See, I told you I'd make up for last week! See end for an important update!
Part I
Standing in front of the vending machine, Rukia rubbed her eyes for what was probably the fifth time. According to her brother, it was something that she did a lot when she was incredibly exhausted, and boy, right now did she feel dead on her feet. She stared at the selections for another solid minute, trying to make the symbols on the keys make sense, before she finally got what she wanted so badly, coffee.
She sighed blissfully at the first sip. She had almost passed out in class too many times to count! This was all, of course, Ichigo's fault. He had her sat out in front of Renji's bedroom window all goddamn night, waiting for a threat that never came. Her only solace was seeing Ichigo stomp by that moment, bags under his eyes, and seeming like he would murder anyone who looked at him funny.
He walked right at her, took one look at her, and leaned heavily against the vending machine, looking defeated. Rukia chuckled, and he didn't even have the energy to glare at her for it.
Still, seeing him like that, it did send a pang of sympathy through her. She got out her wallet again, put a few more coins in the machine, and got another coffee. She held it in front of Ichigo.
"Drink up," she said, shaking it slightly. He took the can from her tentatively before turning it over a few times in his hands, inspecting it.
"I've seen these around. Coffee, right?" In fact, it was Rukia's favorite. This was Pokka Milk Coffee, Vanilla flavored. It wasn't too strong or bitter, but it still had just the right kick. Ichigo turned the coffee right side up, and then stared at the shiny metal top as if it were a puzzle he had to unlock.
"Do you want me to help you with that?" she offered.
"No, no," he insisted. "I can figure it out." Considering how he was poking at the top, testing every fixture to see which one the magic key to opening the can would be, he couldn't figure it out, and with an eyeroll, Rukia snatched the can away from him. She flipped the tab and handed it back to him, opened. He accepted it with a bitter frown.
At first, he hesitated, but after a moment, he quickly took a gulp of the coffee. It was sweet, yet bitter, and his face scrunched up reflexively.
Giggling, Rukia explained, "Coffee's an acquired taste. I didn't really like it either, at first." He nodded grimly, before taking another longer sip. "Not bad." After that, he gulped down the rest of the can in one go. Rukia watched with wide eyes.
"Actually, that was pretty good," he said appreciatively, tossing the empty can into the trash. He looked a bit more awake, at least. "I wish we had this stuff over at the Soul Society."
Ichigo had never really talked about his home, the Soul Society, and Rukia only had a vague idea about what it even was. She was actually pretty curious.
"What's the Soul Society like?" she asked him. Ichigo seemed surprised, like it wasn't a question he was ever expecting.
"Well," he started, "I guess everything there's…older." Not very descriptive, but at least it was something. She waited for him to continue. "The people, the buildings, some of them have been there for centuries, and you can kind of tell. It's where Souls go to find peace, and some of them actually manage it. They make families and find ways to keep on living. Above them all stand the Shinigami. We keep the peace."
Rukia supposed that made sense, but, "Doesn't that seem kind of cold to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the place sounds nice, but what you said about Shinigami sounds completely wrong."
"And how would you know?" he asked with a scowl.
Cradling her coffee, she said, "I remembered what you said when you asked me to be a Shinigami. You weren't asking me to keep the peace, you were asking me to save people, even if you didn't say it in those exact words."
Ichigo looked at her after that, eyes wide, and before she knew it, he was laughing, so loud and so hard that he was gripping his sides before too long. Rukia's face turned red. She didn't think she said anything that silly.
"Maybe you're right," he said, giggled dying down. "Just don't tell my superiors, okay?"
Before Rukia could say something else, maybe even ask him who he was talking about, a buzz sounded from Ichigo's phone. He flipped it open. It could only mean one thing.
"There's a Hollow," he said.
"Do you think it's the one we're looking for?"
"We can't be sure," he said, taking a closer look at the directions. "Let's go."
They ran out as quickly as they could, Rukia ditching her body at the first safe place she found and headed out of the school gates. A part of her hoped she wouldn't be late for the next period, but she knew that was the least of their problems.
They ran at a breakneck pace down the road, following Ichigo's directions. She recognized the neighborhood they were in. It was Renji's. She paled, picking up the pace. She only hoped they weren't too late. They turned the corner and saw Renji's apartment.
It was fine. Not a single thing was out of place. Rukia felt herself slow down a bit, confused. The place was peaceful, many people weren't even home. There was an old man reading a paper and a complete lack of giant bloodthirsty monsters.
"It's up ahead!" Ichigo called out, still running. Rukia chased after him. She still had a job to do.
The directions brought them straight to an industrial park, in the end. Where a Hollow was mindlessly tearing at abandoned trucks of the poor people that worked there.
She pulled out her katana. Nothing was very special about this creature. It crawled around on all fours and screeched at her the second its eyes caught her. It came right for her.
Rukia dove out of the way of its gnashing teeth, rolling onto the dusty ground. She got back up on her feet as quickly as possible, and started running around it, heading left.
The thing was fast, she'd give it that much. It turned around with her, slamming its hand down trying to catch her, and just barely missing each time. She moved, heading right for the bare steel frame of a building. There was plenty of loose rebar overhead. Perfect.
She weaved through the structure, silently goading it forward. It was just a little too big to maneuver comfortably for the creature and it got caught against a support beam ever other step. She could tell it was getting frustrated. It started growling and hissing, hitting the structure harder and harder, when finally, it did just what Rukia intended. All its struggles loosened a pile of suspended rebar just above it.
A long series of clanging metal later, and the creature was dazed. It stumbled for a moment, stepping back once, before falling.
"Got you," Rukia said, approaching carefully. She didn't want to give it enough time to recover, though. Before it could even make a sound, she sliced its mask open. It disintegrated.
"That was a little too easy," she said, sheathing her sword. She turned to Ichigo. His phone was beeping again.
"What, another one?" she asked, shocked.
"Yeah, but…" He trailed off, and the beeping stopped. He shook the phone for a minute, striking it against his hand. "Huh."
"What was that?"
"I'm not really sure," he said, a perplexed look on his face. He struggled with it for a moment before letting out a long sigh, pocketing the phone. Rukia stared out to the Hollow she had just defeated.
"That was it, right?" she asked, turning to him. "That was the Hollow you were talking about." Ichigo shook his head. Dammit.
"A Hollow that can put the Soul of a boy into the body of a bird wouldn't be that weak. We need to stay alert now more than ever."
Rukia nodded but didn't feel good about it. She'd been nothing but alert for the past twenty-four hours. She hurried back to school. At least she wasn't late.
She walked into the main building, Ichigo right behind her, mere minutes before the class bell was going to ring, and she let out a sigh of relief. She was just about to walk into her classroom, when she realized something.
Where's my bag?
She must have left it, she thinks. She was in such a rush to get back, that she must have left it! She thinks back to where it could possibly be.
She guessed that where she left her body for today would be a pretty good start. If not that, then maybe where she had lunch, or at the vending machines, or–
"Hey, I think you left this." A hand was holding her bag right in front of her. Looking up, she could see Renji, looking a little perplexed.
"Thanks," she sighed out, taking the bag. She brought it to her chest, holding it tightly.
"It's no big deal," he said, looking away. He was shifting around, like something was on his mind, and Rukia wasn't sure if she wanted to know. "You've been acting pretty strange, lately," he finally says.
"Strange, how?" Rukia asks, trying to sound confused.
"Like, you've been running off with Shiba a lot," he explained, "and…I don't know, it just seems like something's up."
"I…" she trailed off. "It's nothing, really, but thanks for worrying."
He looked at her, looking hurt, looking like he maybe wanted to say something else.
"If you say so," he said. He walked in the class. The bell rang.
Part II
Heading out from school that day, Rukia felt on edge. Everything about her earlier fight felt…wrong. Nothing was wrong inherently, per say, but the fact that this case still wasn't solved, the strange presence at the end, and everything else surrounding it, that was strange. Still, there just wasn't much she could do about it.
She also couldn't stop thinking about Renji and that hurt look on his face after she looked him right in the eye and lied. The whole thing just made her stomach hurt.
"Rukia!" A voice called out. Ichigo was running straight for her, pulling on his walking shoes. His phone was buzzing.
"What is it this time?" she asked.
"This might be the one," he said. "It's close to where the last one attacked."
Rukia's hands tightened on her bag.
"Then we have to head over to Renji's right now. Who knows what that Hollow's doing."
"Why are you heading to my apartment?" Rukia paled and turned around. Behind them stood Renji.
"He was just talking about the new coffee shop that might be heading near your place, right Ichigo?" The words sounded weak, even to her, but she had to try. If there was one thing that Rukia didn't want, it was for Renji to get involved. Last time he had been caught in the crossfire of a Hollow fight he almost died. She didn't want to try for a second time. Sadly, she wouldn't be that lucky.
"No," he said, frowning, "I heard you say something about a Hollow. If one's going to my place, Yūichi could be in danger, my mom could be in danger." Renji's looked panicked, scared, but determined.
"You know what a Hollow is?" Rukia asked. She thought his memories had been wiped.
He waved her off saying, "Yūichi explained it to me. It doesn't matter. We're going." Rukia knew that tone, she knew that right now, there wasn't much anyone could do to stop him, but dammit…
"Renji, these things are dangerous," she tried to explain patiently. "You can't just charge in like you usually do!"
"So, what am I supposed to do, let you charge in? It's my mom, Rukia!"
"Hey, would you two shut up!" Ichigo yelled. The two froze mid argument, if only out of shock. He pointed at Renji. "You! If you want to come, fine. Just stay out of the way."
Rukia couldn't believe it, but Renji looked relieved. "Thank you," he said.
"Let's just get going before I change my mind."
The Shinigami led the way out of the gates. Rukia jogged to catch up, getting just close enough to say her piece.
"You can't be serious," she started, trying to stay out of Renji's earshot. "He can't defend himself, at all. He'll just get hurt."
"I can look after him," Ichigo assured. "I got enough power in me for that much. You just focus on killing the Hollow." Rukia frowned, and something in her chest twisted at that. Still, he hadn't lied to her yet.
"Okay," she said, "but if you let anything happen to him, I will kill you and then hunt you down to whatever afterlife Shinigami have to kill you again."
"I'll hold you to that."
They ran the entire way to Renji's apartment, the intermittent beeping from Ichigo's phone a constant reminder of the looming threat. Turning the corner, Rukia quickly realized it was a threat they were too late to beat. Renji was frozen beside her.
A hole was blown through the complex, smoking with debris sprinkling down from the wreckage. The apartment that had taken the worst damage, 1C, whose entrance was completely obliterated. Out of that hole crawled a Hollow with a large flat mask and frog-like limbs. In its slimy clenched fist it was holding a struggling parakeet. Though Rukia wasn't sure what he saw, this seemed to be enough to get Renji's legs to start working. He ran forward.
Before Rukia could yell out anything, Ichigo, glove already on his hand asked, "Ready Rukia?"
She gulped. Now wasn't the time for hesitation. "Ready." He slammed his hand into her chest, knocking her right out of her body, and knocking the wind out of her, too. Before she could quite regain her bearings, she unsheathed her sword, and turned to the monster.
It was quite literally looking down on her. It seemed to smile as it cracked its mouth open, and of all things, spoke.
"You've got a very tasty scent…" Its voice sounded more like a screech than speech. It was like nails on a chalkboard, like the growling of an animal. It was visceral, wild, and unnatural.
"It can talk," she almost whispered.
"Let me eat that Soul of yours!" The Hollow lunged for her, and she had less than a second to jump back and out of the way, narrowly missing a swipe from its free arm.
"Why can it talk?!" she yelled out.
"It doesn't matter!" Ichigo answered. He was eyeing the Hollow, too, moving to place himself between it and the apartment building before it even noticed.
Rukia repositioned her Zanpakuto in her hands and silently promised to make sure she'd keep that creature's attention. It ended up speaking again first.
"You're a Shinigami, right?" it asked in that sickly voice of its. "I remember seeing you yesterday." Rukia felt a spike of fear go through her heart. She certainly didn't remember.
"What are you talking about?"
It chuckled, "I had noticed your little attempt at spying, little Shinigami. I decided to spy back."
"Then why didn't you show yourself then? Would have saved us a lot of trouble," she said with a glare.
He took that time to lunge for her again, and again she sidestepped it, going in for her own strike quickly after. Then, it moved much faster than it should have been able to for its size. It dodged left, and swung back around, hitting her in the chest with one of its powerful feet.
She was choking on air for a second, there, lying flat on her back, katana centimeters from her hand, and before she could get up, it used that same foot to pin her down on the ground. It pressed down, making Rukia let out a grunt of pain through gritted teeth.
"I've dealt with Shinigami before. I know how you work. Actually, I've eaten two other Shinigami that have come for this brat," he shook the bird for emphasis, and the poor thing was completely petrified. Rukia started reaching, stretching to get her sword back in her hand. Its mouth turned up in a smile. "They tasted the best."
"Shit!" Ichigo cursed. Out of all the case scenarios, this was definitely the worst. He had figured that this Hollow had to be powerful, but this, this might be too much for Rukia to handle. He knew he had to do something. He looked back over his shoulder to Renji, cradling the still body of his mom, still alive, probably. Either they would have to wait, or all of them would end up dead in a few minutes.
Kidō was never his strong suit, but it would have to do.
"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Bakudo number thirty-three, Sōkatsui!" He saw the lightning appear at his fingertips, weaker than normal, but still there, still holding power. He aimed, and fired, right at the Hollow. It hit the creature right in the shoulder, and it stumbled with a snarl, inadvertently raising its foot off Rukia.
But that was it. There was impact, there was even some force, but the Hollow barely had a scratch on him. If he pulled something like that at his Lieutenant Exams, he probably would have been laughed out of the room.
For Rukia, this blow was all she needed. She reached the rest of the way to her sword and lodged it into the Hollow's near ankle.
"GAHHHHH!" It shrieked in pain, and when it stumbled back, Rukia realized why. Its foot was barely hanging on by a thread. She couldn't help but smile at the victory. There wasn't much he could do now without a foot.
Then, it started laughing.
"It really amuses me," it said between chuckled, "how stupid you Shinigami are. This is why you always get beaten by us." Rukia didn't have any time to think about what he meant by "us." Out of the fur on his shoulders he pulled out a small frog-like creature. Within seconds there were dozens of them surrounding her, and from the corner of her eye, she could see a few go for Ichigo, too. She didn't have time to worry about him, though.
She reeled back as three came, each from their own direction, and for a second, she was glad that this cumbersome sword was as long as it was. She sliced through all of them in one blow. Then another wave came, and another, and another, and she started missing some. A few came from behind or started reaching for her legs to bite and scratch at her, and as fast as she was to take them out the second they hit, new ones came even faster. She wasn't sure how long she could keep this up. She had to finish this quickly.
For what she hoped would be the final attack against these guys, she let loose a single elegant sweep, aiming carefully, to take down all the ones in front of her in one go. One by one, they all disintegrated, and then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed she missed one.
He didn't come for her, though. He spat at her, something dark that she couldn't make out that hit her solidly on the back. She took it out with one strike and reached behind her to feel her back.
Her hand came into contact with something wet…and slimy. In fact, it was a few somethings. It almost made her gag. She tugged one off and got a look for herself. It was like a leech, gelatinous, and pulsing. She immediately threw it to the ground, pulling off as many as her hands could reach. The Hollow was just sitting there, smirking, and nothing about that could be good. It was then that he let out a whistle, oddly forked tongue flickering out through the low sound.
CRACK!
She heard a loud popping sound, and before she even realized it, she was stumbling forward, her back lit up in pain. She had to stick her katana into the ground to keep herself from falling over entirely.
"Surprised, Shinigami? Those leeches are my own miniature bombs. They explode only in reaction to the sound from my tongue!"
Bad move, revealing your special attack's secret like that. Rukia spat on the ground and steeled herself. She needed to fight. If only she could get her legs to work.
"I still have business to take care of," the Hollow said with amusement, "like killing this one's little friend." He shook the bird in his hand once again, wringing out a chirping little cry. He limped over a struggling Ichigo and ducked into the hole in the apartment.
Renji's hands were shaking. He couldn't tell if his mom was breathing. He might be able to if he could just stop goddamn shaking, but of course he's useless in a situation like this.
Oh god, she wasn't moving. Blood was on her forehead because she got hit by god knew what, and it was all his fault.
She coughed.
"Mom!" he yelled, bringing her closer, but she didn't stir further. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and looked to the scene outside. It was confusing. This whole fucking mess was confusing. Shiba was lying on the ground struggling against…something. Rukia was lying still against a tree, and Yūichi was being held up in the air by some invisible hand. He was also coming closer.
"Take a good look, brat," a voice that Renji couldn't see the source of said, "at what happens when you try to stand up to me."
"Please! Don't hurt him!" Yūichi cried. He was shaking like a leaf.
"Don't hurt him?" The voice laughed. "This is all a part of the deal, remember. Or do you not want me to bring your precious mommy back?"
"You told him what?!" Shiba asked, still pinned to the pavement. He was thrashing as hard as he could. "You bastard!"
Yūichi was thrown up in the air, and caught by…dammit, this was getting confusing! Just as Renji thought this, a hand that he couldn't see, the same hand as before if he were to bet, grabbed him around the middle, trapping his arms to his side.
"I'm going to enjoy this."
He immediately started thrashing and kicking, and the monster started slowly squeezing the air out of him. Something about this, the invisible hand, this awful presence, it felt familiar, horribly familiar. He didn't remember how it ended last time, but it couldn't have been that bad if he were still here. When the hand squeezed tighter, he started feeling some fear.
He might actually die here, he thought. He might die, and his mom would be next, and then Rukia, and then Yūichi would have to go through all that pain all over again. He'd have to watch as more people who cared for him died, and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
"To hell with that!" he said to himself. The monster wasn't even paying attention. To hell with being scared. If Yūichi could take down this monster as a little kid, Renji sure as hell could now. He'd be a complete coward it he didn't at least try!
Suddenly, the Hollow started shrieking in pain, and the hand holding him released, dropping him to the ground, and for a second, Renji was confused, until he looked down at himself.
Spikes were sticking out of his arms, going up and out, looking sharper than any blade, and they looked an awful lot like his tattoos. Honestly, he still had no idea what was going on, but he thought that now, he might at least stand a chance against the big ugly beast.
Actually, he could almost see it. Right now, it was just a big blob of color, an odd shade of green, a white face, but at least he could aim at that. Bracing himself, he ran shoulder first into what he guessed was a leg. He connected, stuck briefly, ripping away just as it batted him off with its hand. He felt the air whoosh past his face at the blow, and he sure felt lucky it didn't connect. Still, there was no way the bastard was getting away that easily.
He was about to go right back when he noticed a strange black figure, and though he couldn't make out and features, it was the height that gave it away.
"Rukia?" he asked. He wasn't even questioning it anymore.
She seemed to be trying to tell him something, gesturing wildly with a sword, but he couldn't hear her. She was muffled, like she was underwater, but when she pointed right at Shiba, he understood.
"On it!" He started running straight toward Shiba, still struggling, and now he could even see what the guy was struggling against. He kicked away every little freak that was holding the guy down. They squealed, stumbled back, and climbed right back on. With a growl of frustration, he kept on kicking, Shiba having more luck shoving off a few others now that his arms were free.
Things changed when a spike jutted out of his leg, going straight through a creature, causing it to disintegrate in seconds.
"Well, this is a thing," Renji said to himself, staring at his leg. Shiba kicked away the last creature.
"Rukia! Get the bastard's tongue!" he yelled. Renji's eyes immediately went to her. As unfocused as it was, he could see her lunge for the Hollow, sword going right through its mouth. It screeched in pain, and with her sword came out something else. He guessed that she must have gotten its tongue.
Renji was able to see more and more of the ensuing battle as it went on, and boy was it a sight to behold. Rukia was a goddamn force of nature, slashing and stabbing as the pathetic creature struggled. She didn't let up the whole time, until finally, with a grand strike, she cut its mask cleanly in half. By now, he could see her clearly, landing gracefully, victorious.
This time, however, the Hollow didn't just turn to dust like its little minions. Behind it appeared a towering gate guarded by twin skeletons, there to open the doors. Through the gate came an impossibly huge hand holding a knife. It skewered the stunned creature, and dragged it in, chuckling with glee. The gates crumbled the second they slammed shut.
Renji felt himself let out a heavy breath. He was beyond the point of caring. At least it was over.
"That's hell," Shiba said, voice cold and unforgiving. "No less than the bastard deserves."
"Is it over?" Yūichi asked, flying weakly to Renji. He landed in Renji's outstretched hands.
"I think so," he answered, relieved.
"Let me take a look at him," Shiba said. He began examining the bird with an outstretched hand, gentler than Renji thought possible. Rukia walked over then, looking drained, to see what was happening.
They waited there with baited breath for what seemed like forever. Finally, Ichigo pulled back and solemnly shook his head.
"There's not much I can do," he admitted. "He's been out of his body for too long." Yūichi wilted in Renji's hands. Shiba continued, though, with an uneasy smile, "You know, the next life ain't so bad. You don't get hungry, you get a new body…"
"You can find you mom again, too," Rukia added, with her own smile. Yūichi started perking up.
"Really?" he asked.
"Really," Shiba said. Yūichi nodded slowly.
Shiba then straightened up, and looked to Rukia saying, "New lesson, how to help a Soul pass on." Shiba began explaining the process of "Konso" to Rukia, but Renji wasn't listening.
"Hey," Renji started, "Make sure to remember, okay. I'll have to go to the next life sooner or later too, ya know. It'd be a shame if we weren't still friends." As he said this he started seeing Yūichi, and not just as the bird in his hands. Behind the parakeet stood a seven-year-old boy with curly brown hair and freckles.
He smiled, saying, "I'll remember."
"You ready?" Rukia asked, crouching down next to the boy. She had her sword in her hand, blade facing away from the boy.
He nodded, closing his eyes tightly, completely tense, but after a second, he cracked one open, looked at Renji, and relaxed.
"I'm ready," he said.
Rukia brought the hilt of her sword up to Yūichi's forehead and pressed the end of the pommel to it. His expression started relaxing, like he was falling asleep, and right before Renji's eyes he faded away.
If at that moment, Renji felt tears sting at his eyes, it was no one else's business.
Part III
The clean up was pretty hefty, here. Rukia wasn't even sure how they'd account for property damage, but Ichigo assured her not to worry about it. After that, he went to altering some memories.
The device he used to do it looked completely ridiculous. It was small, and looked a lot like a lighter, and when he clicked it, tiny chicken heads spouted out on springs. It looked more like a kid's toy than anything, but he assured her it would work just fine on Renji's mom and the landlord, as well as any other witnesses. It wouldn't work on anyone with spiritual powers, though, so this would end up being an incident Renji wouldn't forget.
After that, he took some time healing Renji's mom (something he could apparently do) and even took care of the worst of the burns on Rukia's back. Then, the two left, Renji insisting he be there when his mom wakes up.
"You probably need someone to help with the cover story, anyway," he said, laying her down on the couch.
"Not like I'm gonna stop you," Ichigo said with a smirk. "Just keep in mind that these memory replacers tend to make up some strange things."
"Yeah, I will."
He didn't say anything to Rukia. He just gave her a long solemn look, a promise that yes, they would be talking about this later.
They parted ways after that, and now here they were. Rukia was back in her body, and walking back with Ichigo, mentally debating the merits of actually doing her homework, or saying screw it and sleeping for the next twelve hours. Her tired body knew the answer.
The fight had gone well, all things considering. Everyone was alive, the Hollow was defeated, and… She couldn't stop thinking about it, about that monster. She stopped.
"Was that Hollow a human?" she asked.
Ichigo paused, thinking for a moment before answering, "Yeah."
"And I'm gonna guess that's not the only one, either," she said, biting the inside of her cheek. "It's the same for all of them, isn't it?"
He nodded, and she started feeling a little sick.
"So, when I kill them…"
"It's like performing a Konso," he said quickly. "You just send their Soul to wherever it needs to go." Rukia felt the tension leave her shoulders.
"That still doesn't explain how a regular Soul becomes a monster like that," she said, questioning. "Were they all like him, bad people? Is this their punishment."
"No, not all of them," he said confidently. "For a lot of them, you're saving them. No one wants to be stuck a monster. Almost no one, anyway…" His eyes hardened. Rukia supposed that Hollow she destroyed before was always a monster, though. He continued, "As for how they're made, Souls usually become Hollows when they're left too long, or the owner of the Soul didn't really want to leave in the first place."
"Not want to leave?" Rukia asked. She'd seen Spirits reluctant to leave before, but usually, they managed it eventually. "What would a Soul like that look like?"
Ichigo just shook his head, saying, "Trust me, you don't want to see it." He left it at that. Eventually, they parted ways, too, Ichigo going who knows where. Rukia headed home.
Walking in, she felt exhausted. The quiet house was a relief if anything. She dragged herself up to her room, trying to keep her focus firmly on her bed. Right now, she just wanted to rest. She fell asleep before her head even hit the pillow.
Next week is going to be a little...experimental. I'm trying a format where every fifth chapter I take a break from the main story to make a chapter that takes place either at a different place, a different time, or sometimes both. These will range from comedic to serious, and are mostly here to provide much needed backstory every so often without doing something like taking an entire arc to do so. Next week, we'll be exploring Renji and Rukia's backstory.
