Here it is, just as promised. I use some pieced together Japanese for something that is a spoiler in this chapter. By the time you finish you should understand, but if anyone in my audience happens to know a bit of Japanese and finds an error in anything here or in anything I use in the future, I would love to talk with you and fix it. Message me any time.

Please Enjoy!


Part I

Rukia's fingers thrummed against the surface of her desk as she eyed her bag. She could hear Renji's foot tap, tap, tapping beside her, could see Chizuru impatiently fiddle with her pencil, and could feel Keigo practically buzzing in his seat. Even the teacher wasn't exempt from this anticipation, as he was alternating between thumbing through paperwork and glancing at the clock.

It was mere minutes before Summer Break began, and the wait was agony.

Glancing through her summer assignments, Rukia's mind drifted through all the things she'd do over the break. She was sure her friends had some plans and that she'd end up going along for more than a few. There was also that book series she'd been meaning to get through for a while, but in all honesty, Hollow hunting would probably take priority.

She wondered how long she'd be doing this "Substitute Shinigami" thing. She had kind of assumed these powers were temporary, but for as long as she'd had them, they showed no signs of fading. A part of her found the prospect of keeping these amazing powers exciting, but another part of her felt guilty.

As her powers continued to grow and develop, Ichigo remained powerless. Though he would never say as much, his situation had barely improved, and that worried her.

Rukia's thoughts were interrupted by a soft buzzing sound, the vibration of a cellphone. It took her a second to realize that it was Ichigo's, ringing quietly in his pocket.

The tapping of her fingers increased in speed as she waited for him to jump up, start making an excuse about his aunt and for her, Renji, and Ishida to follow quickly behind.

He did none of those things.

Ichigo was staring off into space, a blank look on his face as he leaned back in his desk, caught up in god knows what. For a second, she thought he was just bored, and had spaced out for a moment. This last day of school had been rather boring, after all, but something in the slight clench of his hands and the tension in his jaw told Rukia that there was something else going on here. She just didn't know what.

Glancing back at his still buzzing pocket, though, she figured that realization would have to wait. She needed to snap him out of this, first.

Rukia reached for the green pill in her breast pocket, quietly popping it into her mouth, hoping that everyone who happened to see would just assume it was some kind of mint. Her body slumped over briefly as she stood up beside her desk. Paku raised her head quickly, eyes darting toward Rukia who simply held a finger up to her lips. No need to raise suspicion too quickly.

She turned to Ichigo and tapped him on the shoulder and within seconds he was upright. His eyes went to her, and then to his pocket, and they widened in realization. He raised his hand.

"Mr. Akibara, I have to go!" he called. The teacher looked up from his work.

He sighed, "Who is it this time, your Uncle or your Aunt?" Ichigo dug his phone out of his pocket, raising it up to the teacher.

"Uncle," he said with a sheepish smile. The teacher's frown deepened.
"Well, I suppose you can go a little early," Mr. Akibara said, though he didn't look too happy about it. Ichigo wasted absolutely no time in getting up and almost sprinting out the door, Rukia silently chasing after him

"I should go, too!" Renji said, raising his own hand. The teacher looked at him critically, and lowering his hand, he said quieter, "I mean, since we're friends and all." He was smart enough not to wait for an answer, and gathered his bag, coming right behind them.

Rukia didn't quite catch Ishida's excuse, something about Ichigo's Uncle being in his father's hospital right before he calmly walked after them. Judging by the slight smirk on his face, the teacher's reaction wasn't great. By the time they reached the shoe lockers Ichigo's brain was back to functioning properly, and he was checking the coordinates on the Hollow Tracker. She leaned over to get a decent look of her own.

"There's…" She squinted at the display. "Are there two of them?"

"Yeah," Ichigo confirmed. "They're in the Warehouse district."

"Seriously?" Renji groaned. "That far?"

"Do you think you'll have trouble keeping pace, Abarai?" Ishida asked, a challenging tinge to his voice.

Renji replied with a smirk, "You wish. I could outrun you any day, four-eyes."

"Focus," Ichigo growled. The two shut up immediately, but Rukia could tell from the looks in their eyes that this was far from settled. Ichigo continued, "We could be facing two feuding Hollows. We need to be ready for anything."

It was during the incident with Ishida's Hollow-bait that Rukia found out Hollows were incredibly territorial, something that could normally only be observed in Hueco Mundo, where the population density was greater. Under the right circumstances, though… Incidents like this tended to happen in the World of the Living, too.

Ichigo glanced down at his phone one more time before snapping it closed and saying, "Follow me."

The group ran ahead, taking a sharp left, going as quickly as they could to their destination. Normally, Ichigo would lead the charge, eyes going to the coordinates every so often to give directions to the others, but today, Ishida and Renji ran ahead, locked neck and neck in a race, pushing each other ahead. Rukia nearly rolled her eyes at the display. She could hear Ichigo mutter to himself about "troublesome human boys" beside her.

A few minutes in and the two "troublesome human boys" started taunting each other.

"You gettin' tired already, Ishida?" Renji asked with a grin.

"If anything, I'm holding back," he said back flatly, but a certain glint in his eyes gave him away.

"Oh, are you now?"

The two pushed on faster ahead in that moment, their destination almost in sight. Just as they were about to enter the property, however and declare a winner, a cloud of dust was kicked up by a sudden wind blasting through the road.

The cause of this wind stood in front of the warehouse doors with a smug grin.

"I win!" Paku cheered. The two boys groaned.

"That's not exactly fair," grumbled Ishida.

"You weren't even in the race!" complained Renji.

Paku put her hands on her hips. "Well, I–"

"Shhh!" Ichigo held up a hand, causing them all to silence. His eyes were firmly on the warehouse doors. There was something wrong, very wrong.

"Why is it so quiet?" Paku asked in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, aren't there two Hollows in there?" asked Renji.

Ichigo dug his phone out of his pocket, flipping it open just to double check. In the meantime, Rukia did her own investigating, closing her eyes to try and parse whatever presences were behind that door. She opened her eyes.

"There are definitely two in there," she said with a frown.

With a nod Ishida added, "I can feel them, too. They're oddly calm." Ichigo shut his phone again.

"I don't like this," the Shinigami said. "We need to proceed with caution, go in quietly."

"We can take the roof," Rukia suggested. "Me and Ichigo could go in from the northern entrance. You three can take the southern one." Ichigo nodded in agreement.

"Works for me," Renji said.

They split up after that, heading to their assigned stations. Rukia leaped up to a ledge on the northern side where a window was open at the very top of the building. She peered inside.

"Another day, another satisfying meal, eh?" one of the Hollows jeered. It had large clawed hands with pincers on its jaw. It had a huge tail as thick as its waist and as long as its body that ended in a wicked looking stinger. It was crouched over the terrified Spirit of a middle-aged man. Even from here, Rukia could tell he was trembling.

"Pfft, all you ever think about is eating," the other one teased. This one had a more human shape, though it was unnaturally large and as muscular as an ox. It crossed its beefy arms the size of pillars. "Playing with your food first is much more fun." It grinned down at the Spirit at that, the man stumbling back a few steps until he hit a brick wall.

Rukia almost stepped back in her shock. These Hollows weren't fighting each other, at all. If anything, it looked like they were working together. Intelligent Hollows were rare enough, but this… She turned to Ichigo and saw that he looked just as confused as she was.

"What do we do now?" Rukia whispered. Ichigo's scowl deepened.

"Nothing changes," he said. "We defeat the Hollows and protect that Spirit. It's as simple as that."

With a nod, Rukia took a deep breath. Widening the opening of window, careful not to fall off the ledge entirely, she reached for her Zanpakuto. She stepped onto the windowsill and watched as Ishida climbed out the window on the other side onto a railed path, Paku and Renji right behind. They gave each other affirmative nods and stepped down.

Just as Rukia's foot landed on the concrete, one of the Hollows, Pincers, suddenly froze, nose up in the air. Rukia halted to a stop and took a steadying breath.

"Someone's here," Pincers said.

"What?!" asked Muscles incredulously. "You said this place was empty!"

On the other side of the building, Ishida was drawing his bow, an arrow ready. He waited.

"It was!" insisted Pincers, eyes still in the air. Rukia stepped back, pressing against the wall and out of sight.

"Well, who is it?" Muscles asked angrily. Pincers let out his own angry chirrup.

"I'm not sure. I don't recognize all of these smells, but…" Its eyes widened. "It's a Shinigami!"

Ishida let loose his arrow at that moment, and Rukia leaped forward off the railed path.

Muscles fell to the side, diving out of the way of Ishida's arrow. Its eyes darted up to the source of the attack, and met Ishida, blancing gracefully on the railing. With an angry yell, it slammed its fist against the wall. The entire building shook.

They hit the ground one after another then, boxing in the Hollows. The fight had begun.

"Paku!" Rukia called. "Get that Spirit out of here!"

"On it!" Paku ran ahead as quickly as she could, barreling into the Spirit, and throwing him over her shoulder before darting out of the door, leaving only upturned dust behind. With that, Rukia faced her opponent.

Pincers wasted no time aiming its tail right at her, crouching to the ground and striking, fast as lightning. She rolled out of the way, a Kidō spell courtesy of Ichigo going right over her head. It hit the Hollow in the chest, pushing it back. It let out an angry growl.

She kept the fight on the other end of the arena in the corner of her eye, watching as Renji grappled with Muscles and Ishida stayed to the side, trying to get the perfect finishing shot in. Her own cat and mouse game with Pincers quickly required her full attention, however.

In between its claws, the nasty pincers on its mouth, and the dangerous prehensile tail, she had her hands full. It would aim at her, and hit with deadly force, her barely having time to dodge, while simultaneously trying to get in her own swipes. It would have hit her several times over by now if Ichigo wasn't there aiming Kidō spells to keep it at bay.

That being said, the spells he was using weren't as effective as usual. As another hit the Hollow's armored stomach, the creature was pushed back by the heavy impact, but it recovered immediately, swiping at Rukia with open claws. The spell didn't even leave a dent. Either this Hollow's armor was thicker than most, or Ichigo was off his game.

As another ineffective spell impacted, quickly brushed off by a smugly grinning Hollow, Rukia thought it just might be both. Still, weak as the spells may be, they're still saving her ass, here. She glanced back at him.

He was pale, staring at his hands in dismay, the next spell caught up in his throat.

Oh no.

Pincers seemed to notice as well, as he tried to sidestep Rukia, swinging around to stab his tail right at Ichigo. She had barely a second to put herself in the way, using her large Zanpakuto to block the stinger.

"Ichigo!" she yelled. Pincers took that moment to lean in harder, pushing with enough force to make Rukia skid back in the dusty concrete. Still, she kept her defense strong. She called again with more desperation, "Ichigo!" The Hollow let out a low chuckle.

This seemed to be enough to snap the Shiba out of it. Within seconds he had completed his spell, and fired, aiming right for the Hollow's eyes. It landed with a harsh BANG!

Immediately, Pincers reeled back, screeching. It flailed wildly, claws, tail and other sharp bits reaching for whatever it could grab. Rukia was forced back by the struggling, the tail almost swiping her in the stomach.

Ichigo…he was frozen again. His eyes looked panicked, but it was as if his feet were rooted to the ground.

The Hollow's wild strikes continued as it started hitting the ground in front of it, advancing toward Ichigo. Rukia saw one of the claws aim right toward Ichigo's chest and her heart just about stopped. Time slowed down.

She ran forward, legs carrying her before she even knew what she was doing. Her Zanpakuto was already in front of her and she was leaping in before the Hollow. She got ready to slice its mask, but in the back of her mind, she knew she wouldn't make it in time.

Her sword connected, slicing it clean through. Pincers dissolved in seconds. After that: silence.

She didn't wait to sheath her Zanpakuto. She just ran through the already disappearing remains of Pincers, vaguely noticing that Muscles was already gone. All she was concerned about was Ichigo. She reached him in seconds.

He was on the ground and getting up slowly. He looked scuffed up, but otherwise…fine. What immediately caught her eye after that was Renji, crouched over Ichigo, and trying to get up, but struggling. He had a gash spanning his shoulder blade. Blood was quickly staining the shirt fabric around it. With a barely controlled gasp, she ran to his side, and started easing him to a sitting position. Renji groaned.

"Idiot wasn't moving," Renji grumbled, one eye cracked open, "so I moved him." His voice was tight, but he was smiling, the liar.

"Shit," Ichigo hissed out, eyes wide. He looked panicked, like he only now truly noticed it. He stammered out, "I-I know a bit of healing."

He got up fully, kneeling by Renji placing another steadying hand on the human, finally seeing the full damage, he cursed under his breath. His hands were shaking, but when he whispered out a spell, they glowed with a soothing orange light. He placed his palm on the wound, and immediately, Renji started to relax in Rukia's grip.

They sat there together for a couple of minutes. No one moved until the orange light flickered and finally went out. When Ichigo moved his hand away, the wound was much smaller. The bleeding had stopped, and Renji was already looking better. When he smiled, it wasn't nearly as strained. Still, the wound wasn't gone, not by a longshot.

"I have a first aid kit at home," Ishida said from the side. "I should be able to take over from here."

Renji scoffed, "I'll be fi–"

"Renji you aren't fine!" Rukia interrupted. It was then that she realized that her chest was still heaving. Her eyes were burning, and maybe, she wasn't ready to see something like that. Maybe she'd never be. She took a steadying breath before finally saying, "Just go with Ishida. You can meet up with us when you're better."

Her best friend looked up at her after that, surprise plain on his face. Rukia looked right back, unwavering, and after a beat, he answered.

"Okay," he said calmly. "Maybe I'm not 'fine', but I will be, you know?"

Rukia nodded. He better.

After that, Ishida helped Renji up, slinging an arm over his shoulder. They went out of the building together at a slow pace. Behind her, she heard the back door of the warehouse open, and by the time she turned to look, she saw Ichigo, back turned, disappearing from behind the door before it closed quietly behind him. She almost got up to chase after him, but before she could, Paku walked in through the front, appraising the scuffed-up interior of the place with raised eyebrows.

"Looks like you guys beat those dumb Hollows, already," she said with a whistle. "The Spirit's out front, by the way."

Right, she still had a job to finish. First perform a Konso, then go after Ichigo. She got up, her sheathed Zanpakuto in hand.

"I'll be right there."

Part II

Ichigo…was not okay, it wasn't as if he were hurt, hell, it'd have been better if he was the one hurt, but…

He ran quickly down the dimming streets of Karakura, weaving past any random passerby. He just knew he needed to go away, far away.

Yesterday, he had gotten the news, that the Soul Society knew where he was, what had happened. He knew his days were numbered. They were coming for him, and that was why he needed to go. He needed to make sure no one else was hurt in the process.

Except someone already was.

He couldn't get that moment out of his head. His mind was gods knew where for that entire battle (for the entire day, really) but he still remembered that moment far too clearly. The claws came for him, and he just stood there, dumbfounded. Renji came crashing into him, came to save him, and he'd been hurt.

He squeezed his eyes shut against the memory and ran faster. It wasn't a surprise when he tripped on some upturned pavement and ate dirt.

"Shit…" he muttered, opening his eyes again. He dragged himself up to his knees, ignoring his burning arms that he caught himself with. He sat back on his heels, and just stayed there.

Renji was even more of an idiot that Ichigo thought. He should have known it was useless to save someone that was already dead.

"Hey!"

Ichigo's dark thoughts were halted by a voice. He looked up, and his breathing smoothed. It was time.

"Finally stopped running, didn't you?" the same voice asked with a sneer. With that, a figure jumped from the trees above, landing right in front of him. When he saw who it was, however, he was shocked.

"Tatsuki," he breathed out. She scoffed.

"I'm surprised you still know my name. I mean, you went AWOL for a whole two months." He didn't answer her. He just kept his head down. Her eyes narrowed in something akin to disgust. "So, what," she continued. "You're just going to sit there? Say something, coward."

He didn't, even when she reached for her Zanpakuto. A larger hand stopped hers, just as she touched the hilt.

"That's enough, Tatsuki," another voice said. This one had Ichigo's heart skipping a beat.

For this person, he raised his head. He looked this newcomer right in the eye, and the eyes that stared back at him were his father's.

"Sorry, Captain Shiba," Tatsuki said, withdrawing her hand with a bow.

"He's going to come peacefully, anyway," Isshin Shiba said, face unreadable. "Aren't you?"

Ichigo smiled a mirthless painful smile.

"Yeah, I will, goat-face." Even on a good day, he couldn't beat these two together, and now, weakened as he was, he was ready to accept his fate. He would go quickly and quietly.

What took place next would assure that would never happen.

Part III

Rukia ran as fast as she could toward…well, she wasn't really sure. Her goal was Ichigo, but she had lost sight of him a while ago. She was stuck trying to find traces of his weak spiritual pressure, merely hoping that she was headed in the right direction. Maybe she was completely off base, but with this much worry and anxiety fueling her, she doubted it. (It helped that Paku was searching elsewhere, and with her speed, they were bound to find something.)

She knew something had been off with Ichigo. She knew she should have said something earlier. She didn't, and now she was going to deal with it, fix it if she could, even if it wasn't the type of problem one person could fix. He had done so much for her, given her these powers, the powers that allowed her to protect those close to her. She could do at least this much for him.

She ended up racing around more streets than she could count in her search, and just as she was about to give up and check in on Paku again, she felt two huge Reiatsu.

Shinigami.

She ran forward as quickly as she could, turning the corner. Maybe she should have been a bit more cautious approaching two foreign Shinigami without any plan to speak of, but at that moment she didn't care.

She saw two Shinigami, an older man with a scruffy face in a White Haori and a girl with spiky black hair and a badge strapped to her shoulder, standing over a kneeling and defeated Ichigo, and then she saw red.

"What's going on here?" Rukia asked, stepping into the light. Her hand was on her Zanpakuto, a clear threat.

"Who's asking?" the girl asked with a glare. She put her own hand on her Zanpakuto. With narrowed eyes, she continued, "No one else was supposed to be here. State your Captain and Division, Shinigami."

"Don't have one," Rukia said with a smirk. "I'm here for Ichigo." The Shinigami girl's eyes widened for a moment right before her face broke out into a dangerous grin, more snarl than smile.

"No Captain, huh?" She slid her Zanpakuto out of its sheath. "You're the human, aren't you? The one that Ichigo gave his powers to." Her Zanpakuto was pointed right at Rukia, now. The Substitute took a step back and brandished her own sword.

"Tatsuki, don't!" Ichigo yelled desperately.

"Shut up!" Tatsuki warned. Ichigo almost flinched. "You don't have a say in this fight! This is between me and the human."

Rukia gulped, tightening her grip on her sword, and between one breath and another, Tatsuki attacked. Rukia barely even had time to raise her blade to block.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed back against the Shinigami, sending the other girl a half step back before the Shinigami swung back again with full force, that wicked grin still plain on her face.

Tatsuki was aggressive, that much was obvious. She kept the fight close, made every little move on her own terms, and hit viciously and without mercy.

A few moments into this brutal close-quarters fighting, a heavy stroke from above had Rukia halting her attacks entirely as she dodged left. The blade swiped through, right where her head was, the tip barely grazing her cheek, leaving a shallow gash in its wake. She took another large step back after that, guard fully up as she panted in place. Tatsuki stood in front of her, still grinning, not having even broken a sweat.

"You're not bad, human," she growled out. "You're still standing!" She punctuated her sentence with a vicious downward strike, coming close enough to Rukia that she could almost feel her breath. The human struggled to hold the blow back with her own blade as the other girl kept on pressing down ever harder.

Now, though Rukia didn't know for sure, she had a good feeling that if she tried going against this girl with strength alone, she'd lose based on their size difference alone. Luckily, she also knew that in fights like these, strength was never the end all be all.

Rukia canted her sword at an angle. She felt the exact moment Tatsuki's footing shifted as she tried to make up for the change. Their blades slid against each other, and for a moment Tatsuki fell. That moment was all Rukia needed to lash out with her own wide arching swipe, a swipe that Tatsuki was just fast enough to avoid, well, almost avoid.

The Shinigami stood there, a nasty gash on her bicep.

"You really are something, aren't you?" The annoyance on her face was plain to see, but somewhere in there, Rukia could see something else entirely. It was her eyes. They shone with an intensity that couldn't be missed.

"Ichigo was a good teacher," Rukia said back, brushing the blood off her cheek. Tatsuki's facsimile of a grin turned down into an enraged scowl.

"Don't you dare speak his name!" She rushed forward at that, attacking with full force, as precise as she was angry. Their blades locked together. She continued, "You don't get that! Not when he's getting executed because of you!"

Rukia's heart almost stopped for the second time that day.

"Executed?" she asked quietly. Tatsuki's eyes widened briefly before her expression hardened.

"Yeah, because you stole his powers," she snarled out. Rukia pushed back in that moment, causing Tatsuki stumble with more force than she thought she was capable of.

"So, you're taking him away, then," Rukia panted out, "because of me." Tatsuki stood back, flicking off the blood on her forehead from the blow.

"Those are my orders, yeah." As she said this, she brought her Zanpakuto in front of her again.

She understood now, what was going on, and in some ways, it was horrifying. This news terrified Rukia down to her core, sent her reeling with all kinds of guilt. That was exactly why she couldn't let it paralyze her. Rukia prepared herself for another attack, but that wasn't what she got from the Shinigami.

"You're about to see something cool, human," Tatsuki said, adjusting her grip on her Zanpakuto, "my Shikai." Rukia took a cautious step back. "Blaze, Yakeruni!"

The energy that suddenly came was immense, washing over the area like a sudden burst of boiling steam, and Tatsuki's blade transformed before Rukia's eyes. What was originally just a regular Zanpakuto turned dark as ash, the blade itself becoming much larger and curved with serrated edges that became just plain jagged as they reached the tip. From it she could feel a heat, even from this distance.

What this was exactly, Rukia didn't know. She didn't have time to ask as Tatsuki attacked immediately.

She started with the same close quarters combat she used at the beginning, keeping the pressure on Rukia, but the second their blades hit a deadlock, the uncomfortable heat shot up as flames licked forth from the blade. Rukia backed away as quickly as she could, trying to escape the fire. She ended up with singed sleeves, anyway.

Before she could even prepare another attack, Tatsuki proved her retreat to be a big mistake. She held her Shikai above her head and with a downward arc, sent a wave of flames Rukia's way. Rukia dodged left, but the sheer scope meant one of them caught through her leg, burning through the fabric of her Hakama (and her skin itself if the sudden burning pain was any indication.)

Tatsuki didn't let up after that, sending volley after volley of flames Rukia's way. Almost every single on at least grazed her, but to her luck, she never got a full-frontal fireball to the face. Still, they kept coming, and that made Rukia start to panic.

I don't think I can last much longer like this!

She knew she needed to switch things up, change the course of the battle. The important question was: How? For this one, she didn't have an answer. Then again, thinking back, maybe she did.

She remembered when she sent her Reiatsu through Ishida. He wasn't just weak, he was shivering after he got overloaded. Maybe it was the shock, or maybe…

If she has fire power, who's to say I don't have the opposite?

It was a longshot, but it was all she had.

"Come on!" Tatsuki taunted. "Show me the power that took down a Menos!" Oh, Rukia would, once she got in place for the right shot. This was easier said than done, of course.

Tatsuki kept up a defense as tight as her offense, but that didn't make her perfect. It definitely didn't make her unreadable. Rukia had noticed that whenever she got in a little close, Tatsuki would put some distance between them, take a few steps back and fire another volley of flames. It seemed that for as strong as she was in close quarters, her Shikai wasn't quiet compatible with that style.

Bingo!

The next time Tatsuki sent out an attack, Rukia went forward instead of to the side or back. She powered through the flames, dodging around the worst of it, and gritting her teeth when they bit through her already singed arm. She stepped in close to Tatsuki, out of the range of her sword.

Tatsuki's eyes widened as she brought her Zanpakuto in front of her to block, and the second they met, the moment flames started pouring down, Rukia fought back with her own Reiryoku, pumping as much through their connection as possible. The effect was instant and brutal.

The area around became cold as power flowed between the two of them, and Rukia felt her own blade cool in her hands. The flames quieted substantially, and Tatsuki froze in place, eyes wide. Her hands were trembling, and the sound of clattering metal rang out.

"How…?" She asked, breath puffing out in a fog.

With the Shinigami so unsteady, it wasn't too hard for Rukia to push Tatsuki back, knocking her Zanpakuto clear out of her hands. The flames instantly ceased, and Rukia raised her own to deal the finishing blow. She swung down.

Her Zanpakuto swept through air.

Rukia looked down to her sword, confused, and a little dazed. Less than half of it was there. She was holding it in her hands, but it was broken. She could see the other half in pieces on the asphalt.

She saw white on her right side, and it took her a second to realize that the Shinigami in the Haori was standing next to her. His blade was drawn. Before she even fully realized what happened that blade was buried in her stomach. She heard Ichigo call her name, but it was muffled, like she was underwater.

After that, everything got…confusing. She was falling, and then she was on the ground, but she doesn't remember hitting it, and everything was fuzzy. Time began to slow to a crawl.

In the distance, the man in the White Haori was grabbing Tatsuki, hefting her over his shoulder. Right in front of her, Ichigo was kneeling. His hands were on her shoulders, and he was yelling something she couldn't hear.

Why was he panicking? She was still alive, wasn't she? She could still fix this, couldn't she? Rukia tightened her grip on her stub of a Zanpaktuo. She wedged it into the ground and used it to start pushing herself up.

Abruptly, it was kicked out from under her, and she hit the ground hard, landing right on her wound. Maybe it was the sudden flash of pain, but these next words she heard very clearly.

"Please, Rukia. Just stay down. Stay down so you can live a bit longer."

It was Ichigo. She knew it was, even if she couldn't see his face. She could hear him. He sounded like he was crying. She'd never seen him cry before.

Now, she could see his feet. His scuffed up uniform shoes took stuttering steeps to a bright doorway that wasn't there before. He was flanked by the Shinigami. The door closed.

Rukia's fists clenched, and her chest tightened. Her eyes burned, and before she could even think to control it, tears were running down her face. With her forehead pressed into the rough ground, she started to sob. It wasn't as if anyone could hear her, anyway.

Ichigo was going to die.

She was already dead.

These were the last thoughts she had before her blurry vision faded entirely. The last thing she saw were a pair of wooden sandals.

Part IV

Ichigo felt like he was already dead.


This story will be moving into the next arc of Bleach very soon. With that will come plenty of new story elements and announcements. During this strange little transitional period I would love to hear any kind of feedback from you, my precious readers.

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