Untitled for now

by daftpunkress

Hard A/U set in the real world with a mix of pairings. nnoinel, Ichiran, orishida, ichiruki, hitsuhina, yoruhara, shiyori and zachiru..rated M for lemons and language. Hit men and the C.I.A don't mix, but they can work together. No real summary because all couples will have a different plot that interconnects. *chapter 11 is up*

9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows I really really appreciate them

A/N: I don't currently have a beta-er so there might be some errors just pretend they are not there ^_^;; I hope you enjoy this chapter!

A /N: I do not own any characters or bleach they belong to Kubo Tite.

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Yumichika knocked once on Yachiru's door and waited patiently for her answer. He didn't like the implications of what Zaraki was saying about Unohana. She would only be going after Yachiru for nefarious reasons. It was obvious the girl knew nothing so why was she so set on her?

"Come in." She called out and he held the brightly wrapped box behind him as he entered. She was sitting at her vanity looking forlornly at herself in the mirror. When she glanced up to see him a bright smile lit up her features. "Yumi! You're back!" She got up on shaky legs and rushed over to give him a big hug.

He hugged her tightly, "it must have been hell with those guys if this is the greeting I get." He said giving her a cheeky grin.

Yachiru pouted, "they never wanna do anything fun with me." She lamented when he released her. "It's been so boring without you."

"It can't have been all that bad. I hear you and Ikkaku have been up to some fun with Unohana." Ikkaku kept him abreast of everything she was doing in her little plan to get Unohana out of the house. If only she knew that it was all for nothing. She wouldn't deter her in any way. Actually, he thought maybe this might be good for both Kenpachi and Yachiru.

Yachiru nodded sheepishly, "it was only supposed to be a one-time prank, but Baldy said I'm such a good actor. I think I made her really mad though."

"Well, it doesn't matter what she thinks right? You are the only lady of the house." Yumichika picked up the discarded present and handed it to her. "Forget about her. I brought you something to commemorate how well you have been doing."

He had seen the sapphire dress one day while out and thought it would perfectly compliment her body shape and skin complexion. Immediately Yachiru set about ripping the silver paper from the packaging and then stared down at the slinky dress in fascination.

"It's really pretty." She murmured holding it up against her, "I-I don't know if this would look good on me."

"Nonsense." Yumichika replied. "Live a little."

"I'm gonna go try it on right now." Yachiru exclaimed excitedly as she walked away towards the bathroom. Yumichika watched her in awe. Just a few weeks ago she was hobbling around in her braces or rolling around in her wheelchair. Now she was walking around as if it was the most natural thing to her. He was happy that she was in their life. She brought a brightness to their existence that he didn't know they were missing.

The door opened to the bathroom and Yachiru walked out with an uncertain look on her face. She looked stunning, just as he knew she would. He couldn't wait to see Kenpachi and Unohana's faces when they arrived to dinner. "You look beautiful."

"Really? It doesn't look weird on me?" she asked tugging at the hem. He imagined as sheltered and underprivileged as she was, she had never had anything this nice given to her.

"It was made for you. Come let me do your hair, we are going to make Unohana even more furious tonight."

Hesitantly she made her way to her vanity and took a seat in front of it. He was thinking something simple with her hair, so all the attention would be on her dress. A bright idea came to him as he began finger combing her hair into a messy bun atop her head. "I would love to see your acting skills firsthand."

Yachiru's eyes met his in the mirror, "Are you sure? Unohana's already mad at me."

"She's not mad. She's jealous that you are younger and prettier than she is. She doesn't want to lose Zaraki to you because he has money and women like her love money." A few lies wouldn't hurt in the grand scheme of things. He wanted her to fall in love with Zaraki so she would never leave.

Yachiru didn't say another word. She glanced away a preoccupied look on her face. Yumichika could tell something was off with her, usually she was a lot bubblier and charismatic. But tonight, she was pensive and off in her own world. "You know, just because I'm not always around doesn't mean I don't still care. If somethings troubling you, I can try to help."

She looked up at him then and sighed, "Do you think that Ken-chan really likes Unohana?"

Yumichika had to suppress his grin. Here he was thinking something was really wrong. The poor girl was already catching feelings for Zaraki and was just worried she was breaking up their relationship. If only he could tell her that the whole thing was a lie. So, the only one he had to keep nudging now was Zaraki.

"I think he likes you more." He said with a reassuring smile.

Yachiru nodded but still had that look of uncertainty on her face.

"What's really bothering you?" Yumichika turned her around so that they were face-to-face, he grasped her hand in his encouragingly.

"Unohana wants to get rid of me." She said plainly, her eyes searching his face for signs of disbelief.

"Clarify." Was all he could muster; he was sure of what she was saying. She would hurt an innocent girl just to put an end to Zaraki? He would strangle the bitch himself.

"I heard her talking to someone on-on the phone and told them t-to ki-kill me." She managed the same feeling of fear overtaking her.

"Did you tell Kenpachi this?" Yumichika tried hard to keep the fury from his voice. He didn't like to give way to his baser emotions in the presence of polite company. He especially didn't want her image of him to be changed.

"Yeah b-but he didn't believe me." She replied distraught "I think because he loves her, he doesn't want to listen to me."

"Hmm." So Kenpachi knew and didn't mention it. He probably didn't want her to end up dead without knowing which one of them killed her. He would have to have a chat with Ikkaku and see exactly what he knew because he seemed like he was in the dark as much as he was.

It wasn't like Kenpachi to keep information from them. He must have known that he would take matters into his own hands. There must be another reason why he didn't want her dead. Her being a member of the I.I.D. did not grant her immunity. "I believe you. I won't let anything happen to you."

Yachiru threw her arms around him in a tearful hug. "Thank you Yumi. I knew you would listen to me."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of everything." Already, he knew what he was going to do. "I have a plan, just trust me, ok?"

Yachiru nodded, "What should I do?"

"Just continue to be you. Now dry your eyes and put on that dazzling smile of yours." He helped her to her feet and did a final glance over. "Once Kenpachi sees you in this dress he'll forget all about her."

Yachiru giggled a blush staining her cheeks, she took his outstretched arm, "I doubt that."

"Have some confidence Yachiru and he won't be able to take his eyes off you. Remember that."

The room was quiet when they entered, everyone turned to stare at them. Unohana's mouth opened in a slight gasp before she quickly closed it wordlessly. Zaraki looked at her momentarily then at Yumichika with a severe glare. Ikkaku let out a whistle and Yachiru's whole face flushed red. She took the empty seat next to Kenpachi and Yumichika took the empty seat next to Unohana.

Yumichika ignored their glances and began loading his plate with food. He would have to clue Ikkaku into what he was planning before he left in the morning. But for tonight it would be better if he was in the dark for a while.

"Where'd ya get that dress sport?" Ikkaku asked still eyeing Yumi. Usually no one sat beside Unohana. They didn't want her to feel like she was welcomed there. Maybe Yumichika didn't get the memo. Everyone had their assigned seats around the dinner table. Yachiru next to Kenpachi, Makizō liked to sit alone and he sat across from Yachiru. Unohana was always two seats away from everyone.

"It was a gift from Ken-chan. Do you like it?" she answered with a bright smile looking conspiratorially at Yumi.

"Are ya sure he didn't mean for ya to wear it when it's just the two of you?"

Kenpachi choked on his drink next to her and glared at Ikkaku. It was unlike the usual clothes she wore around the house; it had a deep dip down the front almost nothing in the back and the hem was not at all modest. No doubt this was Yumichika's doing. He and Ikkaku were wrapped around her finger and followed along with her little games against Unohana.

He wanted to refute the claim but then again, he didn't want to get caught up in their nonsense. It was a very tantalizing dress; it was not something he would put her in because it would lead to temptation. It was way too much skin for her to be showing. Places he hadn't thought of looking before he was forced to look at. The sleek curve of her back, the silky skin along her collarbone, the dip between her small breasts.

Kenpachi frowned, he definitely had to have a talk with Yumichika. From the moment Ikkaku had brought Yachiru there he had been trying to nurture feelings between the two. This was not the way to go about it. He didn't want to end up hurting the girl because he couldn't give her more than what he could offer.

"I think it looks perfect. If you have it, you should flaunt it." Yumichika said but he wasn't looking at Yachiru, his eyes were on Unohana. She was dressed modestly in a black and gray pantsuit that fit like a second skin.

Ikkaku frowned, "I'm not saying it doesn't look good." Something weird was going on here and he didn't like it. He didn't like being out of the loop. Yumichika was acting suspiciously, which was unusual for him.

An awkward silence fell over the room as everyone ate. "So, Unohana how are you enjoying your stay here?" Yumichika asked turning everyone's attention to her.

She put on a pleasant smile and shrugged her slight shoulders, "I cannot say that I am. It seems that I'm fighting a losing battle." For a brief moment she threw a pointed glance in Yachiru's direction. They could take that however they wanted.

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that." Yumichika briefly touched her hand, "If you ever want to talk about it. I'm a great listener."

It was Ikkakus turn to choke on his drink. Yeah, something weird was going on here. If he didn't know better, Yumichika was putting the moves on Unohana.

"Wait! Time out." Yachiru exclaimed, "Yumi, what are you doing?"

"Well, essentially, you've taken all of Zaraki's attention. I am just trying to be kind." He faced Unohana once again, "You know, sometimes trying something different is nice."

Unohana nodded, "We'll see how things continue to go. Maybe I'll have to take you up on your offer." This maybe her opportunity to gain some information if she played her cards right. Since she started her investigation, he had suspiciously been absent and Zaraki had always been on the premises. Maybe that's how they always evaded discovery, Yumichika would take over a while and Zaraki would pretend to do the up-and-up work.

Yachiru picked at her food, wondering what was going on. Was she in a parallel universe or something? This woman wanted to kill her; she told them that she wanted to kill her but no one was doing anything about it. Why didn't they just kick her out? Why didn't Kenpachi just break up with her? Why was Yumi trying to date her instead of getting her out of the house?

Maybe she should tell Ikkaku and just go along with one of his hairbrained schemes. Even though they were always farfetched and seemed like they would end up with her getting hurt, would that be better than her dying? She really didn't know what to do anymore. Maybe she should just go home. That would be best for everyone. Even with Yumi gone she was still happy here. She had grown to love all of them and knew that if she returned home, she would miss everyone. What was she supposed to do?

"Anyways," Ikkaku said interrupting the thick tension in the room, "I'll be out of town for a few days. I must take my girlfriend on a trip." Key word being must, otherwise in her words the relationship was over.

"You have a girlfriend Baldy?" Yachiru asked incredulously.

"Um, of course I do." He replied with an insulted look on his face.

"Well, this is the first time you mentioned her. You always only talk about work."

"No doubt that's the reason for the vacation. He neglects the poor girl."

"You knew about her?" Yachiru turned to Yumichika, who was still focused solely on Unohana, his arm resting on the back of her chair casually.

"Yeah, she works in Kenzo's office. Pretty girl, don't know what she sees in him." He supplied nonchalantly. He didn't miss the slight stiffening of Unohana's shoulders at his words. He only mentioned the fact because she also worked for the I.I.D.

"Whatever, I was just letting you know that I won't be around." Ikkaku said intentionally, his meaning just now becoming clear.

That meant the possibility of Unohana and Yachiru being alone would be greater. Makizō would be there but he rarely paid any attention to her.

"That's fine, we could spend some girl time together." Unohana said with a slight smile, "Maybe go for a spa day? Get your hair professionally done."

Yachiru frowned, she wasn't going to sit back and just be killed off that easily. She had some sense of perseverance and in no universe was she going anywhere alone with that woman. She turned in her seat to look at Kenpachi. She placed one hand on his arm and the other she laid on his thigh. She put on a pouty look and widened her eyes suggestively, "Can't we spend time together instead Ken-chan?"

She could feel Unohana's dark eyes glaring daggers into her, but she didn't care. If she had to stay glued to Kenpachi's side to be safe then that's what she was going to do.

"I have business in the office." Makizō said preemptively, quickly getting up from his seat and leaving the room.

Kenpachi sighed deeply, "Whatever you want." He grumbled. He supposed this was fine, he would be able to keep an eye on her and Unohana would have no chance to harm her. He just wished she'd stop with this game she was playing. If only she knew how well she was portraying a lover, she might have second thoughts.

Yachiru rubbed her fingers lightly up and down his arm, "Just the two of us, right?" she murmured huskily. She wanted to drive it clearly home to Unohana that she would have absolutely no chance to try anything.

Ikkaku coughed, "I think we all get the idea, Sport."

Yachiru blushed, "Sorry Baldy. I forgot you guys were here." She giggled prettily and threw a shady glance towards Unohana. "I'm going to head to bed. Goodnight."

Yumichika chuckled, "Goodnight Yachiru." She was really good, seeing her firsthand was a sight to behold. No wonder Unohana was adamant in thinking she knew more than she did.

Yachiru turned towards Kenpachi, "Goodnight Ken-chan." She kissed him lightly on the lips and then turned to Unohana, "night Unohana."

Yumichika felt Unohana bristle slightly next to him, then she set down her own utensils her cool façade still in place. "I, too shall turn in. Goodnight, all." Without another word she left the room.

"What was that?" Ikkaku asked Yumichika once they were alone in his room. He could feel a migraine coming on from trying to process the shenanigans that he just witnessed.

"Nothing much." Yumichika answered going to his laptop and flipping it open. It took just a second to boot up and he logged in with his thumbprint.

"Come on man, please tell me you don't have a thing for that woman. You can do better, not much but still better." The thought was turning his stomach. He had seen the women that he Yumi usually went for and she was a far cry in the opposite direction.

"Of course not. Let me ask you something." He briefly glanced up from what he was typing to give him a disgruntled look. "Did you know that Unohana ordered a hit on Yachiru?"

"What the fuck?"

"Just as I thought. Yachiru told me earlier she overheard her on the phone with someone." He went back to typing away and then paused to turn the screen towards him.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" Ikkaku asked, his eyes scanning the page of script.

"Well, she was in Zaraki's office when she made that call. That place is airtight. This is an encrypted transcript of her conversation. I'm gonna get it over to Urahara and see if he can do something with it."

Yumichika searched through his desk for several USB drives. He quickly saved the file just in case anything was to happen he would have some back-ups.

"I'm heading that way tomorrow; I can drop it off and explain the situation." Ikkaku volunteered. His girlfriend practically worked in the same building as Urahara's team anyways. There was no reason for Yumichika to take time out from doing what he had to. "Just one thing I'm not getting. Does the boss know?"

"Yeah. Yachiru is under the impression that he has feelings for Unohana that's why he's not doing anything." He couldn't begin to imagine the anguish that she was feeling.

"So, let's just kill her, problem solved." Ikkaku couldn't understand why they were talking about this in such a dignified manner. They had gotten rid of other people for less offenses.

"There must be an important reason why Zaraki didn't tell us. He knew we would get rid of her right way, and he doesn't want that."

"I don't understand why he wants to follow the rules all the time." Ikkaku grumbled rubbing a hand down the back of his head. He wished they could just go back to the old days when things were much simpler. If someone messed with them, he took them for a drive and then dumped them off the side of a cliff.

"Believe me I don't understand why he wants to stick with it either." Yumichika was well aware of why Kenpachi wanted to try and do better, but sometimes it wasn't worth the hassle.

"So just let me kill her and we'll pretend we don't know what happened like always." Ikkaku stated with a shrug, sure Ukitake and Kenpachi would be mad for a while but after a few days things usually went back to normal.

"No, I have a plan." Yumi replied with a condescending shake of his head, this time overt violence wasn't going to solve the problem at hand.

"Seducing her?" Ikkaku said mockingly. He had been laying it on pretty thick at dinner.

"That's only part of it. This way we'll kill two birds with one stone."

"What other bird are we killing?"

"I'm talking about Yachiru and the boss spending time together." Sometimes he just had to spell everything out for his friend. He was great at a lot of things, but the intricate details of long-term plans were not one of them.

"Ah, I see. Well, whatever you need me to do, just let me know." Ikkaku didn't know if he could really see what seducing Unohana had to do with getting Yachiru and Zaraki together but if Yumi said it would work out he was all for it. "I'm gonna hit the sack. Mizuho wants to leave pretty early tomorrow."

"You should treat her better." Yumichika said with a shake of his head.

"I know, I know. Women are a luxury. Goodnight." Ikkaku responded with a roll of his eyes.

"Goodnight. Tell her I said hi." Yumi said with a cheeky smirk. If he knew, he wouldn't be in that mess in the first place. He took a seat in front of his laptop; he'd spend a little more time going through the video for that day just in case he caught anything else that may be of use.

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Yoruichi was still mad at him the next morning, but she jumped at the chance to finally leave the apartment. Even if that meant tagging along with him. She had the sourest look on her face that made him just want to scoop her up into his arms and kiss it away. He refrained, of course not wanting to anger her any more than she already was. She was a fickle woman, and hopefully after being out of the house her spirits would lighten and she would be back in her giving mood.

When they pulled up to Zaraki's home, there was a strange car parked out in front. One thing he knew about Zaraki was that he was not a flashy person. Before he got on the 'straight and narrow' he made lots of money and the only thing he had to really show for it was the ridiculous mansion he was living in. He still drove the same black pick-up from five years ago when they originally met and he never seemed to go on vacation. He must have another visitor.

"Now Yori, don't let these guys scare ya. They're all pretty nice once you get to know them." He said once he pulled up in the driveway.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes, "You don't have to worry about me Urahara." She reiterated annoyed.

Urahara gave her a soft smile, "I know Hun, but I just can't help myself." He got out to open her door and help her out. She shook her head with a sigh as he wrapped his arms around her waist and escorted her towards the front door.

After several knocks a pale faced young woman opened the door with a bewildered look on her face.

"Hello, is Zaraki in?" Urahara asked confused as well. Usually, Makizō or even Ikkaku would be at the door, and also where did this girl come from?

"Yeah, we were just um we were in his office." She turned away and kind of wobblily headed off towards the end of the hall.

"Is this what you were warning me about?" Yoruichi asked chuckling and nudging him with her elbow.

Urahara gave her a mocking scowl, "Now Yori, I'm sure you can see that this is a harmless young woman."

She giggled and he couldn't help himself but place a kiss on her parted lips. She didn't resist as he thought she might have, but he stopped himself from taking it further. He would keep it light so he didn't ruin her mood.

When they arrived in Kenpachi's office, the young girl was sitting on one of the high back chairs and he was busy at his desk. There was another woman sitting across from the girl with her own laptop open in front of her. There was an atmosphere of normalcy, like this was an everyday occurrence.

"Urahara, what brings you here?" Zaraki asked briefly glancing up at them then going back to what he was doing on his laptop.

"Well, I wanted to discuss something with you."

"There is a device called a telephone, have you tried that?" Kenpachi muttered, he closed his laptop with a huff.

Urahara grinned at his evident frustration. His anger more than likely wasn't directed at him, judging by the two women sitting in his office he was sure that's where it was stemming from. But he wasn't sure from which of the two. "I have, but this is something important."

Kenpachi turned his attention to the younger woman, "Yachiru, go to your room for a while. I'll come get you afterwards." He didn't say anything to the dark-haired woman in the corner.

"Actually, it's something I would like to discuss just the two of us. Do you think she could keep Yori company?" Urahara asked following suite, ignoring her presence also.

"Of, course I can." Yachiru said getting up on shaky legs. She slowly made her way over to where they stood. "I'm Yachiru." She introduced herself with a bright smile.

Yoruichi feigned a smile, "Yoruichi." She answered. This wasn't what she was expecting when Urahara said they would be getting out of the house. She had things she was supposed to be doing. Babysitting was not one of them.

"Unohana, get out." Zaraki ordered the other woman not even glancing in her direction. Gracefully, she rose from her seat, gathered her belongings, and walked out of the room.

Urahara closed the door behind him, "So,"

"Don't ask." Kenpachi shut him down before he could pry any further.

"Well, ruin all my fun why don't you." He took a seat in one of the plush chairs in front of Kenpachi's desk. "I'll forget about that for now. Where is everybody?"

"Ikkaku is off with his woman, Makizō is at the office. Yumichika is in Chiba."

"Ah, so that's why she's here." Chiba was the location of Kenpachi's second home base. Usually if he were under investigation Yumichika would head out there to take care of whatever under the table business they were still running. Technically he wasn't supposed to know about it, but their friendship was more than professional. "You just stay on their shit list."

"Yeah. What did you want to talk about?"

"Well, Yori is in a bit of trouble. She was mixed up with Aizen and got some incriminating evidence against him." Urahara shrugged and stroked his chin in thought, "So, for some dumb reason she's trying to sell it on the black market."

"What does that have to do with me?" Zaraki asked not hiding his indifference.

"Jinta said that one of the buyers was pinged at your location, the signal wasn't encrypted so I figured it couldn't be you."

"Must be Unohana. She's probably trying to find a way to further her career if she can't take me down." So not only was she plotting to pin Yachiru's murder on him she was trying to advance her career this way too? She was very ambitious; he would have to give her that. It had only been a few days of being alone with the two of them but he was already getting tired of the constant bickering.

"Hmm, is that something she would do?" Urahara asked trying to think of what gain she would get, certainly she would get notoriety but then she wasn't part of any branch that actually pursued criminals. Her branch only dealt internally, "Do you think she has any ulterior motives in wanting them? I mean having nothing to do with Aizen."

"Hell, if I know. I have no business with Aizen." Kenpachi replied but understood what he meant. He was thrusted into the business at an early age, he had run ins with all the prime players. He made connections that he kept and connections that just didn't work out. He knew of Aizen just because of the nature of what he did, but their paths had never crossed.

"I'm a bit wary of her." Urahara stated, "How long do you think she's planning to continue her investigation on you?"

"She's already been here a few weeks." Usually by now, other investigators would have taken the loss and concluded that he was on the up-and-up and returned to the office. She was persistent.

"Hmm, and Yachiru, where does she fit in all this?" Urahara wondered. Earlier he was sending her to her room which meant she lived there with them. He hadn't missed the change of tone to Zaraki's usual gruff voice when he had spoken to her either.

"let it go." Kenpachi grumbled with a shake of his head.

"I see, I see, you got yourself a girlfriend," Urahara beamed at his friend "She's pretty cute."

"I said let it go. It's nothing like that, she's under my protection from Unohana." Was it something going around in the air?

Urahara laughed, sure if that's what he wanted to call it. It wouldn't explain why she was living in his house or how fondly he spoke to her. "What are you going to do about Unohana?"

Kenpachi sighed, "How likely do you think Jūshirō would believe an accident befell her?"

"Not sure he would go for it again, but if what you say about her being the correspondent is true. I could try and arrange something when the exchange is set up. She could just get caught up in the crossfire." Urahara said sitting back in his chair trying to iron out some of the details. It wasn't unheard of that things went wrong during negotiations. He would have to have Jinta intercept all of her further communications with Unohana from then on.

"How soon do you think you could get that set up?"

Unohana had followed them into the living room to Yachiru's annoyance. Even though Kenpachi had made it clear that it was just supposed to be the two of them, she continued to follow them wherever they went. It was irritating, like she couldn't get the hint.

"So, do you wanna watch tv?" Yachiru asked as they sat down "Or do you want something to drink or eat?"

"No thanks, I already ate before we came." Yoruichi answered glancing around the well-furnished room. This Zaraki person must have money. Maybe this wouldn't be a fruitless trip after all. She'd excuse herself to the bathroom and have a look around.

"How do you know Mr. Urahara?" The dark-haired woman who did not introduce herself but accompanied them to the living room asked. She watched her with guarded eyes although her face held a friendly smile.

Yoruichi didn't care to have her in her business, "I'm his wife." She replied. Why did it matter who she was? For some reason, the way she watched her was pissing her off.

She barely hid the derision on her features as she did a once over Yoruichi's body, before she scoffed, "I'm sorry I wasn't aware that he was married."

"Don't mind her, she didn't know Kenpachi already had a girlfriend either." Yachiru chimed in.

"And who are you anyways?" Yoruichi asked, she really didn't like that way she was eying her. So, she wasn't dressed in a fancy pants suit, she was dressed for comfort.

"My names Unohana." She replied with a slight smirk.

"Kenpachi's ex-girlfriend." Yachiru added, "and a gold digger." She whispered so only Yoruichi could hear.

"Actually, I also work with Urahara." Unohana said crossing her arms in front of her chest. She regarded Yoruichi more closely, she was now sure of it.

Yourichi knew all the people in his office and she was not part of his team, what did she expect to gain from lying to her?

"Let's just forget she's here." Yachiru said, "Me and Ken-chan do it all the time."

Yourichi giggle, "Are you a masochist?" she directed her question to Unohana. "Surely you don't enjoy seeing your ex-lover with another woman."

"It doesn't faze me one bit. She's but a child trying to act like a woman." Unohana replied bitingly. "Just as women who use sex to get what they want-"

"What the fuck are you implying!" Yoruichi shot to her feet, her hands on her hips.

"I'm not implying anything," Unohana answered coolly her face a mask of innocence. "Hmm, I remember there was a peculiar case of missing files once." She shrugged her shoulders, "I suppose I'm mistaken." Her lips curled up into a smirk.

Yoruichi was shocked, she was blindsided by her statements. She knew from browsing Urahara's computer that he had wiped her record clean, but she didn't know that it was an ongoing thing. Yoruichi grabbed her by her shirt, ready to punch her in the face.

"Now, now, you don't want to add assault to that non-existent list do you." Unohana said nonchalantly her dark eyes holding hers.

"You bitch." Yoruichi sneered letting her go her anger simmering.

"Yori?" Urahara came over to her immediately as he entered the room. The tension in the room was palpable.

Yachiru had come bursting into the office with a frightened look on her face. She was sweating and out of breath from the exertion of trying to get there as quickly as she could. Something was happening between Yoruichi and Unohana and they needed to come quick. Kenpachi picked her up and followed as he led the way to the living room.

"Yori? Whatever it is let it go." Urahara said softly to her, trying to calm her down. He placed his arm around her waist and faced her away from Unohana's smug expression.

Yoruichi took a deep breath "Bye Yachiru." She said attempting a genuine smile. She threw a disparaging look in Unohana's direction before she took him by the arm to lead him out.

"That bad huh?" he whispered, surprised by her forwardness.

"I want to strangle the bitch." Yoruichi said loud and proud, not caring if everyone in the room could still hear them. Zaraki coughed next to them and Yachiru burst out into a shrill of laughter.

"Well, we're gonna take our leave. Next Time Zaraki." Urahara said trying to hide his mirth. Well at least it seemed like her anger had dissipated some. She was outspoken she didn't filter herself. He couldn't wait to get her alone to hear the full story.

"See yourself out." Kenpachi replied.

"Ken-chan, I'm tired. Can you take me to my room?" Yachiru asked softly.

Yoruichi pulled him quickly out of the house, only letting go of him once they were outside. Urahara knew she probably was just using him as some sort of shield from Unohana. Whatever happened between them must have really bristled her feathers.

"So, what happened?" he asked once they were situated inside the car and on their way home. His plan to get her in a lighter mood was more than likely ruined. No love for him again tonight.

"Who is she really?" Yoruichi asked her voice dark, like she was contemplating something sinister.

"She works for the I.I.D. It's a department that investigates other departments of the Japanese intelligence agencies. Why, who did she say she was?" She wouldn't have given away who she was really in front of Yachiru. Not when she was trying to gather information on Zaraki.

"She said she works with you."

"That's what made you mad?"

"No, she insinuated she knew everything about me." Yoruichi turned towards him then, a frown marring her features, "How long have you been keeping track of me Urahara?"

"Always." Urahara replied simply. Though they weren't together, he still loved her. He always had the hope that she would give up her life of petty crime and become his stay-at-home lover. He knew that was just fantasy since she was too independent and antsy to sit one place too long.

"Why do you do shit like that Urahara?" she asked angrily. So that meant Unohana had at one time been investigating Urahara because of her. That's the only connection she could see between the two. The only way she would know about her records being wiped clean. Why did he do unnecessary things? "I never asked you to protect me. Let me make my own fucking mistakes."

"I did Hun, look where that got you." He answered gently. It was like going around in a circle with her. She didn't see all the decisions she had made were what brought her here in the first place. He had voluntarily let her go, and she was the one that sought him out. She needed him to get her out of prison and he had the means to do it. She needed a safe place to stay and he had accommodations for her. Why did she want him to be the bad guy? There was only so much that his heart could take of this.

"Let's not argue please Yori. Just know that Unohana was just trying to get a reaction out of you. That's her job. Whatever she said has no effect on you or I." He reached over to gently pat her thigh, "Don't worry Hun."

"That's easy for you to say Urahara." Yoruichi replied with a pout.

"Yori, if only you knew everything that I have on my mind at the moment." He squeezed her thigh and gave her a comforting smile, "Let's just forget about everything else today. I really just want to go home and make love to you."

Yoruichi laughed, "Ah, so that's why you let me out of the house." She laid her hand on his and parted her legs suggestively. "I'll think about it, if you can get me off before we get there." She declared teasingly.

Urahara loved when she got into these naughty playful moods. He was definitely up for the challenge; he knew her body like the back of his hand. It would only take him a few minutes to have her moaning his name and shaking from an orgasm. "Really Yori, then will you take a request when I complete my task?"

"I'll think about that too, Kisuke." She replied seductively licking her lips, she knew exactly what she was doing.

And then his phone rang. It rang again, and he wanted to ignore it. "Fuck." He ground out. Yoruichi undid the top button of her shorts and he could see the pink cloth of her panties peeking through. He didn't want to answer the phone. He looked on the screen to see who was calling. To his surprise it was Rukia's number that popped up.

"I'm sorry Yori, this'll have to wait." He said apologetically. It had been quite a while since Rukia and Renji had disappeared without a trace leaving a bloody crime scene. He had Shinji looking over the surveillance footage but nothing had come out of that so far.

He quickly answered the phone. "Hello, Rukia?"

"Hey Boss, it's me. I'm at the office." She responded.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

---

Sado had dropped her off in front of her apartment and driven away without a word. The flight back had also been silent, and for the life of her Rukia could not remember any of the details of where they had come from. She was still in shock of the whole situation. What was she supposed to do now?

The envelope with that disgusting video and money was tucked in her purse. If she wasn't worried that somehow it would be discovered she would have thrown it out the window while they were flying. She didn't know what to do with it. Where did people keep their deepest darkest secrets?

Her apartment felt unfamiliar to her after being away for so long, even though it couldn't have been more than a few days. She had a minimalistic style that was vastly different from Kurasaki's lavish bedroom that he had provided her with. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of him. The whole damn time she was in his presence and didn't know. What sort of game had he been playing?

Rukia buried the envelope beneath the folds of her futon for now, hoping to find a more secure place once she checked in at work. She hurriedly took a shower and got dressed for work. She also wanted to pay her respects to Renji's grave, having missed her opportunity to attend his funeral. If she hadn't been so foolish to follow him, he might still be alive. Why was she so impetuous? What did she have to prove?

"Damnit." Rukia muttered as she realized that her car probably wasn't still where she left it, or better yet at the impound. She'd have to catch a cab or something. Well, she didn't live that far, she could probably walk it. It would give her a chance to come up with a story of where she had been for the past week. She had still been too shell-shocked to think about anything on the flight or the drive home.

Whatever she said would have to exclude Kurasaki completely. But how would she explain Renji's death and her kidnapping? No doubt they would have traced Renji's last call and checked the CC-TV footage. They would have seen what went down. Unless she could convince them that she didn't remember anything. It's happened before, right? Selective amnesia it was called. She could make it work for her. Anything that had to do with Kurasaki she would just forget about.

The office was pretty quiet when she arrived, there didn't seem to be anyone around. Was there some big sting operation happening while she was out? She walked intently around glancing into each office room; Shinji's was empty, Kensei's was empty, Sasakibe's, and Urahara's also. The only one that seemed to be in was Jinta.

Rukia knocked once before opening the door and letting herself in. "Hey Jinta. Where's everyone at?"

He froze at his computer and glanced at her, his face turning beet red. "Do you mind stepping outside for a few minutes." He asked sheepishly.

"Sure." Rukia replied, closing the door behind her. Not quite the greeting she was expecting but maybe she was interrupting his work. Maybe she should call Mr. Urahara and let him know she was back. She dialed his number and waited for him to answer.

"Hello Rukia?"

"Hey Boss, it's me. I'm at the office." She responded.

"I'll be there in a few." With that he hung up.

Hmm, again not the greeting she was expecting after a week of being missing. Unless Kurasaki had done some magic and made it seem like she just took a vacation. She would have to be careful of the words she used when they spoke.

She took a seat at one of the open desks and waited for Jinta to be done with whatever he was doing. She could never understand the kid. He spent most of his time in the office, there was no denying he was an integral part of their team but it seemed like he never went home. Even Sasakibe who made no secret how much he hated his nagging wife went home every day.

Jinta's door opened and he and Ururu walked out. "Welcome back, Rukia." She said softly avoiding her gaze. "Do you want anything from the convenience store?"

"No thanks." Rukia replied. Was Ururu some kind of magician? She hadn't noticed her in the room when she had gone in there before. She was as quiet as a mouse though, maybe she had just been in the corner somewhere.

"Ok, let me know if you change your mind." She said as she headed out of the office.

"So, where have ya been?" Jinta asked taking a seat across from her. "Everyone's been worried about you."

Could have fooled me, Rukia thought to herself. "I'm not sure exactly." She answered hoping that her voice conveyed just enough uncertainty to make her statement believable. "I can't remember anything."

She couldn't read Jinta's expression, it was a like he was trying to imagine a scenario where her memory would be lost and he was drawing a blank. He wasn't buying it at all. If she couldn't fool this kid, how did she imagine she would fool everyone else?

"You don't remember anything? So how did you end up here?" he asked skeptically.

"I know who I am. I mean it's like the past few days are hazy. I woke up in a hospital with no recollection of what happened or how I got there." Rukia responded defensively. She should have known this wasn't going to work.

"I've heard of that before. You probably got a blow to the head or something." Jinta said with a nod of his head. "but they say usually it comes back after a while. Man, that must suck."

"It does leave me with a lot of questions." Rukia offered weighing her words. She didn't want to say too much, just enough to make it believable.

"So that means you don't remember what happened to Renji?" Jinta asked.

Rukia didn't know what to say. Should she answer that she knew he was dead? But if she did then her ruse would be up. He would know that she knew more than she was letting on.

Thankfully, the door opened before she had the opportunity to speak and Urahara followed by a woman walked in. "Rukia, good to have to back." He said as they approached.

"Thanks boss." She responded, now she felt like she wanted to change her story. She hated lying, she had built her career on integrity and honesty. But she just couldn't risk Kurosaki destroying her only family ties.

"I don't think you've met my wife; This is Yoruichi." He said introducing the woman beside him. She gave her a smile, but Rukia could tell it was forced. "Now that that's out of the way. Where have you been? And do you have any idea where Renji is?"

Rukia swallowed; he got right to the point. She was hoping for more pleasantries to build up her confidence in her lies. She would just stick with her amnesia story and be adamant about it. For Renji, she would just say she didn't know. Obviously, they didn't know he was already dead, she would feign ignorance on him also.

"I honestly don't know anything boss." She answered in a hush voice, careful to add a meaningful tremble to her tone. She wanted to be as believable as possible.

"She has selective amnesia." Jinta supplied. "She must've gotten hit pretty hard in the head that night."

"I woke up in a hospital in Oita, with no recollection of how I got there."

"Wow how the hell did you get all the way down there?" Jinta said, "that's like halfway across the country."

That's why she chose it. It was nowhere close to any of Kurosaki's known business practices. It could not be traced back to him and it would take a while to get medical records from any of the backwoods hospitals there.

"I've been trying to find a way to remember what happened that night. I thought that maybe if I watched the surveillance tapes my memory would be jogged." Rukia said, wanting to know if they had already taken those measures.

"It would do you no good." Urahara responded, "Shinji said that all evidence of you and Renji being in the area were erased. Someone got to them before we did. Do you suppose it was Kurosaki?"

Rukia tried to keep her calm façade from slipping even though her brain was panicking. She was not going to pursue Kurosaki, she already decided that. The case was closed in everyone's eyes. This was an easy answer. All she had to do was say no. "I don't know." She uttered. Why! Why couldn't she just drop it?

"We found Renji's blood at the scene, but no bodies. We checked the local hospitals but never considered other prefectures." Urahara said aloud as if the thought just occurred to him.

"On it boss." Jinta replied as if he read his mind. He got up quickly and went to his office closing the door behind him.

"I didn't think Kurosaki would be so daring to harm two federal agents." Urahara said rising from his seat. "Rukia, for the time being he's going to be your sole focus."

"Um… but... I…" Rukia stuttered. This was the opposite of what she had hoped would happen. She had hoped Urahara would have transferred her to another department for a while or put her on desk duty until her memories had returned. He was thrusting her into danger right as she returned! She had to say she wasn't ready, she had to make up some excuse. "I don't know if I can do that sir."

Urahara turned to her a frown on his face, "Why is that, Rukia? Is there something I should know?"

Rukia shrunk back in her seat feeling like a child being reprimanded by a teacher, she couldn't just outright tell him that she made a deal with Kurosaki. "I don't think I'm ready."

"She's probably traumatized Urahara." Yoruichi said coolly next to him, "let her have a few days off."

Urahara sighed, "Sorry Rukia, I'm getting ahead of myself. Of course, take a few days off. I'll expect you back in the office on Monday bright and early." Well, that was one problem that was taken off of his list, and with what Rukia had said maybe Renji would be next. So technically, she did deserve a little break.

"Thank you, Sir." Rukia replied brightly, "and thank you Yoruichi." Before he could take it back, she got up from her seat and headed for the door, "see you next week."

"Yori, what would I do without you?" She could hear Urahara saying as she closed the door behind her.

Rukia pulled her jacket tighter against her as she exited the building, tomorrow she would have to head to the city impound to get her car back. There were a lot of things she had to take care of tomorrow. First, she would call her sister and see how they were doing, she needed more mental fortitude then she had now to face her. Then she would research a safe place to put that damn video and money.

A sudden chill ran down her spine and she glanced from side to side. The walkway was empty, there was barely any traffic along the way to her apartment but she felt that familiar uneasiness of being watched. Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She was probably just still in a state of shock from everything that has happened and she hadn't come to terms just yet. Yeah, that's it.

But that wasn't it, it wasn't like everything would suddenly go back to normal in a few days. She still had to worry about what happened to Renji. She had to worry about how she was gonna get out of her assignment come Monday morning. As it stood right now, she just didn't know what to do.

"Wishing you were still alone with me?"

Rukia froze, and he appeared behind her out of the shadows of the building she had just passed by. Her words too were frozen in her throat. So, it had all been a lie, he really had no intention of letting her go freely. Why had she been so gullible to believe a criminal like him?

Ichigo pulled her against him and just held her petite body against his for a moment. He had wished that he had had more time to explore that exquisite body, but once was all that was necessary for his plan.

Almost immediately she began to struggle against his arms. "Now Rukie, you don't want to draw too much attention to yourself." He said, his breath fanning her ears.

She didn't care about that she just wanted him to stop holding her so possessively. "Any moment now, your boss could be walking out of the office." He paused there to let the implications slip in.

How did he know where she worked? Had he been following her the whole time? "I'd hate to have to introduce myself and go back on our deal."

Rukia stilled in his arms, "why are you doing this to me?" She managed on a frustrated breath. The way he spoke on the island, the finality of his words convinced her that he just wanted her to leave him alone. She was prepared to do that. She just wanted to be left alone too.

"I just wanted to see how well you explained your disappearance." Why didn't he just let her go? He already had her attention, there was no reason to keep holding her. "Do you think they bought your amnesiac story?"

"H-how did you know?" She tried turning in his arms to see his expression, but he held her steadfastly.

"Just a guess. Not much else you could have said without bringing me into the picture. Sometimes you're a smart girl."

She wanted to knee him where it would hurt and take off to the safety of the office. She would be able to make it before he got his bearings back, but she feared he wouldn't chase her. He would just go for retaliation. She tried to pull his arms from around her waist, "Fine let's talk reasonably. I won't run away."

"It doesn't matter if you run." He commented his arms tightening around her. She was only glad that the shadows of the building provided some privacy just in case someone passed by. "If it hasn't occurred to you, I can sit from my office and watch everything you do."

Rukia glanced around the large buildings that surrounded them, she had never given any thought that Kurosaki had been that close to their headquarters. Or maybe he meant that he had set up cameras to watch everything she did? Her brain was hurting from trying to decipher his words. Why was he doing this to her?

Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt his hands stray from where they were splayed against her waist, they crept up to cup her small breasts squeezing and kneading them through the fabric of her clothes. "Stop!" she ground out, pushing against him.

He chuckled, his hands pausing momentarily, "That's a far cry from what I remember," he dipped his head to place a kiss on her exposed neck, "you tasted so fucking good. Do you know that Rukie?" he whispered against her ear.

"I said stop." She wasn't going to let this happen. She wanted nothing to do with him, she wanted to forget that sickening night of debauchery. She had thought her life was in danger and that was the only way for her to make an escape. Her moral compass had one setting, and she followed it conscientiously.

Rukia could feel his lips against her neck upturn into a smirk, "For now, I'll let you be." Instantly he released her.

"No, not just for now." She replied, not sure where the bass in her voice was coming from or the bravado to say the words. "I don't want anything to do with you."

"Unfortunately for you Rukie, I seem to have developed an interest in you." Ichigo responded with a shrug.

Rukia frowned crossing her arms in front of her angrily, "Unlike you, what I said on the island stands true. I have no interest in pursuing you or your business dealings. I just want to forget you exist and try to get on with my life." She was surprised how collected her thoughts were and how confident she sounded.

"Yes, that condition still stands. Make no mistake if you try to take me down, I'll ruin you." He took a step closer to her, and she took a step back, "But personally, I think we fit together perfectly."

"Never. I would never... You can threaten me or harass me all you want but I have integrity and morals. I will not make the same mistake twice." With that, Rukia turned on her heels and walked away.

She put one foot in front of the other measuring each of her steps so it didn't look like she was retreating. She would not give him the victory. He was not going to do this to her, she was not going to be some criminal's plaything.

From then on, she would have to be more careful. When she got home, she would check to see if he had bugged her apartment, and when she returned to work she would have to check there also. Either that or he had someone watching her. There was no way he could have known she would pretend to lose her memories. At the moment she couldn't trust anyone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

---

Hiyori groaned to herself as she felt the heavy vibration beneath her pillow once again. She didn't know why she hadn't gone with her gut and just left her phone at home in Kyoto. She had no family left to speak of, and no one she could say she considered a friend. It was strictly a business accessory, and for the time being she wanted a respite.

As stealthily as she could she disentangled her limps from Shinji's and crawled out of bed. She paused momentarily just to make sure he was still asleep before she slipped out of the room and went to the guest bedroom to check her messages. She had four missed calls and several texts marked 'urgent'. She doubted it was actually anything important, but she would check in just so he would leave her alone.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Hiyori asked not masking the annoyance in her voice.

"That's not important right now. I need you to come back as soon as possible." Umesada responded.

"I told you I'm busy, I'm taking care of some personal business." Hiyori knew she should have just ignored it like always. It would be the same conversation, again.

"I've tried to be nice and let you have time to handle that business, but now I think you're just fucking with me." His voice turned heated and the usual joviality disappeared, "Don't forget who owns you."

Hiyori bit her lip to keep from saying what she really wanted to say. The metallic taste of blood only served to emphasize just how much she hated her powerlessness to do anything.

"If you aren't back by tomorrow night, I'll have to send Keiji out there to find you." The menacing meaning behind his words ran her blood cold. She had only had one encounter with him and it hadn't been pleasant. His fists were indiscriminatory, it had taken her several weeks to recover physically and even more months to recover from the mental anguish.

"That won't fucking be necessary." Hiyori answered angrily, "I'll be there." With that she hung up. Immediately all her strength left her and she collapsed into a heap cradling her head in her hands. She felt like crying, just letting everything out and releasing the years of misery out on that floor, but no tears would come.

Why was her life so fucked up? Was it so much to ask for just a taste of normalcy? Who had she pissed off to deserve this never-ending cycle of unhappiness and abuse?

"What are ya doing in here?" Shinji asked sleepily from the doorway. He didn't wait for her to answer before he walked in and scooped her up into his arms. "What are you hungry or something?"

Hiyori was glad for the darkness of the room; he wouldn't be able to read the clear expression she just couldn't make an effort to hide. As much as she teased and ridiculed him, she had come to enjoy the time they had spent together. She had almost forgotten her horrible past and what she had to look forward to in her future. The fleeting happiness that he gave her made her feel something she wasn't sure she was entitled to.

"Probably just sleep walking," He mumbled after she refused to answer. Shinji carried her back to their bedroom trying not to over think the situation. This wasn't the first time she had gotten up in the middle of the night to check her phone. It was the first time she hadn't returned to bed after a few minutes though.

He shouldn't have waited so long to go find her, maybe he would have heard a conversation if she was having one. He couldn't see her face in the dark, but the way she clung to him, something unsettling must have been said to her. She wouldn't let on to it, of course and it made him feel like a fool for caring.

Shinji laid her on her side and brought the blanket up over her shoulders before he climbed in on his side and turned off his bedside lamp. Almost instantly, Hiyori rolled over until their bodies were touching but she didn't reach for him.

Shinji sighed and pulled her closer, wrapping her in his arms. She slipped one of her thighs between his and laid her head close to his on the pillow. "Goodnight, Hiyori." He whispered on a yawn. Maybe tomorrow she would be more inclined to share what was going on.

XX

"So going forward, what does he want me to do?" Tōshirō asked a frown of consternation marring his features. He had refrained from calling into the headquarters, but instead reached out to Kira who served as a sort of mediator. In times of desperation, he would be the one to call to try a facilitate a plan of action without blowing a cover.

"In all honesty, it was our assumption you were still undercover." He replied. "After we got the report from Hisagi that you left with an unknown woman. We had Isane do some research. She went through the video footage from the night club."

"She's part of the F.B.I, she works for Yamamoto." Tōshirō clarified.

"Yes, we know that now. We figured that you two must be working together from the inside so we would keep our distance."

"I was under the impression my objective had been compromised." Tōshirō replied, perplexed. The whole reason he was meeting Hisagi was to be debriefed and recommissioned to a safe house for a small period so that all traces of him could be wiped out. Now he was saying this whole time no contact was made because they believed he was still undercover.

"If it's still possible, whatever information that can be garnered from Ōmaeda is still the main objective."

"What of an outcome where the possibility of death may arise?" Tōshirō asked, choosing his words wisely. They would never condone outrightly to him killing Ōmaeda, but he wanted to make sure what kind of consequences he and Momo would face when it happened.

The line was silent for a moment, "If it comes down to a situation of your life or his, there would be no repercussions."

That's all the clearance he needed to go ahead with what he was planning. "I will attempt to avoid such circumstances. If I need anything, I will be in touch." Tōshirō hung up and glanced at Momo's sleeping form.

She had used him in her futile scheme to get revenge on Ōmaeda, it would be fitting for him to turn the tables on her and do the same. She had said it herself, she had no experience in these matters, so he would use her innocence to achieve his goal. She was so easy to manipulate, she wouldn't know she was in danger until it was too late.

He got up from his seat and walked over to her side of the bed. She looked so serene laying there, so defenseless and innocent. His initial impression of her had been correct, she tried to portray this hard outer shell, but there was no truth in that. She was naïve and playing a very dangerous game. If she wasn't such a misguided fool, he would admire her tenacity and ambition.

Tōshirō leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips, he buried his fingers in the mass of her dark hair and watched her steadily. Her eyes slowly fluttered opened and then widened in shock. He didn't release her, instead he deepened the kiss slowly pressing his tongue against her lips until she parted hers and granted him access.

Momo responded tentatively allowing his tongue to fully explore her mouth in a soft but deep kiss. She wasn't sure what to do as he controlled the pace with the tip of his tongue, taking his sweet time to fully taste every bit of her.

When he was finally done with his ministrations, she was breathless and there was a strange tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach. She wanted more, she wanted him to kiss her that tenderly and completely again.

"Morning Momo." He said casually, putting some distance between them. "Are you hungry? I'll make breakfast."

"Um, good, good morning." Momo managed to stutter out as she sat up. What was that kiss about? "Yes, thanks." She could still barely control her voice, or the way it came out so breathlessly.

"We'll talk then." Tōshirō replied and left the room.

Momo was perplexed by his actions. He had kissed her with no provocation, even though he was adamant that he had no feelings for her. Did that mean he really did have feelings and he just hadn't trusted her before? Now that he knew the truth, he was able to express those feelings.

A sudden surge of optimism ran through her at the thought. Not only did she have the opportunity to finally fall in love but she would have help in finally avenging her brother's death. She hurriedly got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Tōshirō's back was turned towards her as she entered the bathroom. She was excited to get the day going properly after such an amazing start, she would take a quick shower and then give him her undivided attention.

It was only after stepping out of the steamy shower that she realized she didn't have a change of clothes, or a fresh pair of underwear. She loathed the thought of putting on the same dirty ones. Momo wrapped a towel around herself and exited the bathroom to find Tōshirō sitting at the table drinking coffee.

"Do you have anything I can change into?" She asked self-consciously as his eyes skimmed her cotton clad body. The way his eyes lingered just where her hips flared made her feel like he could see through the thick towel.

"I set some of my things out for you." He answered bringing his cup of coffee to his lips, but not drinking. His eyes followed her every step as she made her way into the bedroom and awkwardly closed the door behind her.

She was still just as unhinged when she walked out fully dressed in a pair of his old trousers and a t-shirt. She couldn't get the rapacious look he had given her out of her mind.

"They look good on you." He said, setting down a plate of food and a cup of coffee at the second table seating.

"Thanks, Shiro." Momo answered nervously taking the seat next to him. "Thank you for the food." She began to eat because honestly, she was hungry, and she had been so afraid yesterday she hadn't eaten anything.

"It was my pleasure." He replied his eyes intent on her lips "We are gonna be heading out soon, so I wanted to talk a little bit before we leave."

"Ok, sure. I really appreciate your help." Momo started, then set down her fork unnerved by the way he was watching her. "And I'm really sorry again for everything."

"Like I said last night, don't worry about it. I understand. You were just being used; I can't hold that against you. We both want the same thing and working together would be the fastest way to achieve our shared objective." Tōshirō paused to take a sip of his coffee, gauging her reaction so far to his words.

"You have a lot more experience than I do, whatever you think will work. I will do my best." Momo readily supplied following suite and taking a sip of her coffee.

Tōshirō frowned, "From now on if we are going to be partners. I will need complete transparency, on both of our ends."

"Of course." She answered unsure of what else she might have kept hidden from him. He already knew she had been behind all the terrible things that had happen to him. All the times she drugged him to be able to have time to stage the next scene in her plan.

Tōshirō got up from his seat and came to lean over her shoulder so that his lips were a hairs breadth from hers, "I want us to be partners in everything. Do you understand?"

Momo swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and the act alone almost made their lips meet. She understood alright. He had feelings for her, she wanted to be happy and accept them readily. But something was telling her this was wrong, just last night he heard her secrets. He found out who she was really was, a spiteful and cruel woman who willing hurt an innocent man for her own gains. This couldn't be real.

"If it's too much for you accept." His soft breath tickled her face and her eyes closed involuntarily.

"I-I understand." Momo finally answered, she would take the chance if it meant there was a possibility. Even if at the end of all this all that came out of it was Ōmaeda's death she would be happy.

Tōshirō smirked and placed a kiss on her parted lips.

XX

"We're Sorry, you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service." Ok so that was four down and two to go. There was nothing like spending his morning going through his old desk trying to find where he had written down all Tōshirō's contact numbers.

"Still at it?" Hiyori said walking in with a bag of chips. She took a seat on his desk and he slid his chair to the opposite side to put some space between them.

"Yeah, almost done though. Are you bored or something?" Since this morning she had been acting strangely. He had wanted to find the right time to talk to her about what happened the night before, but it never presented itself.

"No." she answered simply, popping a few chips into her mouth.

"Are you hungry again?" She only really bothered him for those two reasons. They had just eaten breakfast a few hours ago so she couldn't be that hungry.

"No."

Shinji frowned at her one-word answers, it was so hard to decipher this girl. How was he expected to know what the hell she needed if she didn't give him a clue.

"So, you just want to be around me?" She glared at him but didn't answer. So that was it, she just wanted to tease him some more. "Well, just let me finish this and then we'll go for a drive."

"Wow, I finally get to leave this prison." She exclaimed sarcastically, her face belying any joy her words would imply.

"I'm trying to be nice." Shinji said turning from her to go on to the next number and address he had scribbled on his list.

Unlike the others, it didn't immediately give him an error message. It rang a few times before Tōshirō picked up. "Yuto Isami speaking."

"It's me, Shinji." The first time Tōshirō had answered with that name he had hung up thinking he had dialed the wrong number. Then he realized he must be using a fake name since he frequently went undercover.

"Hirako, what is it?"

"Can we meet up? It's for Urahara and I don't want to talk about it over the phone."

"I'm not going to be here much longer. You know this location, right?"

"Yeah, I'll head straight there. See you soon." With that he hung up and turned to Hiyori. "Ready to go?"

For a moment, a vague look clouded her features and she glanced around his messy office space. "That was pretty fast." She grumbled, and he could be just imagining the melancholy he was hearing in those few words.

"I thought you wanted to finally be free." Shinji said, he didn't miss the way she seemed to flinch at his words.

"Of course, who wants to stay locked up forever with a deviant like you?" Hiyori jumped off his desk and shrugged, "Let's go already." She led the way out, keeping her back squared although she felt like there was hundred-pound weights on her shoulders. Why couldn't she be honest? Why did she have to feel this way and not know how to express it?

"Do you want something to eat before we go out? I'm not planning on stopping along the way." Shinji asked grabbing his laptop and keys on the way out. "I'll probably be too tired to cook when we come back, so it'll be leftovers tonight. So, tell me now."

"For fucks sake, I said I wasn't hungry." Hiyori spat out irritably her cheeks burning with anger. If she hadn't been such a brat maybe she would have found a good home. Maybe she wouldn't have ended up on the streets. Maybe she wouldn't be indebted to Umesada. Maybe she wouldn't be this furious at the one person who didn't treat her like shit.

Shinji was taken aback by her sudden outburst; he couldn't say she had never used such language with him before but the amount of emotion behind those words alarmed him. He stilled her, turning her to face him. Her face was downturned in a scowl, her cheeks a deep crimson and for the first time he noticed her bruised lip.

"What is it, Hiyori? What's bothering you?"

She roughly pulled her arm from his grasp and turned away from him, "Its nothing. Why can't ya mind your own damn business?" before he could reply she walked outside of the house and slammed the door behind her.

XX

Momo stilled at the knock at the door, she glanced cautiously at Tōshirō. He placed his hand on the heel of his gun and slowly approached the window. He knew it could only be Hirako, but just to keep up pretenses in front of Momo for now he would follow through protocol.

"It's safe." He said to her as he opened the door. Hirako and the girl from his house was standing behind him.

"Thanks for meeting me on such short notice." Shinji said as they entered, "Hello again Hinamori."

"Hello." Momo greeted him with a sincere smile. Shinji seemed to be a friend to Tōshirō so she would do her best to make him her friend as well. "Oh, hello again Hiyori." She added once she noticed her behind him. Why was he hanging around with her? Did he not know that she was working for Umesada? Maybe she should tell Tōshirō so she could give him a heads up.

"Yeah, whatever." Hiyori said glancing around the sparsely furnished room. No way was she going to sit next to Hinamori and try to pretend to act nice to her in the mood she was in. "I'll just wait outside." She muttered.

"Wait Hiyori," Shinji gave her the car keys, "its hot out there, wait in the car and turn on the AC." She grabbed the keys from him with a bemused look on her face. She didn't answer but closed the door behind her gently when she walked out.

"So, what's this about Hirako?" Tōshirō asked taking a seat at the small table.

"Well, Urahara is under the impression that you might know something about Ōmaeda and if he has any connections to Aizen." Shinji responded taking the other seat.

"I don't think I'll be much help to you." Tōshirō deadpanned, folding his arms in his lap.

"I figured as much." Shinji shrugged "I know you were undercover but that was pretty much a bust."

"The whole debacle with Lisa put an end to that." Tōshirō threw a surreptitious glance towards the window.

"Yeah, well at least I tried. I wanted to talk to you about something else."

Tōshirō glared at him, "What else Hirako?"

"Well, it's kinda personal." He responded awkwardly "Hinamori do you mind checking on Hiyori for me."

"Ah, I get it. Guy stuff." She said with a wink. "No problem." She gave them a wide smile as she left them alone.

Tōshirō watched as she walked over to the vehicle, "good job."

"Hey, I still know the basics. So, what can you tell me?"

"Well, while I was still around, Ōmaeda had been looking for a way to get onto level with Aizen. When nothing worked out, he began to look for dirt on him to blackmail him. But everything, Aizen does is untraceable back to him so it was fruitless. So instead, he started trying to get in with some of the other big-name players."

"Other big-name players? There aren't any others that are very close to Aizen's status."

"Not true, there is Kurasaki who is fast building a drug empire that could cultivate further growth of Ōmaeda's empire. There's also Zaraki, although he was only brought up a few times in passing. Most of the bigger names know what he was about before he turned a new leaf. If he ever decided to go back to his old ways, with the knowledge he's gained he would easily surpass Aizen."

Shinji only knew of Zaraki from word around the office and stories from Urahara. He had an outstanding criminal record and a penchant for violence but was supposedly a very likeable guy. He decided to leave that life behind and now put his efforts into helping the Japanese government. If he wasn't living in the events, he would call it a big joke.

"I see. So, he isn't affiliated with Aizen, but wanted to be. When that didn't happen through regular means he resorted to trying to find ways to blackmail him or overthrow him. I wonder what he's planning?" Why all of a sudden was Urahara so interested in Ōmaeda and Aizen?

"Beats me, but that's all I can tell you."

XX

Momo approached the running car wondering if she should really put in the effort to check in with the little brat. No doubt Shinji would be glancing out the window to make sure she did her due diligence.

"What do you want?" Hiyori asked not glancing up from her phone as Momo sat down in the passenger seat. She had debated on whether to just steal his car and drive out of there. What idiot gives his car keys to someone he's holding hostage?

"Shinji sent me out her to check on you. He must not know who you really are." Momo answered not sure why she even bothered. It would have been just as easy to sit in the car and say nothing to her.

"Does it really matter?" Hiyori asked her voice apathetic. She wasn't in any rush to leave anyways, as long as she got there tonight Umesada would be happy.

"Of course, it does! Do you think he would really care about you if knew what you really did? How many people you killed for money?" Momo snapped in disbelief. Hiyori wasn't even remorseful for anything that she did. She didn't deserve to be loved by anyone.

Hiyori stared at her phone screen unblinkingly, it dimmed and went to sleep and still her eyes stayed glued to the screen. For a moment Momo felt bad for what she said, she could see the pain in her hazel eyes that she was trying to hide.

"I didn't mean it." Momo said softly. Maybe she had taken it a little too far, she really didn't know Hiyori that much. They had only briefly worked together and her attitude had always been bitchy but sometimes people put walls up for a reason.

"It's true." Hiyori finally replied. How could she expect to lead a normal life when she didn't even know what that meant? All she knew was lying, stealing, and killing. There was no one that could ever look past that. "I wish there was something I could do to redeem myself." She whispered although it was more of a thought for herself.

"That's not possible. At this point, the only thing to look forward to is dying alone." Momo said her own thoughts filled with doubts now. Here she was chastising Hiyori for her cruel deeds but she was just as bad as her. How could she have believed that he could forgive her for what she did to him? He had almost been killed because of her!

"Ya talking like you have experience." Hiyori said finally looking at her. She had an unsettled look on her face, as if she had just realized something terrible.

Momo laughed self-depreciatingly and nodded, "I've done some bad things too. People like us don't deserve happiness." She was wrong to believe anything else. Tōshirō must have some ulterior motive as to why he was so willing to help her.

"Speak for yourself. If you were smart, you would have gotten out while you could." Hiyori had warned her before and she hadn't heeded it. Seeing her now, saying the words she was feeling she wondered if she had followed down her same path. "I'm not gonna take this shit forever."

The driver's door opened and Shinji grinned down at her, "Sorry to interrupt you guys. You seemed to be getting along better than last time."

Hiyori pushed past him, "Key word 'seems'. I was just bored."

"Thanks, Hinamori, it was good seeing you again." Shinji said as Momo exited the passenger side door and made her way towards the cabin.

"Likewise, drive safely." She replied although absentmindedly.

"I like that you are making friends Hiyori." Shinji teased once she was reseated next to him, "I worry about that attitude of yours sometimes."

"If you worry so much then just get rid of me." Hiyori deadpanned not looking at him. He couldn't tell if she was trying to be amusing, or if that was how she really felt.

"I told you, once I get an apology-"

"Ok, fuck it. I'm sorry I shot you. I don't usually kill people that I'm not paid to. I should have had some self-restraint that night. I apologize. Will that do?" Her voice and face remained impassive and emotionless as she spoke.

Shinji was stunned at the words he had told himself he wanted to hear. He had been doing this just to hear her say them, but it felt hollow. He wanted to shove the words back down her throat and pretend they were never said. Anger bubbled up inside him at her blasé attitude towards the whole thing.

"You can just let me off anywhere. I'll find my way home." She still didn't look at him, and that was what was killing him the most.

Why was she doing this now? He knew something was wrong since last night and if he hadn't been so passive in catering to her feelings, he would have demanded that she tell him what was up. "Is that what you really want Hiyori?"

Of course, it wasn't, she didn't want to go back to that life. She didn't want to spend her life mindlessly doing someone's bidding with no say in what her future would hold. But she couldn't do anything to change it. She knew if she told Shinji no, she wanted to stay with him he would happily forget this outburst and go back to coddling her like he had been.

But she couldn't forget Umesada's warning. Keiji would beat her senseless but if Umesada knew she was slacking off to shack up with some guy, no matter how innocent it was, she knew Shinji wouldn't come out of everything alive. As capable of an agent as he was, she didn't want anything to happen to him because of her.

"It doesn't matter. Ya got your apology and I need my freedom." She looked at him then, her brilliant hazel eyes dulled by her scathing anger, "Did you really think that this meant anything to me?" she scoffed, "I was just serving my penance for what I did to you. I think I've put up with enough of your ineptness to make up for one bullet."

It hurt to hear those words come from her. It put in perspective what he had been doing these pass weeks. He was foolish dedicating most of his time and energy to her when she just regarded him as absolutely nothing. This was all just her making her conscience feel better for the one idiot that happened to get in the way.

Still no matter what she was saying now, he couldn't forget the time they actually shared together. That hadn't felt forced, it felt genuine. Even though she tried to downplay how content she had been, he knew that it was real. It didn't add up at all. Why all of a sudden did she want to leave? "Look me in the eyes Hiyori and tell me honestly that it's over."

"Just like you." She muttered, "I don't care about you Shinji, I never have. Whatever you thought we had in that brain of yours is over. Just pull off here." She hadn't looked him in the eyes, but she didn't care to. He just couldn't accept the inevitable.

As she requested, he pulled over to gas station. "Hiyori, I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to find out."

"Good luck." She answered derisively and got out of the car.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

---

Their drive so far had been mostly silent. After he had returned Ishida had hurriedly packed everything into the small gray 4-door sedan, then did a quick once over the entire hotel room before ushering her out.

The whole process felt cold and sterile, nothing like the warm and supportive attitude he had before her escapade in the shower. With every passing moment she was hating herself more and more for doing something so base and wanton. Even though she knew he had no feelings for her and he was potentially already in a relationship.

She wondered if seeing Rangiku would help squelch this loneliness that was building in her heart. Surely, she was just missing the warmth and happiness of feeling loved and that's why she was so overwhelmed with this crushing pain. Yeah, that had to be it.

Orihime stole a glance in his direction and briefly their eyes met before he turned his attention back to the road ahead. She should apologize at least for what she did. Maybe that would alleviate some of the tension between them. Or she could just let it go. In a few hours he would be out of her life and she would be just another statistic to him.

It hadn't taken very long after they hit the road for Matsumoto to drift off to sleep. Gin knew she hadn't slept well the night before; he had woken up to find her wide awake next to him. At that point she wasn't aware that Orihime was safe and sound so that might have been what was bothering her.

He wished that what they had shared these past few weeks had been real. Then she would have been able to confide in him what was upsetting her. Or she would have found some comfort with him while they waited for the news.

Now as he had time to analyze everything, he realized she had probably just reciprocated his projected feelings out of the desperation of the situation. Her sister was taken away from her, she had to stay on the run in fear of her life, and she had no one to depend on. Of course, any little crumb of affection was going to elate her mind and cloud her judgement.

Once she was with Orihime and they were safe she would realize that. More than likely she already had an inkling of that feeling. Afterall, she never mentioned anything after reuniting with Orihime. So, it meant he didn't fit into her plans. Wasn't her taking the money even more proof of that? He still had every intention of staying with them until Ishida could get their situation completely figured out. And the money he would present to her as a parting gift.

Gin glanced over at her a wistful smile on his face. Who knew when he walked into Barry's that one of his 'angels' would be his undoing? Maybe he was just getting soft, but there was still so much he wanted to experience with her. Wearing yukatas during a festival, visiting an onsen, making love. He really didn't want this to be the end, but he didn't feel like there was anything genuine between them.

Ishida waited patiently by the coffee vending machine; his eyes trained on the women's bathroom. They were making great time. In less than an hour they should be pulling up to their destination, a bit earlier than planned. He supposed he had factored in more stops than necessary when he was mapping out the time frame of the trip. Unquestionably it was the mornings events that facilitated the change.

Orihime hardly spoke a word to him, only barely opening her mouth to ask to go to the bathroom after nearly four hours of sidelong glances and pretending he didn't exist. The awkwardness was more than he expected. It wasn't easy before to speak to her, but he managed because he had the professional high ground. He was the one in authority, he was there to help, he was doing his job. It did not matter how beautiful she was. But now, she had so casually and easily taken that away from him.

She walked out of the bathroom and for a moment stood expressionlessly looking through the passersby. Ishida wondered what she was thinking. Her face was etched in fear and she looked like any moment she would faint. She had the same panicked expression the night they escaped from Aizen's compound.

Immediately he made his way to her, politely as he could not trying to draw any unwanted attention to her or himself. When he reached her, she was trembling and her eyes were glassy.

Ishida wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug as he had done that night. "Hime, I'm right here." he grasped one of her clammy hands into his own, "Everything's going to be alright."

For several long moments he stood there holding her like that, until he finally felt the tension in her body start to lessen. He was well aware of how this must look to onlookers, but at this moment he had to ease the anxiety that she was feeling. He could not forget the hell that she had been through the pass six months. Finally, she squeezed his hand tightly and he slowly released her.

The color had returned to her cheeks, and her violet eyes were bright once again. "I'm sorry Shida, I didn't see you. I-I thought I was alone again." Orihime stopped speaking abruptly then took a step away from him, distress marring her fair features. "I'm sorry, for making you worry. I'm fine now." She turned away from him completely, "let's get going please. I just want to see Rangiku."

Ishida noticed the change in her immediately. She was afraid to be vulnerable because of his stupidity. For fucks sake she was probably scarred mentally from Aizen's torture and manipulation, and here he was treating her like her emotions were nothing. Even if he could not reciprocate her feelings, he had no right to isolate her and treat her so unprofessionally. She had just spent half a year with no one to talk to.

"Ok, Orihime." He placed his hand on her arm to guide her through the crowd but didn't miss the way she flinched at his touch.

Matsumoto couldn't believe she had slept through the whole drive and Gin had not woken her up. It was a good thing she had eaten a big breakfast, only now was she starting to feel that familiar pangs of hunger.

"Ya hungry Ran?" Gin asked looking over at her briefly before turning his attention back to the road.

"Famished," she replied honestly.

"You were sleeping so peacefully I didn't wanna wake ya. Next place I see we'll take a quick break." Truthfully, he didn't wake her because he wanted to have the time to himself to think. After calculating each plan of action and the consequences he decided he wasn't going to get involved with Nnoitra's plan after all. He would let Nnoitra take care of Aizen if that's what he wanted and he would go back to his simple retired life. There was no point in getting even more involved with everything, the clean-up would be horrendous and he didn't want his name anywhere near that situation.

"Is this fine?" Gin asked pulling up to noodle restaurant that had indoor and outdoor seating.

"This works but I doubt they would compare to yours." Matsumoto said with a frown. Gin was a master in the kitchen, whatever he made tasted like heaven on her lips.

"Ya being too kind to me Ran." Gin grinned giving her a quick kiss, "you wanna eat inside or on the patio?"

"Out here's fine."

"Ok Hun, I'll be right back. Find us a good spot." Gin got out of the car first and went into the semi-crowded restaurant. Matsumoto watched him as he grinned at the girl behind the counter and spoke easily with her.

After a few minutes of talking, he paid for their order then stepped aside to the pickup area. The girl walked over to him several times and they exchanged words, she giggled at him tucking her hair behind her ear as she spoke. Matsumoto frowned as she watched the conversation.

She had no reason to care if he flirted with other women. They weren't in a real relationship, in less than a day he would be out of her life anyways. Plus, he was a good-looking man, and he had needs that he had to satisfy. If what happened between them the first night they met was anything to go by he was ok with casual sex. He was probably counting the hours to be rid of her so he could go out and find someone to indulge in.

Her door swung open and Gin looked down at her curiously, "Ya ok Hun? The foods ready, I pick'd a table but we can sit whereva ya like." He extended his hand to her and helped her out of the car.

Matsumoto followed behind him again wondering why he wanted to keep up this charade. That was the matter she would never find the answer to. Why did he try so hard? "It smells delicious." She murmured taking a seat across from him.

"Yes, it does." Gin replied taking his seat, "I got you the tonkotsu ramen. I wasn't sure but I know how much you love pork belly."

"Thanks Gin, you spoil me." It was steaming hot and the pork melted in her mouth like butter it was so tender; It was delightful.

Gin ate in silence watching the pleasure on her face. He only had a few more days to experience theses little moments with her. Probably less since Orihime would be around he wouldn't be able to casually steal a kiss or touch her just because. He would have to show some restraint while they were in her presence.

"How's yours?" Matsumoto finally asked popping the other soft-boiled egg in her mouth.

"Apparently I chose incorrectly." Gin replied with a grin, his was good but he much rather watch her eat.

She giggled and picked up a piece of her pork belly to place on top of his beef bowl. "Poor baby, I'll let you taste what you are missing."

Before Matsumoto could drop the meat into his bowl, he blocked it with his own chopsticks, he opened his mouth and gave her a suggestive look. Matsumoto faltered momentarily her face suddenly feeling hot. Then boldly she leaned over and placed the meat in between his lips. The act felt so intimate it shook her to her core.

Gin held her blue eyes with his as he chewed the tender meat leisurely and then swallowed it. He licked his lips slowly a sensual smirk taking over them, "That was indeed delicious, but that's not what I'm missing."

Matsumoto swallowed hard; she didn't know what to say to that. The insinuation of his words was very clear. Why was he flirting so aggressively with her? Maybe he thought she owed him as much for what he had done for her? Isn't that how all this had started in the first place? But then again this didn't seem like that, this seemed like he genuinely was using his charm on her.

Gin kissed her then, nothing like his usual pecks that she had grown accustomed to. His lips took possession of hers and dominated them almost instantly. His tongue sought entrance and plundered her wet mouth, exploring and invading. Matsumoto complied unconsciously feeling herself give in to the pleasurable sensation of his tongue sensually stroking her own. A low moan escaped from her throat and unexpectedly Gin pulled away.

What the hell was he doing? "I'm sorry Hun, you're just so cute. I couldn't help myself. Let's finish eating and get goin." He shouldn't be kissing her like that under no circumstance. He had to keep himself under control and kissing her that passionately was not the way to do it. Especially if she was going to respond that way, like they were back in that honeymoon suite.

Matsumoto nodded still looking a bit dazed, she glanced down at her half full bowl of ramen. She ate the rest of the meat in silence, not daring to look over into his direction.

"I'm gonna get some to go, for ya sister and Ishida. Just in case they've not eaten yet." Gin said as he cleared his empty bowl from the table and went inside.

Matsumoto wasn't hungry anymore but she watched his interaction with a different counter girl. The ease of their conversation, the way the girl subtly and overtly tried to flirt with him. She didn't know if Gin just didn't notice of if he was pretending that he didn't know.

Why did she care? That kiss possibly meant nothing to him. He was probably just testing out his skills to see if he still had them. That's why he had never kissed her like that before, except for that night. He had not planned on ever seeing her again, and that would have been perfectly fine with him.

She was back in the car when he emerged from the restaurant with the two dinners. Gin placed them on the floor in the back seat, resting her bag against it for leverage. "We aren't that far away. We'll get there before six at the speed we're going. I Bet ya excited Hun."

More than he would ever know, after the preliminary niceties and Ishida taking his leave she and Orihime would disappear. "Yes, I'm so happy."

"I'm glad." Gin murmured clasping her hand in his as he took off down the street. "I'm happy you guys will be together again."

Orihime seemed to be more shaken than she had let on. Almost immediately she had fallen asleep as they had headed off. He wished he knew what to say to comfort her without giving her the wrong impression. He wanted her to understand that he would be there to help facilitate whatever she would need to start the healing process. Her case would be the first one that he would not just fill out the paperwork and be done with. He would make sure she and Rangiku were placed someplace they would not have to live in fear.

For now, they were not out of danger yet. Nemu was already safely back in the office so Aizen knew Orihime was gone. He would have no clue as to where she would be, but that's why he needed to go into the office for some reconnaissance. If Gin could keep them safe for a few days, he'd be able to find a permanent place for them.

Ishida sighed, adjusting his glasses on his nose. Orihime was in such a fragile state, a part of him didn't want to leave her with him. She would have Rangiku there but Gin was somebody foreign to her. He barely knew him himself. He only trusted him because he had volunteered to protect Rangiku in his absence and had kept his word. But what if he had some kind of nefarious plan that he would enact once the two were reunited?

He was a decent judge of character, but sometimes even the best gauges were off. He would keep a watchful eye on him, see how he interacted with Orihime to see if he could really place her in his care.

The twilling of his phone interrupted his dismal thoughts, "Ishida speaking." He answered briskly.

"We got here a bit earlier than expected. How far are ya guys?" speak of the devil.

"Actually, less than 10 minutes away." Ishida glanced at the GPS on the screen, "more like 5 minutes and you should be seeing our headlights."

"Ok see ya then." With that Gin hung up.

Ishida debated on waking Orihime now or when they arrived, he could already see the absolute joy that would light up her pretty face when they met again. A feeling of pride welled up inside of him, a job well done on his end. He had orchestrated and carried out a successful plan once again that had resulted in no casualties and all parties returned safely to their loved ones.

He would accept Orihime's admiration and appreciation with a warm smile, knowing he had done his job to the absolute best of his ability. He would be gracious and humble when Rangiku thanked and expressed her gratitude for keeping his word. Then he would have a talk in private with Gin.

As he pulled up to the secluded cabin, two tall figures stood huddled together against a sleek looking black car. Gin had his arms around Matsumoto as she rested her head against his chest while both watched the bend in trees for any sign of an approaching vehicle. A huge smile replaced the pensive look on her face as they neared.

Ishida put the car in park and turned to gently nudge Orihime to wake her. She shivered, stretched, and then blinked trying to focus her eyes. "We are here." He said calmly, reaching to unbuckle her seatbelt. "Rangiku is waiting for you."

For a moment, it was like she didn't comprehend what he had said, then she turned glancing outside then back at him. Without a word she sprung from the car not even shutting the door before she took the few steps to close the gap between her and Rangiku. They embraced tightly both women breaking down in tears.

Gin stepped aside to let them have their moment, going over to where Ishida stood watching the display with a preoccupied look on his face. "Ichimaru Gin." He said extending his hand.

Ishida shook it firmly, "Uryū Ishida. Thank you for all of your help."

"Not a problem, Rans an easy please. I'm sure her sisters gonna be the same." Their looks were strikingly similar in their coloring and build, like beauty was predominant in their genes. If Orihime's temperament was similar to Rans, it would be a piece of cake.

"Orihime has been through a lot. She might need time to adjust." Ishida responded plainly. Hopefully he would only be gone for a few days, and in that expanse of time the anxiety of everything would lessen.

"I don't think ya need t' worry about that." the two woman were still huddled together talking and laughing and smiling and crying. Gin watched with a tumultuous mixture of happiness and sorrow squeezing his heart. A part of him was ecstatic that her troubles were over, and she was finally truly happy. But the selfish part of him just wanted a little more time with her on their own. Just one more day of feeling her warmth in his arms or seeing her beautiful face next to his in the morning.

Seeing them together reminded him that he was no longer needed. He had just been a substitute for the affection and love she was missing from Orihime being taken away. There was no place in her life after this for him. "Need help?" he turned away from the upsetting scene to Ishida who was unpacking their belongings from the car.

"No, she doesn't have much. Did you do a sweep?"

"Yeah, when I got here. I did a perimeter check and swept through the house. I didn't see anything of concern." He had Matsumoto stay in the car while he did a once over of the surrounding area and the house. There were no signs of anyone being in the area in a long while.

"Good, thanks." Ishida walked off towards the house carrying Orihime's few personal belongings. He wondered what profession Gin held. To most people it would never occur to them to check their surroundings. There were still a lot of things that he did not know about him, but he was proving to be at least capable.

"So how long do ya think they plan on staying out there?" Gin chuckled following him inside.

"As long as we will allow it, I presume. They have not seen each other in more than six months. For just as long both thought the other party was dead. I think they deserve all the time they want."

Gin nodded and took a seat; the pretty colors belied the rigid fabric of the settee. "What time frame are we looking at? I'm sure Aizen knows Orihime is gone by now."

Ishida turned away from the window, "He knows, but for now she will be safe here. I will return to the office in the morning. I do not plan on leaving there until I'm through and I can return here."

Gin wondered momentarily if Ishida was doing all this because something was going on between him and Orihime. If she was anything like Rangiku, there was a high probability. It wouldn't be the first time a man worked extra hard for a beautiful woman. Or he could just be one of those guys that like to be thorough at their jobs. "I see. Well, I haven't any immediate plans so I'm fine with staying here a few days."

"What exactly do you do?" Ishida asked lightly, hoping the suspicion he felt wasn't conveyed in the tone of his voice. He was driving a respectably priced luxury vehicle, although he was dressed casually, he could tell his clothes were well made. There was never any mention of money having to be exchanged for his services, and he seemed to have all the free time in the world.

"I'm retired." Gin replied guardedly, "I made my money early and now have the opportunity to spend my time how I would like." He was wondering when that would come up. Ishida was an astute man, and he doubted that he actually trusted him. He was gauging how much faith he could put into him by the honesty of his answers.

Rangiku had been fine in his care, but he wanted to know with absolute confidence that Orihime would be safe with him. Now Gin was sure that their relationship was passed the boundaries of professionalism. He would reassure him that no harm would come to either woman as long as he was there. "I used to work private security, so ya don't have t' worry. If anything comes up, I'm prepared to handle it accordingly."

Ishida had suspected as much or maybe he was ex-military. He had an imperceptibly dangerous air about him that he hid behind his polite smile. There was only one other man that he had ever met that gave off the same impression that he did. "I do not expect there should be any problems that would arise, but it does put my mind at ease to know your background could come in handy."

Gin hoped he was right. Ishida probably hadn't known that less than 20 miles away resided Aizen's last main hand man. When all three of them, himself Nnoitra and Tosen, were still working diligently for Aizen they each were placed strategically across Japan so their hits could be completed as quickly as possible.

He still had access to his base in Nagasaki. He had been there once or twice over the past few years just to see if Aizen had changed anything. Everything was still exactly how he left it. Aizen must have believed at some point down the road he would come back to him.

Walking away from that life had been the best decision he had ever made. He was tired of pointlessly getting his hands dirty for a man who didn't know when enough was enough. No matter how much Aizen had, his greed grew to outmatch his wealth and he would want more. He just couldn't handle it anymore.

Gin glanced down at his watch, it was getting pretty late and soon the temperature would start dipping outside. That should have been an adequate amount of time alone for them to express all the joy and emotion of finally being reunited without feeling rushed by their presence. "I'm gonna go grab the girls," he said rising from his seat.

"Fine, I should be heading out as well." Ishida grabbed his car keys, mentally making a note to do a background check on Gin tomorrow when he got into the office.

"Fucking hell." Gin cursed as he walked outside, his car and the two women were gone.

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Nnoitra didn't know why he continued to do this to himself. He had thought once she was out of sight, he would be able to forget about her and focus on what he needed to do. It wasn't like he really gave a fuck about her. He just didn't want Aizen thinking he could use her against him. There was nothing that would ever force his hand, he was always in complete control of his actions.

He surveyed the bloody scene in front of him and frowned. Usually, a surge of pleasure would radiate through him at the sight of the carnage that he had afflicted to his unsuspecting victim. But as he washed his blade in the sink, he felt nothing. The twisted visage of his target's lover stared back at him wide and unblinking frozen in terror.

He glanced away disgusted. Why the fuck can't he get her out of his head? The horrified expression on her face that night haunted him. It turned his stomach and dredged up memories of the day he had discovered his parents' bodies. He had never wanted to feel that helpless in his life again. He never wanted to experience that kind of heartrending pain again.

When he realized what Aizen was planning, his anger had run hot. He had been loyal to him for most of his life, doing his bidding assiduously without question. It had served his new purpose of inflicting as much pain as he had endured very well. He always provided the results the Aizen required, so why would he go after the one thing that belonged to him? He just couldn't understand why he would want to take her away from him? Out of all of them he was always willing to do the dirtiest jobs, he never said no. So why the fuck did Aizen want to hurt him?

Nnoitra could not figure out what triggered him, but now he didn't care. He had taken it too far by dragging her into it. For Tosen to have known where she lived, and when she was most vulnerable it meant that he had been planning it out for a while. No matter if he had acquiesced and gone with him that night, she would have ended up dead. He would have used her to prove a point. Nothing truly belonged to him, Aizen controlled everything.

He would prove him wrong.

This was a far cry from the big house that she and her father had occupied. He wondered why she chose something so simple when she was used to such luxury. At least, she had privacy and the perimeter of the neighbors' homes were well marked. Urahara had done a decent job of placing her someplace safe for the time he would need.

Her windows were not locked, but her doors were bolted. Did she not learn her damn lesson? She couldn't keep living in her rose-colored existence anymore. He thought the experience with Tosen might have taught her that. Maybe he was giving her too much credit to learn from her past mistakes.

He easily slipped inside one of the open windows and glanced around the bare room. He could hear faint laughter coming from the next room. Silently he opened the door and slipped out into the dark hallway. He could see the hint of her figure curled up on the sofa, one arm hanging haphazardly off the side.

Nel was passed out on the sofa, the television was on and the sound of raucous laughter greeted him as he walked fully into the room. For a moment he just stood there taking her in. The sleep shirt she wore barely skimmed her pale thighs, one of the straps had slipped off her shoulder exposing the creaminess of her full breasts.

Why the fuck had he come there? Why was he torturing himself? He had known just seeing her wouldn't be enough. He had thought if he took more jobs, the pleasure of killing would replace his need to have her. But nothing gave him any sort of satisfaction anymore. He just wanted to slip that scant piece of fabric aside and bury his cock deep inside of her. He wanted to drown himself in her sweetness and feel the pain of her nails digging into his shoulders.

Why couldn't he forget about her? There was nothing special about her, she was vapid and emotional, the only thing she was good for was fucking. So why did just seeing her make him feel rejuvenated? The absolute clarity of what he wanted and why he wanted it. He would never be able to understand this power that she held over him.

He switched off the tv wondering if he should just leave her splayed out there on the couch. He decided to put her to bed, just for the opportunity to touch her. Her weight in his arms felt familiar and he wanted to just hold her like that for just a little longer. He couldn't have her the way he needed, at least not yet. He needed to stop wasting time waiting for Ichimaru to come around. He would finish Tosen and then deal with Aizen.

Nel stirred in his arms and he stilled, she drew closer to his warmth and rubbed her cheek against his chest. Her lips were tempting him, he had never given thought to kissing her before. It was always in the heat of the moment when the pleasure of being in her was too much and he didn't want to call out her name. But looking at them now, he felt the need to devour them, to taste their sweetness and force his tongue inside them.

Nnoitra glanced away, his cock was already rock hard he could hear the thundering in his ears as the blood rushed south. He had to stop right now, he had to leave. As carefully as he could, he carried her towards the open door of the bedroom. It was just as meagerly furnished as the rest of the house. Bending slightly, he pulled back the covers, then gently laid her on the bed. She curled up beneath the covers and sighed faintly, "mm… Nnoitra…"

He stilled, looking for any further movement from her. He wondered how she would feel to see him there. After the vicious way things ended between them, he was surprised that she would call out for him. He told her the truth to make her see passed the idealized version of him that she cared for. He didn't really care if she had the same feelings for him anymore. It would be better if she hated him. Then there wouldn't be any emotions involved when he fucked her.

Nnoitra turned away from her and exited through the window in which he had climbed in earlier. This was the last time he would see her with Aizen still breathing. She was as safe as she could be out here, a whimpering woman was the last thing he needed to worry about while trying to handle his business.

Nnoitra paused, clearing his mind, and listening to the quiet of the night air. Maybe he was wrong about this place. Turning to his right he locked eyes with a blonde-haired man who had tried to stay hidden against one of the large trees that lined the street.

A smirk came to the man's lips as he took a step forward, "Haven't seen you around here before."

Nnoitra assessed him quickly, he didn't like the fact that he was lurking so close to where Nelliel lived. The two homes that flanked hers had been occupied when he had checked them earlier by sleeping families. He didn't belong around here.

"Are you the fucking neighborhood watch?" Nnoitra asked, by all outward appearances he looked harmless. He was just plain enough to blend into any crowd and be forgettable, that didn't sit well with him.

"You could say that." his head tilted casually in the direction of Nelliel's place.

Maybe he was sent by Urahara to keep an extra eye on her? They hadn't discussed anything like that so he would not make any assumptions. He'd find out for himself and then add this asshole to his list of problems to deal with if he was trying to make a move on what was his. "Stay the fuck away from her."

The man shook his head slightly, "I can't do that, but its none of your business either way."

The smug way he was talking was pissing Nnoitra off. Would it be too much to gut him and string him from the tree as a warning to anyone else that might get any like-minded ideas? He was sure the unwanted attention wouldn't be good for her, but it would make him feel euphoric.

Suddenly Nnoitra grabbed him by the shirt with one hand, and with the other held his jagged blade against his throat. "Don't fuck with me. I don't care what business you think you have with her, stay away." He pressed the razor-sharp blade just slightly against his skin, until a trickle of red blood appeared. "Understand asshole?"

The man swallowed his face in a tight grimace of pain, "yes." He managed to get out the single word causing the blade to puncture his skin again.

Nnoitra released him and he stumbled to the ground. He was only being lenient just in case Urahara corroborated his theory and he was there to protect her. Otherwise, he would return to finish the job. He gave him one last deathly glare before he turned and walked away.

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A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it!