"It's nice to meet you, Ichigo. I'm a missing person's detective, Urahara Kisuke. I'm here to speak to you about the disappearance of Uryu Ishida."
I'm looking into the face of a man in his thirties, blonde hair slightly brushing over his grey eyes.
"So, you're Uryu's best friend, huh?"
I nod my head.
"No need to worry, Ichigo. But your information will very much likely help me out a little."
"Okay," I mutter and wait for him to speak again.
"You're a smart boy, I'm sure you know why I've been called in, right. And certainly you've come to realise that he hasn't been around for nearly three weeks."
I'm silent, and he's looking at me directly.
"You went to school that day?"
"What?" I ask, confused.
I start fidgeting with my fingers under the desk, listening.
"The first day he wasn't at school, the day he was filled missing."
"Of course," I answer. "Y-yeah, I went to school," I add, internally feeling glad that we actually did go that day and didn't ditch.
"Where you worried when he didn't show?"
"Not…really."
Urahara sighs, leaning back in his chair comfortably.
"I hear Uryu never missed a day of school. Well," the detective stops to look up as if he is thinking, tapping the end of his pen against his chin.
"The teachers say how he always attended his classes, even though his friends seemed to not always be around at times" he continues arching a brow and pointing that pen in his hand in my direction.
"Have you tried calling him?"
I frown at all these questions being hurled at me.
"No."
"And why not? You're one of his closest friends, after all."
"I am." I say truthfully. I'm careful not to say anything to do in the past tense, like was or were. If Uryu was still alive, and if he actually was missing, I know I would be worried. I know that I'd actually want to know just as bad as anyone else to where he was. But I already know where he is.
"I don't really call much." I say knowing that I'm saying the truth, because I haven't called him.
"That's right!" He says, making me jump slightly from the sudden change of pitch in his voice. "The evidence is in the phone, no? You haven't called him much or sent many messages to Uryu."
I arch a brow, feeling confused and unsure if this is supposed to be a trick to get me to spill my guts about how Uryu is dead because of me in the first place.
"Uryu hasn't wiped his log history." He smiles.
I feel my stomach drop.
I haven't called Uryu much before he died, and I know that Grimmjow wouldn't either because he preferred talking face to face. I'm sure the only person that would have called the most would have been with Orihime, or Chad or maybe even Renji the most. I feel bad at the thought that they'll be getting interviewed too but it's a good way to assure myself that the phone log doesn't matter.
He doesn't know anything.
"So…" Urahara starts after a brief moment of silence.
"Did it shock you when Uryu was filled missing?"
I remember the first time we opened the trunk of the car and saw a dead person for the first time, and the shock that accompanied us.
"I am shocked," I say slowly, looking up to his lazy eyes looking into mine. The nerves are eating me up inside but I persist on, knowing that if I really want to get away, I better be believable enough.
"I mean, he didn't turn up but I thought he would show sooner or later. I didn't call him 'cause I didn't think it was so serious." It's hard to control my voice. It's hard to stop myself from shaking, my hands are hidden under the table, and even though this detective can't see my hands, my voice shakes instead. I swallow the lump in my throat; my spit feels like it's dried out.
"You've met up with him before he disappeared though, haven't you?" Urahara continues, as though he doesn't notice the trembles in my voice, but of course he would notice it, who wouldn't?
"I guess," I say hesitantly, "but we mainly saw each other at school."
"I see," Urahara moves to sit up. He flicks open a document holder, reading small black writings on a page inside.
He looks back at me, "What about this. Did Uryu tell you any plans he had in mind? Did he want to run away?"
"I-, no he didn't tell me anything," I move in my seat, "but if he wanted to run away, he never told me about it."
The bell for break goes off, echoing in my ears and relief washes over me.
"I honestly don't know what's going on…"
Liar.
The voice inside my head tells me I'm pathetic and deserve to burn in hell.
"Can I leave now?" I ask.
Coward.
"Sure." Uruhara says easily as he looks back to his folder and doesn't look up from the page at all.
I get up to leave but before I have a chance to turn the door handle I'm stopped by his voice.
"Remember, Ichigo. A true friend never lies."
"Hey what about Uryu's body? Is it gonna start rotting or something?"
"Oh god, Renji shut up"
"No seriously! Look at him."
When I didn't look at him, Renji grabbed me by the shoulders and twisted me around to Uryu's direction. My eyes landed on his corpse instantly.
"His lips are practically black. Stark white face…" Renji let go of my shoulders. "We can't even get his eyes closed. So, how fucking long is it till he starts to rot?"
"Imagine all the maggots that are gonna grow out of him" Grimmjow's voice echoes behind me as he walks inside the warehouse, closing the rusty door behind him.
He makes the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand tall.
I shiver uncomfortably.
"Damn it I don't know, Renji! I could ask my dad but that's just gonna sound suspicious." I say, trying to ignore what Grimmjow said, but the images of grubby white maggots crawling out of Uryu's eyes and nose was present in my mind.
"Ask," Renji urges me.
I sigh, "Fine. But in the meantime, what're we doing with Uryu's body? We can't just leave him lying around the place."
I know already that I won't ask my dad a thing. I say I will just to shut Renji up. I don't even know if my dad's been called and if he knows what's going on. Asking him would be too much of a risk, and I'm not taking it. I'll find my own way of finding this out.
"It'll start to stink," Renji states.
"Should we bury him or throw him into the river?" My eyes land on Grimmjow and there's a smirk on his face. He's really starting to piss me off. I think he realises this though because he says,
"It's a joke, Ichi. Don't be so stiff."
"What do you expect me to laugh at a time like this?" I retort.
Grimmjow rolls his eyes, "Whatever."
It's like Renji wasn't listening to our quarrel, but actually thinking about the consequences of our grave accident. "Shit, guys." There's a frustrated look on his face.
"What's wrong with ya?" Grimmjow asks.
"So the three of us got interviewed today. And you know what? I think I fucked up. "
The tension starts to get heavy.
Renji sighs, "All I said was that I got up, got ready for school like I usually did and spent most of the morning before school at my dad's store. You know where I think I fucked up though? After the interview, I realised that dad actually didn't even open the shop that day."
"Shit!" I hide my face in my hands from the amount of frustration I'm bearing. If the same detective decides to talk with Renji's family when he's not around, then the truth will come out. And, we're done for.
After a minute I collect myself.
Breathe.
And look up.
"I don't think he believed me. But he asked me if it shocked me…not really stuff about what I did that morning 'cause I said I went straight to school."
Grimmjow has an annoyed look on his face.
"I told him ta fuck off."
Renji's mouth drops open.
"…And said that even if tha bastard was dead, it wasn't ma business."
"Fuck Grimmjow, you're so stupid. I bet they know we were lying."
"Shut up, Renji! Ya think you're so smart yer self?" Grimmjow snaps.
We all go quiet.
Renji is pissed off. I can tell. But he doesn't say anything.
I can't believe we panicked like that, so much that we didn't think hard enough on an alibi or a way for us to be cleared. Now it really does feel like the odds are against us. It's always been against us, even before Uryu's death. Goosebumps prickle over my body at the thought of it all.
The interview today was more than nerve wrecking. The thin hairs on my arms stand tall, I feel a cold breeze and a shiver runs down my spine. Renji fucked up. I fucked up, and Grimmjow definitely fucked up. Who the hell tells a detective to 'fuck off' when we practically killed one of our close friends from a so called prank? God. My stomach hurts and I feel a wave of dizziness hit me head on. I hate feeling like this, so lightheaded. I'm blocking out Grimmjow's voice as he talks with Renji.
This is so tiring.
'Remember Ichigo, a true friend never lies.'
Why. WHY did he have to say that?
Was it a tactic to try and achieve a confession? Or did he actually see something, anything to give myself away? I look at my shaking hands and cover them over my face.
I don't know what to do, what to say.
I'm upset and frustrated at the same time. I want to cry, and I want to rip my hair out. It's too much. I'm betraying him even in death. Karma is going to come and get me, whether I get away with this or not. It feels like I deserve it, it's so fucking pitiful.
I lift my head from my hands and look at the two with blurry eyes.
"Hey stop crying, man," Renji says, obviously trying to conceal the shake in his voice but I can hear through it. I didn't realise the tears falling from my eyes.
I take a deep breath and swallow hard, my spit feeling like razor blades against my dry throat.
"I think he knows," I rasp out shaking my head slowly at my stupidity. "He said a true friend never lies…he knows…he know-"
"Stop freaking out," Grimmjow's voice melds with my shaky breaths.
"How can I?" I say, exasperated. I'm stuck on what I can do or say next. Instead I slap my palm against my forehead.
"I- I don't think they'll ask my dad anything," Renji starts. His voice is quieter than usual. Not like him at all but I sense an aura from him that somehow comforts me, even though he's not saying anything directly at me or behind me rubbing my back. No way, I'd probably break down if he tried that.
"I hope they don't," Grimmjow is irritated; I can hear it in his voice. But when hasn't he been so stressed out? After that day his anger seemed to sky rocket. He's never been that calm and stable kid but it actually worries me how he's gotten.
"They won't talk to your parents?" I ask Grimmjow. He looks at me like the question got him by surprise but his eyes go back to that cold, annoyed stare.
"I don't even talk to em."
A moment of silence passes. We all must be stuck in thought. My eyes are glued to the grey cement. Cracks run through the hardened ground. I look up and see mold growing on some parts of the warehouse. Then my eyes land on Uryu's corpse and I swallow the vomit back down my throat that crept up on me before it spills out of my mouth.
I look away but my eyes want to look back out of curiosity.
I sicken myself.
"We gotta get rid of it," I hear Renji say.
"Uryu," I remind him. "It's not 'it', it's Uryu."
Grimmjow sighs loudly, "I don't even care about this shit."
I feel my temper spark and this is just pissing me off. It's not helping that Grimmjow doesn't seem to care and Renji looks pale as a ghost. How can Grimmjow even say that! How?
"We have to deal with this shit, Grimmjow," I but in.
"Don't wanna hear it"
I'm so pissed off that I start to shake from the sheer anger I am feeling towards him. He can't just say that and get away with it. What, does he think this is some kind of fucked up joke?
I don't stop myself from succumbing to my temper, "Then leave, fuck!"
There's a silence that feels like it's going on forever. Neither of us says a word; we only look at each other as if time was on a stand still. Then, without a word Grimmjow gets up from the crate he's sitting on and turns his back on us, walking out of the warehouse and slamming the door behind him.
Yes, an update! Since uni had been flooding me with assignments I forgot about this! Sorry :0
But I'm on break now so I can work on this more. I hope this chap was enjoyable… tell me what you think about it! Can I improve in any way? Leave me a review :) Btw, I couldn't edit this thoroughly enough, sorry if there are any errors!