10.2.2020- I've started rewriting this story since I wrote it as a 15 year old and couldn't even bare to look at it without cringing at the sheer number of plot holes. Once I've finished the rewrite, I will continue the story, but at the moment, it's little more than an embarrassment that needs to be fixed.

Sorry guys and I hope you enjoy the new version.

Of all the things he had expected when he had been called into a private meeting with Rukia's Captain, this had not been it. Ever since the scene on Sokyoku Hill, he had been prepared for several different scenarios; from being returned to his family in the human world to leading a full-on assault on where ever the traitor had chosen to hide himself away. But this…

To be returned to the human world, to Tokyo of all places… and now here he was, a student at the countries most prestigious university, parading as a child genius who had managed to skip two years of schooling. It had Urahara's fingerprints all over it.

Admittedly, he could see why this was necessary. Kira was a threat to the very existence of reality, not only because his killing sprees were unbalancing the scales between the spirit and human realms, but also because of the fact that, the vast majority of the people he was killing were criminals. As Rukia had once told him, the zanpakuto could only absolve sins that occurred after death, they couldn't do anything about those before. It wasn't even as though death was enough to change these people. No, by clearing the human world of criminals, Kira was responsible for a boom in the number of hollows. And with more hollows, that meant more souls being consumed…

So yes, someone had to be sent to look into this, and unfortunately, Ichigo and his team were the only ones able to exist amongst humans without drawing any unwanted attention to themselves. Or, at least, that was how it was supposed to be. Only…

Allowing himself to slump back into the soft cushions of his seat, Ichigo studied the older man before him, processing what he had just heard. It wasn't as though the meaning wasn't clear, it was just that, well, it was so absurd that it was refusing to go in.

"So…" He started out, his voice thick with disbelief and his expression frozen from shock. "What you're saying is… you are L and you suspect me of being Kira?"

Honestly, this whole thing was the exact opposite of what they had been planning, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves. He had never been one to accept unfounded allegations calmly, as the delinquents in Karakura could attest, and it was taking most of his self control not to lunge across the table and beat an apology out of the supposed detective. Instead, he simply picked up his now cold cup of coffee and imagined the liquid was the man's eyes as he plunged a spoon into its depths.

Control would probably be easier if the hollows hadn't been running him and his team ragged over the last few days as they attempted to keep the number of casualties to a minimum. Even Ishida's fingers were beginning to bleed with the sheer number of arrows he was having to shoot in a day. And here was someone who had no idea accusing him of being a mass murderer.

Then there was the student from his class who was claiming to be the world-renowned detective L, the one who had challenged Kira on national T.V and whose identity was one of the world's greatest mysteries. Even if Ryuga was L, why would he be openly telling Ichigo this if he thought him to be Kira, his sworn enemy? From what he had heard from the other students in his class, and from what Ishida had found out, this rather shabby guy was actually one of the two smartest kids in the year, and this plan seemed really reckless for someone of such a high level of intelligence, it just didn't make sense.

Was this jealousy?

Could it be that the man couldn't stand the thought of a student so much younger than himself managing to pass the renowned To-Oh entrance exams? If so then Ichigo would gladly give him all praise he wanted. That exam had been hell and Ichigo would have refused the intensive tor-study sessions point blank if Ukitake hadn't been so sure that Kira was connected to the institution.

The sunken eyes of Ryuga never left Ichigo's face as he nodded slowly, almost thoughtfully, in response to the question, snapping the shinigami back into reality where he had to fight the sudden urge to laugh, feeling that this whole situation must have been a joke that Renji or someone had set up, it was just far to surreal to be true. After all, he had only been in the area for about 3 weeks max, before that, he had been living quite happily in Karakura town, not really aware of the whole disaster going on to be honest.

"Look… I believe you, I really, do, but why the hell would I be Kira?"

Yes, the idea of clearing the world of scum was… appealing. It would be nice to wake up to news that wasn't about the latest murderer/rapist/kidnapper at least once, but… who was he to judge? He wasn't a god (his part time job not withstanding), it wasn't up to him who lived or died. Rukia had been the exception, not the rule in that case.

"L" narrowed his eyes slightly, biting on his thumb nail as he rocked backwards and forwards in that strange, semi foetal position he always sat in. Absently, Ichigo gripped the spoon tighter, fully expecting his blood pressure to spike at the man's next words.

"Well Kurosaki-kun… the psychological profile of Kira points to a genius student with a strong sense of justice, if a childish mindset. You are what they call a 'hundred-year prodigy' being able to pass the top tier exam at only 16. From reports of your hometown, you are also well known for enforcing the rule of law in… less than legal ways, resorting to violence more often than any other tactic. Added to this is the fact that you are often seen to be ducking out of lessons and meetings for increasingly unbelievable excuses. I calculate the probability of you being Kira to be around 42%."

Ryuga let his words trail off there as he took another bite out of his strawberry cheesecake he had ordered the second they had entered the little café just outside the gates of To-Oh university. For someone claiming to be a world-famous detective, he really did have a sweet tooth. Ichigo had noticed him at lunch times, on the rare days that he actually showed up, and all he ever bought to eat were sweets and other forms of sugary treats. Still, it looked like he was not the only one noticing things.

The fact that someone had noticed his odd behaviour was annoying, though not really surprising, after all, the sudden increase in hollow activity had Ichigo running in and out of the campus several times a day, someone was bound to notice sooner or later, but still, that he had so easily drawn attention to himself when he had been trying to lay low was infuriating…

Since leaving Soul Society, the substitute team had been itching to get involved with the whole case of tracking Aizen, but they had been sent to investigate Kira instead. It was incredibly vexing for all of them, not the least because there was this annoying reiatsu that kept popping up everywhere that just didn't feel right.

Realising that he needed to respond to the statement so as to appear like a normal person, if that word even applied to him any more, Ichigo suppressed a shudder and blurted out the first, believable, thing that came to mind. Rubbing his temples at the sheer realisation that this comment could have been true.

"Look Hideki-kun, like I've told everyone else who asked; my dad thinks it's funny to phone me up at random times in the day and claim that there is an emergency, like the house is on fire, or one of my little sisters was hit by a car, that sort of thing. It's nothing suspicious, just my dad being an ass!"

Yes, and your job taking over every damned minute of your life and there was the voice again. It had been quiet at first, easy enough to ignore, but after that fight with Byakuya, it had been growing in volume at a worrying rate. Thankfully he was able to push it down long enough to not appear crazy in front of the 'detective'.

For a minute, the other student focused intently on devouring the rest of his cake and ordering another slice from the waitress who had come to refill their drinks. This went on so long that Ichigo began to suspect that his entire presence had been forgotten, and perhaps he should just leave there and then, but, just as he was about to stand, those haunted eyes snapped back to his, trapping him in place.

"So you say Kurosaki-kun, but, if that is the case, why do you rush off every time he calls? Surely a normal person would have learned not to trust everything such a man tells them by now? Oh, and, for the record, the probability of you being Kira will change depending on your answer."

'Normal'? Ichigo felt like slamming his head into the table in front of them. This conversation really wasn't going anywhere fast, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves, the humour long worn thin. Deciding that it was probably better to just tell this guy the truth for now, he steeled himself to give a mini lecture on his pitiful history.

"I doubt you'd get it Hideki-kun, you don't have any siblings, but after my mother passed away, its actually all too easy to imagine them getting into some horrible accident and following her. That's why I get so nervous when he tells me these things."

"That is what most psychologists would call a neurosis Kurosaki-Kun. Have you thought about seeing a therapist?"

Did he just… He did not just tell him to go see a shrink! Unfortunately, he wasn't able to think of a proper response before his thought process was interrupted by the frantic beeping of his 'phone'. Frowning, he reached in to pull out the Hollow detector he had been given before leaving soul society. According to the screen, there was one about two blocks from where he was sitting… and there was no one else nearby to deal with it. Just perfect!

"Of all the times…" He growled under his breath, quickly snatching up his school satchel and coat as he sprung to his feet. Making sure he had everything he had brought with him, he shot an apologetic look at the boy across from him, throwing some money down on the table to pay for his drinks.

"Sorry, but I really have to go now, not that this hasn't been an interesting conversation but still…"

With one last wave he started heading towards the door, barely hearing the last remark from the so-called detective as the door swung shut behind him. Oh well, let Ryuga believe what he wanted to believe, if needs be, Ichigo could always go into a 'coma' for a few weeks anyway to throw off the police, it's not like he was Kira after all.

Maybe this hollow was a good thing, he thought as he ran past the shop window, it would, at least help him to blow off some steam.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

L watched as his suspect ran down the street, thinking deeply as he sucked on his spoon. Kurosaki Ichigo was certainly being cautious around him, even if he was acting nonchalant, but did that mean he was hiding something after all? Still, if he really was Kira, would he just run out of the shop even when he, who had confessed to having suspicions regarding him, had called out that leaving then would make the probability of Ichigo being Kira all the more likely? Probably not, Kira would not make such a blunder, but had he actually heard him? That was yet another factor to consider…

Then there was the matter of the mysterious text message that had made the student look so panicked. Could it really be from his father after all, or was that just another cover up? From the file he had read on Ishin, the father, it did not seem at all out of character, but that was what was worrying L. This was something that should have been easily acceptable, given the circumstances and the people involved, but his instincts had never led him wrong before.

Kurosaki was a genius, there was no way he would allow his life to be impacted to such an extent by something so… stupid. None of the genii that L had met in his life, Light and himself included, would have done so at any rate… though Kurosaki did exhibit more 'humanity' than any of his successors ever had…

Deciding to follow Kurosaki was easy, and despite the detective's sickly appearance, it was just as simple to keep up with the running teen. If he could just catch the boy in the act, then maybe they would finally know how Kira killed. He couldn't allow this opportunity to pass.

Rather damningly, they were not heading in the direction of the Kurosaki family home.

Unfortunately, it only took one crowd of over excited middle schoolers flooding the pathway for him to lose his suspect. Irritating, but unavoidable if he was to avoid drawing attention to himself.

After a few minutes of walking in what he thought was the right direction, but with no real success of finding the boy again, he was about to turn back and find someone else to tail the suspect when he caught sight of a flash of orange just ahead of him in the crowd. On the off chance that this flash had been the strangely bright hair of the younger student, he hurried after it, following the colour round a corner and into a sealed off alleyway.

From where he was standing, L could make out the figure of someone who definitely looked like Kurosaki, even if he was facing the brick wall, but, before L could walk forwards and question the odd behaviour of the teen, he saw Ichigo raise a hand to his chest with a jerky motion, just before his body crumpled to the floor.