Hello my lovely readers!
Here is an updated version of the prologue for False Awakening. Please make sure to read it, as the added material with pertain to later chapters and be very helpful to you.
Much love.
Prologue
11:42PM.
The ticking of the second hand on the clock above him seemed to move faster than normal, almost like it was mimicking Ichigo's nervous agitation. With another swift click, the time changed again.
11:43PM.
It was July 14, and quickly approaching midnight. Laying in his bed, Ichigo recalled the day of celebrating he had. He had spent rare time with his father and sisters, had a few drinks with his close friends and girlfriend, and received countless well-wishes from the people around him. He had greatly enjoyed his birthday celebration.
Tomorrow, he would turn twenty two.
To his left, he heard a soft knock on his bedroom door. His father walked in, his usual silly demeanor gone. He smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Getting ready for the big day, huh?" Ichigo chewed on his bottom lip, brows furrowed viciously.
"Not like I have any choice," he grumbled. His father chuckled.
"I remember the day I turned twenty two, and I saw your mother. I told myself I didn't care until I was right there with her that day. It changes things."
"I guess," Ichigo said quietly. His father looked down at him and smiled, ruffling the front of his bright hair.
"This day only comes once in your lifetime, so make it count. I'll check in on you throughout the day. Only a few minutes left." With that Isshin stood and walked over to the door, closing it softly as he left. Ichigo glanced at the clock again.
11:54PM.
In six minutes, Ichigo was going to have his yumemiru unmei no hito. He was going to fall asleep for twenty four hours, starting at midnight, and he would awaken only after living a day in the body and mind of the person he was destined to be with for the rest of his life. It happened to everyone, and was a part of life, but it was also terrifying.
Glancing at his phone he saw a message from Orihime on the front screen. His insides twisted as he considered what was to come between them. Ichigo had known her since primary school and she had been fawning over him since that time. After many rebuffs of her advances, often by playing a simpleton who was unaware of her affections, he had somehow been guilted into dating her by their circle of friends.
That was two years ago. Orihime was younger than him by a few months and as such had not had her own dream of her destined one. She talked about it often, however, and she was convinced that he was the person she was destined to spend the rest of her life with.
Ichigo knew this was not the case.
Although he dreaded it, and often tried to believe otherwise, Ichigo knew in the very pit of hit soul – or where it should be, anyway – that Orihime was not his destiny. It made Ichigo itch and feel something similar to what he thought was regret, but when he looked at her he felt nothing. There was no passion, no love, no lust, not even a feeling of companionship when he gazed at her. He had tried to stave off intimacy between them by pontificating about respecting her and wanting it to be "right" - whatever the fuck that meant – but in reality he felt mildly nauseous at the thought.
Ichigo knew that there was something about him – something inside him – that prevented him from loving her like a normal partner. He wished desperately that he was normal, that he could look at her even with a false sense of admiration and care, but he couldn't even bare to fake it. Just pretending was too taxing. Some primal part of him simply rejected her instinctively.
As he suddenly became drowsy, Ichigo thought of who he might see in the dream of his soul mate; if he knew them or if they were thousands of miles away. Renji had experienced his only months before, living for a day in the mind of their best friend's older brother. He was shocked and afraid when he awoke, but only days later he and Kuchiki Byakuya were attached at the hip. Ichigo rubbed his eyes lazily with the back of his hand, opening them one more time and peering at the clock.
11:59PM.
Suddenly, the world reappeared before him, but entirely in his mind. He stared at the walls of a small, dim apartment that looked worse for wear. The gaze shifted, sliding down to stare at two large, muscled forearms sheathed in a tangled web of tattoos. He heard a sigh before the vision moved, as if he was standing, and walked through the small room to a window overlooking a dark and rough part of Karakura. The lighting in the room was dim, but Ichigo could see a slight reflection against the glass.
Blue.