This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

kaerichi
Chapter 5

Rukia had abruptly thrown him back against the door, afraid that were he to remain close for another minute, she'd take more blood than was safe to give. A life debt for a life debt. Even if other vampires had long ago forgotten this, she always paid attention.

"What the fuck just happened?" the hunter was asking, looking properly shaken but hiding it well. Maybe one day she'd tell him that he hadn't been the easiest to put under her spell – in fact, he had actually resisted at first, a rarity in itself – but for now, it was amusing to see the stark realization cross his face.

"I just put you under my aura for a few moments, that's all," she said, eyes flickering to his once before returning to the floor.

"How can you do that?"

"All vampires can do it, to some extent," she said irritably.

"No! I mean that the power limiter shouldn't allow you any power! How is it possible that you're able to even use some to put someone under a fuckin' spell?"

"It isn't a spell," she said, almost as a reflex, as she pulled her robe tighter around herself. She was warmer now, true, and now she could feel the heat of her body, but Rukia was by no means fully restored. It would take more blood than what she had taken.

Ichigo noticed that even though some of the color had returned to her cheeks, she still appeared cold. "Hey. You're still cold."

She ignored his statement.

Ichigo looked down at his wrist, the wound half-closed, still bleeding slightly, a raw red and looking chaffed. "I thought you were going to take all the blood from me," he said, "I can tell you didn't take enough."

Rukia didn't know if she was tolerating his seemingly honest scrutiny just because she had to, or if she was annoyed with his presence and simply wished him to leave her be. She leaned her head back against the glass. "You're…" she stopped to swallow, "you…you're so stupid; there's a limit to how much…blood a vampire can take, before it gets dangerous."

With all the information flashing around him, Ichigo was listening intently. "Why? Because you might take too much?"

"That…and the fact that if I kept at your wound, my aura would steal into yours, and that would be the beginning of turning you."

"Turning me?" He looked confused before it dawned on him. "You mean, into a vampire?"

"No. I mean into a daisy."

He ignored her sarcasm. "Why didn't you keep drinking?"

Before she could really think about her answer, Rukia gave a dry laugh. "And then what? Turn you? I should hardly think that you would like to become that which you hunt, especially in times like these."

Ichigo looked slightly confused.

"Now get out."

He was about to make some snappy remark when he noticed that she looked…well, tired. She had leaned back against the glass of the cell and her eyes were closed. A strange feeling was stirring in his chest, one that he didn't realize until he'd opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. And it wasn't until he had gotten up and stepped out the door did Ichigo, to some extent, realize what he was feeling.

Gratitude?

He was honestly grateful that she hadn't turned him?

Any minute now, pigs were going to sprout wings.

But it was especially true. That vamp had gotten him under her spell (no matter if she didn't call it one), had gotten him to the point where he probably would have done anything and everything in his invincible dream state. She could have drained him before his guard realized danger. She could have slashed his neck in his weakness. Ichigo hadn't realized how close to danger he had actually been putting himself, that reckless head of his taking control of his emotions and making him do things others wouldn't have dared.

But she had not done anything to him, and had even pushed him away before any danger of him becoming a vampire could set in. Even though she hadn't been satisfied.

There really wasn't that much to warrant gratitude, Ichigo decided – and after all, she was his prisoner – but other feeling still remained. He stepped out of the capsule, closed it securely, made sure to barricade it with all the ten thousand actions needed to enclose the vampire in her cell.

If he hadn't been lying to himself, Ichigo could have laughed.

Gratitude.

Fringed with respect.

This time, stepping into the conference room, Ichigo was a little unsure as to what exactly he was doing there. It was only a few hours after he'd left the vampire in her cell. However, when in Training, Orihime had handed him a personal summons by Yoruichi and Ichimaru themselves.

Without even seeing them, Ichigo knew at once that the two were already in the room. Yoruichi and Ichimaru were at the top of all the hunters' bases in Japan, and so a personal summons by both of them at once was no little thing.

Ichimaru was sitting, Yoruichi flanking his side and looking impressively foreboding.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

He swallowed – not in nervousness – but said nothing.

"We have been observing this vampire over the past couple of days, and we've come to realize that the vampire is awfully friendly with you," Ichimaru said, steepling his fingers on the cold metal table. His grin looked almost neurotic. Ichigo couldn't tell whether the tone of his voice was condescending, insinuating, or just sounding too damn amused for his own good.

"You see, Kurosaki-san, we decided that this time we would observe the vampire instead of torturing it for information like we had in the past. All we ended up with was a dead vampire – if you'll excuse the pun – and with no information whatsoever," Yoruichi said. "You provided us with another solution. And it seems to be working. We've learned more from her in two days than all of our previous captures combined."

"Thank you, Shihouin-san," Ichigo said, though he wasn't sure if that was the right thing to say.

"And in any case, Kurosaki-kun, I'll get right to the point." Ichimaru leaned forward, his smile widening. It did not make Ichigo feel any less tense. "Both Yoruichi-san and I have discussed this situation, and we feel that it would be greatly in our favor were the vampire to open up further and release information voluntarily – perhaps without knowing so."

"But…how's that possible?"

"Nobody knows what is possible, but the vampire seems to talk only to you. That is why Yoruichi-san and I have designed a special mission."

Silence.

"You will try to become the vampire's friend."

"What?" Ichigo recoiled sharply, unconsciously taking a step back. His superiors couldn't be serious, not when they knew about his past…!

"We said, Kurosaki-san, that you will try to become the vampire's friend," Yoruichi said, and she was staring at him with her piercing eyes again. She crossed her arms. "I know how you must feel," she added in a quieter tone, "this would not be easy for any hunter, especially those who joined us with a similar past. But Ichimaru-san and I believe you can do it."

Ichigo took in a sharp breath. Now that the news had been flung at him, it was easier to try and digest his mission.

"Like Ichimaru-san mentioned, the whole point of this mission – you may think of it as one – is to obtain more information from the vampire. Hostile and uncertain as she probably is now, there will be no information readily given, and I doubt that torture would have much effect on one like her. However, should you become her friend…be the only person who would stand up for her leniency, for her survival, for her rights…if the situation were reversed, Kurosaki-san, what would you do to that person?"

Ichigo lowered his head. He already knew before thinking.

"That is exactly it, Kurosaki-san."

Silence came at a low buzz; one of the machines in the other room was vibrating against the wall.

"So…you want me to…"

"Do everything you can to get on her good side, especially in front of the vampire. It will most likely take a while. Trust, especially across long-standing barriers of warfare, will not come in just a day. You may be seen as crazy by the rest of your unit. You may be seen as unbelievable by the rest of the hunters, but no one else is to know of this. I don't want too many mouths running off around here."

Ichigo nodded.

"Do you understand your mission?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to take it on?"

"…yes."

"Good. We are going to start spreading rumors about our intent of torture, and it will be your job to fight against it. If you can, in front of the vampire, so she can see that you're taking an active role in her fight."

He nodded, throat tight.

"Very good, Kurosaki-san. I expect to hear the rumors that you've gone crazy any day now." Yoruichi gave him a rare half-smile, and Ichigo tried smiling back, but he thought it would come off as more of a grimace, so he didn't.

"Dismissed."

Rukia was in half a mind to take off her robe and use it to cover her face. All the humans constantly watching her made her nervous and averse to showing weakness.

There seemed to be more people than usual, actually. The door at the far end of the room was forever opening and closing with the cold swish of the door's mechanics, allowing more people in and less people out.

"Hey! Bloodsucker!"

It was those same people from before…the girl was still holding back, but the boy brazenly broke away from the crowd and again came up to her cell. He rapped on the glass. How the hell had he gotten in again?

"Hey, guess what I heard," he leered at her through the glass, "I heard that Shihouin and Ichimaru are setting up sector 13-13 to be used at some unknown date from know. Know what's there, bloodsucker?"

She simply closed her eyes and pretended to be bored.

"No one comes right out and says it, but everyone knows that people get tortured down there," he said with a grin. "Only captains and up know what goes on. But they can't keep us stupid forever. You're gonna get tortured, bloodsucker! I wonder what they'll do to ya? Cut you open, exposure to UV, starve you, shoot you…" he gave a laugh that chilled Rukia's blood; this guy was a sadist! "I wanna be there!"

"Excuse me."

That voice cut through all the laughter and froze it instantly.

"What are you doing in here, Asano?"

The voice was so frigidly dangerous that even Rukia's eyes opened.

"Asano, I thought I told you that you were forbidden from coming in here again. And I'm quite sure that Shihouin-san or Ichimaru-soutaichou hasn't issued you a pass. Are you really so keen on getting yourself into a detainment sector as well?"

"N – no, Kurosaki-taichou…I promise I won't be found in here again," Keigo stammered out, trying but failing not to look intimidated. The look on his taichou's face was enough to scare the shit out of him. Ichigo looked livid.

Keigo had started to edge towards the door, forgetting all about Chizuru.

"Why do you keep coming here?" Apparently, Ichigo wasn't feeling so generous. "Why do you keep insisting on harassing this vampire? Were you in the vampire's place, would you like someone coming up to your cage and banging on it, disturbing you while you just want to punch his fucking face in but can't?"

The entire room was silent. Keigo was gritting his teeth.

"Kurosaki-taichou, I am very sorry, I promise it won't happen again."

"Don't apologize to me. Were you harassing me? I don't think so. Apologize to her." And without looking, his finger shot out in the direction of Rukia's cell, everyone in the room suddenly sported disbelieving expressions on their faces.

"What? Kurosaki-taichou, you want me to–"

"When I say do something, I mean NOW, Asano!" he roared.

And so the unit member had no choice; though he was not a part of unit two, he could not disobey a captain's orders. He turned to Rukia, and she could see the seething disgust that crept across his face, that which the orange-haired hunter could not see because he was faced in the opposite direction.

"So sorry, vampire," he bit out, though no one in the room doubted the invalidity of his words. He turned to Ichigo.

"Very good. Dismissed, Asano. I never want to see your face in here again. And as for the rest of you, get out."

They dared not disobey his order, especially when he seemed so keen on taking his temper out on someone. Quicker than a blink, they'd filed out silently, closing the door until silence pervaded the wide room.

She saw him stand there for a moment before heading over to her cell. "Hey. Vampire. I…I was just wondering if…if you have to drink blood from people."

Why was it that she always felt so prompted to answer his annoying questions? "Well, you know, I am a vampire."

"Yeah, yeah…that wasn't what I meant, I meant…does it always have to be from someone? Like, a living person?"

"No."

"But I thought–"

"What you think and what you know are two very different things, hunter," she said. "Just because you think something doesn't mean it ought to be true. Don't jump to the conclusion that you know all about vampires just because you got lucky and caught one."

The insult stung. "I wouldn't say that I know everything about vampires, just as you don't know everything about hunters."

"I wouldn't say that either."

"…"

"…"

"…so…does all your blood really need to be from a living person?"

"Why do you ask again?"

"I need to know."

"Why do you need to know?"

"Will you just answer the question?'

"Why should I?"

"Can you stop answering my questions with fucking questions?"

"Only if you stop asking them."

They broke off then. His temper was rising again, it was obvious, but she respected his trying to keep it in check. "I need to know because if you don't get anything eat you're going to die. And we don't want you to die."

"Oh really?" she replied scathingly. "I'm sure that when you're torturing my body for information, morality flies out the window."

She saw the briefest confused look flit over his face before it turned thoughtful, if not slightly angry. There was no reason for the latter to be present, and so she stared at him, wondering if he was going to explain himself.

"I…I don't like torture," he said (which, unbeknownst to her, wasn't that far a stretch of the truth). "With all the other vampires it's landed us nowhere. If it's not effective, then why would we keep implementing it?"

"You never know," she shrugged with an air of cool mock-nonchalance, "it might work on one vampire these days. But it won't work on me. Kill me however you want; I know where my loyalties lie."

"Yeah, I suspected as much," he said. His eyes drew to the side. Was it because she was staring at him too hard? Maybe she was…oops. "I don't know about this torture thing, I mean, I'm a captain, and they haven't told me anything concrete…"

Kaien had never cared about her.

Just the thought of him was enough to bring that suppressed shiver to the surface; she still hadn't fully recovered from having been so thoroughly close to death by starvation. The hunter saw the minute shiver that spread from her shoulders down.

"Hey."

She said nothing.

"Are you still hungry?"

"Look, if you have even the remotest fragment of intelligence, you'll know not to ask stupid questions and leave when you should."

"I'll take that as a yes." He walked over to the control panel at the foot of the cell, typing in a few commands that went by too fast for her to memorize. His finger hovered over a key with kanji undecipherable to her from upside-down, partially hidden by another lever.

"What are you doing?"

"You know, I really don't know myself." He seemed to think for a bit, hesitating, before taking the plunge. Deftly pressing the red button – why was it always red? – the door to the cell slid open. It was too bad it took her by surprise to really take advantage of it.

He hauled himself into the cell and came close.

"You can take blood from me again. Just, this time, don't put your spell on me."

"For the last time, it isn't a fucking spell," she said with ill temper. "And how do you know I won't just take advantage of this and escape? Real smart, jackass, leaving the door open." For indeed, behind his back, the door was open; several layers of glass were open and it was just beyond her reach.

"It would be suicide to leave this cell and you know it," he smirked at her. "For one, you probably can't walk as well as could normally have because you haven't stood up in days. Second of all, there are over ten vampire aura detectors in this room, and should you step out of this cell without them being disarmed, the alarms will go off faster than you can say "goodbye." Third of all, you don't know the codes to get out of this building." He smirked at her, and a dark scowl crept over her face. His simple attitude had distinguished him from Kaien before, but when he was trying to act so superior…

Just to piss him off, she looked into his eyes and slowly tried to pry her will into his. He felt the nudge and threw his eyes off to the side. "I said not to do that!"

"And since when are you in any position to tell me what to do?"

"Since I caught you!'

"You were just lucky. Don't think you're so exceptional just because you could catch one vampire!"

He sighed then, probably realizing that they were getting nowhere. "Look. Just drink, all right? Without putting me under your spell."

"Do you even realize why some vampires use their mind aura?" she scowled.

"No." He offered her his wrist.

"It'll hurt. A lot. As much as if you were slicing open your own wrist."

She had to grudgingly respect that his fortitude never wavered in the least.

"Is that why you do it?"

She would have given anything at that moment to have been able to say no.

But she said nothing, and that was a yes.

Even if he was a hunter, she still did not like giving pain to others, especially if it was relatively unwarranted. Rukia didn't like giving pain at all. And if by some miracle she ever managed to forget about Kaien, she doubted that the scars of her memory would ever fully recede.

And yet, she still found it hard to believe this hunter was helping her.

She took his wrist as her fangs were already enlarging in her mouth.

tsuzuku