Contest Entry - Fanfiction - "Three Quarters of a Dark Moon" by raynos

[raynos]

Title: Three Quarters of a Dark Moon
Author: Raynos Kai
Category: Fanfiction
Theme: Secrets
Warnings: Spoilers up to chapt 248
Summary: Sometimes it's good not to make assumptions.

Many MANY thanks to hallowd, himawari1, jaina and tenebris for whipping this into shape, especially Ten who wrote lines for me. ♥


The walls of Las Noches gleamed in the lamplight.

A moment later, a loud explosion displaced the silence, and a wall of a passageway cracked apart. Three figures emerged coughing from the dust, one of them apologising profusely.

"I'm so sorry I didn't know the wall would come down like that! Usually Tsubaki makes a really clean strike like those knife demonstrations you see on TV, only without a blade and with a fairy, but I guess the demonstrations don't work so well on these walls, they must be really crumbly!" She broke off, coughing a little. "Sado-kun? Kuchiki-san?"

"We're fine, Inoue," Chad called back, picking his way over the rubble. Rukia did a little hop-skip from one rock to another before landing next to Orihime.

"I guess the others will know we are back now." She glanced back at the other entrances, searching for any movement. "We should keep a watch for them."

"There might be others," Chad reminded them, and they all turned to the corridor they had just left. There was no movement at all.

"I thought the Arrancar would have come after us by now," Orihime admitted, tugging nervously at the high-collared robes she wore. "They knew you were going to rescue me. I just don't understand why they didn't do anything."

"Let's not think about that now," Rukia told Orihime gently. "We'll just wait here."

But in the silence that followed, it seemed to be all that they could think about. The air of Hueco Mundo seemed to swallow all sound, and in their worry no one felt like speaking. Rukia watched the entrances, waiting for some movement, any movement.

And then...

There was a sudden flurry, but when Rukia turned the others had already come up beside them. Renji appeared next to her, mouth set in a grim line.

"We gotta go. Now!"

Rukia searched the faces of those who'd joined them. "Where's -"

Her words died away as unfamiliar footfalls came from the pathway that Ishida and Renji had just exited.

"Orihime," Aizen said sternly, as if rebuking a child. "What are you doing?"

Orihime's head was lowered, and Rukia could see she was biting her lip ever so slightly. "I was only sending them off, Aizen-sama. They did come for me."

"What are you talking about, Inoue-san? You're coming back with us!"

Aizen turned to Ishida with an indulgent smile. "I suppose Orihime must have neglected to inform you that she belongs to us now."

"That's a lie!" said Rukia, a hand on her sword hilt.

"Come here, Orihime."

They all stiffened as Aizen moved, but all he did was extend a hand to Orihime. Slowly, inexorably, she moved.

Automatically Rukia grabbed her shoulder, but Orihime gently pried her hand off to stand before Aizen.

"Good girl." His gaze swept over the assembled group before returning to Orihime. "I understand why you wanted to see your friends off. But my dear, that wasn't necessary. I would have done so myself."

At those words Orihime looked up, horrified, but Aizen's hands were already glowing. He stepped past her.

"I'm sorry you had to trouble yourselves, but as you can see, your presence was not needed." His smile widened. "Goodbye."

"Santen Kesshun, I reject!" cried Orihime. As the shield collided with the light, the world hung in stasis for a moment. Then, it fell apart entirely.

Rukia had the brief sensation of falling before she hit a surface, hard. She pushed herself up, palms scraping against asphalt as she scanned the surroundings.

"Orihime… protected us," said Rukia, recognising the place as Karakura. The hole that Aizen's power had blasted in the sky hung above, the acrid air of Hueco Mundo seeping from it. "She should have left with us."

The others were silent. Rukia got up shakily, eyes still fixed on the sky. "Ichigo is still there, perhaps-"

Ishida laughed, short and sharp. "We can't expect anything from Kurosaki."

The tone of his voice chilled her. "Where's Ichigo?"

"He was too busy playing the hero," he said bitterly, dusting off his clothes. The white material was streaked black in places. “He insisted on fighting Aizen even though the wise course of action was to leave.”

"And you just left him there?" Rukia heard her voice rising, but she didn’t care. "Why didn't you drag him away?!"

"It wasn't that simple, Rukia," Renji said tiredly. The resignation in his tone checked her, and she turned to him in confusion. He met her gaze, his mouth a thin line. "He became a Hollow."

With the barrier between Hueco Mundo and the human world partially broken by Aizen’s light, more shinigami patrolled Karakura to deal with the influx of Hollows. Rukia and Renji joined them while awaiting their punishment from Soul Society for going against orders. Among the shinigami there were frequent reports of a humanoid Hollow in a black and red coat, but no one ever got close enough; Ichigo in bankai was too fast. Rukia tried her best to ignore those reports, to not think of what might have been.

What made matters worse was that she had - entirely by accident - met the boy who had saved both her and Ichigo from Grimmjow. He'd tipped his hat at her with a grin. "Yo, pretty lady."

She considered him and the lamppost he was perched on. "What are you doing here?"

He waved a dismissive hand and explained, "Visiting. I haven't seen you around." With a fancy twist he swung himself down to land birdlike on the pavement. "Any stories for me?"

"None," she said as he straightened.

"Ah, but I have a story for you! You see, Ichigo's a good buddy of ours too. He - "

"- spent time training with you. I know." Rukia crossed her arms and glared. "What do you want?"

"It's sad when dear friends go missing, isn't it?" He let out the most put-upon sigh. "Not knowing how they are, or what they're doing."

That was not strictly true. Even though Ichigo was a Hollow, he still left tracks that she could follow. But each time she hesitated, not knowing what she would find. "Perhaps they do not wish to be found."

"Really? Well, maybe that's true for normal people. Now if I had a Hollow eating me from the inside, I wouldn't be running around like that."

Rukia stiffened, nails digging into her arm. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you know?” His tone was jolly and jarring to the sudden wariness that prickled up her spine. “The Hollow isn't just content with taking over. It'll eat him up bit by bit... unless he learns how to control it."

“He will fight his Hollow and vanquish it,” she said, not entertaining any alternatives. “He just needs to remember that he is strong.”

The boy shook his head. “Control, not destroy. He needs to learn how to work with it.” He smiled wickedly, showing a mouth too full of teeth. “And occasionally, become it.”

The mere thought of Ichigo willingly putting on a Hollow mask chilled her. “Why should he want to do that?”

“Because the Hollow’s a part of him now, Rukia. He can never be rid of it, not with the power it gives him. And why should he deny what is him, in a way?”

He was wrong. He had to be wrong. "How would you know all these things? Who are you?" she demanded.

"I'm a Visored," he said, and sighed when she gave him a blank look. "You know..." He made a gesture as if pulling something down over his face.

"I have never heard that designation before."

He held up his hand, and there, grinning through his fingers, was a Hollow mask. "Am I ringin' any bells now, beautiful?"

Rukia stared at the face carved in white bone. "You're one of those exiles. Shinigami who bred Hollows in their souls."

"Correct!" With a snap, the mask disappeared. He leaned in, smiling amusedly. "You're as smart as you're pretty, if only -"

"What do you want?" she repeated, tired of these games. She had not expected Ichigo to know of these exiles or Visoreds or whatever they called themselves. Shinigami had been warned not to associate with them, and she was starting to see why.

He pouted at her, but when she remained impassive he sighed and mockingly mirrored her stance. "A favour. It's not dangerous or treacherous or even exciting, but we're counting on you." He grinned then. "Tell Ichigo we'd like him back."

She bristled. "What makes you think - Hey!”

He’d turned his back on her and had sprung up to the safety of a rooftop before glancing back. “Thank. You. So. Much!" he called out as he bounded lightly away, skipping from house to house.

She watched him disappear with a grimace, and thought, If this is true, if Ichigo's soul will always be plagued by a Hollow that wishes to destroy his very existence… if he can truly never be rid of it, and instead must become it...

I will have to kill Ichigo.

The only way to know if the Visored had been telling the truth was to find out for herself.

The next time Rukia found Ichigo's reiatsu, she followed its faint trails, old and new, all over the town. Some days the prickly feeling of being watched would crawl up her spine, but each time she turned the feeling would vanish. She kept a careful watch after the first time: Hollows were dangerous, and there was no telling what this one would do.

Naturally, when Renji found out, he threw a fit.

"What the hell are you doing, Rukia?" he snarled in her face. She took a step back in the street and carefully scrunched up her face in mock distaste.

"Vice-Captain Abarai should really brush his teeth, even if he is far too busy - "

"I DO brush my teeth!" he howled. "And quit the distraction tactics! What ARE you doing?"

She opened her mouth and he scowled at her. She shut it, opened it again and then said, "I am looking for Ichigo. It is hard; there seems to be no method to his choice of fight or where -"

"Why?" His tattooed eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "No one's had the time. Aizen’s gonna start the war soon, and you know those Hollows keep sneaking out."

She looked away. "It is the right thing. If it had been the other way around... I know I would want him to do the same."

Renji exhaled irritably and slouched against the low wall behind him. "I wish you'd stop it with that ‘right thing’ shit," he grumbled, thumbs hooked in his obi as he kicked at the pavement. "So what you're gonna do when you find Ichigo, eh? Talk him into turning back to shinigami?"

"I will kill him."

The foot that had been scuffing at the cement stopped. "You're kidding, right?"

Rukia kept her expression calm.

"You aren't. Crap. The hell you get that idea?"

There were too many things to explain: what she had learnt, who the Visoreds were, how this all linked back to Ichigo. She allowed herself a glance in Renji's direction. "Ichigo wouldn't want to be this way."

"He'll come back! You know how stubborn he is, he's not going to let some Hollow order him around!"

"I know that!" she yelled back. "But even then - But even then, there is no hope, no respite for him! This has to be done!"

He glared back, then roughly pushed off from the wall. "I don't get it! You got so hurt when you killed your vice-captain, and now you're gonna tear yourself up all over again? It's not your fault, Rukia!"

She was not shaking. Kuchiki did not shake. Rukia clenched her fist and made herself breathe. "I'm the only one who can do it."

Renji's face was filled with disbelief. "You're an idiot."

“I’m not asking for your help,” she said sharply. “I don’t want it. I have to do this alone.”

He gave her a long, measuring look. “If you change your mind, you know where to look for me,” he said, and left.

When the prickling sensation started up again, Rukia stopped, holding herself very still. The street seemed to pause along with her.

"I know you're there," she said.

For a moment, the street remained quiet, and then what seemed like a ripple spread out in the reiatsu she could sense. She wheeled to face the source and waited a beat. Two.

The figure in the red-black coat stepped within the reaches of the light. As he advanced, his suppressed reiatsu flared, drenching the surroundings with the choking stench of Hollow. That is not Ichigo! Rukia thought, taking an involuntary step backwards. It can't be!

He stopped - turned his white and red mask towards her. "Rukia," he said, and the terrible teeth gaped.

She drew her sword in greeting and held it at the ready. "Hollow," she found herself saying calmly, even as her insides churned with shock. Ichigo, how did this happen?

"I don't want to fight you." Its eyes flicked over her and she suppressed a shiver from its chilling gaze. "Just want to talk."

She did not waver. This was not Ichigo, not anymore. "There is nothing to say. You were a shinigami. You know what happens to Hollows."

"What happens?" it repeated, and even though she couldn't see through the mask she could sense the slow, spreading grin that was far too amused. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

It lowered its head, but just as she thought it was going to back away it held out the slim black blade sideways. "Do it," it said challengingly.

They squared off, reading each other's stances, and then struck.

In a way, fighting with Ichigo’s Hollow was like fighting her brother, and yet nothing like it. They were both incredibly fast and favoured rapid changes in the direction of their attack. But while her brother calculated and planned every move, the Hollow’s strikes were instinctive and wild, like Ichigo’s usual fighting style. Rukia, however, had not trained with the Kuchiki for nothing. She easily shifted into shunpo, and where she was not fast enough, her experience let her hold her ground.

They had locked swords when it leaned in close. "I've never seen you fight with shunpo before." It pushed hard against her sword, and she had to give a little ground. It had the power advantage, and she could not last much longer if she continued the fight. A decisive strike was for the best.

"This'll be the last time," she gritted out, and shoved it away hard. It dug its feet in and slid to a halt some distance away. "Dance, Sodeno Shira-"

The command died on her lips as Ichigo pushed the mask up.

"Can we talk NOW?" he howled, waving his sword around for emphasis.

"... You're not Hollow."

He smirked in a self-congratulatory manner. "Well, not now, but yeah. I could've told you if you’d let me."

"Not now?" Rukia couldn't help the incredulous note that crept into her voice. Didn't he even realise she'd just tried to kill him? "You think it's fun to go missing and then run around wearing a Hollow mask and get everyone after you and - argh! I don't know why I even bother sometimes!"

Now the look on his face was concerned. "Did something happen?"

She gave Ichigo a long look, carefully put her sword away, and kicked him in the head.

"CUT IT OUT -" said Ichigo from his sprawled position on the street.

"That," she said, keeping her foot on his head. "was for making us worry. This," methodically, she ground her heel into his face, "is for not attempting to talk to us at all, and this," she ground harder, "is for being a dumbass!"

He knocked her foot aside despite the pressure and sat up, rubbing his cheek. The leering mask had been knocked askew and was now perched strangely on his hair. Ichigo didn’t seem to notice.

"And how was I supposed to tell you?" he complained. "You had to get Inoue out!"

Rukia crossed her arms. She would not let herself feel guilty. "Perhaps I was hoping that you would figure out on your own that it was a stupid idea."

He seemed to consider that, pulling up his knees to rest his arms on them. His sword dangled absently from his fingers. "Do you remember Hueco Mundo?"

She took her time folding herself neatly into a kneeling position on the pavement. When she was settled, she answered, "Don’t ask stupid questions, Ichigo. Renji and I spent days tracking you."

He ignored her. "It's huge. Maybe Soul Society's as huge, but it doesn't look it because there are buildings everywhere. In Hueco Mundo -" He made a sweeping gesture. "Sand. Nothing on the damn horizon. Until the Hollows come of course." The grin he gave her was too broad and too eager. "Never know where they're gonna come from. But that's the way it is there, kill or be killed."

Her hand went to the hilt of her sword, and the braided cloth was surprisingly comforting. "What does that have to do with your mask?"

"Don't you know Rukia?" he said, voice low and excited. "Whether in Soul Society or Hueco Mundo, the only thing that keeps you alive is power."

Somehow she managed to force through a dry mouth the word, "No."

"No?" he said, and the confusion was all Ichigo, even if the head tilt that went along with it wasn't.

"No," she repeated, and this time she knew what to say. "Power may keep you alive. But a life of power alone is a life with no worth."

"Worth?" This time he sounded more amused than confused. He abruptly stood, swinging his sword in lazy circles. "Che. I knew you wouldn't get it."

Her hands fisted in her lap. "What about your family? Your friends? Are the people you care for worth nothing?"

The swinging of his sword picked up momentum. He gave her a sideways glance, suddenly distant. "Let me get rid of these Hollows."

Her anger spiked, cold and bitter, and she stood up to face him. How could he even think of avoiding the question? "What -"

The sky splintered.

With a "Ha!" Ichigo blurred and vanished. Rukia swore.

Following the trail of destruction Ichigo left behind, Rukia wasn't sure if she should be grateful or horrified. She had not seen such damage before, and just thinking about who was behind it left a nasty feeling low in her stomach. But it was the same knowledge that prompted her to quicken her shunpo.

Before she reached the fight Rukia could already smell the stench of Hollow blood. Yet it did not prepare her for what she saw: a masked figure slashing at the Hollows around him with wild abandon.

What drove you to this?

There was no time for any hesitation; the Hollows, half-crazed from freshly spilt blood and the scent of tasty souls, mistook her for easier prey and set upon her.

Within minutes of drawing her sword, scattered bodies were strewn around her. There was a wet squelching sound behind her, and she turned to see Ichigo shake a Hollow off his sword.

"I don't need your help," came the twisted voice through the mask.

"Next dance, Hakuren!" The Hollow that had been trying to sneak up on them was encased in a wave of ice. She stalked past him, glaring down the smarter Hollows that were circling them warily. "I'm just getting rid of them faster. Want to help?"

A soft scoff came from behind, as if he considered correcting her. "Why not? Keep up if you can."

They both attacked. He swung out, scattering the Hollows. She switched to kidou, picking off their enemies with precision. Perhaps it was because she was at the eye of the storm, but this close Ichigo's reiatsu was less jarring and she could almost forget the mask he wore. Yet telltale hints remained: the relish he took in the wet sound of blood, the pleased purr he let out after a particularly vicious bout of fighting.

That's not important, she told herself harshly. Concentrate!

Then Ichigo backed towards her, his shoulder almost brushing hers as he fought. "Your guard's down."

She pursed her lips, even though she knew he couldn’t see. “You should be more worried about yourself,” she told him, and swung her sword in a half-circle. The arc of the weighed ribbon completed the circle, and as she moved into position the familiar icy sting of Shirayuki’s power greeted her.

“Better,” Ichigo said approvingly, and then dashed away, faster than her eye could follow. Now even the Hollows were drawing back, wary of the killing edge of her sword.

Or not.

The next moment, something pounced, and it was on reflex that Rukia spun to meet it. “First dance, Tsukishiro!”

Rukia found herself face to face with a large Hollow as the icy circle sprang up around them. It laughed low and mockingly at her, then snarled as it strained at the ice crept over its feet and held it fast.

She raised her sword. The ice crackled rapidly upwards.

The Hollow let out a roar and from its back wings flared, beating hard. Rukia braced herself against the strong gusts, throwing up an arm so she could squint into the cutting wind. Despite not being able to see very well she could tell the ice was still spreading, and if she kept this up -

A black figure darted in and the Hollow howled in rage. A leathery wing landed beside her with a sickening thud.

“No cheating,” said Ichigo as he stabbed downwards into the hairy back. There was an enormous cracking sound, and then the Hollow threw him and swung out with a paw, claws extended to maim.

“Hadou 31, Shakkahou!” The Hollow withdrew the smoking stump, and Ichigo vaulted above it, his harsh strikes beating it into the ground. Rukia readjusted the grip on her sword. The clear tinge of ice in the air answered her: Shirayuki was ready.

“Ichigo, get away!” she yelled, gathering her power again. He hesitated, and she was suddenly struck by the thought that he might not listen, but then he leapt backwards, away from the circle. Rukia let the power flow through her, feeling the ice manifest and roar upwards. Before the ice closed around it completely, the Hollow fixed her with a baleful glare, then reared back and spat a fang at her.

The Hollow shattered into pieces immediately after, but even as Rukia moved she knew she could not dodge.

Then Ichigo careened straight into her, hands pushing her away, but it wasn't fast enough. There was a sharp, tearing pain as the fang pierced her shoulder, and then they both landed on the ground. In the distance ice shards tinkled to the ground, clear in the sudden silence.

Rukia tried to push herself up and winced. The cloth around her shoulder was wet and sticky, and the fang in her shoulder stung. Ichigo sat up, his eyebrows knitted together and his mouth drawn in a thin, angry line. His mask’s gone, she idly noted, and wondered where it had gone. Pieces of bone fell in her lap, and she irritably brushed them away as she pushed herself up on her good arm.

Immediately he was there, trying to help her. “We need to - ”

“No,” she said quickly. She jerked away, and regretted it when she accidentally jarred her shoulder. “No, I can do it.” She wrapped her hand around the fang, testing it for a moment, and then yanked it out hard. An involuntary hiss slid through her teeth, and Ichigo’s hands moved to press against the wound, the steady pressure staunching the thick flow of blood.

“We should clean and wrap this.”

“I will heal it after I clean it,” she said. “For now stopping the bleeding will do.” He kept the hands on her shoulder steady, patiently waiting for the blood to clot. She let him: it would not do to jostle her wound too much, and from the way he pressed on her shoulder it seemed like Ichigo had experience treating wounds. He did not look at her, eyes instead fixed on the red that had welled through his fingers.

Finally he pulled away. “It’s stopped now.”

“We will find water.” She considered where they could find some. “Maybe a house nearby - Ichigo!”

He stopped, looking off into the distance. “There are more Hollows out there.”

Rukia stared at the closed expression on his face, the tightness of his hands fisted at his side, and sighed. “I will go with you,” she said, casting about for something she could use as a temporary bandage.

He wheeled towards her, eyes widening in surprise. “What - ?”

The edge of her hakama wouldn't tear. Her shoulder protested when she tried too hard, and she gingerly gripped the wound. “It is my duty to remove Hollows. I should go with you.”

"Dammit, Rukia, you're injured - "

"So WHAT?" she yelled, and dug her fingers in tighter as the blood seeped again. "If I got injured helping you, it's MY choice! Don't think that just because you're strong no one is allowed to help, even if they want to!"

"Idiot," he said expressively, and offered his hand. She glared at it, then him, before deigning to take it and help herself up.

"And don't even THINK about running off again."

"You worry too much," he grumbled.

She gave him a level glare. "With good cause."

He scowled back, but it was vaguely distant and had no fire to it. "Didn't you wonder why I left, Rukia?"

His question was surprising enough that she hesitated. "You did not say."

"I met... Aizen. He told me he was able to control Orihime because he could manipulate her power better than she could. Because she didn't fully understand it." He looked down. "I don't ever want to be used like that. I have to understand this power I have."

"Your Hollow."

The mask was in his hand now, appearing much as the Visored's mask had. "But it's a dangerous power. I don't trust myself with it." He traced the red stripes thoughtfully. "Everyone keeps telling me how we're comrades, that we’re supposed to fight together, but that makes it even worse."

Rukia took a look at his closed expression. Her hand fisted at her side, and she socked him in the stomach.

"If you think I'm going to leave you behind again..."

"Leave ME?" Ichigo asked incredulously from his folded up position.

"If you think I am going to let you go off and be stupid AGAIN..."

"Oi Rukia, haven't you been..."

"IF YOU THINK THAT'S WHAT A COMRADE DOES ICHIGO..."

"WHAT IF HELPING IS TOO DANGEROUS?"

"AM I YOUR PARTNER OR NOT?"

He jerked back from yelling at her, as if struck. His fingers tightened around his mask, and she grabbed his wrist before he could don it and become unfamiliar again.

"I can't help you with your power," she said softly. "I am shinigami; I don't understand. But I know isolating yourself isn't what you do Ichigo."

His expression was confused and a little surprised, but he did not pull away.

"You fight for people. You help people. And I can help with that. You need someone to watch your back. Someone to remind you who you are."

The corners of his mouth twisted as he chuckled. "And if this is who I am?" Beneath her fingers his wrist flexed, and she was reminded of the mask he still held.

"Does that mean you have to leave?"

For the first time he seemed lost, fumbling for an answer that he didn't have. She tensed, tightening her grip on his wrist in case he decided to bolt. He licked his lips once, nervously, then deliberately kissed her.

His lips on hers surprised her, their touch gentle enough that she dazedly kissed back instead of throttling him. Then he deepened the kiss and Rukia almost choked on the Hollowness she could taste in it, but this -

This was still Ichigo.

She tangled her free hand in his hair, pulling him closer. His lips parted, just long enough for their tongues to brush. Then he awkwardly broke away, and under the streetlights, the blush on his face was all too apparent.

“Do you… really…?” He made an awkward gesture.

“Is that so hard to believe?” Her hand slid down to rest on his shoulder, and she would have squeezed reassuringly if her shoulder didn’t still sting. “I don’t know if what you’re doing is right, but… I want to help. Let me.”

“You’re an idiot,” he grumbled, and this close she could hear the layers in his voice, the menace of the Hollow woven into Ichigo’s normal gruff tone. His hand dropped to her waist, holding her close for a moment, and then he pulled entirely away.

"I should leave... I..." he said lamely, and practically fled in a black and red blur of shunpo.

She watched where he had disappeared for a moment, then smiled and followed.

We'll be back, the letter read. We have much to do.

Renji crumpled the letter in one hand. "You better come back safe, idiot."

WOO HOO! MADE IT. *cheers* I hope you guys enjoyed the fic. =D