Terms to Know
Souls: The aliens that invaded Earth. They are basically incapable of surviving outside of a Cryo-Tank (basically a freezing chamber), or a host body. They insert themselves into humans by going through a cut made on the back of the person's neck and connecting it's limbs to the different parts of the human brain. In their regular forms they are small and silvery, and very fluid. When in a host their regular bodies reflect through the person's eyes, creating a ring of silver around the pupil, which reflects when it is hit by light. They are often referred to as centipedes, worms, or parasites by the free humans. Souls are a primarily peaceful, pacifists species, who dislike fighting or even words of violence.
Seekers: One of the Callings (jobs) for a soul. It is their job to round of hosts for the Souls. Unlike most Souls, Seekers do not mind violence, though they try to avoid it if at all possible. They will resort to anything to capture a body that could be used as a host. On Earth, the Seekers became a militia. Unlike most of the planets the souls have taken (a grand total of about fourteen), the humans fought back. They wage a war against the Seekers, who wage one right back. Most humans fear the Seekers, knowing that if they are captured, it will be by these less civilized, least evolved souls.
Quick Note (please read!): Okay, yes, Rukia and Ichigo are a bit like Jared and Melanie. But I said this wasn't going to be exactly like The Host and I meant it. It's a storyline that's all my own, really (well, as all my own as FanFiction can be). So, that said, on with the show
Heart and Soul — I
—:—:—May 23, 2016—:—:—
—Two Years Later—
Would this be how she died? After six years of outrunning Seekers, falling asleep to the rumbles of an empty stomach, after watching both her siblings die, would this be the end for her?
Ichigo. She had to find Ichigo before she died. And she had to murder him.
A rough hand grabbed the back of Rukia's short and dragged her up. Without warning, cold air, air soaked with water, assaulted her raw, burning lungs. She coughed and choked as she gasped for air, then realized she had no clue who had saved her. She twisted around, and her violet eyes caught sight of a familiar shock of orange. She resisted the urge to shove the orange head back under. The waves were too big for her to fight off alone.
It was a relief to touch solid ground. The two teens fell to the knees and doubled over, gasping for breath. "That…was…stupid." Ichigo finally managed to choke out.
"You…think?!" Rukia shouted, coughing. Thunder nearly drowned out her voice, but she was right next to Ichigo's ear. "Jump into the water to escape the Seekers, that's brilliant, Ichigo!"
"You agreed, you went with me!" He shouted back.
"I'd rather die than be a parasite."
"Then what's the big deal?"
"I'd rather not die!"
"Is there any way to make you happy?!"
"No!"
"I didn't think so!"
Amber and violet eyes stared each other down with similar fire sparking in their depths. "Well, neither of us are dead." Ichigo said finally, stumbling up. "And neither of us have worms in our heads, so let's call it a day and head back to the car, all right?"
He stood. Rukia stumbled up as well — her legs felt like rubber. Ichigo assessed her for a moment, then scooped her into his arms and started running. "H-Hey!" She protested, her teeth chattering. Rain drops beat against her face like rocks. "Put me d-down!"
"We'll get their faster without you running." Ichigo didn't break pace. Rukia resigned herself and reached behind Ichigo, pulling his hood over his wet, spiky locks, hiding his vividly orange hair, a beacon in the dark, stormy night. "Thanks." He grumbled. He hated it when she remembered things he didn't.
They'd left the car on the edge of town. It was a small black thing, completely inconspicuous. Good for driving at night, which was mostly what they did. Ichigo had stolen it about a year ago so they could expand on their stealing area. It made getting around a lot easier — and more to the point, they could bring more food back, which meant having to go out less. When it wasn't being used, Ichigo hid it in a rock formation, covered by a blanket of moss. He broke it out when it came time for raids.
Raids. Something Ichigo was especially good at. His talent for stealing would have been frowned upon in their old world. But in the world of the souls, it was the only way to live. Pilfer, steal to survive.
It was a dangerous world.
They found the car where they had left it. It blended so well with the dark, rainy scene that, had they not known where to look, they never would have found it.
They were both soaking wet and shivering when they scrambled in. Ichigo drove, as always. He was fairly good, considering he was a self-taught driver.
"Slow." Rukia reminded Ichigo as they pulled out and started driving.
"I know."
"You always know. And yet we still ended up running from Seekers that time—"
"Shut up!" Ichigo snapped, his eyes on the road. He kept his speed carefully below the limit. "Why do you always feel the need to point out all my stupid little mistakes?"
"Because it's the only form of entertainment we have around here."
Ichigo growled under his breath, his hands tightening around the wheel. Rukia knew he was imagining tightening them around her neck. But he would never really hurt her.
They drove mostly in silence, as always. Rukia didn't like distracting Ichigo, and anyways he wasn't much of a talker. They got to the car's hiding spot just before sunrise.
Their trunk was full of the night's spoils. Five paper shopping bags, a duffel bag, and a backpack all full of food. A case of plastic water bottles, pilfered from a storage area behind a store. Enough to last about two months. And they ate sparingly.
Ichigo took the water. Rukia took all the food. They liked getting everything over to their hideout in one trip. Going back felt like tempting fate.
"Going down." Ichigo said with a flourish as he dropped the water bottles down into the black hole that was home. "You have the batteries?"
"Yeah…somewhere." She started patting her jacket pockets with her fists, still clenching the bags. "Of course I could have lost them in the water — you know, I went into the water because my idiot friend — oh, here they are!"
Ichigo glared daggers at Rukia as she pulled the plastic wrapped batteries from her pocket. He snatched them away and stalked over to the table where they had left their lantern and put the batteries in. "Let there be light." He murmured as he turned the little lantern on. He grabbed the handle and went back to Rukia, who handed him two bags. "Yeah, yeah, you want help, I know—"
He took the bags and dropped into the hole. Rukia waited, but no crunching noise reached her ears, alerting her that he had landed on he water. Again.
"Move it, I'm coming down."
And she jumped. The hole wasn't too far off the ground. When she had first come to stay here, she had forced Ichigo to catch her, for fear of hurting herself. It didn't phase her now though.
"All right, perishables first."
Ichigo ripped open the backpack and took out the bowl of chicken and rice they had stolen from a house. With no way to refrigerate the stuff, they had to eat it right away. So Ichigo grabbed their spoons, they each grabbed a chicken leg, and they started eating. Even cold, it was practically a feast.
"The parasites are pretty good cooks." Rukia commented as they ate. Ichigo, his mouth full of food, just nodded. It didn't take long for them to polish out the Tupperware bowl. They threw it into a corner where they kept the other bowls they had stolen. It was a big pile.
"Here." Ichigo tossed Rukia a water bottle, already sipping his own. They both drank deeply. For the longest time they had been drinking river water. Even warm, the bottled water tasted a lot better. "How's your leg?" Ichigo asked after a few minutes of silence. Rukia looked down at her torn pant leg. At the last house she had stupidly tripped while they had tried to get out. She had been holding a knife to use as a weapon, and it had jammed into her leg.
"Fine." She said now, rubbing her leg. "More embarrassed then hurt, I can't believe I did that."
"That's you for ya though." Ichigo laughed. Rukia screwed the cap back on her water bottle and threw it at his head. He grumbled and glared at her, amber eyes reproachful. "Ah go to bed. It's been a long night."
"That's my line." Rukia muttered as she walked over to the twin mattress with the bunny blanket and dropped onto it. She hadn't questioned Ichigo when he had brought it for her, hadn't asked how he had gotten it, nor how he had known about her slight obsession with rabbits. She had been too delighted. Nights in the small basement often turned cold, though she never complained. She'd thought herself lucky just to have her own mattress (before Ichigo had stolen her one — she could never figure out the secret to his talent for pilfering — they had played Rock, Paper, Scissors for the one bed — it had often ended in a wrestling match, as Ichigo accused Rukia of cheating — which she did). Ichigo's own mattress and blanket were things salvaged from his house. It sat against the wall opposite Rukia's.
"I'm gonna kill the lantern." Ichigo said as Rukia crawled under the covers. "I need to sleep too."
"Yeah, no kidding." They were plunged into darkness.
"G'night." Ichigo murmured. "Or…morning, however you want to look at it."
"Whatever." Rukia muttered. She fell asleep at once.
"Why are we leaving?" Ten-year-old Rukia asked her sister. Hisana shrugged as she untied and retied Rukia's shoes. It was something she did to keep herself occupied.
"I don't know, Rukia. Mom and Dad just called and told us to be ready. They've been acting really weird lately, have you noticed, Byakuya?"
Their older brother shrugged. "They've been a lot more easy going lately, if that's what you mean."
"Well, yeah. Like the other day. You know, when Rukia broke that vase in the hall. They didn't yell or anything, they didn't even send her to her room."
Rukia remembered that. She had been running around the house, something her parents had told her constantly not to do, when she had run into the table holding the small, expensive vase. Her parents had acted like it didn't matter though. They hadn't even scolded her.
"I think the world's gone out of whack." Hisana continued. "It's not just Mom and Dad, it's…everyone. They're all acting so…so…nice. Miyako was telling me that her step-father just turned himself into rehab. He's been drinking for fifteen years, why the sudden change?"
"Renji's parents have been acting weird too." Rukia piped up. "You know, too nice. And…"
She hesitated, remembering the pact they had made. "What?" Hisana prompted the fidgeting girl.
"Well, Renji and I said we wouldn't tell anyone, because it's so weird, but…"
Hisana and Byakuya waited patiently. "The last time I slept over there, we were outside playing flashlight tag — you know, after dark like we always do — and Renji's dad came out to tell us to come in, and we turned our flashlights on him, and the light hit his face and his eyes…they were…something was wrong with them."
Byakuya looked interested now. "What was wrong?" Hisana asked.
"Something kind of…silvery was shining back at us." Rukia realized how stupid she sounded. But Hisana and Byakuya didn't laugh. They were taking her seriously.
The sound of a car pulling into the driveway alerted them to their parents arrival. Byakuya stood and went upstairs. Hisana moved to sit on the couch with Rukia.
Their father led their mother in. Both of them looked calm and composed. "Where is Byakuya?" Kuchiki Yuomaru asked, looking at his two daughters.
"He went upstairs to get something." Hisana said, imitating her father's indifferent tone. "He'll be down in a minute. Where are we going?"
"You'll see when we get there." Kuchiki Aiko spoke up. Hisana took Rukia's hand.
A bright light flashed across the room suddenly, illuminating the faces of the older Kuchikis. And, just like with the Abarais, silver flashed out of their eyes, reflecting in the light.
"Where are our parents?" Byakuya asked calmly, turning to flashlight off. Hisana dragged Rukia off the couch, over to where their brother was standing. Yuomaru and Aiko stayed calm as their eldest children glared them down. Rukia was just confused. What was going on?
"What are you talking about, son? We're standing right here."
Hisana pushed Rukia behind her, shielding the small girl with her body. Not that it made any difference. Hisana and Rukia had inherited the short genes in the family. Their brother and their parents both towered over them.
"Rukia. Baby. You know who we are, don't you?" Aiko asked, looking down at the child. Rukia shook as she gripped Hisana's hand a little tighter.
"Our parents." Byakuya broke in. "What have you done to them?"
The two adults shook their heads and stepped forward. "Really, Byakuya…we'll talk in the car. Come on, it's time to go—"
Byakuya reacted faster than Hisana or Rukia could follow. His hand flew up and his wrist flicked. The flashlight flew across the room, nailing their father in the head. Aiko hesitated long enough for Byakuya to grab Hisana (who was still holding Rukia's hand), and drag both his sisters through the kitchen and out the back door. They'd barely cleared the door, and then they were running, their feet pounding across the lawn as they ran for the woods behind their house. Rukia stumbled in her siblings' wake, still utterly confused. Why had Byakuya attacked their father? Why were they running away now? What was going on?
"I don't get it." Rukia huffed as they ran deeper into the woods. They could hear the parents shouting, calling their names. "Nee-san, Nii-sama…what's going on?"
"We don't know Rukia. But we're going to find out. I promise."
Rukia's mind brought her back to the present. But though she was awake, she was unwilling to let go of the dream. Her last day of peace and happiness. She wished it could have lasted forever.
"You were talking in your sleep again."
Damn Ichigo, always knowing when she was awake. "You kept saying Byakuya's and Hisana's names. I take it you were dreaming about them?"
"Yeah." Rukia muttered, glad she was looking away from Ichigo. He could only imagine the pain he was feeling at that moment. In his eyes, she was lucky. Sure, both her siblings were dead. But at least she didn't have to deal with the fact that something else was living inside their bodies. Unlike his own siblings, who's own bodies were being used like puppets.
"What were you dreaming about?"
"Nothing important." Rukia sighed as she sat up at last, turning to face her orange-haired companion. He was sitting on his bed, his legs crossed. The lantern was on, illuminating his features. The shadows the light cast over his face made him look almost menacing — menacing, except for the fact that Rukia knew him well enough.
"Che." Ichigo made a noise in his throat and fell back on his bed, eyes closed. "That's what you always say. I don't know why I bother talking."
"Neither do I."
Ichigo threw his pillow at her half-heartedly. Rukia caught it and laid back down, putting it under her head. "Pretty stupid. Now you don't even have a pillow."
A beat of silence passed. "Can I have my pillow back?"
"No."
"Give me my pillow back."
"No."
Out of the corner of her eye, Rukia saw Ichigo get up and move in front of the lantern so that the light was hitting his back. His spiky hair cast an odd shadow over their small living area.
"Give. Me. My. Damn. Pillow."
"Well when you put it like that…nope." Rukia grinned as she rolled over, pulling the pillow out from under her head and wrapping her arms around it. A second later her own pillow disappeared from underneath her head. "Hey!" She yelped, sitting up. Ichigo was smirking as he laid down again, putting his head on her pillow. "Give it back!"
"You have mine, I have yours. Fair enough."
Rukia scowled and put his pillow back under her head. Stupid jerk.
They sat in silence for a few more minutes. "Ichigo?"
"Yeah?"
"What would you do…if we ever found Yuzu and Karin?"
Ichigo didn't answer right away. It was a question that had been burning in Rukia's mind ever since he'd told her about the twins. He had been very protective of his little sisters, after all. How would he react to seeing them, but knowing it wasn't really them? To see the silver in their eyes, and know what they had become?
"What the hell brought that on?"
"Curiosity. I guess."
Ichigo sighed. "I don't know what I'd do. What would you do if you ever found your parents?"
Rukia made a face. "That…is a really good question."
More silence. In many ways, being with Ichigo was like being alone. But Ichigo offered better company then loneliness. And though Rukia would never admit it, especially to him…she was grateful, very grateful that Ichigo had found her.
Author's Note: Hmn...I know there wasn't a lot of IchiRuki in this chapter. There isn't much in the next chapter either. I'm building up to it. It'll be there though, promise. So...review, please? -- Sam
