Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Flowers on the precipice ❯ The Beginning ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any characters thereof. They are the property of Kubo Tite: I am merely borrowing them for your reading pleasure.

 

Author's note: This story is going to be my first multi-chaptered story. I would love to have some feedback on how well it is going, so please, if you have any comments or constructive criticism, let me know as they are kindly welcomed.

This is an IchiHime, RenRuki fanfiction as both are my OTPs in Bleach.

 

Chapter 1: The beginning

 

Chapter 1: The beginning

 

Dammit. He was running out of breath and room to run.

“Onii-chan, he's getting closer.”

He didn't need to be told that. Whatever that thing was, he could feel it closing in behind him.

The wailing sound blasted through the air again, almost pushing him off course but he kept running, glancing back just in time then to duck another swipe at him and the little passenger.

As he started running again, he thanked the kamis that it was so dark out. Heaven knows what people would say, seeing him running, jumping, ducking and dodging all alone in an empty park. They wouldn't see the blonde headed child on his back, nor the huge black and white beast that was chasing them.

Only he could.

That's right. Ever since he could remember, he had been able to see ghosts. He could see them so clearly when he was younger he hadn't been able to separate the dead from the living. Lately, he had started to see these monsters too. This was the third one he had seen in fact. He didn't know what they were but he knew what they wanted. The first one he'd seen had taught him that. It had been chasing a young mother and her son. At first, it had just seemed like a big blur chasing them but after a little while, the image got clearer and clearer. By the time he could fully make out the form though, it had caught up and devoured them both in front of his eyes and disappeared again before he could even reach them.

“It's getting really close. Onii-chan, maybe you should just leave me and save yourself. I'm happy that you want to help but…I'm already dead, so you should just save yourself.”

They weren't going to make it.

He was slowing down, his leg muscles screaming from exertion, his lungs burning with the effort of transporting the well needed oxygen into his body.

`I guess we have no other choice.'

“Onii-chan?” the little boy asked surprised as they suddenly stopped and were now facing the beast.

“Tch, I guess we have no other choice. Stay behind me, Tetsuo.”

“Onii-chan, what are you going to do? You can't take on that thing. You'll….”

“Just stay behind me, okay?” the youth reiterated gently, “It'll be okay.”

His eyes scanned the area quickly for something he could use as a weapon and landed on a piece of metal pipe about four feet long a little to his right. Moving quickly, he slid to that side, grabbing the boy behind him. He only had a second to raise it before the huge fist came crashing down.

“Ungh.”

The sound whooshed out of him from the force of keeping that huge fist from falling on them.

“Onii-chan,” Tetsuo cried worriedly behind him, his fist clenched tightly in the dark blue fabric of his sweater.

`Dammit,' he thought as the fist raised and descended gain, `this thing is outrageously strong. It's pushing me further and further back with every hit. If this continues, my arms are going to be of no use from just trying to block him. Additionally, if the powerful arms don't crush us, that tail like a scorpion is going to be our end. What do I do then?'

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Was that the last of them?

It was weird. That had been the eighth one tonight. It made her feel very suspicious. She had never encountered so many hollows within such a short amount of time, in all her time here.

The cell-phone started to beep again.

Another one!?

This one was all the way across town. What the hell was going on? she wondered as she jumped from her perch on the top of the light post and started off. She'd only been here for two months serving as the resident shinigami overseeing this town and in the last two weeks, she had seen more hollows than she had ever seen in all two months.

It was that sudden increase in activity that made her slightly anxious. Why were the attacks increasing so suddenly? She shook her head mentally and hurried her pace. She should hurry and get to it before it did damage.

The blurred image of the fast moving dark-haired figure passed unseen by the rest of the world as she hurried to her destination. As she hurried, she kept watch on the screen on her detector phone. The blip was stationary. It hadn't moved in the past few minutes at all. That could only mean it already had a target in its sight. That in mind, she forced herself to go even faster.

She reached the spot in less than ten minutes but pinpointing exactly where the hollow was turned out to be a little trickier. For some reason, she couldn't feel it even though the screen said it was there. Added to that, she was in a park and there were no lights on to show her much of anything, the sky was over-clouded, making use of the moonlight out of the question.

She checked the radar again. The hollow had only moved slightly from the area, somewhere that should be a little to her left but she couldn't sense it anywhere.

Something was wrong.

It was the only thing she could think of. She should be able to sense the hollow at least from such a close range but she couldn't feel it anywhere. She frowned and jumped down from her perch in the tree, landing gracefully on her feet, her dark robes rustling slightly in the wind.

“Where is it?” she asked aloud before setting off again, moving more to her left in attempt to get a lock on the hollow.

She had gone no more than a few yards when she came upon a scene that had her almost falling in the midst of skipping from tree to tree.

There in the middle of a sand pit was a young boy and a bright headed youth battling off the hollow. Shock held her still.

“What are those two idiots thinking?”

She didn't even realize she shouted this aloud until the two turned to look at her.

A girl? What the hell was she doing so high in a tree this late at night in a dark park? Was she another soul?

The thoughts came in rapid succession. With some effort, he forced back the hollow and spared another glance in her direction. She was looking straight at them. She could see them then. `Good,' he thought.

“Hey,” he called out, “If you can see us, get this kid and both you of you get out of here.”

`Huh?' The dark-haired girl looked around her, not quite believing that he was addressing her.

“I'm talking to you, idiot! There isn't anyone else around is there?” he retorted on seeing her reaction, his hands straining to still hold off the hand that was coming ever so closer to crushing him.

“He can see me!?”

Belatedly she realized the impact of the situation. That teen was not another spirit but a human being and…he was actually holding off a hollow…seeing it. He could see her too. What the hell was going on?

The cell-phone blipped again. Another one. She had to get rid of this one fast then.

The youth shifted the piece of pipe down and skipped out of the way, his arms aching from the strength required to hold off just one fist. The fist landed inches away from him, creating a huge crater where he would have been. That would have definitely killed him.

“Oi, Ugly. Over here. Why don't you try me on for size?”

`What the hell was she doing?' he thought as the girl landed a little to the right of the beast. `Was she crazy? She's like an ant compared to that thing. What is she trying to do? Get herself killed? The idiot.'

The beast let loose another of that loud wailing cry and turned to her. In another instant, it was attacking her, sending its powerful tail, the pointed end going right at her.

“Dammit,” he muttered as the girl just stood there. He turned to Tetsuo. “Stay here.”

With that he started off as quickly as he could, trying to get to her before that fist landed.

So caught up was she in watching the movements of the beast and timing her attack, that she didn't see him coming. Just as she was about to unsheathe the katana at her side and deal the finishing blow, he railroaded her, knocking her hard to the side, whipping the breath out of her as he landed half on top of her. The tail dug in the exact spot she had stood in only seconds before, sending debris flying everywhere.

“What are you trying to do, idiot? If you are looking to die, go do it somewhere else.”

A tick of annoyance throbbed at her temples but before she could respond, she saw the flash of movement behind him. Moving as quickly as she could, she pushed him out of the way and tried to roll out of the way. She wasn't quick enough though and the sharp point of the tail sank painfully into her side.

“Idiot, what the hell are you doing?” the boy yelled at her as he grabbed the metal pipe and ran over. “Are you seriously trying to get killed?”

With a heavy swing, he hit the tail hard, tearing it in two and causing the beast to wail harder and back away. While the beast was busy wailing, he grabbed the end sticking into her side and pulled it out before fluidly tossing her over his shoulders like a sack of rice. He was getting them out of here. As he started to run, he snatched the boy under his arm and set off as fast as he could.

“Wh…What are you doing?” the girl spluttered, “Put me down this instant, you fool. Put me down or we're all going to die.”

“What are you babbling about? You were the one that almost died. Are you a retard?”

“I'm a shinigami, baka. I wouldn't have died. I wouldn't have even gotten injured either if it wasn't for you. Just put me down and let me get rid of this thing. Don't involve yourself or you'll get killed.”

“Are you joking? That thing is dangerous, not just to me but to you too. What the hell do you mean you're a shinigami anyway…and what is that thing?”

“That is a hollow, an evil spirit.”

The beeping interrupted anything else she might have added and she belatedly recalled that there had been another. It must have moved. She checked the radar. Dammit. It was heading straight in this direction. Why was it coming here? She had enough on her hands with this one and taking care of these two.

She clicked the phone shut and looked up, expecting to see the hollow behind them as before but was surprised beyond words when she didn't see it anywhere.

“Matte,” she called out suddenly.

“What the hell are you saying?” the boy asked not even pausing, “That thing is right on top of us.”

“It's not following,” she replied.

“It ain't behind us idiot. It's running beside us and another one's coming close too.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I can feel it,” he responded, “We have to get to the other side of this park, in the open.”

`What is he talking about?' she wondered. She couldn't sense any hollows nearby yet he was saying that he could, that he could even sense the other one. She paused in mid thought…he had spoken of the other one. She hadn't said anything about the other one and as a human, he couldn't know about the detector. What the hell was he? Was he right about the two hollows? Closing her eyes, she focused her mind.

She could barely feel it now, the presence of the two converging on them. Even so, it was like she was experiencing the event through a thick haze. It was like something was preventing her from fully sensing them. Exactly what was going on?

The boy stopped suddenly, setting her on her feet before pushing her and the boy behind him.

“They're coming,” was all he said.

She stared ahead and sure enough, less than a second later; the two hollows were there, one from the left, the other bursting out from right in front of them.

This was a dangerous situation. With two hollows and trying to protect them, it wasn't going to be easy. She would have to get the closest one and then go after the other one right after, as quickly as she could before it got to them. That in mind, she charged at the one that was closest, the one they had been fighting before.

“What are you doing?”

She ignored the question and launched herself upwards, unsheathing her sword as she started to come down. Not expecting any of them to charge at it, the hollow didn't have time to react and she was able to slice right through it, splitting it right down the middle. Somersaulting mid air, she landed soundlessly in the middle as the beast started to disappear.

He stared in shock, unable to believe what he had just seen. If Tetsuo didn't suddenly start pulling his clothes, he would have just kept staring in disbelief.

“Look,” the little boy cried, pointing above them, “It's sending something this way.”

The other hollow had jumped in the air and released a big blob from its mouth. As they watched, the blob transformed into a smaller version of the hollow and headed straight for the girl. Sensing it, she turned and swiped at it with her sword. The thing dodged and spat some goo at her. She raised her hand to prevent the goo from falling in her eyes as she shifted out of the way.

At the same time, from the periphery of his view, he saw the bigger hollow suddenly head, very quickly, straight for her. She wouldn't see it. He knew it without question. She had her hand raised to stop the goo but it had been a move to distract her so that the big one could attack.

Without thinking, he moved off.

“Onee-san! Watch out!”

She barely heard the call and by the time she realized he was warning her, it was too late.

`Dammit to hell. It had been a trap. Why didn't I see it?' she thought now as she watched those vicious claws head straight for her. It was too close. She wouldn't be able to get away in time. It was going to hit badly no matter what. She closed her eyes, waiting on the impact.

But it never came. Instead, she felt her body hurling through the air to land painfully a few feet away from where she had stood. Shock made her open her eyes only to see the claws sink right through the boy's abdomen. His eyes widened in pain.

“Fool,” she screamed at him even as she set her katana in front of her and jumped into the air again. The katana cut cleanly through the hand impaling him, causing both the boy and it to fall to the ground.

Pain rang in every corner of his being from a burning center in his abdomen. In horrid fascination, he stared down at the grotesque thing sticking out of him. Red liquid was quickly staining the white t-shirt he was wearing under his blue sweater, pooling hot under him and staining the ground red. Seeing it, it sank in then that he was probably going to die.

`This is a shitty way to go,' he couldn't help thinking then. `I've only been in this town for seventeen days and now I'm going to die. I haven't even been to school once yet.'

“Onii-chan! Onii-chan!”

Tetsuo was calling him but he sounded so far away, so distant. He tried to answer him, to let him know he was okay but even as his throat moved, no sound came. His vision was also starting to blur. He blinked trying to make the fuzziness go away but it didn't work.

“Idiot. What were you trying to do? Didn't I tell you not to get involved?”

He shifted his head slightly at the words to stare at the girl.

She was bending to his right on her knees, her right hand holding her left shoulder, blood spewing between her fingers. Her face showed splatters of blood too but he couldn't tell if it was hers or the hollow's. He felt suddenly relieved though to see her.

“You're alive.”

“Idiot, stop spewing nonsense. What are you worrying about me for? You should be worried about yourself.”

The raven haired girl eyed the thickening pool beneath him. She'd been careless and he'd paid the price. She couldn't help but think that way…and now he was going to die because of her.

“Oi,” she called as his eyes drifted down, “Oi.”

He struggled to keep his eyes open and focus on her but they felt so heavy.

“Onee-san, can't you help him? Isn't there a way to help him, Onee-san?”

The dark-haired girl turned her amethyst eyes on the little boy.

“I don't want him to die,” the boy cried, “He was only trying to help me. Please…don't let him die.”

The cry tore at her. She turned her attention back to the boy.

He was young, couldn't be more than eighteen in fact, the most distinguishing feature being that bright orange hair, so clear now that she was up close. In normal circumstances, he would be around her age.

“Isn't there a way to help him?” the boy cried again.

There was only one…and even so, it would be temporary. It was all she could think of to do but why bother if it would only last a few hours at most…? An idea hit her suddenly. It just might be possible to save him entirely.

“What are you doing, Onee-san?” Tetsuo asked as the girl ripped off one leg of her clothes and stood over the youth. With one pull, she yanked the hand from his abdomen.

“Help me get this around him,” she ordered.

Her tone was serious and he jumped to it, deciding she must have come up with something to help him. They quickly bound the gaping hole but the blood was still rushing out from him unchecked.

With the binding in place, the petite female suddenly pulled a cell-phone from her robes and dialed a number.

“I need a favor,” she said into the phone, “Send some help at the coordinates I'm sending.”

She hung up and turned to him.

“And now we wait,” was all she said to him.

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A/N: There is going to be quite a lot of IchiRuki interactions in this fic as well as I love their close relationship. I do not see them as romantic but I do love their relationship and will write them as I see them portrayed.