His eyes widened at the news.
Rukia?
Dead?
Impossible.
Impossible.
Impossibleimpossibleimpossibleimpossible.
IMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLE
IMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBLEIMPOSSIBL
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-
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Rukia.
Ichigo twisted away from the tearstreaked arrancar, expression unscrutiable.
"Where are you going?"
The frikkin' hollow-shinigami's resonant voice rang through the chamber, chilling Ichigo to the bone marrow.
"To save Rukia."
Honestly, he was just glad his voice didn't crack.
"Even though I told you she died."
"I don't believe you."
Even as his resolve hardened in him, began to take substant form, the other part of him, the smart part, the part that got A's on his test, was scared crapless.
Luckily, that part was a lot smaller than the stupid one.
He had taken only a few more steps before the arrancar's voice filled the vast chamber again.
"So stubborn... Is it really alright for you to leave without killing me?"
"I don't have a reason to fight you."
Even as he walked towards Rukia's fading spiritual pressure, he felt doubt begin to squeeze its way into his thoughts.
What if she really was dead?
Impossible.
Okay, then what if she's dying right now?
Impossible.
Well, then what if she dies from some wounds right after you kill whatever hurt her?
IMPOSSIBLE.
Then, unbidden, came the memory of their last spoken words.
Renji's hand lay there, a barrier.
A wall.
A shield.
Blocking HIM, Ichigo, from RUKIA, the one HE PROTECTS.
"Enough already," Renji's voice seemed to echo in the sudden silence. "Worrying about a warrior's life on the battle field... is only an insult."
Ichigo's eyes were on Rukia, however.
Say something!
Don't just let him tell you what to do!
But she only stared back, as cursed unreadable as ever.
Then she took a breath, and a spark of hope kindled in Ichigo's chest.
"Moving together, huh? No doubt this is because you're worried about me." Che, there she goes again, thinking so highly of herself. AS IF!
-
...Agh, why did it hurt so much?
-
"Just as I said before. 'Don't waste your concern on me.'"
WHAT?! AS IF I CARE AT ALL!!
"I didn't come here..." Her eyes opened, piercing him, seeming to stare straight to the bare depths of his soul, vulnerable. "...Just to be protected by you!"
FINE! RUKIA! FINE! HAVE IT YOUR WAY!
--
The espada's -Ulquiorra's- voice rang out again.
"What if I were to tell you that I... was the one who brought Inoue Orihime to Hueco Mundo in the first place?"
Anger flooded into him, trickling into his thoughts; Ichigo had been waiting for this kind of oppurtunity.
Lightning fast, his blade was drawn and swung, and all his frustration and problems and anger and messed up-ness were forgotten as he surrendered to the pull of the fight.
Now, finally, an excuse to fight.
