This is just a quick one-shot that I have been dying to write and get off my chest. I wanted to write this because I read some really good IchiRuki tragedies and I had the urge to publish one. To be honest, I am a major IchiRuki fan, I just wanted to write this and see how it turned out. But if I get lots of reviews, I may gladly CONSIDER, I repeat CONSIDER writing a sequel. I still don't know though, so...
Disclaimer: I own nothing...(If I did, Ulquiorra would be alive and he'd be my older twin brother, Orihime wouldn't, Ichigo and Rukia would be a couple and Byakuya would be mine)...
_
Sounds of swords clashing filled the air, cries of pain and sorrow echoed across Karakura. Bodies of Shinigami, Hollows, Arrancars and Espada lay dead on the road, their zanpakuto laying only feet away from them. Severed limbs littered the pavements, as well as limbs sticking out from beneath rubble. Reiatsu peaked then dissipated while blue spirit particles flew towards the sky. Houses and buildings were demolished and reduced to rubble. Pools of crimson were on the streets; the stench of blood filled the air. Shinigami's howls of despair for their loved ones ragged the area. The azure sky was now replaced by a dull, unpleasant, gray. Rain was evident yet refused to fall on the once bustling town. The world of the living lay in shambles.
The Seireitei was in no better condition; Shinigami scurried up and down the compounds tending to the wounded and fighting the enemy. However it was a losing battle, all Taichou were in the world of the living battling with the remaining Espada. Screams of defeat echoed across the Seireitei, structures collapsed, and Sogyoku Hill was riddled with battle scars. Mirroring the World of the Living, the sky was a dull gray that refused to rain. Elsewhere, an imaginable battle was taking place.
Zanpakuto clashed, the owners, which were in a deadlock. Reiatsu surrounded the area and felt heavy like the ocean. Energy collided, causing the castle walls and surroundings to cave in. Gusts of wind rushed out of Las Noches, as if wanting to escape the battle.
"Aizen!" The young substitute Shinigami roared, his black robe fluttering behind him.
Aizen simply continued to smile calmly as the orange-haired teen closed in. Their swords clashed again, Ichigo's amber eyes glaring back into Aizen's brown ones. The brunette-haired former Taichou pushed off Ichigo, pointed his fingers, and fired a cero. The crimson blast jetted toward the substitute Shinigami. Using shunpo, Ichigo quickly dodged out of the way. His cero smashed through the walls of Las Noches, further destroying the fortress.
"Getsuga Tenshoo!" Ichigo yelled, a crescent-shaped blast erupted from his thin black blade and flew towards the former Taichou.
He stood there in the line of fire with his normal half-smile and deflected the blast with his hand. The blast traveled through the air and demolished part of the wall to his left. Ichigo let out a small growl and charged at Aizen again.
+++Off in the distance of Hueco Mundo+++
Down below, four figures stood watching helplessly into the dark, empty hole. Their eyes fixated on the battle inside the portal. The sand and wind whipped at their faces, determined to see the victory and return of their friend and comrade. Rukia held an unconscious Orihime, her amethyst eyes staring deeply at the portal. A pang of guilt and pain found it's way to Rukia's chest. Once again Ichigo had been fighting and she was unable to help. Once again, he was risking his life for the people he cared about and all she could do was watch.
Ichigo…
Rukia bit her lip and glanced around at her comrades; looks of determination and worry plastered across their faces. The feelings of being uselessness, guilt, pain, and inability to help began to tear at Rukia's soul. She averted her gaze to the white sand, odd patterns shifting across the barren region and narrowed her eyes. Rukia took a deep breath and exhaled a sigh before looking back up; feelings of determination and desire to protect filled her mind and body. The petite Shinigami handed the ginger-haired buxom to the young man dressed in white in beside her.
"Rukia, what-?" The young Quincy asked, holding the unconscious girl in his arms. Chad and Renji looked at Rukia with confused and worried looks, glancing back at the gaping hole in the sky occasionally.
"Ishida-kun, take care of Inoue-san. Ichigo needs me, so don't worry." Ishida gave the petite Shinigami another confused and worried look before giving her a curt determined nod.
Rukia marched off toward the hole when she heard a voice behind her.
"Rukia!"
She looked behind her to see the red-haired, tattooed Shinigami waving at her.
"Good luck out there. Make sure you bring him back", Renji smirked cockily. Rukia sent him a smile and thumbs up before sprinting to the direction of the empty black sky.
As Rukia ran through the barren desert, her comrades now miles behind and the thoughts of never seeing them again were pushed to the back of Rukia's mind. She only focused on the road ahead of her and thoughts of Ichigo flowed through her mind. The wind and sand whipped at her face, sounds of her panting and footsteps filled her ears and echoed across Hueco Mundo. A pang of guilt stabbed at her heart again.
I never wanted to drag him into a world of fighting. It's my fault…
The sounds of her breathing filled the air as she stood below the large black portal. Violet streaks of lightning and midnight aura seeped out of the large fissure. Thunderous sounds escaped out of the rip, as well as a buzzing sound. The raven-haired girl took one last breath and slowly exhaled it out before leaping in.
Ichigo huffed as he glared at the arrogant look in Aizen's eyes. Aizen's calm smile aggravated Ichigo. Ichigo finally began to catch his breath when Aizen used sonido to reappear behind the off-guard ginger-haired Shinigami. He whirled around him when he saw a tiny red orb form at Aizen's fingertips.
'Another cero! At this range-!' Ichigo thought.
His eyes widened while the orb began to grow and he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Some no mae, tsuki shiro!" A pillar of ice rose out of the ground and encased itself around Aizen, who was caught off-guard.
"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled.
"Rukia! What're you doing here? You should be somewhere safe!" Ichigo barked.
"Bakamono! I'm fine, you should be worrying about yourself!" Rukia retorted.
Rukia glared at the pillar encasing Aizen and shot a worried look at Ichigo's disheveled state. He looked at her staying silent before looking to the ground.
"Thanks…Rukia…"
"Ichigo, I-", Rukia was interrupted when the pair whirled around to see large cracks forming ice pillar as it quaked. Aizen burst out of the ice; sending shards of ice and chunks everywhere while floating in mid-air, his usual calm demeanor replaced with annoyance.
"Well, that was rather vexing. Don't you think, Kuchiki Rukia?"
Rukia replied by giving him a venomous glare and glanced at Ichigo. He nodded before they shot off attacking Aizen. Aizen raised his sword and easily blocked their combined attacks. The former Taichou pushed off the pair, sent a kick at Ichigo and he went flying. Aizen disappeared and reappeared behind Rukia, trapping her in a headlock with his Zanpakuto inches away from her throat. Rukia gripped her Zanpakuto tightly while glaring at the man trapping her.
"I always wondered what Kurosaki-kun's reaction would be like if your blood was all over him", Aizen leered.
Rukia hissed at him as she struggled to get out of his headlock. Ichigo was getting to his feet when he noticed Aizen's sword against Rukia's throat, rage began to surge throughout his body.
"Let go of her!" Ichigo shouted, Aizen replied with a simple chuckle.
"Getsuga Tenshoo!" Ichigo bellowed, the famous crescent-shaped blast firing from the blade. His blast sped towards the two; Aizen quickly let go and jumped to the side while Rukia dove to her left. The resulting blast caused the ceiling and surrounding walls to collapse. A large dust cloud spewed out while sand threatened to rush in but was blown away and gusts of wind escaped the fortress of Las Noches.
"Bakamono! Watch where you're shooting!" Rukia shouted.
Rukia shifted her position, preparing for an attack. Pointing her white blade towards the ground, Rukia sent a wave of ice fired from the tip of her sword. "…Hakuren!" The jet of ice sped towards the king of the Espada, only to be easily dodged. Her jet of ice began to crack and crumble as Aizen hovered above it, his massive Reiatsu crushing the ice.
"Hado no Sanjuusan! Sokatsui!" Rukia said. The red ball of energy flew towards Aizen with incredible speed but he stopped the Hado with his hand. Smoke arose from the blast and when Aizen looked up from the blast, he saw Rukia charging at him with her white Zanpakuto raised.
"A frontal assault? How foolish, Kuchiki Rukia", he mocked. Aizen raised his sword, ready to strike down Rukia, when from behind her, Aizen saw Ichigo. Rukia dove out of the way as Ichigo sent a Getsuga Tenshoo at Aizen. The blast failed to make contact; Aizen had sidestepped to the right. Ichigo charged at him again, Tensa Zangetsu clashing with Kyoka Suigetsu. Their eyes bore into each other and neither refused to let up on the deadlock. Aizen chuckled as the stalemate continued.
"What the hell is so funny you bastard?" Ichigo snarled.
"You. And Kuchiki Rukia. You both think that you can stop me. How funny."
"Shut up!"
"Kurosaki-kun, how funny would it be if I killed Kuchiki Rukia before your eyes? What would you do?"
"You fucking stay away from her you fucked up son-of-a bitch!" Ichigo snarled, bearing his teeth.
"Is she that important to you, Kurosaki-kun?" He laughed.
"Shut up!"
Aizen turned to his right, seeing Rukia chanting for another Hado and smiled. Taking his hand off his sword, Aizen pointed his fingers at Rukia and fired a cero.
"Rukia! Look out!" Ichigo yelled.
Ichigo watched in horror as the cero raced towards his raven-haired partner. Rukia stopped chanting her Hado and jumped out of the way. However, the blast was too strong and too close; she was sent flying and crashed into the ground partially buried in rubble, unconscious.
"Bastard!"
"Oh! It seems that I've hit a nerve."
"Go to hell!" Ichigo yelled as he pushed Aizen off and shunpoed next to Rukia. He crouched down next to her and saw newly formed cuts and bruises on her face and body. Strands of black hair were strewn across her face and she still held onto Sode no Shirayuki.
"Rukia! Rukia! Wake up!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt her that much and I couldn't control myself; she was defenseless."
The petite Shinigami didn't stir; remained unconscious and stayed silent. Ichigo's worried expression worsened as he lifted her into his arms and gripped Tensa Zangetsu tightly. He heard a noise behind him and whirled around, Aizen stood with Kyoka Suigetsu, ready to cut down the pair. Aizen swung his sword down but was Ichigo blocked his blade. The substitute Shinigami let out a growl as Aizen sent him a condescending look.
'I can't hold this much longer!' Ichigo thought and glanced down at the unconscious girl in his arms.
He finally pushed off Aizen and attempted to shunpo away from the Hollowified Shinigami. However, Aizen was at Ichigo in a second and Aizen sent him another wave of strong swings. The orange-haired teen barely managed to keep up with so many attacks.
"Getsuga Tenshoo!" Ichigo roared. The crescent-shaped blast erupted from his black Zanpakuto again and sped toward Aizen but he swiftly dodged and landed across the demolished room. The caved-in ceiling and its' remains allowed the moonlight to shine on Aizen's back. Not only that, it gave his eyes a sinister gleam.
Ichigo glared at Aizen one last time before he set his unconscious partner on the floor. He rushed at Aizen again, their Zanpakuto meeting again. Their sword fight lasting several minutes and neither refused to let up. Lights flared and gusts of wind escaped the ruins of Las Noches again. Sounds of their clashing blades echoed across Hueco Mundo and could be heard for kilometers. Ichigo bounced off the deadlock, landing on the floor and panted, while Aizen had landed adjacent to Rukia. He started walking towards the Shinigami when he heard Ichigo shout behind him.
"Stay away from her!"
Aizen glanced at the substitute Shinigami before he turned his attention back to Rukia and crouched down next to her.
"She really is quite a beauty Kurosaki-kun. A bit too good for you, I think but still, good choice. It would be quite a shame for you to lose her; someone so important", Aizen leered. His hand outstretched and gently rubbed Rukia's cheek.
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH HER!"
Ichigo charged at Aizen, his blade ready to hack the king of the Espada to pieces. Aizen quickly dodged out of the way and reclaimed his place in the sky. He stood there, floating, staring back at Ichigo. Ichigo stood there glaring at Aizen until he heard Rukia begin to stir.
"Nnnhh…"
"Rukia? Are you alright?"
"Yea…" Rukia said tiredly and looked up at Aizen. She rose to her feet, and then looked at Ichigo one last time before he nodded. The pair charged at Aizen again, energy swirling around Zangetsu and Sode no Shirayuki. Aizen smirked before he rushed at them, Kyoka Suigetsu raised. As Ichigo charged, he placed a hand over his face and his Hollow mask appeared.
"RAAAAAHHH!
"HYAAAAAAA!
Ichigo pulled in all his energy and fired a black Getsuga Tenshoo and Rukia sent her strongest wave of Shirafune.
Renji, Chad, Uryuu and Orihime looked at the massive black hole with worried expressions. Their fears grew as they heard the cracks the thunder. When a deafening explosion rocked Hueco Mundo, the group nearly lost their composure.
"What the hell is going on up there?" Renji nearly shouted; his voice nearly drowned out by the noise.
"I dunno but it can't be good. The only thing that we can do is hope and pray that Ichigo and Kuchiki-san come back safely", Chad uttered.
Orihime looked down sadly, Uryuu placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her reassuring nod. She looked up and nodded back.
"They'll be fine, I know it."
Ichigo and Rukia huffed as they stared at Aizen's body. Their bodies covered in cuts, bruises, and wounds. Rukia took a moment to look at herself and Ichigo; their clothes were tattered and torn, they felt exhaustion and pain begin to rack their bodies. Her hands shook and still tightly gripped Sode no Shirayuki.
"Is he dead?"
"I think so…"
He glanced at Rukia and sent her a smile. A smile that he hadn't made in what felt like an eternity. She sent him a half-smile as exhaustion was beginning to take it's toll.
"C'mon, let's go" Ichigo heaved. Rukia nodded and they turned around to leave.
The orange-haired substitute Shinigami began to walk away and was now a few paces from Rukia. However, uneasiness began to prick Rukia's mind and she felt something bothering her. As Rukia turned around to look back on Aizen's body one last time, she saw his body laid motionless on the ground but suddenly it had disappeared!
'Where did he-?' Rukia panicked when she saw Aizen, his blade aimed at her orange-haired partner.
"ICHIGO!"
She felt cold steel slash at her shoulder and felt his sword impale her stomach. Rukia felt her warm blood drip down where the sword had entered and glared back at Aizen. Ichigo's eyes were wide and he felt warm blood splatter on his skin, it had felt like a slap in the face.
"RUKIA!"
He saw Aizen withdraw his blade from the raven-haired Shinigami before he looked at Ichigo and said, "You didn't think that I'd take one of you before I die?"
Ichigo watched as Rukia began to collapse; suddenly the world felt like everything was in slow motion as she fell. Rage surged through his body and swung at Aizen, an enormous black Getsuga Tenshoo fired from Tensa Zangetsu. The crescent-shaped blast obliterated Aizen, demolished any remains of Las Noches and let a massive fissure in the dripped from Ichigo's forehead as he panted and stared at the vast crack in the earth.
Ichigo quickly dropped Tensa Zangetsu and raced to his fallen partner.
"Rukia! RUKIA!" Ichigo wailed as he held her in his arms and cradled her.
He stared at her face; it had multiple cuts and bruises, her raven hair looked like a black spiders legs strewn on the floor. Her amethyst eyes were closed tightly revealing pain and her breaths were shallow. Crimson blood trickled from her pale lips. Ichigo felt tears forming in his eyes and tried to blink them away, only to fail.
"Rukia!"
The petite raven-haired Shinigami slowly began to open her eyes but were only half-open. She had a dazed look in her eyes and the eyes that were once filled with luster and life are now dying.
"I…chi..go…?"
"Yea, Ichigo! C'mon! Stay with me, damn it!", sorrow cracking the young substitute Shinigami's voice. He could feel his heart breaking yet he wanted to lie to himself to keep her alive.
"Ichigo…I'm sorry…"
Ichigo flinched when he heard her apologize, he didn't want this to be the end. After all the pair have been through, after they had promised to return alive, after how much she changed his world and stopped his inner rain, he couldn't lose her.
"W-Why? What're you sorry for?" Ichigo asked, his voice hysterical and full of pain.
"I didn't want…to…drag you out of…your life…and into mine. I didn't mean…to make you fight all the time…If it wasn't for me…you'd still be a normal high school student…"
Ichigo held her in his arms gingerly and felt the shallow movements of the rise-and-fall of her chest. He was reaching his breaking point and felt like that he was going to break down any second.
"No, no. If it wasn't for you, I would just be another teenager with angst and probably ended up as Hollow chow a while ago."
"Ichi…go…Arigatoo…Gozaimasu…"
"What're you thanking me for? I should be thanking you!" Ichigo nearly shouted; he might've pretended to be angry to mask his feelings of despair.
"I…chi…go…Ari..ga..too.."
The orange-haired Shinigami tried to shush his partner and wanted her to save her remaining energy but was still surprised at her strength. Tears were now falling free from Ichigo's amber eyes.
"Ichi…there's one more thing…heart…must give you…" Her sentences were getting incoherent every time she spoke.
"I…forgot…to…give…you…my heart. Kaien-dono said…don't…die…alone. Make…sure…that…give…heart…to someone."
Ichigo couldn't really understand what the petite Shinigami was saying, instead he just nodded his head and said, "Don't worry, I'll keep it safe for you…"
Rukia reached up with her hand to wipe away tears from Ichigo's cheeks and gave him pained smile. The raven-haired Shinigami was unable to look at the pain in her nakama's face. Her eyelids were so heavy that she couldn't keep them open but managed to; she could feel the eternal sleep approaching.
"A…ri…ga…too…to…Sa…yo…na…ra…, I…chi…go…"
Rukia took her final breath and her eyelids slowly closed. Ichigo was stolid, a dazed look on his face as he felt the rain began to downpour in his innerworld.
"I'm sorry Rukia…Thank you…And Goodbye."
End
So what'dya think? I'd really like to know! No flames appreciated and remember to review!