AN: Ok, before I get started, I would just like to say that notnow is THE COOLEST person ever! She helped me go through this at 3:00 in the morning, broke down all my stupid mistakes and rubbed my ego on top of it. If anyone gets a chance, they should definetly check out her stories! She rocks!
Next off, I'd like to apologize to all of the awesome reviewers out there. You all have been patient and kind, and I really appreciate it. Sadly enough however, it took a few bad reveiws like, "Crappy fic" in order to motivate me to write this. So, to make this funny, I dedicate this chapter to the anonymous reveiwer who so lovingly called this a crappy fic, under of all the awesome reviewers out there. Thank you notnow, Eliza, lordkazar, KiraLacus Forever, een nihc, seal-chan, Bakageta, mikeee, Seaplue, silver 6, Mitsuno, Fran, ruukii, Akemi, Satan Hat, Katratzi, YL, Kuro-Ippikiookami21, andHaibaraShiho! You all rock!
'Nough of this...Bleach isn't mine, blah blah blah...
Hollows Haunt Us
Chapter 10
Rukia looked around in the dark cold shell she sat in. Pitch blackness surrounded her as tightly as the cold. She made a sour laugh.
"Hmph…Is this what I'm like inside? I should redecorate…"
A sound from behind her made her stop. She turned to see the wall warp and spin. From the center, it began to glow, the light slowly expanding until it was a perfect circle. Rukia shielded her eyes from the bright light for a moment until they adjusted. Slowly, an image of a familiar orange haired guy came into view.
"Ichi…" Rukia's eyes opened wider as she saw Ishida in front of him, bow drawn, arrow pointing directly at Ichigo's head. She then noticed Ichigo's sword, drawn and at the ready. Suddenly self conscious, she wrapped her arms around her naked form. Her heart quickened its pace. "What's going on…?"
Ishida began to grow more and more impatient. He drew his bow tighter.
"Come on, Kurosaki." The Quincy spoke quietly, emotion quivering the edges of his voice.
Rukia crawled towards the swirling picture in front of her. Her face betrayed her true emotion as she looked from man to man. Then as suddenly as it had appeared, her worry was erased and replaced by anger.
"You idiot, Ichigo! What are you doing…?" Before she could continue, a flash of long orange hair caught the edge of the picture.
Ishida's expression gave away the person before the voice did. "Kurosaki-kun…Ishida-kun…"
"Inoue…" Ishida let his bow drop slightly. "Why are you out here? Aren't you…"
"Chad told me you two were out here. What's going on?" Orihime came into Rukia's view. She was badly bandaged up on her left side, but she still managed to maintain a smile. She looked at Ichigo, whose face was almost unreadable except for a hint of worry.
Suddenly as if she hadn't noticed her being there at all, Orihime turned and looked at Rukia, giving a start. "Kuchiki….san…"
Rukia wanted to talk to her, to ask if she was alright, to see what had happened to her, but nothing came out of her mouth. Rukia pressed her hands against the picture like a child trying to peer into a candy store. She pushed and pushed, but despite this looking like a window, it lacked all the breakable qualities. Rukia pounded on the picture angrily with her fists, trying to get some kind of attention.
"Calm yourself…They can't hear you." A voice behind Rukia made her jump. She turned to its source as the girl materialized from some kind of smoke. She frowned angrily as the girl joined her at looking out the picture. "Why don't you just sit back and enjoy the show?"
Rukia refused to take her eyes off the girl until she heard her own voice from outside the picture. Spinning around, she caught the end of it.
"…too bad that now you're able to stand." The voice, directed at Orihime, sounded foreign to Rukia, despite it being her own. She looked at the faces around her. Ishida's face burned with desire to kill, Orihime's was one filled with sadness and fear, and Ichigo's…Rukia felt a cold chill race up her spine racking her heart in pain. His face seemed the same from his everyday scowl, but his eyes…they seemed to pierce right through and burn a hole into her very being.
"Ooh…Seems like your man is a little pissed at you now!" The girl laughed an empty sound full of hatred. Rukia turned and glared.
"What kind of sick game is this!" Rukia demanded. She felt her fists clench at her side. Tears pushed behind her eyes, but dared not fall. The girl only laughed louder.
"Just watch and you'll see!"
Rukia turned and looked at the picture again, just in time to see Ichigo draw nearer. He looked at her and frowned. "What's wrong with you, Rukia?"
Something in his voice made her heart skip a beat. She placed a hand over her churning stomach as she got closer to the picture. "Ichigo…"
An arm punched Ichigo in the stomach and he doubled backward. Rukia looked down and felt the sting on the back of her own hand. Some how, she had hit him. Quickly she looked back up at Ichigo, who was rubbing his stomach gingerly.
"Just what th' hell was that for?" He asked. Rukia noticed out of the corner of the picture Orihime back up slowly towards Ishida.
"Why don't you just die already?" Rukia's voice came from outside. Inside, she shook her head vehemently. "You shinigami are impossible!"
Rukia turned her head to see the girl behind twirling her hands in the air, moving her mouth with the words that she could hear booming around her. A smile came her direction; an evil grin with sharp teeth as Rukia stared at the girl. She watched her lips move slowly to form the words and echo around her in her voice. The words were simple, but made hot anger pulse through Rukia's veins.
"Die, Ichigo."
As Rukia's physical body lunged at Ichigo, her spirit lunged at the girl in front of her. She landed a punch the same time as her body outside had. She grabbed the collar of the girl as she sat on her on the ground. The Rukia outside did the same.
Rukia, being well aware that the girl had given her temporary control over her body, whispered, "Kill me Ichigo."
Hope you all liked it! r&r and I'll love you all ten times over!
