[Fanfic Recs] Rukia (Bleach)

[anenko.livejournal.com]

Bleach
(Rukia Kuchiki)



First Snow, by amberjade

Fingers made of ice found themselves in her hair, purposely pulling apart the locks of dark hair that had become matted together by dried blood. It was a slow process and the owner of the fingers made sure to be gentle as well.

Rukia groaned as she opened her eyes. “Were you always this cold?”

An amused smile broke over Shirayuki’s face. “Yes and no.”

Sleeve of White Snow: Variations on a Theme , by afrai

In the days after she had been released from her long wait for death, Rukia trained -- trained with an empty sword in an empty room; trained from sunrise till nightfall, ignoring the acid burn of exhaustion in her muscles; trained alone, silent as a world draped in fog, slipping smoke-like from kata to kata. It was not as easy as it should have been: lack of practice told, and that time in the white tower --

But she did not think of the time in the white tower. She dreamt of it sometimes, but she would forget. And then it would not matter anymore: just another scar to hold inside herself until death took it from her.

The War of Winter, by lacewood

Taken into the Kuchiki name, she entered a house of winter, where every movement was stark as a bare tree against a shadowed sky, every word a killing wind, and grace carried the purity of virgin snow. She was always cold here, frozen and unmoving, her fingers clenched into a rictus of uncertainty. The chill bit into her bones, ruthless and implacable, and this time there was no one shivering and swearing beside her, no warm body she could draw a beggar's comfort from. She did not need it, she told herself, and when she'd remembered how to breathe again, she discovered the cold had not killed her after all.

Only made itself her season, whether she would or no. And she bowed her head to its mark.

Reunion, by Chi no Kaori

Alone on the rocky training grounds of the 13th Squad, Rukia took a deep breath, and slipped her zanpakutou out of its sheath.

It was getting late, and exhaustion was beginning to creep into her, but...

One more try. Her fingers tightened around the hilt.

Full Wolf Moon, by Fushigi Kismet

Inside the dim gloom of the room Rukia laid curled up on her bed, dried tear tracks marring her face. Blood splattered the clothes she had mutely refused to let the maid servants change. In her arms laid something white and equally bloodstained.

He stepped forward and then stilled. Though he could not see it, he could feel the spirit force rising from the blade. Had he been able to see it, he would have faced the spectre of a snow-white animal with its head lifted, ears pricked, staring at him with icy blue eyes, showing a row of teeth, sharp and white. They regarded one another for an instant, man and sword, and he said, "Ah," very quietly, inclined his head imperceptibly, and exited the room.

Shirayuki Sodeno turned and licked her mistress's face, once, then settled down into Rukia's arms, and proceeded to dream her own dreams.

Second Dance, by rilina

Rukia's blinded by her own attack; the glare of the sun on the wall of ice she's just created is like nothing she's ever encountered. She immediately shields her eyes with a raised arm, but for several long moments all she can see is spots. She blinks furiously as she listens for a counterstrike. It doesn't come.

penetrating, by ashirabe

The first night Rukia met her zanpakutou spirit was the night Kaien-dono died

behold, and see, by incandescens

Animals in a snowy forest hide themselves well.

For months on end Rukia sought her zanpakutou in her dreams, trudging through the snow in bare feet.

untitled, by moonsheen

…when the white hand brushed through her hair that night, Rukia turned her eyes up.

“Fool you wake me--” she began. And stopped. And squinted. It was always a little bit cool Rukia’s quarters—she insisted on sleeping the door open a crack, no matter the weather, no matter the season. It was summer now, and a clear night. Yet Rukia’s skin rose in goosebumps and she felt a clatter in her teeth.

into the woods, by incandescens

This is the path through the woods.

There are foxes in the woods. They smile with white white teeth and they laugh from the shadows and they run alongside and twine themselves between her legs and when she falls to the ground, they are warm fur beside her and they reach up with hands that touch her face and they smile and put a collar around her throat.

The Fallibility of the Heart, by raynos

Rukia opens her eyes and finds herself in a deeply wooded glen, sandalled feet sinking into the soft grass. She instantly knows where she is. After all, it is only in her inner world that strips of multi-coloured cloth hang from the trees, bright stripes of colours against the dark greens and browns of the landscape.

Almost immediately she is up and on her feet, blindly fleeing from the location she appeared in. She has no idea why Shirayuki would seek an audience with her now, of all times, but she does not wish to listen. Throughout her escape her raw nerves strain to spot a flash of white feathers, wait for a sudden cold wind to whip the hanging cloths into disarray, but nothing happens.

Let it be easy, by afrai

This is how she learns her sword's name.

A dark night. Rain. Blood warm on her face.

A dead body is all the heavier for the life that has fled. Rukia feels her knees buckle, lets the weight push her down. Kaien's head lolls, horribly, on her shoulder, and the shock of it makes her hands slip on the hilt of her sword.

"Kuchiki."

Dead weight. Dead by her own hand.

20 Things We Learnt About Kuchiki Rukia (But Only Once She Could Not Disagree), by afrai

6. Kuchiki Rukia spent three quarters of her life believing herself to be unloved. Certain scholars argue that it is seven-eighths, but there are obvious flaws in their methodology, and their research is dubious at best.

a very rational attitude, by incandescens

It's easy to convince herself that the man has been sent to help her.

The Spirit Door, by Lacewood

The shinigami looks at him and he will remember her eyes for the rest of his life.

"I killed him," she says, then turns and walks away to fade into the rain the same way she came out of it. He watches her leave (he cannot look at the body on the ground before him, he just can't), her eyes old and cold and terrible in his heart.

Shinigami, he thinks.

Homewreckers start young, by afrai

"Will the little one come down to bear me company?"

The face that emerged from the green was small, rather dirty, and unflatteringly suspicious.

"I am very bored," the woman added. This did not seem to bear any particular weight with the little one: but then Miyako smiled, and the child said,

"I will come."

She dropped out of the tree too fast for Miyako even to be alarmed, landing on her feet like a cat. As Miyako considered how she should seat her guest, the child settled the matter by clambering onto the desk, unceremoniously pushing aside stacks of paperwork to make space.

happily ever after, by sunlandginroad

Rukia had never had much tolerance for stories and make believe, but one of her friends from the alley had been a master storyteller.

Cute, But Deadly, by demoerin

Rukia pounced.

When the animal is bewildered, frozen, you don't hesitate. Long practise in the fields and alleys around Rukongai had taught her that.

"But I won't eat you!" she cooed as she cradled the animal to her chest, delighted that it was the truth. She had told many rabbits the same thing, trying to be kind, but she'd never been impractical with the others in the gang to think about.

The newly dead rabbit's eyes bulged wildly, and its heart was too fast for the beats to be counted. Rukia secured its paws as she held it, so that it could not scratch her, and indulged in burying her face in the rabbit's short black fur.

what hunger taught us, by incandescens

When Rukia got into the Academy, it took her a while to come to terms with food whenever she wanted it, as much as she wanted. Too many years of hunger had left their mark on her, skin and bone.

All We Know of Heaven (That Which We Are Not Meant to Grasp remix)>, by raynos

To any other person, she would've seemed like an ordinary street rat. She was smarter than most, though, in skulking by the corner of the shack and evaluating her surroundings. A cloth bag hung from her wrist, probably the day’s pickings. Urahara took care to melt into the shadows to watch her more closely.

There was something different about her behavior as she hung in the shadows, and after a moment's examination Urahara was amused to note that she actually made a haphazard attempt at searching for reiatsu. With any normal Rukongai dweller, she might have been successful, but Urahara was able to taper his reiatsu so that he remained undetected.

Having satisfied herself that there was no one around, the street rat darted out, clearly heading for the candy on the windowsill.

Foreign Towers, by afrai

She was acquainted with towers. She did not like them.

"'It's made from bone," stammered the girl. "She built it for love of me."

They imprison you, of course, for your own good. They send you away from the battlefield for your own good. They had passed over her for years: never a promotion, every post she knew she would have done well with given to another. She had thought it was because she was not good enough.

Thrust and Parry, by aviss

Rukia was weaker, but she knew there were no more miracles in store for her. She had used them all up in Seiretei; she could only rely on herself here.

Thrust and parry, attack and retreat; it was nothing more than a dance, and dance was what she and Sode no Shirayuki did best.

Satellite, by vicious_lullaby

She always tried to stay out of his sight as much as possible.

If they walked together, she would pace herself a step behind. If she approached him, it would be from the back, avoiding his side (peripheral vision) and never daring to meet him face to face.

It had nothing to do with dislike. Cold or no, Rukia adored her new brother, couldn’t not adore him for all the effort he had put forth on her behalf. (She knew full well who she was and where she came from, and that people like her did not deserve such things. Part of being a Kuchiki was to remember your place in the world, after all.)

Vanishing Point, by overtoned

The town was fucking mad.

It had angered her a little to discover that she'd been sent to guard a town that was overflowing with reiatsu. Nothing could go wrong here, she had believed. Not with former captains and powerful lords residing in every other block. But of course, she was wrong. When the first Hollow struck, she had learned otherwise quickly.

She had half-expected him, or maybe him, but at least him to step out of hiding and defend his territory. But no, it had only been her, the Hollow, and the bright cratered moon. Not that she minded. The showdown had lasted scant seconds and, as she landed gracefully onto ground, she became convinced that others were watching. People who hid in the shadows and watched her complete her order like they would watch children at play.

Not even the dust had shifted below her feet. She sheathed her sword indignantly and half-considered taking a bow.

See also:
http://del.icio.us/anenko/bleach:renji-rukia
http://del.icio.us/anenko/bleach:byakuya-rukia
http://del.icio.us/anenko/bleach:ichigo-rukia

Comments

[rilina-fic.livejournal.com]

I love you for posting this, because (1) new recs! and (2) now I don't have to! And thanks for the mention. :)

[anenko.livejournal.com]

Rukia is my Bleach OTC, so I couldn't let halfamoon pass by without mentioning her.

And thanks for the mention. :)

Your fics are always a delight. You're on my list for Sakura recs, too, if I manage to get around to it in time.