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Amid the Rubble


    Amid the rubble, two battered shinigami faced each other in a state of numb shock. It was over. Months of planning, training, and fighting bringing them to this moment. And now it was over, and they had won.

    The charred, crumbled remains of Seireitei and the broken bodies littering the streets were only some of the signs of the war that had consumed their efforts and attention for those months. Torturous months.

    Torture of the mind; the betrayal by trusted captains, revealing their darker natures and devious plans…

    Torture of the body; versus the arrancar, versus the dreaded espada…

    Torture of the soul; the sacrifices that had had to be made to get this far, to win the chance to put an end to the war while there was still something left worth fighting for; finding out Tousen Kaname was working on the inside with his twisted, perhaps misguided sense of justice to pursue the path of least bloodshed, and sacrificing him to the cause…

    Torture of the heart; when Ichigo realized he couldn’t do the one thing, give the one thing that a dear friend, his nakama, wanted most of him. His heart wept for the tears in Inoue Orihime’s eyes when he suddenly knew as they sat together one quiet morning after her return from captivity.

    On the heels of that realization came another, even more startling revelation. He could never, would never with her, because he already had with someone else, and he hadn’t even known it until that same moment. He buried it deep inside – in the middle of war was no time to be having epiphanies or an identity crisis, or so he told himself.

    But each day it spread, the vague feelings taking root and growing with undeniable force as the weeks progressed into months. So they planned, and trained, and fought, and Ichigo hid in the deepest part of his soul his longing. Each night the defenders collapsed exhausted into their beds, and each night he ached at the closeness – far too close, and much too far.

    No one commented on the tightness in his face, the pain in his eyes – why would they? Everyone walked around barely better than zombies, a thought which would have normally been a source of amusement for the living dead shinigami, but was instead merely sad. The flat, expressionless mask Rukia adopted from her brother; the uncontrollable tic in Hitsugaya Toushirou’s jaw; the unnaturally solemn face of Inoue Orihime; the haunted look in Renji’s eyes…


    Amid the rubble, two battered shinigami faced each other in a state of numb shock. It was over. Months of planning, training, and fighting bringing them to this moment.

    The planning that helped them get to the right place at the right time to confront the enemy.

    The training that allowed them to fight together through the whole ordeal that long, pain-soaked day.

    The fight that had broken the siege and destroyed the traitor and his forces.

    And now it was over, and they had won.

    Blood dripped into Ichigo’s eyes; he blinked it away, and Renji’s wavering form came into focus. Uniform torn and stained, thin strands of dishevelled hair falling over his face, the red-haired shinigami stood in a thin patch of sunlight that had broken through the smoke-clouded sky and stared back with those haunted eyes. Ichigo’s heart contracted painfully, the naked honesty in Renji’s gaze breaking down the walls he’d put around the thoughts and feelings that tortured his nights.

    Renji staggered forward, a single step before he had to stop and lean heavily on Zabimaru – but his eyes never left Ichigo’s face. Something inside Ichigo snapped; he stabbed Zangetsu into the debris-littered ground and forced his bruised legs to move.

    Another lurching step, and then Renji dropped to his knees; Ichigo closed the gap between them with one more step. They fell into each others’ arms, the pain of their reopened wounds sweet torture in the quiet, desperate embrace.

END


Commissioned pic

I challenged Sekra to do a proper background for this, as it was important for the mood. She didn't think she was up to it, but discovered to her delight that rubble is actually pretty awesome to draw. :D (Now, if she'll just get around to posting it on dA, I'll link to a full-size version. *hint nudge* It's been almost a year, we're such terrible slackers, lol!) Click the pic to see the full-size version on dA!



Thank you. ^_^