Author's Notes: No smut, but I finally updated xD

X .cution

I made the wrong decision coming to Orihime's teashop. One, Tatsuki hasn't let up on asking me about the rumours that are spreading around about me. And two, Orihime is trying out a new menu, again. Currently, I'm contemplating whether I should try her new peach potato buns or garlic buns stuffed with ginger bits and custard cream since in comparison to the rest of her menu, seem the most edible.

"You know," Tatsuki started "if you let me in on your little secret with that yokai rumour that has been going around a lot lately, I could give you a free taste test for the whole menu."

I gave her a sour expression, but she still looks as if she wouldn't even dare to give up on me.

"Tatsuki-san!" Orihime gasped. "Please don't bribe Ichigo-kun like that! I invited him to test my new menu for free, so don't try to place a price on the offer I gave him last minute!"

"Tch, but a whole menu? It's a waste of the ingredients I bought. If he wants to try the whole menu, he should at least give back a little." Tatsuki crossed her arms, pouting as Orihime place the hot cup of white-leaf tea on my table.

"It's not a waste!" Orihime practically squeaked in a weak attempt to raise her voice further. "I've given him the offer to try my menu free and that's it!"

Tatsuki rolled her head, obviously displeased with how things turned up. "Ugh, fine." She then stood up and made her way to the back of the teashop. "If you want me, I'll be peeling the radishes in the kitchen."

Orihime let out a exasperated huff and lowered herself to sit next to me with both her arms and legs crossed.

"Trouble?" I asked although it was clear that she was annoyed.

"Sadly." Orihime answered. "I think it's because Uruyu-kun keeps coming over to gossip, he's gotten Tatsuki-san to take an interest in Uruyu's world of scandalous rumours. Not that I blame Uruyu for all the troubles but..." She trailed off.

Apparently, Orihime doesn't know how to finish off with what she had said, so instead she leaves what she said unfinished. I didn't mind it much, and I understood her situation well, so I let Orihime be. But of course, Orihime didn't allow the pause between us to last.

"So, when are you planning to announce your situation with a thunder beast to everyone else?" Orihime asks carefully.

Although Orihime had brought this subject up in a hushed tone, I was still stunned, and almost choked on my tea. It was still new to me that Orihime knew about my 'secret' while everyone else was still left out and I had forgotten how Orihime could be a bit blunt without her noticing it herself. So far, after my father, I was only able to tell Orihime (she fainted twice) and after revealing everything to her, I had changed my mind about telling Yoruichi after I had seen how Orihime reacted. Yoruichi would probably kill me for being "stupid" and "impulsive" rather than do anything else.

After clearing my throat, I placed my cup down on the table and sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. How could I tell everyone that? They would probably exile me or send a mob for me and my family. I just can't do that. And what I fear most is that I know I won't be able to hide it forever."

"How about you just refrain from doing anything to extravagant? Like participating in those hunting parties you were in last time." Orihime offered.

I chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, that's one way to avoid exposure." I really don't know what came over me when I had decided to volunteer myself.

"But you really seem to like this guy." Orihime comments. "I mean, you like asked Uryu-kun for advice after all. So that must mean your serious."

"Yeah- what?" I'm glad that I had earlier decided to put down my tea. If I was still drinking it, I probably would have choked to death, or spilled the cup. "Wait, how do you know about that?"

"Uruyu-kun told me that you asked him advice for um...sex." Orihime's whole face went red and she hid her face in the concealment of her arms. "Oh why did I bring this up?"

I gritted my teeth. "What else did he tell you?"

Orihime jumped in to a defensive state once she noticed my tone. "Don't worry! He didn't give out any specific information. Uryu-kun just said that you asked for information on, well, activities. Nothing else that would give away your secret or that you're with a man!" Orihime whispered hastily.

I should be relieved to hear that Uryu didn't tell anyone too much of my secret. Although he doesn't know much ( like the fact that my lover is not only a man, but a shrine god) Uryu knew enough to have the village turn their backs on me and probably ruin my family's business. So after hearing that Uryu made a 'little' slip doesn't only piss me off, but it also makes me feel a bit betrayed. Even after I promised the snivelling shit head that I wouldn't tell anyone his relationship with Chad. As if I would. Chad is my closest friend in the village, and so I try to remind myself that I made the promise to Chad, my best friend. Not that loose lipped Uryu.

I sighed. "Seriously, what's wrong with that guy though? Can't he at least have a bit of gratitude for me and keep important things to himself."

"Well, he did put up a good show of restraint. He had this face where it looked like he was just bursting to tell Tatsuki-san."

I groaned. Yup. It won't be long before I have to tell everyone. Or that everyone would find out by themselves. Why did I have to live in a village like this?

"Kurosaki Ichigo?" My name was called out in the small teashop by a familiar blonde in clothes that only an officer would wear. No, it wasn't Shinji.

It was another officer who refers himself to the name Rozu, which might be a nickname he picked up. He was an officer of low ranks who would usually do office work since he seemed like the kind of man who doesn't like to get his hands dirty. Or to put it more correctly, his hair. It didn't take long for him to find me without me having to reply and confirm myself. By now, its definite that he knows me just like the rest of the villagers. Especially when there was so few people with hair as brightly orange as mine. Its kind of hard to forget those kind of things.

"You are needed at the Karakura Village's police station. We are in need of some vital information that you possess."

I rolled my eyes. "Again?"

The last time I remember holding 'vital information' that sad excuse for a captain Shinji screamed at me for spouting out what he thought was lies. Though I'd like to see what would happen this time I was very reluctant to give them the information that they will most likely doubt.

"What do you need me for though? I know that you said I know some important things, but I don't think they're the things your captain would like to hear."

"Doesn't matter. It's not my captain that is in need of the information. It's the Xcution."

"Xcution?" I arched a brow.

"Xcution!?" Tatsuki basically shrieked from the back kitchen. She stumbled through the kitchen opening with a half peeled radish in her right hand and a knife in the other.

"Oh, you know of them?" Rozu hums nonchalantly.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I know them! Who the hell wouldn't?" I would be one of those people, but of course Tatsuki doesn't know that. "They're a group of professional and talented exorcists, with otherworldly skills only comparable to the gods. The Xcution are practically celebrities of Japan!"

"Pfft, sounds like just another scam of exorcists to me." I muttered quietly, hoping that Tatsuki was too way into her fangirling to hear me.

Lucky me, she didn't hear me and only continued with her rants.

"And even if you have never heard of them before, anyone of Karakura would have at least heard of their name before considering they have been the talk of the town for at least a week!"

Again, I would be one of those she's not talking about, since not once have I heard of this group of exorcists until now.

Rozu sighed. "When I asked earlier if you 'know of them' I meant to say it as a rhetorical question." Tatsuki give the wavy blonde a glare, but doesn't notice it and keeps his attention towards me. "It was the Xcution who requested you, not captain Shinji. If you need explanation, I won't be able to offer you the answers you need. But instead, you may ask vice captain Kensei, since he is most likely to provide you the answers you need."

Kensei I could handle. He seemed more open minded towards these kind of things.

"Okay." I agreed smoothly.

It was a bit of a win-win for me, since I at least want to see what was so special about this Xcution group. I mean, other than the fact that they're idolized like gods. And I didn't really want to give Orihime's new menu a taste test. Really, there's nothing about pickled radish stuffed creme custard buns that sounds tasty or anything near edible. After exiting the shop, Rozu escorted me all the way toward the station and after entering the wooden building, Rozu retreated to his place behind a short desk and gestured me to go ahead further. Further where was my question.

"Yo kid." A familiar voice called.

I turned my head to my side in the direction the voice was coming from. Down the hallway there, Kensei's head was peeking out of a doorway, waving his hand in a gesture for me to go towards him. I hurried his way as questions were already spilling out of my mouth.

"Why do you need me to tell you my story again? I thought I already told you everything I knew when questioned me on the day of my father's hospitalization." I said in a tone that was bordering annoyance.

"I know, but the Xcution needs to hear your story from your mouth. I can't give them the clear details since it's not my story and nor did I experience it."

"But why me? There's others who were there too. Soifon, Kira, my father-"

"Soifon and Kira, and the group accompanying them are yakuzas. It's not ideal for us to ask them since the information they will give us will be thought of as unreliable. Your father seems unstable due to his current condition, and we're not sure if his condition is affecting his mentality. So that leaves you."

"Wonderful." I rolled my eyes.

"They're in this room right now. Just answer whatever questions they give you and you'll be outta here before you know it, 'kay kid?" Kensei advised in a hushed voice.

I nodded. "And I'm not a kid."

"Whatever Ichi boy." Kensei opened the shouji door further so I could enter the room.

Seven pairs of eyes immediately fell upon me. I tried not to fidget under the overwhelming attention and observant gazes of the Xcution, but instead, I tried to return their perceptive gazes with my own, taking in the major details of their appearances. Upon first look, they all varied in ages, even race it seemed. What surprised me the most was that there was a child among them, he was probably 9 or so. Although it wasn't really too much of a surprise, there were also two members that appeared to be the same age as me.

"Nice to meet you, Kurosaki-kun." One of the men of that group greeted with a bright smile.

"Likewise." I replied steadily.

"Shall we go through some introductions?" Kensei offered.

The man who previously greeted me nodded. "It's obvious we all know who you are, Kurosaki-kun. So allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Kugo Ginjo, a simple monk."

I was a bit sceptical when he labeled himself to be a simple monk when he wore the armour of a samurai. Ginjo also had a slight muscular build, something monks who specialize in exorcism wouldn't have. But then again, he could be a monk who specializes in various things. Those exist, I think.

Ginjo the raised his hand to the next member to his right onto a man in clothings of solid grey and black. From the designs of the robe and tunic, I could guess that he was a shinto priest, without the head cap. There was nothing prominent about this man, except that he kept his wavy shoulder-length black hair untied, he had a long scar above his left eye, and sported a blade strapped behind his back. Shinto priest don't carry weapons, and even if they did, they sure don't display them like that.

"Shukuro Tsukishima." And he left his introduction like that with a simple bow of his head and a smile. He didn't even name his role as the member of the Xcution.

"Riruka Dokugamine! Wicca of the West!" A young woman announced boldly.

Her style of clothes was odd, one that I have only seen once before and it was from a newspaper that was brought over by Chad from the neighbouring town. It was a style called Victorian, that's what Chad had called it. Though, Riruka's clothes were all black, contrasting her magenta hair and less puffy than the clothes I had seen in the picture of the newspaper. I wondered what exactly her role in the Xcution was if she wore such heavy looking clothing. It must be difficult to run it that outfit, much less walk in it under the hot sun in the afternoons of the summer.

"Wicca?" I whispered to Kensei, perplexed.

"A witch. I think its what those of the west call witches." Kensei replied.

"Hey, shut it you police wanna-be. The correct term is wicca not witch." Riruka snapped at him.

Kensei eyes widened slightly at Riruka's little outburst, but then they narrowed as he raised an accusing finger in her direction. "Watch it little girl, just because I requested you and your group's help doesn't mean you can spout shit like that at me."

"How about I revoke your shitty request of-"

"Riruka, you have no authority to refuse an accepted requested." Ginjo gave her a warning glare and sighed when Riruka replied to it with an outstretched tongue. "I apologize, it's been a long trip. We thought to get the interview over with before resting at a hotel, my mistake." He bowed his head slightly. "Shall we continue?"

"Uh, yeah." I answered.

Next was the boy, he wore simple European clothes; collared shirt over a pair of trousers and a suede jacket. These were clothes I was more familiar with since Chad had many of these when he was younger because he was originally a foreigner. There was nothing odd about this kid, and compared to the rest of his group, he seemed the most normal one there. The boy kept a calm and quiet demeanour as he stared back at me.

"Yukio Hans Vorarlberna. Novice and the apprentice of Father Kutsuzawa Giriko." Yukio bowed.

"And I am Father Kutsuzawa. Wonderful to meet you Mister Kurosaki." Giriko, the man in a black robe and clerical collar bowed.

Giriko appeared to be a very respectful man, maybe somewhere around the same age as my father. Strangely, Giriko had an eye patch that concealed his right eye.

"Jackie Tristan." The next member, a woman, raised her hands and clasp them together as she bowed her head. She wore multiple clay beads over her shoulders and around her neck, and her clothes were vibrant and with many layers of fabrics and feathers with beads tied to her hair. She must be sweating under there. " I am a shaman. And this here," Jackie guides one of her hands to the young man next to her. "is our follower."

"I'm not a follower! I'm Tsukishima-sama's apprentice!" The male practically shrieked.

"Allow me to correct myself. Tsukishima-san's follower. His name is Moe." Jackie explained.

"Oi, hag! I can introduce myself, I ain't fuckin' useless." Moe quickly switches his eyes over to me. "The last name's Shishigawara!"

Hell, no need to holler at me. At first glance he could be mistaken to be a part of a yakuza group like Kensei. Moe looked to be around the same age as me like Riruka, but he was shorter. Even as we are all sitting down I could see that.

Ginjo gave out a worn-out sigh. "Before we break out into a quarrel like multiple times earlier, I'd like to ask if you are aware of the reason why we have requested to talk to you, Kurosaki-kun."

"Yes, you want to ask me about my experiences with encountering a yokai."

"Yes. So if you can, will you give us the descriptive details of what happen? And please, every detail counts."

I crossed my arms. "Well, I'm afraid I won't be able to give you a full detail. In the middle of the event, I passed out but gained consciousness later on."

"It doesn't matter." Jackie said. "Tell us all you remember."

"Okay." I said.

And so I did. I told them every part of the event. I told them why I bothered to volunteered myself, how my father insisted to follow along, why we were venturing through the forest to look for Hisagi (who is sadly still missing to this day), and our group's encounter with the yokai, Grand Fisher. After the Xcution had ask me about my connections to Grand Fisher and why I had known it, I told them that he was an enemy of mine and that he killed my mother. They apologized and I continued with my story. I gave them the detail of Grand Fisher's attack on my group, before and after I fainted, until I came upon the section of the story where Grimmjow comes in.

That part, will be the most difficult to explain. What the hell will I tell these people?

"This, Grimmjow, is he also a yokai?" Ginjo asked.

I shook my head. "He is a shrine god."

Tsukishima visibly tensed up and his eyes widened. "What is your relationship with this shrine god?" He asked precipitously.

His reaction surprised me and I wondered if I should be extremely careful if I should say he was either a friend or an acquaintance that I have encountered in the past. At least the latter was half true.

"He is a friend." I lied.

Tsukishima gives me a doubtful expression but he doesn't press. But it seems the Tsukishima is not the only one doubting me.

"You're friends with a shrine god?" Ginjo asks a bit sarcastically.

I don't know whether I should answer or reply to him so instead I give him a plain nod. He snorts.

"I'm sorry but I find that somehow hard to believe." Ginjo said. "Supernatural beings are different from humans, emotionally and physically. They live much longer than humans, therefore the way they think and feel are different. They are careful for who they share bonds with and always seek long-term relationships. With humans, they can't find that for our lives are too short and fragile in comparison to them. But there is an exception to love relationships. Because it's those kind of relationships that sends a supernatural being to do anything and risk everything to extend the human's life expectancy. Not friendship."

Did he see right through me? Does he know? How could he? I mean, he's not like my father, this Ginjo guy didn't witness the evidence of me and Grimmjow's relationship (the love bite). And what the hell is he talking about? Was he trying to say that romance and friendship were on entirely two different levels? That a god wouldn't try to preserve a mortal's life and extending it just because they're only friends, not lovers? What about best friends?

My mind was going haywire over what he said. But I'm no expert on the psychology of supernatural beings, so I can't argue with him, an exorcist who likely has more experience in that criteria. I started to gnaw at the inside of my cheek as I tried to make up an excuse to give to Ginjo.

"I didn't ask you to believe me. You said it doesn't matter." I said.

"Yes, I did say that," Jackie intercepted the conversation "but I meant that for what you don't remember. I didn't mean for you to give us unclear information on the relationship between you and this Shrine god, Grimmjow."

"And I don't see how that's important." I replied back, struggling to keep my voice from giving the wrong impression.

But I feel as if I'm already giving myself away and that I'm becoming more suspicious to them, including Kensei.

Shit.

"Well apparently it is important, Kurosaki-kun." Ginjo scorned. His patience was visibly diminishing. "Your relationship with this shrine god can determine the safety of this village. We need to know what terms are you on with this being, may it be bad or good."

"I'm on good terms." I said. "That's all you need to know."

"Damn, are you stupid or do you just have shit in your ears? Did you not hear what he said?" Riruka snapped.

"Riruka. Ginjo." Upon Tsukishima calling out their names in a warning tone, the two only eased from their tense expressions slightly. Tsukishima kept his eyes on me, wary.

Giriko cleared his throat. "Well, this is certainly not how I expected this conversation to go."

Though his tone was light, it didn't help the atmosphere one bit.

"May I remind you that this isn't just a conversation, Giriko. We are investigating the recent events of the incidents in Karakura village and the Forest of Menosu and retrieving information from Kurosaki Ichigo." Ginjo explained, but I felt as if I was the person he was informing, not Giriko.

I narrowed my eyes. "Revealing your intentions now are you?"

"I'm explaining our purpose here, which isn't too much of a secret, is it?" Ginjo leered.

Fuck, what was this bastard implying? This must means that he already knows that I'm hiding something.

Jackie released an irritated groan. "That's it. I'm sick and tired of how long this is dragging out! So I'll just get to the point since these bumbling fools don't know how to deal with these kind of situations well enough." Jackie lifted her hand and pointed a finger adorn with woven and wooden rings at me. "We received rumours and information that you are in a 'companionship' with a supernatural being. Call it whatever you want, but your relationship status with this being isn't much of an importance, just whether or not you are in good terms with it. Now that we have confirmed the information and the fact that you are indeed in good terms with this shrine god, we have one more request for you."

"Another one?" My shoulders slumped.

"Yes." Jackie lowered her hand. "And I apologize if it is a bother, but at least, hear me out."

Well, she is being nice about it. "Okay."

Jackie breathed out, relieved at my answer. "We ask that you help us. We are unsure of the situation in the Forest of Menosu, and we lack experience with it. But we believe that if you help us, we may be able to purify the forest."

"How so?"

"With your connections to the shrine god." Tsukishima answered.

I frowned upon hearing his answer. That was a huge risk, one I couldn't take. I already know that I won't be able to help them for multiple reasons. Because I'll most likely risk my life again in the process of helping them ( and that apparently won't make anyone happy). Because I'll risk the exposure of me and Grimmjow's romantic relationship. And because I highly doubt that Grimmjow will ever let me do something like this, again. I don't think I will be able to even help them contact Grimmjow since he might not like that either. Damnit.

I scuffled my hair. "I'm sorry, but can I have some time to think about this?"

The Xcution exchanged looks and gestures and turned to me again.

"You may." Ginjo said.

"Okay, thanks." With that, I bowed and exited the station immediately.

Damn, I really need a break from reality.

Holy crap, I'm back. Lol. Anyways, as you all may now know, I'm off hiatus! * Party party party* Thank you all for your patience! Those who favorited, or added this story to their alerts; thank you too. Oh! And to you reviewers out there- Thank you so much! You guys have no idea how much your reviews and your support had helped me. When I was either stuck in writer's block or when I felt doubtful about the story, the reviews you guys left would always brighten me right up. So yeah, your reviews really do mean a lot to me. Especially as of late.

And don't worry, I'm doing a lot better now. Btw; How was your Halloween you guys? :3 Review and tell me! (Also let me know of any mistakes)

-smut will be in next chapter.