It was an early evening in summer, but outside it was very dark.
Black clouds were gathering in the sky, promising a thunderstorm to come soon.
Ichigo was walking down a street, his heavy boots thudding on the asphalt as he drew closer to his destination.
He hadn't wanted to ask Ginjou for the location of the flats, because he didn't want to bother the man any further with the trauma he's going through as well as he didn't want to give away were he planned to go to his lover.

The orangette didn't even need to have Ginjou tell him anyway, the blood trail he left was all he needed and when it disappeared here and there there was still the smell of it or the vampires odor lingering in the air.
He really was beginning to like his enhanced senses, it made things a lot easier.

Finally he reached an empty flat complex and the blood trail continued inside of one of the blocks,following it Ichigo ascended the stairs to the first floor, then down a hallway to one of the many doors.
It was left ajar, probably through the hasty leave of the Vampire and he pushed it open.
The door squeaked a bit as it swung open, before the handle hit against the adjoining wall, like in a horror movie.
The scene he found could also have been taken out of one of those.

Just as Ginjou had told, there lay two bodies, when he slowly entered the small apartment he could make out that one was a dark skinned female with black hair, looking like she was in her 30s, but probably having been a lot older and the other was a fair-skinned girl with purple hair, about the age of his sisters.
Ichigo felt his heart clench painfully at the sight.
The girls skin was covered with a dark net of veins, caused by the holy water poisoning her and the dart still stuck in her chest.
He pulled the weapon out of her, then did the same with the other female, who had been hit by the dart in her back.
Afterward the orange head picked the bodies from the ground and rested them on the beds standing on the far side of the apartment.
He even found some white blankets and covered what he could with them, pulling them up to the chests of the dead and then folding their hands on top of the covers.
Lastly he closed the eyes of the girl, which had been wide open, frozen in the terror and pain of her death, so that she looked as if she was sleeping now.

After he had done what he thought was right, he took a look at the room, with all his senses.
There was a slight smell of slayer in the air, but no special one to find anyone of his other kin guilty.
The sad feeling he had had until now got washed away by his reawakening wrath, there was just one thing he wanted now and no one to stop him from doing it.
Ichigo stormed off toward an other place, a low thunder rolling in the air, to follow him.

Meanwhile, a few miles to the east from Ichigos location

Shiro walked toward his mansion, Ginjou beside him, with a deep frown on his face.
None of them had spoken a word, until now.
"Ginjou, tell me why can't I feel your presence or find your mind? I mean no offense, but I see you walking next to me in the corner of my eye, still it feels as if there isn't anyone there."
The other raised his eyebrows in surprise at that, then chuckled shortly.
"Oh, sorry about that. I didn't realize I was using it. Actually, this is my ability. I can erase my presence and my mind from anyone. Over time I even learned how to extend this and use it to shield others as well."
"Well, I can block others from reading my mind as well, so it's not that special of an ability."
The albino shrugged.
"I think you don't understand."
Ginjou replied and made the other look at him confusedly, with one eyebrow raising in question.
"I'm not blocking others from accessing my mind."
"What?"
"It's the same as with my presence. When you try to access it, it feels like you try to grab onto air. You can see me, but to your senses it's as if I'm not there."
Ginjou told him, then releasing his abilities.
From one moment to another, his presence appeared out of thin air and made Shiro flinch lightly, because it was so sudden and without any warning.
Shiro took the chance to take a quick look at the others mind, who in turn gave a loop side grin.
"Not trusting me?"
The pure blood retreated from his mind when he had seen enough to confirm he had told the truth before and didn't knew more than the told.
"Would you, if our situations were reversed?"
"Probably...not."
Ginjou answered and Shiro nodded.

The albinos mansion now slowly came in sight, so he took it up to him to inform his new guest.
"Ahead you can see your new home, for the time being. When introductions with the others are over I'll see you to your room and you can rest."
Ginjou stared at the grant building in awe, not able to voice his admiration.
The mansion looked slightly creepy, with the dark clouds hanging over it.
Then the first raindrops began to fall.

Back to Ichigo

He had almost made it to the slayer base, when it started to rain like from buckets, but he didn't care, his mantle held off most of the water and his hat as well.
Eventually he reached the place were his 'frienimies' used to stay and knocked heavy on the porch, until someone opened up.
It was Ishida and he looked puzzled at the wet figure of Ichigo, lightened from behind by a sudden lightning.
"Kurosaki, what are you doing here?"
Without a word, Ichigo pushed the other aside and walked into the slayers base, toward the living room.
"Kurosaki? Wait! Kurosaki!"
Ishida called behind him, hastily closing the door and trying to catch up with the other, who already was at the doors of the living rooms.

Ichigo threw the door open, just like the last time he came into those rooms, making the present people raise their heads and jump up at the sight of him, hands wandering to their weapons, except for one.
Urahara Kisuke sat unmoving on his desk, eyeing the approaching orange top with calculating eyes, but without a doubt, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword that leaned against the robust table.
Ichigo raised a hand and put it in the chest pocket on the inside of his mantle, the hackles of the others rising even more, but they didn't move from their places so far.
The young adult took what he had put inside there and threw it toward Kisuke.
Renji, seeing the movement as an open attack jumped forward and rested one of his pistols against Ichigos temple, finger readied to pull the trigger.
Ichigo instead didn't move nor flinched, when the cold metal pressed against his head, just stared at the blond in front of him, who in turn looked at the silver objects that had drilled into the top of his desk with a raised eyebrow.

"What is that?"
Kisuke asked, noticing the bloody smears on the darts.
"You tell me."
Ichigo replied, then when no answer was given he asked.
"What did you do yesterday, around the same time as now, at the flats in the third street?"
"No one went there yesterday."
Ishida said, while entering the room.
Ichigo turned around, completely ignoring the gun still pointed at his head.
"Then why are there dead Vampires, killed by your weaponry? I warned you not to lay hands on them!"
He all but barked.

Renji crooked his finger a bit more, almost at the point of pulling the trigger, when Kisuke called him back.
The red head looked shortly at the blond, then let his gun sink, but fixing Ichigo with an icy glare, that was responded with an equal one combined with a low growl, that sounded very inhumane.

Oh how inhuman he really felt right now, there was no way to describe it.
He wanted to tear them apart and bathe in their blood, make them regret what he was convinced of that they had done.
Still something held him back, a little voice calling out to him, that this was not the way to solve things, that they still would be needed in the future, so he contained the raging beast inside him as best as he could.

"What will you do now?"
Ishida asked and startled him a bit.
"Will you kill me? Then you are more of a slayer than you want to admit."
"What do you mean?"
"You found weapons that belong to us slayers, especially to me, so only I could have killed those Vampires, which means I've gone and ignored your warning. That's what you think, right? And no matter what we'll say, you'll stay to your convictions. If you kill me now, you'll act just the way you'll accuse us to do. Sentencing innocent, without clear proof of their guilt and not bothering to listen to them."

Ichigo could feel the raging beast resurface the longer he listened to his old friend and he couldn't hold it back completely anymore.
He rushed forward, grabbed Ishida by the collar of his shirt and growled at him, baring his teeth.
"Who else should it have been? The place even smelled like you fuckers."
Ishida kept a calm face, but Ichigo could see past the facade, he felt the fear deep down in the other.
"Think of it for a moment. It isn't like I collect my darts after every hunt. Anyone could have taken some from an old fight scene to use them. As for the scent, you are still unaccustomed to the changes you've gone through. You probably smelled your own slight scent, mixed with the holy water in the air and mistook it for one of ours. You only see what you want, Kurosaki. Open your eyes, damn it!"
Ishida yelled the last part.

A pang went through Ichigo and his grip loosened, he felt dizzy again, like the last time.
"You're right."
He huffed.
"Of course. You always are."
Ichigo looked up to Ishida, his eyes apologizing instead of words.
"If it wasn't you. I might need your help to find the responsible one."
The archers gaze wandered to Kisuke.
The leader of the slayers rose from his seat, taking his hat and putting it on.
"Well, well. It seems things never get boring with you, Kurosaki-san."

Chapter 23
End