I do not own Bleach or any of its affiliates
Transgression
Rainfall
"You idiot!" yells a voice.
As her body goes lax in someone's arms she can feel herself swat away the tears that threatened to break her visage, wondering how it came to this point.
"This doesn't concern you."
Her left hand tightens as if she could still feel the fabric of his uniform within her hand. On the brink of crying, she breaks free from Keigo's grasp and runs in the direction of her ire. Never aware of a concept such as flash step, she runs. His spirit pressure; a soft caress against her face, it withers away as she continues running in his direction. Deaf to the pleas of her classmates; that urged her to consider her bloodied arm, she leaves them in the dust.
A smug figure looks through his prison and out into the clouded sky.
"…rain again."
The sun finally makes it down over the horizon, the last of its rays illuminating a running sweating mess. She inhales deeply and soon regrets it when she skids to a stop holding her side in pain. She steals herself a moment to gather herself and is off again, pursing that familiar winding down presence. That same presence soon plagues her with memories not-forgotten but buried deep within her psyche.
A young girl hears the sound of sobbing as she walks by the Karasu River. Out of the corner of her eye she finds the object of her search huddled over the guardrails. The boy turns suddenly looking at her confused expression with a confused one of his own. He's befuddled even more when she sits next him and looks up at the sky.
"You know, it looks like it's going to rain."
The boy then stares at her in disbelief as he turns to gaze at the cloudless sky.
Tentative knocking arrives at her door, infuriating her and disrupting her training session. "Hold on, I got it," she yells, ready to lash out at the intruder. She becomes mortified when she sees a figure no taller than her, holding something that smelled of taboo to her. A giant heart with scribbling on the bottom of it became her next source of frustration. The smiling boy in front of her seems to egg her on with his oblivious smile getting under her skin. "I brought…" "What are you doing…" she yells, looking over his frame to see if anyone had seen him approach her house. Confused the boy peers around the corner towards the bushes of her house and sees no trace of his father. "My dad said that I should give chocolates to my friends on vale…." …and since I don't have…" the boy confesses looking down at his shoes. "Idiot, you don't give chocolates to your best friend." She says in an effort to cheer him up, only to regret it when her slightly shorter friend embraces her. She can feel her face heat up and passes it off as anger when she pushes him away and takes the chocolates from him. Having watched a foreign movie that had peaked her interest a few days ago, she gets an idea as she holds the door open for him with the chocolates clutched tightly in her other hand. "I thought you said…" states the boy, perplexed and happy that she took the chocolates. "Protection money," The boy just stands there with a dumb look on his face. "But it's not…" "Come on are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me finish these." "B-but…" stutters the boy looking for his father. "It's the least you can do after paying this much," states the tomboy with a smile. As much as he hated looking away, compiled with the massive guilt he was feeling he couldn't chance another look at her crying face. A sight he had the displeasure of seeing, once before. "Oh hi, Ichigo," mumbles Tatsuki in a strange fashion. The Karasu River having already claimed her snot bubbles and bloodied saliva she turned around away from the street's railings and into his concerned face. "Tatsuki what's wrong?" he asks in concern noticing the bruises on her face. "Just someone from the dojo sucker punched me," Seeing the incredulous look on his face she explained further. "Don't worry, I got him back, you should've seen…" "Why are you lying?" says the boy a saddened look on his face. She panicked when she followed his line of vision towards the bloodied rag poking out of her pocket. "Come on, it's nothing," she said as she put a hand on his shoulder. Shrugging it off, he continues, "You've never lied to me before." "Ugh come off it, it already happened, let it go." "No, just tell me what happened." Already sordid at the beating she had received she snapped. "Well if you hadn't been following me around like a sick dog it wouldn't have happened." "This was my fault…" he more or less asks himself. "No, I mean…" she feels hurt when she sees that same look on his face after she found him sitting by the river. "Just… leave me alone." "What was I suppose to do, let them talk about you and your mother like that?" "…them?" His eyes bulge when they see his protector committing an act unheard of. Rivulets of tears cascade down her face as she tries to reason with him. So much is his shock that he backs away from her, leaving her to fall against the guardrails. He begins to move as he can't bear to see his foundation crumble away, eventually running past her shaking form, to the safe confines of his home. She sees his orange hair in the distance slowing to a stop. She wills her legs to move, for she gets the feeling that something daunting looms ahead. Why is she doing this? Was this all really for Orihime, or a more selfish reason? "Do you know who that is?" asks the quivering form behind her. "Well yeah, that's Ichigo," she replies while scratching the back of her neck. Upon hearing his name the boy looks up from his desk and then retires to his slouching position in his chair. "He's not very friendly," exhales the girl in front of the quivering girl. The dark haired girl suffers some kind of spasm when she sees her friend's face light up with admiration. Now she knows, the reason her feet won't move, the reason her heart beats rapidly, the reason her hand clenches her chest willing to calm her heart. It's primarily the same reason why she closed her heart in the first place. "What am I to you?" 'Why did I say that?' 'Orihime' 'That black robe and that sword, he was going to…' "It was for her…" "Tatsuki… is that you." A certain level of distain can be detected in his voice. "I'm sorry…" Her resolve had fallen and she felt that she was no longer the protector that he needed. She had nothing else to say when his eyes crossed hers. She honestly thought she had failed him. "Wait… I…" "You don't have to say it. I know that…" The shop behind Ichigo had just turned on its lights. The shadows within appeared to be conversing giving the boy a certain level of urgency. Studying his childhood friend, he couldn't go on without noticing the level of distress on her face. "This is something I have to do by myself. I can't… "I know, you have to save her Ichigo." He watches in sudden dissatisfaction as she turns to leave. Her head suddenly jerks his way, a level of hurt and confusion staring at him in the face. A look of confusion dominates his face until he looks down and notices his hand attached to her wrist. "I didn't want anyone else to get involved in this mess, I just…" "Ichigo…" "I don't want my friends to get hurt, Tatsuki. When they took Orihime… I… could've been stronger." The young teen releases his friend's wrist and turns away from her sobbing face. "If only I wasn't this… weak… I could've stopped them." "I just don't…" He swallows the rest of his words when he feels feather-like fingertips caress his cheek. So, there he stands looking into her brown eyes, confusion still ridden into his face. He can see the distinct glow of the of moon shinning on her face. Her eyes become half-lidded and her lithe frame presses against his, the cold air of night is soon replaced with this nervous heat between them. "It's okay; I was worried mostly about Orihime. I never once thought how you felt. I just never considered it. But, there was something else." "Ugh… Tatsuki…" came Ichigo's startled grunt as her hand withdrew from his face and settled on his shoulder. The young martial artist let out a sudden unexpected laugh that drew even more confusion in their close proximity. "All the times when we were little, when I used to save you. At first I had felt sorry for you, it made me want to protect you; but then later it became more of a need then a want, I needed to see that smile on your face. The smile that brightened my mood, it was the smile that gave me the desire to be around you." He suddenly feels her shoes stepping onto his sandals, though he doesn't care. His heart races, yet that is not on his mind. The smell of her shampoo intoxicates him, and still he does not care. For the only thing on his mind, is the soft and sensual feeling of her lips against his, and also the hum of her heartbeat against his chest. The battle for dominance was clearly over, as she had been the initiator and most aggressive in their little session. Breaking the kiss, Tatsuki placed a hand on his cheek. The blush marking her cheeks could easily be seen in the pale moonlight. Her blush becomes more prominent when she feels his arms encircle her waist, a compromising moment for the second strongest girl in Japan. "I guess not," says the horse looking up at the sky. (an: king and horse ref) "So just please…" Ichigo feels his body become cold when she backs away from his body, and feels the urge to bridge the distance that was becoming more fleeting. His childhood friend then catches his eyes with her brown somber ones, a fleeting smile on her face. "Come back to me…" she says as she stumbles into his arms. A look of horror enters his face when he sees her arm wipe across his chest, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. "Tatsuki…" First time making bleach fanfiction, constructive criticism is welcome and please review. Next Chapter: Falling over Karakura On a side note: Please remember to get your tetanus immunizations and on a further not when Ichigo says 'them' at this point he doesn't know if she's been forcibly taken by who or how many for that matter or if she went willingly. Sneak Peak A king needs his horse A horse needs its king So when one is pierced… They both fall… 'I'd rather she hate me, if it meant that she would be safe'