Chapter 2! So i hope you liked chapter 1 and this is chapter 2 duh lol Ichigo and Rukia are formally introduced in this chapter. I hope you guys like Soi Fon i love her so much i decided that she needed to be in this story alot :D
Chapter 2: The Fateful Meeting
Ichigo sat in class the rest of the day wondering about the strange new student. He wondered how someone as small as her could possibly be a Demonic Princess. He always thought that they were big and scary looking, not tiny and well, cute.
"Alright class, see you tomorrow," Soi Fon sighed as she released the class for the day. The class left and as usual, Ichigo lingered to talk to the Lord of Clan 2.
"I still can't believe she's that important," Soi Fon said as she placed her chin in her hand. She stood up and made her way over to the cupboard, Ichigo following close behind. "Ichigo, have you ever heard the story of the origin of our kind?"
"The what?" an obvious no. Soi Fon smiled and began her explanation.
"It was stated that hundreds of thousands of years ago, a demon had a child. That child was a demon like no other. He was shaped like a human, and spoke like a human, but had the powers of many demons. He was the first vampire. If you think about it, all vampires are demons; however, no one is sure why the demonic princesses are so powerful, or so different from the rest of us. It is clear though, that someone is trying to kill them all, so please Ichigo, even though we don't formally have any ties to the Kuchikis, and I'm not your clan's lord, please, watch her close Ichigo. I have a feeling something bad will happen if you don't."
Ichigo nodded his head, understanding the gravity of the situation, and took his leave. As he left, Soi Fon reached into the cupboard and pulled out a strange looking device. "I hope to god I never have to use this."
"What'd you talk with sensei about Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime pondered as Ichigo walked out of the building.
"She just told me to keep an eye on Rukia," he dryly stated. "I figure we'll be formally introduced at the meeting tonight."
"Are we going out on patrol after the meeting Ichigo?" Uryu asked as he pushed his glasses up his nose.
"Probably, I'll have to see how much homework I can get done. Since we've been rationed, I need way more sleep now, so we'll have to see," Ichigo sighed as he ran his fingers through his orange hair. Ichigo threw his hand towards his friend as he stepped up to his house, and carefully opened the door.
"WELCOME HOME MY SON!" Isshin screamed as he kicked Ichigo across the face.
"Damnit dad, can't you let me WALK IN THE DOOR FIRST!" Ichigo screamed as he returned the kick. Isshin and Ichigo often had these fights.
"Knock it off you two!" Yuzu pleaded of her father and brother.
"Leave um alone Yuzu, Ichigo always wins and dad never learns, so he deserves what's commin," Karin sighed as she entered the room.
"I'm going to my room," Ichigo growled as he punched his father into a wall, "and I have to go out tonight, I won't be back till late." Ichigo stormed up the stairs and slammed the door shut.
"I'm worried about him," Yuzu sighed. Karin only glared in the direction of Ichigo's room.
Ichigo, what the hell has happened to you?
Ichigo laid on his bed in deep thought. Since it was easier on him, he had allowed his fangs to grow out and his eyes to change. He rolled over to look at the clock. 5:40, damn I still have a while before the meeting. He had been so tired lately, all the vampires had. They were even considering holding the meetings earlier so that everyone could sleep. He rolled over to look out the window, and shut his eyes, allowing the rest of his senses to sense to what was happening in the outside world. He could hear a dog barking off in the distance. He heard the birds singing to each other. He listened to the casual conversations on the streets. However, then at about 6:30, he heard something he hated hearing.
"No, please, STOP IT, LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ichigo hated hearing that; it reminded him of how disgusting humanity was. He was always unsure as if he should stop it or let it be. This case was different however, he heard something else.
"But I'm so hungry!" Ichigo sprang out of bed and jumped out the window. He knew what was happening, and that he had to stop it. It was blocks away, so he did something that he wouldn't normally do in his weakened condition, he used his abilities, and shunpoed to the street that the noice was coming from. When he arrived, he found the women cowering in an ally, and the vampire standing over her, fangs elongated. As the vampire made his way towards the women, he heard something at the end of the ally.
"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hado Number 63! Raikoho!" A giant burst of lightning shot towards the hungry vampire. He quickly shunpoed away. The girl opened her eyes to find that he attacker was gone. She shivered uncontrollably, and saw a hand reach out towards her. She looked up and reached to grab the hand, until she saw the face of the man, who was a vampire like her attacker. She quickly removed her hand and began cowering again.
"Don't worry," said the vampire said reassuringly. He was smiling with his eyes closed. He hadn't looked at the face of the women he saved. "We're all hungry right now, but we all won't stoop to that level. He heard the girl sigh in nervous relief and felt her small hand enter his. He clasped his hand around hers and pulled her up, opening his eyes as she began to sob in his chest. His eyes grew in shock as he realized who it was. "Rukia!" he exclaimed in shock. She raised her head, her tears flowing down her face, and realized whose chest she was crying into.
"Ichigo?" she weakly stated. She slowly backed away and wiped the tears from her eyes. "You're a vampire?"
"Ya, but you're a, a princess! How come you let him attack you like that?" Ichigo asked shocked that someone as powerful as her was almost attacked.
"The ration has made me incredibly weak; I can barely do anything with my powers anymore. My enhanced strength is gone, my magic, gone, my senses, gone. Since we have more powers than normal vampires, we need more blood as well. While a normal vampire needs 2-3 bottles a day for proper function, we need 4-6. I feel like such a glutton sometimes, but I need it to function properly. However, I'm under the same ration as everyone else, so I've lost almost all power, all energy." She looked at him, eyes full of wonder. "How'd you know what I was? How did I not know what you were? Even in my debilitated state, I was able to make out that sensei and Renji were vampires, and the boy with glasses is a vampire hunter. But I wasn't able to sense you?"
"Renji filled me in, and as for why you weren't able to sense me? I'm not sure. Come on, the meetings gonna start soon, and I'm sure your brother wants you there." Ichigo turned and began to walk out of the ally, Rukia smiling, trailing close behind.
Ichigo and Rukia made their way towards the dusty old building on the edge of Karakura. Rukia had never been to a meeting before, and was suspicious as to Ichigo's true nature, as well as the buildings.
"This is the meeting place?" she asked almost frightened. Ichigo turned around and sighed.
"Yes, it's held here because no one comes here, we know we'll be alone." He turned back around and opened the door, allowing Rukia to enter first. She was shocked to see the state of the inside of the building. It was a well lit foyer with couches and tables. A couple kids, to young to be concerned with meetings, lazed on the couches half-asleep."
"It's only 8, why are they so tired?" Rukia asked as she stared at the children. Vampires normally didn't need to sleep much at all, if they did, it was because they enjoyed being wrapped in the bed and blankets and the relaxation it brought.
"The ration is making everyone tired. I never slept much before, but now I'm sleeping, or trying to sleep, 8 hours a day and I'm still tired." Ichigo replied as he led them down the hall towards a giant room. They walked up the stairs, and Ichigo slowly opened the creaky door. The room was massive. There were 2 seating areas, one on the left side of the room, for the common vampires, and one on the right, with 26 seats, for the 26 Clan Lords and Demi-lords. Ichigo and Rukia were the last to arrive.
"I would expect this from a first time visitor like Miss Kuchiki, but you, Mr. Kurosaki, should…"
"Ya ya I know shut up old man I'm here ain't I?" Ichigo growled at Head Lord Yamamoto. Yamamoto would have acted insulted, if he wasn't used to Ichigo and his smart mouth by now. As much as Ukitake felt embarrassed by Ichigo sometimes, he still greatly liked and respected him, and couldn't help but chuckle under his breath. Byakuya sat with an emotionless expression, until he realized that there was only 1 Miss Kuchiki. His eyes sprang open as he quickly glared to look at his sister. The crowd was giggling and Rukia hid behind Ichigo.
"Where do we go?"
"Well, I don't know what Byakuya wants you here for, so I'm not sure. But I gotta go sit over there," he replied pointing towards the empty seat next to Lord Ukitake.
"You're a demi-lord!" Rukia asked, astonished at this revelation. Ichigo sighed and nodded his head, and made his way towards his Lord. Rukia stood in the middle of the room, unsure what to do.
"Well Miss Kuchiki, since you are in the middle of the floor, and this meeting was called in part because of you, we shall begin," Yamamoto declared. The room went silent. All the Lords and demi-lords were sitting up straight, attentively listening, except for Renji and Ichigo, who sat leaned back in heir chairs, chins in palms, but still paying close attention. Byakuya stood up, gave a small cough, and began.
"As many of you are aware, Rukia is my little sister. However, what you don't know, is that Rukia is the last surviving Demonic Princess, and…"
As the words "Demonic Princess" exited Lord Kuchiki's mouth, the room began to erupt in whispers. Even in Rukia's debilitated condition, she was able to make out many of them, and a tear began to fall down her face at the hurtful words some were saying.
I'm not a monster; I'm not a bad person. How can they say such horrible things about me based solely on what I am? I haven't done anything wrong! They don't even know me. Why?
Ichigo, who had had his eyes closed the whole time, immediately opened them upon hearing the whispers. His eyes sent glares around the room, and then he set his eyes upon Rukia, and when his superior vision caught sight of the tear, he exploded.
"Who are you all to judge her?" Ichigo screamed as he shot out of his seat. He was pissed; his eyes were changing from their normal amber, to a bright red.
"Ichigo, calm down" Ukitake asked Ichigo in his soothing voice. Ichigo glared at him, and returned to his rant.
"She's a good person, and you guys upon first seeing her decide she's a horrible person undeserving of life for what she is? She's one of us for god's sake! You people make me sick!" Ichigo finished his rant and stood angrily staring at anyone who dared to look at Rukia. Rukia just stared at Ichigo like he was a saint. Her eyes showed deep affection. The boy who had only known her for one day had the nerve to stick up for her in a way that her own brother wouldn't. She smiled at him, and he sat back down upon seeing her smile, but continued his glare.
"Well Ichigo, since you seem quite close to my sister, I guess this solves my problem," Byakuya sighed. Even though he would never show it, he was glad for what Ichigo had done.
"What are you talking about?" Ichigo whined at Byakuya.
"We were looking for a place for Rukia to stay. Since someone is killing off all of the Demonic Princesses, and whoever is doing it would know that Rukia is the last and that she lived with me, we were looking to hide her. However, as close as you and Rukia are, she'll stay with you then."
"What!" Rukia and Ichigo screamed in unison. Ichigo had jumped about 5 feet in the air. Everyone's eyes grew wide as they stared at Lord Kuchiki.
"I second that motion," Lord Aizen calmly stated, a small grin growing on his face.
"It is settled then, Miss Kuchiki will stay at the residence of Demi-lord Ichigo Kurosaki of Clan 13," Yamamoto declared with his raspy voice. "There is one more thing I wish to tell everyone before I dismiss the meeting." Everyone looked at Yamamoto. "You are all to take your zanpaktou everywhere you go now. In this time of grave danger with a still unknown enemy, it is important especially considering how much weaker that everyone is due to the ration, that you be able to defend yourselves. Dismissed!"
Everyone stood and began to leave. The Lords and demi-lords stayed behind and talked with one another. Ichigo made his way over to Byakuya, who was chatting with Soi Fon.
"Hi Ichigo!" Soi Fon smiled at him as he finally entered their circle. Rukia looked up at him with a look that said this is all your fault.
"Hey Soi Fon. Byakuya about what you said earlier I…"
"You'll be taking her home tonight. Her stuff is in my car. Since you showed up together, it shouldn't be a problem leaving together should it?" he questioned coldly. Ichigo, Rukia, and Soi Fon stared at him blank faced. Was he serious?
"But Byakuya, you seem to be conveniently forgetting that my family doesn't know that I'm a fricken vampire!"
"So make something up," was his reply. He didn't give Ichigo time to rebut because when the word's exited his mouth, he left. Soi Fon forced a smile and turned to Ichigo and Rukia.
"Well, look at the time; see you both at school tomorrow!" She left.
"Well, fantastic," Rukia growled as she and Ichigo started to leave.
"I guess I better call Uryu and tell him were not hunting tonight."
OK so I dont know when chapter 3 will be up cuz i wanna write chapter 11 for my other story b4 i write this one so i hope you guys continue to read! please comment! Thanks you so much for reading and Go Red Wings :D i really need to find a way to get hockey into bleach stories lol