It was a cool morning in Karakura town, the birds hadn't started chirping yet, and a light fog hung in the air. The city had a depressing feel cast over it, mirroring the feelings of an odd raven-haired girl walking along the riverbank. Her pearly skin contrasted brightly with the large dark shirt she had on, and her bright pink lips only added to the illusion of a porcelain doll come to life. She moved slowly, as if lost and unsure of where to go, which was almost right.
Kuchiki Rukia sighed absently. Ichigo, her partner and friend, was hiding something from her, and she couldn't help but feel like he was doing it to appear tough. Baka she thought, irritated and sad. Does he really think I care if he shows any weakness? That idiot has probably forgotten that I've seen him at his weakest and didn't have a problem.
She turned on to the street where the clinic stood, pausing at the corner. Her hair waved a little in the breeze, and a sudden chill overtook her. Holding herself, she decided it would be best to return home and check up on the idiot. Huh... I called it home... she thought with a confused frown, shuffling as slowly as possible towards the place she had lived at for nearly a year. I wonder...
Inside the Kurosaki residence, the lights were still off since Saturdays were everyones' chance to sleep in and relax. The front door creaked slowly open and revealed a petite silhouette removing its shoes and stepping cautiously inside. Shrouded in darkness, Rukia tip-toed up the stairs, past the twins' room, stopping in front of a room with the number "15" emblazoned on the doorway.
She couldn't bring herself to knock, knowing that Ichigo would tell her to go away, and that would kill her resolve to ask him what was wrong. She shifted from side to side until she finally made up her mind and quietly opened the door. Normally she would be loud and unforgiving, but she could already tell this was a situation that called for a softer touch. Not to mention the rest of the house was asleep, and she'd have to be crazy to wake up Kurosaki senior. A small blush rose to her cheeks when she thought of what he'd think, seeing her in Ichigo's room this early. That big pervert.
Ichigo was face down on his bed, his sheets twisted around his legs, one pillow on top of his head, sandwiching it to the mattress. Rukia was fighting every urge to pick up the pillow and whack him with it for laying so stupidly.
How am I going to deal with this? she wondered, standing in the middle of the room. Her brow furrowed as she thought of all the different ways to fix this broken strawberry. She was so lost in thought she didn't even realize when he turned over and started staring at her.
"Rukia."
"..."
"Oi, Rukia."
"..."
THUMP
"Hey, midget, listen to me when I talk to you dammit!"
Every fiber in Rukia's being wanted to beat the ever loving shit out of the fool, but she willed herself to be nice, even if just this once.
"Rukia, what the hell are yo-" a small hand raised up to cut him off. He was surprised but let her continue.
"Ichigo," she began. "What's wrong with you? You seemed fine yesterday at school, and the past few weeks since we returned from Hueco Mundo were all normal to me. Why the sudden change? Where did you go this morning? Does it have something to do with this foolish mood you are in?" she asked her questions rapidly in one breath, meeting his eyes the entire time before looking away as she finished.
That had been harder than she expected, meeting his eyes. Those amber pools reflected so many emotions... Sadness, fear, anger... And one she knew all too well: guilt. Her eyes widened.
Why would he be feeling guilty? Not from earlier, that's not enough... she wondered. The frown on her face became more pronounced, since Ichigo hadn't answered her questions and she was already drawing conclusions.
"Ichigo, what is it? Tell me!" her voice rose a little.
Amber met violet.
"Rukia, it's..." he began, then sighed. "It's nothing. Don't even worry about it."
Rukia was nearing the edge of her patience, and her teeth couldn't take much more grinding. Her eyebrow rose threateningly as she spoke. "Nothing, huh? Then why the hell are you being so quiet? Normally when I hit you all I get is an earful, but today I got nothing. You tell me what's wrong or so help me..."
Ichigo turned back over to lay on his stomach, his words muffled slightly by his pillow. "So you think fighting with you is better than me just going along with it? You're kidding me, right?"
That was it. She couldn't bring herself to hit him, but she wasn't getting anywhere with the idiot and she didn't need the stress when they still had Aizen lurking around. She walked to the door and opened it roughly before turning around with an angry glare. She spoke through her teeth, careful not to yell still.
"You know what, Ichigo? That's fine. If you don't trust me with your problems, when I've been through hell with you, FOR you, then I don't care. I thought we were friends, more than just partners at this point. Forgive me for being so bold," venom laced every word she said. Slamming the door shut, she stomped back downstairs and out the front door. She was so angry and... yes, even a little hurt that Ichigo wasn't sharing his pain with her. It sounded stupid, she knew, but she had thought that after everything they had shared he would have trusted her with anything.
That stupid Ichigo! Why is he always hiding his problems?
She didn't stop walking until she'd reached Urahara's shop. Jinta and Ururu were already up and "sweeping" which she already knew was just a ruse to make the deadly mod-souls seem like harmless children. Ururu waved and Rukia returned the gesture as she slid open the front door and walked in. She knew Urahara would be expecting her, since her reiatsu was probably all over the place at the moment. She looked around and, not seeing anyone in the main room, went into the dining room.
A tall, blonde man was sitting casually against a cushion, sipping tea from an odd frog-shaped mug. He was wearing a green hayori with white accents, an odd green striped hat, and edo-style clogs. He grinned at the familiar visitor, waving a fan around as he greeted her in his usual peculiar manner.
"Oh-ho! Kuchiki-san! I am so very honored to have you grace my humble shop once more! What can I do for you?" he hid his face behind the fan.
Rukia hadn't actually been sure of what she needed so she was honest. "I... I don't really know, Urahara-san. I came because of Ichigo, actually."
Kisuke Urahara grinned behind his fan. "So, did you two finally confess to eachother?" he asked in a sing-song voice.
"Wha-? NO! You idiot, it's nothing like that!" Rukia was blushing now despite her mood.
"Ah-hah-hah... Relax, Rukia-chan, I was only joking! Now, tell me. What's wrong with my favorite student?"
She held her arm as she answered, still morose: "It's... I can't be sure. It seems like he's blaming himself for something, but... I can't tell what. He was fine the past few weeks, I thought, but this morning he just left without saying anything. I checked to see if a hollow had arrived, but no reports were on my Soul Pager, so I don't know whaere he went. I met him on our street - oh I did NOT just call it 'our' street'... what are you saying, Rukia? - and he seemed..." her voice trailed off, unsure of how to describe it.
"Hurt. Guilty. Angry?" Urahara filled in the blanks. Rukia just stared.
"Wh-yes... How did you...?" she asked.
The quirky shopkeeper just smiled and waved his fan. "Oh, well, in my business it pays to know about certain things," he added cryptically.
"Things? What things?" Rukia was curious now. "Did something happen to Ichigo recently?"
"Ehm... nope!"
"Then why is he acting differently? Damn you Urahara, so help me, if you don't spit out the truth-!" she threatened with a raised fist and twitching eyebrow.
Urahara suddenly dropped his happy-go-lucky act. Staring at Rukia with his piercing gray eyes, he seemed to be trying to evaluate her, to see if she as ready for his answer. Rukia's mind was already creating a backlog of questions, but fortunately she knew the man would answer all of them if she stayed silent. He finally spoke.
"Kuchiki-san, do you remember what happened in Hueco Mundo?" he asked, still not breaking eye contact.
Caught off guard at the question, she stuttered. "U-um.. Yes. I think... I think I remember everything. Was... Was there something I missed?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, there was something very important, and I believe it is something Kurosaki-san will still be quite upset about." he answered, rustling in his pocket to grab something. He pulled out a shard of something white and bony... Almost... A piece of a hollow? What is he... Rukia was shocked to see it. After all, didn't hollow fragments disintegrate after being separated from their owners?
"Urahara-san, what is that doing here?" she asked, eyeing the shard suspiciously.
He held it out to her in his palm. "Touch it." he commanded. With a slight hesitation, she reached forward and touched the fragment with her finger. Instantly her mind flashed with images of a horrific battle. Giant black wings filled her head, utter darkness enveloped her sight, and she fainted in the middle of the dining room. She relived the entire battle between Ichigo and Ulquiorra as though she were Ichigo. It was tearing her apart to see him bleeding so badly. When Ulquiorra fired a cero through her - Ichigo's - chest, she begged for the vision to stop. He went through all this? Oh kami... Ichigo, I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help you!
Suddenly the vision distorted as massive reiatsu pulsed outward from what was formerly Ichigo. She was seeing things in third-person now, and could barely hold in her shock at what Ichigo had become. A large mask adorned his head, with two wickedly curved horns piercing forward from the back. His spiky orange hair had grown into a flowing mane, and his hands and feet grew into evil looking clawed things. He looked like something she had only heard of in history books from the Acadamy... A Vasto-Lorde... A demon of unimagineable strength... This is what Ichigo became to defeat the Fourth Espada?
She watched with horror as the beast that was her friend and partner took Zangetsu and cleaved the fourth espada in half from shoulder to waist. The poor creature was forced to the ground, its head crushed into the pillar they fought on. The demonic beast above it brought his blade to the fourth espada's throat. Rukia heard a voice, and looked around. Ishida! she saw him running over and placing a hand on Ichigo's shoulder, begging him to stop, in order to save his humanity. She gasped as, in a flash, Ishida was impaled by Zangetsu. Oh, Ichigo! Your hollow did this, didn't he! No wonder... Ichigo... you... Rukia was in tears, just wanting the dream to end when Urahara's face replaced the images in front of her.
"Are you alright, Kuchiki-san?" he asked, propping her up against the wall. Tessai was in the room with blankets and a washcloth. She moaned and looked at the frowning shopkeeper.
"What... what was that?" she asked, her voice trembling from the emotions she was still processing.
"I'm afraid that was a portion of Kurosaki-san's new hollow mask that you saw. Ishida-san recovered it for me and explained what happened. I believe Kurosaki-san may have lost something more important to him than anything else in the world when he struck Ishida-san. I think he may have lost his humanity."
Rukia's breath hitched in her throat. "His... humanity...?" she questioned, not sure she understood.
"Ah... The very thing that gives him his power. Surely you noticed that Kurosaki-san needs something to fight for in order to achieve his maximum strength?"
She thought back...
"YUZU!" the orange haired teen screamed. A little girl was being held in the hand of a massive Hollow, slowly crushed by the strength of its grip. The boy was still locked in by Demon Magic, and could barely move. Rukia wondered how he could move at all, but dismissed it as poor performance during the casting of the spell. She warned him, "You fool! You can never break the seal of Demon Magic with human strength alone! If you force it your spirit will-!" she couldn't speak as she witnessed the most astounding rise in strength she had ever witnessed. The boy roared, anger pulsing out of him like a tidal wave of rage at the sight of his sister being harmed.
The seal broke, an unbelievable feat to Rukia, and the boy charged forward with his bat only to be knocked aside by the hollow. The hollow lunged at the teen, but Rukia leaped past it, leaving a deep gash in its arm and causing it to disappear for a minute or two. She remembered explaining to the boy about how his spiritual pressure had attracted the hollows, and how he had seemed so shocked, and angry. He had blamed himself for putting everyone in danger, she recalled. When the hollow returned, the teen was waiting. He offered himself to the hollow, and just as he was about to be devoured Rukia jumped in the way and protected him. Something about the way he selflessly defended his family, the way he looked at her with that fierce determination... His resemblance to... She felt the need to rescue him at any cost, even if that meant her life.
As she dragged herself across the concrete, waiting for the hollow to attack again, she came up with a last ditch plan. It was reckless, but it would work. It would have to work. She had explained all the details to him, and when he agreed, he plunged her Soul Slayer into his heart, followed by a brilliant flash of raw power and newly released strength. The hollow had died quickly, but not before the boy told it why it was dying. It had attacked his family, he said, and for that it would face his wrath.
She remembered... Ichigo had been fighting to save his family. He had lost his mother already, he wouldn't allow anyone else to be lost. They... they gave him a reason to fight. She continued to think of Ichigo's strength...
-CLANG- "HHHHYYYYYYOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!"
The roar of the Soukyokou as it collided with something between her and the massive phoenix caused her to open her eyes. She couldn't believe it. The amber eyes smiling, completely relaxed as the body held off the power of one million Zanpakutos. It was utterly ridiculous, and at first she wondered if in the moment before death she had imagined being rescued. When his voice reached her ears, however, she had known he was real.
"Hey, Rukia." smiling that genuine smile, the one she only saw when he had succeeded in something, he spoke.
"Ichigo!" she had been so stunned. "Baka! I told you not to come! I told you I'd never forgive you if you followed me!" a tear trailed down her cheek, evaporating quickly in the Phoenix's heat.
"Tsch... I already told ya. All your opinions are rejected." and with that he prepared for the halberd's second charge. She watched as ropes came from the ground below and restrained the giant bird, then destroyed it with a powerful burst of Kidou. Ukitake-taichou and Shunsui-taichou had betrayed Soul Society... for her... Before she could comprehend everything, she watched as Ichigo destroyed the Execution Cross with a single strike, with his shikai form, too. It was incredible. The blue energy glowed in his eyes, and those deep amber pools that had already pierced her soul became raging infernos.
She wasn't afraid though, she felt... protected. She felt like nothing could ever hurt her when he was like this. Like he could take on all of Soul Society at once and win. She had no doubt of that now.
Rukia smiled as she remembered that day, and realized that Ichigo had only been that strong because he was protecting her. So he came there to protect me, and because of that he got even stronger. He even got Bankai to protect me! she thought as she recalled hearing from her Nii-sama what happened after she was carried away by Renji. Ichigo... your strength relies on the ones you care about...
She was standing in a field of white, staring at Ichigo. He was looking back with... fear? No, that couldn't have been it... Worry? Knowing him, probably. She felt her body move against her will, faster than she could have imagined possible. -CLANG- The massive scythe she wielded struck at him. She reversed it and brought it up, nearly severing his arm. Stabbing out with the sharp handle, she drove him back. She wanted to stop, she did, but whatever was controlling her wouldn't let her.
Rukia was forced to watch through her own eyes as her possessed body cut Ichigo's form. Blows were traded, and he wasn't fighting back, only defending himself. Finally, they separated to catch their breath. She tried to will herself into controlling her own limbs, but to no avail. Looking up, her eyes widened as Ichigo began to charge. Her body responded in kind, and then... pain. She could finally control her own body, but Zangetsu was stuck through her heart, pouring Ichigo's very soul into her much the same way she had channeled her energy into him so long before. She looked up.
Up.
There.
His eyes were glowing with that same passion as before, the same drive to protect. She felt his reiatsu wash through her and heal her wounds as he withdrew the obsidian blade. She collapsed into him, still weak from the exertion.
That day, too, Rukia had seen that Ichigo's inner strength was only limited by the strength of his desire to protect. He could defeat any opponent to protect his nakama, even his nakama themselves.
Ichigo, you protected me so many times... Please just let me protect you this once. Let me be the one to defeat that which you cannot... For all our sakes...
Urahara watched as Rukia dozed, smiling to himself. He knew she was okay, he could tell from the smiles that graced her face every so often. He felt bad about letting her touch the mask fragment, but he knew she would need to see for herself what Ichigo had gone through in order to really understand. They were a curious pair, those two. Rukia would constantly hit the poor boy for being foolish, but he wouldn't put up with any of her nonsense either. In many ways they were like himself and a certain ex-Secret Mobile Corps Commander... A commander who happened to be away at the moment, sadly. He sighed; he missed her. He knew she was doing important things for Yamamoto though, so he let it slide. Last he'd heard she was scouring Hueco Mundo with her old subordinate, Soi-Fon. They were looking for any traces of Aizen and his supposed Vasto Lorde army. He felt the white shard in his pocket and closed his eyes.
Vasto Lordes... from what he had heard and read, everything about them fit the description of this beast that Ichigo had become. If that were the case... He whipped out his phone and, walking to the next room, placed a call. He didn't wait past the first ring before a voice answered on the other end.
"Kisuke Urahara! How pleasant ta hear from ya! How's things been in the ol' town, there?" asked the familiar and quirky voice.
"They're not good. Gather the others. Our... problem... just became alot more problematic." was Urahara's only reply.
The other voice shifted tone quickly. "Alright, we're coming. Is he willing?"
"I believe he will be."
"What do you mean, 'will be'?"
"He's... he lost his pride, if you can understand that."
"Eh? Whatever. It's good enough for me. Have him at the spot in two days. We'll talk then." -click-
Urahara closed his phone and sighed. He looked through the doorway to the still sleeping Rukia, frowning.
"Kuchiki-san, it's time to wake up!" he announced, putting on his cheery facade once more.
She stirred. "Unh... wha..? Oh, Urahara-san! I'm so very sorry! How rude of me!" she apologized as she wrung her hands in front of her.
"Hah! Not at all, Kuchiki-san! After all, you are my most valued customer! My home is your home!" he replied with a sweep of his hat.
Rukia had finally climbed to her feet and was staring at the ground. "Ano..."
"Hm? Kuchiki-san, is there something you wished to say?
She looked up at him, a look of determination burning in her eyes. "I know what it is that drives him now. I think... I think I know how I can help him."
Kisuke was a little surprised by her answer. He hadn't expected her to care so much about helping Ichigo. Okay, maybe that was a lie. He had suspected. But not known for sure. That'd be ridiculous.
"Well, Kuchiki-san, if you know what you're going to do, then by all means! Besides, the shop is technically closed now..." he said.
Rukia's eyes widened, "What? The shop doesn't close til-..." she shot a glance at the clock on the wall. "Nine? How long was... What the hell'd you do to me, Urahara?" she demanded as she began putting her shoes on. She alternated between looking at what she was doing with her feet and shooting angry glares at an amused Urahara. Finally she got her shoes on and ran out the door, not even bothering to question the shopkeeper further. He scratched his hair.
"Huh, guess she wasn't too mad about it... That's always good."
Rukia was pounding pavement to get back home - agh! There you go again calling it home! Your home is Soul Society, stupid! - and was about three blocks away when she felt it. She could barely breathe from running in a gigai, and the suddenly thick air wasn't helping. It was a spirit pressure she had felt before. She tried to remember who it - her eyes widened in the shock of recognition.
A sickening reiatsu, full of hate, and killing intent. She remembered it well. She could practically feel the pain again as she remembered it plunging through her adbdomen. He had come out of nowhere that night. Appeared with a blast of reiatsu unlike anything she had ever felt prior. Ichigo couldn't tell his strength, he was horrible about such things, but she knew. Rukia had tried to warn Ichigo to run away, to save himself, but he had attacked, moving with a speed matched only by Ichigo's bankai, and punched one dagger-like hand through her gut. She didn't remember much after that, only that she woke up to the golden glow of Orihime's rejection bubble, and that Ichigo looked... broken. She had vowed that night to do whatever she could to prevent him from being like that again. Her thoughts were interrupted by that oh-so-familiar voice.
"Hey there, girlie," he stood proudly atop a light-post, blue-green hair shining in the moonlight. He wore a white vest like before, exposing a large hole through his chest. His cat-like eyes bore into hers.
"Grimmjow."
