Disclaimer: I do not own Beach. I merely own Maya.
Maya picked up her feet, taking steady strides further and further into her neighborhood. The boundaries on each side of her that consisted of shadows, forming an evident path. The streetlights began to flicker on; one by one they lit the avenues.
Shriveled, dead leaves rustled beneath her sneakers. Each and every step she took expressed the crackled sound, brittle and crisp like the aftermath of termite infested wood. Leaves rained from above, embracing the last moment of the delicate breeze, the last fly of life, before becoming nothing more than trash on the planet's floor.
She pulled her hood up, which shadowed her entire face. Her body shivered and prickled in goose bumps as the bitter gust of air strengthened its intensity. She zipped up her jacket, stuffing her hands in the pockets.
She shifted her arms in more, as if sheltering herself from some unwanted presence. There seemed to be a reason to this chilly atmosphere. She knew they were near, always watching her every move. They knew her ability to see them.
The only sounds heard now were the constant chirping of crickets, and the sharp swoops of the night air.
Maya sighed as she pulled her iPod out from her pocket and annoyingly untangled the headphone wires. She placed the buds in her ears and pressed play. The high burst of music invaded her ears. Pulling herself in her own little world, shutting everything else out, Maya sang softly along and continued to walk, unaware of the presence that was stomping towards her from behind.
Too preoccupied with skimming through her playlist, her eyes widened when she whirled around, everything around her seemingly going into slow motion as she watched her body fly through the air, colliding harshly with the side of a car, blood sprouting from her mouth before silence met her ears.
Her vision blurred, she blinked rapidly, her eyes searching for the threat that attacked her and an inhuman like roar lifted through the air, shattering the silence as what Maya saw was best described as a living nightmare. The darkness descended and then appeared this enormous creature. It was as tall and wide as the buildings around them, a mask covered its face and a rather large hole was centered in the middle of its chest.
"There you are, my darling prey." It was unlike anything she had ever heard off, her heart pounded against her chest as she simply found herself staring at the creature. "I have been waiting for you."
'What the hell is that thing?' She thought as she struggled to breath. 'I can't move. Why can't I move?' Haggard and pained gasps came from her throat as she slowly found herself staring in the most frightening eyes she had ever seen and her fear doubled.
"Don't worry, my sweet. I will make it as painful as possible." A muffled scream tore from her throat as her body was lifted in the air, the creature's claw like hands constricting around her. "Struggling is pointless, I can't wait to devour your soul."
Her eyes widened and she couldn't help but snort, "What's so amusing? Did I say something funny?!" The creature demanded as its grip tightened.
Despite her current situation, she sighed. "Why make pointless threats," she took another deep breath and wheezed, "-when you could have killed me, or the way you put it, devoured my soul?" She questioned as the creature merely stared at her.
Silence ensued between them and the creature suddenly roared in laughter, its head lightly tipping back as it continued laughing. "Pointless threats? Pointless threats?! I am going to enjoy devouring your soul, such a potent aroma," he growled as it opened its mouth, dread and fear suddenly erupting through her body as she now took in her situation.
She was going to die and nobody would even bother to notice that she vanished without so much as a goodbye. Nobody would miss her and nobody would question her sudden death. But somehow, this didn't feel so bad.
It was as is. She had nobody she would be leaving behind, she had nobody that cared about her. She was right that nobody would miss her.
And as she waited for her death to come, the only thing she remembered when darkness took over was a beam of red engulfing her captor, its body vanishing as her body was dropped to the cold concrete and managed to catch a glimpse of figure approaching her.
A moan slipped from her throat as she found herself lazily blinking at her surroundings, a sudden wave of confusedly rushing through her being as she realized that she was not in the safety of her apartment and was unknown.
She silently sat up, her body and muscles screaming in pain as she gently craned her head from side to side, the happenings of the previous night flashing through her mind.
'Shouldn't I be dead? Where am I?' The vivid image of the creature crushing her body appeared in her mind and she sighed in relief knowing that she was alive but then that meant that someone had saved her from that monster, and she guessed that she was in her savior's care.
The sound of a shōji door sliding open reached her ears and was soon followed by a tall, lean-built man with light skin and gray eyes. Looking closely, his hair is messy and light blonde -almost pale- with strands framing the sides of the face and hanging between his eyes. He was clad in a dark coat, which sported a white diamond pattern along its bottom half, with a dark green shirt and pants underneath. He was also wearing traditional Japanese wooden sandals and a white and green striped hat that oddly looked like a bucket; in his hand he also held a cane but all in all, Maya could feel the power radiating from him and almost gulped.
"Well I see your awake, your wounds have miraculous healed over night, so I'm sure you'll be fine. I'm sure your confused as to where you are?! Well to answer your silent question; I am going to introduce myself. I am Kisuke Urahara and this is my shop." He stated with a bright smile that surprised her. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions but what's your name?"
Maya stared at him for a moment and stumbled with her words, since she wasn't use to being in someone else's company and care. "Maya." She answered and this man, Kisuke nodded his head.
"Well its nice to meet you, Miss Maya." He said with another bright smile and her hands clenched lightly. He frowned and seemed surprised at this action and briefly wondered if he had said something to offend her.
She sighed and closed her eyes. "What was that thing, Mister Urahara? That thing that attacked me last night?" She questioned, her voice low as she then glanced at him from behind her bangs.
He stared at her for a moment and turned around and with a, "Follow me. I'll explain everything in a moment," over his shoulder and began walking away.
Jumping to her feet, the girl stumbled slightly on her feet and quickly followed behind him. She glanced around, taking everything new in. "Watch your step, wouldn't want you to fall to your death." Taking his advice, the girl didn't question him as she slid down a rather long ladder, and what seemed to be a large underground room surrounded her.
Landing gracefully, she turned around and examined it in silent awe, never noticing the cane that came her way an at alarming speed and found herself jerking backwards, her eyes widening as time seemed to slow and a silent thud was heard behind her.
She frowned, "What just happened?" She asked and glanced up towards a rather shocked Kisuke Urahara; his mouth slightly agape he stared at her before sighing.
"It seems I was correct." He muttered and Maya seemed confused before glancing down at herself and only then did she notice why he seemed so shocked.
Instead of wearing her once tattered and torn highschool uniform, Maya found herself clad in a white top that merely covered her breasts, leaving her midriff open, accompanied with a white half-skirt with a dark drapery around her hips, and black stockings, finishing with black slippers, all in all it made her look like a gypsy. Her long silver hair was contained in a white and black cap decorated with red lace and golden star ornaments.
Her confusedly and shock seemed to rise upon levels when she noticed the hole in her stomach and the number 0 tattooed on her hip. "Wh-what am I?" She stumbled over her words, her eyebrows pushed together. "Am I some kind of freak?" She muttered seemingly to herself, unaware that Kisuke was looking at her intently.
"Your something called an Arrancar, Maya." Said girl glanced at him, and frowned.
"What's an Arrancar?" She questioned and Kisuke sighed in return.
"Arrancars are a group of Hollows that gained similar powers to that of a Shinigami by removing their masks. "And before you ask, remember that creature that attacked you last night, that is a Hollow. Hollows are creatures which are born from Human souls who, for various reasons, do not cross over to Soul Society after their death and stay in the Human World for too long. They are corrupt spirits with supernatural powers which devour the souls of both living and deceased Humans. Hollows settle in Hueco Mundo, but can cross over to the Human World and Soul Society. Hollows are the opposite of Humans." Kisuke explained and watched Maya's expression change from confusement to shock and guilt.
She took a step back and a sob made its way from her chest. "You say that I am an Arrancar, that I was once a Hollow. So that means that I have eaten and killed human souls, devouring them with no remorse," she fell to her knees and the tears feel freely from her eyes. "I am a monster that doesn't deserve to live. Why did you not let that Hollow kill me? Why did you save me if you knew what I was?" She questioned, her shoulders shaking with her uncontrolable tears of anger and sadness.
To say the least, Kisuke never expected this girl to burst out in tears. A sigh escaped his lips and he found himself crouching beside her shaking form. "Hey now," he patted her back. "Don't cry, it makes me sad."
Maya sniffed as she wiped at her tears. "Why are you being so nice to me?" She wasn't use to someone being so close to her, someone actually wanting to comfort her. "You know what I am, so why are you being so nice to me?"
Kisuke shrugged. "I don't have the answers to everything, Miss Maya. But know this, I can help you but its your decision if you want my help or not. I can only do as much as I can."
Her hands clenched into fists. This was all to much for her. Her life was so dull and lifeless before, but how could one's life merely change in the blink of an eye.
She thought she was a seemingly normal teenage girl, a teenage girl who had no friends but now instead was something called an Arrancar, something that disgusted her to no end. To know that she had possibly killed and taken lives without any remorse.
With this set into mind, she merely glanced up at Kisuke. "I accept."
Nodding his head, Kisuke stood up and yawned loudly. "Well I hope you know what your getting yourself into. This won't be an easy road for you to tread on." He replied and flashed her a smile. "But what's life without a little danger?"
She could only nod, her eyes set on determination and made a silent promise to not only herself but for those around her.