Title: Eclipsed
Rating: M
Written By: E.E.M., xSolitude's Shadowx (Yup, it's a co-write.)
Summary: We're both broken in our own little ways. She is one of them. She is his sworn enemy. He left five years ago, and when the world he returns to makes no sense, why is it he finds himself so drawn to a person he's supposed to hate?
Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach!
--
Running a hand through his unruly ginger locks, fifteen-year-old Kurosaki Ichigo allowed himself to emit an exasperated sigh. They'd only been back in town for a couple of hours, yet his father had already managed to drag everything into the house, decorating it exactly the way it had been before they'd left it six years ago. The same kitchen layout, the same life-sized portrait of his mother hanging over the table. Everything was exactly the same, down to the tiniest detail- the light switch case in the living room was even screwed onto the wall upside down, just like before.
Karin and Yuzu were standing in the kitchen, the latter already beginning to prepare dinner- despite the overall similarity, she had trouble finding the pots and pans; when they'd left, the girls had been nothing more than toddlers. No wonder things weren't as vivid to him.
But he remembered all of it, could find anything just pulling from his nine year old memory. The towels, upstairs in the little closet between the girls' room and the bathroom, the four windows upstairs and the six windows downstairs, the corridor that led into the clinic section of the Kurosaki residence- which, Isshin had informed him proudly, would be reopened as soon as they settled back in.
He figured that gave him ten minutes until the "Kurosaki Clinic" sign went back up above their front door.
His own room was still empty, the full boxes stacked along the walls and under the windows- he'd unpack everything and readjust later, when he wasn't under his father's curious inspection. Was that there before? Shouldn't that be turned a little to the right? Yeah, no thanks- he could wait to move in, even if he had to sleep on the couch for a night.
"There! It's just like before!" Isshin appeared in the doorway, an animated expression on his face as he pumped a fast into the air and danced over to the portrait. "Isn't it? It's perfect, isn't it? Every last detail? What do you think, Masaki?"
Ichigo rolled his eyes, avoiding glancing in the portrait's general direction. "I'm going out for a walk," he announced suddenly. Shoving his hands into his jacket pockets, he turned to wander down the hallway.
"O-okay! Don't stay out too late, though! Dinner will be ready soon!" Yuzu called from the kitchen. Ichigo was pretty sure he heard Karin say something about, 'staying out as long as he wanted' and 'more food for her'… He sighed. Everything was not exactly the same- the girls were older now. They could walk, they had contrasting personalities; in six years, Karin had transformed from her old crybaby self to an almost emotionless tomboy with a love for soccer that she'd been developing since 'she was kicking inside his mother's stomach', as Isshin told him.
As the door closed behind him, Ichigo exhaled deeply. Six years had passed quickly, their only trips to Karakura coming on that one day every year- but now they were back for good, and things would never be the same again. The Kurosaki family was back, minus the most important member. Isshin and Yuzu were acting normally at least. Isshin had always been a psychotic, babbling idiot, and Yuzu had always been quiet and helpful.
He and Karin were the ones who had changed. Both had become more distant, but it had probably made them closer than the others- they were both under the same understanding, both suffering even though they hid their pain for others' sakes. But even Karin would never fully understand what he was going through. Nobody would. Ever.
The town around him was much the same as the one he'd left behind six years ago, the one he'd stared at in the rearview mirror until it was nothing but a dark dot against the sunset. And then, as the sun had sank beneath the earth, every last trace had vanished.
But they were back now. Back in Karakura, but not quite home. Where was his home now? The two houses they'd lived in over the last half-dozen years definitely weren't 'home' to him, but without his mother, neither was his old house that they'd bought back. Anyway…
The buildings on either side of him were exactly the same as before. The Laundromat, the little café, the art shop, the park and the tiny path by the river. Even though he shuddered, he couldn't help but stop there and lean against the rail, staring absently out over the water's surface- six long years ago that seemed worlds away from him had passed since that fateful night, when Kurosaki Masaki was attacked and killed by a-
"Oi! Ichigo, is that really you?"
A familiar voice broke him out of his reverie. He turned to see a blue-haired girl crossing the street toward him, looking both ways before bolting over to the paved path. Tatsuki Arisawa, his oldest childhood friend, looked up at him with curious eyes before a grin lit her face.
"I thought so- what are you doing here? Aren't you… you know… either really early or really late? It's November."
He frowned. "I know what month it is. We moved back into Karakura today- for good."
"Oh. For good?" When Ichigo nodded, she shook her head. "Wow, I was wondering if you ever would… So how have you been since I saw you last time?"
Ichigo shrugged. "…Okay, I guess. What about you? Anything different here? It doesn't really look like much has changed. You're still wearing the same black belt."
"You bet," she grinned and pounded a fist into her palm. "Third degree now. Things have been okay here, too. There's not much different really, except…" Her voice trailed off as she turned away, a deep frown pulling at the corners of her face.
"Them?" he asked.
She nodded. "It's still a public debate, but more and more people are starting to talk about it… I'm pretty sure there are more of them now then there were six years ago. A lot more."
There was a short pause as he closed his eyes, letting the fact sink in. So there were more of them now, then, huh? "The good ones or the bad ones?" Not that there was much difference between the two… They were all a common species, and none of them could be trusted.
"The good ones, I'm pretty sure. I've even seen a couple of them- don't worry, nothing bad has happened. Anyway Ichigo, I have a tournament to get to, we'll catch up later."
"Right."
"Oh, and Ichigo?"
He turned to look at her, quirking an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"Actually, never mind. Just… be careful." And with another wave over her shoulder, she was gone, leaving him to lean against the rail all on his own. For six years now, he had harbored feelings of hatred for them, the ones responsible for his mother's death- the ones he couldn't save her from. With their almost-immortally, their unquestioned knowledge of the world.
Among the people who actually believed in their existence, they were most often categorized into two groups. Good- the ones who belonged to 'families' and squads, the ones who fought to keep the world at peace and destroy all threats to the earth's well-being- which leads us to the 'Bad' ones; the untamed, wild, murderous monsters, just like the one who had murdered his mom before his very eyes.
Tatsuki's words were meaningless. To him, they were all bad- enemies that should not exist and only made the world worse despite their efforts. They were vampires, enemies, and the world would be a better place without every single one of them.
--
The wind blew in silently, blowing raven colored hair to the side, as piercing violet eyes looked out the window. She could hear noises from downstairs, but she tried her best to ignore them. She sat down on the windowsill, lowered her upper body, and swung a leg out to the side, finding a good grip for her boot cladded foot. She was just about to swing her other leg out when the door to her room swung open.
"And what exactly do you think you're doing, Rukia?"
Rukia didn't need to turn her head to see who that was. It was her good friend Abarai Renji. The one person who has always been with her through everything.
"What does it look like Renji? Even you can't be that dumb." She finished with the corners of her lips turned upwards. It was almost a smile.
"It looks like your sneaking out."
"You win a prize! You guessed right."
Renji sighed as he took a seat in her bed. He raised an eyebrow. A smirk starting to cross his face. Rukia narrowed her eyes. She didn't like that look. A growl was forming in the back of her throat.
"What!?"
"Why'd you choose to go through the window? The balcony is just over there…"
Rukia relaxed, just a bit. For a second she thought he was going to tell her brother, Byakuya, what she was doing. She should have known better. Renji wouldn't do that to her. But then she realized what he said…Balcony…
She rolled her eyes.
"There's no fun sneaking out of a balcony when all you would have to do is open a door and jump. The window makes it more exciting, I guess."
Renji leaned back on the bed., hands under his head. "Only you Rukia, only you."
Rukia looked back towards the window. The need to go out and to get away from this place was growing ever so stronger. She silently positioned her self in front of the window once again. Renji watched her every move.
"Go."
Rukia's head snapped towards Renji.
"What?"
"You heard me, go. I'll cover for you…I'll think of something if I have to."
This time Rukia did smile.
"Thanks Renji.. I'll see you later." With those last words said, Rukia left.
--
She walked soundlessly letting the stillness of the night surround her, devouring her. She took a glance at the moon, admiring it's beauty as it illuminated a path for her. She pulled her black jacket tighter around her. It was getting colder now, the chill in the air proved that fact. It felt nice on her face.
She was glad to be out in the open space where there were no walls to trap her. She loved her home, but she felt so constricted there. Ever since that night when…She shook her head. She was definitely not going back there. She left that buried in the far back of her head. She made a promise to herself to never once talk about that again.
Byakuya was just keeping her home to make sure that something like that would never happen again. She should feel grateful for that.
She ran a small hand through her raven locks, taking a deep breath to clear her mind. She found herself by the river a few moments later. She placed her hand on the cool, hard rail, letting it drag against it as she walked forward.
She hummed silently to herself as she watched the water ripple with the feather light touch of the wind. She stopped and leaned on the rail, looking out at the water..
She sighed as she realized another school week would start tomorrow. She hated the school weeks. After a couple of hundred years, they all seemed to get repetitive. She wondered if they would ever get more interesting.
She looked up at the moon once again. The beauty of it shining down upon her.
'I should get home.'
She pulled away from the rail and started to walk away when she heard them. She frowned, and raised a perfectly shaped brow. Not that she was surprised they always seemed to come out at these times. In their words, this was when the fun began.
She knew she should have just walked back home, but something, maybe curiosity, at the back of her mind made her walk towards the voices. As she got nearer, the voices got louder and louder, and she saw three forms.
The one most visible, was the one who was on one knee. His hand gripped onto the railing. He was the closet to her. The other two were in front of him. They looked ready to strike, but she couldn't help but think that it looked like they were taunting him. She tilted her head to the side as she took another step forward.
--
"No, no- maybe he does look familiar!" A man's voice sounded, sinister and manipulative, from one of the cloaked, standing figures. He let out a low, throaty chuckle before continuing. "What did you say, kid- six years? Hmmm… That wasn't too long ago… I don't remember anything directly, though… maybe we heard something about it- what do you think, Ayami?"
The other cloaked figured, though nothing was visible but a dark outline, was slender and a head shorter. When she spoke, her voice was just as malicious, crimson eyes flashing in the shadow over her face. "I think you should stop playing around now, Keiji- I'm hungry."
As the one holding onto the rail let out a growl, the older man sighed. "Alright, fine. Bitch a little, why don't you? Sheesh. If you're that hungry, go for it."
Ayami made a threatening noise in the back of her throat before taking a step forward, approaching the silent one. Three pairs of eyes shot up as a loud hiss echoed in the air around them- Rukia took a step forward; two crimson stares, one heated chocolate glare, all meeting her amethyst gaze simultaneously. The woman that had been about to attack narrowed her eyes, obviously not pleased with the interruption.
"Yes, girl?" she demanded vehemently. "Is there something you need, or did you just have the misfortune of-"
"Ayami," the man warned. "Shhh- don't you see?" He nodded toward Rukia, who took a few steps forward to stand just a yard away from the one doubled over- the human whose scent was teasing her nose. She was used to those aromas now- living in a hidden mansion just beyond the outskirts of a human town, attending a human school… it was easy now.
Ayami tilted her hooded head, a wisp of blonde hair escaping in a gust of wind. Her eyes remained locked with Rukia's, ruby matching lavender as the two squared off. "Ah," the older breathed, nodding as the realization sank in. "I see."
The human finally looked away from Rukia to glare at the man, who had taken a step forward- both of the cloaked figures were completely ignoring him now, their crimson stares focused entirely on this new arrival. Amusement sparkled in their eyes, the only visible features beneath those dark hoods…
"Hmmm, I'd always heard the others say you were vertically challenged- I didn't think you'd really look like such a child, though." Ayami's sharp comment was met by an irritated growl.
"So, what brings you out here?" The man – Keiji, she'd said – pondered absently. "Shouldn't you be in bed by now? Sun's been down for a few hours now – did you run away? Or are you finally off of that little house arrest we've been hearing about?"
Another furious snarl escaped Rukia's throat as she clenched her fists, tearing her eyes away from Ayami momentarily. "No, we're not quite through with that. As a matter of fact, I'm sure they'll be looking soon… Maybe you should leave.."
"Hah. Yeah, right- is that supposed to scare us?" Ayami laughed as if it was the funniest fact in the world, a joke told by a comedian rather than an imminent death threat.
At least the man seemed to realize the truthful sense behind Rukia's warning. "She's right. I suppose we should get going- before the kiddie's nannies show up to drag her back. I heard they had to do that before, too… Before I go, girl, why don't you tell me what happened? The suspense is killing me."
"The suspense will be the least of your worries if you don't get out of here- now." The malice in her voice was marred by the blinding rage of having that brought up- sure, no one beyond the mansion walls knew exactly what had happened, but rumors had quickly spread among them; with all the gossip, they easily put the humans to shame, and according to Renji, most everyone had heard that there was some mysterious incident with the Kuchiki clan… Tonight was the first time she'd snuck out, the first time she'd seen the damage on her own.
The two of them seemed unfazed by her demand. Instead of scurrying like she'd hoped they would, they just laughed again, amused- laughing like she was a freaking child showing out to all the adults. Ayami looked over her shoulder as they retreated at a slow pace, smirking. And then, as a particularly strong breeze coasted through, they vanished.
Rukia stood in silence for a second, absently gazing at the spot where they'd been only moments ago. Her body was still tense, a tremble tearing up her spine as their scents completely drifted away on the fall breeze- she scoffed. Almost instantly, she could feel the human finally turn his suspicious, annoyed scowl on her, but she was already walking away at a too fast pace, no longer in the mood for the outside world.
She walked away without so much as a word of explanation, without bothering to ask if he was okay or examine the damage the others had inflicted- well, her gaze had flickered to him at one point, taken in the unusually bright orange locks of hair, the brown eyes, so full of hatred and irritation… He hadn't been fatally injured or anything, maybe scraped up. The rogues hadn't done much damage before she'd caught up, luckily, so the boy would be fine.
Okay, so maybe she did feel a little guilty about not checking…
"I'll go tomorrow," she whispered to herself- and then she was back at the manor, easily jumping from a first floor balcony up to hers on the third floor before she could get caught. Renji had gotten up to close her window, so she tried the balcony door- unlocked, allowing her easy entrance into her shadowy room. Even in the dim light, her eyes could see everything clearly, and she let out a sigh as she turned around only to stop in her tracks. All thoughts of what had happened earlier left her mind for the time being. There, on her bed, was her soon to be ex-best friend.
"Renji! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" She exclaimed as she moved closer to the bed. Her mouth dropped when she heard Renji's low snores, and saw his arm draped across his eyes.
'He's asleep! He went to sleep on my bed!'
Her eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, and tapped her foot on the floor. She then glided to the bed, and without warning pushed him off.
Renji fell off with a yelp, eyes snapping open.
"What the fuck!"
Renji sat up from his position on the floor, looking over the bed at Rukia.
"It's not what it looks like!" He immediately defended as he stood up, dusting off his clothes.
"Oh really? Then what does it look like? Hmm?"
"It's…I just…You know for someone of your height, you're surprisingly strong." Renji countered. He knew he said the wrong thing when he saw Rukia's eye flash dangerously.
Rukia cleared her throat as she stalked towards Renji.
"What did you just say?" She titled her head to the side in a seductive manner.
A manner that made Renji get all hot. He couldn't help but smirk. He took one step closer to her, then stopped. He let her come to him.
"I said, that you for being small…are surprisingly strong." There was a hint of amusement in Renji's eyes.
"Yeah, that's what I thought you said." Rukia made a swift punch to Renji's stomach, but it seemed he must have been expecting it, for he intercepted it. He gently twisted Rukia's arm behind her back, and pulled her to him wrapping his free arm around her waist.
Rukia growled as she tried to disentangle herself from Renji.. He chuckled at her futile attempts. He knew she was strong, but he was still stronger.
Rukia knew the only way to get out of his grip was to do the either one of two things. Hit him where no man ever wants to be hit, or the foot. She was really tempted to hit him in that sensitive place, but she held it in. Instead, she went with the option number two.
"Gah!!" Renji yelped as her heel connected with his foot.. Rukia laughed a bit too.
"You're a bitch." He muttered.
"Ah, now that's mean…"
Renji rolled his eyes.
"That's what you get for sleeping on my bed!"
Renji took a seat on the said bed, and pulled Rukia to him. She cleverly avoided where he was pulling her to and settled on the spot next to him. He frowned, but didn't say anything. He watched as Rukia laid down, bringing a pillow down to her side.
"I don't think it'll go over too well if they find you in my room, let alone my bed." Her eyes fell closed as she waited for Renji to say something.
Renji quirked an eyebrow. "You don't think so?"
She frowned. "No, I don't."
"Well, in that case, we could always go to mine." Renji joked. With the look on Rukia's face, he added, "Then I'll just have to not get caught. It's that simple." She didn't need to see him to know he was being cocky, she could hear it in his voice.
"Right," she snorted. "Well, if you're so eager to get in trouble, go hang out in someone else's bed. I do not need any more rumors started." Nor did she need any more reason for people to resent her- as if what had happened before wasn't bad enough? Her eyes finally opened.
He sighed and grudgingly stood up, his gaze meeting her troubled one, eyes filling with curiosity. "Have fun?" he asked.
Rukia shrugged. "It was…something." He heard the hesitation in her voice. Curiosity left as worry laced itself in.
"Did something happen?"
Rukia paused, debating whether or not to tell him. It couldn't harm anything, but there was something at the back of her head telling her not too.
"No."
His lips met in a tight line. He watched her. Every little move her body made, every shift of her eye, every quirk of her lips. His body tensed. He needed to get out of there. He just wanted to ask her one more thing.
"Are you okay?"
"Don't worry about me. You're tired, go to bed."
He reluctantly nodded. He moved forward, cupped her chin and placed a feather light kiss on her forehead.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
Rukia watched as he left, leaving her with her thoughts. The thoughts that had momentarily left her mind whens he'd seen him sprawled out across her matress returned with enough force to make her slightly dizzy. 'That human…' she thought to herself, feeling the corners of her mouth turn downward. 'He was…'
She couldn't bring herself to say it, but the fact was undeniable- he looked like him, almost a carbon copy except for the hair and eye color. Maybe even a slight difference in height… But the shape of his face, and the way he'd carried his head defiantly even while on the ground and helpless… How many years had passed since that fateful night? Five, ten?
Unlike humans, time passed differently for those like her- they had so many more days to endure, an individual one was about the equivalent to a human hour… Or, if you were miserable, each day passed slowly and agonizingly, something she had learned from experience. Most of her time after that incident, she'd kept herself locked away in the confines of her bedroom, acting out her role as a Kuchiki princess only indoors. Not that she was depriving anyone… Born into the family or not, she had never been good at being a noble… She probably would have ended up better as some poor, pastless girl who rarely associated with people, not a pampered child who had to speak with other royals, keep the peace… uphold a reputation- she hadn't done a hell of a lot of good in that subject, now had she?
Again, her mind flickered back to the bright-haired boy. Who was he? He was human, obviously, and looked to be about fifteen- probably in the same grade she had enrolled herself in. But why had she never seen him here before? Had he really gotten attacked on his first night in a new town? Was there something about his scent? She hadn't paid much attention to that fact earlier… she'd been too blinded by her rage to breathe the aroma in- was it that overwhelming, or had he just been unlucky?
Why should it bother her so much? He had seemed to understand what was going on, and it was understandable for him to turn to her with such hate-filled eyes… This boy was his own person, not the man she was reminiscing about – no matter what his appearance, his life needn't have anything to do with her.
Rukia sighed. Even her body, stronger than a human's and basically immune to aging, needed the sleep that she couldn't will to pull at her eyes. Granted, she didn't need as much as the mortals, but concentrating would probably be hard enough tomorrow – she didn't need the added distraction of deprivation of her body's natural needs. With a deep exhale, she rolled onto her side and hugged a pillow to her chest, burying her face in the feathery softness – she closed her eyes and kept them that way until the fatigue finally began to take its toll on her.
"Tomorrow's going to be a long day," she sighed. And then the shadows pulled her under the dark surface of unconsciousness.
--xx--
Authoress' Comment(s):
-xSolitudes Shadowx: Hello again, lufs, and welcome to the fic! Errr, my brain is dead because I'm about to go to school, but when you review, say stuffs to E.E.M., too, because it wasn't just my work!! Pwease? Oh, and reviews would be loved. They fuel faster updates, don'tcha know?
-E.E.M: Hello peeps!! Like xSolitude Shadowx said, "Welcome!" I really hope you've enjoyed this. It was fun to write with my buddy! Isn't she such a brilliant writer! Her stories rock so much! It's our first co-written fic, and I was glad we decided to do something like this. This was inspired by the song "Eclipsed" by Evans Blue. If you haven't heard it, I suggest you do because the song is beautiful. SO...I think that's about it!
Read and Review Please!! That would be very much appreciated!!