A/N: well, not quite a year huh? But still much longer than I had wanted... I am really beginning to think that I should stop putting deadlines on when I update anything... they never seem to stick...

In that brief split second before he truly regained consciousness, Ichigo was aware only of how tight his chest suddenly felt. It was like there were some iron bands wrapped around his lungs to stop them from expanding, but this was soon overshadowed by the sharp, stabbing pain originating from the very centre of his chest. Out of all the injuries he had been forced to endure in his short life, this was not even amongst the middle of the pack, but it still caused him to panic in his disorientated state.

A tight chest and pain in the heart were some of the identifying factors of a heart attack.

Was it possible that Kira had found out about their investigation into him and had decided to take them out before they could be a threat? But how could he had found out who Ichigo was in the first place? Could a shinigami even die of a heart attack? However, one pained heart beat later, and his memories of the past hour slowly began to slide back into place... and with their return came his ability to breathe until he was just laying there, quite comfortably in the darkness of his own mind.

Of course... there had been the conversation with his strange classmate who suspected him of being Kira... and then the hollow... and the same classmate making it impossible for him to return to the fake body he had been using since his return. The fake body that had just nearly given out on him, forcing him to be dragged back into it through resuscitation...

Yeah, it was times like this that he really hated old hat and clogs...

It was actually really interesting... if he looked at the situation for an objective stand point that is. The fake body was not his, but it seemed like his soul was still tied to it in the same way that it would if he had still been connected to it by his chain of fate... it must have been the side effect of Urahara using his blood as the base, but who knew that he could be forced back into the body by outside means? And if that was the case... if someone actually did kill his body, would that effect his soul as well?

He must have been on some form of drug to fight off the lingering pain from his chest as, even though the feeling of a small flame burrowing into his skin never really went away, he found himself drifting in and out of awareness. It was something that the teen was becoming depressingly familiar with after his transformation into a shinigami, but it still didn't make it any less disorientating to find himself losing large chunks of the day.

In this constant drugged haze he found himself in however, there were a few moments of blinding clarity that worked to jolt him back to full awareness.

First was being hit by what felt like a truck while he was dozing, though further inspection revealed his attacker to be none other than a distraught Yuzu who had launched herself onto his bed and had refused to let go of him for the rest of her visit. It was times like this, seeing the worried faces of his family (his whole family, no matter how hard old goat-face tried to hide it behind his bad jokes) that Ichigo really began to lose his resolve. Sure, he had first taken up a zanpakuto in order to protect them all, but was it really protecting them if they were constantly worried about him disappearing one day and never coming home?

Despite what many people seemed to thing, he was aware of just how dangerous his new 'part time job' was, hell, he had nearly died so many times in the few months that he had known Rukia... but he just could not stop thinking that this was something he had to do. He was a protector, it was what he had always been... but now, in the small hospital room, with Yuzu hanging from one arm and Karin desperately attempting to hide her tears as she clutched the sleeve of the other... he couldn't help but wonder if he had really been doing what was best for his family...

The second clear moment had been when his friends had visited, and thankfully their usual mixture of concern and mockery/scolding had been enough to draw him out of his darker thoughts. They had not staid long after reassuring themselves that he was not about to keel over just yet, but it had been enough for him to build up his mental defences once again, something he sorely needed in light of his third set of visitors...

Even in his less than lucid periods, the teen had been aware of the shadowed pair of eyes that had been staring intently at him for the whole day, so he had known that it would only be a matter of time until Ryuuga came forwards to confront him once again, still, he had not expected him to bring a friend with him... and not only because he was under the impression that the man didn't have any friends.

The new was completely unassuming at first glance. Neatly cut brown hair and warm amber eyes and a perfect posture offered a contrast to Ryuuga's darker colouring and perpetual slouch. It took a while for Ichigo to work out why he seemed so familiar, but when he realised that this guy was Yagami Light, the one who had scored top of the country in the university entrance exams, it seemed like everything around him seemed to shift slightly. All of a sudden it seemed as though there was something off in the polite warmth that the man cloaked himself in, something fake, and he was reminded all to strongly of Aizen for his taste.

Ichigo was someone who had always prided himself on his instincts. Being able to tell who was a friend or a foe was vital in the shinigami world, but also for a young student who was always hounded by gangs... and it was these instincts that were suddenly set to screaming at the sight of the other student.

Not to mention that, not two seconds after he had registered the threat that the other young man posed, his attention was pulled over to the door where he could make out the looming shape of... something. He couldn't be sure exactly what it was... it looked human, and he couldn't immediately see a hollow hole, but was projecting an aura of bored malevolence that could not bode well for anyone... and it (he?) was looking right at him...

When L had first phoned up Watari and asked him to send an ambulance, there had only been a mild wave of concern pass through the Kira task force as they gathered around one of the many computer banks in the hotel room and the incident was soon forgotten. However, when, and hour later L phoned up once again, it had caused a panic.

Unlike his normal self assured countenance, the team were able to detect a trace of worry in the man's usually monotone voice and on someone who usually had the emotional range of a teaspoon... that was worrying. So, when he requested that Light meet him at said hospital, no one had questioned the strange choice and had, instead, rushed to get the young man over there.

Slightly concerned about what he could have found out to make the detective so nervous all of a sudden, Light had been running through a hundred different possible causes and the damage control he would have to do for each one, even as he rushed to his 'friend's' side, though he definitely hadn't been expecting what he found when he got there.

Sitting, hunched over on one of the horrible plastic chairs in the hotel waiting area and poking at a pathetic looking piece of cheese cake with a plastic fork, L had looked the perfect picture of composure, even in his unusual environment. It was due to this shocking normalcy that it took the honour student a few seconds to make his way over and take a seat beside the man.

"Ah, Light-kun... just in time. I think I found another suspect for the case and I thought that you might like to help with the interrogation?"

For a moment, Light could feel the corner of his eyes twitching at the blasé comment from the detective that was in complete opposition to the panic he had managed to instil into the task force, but with a deep breath he was able to (partially) quell the urge to throttle the man. Knowing L, he had probably done it on purpose to make sure that he arrived without delay, the infuriating bastard.

"Okay, so who are we looking at here?"

With no other acknowledgement than finishing off his treat in two more bites, L had lead him into the room of some one he was shocked to recognise from several of his classes at To-oh and had proceeded to conduct the strangest interrogation that Light had ever been part of. Oh, the questions had been standard, and the answers had done nothing to either increase or decrease the odd of the other man being a Kira (according to L at least) but Kurosaki himself had been interesting to watch... in a morbid way.

The guy must have been given something by the hospital that messed with his head slightly, as he would often have lapses in concentration that would force them to repeat a question, and he would flinch at nothing every now and then. Overall, the other student had come across almost like a drug addict suffering from withdrawal or as someone with severe schizophrenia... Light wasn't sure whether to be insulted or amused that L considered this man a suspect...

Eventually, when the infuriating detective had deemed the interrogation over, he had left the room without even saying a word to Light and leaving him to excuse them from the patients room... only to leave the hospital without waiting for him. Sighing in suppressed agitation, the honour student resigned himself to walking home.

As he walked, he couldn't help but think about this new twist in the delicate game he was playing with L and the task force. If he could manipulate L into moving his suspicions onto this new player, it would give him much more room to manoeuvre his other pieces into position so that when the detective finally figured out that he had been following the wrong man, it would be too late to do anything.

It would be a huge advantage to him in game of cat and mouse, but it would also take a lot of skill to pull off. He didn't doubt his ability to do so at all, but it did raise the question of whether it would be worth the risk to go about this new course of action.

He was so distracted by this new train of thought that Light had not even noticed that Ryuk was still following him until the shinigami let off a low cackle that had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up on end.

"What's got you so happy all of a sudden?"

The comment was offhand, and he hadn't been paying much attention to the response it would create until he saw the absolutely diabolical grin stretch across the spirits face.

"Oh nothing, its just that this game of yours is about to get much more interesting!"

Intrigued now, the human stopped to face his invisible companion fully, a look of expectation flitting across his face.

"And why would that be?"

At first, it seemed as though the spectre wasn't going to say any more on the matter, but after a few more moments of silence, his grin grew wider, showing off almost all of his teeth now.

"That boy... I couldn't see his death date."