The beast within, chapter 5

The beast within chapter 5

   Rukia slowly opened her eyes. They hurt. But why? Did she do something tiring before? Or did she... And then she remembered. It was because of crying. She closed them. It sore less then. She got up and walked to a mirror. She opened them again and looked at herself. Her eyes were a little red. Rukia was going to turn away when she saw something that made her shiver. On her neck, there was a clearly visible bite mark. Rukia closed her eyes once again, trying to push memories on how it got there away. She turned away from the mirror and sat on the bed to think. Although she was very confused and worried over Ichigo she couldn‘t help herself but to think about why he was like... this. Rukia gripped the bedsheets. He really didn‘t trust her. And it hurt deep inside because of that. She shot her eyes open at the realization. He didn‘t trust her and that hurt her. Why? Who was she to him? A companion. Someone to go with when fighting hollows. But was that it? She smiled sadly as she realized that wasn‘t the case for her. She cared for him much more than that. And then she got up. Where was Ichigo? She needed to talk to him.Rukia HAD to make sure he was alright.

   ,,Yuzu-chan, have you seen your brother?“ Asked Rukia while walking into the kitchen. She was worried, but tried to hide it as well as she could. ,,Oh, ohajo Rukia-chan“ Yuzu smiled happily at the girl. ,,Hm...Ichigo? Let me see.. Oh! That‘s right. I saw him walking out a couple of hours ago.“ Yuzu frowned a little. ,,Now that you mentioned it, he did look a little sad... Did something happen? Eh? Rukia-chan?“ Yuzu looked around, but Rukia was gone.

,,Come out, bastard!“ shouted Ichigo. He was inside his mind, in the place where he first met Zangetsu. ,,I said come out!“. He angrily shouted again. Ichigo then heard that laugh again. The one laughing soon appeared. ,,Oh? King? What a nice surprise!“ said the hollow with glee. ,,To what do I owe this nice visit?“ He smirked at Ichigo. That only made the teen angrier. ,,You know damn well! What the hell did you do to Rukia?!“ The hollow seemed to be disappointed now. ,,Don‘t be an idiot, king. I didn‘t do anything that bad to her. You didn‘t let me finish her off.“ Ichigo was furious now. After he had left Rukia sleeping in his bed, he went out. Then he found himself a quiet spot he had sat down and thought about everything. Ichigo had remembered then. He remembered clearly how the hollow appeared before him a couple of times in Soul Society. No wonder Ichigo didn‘t like the voice inside his head when he had first heard it. Only then, he had finally remembered who that voice belonged to. Ichigo had to make sure that the hollow would pay for what he had done. ,,If you ever touch her even a little I‘m gonna kill you!“ He was shouting really loud. That didn‘t give the hollow a good impression whatsoever. He only smirked. ,,Don‘t you think those words are too big for you, Ichigo?“ That was enough for Ichigo. He took out his zanpakutou and striked his hollow. The creature just giggled and took out his sword too. As they attacked each other, their  weapons met. ,,What‘s the matter king? Do you really care for the wench that much?“ Asked the hollow while looking straight at his opponent. Ichigo just gave an angry look and striked again. They fought for about ten minutes and Ichigo was beginning to grow tired. Unfortunately, the hollow wasn‘t. ,,Oh, is the king beginning to wipe out?“ laughed the creature. Ichigo attacked once again, but the hollow countered this strike. Before Ichigo could pull back, his opponent gave a powerful blow on him and slammed Ichigo to the ground. He then stepped on Ichigo‘s right arm, the one which held his zanpakutou. Ichigo yelled in pain. ,,Now that you stopped squirming, listen up king“ Said the hollow, this time, without a smirk. Ichigo glared at him with hatred in his eyes. ,,What the hell do you want?“ he shouted. The hollow sighed. ,,That‘s what I‘m trying to tell you. But you keep attacking me or interrupting my speech.“ Ichigo still glared at the creature but fell silence, his eyes showing that he was listening. ,,Good“ said the hollow, the sinister smirk appearing on his lips once more. ,,You see king, the problem is – I‘m bored.“ Ichigo widened his eyes. He didn‘t expect that kind of answer. ,,Also, I think you should be more grateful, king“. ,,Grateful? What the hell for?“ asked Ichigo angrily. The hollow sighed again. He then demonstratively put up his hand and started to count his fingers. ,,One, I saved you from that car the other day.“ Ichigo looked surprised for a moment. Then he remembered the savior that he didn‘t see. ,,So it was you.“ ,,Well duh. I told you before, Ichigo, I‘d be in trouble if you died just like that“ the hollow pretended to be irritated. ,,Now where was I... Oh yes. Two, I helped you before with Byakuya in Soul Society“ ,,I never needed your help!“ Ichigo shouted struggling, but the hollow just stepped on his arm harder. Ichigo twitched in pain and looked at his inner-self angrily. ,,Sure you didn‘t. Byakuya wasn‘t going to finish you if I hadn‘t showed up, he would have just stopped at the last moment, right?“ the hollow asked ironically. But before Ichigo could answer, his opponent continued. ,,Three, my mask protected you for more then once. Keep that in mind, king. Oh, and four.“ He smirked. ,,Because of me you were able to get closer to Rukia.“ Now Ichigo was really angry. He struggled once again, this time, harder. Seeing this, the hollow stepped on his stomach with his other leg. ,,Come on king. Don‘t you think I know when you feel something? Jeez... I sit here all day. I‘ve learned to see through your emotions and feelings. You like Rukia, king. Admit it. And besides...“ but the hollow couldn‘t finish as Ichigo finally pushed him off. ,,Bastard!“ And the teen attacked his hollow once again. The creature sighed and countered the attack. They were going to fight again, when a familiar voice was heard. ,,Ichigo! Ichigo wake up, come on! Please, Ichigo, wake up!“ Ichigo turned around, with a confused face. ,,Rukia?“ The hollow smirked. ,,Well, I guess our little chat is over for today, eh?“ Ichigo glared at him. ,,Come on, go ahead to your little Rukia.“ his opponent said with with a smirk going wider. ,,If you ever dare touch her again, I‘ll...“ ,,You‘ll what?“ laughed the creature. ,,I will come out, king. Whenever I feel that you need help, even if you don‘t know that yourself, or when you‘re too angry to think straight, I‘ll come out. And when I do, I‘ll be sure to finish what I‘ve started. After all, every king needs a queen.“ Ichigo understood what he ment. ,,You bastard, I‘m gonna...“ and then everything went black.