The Sun and the Moon

Author: autumnsoliloquy (nahypochlorite)

Fandom: BLEACH

Pairing: Kurosaki Ichigo x Kuchiki Rukia

Warning: M

Status: WIP

Summary: Everyone knew the story of Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia. But who really knew the whole story, which was definitely no fairytale? Now the true story of Ichigo and Rukia will be retold. Set in the future after Aizen is long dead.


Author's Notes:

BLEACH does not belong to me. The great Kubo Tite-sama owns everything. I am not in any way profiting monetarily from this fanfiction.

Because Bleach is full of a million characters, it is impossible to include all of them in this story. This piece will only be focusing on Ichigo and Rukia, with cameo appearances from various characters at significant points of the fic.

Some original characters in this story are created purely out of my imagination; any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Warning: This fic is extremely long and high in melodrama. READ: complicated, sometimes confusing plot which may never happen to the characters or to the manga, but I've tried my best to stick to canon evidence and keep them in character. Suspend your reality when reading it.

Includes heavy NC-17 content in future chapters. For the full version, go to nahypochlorite[dot]livejournal[dot]com.

This fic would be peppered throughout with basic Japanese words and phrases. This might be confusing, but I believe there are some key Japanese phrases when translated into English lose their feel with respect to the characters. E.g. Nothing beats Rukia's affectionate endearments such as "towakke" and "bakamono".

Other words:

Demo but

Gomen (nasai), Sumanu (I'm) Sorry

Towakke, bakamono, ahou Idiot, bastard, stupid

-ossan Old man (Ichigo uses this suffix on Zangetsu)

Oyaji lit. Old Father (Ichigo calls Isshin this, instead of the more common Otou-san)

Oniichan, Nii-sama Brother (affectionate), Brother (respectful)

-neesan Sister (Kon also calls Rukia this)

Okaasan Mother

Hai, Iie Yes, No

Arigatou (gozaimasu) Thank you

Nakama Comrade (more than mere acquaintances, strong camaraderie)

Onegai Please

Zanpakutou Soul-cutter, a shinigami's sword

-fukutaichou Lieutenant, vice-captain

-taichou Captain

Reishi spirit particles

Reiatsu spirit force, spirit pressure

This story has been formulating and festering in my head for a long time since I first read the manga in 2006, but it's only been recently that I've decided to publish it. Please do take some time to give constructive criticism in your reviews, I'd really appreciate the effort! Enjoy!


You are sunlight and I, moon
Joined by the gods of fortune
Midnight and high noon, sharing the sky
We have been blessed, You and I

You are here like a mystery
I'm from a world that's so different from all that you are
How in the light of one night did we come so far?

"Sun and Moon" - Miss Saigon


PART ONE

Prologue

Everyone in Soul Society knew the story of Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia.

The whole Seireitei had complete knowledge of the story, from the Captain Commander right down to the students of the Shinigami Academy. Even the commonfolk in Rukongai was privy to gists of the tale – though the veracity of these bits and pieces questionable – and for the grimy, snotty children who lived in poverty in its worst districts, the story gave them hope that perhaps someday, they will lead an inspiring colourful life like that of the female lead. The official version can be found in old shinigami history books, for no other events had influenced the fate of Soul Society as much as this story did, ensuring that it will be remembered in ages to come, even when the spirit bodies of the protagonists had turned to ashes of reishi.

Everyone knew how it all started. That fateful day, when the blade of a zanpakutou pierced human heart, when a shinigami gave her powers to a mere human, a possibility so unheard of in Soul Society, so groundbreaking, would forever change destiny. Everyone also knew the tragic events that would transpire later. Even some humans knew a grander – albeit rather exaggerated – version, passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation in the form of Quincy bedtime stories.

Of course everyone knew the story. It was an epic story of chivalry, romance, camaraderie, human spirit and power. A hopeful story for the masses.

But the people who truly knew Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia, those who were in and survived the events that occurred in between the well-known accounts written in the textbooks, the few spans of time so personal and significant yet considered so irrelevant compared to the bigger picture – they knew it was no perfect fairytale.

And now, the true story of Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia will be retold.


Chapter 1

Never before, he realized, had the moon looked so wonderful as it did that night, against the backdrop of a starless noir that is the night sky of Soul Society.

That realization only added to the already heavy burden in Kurosaki Ichigo's heart.

The evening was deathly still in the spacious cell where he had been held for the past few days. He had been immobilized due to the strong kidou spell that placed invisible binds around his arms and torso. Not that he wanted to move anyway; the festering wounds on his sides and back protested at the slightest motion. His tattered black hakama was still fresh with bloodstains from his previous battle, a stark reminder of the reason why he was there in the first place.

A reminder of the blood that stained his own hands.

Ichigo let go of the air in his lungs sharply. Even breathing was a painful necessary chore now. He closed his eyes and leaned his head backwards against the wall, as if to shut out the reality of the events that he cannot undo. His head throbbed wildly, and even in the darkness the horrible scenes of the past replayed themselves over and over in his mind.

Brown eyes shot open once more to gaze at the full moon again. Only a sliver of moonlight that fell through the tall window of the Shrine of Penitence illuminated the dark cell. Out of the corner of his eye, Ichigo saw a familiar figure across the colossal room where his zanpakutou leaned against the wall.

"Zangetsu… Ossan…"

In the darkness, it was difficult to make out the black-robed figure but the distinctive patterns of his zanpakutou-spirit's robes confirmed to him that it was indeed Zangetsu. Sensing such a familiar reiatsu after such a long time of solitude lifted his spirits in a manner that he thought would be impossible at that point of time.

From afar Zangetsu could tell that Ichigo had only just detected his presence. That disappointed him, for all this while, ever since the day the shinigami – is that what the boy is, still? – was thrown into this cell, Zangetsu had always been here in this dark desolate room with him. Zangetsu could also tell from the boy's injuries that Ichigo might not make it through this ordeal.

He had never seen the boy in a worse shape than now. His spirit was defeated, he carried an even greater burden of guilt on his shoulders, and even in the pitch darkness, Zangetsu could see the swirls of black that tainted the whites of his sclera. The boy was badly wounded from the previous fight, and the cell reeked of blood and grime – Soul Society obviously felt that he was too dangerous for someone to be sent to treat him or to even clean the place regularly – and something else entirely sinister. Zangetsu was not sure if the boy would die from hunger even before his execution takes place within two days.

When his zanpakutou-spirit did not respond after what seemed like eternity had gone by, Ichigo knew that even his zanpakutou-spirit was repulsed by him. Of course, Zangetsu would disapprove of his actions. Even Ichigo himself reviled his own actions and his inability to prevent them. Ichigo looked away in shame to stare at the beaming moon again, anywhere else instead of seeing the disappointment etched in Zangetsu's dark black eyes.

So this was how Rukia felt, being in this same cell an eternity ago.

Rukia. He wondered where she was right now. Ichigo knew deep inside that she probably detested him for the same reasons Zangetsu and everyone else did. Deep in his heart, despite the futility of it all, he had hoped to catch a glimpse of her dark hair outside his cell, or at least to feel her comforting reiatsu assail his senses once more. Tucked away in a small corner of the recesses of his dark heart was the hope that she still held the unwavering faith in him until now. He scoffed inwardly at the absurdity of his heart's desires. How could he even expect for her to believe in him, after all that had happened? The events of their last meeting were still vivid in his mind, and he could not erase the memory of that look of horror in her deep violet eyes. That look of disappointment with the man whom she placed her whole faith in.

"Ichigo." A low familiar voice finally broke the silence of the night.

"What is your plan?"

Slowly, the boy fixed his gaze back on Zangetsu. To the zanpakutou-spirit, Ichigo suddenly looked like the lost, helpless substitute-shinigami that he once was, not too long ago, not knowing his own zanpakutou's name and still holding the unrealistic ideals expected of a young man his age. The boy's voice was raspy from thirst and defeat. "Nothing, Ossan."

"Nothing."

From that single word, Zangetsu knew it was hopeless.

It had been raining again in his world, and the storm showed no signs of letting up.

It was futile.

Abarai Renji could not find Rukia anywhere. The female shinigami had run off as soon as he had told her about the final verdict agreed upon by the temporary Central 46.

"Immediate execution, Rukia. Two days. New method developed by the Technological Department, seeing that the Soukyoku had been destroyed by that idiot. The Central 46 said the decision is final and intervention from anyone will not change that fact."

Truth be told, Renji was prepared for the black-haired petite shinigami to take the news badly. Personally he felt that the verdict was an injustice towards everything that Ichigo had sacrificed for Soul Society, and if he could, he would have it another way. Upon hearing his words, Rukia's face became placid and drained of colour, and Renji expected his old-time friend to break down. He knew very well with a pang of sadness, what Kurosaki Ichigo meant to Kuchiki Rukia.

But no, she did not break down and cry. "Arigatou, Renji," was all she said, then she took off to Kami-sama-knows-where like the wind, leaving Renji in utter shock and confusion.

Knowing Rukia, Renji knows she will do something. She would not sit back and watch the most important person in her life die, even though admitting that fact brought back stabs of regret and sadness to Renji's heart once again. But as much as he hate to admit it, he had lost rightly and fairly to the orange-haired man, who had been more of a pillar of strength to Rukia than Renji had ever been for his childhood friend.

But right now, Renji was worried that Rukia will do something stupid, like make a break for the Shrine of Penitence and take Ichigo away herself, which is perfectly within Rukia's capability despite her usual level-headedness. After all, Ichigo did the same thing for her once too, not an eternity ago. And either shinigami had been known to be as stubborn as the other. But Renji consoled himself with the fact that Rukia is oftentimes more logical than the brash younger shinigami, so she would know that saving Ichigo all by herself was close to impossible.

After searching all over Seireitei, Renji finally found her in the Kuchiki manor. And indeed, as if proving his sentiments right, she had done something stupid.

Rukia knelt crumpled at the feet of the older Kuchiki, her long fringe obscuring her tear-stained face. Looming above her, the placid man merely looked down at her with expressionless eyes but his reiatsu flickered with what Renji sensed like simmering rage.

"Nii-sama, I beg of you."

Her beseeching plea betrayed desperation and need. "Onegai, Nii-sama, please… Please save Kurosaki Ichigo!"

"What the hell is she doing?" was all Renji could think to himself, as he ran towards her and pealed her off the wooden floor forcefully.

"Let go, Renji!" snarled Rukia as she resisted his grip on her wrists and pushed him away, but his hold on her was too strong. The taichou stared back at the mess that was his adopted sister, her face glistening with tears and violet eyes gazing at him with such a pleading look. For a moment, he wondered at the ironic similarity of the situation to one that had happened decades ago.

"Byakuya-sama, onegai… Please find my sister… Please save Rukia!"

The pleading look in the violet eyes of his beloved wife had held then the exact desperation reflected in her sister's eyes at this very moment.

"Is that man so important to you… that you are in such a pathetic state shameful of a Kuchiki?"

The petite shinigami went rigid, her resistance to Renji's grasp ceased upon hearing the taichou's cold question. Renji could tell from the flicker in her reiatsu that this was something she had not even pondered upon before. Idiot. Unbelievable. After all this time, the idiot still has not reconciled with her own feelings.

Renji was unsure of what he should do. The older Kuchiki regarded Rukia with an intense stare that often scared the hell out of him. Surely, this can only end in trouble. However, before he could do something, Rukia escaped his grasp and fell prostrate once more on the ground, this time clutching the seams of her adoptive brother's hakama.

"Nii-sama, gomen nasai. Demo… Onegai…"

Her pleading cry was so soft Renji could almost not hear it. Rukia's behavior surprised him. Such an action… it was so unlike Rukia to breach the appropriate conduct expected of her as a Kuchiki noble. And yet… and yet, Renji should have expected this.

Kuchiki Byakuya stared down in horror at the girl who now clutched at his hakama like a lifeline. Ever since he adopted Rukia into the Kuchiki household almost ten years ago, the girl had behaved exactly as she was instructed to. Never once had she questioned or flouted the unspoken rules of nobility, save for that fateful day in which she committed a crime that almost cost her life, which not so coincidentally too had something to do with the orange-haired man for whom Rukia now discarded all noble propriety. Not once since her adoption had Rukia ever pleaded with her brother to give her anything, not even the affection she craved for in a family. He knew his adopted sister well enough to understand what this all meant. Heaving a quiet sigh, the sixth division captain looked away and closed his eyes in resignation.

"The decision is final, Rukia. There is nothing anyone can do. Not even I, if I even desired to, have the power to get that man out of this predicament." And with that, he caught hold of his sister's wrists, removed his hakama from their tight clutches and walked back to his quarters, his footsteps weighing forebodingly on the creaking birch floorboards.

Rukia remained motionless from her kneeling position. Renji knew that the Kuchiki-taichou had been her last hope. Looks like I have no other choice.

"Rukia."

If the raven-haired shinigami had heard him, she gave no indication that she did. Renji knew it was useless to tell Rukia to stay back and rest while he tried to do something, anything. "Don't worry, Rukia. We'll figure out a way, somehow."

And with that, Renji left her alone.

Later that day, the servants of the Kuchiki manor found Kuchiki Rukia an unconscious heap on the floor, having passed out from kneeling on the same spot for the rest of the day.


Please give constructive criticisms! :)