First Time All Over Again Chapter 9: Lost, a bleach fanfic

First Time- All Over Again

Chapter 9

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A/N: holy cow! It's been a long time since I updated..like almost 2 weeks…sorry about that. I was secretly loathing my teachers and the second semester for putting so much stress and pressure on me. I finished writing this on Friday, Im glad I go to finish this today or else it would have never gotten on until next week. On a happier note, I think you will all enjoy this chapter…its over 4,000 words too so you know I spent a lot of time writing this. This chapter is named Lost by Avenged Sevenfold. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own this turkey sandwich that I'm eating

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Ichigo and Renji sped through western Rukon district 32 and were getting closer and closer to their destination, the seireretei when the spiritual pressure suddenly spike all around them. It was so strong that it made Ichigo nearly shake his legs. He knew the source of it too and from the looks on Renji's face, it wasn't good.

"Kuchiki-taicho…" off in the distance, 3000 or so kilometers away, was the great noble himself, Byakuya Kuchiki.

"Kuchiki-taicho…" repeated Renji again. Ichigo felt Renji's fear vibrating off of him. He nudged the spiky redhead hard.

"Act like you got a pair alright?" Ichigo maintained his defensive stance and kept his eyes straight ahead, waiting for the stolid captain to get closer to them. Renji straightened up so his captain wouldn't see how much of a pathetic coward he was now. If Ichigo and him did not think carefully, they might not live to get to find Rukia.

"Ichigo…let's get out of here." Renji turned to face Ichigo.

"Are you really that dense Renji? We can't turn tail and run. We must stay and fight if we have to. Maybe Byakuya will be merciful since he helped us in the Hueco Mundo war." Ichigo was no scaredy cat.

"Just listen to me for once alright? It may be smart to avoid picking fights with court guard squad captains for now. You must save your energy until we get Rukia to safety!" Renji was not ready to have Ichigo argue with him when Byakuya was getting closer and closer. Ichigo sighed, and mumbled agreement, swallowing his pride. They fled their spot, so fast causing dust to rise in place of where the Shinigami once stood.

Renji. Being more knowledgeable of the Soul Society's area, led the way. Ichigo, prickling with unease, kept looking over his shoulder as if expecting Byakuya to follow them. Renji took his eyes off the terrain in front of him to glance back at Ichigo.

"You feel it too Ichigo?" Ichigo looked doubtful. Byakuya knew full well they were there, he wouldn't let them get away.

"Yah, isn't it weird that he isn't ch-" Ichigo stopped as Byakuya's spiritual pressure soared until it disappeared for nearly one second. The next second, the black haired captain was right behind Ichigo with a sword close to his throat.

Centuries pass and still the same
War in our blood, some things never change
Fighting for land and personal gain
better your life, justify our pain
The end is knocking
The end is knocking

"Stop this trivial nonsense at once." His cold and dry tone was chilling and made both lieutenants stop in their tracks. They dropped to the ground and Byakuya sheathed his sword. Ichigo gulped. Even though he had trained to counteract men like Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo was not prepared when Byakuya hid his reiatsu and reappeared right behind him.

"Now, explain your reasons from hiding from us Kurosaki, Abarai." Byakuya kept a leveled head and glared at Ichigo, demanding him to tell the truth or else. Ichigo smirked smugly.

"Something the great Kuchiki doesn't know? It must be the apocalypse." Byakuya's expression did not change in the least, if anything, he stared only more intently at Ichigo. Renji nudged him hard which earned him in return a pull on his pineapple red hair. Ichigo humbled himself slightly.

"Do you expect me to be completely honest with you, Byakuya?" Renji still gawked at how Ichigo thought he could use first name basis with people of Kuchiki's class.

"I suppose I will have to settle with whatever simple-minded answer you have." Byakuya heard rumors, but he didn't listen to such petty gossip.

"Well, your sister is alive…" Ichigo said softly, his overconfident manner slipping away when he referred to Rukia. He hoped that Byakuya would let him through since he knew that even if he didn't show it, Byakuya did care about his adopted sister. Ichigo was surprised to see the stoic man before him flinch ever so slightly. 'He didn't know?' Ichigo thought it would be easy to automatically feel one's spiritual pressure unless…

"I don't have a sister." Byakuya did not show that he agknowleged Ichigo's words at all. Renji's mouth was ajar in both horror and disbelief. Ichigo did somehow keep his dignity but his anger and contempt for Byakuya was growing higher each second.

We've all been lost for most of this life
(lost for most of this life)
Everywhere we turn more hatred surrounds us
And I know that most of us just aint right
(most of us just aint right)
Following the wrong steps, being led by pride

"How could you say that? How could you forget the sister you adopted that you vowed to protect to your belated wife?" Locks of orange hair fell over his eyes, transforming his face into shadow. He wasn't thinking clearly anymore and was crossing boundaries into uncharted territory with Kuchiki's personal life.

"…Ichigo." Renji looked at his friend as he was ready to snap. When a Shinigami officer dies, it is forgotten to avoid emotional damage by those who were closest to it. Those who knew little of the Shinigami anyway, just continued on as if it never existed. However, there were some situations where the emotional attachment was so strong that those who shared a close bond with it would keep the memory alive.

Somehow, Ichigo one of those special cases and he kept Rukia close in his heart even when everyone around him ciesed to. There is nothing worse than non-existence, to watch as everything and everyone you know slip away.

How many lives will we take
How many hearts destined to break
Nowhere to run, can't escape
Full of ourselves, tied to our fate
The end is knocking
The end is knocking, yeah

Byakuya narrowed his eyes on Ichigo. 'How does he know about hisana?' Not liking where this was going, he turned and made his signature walk away.

"Hey! Turn around and face me Byakuya Kuchiki! We're not finished here!!" It was all Ichigo had to not run up to him and strangle the man. Renji had to hold Ichigo back from doing something rash but only got a blow to the stomach. Renji fell to his knees in pain. The force of the hit by Kurosaki caused his vision to fail a little bit. Byakuya finally turned around but did not look at Ichigo.

"Don't you have someplace better to be?" His voice gave nothing away but really Byakuya was being a softy because they mentioned his late wife. Also, it seemed throughout Ichigo yelling at him, he was really hurting inside and wanting to be someplace else. Both Renji and Ichigo were stunned. Byakuya was letting them go. They watched him depart for what seemed like several minutes when they remembered what they still had to do. Ichigo and Renji continued flashstepping through Rukongai until they came to the first district. When they existed Rukongai, They approached the gate to see a familiar face.

"Hey there Jidanbo!" Ichigo stepped forward with a smile on his face, trying not to show he was still upset about Byakuya's forgetfulness.

"Hello my little friend. How may I help you today?" The giant had gotten more giant axes since Ichigo cut them both. But since Kurosaki became an official resident of the Soul Society, he was allowed access in and out as often as he liked.

"I'd just like to go inside Jidanbo." The friendly giant obliged and opened up the gate. Ichigo tensed. Even though he is no longer 'the ryoka,' he still expected somebody to be waiting to kill him on the other side.

Renji was the first to look around. "It's quiet in here." Ichigo followed Abarai and saw he was right. There was not the faintest sound to be heard within the next four or so miles.

"They must know we're here. We have to be extra careful." That was Renji. Ichigo nodded, agreeing.

"I hope that Chad, Yoruichi, Inoue and Ishida are alright." Ichigo knew they probably would be, no, he knew they were because he felt all their reiatsus and they havnt disappeared yet. They ran sneakily from house to house.

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Ishida stopped to catch his breath. Orihime couldn't flashstep all that well so she hopped on his back and they had been jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Ishida couldn't go too fast because Orihime added more weight to him. Orihime suggested that she could just get off and try to catch up to him but Ishida told her it would only slow them down. Finally, the quincy's back was ready to break so they stopped to momentarily regain some lost energy.

"Inoue, are you thirsty? I packed some water bottles along with my spare cape…" Orihime sighed. No matter how old Ishida would be, his fetish for neat and tidy clothes would never fade.

"No, I'm ok. I'm sure this won't be a long rescue. Kurosaki-kun may already have Kuchiki-san as we speak." The strawberry blonde was confident that Ichigo wouldn't fail.

Ishida took out a water bottle and drank it thoroughly. He had to admire Orihime's positive outlook on all of this. She never gave up faith in Ichigo. He let a small smile show on his face.

"What are you smiling about Uryuu?" The blonde in question stared inquisitively at the quincy. Said boy grew flustered and only pushed up his glasses in a nervous manner.

"Nothing, I just agree with you is all. Come on, we better move along. Regardless of Ichigo, he might need some backup support. Maybe we will even get there before him." Ishida didn't turn quickly enough to see a beaming Orihime run up to him, her naturally large "assets" bouncing up and down in a rhythmic motion. His face reddened and he tried to block out the image. Luckily, something else distracted him. Unfortunately, it was not the something he wanted.

With peace of mind so hard to find
We're dwelling on the drastic signs
Another way to numb our mind
And as you close your eyes tonight
and pray for a better life
youll see it flying helplessly away

"This spiritual pressure…it belongs to.." Ishida was answered by a familiar spiky white haired captain along with his tall lieutenant; who was just as "gifted" as Orihime.

"Rangiku-san…Toshiro-kun." Orihime was at first surprised because she didn't feel their reiatsus like Ishida did.

"It's hitsugaya-taicho to you." He always hated it when a lower seated Shinigami treated him like a kid. He wanted to be treated with just as much respect as the other captains. Matsumoto ruffled his hair.

"Don't be such a sour puss hitsugaya-kun." Her cheeks were rosier than normal so it probably meant that the busty fukutaicho was drunk…again. The kid prodigy decided to just ignore her and stared condescendingly at Ishida and Inoue.

"It's odd to see you lurking around the eight division quarters, especially with the news of these supposed ryoka running about." His arms were crossed over his chest as he awaited a reasonable explanation. Orihime glanced up at Ishida who did not seem phased by the tenth division captain's intimidating stare.

"We were investigating that when you showed up." This followed in a stare down between the two of them. Hitsugaya looked like he was skeptical of their excuse but dropped his gaze finally.

"Look, if you are looking for the captive, she was placed in a prison cell. As far as we know, there will be no harm done to her. She is only kept there because Yamamoto suspects she is linked to Ichigo, who is going to be executed for his crimes." Hitsugaya looked to Matsumoto who had nothing to say.

"You remember Rukia hitsugaya-taicho?" Orihime looked shocked. She thought like everyone else, he'd be the ones to forget about her.

"At first no, but then when I heard of the description of her, it reminded me of Byakuya's adopted sister who passed away over 30 years ago and of Ichigo's reckless attempt to save her the first time from death. Without a doubt he's here right?" Both of them nodded in unison to his question.

"Kurosaki Ichigo is in danger. If you want, we can lead you in the right direction and find Ichigo for you. The prison is located near the sixth division. There are guards all around so you have to be careful." Orihime looked as if she wanted to say something but shot her head forward.

"What about Chad and Yoruichi-san? We all split up." Ishida looked to Toshiro as if he were about to ask the same thing.

"From what I can tell, Chad is safely away from contact of anyone dangerous. He should be fine for now. Plus, he has Yoruichi to protect him." They all then looked to Matsumoto who had been oddly quiet. She was using Hitsugaya as a pillow with her arms draped around his neck. She was also drooling.

"MATSUMOTO!!!" The short captain roared at his fukutaicho to wake up. She groaned and staggered onto her own feet.

"What did I miss?" her eyes were droopy and she looked barely enthused to stay there any longer.

"Everything!" Inoue and Ishida just watched silently, feeling sorry for Hitsugaya.

"So what's the quickest way to the prison again Hitsugaya-taicho?" The quincy was anxious with any second someone could pop out and take them away.

"Keep going down these quarters until you have reached the Kuchiki mansion which is exactly five blocks from the prison barracks." Ishida nodded, understanding.

"Right, thanks. Keep an eye out for Ichigo if you see him." Hitsugaya did a curt nod as well. Then both of them parted ways and went their own paths. Inoue grabbed hold of Ishida again and they were off.

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A giant wearing a white shirt and a red quincy cross on it trudged along with a black cat following him. He was the one who had the poorest sense of direction. Chad never had to travel this far into the ninth division before but there was no one really around, so Chad was safe for now.

"Which way now Yoruichi?" He looked down at his partner.

"Don't stop now, just keep going straight ahead." The clearing was dead silent. It was strange, where was everybody? Chad mumbled a comply and kept running, the sound of his feet hitting the soft pavement mixed with cat steps.

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In a much more busy area, the fourth, fifth and sixth divisions were bustling with people walking about. Byakuya was determined to see who this "sister" of his looked like. He had to confirm this to be true, seeing as he could not rely on the words of one distraught orange haired punk. The sixth division captain heard from various people who talked to a raven haired prisoner that she said she was his sister. That was preposterous and simply impossible though. He had no other family relations that he knew about. He had no sister anymore. Byakuya Kuchiki reached the prison and entered without complications. He passed a long row of empty cells until he felt someone look at him almost fearfully. Byakuya turned to who it was but did not look at her directly.

"State your name." His tone was acrimoniously cold and demanding of an answer likewise to Ichigo but his face held no substantial emotion.

"Rukia…nii-sama." She was submissive and back in her chair. The instant she felt his presence, Rukia felt her heart beat faster and faster. Sitting inside there with him out there made her like some piece of art on display. Byakuya was waiting for the very second for her to crack or show any emotion vulnerability.

"Don't call me that, we aren't family so you will not address me in such a way." He glowered at her, knowing Rukia wouldn't even try to make eye contact with him.

"Yes sir, Kuchiki-taicho." Her back was facing him and she did not even want to look at him.

"You will look at me and face me when I speak to you." His small black pupils bore holes into Rukia's back. Rukia hesitantly turned around to see the intimidating stature known as Byakuya Kuchiki.

Byakuya let an inaudible gasp escape his lips as he saw just how much Rukia looked similar to Hisana. Likewise was the reaction from the raven who was shocked to see her adopted brother look at her in a strange way. He stared at her for almost ten seconds before regaining his composure and letting ice settle in his pitch black orbs once more.

"I see…so it is you." The way he spoke felt degrading to Rukia. It was as if she were just an object to him. He could've cared less if she rose from her grave or not. Suddenly irritated and not thinking of the consequences of her actions, Rukia glared at him as coldly as Byakuya himself.

"What kind of reaction is that? I'm alive and the best you can come up with is-'oh it's you?" She stood up and formed fists with her hands and they rested down at her sides. Byakuya didn't even blink. He just walked away.

"This will be the last time I will speak to you before Ichigo's execution." Lonliness once again found its place back with Rukia and she kept imagining the distance between her and Ichigo were growing even more steadily. Soon enough, he would die and that distance would grow indefinitely apart. Her head started to throb in agony as memories of herself being taken away by Renji and her brother came back along with the memories of her almost death, herself alone in the shrine of penitence and finally moments away before her stopped execution, flooded her mind. It was overpowering than the other memory attacks she had experienced. The walls seemed to pulse before her and come to life as she relived everything. She was overwhelmed with powerful emotions she didn't think were possible. Rukia remembered feeling guilty for her friends coming to rescue her, mad at herself for Leaving Ichigo in a bloody mess and finally, Rukia relived the day when he stood on the top of the soukyoku and halted the execution.

Flashback

Rukia's arms were pinned upwards with her feet and legs locked into place. The soukyoku was awakened from its long sleep and the heat increased dramatically around her as a phoenix like bird stretched out its wings and looked right at her. Tears welled up in her eyes even though she knew full well she would leave the world with no regrets. Yamomoto would send Ichigo and his friends home safely so why was she still clinging to her miserable life? Ichigo suddenly came to mind and his back was facing her. Rukia didn't know why but suddenly her will to live soared. The soukyoku bird came charging at her with amazing speed and Rukia Kuchiki prepared for the death blow but there was none. She opened her eyes to see a cape blowing amidst everything. She looked up further to see that it belonged to Ichigo. He was staring down at her with a smug smirk on his face. "Yo."

"I-Ichigo…you, you IDIOT!!" Ichigo looked down at Rukia startled, wondering why Rukia would not be glad he was there. "Why did you come again?" Even though Rukia was about to die and a good amount of captains and vice captains were below her, she wouldn't be humbled to show Ichigo any gratitude while in reality she was truly happy to see him.

"Uh…what?!" Ichigo looked down at her bewildered.

"You know that...you can't win against my brother!!" Rukia's face had not fallen for a second. "You'll really get killed this time!" Tears were almost brimming at her lids, ready to break through her proud wall of little emotion.

"I've made my peace with this, so…I don't need you to rescue me! GO HOME!!" Her voice cracked a bit as it increased. She knew Ichigo went through such an effort to save her. She saw his eyes soften but did not want to respond. Then Ichigo noticed that his control over the soukyoku lessened.

"Whoa!" His eyes expanded for a few seconds, fearing the next second, Rukia would be impailed by the great bird with the power of over a million zanpaktou.

"Ichigo!!" Rukia shouted up at him. Ichigo jumped off as he saw the soukyoku looking ready for a go at him.

"Making space for a second attack? Good, come!" Rukia was frightened that Ichigo would be so bold.

"S…Stop Ichigo!! Don't do it! You can't stop soukyoku twice in a row!!" However, it was pointless, Ichigo and the bird like thing were heading straight for each other.

"Ichigo!!!" Alas, the collision was stopped by Shunsui and Ukitake as the restrained the soukyoku and destroyed it. Both Ichigo and Rukia stared in amazement. Once they saw that it was taken care of, Ichigo jumped backwards and landed not too high above Rukia.

"Hey! What are you going to do now?" Rukia stared at him, wary of what he might do next.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ichigo swings Zangetsu above his head rather wildly and it increases in speed and power. "I'm going to..destroy this scaffold." His voice was low and his eyes were turning blue.

"What…!? S-stop! Don't waste your strength! Listen carefully Ichigo!! The execution stand of soukyoku is…" she was cut off.

"Be quiet!" Ichigo's tone had a hint of impatience that could be detected beneath his intense concentration. Ichigo grabbed hold of his zanpaktou and stopped swinging. Rukia's eyes widened.

"Just shut your mouth and watch!" Rukia was speechles as it was obvious her attempts to send him home failed.

"Ichi..go.." Then as Ichigo struck Zangetsu through the execution stand, power exploded as it split apart. Rukia watched as the execution stand destabilized right before her eyes. Then there was nothing but calm as a feeling of serenity washed over her amidst the chaos.

"Stop telling me to leave you here and run away. It's so annoying!! I told you, I don't care what you say. Heh…this is the second time now…" Rukia was falling but it was that same voice that caught her.

"I've come to save you Rukia." The next thing she knew, Ichigo was standing beside her, holding her like a football against his side. He felt warm and safe. She tingled all over. Rukia now let a few tears escape her eyes.

"I…I won't thank you for this…idiot." Even though Rukia was looking down, she swore she felt him smiling and it was just for her.

End Flashback…

Rukia placed a hand where his hand held her body close to his that one day and smiled softly.

"You never leave me completely do you?" She said quietly to herself. Then something happened that she did not expect to happen, someone answered back.

"I wouldn't be a very good nakama if I let you go baka." That familiar voice, she spun around so quickly her back could cracked. Rukia saw a cloaked man with vibrant orange hair stand outside her window. He easily broke through and jumped in. Rukia looked at him, stunned.

"Ichigo!!" He gave one of his cocky grins which quickly gave way for a compassionate one. "Hey. I'm here to get you out of this fix."

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A/N: YAY! Ichigo found her! But how long will their happy moment last, mwahaha, you shall all have to wait perhaps another two weeks to find out! Review!