Thank you Raimidaz, Kaze05, and OnepieceX3 for your reviews and everyone who chose to read my story. You guys are awesome! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please let me know what you think, especially about the fight scene. -_-Y
Thank you DameM for being my beta. You rock!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Mr. Tite Kubo et al owns it.
Chapter 4-White Moon Piercer of Heaven
A rush of cold air swirled around Rukia and blew out in all directions. She pointed her released Zanpakutou at Ichigo. Captain Ukitake, Ashido and other thirteenth squad members covered their faces with their arms to protect themselves from the icy wind. They were in an open field near their barracks holding a training session. The field was covered with grass and surrounded by trees.
"Wow, Kuchiki is taking this very seriously," Captain Ukitake stated with a smile. After the Winter War she had worked harder than ever before to improve and hone her abilities. He was proud of his lieutenant. He was curious to see how long she could keep up her cold and business like demeanor fighting Ichigo. This would be good training for both of them. Ukitake found a comfortable spot and sat down to watch their battle.
Ashido sat down next to his captain. He looked at Rukia and the Shinigami daiko. He analyzed their stances. Rukia stood strong and focused. The Shinigami daiko's transition from surprise to serious was instantaneous. His face was no longer surprised but held concern and doubt. A type of energy emanated from both of them. Just who is Rukia to you―no, who are you to Rukia? Ashido pondered.
Ichigo stared at Rukia and deepened his scowl. He felt her power and stubbornness course through him as she released her Zanpakutou. There were no words that could convince her otherwise when Rukia was like this. Seventeen months had not changed that about her. He looked down away from her and sighed with resignation.
"Fine, this is just training," he conceded.
"Too slow," Rukia said, completely focused. She was suddenly centimeters away from his face. "First Dance, Tsukishiro."
Ichigo looked up at her in surprise and barely dodged as she slashed her Zanpakutou through the air in front of him. He looked down at his feet and a white circle, like a full moon appeared beneath him. Ice started to form beneath his feet and it quickly climbed up his legs and thighs. Ichigo hit the ice off his legs with his fist and flash stepped away from the white circle. He barely escaped as a pillar of white light shot up and extended into the sky. It froze everything within the circle.
"Rukia, that's dangerous!" Ichigo shouted. "This is supposed to be training! Aren't we just working on stabilizing my powers?"
Ignoring his yell, Rukia flashed stepped behind him and said, "I know, that is why I'm going all out. It would be an insult to you otherwise." Rukia pointed at Ichigo with her index finger and called out, "Way of Destruction No. 4, Byakurai!" A pale blue lightning bolt zapped out toward him. He cursed under his breath. He recalled being hit by this attack when he fought with Byakuya. Ichigo flashed stepped away and rolled sideways along his shoulders. He landed crouched down, one hand ready on his Zanpakutou as Rukia came at him with her pure white sword.
Rukia continued to strike at him. He countered her strikes by grabbing her wrists with his hands and bumping her back with the side of his body as hard as he dared. The force pushed her through the air back toward the trees behind her. She flipped herself in mid-air, planting both of her feet against the side of a tree, her body parallel to the ground. Pushing herself off the tree, she shot back toward Ichigo. Swinging her Zanpakutou at him from the side forced Ichigo to pull out Zangetsu to defend himself. Both were becoming more and more flustered at each other with each hit and parry.
Ichigo allowed himself to be pushed back by Rukia's blade a few more steps. Frustrated by his actions Rukia pushed back even harder. "Fight me! Why won't you fight me? Do you think that I need to be protected by you? I told you before that I can take care of myself? Fight me seriously!" Rukia shouted as Ichigo deflected her blade. He pushed her back but she was unrelenting and continued to hit at him with strength that one wouldn't expect from someone her size.
"I am taking you seriously. What's wrong with wanting to protect you?" He shouted back, blocking and pushing against her blade. What he wanted to shout was, "I don't want to hurt you!"
"Do you think I've been sitting around for the last seventeen months? Don't you trust me or my abilities to protect myself? Worry about yourself! Let us protect you!" Rukia responded strongly. Old issues were rising to the surface.
Ichigo's mouth dropped open in surprise. She thinks I don't trust her? She wants to protect me? He recalled a distant memory in Las Noches. Rukia had suggested splitting up. Ichigo had refused and tried to talk Rukia into sticking together. He remembered how Renji had stood in front of Rukia in defense. Drop it. It is insulting to a soldier when you worry about protecting them on the battlefield, Renji's voice echoed in his head.
Rukia continued, "You're always getting yourself hurt!" Ichigo dodged a close call by her blade. "Don't you understand how much it hurts the people that care about you when they see you get beaten to a pulp? How do you expect yourself to protect others when you can't even fight to protect yourself?"
"I do not get beaten into a pulp, Rukia! Give me more credit than that! I protect myself just fine." Ichigo yelled back. The training was pushing Ichigo and Rukia to the brink of losing emotional control.
"You should be able to fight at your full potential all the time and not just when you are protecting others. Don't fight out of despair. The cost is too much," Rukia said, her voice barely above a whisper. She struck again at Ichigo's blade and tried to get her emotions under control.
"Rukia," Ichigo whispered. He looked into her eyes filled with concern and pain. He felt her breath panting against his face as she fought against the strength of his blade. He thought of his family and friends. He recalled all of their faces when he fought to protect them and how he couldn't when he lost his powers. He thought of his Fullbring training. Ginjo had brought Inoue to heal him and then held her captive while they fought. Why did Ginjo have to bring his friends in to make him stronger, to force him to fight? He looked at Rukia and thought of her concerned face after he and Ishida lost against Ginjo. Rukia was right. He needed to get his powers under control and to be able to fight without holding back. He had his powers back again. He could protect his friends and family again.
"Never mind all of this. I will just have to force you to take this seriously." Rukia said. She gathered herself together and brought her concentration back in focus.
"You mean, hit me continuously to get your point across like always?" Ichigo replied, smirking at her last remark. "Fine, if you want me to fight you seriously, then I will." He unleashed a slash with Zangetsu with full force.
Rukia raised her eyebrows in surprise. She yelled out in pain as the force of Ichigo's attack threw her back. She defended herself against most of the blast by blocking with her blade, but the force of the attack eventually knocked her Zanpakutou out of her hands and she fell to the ground. She skidded long and hard on the ground before finally stopping. Her back burned from the friction.
"Rukia! Are you okay?" Ichigo yelled. Shocked and scared that he might have seriously hurt Rukia, he ran toward to where she was. He began to doubt if he should really fight her with full force.
Rukia stood up and wiped the dirt and blood off her split lips and face. With a slight smile she put her hands together and created a yellow rope like cord from her spiritual energy. It swirled around her hands like an electric snake. She pointed her hands at Ichigo and shouted, "Way of Binding No. 4, Hainawa!" The yellow cord shot out like lightening toward Ichigo and quickly wrapped itself around him, binding his arms against his body.
"Are you serious?" Ichigo yelled as he tripped and fell to the ground. Zangetsu was knocked out of his hands. Ichigo pushed and struggled against the entangling rope of energy. With his arms bound to his body, he rolled on the grass like a log toward Zangetsu that was now sticking straight up from the ground. He jumped up and hopped toward his Zanpakutou. Exerting all his strength, he cut it with Zangetsu like it was a real rope.
Freed from the energy rope, he placed Zangetsu in front of him flat side facing out across the front of him in time to block more of Rukia's strikes with her blade. Blocked by his Zanpakutou, Rukia kicked off of Zangetsu with both feet into the air. While flying upwards he heard her chant, "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens." She put her right hand forward; palm faced at Ichigo and shouted, "Way of Destruction No. 73, Soren Sokatsui!" Two streams of bright blue fire shot from Rukia's palm. The massive spiritual energy scorched the grass on the ground as it fired toward him.
Eyes wide in disbelief, Ichigo grunted as he tried to dodge and block with Zangetsu the double shots of blue fire. The blue bursts of spiritual energy flew by his face. The incredible kido attack scorched the left sleeve of his shihakusho and a couple strands of hair before the two streams of massive spiritual energy collided into the innocent trees behind him. The trees exploded on impact throwing pieces of wood and splinters everywhere. It forced him to cover his eyes. What's with all the kido she's using? That could have killed me! She's trying to kill me, Ichigo thought as wood chips rained down on and around him cutting his exposed skin. All doubts of fighting seriously with Rukia flew out the window. He really could not afford to hold back when fighting her or he really could die. When he could finally see, Rukia had recovered her Zanpakutou and readied her next attack.
"Next dance, Hakuren!" Rukia shouted. A huge powerful wave of ice flew toward Ichigo. The wave was larger than he remembered. He looked at the huge wave of ice and focused all his spiritual powers on Zangetsu. "Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo shouted. A light blue crescent moon pierced through the sky like a wave. It was much bigger than before with the return on his powers. It shattered and broke most of the very large wave of ice in a great explosion. The ice he missed hit the right side of his body. His Zanpakutou, right hand and arm were frozen and encased in ice. He looked at Rukia and with his other hand broke the ice off his arm and Zanpakutou. His eyes glowed blue as he focused his spiritual energy for another attack. Rukia did the same. She brought her Zanpakutou up above her right shoulder, pointed it at Ichigo and readied her next attack.
He smiled, blood rushing fast and hot through his veins. This fight with Rukia was exhilarating. She stared back, mirroring his smile and feeling the same rush. In that moment, they reaffirmed their respect for each other. Like when they first met, they knew they could completely trust and depend on each other, both on and off the battlefield. Suddenly, Ichigo and Rukia were pulled back to reality by cheers from the remaining squad members that weren't blown away. Pieces of ice and wood littered the training field. Patches of ground smoldered from Rukia's demon arts.
"Ichigo-kun and Kuchiki! Good job, but I think both of you better visit the Fourth Squad," Captain Ukitake said, walking towards them. "We will have to make sure you train with Kuchiki on a regular basis," he said to Ichigo. He chuckled as he looked around the damaged and smoldering field around them. He walked off and requested some of the squad members to clear the field of debris the best they could. Ashido looked at them and nodded before following the captain without uttering a word.
Ichigo looked at Rukia and their eyes locked. A type of energy he couldn't explain sizzled between them. If this was how it felt after training together with Rukia, then he wouldn't mind training all day with her.
"You look like crap, Ichigo." Rukia said, laughing at his stunned expression. Before he could retort back, Rukia tripped on a large piece of wood and fell. Somehow she managed to remain graceful even if her backside was sprawled over the dirt floor. Ichigo extended his hand to Rukia to help her up. He saw her take a quick breath when she grabbed his hand.
"Heavy," Ichigo said, trying to district himself from her touch. He easily pulled Rukia's petite and slender figure up to a standing position. His remark earned him a hit to his shins. It was his turn to fall to the ground.
"Serves you right," Rukia mumbled, very annoyed at his comment. Maybe I've been eating too many sweet dumplings, Rukia thought. She grabbed her stomach with concern.
They walked in comfortable silence back to the thirteenth squad barracks, intent on heading to the fourth squad to have their wounds healed. As they walked into the courtyard other squad members bombarded them. Ichigo knew they were just being friendly and supportive, but there was only so much he could handle. He winced in pain as various members hit his shoulders, back or arms complimenting his fighting skills. He was about to shout back at them to stop when other squad members screamed warnings at everyone while running through the courtyard. Before anyone could register what was going on, the remaining firecrackers from the earlier welcoming party flew and exploded all over the courtyard. Ichigo grabbed Rukia and pushed her to a far corner wall away from the explosions and covered her body with his to protect her.
Rukia stood frozen against the wall. She couldn't believe those idiots caused more damage. She was going to ban firecrackers in their barracks. Hearing a muffled chuckle, she looked up at Ichigo. His face was red from holding back his laughter. "This is so ridiculous! Your squad is hilarious!" Ichigo said. Rukia blushed. She smiled up at him in surprise. It was really rare to see him laugh or smile. All the tension and stress seemed to vanish. Warmth radiated from him and she felt safe. As that thought passed her mind, Ichigo's scowl suddenly returned. He realized both his arms were on both sides of her. His body still covered hers closely and protectively against the wall. He immediately pulled away from her.
Rukia quickly grabbed Ichigo's shihakusho with both her hands and pulled him back toward her. Ichigo gasped in surprise. "Rukia?" Ichigo asked. Shocked, Rukia pushed him away again. "We better head to Squad Four before more things explode," Rukia said, her face red from her actions. She realized how close he was still to her and started to walk away from him as fast as she could to hide her embarrassment and confusion.
"Why are you always running away, Rukia?" Ichigo asked seriously from behind her.
She stopped and turned her head slightly back at him. Before either of them could continue, they were interrupted and startled by a loud voice. "Hey Rukia, Ichigo!" Renji yelled. Ichigo and Rukia stared back at Renji. Both were too emotionally spent and were unable to react to any more surprises. Renji stopped short in front of them, a little taken aback from their reaction toward him and their appearance. "What happened?" Renji asked, eyeing all of their wounds. Ichigo's arm was bleeding from being frozen and cut from Rukia's attacks earlier. Some of his hair and sleeves on one side were scorched. Rukia had dried blood and dirt smeared across her face and she favored one of her legs. A bruise was forming under one of her eyes.
Ichigo looked over at Rukia and pointed, "It's all her fault for being so rough," he said.
At the same time Rukia pointed at Ichigo and said, "Idiot can't control his power." They looked quickly back at Renji and started to walk away from him toward the fourth squad.
Renji quirked an eyebrow at both of them and followed them quietly. "Uh huh," Renji replied. He watched as Ichigo shouted at Rukia about how she was the one that asked him to fight her for real. Rukia responded by hitting Ichigo's already hurt arm causing it to bleed more. Renji smiled. What's this? They're getting along just fine, he thought. Renji glanced at Rukia's injuries and frowned. Ichigo noticed Renji's look and tried to defend himself again but Renji interrupted him by putting a hand on his shoulder. He put his face close to Ichigo, stared him straight in the eyes and said very seriously, "You can say that to Captain Kuchiki when he sees Rukia's current condition. He wanted to speak with both of you."
Ichigo almost tripped forward from Renji's words. He shuddered at the thought of what Byakuya would do to him when he finds out Rukia's injuries were caused by him, even though they were from training. I don't want to die yet, he thought.
"Let's hurry up and get going to the fourth squad, Rukia!" Ichigo said loudly. He started to walk faster. Both Renji and Rukia sped up after him. Renji coughed to cover his amusement. "Why are you here anyway?" Ichigo asked, looking at Renji with a "Don't you dare tell Byakuya about Rukia's injury" look.
"I'm on my way back to the sixth squad from the ninth. Shuuhei-sempai was bugging us to turn in our article for the Monthly Seireitei Bulletin." Renji responded, rubbing the back of his neck. He pretended not to understand Ichigo's look and stifled his laughter as he watched Ichigo's attempt at charades to get his meaning across to him. He glanced at Rukia's confused face. "Also, Captain Kuchiki wanted me to remind Rukia, if I see her, about the event that will be held at the Kuchiki Manor."
"Event?" Ichigo asked. "What event?"
"Idiot, we're throwing a celebration party at our place and it's not just for you so don't get a big head. Nii-sama probably wanted to talk to you about it." Rukia said very fast, face blushing.
"Call it whatever you want Rukia, but Ichigo's definitely a big part of the party too." Renji said, with a knowing smile. He patted Rukia on the back, causing her to wince in pain.
"A party, huh, are there going to be firecrackers?" Ichigo asked, keeping his voice normal as possible.
Rukia responded with a smile. "Idiot."
Riruka Dokugamine was lying on a couch on her stomach, squinting with her eyes at some monthly bulletin about the stupid Soul Society in her uncomfortable and ugly cell. This is not what I called being treated like a guest. Stupid Ichigo Kurosaki. I still won't say anything till I speak with you. What's taking you so long? Sure the other dumb Shinigami tried to get her to talk and talk she did. She talked about her cute and favorite things. She'd talk until they'd left frustrated. Stupid people, they have no sense of cuteness, she thought with a smile.
"Oh? It's good to see that you can still smile when you're in a situation like this," a voice said. Riruka Dokugamine looked up at the intruder and shook her magenta pigtails around to mask her surprise.
"Did you at least bring me sweets...Tsukishima?"
