Ichigo had expected Kenpachi to ease up on him a little once they had left squad 13's barracks, but he was finding that this was not the case.
"What the hell are you doing, Zuraki?" he said through gritted teeth. "Let go already!"
Kenpachi stopped and without letting go of the grip he had on his shoulder, he turned and leaned down and was almost nose to nose with him as he spoke quietly. "You always were crap when it came to sensing spiritual pressure! We are being followed, you idiot. We need to leave and go to the brothel in the Rukon district."
He turned and using his grip on Ichigo pushed him a little, letting go of him so he could walk in front.
A brothel! What the hell was going on!
Something happened back there that you didn't notice, idiot.
Ichigo frowned but kept walking now, happy to fall in to the roll of the intimidated Ruko so he could try and think for a moment. What had he missed? Whatever it was, Zurachi had seen it.
Byakuya had looked so angry though, thought Ichigo. He had probably realised for himself that maybe this wasn't all about getting rid of Ichigo. There was more going on than anyone realised.
Ichigo himself was fed up with all this too. It was so much easier to wield Zangetsu, to know what was in front of him and to put it all in to winning.
He followed Kenpachi in silence until they reached the stables. Told to wait were he was or risk having his head sliced off, Ichigo started kicking and swinging his foot in the dust on the ground. He wanted to break Byakuya out; fight someone. Instead he had to go with Kenpachi to do God knows what.
Eventually Kenpachi came out leading a horse.
"Hey, where's my horse?"
"Whores don't get their own horse when their being escorted off the premises." Kenpachi started laughing again. "You can sit up front of me. I'm paying you for some fun tonight, how I handle you in front of me can be your payment for a lift home."
Ichigo felt the rage building up inside him at Kenpachi's words, overheard by the stable hand who laughed.
Never had he wanted to kill Kenpachi more than right now, but he regretfully sucked it all up. As he awkwardly climbed up in front of the squad captain, he at least knew that somewhere ahead of him there was a conclusion to this madness.
Once Kenpachi had laughed himself out they rode in silence; through the Seireitei and out the east spirit gate. Ichigo watched as people who saw them moved out of their way as they passed through the more populated areas and then to the outskirts. He saw children running barefoot in the dirt and thought of Rukia and Renji growing up with no one to watch over them. He thought of Karin and Yuzu trying to survive this place and shuddered.
They turned down a side street and Ichigo saw a house that looked a lot better than every other house around it.
Kenpachi gracefully got off the horse.
"Home sweet home, Ruko." Ichigo tried to copy exactly how he done it but landed heavily on his feet.
Kenpachi then put his hand on the back of Ichigo's neck and pushed him a little, keeping his hand there as they stopped at the door. Kenpachi rang the bell.
A few moments later and the door opened to an elderly woman. It took her only a second to recognise who was standing in her doorway.
"Captain! It's...It's an honour to have you come to our establishment. Come in, come in."
Ichigo was pushed in through the doorway, stumbling to a halt. He turned and glared at Kenpachi and took an immediate dislike to the woman who seemed to look through him and had judged him already as no one of any importance. The door shut behind them and Ichigo felt a heavy arm placed around his shoulder.
"I want a room."
The woman seemed puzzled. "Of course, of course. And..." She looked at Ichigo who scowled at her.
"Another companion?" She smiled now, feeling sure of herself. "I have some lovely girls. Boys too. Willing to pleasure both or just one, if you like to watch. Punishments given and taken too."
Kenpachi leaned down in to her face and if there hadn't been a wall behind her, she would have fled in fear at the smile be gave her. "This is Ruko Harada. He's worked here for the past 5 months and is very popular. He was hired by Captain Byakuya Kuchki for a week but now he is back early. He is very busy and will be fucked tonight within an inch of his life by me. In a room. Here."
"I- I-"
From out of the folds of his pocket he pulled out a large wad of cash. "This is for your troubles."
A shaking hand reached out to take the money, but when she touched it, Kenpachi let his spiritual pressure build a little and in his current state, even Ichigo found it difficult to stand up straight under it. The old lady started to crumple when it suddenly stopped. "Just in case you're thinking that if he's willing to pay me this much money for this little favour, how much would someone else be willing to pay me to know this... I am Captain Kenpachi Zuraki and I could care less that anyone knows I am here, and what you just felt was a light breeze compared to what I can do. I could destroy this building with a thought. Now, give me a room and send up a meal for two." He smiled that smile at Ichigo who couldn't help but flinch when he saw it. Even the old lady looked kind of sorry for him but it didn't stop her trembling hand putting the money into a fold of her clothing. "He's going to need his energy building up before I'm through with him."
"Of course, sir!" She clapped her hands and a young girl, no more than 10 appeared out of nowhere. "Take the Captain and this employee of ours up to the blue room."
"Yes, ma'am." The girl turned to Zuraki and showed no fear at his appearance. "This way, sir. Follow me, follow me."
The girl walked up the flight of stairs and Kenpachi followed, grabbing Ichigo by his collar once again and forcing him to ahead. They walked up a flight of stairs and walked past two other doors. Each had the same flower painted on it but in different colours.
"This is your room."
Ichigo was still disturbed at how someone who looked so young could be working here, but before he could open his mouth, Kenpachi reached in to his pocket. "Here." It was no where near as much as the first amount, but the girl was pleased.
"Thank you, sir."
She opened the door and the room was simply furnished. "There are items in the cabinet beside the bed." She looked at Ichigo. "Are you working here now?"
"He's been working here for a while, girl."
"Sure. Ok by me." She turned to go but Kenpachi called her back.
"I can sense what you're hiding, just so you know. You ever want to try out for the Soul Reaper Academy mention my name. They'll see you right."
"You can sense me?" She didn't wait for him to reply. "No man in here will ever touch me."
Kenpachi nodded. "Good. Kill 'em if they try."
Nodding and smiling, she left and closed the door behind her.
Finally, Ichigo turned to Kenpachi, angrier than he could ever remember being. "What the actual hell, Zuraki!" He gave the door a quick glance as if he could still see the little girl. "Never mind that this is an actual brothel, a brothel! Why the hell is a 10-year-old girl working here? That's just sick! Why are we here?" He dropped down on the edge of the bed, despondent with the whole situation now that he had vented his rage. His spiritual pressure dropped too.
"I think we're safe here, for now anyway."
"What do you mean by safe?"
"You're supposed to be hiding. You weren't paying enough attention back there. Thankfully, I was."
"I am so sick of this! I want to go home! I want to fight!"
Sighing, Kenpachi shrugged. "Imagine how I feel. It's a good job I don't care about what other people think of me or you and Kuchki would be fucked." He smirked and Ichigo cringed inside. But he was done showing weakness. "Why are we here?"
"Take your clothes off and I'll tell you."
"What?!"
"You weren't paying attention back in Ukitake's." Kenpachi put his feet up on a nearby desk. "I saw Akhiro's reaction when you claimed to be Jiro Kuchki."
"His reaction?"
Kenpachi shook his head. "How can you be so dumb, Ichigo? When he heard the name Jiro Kuchki, he knew you were false, so who else could you have been?"
Ichigo stared at him for a moment in confusion. "I don't understand who-" The realisation struck. "He realised who I really was?!"
"Yeah." He looked at Ichigo. "And?"
Ichigo scratched at his head. "And... That's why you told him I was a prostitute. You were trying to protect my identity."
"Exactly. There is a spiritual presence out there. The same one that I realised was following us. They've hid it well, but not enough. Not from me."
"But why would he care who I was?"
"Unless?"
Ichigo let the notion take hold and almost snarled once he realised. "He was the one who had me killed and Orihime put in hospital. That bastard!"
"Exactly. We don't want him to know yet. If he thinks we suspect him, he may start covering his tracks. We need to play him at his own game. Which means if you're not Jiro Kuchki then you can be just some non-entity who doesn't matter. Someone we can quickly and easily assure is Ruko Harada."
Ichigo pounded his fist into the palm of his hand. "And who matters less than someone from the Rukon district to someone like him!"
"A prostitute matters less. I know men like him. If you aren't on his social level, then you are not worth thinking about and I hate people like that." Ichigo stared at the Captain and realised there was probably a story behind that attitude. "Which is why we are here. To prove to him that you are what I say you are. He's out there, watching. Getting closer. We need to make sure he sees what we want him to see."
Hiroko set the tray on the floor, knocked the door and turned the handle so the door opened. "I came back with your food," she said, picking up the tray and turning her back to it so she could push the door open.
She had seen many sights in her time working at the House of the Falling Flower, so she wasn't shocked, but she did feel sorry for the boy he had brought with him, Ruko.
Kenpachi was standing by the bed, only wearing a pair of shorts, his clothes in his arms as he was heading to put them on the chair. Ruko was lying on his stomach on the bed, naked, his head down at the bottom of the bed, his feet resting on the pillows. When she had opened the door his face had been red and in embarrassment he had turned his head away from her.
"You were taking too long with the food. Put it by the bed." He slapped Ichigo on the ass and laughed at his yelp. "We'll eat after, right Ruko?" No reply, so he slapped him again, this time just a little harder.
"Yes, damn-it, Yes!"
Kenpachi laughed a little. "He needs to be taught not to swear. Don't you, Ruko? Don't make me repeat myself."
"Yes."
"Yes what?"
Hiroko thought she sensed a rise in spiritual pressure, but she put it down to the Captain. Ruko replied through gritted teeth. "Yes, sir."
"I swear, this is one of the best nights I've had in a long time and the fun hasn't even started. Tell the lady of the house no more disturbances. I'll see myself out in the morning and I better find that the next time I visit, Ruko will be more than happy to see me, understood?"
Hiroko wished Ruko would look at her; if nothing else she could show him her sympathy. "I will tell her sir." She vowed to come up and see him in the morning. If he was going to be working here it wouldn't hurt him to have a friend. She turned as she heard Kenpachi say, "Right then. Let's get down to the matter at hand," and laughed.