Universe: Bleach
Parings: None!
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Adventure
Disclaimer: Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo
Warnings: Some Spoilers for Fade to Black, Mild Swearing and Violence.
Author's Note:
My family is going away on holiday next week leaving the house to me. I was planning on going but in the end I decided to stay home; that is a great holiday for me. I love my family with all my heart but sometimes they drive me nuts and even I need a week to myself.
Anyway just like I promised here is Part II! I can't promise I will get Part III up tomorrow but I will try!
Please enjoy and if you've got time please give me feedback!
Fade to Black: Memories of the Black Sun
Part II
The Human World- Karakura Town; the Kurosaki Clinic
Rukia Kuchiki narrowed her eyes as she stared at the full moon in the sky; she couldn't explain it but something felt very wrong.
Suddenly she stumbled backwards from the window and placed her hand on her head, her eyes blinking in confusion as felt a small stabbing pain in her head before it disappeared.
"W-what on earth?" Rukia whispered to herself as she stared down at herself.
'Why am I in a gigai?' She thought to herself before looking around the room she stood in, nothing seemed familiar to her not even the drawings which were obviously done by her.
Suddenly something on the desk caught her eye, with slight caution Rukia made her way over to it and picked up the small picture.
Her eyes widened in shock as she saw herself standing in front of a strange human school surrounded by a strange group of people; all of which were wearing the same uniform.
But it was the boy standing next to her that caught her eye.
"Kaien-Dono?" Rukia whispered in shock as she saw his features but quickly shook that thought away; the boy in the picture may look like Kaien Shiba in appearance but he was younger looking than her former Vice-Captain.
Not to mention his hair was bright orange instead of black and it was slightly shorter, the boy's eyes were also a deep chocolate brown and even though he was smiling, his eyebrows were furred in a scowl.
'What on earth is going on here? Why am I in this picture? This is obviously a happy moment, maybe a graduation, but shouldn't I remember this?' Rukia thought to herself in confusion before a sound from the closet made her freeze.
"Nee-San? Where did you go Nee-San?" A whinny voice complained before the door was pushed open, Rukia blinked in complete shock when she saw a stuffed toy lion standing there.
"Oh! Nee-San!" The toy suddenly shouted in joy and threw himself at her; Rukia couldn't help but cry out in fear before slapping the toy away.
As the toy crashed to the floor, Rukia silently cursed herself for allowing such a small thing to scare her; she quickly pulled on her mask of emotions that she trained hard to gain.
"I'm Rukia Kuchiki from Squad 13 of the Gotei 13. Tell me, strange creature, what am I doing here? How did I get here? And what are you?" Rukia demanded as she glared at the toy; Kon blinked in shock as he pulled himself to his feet.
"W-What are you saying Nee-San? You're in Karakura; you've been here for the past week." Kon objected and Rukia narrowed her eyes in anger.
"Don't lie to me! I have no memory of such a thing, now answer me true-fully before I call the Soul Society for reinforcements!" Rukia ordered sharply and Kon backed away from her in fear.
"I'm telling the truth, Nee-San! How can you not remember that? You came here to celebrate Ichigo's birthday." Kon answered nervously but he blinked in shock when Rukia looked even more confused.
"Ichigo? Who is this 'Ichigo' you talk about? Do I know her?" Rukia asked and Kon would have laughed as she referred to Ichigo as a girl; if the situation wasn't so serious.
"You can't be serious, Nee-San. You can't have forgotten Ichigo! You 2 practically shared a soul for 3 months! He saved you from execution! How can you tell me you don't remember him?" Kon cried out but quickly jumped back when Rukia tried to kick him.
"What on earth are you mumbling about? I have never met an Ichigo and I have never been put up for execution!" Rukia shouted and Kon finally had enough.
"How can you stand there and say that, Nee-San? Ichigo Kurosaki is the one who-" Kon broke off with a gasp as Rukia suddenly fell to her knees in front of him; the picture in her hands falling to the floor with a loud smash.
"Nee-San!" Kon shouted but Rukia couldn't hear him; everything had gone black around her but suddenly she could hear a voice.
"Midget!"
The voice sounded as if it was surrounded by static making it hard for her to hear but Rukia clenched her eyes shut and forced herself to concentrate; scenes flashed before her eyes as the voice became clearer.
"Rukia!"
Her riding on the back of a Shinigami with bright orange hair, holding the same boy's head in her lap as rain fell around them soaking them through, looking back over her shoulder at the boy who was lying in a pool of his own blood.
"What kind of rescuee complains about the rescue?"
The boy suddenly landing in front of her as the 2 of them stood on a long bridge, herself blinking away tears as she saw his cocky smirk as he held back the Sōkyoku.
"Stop telling me to go back home, it's annoying. I've come all this way and I'm not about to stop now. So listen up because I'm not about to say it again; I've come here to save you, Rukia."
Leaning against a street light as the same boy stood in front of her but this time in a school uniform, Rukia could feel herself talking but the words were never heard all she cared about was this boy's answers.
"Then give me that blade, Shinigami."
Standing in a small field and smiling at the boy in front of her as he scratches the back of his orange hair, shouting out encouragements as he looks up at her in shock as the hollow charges at him, watching with barley opened eyes as his brown eyes shone with sadness and guilt as he knelt over her wounded form, his smile as he sat with his sisters.
"My name is-"
"Ichigo!" Rukia gasped as everything quickly came back to her; she blinked in shock and shook her head as it throbbed slightly but she remembered.
"Nee-San! Do you remember now?" Kon asked and Rukia nodded with a small smile.
"Yes, I remember. Thank you Kon and I'm sorry for shouting at you." Rukia whispered and Kon blushed as he looked to the side but stayed silent.
"But the question is why did I forget Ichigo like that? Something is defiantly not right here." Rukia whispered to herself before stood to her feet and walked over the window.
"I need to go and see Urahara."
Urahara's Shop
Rukia sat at the familiar small table as she waited for Kisuke to return; her mind was still reeling over what had just accrued a few minutes ago.
'Why did I forget Ichigo? Where is he?' She thought to herself in worry as she remembered the last time she saw him was just before she went to sleep after throwing him the birthday party; she never noticed earlier but his body was resting on the bed and she knew Ichigo wasn't in it.
Where could he have gone?
"Here you go." A small voice whispered breaking Rukia out of her thoughts; she looked to the side to see familiar blue eyes peaking shyly behind black hair as a small cup of tea is placed in front of her.
"Oh. Thank you, Ururu." Rukia whispered gratefully causing the girl to look at her in slight shock; Ururu blushed before she bowed in acceptance and quickly ran out of them room when Kisuke walked inside.
"So you were talking about..." Kisuke hinted as he sat down in front of Rukia once again.
"Ichigo Kurosaki." Rukia finished and Kisuke nodded in understanding.
"Who is that exactly?" Kisuke finally asked after a couple of minutes of silence; Rukia face fell at his question.
"Who is-? Ichigo Kurosaki! You were the one who trained him and you helped him out loads of times!" Rukia cried out and Kisuke blinked in shock before he pulled out a notebook from his kimono; Rukia watched in silence as he flickered through the pages before his grey eyes blinked in slight shock.
"Oh yes, his name is here but I'm sorry I don't remember anything about him." Kisuke explained and Rukia blinked in shock.
"What?" Rukia whispered to herself.
"Nee-San you also forgot about Ichigo earlier." Kon pointed out and Rukia looked down at the table with a worried expression.
"Did you say his name was Kurosaki?" Kisuke asked and Rukia nodded silently causing Kisuke to hum as he waved his fan in front of his face.
"The only Kurosaki I know is Isshin Kurosaki and his 2 daughters."
"That's Ichigo's family! He's Isshin's son!" Rukia cried but Kisuke sighed as he shook his head.
"I'm afraid I don't remember Isshin ever having a son. He and his wife only had twin girls." Kisuke explained causing Rukia to look down at the table once again.
"It's like Ichigo no longer exists…but that can't be true otherwise I wouldn't remember him." Rukia growled to herself.
"I'm guessing if you are here instead of in Soul Society then you haven't heard what's happened?" Kisuke suddenly asked causing Rukia to look at him once again.
"Soul Society? What do you mean? What's happened?" Rukia demanded and Kisuke placed his hands around his cup of tea.
"There have been a few disasters happening through the night in Seireitei. 12th Division's Captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi suddenly went berserk and destroyed his lab. Also it's been reported 1/3 of Seireitei has been destroyed by a strange Spiritual Particle liquid." Kisuke explained and Rukia's eyes widened in shock.
"What?"
"If this Ichigo person suddenly vanishing from everyone's memories and the disasters are related then it's possible they were caused by the same person." Kisuke stated and Rukia bit her lip.
"By the way...what is your relationship with this Ichigo?" Kisuke asked causing Rukia to narrow her eyes slightly.
"That's none of you-" Rukia cut herself off as she realised Kisuke wasn't planning on teasing her about her answer; considering he doesn't even know who she was.
"He's my precious friend." Rukia finally whispered as she slowly stood to her feet.
"I have to get back to Seireitei. It's the only place I can find out what's going on." Rukia stated as she drew her Zanpakuto and pushed it through the air.
"Unlock." Rukia ordered before turning her Zanpakuto causing a pair of paper Chinese door appeared in front of her; a bright light filled the room as they slid open and a hell butterfly fluttered out to her.
"Thank you for your help Urahara-San." Rukia stated as she bowed before turning towards the gate; Kon quickly climbed up her back to get on her shoulders before Rukia walked through.
Soul Society- Seireitei; 1st Division
"Head-Captain Yamamoto, I have the report." Chōjirō Sasakibe stated as he appeared inside the office with Shunpo; the Head-Captain grunted as he continued to look out towards the Seireitei and Chōjirō took that as a sign to continue.
"The strange Spiritual Particle liquid has finally stopped spreading but sadly there are many Shinigami incased in it, Captain Zaraki Kenpachi is one of its claimed victims." Chōjirō began and he watched as the old Shinigami sighed before he nodded for his Vice-Captain to continue on.
"We still haven't found any signs of Captain Sosuke Aizen, Captain Gin Ichimaru or Captain Kaname Tosen; Captain Unohona has located Vice-Captain Momo Hinamori in the 4th Division but the girl has been placed in an artificial coma and Captain Unohona refuses to bring her out of it until she discovers why. Captain Kurotsuchi has been reprehended and is being held in the 4th Division barracks as well as Captain Unohona performs a full examination of him; we've also lost the Vice-Captain of the 7th Division and many unseated officers from all Divisions. Everything is just a huge mess, Head-Captain." Chōjirō finished with a sigh as he stayed his bowed position; Generysai released a sigh of his own as he gripped his cane tighter as he watched the early sun sign upon the hardened white substance encase most of Seireitei.
"So we've lost 5 Captains, 2 Vice-Captains and an uncountable amount of Unseated Officers." Generysai summarized and Chōjirō nodded silently.
"What of the Shinigami deployed to the Human World?"
"They've all been called back just like you ordered Head-Captain. The 6th Division is cataloging all Shinigami coming through the Senkaimon so we can try and find out exactly who we've lost in this disaster." Chōjirō explained and the Head-Captain stayed silent as he closed his eyes to try and block out the horrific sight in front of him.
Senkaimon Gates
'What on earth is going on?' Rukia to herself as she looked around the hundreds of Shinigami surrounding the Senkaimon; the moment she had Kon and arrived at the gate one of the guards ordered her to wait to the right until their name and rank could be taken down.
"So many Shinigami!" Kon whispered in slight fear as he gript Rukia's shoulder tightly in his cotton paws; Rukia could understand his concern, she'd never seen such a huge commotion before.
"They must have called back all the Shinigami in the Human World. By why do such a thing? Is the situation so serious that the Head-Captain decided to leave the Human World unprotected?" Rukia whispered as she looked around her in worry; suddenly a flash of red caught her attention.
"Oh thank god." Rukia breathed as she finally caught sight of a familiar face; quickly she made her way over her way over.
"Renji!" Renji Abarai looked up in irritation at someone using his name so causally but his eyes widened in both shock and relief when he caught sight of Rukia walking towards him.
"Rukia! Where have you been? Everyone is worried sick!" Renji whispered the moment Rukia stopped in front of him; Rukia narrowed her eyes in confusion as she notices the stack of papers in his hands.
"What's going on Renji?"
"Everyone is meant to report to their Divisions to be cataloged so the Head-Captain can report who we've lost in the attack." Renji pointed out simply before he grabbed her free shoulder and quickly pulled her away from his Division.
"Rukia Captain Ukitake is going nuts and so is Captain Kuchiki. They both think you've been consumed by the strange Spiritual Particle stuff, where have you been?"
"I was in Karakura Town. Renji have you seen Ichigo?" Rukia quickly shook off his question and asked her own; she hoped that at least Renji would remember Ichigo.
"Ichigo? Who's Ichigo? And where is Karakura Town?" Renji asked in confusion causing Rukia's hope to shatter.
"What do you mean who is Ichigo? Don't tell me you've forgotten him too!" Rukia cried out causing Renji to narrow his eyes angrily.
"Rukia I don't have any idea what you're on about. Now you need to tell me what you were doing in the Human World, unauthorised, otherwise I'm going to have to take you in for questioning." Renji warned and Rukia gawped at him in shock.
"Nee-San I don't think he knows who Ichigo is, either!" Kon squeaked but he froze when Renji's eyes glared at him angrily.
"What is that thing?" Renji demanded as his hand went to his Zanpakuto; Rukia shook her head quickly before she held out her hands.
"Wait Renji! You don't understand! I think Ichigo is in danger!"
"Who is this 'Ichigo' you keep talking about?" Renji shouted and he slowly spread his feet apart and Rukia swallowed as she realised he was preparing to attack her.
"Renji please! You can't have forgotten Ichigo! You said he was like an Otōto to you! Remember? Ichigo Kurosaki!"
Renji's eyes widened in shock when images flashed in front of his eyes; him standing in front of a wound Shinigami with bright orange hair, fighting the Shinigami again who now wielded a clever Zanpakuto, looking at him as silvery-blue Spiritual Energy surrounded his form and catching Rukia in his arms tightly and being thrown back.
"Take her! That's your job; protect her with your life!"
The one problem with the images he saw though was the fact the orange-headed Shinigami's face was shadowed; his face was hidden from his view.
"Renji!" The Vice-Captain shook his head with a growl before he glared at Rukia hatefully as he pulled his Zanpakuto out of the sheath slightly.
"I don't know what you did there but I will not stand for you planting weird visions inside my mind! Rukia Kuchiki of the 13th Division, you are under arrest! You are to be placed into custardy until questioning and then you will explain your actions!" Renji barked as he drew his Zanpakuto and Rukia could see a few others from the 6th Division following his example.
"Nee-San what are we going to do?" Kon cried out as Rukia gript her Zanpakuto tightly in her hand; she didn't have a chance to answer though when a huge explosion rocked the entire Seireitei.
"What the hell was that?" Renji shouted as he spun around and looked behind him; his eyes widened when he saw smoke coming from the south side of the Seireitei.
"Vice-Captain Abarai! Another attack has taken place, this time it was the south side gate to Rukongai; the 2th Division members guarding there have been reported to have been lost in the attack." A messenger Shinigami reported as he bowed down to Renji's side.
Rukia bit her lip slightly before she quickly took her chance and used Shunpo to disappear; she didn't know what was going on here but she knew she couldn't afford to waste time waiting in a cell to be questioned.
She needed to find Ichigo and if that meant turning against the Seireitei, then she was willing to do it; as it was what Ichigo would do for without hesitation.