This is the beginning in a little project I've begun. It was meant to be a one-shot, but as I was writing it it started to turn out pretty long and I thought I'd do a mini-story instead. Like three-four chapters. Plus I figure if I do it this way I'll be more entitled to finish rather than lose interest after having written so much already like I sometimes do.
This is based on the new Sci-Fi movie Chronicle (which is now my FAVORITE movie!) but will not follow the storyline blow by blow. It holds the essential key elements of the movie, but without the whole camera thing and with a love triangle between the three characters. I hope you enjoy!
Oh, by the way, the title Potentia De Mens is Latin for "Power Of The Mind." Or at least that's what the translator on my IPhone says 0_o
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters associated with the Anime/Manga. They belong to Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump Magazine. Please support the official release.
-The Discovery-
"Tonight's the night, Ichigo!"
Ichigo gave a sigh as he shook his head, his orange spiked hair swishing back and forth with the movement. "You've said that a couple hundred times, Renji." He said, glancing at his friend briefly before turning his attention back to the road.
Renji shrugged, giving a wide grin as he inspected himself in the passenger's mirror. "I know, but tonight is the night, I promise you. I just feel good about this party."
Ichigo rolled his eyes as he turned onto another street. It was dark out, nearly 9:30, and they were running late for said party. Renji had taken forever choosing his plaid yellow shirt and lightly-colored jeans and matching bandanna. Ichigo had sat in Renji's bedroom, reading over some useless magazine Renji had laying around, irritated at having to wait. Why couldn't Renji be a normal guy and just throw on a shirt and jeans and be done with it? Ichigo had donned his purple Vibes shirt with faded jeans and that was the end of it. Renji, on the other hand, had to look perfect for tonight.
But Ichigo Kurosaki had endured it, because Renji Abarai was one of his two best friends in the whole world. They had known each other since kindergarten, grown up together, and had been by each other's side no matter what. His other best friend, Rukia Kuchiki, was the proprietor of this party they were heading to; and was, incidentally, the reason Renji was so excited about this night.
"I'm going to tell her how I feel," Renji said, closing the mirror-flap and relaxing into his seat. "I mean it this time: I'm going to tell her how I feel."
Ichigo rolled his eyes for a second time, concentrating on the road as he drove his silver Honda towards the Kuchiki household. Renji had been in love with Rukia since they were kids, and had been skirting around telling her for years. They were all seventeen, Seniors about to graduate high school, and Renji wanted dearly to tell her before college got in the way.
"I'll believe it when I see it." Ichigo said.
Renji frowned at him. "Have some faith in me, will ya? Doesn't help my confidence when my bro is dragging me down."
Cue third eye-roll. "Sorry man, just I've been in this place before; listening to you as you prep talk yourself into telling her. But every time you end up chickening out. You need to just buck up and do it." Ichigo said.
"That's what I'm doing, tonight." Renji said. "I got this."
"That you do," Ichigo said blandly, frowning as his phone began to vibrate in his lap. He flipped it open, switching his gaze between the desolate road and the text that Rukia had sent him:
Where are you guys?
"That her?" Renji asked from the passenger seat.
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, she's wondering where we are." He said, replying back to the text with a simple: Coming.
"Keep your eyes on the road man," Renji said. "You just got your license, don't want an accident on your record already." He teased.
Ichigo snorted. "I'm a good driver, thank you very much." He said.
They arrived at the Rukia's house and parked across the street. Most of the cars had taken up the street and driveway, one or two of them rocking back and forth with the movements of party-goers. Ichigo killed the engine and they were out of the car and up the driveway in a heartbeat.
Ichigo could see Renji starting to sweat. "Losing your confidence Casanova?" He taunted, grinning slightly.
Renji glared at him. "Shut up," He said, and then knocked on the front door.
The house was a three-story building with an extravagant garden in the front. The house was a creamy white color, wide as it was tall. The sounds of music and cheering could be heard from inside, and Ichigo wondered what kind of hell he would be entering tonight. He wasn't much for parties, but Rukia was the Queen of them seeing as her house was one of the biggest in all of Karakura and her brother-in-law and sister frequently left her alone in it for business trips, letting her reign supreme.
The door swung open and there stood Rukia in all of her glory. She was dressed in a purple blouse and black jeans that hugged her curves approvingly. Her raven hair was cut short, just barely below her ears, with a single strand in the middle of her face. She looked up at them both with her violet eyes, scanning over Ichigo's purple Vibe shirt and Renji's yellow bandanna that was around around his forehead and held a knot under the pony-tail he held his long red hair in.
"What took you idiots?" Rukia asked, a scowl on her face.
"Traffic," Renji answered quickly before Ichigo could complain about Renji's lengthy beauty-session. "It was terrible."
Rukia raised a brow, glancing at Ichigo before settling her eyes back on Renji. "Traffic? It's too late for it to be that bad out there on the road." She said.
"Weird, I know." Renji said, laughing stupidly. Ichigo rolled his eyes for the...whatever time. He had lost count.
"Whatever," Rukia shrugged, then gave a wide smile. "Welcome to the party boys. Come on in," She motioned for them to enter, and they did.
The house was full of Ichigo's classmates, and even a few dozen of lower classes and some college students. Rukia's parties were legendary. The house was big, the music was up-to-date, there was alcohol, and the ratio of men and women was at a perfect balance. The dining room stood off to the right, where people went to drink and associate themselves with the other members of the party. The living room was to the left, where the stereo was set up to play for the people to dance. Ahead of the door sat the staircase that led to the second story, where Rukia's room and a couple guest rooms were, and along the stairs was where some of the people went to make-out. It was a jungle of bodies and drinks and music, and Ichigo was a brave explorer making his way through the brush in search of the forever desired Entertainment many came to this house to receive.
Ichigo and Renji followed Rukia through the living room, brushing by the dancing bodies, and into the kitchen where the food and drinks were.
"Here you go guys," Rukia handed them both a bottle of beer. Ichigo took his and unscrewed the top to take a sip. He wasn't much of a drinker, and he had to drive home so he didn't take a second sip, but he could handle the taste. It was an acquired taste, and no one had acquired the taste more so than Renji.
Renji's first sip emptied the neck of the bottle, and he gave a contented sigh afterwards. "No beer like Rukia's beer," He said, raising his bottle towards Rukia appreciatively.
Rukia shrugged bashfully. "I might not drink it myself, but I know what my people like." She said, grinning.
Renji nodded, and then gave Ichigo a look. Ichigo knew that look very well, it was Renji's Take-A-Hike look.
Ichigo scowled. He couldn't have a few minutes to talk with his friend? "I'm going to go mingle a little," Ichigo relented. "I'll see you two later." He said and turned, leaving Renji and Rukia alone in the kitchen as he walked into the living room where everyone was partying. Ichigo felt a little uncomfortable leaving them alone like that, but it was what Renji wanted, and Ichigo was a good friend, even if it stung a bit.
Something Ichigo had never told anyone before was that he, too, liked Rukia. He had liked Rukia nearly just as long as Renji had liked her, but Ichigo had kept this a secret. He knew that if he told Renji that he liked Rukia as well that it would tear them apart. Renji had been talking about Rukia since the day the two of them met her.
It had been in second grade. Ichigo and Renji were already best friends and nearly inseparable. Rukia was the new kid, coming into the class in the middle of the first semester from the rich part of town where she had been attending private school until her parents gave in and let her go to public. Renji had come up to Ichigo later that day to say she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen; and Ichigo, who had thought the same thing, agreed. They had gone and talked to her the next day, ate lunch with her, and the three of them had been together ever since.
Almost every day since then Renji has talked about her, and how much he liked this and that about her. After they got into high school Renji had been saying how he wanted to ask her out, and no other girl was good enough for him. Ichigo had just nodded and kept his feelings to himself, because it had taken him longer to realize how he felt towards her than it took Renji, and when he finally came to the realization that he liked her as well he knew that if he did or said anything Renji would hate him forever.
So he bucked up and forced himself to look the other way as Renji tried to put the moves on their best friend. Renji didn't want two best friends, he wanted a best friend and a girlfriend. Ichigo would remain the third wheel forever, watching as his two best friends became a couple. It will suck, but Ichigo was a loyal friend, so he shut his mouth and smiled and encouraged Renji on to the best of his ability.
As Ichigo made his way through the house he was greeted by a few acquaintances of his, waving and giving high fives as he passed. For a good ten minutes he had a conversation with an old friend of his named Inoue Orihime. She had a klutzy and bubbly personality, and was completely unaware of the attention she received from the boys in the room thanks to her enormous boobs. She had a tendency to redden when she talked to Ichigo, and he never understood why.
After saying goodbye to her he made his way outside where there were a sparse number of party-goers hanging about, drinking and flirting. He sat on the front step, sipping sluggishly from his beer as he stared up at the sky. It was clear out tonight, the stars in the sky scattered about in bright twinkles, lining up to make shapes. As a child he had pointed out some shapes to his mother, laughing as she did the same and let him sit in her lap.
Mom...are you up there?
"Hey, there you are."
Ichigo turned his head as Rukia stood in the open doorway of her house. She closed it behind her and walked over to his side, sitting down next to him.
"What are you doing out here?" Ichigo asked, raising a brow. "I thought you and Renji would be...talking in there." He said, keeping his distance on the subject. He didn't know what had happened yet, so mentioning anything or letting anything slip would be disastrous.
"I introduced him to one of my friends," Rukia said nonchalantly. Ichigo frowned as he imagined Renji trying to build the courage to tell her how he feels only to have her shove another girl in his face.
"I see," Ichigo said simply, taking another swig from his beer.
"I feel he needs to get with someone already." Rukia said. "I haven't seen him have any interest in any of the girls in our class in years. I'm getting a little worried about him, you know what I mean?"
That's because you're the only girl who is interesting in our class. "Why are you hooking him up, huh?" He teased playfully, fighting off the frown that wanted to show on his face at the thought. "What about me?" He joked.
Rukia glanced at him quickly and then away as she shrugged. "I just introduce people, I don't preform miracles." She grinned at him, and they shared a laugh.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, just staring up into the sky and enjoying each other's company. Ichigo glanced at her every so while, noting how beautiful she looked in the moon's light. He blushed at the thought and turned away, taking another sip from his beer. The bottle was empty now, and he frowned at it. He would need to be extra careful when driving home tonight.
"Hey, look. A shooting star," Rukia said, pointing upwards. Ichigo followed her line of sight and watched as a light shot across the sky. He smiled lightly at it.
"Make a wish," He said lightly. He watched her close her eyes, making her wish. He looked back up at the star and mouthed his own wish soundlessly:
Let her be happy.
Rukia opened her eyes again and looked at him. "What did you wish for?"
Ichigo shrugged. "Not supposed to tell you, remember? Otherwise it won't come true." He said.
Rukia snorted. "You're so superstitious."
Ichigo shook his head. "Says the girl who just made a wish on a star."
She giggled, and looked back up at the star as it cruised across the blackened sky. Suddenly her soft smile turned into a frown. "Hey...that star seems like it's getting bigger doesn't it?" She said thoughtfully.
Ichigo glanced up at the star, frowning as he watched it grow inch by inch. "Yeah...it kind of does."
They watched the star growing larger and larger, glowing in the night sky like a mini-sun. It continued to grow, until finally Ichigo was sure it was coming down.
"I don't think that's a star," Rukia said, standing.
They watched in shock as the thing came even closer. It blazed bright in the sky, and then they watched as it came down to the ground in the woods half a mile from Rukia's home. Some of the other party-goers were 'ooh'ing and 'aww'ing at the star as it crashed, some running off into the forest to try and find it as soon as it hit.
"Holy jeez!" Ichigo stood and looked at the forest, hearing the loud boom that echoed off the trees and reached their ears. "It actually crashed!"
"Wow!" Rukia gushed, her eyes wide. "That's incredible!"
They shared in their awe, staring at the forest as the trees settled and the sounds of the party inside were all that was left. Ichigo and Rukia shared a glance, and Rukia gave a gleeful grin.
"We should go see it!" She said excitedly.
Ichigo frowned. "Why? It might be dangerous. Radioactive or something." He said.
"Oh don't worry," Rukia waved her hand. "We won't touch it. We'd just go look at the hole and see if we can spot the thing that came down. It might just be a satellite. And besides: how many chances like this ever come up? The government will be here tomorrow seizing that bad boy up and we'll regret this forever!"
Ichigo frowned, still unsure. "I don't know..."
As Rukia was about to open her mouth and try and persuade Ichigo further, the front door opened and out came Renji, looking slightly irritated and frowning. When he spotted the two of them, his face eased and he smiled. "There you are, Rukia. And Ichigo, here you are as well." He said, giving Ichigo that look again.
"Renji! Perfect timing," Rukia said, beaming. "Something just came from the sky and landed in the woods! We were about to go look for it."
Renji blinked, raising a brow quizzically. "What came from the sky?"
"We don't know," Ichigo answered. "We thought it was a star, but then it kept getting bigger and crashed over there." He pointed towards the forest.
Renji glanced at the trees, then back at Rukia, who was practically bouncing to go. He then plastered a grin on his face and nodded. "Hell yeah! Let's go find it!" He said.
"Yes!" Rukia cheered. "It's settled, now come on guys. Let's hurry before the others find it first."
Ichigo gave a hefty sigh as Rukia led the way into the forest. Ichigo left his beer bottle on the front step and followed, Renji by his side. As Rukia walked ahead, Ichigo leaned in to whisper to Renji lowly so she couldn't hear him, "What happened? I thought you were going to tell her?"
Renji quickly glanced at him, and then at Rukia. "I tried, but before I could say anything she introduced me to some weird chick with glasses and a hair flip and took off. I had to stand there and listen to her rant about her professor who apparently does nothing but drink and sleep rather than actually teach. I finally got away and was looking for her when I found you guys." He said.
Ichigo shook his head. His friend just couldn't get a break. Did it make him a bad person to be so relieved because of this?
The three of them wandered through the woods for at least ten minutes with no luck of seeing anything. They ran into a group of kids who were also looking for the thing that crashed and a few of the other party-goers who also were having no luck. Rukia turned to the two of them with a deep frown as they trekked on, brushing by trees and stepping over twigs and sticks.
"You'd think it would be incredibly easy to find something that had just crashed onto earth from space." She complained.
"You would think," Renji said, shaking his head. "What did it look like?"
"Not sure," Ichigo said. "It was just a big ball of light that came hurtling down. We thought it was a shooting star."
They continued to walk another fifteen minutes, scanning the trees for any sign of the thing that crashed. They kept wandering, and soon Ichigo feared they wouldn't be able to find their way back. They trekked even further, until Ichigo spotted something far off to their left. He squinted through the darkness, realizing what it was he was seeing.
"Hey, there's smoke!" He said, pointing to the rising mist. Rukia and Renji turned to where Ichigo was pointing and their eyes lightened with realization as they spotted it too.
"Let's go!" Renji cheered, running off towards the smoke.
"Oh, whoa, wait Renji!" Ichigo called. "We're not sure what it is yet!" He said, giving chase, Rukia on his tail.
The three of them broke into a clearing, Renji in the lead as they ran up to a hole in the ground. Smoke coiled up into the air from the hole, just a few feet big. It sank into the ground at an angle, tunneling into the earth diagonally. The three of them stood at the mouth of the hole, attentively looking down into it to see if they could see what had created it.
"There's no one else here," Ichigo noted, looking around the clearing. "We're the first to find this."
"Unless they went inside," Rukia said.
"Well, we should go find them." Renji said, crouching down to sit on the ground and dangle his legs into the hole.
"Wait, Renji!" Ichigo yelled, but Renji ignored him and slipped into the hole, sliding slightly down the tunnel into the darkness with a "Woo!"
"What's his problem?" Rukia asked exasperatingly.
"I think he's a little drunk." Ichigo sighed. "We should get him."
Rukia frowned at him. "Do you think we should? It could be dangerous down there."
Ichigo shook his head. "We can't let him go down there alone. And so far it doesn't look like there's any danger."
Rukia nodded, going first into the hole. Ichigo followed, stepping down into the mouth of the hole and sliding into the tunnel. Rukia led the way as they crouched and walked down the sloping tunnel at a slow pace in search of their friend.
"It's pitch black in here, I can't see a thing." Rukia said, grunting as she crouched lower. "I'm going to kill Renji for making me come down-"
"Boo!" A light suddenly flashed in Rukia's face and she shrieked and fell back into Ichigo, who caught her awkwardly in his crouched position. They both looked up at the light, seeing that it was nothing more than a small pocket flashlight being held by a snickering Renji.
"Asshole!" Rukia bellowed, balancing herself to smack Renji hard across the head. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Renji continued to laugh, despite the lump on his head. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." He said. "I had this on my key-chain." He held up the small flashlight. "I figured I'd light your way, Rukia." He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
Rukia huffed and shook her head. "You're such an idiot, Renji. Let's get out of here before my back breaks. We're getting all dirty."
Renji gave her a surprised look. "What happened? A couple of minutes ago you were freaking out to come out and see this thing."
"Yeah, I wanted to see if we could find it; and we did. I didn't want to come crawling through a hole to see if we could get killed by radiation or something."
"I knew this was a bad idea," Ichigo said.
Renji felt like he was losing the positive attention he thought he would receive for his daring move, so he frowned and looked between the two as he tried to decipher what to do. "What's wrong with you guys? Seriously...you're harshing my mellow."
"Your mellow can suck it," Rukia grunted. "Now come on let's get out of-"
She was interrupted as the earth around them gave a quake, a loud boom sounding from the other end of the tunnel. They all turned and looked down it, the sound echoing as dirt rained on them. Renji turned to them, his eyes alight with drunken excitement.
"Come on! We have to see what that was!" He said, turning and lighting the way as he crawled through the tunnel away from Rukia and Ichigo.
"Renji! Asshole get back here!" Ichigo hissed. "That could be like...aliens or something down there man!"
"Don't be such a pussy," Renji called back. "Get a move on!"
"I'm going to kill him," Rukia muttered as she followed. Ichigo groaned and stayed close behind her, trying his hardest not to stare at her ass as it was practically in his face.
They pushed further on, walking in a line as Renji led the path with his small flashlight. Soon, the tunnel opened more, and they could stand to their full height.
"This is really weird..." Rukia said quietly, looking around the tunnel as it spread open more and more as they walked. "This definitely isn't natural."
"Yeah...I have a bad feeling." Ichigo agreed.
"You guys are just scared. Don't be such-"
"Whoa! What's that?" Rukia pointed, and Ichigo and Renji turned to where she was looking to see a glowing light at the end of the tunnel.
"Let's go see!" Renji said, walking towards it. Ichigo and Rukia followed, scanning the odd architecture of the cavern around them.
"The walls...they're so smooth." Rukia noted.
Ichigo nodded. The walls were as she said, smooth and smoking slightly. Whatever had come through was fiery hot, and had left a very clear trail in its wake. And, as they walked, Ichigo was realizing that the cavern was growing more and more, as if the thing itself had started to grow as it dug into the earth.
"This is really freaky," Ichigo said.
"Guys! Look at this!" Renji's voice boomed down the tunnel.
The three stood standing at the mouth of an opening, staring at the thing that Renji had spotted.
"What the hell is that?" Renji asked, his eyes wide and his flashlight dangling at his side.
"I don't know...but my head is starting to feel weird." Ichigo said, holding his head as an odd buzzing started growing under his temples.
"Mine too..." Renji said.
"Oh my God! My nose is bleeding!" Rukia cried, cupping her mouth as she stepped back, blood dripping from between her fingers.
"What the hell is going on?"
"The thing's starting to glow!"
"Jesus Chri-"
There was a flash of brilliant light, illuminating the entire tunnel and soaring into the sky as the screams of the three teenagers echoed into the night.
There you go! I was a little iffy on the ending there, solely because I tried really hard to come across as mysterious and that is pretty hard to do in writing-form. I hope I did well enough though to keep you interested!
Like I said before, this was intended as a one-shot, so if the chapter seems jam-packed of information thrown in your face without too much of a setting I apologize. I went through it trying to make it more presentable in this format. But really all you need to know is that they are all best friends in a normal high school setting. That's really it. Everything else will be revealed along the way.
Please leave a review! I'm still writing this, and would love to hear your guy's ideas. I'm trying to deter from being EXACLTY like Chronicle, so if you have any ideas to share be my guest. I've actually written a couple of fragmented scenes already, and need stuff to place in between. If you've seen the movie then your input will especially be appreciated!
REVIEW!
