Damn, this is fun! :)
Murciélago
Chapter Three
Artemis walked down the streets in the lower town district, better known by most of its occupants as Hueco Mundo. Most people knew when they saw a cop, but not Artemis. No, to them she was just another woman trying to get her day over with so she can relax. The look on her face as she walked, and the more casual choice of clothing, helped her fit this look rather well.
The blunette sighed. As dangerous as it was, she only came down here for information. Normally, she made a phone call but not this time. The person she was coming to see preferred personal visits, and quite regrettably...
She was getting desperate.
As much as she hated to admit it, Artemis was in desperate need for information. She was now on her eleventh day of suspension and the killer was beginning to escalate. She was nowhere near catching him, no matter how much she understood how he thought. Pretty basically, she was looking for a psychopath which was like finding a needle in a haystack. They knew how to fake their way through society, and seeing as how this one was smart enough to clean up anything that could incriminate him, he was probably in the system.
Detective Yukimura entered Kurosaki's; a cafe within the vicinity owned by gang leader Ichigo Kurosaki. His band, the Ryuka, weren't big trouble makers as far as her knowledge went. In fact, they seemed more obligated to defending the people in Hueco Mundo than they were to strike them. They just didn't trust the police because of their pasts. Not that Artemis could blame the orange-head. After all, his parents were dead because the department wouldn't take him seriously. As of late, though, she knew things just got worse for him.
She entered the cafe with a straight back, looking specifically for the boss. He was in his usual seat in the midst of crowded people. The carrot-top sat at one of his tables with a cup of coffee in one hand, and an omelet sitting on the plate in front of him, barely touched. To his side was his bodyguard, Chad; a big guy who stood loyally for his friend. In the corner, she could see his marksman, Uryu Ishida. The blue-head was suspected of murder, but nothing that they could tie him to as he went through guns as quickly as they shot through people.
Artemis approached the man's table at a casual pace, stopping at an inch away from it. "Mind if I sit here?" She questioned calmly.
Ichigo's brown eyes were on her; they were cold, and they didn't want her in his line of sight. It wasn't the first time she went to talk to Ichigo, as she managed to earn the man's trust. Now was just a horrible time for him, which meant he didn't want to talk to anyone. Sighing once, he said: "I don't care."
The woman nodded and took her seat. Ishida went to change his position, just in case she was armed. Of course, she never came here that way but Ishida was too careful for that. "I'll get to the point." She told him, not bothering to even ask for a drink. "Place feels emptier," she started, "I'm still trying to imagine showing up and not seeing those smiles of theirs." Ichigo's frown deepened at this, sadness and fury edging into his eyes. "I know you don't want to talk about your sisters, I also know you want the bastard who did this to pay, but-"
"You're out of leads and you want me to give you a new one." He finished. He wasn't an idiot, he knew why she showed up. "Excuse me if I feel like after the eleventh and twelfth victims were found if I don't have faith in you, Artemis. But, even if I did, I don't have anything more than mere rumor I could give you." He informed her coldly.
She sighed. "I don't blame you, Ichigo. Believe me, I don't. But I'm not going to wait for my boss to screw things up again. He already went and arrested an innocent man who now wants our heads on a stick."
"Kenpachi." He stated bluntly. She nodded once, at which he only sighed of grief. "I suppose you're right. But, I've already had some of my best sweep through them and what I've heard has been exactly what you want me to tell you: rumors. Only person I can think of that could provide anything concrete is-" Ichigo stopped himself, shaking his head furiously. "No, forget it."
The detective's brow perked. "What? Who?" She asked.
Again, the man shook his head. "The guy wouldn't help, anyways." He stated as a matter of fact.
"Ichigo." The detective begged. "Please, I don't have anything else to go on. I need a thread to pull on right now, and you're just dangling it in my face telling me not to take it." She complained, her eyebrows furrowing. "If there's some way that this guy can be caught, then I'll take it."
Said gang leader let out a sigh before eying his marksman before tilting his head towards the wall phone not too far from his position. Ishida nodded once, moving to grab the phone. Ichigo waited until the latter picked it up before looking at Artemis with one of the most serious expressions she had ever seen him pull. "Would you really pull on any thread necessary?" He asked her strictly, his eyes growing dark. This silenced the detective, as she wasn't sure how to respond to his question. "More importantly, are you willing to pull on such a narrow thread that has such a small chance of helping you?"
"What are you getting at, Ichigo?" She asked slowly, a brow raised.
The carrot-top sighed, leaning back into his chair. "There is a man in these parts that works in the shadows of the night. He's a master at finding things; objects, animals, people, he can even dig up some pretty dirty secrets. No one knows his face, as he always keeps it hidden by a shadow, and he's always dressed head to toe in black. For such, they've given him the name: Murciélago."
The woman sighed. "Let me guess; because he's so good, he'll only take certain cases that suit his fancy." This was a statement, which Ichigo nodded at. "So, what exactly do I do to win that? Get the inheritance money out, wear something pretty?"
Ichigo shook his head. "Nah, people who try that don't typically last long. The guy charges two grand just for an appointment with him, but whether or not he takes your job has nothing to do with how much money you have, but rather, from what I've heard, based on what you're asking him to do and his impression of you. Money to him is just a means to get by." He informed her.
She sighed. "Am I to assume that he won't like me once he learns that I'm a police officer?" Again, the carrot-top nodded. "So, I can't very well ask him to help my department's investigation." She concluded, closing her eyes.
"You're serious," Ichigo questioned, somewhat shocked.
She smirked. "I don't care if it's a weak thread. It's there, so I'll pull on it. Now, how do I get in touch with this guy?" She asked him.
"You don't." Came the immediate reply, this time coming from the shooter with the phone in his hand. "We get you in touch with someone who knows one of Murciélago's employees, then you wait to receive a phone call with instructions and follow them to the letter." Ishida informed her, waiting for the man to pick up.
"That being said, Artemis," Ichigo spoke once more, a blank look on his face, "Make sure you've got some good detail laid out for him. He'd want to catch up to speed." He informed her.
The woman nodded, standing up and turning to leave.
A phone started ringing in the upper levels of King's Pub. Grimmjow groaned and looked at his clock: 1:00 pm. Damn it, his friends knew that he slept at this time. Grabbing the phone from the bedside table, he answered grumpily: "What?" Listening, he soon found himself sitting straight. "Since when does Kurosaki have me set up appointments for his friends?"
Another pause, this time with the man nodding. "All right, I'll pass it along. What was this chick's name again?" He asked, grabbing a pen and writing it down on some scrap piece of paper. "Artemis...Yukim-...mura? Artemis Yukimura?" He repeated for clarification. Ishida replied curtly. "Isn't that the chick that got Zaraki out of jail early?" He asked him. Again, another curt reply.
Grimmjow smirked. How interesting. "One appointment with the demon bat, coming right up."
Like? I tried not to make this OOC, but I don't work with Ichigo a lot, so...yeah.