Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Cursed Existence ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 3 )

All I'm Asking For

Disclaimer: not mine unless Kubo agrees to marry me.

Summary: He swore to kill whomever would inherit that power, only to discover later that it was no one else than his own betrothed. AU. IchixRuk.

Special thanks to Ussa-chan and Shingua for helping me stimulate my brain to think of something to progress this plot. Hontony arigato.

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Darkness was where he chose to live, darkness was where he chose to imprison himself, and now he brought her with him. Everything was so still, so quite as usual. The only sounds heard where the ones of his footsteps echoing through the empty hallway of the second floor. In his hurry to put the plan to action he forgot about getting an empty room ready for his new guest. The mansion had plenty of rooms yes, but to dust and clean one of them was perhaps the hardest task ever. For the time being, and since this was purely his mistake, he chose to give up his room for her and chose to make the library his new bed room.

Hisagi was there waiting eagerly to see how things went with his friend and upon seeing a still girl laying in his arms, he knew that the first part of the plan was a success. He followed his friend silently into his room to ask about how things went. Ichigo laid the sleeping woman down on his gigantic bed then turned to face his questioning friend: " Where's Rangiku?"

Hisagi was still looking at the sleeping woman, wondering all the while on how this petite girl managed to endure the heavy burden until now:" she said she's not done with packing her stuff yet."

" Hey you know that we cannot deal with her unless Rangiku is here. Seeing a woman among us may calm her down cause I have a feeling that she would give us a hard time."

Hisagi couldn't help but blink at Ichigo's comment: " Why? She's so small."

Yeah right! So small, but over confident. All what happened between him and the petite girl rushed back to his memory. Ichigo couldn't help but smile at that: " you should've seen her yourself. I had no choice but to drug her. the woman had complete confidence that she would bring me down when those useless two couldn't."

" You can't be serious? Sounds like Rangiku to me."

" Do you have to compare every woman with Rangiku?"

" I still can't figure her out until now."

" Women are hard to figure out."

Hisagi snorted. Ichigo who had never gone through a serious relationship with a woman before was giving his opinion on the matter as If he had gone through enough experience :" Look who's talking. "

A low whimper cut their conversation. It was coming from the raven haired woman that was lying motionless on the bed. Both men looked at her, trying to figure out why she was having such a pained expression on her face. Ichigo did not like what he was seeing, and he knew perfectly well what would come next and why. The silly expression that he wore a minuet ago was no replaced with a very serious one. Hisagi had no idea why Ichigo had to switch back to being serious like that when he just was in a good mood a minuet ago. he knew that expression very well, and knew that whatever was crossing his mind now was gravely serious: " Ichigo… what's wrong?"

Ichigo replied still keeping his gaze pinned to Rukia: " She's having a vision."

Suddenly their petite captive started gripping the sheets beneath her o forcefully that her fists turned white. She hardly took proper breaths and they could tell from the way she was breathing that she was finding great difficulty in breathing. Beads of perspiration started forming on her forehead as her groans of pain got louder. Hisagi could not believe what he was actually seeing. He looked over at Ichigo to see if he was finding this as surprising as he was but what he saw in Ichigo was chilling.

He was afraid…or…Hisagi could not actually tell. Ichigo's grip on the coat was so forceful. And the look on his face was that of shock, but it wasn't purely shock. It was as if he were having a great difficulty in comprehending what he was seeing. Hisagi had to ask: " Hey…Is that normal?"

The moment Ichigo heard Hisagi's question, he jumped a little; as if he was jerked back to reality from deep thinking. What was he thinking about right now? Ichigo looked over at his friend, then back to the raven haired girl, muttering with great difficulty: " Is this your first time seeing the Eye when she's having a vision?"

Hisagi pushed a frozen Ichigo over to get a small towel, then came back and sat next to her, trying to wipe the sweat away from her forehead and cheeks: " She's in pain."

" If she's reacting to the vision like this, then it means that there's a human involved this time. She feels his pain, his fear, everything. She's literally struggling to survive his trial. Of course if we were successful taking out the hollows, that person won't have to endure that trial, but what difference does that make to her? will it make her comfortable if we were to take care of that threat? In the end, our struggle ends, but hers will never do."

She was now tossing her head left and right, screaming loudly as her grip intensified. Her hand which was laying near the bed's side reached out for it's wooden edge: " Can't we wake her up?"

" It's useless. She won't wake up no matter what. All what we could do is comfort her, but I doubt that comforting would help her now."

Hisagi was losing patience by now. Ichigo was still in that state, unable to act or do anything. he must've known all that from his mother's experience which would explain why he was unable to move or do anything other than explain how painful that must be. He looked over at him, and found Ichigo looking at the ground still clenching his hands at his sides. He was now worried about his friend and about this innocent soul they just brought to their hideout. Maybe getting him to cooperate would draw him back from thinking of his mother for the time being: " It must be hard for her to breath. Ichgio. Give me a hand here!"

Ichigo turned his back to his friend, unable to continue staring at the sight in front of him: " Just leave her be."

Their captive's screams turned to low whimpers as Hisagi tried to hold her hand in his, and it wasn't long before her breathing turned back to normal. When Hisagi tried to lay her hand back to his side, he spotted something that was too familiar to him. that golden ring with that weird design on it was not strange. He had seen it, but where: " Ichigo…Isn't that…?"

Ichigo still had his back to his friend as he muttered in a low tone: " What?"

" It's the same ring as yours."

Did he just hear Shuuhei right? Same ring? That ring was specifically designed by his family for that ceremony. His father was so excited that the his family had such a great opportunity of winning over what his father though was the cutest girl in town as a bride. That did not make sense. Hisagi must be mistaken.

He went back to check her small hand, holding her delicate fingers in his as he looked at the design on the ring.

It was definitely the same as his.

His eyes darted back to lay on the features of the sleeping woman, examining her facial features carefully. No wonder he found something familiar about her! she was Rukia. His Rukia, the little girl whom he became best friends with ever since that ceremony.

But why did it have to be her? Why his betrothed of all women? Did that mean that he was going to lose another dear person after his mom?

Unable to stand the direction that his thoughts were taking, he stormed out of the room leaving Hisagi in a state of complete bewilderment.

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Rangiku was eyeing the petite woman in bed suspiciously. She did not know what to make of her. the moment she came back to their hideout, she found both Shuuhei and Ichigo in a sate that she had never seen them in before. Well, she could describe Hisagi's state as complete shock, but Ichigo's state was not that easy to define. The only thing she managed to get out of the two was that this woman was their long awaited pry, the Eye, and that her name was Rukia. all of that was expected, but the thing that she did not see coming at all was that this woman was actually Ichigo's betrothed.

Were there people who still followed those out dated traditions?

She asked herself this question multiple times and she always wondered why Ichgio did not get rid of that ring long ago if he truly wanted to sever every tie to that cursed town.

The power was cut not too long ago thanks to the worn out wires and the old cable, leaving them no choice but to go back to the basic method of lighting the place, candles. She changed the raven haired girl clothes into one of her night shirts, hoping that it would help her get more comfortable than that tight annoying leather. That idiot Ichgio thought of bringing this girl here without thinking of clearing a space for her in this huge mansion or even ask her to help in bringing a change of clothes for his pry. After all, it was decided that her stay in this mansion would be a long one.

Rangiku brought the candle to the small antique table next to the bed, and was concentrating on preventing the air that was coming through the window from blowing the candle off. Low whimpers drew her attention from her task to the sleeping girl who was now struggling to flutter her eyes open.

The blond moved to sit on the bed next to the laying girl, smiling as she grew wide awake: " so you finally woke up huh?"

Rukia jerked up suddenly looking around her in complete alarm, unable to find a single familiar thing around. Then she recalled the last thing that happened.

She was kissed by a complete stranger!

Her eyes grew wide in fear as she asked in a small shaky voice: " Where am I?"

It was obvious that she was scared. Rangiku immediately held her hands to earn her attention then she spoke: " Don't worry. No one is gonna hurt you here."

The presence of a woman around her was comforting enough, but she couldn't completely shake the worry that gripped her mind over the stranger who defeated Renji and Kira and who had obviously brought her here.

There were lots of questions swarming in her brain, but she couldn't utter even a single one. The blond who was holding her hand stood up now, preparing to leave the room. She wanted to ask her to stay with her for a bit longer, but the blond spoke first: " keep this candle near you. They said that there was a problem with the cable or something. It should be fixed by tomorrow Rukia-chan."

" How… how do you know my name?"

" The one who brought you here told me."

Just as Rukia was about to inquire about that person, the door to the room was opened by a tall man, who had his eyes fixed on the blond as he asked before noticing that she was awake: " Rangiku! I wanted to ask…."

" Speak of the devil!"

Rukia did not actually know the guy. Well, she wouldn't know who was the one who brought her here even if she wanted for the simple fact that the guy was masked. Not that she would recognize him anyway in that dimly lit room. His gaze bore deep within her eyes as if he was looking into her very soul. Rangiku was now looking at him, then at Rukia, then back to him again. Is that what they would call lovers' reunion? No wait. They weren't actually lovers, they were involved in some sort of arranged marriage or something. Well to hell with the label. There was something between the two which needed to be solved and cleared. She walked over to the door as she muttered to them behind her back:" I'll leave you two to solve your issue."

Rukia wanted to scream for the blond to get back and not leave her with this man. What kind of issue was she talking about? She tried to edge away from the side which was close to the room's door, but the bastard kept on advancing slowly. Without realizing, she jumped out of her bed, and retreated to a corner as she threatened him: " stay away!"

However, little did she know that she was already in a very weak state. Her sight became blurry, her head began spinning. The whole image in front of her was getting darker, and darker. Her knees no longer supported her, or rather, she already lost feeling of them. her breaths were now short, unable to fill her lungs with the appropriate amount of air, or so it felt. She was sure more than ever that she would hit the ground soon.

Ichigo did not know what to say to her as he stood near the doorway now that he had found out her true identity. It wasn't that he thought he would never see Rukia gain. On the contrary, the only reason why he held on to that ring was to save his childhood friend from the suffocating grip of that town. What he didn't expect however was to meet her as the main figure important enough to throw the whole town into chaos, the figure that he sought to capture for so long not caring whether she died or not, as long as his objectives were fulfilled. But now it is different. Chaos was definitely engulfing the town by now, and it would swallow his own world soon.

Why did it have to be her of all people? Why was his once too perfect plan sounding too inhumane now?

He took a few steps forward, hoping that he would get answers for his questions from her, but she quickly leapt to the other end of the bed, ordering him to keep his distance.

She must've forgotten that she was in no state to leave the bed immediately for she was now swaying. He ran up to her and caught her before she hit the ground: " Idiot. Did you forget that whenever you receive a vision, nearly all your energy would be drained from your body? You should know that better than anyone else."

She said nothing in reply for she was struggling to catch her breath. He held her petite form trying to get her to respond to him but she was shaking now. he scooped her up in his arms and laid her shivering form back to the bed. The covers he adjusted around her were not helping her that much. He sat down next to her, brushing those soft locks that fell down on her face, but he could see now that even her lips were trembling as she muttered weakly: " It's cold."

Ichgio held her hands which were ice cold now, gathering them in his hands and bringing them up to his lips. He blew hot air in them, hoping that he would make them warm faster that way.

Her shaking subsided after a few minuets, but he had to make sure that she was okay. He placed one of his arms around her back, and brought her over to rest on his chest as he adjusted the pillows behind her so that they would support her back, then he pushed her back against them gently, asking as he did this:" How do you feel now?"

Rukia was feeling much better now that she went back to bed, the problem was however, his touch against her clothes felt as if he was touching her bare skin. When she looked down at what she was wearing, she found herself in a night shirt that was too large , too thin and showing too much skin for her own liking. The first thing she did upon this realization was yelp in surprise as she gathered the sheets in her tiny grip to cover her chest, eyeing him suspiciously throughout the whole time.

Ichigo couldn't help but raise a questioning eyebrow at her behavior. Then it downed on him: " will you stop looking at me as if I tried to rape you?"

Her answer to that was of course holding the sheets tighter to her chest. It was infuriating him beyond words. He knew that he was the one to blame because he was the one who kissed her, but back then, he wasn't acting himself. It was something that came through the excitement that the battle brought. Bottom line, he hated to have a woman look at him like that. However, the way he chose to retaliate was bad. Too bad. But then again, no one would ever know how bad their remarks were until a certain reaction occurs. The only way he could infuriate her was to lie: " What's there to hide anyways? I already saw everything."

And here she was trying to cover herself! she should've know that if he kissed her, then he wouldn't hold back in doing other things. She was seeing red by now. Her hands released the sheets from their grip and attacked the perverted maniac in front of her, pounding over and over on his chest, screaming as she did this: " Pervert! You sick perverted…you…"

He caught her fists in his hands with ease as he replied: " Well it was bound to happen sooner or later Rukia."

Rukia was still trying to release her hands from his grip as she asked angrily: " How do you know my name? and what the hell do you mean by it was bound to happen? Why the hell am I here? And who the hell are you?"

He said nothing to her, but held her hand and brought his ring that was dangling from the chain around his neck next to it, letting her see the proof of his identity for herself.

Rukia's eyes grew wide in surprise. It can't be! They told her he was dead. They told her to give up waiting for him and start living her own life instead. They told her that they looked everywhere for him, but found no trace of him. she couldn't help choking on the sob that was threatening to emerge. He was alive!

She tore her eyes from the dangling object in front of her and looked at him. He was smiling sweetly at her: " Ichigo? Kuro…Kurosaki Ichigo?"

" Yes."

Her hand which was held in his reached out to touch his cheek: " Where have you been?"

He pressed the palm of her hand harder against his cheek, enjoying its softness against his rough skin as he closed his eyes: " That's not important. The most important thing is that you're here now."

He opened his eyes back again and looked at her. Her eyes were red, and although it wasn't clear whether it was out of tiredness or burning tears, he wanted to think that it was the latter.

Rukia grew conscious of what she was doing, and immediately drew her hand from beneath his palm back to her side, unable to look him in the eyes as she spoke: " I don't understand."

How typical of a woman who was locked up most of her time to behave like that! Well to hell with it. Why did he care how she reacted to his touch anyways? she was here not as his betrothed, but as the Eye.

Thinking about her current position reminded him of her vision: " When is the incident you saw gonna take place?"

" Two days from now." And she still wouldn't look at him.

For some reason, having her behave like that around him was getting on his nerve. His hand reached for her chin to force her to look at him: " sure?"

" Yeah I'm sure."

" Fine. I'll take care of it then."

Did she just hear him correctly? Slaying those creatures was not his job. For god sake only those born with a high spiritual power can take care of them: " No you can't. These are hollows we're talking about. You can't just fight them on your own."

" oh believe me, I can. If I defeated those useless bums that were with you, then this should be a piece of a cake to me."

Talking about what occurred between him, her, Renji and Kira brought some possibility that she haven't thought of to her mind. After all, he was right. How could a normal human defeat those two without putting the slightest effort into the battle?: " Ichigo…are you?"

" one of those born with a special ability? Yes I am."

It was all clear now. They've been looking for the third one for so long, but they never thought that the person who left them ten years ago could actually be the person they were looking for: " We've been looking for you for so long. Why haven't you come back to town?"

" Because I decided to work alone from now on. And you're here to help me with that."

" You know too well that Renji and Kira need to feed on those creatures we slay. Add to that the fact that I need to go back to town every now and then to check whether I need to give up my power or not."

Ichigo cleared his throat preparing to tell Rukia about what he had been planning through out those ten long years. She would object. He was sure of it, but her opinion on the matter did not matter one bit. The resolve he built for those long ten years cannot be broken that easily: " I hate to break it to you Rukia, but tonight was the last time you'd see those two or that town. You are gonna stay by my side until you…until you…"

(until you die), Was what he wanted to say ,but how could he bring himself to say that to her face to face. He was already boiling with anger at finding that he would watch Rukia die, slowly, knowing that he could do nothing to change that fact. Even if he relented and chose to give her back to the elders to drain that power from her and give it to someone else, there wasn't a single successful transferring ritual without the original bearer dying. In the end, he had to choose between letting her die in his arms with his plan fulfilled, or letting her die out and away from his sight with his plan unaccomplished.

Either way, he would lose her, but at least there was something to gain from the first choice.

Rukia was staring in complete disbelief at what Ichigo was telling her. she still could not work the whole details into her brain thanks to the shock, but what Ichigo just told her was enough: " Ichigo! I can't believe what I'm hearing! You can't possibly be serious about that! We are supposed to put up with this curse until…"

He was already furious from thinking of those possibilities. They were driving him insane. His plan should not be that complicated. It shouldn't, but why did it seem so difficult to carry out now? without realizing, he vented all the anger and the frustration he felt on her: " until what? Until it kills every last one of us? It's useless Rukia. our struggle is useless. This curse will never be lifted. Never. It's time we accept this fact and just put an end to this torture. If the elders can't understand that, then I'll force them to."

Somehow, her brain came up with the cause for his thinking in that way. She tried to talk some sense into him, and couldn't help the high tone:" Is this because of your mom? Idiot! You should agree with what the elders decided more than anyone else. You should work for it more than anyone else. Is this how much you loved your mother? You're just gonna blow the effort she dedicated for the sake of lifting the curse that easily?"

" My mom was never given the choice to agree Rukia. She was forced."

" She wasn't."

He was getting angrier with each second. How could she say that? She of all people should understand his position on the matter. Was he hoping for too much? Or was her adoption into the Kuchiki clan affecting her senses? That damn family! It was the only family whose members were given the choice whether to accept the duties or not, but here she was in front of him, a female Kuchiki who accepted to carry out the duty: " You are a Kuchiki for crying out loud. You should know that more than anyone else. They confront you with the task, and they make it clear to you that they would never take no for an answer. If by chance my mom refused to comply with their wishes, she would've suffered their ill treatment."

" That's… That's because…"

" My mom did not belong to a Kuchiki like yourself Rukia. only your noble family had the choice to either accept or decline. And that's what I don't understand. Why did you accept?"

True. Why did she accept? She wanted to convince herself over and over that she was working for the good of the town, but she had other reasons. Ones that even Ichigo would not understand: " I'm working just like everybody else on lifting the curse."

Unable to put up with her words any longer, Ichigo stood up and walked towards the door, determined to leave her presence before he said or did something stupid to her. He got the door open, talking to her behind his back: " Keep thinking those thoughts Rukia. you have the freedom to do so cause there's no way you're going back to that town ever again. The moment you made the decision to accept those duties was the moment you signed your death certificate. Sleep tight. The last thing I want is to have you deprived of that."

Rukia was in complete disbelief as she watched him leave the room, slamming the door so forcefully behind him. she gripped the sheets angrily to her bosom. Was this the same nice child who filled her sad life as a child with delight? She wondered.

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A/N:

Leave me reviews people. tell me what you think so far. I seem to have this strong tendency for revenge plots. I love them.

Hope you like them too.

I love you all.

Ja ne