Day 14: Learning the Truth

This article, , is the fifth chapter of the Investigating Grat arc, which is part of Bleach: Cataclysm. It features both Garrett Sheppard and Kenji Hiroshi as the point-of-view characters.

The clash of steel sounded throughout the training room! Kenji side-stepped Kusaka's lunge and slashed at his head, only for Kusaka to swiftly flash-step to Kenji's side. He would have punctured Kenji through the ribs had he not flash-stepped clear.

"You switched with a clone." Kusaka claimed.

Kenji arched an eyebrow at that. The surprise was clear on his face for all to see. The Kenji with whom Kusaka had been sparring disappeared in a flash of electricity, whilst the real Kenji stepped out from behind a large rock formation far below.

"You can tell the difference now?" Kenji asked.

"Of course I can." Kusaka replied. "Your clones are a distraction; nothing more, nothing less. They aren't designed for battling the likes of me."

"Could you tell when I switched though?"

"Piss off."

Kusaka descended to the floor and sheathed his Zanpakutō. Kenji followed suit. As Kusaka settled down to sit on a nearby rock Kenji retrieved his hip-flask and drank deeply of the whiskey within before throwing it Kusaka's way. He accepted it with a grin and a nod of thanks before throating a mouthful.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about? You sounded more urgent than usual on the phone." Kenji inquired.

It seemed sparring was just something the two did to break the boredom and kill some time.

"I'm surprised you don't already know." Kusaka claimed. "You want to take a guess?"

"Okay, I'll bite."

As Kenji answered he caught the thrown hip-flask from the air and took another mouthful. He then threw it back to Kusaka who took another swig for himself.

"We're in Grat, for one. In our old training ground no less. Hawke and David are busy in Horiwari, so it has nothing to do with them. Same's true for Kentaro and Akiye." Kenji was stroking his chin in thought. "So I'm gonna guess that little Tiff has caught someone's attention."

Kusaka started laughing.

"I take it I'm right then? I love being right."

"You never cease to amaze." Kusaka claimed. "Yeah, it seems she's making something of a name for herself, within the wrong types of circles."

"Are the Gotei 13 still after her?" Kenji asked, suddenly serious.

Kusaka threw him the hip-flask.

"No. Something worse." Kusaka answered.

Kenji returned the flask.

"... It wouldn't be Bansui or Kagura; they're active, sure, but they both have their hands full, not to mention you and Meian scared them shit-less. So that leaves the Kikkasho, or you wouldn't have bothered dragging me out here where only you and I can listen."

"It isn't just Tiffany they've shown interest in." Kusaka claimed. "They've been sending Hollow after Garrett and his friends."

"Fuck."

Garrett was roused by the sound of a lorry passing by the window. Before he sat up he glanced to the right to make sure he hadn't dreamed was had occurred last night. And sure enough he hadn't! For Tiffany was sleeping beside him with only the sheets to cover her nakedness and Garrett was in much the same manner of dress.

"Hey, you." She whispered.

"Morning."

He was almost sad when she rolled out of bed and pulled on her pink-coloured housecoat. He could have looked at her toned body a while longer without complaints. Hell, he would have preferred to have it pushed against him, like it was last night. When he reached for her arm she stepped to the side and shook her finger at him as if to say "maybe later".

She may as well have struck him!

"Don't look so disappointed." She said to him. "You look like I just drowned your dog."

He kicked off the blankets at that and pulled on his underwear and jeans from the night before. They'd do until he got home and got a fresh set to wear. He didn't remember where the hell his shirt ended up, so he asked her.

"I may have ripped it a little."

"Ohhhh, nice." He declared, sarcasm laid-on thick. "That was a new shirt!"

A knock at the door cut through Tiffany's intended reply. Garrett, being in a more respectful state of dress than Tiffany, went to answer it, as Tiffany pulled on her clothes from last night. The two people standing on the doorstep where the last people Garrett was expecting. His mouth nearly hit the floor!

"Oh, hell no! What the fuck are you two doing here!?" He exclaimed.

"Watch your mouth."

"Or I'll break it."

Kenji and Kusaka where dressed in double-denim -- a pair of jeans and a jacket apiece, which was ripped, with tears in their jeans. They both wore what appeared to be a sleeveless shirt beneath the jacket.

"Oh, hey!" Tiffany declared. "I'm about to start breakfast. Come on in."

They pushed past Garrett and seated themselves at the dining table in the kitchen. Garrett joined them reluctantly and appeared to be going out of his way to keep his distance from the pair.

"You still aren't sore, are you?" Kusaka asked.

Garrett's look of horror quickly turned to one of rage.

"I asked you to give me some martial arts tips and you nearly fucking killed me!" He shouted. "I was in the hospital for a week!"

"You never told me you knew Garrett." Tiffany interjected. The look she gave Kusaka was weighted.

"He's a friend of my sons." Kusaka admitted.

"That aside, how long have you two been screwing?" Kenji asked with a devilish grin.

Tiffany upended their breakfast so she could smash the frying pan across his face! Garrett put his feet in him for good measure when he fell from his chair.

"That's a wonderful way to treat your elders." Kusaka stated. "But we aren't here to keep you both going, though we'd certainly love to. We're here to warn you."

"The Kikkasho are interested in you." Kenji claimed, seemingly no the worse-for-wear.

"The who?" Garrett asked.

"The Kikkasho are are an organization of assassins, right?" Tiffany asked as she cracked eggs into the pan used to whack Kenji.

"Not strictly." Kenji answered. "They employ assassins, sure, but the core membership are unknown even to us. We only know that the surge in Hollow activity around Grat is due to their interest in you two."

"Lovely! I had enough people gunning for my head before and now I've got more!" Garrett exclaimed. "The only thing you two are useful for is ruining my- Where the hell did they go!?"

The pair had literally vanished. Even Tiffany was looking around confused.

"BASTARDS!!" Garrett roared.

"We shouldn't have told them." Kusaka claimed.

"What else could we have done? The Kikkasho will move against them eventually." Kenji admitted. "It's best they have at least some forewarning."

The pair where standing atop the building overlooking Tiffany's house. The area they occupied couldn't be seen from the ground. Unless Garrett and Tiffany leapt up so they where on eye-level with them then they wouldn't be seen from the house.

"Whatever you say." Kusaka said. "I want you to make sure Shinrei's on stand-by though. Best they have someone to bail them out if they need it."

"Sure, I'll make the arrangements."