FicWad

An Unexpected Return

Prologue

By WarriorsLoverForever

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Rukia ran through the thornbushes that snagged at her clothing, causing blood to stream down her skinny arms. She did not know what she was doing in the forest, or why she felt so petrified. All that her brain told her to do was to run. Her hair was a nest of leaves and branches. Pain flowed through her body from the places that the thorns had pierced her skin. Her eyes watered. She leaped over gnarled and twisted tree roots that branched throughout this unconquerable nature. The sky was unnaturally ink black, with no moon in sight, leaving Rukia to claw everywhere blindly, without any light to guide her.

"Ow!" Rukia tripped over a tree root and plummeted face-down into the prickly, rough ground. Her legs felt bruised and crippled. She attempted to stand up, only to collapse as soon as she tried to. There was no escape.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of her. She had long, flowing black hair that curled at the ends. Her eyes were as dark as the night sky, but still seemed brighter in contrast to the sky that loomed above them. Her lips were curled into a sweet, loving smile. Her face expression was soft and welcoming. In fact, she looked just like Rukia.

Was this really her? Was that Hisana? There was no mistake about it. Her presence said it all. Warmth seemed to spread throughout Rukia's body as she embraced the person whom she always had wanted to meet.

"Hisana..." Rukia smiled, but then winced at the pain of her wounds.

"It has been a long time, Rukia." Hisana grinned at her. Her smile was sweet, and her eyes were filled with passion and love. It brought Rukia so many beautiful memories. Yes, this was Hisana. But how could that even be possible?

Rukia shook her head and stared at the woman that awaited her in utter disbelief. "But...you're supposed to be dead! And where the hell am I? What am I doing here?" It didn't seem possible that the real Hisana had come to her at last. It made her heart flutter with nervousness and exhilaration.

She held out a hand to Rukia to help her up. She hesitated for a split second, and then took Hisana's hand. Shakily, she was able to regain her balance, and set her two feet on the ground.

"Hisana...I'm so glad to see you. There's so much I want to tell you. I can't wait to tell you all about it!" Tears streamed down Rukia's face.

Hisana hugged Rukia, and whispered in her ear, "How is Byakuya-sama?"

"He is fine, but I can tell that he misses you. I wish you were still here, with us. Things would have been better that way." Rukia admitted, as she looked down. "It doesn't seem fair that you had to leave us."

Hisana wiped the tears from Rukia's face. "It is okay. I'm just glad Byakuya-sama is taking good care of you, despite all of the pain I have burdened him.

The two sisters sat down on a log together.

"Hisana, how did you come here? Where am I?" Rukia looked at her whereabouts. There was nothing but trees for miles and miles, and no light seemed to exist in this strange world. It was strange to have such a cheerful reunion in such a scary place.

Hisana sighed, and stood up. "Before I can answer that question, let me show you something." She delicately took Rukia's hand and led her to a patch of bushes. Strangely, light seemed to be coming out of the bushes.

"Why is there light there? I thought no light existed here." Rukia stared at the yellow light filtering through the bushes in disbelief.

"Everything you see here is an illusion. Here is reality. Just crawl through these bushes. Follow me." Hisana fell on her knees and crawled through the bushes, and Rukia did the same, while wincing from the cuts that engulfed her legs.

As soon as they crawled into the light, the light grew brighter and brighter, engulfing the blackness that was around them. Rukia closed her eyes against the light, and when she opened them again, she found herself in a completely different place.

They were on a beautiful cliff. There were flowers on the smooth, soft grass. The sun was a golden mango in the sky as the two sisters walked to the edge of the cliff.

"Isn't the sunset quite elegant, Rukia?" Hisana murmured, as a faint smile crossed her lips.

Rukia nodded, admiring the color of the sky.

"So, Hisana, why did you bring me here?" Rukia inquired, still staring at the sun.

Suddenly, Hisana's soft smile turned into a wicked grin.

"I brought you here to kill you, of course."

Rukia's eyes widened. She whipped around to find Hisana pointing a sword at her neck.

"Hisana...please! I thought we were sisters! Do you have a grudge against me? Tell me!" Rukia yelped.

Hisana's grin grew even wider.

Then, she stabbed the sword into Rukia's chest.

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"HISANA, NO!" Rukia screamed, as she shot up from her bed. Her breaths were shallow. Her face was coated with sweat. She wildly looked around and flailed her arms.

She opened her eyes to find herself in the Kuchiki Manor.

It was all just a dream... Rukia let out a sigh of relief. She never wanted to believe Hisana would betray her like that. Besides, she was dead. She had died a long time ago, just like Byakuya had said. There was no way Hisana would ever come back, or do such a horrid thing. Just thinking about it sent a shiver racing down her spine.

"Rukia! I heard your scream. What's going on here!" A red-haired soul reaper barged into the room, his Zanpakuto at the ready.

Rukia rubbed her eyes and jumped off of her bed. She never thought that anyone else actually heard that scream. She looked down, feeling guilty that she had set a false alarm.

"No, Renji, just a bad dream..." Her eyes seemed faraway, as she thought hard about the dream she had. Then, she shook her head and grinned. "Really, there's nothing to worry about. Sorry I disturbed you."

Renji tried to meet her gaze, but she immediately looked to the ground. He tried to read her expression, but her face was emotionless. Sighing, Renji sheathed Zabimaru and put it away.

Then, Captain Kuchiki entered the room. His gray eyes immediately hovered over Rukia. "Is something the matter?"

"Nii-sama, I'm fine," Rukia said, with a strange, sharp edge to her voice.

Byakuya's eyes narrowed in suspicion. For a second, Rukia thought Byakuya could read her mind, as if he knew about the terrible dream. Had he heard her call out Hisana's name when she had screamed? For a moment, Byakuya stared at her, as if he were about to say something. But then, the captain just nodded, his eyes holding her gaze, and finally turned away towards Renji's direction.

"Very well, then. We shall take our leave. Come, Lieutenant Abarai, I have some work for you." Byakuya glanced at Renji, who nodded and followed him out of Rukia's room. Their footsteps echoed across the corridor until they faded into the distance.

Rukia exhaled softly as she sat on her bed. Sunlight began filtering through the windows, dazzling her eyes. She immediately picked the stuffed bunny that laid on her bed and hugged it tightly. Tears streamed down her face as she shakily stood up.

"I miss you so much, Hisana. Maybe if you were still here, my whole destiny would be different. Perhaps some problems would be easier to bear. And maybe Byakuya will be happy again. All I ever wanted was a family. A family without any conflict, any boundaries. All of that, however, sounds like a silly dream..." Rukia whispered to herself as she wiped her tears with her sleeve. She forced herself to smile, and continued, "Even then, Hisana will always reside in my heart. A stupid dream won't change the fact that Hisana is my sister. She would never betray me..."

Would she?

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Ichigo slashed into the Hollow with Zangetsu, and watched as it disintegrated into the air, until nothing but rubble was left. Meanwhile, Uryu readied his bow, and shot some of the other incoming Hollows, buffeting all of them with swift, Reishi-powered arrows.

"Looks like we're done here." Ichigo sheathed his Zanpakuto.

"Not so fast, Ichigo," Uryu warned, his bow still out. "I sense some more incoming. Not that I'd expect you to notice, though, since you are terrible at sensing spiritual pressure." Uryu adjusted his glasses with a sigh.

"You trying to pick a fight with me?" Ichigo defended himself. "Well, you Quincies can absorb Reishi. That's so weird!"

"At least we can defend ourselves better, unlike you soul reapers..." Uryu rolled his eyes. "Quit thinking so irrationally. My Quincy powers are more useful than you think." He set his icy blue gaze on Ichigo.

Ichigo stamped his feet on the ground. "You and your stupid Quincy pride..." He was so busy bickering with Uryu that he didn't notice the next Hollow.

"Ichigo, you idiot! Look behind you!" Uryu hissed. He raised his bow and let out a cascade of arrows in Ichigo's direction. Ichigo ducked as the arrows sank into the Hollow's chest. It let out a horrifying scream, and then it died down as the Hollow was fully obliterated.

"Hey, you nearly killed me with those arrows!" Ichigo complained, still gasping for breath.

Why does Ichigo have to be so stupid... Uryu thought, shaking his head and sighing. Then, he explained in an exasperated tone, "That Hollow was probably going to kill you, just because you weren't paying attention. I saved your life, for goodness sake."

"Thank you very much!" Ichigo groaned sarcastically, as he unstrapped Zangetsu and killed another Hollow.

When they were finished, they both put away their weapons.

"So, do you sense anymore Hollows?" Ichigo asked, as he ran a finger through his orange, spiky hair.

"No, I think we're done. For today, at least. I'll be heading home now." Uryu turned left on a block and disappeared beyond the horizon.

Ichigo, meanwhile, headed straight for the seaside, and watched as the golden sun set, where he always thought of his mother. "Yuzu, Karin, and Dad are all doing fine..." Ichigo whispered with a smile. He closed his eyes and stood there in silence.

"Ichigo!"

His orange eyes shot wide open as he heard a familiar voice call her name. He whipped around to find Orihime Inoue bolting towards his direction. Her gray eyes were clouded with worry, her orange hair flying with the wind. Her breath came out shallow when she finally reached Ichigo.

"I-Ichigo..." She winced, holding a hand to her head, as if it were hurting.

And then she fell.

"Orihime!" He quickly caught her by the waist. Ichigo's eyes widened as he noticed the blood marks over her face. What happened to her? Ichigo thought fearfully, his heart racing in his chest. "Wake up, Orihime! Who did this to you..."

Orihime's eyes slit opened. "Y-you have to help...Renji and Rukia...Uryu and Chad...danger..." she managed to gasp, before coughing blood on the ground. Ichigo cringed at her terrible state.

"I can't leave you here like this," Ichigo said mournfully, as he helped her sit up.

"Go, Ichigo. I can heal myself..." Orihime gave him a weak smile, and then chanted, "Soten Kisshun...I reject!" Four sides of one of her snowflake clips, each representing a wing, flew off of the clip. A light formed around her, until an orange field made a globular shape around her, beginning the healing process. Even in the force field, though, she was still coughing blood.

Ichigo felt guilty. I should have known my friends were in trouble... Then, he shook his head clearing his thoughts. He had to hurry in order to help his friends.

Ichigo stared at Orihime one last time. She gave him a firm nod, but it did nothing to reassure him. In fact, he had no idea exactly what danger he was facing, why Rukia and Renji were in the world of the living, and what was so serious about this situation. Reluctantly, he placed his hand on the brown, carved skull of his Substitute Soul Reaper Badge. In a blur of blue energy, he exited his body and began flash-stepping towards dangers of the unknown.

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Renji, Rukia, Uryu, and Chad were all gasping for breath, feeling beat.

The enemy that was confronting them was what seemed to be a girl covered in a black cloak, obscuring her face from sight. With the touch of a hand, she could block any attack, and deflect it back towards the attacker. The girl seemed to be mute, though, not uttering a word, and making it even harder for them to figure out who she was and what she was planning.

"Damn it..." Renji muttered under his breath. Then, he mustered his strength and charged, calling out, "Roar, Zabimaru!" His Zanpakuto extended and curled towards the girl. He thought he saw a grin spread across the mysterious girl's face as the sword approached her. When it struck, the sword bounced off of her skin, as if the blade were made of cotton.

"How is she doing that...it should be impossible to defend all of those attacks so easily!" Uryu shouted, sweat pouring off of his head, as he got ready to fire his next arrow. However, it was clear that he was getting tired, as the blue energy that surrounded his bow wavered and flickered.

Rukia's eyes narrowed. "What I'm wondering is what is she even doing here. How the hell are we going to defeat her? We're only wasting our energy fighting her. Where's Ichigo?"

"I think I can feel his spiritual pressure," Chad said quietly.

Suddenly, someone called out, "Bankai! Tensa Zangetsu!"

Ichigo landed in front of them, his sword as black as coal. The robe that he was wearing transformed as he pointed his sword towards the girl. Red and black energy swirled around his sword as he prepared his attack.

"Who the hell is she?" Ichigo said, as he stared at the cloaked figure.

"To be honest, we have no idea," Rukia admitted with a sigh. "I wish we did. The Soul Society sensed some strange spiritual pressure here, and told us to investigate. It was coming from this girl. We don't know what she is planning, since she won't speak. She deflects the attacks as if they were made of paper, and she still hasn't moved an inch from her spot!"

"Well, we're just going to have to stop her, anyway..." Ichigo raced forward, and ran three fingers over his face, summoning his Hollow mask in a cloud of dark energy that engulfed his face. His yellow eyes glowed as he called out harshly, "Getsuga..."

Energy swirled at the tip of his black sword, collecting as much power as it could. Then, with great effort, Ichigo concluded the chant with a cry of, "Tenshou!"

The energy was summoned completely, and a blade-like ripple of power began hurtling towards the girl. The wave crashed down on her, sending a cloud of dust and grit everywhere.

When the cloud cleared, the girl was still in her same position, with not a scratch on her.

"No way..." Ichigo gasped. The attack had taken a lot of his reiatsu, so it should have been powerful enough to send her flying, especially with her being in such a prone state. But it didn't work.

"Ichigo! You shouldn't use up so much of your strength. She'll keep playing defense," Rukia scolded, but her eyes betrayed that she was more worried than angry.

Ichigo whipped around to face the girl, whose lips were curled into an evil grin.

"Hey! You think you're so smart, with your powers? Well, why don't you attack us, for a change? Or are you just too scared?" Ichigo mocked angrily.

Rukia shot him a warning glance, but her expression turned to fear when the girl moved a few steps closer to them.

"Yes, you're right, young boy...I should kill you all. It won't be too hard, since you're all so weak," the girl whispered softly. Her voice was raspy, and edged with a mocking tone. She seemed to only speak in a loud whisper, and nothing louder.

"She can talk?" Chad said, surprise crossing his face.

"What the hell do you want!" Renji demanded firmly, Zabimaru pointing directly at her. Even with this bold threat, anyone could tell he was still weak, with his body shaking with effort.

She grinned under the shadow of the cloak. "Simple. I want power. And I can get that from you people. If I were to invade the Soul Society, I could steal the power of soul reapers and make it mine..."

"All you want is power? There should be more to it than that. Power isn't everything at all," Uryu analyzed. "I don't see your purpose. Are you sure?"

"What else would it be? With my power, I could do anything. But, more power is always better. I fight for power, to rise up the ranks. To break boundaries and make other serve me." The girl pretended to yawn, and then said, "Why don't we just get over with this? You weren't able to even lay a single scratch on me. Now, it's my turn."

Then, an immense spiritual energy formed around the girl in the cloak. It created a huge blue orb of energy, the size of a building.

"No way...where did she get all of that power..." Rukia's face turned pale white. "We have no choice. I didn't think it would come to this but..."

"But what?" Ichigo yelled, trying to dispel his fear. However, he couldn't help but stare in awe at all of the energy the girl was absorbing in a blue, globular shape, that would certainly wipe them out.

We can't defend ourselves. We'll die if we stay here. The eerie thought bloomed in Ichigo's mind. No matter how much he didn't want to believe it, that was the truth.

Rukia stared deep into his orange eyes, and he saw the same realization reflected in her own eyes that they couldn't win.

"We have to run. Now!" Rukia screamed.
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Hope you can review! I promise I'll make the next chapter longer. Feel free to add any suggestions to help me improve, especially with this being my first fanfic. I'm always looking forward to improving my writing skills!