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The Fire Within	By : wolfkin59 Category: Bleach > Yaoi - Male/Male > Urahara/Ichigo Views: 2555 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, nor do I make money from this.

Chapter List
- 1-The Fire Within
- 1
Story Title: The Fire Within
Author: Cuzosu
Rating: M
Warnings: YAOI (man on man sex, for those who don't know) eventually, and I'm not sure what all else yet, but this story will be much darker than my usual humorous, angsty stories. It is, after all, Sin City-esque. Also, language will not be edited.
Summary: Kurosaki Ichigo is transferring to the Karakura police department against his father's wishes. Little does he know just how much his life is about to change... For starters, policing in Karakura doesn't mean exactly what it did in Seireitei.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and don't make money from this.
A/N: Inspired by black.k.kat's "Memento Mori" and my own twisted mind. Bears some resemblance to Sin City, but the effect will be diluted by my mind, I'm sure.
A/N #2: Also! For general information, they still have shinigami life spans, because I didn't want to mess too much with the relationships between the characters.

Chapter One: First Impressions
Kurosaki Ichigo had never been one to follow rules. He dyed his hair orange, was nearly constantly in fights, and tended to befriend outcasts and odd people. So it had come as a surprise - to people who didn't know him well - that his career choice...was the police.
To the young orange-haired man, being a cop meant he could protect people, and protecting was what he was all about - protecting choices, people, ways of life...
He'd been surprised when Chief Yamamoto had called him into his office, and the transfer was unexpected as well, but frankly Ichigo wanted away from his eccentric father. Kurosaki Isshin was a good man, though odd, but...he was always overdoing things. From attacking his son to keep the younger man's instincts honed to overprotecting Ichigo's twin sisters, Yuzu and Karin, nothing seemed to be too much to the brawny sergeant.
Working with his father had been Ichigo's biggest trial.
As he stepped out of the taxi, Ichigo felt like this might be just what he needed.

When he stepped into the police station, the lady at the desk cheerfully asked how she could help him, and Ichigo told her he was the new transfer from Seireitei.
"Oh," she chirped. "The boss left orders for you be sent straight in to see him. Let me call someone to show you up." Long hair swished as she twirled in the chair and picked up the phone.
Up? thought the orange-haired man, idly reading the name plate on her desk. Inoue Orohime, huh?
She ended the call and said, "You can leave your bags here until you're done."
"Thanks." Grateful, he set the bags down next to her chair and leaned against the wall to wait.
It was maybe five minutes before a redhead arrived. His uniform was correct but looked as if it might have been slept in at some point, and there were dark circles under his eyes. "Yo," he said, nodding a greeting. "I'm Abarai Renji. Nice to meet you. Chief's back this way."
Somewhat puzzled by the brisk treatment, Ichigo followed the other man to an unmarked door. The redhead rapped his knuckles twice on the door before opening it.
"New guy's here, sir," he said as he waved the orange-haired man into the room and left, shutting the door behind him.
Karakura's chief of police was a raven-haired, pristine man with shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep. His long hair was held out of his face by some strange sort of clip Ichigo was willing to bet was specially made. According to the name plate on his desk, he was Kuchiki Byakuya.
The chief put aside his paperwork and steepled his fingers. "I would like to brief you on how we do things here, but let me first call in the night shift captain so he's up to date as well, please."
Ichigo nodded. "May I take a seat, then?"
"Of course. It will take some time for his lieutenant to roust him from bed, anyway."
What the hell? Do the captain and lieutenant live together or something? Every police station, as far as Ichigo knew, had rules against fraternization. So why would the lieutenant have to wake his captain if they weren't at the office?
Five times the phone rang before anyone picked up, which would have annoyed the police chief except he knew they were night owls and thus had been sleeping.
"Hello?" The lieutenant's voice was groggy.
"Lieutenant Hisagi, this is Chief Kuchiki." It wasn't audible, but the man on the other end of the phone call woke up the rest of the way. "Captain Muguruma's presence is needed at the station. The transfer just arrived."
"Yes, sir. I'll get him there as soon as I can."
Neither man needed further conversation, so both ended the call there.
"If Hisagi uses his usual methods, they'll be here some time in the next thirty minutes. If you need anything, Abarai's office is the door on the right."
Kurosaki Ichigo felt a little lost, definitely confused, but he nodded anyway and stayed silent as the other man went back to his paperwork.
Twenty-five minutes later, a door slammed in the police station, and less than a minute after that the chief's office door burst open, hit the wall, bounced back and was about to hit the burly silver-haired man who came in when the black-haired man behind him caught it.
Chief Kuchiki raised one elegant eyebrow. "Temper tantrums at your age, Muguruma-san?"
The silver-haired man snorted. "Looking down on me again, Kuchiki?"
Sighing, the dark-haired man who'd caught the door interrupted their typical form of greeting. "Kensei, we're here for the new guy, not so you can fight with the chief again."
Muguruma Kensei snorted. "And we both knew it was going to happen if you didn't come along to stop things, which is why you're here, Shuuhei."
Shuuhei turned to face the new guy, and Ichigo saw a tattoo of the number 69 on his left cheek. "Sorry about that; they work different shifts because they really don't get along. I'm Hisagi Shuuhei, night shift lieutenant. This is Muguruma Kensei, my captain, and I suspect you've already figured out who Chief Kuchiki is."
"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo," the orange-haired young man began, somewhat bewildered.
Kensei interrupted him. "We're here to figure out the orientation schedule and all that, right, Kuchiki? Then let's get to it."
Kuchiki Byakuya graced the captain with a look of faint disdain, then turned his attention to the newcomer. "Much as I dislike agreeing with Muguruma, he does have a point. Kurosaki, have you found quarters here yet?"
"No, I didn't get much notice before I left."
"I see. Hisagi, arrange something for him until he finds a place of his own, please."
The tattooed lieutenant nodded. "Of course, sir."
Captain Muguruma glowered, making Kurosaki wonder if he was pissed that the chief was giving orders to his subordinate...or if there was something inappropriate going on between captain and lieutenant.
Then the chief's heavy gaze was back on Ichigo. "Do you work best during the day or at night?"
"I do alright with both, but I'm a little sharper at night."
Keen eyes seemed to stare through him. "You'll need that edge. Muguruma, he's yours. I'm sure Hisagi will help settle him in." With that subtle jibe, the chief resumed his paperwork in silent dismissal.
Hisagi jerked his head toward the door, and Ichigo followed the silver-haired man out as the lieutenant shut the door behind them. Muguruma was muttering something under his breath.
"It helps if you just ignore it," the tattooed man advised. "Kensei doesn't like the chief's methods, and the chief doesn't like Kensei's attitudes, but they both do their jobs to the best of their abilities, which is why they still work together."
"I...see," said the orange-haired man. "So...where am I supposed to stay until tonight, then?" He picked up his bags at the desk on their way out and thanked the Inoue woman for watching them.
Muguruma snorted. "Only two places available for night-shift cops at a moment's notice, kid. And since one of them's the only neutral clinic in Karakura and you ain't hurt, that leaves our place. Don't worry; I don't bite."
Ichigo blinked. Hisagi scoffed.
"Bullshit you don't bite! You bit me not an hour ago for trying to wake you up!"
The silver-haired man snorted again as he unlocked a beat up old truck. "You fucking deserved it. Waking me up by letting Kazeshini out was uncalled for!" He rubbed unhappily at a bandage on his arm.
As they all piled in, Shuuhei retorted, "Well you wouldn't get up!" Seeing the wary look on the newcomer's face, he raised a hand in his captain's direction and told Ichigo, "Not like he'll bite you; yell and snarl, but not bite. He knows if he did I'd actually sic Kazeshini on him, instead of just letting him out."
"...you two have mentioned this Kazeshini several times now. Who...?"
Grinning, the tattooed man said, "Kazeshini's my dog. Karakura police rule of thumb: everybody gets at least one pet that will accompany them on patrol, just in case they have to split up from their partner. The pet is also required to accompany the person when they're off duty, which is why they're pets and not just police dogs. Some people are allergic to dogs. And Karakura's too dangerous for enforcement to ever be alone if it's at all possible to be accompanied."
"...and they let you take a dog that attacks your captain on patrol?"
Hisagi laughed. "The only hierarchy my dog comes even close to understanding is that I'm his boss. Disobedient shit. But he's damn good as a deterrent for attacks, and he's kick-ass backup."
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "And his disobedience is allowed on the clock?"
"All the time. Like I said, this city's fuckin' dangerous." He paused, then added, "But hell, so am I." And he smiled so cruelly that Ichigo was truly unnerved and wondering if he should feel sorry for the criminals.
Kensei turned to his latest newbie and informed him bluntly, "Don't worry about Shuuhei; he never goes after anyone who hasn't gone after him. If he decides to get really mean to someone, they deserve it."
There was a muttered aside from the lieutenant that sounded suspiciously like, "Ha, remember that the next time you call me mean," and the captain smacked a hand over his subordinate's mouth.
"I don't want to hear it, Shuuhei."
The other man snorted and rolled his eyes and didn't have to speak a word to say ever so clearly, Of course you don't...
"But his nasty side is the reason he got stuck with Kazeshini instead of some other pet."
Silence fell, and the young Kurosaki pondered, unable to find the words he wanted to say and not sure how to ask.
Pulling his captain's hand from his mouth, Hisagi said to Ichigo, "I'll tell you up front, Kensei and I are lovers as well as lieutenant and captain, and the reason the chief puts up with it is because I keep him calmer, on track, and mostly in line."
Kensei muttered something offensive about the chief that both others pretended not to hear.
To the silver-haired man, Shuuhei said, "Well, I can't keep you in line all the time!" Then he said to Kurosaki, "If it bothers you, we can figure out other lodgings for you among fellow night shift workers for the time being. No, we're not doing anything today, so you wouldn't have to worry about that anyway, and even if we do something while you're around, we'll try to keep it quiet. Should we get loud, you're welcome to knock on the door to let us know."
Ichigo paused for a second to get a handle on his thoughts. "... As long as you're not going to be exhibitionists or involve me or anything, I think I can live with that."
Sharing a glance with Kensei, the lieutenant nodded. "Okay. That should work, then. We'll take you to see about getting you a pet tomorrow, then."
About to open his mouth and protest, the young Kurosaki remembered that all the cops were required to have pets of some sort to guard their backs. "...right. Okay. Um, what kind of pet?" He'd never been good at taking care of this, so he hoped this wouldn't turn out to be an utter disaster.
Hisagi shared a resigned glance with the silver-haired captain. "Beats me. I figured out a long time ago that I'm not good at predicting what kind of animal that damn man's going to pick."
Kensei sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. "Don't insult the crazy clinic doctor, Shuu; when he talks he gives the best info in the entire fucking city, and he's as good at matching people and animals as he is at finding ways to heal people no one else can."
"What?" Aghast, Ichigo could only stare.
Shuuhei clarified things a bit. "That neutral clinic, the only place in the city absolutely anyone can go and get treated for anything? The man - the doctor - who runs it is crazy, and runs a candy shop on the side. Some of his patients are permanent residents of his clinic, because of worse mental issues than he has. Don't get me wrong, he's great at matching people and animals - although why he has such a hobby no one knows - and he's the best doctor in town, but trying to figure out if he's giving information or not is such a headache..."
"Like I said, when he does give us info, it's the most accurate in the entire city. We learned the hard way on one of our raids. Fuckin' got caught in the crossfire between three fuckin' gangs," growled Kensei. "Later reassessment of the doc's words showed he'd said something about a three-way fight and cops being advised not to stick our noses in. Pissed off everyone not involved with the original assessment, demoralized everyone who was. Lesson learned...the hard way. Twenty cops dead or out of action for one fuck-up..." He cleared his throat with a low growl. "So, it doesn't matter what he says. If the doc talks to you, you damn well better listen. Besides, he has moments of clarity every so often, and he's got Tessai and the kids to help keep him from getting worse."
Under his breath, the lieutenant muttered something unkind about having to be on the teams analyzing the doctor's words.
They came to a fenced-in brick house, where the tattooed man in the middle nudged Ichigo out, unlocked the front door and went in, explaining as he walked. "We don't want to make it easy for anyone to get in and ambush us, so the place is booby trapped to hell and back, and besides, I let the dogs out before we left. Anyone breaks in, it's their neck. And those damn automatic garage door openers are so annoying and easy to hack. Kensei'd break the things in a week, but don't tell him I said that," chuckled the lieutenant. "It's not like we invite people over often anyway."
Ahead of them, something black moved in the shadows in the hall. A growl sounded, rumbling and low.
"Don't worry," Hisagi said nonchalantly. "I'll get him shut in our room in a minute."
Of course, the way he said that made Ichigo worry. "Uh...this wouldn't happen to be the Kazeshini you guys were talking about earlier, would it?"
The lieutenant snorted. "Tachikaze wouldn't be growling even though I'm with you; he can smell Kensei on me and he knows I live here. Yeah, that's Kazeshini. Let me get him shut away real quick."
Shuuhei advanced down the hall and the dog moved again, growling louder. It probably wasn't the best time for him to tell the canine to shut up, but he did it anyway. And Kazeshini snarled and lunged.
Oh, shit!
To Ichigo, the dog seemed to come flying out of nowhere too fast to react, but obviously the lieutenant knew the dog well enough to expect such aggressive behavior, because he crouched low and in the dog's path. Annoyed, the dog grrfed at his master, blue eyes narrowed, and jumped for the wall.
Smart dog, thought Ichigo, unable to help admiring the intelligence even though the timing was horrendous.
Kazeshini hit the wall, crouched for a split second as he aimed to rebound onto the orange-haired cop, and was just starting to leap at Kurosaki when Hisagi's arms caught and held him. He snarled and struggled, heaved and contorted, but Shuuhei just snorted and glared at him.
"Damn dog. I know death is in your name, but you're not allowed to kill the new guy, got it? Old man Yamamoto back in Seireitei won't give us any more replacements if we lose the new guy before he's even had a chance to settle in. Try it again and I'll have Kensei hold you up by the scruff of your neck for ten minutes."
Apparently the dog was smarter than Ichigo had been giving him credit for - or he recognized the tone of voice - because he settled down except for discontented rumbling as Shuuhei carried his awkward medium-large size to his bedroom.
Dog successfully shut away, the two men headed for the garage. Waiting on the step at the door was a large husky. It glanced at Ichigo as if assessing him, but moved out of the way so they could come through.
"Hey, Tachikaze," came Shuuhei's fond greeting. "Let's let Kensei in, huh?" The tattooed man walked to the big garage door and shifted the metal bars that locked it in place, then lifted the door and stood out of the way.
Kensei pulled the truck in, but Ichigo almost didn't catch the way his eyes flicked to the sides. Silent understanding was a wonderful thing.
Shuuhei sighed. "I'll get Kazeshini. You leash Tachikaze."
As the tattooed cop walked away, the silver-haired man's muttered, "Damn right; I ain't leashin' that rabid son of a bitch!" echoed in the garage.
It took less than two minutes, but knowing people were waiting out there made them edgy, and Tachikaze caught his owner's attitude and was staring intently out at the driveway and beyond. The door into the house opened again, and Kazeshini came through first. Maybe it was the fact that he'd been brought out after being shut in the room, maybe it was Tachikaze's alert stance, maybe it was the tension roiling over Kensei, but whatever the case, Kazeshini's ears flicked low and to the sides and his jaw dropped slightly with anticipation even as his lips curled.
A fight!
Looking at him now, Ichigo couldn't figure out what breed he was. Probably a mix, but this wasn't the time to be musing on that subject, so the orange-haired cop shook his head and settled his attention on the outside surroundings.
Captain and lieutenant, both dogs on leashes, moved forward to lean against opposite sides of the open garage doorway. Their posture screamed amusement and anticipation.
"You sure you want me to let my psychotic dog off his leash?" Shuuhei asked the crowd milling uneasily nearby, smiling every bit as cruelly as his dog. At his feet, Kazeshini trembled on the edge of charging at the people, an enthusiastic snarl rumbling from his chest.
By contrast, Tachikaze, the husky, was standing still, head lowered to indicate readiness to fight and the intention of protecting his throat, but otherwise the other dog seemed indifferent. His attitude screamed Either bring it on or scram; I'll take it either way.
Muguruma Kensei drew a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and stuck one in his mouth, but froze when his lover's voice took on a decidedly ominous tone.
"If you light that, I will kill you."
Uh, oops? The silver-haired man backpedaled, lighter in hand. "Shit, wait, Shuu! You know I don't fuckin' think about rules when I get pissed or start lookin' for a fight!"
A lethal gleam shone in dark eyes as Hisagi held out a hand uncompromisingly. "Hand them over." He didn't need to keep an eye on the crowd; Kazeshini was making the fools uneasy enough that those around the edges were finding other places they had to be. The rest would follow soon, as the odds were not in their favor.
Kensei worriedly set the pack in his lover's hand, then took the one from his mouth and placed it on top of the pack.
The tattooed man shifted the cigarettes to the hand that held Kazeshini's leash and again held out his free hand. "Lighter." When his captain looked confused, the tone sharpened. "Now."
Realizing this would be the last time touching cigarettes at all would be accepted, Kensei handed over the lighter as well. If he held on to it, he would be tempted to smoke again, and that was what his lover was trying to prevent.
Grumbling even as he put the lighter into his lieutenant's hand, the captain said, "Damn it, Shuuhei, everyone needs a vice!"
The entire block seemed to freeze over with the cold fury that filled Hisagi's dark eyes. "Am I not vice enough, captain?" he asked, words icily precise.
Oh, shit. Talk about mistakes! Cursing his own wayward mouth, Kensei glanced at their surroundings to make sure they were in no immediate danger. Then he grabbed the other man by the wrist and yanked him forward. Shuuhei's temper flared hot - though no one would notice unless they were looking at his eyes - as he fell against his lover's muscular form.
Ichigo took advantage of their preoccupation to go back into the house, since it didn't look like they needed him present. He didn't go very far, remembering what the tattooed lieutenant had said about the place being littered with traps, but stretched out on the floor with his duffel as a pillow. Hope they don't take too long to sort this out.
He didn't mean any sort of slur against gay people or their emotions; he'd grown up with Kurosaki Isshin as a father, and that man did nothing without emotion. If anything, he overdramatized his emotions. Besides, Ichigo hadn't had enough time to himself in Soul Society to even figure out if he liked anyone enough to date them, so he didn't see the point in judging anyone based on sexual orientation.
As Ichigo drifted off into uneasy sleep, the cops in the garage worked their way through the blunder and resultant temper issues.
"Fuck, Shuu, you know I didn't mean anything about you! I don't even deserve you; why the hell would I want to let you go for material shit? Take 'em, do what you want with 'em! I'll even help if you want me to!" Undignified as it was for a captain, Muguruma Kensei was edging into full-blown panic. Beneath the surface of his slightly worried expression, pent-up dark emotions roiled and fought for supremacy. Fear and possessiveness and desperate need tangled together. He's leaving! Don't let him leave! No! Stay! Mine!
It was a struggle for the silver-haired man to breathe, but he inhaled deeply and said raggedly, "Damn it, Shuu, you can do what you want with the rest of my life, but don't you fuckin' leave me! Please..." The last was a whisper, and Shuuhei froze.
Leave? "Kensei... Fuck... You fucking idiot!" He looked away as he struggled to find the right words, unintentionally gracing his lover with the sight of his tattooed cheek and the choker around his neck.
That tattoo helped steady the silver-haired man's wildly churning emotions; it was the same as the tattoo on his own stomach. It was a tattoo the lieutenant had gotten to honor him, because Kensei had saved the younger man back when he'd first worked in Karakura. He cares, the captain reminded himself. He cares, or he wouldn't stay, wouldn't help me balance this gods-damned dark side I've got...
"I'm not going to leave over something you didn't do; I overreacted." Looking back at the silver-haired man, he reiterated firmly, "I overreacted. We both know I do that when I'm stressed." The black-haired man glanced away again and, disgruntled, apologized. He hated apologizing. For that matter, he hated having more work on top of what he already did, but that wasn't Kurosaki's fault and it wasn't Kensei's fault; he was just on edge and subconsciously looking for an excuse to be nasty to someone. Kensei had just proven to be the most immediate target. Damn it!
Forgotten for the moment and on edge due to the emotions hanging heavily in the air, Kazeshini was not a happy dog. Antagonistic because he was just as bad at showing his master that he cared as his master was at showing the pitch black dog that he was cared for, and because he was unused to lighter emotions entirely, Kazeshini leapt. He was silent, he was fast, and he'd have been lethal too if Hisagi didn't subconsciously pay attention to the leash and the dog it was on.
"Shit!" Both men jerked back, Shuuhei throwing an arm up between the oncoming dog and his throat.
Fangs met flesh, skin tore, blood flew in the air in an obscenely graceful arch. For a single moment, the garage was another world, filled with disbelief and shock. Then reality crashed in again, pain made itself known, and the tattooed lieutenant simultaneously seized Kazeshini by the scruff of his neck and shoved his bitten arm further into the dog's mouth. The dog gagged and let go, attempting to back away, but Shuuhei wouldn't let him.
"You sorry son of a bitch!" growled Hisagi. "Are you that fucking upset about having company, or is it because you're mad that the damn crowd ran away? Fuck! You'll have plenty of people to attack tonight; just wait until the shift starts, alright? We'll be on the streets most of the night."
Whether the dog understood the words or whether he knew he wasn't going to win this round if he kept going wasn't clear, but Kazeshini flicked his ears to the sides for a moment, yawned and looked outside again. He licked his lips absently, looking back toward the street.
As the lieutenant sighed and knuckled his eyes exasperatedly, Kensei said, "Take him to the room or outside; I'll lock up here. We need to get that arm cleaned and treated."
Grunting a mix of agreement and annoyance, the raven-haired lieutenant twitched the leash and led a now preoccupied Kazeshini back into the house. To Hisagi's surprise, the newly transferred Kurosaki was asleep on the floor just a little way from the garage, head pillowed by a duffel bag.
In the time it took for the lieutenant to open his mouth to speak, Kazeshini stuck his head in the duffel and knocked the orange-haired man's head to the floor.
Thump!
"Fuck!" Kurosaki sprang to wakefullness, rolling away and to his knees before he realized it was only canine curiosity that had made the dog shove his head into the bag.
Hisagi smiled slightly as the orange-haired cop scratched his head sheepishly. "I was surprised too. He doesn't usually do curiosity without bloodshed, but either there are some really interesting scents in your bag or he's feeling mischievous since he bit me." Probably the latter...
As the other man swore at his dog, Ichigo's startled eyes fell on the teeth marks and the blood streaming down Shuuhei's arm. "Damn! Your dog did that?" Not needing an answer after seeing Kazeshini in action a short while earlier, he spoke again. "Where's your med kit?"
The door to the garage opened to let in Tachikaze and Kensei, though Kazeshini blithely ignored them in favor of somehow managing to worm his way into the duffel bag. Kensei blinked at the sight, and Shuuhei sighed.
"Nosy son of a bitch, aren't you...? C'mon, dog, it's dinner time." He let Kazeshini off the leash, heading for the back door. "Kensei, dig out some of the leftovers for them? They did good today."
Kensei pulled two steaks out of the fridge as Shuuhei opened the back door and let the dogs out. Baffled as to why his new comrades were so blase about the bleeding fang marks in the black-haired man's arm, Ichigo stood and waited. Each cop fed his own dog, petting and praising them before setting a steak on top of the respective dog's dry food. Then they walked back inside, Hisagi pausing just long enough to remove the sheet of metal that had covered the dog door.
Instead of following Kensei to the bathroom, however, the lieutenant turned to his new subordinate. "I suggest you go to bed soon and make sure your door is shut; the dogs usually run free when we're sleeping. You can take that door on the first left; it's a guest bedroom and has clean sheets on it. The chief suggested I make up a room earlier this week, just in case." With a nod and a wave, he headed for his own room. "If Kazeshini or Tachikaze cause you problems, just yell. One of us will come out and deal with them." His words must have been some strange, roundabout way of saying good night, because the door shut behind the lieutenant.
The captain helped haul his new transfer's bags to the room he would use, waved once, shortly, and disappeared into his own room as well.
Guess they're not much on excess talk here. I could get used to that.
Surprisingly, going to sleep was not particularly difficult. But he made sure the door was shut, and wedged a chair underneath the knob for good measure.
- 1
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The Fire Within