4. Watch Your Back
It's been a while since the last update, sorry. Hopefully this will tide you over until the next chapter is done. Enjoy and review!
Ichigo stepped out of the taxi and glared at the police station. It had taken hours to drive here. By now everyone else would probably be here. He sighed and walked up to the front door. He knocked and waited.
Isane opened the door for him and let him in.
"Thanks' for coming. We're going to start the meeting now." Isane led him to a conference room where Orihime, Unohana and a young, weary looking boy sat on comfy chairs, sipping tea.
"Where's Chad?"
"He's not coming. I rang his phone and he didn't answer but a few minutes later he text me, said he was busy." Orihime frowned. "It's odd though. He's never busy..."
"Alright. As you know by now, all contact with Kuchiki Rukia has been diverted or cut off. She is missing and someone is holding her captive. All I know is that it's a man who knows about all of our involvement with Urahara."
"It was all over the news! It could be anybody!" Ichigo yelled.
"Yes, it could. That means everyone is suspect. I checked the prison today, but it was clean, no suspicious circumstances or occurrences. That discovery has thrown us to the dogs. Our one suspicion has been cancelled, so now we have to start from scratch." Isane looked at her feet. "There is someone outside."
"What?!" Orihime gasped.
"I heard footsteps. Someone's been circling the building." Isane walked over to her desk and took out a handgun. "This time I'm prepared!"
Everyone watched in silence as she stepped outside. The footsteps were suddenly very loud, but they were coming from two directions at once.
"There are two assailants!" Unohana unholstered her gun and ran outside. The others followed, unarmed. "Can you see them?"
"They must have run off." Isane put her gun away. "Damn! Whoever is doing this is spying on us!"
"That's good police work, Officer Kotetsu." A rough female voice came from above.
"They're all here! Let's just kill the whole lot!" Another voice, this time male called from the rooftops.
"They're on the roof!" Isane fired into the ceiling above her and overheard chuckling.
"Very perceptive, aren't you. No wonder you caught Urahara."
"So you know about all that huh?" Isane scanned the roof-top and noticed a flicker of green. She fired and in a blur of movement, something leapt down at her feet, only to roundhouse kick her in the jaw. Isane fell back and the others pounced. The attacker nimbly manoeuvred away from the others and returned to her roost on top of the station.
"I thought we were going to talk before we had to fight." The woman muttered. "An extra tip, shooting hair will do nothing." She laughed manically.
"Who are you?!" Ichigo roared as he lifted Isane into a seated position.
"We are the ones responsible for Miss Kuchiki's mysterious absence." The woman grinned menacingly.
"Where is she?! Tell me or I'll kill you!!" Ichigo got to his feet and began trying to scale the wall of the police station. The woman laughed mockingly. "Tell me or I'll tear every hair from your head!" Ichigo swung over the roof and dragged his body up. He got on his knees before the woman booted him in the ribs.
"I don't want to kill you. You are of no importance to me." the woman stepped over him and jumped down to face Isane again. "I am leaving for now, but know this...when next we meet, your life is over!" the woman then ran off. Unohana was already starting up the engine of her car when the woman was talking. Isane jumped into the driver's seat and they drove after her, leaving their friends behind.
Orihime, called out to Ichigo to see if he was alright and Ichigo slowly descended down to her.
"Who were they?"
"I don't know, but they are the ones who took Rukia! We have to find them!" Ichigo fell to his knees.
"You need to rest. I'll drop you off back home, ok?" Orihime did not wait for a response, already dragging Ichigo to a little white car.
"When did you learn to drive?" Ichigo asked weakly.
"I got my L's last week!" Orihime beamed. She placed Ichigo in the passenger seat and then fumbled around with a set of keys. "Which one was it?" She asked herself. She tried seven keys before one fit into the little hole. The engine rumbled into life and they began the slow, laborious drive home.
In a green sedan two blocks away, Ryo watched silently. He grinned and started his own car, engaging in a subtle pursuit.
*****
Yoshi ran full tilt, outrunning the car. She was a superb athlete and she could run for a long time at great speeds. It was the one of the main reasons she was picked by Kaien as a guard. She could chase down an escapee or escape them herself. Even if she couldn't run, she had mastered martial arts and was quite the gymnast too. She was a worthy adversary.
The car began to gain speed. Yoshi cursed and leapt over a garden hedge before entering the yard and leaping over the back fence into another yard. The car came to a complete stop and both police-women glared at the spot where their suspect had been before vanishing.
"She escaped. Don't worry, we'll find her soon." Unohana turned the car around and drove back to the station...where Mabashi was still waiting.
*****
Rukia stared at the ceiling. Her mind was playing tricks on her now. Every few minutes she would start seeing shapes in the blank walls. The shapes would then form into familiar beings. She would reach out for them, but then they would break apart and disappear. She sighed and closed her eyes, only to relive the broken memories of her encounter with the strange man. She couldn't bear to witness the visions again, so she slipped off of the hard white mattress and checked on Kiyone. She was still unconscious.
Rukia felt her forehead and then sat beside her, watching her. Kiyone's eyelids fluttered and she rolled over to face her companion.
"Rukia..."
"It's okay. You're fine." Kiyone smiled at that and stared up at the ceiling.
"I'm scared."
"Me too." Rukia admitted. She suddenly remembered the files she had mentioned before passing out. "Kiyone, you said something earlier about some files..."
Kiyone's face darkened. "I don't want to talk about it." Her tone was slightly menacing and Rukia let it drop, not wanting to anger her. She leaned back against the side of the mattress and sighed.
"What do we do?" Rukia asked.
"Wait for him to kill us, or be rescued, but I have my doubts about the second one." Kiyone frowned. "That guy...He acts like he knows you...did you ever...?"
Rukia looked to the floor. "I think I went out with him once...my memory is fuzzy, but I went on a date with him and...Well, I don't know what happened, but I ended up cradling him after he was stabbed."
"Stabbed?! By who?"
"I don't know. The whole night is a jumble of memories. I've been trying to piece it together but...I can't tell if anything is real or not." Rukia wiped a tear from her cheek and glared at the door. "I think he used to be a cop."
"Really? Then why is he prison manager/psychopath?" Kiyone asked.
"Again, I'm not even sure if he was, or it was just a dream...this room messes with your mind. I don't know how the real prisoners can survive in here..." Rukia wiped another tear away and cursed.
"It's okay, you can cry. I don't care." Kiyone said reassuringly. "I'd cry if I was in your position too."
"No, if I cry I'm just giving this bastard exactly what he wants! I can't let him get the better of me!" Rukia said bravely, though the second she finished; she broke down, weeping hysterically. Kiyone hugged her in a feeble attempt to make her feel better.
"We'll get out of here. I promise." Kiyone whispered the words.
Rukia's eyes widened.
Byakuya patted Rukia's head. "I will always protect you...I promise."
Rukia cried louder and continued sobbing for the rest of the night.
*****
In the kitchen of Chad's house, a large man washed his hands in the sink. The white porcelain was now stained crimson as the blood was rinsed off of his hands. Koga turned back to the corpse sprawled on the floor. The fight had been vicious, but he had gotten the better of his foe by clawing out his throat. Chad had died in agony, but at least he died, or so Koga had thought...But now he was having second thoughts.
"I have taken another life...Can I really go on like this, killing for nothing. Is Kaien-Dono really what he says he is? Well, the job is done. I have done my duty, now I have no more part to play in his game. I shall resign tomorrow." Koga dried his hands on a tea-towel and stepped over the other giant's corpse, gazing into Chards wide, glazed eyes as he passed.
*****
Orihime parked her car outside of her apartment. She had dropped Ichigo off just a few minutes ago. She was concerned about him, but Ichigo was tough. He'd make it through anything. Orihime headed into the front room. As she ascended the stairs, she heard the front door open. She was too tired to check who it was and just kept going up. She fumbled around with her keys and poked them at the doorhandle, missing the lock.
"Geez! It's as if I'm drunk. I haven't even had a drink yet!" Orihime stuck the key in the lock this time and turned slowly. She heard footsteps on the stairs as she headed in. She wandered over to the kitchen and stuck her head into the fridge, taking out a bottle of wine. She giggled took the whole bottle to her bedroom.
She yawned and took a long gulp of wine straight from the bottle. She wiped her lips and laughed. "Ooh, that's perfect!" Orihime unbuttoned her shirt and slid out of her skirt before getting into the bed. She took another extended sip and then placed the bottle on her bedside table. She drifted off almost instantly, just before her bedroom door was pushed open and an intruder slipped inside.
Ryo stroked his goatee and grinned wickedly at his prey. "Thank you Kaien-Dono...I will enjoy this!" He chuckled before approaching the side of the bed.
Wake up Orihime!! What does Ryo have in store for his unfortunate victim? Will anyone else succumb to the same fate as Chad? What does kaien plan to do with Ichigo? find out in the next chapter!!
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