----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Falling Together
Chapter Twenty - Falling Together
NOTE: You guys really wanted an Ichigo and Rukia chapter, so I sped up things and now here's the second to last chapter???? No idea:P I haven't updated in like, forever, right? LOL. Ok enjoy. Warning. It might be sad...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
She stood in front of him with a stoic gaze. Here amethyst eyes flared with such lifeless emotion. He could feel something terribly wrong. "What are you doing here?" The woman scoffed and gazed at the annoying man in front of her. "Ichigo answer me!" She hissed, obviously irritated. Her eyes seemed to water as she found him speechless. "Answer me…" She replied, her voice softening a little.
He gazed at her for such a long time. For most people it was only twenty days of her absence. But to him, it was forever. "Rukia…" He replied as he found her biting her lower lip. "Why did you do that?!" He asked in rage. Her eyes widened, finding it quite surprising that he was this furious of her leaving. She turned her head away and frowned. "Answer me!" She could hear his breathing, so closely.
"Because I don't love you." She answered letting out a small laugh. He stopped as he found her turning around with tears flowing down her eyes. "It's that simple. I've never loved you." She responded to his silence, and pulled out her sword. It gleamed of bright white and the room suddenly darkened. Ichigo faced her, too bewildered to react to her actions.
"What are you doing?" He asked. She did not respond. All she did was walk. All she did was stare at him as if she was about to slash an enemy down. "Rukia?" He whispered, and pulled his sword as well.
"Gomen…Ichigo." He could hear her soft voice tremble.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ukitake gazed at a small door. His curiosity was playing with him so he thought it was good to go and check what was behind it. "Be careful." Kyouraku replied with concern in his tone. They were being chased by nearly fifty of those hired mercenaries (whom had no idea their employer was dead) and the two were both desperate to find some place to hide.
"Same with you." The white haired man retorted casually, and opened the small hidden door. His eyes widened. "You…You are…" He whispered in panic. "Kyouraku over her! Hurry!" Ukitake shouted carelessly. His friend sighed and followed. "It's Kuukaku's brother…"
"Damn."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What the hell are you doing!?" Ichigo angrily shouted as he found the petite woman mindlessly hacking at him with full force. Rukia did not respond. "You!" He grabbed her left arm and twisted it, she seethed and tried cutting her own hand off. Until he let go of course. "Are you crazy?" Ichigo asked her. She was mindless…she wasn't thinking. For some odd reason.
"Shut it! Just fight me!" The woman grumbled with irritation and rubbed her wrist. He had twisted it severely, and she could feel it swelling up. "Just…fight me…" She whispered and dashed towards him. He ducked and grabbed her sword. Yes. She was weak. But she had so much power she had never had before. And he was surprised.
"You bitch…" He whispered angrily. She smiled. He was rising. "S-stop it…" Ichigo whispered to himself, trying to calm himself down. His world was crumbling, he was fainting. Darkness overwhelmed him. He could feel his reiatsu taking over him. "Damn it….stop it…" The man whispered and fell unconscious. In his place…his evil arose.
"Finally…" Rukia whispered in a satisfied position. She got to a fighting stance and let out a small grin. "FIGHT ME!"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Are you alright?" Ukitake and Kyouraku asked simultaneously. They were hiding behind a couple of statues and were furiously trying to heal the man's wounds.
"W-where am I?" The person whispered, slowly getting up. Ukitake smiled while Kyouraku had a strange old grin. "Ukitake-san…?! Kyouraku-san!?" Ganju shouted with disbelief and immediately stood up despite the pain that surged through his thighs.
"Yes?" Ukitake smiled childishly. Kyouraku waved a hello, while Ganju contemplated about what was going on. "We found you bleeding on the floor and decided to help you out." The white-haired man smiled smugly. Ganju sweat-dropped and finally realized what had happened to him.
"Oh yeah…I was…trying to escape from this place…and then Aizen…he…now I remember." The boy replied a little hurt. "By the way…do you feel those reiatsu?!" He asked, completely changing subjects. Ukitake and Kyouraku nodded in alarm.
"It's Ichigo's….and…Rukia's!" The two shouted at each other in disbelief. Ganju battered his eyes with confusion. "We better go over there and stop them…" Kyouraku replied sighing, and tugged onto Ganju's shirt. He then dragged him over to the area where they had realized the strong aura.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Heh. Well fine whatever…if you're that in a rush to die!" The man whispered with a shrug. He took his sword and whorled it around him with ease. She did not flinch, but she had to admit he was a master at doing such things. "You ready, bitch?" He asked solemnly. She ignored his question and quickly vanished from his sight.
The door opened, and the two stopped. Ukitake and Kyouraku along with a beaten Ganju found the two staring at them with horror. "W-What are you doing?" Kyouraku asked dropping the injured man onto the floor without care. Ukitake helped Ganju up and gazed at Rukia with disappointment.
"I-I can't help it!" She cried with laughter, scratching the back of her neck. It was until then Ganju had realized what was wrong with her.
"T-That girl!!!" The plump man stammered while pointing at her. Ukitake looked at Ganju as horror stroke through his eyes.
"What about Rukia?" The man asked.
"She has that drug on her…"
"WHAT DRUG?!" Ukitake shouted. Ganju winced at her sight. He could see the small purple dot on her pale skin.
"Aizen…he made a drug…that would give you a great amount of energy…but it will run out in no more than 30 minutes." He whispered. "If she uses all her strength, then she'll experience bad…side effects." The boy grumbled and gazed at her petite figure.
"Then we must stop them." Kyouraku replied.
"NO! YOU WILL NOT!" Byakuya and Isshin entered, Matsumoto at the meantime was busily collecting some data in the palace. "This is their fight." The raggedy man replied with unease.
"But we can't just let them kill each other!" Ukitake protested and pulled out his twin blades. Kyouraku agreed and did the same.
"…She is my sister…and I will not permit anyone to interfere her battle." Byakuya whispered and took out his sword to defend the two who were fighting in the background. "I trust Kurosaki-san…" The man whispered and retreated his blade. Kyouraku and Ukitake did the same…all of them were hesitant about this decision.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shut your trap, and face me!" The masked man laughed and tugged onto her neck. She scoffed and punched him in the abdomen. He let go for several seconds, but she managed to escape his grip. "Bitch…" He replied angrily and followed her.
"I thought you wanted to fucking beat me up!" He taunted her. He angered her. But she did not give in to his stupid teases. It was the time. The time to eliminate the person she hated the most. She turned around and took her sword out…directly in front of her.
"Dance -" She got kicked in the face, and she stumbled backwards onto the wall. It created a large impact, and she was found bleeding all over. She hastily stood up as she found his shadow looming over her. "Bastard…" She whispered angrily and thrust her sword at his side. A smile formed, he couldn't care.
"Have you ever thought about it?" He asked her such a strange question. "That Ichigo and I…we are one?" She widened her eyes. "That if I DIE he dies?" He smirked as he found her expression to amusing. She retreated her blade, and he could see the glimpse of tears falling down her cheeks.
"…Yes…I have questioned that before." She replied, hiding her eyes away from him. "And I have thought up an answer." She cried and started randomly slashing him. He was surprised to see her so prepared to kill the man she hated and loved. "I will kill you…so I can be happy…" She whispered, trembling but not showing any hesitation to kill.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
He closed his eyes. Did you hear that you idiot? She's ready to kill us. He laughed with out a care. Ichigo was in that darkness staring up at the blankness without anything to say. Ready to kill her? Or are you ready to die? He asked.
"Just hurry up and do it…" Ichigo whispered. The masked figure laughed and disappeared from his sight. "Rukia…" Was all he ever thought about.
Yes…I have been an idiot. A jerk towards you. He replied to himself and sat in the corner of the darkness. And yes…I am willing to admit that I've always hated you…He closed his eyes. But I…But ever since…ever since you've come to help me live…I loved you from the bottom of my heart. He whispered to himself and buried his head under his arms. For once…he was the useless one. He found himself ,pathetic. He could hear the clashes of the swords repeatedly smacking each other. The screams and the frantic heart beats.
For once…he spilled his own tears.
"…Rukia!!!" He cried and stood up. His own reiatsu flowed in the room, overwhelming the darkness and causing light to spread. He stared at his achievement with shock. "…W-what happened?" He asked and found a figure standing in front of him. No. Not a figure. But many that had passed away long ago.
"Save her…Save everyone…Save yourself…" The people whispered. He could see the path back home. He could feel his energy excitedly returning towards him. A hand touched him on the shoulder, and he turned around finding Kaien and Miyako…and even Hisana. "And tell her…that…"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rukia was in the corner. She was prepared to die. He had cornered her, and she could see the numerous shocked expressions of her allies. "…I'm sorry…Brother…" She cried and was ready to face the blade. To feel it's cold pierce.
"Die…you worthless -" The figure stopped and fell down towards the floor. He screamed with terror holding onto his head. "What the fuck are you doing, you bastard!?" He shouted and held onto his orange hair. Rukia stared at him with surprise and gazed at him. It was her chance. Her chance to kill him. Her heart fluttered and she took her blade and ran it straight towards his heart. Yes…straight towards his heart.
"YOU BITCH!" She could hear his shrilled voice drowning with angst. She felt the warm blood spread all over her body. And tears ran down her eyes. Her sword was still stuck into his heart. "…R-Rukia.." She heard Ichigo's voice, trembling. Tears flowed down and she apologized crying.
"I-Ichigo!!!" She shouted with angst as he pulled her sword out of his heart. "…I love you." He replied and fell backwards. She screamed and ran towards his side. He should have been dead. But for some odd reason, he still was breathing. He was…injured, but in a way he was perfectly fine. "I love you." He repeated and wiped her tears from her eyes.
"YOU IDIOT!" She sobbed and held onto him, hugging him gently so he could not feel intense pain. He kissed her softly on her forehead as she cried.
"They said they loved you too." He whispered lovingly as he pointed at heaven. She stared above and tears started welling up in her eyes again. "Stop that!" He commanded a little aggressively and stood up, even if he wasn't in the condition to. "They wouldn't like to see you cry." He replied soothingly and pushed her against the wall. His mouth and hers met. For the first time. And it felt…good.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Amazing…he's still alive." Isshin replied, sighing with relief. Byakuya closed his eyes and commanded Matsumoto to return to the mansion. Despite all the complaints (she wanted to see more going on with Ichigo and Rukia) she followed her master as well.
"Do you love me too?" The orange-haired woman teased. Byakuya rolled his eyes, but a smile was on his lips.
Ukitake sighed with relief and Kyouraku clapped, Ganju at the mean time was quite surprised of how things went. "…Wow…Those two, are stubborn people…aren't they?" Hitsugaya entered with a small smile, he was carrying Hinamori in his hand's. He planned to make her grave later.
"That's because they're in love." Urahara remarked happily, popping into the room with Soi Fong following behind him. The rest nodded. "Love is strange…isn't it?" He whispered to himself and wiped a tear from his eyes. Hitsugaya rolled his eyes as the other men started sobbing of such how beautiful the two were.
"Will you shut up?" Soi Fong sighed and wiped her own tears.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"…I love you too, Ichigo." Rukia smiled crying. He hushed her immediately by kissing her once more.
Chapter 21 Preview
The Warmth I Still Feel
Five years past. What has become of the group?
LAST CHAPTER