i had a thousand bad times, so what's another time to me?
you try to burn my house down, but what's another house to me?
'cause i can take anything that you give me
it's gonna take a lot more to kill me, bitch
so thank you for the grave, i needed me a place to sleep.

Red and blue lights reflected off wet pavement. Brandishing his badge at the attending officer, Grimmjow ducked under the police tape cordoning off the alley. The scene was grisly; two uniformed policemen lay in the street, holes gaping in both their chests. The blood pooled beneath them had mixed with rain, diluting as it flowed towards the drain. Grimmjow caught a glint of the moon in the swirling crimson. His partner, Ulquiorra, hands in coat pockets, loomed over the men.

"The hell kinda weapon leaves a wound like that?" Grimmjow asked, nodding towards the bodies.

Ulquiorra didn't turn to look at him. "It's the medical examiner's job to determine that."

"Really must'a pissed someone off to end up like this."

"They were reporting to a special agent at the Seireitei. We're waiting on her arrival with more information."

Grimmjow raised his brows. "A Shinigami? Feds got these poor bastards in a li'l over their heads, then, eh?"

"You're right," a woman's voice called from behind him. Grimmjow turned to face her. She was short, with dark hair falling to her shoulders and large, purple eyes. "I shouldn't have sent them alone." Her tone was somber. "I should have realized I was putting them in danger."

"You the one from the Seireitei?"

She nodded and held out her hand. "Special Agent Rukia Kuchiki."

He didn't reciprocate the gesture, instead crossing his arms. "Special Agent Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Hueco Mundo Intelligence." Rukia retracted her hand with a huff.

"Special Agent Ulquiorra Cifer. We spoke on the phone."

"A pleasure, Agents," Rukia choked out through gritted teeth, "to meet the men helping to avenge my people." It appeared as if she was being forced to cooperate from higher up. Grimmjow mused that she must be upset about losing the case to Intelligence. She probably wanted to personally apprehend whoever was responsible. Unfortunately for her, her involvement with the officers was exactly what precluded the Seireitei from being awarded jurisdiction. "I will answer whatever questions you may have to assist with your investigation."

Ulquiorra reached up to his left temple and pressed gently. Grimmjow recognized this to mean the man's cybernetic eye was now recording. He took it as a cue to begin the interview. "What'd ya send 'em off to do that got 'em killed?"

Rukia avoided his eyes. "They were escorting an important witness to our offices for questioning. An old friend of mine, Orihime Inoue. I know her, I know she's not dangerous, so I stupidly assumed they would be safe." She gripped her elbow with the opposite hand chokingly tight. "I didn't think about the trouble Orihime herself was in. She's missing now, clearly the real target of this attack."

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. "'Trouble'?"

"We have reason to believe that she has gotten herself involved with…" She sighed. "Kisuke Urahara."

His eyes widened. The man was a highly wanted criminal, in hiding for a little over a decade and a half. A bit before his time, but everyone at the agency knew the story. Urahara was a former researcher of advanced cybernetic technology, hired by the government to enhance Seireitei agents. However, while using a breakthrough technique, he horrendously damaged and disfigured eight senior agents slated to be the new "Visored" Response Team. He had taken the surgeries far beyond ethical boundaries, and when his deeds were discovered, head officials personally called for his imprisonment as a traitor. He had already disappeared though, along with his attendant Tesaai Tsukabishi, the Seireitei's Stealth Force Commander Yoruichi Shihouin, and all eight Visored patients. "You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me."

"I wouldn't joke about something as serious as this. He's obviously the one who took her, afraid that she would talk." Her expression was stern, almost withering. "I do hope you are able to actually find the creep and rescue my friend."

"Her being your friend will have no bearing on the outcome of this case, Agent Kuchiki," Ulquiorra spoke for the first time since he had introduced himself. "You should be prepared in the event that we're unable to produce the results you're looking for."

"Give the girl a break, Ulquiorra." Grimmjow grinned, teeth sharp and words dripping with sarcastic empathy. "I'm sure she feels bad enough, being the reason that her friend got grabbed and all. She shouldn't have to ALSO worry about being responsible for her death."

Rukia balled a hand into a fist. "You know how to contact me if you think of anything else," she spat, turning on her heel and stepping out of the alley.

Grimmjow glanced back at his partner. "Ya think we were too hard on her?" His smile hadn't left his face.

"It's pointless to worry about what's already in the past."

"Don't go gettin' all philosophical on me."

"The ME's here!" The attending called out to them.

Backing farther into the small corridor, the two agents made room for the medical examiner, a slender man with pale pink hair and glasses.

"Ya sure took your sweet time."

"It's four o'clock in the morning, Grimmjow," Szayel declared languidly. "Some of us were trying to get our beauty rest." He bent down over the bodies to start his assessment. Grimmjow surmised that the man would start with the wound sites, being able to magnify his vision with enhanced retinas and custom lenses. "Hmm," he pondered out loud. "Interesting."

"Ya gonna share with the class or what?" Grimmjow wasn't in the mood to indulge the medical examiner in the theatrical show he always put on.

Szayel scoffed. "At a wide glance, the edge of the wound is smooth and even. Close up, however, there are hundreds of microscopic tears. That suggests it was created by something dull or blunt, but with incredible speed."

"S'that even possible?"

"Well, to be frank, it appears almost… inhuman." His lips curled around the word.

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed, wondering if Szayel was implying what it sounded like he was implying. An Espada?

"Perhaps it was Kisuke Urahara after all." Ulquiorra's voice was flat and emotionless. He still hadn't met Grimmjow's eyes.

The blue-haired man wasn't bothered; in the year they'd been partners, he didn't think Ulquiorra had looked at him once. "And what makes ya say that?"

"The man used to augment for the Seireitei. Don't you think he could be capable of things some would call 'inhuman'?"

Grimmjow shrugged his shoulders. He thought that sounded more plausible than the alternative, at least. "Not a great start though, is it? An initial suspect who's already evaded the law for years?"

"That's the job, Jaegerjaquez. They don't send agents of our rank after trivial criminals."

"No." He shook his head ever so slightly. "No, I s'pose they don't."

Grimmjow lazily swiped his hand in front of the large digital display in their office, feet resting on his desk. Left. Left. Left. The Shinigami had sent him the relevant files pertaining to Urahara, including information about the missing girl. Nothing he read came across as particularly useful, however, in locating the man. Grimmjow imagined that if they'd had anything concrete regarding his whereabouts, they wouldn't have needed to question the girl. He stopped at a picture of her. She didn't look capable of getting involved with a man like that, one who had managed to operate undetected for so long. How could she be keeping his secrets? Especially from the Shinigami, who seemed to consider herself close with the redhead. It didn't make sense. He picked up his phone and dialed. "Kuchiki, it's Jaegerjaquez. I got a question for ya. What is it about this girl that's got the Seireitei so convinced she's Urahara's nurse?"

"You've had access to all our files for several hours now, Agent."

"The only thing I found is that she's definitely got the background for it." Grimmjow had read that Orihime was a graduate nursing student until her brother died and she withdrew from school. She had been in the middle of an internship under the current cybernetics surgeon for the Seireitei. He smirked. "Is that how you two met, by the way?"

"I don't believe that's any of your business."

"Yeah, yeah, no fun allowed, whatever. Still, there's nothing in these files that actually connects her with Urahara. I mean, she was still in elementary school when he went off the grid. How would they have even met?"

"He's a resourceful man; he must have ways to recruit employees."

"Don't gimme that bullshit. I'm not as dumb as I look. You must'a had something or you wouldn't'a been bringing your little friend in."

Rukia was silent for a moment. "It was an anonymous call to a tip line. They used a voice modulator, and we couldn't trace their location. It wasn't worth putting in a report."

"What'd they say?"

"'This message is for Special Agent Rukia Kuchiki. Orihime Inoue is working as a nurse for the wanted criminal Kisuke Urahara performing illegal cybernetic enhancement surgeries.' They repeated it a few times, as if it was a recording, then hung up."

"Don'tcha think it's a bit weird that you get a tip like that, you investigate her, you have her brought in for questioning, and then she gets snatched right out from under your nose?"

"Yes, I do think it's weird, you idiot. That's why I'm telling you."

"Touchy, touchy. I know you're upset, but you don't hafta call me names."

"You should be grateful that's all I called you. I've had worse in mind."

Grimmjow barked a laugh. "I like the fight in you, Kuchiki! It's more fun when they bite back." He pulled his feet to the floor and sat forward in his chair. "You got anything else ya been keeping from me? About the case, I mean; you can save your insults."

"Some of her… associates may not have made it into her file. I didn't want to drag their names into this until I'd heard what she had to say."

"More friends of yours?"

"Shut up."

"I'll take that as a yes. How's this sound, then, Shinigami? Send me the names and addresses, and I'll pick you up when I go to talk to 'em."

"I'm not supposed to be on this case."

"I won't tell if you don't."

She paused again, longer this time. "How can I trust you?"

"Not a fuckin' clue!" He grinned. "I guess I could just go question your friends all by my lonesome."

Rukia exhaled sharply. "I'll be taking my lunch in an hour."

"Thatta girl. It's a date, then."

"Choke on it, Jaegerjaquez." The line went dead.

He chuckled to himself. He missed getting a rise out of people like that; Ulquiorra never took the bait. A new file blinked onto the screen, containing information about Orihime's aforementioned associates. He brought up the first page with a wave of his hand. A university identification photo was then displayed: a med student with outrageous orange hair. He was certainly attractive, Grimmjow would admit, and not much younger than he was. He thought it a shame that they'd only be meeting for business and not pleasure. He grazed his tongue over his teeth. He wondered if he could convince the Shinigami to have lunch a bit early today.

A small pebble plinked off the second-story window. No answer. Rukia swung her arm back for another shot.

"There a reason we can't just knock on the door or…?"

"His two younger sisters live and work here too." She launched a second stone. "I don't want to tell them that Orihime is missing." And a third. "Not if I don't have to."

The window was finally wrenched open, and the handsome med student from the photo leaned out of it, enraged. "Rukia! What the hell is your problem? You ever heard of a doorbell?" He looked at Grimmjow, then pointed. "And who the hell is that? You better not be trying to set me up on a date again!" The last comment made the blue-haired man smirk.

"No, you idiot, it's serious!" Rukia yelled back. "He's from Hueco Mundo Intelligence. Get down here!"

Ichigo grumbled to himself but slipped back into his room and closed the window.

Grimmjow leaned down to hiss directly into the woman's ear. "Ya wanna yell that a li'l louder, Shinigami? I don't think the next district over heard you the first time."

She jumped with a start, pressing a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry," she mumbled into her fingers. "I wasn't thinking…"

He straightened up. "S'alright, I'm just fuckin' with ya. It's not a secret or anything. Just don't like having my business broadcasted when it doesn't hafta be."

Rukia shot him a glare, but before she could retort, the door to the clinic opened. Ichigo stepped out, dressed in light blue scrubs. He was scowling, but Grimmjow sensed more than that in his expression. Tension, he thought. The kid was nervous about something. "What is SO important that you had to interrupt me while I'm working?"

"Ichigo…" Rukia's voice was soft.

The redhead's body stiffened; Grimmjow could tell he realized the news was bad. They must all be close, then. He decided to take the reins. "It's your friend, Orihime. She's missing— taken, we think."

Ichigo's eyes darkened. "Taken by who?"

"Well, we were hoping you might know somethin' about that."

"What's this even got to do with you, anyway, Mister 'Hueco Mundo Intelligence'?" His fingers gestured in the air sarcastically. "One missing person seems a little below your pay grade, no?"

"The name's Grimmjow. You're not wrong, though, kid. They wouldn't have dragged me out just to find your friend."

"Kid? I'm fucking 26!"

Grimmjow flicked his hand as if he was swatting Ichigo's words away. "Sure, whatever, doesn't matter. What's important is I've got two dead cops and your li'l Orihime has suspected ties to a wanted man."

"Wanted man…? Rukia, what the hell is this guy on about?"

"He's telling the truth, Ichigo. We wanted to question her about her involvement with…" She trailed off, not finishing the thought. She shook her head and continued anyway. "She never made it to my office, and the men who were escorting her were killed."

"What'd you get her wrapped up in this time?"

"I didn't have anything to do with it! There was a tip line call that she was working for Kisuke Urahara. What else could I have done?"

"You could have just fucking ignored it, like she would have done for you."

"You know I can't do that! I'd lose my job!"

"If your job put Orihime in danger, then maybe it was a shitty fucking job to begin with!"

"That is not fair, Ichigo." Rukia's voice wavered for only a moment, thick with emotion. "You know perfectly well that I have been doing everything in my power to protect her. I am sorry that it wasn't enough, but you cannot put this only on me."

Ichigo's expression twinged, looking pained. "You're right. I'm sorry." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "What do we do now?"

"Now, you tell us what you know about Urahara so Intelligence can find him and rescue Orihime."

"You think he took her?"

"Who else could it have been?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to respond but then suddenly looked to Grimmjow as if he had just remembered the man was there.

Grimmjow winked at him, making Ichigo avert his gaze. "You know something, don'tcha, kid?"

"I already told you I'm not a fucking kid!" He looked at his feet. "And I don't know anything about that. I can't help you."

"Ichigo." Rukia grabbed both of his arms, her eyes pleading. "You have to trust me."

"You're not the one I'm worried about, Ru."

Grimmjow huffed. "Not my funeral, I guess. If you change your mind—" He slipped a card into the shirt pocket of Ichigo's scrubs and patted it. "Call me." He turned and started toward his car.

"Jaegerjaquez!" Rukia called after him. "You're just gonna walk away?"

He stopped, looking back over his shoulder. "If he doesn't wanna talk, he doesn't wanna talk, right? Maybe his friend Chad will be in a more cooperative mood."

Ichigo pushed past Rukia and grabbed Grimmjow's shoulder, hard, flipping him around. He stuck a finger in the taller man's face. "You stay the hell away from him, you—"

Grimmjow seized him by the wrist and twisted it behind his back, shoving until Ichigo's face was flush against the car window. His mouth hovered by the redhead's exposed ear. "Unless you wanna spend the night in a cell, don't you put your fucking hands on me like that again." He pressed harder into the man's back. "You got that?" He snarled, and Ichigo nodded. "You don't wanna trust me? Fine. I couldn't give a shit. But I'm the one whose job it is to find your little friend. If you don't think you should talk to me, then don't, but don't you dare get in my way either." He let go of the other man and brushed his hands down his dress shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles from their fray. "Let's go, Kuchiki." Rukia looked furious with him but didn't say anything as she got in the car.

The vehicle pulled away, and Grimmjow took one last look at Ichigo in the rearview mirror. He was blushing wildly, his mouth slightly agape and his breathing labored, while his hands rested awkwardly at the front of his pants. Grimmjow couldn't help the fiendish smile that crept onto his face.

When they were finally out of view, Ichigo pulled his phone from his pants pocket. He had just managed to collect himself after… He shook the thought away, not wanting to get worked up again. He dialed and put the phone to his ear. "Yo, you still got friends in high enough places to look into an Intelligence agent for me? He came around with Rukia asking questions." He looked at the card that had been left in his shirt. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez… No, it's spelled all kinds of stupid. Can I just send you a pic of his business card?" He took a deep breath. "And, uh… can you ask the shopkeeper if he was planning to tell me that Orihime is missing?"