Hey guys, I just want you to know that I'm so glad you enjoy the story and I really appreciate the reviews. From my perspective I'm constantly looking at this and trying to build the story so while something may be completely fine in my head, it might look different for you guys and so I'm thankful you guys care enough to let me know your opinions and criticisms in order to help me write better and more fluidly. Regardless, I hope this is a story that you love and that my writing doesn't disappoint you! Haha, enjoy!
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She was numb. The feeling of the fox's spine shattering replayed in her head as she made her way back to the training grounds, and by only the grace of perhaps Tsukuyomi himself, allowed her to make it there without crumpling. She knew Hisana wouldn't be far, and yet Rukia wished her sister were far, far away from the Seelie lands. She knew she should probably be furious, be terrified, be horrified and saddened for the fox, but an eerie chill was taking over her body. She was far too calm…far too numb.
Again and again that Tengu replayed in her mind, his vicious smirk, his smug voice. She knew whatever threat she had given him at the Summer Solstice didn't deter him in the slightest. He came as a warning…and returned with a war. The Unseelie hime clenched her jaw, she had never regretted letting someone live so strongly before. She would not make the same mistake twice.
Finally reaching Karakura, Rukia didn't waste any time. She took a deep breath, just enough to center herself, before pushing her magick out, calling to anyone and everyone who would know what to look for. The answer was almost instantaneous. Soldiers filled the streets, most likely all coming from the training grounds, looking at her, half confused, half terrified. She could see Ishida move through the crowd to come speak to her, and even he looked rather worried.
She couldn't think about that right now, however. A chill ran through her, and Hisana appeared like mist, with the Seelie King on her heels. She could feel Ichigo to her back, no doubt Renji and Orihime still with him. For once, the thought did not bother her. Surprisingly, she could only wonder how she was supposed to tell Yuzu that a fox she had cared for had been so inhumanely killed, and all because of Rukia. Her breath stuttered, and by the look on her sister's face, Hisana could tell something was horribly wrong. She nearly flew to Rukia's side, wrapping her arms around her sister and leaning in close, inspecting her.
"What's wrong Rukia? What troubles you so?" she could tell her eyes were haunted, it seemed like they were reflecting back in her sister's gaze.
"War is in the forest Hisana. Youkai, Boar and Tengu, at least 50. They come with a wagon and weapons. They come with a cage and mean to trap one of us." As if the chill that was choking Rukia was a disease, she could see it fall over her sister, and only then did she realize that it was a murderous calm that took her sister over. Something so savagely ingrained in them that she couldn't even put a name to. Perhaps it was because it was affecting her sister in the same way that Rukia blurted out her next words; perhaps it was only because Hisana was her flesh and blood and would understand, but either way: "They killed that fox, Hisana. They killed her and I could do nothing about it. I was at fault. She shouldn't have died." She didn't know what to do, how to explain it, but her sister seemed to understand everything about her, because she only folded Rukia into her arms and held her.
It's okay Rukia. Yuzu will forgive you. She will understand. But you must be strong now. Her sister's voice was grounding, if only slightly and it allowed Rukia to close her eyes and focus. A fight was coming to them whether they were ready or not, and they had to win. That blackened iron cage was in the forefront of her mind. She could not allow anyone to be taken, and she would die before she ever let them take Hisana. She would rather be taken herself than face Byakuya and tell him that she did not do everything in her power to stop them. Her sister pulling away caused Rukia to open her eyes and take a step back. Everyone was watching her, waiting for what she'd say next, what they'd do next.
"We're going to take the fight to them. We can't allow them to step foot in Karakura, can't allow them to think they stand a chance. So I want you to grab whatever weapons you may need, whatever armor, and head towards the forests with me. You will hold the forest line and ensure that no Youkai enters Karakura." She spotted blue hair moving through the crowd and called out. "Grimmjow! You are with me. Renji, Shinji, Yumichika. All of you are with me. Ichigo, Ulquiorra, Hisagi, Kensei, you will stay with the Seelie King and Unseelie Queen." She met all of their gazes as some went to speak. "We will all be entering that forest. I trust you to watch our backs, to ensure each other's safety. The King and Queen are priority, no matter what." She waited no longer before she turned and made her way back to the forest. Back to where the youkai waited for her.
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Rukia was thankful that no one came to ask her if she were alright. They had more important things to worry about, and herself was the very bottom of the list. To her left was her sister, and next to her was the Seelie King. To Rukia's surprise, he wielded a black, tapered blade that reminded her of Ichigo's own blade that he had strapped to his back. Speaking of the prince, he trailed behind her, next to Grimmjow and Shinji, all three men also wielding their blades. She didn't know if she should tell them it was in poor form to already reveal their weapon before they even spotted the enemy but she didn't feel comfortable joking in the state she was in. She felt exposed enough, she needed to find that cold, balanced, Unseelie hime again.
They finally entered the tree line when Rukia felt the first signs that something very bad was going to happen. Not only did a thick miasma linger by their feet, but she couldn't sense one living thing in the forest anymore. She wasn't sure if they had escaped, or if the youkai had already made a game of it and killed them all. Rukia didn't want to know. She only kept her gaze open, scanning every tree, pushing her magick further and further, searching for that darkness she couldn't mistake.
There. She could feel them far to the left, no doubt they found some sort of base to hole up in, or ambush them in, knowing the Tengu that was with them. Before they would descend upon the base, she raised a fist, causing her group to stop. She didn't take her gaze off of what was in front of her, instead speaking softly.
"We're no doubt walking into an ambush. Stay tight around the King and Queen, they will enter last if need be. I will lead with Ayasegawa."she didn't hear anyone speak, but felt Yumichika brush up against her. She glanced at him, pitching her voice lower so it was only between them. "You know what to do if asked, correct?" he gave a curt nod, but she could see displeasure shining in his gaze. She couldn't dwell on it, she was doing this for the good of their home, their people. "Let's go."
They filed in tightly, and Rukia watched the dense trees give way to an open clearing, just 300 yards away, with youkai by the dozen milling about. She could see more disappearing into the mouth of a cave, but the only thing that caught her attention was the cage in the center of the opening, with its gate opened. She could feel the magick of it curling around her, poisonous, and though it seemed to be speaking to her, she was more interested in what stood before it. In front of it stood the scarred Tengu, with a wide grin on his face. Slowly, Rukia found herself inching closer and closer, almost against her will, and it was what allowed her to catch his final words.
"-for the Joou." Queen. Rukia's blood chilled instantly. They meant to take Hisana. Without realizing it, Yumichika had been right beside her the entire time she moved forward and he met her gaze in a grim nod.
"Whatever it takes, hime-sama." Rukia allowed her gaze to drift back to the cage once more, willing herself to not look at her sister. Instead, she stood, her fury building at the arrogance these youkai had, thinking they could ever trap a Queen. They could barely survive against Rukia, and for them to even contemplate controlling her sister was plain idiocy. She could feel Yumichika tugging on her hand, and it was only then that she realized she was walking towards the clearing, all pretense of stealth gone. It didn't matter. They would soon know who came to massacre them. They thought they could contain a Queen, but they forgot they were playing with a Kami. In a flash of white, she burst into the clearing.
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Rukia unleashing on them happened in the blink of an eye. One moment she was crouched behind a set of bushes with Ayasegawa, and the next she was merely feet away from their encampment, with no intention of stopping. Quickly, Ichigo felt himself move forwards to go after her, and noticed that the group had all thought to do the same. It didn't matter, Rukia didn't need help with this, because the moment she stepped foot into the clearing, the temperature around her plummeted and for the first time, snow fell in the Southern lands.
When the wind cleared and all stood still to watch her, Ichigo felt his heart stop. And not in that cheesy, romantic way that he was sure other people thought he meant. No, his heart seemed to stop of its own volition, because the woman in front of him was no longer Rukia. Yes, she was still physically the same, although her hair had once again shifted to its pale white, and Ichigo was sure her eyes were like moonstones, but whatever resided in her body was not her. Even the youkai in the clearing seemed to sense something off. Not one dared to move towards her, but all kept their weapons drawn. Renji went to follow suit, but Ichigo watched Hisana stop the General from the corner of his eye. She shook her head once, and merely went back to watching her sister…or whoever was inhabiting her sister's body at the moment.
Ichigo found himself doing the same when it seemed one of the youkai had decided it was done waiting for Rukia to move first. It lunged for her, and before it could even raise its arm, it crumpled to the ground, cleaved in half by a force Ichigo did not see. He hadn't even seen Rukia lift a finger, but watched her slowly tilt her head to the side, a small smile curling her features as she watched the boar youkai bleed out. It was only for a split second, but Ichigo wondered if she would turn on them with the same contemplative face.
XxXxXx
She was numb. But she was curious too. This body was hers and not hers, a disconnect between two places in only one being. The youkai in front of her fell apart without her even lifting a finger, but she knew she had been the one to end him. What was wrong with her? She did not know, and did not feel like contemplating, not when there were more staring at her, part in fury, part in fear. She hoped their fury would win out. She did not come out here for nothing.
Another lunged towards her, a roar ripping from its throat, and again she felt that killing blow, but he seemed to evade it, causing shock coloring her system. No, she was pleased. She did not want this to be so easy. After all, they brought the keimusho. Even now, it hissed at her, seemingly screaming. A part of her did not know why, but this part, this part knew. It was her creation. Hers and another's. Although when it had been brought to life, it had only been keyed to his blood, blood that was now running through her body, although, maybe this body did not belong to her, maybe it was the other way around-she could feel the killing intent so strongly, it slammed into her far before it's owner could attempt to and she merely flicked her eyes to him and down he fell, split in two before her feet. Another boar youkai.
She glanced around the clearing. It seemed the Tengu were playing it clever and staying back, allowing the boar youkai to do the dirty work. Perhaps they thought they could trick her? She nearly huffed a breath. She had known a trickster, long ago, in another life, another body, and no one else would get the upper hand on her.
It was only when the grunt of a male behind her caught her attention that she realized what they were doing. She whirled, remembering only faintly the people who traveled with her, no, not her, but…her. That disconnect. She was only one, why did she feel like two? Regardless, she watched the youkai attempt to swarm these companions from behind, going towards the female in the group. Her heart jumped when they nearly caught her, and she felt fury lick close behind. A name flashed in her head, a scream, and a plead, and she finally threw a hand out towards the youkai who was close enough to reach out and shatter the frail looking fae. Hoarfrost ripped from her blood, her magick colder and crueler than earlier, and she found herself wondering her relationship with the female, as the youkai dropped to the ground and shattered at the fae's feet. She looked to her in shock, but she watched those violet-blue eyes light in gratitude.
Forcing herself to think nothing of it, she turned away, looking for the scarred Tengu that kept appearing, no matter what body it seemed she inhabited. He was nowhere to be found but she knew it was not like him to disappear. He was not a coward until death was close enough to kiss him, and she hadn't gotten that close yet. Ignoring the fae behind her, she glided forward, realizing that she now wore a dress of some sort while earlier it felt like she had worn pants, although she supposed earlier she had not been herself. She forced herself to not take the time to examine herself, she supposed the youkai would get offended, and she was rather invested in finding that Tengu.
She found herself drifting closer and closer towards the keimusho, and could hear it calling to her louder and louder, but still she could not fully make out its words. It didn't matter at the moment. It could do no harm, despite what it was crafted for, but she supposed she would have to be inside of it in order for it to have some sort of effect. She flexed a hand, and glanced up to see a small group of youkai frozen solid by the force she exerted. And perhaps weakened, she thought with a slight smirk. Still, she traveled closer to it, unable to help herself, while still keeping an eye on those surrounding her. A flame flashed in her peripheral, but when she looked, it was only a red-haired male, brandishing a long, black blade that seemed to vibrate the very air. He seemed to be watching her without looking, and she found herself curious by him. Perhaps when they were all finished here, she would find out more about why he looked at her in such a way when she did not know him at all.
Jotun. The word was hissed under her skin and she found herself whirling, surprised at having gotten so close to the keimusho. She did not know the translation of the word, did not know what it meant, but she felt like she should, could feel heat pulling under her skin. Annoyance. She found herself lifting a hand, brushing it tentatively against the blacked iron, and could feel it pull at her magick. A part of her was pleased it still worked, was still able to do what it had been crafted for, but another part seemed almost horrified. She knew there was no reason, however. Her magick was boundless, and it would take far more time for the keimusho to truly do her any harm. She slowly made her way around the cage, wondering if it would speak more to her, but glanced over her shoulder to see how the others were faring.
They had nearly halved the forces of youkai that had originally been there, but they were not struggling. She found herself pleased with the fae. If they could not withstand these creatures, they certainly would be no fun for her. She was watching the savage dance of the red-haired male again when her fingers brushed air and iron clamped on her wrist. She whirled and tugged, heaving the keimusho forward with her, but it did not release its hold. She bared her teeth at it and shoved her magick forward, hoping to shatter the binds, but no such luck. It took all she gave and sat unharmed, practically purring with her magick. She heard footsteps above and glanced up.
The Tengu crouched down on the keimusho to smile at her. She only hissed at him, and willed the killing magick to remove his head from his body. Nothing happened and as if he knew what she had done, he laughed.
"Ah, that won't work. You should know better than anyone what this cage does, especially to Unseelie, which you technically are, even if you have Jotun in you." That word again. He seemed to see her confusion, and grinned even wider. "Yes. Let me help you remember." He swung down in a blur, faster than any Tengu had the right to be, compared to her, and the force in which he slammed into her shoved her inside the keimusho, and another iron clamped down. Both wrists shackled, she opened her mouth and roared at him, her fury primal.
He was leaning off of the doorway, his head tilted, much like how hers had been earlier. "You were once the daughter of a Frost Giant, you had their blood, you were a Jotun, but time passed and your father was killed and you had come to know of Odin and his sons, his brothers, his family. You mingled with them." He spat the word at her. "Then you fell in love with another, a kami. Tsukuyomi. You forgot yourself. You lost yourself. Gave it all to Tsukuyomi. Then you created this cage, right before you had been completely lost, in order to hold anyone that held his blood, because you both knew how much of a monster he could be. You had done so only after he had created the first offspring, giving her your true form." She could hear her heart in her ears, it pounded so loudly, she wondered how she could still hear the Tengu speak. He laughed at her reaction. "Oh, yes! You can sense the truth. He had betrayed you in the deepest way possible. You thought he loved you, when he only wanted your magick to strengthen his, so he could create the ultimate being. You did not know that he loved Amaterasu, his sister. You did not know they were husband and wife. And so your soul was left to fall in between the cracks, until this Unseelie had come to be created. Though his first creation was his masterpiece, this one is capable of surpassing her. After all, your soul had been pushed with this female's long ago."
She didn't realize that she had fallen to her knees until she heard his feet pounding, eating up the space between them. He gripped her chin tightly and forced her gaze upwards and she could feel his claws dig in, surely breaking skin. He saw the despair in her gaze and grinned. "Yes, this body belongs to Kuchiki Rukia. You will never again have your own form. Only relinquishing your subconscious to her will allow you to finally move on, but the wrath of a Goddess is not easy to get over." He flung her face back, and in her shock, she allowed him. He turned his back to her and went to leave the cage, even going so far as to hop out and start closing the door. Before he could, however, he paused and caught her eye. Still smiling he spoke to her one last time. "You have Loki to thank for giving you another form once more. Skadi." He turned and slammed the cage shut with such finality that she could feel it echo deep in her soul, and quickly, it felt like a yawning abyss opened up, its only purpose to swallow her whole.
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When Ichigo felt her magick spike the air, he admitted to being slightly worried about what was happening to her. Though Rukia was indomitable, she was not immortal, and that cage in the middle of the clearing bothered him more than it should have. Whatever creature currently inhabited her body, whether it was indeed a goddess or not, didn't matter. Ichigo didn't want to think about how Rukia would be when the fight ended, he couldn't think about the possibility of her not returning back to herself.
For now, he could only focus on dodging and lunging, pouring his anger and annoyance into the youkai in front of him, could only focus on protecting the Unseelie Joou and his father to his back. They had more than halved the youkai before them, and Ichigo was starting to get restless with this fight. Something wasn't right in this clearing, something wasn't right about this fight, and he wanted to be done with it and continue on.
He had turned to look for Rukia once more in the clearing when he felt her magick vanish so quickly and sharply that he stumbled, and watched the Unseelie Queen's knees buckle. He couldn't even reach out to help her, and was thankful his father could, because all he could focus on was trying to not fall flat on his face. The absence of her pulled so heavily at him, he was sure he was either going to be sick or cry but the worst part was not spying the telling sign of white hair in the clearing. He was sure he was panting at this point, looking around wildly for Rukia, his gulping breaths the only noise in his ears besides his thundering heart.
"RUKIA!" his scream silenced everyone around them, and then slowly, a tengu turned from the cage and smiled at Ichigo, the scar on the left side of his face an instant reminder of the Summer Solstice. His fury bolstering him, the Seelie Prince stood upright, his hand tightening around his blade, as he prowled towards the tengu. He didn't say a word, only heaved his blade upwards, a blast of his magick arcing towards the youkai in a burning flash, before the cage took the brunt of his magick. The tengu had the nerve to brush off his shoulder, his smile now a smirk.
"Ah, is that all you have to offer, burning prince? You seem a little…flashy." Ichigo couldn't stop the growl tearing from his throat, baring his canines to the youkai.
"Step away from your safety and ask me then." He brought his blade back up once more, a horizontal arch this time, and poured flames from his blade. They vanished in a blast of smoke. Ichigo took another step closer. "WHERE IS RUKIA." He hardly recognized his own voice, lower beyond its normal depth, guttural in a way he never experienced, even with his short temper. His fury was half blinding him, but something dark was guiding him, something his instincts were giving themselves over to. The tengu still had the nerve to grin at him, smug with something that Ichigo didn't know, but when he spoke, a part of the Seelie prince wished he didn't.
"That girl is gone."