When It Counts (2/3)
Back down the street in the parking lot where they had left the car, Renji attempted to get Ichigo to lean against the passenger door. “Stand up for a sec.” It didn’t do much good, and Renji had to keep an arm around him as he fumbled with the keys to unlock the door. Reaching in to knock a couple of soda cans onto the floor, he was at least able to get Ichigo to fall in the right direction.
After he’d gotten himself into the driver’s seat, the first thing Renji did was to rummage through the mess in the back of the car to find his own box of cheap cigarettes and an old Bic lighter. He lit up eagerly, letting the smoke from his exhalation curl lazily into the car. He didn’t bother aiming for the open window; he really only did that when Ichigo was around because he complained so much about it, and well, Ichigo wasn’t entirely there right now. For some reason though, the usual sense of calm didn’t come over him right away, and he found his eyes drifting uneasily to his partner. He looked absolutely pathetic; Renji felt an urge to connect with him somehow, even if he was way too out of it to listen.
“So… just our luck, right, the guy’s not only cheating on his wife but he’s involved in some kind of drug shit, too.”
“He wasn’t cheating.” Renji was so startled that Ichigo actually answered him, it sent him into a coughing fit, and he immediately started fanning the smoke out of the car.
“What? Come on, Ichigo, he was at a gay club with a table full of guys. That little blond one was practically wrapped around his finger.”
“They were probably just there to talk somewhere they wouldn’t get caught.” Ichigo shifted in his seat, curling his legs around to face Renji. “Nnoitra’s not even gay. That guy you’re talking about wishes he was, but he’s not.”
Renji took another drag, but this time made sure to blow it out the window. “How the hell do you know that?”
Ichigo shrugged, but his eyes stayed steady. “Maybe… maybe it takes one to know one.”
Renji choked again. “Did you-did you just come out to me?” It really wasn’t that surprising; even though he’d never expected Ichigo to say it, he’d kind of figured it out for himself. What did surprise him was the question that formed in his head next. It was stupid, really stupid, but he couldn’t stop it. “So… you weren’t pretending, when we were in there and we were-when you were kissing me?”
“Well, maybe I wasn’t pretending about being gay, but I was definitely pretending about being attracted to you, you… you stupid.” Ichigo changed positions again, this time bringing his forehead to rest against the dashboard. A little grimace formed on his face, and something about it made Renji remember he was looking at a very drunk kid, one whose life was at least as stressful as his own. The little sting of rejection he felt at Ichigo’s words just reminded him further that it had been a long night, and feelings couldn’t be trusted at that point. After all, it wasn’t like he wanted Ichigo to feel like that about him; that was ridiculous. And it would be totally unfair, since Renji wasn’t into guys. He obviously wasn’t into guys, that much was clear after having spent the night at this club. And they both needed some sleep.
He decided to admit his cigarette wasn’t doing much for him, and flicked it to the curb through the open window while turning the key in the ignition. Time to find the motel they were staying at. It was something they did now, even for local investigations, when they could afford to rest. It was easier than heading all the way across town and back to their own places, and that way they could be ready to go early when they had to get back in the car the next day. Plus a motel room usually made for a much better command center than the car did. It was nice to have somewhere to spread out that they hadn’t had so much opportunity to mess up.
“Ichigo, buckle your seatbelt, I ain’t drivin’ with you like that.” Ichigo sat back on his own, but Renji still had to reach over and pull the belt across him to click it in place. “We’re gonna go to the motel now and get some sleep, and you’re gonna sober up. In the morning I’ll call Urahara so he can turn the investigation over to the cops, and then we’ll clean up any loose ends before heading-”
“What? No!” Ichigo was instantly more animated than he’d been at any point in the last hour. “Renji, no! We’ve got to do this. We can bring these guys in ourselves! Please don’t turn it over to-”
“Ichigo, calm the fuck down.” It was a bit of a trick to keep his eyes on the road while also trying to keep Ichigo under control. “We’ll let them know what we know, they already know about Szayel anyway. And if what you said is true, there’s got to be a bounty on him, we’ll still get paid if they bring him in and maybe even get a few days to-”
“If they bring him in! Renji, the cops are idiots! Plus, I--I think I know who Nnoitra is. I’ve been putting some stuff together in my head and there was this thing a few months ago and this guy and I think it was him and they haven’t been able to do anything and-” pause, hiccup, but at least it wasn’t vomit “-it’s not even about the money. People like Szayel and Nnoitra, they shouldn’t be allowed to do whatever they want just because they can get away with it.”
“Ichigo, what’s the big deal? Let the police take care of it, that’s what they do. It’s their responsibility.”
Ichigo’s tone took an extremely serious turn. “Look, I know you think my dad got me this job.” Renji started to protest, but it was a pretty lame attempt; actually that was exactly what he thought. “No, shut up, I know that’s what you think, but he didn’t. I didn’t even find out he was a cop until I was sixteen. That’s how much he wanted me to stay away from it. Then when I tried to join the force, I passed all the tests, they even hired me on for training and I was first in the class, and he stopped them from putting me on, Renji. He just stopped them. I think he tried to stop Urahara from hiring me too, but I told him if he’d just give me a chance that I could handle anything, that I just wanted to-” Ichigo paused to catch his breath, and Renji considered whether he should say anything, but decided against it.
“Give me a chance, Renji. Someone’s got to protect people from these guys. I can do it. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, protect people like someone should have been there to protect my mom-” Ichigo never talked about his mother; all Renji knew was that she’d been murdered when he was young, and he only knew that because of his own intermittent work with the police department. Drunk as he was though, apparently Ichigo wasn’t ready to talk about it, and Renji didn’t press it. “Just please, Renji. Don’t turn it over yet. Just… let me…” His eyelids started to droop again and he trailed off. Renji waited a minute to see if he would say anything else, but he didn’t.
“Ok, Ichigo, fine. We won’t turn it over yet. But I’m still goin’ through Urahara, and only if he’s ok with it. And we’re just takin’ pictures, all right? No hero shit, ‘cause I know how you get. Is that gonna be enough for you, kid?” No answer. “Kid.” Nothing. Probably for the best, he thought. He’s not gonna remember this anyway. It was nice, though. It was a nice feeling to think that his partner trusted him enough to tell him some of this stuff, even if he did have to get wasted off his ass first.
About a minute down the road, though, Ichigo’s voice interrupted the silence again.
“Renji.” Great. This night is never gonna end.
“What?”
“In that club tonight, when I was kissing you… you started to get hard, didn’t you.”
The car almost swerved off the road before Renji managed to gain control of it again. “Ichigo, why the hell would you wait until now to say-and no, I didn’t-and if I was it was just because-and I wasn’t-” A loud snore interrupted him and left him fuming and sputtering to no one but himself. He was so mad he almost slapped Ichigo back awake just to yell at him some more, but the motel came into view and the more rational part of his brain that just wanted some sleep took over and he let it go.
It was only because of the way those pants had been rubbing against him, anyway. It’d had absolutely nothing to do with Ichigo.
*
As it turned out, the night hadn’t finished hitting bottom yet. After checking in at the desk, Renji had to carry Ichigo into the room bridal-style, much to the amusement of the solitary clerk watching through the office window. To top things off, the reservation had been screwed up, and they ended up with a king instead of two doubles. Calling the front desk did no good, as nothing else would be available for at least another night. Renji briefly considered trying another motel, or even driving home, but one glance at Ichigo told him getting him in the car again would be more trouble than it was worth. Instead he ended up sleeping on the floor with a pillow and a blanket.
He woke up a few hours later just as tired as when he had gone to sleep, but with the added bonus of a crick in his neck. Ichigo was still completely passed out, which wasn’t that bad; it gave him time to go for a jog, shower, eat some of Ichigo’s food, call Urahara to catch him up, and start trying to figure out the situation at the dock. Internet satellite maps showed him that the place was pretty big. There were a half dozen large piers, plus restaurants and a couple recreation areas and parking lots… not to mention it was possible they would be conducting their business on a private boat. The case didn’t seem nearly so solid in the light of day as it had the night before.
Around mid-afternoon, Renji admitted he wasn’t making progress on his own and decided to wake Ichigo. It was possible the kid knew more about the dock than he did, having grown up in town; Renji himself had only moved there a few years before he’d started working for Urahara. Besides, the peaceful way he was sleeping with the sheets pulled up to his chin was starting to irritate him. His neck still hurt, damn it.
He climbed up onto the bed, carefully so as to not wake Ichigo until he was in position, and balanced himself on his toes directly over Ichigo’s legs. “Hey, Ichigo. Wake up.” Ichigo’s face twitched, he mumbled in his sleep, and Renji got a little louder. “Hey. Hey!” Ichigo’s eyes blinked open and it took him a second to focus, but the moment he recognized Renji he was scrambling back toward the headboard.
“Renji, what the hell is wrong with you?”
Renji ignored the question and acted like he had just done a perfectly normal thing, knowing it would piss Ichigo off even more. “Oh, hey, you’re finally up.”
“Don’t be so loud.” Ichigo leaned forward and rubbed his eyes. “What’d you wake me for?”
“So you can do your job, idiot. We’ve got to figure out what’s going on at the dock. You do still work for a living, right, Ichigo?”
Ichigo looked puzzled, and Renji felt some relief since it might mean he had forgotten some of the previous night, but it was short-lived. “So what are you saying, Renji, can’t handle this on your own? Aren’t you always telling me you were better off before I came along?”
Renji leaned forward and Ichigo mirrored him, until their foreheads were practically touching. “Yeah, you handled things so well last night, kid. Great show.”
Ichigo’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, so remind me again… Which one of us finally brought Byakuya in?”
That was it. Renji lunged forward, hands outstretched. Ichigo evaded, but just barely, and the move set Renji off balance. They tumbled down to the floor together, taking half the sheets with them.
“You little-” Ichigo managed to keep Renji’s hands at bay, but Renji countered with his legs until he’d sort of half-pinned his partner beneath him.
“Don’t get mad-at me, it’s not my fault-it took you years-to catch up to him-” Ichigo managed to get the words out between grunts, legs kicking, but then froze. “Holy hell, Renji, I have to take a piss.”
“Huh? Oh-oh. Ok. Hold on.” They were well-tangled in the sheets at that point, and it took a few seconds for them to sort out the mess. Renji couldn’t help the snort of laughter that came out when Ichigo bolted for the bathroom the instant he was free. Damn if his partner didn’t bring out every possible emotion in him-frequently in the span of a few minutes.
He got to his feet and stretched out, frowning at the ache in his neck, then picked up the sheets and threw them onto the bed in a heap. Settling in to rest his back against the pillows, he found the remote and clicked the TV on to let his brain work on things in the background for a few minutes.
That kid really did make him crazy.
*
A little over an hour later, they found themselves walking around the dock. As it turned out, the place had been a popular hangout when Ichigo had been in high school, and he actually did have some useful ideas; it had been a few years since he’d been there, though, and he wanted to check it out in person. That was fine with Renji. Sitting around in a motel room with a laptop wasn’t his idea of accomplishment, and it seemed that was one point where he and Ichigo agreed.
Some things were pretty easy to rule out from the start. The restaurants and main parking lots were centralized and tended to be crowded at night, making it difficult for any kind of illegal dealing to go down. At least, it would be difficult if it was on the level Ichigo thought it would be. As they walked, it hit Renji he’d accepted Ichigo’s judgment on that point almost without question, and he had to stop himself and wonder why. Come to think if it, he hadn’t even bothered corroborating his story about Szayel with police records. When the hell had he started letting himself rely on Ichigo that way? It reassured him somewhat when he remembered that Urahara had also been accepting of Ichigo’s judgment over the phone that morning-that man didn’t let anything get by him, and clearly he trusted Ichigo-but still, he was going to have to start paying better attention than that. That kind of dependence just didn’t sit well with him, period.
By the third time they had circled around to the farthest pier, Renji was ready to suggest they had narrowed it down as much as they could, and that their best bet might be to take the riskier route of at least one of them attempting to tail Nnoitra from his hotel. Just before he could say it though, his eyes picked a man out of the crowd. It was the blond man from the club. Tesla. Holy shit.
“Ichigo.” He elbowed him in the ribs, and ignored the annoyed return elbow in his own. “Next to that guy with the green shirt and that lady walking her dog-you’re not gonna believe this, but he was sitting next to Nnoitra at the club last night.”
Ichigo swung his head around, and Renji cringed. Don’t ten-year-olds learn how to not draw attention to themselves when they’re trying to be sneaky? He started to snap at him, but next thing he knew he was being shoved into and over the bushes at the edge of the walkway, landing on the grass that separated the edge of the dock from the water. A moment later Ichigo fell in a sprawl on top of him.
“Ichigo, what the f-” Ichigo plastered a hand over his mouth, and if Renji could have gotten one of his own free, he would have let him know right away how he felt about that. Unfortunately, he just had to listen.
“You’re an idiot, Renji. If you can see him, he can see you. Did you even think?” Now Ichigo was giving him a lecture? Please. He finally wrenched an arm loose and smacked Ichigo’s hand away.
“That guy wasn’t looking at anyone but Nnoitra last night. He wouldn’t know you or me from anyone else on this pier.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but Szayel would, after the way he was looking at you. Or did you not notice he was there, too?” Another second and they had switched positions (forcefully, as Renji was still not happy about being pushed into the bushes). Ichigo grunted uncomfortably, but Renji was too busy peeking through the leaves and verifying this piece of information to care.
“Damn, you’re right.” Szayel had walked up and joined the man from another area of the pier, and the two were having what looked like a highly animated argument. Ichigo strained beneath him to get into a better position.
“Renji, you weigh as much as an elephant. Move.” He grudgingly shifted enough for Ichigo to look through the foliage, hoping whatever soft spot his knee ended up in was somewhere uncomfortable. “Looks like they’re gonna do it down here, anyway.” Renji had to agree, judging by the pointing and gestures that were taking place.
Eventually Szayel won whatever disagreement they were having and began to walk off victoriously. Tesla sulked a short distance behind, sending several glances backward over his shoulder. As soon as they had passed, Ichigo made a valiant effort to shove Renji off him.
“C’mon, we gotta tail ‘em. Just in case we mess up tomorrow, we gotta know where Szayel’s staying.” Renji ignored him, keeping him pinned against the grass. “Come on, let me up already.”
“Ichigo, you moron, you’re always charging into shit like that. Didn’t you see Tesla checking back over his shoulder?”
“I’m not stupid, I was gonna wait until he wasn’t looking.”
“That’s not what I meant. Look.” He let Ichigo up enough to get another visual of the pier.
“Number 10.” Nnoitra’s bodyguard was following about fifty yards behind, back in his black suit, eyes scanning the peer busily.
“That’s right. Now if you had rushed out there like you wanted to, there’s no way he wouldn’t have seen you come flying over these bushes. Guy like that’s just looking for a fight, and I guarantee he would have remembered your obnoxious ass from last night.” Renji turned to grin down at Ichigo in triumph, and at the sight of his pouting face, he couldn’t stop his mouth from running a little more. “Tell me I was right.”
“Shut up.” Ichigo pushed his hands hard against Renji’s knees, almost dislodging him, but Renji was able to grab his wrists and wrestle them into a position somewhere near his shoulders. As he watched the kid struggle, something made him push it a bit further.
“Tell me how grateful you are for all my experience, Ichigo.”
Ichigo growled in frustration. “Get off.”
“Nuh-uh. Not until you say how much you appreciate me.”
Ichigo renewed his struggle with full force, almost tearing his hands free, but then decided to go for a different angle. He bucked his hips upward, trying to throw Renji off, but froze in the middle of it; too late, Renji realized why. He was straddling Ichigo, outright straddling him-in fact straddling his groin while pinning his wrists to the ground-and looking into the kid’s eyes told the whole story.
He was aroused.
Like too many times since they’d started working together, shit, since they’d started this investigation yesterday, his thoughts went straight to his mouth. “This is really turning you on, isn’t it?”
Ichigo hesitated, but turned smug in an instant. “It’s turning you on, too.”
The grip Renji had on Ichigo’s wrists tightened until he had to be cutting off the circulation to his hands, and he leaned in to bring their faces within inches of each other. “Listen up, Kurosaki. I’m only gonna say this once, but just because you-” you feel good under me, I like your mouth, you’re warm, I want to kiss you again “-just because…”
His words ran out, and he felt his grip loosen slightly in defeat. He couldn’t make himself move, though, even though he knew he should; he could only watch as the smugness slowly drained from Ichigo’s eyes beneath him and was replaced with something he couldn’t read. Something about that frustrated him; he wasn’t used to not being able to read his partner, and it made him-he wanted to-
Fuck it. Not wanting to think about what he was doing or why, Renji brought his mouth even lower until he could feel the static between them, until they were so close they were doing everything but touching. The last millimeter, though, he couldn’t do it, couldn’t make himself finish what he’d started because that would mean he had decided to do this. Ichigo could finish it though, maybe, after all Ichigo had done it last night-why was his heart racing so fast, for fuck’s sake-
Then he was lying on his back in the grass next to Ichigo, who was already getting to his feet. “Come on, Renji.” He kept his face carefully turned away as he started to climb back over the bushes. “We’ve gotta get going now if we’re gonna have any chance of finding them before they get out of here.”
It’s for the best, Renji decided as he got up to follow him. It really is. The fucking job’s playing tricks on me, and that’s all. He kept a short distance behind Ichigo, keeping an eye out around them, trying to memorize their surroundings for their later strategy discussion and not because it was a distraction from his growing confusion.
Definitely it’s for the best.
*
Renji woke up slowly, savoring the softness of the bed. It was unusual for them to have a case like this, one that let him sleep so much. Especially one that let him do it in a bed. Ok, so he felt a little guilty that some of it was due to them fucking up the case, but overall he wasn’t arguing. It was a nice luxury.
As he slowly came to, his brain automatically started tracing over the events of the previous night. They’d actually managed to follow Szayel and Tesla and Number 10 back to the parking lot without being seen, almost a miracle for the two of them these days. Of course, it had a lot to do with the fact that they were avoiding each other for once instead of leaping at each others’ throats, but Renji chose to skip that little detail in his head for now because he didn’t want to think about what had led up to it. He’d sent Ichigo to get the car, keeping him updated on the two-way with Szayel’s location when he’d separated from the other two.
And that was where all the trouble had started. He’d sent Ichigo to get the car so he could stay on the trail, which wasn’t really the same as wanting Ichigo to drive. But then Ichigo had refused to switch places with him when he came around to pick him up, and they’d almost lost Szayel right then and there while they fought over it. Renji’d finally caved (or rather, was thrown into the passenger seat and decided not to argue in favor of doing their job), and by the time they’d gotten a visual on Szayel’s car they were just barely able to get back on it.
They’d done it though, which Ichigo had claimed was thanks to his driving abilities when it had clearly been due to Renji’s keen observation skills, and that had managed to set off another fight. As a result, Ichigo had ended up following Szayel’s car way too closely and making several erratic lane changes in the process. Thinking about it now, maybe it had also had something to do with Renji trying to take over the driving from the passenger seat, but it was inconsequential at this point. By the time they’d hit the freeway it seemed that Szayel’s driver had grown suspicious; the route he was taking didn’t make any sense, doubling back in strange places, and they’d had no choice but to back off and head to the motel. Too mad to think, they’d barely spoken two words to each other outside of when Renji’d barked at Ichigo to sleep on the floor, because it was time he got to enjoy sleeping in a bed.
And yeah, he was enjoying it. Renji stretched out, letting his legs reach their full extension, and for once his toes didn’t hang off the end of the mattress. He had a twin in his own place, which was kind of ridiculous for someone of his size, but he liked it that way. Kept him going, less tempted to spend his time lying around in it. This, though… if he had this in his apartment, he wondered if he’d ever bother getting up at all. A contented mmm rolled in his throat, so warm, which was good since they hadn’t raised the temperature from where the motel staff had left it… He curled his legs around again and pulled Ichigo closer.
He pulled Ichigo closer.
If there was anyone staying in the room next to theirs, or in fact the entire row their room was connected to, they were awake now. The volume of his incoherent shriek made sure of that. Ichigo woke up kicking, arms over his head like he was being shot at. “Fucking hell, Renji, what are you doing?”
“What am I doing?” He wanted nothing more than to get off the bed and out of this mess, but he was afraid someone was going to lose an eye if he didn’t stop Ichigo’s legs somehow. He finally got hold of one ankle, and that was enough to at least slow down the flailing. “You were supposed to sleep on the floor! What the hell are you doing in the bed?”
“The bed is fuckin’ huge, Renji, and the floor was killing my back. I didn’t ask you to spoon me, you pervert!” Ichigo looked ready to gnaw his own leg off to get away.
“I’m the pervert?” Renji stared murderously, then wrenched Ichigo’s leg back at just the right angle to send him off the edge. “I’m gettin’ in the shower. Gotta go wash the violation off me.”
“Whatever, Renji, I’ll bet you liked it.” Ichigo’s voice from the floor was muffled as Renji jumped off to head to the bathroom. “Hey wait a sec, what are we doing today?”
Incredible, Renji thought, turning in time to watch Ichigo stand up and rub the back of his head. And he brings me right back down with him every time. “I figured we’d start at the hotel and make sure Nnoitra’s situation still looks right. Then we’ll head to the dock, walk around a bit, and as soon as it’s dark enough drive the car up to that spot you picked out.”
“All right.” Ichigo nodded with a yawn and stretched his arms out high overhead, popping something in his neck in the process.
Shaking his head, Renji entered the bathroom to start getting undressed. “I’m locking the door, pervert,” he called out.
“Fucker,” Ichigo answered from the room.
Heh. He started to lift his shirt over his head, but paused with it halfway up. Smells like Ichigo’s hair. It wasn’t a bad smell. Maybe his shampoo was in the bathroom somewhere Renji could find it and borrow it.
*
It was a few hours after dark, and for once everything had gone according to plan. Nnoitra had been easy enough to spot at the hotel, the day had been uneventful, and now the car sat atop a small, unlit, grassy hill that overlooked the pier. It was hard to see from the pier once the sun went down, which made it an excellent vantage point. During the day it would have made a great place for a picnic since the whole bay and the harbor were visible, but at night no one used it except teenagers looking for somewhere to make out. Renji had a sneaking suspicion that was how Ichigo knew about it, actually. It was too quiet anyway; he had come to realize he wasn’t used to that when Ichigo was in the car with him. Time for a good ribbing.
“So, Ichigo… you bring a lot of guys up here when you were in school?” He braced himself for a physical onslaught, but Ichigo merely glared at him.
“Shut up, idiot. Of course I didn’t.”
“Are you sure? You seem to know a lot about the place.”
“Didn’t say I didn’t come out here. Just said I didn’t do it with guys.” Ichigo shifted a little bit so he could prop his feet up on the dashboard, and it was Renji’s turn to react.
“Wait, so… you brought girls out here?”
“Yeah. Well, a girl, a couple of times.”
Obviously, judging by Ichigo’s first reaction, he’d remembered telling Renji he was gay… now he was curious. “What do you mean, a girl? Thought you said-”
“Look, high school’s not exactly the place for a gay pride parade, all right? Besides, I was still kind of figuring things out.” Ichigo wasn’t meeting his eyes anymore, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. Renji considered dropping it for a moment, but then thought back about all the shit Ichigo had put him through in the last day or so and changed his mind.
“So… does that mean I’m the first guy you’ve been up here with?” A fist to the stomach was his answer to that question. He was all ready to fire back when Ichigo hushed him, looking attentively out the front windshield. Szayel. Good thing he’d caught that. One day he just knew they’d end up smashing the horn and blowing the whole thing out of the water.
They straightened themselves up and Renji dug the binoculars out of the back seat. “Looks like he’s the first one here, I can’t see anyone else around.” The dashboard clock read one minute to midnight. Lame.
“Let me see.” Ichigo held his hand out expectantly without looking, and Renji snorted. Turning his head, he jammed his fingers into Renji’s shoulder. “Come on, give ‘em up.”
“Say please.” He held out for a second, but Ichigo’s face told him that was never going to happen, so he smirked and handed them over anyway. They were partners, after all, and he was a professional.
Ichigo scanned the dock quickly before letting the binoculars come to rest against the dashboard. “Renji, there’s one more thing I think I should tell you about Szayel.”
“What’s that?”
“He… my dad thinks he killed someone. A couple someones, actually, and maybe more than that.”
“Really?” It wouldn’t be the first time he’d dealt with a murderer, but it wasn’t that common, either. And none of those times had involved Ichigo.
“Yeah. It’s not in the official report because there was no proof. The guys just disappeared one day.”
“So… what makes you think he killed them? Wasn’t there an investigation?” Sloppy police work, no surprises there. Part of the reason he’d agreed to not turn over the case, he supposed. Not that the two of them had such a great track record either, when he thought about it.
“Well, not really. That’s the thing, Renji. These men he killed, they worked for him, they were using aliases at the time and no one knew who they were. There was no way to track them. And Szayel, if he can kill the people he’s close to, people loyal to him… he’d do anything. And he seemed like… the other night, he was staring at you, like he kind of... I just thought you should know what he’s like. That’s all.” Ichigo was almost mumbling by that point; he looked tired, worried. Renji considered, slightly shocked that Ichigo had voiced anything that close to concern for him, and not knowing what else to do decided to try to lighten the mood with a rough pat on the back.
“We’ll get him, kid. Don’t worry. That’s what we’re doing here, right?”
“I keep telling you I’m not a kid, Renji.” Ichigo’s voice was still quiet; he barely moved, and Renji sighed.
“No, I guess you’re not.” Oh, what the hell. “Ichigo, I want you to see something, just in case. Grab your car keys, and get the little one.”
Ichigo looked at him questioningly before fishing through his pocket to pull them out. “This one? The glove compartment one?”
“Yeah. Open it up.” Ichigo did as he was told, then waited for more instructions. “Reach back in there.” Ichigo stuck his hand in, and Renji could tell from his frown the exact moment his fingers touched the polymer. “Take it out.”
Ichigo let the hand gripping the 9mm semi-automatic settle in his lap, and stared blankly out the windshield. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a gun in here, Renji?”
“I just did, didn’t I?” Ichigo kept staring, still frowning. “Look, ki-look, I’m still not sure you’re not insane, but you’re my partner, and I trust you.”
“You got a permit to keep this loaded in there?” Renji would have been insulted, but that wouldn’t be fair given Ichigo’s understandable bitterness.
“Of course I do, idiot.” Ichigo sighed, but looked down to study it more closely. Renji figured he knew how to handle it, since he’d been through the police training academy. The Glock 17 was the most widely-used law enforcement pistol in the world, and it happened to be standard issue in town.
“You know…” Ichigo paused, like he still hadn’t decided if he was mad or not, but then continued. “The guys on the force name their guns.”
“Zabimaru.” Ichigo looked at him and quirked an eyebrow, but at least some of his hurt seemed to be forgotten. Renji was surprised to find he was a little comforted. “It means snake tail or something. I used to work with Captain Zaraki as an informant when I first moved here, before Urahara took me on, and he liked the name. It stuck.”
Ichigo was quiet for a second, but then chuckled lightly. “Zaraki, he’s somethin’, isn’t he.”
“Yup.” Ichigo turned it in his hands one more time before sliding the gun back in and closing the glove compartment. They turned their attention back to the dock just in time to catch Nnoitra’s arrival, and Ichigo handed the binoculars back to Renji absentmindedly.
“Looks like Tesla’s got whatever it is they’re selling… in a suitcase, for fuck’s sake. These guys really don’t care for creativity, do they… You see that bodyguard anywhere, Ichigo?”
“Not from here… but I doubt they left him home.”
“Keep your eye out. There’s some dark patches between those lights we can’t see too well.”
“Thanks, Lieutenant Obvious.”
He almost laughed, but held back so Ichigo wouldn’t think he was funny. At least he Ichigo wasn’t angry with him anymore. No more than usual, anyway.
Another minute passed, two, and a woman he hadn’t seen before made her way onto the pier. She carried herself confidently; waist-length hair and a white suit, stiletto heels adding to her already impressive height, she didn’t appear at all nervous. In fact, the first word that came to mind when he saw her was ‘graceful’. Lifting the binoculars to his eyes, he studied her face carefully, noting the pendant she wore around her neck. It had the shape of a white skull, something like a ram with curved horns protruding from the sides.
“Ichigo, take a look. Maybe those two guys from the other night were working for her?” Ichigo had a troubled expression on his face as he took the binoculars back to observe Tesla patting her down.
“Renji, I recognize that woman. I’m pretty sure she’s an undercover officer. My dad’s been friends with her for years, but he never would tell me exactly what she did or how he knew her. This makes a lot of sense, though, and I did kind of recognize those guys last night…. Her name’s Nel. Can’t remember her last name, it’s something… something long.”
Renji was stunned. Was it possible the cops had managed to get their act together on this one? He knew Ichigo would be disappointed, but he actually felt a little relieved himself. “Well, look, we’ll still take pictures, ok? Maybe they’ll be able to use them. You all right with that?”
“Yeah, sure. It’s really… it’s good they’re taking them in. I’m just glad they’ll be off the streets.” Ichigo let the binoculars fall, and leaned his elbow against the passenger window to prop his head up. Renji would have said more, but Ichigo’s words were right. It was the right attitude. He’d grow into it.
“Hey Ichigo, where’s the…”
“Huh?”
“The camera, you seen it?” Renji twisted his head around to look in the back seat, but nothing jumped out at him.
“Um… I swear I saw it when we got in… wait…” Ichigo reached around and groped behind his back for a second. “It might be stuck in the seat here, something’s been kind of poking me-”
“You sat on my camera?” Renji thrust his hand behind Ichigo, making him jump.
“Hey-”
“Found it.” He pulled the camera up by its strap, and went to work taking pictures immediately. There was some conversation going on between Nel and Nnoitra, Szayel watching intently from behind the woman and Tesla standing next to his boss. From what Renji could see, he appeared to be staring resentfully at Nel’s overly-large chest. If I remember right from that picture, Nnoitra’s wife’s got some pretty big ones, too. He chuckled to himself as the camera started to snap. He made sure to get good shots of each of their faces, especially Szayel’s. It took some concentration to capture the right moments, to make it clear what each of their parts in this was. He caught the exact instant money changed hands, the second the case was opened and revealed what appeared to be around 20 kilos of cocaine. Damn if he was going to screw this up. I owe it to Ichigo to do this right, at least.
I mean, I owe it to Urahara. Because he pays me.
Glancing over, he saw Ichigo had the binoculars pressed to his eyes like his life depended on it. He’s a good kid, really. Having him for a partner wasn’t terrible. Maybe Ichigo would grow into this, too.
Another picture, but when he moved to look for a different angle, he paused. Something seemed to have gone wrong. Nel was suddenly frozen, Tesla was gesturing widely and speaking loudly enough that some of his words drifted as far as the car, and Nnoitra was turning his head back and forth between the two.
“Renji, something’s happened.” The concern in Ichigo’s voice matched that in Renji’s head.
“Yeah. I think you’re right.” It wasn’t clear yet what had happened, no weapons were visible, but it would only take an instant for something like this to explode. Still, he had to get a better handle on the situation before they did anything stupid. Besides, if Nel really was one of them, the cops should be nearby, ready to intervene if things went too far.
But then… where were they? Shouldn’t they have been out there already, since the money had changed hands and the product had been revealed? Maybe this was a remote operation, though, and they weren’t that close, maybe…
He made a split-second decision. “Ichigo, I’m going to try and get a little closer so I can hear what they’re saying. Stay here.”
Ichigo made a noise of protest but Renji didn’t stick around to hear it. He opened the door as quickly and quietly as he could, thankful he’d had the overhead light re-wired to stop coming on when the door was opened, and silently stepped onto the grass. It shouldn’t be too hard to make it a little way down the hill without being seen, if he went slowly enough. The night was a little chilly so he’d even worn a dark sweatshirt, and he pulled the hood up to cover his hair and as much of his face as possible.
Jeez. No matter how many times he’d put himself in risky situations while taking pictures, stuff like this still made his heart pound. He knelt down at the edge of the hill and watched. Things had gone from bad to worse. Nnoitra was now holding a gun he’d pulled from somewhere and pointing it at Nel, whose hands were up next to her head. Her posture was still relaxed, though, for the most part. Gotta hand it to her, she’s really got some nerve. He started to pick up on some of the conversation as he crawled feet first a short way down the hill.
“She’s wearing a wire,” Tesla was saying. “Check. If I’m wrong you can-you can cut me out of my share.”
“Cut you out of your share?” It was hard to see in the dim light, but Nnoitra appeared seriously threatening. “You’d be lucky, Tesla. All this water, no one would miss you. Are you willing to stake your life on it?”
“I-” Tesla seemed taken back, but continued boldly. “Yes.”
Nnoitra leaned in toward Nel. “You know, he might have a point. I don’t trust women like you in this business. Bitches who always act like they’re better than everyone. Maybe I should have Tesla take a closer look under that expensive suit you’ve got on.”
Renji’d heard enough to know she was in trouble. If she was a cop, she was certainly wearing a wire-maybe even that pendant she had on. Time to move. Once he was back at the car, he’d get his phone out and call the police, find out why they-
Click. In an instant, he knew what he’d done wrong. Szayel. He’d been so absorbed in listening and watching everything else, he hadn’t even noticed that he’d disappeared. The sound of the handgun’s slide being released next to his head told him everything he’d missed.
Shit. I’m dead.
“So. It was you after all. I wondered who was in that car yesterday.” Szayel’s fingers ran over his throat as he whispered into his ear. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. Not right away, anyway. You’re too pretty not to play with first.” Renji despised the near-silent laughter that followed, but kept his mouth shut. The longer he stayed alive, the better his chance of escape. The better his chance the police would show up for Nel and maybe…
Maybe Ichigo would be ok.
His heart sank when he remembered his partner waiting in the car above them. At least Ichigo couldn’t see this; the angle on the hill was too steep from where the car was parked. As long as he stayed in the car, everything would be all right. As long as he doesn’t try any hero shit this time, everything will work out. As long as Ichigo’s ok. As long as-
“Szayel.” Renji instinctively turned toward Ichigo’s voice, and Szayel jammed the gun barrel harder against his head. I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him for coming out here. I’ll kill him for trying to save me. If we live, I’ll kill him. “Put the gun down.”
“Now why should I do that?” Szayel spoke directly against his head. He’s taunting him.
“Because if you do anything else with it, I’ll kill you.” He’s always doing that. Just rushes in and runs his mouth. He stayed steady though, Renji’s pistol in his hands; perfect Weaver stance, from what Renji could see. From the sound of his voice, he was even managing to keep his breathing relaxed. At least he could control himself. At least Renji hadn’t made a mistake thinking he could handle a gun. Then again, maybe if I hadn’t told him he’d still be in the car… maybe…
“What the hell is going on up there?” Nnoitra. Not surprisingly, it seemed they’d caught his attention. “Tesla, take care of this.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Renji saw Tesla start forward on the ground, his own weapon held ready to fire, and Ichigo turned. A shot rang out, and for a moment he didn’t know who’d done it. Please Ichigo-please don’t be dead-Tesla went down, gripping his knee and screaming.
Good boy, Ichigo. Good boy. Quick, too, he was already refocused on Szayel.
More action on the ground below as Nel suddenly dropped, and Nnoitra was left towering over her limp figure; no shot, he’d apparently taken the butt of his gun to her head. The situation was bleak. It was two against two, and Renji and Ichigo did not have the upper hand.
Seconds ticked by, but it seemed like so much longer; wild thoughts about fighting, Ichigo, escaping, dying, Ichigo ran uncontrolled through Renji’s head. Szayel’s fingers moved over his throat again, working their way under his hood and back along the side of his neck. He was saying something, but Renji couldn’t hear it as Ichigo’s words from the car played back through his head.
He’d do anything.
The other night, he was staring at you, like he kind of…
I just thought you should know what he’s like.
And before that at the dock, after Ichigo had tackled him.
Szayel would, after the way he was looking at you.
This was exactly what Ichigo had been afraid of. He could just barely see his partner, thanks to the dark and the angles at which they stood to each other, but the effect Szayel’s game was having on him was obvious. His body tensed, his control was faltering, and Renji wondered if he’d try to take the shot. He almost wished he would. There was a fair chance he’d make it, they were at close range, but it meant Nnoitra might-
Nnoitra. Why hadn’t he moved? He was still standing there, watching, like he was waiting for something… was he waiting for someone else to move before he stepped in, was he waiting to see if Ichigo would take the shot? But his gun wasn’t even pointed in their direction, there was something else-
Fuck. For the second time since he’d gotten out of the car, Renji realized he’d forgotten something important. It couldn’t save him; in fact just saying it might get him killed, but he suddenly knew if it could save Ichigo that was all that mattered to him.
Funny, the things you realize when it counts.
He’d take his chances.
“Ichigo, the big guy, he’s gotta be-”
Two things happened at once; Szayel’s grip on him tightened, yanking him backward and cutting him off as his neck twisted painfully, and a huge figure lurched onto the scene. Before Ichigo could get his bearings, before he was able to process what Renji’d been saying to him, he was lifted clear off the ground by his throat. Number 10. Just as he’d suspected, he’d been there all along; he was even bigger than Renji remembered. The Glock fell to the grass, abandoned, as Ichigo tore at the hand choking the breath out of him.
So this is it. This is what it feels like to really lose something-to lose something that means everything. Ichigo’s eyes, it was so dark maybe he was imagining it… they were dimming. Moments went by and his struggle started to fall off. Szayel’s laughter faded out of Renji’s mind, Ichigo was all he could process as his legs stopped kicking.
No. This can’t be happening. Not to Ichigo.
He had to try. He got ready to move, to make an attempt to wrestle the gun away from Szayel knowing full well his efforts would likely be rewarded with a bullet to the brain, when an inappropriately cheerful female voice interrupted them. “Drop him, Mr. Riyalgo.” Ichigo dangled as the man holding him looked around to see who was talking. “I won’t ask again.”
“Do what she says, Yammy.” Nnoitra.
Renji returned his attention to the ground below to see Nnoitra pinned against the paved walkway of the pier, a large man keeping him there with a foot against his back and a gun aimed directly at his head. If I’m not mistaken, that’s-
Ichigo was dropped to the grass in an instant and sucked in several desperate breaths. Relief washed over Renji like a flood; his knees started to go weak and he wasn’t sure they would hold him up anymore.
“Don’t you relax yet.” Szayel’s grip tightened on his throat. Fuck, he’d almost forgotten he had a gun to his head. “You’re gonna help me get out of here, and then-”
“I don’t think you’re going anywhere, Szayel.” Another man, behind them, and Renji recognized the voice of one of the guys Nnoitra’s crew had met with in the bar who worked for Nel. Still, Szayel didn’t relent.
“You’re outnumbered here, Szayel.” The other man, the stockier one, his voice deadly serious. Good act, Renji thought. I would never have guessed. “You can’t win.”
The finger on the trigger tightened against Renji’s hood. His heart, which had nearly stopped when Ichigo had been in mid-air, was hammering again. Helpless, he found himself drawn to his partner once more. His eyes were alive again, but full of panic. You did your best, Ichigo. He hoped his face said it for him.
Suddenly the gun was pulled away from his head, and dropped to the ground at their side; Szayel joined it as one of the men tackled him. Renji took a few shaky steps in Ichigo’s direction, but had to sit down as his legs finally gave out.
“Hey, Chief!” The gruff voice confirmed what Renji had suspected: Captain Zaraki was the man holding Nnoitra against the ground. And the woman he was talking to on the hill had to be Chief Unohana. “Everything all right up there?”
“Yes, Captain Zaraki. We’ve apprehended Mr. Riyalgo and Mr. Granz. Do you need assistance with Mr. Jiruga?”
“Nah, this was too easy.” Zaraki actually sounded disappointed. “Next time don’t get me involved unless there’s a challenge.”
“I think it will interest you to know we’ve also met with Isshin Kurosaki’s son and Renji Abarai.” She made it sound like they were sitting around enjoying the view or something.
“Ichigo, huh? And Abarai’s up there? Ask that bastard why he doesn’t come by the precinct more often.”
“You can ask him yourself in a few minutes, Captain. First let’s make sure these gentlemen arrive downtown safely.”
“Yes, Chief.” No one argued with Unohana, that was for sure. Not even Zaraki.
“Mr. Abarai, Mr. Kurosaki, please wait to speak with me before you leave the scene. We’ll want an EMT to examine each of you as well, after they’ve seen to Ms. Oderschvank.” Renji managed to nod his head; Ichigo did the same, though he still hadn’t so much as picked himself up off the ground. He watched as Unohana and the two undercover officers marched their prisoners down the hill and out of sight.
Renji dragged himself over to his partner, who was finally pushing up to a sitting position. “Hey.” Oh come on Renji, you can do better than that. “You… you did good.”
“No I didn’t. I didn’t do anything. I wanted to protect Nel and it just made things worse. I tried to protect you and I screwed it all up.”
“Don’t be stupid, Ichigo.” Renji reached out and rested his hand on Ichigo’s arm. “If we hadn’t done something, who knows what would have happened to Nel-I still wanna know where the fucking cops were until now. And I’m all right. You handled yourself perfectly. I’m…”-oh hell, here it comes-“…I’m just glad you’re ok.”
“You don’t get it. When I saw Szayel with that gun to your head, I just-I freaked out, Renji. I didn’t know what to do.” Ichigo brought his knees up to his chest and buried his head in his arms.
“Yes, you did. You did everything right.” He slid his hand up Ichigo’s arm to his shoulder, then under his chin to lift his face. “Look at me.” Ichigo grudgingly turned his eyes toward Renji, and something inside him took over. He leaned forward, slipping his hand around to the back of his partner’s head; Ichigo stared, eyes widening in surprise. If nothing else good had come from this, at least Renji knew what he wanted now, and what he was supposed to want and what made sense didn’t matter right then. This time he was going to do it, he’d go that last millimeter, because he’d almost lost him and in that moment he didn’t care anymore if-
Someone coughed. “Mr. Kurosaki?”
They jumped apart, Renji all the way onto his feet. Shit. A small man with a medical kit was standing several yards away. “I’m Hanatarou, I’m an EMT working with the police department. The Chief asked me to make sure you were ok, said you’d been asphyxiated?” His eyes darted back and forth nervously between the two of them.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, that’s Ichigo.” Renji looked away, kicking at the ground as the tech knelt down next to his partner and started asking questions. Maybe it’s better, maybe it’s still for the best and maybe… It didn’t sound nearly as convincing as it had at the dock the day before.
Quite some time later, after both of them had been examined and proclaimed well enough to leave the scene, after answering a long list of questions from Chief Unohana, and after a thorough grilling by Captain Zaraki, they sat quietly together in the car. It felt almost like home. Hell, it was home, when he really thought about it. He was more comfortable there than anywhere else in the world. And maybe they could finally relax.
“Renji.” Ichigo finally broke the silence.
“What is it?”
“I’m sorry.”
Renji turned with enough force to accidentally knock the camera off the armrest between them. “Do I have to go through it again? You didn’t do anything wrong, idiot, you-”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m sorry about this.” With those words, he launched himself over the armrest and threw his arms around Renji’s neck. Caught by surprise, Renji didn’t move as Ichigo’s mouth crashed onto his. It didn’t take long for him to recover though, and soon he was reaching up to wrap his arms around Ichigo’s shoulders, pulling him in even closer.
Maybe Ichigo wasn’t the only one growing into things.
PART 3
After he’d gotten himself into the driver’s seat, the first thing Renji did was to rummage through the mess in the back of the car to find his own box of cheap cigarettes and an old Bic lighter. He lit up eagerly, letting the smoke from his exhalation curl lazily into the car. He didn’t bother aiming for the open window; he really only did that when Ichigo was around because he complained so much about it, and well, Ichigo wasn’t entirely there right now. For some reason though, the usual sense of calm didn’t come over him right away, and he found his eyes drifting uneasily to his partner. He looked absolutely pathetic; Renji felt an urge to connect with him somehow, even if he was way too out of it to listen.
“So… just our luck, right, the guy’s not only cheating on his wife but he’s involved in some kind of drug shit, too.”
“He wasn’t cheating.” Renji was so startled that Ichigo actually answered him, it sent him into a coughing fit, and he immediately started fanning the smoke out of the car.
“What? Come on, Ichigo, he was at a gay club with a table full of guys. That little blond one was practically wrapped around his finger.”
“They were probably just there to talk somewhere they wouldn’t get caught.” Ichigo shifted in his seat, curling his legs around to face Renji. “Nnoitra’s not even gay. That guy you’re talking about wishes he was, but he’s not.”
Renji took another drag, but this time made sure to blow it out the window. “How the hell do you know that?”
Ichigo shrugged, but his eyes stayed steady. “Maybe… maybe it takes one to know one.”
Renji choked again. “Did you-did you just come out to me?” It really wasn’t that surprising; even though he’d never expected Ichigo to say it, he’d kind of figured it out for himself. What did surprise him was the question that formed in his head next. It was stupid, really stupid, but he couldn’t stop it. “So… you weren’t pretending, when we were in there and we were-when you were kissing me?”
“Well, maybe I wasn’t pretending about being gay, but I was definitely pretending about being attracted to you, you… you stupid.” Ichigo changed positions again, this time bringing his forehead to rest against the dashboard. A little grimace formed on his face, and something about it made Renji remember he was looking at a very drunk kid, one whose life was at least as stressful as his own. The little sting of rejection he felt at Ichigo’s words just reminded him further that it had been a long night, and feelings couldn’t be trusted at that point. After all, it wasn’t like he wanted Ichigo to feel like that about him; that was ridiculous. And it would be totally unfair, since Renji wasn’t into guys. He obviously wasn’t into guys, that much was clear after having spent the night at this club. And they both needed some sleep.
He decided to admit his cigarette wasn’t doing much for him, and flicked it to the curb through the open window while turning the key in the ignition. Time to find the motel they were staying at. It was something they did now, even for local investigations, when they could afford to rest. It was easier than heading all the way across town and back to their own places, and that way they could be ready to go early when they had to get back in the car the next day. Plus a motel room usually made for a much better command center than the car did. It was nice to have somewhere to spread out that they hadn’t had so much opportunity to mess up.
“Ichigo, buckle your seatbelt, I ain’t drivin’ with you like that.” Ichigo sat back on his own, but Renji still had to reach over and pull the belt across him to click it in place. “We’re gonna go to the motel now and get some sleep, and you’re gonna sober up. In the morning I’ll call Urahara so he can turn the investigation over to the cops, and then we’ll clean up any loose ends before heading-”
“What? No!” Ichigo was instantly more animated than he’d been at any point in the last hour. “Renji, no! We’ve got to do this. We can bring these guys in ourselves! Please don’t turn it over to-”
“Ichigo, calm the fuck down.” It was a bit of a trick to keep his eyes on the road while also trying to keep Ichigo under control. “We’ll let them know what we know, they already know about Szayel anyway. And if what you said is true, there’s got to be a bounty on him, we’ll still get paid if they bring him in and maybe even get a few days to-”
“If they bring him in! Renji, the cops are idiots! Plus, I--I think I know who Nnoitra is. I’ve been putting some stuff together in my head and there was this thing a few months ago and this guy and I think it was him and they haven’t been able to do anything and-” pause, hiccup, but at least it wasn’t vomit “-it’s not even about the money. People like Szayel and Nnoitra, they shouldn’t be allowed to do whatever they want just because they can get away with it.”
“Ichigo, what’s the big deal? Let the police take care of it, that’s what they do. It’s their responsibility.”
Ichigo’s tone took an extremely serious turn. “Look, I know you think my dad got me this job.” Renji started to protest, but it was a pretty lame attempt; actually that was exactly what he thought. “No, shut up, I know that’s what you think, but he didn’t. I didn’t even find out he was a cop until I was sixteen. That’s how much he wanted me to stay away from it. Then when I tried to join the force, I passed all the tests, they even hired me on for training and I was first in the class, and he stopped them from putting me on, Renji. He just stopped them. I think he tried to stop Urahara from hiring me too, but I told him if he’d just give me a chance that I could handle anything, that I just wanted to-” Ichigo paused to catch his breath, and Renji considered whether he should say anything, but decided against it.
“Give me a chance, Renji. Someone’s got to protect people from these guys. I can do it. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, protect people like someone should have been there to protect my mom-” Ichigo never talked about his mother; all Renji knew was that she’d been murdered when he was young, and he only knew that because of his own intermittent work with the police department. Drunk as he was though, apparently Ichigo wasn’t ready to talk about it, and Renji didn’t press it. “Just please, Renji. Don’t turn it over yet. Just… let me…” His eyelids started to droop again and he trailed off. Renji waited a minute to see if he would say anything else, but he didn’t.
“Ok, Ichigo, fine. We won’t turn it over yet. But I’m still goin’ through Urahara, and only if he’s ok with it. And we’re just takin’ pictures, all right? No hero shit, ‘cause I know how you get. Is that gonna be enough for you, kid?” No answer. “Kid.” Nothing. Probably for the best, he thought. He’s not gonna remember this anyway. It was nice, though. It was a nice feeling to think that his partner trusted him enough to tell him some of this stuff, even if he did have to get wasted off his ass first.
About a minute down the road, though, Ichigo’s voice interrupted the silence again.
“Renji.” Great. This night is never gonna end.
“What?”
“In that club tonight, when I was kissing you… you started to get hard, didn’t you.”
The car almost swerved off the road before Renji managed to gain control of it again. “Ichigo, why the hell would you wait until now to say-and no, I didn’t-and if I was it was just because-and I wasn’t-” A loud snore interrupted him and left him fuming and sputtering to no one but himself. He was so mad he almost slapped Ichigo back awake just to yell at him some more, but the motel came into view and the more rational part of his brain that just wanted some sleep took over and he let it go.
It was only because of the way those pants had been rubbing against him, anyway. It’d had absolutely nothing to do with Ichigo.
*
As it turned out, the night hadn’t finished hitting bottom yet. After checking in at the desk, Renji had to carry Ichigo into the room bridal-style, much to the amusement of the solitary clerk watching through the office window. To top things off, the reservation had been screwed up, and they ended up with a king instead of two doubles. Calling the front desk did no good, as nothing else would be available for at least another night. Renji briefly considered trying another motel, or even driving home, but one glance at Ichigo told him getting him in the car again would be more trouble than it was worth. Instead he ended up sleeping on the floor with a pillow and a blanket.
He woke up a few hours later just as tired as when he had gone to sleep, but with the added bonus of a crick in his neck. Ichigo was still completely passed out, which wasn’t that bad; it gave him time to go for a jog, shower, eat some of Ichigo’s food, call Urahara to catch him up, and start trying to figure out the situation at the dock. Internet satellite maps showed him that the place was pretty big. There were a half dozen large piers, plus restaurants and a couple recreation areas and parking lots… not to mention it was possible they would be conducting their business on a private boat. The case didn’t seem nearly so solid in the light of day as it had the night before.
Around mid-afternoon, Renji admitted he wasn’t making progress on his own and decided to wake Ichigo. It was possible the kid knew more about the dock than he did, having grown up in town; Renji himself had only moved there a few years before he’d started working for Urahara. Besides, the peaceful way he was sleeping with the sheets pulled up to his chin was starting to irritate him. His neck still hurt, damn it.
He climbed up onto the bed, carefully so as to not wake Ichigo until he was in position, and balanced himself on his toes directly over Ichigo’s legs. “Hey, Ichigo. Wake up.” Ichigo’s face twitched, he mumbled in his sleep, and Renji got a little louder. “Hey. Hey!” Ichigo’s eyes blinked open and it took him a second to focus, but the moment he recognized Renji he was scrambling back toward the headboard.
“Renji, what the hell is wrong with you?”
Renji ignored the question and acted like he had just done a perfectly normal thing, knowing it would piss Ichigo off even more. “Oh, hey, you’re finally up.”
“Don’t be so loud.” Ichigo leaned forward and rubbed his eyes. “What’d you wake me for?”
“So you can do your job, idiot. We’ve got to figure out what’s going on at the dock. You do still work for a living, right, Ichigo?”
Ichigo looked puzzled, and Renji felt some relief since it might mean he had forgotten some of the previous night, but it was short-lived. “So what are you saying, Renji, can’t handle this on your own? Aren’t you always telling me you were better off before I came along?”
Renji leaned forward and Ichigo mirrored him, until their foreheads were practically touching. “Yeah, you handled things so well last night, kid. Great show.”
Ichigo’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, so remind me again… Which one of us finally brought Byakuya in?”
That was it. Renji lunged forward, hands outstretched. Ichigo evaded, but just barely, and the move set Renji off balance. They tumbled down to the floor together, taking half the sheets with them.
“You little-” Ichigo managed to keep Renji’s hands at bay, but Renji countered with his legs until he’d sort of half-pinned his partner beneath him.
“Don’t get mad-at me, it’s not my fault-it took you years-to catch up to him-” Ichigo managed to get the words out between grunts, legs kicking, but then froze. “Holy hell, Renji, I have to take a piss.”
“Huh? Oh-oh. Ok. Hold on.” They were well-tangled in the sheets at that point, and it took a few seconds for them to sort out the mess. Renji couldn’t help the snort of laughter that came out when Ichigo bolted for the bathroom the instant he was free. Damn if his partner didn’t bring out every possible emotion in him-frequently in the span of a few minutes.
He got to his feet and stretched out, frowning at the ache in his neck, then picked up the sheets and threw them onto the bed in a heap. Settling in to rest his back against the pillows, he found the remote and clicked the TV on to let his brain work on things in the background for a few minutes.
That kid really did make him crazy.
*
A little over an hour later, they found themselves walking around the dock. As it turned out, the place had been a popular hangout when Ichigo had been in high school, and he actually did have some useful ideas; it had been a few years since he’d been there, though, and he wanted to check it out in person. That was fine with Renji. Sitting around in a motel room with a laptop wasn’t his idea of accomplishment, and it seemed that was one point where he and Ichigo agreed.
Some things were pretty easy to rule out from the start. The restaurants and main parking lots were centralized and tended to be crowded at night, making it difficult for any kind of illegal dealing to go down. At least, it would be difficult if it was on the level Ichigo thought it would be. As they walked, it hit Renji he’d accepted Ichigo’s judgment on that point almost without question, and he had to stop himself and wonder why. Come to think if it, he hadn’t even bothered corroborating his story about Szayel with police records. When the hell had he started letting himself rely on Ichigo that way? It reassured him somewhat when he remembered that Urahara had also been accepting of Ichigo’s judgment over the phone that morning-that man didn’t let anything get by him, and clearly he trusted Ichigo-but still, he was going to have to start paying better attention than that. That kind of dependence just didn’t sit well with him, period.
By the third time they had circled around to the farthest pier, Renji was ready to suggest they had narrowed it down as much as they could, and that their best bet might be to take the riskier route of at least one of them attempting to tail Nnoitra from his hotel. Just before he could say it though, his eyes picked a man out of the crowd. It was the blond man from the club. Tesla. Holy shit.
“Ichigo.” He elbowed him in the ribs, and ignored the annoyed return elbow in his own. “Next to that guy with the green shirt and that lady walking her dog-you’re not gonna believe this, but he was sitting next to Nnoitra at the club last night.”
Ichigo swung his head around, and Renji cringed. Don’t ten-year-olds learn how to not draw attention to themselves when they’re trying to be sneaky? He started to snap at him, but next thing he knew he was being shoved into and over the bushes at the edge of the walkway, landing on the grass that separated the edge of the dock from the water. A moment later Ichigo fell in a sprawl on top of him.
“Ichigo, what the f-” Ichigo plastered a hand over his mouth, and if Renji could have gotten one of his own free, he would have let him know right away how he felt about that. Unfortunately, he just had to listen.
“You’re an idiot, Renji. If you can see him, he can see you. Did you even think?” Now Ichigo was giving him a lecture? Please. He finally wrenched an arm loose and smacked Ichigo’s hand away.
“That guy wasn’t looking at anyone but Nnoitra last night. He wouldn’t know you or me from anyone else on this pier.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but Szayel would, after the way he was looking at you. Or did you not notice he was there, too?” Another second and they had switched positions (forcefully, as Renji was still not happy about being pushed into the bushes). Ichigo grunted uncomfortably, but Renji was too busy peeking through the leaves and verifying this piece of information to care.
“Damn, you’re right.” Szayel had walked up and joined the man from another area of the pier, and the two were having what looked like a highly animated argument. Ichigo strained beneath him to get into a better position.
“Renji, you weigh as much as an elephant. Move.” He grudgingly shifted enough for Ichigo to look through the foliage, hoping whatever soft spot his knee ended up in was somewhere uncomfortable. “Looks like they’re gonna do it down here, anyway.” Renji had to agree, judging by the pointing and gestures that were taking place.
Eventually Szayel won whatever disagreement they were having and began to walk off victoriously. Tesla sulked a short distance behind, sending several glances backward over his shoulder. As soon as they had passed, Ichigo made a valiant effort to shove Renji off him.
“C’mon, we gotta tail ‘em. Just in case we mess up tomorrow, we gotta know where Szayel’s staying.” Renji ignored him, keeping him pinned against the grass. “Come on, let me up already.”
“Ichigo, you moron, you’re always charging into shit like that. Didn’t you see Tesla checking back over his shoulder?”
“I’m not stupid, I was gonna wait until he wasn’t looking.”
“That’s not what I meant. Look.” He let Ichigo up enough to get another visual of the pier.
“Number 10.” Nnoitra’s bodyguard was following about fifty yards behind, back in his black suit, eyes scanning the peer busily.
“That’s right. Now if you had rushed out there like you wanted to, there’s no way he wouldn’t have seen you come flying over these bushes. Guy like that’s just looking for a fight, and I guarantee he would have remembered your obnoxious ass from last night.” Renji turned to grin down at Ichigo in triumph, and at the sight of his pouting face, he couldn’t stop his mouth from running a little more. “Tell me I was right.”
“Shut up.” Ichigo pushed his hands hard against Renji’s knees, almost dislodging him, but Renji was able to grab his wrists and wrestle them into a position somewhere near his shoulders. As he watched the kid struggle, something made him push it a bit further.
“Tell me how grateful you are for all my experience, Ichigo.”
Ichigo growled in frustration. “Get off.”
“Nuh-uh. Not until you say how much you appreciate me.”
Ichigo renewed his struggle with full force, almost tearing his hands free, but then decided to go for a different angle. He bucked his hips upward, trying to throw Renji off, but froze in the middle of it; too late, Renji realized why. He was straddling Ichigo, outright straddling him-in fact straddling his groin while pinning his wrists to the ground-and looking into the kid’s eyes told the whole story.
He was aroused.
Like too many times since they’d started working together, shit, since they’d started this investigation yesterday, his thoughts went straight to his mouth. “This is really turning you on, isn’t it?”
Ichigo hesitated, but turned smug in an instant. “It’s turning you on, too.”
The grip Renji had on Ichigo’s wrists tightened until he had to be cutting off the circulation to his hands, and he leaned in to bring their faces within inches of each other. “Listen up, Kurosaki. I’m only gonna say this once, but just because you-” you feel good under me, I like your mouth, you’re warm, I want to kiss you again “-just because…”
His words ran out, and he felt his grip loosen slightly in defeat. He couldn’t make himself move, though, even though he knew he should; he could only watch as the smugness slowly drained from Ichigo’s eyes beneath him and was replaced with something he couldn’t read. Something about that frustrated him; he wasn’t used to not being able to read his partner, and it made him-he wanted to-
Fuck it. Not wanting to think about what he was doing or why, Renji brought his mouth even lower until he could feel the static between them, until they were so close they were doing everything but touching. The last millimeter, though, he couldn’t do it, couldn’t make himself finish what he’d started because that would mean he had decided to do this. Ichigo could finish it though, maybe, after all Ichigo had done it last night-why was his heart racing so fast, for fuck’s sake-
Then he was lying on his back in the grass next to Ichigo, who was already getting to his feet. “Come on, Renji.” He kept his face carefully turned away as he started to climb back over the bushes. “We’ve gotta get going now if we’re gonna have any chance of finding them before they get out of here.”
It’s for the best, Renji decided as he got up to follow him. It really is. The fucking job’s playing tricks on me, and that’s all. He kept a short distance behind Ichigo, keeping an eye out around them, trying to memorize their surroundings for their later strategy discussion and not because it was a distraction from his growing confusion.
Definitely it’s for the best.
*
Renji woke up slowly, savoring the softness of the bed. It was unusual for them to have a case like this, one that let him sleep so much. Especially one that let him do it in a bed. Ok, so he felt a little guilty that some of it was due to them fucking up the case, but overall he wasn’t arguing. It was a nice luxury.
As he slowly came to, his brain automatically started tracing over the events of the previous night. They’d actually managed to follow Szayel and Tesla and Number 10 back to the parking lot without being seen, almost a miracle for the two of them these days. Of course, it had a lot to do with the fact that they were avoiding each other for once instead of leaping at each others’ throats, but Renji chose to skip that little detail in his head for now because he didn’t want to think about what had led up to it. He’d sent Ichigo to get the car, keeping him updated on the two-way with Szayel’s location when he’d separated from the other two.
And that was where all the trouble had started. He’d sent Ichigo to get the car so he could stay on the trail, which wasn’t really the same as wanting Ichigo to drive. But then Ichigo had refused to switch places with him when he came around to pick him up, and they’d almost lost Szayel right then and there while they fought over it. Renji’d finally caved (or rather, was thrown into the passenger seat and decided not to argue in favor of doing their job), and by the time they’d gotten a visual on Szayel’s car they were just barely able to get back on it.
They’d done it though, which Ichigo had claimed was thanks to his driving abilities when it had clearly been due to Renji’s keen observation skills, and that had managed to set off another fight. As a result, Ichigo had ended up following Szayel’s car way too closely and making several erratic lane changes in the process. Thinking about it now, maybe it had also had something to do with Renji trying to take over the driving from the passenger seat, but it was inconsequential at this point. By the time they’d hit the freeway it seemed that Szayel’s driver had grown suspicious; the route he was taking didn’t make any sense, doubling back in strange places, and they’d had no choice but to back off and head to the motel. Too mad to think, they’d barely spoken two words to each other outside of when Renji’d barked at Ichigo to sleep on the floor, because it was time he got to enjoy sleeping in a bed.
And yeah, he was enjoying it. Renji stretched out, letting his legs reach their full extension, and for once his toes didn’t hang off the end of the mattress. He had a twin in his own place, which was kind of ridiculous for someone of his size, but he liked it that way. Kept him going, less tempted to spend his time lying around in it. This, though… if he had this in his apartment, he wondered if he’d ever bother getting up at all. A contented mmm rolled in his throat, so warm, which was good since they hadn’t raised the temperature from where the motel staff had left it… He curled his legs around again and pulled Ichigo closer.
He pulled Ichigo closer.
If there was anyone staying in the room next to theirs, or in fact the entire row their room was connected to, they were awake now. The volume of his incoherent shriek made sure of that. Ichigo woke up kicking, arms over his head like he was being shot at. “Fucking hell, Renji, what are you doing?”
“What am I doing?” He wanted nothing more than to get off the bed and out of this mess, but he was afraid someone was going to lose an eye if he didn’t stop Ichigo’s legs somehow. He finally got hold of one ankle, and that was enough to at least slow down the flailing. “You were supposed to sleep on the floor! What the hell are you doing in the bed?”
“The bed is fuckin’ huge, Renji, and the floor was killing my back. I didn’t ask you to spoon me, you pervert!” Ichigo looked ready to gnaw his own leg off to get away.
“I’m the pervert?” Renji stared murderously, then wrenched Ichigo’s leg back at just the right angle to send him off the edge. “I’m gettin’ in the shower. Gotta go wash the violation off me.”
“Whatever, Renji, I’ll bet you liked it.” Ichigo’s voice from the floor was muffled as Renji jumped off to head to the bathroom. “Hey wait a sec, what are we doing today?”
Incredible, Renji thought, turning in time to watch Ichigo stand up and rub the back of his head. And he brings me right back down with him every time. “I figured we’d start at the hotel and make sure Nnoitra’s situation still looks right. Then we’ll head to the dock, walk around a bit, and as soon as it’s dark enough drive the car up to that spot you picked out.”
“All right.” Ichigo nodded with a yawn and stretched his arms out high overhead, popping something in his neck in the process.
Shaking his head, Renji entered the bathroom to start getting undressed. “I’m locking the door, pervert,” he called out.
“Fucker,” Ichigo answered from the room.
Heh. He started to lift his shirt over his head, but paused with it halfway up. Smells like Ichigo’s hair. It wasn’t a bad smell. Maybe his shampoo was in the bathroom somewhere Renji could find it and borrow it.
*
It was a few hours after dark, and for once everything had gone according to plan. Nnoitra had been easy enough to spot at the hotel, the day had been uneventful, and now the car sat atop a small, unlit, grassy hill that overlooked the pier. It was hard to see from the pier once the sun went down, which made it an excellent vantage point. During the day it would have made a great place for a picnic since the whole bay and the harbor were visible, but at night no one used it except teenagers looking for somewhere to make out. Renji had a sneaking suspicion that was how Ichigo knew about it, actually. It was too quiet anyway; he had come to realize he wasn’t used to that when Ichigo was in the car with him. Time for a good ribbing.
“So, Ichigo… you bring a lot of guys up here when you were in school?” He braced himself for a physical onslaught, but Ichigo merely glared at him.
“Shut up, idiot. Of course I didn’t.”
“Are you sure? You seem to know a lot about the place.”
“Didn’t say I didn’t come out here. Just said I didn’t do it with guys.” Ichigo shifted a little bit so he could prop his feet up on the dashboard, and it was Renji’s turn to react.
“Wait, so… you brought girls out here?”
“Yeah. Well, a girl, a couple of times.”
Obviously, judging by Ichigo’s first reaction, he’d remembered telling Renji he was gay… now he was curious. “What do you mean, a girl? Thought you said-”
“Look, high school’s not exactly the place for a gay pride parade, all right? Besides, I was still kind of figuring things out.” Ichigo wasn’t meeting his eyes anymore, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. Renji considered dropping it for a moment, but then thought back about all the shit Ichigo had put him through in the last day or so and changed his mind.
“So… does that mean I’m the first guy you’ve been up here with?” A fist to the stomach was his answer to that question. He was all ready to fire back when Ichigo hushed him, looking attentively out the front windshield. Szayel. Good thing he’d caught that. One day he just knew they’d end up smashing the horn and blowing the whole thing out of the water.
They straightened themselves up and Renji dug the binoculars out of the back seat. “Looks like he’s the first one here, I can’t see anyone else around.” The dashboard clock read one minute to midnight. Lame.
“Let me see.” Ichigo held his hand out expectantly without looking, and Renji snorted. Turning his head, he jammed his fingers into Renji’s shoulder. “Come on, give ‘em up.”
“Say please.” He held out for a second, but Ichigo’s face told him that was never going to happen, so he smirked and handed them over anyway. They were partners, after all, and he was a professional.
Ichigo scanned the dock quickly before letting the binoculars come to rest against the dashboard. “Renji, there’s one more thing I think I should tell you about Szayel.”
“What’s that?”
“He… my dad thinks he killed someone. A couple someones, actually, and maybe more than that.”
“Really?” It wouldn’t be the first time he’d dealt with a murderer, but it wasn’t that common, either. And none of those times had involved Ichigo.
“Yeah. It’s not in the official report because there was no proof. The guys just disappeared one day.”
“So… what makes you think he killed them? Wasn’t there an investigation?” Sloppy police work, no surprises there. Part of the reason he’d agreed to not turn over the case, he supposed. Not that the two of them had such a great track record either, when he thought about it.
“Well, not really. That’s the thing, Renji. These men he killed, they worked for him, they were using aliases at the time and no one knew who they were. There was no way to track them. And Szayel, if he can kill the people he’s close to, people loyal to him… he’d do anything. And he seemed like… the other night, he was staring at you, like he kind of... I just thought you should know what he’s like. That’s all.” Ichigo was almost mumbling by that point; he looked tired, worried. Renji considered, slightly shocked that Ichigo had voiced anything that close to concern for him, and not knowing what else to do decided to try to lighten the mood with a rough pat on the back.
“We’ll get him, kid. Don’t worry. That’s what we’re doing here, right?”
“I keep telling you I’m not a kid, Renji.” Ichigo’s voice was still quiet; he barely moved, and Renji sighed.
“No, I guess you’re not.” Oh, what the hell. “Ichigo, I want you to see something, just in case. Grab your car keys, and get the little one.”
Ichigo looked at him questioningly before fishing through his pocket to pull them out. “This one? The glove compartment one?”
“Yeah. Open it up.” Ichigo did as he was told, then waited for more instructions. “Reach back in there.” Ichigo stuck his hand in, and Renji could tell from his frown the exact moment his fingers touched the polymer. “Take it out.”
Ichigo let the hand gripping the 9mm semi-automatic settle in his lap, and stared blankly out the windshield. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a gun in here, Renji?”
“I just did, didn’t I?” Ichigo kept staring, still frowning. “Look, ki-look, I’m still not sure you’re not insane, but you’re my partner, and I trust you.”
“You got a permit to keep this loaded in there?” Renji would have been insulted, but that wouldn’t be fair given Ichigo’s understandable bitterness.
“Of course I do, idiot.” Ichigo sighed, but looked down to study it more closely. Renji figured he knew how to handle it, since he’d been through the police training academy. The Glock 17 was the most widely-used law enforcement pistol in the world, and it happened to be standard issue in town.
“You know…” Ichigo paused, like he still hadn’t decided if he was mad or not, but then continued. “The guys on the force name their guns.”
“Zabimaru.” Ichigo looked at him and quirked an eyebrow, but at least some of his hurt seemed to be forgotten. Renji was surprised to find he was a little comforted. “It means snake tail or something. I used to work with Captain Zaraki as an informant when I first moved here, before Urahara took me on, and he liked the name. It stuck.”
Ichigo was quiet for a second, but then chuckled lightly. “Zaraki, he’s somethin’, isn’t he.”
“Yup.” Ichigo turned it in his hands one more time before sliding the gun back in and closing the glove compartment. They turned their attention back to the dock just in time to catch Nnoitra’s arrival, and Ichigo handed the binoculars back to Renji absentmindedly.
“Looks like Tesla’s got whatever it is they’re selling… in a suitcase, for fuck’s sake. These guys really don’t care for creativity, do they… You see that bodyguard anywhere, Ichigo?”
“Not from here… but I doubt they left him home.”
“Keep your eye out. There’s some dark patches between those lights we can’t see too well.”
“Thanks, Lieutenant Obvious.”
He almost laughed, but held back so Ichigo wouldn’t think he was funny. At least he Ichigo wasn’t angry with him anymore. No more than usual, anyway.
Another minute passed, two, and a woman he hadn’t seen before made her way onto the pier. She carried herself confidently; waist-length hair and a white suit, stiletto heels adding to her already impressive height, she didn’t appear at all nervous. In fact, the first word that came to mind when he saw her was ‘graceful’. Lifting the binoculars to his eyes, he studied her face carefully, noting the pendant she wore around her neck. It had the shape of a white skull, something like a ram with curved horns protruding from the sides.
“Ichigo, take a look. Maybe those two guys from the other night were working for her?” Ichigo had a troubled expression on his face as he took the binoculars back to observe Tesla patting her down.
“Renji, I recognize that woman. I’m pretty sure she’s an undercover officer. My dad’s been friends with her for years, but he never would tell me exactly what she did or how he knew her. This makes a lot of sense, though, and I did kind of recognize those guys last night…. Her name’s Nel. Can’t remember her last name, it’s something… something long.”
Renji was stunned. Was it possible the cops had managed to get their act together on this one? He knew Ichigo would be disappointed, but he actually felt a little relieved himself. “Well, look, we’ll still take pictures, ok? Maybe they’ll be able to use them. You all right with that?”
“Yeah, sure. It’s really… it’s good they’re taking them in. I’m just glad they’ll be off the streets.” Ichigo let the binoculars fall, and leaned his elbow against the passenger window to prop his head up. Renji would have said more, but Ichigo’s words were right. It was the right attitude. He’d grow into it.
“Hey Ichigo, where’s the…”
“Huh?”
“The camera, you seen it?” Renji twisted his head around to look in the back seat, but nothing jumped out at him.
“Um… I swear I saw it when we got in… wait…” Ichigo reached around and groped behind his back for a second. “It might be stuck in the seat here, something’s been kind of poking me-”
“You sat on my camera?” Renji thrust his hand behind Ichigo, making him jump.
“Hey-”
“Found it.” He pulled the camera up by its strap, and went to work taking pictures immediately. There was some conversation going on between Nel and Nnoitra, Szayel watching intently from behind the woman and Tesla standing next to his boss. From what Renji could see, he appeared to be staring resentfully at Nel’s overly-large chest. If I remember right from that picture, Nnoitra’s wife’s got some pretty big ones, too. He chuckled to himself as the camera started to snap. He made sure to get good shots of each of their faces, especially Szayel’s. It took some concentration to capture the right moments, to make it clear what each of their parts in this was. He caught the exact instant money changed hands, the second the case was opened and revealed what appeared to be around 20 kilos of cocaine. Damn if he was going to screw this up. I owe it to Ichigo to do this right, at least.
I mean, I owe it to Urahara. Because he pays me.
Glancing over, he saw Ichigo had the binoculars pressed to his eyes like his life depended on it. He’s a good kid, really. Having him for a partner wasn’t terrible. Maybe Ichigo would grow into this, too.
Another picture, but when he moved to look for a different angle, he paused. Something seemed to have gone wrong. Nel was suddenly frozen, Tesla was gesturing widely and speaking loudly enough that some of his words drifted as far as the car, and Nnoitra was turning his head back and forth between the two.
“Renji, something’s happened.” The concern in Ichigo’s voice matched that in Renji’s head.
“Yeah. I think you’re right.” It wasn’t clear yet what had happened, no weapons were visible, but it would only take an instant for something like this to explode. Still, he had to get a better handle on the situation before they did anything stupid. Besides, if Nel really was one of them, the cops should be nearby, ready to intervene if things went too far.
But then… where were they? Shouldn’t they have been out there already, since the money had changed hands and the product had been revealed? Maybe this was a remote operation, though, and they weren’t that close, maybe…
He made a split-second decision. “Ichigo, I’m going to try and get a little closer so I can hear what they’re saying. Stay here.”
Ichigo made a noise of protest but Renji didn’t stick around to hear it. He opened the door as quickly and quietly as he could, thankful he’d had the overhead light re-wired to stop coming on when the door was opened, and silently stepped onto the grass. It shouldn’t be too hard to make it a little way down the hill without being seen, if he went slowly enough. The night was a little chilly so he’d even worn a dark sweatshirt, and he pulled the hood up to cover his hair and as much of his face as possible.
Jeez. No matter how many times he’d put himself in risky situations while taking pictures, stuff like this still made his heart pound. He knelt down at the edge of the hill and watched. Things had gone from bad to worse. Nnoitra was now holding a gun he’d pulled from somewhere and pointing it at Nel, whose hands were up next to her head. Her posture was still relaxed, though, for the most part. Gotta hand it to her, she’s really got some nerve. He started to pick up on some of the conversation as he crawled feet first a short way down the hill.
“She’s wearing a wire,” Tesla was saying. “Check. If I’m wrong you can-you can cut me out of my share.”
“Cut you out of your share?” It was hard to see in the dim light, but Nnoitra appeared seriously threatening. “You’d be lucky, Tesla. All this water, no one would miss you. Are you willing to stake your life on it?”
“I-” Tesla seemed taken back, but continued boldly. “Yes.”
Nnoitra leaned in toward Nel. “You know, he might have a point. I don’t trust women like you in this business. Bitches who always act like they’re better than everyone. Maybe I should have Tesla take a closer look under that expensive suit you’ve got on.”
Renji’d heard enough to know she was in trouble. If she was a cop, she was certainly wearing a wire-maybe even that pendant she had on. Time to move. Once he was back at the car, he’d get his phone out and call the police, find out why they-
Click. In an instant, he knew what he’d done wrong. Szayel. He’d been so absorbed in listening and watching everything else, he hadn’t even noticed that he’d disappeared. The sound of the handgun’s slide being released next to his head told him everything he’d missed.
Shit. I’m dead.
“So. It was you after all. I wondered who was in that car yesterday.” Szayel’s fingers ran over his throat as he whispered into his ear. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. Not right away, anyway. You’re too pretty not to play with first.” Renji despised the near-silent laughter that followed, but kept his mouth shut. The longer he stayed alive, the better his chance of escape. The better his chance the police would show up for Nel and maybe…
Maybe Ichigo would be ok.
His heart sank when he remembered his partner waiting in the car above them. At least Ichigo couldn’t see this; the angle on the hill was too steep from where the car was parked. As long as he stayed in the car, everything would be all right. As long as he doesn’t try any hero shit this time, everything will work out. As long as Ichigo’s ok. As long as-
“Szayel.” Renji instinctively turned toward Ichigo’s voice, and Szayel jammed the gun barrel harder against his head. I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him for coming out here. I’ll kill him for trying to save me. If we live, I’ll kill him. “Put the gun down.”
“Now why should I do that?” Szayel spoke directly against his head. He’s taunting him.
“Because if you do anything else with it, I’ll kill you.” He’s always doing that. Just rushes in and runs his mouth. He stayed steady though, Renji’s pistol in his hands; perfect Weaver stance, from what Renji could see. From the sound of his voice, he was even managing to keep his breathing relaxed. At least he could control himself. At least Renji hadn’t made a mistake thinking he could handle a gun. Then again, maybe if I hadn’t told him he’d still be in the car… maybe…
“What the hell is going on up there?” Nnoitra. Not surprisingly, it seemed they’d caught his attention. “Tesla, take care of this.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Renji saw Tesla start forward on the ground, his own weapon held ready to fire, and Ichigo turned. A shot rang out, and for a moment he didn’t know who’d done it. Please Ichigo-please don’t be dead-Tesla went down, gripping his knee and screaming.
Good boy, Ichigo. Good boy. Quick, too, he was already refocused on Szayel.
More action on the ground below as Nel suddenly dropped, and Nnoitra was left towering over her limp figure; no shot, he’d apparently taken the butt of his gun to her head. The situation was bleak. It was two against two, and Renji and Ichigo did not have the upper hand.
Seconds ticked by, but it seemed like so much longer; wild thoughts about fighting, Ichigo, escaping, dying, Ichigo ran uncontrolled through Renji’s head. Szayel’s fingers moved over his throat again, working their way under his hood and back along the side of his neck. He was saying something, but Renji couldn’t hear it as Ichigo’s words from the car played back through his head.
He’d do anything.
The other night, he was staring at you, like he kind of…
I just thought you should know what he’s like.
And before that at the dock, after Ichigo had tackled him.
Szayel would, after the way he was looking at you.
This was exactly what Ichigo had been afraid of. He could just barely see his partner, thanks to the dark and the angles at which they stood to each other, but the effect Szayel’s game was having on him was obvious. His body tensed, his control was faltering, and Renji wondered if he’d try to take the shot. He almost wished he would. There was a fair chance he’d make it, they were at close range, but it meant Nnoitra might-
Nnoitra. Why hadn’t he moved? He was still standing there, watching, like he was waiting for something… was he waiting for someone else to move before he stepped in, was he waiting to see if Ichigo would take the shot? But his gun wasn’t even pointed in their direction, there was something else-
Fuck. For the second time since he’d gotten out of the car, Renji realized he’d forgotten something important. It couldn’t save him; in fact just saying it might get him killed, but he suddenly knew if it could save Ichigo that was all that mattered to him.
Funny, the things you realize when it counts.
He’d take his chances.
“Ichigo, the big guy, he’s gotta be-”
Two things happened at once; Szayel’s grip on him tightened, yanking him backward and cutting him off as his neck twisted painfully, and a huge figure lurched onto the scene. Before Ichigo could get his bearings, before he was able to process what Renji’d been saying to him, he was lifted clear off the ground by his throat. Number 10. Just as he’d suspected, he’d been there all along; he was even bigger than Renji remembered. The Glock fell to the grass, abandoned, as Ichigo tore at the hand choking the breath out of him.
So this is it. This is what it feels like to really lose something-to lose something that means everything. Ichigo’s eyes, it was so dark maybe he was imagining it… they were dimming. Moments went by and his struggle started to fall off. Szayel’s laughter faded out of Renji’s mind, Ichigo was all he could process as his legs stopped kicking.
No. This can’t be happening. Not to Ichigo.
He had to try. He got ready to move, to make an attempt to wrestle the gun away from Szayel knowing full well his efforts would likely be rewarded with a bullet to the brain, when an inappropriately cheerful female voice interrupted them. “Drop him, Mr. Riyalgo.” Ichigo dangled as the man holding him looked around to see who was talking. “I won’t ask again.”
“Do what she says, Yammy.” Nnoitra.
Renji returned his attention to the ground below to see Nnoitra pinned against the paved walkway of the pier, a large man keeping him there with a foot against his back and a gun aimed directly at his head. If I’m not mistaken, that’s-
Ichigo was dropped to the grass in an instant and sucked in several desperate breaths. Relief washed over Renji like a flood; his knees started to go weak and he wasn’t sure they would hold him up anymore.
“Don’t you relax yet.” Szayel’s grip tightened on his throat. Fuck, he’d almost forgotten he had a gun to his head. “You’re gonna help me get out of here, and then-”
“I don’t think you’re going anywhere, Szayel.” Another man, behind them, and Renji recognized the voice of one of the guys Nnoitra’s crew had met with in the bar who worked for Nel. Still, Szayel didn’t relent.
“You’re outnumbered here, Szayel.” The other man, the stockier one, his voice deadly serious. Good act, Renji thought. I would never have guessed. “You can’t win.”
The finger on the trigger tightened against Renji’s hood. His heart, which had nearly stopped when Ichigo had been in mid-air, was hammering again. Helpless, he found himself drawn to his partner once more. His eyes were alive again, but full of panic. You did your best, Ichigo. He hoped his face said it for him.
Suddenly the gun was pulled away from his head, and dropped to the ground at their side; Szayel joined it as one of the men tackled him. Renji took a few shaky steps in Ichigo’s direction, but had to sit down as his legs finally gave out.
“Hey, Chief!” The gruff voice confirmed what Renji had suspected: Captain Zaraki was the man holding Nnoitra against the ground. And the woman he was talking to on the hill had to be Chief Unohana. “Everything all right up there?”
“Yes, Captain Zaraki. We’ve apprehended Mr. Riyalgo and Mr. Granz. Do you need assistance with Mr. Jiruga?”
“Nah, this was too easy.” Zaraki actually sounded disappointed. “Next time don’t get me involved unless there’s a challenge.”
“I think it will interest you to know we’ve also met with Isshin Kurosaki’s son and Renji Abarai.” She made it sound like they were sitting around enjoying the view or something.
“Ichigo, huh? And Abarai’s up there? Ask that bastard why he doesn’t come by the precinct more often.”
“You can ask him yourself in a few minutes, Captain. First let’s make sure these gentlemen arrive downtown safely.”
“Yes, Chief.” No one argued with Unohana, that was for sure. Not even Zaraki.
“Mr. Abarai, Mr. Kurosaki, please wait to speak with me before you leave the scene. We’ll want an EMT to examine each of you as well, after they’ve seen to Ms. Oderschvank.” Renji managed to nod his head; Ichigo did the same, though he still hadn’t so much as picked himself up off the ground. He watched as Unohana and the two undercover officers marched their prisoners down the hill and out of sight.
Renji dragged himself over to his partner, who was finally pushing up to a sitting position. “Hey.” Oh come on Renji, you can do better than that. “You… you did good.”
“No I didn’t. I didn’t do anything. I wanted to protect Nel and it just made things worse. I tried to protect you and I screwed it all up.”
“Don’t be stupid, Ichigo.” Renji reached out and rested his hand on Ichigo’s arm. “If we hadn’t done something, who knows what would have happened to Nel-I still wanna know where the fucking cops were until now. And I’m all right. You handled yourself perfectly. I’m…”-oh hell, here it comes-“…I’m just glad you’re ok.”
“You don’t get it. When I saw Szayel with that gun to your head, I just-I freaked out, Renji. I didn’t know what to do.” Ichigo brought his knees up to his chest and buried his head in his arms.
“Yes, you did. You did everything right.” He slid his hand up Ichigo’s arm to his shoulder, then under his chin to lift his face. “Look at me.” Ichigo grudgingly turned his eyes toward Renji, and something inside him took over. He leaned forward, slipping his hand around to the back of his partner’s head; Ichigo stared, eyes widening in surprise. If nothing else good had come from this, at least Renji knew what he wanted now, and what he was supposed to want and what made sense didn’t matter right then. This time he was going to do it, he’d go that last millimeter, because he’d almost lost him and in that moment he didn’t care anymore if-
Someone coughed. “Mr. Kurosaki?”
They jumped apart, Renji all the way onto his feet. Shit. A small man with a medical kit was standing several yards away. “I’m Hanatarou, I’m an EMT working with the police department. The Chief asked me to make sure you were ok, said you’d been asphyxiated?” His eyes darted back and forth nervously between the two of them.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, that’s Ichigo.” Renji looked away, kicking at the ground as the tech knelt down next to his partner and started asking questions. Maybe it’s better, maybe it’s still for the best and maybe… It didn’t sound nearly as convincing as it had at the dock the day before.
Quite some time later, after both of them had been examined and proclaimed well enough to leave the scene, after answering a long list of questions from Chief Unohana, and after a thorough grilling by Captain Zaraki, they sat quietly together in the car. It felt almost like home. Hell, it was home, when he really thought about it. He was more comfortable there than anywhere else in the world. And maybe they could finally relax.
“Renji.” Ichigo finally broke the silence.
“What is it?”
“I’m sorry.”
Renji turned with enough force to accidentally knock the camera off the armrest between them. “Do I have to go through it again? You didn’t do anything wrong, idiot, you-”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m sorry about this.” With those words, he launched himself over the armrest and threw his arms around Renji’s neck. Caught by surprise, Renji didn’t move as Ichigo’s mouth crashed onto his. It didn’t take long for him to recover though, and soon he was reaching up to wrap his arms around Ichigo’s shoulders, pulling him in even closer.
Maybe Ichigo wasn’t the only one growing into things.
PART 3