Uh… gore warning, and no pairings this chapter….T^T

Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane
Choose your last words, this is the last time
Cause you and I, we were born to die
-Lana Del Rey, "Born to Die"

I had decided to follow where the path took me. I had gotten so hopelessly lost that there was no guarantee that turning around would lead me to my original position, and paths always lead to something, right? Still, I looked around and through the gaps between trees for any sort of familiar landmark. I felt something brush my foot and looked down, seeing an old, empty envelope. On the front was a drawing of an old-fashioned clock, ornate hands and intricate numbers. I knew I should have left it on the path for the person who dropped it to find, but nevertheless, felt drawn to it in an odd way.

Sometime later- It could have been an hour or 6, for I had no way to keep track of time since my phone ran out of power, and the trees were too thick to really be able to see the sun- the dirt path faded into stone, and a large, iron-wrought gate loomed ahead. As I got closer, I could see that it was slightly ajar and the lock was rusted. I looked up at the darkening sky, knowing that I could not survive out in the open for long, and pushed open the gate, hoping for a place to stay- and a phone- at the mansion that appeared in the distance.

I arrived at the two main doors, huge and heavy, made from dark wood. I rapped my knuckles on it, and they opened to a tall, well-dressed man wearing glasses, and his eyes widened when he looked at me. "Well, we don't often get visitors here. What can I help you with, miss?" I handed him the letter, and his eyes narrowed. "I found this on the path. Anyway, long story short, was on holiday, I went for a walk in the forest, got seriously lost, and now I'm here." The man, who I assumed was a butler, pushed his glasses up and they glinted in the ambient light, giving him an air of mystery. "Come. You can stay here for the night, and we'll get you back in the morning." He opened the door wider, motioning for me to come inside.

I looked around, taking note of the expensive, lush décor. However, it showed signs of neglect- cobwebs draping the chandelier, small holes in upholstery, and a dark stain on the floor, badly covered by a Persian rug. Suddenly, two small heads appeared around the edge of one of the many doors, both looking curious, although one decidedly more so than the other.

"Hey, Uryu," asked the black-haired one, "Who's she?" The other girl, smaller and blonde, glared at the other girl, and from the grunt of pain the first one gave, elbowed her too. "Karin, don't be so rude! Excuse me miss, what's your name?" I smiled at their almost comedic antics, saying "Rukia." The two girls came out from around the corner, the blonde smiling and Karin scowling. "I'm Yuzu, and this is Karin. It's very nice to meet you."

A voice came from behind me, making me pretty much jump out of my skin. "Yuzu, Karin, please get some refreshments for our guest." The two girls dashed away and I turned, seeing a very pale man with long black hair. He bowed to me, and from near the door, Uryu sighed. "Thank you, Ulquiorra. God knows why Kurosaki hired them." Ulquiorra nodded. "Indeed." He followed the two girls out of the room, just as another figure walked into the room, a bright shock of orange hair on his head and a young woman on his arm. Obviously, he hadn't known that I was here, for when he looked up from talking with the woman, his eyes widened in a mixture of shock and surprise.

He quickly covered that expression with a mask of smiles, and took my hand, kissing the back of it. "You must be the reason Yuzu and Karin were running out a second ago. Ichigo Kurosaki, and I own this mansion." The woman moved forward, curtseying. "I'm Orihime. Please, come into the parlour. We'll get you some warmer clothes and something to eat." I suddenly realised that I was shivering in my thin dress, and moved to walk with Orihime, glad of the hospitality. It was weird, though. I could feel Ichigo's eyes on my back the whole time I was leaving the room, and he didn't follow us for several minutes.

After being given a warmer dress and a jacket by a maid with blue-green hair and a tall, blonde woman named Rangiku, I was led into the mansion's parlour. There were no windows, which I found odd, but my attention was quickly distracted by Ulquiorra offering a tall glass of wine. I took it, mainly to be polite, for I usually didn't drink, but with everyone looking rather expectantly at me, I decided to drain the glass.

I was surprised by the taste. It was far different from anything I had tasted before. So, I had another glass, and another. I lost count after 4. My only memories of that night were vague recollections of singing and dancing, spinning colours and lights.

I must have fallen passed out at some point, because I do remember having a weird dream. Or rather, a memory. It was of when I was maybe 6 or 7, and Hisana came into my room one night after I had a nightmare, and began to tell me a story.

"Once upon a time, which was a very long time ago, there lived a man. He was a great warrior, and had never been beaten in battle. If he fought on your side, you could win a war, and people came from hundreds of leagues away to see him, especially women. They were always trying to win over his heart, but somehow, he never fell for any of them. One day, in the middle of a war, the warrior killed a man. Now, this man was no different from the many others he had killed, except for one thing. This man was the lover of a goddess, who fell in love with him many years before. When this man was killed, the goddess became very angry, and cursed the warrior. "All the people you love, and the people they love, will become trapped for eternity in a loop. I will make you watch as the woman you love," for the warrior did love a woman, a simple maid, "and everyone else is killed, hundreds of times over." The warrior had no way to make the goddess forgive him, and so, for hundreds of years, had to watch this loop. However, one time, the warrior broke down while watching, and confessed everything to the girl he loved, despite knowing that she would die soon. To his surprise, she believed him, but told him that she didn't know how to break the curse. In fact, she did know, but did not want to tell the warrior, in case it didn't work, because then his heart would have been broken. In order to stop the endless cycle, the girl killed herself before she could be killed by someone else. The warrior was released from the curse, and woke up back in his castle. Immediately, he confessed his love to the maid, who had no memory of the events, and swore never to kill anyone ever again. The two were married, and lived happily ever after."

I woke up suddenly, a pounding headache only worsened by my movement of sitting upright. I looked around, after noticing that I was lying in an unfamiliar bed. The room was small, one window in the wall opposite me and a large grandfather clock against another. I tilted my head up to the window, trying to assess what time it was, when I suddenly realised that the light shining in was from the moon, not the sun. I couldn't believe it. Could I really have been asleep for a whole day?

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening, and I turned my head to see the two girls, Yuzu and Karin walk into the room. "Um… What time is it?" I asked them. Karin lifted her head up and smiled, however, it wasn't a nice one. It was one of those smiles that just seemed to say 'I'm going to murder you and have fun doing it.' Her lips moved, but I was so terrified by then that the words coming out took seconds to reach my ears. "The same time you came. Time never moves here." Yuzu started to speak. "So you can stay with us forever! Won't it be fun?" You could almost see little hearts at the end of her sentences; like in the manga I read when I was young.

They started to walk toward me and I scrambled backward, falling off the bed in trying to get away. By back hit glass, and I looked up to see the grandfather clock looming above. I snapped my head to the right, looking desperately for some way to escape, when a sliver of light caught my eye; a hidden door in the wall. I pried it open, dashing down a dark corridor to the square of bright light at the end. I burst into a large chamber, and looked around. Seeing what was in there, I fell to my knees, screaming and clutching at my head.

The room was filled- literally, in long rows- with hundreds of coffins. I could see bloodstains on the few empty patches of concrete, and a pile of weapons in a corner, all coloured a dark red. I don't know how long I screamed for. I felt a cold hand on my shoulder, and flinched away, but misjudged the distance. I fell down the stairs, holding my head now for protection as every step seemed to hit me, and stopping when I slammed, hard, against one of the coffins.

I felt the hands from before cradle me, one around my waist and the other holding my head close to the person's chest. I wanted to pull away, to get out of this place, but was far too weak from the terror and pain. After several minutes, I looked up into deep brown eyes, looking sad and concerned. "Oh Rukia…" Ichigo sighed. He placed me on the floor again, leaning against one of the coffins, and I tried to disguise my revulsion.

"What the hell's going on?" I asked. Ichigo looked down, his expression more sad than ever. "I'm sorry, Rukia. I should have told you from the start, but I wasn't sure…" He focused his gaze straight onto mine, and I was surprised by the strength in them. "Some time ago," he said, "I was cursed to relive my life over and over again. I've been through it more times than I care to remember, and everyone dies while I'm watching, only for me to have to live through them being happy again. I… I believe that this time around, you can break the curse."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why should I believe any of this? Why am I trapped here, and not some other random?" The man chuckled. "You always were stubborn. You should trust me, Rukia, because of this." And with that, he leaned forward, kissing me and pinning me against the coffin. I don't know why, but it just felt right, and I turned to jelly in his arms. He pulled away suddenly and stood up, leaving me red-faced and panting on the floor. As he turned to walk out of the room, I called out "How am I supposed to break the curse?"

He turned around, his eyes boring into mine. "That, my love, is something you need to figure out for yourself." He walked back down the passage, and I was alone.

Or so I thought. Not 30 seconds later, with a swish of skirts and a deep sigh, a busty blonde sat down beside me- Rangiku. She winked at me as I stared at her incredulously. "That was steamy…" She giggled, an odd sound coming from her. "Hey, sweetie…" She looked directly at me. "You already know how to break the curse. You just need to set everyone free." I said nothing, wondering if she was going to tell me more. "I know that you've seen what you need before. Just… remember, kay?" She stood up, and I looked away. As soon as I looked back, she was gone.

I began to walk down the long corridor I had come through, thoughts running around at a million miles an hour. What had I seen before? What on Earth did I need? Pushing open the door, I came back into to bedroom. In a seemingly unconnected thought, I wondered if the clock still moved, even though time was frozen. My head flicked around to where the clock was standing, and a wave of recognition hit me. I knew what I had seen before. And exactly what I had to do.

Yuzu and Karin were standing in the hallway, sneakily eating small tarts they had stolen from the kitchen, when a smashing sound echoed through the manor. They both looked at the other, and then shrugged almost simultaneously. Yuzu looked around the corner and back into the kitchen, holding her gaze there for a minute or two. "Hey, Karin, where's Ran gone?" There was no reply. She looked back to where Karin was, but she was no longer standing there. The only thing was a bloody corpse slumped against the wall, its throat slashed to pieces, organs visible, and eyes glassy.

The young girl moved to run to her twin, already crying, when she was stopped by a hand, holding something embedded in her chest. Rukia pulled it out with a sticky sound, blood splattering over her face, and Yuzu fell to ground. The raven-haired girl watched, smiling, as the younger girl's life pooled on the floor, staining her white shoes. Rukia lifted up a long, gold, clock handle and licked the blood off slowly, walking into the next room. A high-pitched scream resounded through the house, quickly cut off. There was a loud thump, and Rukia began to hum a tune, her shoes clicking on the floor.

Ichigo sat in his room, reading a horror book, when a scream echoed through the manor. He dropped the book, frozen for a second, and ran into his small closet, taking out a long, black sword. Footsteps tapped up the stairs to the upper landing, and he stood quietly behind an open door. The person walked into his room, looking around, and Ichigo launched forward, swinging his sword hard and fast. A long, gold object was brought up to meet his in an astounding display of timing, and he widened his eyes at the sight of Rukia's deep purple eyes.

He sprang back, taking in the little splattering of blood across her face, and the huge amount colouring her white dress. Ichigo shook his head sadly. "I should have known. You're the only person who hasn't been the killer yet." Rukia ignored him, instead choosing to run forward. He felt his sword enter flesh at the same time a cold, biting pain entered his. The sword clattered to the ground, as did the clock handle, and the two of them collapsed. The last thing Ichigo saw with his eyes was Rukia, looking straight back at him, tears falling in a last, silent apology.

Ichigo opened his eyes, seeing a blonde woman below him, her eyes glowing. He was suspended in the air, tight bonds constricting his body. "You… killed him. You KILLED HIM!" She screamed. The woman's rage appeared to calm, and she looked up at him with the entire world's hatred in her eyes.

"Every single day, from now to the end of time, I will make you watch. Watch as the people you care about and love the most, and the people that they love, die. They'll kill each other, be killed by others, and die of old age, and you won't be able to lift a finger against it." Pictures began to float in the air, circling his head. Orihime, Yuzu, Karin, Uryu and Nel. Ulquiorra appeared as well, and Ichigo wondered who it was that loved that man, for it certainly wasn't him. Suddenly, the woman grinned. "Well, I was just planning to make you watch, but it seems that one of them loves you more than everyone else combined." A picture of Rukia appeared for a second, and they all faded away.

"I guess you get to join in too." The bonds of air dropped him, and everything was dark before Ichigo hit the ground.

Back in the mansion, footstep echoed through the now silent halls of the manor. A certain girl- one who seemingly escaped the slaughter- picked her way through the mangled limbs and bloody organs, staring in delight at the splatter covering the walls. She giggled, an odd sound in the midst of the carnage. "Ah, it's always such a good show."

I opened my eyes, sitting straight up in the bed. I was back in the holiday lodge, and could see Byakuya out the window, walking in the garden. After getting up and all the usual routine, I scrawled a note for him, leaving it on the bench. I'm going to go explore the forest. Back soon. XOXO Rukia.

The girl walked out of the house, humming a tune. She didn't notice a small envelope falling out of her pocket and onto the ground, and just kept walking, deeper into the forest. On the envelope was a single, faded drawing- the face of a clock.

Okay, I lied :3 There was a bit of pairingness…. Is that a word? Sorry for the quick perspective changes, but they were kinda necessary…..
I really need to go back to normal stories, not weird AU ones…
Kudos if you can guess what this is based on. XD Killing with clock hands might make it a little obvious. So not related to the theme- *shot*
Please review!