It's going to get better, I promise! I wanted to have a realistic approach to Rukia's development.
Anyhow, thanks for the reviews, you are all LOVELY. I mean it! Please feel free to leave more reviews, I always enjoy reading what you write :)
Are we getting closer to bankai? Gotta keep reading ;)
Sorry for any errors!!
"My right hand is the stone that bridges the worlds. My left hand is the blade that binds reality. The black…," Kisuke's voice became deep and ominous as he spouted the incantation for Garganta. Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji could feel the crushing energy that poured into the atmosphere from the gaping hole that was ripped in their dimensional realm. It was if the air was knocked out of their lungs; each breath became laborious as the pressure crushed their souls. Kisuke focused his rietsu, molding the intense energy released from the void between the two dimensions—Hueco Mundo and the world of the living.
Once the energy could be solidified into a dark tunnel connecting the two realms, he held his ground. He shouted over his shoulder, "You are safe to go! But do so quickly." He was strained from the exertion necessary to maintain the opened void. He knew that he could only control it for minutes, at most.
"The energy released by opening this connection will most likely attract various hollows. Be prepared to battle once you reach the other side," Tessai warned, his arms crossed over his chest. He, too, knew the incantation—but chose to allow Kisuke to open the portal. He did not enjoy using such unappealing kido.
Ichigo cast a worried glance toward Rukia, concerned about her safety. With Renji and him by her side, she would be safe. But what if there were too many of those creatures on the other side? he asked himself. He risked another glance toward his female friend. Something about her seemed different to him. She seemed more…confident, maybe? He couldn't quite place the new quality to her aura or posture, but it was definitely something noticeable.
When she first left, he thought nothing of it. But, as weeks passed, he became angry that she had not contacted him. As months slowly dragged by, he became worried that something serious had happened to her. When he hadn't heard from her in months, he finally left to look for her. He was finally able to corner Renji, much to the red-haired shinigami's surprise, to interrogate him. After many hours of fighting, he was finally able to get a few words out of Renji in regards to Rukia's safety. She was safe, he remembered. He had felt so much relief at those words. His anger replaced his relief, as he mounted a counterattack of furious questions for her childhood friend. Finally, Renji just agreed to take Ichigo to Urahara's shop to see Rukia for himself.
He had paced around nervously, wondering what he would say to the young woman once he saw her. Would he hug her and forget all of his pent up emotions? Or would he berate her for so carelessly casting him aside? Either way, he had to admit he had never felt such…loneliness from her disappearance. He had noticed the difference in her demeanor when they left Hueco Mundo the first time. She was saddened by something that she had encountered—something that she did not want to share with him. While he understood her desire to put a wall around her emotions, he had hoped that she would at least open up to him.
Now, he stood by her side, a flurry of emotions whirling through his head and heart—yet he had no idea how to respond to those feelings. Right now, he was more concerned by her desire to return to such a despicable place. But, he wouldn't question her resolve. Instead, he would stand by her side, fighting her demons alongside her. That's what friends are for, he supposed.
At the mention of a possible battle, he watched her hand silently slide to her zanpakuto. He had never known her to be so quick to draw her katana, and immediately began to theorize what she had been up to these past few months. Had she been training? It seemed plausible to him. Before he could formulate any other hypotheses, he felt his body being dragged toward the opened tunnel....by Rukia!!
"What the hell, Rukia!" he yelled as his neck jolted from the force of her acceleration.
"R-Rukia, what are you doing?" Renji stuttered, casting a confused glance toward his partner in abuse, Ichigo. Rukia also had a grip on Renji's shinigami uniform.
She turned her head, looking back toward her two companions, "Kisuke said to run! We are running!" she bellowed.
"But we can run by ourselves!" Ichigo responded incredulous at how fast she was pulling them along.
"This is quicker!" Rukia yelled from over her shoulder. Up ahead, a tiny light twinkled in the distance. The loud humming from the spiritual pressure pounded in their ears. While Ichigo was impressed with Rukia's shunpo, Renji was all to familiar with it. He had lost on numerous occasions to her newly-improved flashstep, much to his surprise and Rukia's enjoyment. She had indeed progressed under Yoruichi's tutelage. Ichigo continued to be dragged along, in wide-eyed silence as she pulled them toward the light at the end of the void—toward Hueco Mundo.
Suddenly they were falling through the sky, plummeting into emptiness. Rukia could see the vastness beneath them as she stopped her descent. "Idiots" she hissed, before using her kido to place a safety net to stop the two men from falling into the thick forest. They had obviously not registered where they were. She quickly scanned the surrounding area. Shit! she thought to herself, Kisuke was right, there are a lot of them!
"They are coming," she warned her two companions, who were quickly at her side, their hands on the zanpakuto. Within moments, dozens of Gillian were upon them.
"Howl!" Renji commanded Zabimaru, as the sword elongated and segmented into its usual released shikai form. Ichigo followed suit, revealing his large zanpakuto Zangetsu.
"Dance!" Rukia released Sode no Shirayuki as well. If they were going to get out of this situation as quickly as possible, they would have to take this fight seriously. Together with their released zanpakuto the three soul reapers were a force to be reckoned with. They separated, so that they were more difficult targets for their enemies. Both Ichigo and Renji seemed to be having a contest of wills, seeing who could kill more hollows.
"Six!" Renji shouted, laughing as his latest conquest fell under his attack.
"Only six?" Ichigo scoffed. "I've gotten rid us ten Gillian, at least!"
"Wha??" Renji blurted, momentarily distracted.
Rukia used Sode no Shirayuki's first dance to eliminate the massive Gillian before it could strike Renji down with its cero. She tsk-ed at her childhood friend, before smirking mischievously, "Amateurs. I've removed twenty!" This time, both men were distracted as Rukia basked in their amazement and slight admiration.
"What??" they said in unison. How had she surpassed them so quickly?
"So you were training this entire time," Ichigo murmured, glaring at Renji. The red-haired soul reaper avoided his stare. Though he may have admitted to having contact with Rukia, he had still maintained some shred of dignity by not admitting to Rukia's activities. "Liar," Ichigo hissed at Renji as he used his shunpo to quickly cleave through two Menos Grande. He muttered more profanities as dozens of Gillian slowly balked toward them. "How did they know where to find us?"
"They could feel the rift in the dimensional fabric," Rukia answered, using Sode no Shirayuki to cut through the hollow before her. She dodged a cero as she axed through another Gillian. "They can sense the spiritual energy, they are drawn toward it. They are mindless, composed of many different devoured hollows, and will continue to seek out and eat other hollows or spiritual energies as long as they exist."
"Oh. Yeah. Right," Ichigo answered flatly. He didn't really want a technical answer. He should have known that their presence would be detected quickly. He shuddered at their white masks with their long pointed noses. They floated along, as brainless soldiers whose only goal was to prey on others. He hated it.
"Renji!" he screamed, as the Lieutenant had his hands full with two Gillian—and another was firing its cero behind him. Ichigo leaped behind him, so that their backs were facing. He deflected the cero as Renji looked over his shoulder. "You can thank me later," he smirked as he looked for Rukia, leaving Renji to continue his fight single-handedly.
Renji muttered a string of profanities as Ichigo searched for his friend. He found her as she sent forth an ice wave—Sode no Shirayuki's second dance, Hakuren. He watched in silent admiration as the pure white wave roared forth, covering the three Menos Grande. She lowered her zanpakuto to her waist, as the ice disappeared. The enemies were nowhere to be seen. She slowly turned, finding Ichigo standing behind her.
"What are you staring at?" she blurted, her face turning red.
"N-nothing!" he yelled defensively. "I just came to see if you needed help," he nodded toward the empty space behind her. "Obviously you don't."
"Obviously," she repeated, her eyes flashing their challenge.
"You are using less spiritual pressure," he whispered. He had noticed the difference in her attacks. Her fluidity was beautiful to watch, and she had increased the speed of her flash-step. Before he could muster more words, she was at his side, looking up at him. It was his turn to question her, "What?" he asked, furrowing his brow.
"Impressed?" she asked, smirking.
As he was about to answer, Renji tumbled past them, sliding to a halt. "We have trouble," he hissed, wiping his brow. "And it broke my new sunglasses!"
"They are worthless, anyway," Rukia mumbled.
"What did you just say?" he yelled, his eyes bulging.
"You heard me, stupid!" she yelled back.
"I think you two should quit arguing," Ichigo said, squinting past the giant explosion from which Renji had just dodged. He could see a silhouette of something…definitely not a Gillian.
Rukia looked toward the settling dust, she could sense a different presence. The Gillian had retreated, and she knew it was an omen, "Adjuchas."
"Yes," Renji nodded.
She knew it was only a matter of time. She looked around them, she would have to thank Kisuke for dropping them into the hollow-infested forest later. She gritted her teeth in determination as she twisted her zanpakuto hilt in her sweaty palm. She knew that Adjuchas could control Menos Grande, as they were much stronger than the mindless soldiers. These hollows had evolved from Gillian; one hollow taking over the body. When this occurred, the Gillian's form changed—often to something more humanoid, though not necessarily. She could only think of one Gillian who had not morphed, and the memory made her nauseous.
A thick, bubbling cackle filled the forest. "I know that spiritual energy," he spat, narrowing his red eyes through the arthropod-like mask. His body was slender, but larger than any Adjuchas Rukia had encountered during her previous visit. She had known that they would possibly face a much-stronger creature. It was only a matter of time until the evolved Gillians would detect their presence.
Rukia realized its eyes had fallen on her. "Explain yourself, Adjuchas," she commanded authoritatively.
"I do not owe you an explanation, Shinigami," it hissed, roaring at her demands. "I am much stronger than the simple-minded Gillian you faced last time you were here." He looked around, as if expecting others to come. "Though last time, you had a companion…"
"Where is he?" she asked, her knuckles growing white from her grip on Sode no Shirayuki. Her concern was not lost on Ichigo, who felt his stomach knot at her almost violent reaction. He knew that the Adjuchas was trying to goad the young woman. He also knew of her companion, Ashido. He had allowed them to exit the forest—remaining behind to battle the impending Gillian and Adjuchas that threatened their mission. He remembered Rukia's words: I will come back for you. I promise!
So that was it! he thought. He had suspected this was why she had returned. She was reluctant to leave Ashido the first time. He felt as if he had lost some unspoken competition, though Ichigo couldn't quite place his finger on what it was. He knew that the male Shinigami had made an impression on Rukia, and he would support her decision to return and save him. He felt a sense of sadness at the fervent way Rukia asked about Ashido.
The scorpion-like creature cackled more, snapping its pincer-like front appendages. It wobbled anxiously on its remaining six legs as its tail whipped through the air. Rukia followed the movement of the stinger at the end of its segmented tail. She had a feeling that would be the most devastating part of the Adjuchas' attack. Suddenly, it threw something at the shinigam. It slid, landing at her feet. She gasped in realization, her heart thudding in her chest. "What is this?" she shrieked, her eyes showing their terror.
"You asked what happened to him, did you not?" the monster laughed at her delicious reaction. "I managed to strike him down, and that is my trophy. Is it not suitable?"
Renji's eyes bulged as he bent over to retch. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the horrible trophy. It was a hand. A human hand--most likely a Shinigami's hand, from the black robe that was still attached to the appendage. It had obviously been severed from the main body, from the looks of it. He felt the bile rising in his throat. Rukia's face had turned a ghostly white, as she realized the hand was still gripping the familiar zanpakuto. She immediately recognized the chipped blade—from years of use and hard battles.
She felt the hot tears blind her vision, "Lies!" she shrilly responded, her voice cracking.
Her words were like icy needles to Ichigo's senses. He couldn't stand to see her so upset. He felt his own rage boiling within him. He would protect her. He tightened his grip on his own zanpakuto.
"You do not believe me? Do you not recognize that zanpakuto?" the Adjuchas offered.
Rukia sobbed as she pushed the severed hand away from her sight. She quickly incanted a kido spell to box in the limb, the blinding light blocking it from her sight. She turned to face the miserable creature. She refused to believe that Ashido had fallen to this scorpion-like monster before her. "He would not have fallen to the likes of you!" she hissed.
"Oh but he did. He did not expect me to transform from that worthless Gillian into my new, powerful self," he promised. "He begged for his life as I cut his filthy zanpakuto from his body," he indicated the glowing kido box that was at Rukia's feet. He narrowed his reddened eyes behind the ugly mask. "Do not underestimate me," it purred.
"Do not underestimate me," she answered, her eyes glowing more violet. She held her sword in front of her body, ready to strike the monster as the tears fell down her face.
This time, the Adjuchas did not answer with words, instead striking at her with his elongated tail. As expected, it could segment the hideous appendage so as to increase its reach. Before Rukia could react, she heard Ichigo's voice.
"Shit!" Ichigo spat as he immediately pushed Rukia aside. She slid away, staring incredulously at the brazen substitute soul reaper. She felt her own anger rise. Of course he would try to protect her! He always does.
She watched Renji obscure her line of sight by stepping up to Ichigo's side. "You stay back, Rukia," Renji said as he slightly turned his head.
"I will not!" she yelled. "I will fight for Ashido!"
"We will handle this," Renji responded, finality in his voice.
She stood there, feeling numb as her friends once again protected her. The anger was uncontrollable as her tears dried on her cheeks. She watched both Ichigo and Renji dodge the deadly blows from the scorpion Adjucha's tail while Renji attempted to land a blow with Zabimaru. The Adjuchas managed to trap the zanpakuto's segments in its claws, whirling Renji around the forest as he tried to regain control. Ichigo cursed as his attempt to distract the hollow had failed.
She watched Ichigo and Renji protect her once more. There was no more protecting the weaker Rukia. She was no longer weak. She was strong and able. No, she thought, I will fight alongside them--where I belong. Rukia gripped her zanpakuto; she would not let her friends do this. Not this time. This was her mission. She had promised to return. She would fight. Her eyes flashed their deep purple determination as she sucked in a calming breath
Rukia refused to believe the Adjuchas' claims. She refused to believe its words. They could not be true. He was alive, she could feel it. She would find him. She had promised.
"Go no mai!" she commanded, her eyes locked on the monster.