A/N: So, here we are at last. After five great months, this story is finally drawing to a close. Sorry, this chapter's a bit late but I wanted to do in justice so I spent a lot of extra time working on it. Let me say a big thank you to the 191 people who put this on Story Alert, 154 people who favourited it, the 8 people who put this in their C2s and my faithful reviewers who gave me the 393 reviews I have now, making this the most popular story I have ever done to date!

Persistence: Momo can be a bit disturbing, yes. / CoriGray333: Read on to find out! / Sev'slittlesecret: Well, I hope it will be. / kurosaki9: Shinji probably did, too. / kickcows: Ahh...a very last minute one? / Master of Gray: Thanks. / Boogermeister: Me, too! / Killrockstars: Thank you! I am glad that I'm able to keep you on your toes. / killing u with umbrellas: Just wait and see! / miszxbrii: Well, I hope this clears it up. / narubby23: Find out soon! / Sariniste: Gotta love a cliffhanger! / cloudstrifejen: Is there a time when Ichigo isn't in trouble in some way, canon or fanon? / Eldar-Melda: Yeah, confusing, isn't it? / Totoromo: I do find it rather hard to catagorise stories, especially this one. Since I think it's a bit of everything.

With that, Ichigo threw open the window, ignoring the rush of icy wind that was brought by this action, and called, "Hirako! What the fuck did you do that for?"

Hirako emerged from the car, kicking a section of buckled gate aside, and called back, "I told you I'd drive the car through the gates if you didn't come back in half an hour!"

"Sorry, Ichigo." Sousuke appeared from the backseat, followed by Gin (whom, Ichigo could tell even from his distant viewpoint, was thoroughly enjoying the whole incident), "I didn't think he'd actually do it!"

"Ooh, dear, tha's gonna cost ya a bit, Hirako-san!" Gin sang, staring at the mangled remains of the gate Hirako's car had just plowed through, "I'm only guilty by associa'on so don' expect me ta 'elp ya cover that!"

"Shut up, Ichimaru. I didn't ask for your money."

"Jus' sayin'."

"You see, Kurosaki-san?" Hinamori's voice came from his elbow. She must have walked up to the window unnoticed when Ichigo was talking, "Hirako and Ichimaru are really bad people."

"Fox-face is." Ichigo nodded and, because he respected Hirako so much, added, "But, Hirako isn't. He used to teach me martial arts when I was a kid."

"Oh." Hinamori was rather flummoxed by this, blinking up at Ichigo with a kind of surprise that probably hid something, "I was told that he tried to get Aizen-taichou to run away from home and join a violence gang."

"And, who told you that?" Some of his former anger began to bubble up to the surface again. He had a very good idea who it might be,

"Aizen Senior. Aizen-taichou's father."

"He did, did he?" Ichigo was only just managing to keep his anger in check but Hinamori seemed totally oblivious to it. She was staring forlornly out of the window at the large gap where her gate had once been,

"That gate's been there since my grandmother's time. Now, it's ruined. They ruined it."

"Well, nothing lasts forever." Kira said, lamely, clearly having no idea what else to say. Ichigo thought, at once, but said nothing. Instead, he left the window and hurried through to the front door. Now that he was less distracted, he could see that the hall was indeed very similiar to Sousuke's house with the same old intricate carvings on the walls, ancient portraits (though, depicting different people) and fragile china ornaments. Like the drawing room, however, there were a lot more feminine colours and an abundence of lace was scattered everywhere.

As soon as Ichigo opened the door, Gin almost ran into him as he bounced into the house, "Ooh, so this is wha' Psycho-Momo's house looks like. Hmm, I guess the torture devices are in another room, huh?"

"Shut up!" This comment earned the fox-face a good hard smack around the head. The rebuke was effective; he immediately stopped commenting on Hinamori's house and turned his attention to Kira. Sousuke immediately turned on the charm (and the fake smile) when Hinamori crept shyly over to her new guests,

"I'm sorry about your gate, Hinamori. Hirako-san is a terrible driver."

"No, I am not! I've been driving for twenty years, you know, and I've never had an accident!"

"It's true." Sousuke nodded and, after just the right amount of pause, added, "Lady Luck does favour some people more than others."

Gin and Hinamori sniggered as Hirako turned pink and retorted hotly, "Look who's talking, Mr Crashed-My-Car-Just-After-Getting-My-Licence."

"I'll put on some more tea, shall I?" Hinamori cut across Hirako's speech quickly.

"It's alright, Hinamori. We shan't be long. Now, my driving skills have nothing to do with the fact that Hinamori's gate is currently lying on the bonnet of your car. But," Sousuke turned away from a fuming Hirako straight to Kira, "I can see that's irrelavent. What is that in your hand, Kira-san?"

"I found it on the back of a photo in the drawing room." He handed the tape over to Sousuke, whose face became serious at once. Kira lowered his voice before continuing, "Hinamori-kun thought she was hearing voices in her head and didn't tell anyone because she thought she might be taken back to the mental hospital if she said anything."

"I see. What do you think, Hirako-san? Definitely the same as the one you found in Hisana's shrine?"

"Definitely." Hirako nodded, frowning. He rewinded it and hit play again. When he heard the message, he had gone chalk white, "Shit..." He breathed, his eyes the size of saucers. Gin too had rather wide eyes, allowing their full icy colour to be revealed,

"Kinda low, isn' it?" No humour was in his voice, only cold amazement, "Takin' advantage of Hinamori's insanity like tha', ain't it? I mean, I like teasin' 'er when I get an opportunity bu' tha's just plain wrong. It ain't even funny. If it was makin' 'er do somethin' like singin' fifties songs outside Aizen-taichou's gate while dressed as a chicken, tha' would be funny but not this."

"That's not even funny either, fox-face!" Ichigo snapped, scowling at the man's constant refusal to be appropriately serious. Hinamori, however, didn't even seem to have noticed this. She was just concentrating purely on Sousuke in a rather unsettling way and seemed to be determinedly ignoring Hirako and Gin. Sousuke simply kept his fake smile going strong and said,

"I'm sorry about your gate, Hinamori. Hirako-san merely got very worried about Ichigo being away from home too long."

"Away from home?" Hinamori looked up, his eyebrows raised,

"Oh, Ichigo lives with me now. He has for a few months."

Uh oh. Ichigo could sense that they were getting onto a very bad topic just by looking at Hinamori's rather blank-looking face. Trying to get away from the minefield Sousuke had just entered, Ichigo said, "You know, Hinamori, we found the same kind of tape in Sousuke's house a month back..." So, the talk turned to more serious but more safe ground. Hinamori's face got whiter and whiter as she heard the whole story and kept saying how sorry she was for being a part of the scheme,

"So, what are we gonna do?" Hirako asked, once Ichigo's account of events had come to a close, "Call the police first, I guess-"

"No, no, no!" Gin piped up, shaking his head in a very condescending way, "Tha's way too borin'. We've been doin' that all this time and nothin's ever turned out interestin'. Wha' d'ya say we do this one ourselves, huh?"

"This isn't an action film, Ichimaru!" Hirako cried, scandalised, "We need to leave this to the police!"

"No way." Gin's grin extended to impossible lengths again, "I say we come back 'ere tonight and do a stake-out! The way I see it, this guy's gotta break into this room to rewind the tape or put a new one in so, we 'ide 'ere, wait for him to come and pounce on 'im! Hirako-san or Aizen-taichou can do tha'. They're good at fightin' stuff so they'd 'ave no problem."

"Not if he pulled a knife or a gun on me!" Hirako spluttered, "Besides, how can we hide if he don't know where he comes in? Unless there's a hole in the ceiling we can look through, I can't see how."

"I may have an inkling if how he's getting in." As soon as Sousuke spoke, Hinamori's head whipped round, her face the picture of total concentration in an almost cartoonish way, "These old houses tend to have many little secrets left by our ancestors. Like secret ways in and out, for example." He caught Ichigo's eye at that point, making something in his brain click into place,

"There's one here!" He said, "I saw a guy use it when I got lost! He came out just outside Hinamori-san's walls."

"Whoa, seriously?" Hirako gasped, "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"I forgot. I thought it was someone who lived with Hinamori-san. I don't even remember what he looks like."

Hinamori had gone white again, clearly scared by the revelation that someone had been breaking into her house so easily. Ichigo had a little gut feeling that she had no idea that a passage had existed until now. Gin, however, leaped up to his feet and cheerfully sang, "Well, we'd betta find the entrance, then!"

So, at permission from Hinamori, they began searching the room. Chairs were up-ended, rugs were pulled back, paintings were removed, walls were examined but it was only when Gin began investigating the fireplace that they found anything. Not caring for Hinamori's scream to be careful, he shoved the electric fire out of the way and began picking at the boards.

To their amazement, they came free with complete ease, making it apparent that they were all stuck together rather than individually nailed when Gin took them all off as one. This left an empty fireplace, dusty and grimy from being in the dark for so long. A stark contrast from the immaculate marble mantelpiece around it. Then, as Gin set the boards aside, Kira gave a cry of amazement as two things became apparent to them all.

One, the boards could not be fully taken off. They were in fact on rusted hinges like a small door, like it was meant to be opened. Two, the fireplace was nothing but a big dark hole that had to be the entrance to the secret passage. A stunned silence followed. Then, without announcing his purpose or even asking if anyone else wanted to, Gin crounched down and stepped into it.

For a moment, only the top of his silvery head was visible. The passage had completely swallowed him up,

"What's it like down there?" Sousuke asked, with a hint of concern in his voice,

"Ooh, very cold. And dark. It's got a real funny smell too. It's too dark ta see where I'm goin'. Anyone got a light'r or some matches? A torch would be even bett'r." Hinamori retrieved a small electric torch from the kitchen and, with her face full of dread (whether it was from the discovery of the passage or being too close to Gin, Ichigo didn't know), handed it over, "Okay, I'm goin' in!"

"Be careful." Kira said,

"Yes." Sousuke nodded, "If the passage hasn't been attended to for so long, the structure is probably very weak. There's a high possibility that it could cave in if you're not careful so go as slow as you can and try to avoid knocking anything out of place."

"Okey-dokey!" Gin's careless acceptance of the advice was a total contrast to Kira, who blanched at the thought. The silver head vanished into the darkness and, soon, the sound of his footsteps faded away, along with the light from the torch. Another pause followed, one more worried than the last. They waited and waited, listening hard for the sound of a voice, a footstep or (Ichigo dreaded to think) a crash.

Ichigo gazed hard down into the darkness beyond. It was safe to assume that this passage had not been discovered and rennovated by any of Hinamori's immediate family. He wondered why on earth the secret had been lost to the ages, They could have at least blocked it off if they weren't going to use it. Ichigo thought, They shouldn't have left the passage like that. Sure, the entrances are hidden but clearly not well enough. To him, it seemed nothing short of carelessness to leave the passage where anyone could use it. At least, Sousuke's family had rennovated it so there was no risk of it collapsing on any future users.

At last, after about five or ten minutes, light emerged once more and a grimy face appeared. Gin could only be recognised by his grin, so covered in dust and dirt as he was, "Yep, it leads outside jus' like Ichigo said. Our guy's defini'ily gettin' in this way! So," He leapt out, making Hinamori wince at the muck he was getting on the hearthrug, "whaddya say we come back tanight and catch the crook red-handed!"

"Uh-uh! No way." Hirako shook his head violently, whacking Kira in the face periodically with his hair, "We gotta leave this to the police."

"Oh, come now, Hirako-san." Sousuke was wearing one of his I-know-so-much-better-than-you smirks as he said, "We've left so much to the police already and, if the newspapers are to be believed, they can't afford to put their limited budgets under any more strain on our account. It's only fair that we should give them a break every once in a while. I'm sure they'd be thankful if we didn't come whining to them for help all the time. Not to mention, they may not come even if we do call for them. I believe they said to Ichigo that they may not respond to any more calls from him because of all of the false alarms."

"Yeah, but-"

"What say you that we vote on it?" Sousuke neatly cut across Hirako's objection and, without giving anyone else a chance to say anything, continued, "I vote for dealing with this ourselves. Along with other things, I would like to face this man myself and demand an explanation."

"Same here!" Gin piped up, as though on cue, "I'm so bored of runnin' to the police like some tattle-tale kid. I don' want people ta think I'm a goody lil' two-shoes."

"Uh..." Kira bounced on the balls of his feet for a while before lowering his eyes and saying, "...I think we should let the police handle it. They haven't let us down yet."

"Oh, Izu-chicky, ya're so borin'!"

"I'd rather be boring that put me and my boy in danger. I vote for going to the police too." Hirako clapped a hand on Sousuke's shoulder, which was immediately shaken off,

"Your boy isn't in any danger, Hirako-san. It's us you really need to worry about. So," Ignoring Hirako's fury, Sousuke turned to Hinamori (who was remarkably oblivious to what Hirako was implying) and Ichigo, who had been standing outside the little group and wishing their turn would never come, "what do you two say?"

Ichigo glanced down and met Hinamori's eyes. He knew that he was probably going to be the tie-breaker and didn't want to displease Sousuke or Hirako. He quickly weighed up the options in his head as seconds dragged by and the stares from everyone else became more intense. He knew, of course, that the right thing was to go to the police but he had a feeling that they wouldn't do a stake-out like Gin wanted to do and just do a search for him in town.

And, of course, Ichigo could remember very little of the man; for he'd been so ordinary that nothing about him was committed to memory. If only he'd told Sousuke and Hirako about seeing the man emerge from the passage as soon as he'd got back. He should have really gone straight back as soon as he'd seen the man rather than stick around and let the memory of it be driven away by meeting Hinamori,

"Well?"

"Don't rush us!" Ichigo snapped, irritably, Can't they see I'm trying to think here?

"C'mon, c'mon. Before it gets dark!"

"Shut the fuck up, fox-face!"

"Uh," Hinamori's little voice stopped Ichigo shouting at once, "well...I know it's not the right thing to do but...I would like to face this man too. It was my house he broke into, after all."

"Tha's the spirit!" Hinamori took a step back in disgust at the grin Gin gave her, "Alrigh', Ichigo. I's just you who hasn' said anythin' yet. If ya don' say somethin' soon, we'll do this withou' yer opinion!"

"Fine!" Ichigo snapped, his mind made up in his aggravation, "Let's take this guy ourselves. I wanna kick his ass!"

"It's settled then." Sousuke clapped his hands together with an air of finality and turned to the group as a whole, "Alright, everyone. Shall we say we all meet back here at sundown? Don't give me that look, Hirako-san. Now, if you'll excuse us, Hinamori, we'll take our leave. And, after all this, I'll talk to you about paying for a new gate."

"Oh, no need for that, Aizen-tai, ah, Aizen-san. I've got more than enough to pay for a new one myself, thanks."

At those words, Sousuke simply nodded and left, leaving Ichigo with the impression that his lover had been expecting Hinamori to say that and had never intended to pay for a new gate in the first place. He had been simply saying it out of politeness. As he thought about how to talk Sousuke into being a gentleman, he felt a little tug on his sleeve. Hinamori was holding him back, her eyes bright and hopeful,

"Any luck with Aizen-taichou and his father?"

"No." Ichigo said at once, knowing that he'd stepped into another minefield. One more treacherous than the last. At the look on Hinamori's face, he quickly added, "He doesn't like talking about it. One word and he leaves the room." Ichigo didn't quite know why he felt compelled to lie to Hinamori. Maybe it was just her childlike face that reminded him of Yuzu. The kind that made him wish that no tears would ever come into it. Thankfully, Hinamori bought the lie easily and went on,

"It's really getting out of hand. His father's really not doing very well either."

Well, good! He deserves it! "How come?"

"His business isn't doing too well, he hasn't been promoted in over ten years and he's been living in a tiny apartment in a very bad area for years. He says Aizen-taichou kicked him out of his house and won't let him come back. And, his parents, Aizen-taichou's grandparents, wrote him out of their Will for some reason so he really has to work hard to scrape a living. I keep asking him if he wants to stay here until things get better but he always says no."

Pity. I could just gone upstairs and beat him to a pulp right now. Would save me some time,

"I do worry about him a lot. He works so hard and wears himself out yet he still finds time to worry about his son."

Worry about his son's wallet and how he'll get his hands on it, more like,

"I really think you two should meet. He doesn't really like it when we talk about you but I think that's just natural parent suspicion. He thinks I'm the best person for him but, well, we all know that's not true. I'm sure he'd take a real shine to you once he meets you."

Yeah, I'll give him a good shining bruise and lots more besides when I meet him!

"I have to warn you, though, he's a bit odd. I blame the amount of time he's spent away from his wife and son because I heard that he and his wife split up after he had that argument with Aizen-taichou. He never talks about it, though. Probably because it's too painful, poor thing. Still, I do think it unhinged him a little bit. And, yes, I know I'm not one to talk." She gave a nervous little giggle that made a shiver go down Ichigo's spine, "But, still, he's a good man."

Oh, is that what he'd have you believe?

"Like I said, he comes round to my house a lot when can spare the time from work. He likes watching old horror films on my big TV but I can't stand them so I always have to leave the room at some point," Another nervous giggle, "When you live in a big house on your own for so long, your nerves do get rattled very easily. Still, just to warn you if you do meet him, he's a bit old-fashioned. He's only just started to accept that his son's gay but I'm sure that, when he meets you, he'll be even more accepting."

"Yeah, sure." Ichigo could only shrug before he ambled out of the room after Sousuke's call to hurry up, How the hell did I manage to keep a lid on all that? Wow, me and Sousuke really are rubbing off on each other. As he got into the car with his lover (Gin and Kira had decided to walk by themselves while the other three took the miraculously unharmed car), he glanced at his lover. He was looking out of the window, fingering a lock of hair in a way that would have looked careless and bored to someone who didn't know him well,

"What's up, Sousuke?"

"Oh, nothing important."

"Don't give me that."

"Very well. I just have a lot of bad memories connected to Hinamori's house and it looks like I might have to add even more soon. Even though I do wish to meet my aggressor face-to-face, Hirako-san is right. There is a risk that he could be armed." In a seemingly-unconscious way, he moved a hand to his side, "Don't tell Hirako-san I said that."

"Too late." Though he couldn't see it, Ichigo knew the shark-like grin was on Hirako's face again, "I heard the whole thing."

"Drat."

"You know," Ichigo finally decided now was a good time to voice what he'd been feeling for a long time, "you've got nothing to lose if you do say that to Hirako. There's no point in pretending you don't care about him."

"Yeah, Sousuke! No use acting like an ingrate!"

Sousuke turned and fixed Ichigo with a hard glare, "You're in no place to govern how I act around Hirako-san."

"I don't care. It bugs me that you can be so uncaring."

"Yeah, it bugs me too!" Hirako almost forgot to move when a traffic light turned green, he was so attentive on Sousuke's answer,

"Well, perhaps you can both ignore me whenever I act that way around Hirako-san and everyone would be happy."

"We wouldn't!" Ichigo retorted, "I can't ignore that kind of thing."

"Neither can I!"

"Look, this conversation is getting absolutely nowhere and we're almost home so let's stop, please."

"No way, Sousuke. I ain't dropping this until I get an answer out of you." Hirako's face was deadly serious as he pulled the car easily into the drive, "I've been nice enough to you all these years and, ever since I came to live here, you've been nothing but rude towards me! Now, I may not be your dad but I'm a damn sight better than the real one, aren't I? Well, aren't I?" He jerked forward violently, making Ichigo jump, but Sousuke remained physically unmoved,

"I wasn't suggesting that." Nothing else. No witty remark, no implied insult, Yes! Progress! "I merely don't want to give you a false title, Hirako-san."

"You know," The idea came into Ichigo's head at the same time he voiced it, "it's more of an insult to your father to call Hirako-san Dad."

Sousuke's eyes widened slightly and an icy feeling came into Ichigo as he realised what he'd just done. He inwardly braced himself as Sousuke's eyes narrowed and glared at Hirako, "That's not a good topic of conversation with Ichigo, Hirako-san."

"He needed to know." Hirako replied, determinedly, "He found have found out from someone else sooner or later. And, what if he got a false account of events?"

"He did not need any account of events." Emotion was starting to creep into Sousuke's voice, "And, it's something he didn't need to know. You're wrong."

"Well, where else was he going to hear the right story? From you?"

Sousuke flinched back a microscopically small distance, "I have already told Ichigo all he needed to know before you did."

"You just said your mum died and your dad walked out on you." Ichigo retorted, "You even tried to sugarcoat it. You didn't even mention Hirako."

"Oh, didn't you?" Hirako's glare intensified and Sousuke retreated further into his seat. It was clear that he didn't know what to say and was being backed into a corner. It was most unlike Sousuke but it only showed how little he liked talking about it, "So, the past seventeen years don't mean anything to you, do they? You're saying that I might as well have just called your parents when I found you in my garden and left it at that, are you?"

"No, I'm not!" Sousuke's voice raised, his normally-placid face colouring. Though Ichigo was on Hirako's side in the argument, he didn't like to see his boyfriend upset. He laid a hand gently on his elbow and leaned on his shoulder,

"Sousuke, you're not proving anything by being mean to Hirako-san. You said to me that you didn't call Hirako Dad because it made it seem like he was like your dad." Hirako gave an incredulous noise at this but let Ichigo go on, "But, if you use that logic, that means you have to be nice and loving to your real dad. And, he sure as hell doesn't deserve it. Wouldn't it be more of an insult to your dad if you called Hirako Dad and addressed your real dad like a stranger?"

Sousuke sat still for a moment then closed his eyes and sighed in a resigned kind of way, "This is what comes of trying to be original."

"Okay," Hirako began relenting a little, "you're saying that you kept being mean to me because you thought it was a cliche not to? Geez, Sousuke, what're ya like?"

"Incredibly intelligent and handsome, I think." The arrogant air was back in full force, making Hirako throw back his head and laugh,

"Okay, call me Dad and all is forgiven."

"Go on, Sousuke." Ichigo couldn't help but grin at the resigned expression on Sousuke's face and his mutter of,

"I'll never forgive either of you for this." He took a deep breath, like he was about to jump off a cliff, and said, in a low voice, "Very well...Dad."

"Yes!" Hirako punched the air...unfortunately, the car's roof was very low and he ended up bashing his fist, "Ow!" It was Sousuke's turn to throw his head back and laugh. Ichigo did too. He just couldn't help himself. After all the revelations of the day along with the following talk that could have easily turned into a big, family-splitting argument, it felt good to laugh. It just eased all the tension in the air that had followed him all day, "Oh, shut up, the pair of you! C'mon. We need to get some dinner in us before we go back to Hinamori's. If we're gonna catch this guy ourselves, which I totally wash my hands of, by the way, we can't do it on an empty stoamch"

They finally left the car and, at once, the cold air smacked Ichigo in the face. He'd almost forgotten how cold it was outside after being in the stuffy car for so long. Sousuke was silent as he and Ichigo sat in the drawing room, waiting for Hirako to make dinner. After waiting for about two minutes, Ichigo became impatient and gave him a light flick on the nose. It wasn't that he wanted attention or anything. He just didn't want to sit still and do nothing when the prospect of catching their tormentor was just a few hours away,

"What're you thinking about? Your dad?"

"Yes." Sousuke leaned back and closed his eyes, suddenly looking very weary, "When I was courting Hinamori, I often visited that place with my father. I used to like going there because...now, I don't want this to turn into a sob story so don't take this the wrong way. Well, it was the only time he showed me affection and acted like a father."

Ichigo wanted to ask about Sousuke's mum but held his tongue, realising that mentioning her might be too painful. Sousuke might love his mother, after all. What boy didn't? It was alright for boys to hate their fathers but they should never hate their mothers, in Ichigo's mind,

"May I go on? I'm not boring you, am I?"

"You're not boring me." Ichigo nodded, knowing that his lover would probably never mention it again if he didn't talk about it now and what he'd just asked was an effort to get out of telling the story,

"At first, I rather liked it and thought it a reward for finding a girlfriend. Then, Hinamori began getting obsessive and my father was just as bad. He kept asking me if I'd proposed to her several times a day and it was incredibly wearing on me. Then, of course, I began realising my father's affection was all an act to divert Hinamori's suspicion and he wanted me to marry her for her money." He gave a humourless chuckle at this, "And, there was me, thinking fathers only married off their daughters for money."

"She still doesn't have a clue, you know."

"What?"

"Hinamori doesn't know that about your dad walking out on you. She thinks you two just had an fall-out. Well, that's what your dad told her." The last bit hadn't meant to come out but Sousuke took it surprisingly well,

"So, he visits her often?"

"Apparently. From what I heard, he acts like he's this tragic unappreciated father trying to make a living on his own. Makes me sick."

"Indeed. Though I will admit to enjoying the benefits I gain from deception, I cannot help but remember who I picked up those habits from."

"You don't deceive people anymore, though."

"I have been more honest recently, yes. Especially to you. Lord knows why."

By the time dinner was over, it was nearly dark and, since nobody felt like sitting around the house for another hour, they got back out into the freezing cold, walking very slowly along the drive to avoid the ice that coated the path in a shiny and treacherous sheet. Hirako was careful to go slow on the roads but Ichigo eagerly wished he'd just step on the accelerator and get there quickly. He certainly did not want to be standing around on the watch for hours before finally getting around to beating the crap out of the guy. He began hoping they'd come across him on the way and save everyone a lot of waiting but fate was not favouring him and the short trip passed without event.

They parked around the corner from Hinamori's house, in a shadowy place where the streetlamp wasn't working and the car was almost invisible. As they walked in (there was no point in ringing the doorbell since Hinamori was expecting them and, of course, there was no gate to keep them out), Hinamori opened the door a crack and, as soon as she'd recognised them, she opened it with a whispered, "Izuru-san and Ichimaru-san are already here."

Tense feelings in Ichigo began to rise already as he stepped inside. Now, the idea that he was actually going to be part of catching an insidious criminal that had orchestrated crimes against him and Sousuke was starting to sink in. Along with the many imagined ways their plan could go wrong. In their haste to get away, none of them had even discussed taking a weapon of any kind.

Though the idea of wielding a gun was daunting (and reminded him too much of the scar on Sousuke's side), Ichigo wished that they had at least taken something to defend themselves. A baseball bat or a taser, just something that would help them in the event of a fight. From his vague memory, their enemy was not a bulky or a strong-looking man but that was no guarentee that he couldn't defend himself. Karin was living proof of that.

The hall was dimly lit with only a couple of table lamps lit on each side, throwing the shadows of the carved walls into sharp relief and hitting the paintings in just the wrong way so everything looked creepy and shadowy, Shit, how the hell can Sousuke and Hinamori live in places like this? They must have been seriously scared of this when they were kids. He remembered rather fondly of times when he himself was scared by less than this at night and he'd run to his mother, asking if he could sleep in his parents' bed. And, when his sisters would snuggle in with him on long and dark winter nights.

This moment of nostalgia quickly turned into cold imaginings of what Sousuke must have done when he was scared by the shadows as a child. Unlike him, he probably would not have anyone to comfort him. The image of Sousuke as a child, hiding under his sheets or perhaps tapping fruitlessly at his parents' locked door distracted him from his worry with new sadness for Sousuke and more hatred for his father.

Gin peeped around the drawing room door at that moment and said, in an exaggeratedly conspiritorial whisper, "We're ready when ya are. Wha's the plan, Aizen-taichou?"

Sousuke took hold of the situation in an instant and, as though he'd been going it over in his head for hours, said, "I think that Gin, Hirako-san and myself should remain on the lower floor to apprehend our man."

"Mmm-hmm." Gin nodded, "I like tha'. We're bigger tha' everyone else and we'd stand a good chance o' catchin' 'im. Plus, I don' wan' any harm to come ta my Izu-chicky. Guess you're the same with Ichigo, hmm?"

"Hey!" Ichigo scowled at what this was implying, "What do I do, then?"

"I intended you to remain upstairs and warn us when you see him coming. But, I can clearly see you have an objection."

"Damn right, I do! I'm not about to 'stand watch' while you guys kick his ass. I only agreed to this because I thought I could tear into him, you know!"

"Of course. How silly of me. Very well, you can take Hirako-san's place, then. It seems only right since Hirako-san was the one who objected strongest to this."

"Only if I'm right next to the phone so I can call the police quickly." Hirako replied, stubbornly,

"Very well. I'm sure your worries are unfounded but it's always good to have a back-up, I suppose. Now then, shall we say that Hirako-san, Kira and Hinamori go upstairs and keep a lookout for our man? When you see someone who looks like it could be him, Hirako can call me on my mobile phone. Don't expect an answer. It is just an alert to me, after all. Then, when our man comes through the passage, Ichigo, Gin and I will pounce upon him."

"And, if it sounds like you're in trouble, then I can phone the police?" Hirako interjected, huffily. This was just casually waved away by Sousuke,

"Yes, yes, alright. Now, come along. Everyone in position."

Hinamori was the first up the stairs, racing up them like she'd been told someone had been murdered in her room. Kira followed, jogging to keep up with his friend, and Hirako brought up the rear, mouthing unheeded warnings to Sousuke as he went. Once again, the three of them entered the drawing room. This room, on the other hand, was not at all lit and looked even more creepy with just some far-reaching streetlamp-light illuminating the room,

"Sorry, Ichigo-kun." Gin sounded not the least bit sorry, as usual, "But, it 'as to look like Momo ain't 'ere or 'e might not come, see?"

Ichigo did see but it did not change the fact that he could barely see a thing, But, he mentally reasoned, that means the guy won't be able to see me easily either. He could feel someone moving closer and felt Sousuke's hand on his. Ichigo could tell it was his at once: big, supple-fingered and not at all calloused. It gave him a bit of irrational comfort to know that his boyfriend was close and they were about to face their enemy together.

Minutes dragged by in attentive silence and the sky outside was getting darker and darker. The curtains were left open and Ichigo found himself more interested in the garden than the immobile fireplace. The snow outside glimmered a dull golden colour in the amber light of the badly-flickering streetlamp in a semi-solid sheet broken only by a few patches of black grass.

The statues were nothing more than motionless silhuoettes but, as the light rapidly switched on and off, Ichigo's imagination began running away with him again. Sometimes, it looked like the angel holding a wide bowl was slowly turning towards him and, at others, it seemed that the little girls, hand in hand, were swinging their hands and their pigtails just a few inches.

Ichigo's wild fantasies were broken by Gin's whisper of, "Is it jus' me or are those statues kinda creepy at night?"

With that, he turned stubbornly back to the fireplace and pushed all stupid thoughts out of his mind. As if statues could really move. He was just scaring himself again, like he had with the ancient design of Sousuke's house.

A few moments later, after the cuckoo clock in the corner had cried the hour, there was a buzzing and Sousuke took out his illuminated phone. Ichigo's heart skipped a beat and Sousuke was immediately animated to action, "He's coming. Ichigo, you take that side of the mantelpiece, I'll take this one. Gin, get to the lightswitch and turn the light on as soon as we manage to pin him down."

So, Ichigo positioned himself on the right side of the marble mantelpiece (dimly illuminated in the flickering light) and Sousuke's shape took the left. Both remained very still, with their backs to the wall like police officers in a crime drama about to break down a door. His breath seemed to catch in his throat and his ears strained to hear the footsteps of the intruder.

At last, he could hear regular, muted steps coming from somewhere both behind and below him, getting more and more audible. Ichigo counted twenty-one seconds before they stopped. Glancing down, he saw the boards covering the fireplace move outwards little by little, the electric fire scraping against the tile. A dark shape, like a large and tangible shadow, slid through the gap; shapeless at first, then growing a head, arms and eventually legs.

Looking up, he met Sousuke's glimmering eyes and, raising his hands, he lunged forward. He met solid flesh almost at once, vaguely feeling an elbow dig into his chest as he pinned it to the ground. There was a low, indistinct cry and the shadow began to wriggle. It was bigger than Ichigo but he still found that he could keep it down to the floor with help from who he supposed was Sousuke at his side, "Stay still!" Ichigo growled, as he found a skinny wrist and slammed it onto the carpet.

Light flared and, as soon as Ichigo's eyes had got used to it, the struggling stopped, the intruder seemingly knowing a lost cause. There was a thunder of footsteps and, in a few seconds, Hirako, Kira and Hinamori had burst through the door. The brown-haired head of the intruder raised and, though Ichigo couldn't see it, this sent a very perceptable shockwave through the room. Kira and Gin just stared (with fright and interest respectively) but Hinamori gave a horrified gasp and Hirako's face went white with rage,

"YOU!" Blond hair flew as he swooped down upon the intruder like a big, gangly bird of prey, "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, YOU STUPID, TWISTED, SELFISH BA-!"

"Quiet, Hirako!" A deep voice, just a little higher than Sousuke's, came from the intruder's mouth. The voice that Ichigo knew was from the tapes. In fury, he got hold of the man's head and slammed it as hard as he could into the floor,

"You, be quiet!"

Gin hastened to Hirako's side and the pair of them hauled the dingy man off the floor and threw him into a chair so hard that it nearly overbalanced. Now, everyone in the room could get a good look at his face. Now he was closer, Ichigo could clearly see the wrinkles around his eyes and forehead. The kind that resulted from stress and frowning too much. His thick eyebrows were now contracted with anger at being caught and his eyes were hard as flint.

Ichigo, of course, recognised him as the man who'd emerged from the passage the other day. He also recognised it from a photo that was, at this moment, sitting with a cracked glass frame on a table near the door. His blood boiled, his cheeks burned and his fingernails dug so deep into his palms that they hurt. Just as he started forth, Sousuke held him back, "Leave it. He isn't worth your fists."

"Quite right." said Sousuke's father, in an unbearably self-important way, "I don't want that urchin to touch me with his filthy hands."

"Aizen-san," Sousuke spoke through gritted teeth, "if you call him an urchin again, I may change my mind."

Aizen Senior's eyes flashed at the way his son addressed him but, before he could say a thing, Hinamori's timid voice broke the furious atmosphere, "Aizen-san...it's can't be...I don't understand..."

Suddenly, everything seemed...there was no better word for it...embarrassing. It was like Hinamori was a child that had just walked in on her family having a blazing row and asked what was going on. Even Aizen Senior looked very uncomfortable, squirming in his seat. Or, was that because Ichigo was cracking his knuckles in a menacing kind of way? Before he could say anything, Hirako drew himself up and said, in a very solemn voice, "If you knew this guy like I do, you wouldn't be asking that. Let me tell you," He clapped a hand over Aizen Senior's mouth to stop any objections, "he's a filthy liar and the worst father you'll ever meet."

"It's true." Ichigo knew from Hinamori's face that she would not believe Hirako's words, "Sousuke told me." He knew it was a very small lie but it was the only way to get through to her, "This asshole only cared about his work and never spent a minute's time with his wife or son. He only wanted Sousuke to marry you for your money. Sorry, but that's the truth. And, Hirako isn't just Sousuke's friend. He's been his guardian since he walked out."

Hinamori's eyes were just two wide, shiny orbs of black, her face as white as flour. Her mouth was slightly open and seemingly set like a statue. That was it; the biggest mine in the field had just been stomped on. She slowly turned to Aizen Senior, then to Hirako, then Ichigo and finally Sousuke, looking like she was waiting for someone to leap up and say, "April fool!" And, then, perhaps Byakuya and Shiro would come in and say, "We were in on it too."

When nothing like that happened, she fixed her eyes on Aizen Senior, who had managed to shake off Hirako and say, "You must understand, Momo-san, that I fully regret not being there for Sousuke. I was confident that his mother would raise him well, you see, and, when I found out that she hadn't been doing her motherly duty, I got into a little argument with her and stormed out in the heat of the moment. My parents-"

"Bullshit." Ichigo didn't want to hear any more pathetic excuses. He wanted Sousuke to just let him go so he could pummel him into the carpet, "We know what you did so don't try that on us."

"Nobody asked for your opinion, you dirty little whelp."

"Aizen-san." Sousuke fixed his father with an icy-cold glare, clearly warning him against saying another word against Ichigo,

"But..." Hinamori finally found her voice, "...why did you tell Kuchiki-sama to kill Aizen-taichou?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering that myself." Hirako gave Aizen Senior's hair a good tug to pull his face around to meet his gaze, "It seems kinda weird that you'd wanna kill your son and have Ichigo kidnapped. I would have thought it would be the other way round."

"A mix-up." Aizen Senior snapped, dismissively, "I was busy. I wasn't paying much attention."

"Bull." Hirako snarled,

"It's true! I only realised when I heard the news that Sousuke had been shot. I was sorry!"

"The hell, you were! And, I suppose that card saying that Sousuke had brought it on himself was a mix-up too!"

"Quiet, you! If I could work my will, you would have been crushed under my tires this morning!"

"That was you? Why, you little-"

Ichigo was cut off when Hinamori gave a small cry that might have been a sob or a scream. Gin sighed, rolling his eyes and seemingly perfectly oblivious of the serious situation, "'Ere it comes. The whole 'I trusted ya' speech."

"I wasn't going to say that!" It was the first time Hinamori had actually looked angry. It was like a tiny viper lashing out of the grass and taking the victim completely unawares by such a small creature's power. Indeed, Gin actually leapt back a bit, "I was going to say that he's the worst man I've ever met."

"Oh, okay." Gin nodded, looking rather cowed, "Go ahead."

Ichigo mentally braced himself, looking anywhere but at Hinamori and feeling distinctly uncomfortable even though he had nothing to be worried about. It felt oddly like the times when the teacher would tell the whole class off for something only a small handful of people did that didn't include him but the tone of voice still made Ichigo feel guilty anyway. Hinamori took a deep breath and began talking in a breaking but still venemous voice,

"I don't want to believe you're that kind of man but you've admitted to them. You don't even feel guilty about using the Kuchikis!"

"Kuchikis? Tch!" Aizen Senior scoffed, distastefully, "A fallen family, if you ask me. Just like Sousuke wants to do with ours. I still can't believe someone like Byakuya would make the same mistake as my boy. Marrying that crippled little cockroach, indeed! And, there was me, thinking that her injuries would put her off the market forever."

Another mine stepped on. That thought went straight through Ichigo as soon as he felt Sousuke's fingernails dig into his arm, Is this guy asking for an ass-kicking? Though a lot of time had passed since Aizen Senior had been caught, Ichigo's anger had not dulled for a moment. There had been too little action, too little opportunity to vent that anger. He wanted something to happen. Something big, loud and destructive.

Aizen Senior taking out a weapon would be a good thing and it would give Ichigo an opportunity to attack him but he was just sitting there in a seemingly cooperative way, with a sneering scowl on his face. The kind of expression that he longed to punch so hard that his face could never show any visible expression again.

After one or two long moments, Sousuke's grip relaxed. Looking up, Ichigo could see his face had gone oddly blank. Something that Ichigo had not seen before. Normally, Sousuke at least had a slight smile or frown but, now, his mouth was a straight line and his eyebrows remarkably relaxed. It definitely wasn't because he was calm, Ichigo knew that much. The explosion was coming. Any moment now...

"So, it was you." His voice was low and as oddly blank as his face, "You pushed her off that building."

Aizen Senior did not make any condescending reply nor did he contradict the accusation. A simple raised eyebrow and that was it. All at once, Sousuke exploded. Relinquishing Ichigo at once, he rushed at his father, fists raised. There was no scream of righteous anger or anguished cry. He just ran straight at his father and fixed his hands around his throat.

The chair overturned with the force of Sousuke's added weight, sending the pair of them flying to the floor. As soon as Ichigo realised he was free, he remembered all his hatred in full and joined the fray, That fucking asswipe...Just caring about money...Injuring an innocent woman for life...Just because she wasn't rich...! The thoughts ran half-formed through his head, fuelling the fire and adding extra energy to his fists.

Though it was utter confusion that reigned, Ichigo still had Aizen Senior's face before him. He knew that it was him he was punched and he wasn't hitting Sousuke by accident. The plain face was turning steadily red from lack of air and a steady stream of grunts came from his thin lips, in time with Ichigo's punches.

After about ten hits, Ichigo could feel hands around his middle, pulling him away. Though he struggled with all his might, the grip succeeded and he was peeled off Aizen Senior, kicking and screaming. Grunts of exertion from the side told him that Sousuke had been pulled off too. No one came to Aizen Senior's aid. He just lay there, choking, bruised and twitching,

"This is why I called the police." Hirako's voice came from somewhere around his ear, as sirens wailed in the distance.

The lawn was dotted with little bright lanterns, lighting up the temporary dancefloor that had been placed carefully over the snow. People were dancing, probably just to keep warm, and little gas heaters were keeping the food hot (and the guests who didn't want to dance). Ichigo was one of them, wishing he'd thought to put a coat over his suit like Starrk had and that Hirako had not persuaded Sousuke into throwing a Christmas party.

With Aizen Senior in prison with too many crimes on his head to permit him to get out in his lifetime and the whole affair over and done with, all Ichigo wanted to do was relax and certainly not worry about parties. Ichigo's worries were somewhat unfounded, though. Everyone present was wearing immaculate tuxedoes and cocktail dresses and, yet, there was a remarkably relaxed atmosphere. People were drinking heavily, swearing and making idiots of themselves on occasion yet the formal appearance remained untarnished. Ichigo supposed it was because some of the Las Noches people were too used to making idiots of themselves at parties (if Sousuke's stories were credible) that no one bothered making a big deal out of it anymore,

"Kurosaki-kun!" Turning around, he saw Keigo, Mizuiro, Orihime, Tatsuki, Chad and Ishida hurrying towards him, all wearing new-looking suits and cocktail dresses (all had a rather Ishida-like look about them in a way that Ichigo couldn't put his finger on), "Wow! This place is so big!" As Orihime stared with wide eyes up at the house, Sousuke appeared out of nowhere,

"Hello. Glad you could make it."

"Glad we were invited this time." Mizuiro's joke made everyone chuckle a little bit, even Ichigo. Then, Sousuke took hold of Ichigo's arm and began pulling him insistently towards the dancefloor as a new piece of music started,

"Hey! Sousuke, you said you wouldn't!"

"Come along. Just this one. It's one we both love."

Familiar strains of music came from the outdoor piano and Sousuke carefully arranged Ichigo in his arms before starting a slowdance,

"You're not going to sing again, are you?" Ichigo muttered,

"Of course, not. I'll at least spare you that embarrassment."

Ichigo's cheeks were burning anyway and he felt like burying his face in Sousuke's shoulder for the entirity of the dance. He only restrained himself with what people might think of him if he did. To try and distract himself, he glanced around and spotted Ulquiorra and Grimmjow about ten feet away, both in identical tuxedos. Grimmjow was swaying a bit while Ulquiorra did his best to keep the bigger man balanced.

Another look round gave him a little surprise. The tall, scarecrow-like man that Ichigo knew to be Nnoitra was dancing with, of all people, Neliel. Her head was covered by a large green hat that Ichigo had seen pictures of Western Victorian ladies wear and she was wearing a strangely large smile for her situation. She caught Ichigo's eye and, grinning, delivered a huge, high-heeled stomp on Nnoitra's foot. Though Nnoitra gave a scream of pain, he muted his swearword upon spotting Sousuke looking at him.

As the song ended, Sousuke let him go and murmured, "Just a moment, Ichigo. I need to talk to someone and it can't wait. I'll be back in a moment."

So, Ichigo hastened back to the heaters as Sousuke moved off into the crowd. The heater he was standing next to was close to a round table where he could see Starrk snoring with his head on his arms and Hallibel twirling a cocktail olive around her drink. Seeing the many empty seats and proximity to heat, Ichigo slid into one of the chairs. Before he could even say hello, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra joined them,

"Asleep already, huh?" Grimmjow had an enormous grin on his face and was clutching an empty champagne glass, "That dumbass, he'd sleep through frickin' World War Three. Don't know how he does it. Anyway," He turned to Ichigo, still grinning, "so, it was Aizen-sama's dad all along, huh? Tch. Dads, who needs 'em? Ya think so, Ichigo?"

Ichigo shook his head, "My dad's okay. He's just nuts."

"Merry Christmas, Ichigo!" And, speak of the devil. A split second before Ichigo got up, a blur shot past him, overturning the table with an almighty crash. Ichigo groaned, covering his face with his hand, Of all places...

"Dad!" Karin was the first to reach him, kicking him hard in the stomach, "This is a fancy party! You can't do that!"

"I can too! I want everyone here to know how much I love my son by giving him the biggest Christmas Daddy Hug I've ever giv-ARGH!"

Before he could get another work in, he was sent flying into a half-awake Starrk, making them both toppel to the floor, "Shit." Grimmjow began laughing, "You have a seriously fuckin' charmed life and ya even don't know it. You have an awesome family and you end up with the richest man in town-oof!"

"Forgive my partner." Ulquiorra intoned, solemnly, as Grimmjow crashed to the floor, "He's a little drunk."

"And, what's up with that?" Grimmjow crowed, "I'm at a party and Nnoitra owes me."

"He had a bet with Nnoitra." Ulquoirra clarified, "Nnoitra said that Neliel would say no if he asked her to dance with him and Grimmjow said he would so they drew a wager on it."

"And, I fuckin' won! Ah ha ha ha ha ha!" As Grimmjow descended into manic laughter, Hallibel shook her head in distaste, Starrk just stared around blearily, trying to discern why there was a strange man on top of him, and Ulquiorra muttered,

"Only because Neliel overheard."

Ichigo began looking around again, trying to find a good way to get away from his father. Sousuke was taking a lot longer than he thought he would, Has he escaped already? He scowled in annoyance. If he was going to escape, he could have taken Ichigo with him. So, slipping out of his chair, he left a still giggling Grimmjow and began pushing his way through the crowd.

Sousuke slid silently into the deserted hall and just as quietly into the dark kitchen without turning on the light, which was now littered with the remnants of the party preparations and the usual tacky Christmas decor that Hirako loved so much, Ah, it's so good to be away from all those people. Now, then...Sure enough, he heard quiet tapping from the corner. Pulling back the rug, he pulled up the trapdoor,

"Good evening, Byakuya. I see you managed to find your way here perfectly well."

Byakuya raised an eyebrow. Despite being in prison for over a month, he was looking as preened and perfect as ever. At least, he was in the extremely limited light. As he pulled himself out of the passage, he said, "I never thought I'd encounter something like that in the real world. Though, if I may make one suggestion, I think you should put a coded lock on the inside of the doors."

"Ah, good idea. I was thinking about that myself."

"Indeed. Now, away with this banter." Byakuya stood up straight and formal. Then, he extended a hand, "Aizen Sousuke, I owe you an apology. I was a fool to make myself a part of that madman's plans."

"Apology accepted, Byakuya." Sousuke took the offered hand graciously, "I do hope prison didn't treat you too badly."

"I cannot say I had a good time," Byakuya replied, with the utmost dignity, "but I was grateful when you permitted my release." He glanced outside at the party, "Do your people know about this?"

"Oh, no. I don't want to spoil Grimmjow's good mood." He noticed Byakuya's face twitch a little at the name, "He'll be so disappointed when he hears."

"I can imagine."

Just then, there was the sound of a door opening and Ichigo's voice floated through, "Sousuke? Are you in here?"

"Ah, that reminds me. Byakuya, since you're a man who has been married, I'd like to ask your opinion on how best to propose."

Byakuya raised a barely visible eyebrow. With a bit of hesitation, he answered, "I would not waste time and effort on being elaborate on Kurosaki. He's not the type to appreciate it. The simple approach is best for him."

"Ah, I thought so. Thank you."

"Consider it payment for my release. Now, if you excuse me, I need to visit Rukia. I have the sneaking suspicion that she is throwing a surprise dinner to celebrate my freedom."

"Very well. Have a good time." With that, Byakuya's shape sank back into the passage and his metallic footsteps faded. Once the passage was closed and covered, Sousuke took a deep breath and left the kitchen.

He never liked to admit when he was nervous and he was a master at concealing it so he never needed to. Still, that annoying tightstring-like feeling groped at him again and made his fingers shake in a way he didn't like at all as he approached the open drawing room door where Ichigo's voice was coming from, one hand reaching into his pocket.

A/N: Hmm...I'm not too sure with this chapter, it has to be said. I think it might be a bit too much of an anticlimax. Anyway, I'll leave that up to you to decide.