So this chapter is kind of dark. But then again if you're reading a vampire fic there are bound to be dark moments. I hope people can see Rukia for what she is, a person torn between her guilt and her instincts to survive. That insecurity that Ichigo has been showing, has been one that hits close to home for her as well. Anyway...
Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo.
Chapter 6:
Help I'm Alive!
RUKIA
It was nightfall when I stumbled back to the cave, Ichigo's weight finally draining the last of my energy. I placed him on the ground, beads of sweat dribbled down his forehead and I placed a hand against it. His fever had returned but there was no shift in his aura, he was stable. I pushed his damp hair away from his face and stared, he had survived the ordeal but was still sick. I had bore witness to this symptom through the eyes of others, the first fever would last until the upcoming full moon, the control would be finalized then. That night was coming up in a day and I wasn't nearly strong enough, I needed more strength just to put a decent chain on him. I only had one choice and it sickened me to my stomach.
I placed my hand over my heart, slowly the sapphire slipped through my skin and into my palm. The lack of blood was taking it's toll on me, my muscles felt as if they were shrinking, drying up inside and my veins frozen. The word parched didn't even begin to describe how dry my throat felt. I placed my pendant on the ground and unbutonned my shirt. I looked down and my whole torso was dyed an inky black. I really was dying. A sharp pain twisted in my stomach and I fell to the floor, it was as if a rusty dagger was being twisted back and forth, pushing through to my back. I heard a pop and timid wailing before something landed on my back. The pain subsided for the moment.
"SISTER RUKIA!" the plush lion cried holding on to my arm. "Do you know how horrible it's been inside your pocket? You know my rightful place is in between your two lovely cushions of heaven!" the plushy said with a lecherous edge.
I couldn't help but snort at his antics. "You never change Kon. After hearing that comment I'm not sure I'll ever buy another chain for you," I said leaning on my elbows.
He jumped down to face me. "You wouldn't."
"I wouldn't?"
"Oh you would! Please don't," he begged. "I can't see or hear anything. I can't breathe in there!" he said pointing to my pant pocket.
There was panic in his black button eyes, they began to water and I felt guilty for teasing him. I only wished he wasn't such a pervert. Everyone else's guardian was so much more... refined. My stomach twisted in pain again and I started dry heaving, black ash seemed to spew from my lips. Black Death truly was an accurate term. I felt something soft and light rub my back in circles, "Kon..."
"Sister you need to go and feed," Kon said in an unwavering voice.
"I know..." I wish I didn't. I got up and placed a new shirt on, "I need to ask you for a favour."
He walked over to my bag and looked up, his footfalls producing tiny squeaks. "Anything, and I'll do it."
"There is only one day until the full moon rises and I don't possess even a fraction of the strength I'm going to need to subdue him. He seems pretty stable but he's running a fever, could you-" I explained and he raised his arm up silencing me.
He struck a pose, "It's alright. Guardian Kon is here and he shall not fail!" I picked him up and gave him a peck on his round forehead.
The yellow fabric of his cheeks turned red, "Thank you Kon."
x.x.x.x.x.x.
RUKIA
The lamps were bright, their intense glare lighting up the streets inside this small town. I staggered along the street, each stride sending shots of pain through individual nerve endings. My body was failing me and I knew soon enough I would give in, succumb to those powerful cravings. My stomach growled fiercely, as if it were a mighty lion. Its roar scared me as my appetite would scare others. How much longer would this go on? When would this cycle end, when would I escape?
My once sturdy legs were giving out on me as I braced myself against the alley wall. I crawled deeper into the alley sitting on a bank of garbage and snow, I hid myself in the shadows and hoped dearly nobody would find me. But at the same time I needed them to.
x.x.x.x.x.x.
When streets were empty like this, I found them rather enjoyable. The peace, the silence, it was the reward of a hard day at work. I stopped at the grocery store before it closed, delighted that I was the only one with a shopping cart. It made for a quiet visit where the lack of screaming children and colliding carts was well received. My hands were filled with plastic bags but it was little compared to the load Ms. Rukia was carrying a few days ago. Such a tiny thing she was. I wonder how she is, she didn't come to the bakery this morning like she usually did.
I was walking when I heard a rustle from the alley, my guard set up. "Is somebody there?" I called. In situations like these, it was best to admit your presence than pretend you didn't know anybody was there. For all I know it could be someone in need.
I heard a sharp gasp, it came from the ground. So someone was there. I walked closer. "Are you hurt?" I asked politely dropping my grocery bags to the snow laden floor. I walked into the alley and squinted my eyes. A small figure sat on the bank, they looked up and I saw the most luminescent orbs my old eyes had ever seen. A deep smoky indigo that was oddly familiar with a curved eye shape that screamed female.
I heard a low growl then a whimper. I crouched down to become eye level with her. When I bent down I recognized her immediately. "Ms. Rukia?" I hope she hadn't been here all day. Who knows who would have found her if I hadn't walked this detour. I heard a low growl again, she must have been hungry! I'd take her home and fix her a meal right on the spot. "It's me, Walter. Come on, you can come with me. I heard your stomach, you're hungry."
She didn't answer, her growling stomach filled the void. Was she too proud to accept help? If that was the case she wasn't being sensible. I heard a wince of pain this time, she was mumbling something. I craned my head closer to hear her, "get away... you fool..."
I shot up like a bullet, she wanted me to step away and I would give her space. "You need help, let me give it to you." It saddened me to see her sitting on a pile of garbage, I couldn't help but feel worried.
"Get away..." she said louder this time, her words raspy. I ignored her, her pride came second to her safety.
I offered her my hand, "Come with me." She hesitated before sliding her hand into mine, then I was knocked back into the opposite wall. Her hand was no longer in mine, her arms were locked together around my shoulders, her legs straddling my stomach with the ankles clasped together at my back. Something sharp dug into my neck but I couldn't scream. Ms. Rukia, why was she doing this? I took my arms trying to pry her off but the same power I witnessed before grew tenfold. I grabbed onto her shoulders trying to break her grip but she wouldn't let go, she was sucking my blood!
I closed my hands into fists and started pounding hard, furiously against her back but I was hitting marble. After a minute my vision started swaying from side to side, and I fell to the ground, my limbs going limp. Guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt, that one emotion invaded my mind and I wondered if that's what she was feeling."Stop..." I whispered feeling the air squeezed from my body. It didn't take a doctor to tell you that you would die soon if a vampire didn't stop sucking your blood.
I felt her shudder and something cool splash onto my neck. She was crying? I tried again lifting my hand to gently cup her head, "Please... stop." Before I knew what had happened she flung herself from my body and I was sent careening into the wall. My head hit the wall with a solid thump and my conscious shut off. The last thing I recalled seeing was a smoky pair of indigo orbs that outshined the moon itself.
x.x.x.x.x.x.
"Did you see that?" a tall man with a stooping neck asked. His name was FishBone D.
"I didn't need to see it. I could smell it," a larger man said, his tongue piercing rubbing against his teeth. His name was Shrieker.
"She's the one right?" FishBone D asked leering over the cast iron balcony.
"Yeah, the one who ran from her brother. That Byakushi prick," Shrieker simply answered flipping to the next page in his magazine.
"Should we go after her?" FishBone D asked.
"Nope. As delectable as her soul would be to destroy, we've got strict orders."
FishBone D sighed in frustration, "I don't see why we can't attack her tomorrow. We'd be stronger during the full moon."
"Rumour has it she's got an untrained pup with her. He's started gaining control over his powers recently. There would be no point in taking them both on while he's an unchained dog and she's at full mast," Shrieker said glaing at the magazine picture. He crossed out the eyes of the woman with a ball point pen, who held her newborn child with a maternal delicacy. "We'll wait until she's tired out, then strike."
"That sounds cowardly to me," FishBone D commented and Shrieker chucked the magazine.
"It may sound cowardly to you but it'll be what keeps us alive and it will ensure our success," Shrieker said moving over to the balcony. "She'll be burnt out when we attack but I'm sure she'll still put up a hell of a fight."
They both grinned at his statement and closed the balcony door.
x.x.x.x.x.x.
RUKIA
I held his head to my chest and sobbed. Why him? Why HIM? I looked at my wrist and sliced it open with the very fangs that had drained him. I pressed my wrist to his mouth and let a few droplets pass through his lips. I prayed that I hadn't killed Walter; that I hadn't fatally wounded him.
The sweet euphoria and power that claimed my body as I drained him was addictive, so addictive it was almost impossible to let go of his neck. I did but it was too late, way too late. This was the life a vampire was condemned to, to steal the life of others. It was a choice whether you wanted to feel remorse or pleasure. I wanted to die all over again, let myself starve to death like I was waiting to before. To wait out my last days in the peaceful solitude of a forest, if only I could still have that.
Relief calmed my muscles when I saw the puncture holes on his neck began to close up and heard blood rush throughout his body. The beat of his heart grew louder and I realized my blood had kicked in, it wouldn't transform him but it would be enough to push his body to heal, a small droplet or two worked magic. I wiped the tears from my eyes and the collective blood around my lips and sat in the alley staring at Walter, with a swift move I picked him up and leaped to the roof.
I flew through the night with him on my back searching for the building with the red cross. It took twenty minutes but I found it, I hopped down when no one was looking and I walked to the front entrance. The automatic doors slid open and I walked through, under the fluorescent lights his skin looked a sickly pale and his wrinkles seemed so much heavier then when he smiled. "Hello?" I called and a waiting room full of people turned to look at me, "This guy needs help fast! He has a head would and he's lost a lot of blood!"
"Nurse!" one of the men yelled and I was thankful that humans could be so caring for one another. Everyone got up and helped me put him into a wheeling bed, the nurse came back and processed the order right away calling the trauma doctors.
"What's his condition?" the nurse asked me as she wheeled the bed to a surgery room.
"Lost a lot of blood, he has a humongous bump on the back of his head," I said staring at his face.
"Are you a relative?" she asked and I nodded without thinking, holding on to his frail hand. "I'm going to need his blood type for the transfusions. If you don't know I'll need his name to pull his medical records."
"AB," was the instant answer that shot from my mouth. "Walter Perry has no other pre-existing conditions," I said before she could ask. The information from his blood supplied so many answers, an instinctual invasion of privacy that acted as a defense mechanism for tight situations.
"O-Ok," she said wheeling him to the room. The doctors rushed in after her and I felt myself being pushed back. "You're going to need to stay in the waiting room until he's ready for visitors."
I bit my lip moving back to the doorway, "I understand." I walked down the hallway, running as I left the hospital. I was an awful monster, he didn't need me to hurt him any further. This is what my existence amounted to, a deadly burden no one should be forced to carry.
I would also like to thank TruantPony, Hese Solstis, nana6906, .Lies., Kuroi-cho-tsuki-shiro and RED SIN OF THE DEAD for reviewing. You guys motivate me to write and become a better author so thank you. Your support is fully appreciated.
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