Hell of an Angry Spirit
"You fool! You could've blown me to hell!" Rukia exclaims, giving Ichigo a hard whack.
Hong Kong, China, year's 1856 and as you can imagine, things in the city are going strangely. It's been a while since the British Empire took over the area. And it's hard to call ourselves Chinese when this island doesn't even belong to China. It's a port, exporting anything from Drugs to Riffles into different countries; even though everyone who trades here is Chinese, it all comes from Britain.
Though it's no surprise, our main character in today's story is Rukia. And her very supporting apprentice, Ichigo. But of course, this story is not your general tale of a Martial Arts teacher and their student. No, it's much, much more. And as you might assume from the title, this is the story of just how much our little Rukia...Rocks.
She was... Never too supportive of her apprentice. And as things drew on he slowly became more talented than she. And then the day, she had nothing left to teach him. But still then, she drew forward, not as his teacher, but as a friend, always criticizing him for any little fault. But he always knew it was because she was beginning to see it; the difference in their strength; and she was determined to keep teaching him for as long as she could. Because he needed experience; experience in order to take her place. And Though they where friends the teacher-student relationship remained.
"Does death suddenly scare you now?" He asked.
"Oh no, just remember," She said, sharpening her blade. With her spear at had she turned around and took her stance, "If you kill me, I'll be a hell of an angry spirit."
She lunged toward him and swung the spear at his side, an obvious opening was seen. And finally, Ichigo seemed to take advantage of it. He stayed close to the pole so that she could not retract it. Rukia began to smile, he was finally getting the hand of dealing with this type of weapon. But her smiled turned into a frown as he pulled out a dagger. She drew the spear back and jumped up, giving him a hard kick that jolted him backward.
"What was that for?" He asked.
She slammed the spear down hard on the ground and spread her legs out, "No weapons! Only kido! You need to learn how to use spells."
"Ah come on! Cut the crap! You know I'll never be able to do this! Renji couldn't and he's just fine!" He whined.
"That's Abarai-senpai to you! And he's in a totally different combat field!" She argued.
"Well then maybe I should switch..I mean, obviously since I can't get this kido junk down, I'm not go-"
She flash stepped up to him and put the blade of the spear to his neck. He hastily put his hands up, saying 'I give'.
"Kido is not junk, and you have yet to realize that you're different, child," She drew the spear back and threw it to the side, beginning "one of her walks".
Ichigo sighed, this is where she goes on babbling about history and other stuff he didn't care about.
"And that's another thing, why don't you teach me flash step already?" He began, trying to get her to not talk about something he'd heard a thousand times already.
She ignored him, but in her mind she had responded, because the minute I teach you you'll go running off like a total idiot and accidentally jump off a cliff..Well..Not that that'd be a bad thing. She coughed, getting herself back on topic.
"Things in this world are not always as they may appear. And for us, this is definitely true. Because we-"
Ichigo continued, "Are of a different time."
Rukia ignored him and began, "Time, for this entire town, moves differently-"
Ichigo interrupted again, "We age much slower. And in time we realized, we're not the same as everyone else."
"Oh will you quit butting in! I'm the teacher and I get to teach!" Rukia narrowed her eyes as the man stood up and towered over her. This was when they fight..
"You're not my teacher anymore. Now you're just a little know-it-all midget, dwarf." He says.
He puffed out his chest and assumed a proper posture and began strolling around the room in a girly accent, "We are a town that have immense strength, agility, intelligence, and endurance because we are an isolated people that had evolved in a different direction from the rest of the world. As such, we put out skills to the test by becoming assassins and murders, killing any public body who is needed to be. Now we are a sort of "clan" that is hired to do such... Bla bla bla! I've already heard that story a thousand times!" He said.
"Well you could've just said you didn't want to hear it, idiot!" She sneers.
"I am now, aren't I?" He retorts.
They're nose to nose now, growling like animals. This was just like every day..Just today, was rather on the peaceful side.
It was true, everything Ichigo had said. The island of Hong Kong was originally the birth place of a society of humans, isolated from the world. With time, their evolution became different from that of the rest of the world until finally, they became something of "super human". Later then, when people reached their small island, they became aware of the outside world. And from there, they went into hiding and abandoned their homeland. Now they live in what you could call a "clan base" where they all work as assassins in order to support everyone. They live in a clean, beautiful, untouched, giant estate that's much like a town, because they've all pulled strings and kept this place off the map by killing everyone who talks and bribing anyone who's smart enough to not talk.
The estate is constantly attacked by rival assassins that are dedicated to burning the place down in hopes of their own clan rising in the ranks from it. But that is a different story.
Ichigo was training in order to take the place of Rukia as the Hatter. And now, he was not a wardrobe artist, but the select human that was to communicate with the spirits. Everyone has a weapon that has a spirit trapped in it, one that was tamed by themselves or by another. He himself possessed Zangestu who Rukia had helped him trap and tame. He would soon become the one to take spirits out of the underworld and trap them himself. It was scary to think about...What he'd see or not see in the underworld. If someone was not meant to have a spirit, there would be no visible spirits in hell...Therefor they'd live without a weapon with a soul...But if he did see a spirit, what if it was something grand, monstrous, what if he couldn't control it? Couldn't trap it? Would in escape from the well of dousing and reek havoc?
He glanced back at Rukia who was angrily gulping down her water. In all her 150 years of being the Hatter, did she ever come across something like that? At only 15, there was so much to be answered. But then, he rather didn't care. Because he didn't want this position. He wanted to be out there in the combat..He wanted to fight!
Rukia, would become the priestess of the estate and go on to dous for the future. What was at stake for our clan. But this was a very hard thing to do, and before she could do it, she must master everything physical and magical to her body's limit. Ichigo wondered just how strong she really was. He could sneak up behind her right now and push her over like she was a twig. He could pick her up and fling her out of the building. She was such a tiny thing, often it seemed as though the only big thing about her was her language.
Ichigo watched Rukia strip down out of the sweaty training clothes and shake the sweat off herself in her under garmets.
He gets slightly red and looks away, "Rukia, can't you do that somewhere else?"
"Why?" She asked, "Does it bother you?"
She was..Not like most girls..For one- she cut her hair short. Chinese women..Didn't do that. Ichigo's sister followed in her footsteps. And also, She had no regard to rules, regulations, or her own body. She saw no point in dressing behind a curtain. Ichigo has tried explaining it, but she finds it just stupid that people even wear clothes in the first place. She's always said once he sees into the underworld he'll truly understand the beauty in bodies and how it's an insult that we hide them.
Rukia also wore Hanfu the majority of the time. Hanfu where banned by the new Dynasty over 100 years ago, but she still wears them never the less. She wore them everywhere...More fancy ones out, less fancy inside. Ocassionally she wore a Cheogansam but..
(Authors note: Cheogansams are your standard, body hugging dresses (normally in red) you see Chinese waitresses and movie actresses in a film wear. High collar, fabric is kept together by a line of buttons from the collar to the waist. Normally very decorated and made of silk, modern fashion normally has it cut just below the knee)
Ichigo always thought of Japanese Kimonos when he saw Hanfu. Because they looked the same, only they where longer and much more, princess-like. Some of them though, looked nothing like Kimonos. They looked like dressed from the west. But thinner. No sleeves..Nothing but a thin veil covering her shoulders. Ichigo had never seen such immodest attire before he met Rukia. No wonder that style of clothing was banned.
Most of them though, like the one she wore today, where somewhat modified so she could get around easily. The long skirt was cut carelessly around her knees and the something like veil-sleeves, where cut off and thrown away so that all that was left was a short red dress with not straps or sleeves.
"You still insist on wearing that..." He said. It was just weird, having clothes that where so exposing.
"Cut the crap Ichigo, if you can walk around with your shirt off, all sweaty with a sword swung over your shoulder, then I can walk around like this." She argued.
"Well technically you can't.." He began.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because you're a girl."
She immediately gave him a hard hit to the head. "I'll discuss submitting to males when one can actually get me into submission."
And somehow that sounded rather weird to Ichigo, "What exactly do you mean by submission?" He asked.
She gave him a creeping look and shivered a bit, kicking him over, "Not in the way you're thinking, perv!"
She races for the forest downhill. It was a bamboo forest that lead to the waterfall. This waterfall, was where Ichigo and she had trained together. This section of the estate, everything from the kitchen, to the bedrooms, to the pond on the edge of the territory, was theirs. Because they where the Hatters. Or the Hatter and Hatter Jr. Rukia had known Ichigo as a child, and she had been teaching him every day since he was 5. Up until recently, he'd been living with his father, but he moved out and started living here because he wanted to learn and become the Hatter quicker. Rukia knew why too, because he wanted to be able what not other Hatter could do; call a spirit back from the dead. A spirit not in the form of a monster. He wants to bring back his mother.
And there was nothing wrong with that. A motivation while he was 7, but Rukia knew she'd let it go too far. Because he believed he could to it. And if he tried too hard, he could kill himself. Or worse, live as an empty shell. Today, Rukia would confront him about that, and she'd end it here.
Damn it, when did he get so fast? She thought as Ichigo ran faster and faster, drawing closer and closer to her. She remembered when she used to leave him in the dust..But that was when he was young. Well In her terms, he still is young.
Rukia stopped growing at a young age and from there she aged like everyone else in her town. She appeared the same age each year. The people of the clan cannot die unless killed in battle or killed by weakness.. It's not that hard to kill one of the clan. You just have to find the weakness. It could be something as simple as eating oranges or seeing their own blood. That's what makes on of them turn to dust instantly. They all know what their weakness is, and they never let anyone know.
Ichigo's personal weakness was Rukia. As the priestess, she has the power to kill him at will. But otherwise, the Hatter was granted invincibility. But also was the priestess. The Hatter could never kill the priestess, and in return the priestess will kill themselves for the benefit of their successors. Ichigo doubted that Rukia would ever do that though..So he reckons that he should never want to kill Rukia..Because it's impossible for him.
And sometimes it passes Ichigo's mind that every handbook he reads never mentioned anything about priestesses never having a weakness...
As she leads him down the curvy path Ichigo begins to catch up more. So Rukia resorts to flash stepping.
"Oh come on! That's not fair!" He pouts.
She looks back at him and grins, "Life isn't fair! Get used to it, Jr.!" She calls him Jr. for Hatter Jr. But he's not that little kid anymore..Nicknames like that would never tick him off-
"Don't call my Jr!" He yells, flailing his arms up wildly.
Rukia bursts out laughing and turns around, flash stepping backward, "You're just like a child!"
"Well you look like one!" He exclaims, "What are you, 12?"
"I'm 135 years older than you, you brat! Show some respect-" And suddenly Rukia couldn't feel the ground beneath her left foot. And there was something cold around her foot, running quick..Making her loose her balance.. Ah shit! She flash stepped into the waterfall.
She looked back and saw the water tumbling down the falls. And she calculated if she could survive, and if she did what to do next. Because she could feel she was falling. And she gave a slight gasping surprise as she feel back.
She could see Ichigo from far off, his insane idiot-ness making him run as fast as he can to catch up to her. But when he sees her falling back, just as she can no longer see him and her vision slips to the water behind her, she blinks, and something grabs her hand and back. When she looks up there's Ichigo.
"But..You.." She looked at him and then where she just saw him.
Suddenly she bursts out, "Ah! Who taught you the flash step! You sneaky bastard!"
"Now who's childish?" He asks.
She gets up and the each flash step out of the waterfall's current. They hike down the side of the waterfall and make it to the falls. Now it was more of a thick evergreen type of forest. And Rukia rather liked the smell of the fresh whole way Rukia was competing with Ichigo to see if his flash step was better. It was..
She sat in the cave behind the waterfall, the one they had made in training when Ichigo was 9. He'd told Rukia that they needed a place that only they knew about. Rukia thought of him as a cute little tiger back then, but then, when his mom died later..
"Yet another thing you've kept secret from me.." She mumbles.
"Oh great, not this again.." He says to himself.
"How long have you been mastering the flash step?" She asks.
"It's not a big deal!" He begins.
"How long!" She insists.
"a week..."
"A week my ass! Your flash step is too good for that!"
"Why can't you just drop it?" He asks.
"Why can't you just not lie to me in the first place?" Rukia retorts.
"Geez, when did you become my wife?" He asks, irritated.
"In your dreams, jack off!" She snaps back.
They both stand up at the same time and turn away from the other. And then when the glance back at the other, they turn back nervously. And suddenly then, things are alright. And they burst out laughing.
Slowly then. Rain starts falling as Ichigo tells Rukia about how he got Renji to train him to learn the flash step. And how he'd snuck off every night while she was asleep to go and train. And before they knew it...It was pouring.
"Ah I hate rain.." Rukia muttered.
"Oh really?" Ichigo questioned.
He took Rukia and swung her over his shoulder barbarically.
"What are you doing Ichigo? Ichigo? Put me—Ah!" She yelled as he ran out under the waterfall and into the rain.
"What in the-" She began, but then stopped herself.
"You are going to die!" She yelled at him and she looked down at her silk Hanfu.
"Well just remember, I'd make a hell of an angry spirit," He said back.
Rukia laughed, "You remember the things that aren't the least bit useful."
"Well at least I'm remember something."
And it was rare to see. But Rukia caught it. That faint smile underneath his soaked orange hair. Her own hair began to resemble black blood as it stuck stubbornly to her skin. She bet she looked odd..What with always having raven hair that poofed out like nobody's business.
Ichigo held onto her tight as he switched from holding her on his shoulders, to holding her bridal-style. She still wanted to get out of this warm rain and back into the cave. But always, in the rain, she never wanted to be alone. So she somewhat sat there and looked off into the crying forest. Everything covered in mist.
And then suddenly her eyes widened. Mist! But it was too late.
She felt it for a moment, but mostly she just saw it. And she remembered thinking, god that's gotta, hurt. But she couldn't remember feeling it. A dagger, right at her stomach, covered in blue tranquilizing sap. She quickly looked up, though she couldn't see at all. At the angle in which the weapon reached her they..
Ichigo looked down at Rukia who carelessly let her hands go limp. And he could see the watery blood coming and flowing down from her side.
"R-Rukia?" He asked.
"There...In the..Trees..." She said faintly before going out like a candle to the wind.
Author's Notes: I was just thinking about my pen name and I decided I'd make a one shot on my user name but I just ended up making this instead.. Enjoy! Review review review!
Love ya'll,
~*RukiaRocks*~