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Grayfia had told him to go to Sirzechs's office as his unholy boss wanted to speak with him about some new assignment.
Putting a hand to his neck as he worked out a minor crick, Ichigo began to circulate his power through his ankles. With a single step, he disappeared in a blur of muffled white noise. Travelling down the halls of the colossal manor, his lips twitched in amusement. He still hadn't fully gotten over how instinctive his use of Sonido* had become.
Arriving at in front of a rather ostentatious staircase, Ichigo stopped a maid that was coming down the steps. "Yo, is Sirzechs upstairs?"
The maid briefly looked surprised before dropping her head in a slight bow. "Yes, sir. The Prince is within his working quarters."
Ichigo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Was it too much to ask for a little eye contact?
Half the staff seemed terrified of offending him somehow. Granted, the sky-high pillars of flame visible for miles around that were a resultant of his training sessions probably had something to do with it.
"Thanks," he said before disappearing in another haze of static.
Exactly three supernatural steps later, he arrived before two massive oaken doors. Various apocalyptic scenes adorned every inch of the ornate doors. All save for one space barely a hand's width and length. It the only place safe to knock on as, supposedly, anywhere else would result in a horrific curse that caused unimaginable pain for long periods of time.
Personally, Ichigo felt that knocking anywhere else would be plain stupid as the jutting pieces of carved wood would not be so accepting of his yielding flesh.
He gave a sharp knock and Sirzechs's responded cheerfully from the other side, "Enter!"
As he yanked on the iron ring and pulled the door forward, he noticed a strange carving of two guitars crossed. One had the number 61 and the other 49, written in a wicked looking font. 'What a strange picture,' Ichigo thought.
Ichigo slipped through the opening he made and closed the doors behind him. Inside, the proportionally large room to the doors, Ichigo saw Sirzechs sitting at his desk all the way at the end of the office. While he expected to see Grayfia there, he was quite surprised to see another person there as well.
Slightly taller than Ichigo and possessing the same lean, muscular frame, his long brown hair was loosely tied in a knot yet his bangs were let free to frame his handsome face. He wore a dark blue haori over black shirt and movable trousers. As always, Souji had a calm and congenial smile on his face.
Usually the man was off hunting down exceptionally dangerous strays for Sirzechs. The ones that were too perilous for even the elite hunter teams under Falbium Asmodeus' command.
One last Sonido deposited him right between his fellow peerage members and before their king. It was a testament to Ichigo's proficiency with the technique that not a single paper on Sirzechs desk moved in the wake of his abrupt arrival.
Souji offered him a polite greeting, which he returned in kind, while Grayfia was cool as ever with a nod of acknowledgement.
"Ah, Ichigo-kun," Sirzechs beamed up at him as he closed a manila folder and set it down. "I'm glad to see that you're alright. I will admit to being rather worried when Grayfia told me that you over extended yourself on your little trip. Do try and be more careful, won't you?"
"Yeah, sorry about that," Ichigo said shifting his weight uncomfortably.
"No worries," The only sitting member of the quartet laughed off.
Ichigo was infinitely grateful that Grayfia had not told Sirzechs what had actually happened. Not that he doubted that the severe woman would go back on her word. He was just exceedingly thankful that he could work out his own affairs without having to be coddled by his new employer.
Though, he resisted the temptation to throw an appreciative look her way. Sirzechs would notice it right away and undoubtedly question his wife in a more private environment. She might withhold information from him on Ichigo's behalf but he doubted she would ever lie to the man. Even then, Sirzechs was perceptive enough to put two and two together on his own.
Despite acting like an idiot at times, the Crimson Lucifer was anything but. It hadn't taken long for Ichigo to notice that, behind his calm and humorous mannerisms, was a ruthless and calculating warrior. One that had overthrown a government in place for millennia by crushing his enemies underfoot and driving the rest into exile.
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