Day 20. Recap!
"The secret of happiness is the determination to be happy always, rather than wait for outer circumstances to make one happy." – J. Donald Walters
"Man could escape danger only by renouncing adventure, by abandoning that which has given to the human condition its unique character and genius among the rest of living things" – Rene Dubois.
I woke up and I looked over my shoulder… Rukia was missing! I ran down the stairs and there was Rukia sitting casually at the table with Yuzu. "Morning Ichigo!" They chimed together, it was odd.
"Morning Yuzu. Morning Rukia." I told them both. I had no clue what was going on.
"Rukia's home was destroyed brother so this morning she had no place to come she said you were nice enough to let her sleep on the couch. I think you should have let her have your bed with her injuries."
"I slept on the floor anyway." I told her.
"Awww, you shouldn't have done that, it's bad for your back and posture." Rukia said smiling at me.
"I'll remember that." I told Rukia.
"So Rukia contacted her boss and they're going to let her design her own house! How cool is that? I think dad'll let her stay again since she has no place to return to."
"I'm sure he will. He still asleep?" I asked.
"Yeah, he is." Yuzu said. "He's exhausted after staying up all night. That reminds me, you're on duty all day tonight."
"Lucky me!" I said unenthusiastically.
Yuzu turned back to Rukia. "What color is your room going to be?" She asked.
"Purple and white!"
"Can I help paint?" Yuzu asked excitedly.
"Of course," I sat down and rested my head on the table. I was exhausted.
"Have a tough night Ichigo?" Rukia asked me sympathetically, but knowing what happened.
"You have no idea." I answered, even though she actually did.
"I'm sure I can cover your duties if you're that tired, Ichigo." Yuzu said.
"No, no. It's nothing to hard. Make sure they don't die, simple stuff like that." I told her. I needed something to do afterall.
"Good because now Rukia and I can plan her new house. She made drawings!" I twitched at the idea of her house being built off of her drawings. I could only imagine bunnies everywhere in the architecture.
"They're pretty good, I think." Rukia said handing me her sketch book.
I went through the pages and I was shocked. They could be real blueprints for a house. Real drawings! When did she have time to do this? When did she get talented? "Rukia these are…" I couldn't think of anything.
"Nii-san let me take drawing lessons! He has a caligraphy and after I did really well at his sessions he figured that I should take some from my artistry skills. It's very important to a Kuchiki." Rukia explained to me.
I went through her sketch book and I noticed that the beginning was typical Rukia and it got better and less 'Rukia' through the years. "Do you still draw bunnies for pluses?" I asked her.
Yuzu was confused. "Bunnies don't look like plus signs. That's just stupid." Rukia laughed and I sighed, sitting down.
"So where's breakfast?" I asked.
"I finished, in the fridge." Rukia said. "You slept in pretty long." She got up stepped by me. "I still do," she whispered in my ear. I laughed and she brought me breakfast after she heated it up.
She sat beside me, but focused mainly and discussing her house plans with Yuzu. "Where's Karin?" I asked.
"She's back to school Ichigo." Rukia said laughing, "It was only a week break." I guess that made sense… what day of the week was it? Monday? Tuesday?
"What's the date?"
"20th," Rukia and Yuzu answered but not caring why I wanted to know.
"That's a…"
"Thursday," (AN: the calendar follows the 2010 Month of May… I just realized that. I planned it based on her 30 days as starting on a Saturday and four full weeks plus the Sunday to pack up to go.) I couldn't believe that if I hadn't convinced Rukia to stay that she'd only have ten days left. I couldn't believe that she had only been back for 20 days, it felt like she's been here forever and like she never left.
I reached over and took Rukia's hand in mine. I turned and smiled at her. She smiled back. "Ichigo, you don't mind if she stays around her until her house is ready… right?"
"No, I don't." I jumped up. Oh man, Rukia is going to kill me. I forgot that when I had to take her back to my house I had to make a second trip back for Bini. I didn't though because Rukia wouldn't let me leave.
I ran toward Rukia's house and I found that the cage was missing. I punched a beam of the house that was left. What could have happened to it? Where could it go! It was in it's carrier! I looked around everywhere. I couldn't remember where I put it!
"Idiot!" I turned around to see Rukia. She crossed her arms. "If you're looking for Bini she's with tatsuki. Tatsuki apparently visited right after we left to check on me and instead of us she found that poor bunny in the cage. I didn't know what your family would say so she said she'd take care of things until it's all cleared up." She crossed her arms. "I didn't want to yell at you then…" She hit me knocking me into the debris.
"Hey!"
"How dare you forget about Bini! Bini is important to me!" She yelled.
"I know. I got the stupid thing for me." She kicked my shin. I grabbed it. It hurt bad.
"Bini is not stupid you idiot." I fell backwards over a chunk of wood and ontop my back. "You deserve it now let's get back to your house."
I sat up, the beam I was leaning on snapped and I landed on my face. She laughed. She seemed unscathed, a few bandages were on her arms, legs and head but it made sense for the accident. "What happened during that battle?" I asked her.
"It's a long story." I took her hand. "Alright…"
Rukia knew what she would have to do if this happened… she wouldn't do that if she didn't have to. "You're not going to eat my soul or any other, ever because you're going to die!"
Rukia got into position to attack but when she made contact. She instead screamed in pain as it appeared that zanpakto were cutting every part of her body. She knelt down from the pain. She could see the cuts. She tried to use energy to heal them but she could sense they were directly being made by his spiritual energy. They wouldn't heal… until he was dead.
"Hurt. It should. It's your power killing you. I brought it back on you. Just like I used this to find you." In his huge hands was her ribbon. "It has your energy on it, that's how I found you. You led me right to you."
"Smart tactic, using my power against me. It won't work though. I'm stronger!" Rukia went at him again and again. Each time she could feel her own attacks against her, she was on her hands and knees. She looked up… she needed him. She laughed. She stood up.
"You're weak, just die."
"Never!" Rukia focused. She didn't need him, she was strong. "Bankai!" She screamed. Her power surging and her reiatsu crushing him.
"So incredible!" He said barely able to move.
Rukia's outfit changed to be all white, it was like she was wearing a dress made of snow, it was thin and flowing similar to that of her zanpakto's. It was to her knees and was strapless with a band of black as trim on the bottom. "This is my bankai. It has 3 abilities and they're all used in combinations." Kiji. Kyushu Suru. And Modoru.. Cage. Absorb. Return.
"You will get to see all 3. Kiji." Kiji was an adapted form of her shikai Huruken. It created a blast of ice that swirled around the opponent, creating a cage.
This time; however, Rukia put herself inside the cage. She knew how this would play out, she had a plan. "Ha. A little cage of ice."
"It is very fragile but that is why it is only one of my bankai's abilities. They all must be used in combination to be successful." Rukia explained.
"Kyushi Suru!" She said throwing her sword into the ground. The ground and the walls of the cage started to glow, and reishi-like particles came from him and her toward the walls and things.
He went at her, distrurbing the attack. She pulled up the sword, which stopped the progression of the attack and used it to block him.
"Ahh!" she swing at him. It made a cut but it also cut her. She fell back and scrambled to her feet. She had to be smart about it, head on attacks would loose the battle.
Rukia sighed, knowing what she had to do. She had to let herself get attacked. She couldn't fight back. She had to let her bankai take effect no matter what. Her only defense could be kido because the time he took to reflect it was enough for her to dodge.
"Hado number four: Byakurai," Rukia fired. It reflected back and went after her again. It missed her and went into the barrier, shattering her barrier. She knew that she couldn't use kido or her barrier would deteriorate. She needed a lot more time. "Hado number fifty-eight: Tenran." It was a wind that would help the reiryoku be taken of the persons inside, more him than her.
He made contact with her, catching her leg. She rolled on the ground away from him, clutching her leg. She had to use it now, ready or not. "Kneel before the power of my bankai! Modoru," She yelled when she pulled the sword out of the ground and stuck it out at him.
She embraced herself for the attack. It would be worst than she ever felt before. All her energy and his would be reflected at them. She knew that it was dangerous but it had to be done. She had let her own attack take her energy so it would be strong enough to take him down. She realized the second time they fought that his rebound attacks were a smaller portion of the power given to her. If it was strong enough then it would purify him before it killed her.
All the power her bankai Reito-Shi. Frozen Death. She stood there and prepared her kido. Kurohitsugi. Black coffin. She made sure she mastered that kido in combination with her prison. She jumped as far as she could but his power was strong and it hit her and despite having her sword and using the kido it knocked her backed and hit her front on.
She screamed with the power that her bankai had going against herself. She held her opens open a little longer to see that the hollow was coming after her. She took everything she had left to slice him down the center. He was finally purified and she could feel her own energy return to her. But when she landed on her feet, she couldn't hold it. She used her sword to hold her up but she fell over.
She felt weak, her own bankai able to defeat her. She knew that she had only a few hours left. She wondered how long it would take to for her to die. She laid there staring up at the sky. She closed them to rest and conserve her energy.