Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ All About Us ❯ Betrayed ( Chapter 1 )

“W-what happened here?!” Many wide eyes stared in disbelief at the sight before them. The scent of dry metallic blood filled their nostrils, flooding their senses. All they could smell was the grip of death lingering in the area. Small whispers began to flood from the crowd around her. Her expression blank and unemotional. She could feel the stares burning at her back as if she knew all of the answers. After all, they had found her here first it would only make sense.

“Someone get the Head Captain--” Her senses blocking out the calls for Yamamoto, the fourth squad and others. All she could smell, was blood. All she could taste, was blood. All she could see, was blood. All she could hear, was death calling out to her as if trying to grab her in a vice grip and pull her under, forever.

“Silence!” The whispers immediately stopped, the call catching her attention easily. The silence was awkward for a moment until Yamamoto spoke. “What has happened is a disgrace. An entire squad was almost killed and eliminated. Whoever had done this will pay a huge price for what they have done. All we have are the witnesses of the battle. Who did this?!” It wasn’t a question, it was a simple, yet harsh command. She knew who did it, she was there. What she didn’t know, was why they had done it and how.

“All I can say sir is the murderer had spiky hair. I couldn’t really see he was so fast, but the sword, it was no mistaking that it was Ichigo’s sword.” Sentaro’s head was bowed along with Kiyone’s while Captain Ukitake said nothing.

Her eyes widened and she lifted her head. Her violet orbs finally looking away from the scene and at the crowd around her. She didn’t say anything, wouldn’t voice anything, she just hoped the Head Captain would overlook something like this.

“You say Ichigo Kurosaki?” There was a long pause before the Head Captain slammed his wooden cane to the ground, making her flinch. “Very well then. I send out the order to capture and kill Ichigo Kurosaki and anyone who helps him!” Everyone nodded their heads. “Dismissed!”

Almost everyone had left at once, except her. She couldn’t move, she felt numb and broken. She felt as if her heart was being squeezed until it burst. She couldn’t breathe. Her fingers trembled. What was she to do? Ichigo, her closest friend, her nakama, was in trouble for a crime he didn’t even commit. He was to be killed, for something he didn’t do. He hadn’t even stepped foot in Soul Society for months, yet they were going to kill him.

She felt the burning sensation in her eyes, threatening for tears to fall and hit her cheeks, but she wouldn’t let them. She wasn’t going to be weak, she hated being weak and right now, she needed to be strong for Ichigo, so she could help him escape. She didn’t care if she would be putting herself in danger, his life was more important and valuable then hers was.

Violet eyes darkened and she turned, taking a step forward toward the gate, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She turned and met the gaze of none other then Renji Abarai’s.

“Rukia…your not going there, are you?” She swore that she heard a pleading in his tone. Her cold gaze meeting his concerned ones. Drawing in a deep breath, she sighed.

“I have to, Renji, he’s my friend, I can’t let him die for a crime he didn’t commit.”

“You don’t have to do this alone, I’ll come with you.” He offered and her eyes widened, she moved away from his grip and stared into the distance.

“No Renji, please don‘t come. You are needed here more then anything right now, and I couldn’t put your life in danger. Please, let me do this on my own. I know the truth.” She refused to meet his gaze, for she knew her words hurt him. She didn’t dare to look back, because it might be the last time she would ever see him and it would just make life harder if she even turned and glanced back. She had to do this, for Ichigo’s sake.

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His unemotional expression stared into the distance. He knew what was going to happen, yet he was helpless to stop her. He knew she was going to disregard the head captain’s orders and go right to him. She was going to put her life in danger, and she didn’t care.

Byakuya knew that to her he was ignoring her all these years. However in reality he was protecting her from the shadows, without her knowing. Rukia was always under his protective and watchful eyes, she was just never aware of it. He could almost read her like a book, like that time when Orihime Inoue was kidnapped by that traitor. Byakuya knew Rukia had every intention of following Kurosaki and the others to save her.

He sighed, almost in frustration, this time she was really going to get herself killed and there was nothing he could do about it. Even if he tried to stop her from going to that orange-haired bastard she wouldn’t listen. Byakuya inwardly growled, he knew from the start that Kurosaki was nothing pleasant. He was going to cause his little sister more pain, more grief. More everything, and he knew she didn’t need anything or anyone else in her life to worry about. She was too selfless for her own good.

“Kuchiki-taichou!” The sound of his name broke him out of his thoughts and the first thing he noticed was the bright red hair of his vice captain.

“What is it Renji?” He asked, trying in his best to sound uninterested. Renji took a few moments to catch his breath and bowed.

“I-I tried to stop her Taichou, but its Rukia sh-she left. She’s going to help Ichigo.” Byakuya stayed silent and stared back off into the distance. The scent of blood still lingering in the air and he crinkled his nose in disgust at the fresh scent.

“I know.” Renji’s eyes widened at the statement, almost seeming surprised.

“B-but Kuchiki-taichou aren’t you going to do anything about it?!” The sixth Squad Captain just turned and walked past the surprised man.

“What Rukia does with her life is none of my concern.” Was all he spoke, even though it was a lie. He did care, he just didn’t show it, or didn’t bother to. “I trust you don’t involve yourself with that worthless human, Renji. You are very well needed here as well as I expect you to fight on the side of Soul Society.” With that he was gone, leaving his vice captain to his thoughts.

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Almost there! She thought and shunpoed faster. Her breath coming out in huffs and she felt as if her lungs were going to explode, yet she didn’t care. All that mattered was getting to him. She had to warn him and tell him everything that had happened. She leaped from rooftop to rooftop until she finally reached his house.

Landing on his roof, she wasted no time in jumping through his open window and onto his bed. He’s not here…Dammnit! This is not a good time to be missing Ichigo! She growled and sat impatiently on his soft bed. Her eyes wandered around his room. It was exactly the same as she last saw it. His somewhat small wooden desk was settled on the right side of his bed and not far from that was the closet just on the opposite wall of the window. She remember the first two months she spent here. She always slept in his closet. It was quite amusing when she surprised him by swiftly swinging the closet door open to tell him they had an order. Rukia slightly smiled at the interesting memory, but then shook her head. Her eyes darkened as she remember the real reason she was here. Her head snapped up when she heard the door open then close with a soft click. She jumped to her feet as she saw who it was.

“Ichigo!” The said man looked surprised and blinked a few times.

“Uh, Rukia what are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming back here for a while did--”

“There’s no time to explain!” She threw a bag at him, hitting him square in the face. She didn’t even notice the annoyed look he gave her as he opened his mouth to say something, only to close it when she interrupted before he could even speak. “Why are you standing there like an idiot?! Pack your things as quickly as you can!” She was already waiting at the window, with her backpack in hand.

“Wait, Rukia where are we going?!” Her eyes met his, her heart raced in her chest as they stared for a few moments. Rukia blinked, breaking their gaze and sighed.

“I’ll explain later, just please…” Her voice came out in only a whisper, almost broken, but shaken. Ichigo flashed her a concerned look before beginning to pack his things quickly. They both made no sound during the few moments he was hastily packing. Rukia leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, her arms were crossed and her body was tense. Her deep purple eyes opened when she felt a large, but soft hand on her forehead.

“Rukia, I’m done packing.” Ichigo said softly. She slowly moved his hand away and looked up at him. He stood there, his tall form towering above hers, his famous scowl crossing his face. She didn’t say a word and nodded. She turned away from him and jumped out the window, landing on the ground gracefully. He closely followed and landed behind her.

“Ichigo, I need you out of your body, so we can get to Urahara’s faster. I’ll explain everything to you there, I promise.” She stared at him with pleading eyes, asking him to listen and do what he is told without any arguments. To her relief he pressed his substitute badge to his chest and caught his body as he separated from it. He nodded to her and they took off.

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Not long after they set off, they were standing in front of the Urahara Shoten. Ichigo watched as Rukia slid the door open and disappeared inside. He followed her and closed it silently behind him. The minute he walked in Urahara was already approaching them. Normally the man would joke around, even when the situation was serious but today something didn’t seem right. Hat-n-clogs and Rukia just seemed too serious for his liking. Ichigo growled in frustration, earning the attention from the other two in the room.

“Would someone just please tell me whats going on?!” Rukia stared at the ground and Urahara hid behind his fan. Finally one of them spoke.

“Ichigo…” It was Rukia, his attention immediately turned to her. She wouldn’t look at him, her eyes just stared at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. “Soul Society was attacked today…a whole squad was almost eliminated.” She finally looked up at him. He stared into her eyes and he saw everything, all the sadness and pain she was feeling at that very moment. He felt a pang in his chest as well as the sudden urge to wrap his arms around her. “The attacker was described as you, Ichigo. A-and Head Captain Yamamoto sent out an order t-to capture and…” Her voice trailed off as she looked away and took in a few shuddering breaths. He watched as her small form trembled. At the corner of his eye he saw Urahara slightly bow his head and heard him mutter something about leaving them for a few minutes.

“I-I’m so sorry Ichigo…its all my fault you were dragged into this. I know it wasn’t you who attacked, I was there…if-if we never met, this wouldn’t be happening. Y-you would be home, sound asleep, living a n-normal life…” Her whispers trailed off into shaking sobs and Ichigo’s frown only deepened.

“Hey, stop it.” He said softly, but firmly. She was still looking away from him, her hand covering her mouth to quiet her soft sobs. He knew she was trying to hide it, but it was useless her trembling form was giving her away. When he didn’t get an answer from her he sighed and his eyes softened in concern. He grabbed her shoulders and slowly turned her to face him. Her eyes were closed and her hand was still covering her mouth. He could easily see the tears slipping from underneath her closed eyelids, traveling down her cheek and over her hand, soon to fall to the ground. Without a word he pressed her to his chest in a heart-warming hug and slowly rocked them both from side to side, trying to calm her down. “Shh,” He started quietly and closed his eyes, “You didn’t do anything wrong. Hell a normal human life sounds boring to me…” He paused for a moment then said, “especially if there is no raven-haired midget with big purple eyes annoying me everyday.” He smiled as he heard a small laugh escape her lips. “Besides, they can’t kill me, you should know that by now I’m the Hercules who killed Aizen remember?” Ichigo released her as he felt her slowly pull away from him. She stared up at him with a confused expression.

“Whose Hercules?” He groaned and slapped his forehead.

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Well sounds like everything is fine in here.” The two shinigami looked up to see Urahara leaning against the wall with a small smile on his face. “Why don’t we talk about everything in a separate room, shall we?” The two nodded and followed him into the room. The three took a spot around the small round table. Everyone was silent for a moment until Urahara finally spoke.

“I have made new gigais for the both of you. They should hide your reitsu so you won’t be found so easily. I wouldn’t suggest coming out of them too often either, especially you Ichigo, you can barely control it.” He groaned in response but didn’t say anything. “Only leave these gigais unless you really need to, understand?” They both nodded. “Good, I will let you stay for the night, but I suggest you set off tomorrow. If they don’t find Ichigo at his house, they will surely check here next.” Rukia silently stood up and bowed to him.

“Arigatou, I don’t know how to repay you.” Ichigo rolled his eyes at how formal she was and scratched the back of his head.

“I guess I should thank you too, Urahara.” The man smirked and nodded.

“Goodnight you two!” He sang as he walked out of the room.

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Rukia stared up at the ceiling as she listened to the steady breathing of Ichigo as he slept. Urahara had given them comfortable sleeping bags, as he called them. She had never heard of such a thing. They were so confusing…a bed you unroll? A bed that has a zipper on the side? She sighed, it didn’t really matter. Her thoughts drifted off and she looked over to Ichigo’s sleeping form, her eyes softened. I’m really, truly sorry…Ichigo. She thought before she drifted off to sleep.