Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to CrystalRaindrop007 for Beta'ing!
If you slip . . . I'll catch you. And if you fall, I'll help you stand. Trust me . . . Trust me, and let go . . .
Before The Rain — XI
Ichigo smiled, letting his grip on Rukia loosen as they flew though the fields. The wind was blowing through their hair, and the snowflakes that flew from the trees were swirling around them in beautiful patterns. Rukia, who was leaning back into Ichigo as they rode along, sighed and breathed in the fresh air.
"Hey, Ichigo, the reason I came to see you today was to warn you."
"Huh? Warn me? Of what?" Ichigo asked, ducking as Sode no Shirayuki ran under a tree. He placed his arm on Rukia's head and made her duck, too.
"Renji. He . . . he says that he loves me, and he thinks the reason that I don't love him is because of you. And . . . well, Renji doesn't let that kind of thing go easily, so I just wanted to . . ."
Rukia was cut off as Ichigo placed his fingers over her lips.
"Shh. I'll be fine; I promise. OK?"
Rukia sighed, biting her lip, then nodded.
"Good. Now, enjoy the ride and don't concern yourself with my problems, alright?"
Rukia nodded again and, taking Ichigo's advice, let all of her fears and troubles fly out into the wind that so gently lapped at her face and skin.
"Yes, he is," Ichigo insisted, smirking at Rukia. She glared at him.
"No, he's not!"
"Yeah, he is."
"No, he's not!"
"Rukia! come on, your brother is insane! Admit it! He wears freakin' hair noodles!"
Rukia began laughing, and Ichigo had to grab her around the waist to stop her from falling off of the horse. Ichigo raised an eyebrow as Rukia turned around and poked him in the chest.
"Those are kenseikan and are worn by the noble families."
"So . . . why don't you wear stupid hair noodles?" Ichigo asked, poking her back. She bit his finger, making him squeal and pull it away.
"They're not stupid and I don't wear them because I am not next in line for the throne."
Ichigo shrugged, muttered something under his breath about stupid hair noodles, and rubbed his sore stomach, which Rukia was the cause of, all the way back to the stables.
Pressing his knees tightly into Sode no Shirayuki to stop her as they approached the outside of the barn again, Ichigo jumped off. Rukia was smiling brightly, and her dark hair was a mess from the harsh, unforgiving wind. After he had helped her off of the horse, he led Sode no Shirayuki into the barn and put her in Morning Glory's stall.
"Hey, Ichigo . . . I was . . . um, thinking about something you said to my brother earlier."
"Yeah?" Ichigo asked, turning around.
"Why not?"
Ichigo tilted his head to the side, smirking.
"Hey, Rukia, if we, ya know, really could get married, would you change your mind?" he asked, his eyes staring into hers, not giving her a chance to look away.
"I don't know about marriage right away, but if I could stay with you, then yeah, I would want to," she said, smiling and reaching out to take his hand. She said, "Hey, Ichigo, it's getting dark; you know that, right? We were out for many hours today."
"Yeah, I know. But honestly, I don't care. I didn't have to work today, so who is going to complain?"
" . . . "
"Thought so," Ichigo said, a triumphant look on his face as he closed the stall door, and out of habit, began walking around the others to lock and re-check them. Rukia followed behind him.
He eventually walked over to the door, intent on closing it, when he slipped on the cold ice an fell flat on his butt. He yelped and jumped up quickly, knocking ice chips off of his jeans hurridely.
Rukia shook her head, an amused smile coming to her face a she walked forward a little and wrapped her arms around him. He let his eyes wander to hers, and their gaze locked as he pulled her tighter against him.
She was still resting in Ichigo's arms, and he was still staring down at her when she wasn't paying attention to the slick ice on most of the floor within ten feet of the door that Ichigo had just slipped on, so when she lost her balance and fell backward, she screamed loudly.
She clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the hard landing she knew was coming; but it didn't. And when she forced her eyes open, she gasped quietly when she saw Ichigo's face only inches from hers.
He had caught her around the waist before she had even neared the ground.
"Ichigo . . ."
He smiled.
"I told you I'd catch you."
She felt her heart beat faster and faster as she stared into his intense brown eyes, and soon she couldn't stop herself from leaning her head up two inches and closing the gap between them with a kiss. Ichigo responded hungrily by pushing his tongue into her mouth and pulling her up straight to where she was standing on her feet. She moaned loudly when he brought his hands to grip her waist and kissed her harder.
When he pulled back, he could see the desire in her eyes and quickly crushed his lips to hers again. His lips soon left her mouth and trailed down her neck. She let out a gasp of pain when he gently bit her neck, leaving behind a small, red spot. Her pain was quickly replaced by a feeling of pleasure as Ichigo began sucking on her skin.
"R-Rukia . . . " Ichigo murmured, pulling back. He noticed that her eyes looked glazed and her cheeks were flushed bright red. "Don't wanna . . . get carried . . . away . . ." he said in between kisses, but unable to pull himself from her.
"Don't . . . care . . ." Rukia said breathlessly; all she wanted was for Ichigo to touch her in different places. She wanted to let him hold her and touch her in any way he wanted. "I . . . I want you . . ."
Ichigo pulled back completely for a second, his eyes searching hers.
"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice a whisper. She leaned up and gently pressed her lips to his, giving him all the answer he needed. Ichigo placed his hands on her face and tilted it to the side, deepening the kiss.
Clothes were quickly shed as Ichigo led Rukia up to the warm loft; heaters were installed in there to keep the horses warm from above.
"I-Ichigo . . ." Rukia murmured softly, gasping as he ran his hands over her soft skin.
"Rukia . . . you sure?" he asked again, his lips leaving a trail of kisses down her collarbone.
"Yes," she said, groaning in passion as he began to gently stroke her thigh.
"This might hurt," he said, biting his lip before he placed his mouth over hers to muffle any sound she might make as he slid slowly inside of her.
And once the pain had past, it was the most wonderful thing she had ever felt.
Rukia woke the next morning to the sun filtering through the windows. She groaned and rolled over, only to find the cold biting her skin. She decided to jump back under the thick quilt seconds later, and snuggled up to the warm body next to her. When she turned her head around and saw Ichigo, sleeping, and naked, the memories of last night began to assault her senses and feelings.
Ichigo had made her feel wonderful last night. He had kissed her and touched her in ways she never thought was possible. And then . . . he had made her complete.
Snuggling up to Ichigo, she sighed happily when his arms came around her.
"Morning, Rukia."
Rukia looked up into his eyes when she heard his husky voice. He was smiling.
"Morning," she said back, resting her head on his chest.
"You OK?" he asked, his voice quiet as he took her hand in his. She knew what he was asking about; she had been in a lot of pain last night before she had gotten used to him inside of her, and he had hated every moment of it.
She nodded and sat up, pulling the quilt tightly around her body as she looked around.
"We should get dressed," Rukia said, standing up and letting the blanket fall away as she began to collect her clothes from the floor. Ichigo's eyes followed her around the room as she pulled on her panties and skirt, followed by her bra and sweater. After she was dressed, she grabbed all of his clothes and, smirking, threw them at him.
"Come on, hurry. I'm in enough trouble as it is for being out all night."
Ichigo smiled like an idiot as he quickly clambered to his feet and pulled on his clothes, following Rukia out of the loft. She had barely began to climb out the ladder when he grabbed her by the waist and jumped to the floor fifteen feet below. She shrieked loudly, but when she landed safely on the ground, in Ichigo's arms, she smiled. When they looked around, however, their eyes went wide when they saw who was waiting for them.
Renji.
Rukia gasped and backed away a little; the look of anger in her friends eyes was so intense that it sent shivers throughout her whole body. Ichigo stepped in front of her, and returned Renji's glare with one of his own. Rukia, behind him, began to protest to his protecting her, but one look from him shut her up and she decided to take the chance given to her and hide behind him.
"What the hell were you doing out all night, Rukia?" Renji said, walking over and trying to push Ichigo out of the way. Ichigo didn't budge, however, and his glare intensified.
"I-I was . . ."
"Ah, save it. I know what the hell you were doing. This . . . this slave took away your virginity, that's what!" Renji yelled, no shame in what he was saying. "Did he force you?" Renji asked, coming closer. Ichigo clenched his fists, but didn't speak. Rukia needed to answer this one on her own, or else she wouldn't know how she felt.
"No! He didn't force me!" Rukia yelled, clinging to Ichigo's arm, but still hiding behind his back.
She was afraid. She was actually afraid of someone who called her friend. Of someone who told her he loved her.
"He forced ya to say that, didn't he? Because the Rukia I knew would never let a slave do something like that!" Renji roared, catching Ichigo off-guard and clubbing him in the chin.
Ichigo rocked to the side, his hand going up to hold his now probably-broken jaw. He could feel the blood in his mouth, and as he leaned over and spit it out onto the ground, he was surprised at the amount f blood there actually was. That bastard sure packed a hard punch.
Spitting the remainder of blood out, Ichigo wiped his mouth off and ran over to Renji before he could touch Rukia. He grabbed the red-head by the arm and twisted it behind his back, forcing him close to the ground before sticking his knee in Renji's back and holding him to there.
"Rukia, get away from here! I don't want you to see this if it gets worse," Ichigo said, his teeth clenched in determination as he tried to hold Renji to the ground.
As he got loose, Ichigo yelled,
"Rukia! Run, now!"
Rukia, not sure of what to do, began running out of the stable, only to stop when she saw Ichigo's eyes widen as he began slowly falling to the ground.
He had been hit in the stomach with a pitchfork. Renji had grabbed the tool from the other side of the room the second he had gotten free, and while Ichigo was focused on yelling at Rukia to run, Renji had plunged the deadly weapon into Ichigo's abdomen.
"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled, turning around to run back to him. Before she could take two steps, however, she was grabbed forcefully by the shoulder and held firmly in place.
She looked up to see her brother, Byakuya, standing there. As always, he held no emotion on his face as he held her from running to Ichigo.
"No! Nii-sama, let me go!" Tears were falling from her eyes as she struggled in his grip to get to Ichigo, who had fallen to his knees, the pitchfork embedded deeply in his flesh. "No! Let me go, let me go! Ichigo!"
Renji turned to stare at her, his hand pulling the pitchfork from Ichigo's stomach. Rukia watched in horror as Ichigo collapsed on the ground, his blood beginning to pool around him.
"No . . ." Rukia trailed off as she went limp in Byakuya's grip and fell to her knees, leaving Byakuya only holding her arm. "No . . . Ichigo!"
"Why do you care so much about this freakin' boy? Huh? Why the hell do you care if he dies?!" Renji yelled, throwing the pitchfork away and beginning to advance on Rukia. She didn't pay attention, she didn't even see him. "Why?"
Renji had barely moved five feet before he was stopped. He looked down to see Ichigo, gasping for breath and wiping blood away from his mouth, holding tightly to his jeans.
"Don't . . . touch . . . her, or I'll kill you," he growled, coughing up blood as he spoke. Renji's eyes went wide then, yelling, kicked Ichigo's hand away.
"Don't touch me, slave!"
Ichigo stood to his feet, still shaking, and leaned up against Sode no Shirayuki's stall. His breaths were ragged and broken, but as he held out his hand and pointed a finger in Renji's direction, the look on his face was certain. It was anger, and it was determination. "I'll kill you."
Rukia, hearing Ichigo's voice, looked up, tears still slowly trailing down her pale skin. Ichigo looked over at her and smiled bravely, wiping blood away from his mouth.
"Hey, d-don't cry, Rukia. I hate seeing y-you sad," he said. As soon as he had uttered the words, he bent over, clutching his stomach. Rukia yelled out again, finally breaking free of her brother's grip; he had let his hold on her become loose.
She ran over to Ichigo just as he was falling and caught him, slowly lowering his body to the ground.
Rukia bit back a sob as she brushed her fingers through Ichigo's hair. She smiled sadly as he looked up at her, his brown eyes having lost the glow they usually carried.
"Don't . . . c-cry . . . " he stuttered, wincing.
"Get away from that bloody slave!" Renji yelled, walking over and kicking Rukia away from Ichigo's body. Byakuya stepped in here and stood in front of his sister.
"She has done nothing to you," he said, giving Renji a glare that would kill a lesser man.
Renji didn't pay attention to him for long, but when he had turned back to Ichigo, the orange-haired teenager was standing, shakily, on his feet.
"I said I'd kill you, if you touched her!" he yelled, closing his eyes.
When he opened them, his eyes had suddenly exploded in a bright, blinding red, and the scar on his thumb was the same color. Renji gasped, stepping back as the glow expanded to cover his whole body. And as soon as it had come, it was gone. The glow receded to only Ichigo's eyes and thumb, and as Byakuya looked at his sisters finger, the same scar was glowing the same color.
"I'll kill you."
Ichigo's voice, usually rough, but in a soft way, was suddenly scratchy and deep, as if it was distorted somehow.
"What the hell?" Renji yelled, backing up a little. "You're dead! Dying! How the hell are you moving?!"
Rukia, who was standing a good ways away, was staring at her thumb, gently letting her other fingers dance over the scar. She whispered; "He healed himself."
Ichigo started after Renji, no longer shaking or limping; and you could see the determination in his eyes to kill.
"I let you bastards take my mom away, but I'll kill you before I'll let you touch Rukia again!" Ichigo roared. Only, it wasn't him. As he had began advancing on Renji, his eyes had gone a deeper shade of red and his voice was sounding worse and worse.
"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled, desperation in her voice as she broke away from Byakuya again and ran up behind Ichigo, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "Please, stop, Ichigo . . ."
He froze in her grip, but he didn't stop glaring at Renji, who was currently reaching out for the pitchfork again.
"Ichigo! Please, leave him alone!"
"Why? Why should I?" he yelled back. Rukia winced at the voice she was hearing.
"This isn't you! Please, Ichigo! Come back to me, come back! I love you!"
Slowly the glow in Ichigo's eyes began to fade, and the scars on both of their thumbs dulled in color, but didn't completely disappear. When the light in Ichigo's eyes was completely gone, he went limp in Rukia's grasp, and he fell against her, his eyes drifting shut as she lowered him gently to the ground.
Renji, who was on the other side of the room, put down the pitchfork, but didn't come closer.
Rukia wept quietly as she hugged Ichigo tightly to her. Byakuya walked slowly over and tried to take Ichigo's limp form from her, but she hung on.
"No! Leave him alone, Nii-sama, he didn't do anything wrong, he didn't do anything. Please . . ."
"Let me have him; I will carry him home."
Rukia looked up in surprise, her violet eyes meeting her brothers. She reached a hand up and wiped the rest of her tears away. "Nii-sama . . ."
He didn't speak again, he just gently lifted Ichigo's form from Rukia's arms and held him under the arms and knees. Rukia stood up next to he brother, reaching out and grabbing Ichigo's hand as they walked from the barn. Byakuya stopped at the door and spoke back to Renji,
"I didn't interfere, because this was a fight for pride. But never hurt my sister again, or I will kill you."
Renji didn't respond as they continued walking. He only wiped sweat from his face and sat down on the ground, putting his head in his hands.
He had hurt Rukia in his anger. In more than one way. He had made her cry, because he had hurt the slave. He had been willing to hurt her physically by kicking her out of the way to get to Ichigo. In his anger, he hadn't seen the pain he was causing her as she cried for he boy he hated so much. In his anger, though, he had seen that she really did love Ichigo.
And not him.
Never him.
Wow! That took a while to write! (Jaw Drops) Might not seem long to you, but I worked on this for several hours during the day; whenever I had time.
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