Disclaimer: I do not in anyway own Bleach. Tite Kubo owns it and it is better off that way. :)
IchiRuki prologue: If you're reading this then you must like or have a slight interest in IchiRuki. I like IchiRuki; you like IchiRuki. We all like IchiRuki.
Read. Relish. Review.
The weather was turning on him. It started off as a peaceful, restful day. Now, the storm was rising closer and closer to the city. He should have been at home with his family. He should have been away from where he stood. Standing in front of the heart of the storm, the waves crashing upon one another, and the sky transforming from a tranquil light blue to a dangerous gray he knew he should not have been there.
He continued to walk down the boardwalk as if it was his green mile.
Lightning struck the air. Thunder roared. The wind grew angry with him, pushing him back in a threatening way. She didn't want him to enter where he knew where he belonged. She didn't want him to feel the sense of liberation. He was a stubborn young man. He held no anger to nature, but he was not one to abide by the rules society expected him to follow. He was not going to follow the rules of nature.
He made it to the edge.
He could hear the sirens, the wails. They were preparing for the incoming storm. Sandbags were piled by the shore, separating the sea from land. Men in black raincoats, even women in black rain coats were piling together, willing to fight off Mother Nature for a few more hours. He was sure his father was there, or he was on his way to it.
His father didn't know he was there.
He wasn't going to let him find out, not like this.
To be one with mother nature was what he wanted, but he also held the willpower to challenge her. He had no desire to submit to her rule, and he would refuse any pressure to do so.
What he was doing, it was stupid.
He knew it.
The moment he left the house he knew what he was going to do. Each step was a sign of his defiance, his rebellion. Each step told him that there was no other way, and the only way out of this was to do what he was about to do.
He had to loosen his muscles. It was important that he loosen his muscles. Stretching his muscles, he could feel the tight coils inside were stretching, relieving them of the stress put on them. He bent back, hearing the sharp cracking sounds in his back. In his perspective, it was a good sign. He couldn't afford for anything to be out of place or tightened; he had to be loose, his body and mind.
The storm was approaching quickly. The wind became more demanding, the sea was angrier, the lightening and thunder roared and struck on. All of the elements were going against him, they didn't want him to go in. They didn't want him to sync with the sea; they didn't want him to sync with her.
Her.
His heart swelled. Any thoughts of her made him react that way. Impulsive, arrogant, affectionate. She made him into something he never believed he could or would be, and at the same time he was the same person. He fought for her. He gave everything he had to give. Still, it was not enough.
The storm drew on.
The volunteers got louder, stubborn.
If he did this, most likely he will die. His heart probably couldn't take it. His mind probably couldn't handle the stress. His body would break down from the pressure. All the well, the elements were. They were against him. No one thought he would succeed, and when he did they would be green envy because in all honesty they didn't want him to succeed.
His judgment was final.
His resolve was clear.
He opened his amber, brown eyes. Full of life, full of vigor. He looked on into the storm without fear, and while the volunteers made their final preparations, he made his. This was the moment he had been waiting for without realizing it.
So many years.
So long he had waited.
He had no reasons. He had no drives.
She did. She had reasons. She had drives.
She had so much.
That was what compelled him to her.
The shine in her eyes, the scent of her hair, the curve of her body.
Her drive.
Her happiness, her anger, her emotion.
Ichigo had made a promise to her. He was going to keep it. He was a man of his word.
Stop.
No, he wasn't going to. This was the final judgment; man versus nature. Stories always went to the side of nature, but not this time, he would win.
He heard a crack. The boardwalk was old, older than most, and it could barely hold his weight. He wasn't going to be up for long. The rain was stinging him now; whipping and slapping into his face, he closed his eyes to make the pain pass. The wind had become violent; even with his weight he couldn't stand upright. He stumbled from left to right. The waves were getting higher; water splashed on him, pushing him back, but he didn't fall.
The rain. Each rain drop was a memory of her fell on his face, stinging, burning him.
"Sir?"
One of the men in the black raincoats had seen him. Carefully, he made his way to the boardwalk, making sure he didn't get on it fully. He was far enough to where Ichigo could hear him.
"Hey Sir, you shouldn't be up there! Get down!"
He didn't respond. He was stalling, and his legs remained glued to the weakened wood. Even the painted colors on the wood had either been washed away by the water or stripped off by the years.
"The storm! Its getting down, what are you doing?"
He made a promise to her.
Kurosaki Ichigo was a man of his word. He wasn't going to fail her, not now. He failed her once before, and he would not allow it to happen again.
The man in the black raincoat called out to him again, "Sir, Sir please get down from there. You'll die if you don't!"
It was a high probability, but Ichigo could feel that he would outmatch nature.
"Are you insane!"
Putting himself into position, forcing his eyes to stay open for the descend, Ichigo plunged in. In that moment he seemed so much like a professional swimmer. His arms pointed downwards, his body straight, and his eyes focused, he left the world of land without a grimace. The man in the black raincoat cried out frantically to him before running off to report to the other volunteers of what he had witnessed.
It was a good day to swim.
The water wasn't cold. The rain had caused his body to warm up, and when he hit the water he didn't feel the instant rush of coolness as he normally would when he swam in any type of water. At first, it was difficult, the currents and waves thrashing him around challenged him. Somehow he found a way to push his arms and legs, taking control of the situation. He took adult steps in contrast to baby ones, and he went further out to sea.
Deeper, deeper, and deeper he went into the dark abyss.
Oblivion.
The deeper he plunged, regardless of his limited air supply, the more alive he felt.
It had been too long.
Too many years. Too many years of waiting.
The rush made him feel alive again.
Hopefully, she too would feel alive again. He knew she needed it more than him.
This was the ending.
This was the beginning.
Ichigo knew it all depended on him at how it would end. His actions kept the pendulum working; the rotation of the world was in his watery currents. As he continued to swim deeper into the dark, watery depths of abyss he held onto that fact. It was his silver lining of hope.
I made a promise to her. I am a man of my word.
A/N: End of prologue. If I receive reviews or any sort of feedback, reviews are loved as well, I will update this baby. I hope you all enjoyed the shortness; I had fun writing it.
Have a great and safe weekend!