Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Epilogue ❯ Scars ( Chapter 4 )

Epilogue

 

Chapter Four: Scars

 

Six days earlier

 

She told them that she would deal with him.

 

He was her responsibility, she stated. That was enough to convince them that she would do what was necessary for the greater good of Soul Society and the human world.

 

It was her fault for setting everything in motion in the first place. If only she had been stronger fifteen years ago, she would've been able to protect his family under her own strength.

 

Giving him the power to protect those he cared about seemed like the only solution at the time.

 

It troubles her as she sits in her darkened office, refusing herself the luxury of light.

 

“Was that really the only choice I had?” she asks herself, the darkness of her room unable to answer her. “Was there another way?"

 

“Do you like Ichigo?” one of Inoue's friends ask her suddenly.

 

Rukia nearly chokes on the juice she was drinking, troubled by how much the simple question affects her.

 

She thinks up a quick lie to tell them, especially Inoue, who is eyeing her in that certain way of hers. She does not want to hurt Inoue, because she has been…a friend to her.

 

“Ichigo,” she says, lying to them like the gifted actress she is, “is just a friend.”

 

Ichigo was the only person who could clearly see through her mask, figuratively speaking. He was the only person she could never fool with her acting, and it bothered her for the longest time.

 

“You're a terrible actor,” he mentions, making a sour face. “I'm surprised the rest of them don't realize it yet.”

 

She yearns for the days of fighting an enemy that was clearly defined. She remembers a time when she was able to easily draw a picture for Ichigo, showing him the difference between a Hollow and a human spirit, and how they were clearly different things.

 

She didn't know at the time that he would make a drawing like that outdated in a matter of two months. That was around the time he gained a mask of his own, only this mask did more than tell lies.

 

“Ichigo,” she says aloud, as if he could hear her. “Did I make the right choice in giving you power?”

 

She can imagine his fifteen year old self shrugging his shoulders and telling her, “I wouldn't know, idiot. I'm not the one who had to make it.”

He kisses her collarbone, while gently thrusting, still deep inside her. She moans in response, and he takes it as a sign to continue. Even though she's cold to the touch, he's trying his best to warm her up the best way possible.

“Are you okay?” he asks her, and she moans again. A smirk appears on his face, proud that he's doing apparently doing something right.

She burns at his touch, and it's the first time she's truly felt alive. “I'm fine,” she manages to let out, too immersed in his warmth. She hasn't realized how cold she felt until she experienced the warmth he so readily provided.

He thrusts again, burying himself inside of her, eliciting another soft gasp from underneath him. His eyes shoot open and find her blue eyes staring back at him, shimmering in the darkness of the room.

“Wow,” he whispers quietly, stopping to admire his companion's beauty.

She finds herself blushing like a fool, wondering what is on his mind.

“Ichigo…why did you stop?” she asks him gently, wondering what is on his mind.

His response is to silence her with a deep kiss, and she responds in kind, wrapping her arms around him. Every part of her artificial body is on fire, and she cannot believe that she's able to feel so much from just one man.

He quickens his pace, his thrusts become more frantic, needier, and she feels like she's ready to burst. She wants this moment to last forever, but she knows that eventually it will subside.

“Promise me that you'll always be here,” he manages to ask her through the haze, thrusting roughly into her. “Promise me, Rukia.”

She closes her eyes as he grunts loudly, signaling his release. She can feel life flowing into her artificial body, and she suddenly realizes that, unlike other women, she does not have to worry about the consequences. The thought saddens her for only a brief moment.

It's not long before she joins him. She bites down on his shoulder to keep from screaming, tears in her eyes as she too releases all the tension bent up inside of her.

The room afterwards is silent, save for the sounds of heavy, satisfied breathing.

A tiny hand lazily brushes against his chest, allowing Rukia to feel his scars under her fingertips.

Ichigo was confused the first time he noticed the scars, wondering why his physical body had them when it was his spirit that was fighting. She answered him by saying that the body felt everything the soul did, and that he should be more careful next time.

She's afraid to admit that the scars are because of her.

“I promise, Ichigo,” she finally answers him after a long silence, and he holds her close to him, and she can feel his heartbeat. She holds on tightly to him, not wanting to have to let go, but knowing that soon she will have to.

She cannot put up with lying to him much longer.

The soft sounds of flash steps alert her to a presence in her office, but she does not bother to look up.

“Captain Kuchiki,” a feminine voice from behind her asks, “I wish to speak with you.”

 

Rukia remains still, as she already knows who is addressing her, although the large spirit energy was a dead giveaway.

 

“I apologize if I have offended you,” Hinamori continues, “but I said what needed to be said.”

 

There is a tense silence in the room, as Rukia does not wish to even acknowledge her words. Hinamori has changed much in the last fifteen years that she is a person that Rukia no longer recognizes.

 

“All of us have had to make difficult decisions. We cannot allow ourselves to become weak because the weak do not change the world,” Hinamori says coldly.

 

Although Rukia is angry, a part of her admits that Hinamori's words hold some truth to them.

 

Hinamori circles around Rukia, eyeing her like a predator about to devour its prey. “You lack the strength necessary to take on Ichigo Kurosaki.”

 

“I have all the power I need,” Rukia answers spitefully.

 

Hinamori rests a hand against the hilt of her sword. “You may have power, but you lack the will to do what is necessary. I could sense it in your little speech yesterday. Were you lying to us, or yourself?”

 

Rukia eyes Hinamori's sword, almost feeling its desire to cut. “I will do what is required of me.”

 

“This,” Hinamori points at the large scar that covers the right side of her face, “is what I received for being weak. Would you like me to give you one as well?”

 

Before Rukia can even respond Hinamori suddenly lunges for her, Tobiume out of its sheath and aimed for her neck. The two soul slayers clash with a loud crash, with Rukia barely managing to block with Sode no Shirayuki out of pure instinct. She is now trapped, however, unable to escape as her back is against a wall.

 

Hinamori presses Tobiume against Sode no Shirayuki, holding her firmly in place, the blade tantalizingly close to cutting Rukia. “From what I've seen, the ryoka tends to favor his right, much like I do. His fighting style is undisciplined, but at the same time wild and unpredictable. His weakest spots are his midsection, which has sustained critical damage in the past.”

 

Rukia can feel the scar that Aizen left on him, when he nearly cut him in two. She traces a finger down its path, curious at how smooth it is.

 

“Does it hurt?” she asks hesitantly.

 

“Only when you're not here,” he finally answers.

 

She finds his answer strangely comforting as she lays her head against his chest.

 

Rukia grunts, pressing against Hinamori's sword with her own. “Why are you telling me this?”

 

Hinamori's cold eyes soften. “Killing someone you love is never easy. I know what you are going through, Rukia. But you have to understand that this needs to be done. That Hollow…that dark side of your friend…has the potential to start the cycle of death and suffering all over again. Do you really want that?”

 

Rukia lowers her eyes, unable to meet Hinamori's gaze.

 

Hinamori backs away, placing her sword back in its sheath. “I was once given a choice, Rukia. I made the wrong decision because of love. My foolish, naive love is what led Captain Hitsugaya to his death.”

 

Rukia finds a bloodied Hinamori huddled in a corner, hugging her knees tightly to her chest and crying softly.

 

Nearby, Captain Hitsugaya lies dead in a puddle of his own blood, his sword shattered into countless pieces now littering the ground around him.

 

“Aizen…told me he wouldn't,” Hinamori chokes out, tears streaming out of her eyes, “he promised me he wouldn't hurt Shiro…”

 

Hinamori looks at Rukia through her only working eye, too filled with grief to feel the pain of her own injuries.

 

“Don't let love blind you like it did to me,” Hinamori says darkly, again pointing to her scarred eye. “Or this might happen.”

 

“I don't love him,” Rukia protests weakly. “I don't.”

 

To Rukia's surprise, Hinamori lets out a cold, quiet laugh. “Don't try lying to me. I was able to see the look of love on your face, even with just one eye.”

 

Rukia remains silent.

 

“You have the power to end this vicious cycle. I suggest that you use it,” Hinamori says softly, departing with a flash step, leaving Rukia alone with her thoughts.

 

“Power,” Rukia whispers, “it's always been about the power, hasn't it…?”

 

The darkness of the room does not answer her, but she does not need it to.

 

Rukia leaves her office, her destination the Soul Reaper Research Institute.

 

She needs to talk to Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, because she finally realizes what must be done.

 

To be continued