Precipice (Bleach themes: On The Precipice of Defeat; Storm Center)

When you whispered to me, "it's okay, dear"

Did I hear a quiver when I heard you say it?

Just don't look back, 'cause this was no mistake.

- Magnet, Megurine Luka and Hatsune Miku

.

.

(a few hours ago)

"

Ichigo is a captain who's known for his strength and speed and skill. He can detect a Hollow from miles away and he can fight them without even letting his blade touch their masks. He can shunpo as quickly as Byakuya, if not more so.

That is how he feels absolute fear when that thing comes out of nowhere...when he cannot protect the one he cares about the most.

One moment she's smirking at him, and the next few seconds happens so slowly that he wonders how he could not have protected her in time when she was right there in front of him.

The Hollow appears literally out of nowhere – a Vasto Lorde, it looks like, with blazing hazel eyes and tanned skin covered in the old Arrancar uniform. It flashes a grin at him and he can't yell in time, can't react quickly enough. He can't even have pulled Rukia towards him because the Vasto Lorde's arm extended through her chest.

He sees the bloodied hand and the gothic '6' imprinted at the palm, and the hole it's left in its wake. He sees the Vasto Lorde's smirk, the unintelligible muttering of reverence in her ear even though she probably can't hear it. He can barely hear it himself – the Vasto Lorde calling her queen, and telling her to rule a kingdom left behind. He can't make sense of it, not now.

He can only see her dull eyes.

He cannot see anything but the blood.

Her dead eyes.

No, he yells in his mind. He's not aware that he's screaming it, too, but the Vasto Lorde has disappeared the way it has come – from nothingness.

A murderous Vasto Lorde that can teleport.

The captain side of his brain sets this information apart for later.

Every fibre in his body is already reaching for Rukia. Desperate. Pleading.

Pleading to whatever god there is – whatever or whoever the Soul King might be – to please, don't let her die.

No. He can't allow that, not now, not when...not when he's only gotten her back after so long. Ten years had been far too long of a wait, and he's not sure if he can survive forever.

The prospect of him makes him reach for her as she falls.

Her eyes close. Her body trembles. His fingers graze against her skin and he can see the bloodt and that gruesome hole and he can't stop it –

Her eyes open before he can reach her, but they are not the colour he remembers.

Or...more to the point, they are not the colour that he wants to see.

Dull lavender, elongated pupils...black sclera.

He's seen that before.

And that manic grin. That white material covering her whole form, the same material going around the hole in her gaping chest and making it stop bleeding. Now, it only stares at him, mocking him.

"RUKIA!" he screams, trying to get her before she falls.

But it's already too late.

He lands on the ground on his feet just as Rukia-not-Rukia does.

For once in his un-death, his blade trembles in his grasp; the Hollow looks too much like her.

Unlike when his own Hollow takes over his body, Rukia's hollow merely takes her form. Her skin is pale white and the haori – his haori, that he doesn't remember allowing her to wear – is starting to fall off.

"Kurosaki...Ichigo," it says, as if tasting his name for the first time. He can feel others still engaging the few remaining Hollow in battle, but he cannot focus on them. Right now his world is centred on this one enemy that he cannot properly raise a sword against. It screams at him, and he flinches. It laughs in his face. "How can you be so weak?"

Her voice is distorted, wrong, and for now that convinces him. Something else about this Hollow niggles at the back of his mind but he can't quite focus, what with the rage starting to cloud his judgement. How dare this Hollow use Rukia to insult him. "Get out of her body."

It laughs at him again. "Are you fucking kidding me?" It points a finger at its gaping chest – the bleeding hole just moments ago was...not bleeding anymore. "I'm the only thing keeping the mistress alive! But...I know what you're thinking."

It saunters up to him and he cannot move a muscle. It feigns an expression, flutters its eyelids and gazes up at him with not-Rukia's-eyes. His whole body tenses at it stops a few feet away from him, and that is when he realises that he's felt this reiatsu before.

"Oh, Ichigo, I am in so much pain! The Hollow is devouring me from the inside out, but I cannot stop it! Oh, Ichigo, save me! Save me, Ichigo!"

That dark reiatsu...

"Hah! I don't even know what the mistress sees in you!"

...was Rukia's?

But that's impossible, he reasons. Rukia can't possibly have such a dark, suffocating reiatsu. She's always been the cool, soothing reiatsu that's always calmed him down whenever he sought for it during his teenage years and he knows for a fact that she can't possibly have such a gut-wrenching presence. She's formidable, sure, but...she's Rukia, for Christ's sake. He'll always trust her to have his back.

Yet...the evidence is right before him.

She owns that evil reiatsu that he sensed during their brief time in Karakura. There's absolutely no mistaking it. He can pass it off as the reiatsu of the Hollow that started this mess and hurt Rukia, but he knows that he should have been able to know the reiatsu of that Hollow even in the split second that it appeared.

And what did that Hollow say...what did it call Rukia?

'Queen', 'mistress'...

He shakes the thoughts from his head. Surely Rukia isn't involved in all this.

"Give her back!" he yells, to stop himself from thinking any further.

"And have her die? Is that really what you want?" it taunts.

"You're lying," he seethes.

It grins and points at its chest. A little piece of the white, hardened skin breaks off to reveal a soft human skin underneath...and it starts bleeding. "Am I?" With a flick of its finger, the spot of Rukia's skin disappears. "Tsk, tsk, be careful of what you say to the Queen...I-chi-go."

"Ichigo!" Shinji yells from beside him.

Both their heads snap towards him, but the Hollow's face is hit. It sails through the air and crashes into a building.

"Rukia –!"

"That's not Rukia," Kensei says from behind, making him jump. The former captain has his sword at the ready, but seems to be watching the fight occurring above their heads with much interest. "That thing has a different name."

Ichigo scowls as he looks at Lisa and Shinji team up against Rukia's Hollow, who's laughing as it dances around them like a maniac, doing some kind of weird twirling moves that allows her to gracefully evade attacks and violently slash at her opponents at the same time.

"You'll hurt her!" he protests as Kensei lifts his blade and, at the same time, Hiyori and Rose join in the fray, expressions grave.

They all have their Hollow masks on.

"She'll kill other people if we don't!" the silver-haired man snaps hotly. "The last time this happened...a small town's population was cut in half. We never spoke of it, but it all weighed heavily on us, because we hesitated. Do you understand, Ichigo? Either help us, or put Soul Society in danger."

Kensei doesn't wait for his answer and begins to engage Rukia-not-Rukia as well. The muscles in his jaw tighten just as much as his heart; he cannot possibly choose between the world and Rukia, because there is no distinction. More so, one cannot exist without the other, not with him.

"Don't worry!" Mashiro pipes up from beside him. "Just knock her on the back of the head, s'all."

"She'll owe me another Naruto volume," Love adds. He pats Ichigo's shoulder. "Don't listen to Kensei. If you can't bear to watch this, or if you cannot help us, then you should go back to your own division."

He shakes Love's hand off and turns on his heel.

Tears are stinging in the back of his eyes but he refuses to let them escape.

In the end...he is weak, just as Rukia's Hollow said, after all. But maybe Love was right. Maybe the only way to show strength is to keep his division afloat and surviving. After all, that's how he's showed strength for the past ten years.

xx

"You've done it, haven't you?"

"Hai, Lei-sama."

"Good. The master will be pleased." The Hollow sitting at the limestone throne dismisses the Segunda Espada with a wave of a hand. There is a small whoosh of air, and the Espada disappears. The make-shift Hollow 'King' relaxes and allows his thoughts to wander, a plan already laid out in front of him.

He places his chin against his fist, and leans on the arm of the throne.

Kuchiki Rukia – a formidable shinigami indeed. It had been a few years ago when a sudden burst of her power caught the attention of Hollow like him during her fight in Aizen's 'palace', which they have now rebuilt and fortified. The Hollows under Aizen's command had been heretics, saying that the existence of the true Hollow King and Queen is legend, myth, but Shao Ran Lei knew it in his bones the moment he felt that momentary burst of reiatsu.

And her King, Kurosaki Ichigo…his reiatsu was far more developed but less restrained.

There was no mistaking it. The moment those two entered Hueco Mundo, Shao Ran felt a stirring within his Hollow soul. It allowed him to rise to his own power without the help of any Hōgyoku. He used his own tricks, found a shortcut, and he used it to his full advantage. Along the way, he gained the respect of more Hollows than he knew what to do with. Some of them earned his trust, and he allowed them to learn his secrets – to devour Hollows as soon as they arrived in Hueco Mundo. Those Hollows seem to have more reiatsu, and upon arriving in Hueco Mundo, they're either injured or off-guard, making them easier prey.

Then, he realised that they are all sheep, waiting for his guidance. And he, in turn, is waiting for the realisation of his dream – a true King and Queen to rule Hueco Mundo. So he tells them of a 'master', and they don't know any better. They trust them with their puny lives.

The War isn't an inconvenience. With the attacks that he's orchestrated, the shinigami have been weakened. Less souls are being purified, and more turn into Hollows, which means that his forces are increasing day by day.

This isn't a War, however, no matter how the stupid shinigami view it.

This is a rescue mission.

Once Royalty has taken its place, then Hueco Mundo will unite. Hollows will serve these higher entities and, most likely, they'll win this "war".

Finally, the shinigami will get what's been coming to them.

The first decisive move has been made. The Segunda Espada, Belfort Ygwach, introduced a pure Hollow's reiatsu to the Queen. It won't be long before the Queen's own inner Hollow will gain enough strength, and finally…the Queen will come to Hueco Mundo of her own accord, taking her rightful place on the throne. The King will follow soon after.

All they need is a little push in the right direction.

xx

(five days later)

"I'm fine!" Rukia exclaims for the nth time, trying to control her strength as she pushes away another shinigami of the Fourth. Of course, she's not trying to cause trouble. She'd rather face down a million Hollows than cause a ruckus in Unohana-taichō's division. "Really!"

"I see you're still causing trouble," Renji says, grinning as he leans on the doorway.

"R-Renji?!" Rukia stutters, completely caught off-guard. He certainly looks well, and the captain's haori certainly seems to fit him. She doesn't know if it's just her, or if Renji has finally gained that air of maturity about him, but she thinks it's a nice change.

"I'll deal with her," Renji informs the scared-looking shinigami. The nameless subordinate bows gratefully and mutters words of thanks before slinking out of there.

Rukia couldn't have cared less.

"Hey," he greets lazily.

And that's it.

That's what she's been waiting for.

Of all the starts and stops in their friendship, Renji has always been the friendlier one. He's always been the one who approaches her, and even now, that hasn't changed. She can't express how glad she is that he's not scowling or frowning or talking her head off in some long-winded lecture about her wrong-doings. She's had enough of that from herself.

And now, now this air of familiarity about him simply draws her in.

Their friendship has been through a rut before. Rukia wonders if that's why it's easier to mend things with Renji. Her relationship with Ichigo transcends any type of relationship she's had before and that's why she's always so cautious around him, and that's why she guesses that he treats her in the same way. The both of them are still treading unknown waters and…

And…

"It's nice to see you again," he tells her, sauntering towards her before ruffling her hair affectionately. It snaps her out of her thoughts; certainly before she can allow herself to drown in guilt again. The contact is foreign but not unwelcome. The Vaizards aren't the cuddly, friendly types, and she's always felt like an outsider, but with the people she's come to know and love…everything seems easier.

Even if they won't tell her what happened after she got attacked. Even if Ichigo hasn't even visited her since then. Even if no one will tell her how long she's been asleep for.

"Baka," she snaps in her usual affectionate matter, punching him in the midsection. A smile tugs at her lips. "Who said that you can touch my hair?"

"It's the only thing I can reach," he defends weakly, chuckling. She rolls his eyes at his behaviour and playfully punches his arm. He stumbles back when she hugs him.

"I'm glad you're not mad at me," she mumbles in his chest.

She can feel him tentatively touch her, before hugging her back with the same enthusiasm. "I'll never stay mad at you."

She laughs, momentarily ecstatic to hear him say it (she should really get used to people not shunning her anymore), before pulling herself away. "So? How are you?"

"I should be asking you that," he replies, letting his arms drop to his sides, but still having a relaxed stance. Their moment of physical intimacy has passed and gone, and just like her, he doesn't feel inclined to let it linger. In a way, she's glad that he doesn't seem to be harbouring any more romantic notions towards her. She'd been aware of his intentions in the past, but now…it may be selfish, but she's glad that she doesn't have to go through the painful process of rejecting him. "You've been out for three days. You just woke up yesterday. How are you?"

She pokes at the bandages peeking under the folds of the shinigami uniform, right below her collar bone.

Aside from the shinigami uniform she's apparently been changed into by the female shinigami of the Fourth, her sword was recovered and stayed by her bedside in the duration of her recuperation. Wearing the uniform feels odd…

"Not bad," she answers honestly. "I'm hungry and I wanna get out of here. I still don't remember what happened, though…"

A flash of something passes Renji's features, but she doesn't point it out. If she ever learnt anything, it's that she's better off not trying to wring information out of people. Not only does it always get out of hand, it's also very stressful. She'll question him about it later.

"Your exile has been revoked," Renji points out in what Rukia can judge as a helpful tone, like he's trying to divert the conversation. Fine, she thinks, just this once. "You and the Vaizards have been pardoned and declared heroes of war. Not everyone seems to like it though, but Bya – I mean, Kuchiki-taichō…he's proud of you. That hasn't changed since the thing with Aizen started. He still thinks you're his little sister."

She raises an eyebrow. "You were about to call him 'Byakuya'." At that, his cheeks turn a shade of red that can rival his own hair. She smirks. "So…?"

"Fine," he admits, blushing. "So your brother and I are involved. So what?"

In an action that takes him by shock, she merely pats his chest. "As long as neither of you try to kill each other, I'm fine with that."

(If she laughs at him, she'll actually remember any one of Lisa's...'yaoi' manga in crystal clear detail and he'll end up laughing at her.)

She doesn't let the satisfaction of seeing his eyes widen sink in before she launches conversation again, exploring something that he's mentioned in passing a few seconds ago. "So you said that I'm still his little sister…?"

"Y-yeah," he replies, still shaking off the after-effects of shock. "He still calls you a Kuchiki, and the Elders can't say anything about it. He still wants you to call him 'nii-sama', even though he's not going to tell anyone this…"

She hides her happiness poorly. Fine, so maybe she wanted to continue being a Kuchiki. Having no last name has been getting on her nerves and, along with the fact that Byakuya is the only remaining family she has left, it's no wonder that she's actually in a good mood, despite the recent turn of events. "I haven't called him 'nii-sama' in a while. But, speaking of the Kuchiki Elders, how did they take your relationship with Bya – I mean, Nii-sama?"

He winces at the memory. "Not good. I –," a prompt knock interrupts him. "I'll see if I can tell you more later."

He smiles at her – the gentlest that she's ever seen him – and ruffles her hair some more. "I'm glad you're back, Rukia."

Scowling at him for touching her hair again, she exhaustedly plops down on the bed as Renji flashes her an annoying smirk. He opens the door and only hesitates for a while.

Rukia's eyes widen as she sees who walks in and shuts the door behind him.

"Hey," Ichigo says, nervously scratching the back of his head. "How are you?"

The questions she'd told herself that she'd reserve later threaten to spill over at the sight of him. While Renji wasn't there (as far as she knew), Ichigo had seen her pass out. She'd heard him scream, shout, whatever. She'd seen the stricken expression in his face, the darkness in his eyes, and the flash of black that can only mean he'd gone bankai on someone's sorry ass.

What happened, Ichigo?

No. If she asks that question, it'll open a million other problems. That question is too ambiguous, too...risky.

"I'm starting to get sick of people worrying over me," she jokingly tells him as he makes his way towards her. She attempts and succeeds in a small smile, even if his close proximity is starting to make her lungs and her heart not cooperate. "I'll be fine, baka. I'm not someone you should have to worry about."

He doesn't reply.

Instead, he quite literally sweeps her up in his arms in one fell move. His strong arms are around her and his head is resting on the crook of her neck, and she can smell that distinctly Ichigo smell.

So warm...

"Don't make me worry like that again," he berates, his voice too husky and low and too much for Rukia's heart to take.

She brings her arms up to hug him back.

They've never been people who're overly fond of displaying affection, and this is the most the either of them have shown in terms of physical contact. Maybe because they've been deprived of each other for so long...maybe because their reunion wasn't at all like either of them had expected...

Maybe because they've come so, so close to losing each other that it's become an act of desperation just to be able to touch each other.

"Baka," she snaps lightly, turning her head slightly so she can whisper in his ear. She can feel him shiver under her touch and she has to wonder, do I really have as much power over you as you have over me?

He pulls away slightly, enough so he can turn his head. The close proximity allows them to simply breathe each other in, as if they haven't been doing that enough as of late.

"I was too weak," he tells her, a small scowl on his face. She recognises that look – he's blaming himself again. He has this annoying tendency to take everything on his shoulders and...she can't really judge him for that, because she has a habit of doing the same thing. Maybe they really do fit each other. "I couldn't...I couldn't protect you –,"

She just has to shut him up, somehow, before he can lower himself even more.

She presses her lips to his.

A feather-light touch, like the snow falling to the ground.

And he melts her, like the sun melts ice.

He kisses her fervently, desperately. She can't think straight because oh God, I'm kissing Ichigo, oh God – Ichigo...

They shift so they're more comfortable, and then Ichigo lets his tongue brush against her lips. Her mouth opens eagerly – how am I even doing this – and it suddenly becomes fiercer, hotter...like he's burning her and she is burning him back and they're fuelling each other even more. If she hadn't known what it meant to 'melt' with a kiss, she certainly does now.

(And she can't think, can't do anything but kiss him because the world is suddenly focused on everything Ichigo and she can't allow herself to feel anything but.)

But they have to breathe sometime, and it's this infuriating, intruding necessity that makes them pull away from each other.

That doesn't stop them from gravitating towards each other again. They are magnets and they simply can't stop...

xx

"We're falling," Kuroiyuki comments lazily as the scenery shifts. She can feel the mistress give in, and who is she to intrude? The chain around her neck is still chaffing; it'll take a while to recover from that 'disciplining' that Shirayuki implemented after Rukia left. Even though they're part of the same luscious soul...it seems as if the mistress and her sword are not acknowledging Kuroiyuki's importance.

Neither one of them recognises the fact that Kuroiyuki had taken over at that crucial moment and prevented her mistress from dying, even if it did take a lot of their energies. Kuroiyuki had been sleeping then; some force had dragged her out and, when she found herself in the mistress' body, she had been understandably pissed off. It didn't help that Rukia's friends knocked her out, too. Jeez, what does a Hollow have to do to get some recognition around these parts?

Okay, so maybe she jokes around a bit about how she wants to devour Rukia's soul; it is quite delectable, and she can't ignore the pull towards it. But, at the same time, she knows it's impossible. Once bound to Rukia, she cannot escape.

And that thing that woke her up – it stirred something other than anger. It gave her...power. More power than even she knew what to do with. More control. It was just a shame that Rukia was trying not to die at the time to experience the feeling itself.

It was like...being awake for the first time. It was like remembering something she didn't even know she'd forgotten.

But she'd been too annoyed, and when she relinquished control, she was too tired to even think about it. Now, it seems like such a bother.

The snow melts. Shirayuki looks around with caution, but it looks as if she's seen this before. In the mistress' memories, Kuroiyuki knows that this event has occurred in that moment when everything started...when the mistress shared part of herself with Ichigo...

Buildings rise up and the ground tilts sideways. Shirayuki is steady on her feet and Kuroiyuki merely closes her eyes as she lies on cold steel. Part of her misses the snow – the soft, white blanket that's been all she's ever known. But this other part feels like she belongs here, too.

"It seems as if the mistress has been keeping her desires in all this time," she continues to say, eyes still shut. Shirayuki doesn't respond; the zanpakutō is always unresponsive towards her, even more so now that Kuroiyuki's taken over again. She knows Shirayuki hates her. It just doesn't affect her as much as it used to – before, she just wanted someone to talk to.

"Oh, jeez, what the hell is this?" a crass voice says. Kuroiyuki sits – the most she is motivated to do at the moment – and looks in the general direction of the voice.

There – in a building next to where they are, is Ichigo's nameless Hollow.

Poor guy, she thinks as she observes Zangetsu materialise behind the albino-Ichigo. For a moment, she's grateful that her mistress has named her. But, as Shirayuki deftly moves towards the pair, she quickly remembers that that name has come with the consequence of being forever chained to the mistress' will.

Not that she had a choice in the first place.

She stumbles forward and lands in an ungraceful heap; Shirayuki had tugged on her chain and she had been forced to follow. She ignores the pain on her shoulder and merely lies back again as Shirayuki begins to converse with Zangetsu a few ways away. The chain clinks after the zanpakutō, and Kuroiyuki does nothing but lie on the crossed arms under her head.

It's not long before the nameless entity stands over her.

"What do you want?" she asks, popping one eye open.

"How can you bear to be chained to a weakling?" the Hollow sneers. She cocks an eyebrow, and shrugs.

"When you resist less, you know more," she replies. She really isn't in the mood to talk to anyone, but it's better than talking to some pretty statue that comes alive when her mistress visits. Her gaze drifts over to Shirayuki and Zangetsu. Or when there's someone to bang. "Fighting actively is too much effort. I prefer waiting for the right moment. And my mistress isn't a weakling."

"Che, that's lazy," the anti-Ichigo says, sitting cross-legged beside her anyway. "But I guess I gotta take what company I can get. It gets pretty dull 'round here."

She doesn't say anything and merely drifts into a light nap.

She doesn't get very far.

"So what does it feel like, bein' a dog?" the Hollow presses. She can feel her veins throb white-hot annoyance. Even Shirayuki knows – don't you fucking dare interrupt my naps.

"Shut up," she snaps, turning so that her back is to him. Screw company; this guy is just plain annoying. No wonder Ichigo hates him. Surely Kuroiyuki isn't this obnoxious; she only pipes in when the mistress' thoughts are too strong, and Kuroiyuki needs her to shut the fuck up.

"Is this what you do all day? Sleep?"

"..."

"C'mon, talk to me baby,"

"..."

"I heard you're stronger than me. I think that's bullshit."

"Of course I am," she snaps, harsher. She sits up and glares at him. Not letting her sleep is one thing; insulting her abilities is another matter entirely. "I'll prove it to you, you uncivilised bitch fucker –,"

"As if you're any different!" he scoffs, unfazed even as Kuroiyuki's eyes visibly flash and darken. "You have quite the mouth on ya. I'd like to see it used for somethin' else, you know what I mean?"

The wink he gives her doesn't fail to make her shiver.

She stands and flicks his forehead – something that she knows annoys her mistress a lot. It has the same effect on others, it seems, because this nameless Hollow stands in a flash and is gripping her shoulders. She just rolls her eyes at his anger.

"You fuckin' done?" she challenges as she holds his fierce glare. He visibly clenches his jaw.

And then, he mashes his lips to hers.

It's not the tentative, soft kind that the mistress and Ichigo had – not the kind that builds up into a fire that consumes them both. It's the kind that demands, the kind that burns you into ashes until there's nothing left, the kind that takes and gives nothing in return.

So of course she kisses with the same ferocity, because to them, this isn't just a show of dominance; it's a show of power.

It's just that when she kisses back, the world explodes under her closed lids.

Suddenly she's being pulled away, suddenly her memories and everything that binds her to the mistress is there and not-there at the same time.

Suddenly she knows things, voices whispering in her ear and memories of a desolate throne clear in her mind –

The Hollow Queen.

In the decisive battle of the world's fate, the Soul Queen stood in her way. She was propelling herself too quickly to divert; she was too consumed with grief and rage like she'd never known.

The Hollow King was subdued by the Soul King, his essence sealed away in the cycle of reincarnation, and there was a small chance that it would ever be reincarnated again. But the technique to seal a fellow God took too much from the Soul King: half of his essence, to be exact. The Hollow Queen – feeling anger and sadness that are all too foreign, too new because she hadn't experienced such things in the past – took that chance.

But the Soul Queen, in her dying moments, protected her King.

The Soul Queen ended herself by merging with her Hollow counterpart, and plunging them into the yawning void that led into the reincarnation cycle.

The existence of two Queens became one, and the Soul King could do nothing but to close the void behind his Queen.

.

.

The world begins to tilt again.

The nameless Hollow let go; his large, calloused hands would certainly leave bruises on Kuroiyuki in its wake. She misses the rough contact, but notices the similar dazed look on his face before he disappears along with his world.

Stunned, she stands with Shirayuki as the world is righted again. The zanpakutō doesn't look fazed; was Kuroiyuki the only one who experienced that?

What the hell was that anyway?

"I'm going to sleep," she grumbles, wanting to sleep her troubles away. She doesn't want to think. Thinking requires a lot of effort, and challenging No-Name (as she's began to refer to Ichigo's Hollow) was too much. What went on in her own head was too much; she'd have to keep this information to herself until she can make sense of it...when she feels like it.

She lies on the snow and closes her eyes.

Soon...maybe she'll get to tap that power...

And the mistress will fall.

Slowly, a small smirk appears on Kuroiyuki's face. They're standing on a precipice, and they're not even aware of it.

Oh, how fun would it be to give them a little nudge...

xx

(nine years ago)

Rukia and Shinji pull away from one another with a huff. Sweat beads at her brow and runs down her spine; her throat is dry. Her heart is beating loudly and painfully against her chest, making her gasp for air, but she will not let go of her blade. Her breath sounds so ragged...so distorted.

"Good job, Rukia-chan," Shinji tells her, his own voice distorted but quickly turning normal as he materialises his mask away. "You've officially lasted more than Ichigo ever did."

"I've had time," she replies, taking her mask off as well. The feeling is still odd, but she's sure she'll get used to it soon. In the dark recesses of her mind, Kuroiyuki stirs, but does not do much else. Rukia is still on guard.

"That's true," the former taichō remarks, an easy grin on his face. "But you lasted more than any of us did, as well. Three hours."

Rukia takes a shocked step back, but quickly recovers by clearing her throat. "Ah...that's a good achievement I suppose..."

Shinji's smile falters. "You were going to say 'as expected of a Kuchiki', weren't you?"

"I don't know what you mean," she denies as she sheathes her sword. She ignores his knowing smile and steels herself. "Shinji-san...I was wondering...if you can help me attain bankai."

"Whatever for, Rukia-chan?"

To surpass Nii-sama.

To surpass Ichigo.

To gain power of my own...without my Hollow.

These are the things that she wants to say, and a lot more, but she does not say them. That would be revealing too much, and she knows already the price of trusting people – the more you do it, the harder it would be on both parties if one betrayed the other. Instead, she shrugs.

"I...want to gain that power."

She expects him to tell her no, that she's not ready, that holding control over her Hollow for three hours is, in fact, an easy feat. But he doesn't.

He walks towards her and places a hand on her shoulder.

"I can't help you with that...but I know someone who can. Are you sure...?"

She nods determinedly. "I'm sure."

He smiles widely, already knowing that she does not back out of things once she dedicates herself to them. Above them, the cacophony of their friends – although she dares not think of them as friends, not yet...maybe comrades would be a better term – signals their arrival from their excursion out in town. "Just let me make a few calls."

xx

"Eh?!" Ichigo exclaims, glaring at the closed doors of the infamous Shōten. "What kind of bullshit is this?!"

"Ah...it seems as if Urahara-san left a note, taichō..." the shinigami-on-duty tells him, pointing nervously at the note taped on wood. Ichigo feels kind-of bad for making this rookie-looking shinigami to him, but no matter. He'd let the guy go later after he finishes his report...which Ichigo had planned to listen to in the Urahara Shōten while waiting for his gigai.

It's his sisters' first day in college, and no way is he letting them go with their crazy father alone.

"What the – Went on a holiday. Will be back in a few days. Don't try to break in, because there are no usual goods in here. (That means you, Kurosaki-kun.)" Ichigo yells out in annoyance. The rookie flinches at the sudden flare of angry reiatsu, and he can tell that it has a negative effect on him as the shinigami begins to look paler every second he seethes. "URAHARA!"

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A/N: Why, yes, my priorities have shifted again. For the readers of TLC, it'll take a while to update again. But I have all of my two-week study break to think about what I'll do with it, so do not fret! In other news I'm glad that people have started reading this, too. Next chapter has a few new surprises, and a little (*ehem*) of attempted smut.

And, yes. Ichigo and Rukia did have sex. I just didn't want to ruin it...

Is it wrong for me to ask for reviews? No?