Karakura's Vampire
First of all, I would like to apologize in advance to all Twilight fans. The series is just such a big fat target. I was weak. Sorry.
Second, this story is for the IchiRuki Fan Club at Bleach Asylum for 2010. I spend a lot of time there and made a lot of friends. I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of this pairing. Enjoy!
She stared in disbelief at the back of the lean, pale Adonis-like figure shrouded in mist beneath the trees.
"Why Bedford? Why are you leaving me?"
The sullen, statuesque youth, his face clouded in despair, turned slightly towards her, his pale, chiseled features scowling petulantly.
"You don't understand Ella. I am a vampire. It takes all of my control just to keep from attacking you and draining you of every last drop of your blood."
Tears sprang in her eyes. Couldn't he see that without him she was nothing? Without his manly, Adonis statue-like presence, how would she define herself? Her voice began to shake with desperation.
"Why won't you convert me Bedford? Make me a vampire too. Then we can be together forever."
The pout on his sullen, chiseled, god-like, Adonis features deepened.
"Haven't you been listening to me Ella? You could die. Once I start sucking, I may not be able to stop!"
She ran to him, clutching his cold, marble-hard, Adonis-type body like a drowning woman clutching a straw.
"I don't care anymore Bedford." She declared "Suck me! Suck me now!"
"OK," Ichigo said as he hit the stop button on the remote. "That's it! No more!"
He never should have listened to his sisters and rented "Young Vampires in Love – The Epic Saga of Dark Romantic Epicness". True he'd heard about the series, it was impossible to avoid, but watching it…brrr!
"Ichigo, they were just getting to the best part!" Yuzu whined.
"There are no best parts!" Ichigo declared
"Oh come on Ichigo," Karin complained "What have you got against vampires anyway?"
"That had nothing to do with vampires," her brother replied, "that were about se…"
All of the sudden, Ichigo became aware of his sisters big, round and most importantly INNOCENT eyes staring at him.
"About the worst acting I've ever seen." He finished weakly. "I'm taking this back to the store."
"No Ichigo, I want to see the rest!" Yuzu protested.
"Show of hands, who wants to watch the rest?" Karin said waving her hand wildly in the air.
"Me!" Yuzu chimed in lifting her own.
"Show of hands, who did Dad leave in charge?" Ichigo retorted. He held up his hand "Me! So until he gets back from his conference in Tokyo, I decide what we watch. I'd rather watch 'Chappy's Friendly Friendship Festival' for the five hundredth time."
"Chappy? Did someone say Chappy?" came a young woman's voice from upstairs.
Ichigo sighed. There was no escaping it now. Rukia burst into the room, eager anticipation on her face.
"And you said you'd never watch it again." She said. "I knew you'd start to like it."
He rolled his eyes as he handed her the DVD. "I still don't, but anything is better than this."
He removed the offending movie from the DVD player and put it in its case.
Karin huffily got to her feet. "Come on Yuzu, let's go upstairs since Ichigo wants to be a jerk."
"You bet Karin." Yuzu said as she followed her sister upstairs. As she put her foot on the first step she turned around and glared at her brother.
"You don't know anything about romance Ichi-ni!" Tossing her head, she stomped her way up the rest of the stairs.
"There's nothing romantic about sneaking into somebody's room and watching them while they sleep!" He called after them. "That's just creepy!"
Rukia suddenly was very interested in staring at a spot in the opposite wall.
Ichigo scowled at the DVD case in his hand. "Even Yuzu's giving me lip over this. Just proves how poisonous it is."
"Ichigo, maybe we should just let them finish watching their movie." Rukia said. "They really seem to be into this vampire craze lately."
Ichigo snorted "Real vampires don't sparkle. Not that there are any of course."
Asano Keigo stretched his arms out as he walked in the cool night air. "I'm telling you Mizuro, this year I can't miss. The girls are going to look at me in a whole new light after this year's Halloween party. "
"I really don't think it's going to work Asano-san." Kojima Mizuro said as he texted on his cell phone, "It didn't last year."
"Last year's party was kids stuff." Keigo assured him. "This year, I'm starting out with some cool games, then Karaoke, a later I'm having a live DJ!"
Mizuro looked up from his phone. "How are you able to afford stuff like a live DJ?'
"Well, it's actually my sister's party." Keigo admitted. "Her and her friends pooled their money together and set it up. She said I could come and invite my friends. She said it's no problem because I don't really have any. Well I'll show her."
"Never mind that." Mizuro said, "You said something about your sister's friends? So there'll be older women at this party?"
"Well they're my sister's age, so I guess you could say they're older."
"Keep going, I'm listening. How many? Do I know any of them?"
Keigo was distracted from his friend's questions. "Say, where did all this fog come from all the sudden?"
What he saw next took his mind off of the fog. As they approached the street corner, he saw a woman appear through the mist with long black hair wearing a black hat with a tide brim and a dark wine-red dress that was at once modest, yet gave a sense of the voluptuous form beneath. She stood with her back to them under a street light holding up a map turning it this way and that. Clearly she was lost.
" 'Scuse me miss." Keigo said as he bounded forward. "Do you need some help?"
Somehow, Mizuro managed to get in front of him. "What my friend means to say is, if you're looking to get somewhere, I know this town like the back of my hand and can easily lead you where you need to go."
He put on his most innocent angelic face, the one most likely to crumble the defenses of an older woman, honed over the years to appeal to their motherly instincts.
Keigo began to spume in rage. "Oh come on, Mizuro, I saw her first!"
Both boys stopped mid-argument as they heard the woman give a throaty chuckle.
"No need to fight young gentlemen. I appreciate both of you stopping to help a poor lost stranger."
Turning to face them, the woman had pale, almost translucent skin, shoulder length jet black hair and pouting, blood red lips. Oddly enough for the middle of the night, she had on a pair of dark sunglasses. Keigo gave an internal shrug. He'd seen stranger looks visiting Harajuku.
"Where were you looking for miss?" He asked
"I've only recently arrived," the woman said, "I'm looking for a place to stay while I settle in. Someplace quiet and out of the way."
"I'm sure we can help you out." Mizuro said.
"Oh yes." She said as she removed her sunglasses. "I'm sure you can."
Despite Rukia's admittedly pleasant singing voice, the lyrics to that accursed song punished his brain like a dripping faucet magnified by a thousand as they walked up the stairs to the roof.
"Friendship festival, you're invited…"
"Stop it."
"All our friends are here, I'm excited…"
"Please stop?"
"C'mon Ichigo sing along! Friends are gathering from far and near, come and join us we're glad you're here!"
"What did I do to deserve this?" He muttered to himself as he opened the door leading outside.
Rukia went ahead, greeting Chad and Ishida who were already there.
"Hey Chad," Ichigo said as he sat down, "have you heard anything from Keigo or Mizuro? Weird they're not here today."
Chad shook his head. He was beginning to worry himself.
Ishida put down his sandwich. "I admit, I don't know them as well as you do, but considering they usually hang out together, it is strange that both should disappear on the same day."
Ichigo frowned. "Usually, they stop by the house on the way to school. I tried calling them, but neither picked up. "
Chad sat up a little straighter as he noticed something. "Isn't that Keigo's sister?" He asked.
Asano Mizuho seemed to be looking for them. As soon as she saw them she hurried over to their group. "Hey you guys are my brother's friend's right?"
"Sure." Ichigo said, "Is he OK? We didn't hear why he wasn't in school today. "
"I don't know." Mizuho answered. "That little punk didn't come home last night. He's not answering his phone either. Mom and Dad are worried sick. I was hoping one of you knew something."
They all shook their heads. "Sorry." Ichigo said. "We haven't heard anything either."
Mizuho scowled. "Well if you see him, tell him to call home before we call the cops on him. He was supposed to be hanging around down by the old warehouse district last night. I swear, when he gets back I'm gonna pound him right through the floor!"
Mizuho stormed off back towards the exit as the nakama looked at each other. Her face had contradicted her angry words. She was very worried.
"Well I know what I'm doing tonight." Ichigo said. Everyone nodded.
Even as the sun went down, they continued to search. Asking around the shops and restaurants, they found a few people who remembered them, but nothing to show where they may have went. They soon ran out of places to look.
'You don't suppose they went down that way?" Ichigo asked as he pointed down the street. On the other side of the railroad tracks was the abandoned warehouse district. It was full of empty factories and storage areas for several companies that went under.
"I don't know why they'd go there." Ishida said
"If they did, it makes sense they may have gotten trapped somehow." Rukia pointed out. "It couldn't hurt to look around at least."
"Tell you what, "Ichigo said. "We'll split up and look for any sign of them. Avoid going into any buildings and call if you find anything. If you don't find anything, we'll meet back here in an hour."
Each picking a direction, they headed out in four different directions.
Chad scanned is surroundings carefully as walked down the alleyway between buildings. He looked for any signs of doorways or windows being recently opened or some other sign of recent disturbance. He listened carefully in case they were calling out. He really worried about Keigo and Mizuro. Usually, they could look out for themselves. Still, everyone ran into something they couldn't handle once in a while. He'd hate to think they were trapped in a situation where he could have kept them safe if he had been with them. As fog started rolling in, he began to wonder if he would continue his search. Visibility was getting very bad.
"Perdóneme señor," a woman's voice called out, "¿Tienes fuego?"
Chad was surprised. What a strange thing to be asked in the middle of an abandoned industrial park. And in that language.
"You speak Spanish?" He asked.
The speaker made her way through the fog. She was tall, with long black hair wearing a long wine-red dress.
"Oh, I guessed right. You had the look of the new world about you and I couldn't resist."
Chad furrowed his brow. "The new world?"
She laughed. "Well, that's what they were calling it last time I was there. Why don't you let me tell you about it…"
Ishida was glad he'd brought a flashlight along. He wasn't sure if he would be able to find anything. The block was nothing but concrete and rusted metal buildings as far as the eye could see. It wouldn't be easy to spot any clues. It didn't help that fog was rolling in. It made the flashlight useless as the beam only illuminated the fog around it. A voice called out through the gloom.
"Ishida-san. Is that you?"
"Kojima-san?" Ishida asked. "Where have you been? Everyone's worried about you. Is Asano-san with you too?"
"Yes, he is." Mizuro replied as his form began to emerge from the billowing mists. "We're both fine. In fact, we have something we want to show you."
"Show us? What are you talking about?" Ishida tried to shine his flashlight in Mizuro's direction, shading his eyes with his hand as he did so trying to see better. His Quincy cross dangled from his wrist and clicked against his glasses. Mizuro…hissed?
"Argh! That thing! Get it away from me!"
"Thing? What thing?" Ishida demanded. Mizuro didn't hear him. Ishida could hear his running footsteps through the fog. He tried to follow, but the fog was too thick. Eventually, Mizuro's footsteps faded away until he couldn't hear them anymore.
"Kojima-san!" he called out. "What thing are you talking about? Kojima-san!"
Rukia strained her senses as she walked down the darkened alleyway. The darkness was bad enough, but the fog was making it even worse. She was thinking about calling the others and pulling back when she spotted him. It was the figure of a young man leaning up against the wall at the mouth of the alley.
"Asano-san. Is that you?" she called out.
"Kuchiki-san." He replied "Fancy meeting you here."
"Were were looking all over for you." Rukia said. "I'm so glad I finally found you."
"Are you?" Keigo asked as he came closer. "Or is it the other way around?"
Rukia was getting an uneasy feeling from the way Keigo approached her. There was something sinister, even feral in the way he seemed to stalk forward.
"What do you mean, Asano-san."
He gave her a wicked grin "I mean maybe I was looking all over for you. I always thought you were beautiful Kuchiki-san. You never gave me a second glance, but that's ok. I understand. I was nothing, a nobody. Why would you be interested in a schlub like me?"
Rukia noticed as he drew near that something was definitely wrong. Keigo's eyes were glowing red. They seemed to draw her in and invade mind.
"Things are different now." He continued. "I've changed. I think you'll like me a lot better now. "
Rukia was definitely alarmed now. She opened her mouth to speak and found she could not. She tried to move and found she was paralyzed. Keigo stopped in front of her and reached out to stroke her hair.
"You want me now, don't you?" He asked as his eye seemed to fill her vision.
Terror sprang into her heart as she realized he was right. Her mind may reject his words but she could feel a power, his power, reaching deep inside her. Her body involuntarily responded against her will. Her mind squirmed in revulsion as she was paralyzed by an overwhelming feeling of fear…and desire.
"I've always wanted to do this Kuchiki-san." He said as he embraced her immobile form. "Trust me," He whispered in her ear. "After a while, you're going to enjoy this."
Parts of her silently screamed. Her body was no longer hers to control. As she could feel his breath on her skin, without her willing to do so, she succumbed to his embrace, a feeling she both desired and abhorred. She was helpless as he lowered his mouth to her neck, unable to resist. The beating of her heart was loud in her ears, drowning out the sound of running feet.
Ichigo grabbed Keigo by the collar and belt, picked him up and swung him bodily against the nearest wall.
"Keigo!" He shouted. "What the hell's gotten into you man?"
Rukia collapsed to her knees as the spell was broken, crossing her arms to hold herself as she shook from the after effects of his violation.
Keigo laughed. He wasn't even stunned. "Ichigo old buddy. Here's something else I've always wanted to do. "
He spun around effortlessly, smashing Ichigo with an elbow across his jaw. As he staggered back, Keigo kicked him in the chest, sending him flying across the alley to smash against the opposite wall.
"You always looked down on me for being weak." Keigo sneered. "Well I'm a lot stronger now tough guy."
Ichigo didn't bother responding. He was sure he had some broken ribs. No way he could get up and fight back. Not in his human form anyway. Grasping his substitute shinigami badge, he brought it down on his damaged body, releasing his soul reaper form. Keigo hissed baring long gleaming fangs, then ran away. Ichigo turned to Rukia, kneeling down to look at her face.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
She glared at him. "You idiot. You're letting him get away. Go after him, I'll heal your body."
Ichigo drew back properly ashamed. "OK. I'm on it."
He took off in the direction Keigo left. Seeing nothing and hearing nothing, he took to the air. Still nothing. Keigo had managed to disappear fast. After another minute or so, he accepted the fact that Keigo had gotten away.
Returning to the alley where he left Rukia and his body, he saw the Ishida had already returned. Rukia was kneeling next to his body, her hands glowing as she repaired the damage Keigo had inflicted.
"He got away." He announced.
"Kuchiki-san tells me Asano-san appears to have changed." Ishida said as he adjusted his glasses. "Kojima-san seems to have been affected in the same manner."
"You saw him?" Ichigo said. "What happened?"
"Get into our body and I'll tell you on the way." Ishida said. "I have my suspicions, but we're going to need more information."
"Don't tell me, let me guess." Ichigo said as he merged back into his body.
"Yes," Ishida confirmed. "I suggest we go to Urhara's. He may be able to tell us what's going on."
"That's odd." Rukia said. "Chad's not answering his phone."
"What a coincidence," Urahara said as Ururu served the tea. "I was just about to call you."
"What you describe is exactly what I was asked to look for." Yoruichi added. "This is the classic pattern for a head vampire setting up a new nest. The second division's reports were spot on."
Ichigo scratched his head. "First of all, seriously? Vampires exist? Second of all, why would Soul Society be tracking vampires?"
Yoruichi chuckled. "Silly boy. There's a lot of things we do besides regulating the balance of souls."
"Vampires are indeed very real, Kurosaki-san." Urahara lectured. "Fortunately for us, they are also very rare. We deal with vampires because they also upset the balance of life and death. They are creatures who have died, yet they continue to interact with and harm the real world. Returning them to the cycle of death and rebirth is our duty."
The young people all looked at each other. Only Ishida had the nerve to ask what they all were wondering.
"Are you saying our friends are now dead?"
"Not yet." Yoruichi said. "If we can destroy the head vampire soon, they will return to normal. "
"This will not be as easy as it sounds." Urahara said. "Vampires have several attributes that make them difficult to vanquish. They have enhanced strength and speed, can heal instantly and have the ability to influence the environment around them. They are able to change their shape into animals or even other people to hide their true form. All of things are not insurmountable when fighting them. It is their ability to influence people that makes them dangerous."
As he said the last sentence, he stared directly at Rukia who shifted uncomfortably.
"Influence people how?" Ichigo asked.
Urahara snapped his fan open and waved it gently in front of his face. "Let me answer that question with a question. What do you know about sex?"
"What!" ichigo yelped. He locked eyes with Rukia for a split second. The both just as quickly looked away. Ishida suddenly took a profound interest in his teacup. All of their faces turned a deep red.
"Well, we learned the basics in health class." Ichigo muttered.
"I mean, we know the mechanics, I suppose." Rukia admitted softly
"I can see you don't have practical experience in the matter." Urhahara sighed. "That's too bad. It would make things easier. I know you are all very well acquainted with death."
"I really don't see what that has to do with fighting vampires." Ichigo said scowling.
"Of course not." Urahara answered. "You see, as they are neither living nor dead, vampires have unique relationship with both sex and death. The beginning and the end if you will. They are alive and must reproduce to survive, but they are also dead and cannot reproduce in the normal fashion. This seems to tie into their ability to hypnotize their victims. The subject is immobilized as their body is attracted by the allure of sex while at the same time, their minds are suppressed by the fear of death."
Rukia's face could have been used as a stoplight. "So what you're saying is, if we weren't virgins we would be immune to this power?"
Urahara shook his head. "No, you'd just be more prepared to resist their effects. Now that you are forewarned, you should be able to recognize these feelings and be able to keep the vampire from using them to gain control of you."
"Then we don't have a problem then." Ichigo declared. "Now that we know, we should be able to resist."
"Don't get cocky." Yoruichi said "The strongest defense still has weaknesses. This is still a very dangerous mission. Even in your soul reaper form, you will still be vulnerable"
Urahara laid out a map Tessai had brought him and began marking it with X's "Going by your encounters, here, here, and here and extrapolating where Yatsutora-san was last headed here, by triangulation, I believe our head vampire is setting up a nest here."
He circled a large warehouse right in the middle of the industrial park.
"There appear to be three main entries North, East and South. If Youruichi-san and I take the North, will you be able to cover the other directions?"
Ishida put his finger on the map. "Kurosaki, if you and Kuchiki-san will take the East entrance, I'll cover the South."
"Are you sure you can do that alone Ishida-san?" Rukia asked.
"Of course not." He replied. "I'm going to get some back-up."
"I still can't believe it Ishida-kun." Orihime said as they entered the warehouse. "Vampires taking over Karakura."
"Not if we can help it." Ishida said. "Thank you again for coming out here on such short notice."
"They're my friends too." She said. "I'm sure you would all do the same if it was me."
The interior of the gloomy building seemed to stretch on for miles. Boxes and crates of long abandoned equipment lined the aisles stacked on huge industrial shelves obscuring their view. The only light came from dirty skylights placed regularly in the ceiling giving them just enough moonlight to make their way. They seemed to be walking for hours before they heard a noise.
"What was that?" Orihime whispered.
"It came from over there." Ishida whispered back.
They carefully crept towards where they heard the sound coming from. Peering around a corner, they saw Chad and Keigo carrying a coffin.
"Where do you think they're going?" Orihime asked.
Ishida shook his head. "No way of telling. I'll try following them. You head in that direction." He pointed towards the east entrance. "See if you can find Kurosaki and Kuchiki-san and bring them this way."
"Right away Ishida-kun." She replied as she headed off towards the east.
Ishida watched her until she was out of sight. Adjusting his glasses, he slipped away from the shelf he was using for cover and did his best to discretely trail his friends. He figured an arrow at the ceiling would bring help if he really needed it.
Rukia still thought this was a bad idea. In her soul reaper form, she slipped from shelf to shelf, doing her best to stay hidden while Ichigo boldly strolled down the middle of the aisle still in his body.
She muttered under her breath. "I'll be the bait he said. When I get attacked, you can take the vampire out, he said. It's the perfect trap he said. I will never listen to you again if this doesn't work you idiot."
She was having a hard time following him through the dark and gloom of the huge building. She almost yelled at him when he took a corner and vanished from her sight. She maintained cover right up to where she saw him turn. Only there was no place to turn there. The aisle kept going straight.
"Ichigo!" she hissed. "Ichigo. Where are you?"
Ichigo was not surprised to see the woman appear before him.
"Welcome young man." She said with her arms held open. "I'm afraid you're a little early. I'm stillin the process of getting set up. I'm not ready to receive guests yet."
Ichigo was not amused. "Rukia. Now."
The woman laughed. "Is that the name of your little friend? She seems to have trouble telling one direction from another. She can neither see nor hear us and is getting farther away by the second."
Ichigo frowned as he reached for his substitute shinigami badge. "Tch. Then I guess I'll just have to take care of you myself."
"Are you sure you want to do that?" She said as her eyes began to glow. "Don't you think you'd rather join me?"
Ichigo had been braced for just such an attack. He could both aspects of her power, the seductiveness and the horror. It wasn't easy, but knowing what to expect, he denied her control.
"Nice try bitch." He snarled. "You'll find I'm not that easy."
"So it would seem." She said. "Fear holds little sway over a brave young man like you and it would appear your heart is already occupied by another. Could it be someone who looks like this?"
In front of Ichigo's eyes, the woman appeared to shrink and blur. Before he knew it, she did indeed look like someone he knew.
"Rukia." He gasped.
"Would you deny me entry into your heart Ichigo?" the false Rukia said. "Can you really say no to me?"
"You're not her." Ichigo said as the force of her power seemed to increase a hundredfold. "You're still that monster."
He struggled in his mind. Logically, it was impossible for it to be Rukia standing before him with glowing eye, reaching out with her arms wide in invitation. He fought with all his might. Nonetheless, the hand holding his substitute badge slowly lowered. Soon it clattered to the ground and it fell from his nerveless fingers.
Rukia heard the wooden rattle of Ichigo's badge hitting the concrete floor. She couldn't identify it for what it was, but at least it was something to investigate. Could it be Ichigo making that noise? She ran towards it, not knowing what she would find. She was alarmed when she found the badge lying on the middle of the floor. Picking it up, she looked around for any clue to see where he went. Despite looking in all directions, she saw nothing. That's why she jumped when he suddenly appeared at the end of the aisle.
"There you are Rukia. I thought I heard you calling me."
"Ichigo, what happened?" She said as she began to scold him. "You were supposed to…"
She broke off as she saw him walk out of the gloom. He wasn't walking like he normally did. He was moving with a sinuous grace, like a cat. It was the same predatory way she had seen Keigo move. Fear began to rise in her chest as she slowly lifted her gaze, seeing the bloody wounds in his neck, the cruel mocking smile on his face, stopping just before she reached his eyes. She put her hand over her own eyes to shield them.
"What's the matter?" Ichigo asked. "You look like you're not happy to see me."
Rukia began to back away. "Ichigo. You're not yourself. The vampire has taken control of you. You have to fight it."
His evil laugh made her blood run cold. "Fight it? Why would I want to do that? I now have the power to offer the ultimate protection. I can protect people from death itself."
Rukia protested through covered eyes. "That doesn't make any sense Ichigo. You know death is not the end, you've been to the other side."
"It makes a lot of sense when you see things my way." He purred. "Here, put down your hand, look into my eyes and let me show you."
She wasn't about to do that. She kept backing away, trying to think of some way out of the situation. She was having a lot of trouble. Even though she wasn't looking in his eyes, she could still feel the pull of the temptation to give in to him just from the sound of his voice. Her back pressed up against one of the shelves. She was trapped. She could hear him walking towards her getting closer and closer.
"Kurosaki-kun? Kuchiki-san? Are you over here?"
Ichigo's head turned towards Orihime's call. The distraction gave Rukia the break she needed to scramble away and hide behind some crates. Ichigo hissed, then left in Oihime's direction.
"Kurosaki-kun! There you are!" Orihime said as she ran up to him. "You have to get Kuchiki-san and come quick. Ishida-kun found something."
"What a coincidence." Ichigo replied. "I found something too."
Orihime stopped as she picked up on the odd sound in his voice. "Kurosaki-kun. Are you alright?"
"Never better." He replied as he came closer. "Come a little closer and I'll show you."
"Oh no. They got you too?" She put her hands to her hairpins. In a flash, Ichigo was encased in amber light.
He tapped against the glowing panel, burning his finger. "Shields Orihime? What are you afraid of?"
Orhime did not lower her arms. "Kurosaki-kun, you're possessed. You need help."
"Help?" He said "But I'm the same as I've always been. Look into my eyes and you'll see."
From her hiding space Rukia could see that Ichigo was getting to Orihime. Her eyes widened and lost focus. She dropped her hands from her hairpins. Her shield faded, cracked and disappeared.
"That's more like it." Ichigo said. "You don't want to resist anymore. You want me to be with you."
Indeed, as Rukia watched, Orihime slowly reached up and began to unbutton her blouse. When they were almost totally undone, she pulled the thin cloth away from her body, baring her neck to Ichigo who reached out to take her in his arms. Her eyes started to close as Ichigo slowly lowered his head down to feed. He was so intent on his prey, he didn't notice Rukia sneaking up beside him.
"Oi, Ichigo!" she shouted.
She was shocked to see his angry snarl with protruding fangs and animal like eyes, but it just made smashing the shinigami substitute badge in his face that much easier. She hit Ichigo so hard, he rolled over several times after exiting his body before he could get up. When he did, it was not a pretty sight. He glowed blue and red and growled with fury as his body released reiatsu.
"Where is she!" he bellowed. "I'll cut her to ribbons for doing that to me!"
He began to storm off towards the western side of the warehouse.
Rukia got in front of him and held her hands out. "Ichigo, stop. You can't face the vampire again."
"Watch me." He asserted.
"Don't you see." She said. "You're obviously vulnerable. If it possessed you once, it may do it again."
"Well we can't just stay here and do nothing." He shot back.
"I'll go." Rukia stated. "You go with Orihime and find Urahara and Yoruichi. The vampire's over there, right?"
Ichigo shook her head. "Why do you have to go face it then? Why don't we just wait for back up?"
"I'll stall it so it doesn't get away." She said "Even if it gets me, it'll still give us time."
Ichigo still didn't like this. "This is still not a good idea. If it gets you, you become a tool to use against us."
"Please Ichigo." She said. "Trust me."
He sighed, ran his fingers though his hair and thought for a moment. "All right. But be careful, OK? It looks like a woman with long black hair."
Suddenly, the warehouse was lit up with a bright blue light. Ishida had fired an arrow straight at the ceiling.
"Oh, that's what I came to tell you." Orihime said. "Ishida found Chad and Keigo doing something. I was supposed to come get you."
Ishida's improvised flare was closer this time.
"Looks like he's headed this way." Ichigo said. He looked over at Rukia. "I'm still not happy about this. We'll stay here and help Ishida. You go ahead and take out that bitch."
Rukia gave him a confident smile. "I'll be back before you know it."
She took off into the gloom. It wasn't long before Ishida ran in from the opposite direction.
"There you are Kurosaki!" he shouted. "Didn't you see my signal? Do you have any idea what kind of trouble we're in? I…"
He stopped abruptly as his gaze rested on Orihime. He quickly looked away blushing furiously.
"Uh, Inoue-san, um, you're, uh, you're blouse."
"Huh?" she said. "What's wrong with my blouse? Oh!"
Noticing her shirt was open to the navel, it was her turn to blush as she hurriedly buttoned up.
"Anyway," Ishida continued with his eye averted. "We've got trouble. They're right behind me."
"Who's right behind you?" Ichigo asked.
His question was answered by the shelving in front of him exploding into wood and metal shards. Flanked by Keigo and Mizuro, Chad towered before him with dripping fangs and glowing red eyes.
"Oh crap." Ichigo moaned.
Rukia moved forward with her Zampakuto already drawn. She was taking no chances.
"I see you took away one of my pets." The vampire said from on top of a stack of crates.
Rukia flash-stepped to her, swinging Sode no Shirayuki in a killing stroke. She was already gone.
"I came to this city because I was attracted to the unusually high level of spirit energy." The vampire continued from her seat on a box on the floor. "I figured setting up a nest here would be advantageous with lots of strong men around to pick for my harem."
"Hadō 31, Shakkahō!" Rukia shouted shooting a red ball of fire at her. It struck air. The vampire was now leaning up against the wall. "I should have figured I would have to deal with shinigami as well. How tiresome. I suppose I will just have to incorporate you into my plans."
Rukia didn't answer, charging in to take advantage of her enemy's slack posture. To her annoyance, the vampire simply dodged around her thrusts and cuts, carrying on the conversation as if she were at a tea party.
"I hadn't really planned on brining any females into my little family, let alone a shinigami, but I like your style." Its eyes began to glow a lurid red. "Would you consider joining me?"
Rukia could feel the pull as the creature tried to use its influence on her. She used her anger and the adrenaline coursing through her system to ignore it.
"Sorry," she snarled through gritted teeth, "you're not my type!"
"No?" the vampire said. "How about now?"
To Rukia's astonishment, the creature's flesh seemed to flow and twist, until a new form stood before her. She froze in mid-attack.
"Ichigo." She gasped. Her mind immediately denied what was in front of her, even as her body responded to the undead creature's power.
"You don't want to strike me down, do you Rukia?" The fake Ichigo asked.
It was so convincing. Even its voice was just like Ichigo's own. Rukia shook her head and put Sode no Shirayuki in guard position.
The thing continued. "If you just let me in, we can be together forever. Don't you want that?"
Slowly, the tip of Rukias sword began to shake. Soon is started to lower.
"It would make me happy if you did." The creature said. "You would never be lonely anymore. "
The sword continued its slow decent.
The thing pretending to be Ichigo smiled. "After all, who wouldn't want to ne with a woman as sweet and gentle and beautiful as you. Your kindness and loving voice are things I couldn't live without as we walk into eternity. Please Rukia, don't fight me anymore. Let me into your heart. After all, I'm already there. Right?"
With a slight clank of steel on concrete, Rukia let the tip of Sode no Shirayuki touch the floor. Her eyes were wide and staring, her face a blank. The vampire's smile widened to an evil grin. It stepped closer holding out its arms, preparing to wrap around her in a dark embrace.
Rukia suddenly smiled. "Gotcha!"
She swung Sode no Shirayuki up from the floor, slashing the creature from hip to shoulder! The monster's illusion vanished, showing a stringy haired, lizard skinned creature with foul, yellowed fangs and filthy ragged claws.
"How?" the creature screamed. "I had you mesmerized! How is that possible?"
"Acting!" Rukia declared as she swung for the creatures head. "And just for the record, Ichigo never talks that way!"
Badly wounded as it was, it couldn't move fast enough to do more than block. It screamed in agony as Rukia lopped it hand off. It backed away as Rukias attacks hit home again and again. Even as they fought, Rukia could see the creature was rapidly regenerating. She couldn't give it time to recover. Leaping onto one of the shelves out of her reach, the saw the monster's body stretch and change as it began to form wings.
"Oh no you don't!" Rukia said as the vampire launched itself into the air. "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"
The wave of ice swept upward at exactly the right time, encasing the foul creature and bringing it crashing with finality to the ground.
"Is that it?" Rukia wondered aloud as she panted in exhaustion. "Is it finally over?"
""Fraid not." Yoruichi said as she strolled into view. "It's still not completely dead."
"Brrr, Kuchiki-san." Urahara said as he walked around the frozen vampire. "Remind me not to get you mad at me."
"Where have you been?" Rukia demanded. "Did you just now get here?"
"Of course not Kuchiki-san." He said while fanning himself. "We've been over there watching you the whole time."
"You seemed to be doing such a good job, we hated to interrupt." Yoruichi added.
Rukia's mouth opened and closed as she tried to find a good response to that. "Wha, I uh, I mean you coulda… I, uh. Thanks?"
The older woman ignored Rukias sputtering and kneeled down next to the frozen monster.
"There are several ways to kill a vampire." She said. "But in this case, I think a simple beheading will do."
Reaching into her jacket, she pulled out a kunai. Looking over the ice carefully, she held it up and brought it down in a sharp, precise strike. A crack formed, rapidly fracturing along the grain until the crack went right across the vampires throat. With a creak and a groan, the slab of ice with the creature's head still in it slid off and fell to the floor, shattering into a thousand shards.
"Now we're done." Yoruichi said with a flourish.
As Rukia watched, the remains of the vampire began to turn to dust as it thawed.
"After all that struggling, this seems a little anticlimactic." She said.
"You think that's bad?" Yoruichi said. "I have to wait around until this all melts so the dust gets properly disposed."
Urahara gently placed his hand on Rukia's shoulder and turned her around. "You've done a fine job Kuchiki-san, but we can handle it from here. I suggest you go find your friends and go home. They should all be back to normal by now. Well, at least as normal as they can get."
Ichigo rubbed his neck for the hundredth time.
"I never want to go through that again. That was the creepiest thing that's ever happened to me."
Rukia reflected on her recent experience as well as she walked next to Ichigo. It was a lot to take in.
"I mean the way that thing crawled inside your head and forced you to do and think things you never would do, argh, I just want to scrub my brain with steel wool, you know."
Now that she thought about it, how would Ichigo approach her if he wanted to be with her for eternity? Hypothetically speaking? Not with flowery phrases about her being sweet and gentle, that's for sure.
"Well at least everybody went back to normal. Chad almost had me on the ropes a couple of times there."
No, hypothetically if Ichigo wanted her that way, he'd probably scowl worse than ever and say something like, "Hey, short stuff. Get over here." and expect her to know what he meant. His sisters were right. He didn't know anything about romance. She giggled at the thought.
"Huh? What's so funny Rukia?" Ichigo asked.
"Oh nothing." She replied. "My train of thought jumped the tracks in a funny spot, that's all."
He scowled at her. "I think we need to get you home and get you to bed. You're still acting weird."
"Speak for yourself." She shot back. "You're the last person to be judging who's weird or not."
"Tch, whatever." He snorted as he continued heading for home.
Rukia smiled behind his back before catching up. No, she wouldn't come rushing into his arms if he ever approached her with his usual style and charm. She's definitely refuse to fall for such clumsy and crude advances. At least at first. Hypothetically.
As Ichigo plodded along next to her sulking in silence she decided he needed some cheering up. A song should do it.
"Friendship festival, you're invited…"
"Oh Geez, Rukia, not now" he whined.
"All our friends are here, I'm excited…"
"Please stop?"
The End.