CHAPTER 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach…

Oh, shit, she lives…

Onward…

And if it hurts don't let it show

(Step by step I'll keep it up, I won't slow I gotta go)

While the seasons come and go

(Every shadow step I take, I'll make sure that I won't break)

Shadow chiaroscuro

(While the years they come and go, I won't let myself get slow)

When I, when I fall down, fall down

Then I know to keep on running

Oh, when I fall down, fall down

Won't you come to keep me running?

Yeah, I keep on running

Well, I keep on running

-Foals-

XOXOXO

Ichigo stared off into the distance as he sat in his favorite spot at the park. The sun was going down, turning the sky a hazy reddish-orange. He rolled an unlit cigarette between his teeth as he glanced down at his arms. The track marks were beginning to heal and fade a little, which was an incredible relief. He was getting tired of wearing long-sleeved shirts everywhere just to avoid the looks and inevitable questions. He gained a lot of his old weight back, his appetite voracious now that he wasn't using anymore. He also took up smoking as a way to curb the urges that came and went. They were getting less frequent, but the fact that they were still there pissed him off. He hated feeling like a fucking junkie.

Three months had crept by like a slug, everyday stressing Ichigo to hell. The first month had been the hardest. He would still wake in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, heart racing and mouth like cotton. Then, there were the days where the urge to use had been so strong it left him bereft in bed, shaking and crying. Sometimes vomiting. If it wasn't for his brother who refused to leave him alone, Ichigo would have probably done something he regretted. His old man tried to help, had even suggested taking Ichigo to Narcotics Anonymous meetings, but Ichigo hadn't thought he was ready for that at the time. He didn't want to be one of those guys who showed up a few occasions, just to fall off the wagon and end up raising questions. It was an uphill battle making it from day to day. He worried so much that the stupid urge to use would consume him and drive him back into darkness, where nothing mattered but his high. The thought alone terrified the shit out of him.

He was clinging to sanity by a thread. And then there were the days that really tested his merit and willpower. Whenever Grimmjow crossed his mind, Ichigo went back to the haunting days he spent in the hospital. Back to the night he swore he had a visit from his dead lover. It was excruciating, the pain. Even when he willed himself not to, he would still end up in tears. How had his life gone from crazy and cool to downright miserable in the space of just a few months? It was fucked up. Recalling the blue eyes and warm scent of his love made his eyes sting with unshed tears and simultaneously pissed him off. He missed Grimmjow so much, but he was really getting tired of crying. Suddenly, his cell phone buzzed from his jeans pocket.

"Yeah?" he answered after glancing at the screen.

"You OK? It's gettin' dark."

Ichigo grinned to himself at the concern in his twin's voice. Shiro had been a godsend over the last few months, and Ichigo couldn't blame him for worrying.

"Yeah, I'm at the park. Just doing some thinking."

"Oh. Well, I ordered Chinese. Ya hungry?"

Ichigo didn't realize until he heard the word "Chinese" just how famished he was. Over the gurgling of his stomach, he nodded. "Yeah, I'm starving. I'll be home in a few. Ya need me to pick up anything while I'm out?"

"Nah, I'm OK. Jus'…get home safely, King, OK?"

"Yep, will do."

Ichigo ended the call and sighed. He took his time lighting the cigarette he'd removed from his mouth before talking to his brother. While he appreciated all the love and support from Shiro, Ichigo was still embarrassed, no, humiliated that he had to be taken care of because of a drug addiction he never asked for. All of this because of a weird grudge some Blood asshole held against…. Ichigo inhaled deeply and squeezed his eyes shut. He wished the time would come where he could maybe think about Grimmjow without feeling a crippling amount of heartbreak, but now wasn't it.

After savoring the rest of his smoke, he climbed to his feet, gave a long, lazy stretch, and started the trek back to his car. When he reached the vehicle, he hopped inside and cranked the engine, a low rumble vibrating through him as he waited for his sound system to come online. Once it did, he threw on an old Jay-Z tune called "Who You Wit 2" and began the journey home. He decided to give the NA meetings a try. The old goat had been persistent about their benefits, and he claimed he even had a sponsor in mind for Ichigo. With a sigh, Ichigo nodded to the beat and floated through the quiet streets.

XOXOXO

Gin cracked a grin as he watched the short, dark-haired woman named Tatsuki kicking the shit out of a mouthy Blood. The girl had been stubborn at first about the whereabouts of her superiors, but now she was singing like a bird. Blood trickled from the girl's nose as Tatsuki yanked her head back by the roots of her bleached-blonde hair. Blood also stained her teeth as she grimaced in pain and tried to catch her breath.

"P-Please! I told you what you wanted to know!" she yelped as Tatsuki pulled harder on her hair.

"It's funny that you think she cares."

Gin's head turned to the green-haired woman who ran with Tatsuki. She was gorgeous and seemed like a bit of an airhead until she showed her true colors. Then she was a beast.

Tatsuki chuckled in response to her teammate's statement. "Right. I don't give a shit about that, to be honest."

The girl whimpered, muddy-brown eyes widening with understanding. "Y-you said you would let me go if I told you what you wanted to know!"

"I lied," Tatsuki said with a shrug. "Not the first time."

Gin whistled with admiration and looked over at his twin. Genevieve was smirking as she too took in the scene. Before Gin could make a slick remark, his cell phone buzzed from his pocket. With a slight frown, he turned his back to the action and walked a few feet away as he glanced down at the screen. Frown deepening at the unfamiliar number, he answered the call.

"Who is this?" he asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Sado."

Gin chuckled through his smirk as relief poured over him. There were very few people who had access to his direct phone number, so unknowns were rare.

"What's up, big guy? Everythin' alright?"

"No. There's trouble."

Gin's relief evaporated and his scowl returned. "What happened?" He didn't realize the seriousness of his tone had attracted his sister's attention.

"Retsu is missing."

Gin swallowed. He rubbed the space between his eyebrows and squeezed his eyes shut even as his heart sank to his feet. "Foul play?"

"Mmm," Sado hummed his agreement. "I saw blood by her car."

"Fuck. I'm on it."

"Keep me posted."

The line went dead, and Gin shoved the device back into his pocket. This was bad in so many ways. Gin wondered if The Man knew that one of his most trusted companions had been kidnapped and most likely hurt in the process. Had Sado briefed him already? Probably. Gin turned back to share the news with his sister and pulled up short. She was standing right in front of him, clearly anxious. Her brows were raised, and her eyes were open, the line of her jaw grim.

"What's goin' on, bro?"

Gin sighed. "Retsu's missin'."

Genevieve pressed her lips together as her face paled. "Foul play?"

They were much too alike. Gin nodded. "Unfortunately. We gotta take care of this ourselves. The girls gotta deal with the Bloods on their own."

"Yeah, I was just thinkin' that too. Fuck. If they hurt Miss Retsu, I swear ta-"

"I know. I feel the same way."

Gin marched over to the women, absently noting the unmoving body of their captive. Tatsuki was back on her feet, wiping a bloody knife with a yellow bandana. She had been smiling until she registered Gin's solemn expression.

"Everything cool?" she asked.

Gin smirked to hide the anger brewing within him. "Just got some business ta handle. Think you can finish up the Blood business we gave ya?"

Tatsuki snorted, clearly offended by the question. Before she could make the smart remark she had ready, Gin interrupted.

"Good. We'll leave ya to it. Keep me posted, ne?"

Tatsuki nodded and watched as Gin and Genevieve made their way to Gin's car. He needed to get back to the scene of the abduction and maybe gather a few clues before he decided where they would start looking for the older lady. He couldn't believe someone would be so dumb.

Hang on, Miss Retsu. We're coming.

XOXOXO

The chime over the shop door tinkled, and Urahara glanced up from the book he was reading with a smile ready.

"Welcome!"

Jinta trudged into the spacious yet cluttered room, frown permanently etched into his brow. Urahara had no words to say to his son other than what he'd already told him. Even those few comforting phrases felt hollow and useless. He watched as the red head barely looked at him before hanging a right up the stairs.

Sighing, Urahara muttered, "Hello to you too, son."

Honestly, he couldn't blame him. Urahara went back to his book, but not even ten seconds later, the chime tinkled again. With another smile ready, Urahara turned back to the door. However, the smile he had prepared for his new guest faded from his face like the ending scene of a movie. His visitor was tall and stacked in a very familiar way. He wore a navy-blue hoodie, light-blue jeans, navy-blue Converse Chuck Taylors, and a pair of very conspicuous, dark Aviator shades. His ink-black hair was untamed and wind-blown, and a half-smoked, unlit cigarette hung from the corner of his mouth.

Urahara swallowed thickly as the man sauntered over to where he was seated at the register. Once there, the man leaned against the counter, casually tilted his head to the side and grinned. A sharp canine peeked out at Urahara as the man removed the cigarette and said, "Long time no see, chismoso."

His voice was a hauntingly deep baritone that made the hairs along Urahara's arms stand at attention. Was he dreaming? Had he fallen asleep at the register again? Perhaps he'd only imagined his son traipsing into their home without a greeting. Yes. That was the only thing that made sense. Otherwise, Urahara was staring at a man who was supposed to be a ghost.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, but his voice came out as a croak that startled even him.

The man chuckled, the sound low and nostalgic. "It's time."

All Urahara could do was stare. Finally, the man's words registered and caused a frown to spring across Urahara's face. "I thought-"

The man cut him off as he faced the entrance to the store, jaw tightening with tension. "Yeah, well, I've let this farce go on long enough, no?"

Urahara's mouth moved as he tried to find the proper words. All he managed was a shrug.

"Call Kensei for me, will ya? And Jav. Tell 'em to meet me at the old headquarters."

Urahara sighed and nodded. He knew exactly what the resurfacing of this man meant, and none of it was good. It was the reason he'd retired in the first place. They had played a dangerous game in their youth, and the return had not been pretty. However, he also knew in the back of his mind that with all of the mess happening in the streets, it was only a matter of time before this man decided to take matters into his own hands and reclaim the title he once owned years ago.

"You sure about this?"

The man turned back to him, and even behind the darkness of the shades, Urahara could feel the icy blue stare. Urahara held up his hands in a placating gesture.

"You're right, you're right. What time should I tell them?"

"Make it 11. PM, not AM."

"Still not a morning person, eh?"

"Nope. Never will be either."

Urahara chuckled. "Got it. It's, uh…it's good to see you again, man."

The man nodded slowly, reached across the counter and ruffled Urahara's already messy blond hair. "You too, chismoso. You too."

XOXOXO

"Tell me again why I shouldn't bury your head in the ground?"

Shinji cackled and slammed down a king of spades. It matched the king of hearts in his other hand. "Because I ain't cheatin'; I'm jus' lucky. An' you suck at Pitty-Pat."

"Whatever," Grimmjow grumbled as he tossed his remaining cards onto the kitchen table.

It was eerily quiet, but that was expected. Retsu wasn't around to hook up a meal (which in itself was odd), and Javier wasn't home either. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more it made the hairs on the back of his neck stiffen. Javier's silent giant of a kid wasn't even lurking in the hallways. Grimmjow scowled and looked around the large room. There didn't seem to be anything out of place, but that didn't mean something hadn't occurred.

"Yo. Does somethin' feel off ta you?" he mumbled, not taking his eyes off the glass doors that led to the patio.

He heard Shinji's sigh before the blond said, "I didn' wanna say nothin' and seem like I was jus' bein' a paranoid piece a'shit, but it's way too quiet. I mean, the Frost Giant ain't even here."

Seeing that Shinji confirmed his thoughts, Grimmjow slowly rose from his seat and moved over to the patio doors. The pool lights caused the clear blue of the water to dance under the moon, but outside of the beauty of the décor and the night itself, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Still, there was a tension in the air that didn't sit well with Grimmjow.

"I dunno. I can't put muh finger on it, but somethin' ain't right."

Shinji's footsteps were quiet as he padded over to where Grimmjow stood. "Whaddya think it might be, though? We woulda heard a buncha noise if somethin' went down."

Before Grimmjow could respond, a loud booming shattered the eerie quiet. He exchanged confused yet adrenaline-filled glances with his best friend before they both hurried to the origin of the sound. As they entered the hall that led to the front door, the noise that must have been someone trying to gain entrance by any means necessary, suddenly stopped, a haunting silence descending like a theater curtain.

"What the fuck?" Shinji muttered as they both paused in their tracks and stared at the looming front door. "Whaddya think that was?"

Grimmjow snorted. "More like who."

A teensy amount of fear prickled at the base of his neck, but he pushed it down and stormed to the door. He was anxious and annoyed at whoever had been foolish enough to cause such a disturbance. And of all the places they could have chosen, they landed on this one. Grimmjow couldn't believe the nerves of steel. The sound of tires burning rubber sent him running to the door, where he tore it open. A big, black Suburban was speeding away, but Grimmjow couldn't see the driver. All the windows were tinted, and the truck didn't even have a license plate.

"I'll be damned."

Grimmjow turned back to his friend after hearing his awed statement. The truck was a lost cause. There was no way they would be able to catch up to it at this rate, and there was no way they could track it since the license plate was missing. It wasn't like they could get the VIN number.

And that was when he saw what caused Shinji to wear a smirk the size of a small country. Hog tied and bloody, Tousen stared up at them from the bottom of the stairs. He was gagged with a navy-blue bandanna, his eyes wide like a ghost had just French-kissed him. The more Grimmjow observed, the more he realized that Tousen was focused solely on him.

Guess the black hair wasn't working.

The corner of Grimmjow's mouth formed a sideways smirk as he sauntered down to Tousen's level. Keeping eye contact with the man who had nearly killed him and his love, he reached over and tugged the bandanna out of the Blood's mouth.

"It must be my fuckin' birthday or somethin'," he absently mumbled. Tousen didn't respond. "I mean, I wasn't quite ready ta come for ya yet, but I ain't complainin', either."

Shinji crouched beside him with a matching shark grin, eyes flinty. "I'm thinkin' whoever was drivin' that truck is takin' cues from Santa."

Grimmjow tilted his head, his attention completely rooted on the man bound beneath him. He had spent the last few days gently smoking Tousen out of his hiding holes, and even though he was making progress, the process was taking longer than he liked. And now, here was the Blood, gift-wrapped and hand delivered. It honestly couldn't get any better than that.

With a wistful sigh and an excited chuckle, Grimmjow said, "I'm gonna have so much fun with you, Tousen. You just have no idea."

XOXOXO

Javier stared at Sosuke, poker face in place. This was a long story, but he needed to hear it. He needed to understand how the reserved, studious young man of their youth turned into a gangster. He needed to understand how Sosuke had gone from fawning over Javier's best friend and partner in crime to killing him in front of his family.

Before he could open his mouth to urge the brunet on in his storytelling, one of Javier's guards approached. The hulking man's face was normally blank as a fresh sheet of notebook paper, but now there was visible tension at the corner of his mouth that unsettled Javier. The guard sidled up to him, bent over to his ear and spoke quietly. Startled, Javier jerked away to get a better look at the man.

"What?" he snapped.

The guard didn't respond verbally. Instead, his dark eyes shot over to Sosuke, reminding Javier of his company. Taking a deep breath, Javier forced himself to remember his manners.

"Apologies, Sosuke. I must attend to an urgent matter. You understand, yes?"

Sosuke arched a fine brown brow and nodded. His surprise was clear for a fraction of a second before he schooled his features back into careless regard. Javier, on the other hand, slowly rose and straightened his shirt and pants. He followed the guard to the door of the warehouse, where he paused to be sure the other guards were keeping Sosuke in place. Satisfied, he stepped into the cool evening air, barely waiting for the door to shut before turning on the guard.

"What do you mean Retsu is missing? Explain."

"Sado has put the twins on the trail. He claims when he arrived at the mansion all was quiet. Too quiet. When he walked the grounds, he noticed…"

Javier was already listening intently, a deep sense of dread settling over him, but when the guard paused, it felt like a 1,000-pound stone plummeted through his guts.

"What?" he growled. "Noticed what?"

"Retsu's car was still parked on the property, but there was blood…near the door of the vehicle. They looked like drag marks."

Javier took a slow, shaky breath. He wouldn't tolerate harm coming to Retsu. She had been nothing short of kind to him. In fact, she was practically a godsend during a time where Javier didn't even think his sanity would recover.

"I need to talk to Gin. Go back inside. Make sure Sosuke doesn't get any clever ideas."

The guard nodded and disappeared behind the heavy metal warehouse door.

Javier was baffled. Who would dare? Just who the fuck would dare?

Before his mind had time to wrap itself around the shocking news, his cell phone buzzed from his pocket. Maybe it was Gin calling to update him on the situation. When he glanced down at the readout, a frown etched its way across his brows.

"Now is not the best time, Kisuke," he groused as he answered the call.

"Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of being choosy."

Javier's frown deepened as he registered the solemn tone in his friend's normally gleeful voice. What else could possibly go wrong?

"Explain."

Kisuke gave a nervous chuckle, and Javier could clearly see the blond rubbing the back of his neck like he used to in high school. "We've been summoned."

Javier rolled his eyes. There wasn't a man alive who could "summon" him anywhere. "What on Earth are you talking about? Summoned by who?"

"I'm not allowed to say. I'm only supposed to deliver the message, so please don't kill the messenger."

"What game is this? I have important things to attend to, Kisuke. I don't have time-"

"I'm aware. This takes precedence, however. We're meeting at the old HQ. 11 PM."

Old HQ? The old HQ?

"Kisuke, what-"

Again, the blond cut him off, but this time with the beeping of an abruptly ended call. Javier pulled his cell away from his ear and stared at it like it was trying to lick him. He hadn't been this offended in a very long time. He also had no idea what was going on. The new developments had him shaken and confused.

Unacceptable.

Javier checked his watch and sighed. It was a little after 8 PM. He had a couple of hours before he had to be at the designated meeting place. He was only allowing himself to be dictated to due to his overwhelming curiosity and affront. He scrolled down his contact list and pulled up Gin's number. First, he had a few things to straighten out before they spiraled even further out of control.