Silent Snow
Nightime Visit
*Rukia’s P.O.V.*
Rukia woke up in the middle of the night shivering. She threw one more blanket over herself and tried to go back to sleep, but the cold easily seeped through her covers. Throwing the covers off, she quietly opened the closet she was sleeping in and tiptoed out.
Ichigo was breathing evenly, seemingly unaffected by the chilly air. She tiptoed outside the room to follow where the drafts were coming from, planning to close whatever window someone left open. Rukia stopped outside of Ichigo’s cousin’s room…Paige was it? The cold was coming through the door that was slightly open. She pushed it open wide and was blasted by the chilling air.
She looked around the room and realized that all the windows were closed. The cold air seemed to pulse around her as she stepped into the room. Rukia looked towards the bed where Paige was sleeping soundly with no blankets over her. She noticed how the girl didn’t shiver at all but instead she was calmly breathing in and out as she slept. Rukia walked closer to her and came to a shocking realization. ‘This isn’t just any cold air, this is reiatsu!’ She shook the girl but she barely stirred. Shaking her harder, Paige grumbled and opened her eyes.
Seeing Rukia in front of her, Paige slowly mumbled. “Rukia…?”
Rukia nodded and gestured at the covers that Paige was sleeping on top of. But Paige merely shook her head and yawned. “Too late, if I wake up in the middle of the night, I can’t fall back asleep for a while.”
“But…isn’t it cold in here?” The reiatsu was still everywhere. Paige tilted her head to the side in confusion. “What? I don’t feel cold…”
Rukia was about to answer her when her hollow finder started beeping. She took it out of her pajama pocket and looked down at it. There was a hollow a few blocks away. “Well, uh, I’m going back to bed I guess…I thought I should have just checked in on you…later!” She left the room hurriedly, leaving behind the confused girl, and headed towards Ichigo’s room.
*Paige’s P.O.V.*
I felt sluggish as I pushed myself off of my bed. Wobbling slightly, I took a few shaky steps forward as I slowly woke up. I followed Rukia to Ichigo’s room and watched as she ran in and shoved Ichigo off the bed. A loud ‘Thud!’ resounded around the room as Ichigo shouted in surprise, waking up immediately. He complained “What the hell Rukia, I was–”
Rukia cut him off. “There’s a hollow a few blocks away, let’s go!”
Ichigo mumbled something sleepily and grabbed an object from his desk that was letting out a shrill sounding alarm. Ichigo took a breath, closed his eyes, and fell. My eyes widened as Ichigo hit the ground. Another Ichigo stood next to his body, clothed in a black shihakusho with a white sash around his waist, and a huge sword on his back. He nodded at Rukia and they both jumped out the window. I closed my mouth after a few moments, which had dropped open in shock, and I came out of my hiding place.
I walked up to Ichigo’s body, which lay crumpled on the floor, and bent down. He was still holding on to the object with its alarm going off. I pried it from his fingers carefully and took a closer look at it. It was a brown badge with a large skull on it. Each time the alarm rang, its eyes would light up yellow. I brought it closer to my face looking at it flashing and– “Oi! Ichigo! What’s with all the racket?!”
I turned around quickly and saw the most bizarre thing ever. A little lion stuffed animal was standing there talking…no, shouting would be a more appropriate word. He threw the closet door open and as soon as he saw me – it sounded like a he – he fell lifelessly to the floor.
I tentatively stepped towards the stuffed animal, as I got closer I saw anxious sweat rolling down the back of its head, which had a blue cross on it. I poked it with my foot. It didn’t move. I stepped on it. Its tail slightly twitched. I began rubbing it into the floor with my foot, squashing it. He exploded in fury. “Oi! Watch what you’re doing! Only nee-san can do that–” I stopped and lifted my foot away from the stuffed animal which was now facing up towards me with a glare. His expression changed almost instantaneously, however, when he looked up. “Nice view!”
It took me a moment to realize what he meant. I was only wearing a light blue nightdress that came down almost to my knees. Blushing furiously, I stomped my foot down on his face as he objected. “Ah! The stuffing! It’s coming out! Stop~!”
I gritted my teeth and hissed out. “Stupid, perverted, stuffed animal!”
After a minute, I grinned wickedly, my vengeance now carried out. I sat down facing him, grabbing him by the tail as I lifted him up. He was punching and kicking in the air. “Put me down!”
I stared at him and, ignoring his outburst, began the interrogation. “How are you talking? Answer me!”
He folded his arms, a smug look on his face. “Nope, not gonna tell ya.” I threw him against the wall as hard as I could throw and he hit it with a loud ‘Squeak!’ But as he fell, a little green pill-looking thing fell out of his mouth. I sat there and looked at him, but he wasn’t moving again. Frowning, I stood up. “If this another trick or you’re acting, you’re so dead.”
I moved over to the now still stuffed animal and picked up the little green pill and studied it. It was smaller than the tip of my pinky and it didn’t smell like anything. I put it in my mouth, slowly starting to think it was candy or something, and swallowed after a few moments of hesitation.
A loud noise sounded around me and I fell on my butt. I looked up after wincing from the slight pain and froze in my tracks. There I stood, blinking bemusedly. I looked down at my hands, then looked back up to see…well, me in front of me. I leapt to my feet, shock clearly on my face “What the hell?!”
My body looked back at me, looked at themselves, and then grinned. “Cool! But wait, not cool…Ichigo is gonna be pissed!”
‘Wait a second,’ I thought. “What the heck! Why are you in my body! And if that’s my body, then what am I in right now?!”
“You’re in your soul form” he replied simply, as if that explained everything. He seemed to think for a moment, “I guess a better way to say it is that you’re in a sort of death-like state.”
My eyes widened in shock, ‘A death-like state? What does that mean?! Am I dead?! This can’t be happening…It can’t be happening…’ My vision was slowly becoming blurry and I wavered on my feet, feeling dizzy, before passing out.
Rukia woke up in the middle of the night shivering. She threw one more blanket over herself and tried to go back to sleep, but the cold easily seeped through her covers. Throwing the covers off, she quietly opened the closet she was sleeping in and tiptoed out.
Ichigo was breathing evenly, seemingly unaffected by the chilly air. She tiptoed outside the room to follow where the drafts were coming from, planning to close whatever window someone left open. Rukia stopped outside of Ichigo’s cousin’s room…Paige was it? The cold was coming through the door that was slightly open. She pushed it open wide and was blasted by the chilling air.
She looked around the room and realized that all the windows were closed. The cold air seemed to pulse around her as she stepped into the room. Rukia looked towards the bed where Paige was sleeping soundly with no blankets over her. She noticed how the girl didn’t shiver at all but instead she was calmly breathing in and out as she slept. Rukia walked closer to her and came to a shocking realization. ‘This isn’t just any cold air, this is reiatsu!’ She shook the girl but she barely stirred. Shaking her harder, Paige grumbled and opened her eyes.
Seeing Rukia in front of her, Paige slowly mumbled. “Rukia…?”
Rukia nodded and gestured at the covers that Paige was sleeping on top of. But Paige merely shook her head and yawned. “Too late, if I wake up in the middle of the night, I can’t fall back asleep for a while.”
“But…isn’t it cold in here?” The reiatsu was still everywhere. Paige tilted her head to the side in confusion. “What? I don’t feel cold…”
Rukia was about to answer her when her hollow finder started beeping. She took it out of her pajama pocket and looked down at it. There was a hollow a few blocks away. “Well, uh, I’m going back to bed I guess…I thought I should have just checked in on you…later!” She left the room hurriedly, leaving behind the confused girl, and headed towards Ichigo’s room.
*Paige’s P.O.V.*
I felt sluggish as I pushed myself off of my bed. Wobbling slightly, I took a few shaky steps forward as I slowly woke up. I followed Rukia to Ichigo’s room and watched as she ran in and shoved Ichigo off the bed. A loud ‘Thud!’ resounded around the room as Ichigo shouted in surprise, waking up immediately. He complained “What the hell Rukia, I was–”
Rukia cut him off. “There’s a hollow a few blocks away, let’s go!”
Ichigo mumbled something sleepily and grabbed an object from his desk that was letting out a shrill sounding alarm. Ichigo took a breath, closed his eyes, and fell. My eyes widened as Ichigo hit the ground. Another Ichigo stood next to his body, clothed in a black shihakusho with a white sash around his waist, and a huge sword on his back. He nodded at Rukia and they both jumped out the window. I closed my mouth after a few moments, which had dropped open in shock, and I came out of my hiding place.
I walked up to Ichigo’s body, which lay crumpled on the floor, and bent down. He was still holding on to the object with its alarm going off. I pried it from his fingers carefully and took a closer look at it. It was a brown badge with a large skull on it. Each time the alarm rang, its eyes would light up yellow. I brought it closer to my face looking at it flashing and– “Oi! Ichigo! What’s with all the racket?!”
I turned around quickly and saw the most bizarre thing ever. A little lion stuffed animal was standing there talking…no, shouting would be a more appropriate word. He threw the closet door open and as soon as he saw me – it sounded like a he – he fell lifelessly to the floor.
I tentatively stepped towards the stuffed animal, as I got closer I saw anxious sweat rolling down the back of its head, which had a blue cross on it. I poked it with my foot. It didn’t move. I stepped on it. Its tail slightly twitched. I began rubbing it into the floor with my foot, squashing it. He exploded in fury. “Oi! Watch what you’re doing! Only nee-san can do that–” I stopped and lifted my foot away from the stuffed animal which was now facing up towards me with a glare. His expression changed almost instantaneously, however, when he looked up. “Nice view!”
It took me a moment to realize what he meant. I was only wearing a light blue nightdress that came down almost to my knees. Blushing furiously, I stomped my foot down on his face as he objected. “Ah! The stuffing! It’s coming out! Stop~!”
I gritted my teeth and hissed out. “Stupid, perverted, stuffed animal!”
After a minute, I grinned wickedly, my vengeance now carried out. I sat down facing him, grabbing him by the tail as I lifted him up. He was punching and kicking in the air. “Put me down!”
I stared at him and, ignoring his outburst, began the interrogation. “How are you talking? Answer me!”
He folded his arms, a smug look on his face. “Nope, not gonna tell ya.” I threw him against the wall as hard as I could throw and he hit it with a loud ‘Squeak!’ But as he fell, a little green pill-looking thing fell out of his mouth. I sat there and looked at him, but he wasn’t moving again. Frowning, I stood up. “If this another trick or you’re acting, you’re so dead.”
I moved over to the now still stuffed animal and picked up the little green pill and studied it. It was smaller than the tip of my pinky and it didn’t smell like anything. I put it in my mouth, slowly starting to think it was candy or something, and swallowed after a few moments of hesitation.
A loud noise sounded around me and I fell on my butt. I looked up after wincing from the slight pain and froze in my tracks. There I stood, blinking bemusedly. I looked down at my hands, then looked back up to see…well, me in front of me. I leapt to my feet, shock clearly on my face “What the hell?!”
My body looked back at me, looked at themselves, and then grinned. “Cool! But wait, not cool…Ichigo is gonna be pissed!”
‘Wait a second,’ I thought. “What the heck! Why are you in my body! And if that’s my body, then what am I in right now?!”
“You’re in your soul form” he replied simply, as if that explained everything. He seemed to think for a moment, “I guess a better way to say it is that you’re in a sort of death-like state.”
My eyes widened in shock, ‘A death-like state? What does that mean?! Am I dead?! This can’t be happening…It can’t be happening…’ My vision was slowly becoming blurry and I wavered on my feet, feeling dizzy, before passing out.