A/N: Yo. I felt it was time to update after what probably felt like a thousand years.
Thanx to: Creepy-chan, weirdo-chan, signifyme, Nerd4ever243, Vertigo Venom, Saya, Rianan D' Halmsu, KuroRyuKiba, JulChan1987, Blue Letters, XxBishxX, StarDustX, moonlightrurouni, Every shadow has its twin, WraithReaper, Voiceofsummer, Karin Kurosaki 1, Tensa Zangetsu 17, and Page-Mistress for all of the wonderful reviews!
Please read and enjoi!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto.
0—My Precious Imouto/Seven—0
"Renji… Let me down…" Ichigo's soft request was almost missed by the redheaded captain, who then proceeded to redirect his leap from a tree to the safety of the ground.
The taller male straightened from the crouch in which he landed before allowing his best friend to slide out of his arms and onto his feet, only to watch as he cried out and landed on his hands and knees, face inches from a puddle of mud. There was a long pause as the others joined them on the ground, none of them willing to break the silence so soon after the humiliating defeat. They watched on as Ichigo flinched as his already healing wounds started to open from his struggles. He attempted climbing to his feet, only to fall back to the ground not even one moment later.
Rukia gasped, stepping forward with her hands outstretched towards the male. "Ichigo…"
"S-Stay back!" He grounded out through clenched teeth. He pressed his forehead into the back of his hands, releasing a heavy sigh. What the hell is wrong with me?
"What the hell was wrong with you back there?" Jinta asked, moving into his line of vision so that the orange haired male could witness the hard scowl on the teen's face. The young redhead's tanned arms crossed over his chest as he glared down at his elder, eyes blazing with anger. "We came to save Karin, not put her in more danger."
"I know…" Ichigo bit his lip, his brows furrowing. "I don't know what the hell came over me…" His light honey hues flicked up to his friends, confusion showing almost as much as his guilt. "It was as if I was in my body, but didn't have any control of what I was saying or doing."
"And you think that that's a legitimate excuse?" Jinta hissed. He didn't waste any time in taking a step forward with a fist rising as if to punch the downed captain. "Just because you couldn't control that damned hollow inside of you?!"
"Jinta." Renji caught the younger redhead's fist and pulled him back, though his warm brown orbs remained on his best friend, waiting for the male to talk.
Ichigo slowly shook his head, grunting lowly as he shifted from his position on the ground into a position suited for what he was about to say. "It wasn't my inner hollow. I wasn't in any danger of failing; at least as far as I knew at the time. He doesn't just randomly barge in; he couldn't, not even if he wanted to. No, what happened to me there was unlike something I've ever felt before." He turned his intense gaze to Rukia. "You said that you saw some kind of darkness in their souls, ne?"
The short female nodded, her large blue eyes fixating on the orange haired male's expression. "You expect that what I saw had some kind of adverse effect on you."
Since the sentence was phrased as a statement, Ichigo didn't respond. He did, however, turn to face Renji and motioned for the ponytailed man to pick him up once more. "I need to talk to Urahara."
"Wait, so you're just going to let Karin stay in the hands of those strangers?!" Jinta exclaimed in disbelief as the shinigami moved to take their leave. "Didn't we come out here to rescue her?" He wanted to say more but was halted by Ichigo's intense stare.
"Don't you think that this is hard for me too? I want to get my imouto back, but how can I do that if I might put her in danger? Think, Jinta; if I went this out of control anywhere but in the woods, I could have put many more lives in danger… Karin-chan would hate me if I put someone else in danger just to save her." Ichigo sighed heavily as Renji pulled him up into his arms, his face free of a scowl for once and filled with that of sorrow and regret. "I'll be able to save her… Not yet, but I swear that I will."
The young teen watched on as the three shinigami took off, sailing through the trees with a grace that would have baffled anyone should they have to powers to do so, however, he didn't watch on with wonder or awe; his eyes were glued to the ground. His hands remained clenched at his side as he bit the insides of his cheeks raw to keep from yelling at Ichigo once more.
"Ichigo…you teme. What the hell am I supposed to tell Yuzu-chan?"
0—Seven/End—0
A/N: I know that it was short, but the next chapter will be out by Sunday. I can say this without hesitation because it is actually mostly done with only about half a page left to type up. So yeah… Sorry for not updating for more than half a year…
Anyways, thanx for reading!