Sacrament

Episode 3: Deluge

"But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon…" Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet: Act 2, Scene 2

….

The year is 1474. Two children of Lorn have grown older. It has been eleven years since Hisana's sacrifice. Yamamoto still rules as Lord but Aizen is the serpent behind the royal curtain.

….

Ichigo had developed into a man. His twenty-first birthday had taken place a few short months ago, along with a huge celebration hosted by his father. The party had lasted late into the night and into the early morning and had consisted of erotic dancing, music, scantily clad women, and a lot of booze. Ichigo hadn't even wanted to go to his party –knowing his friend Rukia wouldn't be there. She was too busy pent up in her estate reading books and secretly practicing with her weaponries. Ichigo's hair was just a bit longer, his body much taller, and his taut muscles had been worked to perfection thanks to his early morning exercises with Rukia Kuchiki.

It was October 31st. Today is Rukia Kuchiki's nineteenth birthday. Rukia's hair had grown even longer -she refused to cut it—and had grown down to her waistline in long dark waves. The stubborn band of hair was still there, between her eyes. Her body was lithe, lacking "standard sexy" curves except for the sensuous arc of her ass and long legs that the Lorn boy drooled over. Her eyes were still a piercing violet, and her mouth had grown even sharper than her sword and arrows.

It was on one of these mornings -precisely Rukia's nineteenth birthday- that she and Ichigo met at their usual spot under the big willow tree on the top of the hill overlooking the village of Lorn. It was early dawn.

"How do you get rid of it?" Rukia asked suddenly, sitting down and leaning back on her hands. "The hole in your heart from the… loss… I mean." Rukia remembered the stench of her mother's rotting body. Yes, she could still smell it, even though she had been a mile away.

Ichigo shrugged. "With you and your Kuchiki mask I think you'll do just fine."

Rukia glared at him. Ichigo glanced over at her from his spot on the soft green grass and sighed. "You can't just get rid of it, Rukia. You live through it. You cope. That's the best you can do."

"But I want this feeling in my chest to be gone." Rukia placed her hand over her heart. She actually felt a tugging there, a pull. Like someone thrust a hand into her chest and was squeezing her heart with iron cold hands. "I want it to go away."

"Our mothers are never coming back." Ichigo said sternly. "I am trying to let my mother go… you should do the same."

"But I don't know how, Ichigo." Rukia confessed.

"Do you honestly think I can help you?" Ichigo's eyes flared. "Do you really think that I don't feel it too? Every damned October 31st it gets worse. Don't you understand that?" Ichigo pounded the earth with his fists. Masaki's perfume, his beautiful mother's scent –burned. Thrown away like trash. Her charred body was left to rot in the wood and ruin her fragrance. "Don't you understand?" Ichigo repeated, on the verge of tears. Ichigo Kurosaki never cried. He put to fists in his hair, pulling at the roots.

"Stop it!" Rukia put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think we should practice today. Frankly, I'm too tired and there is going to be a lot of suffering today. Many men died this year."

Ichigo's fists loosen on the grass. At least he had one thing to be thankful for.

That Rukia hadn't been on that damned list… yet.

"I'll walk you home." Ichigo said. He didn't want to fight anymore. Knowing that in every upcoming year he could lose her because of her beauty and that stupid ritual, he didn't want to make her angry.

"I'm fine -really-"

"I'm walking you home." Ichigo finalizes. Rukia blushes and gets up from the grass. At least he's being nice. Unlike most of the pig-headed males of Lorn. Ichigo follows Rukia down the hillside as the rising smoke from the bonfire burns their nostrils with its blasphemous stench.

"They've already lit the fire? Jesus, it's barely dawn." Rukia sniffed. She threw her bow and arrows over her shoulder and slid he sword into its hilt that was clipped to her leather belt. They started walking down the hill together, hiding behind rocks every so often so as not to be seen.

"Are you going to the sacramental?" Ichigo whispered abruptly. "Aizen is making me. As he does every year. He says that I have to be there for my father, and that it's my manly duty." His face twisted into a scowl.

"You already know my answer, carrot-top." Rukia teased, trying to lighten the mood even though it was near impossible on a day like this. "I've never gone to one in my life. Byakuya said the smoke would hurt my 'delicate lungs'."

"Why the fuck does he care?" Ichigo spit. "He let his wife die."

"Ichigo!" Rukia stopped dead in her tracks and turned around to glare at him. She jabbed her fingers into his chest. "Don't talk about that. It… hurts."

And of course, at this very moment, clouds formed in the brightening sky and it started to rain. It was not the typical dark rainy day. The sun still showed its luster through the clouds, and created beautiful rainbows in the trees. Ichigo and Rukia were oblivious to the change in weather, caught up in their own little bubble.

Ichigo gazed into her penetrating violet eyes and sighed. Why does she do this to him? Melt his heart like it was her own? He ran a hand through his soaked orange locks. "I'm sorry."

Rukia kept his gaze for a few intense moments before she lifted her fingers off his chest and continued walking. "If you weren't my best friend I swear I would've killed you by now, Kurosaki." She said as she brought up her damp hair to tie it into a ponytail with a leather band.

Ichigo's lips turned into a sly smile. "Oh really? You think you can take me?"

"Please. We practice together every day. I know all your moves." She waved a hand at him as if to brush him aside. With her back turned to him, she was completely oblivious to his next move.

"You asked for it, Midget." Ichigo lunged for his friend, aiming to knock her feet out from under her, but Rukia whirled around. With stunned eyes, Ichigo grunted in pain as Rukia caught his foot in her hands, twisting it slightly, which caused him to lose balance and fall into the mud. Rukia laughed, but then cursed ("Shit!") when the mud gave way under feet and she fell inconveniently on top of the hard body of Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Ow, Rukia. You're heavy… are you getting fatter?" A cocky white smile graced his pink lips.

"Shut up, idiot!" Rukia smacked him playfully on the chest. She hesitantly left her hand there, liking the way his chiseled chest felt under her fingertips. Immediately, Ichigo's eyes darkened slightly and his breathing accelerated. Hers did as well. With Rukia's legs intermingling with his, Ichigo felt something rousing in his pants.

"Rukia…" Ichigo said softly, and laid a hand on her pale cheek. Is this weird? But hadn't he always wanted this? Ichigo ignored his thoughts and just went with his gut, leaning his neck upwards, his lips closer to hers than they've ever been. Rukia's brain was sending her warning signals (This will end your 'just friends' relationship forever!) but she didn't care. She leaned her face forward and her lips connected with Ichigo's.

Both their eyes closed with content and Ichigo started to deepen the kiss. Rukia shoved her hands into his bright orange hair and pulled at the roots. Not too hard, just enough for Ichigo's cock to harden even more. To get even, Ichigo moved his lips almost violently over hers.

And that was it. What started as an innocent, sweet kiss was suddenly raging out of control like the bonfire in their village just a short mile away. Ichigo's tongue slid across hers, begging for entrance. She complied, and suddenly their tongues were fighting for domination. Rukia, with one hand still entangled in Ichigo's hair and the other slowly sliding down his neck onto his chest, grinded into Ichigo.

Ichigo hissed slightly, and rolled his hips on instinct. "Shit, Rukia…" He grabbed hold of Rukia and turned her over, never breaking the kiss and putting himself on top. He took one of her long sensuous legs -thank God she was wearing pants- and placed it on his hip. Rukia hummed with satisfaction and nipped at Ichigo's lip. Wet, midnight black strands of hair had fallen in front of her face, giving her a wild and carnal appearance. With her so exposed and open beneath him, feeling every inch of her delectable body, Ichigo just couldn't take it anymore. He had to say something.

"What are we doing?" He asked suddenly, placing a hand gently on her face. "What are we doing?"

Droplets of rain elegantly fell onto Rukia's eyelashes but she blinked them away.

"I don't know." Rukia said honestly. How did she get in this position? Ichigo was her friend, her protector. The only person she could trust in this village of blood and murder. Why would she jeopardize her friendly relationship with him over some romance?

"I want to be more than your friend." Ichigo said, quickly placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Every day I worry about losing you. If you got in a fight…" He kissed her again. "Or I don't know, died of some sickness, or if you were…" He winced. "Sacrificed."

Ichigo paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I don't exactly know what I'm feeling right now but I want to protect you and make sure you're safe in this village. I don't want you to leave."

Rukia was stunned by Ichigo's heartfelt soliloquy. Did he really feel that way about her? Or was he just using her for her body like every other boy would do? No, that can't be true. Ichigo had been Rukia's best friend for years. If he wanted to take advantage of her he would have done it already.

"I don't know what I'm feeling for you either, but I'm not going to leave, Ichigo." Rukia wrapped her arms around his torso. Ichigo smiled like a little boy and pulled her up so that they were both in a sitting position and held her tight for a long time.

…

A/N: Hey everybody! Yes, I am updating really quick again. Amazing, huh? *pats self on back* you can thank insomnia for that. It's seriously 4:16 a.m. where I live. Anyway, to get some things straight: Yes, Rukia's hair is long in this fic. Why? Because I think she would look pretty with long hair and women tended to grow it out in Scotland back in this age. Oh, you know this is set in Scotland, right? Shoot, I'm not sure I mentioned that. Did I? Tell me in a review! (PLEASE?) LOL(: And another thing: there will be flashback scenes in the next chapter or the chapter after that about Byakuya's feelings towards Hisana's death, so prepare yourself.(: REVIEWS ARE MY LIFE SOURCE. WHEN I GET EVEN *ONE* REVIEW IT MAKES ME HAPPY AND I WROTE MORE. DEUCES.