Dancing Flower
Omake
Chapter 1
This is the offical Companion Story to Dancing Flower. Chapters will be updated when and my Beta have the time, and I'm not so overly busy. Please enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to stay updated on Dancing Flower! Oh, and read the prequal When Faith Met Science, it's under a major rewrite at the moment, so forgive the artocious grammer and plot line!
The sun was high overhead as a little girl crouched in front of a small candy shop. Her hands and face were covered in chalk dust as she drew happily on the ground in front of her. She swept her blue hair out of her face and hummed happily to herself. Gold eyes were narrowed in concentration as she put the finishing touches on a hat sitting atop of her picture's head before sitting back and observing her work with pride. A cartoon-like Kisuke Urahara smiled mischievously back at her.
Satisfied, she stood up and dusted off her hands, then turned to wander back inside. The front of the shop was well-kept with goods lining the shelves. Mr. Urahara, the man who had adopted her a few months before, was in the back. His green-striped hat hid his face and she could hear soft snores coming from underneath as she approached.
She carefully crouched beside him and poked his shoulder. He didn't flinch. Mai smirked deviously and shifted on her knees. Oh-so-carefully she reached forward, fingertips barely brushing the hat before Kisuke's thin fingers suddenly wrapped around Mai's tiny wrist, foiling her plan to steal it. He chuckled lightly as he lifted his hat to grin at her.
"Nice try," he drawled teasingly, yawning. Mai smirked and flopped down next to him. Kisuke lifted his arm to wrap it around her. Mai snuggled in close and laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes, the rhythmic beat of his heart filling her ear. Kisuke's fingers ran tenderly through her downy hair as they laid there in amicable silence.
Mai couldn't recall a time when she'd been so happy. She'd given up hope of ever leaving the orphanage, of someone looking past her dark skin and blue hair and her uncanny, too-wise golden eyes. She'd been grateful to finally be adopted but it had been hard, at first, for Mai. She feared Mr. Urahara wouldn't like that she had the diction of an adult or that she was mischievous and blunt. She didn't want Mr. Urahara to regret taking her in so she stayed quiet and always volunteered to help Mr. Tessai with the chores even when she'd finished her own.
Kisuke had noticed the tense wariness around Mai and how she seemed to be holding back from he and Tessai. If she was anything like her father, repressing herself was going to make Mai miserable. So he showed her his lab. The memory of her golden eyes lit up in wonder reminded him of his feisty protegé and he couldn't resist teaching her how to make hydrochloric acid - which had earned him quite an earful from Tessai later on when he'd had to help Kisuke out of his corroding clothes.
After that, things changed between he and Mai. For one, she was a lot more physical, whether it be in forms of affection or annoyance. She accompanied him on his walks, watched him attentively in the lab, and no matter how many times they went to the park, Mai always chose to build sand castles or watch the clouds float by in the sky together as children played on the jungle gym nearby.
Mai was just beginning to doze off when she heard the front door open. She sat up quickly, eager to help. Tessai ducked in with several bags in his hands. The blue-haired girl hopped up and ran over to him.
"Would you like some help, Mr. Tessai?"
"Oh yes, thank you very much, Mai." The larger man gave her the lightest bags she could carry and the two marched into the back. After all the groceries were put away Tessai pulled out a handful of irises and a doll with a cute yellow kimono. "Here you go, Mai, just like you asked."
"Thank you, Mr. Tessai." She bowed her head and skipped toward the front of the shop. As she was putting on her shoes to go outside she heard Kisuke chuckle.
"Now where are you going, Little Dancer?"
Mai smiled at her nickname. Her name meant dance in Japanese, and so Kisuke had taken to calling the energetic girl his "Little Dancer".
"I'm going to visit Emiko. Its been ages since I saw her."
"Who's Emiko?"
Mai hesitated. She didn't like telling people about her secret friend because most people didn't believe her. "A little girl who likes to play near the park." There was a long silence and Mai feared that Kisuke wouldn't let her go. Kisuke suddenly smiled at her.
"All right, go have fun my Little Dancer. Just stay out of the streets and don't talk to strangers, 'kay?"
"Ok." She grabbed her flowers and doll and with a wave goodbye ran out the door. The sun was bright and warm on her tan skin as she ran down the sidewalk. She huffed loudly as she plowed along until she finally reached the park. There were a few families playing with their children as she looked around. She crossed the park, marveling at the green grass and sweet air. Eventually she came to a stop on the other side and found herself barred by a street busy with traffic.
Undeterred, she found the nearest crosswalk and waited patiently for the cross signal before sprinting over to the next street. She repeated this process again until she arrived on an empty street and approached a specific corner where a handful of wilted chrysanthemums laid next to a telephone poll.
"Emiko," Mai called, swapping the old flowers for her irises and tossing them into a nearby garbage can. "Emiko, are you there? I got you a gift!" She turned to observe the street and huffed when her friend failed to show. It was strange; Emiko was always waiting for Mai, regardless if she brought presents or not. She clutched the doll in her hand as a cold breeze wafted by and shuddered. Emiko couldn't have just disappeared. Even when no one else could see her friend, Mai knew she wasn't a figment of her imagination. It didn't take long to realize that she was the only one who could see the girl - and the other people like her friend.
"Emiko!" Mai called again into the silence. Disheartened, she turned to the telephone pole and suddenly noticed a dark stain near the base. Curious, she went around the pole and crouched closer. The doll slipped from her hand as she recoiled with the horrible realization that it was blood. Mai's breath hitched and tears blurred her vision.
"Mai." Startled, Mai whipped her head around and she looked up and met Kisuke's gentle, melancholy gaze. She wiped her face with a sniffle as he got down on his haunches. "Could anyone else see Emiko?"
The little girl hesitated. "No." Mr. Urahara looked at her thoughtfully.
"I don't think your friend is here anymore, Little Dancer." His eyes flicked to the bloodstain on the ground. He stood and held out his hand. "How about we get some ice cream?" Mai eyed him but grabbed his hand nonetheless. A few blocks over they ordered two scoops of chocolate (with sprinkles and chocolate sauce in Mai's case) and sat on a bench outside. Mai ate her ice cream sloppily, trying to eat away her sorrow, getting chocolate all over her face. She happened to look up and notice a man crying on the other side of the street. He seemed different from the people passing him on the sidewalk. They seemed to have an uncanny indifference to his presence. And he was so pale, no, transparent. And just like Emiko, there was a large chain dangling from the middle of his chest.
"You see him, don't you?" inquired Kisuke as he handed Mai a napkin. She looked at him in surprise.
"Can you see him too?" she asked cautiously. Kisuke nodded.
"Yes," he said and ruffled her hair. "You're very special, Mai, and very few people can see what you can."
The little girl finished off her ice cream. "Kisuke, are they…," she ventured uncertainly.
"Dead?" He looked down at the melted remnants of his own desert. "Yes, Mai, they're dead. Your friend Emiko was a little girl who died in a car accident a few years ago. It was very tragic and she was never able to move on to the next world."
"The next world?"
"It's called the Soul Society. It's where Pluses, like your friend Emiko, go to live until they're ready to be recycled back into the human life cycle."
"So Emiko went to the Soul Society?"
Kisuke gazed down at her small, innocent face, unwilling to tell her the truth, that her friend had most likely been painfully devoured by a Hollow. She was precocious for her age, but there was no need to for her to know how gruesome the spirit world's workings could be, too young to realize know who she was. It might be selfish, but Kisuke wanted to preserve Mai's innocence for awhile longer. She would be told everything when she was older, when she could better understand her powers and deal better with the cold, hard truths of life.
"Yes, she did, Mai. You don't need to worry. She'll be safe, happy, and well cared for."
He squashed a pang of guilt as Mai's face relaxed with relief. Kisuke finished his ice cream and helped Mai clean herself off. They walked back home, hand in hand, with Mai humming happily to herself. He didn't know how Mai had come to be, only having heard rumors of her existence from Yoruichi. Determined to find the answers, he set out to look for her. He never expected to see sad eyes gazing at him desperately, eyes that burned with a passionate curiosity and intelligence as her father's had. He never expected his heart to be moved by this tiny girl next to him. He never expected to love her as if she was his own child. So he would bear the guilt of more inevitable lies until she was ready.
And maybe, she'd forgive him for doing so.
A/N: Leave CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM! Oh, and go thank my Beta ThaBlueGRRL for her hard work!
