Disclaimer: All Bleach characters belong to Kubo Tite.
Rukia: My Life As A Rabbit
Chapter Eight –Pet Therapy
Rukia: Ichigo should be paying me for providing pet therapy service.
"Son, I'm a physician. Not a vet! I can't tell you what's wrong with your rabbit," Kurosaki Isshin said in reply to his son's request for him to start practicing his medicine skills on the family pet.
Isshin hadn't seen that look on his firstborn's face in a long time. Perhaps not since the day his son had been told that Daddy couldn't fix the right hand limb back on his Luke Skywalker action figure.
He was really getting attached to that rabbit.
oooOooo
Ichigo trudged upstairs, carrying the unmoving rabbit to his room.
"Onii-chan, I prepared your dinner tray…"
"It's fine, Yuzu. I'm not hungry."
Yuzu watched as her brother set the rabbit down on the pile of blankets that had become the pet's 'burrow' since the first night he had brought it home. To her surprise, her brother plucked out a familiar object from the folds of dark-blue material and handed it to her.
"My bunny bedroom slipper!" Yuzu exclaimed.
Ichigo gave his little sister a wry grin. "I think the stupid rabbit must have bunny-napped your slipper when it was looking for a friend."
Yuzu blinked. Was her brother really feeling alright today?
Then, the girl gave Ichigo a sunny smile and handed the formerly lost slipper back to him. "Onii-chan, please leave it there so it can keep the rabbit company –if she feels lonely."
Ichigo had been exceptionally defensive when their father had questioned him on his tardiness -giving ambiguous replies to the barrage of inquiries.
Yuzu knew her brother kept secrets from them. But, he had yelled often enough that it was perfectly normal behavior for people his age, so would they all kindly leave him alone?
Yuzu let her brother keep his secrets, and she didn't ask him about today.
oooOooo
It was late in the night. And everyone was tucked snugly between warm sheets that kept the chilly air out. The rabbit twitched fitfully in its sleep. Then at last, Rukia stirred in the blankets.
The long slumber had stolen the incidents in the last few hours away from her. Now, they returned –leaving her wondering if she had not just dreamt it all in her sleep.
I was a rabbit… I was a girl again…
That's right! She had managed to return to her human-form. If only for a few precious seconds… Did this mean she had a choice in the matter? Was this something she could do at will?
Perhaps this was similar to Yoruichi's ability to switch from one form to another. She wouldn't be surprised. Urahara had a hand in her current state of affairs after all.
What sort of product was the shopkeeper pawning? Turning customers into furry creatures –lawsuits had developed over smaller matters than this.
Rukia sat back with a soft thump, lost in thought. She pulled one of her velvet ears down, absently combing it with her paws. It was a habit she had picked up unconsciously.
She was confused. It wasn't that she didn't want to return to her human-form. But, really -life was simpler as a rabbit.
As a shinigami on duty in a gigai, she was constantly aware that she truly and rightfully belonged to Soul Society. She had to fight every moment she began to think of the material world too fondly as home.
Now, she didn't have to think about 'staying and leaving'. That wasn't such a priority anymore when you suddenly sprout two long ears and a bob-tail. As a rabbit, her place was with him. And was that so bad?
Maybe he even needed her in this form more than in her other. Ichigo knew she knew about the Hollow within him. But, it seemed that was all he was willing to disclose. The rest, he was determined to keep to himself.
Rukia had thought they made a good team together. But, now her fellow comrade seemed to resent her finding out anything more about himself –his other self.
She was just realizing how much he kept tightly locked away from her knowledge. The first time she had witnessed his fight for dominance over his own body –she had been shocked. How could she not have known before?
He had never allowed her to see this.
The empty and drained look in his eyes, right before his face began to twist into a painful grimace –as if under torture from an invisible force.
The boy had stumbled over to the window, breathing ragged as he slumped to the floor. His head pressed painfully against the wall, and she had only been able to watch him silently.
There was a part of Rukia that was so, so angry that he wouldn't share this with her before –that she was witnessing this only because he didn't know she was the rabbit at his feet.
"You standing guard over me?" He let out a dry chuckle. "I've got a monster in me. Aren't you afraid that you'll be eaten alive?"
He picked her up then and held her. Like a sick child would hold a toy –seeking comfort in some way from a horror he could not understand.
His voice was toneless. "I can feel him devouring me from the inside."
A mocking smile curved across his lips. "But, I don't think his tastes run your way. He wants what all Hollow's want –souls rich in reiatsu."
He shivered. All traces of the sardonic smile gone. As if speaking of its wants and desires brought the nightmare closer to surface.
"It's a good thing Rukia isn't around. Maybe it's best that she doesn't come back soon."
She had stiffened in his arms upon hearing this.
He added softly, "Or ever."
oooOooo
The next morning, Ichigo woke up to find the rabbit curled up right next to him. He slung his school bag over his shoulder and hesitated uneasily. He stared at the rabbit. In his mind, a replay of how close the Hollow had come to snapping her up in its jaws made him stop.
Then, cursing himself for being a fool. He grabbed the bunny and stuffed her into the carrier from the pet shop.
He tried not to think of what he was doing. He just knew he was going to have a lot of explaining to do when he saw Ochi-sensei.
Author's Note: This story is taking longer than I expected. I've finished the drafts for 2 other fics last week. ;) I may put a new fic up soon and run them side by side –rotating between 2 fics will give me more breathing space, especially since the other is 90 percent complete.
Just a little something… Darth Vader did lop off Luke Skywalker's right arm from the elbow down. Ichigo was most likely doing his own version of the scene on the unfortunate figurine. ;)
grandmaster p –Hope for Rukia! She's not a lost cause. But, maybe I've made Ichigo too blur to the truth (right smack under his nose…)
Syneiam –Ichigo's reputation is going to get thrashed in the next chapter. That's why he's not going to think about it. (or so he says..)
seal-chan –Thanks for adding me to your alerts! I'm glad you want to go on reading.
Elizabeth D. O'Connell –Can you believe I had to collect any info I could get my hands on about that afro dude? Haha. Never thought I would have to do it.
Procrastinator-starting2moro –Wow, 2 reviews? Thank you. The image of Rukia in Ichigo's hood was taken from the time my campmate stuffed the resident kitten in his hood too. That was a real huge success with the females I tell ya!
Seaplue –I'm so happy you enjoyed it!
Umi Kanshisha –Haha. Your version of the 'Moment of Truth' is great! You've really got Bleach on the mind if you start seeing Urahara in the faces of band members!
Zero-Vision –The WAFF force? Now, that's a term I'd love to use sometime.
flOofymikO –Thanks for following this story so far. And you're even thinking ahead. I'll try hard to live up to expectations.
kittyblah –I am Rukia obsessed. Don't get many cool female characters like her often. Share the love!
LadieAnimeFreek –Rukia isn't as 'stuck' in her current form as she thinks! ;)
SHiNiGAMiLENNE –Yes, he totally missed it. The hero has bad timing for once.
