Starry Night

Chapter 1: Beginning

A cold wind ruffles my hair. I take another step, forward into this strange world. All I can see is mist… and mirrors…

There's a jumble of soft musical notes, resounding from the distance. Some are soft and sweet… Others are harsh, sharp, loud…

The music seems to whisper to me… But I can't hear it, it's too soft…

I jolt awake to find myself lying in a secluded dark alley, out of sight, clutching my stomach.

West Rukongai, District 40. I've been living here for the longest time. There are thefts happening all the time, and people are hardly ever honest.

I've never been truly happy, or truly satisfied with my life. All I'm doing is waiting until I pass on. Even if I stay in this world, it's no use, I can't help anyone.

But somehow, I seem to be living longer than others. I see people come to Soul Society, and die here, too. I had felt more and more useless with every passing day, so I'm just here, waiting... Waiting…

When I fall asleep, something which had always been my personal escape, I've been having weird dreams more often. The notes have been getting louder and louder. Sometimes, I feel like it's trying to tell me something, but I can't figure out what it's trying to say…

My stomach growls and I clutch it tightly. I thought that no one could ever get hungry in Soul Society, but I do, somehow.

I look up towards the sky. It's a dull grey, overcast by clouds, as usual. Grey's the only colour I see in this world. The walls and ground are grey with dirt, and the clouds haven't cleared for as long as I've been here.

I hear footsteps coming from the side of the alley. I try to get to my feet and start running, but they seem to move in slow motion. I'd gone too long without food and I have no energy left.

So I sit on the ground, leaning against the wall, and wait for whoever's coming.

In a place that was as isolated as this, the average person in the district would just kill me and steal whatever was on my stick-thin body before running away. They wouldn't gain anything. I had nothing to call my own.

Time seems to slow down as the person gets closer to me. I start to see the faint outline of a petite woman's body. She seems to be dressed in black.

As she gets closer, I recognise the clothes she is wearing. "Shinigami," I whisper, wondering what she was doing in such a district. Just then, my hunger gets even more intense and I double over in pain, wrapping myself with my arms as I try to endure the ache.

I hear the footsteps quickening, and the sound of someone kneeling.

I see a hand offering me some onigiri. As hungry as I am, I hesitate to take it. Seeing this, the shinigami says, "Here, eat this. You probably consumed all of your spiritual energy when I came near you. The food will help." Her voice is deep and slightly boyish, but it's soothing, somehow.

Upon hearing her consent to eat the rice cake, I quickly wolf it down, even if I don't completely understand what she had said about spiritual energy.

"Thank you, shinigami," I croak out. My voice is hoarse as I'm still weak.

"Come with me, I'll buy you some food in a better district." She says. After a short pause, she continues. "I think you should enrol in the Shino Academy. It's a school where we train future shinigami. You have a great deal of reiatsu – spiritual pressure – which is why I found you here. You could become a talented shinigami, having such reiatsu while you're still so young."

"Really?" I ask, still looking down at the ground, for I'm ashamed to let a shinigami see me in such a pathetic state. I heard that they were very talented people, and they help to protect Soul Society. I remember that a shinigami had sent me here through a Soul Burial.

"Yeah. Follow me," the shinigami says. "But before that, what's your name?"

"Seiki. Star." I reply.

"My name is Kuchiki Rukia." I feel her smile.

I look up to see her face for the first time. She's pretty, with pale skin, contrasting perfectly with her black hair. A single strand of hair hangs between her eyes.

Her eyes.

I stare into her eyes. They're filled with so much emotion and depth. They're the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

Her eyes are violet.

Violet - the colour which broke through my grey world.

I'm wandering around the edges of Seireitei, waiting for news of Ichigo's arrival through the Senkai Gate when I feel a slight reiatsu.

It's very weak, and it feels as if it's coming from somewhere far away, perhaps even in the midst of Rukongai.

I decide to go in search of the person with that reiatsu. If I can feel reiatsu that I don't recognise coming from Rukongai, it probably means that there is someone who could become a shinigami out there.

The entrance exams to the Shino Academy are just around the corner. If the person letting out reiatsu like that is far away, it probably means that he or she isn't aware that they could become a shinigami.

Plus, far away means that the person is in a worse-off district of Rukongai. I know how that feels. I felt that it was my duty, somehow, to help that person.

I continue running towards the reiatsu, which seems to be getting weaker.

The scenery around me changes, from clean and orderly to dirty and chaotic.

I feel the reiatsu getting closer as I reach the fortieth district and I slow my run down to a walk as I turn into a dark, grey alley.

I hear her whisper "Shinigami," and know that she realises who I am.

Suddenly, she doubles over, clutching her stomach. She must be in pain. I realise what I've done – it's happened to me before. I went near her and she consumed all of her spiritual energy. If she was hungry before, the pain caused by hunger would be almost unbearable now.

I run towards her and offer her the onigiri I had with me, but she doesn't take it. She still had manners even when hunger was probably tearing her apart – she probably possessed an incredible amount of willpower.

"Here, eat this. You probably consumed all of your spiritual energy when I came near you. The food will help." I encourage her.

As soon as she heard that, she devours the rice cake, after which she thanks me in a hoarse voice.

I feel my heart melt with pity for the girl. She probably hadn't seen much outside of her pathetic world in this district.

Her reiatsu had gotten slightly stronger. I felt something different about it – it wasn't a typical shinigami's reiatsu. It was unique, somehow.

"Come with me, I'll buy you some food in a better district." I tell her, feeling slightly curious about her reiatsu. After hesitating for a while, I continue. "I think you should enrol in the Shino Academy. It's a school where we train future shinigami. You have a great deal of reiatsu – spiritual pressure – which is why I found you here. You could become a talented shinigami, having such reiatsu while you're still so young." I leave out the part about how her reiatsu is different from most shinigami's, or how it could reach me in Seireitei, even if it was weak. I didn't need to worry her.

"Really?" she asks. She refuses to look me in the eye. Perhaps she is ashamed for someone to see her in this state. The top of her head is covered by a think blanket of rich, curly, chocolate-brown hair.

"Yeah. Follow me," I say. "But before that, what's your name?" I want to see if she'll make it into the Shino Academy, but with a reiatsu that had the potential to be as immense as Ichigo's once she regains her strength, I have no doubt that she will.

"Seiki. Star." It's a nice name. It actually means star and the beginning. I bet that this girl isn't Japanese. She probably picked up Japanese from the streets, which is pretty impressive.

"My name is Kuchiki Rukia." I smile, satisfied that I've saved someone from the horrors of the lower districts of Rukongai.

At last, she starts to lift her head to look at me. She seems to be pretty, her skin as pale as mine, her features delicate.

She meets my gaze, and stares into my eyes.

I stare back into hers and hold back a gasp.

They're aqua green – the exact same shade as Kaien-dono's.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated!