InuYasha Fan Fiction / Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ When Secrets Collide ❯ A Spoonful of Medicine ( Chapter 5 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: DannilovesInu 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Bleach Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Drama / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 01.30.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 1.1K | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Bleach Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Drama / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 01.30.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 1.1K | Status: Work In Progress
Disclamer: Bleach and all associated characters are owned exclusively by Kubo Tite and company. InuYasha and related work belong to Rumikio Takahashi and imcorporated. The only thing I own is the character Hanabi Yamada and the paper I started writing this story on. I recieve no royalites for this fanfic. I am gravely envious of the genius of Tite and Rumikio. No matter how I threaten, they still will not reliquish the rights to my Inu-kun and Ichigo. Damn. Back to drawing board, Pinky.
Chapter 5
[A Spoonful of Medicine]
Rukia wrapped her arms around her chest to ward off the cold. She mindlessly wandered the streets, the farther from the park the better. Damn that Ichigo, making her mad. She hadn’t even finished questioning Kagome and Inuyasha. She smiled inwardly. And she’d thought her and Ichigo’s lives were complicated. She could now understand why the other girl seemed to always be tired and absent from the school. Just the turmoil that had to be associated with going back to the Feudal Era and fighting demons was enough to convince everybody that she was a sickly child. There was no doubt in Rukia’s mind that what Kagome said was true. She’d heard about the Shikon no Tama from her brother. The Kuchikis were responsible for recording the history of the Soul Society and the jewel had been rumored to have appeared in their realm nearly three hundred years ago. The rumor had run so ramped that amendments had been made to the year’s record to make mention of the jewel.
She rubbed at the goose bumps on her arms as she thought about how the four of them where to continue on from here. Were they to go on about their days, ignoring when one of them was suspiciously absent or looking the other way when the other dashed from the room? How were they going to get through this and still be sane? And why had a team from the Soul Society come and not taken her back? And why had Hanabi been talking to Kagome? There was so many things she didn't know, and so many that were vital to her survival in the real world. Unconsciously her feet took her toward the one place that would most likely give her some answers.
Rukia silently opened the sliding door and called out gently, "Ururu? Jinta? Urahara-san? Is anybody home?" she pushed the door opened some more and slipped inside. The front of the store was dark, but a line of light shone from under the doors leading to the back of the shop. As quietly as possible, Rukia pulled the doors opened and peered inside. The light was blinding, but not enough to keep her from seeing the unruly, orange-haired boy sitting cross-legged at the low table, along with the reincarnated priestess and the dog demon hanyou.
"Nice for you to join us, Rukia-san." Kisuke Urahara greeted breezily. He waved to an open spot at the table. "Come, sit down. We're discussing your future."
Rukia frowned, confused, but did as she was told. Quickly Urahara's employees descended upon her, Jinta holding a tea cup, Ururu brandishing a plate of sugar cookies and Tessai pouring tea from a steaming hot carafe. “Thank you.” She said politely. The others around her quietly sipped their own tea, all waiting for someone to break the silence.
Kagome seemed to be the bravest because she calmly set down her cup and cleared her throat. “Rukia-san, the people who came to take you back, they took somebody else instead.”
Rukia was shocked. “What? How could they make that kind of mistake. My brother, and Hanabi…what happened?” She asked.
Kagome shrugged. “I don’t know. One moment they were questioning me about this monster-Hollow- I had destroyed with my arrow, and the next thing I knew the girl, Hanabi, got a call saying that they’d captured you.”
“But it wasn’t me.” Rukia said stupidly.
“Of course it wasn’t.” Ichigo bit out sarcastically, obviously still mad. But Rukia didn’t mind. He still wasn’t in her good graces either. She uncrossed legs from their Indian-style position, squarely hitting Ichigo’s calf with her foot. She smiled slightly when he bit off his groan of pain.
“Behave, Kurosaki-kun.” Urahara warned from behind his tea cup. Ichigo glared at Rukia for a second longer but turned his head to stare at the wall beside him. Rukia rolled her eyes be said nothing to this. If he wanted to be an idiot, so be it.
Kagome took up the conversation again. “We don’t know how they made their mistake, or how we’re going to figure out who they’ve taken. But we do know that we’re going to have to go to Soul Society to retrieve them. At least that’s what Urahara-san says.”
Rukia took a sip of her tea as she thought about this. They’d have to go rescue the innocent fugitive, but with her not having any of her powers back, she’d be staying behind.
“I already know what you’re thinking, Rukia-san.” Urahara said. He smiled worriedly and raised his voice an octave. “What!? I can’t go to the Soul Society! I don’t have any powers! You’ll have to leave me behind-”
“Get on with it, Urahara. You’re right. I don’t have powers, so I can’t got back.” Rukia growled.
The baffling man smiled brightly. “Ah, but I know how to get them back.”
Ichigo started, “What? Then why haven’t you said so before? Rukia could have been returned to her world.”
Urahara gave him a side glance. “Are you that eager for her to leave, Kurosaki-kun? I don’t think you are.” He watched as Ichigo flushed red. “And anyway, I didn’t know about Kagome-chan, or her little friend, Inuyasha.”
Rukia looked to Inuyasha and Kagome. “What do they have to do with any of this?” She asked.
“Well, Miss Kuchiki, Kagome-chan can restore your powers.” Urahara said with a secretive gleam in his shielded eyes.
Kagome and Rukia both were startled, “She-I can what?!” They exclaimed at once.
^_^
Hanabi quickly look behind her shoulder, hoping no one was following her. It was the first time since she and the others had returned from the human world that she’d had a chance to sneak away to see Rukia. She hadn’t even seen Kenpachi put Rukia in the Squad 11 holding cell. But she’d finally managed to steal sometime to see her friend, to get some answers. Taking a set of keys out of her shihakusho, she selected one and opened the door to the jail. In the farthest cell, shrouded in darkness was a body huddled in the corner.
“Rukia? It’s Hanabi. Are you okay?” Hanabi called out as she moved toward the cell. She came to halt in front of it, the keys slipping from her numb fingers. This was not Rukia. A sandy-brown head of hair rested on long forearms that were placed against it knees. Brown eyes stared into Hanabi.
“I’m not Rukia.” A masculine voice told her, confirming her worst fears. Kenny had listened to Yachiru again.
^_^
“I can do what?” Kagome stated again as she and the others were led down to the basement of the store. Beside her, Inuyasha had put an protective arm around her, weary of the entire situation. Ahead of them, Tessai was opening a trap door in the floor. Sunlight poured from the door, worrying Kagome even more. They were underground, why was there sunlight? What had Ichigo and Rukia gotten them into?
Urahara ignored her question as he gestured to the floor. “Ladies first.”
“There’s no way I’m letting Kagome go in there first.” Inuyasha snarled as he peered inside. It was a long, long drop to the bottom to what looked like a barren desert.
“Well, by all means, take her down there yourself, Inuyasha-kun.” Urahara said easily.
Inuyasha glanced at Kagome, and noticed the apprehension written across her face. “What wrong?”
Kagome swallowed thickly. “I’m scared of heights.” Inuyasha rolled his eyes. He swept the protesting girl into his arms and stared into the hole. “Don’t you dare.” She warned two seconds too late. The next thing she knew, she and Inuyasha were dropping down. “Innnuuuuyyyaaassshhhha!!!” she screamed, as air rushed around them and the ground began to steadily grew closer. It felt as if her heart was trying to escape through her throat, and there was nothing to do but close her eyes. Kagome tightened her hold around Inuyasha’s neck, subconsciously knowing that she was probably choking him to death. What seemed like hours later, but couldn’t have been more than a few seconds, she and Inuyasha landed on the dirt floor with a grunt. Kagome was out of his arms and a good distance away before she yelled, “SIT!”
Inuyasha slammed into the hard ground below him, his body carving out a impression in dirt. Dust bloomed in the air. “Damnit, Kagome! What the fuck did you do that for!” he cursed into the ground.
Kagome calmly brushed at a smudge on her sleeve. Inuyasha picked himself off of the floor and stomped over to Kagome. “What the fuck was that for?” He gritted out again slowly.
“You could have warned me before you took me on a 200 feet drop you idiot! You heard me say I was scared of heights! What would have happen if my heart had stopped beating before you landed?! That was one of the stupidest, most insensitive things you’ve ever done, Inuyasha! I can’t believe you!” Kagome shouted, belying her earlier, calm actions.
“Feh. It would have taken us longer to convince you to climb down the ladder than me dropping down with you? All I was trying to do was speed up this process.” Inuyasha retorted. He glanced toward the ceiling where the rest of their group was slowly descending into the room on the ladder. Noting that he still had time, Inuyasha grasped Kagome by the forearms, gaining her attention rapidly. “Why are we doing this?” he asked.
Kagome bit her lip. “We have to. Someone I know was taken to that Soul Society place. And if Urahara says that I can help in rescuing them, then I will.”
“But what about the jewel shards, and Naraku? We still have a duty in the past, Kagome.” Inuyasha reminded her.
“I know. I know we still have to defeat Naraku, I know Sango and Miroku will worry when we haven’t shown back up. And I know I have to do this. If I can really help Rukia gain her powers back, then I’ll do all I can. We can worry about Naraku another day.” Kagome stared into his eyes imploringly. “Please Inuyasha. Let me do this. If you don’t want to, you can always go back and wait with the others. Just let me do this.”
Inuyasha pulled her close into an embrace. “Keh, like I’d ever leave you alone with these creepy characters. Especially that Urahara. We’ll stay, Kagome. And I’ll protect you from what ever comes our way.” he vowed softly as he ran his hands soothingly through her hair.
“Thank you, Inuyasha.” She whispered softly into his shoulder.
“Hey you two, we don’t have time for this lovey dovey crap!” Ichigo called toward them as he dropped the last couple of feet to the ground.
Inuyasha growled low in his throat. “Plus I’d never miss my chance to beat that guy.” He said into Kagome’s hair.
“Well you’ll have plenty of them, seeing as he is part of my family now.” she reminded him.
Inuyasha growled again. “He’ll be a dead relative if he keeps pestering me.”
Kagome giggled as she pulled out of his arms. That was her Inuyasha. Before they’d arrived at the Urahara Shop they’d all been sent home for a change of clothes and the Tessaiga. The entire time, Inuyasha had been gaining curious glances (about his ears of course) from Ichigo until the hanyou had finally demand to know what his damage was. It had taken a sharp jab from Urahara’s cane to the boys’ ribs to get them to back down.
“Now that we’ve all gather in my quaint little training grounds, I’d like to split up in little groups later, but for now, we‘ll stick together. It takes seven days to completely erect the portal to Soul Society, so we’ll be cutting it really, really close. It‘ll take no time at all to extract Kuchiki-san's powers, but it‘ll take a couple days to train Ichigo.” Urahara informed them, “But hopefully with Inuyasha-kun and Kagome-chan, it won’t be too much of a problem.”
"What do you mean, Urahara-san?" Kagome asked as she elbowed the impatient boy next to her.
"With you two here, Kagome-chan, you can help with Ichigo and Rukia's training."
"I don't need any training." Ichigo hissed, "You said we were here to restore Rukia's powers, you said nothing about me having to train!"
"Scared of a little workout?" Inuyasha said with a snide grin.
"Of course not, but won't my training slow us down, we should focus on Rukia and finding out who was taken to Soul Society." Ichigo reasoned.
"If you'll let me finish," Urahara interrupted, "I'll explain why you have to train: First off Kurosaki-kun, your Shinigami powers right now are not your own. They are Kuchiki-san's. She can only reclaim her powers when either the human they are stored in dies-"
"What do you mean if I die?!"
"Or," Urahara went on as if he hadn't been interrupted, "If they are forcibly removed from the human."
"Forcibly? That sounds dangerous, Mr. Urahara." Kagome commented.
"I agree, Kagome. Urahara-san, it isn't worth the risk." Rukia said, "There's only a slim chance of me even being able to regain my powers when they've been 'forcibly' removed. They could always enter into anyone else here." she looked around six other people with her.
"You're right, there is a only remote chance. But that's where Kagome-chan comes in." Urahara smiled as he turned to the gray-eyed girl. "Kagome-chan, from what you've told me and the data I've collected on you says, you can sense spiritual powers, demonic aura and the presence of the jewel called, the Shikon no Tama, correct?" Kagome nodded and he continued on, "And you're also able to see Hollows and spirits. In that alone, your powers are slightly resemble those of a Quincy, like Uryuu Ishida. He is able to fire spirit particles away from a person, a good distance away. I'm confident that once we force Rukia-san's powers from Ichigo, you'll be able to sense them in the air around us. When that happens, I'm betting that you can concentrate your own spiritual powers and latch on to Rukia's. Then you can fire them toward her with one of your arrows." He finished, supremely confident.
"Wait a sec. Are you saying you want me to deliberately shoot Rukia with one of my arrows?" Kagome asked in disbelief, "As in, intentionally wound her?"
"Yes."
"No way." Kagome replied simply. "I've never drawn my weapon on anyone other than my enemies. I couldn't do that to Rukia. She's nearly family. I think."
"Kagome, It can't be that hard." Ichigo said.
"It's not like you'll actually hit anyway. Your aim sucks, remember?" Inuyasha smirked. Kagome stepped on his foot, hard. He growled at her warningly.
Rukia stared at the priestess, deep in thought. Urahara's plan seemed simple enough. It was closely similar to how she'd transfer her powers to Ichigo in the first place. She was all for the plan, but she didn't like how they were going to get her powers for Ichigo. She'd heard of some of the experiments the devious captain of Squad 12, Mayuri, had preformed on humans who'd gain Shinigami powers illegally. Most of them had resulted in fatality.
"There has to be another way to get my powers from Ichigo." She said suddenly.
Urahara shook his head, "No, there isn't, Rukia-san."
"He said we'd have to kill Ichigo or forcibly remove them." Kagome reminded her, "Wouldn't you rather have a wounded fiancé to a dead one, Rukia-san?"
Rukia toed the dirt with her foot. "I guess." she said slowly. She breathed deeply, the corners of her mouth tipping into a slight smile. "You can stop addressing me formally, seeing as you're about to shoot me with an arrow, Kagome."
Kagome chuckled, "Okay... Rukia." The two shared a look as they prepared themselves mentally for the hardship ahead.
"Urahara, you when you've taken Rukia's powers from me, I'll be a normal mortal again, right?" Ichigo asked. "How will I be able to go to Soul Society without powers of my own?"
Urahara grinned cheekily, "You've never been a normal mortal, Kurosaki-kun." he informed vaguely, "After Rukia's powers are gone, you, Inuyasha and I will start working on awakening your own Shinigami powers." Urahara faced away from the teens and clapped his hands. At once his employees stood before him. "Let's get started gang. Ururu, the spoon please. And Jinta open the flask. Tessai, bring me Ichigo." They moved swiftly, the older man grabbing the griping boy and hauling him in front of his boss.
Ichigo scowled as Urahara poured a tablespoon of the putrid looking liquid from the flask and offered it to him. "What do I have a cold now?" He sneered.
"Ah ah ah, I'd take this if I were you, Kurosaki. It'll make this process much, much easier for you. Less painful."
Ichigo looked at the sinister drink for a second more before taking it and swallowing it without hesitation. The mixture seared his throat and burned his insides achingly. In seconds the sensations were gone and Ichigo felt normal again. He looked down at himself and back at Urahara expectantly. "So that was it?" He asked.
"Nope, now on to phase two." Urahara told him. The man twirled the end tip of his cane upward and pushed it into Ichigo. Instantly the boy's soul and body separated, his tangible form hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
"Ichigo, are you alright?!" Kagome exclaimed as she kneeled to examine his lifeless body. Before her stood her stepbrother, as a spirit. A long link-chain connected his body to his soul form.
Rukia noticed this immediately. "Why isn't he a Shinigami?" She asked worriedly.
Ichigo was furious, "What did you do to me you, idiot!" he shouted. "What the hell was in that stuff?!"
“Calm down, Kurosaki! That potion suppressed Rukia’s powers into a dormant form so they’ll be easier and safer to remove.” Urahara circled the orange haired boy and grasped the length of chain. “Now here comes the fun part. Tessai, if you will.” Urahara pulled the chain away from Ichigo’s soul and body while Tessai pulled a axe from his belt loop and severed the chain in the middle. Hot, blinding, white light exploded into view as Rukia’s powers were ejected from Ichigo’s body.
“What are you doing!” Rukia yelled as she rushed forward. Inuyasha grabbed her around the middle to keep her from touching Ichigo. Enormous waves of scorching energy poured from where the chain connected to the hole in the chest of his spirit form. “Why did you cut his Soul Chain, he’ll be killed!” She screamed as she struggled in Inuyasha’s hold.
“Don’t worry, Kuchiki-sama.” the little girl, Ururu, said from beside Kagome, “He’ll be fine. Look, the spiritual pressure is already starting to die down!”
They observed as the lighted energy slowly flowed out of Ichigo, trickling down until nothing was left. Rukia shoved out of Inuyasha’s grasp and rushed to the boy. “Ichigo! Are you all right? Can you hear me?” She whispered urgently, shaking his shoulders gently.
“He’s unconscious, Kuchiki-dono.” Tessai informed her as he poked his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. “He needs to rest. That would take a lot out of any person.”
Rukia glared up at the giant man, her eyes watering. She grasped Ichigo’s hand tightly as she swallowed thickly, scanning his face for any sign that something had gone wrong.
Urahara cleared his voice loudly. “We have to move on quickly now. Rukia-san, Kagome-chan follow me please.” Rukia felt a hand settle on her shoulder.
Kagome smiled sympathetically at the girl. “Come on, Rukia. He did this for you. We might as well keep going. And anyway, Inuyasha will keep an eye on him for us, won’t you?” She looked over at him, pleading with him with her eyes.
Inuyasha folded his hands into the sleeves of his haroi and turned his head away. “Feh, I can do that…I guess.” He agreed sulkily. The next thing he knew Rukia had wrapped him into a tight hug.
“Thank you, Inuyasha-kun! Thank you!” Rukia exclaimed in a rare show of emotions.
He blushed slightly, “Yeah…well it’s no problem. I suppose I can deal with strawberry when he’s knocked out.” He pointedly removed her arms off of him. “Now you two need to hurry and see what that Urahara guy has planned next.” Rukia nodded and together set off with Kagome. Inuyasha suddenly called out, “And it’s just ‘Inuyasha’! None of that ‘kun’ crap at the end!” With his unnatural ears, he heard Kagome say that she’d been waiting for when he’d tell them to stop with that. Inuyasha mumbled under his breath as he sat down next to Ichigo and settled in to wait.
Chapter 5
[A Spoonful of Medicine]
Rukia wrapped her arms around her chest to ward off the cold. She mindlessly wandered the streets, the farther from the park the better. Damn that Ichigo, making her mad. She hadn’t even finished questioning Kagome and Inuyasha. She smiled inwardly. And she’d thought her and Ichigo’s lives were complicated. She could now understand why the other girl seemed to always be tired and absent from the school. Just the turmoil that had to be associated with going back to the Feudal Era and fighting demons was enough to convince everybody that she was a sickly child. There was no doubt in Rukia’s mind that what Kagome said was true. She’d heard about the Shikon no Tama from her brother. The Kuchikis were responsible for recording the history of the Soul Society and the jewel had been rumored to have appeared in their realm nearly three hundred years ago. The rumor had run so ramped that amendments had been made to the year’s record to make mention of the jewel.
She rubbed at the goose bumps on her arms as she thought about how the four of them where to continue on from here. Were they to go on about their days, ignoring when one of them was suspiciously absent or looking the other way when the other dashed from the room? How were they going to get through this and still be sane? And why had a team from the Soul Society come and not taken her back? And why had Hanabi been talking to Kagome? There was so many things she didn't know, and so many that were vital to her survival in the real world. Unconsciously her feet took her toward the one place that would most likely give her some answers.
Rukia silently opened the sliding door and called out gently, "Ururu? Jinta? Urahara-san? Is anybody home?" she pushed the door opened some more and slipped inside. The front of the store was dark, but a line of light shone from under the doors leading to the back of the shop. As quietly as possible, Rukia pulled the doors opened and peered inside. The light was blinding, but not enough to keep her from seeing the unruly, orange-haired boy sitting cross-legged at the low table, along with the reincarnated priestess and the dog demon hanyou.
"Nice for you to join us, Rukia-san." Kisuke Urahara greeted breezily. He waved to an open spot at the table. "Come, sit down. We're discussing your future."
Rukia frowned, confused, but did as she was told. Quickly Urahara's employees descended upon her, Jinta holding a tea cup, Ururu brandishing a plate of sugar cookies and Tessai pouring tea from a steaming hot carafe. “Thank you.” She said politely. The others around her quietly sipped their own tea, all waiting for someone to break the silence.
Kagome seemed to be the bravest because she calmly set down her cup and cleared her throat. “Rukia-san, the people who came to take you back, they took somebody else instead.”
Rukia was shocked. “What? How could they make that kind of mistake. My brother, and Hanabi…what happened?” She asked.
Kagome shrugged. “I don’t know. One moment they were questioning me about this monster-Hollow- I had destroyed with my arrow, and the next thing I knew the girl, Hanabi, got a call saying that they’d captured you.”
“But it wasn’t me.” Rukia said stupidly.
“Of course it wasn’t.” Ichigo bit out sarcastically, obviously still mad. But Rukia didn’t mind. He still wasn’t in her good graces either. She uncrossed legs from their Indian-style position, squarely hitting Ichigo’s calf with her foot. She smiled slightly when he bit off his groan of pain.
“Behave, Kurosaki-kun.” Urahara warned from behind his tea cup. Ichigo glared at Rukia for a second longer but turned his head to stare at the wall beside him. Rukia rolled her eyes be said nothing to this. If he wanted to be an idiot, so be it.
Kagome took up the conversation again. “We don’t know how they made their mistake, or how we’re going to figure out who they’ve taken. But we do know that we’re going to have to go to Soul Society to retrieve them. At least that’s what Urahara-san says.”
Rukia took a sip of her tea as she thought about this. They’d have to go rescue the innocent fugitive, but with her not having any of her powers back, she’d be staying behind.
“I already know what you’re thinking, Rukia-san.” Urahara said. He smiled worriedly and raised his voice an octave. “What!? I can’t go to the Soul Society! I don’t have any powers! You’ll have to leave me behind-”
“Get on with it, Urahara. You’re right. I don’t have powers, so I can’t got back.” Rukia growled.
The baffling man smiled brightly. “Ah, but I know how to get them back.”
Ichigo started, “What? Then why haven’t you said so before? Rukia could have been returned to her world.”
Urahara gave him a side glance. “Are you that eager for her to leave, Kurosaki-kun? I don’t think you are.” He watched as Ichigo flushed red. “And anyway, I didn’t know about Kagome-chan, or her little friend, Inuyasha.”
Rukia looked to Inuyasha and Kagome. “What do they have to do with any of this?” She asked.
“Well, Miss Kuchiki, Kagome-chan can restore your powers.” Urahara said with a secretive gleam in his shielded eyes.
Kagome and Rukia both were startled, “She-I can what?!” They exclaimed at once.
^_^
Hanabi quickly look behind her shoulder, hoping no one was following her. It was the first time since she and the others had returned from the human world that she’d had a chance to sneak away to see Rukia. She hadn’t even seen Kenpachi put Rukia in the Squad 11 holding cell. But she’d finally managed to steal sometime to see her friend, to get some answers. Taking a set of keys out of her shihakusho, she selected one and opened the door to the jail. In the farthest cell, shrouded in darkness was a body huddled in the corner.
“Rukia? It’s Hanabi. Are you okay?” Hanabi called out as she moved toward the cell. She came to halt in front of it, the keys slipping from her numb fingers. This was not Rukia. A sandy-brown head of hair rested on long forearms that were placed against it knees. Brown eyes stared into Hanabi.
“I’m not Rukia.” A masculine voice told her, confirming her worst fears. Kenny had listened to Yachiru again.
^_^
“I can do what?” Kagome stated again as she and the others were led down to the basement of the store. Beside her, Inuyasha had put an protective arm around her, weary of the entire situation. Ahead of them, Tessai was opening a trap door in the floor. Sunlight poured from the door, worrying Kagome even more. They were underground, why was there sunlight? What had Ichigo and Rukia gotten them into?
Urahara ignored her question as he gestured to the floor. “Ladies first.”
“There’s no way I’m letting Kagome go in there first.” Inuyasha snarled as he peered inside. It was a long, long drop to the bottom to what looked like a barren desert.
“Well, by all means, take her down there yourself, Inuyasha-kun.” Urahara said easily.
Inuyasha glanced at Kagome, and noticed the apprehension written across her face. “What wrong?”
Kagome swallowed thickly. “I’m scared of heights.” Inuyasha rolled his eyes. He swept the protesting girl into his arms and stared into the hole. “Don’t you dare.” She warned two seconds too late. The next thing she knew, she and Inuyasha were dropping down. “Innnuuuuyyyaaassshhhha!!!” she screamed, as air rushed around them and the ground began to steadily grew closer. It felt as if her heart was trying to escape through her throat, and there was nothing to do but close her eyes. Kagome tightened her hold around Inuyasha’s neck, subconsciously knowing that she was probably choking him to death. What seemed like hours later, but couldn’t have been more than a few seconds, she and Inuyasha landed on the dirt floor with a grunt. Kagome was out of his arms and a good distance away before she yelled, “SIT!”
Inuyasha slammed into the hard ground below him, his body carving out a impression in dirt. Dust bloomed in the air. “Damnit, Kagome! What the fuck did you do that for!” he cursed into the ground.
Kagome calmly brushed at a smudge on her sleeve. Inuyasha picked himself off of the floor and stomped over to Kagome. “What the fuck was that for?” He gritted out again slowly.
“You could have warned me before you took me on a 200 feet drop you idiot! You heard me say I was scared of heights! What would have happen if my heart had stopped beating before you landed?! That was one of the stupidest, most insensitive things you’ve ever done, Inuyasha! I can’t believe you!” Kagome shouted, belying her earlier, calm actions.
“Feh. It would have taken us longer to convince you to climb down the ladder than me dropping down with you? All I was trying to do was speed up this process.” Inuyasha retorted. He glanced toward the ceiling where the rest of their group was slowly descending into the room on the ladder. Noting that he still had time, Inuyasha grasped Kagome by the forearms, gaining her attention rapidly. “Why are we doing this?” he asked.
Kagome bit her lip. “We have to. Someone I know was taken to that Soul Society place. And if Urahara says that I can help in rescuing them, then I will.”
“But what about the jewel shards, and Naraku? We still have a duty in the past, Kagome.” Inuyasha reminded her.
“I know. I know we still have to defeat Naraku, I know Sango and Miroku will worry when we haven’t shown back up. And I know I have to do this. If I can really help Rukia gain her powers back, then I’ll do all I can. We can worry about Naraku another day.” Kagome stared into his eyes imploringly. “Please Inuyasha. Let me do this. If you don’t want to, you can always go back and wait with the others. Just let me do this.”
Inuyasha pulled her close into an embrace. “Keh, like I’d ever leave you alone with these creepy characters. Especially that Urahara. We’ll stay, Kagome. And I’ll protect you from what ever comes our way.” he vowed softly as he ran his hands soothingly through her hair.
“Thank you, Inuyasha.” She whispered softly into his shoulder.
“Hey you two, we don’t have time for this lovey dovey crap!” Ichigo called toward them as he dropped the last couple of feet to the ground.
Inuyasha growled low in his throat. “Plus I’d never miss my chance to beat that guy.” He said into Kagome’s hair.
“Well you’ll have plenty of them, seeing as he is part of my family now.” she reminded him.
Inuyasha growled again. “He’ll be a dead relative if he keeps pestering me.”
Kagome giggled as she pulled out of his arms. That was her Inuyasha. Before they’d arrived at the Urahara Shop they’d all been sent home for a change of clothes and the Tessaiga. The entire time, Inuyasha had been gaining curious glances (about his ears of course) from Ichigo until the hanyou had finally demand to know what his damage was. It had taken a sharp jab from Urahara’s cane to the boys’ ribs to get them to back down.
“Now that we’ve all gather in my quaint little training grounds, I’d like to split up in little groups later, but for now, we‘ll stick together. It takes seven days to completely erect the portal to Soul Society, so we’ll be cutting it really, really close. It‘ll take no time at all to extract Kuchiki-san's powers, but it‘ll take a couple days to train Ichigo.” Urahara informed them, “But hopefully with Inuyasha-kun and Kagome-chan, it won’t be too much of a problem.”
"What do you mean, Urahara-san?" Kagome asked as she elbowed the impatient boy next to her.
"With you two here, Kagome-chan, you can help with Ichigo and Rukia's training."
"I don't need any training." Ichigo hissed, "You said we were here to restore Rukia's powers, you said nothing about me having to train!"
"Scared of a little workout?" Inuyasha said with a snide grin.
"Of course not, but won't my training slow us down, we should focus on Rukia and finding out who was taken to Soul Society." Ichigo reasoned.
"If you'll let me finish," Urahara interrupted, "I'll explain why you have to train: First off Kurosaki-kun, your Shinigami powers right now are not your own. They are Kuchiki-san's. She can only reclaim her powers when either the human they are stored in dies-"
"What do you mean if I die?!"
"Or," Urahara went on as if he hadn't been interrupted, "If they are forcibly removed from the human."
"Forcibly? That sounds dangerous, Mr. Urahara." Kagome commented.
"I agree, Kagome. Urahara-san, it isn't worth the risk." Rukia said, "There's only a slim chance of me even being able to regain my powers when they've been 'forcibly' removed. They could always enter into anyone else here." she looked around six other people with her.
"You're right, there is a only remote chance. But that's where Kagome-chan comes in." Urahara smiled as he turned to the gray-eyed girl. "Kagome-chan, from what you've told me and the data I've collected on you says, you can sense spiritual powers, demonic aura and the presence of the jewel called, the Shikon no Tama, correct?" Kagome nodded and he continued on, "And you're also able to see Hollows and spirits. In that alone, your powers are slightly resemble those of a Quincy, like Uryuu Ishida. He is able to fire spirit particles away from a person, a good distance away. I'm confident that once we force Rukia-san's powers from Ichigo, you'll be able to sense them in the air around us. When that happens, I'm betting that you can concentrate your own spiritual powers and latch on to Rukia's. Then you can fire them toward her with one of your arrows." He finished, supremely confident.
"Wait a sec. Are you saying you want me to deliberately shoot Rukia with one of my arrows?" Kagome asked in disbelief, "As in, intentionally wound her?"
"Yes."
"No way." Kagome replied simply. "I've never drawn my weapon on anyone other than my enemies. I couldn't do that to Rukia. She's nearly family. I think."
"Kagome, It can't be that hard." Ichigo said.
"It's not like you'll actually hit anyway. Your aim sucks, remember?" Inuyasha smirked. Kagome stepped on his foot, hard. He growled at her warningly.
Rukia stared at the priestess, deep in thought. Urahara's plan seemed simple enough. It was closely similar to how she'd transfer her powers to Ichigo in the first place. She was all for the plan, but she didn't like how they were going to get her powers for Ichigo. She'd heard of some of the experiments the devious captain of Squad 12, Mayuri, had preformed on humans who'd gain Shinigami powers illegally. Most of them had resulted in fatality.
"There has to be another way to get my powers from Ichigo." She said suddenly.
Urahara shook his head, "No, there isn't, Rukia-san."
"He said we'd have to kill Ichigo or forcibly remove them." Kagome reminded her, "Wouldn't you rather have a wounded fiancé to a dead one, Rukia-san?"
Rukia toed the dirt with her foot. "I guess." she said slowly. She breathed deeply, the corners of her mouth tipping into a slight smile. "You can stop addressing me formally, seeing as you're about to shoot me with an arrow, Kagome."
Kagome chuckled, "Okay... Rukia." The two shared a look as they prepared themselves mentally for the hardship ahead.
"Urahara, you when you've taken Rukia's powers from me, I'll be a normal mortal again, right?" Ichigo asked. "How will I be able to go to Soul Society without powers of my own?"
Urahara grinned cheekily, "You've never been a normal mortal, Kurosaki-kun." he informed vaguely, "After Rukia's powers are gone, you, Inuyasha and I will start working on awakening your own Shinigami powers." Urahara faced away from the teens and clapped his hands. At once his employees stood before him. "Let's get started gang. Ururu, the spoon please. And Jinta open the flask. Tessai, bring me Ichigo." They moved swiftly, the older man grabbing the griping boy and hauling him in front of his boss.
Ichigo scowled as Urahara poured a tablespoon of the putrid looking liquid from the flask and offered it to him. "What do I have a cold now?" He sneered.
"Ah ah ah, I'd take this if I were you, Kurosaki. It'll make this process much, much easier for you. Less painful."
Ichigo looked at the sinister drink for a second more before taking it and swallowing it without hesitation. The mixture seared his throat and burned his insides achingly. In seconds the sensations were gone and Ichigo felt normal again. He looked down at himself and back at Urahara expectantly. "So that was it?" He asked.
"Nope, now on to phase two." Urahara told him. The man twirled the end tip of his cane upward and pushed it into Ichigo. Instantly the boy's soul and body separated, his tangible form hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
"Ichigo, are you alright?!" Kagome exclaimed as she kneeled to examine his lifeless body. Before her stood her stepbrother, as a spirit. A long link-chain connected his body to his soul form.
Rukia noticed this immediately. "Why isn't he a Shinigami?" She asked worriedly.
Ichigo was furious, "What did you do to me you, idiot!" he shouted. "What the hell was in that stuff?!"
“Calm down, Kurosaki! That potion suppressed Rukia’s powers into a dormant form so they’ll be easier and safer to remove.” Urahara circled the orange haired boy and grasped the length of chain. “Now here comes the fun part. Tessai, if you will.” Urahara pulled the chain away from Ichigo’s soul and body while Tessai pulled a axe from his belt loop and severed the chain in the middle. Hot, blinding, white light exploded into view as Rukia’s powers were ejected from Ichigo’s body.
“What are you doing!” Rukia yelled as she rushed forward. Inuyasha grabbed her around the middle to keep her from touching Ichigo. Enormous waves of scorching energy poured from where the chain connected to the hole in the chest of his spirit form. “Why did you cut his Soul Chain, he’ll be killed!” She screamed as she struggled in Inuyasha’s hold.
“Don’t worry, Kuchiki-sama.” the little girl, Ururu, said from beside Kagome, “He’ll be fine. Look, the spiritual pressure is already starting to die down!”
They observed as the lighted energy slowly flowed out of Ichigo, trickling down until nothing was left. Rukia shoved out of Inuyasha’s grasp and rushed to the boy. “Ichigo! Are you all right? Can you hear me?” She whispered urgently, shaking his shoulders gently.
“He’s unconscious, Kuchiki-dono.” Tessai informed her as he poked his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. “He needs to rest. That would take a lot out of any person.”
Rukia glared up at the giant man, her eyes watering. She grasped Ichigo’s hand tightly as she swallowed thickly, scanning his face for any sign that something had gone wrong.
Urahara cleared his voice loudly. “We have to move on quickly now. Rukia-san, Kagome-chan follow me please.” Rukia felt a hand settle on her shoulder.
Kagome smiled sympathetically at the girl. “Come on, Rukia. He did this for you. We might as well keep going. And anyway, Inuyasha will keep an eye on him for us, won’t you?” She looked over at him, pleading with him with her eyes.
Inuyasha folded his hands into the sleeves of his haroi and turned his head away. “Feh, I can do that…I guess.” He agreed sulkily. The next thing he knew Rukia had wrapped him into a tight hug.
“Thank you, Inuyasha-kun! Thank you!” Rukia exclaimed in a rare show of emotions.
He blushed slightly, “Yeah…well it’s no problem. I suppose I can deal with strawberry when he’s knocked out.” He pointedly removed her arms off of him. “Now you two need to hurry and see what that Urahara guy has planned next.” Rukia nodded and together set off with Kagome. Inuyasha suddenly called out, “And it’s just ‘Inuyasha’! None of that ‘kun’ crap at the end!” With his unnatural ears, he heard Kagome say that she’d been waiting for when he’d tell them to stop with that. Inuyasha mumbled under his breath as he sat down next to Ichigo and settled in to wait.