I'm sooo sorry I haven't updated this before now! I can only plead work, lack of sleep, car problems, laziness, writer's block, and the computer with all my info/plotlines/reference materials dying unexpectedly. (And it didn't help that Ichigo and Rukia haven't seen each other for several months' worth of manga chapters...) Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this, your wonderful compliments never fail to make me smile. (Also thank you to those who have favorited/alerted this, I know how hard it is to review sometimes!)
And now, FINALLY, on to the next chapter!
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She hears a whisper of sound behind her and spins, holding up Shirayuki to block an oncoming attack... and finds that the street before her is empty. Ichigo is gone.
Before she can react, an arm snakes around her neck.
"Found you, Rukia-chan."
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Rukia reacts instinctively, shoving her elbow into his gut as she lunges to the side in an attempt to escape his hold on her neck. He hisses in pain, but his grip tightens around her and he turns, blocking her movement.
"Now, Rukia-chan, that wasn't nice at all. I go through all that trouble to see you like this, and you just try to run away from me?" He leans closer to her, and she suppresses a shudder of revulsion. "You're hurting my feelings."
"Ichigo!" she calls, still trying to get him to hear her, to fight back against the hollow that has taken him over, but her only response is a mocking laugh.
"He can't hear you at the moment, Rukia-chan. That unfortunate blow to the head seems to have taken him out." He reaches around with his other arm, twisting Shirayuki out of Rukia's grasp and tossing the sword carelessly aside, then dropping Zangetsu to the ground beside him. "It looks like it's just you and me right now, so why don't we make the most of it?"
"Scum," Rukia whispers, considering her position. The hollow has the advantage in this situation; he's much stronger than she is, and obviously not afraid of hurting her. If she's going to get away from him, she'll have to rely on surprise and skill. Closing her eyes, she pulls her carefully-honed Kuchiki mask over her features, feeling her inner self calm in response. She blocks out her emotions, ignores the pain of her injuries, tries to forget the fact that she is currently at the mercy of a sadistic monster whose entire purpose in life is to cause misery. It's difficult, but she is used to it by now; as a shinigami and Kuchiki, she is well-versed in the art of not feeling.
Think. You can do this. You can defeat him, save him. You just need to calm down and think of a plan.
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The hollow looks down at the small girl in his arms, frowning. When he first grabbed her, he'd felt the fear coursing through her body, and it had tasted sweet. But now, he can feel that fear leaving her, her glacial calm returning. As if she is in control of the situation.
He hates it when someone else is in control.
Well then, he'll just have to change that. And he knows exactly how to catch her off guard.
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Rukia is still worried, still afraid for Ichigo, but she forces her emotions into the back of her mind. Just as she had when Ichigo had been lying in the rain, blood soaking into the cement.
Just as she had after she had killed Kaien-dono.
She bites her lip hard, the parallels between then and now welling up in her mind like blood from an open wound. Don't think about that, she thinks. Don't lose it. Don't...
This time, you won't kill him. You will save him. You have to.
Forcing her thoughts back to the present, she begins to plan. If she can step on his foot at the same time as she shoves her thumb into his wrist, it might distract him long enough for her to slip out from under his arm...
A voice behind her cuts through her concentration. "Something wrong, Rukia-chan? I thought you were trying to convince me to back off and let your precious 'Ichigo' out... or have you given up on that?"
She feels his hot breath on the back of her neck as he leans closer and whispers, "Good choice."
Anger begins to rise within her, but she shoves it down. She mustn't fall for his taunting, that will just give him what he wants.
"I knew you wanted me."
She has to ignore him.
"Good thing the feeling's mutual, then."
And she gasps as she feels him lean into her body, sliding his other arm around her waist and caressing her chest with long, cold fingers. She has to remain in control of her emotions...
She feels his teeth close gently on her earlobe, and panic floods her mind as he begins to suck lightly on her skin. Her mask trembles, then shatters, and everything she has been keeping back rushes to the front. Pain. Fear. She jerks sideways in his grip, breath coming quickly as she renews her struggles to escape. Behind her, she hears mocking laughter.
"What's wrong, Rukia-chan? Didn't you like that?"
"Kisama," she hisses, trying desperately to wrench herself free, but his arms tighten around her and she can't move and she can't breathe. She gasps for air, her efforts slowing as she concentrates on maintaining consciousness. You have to stay awake, you have to escape, you have to save him! But she doesn't see any way out of this situation, other than going along with the hollow and waiting for the chance to overpower him. Making up her mind, she goes limp in his arms.
His grip loosens slightly. "That's better," he says, his voice smug. She begins to cough, breathing raggedly through her bruised throat. "I'm sure that the King wouldn't like it if I had to hurt you, would he?"
Rukia glares, the defiant gesture reassuring her even though she knows he cannot see it. She wants to argue with him, to yell at him, but she knows that defiance has gotten her nowhere so far. Closing her eyes, she forces herself once again to ignore the hollow's presence. Ichigo. I have to win this... I have to save him. She continues to take jagged, shallow breaths, trying to fool the hollow into thinking she has been weakened by his attack. After all, Ichigo is terrible at sensing reiatsu...
This isn't Ichigo. Never forget that.
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The hollow smirks, pleased with the girl's reaction. He has watched her for months, studying her weaknesses, because he knows that she is his weakness. By now, he is sure he knows her even better than he does.
And he plans to use that knowledge to destroy him.
He idly strokes the skin of her throat with his left thumb, enjoying the feel of her trembling against him as she struggles for breath. This is all well and good, but it just isn't enough. He can feel the King stirring within him, beginning to awaken, and he wants his next move to be noticed. He wants to hear them both scream.
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Rukia is waiting to see what the hollow will do next, trying to prepare herself to exploit any opportunity he might give her, trying not to let her fear of what he is capable of cloud her thoughts. She is alert for any sound, any movement that might betray his intentions to her and allow her to form a plan of attack.
And then, behind her, she hears a rustle of fabric as he shifts position. Wait for it... she tells herself, trying not to give herself away too soon. Carefully keeping her breathing steady and her body limp, she prepares to block his attack.
He bends his head (no, Ichigo's head) toward her, and she expects him to whisper in her ear again, using well-chosen words to throw her off guard and make her vulnerable.
She is completely unprepared for him to turn her head to the side, leaning in and slowly, gently licking the blood from the cut on her cheek.
The feeling of his tongue on her cheek is so alien, so wrong, so... sensual. She gasps, her body stiffening involuntarily as the hollow lets out a low moan.
"You taste so good, Rukia-chan..."
The tongue traces the line of her jaw, then trails down her throat as her eyes dilate with fear and something else she refuses to name. His hand trails along the cloth at her waist, and she can feel it even after it passes, his touch lingering and burning like acid. Her knees buckle, and the only thing holding her up now is him, and even though she knows this isn't Ichigo she can't help but imagine his hands on her waist. The hollow is no longer the only one breathing hard.
But just as she begins to lose herself in the sensation of touch, she feels a sharp pain on her shoulder. She gasps, flinching away from him as he removes his teeth from her arm (When did he bare her shoulder? She can't remember) and begins to lick the drops of blood seeping from her torn skin, the prior cut now surrounded by the marks he has just left upon her.
"So good... We love the taste of your blood, Rukia-chan."
Rukia's heart plummets at his words. She turns as far as she can toward him, heart pounding. "We?" she whispers, hating how weak her voice sounds. The hollow laughs, high-pitched and cold.
"Yes, we. Your dear King has awoken, Rukia-chan. He's calling for you... I wish you could hear him. He sounds quite frantic." The hollow leans closer to her ear. "He doesn't want to like it, the blood, the fighting, but he cannot help how he is made." He laughs again, licking his lips. "He wants you..."
Anger begins to rise within her once again, and this time she doesn't stop it. She knows what to do. She gathers in her emotions (anger, fear, hatred, that awful wanting), using them to fuel her strength. She takes a deep breath, and strikes.
"Liar!" Rukia yells, reaching back and grabbing his hand, forcing it off her neck and digging her thumbs into the tender flesh of his wrist. Surprised, he jerks his hand away, and she takes advantage of his distraction to aim her elbow at his solar plexus. This time, she succeeds; the hollow drops, gasping for breath, and she rips herself free from his other arm. Darting to the side, she grabs Shirayuki from the ground where the hollow had thrown it and takes her stance, holding her sword ready. I will save you, Ichigo.
I will save you.
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Aaaaand it's done! Wow, I was actually expecting to finish the fight in this chapter... so much for planning things out. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up before two months have passed this time. (blushes ashamedly) As always, your comments are appreciated (and will be read over and over again if I start getting writer's block again). See you next time!