Disclaimer: Bleach belong to Tite Kubo


Two hours later, Ichigo was sitting on a boulder at the edge of the lake, about a twenty minute hike from the marina. Rukia's rolled-up jeans and T-shirt were tightly clutched in his hands. He was almost sure she had drowned. She had been gone over an hour and he hadn't seen the slightest sign of her, not even a ripple on the water. Save for a lone fisherman that had trolled by in a bass boat a few minutes before, the lake was just as deserted and still as it had been the day before. He was racked with guilt for letting her go. He had argued with her against it for most of the 25 minute ride over to the lake. But the more he tried to convince her to let him take her to a hospital, the more resolved she became in her belief that the only thing that could help her was more of the green water. She was so persuasive he was beginning to believe it himself, even though a part of him told him that it was crazy. But the closer they had gotten to the lake, the more energy she seemed to have, and by the time they parked by the boat ramp, she seemed to be completely unaware of her dire physical condition.

She threw the door open and started running along the shore so fast that Ichigo had trouble keeping up with her. She finally stopped, stripped down to her bra and panties, and dove into the water, ignoring his protests and reassuring him that she would be back "soon." Ichigo gazed out at the flat lake water, now angry at himself for not being stronger. There was little doubt in his mind that she had drowned within seconds of entering the water. You thought she was dead yesterday, too, some part of himself said. This thought gave him little solace. He stared at the glassy water, waiting and waiting, becoming more and more certain that she wasn't coming back. The fisherman started up his motor, trolled twenty feet or so in Ichigo s direction, then shut it off again. He gave a friendly wave and Ichigo waved back. A moment later, he saw ripples in the water some fifty yards out. The fisherman noticed it, too, and stood up, shading his eyes.

Rukia shot up out of the lake like she had been fired from an underwater cannon. She flew a good ten feet into the air, then came back down gracefully, with her feet together, her toes pointing downward, as if she had just jumped off a diving board. When she surfaced again, she flung her hair to one side with such force it sent spray almost all the way to the shore. "Yes!" she screamed, thrashing her way towards him. She swam so forcefully that she looked like she was running across the surface of the water on all fours. The fisherman's mouth dropped open and his rod tumbled into the water. Ichigo stood up as she approached. "I made it!" she cried. She was still wearing her panties and bra. He cocked his head towards the fisherman, whom he didn't think she had noticed. She looked over at the man and gave him a dainty little wave. "Hi!" The fisherman's mouth was still unhinged. He slowly lowered himself back down into his seat, staring at Rukia as if she had emerged from a space ship. She skipped lightly across the slick rocks, as if on air, and gave Ichigo a quick kiss on the cheek. He handed the clothes to her. "Hurry up," he whispered, eyeing the fisherman as he spoke.

After they got back to the jeep, Rukia raised her T-shirt to inspect the scar. It looked like it had the day before when she had treated it with the green water—just a faint white line. "I'm sorry I was gone so long," she said, "but I really wanted to work on this and see how far I could go with it. I figured out that the reason the scar won't go away completely is because it has to be tanned again. I guess it's new skin or something."

"That makes sense." He glanced at her, and saw that her hair was still wet. "Are you cold? I should have brought a towel."

"No, I feel great!" she said, rubbing her fingers vigorously through her hair. "When you drink the green water, you're never too cold or too hot, or lonely or sad or anything. Everything's perfect." She looked over at him with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"I'm not going to drink it," he said firmly. "At least not until I find out what's in it." He wondered what would happen if you drank it when nothing was wrong with you. Would it just make you feel good for a while and then wear off? Or was it addictive, like cocaine? It seemed to Ichigo that everything in life was in balance. If you pushed the scales one way, they had to tip the other way to compensate. There's no free lunch, as his brother liked to say.

Rukia watched him for a moment and then looked back out her window. "You don't know what you're missing."

"Maybe you're right," he said. While Ichigo drove, he was deep in thought, trying to grapple with the future. Rukias future. So, the green water had saved her again today. But what about tomorrow? And the next day? And the next? What was she going to do, just keep coming back to the lake and swimming down to the bottom for her green-water fix, like some sort of aquatic vampire? And what about school? She was supposed to leave for Tokyo in another week. What was she going to do then?
He glanced over at her, wondering if she had considered any of this. There was a peaceful smile on her face, her hair blowing in the wind. She seemed to have not a trouble in the world.


a/n: hi guys, it's pretty long since my last update. But no worries I will finish this before summer ends. Thanks for the reviews. I will reply next chapter!