Title: Draining Away
Torture: Water
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Characters/Pairings: Rukia, Ichigo, Renji
Summary: Don't waste things, you never know when you might need it.
Warnings: Rukia's childhood
"What are you doing?!" Rukia sounded like he had just killed someone.
Ichigo turned away from the sink, where he had been filling up several water bottles with water for the family picnic that his father had sprung on them that morning. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He snapped irritated. He didn't want to go on another one of his father's stupid picnics. Last time this had happened, he had had to carry all of the five colossial baskets up a huge hill while his father and sisters had run ahead. He hadn't reached the top until an hour later, and by then they had been ready to go home.
"This," he pointed to the sink and continued in a sarcastic voice: "Is the tap. Water comes out of the tap. The Water goes into the water bottle. The reason for this is because I happen to be holding it under the tap. And now I'm going to turn off the tap and –"
"There was still water in there." Rukia snapped, sounding absolutely horrified. "You just threw it out like it was nothing."
He gave her a questioning look. "It was a week old, Rukia. The water had already gone stale…" His voice died at the look on Rukia's face.
The small girl strode up to the counter beside him and grabbed the remaining bottles that still held some of the stale water within them. Within a few minutes, she had gulped it all down. She slammed the last bottle down on the counter and stared up into his astonished face.
"If I ever catch you doing that again, I will kill you." Her voice was flat and it was harder than ice.
She didn't speak to him for the rest of the day.
However, in the middle of the night, he woke up to muffled sobs and Yuzu's worried voice asking Rukia-nee what the matter was. A child-like voice, hoarse beyond belief, that he almost didn't recognize at first, called out:
"Renji? Renji? We need more water. I can't get Kakei to eat anymore. I can't get him to open his mouth all the way. Renji, where's the water? He needs water. Kakei, you just need to hold on a little while, Renji's bringing you a big jar of water- just for you... Kakei? Kakei?"