A New Life:
Chapter 1, Impossible
Rukia felt her body shake as tears racked her body. The whole thing was impossible. Impossible. It couldn't be happening.
She felt an arm around her slim shoulders and looked up with red eyes to Renji. He looked down at her with red eyes as well. He also couldn't believe what had happened, but he knew that he couldn't even come close to what Rukia was feeling, what she had gone through.
The whole thing was impossible. The man who had defeated so many enemies, who had taken on the Soul Society, and won, the man defeated his own hollow, the man who had taken down Lord Aizen, and more importantly, has won Rukia's heart.
Ichigo Kurosaki had gone to Hell and back, literally, and gave up everything to protect the people he loved. He had knocked on Death's door many times, but was never let in. Until now.
Rukia's was heart broken. She held a piece of his shattered zanpakutō to her chest, trying to find something. Anything that would let her know that this was just a joke, Ichigo was still alive, but found nothing but a piece of metal. Usually, when a soul reaper died, their zanpakutō broke in half, but Ichigo's shattered.
Captain Kurotsuchi told her that that meant that Ichigo's soul was gone. It wouldn't go back to the world of the living, she wouldn't see it again. Ichigo was gone forever.
That was a shock on his family, his friends, and most of all, her.
Looking behind her, Rukia saw Ishida, Orihime, Chad, Ichigo's family, everyone. They were all holding a fragment of Zangetsu.
Orihime was crying, almost as bad as Rukia. Ishida was comforting her, but to no avail. After Ichigo was gone, she finally admitted to everyone that she had loved Ichigo, but never said anything. "Now," she had said, "That will always be my biggest regret."
Ichigo's younger sisters, Yuzu and Karin, were crying so hard, they had to sit down. Karin, who considered herself a tomboy and punched her father every time he tried to comfort her, was sobbing into her father's chest alongside Yuzu.
"Rukia." Rukia's older brother, Byakyua, called her.
She detached herself from Renji and walked up to her brother, who was standing at the front of the meeting room, where they were holding the ceremony for Ichigo. All the captains were there, even the Head Captain himself.
Rukia looked down at what was left of Ichigo. The hilt of his zanpakutō, his black kimono, the red chain that he had kept wrapped around his chest. Rukia gently wrapped her hand around the hilt of Zangetsu, and tried to lift it. To her surprise, it lifted easily. When Ichigo was alive, what made his sword so heavy to anyone other to him was that it was heavy with his spirit energy. But now, it was as light as any other shattered hilt.
Covering her mouth with her hand, Rukia fell to her knees; letting Zangetsu slip out of her hand as gut-wrenching sobs hit her body, wave after wave. Renji and Byakyua were at her side immediately.
The silver blade zoomed toward her. Even in her bankai state, Rukia wasn't fast enough to move out of the way. Her eyes widened when she realized that she was still locked in the too-powerful kido. A flash of black, and then something wet hit her face. The kido vanished and she was able to wipe her face. Rukia looked down at her hand, and started when she saw red.
"Ichigo!" A voice cried out. Renji. Rukia looked up and froze when she saw the silver sword protruding through Ichigo's chest, his own black blade held out to the side, covered in blood. The monster that had done all this, its head hit the ground as Ichigo joined it.
"Ichigo!" This time, it was Rukia's voice that pierced the air. She leapt up, injuries forgotten, and caught Ichigo as he fell. A blur, and the captains that had accompanied them, only to be ambushed, were there. But they didn't do anything. They knew that that blade was made of negative energy, and they could do nothing to stop it from spreading through Ichigo's already fading form.
Rukia noticed that for a few split seconds, she could see right through Ichigo, and that he was suddenly light during that time.
"No! No!" She screamed. "Don't leave me. Ichigo, don't go!" She hugged him to her chest and was mortified to find that she actually felt her hands pass through him. It was impossible. This was impossible. He could not go. He could not leave her again. This was not happening. Rukia refused to believe it.
"Heh." Ichigo said. "Rukia, you're choking me." She loosened her grip and looked down at Ichigo, his head lying in her lap.
He reached up and touched her face, his eyes sad as the last pieces of his mask fell off. "Don't be sad, okay?"
"Huh?" How could she not be sad? The man she loved was dyeing in her arms!
"Don't be sad." Ichigo repeated. "I can't stand to see you sad. It's not a good look for you."
"Oh shut it." Rukia said, but smiled all the same. It started to rain, and she bent over Ichigo to keep the rain off his face.
He smiled back and wrapped his hand around her hair and tugged her head down. She complied and pressed his lips to his. It was the first time, and the last time she had kissed Ichigo. His lips tasted slightly of blood and strawberries.
Ichigo whispered into her lips, "I love you." She replied, "I love you too," but didn't here a reply. She looked down and saw Ichigo's brown eyes staring into hers as the light faded.
Rukia was sobbing at the front of the room, the sound loud in the almost quiet room. The captains were silent, even Kenpachi and his lieutenant.
Two figures stood at the back of the room. They were not sad, didn't see the reason. They were both clad in long black cloaks and hoods that covered identical kimonos, identical long blades, and identical faces, except for the eyes and hair color. The first figure had white hair, yellow on black eyes, and his blade was white. The other, his hair was orange, he had brown eyes, and his sword was black. They were both tall and of equal height, equal build, closer then twins. They didn't see the need to cry or feel sorrow; it was pointless, just like all other emotions. Emotions just got in the way.
"Lets go." The white haired one said before turning around and walking to the massive double doors.
"Right." The carrot top said. The white haired man's voice was almost exactly like the other man's, but his voice was twisted, higher pitched. The red head started to follow, but stopped. He looked at the crying figures clustered in the room. Their spiritual pressure was being released due to the lack of concentration. Another reason why emotions like empathy and sorrow were useless. The stench of their spiritual pressure was suffocating. The two men had to get out of there; they couldn't breathe. But the he couldn't leave just yet. His eyes followed the sobbing Rukia as she walked back to her friends. The Head Captain stood up and started talking, but the carrot top gave no attention.
Rukia then looked up and around, as if feeling his eyes on her. Noticing this, he put his head down, his hood falling farther and covering more of his face. He turned quickly and followed his partner, who was waiting at the door.
But in that turn, a small chunk of his hair fell out of his hood and swayed in the speed of the turn. He knew that the young soul reaper caught that glimpse, but hopefully, she would drop it as a fragment of her imagination, conjured up by her sorrow and wish for the man she loved. He couldn't do anything about it now. Besides, him and his twin had a job to do. Ichigo Kurosaki and his hollow had a new occupation.