Revenge Of Shadows
This is the end of my bleach trilogy. All questions will be answered about the sudden revivals of hollows and their apparent evolution. Again, there is excessive gore, coarse language, most likely some sex (Because Ichigo and Rukia are really into it now!) Character deaths will also occur. The villains will be my own this time, I think I can manage it. To my fans and those new to my stories...
Enjoy!
Laughter.
KUROSAKI CLINIC
EARLY MORNING
A loud yawn stretched across the empty house and echoed. An alarm rang with a tinny tune.
Ichigo slammed a fist down on it's reset button and it whined before stopping. "Freakin Rukia! Such a stupid present!" Ichigo tried to roll over but fell onto the cold floor face-first. He cursed loudly before stopping to think his sisters might still be in the house.
No noise came from the other rooms.
Ichigo staggered to his feet and rubbed his nose. He turned to his bed and found it empty.
She's gone! Oh god, not again!!
"No! Please no!" Ichigo paniced.
"No what?" Rukia slipped in through the window wearing a kimono.
"Oh...It was just a hollow." Ichigo sighed with relief. "I thought you were captured or something!"
"Why would you jump to such a stupid conclusion?! You only just woke up a second ago." Rukia said.
"How do you know that?" Ichigo asked, still paranoid from before.
"Because you look like someone punched you in both eyes." Rukia pointed at his face.
Ichigo instinctively rubbed at his eyes before walking to a mirror. He glared at the dark rings under his eyes and stroked them. "Geez. When did we go to sleep last night?"
"Four in the morning." Rukia replied in a bright cheery tone.
"What are you so happy about? Did you finally do a good drawing?" Ichigo fell into the wall as a powerful kick connected with his chin.
"No...I get the day off from your whining today!" Rukia sighed.
"Wait! My whining?! You whinge more than I do! Also...why?"
"I don't know. I just heard your father making plans with your sisters for the whole day."
"What?! You eaves dropped on my family?! That's wrong! Where are they anyway?" Ichigo tilted his head.
"Outside. Someone vandalised and broke into the neighbours house last night." Rukia looked out the window as a police car parked on the front lawn.
Light footsteps came from downstairs, they were getting closer.
"I'd cover yourself or put some clothes on. Your sister is coming." Rukia slid inside the cupdoard and closed the door.
Ichigo hurriedly tugged on a pair of jeans, but in his tired sluggishness, put them on back to front. He hurriedly fixed them and then pulled on a t-shirt before the door flew open and a small blonde girl ran in.
She hugged Ichigo and then looked into his eyes. "You don't have plans today do you?" Her smile fell into a frown.
Ichigo shook his head.
The girl bounced on her feet and then grabbed his hand. She led Ichigo downstairs where Isshin was packing a large back-pack.
"Ready for some camping Ichigo?" Isshin seemed to be unusually happy today.
Ichigo just nodded as Karin ran up to him.
"I would have told you to pack your bags, but I think you already have!" Karin laughed and pointed at Ichigo's dark, baggy eyes.
"Can I have some tea before we go? I'm half asleep." Ichgo descended into the kitchen and had a drink. He then returned, wiping his mouth. "Alright, let's go!"
Rukia watched from the window as the car sped off. She then sighed to herself and rumaged through her cramped little cupboard. She whipped out her school uniform and got dressed. She forged an early leave note and scrawled an imaginary parent's name before stuffing it in her pocket and rushing outside.
*****
KARAKURA HIGH SCHOOL
The girls all formed a circle around Orihime. Her face was covered in small cuts which were almost healed, but still visible. She held crutches by her side and rubbed at her bandaged legs.
"What happened to you?! You look like you were dug up!" A girl asked.
"Well...You see..." Orihime began.
This will be funny! Rukia thought to herself as she stood at the back of the crowd.
"A dog got run over by a truck that was carrying nuclear waste and then it came back to life and was all scary! It mauled me and then got hit by another truck! So BAM!! Problem solved! He he." Orihime giggled sheepishly.
"That's so stupid! Someone mugged you didn't they?! Was it Ichigo?" A girl asked.
Orihime remembered the day when the hollow disguised itself as Ichigo and hurt her. A tear fell down her cheek and she wiped it away before anyone saw it.
"Ouch! You look like a dog tried to eat you!" A new girl strolled up to her.
Orihime blinked at her and then yelled at the others. "See! She understands!" Orihime waved a hand at the new girl. "What's your name?"
The girl flicked back a strand of straight black hair. It grew down to the small of her back. Blue paint encircled both eyes and she wore make-up that made her look deathly pale.
Orihime felt a tingle in her spine. This girl reminded her of Ulquiorra, an espada from the arrancar war who had an unusaual fascination with her. As scary as Ulquiorra was, Orihime actually had feelings for him and cried when he turned to dust. She had attempted to revive him with her powers but was stopped before she could finish.
"Raven. I was an orphan so I don't really have a name, but I thought Raven sounded good." The girl smiled. Two of her teeth seemed awkwardly long...and sharp.
Despite her suspicions, Orihime was nice to her and told her about the school and the students.
Rukia eyed Raven cautiously though.
*****
KUROSAKI CLINIC
LATE NIGHT
Rukia took advantage of the Kurosaki families absence and decided to take a bath. Usually she had to have two minute showers which would end abrubtly when someone else went to the toilet. She would use shunpo to get out of there and dry off in Ichigo's room. It usually ended without complications, but once she went into his room naked and Ichigo freaked out...things were different now that he liked her, but in the early days he would panic at the sight of a naked woman.
She checked the water to make sure it was hot and then left it running to find a change of clothes. She found none in her room and so raided Yuzu's room. It was her own personal clothes shop and she frequently 'borrowed' Yuzu's clothes.
Satisfied with clothes designed for an eleven year old girl, Rukia went back to the bathroom.
The tub was almost overflowing and she quickly turned off the water flow. She closed the blinds and the window and then slipped out of her dirty uniform. She sunk into the bath and moaned as the water scorched her. It was uncomfortably hot for several seconds but quickly became reasonable.
Rukia rested her head against the ceramic wall and stared at the white roof. The paint was crusting and falling off.
Rukia rubbed soap against herself and then washed it off. She sighed and lay back again.
A quiet noise interrupted the calmness. It sounded like someone laughing.
Rukia listened in silence and then returned to relaxation. Her thoughts flashed until she started to daydream. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the dream.
~Ichigo was talking to her but she could not hear what he was saying, despite being only two feet away.
Rukia screamed, to see if Ichigo could hear. It seemed like he could because he recoiled and grasped his ears. Rukia blinked and then she could hear Ichigo yelling at her.
"Wake up!! Now!! Before it's too late!!" Ichigo was shaking her, lightly at first but his grip tightened until he was crushing her bones. He repeated the small phrases over and over and wouldn't stop.
Rukia begged for him to calm down but he just shook more fiercely. Rukia was about to say something when she was slapped. She fell to the ground and Ichigo booted her in the stomach.
"If you don't wake up...then you'll die!!" Ichigo produced a sinister looking knife and twirled it in front of her.
Rukia was crying now. The tears felt like acid on her face and she wiped them away only to find they were made of blood. "STOP!! PLEASE?!!" Rukia hugged herself as Ichigo drilled the knife into her shoulder. Rukia fell back into an invisible wall and was somehow pinned to the wall.
Ichigo twisted the blade and he smiled, only his teeth rotted to black fangs and his skin wrinkled and paled. His eyes burned red and his hair was now grey and straight. It fell down to his shoulders and he spat on her.
Rukia started to shake and she retched violently. The blade was moving across her chest. It was carving up her organs and Rukia could no longer breathe. The blade suddenly shot out of her and blood erupted form her mutilated body!
The blood didn't stop gushing! It felt like it had been twenty minutes now and the blood still sprayed like a fountain.
The scary old man had left now and sickening laughter assaulted Rukia's ears.
Rukia started to thrash around. The blood had literally formed a pool which was now nose deep. Rukia tried to swim to the surface but she was stuck. She grasped hoplessly at the blood as it swallowed her. Her lungs filled with her own life fluid and she slowly, torturously, drowned.
Rukia woke up and found herself underwater. A slender feminine hand was holding her head underneath the surface. Rukia screamed and water flooded into her body, just like the dream...or nightmare!
The assailant yanked at Rukia's hair and then slammed her face into the ceramic bottom of the tub. Rukia saw blood in the water and clawed at the mysterious attacker.
Her head was suddenly free and she rose out of the tub. She whirled around and found no-one there. The door was closed, same with the window.
Rukia wrapped a towel around herself and cried. She was so afraid and she was alone for several days. Rukia's blood ran cold as a noise other than her own sobbing was heard...
...It was laughter!
*****
Ichigo felt a vibration in his pocket. It was his phone. He took it out and gazed at the number. Rukia was calling her. He pressed the answer button and heard sobbing at the other end. "Rukia? Are you alright?"
"I...I...I was attacked!" Rukia said between fits of crying.
"Holy shit! Are you okay? Did you see who it was?!" Ichigo yelled the questions into the phone. His family all stared at him.
"I don't know who it was, but I think it was a girl! They tried to drown me!" Rukia cried again, before coughing.
Ichigo looked at his family and decided to move away so he didn't disturb them, it was getting late and they were trying to sleep. He walked off into the woods and then sat on a felled log. "So are you hurt? Will you be alright for the night, because I can call Orihime and she will take care of you."
"I want you, Ichigo." Rukia sounded more worried now.
"I can't, it's too late."
"Please?"
"So you don't want Orihime, how about Chad? He'll protect you."
Rukia refused and again asked for Ichigo. "I'm scared."
Unnerving laughter began to echo throughout the forest and Ichigo shivered. "Same here. Someone keeps laughing and it scares the shit out of me!"
Rukia dropped the phone. Laughter! She had heard it too! She quickly snatched up the phone. "Ichigo take care, someone's out there tonight! Make sure they don't get you."
"I promise." Ichigo reassured his frightened friend. "I'll call in the morning ok. Until then bye. Oh and I'll ring Chad in a second. Ok bye." Ichigo hung up. As he put his phone away, the laughter seemed to get closer. Ichigo quietly crept backwards towards the camp.
The noises were getting closer still.
Ichigo whirled and ran into someone. He screamed and then looked up to see his sister Karin.
"HA! Ichigo you should have seen it! A bird flew into a tree! It was hilarious. It's fine now but still it was funny!" Karin stopped laughing and stared seriously at her brother. "So, who was that?"
"Oh, just a friend. Someone smashed their window with a brick." Ichigo thought up the excuse quickly so it didn't sound strange.
Karin nodded and then went back. Ichigo followed, still scared.
*****
Rukia barricaded the house. She had placed tables behind the doors and stacked various items near the windows. She now lay in bed hiding under the covers.
'Tap'
Rukia shivered.
'tap, tap, tap'
Rukia stayed still. She didn't dare move.
'BANG!'
Rukia tip-toed downstairs to the kitchen. She carefully opened a drawer, making sure she made no noise. Her hand wrapped around a metal handle and she slid a butcher knife out of the drawer. Now able to defend herself Rukia approached the door.
'BANG BANG!'
Rukia peeked out the window from behind closed blinds and found nothing.
'BANG'
Rukia grasped the doorhandle and felt someone on the other side twist it. Rukia shrieked and immediately put a hand over her own mouth. She raised the knife so it was next to her face and then wrenched the door open!
A girl screamed and fell over.
Rukia turned on the front lights and gazed at the girl out front. It was Raven! The new girl.
"Fuck! You scared the hell out of me! Why are you holding a knife?!" Raven got up and brushed herself off.
"What are you doing at my house near midnight?" Rukia asked calmly.
"I wanted to get to know some of the people in my class. I've been to Orihime's place and then went to Chizuru's house. I thought I would stop by here and say hello." The girl tilted her head and smiled.
Rukia let the girl in.
"How did you know I lived here? I never even spoke to you today." Rukia asked.
"I watched you walk home." Raven said as if it wasn't awkward.
"That's called stalking. It's illegal here!" Rukia crossed her arms.
"So have you done it with Ichigo yet?" Raven Ignored the statement.
Rukia stared at her. "How did you...?"
"Orihime told me! She likes Ichigo as well, but she knows that you're first." Raven flicked back her black hair. "She also told me...that you fight ghosts!"
Rukia almost collapsed.
"It's some game you play! You get out of class and go fight 'monsters' that no-one can see. I thought it was cute. I had an imaginary friend when I was young as well."
Rukia sighed.
Oh thank god! She doesn't know that-
"I don't know what?" Raven asked.
Rukia's eyes widened.
"Oh, I never told you. I can read minds! I've done it since I was about ten. Right now you're shocked that I may find out some big secret! Aren't you?"
Rukia nodded amazed. "You're pretty amazing!"
Raven scowled. "You're scared of me!"
Rukia shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts.
"You're trying to erase your thoughts because you are scared! Don't be frightened of me. I'm just a teenage girl. What do you think I'm going to do? Kill you? Because I could!" Ravens face contorted into a snarl.
"Maybe you should leave. I'll see you later." Rukia asked tryig to stay calm.
Raven got to her feet but did not go. She looked at Rukia. "You had a nightmare earlier. Then somone tried to kill you."
Rukia was about to ask how she knew but the girl was gone. Rukia closed the front door and went back to her room where she tried to sleep, the butcher knife lay next to her.
She was finally about to drift off when the sickening laughter returned.
Hope you liked it. Chapters may be released slower beacuase I am writing two stories at the moment, so please be patient. Please review, I love feedback.