A/N: The final chapter. : ) Enjoy!
Chapter 10: And Over the Sun
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Momo and Hitsugaya watched the sunset together, eating away at watermelon slices and gazing at the brilliant oranges and reds, just like they'd done as children. A pleasant silence stretched between them. The fires of the sky burned splendidly as the sun gradually sank toward its resting spot for the night.
This was how it should have been for many years. Hitsugaya had missed watching the sunset with Momo dearly - ever since Momo's enrollment in the Academy, and then his, this kind of peaceful occasion away from work had rarely occurred...
The thought tightened his throat suddenly, and he pondered how he had been able to keep going without this for so long.
Momo was pattering away at him happily - he couldn't catch what she was saying, for it was all melting into the glory of the sunset - and he smiled and nodded, letting himself drown in her rich brown eyes. She was there. He was there.
That was all that mattered.
"Are you listening, Shiro-chan?!" complained Momo indignantly, jerking Hitsugaya from his daze. He blinked stupidly. "Uh..."
She only laughed. "Don't worry, it wasn't anything important. Look, the sun is nearly down." There was a pause where they watched it begin to sink below the horizon, spreading like dazzling golden honey along it.
"Here, I've brought some amanatto," came the soft voice of Grandmother behind them. "Eat up, my dears."
"Thank you, Grandmother," chorused the two, feeling as if they had gone back in time to when they were only children...
Soon, we will have to return to Seireitei and our life of duty, thought Hitsugaya somberly. All too soon, this joyful carefree time with Momo and Grandmother, his only family, would come to an end. He should be grateful that Yamamoto even let him have one day off...
They finished the sweet amanatto quickly, and the sun faded below the skyline in a glorious last burst of gold. In that glowing moment, right before the world faded into darkness, time seemed to slow. Hitsugaya looked towards Momo, and their eyes met, a faint smile of awe gracing her lips.
"It's pretty, isn't it, Shiro-chan?" she whispered, afraid to break the beauty.
"Don't call me that," he replied gruffly, and draped himself around her from behind. She gave a little squeak of surprise. "And yes, it's pretty," he continued, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Oh," she said wonderingly, then leaned back and relaxed into his hold.
All too soon, the sunset would end, and it would be time to rest up for tomorrow. Tomorrow, back to their daily schedules of shinigami duties. But he must not think of this now...
He held her tighter. She responded by holding his hands.
In this moment, there was only them.
-
Unohana inspected the sleeping black-haired shinigami carefully while Ichigo stood anxiously by the door. He had been standing by the bed a few minutes ago, but being infuriatingly in the way, he had been asked to stand by the door, please and thank you.
Geez. It's not like I was trying to be in the way, he thought, quite put out. Rukia...
He craned his neck, trying to see past Unohana's sturdy form, and only caught a glimpse of black hair.
More minutes passed. Ichigo slumped down to the floor and sat there, feeling abandoned. When is that woman going to say something about Rukia?! Seriously, does it take this long to find out if she's okay or not -
Engrossed in his silent complaints, he nearly jumped out of his skin when the captain suddenly appeared beside him. "Kurosaki-san, I have news."
His breath caught in his throat. "Is it... good news?"
"Yes." A rare, sincere smile. "She is well on the way to recovery, and does not appear to be in a coma anymore. She is simply sleeping now. Her reiatsu levels are very weak, but are on the right track to replenishing themselves. This is quite miraculous." She paused and gazed at him searchingly. "Did you do something, Kurosaki-san?..."
He blinked and shrugged. "No, not that I can think of. I just stayed by her..."
A moment of curious silence. Then:
"Very well. You may go in and see her again, if you wish, but do not wake her. She needs to rest, after her long journey..."
He nodded, slightly bemused by her words. "All right. Thanks, Unohana-san."
She swept away in a flutter of captain's cloak, and Ichigo wasted no time in trotting into the room once more. He slowed his steps and carefully approached the white bed, resting a hand on a bedpost. He regarded Rukia's face carefully. She looked healthier now, her skin not so pale, and the look on her face was peaceful. The sheets steadily rose and fell as she breathed. He touched her hand gently, and found that it was warm - no longer the cold pale flesh of the dead.
The anxiousness and tension that had plagued him for more than a week drained out from him with a massive sigh of relief. He sat abruptly against the wall beside the bed, his knees suddenly weak.
She was all right.
The enormity of this fact took his breath away.
"Psst, Ichigo-kun!"
He glanced up to see Ukitake waving surreptitiously from the doorway. "Ukitake-san?"
"Hello," he said in a half-whisper, "is she doing okay?"
"Yeah," Ichigo told him. "She's fine. Just sleeping now."
"That's good," replied the captain with a smile. "It's breakfast time right now - why don't you come along and eat outside this room today?"
"Yeah... That would be nice." He smiled tiredly at him. "It's been a while."
He left the room with a backward glance at the peaceful sleeping girl in the white bed.
I'll be back soon, Rukia. I want to be here when you wake up.
-
"I heard you were one of the guys who came to help us," said Ichigo to Ukitake through a mouthful of rice. He had just given Renji a friendly punch in the face, over at the other side of the room, and was feeling rather triumphant.
"Oh, yes. Kuchiki-taichou, too."
"I heard. I was kinda surprised."
"But he would, wouldn't he? It's his sister, after all." Ukitake picked up a piece of salted fish. "He's really quite a good-hearted fellow, you know, even though he acts so cold."
"I guess," muttered Ichigo doubtfully, and set his eyes on a bowl of miso soup.
"Will you go speak to him?"
"Eventually... Just to say thanks. Not that he really needs it, but... anyway, um, Ukitake-san..."
"Hmm?" Ukitake raised his eyebrows curiously. "What's up?"
Ichigo leaned forward, lowering his voice furtively. "Please don't tell anyone else how I acted when Rukia fell, at the battleground... It's pretty embarrassing..."
"Haha, all right!" he replied lightly, patting Ichigo's back. "Really, it's not something to be embarrassed about. Can I tell Kuchiki?"
Ichigo flushed. "No! That's - no! No way!"
"O-oh, okay, I won't, don't worry!"
Ichigo relaxed and sat back.
"...she would be happy, though."
He looked up, startled. "Happy?..."
Ukitake only smiled and turned to his fish. "Oh, what excellent fish!" he exclaimed joyfully, blatantly ignoring Ichigo's confusion.
Ichigo turned back to his food as well, still vexed by the captain's words.
Whatever. Now to get back to Rukia.
He finished his food quickly and excused himself from the dinner room, eager to return to the sickroom where Rukia lay.
-
With a sigh, Rukia awakened, feeling how stiff and useless her body felt. She blinked blearily and stretched her arms up, straining to bring back the deftness of her fingers. Her head felt hot and stuffy - she needed fresh air...
Sitting up, she moved her legs in an effort to push herself out of bed, but was unable to gather enough strength to lift herself up. One leg hurt greatly when she tried to tense it. Breathing another sigh, she settled for sitting, and rubbed the sleep dust from her eyes. Inside, Shirayuki was joyfully expressing her relief, and praising Rukia's bravery.
I made it, she thought. I got to the light... I am alive... I am awake... She looked down at her hands, and moved her fingers, reveling in the sense of simply being alive.
"Rukia!"
She snapped her gaze up.
Ichigo ran over, spluttering various phrases as he went. "Rukia, you're awake! How're you feeling? Are you okay - your leg - does it hurt - what about -"
"Ichigo. Be quiet for a moment."
He stopped, and kneeled at the bedside, his eyes never leaving hers.
Slowly, she smiled.
"You guided me out... didn't you?"
"What?..."
"I was in darkness. You called me... and led me out... You were a bright light that showed me the way."
Filled with confused wonderment, Ichigo gazed at her with a difficult face. "I... led you out?..."
"Yes. It was you." She tilted her head. "So you have no recollection of it?"
"Well... I was calling you, yeah... And... I was really... I was really... scared... that you wouldn't wake up... so... I guess I tried really hard?.. Um... I-I wanted you to wake up a lot, s-so I...c...I..." He paused, and began to shake, face shadowed.
Rukia's face grew worried. "Ichigo? What's wrong?" She hesitantly reached a hand out to his shoulder.
Suddenly he raised his head so she could see that on his face was the most anguished kind of face she had ever seen on him - kind of similar to the face he had when he had confessed about his hollow up on the dome... All twisted up and tearing apart, especially at the eyes.
"I thought you'd die," he croaked.
And without warning, he embraced her. Not a light, romantic kind, where your heart goes flutter-oh-dearie-me-does-he-like-me?~ No, this was a real, tight, desperate one, where you knew the other didn't ever want to lose you, where the other needed to hold you just to make sure you were real...
She was small and fragile compared to him, and fit easily into the crooks of his arms. Startled, she tensed with this new experience, noticing that he was still trembling. Rukia's eyes widened as she realized.
"Ichigo..."
"I'm not crying," he snuffled through her hair. "I'm n-not crying, d-dammit..."
"Baka," she murmured, smiling. Tears of gladness came to her eyes, too, and they cried together quietly, holding each other.
"I'm... all right... you idiot... I won't die so easily..."
"Sh-shut up... I was worried, okay?"
Happiness surged in her that she refused to show. She only sighed into his chest. "...huh..."
"....can't believe I had to s-save you again..."
"Sorry." She drew back and looked at him, face grave.
He flicked her. "I don't mean it, silly." Then he took his sleeve and wiped her tears away, very carefully and deliberately. She let him, but flicked him back soon after. "Wipe your own tears, you weakling," she teased.
He scrubbed at his eyes furiously, and she laughed. Scowling, he moved to sit on the bed beside her, arms back to support him.
An awkward silence stretched between them. They both felt like they had breached something that had been barricaded to them before, and now, like blind moths, they blundered clumsily through it.
"Thank you," said Rukia quietly, breaking the silence.
"Eh? What's that, suddenly..."
"For coming after me. For saving me. You know." She gazed at him with sincerity in her wondrous violet eyes. "Thank you."
"Mm."
She snorted. "Is that all you can say?"
"Well, what should I say to that, then, huh?"
"I don't know," she replied snidely, "something like 'you're welcome'?"
"That's so boring. And regular."
"Huh."
"You make things so awkward."
"Who's the one who came and hugged me just now?!"
He flushed and frowned. "That's... sorry."
"I forgive you," she laughed.
Their eyes met. Ichigo felt another impulse to hold her, but that would surely earn him a kick or a punch, so he decided against it and looked down at his hands.
"Oi, Ichigo."
"Hmm?"
"Would you perhaps like to return to the real world, for a visit?"
He brightened. "Yeah! Boy, it's been a long while..."
She nodded. "I am sure Yamamoto-soutaichou will let you go."
"Huh?" he exclaimed. "What about you?"
"What?"
"You're not going?"
"Well... I don't need to, it's your family time to spend -"
"Listen up, you," he growled, gripping her arm. "I'm dragging you with me, even if you don't want to."
She blinked, surprised. "But Ichigo - I - Are you sure?- "
"Yes, I'm sure. You're coming with me. You've got no choice." He folded his arms and glared at her impassively. "My family adores you, Rukia. They would kill me if I didn't bring you."
She grinned. "Okay then. When I'm healed enough."
He nodded. "When you're healed enough."
There was a pause as the audible sound of a stomach growling echoed through the room.
Ichigo raised his eyebrows.
Rukia coughed, embarrassed. "Um... Ichigo?"
"Yeah?"
"I am very, very hungry."
-
For the next few days, Ichigo wandered here and there through Seireitei, trying to come in useful where he could, and punctuated those driftings with frequent visits to Rukia. He would tell her of the day's events, and then maybe tell her stories of the real world she had not heard yet; she would tell him her experiences with the Frost People and of times she had spent as a shinigami - and before that, too. They talked in quieter, subdued voices, gentler than before, with a new kind of awareness and care. Their touches were numerous, but were mostly insignificant and slight - an accidental brush here, a short pause of a hand on a shoulder there. They were tiptoeing through a new realm with each other, unable to understand it yet. They were still only children, there in the unknown land.
Gradually, Rukia became stronger, but earlier on she had required Ichigo to carry her to the window to look out and breath in the fresh mint air. Mornings were especially good. To her, the morning meant a stuffed head and murky mind; that cool outside air cleared it all out and promised a good day. She would wake up with the brightening sky, dashing sunshine in her face, and find Ichigo already there, standing by the window he had already opened.
There was a strong sense of comfort and security with knowing he was almost always near. He, in turn, felt reliable - like he belonged, at last. She needed him, he needed her. It was a very nice thing to know, especially now that they had all this peaceful time with each other, without having to worry about hollows or arrancars or creepy ladies in white cloaks...
Every matched smile, every eye-to-eye understanding, every meaningless touch, even every time when they quarreled (and quickly made up after), became engraved in their minds, and replayed over and over. What had once been things to forget became things to remember. Subconsciously, they already knew they were in love; but the conscious part still tiptoed through the fields of incomprehension.
Perhaps, one day, they would realize. For now, she made secret vows to have a turn in saving him, and he promised himself to never let her get that close to dying every again.
The sun shone bright when he knew the moon was near.
-
-------/doc-111ready
THE FROST PEOPLE, AS THEY CALLED THEMSELVES, WERE SUCCESSFULLY HALTED AND DEFEATED, AND SENT TO RETURN TO THE NATURAL WORLD. THEY WERE ESSENTIALLY OF ICE, AND THROUGH SOME UNKNOWN REASON MOST COMMONLY THOUGHT TO BE A LONGING FOR A WORLD OF ICE, CAME TO HOLD A FALSE SORT OF LIFE WITH A BODY BUILT FROM AN ESSENCE OF ICE AND DEATH. THE ABDUCTEES WERE SAFELY RETRIEVED AND HEALED. NO FURTHER PROBLEMS HAVE OCCURRED CONCERNING THESE CREATURES. THIS IS RECORDED ON THE START OF SUMMER, 15 YEARS AFTER THE DEFEAT OF AIZEN.---101..1
----11
--complete//
With a hum of satisfaction, Kurotsuchi clasped his hands together and smiled. What an interesting occurrence to fill yet another space in his book...
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So concludes the tale of the Frost People.
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A/N: Well, it isn't quite the end. There will be a kind of epilogue concerning Ichigo and Rukia's relationship in a separate short story, set in Ichigo's house, continuing on from where I left off here. Since it won't have much connection to the Frost People, I decided to end this story here. Thank you for reading, and because this is the last chapter, I will ask just this once to please leave a review if you have the time. That will be my reward for spending many hours writing this story. : ) Thanks!