Rukia Baby

by

Mojo-licious

Chapter Seven

- Attack -

Inoue felt her entire body becoming rigid as she felt a severe spike in reitsu. A chill shot down her spine as she felt a presence behind her and ever so slowly she turned. It was huge to the say the least, its size towering several feet above her head. Blue eyes looked up in disbelief, unable to comprehend how something this large had gone undetected. Yellow eyes stared from behind a white boned mask. The hollows mouth opened revealing several thick tongues writhing inside, its saliva dripping onto the tarred grounds. The mere sight of it had Inoue gagging. Its structural shape was that of a gorilla with oversized arms hanging on either side of its primitive body. She noticed an oddity about the hollow unlike the others it had a large black X over its left eye. Her thoughts halted abruptly as the hollow reared its head looking down at her, its eyes brightening considerably.

"Shinigami," it rasped. Inoue's blue eyes widened in horror as she realized the hollow was staring intently at the small toddler in her arms. Rukia clutched tightly onto Inoue's shirt, she buried her face against Inoue's chest as she watched the beast fearfully. The hollow raised its arms. With no time to spare Inoue began sprinting shifting Rukia in her arms in order to grab her hairpin. She dived to the side at the last minute, the hollow's arm crashed into the street leaving a large gaping hole in its wake. The sheer force of the attack sent Inoue careening into a wall onto the side. Her back slammed into the concrete knocking the wind out of her. She coughed, gasped and struggled to catch her breath all while cradling Rukia in her arms. Despite her blurred vision Inoue managed to catch sight of the large hand plummeting downwards.

"SANTEN KESSHUN I REJECT!"

The gold triangular shield was summoned in time and withstood the force of the blow.

"Orihime," the Shun Shun Rikka looked at their charge worriedly noting her injured disheveled form.

Inoue offered the group a small smile, "Don't worry about me. I'm fin" her sentence was abruptly interrupted by the hollows persistent blow. Inoue winced as she held her arms out in an attempt to block the beast. The shield was holding up well, but her shoulders were strained and her back was sore. She wasn't sure how long she could keep up this position. The blows were weighing down on her physically and she couldn't summon Tsubaki without lowering her shields. Inwardly she berated herself for being so weak. A small tug on her shirt caused her blue eyes to glance down at Rukia, whose violet eyes were reverently fixed on her.

"I'll protect you," Inoue whispered offering the toddler a smile.

Tsubaki who acted as Inoue's offense screamed at his charge to pay attention. Blue eyes looked up noting the absence of the hollow.

"BEHIND!" several of the Shun Shun Rikka screamed as a large fist came rushing down towards Inoue's head. With no time to reposition her shield, Inoue was a sitting duck. She closed her eyes just as the fist was about to collide into her; a piercing scream echoed the silent night.

Blue eyes opened staring as the hollow form stumbled back, its arm torn and bleeding on the ground. Inoue's eyes darted around searching for Ishida or Ichigo, instead they rested on a rather short form dressed in shinigami robes.

"Baka-Mono!" a familiar voice screamed. Blue eyes widened at the familiar yet childish voice.

"Kuchiki-san?" Inoue whispered, wondering if she was seeing things. A thick cloud of smoke appeared concealing the short form and the large predator. Worried blue eyes darted back and forth trying desperately to see beyond the thick clouds that covered the entire area. Inoue tried to get up and stifled a cry as her body protested against the movement. She was sore and in a lot of pain. Desperation clawed at her as she worried about the short noble she was supposed to protect.

"Orihime," the Shun Shun Rikka surrounded her and stayed close to her as they relayed their worry for her condition. Using the Soten Kisshun Inoue began healing herself while sedating her fairies worries. Time was something that Inoue didn't have much of as she fretted over Rukia's safety. Just as she was about to end her healing technique the clouds dispersed. The moon shone brightly in the sky illuminating the form standing several feet in front of her. Inoue found herself mesmerized by the effect.

"Kuchiki-san!" Inoue called out softly and watched as the short form turned towards her. The streetlights revealed a rather bloodied form. There were tears in the black robes and blood seeping through rather nasty looking gashes. What scared Inoue the most was the blood red eyes that stared back at her. After a few moments of silence the form wavered before crumpling to the ground.

"Kuchiki-san," Inoue shouted, as she got up struggling to get to the child version of her friend.

"Kuchiki-san," Inoue whispered as she lowered herself down and reached out to injured girl. Blue eyes surveyed the girl's injuries. Rukia was pale, her skin sleek with sweat and her hair matted with blood.

"Kuchiki-san," Inoue called out as she gently pushed back Rukia's bloodied hair noting worriedly that her skin was hot to touch. Just as she was about to summon her healing abilities a slew of voices called her.

"ORIHIME!" "INOUE-SAN!"

"Ishida-kun, Kurosaki-kun," Inoue called out recognizing her boyfriend and friend who were sprinting over to her from two different directions.

By the time both teens had reached Inoue they were out of breath and panting furiously. Ishida was checking over his girlfriend as he caught back his breath, while Ichigo paled upon seeing the unconscious form on the ground.

"Rukia," he whispered, his eyebrows knotting with worry at the sight of her. He was bombarded with questions as he gazed at her older form. The experience he had with children at his father's clinic allowed him to estimate her age at five or six at the most. The crimson stains upon her body shifted his train of thought making him realize that she needed medical attention immediately. He reached down to carry her but was stopped by the tenth division captain.

"Kurosaki Ichigo step back," Hitsugaya stated. Ichigo was hesitant at first, but complied sensing the urgency in the short captains voice. Matsumoto Rangiku stepped in with a small white rod in her hand. She passed the rod over the small form and Ichigo watched as it flashed red several times.

"Taicho," Matsumoto called, her worried eyes resting on her captain. His gaze fell onto Inoue. In seconds Matsumoto was waving the white rod in front of her and it too flashed red. Hitsugaya sighed, his eyes narrowing as he realized that he had failed his mission. He had been too late for the both of them.

"We better take them to Seireitei," he stated grimly. Ichigo who had been waiting silently for an explanation was now losing his patience.

"What the hell is going on?" Ichigo shouted, angry that he was being left out of the loop. Even Renji, Chad and Ishida were curious to know what was going on.

"They've contracted Red fever and if we don't hurry back to treat them, they could die."

To be Contd..

Another chappie.. phew Thanx 4 all ur encouraging reviews..