Oh my GOD…I can't believe I've finally finished writing this chapter. I was so obsessed by the way I wanted it to be, that it took me a long time to decide if it's ready or not. I hope you'll like it and that you'll feel it was worth waiting for my late update.
Shantou : the name of the medallion Yamamoto has given her.
Jadeb and BlackSun-WhiteMoon: I've only added that short explication in order to make things clear, though I thought that Rukia's discussion with the elders and her thoughts will eventually lead you to the fact that a person, who withstands the transformation into a demon, means that he has not become one and therefore could not have killed her parents (them being angels, who were attacked by demons). I hope I got it straight this time, because of course I don't want to reveal anything about my story to you, that has not been written …yet
Thank you all for reading and special thanks to my reviewers: jadeb, BlackSun-WhiteMoon, Syn, Painting.In.Blood, Hisana. You're all invited to the special party I'm throwing after all this is over.
Enough with the chatting and go read my new chap!
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Chapter 4
A swift, cool breeze invaded the air, saliently wrapping around her small, frail silhouette and straining itself in every corner of her body. It was warm, still; not the same soothing warmness that had first urged her to fall in this deep slumber, but it was ever so pleasant. She felt as if she could lie there forever, surrendering her body to the unbound pleasure of this warm embrace. She moved her head softly to the side, letting the smooth surface beneath her, caress her face, as if deepening her frame in a soft, silky pillow. Her mind was telling her it was time to cease this absurd dream state, but there was something about it that made it so hard for her to brake free and let reality prevail again. Finally, a tinge of curiosity slid by her senses and slyly persuaded her to crack an eye open. That though was of no use, as a veil of darkness was wrapped around her eyes and she could barely see. She then rose from the ground spreading her beautifully large, violet eyes wide open. It took a minute, or two, before she could adjust her sight to the wan light and managed to come to her senses, but the prolonged pause was worth every second of delay. She could now see …
It wasn't the earth she had fallen asleep on, nor was it the warmth of the sun that had delighted her lazy sleep. It couldn't have been, since she was no longer on the high cliff she last remembers climbing. She felt as if her breath had stopped. Amazement poured out of her stunned look, though finding oneself on a blanket made out of animal fur could not be the cause. She couldn't believe her eyes when she found herself gazing high in an endlessly deep cave. Resplendent stones glowed in the dark making the entire place easily mistaken for a large adamant room. With her mouth half opened, she stood there, staring as the radiant crystals hanging from the rough, drenched walls reflected the sunlight on the ground beneath her naked feet. It was hard for her to understand how she had got there; nonetheless she gradually regained her sanity and started inspecting the place. There wasn't much to see though, the only things beside the blanket she had awaken on being a hand-made wooden table, with two chairs, a locked coffer and a rug made out of bear fur, laid near the entrance of the cave.
It then struck her: she wasn't alone and the fact that she had awaken here and could not remember a thing was because she hadn't got here on her own in the first place. Without wasting one more second of her time, she rapidly ran towards the entrance, as it seemed to be not only the single source of light in this sinister place, but also the single way out of it. Luckily for her that she had stopped on time and managed to maintain her balance from falling off the high mountain on which she found herself stranded on. She started searching desperately with her eyes for a way to get down, but she saw none. She then sighed in defeat and moved her gaze towards the afternoon sun, which was now glowing ardently in the middle of the ocean-blue sky, when she saw it. At first she thought it was a mere bird swinging its wings in the fleeting wind, but as it approached she realised it must be something else. Before she could even distinguish what it was, struggling hard to cover her eyes from the stinging sunbeams, it landed just in front of her. A tall, young figure resembling a teenager that had yet to become a man then pulled his hand from the ground on which he had landed and straitened up his bent legs.
"Leaving so soon?" a stern voice raised from the lips of the newly arrived guest as he uncovered his face from the cloth that kept it from being revealed, letting a softer look, than the tone of his voice could have described, to be seen. Ruffled, auburn tresses of hair were now dancing freely in the wind, almost covering two eyes of a hazel brown she had never seen before. The look in his eyes was so deep, so overwhelming, it said so much and in the same time it seemed to keep inconceivable secrets well locked from foreign sight. Seconds, moments or may be even minutes had passed before Rukia realised that she had been left speechless, gazing in his eyes.
"Get out of my way you fool" she retorted while pushing him aside, trying to conceal her reaction as soon as she came to her senses; but was stopped when his hand pulled her back, restraining her from flash stepping down the mountain.
"Don't be in such a rush to get down, unless you expect that you'll reach the ground alive with not a speck of spiritual power" the seemingly young man continued without loosening his grip.
With a swift movement of her hand, she reached for her neck, touching her smooth skin in search of her Shantou. 'This can't be happening' she thought, while forcing herself to acceptance. The necklace that Yamamoto had given her was no longer adorning her long, slim neck. A ferocious desire to punish the rogue that had dared to take it away from her was born, as soon as she realised that he had been the culprit.
"Why you…" she raised both her hands to grab his neck, but he took hold of her wrists before she could even lay a finger on him.
"Now, now…Watch your tongue before saying something you could regret afterwards." He grinned loosening his grip and entering the cave.
Her wrath had gone dumb for a second, while trying to recover from the astonishment. Even without her Shantou, Rukia knew that she had a great deal of spiritual power and that an amount so big could not fade away after only a few days in Purgatory. Even so, he had blocked her attack so easily. 'How could that be?' she thought, trying to maintain her offensive position, without revealing her doubts and fears.
"Who do you think you are you filthy creature, talking to me as if you'd own me?" she finally retorted as she stepped forward.
"Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo, but for you, master will do."
As offended as she normally would have felt at the sound of a remark as stupid as this, she restrained herself from reacting in any way. That though wouldn't have been a problem, when feeling her body freeze at the sound of these two simple words. 'It can't be him. He's merely a kid… a spoiled, cocky brat by a matter-of-fact, but still a child' a voice echoed in her mind as she just stood there, at the entrance of the cave, without moving an inch. He was young indeed and though he was somewhere between the passing from a youngster to a more mature person, he did not exceed the age of 20 after her speculations. Even so, that was not the only thing that made the gap between them turn into a precipice. She too had the look of a young female of his age, but thinking at the different process of aging she was submitted to, it kept her looking at him as if dealing with a fastidious child.
"Well, don't just stand there. Get inside before the wind blows you away and you'll fall without even having me throwing you from these high cliffs" Ichigo added, seeing that she hadn't moved once since he had divulged his name and the only thing she could do was stare at him with a pair of two beautiful eyes, as if she had seen a ghost.
"Idiot" she answered in a whisper, that being mainly the reason why her insult had not reached his ears and entered the cave.
"And more over, stop walking around as if you'd own the place. After all you are my prisoner and if you haven't awaken with your hands and feet tied up to a chair yet, it's because I thought there's no point in wasting useful rope when there's no way to descend from this height." He added, displaying a well-acted indifference while in her presence.
"You idiot. You have 1 minute to give me back my Shantou and lower me down from here or I'll…"
"You'll what? Bit the crap out of me or kill me? Stop mumbling stupid things or I might just lose my temper. And we wouldn't like a thing like that to happen, would we?" he cut her off with a notably large scowl spreading over his forehead and a devilish mocking grin.
"Are you implying that if I don't keep my mouth shut and refuse to remain here, I'll be the one who ends up hurt?" Rukia managed to answer his challenge, regaining her courage.
"Don't be stupid, it's not like I would get my hands dirty with the likes of you. You would probably die from the impact when hitting the ground. But if you're in such a rush to leave, be my guest."
"You stubborn fool, if you won't accept my offer and lower me down, somebody will soon come after me. And I don't suppose you'll be able to save yourself then, will you? You don't have the guts to keep me as a prisoner!"
"Oh really?" She had managed to touch a sensible cord it seems, as he raised himself from the chair he was resting in and sent a death-glare her way at the sound of these words. "Just watch me." He continued while lifting himself from the ground and flying away from the cave he had just landed in minutes ago.
"Come back you moron! I'll kill you with my bare hands if you don't return this instant and lower me down." A fainted voice echoed in his years as he outdistanced himself even more.
She knew from the very second he had spoken to her that a thing like this would not menace him, but that hadn't stopped her from acting the way she did.
There was nothing left for her to do now and Rukia knew it, so she gently sneaked back in her new shelter. She lowered her body on the soft bed he had made for her, keeping her head in the palms of her hands and thinking of a way to escape this absurd situation. For hours she had tried to find a way to recover her Shantou and regain her freedom, but no pleasing idea came to her mind. It was slowly getting dark outside and though she had refused to leave the thinking position she was now in, she could see the sun slipping gently through the clouds; and yet no sight of him. 'What if he's left me here to starve to death and he'll never return?' the simple thought of never seeing him again, curiously shattered any possible attack she had thought of using on him in all these silent hours. She might not be able to regain her Shantou very soon, but facing death (even at her age) was not part of her plans. She was not prepared for it and she knew that much. Even so, after all these troubling events, exhaustion was catching up with her and she no longer felt capable of worrying about herself. Without noticing a thing, her body slipped in a sleeping position, with her head now resting on the furry blanket. She struggled hard not to do so, but it was too late. She had fallen asleep.
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There was silence. The roar of the wind reaching her ears managed though to take her away from her sleep. Rukia then realised that she had been stolen from her dreams once more. The memories of this passing day then came barging in her head without notice, making it even harder for her to remain hidden in her dreams. She opened her eyes with a small attempt of raising herself from the ground, which had rapidly failed when she saw him; lying there, with his back resting on the cold, adamant entrance's wall. He just stood there…silently…gazing at the night sky, following with the corner of his eye every movement of the bright stars above him.
He seemed to have failed to notice her while she was watching him from the distance.
Rukia let her head fall back on the soft blanket and released all of her thoughts in deep sleep. It wasn't common of her to spy on people, nor was this feeling that had squeezed itself in her heart. She wouldn't accept it, but she could actually feel the state of ease, that she had lost once with his departure, flowing back into her. He had returned and for the very first time in many, long, lonely nights she felt she was no longer alone…
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I hope it reached your expectations…and please, if you went all this way reading my fic, do leave a review…I really want to know what you think about my fic. Is bribery necessary for you to push that go button to the review page?
