One: Promises
"Rukia-chan…"
Death was taunting them, but avoiding it seemed inevitable. There was only one entrance, one escape. The doors rattled viciously, barricaded by a thick, rusted pipe. A maniacal laughter penetrated the old wood.
Rukia leaned against the wall for support. Soon, the pipe would snap and a horde of starved hollows would flood through the door. When that happened, they would be crushed and devoured.
Thunk, thunk, thunk…
The pipe was beginning to bend and wither under the pressure. Rukia cursed, pressing her brow against the cold stone. Considering the circumstances the chance of both of them surviving was slim.
Maybe it would be different if her leg was not broken; if her calf was not connected to her swollen knee at an awkward, painful angle. Rukia could hardly walk, let alone fight off half a thousand Hollows by herself, and find someone to heal Ichigo before he bled to death.
Several feet to her right, Ichigo stood, hunched over, using Zengatsu as a crutch. Rukia watched his chest heave in labored gasps. A string of red hung out of the side of his mouth. His face and hair were crusted in old blood and his clothing was drenched. He had suffered too many wounds from too long of a fight.
Honestly, Rukia had never even seen him at his limit. Until now she had only worried about him ever reaching his limit; she hadn't expected to see him actually reach it.
Thunk, thunk, thunk.
The door groaned. Rukia expected it to fly open at any moment. She tried not to think of the impending darkness. She tried not to think of her friends, those who had fallen and those who survived. She tried to shut out the thoughts of life and the promises of death. She tried not to think of anything at all, and failed.
"Rukia-chan…"
Death was calling, and his song was a maniacal and mean chorus.
"Ichigo," she said, shifting her weight tenderly. A hot pain shot up her thigh. She was shaking, but whether it was from exhaustion, pain or fear, Rukia was unsure. "Ichigo, did you know that when a soul with an incredible dream dies too early… when it dies before accomplishing that dream, it gets incarnated into a new body? It gets reborn so that it can try again."
Ichigo looked at her sideways. "We are not going to die," he said between breaths. "We just need to think." He swayed, and used Zengatsu to steady his balance. "Your brother would kick my ass if I let us die."
Rukia hesitated, watching the shadows stretch across the dusty floors like crooked fingers, ready to snatch her up. For the briefest moment, she thought Ichigo was right. She believed him, and clung to the possibility of survival.
Then she remembered Ichigo was bleeding to death and that her leg was broken, and defeat picked at her hopes like a flock of crows on a battlefield. "Nii-sama won't be upset," she said. "Not if we promise to come back."
"Rukia, we are not going to die." Ichigo's expression betrayed him. He knew what was coming. They were stuck in the breadth of some huge chamber. The door creaked and groaned, trembling on its rusted hinges. "We promised we would go together," she said, "We promised that we would die at the same time, like Yoruichi and— "
"—we are not going to die, Rukia—"
"— so, let's promise to come back," Rukia finished. "We'll be reborn and we'll meet again, and when we do, we'll beat Aizen."
"Rukia, that's insane."
It was total insanity. There were a million things that could go wrong. Even if this did work, it would take years for them grow up, and what would they do when they did finally meet? We'll remember, Rukia told herself. I'll remember somehow, and then I'll make him remember.
They didn't have much of a choice. "As long as we promise, it'll be fine."
"What if it doesn't work?"
"It will, just promise that we'll come back. We'll meet again, we'll remember what happened, and then we'll beat Aizen once and for all. Say that you promise."
Several seconds passed before Ichigo cursed, muttered something along the lines of 'crazy bitch,' and sighed. "I promise."
"No matter what?"
"I swear on Zengatsu, we'll come back."
"And we'll defeat Aizen for good."
"Rukia…if this is the only way, then I will personally stuff the King's Key up his ass."
Despite everything— exhaustion, pain, dread— Rukia found it in herself to smile. She truly, honestly believed him. Sode no Shirayuki's ivory hilt hummed in her grip. Hope rippled through her soul. "I promise too."
Ichigo held out his hand. "Together?" There was a small spurt of red as she laced her fingers around his wet palm.
"Together."
They turned to face the door, to face death together, hand in hand, just as they promised. The pipe snapped and fell to the floor with a loud clang. Rukia closed her eyes. So be it.
A/N: There's something weird about murdering your favorite characters…and bringing them back again. I love writing fights, so expect many battle scenes and even more chapters. Thanks for reading!
