Disclaimer: Hi...my name is Mizu-chan, and I'm here to talk to you about how I dont' own Bleach. Tite-Kubo does. Thank you
Phew, now this was hard to write!! It took me a while but I think it's alright. Here we finally have some IchixRuki fluff and some serious action!!!! I hope you guys like it. Thank again to all of you who have left your wonderfull reviews!!! I'm sorry if I continue to bug you with my grammar issues but hey, I'm latin, so cut me some slack!! OK Enjoy!!
Reign of fire
Hot was an understatement. It was scorching, boiling, discustingly hot. For a moment they thought that their skins were going to peel off or melt. The sweat beads ran through their spines and down their foreheads, making their vision slightly blurry. Ichigo looked up and noticed that the sky was dark. There was no sun, or stars or anything, just smoke and ashes. Next to him, Rukia had the back of her hand covering her mouth as she coughed and her eyes were squinting against the smoke. She pulled her hair back with her hands and dried the sweat of her forehead with her sleeve.
"Oh my God, It's to hot here. What is this place?'"-Rukia-hime asked
"Hell? I have no freaking idea, but we need to get out of here before were made into roast"-Ichigo suggested. The only problem was, where was the way out? They looked around and saw nothing but gravel and dirt. Ichigo heard Rukia gasp and turned to her.
He followed her gaze and his mouth opened in surprise.
In front of them sat a huge volcano. From the top part there was sparks of lava coming out and the smoke was issuing from it. They soon noticed that they were in the volcano's feet.
"Rukia, over here"-Ichigo found a hole in one of the walls and through it they could see some light. They got out and a cool breeze welcomed them, making them fall on their feet and lay on their backs, breathing heavily.
"Oh thank God"-Rukia breathed. She started coughing again.
"Are you ok?"-But the moment he asked her that, he had to turn away himself to cough as well.
"It was just the ashes. Don't worry, I'm fine"-Rukia replied. She removed the strand of hair from her face and stared into the sky. Out here, the sky was of a deep purple, as if it was about to rain. She noticed they were probably on some mountain and, judging by the wind, they were probably several feet off the ground. Her dress was very uncomfortable to her right now since it was stuck to her skin from all the sweat. She stood up to receive the cool wind on her whole body, the wind blowing her hair away from her face, her dress floating behind her.
Ichigo was beside himself. The knot on his chest had come up to his mouth several times, but he kept biting his tongue. If he said something to the princess and she did not reply the way he wanted her to, it would be beyond awkward for them. He sat up and saw the figure of the princess, standing against the wind. Her eyes were closed and she had a small smile as she welcomed the coolness of the mountain breeze. That's it; he wasn't going to take this anymore.
"Rukia, I need to tell you something"-he said with conviction, which died immediately after she opened her eyes and looked at him. The breeze made her hair cover her azure eyes slightly. Ichigo stood up and stood in front of her.
"What is it?"-Rukia asked, her eyes wide with expectation
"Well I…I think…no, I know that…um, I…"-his face was of a dark red and he couldn't bring himself to look at her. She smiled and raised his head with her hand, her deep-violet eyes were soft and vulnerable, a way that Ichigo had never seen before.
"What is it Kurosaki-kun?"-
Ichigo realized that he was not going to be able to do this with words, so he took action. He grabbed the princess by the waist and brought her towards his chest. When their faces were just inches away, he softly kissed her.
For a second Rukia stood there, frozen by the action. Then she gave in by closing her eyes and placing her hand in the back of his head, caressing his hair. Their kiss deepened as they both claimed their lips and in their passion, they fell on their knees. Ichigo brought Rukia closer to his body and held her hair in his hand, feeling the softness in each strand. She gasped for breath as he kissed her neck and in the back of her ear.
"Ichigo"-she moaned softly in his ear, making him smile against her skin. She had never called him by his name and hearing her say it made him want her more.
After several minutes of kissing and touching, they separated, looking at each other and gasping for breath. Ichigo continued stroking Rukia's arm and she looked into his amber eyes.
They were about to continue when suddenly the ground started to shake. A loud rumbling noise filled their ears and the purple sky turned black. They heard some shrieks coming from the mountain below and saw people running towards them. They stood up as a group of young kids reached them.
"What are you guys doing here? We need to move! Let's go!"-A young boy grabbed Ichigo's hand and a girl grabbed Rukia's, dragging them away with them. They took them to a cave on the other side of the mountain, which was dark, and the air was moist with humidity. The people behind them started lighting up torches and suddenly everyone was whispering, the ground still shaking slightly.
"What's happening? Why is everyone here?"-Rukia asked the little girl now sitting next to her
"Because if we don't hide, the evil witch is going to burn us"-she whispered back. The little girl was shaking slightly and she hugged her knees, rocking back and forth. In front of them were Ichigo and the little boy, who was dusting himself off and fixing his cap.
"Hey kid. What was that all about?"-Ichigo asked. The kid turned to him
"That was the evil witch. She's angry and every now and then, she spits out lava and ashes, covering the whole city. If we don't hide, we would die suffocated by the heat."-the kid explained. He started looking around and started hissing someone's name in the darkness
"Hana, Hana where are you? Mom told you not to get away from me, Hana!"-
"I'm over here Tsuki"-whispered a small voice from across. The figure of a small blonde-haired girl appeared from the dark and hugged the kid
"I was very scared. I'm sorry, I won't run away again"-the little girl buried her face in the kid's chest
"Hey, where is the girl you dragged here, the one with the long dress?"-Ichigo asked the little girl. She looked up from the kid's chest with watery eyes
"Um, she's over there"-she pointed towards were she came from. Ichigo wasn't able to see anything but he tried to find her anyways.
"Rukia, Rukia where are you?"- He called out. He heard some shushing voices next to him. He squinted his eyes as he saw a glimpse of light in front of him. He walked towards it and found Rukia peeking through a small hole in the wall.
"Hey, I was worried about you"-he said
"Look"-Rukia moved to the side letting Ichigo look through. He peeked out and saw the sky, once purple, now completely black. There were small particles of ash flying about and the wind was howling violently.
"It's the witch. She did that 'cause she's mad."- The little boy and girl appeared behind Ichigo and Rukia, startling them.
"How the hell did you guys get here?" -Ichigo asked
"We followed the little light she has"-the boy pointed at Rukia's pendant, which was slightly glowing.
"My name is Tsuki and this is my sister Hana. Who are you guys?"-the kid asked
"I'm Ichigo and this is Rukia. What is this place by the way"-
"This is Kasai no Yama. The volcano here was inactive for many years but ever since the evil witch got here, the volcano does nothing but spit out lava all the time."-Tsuki explained
"And who is this evil witch you guys talk about?"-Rukia asked. The little girl Hana clung to Rukia's dress, her thumb on her mouth.
"We've never seen her. We know she's a witch because we hear her laugh and cast spells but she hasn't come out of wherever she's at"-
"And how often does this happen?"-Ichigo asked as he looked through the small opening again
"Lately it has been happening more often than usual. Before it was once or twice a year but now it's almost every week."- The little girl was now grabbing onto Rukia's dress as if she was scared to let go. Rukia patted her head softly
"It's ok, don't be scared. I won't let anything happen to you"-she reassured the blonde girl
"You're warm. I think you should help the evil witch"-the small girl smiled at the proposal and Rukia looked at her little brother
"Hana stop saying those kinds of things. That witch doesn't need help, she needs to be eliminated"-
"What do you mean by help?"-Ichigo asked Hana, who was now cowering behind Rukia. Tsuki sighed and placed both hands on his waist
"Hana has this theory that the evil witch is not really evil, but sad. We heard once that she had a daughter but that she ran away because she didn't like this kingdom. Hana says that every time the ashes fall is because she's crying."-
"And what do you think?"-Ichigo asked the boy
"Well, Hana has a strong intuition but, I don't know I mean, she's just a kid and kids come up with all sorts of crazy stuff"-
Ichigo smirked at the little kid. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and started pacing around.
"How long do we have to stay here?"-
"Until the sky turns purple again"-
They returned to their original spot and sat there, waiting for the sky to gain it's original color. Rukia sat next to Ichigo, her head lying on is shoulder.
"Ichigo, I sense a very strong soul here"-she whispered
"Is it close by?"-
"I'm not sure, but it's very strong. It feels suffocating"-
Ichigo squatted in front of her and held her head on both of his hands, their eyes locked on each others
"Listen, I know you're tired, but you need to focus and try to find the soul, so that way we can get out of here"-
Rukia nodded and closed her eyes in concentration. She stayed that way for a few seconds until the pendant started to glow once again. A thick, red beam shot from the jewel and pointed outside of the cave into the dark skies. Rukia opened her eyes and smiled weakly.
"It's that way"-
"I see. Are you ok to walk?"-
Rukia nodded and stood up. They started to leave when Tsuki and Hana intercepted them; their arms wide open.
"Where do you think you're going? You can't just walk out there, it's dangerous"-Tsuki whispered loudly
"We need to leave kid. There's something we're looking for and it's that way"-Ichigo replied, pushing the kid aside
"Oh please, please don't leave. When the sky turns black, a bunch of scary creatures come out to eat. They come out because of the darkness"-Hana cried, clinging on to Rukia's dress
"Tsuki, Hana, leave them alone."- A harsh voice resounded from the cave, making the kids stand still and lower their heads.
A tall figure came out of the cave's darkness. He was wearing a white vest with fur around the neck (A/N: Like the one he gets when he does Bankai) and black pants, and his body was full of weird tattoos. His hair was spiky in the back and it was as red as fire.
"Who the hell are you?"-Ichigo asked
"My name is Abarai Renji, and I am the father of these two brats. I noticed you two were planning of leaving the cave, can I ask why?"-
"Daddy, the warm lady is going to save the witch"-the little girl chimed
"Shhhh Hana, stop saying those crazy things out loud"-Tsuki whispered to his sister, making her cover her mouth with her hand.
Renji looked at Rukia, who was standing next to Ichigo and had the pendant in her hand, the red beam shinning strong.
"We need to go to this direction to find what we are looking for"-Rukia replied
"That direction is where the entrance to the volcano is, which means you would be entering the castle of the witch. Like my daughter was saying, every time the sky turns black these creatures come out, and they are very fond of meat"-Renji explained
"So how do we go around them?"-Ichigo asked
"You need light. A lot of light, the strongest the better. I think I can help you with that"-
The tall redheaded man walked away and returned within seconds with a torch. He lit it up and many of the villagers in the cave gasped in surprise.
"That should suffice. I warn you though, if you let that fire extinguish, you'll be meat. I hope you find whatever it that you're looking for is"-Renji held his kids next to him. Hana stuck her thumb in her mouth while she saw Rukia leave, taking the beam with her.
"Daddy, I know she can save the witch. She's nice and warm, like mommy was"-
"I'm sure she is"-
The couple started to walk into the darkness of the mountain, the ashes being the only thing visible. Ichigo held Rukia's hand as they tripped over rocks and descended towards the volcano's entrance. The more they descended the harder it was getting for them to breath, since the air was scarce and the heat was increasing. They were starting to feel the sweat run down their backs as they finally reached the ground. Ichigo raised the torch over his head to light up the road in front of them and saw, several miles away still, the entrance to the castle.
They started walking again until Ichigo felt Rukia's hand slither from his grip as she covered her mouth to cough. The small princess was on her knees, her breathing was fast and ragged, and she was holding her chest.
"Rukia, are you ok? What's wrong? Talk to me!"-Ichigo grabbed the princess by the shoulders and looked at her face. Her skin was paler than usual and she could barely keep her eyes open.
"The…force…of…the…soul…it's so strong. I can't breath"-she gasped
"No, no, you have to stay alert, Rukia. You have to stay with me, I need you"-
Rukia smiled slightly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to gain some strength. Ichigo help her stand up and in the process, he completely forgot about the torch, which he left on the humid floor. The fire started flicking and it suddenly turned of, as if someone had stepped on it. Ichigo's eyes widened against the darkness and his heart started beating harder against his chest. Complete silence surrounded them, except for Rukia's ragged breathing. He crouched back down holding the tiny princess in his arms, waiting for whatever was out there.
He heard several low, growling sounds of what seemed to be wolves. The creatures had surrounded them and it was impossible for Ichigo to tell how many where they. They were closing into them and Ichigo could actually smell their putrid breaths.
"Rukia, hey Rukia, I really need for you to wake up. We need to run right now. Please, sweetie"-he was trying to wake up the slumbering princess, whispering in her ear and tapping her cheek lightly. Rukia opened her eyes slightly and they widened as she heard the low rumbling of the creatures growl. She was about to sit up straight when Ichigo pulled her down placing a hand on her abdomen.
"Don't make any sudden movements' moron or they'll have us for dinner"-
"What…what is that Ichigo?"-Rukia's voice was full of panic
"I don't know but I'm betting they're the creatures Renji was talking about. We don't have any light so we need to be very still"-he whispered
Rukia placed a hand on her chest and closed her eyes. If she didn't think of something quickly this was going to be the end, and it couldn't be, not now, now that her and Ichigo…
Like a flash of lightning, it appeared in her mind. Never had she felt anything so intensely, like what she was feeling that moment. The sentences were forming in her mind as if she had always known them and, at that moment, she knew what she needed to do.
Rukia moved Ichigo's hand to the side and stood up, staggering slightly. She placed herself in front of Ichigo, clasped both of her hands together as in prayer, and closed her eyes, weariness and unconsciousness claiming her.
"Rukia, what are you doing? Are you fucking crazy?"-she heard Ichigo calling her name, but she did not move. The words floated in her mind and her lips parted, ready.
"Ancient Gods of Sun and Light, your power holy and sublime. Grant your child with the blessed warmth of your wisdom. Give me your light…RELEASE!"
The pendant's symbol appeared under her feet and a gust of wind surrounded her. Suddenly the symbol started to glow and next thing Ichigo knew, the whole place was swarming with a very warm light.
"Rukia"-Ichigo muttered as he saw the tiny figure of the princess wrapped in light. The creatures where whimpering as the light touched their skins and they ran off to wherever there was darkness.
Rukia turned her head to Ichigo. Her eyes were full of light and her face was glowing. She smiled at him.
"Let's go"-
Ichigo stood up and looked at her in awe. He walked behind her and noticed how the light would follow her steps.
"I guess I am a witch after all"-she said
"Yeah, I guess you are"-Ichigo replied as they walked towards the doors of the castle
So, Rukia is a little witch huh? Yep, and we are going to see more of that great power. And Ichiog and Rukia finally hooked up!!!! Yay
Hana: Flower
Tsuki: Moon
Kasai no Yama: Mountain of fire
Please review...
And now, readers and writes interaction:
OMG! Did you guys see episode 118! Did you guys see Ichigo's face when Rukia was attacked!! I love it!!!!