Shirayuki—now renamed Rukia in her current form—was disgusted. Wearing a physical form was tiring. Not only that, but it was difficult to accustom oneself to all the trivialities that came with wearing a human form.
Rukia held back an uncharacteristic giggle. She supposed Zangetsu's—now Ichigo's—reaction to her walking about their inn room without a stitch of clothing had been worth the blushing explanations of the two young girls, whom Rukia had come to view as her wards, as to why wearing clothing when with company was the decent thing to do.
Rukia couldn't help it. She giggled. Ichigo had blushed the most interesting shade of red. She was half tempted to do it again, just to get another reaction out of her normally unflappable companion. Rukia glanced to the side, taking in his appearance.
They had been forced to smother their otherworldly presence even further in order to blend in amongst the villages that they passed through, both of them returning for the most part to what their appearance had been before their deaths. For the most part.
Ichigo stood just as tall as he had before his death, his stance defiant and his scowl challenging. It was his eyes that had seen the change, orange torches that no mortal could meet for too long a time. The rustic tunic and trousers seemed out of place on him and could not measure up to the way his own aura wrapped around him in his true form. Becoming aware of her attention, Ichigo's gaze flicked from the road they were following through town and onto her.
Ichigo grinned appreciatively as he took in his partner's appearance. Century old spirit he may be, unaware of the fairer sex he was not. Her skin was still pale, retaining just a hint of the ethereal luminescence it had held as a spirit, while her hair had taken on a darker tone. She was wearing a protective leather outfit borrowed from Karin that was rather flattering. Like himself, it was her eyes that might give her away as something more than human, for no mortal could see life through such molten pools of amethyst.
The two otherworldly beings of considerable power were currently following Ichigo's descendants through a relatively busy marketplace in one of the larger towns they had passed through thus far, almost a city with a population of around 13 000 people, according to Yuzu. Vendors stood hawking their wares, items ranging from the practical (clothing and steel), to the frivolous (garish necklaces and other luxuries), to the ridiculous (totems guaranteed to trap any malicious spirits).
At his side, Ichigo heard Rukia draw a sharp intake of breath. He tensed as his gaze roved around, seeking out what had produced such a reaction. His gaze found what it was looking for and Ichigo paled in fear. Yuzu and Karin looked back in alarm as they heard what they thought to be a fearful whimper from the powerful man/spirit.
Rukia eyes were wide. She drifted towards one of the aforementioned stalls as if in a trance and it was all Ichigo could do not to tackle her to the ground and drag her away from the danger. That would only spell doom for them all.
Rukia stood in front of the stall, the man on the other side wearing a pleased smile that his wares had enraptured the lady so.
"Bunny," she breathed as her wide, sparkling eyes took in the pure white rabbit hopping about with its companions in one of the several cages at the stall.
Yuzu and Karin took in the scene in equal parts of amusement and confusion, as Ichigo whimpered again.
X
Ichigo glared malevolently at the spawn of darkness hiding behind the guise of an innocent rabbit that was currently perched on his Rukia's shoulders. Yuzu and Karin were the only mildly surprised to see the rabbit rather successfully glaring back.
"Evil..." Ichigo accused.
"Cute," Rukia corrected primly.
"It has bewitched you, Rukia! You just can't see it for what it really is!" Ichigo claimed with a number of excessive hand gestures.
Rukia snorted. "You've just got a grudge against all things related to cute little bunnies like Mr. Chappy," she stated, happily cooing at her new pet.
"Oh? What's this?" Karin entered the conversation with a grin plastered across her face.
Ichigo narrowed his eyes at Rukia. "Don't. You. Dare," he warned.
Rukia's eyes sparkled as she replied, "Ichigo has had a number of...unfortunate encounters with a number of innocent little bunnies every time he assumes some sort of physical form."
"Funny how these 'unfortunate encounters' always seem to occur with your pets," Ichigo growled, pointedly ignoring the grins that were now sported by both Karin and Yuzu.
The group had exited the town after Rukia's purchase of the recently named 'Mr. Chappy'. The stall keeper couldn't even bring himself to take advantage of Rukia's obvious desire for the rabbit of her choice, opting instead to exchange it at a low price for a number of coins that Rukia had pulled out of...somewhere. They were now headed for a bolt hole that Karin and Yuzu had stocked with supplies in the nearby mountains on their way back to the young womens' village.
"So..." Karin drawled as she fell into step beside Ichigo. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but what's the real reason behind you guys protecting us?"
"Real reason?" Ichigo replied mildly.
"Yeah," Karin replied, crossing her arms. "Some sort of spirit quest? An old debt? Mysterious compulsion?"
"Er...no, not quite," Ichigo scratched his head self-consciously, watching Rukia and Yuzu fuss over the demon spawn—er, rabbit as he did so. "We were bored."
Karin raised an eyebrow wryly, conveying volumes in a single look. "You were bored."
"Yup. Although, to be fair, if you weren't my blood descendants we probably would have just watched the Knights hunt you down."
Ichigo's reply reminded Karin harshly that despite how human he and his companion looked, they were still century old spirits who had little interest in human affairs.
"Really?" Karin asked, a frown crossing her face.
"Well...no. But we certainly wouldn't have considered giving you our true names," Ichigo replied coolly.
"Huh," Karin replied in a sober tone, slightly put off by Zangetsu's—Ichigo's words.
Without explanation, Ichigo perked up suddenly. "Hey, you know one way you can thank us though?" he asked brightly.
"What's that?" the dark haired young woman asked, eager to find something she could do to repay their guardians. A few steps in front of them, Yuzu and Rukia turned partially to listen in on their conversation.
"You can draw up a ritual circle at your little hide away and offer up a blood sacrifice to us and our Father," Ichigo outlined enthusiastically, a dark light glinting in his eyes. Ahead of him, Rukia began to nod in happy agreement.
"Oh, that would help so much! We would be much better prepared to take our retribution against the Church then!"
Yuzu looked uneasily at the woman/spirit she had been gushing over a cute rabbit with seconds previous. "A blood sacrifice?" she asked anxiously. "You know they require the life blood of the sacrifice..." she trailed off.
Rukia brushed off her concerns with a wave of her hand. "That won't be a problem," she explained. "There are a group of outlaws waiting to ambush us around the next bend. You will only need two of them alive to complete the ritual."
"We haven't exactly studied up on those sorts of rituals," Karin ventured, reminded more forcefully than ever that their companions were not at all human, despite their outwards appearances.
"That's perfectly fine," Ichigo assured, a smirk spreading across his face. "We are quite knowledgeable in that area."
"You mentioned something about bandits?" Yuzu asked, dragging her mind back on track as the rounded a curve in the road.
"Yep. This should be them know."
Karin scowled at Ichigo's blasé attitude and prepared to draw one of the blades strapped across her back, her scowl deepening when he chuckled at her actions.
"Don't fret. Rukia will deal with these men," he stated in a final tone.
Rounding the bend proper, they were confronted by a group of five men stretched across the somewhat narrow road. Rukia fixed a pleasant smile across her face, apparently not noticing the way the men's eyes lingered on the flesh revealed by the leather outfits worn by herself and Karin. They completely ignored Yuzu in her robes and disregarded Ichigo as an apparent threat, unarmed as he was.
The five men were wearing worn and badly patched clothes and judging by the fragrant scent wafting from their direction, their hygiene left a lot to be desired. The five of them were armed with a variety of weapons, ranging from a rusty longsword to an uncared for spear.
"'ello there," the apparent leader greeted them with a grin, yellowed teeth dotting his gums. "Oi reckon yannow tah drill. Leave ya packs, any valuables yeh might got, and we'll let you go free," he stated before pausing for a moment, considering. "Ah, and ye'll be leaving one of tah pretty wenches in the leather. Tha' should bout do it," the leader finished to the leering grins of his fellows.
"But good sirs," Rukia answered in a delicate, earnest tone. "We haven't any valuables on us. Are you sure you cannot find it in your hearts to let us pass?"
"Hmmmm. Yeh make a compellink argument, milady," the leader replied in a tone that might have been meant to be cultured. "But ah think I'll have tah say nah to your kind offer."
"Oh dear," Rukia replied. "This is a trouble."
One of the men at the lead bandits side scowled and spoke up. "Let's just steal their stuff and rape the bitches already," he sneered. "We don't got time to be standing around havin' nice conversations with whores."
From the corner of her eye, Karin saw the grass on the side of the road near Ichigo's feet wither and die. She winced.
Rukia smiled, and suddenly there was nothing delicate or earnest about her. "Perhaps I shall give the three luckier of your number a small kiss," she offered with all the promise of a crossroads demon. "But I'm afraid I have special plans for the two of you," she directed at the two spokesmen with a dark desire in her eyes that seemed to freeze them in place.
Unbidden, the three bandits who had remained silent began to drift forwards towards Rukia. Her smile widened, becoming cruel and expectant as she stepped up to meet her victims. Karin and Yuzu watched in detached curiosity as their guardian seemed to dance through them, pecking each on the cheek once and only once.
"I got a kiss on the lips," Ichigo remarked idly, although there was a faintly prideful tone in his voice.
Before the sisters could question what he meant, a snowflake seemed to blossom on the cheeks of the men where Rukia's lips had pressed against every so fleetingly. It stayed as it was for the barest of moments, before the ice spread rapidly across their bodies, freezing them in place.
Within seconds, their three would be attackers were little more than frozen sculptures, before their forms cracked and fell to the ground, disintegrating on the dusty road.
"Come," Rukia commanded to the two remaining outlaws who now seemed enthralled by her ethereal beauty that had begun to shine through in the course of her dance. "Come," she repeated, "and I shall let you serve me. It will be your honour and privilege to myself and my soul-partner," Rukia promised, as the two men began to follow her in a daze, their weapons falling to the ground behind them.
Ichigo chuckled darkly as they resumed their journey, stepping up to Rukia and leaning forward. He nibbled lightly on her jugular before pulling back, breathing softly in her ear as he did so.
Karin and Yuzu followed behind the two enraptured bandits who were following their guardians like lost puppies, the sisters' expressions reflecting awe, fear, and perhaps just a small amount of envy.
This was the power of a Siedh spirit. The Church wasn't going to know what hit it.