Hello my darlings!

I am sorry this is taking so long. I am trying my hardest to complete this story. I promise!

Thank you all again for your patience. Thank you for all the lovely comments. Thank for sticking with me!

Thank you!

Chapter 21

'What the hell are you doing here, Kisuke?'

His captain was the last person Ichigo imagined would walk through that door.

'Gun down, Ichigo,' he repeated, his relaxed expression playing on Ichigo's nerves.

'No,' he said; his eyes returning to the woman.

'Ichigo-' Kisuke started, but the woman put her hand out, silencing him.

'Why are you here?' she asked, one eyebrow raised.

Ichigo's temper flared. This woman had the utter gall to question him when he was the one with a gun his hands; when he was the only one who had any right to be here.

'We think Rukia's been taken,' Kisuke said. The woman shot him an annoyed look, but Kisuke carried on. 'We have been giving her some…assignments…to do. And we think it has something to do with her disappearance'

Taken.

Disappearance.

'Put the gun down,' Kisuke told him again.

Logically, Ichigo knew he really had no choice. It wasn't like he could actually shoot the woman, anyhow. Slowly, he set his gun back in its holster. With his hands now free, his anxiety worsened. He balled his hands into fist, digging his nails into his skin.

Taken.

Disappearance.

Over and over those words thudded in his head.

'Right then,' Kisuke spoke again while Ichigo and the woman stared each other down. 'This is Yoruichi Shihion. Ichigo Kurosaki.'

'Kurosaki? Isshin and Masaki's boy?'

This woman even knew his parents. Who the fuck was she?

'One of you better tell me what's going on,' Ichigo demanded, his paper-thin patience quickly disintegrating.

'There is nothing you need to know. Come Kisuke, let's go.' The woman grabbed Kisuke's arm, forcing him around.

'No,' Ichigo blocked their way. 'Kisuke said you had something to discuss. And it clearly involves my girlfriend. So, discussed it. Now!'

'Your girlfriend? Who? Rukia?' Kisuke asked, his brows vanishing into his bangs.

'Yes. Now she is apparently missing. And you two to know something about it.'

'How much do you know about her?' the woman asked. He didn't like her one single bit.

'A lot,' was all he said, crossing his arms over his chest so that he wouldn't point his gun at her again.

She smirked, 'But not everything right.'

This woman was a fool to test him right now.

'Where is she?' Ichigo demanded through gritted teeth.

'We think Aizen has her,' Kisuke spoke again.

Ichigo's whole world crumbled at the mention of that name; his anger giving way to pure terror. It was cruel act of fate that the man who took his mother's life would take the life of the next woman he loved.

Kisuke and the Shihoin woman were talking, but he couldn't hear them. It was as if there was an ocean in his ears and gravel in his chest.

Rukia was looking for Aizen?

'Yes,' someone's voice broke through his haze as he had apparently spoken out loud.

All this time, she was looking for the one man he hated most in the world. He should have asked her. He had countless opportunities-but he was too fucking cowardly.

And now she was gone.

He remembered Rukia asking about his time in Hueco Mundo and why he had taken the assignment. But he had brushed her off, preferring not to dull their happy moment with his tragic story.

'Another day. I'll tell you another day,' he had said, and then carried her to his bed.

Ichigo fell to his knees, his breath coming in short, painful gasps.

'Kisuke he's having a panic attack!'

And then everything went dark.

When Ichigo came to, he was lying on Rukia's couch. He heard sounds from the kitchen, the faucet opening; a drawer closing.

Was that Rukia? Had he dreamt the whole thing?

Ichigo sat up to find Kisuke walking toward him with a glass of water.

Real. It was all real.

'How long have you and Rukia been seeing each other?' Kisuke asked, handing him the glass.

'A few months,' he said after he chugged the entire glass.

He couldn't believe he had passed out. His girlfriend was missing and the first thing he did was lose consciousness. How pathetic.

'Where's that woman?'

'Yoruichi? She thought it was best if she left.'

Ichigo couldn't argue there.

'How does she know Rukia?'

'She doesn't really. She just-.'

Anger took hold of Ichigo again.

'Kisuke, you better tell me everything! Or so help me-'

Kisuke looked at Ichigo and with a pained sigh, he spoke.

'Do you remember Kaien Shiba? He was shot and killed on duty.'

Ichigo did remember; he even attended the funeral with Kisuke and few of the other detectives who knew Detective Shiba.

'Well, he was Rukia's partner in South Rukongai.'

'Wait, why didn't I see her at the funeral?' He was sure he would have remembered her if she were there.

'She was still in the hospital. She was shot too- almost didn't make it.'

That scar on her back…

Kisuke continued, 'When she recovered, she immediately started looking for the killer. All she had to go on was that shooter wore a white mask with a long thin nose.'

Yoruichi and I were looking for men with white masks too…for our own reasons. We had some information. We knew that the white masks and the Hollows were connected somehow.

Yoruichi went to Rukongai and heard what had happened to Rukia and what she was trying do. She called me immediately and we put a plan in place.'

The more Kisuke spoke the angrier Ichigo became; and the less he respected his captain.

'We made sure that Rukia received word that the white masks had been sighted here in Karakura. Then, I offered her a position at our station, and she accepted. After she settled here and solved a few cases, Yoruichi reached out as a C.I, sending her Hollow locations. Rukia would then use them to find the white masks.'

'Menos, they were called. And, thanks to her, we found out that they all work under Aizen. We were trying to find him, but Rukia had stopped replying to Yoruichi. And now we know why-'

Ichigo grabbed Kisuke by the collar, rage burning in his veins.

'You put her life in danger! Why couldn't you or that woman just find him yourself? Why risk some else's life!'

'Ichigo. I know-

'You don't know anything!' Ichigo released Kisuke and he tumbled onto the coffee table. 'We need to find her. Now!'

'Yoruichi is working on it,' Kisuke said, dusting himself off.

'She better be. It's her fault that Rukia was taken in the first place.'

Ichigo then got his phone out dialled Rangiku. He couldn't do this alone, and he certainly wouldn't do it with the two people who put Rukia life in danger.

'Ichigo?' She picked up on the first ring. 'Did you hear from Rukia?'

'She's been taken by Aizen. I need you to get Chad and Uryu and meet at Rukia's apartment as soon as possible.'

'Fuck. Okay, we're on our way.'

In the meantime, he needed to find some clues. Leaving Kisuke to his own devices, he questioned her neighbours-but no one had seen anything. Then he searched Rukia's car and only found some hair ties and her red lipstick. Back in her apartment, he found Kisuke sitting on the couch, talking to someone on the phone. Ichigo heard Rukia's name, but still he ignored the man and went to the bedroom.

He checked the side tables, underneath the pillows, underneath her bed-but nothing-not even her phone. He decided to check her closet. He had never ventured into her closet before, even though he basically lived here half the time.

She had all her work clothes hung up neatly on one side; and on the other side hung all of her dress. This has been a big surprise to Ichigo-Rukia's collection of dresses; he lightly touched his favourite ones. At the end of the line of dresses, hung the t-shirt and hoodie that he had lent her.

He'd actually forgotten about them, yet here they hung among her lovely dresses. Tears blurred his vision now. What if he couldn't save her? What if he never saw her again?

Something clattered to the floor, snapping him out of his despair. He rubbed at his eyes, and picked up an old phone. He moved her dresses aside-it looked like it had been taped to the back of her closet.

When Ichigo heard the front door open and Rangiku calling his name, he dried his tears and took a deep, steady breath.

They would find her. His friends were some of the best detectives he knew. If anyone could find her, it would them.

With the phone in his pocket, he walked out to the living room, and was met with a fist to his jaw. Pain bloomed all through the left side of his face.

'You bastard! How could you let this happen?'

Renji.

He was about to go in for another punch, but Chad held him back, easily containing him.

'Jesus Christ, Renji. It wasn't his fault. What the fuck?' Rangiku came between them. 'Shit, Ichigo you okay?'

'I'm fine. We have work to do. Kisuke, tell them what you told me.'

Hearing it again, his anger resurfaced. He had to grit his teeth and sit on his hands so that he wouldn't punch his captain the way Renji clocked him.

'I have a question,' Uryu said, pushing his glasses up. 'Why are you the first to find this out?'

'Rukia and I-' he started but was interrupted by Rangiku.

'They dating! As in they're together!'

The silence that followed would have been comical if Rukia was beside him.

Renji, who was still seething, woke up from his seat on the couch and left, slamming the door behind him.

Rangiku tutted, and shook her head disapprovingly.

'Now isn't the time. I found this in her closet.' Ichigo placed the phone on the coffee table they were all gathered around.

'This is one of the burner phones Yoruichi gave to Rukia. She would send locations and coded instructions.'

'Then the only lead we have is Hueco Mundo,' Ichigo said, frustrated that his one clue turned to nothing so quickly.

'Aizen left that place, Ichigo. That's why you were called back,' Kisuke reminded him.

'Yeah, but someone there could know something. And your precious Yoruichi hasn't returned with anything, so this is only plan we have right now.'

His friends nodded in agreement.

'Fine,' Kisuke conceded. 'But remember this stays off the books until I say so. There's a reason we didn't do this through the department.'

'What reason could there be to use someone like that?' Rangiku asked, looking as angry as Ichigo felt.

Kisuke hesitated, clearly uncustomed to his detectives being anything but nice to him. 'We believe that the department, both here and in Rukongai, have been accepting bribes from Aizen's organization.'

Rangiku huffed. 'You could have just told her the truth.'

'I could have,' Kisuke agreed solemnly.

'But you didn't want to implicate yourself in the event anything went sideways, right?' Uryu guessed, his judgement obvious in his tone.

Kisuke didn't respond. He just hung his head and sighed.

Ichigo left the apartment then. If he stayed any longer, he was sure that he was going to beat his captain to death. The evening breeze did little to calm him.

'Hey,' Rangiku said, joining outside after a while. 'I asked Ikkaku and Yumichika to bring vests and equipment. We should be able to leave in an hour.'

'Thank you, Rangiku.'

'I want to find her just as much as you do.' She put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

'I know.'

'Did she tell you about the first day we met?'

'Yeah. She thought you were being harassed by some guy. But you were just undercover.'

Rangiku smiled fondly. 'Even so, it was the first time in my life some had come to my defence. And it was this tiny, rage-filled human squaring up to a man twice her size. I can't believe I didn't notice a single clue that my closest friend had this perilous double life. I'm a terrible detective and an even worse friend.'

Ichigo looked at Rangiku and saw tears dripping down her cheeks.

'I knew she was up to something. Knew it this whole time, but I was too scared to ask.' Saying those words aloud made him feel even worse. 'I promised I would protect her. And now-'

His stopped speaking when a car parked next to Rukia's and out jumped Ikkaku and Yumichika, each carrying boxes.

Once inside, Ichigo went over their plan once more, briefing them on the dangers of Hueco Mundo, while they donned their vests and firearms.

'Let's go get our girl,' Yumichika said, strapping one more gun to his thigh.

'Ichigo's girl,' Chad countered, as they filed out of her apartment.

'Huh?'

'Ichigo and Rukia are together,' Uryu clarified, straightening his glasses.

'Together? Like a couple?' Ikkaku asked, his eyebrows arching upward as he and Yumichika turned to face Ichigo.

Ichigo could only nod.

Yumichika smiled. 'Well, then, let's go get Ichigo's girl.'