Prelude to War (Bleach theme: Nube Negra)
And I am manipulated, manipulated,
What can you see in that world?
- Jitter Doll by Lily (vocaloid)
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A soft, caressing wind wakes her.
Her eyes shoot open to reveal the familiar stunning landscape, mountain caps of white and an array of snowy beauty splayed out at her feet. Her toes curl as she breathes deeply in momentary joy.
"Rukia-sama."
The slight upturn of her lips – the faintest trace of a smile – disappears from her face as easily as it had come. The cool, melodic voice rouses her from her serene state of mind, but she cannot find the hostility to confront the very essence of her cold soul.
"Shirayuki. It's been a while."
Her zanpakutō parts her painted lips – maybe to greet her, maybe to chastise her – but whatever it is gets cut off by the sudden bodily lunge of a person wrapping their arms around Rukia's waist, sending them both tumbling down the hill from where she once stood.
Rukia grunts as she lands not-too-gracefully at the base of the small hill. But it is not just that – it's the weight on top of her stomach, and the iron grips holding her wrists in place above her head.
"Gotcha," a chilling voice whispers in her ear. She can smell the acid, the darkness that no word can describe. Fingers curl into claws over her heart, raking down her chest.
"Get off of Rukia-sama, buta," Shirayuki scolds, grabbing Kuroiyuki by the scruff of her white kimono, a pale hand lifting Rukia's Inner Hollow so gracefully off of her. Rukia glares at Kuroiyuki as she rubs her chest. It's easy to miss the translucent chains wound around Kuroiyuki's neck that extends to Rukia's wrist – a chain that was brought upon by Kuroiyuki's defeat.
"It's no fun when you call me pig, yuki onna," Kuroiyuki pouts. However, the hollow doesn't struggle, and instead her dark, yellow-eyed gaze zeroes in on Rukia. "You are being stupid."
"I fail to see how this is constructive," Rukia bites back angrily as she stands up and dusts off the snow from her form. "Why have you summoned me here?"
"You are placing your heart in jeopardy, Rukia-sama," the beautiful woman tells her, never relinquishing her grip on the Hollow, whose attention seems to have been lost. In fact, Kuroiyuki looks like she's about to drift off to sleep. Again. By the time her eyes close, Shirayuki has already dropped the slumbering hollow on the soft bed of snow.
Ever since her defeat, Kuroiyuki has been strangely...placid. She knows that her hollow is a lazy prude, but this...well, it's certainly different. Her hollow is the anti-her, and the lewd comments strewn here and there as well as the child-like behaviour isn't exactly out-of-place...it's just that Kuroiyuki fought so hard to be acknowledge only to be defeated by Rukia and stay defeated.
It unsettles Rukia, and brings to mind moments in which Ichigo's hollow used to sneak up on his psyche to gain control.
But surely, Kuroiyuki can't be that smart.
Right?
"I am not," she says petulantly, despite the fact that she knows exactly why Shirayuki is cautious.
Her heart has opened to Ichigo again – hell, she's not even sure when exactly it closed.
"Rukia-sama, you have to understand that my goal is to protect the heart," Shirayuki replies, the tiniest hint of pleading creeping into her voice. "I cannot do that if you keep up relations with Kurosaki Ichigo...no matter how honourable he may be."
"Ichigo is the reason why –,"
Rukia never gets to finish her sentence. Kuroiyuki comes alive in Shirayuki's grip, and her zanpakutō is caught by surprise and accidentally lets the hollow go. Like a rabid dog, it lunges for her, which sends them both sprawling on the snow once again.
"I hate that Ichigo," the Hollow hisses into Rukia's face. This time, she's not so easily picked off by Shirayuki – she has her hands embedded deep into the ground, and Rukia feels something in her heart stir at the contact of such a being touching the base of her soul. "He's the reason why I'm chained like a damn dog to you."
The complete turn-around in Kuroiyuki's demeanour has happened before, but it always comes unexpected. Shirayuki's sharp tugs aren't doing anything, and Kuroiyuki resists further and leans in close so that there is little space between their faces. Rukia glares up defiantly at her Hollow. Showing a weakness – the barest hint of a flinch – will only lead to that chain corroding away. "I won't let you harm Ichigo, Hollow."
"Ah, so my name is not worthy to be uttered with his?" Kuroiyuki taunts before giving her cheek a disgusting wet lick. At that, Rukia shivers, and her Hollow laughs in her ear. "Anything for my master, then. After all, I'll have fun devouring you from the inside-out..."
Shirayuki no longer tugs at Kuroiyuki's clothes, and the kick from her side comes unexpectedly. Rukia takes that chance to get on one knee and tug her chained wrist sharply, making her Hollow yelp as it claws at the chains around its neck. It screams at her, curses at her, but Rukia keeps her arm in the air and that, for now, is tightening the chain and keeping Kuroiyuki rasping on the ground.
She huffs as she stands, and Shirayuki inclines her head meekly beside Rukia. "I'm sorry, Rukia-sama. I thought that we'd have a decent conversation since the intruder had been lying dormant for quite some time..."
"It's fine, it's fine. Don't apologise to me, please," Rukia waves off, hastily wiping her now-burning cheek. What the hell did Kuroiyuki do...? The wind slows for a moment, and both wielder and zanpakutō notice the slight change. She hums lowly under her breath. "It seems that someone is calling for me..."
The scenery starts flickering out of sight.
The last thing Rukia feels is the cold touch of her zanpakutō's skin on her cheek, soothing any stinging sensations that Kuroiyuki may have left in her wake.
xx
By the time she wakes up (mid-afternoon, maybe, from the way the sun shines obnoxiously in her face through the shoji door), Ichigo isn't there. Rukia guesses that he's at a captain's meeting and, with that thought in mind, she doesn't feel all that bad when she steals his spare captain's haori for a short while. Her clothes are torn to shit, and fuck damn it, why does it have to be so windy today?
She doesn't know why she woke up in the first place, or why she felt like someone was seeking her reiatsu out. Maybe it's just her imagination. It wouldn't be a far-fetched reason.
She deftly climbs onto the roof of the Fifth's quarters to get a clear view of the damage (and maybe seek out Shinji and the rest). However, feeling that this view isn't high enough, she uses shunpo to jump from one rooftop to another.
She doesn't even look where she's going; her attention is taken by the ruined buildings below her. She resists the urge to allow the bitter laughter escape her throat. On one hand, these shinigami (because she isn't one of them now, and never will be) got what's coming to them. On the other hand, there are people here who have been good to her.
And Shinji did say that they should help out.
If she focuses on that objective and Ichigo, then maybe she'll regain enough compassion to really have the heart to help the shinigami in another pointless war.
At least now they aren't fighting some maniac with a god-complex.
She skids to a stop near the Sixth division.
It looks better than the rest – even the Fifth – which is a good thing, she supposes.
It isn't that that makes her stop.
It's the sight of the man she once called Nii-sama and her once-best friend holding hands.
She barely takes note of the fact that Renji is now captain of the Third, although that isn't really a surprise. Heck, she doesn't even try to notice how her brother's hair is still at the same length.
No, no, no.
They aren't holding hands like I'm-shaking-your-hand-in-a-manly-way or I-helped-you-up-because-you-fell-on-your-ass (although the latter is quite unlikely...).
They're walking and holding hands. Maybe it's the distance, but Rukia wonders if that's...the ghost of a smile on Byakuya Kuchiki's face as Renji animatedly tells a story.
Since when did...?
She shakes her head. She isn't even going to ask that question. She reckons it has been a suspicion of hers once. It would make sense for Byakuya to be...
But Renji?
That, she didn't see coming.
"You've missed a lot," a voice says from behind her, making her turn around so quickly that she momentarily fears she's going to fall off the slanted roof. Her hand flies to the hilt of her sword, but she immediately relaxes when she sees Momo.
"So I see," she replies with a small chuckle. "You scared me for a second there."
Momo nods and mutters a small apology before sitting on the roof. She motions for Rukia to sit beside her and, tentatively, she does so.
"Kurosaki-taichō isn't going to like you wearing his spare haori," Momo tells her lightly. Rukia only laughs.
"He can suck it up."
Momo laughs at that. "Not many people can stand up to him like you do, Kuchiki-san."
"Ha!" Rukia looks out into the distance and smirks. "It's not that hard to outsmart idiots like him."
Momo hums thoughtfully and, in the small space of companionable silence, Rukia hesitates.
Should she ask? After all, Momo is the one of the few friendly people she knows who she hasn't pushed away yet...
Ask. Definitely ask. "Hey, Momo-san...when I left, what happened to..."
"Things were messy at first. Then, I guess everyone accepted what happened to you, and I guess people started to move on. Abarai-kun and Kuchiki-taichō miss you like crazy. I'm sure they'd want to tell you what's going on between them, if you talked to them."
"And...the Thirteenth Division?"
"Ukitake-taichō still has the lieutenant position open, and I think he's waiting for you to come back. There's been rumours that he's about to retire, but..."
Rukia nods, and looks down at her feet in contemplation.
She must have brought so much shame to Byakuya and Ukitake-taichō, and yet...they still wait for her. It's infuriating and comforting at the same time, knowing that there are people like them who aren't going to push her away. And Renji – oh god, she must have hurt him so much. She doesn't deserve people like that. She's too messed up and bitter and she can't just...accept these things. It'll take a lot of stubbornness on her part, maybe, just like it had been with Ichigo.
"Rukia-san," Momo calls, gaining her attention again, "I'm sure that whatever you do, the people who care about you will continue to support you."
She blinks in confusion. "Momo-san, why are you...so friendly to me?"
At that, the girl shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe because I've been looked down at before for something that wasn't entirely my fault...maybe because Kurosaki-taichō has been a good captain and a good friend, and I think it's about time he looked happy. I think it's about time he stopped being so serious all the time, ne?"
Rukia laughs. "Whatever you say, Momo-san. I still think that he's an idiot." Finally, she stands, but this time, there is a small smile on her face. "So, can you tell me where that baka is? I'm sure he'll probably look even more of an idiot without me around."
Momo shakes her head, smiling lightly back. "Gomene, Rukia-san. I'm sure he's looking for you, as well."
She nods in response, thanks her new friend, and seeks out Ichigo's reiatsu.
It's weird that no one notices her or confronts her, but she's grateful for it, because she finally finds him napping in some back alley in the shadows. He's sitting there looking like he's been knocked out, and when she finally lands on the ground at the opening of the alley, she can tell from his regular, peaceful breathing that this is not the case.
Perfect.
Grinning evilly, she sneaks up to him, keeping her reiatsu to a minimum.
Instead of shouting in his ear, she blows on the back of his exposed neck.
He jumps up and squeals like a girl. She can practically see the hairs at the nape of his neck stand in attention as he turns around to try and attack his attacker, but she's already clutching her stomach on the ground, almost dying of laughter.
"Rukia!" he exclaims with a scowl. However, his voice still comes out high, and she laughs even harder. She's practically panting for breath. It irritates Ichigo, but he clears his throat for good measure. "Rukia!"
She opens her mouth to say something but oh god his face –
She laughs even harder.
"Oi, you evil midget, stop laughing!" She chortles and tries to get enough air to get into her lungs. "Stop it!"
"Hahaha –maybe you should – heehee –," and that is all coherency she has left before she starts laughing her ass off again. She doesn't even know what she's going to say anyway.
"What's going on?" a familiar voice asks. It sobers Rukia up a bit, and she looks up enough to see the Vaizards standing confused at the mouth of the alley. Realising that she doesn't care, she points at Ichigo and begins to laugh again.
"Oi, oi...is that Rukia?" Hiyori asks.
"It...seems like it..." Lisa replies, having to take off her glasses and wipe them before putting them on again.
"What..." Hiyori starts, just as Shinji begins to tear up. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"
"Rukia, my goddess!" Shinji exclaims at the same time, rushing forward comically with outstretched arms. He is stopped by Ichigo's fist, but that does not stop him. "You can't stop me from showing my first love –,"
"Watch what you say, baldy," Hiyori threatens from behind him, sending shivers up his spine as she cracks her knuckles. A dark aura surrounds her as, finally, Rukia's laughter peters out.
"Ha ha, I'm sorry...Ichigo was just...hee hee...being really stupid..." she finally gets out as she stands.
"Glad you find my demise entertaining, you evil bi–,"
Whatever Ichigo was about to say is cut off by the resounding klaxon throughout Seireitei. Immediately, the whole group turns serious. The change in the air is palpable. The Vaizards can feel the stinking reiatsu of Hollow and, to an extent, Ichigo does, too. The hell butterfly barely has time to relay the message to him before Rukia mutters – "Another Hollow attack?"
"It seems like," Ichigo confirms, letting the butterfly go. His blood pumps with excitement, but he can't help but feel tense. The fights they were in just last night took a lot out of them, but Ichigo worries about Rukia the most. "It's coming from the South. A Hollow attack this sudden...it seems that they've found an unfixed weak spot in the barrier..."
"Seireitei still hasn't recovered, huh?" Kensei supplies. "It seems that we have to help out again."
"It's odd..." Ichigo says, but immediately snaps to attention. Rukia is momentarily shocked by this sudden change in demeanour – Momo wasn't kidding when she said Ichigo had turned into the serious type. Sure, he was partial to the occasional brooding, but Rukia could never have guessed how much Ichigo had really changed. "We should move out."
"Heh, you shouldn't order your elders around," Shinji berated lightly, but used shunpo to come to the aid of other shinigami. Hiyori shot him a haughty look and the others gave him stares that ranged between creepy and creepier, but soon, Rukia was the only one left standing with Ichigo.
So much has changed...
"Hey, what're you staring at, midget?" Ichigo asks, smirking at her. "Don't tell me...you're turned on?"
A quick punch to the stomach fixes that smirk and immediately turns it into a familiar light scowl. Rukia grins and steps on his foot. He yelps as she walks away. "Well? Are we killing Hollows or what?"
But our feelings will never change...won't they, Ichigo?
He scowls and knocks a fist on top of her head as they step out of the alley. She curses at him, but he's already smirking at her. He jumps to slice a Hollow mask.
She rolls his eyes at this behaviour and joins him in battle.
"Idiot!" she yells as she kicks a particularly Hollow in the stomach, sending it flying, before deftly slicing the extended arm that shot out from the space that she left open. "Don't be so cocky!"
She moves forward, fuelled with the adrenalin of a good fight. She worries that her reiatsu might not be enough to sustain her for long, since she probably hasn't recovered enough, but it would have to do.
She sets her worries aside and slices the Hollow's mask, before turning and cutting another Hollow in two. In her peripheral, she can see Ichigo felling Hollows one-by-one, and is that...
He's laughing at me!
She knows that Ichigo probably thinks that this is payback for her treatment of him earlier. He's ridding her of enough enemies and, even though lethargy is still clinging desperately to her muscles, she can't shake the feeling of wanting to fight, to kill. She clenches her jaw and moves away from the fray.
"I'll show you, Ichigo!" she yells, gaining his attention momentarily.
She snaps the fingers of her left hand and the familiar mask settles upon her face. She can't afford to gloat at Ichigo's shocked (or was that mesmerised? She can never tell) face, because she's already dashing back and forth between Hollows to kill them.
By the time Ichigo's killed four, she's killed ten. Kuroiyuki cheers for blood and Rukia has to begrudgingly join her in a small mental celebration.
Finally, the klaxon stops.
Rukia lands on condensed reishi beside Ichigo. He scowls at her and taps her mask.
She has half a mind to swat his hand away, but she stays stock still.
Keep him away from us! Kuroiyuki screams shrilly.
"Don't touch it," Rukia snaps. She is shocked, because she doesn't know if she's the one saying it or if Kuroiyuki...
Ichigo reels back at the sound of her distorted, angry voice. She snaps her fingers and sighs.
"You had to get serious, didn't you?" Ichigo asked playfully, immediately deciding to forego Rukia's momentary lapse of control over her Hollow.
"Can't have you beating me, can I?" she asked back, trying to shake off the clinging cold feeling of pulling on her Hollow mask. "Look, Ichigo, about –,"
They sense it too late.
Too late.
The pain comes too late and Ichigo slashes the air too late and everything comes into slow motion. Ichigo is yelling and reaching for her but she's slowly falling and doing it quickly at the same time, and nothing makes sense, not anymore –
Suddenly there's a hand going through her back, right out her chest. She can feel her heart thud against an arm and suddenly the arm isn't there and she can't feel anything but the absolute pain.
Suddenly she's falling.
Suddenly the world starts fading into black and white. She wants to scream but her voice is unreachable and her body isn't hers.
Too late.
.
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A/N: I apologise for the long wait. I hope this chapter is up to par, and that it isn't too bad, etc.
In other news, my first SnK fic is up...
