Author's Note: This is short. It is also, I fear, absolute rubbish. I done it hoping that it would add a lil' tension! yay! I'll update when I can. Enjoy!
"Ichi!?" Rukia called desperately. "Ichigo!!"
She squinted upwards. The rain was so heavy she feared blindness if she ramined eye-contact with the sky too long. Thicker, darker clouds rolled in and she heard the faint sound of rumbling up above.
"Thunder..." She whispered to herself. The Death god tugged at her drenched gym shorts that reached her knees. Her clothes were so wet that they stuck uncomfortably to her skin. Her once perfectly formed ponytail had now become rats' tails, and her feet were literally swimming inside her trainers. Rukia wasn't insulated at all. She just seemed to be getting colder and colder - becoming numb with the dreadful weather.
"I hate the rain..." She felt the tears prickle behind her eyes, blurring her vision. The black-haired girl shuddered as she leaned up against a tree. "I wish Ichi was here..."
She remained motionless for a while; her eyes closed deep in thought. This experience brought back memories of the days long before she met Ichigo. All the way back to that night when Kaien's life ended. She didn't recall telling Ichigo about what happened. It was probably of little importance to him - a worthless piece of information that had no relation to him what-so-ever and so need not be heard. But Rukia could see many similarities between the late lieutenant and the fifteen-year-old. The way they made her feel, their whole attitudes - even though Kaien's was a little more openly kind - their whole image, almost everything.
Despite it being quite a few years since Kaien's passing, and despite the circumstances where completely understood by Ganju and Kuukaku - guilt remained embedded in her skull like an irremovable stain. Not matter how much others comforted her and told her it wasn't her fault - she continued to feel the same. Thanks to that incident, it seemed that she felt bad about every little thing. Regretting giving Ichigo her powers; thinking that she'd done something terrible to him - convincing herself that she'd made his life difficult...
She suddenly felt like laughing at herself.
Come on, Rukia. Pull yourself together! Look at yourself! Stuck out in this cold weather - trying to look out for someone who clearly dosen't want to be looked out for. She thought for a moment. But, what about the things he said earlier...I'm sure he wouldn't just make those things up! Like he said, even though he won't be open about it - he needs help sometimes, and I should help him. Despite how much of a shit he can be, he's worth the trouble, right?
Rukia hastily wiped her eyes clean of tears. Calm down...If you just keep calm, you're thinking will straighten out. After all, the situation with Kaien was completely different from now...
A wild wind started to blow from nowhere, adding bitterness to the already dreadful temperature.
Ichigo finally stopped running. Funny how he could just keep going when he wasn't concentrating on winning against a short female Death god called Rukia. The rain still hadn't eased, and the sky just seemed to grow grimmer and grimmer. As did his thoughts.
He stood before his house. He wasn't ready to go in yet. Though the weather was terribly cold and he had no coat to keep himself dry, he didn't want to go in.
Suddenly, the front door creaked open to reveal a small feminine figure holding a bag of trash. "Ichi-nii?"
"I-Ichigo!!??" Isshin stammered, shocked to see his son home so early. "Ichigo? How comes you're home at this hour? There's still a few more hours left at school!"
"Yeah, I know." He mumbled in reply.
"Well, what happened? Did they send you home because of the stinkin' weather? That's what happened to Yuzu and Karin."
"That's right." Yuzu smiled sweetly like always.
"Or did you jus' decide that you didn't wanna attend today?" Karin smirked, casually eating a banana.
"Well, Ichi, did you get sent home or not?" His father continued to inquire.
He sounds exactly like Rukia...
"Ichi-nii, you look hungry - let me fix you up something nice and warm."
"We all know what fifteen-year-olds are like, right Ichi?" Karin teased.
"Ichigo, I want to know. Is it bullying or what? I can't have you escaping from school whenever you feel like it!"
"It'll be delicious! And it only takes a few minutes to cook!" Yuzu heated up the oven.
"Naughty boy, Ichi!"
"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!!!!" Ichigo screamed, clutching his ears. "I can't even think straight! You're all at me all the freakin' time! Yuzu, I don't wanna eat! Karin, just shut up! And Dad, yes I ran outta school - but NO it isn't bullying! It's something you guys wouldn't understand so just be quiet and leave me the HELL alone!!"
The orange-haired boy ran upstairs and into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
The kitchen was completely silent, something that the Kurosaki kitchen had never ever been. Yuzu began to cry.
"I didn't mean to upset Ichi-nii! I only thought he was hungry!" She sobbed.
"There, there, Daddy will make it all better!" Isshin put his arms around the sniveling girl.
"Oh, God..." Karin rolled her eyes. "You will only make things worse!"
"I've checked all the classrooms, checked most of the school grounds and I doubt that if Ichi would run off - he'd hide out in school." She pondered, thinking aloud. "He must be home!"
She tightened her tie-up, and began slowly walking off towards the main school gates, careful not to slip.
"Kuchiki-san!" Called a familiar voice. A soaked and freezing cold Rukia turned to see Ishida come up fast. "Kuchiki-san, are you alright?"
"No!" She shouted over the strong wind and even heavier rain that had developed over the passing minutes. "I can't find him! I've searched all the classrooms, and all the field! He must be at home - I'm going to look there! Tell Miss Kimura that you can't find me or something!"
"B-but, Kuchiki-san, it's terrible weather - it's better if we just go back!" He said loudly, also battling to be heard over the noise of the weather.
"Please, Ishida, I really have to find Ichigo! Just feed Miss Kimura some lies - I'm sure she'll believe you!"
Ishida touched her cheeks. "You're so cold. Let's go back! I don't want you to become ill." He grasped her hand and turned to go.
"I-I'm fine!" She snapped, trying to pull her hand away. But Ishida's grip proved to be too tight, and in her attempts, her trainers slipped on the wet, grass surface and Rukia fell backwards, slaming her back against the suprisingly hard earth.
"O-ow..." She whimpered.
"Ah! Kuchiki-san!" He rushed to her side and helped her sit up. "I'm sorry, Kuchiki-san! I'm sorry! But we better get inside before we get Pneumonia or something!"
She winced, clutching her back. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Ishida, I don't ask for much. Please, please, if you truly care about me then you'll do this. Just...please." She begged, struggling to stand on her own two feet - almost collapsing, but the Quincy held her tight and kept her steady.
Ishida looked at her. He genuinely did not know what to do. On one hand, he would be making her happy but putting her health at risk, but at the same time wasn't her safety more important than that damn Kurosaki?
"Kuchiki-san, what if you catch a cold? What if you get lost or something? Do you want me to come with you?" She'd never heard his voice so full of concern.
"Ishida." She held his hands in her's. "Go back. I need to do this on my own. I can do it - I'll be fine, really."
"A-are you sure?"
"Yes! Now, quickly go back! I'll see you later!"
Before he could object, her cold palms on his skin were gone and she was running off into the distance. Please, Kuchiki-san, keep safe...
There was a knock at the door, however Ichigo didn't hear it due to him being engrossed in his manga. That, and the fact that the volume on his earphones was up to the maximum. Another rapping sound followed before the door opening with a satisfying creak.
Feeling this sudden prescence, Ichigo glanced up to see his father smiling brightly, holding a bowl with a huge chocolate pudding in it with melted chocolate spread on top that was running down the sides at great speed.
"I thought I told you to leave me alone." He snapped, his eyes diverting back to the manga.
"Well, you looked depressed and I realize that we were a bit hasty with you, so." He held out the bowl to his son.
"I'm not hungry, thank you." He muttered, a hint of scorn in his voice. "Now, could you please leave my room?"
"But, Ichigo, it's your favorite. Yuzu spent a good thirty minutes to prepare this and it's hot and fresh - just the way you like it!"
Ichigo ripped the earphones out of his ears. "Didn't I just TELL you to LEAVE MY ROOM!?" He yelled.
"Geez, Ichigo," His father rolled his eyes. "we're just tryin' to cheer you up."
"Well, maybe I don't wanna be cheered up! I just need some SPACE, damnit!" He cried. "But I guess that's just TOO much to ASK in THIS house, huh!!"
"Sorry, Ichi, we just-" Isshin began.
"No, I don't wanna know!" He threw his manga aside along with his CD player and reached for his jacket.
"W-where you goin'?"
"Out for a walk. I don't know how long for, so don't expect me to be back at a certain time." He brushed past his father on his way out, picking up his flashlight as he did so.
"I-Ichigo! You can't just walk outta the house and not tell me where you're going!" Isshin protested.
"Watch me." Ichigo calmly but quickly marched down the stairs towards the front door.
"But it's cold and wet outside - what if you catch a fever or-?"
"What if I do?" He shrugged and exited the house.
"Dad, where is Ichi-nii going?" Yuzu suddenly appeared behind the bedroom door, accompanied by Karin.
"I have no idea...These teenage hormones are worse than I ever predicted them to be."
"So...Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-kun just...vanished?" Orihime asked for about the seventh time, making sure she had gotten the story correct.
Ishida nodded. "By the time I got out there, I suppose they'd already left the school grounds."
"That's odd." Chad said. "It's not like Ichigo to just suddenly flee like that. I wonder what could've made him act that way."
"It's a mystery to me." Tatsuki yawned, not showing any real concern about the whole matter.
"Oh, I hope they're alright." Orihime whispered.
"...Me too." Ishida mumbled, thinking of Rukia.
Rukia stumbled over a root, almost losing balance completely.
Her body had grown sufficiently weaker since leaving the school grounds. Her head was dizzy and she couldn't seem to concentrate well. Her legs were wobbly, her arms numb from the cold and her cheeks and fingers red with the absence of gloves. She'd also noticed that she'd grown tired and her eyes kept attempting to close.
Rukia had seen the woods in the park and remembered taking the route a few times as a short cut. However, in the low light and depressing weather, the short cut seemed ten times longer than the extended way. Her steps were no longer controlled; as one leg would take a huge stride, while the other leg would limp along in brief steps much like a small child tagging along behind it's mother.
She reached for a near-by branch. The pain from her back accident had really set in now, and the cold seemed to be making it worse.
Only a little further, Rukia...Come on, you can do this...
Rukia pushed herself away from the tree, building up the courage to continue once more. She staggered onward, a strange sensation start in her feet and quickly spread throughout her body.
Suddenly, the Death god fell to her knees. Before she knew what was going on, her vision faded to black and her back was on the ground. All she could feel was the rain colliding with her pale face and the mud beneath her. "I'm sorry, Ichi..."
Well...?