Happy Very Belatedly New Year!
Here is the next chapter.
Please forgive any mistakes.
Also, thank you for reading this story even though I'm crap and consistent updates. I appreciate you all !
Chapter 14
There they were.
The Menos.
Murderous bastards.
Crouching behind an overgrown hedge, with a throwing knife in each hand, she watched the six men- monsters more like- with those unnerving masks that reminded her of death. There were two men who were built like oxen, three average sized men, and one man, was only slightly taller than her. All dressed in black, they made for a nightmarish picture in the dim lights of the motel pool lounge. One of the ox-shaped ones, roughly pushed one of the more normal sized men. He responded by kicking him in the stomach-or he tried to, anyway.
Because the next thing Rukia heard were two gunshots and both men went down, and their bodies were kicked into the pool with an awful splash.
The finality-the callousness of it, took her back to that day in Rukongai; the smell of blood and rain in her nose once again as she remembered how Kaien had perished in her arms. She had promised him, as he took his last breath- that she would avenge him just like he had avenged his wife.
She told herself that would keep her promise-no matter what it cost her.
Except that now she was frozen to the spot.
That part of her being that longed for happiness…it was telling her that it wasn't too late. She could turn back now and everything would be okay.
She could put all of this behind her.
She could be a great detective, maybe even a captain one day. She could fall in love and marry a wonderful man with orange hair. She could be happy. She could do all of that if she just went home right now.
Kaien would forgive her, wouldn't he?
Home, Rukia. Go home.
And then she was seized by her the back of her collar and thrown over the hedge-her knives clattering to the floor.
Pain seared through her joints as she landed hard on the tiles, right at the feet of one of the Menos.
Her instincts took over then; well-honed, lethal instincts.
She rolled onto one knee, drew her gun and fired. She shot once in his leg and once more in his shoulder. She aimed for the one with the gun, but missed when a large hand gripped her head and yanked her backward.
Her neck bones cracked from the violent pull.
But she didn't remain in his grasp for long. Her captor's fingers lost purchase when she slipped from his hold, leaving only her wool hat clutched in his hands.
She spun, embedded two bullets in the giant Menos-one in his chest, the other in his abdomen.
Two down, she counted.
Two more.
Before she could make her next move, a gunshot sounded and a terrible burning pain blazed through her left arm.
Her own firearm fell to the floor. She swore as hot blood soaked through her sleeve.
As she turned, she loosed a throwing knife she had hidden at her ribcage and let it fly into the gunman's chest. He stumbled, tripped over something and toppled into the disgusting pool, joining his two victims in their watery graves.
Rukia was only allowed a moment's reprieve before she was tackled to the ground. Her head hit the tiles so hard that her vision blurred. She flung her right arm out and her fist connected with the hard, acrylic mask. Pain bloomed in her knuckles.
She struggled against this Menos-he was one of the averaged sized ones, but he was still strong and heavy. Her left arm was useless, and she couldn't access her throwing knives. She cursed herself for dropping her gun. She pushed her lower body up, trying to flip the Menos off her, but he drew his knees in tighter keeping her in place.
Something dug into her right thigh.
Her blade!
She still had her blade.
The Menos's hands wrapped around her neck. He squeezed once, and letting the nose of his mask graze her cheek. She looked into the eyeholes of that horrible, horrible mask.
Only pitch black stared back.
With one hand still on her throat, he used the other to rip away the mask she had covering her mouth. The Menos inclined his head, as if admiring her. His fingers traced along her jaw. She nearly gagged at the touch.
But while he was distracted by her face, she reached for the long blade at her thigh. His fingers stilled when he felt her move, but it was too late.
She drew the blade and buried it in his spine. The Menos yelled out, and collapse atop her.
Rukia grunted as his weight pressed down on her. She could feel the other knife she had hidden at her ribcage piercing her skin.
For a few moments, she just lay there, with the Menos on top of her, staring up at the twinkling stars.
It was over.
She gathered her strength and wiggled out from underneath the dying mass. She reached down and pulled the knife out. With a sickening sound, it came free, and she tossed into the pool behind her.
Rukia lifted her shirt to see blood leaking from the point of her knife. She removed it, and let it sink into the pool as well. She removed the two she had concealed at her ankles, as well as the silencer and extra rounds. She let those go into the water as well.
Lastly, the burner phone.
The screen was cracked, but thankfully it still worked. The fingers on her right hand shook as she typed.
The pool is a mess. XXX
A reply came instantly.
Leave it. It will be cleaned. Go home. XoXo
She stared at the message, the cracked screen distorting the letters.
Go home.
Rukia took in a deep breath, the adrenaline already beginning to fade. She turned, taking in the carnage around her.
It seemed strange to just go home after all this, but she didn't know what else to do.
So, she heeded the text and left the motel.
Each step hurt more than the last, but Rukia grit her teeth and kept moving. She needed to be out of the street before the sun came up; before anyone could see her bleeding, bedraggled self. Her left arm hung uselessly at her side. She had her right hand wrapped around it to staunch the blood flow. Blood also oozed from her head, dripping annoyingly into her eye. Her shirt had stuck to the cut on her ribcage. She left it like that.
Her wounds weren't extensive, she figured. It was the fatigue and hunger and lack of sleep that slowed her more than anything else. She cursed herself for being so careless with her health-she should have been eating more and sleeping better.
But there was nothing to be done now. She just had to keep moving.
She wished she had kept some of the money she had for a cab. But then again, there'd be no cabs at this hour, anyway. She could have called someone if she hadn't broken the burner phone and tossed it into the garbage along the way. But who would she call? She didn't know anyone's number.
She didn't even know what time it was exactly, or how long she had been fighting, or how long she had been walking for that matter.
Finally, she had reached a familiar street. By car, she would have been home in half an hour. At the pace she was going, she didn't even know if she would make it.
As the warm glow of dawn lit the streets, she spied an apartment building she knew. An apartment building that she had only been to once, but thought of often.
One last time, she reasoned, as dizziness began to set in. She would let him help her one last time. She found her way to the underground parking lot and snuck in. She couldn't risk walking in through the front entrance.
On the elevator ride up to his floor, she almost passed out against the wall. She jerked awake at the ding and swoosh of the elevator doors. She kept moving, even as the hallway tilted unnaturally. How she remembered his door number, she didn't know. All she knew, as she banged her fist on his door, was that it was difficult to be breath now-and that her body was too heavy all of a sudden.
This was it.
She was dying. Dying from blood loss, and exhaustion and stupidity.
The door swung open and she fell forward.
'Ichigo,' his name left her lips like a prayer.
He caught her in his strong, capable arms, and held her to his chest. He was so lovely and warm and solid.
It was okay if she died here in his arms.
It was okay if the last thing she saw in this life was orange hair and hazel eyes.
It was okay to let go-to hope that in her next life she would find him again.