Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
If I thought the mission was dangerous, then I had no idea what was in store for me on the journey back.
My fingers tightened reflexively around my gun every time something so much as shifted in the brush. Ichigo was constantly around me, never talking, just standing as if he could physically block all the hushed insults the people of the Citadel hurled at me when my back was turned.
The men in the other divisions treated me as if I was a hero. They understood I was shunned from the Citadel and forced into a sort of exile. I would find trinkets in front of my tent, a chunk of bread or a pretty stone, something from the men or the children.
Most of my stress was aimed towards the fact that neither my sister nor brother, had spoken to me since the day of the 'Liberation' as the citizens had taken to calling it. My eyes wandered over the faceless crowds and whenever I would spot my siblings dark hair, they would dip into the masses and I would lose them again.
We had been traveling for six days; it had taken our small group a week, but we suspected that with the sheer amount of people we had, it would take a bit longer. We divided into teams and were sent off in different directions to scavenge for food considering we would need to feed four hundred people for half a week extra. We only had a certain amount of the tasteless gruel we were feeding them now.
"What's on your mind?" Ichigo asked, lugging a large boar over his shoulder. I could smell the creature and scrunched my nose up every time the wind shifted in my direction.
"Just thinking about my crummy family relations." I muttered, plucking at the birds swinging from belt. When roasted, they would taste divine.
"Think happy thoughts." He tired but I could see lines forming around his mouth from his constant frowning. He was such a hypocrite.
Our conversation died on our lips as the camp came into view. Fires blazed brightly even though we told them to put them out hours ago. The smoke would attract vultures and wherever those birds circle, other animals think its easy pickings. I raced forward and tossed sand onto the blaze.
The three men sitting around it yelled and pushed at me, but it was to late and the fire died. They huffed and pointed to the small mound of sand with exaggeration. I could smell alcohol on their breath.
With the men's ruckus, many wives peeked out from their tents and their children looked out excitedly. I plucked the liquor from the standing mans hand and the other two placed haphazardly next to the doused embers.
"It is a constant surprise at how much liquor you managed to bring but food is scarce!" I complained as I dumped the bottles into the sand. This seemed to sober them up a bit and they cried out, jumping on me and taking us all to the ground.
Ichigo was there in a second, prying them from my body and giving me a hand up. I coughed a few times and he patted my back while I gripped his hand. The women sighed in defeat and tried to get their kids to lie back down but the all pushed their way to the flaps to watch the drunken fools scramble up and hurl insults.
"You all think you're so superior with your fancy masks and cool toys! Ya'll useless!" He slurred, tilting sideways and patting his ratted vest for something. When he pulled out a knife Ichigo tensed up and grabbed my arm. I shrugged him off. "And I'm not the only one who thinks that! A lot of people do, but they don't have the guts to do what needs to be done!"
"Without us, you would all be dead. You can swing your knife around all you want but that won't fix your problems and that sure as hell won't secure your safety. If we had left you, our home could have been self sustaining for sixty more years, plenty of time for a cure to be made and distributed, but we, the people of the Dome, decided that we wouldn't be human if we left you to die!" I placed my hand over my heart and watched as the rest of the tents rustled and people looked out to listen to my speech.
"I thought you were one of us! You betrayed us! I knew you when you were a child, all sweet and innocent, now look at cha'! Living in the jungle!" He waved the knife again some men stepped out of their tents, startling the man and causing him to wobble.
I took my chance and raced forward, pressing my knee into his groin and when he keeled over, I swung my elbow around and caused him to fall to the ground. I caught the knife before it touched the ground and pressed the cool metal into the fleshy skin of his neck. The citizens all stepped forward to stop me but Ichigo raised a hand and waited, knowing I had something I needed to say.
"I didn't chose to not be one of you. I was forced out of my home! Out into the wild! So if you don't like the fact that I live in the jungle, you shouldn't have pushed me into it in the first place." I stood and tossed the knife into the pile of bottles. "Oh, and thanks to us wild people, you will have meat in your meal tomorrow. You're welcome."
I marched back to Ichigo and grabbed his hand, dragging him out of the camp and up to the natural platform a bit above the rest of the tents. The fire was out and the other tents were dark. A pile of animals were bleeding out over the edge and into a ditch so the smell wouldn't travel. Once Ichigo hung our hunts, we shuffled into our tent and sat back.
"Are you ok?"
"Do I look ok?"
"No."
The conversation cut off with a quiet throat clearing from outside. I sat up and parted the flaps quietly. I gasped when my sister leaned in a bit and smiled.
"Hello, I'm Rukia's sister, and who might you be?" She whispered politely, holding out her hand for Ichigo to shake which he did with a flourish, causing her to laugh quietly and wink at me. "I would like to talk to my sister if that is at all possible."
"Of course." He smiled and for the first time in a while, his eyes lightened and a small grin caused the wrinkles around his eyes to smooth out and he was the twenty-four year old I had adventured with and not the forty year old man I had seen the last few weeks.
When we sat down on the logs around the dully glowing embers, I noticed the pure white nightgown she wore. I wanted to laugh because it was so her to look perfect during an apocalypse.
"What happened to you?"
Her question almost went unheard. Her voice was quiet and timid but an undertone was fierce and hard and I knew I would have to answer her.
"I guess I should start from the beginning." I folded my hands in my lap and glanced behind me. I spotted Ichigo's mop of orange hair behind the green tent flaps, listening to my retelling. "The day, or rather night, I found a monster in the basement."
"The boy in the tent?" She guessed, and I nodded, leaving out the part about the test and him almost killing me. Over my masks heavy breathing, I could hear Ichigo's almost silent laugh. "What next?"
"I tried to help him. He explained that the ventilation systems had been compromised and all of brothers attempts to get the other Leaders to consider looking at other alternatives failed. I thought maybe I could help." I shook my head and watched my sister rub her eyes. "But we were caught and they had guns and-"
"You fell."
"Yes," I said. "In a way, I guess I did. I fell. I almost died." When I laughed my sister glared and I continued, ignoring Ichigo's laughter as well. "We traveled to Ichigo's home, the place we're going now, and we built a new life."
Her mouth was a bit slack but her eyes showed her intelligence and that she comprehended just what that meant. I licked my chapped lips and ran a hand through my hair. I knew she could call my bluff but if I told her about them containing people infected, she would never come.
"I'm a scientist! I have a whole lab and people under me! Ichigo is a police officer. The other men are police officers too." I tried to sound upbeat but I saw the spark of sympathy in her tone when she told me that was great even though she knew I hated nothing more than sympathy. "Ichigo and I are married."
She threw her head back and laughed before quickly covering her snicker with her hand. Her joy at my tale raised my spirits and I could feel a gentle smile pull at my lips. She asked questions, smart, intelligent questions only she would think to ask, and I responded in kind. Her perfectly placed hair was coming undone from the wind and I could see her yawn behind the white film of the mask she wore. Ichigo showed his true colors by shimmying out of the tent and offering my sister his arm.
"It would be my honor to escort you back to your tent." He bent his elbow and my sister nodded and stood daintily before placing her hand around his bicep and trailing beside him while he walked he back to her tent.
From my place by the fire, I could feel my brothers eyes on the back of my neck, a skill I had picked up at a young age. My fingers were numb and the joy I felt when talking to my sister was settling down as I came into contact with my cold elder brother.
"You could have returned to us. You picked your own path." He defended, his words leaving little room for discussion and no room for error. His tone, superior and cruel, was grating on my nerves and I could feel the pain and longing that had been festering since I was pulled out of that lake start to bubble.
"Don't you dare think I chose this for myself. Would I change it? No, I am smarter and more self realized than I could have ever been in the Citadel but do not mistake my wisdom as forgiveness." My words bit into his cool shell. The tightening of his lips the only indicator he felt anything from my comment. I wanted to spew more cruel words at him, watch as I destroyed that stupid facade he wrapped himself up in, but I held back.
"I thought you had died." My heart skipped a beat at the despair lacing his tone but when I looked up, only a thin sheen in his eyes revealed the deep emotion he was feeling. My anger dissipated and I patted the log next to me. He sat down silently. "I see the way you look at that boy."
"He is the only friend I have. We have been through a lot together." I tired to explain but it was crushed when blood pooled in my cheeks and my lips started to tingle, remembering our kiss.
"You are married." His statement was more a question and I just laughed and shook my head, explaining our need for a new identity, and what a better then newlyweds. He listened to my reasoning but his eyes narrowed into a disbelieving stare. I huffed and gave up, choosing instead to just sit in comfortable silence.
When I spotted Ichigo trekking back, I was preparing to shake hands when he roughly grabbed my coat and tugged me into his chest. The hug was awkward but much needed and was over within seconds.
My brother kissed my forehead then walked down passed Ichigo who watched him pass with owlish eyes. He pointed to the fading outline as the darkness swallowed my brother's figure. I just smirked a bit and he tossed an arm over my shoulder.
"Good to have you back Short Stack." He muttered before strutting back into our tent with my nagging following him.
"What the hell did you just call me?"
I thought I updated this, sorry. Duel chapters as penance.