Customary Disclaimer: I'm not Tite Kubo- why the heck would I be writing fanfiction of my own story, anyway?
Author Notes will always come at the bottom, unless you need to be warned of something 'icky' in the chapter…
Chapter Edit on 3/9/2013: Just the A/N and that pesky disclaimer... ^_^'
I
She hit the dirt on her knees. The rough stones underneath cut into her already bruised flesh; a few grits irritating the lacerations peppered over her skin. Her throat ached, and the nape of her neck burned with an uncomfortable heat.
Behind, the sounds of a brief rest-stop being set up brushed past her ears. She could hear one man barking commands; the others hurrying to do his bidding. The composed voice of the other 'leader' punctuated the former's rough orders with cool aplomb. She raised her bowed head with slight effort. The poor evening light -worsened by the heavy forest canopy overhead- cast a haze over everything, dimming the surrounding foliage to grey tones.
Towards her right, the pale pink-and-orange tint to the visible patches of sky in the canopy indicated the West. She looked around the small clearing, noting the natural rock formations at the far end. 'Defending the area would be easy', she thought bitterly.
A foot planted itself into her back, shoving her onto her side and aggravating her aching body. "Lie down and rest while you can", said the gruff, large man. "We'll be moving shortly".
She observed the small body slung over his shoulder, and was rather alarmed by the stillness of the young woman. He bent over, laying the dark haired girl next to her. "Rukia..." She whispered, willing the brunette's eyes to open. She twisted towards the other girl, wriggling closer. A rough hand gripped her choppy copper hair, jerking her back to hear the man's muttered instruction. Her back arched painfully.
"Don't get smart. You try anything, and we'll fix her first", his voice low. He didn't try to sound menacing; his matter-of-fact tone implied an ample threat. She glared up at him through scattered bangs, brown eyes cutting. He huffed at her look, released thetrapped locks and returned to the other men. She was still mildly satisfied about the bleeding cut across his face.
Once he was out of hearing, she called to the unconscious girl again. "Rukia..." At the lack of response, the redhead allowed some of the deeply buried panic to seep into her voice. "Rukia!" she whispered as loud as she dared. Rukia's brow twitched, followed by a drawn out grimace and low moan. "Ichigo..." Rukia murmured in a feeble voice, lifting her head slowly from the sparse grasses.
"I'm here", Ichigo replied quietly, relief tempering her tone. Violet eyes opened, hazily taking in her surroundings. "…where?" Rukia asked slowly. "The eastern forest range, I think," Ichigo supplied, checking the brunette for injuries. "I was blindfolded, so I'm not sure." The brunette took a breath, before exhaling, "Ah… so they're fleeing," with minor satisfaction; musing, 'They don't want to have to fight their way out.'
"Is their party complete?" Ichigo paused at the question, checking their abductors' numbers.
The lanky one, the short one, the blond, the muscly Mohawk-styled towhead, the fat one, the slim one with the horned helmet, and the blue-haired one… Ichigo grimaced upon sighting him. He had been the one to subdue her. "Yes" she said tightly. Rukia hummed, caught between relief and despair.
'All seven men are accounted for', Rukia thought, 'which means that Inoue and Ishida had, at least, gotten away safely. But that was bad news for herself and Ichigo.'
'How were they supposed to escape?'
OOO
"How's that arm comin' along?" Grimmjow demanded of Shawlong. "It is better", the latter replied. His right arm, from elbow to fingertips, still mildly frostbite-blue, appeared to be returning to its normal colour.
"Tch. It'd serve you right to lose it," Grimmjow stated, walking off, "blocking a kido-sword user with your bare skin." Shawlong assented, a self-deprecatory smile on his long face, "I won't be so careless again."
Grimmjow surveyed his men, noting all the avoidable injuries they'd obtained. 'Damned idiots, you'd think they'd stop underestimating people just because they have boobs'.
Nakim had acquired a deep cut upon his left shoulder, Ilforte and D'Roy were still singed from some form of hado, and Edorad had lost his prized nosepiece to a lightning quick strike, which could have easily sliced his head open if the wild redhead had been any closer.
He supposed he should be content; no one had died an embarrassing, accidental death. He glanced over at the two captives, lying together a short distance from their makeshift camp.
'Huh… I guess it wasn't too much trouble grabbing them. They should fetch a decent amount of gold at the Bazaar.'
"You still aren't taking this seriously," said a sombre voice beside him. Grimmjow exhaled and turned to face his shorter, dark haired companion. "Ulquiorra, stop nagging me already," he said with mild annoyance, "I know we shouldn't have taken them."
"I'm not nagging, you fool," Ulquiorra said without heat, sharp green eyes holding the taller man in place to receive the lecture, "I'm asking what you are going to do, now that we've taken them hostage."
"What else? Sell them, of course." Grimmjow said impatiently. 'Well, maybe he'd keep the redhead- she'd scarred him, after all.'
"We aren't a hunting party. This… abduction wasn't in our orders." Ulquiorra stated, glancing at the huddled captives. "It's not like they're interfering with our original job," Grimmjow sighed, arms behind his head, "We completed our contract; were heading back and decided to pick up some tail."
Ulquiorra stared at him with incredulity. "This… tail diversion could get us all killed." Grimmjow groaned and began walking towards his pallet. "Have you even considered that we could've taken significant people?" asked the brunette, now frowning. The taller man's back stiffened, and then relaxed.
"Oh, come on. What are the chances of important people being sent on a food sourcing trip?" he said easily, glancing back with a raised blue brow.
OOO
The abundant expanse of exquisitely maintained estates in the Nobles Quarter soaked up the last warmth of the retreating sun. The fading light cast golden patterns and dark shadows through the decorative windows of the Kuchiki Clan's receiving room.
The Clan Head, Kuchiki Byakuya, sat upon a hand-embroidered cushion, staring down the fidgeting messenger. The twitchy young man had brought such impossibly bad news; he almost believed it to be another of Shihoin's tasteless quips. 'Rukia…'
"Please, Kuchiki-sama," said the fellow, limp dark hair stroking the polished wood floor, "You must come to the Gate; the remnant of Lady Kuchiki's party is still there, giving their report."
'Oh, Shiki…'
OOO
Kurosaki Isshin was in a full-out sprint, outpacing the messenger who'd borne such ill news to him; his younger daughters coming up close behind. Emotions riven between disbelief and crushing dread, he paid no heed to the red-headed Vice of the Sixth; also rushing towards the Gate, expression fraught with worry.
There was already a mild hubbub developing in the vicinity when they arrived. Onlookers stood nearby, asking each other and the Gate guards what the fuss was about. A healer from the Fourth was attempting to calm the sobbing girl, while another attended to her injured companion. Isshin's heart almost failed him upon seeing the boy's state. Coming up behind their father; Yuzu gasped, hands covering her mouth. Karin stared.
Uryu shifted uncomfortably on his back, doing his utmost to dampen the pain in his torso. The huge slash across his belly had obviously been meant to bisect him neatly; yet whatever did it had apparently missed gutting him by inches. Isshin would've been surprised he was alive at all; had he not known that Inoue went along.
Watching the boy's careful breathing and tightly closed eyes, he turned to the distraught girl. She seemed to be bleeding quite a bit from her right temple.
"Orihime…" Isshin spoke soberly, more serious than his children had ever heard him sound before. With eyes swollen from tears, Inoue looked up at him from her kneeling position next to Ishida's prone body. "Kurosaki-san", she began with a cracked voice, "I'm-"
"Oi! What's going on here?" Abarai demanded, spiky crimson ponytail wagging with his sharp head movements. Inoue jerked, the sharp tone setting her off. "Vice-Commandant, please," pleaded the healer working on Ishida, "Try not to agitate them..." Huffing as Inoue's eyes overflowed once more, Renji crossed his arms in a semblance of patience; body tightly leashed in anticipation of the worst news.
Gasping between sobs, Inoue tried again; words halting. "There was- there was a boar", she began. "Just a little piglet and it- it would've been the last thing we'd pick up. We were-" She stopped at this juncture, lips trembling. "We were attacked."
Upon hearing this statement, the Gate guards looked amongst each other with discomfort. Uneasy murmurs rose in the building crowd; and Isshin's jaw clenched in despair.
"Was it… Hollows?" Renji asked the difficult question, hands balled tightly enough to display pulsing veins. 'There won't even be anything left to bury…'
"No…" Inoue said, eyes squeezed shut, "It was-" "-Arrancar," came the raspy voice of Ishida. Both men turned to face him, even as the healer objected the youth's rise to a seated position. Isshin's brows drew closer, but already hope burnt anew in his chest.
"What do you mean? Arrancar?" Renji said angrily, "Those bastards haven't come near our borders for years." "And I'm telling you-" Ishida grunted as his torn abdominals screamed in protest, "Arrancar attacked our party… and possibly took Kurosaki and Kuchiki-san."
Isshin pushed past the growling redhead, and knelt next to the two injured youths. "Ishida-kun," he said quietly, dark eyes meeting blue, "What do you mean by 'took'?" "Kurosaki-san, I-"
"That's enough," said a calm voice from behind them, "you should let them get some healing before asking questions." "U-Unohana-sama," Inoue breathed, looking up to the Lady of the Healers. The serene woman was clad in a casual blue robe, her sword sheath slipped into the beaded garters.
She bent to the injured duo; dark hair sliding forward to brush the girl's dusty face. "Unohana-sama," Inoue attempted again, her eyes brimming over as the woman inspected her bleeding temple, then Ishida's mostly-sealed gash. "Hush, child," Unohana said, a smile on her face, "let's get you both patched up."
Facing the inquisitors, she said softly, "Then you can ask all the questions you want." Renji and Isshin looked away in mild shame; her unspoken admonishment clear in her eyes.
OOO
As she began giving instructions and errands to the present healers and Gate guards, Renji turned to the Kurosaki patriarch. The man's younger daughters were gripping his tunic; asking question rapidly. The blonde began to look tearful at Isshin's words, while the brunette's countenance blackened even further.
He approached the worried family, and Isshin looked back at him with unreadable eyes.
"We'll get them back, Kurosaki-san," the redhead stated in a steely voice. The silent parent didn't acknowledge the declaration, yet Renji took no offense. He bowed shortly to the man, and took his leave, jaw tight.
Commander Kuchiki was probably already in the Sixth's barracks, and by damn, he would be present for the planning of their assault.
'Stupid Rukia! I told her not to go…'
OOO
Isshin led his daughters back home in the twilight; the street burners lit by kido casting a warm yellow aura over the cobbled street to their quiet house. Both girls held his arms tight, seeking comfort in their uncertainty. As he unlocked the door, they glanced up at him together.
"Daddy…" asked an anxious Yuzu, "They'll be okay, right?"
"They will be," Karin professed with more bravado than she felt, "Ichi-nee isn't a pushover, and Rukia's pretty good too…"
"Don't worry Yuzu, Karin," he stated with a small smile as they slipped inside, "Everything's going to be just fine." He urged them up to bed, and retreated to his room. Lifting the false bottom from underneath his futon, he took out his the blade from its sheath, he listened to the mildly annoyed tone of the spirit within.
It muttered crossly to him, 'So now you need me, huh Isshin?'
'You understand the situation calls for it, Engetsu,'Isshin returned, strapping the sheathed weapon on.
'What IS the situation?' asked the spirit in a faux coy voice, eyes already gleaming. Isshin smirked, but the grin was murderous.
'Heads need to roll.'
A/N: Okay, this baby is my first posted story. I hope I've managed to snare someone's interest :D
Be merciful and tell me where it's wrong, as well as what I should keep doing. To the more experienced authors out there, do leave tips!
This is an AU, and a Fem!Ichigo fic at that. If either of these facts bother you; hey, leave a review to complain before you push the back button! ;D
Update speed will be… dodgy, but I'm aiming to get a chappie out per week. Being in the university isn't all about drinking and partying, after all.
Last but not least, thanks to Kleny GingerHead for being my first reviewer! You have been the source of the shit-eating grin on my face all day; I really appreciate it.