One
'Is that it?' Ichigo asks.
'Yep, I think so,' Rukia replies, checking her soul pager for any signs of Hollows appearing. Nothing.
'We've finished for tonight.'
The two of them sheath their swords and use flashstep to make their way home. Karakura town is dark and the full moon glows above it. Rukia and Ichigo leap through the sky, obscuring the light from the moon being cast down on the town below.
It feels strange, for everything to be so... normal. No powerful force trying to destroy the Soul Society or the World of the Living. It really makes a change, and it is a change that the two of them like quite a lot.
As usual, Rukia is staying in Ichigo's cupboard. She has no objections to this (although Ichigo's family insist that she stays in the same room as Ichigo's little twin sisters, Karin and Yuzu). Rukia is perfectly content with the cupboard. It's warm and comfortable. Not to mention, conveniently near Ichigo so she can warn him when a Hollow appears.
It's quite late when they get back and the rest of the family have already gone to bed. Ichigo is relieved because he is sick of his hyperactive father trying to catch him off guard the whole time. He and Rukia are both starving so they dig in to the leftovers from supper.
Not long after they make their way to bed. It has been an extremely long day, what with school and everything, and both of them are very tired. Rukia is just preparing for bed when her soul pager starts beeping, signalling a new Hollow. Ichigo, who is lying on his bed facing the wall, groans and rolls over to face Rukia.
'I'll take it. You rest,' Rukia says. She pulls out her Soul Candy capsule and swallows a pill. Soon, Chappy the Rabbit is occupying her body and Rukia is leaping out of the window in her Soul Reaper form. Ichigo watches her go with worry on his face. He knows it's ridiculous. Rukia is a strong Soul Reaper, a lieutenant for crying out loud. But, even now, he still sees the powerless girl who needs protecting. It's natural. It's instinctive. But it annoys Rukia to no end. She hates being seen as weak.
Rukia's mood does not improve when she sees that the Hollow she has been tracking is, in actual fact, a Menos Grande. It's spiritual pressure is stronger than normal Hollows but after everything Rukia's seen and been through, the Menos Grande is no longer intimidating to her like it was a few years ago. She'll need to release her Shikai probably, unless she takes it out with Kidô.
'Hado Number Thirty-One, Shakkahô!' she shouts, and the red flame cannon erupts from her hand and shoots towards the Menos' head. It manages to dodge in time but the Kidô catches the top of it's mask, wounding it slightly. Rukia sighs and then says, 'Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!' The ribbon springs from the hilt of her zanpakutô and the sword becomes pure white. Rukia flashsteps closer to the Menos Grande so she is standing at its feet. She whispers, 'Some no Mai, Tsukishiro!' and the ice begins creeping up its body. The Menos roars and a cero begins to form in front of its mouth. Rukia knows if she dodges the cero (which she is perfectly capable of doing) it would destroy the buildings behind her.
That would be bad.
So she pokes her sword into the ground four times then points it at the Menos Grande. She whispers, 'Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren' and the ice shoots from the tip of her sword, freezing the oncoming cero. Rukia leaps into the air while the Menos is caught off-guard and in a flash her sword has come into contact with its head. Five seconds later, Rukia lands on the ground as the Menos disintegrates behind her.
Ichigo knows he shouldn't worry, but he does anyway.
He remembers the Soul Reaper he hardly knew save him from a Hollow by sacrificing herself and, slightly later, her powers, so that he and his family could live. One of his most vivid memories is that same Soul Reaper hanging defenceless in mid air as her doom in the form of a giant fire bird drew nearer, and him only just getting there in time to save her from execution. He also recalls a time in Hueco Mundo, when he came face to face with Ulquiorra again. The fourth Espada claimed that the Kuchiki girl was no more, and when Ichigo planned to rescue her, he instead ended up fighting Ulquiorra and losing. Rukia could have died and all Ichigo could do was fight Ulquiorra because of something the fourth Espada had said.
Ichigo always feels tremendously guilty whenever he remembers that.
And then there was that time...
'Che. I'm kind of getting bored of all these depressing thoughts you have, King. Can't you think of something cheerful or something so it doesn't rain the whole stupid time?'
Ichigo's eyes widen, his frown deepens and it sits up straight on his bed.
'You. What are you doing here?' he hisses mentally.
'I live here, dumbass,' comes the perfectly logical reply. 'Funny how you're always thinking about 'poor dear Rukia', isn't it?'
'GET. OUT.'
'Bit hard for me to do that.' Maniacal laughter erupts inside Ichigo's head. He bites his lip and growls, 'Disappear!'
More laughter. 'But annoying you is so fun!'
Ichigo desperately tries to block off the Hollow's voice by putting mental barriers inside his mind. It must have worked because there is silence inside his head. Ichigo sighs in relief and lies back down on his bed.
The Hollow snorts with laughter, unable to remain silent anymore. Ichigo hisses in annoyance and rolls over, trying to ignore his Hollow. He wishes that this... this creature inside his head would just disappear, but it is always there, goading him. When he's not fighting and the Hollow has nothing better to do, its only purpose is to annoy the crap out of Ichigo.
Ichigo hates and fears this creature more than anything. And this creature is here, inside of him, forever tormenting him. He wishes it could just disappear and never come back.
'I'm back,' Rukia announces, jumping through the window into the bedroom. Ichigo stares at her, not quite registering that she has returned because his mind is in a turmoil. Then he smiles, as he realises Rukia is okay, that she got back safely and there was no reason to worry. He even manages to forget his Hollow. Just for a second.
But it never lasts.