AN: Alright, since the people asked for it, here's another chapter. (nuh-uh, you were just re-reading some of your stuff and wanted to write more for this story, don't lie!) Okay okay, so I wanted to write another one. I also wanted to say MERRY CHRISTMAS everybody! Hope everyone has a good holiday full of presents (without clothes in them, bleh!), Christmas tree smell, good food, family, lotsa love, fun, and fireworks of course! So here's a gift from me to all of my awesome reviewers, thanks so much!
Lonely Wounds ch. 2
It was a very strange morning, to say the least. It was confusing, and by the end of the school day, not altogether pleasant. Rukia was gone. No one seemed to notice it, either. The teacher didn't call her name during roll call, none of the girls wondered aloud where she was during lunch break, nothing. And Ichigo… seemed dead. He said very little, and though he acted like himself, there was a sluggish, half-hearted feel to everything he did.
Chad had considered Rukia and Ichigo to be friends, good ones. He didn't know if the gut feeling he had was right, but if there could be any evidence that something was wrong with Rukia, it was the way his friend acted.
He also noticed that Orihime acted strangely. Like him and Ichigo, she kept looking at Rukia's empty desk with a puzzled expression on her face. He'd started taking a lot of notice when it came to Orihime, after their previous meeting outside of school. She might have just been worried that Rukia was absent, but then… that didn't explain why no one else was. They asked about Ishida Uryuu, the unsociable boy in their class who hadn't shown up today, but no one had asked about Rukia. No one else was looking at her empty chair.
On his way home from school, Chad saw a dash of bright orange hair sitting down on park stairs and headed towards it, hoping to catch Ichigo and ask him about Rukia's absence. She'd beaten him to it. On the stairs, sitting with Ichigo was Orihime. Chad suddenly felt that horrid feeling in his gut, the one he always got when Orihime was with Ichigo. It twisted different ways for every little thing; if they were talking, if they were touching in any way, how big Orihime's smile was. It was uncomfortable to say the least, but Chad ignored it. The closer she was, the more she smiled… somehow it made him happier.
He felt a bit like he was intruding on something, but after catching a bit of their conversation, Chad stayed where he was and listened. That strange morning he thought he was having was nothing compared to the rest of his day.
Rukia, was gone. Gone back to her own world, the world of the dead. It was surprising and not at all at the same time. Memories of her helping him with the ghost, Ichigo and her leaving their bodies and jumping through walls, all the strange things they'd been up to those past few months flooded his mind and his shock was whittled down to nearly non-existent.
He kept listening and found himself worrying as Ichigo told the listening red head next to him about Rukia being in trouble. He told her that he'd get Rukia back and Chad could hear the determination in his voice, see the blaze in his eyes despite the fact that he was looking at the back of his head. Ichigo was serious about this, enough to risk his life already to save Rukia from her fate. Chad found himself determined to help not only Ichigo, but Rukia as well. She was his friend and he had every reason to go rushing off into battle to get her back whether Ichigo asked for his help or not.
It wasn't long after that stranger things began cropping up. Ichigo left for "training to get Rukia" and Orihime lingered on the stairs for a second. When she did get up she was stopped by a lithe black cat. It was sitting regally as most cats do and staring straight at the red-head. Orihime smiled and bent to pet it. Her hand stopped about an inch from the cat's head when it opened its mouth and-
Wait, spoke? Chad's shaded eyes opened as wide as they could go. The cat told Orihime she had a power as well, and accurately guessed that she was going to follow Ichigo to help Rukia. The masculine voice addressed him suddenly and he stepped out from around the corner he'd been listening from behind, a sheepish look on his broad face.
"You need training before you can even hope to get into Soul Society," the cat continued, turning to look up at Chad. Orihime looked at him too, smiling as always. "I can train you."
That was all Chad needed to know. Him and Orihime both ended up in a dingy, leaking, deserted warehouse together with the cat (who they learned to call Yoruichi) for almost the whole summer break. The rest of that summer was used for saving Rukia.
AN: The next chapter, Fighting Together, will hopefully be up soon. Please review and have a happy set of holidays!