A.N.-I'm soo soo sorry for the impromptu hiatus, but I wanted to make ABSOLUTELY sure that the final chapter rocked. I had to have a lot of thinking time because this was tricky. I've never actually finished anything before...((looks away))

But I have to say THANK YOU to all the reviewers who've stuck it through and even some who managed to find me in the past month to yell at me. But most of all, thank you Notnow, my Oneesan who constantly got on my bootah to get this written out.

Disclaimer: Yeah, come on. No owny.


"Kill me, Ichigo."

Rukia's body lay against Ichigo's on the ground; her icy fingertips gripping his neck. He felt her hands trembling to shut tighter and take away what little breath was going through but something seemed to be holding her back. Frantically Ichigo looked for any signs of the normal Rukia to no avail. His blood chilled in his veins as he recognized the look of lost sanity that glowed fiercely behind her eyes.

"Rukia…" Ichigo couldn't calm the pounding fear in his heart. Nor the feeling that raced up and down his spine as he stared into Rukia's eyes. Anger began to seeth through his body. He couldn't hold back the hatred that burned through in his voice as he spoke to the controller behind Rukia's eyes.

"Let her go, damn you…" He growled. "So help me…I'll…"

A smile unlike any Ichigo had seen on her face spread wickedly. Her hands gripped his neck tighter, and he quickly realized he had lost the Rukia who had spoken only mere moments before. A sudden movement later and she was face to face with Ichigo, her breath tickling his lips. Ichigo struggled to get out of her grip, but the more he struggled, the tighter her fingers clenched his neck. He let out a small strangled cough and her smile grew wider.

"What can you do, lover boy?" Rukia—no, It—said, her voice deep and unforgiving, malice lacing the edges.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Ichigo vaguely heard Orihime call. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Orihime place her fingertips on her barrettes. A glow formed and she began to speak, "Tsubaki—"

"STOP!" Ichigo forced out of his choked throat. This was still Rukia. Somewhere inside there was Rukia. He pulled his hands out from underneath himself and grabbed Rukia's wrists, using all of his strength to try and loosen her grip. I can't let her go…I can't let it take her over. No, Inoue…Not now. "This is my fight! I need to snap her out of it!"

A deep chuckle escaped its throat—Rukia's throat—as Orihime slowly put her arms back to her side. "You keep making this easier for me!"

"Shut the hell up." Ichigo began to reach deep within himself for his power. Zangetsu O-san, Ichigo searched for his sword inside, calling out his name. I need your power. Please…

Outside, the possessed Rukia only laughed as she watched the shinigami in her hands squirm. Her eyes glowed red as she relished in his pain. "What's wrong, boy! Can't kill your girlfriend! She's mine, now. There's nothing you can do to save her!"

As the words reached Ichigo, he had managed to reach Zangetsu. His eyes began to glow a cool blue as the sword's power overtook his body. Beginning to tap into the tiny amount of air left in his lungs, he managed a hard shove to get her off him. Rukia's body fell back onto the ground with a painful and resounding thump.

As suddenly as her eyes had glowed with hatred, they had died down and filled with fear. Ichigo stood up and faced her as she pushed herself away, still sitting on the ground. He approached her slowly, observing the obvious changes in Rukia.

"What the hell are you?" He asked cautiously, prying for any such information that would free Rukia without further harm to her safety.

"You truly are dimwitted." It replied, less fervor to its voice, but still anger. Then suddenly appearing as if something had dawned on it, yelled unexpectedly, "You don't even understand what's going on, do you!"

Ichigo couldn't help the small flinch that raced across his features. He quickly covered it up again in hopes that it had been missed, but he wasn't so lucky. It smiled again, knowing it had taken the step higher. It stood up and laughed wickedly, distorting what pleasant sound Rukia's voice had. Ichigo let another wince run over his features.

"Pathetic! He doesn't even understand that you're all mine, Rukia, and that he can never tear us apart!" It threw Rukia's head back and laughed louder as Ichigo involuntarily cringed inside.

What is it talking about? Ichigo asked himself, searching his mind for any answers, none coming.

"ICHIGO!" Rukia's—the real Rukia's—voice yelled abruptly, breaking him of his mindset. Something was different about her voice. Something more pure, he found himself thinking. He put his hand on his sword hilt and got ready for an attack. "Ichigo, you idiot! I told you to kill me! Do it now...!"

The end of her sentence sounded choked and her eyes turned steely again. However this time, she sat, gripping her chest tightly. Sweat was forming on her brow and her breathing seemed labored. He watched her for a while as her eyes flickered from hard and cold to soft and warm.

Before he could react, it leapt and grabbed Ichigo around the waist, its grip as tight as the first time it had choked him. Ichigo struggled to get out of its arms, but they only gripped tighter the more he struggled.

A sharp, piercing pain shot through his body, beginning at his lower back where her hands were interlocked. Its fingers dug deeper into his back, ripping muscles as it pulled up. Blood forced itself out of his mouth and he coughed as the pain grew. Ichigo gritted his teeth together and squeezed his eyes shut as his knees knocked together from the agony.

With the last of his strength, he reached up and grabbed the hilt of his sword and pulled it off his back.

"Zangetsu…" He whispered through his clenched teeth. "This is it…"

Whipping his sword around he grabbed it with his other hand and directed the point to Rukia's back. He felt the pain rise higher on his back and soon he was unable to breathe properly. As blood poured out of his mouth in torrents, he managed to get out one last phrase.

"Don't lose me, Rukia."

Orihime screamed as she realized what Ichigo was planning on doing. Ishida grabbed her around the waist before she could leap in the way. Tears coursed down the young girl's face as she struggled against the Quincy's hold.

"It has to be done." Ishida whispered, gripping her waist tighter. Orihime twirled around and dug her face into his shoulder.

The possessed Rukia looked up, but not in enough time to realize what was happening. Before she could unlatch herself from his back, the cool blade had already slid itself through her back out her stomach and into Ichigo in front of her.

"NOOOOOOOoooo…." It screamed in the borrowed voice, a cloud of smoke escaping her lips followed by bubbling blood. The voice changed from the harsh sounds of only moments before to the soft yell of Rukia's everyday self.

Ichigo looked down at Rukia. His vision was beginning to darken around the edges, and the pain slowly became duller. Ichigo's legs finally gave out and he fell to the ground, pulling Rukia with him with the blade still holding their bodies together.

Their eyes met for a moment, and they let a smile pass between them. Their blood mingled together on the ground, the last of the heat escaping their bodies.

"Took your precious time with it…" Rukia forced out of her cracked lips. She coughed again as more blood rose from the back of her throat.

"Yeah…" He said, his eyes clouding over.

They rested their heads on the ground and closed their eyes as their life leaked out of their bodies onto the hard concrete.

Ichigo woke up, his body no longer cold and his head resting on something soft. He didn't realize there were hands on his forehead until his consciousness rose a bit further. His hands were gripping something that felt like grass, and his legs felt numb. The hands moved over his eyes and a soft voice echoed in his ears.

"Ichigo…" It echoed. "Ichigo…Ichigo…Ichigo…"

"Mmuhhuh…" Ichigo started to come out of the heavy mist that seemed wrapped around his awareness. The voice grew more persistent and louder.

"Ichigo, you idiot," that sounded familiar, only sadness laced the edges of her voice. "Wake up! My legs are asleep!"

His eyes were forced open only to see Rukia staring upside down at him. He realized the soft thing he was laying on was her lap. He sat up quickly and looked around noticing the total absence of pain.

Rukia watched as Ichigo looked around at their surroundings, his eyes wide and curious. He scanned the green hills and the trees at their back. His eyes scrutinized the blue sky and the flowers that dotted the hills. Soon a questioning gaze met up with hers and Rukia let a small sad smile reach her lips at his misunderstanding.

"Soul Society…" She whispered softly and watched as the realization emerged. His breath seemed to catch in his throat for only a moment before he let it out and looked away. His eyes didn't meet hers as he scratched the back of his head slowly.

After what felt like eternity to Rukia, Ichigo gave a small grin and met her gaze again.

"Well," He began slowly, as if measuring out every word he was about to say, "I guess I get to be a shinigami for real now."

Rukia assessed his reaction carefully. Something about it told her that he was really ok with it all. Her hands tightened on the white kimono she had appeared in. She wanted to test it, to see if he knew the full extent. Her voice was soft and shaky as she voiced her thoughts. "You can't be a human again, Ichigo. What about your family?"

He took another moment and scratched his chin, putting Rukia back into the agonizing waiting line of his thoughts. Closing his eyes, he answered, "I think…they'll be ok."

Ichigo's look turned back to Rukia and met her gaze. The tiny girl blinked as something stung behind her eyes and she rubbed them irritably. Ichigo got up and stretched out his arms, turning towards the open field that lay in front of them. Without turning around, he let his voice become lower and gentler, so much so that it reminded Rukia of the wind over the hills. "You didn't loose me…"

Rukia stared in awe of him for a moment before standing up herself and joining him. She pulled his arm to turn him towards her, forcing him to meet her eyes. Her heart thumped as she noticed his eyes shine from unshed tears.

As the wind wrapped around their legs and allowed their kimonos mingle, Rukia let herself be pulled into Ichigo's arms. From the depths of her heart and a soft voice within, she replied, "I would never loose you, Ichigo."


Fini


I had a wonderful time writing this so I hope you enjoyed it!