FICCY collection:
Title: 01 Shadows
Summary: The face brought back so much memories. But this isn't him. IchixRuki, RukixKaien. This came up after I read chapter 262… and no Bleach isn't mine.
Rukia felt it. Sado-kun's reiatsu was fading. She had been running ever since all five of them separated. She hated the fact that Ichigo had left without her and when she did follow him, he wanted them to stick together. She could see through his intentions. He wanted her close by, so she can be protected. She didn't want to burden him though. She worked hard to be strong and she even stayed in soul society to be able to get all her powers back so he would not have worry about her. She wanted him to concentrate on protecting those who really needed it. She also wanted him to concentrate his attention to other people so one day he can easily forget her. A Shinigami and a human who had shared too much, it was against the rules and she did not want him to be in anymore trouble associating with her because she had grown affectionate to the substitute Shinigami. She forced herself to think of something else. 'Sado-kun can just be close by," Rukia told herself. She noticed her surroundings lighting up. 'This place, the walls they're gone? Why can I see the…' her thoughts were interrupted by a certain presence.
"Shall I enlighten you then? Follow me," a man with a long mask said and then he went inside one of the dome-like structures.
"Hey, wait," she followed him not exactly aware why she did.
Inside the darken room stood the man with the mask. "I never really liked those 'sun ray things'. As far as I could remember I never wanted light to penetrate my domain. I shall formally introduce myself," the man started as he took his mask off his face.
A familiar face showed in front of her. A face she in her whole existence would never forget. It was all too familiar, the face that Ichigo resembled and yet was totally different. She never really put any bearing in their resemblance before to her they were totally different people. One was a respected and kind hearted vice captain who died in her arms, while the other was a boy she had saved and she had changed the life forever. Ichigo and Kaien-dono were different, both were great men and each had a place in her heart, the former the man who risked his life and broke the rules for her sake and the latter the person who treated her with fairness and kindness.
"9th Espada, Aaroniro Aluluirie," the man who looked strikingly like Kaien-dono, his features, his hair; he was exactly like her former vice-captian. Rukia stood there in the darkness utterly stunned. She asked herself many times why the man standing in front of her, her enemy, was a spitting image of Kaien-dono.
"But Kaien-dono is dead. I brought his body to his family myself," Rukia said out loud. The darkness of the room was engulfing her very existence. Her eyes were starting to sting from the tears that were welling up.
"Who is this Kaien? Is he someone very important to you Kuchiki Rukia?" Aaroniro asked with a rather amused look in his face. It was a rather taunting look. "Aizen-sama specifically wanted me to wait for you. He said that I would be rather pleased."
"What do you mean Aizen wanted you to wait for me?" Rukia muttered. She wanted to disappear in the darkness.
"He told me that you are the exact reason why I was reborn. Aizen-sama said my main purpose is to destroy you and that it is a vital task because once I eliminate you it is as good as killing that Kurusaki Ichigo," the arrancar said and evil smile across his face.
The person in front of her was destroying her image of Kaien-dono. Her vice captain would never hurt anyone that did not deserve it. He once told her that he would always be on her side. But did she not deserve to be punished.
An image of Ichigo's fight with the grand-fisher flashed in her mind. She realized how Ichigo felt when the hollow who killed his mother used his mother's own image to fight him. She finally understood how hurtful it was to have that person that was once very precious to you and you once wanted to protect with all your life and now due to certain circumstance you had to fight and kill. She killed him then. 'Kaien-dono would not want me to give up. I will fight for his pride. He died with his pride intact. I will not let this destroy the Kaien-dono I once knew,' she told herself.
"I'm sorry but I will not hold back. You just remind me of someone I look up to and cared about. I will not let you ruin the image of that person I hold dear in my heart just because you share the same face. And I will not give you the satisfaction of killing me, not without a fight. If you still have a part of the Kaien I knew from long ago then it is just fitting to fight you to the death. I know Kaien-dono wouldn't want it any less. But just so you know. I will not die in this battle. I promised Ichigo and the others that we'll all get out of here alive and I intend to keep that promise. If I can't do it I will at least die trying…"
With tear stricken eyes Rukia unsheathed her zampakuto and faced her enemy. 'I failed Kaien-dono before but I will not do the same to Ichigo…' She had to face those shadows so she can move back into the light because she knew that Ichigo would be there waiting…
A/N: first BLEACH FIC… Well, I have a couple of fics that I'm workin' on but they're multi-chappy so I'll just have to start with the drabble bits…