With a Silent Step
folder
Bleach › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
15
Views:
3,133
Reviews:
27
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Bleach › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
15
Views:
3,133
Reviews:
27
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
Bleach, and all things affiliated or associated with it, do not belong to me. I make no money from writing this fanfiction.
Blur
Ichigo was screaming. It felt like people were jabbing pins into her, all over her body, while simultaneously pulling her insides out and her arms and legs off. Everything hurt in unimaginable ways.
She curled around herself, trying to ward off the agony that came from within, radiating outwards from the center of her chest.
Placing her hand against it, she was shocked to feel empty space; her hand had gone straight through into her body.
Looking down, she realized the hollow's hole had opened up again, directly over her heart. This time, instead of being preceded by her chain of fate's erosion, it seemed to be... filling up.
As she watched in agonizing horror, the hole began to close, sealing itself up as though it had never been there. When it had fully sealed again, a chain began growing out of it, an exact mirror of the events that had taken place down in that hole under Urahara's shop. It hurt worse than anything she'd ever experienced so far.
-
Ishida was locked in the bathroom; he'd been in there for an hour and a half, but he couldn't spend one second more in that room with Ichigo's body, and the sympathetic looks from Shinji, Urahara, or Yoruichi.
Slumping against the door, he slid to the ground, shoulders shaking. How can Kurosaki be gone? She's still a shinigami, so how can she die?
Unless they'd executed her up there. Unless they'd strapped her to that enormous axe he'd seen so many years before, and released it into her delicate body, blood spraying into the air, the last sound into the silence a terrified scream...
He cut those thoughts off ferociously, wishing he could do the same for the tears that simply wouldn't stop. One hand over his mouth, he stared at the cabinets, recalling the first time he'd seen Ichigo's reiatsu with that red strip floating in it. The first time he'd seen him, swinging that giant sword around like nobody's business.
How could the indestructable Ichigo be dead?
"Ishida! Get in here!" Urahara's voice sounded strained, and Ishida found himself reacting to it in spite of himself. Washing his face briefly with cold water, he tried to look like he hadn't been crying. When he returned to Ichigo's room, however, no one was looking at his face. They were all staring with a mixture of shock and horror at Ichigo's body.
A chain of fate had appeared there, the links appearing whole, one at a time.
"This can't be good," Urahara muttered to himself, looking more shaken than Ishida had ever seen him before. "This shouldn't happen. Ichigo's soul is still in Soul Society, why is this reappearing?"
A fierce pounding on the door started them all. "URAHARA!" It was Hitsugaya. Ishida turned, ready for murder. "Urahara, please! You have to help me!"
Yoruichi placed a restraining hand on his shoulder, shaking her head. Ishida snarled.
"He's the reason she's like this," he growled, his voice menacingly low.
"No he's not. He was just following orders." Ishida liked Yoruichi a hell of a lot less in that moment, but allowed himself to stay by Ichigo's side while Urahara dealt with Hitsugaya.
"The bracelet's off, but there's news," Urahara shouted, on his way by the room. "Go talk to him." He locked himself inside his bedroom slash laboratory, and Yoruichi and Ishida exchanged a look, deciding who would go and speak to the captain. Hitsugaya took the decision out of their hands by appearing in the room, looking decades older and haggard.
"Ichigo was imprisoned, but I was going to talk to the soutaichou to get her out," he explained. Ishida's opinion was revamped again at the look of him. There were lines in his face that had never been there before, and he looked like a man who had seen Hell. His willingness to rethink his orders, as well, raised him in the Quincy's estimation, but it didn't completely alleviate the state Ichigo was in. "Kurotsuchi killed him. The soutaichou is dead."
This rocked the two to their cores. Ishida glanced down at Ichigo, and brushed a stray lock of hair off her forehead tenderly. "What's happening in Soul Society?" Yoruichi asked, drawing Ishida's attention again.
"Total chaos. That bracelet was absorbing all of the reiatsu. All of the reiatsu, from the air, the buildings, and the people. There's panic in the streets. When I left, word hadn't even gotten out about Yamamoto. I hope it stopped when that thing left Seireitei, but I can't be sure."
"Ichigo?" Ishida finally spoke up. "How's she doing over there?"
"Weak, but well," Hitsugaya replied, totally honest. Ishida stepped away from Ichigo's body, revealing the still-growing chain. Hitsugaya's already white face turned abruptly grey. "When did this happen?"
"Nearly two hours ago," answered Yoruichi, glancing nervously at the unconscious girl. "She..."
"Didn't die," Ishida said fiercely. "She didn't. She just stopped breathing."
"If she's like this here..." Hitsugaya muttered, and then turned on his heel and vanished with shunpo.
"Damn!" Ishida cursed his inability to enter Soul Society without the use of the gate. If only he could get to Ichigo! If only there was something he could do beside stand here uselessly!
A moment later, Hitsugaya returned, carrying a limp Ichigo. There was a chain hanging from her chest, and as soon as they entered the room, the two ends met and fused, linking Ichigo's soul with her body again. "I met Renji out there. He's holding an emergency meeting. They're going to elect a temporary soutaichou out of the captains, and start hunting for Kurotsuchi."
The small captain carried Ichigo's soul to her body, and let the two settle into one another. Her eyes fluttered open.
"Ishida," she murmured. "Are you dead too?"
"I'm not dead, and neither are you!" he said fiercely, too happy to be ashamed of the tears spilling out of his eyes again. She was reaching up at the same moment he threw himself onto the bed, and they met in an embrace, throwing their arms around each other.
"It hurt so much. I thought I was dying," she explained into his shoulder. Ishida felt a wetness seeping through his shirt, and realized Ichigo was crying as well. It struck into his heart to see her so weak, but knowing she was alive and well made the world suddenly seem like a better place.
"She's okay," Hitsugaya breathed, audibly relieved. Ishida couldn't bear to pull away from Ichigo long enough to look at him.
"Thank you for your help," Yoruichi said. Ichigo looked up suddenly.
"Who are you talking to?" she asked, clinging to Ishida like he was her lifeline. A deafening silence descended as they all realized the implications of her statement.
Hitsugaya got into her face and waved his hand at her. "Can't you see me? I can't sense her reiatsu," he said curiously. Ichigo continued to look through him at Yoruichi.
Brown eyes narrowed. "Who's here?" she asked sharply. Ishida's grip tightened.
"Hitsugaya-taichou," he whispered into her ear. She looked around, confused.
"I can't see anyone but you and Yoru... ichi..." SHIROSAKI!? Zangetsu!?
The silence of her mind echoed back at her. "...Gone..."
Ichigo looked down at her body. She was stuck this way, and the two beings she'd relied on as her friends and partners for five years were now eternally silenced. Burying her face in Ishida's shoulder, she screamed.
-[TBC]-
WE INTERRUPT THIS ANGSTY AND SUDDENLY HORRIBLE FANFIC TO BRING YOU THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD.
The Bleach Rock Musical
Urahara: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhxFc74iRQc
Byakuya: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfKvs3jncPM
Renji: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE7TkbEJz6s
Renji and Rukia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z5DSYOVQ6c
Gin vs Ichigo, Gin vs Hitsugaya:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbxQoyf0nPM
AND
Love Bleach! The Zanpakutou of Love!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG80F2TzusY
My favourites were at 2:29 and 2:33.
WE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED ANGST.
She curled around herself, trying to ward off the agony that came from within, radiating outwards from the center of her chest.
Placing her hand against it, she was shocked to feel empty space; her hand had gone straight through into her body.
Looking down, she realized the hollow's hole had opened up again, directly over her heart. This time, instead of being preceded by her chain of fate's erosion, it seemed to be... filling up.
As she watched in agonizing horror, the hole began to close, sealing itself up as though it had never been there. When it had fully sealed again, a chain began growing out of it, an exact mirror of the events that had taken place down in that hole under Urahara's shop. It hurt worse than anything she'd ever experienced so far.
-
Ishida was locked in the bathroom; he'd been in there for an hour and a half, but he couldn't spend one second more in that room with Ichigo's body, and the sympathetic looks from Shinji, Urahara, or Yoruichi.
Slumping against the door, he slid to the ground, shoulders shaking. How can Kurosaki be gone? She's still a shinigami, so how can she die?
Unless they'd executed her up there. Unless they'd strapped her to that enormous axe he'd seen so many years before, and released it into her delicate body, blood spraying into the air, the last sound into the silence a terrified scream...
He cut those thoughts off ferociously, wishing he could do the same for the tears that simply wouldn't stop. One hand over his mouth, he stared at the cabinets, recalling the first time he'd seen Ichigo's reiatsu with that red strip floating in it. The first time he'd seen him, swinging that giant sword around like nobody's business.
How could the indestructable Ichigo be dead?
"Ishida! Get in here!" Urahara's voice sounded strained, and Ishida found himself reacting to it in spite of himself. Washing his face briefly with cold water, he tried to look like he hadn't been crying. When he returned to Ichigo's room, however, no one was looking at his face. They were all staring with a mixture of shock and horror at Ichigo's body.
A chain of fate had appeared there, the links appearing whole, one at a time.
"This can't be good," Urahara muttered to himself, looking more shaken than Ishida had ever seen him before. "This shouldn't happen. Ichigo's soul is still in Soul Society, why is this reappearing?"
A fierce pounding on the door started them all. "URAHARA!" It was Hitsugaya. Ishida turned, ready for murder. "Urahara, please! You have to help me!"
Yoruichi placed a restraining hand on his shoulder, shaking her head. Ishida snarled.
"He's the reason she's like this," he growled, his voice menacingly low.
"No he's not. He was just following orders." Ishida liked Yoruichi a hell of a lot less in that moment, but allowed himself to stay by Ichigo's side while Urahara dealt with Hitsugaya.
"The bracelet's off, but there's news," Urahara shouted, on his way by the room. "Go talk to him." He locked himself inside his bedroom slash laboratory, and Yoruichi and Ishida exchanged a look, deciding who would go and speak to the captain. Hitsugaya took the decision out of their hands by appearing in the room, looking decades older and haggard.
"Ichigo was imprisoned, but I was going to talk to the soutaichou to get her out," he explained. Ishida's opinion was revamped again at the look of him. There were lines in his face that had never been there before, and he looked like a man who had seen Hell. His willingness to rethink his orders, as well, raised him in the Quincy's estimation, but it didn't completely alleviate the state Ichigo was in. "Kurotsuchi killed him. The soutaichou is dead."
This rocked the two to their cores. Ishida glanced down at Ichigo, and brushed a stray lock of hair off her forehead tenderly. "What's happening in Soul Society?" Yoruichi asked, drawing Ishida's attention again.
"Total chaos. That bracelet was absorbing all of the reiatsu. All of the reiatsu, from the air, the buildings, and the people. There's panic in the streets. When I left, word hadn't even gotten out about Yamamoto. I hope it stopped when that thing left Seireitei, but I can't be sure."
"Ichigo?" Ishida finally spoke up. "How's she doing over there?"
"Weak, but well," Hitsugaya replied, totally honest. Ishida stepped away from Ichigo's body, revealing the still-growing chain. Hitsugaya's already white face turned abruptly grey. "When did this happen?"
"Nearly two hours ago," answered Yoruichi, glancing nervously at the unconscious girl. "She..."
"Didn't die," Ishida said fiercely. "She didn't. She just stopped breathing."
"If she's like this here..." Hitsugaya muttered, and then turned on his heel and vanished with shunpo.
"Damn!" Ishida cursed his inability to enter Soul Society without the use of the gate. If only he could get to Ichigo! If only there was something he could do beside stand here uselessly!
A moment later, Hitsugaya returned, carrying a limp Ichigo. There was a chain hanging from her chest, and as soon as they entered the room, the two ends met and fused, linking Ichigo's soul with her body again. "I met Renji out there. He's holding an emergency meeting. They're going to elect a temporary soutaichou out of the captains, and start hunting for Kurotsuchi."
The small captain carried Ichigo's soul to her body, and let the two settle into one another. Her eyes fluttered open.
"Ishida," she murmured. "Are you dead too?"
"I'm not dead, and neither are you!" he said fiercely, too happy to be ashamed of the tears spilling out of his eyes again. She was reaching up at the same moment he threw himself onto the bed, and they met in an embrace, throwing their arms around each other.
"It hurt so much. I thought I was dying," she explained into his shoulder. Ishida felt a wetness seeping through his shirt, and realized Ichigo was crying as well. It struck into his heart to see her so weak, but knowing she was alive and well made the world suddenly seem like a better place.
"She's okay," Hitsugaya breathed, audibly relieved. Ishida couldn't bear to pull away from Ichigo long enough to look at him.
"Thank you for your help," Yoruichi said. Ichigo looked up suddenly.
"Who are you talking to?" she asked, clinging to Ishida like he was her lifeline. A deafening silence descended as they all realized the implications of her statement.
Hitsugaya got into her face and waved his hand at her. "Can't you see me? I can't sense her reiatsu," he said curiously. Ichigo continued to look through him at Yoruichi.
Brown eyes narrowed. "Who's here?" she asked sharply. Ishida's grip tightened.
"Hitsugaya-taichou," he whispered into her ear. She looked around, confused.
"I can't see anyone but you and Yoru... ichi..." SHIROSAKI!? Zangetsu!?
The silence of her mind echoed back at her. "...Gone..."
Ichigo looked down at her body. She was stuck this way, and the two beings she'd relied on as her friends and partners for five years were now eternally silenced. Burying her face in Ishida's shoulder, she screamed.
-[TBC]-
WE INTERRUPT THIS ANGSTY AND SUDDENLY HORRIBLE FANFIC TO BRING YOU THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD.
The Bleach Rock Musical
Urahara: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhxFc74iRQc
Byakuya: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfKvs3jncPM
Renji: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE7TkbEJz6s
Renji and Rukia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z5DSYOVQ6c
Gin vs Ichigo, Gin vs Hitsugaya:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbxQoyf0nPM
AND
Love Bleach! The Zanpakutou of Love!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG80F2TzusY
My favourites were at 2:29 and 2:33.
WE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED ANGST.