Typewriterman: My first Bleach fic...wish me luck!
...And I'd like to mention that thanks to Disclaimer Bot 57-0A63, I can't be sued for copyright infringement or anything similar to that. Why would people care that I'm using their characters for a fanfiction? I should've just bought a PS3 instead...they're cheaper...
Tide
Standing on the rooftops, a lone figure looked down into the American metropolis. He had watched how humanity had built and destroyed the city over the years, today being no exception at all. The sounds of jackhammers, construction vehicles, and yells and orders emanated from several places all at once. Some just blocks away, while others were spaced across the entirety of the city itself. Keeping close watch as per his orders, the figure instinctively predicted the chime of the large clock.
Ding…Ding…Ding…
…Three o'clock…
He said to himself. He couldn't help but to smile. "Wait…three!?" His eyes bulged at the thought of it, and quickly made his move. Jumping from one rooftop to another, the black robed figure traveled so fast, it seemed like he was teleporting rather than running and jumping. That's of course, if anyone could see him in the first place…
I'm going to be late…I'm going to be late! He chanted to himself as he ran. Realizing as the park was now in view; the figure took a sharp left, and then dropped to the lower buildings without hesitation. He landed as swiftly as a cat, without so much as to roll to disperse the bone shattering forces that would push up against one's feet. Instead, he skipped along the gravelly rooftop, and then took a seat onto the overhanging concrete ledge. Please don't be late!
At last, across the street from where he sat, school bells rang. Mere seconds later, throngs of students burst through the closed doors, chittering and chattering their way home. Of course, this was no mere school. It was a…
"I love private schools!!" He jumped up to his feet. The wooden sandals clacked against the concrete as he cheered in admiration of the spectacle before him. "Such cute uniforms! I wonder if Sereitei would ever allow the girls at the Academy wear those..." Despite his busying his mind with a plethora of possible outcomes, his eyes kept watch and alert at the crowd of girls; sifting through while finding the target. His irises focused on the raven haired girl, and his mind was brought back to reality.
"There she is…" smirking stupidly, anyone who had the power to see him would also have noticed the ridiculous cat ears that randomly sprouted from his head. Singling out his target, the raven haired girl was easily spotted amongst the hundreds of others dressed just like her.
"This is going to take some subtlety…"
"Hey girl! You can see me, right!?" he suddenly called out. He screamed at the top of his lungs down toward the crowd of girls, yet no one seemed to be able to hear him. The girl in question continued walking along with her friends, and was soon out of view in a matter of seconds.
"Oh well…" he admitted, "Guess its back to work…time to get back to my patrol." Smirking once again, the black garbed figure disappeared in another flash step.
"Finally!"
"Yeah, I thought Mr. Green wouldn't let us out at all!"
"I know, he's such a prude…"
The week was finally over with, and the girls of Private School 265 were eager to get started on their weekend plans. There was only one more week of school left, leaving three days for final exams and the last to be a private—in school—graduation ceremony for those girls moving off to their prospective colleges.
"…And Kyle was like…"
"…Oh really? No way…"
Despite all of the happy conversations going on around her, a certain raven haired girl couldn't help but keep a dour look on her face. Of course she would smile when prodded to, laugh when a joke was made, or even crack a snappy remark of her own once in a while. The only problem was, the rest of the time, her face was so serious, that most of the students thought she was scary.
"So are you going to Piezo's party tonight? Shan?"
"Mmm? Oh…I don't know…" The young girl silently winced. If it were anyone other than Jojo who witnessed the reaction, Shan wouldn't know what to do. "Sorry about that Jo…"
"Heh, he's just Piezo is all…" she admitted. The taller brunette smiled at her smaller friend, and couldn't help but to muss up the smaller girl's hair.
"Quit tha-"
"-Hey girl!"
"Oh no…" Shan mumbled under her breath, "What are you doing now?"
"What was that Shan?" Nervously shaking her head, amber eyes looked up embarrassed at her taller friend.
"Nothing…nothing…" Shan chuckled. In fact, she laughed uproariously to cover up her earlier murmurings. Assured that she threw off her friend's curiosity, the raven haired girl dropped her head low enough to hide her blush behind her hair. Another benefit was to be able to peek up to the rooftops across the street as well.
Why's he still hanging around?
She learned to keep her suspicions inside her head. Hidden amongst the wave of school girls similarly dressed like her, Shan was able to see the dark clothed boy standing and waving down stupidly. In fact, only recently, she had been seeing strange things increasingly and more often.
Why doesn't anyone else see him? Is everyone around me crazy, or something!?
She turned her amber eyes back in front of her as she and many other girls descended the steps to the subway trains. Along with Jojo, Shan lived outside the city, more or less in the surrounding suburbs. Following years of redundancy, Shan took out her school identification card in order to pass the station tolls. Other girls did the same, as well as Jojo too.
Shan slid her green tinted card through the card reader, and was instantly granted access to the high speed form of transportation. The other students passed through using their cards as well, using one of four colors each. The tall brunette passed though right after her smaller friend, which held a blue tint instead. The train was waiting for them, and the girls all clamored to get on at once. Luckily for the pair, they not only reached the train on time, they managed to grab seats as well.
A quick jerk signaled the train's departure, as many of the standing passengers braced for it as soon as the mumbled ramblings of the conductor halted. A few stations later, and the train finally emerged from the artificially lit cavern, and into the daylight on the street level.
"So how's progress with you-know-who?"
"With who now?" Shan kept her voice calm. Distracted would be a more accurate term for it.
"You know who I'm talking about…right?" The girl heard the voice closer to her ear, possibly since the taller brunette had leaned closer to it for dramatic effect. But it didn't matter, Shan was too preoccupied with the person sitting next to her. To everyone else they would see an empty seat, but to her, Shan was able to see the familiar bloody apparition still waiting for her stop. The near-transparent woman hadn't always been visible to her, but until recently, had only appeared as a blur hovering over the seat.
"Oh, I guess you're talking to your imaginary friend again, huh?" Jojo chuckled gingerly.
"She's not imaginary Jo…you just can't see her." Shan huffed and faced forward once more.
And you probably don't see all the other people waiting for their stops too… By now the train car would be relatively empty by most people standards, but once again Shan's unique perspective saw what others did not. Maybe I need glasses or something…
"Anyways, this is my stop." Jojo chirped as she stood up. "I'll call you before the party tonight. And remember, I want details!"
"Details? Of what?" Shan could never understand what her elusive friend talked about. Of course, she never really paid attention to her for the most part either. Still, one more station, and a few more minutes of walking would provide her the perfect start for the weekend; a nice, hot bath.
Like most things in life, it wouldn't come easy for her…
"Hiya Shan-chan!"
"Knock it off, Ping. You read too many manga as it is…"
Enter Ping Ju…Shan's number one self-proclaimed fan. His classic bushy brown hair screamed out 'bed hair', and his eyes bulged more from excitement than most characters in cartoon shows. Just about Shan's age, the intriguingly hyperactive boy had moved into the neighborhood around a year ago, just in time for Shan's eighth grade of school. It didn't take long for him to be attached to her simply because she let him cheat off her French finals. Since then, he's been a pain in her sides, and even asked her out to senior prom once—three years from now!
"C'mon Shan-chan…why won't you go to Piezo's party tonight? I heard it's going to be awesome!" The boy trailed a short distance behind the quickening pace of his supposed 'idol'.
"Yeah right party boy…" she wittingly remarked, "you're just going to take advantage of drunken high school girls…" She tried to take one step per individual sidewalk square in an effort to speed up her pace even more.
"What!? I would never do such an underhanded thing…" Before she knew it, the annoying boy had sneaked right up to her ear "unless it's you, of course…" He whispered with a hiss.
More annoyed than grossed out, Shan instinctively sent a back fist over her left shoulder, instantly knocking the perverted 'otaku' to the ground. "Soh aie-yell pick you up aht sih-cks?" The boy clenched at his throbbing nose.
Ignoring the sniffles of pain from behind her, Shan finally managed to retreat into her two story house. Without any further ado, she rushed upstairs—two at a time—to finally take that long awaited hot-bath.
Why's it so slow around here?
The dark figure appeared suddenly atop a building rooftop; high enough to see a vast distance in front of him, but low enough to make any necessary drops to the ground faster.
If I don't get an order within thirty seconds, I'll…
With an eerie sense of time, his cell phone rang, and the boy instantly flipped it open. Geez what lousy timing…I guess I'm back on the clock then… the boy returned the cell phone into his pocket, and lightly rubbed the bridge of his nose. I thought I'd almost sneeze…
He began looking around him for any visual landmarks, and gaining sight on the far off supermarket, he disappeared towards the direction of the setting sun.
"I'm jealous of you Jo…"
"What do you mean?"
Despite her earlier efforts, Shan was unable to resist the persuasive rhetoric of her brunette friend…
"Come on Shan…please? Please come!"
"Jo…are those…tears!?"
The raven haired girl sighed at the memory of the incident, and adjusted her hold of the large brown paper bag as she did so. "You know what I mean Jo…we've been through this thousands of times!"
"I know, but I want to hear you say it again." The tall brunette said arrogantly. Even so, there was still a hint of naiveté in her tone of voice.
Sighing again, Shan adjusted her grip on the bag and repeated "those" words as if she were rehearsing for a play. "You're tall, you're gorgeous, your brother's a soccer player, and you look old enough to buy liquor…which you do quite often, in fact!" She shook the bag in her hands to prove her point, and the bouncy sound of liquids answered back.
"Well, Petey bought them last time…"
"I'll never understand what you see in him…" Shan exhaled. It would be a few more minutes of walking until the two girls stepped off the supermarket parking lot, but the party hub was conveniently located just a block away. Even though they were both close to ending their status as freshman girls, Shan still felt that she was treated as a (lower) underclassman—reduced to fetching party stuffs under constant pressure from the chance of being caught by roaming "Popo".
"So, did you-know-who ask you out yet?"
"When doesn't the kid do that?" Shan shrugged pensively, "at least he's not pulling out my hair or something…"
"Why would he do that?" Jojo asked oblivious to the joke.
"Just call your boy-toy to help us out…" Shan admonished when they reached the house in question. Just as the two arrived at the front door, the white painted door creaked open to reveal a tanned Brazilian man-god.
"Well, kh-ello ladies!" He greeted them in a saucy accent.
"Drop the act Rodrigo, and get your friend here, please!" Shan easily commanded. "Actually, since you're so helpful, just carry these for us." She dropped the bags into the tall boy's arms, and even added her tall brunette's loads to have him carry.
"Yes ma'am…" the Brazilian answered softly, dropping his accent, and stumbled into the kitchen.
"Hey Shan, hey Jo-bear!" a voice called from inside the house. "Come on in!" They agreed to the offer, and the girls headed straight for the living room. They sat on the nearest couch, which sat across from a second, smaller couch, keeping a coffee table in-between. Sitting on the smaller couch, a slightly shorter, slightly paler, glasses wearing boy checked off a list with a marker. Wearing a disheveled dress shirt, and an untied necktie, the boy also had several other sheets of paper in addition to the checklist lying strewn about the coffee table, and a can of Kooka Cola.
"Hey Petey!" Jojo cheered happily, and leaned on the boy.
Please Jo…you could do so much better than him…
"What you up to, Petey?" the long haired brunette asked coyly of the obviously busy boy next to her.
"Hmmm, the party's tonight, and I still have no idea what happened to the band that I asked for. Those guys must've gotten themselves in trouble again. Like Shan and Jojo, Piezo and Rodrigo went to a private school—except theirs was an all boy's one.
Private School 264 was originally built to be a rival of a then—all boy's version of Private School 265—but as progressiveness reached the education front in addition to the women's rights movement, 265 was turned into an all girls high school, whereas 264 was simply remodeled to hold more students.
"Don't worry about it, Jo-bear…I got it handled." The glasses wearing boy lightly pecked her friend's cheek with a kiss and went back to work. Shan's eye twitched at the mere sound of it, and she quickly grabbed Jojo's toned arm.
"Sorry Piezo, I forgot something…outside!" She calmly explained, and pulled Jojo with her out the front door.
"Oh, uh….just be back by nine! The band should be set up by then!"
Are you kidding me?
Leaning his hand on the hilt of his blade, the dark clothed figure perched on a slanted house roof.
Its way past the scheduled appearance…is intelligence sure that a Hollow's supposed to appear here?
Unsure of what else to do, the boy laid himself onto the tiled roof and sighed in boredom.
Now what?
Just as he closed his heavy eye lids, a piercing wail shocked him back to consciousness. And it sounded close, too.
"Wait-a-minute-Shan!" Jojo tried to fight back, but was overpowered by her smaller compatriot. Forced outside the house and all the way down the driveway, the tall brunette stared daggers into her childishly acting friend until they stopped just at the sidewalk. "What is the matter with you, Shan!?"
"Jo, I can't stand this anymore…" Shan responded, "You can do so much better than that guy!"
"How could you say such a thing?" Jojo was appalled by her 'friend's' sudden behavior. "I knew you didn't like him, and sure you two didn't work out so well, but…" She had finally managed to shake off Shan's tight grip around her wrist, but stayed to finish her lecture.
"I never knew you could be such a bitch!!" She took off back towards the house, leaving a stunned Shan to stare ahead in a general direction.
The front door slammed shut, while the raven haired girl stayed in a sort of "social-shock" at the edge of the driveway next to the sidewalk. She lowered her head just a little, in case anyone was watching through a window. Although her long bangs were able to hide her eyes, they couldn't keep a single tear to run down her cheek. She sniffled once, and whipped the growing tears off her face before she began her trip back home.
Forgetting that turning right was a dead end, she quickly made a pedestrian U-turn hoping that no one saw her navigational mistake. Shan just shook her head and reminded herself that she was supposed to be mad.
"I want some ice cream…" She grumbled.
"Oh…that's just rich…" Standing in front of the so-called automatic doors, the dark garbed figure jumped from his spot on the black mat. A few people began to head towards the door, and timing it just right; he managed to squeeze through the doors that finally opened.
"Now…where are you?" He readied his hand on his hilt. Walking down the fresh fruits lane, he took a right into the snacks aisle to continue his…search…
Shan couldn't believe what her own friend had called her. Sure, 'bitch' today was considered a compliment in comparison to the exotic choices available, but it was the principle of the matter…not simply the word usage itself.
"He's a jerk who only says that he changed…lousy Petey…" It was lucky enough that the streets were empty, as anyone nearby would've considered calling the police. A person who argued out loud wasn't normally seen as stable.
Of course, still wrapped in her own bubble of anger, Shan absentmindedly walked into a cul-de-sac, whereas she lived a few blocks away…in the other direction.
"That's just great!" Even during the early summer months, the sun had already set, leaving Shan under the cover of darkness. Only sparse streetlights kept watch over the surrounding neighborhood now, while lots of headlights would soon change that in the coming hours. "Now I have to walk all the way back there, and make a right! Stupid Jo…this is all her fault…"
She began to backtrack towards the T-intersection in an angry grumble, but couldn't help but to slowly tire of the mood. As she came closer and closer to the corner light, her conscience began to have a bigger and bigger say in her mindset.
She's your best friend! Heck, you live in her house…can't you support her decisions?
"Bah…" was her only response to her inner voice's logic. "I warned her about him when he broke up with me…"
Piezo's white house came back into view when she reached the corner light, and Shan cursed herself for forgetting how she and Jojo had walked there in the first place. Trying to reach a compromise, the raven haired girl leaned against the light pole, but not towards the house. The supermarket in the distance was a better, less frustrating view. Unless you take free-samples day Fridays out of the equation, but that doesn't count at all.
Does it?
Uncharacteristic of the summer weather, Shan couldn't help but feel a chill blow, causing a slight shiver down to the entirety of her spine. Goosebumps popped up all over her skin, and she reactively rubbed her arms down to press them back down. Just as she thought anything couldn't be any weirder, the metal pole that she leaned on…it began to creak from pressure.
It couldn't have been from her leaning against it…that would just insulting. The more pressing matter was that the pole was slowly bending towards her. Too lazy to look over her shoulder, Shan looked up towards the light pole top itself and shrieked.
A demonic smile looked down on her, surrounded by a freakish white Oni mask. With dark soulless eyes, its teeth flashed an even grimmer and sadistic looking smile at its prey. Too scared to even do the most basic of things (like running for example), Shan shivered with fear, rather than a constant flow of cold air blowing against what bare skin there was to her casual clothes.
Emitting a loud unearthly howl, the beast dropped down, effectively breaking the light pole into an electrically sizzling heap. The sudden crackle of ripped wires drove her away from the crash, and her feet finally received the message that her brain had been trying to desperately send over the course of the whole ordeal. Running towards the first place that came to mind, Shan panted as she forced her trembling form towards the white house now just twenty feet away.
Her hopes would be dashed, and her world tumbled down when Shan felt a huge force push her from behind. She rolled across the lawn until a giant hand pressed down on her like she was a spinning quarter. Now pinned to the ground, Shan screamed and shrieked as loud as her lungs and throat would allow.
"HELP! HE-E-E-LP!!"
Unlike where the street light blinded her eyes to anything but the ghastly mask, Shan could now see the entirety of the form that was crushing the air out of her. A dark tealish color—most likely due to the lack of light, and body proportions that would've made her laugh hysterically…if it weren't for the sheer terror that was coursing through her at the moment. Its legs and feet were gigantic, muscled demonic forms while in vast comparison its arms were wiry, but ended in huge adult human sized claws. One of which pressed firmly down on the squirming Shan. Covering its face was the white mask. Its animation of pure hunger could be seen as a surrogate face as well. The only thing more striking though, was the large hole in its chest.
"Please…help me..." Shan tried to cry with what ever breath she had, but the huge beast let out a deep wheezy laugh at the sight of the frantic girl.
Oh my god…I'm going to die…its going to eat me…
Trembling at the thought, Shan struggled even more as the huge monster opened its evil grinning mouth. Its tongue slathered over its own face, and slowly, it began to bend down with teeth bare, as if devouring the fear that she exuded like an appetizer.
No…I'm not going to let it end like this…
"NO!" Resigning to her most basic instincts, Shan bared her own teeth. She bit into the skin of the monster's giant claw, and managed to elicit a howl from the creature. Droplets of dark, warm red dripped onto her forehead, and frightened, she jerked her head back. Streams of red poured out of the white faced beast, which disintegrated along with its body into nothingness.
As if her ribs were popping back into place, Shan clenched her eyes against the sharp pains in her ribcage. The sudden change of pressure caused her to cough violently, and she strained to sit up.
"Whoa there missy, just relax." A gentle hand pushed her back to lie on the ground, and brushed her hair back. Despite someone acting casually with her, it wasn't so bad compared to being eaten alive. Hoping to mentally slow down her fast beating heart, Shan raised her shaking hand and placed it on her chest, only to find a metal chain obstruct it.
"What?" her throat raspy from screaming, she could only softly groan out her words. "P…Ping?" she lightly coughed out. Her amber eyes tried to focus through the tears, and in the darkness she was sure that the bushy haired boy had gotten too serious with his samurai shows.
"Who, me?"