Hey! You guys are the bestest people ever! Thanks so much for understanding and not hating me or that last chapter too much.
Well this wasn't posted as soon as I wanted but not too late, right? Its still under a week anywayz. I hope you like this one better. Its also longer than usual as well since a friend of mine who I'll just call Africa wanted a long chapter. Once again thanks so much for being supportive and understanding!
Special thanks to: Swisz Phantom, Jeni.G, Insistence, maxslayer10, marimbagirl1993, boynxtdoor15, Ram-10, Hippie420, liss-33, mamoru-usa8, Dragonsmaiden66, darkheart1992, HollowZangetsu, Lady Spezz, zxGenesisxz, kurosaki Ichigo Rukia, LadyFord
You guys Rock!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Two figures stood inside a room. Both contemplating on their next course of action. A lot of things were going to happen in a short amount of time and it was always best to be prepared.
"Whats everything we know so far?" asked one of the two figures.
"Only that they're coming tonight." the other confirmed casually.
"Should we tell Byakuya?"
"We've left him in the dark for awhile now. He'll be pretty mad."
The first one laughed. "So you just want it to look like we had no idea."
The figure smiled.
()()()
Rukia and Ichigo were both in her car driving to the New Years party. It was currently 9:56pm. The problem was that Rukia had left to him up over an hour ago. And they would have been eve later had not she remembered why she was at Ichigo's house in the first place.
Rukia was driving while Ichigo was in the passenger seat. They were both... lets say, still feeling the effects of what went on just a few minutes before. The fact that Uryu and Orihime's house was only a few minutes away from Ichigo's house didn't give them much time to settle down. Rukia was freaking out and started suggesting some excuses for why they were late while Ichigo stuck to is earlier suggestion of just telling them. He didn't really like having to lie about their relationship. Especially when he didn't know why she didn't want them to know. 'Could she be ashamed of me?... Nah.' At the cost of sounding arrogant 'she had nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about.' he it was still confusing.
Ichigo interrupted one of Rukia ideas. "We should just tell them or at least you tell me why we can't." she just rolled her eyes. "Besides its not like we're trying to hide something like you getting pregnant of anyth-"
Ichigo stopped in mid speech. His eyes widened and turned to Rukia who was watching the road while listening.
"Rukia...?" Ichigo asked cautiously.
Rukia let out a sigh. She was actually waiting for him to realize they didn't use a condom or that he didn't even bother to ask if she was one birth control. It took a little longer than she thought it would. Once the car got to a stop sign she looked over to him.
"Don't you think its a little late to be worried about that?" she asked a slightly irritated.
"Well I didn't hear say anything at the time either." he pouted like a two year old crossing his arms over his chest.
"Thats not the point!" she defended. "I'm on birth control so I didn't have to say anything but the fact that you didn't bother to ask before fucking was irresponsible." she stated like he was completely stupid.
Ichigo scowled at her. "Why were you on birth control in the first place?"
She was still looking as if contemplating whether she wanted to tell him. Suddenly a honk snapped her out of her thinking and she looked to see the streetlight was green. She started to drive again and ignored the question. She didn't like bringing up stuff from around that time.
Ichigo found it annoying that she just dropped his question like that. He understood she probably didn't want to talk about it but at the moment he felt like she wasn't telling him anything. Before he could ask the question again or why she didn't want to talk about it Rukia spoke again.
"Three years ago I got Norplant implants." She glanced at him and noticed the confused look on his face. "You know, those little rods they put in your arm." to which he nodded. "They last five years so I still have two years left. Does that help?" she finished sarcastically.
Ichigo scoffed but took what she said to thought. That must've meant she was in a serious relationship with someone three years ago. Even though she explained her birth control reasons, she purposely avoided mentioning the guy.
They sat in silence for the rest of the way to their friends' house. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, just quiet.
Once they got to the house Ichigo just walked on in and Rukia followed. Everyone and seriously everyone was already there. Uryu, Orihime, Tatsuki, Chad, Toshiro, Jinta, Ururu, the Twins, Keigo, Mizuiro and his new girlfriend, Momo, and Rangiku. They all looked up and eyed Rukia for a moment before they all started snickering. Ichigo walked past her and over to talk with a few of the guys. Rukia was starting to get annoyed by all the stares.
"What?!" she yelled intimidatingly icy to all her friends. Everyone shivered at her cold tone and quickly looked away.
She crossed her arms over her chest and was about to walk from the doorway when suddenly Rangiku jumped in front of her, keeping the petite woman from going anywhere.
The strawberry-blonde looked Rukia up and down before a huge smile was plastered on her face. "Rukia! I'm so proud of you!"
"Huh?" was her only reply.
"You had sex!" Rangiku cheered. Everyone in attendance looked back up to her and all with that same knowing look.
"Wha! I-I don't... know what your talking about!" Rukia forced out trying her best to sound indifferent. I wasn't working. "Seriously I-"
She stopped when she saw Rangiku holding up a mirror. Rukia took the mirror and looked at herself. Now she knew why everyone was looking at her. Her face was still flushed, she had a hickey on her neck and yes, she had sex hair. Nothing less of a three year old could've taken one look at her and knew she just had some damn good sex. So in other words, she looked like a total whore.
Rukia looked up to see Ichigo with that smirk of his. He didn't even bother to tell her how she looked. She pointed an accusing finger at him as she yelled. "You asshole!" She knew it was useless to deny their relationship now.
He just rose his hands up in defense. "I think the correct term is 'thank you'." he teased.
Everyone knew what he meant by that and couldn't help but feel sorry for the idiot who didn't know how to just keep his cocky mouth shut. It was no surprise when Ichigo got a shoe to the face from across the room.
"Bitch." Ichigo muttered while holding his now bloody nose.
"Yes me and Ichigo are going out and yes we fucked! Everyone satisfied?" she said tartly.
After everyone was no longer focused on Rukia she relaxed. Rangiku suffocated Rukia with her breast in one of her death hugs as she went on about how she knew that her and Ichigo were perfect for each other. Momo went up to her and gave her a big hug as well congratulating her. She liked the idea of her two friends being a couple.
The party goers continued their conversations from before Rukia and Ichigo showed up. Ichigo was now talking to some of the guys and Rukia did the same. They were both irritated with questions that were asked but none the less talked to there friends.
It was a very typical celebration for that group. Rangiku would try to bring the others into a sake contest. Seeing as it was New Years Eve everyone loosened up and well, they got wasted. And a lot of things got out of hand. Everyone had their weird habits when they were drunk.
Rangiku would start taking pictures with everyone and egg the others to keep drinking with her. And at one point she got a hold of Toshiro trapping his head between her... assets in hug, much to his chagrin. Keigo who was a natural pervert would try to grope Rangiku but he only ended up getting knocked out by a drunken kick from her. Momo who never really drank too much would start to tell everyone how much she loved them and how great they were as part of her loving nature. Most of the couples would... show their affection... a lot. Even Uryu who didn't like to display his affections publicly, was all over Orihime as though no one else was there. Ichigo almost attacked Jinta when he saw him and Yuzu making out, as if Jinta was corrupting his innocent sister. It was actually quite a shock to everyone to see Yuzu like that but it was just showing that she was indeed an adult.
And Mizuiro and his girlfriend? Lets just say they were 'missing' and leave it at that. Tatsuki constantly switched from one attitude to another. First she would be hyper, ready to fight someone for no reason, and then to being pissed and ranting about how all guys were jerks. Ichigo and Rukia were a little back and forth as well. One second they were all over each other, and the next they were arguing with one another, and then back again. Although the others suspected its probably like this normally. Chad who was already a really laid back guy was just sitting back watching everyone make fools of themselves. He wasn't that big with nothing to show for, he could hold his alcohol well.
It was a minute to midnight and everyone was getting ready for the New Year. Ichigo and Rukia walked into the living room where everyone else was watching the New Years countdown TV special.
Once it got to the last ten seconds everyone started counting down with the TV.
10...
Rukia's back was to Ichigo while they watched the screen.
...8...
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.
...5...
He brought his mouth down to her ear.
...3...2...1... HAPPY NEW YEARS!
"Happy New Years Rukia." he whispered huskily into her ear.
She turned around to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her mouth up to his, stopping only centimeters away. "Happy New Years Ichigo." before she moved closer, kissing him. Their lips stayed locked while everyone else was cheering for the New Year.
It felt strange but oddly right. When they first met neither of them would've thought they would be there now. Rukia, Momo, and Rangiku moved to Karakura Town and things seemed to be going so well. It was enough to make them forget why they had to leave their jobs and old homes in Osaka to come to Momo's hometown.
Rukia was enjoying herself. More so in the past few months than she thought she ever would. She inwardly chuckled. 'To think when I first got here I couldn't stop complaining about this place. Now I doubt I'll ever want to leave.' and then she stopped her thoughts. Leave? Would they have to leave? They were moved here by Byakuya for their protection, but would they ever have to leave? She certainly didn't want to leave Karakura anytime soon and she was sure Momo and Rangiku felt the same way. But why? Why didn't she want to go back to Osaka, to her dream job and see her old friends? Was it Ichigo? Was it the thought of never seeing Ichigo again the real reason she didn't want to go? That couldn't be it... right?
Rukia simply brushed the worry off. Even if they had to leave someday, it surely wouldn't be anytime soon. And she would have more time to think about it when and if the time came. She really didn't want to think of leaving her new friends. Leaving Ichigo. She felt a pang in her heart at that thought. She pushed the feeling away. Now was not the time to think of such things.
About an hour after midnight everyone settled down and started to leave. Ichigo was getting a ride back home from Rukia while Momo and Rangiku drove home. It was 1:00 in the morning after all.
"You sure you should be driving?" Ichigo asked warily as they got into the car.
"I'm not that drunk." she retorted.
"Yeah but as I recall you weren't drunk at all when..." he trailed off upon seeing Rukia's expression. He stayed silent so he wouldn't end up saying something stupid.
"It was nice to hangout with everyone without having to hide anything." she said with a sigh of relief.
Ichigo chuckled. "You're the one who made it so hard on yourself in the first place."
"Whatever. Like you want to tell your dad." the raven haired woman teased.
"Trust me. Me not telling him would be doing you a favor."
"How so?"
"Have you seen how he is with Yuzu and Karin? Well its going to be the exact opposite with us. He's going to be singing about you being his third daughter and having grandchildren to that poster of mom." he muttered sounding annoying by the thought of what his father was going to do.
'Thats right. His mom died when he was nine, even though he wouldn't tell me what happened...' she thought. She couldn't help but think of that since he never brought up his mom, even if it was just about the poster his dad keeps in the house. She had never seen it but she has heard about it from the others. The poster seemed to annoy all the family but Isshin.
Rukia laughed at the thought. "Sounds better than what you would have to deal with if you ever met my brother." she mumbled, more to herself than Ichigo.
He looked at her oddly before grinning. "Maybe I should meet Byakuya."
The car swerved. Rukia thought he was serious and had turned to face Ichigo but ended up turning the car with her. She quickly regained control of the car after receiving some honks and dirty looks from other drivers, to which she just flicked off. Seriously, who would be driving past 1am on New Years. Shouldn't they be with family or something? Ichigo was sitting wide eyed in the passenger seat, clutching the side of the door. He was breathing hard when he looked over to her like she was crazy.
"What the hell was that! You practically gave me a heart attack." he yelled.
"Sorry I just..." she trailed off and kept her eyes on the road, not letting them meet his. Couldn't blame her though. Not like should could tell him that Byakuya was the head of one of the most powerful yakuza in Japan and that he might not want to meet her brother at all unless he liked the cliché term, 'sleeping with the fishes'.
After a few minutes of silence Rukia looked over to Ichigo who was just staring out the window. His eyebrows were furrowed into his perma-scowl and he looked to be in deep thought. Probably thinking about why she was acting so weird, she figured.
He was indeed thinking about Rukia acting so suspicious all of the sudden. What was so bad about her brother that the thought of Ichigo meeting him made her freak out like that? He tried to remember what she had told him about her brother. 'She said he was a businessman. He adopted Rukia as his sister after her older sister Hisana, died. But she had never even met her sister and wasn't found by Byakuya until she was 15 in an orphanage.' he thought to himself. 'Damn, this sounds like some kind of soap opera.'
They soon arrived at his house and Ichigo left. Rukia began to drive back home. Home. She was happy to be able to call her place in Karakura, home.
She yawned as she reached a stop light. Momo and Rangiku would probably have just gotten back to the house now. At that moment Rukia was happy that Ichigo's house wasn't that far from their's because she was just too tired to stay up any longer. She couldn't wait to just get home and sleep.
Once she got home she saw her friends both in their pajamas getting ready to go to bed. Rukia said her good nights to them, as did they and they all went to bed.
()()()
Rukia was in her bed dreaming away when she heard somethings from downstairs that woke her up. Her bedroom, along with Momo and Rangiku's were all on the second floor. She looked at her alarm clock. 3:32am. She narrowed her eyebrows at the digital clock. No one should be up now. 'It could just be Momo or Rangiku getting a late night snack.' she reasoned. 'But...' she sighed as she threw off her covers and got out of her queen size bed. There was always that damn 'but'.
She quietly walked down the second floor hallway of the enormous house. Once she got to the stairs she heard another sound. Like something broke. She tiptoed down each step carefully. Once she got to the base of the steps she hear a little shuffling coming from the kitchen. Her heart started to race. Rukia didn't know what to do at this point. Go and see who it was or just assume it was her roommates and go back to bed. The latter sounded so much more pleasant but she knew she couldn't do that.
She was about to turn on the lights but stopped. The noise became more clear as she got into the living room. And it definitely wasn't Momo or Rangiku. It sounded like men talking. She crept further into the living room, being sure to stay away from the view of the kitchen-to-living room window. She wanted to look into the kitchen to see who they were but didn't want to risk being spotted. Rukia knew she should go upstairs and warn her friends but there was only one phone in the house and it was right in her view. If she went back upstairs she could loose her chance to call for help. She moved in closer, sticking low to the ground. She was only a few feet away from the phone when she covered her mouth and froze from what she heard the men say.
"Quiet!" a man whispered harshly. "How are we supposed to get this done if you keep knocking shit over."
"It was an accident." the man defended.
"Both of you quiet. You want us to go back to Gin saying we fucked up?" another man cut in.
"Oh you don't have to worry about that. Gin is coming here himself." said the first man.
Rukia was glad her hand was over her mouth or else they might have heard her gasp. Her stomach clenched and she felt like she was going to throw up.
"Now listen. Don't kill any of them yet. We want to make sure we don't kill the Kuchiki girl by accident. Once Gin confirms its her we get rid of the other two. Got it?"
Rukia was on the floor against the wall under the window. Her pulse was racing, she could feel herself breaking out into a cold sweat, and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She couldn't see the men but it was obvious they worked for Gin. Gin Ichimaru and his men were here to kidnap her and kill Momo and Rangiku! All sorts of questions raced through her mind but none were as important as what to do. She could call Renji, Byakuya, and Aizen... but they were all back in Osaka. It would take hours for them to get here. Her best bet was to call the police.
Rukia crawled closer to the phone. She reached up to grab the cordless phone that was resting on the window counter. Once her hand wrapped around it, she pressed 'redial' without realizing it. She brought the phone down without even noticing the ringing on the other end. Rukia was so distracted with getting the phone she also didn't notice the men had stopped talking and left the kitchen.
Just as she was about to dial 911 she heard a muffled 'hello' come from the phone. Her eyes traveled to the small screen and she recognized the number that was redialed. She brought the phone up to her ear.
"Ichigo." she whispered as softly as she could.
"Rukia? What are you doing up this late?"
Rukia's scream echoed through the house. She dropped the phone as she felt someone grab her from behind. Who ever it was, he was clearly bigger and stronger than her. Hell, he was bigger than Ichigo! His arms were wrapped around hers along with the rest of her body, holding her still. She began to panic and started trashing, trying to get away from the man. Rukia tried to scream again but a gloved hand quickly covered her mouth. She could hear her name come from the phone a few times before it went silent. The man didn't seem to notice the phone in the dark
Another two men walked from behind to face her. They were wearing black shirts and pants. As well as gloves like the other man. One was wearing a black hat. They looked at her and then gave each other satisfied looks.
()()()
Ichigo was at his house, in bed sleeping. He was under his covers when he heard his phone ringing. He groaned and just pulled the covers over his head. After it rang a few times with a groan he finally grabbed the phone.
"Hello?" he answered half asleep.
There was a pause. "Ichigo."
It sounded like Rukia but he wasn't for sure since she was whispering. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the time. It was 3:40am.
"Rukia? What are you doing up this late?" he asked slightly more awake.
Suddenly he heard a scream from the other line. He pulled the phone away from his ear at the loud scream before bringing it back.
"Rukia!" he yelled into the phone as he jumped out the bed. All he heard was what sounded like struggling. "RUKIA!"
When he got no answer Ichigo threw on a shirt and pants as fast as he could and ran to his front door. Once he was outside his house he looked at his car only to remember that the tires were slashed. He would have to run there. Luckily it wasn't too far away.
()()()
"Looks like we got one already." said the hatted one.
Rukia continued to squirm in the mans hold as he spoke. "Don't just stand there. Go search for the other two." he ordered.
The two men both walked aimlessly in the dark house. When they started to walk up the staircase Rukia felt concern for not just herself now but for her friends as well. Maybe there was a way she could warn them. But how?
The man started to walk her back into the kitchen but she wasn't going without a fight. She began kicking things over, trying to make as much noise as possible since no one could hear her muffled screams.
"Stay still!" he grunted irritatedly.
Rukia brought her hands up to the man's hand that was over her mouth. She tried to pull his hand away but to no avail. She could feel his grip tighten on her to a point where it was becoming harder for her to breathe. Her hair was sticking to her face from her sweat and her muscles strained.
She needed to do something. She couldn't just let this happen again.
Rukia pulled at the man's hand again. She was able to loosen his grip and freed her mouth. She let out a gasp and without missing a beat lunged her teeth into the man's unclothed wrist. She could taste his blood on her teeth before he let go of her all together.
He backed up holding his wrist. "You fucking bitch!" he seethed.
Rukia kept her back against the wall as her eyes swept the floor for the phone. She couldn't spot it with the lights off. When the man seemed to snap out of his fit he turned back to her. Rukia quickly darted to the kitchen and up to the counter. She grabbed a knife that was in the sink and swung around, pointing it to the man who had chased after her into the kitchen.
"Put the knife down and I won't have to ring your fucking neck!" he cursed again.
Rukia's grip only tightened as she narrowed her eyes at the opposing man. He was standing only a few feet away. He had the nerve to try and come closer to her as if she wouldn't try and attack him if he did. Her breathing was irregular, her stomach was churning, and she was feeling light headed, but she had to ignore it all. Rukia was looking for the right moment to strike.
"We can't find them." a voice said.
Both Rukia and the man looked through the kitchen/living room window to see the other two men walking towards them. It didn't appear that they noticed she was aiming a knife at their partner. He looked at them, seeming to have forgotten she was even there. They walked into the kitchen, both behind the hatted man.
"What do you mean you can't find them?!" he yelled at them, sounding very pissed.
He was turned slightly towards the two men. 'This is my chance.' she urged herself. In one blurred motion, Rukia ran forward with the pointed metal out. The man noticed her at the last second and tried to back up. As she thrust the knife out the man jumped back, but it was a useless attempt on his part. The blade went into his left thigh. He yelled out in pain and fell backwards on top of the other two.
Rukia turned around and ran out the other end of the kitchen and dashed to the front door. Just as she was about to reach the door it swung open. Her eyes widened once she recognized the man standing in the doorway. Gin Ichimaru. There he was standing casually at the door with that constant smile on his face.
"Hello Rukia. Long time no see." he chimed, smiling foxily.
She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to think. Her legs seemed to move on there own as she ran to the stairs. She sprinted two steps at a time, not even bothering to check to see if he was following her.
The three men came out the kitchen to see Gin standing across the house with that creepy smile of his. They scurried over to their boss with hast.
"I see they've given you guys some trouble." Gin commented from looking at one of his men who was bleeding from his leg.
When they didn't reply he gave his orders. "You two," he said while pointing to two of the men. "Go and search the rest of the first floor and the basement." he then pointed to the hatted man. "You will come with me upstairs."
The three men nodded and all went to where they were ordered.
Rukia looked in her friends rooms but they weren't in either. She then ran into her bedroom to hide. She looked over the room, her eyes stopping at her bed. She quickly got on her knees and was about to crawl under when she almost yelled out in surprise. Under her bed were Momo and Rangiku hiding as well, looking quite shocked back at her.
"Rukia? Quick get under." Rangiku whispered.
She did as she was told and soon all three women were under Rukia's large bed. "What are you doing in here?" she asked, not to sound like she was complaining.
"I heard some noise so I woke up Rangiku to go look with me. When we checked your room here you weren't there. Before we could leave the room we heard someone talking and we knew it wasn't you so we both got under your bed." Momo explained.
"Whats going on?" Rangiku asked Rukia.
She looked at them gravely. "Gin is here." both her friends turned pale though it was hard to tell in the dark room. "There are three others with him."
Momo and Rangiku both could feel their hearts skip beats. 'This can't be happening.' was all they could think.
There was a long pause. Momo was the first to speak. "What do we do?"
Rangiku let out a sigh. "We have to call the police. Fast." Both women confirmed their agreements. "We'll have to get to the phone down stairs, and if its possible, get out the house. Our best bet would be to run over to the neighbors' houses. Gin will back off if we wake up the neighborhood."
"I'll go." Momo volunteered.
"No, we'll all go." Rukia said demandingly, with Rangiku nodding.
"We can't. Look, if they're down there before we can get to the phone then they have all three of us. Let me go. That way if something happens to me, you guys won't get caught too." Momo said with a stern look.
Rukia and Rangiku were about to protest but Momo cut them off. "I'll be fine." she said with a weak smile. "You guys just stay here. If I don't come back in about five minutes then you can do whatever you want."
Rukia and Rangiku were taken back. This was very un-Momo like but still very much like her. Always thinking about others. They didn't want to admit it, but she did have a good point about only one of them going but they didn't like the idea of her going. Rukia felt like she should go, seeing as they were after her.
"Momo, let me go. They won't kill me if I get caught." Rukia tried to reason.
"But Rukia I'm the fastest. I'd have the best chance of getting away if spotted." and without letting Rukia respond she crawled from under the bed. "See you guys soon."
Momo silently walked out the room, not wanting to close the door at the chance of it making a sound. She peered down the hallway and heard shuffling coming from one of the rooms on the other side of the hall. She soundlessly dashed down the stairs. No one was there but she saw the basement door was open. She crept into the living room, careful not to make a sound.
Once she spotted the phone on the ground she dived for it. She was on her knees as she quickly punched in 911. She felt a jerk at her stomach when nothing happened. The phone was dead. Dead. Just like they would be if she couldn't get help quick.
She got off her knees and ran to the door. She noiselessly turned the nob and was prepared to sprint to the closest house when she saw a man standing in front of a car at the end of the lawn. She knew the man. She scampered up to him and engulfed him in a trembling hug.
He patted her back before speaking. "Momo, whats wrong?"
She looked up at him with tearing eyes. "Rukia and Rangiku need your help! They're trapped. Gin is in there!" She mustered through sobs.
"There there. Everything will be ok." he assured with a fatherly smile.
"Thank you Mr. Aizen."
()()()
Its been a few minutes and Momo hadn't returned nor have they heard any noise indicating she was caught. Rukia looked over to Rangiku who was looking concerned as well.
"Come on. We need to go and-Ahhh!" Rukia's sentence was interrupted by her scream.
Rangiku looked in horror as she saw Rukia being pulled from under the bed by her hair. She could hear a man snickering as she saw Rukia's feet stumble back and forth. She narrowed her eyes, she wasn't going to let Rukia be taken without a fight. Rangiku quickly rolled from under then bed and stood up facing a man in black with blood all over his left leg holding Rukia by her hair. Rukia was currently hunched over by the way the man was pulling on her black hair. Her violet eyes were squinted and her teeth clenched as he jerked his arm once in awhile causing Rukia to wince in pain. Her hands were holding his along with some of her hair, trying to pull away from the man's grip.
The man and Rukia were standing next to the door while Rangiku was on the other side of the bed. "Let her go!" she yelled about to make her way around the bed.
But then Gin walked into the room closing the door behind him. He passed Rukia and the man that was holding her and sauntered over to the strawberry-blonde.
"My my, look at my beautiful wife." he sang as he got closer to her. He brought his hand up to her chin which she slapped away. He grabbed her wrist, twisted it, and held it tightly behind her back. "And still feisty as ever." he hissed into her ear. She could feel his breath on her neck.
Rangiku struggled in the hold but he just pulled her arm up behind her making her raise to her toes. "Let her go Gin!" yelled Rukia who was also still struggling. The man holding her was looking quite irritated now. He curled up his fist and gave Rukia a punch to her cheek, causing her to fall to her backside with a whimper. Rangiku tried to lung at the guys but Gin just tighten his iron grip.
"Sorry I can't do that. You see my boss needs Rukia and so we can't just let her go." replied Gin. "You know, I don't think there is much love in our marriage anymore, Rangiku. What do you think?" he mused.
"I think you can shove this marriage up your ass!" she shot back.
Rukia who was now on the ground with the man still holding her hair was looking at her friend frantically. They both knew not to push him but for some reason Rangiku thought she should voice her opinion. Gin's grin got wider. He pulled out a handle and with a press of a button revealed it to be a switchblade.
He held it up to Rangiku's neck as he spoke. "Then lets end it shall we?"
()()()
Ichigo was not too far from the house now. On his way he had called back multiple times with his cell phone but got no answer and after awhile the phone was disconnected. At that point he didn't know what to think and called the police though he knew it would take some time for them to get to Rukia's neighbor. Cops usually never had to be anywhere near that area.
He was cutting through someone's lawn when the house was in view. He started running even faster but soon slowed when he saw something not far from the door. He couldn't tell what it was in the pitch black night. He got closer to what ever it was to get a better look. It was on the ground, on the small walkway that led from the front door.
Ichigo narrowed his eyes trying to see what it was until...
His eyes were stuck wide, his body was frozen stiff, his blood ran cold, his adrenaline rushed through his veins in anger. He took a few steps closer, his jaw and fists clenched.
She was on her back still in her pajama pants and t-shirt. Her limbs were all resting normally as if she were sleeping. Her dark brown hair, fallen out of its usual bun and soaked in blood. Her face was tilted to the side, facing Ichigo. Her grey eyes were open and lifeless. Her mouth was ajar. Her skin already lost of color. A small hole was in the middle of her forehead were some red liquid had dripped out.
Lying on the ground was Momo Hinamori... dead.
He didn't know what to do or what to even think. Ichigo could feel himself start to tremble with rage. But also a sense of revolt. Some directed at himself. Why couldn't he have gotten there sooner?
Ichigo looked at her corpse. He couldn't stop the horrid image of his mother's lifeless body from 16 years ago come into his head. He quickly shook his head. He couldn't just stand there. He still had to find Rukia. 'I have to get to Rukia before...' he couldn't even finish that thought.
He forcefully tore his gaze away from Momo. He went for the open door and stormed into the house. Tables, chairs, lamps, etc. were all knocked over and lying around the house. Suddenly two men in black emerged from another part of the house into Ichigo's view. They looked at him before saying something. He didn't know what they said, his rage muffled everything else out.
One of the men charged at Ichigo. He side stepped the man in black, and gave him a fury fueled punch to the head. The man fell forward and clutched his head, before he could even think about getting back up Ichigo gave him a hard kick to the face, effectively knocking the man out. Ichigo then turned his death glare to the other man who was now scared shitless. In a flash the man turned around and ran away. Right then, Ichigo heard yelling coming from upstairs.
Ignoring the cowardly man, Ichigo ran to the other side of the room and up the stairs. Once he was upstairs he heard more yelling and went to the room it was coming from. He tried to open the door but it was jammed. He was fed up with all these interferences. He backed up and in one quick jolt he rammed into the door partially tearing it off its hinges but opening it non the less. Ichigo regained his footing after barreling into the room.
When he looked up he saw another man in black holding Rukia to the ground by her hair. When Rukia turned her head to the door she was shocked to see Ichigo standing there. Fear and relief washed over her. Relief that someone was here to save her and Rangiku, but fear that it was Ichigo and he could get hurt.
Ichigo didn't see Rangiku or Gin in the room as well. All his auburn eyes saw were the guy who had a hold of Rukia. Not even giving the man time to register his appearance, Ichigo gave the man a swift punch to the jaw, knocking him out and releasing his hold.
Rukia looked dumbfounded at Ichigo before speaking. "I-Ichigo... wha..." she couldn't think of anything to say.
Ichigo grabbed Rukia by her arm and pulled her up to her feet. "Are you ok?" he asked concern evident in his voice. She just nodded, unable to form words. He protectively pushed her behind him. Ichigo then turned his hard gaze to Rangiku and the silver haired man behind her. "Let her go." he deadpanned.
"Hm, people seem to be saying that a lot." he teased. Rangiku winced as he pulled on her arm again, signaling he wasn't going to corporate.
"I said let her go!" Ichigo shouted, taking a step forward.
Gin raised the knife higher to her neck and pushed the cold steel into her skin creating a red line to surface. Ichigo stopped with his teeth gritted and his hands balled into fists. "Sorry but I'm afraid that won't be possible." he said nonchalantly. "Now I don't know who you are or better yet why you're here, but I advice you to leave now before you end up dead."
Rukia wanted so badly to tell Ichigo to just go, but she knew it would be useless.
Ichigo and Gin were just staring at each other, not taking their eyes away for a second. Ichigo was glaring and Gin was smiling. There was a dreadful silence that seemed so loud Rukia wanted to cover her ears. Rukia's focus on the two men was cut short when she heard the previously unconscious man behind her get up. She watched with wide eyes as he pulled out a knife of his own. Rukia tried to yell out to Ichigo but her mouth wouldn't work and now she could only watch as the man was about to strike her with the weapon. The man pulled his arm back and swung it forward, Rukia shut her eyes. She heard Rangiku gasp as she must've seen the man as well.
Rukia waited for the blade to make contact, the pain to kick in, the blood to spill, and death to come.
She felt herself being pushed backwards and falling back to the ground, meaning she was just stabbed, she figured. But, no pain. No instead she heard someone else grunt in pain. She was still sitting when she opened her eyes but didn't understand what happened. Ichigo was standing between her and the man, his back to her and his body was blocking off her view of the man altogether. 'So Ichigo pushed me out the way.' shethought thankfully. She couldn't help but feel at ease for a second. Rukia glanced over to Rangiku and Gin. But something was wrong. They were both standing in the same position, but the look on their faces scared her. Gin looked quite satisfied with what just happened while Rangiku looked frightened, even more so than before. But why? Ichigo just saved her.
"I told you, you'd end up dead if you didn't leave." Gin chuckled.
'What does he mean by that?' she wondered. Rukia looked back over to Ichigo but he was still turned away. She then noticed something was off. He was slightly hunched over and was... trembling? No. More like struggling. Rukia leaned closer trying to see what was going on. She then saw the man standing directly in front of Ichigo with his arms extended forward, almost like he was...
She then comprehended what happened.
"Ichigo?" Rukia said almost inaudibly.
She stood up slowly, and once she was on her feet she saw exactly what happened. She was sure her heart stopped at what she saw. Her eyes became teary at the mere sight, whether he was still standing or not.
Ichigo was standing with his eyes squinted and his teeth bared. The man in front of Ichigo was grinning like a lunatic. In his hands was the knife that was buried to the hilt into Ichigo's stomach. The man was steady trying to push it even further into Ichigo but he was also holding the hilt, trying to keep it still. As Ichigo was able to get part of the knife out Rukia saw the blood and instantly felt like she was going to throw up. She instinctively took a step forward.
"Rukia stop." she did so upon hearing Ichigo speak to her. His voice was raspy and he was obviously in pain. "Just stay there. I'm fine." he said quite calmly for his situation, but she could tell it was forced.
Rukia was about to yell at him that he wasn't alright but she didn't get the chance. Not wanting to let go of the knife since the man would only jab it deeper, Ichigo brought his head back and then head-butted the guy. The offending man fell back from the blow, pulling out the blade in the process. Once the metal was out, Ichigo gripped his stab wound with his left hand and took a step forward as if ready to fight the man. Rukia grabbed his arm trying to keep him back. She wasn't going to let him risk getting stabbed again.
"Ichigo wait!" she stressed.
He finally looked at her and saw she was crying. Because of him. Because he was hurt.
Ichigo turned back to the man who was getting up again, with the knife still pointed out in their direction. The man was standing intimidatingly tall over both Ichigo and Rukia. Suddenly the man fell forward for what seemed like no reason. Ichigo and Rukia jumped back so he wouldn't fall on them. He hit the ground with a loud thud. Where the man was standing only seconds ago was now occupied by two mysterious figures that the shadows did well to hide.
"What the hell?" Ichigo thought out loud.
Rukia dared to glance back at Gin who also looked baffled. Rukia looked back to the two shadows.
The first on to speak was a man. "Sorry we're late." he said in a laid back yet serious tone. "We got held up."
They both stepped out the shadows. Everyone's eyes, save for Rangiku, shot wide in disbelief.
"Urahara! Yoruichi!" both Ichigo and Rukia yelled out at the same time. Then they turned towards each other still surprised, and spoke at the same time again. "You know them?"
Urahara and Yoruichi just stood in the path of the doorway looking at Gin who merely sneered at the two. "Well I can say I'm a little shocked to see you two here."
"You should have known better. You didn't honestly think Byakuya would let them anywhere alone did you?" Yoruichi supplied, referring to Rukia and her friends.
"I guess I did." Gin answered.
"So what are you going to do know?" Urahara asked almost sounding bored.
Ichigo and Rangiku were at a complete loss. They had no idea what on earth they were talking about. Rukia was the only one who seemed to understand what they were referring to.
Gin let out a sigh and released Rangiku from his hold. He pushed her forward as he took a few steps back closer to the window. He gave everyone one last smile before he spoke. "Until next time." and with that he shielded his head and jumped out the window, breaking the glass.
Everyone was shocked at the sudden action and ran to the window. When they looked out there was no sign of Gin.
Ichigo, Rukia, and Rangiku turned around ready to confront Urahara and Yoruichi about how they were involved but were amazed to see they had disappeared as well. They all dumbly looked around the room but didn't see any indication that the two were even there in the first place.
Rukia suddenly tuned her attention back to Ichigo and gave him a huge hug. She could never express the amount of relief she felt at that moment. She then pulled back and looked at where he was still bleeding. Her eyes were still teary as she spoke. "You idiot, why did you come?"
He chuckled softly. "I was under the impression you would be happy to see me." she couldn't help but smile a little, seeing him being able to joke at a time like that.
Rangiku finally snapped out of her shocked state. She rubbed her neck and then felt a jolting pain in her left wrist where Gin was holding her. She massaged her wrist and started to make her way over to the bedroom door. "Are you ok Rangiku?" Ichigo asked.
She nodded and then looked at Ichigo from the front since he was stabbed. Once she saw the blood she looked like she was going to be sick. "Can we just get this damn house and get you to a hospital?" Rukia said stepping in between the two to spare her friend from having to see Ichigo.
They nodded again and left the room, making sure not trip over the large man on the ground. They weren't sure what the shopkeeper and the cat woman did to him or if he was even alive but they honestly didn't care. Ichigo even made sure he kicked the bastard on his way out. Once they were down the stairs he saw the guy he had knocked out was gone and no one else was in the house.
Ichigo froze in his tracks when a dreadful realization washed over him. "Wait." he rasped. The two woman looked at him oddly before they heard sirens. The two quickly forgot he just told them to wait and rushed to the front door. Ichigo tried to go after them but was limited by his injury.
He heard them gasp and his heart instantly dropped. Ichigo walked up behind Rukia and Rangiku with his head down, he couldn't bare himself to see their faces.
Rangiku slowly walked forward until she was only a few feet from Momo before dropping to her knees. Her eyes were flooding with tears and her right hand was over her mouth while the left was extended out as if debating whether to touch her friend's corpse.
Rukia, whose violet eyes also looked like a dam had broken, was stuck where she was. She couldn't move from her spot or look away. But she didn't need to get any closer to know her friend, Momo, was gone. Ichigo placed a hand on her shoulder and she just swung around into his arms. Her tears soaked his shirt while her sobs were muffled by his body. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on top her head. Ichigo hated it. He felt so useless right now. He couldn't save Momo, he couldn't stop that bastard from getting away or the one who had pulled the trigger, and he couldn't do anything to console Rukia or Rangiku. What was he good for?
The police came out of their cars and quickly flooded the yard. One stood Rangiku up and led her away from Momo's body. A few others had Ichigo and Rukia go over to the ambulance truck to get checked out. The police went into the house but only found one of the men unconscious inside. Once they secured the scene they asked the three what happened and the usual questions.
After a few minutes of talking the police decided they wanted Ichigo, Rukia, and Rangiku to come into the police station to make full statements and etc. The three were really disgusted with the way they were handling the situation.
They were all pretty shook up and distraught. Rukia and Rangiku kept urging Ichigo to go to the hospital first and then go to the police station afterwards. He didn't want to leave them to have to deal with everything by themselves. But he needed stitches and he would have to go to the hospital to get them. After trying to convince them he was fine (which he wasn't) he finally gave up.
Rukia had only a few bruises. She was in the best condition out of everyone, which only served to further her guilt. Rangiku's left wrist was sprained from when Gin was holding her. The ambulance gave her a small strap on cast and let her go. Ichigo on the other hand was forced to get more treatment. He was actually getting pissed when one of the medic people kept telling him how lucky he was. Apparently he was stabbed to the right of his stomach, missing all his major arteries. Ichigo just had to go get cleaned up, stitched, and then he could leave. They were defiantly the lucky ones.
They all just couldn't help but feel like they were let off too easy compared to what happened to Momo.
Ichigo was taken (more like dragged) to the hospital leaving just Rukia and Rangiku. The two women sat in the police car as it drove them to the station. They were both still dazed by what had happened in the last hour. They leaned off each other as they both sat silently, trying to understand what happened. How it happened. Why it happened.
Why Momo Hinamori was gone.
Yes, I did it, I killed Momo. Sorry if you like her but it was necessary for the story. Africa, I know you didn't want anyone to die but, well it had to be done. It was painful to kill her off and to stab Ichigo as well, I mean really! Scarring his beautifully sculpted body ;(
So there was lots of dramatic stuff in this one. I'm a little scared to write the next chapter because since I decided to kill Momo instead of Rangiku (who I was going to kill at first) there will be a lot more dramatic reactions and effects from everyone. I decided against killing Rangiku (at least yet... jk. maybe) because I always see her die in fics. Since this one was a little heavy I tried to squeeze in a little fluff in the begining. But there will be more later and it will not be followed by some deaths lol.
Also I never really thought about how long I wanted this fic to be since its my first and all. How long to you guys want it? Let me know!
Please Review! Tell me what you think because remember, this fic depends on you guys. Luv ya!
