I Smell a Rat

Kuro was holed up in his office like usual today. This time, instead of escaping from work, he was deep in thought concerning his wanted squad member. Tatsuya had sworn to him that he was not responsible for the murder he was accused of. Kuro had no reason to doubt him, which left him with only one other alternative: Tatsuya was being framed by someone else who had murdered the Shihoin elder. The problem was that Kuro couldn't think of any motive on the murderer's part. Nobody had come into any sort of gain with the old man's death. In fact nothing had been accomplished other than the disturbance of the long standing tranquility of the Shihoins as the entire family was in a frenzy now over the fact that their elder's murderer was still alive and free. Kuro wanted answers, for the sake of Tatsuya, the squad, and the old man. But he had to find allies first. People he could trust to stick by him while he investigated. As he thought about possibilities, a light knock sounded on his door. He stood up and strode over to the door, opening it to find Mika standing on the other side. She had a small basket with her, filled with some food items meant for lunch. Kuro let her in with a smile. She'd been hanging around him quite often since he'd defeated the visored, Takeru Seo. Gratitude for saving one's life was appearing to be a strong force. They sat in his office in a peaceful silence as they ate, until the idea hit Kuro suddenly. He didn't like it completely, but he had to go with what options he had.

"Nishino-san, I've recently found myself with a certain task I must apply myself to. But I can't do it alone. I would appreciate it if you would be willing to assist me. It will be extremely dangerous, so I will be understanding if you want to refuse." He barely finished his sentence before Mika jumped out of her chair and scattered the remains of their lunch as she slammed both of her hands down on his desk with eagerness.

"Whatever it is you need Taichou, don't hesitate to ask for my help! No matter what I do will ever be able to repay you for rescuing me from Hueco Mundo."

Kuro was pleased to see that finding himself some help had been easier than he thought. He smiled again and held a finger up to his lips. "I am very grateful, but please try and contain your excitement. This will be a secret investigation we will be conducting, and not even the other squad members can know of it." Mika blushed with embarrassment at her jumpy behavior and sat back down without another word. Kuro explained what they were after. "I wish to investigate the murder of the Shihoin elder. I know that you have not had much interaction with Tatsuya Okibi, so I would not expect for you to know this, but he is no murderer. I believe that the truth of the elder's murder is hidden and being covered up using Tatsuya as a scapegoat. We are going to work to bring that truth to light." Mika nodded silently, overreacting to Kuro's earlier hush. They both thought in silence for a few more minutes, her to digest the briefing's information and him to try and think of their next move. Mika was actually the one to break the silence, talking calmer now that she understood the severity of what they were getting into.

"We could try recruiting another gotei member to help us out. I've noticed frequent visits by a member of the 4th squad, 3rd seat if I recall correctly. I believe she was visiting Okibi-kun, but I'm not too sure. I didn't pay close attention."

Kuro was impressed by the suggestion. "That's a brilliant idea. A member of squad four will help remarkably with investigating a murder case. I'll go talk to her right now to explain things. I'll send you a hell butterfly with no message other than my location when I need you. It's best if we don't stick together too much during this stage of things lest we risk drawing attention. Just go about your day like normal until I send the butterfly."

"Yes sir." Mika exited the office with her basket, looking like she was only leaving a simple lunch visit. Kuro waited several minutes before leaving the office himself. He made his way casually towards the 4th squad building, not wanting to seem in a rush. When he arrived, he asked to see the 3rd seat of the squad. The nurse he had asked told him to wait and ran off into the building. Kuro was waiting for a long time. He was pacing in the main hall when a short girl approached him. "Thank you for waiting Akarui-Taichou. I'm the third seat of the 4th squad. You can call me Sumiko." Kuro didn't answer right away, but instead beckoned her to follow him as he walked outside. She seemed confused, but followed as he wished. He led her a fair distance from the building to make sure that they would not be overheard. When he was satisfied, he turned to face her again, his face filled with seriousness unlike his usual carefree behavior.

"I wish to talk to you about Tatsuya Okibi. He is a friend of yours correct? I have sources that saw you visit him regularly." Kuro was fishing with these sentences. He had to make sure that this girl would not betray him and Mika in their attempt to save Tatsuya. Sumiko's eyes filled with tears, something Kuro had not expected. The subject of Tatsuya seemed to have set her off. Of course, Kuro thought to himself. They must be more than just friends. Sumiko began defending Tatsuya with hasty sobs. "H-he couldn't have done what they're accusing him of. He's n-not like that!"

"I know that." Kuro cut in to try and calm her down. "I just needed to see how good of a friend you were...because I need you to help me clear his name." Sumiko's confused look returned, making Kuro go into the same explanation he'd given Mika back in his office. As he told her his thoughts and observations of the situation, Sumiko's face grew less sad and worried, becoming more relieved that somebody believed in Tatsuya. Kuro finished his story and offered her the chance to work with him and his other helper (he didn't divulge Mika's name just yet to be on the safe side). She smiled and happily agreed to lend her assistance. Kuro smiled and sent Mika the butterfly he'd promised earlier. Now he had the help he needed. Their first stop was the Shihoin estate.

-To be continued later.

The three arrived at the Shihoin estate. Kuro stopped them before they got to the gate and geve them their first instructions for his plan. "Nishino-san, I want you to do as a proud 2nd squad member would and keep yourself hidden while Sumiko and I head inside. If my actions bear fruit, we should start being tailed at some point. When that happens, you reveal yourself and we'll take things from there."

Both girls nodded, and Kuro led Sumiko into the estate. Kuro walked like he belonged there, but Sumiko seemed nervous inside. He approached several guards, striking up discussion of the day the elder was killed. He made sure to drop many hints that he didn't believe the majority's suspisions. They continued unabetted for a long time until a familiar voice sounded towards Kuro.

"What brings you here today Kuro-taichou?" Raiden came walking out of the main building with two men at his flanks. Kuro didn't care much for the onmitsukido commander, who had clashed with him many times in the past over proper conduct. The two of them didn't see eye to eye on what was important in people.

"Nothing for you to concern yourself with commander. I'm just taking care of some work that was overlooked with the severity of our recent events."

"I'm afraid I don't understand sir." Raiden said with a puzzeled look on his face.

"You and the rest of the forces have been trying to find and arrest Tatsuya Okibi, but you have failed to carry out investigations over the details of the murder he is suspect of." Kuro was playing with dangerous words now. He didn't want to give too much of what he was doing away, but at the same time, he had to drop proper bait for whoever was behind this framing to take.

"We didn't see the need for such investigations sir. He was seen alone with the elder, then soon after with the elder's corpse. All evidence points to a logical conclusion that he did it."

"But that is flimsy evidence based off of immediate assumptions. I may very well be wasting my time, looking for something that doesn't exist. Maybe my admiration for my squad member has blinded me to the possibility of his brutal nature." Kuro paused at this point and walked past Raiden. He spoke over his shoulder as he left the commander behind. "Whatever the truth is, I plan on keeping my investigation going until I find out who is responsible for this mess."

Kuro had chosen these final words carefully. Not siding with the possibility that Tatsuya was guilty, he would put pressure on the real culprit. As Kuro left, he missed Raiden whispering to one of his men, "Follow him and keep me updated on his movements." Kuro missed this, but Mika watching from the shadows didn't.

Kuro moved through the outer works of the estate. With the number of guards he'd talked to, and the confrontation with Raiden, he was sure that the culprit would get wind of his presence. A hell butterfly suddenly flew over to him, with a tiny message only consisting of Mika's name. He understood and turned around to see Mika brandishing her zanpakuto at one of the men who had been with Raiden. Kuro and Sumiko dashed forward and caught him from behind. Their plan had worked, and now it was time to get some answers.

The three managed to bind and gag their captive and move him away from the estate to a more private area where they were less likely to be seen or heard by members of the Gotei: the Rukongai. Out in the middle of a dusty wasteland, Kuro knew that they were far enough away from others that the man couldn't attract attention by yelling, so he undid the man's gag. The captive stared around frantically, obviously looking for a means of escape. But with his limbs bound and three shinigami (one being a captain) keeping their eyes on him, his hopes were quickly extinguished and his gaze slid to the ground with a defeated face of submission. Kuro squatted in front of him to bring himself to eye level with the captured guard. He spoke with a lighter serious tone not as dark as an interrogator normally would speak, yet at the same time not like his usual carefree voice.

"We're sorry for the rough treatment we had to do to bring you here. It was necessary for us to get you out of there without raising the alarm. We promise that we'll let you go after you answer some questions."

The prisoner stared at Kuro with an accusing look. "What do you plan to accomplish by kidnapping a guard of the Shihoins?"

Kuro's face hardened to mirror the sincerity of his answer. "Everything I am doing right now is for the honor of squad 2 and the murdered elder of the family they serve."

While the prisoner didn't seem completely taken in by Kuro's words, his defiance died down a bit in the face of Kuro's goal. He stared at the ground again, avoiding Kuro's gaze. Kuro was about to begin questioning when Sumiko walked over and knelt on the ground next to the guard and placed her hands on his shoulder. Kuro raised an eyebrow in confusion, but she only muttered something about "making sure..." and nodded to him to tell him to start interrogating. Kuro shrugged and got started.

"Like you heard me say to Raiden, we are investigating the murder of the Shihoin elder. I don't believe that Tatsuya Okibi is the murderer. Do you know who is?"

"No." came the simple and quick answer. Kuro was not surprised. He hadn't expected much from that question anyway. He decided to try a different angle.

"Do you remember what you were doing on the day the elder was killed?"

The guard's eyes seemed to shift for a bit, as if unsure of what he should say. Finally, he plainly answered, "Yes."

"And what was that?"

Again the guard hesitated. Many moments passed until he spoke. "I was one of the guards on patrol outside the center complex where the elder was killed."

Kuro was about to investigate further when Sumiko interrupted from the prisoner's side. "He's lying. It's only a small signal, but there's a slight disturbance in the reiatsu when a person tells a lie, much like the physical signs their body can tell." Kuro was proud that he and Mika had added Sumiko to their investigation with this assistance. It would make this a lot easier.

"Care to tell us what you were really doing that day sir?"

His lie seen through, the guard mumbled in an embarrassed tone, "I was out on leave. I was originally scheduled to be on duty outside the complex, but Commander Raiden said I could take the day off. Said he'd cover for me. I didn't know what to make of it, so I just took the opportunity. The records still show me as having been there. That's why I lied. I didn't want to get in trouble."

"You're still lying." Sumiko noted in a flat tone, turning to Kuro to inform him. "That last part at the end. Before that was alright."

The guard didn't wait for Kuro's question. He knew what it would be. "Alright, I'll admit it. The records do say I was there, but the reason I lied about it was that Commander Raiden asked me to. He told me to act as though I was there that day. I didn't question him...thought it had something to do with covering for me."

Kuro was pleased that things were moving forward. Somebody was starting to look very suspicious thanks to this guard's testimony. He probed deeper, trying to get the guard to divulge more. "Isn't it odd that the very day you were told to take the day off, the elder was killed? Doesn't that strike you as suspicious? Tell me more about Raiden. Can you remember anything before that day that seemed strange about him?"

"N-no"

"Liar..." Sumiko muttered in an annoyed tone, like she couldn't believe the guard was still trying to sneak deceit past her. Kuro almost couldn't hide the eagerness from his face anymore. This whole thing had gone incredibly smoothly. He just wanted the last few details.

"That last answer sounded frightened. Are you afraid of Raiden sir?"

The guard lifted his gaze to stare at Kuro with wide eyes. "Yes Taichou. He is scary when he gets mad. I happened to be passing his room one night when I heard him talking with a few older guards who have served under him for a long time. He was in a bad mood, ranting about the "undeserving urchins" from the Rukongai dirtying our ranks. He said in a very angry voice that he'd do anything to make sure that no lower class shinigami ever rose through the ranks again. I glanced in the room at that time and saw his face...it was terrifying."

Kuro nodded in understanding. "I believe you. You've been a great help to us. We'll let you go, but let me warn you: if you do anything to let others know about what you told us, Raiden won't be the only one you have to fear."

Such threats from Kuro were rare, which made them all the more fierce when they actually came out. The man thanked the three of them repeatedly as they undid his bindings and allowed him to return to the Seireitei. Kuro watched him leave and spoke to the girls. "I suspect that he'll be dead in the next few days. If it was that easy for us to get information out of him, then Raiden will likely get some hint of his betrayal when he reports back to him. The only thing preventing that from happening is that if that guard suddenly dies, we'll be almost 100% sure that Raiden is the one behind all of this. But with his temper like it is, I doubt he'll stop to think about that part."

Mika strode up next to Kuro, watching the distant guard disappear on the horizon. "Maybe he will think that part out and still choose to kill the guard so as to eliminate the only witness to his actions, making it only our word against him."

Kuro knew that she was right. "In any case, we should stick together for now. We got a lot done today, but revealed our intentions a little more than I hoped in order to get those results. We'll head back to the 2nd squad grounds and spend the night in my office."


It was a restless night, the three of them in Kuro's office wondering if Raiden had gotten wind of their suspicions against him. They relaxed more the next day, nothing having happened. With no new leads to follow, they returned to their daily activities, always keeping an ear open for more news. About a week after their investigation, the tragedy they had expected came true. The very guard they'd questioned was reported dead, officially overpowered by a group of bandits in the Rukongai while on patrol. Kuro, Mika, and Sumiko met at the 4th squad building and confirmed their disbelief of what had happened to the guard. They didn't have any physical evidence, but they were now positive of who the mastermind was behind everything. Kuro looked grim as he voiced what they had to do next.

"We may not have evidence, but we have to get this information to Tatsuya. He needs to know who's framing him. The hard part will be finding him, and then getting the information to him without being found out."