Written for deathberryprompts' weekly prompt, 'horror'.
Broken Glass
by hashtagartistlife
There's something to be said for the horror of relative normalcy in the midst of a war.
Because — Ichigo never lets himself forget it – they are still at war, all of them; to forget even for a moment could prove fatal. Even if the horizons are clear and mornings dawn bright and tranquil, even if the night comes smooth and velvety and the streets ring of children's laughter, even if none of them are coming home every night with blood on their uniforms—
They are at war. Yhwach is still out there. And all the domestic happiness that surrounds him seems like nothing short of a horror film, being played on loop.
Why won't anyone around him see—
"Ichigo?"
Her voice is soft, concerned; as it has been all the time, recently. A gentle brush of fingertips against his forearm has him leaping out of his skin.
"Don't—" he jerks away from her violently, backing out of the balcony—"don't, Rukia, you know what this could mean—"
"Ichigo." There's a pleading in her eyes these days that Ichigo isn't used to seeing, and it twists something deep in his heart, makes him ache like he's got saltwater between his bones. "Ichigo, we talked about this, you know the war's over now—"
"It's not, I swear to god, Rukia, it's not, and I don't know why everyone's forgotten but me—"
"Ichigo!" she flings herself at him so fast he doesn't even have time to react. He raises his arms defensively, and hers lock around his back as if to keep him from running. (As if he would ever want to be anywhere else, he thinks). "Please, Ichigo, come back home, the war's over, it's been over for a while, you're safe, what do I have to do to convince you—"
There are tears trembling in her voice, and that is what undoes him; slowly, he lowers his arms and settles them around her.
"S…afe?" he asks, tentative, and she turns her face up to him hopefully.
"Yes, Ichigo. You're safe, I promise you, we all are—"
"Promise?" The question is more childish than he would have liked, but he is beyond caring; he is just so tired. All he would like to do is put down his lonely load and rest a while; hold Rukia in his arms without fear of repercussions and breathe in the jasmine scent of her hair—
"I promise, Ichigo. Oh, god, I promise you're safe. We're ok, I'm going to protect you, I love you so much—"
A wave of unadulterated terror, sheer and vertiginous, washes over him; the eyelids that had been drifting shut over amber-brown eyes snap open and he shoves her away from him. She stumbles into his closet door, but her wide eyes hold no reproach, only an awful sort of resignation; she reaches out to him again. "Ichigo—"
He runs. Turns and does not look back, past Rukia, past his father, past his sisters who try to stop him with surprised expressions—past the glass doors of their clinic and way beyond his tiny street. He wants to run so far that he leaves everything familiar behind, washes himself clean of any possible traces of happiness that might linger on him like a disease. His palms, empty of Rukia's warmth, sting in the evening air; the 'I love you' still ringing in his ears is drowned out by the pumping of his heart and other, more sinister words.
'For in that one moment in time where each of you feel the greatest amount of joy and happiness, that is when I shall slaughter you.'
He runs, but he can't outrun that voice; he runs, but he can't outrun his love for Rukia. He runs, but he doesn't know if he can outrun the happiness that slithers up and coils round his throat like a tangible thing whenever he she tells him she loves him. Her love, like a noose around his neck; slowly choking him to death.
He can't fight it. He can't fight her.
Because how do you fight, when you love the thing that's killing you more than your own life?
…. In case it's not 100% clear, basically: Ichigo is dwelling on Yhwach's warning in Chapter 680 and shunning all possible chances of happiness; why no-one else seems to take Yhwach's threat seriously is left deliberately ambiguous, though. Is the war truly not over, and Ichigo's the only sane one left? Or conversely, is the war truly over, and Ichigo's the one going insane? Is all of it a future vision provided courtesy of Yhwach? Take your pick.