Tallstar's amber eyes gleamed in the dark as he stood looking down on the dying kittypet and the medicine cat who attended her. The latter, Barkface, sighed heavily as he stood up from his crouch, his muzzle and paws flecked with the kittypet's blood.
"It's no good," he told Tallstar softly, his rough voice made even more broken by sadness. "The monster injured her too badly on the inside. I can't save her."
The kittypet's eyes were dull slits, and her breathing came in tiny pants that barely took in any air. Tallstar leaned down to lick her formally on the forehead. She is so young. The female could hardly be more than seven moons- she would be a mere apprentice in Windclan.
Earlier, Tallstar had been roused by Barkface's urgent whisper. Barkface had explained that he had been out late, hunting for borage, when he'd heard the squeal of a monster's paws on the Thunderpath and the cry of a cat in pain. He had asked for permission to find who had been injured. Tallstar, ever cautious, had told Barkface that they would investigate together without rousing the camp. Only Deadfoot, Tallstar's deputy, knew where his leader and the medicine cat had gone.
Tallstar began to straighten. "Goodbye, little one," he whispered, seeing her breathing begin to stop. "May your ancestors guide you."
"Wait." The word was so soft, Tallstar almost missed it. "Please…my little sister-" The kittypet choked slightly from the effort of speaking.
"What?" mewed Barkface, bending in.
"Please- take care of- Rukia." The kittypet sighed and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, her breathing slowed and finally stopped.
"Her spirit has left," said Barkface after a moment, bowing his head. "May her ancestors guide her."
Just then, a large monster rumbled by, the light from its strange eyes illuminating the still scene for an instant. In that second, something squirmed and mewled under the kittypet's paw. A tiny kitten, so small that it looked newborn. Barkface made a sound of astonishment and gently nudged the weight off the little scrap. Once free, it lay still and stared up at the bigger cats with huge, astonished eyes.
"So you are…Rukia," said Tallstar softly, looking straight back.
.
.
It had caused much gossip the next morning when Tallstar had been found with a tiny kitten sleeping soundly by his side. The questions had been incessant: "Why is she so small?" "What's her name?" "How did you get her?" "How old is she?" "Why does she smell like a kittypet?" Barkface and Tallstar had tried their best to answer, but when they knew little more than their Clan, it was nearly impossible.
The light of the morning had revealed the kitten to be entirely black, save for the soft white insides of her ears and her huge purple eyes. Though she was barely the size of the newborns in the nursery, her full coat and open eyes showed her to be at least a month old. Tiny tail flirting from side to side, she investigated the fascinating nooks and crannies of the WindClan camp, oblivious to the turmoil she had caused. She wore no collar and only stared if someone asked her a question, but her smell answered most of the others' queries anyway: she was a kittypet, she had been across the Thunderpath, and she carried a tiny lingering whiff of her sister.
Tallstar watched the little thing skitter about, so small and delicate, and something soft and warm settled in his heart as he made his decision. He would honor the unknown kittypet's dying request: he would protect this tiny kitten, raise her in the ways of WindClan, and perhaps one day watch as she became a warrior.
Tallstar had never had a mate or kittens of his own, but watching Rukia, he felt as though he understood how a father felt.
.
.
Rukia grew, somewhat, as the moons passed. She learned to speak, learned to climb and jump and pretend to hunt and fight with the other kits. She was apprenticed, eventually, to the fiery queen Ashfoot, though Tallstar did not give her a warrior suffix. When she came to him after her apprenticeship, asking why, he'd answered gently but firmly,
"Rukia, you are a true member of WindClan. But you also must not forget your family- your name is the only thing you have to remember your sister by."
She dipped her head, with its sleek dark fur and large ears, and answered, "Thank you, Tallstar." But her small tail drooped as she turned to leave.
"Rukia-" called Tallstar softly, guessing at the reason why she wanted a warrior name so badly. "Have you heard of Firestar?"
The apprentice turned back swiftly. "Yes," she said, excitement instantly chasing away the gloom in her lovely eyes. "He killed the leader of, of-" her voice dropped dramatically,"BloodClan."
"Scourge, yes." For a moment the memories of that awful battle flashed across Tallstar's mind- the screeches and screams, the smell of hot blood, the rage and madness in the eyes of the cats around him. He shook it off. No need for her to know about that yet. "But did you know- he was a kittypet just like you."
Rukia flicked her ears in astonishment. "Like me?"
"Yes," purred Tallstar. "So you should be proud of your kittypet name, Rukia."
She dipped her head to him again, but this time with a much happier face and a tail that pointed straight up like a little piece of black string.
"Now, you'd better get back to Ashfoot," Tallstar told his little adopted daughter. "She hates to be kept waiting!"
"Yes, Tallstar!" Rukia mewed, and went skittering off across the clearing. Tallstar purred to see her go- she still looked like a young kit, and a very cute one at that.
.
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Rukia tried to sit straight and listen carefully to what her mentor told her, but it was so hard to concentrate. She couldn't believe that the great Firestar was a kittypet once, just like her! Maybe one day she would be as famous as Firestar, and fight dogs, and badgers, and-
"Rukia, do you understand?" Ashfoot asked her suddenly.
"Oh-oh, yes!" Rukia answered, snapping to attention.
"Good. Then demonstrate the correct way to attack a larger enemy. You can use me, and I'll fight back."
"But-"
"You can do it," said Ashfoot. "Just do what I described and you'll be fine."
.
.
In the bushes at the edge of training grounds, a pair of brown eyes watched as Rukia stumbled her way through the exercises. The young cat crouched low to hide his bright, flame-colored fur as he followed the black she-kit, watching intensely and straining to hear what Ashfoot told her.
"Come on," he muttered as Rukia took a swat at the bigger cat's ear and missed it entirely. "I could do better than that."
The male was perhaps eight moons old, big for his size despite his rather underfed look, with large feet and a long tail. A nick scarred the tender skin of his right ear, and burrs twisted themselves in the fluffy hair of his legs- altogether, a stereotypical young loner, hungry and disreputable. However, one thing distinguished him: a red collar. Frayed and dirty, most of it was hardly recognizable as a Twoleg device any longer. Only the metal plate attached to the front had escaped most of the damage, and the letters of the one word adorning it could still be clearly read by anyone who understood Twoleg writing:
Ichigo.
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A/N: So is this the weirdest crossover ever or what? Yes, I know, I should have been working on Death is Not Goodbye. But I forgot that I had promised this as a prize for a contest over on Deviantart, so it had to come first. It's fun but I tell you I am abusing the Warriors Wiki like you wouldn't believe- it's been a while since I read it. ;) (Yep, it's not my idea. This is the winner's request.)
This happens, incidentally, between The Darkest Hour and the beginning of series two, Prophecywhat'sitsface. This is mainly in the Warriors universe, with only the characters of Rukia and Ichigo being lifted from Bleach and maybe a couple cameos of other Bleach characters. Their former owners did not name them after Bleach characters, because Bleach does not exist. No, they just had...Japanese and Latin-speaking owners? Something like that, anyway.
Please review and if possible, concrit! Be harsh if you wish. I need it.
Soundtrack for this chapter: Mou Aoi Tobi wa Tobanai by Hal. Tatsuki's theme song! :)