Well, in honor of my not being able to sleep (85 degrees at 4am anyone?) here's a new chapter.
Some of the issues surrounding Anju's power will be resolved in the next chapter or two. I said she had cool abilities. I never said she knew exactly how to use them in a heated battle )
VVVVVVVVVVVVV
Dinner had passed by quickly, and without much conversation. Ichigo had been far more upbeat and open than normal throughout the entire meal, whereas Anju had been rather quiet. After many minutes of allowing his food to digest, Ukitake had said good evening and left the future family to take care of desert. Anju had excused herself after the ice cream sundaes, and had taken the left-overs with her, leaving only Ichigo and Rukia on the roof.
It was well past 10pm, and the moon had taken over the sky. Lights all over soul society had begun to flicker off, allowing a gentle glow to settle against the scenery. The night was relatively warm, and the air was just beginning to show the signs of summer. Although Rukia was still wearing her full shinigami robes, she was starting to get cold. Her stubbornness prevented her from wandering back inside, but even it could not stop her from shivering. Ichigo took notice and scooted in her direction.
Almost reluctantly, she nodded, allowing him to wrap one strong arm around her in an attempt to warm her up. For a minute he thought the maneuver had worked. However, he soon felt goosebumps on her arms, and decided that he would have to take drastic action. He removed his arm and smiled at her look of disappointment. In a flash, he had moved to sit behind her. Rukia felt two arms around her waist and gasped as Ichigo pulled her backwards into his chest.
Ichigo hoped that such a drastic move hadn't upset her. He had heard her gasp and prayed inwardly that she wasn't about to turn around and slap him for being so familiar with her. "What? We can go inside if you want, but you haven't gotten much of a chance to look at the stars. It's the whole reason we came out here in the first place, and it's just starting to get good." Just like in the real world, the night sky in soul society became more dazzling as city lights were turned off. "At any rate, I can't just sit here and let you shiver." From below, the pair could hear what sounded like a cd player start up.
It's taken time all this fear
I push back to move on
its beating me like a panic
Attack since you've gone
And if I never feared to be so alone
I do now
I turn to see my faded tracks in the snow
I've come so far with no idea where to go
And if I never feared to be more alone
I do now
I need you to tell me
You'll be right by my side
When I feel alone
You'll be right by my side
In a crazy world
It's taken hold of a fool
With a fondness for pain
And turned to run without a chance to explain
And if I never thought
I'd fall like the rain
I do now
And don't look back to the spot where I fell
Don't you look back and don't you ever tell
Cause we know pride
Doesn't heal all that well
Rukia felt something odd fall onto her shoulder. At first she thought that it might be starting to rain, but then remembered that the sky was entirely free of clouds. Realization dawned on her, and she knew…Ichigo was crying. Rukia had absolutely no idea what could have caused Ichigo to cry. He was the strongest person she'd ever met, both physically and emotionally. He had been through occasional bouts of something similar to depression when he was unable to protect his friends, but this was entirely different. Ichigo didn't show his emotions, unless of course the emotion was anger.
Going with the general direction of the evening, she decided to be daring, and wrapped her arms over his. "It's your turn. Do you want to talk about it?" She felt him cringe and tighten his arms around her waist. Had he truly thought that she wouldn't notice?
"It's just…" he began in a whisper. "This song. It reminds me of a rough time. This song seemed to come on the radio a lot…when you were taken back to soul society. The way you had spoken to me…I dunno. I guess I kind of believed that you were okay with me dying, and you being arrested. A part of me…" he sniffled and cleared his throat, "believed that you would rather go back to soul society and be charged for a stupid crime than stay here with me and fight it."
Ichigo relinquished his hold on the stunned Rukia and walked over to the edge of the roof. He had hoped that he wouldn't ever have to talk about this. Even thinking about that time brought up pain greater than any even the strongest hollow could cause. He dried the remainder of his few tears away and crossed his arms, trying to regain even a small shred of dignity. His efforts were cut short when he felt two small arms wrap around him, followed by the feeling of a warm torso from a rather short person pressing against his back.
"I'm sorry. I never should have said what I did. My intentions were good, but I really couldn't sort through what needed to be said so quickly." Ichigo closed his eyes, and lowered his head, trying to block out any other sound than that of her voice. "I was trying to protect you. I know how dumb that sounds, but it's the truth. I thought that if you came to rescue me, that you'd be killed. I was okay with me dying, but you…" She paused and rested her forehead against Ichigo's back, "there's no way I could let you die. Especially not for my sake."
Before he could stop himself, Ichigo responded, "Idiot. If there was anyone in the world I'd be okay with dying for, it'd be you."
"And go down in the books as 'the boy stupid enough to give up his life for a girl he barely knows?'" Rukia asked, unsure if she wanted an answer.
"No. I'd go down as 'the boy crazy enough to give up his life for the girl he wished he knew." For a moment, Ichigo had considered saying 'for the girl he loved,' but there was no way that he was going to admit something so very deep, especially since he wasn't even sure if it was true yet.
She felt a little tinge of guilt at this statement. Had he really wanted to know her? Had she simply been blocking his way? No, that couldn't be it. Of course, she hadn't really tried to get to know him too terribly much either. Sure, she had slept in his closet, gone to school with him, and spent many sleepless nights slaying hollows with him, but she knew that this was only scratching the surface with Ichigo. There had to be more hidden deep within his mind.
"My favorite color is that deep green-blue of Anju's sword, I can sing, I can't swim for anything, I have a thing for vampires, and I really appreciate you letting me in like this. There. Better?" Her voice was almost more matter-of-factly than it had ever been. She stood there waiting for a few minutes, hoping that she hadn't pressed the line too much. She was rewarded by a similar confession from Ichigo.
"I much prefer violet as a color. No matter how much more of this world I see, the hue of your eyes remains at the top of my list of favorites. I hate cold water with a passion. Cold in general bugs me. I like soft, squishy pillows. I can't stand apples. Coffee gives me a headache. Vampires are cool, but I'd pick a certain short, annoyingly beautiful, stubborn as hell shinigami over them any day." He paused and let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "I, too, enjoy getting inside your head like this. The view is nice." A smile had replaced his sad frown, and his voice was almost humorous now. But something caught his eye as he began to move his head up. A tiny shadow fell across the porch below them.
"Doesn't that look kind of…out of place to you?" Rukia was shaken out of the beautiful moment too soon. She peered down in the direction Ichigo was pointing, smiling as he held his hand out in front of her, obviously his attempt at preventing her from falling over the edge. "Careful. We don't want you tumbling off the roof." Ichigo must have jinxed himself. As soon as he said this, he saw the shadow move, and realized that it was Anju who had created the tiny shadow. She had fallen asleep on the porch, her head against the wooden beam supporting the overhanging roof. However, she had obviously shifted in her sleep, and no longer had the beam to support her. Ichigo realized too late that she was now falling foreword toward the thirty foot drop in front of her.
His shock hadn't even registered before it had been abated. Before Anju had fallen a single foot, her sword had materialized at her back. The long ribbons on the end of the hilt swirled above her in a circular motion, resembling the action that helicopters used to lift off of the ground.
Ichigo heard a gasp from Rukia who remained at his side, now gripping his arm with both hands. She gaped at the still asleep Anju as she floated up toward the roof. As she arrived at their altitude, Ichigo extended his arms out, and the sword stopped in its efforts. Anju fell gently into Ichigo's waiting arms as her sword fell into Rukia's hands. The pair looked at one another with confused expressions. They knew that Anju had a deep connection to the earth, but for her to be saved by her own sword while unconscious…
"Lets get her to bed." Ichigo whispered, all concern gone from his face.
"Papa…" upon sensing the safety of Ichigo's arms, Anju mumbled the simple term in her sleep as she snuggled closer to the warm embrace. Ichigo's immediate reaction was to hold Anju closer, to keep her safe and warm. This action did not go unnoticed by Rukia, whose heart gave a jump at seeing the two getting along so well. Ichigo hopped down off of the roof, and Rukia followed. The short walk to her room took less than a minute. Rukia pulled the covers of Anju's small bed back and Ichigo set her down. Ichigo pulled the covers back over Anju's tiny sleeping form and went to follow Rukia out of the room. At the door, he turned and flipped the light switch off.
"Good night…princess." Ichigo didn't know why he'd said that. His words had simply come out before he could think. Shaking the oddity of his comment out of his mind, he closed the door silently and turned to find Rukia staring at him in wonder.
"Since when did you accept her as your 'princess?'" Rukia laughed quietly, taking a few steps back when Ichigo narrowed his eyes at her.
"Technically, she is a princess. Just like Lurichiyo. She's the Kuchiki heir. And she's not my princess." The irritation had come back to Ichigo's voice, but in an intensity that paled in comparison to his daily use. In his attempt to cover for himself, he had made a mistake in what he had said.
"She's not your princess. But you have one. Interesting." Rukia could barely contain the giggles she felt trying to escape. She loved playing around with Ichigo like this.
"I don't know what you're talking about midget." Clearly not willing to admit defeat, Ichigo was trying to get her to drop the subject. "I just don't want to get on her bad side. She might just be able to take me down. At the very least, she could hold out on feeding me. Would you quit looking at me like that?" Rukia had been staring at him with a mocking glare. She simply laughed, and backed up a few more steps.
"Oh yeah? You wanna laugh? I'll give you something to laugh at…" and Ichigo disappeared before Rukia's eyes. She stopped laughing immediately and turned in a circle, trying to locate the missing shinigami.
"Ichigo? Where are you? I swear if you jump out and try to scare me, I'll kill you." The humor that had been present in Rukia's voice moments ago had disappeared, and she sounded almost fearful. She knew that Ichigo was nearby, but couldn't follow the pattern of his riatsu. A giant roar filled the skies and Rukia spun around to find the source of the sound. Ichigo appeared at her side. The sound had been a shock to him as well.
"What's that noise?" Ichigo's voice was now just as fearful as Rukia's. Behind them, Anju's door slammed open and the tiny girl stomped out onto the porch, already dressed back in her shinigami robes. She looked up at the pale faces of Rukia and Ichigo.
"Freakin time jem thing." She muttered as she pulled on her captain robe, and started off toward the horrible sound.
"Anju, what is going on?" Rukia followed slightly behind Anju as she sprinted.
"Something came back with me. Uncle said that it was a possibility, but I assumed that since I got here without incident, that everything had gone smoothly. I guess I was wrong." The group stopped when they met up with a number of the other captains. Anju informed them of what she knew, and once again headed off toward the creature, only to be stopped by Rukia.
"You can't go after that thing, Anju. You don't even know what it is!" Rukia was beyond scared now. She simply couldn't imagine this tiny child going off to fight some unknown monster.
"Oh, I know what it is." Anju almost growled. "It's a Menos Entarce. Many of the arrancar that Aizen created were forced back into their menos forms after the war ended. Most are simply powerful versions of menos grande. Some have special abilities. Mostly, their abilities stem from attributes the soul had while it was alive. They're really not a problem for me, Rukia. I've fought tons of them." The girl sounded more annoyed than anything. She had been sleeping so peacefully.
"Well you're not going alone." Ichigo had spoken up at last. "We'll let you fight but we're gonna be right there with you. If you need us, just say the word. Don't be afraid to ask us for help." Ichigo set a reassuring hand on the little girl's shoulder, ignoring the shock on Rukia's face. "Lead the way, kiddo." Ichigo grabbed Rukia and steadied her against his own body. "Calm down, there's nothing to worry about. She'll be fine." His words did little to reassure her, but she followed along nonetheless.
VVVVVVVVVVV
A/N
The next chapter is already on its way to completion, thanks to great southeast texas weather preventing me from sleeping. It's far too hot, even by my standards.
I hope the heat isn't strangling anyone else. Thanks as always to my reviewers. I really appreciate anything you can tell me.