Chained Up

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Seireitei has fallen.

Debris is littered everywhere, blood splatters and the bodies of their fallen comrades are among them as fire burns, consuming all in its path and the once gleaming city is now nothing more than a smattering of broken concrete and splintered towers on fire, shrouded in black smoke so thick that eyes squint to make sense of the time of the day. Night and day blurs into one, impossible to tell apart as thick plumes darken the skies. This is a broken city brought to its knees by its otherworldly invaders while its surviving inhabitants struggle to make use of the terrain to survive and possibly fight another day.

Rukia can do nothing but swallow the pain and push past it as she leads what remains of her division past the blood-stained battlegrounds. The wound on her arm stings and her body throbs from the scores of cuts and bruises she collected from her earlier fights but she ignores them as best as she can. She is lucky enough as it is being alive at this very moment.

Keeping their reiatsu hidden, she leads her division as they shunpo under the cover of darkness and smoke, eager to escape the horrors of war and their would-be attackers. She eyes the dark fumes rising from the still burning buildings, crumpled bodies with missing limbs and heads turned at inhuman angles and forces herself to look away, trying to ignore the destruction that surrounds them. They don't even have the time to bury their dead. Shame and guilt gnaw at her yet she has no choice but to bury it deep down inside of her. She swears to avenge them somehow, to honour their sacrifices, so they will know that they have not given their lives in vain, but first, she must survive.

It has been a long and bloody night, filled with agonizing screams- eerie swan songs that echo in their ears and stab at their hearts, a mixture of blood, sweat and tears that soak through their black shihakushou, staining their skins and deeper still until the guilt festers and makes a home in their bones. Spirits beaten and battered by their defeat, their bodies are a patchwork of still-healing scars, bruises and bleeding fresh wounds. Their fingernails are caked in grime and dried blood; pale faces grim with resignation and loss. Memories of their fallen comrades at their final moments, being cut down like they were no better than stalks of weeds, haunts them just as badly as the choking fear of facing up against enemies they have no chance of winning. The combined impact of psychological trauma, an overwhelming swirl of grief and anger, physical exhaustion, and the drain on their reiatsu is crippling. Rukia suspects that many of her division members are at their breaking point.

But from the East, a sliver of light is breaking through. It's always darkest before dawn. Rukia prays that they will all live long enough to see the morning light and with that thought in mind, pushes herself to go faster, urging her squad members to keep up. If this is the first wave, she shudders to think what the second invasion would entail. Seireitei has nothing more to give and the Gotei 13 are still scrambling in the aftermath, trying to make sense of their attackers and locate those among them who have survived the first attack and can still fight.

She clenches her fists tightly at the hilt of Shirayuki. They have been caught unprepared by the Wandenreich. No sane Shinigami would have ever thought it possible that the Quincy's Shadow Realm- a mythical city encased in ice has always existed in a dimension within the Seireitei. Their sworn enemies and the greatest threat to the survival of the three realms have been hidden in plain sight all this time- a ticking time bomb that blew up in their face spectacularly just when they least expected it to. The Wandenreich— rumours of a Quincy King are the stuff of legend so old Rukia doubts anyone among the ranks of the Captains and Vice Captains will even remember or even be privy to the information unless one was a member of the illustrious Kuchiki clan.

The Custodians of Seireitei bore their mantle well what with their zealousness in hoarding and maintaining historical records of the realm since its creation but all that knowledge is meaningless unless the information on how to defeat the Wandenreich is somehow concealed underneath its many-layered scrolls being kept in the Kuchiki library.

The first order of business is to find her brother. Kinship aside, Rukia is confident that her brother would know more about the matter, might even be able to shed light on some of their attackers and their weaknesses but first—

Her senses keen. She hears it before she actually sees the whizzing brilliant blue bolt of reiryouku flying towards her.

"Watch out!"

Rukia reacts by instinct, parrying the arrow with Shirayuki to bat it away but a barrage of it soon follows.

She squints and from the distance she sees a man in white. A Sternritter, she thinks, with hair the colour of flames and the sudden realization causes dread to sink like lead in the pit of her stomach. She recognizes him if nothing else by the colour of his bright hair. She has seen someone with the same shade of hair in the attack against Yamamoto-Soutaichou.

The reminder of her fallen leader- weakened and then murdered in cold blood, body obliterated with nothing left behind but a scorched and broken Ryuujin Jakka, makes her blood boil. They are nothing but cowards who have to resort to underhanded tactics to win the war!

"Run!" she yells at her division members.

They have to survive. She won't allow them to squander their lives here. She has seen too many deaths today and she refuses to let her squad mates be yet another pointless casualty. They are no match for the Quincy and they will die here unless she intervenes. The Human World is their only hope now. It will if nothing else give the surviving Shinigamis a short reprieve, a chance to regroup and mobilize what remains of their attack force before the Wandenreich mounts their second attack.

"Kuchiki Fuku-taichou! No! We can't leav—"

"Are you deaf or do you have a death wish? I can still have you drawn and quartered for insubordination, Yuki! Now don't make me repeat myself! Stick to the plan! I will cover for you guys. Hurry!"

They have been making their way to the Kuchiki Manor with her leading them through the maze of back alleys and narrow cobblestoned paths to evade their attackers. It seems that their good luck has finally run out but no matter- they are close enough that they can still make it to the Kuchiki senkaimon if they shunpo fast enough and from there, Urahara Kisuke can hold the door open long enough and usher them into the Human World. Rukia's grip on Shirayuki tightens.

It is the only way.

"But—"

Rukia fixes him with a glare so cold it would have frozen ice.

"That is an order! Do not disappoint me. Now go! I will be right behind you."

The lie slips off her tongue easily. Her low voice cuts at them, rousing them from their stupor as her subordinates slowly re-sheath their blades. There is a grim sort of resignation that settles on their faces, the way their eyes harden as they turn their backs on her. They have no choice. The difference in power between them is too great. Resistance is futile and would only insult the sacrifice that their vice-captain is making for them. Yuki wipes at the fat tears that welled in the corner of his eyes but he does not look back as he shunpoes away.

Good, Rukia thinks as her violet eyes zeroes in on the figure dressed in all-white standing on the broken pillar. It seems fitting that she honour the Captain Commander's death with the death of one of his attackers and if failing that, she supposes dying in battle isn't a terrible way to go.

The Sternritter leaps off his perch, darting towards the direction of the fleeing survivors but Rukia is there waiting. She grits her teeth, fending off his attacks and deterring him from pursuit with her kido attacks.

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"Shakkahou!"

The fireball sends the building he was on moments before careening and the shockwave as the building toppled could be felt from miles away. When the dust settles, he emerges unscathed, not a spot of dust or a drop of blood on him. A dangerous zing of ozone and electricity fills the air. Underneath his white hooded cloak lined with black sable, he wears the same nondescript uniform as all Sternritters- white double-breasted trench coat, white trousers and trench boots. There is a faint shine from the row of brass buttons down his front and the golden belt buckle on his black belt.

The bow he holds in front of him is nearly as tall as he is and shimmers in vibrant hues of electric blue. The light reflected off his reishi-infused weapons casts a glow to his already striking features, accentuating the sharpness of his jawline, the contours of his cheekbones as they face off against each other. He is younger than she envisioned him to be, lean and tall. A shock of orange hair trails long and unruly, sideburns and mullet lingering just a little past his nape. It is distractingly loud and twice as attention-grabbing as a neon sign. He is nowhere as regal-looking or handsome as Nii-sama is, but Rukia would begrudgingly admit that there is an air to him to makes him almost alluring were it not for the cruel gleam in his eyes.

Applause rings slow and mocking from him as his lips curl into a taunting smirk. The smugness of it is grates on her nerves as his golden amber eyes sear into hers.

"You have my attention, little Shinigami."

Rukia readies the blade in her hands, "I will wipe that smirk off your face, Sternritter."

He scoffs as the bow in his hands gleams bright and blue, "Bold words for a midget."

"You know what they say: the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

She launches herself at him, not giving him the room to breathe or think as she engages him in battle. The Quincy fights with a bow and arrow- long-ranged weapons. If she can keep her attacks close-ranged and make sure he doesn't have time to react with his Heilig Pfeil, or better yet if she can freeze his weapon and shatter it, she might just make it by the skin of her teeth, buying herself time to escape into the Human World.

"Mai, Sode no Shirayuki!"

Shirayuki feels the resolve in her and responds accordingly, sending out a rush of cold air as it transforms. The pure white blade is peerless in her hands, from the tip of the blade to the white ribbon that trails from the pommel. Icy sheets form at the ground beneath their feet but the Sternritter only lets out a low whistle as he nimbly avoids the creeping ice.

"I hope this isn't all your attack is limited to," he taunts, "Your shikai's release is pretty to look at- I'll admit that much, but this battle between us might end quicker than I expected."

Rukia scowls, resisting the urge to pummel him with her bare fists. His underestimation of both her and Shirayuki will be his undoing. She moves into her battle stance almost immediately.

"Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!"

There is a blast of cold air that erupts, directed at the Sternritter. The attack leaves the ground and the fallen debris encased in ice. She scowls as he dodges, gracefully landing on his feet some distance away. He holds out his bow, ready to take aim but Rukia is faster.

"Some no Mai, Tsukishiro!"

The Sternritter leaps to the air, avoiding her attack. Rukia relishes the look of surprise on his face as a beam of light encircles everything within its influence. Ice crystals join, forming an ice pillar that extends itself, soaring upwards and he dodges a bit too slow at the last minute. His arm and weapon is caught in the ice, suspending him in mid-air. Noticing the way he is leaving himself open for an attack, he wrenches his arm free with a sudden burst of reiryouku, abandoning his bow while he leaps to a higher perch for safety.

It proves to be the right decision to make as the ice solidifies, entrapping all within its grasp. There is a loud crack as the ice shatters and with it, the reishi-created bow is destroyed.

Rukia emerges victorious, but doesn't stay long enough to gloat. She starts to shunpo the minute the bow shatters. Her priority right now is to re-join her team and get to the Human World as soon as possible. A niggling worry settles at the back of her mind, telling her that it is all a bit too easy, giving her all the more reason to be wary of the Sternritter she left behind. She is not so arrogant of Shirayuki's attack to think that a man who fought against the Captain Commander and lived to tell the tale would be brought to his knees by her shikai.

She turns at the next corner, coming to a screeching halt as she brings up Shirayuki to block against a blade swinging down at her. Sparks fly as the two blades meet. The clang of steel against steel echoes loudly throughout the empty streets and Rukia grits her teeth as she is forced back by the force of the parry.

The Sternritter is relentless. She might have rid him of his bow but that by no means makes him any less dangerous. Her attacker grins down at her and her eyes widen in disbelief.

"How—"

The katana he wields is sleek and pitch black from the naked blade to the hilt. Links of black chain clink and clatter noisily as they descend from the pommel, snaking around his sword arm as though they were writhing coils with a mind of their own. There is no reishi seeping from it, no strange zing of metallic blue that sets her teeth on the edge. There is instead a strange sentient hum that filled her ears moments ago when they crossed blades, Shirayuki's shrill scream in her ears as the zanpakutou warns her about the incoming attack. The Quincy wields the katana like a zanpakutou and the implication horrifies her. These Quincy and Sternritters are no better than common thieves who would steal and rob the living and corpses alike. Nothing is sacred to them and it seems even a zanpakutou- a Shinigami's soul- is not spared from their pillage.

"What's the hurry, little Shinigami? We're only just getting started—" he chuckles- dark and throaty while pointing his blade at her—"my name is Kurosaki Ichigo. You should be honoured that—"

Rukia does not give him a chance to finish the sentence. Her anger burns too hot and Shirayuki's fury roars in time to her own. If looks could kill- she strikes first, leaping at him with a scream that speaks of her anguish and bitterness, "You coward! Who did you steal this from?"

Ichigo scowls. The accusation seems to infuriate him and he neatly sidesteps her first attack, telling her rather tersely, "I wield nothing that doesn't already belong to me. Zangetsu is mine!"

"You lie!"

Quincy do not have zanpakutous. No Shinigami will willingly side with Yhwach and his Wandenreich. The conclusion is simple: he must have stolen it from a Shinigami and she tells him as much. On her pride as a Shinigami, she will defeat him or die trying.

A well-aimed fireball singes the hem of his cloak, making him hiss. Rukia makes use of the momentary distraction to draw first blood, leaving a shallow cut on his other arm. The sudden bloom of red on his white coat earns her a glare but Rukia gives him a triumphant smirk in return.

She is cautious enough to not let the small victory go to her head. She circles him, waiting for the next opening, but Ichigo surprises her with his speed, sneaking up on her so quickly that she does not even have time to dodge his attack.

Rukia's block is a second too late and he slices her front open. She somersaults away, reopening some of her earlier wounds in her eagerness to put some distance between them. She expects a gush of blood, white-hot pain from the new cut, instead there is a sound of fabric ripping- the sound of simple cotton giving way under the sharp blade.

Her face grows hot and she can feel rage flooding her veins. Her chest bindings, she realizes with a horror have been cut into distinct halves and the front of her robes is rendered beyond salvageable. There is an indecent amount of skin on display through the gap, giving him an unfettered view from the slight jut of her collar bones right down to her navel, the swell of her breasts clearly visible through it.

She glares at him, more so when she spots the sly grin on his face and his stare on her exposed cleavage. She swears, hastily holding the front of her shihakusho shut with one hand, and Shirayuki in the other.

That pervert! The cut is too precise to have been an accident.

But Ichigo doesn't give her a chance to dwell on the state of her clothes. Black chains snake at both of her wrists faster than she can blink. The cold bite of metal against her skin makes her hiss as it coils. Her eyes flit to his approaching figure, only to note with surprise that his katana is gone, but the chains on his gloved hand are still writhing with a blue-tinged glow. She pulls hard at them, trying to free herself, but the outcome to the tug of war between them is laughably predictable. Ichigo is much stronger than she is. With a hard pull from him, she loses her balance, dropping Shirayuki.

The tip of her nose collides painfully against his broad chest. His scent- a strange mixture of light perspiration, smoke and leather musk hits her. She opens her mouth, the incantation for a destructive kido sitting just at the tip of her tongue but he disarms her just as easily. A hand at the base of her jaw squeezes at her cheeks, making it hard to speak. He tilts her chin up, forcing her gaze upwards to meet his amused smirk.

Shackles, she thinks. The chains that are wrapped around her wrists are her shackles, binding her to him. More than fear, it is anger and indignation that grips her as he leans in, the same insolent smirk still curled at his lips. She wants nothing more than to slap it off his stupid face!

"You amuse me, little Shinigami. What's your name?"

She bristles, "Y-You have n-no right to k-know my name, S-Sternritter."

Kuchikis are not to be made a fool of!

Kuchiki Rukia is not to be trifled with. She is a Shinigami and she will die with her head held high. She will never surrender her comrades' secrets even under the pain of torture and death. Rukia does not fear death. Death means being reunited with Kaien-dono and Miyako-dono, being in the same circle of rebirth and death as so many of her comrade-in-arms.

She welcomes it, in fact if it means that through her, the others will have a fighting chance to win. Kiyone and Sentarou are with Ukitake. They are safe. Her captain is safe and she tells herself that it is all that matters. The key to the survival of the Shinigamis- the continued existence of the three realms and all who reside within them are hinged upon the survival of her captain and that thought alone sustains her.

With that, she grits her teeth hard and spits at him- every bit as feral and savage as the Rukongai brat she once was. She balls her fists at the front of his impeccable white uniform, wrinkling the material as she shoots him a glare so sharp, a weaker man would have quailed.

But Ichigo's response to that is a mere indulgent smirk. His grip leaves her jaw and she finds her voice easily, suddenly able to speak properly again.

"If you want to kill me, do it now. I will not beg," she tells him.

Ichigo snorts as his hand trails low. Rukia tries hard to keep still and her breathing even, suddenly acutely aware that the front of her robes is torn and she is near naked underneath it. His gaze sears into her, making her gulp as he pushes her hands away from shielding at her front, humming in approval as the material gaps and parts, leaving behind only unmarked skin- pale and his for the taking. His touch burns as he begins his languid exploration on her body. It skims and glides at her exposed throat, pressing down to feel her erratic pulse by the side of her neck before tracing at the outline of her collar bones, and then lower still as it travels down her sides. Goosebumps rise from where his touch lingers, making her shudder as his hand trails at the dip of her waist before grabbing at the fullness of her hips, and then gliding back up again to curve at the bottom of her breasts.

His palm brushes against her nipples too purposefully to be an accident. The hitch in her breath is sharp and telling. Molten eyes darken at the sound and he shamelessly slips his hand through the torn folds to cup at her breast, tweaking and tugging at her nipple until it pebbles under his touch. Rukia clamps her lips shut, determined not to make herself any more of an embarrassment. At length, his hand settles at the small of her back, dangerously close to her ass.

Rukia huffs. If he is going to kill her, the least he could do is make it a quick end for her. Is he expecting her to cry and beg for her life? She'd be damned if she shows any weakness in front of him. "W-What are you waiting for? An invitation?"

"Well, don't mind if I do."

She gives a sharp cry, unintentionally pressing more of herself to his front when he gives an experimental squeeze at her ass. She glares at him, but her captor is unrepentant by the slightest.

"S-Stop that, you p-pervert! T-That's not what I mean!"

Ichigo flashes her a smile, canines showing, reminding her of a stalking beast in the forest- dangerous and hungry as it circles at its prey. A predatory gleam enters his eyes as he tugs her closer still, close enough that she is sure he can hear how fast her heart is beating against her chest. She squirms, trying to get him to loosen his hold but the chains hold fast, keeping her captive.

Hot breath fans her face as his lips dip low to hover at her ears, whispering, "Are you sure you want to do that, Shinigami?"

There is something hard poking at her down there and she stills immediately. Rukia's mouth runs dry, face colouring as she realizes how his body is reacting to her squirming. She has no intention of feeding the delusions or the fantasies of this perverted Sternritter. The Kuchiki in her is scandalised.

She tries hard to keep the tremor out of her voice as she grouses at him, "Either kill me now or let me go, I will not be used for your sick amusement, Sternritter."

Ichigo tuts, "I am sure I told you already, Shinigami. My name is Ichigo, unless you would rather call me 'Master'."

"In your dreams!"

"That's the spirit, Shinigami. I like your fire and your fighting spirit is commendable to say the least," he says. Ichigo brings his hand to cup at her jaw again, brushing the rough pad of his thumb against her lips while he hoists her into his arms. Rukia is aghast at the manhandling but squirming she learned, does her no favours either.

"I think I'll enjoy keeping you around as my pet."

Rukia's face blanches at that and she reacts instinctively, attacking with whatever she has at hand. She sinks her teeth into him, biting him at the side of his neck left uncovered by the collar. He grunts in surprise at the suddenness of her actions but his grip on her does not slacken. She is forced to give up on her endeavour, nursing her wounded pride and jaw as it becomes apparent that Ichigo is not the slightest bit affected by the attack.

The man truly is thick-skinned. She failed to make him bleed. At best her bite leaves only a ring of teeth mark, puckering the skin on his throat and leaving it red and worried. Ichigo laughs, blithely teasing, "That didn't even hurt. Are you done? Didn't take you to be the possessive sort, Shinigami, but it seems that you settle into your new role well."

"L-Let go of me!"

He is toying with her. Her mind whirls in panic. Rukia has been prepared for death, but not the humiliation of being kept as a prisoner of war. She refuses to be kept as a … pet! The word fills her with disgust and unsavoury thoughts of what this depraved man called Ichigo would do to her.

The expression on Ichigo's face turns thoughtful as he ponders at her request.

"Maybe I will consider it if you tell me your name?"

She gulps, hesitating. The Sternritter is insufferable and a twisted pervert. Would he even let her go if she tells him?

Ichigo shrugs at the lengthy pause, sighing as he tells her, "Suit yourself, Shinigami but you do have a pretty, white katana. Should I add that to my collection too?"

Rukia's eyes widen at the sight of him bending over to pick up her fallen sword. Shirayuki is hers! Her zanpakutou is off-limits, especially to this Sternritter. The words tumble out of her in a rush.

"K-Kuchiki Rukia. M-My name is Kuchiki R-Rukia."

"Ah—" Ichigo stills. The smirk on his smile softens infinitesimally— "so it's Ru-ki-a, is it?"

Rukia grimaces, hating the smug tone in his voice but begrudgingly nods. She watches as Ichigo experiments with the sound of her name. It rolls off his tongue with ease in three distinct syllables that somehow sounds far more intimate than it has any right to be.

She chides herself. It is only a name. He can say it a hundred or a million times, butcher it however he wants to; as long as he leaves Shirayuki alone.

"Relax. I have no intention of stealing your zanpakutou. I told you I don't take what that doesn't already belong to me."

His words cause her to heave a sigh of relief. Shirayuki is still hers- for now. She licks her dry lips, deciding to push her luck. "I did as you asked. Will you let me go?"

He snorts, "Tell me, Rukia. Why should I?"

Rukia stiffens, looking up at him with guileless violet eyes. At the sight of the smirk he gives her, the way his grip on her tightens at the waist, she knows she was right all along. Ichigo tricked her. He has no intention of ever letting her go!

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"You bastard!"

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Ichigo guffaws, easily throwing her over his shoulders as though she is feather-light. His gloved hand grips at the back of her knees to still her vicious kicks as the chains limit the movements of her fists. She struggles against his hold, wriggling and kicking, clawing at his back until she feels his hand swatting lightly at her ass.

Rukia stills. Her face burns at the humiliation. How dare that Sternritter touch her like that!

"Behave."

The silence from Shirayuki is deafening as the Sternritter picks up the fallen sword with his free hand. The blade has returned to its sealed state and his large hand easily wraps itself around it. It is a masterful and effective threat. She would behave herself and cease her struggling or it would be Shirayuki paying the price for her disobedience. Both blade and master offer little to no resistance as Ichigo's grip tightens.

It is the start of a new day as dawn breaks. Colourful clouds in hues of scarlet, violet and gold shrouds the morning sky but the sight of them does nothing for Rukia. The new dawn gives no sign of the reprieve that she hoped for. She bites her lips so hard she tasted blood but if it's one thing that the Kuchiki household taught her well it was to pick your battles wisely.

Determination hardens like flint in her eyes. Surviving is the only option left. The fighter in her knows that as long as she has Shirayuki they will both live to fight another day. Whatever humiliation she is forced to bear, she will bear it through gritted teeth to spite and out-live her captor. Her anger is muted but burns molten all the same as she seethes; the look in her eyes promising bloody vengeance. She will have the last laugh!

Ichigo of course, is blissfully oblivious to her death glares. He stands tall, basking under the bright light with her in tow as the morning sun gilds them in hues of gold and bronze. A cool breeze teases at their hair and the hem of their clothes.

Rukia shivers at the morning chill. Her torn clothing offers her neither comfort nor protection against the elements and she unwittingly huddles closer towards her captor for warmth. Ichigo chuckles in response. His voice is dark and husky, sending chills down her spine at his possessive streak as he carries her off to the gleaming city in the sky.

"You are mine, Rukia."

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Author's note:

In true 'it's never too late for IR smut' spirit, here is my belated entry for day 3 of IIHWE: Playthings.

xD Be warned. This fic is dark and there is a E-rated Spotify playlist for it. Link is in the ao3 fic under the same name.

Song inspo: Chained Up (VIXX)