Welcome back everyone! Thank you for all the views, I believe this story is nearing 200 views. Hot Damn, you guys are awesome. I was so happy I got this chapter done early. That, and I have terrible study habits, so I was doing this when I should have been studying, whatever. Anyway this chapter turned out much differently than I planned, but I hope you enjoy it all the same.
Oh, and I got my very first review, so I will respond to it here, and if there aren't too many for the other chapters, I will do the same.
hornet07: I would be lying if I said Rukia would stop hitting Ichigo (or Renji) completely, but I have no intention of it happening all the time. It will definitely go down as they get to know each other, as Ichigo will learn what not to say when around Rukia, Renji not so much, so I hope that doesn't bother you. Also, when Rukia is adopted (Spoiler I suppose) it will decrease even more. It will only really happen when Ichigo is trying to get a reaction out of her, other than that he will probably just get a tongue lashing or a death glare. I will make sure not to over do it though. Thanks for the review.
That is that, so please enjoy this chapter too!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach
Led by Renji, the six kids walked towards wherever he was taking them. Ichigo refrained from asking questions, hoping that he would be ignored. No such luck there, Rukia was getting impatient to see his "rock trick", and was starting to try to get more information out of him.
"There must be more to it than just focusing. They aren't normal rocks, right?" Rukia questioned Ichigo for what he felt was the hundredth time.
"They are normal, I pick them up off the ground when I need them and I see a good one," Ichigo answered, a little shortly. He just didn't understand the big deal; he just threw a rock, why wouldn't this girl leave him alone about it?
Rukia didn't seem satisfied, and continued to bother him, "Really? Normal rocks don't move the fast when I throw them, so you must have done something special."
This had carried on for the past ten minutes, and Ichigo had enough. Renji snickering every time he tried to ignore Rukia wasn't helping him mood either.
"Then I don't know what to tell you," he snapped, "maybe you should just throw the rocks faster! I already told you I would try to do it again when we got to where he was taking us, so just leave me alone until then."
Shocked by his harsh tone, Rukia left his side and walked next to Renji. Satisfied by once again being alone, Ichigo let out a sigh of relief, silently; he was still terrified of the girl and he didn't want to get her any angrier.
After about five minutes of silence, Ichigo started to feel bad for snapping at Rukia. He knew that he shouldn't have, but her constant questioning wore his patience down, and he couldn't stop the words coming out of his mouth. That thought surprised him, considering how little he had talked before. Maybe he was more comfortable with them than he thought
As he was about to apologize to her, Renji cleared his throat and said, "Alright everyone, here we are, welcome to our humble abode. Everyone else should be inside; there are a few other older kids like us that protect the younger kids here. They may be a little mean, but we need the help."
As he explained, a young kid ran up to him. Seeing him, Renji handed him the bag of stolen candy with a smile, and told him to hand it out to the others.
"Now, let's go inside and meet everyone," he continued. Then he turned to Rukia and said, "I am sure all the girls here will want to meet you. Maybe even some of the boys, though you aren't pretty enough for that."
As Rukia pounded Renji on the head, Ichigo thought that maybe Renji should speak a little less, if only for his health.
Once Renji peeled himself off the ground again, they headed inside the broken base. It was little more than one of the few houses that were still standing on the outside, the run down look further reinforced by the boarded over windows and the cracks in the wall.
The inside wasn't really much better. A small hole in the roof provided the majority of the light for the base, though some light got in from the spaces between the planks on the windows. Despite that, the house seemed remarkably stable, and despite his hesitation to go in, Ichigo found it safer than sleeping wherever he did, alleys or between rocks in the rubble of buildings, anywhere he thought was safe from others.
Whatever his thoughts of the people, however, he was not expecting the scene playing out in front of him. An older kid had the bag of candy in his hand, lording over the young kid that Renji had told to pass out the candy.
"Listen! You little kids should be a little more thankful of the help I provide," the older kid sneered, "so I am going to help myself to thee pieces of candy, and if I feel up to it, I will give you what is left."
Ichigo felt the urge to punch the older kid for being so arrogant, but remembering that Renji said the older kids were needed, he restrained himself. Fortunately for him, Rukia didn't care, and she very quickly moved up to the bully and punched him in the gut and grabbed the candy from him. She then threw it to Ichigo, who almost dropped it in surprise. As Ichigo handed it back to the little kid on the ground, then Rukia began to yell at the older kid.
"Why cant you just help that kid? What is so bad about helping others? Aren't you strong enough to help more than just yourself? What could possibly stop you from helping them? Can't you see that you are capable of helping others, and yet here you are, looking out only for yourself! People like you are the reason this place is so terrible, why I have to sleep with one eye open, why I have to be careful and can't relax. Just because you are strong, doesn't mean you are always right, you are acting just like those adults that we got the candy from! Get over yourself!"
Her tirade finished, she stormed out of the room, the door clattered shut behind her. Both Renji and Ichigo were speechless. Renji because he had never thought someone like Rukia could be so strong in her beliefs, and he was impressed with her ability to move others with her words. Looking around her saw all of the older kids looking at the little kids that they protected with more concern, and a healthy amount of fear of Rukia.
Ichigo, however, was surprised at how her words affected him. He hadn't thought about others much after his decision to stop going out of his way to help others. Never since finding the dead kid in that ally those three months did he think his actions were bad.
He was just surviving, and at the time, that was good enough. Now, he realized that the adults he had stolen from were also just surviving, those teens who had bullied him were just surviving. He wasn't any better than any of them, maybe worse, since he ignored the part of him that wanted to help others. That thought out a bad taste in his mouth, and he wanted to fix it, and he knew Rukia could help him.
Silently, he turned and headed towards the door, opening it and letting it close without a sound.
As he left, Renji seemed to get his mouth working again, saying, "Wow, that girl is a tough one isn't she. Maybe she isn't even a girl, huh Strawberry?" he asked Ichigo.
Hearing no response, he turned towards where Ichigo was, and was surprised to see him no longer there.
"Where did he go? Must of left when I wasn't paying attention to him. Oh well, I will check on Rukia after I get me some of that candy!"
Stepping out of the house, Ichigo found Rukia up in a tree, staring off at the sunset. Quickly thinking he needed to say something, he opened his mouth, "That was impressive in there. I don't think I have heard anyone speak like that since I got here, I normally hear threats or curses."
If Rukia heard, she did nothing to show it, so Ichigo continued.
"Did you know that today was the first time I talked to anyone in almost three months. I was a bit surprised at my voice when I first answered you," Ichigo softly laughed at the end.
That got her attention. Turning her head slightly to face him, she responded, "Really? I guess I can understand that. I guess you really have been alone since you got here, huh?"
"Yeah, I had tried to get some help from the adults when I first got her, but they just yelled at me, so I ran off. I learned the next day I would have to steal water when I needed it, though it took me a few attempts to get it down without getting caught."
"I see. You do seem like you know how to handle yourself here, even if you haven't been around as long as most people here. So, did you help anyone?"
Ichigo wasn't looking forward to answering this, so he hesitated. Rukia took it as a no.
"So you are like that older kid in there? Just like the others," Rukia said harshly, looking back at the sunset.
"No, no, I help kids, or I used too. It is complicated."
She jumped down from he vantage point. As she stood up, she made eye contact with Ichigo.
"How is it complicated?"
She seemed less mad than before, though way she asked the question demanded an answer from Ichigo.
"I was helping kids for about a week, giving them water when they couldn't, or didn't know how to get it themselves. Then I came across a kid in an ally who looked like he needed some water. As I walked up to them, a group of teens surrounded me, and demanded I give them the water instead. They had known I was giving away some of it to others. I told them no, and then we fought. I took down two of them, but the other two grabbed me, then beat me with a stick."
Ichigo had to stop and take a breath here, he still wasn't used to talking, and the memory was not one he wanted to remember, much less talk about. However, he felt the need to explain himself to Rukia, her violet eyes seemed to be expected him to continue.
"After they left me on the ground, they walked off with the water, I got up and walked over to the kid, to see if I could help him. It turned out he was…dead. I lost the water, and was beat up trying to help someone I couldn't. After that, I decided to only look out for myself."
His story finished, he looked back at Rukia's eyes, trying to see what she thought of him. He knew he didn't tell her that he sometimes left water for others, but since he never stuck around to see who got it, he never knew if he was really helping, so at least to him, it wasn't really the same thing.
Rukia stood looking at Ichigo in silence for a few minutes. Her eyes just looked into his, looking for any hint of deception. They stared at each other quietly, Rukia not responding, and Ichigo unsure if he should say anymore. He was a little surprised when she offered him a small smile.
Relaxing, Ichigo returned the smile, which is why the punch to his shoulder caught him off guard. Staggering back, he looked back at Rukia, only to see her triumphantly smiling back at him.
"That was for snapping at me earlier. Next time I will aim somewhere else."
Ichigo couldn't help himself, and started laughing. The act itself relieved him, and when Rukia joined in, he knew it would be hard to go back to being alone. He hadn't realized how much he missed the company of others.
Renji walked out to find the two of them laughing. Confused, but eager to join in on the apparent fun, he walked up to them, jokingly saying, "I thought you two had run off, and here you are flirting! Watch out Berry, that midget can punch."
"Truer words have never been spoken, idiot," Rukia declared, right before kicking Renji in the shin. "She can also kick."
Ichigo couldn't hold his laughter back, and neither could Rukia. The two laughed for a few more minutes, as Renji massaged his newly bruised shin.
Grumbling, Renji spoke up, "yes, laugh it up, I guess I will ask other people to join our group, good luck on your own you bastards."
That got the two of them to stop. Surprisingly it was Ichigo who spoke up first.
"I don't know; I am not used to working with others. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone because of that. Anyway, I really only threw a rock, I don't think you need me much."
Rukia's head snapped to Ichigo, reminded of his "rock trick."
"I had almost forgotten, you still need to show me how you did that," Rukia exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's right, I want to see what she is talking about," Renji seconded.
"Is it really that important to you?"
They both nodded
"Wasn't he just asking us to join him?"
"We can talk about that later," came Renji's response, "now we want you to show us this trick that the midget over there hasn't shut up about."
The glare Rukia sent Renji could have frozen hell over, but she chose to ignore his insult. Turning back to Ichigo, she smiled, and as sweetly as she could, said, "Please Ichigo, I will stop asking once you show me."
Sighing, Ichigo grabbed a rock from the pouch at his side. Looking around for something to throw the rock safely, he decided to aim at the tree Rukia had sat in. Focusing of the tree, Ichigo threw the rock. The rock went towards the tree, and bounced off harmlessly.
"There, happy?"
It was obvious that there were not happy in the slightest.
"Well, I could have done that. Some trick," Renji spoke up. Shaking his head, he turned to head back inside.
"No, wait, that wasn't what he did. I swear it moved much faster than that when he threw it at the man earlier," Rukia defended.
"Maybe you were seeing things, you were moving then, right?" Renji returned. He then walked to the door. "Whatever, it isn't important. The offer still stands for you two. At the very least you can stay the night here."
As the door closed Rukia turned back to Ichigo, a questioning look on her face. She asked him, "Could you try it again, and this time think about whatever it was when you broke the handle of that kama."
"Fine, once more."
Closing his eyes, Ichigo tried to think back to when he threw the rock at the man to save Renji's friend. The desire to protect the kid came back to his mind, and Ichigo's eyes snapped open. His hand grabbed a rock out the bag, and then snapped forward, launching the rock towards the tree.
At that moment, Renji walked back out, to tell them to get inside if they were staying.
Rukia, who was standing close to Ichigo, saw his eyes turn from brown to a light blue color very briefly right before he sent the rock flying.
Within a second, the rock hit the tree, and kept going, boring a hole straight through, then it disappeared towards the outskirts of Inuzuri.
The whole action from Ichigo grabbing the rock, to throwing it through the tree took less than a second.
Then, there was an awe filled silence.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Ichigo suddenly felt tired, and hungry. Sitting down on the ground, he took in a deep breath of air. He looked up at Rukia, to see her reaction. It was comical. Her eyes were wide; staring at the hole in the tree, and her mouth was hanging slightly open. Facing Renji, he found the same befuddled expression. Ichigo couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
The noise brought Rukia out of her stupor, and her attention to Ichigo. Renji, however, uttered only two words, as he continued to face the tree.
"Holy shit."
"What he said," Rukia mumbled. A little louder, she said, "I told you he could do it."
"I believe you now," came Renji's response. Looking at Ichigo, he couldn't help but as, "How the hell did you do that?"
Ichigo, was too tired to bother with an explanation he didn't have, so he slowly got to his feet, and told them the truth.
"I have no idea." And with a smile on his face he walked to the door, saying, "I think I will be sleeping here tonight, that took a lot out of me. I hope there is some candy left, I am hungry too."
Ignoring their looks of utter confusion, Ichigo walked inside the base. As the door shut behind him, Rukia and Renji both looked back at the tree, then at the door that Ichigo just went through.
Renji was the first to recover, yelling after Ichigo as he rushed through the door, "Hey! You can't just do something like that and walk off!"
The door closed behind him, and Rukia stood outside for a little longer, laughing to herself as she heard Renji demand answer from Ichigo from inside the base. Smiling to herself, she knew that she would have to stick around, it was far too much fun for her with those two to go back to being alone. With one last glance to the setting sun, Rukia walked back into the base, and for the first time in a long while, she was looking forward to tomorrow.
There we go, thank you for reading this far. I hope the conversation here wasn't too rushed. Like I said at the top, there was supposed to be more to this chapter, but as I wrote this part, specifically the talk between Rukia and Ichigo, I found it hard to shorten, I wanted to make it seem plausible without cutting corners or going too long. It turned out to be longer than I though it would be, and I didn't want to gone on because the next planned scene had a much different tone. Anyway, the next part should be ready early next week, so you all can be the judge if I should have split them apart.
Also, we have two or three more chapter's in the Rukongai, and then to the Academy. After that they will join the Gotei 13, but I haven't decided where Ichigo will go. So, I will open a poll on my profile, and you all can vote for squads 2-13, because I don't want to do squad 1. Keep in mind I have an idea of where I want him to go, but that is a secret, and if I think I can write it well, I will do that one. This is to see what you guys want, and if what I am thinking is different, I will see which I can write well.
I think that is everything. Thank you all for being awesome, and please follow, favorite and review
-Jimba