TEN
DOUBT YOU, DOUBT ME
"Who's there?"
Rukia tilted her head as she heard the voice and saw the girl on night patrol duty, her voice hard and stance at ready to fight.
Seeing her, the girl quickly recovered herself, and bowed. "Oh, Rukia-sama!"
"Yeah."
The girl looked at her curiously. "No disrespect intended, but what were you doing out there?"
Rukia sighed. "Just a breath of fresh air needed, that's all."
"Oh, okay." The girl moved slightly to the side, allowing Rukia to pass. "Have a good night, then."
The superior noticed the girl's dark eyes, the air of weariness she had. Passing by, she held the girl's shoulder. "I'll have someone relieve you."
"T-there's no need, Rukia-sama!"
"You look tired. I know we all are, so there should be turns for the patrolling. Don't worry. This is under my authority, and any blame would be mine." She smiled at the girl and left her bowing graciously.
Rukia entered the building and after walking through the hallways for a little while, saw several girls still up. She looked for the fittest among them and called her, telling her to relieve the girl outside.
When the girl had left for her duty, Rukia followed the way to the sleeping quarters.
The side of the building she had just entered from required her to pass by the meeting room to get to her destination. As she walked by, Rukia heard a chair scrape beyond the closed doors of the meeting room. She stiffened in surprise. Who would be up in the room at this late hour?
Soft voices reached her ears. Rukia thought of knocking on the door just to see who was inside.
As she neared the shut doors, she could make out the voices of their leader, Yoruichi, and her deputy, Kûkaku. The fist about to knock stopped. She couldn't help but to overhear what was exchanged.
"You've been going into the city a lot lately. Have you found any leads?" Yoruichi was saying.
Rukia heard Kûkaku grunt. "Sort of. I've been asking the people in the area I was from and others as well. Seems as if they've moved out since I left."
"Do you know where?"
"No. Nobody does. … I only hope that they're safe. They're important to me."
"I know. I'm sor – "
"Shut up, will you? I've told you a million times, I did this out of my own decisions. Leaving my brothers was my own choice too. That is that."
Brothers?Rukia's face turned to astonishment.
Inside the room, she heard Yoruichi sigh heavily. "Kûkaku, are we getting any closer to our goal?"
"Though I am helping you because I know the truth, this is yourgoal, Yoruichi."
Yoruichi scoffed. "I want to kill him. I haveto kill him. I will avenge her death."
"I know that. I share your feelings. But, what then? When he is finished, what will happen to this gang?"
There was a pause from Yoruichi before she said, "I would release all these women from the fate I cast them into. And if the men picked out a new leader, I would probably retreat to the city. My only aim is to kill him. After that, I will have nothing against the men if they do not cause any harm."
Myonlyaimistokillhim… The words rang through Rukia's head.
"I pledged my loyalty to you a long time ago, Yoruichi, and it is still strong. I will help you all the way to the end, until thatmanis killed." A pause. "She was a friend of mine too. I would have done the same thing."
"Aa. Thanks."
There was the sound of someone walking before it stopped. Kûkaku snorted. "For what? We've been friends and partners-in-crime for ages, Yoruichi, you and I. And I've always loved trouble."
Yoruichi laughed softly. "Yeah.."
Kûkaku's laughter joined hers for a moment before it died. "I've always been wondering what Urahara feels about this."
There was small sigh on Yoruichi's part. "He supports me, but he doesn't totally support the war. He tells me multiple times to just stop it, but we're still here. I know, deep down, that he'd want the revenge too."
"We'll just have to end this fast for everyone to live in peace."
Silence fell and Rukia could not hear anything else. Slowly, she backed away from the door, her heart beating slightly out of its usual rhythm. She turned quickly and moved away from the room.
What was that? What's happening here?
Yoruichi and Kûkaku's conversation sat prominently at the front of Rukia's mind, raising questions in her head. This war was of avenging someone's death. It had nothing to do with any women in the gang at all, except for Yoruichi and Kûkaku. They had been recruited for the sake of one's personal vengeance. These women were all innocent, something that had probably never crossed any of their minds!
And Urahara has a part in this? Seemed that way, Rukia said to herself, her face frowning. There was also the fact that Kûkaku mentioned 'brothers.' From what she knew, everyone in the gang had no associations with the outside world. They had no family, no friends aside from each other. So, who are her brothers?
Rukia bit her lower lip. What is this war, actually? Why are they fighting in it?
"Why are we fighting? The question's been bugging me since the last battle."
Kurosaki Ichigo's voice suddenly appeared in her head. He had been asking the same questions.
"I have no answer."
But I think I do.
Rukia felt like telling him about this, but shook her head at the preposterous thought. What good would it bring to him if he knew, anyway?
He could get out of this war. And you too.
Her subconscious mind blurted out the words and Rukia blinked in confusion. Her roiling thoughts sent an uninvited headache to her head and she sighed in annoyance.
I can't think of this now.
The sleeping quarters came into view and she entered quietly, noticing that only Rangiku and Nemu's beds were occupied. She went to her bed and placed her sword against the wall. Stripping off her skin-tight clothes, she put on a loose shirt and a pair of shorts. She slipped into the covers of her small bed and soon fell into a restless sleep.
~~~ xxx ~~~
Her dreams were messed up, filled with distorted images and crazy sounds. The dark emotions and atmosphere in it overwhelmed her, making her curl up in a tight ball.
Men, women, children…
The moon, stars… smoke and blood…
Raging fires were everywhere, lighting up the fearful faces of the innocent. From the flames of two opposite sides, long, thin silhouettes appeared. Eyes glowed red, steel glinted, guns were cocked. The innocent tried to flee, but they were surrounded.
Rukia breathed hard, screaming at the oncoming attackers to stop and at the frightened people to run. She ran forward, trying to herd the defenseless people away. They stood rooted to their spots, men protecting the women and children, the mothers clutching their children tight to their breasts. They looked at her with eyes full of fear and backed away from her.
She couldn't understand why they would avoid her. She was trying to help them!
Panting, she slowly looked down. She was in form-fitting clothes, unlike the people's own, alien and strange. Gun sheaths were strapped to her thighs and the white strap of her sword sheath was slung across her chest.
Oh, crap..
"No, no! It's not what you think!" She reached out for them but they only put more distance between her and them.
The line of killers approached steadily and the sudden war cry made Rukia's heart pound. Quickly, she whirled around, grabbing her sword from its scabbard.
Except her hand could not reach for it.
What?
She was sure that SodenoShirayuki was in its sheath; she could feel its weight against her back. But she couldn't grasp the hilt.
Cursing, she reached for her guns only to find them missing as well.
Screams pierced the night. In horror, she watched helplessly as the line of hunters surged towards each other, massacring the innocent in their path. She saw men and women stabbed and beheaded, children killed mercilessly. Blood flowed on the earth like a river.
As she ran forward, shouting out to the killers to stop, she suddenly found herself among them. Her hand was raised with a gun in it, poised to shoot at the terrified face of a young boy. Her left hand held her sword, hacking away at a nearby enemy.
She gasped, feeling her forefinger press ever so lightly on the trigger. The boy shielded his face, crying out. Tears ran freely over his cheeks as he stumbled back a couple of steps and fell. Blood stained his hands and face, seeping into his black hair.
"Please don't…" he whimpered.
Rukia tried to stop herself, but it was as if her body had a mind of its own. She walked jerkily to the boy as she tried to restrain herself. Her finger put more pressure on the gun trigger, her other hand coming up to point the sword at the boy's face.
"No…" she whispered, straining to pull back. Around her, the dead were piling up. The enemy gangs were still fighting viciously.
"Please… no…" She felt dampness on her cheeks and realized that her tears had fell.
She stood over the boy now, gun still held to his head.
"Don't kill me…" said the boy, looking at her with wide, stricken eyes.
"No no no no NO NO!"
She felt a hand clamp over hers, pushing down her arm. Through her tears, Rukia saw a man looking back at her.
It was Kurosaki Ichigo.
She felt relieved, sobbing wildly as she gazed at him. The deputy's face was devoid of emotion as he pushed her back a step.
He swung his black blade, slewing the child.
Rukia's relief slowly turned to shock. "What..?" She looked disbelievingly at the man before her. He turned and looked at her with narrowed eyes.
"Fight with me, woman," he said coldly, bringing up his sword to point it to her.
Rukia stumbled back, her breathing becoming more rapid and panicked, her heart pounding. Anger and fear started to well inside her.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" she screamed at him, venom in her voice.
Kurosaki Ichigo stared back, his eyes expressionless. "What you couldn't."
"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO KILL HIM!"
The man gave no answer as he swung his blade.
She found herself in the darkness of the forests of Borderline Hill, sitting curled in the roots of a large tree. The only sound she could hear were the rustle of leaves in the wind. Even the crickets were quiet that moment.
She cautiously stood up and walked a few steps forward. Her head turned to study her surroundings. There was nobody around.
"Look at me."
Rukia spun, surprise making her breathing hard.
A woman was standing there with long midnight-black hair flowing down her back. She was beautiful but her dark eyes had a hard edge to it. Her mouth was set in a firm line.
"Look at me..." the woman whispered again.
Rukia drew back when the woman raised her hand, palm facing her. She gasped when sudden images flashed through her mind, each bringing a bigger pain than the last.
Darkness... thunder and lightning...
A silver gun... someone smiling...
Boy... a young family...
Darkness.
Pain. Cold.
Loneliness.
Rukia's screamed filled the night air as she clutched her head, falling to her knees.
~~~ xxx ~~~
She jerked awake, panting hard, sweat pouring off of her. Her chest hurt, her head felt as if a hammer had been brought down upon it.
A dream... It was a dream...
Pale sunshine crept into the room.
~~~ xxx ~~~
A/N: Really, really sorry for late update! First, I blame myself because I've not been writing lately. Second, I blame my computer 'cause it won't let me publish stuff. Those are lame excuses but it's true. Sorry!
I am very hesitant posting this chapter because I'm unsure of some things in its content that may effect future chapters. So, if I ever change some things in later chapters, I'll probably redo this one and post that up. Please post up reviews with your thoughts and also predictions please! I'd like to see what you guys'll think happen. I'm running short of ideas to get to the final battle so I might need a little help... :( I sorta feel ashamed asking of this... Aargh!