A/N: Another chapter for all of you! This fanfic is nearing most of what I have written of the end, so it won't be long now! In fact, I was thinking of the schedule to be having this whole story released before the start of school in late August, so I'm thinking of setting the intervals of releases to be a week or less, depending on if anything that comes up. I definitely would enjoy to complete this as a summer fanfic, despite having started this before Spring break.
Alright now, enough with my rambling! This chapter is not packed with action but is a important part to the story with a transition to the next part.
Disclaimer: You know Bleach is by Kubo Tite, and I've mentioned before the title is by the song from Gackt, including suggesting you to hear it! It truly is a lovely song.
Enjoy!
Chapter five: Let's
Ichigo wasn't dreaming of anything, but he constantly felt a presence in the darkness around him. It was a warm, soft presence that enclosed him in soft feathers.
It was different from the presence he always identified as his mother's- it wasn't as familiar, yet he didn't object to the intimacy he felt from it. He remained in the dark, warm silence for what seemed like only a few minutes until he heard his name being called.
The next moment, Ichigo opened his eyes, seeing her face.
"Rukia…" He mumbled. He could feel her cold hand resting on his head. He paused when he noticed something was weird about her, and saw that she was upside down. Her hair fell over her face, and he could feel his head was slightly raised from the rest of his body.
"Ah, you're finally awake." Rukia smirked at him from her vantage point as she watched him look around, confused.
Ichigo finally put two and two together, as his eyes widened, processing what she had said. He sat up in a second, looking around him. Rukia took her hand off his head and avoided a collision with his head as he sat up, and watched him look all around them.
"I… fell asleep out here?" He asked. Rukia nodded. "Ah, crap! It must be really late, who knows how Dad will be?!" He muttered, mentally cursing. He stood up, stretching his tired legs. Rukia stood up as well, with nothing else to do but watch him leave again. Before leaving, he turned back towards her.
"Rukia, are you okay?" He turned to the angel, looking at her somber face. She was surprised by the inquiry, not expecting him to think of her welfare when it was obvious he was fine.
"Ah." She answered, not knowing what else to say. He paused for a moment and looked away before talking again.
"It's really late now, and it would be best to leave this place- let's go." He said as nonchalantly as he could. Rukia was struck dumb, staring at him.
"Let's?" She questioned.
"Ah, you're coming... with me." He informed her in a business-like tone.
He was full of surprises.
"Why should I?" She challenged in her even tone. He almost lost his footing by her sudden change of behavior but recovered quickly as he walked over to the fallen angel and glared at her.
"Why should you even stay? This place is teaming with weird homeless men or more of those possessed demons." He argued. She cringed when she thought of the reason, but Ichigo didn't notice.
"With those huge wings, you probably can't walk that far- I can just carry you." He sighed. She stared at him.
'What did he mean, carry?'
"Come on, then." He said. She snapped out of her puzzled thoughts and found him with his back turned on her, crouching in an odd position.
"Eh?' She asked.
"What?" He turned and glared at her. She stared back with a blank face. It wasn't until then did Ichigo realize that the term or idea of piggy-back was most likely foreign to angels, since it was made by living souls. "Oh- sorry." He came closer and crouched down again. "Place your arms around my neck and lean on me." He explained.
Rukia stared at him, thinking he must be crazy. Even with her reluctance, she linked her arms with each other when they meet around Ichigo. She shortened her grip as she felt Ichigo's back against her front. His arms wound around her legs and hoisted her up, surprising her.
"A-ah!" She squeaked when he lifted her off the ground, her feet touching nothing but air, almost like it was like when she could fly. Her grip tightened, bringing her body closer to his.
"Hold on, we're not far from my place." He told her as he started walking. She really wasn't heavy at all- 'light as a feather' would be a suitable simile. Her wings still dragged on the ground, but it wasn't much trouble.
Rukia looked around at the scenery that was now changing for the first time in a long while, several times looking back at the tree. She continued surveying the scenery of the buildings when she noticed a dark figure near the buildings they were passing.
"Ichigo, there's someone there!" She whispered her guard immediately up.
"What?" Ichigo turned in alarm, throwing both off balance for a second. He saw the figure standing by the old shop. "Who's there?!" He called out.
"Oh, oh, don't be alarmed, I'm just a shopkeeper!" A mellow voice called out. He walked a little closer out of the shadows. It looked like an older man, but they couldn't tell with the hat he wore casting a shadow over his face. He wore more traditional clothing, even wooden sandals.
"What-?" Ichigo was slightly speechless at the strange man.
"Urahara Kisuke, nice to meet you! I'm the proprietor of this shop here!" He gave a slight bow, introducing himself.
"You're the owner of that shop?" Ichigo looked at the supposed store. It looked like it had been closed for years.
"Yes, Urahara Shouten!" His smile grew larger to see someone knowing his shop. "Of course, I haven't seen you around here, and it was quite odd when I saw you sleeping out on my property over there." He rubbed his chin, looking at Ichigo with curious interest.
"Oh- sorry about that- I didn't realize it was your property, or anyone lived there anymore." Ichigo apologized. Rukia looked from over his shoulder and stared at the man.
'For how long has he owned Kaien's land?'
"It's okay, I'd just say you shouldn't just nap in the middle of places like that, you never know when someone will come and maybe take your wallet." He warned Ichigo.
"Ah, thanks for the advice. I won't do it again." Ichigo answered.
"By the way-is something wrong? You're standing in quite a strange position…" The man mumbled, pointing at Ichigo. He glanced down and realized that he was holding an invisible angel, showing his hunched back and strange hands. He quickly stood straight, and dropped his hands to his sides, letting go of Rukia. She gasped when her support suddenly disappeared from underneath her. She released herself from Ichigo's neck and fell to the ground with a thud. Ichigo stiffened, but Urahara seemed to take no notice.
"Sorry- I guess I was sleeping the wrong way." He came with a lame reply, but it was better than nothing.
"I see! Well, if that was all, I bid you a good night! Be careful out there, the world is never the same, and isn't always safe to go out around at night." He advised. Rukia was standing up as Ichigo stared at the shopkeeper.
"Yes." He said with a guarded voice Urahara nodded and turned around on one foot, walking back into the shadows. Ichigo heard a door close after waiting in silence for the man to be gone. He spun around to see Rukia standing there.
"Sorry about that-" He started to say, but was silenced by Rukia's deadly glare.
"Do that again and I definitely won't go anywhere, no matter what you ramble on about. You do realize ordinary souls do not see me- he had a keen eye at seeing you were in such a position." She scolded.
"Yeah, yeah I got it now. Now come on, we have to get going." She complied despite her previous protests, and was once again on his back as he held her up.
He carried her in silence as he walked down the street and went another block before they were in front of a house with a large sign on the front.
"Here we are…" Ichigo muttered as he unlocked the door and walked inside. There were no lights on, but Ichigo had maneuvered around all of the furniture through the dark. Rukia's wing got caught a few times, but they did not make much noise and were able to release her from the snags.
He soon made it to the top of the stairs after stepping as quietly as he could and to his bedroom door, still with her cold body against his back, the chill seeping through his clothes to his skin. He had to use all of his self control not to shudder at the sensation.
"Strange… the old man is nowhere to be seen." He muttered as he walked into his bedroom. He unwound his arms from her legs. She loosened her grip slowly and placed her tip toes onto his bedroom floor.
"Now… where should you sleep?" He muttered, looking around his room. He rejected the idea of her in his bed, but could not see any other option. While he was thinking to himself, Rukia walked around the small room, staring at all of the furniture and objects curiously. She stopped in front of two doors, and slid it open. Inside there was a large shelf with extra covers stacked neatly.
"A closet." She stated, knowing exactly what it was. Ichigo turned to look at her. He looked at it for a moment before the idea of her sleeping in the closet popped into his mind.
"Yeah… That could actually work. The only problem is your wings…" His eyes lingered on her wings. She jumped and climbed her way onto the shelf and on top of the covers. She lay down as her wings hanged out from the doorway, her back facing him.
"This will do." She answered.
"The door won't close over your wings." He stared at her with a tired look. He received no response, and deduced she fell asleep. Sighing in exhaustion, he crept to his own bed, thinking what an angel looked like when they slept. It wasn't long before he soon had fallen asleep as his thoughts of the angel rested and were replaced with those of the next morning.
A/N: I truly hope you enjoyed the chapter and can't wait for the next! Please do leave a review before leaving, it really makes me happy! It's good to voice comments!
