Alternate: Dissonance
Yuzu groaned as she came to, her body aching from the fall she took earlier. Her mind was still hazy and she quite couldn't remember what happened, as if it were a dream that was fading away like how most dreams do.
She managed to stand up against her better judgment, wanting to find out what was going on. She winced as she put a hand to the right side of her face, confirming that she was or had been bleeding. She slumped against the nearby wall for support, looking around the cramped room and finding it in complete disarray. The three beds were turned over and the shelves had been knocked down, but most distressing was seeing her twin sister lying on the floor. She quickly bent down and examined her sister, frantically checking her breathing and pulse.
She let out a sigh of relief as she realized that her sister was still alive. However, upon closer inspection she found that Karin's legs were bent at an unnatural angle from her body.
"Karin…" she whimpered, her eyes welling up with tears. The very idea that her sister, who loved physical activities and sports more than anything, would never be able to walk again broke her heart. She cried over the unconscious body of her sister, wishing that it had been her instead.
Her mind was beginning to clear up, the haze dissipating as a flash of memory appeared to her.
The sound of screaming had woken up both Karin and Yuzu to the sight of their new roommate being assaulted by an unknown man. On closer inspection, Yuzu had realized that this man was none other than her big brother, who she knew for a fact would never do such a thing to a woman.
Her sister Karin, always one for actions rather than words, leapt on to their brother, trying to stop him from hurting Rukia. Yuzu wasn't able to move, legs frozen in fear at the very idea of her always protective big brother harming a defenseless woman.
The last thing she saw before she regained consciousness was his arm slamming into her head, knocking her out cold.
Yuzu gently laid Karin's head down, remembering from her training as a nurse that you should not move an injured person without proper assistance. She had to go find help…and she had to go find her brother, because something deep inside her told her that he was in trouble. Even if he was the one who hit her and did all those terrible things tonight, she reasoned that there had to be at an exceptionally good excuse.
She stumbled out of the room, clutching at her head and hoping she wouldn't faint from blood loss. She limped towards the direction of Ichigo's room, feeling an unusual presence coming from it. The door was half-opened, allowing her to peak inside. Two blurry figures dressed in black robes were fighting with swords, one colored white and the other black.
They must be evil spirits, she thought fearfully. One of them must have taken control of brother and cause him to do all those bad things to Rukia!
She had never been great with sensing spirits compared to her siblings, but for some unknown reason they were starting to become clearer and clearer by the second.
As her vision was clearing she found herself beginning to hear snippets of conversation going on between the two spirits.
"I will kill you."
The spirit, which she could see had short dark hair, stood defiantly, her hands gripped on the white colored sword.
"…kill me?"
The spirit with the black sword ran toward the other spirit, and he appeared to be laughing either happily or manically, she couldn't tell which.
"Hey, Rukia..."
Yuzu let out a gasp as her vision became crystal clear suddenly, allowing her to see her brother release a black sword from his hands, letting it clatter to the floor. He had been impaled, the tip of the other spirit's sword visibly protruding out of his back. She could only see the back of the other spirit's head, but found herself straining her ears to hear what her brother was trying to say. His lips were moving but no sound was coming out, except for two bits:
"Thanks, Rukia."
And then he went silent, his head drooping low and his hands falling to his side, and Yuzu knew in her heart that the brother she loved so much was now dead.
She could hear the spirit crying. "Ichigo…? Please…not you too…"
She watched through teary eyes as the spirit, which she now knew was Rukia, pulled her sword out of Ichigo's body and held him close, crying just as much as she was.
Don't cry, little girl…
Yuzu blinked, wondering where that thought had just come from.
She killed your brother…
Yuzu eyes darted around the room, trying to find where that voice was hidden, and found that it was coming from the large black sword that her brother had dropped earlier. It seemed to glow unnaturally, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
That girl over there is a murderer. She killed your brother, don't you see? Look at her…those black, ominous robes…and that white blade of hers is stained with his blood…your brother's blood!
Yuzu blinked again, pondering over the voice's words, and finding that they did make sense.
He was only trying to protect his family…he needed to kill her before she could kill him and your sister and you…he was trying to protect you, but then she put him under an evil spell. Don't let her appearance fool you!
She closed her eyes, now ignoring the anguished wails and screams of Rukia, focusing entirely on the voice.
Kill her…before she kills your whole family!
Yuzu found herself nodding as she felt something stirring deep within her body, giving her the resolve to do what needed to be done.
Pick me up! Use the power that's been growing inside of you to protect your family! It's all up to you now!
She opened the door quietly, intending to pick up the sword her brother had left for her, his last parting gift, she thought somberly. She was going to finish what her brother had started, because any loving sister would do the same.
End