Undertones
By: WhisperedSilvers
X
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So I got edges that scratch,
And sometimes I don't got a filter
keep me down
"So," Ikkaku had started off with a broken smirk, eyes narrowing and his teeth glinting from the broken sunlight, "Would you care to tell us why you were so hell-bent on leaving the capital?"
A pause. "I didn't realize you could sound so eloquent, Ikkaku."
A tick formed on the left side of his scalp, he didn't take the bait, and he pressed, "Specifically from a certain Captain Hitsugaya?"
Ice trickled onto her fingertips, but she otherwise did not react. Dodging a tree branch, she spoke easily, "There is only one Captain Hitsugaya I know of. Are there more I should be aware of?"
Ikkaku gritted his teeth.
"What he meant was," Yumichika took over the conversation smoothly, his eyes flickered to the bald-headed man with annoyance, "Why did you run away?"
Rukia sighed, "I didn't run away."
Hisagi wasn't having any of it, he snorted, "Yeah. You did."
The small Kuchiki rolled her eyes before conceding with a glimmer of shame, but she quickly crushed the emotion with her ire, "Alright. I ran away."
"But why?" Ikkaku scowled, but paused his ferocity for a moment once Rukia side-eyed him, fire could replace the ice in her eyes, and for a second, Ikkaku felt every blood cell in his body freeze.
"We went to visit Lieutenant Hinamori earlier," Rukia replied coolly, the corner of her lips twitched, "I simply felt uncomfortable and so I removed myself from the situation."
Half-truths. She fed them, but it wasn't necessarily a half-truth because it was all of the truth. Yet there were pieces of her story that she did not feel obligated to explain, she turned her head and let the subject drop.
Even Yumichika felt uncomfortable with the subject, he tried to change it, "Shuhei. What even is our assignment?"
"Hollow extermination."
Ikkaku rolled his eyes, before responding dryly, "We gathered that much."
"You were the only one that reported to Head-Captain Yamamoto, the rest of us were in the World of the Living. Was there anything else?" Yumichika elaborated, the forested area was dense, every five seconds, the man had to pause and brush the humidity out of his hair.
Rukia tucked this small piece information for later.
"There have been sightings of the zenpo in this area. Uncharted yes, but we need to immobilize a Menos and deliver the hollow to R&D. That is our assignment," Shuhei explained, he scoffed lightly before continuing, "And since we are the only team who were exposed and have experience with that those type of hollows—we were the only choice."
"Bullshit," Ikkaku deadpanned.
"Obviously," Yumichika chimed in, "They don't have any other squads or teams to send in."
Rukia rolled her eyes.
It's been almost an hour since she ran away from Captain Hitsugaya. It was a cowardly move; she could almost picture her Nii-sama looking at her with disappointment, a tired sigh and a shake of his head. She nearly flinched. While the latter was probably unlikely, the reaction was still there. She just didn't understand. It made the blood inside her itch when she saw Momo grab for Captain Hitsugaya—it wasn't her place and that managed to snap out of her sensitivity. The difference between the both of them was that they had history.
History.
Which was insignificant to the eyes of an outsider.
Rukia could kick herself for being so stupid. The list continues where thoroughly she looks over her actions and how her brain did not oversee those actions; instead, her instincts came out to play. She was becoming emotional and she was losing her composure.
She honestly tried to not recall the look on his face. She honestly did not know how to get out of this mess, because if she knew Hitsugaya, and she knew Hitsugaya—she knew that he would demand answers rather than take time to think it over.
Because that is the type of man he is—if he wanted answers he would plan and then attack.
She inwardly groaned.
Now, what in the world was she going to do?
The air shifted—threading, humming with reishi and for a long second, she paused.
"Did you feel that?" Yumichika asked, his eyes flickered over to Ikkaku who nodded.
"There's something in this forest."
"It's not a hollow," Shuhei stated with bafflement.
"Then what is it?" Ikkaku hissed, his eyes narrowed, the forest didn't move and the air didn't shift again.
"It's still here," Rukia's hand twitched on the handle of her zanpakuto, the men shifted but otherwise did not reply.
It warmed her a bit, that they respected her analysis and her judgment.
The difference in their skill level was apparent, she acknowledged the fact that she had a ridiculous amount of field experience compared to the trio, but she did not have enough stamina to catch up to them skill-wise.
But perhaps, that was just a trait inherited by Captain Zaraki.
It took three seconds.
Three seconds for her to open her mouth and blow an icy mist that froze every particle in the air, three seconds for her to nullify the cero, three seconds for the cero to explode and three seconds for her back to fly into the nearest tree.
The point of nullifying the cero was to cushion the impeding blow—instead of obliterating the forest, it created a small explosion that lasted a few square feet, the consequences allowed her back to burn into the wood.
There were four of them.
Four zenpo.
The difference between the zenpo they battled then and the zenpo they battled now was that they can effectively hide their presence. Their reiatsu for one, vanished, almost as if there were nothing.
"They can mask their presence now," Yumichika blinked, "That—That is not good."
And he was right.
If what she was thinking was correct, then the Menos would keep evolving until they reach its final form, because that was how biology worked. It would keep growing and developing until it became almost perfect. She narrowed her eyes, using Flash Steps she made her way up a tree to get a better vantage point of the zenpo – which proved to be useless as the zenpo were of original Menos height.
Unsealing her zanpakuto, Rukia used Hakuren to freeze the bottom part of the zenpo, the ice ran upwards, like snow curling until it reached the red-dome part of the hollow and shattered the hollow with mere shards of ice.
"We need to bring one alive," Ikkaku yelled, he unsealed his zanpakuto, "Extend: Hozukimaru!"
"And how do we do that?" Yumichika scowled as he dodged a cero, using shunpo he slashed the zenpo with three short blows—barely nicked his arm.
But they were a little bit more than curious, wanting to purposefully be struck by the hollow itself, just to taste the zenpo's power. Seduction. It was an enticing notion, to be that swindled to taste something they have yet to see or experience—to live the unknown.
Shuhei didn't waste time, there were only three left, and somehow they had to bring back a towering hollow back to the capital. Yet the only way to do that, is to make sure that said zenpo is alive. Dodging a cero from the left, he pulled Kazeshini upwards until it slashed the zenpo from top to bottom, the hollow shattering into a piece of brightness.
Now there were only two left.
Two.
Ikkaku slashed Hozukimaru upwards, it's shoulder regenerating and Yumichika swiped to the left, effectively beheading the zenpo.
One.
"Shuhei," Rukia called out, she glanced to her left, "How fast can you get to the capital?"
He looked at her, "Fast enough."
She nodded and she tried to calculate how much time she would have, biting her lip, she slashed the air once, Sode no Shirayuki twinkling underneath the sun, she announced, Ikkaku and Yumichika only a few feet away, "I can only hold the zenpo for three minutes, after I release my zanpakuto—it will be purified."
Shuhei left without a response.
Stabbing the grass with her blade she murmured, "Juhaku."
Ice, thick and cloudy with frost, swallowed the forest, like ribbons it unraveled towards the zenpo, tangling over its torso until it was frozen in ice—frozen in time. Balancing her reiatsu was next to impossible when she felt her shinsei sainou begin to leak from her feet, she clenched her jaw and tried to almost meditate.
Steadying her reiatsu will keep the zenpo in place.
Rukia tried to focus on other things besides her knees digging into the soil, she counted the blades of grass on the floor, the smell of the dandelions, the sun on her back, the sweat on her neck, the coldness of her hilt and the sound of birds flying overhead.
Steady.
There was permafrost dotting around her feet, almost as if water splattered over her legs, like a quite summer shower, she waited, counting the dots of frost and then she felt the reiatsu of Captain Kurotsuchi and his squad.
"Ease up, Kuchiki," Yumichika placed a hand on her shoulder, she watched the captain use Bakudo and another scroll – some sort of seal? – and gave the signal.
Rukia exhaled.
And the ice melted.
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My disproportion reactions fuse with my eager state
That's why you wanna come out and play with me
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"Go away," Rukia grumbled as she tossed her blanket over her head, Renji's reiatsu was nearly bouncing off the ceiling.
"C'mon, we can get breakfast! Captain's at a meeting anyway, let's go," Renji's voice was muffled against the door and all she wanted to do was sleep.
That zenpo attack really took a toll on her, she wasn't used to holding Juhaku that long, despite her shinsei sainou, latching onto Sode no Shirayuki's power and keeping her reiatsu in a steady stream was hard. It was really hard. Elemental reiatsus were harder to control, emotions for one could amplify or depress the power behind shikai and the shinsei sainou.
And with the newly evolved Menos, her emotions were a little on the erratic side.
"I'm not hungry," She huffed.
"Not even for dango?"
Rukia blinked once and then she narrowed her eyes at the shadow against her slide-in door. Her lips thinned. Renji was playing dirty so very early in the morning, taunting her with dango when she nearly drained three-quarters of her reiatsu from that freakin' zenpo attack?
It's only been twenty-four hours.
Bastard.
She shifted until she was on her hands and knees, she crawled towards the slide-in door and peeked with suspiciously narrowed violet eyes, "And cake?"
Renji winked, "Cheesecake."
Well, Rukia mused, she supposes she could wrangle herself out of her sheets and throw on some clothes. Though the small headache that thumped over her left eyelid was less than pleasant, she threw on her standard shinigami uniform and ran a hand through her hair.
She slid the door open.
"Did you really just roll out of bed?"
"Shut up, Renji."
Hideki-san was more than helpful when he pointed them in the direction of a breakfast bakery or in this case, a teashop. To Rukia, it looked more like a bakery or more importantly, it smelled like a bakery. It was not uncommon for shinigami to retire into a more mundane routine, it was low stress and yielded higher satisfaction rates, but these shinigami were unseated, officers. Officers that would not be missed if they decide to retire or if they were killed in action. In other words, they were expendable.
So imagine Rukia's surprise when she stumbled upon the owner of the teashop, Hideki's brother, Sano.
Hiruma Sanosuke.
"I got two slices of cheesecake, three dango sticks, and half a dozen daifuku," Sano's voice was loud over the chatter, he had a scar on his cheek that stopped right underneath his chin.
Rukia knew Sanosuke through Urahara, but her information was limited due to the fact that his line of work was classified. All she knew that he worked with Urahara in Research and Development and she ran into him a few times during her time in the Soul Society – when Urahara came to the capital a few times for investigational purposes really – he often came to see Sanosuke first.
"Here!" Renji raised his hand that wasn't occupying his cup of green tea.
"Oh?" Sano blinked gray eyes, "Rukia-chan, it's good to see you again."
"Sano-san," Rukia gave a small nod, her eyes glittering when she smelt the soft aroma of vanilla, "I didn't know you owned a tea shop — I would've come sooner."
He laughed good naturedly and placed the plates on the table, he crossed his arms, "I heard about your sweet tooth from that carrot-top. I wasn't sure which ring you were in, or I'd come by bearing gifts."
Rukia's fingers latched onto her fork, she asked quietly, "You've seen Ichigo?"
"Once," He admitted and turned his head to the sound of a pan falling, "It was maybe two weeks ago. Kisuke needed someone to pick his brain, he's still a brat."
Renji snorted, mouth sticky with syrup, "That's Ichigo alright,"
"Anyway," Sanosuke grabbed his towel over his left shoulder, "I'll let you kids eat," he paused to see another pan topple over, "I need to see what my idiot apprentice is up to."
He left and Rukia had a small inkling as to who his apprentice was.
The steam from the cheesecake was warm, comforting to her senses, the quiet whisper of vanilla and almonds made her mouth water, she scooped a generous amount of jiggly cheesecake and plopped the spoon into her mouth. It was sweet and soft, like a sponge and it warmed her bones.
"I've missed you, cheesecake," Rukia said dramatically, she stared at her plate with longing, "I haven't had this since I was in Kyoto."
"Human food, desserts, in particular, seems to be something of an art in the World of the Living," Renji commented off-handedly and he munched on a powdery daifuku, "Whereas here, we eat to fill up our reserves."
"It's not a sin to enjoy life," Rukia said suddenly, amethyst orbs colored frost and she hated herself for sounding like such a hypocrite. Yes, her lifespan was ten times more than that of a human, but one should not look at life as something to pass by, and that was something she learned when she was in the World of the Living. Her time she spent with Ichigo and the rest of his friends, that was something she wouldn't ever give up—Kaien had taught her to live her life because it was something she wouldn't get back.
Renji poked her with a bamboo skewer, the slight tackiness from the stick remained on her cheek and he frowned, "It's a little too early to be so morbid."
"…It's noon," She stared and wiped her cheek.
"Still." He sniffed and sipped his tea.
Rukia's reiatsu was filling up slowly, very, very slowly. It was a little more than half now, but it would take a full day and a half for the exhaustion to really fade. She never had to hold Juhaku for that long, once Sode no Shirayuki's power channeled into her blade and dispersed into the ground, she was supposed to shatter the ice as soon as the spread of ice reached its target, instead, she had to hold the ice until Captain Kurotsuchi arrived. Even if she did use her shinsei sainou, the power behind the attack wouldn't be enough—the move itself is limited, because she could only manipulate so much water.
She wasn't Sode no Shirayuki, she was a shinigami and she was like a medium to her zanpakuto. Like a relay station almost, she used the power from her zanpakuto and channeled it through her body.
Her body became the weapon.
Rukia's eyes widened at that fleeting thought.
Her body became the weapon.
Elemental reiatsu, in theory, was based on what? Temperament probably, but at the same time what made zanpakuto's choose a shinigami, was it their soul or was it compatibility?
"I want ice cream."
Renji snorted and looked at her incredulously, "You just ate two slices of cheesecake—cheesecake that's bigger than your hand, three pieces of daifuku, and now you want ice cream?"
Rukia didn't see the problem.
"Yes?"
"Captain will kill me if you came back home with a sugar rush," He grumbled, still, he eyed her, her cheeks a little healthier and her eyes a little more lively, his face softened, at least she looked better.
"Chocolate and strawberry marshmallows, please!" Rukia raised her hand and ordered.
"What is with you and strawberries?"
She chuckled impishly, "Inside joke."
"Does it have to do with Ichigo—" Renji's teasing voice disappeared into his chest when a small foot slammed into his ankle.
Rukia's eyebrow twitched.
"Oh, Rukia!" Rangiku called out from the counter, she held out a piece of paper that sort of looked like an order sheet.
"Lieu—Rangiku," Rukia corrected herself as Sanosuke placed a small bowl of ice cream onto the table.
"Oh yes, Hiruma-san," Rangiku greeted as she walked over to the table, "Is the cake ready? I just received the message."
Sano nodded and sighed, "Yes, my idiot apprentice is just wrapping it. We'll call you in a few minutes when it's ready."
"Would you like some?" Rukia offered when Sano left.
"Is it coffee? I can't drink caffeine," Rangiku frowned, "Makes my skin dry."
"Chocolate."
"Oh~"
Renji finished his last stick of dango, he raised an eyebrow, "What cake?"
Lieutenant Matsumoto blinked powder-blue eyes, she placed her spoon back into the cup and asked with slight disbelief, "You mean, you don't know?"
"Know what?" He inquired offended.
"It's Captain Hitsugaya's birthday."
Rukia stared at her for a moment and then made a noise of surprise, "Oh."
"Squad Ten has practically been putting banners and fliers for the past couple days," Rangiku frowned, she scooped another dollop of ice cream, "How did you not know?"
"I've been sleeping for the past couple days," Rukia pointed out, she chewed on a strawberry marshmallow, well that one day and a half, but it wasn't like she was allowed to be wandering the city unattended – that was mostly on her brother's part – and since her reiatsu was that low she needed some time to not think.
"I heard about the assignment from Shuhei," The blonde nodded, her eyes narrowed, "Your reiatsu is a bit erratic too. How are you doing then?"
She shrugged, "I'm just tired really. The sugar is the only thing keeping me somewhat coherent."
"Is it because of the zenpo?" Her eyes widened, "Did you get another flash?"
Rukia shook her head vehemently and waved it off, "No, no. My reiatsu was almost completely…drained."
"That's dangerous, Rukia," Renji chastised her with a frown.
Her eyebrow twitched and she grumbled, "It's not like I wanted it to. I didn't realize how long I had to hold onto my shikai."
"Shikai shouldn't drain your reiatsu like that," Rangiku frowned, she grabbed a daifuku, "It only takes a little of your reiatsu or a small percentage."
"I think it's different because my reiatsu is elemental," Rukia replied slowly, violet orbs glanced at her hands, "I don't have much control over my shinsei sainou, but that shouldn't really matter because I was using shikai which is unrelated, but I should have been able to use shikai again. Holding the cold for that long drained my reiatsu quickly."
"You could go back to the waterfall," She said lightly, steely gray covered with warmth and she smiled, "Your reiatsu would heal faster."
"Probably," Rukia sighed, "But I think my reiryoku is the one that needs healing and that takes time. No amount of reishi can fix that."
Reishi can be converted reiatsu and reiryoku was more of a spiritual type of practice than physical. Only time and sleep and food—things that made her human. That was the only way to replenish her reiryoku.
"Here you go, Lieutenant," Sano placed a plastic bag in front of her, a large white canvas box tied with a green string was inside and the cake smelled really good.
"Thank you Hiruma-san!" Matsumoto grinned, she nodded at the owner before turning to Renji, "You guys should stop by, all the captains and officers will be there. Including Captain Kuchiki."
Rukia grimaced.
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That's the way every day goes
Every time we have no control
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"I really don't want to go," Rukia tried to get out of this—whatever the hell this was. Conformity maybe. She was tired and she was just not in the mood.
"What are you talking about?" Renji scratched the back of his neck, "Aren't you and Hitsugaya close? Y'know friends? Or are you more than friends?"
Rukia's eyebrow twitched and she pressed, "Renji,"
It was quiet for a minute, Renji's eyebrows furrowed and then suddenly, he realized that he didn't like this atmosphere. It was tense and secretive. And he hated secrets when it came to Rukia, it smelt like foul play—he didn't like being confused.
"What the hell is going on, Rukia?" He demanded, he crossed his arms and stared at her with scrutiny.
It was embarrassing.
It was really embarrassing.
"I kind of…" Rukia trailed off uncomfortably, her hand splayed across the side of her neck in an unconscious gesture of awkwardness, despite her lack of communication skills – which were more of etiquette and of a political nature – talking about her feelings was just a harder feat when directed to her red-headed baboon, she finished with her voice dropping at least two octaves lower, "Got into an argument with Captain Hitsugaya."
It was childish, now that she thought about it and it bordered on irritation. She was more irritated with herself than him to be frank, how she acted — it was so Ichigo-like, and if anything, she was a hundred times smarter than that carrot-top.
She despised herself for acting so immature.
Renji's eyebrows raised and then he asked confusedly, "What kind of argument?"
Rukia bit the inside of her cheek. It was an argument based from her deep-seated insecurity of not being enough and that would haunt her until she was strong enough to overcome it by herself. And that could take years, years and years if she were to reflect over her own abilities. But it also came from her confusion of Captain Hitsugaya and what to do with these — feelings.
She scowled inwardly, even the word feelings, made her seem very human and maybe it was true. She certainly felt more vulnerable with him around, and not just for his abilities, but the fact that it felt like she was scrubbed raw at the most inappropriate of times.
Rukia needed to roll her shoulders and let this—whatever the hell was going with her slide off.
Sode no Shirayuki was a little more than firm when she spoke to Rukia, that she was perfectly well within her own rights to react to something like this—especially since what has been happening for the past three months and that it was completely rational of her to be like this.
But to Rukia, she needed to be a little more than rational.
She needed to be—she needed to be something more than herself.
"It was something stupid," She admitted with a wince, not only did it damage her pride to say something like this Renji of all people, but it was a weakness that she tried to squash, "Kōga Kuchiki's declaration was probably the reason I took out my irritation on him."
"Oh," His eyes softened.
Renji totally misread the situation, but Rukia knew that and she did that on purpose.
It wasn't any of Renji's business to meddle in her personal affairs and her feelings. She would have to deal with that herself and herself alone.
Renji tried again, his mouth twisting into a half-smile, "Well isn't it a good time to make up with him?"
Rukia grimaced because Renji was right.
And she hated it when Renji was right.
After the maids of the Kuchiki compound poked and prodded her into the dainty Kuchiki doll that they thought she was, she stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself. A simple dark blue silk kimono with the edges lining in silver and the obi a lighter blue. To her surprise it was much lighter than she anticipated, they opted to remove a few layers and she could see her feet. Her hair short as it was left untouched and her face fixed into a regal portrait, though, when her maids weren't looking, she removed half of the powder and blush—it didn't make sense to look like a Kuchiki doll, when, she herself wasn't a real Kuchiki.
She preferred to look like Rukia.
"Well don't you look fancy," Renji teased her and swung his arm around her shoulders, "Though, you could do without all that eye-stuff."
"I happened to like the eye-stuff, you baboon," She scowled, her eyes looked fierce and wise. Two traits she would need to go into battle and in this case, the party.
She breathed in deeply.
—
"Rukia," Byakuya greeted in the lobby of Squad Ten's building, he flickered his eyes over to his Lieutenant, "I wasn't aware you would be attending this…event. I was under the impression that you wished to rest."
Rukia tried to smile, though it looked more like a grimace and she replied just as quietly, "Renji…was very convincing. Lieutenant Matsumoto also invited me this morning."
"I see," His forehead puckered inconspicuously, almost as if he were considering the situation and then he straightened his shoulders and then finished flatly, "I expect someone to accompany you at all times, Rukia," he flickered his eyes over to the redhead, "Lieutenant."
Renji nodded, "Understood."
The room was quite lavish, plates and plates of food and deep green decorations that tittered off the ceilings and onto the walls. The flooring was of shiny oak, it wasn't as elaborate as human events but they were still decent and she wasn't really one for such lavished manners.
"Rukia!" Matsumoto greeted a couple feet away, she walked closer in a pale purple kimono, and she winked, "You clean up nice."
The ice-user smiled, "Yes, the maids were more than happy to…play dress up."
The blonde pouted, "Damn. Wish I was there."
Rukia rolled her eyes and smiled nevertheless. Renji had excused himself to find some alcohol – the only thing that he claimed that would liven this party up – and left Rukia in Rangiku's charge for the time being. "I never thought I'd see a party like this. Usually, events like these are at one of the Noble's houses."
Matsumoto winced, she sipped her rice wine and replied, "Yes, well, Captain gave me a real earful once he found out all the elaborate planning I went through, but he didn't stop me," she looked thoughtful, "So I guess it's okay. He doesn't like big events like these, being the center of attention isn't really his cup of tea."
"I see."
Small talk wasn't really Rukia's area of expertise, she preferred to speak more plainly, but it was like that mission with the zenpo really put a dent in her mental processing. Maybe she was drained a lot more than she gave herself credit for, reiryoku for one relayed heavily on the mind and spirit, which meant that perhaps she channeled her reiatsu wrong when she used Juhaku or maybe she used her reiryoku instead of her reiatsu or something — her body wasn't working the way she wanted since Kōga showed up and it was starting to piss her off.
"Here," Renji offered her some green tea and steamed bun on a plate, "Captain Unohana said no alcohol, so you're just gonna' have to suck it up."
Rukia wrinkled her nose, "Why do you talk with your mouth full?"
Rangiku nodded, "It's not very attractive."
Muffled curses escaped his mouth, tongue coated with pork and seasoning, the redhead managed to swallow his soup dumpling before he choked to death. He glared at them with annoyance and just as he was about to open his mouth to admonish them, a sound of echoing congratulations filled up the floor.
Hitsugaya was here.
She had forgotten how tall Hitsugaya was, ever since the defeat of Aizen, his body had merged with the complete form of Hyorinmaru and stayed the same ever since, but she frowned. She never noticed how tall he was now that he wasn't in front of her. It was a strange thought mostly because she has never seen him that far away before — since she's been training with him and why was this bothering her?
Probably because Ichigo and Hitsugaya were nearly the same height.
That had to be it.
She could've groaned; she was thinking entirely too much.
"Isn't that Hinamori?" Renji blinked, eyes narrowing as he tried to get a glimpse of the brunette that held onto his arm.
Rukia felt her mouth part and then she promptly closed it as soon as she felt his reiatsu react to the feel of her's in the room—she snapped her attention to her cup of tea.
"Does it have sugar in it?"
Rangiku stared at her for a moment, she answered, "It's unsweetened. There are sugar cubes on the table, not everyone likes sweet things, Rukia."
She grimaced.
Rukia gave her steamed bun to Renji and sipped her tea. It was a bitter floral, it coated her tongue and stung the back of her throat, which was fine, she needed a distraction, she wasn't sure if she had the liveliness to speak to Hitsugaya without something in her stomach.
She was already regretting attending the party.
"Momo woke up a couple days ago," Rangiku supplied helpfully, she sipped her alcohol and finished, "Captain's been with her since. This is the first time she's been out in the open like this, y'know…since the coma."
And she's latched onto him like that?
The lack of sleep was making her distasteful she realized, Rukia verbally sighed and turned back to her tea. She stared at her cup and then realized—the cup was frozen. Not just the tea, but the entire cup was frozen to her hand.
"I think…I'm going to go to the restroom," Rukia announced, hopefully, the hot water would thaw out the ice and maybe she should start meditating again.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Matsumoto asked with concern.
Rukia gave her a look, smiled and shook her head.
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You showed me love
Glory from above
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Rukia really needed to mediate. She didn't know what the hell was going on, but she wasn't going to stick around to find out. She strolled through the hallway and came to the small garden at the back of the building. It wasn't anything too ostentatious, but it was good enough. Taking a seat on the stone bench underneath the wisteria tree, she crossed her legs underneath her thighs and focused on the sound of her breathing.
Her reiryoku was in shambles.
It was almost as if it was shredded, like ribbons floating in the water and she sighed tiredly. God, she would have to pick up every piece of reiryoku shards and embed them back into her soul. It was kind of like reiatsu, but it wasn't completely like reiatsu, because reiatsu was like threads and reiryoku was like pieces.
She didn't understand how her reiryoku became so messy.
Rukia breathed deeply and began to pick up the shards of her inner world. It snowed here, the fresh crunch of ice against her footsteps and the cool drops of flakes that gathered at the tip of her nose. Her core was stabilizing, though she only managed to find fifteen pieces and there were probably a few hundred scattered throughout her world.
"Kuchiki," Hitsugaya's voice snapped her out of her world and her hands shook as she tried to stabilize herself on the bench.
"Captain Hitsugaya," Rukia greeted and then she swallowed at the burning tickle of anxiety creeping up into her stomach.
"What are you doing out here?" He raised an eyebrow, though he made no move to come closer and as much as it bothered her – why? she didn't know – but she had an inkling to believe that it had something to do with their last conversation.
She scratched the back of her neck, amethyst orbs exasperated and she admitted with a sigh, "It's a long story."
Captain Hitsugaya wasn't sure what to say, his last conversation with her put him on uneven ground and he didn't really know how to proceed from there. So he walked a bit closer, but made no move to enter her personal space without a word from her—childish it was, maybe, but every now and then, he would allow himself to indulge in some of the lesser feelings of his body.
"I apologize for our last meeting," Rukia started honorably, she was grateful that her energy seemed to be responding – as little as control as she had – she needed to find her composure because acting like an immature child was not something that she wanted to do, "Kōga's….attack took a lot more than I bargained for."
Hitsugaya's eyebrows raised, an apology wasn't something he wasn't expecting, he felt like he owed her an apology for being so pushy, and yet here she was explaining herself to him—when she had no reason to. He shook her head, "I think I owe you an apology. I didn't realize that Momo's absence made me… aggressive, I would like you for to understand that, anyone, who I am close to happens to fall into a case of bad luck."
His explanation actually made a lot of sense, it explained a lot of his behavior, but it didn't explain some of his…intensity though. It was enough. For now. At least she knew where she stood with him.
Rukia huffed and felt a weight lift off her shoulders, "Shouldn't that be my line?"
Better.
This felt much better.
Truth be told, Hitsugaya had quite a bit of time trying to figure out what the hell was going on, and he spent a lot of time recalling their past conversation. He really didn't understand—perhaps, that was why he was so frustrated with her and himself. He didn't understand her, maybe that was why he was taking his time pushing her buttons and seeing what he could say to provoke her. He felt something like a kinship to her, but it was stronger and he just didn't understand.
He didn't know why he felt a surge of guilt couple with his confusion, was it a mistake taking her to meet Momo? But Hitsugaya never had any real closure or answer, because Hyorinmaru refused to talk to him and that made him even more frustrated. Momo's vacancy may have made his aggression worse, but even with her coming about—he just felt even more confused, because he was still swimming in a sea of unreleased emotions.
Hyorinmaru snorted and poked his reiatsu with a jab.
Hitsugaya rolled his eyes, he finally took a seat next to her and asked, "I heard about your assignment, the report."
"My reiatsu is getting harder and harder to control," She stated blandly, "I never had to hold out an attack that long and I thought I was using my reiatsu, but I was using my reiryoku."
Teal orbs narrowed and he demanded with disbelief, "What?"
"My reiryoku was shredded," Rukia frowned, she lifted up her hands to glance at her palms, "I don't even know how? I lost nearly all my reiatsu that day and everything has been out of sorts—like I feel kind of wobbly."
"Give me your hand," Hitsugaya didn't wait for her to offer up the appendage, instead, he interlaced his fingers with hers and gave her reiatsu a small pulse. He nearly flinched at the chaos of it all. He turned to her, jaw hard and aqua glittering, "It's a mess. You channeled your reiatsu wrong, didn't you?"
"Yes, but I don't even know how I ended up using my reiryoku instead of my reiatsu," Rukia explained and she breathed angrily, "My control is slipping and I feel like…"
Hitsugaya stared at her, hand still interlocked. He gave her a nudge, gentle, but a nudge nonetheless, "Feels like what?"
"It feels like Kōga did something." She pressed her lips together, that's how long it's been bothering her, but she never really tested out her reiatsu fully, until she was on the field and that was probably a mistake on its own.
"Kōga didn't touch you since that attack," Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes, the air got colder, "And it was his blade that touched you, not him."
"But it was since then," Rukia insisted, she wanted him to understand, she repeated, "It was since then I've noticed a change in my spiritual pressure and I haven't been able to understand why. So it had to be something Kōga did."
Or maybe there was something wrong with her.
It never occurred to her that maybe, there could've been something wrong with her and that was why everything felt so lopsided. It was like being underwater, bubbles effervescing, the clarity distorted and everything was muted. It was hard to breathe sometimes when she thought about it too long and that alone scared her.
Hitsugaya watched her look at their interlocked fingers with a pensive face, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips puckered. She was thinking awfully hard and it wouldn't do her reiryoku any good if she was stressed, so he gave her hand a little squeeze.
Rukia looked up at him, plum orbs wide and face startled.
"You're thinking really loud," Hitsugaya said, he raised a snowy brow, "I can almost hear what you're thinking."
She blinked and inquired dryly, "Really? And what am I thinking, then?"
"If there's something wrong with you," He snorted.
Rukia stared.
"It's not like I don't have those thoughts either, Kuchiki," Hitsugaya shook his head, his shoulders were tired and he some parts of him look tired, "You wonder if you're the problem and if you are, how were you going to fix things? You're a little too easy to read."
She huffed, irritation warming the back of her skull, she muttered with exasperation, "It's not like I don't cause trouble, it wasn't that long ago when I was almost executed."
Teal orbs flashed with an emotion that she could neither pinpoint or understand, he started softly, "Rukia…"
"I mean there has to be something wrong," Rukia shook her head, effectively cutting Hitsugaya off because she needed to think and the pleasant weight of his hand in her's was not helping. She stood up and paced, "My reiatsu never reacted like this, nor has my reiryoku and if my shikai was going to be this much of a problem—"
"I think I didn't give you enough credit, little Kuchiki," Kōga's voice was like oil, slippery and black. It covered Rukia's skin like a snake and she just wanted to disappear into her blood.
Hitsugaya's reiatsu crackled furiously throughout the building and it took only a few seconds before people started to appear to see what the commotion was all about. Teal orbs blazing as he unsheathed his zanpakuto from his robe, his voice hot, "Kōga Kuchiki, I see you're stupid enough to arrive at an event in which all of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads are present and accounted for."
Kōga snorted unperturbed by his announcement, he walked closer and stated, "I am here for Rukia—"
"Kōga," Byakuya' voice was violent, frigid and it promised death with the evenness in his tone, "Do not touch my pride."
"Nii-sama," Her eyes widened when her brother walked closer to her, Hitsugaya was growing more and more agitated by the second, but something was bothering her, "What do you mean by credit?"
Kōga turned his gaze to her, "Your reiryoku and reiatsu aren't compatible, are they?"
She stiffened.
"It's because of the hogyoku," He explained and, then he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a very familiar glass stone.
Ukitake's mouth parted, "The hogyoku?"
There was an echoing murmur of disbelief that filtered throughout the garden because Urahara made sure that the hogyoku was destroyed, so the fact that it was there, in front of them, made no sense, whatsoever. The little Kuchiki felt horror breach into her system and it made her sick when she saw that little crystal.
"My hogyoku," Kōga snarled, he dropped it back into his pocket, "I made it, but in order for the hogyoku to be complete—I need a piece of the original."
"The hogyoku was destroyed," Soifon interjected flatly.
Byakuya's uncle smiled, it wasn't a nice smile, and it made Hitsugaya's hackles raise. He spoke, "What Aizen failed to realize when he so callously yanked out the hogyoku from the little Kuchiki's body, is that he left a small shard inside."
Byakuya stiffened and the sound of that monster's name, even when he was sealed, he was still a nuisance. Rangiku felt like she was choking on something, her Captain's spiritual pressure crackled like lightning and it was so dense that if she were not as close to him as she was, she would've succumbed underneath the weight of it.
Kōga turned his eyes towards the small female, "So the hogyoku still exists."
Rukia stilled.
Her body was reacting to the hogyoku, because Kōga reactivated it with his hogyoku and that was why her body was acting so strange.
She was a host again.
Then Kōga raised his hand with the hogyoku embedded deep into his palm and an army of zenpo came rushing into the capital.
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Good glory, dear
It's all downhill from here
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UM. Wow it's been two years.
Ahh, I just want to thank everyone who has been reading and sending in reviews even though I disappeared for a little bit. Small messages and comments always make me want to come back and write more.
Real life hit and I had to figure some stuff out.
But, let's talk about the fact that Bleach, the movie, came out, and I watched it—my love for Rukia was renewed (and Ichiruki but shh).
ANYWAY — so a small thing, the hogyoku is back because Aizen screwed up (duh) & even though the hogyoku is completed because it needs Rukia's piece, Kōga's power is limited.
I know there's a bit of errors (grammar and some inconsistencies) in the past couple chapters, I'll probably fix it sooner or later idk. But hopefully, my writing hasn't changed too much, so we'll see. The next chapter will be written soon, I hope? Maybe every three weeks or so.
ALSO. I have a new tumblr (check bio pls n thx)
Songs: Beggin' for Thread – Banks : Pink + Yellow – Frank Ocean
As always, please review!