Can't believe that I'm saying this: it's been ten years since I first started writing fanfiction. Wow. I was a university student back then. Enough said. "Turning right, turning left" is the only story that I left unfinished. It is still a story that I hold dear to my heart but so much has happened since, both in the Bleach manga and my own life. I really mean to finish what I started although I doubt those who've been following this story will still read this. I still like to thank each and every one of you that have read and reviewed this story. It's been a great journey. But seriously, it's time for both the Bleach manga and this story to end.
Turning right, turning left
Epilogue: Full Circle
Rukia has died and reborn more than once in her life. She can't remember how she died in her mortal life but it is certain that she has died young as a child. The second time she died though, she remembers it vividly. It is the night when she thrust her zanpakutou into Kaien's body. Technically she didn't die on that fateful night but her heart did until it started beating again when Ichigo rescued her from her execution.
When she heard about the news that Ichigo was being arrested for murder, her heart almost stopped again, except she is older, wiser and stronger now. She takes a deep breath and tries to take everything in with a clear head. Something feels very wrong. Ichigo, murder? It is impossible that it happened. She simply refuses to believe it.
"Where is him now? I want to see him."
"You can't. They're questioning him now." Urahara replies levelly without looking at her. Rukia is taking the news better than he thought she would which is good. But he doubts that she will remain calm for very long.
"I want to see him all the same, when they finish questioning him."
Urahara merely shrugs. "Sure. That is if they let you see him at all."
Rukia knows that he is merely telling the truth but it doesn't deter her from glaring at him. If a glare can kill, Urahara would be dead a thousand times over. But she knows better - he is more useful to her alive than dead. The man after all did escape from Soul Society's top security prison before.
"There must be a way to reach him." She looks at him purposefully.
Urahara sighs and pulls his hat lower.
He is a scientist who likes to disguise himself as a magician. Sometimes he does enjoy the limelight but this is not one of those times. It gets weary when people keep expecting the impossible from him, like pulling a rabbit out from an empty hat. The rabbit has to come from somewhere, mind you. Nevertheless, it is testament to his brilliance when he does manage to pull it off. So he rises to the challenge every time.
"Get some rest while you can, girl. We have got work to do tonight."
They have been asking him the same questions over and over again for hours.
Why did he kill the Covert Ops members? How did he do it?
And he has repeatedly answered their questions with the same answer - "I don't know. I can't remember."
That is the truth, but Ichigo is not sure if it will get through the thick skulls of his interrogators.
Finally they leave the cell and let him be. Ichigo is however still cuffed to his chair. He is wounded, tired and thirsty to say the very least. He has fought battles and had near death experience before. But he was never being treated as a prisoner before.
Well, well. Looks like you're in a tight spot.
You! You did this.
To say that he is angry is an understatement when Ichigo hears the voice inside his head again.
It chuckles.
Perhaps I did. But you'd let me.
I did not!
Deep down inside, you wanted me to do it and you enjoyed it too.
No! You're wrong!
It laughs so loudly that Ichigo's head hurts.
SHUT UP!
Ichigo didn't even realize that he has been yelling out loud until he hears his own hoarse voice echoing in the cell.
Leave me alone!
He doesn't know how much time has passed. He is too tired to keep track but the voice eventually seems to cease in his head. His consciousness is slipping away dangerously until he hears a whisper that snaps him back to reality instantaneously.
"Ichigo."
Her voice.
He lifts up his head hopefully.
"It's me."
There is no mistake that it's Rukia's voice but there is no one else in the cell. Something flutters at the corner of his eyes and lands on his shoulders. A small purple butterfly. A hell butterfly, to be more precise.
"Rukia…" He calls her name softly. It feels like a lifetime ago since he last called her name.
"Listen to me carefully. I'm going to get you out of there. But first, I need you to do something..."
It is a quiet night in Seiretei until a resounding alarm breaks it silence. It doesn't take long before every shinigami wakes from their sleep and gathers to find out what happened. A prisoner has escaped.
"Captain, looks like the boy is on the run." Rangiku smirks.
Her white haired captain scowls. He doesn't know Ichigo very well but he know the boy well enough to know that he is not a murderer. There is nothing he can do for the boy now. It is not his job to prove the boy's innocence. His responsibility as a captain of Gotei 13 is to find and capture a fugitive.
Finally he gives his order, "He's a fugitive. It's our duty to find and capture him. Gather everyone for the search."
"Yes, captain." Rangiku nods. It will not be wise to defy her captain's order. However, she is sure that someone helped the boy to escape. Like a certain Kuchiki, maybe. Oh, it'll be so romantic if they escape together. She smiles on that thought.
Under the full moon, two silhouettes blur as they speed through the roof in Seiretei.
"It's your fault that the alarm went off!" Rukia snaps angrily.
"Well, if you gave clearer instruction, this would not have happened!" Ichigo retorts.
The petite raven haired shinigami would have kicked the boy's chin to teach him a lesson if she isn't so busy running away from their pursuers.
"Are you blaming me? Who's the smart ass who is a suspect for murder?"
This time, Ichigo shut up because she is right and he is guilty. This is not how he imagined their reunion to be. He never wanted it to turn into a fight like this.
"I'm sorry." He apologizes wholeheartedly without looking at her.
"Idiot."
That is her own way of saying he is forgiven. Ichigo suddenly feels a great weight has been lifted from his heart. And he is grateful.
"Look, that's the cave Urahara-san has been talking about."
But someone is already there waiting for them. A masked man. The reiatsu is familiar though.
"Mitarashi-sama?" Ichigo asks tentatively.
The masked man nods curtly and beckons. "Follow me."
Rukia is alarmed when the man goes to a direction away from the cave.
"But this is not the way we're supposed to go."
"The cave is no longer safe."
Rukia gives Ichigo a look. Her violet eyes say that she is doubtful about the stranger but Ichigo merely nods as a sign that he trusts this man. So they follow the man.
It has been a long night but both Ichigo and Rukia feel slightly relieved, now that it seems they have made the right decision to follow Mitarashi and successfully throw off their pursuers.
They are now at Mitarashi's place in Rukongai.
"You can stay here as long as you need."
"Thank you. Why did you help us?" Ichigo can't help himself but asks. After what he did to that man, Ichigo certainly didn't expect him to help them escape.
The older man smiles mysteriously. "You'll find out tomorrow. Rest for now."
Then he retreats from the room that has now become the young couple's hideout.
"What do we do now?"
"Now we rest. I'm too tired to think of anything else."
The orange haired shinigami lies down on the tatami.
"Move over to that side. I have no space to lie down here." Rukia nudge him with her toes.
Ichigo sighs and obeys.
"More." She demands.
"Why the hell do you need more space than me when I'm bigger than you? You used to sleep in my closet, remember?"
He really can't understand the logic behind her demand. Girls are such unreasonable creatures sometimes.
"That was then. I have nowhere else to go and you didn't want your family to find out that a girl is sleeping in your room, remember? Now we're equals. This is the centre line of the room." She draws an invisible line with her hand.
"It's only fair if you get half of the room and I get another half. But you're crossing the line and sleeping over my share." She explains as if he is the one who is being unreasonable.
"Fine, whatever." He is too tired to argue with her.
Finally satisfied that all is in order, Rukia blows out the candle and lies down beside him.
"Hey, Ichigo? Are you asleep?" she asks in the dark.
But she shouldn't be bothered to ask, the even and deep breathing from the other side says it all.
"It's okay. We can talk tomorrow."
Before long, she is fast asleep too.
Morning comes sooner than expected. By the time Ichigo wakes up, Rukia is nowhere in sight. Instead, he finds Mitarashi sitting in the living room, seeping his tea calmly.
"Where is Rukia?"
"Not to worry, she's out to get some fresh air. She'll be back soon. Come, sit with me." Mitarashi pats the seat beside him.
Ichigo sits down as Mitarashi pours him a cup of tea.
"Do you remember what happened that day?"
Looks like Mitarashi wastes no time to cut into the main topic.
Ichigo takes a deep breath before he replies, "Honestly, no. I don't remember all of it. I certainly didn't remember killing your team members."
Mitarasi nods as if he is expecting the same answer.
"That is because you didn't kill them," he pauses before continues, "I did."
Ichigo feels as if he is suddenly being poured a bucket of ice water and whatever sleepiness in him diminishes. When the initial shock subsides, a new found anger fuels him. He stands up abruptly.
"Bastard, why did you do it? Those were your men."
Mitarashi seems unfazed by his reaction.
"They were my pawns and they served their purpose. Do you have any idea who you are? What you are, Kurosaki-kun?"
Ichigo grits his teeth, "What are you talking about? What do you mean by that?"
"My, my. You really have no idea, do you?" Mitarashi put down his cup and looks at Ichigo with a cocky smirk.
"You, my friend, are a rare specimen. An abnormality, if I may say so. I bet your father never told you who your mother really is."
Now Ichigo is positively infuriated at the mention of his parents. He reaches for his zanpakutou dangerously.
"If you have something to say, say it now before I cut you down!"
Mitarashi chuckles before he drops the final bombshell, "Your mother was a pure-blood Quincy, boy."
Ichigo takes a step back involuntarily to steady himself. He didn't see this coming at all.
"Your father is a shinigami, which you already knew. And you, you have a Hollow inside you, just like your mother. What does it makes you, really? I guess it makes you a freak."
How did he know about the hollow inside me? And what did he mean I have a Hollow inside, just like mom?
Ichigo is too dumbfounded by the revelation that he didn't see the blow that is coming his way. He is a second too late to dodge or brace himself from an impact so great that it sends him flying across the room and knocking down several walls before he stops. He crawls out from the rubbles and coughs out some blood. Then he wastes no time and releases his bankai.
From a distance, Rukia can sense the sudden spike in Ichigo's reiatsu by the river. He is either furious or in danger or both. She forgets entirely about the water bucket and rushes back to the house where Ichigo was as fast as she can.
I shouldn't have left him alone.
When she finally finds him, he is already in battle stance. But she is even more surprised to find him pointing his blade at Mitarashi.
"Stand aside, Rukia. I'll fight him. This man is the culprit behind everything."
Once again, Rukia is being asked to be a bystander in a fight that isn't hers. Like hell she is letting it happens again. She jumps and lands right in the middle between the two men. Whether Ichigo likes it or not, she will participate in this battle.
"Dance, Shirayuki."
From then onwards, all hell breaks loose.
Mitarashi proves to be a resilient opponent. But when Ichigo and Rukia finally found a rhythm to fight together and not against each other, he is simply no match for them. Ichigo presses his zanpakutou at Mitarashi's throat again like the last time he did. The only difference is this time he is clear about why he does it.
"Spill now, why did you set me up? How did you know about my family?"
"You should ask your father about that."
"You knew my old man?" Ichigo's eyes widen in shock.
Mitarashi sneers. "I've known your father way back, since we joined the Shinigami Academy together. We've always watched each other's back. He was like a brother I never had."
It doesn't make sense at all to Ichigo.
"So this is how you treat your brother's family?"
"No, this is how I treat a traitor!"
It only seems to confuse Ichigo more.
"He betrayed me for a woman, a worthless Quincy who was going to turn into a Hollow! She is lucky that a Hollow killed her before I did."
This time, Ichigo holds nothing back and punches Mitarashi's face hard.
"Shut up, bastard. You know nothing about my family or me!"
The older man looks at him defiantly, daring him to deliver the final blow.
"Do it, boy. Kill me. I have got nothing to live for."
Instead, Ichigo does the opposite and lifts his zanpakutou from the man's throat.
"No, you'll clear my name and face justice for you did."
Just then, reinforcement arrive just in time, demanding both of them to drop their weapons and surrender. Ichigo does as he is told. But Mitarasi defies their orders by holding up his zanpakutou.
"You're just like your father, boy."
Those are Mitarashi's last word before he lunges forward and attack the other shinigami. Several zanpakutou go through his body, stopping him effectively. Despite this, the man smiles in satisfaction as if all has gone according to plan even as he kneels and falls, face pitching forward.
It is over now.
Yet Ichigo feels no comfort from the death of his father's friend. His only consolation comes from a smaller hand which slips into his, telling him everything will be okay. And he believes her.
A week has passed since the incident. Everything is back to normal in Soul Society. Kuchiki Byakuya has regained his consciousness and on the way to recovery. Rukia finally allows herself to relax and just enjoy Ichigo's company whenever she is free. They spent most of the time catching up to each other's life and arguing about petty things like they used to before. The familiarity is comforting yet the uncertainty of future is constantly looming over their heads. Neither is willing to confront it yet.
"Hey, you should come and visit sometimes. My sister, Yuzu misses you."
"Oh, so you mean she's the only who misses me?" Rukia teases.
And Ichigo teases right back, "No, I forgot to mention that Gon misses his nee-chan too."
She threw a mock punch at Ichigo's direction but her fist is firmly caught by his hand. Her eyes meet his. This time, he seems quite serious.
"I will visit you if I can but I don't want to trouble Urahara-san too much. It's just that I think it'll be easier if you can visit me instead. What do you think?"
Rukia is slightly surprised to be caught off guard by his question but she recovers quickly. She smiles softly and replies, "Yes, I think I can do that."
For us.
"Maybe we can go to the theme park next time. I heard that they've got your stupid bunny as mascot this time," he suggests.
"Really?" She perks up at the mention of her favourite bunny.
Ichigo coughs violently, trying his best to pull a straight face but fail miserably.
"Are you crazy? Nobody in the right mind would do that, seriously."
"You! Get back here now! I'm gonna get you good!"
The raven haired death god chases after him with murderous intent.
Somehow, Ichigo thinks he can manage to live another day if only he has her by his side.
END
A/N: Thank you for reading, everyone. This didn't turn out as big as I imagined it to be but I hope it's a satisfying closure to this story.