Author's Note

In response to midsummer's review, yes there is a difference between yokai and hollows in this fic, as you'll see a bit in this chapter. It will be fully explained in a later chapter. Also, what's this Tactics that my summary reminds you of?

Anywho, here's chapter 9. Enjoy.

I don't know why that stupid red pineapple had to assign me to check the outlier seal. The baboon should do it himself! He's the one with the highest ranking here. Momo and Rangiku may be of equal rank, but it's not their jurisdiction. Just because he can pull rank on me doesn't mean he should! It doesn't matter if "You're next in line to own this temple so shouldn't you get to check all the big time seals?" I don't care if I'm next in line, I don't want to do this!

Besides, this one's supposed to be pretty nasty, if I remember the temple lore correctly, and he's sending me to deal with it all alone. I have half a mind to report him to Nii-sama, but that feels like the coward's way out and I'm no coward.

Still, that worry from what I remember of the old reports that I read when I was bored out of my mind one day still swirl in my head. A monster on the brink between yokai and hollow who was only brought down because they found a chink in the armor of its capabilities and were able to capitalize on it before the creature became aware of this weakness. Supposedly, it was an elemental who was able to overcome most of its element's weaknesses as it fought score upon score of opponents. The thought of something that was able to overcome the basic rules that are taught so early in the shinigami curriculum sends a chill down my spine and I wrap my hand around the hilt of my zanpakuto. The chill that runs up my arm is refreshing and reassuring, a small admonishment for doubting my own, as well as Sode no Shirayuki's, capabilities. We are not defenseless. Besides, this seal has hardly needed any maintenance in all the time it's been here. It will be a quick job, just look it over, then report back that all is well.

Reassured and confidence restored, I hold my head high as I trail down the poorly maintained path off one of the back gardens. The dappled sunlight that sifts through the leafy canopy above me makes the trail hard to follow and I have to back track a couple of times because I've accidentally left the path. I curse Renji every time this happens for sending me to do this.

After a while, I hear the soft murmur of a voice up ahead. That can't be good. This is supposed to be a complete seal, no contact can be made by the yokai sealed within, and Renji was only sending me. I silently withdraw Sode no Shirayuki from her sheath before advancing forward once more, footsteps cautious and light. I stretch out my senses, trying to get a read of what opponent lies ahead. I can't sense anything that can tell me of who or what is up there, I can only sense the presence I was taught is the yokai sealed here.

I strain my ears to hear what is being said, to try and figure out what this person is up to in their attempts to free the monster ahead of me. The murmurs slowly turn to words "… and Tatsuki-chan will be back by tomorrow evening. I'm so happy she'll be back, I've really missed her. Ooh, we've also caught some of the bunnies and put them in the pen that Abarai-kun built! They're so cute with how they wiggle their noses. Me and Rukia have even named them! The white one is Chappy, the brown one is Mori, and the black one is Kage." The voice chatters on and I pale. I know that voice. I hear it every day, we all do, and we never suspected a thing.

She always acted so innocent, so naive, so ditzy, so kind. How could we have suspected that the simple human girl would be looking to free the monsters caged here when she shouldn't know of their existence? How could we have guessed that she was an agent of chaos and destruction when she pretended to abhor those things? She had tricked us with a sunshine smile and gentle hands and we fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. We trusted her and she was just waiting for the right time to stab us in the back.

I feel an icy rage take hold of me. I will not allow her deception to go any further. My grip tightens round Sode no Shirayuki as I draw her chill around me. It will do me no good if I give myself away, she could break the seals before I get there if I'm not careful. I pick up my speed, but remain silent.

I feel a small drop of heat roll down my face and I pause for moment. I reach up a hand and wipe at my face, only to come back with a teardrop that is quickly crystalizing into ice on my hand. I'm crying. Why am I crying? There's an enemy to defeat, I have no time for tears! At least, that's what I tell myself, but the truth is what she's doing is breaking my heart, and I want to know why. Why is she doing this? Weren't we friends? Nakama? Why would she be willing to so easily betray that trust that we, that I, gave her? Why act so kind when it was all a lie? Why act like she cared? I want to know why my friend would do this to us, to me. This pain in my heart, what do I do with it? The sting of betrayal chills me, but somewhere in my heart there's still the hope that she hasn't turned against us, even if it is as futile a hope as my mind tells me it is.

I prowl to the edge of the clearing and lay eyes upon her. Inoue Orihime sits in the middle of a clearing surrounded by flowers, obviously cared for in the same way as the gardens she was hired to tend. Before her is the sealing structure and a marker that her wallet rests against, open and showing the picture of her brother. I swallow as tears threaten my eyes once more. She still looks innocent and I'm tempted to turn and run back, make someone else deal with this betrayal. But I can't do that, it'll give her a chance to free the monster and hurt people. Steeling myself for what must be done, for hurting my friend, for protecting the others, I step forward.

Crack

Dammit! I stepped on a twig hidden by the grass and now my presence has been given away!

I watch her start and turn towards me. The fear that was in her eyes dissipates as soon as she sees me and a nervous grin takes her face. "Ohayou, Rukia-chan!" she nervously trills. "I didn't expect to see you out here. I was just talking with Onii-chan and Guardian-kun." She says while rubbing the back of her head in an embarrassed manner. I can only stare because she's acting the same as she always does, no condescending speech about how I should have realized her true purpose there, no sneering look, no anxious movements to cover herself. She is just as open as she has always been and I can feel my heart crack a little more as she pretends that there is nothing wrong, that she hasn't betrayed us.

"Rukia-chan, are you alright?" she asks as she rises from her seat with worry laced in her tone and eyes.

I step back. She can't do this to me! She can't act concerned about my wellbeing when I've caught her in the act! I want to scream and yell at her to stop. If she's going to betray us, act like it! Don't continue to play innocent and nice, be the villain you're hiding under the surface. I want to scream all this and more at her, break the sweet and innocent façade, but I'm frozen, I can't move.

"Rukia-chan, what's wrong, why do you have a sword?" the worry in her voice has increased and she takes a step forward, reaching out towards me. This action of attempted comfort breaks the spell over me and my limbs move once more.

"Stay back!" I demand, moving my zanpakuto between us and into a defensive stance. "Don't' come any closer!" I am pleased that my voice has only the slightest of tremors in it, though I wish it had none.

The sadness and hurt that flashes into her eyes almost breaks my resolve. It's a trained instinct to comfort her when she's sad, but I must resist it.

"I'm sorry, Rukia-chan." The shimmering eyes with barely suppressed tears and heartfelt words give me pause. I can feel the hope returning stronger, maybe she was forced into doing this and didn't want to betray us. Maybe she's not the enemy. "I don't know what I did to make you so upset, but I' sorry." The hope shatters on the ground and I grit my teeth preparing to end this charade because I can't take any more of this. "Please just tell me what's wrong! I want to help you, Rukia-chan, but I can't do that if you don't tell me what's wrong! I'm sorry!" she sobs, but I've hardened my heart to her pleas and tense myself to strike.

As I start to move forward, an overwhelming, scorching heat swamps the clearing and I pull back as a gout of black flame rises where I would have stood. When it cleared, a man stood between myself and Orihime. He was as tall as Nii-sama and stood straight and proud. He wore a black overcoat that fit closely to his lean figure with ragged ends and black hakama tied with a white obi. He glared at me with brown eyes through spikey orange hair.

I took an involuntary step back as his glare dug into me. I had miscalculated. The monstrous yokai was already free and she was just visiting it and using the old sealing structure as a kennel for it. I took another step back as the records swirled through my thoughts again. I'm not qualified to take on this beast alone! My grip tightens once more on Sode no Shirayuki's hilt as I call more of her chill into myself in an attempt to not be overwhelmed by the heat generated by him. As the cold seeps into me, I feel my senses sharpen and my head clear a bit. I may not be able to defeat this monster, but I can at least buy time and hopefully my raised reiatsu will alert the others that something isn't right

I take a stance once more before charging forward again. His eyes narrow as he flicks his hand at me, black flames rolling off it. I dodge to the side and bring down an overhead swipe that he easily sways away from, snapping out a round kick towards my side causing me to jump back once more. I glare at him, refusing to be intimidated by the casual ease with which he handles me. He'll pay for underestimating me.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" I cry out, turning the blade in my hands as its true form is released. I quickly jab the blade into the ground four times in a semi-circle before me before pointing the blade at him. "Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!" I bark the command as a sheet of ice shoots forth from my zanpakuto. I quickly turn to run and warn the others of what's happened when the heat increases by several magnitudes. Turning back I see the ice I've created quickly steams and cracks, revealing the yokai standing there wreathed in those accursed black flames, anger clear on his face.

He stalks forward, growling and I can barely move as the heat is impossibly still climbing. Black begins dancing at the edges of my vision and I feel light headed. He raises a hand and brings it forward in a flaming backhand strike that I barely get my blade up in time to block. The force of the blow sends me stumbling backwards, knocking my blade from my grip, and I fall onto my behind. The heat is stifling as he comes further forward to tower over me. The burning contempt and anger towards me in his eyes sends shivers down my spine and I flinch back from it. He pulls back his hand and forms it to a point before wreathing it in flames once more. I realize now that I will likely die here and so I welcome the blackness that has been calling me from the edges of my vision. I don't want to see my death nor know the pain of it. As the darkness encroaches, I hear it.

"NO! Stop this, Guardian-kun!"

And then the darkness takes me and I know no more.

I was surprised when the shinigami girl came into the clearing while Inoue was visiting. It's actually kinda nice to have a name to call her by, even if I did learn it from that prick who has no clue what decent visiting hours are. Anyways, I was willing to let it go when she came in on us, but when she tried to attack Inoue I wasn't going to sit by and let it happen. I placed a strong flame in the way before placing myself in the way. I have nothing against the shinigami girl, who is also a midget –seriously, why did they accept such a shorty? –but I'm not going to just let her attack Inoue. So I take it easy on her in hopes that she'll give up and run for help, not that help is good for me, but it should give Inoue a chance to get away from a serious fight.

Then she makes a mistake. The midget releases her zanpakuto and unleashes an area attack aimed at me with Inoue still behind me. My rage boils and burns at the thought of what would have happened if I had dodged that attack. She must be aware of Inoue's position considering the first attack was aimed for her and I have barely moved from my spot in front of her. That only leaves the conclusion that she's trying to hurt Inoue too. The fires of my anger burn and I can barely contain it, I know my control is slipping, but I don't care. Inoue will be safe as soon as I take out this ice queen midget.

With a growl, I stalk forward and backhand her. She blocks but at the cost of losing her balance and grip on her zanpakuto. It displeases me that she's not downed yet. I move forward once more, cocking my arm back and coating my pointed hand in flames. As I move to jab forward and end the miserable little wretch, delicate hands wrap around my upper arm and pull back.

"NO! Stop this, Guardian-kun!"

And I obey because I can't deny her.

I hope I did a good job catching the turmoil Rukia would feel at an assumed betrayal by Orihime, so let me know what you think.

Also a bit of shameless self-advertising. If you like my way with words, I've just opened my account to offer beta-ing services. Just drop a line if you're interested in having me beta your story. Mine are all self beta'd.

Please leave a comment/review to tell me how I did.