Hey everyone! Long time no see! (: Sorry about the delay. I've had finals, I went to New York for the Scholastic thing, and I'm taking summer school and I've had several 4 hour performances this past week! So life is crazy! This chapter is really short because it's more of a transition chapter. Those who have been wondering, 'Where does Ichigo come into this? This is IchigoxOC right?' will have their questions answered next chapter! I have some few connection things in there. ;D This is mostly a filler chapter. But I still wanted to get something out for you guys! Sorry if it seems a little rushed!
Now, on to thank everyone! I would love to write something out to each of you who reviewed, but sadly I'm pressed for time, so I'm just going to thank everyone this time! However I'll try to respond to each of your reviews personally! A huge thank you to the following people:
LadyChaos1011, Okami Princess, sAppHiRa-hiMe, Holy Star, The Loyal Newt, GuitarGirl1418, Kingdom Hearts Lover, .wonderland, Tenshi Akki-chan, Shattered Kunai, motan, IgnoreTheWorldJustDanceWithMe, no-name-chick, The Shade of life and death, DreamerLoverHaterKillerMolder, annaise-chan, Avelo, awakeningstorm3453, blackfox-vixen, Devil2Kyuubi, I'm-So-Loveable, J'aime Manga, Kagai Ringo-chan, Memmi, Oiten, redneck16, SnOw-CoVeReD-AnGeL, ToonyTwilight, Bakagirl101, Cathetel, KuroIchi30866, LadyAkuryou, LilPurrfection, Lucky-erin47, Nymphoro, Remiav, Sachan22, Sorri., and Traitor-Hero!
x.x Wow. You guys are amazing. You have no idea how happy it made me through finals to come home and find emails with words of encouragement or saying you liked my story, or just even people favoriting it. Thank you so much for your support! The next chapter is almost done, so it should be out soon!
Oh and guess what? Remember how I said whoever told me they watched Soul Eater won a drawing? Well IgnoreTheWorldJustDanceWithMe was the only person who said anything about it. (: So hey you should contact me because you won a free picture of whatever you want. :D See? It pays to listen to my suggestions. ;D Next suggestion for manga is Liar Game. Go go go go! Whoever reports on Liar Game wins! :D
Enjoy!~
Voices. That was the first thing my mind could register. The voices seemed oddly familiar, but in my state of almost unconsciousness, I couldn't place the voice with a face. The second thing my mind registered was pain. It seemed to cover most of my body. Speaking of my body, I could tell I was still in my canine form. I slowly felt my eyes flutter open. I was met with the yellow eyes of the same cat from before.
"I'm glad to see you've finally come to." His deep voice spoke. I could only nod my head in response. It was then that the reality of the situation hit me. Rukia was gone. My eyes quickly shot open, prepared to get up and run. I had to find her! Then I remembered the other part of the situation: Ichigo. I glanced around wildly, looking for some sign of his bright hair. All I wanted to know is that he was alive and safe. I could not bear to lose him too.
"If you are looking for Ichigo, do not worry. He is in good hands," His words comforted me slightly, "But before we continue this conversation, I need to know right away. Are you willing to risk your life to save Rukia?" I looked at him as if he had just told a joke. Of course I would.
"This is not something to be taken lightly. You will go up against enemies who are just as strong, if not stronger than the man you faced. You will be everyone's enemy. You will fight relentlessly, and might not come back alive. Now, I will ask you again. Are you willing to risk your life?" He spoke fiercely. I nodded my head without hesitation. Without Rukia, I had no one but Ichigo, and I knew he would not hesitate. Although I was not born a canine, my loyalty ran just as deep.
"Well, if you're going to face them, you certainly can't face them the way you are now," I cringed slightly at the comment, no matter how true it was, "That's why I plan to train you." My ears instantly perked up.
"We have 17 days until the gate to Sereitei will be open. Do not worry, you will still have 13 days to save Rukia when you arrive. Until then, I will be training you at night. I would like to train with you all day, but I have others I will need to train then. I will need to train with you separately in order to avoid slipping your secret." He explained, once again studying me with his eyes. I was a little bit confused. Would it really be that big of a deal if other people knew now? I tried to make a face that would convey my thoughts.
"You were not born an animal so stop communicating as one. You are a human. Speak." He commanded harshly. Stunned a little by his words, I realized I hadn't attempted speaking since the transformation. I swallowed slightly and tried to ask my question.
"Why would it matter if people know?" The words sloppily fell out of my mouth, but they were still understandable. My tail wagged at the progress already made. The look on the cat's face showed that he was pleased.
"People cannot know because the element of surprise will be one of your greatest weapons. One of the main keys to battle is to get your enemy to underestimate you. You have been looking at your canine form as a curse, not as the gift it was meant to be. And in order to fully utilize that gift, you must keep your human form a secret for as long as you can. Ichigo's memory of your transformation has been erased. So far the only ones who know are the ones you fought and Rukia. Let's keep it that way." He explained.
"Why can't Ichigo know?" I questioned him. My words were slightly clearer this time.
"Because there's always the chance that he'll let that secret slip, even if he doesn't mean to. So in order to protect the secret, you must keep it from everyone, even from him." I nodded in agreement. It made enough sense.
"Now, meet me here tomorrow at 5 in the evening. Tardiness will not be tolerated. Ichigo will have medicine with him that will help heal the rest of your wounds. Take some of it once every few hours. You should be healed by tomorrow. I look forward to training with you." Before I had time to ask any questions, he was gone in a flash. I sighed in frustration. The whole disappearing before I could ask questions deal was getting old. I slowly rose to my feet and found the nearest exit. My wounds felt surprisingly good considering how severe they were. I quickly exited the building, and followed the scents that lead towards…home.
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I managed to open the front door with some minor difficulties and quickly ran inside. Yuzu was the first person I saw. She quickly ran over to me, her eyes glowing with happiness, just as they almost always were.
"Kai, where have you been? We missed you!" She fawned over me, scratching my head affectionately. I smiled slightly, happy to find some normalcy. She proceeded to grab my designated food and water bowls off of the ground and fill them. I attempted to give her a pity wag of the tail to try and pretend nothing was wrong when she placed the bowls back on the floor. I quickly finished my meal before retreating up to Ichigo's room.
I didn't realize how painful it would be to enter his room. All of the memories came rushing into my mind, playing out like a trip down memory lane. The reality of the situation hit me head on. Rukia was gone. Those words tugged on my heart, leaving a deep sorrow behind. I glanced over at her closet. I trudged over to the door and slowly pushed it open with my muzzle.
As the door opened, Rukia's scent drifted out. She always smelt of freshly fallen snow. I leapt into the closet and lied down in the place where she used to be. The whole closet was comforting yet heart wrenching at the same time. I felt the beginning of tears start to prick at my eyes.
'Stop it!' I scolded myself. 'She will only be gone for a little while, because we're going to save her!' As much as I tried to convince myself that was true, I still doubted my ability to succeed. It wasn't that I was worried about my life. No, there was no one else in the world who knew I existed so no one would even remember I was ever here. It was the fear of failure. Of letting Rukia down after all she had done for me.
Before my thoughts could wander further, my ears picked up the sound of the front door downstairs. I wasn't expecting anyone to enter the room quickly since getting through the family took quite some time. However I was surprised to see Ichigo arrive in the room only a short while after the front door opened. I wasn't quite sure what the proper course of action would be now. My eyes followed him from the closet as he trudged over to his bed and collapsed on top of it.
I decided that the best choice would be to go to him. After all, misery loves its company.