Rise Against

Collection of one-shots dedicated to Bleach characters and Kubo Tite. And…Rise Against apparently…lol.

Not much to say, except that this is something that I can work on when my creative juices run dry. And also a personal test to see if I can write something about Bleach from just hearing a song, so here we go!

(Every time I type that, I think of Peter Pan ;))

I do not own Bleach, Rise Against or a licence to kill. Too bad.

Tomorrow we might wake in servitude and silence
I will give you everything if only you would have me
Tomorrow we will sweat and toil,
Our hands will quiver caked with soil,
Tomorrow we'll give it one last chance,
But tonight we dance,
But tonight we dance!

But Tonight We Dance

Begin Chapter One:

His hands were shaking.

How long had he been running like this?

More than a day – maybe more than two days – at times like this, he wasn't sure if the sun was out at all; the trees had grown so tall that he couldn't see the sky. Bent over, hands on his knees, he watched wide eyed as the tremors ran the lengths of his arms to his fingers. Sweat poured off the tip of his nose, soaking the dusty, barren dirt – how could he be so hot when there was a wintry breeze sweeping through the trees?

Ah, he shook his head – more drops cascading down his orange locks – he didn't have time to sit around here and stare at the ground, he had to get moving. Ignoring the pain in his chest, the suffocating feeling that could mean his lungs were collapsing, he began to run again.

Was he getting closer? Would he make it before the treacherous dawn rose across the horizon? Maybe it was already dawn – maybe he was too late already, and death was on his doorstep.

Maybe all that awaited him was the cold, crusty blood of his friends.

Frozen eyes – cobalt eyes that gleamed with fear – danced in his brain.

He ran faster.

In front of him, the path narrowed, smaller and smaller until he knew he was getting close. Soon, there would be no path to follow, and he would be forced to rely on his memory and instinct to guide him back home.

Home. His heart struck a melancholy cord that left his breath sobbing. But he ran still – there was nothing that would stop him now.

He was close – almost there, but in the same moment he saw the lifeless grey of the bunker, he also realized he would rather be miles away.

Just outside the door, he hesitated. No noise came from inside – but that wasn't abnormal. The bunker went deep into the earth, they could be screaming inside and he wouldn't hear it from here. The door creaked – and then opened, groaning in protest to being pulled out of its comfort, and then he all but leapt into the darkness, travelling down into the depths.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

"About time you got here, we've been worried for days."

"Idiot."

Ichigo felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards. Ah. They were safe, and it was good to be home.

"Dear God, Ichigo," his second in command – the pineapple head that had somehow became his closest friend, stepped forward and inspecting Ichigo closer, "What happened to you? You look like you've been running for days."

"Well, I was – makes sense, doesn't it?" Ichigo countered, rolling his eyes. He greeted the rest of the group, acknowledging their waves and grunts of hello. But he quickly noticed that one person was missing.

"Oi…where's Rukia?"

"Ah…" Orihime cocked her head, looking around confused, "She was just here a second ago…" she turned to the dark haired teen brooding on an old, dungy couch, "Ne, Ishida-kun, did you see where she went?"

"No, Inoue-san," He barely looked up to answer her; he was too busy staring at Ichigo, who was trying not to meet the gaze, "I'm afraid I didn't."

"She went to the balcony." Chad informed them, feeding his pet parakeet across the room.

"Oh, right! She was saying how stuffy it was in here – her allergies have been-"

"Is she stupid?" Ichigo bellowed, stomping towards a different set of stairs, "We still haven't fixed the beam yet, it could collapse! And they could be here any minute – she could-"

"Who could be here, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo froze. He hadn't wanted to tell them like this – he had such a stupid mouth. But, it looked like he was caught now.

"Ah…" He finally met gaze with Uryuu, who sighed and began to rub the bridge of his nose.

"It seems that they're finally coming for us." Uryuu spoke so calmly that for a moment, Ichigo almost felt like he was saying something perfectly fine and dandy, instead of confirming their impending doom.

Orihime stared at him, mouth hanging open, while Chad stared at his bird.

"What? Coming for us?" Renji spat, shaking his head, "Well we have to do hurry; we have to run-"

"We can't-" Ichigo began, but Uryuu stopped him.

"Go find Rukia. I'll explain."

He didn't look at Ichigo, and Ichigo didn't expect to see Uryuu bother to look either. And he knew that Uryuu wouldn't want to hear a thank you, so Ichigo just nodded and left, partially glad that he didn't have to be the one to see their faces when they figured it out.

There would be hell to pay.

He found her staring at the sky – the small patch of sky that could be seen through the thick bush – a sky glittering with bright stars, the kind they could only see in a middle-of-nowhere place like this. Ichigo was caught up in it for a few seconds, eyes glued to the inverted sea that seemed like a black hole in the midst of chaos. Darkness above them, darkness below them…how fitting.

"Ichigo."

She noticed him – she always did.

"What are you doing up here?"

He felt his irritation for her spike again, "What am I doing up here? What are you doing up here, look at where you're sitting!"

She was seated at the very tip of a broken beam – one that looked like it could bust at any seconds and send her plummeting about thirty feet. She, of course, didn't even turn her head to glare at him.

"I'm not gonna fall, idiot. I'm not a huge buffoon like you are; this beam could probably hold ten of me."

She had a point; he wasn't going to let her off the hook so easily, but he didn't have a comeback, so he pouted – glaring at the darkness beneath them. If it weren't for the small light that seeped through the doorway, they would be fully engulfed – the light hadn't been on when he went up; he wondered how she had found her way onto the ledge.

"When did you get back?"

That reminded him of the real world, and he frowned deeper. "Just now – I – uh…" He scratched the back of his head, "It's…it's not good."

She didn't speak – Rukia kept staring at the sky, and he couldn't tell if she looked sad or not.

"When?"

"They'll be here by dawn." He answered after a few seconds of silence.

She surprised him by getting up – somehow balancing on the thin beam – and faced him.

"Then I guess we should-" she jumped in the middle of her sentence – Rukia had always been some type of monkey human hybrid, always climbing to tall places and taking huge leaps no one but Ichigo thought she could handle, but this time he could see it – her trajectory had been off, her feet weren't braced correctly, she was going to miss her landing and slide backwards – falling into the hole at his feet.

Everything blurred – he was lurching forwards, arms wrapping around her, before returning to the safe side of the broken surface.

"Ichi…go?" Rukia looked up at him, not sure whether to thank him or not. She didn't want to put herself in that place – not again. Ichigo knew that she didn't want to be saved by him more than she needed to be.

"You idiot!" Ichigo barked out; face tinged red, "You almost killed yourself! Come on, let's get back inside before you end up splattered – man." Her small fingers circled around his wrist, summoning up strength that no tiny woman could posses; she kept him from dragging her inside.

"Ichigo…I – this is it, isn't? We're going to die."

Ichigo felt his stomach plummet. He remembered the last time she had sounded like this – when she had resigned herself to death – but the difference was that last time he yelled at her and told her to stop being so pessimistic.

Now, he could only accept it with her.

For the first time that night, he was mad.

Pissed off that after everything that they had gone through, after fighting for their lives for years that now they couldn't do anything to save themselves – after years of fighting to keep that stupid look off her face, that hopeless, lost, weak look that was so un-Rukia – now he couldn't do anything about it. If he tried, he would be a hypocrite, because that look was on all their faces now.

"I don't want to die."

Well, Ichigo's head snapped up – shocked, but smiled softly. That was something, at least.

"I don't want to die either."

"Say, Ichigo-" Rukia turned her eyes away from him, "There's something that I need to tell you. I've decided, that since we're about to die and all, that there's nothing for me to lose…"

"Rukia?" Ichigo tried to meet her eyes, but she stubbornly looked into the distance.

"Ichigo, before you saved me, I didn't think that there was anything to live for anymore – my hope and my will to live on had been stolen from me, but then you came around and somehow you made me want to see daylight again. You made me want to run and fight, and die fighting – because dying fighting for your life means that I got to choose when I died instead of it being decided for me."

She smiled a little bit, "I owe you a lot, Ichigo."

He chuckled, "You're already said your thanks, Rukia. You didn't hate me for saving you, so I assumed everything was alright."

"I just…it's not just that, Ichigo – I want you to know…" She paused and looked at him, her eyes hardening, "Hey, are you listening to me?"

He was – he was trying to, at least, but it was getting harder to hear what she was saying…and was the ground moving beneath his feet? He couldn't keep his balance…

"Ichigo!" Rukia's hands circled around his forearms – he heard her distorted voice and decided that it was too loud.

Then everything was silent and dark.

He was confused when he began to wake up. He heard music - a soft piano playing a miserable tune, beautiful music that settled in the pits of his soul and moved him.

"Ichigo?"

Opening his eyes, he saw Rukia standing over him – watching him carefully, before her eyebrows relaxed and she smiled softly.

"Finally awake? Good."

He yelped when she bashed him on the head.

"What are you doing? Don't hit me!"

She hit him again, her eyes glinting dangerously, "You ran for two days straight, no water no food, and you're calling me an idiot?"

The piano continued – and was joined by a soft voice, equally sad and sorrowful.

It clicked.

"Uryuu's playing…"

Rukia was still glaring at him, but she leaned back on her knees, "A last song – to give himself some peace. Orihime-chan is also singing with him. They're enjoying their last moments together." She shook her head, "Why are you such a fool, Ichigo? You didn't have to come back…you should have stayed…lived a little while longer…"

"I wanted to be here – with you guys. It seemed like the only place I could be happy to die."

Rukia snorted, "Happy to die? How…terrible."

"Isn't it?"

"I still don't want to die…"

"I know."

He lay on the small cot, staring at the ceiling, while she fiddled with her fingers.

"Are we giving up?"

Her question sparked a long forgotten feeling that Ichigo remembered from when he first discovered that they were coming for them.

"Are we…just letting ourselves die? I…I don't – I knew that this was going to happen one day…but, now that we're here, I can't help but feel like I'm giving up all over again."

"Rukia…"

"I want to live, Ichigo. It's your fault, you made me want it – and now I don't want it to be taken away, I don't want the dawn to come, I don't want this night to end…"

He sat up and sighed. He knew what she was feeling. Confusion and fear, because she thought he was giving up along with her; she was trying to snap him out of it. He was usually the one who refused to give up – the one who refused to die. But today…tonight, he felt something different in his heart. If they ran, they would die like dogs, shot down in the middle of the forest somewhere. One of them might survive – and if anyone survived, it would probably be him.

Uryuu was still sick – his body wouldn't be able to handle it, and Orihime, though she was very strong, was no match for the militia. Chad was strong, but he was too kind to leave behind his friends – he would go back and fight with them – fight and die with them. Renji might survive – but being alone again would kill him from the inside out.

He could remember the day their rag-tag group had come together – a common purpose creating bonds between then that otherwise would never have lasted.

It had been Rukia.

As Renji's childhood friend, he felt obligated to help her.

As Uryuu's cousin, he felt that his family should be saved.

As Orihime's best friend, she couldn't stand the thought of her being killed.

As Chad's best friend's debtor, he couldn't stand by and let Ichigo go in alone.

And as for Ichigo – he remembered her face when she came across him in the rain – his family slain and his house burned to the ground. The militia had come in the night and raided their home – and killed any who tried to fight them. She dressed his wounds, placed an umbrella over his head and force fed him until he felt sick.

He had survived…and then she had left him in the care of her sister who nursed him until he could live on his own. He had heard nothing or Rukia for three years – but he remembered her always.

From what he gathered from Hisana, Rukia had been the hand-chosen right hand of Shiba Kaien, a high-ranking officer who died years before he had met her. After his death, she was recruited to another office – a man who was rumoured to be merciless and loathed even by his troops.

Ichimaru Gin.

It had been his men who came to his home that night – his men who killed his family and left him to die.

His orders: steal from the poor to continue to live and kill.

When Rukia had saved him, she had committed a crime – a betrayal of Gin, but Ichigo thought she would be okay – how could he have found out? They had been alone that night, and now Ichigo was living with Hisana – who could care less about the affairs of the military.

However, her husband was an officer, who was obliged to inform his superiors that Rukia was a traitor.

God, how Ichigo despised that man. He betrayed his sister – and led her to her death.

She was, of course, sentenced to die.

Ichigo heard about it when Hisana gave into hysterics, screaming and sobbing – falling to her bed. She never got up – she died there because of her pain.

It was then that Ichigo committed himself to saving her – joined the military under a fake name, befriended Chad and Renji – who ironically was harbouring the same hatred for his superior. It was easy to convince him to join. Chad followed Ichigo in, saying that he couldn't let them do it alone.

Then Orihime – who they stumbled upon trying to sneak into the training barracks, having accidentally mistaken it for Rukia's cell. She was a secretary to the Commander and Rukia's only real friend. She asked them to join her before they could open their mouths.

Uryuu was working from the inside – already a member of an elite platoon that specialized in non-gun fighting. He, of course, discovered Ichigo's team and had rolled his eyes, before pulling them aside to warn them that if they kept marching around together, they were going to be caught.

Arrogant prick.

But…he had done his job – they were more careful and weren't found out and eventually, Ichigo made contact with Rukia and convinced her to keep on living and go with them.

They had been on the run for two years.

Two blissful years of comrade and friendship, years that Ichigo enjoyed thoroughly. And the beautiful thing about it was that all of his friends enjoyed it too. They were orphans – loners – people that had nowhere to go. Even though they were so different, they were still family.

And that's how he wanted it to end.

If he was going to die, he wanted to die happy and with his family.

Standing up, he towered over her – her eyes still trained, downcast, on the ground.

"Get up, Rukia."

She turned to look at him slowly, her cobalt eyes still clouded with sadness.

"What? Why?" Her voice was low and unbearable – annoyance sprang into his chest.

"Just…take my hand." Ichigo contradicted his words by grabbing her hand before she could decide for herself.

To the sound of Uryuu's playing, he placed his hand on her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"If we're going to die, then I want to die with a smile on my face-"

Her eyes glinted, and he saw the Rukia that he knew again.

"Smile? Don't you mean a slightly turned up scowl? Please, Ichigo – you don't smile. You frown, you scowl, you grimace, you pout but smiling isn't in your facial expression reservoir."

"Heh, you're right. Fine then – I want to feel happy."

And together, to the heart-breaking music that came from somewhere in their underground home, they shared a dance that lasted until dawn, even after the music faded – even after the door was bust down and their home was ransacked – even while guns glinted and shots were fired.

The sun crawled across the horizon – and they still danced like it was night.

End Chapter One