Disclaimer: I don't own BLEACH and/or its awesomeness.
A/N: Hi, sorry I'm late. I DO have an excuse though, I hope you won't find it lame... Well, school starts and I'm getting busy with new students and all the confusing subjects. And then, I also had the flag hoisting thingy for Indonesia Independence Day. Yeps, it was Indonesia Independence Day on the 17th of August. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, INDONESIA! The training took ages. Then, there's the whole ordeal with IchiHime. Wherever I go, be it bleach asylum or bleach forum or etc., I always ended up reading some IchiHime comments. And now, I'm kind of surprised that I haven't turn this story 180 degree and turns it into an IchiHime fanfic. But don't worry, all of the people that's patiently reading this, it will NEVER happen. I still love IchiRuki and IshiHime more than IchiHime. So yeah... Sorry for the long A/N!
Thanks to auburn-haired-sadist-XD, Ericd and anonymous for reviewing. It was very much appreciated! And I hope you don't mind that I answered your review via reply URL thingy... But I will STILL answer the anonymous one on my chapter!
To anonymous: I'm glad you found the mirror hilarious. I had a lot of fun writing it, too.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes! Enjoy!
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Perfection
Chapter Fifteen
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"Huff... huff... huff... How... much... more... huff... do we... huff... to climb?" Renji asked between his huffs and puffs.
"Just a little... huff... more... huff...," Ichigo answered. They all – except the unconscious Ishida – had been walking up the freakishly long stairs for TWO LONG HOURS non-stop. Even Sado looked out of breath.
"Huh—wha? Where am I?" Ishida woke up from his state of unconsciousness and fixed his glasses position. "Please put me down, Sado-kun," he requested after quickly processing his situation.
"Hm," Sado answered and let Ishida stand up on his own. The said bespectacled boy looked around, his glasses glinting as he does so. He then looked around and observed the many stairs his friends had just walked past. Then, he turned his attention to the two panting shinigamis and asked, "Did you just walked all the way from down there?"
"What does it looks like, mastermind?" Ichigo asked back in an aggravated tone while wiping his forehead with his black kimono sleeve.
Ishida ignored his sarcastic comment and asked again, "Couldn't you just Sado-kun and Inoue-san and shunpo-ed up?"
The shinigamis pause for a second. Renji opened his mouth, but he close it back due to his inability to give back smart comeback. He can't just say that the idea never passed his thoughts. It will be embarrassing.
"W-Well, maybe if you weren't being a dead weight we would've!" Ichigo retorted.
"Y-Yeah!" Renji backed him up.
"Wha--?! I was not being a dead weight!" Ishida defended himself.
"Oh really?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Oi, Renji!"
"Yeah?" Renji answered.
Ichigo grabbed the fukutaichou's face and mimicked, "Mou, Ishida-kun! Are you okay?"
Renji immediately catches the drift and went, "Oh noes! The beautiful Inoue-san is a girl! A girl had touch my face! My precious, precious face! I feel so violated! Ah...," he drifted off as he raised the back of his hand to his forehead and pretended fainting. Moments later, he and Ichigo grinned simultaneously at the blushing Ishida.
"I so didn't say that!" the Quincy fixed his glasses position and crossed his arms before turning away.
"Yeah, yeah. And the oceans are blue because they reflects the sky," Renji rolled his eyes, waving his hand up and down.
"They are!" Ishida turned back.
"So? Big whoop. Oi, Renji, lets follow the 'smart guy's advice and shunpo up. Help me carry Chad, will ya?" Ichigo grabbed Sado's right arm.
"Yeah, sure," Renji answered as he grabbed Sado's left arm.
"What about me?" the clueless-about-the-last-situation-Orihime raised her arm in the air.
"Ah... we're sorry, Inoue. I guess you just have to ask Ishida to carry you, yes?" Ichigo gave her a fake apologetic look – which she believed all the way – and he felt so damn proud of himself having such a restrain not to break up into a full big grin and doing a little victory dance along with Renji. Renji nodded to Orihime vigorously, supporting Ichigo's act thoroughly. Ishida's jaw dropped to the ground with a heavy bang.
"Oh, okay!" Orihime chirped happily. "You don't mind, do you, Ishida-kun?"
"Ah! No! Of course not!" Ishida fumbled with words as he tried to answer the beautiful girl in front of him.
"Great then!" Orihime smiled.
"Ah... How chivalrous of you, Ishida," Ichigo gave up and his mouth quickly formed a full grown grin. "Well then! See you guys up there! Let's go, Renji!"
The two shinigamis shunpo-ed off, bringing Sado along with them. Awkward silence filled the air as the instant they went.
"Uhm... so... should I... pull you by your arm?" Ishida cursed as he found himself staggering with words again, when he was trying his best to look... what was the word again? Oh yeah, smart, in front of the girl he admires.
"Heh heh heh... Look at him, Renji. The guy's blushing," a mental image of Ichigo appeared in Ishida's head.
"The guy can't be a guy in front of Inoue-san, after all," then a mental image of Renji appeared after Ichigo.
"What?" Ishida asked himself.
The mental image of Ichigo and Renji grinned grimly. "Haha... Haha... Haha..." they chanted.
"Stop it... Stop it... I said, STOP IT!" Ishida held his head and shook it to the sides like he's holding on for dear life. He thought he looked pretty stupid right now.
Yes. Yes, he looked stupid indeed.
"Ishida-kun, are you sure you're okay?" Orihime asked, worries starting to form clearly on her face.
Ishida snapped out of his reverie and quickly noticed the girl beside him. "Yes, Inoue-san!" he exclaimed, probably with a much louder voice than it suppose to be, "I'm fine! Now, shall we go up?"
"Okay!"
Ishida gently grabbed Orihime's arm and hirenkyaku-ed after the other three spritually aware people.
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Rukia woke up to the slight rustle behind her. She didn't have the energy to open both eyelids, so instead, she opened one. She turned her head from one side to the other lazily, adjusting her eye to the dimly lit cell.
'Wait, I'm back in my cell?' she opened her other eyelid and sat up quickly before laying back down because of a nauseating feeling in her stomach.
"You're up already?"
Rukia lazily tilted her head upwards so she could see who is outside her cell. Upside-down, of course, but it didn't matter to her. Guy Y stood just outside her cell, arms crossed, leaning against one of the cell's bars.
Rukia sat up with much effort and groaned as she put her hand on her head. She massaged it lightly, fearing that she might have a migraine or something.
"Oi. I'm asking you a question. Hello...?"
"Yes, I'm up already. Can't you see that? Ugh... me head..." Rukia massaged her said head slightly harder.
"That was fast."
"What was?"
"Your sleeping."
"Really? How would you know? There's no clock in here."
"I know it from the sky outside," Guy Y jerked his thumb at the big window.
Rukia raised a delicate eyebrow and glanced over her shoulder to the said glass window, but the view is still the same. The same orange and purple sky, blending majestically together.
"Whatever," Rukia turned her attention back to the 'experiment' outside her cell. "Is the experiment over yet?"
"Yeah."
"...and?"
"You have it."
"Huh?"
"Are you slow, woman? I said you have the Hougyoku power inside you. A little bit, but it's from Hougyoku, nonetheless," Guy Y turned around and directed his full attention to Rukia.
"And you're going to extract that out of me?"
Guy Y nodded. "Along with your reiatsu."
"What?! Why?! Can't you just somehow extract them without taking an ounce of my reiatsu?!" Rukia stood up and felt the wave of nausea shot up her stomach, but decided to stand her ground.
"We can't. That power had completely merged with your reiatsu. In order to be able to take it out, we must take your reiatsu as well."
"Hold on a second. It merged with my reiatsu?"
"Yes, woman! God! Just how small is your brain!" Guy Y threw his arms up in frustration.
Rukia put her hand to her chin and thought for awhile. "So... what you're saying is... I can use the Hougyoku power?"
"I'm pretty sure about that... But I highly doubt that you'll be able to use it, seeing as you didn't answer to my comment about your brain, I will have to assume that you're an idiot of a shinigami."
Rukia glared at him. "I do have a brain, and it is not small!" she pointed her index finger accusingly at Guy Y. "Wait a minute! Just what the hell am I wearing?!" she went to the mirror after she realized that she was no longer in her gigai nor her shinigami outfit.
"Our uniform. You wouldn't like to feel left out now, would ya?" Guy Y grinned proudly. After all, it was his idea.
Rukia's eyes widened as she saw her reflection on the rectangular mirror. Yep, Guy Y is right. She's wearing a white shirt with a ¾ O shape in the middle of the collar. She was using a white no-finger glove and her white skirt fluttered as she turns to her sides to double-check. Then, she let out a scream full of agony.
"Shut up, will ya? Sheesh... You women and your fashion senses..." Guy Y grumbled.
"Who changed me?" Rukia asked as she turned back to the las incógnita.
"I did, of course."
SMACK!
"Pervert!" she yelled after reaching out her hand from the gap of the black bars and smacked Guy Y across the face.
"Ouch..." Guy Y rubbed his cheek, which throbbed like hell. This woman sure know how to whack. "I was kidding, don't 'cha know?"
"Oh..." Rukia let her hand dropped back to her side. "You were?"
"Small brained woman."
That earned him another smack across the head.
"Fine then. Small brained midget."
"You just don't learn, do you?"
"Not from a small brained midget like you."
"Why you--" Rukia froze. She quickly ran over to the big window and peered through the crystal clear glass. She squinted her eyes at the giant tree which seemed so far away, but it didn't help. So, she closed her eyes and tried to detect any familiar reiatsu that froze her before.
'Found them!' her eyes snapped open when she felt five familiar reiatsu from the huge tree. She felt it briefly, but it was enough to make her smile. A genuine one, at that.
"--and that's why women like you are called—hey, are you even listening?" Guy Y cut off his own rant with a question. With a smile still on her face, she turned aroung and walked over to Guy Y.
"What are you smiling for? Is my chin really all that funny?"
Rukia shook her head to the sides, her smile changing into a jubilant smirk. "No."
"They why were you smiling?"
'Because I'm winning our little bet,' she answered inside her head.
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"Whoah... Who would've thought that all those stairs would end up with another door?" Ichigo rhetorically asked as he walked through the double door that he had previously pushed.
"Anyone would, Kurosaki," Ishida fixed his glasses position. "Are you really all that moronic?"
"What? You're still pissed about the shunpo-with-who thing? Man, you sure hold grudges..." Ichigo sighed.
"Oosh! We're here!" Orihime skipped out of the door happily. "Huwaa! Look at all the trees!" she clasped her hands together in front of her chest.
"Only fools hold grudges," Ishida crossed his arms.
"And you're not denying it?" Renji asked.
"No! I mean, yes! Yes, I am!"
"You're admitting that you're a fool?"
"No! No!"
"Yes. Yes, he is," Ichigo nodded. Renji ooh-ed and Ishida gritted his teeth in anger.
"Uwaah! Look at that huge castle!" Orihime chirped. "Ne, Kurosaki-kun, do you think Kuchiki-san is in there?" she tugged Ichigo's black kimono sleeve.
"Huh? What castle?" Ichigo turned around.
"That one! See? The white one!" Orihime released her hand from Ichigo's sleeve and used it to point to the huge white castle-like building far away.
"I'm sure of it. I can feel her reiatsu emitting from that direction," Ishida stated.
"So can I," Renji agreed.
"M-Hm!" Orihime nodded.
"You can?!" Ichigo asked incredulously. He was shocked that he couldn't fell anything. Furrowing his brows and closing his eyes, he concentrated on finding Rukia's reiatsu.
"Well?" Ishida asked as Ichigo opened his eyes.
"Well what?"
"Did you feel it?"
"No. Was she in a room made out of that fancy stone again?" (Yes, he was referring to the Bloodthirst Stone)
"No. Her reiatsu is emitting bolder now."
"I can feel nothing," Ichigo shook his head.
"It's not like we expected you to," Renji huffed.
"You don't?" Ichigo asked.
"Nope!" Orihime exclaimed cheerily.
"Dream on, Kurosaki. No one expected a moronic reiatsu-oozing container with a living soul like you to feel Kuchiki-san's reiat—scratch that, anyone reiatsu from point blank," Ishida smirked.
"I've gotten better in Hueco Mundo, ya' know!" Ichigo hollered.
"Anyways..." Orihime cut in. "Let's go the that castle then!" she skipped happily towards the pure white castle. Ichigo scowled and followed her groggily. Ishida and Renji smirked triumphantly and silently high five each other. Yes, they came along better terms of each other in Hueco Mundo when they were fighting that damned Szayel Apporro and the frickin' Kurotsuchi Mayuri just had to come and saved the day. What can you say? Mad Scientist have to fight another Mad Scientist, not two sane people who doesn't spit on 'perfection'. (He spat on my fanfic! Hueee...! -weeps-)
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"So... Our bet is still on, right?" Rukia asked. She was lying on her bed, hands clasped together behind her head.
"Duh! It's too late to take back your statement now!" Guy Y replied in an irritated tone from a chair outside Rukia's cell. He was grumpy because he has to watch over the 'container' and is responsible for 'it'.
"No need to be all snappy! I was just asking! What's the prize, anyway?"
"Eh... I dunno."
"Oh that's just wonderful. How do you come up with these stuff?" Rukia remarked sarcastically.
"Well, I doubt you have one, but it is called the brain."
"Oh wow. I'm learning so much from you," Rukia rolled her eyes.
"Okay, listen here, you--"
Rukia lost him. She could hear the word "midget" here and there, but she had completely lost the main point of his rant. 'Wait a minute! Why did I not use kido to break out of this cell? Ah, screw it!' she stood up and moved to a certain stance as natural as possible and started chanting the incantation quietly.
"--so back to the point, I—wait, what are you doing?" Guy Y stopped his rant and raised an eyebrow on her action.
"...Beyond the seas in reverse, take steps to the south..." Rukia aimed her hand at the lock on her cell. "Hadou no sanjuuichi! Shakka--"
Guy Y reached out his hand and clasped Rukia's, stopping her from finishing the incantation.
"Don't do it. It won't work," he deadpanned.
"You'll never know until you try, right?" Rukia questioned.
"True, but I'm just warning you. This cell right here," he knocked twice on one of the black bars planted firmly in front of Rukia's cell with his other hand, "doesn't take any crap it is given. You won't be able to bust it open without this," he used the same hand to take a key from his pocket and hold it up.
"Is it made out of the Bloodthirst Stone?" Rukia's eyes narrowed.
Guy Y shook his head to the sides. "No. You can't find that here. This stone is called the Bloodstained stone."
"What's the difference?" she pulled her hand out of his clasp.
"While Bloodthirst Stone provide the shield from the outside, this stone provide it from the inside," Guy Y took his hand back and dusted it on his white haori. "If you were to use any kido-based attack, it would've either been repelled back at you or absorbed inside the stone, being used to strengthen its defence."
"So... you were worried about my wellbeing?" Rukia raised a delicate eyebrow.
"No. Who do you think will be responsible if your shakkahou did repel and hit you dead?"
Rukia snorted and looked away, but she was sure that she saw the smallest hint of pink on Guy Y's cheeks. But as soon as she saw it, if faded away.
"Whatever. I'm going to sleep, blush-face-brown-haired-chin-guy," Rukia yawned and walked over to her white bed.
Guy Y looked bewildered at his 'new and improved' nickname. He can't help but feel that something is amiss, but he shrugged it off his thought as he walked over to his chair.
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Meanwhile, at the swamp...
Ichigo brushed another branch to his side, a scowl formed on his face. He and his friends had been stuck in this stupid swamp for two hours and he can take no more of it. He wanted to shunpo to the castle, but Ishida said it's better to save their reiryoku for the fights later. Splash sounds came from below him as he took another step, water raising up his haori slowly.
Scowl still on his face, he turned around and said, "Can I just shunpo now? This is pissing me off, seriously."
His scowl turned into a frown as he found out that his friends were no longer behind him.
"Guys? Where are you?"
Silence answered the orange haired substitute shinigami.
"Guys?"
Then a thought entered his head.
They're lost.
Crap.
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A/N: I finally finished it! And for some reason, I think it's cute that Guy Y has a little crush on Rukia... Yes, I know you're all thinking, "She made us wait for more than 1 week and all she has come up with is this short, crappy chapter?" I'm sorry!! Writer's block is invading... Oh! And I FINALLY have a information about Bleach III: Fade to Black – Kimi no Na o Yobu! Yay! You can PM me to know the info, if you want, but I don't think it has been confirmed yet, and some of you might already know...
So, first time in a lot of chappies, (Yes, I think that 10 chapters is a lot) REVIEW!