The King's Death

Chapter 10:The Palace Library

My steps echo around the library and bounce off the marble walls in hallow lifeless sounds. Each noise reflects the amount I've been here. It is unusually quiet in the halls. Hiyori is still hurt and the visords are gravely thinking about leaving the Soul Society for good and never coming back and maybe even cutting ties with them. That would mean they would no longer talk to me.

"K-Kurosaki-dono Shinji-san would like to speak to you i-in Hiyori-san's room." Yasu murmurs. I turn and walkout the doors of the library before turning to the stairwell and walking up the steps quickly and quietly. I slip into the hallways where the visords are staying and then slip into Hiyori's room. Shinji looks up from his spot against her wall and shoots me a grave look. I look to her small pale face and trace the long narrow scar that is still red and angry. I look away quickly and turn to him.

"Hiyori will not blame you Ichigo but you must understand that the others are questioning your power, you promised them that no one would bring us harm but now what control do you have, they may want to break ties with you and the entire soul society." Shinji mumbles softly. I look down and then to the doorway as Rukia stops to look at us her eyes filled with soft tender emotions.

"Shinji I understand if they wish to leave, I have failed you all and it is my sole responsibility to take the punishment you all feel I deserve." I mutter before turning to the door to walk out. That's when I hear a soft snort.

"You are a dumb ass Ichigo, we aren't punishing you." Hiyori mutters lifting her hand and shaking it at me.

"Yes but the punishment he will give himself is enough for all of us." Rukia murmurs before turning from the doorway and leaving silently. I look to where she was standing and begin to wonder how bad I've actually been.

"Ichigo you've worried her far too much in the past day and a half. Go to her and calm her down." I nod and walk out silently.

I find Rukia in the gardens sitting against the fountains while looking up at the sky. Her eyes are narrowed a bit against the sun and her hands are folded in her lap twitching and turning around each other.

"Rukia are you alright?" She looks over, clearly startled, and pushes a smile onto her face.

"I'm fine Ichigo are you alright? Will you be alright?" I sit down beside her and pull her hand into mine signaling for Haruto and Kenshin to guard the doors to the garden with their lives.

"Rukia I will be fine, it's just that this brought back painful memories for me, I felt helpless again. I can't help but feel that I've put you through more than you deserve." Her eyes turn to me allowing me to gaze at their beauty for only a moment before they are drawn away and shut behind the drapes of coal colored hair that now divide us.

"I know why you've been acting like this and it's selfish of me to want you to be close to me all the time, but I miss when you would come to me about everything because you didn't want to talk to your dad. I sort of miss the life we had in the world of the living. It's so different here we have to be different; everyone does things for us and are afraid of what we'll say where as the people we were with, in the world of the living, didn't give a rats ass about our feelings. If we needed to hear it they'd say it without walking around us on eggshells!" she begins to raise her voice and her hands clench around the light blue kimono she's wearing. I pull her fingers into mine again and pat the top of her hand softly before pulling her head to look at me.

"Rukia I am sorry for pulling you into this but I was selfish and didn't want any other woman at my side. I didn't know you wanted to spend so much time with me, I'm honored." Her eyes darken in anger and her eye twitches softly.

"You are a jerk Ichigo, I hate you." She mutters darkly her eyes darkening more.

"I'm a jerk but I'm a jerk that loves you if that counts for anything?" I murmur softly pulling away from her.