing this but he had to. There was no choice. He got off the last step and looked up at the floor his apartment sat on. Hopefully Toshiro's idea will go smoothly and he could just vanish without any bad repercussions.

Toshiro silently stepped out onto the walkway, locking the apartment back. Ichigo had given him the spare key should he need to leave for any reason. Toshiro was feeling a little cooped up. He just needed a little air to clear his head. He had been trying to figure out how to pull off the fake suicide for a while. This might help get his mind back on track.

He'd stick to the areas Ichigo had shown him. He didn't feel like doing any exploring tonight. He had a look around at the Tokyo nightlife. It certainly was a different scene from this afternoon. There were so my colorful lights and just as colorful people. It a very far cry from Karakura Town. He took his time to really look around but kept his wits about him. He ended up stopping at a small noodle shop he had seen earlier that day.

An older couple ran the small shop and they were kind enough to show him their most popular dishes. They had found him be "so adorable." That and they just found his white hair to be "so fascinating." They were nice enough that he let it roll of his back. He didn't like it but at least he wasn't being picked on or shunned for his odd looks. Those days still haunted him a little, not that he'd admit it. He paid for his meal, thanked them, and left.

He might want to head back soon and get back to work. He stretched his arms up into the air and yawned a little. He pulled out his phone to looked at the time. It close to 10. It was still early for the most part. Maybe another 30 minutes or so before he headed back to Ichigo's. He put his phone away and kept moving.

He stopped dead as someone ran into him. Toshiro stumbled a bit but regained his balance. He felt something wet slide down the back of his coat. It smelt like coffee. He looked up at the man with an annoyed expression. The man was tall and thin with a very soft looking face. He looked very well preened but his bright suit and tie threw Toshiro off. One hand held a crushed foam coffee cup. The man brushed a little of his purple hair from his face, putting it back where it belong, before throwing the destroyed cup in a trashcan to his left. His matching purple eyes met Toshiro's large teal ones. Toshiro instantly felt sick just looking at him. He had a predator's gaze. Chances might be that he was a ghoul. It might be wise to move on before he tested that theory.

"My dare, boy, I'm so sorry," the man said, putting on an overly sweet smile. "I didn't see you. Are you unharmed?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Toshiro answered, backing up some and moved to the side to go around him. I might want to hurry and just go back to Ichigo's. I don't like this man.

"Are you sure?" the man asked, pulling out handkerchief and reached for Toshiro. "I seemed to have spelt a bit of my coffee on you."

Toshiro jumped back in a flash.

"Yes, quite sure," Toshiro almost snapped.

The man was a little taken aback by the boy's sharp gaze and quick movements. The man's smile widened a little more as he put back the handkerchief.

"Now, now. I mean no harm, young man," he said but Toshiro gaze only deepened. He smells delicious and I just love those eyes. Grant it he's no Kaneki but… He'll do for his eyes if nothing else.

"Don't even," Toshiro snapped, turning on his heel and ran.

The boy vanished into the crowd before the flamboyant man knew it. He's smile widen and he lightly licked his bottom lip. So, he found himself something new to try. The boy had a very unique smell about him. He liked that. He was very clean in away. That was the best way to describe him. He'd have to find the boy again and keep tabs on him. He couldn't let another delicious opportunity slip by him again.

(A/N Well, that was a quick update, yes? Oh, boy. I hope you liked this chapter. I had to remove and rewrite a couple of parts. I did not like the original ending so I was hard bent to make a new one. I removed a good chunk and added this little tidbit here at the end. But what is this writing below? Oh, it's just a little something extra for a good laugh. I hope you like it.)

The Dilemma

Short

Kaneki sat on the couch with the bird on his knee. Ryoko had come back for a visit again and Kaneki was keeping her entertained. Yomo and Yoshimura stood at the back of the room, looking at Kaneki and Ryoko/Hetare. This was still… Unnerving. They knew sooner or later they'd have to break the news Touka at the very least and explain what she saw the other day wasn't a figment of her imagination. She was also still shaken from what she saw. She has since refused to enter this room.

"So what do we do?" Yoshimura asked, quietly. "She's going to run into this situation sooner or later. Maybe we should just show her flat out like what happened to us."

"No. That's not a wise choice," Yomo stated, turning to look Yoshimura. "She's scared of birds, remember? I don't think this will help anything. If nothing else it may traumatize her."

"Yes, I suppose you're right on that," Yoshimura mused, rubbing his chin. "But there has to be some way we can break this to her a little more easily."

The two men puzzled on that thought. How were they to make this go a little bit more smoothly?

"I think I've got it," Yomo said. "We put Ryoko in a bunny. Touka loves rabbits. It might take the edge off."

"Or it might turn her against rabbits," Yoshimura grumbled. "As it is we don't even know if she can speak through a rabbit. I'd hate to get one and it's of no use to us."

"True. However, Touka might steal it from us even though she's not allowed pets at her place," Yomo added, rubbing his head.

The two men puzzled again. How could they break the news to Touka? There had to be some way to make this happen without too much fuss. Yoshimura suddenly chuckled a little, catching Yomo's attention.

"What's so funny?" Yomo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a rather stupid idea," Yoshimura waved it off. "It's not worth mentioning."

"I'd like to hear it," Yomo insisted, crossing his arms.

"We put the bird in a bunny costume," Yoshimura smirked, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"…" Yomo just stared at him and did a very slow blink

"See…? Not worth it," Yoshimura shrugged. "Not only that but we most likely couldn't find such a thing."

"Not… Not necessarily," Yomo stated. "I know a guy…"

"You know we can hear you," Ryoko called out behind them and they jumped a little. "Just thought I'd let you know."

Yoshimura and Yomo turned around to look at them again as Kaneki gave them a weak grin and waved. They awkwardly returned it. Ryoko shook her feathered head. This was going to be very interesting.

Millie M. Banshee