Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Sorry for the delay. There was some sort of problem with the fanfiction site and I couldn't post anything. But it should all be fine now, thanks.
There's a pretty sudden twist in chapter. I didn't want the story to end quite so fast, and most definitely not on such a sad note. So here is it, chapter 9. I hope you guys like it. :)
Enjoy!
Take me to heaven: I'm yours
Chapter 9: I love you?
Rain comes down in gushing torrents, connecting those that should never be connected. Releasing those that were otherwise locked and confined. It binds together the things that were never meant to be. Things that will never be bound.
Earth and sky.
And Rain wonders: if she really were the rain, would she be able to bind the two hearts of those, which cannot be bonded?
…
With shock, Rain realises that Grimmjow is right. She is a fake Espada. Stripped of her memories and laden with false dreams.
She tells herself that she isn't… she doesn't know these people.
Her words can lie, but really, her brain can't.
So she tells herself that she doesn't love the man standing repulsed in front of her. But really, she can't lie to herself, can she?
…
"Toshiro…" She begins and starts shaking. She doesn't know how to do this. Her body is telling her not to, her brain is telling her not to. But her guts, her guts tell her to go for it. She can't. She doesn't know the right words and she knows, somehow, that there could no worse time than this. "Toshiro, I love you!" She shrieks pathetically, crying and hovering protectively over the bleeding body of her former best friend.
Her hair is a mess. Her clothes are a mess. Her dignity had long ago been fed to the paper shredder. Her eyes are sore and red and finally seem to run out of tears. She pleads at him with those eyes; sore and red and running out of tears to cry.
He looks at her, and to her surprise, he doesn't look shocked or even repulsed. His face is grim and she realised, with a sinking heart, that once upon a time, he had probably loved her too. It isn't too late yet, to change anything, she silently begs him. But he looks away from her and rubs his temples in frustration.
"I'm not ready for this." He sighs. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. His words sting and she feels her own breathing stop for a second as she tries to compose herself again. His breathing is laboured, she noticed. His hair more grey than white. She watches him miserably and mentally counts all the things she has done wrong. She got up to five when she realised it was pointless. "Did-did you do this to my subordinate?" he asked her, looking at Matsumoto pointedly. She began ranting, out of fear or desperation or maybe both.
"Aizen told me to but I didn't know that it was Matsumoto and when I attacked it was because I was so angry because she just left us and-"
"Did you, or did you not do this to my subordinate?" His voice was shaking, his temper only just in check.
Karin looked up at him. "Yeah." She sighed shakily. "It was me."
"Okay." He inhaled deeply, calming his furious rage. "Now if you will please leave us while I-"
"No, Toush! I can explain! Please, it wasn't like this."
"I think," He told her firmly, "that you have explained enough already."
"But I honestly-"
"Karin!" He said, using her name for the first time. "Please. Save your remorse for someone who cares."
He walked over to her and gingerly lifted Matsumoto off the cold floor. The way he held her, so delicately and carefully, as if one small jilt would kill her, almost made her cry again. But Karin just watched him regrettably, shedding no more tears. This was her life and she was going to live it. She felt her heart harden with every passing second. Her life.
Toshiro walked away from her, his head raised and his back stiff. He didn't spare her a second glance before he picked up his speed and ran off.
Her life.
She didn't care. She had already lost everything that she could've ever lost, there was nothing left for her to lose.
"I hope you know," she told the empty space where Toshiro had just inhabited. "I really did love you."
She picked herself off the ground and wiped her dirty face with the back of her hand. It didn't do much difference but it made her feel that much better. She turned from the blood-splattered battleground and sheathed her sword. There were plenty more battles still raging but Kurosaki Karin would not shed any more blood tonight. Karin squared her shoulders and ran off with a false air of dignity, composure and confidence. But that was okay; she had time to repair herself.
…
A shudder ran through Soul Society.
Karin froze as she recognised the fading reiatsu. A large gust of wind blew past her, throwing dust and debris into her face. She shielded herself and swore as the wind pushed her back onto the ground. A second later, the wind stopped. The reiatsu faded until it became nothing.
Well, Aizen died. Hurrah hurrah.
She let out a snicker, it seemed that his great ambush hadn't of worked after all. It came as no surprise. Just another thing he had lied about. She felt a strange loneliness settle inside of her.
It's not gonna go, she mused in amusement. Everything morbid had started to become amusing to her. She relished in the fact that she had nothing left. No friends, no enemies and no…
No. She had a family!
"Ichigo." She declared, loving the familiarity of his name on her tongue. "Kurosaki Ichigo. Kurosaki Karin. Kurosaki Yuzu."
She had family. Not like Hitsugaya Toshiro, or Matsumoto Rangiku, or even Ulquiorra Schiffer. She had real family. Like Ichigo and Yuzu.
10 years.
10 long years.
Would they still welcome her, after what she had become?
She wanted a family. People to love and care for her. Somebody to laugh and cry with. People to listen to her dreams. Someone who could understand.
Karin gave a shaky smile and brushed the dirt and grit from her clothes. She even took the time to run her fingers through her grimy hair and straighten out the biggest of the knots. Well, it was going to be their first reunion after what, a decade? At the very least, she had to look presentable. She grabbed her sword and held it out, hoping against hope that she was shinigami enough to open up a Senkai gate. Hell, she wasn't even dead. She didn't have a zanpakuto.
After a few minutes of feeling foolish she sheathed her sword again and sighed. Getting out of Soul Society was going to have to take some work.
Toshiro had never told her much of Soul Society. Ichigo of course, hadn't breathed one word about it to her. But Ulquiorra…?
…
That Urahara guy, are you sure he's not a… shinigami? Because… because he looked an awful lot like one."
"He… he is."
"What?"
"He's… he's a good guy, or bad guy, in our case, but you get the point."
…
She didn't know much about the 'Urahara guy'. Or hat 'n' clogs, as she liked to call him. But she knew that he was a shinigami and that he had a station in the human world. That was a start, at the very least. But hell, she didn't know where to begin finding him or if he was even in Soul Society at all.
Karin turned and began running to the highest point in all of Soul Society, just so that she could have a good view of all the people fighting. It was a long run and she was soon breathless. It didn't help that she was still just a human forced out of her own body.
The war raged on. Karin glanced back several times to watch her supposed comrades get slaughtered and die as her supposed enemies murdered them in cold blood. The shinigami were winning. But she didn't know which side she was supposed to be on anymore.
One-two-three-four
A few more steps and she'd be up on the mountain overlooking the entire battle.
Five-six-seven-eight
Karin reached the top of the cliff, collapsing on the ground to catch her breath back. It took a few minutes, but she finally trudged over to the edge to overlook the battle. It was a sea of black and white, blurring like a TV with bad reception.
An earth-shattering explosion blew out. Screaming was heard as huge pieces of debris came crashing down from the remains of the destroyed houses. As the dust began to settle, Karin caught a glimpse of a flash of red and black. She gave a shout.
"Ichi-nii!"
She knew that attack. She had seen him use it several times when he had battled Ulquiorra outside their house. She felt a lurch of emotion as she watched him use it again after 10 years of exile.
"Ichi-nii!" She screamed again, bursting with excitement. "Ichigo it's me!"
Her shouts were silent against the rest of Soul Society. Karin screamed again. And again. And again.
"Ichigo!"
"Ichi-nii it's me!"
"Nii-san!"
"Ichi-nii!"
Almost crying with desperation, Karin lifted her head and let out a wordless scream. It echoed off the buildings and bounced around the streets.
It was filled with misery, broken dreams and soul-deep regret.
"Shut up."
Karin froze, her breath coming out in short little gasps.
"Shut up." The silvery voice came again. A slippery hand came round to cover her mouth. "Shut up, or they'll hear you."
She felt light breathing down the side of her shirt and a soft chant tickled her ear, suddenly, she felt a binding spell fasten itself around her body, locking her muscles together so that she was unable to move. A hand slid forwards to grasp her arm.
"Come with me." The voice wasn't unfamiliar but she couldn't place it anywhere. It was slightly muffled but decidedly female. It had that sweet, childish ring to it.
"Will you come with me?" A mischievous pout on the other girl's lips. Her fingers clenched tighter around Karin's arm, the nails digging into her skin. "If you say no, I think I might have to make you."
Karin glared stubbornly ahead of her, refusing to comply, unable to move or make a sound. "Oh I forgot!" A giggle of pealing bells. "How stupid of me. You can't move or talk. Well, then it looks like I'll have to make your decisions for you."
There was a ruffle of material as the girl took her hand off Karin's arm to rummage around her clothes. The screeching tear of clothing filled Karin's ears as she furiously tried to attempt look at her captor.
"There we go." A black cloth was tied around Karin's eyes, completely obscuring her sight. She was knocked off her feet and, much to her contempt, picked up bridal style. "Let's go!" The sugary voice of the girl rang in Karin's ears as she felt herself getting further and further away from the mountain. Further and further away from her brother.
Ichigo… She thought blankly. Why won't you come save me?
So... how was the twist?
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Needs improvement? TEEELLL MEEE! I want to know. :)
PS. Virtual cookies and icy-poles to those that correctly guess who this mysterious girl is. And virtual CHOCOLATE and ICE CREAM to those that correctly guess who she is AND why she took Karin.
Review!