Chapter 2: A meeting
Orihime Inoue woke up from a horrendous nightmare.
Cold sweat had engulfed her frame, even thought the surrounding temperature wasn't high. Her eyes were contracted from her recent dream, making a small whimper escape from her rosy lips. She tried to control her breathing, but the mere memory the dream made her cringe. She had nightmares in the past, but none so horrendous which would leave her sleepless. Finally, she brought her breathing under control, and gave out a sigh. She fumbled around her bedside table, searching for the light switch. Finding her objective, she flipped it on, and immediately closed her eyes as a reflex. The light did its job of banishing the darkness, which brought a sense of security into her being.
Shuffling out of the covers, she got out of queen sized bed. Being the owner of a famous bakery had its perks after all. She moved herself around her penthouse, finding her way to her bathroom. She loved her job, no doubt about that. The 'Shun Shun Rika Bakery' was founded by Orihime over two years earlier, and had quickly had gained immense popularity due to its 'different' recipes. Now, it had branches all over Japan, and some had even opened up overseas. The expansion was welcome, and her income was increasing day by day. It had delighted her to no end when she had heard that her recipes were well liked by the people.
But that thought was at the bottom layer of her brain at that moment. Her own brother had gone missing a few days back, which had made her immensely dejected. Her brother was her only family left, after they had abandoned their abusive parents. That was a long time ago, and since then her brother Sora became her only family. The beginning was tough, and they barely managed to make ends meet. Later, Orihime opened her bakery and made her fortune. Sora had then no longer needed to exert himself, and Orihime thought that it was her happy ending.
But fate had different plans.
Sora had disappeared a few days back, three to be precise and had made Orihime extremely jumpy. Her nerves were stretched taut from the tension, and she had taken the days off simply to stay at home in case he came along. But that was not the case. She refused to approach the police, as she hated to think of anything ill-fate that would have happened to her brother. She feverishly hoped that he would come from the front door, hug and say that it's alright. But that was not the case. After his disappearance, he would frequently come into her dreams, calling out to her for help, before being silenced by a hit to his skull by an unknown assailant. In her last dream, the same person had shot him…..
She shook her head violently, refusing to think of such thoughts. She splashed herself with cold water, hoping to rid herself of such thoughts. She finally admitted her defeat, and decided to call on the police for her brother. But before that, she decided to give her best friend, Tatsuki a call.
"Are you sure it's the no. 5?"
"Are you suggesting that I am in need of glasses, moron?"
Sighing in defeat, Ichigo ordered to take the person in the No. 5 position away. He cast a silent glance to the person beside him. Tatsuki was continuously shooting death glares to the person. If looks could kill, Nnotria Jigura would have been clearly been chopped into tofu. Ichigo almost fell sorry for that scum. Apparently, he had chosen the wrong woman to lay his hands on. Tatsuki had made it sure that Nnotria would not able to feel his organ for a while, let alone taking a piss. He allowed himself a small smile before the person was led into lockup, and then allowed it to move back to its trademark scowl.
"Why can't you let me castrate him?"
"You know I can't do that Tatsuki."
"Please? Just this once?"
"No."
"3 minutes with that asshole? I just want to-"
"No Tatsuki. As much as I would love to rip a new hole in his ass, I have to follow procedure. And that goes double for you."
Tatsuki sighed, admitting her defeat. Nnotria had received a grave shock when his intended target was the strongest woman in Japan, and did not take kindly to being touched. Ichigo had found him suffering from severe blunt force trauma, 4 cracked and 2 broken ribs, 5 broken teeth, and the list simply went on. The main thing was that the serial rapist won't be walking for at least a few months from now.
"What more I have to do?" she asked in a forlorn voice.
"Just sign a few forms. Nothing much."
"That's it?"
"And have to give your testimony in court when we out him on trial."
"Who's gonna be your attorney?"
"Kuchiki. He'll make sure that he rots in jail." Ichigo finished with a smirk.
The Kuchikis were famous lawyers, and very efficient too. They had won several cases, and had made a quite a lot of money from them too. Byakuya Kuchiki always sided with the police, as he was a firm supporter of law and order. Eccentric and proud, his very persona screamed nobility. The law firm he headed was the best in Japan.
Ichigo and Tatsuki walked away from the observation room to the main office. The Tokyo's police HQ was a grand place, thanks to the donations by the Kuchikis. The HQ was divided into several sectors, each with its own usage. Currently they were heading towards Ichigo's office. He had joined the force after finishing his graduation from collage. He started as a profiler, and soon rose through the ranks to become a Head Investigator. He never minded the rank, hr only card about the number of criminals he successfully put away.
"Hey Ichigo?" Tatsuki finally decided to break the silence as they walked through cubicles.
"Mm?"
"Do you have anything else to do later this day?"
"I don't recall having a case today. So yeah, I'm free. Why?"
"I have a friend….. who needs help. Her bother has gone missing, and she asked me who the best was. I apparently nominated you."
"Wow. I'm honored." Ichigo retorted, with mockery evident in his voice.
"Shut it, whaco. Anyways, she'll be coming around in half an hour, so get ready."
"Wha-"
The rest of Ichigo's sentence was cut halfway, as a blur of bluish green hair suddenly came into view and knocked Ichigo down to the marble flooring. He barely got the change to register the impact and let out a grunt in response. As the hair slid off Ichigo's face, the face of the intruder was revealed.
"How much times I must tell you Nel. Please do not welcome me in such a way."
Nel ignored him and started badgering him with questions in her somewhat hyper-active voice. "You took so looong Ichigo! You made me worried!" Immediately as she finished her statement, she gave him a very strong hug.
"N-Nel! C-can't breathe!"
Tatsuki stood beside him, enjoying Ichigo's protests, making no move to help him. Finally a dark skinned blond came to his help. She pried Nel off Ichigo who immediately started to cough and splutter.
"T-Thanks Tia. Thanks a lot."
"It's was my problem Ichigo. I failed to keep a close watch on her."
"Naah, don't worry about it. I know how much of a handful she is."
Tia gave him an apologetic smile and helped him up.
"Thanks. How's it going at Crime scene?"
"Not much. Nel and I usually chat for hours on end until something comes up."
"Sounds pretty boring."
"It is."
With that, Ichigo made a turn for his own department, with Tatsuki hot on his heels. Just as he entered his office, his face met with a poorly aimed paper ball. The surroundings then exploded into loud raucous laughter.
"Hahaha! And I thought that was a bad shot!"
"Shut it, Grimmjow. Or I'll have you working overtime. And that goes for you too Renji."
Both of the aforementioned persons scowled. While Renji sat quietly fuming in his chair, Grimmjow satisfied himself by showing Ichigo the finger. He retaliated in kind.
"What kind of a department is this?" Tatsuki asked, throwing the surroundings a wary glance.
"The best. There are only 5 people here, and they are the best available."
"5? Just 5?" Ichigo simply nodded.
"You know Renji, don't ya?"
Tatsuki nodded.
"That's one down. That blue haired person over there is Grimmjow. Renji and Grimmjow are detectives. The person sleeping over there is Starrk. He certainly knows how to handle guns, that guy. He's ex-military. He was a sniper, I think. And the last person is that white haired kid over there. Name's Toushiro and he is a computer whiz. Damm intelligent."
"For the last time Kurosaki, I AM NOT A KID!" The aforementioned person yelled from his corner.
"What are you? A group of weird hair colored individuals?"
Later, when Tatsuki had left; Ichigo, Renji, Grimmjow and Starrk sat at a table, discussing. The latter was still sleeping, while Toushiro had refused to budge from his seat. Grimmjow spoke up.
"So, nothing today. I guess?"
"Yeah. That bastard Uryu nabbed the last case. I really want to cream his ass one day."
"So I've heard. Many people share your views, Ichigo, myself Included."
"Thanks Renji. We must really get something to do these days. I swear that my bones shall rot from doing nothing."
"Still no word of Las Noches?"
"None. I have to admit though; their way of operation is quite good. But it is only a matter of time until we find them."
"Let's hope that the Nnotria guy spills the beans."
"Good luck on breaking him Ichigo. I really want to see that monstrous gang brought down. Slimy assholes."
Just then, a somewhat muffled voice cut disturbed their conversation.
"Excuse me. Is this the office of a Mr. Kurosaki?"
Three pairs of eyes turned to look at the newcomer. Orihime was standing at the glass door, with her slim figure half way inside. Her auburn hair was up in a high ponytail, held up by a white ribbon. She was dressed in a simple fashion, not too revealing yet it looked quite good on her. Her small hands were clutching a small file, which she was guarding as if her life depended on it.
Ichigo nodded as his voice had temporary left him. Grimmjow was sporting a somewhat feral grin and Renji was sporting a nosebleed.
"I was told to come here by Tatsuki. I am so sorry for intruding your time I just needed your help with a matter of mine."
"It's not a problem, miss…..."
"Inoue. Orihime Inoue."
"Miss Inoue. I was told that you would come. Let's continue this conversation in my office shall we?"
Orihime blushed slightly, but managed a small nod. She also found Ichigo to be quite good looking.
They went inside Ichigo's office where Ichigo held out a chair for her to sit in. She blushed even more, but sat down somehow.
"I was told that you brother has gone missing?"
Orihime expression quickly changed to a sad one.
"Y-yes. It has been 4 days since I last saw him. He had left for a business dealing, and has failed to answer his cell or the phone at his hotel ever since. The hotel claimed that he had checked out 2 days earlier, just as his reservation. He should have come back by now, but…."
"Where he was staying?" Ichigo's tone had changed, it was firm now.
"The Hilton Hotel."
"Where had he gone?"
"Nagasaki"
"He had a business meeting you said?"
"Yes. He didn't spare me the details, I'm afraid."
"Any recent photograph?"
Orihime handed her file to Ichigo. The contents revealed to be photographs of Sora Inoue, along with medical certificates and a passport.
"This shall help us immensely. Do you have any parents?"
Orihime bit her lip at this question. Ichigo noticed this and went over to the next question.
"Did he have any affairs or such?"
"W-what?"
"Did he have a relationship or a secret affair?"
"I assure you, Mr. Kurosaki. If my brother was in any kind of relationship, he would have told me."
"Did anyone have any grudges against him?"
"N-no! I mean who would try to harm h-him? He was such a good guy." Her voice cracked up, and she was on the verge of crying. Ichigo saw this and slapped himself mentally.
"I'm sorry. But I had to ask that. When did you lose contact with him?"
"When he landed back here. Since then, there was no further contact."
"When was this?"
"2 days back."
"And then he disappeared?"
"Yes."
"Has any of your relative have been in contact with him?"
"We have no relatives, Mr. Kurosaki."
"Please. Call me Ichigo."
"Only if you call me Orihime" To her own personal surprise, she managed out a small smile. Ichigo smiled back.
"Well then, Orihime, I will try my best to find your brother. If anything happens, do not hesitate to call me back. Take my card; my cell phone no. is on it as well as the one for my house."
Orihime was in a bit of shock. She had managed to get Ichigo's number without any hassle. She silently thanked Tatsuki for recommending him.
"Th-"
Her statement was cut short as Nel and Grimmjow burst through Ichigo's door, their expressions grim.
"What happened?"
"We have got ourselves a crime scene. You better hurry up Ichigo, it's not good."
Ichigo cursed, and muttered a hasty apology to Orihime as he donned his overcoat and headed out of his office.
And thats it. This is all I can put out for this chapter, I'm afraid. I know that it sucks a bit, but i need to put in the intro chapters sometime or the other.
And thanks for the reivews! I was seriously blown away from the response. Thank you again! And special thanks to Chelsea Lynn who suported me to write this one out. Thanks! You all rock!
Review please! It only takes one minute! In case you are wondering, yes, Tia Harribel is in this fic.