"Nel I don't want to go," Ichigo pleaded grumbling. Neliel had hold of her waist, she was practically dragging the red-head. Nnoitra had asked her to bring her to the bar and she didn't want to disappoint her boyfriend. Plus Silence was her friend, she hated seeing her so upset, it broke her heart to see a person in that much pain.
"Sweetie please don't fight me, we just don't want you to be alone right now since Rain hasn't been round much." Silence winced at the mention of her other half, slumping up against Nel in defeat.
"Don't say her name," she muttered, removing Nel's arm from her waist deciding she didn't need help walking to the bar. Chad greeted them as they enter, his smile tense. He really couldn't be bothered cleaning up more broken glass and Ichigo had a bad tendency to break things when she was sad. Bones or glass it didn't matter to her.
"Hey Chad, two beers please," Nel ordered practically bouncing up to the bar with Ichigo in tow grabbing at her again. He placed the beers on the bar while Neliel picked up Ichigo, hooking her arms round her waist and placing her on the stool. In a way she was glad for Nel, it seemed like she didn't have the energy to move anymore. Maybe she should rely on her friends, just for today.
"You okay?" Chad asked, ruffling her hair. With a sigh she leaned up against Nel.
"Sorry Sado, I'm not okay," she murmured dropping her head onto the older woman's shoulder. Scooting her chair closer, Nel wrapped her arm around Silence wishing she would talk about what was upsetting her. Scaring Nel with his sudden arrival, Nnoitra slid onto the stool next to Ichigo, placing a slender hand on her shoulder for comfort. She managed a smile, gasping when she saw him. The bandanna was gone but not only that he had tied back most of his hair exposing his other eye. He grunted, a smile tugging at his lips. At least she wasn't too far into her depression not to notice the change in his looks.
"Ello lovely, I have something to say ta ya later 'kay. But first What happened between you and Grimmy? He was on my doorstep last night on the verge of tears. We got into a fight at lunch normally he would just ignore me for months but within hours he was at mine cussing up a storm. I could barely understand anything he said, it was mainly Silence hates me, oh shit and I fucked up bad." He paused for a second, biting his lip. Their fight was his fault, the berry head had the right to hit him. He probably should have waited till she was ready to leave his place before he voiced his concerns.
"'M the reason behind yer fight, I pissed off Grimmjow. Mentioned something I shouldn't have and he has a bad habit of taking his anger out on other people. Hit me, do as ya like, it's my fault." Ichigo sat up straight, glancing at him. She couldn't be mad at him, he may have been the cause of Grimmjow's anger but what he did after was his fault and his alone. He should have been able to control his anger.
"Not your fault Nnoi." She stood swaying for a second fearing she was going to fall, if that happened they wouldn't let her leave alone. Neliel and Nnoitra were just trying to cheer her up but what she needed most was some time alone with her thoughts.
"Thanks for trying, but I think this is something I need to deal with alone. It has nothing to do with that bastard, but something I tried to forget. I'm gonna go home," Ichigo said, mustering up a small smile even though she felt completely numb.
Every step she took seemed mechanical, Ichigo felt hollow on the verge of collapsing. The surrounding silence was maddening, now that she no longer had Shiro to fill in the quiet. Speaking of quiet. Ichigo stopped for a second patting at her pockets, in the pretence of searching for her cigarettes. Someone was tailing her, the streets were unnaturally quiet, no one else in sight but she could hear the faint sounds of thick-soled boots hitting the pavement. 'What an idiot, must be a new guy if he thinks he can tail me,' Ichigo thought raising a brow in amusement as she lit the cancer stick. Continuing on like she hadn't noticed the stalker Ichigo turned the nearest corner, backing herself up against the brick wall to listen. The footsteps sped up a little. She was right, someone had found her. As soon as the assailant turned the corner she grabbed the mans arm swinging him into the walls he she twisted his arm behind his back in a most painful way.
"First rule of stalking, don't wear thick-soled boots. If the person you're tailing has prior experience they're bound to hear the sounds of you footsteps," she whispered seductively, falling back into old habits. Grabbing the gun tucked in the waist band of his jeans, she pressed the barrel of his gun to the base of his skull.
"I-I'm not scared o-of you," he stuttered, the small of attempt at bravery made her laugh.
"I know baby, you're such a tough man," she purred teasingly, making him shudder. Whether from fear or pleasure she didn't know nor car.
"Name please?" She asked almost perky, whacking his head lightly with the but of the gun, making it so he was no longer facing the wall. He was quite pretty for a man, tall slender frame, long light blonde hair that was well taken care of. Straight sharp features with interesting red eyes but not quite the colour of blood.
"Ilfort. Am I right in guessing that you're Ichigo Kurosaki?" He asked mumbling, gun digging into his cheek bone. It looked rather painful to have a gun jammed right up against the bone.
"Nope dead wrong, I'm Chihiro Miyama. Last name please, if you disobey me I think I'll put a bullet in you foot, this silencer was a very splendid idea," Ichigo said in an overly cheerful tone. It scared her a little, how easy she found it to fall back into the role of a gangster.
"Granz,"he grunted out, "Ilfort Granz." Her eyes widened in shock, she knew that name. Someone very dear to her once shared that very same name.
"Szayel's older brother right?" She asked, unsure if the man really did have a brother or was just lying at the time. He nodded quickly, seemingly happy that someone knew him as his brother.
"Interesting, he wasn't lying then. So sweet-cheeks did the boss send you here?" She'd be on the run again if that was the case, if that man knew where she was. Officially she was dead, but without a body he'd never believe that. She should have argued with Shiro further about that.
"He asked me to find you, in return I'd get my brother back," he explained, knowing it was pointless to keep quiet, she'd either torture him and then be shot or just shot. He'd heard rumors about her having cut off people's fingers one by one in order to get what she wanted. He'd never been one for pain, sometimes the sight of blood made him sick. He stood there thinking about having his fingers removed when the woman holding him hostage started laughing.
"Oh my poor baby, Szayel's dead. Your precious boss off him for betrayal, plugged him full of holes." Ilfort struggled against her grip, screaming profanities, shouting that it wasn't true.
"Now tell me how you found me and I won't let a bullet scramble that tiny little brain of yours," she offered slammed the gun into his jaw so he would shut up. The screams were annoying. He whined a little falling silent when she trained her glare on him.
"Menoly, ran into her a week ago. Great fuck she is. Said she'd run into the twins, so I followed the lead." The man sounded so proud of himself that it was pathetic Ichigo would probably have to hunt down Menoly now. What a pain.
"Did you tell anyone about where you were headed? She asked getting straight to the point, now was the time for mind games.
"No, I was just assigned this mission."
"Where can I find Menoly?"
"She's working at a place called melons." He was shaking now, something about her suggested that his time was up.
"Tell him I'm sorry," Ichigo whispered, frowning as she pulled the trigger. The bullet went cleanly through his skull since it was such a close range shot, lodging itself into the wall. Searching the body she removed his wallet, knife and cell phone. Turning off the cell she stashed it in her pocket for later and used the blade to dig the bullet out of the wall. Leaving evidence behind was never a good idea. Without remorse for the dead man she smashed her boot into his face, breaking his jaw, teeth and basically distorting the bullet hole.
"Sorry it had to be you," Ichigo muttered, setting his clothing on fire. She watched the body burn for a few seconds, remembering to retrieve the bullet casing before resuming her trip home, formulating plans as she walked.