Don't Let Go
Time goes by
The flow of time changes the two of us
But the things that weve lost and things that we dream of, too
I'll take your hand and remember them
I'm always by your side
-Yume no Tsubasa (Wings of Dreams) From Tsubasa Chronicles
Ichigo paced back and forth. "Where is she? She said twenty minutes! Oh, don't tell me I lost another one!" He groaned at the prospect of losing BOTH Kuchiki girls. Toshirou would beat him to a quivering puddle of blood if anything happened to Mitsuki, and Ichigo would gladly help beat himself up if anything happened to Rukia.
He leaned up against the wall. "I'll give her five minutes before I start panicking."
Five minutes later:
"Okay, time to panic!" Ichigo said, quickly snapping out his phone. It was orange. And covered with strawberries.
...Don't ask.
"Come on... one of you pick up!" The phone clicked on, and Momo's soft voice came through. "Ichigo! Hey, we were just about to call the cops, Hitsugaya-kun and I were worried you..."
"Enough about that! Make that half-hour time limit an hour... I uh... how to say it..." Momo tilted her head to the side, although Ichigo couldn't see it. "What's wrong Ichigo? Did something happen?" Ichigo sweat dropped. When he told them this, there would be hell to pay. "Yeah... I kinda... sorta... lost Mitsuki..."
Everything was quiet for a second. Then...
"YOU WHAT?" Toshirou was... to say the least... very, very upset.
"Y-yeah, but I'm gonna fix it!" Ichigo stuttered slightly. He hung up.
He leaned back against the wall. Then he saw something sticking out of the wall. Ichigo turned, and gently knocked on the wall. Hollow. His mind was brought back to what Mitsuki told him about the house right before they entered.
"Be careful, okay? This house is just like the ones in those horror-films." Ichigo looked at her. "There aren't paintings with eyes that follow you everywhere you go, right?" Mitsuki laughed. "Of course not! But there are trap doors. Watch where you step!"
He sighed. Then he took a few steps away, deciding to keep on looking for the pool house.
Ten minutes later:
Ichigo stood in front of a blue and white door. This must be it. Ichigo thought, reaching for the doorknob. He poked his head inside, and looked around. The room was totally empty, the only forms of life being a mouse crawling about the room.
"Nothing." Ichigo said in frustration. Time was running out. Then Ichigo thought back to something else Mitsuki said:
"These tunnels lead to an underground shed-like place. It was apparently used as a bomb shelter in the 1940's during the war. The closest tunnel to the shelter leads from Rukia's room."
"Maybe..." Ichigo said to himself, running down the hall.
He came to a stop in front of a light purple door. A crescent moon was painted on the front, "Mitsuki's Room" painted in large, yellow characters.
"Okay, if that was Mitsuki's..." He walked a few more feet and came across a black door. "Byakuya." Ichigo said plainly, walking to the next door over. It was pink. "Hisana" was the name painted on in a beautiful shade of blue at the top of the door. Her other sister...Ichigo thought, and walked to the next door. It was a dark blue colour.
Ichigo walked in side this room, and looked around. It seemed like a normal ten-year old girl's room. The walls were a light blue, the hardwood floors had Chappy the Rabbit rugs, there was a daybed, covered with a royal blue comforter. Ichigo really didn't pay attention to the interior, though. Instead, a little gold locket on the ground caught his attention.
Rukia's locket.
Ichigo picked it up gently. On the back it was engraved R.K, for Rukia Kuchiki. Rukia had been in this room. Ichigo knew this because Rukia always wore this locket. She had it on from day one, and now it was here.
The locket had been a farewell gift from Hisana.
"Hey, Rukia, I just noticed. Why do you always wear that locket?" Rukia looked at Ichigo.
"This one?" She questioned, lifting the gold heart up. "It was a gift. A farewell gift." Ichigo tilted his head to the side. "From who?" Rukia smiled sadly, her violet orbs glazing over, and she sighed dreamily, as if remembering one of the few happy moments in her life. "My sister." She answered simply.
"Her name was Hisana."
Ichigo, after being still and looking at the locket for what seemed like hours, regained his senses and started searching the room for a door of some kind.
He looked under the bed. Nothing.
Closet. Nothing.
Next to the dresser. Nope.
Ichigo, after checking the room from top-to-bottom, sighed heavily and leaned against the bookcase.
Bad move.
The bookcase slid open entirely, revealing a tunnel. "Damn." Ichigo whistled. "I should'veread those Nancy Drew books Tatsuki got me for my birthday..."
Ichigo, cautiously, walked down the dark and dusty staircase.
Five minutes later:
Ichigo opened a door.
The door that led to Rukia.
Ichigo cautiously looked inside, and gasped at what he saw.
There was Rukia, blood pouring from the side of her head, coughing lightly. She was barely conscious, a large red gash on her lower arm. She was propped up against the wall in a way that couldn't be good for her wound. But as Ichigo looked harder... he noticed something.
It wasn't Rukia.
"...M-Mitsuki?" All Ichigo had to identify the girl was her pitch-black hair. He would have kept thinking the panting figure was Rukia if not for the silver highlight adorning one of her bangs. He couldn't even tell what she was wearing it was so bloody.
"K-Kurosaki?" The girl stuttered, looking up. Now he knew it was Mitsuki, her eyes were not Rukia's soft, amethyst colour. They were a steely blue-gray. "Heh, you actually used your head." She laughed bitterly, and smiled sadly at him. "Go down the hall," She whispered, motioning to the dark hallway to her right. "Rukia's there. I saw her. After seven years I saw her."
"Please, Ichigo. He'll kill her. I know it. He's done it before. How do you think Hikaru-san and my mother died?" Mitsuki asked the orange haired teen.
Ichigo stiffened. "Kaitou did all this? He... killed them? Killed even Hikaru?" Mitsuki smiled sadly, and nodded. "Yes. Now hurry, please." She said almost pleadingly.
"O-okay," Ichigo said, more to himself than to the injured Kuchiki. "Just let me call Momo and Toshi..." "No time!" She was near hysterics now. "You can call them later. But right now, getting to Rukia is our main priority." Ichigo nodded slightly. "Okay."
"Thanks, Momo."
"No problem," Came Momo's voice. "And don't worry, I won't tell Shirou why we're calling the police 45 minutes early. Just hurry up, Ichigo. We're running out of time."
"R-right." Ichigo half-stuttered. He was feeling pretty uneasy. If Mitsuki looked that bad, there was a chance, a very bigchance Rukia was worse, or even dead.
He wouldn't let that happen.
"See ya, Momo."
Ichigo snapped his phone shut, and started sprinting forward. In less than two minutes, he was at a tall, wooden door. He reached for the doorknob slowly, half-scared of what he would find behind this door.
His eyes widened, he stopped breathing, and the world seemed to stop.
Rukia was in even worse shape than Mitsuki, if it were possible. The youngest Kuchiki was covered in blood, wounds, old and new, were seeping with the red liquid.
"Rukia..." Ichigo breathed out, in complete and utter shock.
Rukia seemed to have heard him, for she lifted her head up and as soon as she saw his eyes, she smiled sadly. "I-Ichigo..."
He was at her side in an instant, cradling her small body in his arms. He was careful, so he wouldn't open any more wounds.
"So... y-you actually came? I w-was hoping you would... I was also hoping you wouldn't. Don't y-you understand how..." Ichigo smirked. "Dangerous this is? Yeah, I know this is beyond life-threatening. After all, I'm saving an injured girl from a phsyco murderer." At her astonished look, he explained. "I...I heard what happened to your mother. And Hisana and Byakuya. He did it didn't he?"
Rukia looked away. "Okaasan, Byakuya, even Tsukiko-san died protecting us. Okaasan locked me in a closet to hide me, Byakuya made Kaitou stop by taking my place. Tsukiko was protecting Mitsuki and Byakuya. Hisana-nee-san... she... she took her own life."
Ichigo looked at Rukia in sympathy. And he thought he had a rough childhood.
"Well I hope your ready to be annoyed. You're injured, so I'm in charge. Over the months I've grown sick of all your complaints, so as of now, all your opinions are rejected. Completely." Rukia looked at Ichigo with astonished eyes. "Wha? What did you say!" The two glared at each other for a moment before footsteps were heard.
"Aw, how sweet." The pair looked at Kaitou, who was smiling, obviously pleased. "Ru-chan," Rukia winced at the nickname, "I leave you for two minutes and a hero steps up?"
Ichigo glared at the man and stood up. "Ichigo," Rukia breathed, "What are you doing, you idiot?" Ichigo smiled slightly. "Didn't I already tell you? I'm saving you. I'm not listening to you, remember, so don't even try to tell me to stop and run away. 'Cause there's no way that's happening."
Rukia smiled slightly at Ichigo. It dissapered when she saw Kaitou pull out a knife. "Ichigo!" She cried out in alarm, warning him. The warning came a second to late, though, as she saw Ichigo's eyes widen. The knife was embedded deeply into his stomach.
"Ich.." But before she could even finish her sentence, the knife was out. Ichigo was trying to ignore the blood spilling from his arm and focus on the crazy in front of him, but he just couldn't stop staring at the deep red liquid. That's how he didn't notice Kaitou lunge forward and knock him out with the knife's hilt.
Ichigo was still consious, he just couldn't move. He could hear Rukia in the background, calling out his name. But he couldn't move, couldn't speak. Then, everything was quiet. Rukia had stopped screaming. His chacolate eyes shifted upwards, and Ichigo gasped.
Rukia's eyes were wide. More blood was on her.
Kaitou stabbed her.
Said man just stood there, watching stoically as his stepdaughter cried in agony. Then, she stopped all together. Her violet eyes turned hazy, then closed.
"Rukia!" Ichigo didn't know when he found his voice, all he knew what to do was scream out her name.
Kaitou loomed over him, ready to finish the orange-haired Kurosaki off. That was, until he heard shouting from upstairs.
The police.
Ichigo smiled faintly. Momo and Toshirou. He heard a scream of suprise and a shout of "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?"
Kaitou glared menacingly at the door, then at Ichigo. "I geuss this is good bye, brat." He said, and walked away.
Ichigo looked over at Rukia. "Rukia..." Her violet orbs were closed, and in that instant, Ichigo realized something.
He loved her.
Ichigo reached forward and grabbed her hand, gripping it tightly. "Hang on, Rukia. Please, hang on for a little while longer, for me. Hang on and never let go..."
That was the last thing Ichigo said before he blacked out.
"Orihime! Orihime!" Tatsuki shouted to the auburn-haired girl. Orihime was walking home from school, and was just about to cross the street when she heard Tatsuki.
"Oh! Hey, Tatsuki-chan. What's wrong?" Tatsuki panted as she ran up, ignoring Orihime's greeting. "I just got a text from Hinamori-chan! Ichigo and Rukia..."
Orihime suddenly turned serious. "What happened?"
"They're... they're in the hospital! R...Rukia got tricked... tricked in to meeting with Kaitou, and... Ichigo... he went... to save... and now-!" Tatsuki trailed off, biting her lip.
Orihime had a look of disbelief etched across her face.
"Let's go!"
A/N: Hi!
Pretty early update, and a pretty big chapter, huh?
2 new videos. My fanmade Fade to Black trailer, and a Yume no Tsubasa IchiRuki tribute. Check out my profile.
Anyway, I'll see you guys in about a week, (I'm heading to Europe with my class. A special feild trip for a French class I'm taking!) So yeah.
I want something to look forward to when I come back. So... review please? I gave you IchiRuki!
-Tsuki Meroko Uchiha
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