Ophidiophobia

Forth chapter. WARNING: SWEARING, DARK CONTENT, MATURE SEXUAL THEMES. –basically it's not light reading and Gin is a twisted bastard.

Tanabata had been a constant hope for children of the Rukongai, a chance to wish, and to hope their many prayers might be answered. When Orihime, the weaving princess, was allowed by her celestial father to cross the constellation Amanogawa and visit her lover Hikoboshi who herded star cows on the other side. Rukia and her childhood friends in the dark of evening had made paper scraps to tangle in the wild branches of trees until the older children had set the tree alight for spite.

Rukia could never forget what Renji told her in anger that night as the pitiless flames burned red and orange before them, casting half his face in shadows:

"It serves you right for believing in shit, no one around here eva gets any wish happen."

In Seireitei the festival is extensively more ostentatious and magnificent. The Ninth Squad is hosting this year's celebration, their courtyards and training grounds adored with tea-lights in scented lanterns, bamboo scaffolds and bright paper scrolls in hundreds of colours- impossibly better then grimy urchins and scraggly fruit trees.

Now they are grown -well Renji has anyway-she thinks bitterly. But Rukia wishes that just for a day they could be children again: friends again.

Wishes so, so much that her heart aches.

"I said excuse me Kuchiki-dono." Renji brushes past her and continues walking

"Renji, why won't you just talk?" Please! She demands, dismayed and angry, grabbing at his sleeve; he wears a casual deep red and blue yukata. Rukia's own attire is a pale pink furisode which is both a restraint for movement and a label of higher class. Renji halts with his broad back still facing her.

"Stop embarrassing yourself Rukia, go home." He rips his sleeve from her grip and doesn't look back. Mixing back in with the ebullient and half-drunk crowd in the courtyard of Ninth Division.

"Fine Renji, I didn't want to talk to you anyway!" Rukia shouts, barely able to stem her sorrow with rage. She turns her own back and walks away. Stupid Renji, why won't he even look me in the eyes anymore? I don't understand what I did for him to suddenly not even want to speak, ever since the adoption he hasn't replied to one of my letters.

Rukia wrapped her arms around herself and clenches her eyes closed against the crushing feel of rejection. I love him; he's my best friend. We fought to leave the slums together, but I guess he has new replacements. Why would he want to keep me anyway?

Instead of seeking to blend with the throng of people Rukia starts away, walking out into the surrounding botanic gardens, away from the lights and noise of the Shinigami revelry and into the hushed trees. If I'm going to tie a wish it'll be somewhere others will not stand and mock me.

She doesn't go far but it is far enough away that the music and shouting is muted and she can only hear the slight rustling of the leaves. The light of the courtyard lanterns is also dimmed until only scratches like giant claws marks in the clouds let moonlight bleed through. Rukia shivers with unease.

Finding a dark, secluded tree standing within a daunting circle of its neighbours Rukia carefully takes the wish from inside her obi. With sudden anxiety Rukia stretches up on the tips of her toes to hang her wish in the lowest branches she can reach, with such long sleeves and expensive silk climbing is not an option.

Feeling in the dark for the silk ribbon she ties it into a tight bow and settles back onto the heels of her feet.

"There, done." She sighs. I'll just go back to the Kuchiki estate there's nothing for me here now-

When suddenly she feels breath hot on the back of her neck. Twisting around to face a viper the sable haired girl gets a sickening gut wrenching feeling take over. Rukia's heart pounds desperately at the same time she smells the dreaded reek of blood.

Then the towering person releases the hold of their reaitsu and Rukia is terrified to stand alone in the dark with Gin Ichimaru.

"I have missed ya Rukia-chan." He leans down to whisper in her ear.

No, no ,no! She stumbles backwards.

His unexpected materialisation is like that of a phantom. His eyes are open in the dark and they gleam like the light off a bloody blade. Poised above her, ready to cut and mutilate

Snakes have wound all over her body and touch through her clothes, through her pale skin, and to her cowardly soul.

"How have ya been keepin?" Gin asks conversationally.

She doesn't answer: she cannot. Not when her chest and arm suddenly stings with phantasm pain and boiling burns. Rukia ties to reply, to scream, and feels as if a snake has gored itself down her throat.

"Why so shy?" Gin takes her jaw in his hand and tilts her head up. He's going to hurt me. Kaien-dono help…

"Hello I-Ichimaru T-Taichou. " Rukia stutters, bowing her head to loosen his grip, falling back on politeness which her etiquette tutors were so happy to drill into her as Kaien was to unscrew. "I am... fine thank you."

"Good girl, such manners, ya almost sound as if ya never slept in the gutters." Gin forces her face back up, exposing her jugular. Rukia's pulse thundered in her ears. "But I'm curious Rukia-chan… What would you wish for huh? Don't you have everything lil' princess? Don't you have a palace, food and family?" Gin reached out and he tore the eggshell white paper from the low hanging branch, violating privacy and destroying the wish.

Holding it close to his face to read it in the waning moonlight and deep shadows. Rukia's tormentor announces her prayer aloud to the stagnant dark and still trees:

"I wish ta become close with my brother." His voice hissing, teasing. Rukia holds back her self-loathing and embarrassment for such a stupid, childish wish. She tries to pull away but his fingers tighten and the ache in her mouth is enough to warn her that remaining in his hold is less painful then the current alternative.

"Aww your too cute ain't ya? But Byakuya's truly got no heart, yer wasting your time on someone like him."

Gin reaches out and touches the side of her face her, caresses her cheek. Fingers are as long and as murderous as the day he had tortured and murdered the butterfly. The cold of them seeps into her skin.

"I can give ya what yer lookin' fer Rukia-chan." He whispers again.

Stroking, rubbing, squeezing her throat. And Rukia holds perfectly frozen, crystalized in her terror, still hoping he will leave.

The fear is overwhelming and before she can scream Gin takes her throat in both icy hands and lifts her into the air, holding her up above his eye level. Smirking as she emitted choked little whimpers and gasps. Her feeble hands find his wrist, supporting herself as best she can. But it is not enough for her to draw air.

"Yer quite pathetic ain't ya, it's no won'der yer big scary brother finds ya such a disappointment."

She breathes out then tries to inhale and his fingers tighten. Constricting and twisting her neck- wringing the life out of her. Rukia kicks out against his chest but Gin isn't affected in the slightest.

"I was beginning to think you'd neva leave poor Renji alone ta give me a lil' time with ya." His voice is dimmed from the lack of blood to her brain. Not like this...

He speaks again but Rukia can't hear over the rushing blood in her ears.

"...Going ta give … answer Rukia?" Gin shakes her and Rukia tries for another scream. Her arms tremble and the moon has gone behind clouds and the world is blackening.

Then suddenly her feet are on the ground and air fills her windpipe. Gin's hands are on her shoulders, holding her up because she can only cough and gasp in oxygen.

"There, there. I was that a little too tight?" He almost sings and patting her cheek.

Her lungs and throat feel disconnected and every breath aches.

"Now Rukia-chan I hear yer good at Kaidō Kidou, it's a real convenience that ya are cause we can't have any bruises on such a pretty neck."

Rukia stands there holding tight to her crumpled furisode and cannot think of any Kidou accept that which would burn the smile off Gin's odious face.

"I'm waitin' Princess." He murmurs, tracing her heaving collar bones.

I am better than this, she thinks I did not survive Rukongai alleys to endure the same fate as those who didn't. Rukia hears Kaien-dono's voice shouting- 'Kuchiki! You have to stand up against these bastards, you have to stand up!'

Rukia slowly raised her hand to her throbing neck then flicks it around- "Hadō no san ju san Sōkats-!" before Rukia could finish her spell chant Gin has her up by her throat again, crushing harder than ever.

"You fuckin sneakin' whore." He growls, then spits in her face. Rukia's entire being recoils in horror, her bravery swallowed whole in his red eyes again. She realises with dread, I just attacked a Captain.

"You don't learn do you?" Gin drops her to the ground and turns away in fury, she wipes venom from her face, her hand wont stop shaking "Next lesson will need ta be a little more effective when I-" But Rukia was up on her feet. She spun around to run out of the corpse of trees. Sprinting blind with grief and tears lead her to only make it a few yards away before she slammed into something tall and warm and solid.

Squinting in the dark, Rukia looked up in terror to face an extremely handsome man with fake pink and gold eyelashes and short cropped hair.

"I'm sorry." She gasped, although comforted by another's presence.

"Are you alright little one?" he asked gently as she trembled. "What's your name? I am the fair and valiant Yumichika Ayasegawa 5th seat, Eleventh Division! It's a pleasure to meet such a pretty face."

Thank goodness."I-I'm Thirteenth squad R-Ru-"

"-Hey Yumichika wait the fuck up!" a gruff male voice called angrily.

Heedless of the 'request' Yumichika only smiled wider and moved closer.

"Let's have a look at you." He took her chin in his hands and tilted he head back to search her face. Rukia remembers Gin's treacherous hands had held her in the same way and she withdraws sharply. But the stench of blood is gone and instead this person smells comfortingly like lavender.

The man who had shouted suddenly approaches. Face sneering, head sheening bald and the acrid smell of alcohol emanating from him. A second and third figure trails behind him.

Recognition slams into her as she sees more closely the silhouettes - "Renji!" Rukia exclaimed in relief and scrambled to his side.

Large hands pushed against her and Renji shoved her away into the path of the bald headed men who shoved her again and Rukia fell onto her butt in the slippery grass.

It hurts... Rukia clutched her chest against the feelings stabbing at her heart.

"I told you Rukia Kuchiki just get home, I can't see you anymore" Renji snarled making Rukia flinch back from his tone, her hands clenched into the ground. The dark haired, well-built man who was beside Renji, Rukia now recognises as Hisagi Shuhei who she recalls was a student with her at the Academy; highly praised and respected. He crouches down, offering her his hand for a pull up. She carefully takes his fingers and is comforted by their warmth.

"This is Rukia? Ikkaku laughed, peering down at her in the limited light, Rukia backed away from his leer. "She's a scrawny thing, Abarai I don't know why you'd wanna-"

"Oh I do, she's adorable!" Yumichika crooned as Rukia shuddered as he tried to touch her again. She looked pleadingly to Renji but he, like her Nii-sama, would not meet her eyes. She could sense Gin's noxious reaitsu very close by; her eyes scanned the deep shadows.

Renji turned his back and began to walk away.

Please…

"Bye Kuchiki-dono." Renji muttered monotonously.

No…

"Goodbye sweetheart, I hope to see you again." Yumichika tittered.

"Heh see you round'" Ikkaku grumbled, slouching off after his comrades.

Not alone, he's still out there.

"Come on men, where are your manners?" Shuhei asked "We can't just leave a young Lady out in the dark," He faces her again, smiling uneasily. "Right, Kuchiki–san, well go find those third seats of yours."

He knows. By the tenseness around his mouth and the way his eyes sweep the trees Rukia can tell he has realised someone is watching.

Shuhei gently puts a hand on the small of her back to guide her.

"You're trembling. Are you cold?"

"No." Rukia whispers.

-X-X-X-

To be continued...

I'm sorry this has taken so long but updates will be much more regular now.

Thanks for reading.