Chapter Two of Rise Against:

This is a personal favorite of mine – I always liked the idea that Ichigo and Rukia were connected before the events of Bleach – like at the end of the movie Fade to Black. So, this is a continuation of my one-shot instalment: a tale about Ichigo and Rukia before they became…Ichigo and Rukia…

Yeah. So this chapter was inspired off of a House episode – anyone who can tell me what ep it is can get a free request! It could be a song-based or a story idea that they would like to see done. Please, something I can actually write…which is basically anything, but…please stick to character pairings that I approve. If you're wondering about which ones I approve of, then PM me.

I still don't own Bleach. Not for lack of trying, though, but Kubo has stopped taking my calls…

A destination, a fading smile.
Another station, another mile.
Another day gone, I swore that I will.
Be there before dawn.
So be there, I will.

She got down on hands and knees,
One ear against the ground,
Holding her breath to hear something,
Anything at all

The Dirt Whispered

Begin Chapter Two:

She couldn't take it anymore.

Her muscles contracted again – pain overtook everything that she knew, and she thought that she wouldn't make it through – but somehow her stubborn body refused to be taken out, even while her mind screamed to just be put out of its misery.

"Gah!" Her breath was stolen from her, again, as cramping shudders ran up her stomach and into her neck, paralyzing her.

She couldn't even scream.

"Rukia."

He spoke – softly, letting her know that she wasn't alone – but she would really rather be alone. She didn't want him to see her like this, contorted in pain, caught between begging him to kill her, and ordering him to leave.

Her hand fisted – and she was unable to undo it, causing her to stare at it in panic.

Please, God no – not yet- not so soon!

Hisana had gone on for seven days before her hands had curled into tiny fists. Soon after, she had lost her sight and was left to do nothing but scream until the pain killed her.

A large hand enclosed her fist – she could feel warmth spreading into her as he gently massaged the muscles, somehow coaxing it back into its regular shape.

"How bad?"

She wanted to laugh – what a foolish question – couldn't he see that she was in the most pain she had ever felt? But…his eyes kept her from speaking harshly. How could he know? She was hiding most of it from him, trying to keep him from panicking, but really, it wouldn't be too long before the pain became so bad that she wouldn't be able to stop screaming.

"Bad." She sucked in a deep breath, "It comes in waves – but the pain is always there, most of the time annoying, but in those waves…" She shuddered as her muscles stopped contracting, and she was left with only a dull, aching, pulsing pain.

"It's like my body is being ripped apart."

He sighed – long and deep, before resting his forehead on her stomach, "God Rukia, how…what can I do? I can't…I'm useless! Dammit!"

What could she do to help him? How many times could she reassure him that he wasn't useless? Now that she couldn't hit him for being an idiot, he was being the biggest idiot she had ever seen him be.

"You're not useless, idiot." Now that the pain was gone, she could glare at him the proper again, "If you were useless, would I let you stay beside me on my deathbed?" She snorted, "Don't make me kick your ass."

"But…I'm letting you die." He mumbled into her blanket.

It took all of her strength to do it, but she managed to lift her arm and deliver a pretty decent blow. He yelped at least, which was good enough for her.

"Ichigo, you're a strong man. You can fight, you can kill…but even you couldn't save me from this. Stop acting like this – like the world's about to end because I'm gonna die. It's really pathetic." She patted him on the head, his spiky orange locks slightly damp from the rain outside.

"Shut up Rukia." He still didn't look at her, which pissed her off.

"You're telling a dying person to shut up? What kind of deathbed scene is this? I want a refund." She was being biting and sarcastic, but she couldn't help it. Ichigo was strong, Ichigo was confident, Ichigo was headstrong and a bit of a moron – he wasn't useless.

But he sure was acting that way. He thought he was useless – he thought that he was letting her die.

"Dammit Ichigo." Rukia growled, "Don't you think it's stupid that the healthy person in this room is feeling for sorry for himself than the dying person?"

He remained faced down and silent.

"Oh, so now you're not going to talk to me. Very mature. Ichigo – why did you come over here in the first place if you weren't going to-" Her ranting cut off with a low, drawn out groan.

"Rukia?"

She couldn't answer him – the pain was back and worse than before.

"Oh, God!" she gritted her teeth – clenching her fists until it felt like her nails were piercing her palms. Even closing her eyes was impossible because of the muscle spasms she was going through.

And then darkness.

But she wasn't unconscious. She was still awake and feeling pain, but she couldn't see.

This was the step before death. Her pain would increase until she couldn't take it anymore, and then she would die.

"Ichigo!" Fighting the pain, she found his hand and grasped it with all her strength, "Ichigo – I can't-I…I can't see…"

Immediately, his hands closed around hers – griping her as tightly as she was him.

"Rukia – are you sure?"

Was she sure? Did he really just ask that?

Her mouth opened to tell him off, but she caught herself on time. She was just panicking because she couldn't see – she was freaking out because she was afraid…and Ichigo was also freaking out because he was afraid too.

"Rukia?"

She couldn't help it – all of her fears came crashing around her. She was going to die – this was it. She wouldn't feel the sunshine again, she wouldn't see her friends again, she wouldn't taste strawberries again…this was it. Tears began to stream down her cheeks – and then Ichigo began to shake her.

"Dammit, Rukia – stop that!"

"Ichigo…" she found her voice again, and winced when she heard how choked it sounded – her jaw was in spasm, the pain was still everywhere, but she needed him – she needed to hear his voice, she needed to not be able to hear her own heartbeat pounding harder and faster. "Ichigo – say something, anything…"

There was silence for a minute, before he finally understood. She heard his mouth open and close a few time – his fingers clenching around her own, before he managed to spit something out – something that surprised her – but only until she realized that he must have been thinking about it for a while.

"This isn't the end."

The confidence in his voice caused her tears to stop for a moment.

"It can't be – I've decided that…that one day we'll meet again. Someday, we'll be reincarnated, or whatever crap has to do with being reborn again, but you'll see."

"You've decided?" She couldn't help taking a jab at him, even though she was gasping for breath, "How did you manage that?"

"This…this can't just be it, Rukia. If I can't save you from this, then I've got to save you from something. I still owe you, remember?"

Ah. She smiled.

She remembered.

That stupid Ichigo – of course he would remember something as ridiculous as that.

It had been her eleventh birthday. All she had done was sneak away from her house – her sister had just died, and Nii-sama hadn't been in the mood to do anything. So, she snuck out – it wouldn't have mattered anyway. He didn't even notice she was around for most of the time.

It had been early in the morning; the dew had barely evaporated from the grass – which is why she had been surprised to find an orange-haired boy wandering the forest like she was.

He had a good reason though. Who wouldn't go looking for their lost siblings?

Rukia chuckled – those twins had been trouble since she could remember. Somehow, they managed to sneak past both Ichigo and his father. Eventually, however, the girls grew up strong and smart – Ichigo stopped worrying about them going out.

On the day of her eleventh birthday, however, the twins were barely six – not smart, and not strong. Without having to ask, she joined him on his search – using her quick wit and instinct, she found them – after arguing with Ichigo about who was right.

She would have rubbed in her superiority in more, if his sisters hadn't been in the midst of being attacked by a large bear – who was trying to tear them down from their perches on the top of a tree.

Ichigo had freaked out and run towards them – causing the bear to turn on him.

He had almost been mauled to death, had Rukia not knocked him into a river, causing him to be taken downstream before the bear could have hurt him.

Playing cat and mouse with a bear wasn't on her to do list, but that day she found herself leaping away from sharp teeth and strong claws. In a fit of strength, she kicked it right in its snout – her sandals breaking, which allowed for one of its teeth to rip into her foot. It was disoriented – for a moment, which gave her a window of opportunity.

To grab a large stick…and start beating the hell out of it. Which didn't end up well. Instead of beating the hell out of it, it seemed to beat the hell out of her. Not surprising. Bear versus small, cobalt -eyed girl? She never stood a chance, but what was she supposed to do? Sit around and watch as the bear dragged those poor girls out of the tree.

Looking back on that day, she knew that at the moment the bear had seemed huge – but…in reality, it must have been a small, young bear. This was the only reason it didn't kill her. She had beaten it away enough times for it to decide that she wasn't worth it. She had been half-dead, bleeding with a few broken bones – but she was alive.

Afterwards, she had introduced herself to Karin and Yuzu – and then leaned on them, being slowly dragged down the river, until they found Ichigo.

At first, he had jumped up and started yelling, until they got close enough for him to see the state she was in. He hadn't said anything – he was shocked, but still helped her back home, where his father had bandaged her up – sobbing and praising her for saving his beautiful daughters.

She hadn't been able to move for a week – she couldn't walk by herself for two, and it wasn't until a month later that she didn't wake up from a nightmare in the middle of the night.

After that, Ichigo and her had been friends – and he had always watched over her.

She never thought that he would still believe that he owed her for that. After all they had been through, he still remembered that?

"You think you still need to save me?"

He rubbed his fingers in semi-circles on the top of her hand, "I know I do, Rukia. And – if I can't save you now, then obviously I'm going to get another chance to redeem myself."

Rukia laughed – her muscles still aching, but she was too jovial for that, "You idiot. You still believe that?"

They were both silent for a while, but he held her hand, and she accepted it. Just like she accepted his irrational need to watch out for her - which at times was a little insulting, but also at some times, it was a little nice. After living in an empty home for how many years, it was comforting to have Ichigo breathing down her neck a few hours of the day.

If they did meet again, she had no doubt that he would save her – that somehow he would pay her back for something that he didn't need too.

Because that was Ichigo. He was always going to be like that – and she wished that she could see him as an old man, because there wa no doubt in her mind that that would be something special.

Ichigo would always be Ichigo.

And she would always be Rukia.

And maybe one day…

"Ichigo…if we meet again one day…if you manage to save me from something…would you still be my friend? Would you still want to see me? Or…is it just…because you think you owe me?"

"Idiot." He flicked her forehead, "You're not feeling sorry for yourself, are you? Come one. What kind of scum-bag abandons his best friend like that? Face it, Kuchiki Rukia – you're stuck with me. I'll save you, and then you'll do something to make me owe you again, and then I'll save you, and then it'll repeat."

"Oh joy," Rukia rolled her eyes – her instinctual reaction, even while she was blind, "You for eternity."

The rain continued outside – she could hear it, even better without her sight. She knew that she was going to die – probably tonight, before the next day came. And it would be a painful death – she would scream and cry, and Ichigo would hold her hand until his bones were about to break. But if Ichigo was right, she had nothing to worry about – she would get another chance.

And Ichigo would get another chance to prove himself.

She couldn't help but think it was a little romantic…but, she dismissed it.

That damn Ichigo. Feeding her idea's like this…but…maybe he wasn't as big an idiot as she thought. She wasn't afraid to die…looking forward to it, actually. It was the process of dying that worried her. Too bad for Ichigo, though. He had a full life ahead of him before he got to join her.

Oh well.

When she got there, she would wait for him. He would find her – he swore that he would. And until then, she would wait.

And he would save her – but…maybe, just to piss him off, she would save him first.

And then he would owe her even more – and then would have to meet again after that. It was a devious plan – one that made her grin, causing Ichigo to question her about what she could possibly be thinking about.

She dismissed him, distracting him with a jab to his orange hair.

But, eternity with Ichigo?

After thinking about it…it didn't sound so bad after all.

End Chapter Two