Last chapter for this request =) Sorry I'm so behind, but I'm trying. I just got sick and my mom just got out of the hospital. She was in there for a few days =( I'm not sure if I got sick from being in the hospital, or because my room is freezing... but the end result is the same. I don't feel like doing anything but lounging on he couch and whining ;p I'm a whiney sick person, lol. Anyway, I haven't read any more of Born to Shadows, nor have i really written any fics. I worked on my book while I was visiting at the hospital, so at least that's something. Other than that, I continue to lag =( Oh! And I read 2 books and finished another yesterday, because I'm awesome like that and couldn't put the damn things down ^^; As I said in my last update; Karina Halle- awesome author, read her books (Experiment in Terror). Anyway, I'm so stuffy I'm getting a headache. I'll try and update Derailed tomorrow.

Shiro: What? No witty and sarcastic comments? =(

Vae: *sneezes in Shiro's face*

Shiro: ... Gross. -,-

Chapter 16

Just as Ichigo planned, all three sides are trapped in a fierce battle when he and Shiro arrive. The two make a wide arch around them, heading for the small mansion occupied by the Bounts. Ichigo does a quick headcount, finding only four of the Bounts fighting among their underlings. Shiro watches as his brother eyes the crowd, knowing what he's doing.

"So?" he asks.

"Sawatari and Yoshino aren't among them," he murmurs. "The rest are... even Ichinose."

"Fuckin' traitor," Shiro mumbles. "Let's go, maybe we can sneak in witout the guards catchin' us."

"Their attention is diverted to the battle, just as I had planned," the younger copy smirks. "It should be easy enough. We just have to make certain no one alerts Sawatari before we reach him, so please... be... fucking... quiet!"

"Yeah, yeah."

The two swing themselves over the garden wall and disappear into the plants below. No one is there to see them sneaking in through the backdoor, everyone is too busy fending off the onslaught brought about by the mafia sects. Ichigo and Shiro separate within the kitchen, both going their own way to keep from getting caught together. There aren't any guards within the home, so the old man likely didn't think he'd have to deal with anyone getting this close. He didn't know about Ichigo, nor was he warned earlier... that will be his downfall. Even if the others should lose this battle, Ichigo and Shiro will ensure they win the war.

Ichigo creeps down his hallway carefully, knowing his twin is likely causing another diversion on the other side of the house. The place is silent, so it's difficult for Ichigo to keep perfectly quiet. He appreciates the extra distraction. He turns the corner into the dining room, standing perfectly straight as he walks into the room with his head held high. The old man is sitting at the head of the table, fingers steepled as he stares at the door. Beside him stands Yoshino, Kariya's lover and Sawatari's future daughter-in-law.

"And who might you be?" Sawatari asks with a frown. "I had expected something like this… but you're not the one I thought would show. I was never even given a file with your picture."

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, Shiro's younger twin brother," Ichigo smiles warmly. "I'm a doctor; I don't work for my father… nor am I a Visored. I'm simply related to them. And you must be Sawatari, the leader of the Bounts."

"I am. What brings you here, boy? Going to swear your allegiance to me?"

Ichigo hums a moment as he steps forward, chuckling afterward. His face shows warmth and humor… but his eyes are ice. There's a reason Ichigo doesn't bother with jumping into the fray, a reason he doesn't want to be affiliated with any of the mafia sects… something not many, if any, know.

"You're making quite a fuss within the mafia world," Ichigo sighs exasperatedly. "I must say, it irritates me to no end. And to think you'd actually upheave my life for your damn vendetta. That's something I don't appreciate in the least. You're more of a nusance than anything… and I don't deal with those very well."

"You speak to me as though you're a threat!" the old man laughs. "Yoshino will kill you before you can blink, boy! Don't tempt me to order it of her!"

"… Yoshino, you may leave," Ichigo comments. "I've no desire to injure you in any way. Please, go out through the kitchen door and make your way to a safe place. When this mansion is overrun, you'll only get harmed by the others should you stay."

The woman with soft brown hair and chocolate eyes looks hesitant at first, torn between her loyalty and her desires. Sawatari glares at her in suspicion, not liking her hesitance one bit. After another moment, Yoshino sighs and moves toward the door. Ichigo keeps an eye on her, making sure to stay out of her reach. When the door closes behind her, he locks it and heads toward the closest chair. He languidly sits across from Sawatari, propping his feet up on the table and leaning back on the back legs of the chair.

"The way I see it, you've lost," Ichigo comments. "It doesn't matter if your people win down there, not when they'll arrive to find you dead. You may have your son to continue on with whatever plans you've started… but I promise I'll stop him just like I'm going to stop you."

"You think you're going to stop me? What makes you so damn confident?" the old man laughs.

Kisuke takes down the man closest to him, cheering immaturely beside Aizen. The brunette rolls his eyes at the other, yet smirks minutely. Yorouchi whoops excitedly and tackles a guy to her right, leaping about like a child on a sugar high. Slowly the Espada and Visoreds have whittled down the numbers around them, the last of the main gang members going down. Their underlings scatter with the fall of Kariya, unwilling to fight a losing battle.

"We've won!" Aizen calls in triumph.

"I wouldn't count on that," an arrogant voice comments.

Everyone turns to see Ichinose, the traitor from the Shinigami sect. His hands are holding Shiro's wrists behind his back, a knife to the normally wily male's throat. Shiro looks rather battered, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and his temple, but his eyes are still defiant… and he's still grinning like a demon let loose upon the world.

"Surrender now, or the heir to the Visored sect is dead," Ichinose snaps.

Shiro cackles joyously, trying his best to keep from cutting his neck. Ichinose is thrown off by his action, confused at the laughter considering what a horrid position the hostile twin is in. Aizen is about to order his men to attack, but Kisuke stops him with a hand on his shoulder. The blonde has his head hung so his eyes are shadowed by the brim of his hat, a frown marring his lips as he stands perfectly still.

"Shiro… Where's Ichigo?" he demands.

"Ichi-bitch?" Shiro wonders before breaking into cackling laughter once more. "Ichi-bitch is inside the house!"

"He's what!"

"He's in the house. I been distractin' Ichinose here so Ichi could make 'is way ta the man in charge! Yoshino left out the back, so I'm gonna say my baby twin made it."

Shiro breaks into his insane laughter once more, no longer able to hold himself up. Ichinose tries his hardest to hold onto his hostage, but Shiro slowly drops them to the ground in his hysterics. Kisuke doesn't look very happy; in fact he looks pissed beyond words.

"He knows better than to get involved when your lives are in danger!" Kisuke growls out. "Tell me what the hell he was thinking! Does he have any fucking idea what he's doing?"

"Come on, pops, 'course he does," Shiro scoffs. "Ichi's got more idea on what's goin' on then we do, ya know. This is his city after all."

"What does he mean by that?" Nnoitra asks.

"The mafia has always been ruled by a single hand," Aizen sighs heavily. "The last mafia head was Isshin Kurosaki, Kisuke's brother-in-law. Ichigo and Shiro were his biological children. When he was killed when they were born, Kisuke adopted the boys. Shiro became the heir to the Visored sect and Ichigo became the future mafia head. All three family leaders decided to keep this secret in order to protect him better than his father had been."

"You mean to tell me that little pansy ass bitch Grimmjow brought home is the boss of all of us?" Nnoitra gapes in shock.

Aizen nods, a hint of humor in his brown eyes. He knew who Ichigo was the moment he dropped into the basement, there's only one child he watched grow up with those calculating eyes of amber. Ichigo doesn't like to press his title; he likes cleaning up the messes they left behind or preventing even bigger ones. As far as the orange head is concerned, as long as they don't hurt the innocent the sect families can do whatever the hell they want.

Ichigo levels Sawatari with a heavy scowl, the old man stark white at the information given to him. He's known there was a hand leading the sect families from the shadows, a manipulative and devious mind that no one can best, but he never thought it would be this seemingly mild-mannered doctor.

"I was going to allow them to deal with this on their own," Ichigo states in a friendly manner. "However, things were getting out of hand when you forced Shiro to send me away. I don't like being away from my twin."

The last sentence is cold and icy, effectively sending a shiver along Sawatari's spine. The sounds of fighting have died down outside and Ichigo knows who won by Shiro's cackling. His presence and laughter can only mean everyone now knows where Ichigo is. The old man also realizes this, as he fidgets in his chair when the front doors are thrown open. The rapid footsteps that slam against the floor make Ichigo uneasy; he knows they belong to his father.

"Our time together is growing short," Ichigo sighs. "Any bargaining you wish to attempt should be taken care of now, or you'll be dealing with the heads of both the Visoreds and the Espada. I can assure you they won't be as merciful as myself."

"… I had honestly never dreamed of meeting the head of the entire mafia," Sawatari murmurs. "But I must say, this works to my advantage. At least now, I don't have to go through all the channels to overthrow you."

Ichigo raises a thin brow at the comment, yet that's the only indication he heard the other. The other gang members are growing nearer, so close now Ichigo can almost taste his father's fury. It's beginning to make him nervous… he had planned to be finished by this time. If only Shiro hadn't taken so damn long to get to Aizen's mansion! Sawatari draws a gun and points it at Ichigo, the other sighing in irritation. Just as the old man is about to pull the trigger, the door is flung open and a gunshot is fired.

"Thank you, Shiro," Ichigo comments amiably.

"Like I'd let ya get 'way from me that easy," Shiro scoffs.

Sawatari groans in pain as his body slumps against the table, blood pooling from his chest. Ichigo stands without a worry, gliding over to his twin to hug him. The two refuse to let go once their arms are around their copy, both finally feeling the effects of their separation. Kisuke marches in and grabs them both by the ear, dragging the yelping twins all the way back to Aizen's mansion.

Grimmjow has almost worn a hole in the living room carpet from his pacing. He's worried sick about his lover, yet Shiro's warning has kept him from chasing after the two. When the front door opens he's at it in seconds, relief washing over him like a flood when Ichigo is shoved in. Kisuke and Aizen follow, along with Yorouchi and Pantera. The others crowd into the living room and find a place to sit, some of them sitting on the laps of friends.

"What the hell happened?" Grimmjow snaps. "I was fucking worried sick about you! How dare you make me stay here while you run headlong into danger!"

Ichigo kisses him deeply to quiet him. The blue haired man responds favorably to it, grabbing a handful of his lover's ass and gripping orange locks with his free hand. Ichigo quickly realizes Grimmjow is attempting to heat their kiss up to a make out session, so he pulls away.

"I'd like to welcome our new friends and allies," Aizen smiles. "I hope the union of our children can bring about a long and healthy alliance."

"I doubt our wives will allow these two to fuck up," Kisuke laughs. "They've missed one another terribly. Besides, Ichigo won't stop being the boss around here just because he and Grimmjow don't work out."

Grimmjow looks at Ichigo strangely, yet the orange head says nothing more. He sighs happily and kisses his lover again, this time allowing it to get deeper. Grimmjow eagerly lifts the smaller male up as he stands, carrying him to the stairs. His goal is his bedroom. Ichigo grins impishly as he's taken to the other's room, promising to tell him everything in the morning. Tonight, he just wants to play.

Sorry for any mistakes, I'm sure you guys can understand why Ii didn't reread the chapter. I just want to go to bed. I don't have much to say after all I put in the first note, so I'm just gonna try and finish this up. Derailed has been completed, though I didn't post all the chapters yet. I'll try and convert a few more chapters of Asylum for those following that one, but no promises... that just seems like so much work right now. I'm really trying to figure out where I was going with Hunter, though I haven't been dwelling on it as though my life depended on it. It'll come when it's ready. Those interested in Mark of Grace... I have a requested scene of Sam/Gabriel from my soulmate across the ocean. If you guys don't like that pairing, I'll tell you where to skip okay? You don't have to worry about that for a long while, though. Just a forewarning. Other than that... I got nothing.

Shiro: 'Cept a nose full a snot.

Vae: Go away, Shiro. I'm in no mood for this right now. T^T

Shiro: Yer gonna give me yer damn cold! DX

Vae: Then leave me the hell alone, you dumbass! You can only get it if you're close to me! DX

Shiro: But... if i go, those Supernatural fucks er gonna take ya 'way! T^T

Vae: *grumbles under breath before throwing pillow at Shiro* It's like you're a fucking record on repeat! DX

Shiro: *hurries away with a yelp*