Hey everyone! I'm back with another update. Many thanks to GhostAlly, RukiaCHAN1, RukiaYoukoMaSahi, Vicky73, 1SuperKawaii, loveyouso, Omili, Nathalie Shiffer and AlaeaMori for reviewing my last chapter (see end note). All your reviews mean so much and really help to motivate me! Xxx

Anyways, on with the chapter. Hope it doesn't disappoint.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach just this plot

Sometimes it's safer to be on the dark side –CSI:NY

True Monsters

Quietly, Rukia sat down on a cold rock to steady herself. Her small fingers rubbed at both temples of her head to soothe the headache she had. It didn't do much good. The constant pain gave her such a bad mood plus she was unable to focus for most of the time.

At first, she thought the headaches were a side effect of the Sub-Blood tablets but that wasn't the case. Ulquiorra was carrying out tests on them and she secretly looked at his report notes. No one else experienced the pain she got so she thought her body was somehow rejecting the medicine.

She heard some faint footsteps approaching her, 'Ichi...' She trailed off when she finally turned round.

'Urahara-san?' She sounded surprised with a hint of disappointment.

'Oh, what a coincidence, I was just waiting for Ichigo. Have you seen him?'

Rukia had arranged to meet with Ichigo at the training grounds hoping he could help her. She looked over Kisuke's shoulder to search for her friends' presence but there was no such luck.

'Unfortunately for you, he will not be coming,' Urahara said as he smirked behind his fan.

'Huh?'

'How naive you have been, Rukia-san.' It wasn't a question. He was just toying with her; tormenting her.

Ichigo sat in Kisuke's house drumming his fingers on the table. His eyebrows twitched. He knew at the same time Kisuke was meeting with Rukia. Kisuke had asked Ichigo to arrange a meeting with Rukia and with Ichigo being the most obedient apprentice he did as he was told. Although he trusted his master he couldn't help feeling nervous that Kisuke had insisted on seeing her alone. And the guilt within Ichigo began eating at him again. It started the moment he gave Rukia the tablets.

You saved me...

If it weren't for you I probably wouldn't be here today...

.. no matter what happens; we'll always be friends, right?

He closed his eyes to block out all thoughts of their conversation; of her. It was impossible. He could clearly remember the innocent look on her face. She trusted him and he took advantage of that.

Friends...

He clutched his fists and took a deep breath. Maybe he would regret this. Maybe this would displease his master. Maybe everything was already out of his control. But he just wanted to see Rukia was alright for himself if only to ease his own guilt.

He got up and went to leave the house. Out of nowhere, a blue luminescent arrow skimmed past Ichigo, narrowly missing his face and hit the front door. Another half an inch and it would have hit him. He looked over his shoulder already expecting Uryu Ishida behind him.

'Oh, I missed.' Ichigo ignored the death glare he was getting and turned towards the door again.

'Urahara-sempai told you not to interfere.'

'I'm not interfering. I'll just stand in the distance.'

'You're so easy to see through. You've fallen for her, haven't you, Kurosaki?'

Ichigo widened his eyes. It was kind of true when they say that those who are in love can be totally unaware of it but it is perfectly clear to by-standers. But it finally hit him now that Ishida had pointed it out to him.

Why did he look forward to training with her? Why did he miss her; worried about her when she didn't show up? Why was he disappointed when he discovered she was a vampire? Why was he jealous that she had a fiancé? Why was he angry when Ulquiorra kissed her? Why was he sad when she only saw him as a friend? Why was he about to go against his masters' orders just to see her?

Because I've fallen for you...

'Don't be ridiculous! Of course I haven't!' Ichigo pushed the thought to the back of his mind; refusing to acknowledge it.

'She's a pureblood. I'm a soul re-'

'It wouldn't be the first time a shinigami fell in love with a pureblood vampire.' Ichigo swung round to him; completely shocked. Ishida pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

'But it all ended in tears.' He wore a serious look on his face and glared right at Ichigo. 'Which is why I will not let you pass. If you must interfere, you will have to cut through me first.'

I don't quite understa-' Rukia's words were cut short as the pain surged into her head again but this time it was more intense than ever before. It felt like hundreds of tiny needles pricking at her head.

'AH!'

Rukia fell onto the floor on her knees as she clutched her head. Her whole body started to shake so violently she was sick on the grass. She huffed and puffed trying to catch her breath back. All the while Kisuke did not move and just watched her struggle in agony.

'Ura... hara... san...' She couldn't stop panting. It was still painful for her. 'I think... my body is... rejecting the Sub-Blood-'

She coughed hard and felt being sick again. Beads of sweat formed over her forehead. Her body was burning. It felt heavy as if someone had dumped a tonne of bricks onto her chest. That was also why she was breathing so heavily. Her hands spread across the grass to support herself but she was even struggling to do that.

'Poison.'

'Huh?' Rukia asked as she craned her neck to look up at Kisuke.

'The tablets Ichigo gave you were not Sub-Blood tablets. It was poison.'

'No.' Her eyes grew wide with shock. It was unbelievable. She even let out a nervous laugh. 'No, that... that can't be true.'

'Look at your fingernails.'

Rukia did as he suggested. All ten of her fingernails were inked black. The toxins had invaded her body and started to attack all her cells; slowly killing her. At this rate, she wasn't going to survive for long.

'No, this can't be!'

'RUKIA!'

Ichigo came screaming towards them. His robes were slashed everywhere and was covered with blood. Bruises and cuts covered his face too. He looked pretty beaten up but all he wanted to do was rush to Rukia's side. Her face was pale; almost lifeless. Her lips and nails seemed to look deadly black. He knelt down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

'Rukia, are you okay?' Rukia shrugged Ichigo's hand off her.

'Don't touch me! You betrayed my trust! You betrayed me!' She forced herself too much and started to cough violently again. God, she thought she was going to pass out right there.

'Rukia...'

He was hurt by those words. He was hurt that she was rejecting him. But he knew he deserved it all because it was all true. He did betray her. Kisuke knew how much Rukia trusted Ichigo and he took advantage. Kisuke knew that Rukia would not suspect a thing and would happily take the pills. In the struggle between his masters' orders and a friends' loyalty Ichigo decided to side with his master. Now he was paying for it; regretting it.

A small wave washed through her. It wrapped around her heart and began to squeeze it. The virus within her was flooding into her heart and began eating it.

'ARGH!' she screamed and collapsed completely onto the floor. Her body began to shiver from the immense pain.

'Rukia!' He turned to his master. ''Shishou, please help her!' His voice filled with desperation almost cracked. Or perhaps it was his heart that was breaking after having to see Rukia dying.

'Without the cure she will die within 10 minutes.' He pulled out a small jar of green pills from his robes.

'Shishou...?'

'I can give you something to hold off the poison but Rukia-san, you must do everything I say.'

'NEVER!'

She knew he was trying to control her by not properly curing her. She would have to keep doing things for him forever. There was no way she was going to be a slave to such an evil man; the enemy of all vampires. How stupid was she to think that humans would want to live with vampires?

'Rukia, please.'

Ichigo was torn. He knew his master was trying to control her for some secret plan of his but he most certainly didn't want Rukia to die.

'NEVER!'

'Rukia-san, I admire how brave you are to not care if you die or not, but surely you won't neglect those who you love most, right?'

'What the hell are you talking about?'

'Did you not share your blood with anyone since you started taking the pills?' Rukia gasped as she remembered her heated encounter with Ulquiorra in the bathroom.

'Itoko-san!'

'You see, Rukia-chan, this poison is deep within your blood too,' Kisuke smirked. 'So whoever drinks your blood is also infected.' Rukia's eyes started to water.

Itoko-san...

'Now, if you don't want your loved one to die as well, I think you should comply with me.'

He unscrewed the jar and threw one pill towards them. Ichigo caught the pill with his hands and moved closer to Rukia to offer it to her. But she refused to acknowledge it so Ichigo pushed it into her mouth.

'Rukia, please,' he begged. 'Please swallow it.'

Her tears rolled off her cheeks as she accepted defeat and swallowed the pill. Kisuke opened his fan and began to leave.

'I will ask you for a favour later in return for another pill for your loved one. For now, you can return to your home and pretend nothing is out of the ordinary.'

'Rukia, gomenasai,' Ichigo whispered once they were alone.

'Stay away from me,' she hissed. Her body was slowly calming back down to normal but her anger was still there.

'Rukia, I really didn't mean for this to happen. He said he wouldn't hurt y-'

'I don't want to hear it!'

She picked herself off the floor but her legs felt weak from the whole experience and she stumbled. He stretched his arms out to hold her up.

'Don't touch me!' she shouted and quickly escaped from his hold. She didn't even want to be near him. 'I don't want to see your face ever again!'

She ignored the heartache splashed across Ichigo's face. Her words were spoken with venom but she didn't care anymore. She didn't care about him anymore. She could no longer stand seeing him and turned her back on him to walk away.

'Rukia...' She gave him half a glance like she was unsure whether to look at him.

'You shinigami's hate us vampires so much but you forget one important thing. You humans created us.' Ichigo gasped.

'Nani?'

'If we vampires are monsters, what does that make you humans?'

'Ah, my wonderful apprentice there you are! I thought-'

'Is it true?' Ichigo stormed back into Kisuke's house.

'What are you talking about, boy? I should be asking you about beating Ishida to a pulp. My guess is you've finally achieved your Bankai form.'

Kisuke eased Ishida into bed and tucked him into his bed sheets. You wouldn't be able to recognise Ishida even if you tried. His entire face was covered in purple swollen bruises. It looked like he had just experienced a battle of death.

'Did humans create vampires?' Ichigo screamed. Kisuke sighed.

'So she told you then?'

'And it's true?' Ichigo was losing it. He couldn't keep his voice down. 'Why are we killing what we created?'

'Because it was an experiment that went wrong!' Kisuke walked out the room to give some privacy to Ishida while Ichigo followed him outside into the garden.

'Why did we create them in the first place?'

'It was to create a super being. We wanted to create the most powerful human with amazing supernatural powers that lived a longer life. We could control these beings and use them. The experiment was a success but the vampires didn't want to be controlled anymore.' Ichigo startled to tremble as the truth unravelled.

'The vampires rebelled and wanted to live in their own right. It was deemed dangerous to let loose such powerful beings so we decided to destroy them instead. The vampires were furious and started to attack humans.'

'They were trying to defend themselves!' Ichigo reasoned.

'They are a threat to human society and must all be destroyed.'

'You think this only as failed experiment but we brought them into this world. How can you just kill them because it suits you! You can't just toy with someone's life and death like that!'

'That's the order of soul society! You are a shinigami too. Don't forget your place!'

Ichigo clenched his fists so hard they began to turn white. He was beginning to understand the war between humans and vampires. But which side was right? Which side was wrong? Which side should he help?

'All this time, I hated vampires for killing my entire family. But it was all mankinds' fault. If it wasn't for Soul Society, vampires would never have existed. There would never have been so much bloodshed. This war...'

He was lost. For many years, he dreamt of becoming a soul reaper but now it seemed meaningless. It seemed to be a waste of time. It all sounded so hypocritical. And he even hurt the woman he loved. Was it all worth it?

'Ichigo,' Kisuke placed a hand on his shoulder, 'the purebloods must be destroyed for the greater good of mankind.'

'Vampires are beasts disguised in our form. We can't let them soil our image, Ichigo.'

'But... but Rukia isn't like that. She's... I...'

'Purebloods are devious liars. They are good at playing on our emotions. Don't let it fool you.'

'But-'

'Trust me, I know. I was once betrayed by one.' Ichigo gasped. 'Please don't fail me now, Ichigo. I can spare Rukia-chan's life.' His eyes widened. 'I promise.'

She sat at her vanity top. Her finger brushed tenderly over her family picture as if she wanted to hold onto the moment. How did things spiral out of control? How did she end up in this situation?

Itoko-san...

Rukia's bubbled with tears again along with her guilt. Her own stupidity got her in the mess and now her beloved cousin was in danger too. She couldn't help scolding herself for being naive. How could she be so careless?

Hopefully we can restore peace on Earth

What Ichigo meant was that they were going to restore peace by bringing down the vampire society. Rukia now understood the meaning behind his words that day. He never actually promised that there would be peace between humans and vampires. He even looked guilty when he gave her the pills. She was just too blinded by trust to see it. Now it was all a little too late.

What do I do? What if he wants me to betray the vampire society? Can I trust Ichi-

KNOCK-KNOCK

She remained quiet. She was a mess. Her mind was all over the place. She was in no state to see or talk to anyone. Too much had already happened. She just wanted to be alone. Hopefully whoever it was would take the hint and move one.

KNOCK-KNOCK

'Go away,' she said firmly and immediately regretted it. She didn't mean to be rude. 'I'm tired.'

'Rukia, it's me.'

That voice. Deep and velvety smooth. One month. It had been a month since she last heard Byakuya's voice. She had been avoiding him all this time and boy did it seem like a long month. She had missed him. She wanted to deny it. She could deny it in front of him but she couldn't deny her heart.

'I know you've been hiding from me. I just wanted to say,' he paused like he was struggling to find the right words.

'I just wanted to say, I will respect your decision, whoever you choose. But whatever happens, my feelings for you will never change. I won't love any other woman. My heart belongs to you; only you. I will always protect you and look out for... if you need me that is. Please don't avoid me any longer.' He took a deep breath.

'I've missed you very much.'

He waited for a response and when there was none he decided to leave. Rukia could hear the sound of his footsteps getting fainter and fainted until they faded out completely. Her lips trembled and her tears began pouring out of her.

Now I really do feel alone...

Pleave don't leave me... Byakuya...

So that's it for this chapter. It's a little shorter than previous chapters but hopefully it gave a little bit more background to the story especially about the war between humans and vampires. Did it shock any of you? I didn't like making Rukia suffer but hope you found it powerful

Please do leave a review and tell me what you think of the chapter. It is the biggest motivation any author can receive =)

Now for an EN for my last weeks' reviewers. I decided to write it here as I'm really poor with replying and if I do it in the story I won't forget... hopefully!

GhostAlly: Hope you find this chap interesting too! I tried to make it shocking and you were right to be suspicious

RukiaCHAN1: Thank you for the massive compliment. I only work to please my readers =) And as for Ulquiorra... well he is only a man after all especially seeing a naked woman haha

RukiaYoukoMaShi: Here's Byakuya... well kind of lol I wanted to add some ByaRuki moments but it didn't really fit with the chapter. Gomen!

Vicky73: Will you like this chapter too? My sincere gratitude for reviewing every chapter of mine. Love you! Byakuya will be in the next chapter. Promise! Well I have a vile of Byakiya's blood on offer to keep you company while you wait for the next update if you're interested? Actually I might keep it for myself if you don't mind hehe

1SuperKawaii: Thanks for the compliment. You're always here every chapter x Hope you enjoy this one too x Sorry for the wait. I will continue this story. I have the ending already in my head but it's only a draft. Not too sure how long this story is going to be but I like to play around with some ideas lol

loveyouso: I haven't actually seen a single episode of True Blood but will do in the future now that you mention it. Hopefully my ideas are too similar to theirs =p Glad you enjoy mine though x

Omili: Thank you so much for your review! I love harems too even though I find them really hard to write. I just pray I'm doing it right haha. Since you like AUs I'll let you know that I have another AU fic in mind but I'll have to finish this one first =p We'll learn more about Urahara in the up and coming chapter. Do tell me about your thoughts on this chapter too x

Nathalie Shiffer: If I'm honest, I do feel sorry for Ulquiorra like most of my readers. At the beginning I intended this story to be a ByaRuki pairing but I've grown to really like me choose! I'm so torn between the two. And that's how Rukia feels and I'm glad you feel it too x

AlaeMori:Thanks for your review. I really liked your idea on those pills changing Rukia and I took a little inspiration from that and added a bit of a twist to create this chapter. Thanks for that! x

Thanks everyone. Ja x