DISCLAIMER: Bleach is owned by Kubo Tite. Hopefully, I won't get sued for using his material to come up with my own scenarios of Bleach. I just love the manga and the anime series. Sugoi desu!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I need to bring this out since it's cheaper to rant this way than go to therapy, right? Anyway, I've been so depressed lately about Chapter 181 of the manga. My mind simply refuse that it has to end that way between Ichigo and Rukia. Argh! I know, I'm such a dork. But I can't help it, I'm an IchiRuki fan. sniffs So I decided to let my imagination stretch out for a little bit on this one to answer the IchiRuki what ifs I have in my mind. I hope people won't get too put off by this. It's going to be a multi-chapter story, so I can't wait to see how it will really unfold. Thanks for reading patiently!
Kiseichou - the name of Rukia's sword in this fanfic. Kisei for death; chou is short for kouchou or butterfly. Together, the her sword's name literally means Death Butterfly or Butterfly of Death.
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What She Feared Most
Rukia finally reached the place where she sensed the clashing of spirit pressures. Just a few minutes ago, she felt the spirit pressures of Inoue, Ishida and Sado, bursting like cannonballs being released in the midnight air, then utter silence.
But there was also something else, a spirit pressure greater than her three friends' combined. She felt as if a cold hand clutched her heart as she ran towards the source of the spiritual energy.
"Ichigo," she whispered desperately.
The place looked devastating like a wrath of a hundred hurricanes or earthquakes had ravished the land. Deep gashes in the ground, fallen trees, grasses on fire and smoke everywhere while the faint shine of the moon cast eerie shadows.
Rukia strained her eyes to see beyond the smoke and darkness. "Inoue! Ishida! Sado!" she shouted into the thick air. It smelled of evil. She resisted the urge to fear for their lives and ran headlong through the darkness.
"Inoue! Ishida! Sado! Where are you?" she called out urgently. Her eyes had gotten accustomed to the smoky mist and she saw Sado first. She gasped in horror. "Sado!"
Sado laid on the ground motionless, his right arm battered and slashed. Blood was running profusely from his wounds. Rukia ran to his side, he didn't stir. She saw Ishida, lying face down a few feet away from him. The Quincy was pale and wallowing in his own blood, not moving. "Ishida…"
She looked around to see where Inoue was and saw the long-haired girl lying on her side. "Inoue!" Rukia shouted as she ran towards her. Inoue had blood spilling down her face; there was a big gash on her forehead. Her body lay limp on the ground. Rukia's eyes filled with tears as she held Inoue's hand.
'Who could have done this to them?' she thought in agony. "Why did this happen?" she said, her voice tinged with despair. Suddenly, that same cold hand clutched at her heart. "Ichigo!" she shouted into the night. "Ichigo!"
A wicked laugh pierced the silence and rang through Rukia's ears. A dark shadow was approaching from the smoky mist. She unsheathed Kiseichou and braced herself for the coming threat. "Who's there?" she said warningly.
"Tsk, tsk," said the shadow. "Is that the way to treat a precious close friend who hasn't seen you for quite a while?" Rukia froze; her hands trembled a little, as she heard the familiar voice. 'Is it Ichigo? How come I didn't feel his spirit pressure? No…it can't be.'
Rukia shook away her thoughts and regained her composure. "I don't know what game you're playing at, but you better show yourself and face me," she said, fear and doubt overshadowed by her authoritative voice.
"My, My, aren't we friendly tonight?" the voice shot back. "Very well, I'm getting tired of waiting anyway." The shadow moved towards Rukia menacingly. She readied herself, with Kiseichou gleaming in her hand.
Slowly, the smoky mist faded and the muted moonlight shone on the figure emerging from the darkness. A bowed head with a crop of orange hair caught the light and his black shinigami robe was dripping with blood. Rukia instantly recognized him and shouted, "Ichigo!"
But the figure didn't move, his face slightly obscured by the darkness. "Eh? You keep calling me that. Didn't you know?" it said, finally lifting its face for Rukia to see. "He doesn't live here anymore!"
'No, it can't be. This is not happening,' Rukia thought, her eyes widened and a cold dread ran down her spine at the sight of his face. It was as if the gentle night had turned evil and grabbed her throat, choking the life out of her. For under the moonlight shone the skull masked Ichigo, its eyes shining bright red like that of a hollow.
Rukia began to tremble and her knees became weak. She couldn't move. She wanted to cry out in anguish -'Why?' She knew the story about Ichigo's Shattered Shaft training with Urahara, in which he almost became a hollow but was able to resist it and regain his shinigami powers. Even Hanatarou secretly talked to her about his concerns when he found the mask on Ichigo back when they were in the sewers of Seireitei.
She became extremely worried about him but nobody was available to give her straight answers. They had been busy dealing with Aizen, the man who was responsible for Kaien-dono's death. He was the one who wanted to fuse hollows with shinigamis to create a new being. He was the one who created these abominations that have nothing but one goal - to rule the worlds of the living and non-living.
Earlier that day in Soul Society, she had sensed a deep foreboding that bore down her soul. She felt uneasy. It was as if something in her wanted to go see him that instant because a fear that she couldn't name made her anxious for his safety and to forego another day would be too late. She must warn him.
She worked immediately to get permission to go back to the world of the living. If they didn't give it to her, she would have gone anyway. A sense of urgency tugged at her and no rhyme or reason can stop her. She had to go at all cost.
But it took longer than she thought to go through the proper channels. The night was at its peak when she finally came out of the doorway and into the living world. By then, she moved as fast as she could to get to him in time. 'But now, it was too late,' she thought, clenching Kiseichou tighter. The abomination was standing right in front of her.
"What's the matter?" the hollow-Ichigo's voice broke into her thoughts. "You seemed surprised. I thought you would have known by now that this is going to happen sooner or later – that this is the extent of our power and his true strength lies within me."
The hollow released its spirit force, the ground shook, the trees fell and dust flew all over the place. The sheer pressure of its power brought Rukia down on her knees. She struggled to keep her head up. It sneered at her weakness.
"Shut up!" Rukia shouted. She struggled to her feet. "Ichigo is not the kind of person who will rely on anybody's power." She readied herself to attack. "His will, his strength go beyond you!"
Rukia ran toward hollow-Ichigo and slashed with all her might. It blocked her sword with Zangetsu. Metal upon metal clashed. Rukia felt the spiritual pressure weighed down on her. Her small frame dwarfed by hollow-Ichigo's sword, which swung threateningly close. She jumped away safely; feeling the tip of the sword grazed her robe.
"You are as feisty as ever," it said. "I see you wanna suffer like the others before you." Rukia was unnerved, she shot a quick glance at the prone figures of Inoue, Ishida and Sado. She couldn't believe Ichigo had hurt their friends. 'No, it's not him. It's that monster.'
She smirked. "Don't underestimate me, you monster!" She poised to attack again.
"O-ho, big words for such a little girl. Don't think I will hold back. Come at me and I'll cut you. He's no longer here to protect you, you know," it taunted.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Rukia lunged forward. Their swords clashed again. But she was faster. She landed a knee under its chin. It made contact. Hollow-Ichigo thrust its head back from the impact. Rukia didn't waste time; she followed her attack with another. This time, with Kiseichou in full force.
But the hollow easily blocked it with one hand. It lowered Zangetsu and Kiseichou until Rukia was face to face with the skull mask. Its red eyes pierced through her like burning coals and its breath heavy with death. "Tell me, will you be able to kill him to stop our fusion?" it whispered, every word lethal on Rukia's heart.
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To be continued…
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Additional Author's Note: Um, this was originally a 3,000+-word story. I thought it was awfully long to read so I decided to break it into two parts, which resulted in Chapter 2 – "The Butterfly Soars." Hopefully, the break wasn't too abrupt.