Mizu-chan: TiteKubo-san, can I own Bleach? Pleeeeeeease?
TiteKubo-san: Um let me think...NO. All these characters are mine...buahahahaha
Mizu-chan: You're so mean sniff. Wait, there's one character that's mine. ha!
TiteKubo-san: ...
Yay! I was able to update another chapter. This story is coming to an end, so I hope you guys like it!
I want to thank all the wonderfull people who have supported my fic. Andraq, who's reviews leave me elated. Spirix, Miffmistress, Karisa, Ichirukiisbest and everyone who leaves me there heartfelt review, arigatou!!! I hope you guys like this chappy (hehe chappy) since It'll be having some love feelings
A Hidden Oasis
A harsh wind past through their faces as they woke up. They could feel the scorching heat of the sun above them and could barely keep their eyes open. Ichigo placed his hand over his eyes to see if he could find anything around but all he could see was sand. Right, left, up and down, sand.
"What is this place?"- Ichigo heard the muffled voice of the princess behind him. The wind was making such a terrible noise.
"I don't know but I think we should start moving"-he shouted
They started walking without really knowing where they were headed, since everything in front of them was of a same color. Their bodies were heavy against the wind and they felt small sand particles cut through their skin.
After walking for several minutes, the wind suddenly stopped. Ichigo and Rukia fell on their knees from the exhaustion, panting and gasping for breath.
"Thank…goodness."-Rukia panted
Ichigo stood up and started dusting himself off. He looked around and again. Saw nothing but sand. The heat was increasing by the second and in the distance he saw the heat arise from the sand.
"This is just peachy…where stuck in westbubbafuck!!! There is no sign of anything around here! We're screwed!!"-Ichigo yelled at the empty sand lot. He started kicking the sand, making it rise up and splash Rukia in the face
"Hey you moron watch what you're doing! Stop being such a child, there has to be a place around here somewhere"-she said hopefully.
Rukia took the pendant and bit the tip of the moon. By looking around she could tell that there wasn't anything around, maybe not for miles. She sighed and held the pendant in her hand
"If there is a pure soul here, you would know wouldn't you? Would you let me know?" – She thought
The diamond pendant started to glow and a fine silver line shoot out of it. It was pointing right in front of them.
"Kurosaki-kun, we need to follow the light. Let's go"-Rukia signaled the silver line
"How the hell did you do that?"-Ichigo asked
"Who cares, let's go"-She grabbed Ichigo's arm and dragged him. They ran towards the light. They ran and ran and ran for what seemed like hours, but still the destination was out of sight. Ichigo freed himself from the princess's grip and stop, bending to his knees and gasping for air.
"How…can…you…run…so…damn…much?"-he laid on his back in the sand and closed his eyes
"No, Kurosaki-kun we need to keep going. We need to…"-she fell on her knees next to him, feeling dizzy and extremely weak. The heat of the desert caught up with her and she was unable to move. She laid next to Ichigo and her eyes closed against her will, the silver light still shining and pointing towards an invisible place.
They both woke up at the same time the moment they felt a cool breeze on their face. They looked around and noticed that they were inside a little wooden hut. The floor was made of dirt and the mattress of the bed was uncovered.
"Where are we?"-Rukia-hime asked
"Aww man, don't tell me we were captured again?"-Ichigo scolded
"No, no, you weren't captured. More like saved"-said a voice coming from the door
A small girl stood on the door frame. Her hair was of a bright red and her eyes were emerald green. She was very tiny but her eyes seemed very wise for her age
"Who the hell are you?"-Ichigo asked. Rukia glared at him
"I apologize, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Anais and this is my humble home. I brought you here because I found you in the desert and you were unconscious. I believe that was the dehydration. Here, I brought you some water"- the little girl placed in a nearby table a tray with two cups and a pitcher full of crystal water. Ichigo and Rukia almost raced to it. Ichigo got to it first, but when he saw Rukia cross her arms and raise an eyebrow to him, he poured a cup for her first. The girl giggled
"You guys are amusing. Where do you come from?"-she asked looking at their attire.
Rukia explained to the little girl where they were from, their names and how they got there. She also told her what they were looking for. Anais was looking at her with curiosity and had placed her head on both her hands as a sign of attention. Ichigo was kind of surprised that this girl believed everything.
"I see. So you are searching for the soul of Truth. Well, I'm not sure if that soul is here, but I would be happy to help you find it! You guys can stay in this room"- Anais replied
"Thank you"- Rukia said
"Hey wait a minute! Both of us can't stay in the same room!"-Ichigo exclaimed nervously
"Oh, I'm sorry but I only have this room available"-Anais said in a soft voice. Her eyes were wide and she looked at the floor
"Don't worry Anais-san, we will manage. Kurosaki-kun can sleep outside, with the trees"-Rukia explained nonchalantly
"Excuse me? There's no way in hell that I am sleeping outside. Besides we don't even know what outside looks like"-he retorted
"No problem, I'll give you a tour"-Anais offered happily. She took them outside and both of them couldn't help saying 'wow'.
The whole city was covered with thick, green, huge trees, palm trees to be exact. All the houses and the clothes were alive with color. The air was filled with the music of many chirping birds and in the middle there was a huge pond, which was filled with sand so it looked like mud.
"What happened here?-Ichigo asked, stopping at the edge
"This was the Great Pond of Wishes. It used to be filled with the most purest water in all of the desert, but now it's filled with dirt"-Anais explained in a rather serious voice
"And how did that happen?"-Rukia asked, looking at the dirty water. The small girl sighed next to her.
"It was a long time ago. The land was one of the most productive and richest of the entire desert, because of our water. Our earth was very fertile and that brought us a lot of prosperity, but the other cities did not like this. They were envious and wanted our water. Over 20 years ago, a band of rebels came to our city and started a fire. Most of our commerce's and houses were burnt to the ground and they brought with them the most horrible sand storm ever. The sand storm was so strong that it filled our pond with dirt and after that, we were never able to be as prosper as we once were"-Anais ended in a sad tone. Ichigo was scratching the back of his head and Rukia was looking at the pond, her left hand on her fist wrapped in a fist.
"That's such a terrible thing. Why would anyone want to destroy a kingdom? Only out of spite and envy?"-
"We had to work very hard to bring everything back up. But this town is known for its hard work and dedication, so it wasn't a big deal"-Anais smiled at Rukia and Rukia looked at her in admiration. This child knew her history very well.
They returned to Anais small hut and sat at the table. She served them some fruits and they chatted animatedly until they went to bed. The room were Ichigo and Rukia were going to say wasn't exactly a suite. There wasn't enough space on the floor for another bed and since it was made of dirt, Ichigo wasn't really thinking of sleeping on it.
"Fine then, we'll just both sleep on the bed. And if you even so much touch me with your breath I'll beat you up more than bread"-Rukia said as she went to the bathroom to change.
Ichigo wasn't very sure if that was such a great idea, but then he thought what the hell? He wasn't sleeping on the floor. He climbed on the bed and covered himself completely. Moments later he heard the petit princess silently walk in and just as silently get under the covers. She had her back to him and was in a fetal position, trying to keep their distance. Ichigo laid on his back and placed his arms behind his back.
"This is very uncomfortable you know"-
"….."
"Are you sleeping already?"-he leaned over and noticed Rukia's chest rising and falling slowly. He sighed and stared at the ceiling. Actually, this wasn't that uncomfortable. He turned his head and looked at the back of Rukia's head. Her hair was of a deep black and the skin of her arm sticking over the sheets was pale and creamy. A sense of urgency filled Ichigo's chest. He took a deep breath and turned his back to her, annoyed at the feeling that was in his chest.
The bright sun came through the window and landed right on Ichigo's eyes. He woke up, grumpily of course, and headed outside. Rukia and Anais were already having breakfast and were having what seemed a very girly conversation, so he decided to lean on the edge of the door and look at them, though he wasn't really looking at them both.
Even though the sky was thick with trees, the rays of sun still made their way in, and they were over Rukia's hair, making it shine and glimmer. Her skin seemed to glow and her eyes had a little twinkle to them. Her voice and manners were soft and delicate and she was very graceful. Sitting there, under the sun, she looked so…
"Kurosaki-kun, what are you doing there? Don't you want some breakfast?"-
The princess's voice jerked Ichigo of his daydreaming and he walked over the table. They had coffee, milk and toast.
"Sorry it's just that I didn't want to interrupt"-
"I hope you guys slept comfortably last night"-Anais said
"I slept like a baby"-Rukia replied with a smile
After they were done with their breakfast, they headed to the town again. They noticed that the people seemed worried and were talking amongst each other, so Anais headed to one of the merchants
"What's going on?"-
"Anais, we have a serious problem. Our land, it's dying. We have been able to take care of it after all these years without the water but, now the land won't let us grow anything. All the fruits and vegetables are dead or even rotten."-
Anais lowered her head in thought. Then she jerked her head up and ran towards the Great Pond.
"I have an idea"-she said to Rukia and Ichigo who were following her.
They stopped at the pond and Anais looked down with the same thinking look as before
"We need to clean this pond"-she said
"But how are you going to do that?"-Ichigo asked
"I don't know but there has to be a way. I can't let my people suffer. We have all worked so hard and sacrificed so much, it just isn't fair. I need to clear this pond"-
A small tear fell from her cheeks and fell to the pond. Rukia's pendant started to glow again and the symbol appeared under her feet. She placed a hand in Anais shoulder and the symbol appeared under the red-haired girl, who placed her hand in front of her chest like in prayer and was surrounded by sand.
At first everyone thought that it was another sand storm, but once they noticed that the sand was not spreading, everyone gathered around the pond. All the sand from the pond shot up into the sky and scattered in the wind, and in the middle of the pond, was the small praying figure of Anais.
"We're saved!"-
"The pond is back!"-
All the townspeople started jumping and hugging one another. Anais headed towards Ichigo and Rukia, who was still holding the pendant.
"Thank you so much Rukia-hime. You have given me the power to save our pond, and to save my people. Now we shall never suffer again in the hands of envious rebels"-
"You're welcome"-
They were all once again in the small wooden hut. Ichigo and Rukia were standing in front of Anais, ready for their next journey.
"I knew you guys came here for something. Everything happens for a reason, don't you think?"-Anais said happily
"I sure do"-Rukia replied
"Oh wait before you leave, there's something I need to give you"-she reached inside her dress pocket and pulled out a tiny sphere
"This is Sabure no Megami. I hope it helps you in your journey"-she handed the sphere to Rukia and the symbol appeared once more under their feet. The silver light engulfed the couple and in instants they disappeared again.
Anais sighed and let out a little giggle.
"Those two are so cute together"-
And on they go to their next adventure. Does Ichigo now what he' s feeling? Will he do something about it? Does the princess fell the same way? Stay tuned for the next chapter!!!
Sabure no Megami: Goddess of sand
And now...reader and writer interaction!!!!:
Name this character:
"I will put it in a away that even an idiot like you will understand"