A/N: ...mm... some of my own thoughts are reflected in this one.

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4. Global Warming

"Ichigo?"

"Hm?"

"What is... glo... globol worning?"

They were spending another lazy Saturday sprawled in his room, reading - him with some novel on the bed, her with some manga on the floor. Ichigo raised his eyebrows quizzically. "Global warming?"

Rukia nodded. "I see it on the morning news sometimes. And those funny animal shows. We hear about it in school, too, but I do not know what it is."

"It's... well..." He wasn't sure where to start. He scratched his head and moved to sit on the floor across from her.

"Global warming is basically how the Earth's temperature is rising," he said simply.

She frowned. "Is that bad?"

"Yeah," he said slowly. "It's pretty bad. We release this gas called carbon dioxide which makes... um..." He struggled to explain it in words she knew. "...like, the sun rays are getting trapped close to the Earth because we're releasing that gas. Through cars and factories, for example."

She nodded, understanding so far. "Tell me more. This is something very new to Soul Society, and I may be able to help."

He smiled weakly at her enthusiasm. You won't be able to help... "Well... The Earth gets warmer, right, or even colder in some places, and things get messed up... Like the weather. There are lots more earthquakes now, and tsunamis, and droughts and stuff... The ice caps are melting, too, melting way too much to be normal, and the sea levels are rising. Really poor countries are doing bad, especially when they get hit by big earthquakes. Lots of people are dying..."

He shook his head slowly, wondering if she really needed to know all this. "It's not just that... We're cutting down forests way too fast, too, and overfishing, and doing tons of other stupid stuff. Animals are endangered 'cuz their homes get destroyed... We humans are spouting out huge amounts of garbage every day and landfill space is running out..."

"That's... I never guessed..."

He looked up at her. She was staring with that face he hated to see. "Soul Society never had..."

"You don't have to worry about this, Rukia," he said quietly. "It's not your problem. It's a real world problem."

"But... But that is horrible! Why isn't anything being done about it?!" She was half-shrieking now, leaning forward and watching him urgently. "And it is my problem! I - You - I..."

"Things are being done," he told her. "Many people are trying to solve these problems. They're helping little by little. But the main thing is that most governments aren't doing anything... A lot of them are only interested in money and power, the economy, you know... And unless the governments do something big, it's really hard for the people to do something big."

Rukia's head was whirling. Endangered?... Icecaps?... Economy?...

With a very confused, frustrated sound like "nyargh", she held her head and kept looking at him. "That is very stupid!" she said at last. "If the world is in so much trouble, why are they worrying about money and power?"

He shrugged. "I don't know," he said, sadly, hopelessly.

Rukia was speechless. This was madness!

"Are you doing anything?" she demanded, fisting her hands in the carpet.

"Yes!" he retorted angrily. "Guess what, we are! We turn off lights when we don't use them, we don't use a million electric devices, we recycle paper, we don't use detergents! There!"

"But is that enough?!"

"W-well-"

"What is going to happen to the world in the future, if this keeps going on?" Her voice was quieter, now - wary, afraid.

"Things will keep getting worse, faster," he muttered, "and I guess the human race will either die out, kill themselves, or escape to another planet and eventually destroy that one too. Or, maybe, if they start seriously now, save the world and themselves, somehow. Slim chance. At least Japan is pretty prepared for big earthquakes..."

She was still staring at him with that horrified, anguished, disappointed look. Why wouldn't she look away, dammit?

"When will that be?" she was asking. He snapped back to attention.

"N-not for a long while..." he replied. He actually wasn't sure of his own words. "I... don't want to think about it..."

"Will it be-"

"No, it won't. It won't be in my lifetime. I'll be dead by the time it happens." He tried to laugh it off.

"Ichigo..." she murmured. "You're a full shinigami now, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." Damn. "At least my family will be dead, then... They won't have to go through it..." He stopped. He couldn't talk anymore.

There was a long, long silence. Ichigo finally made proper eye contact with her. She was now watching him with a calm mixture of understanding and sad acceptance - and empathy.

They both felt a simultaneous moment's urge. Wordlessly, they embraced. It was a small comfort.

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