So here's the deal. I have had a few (a lot) of ideas running through my head for quite a long time. Some I've even held onto for years. I feel like once I start writing something I should do so when I have the motivation and time to do so. I have the time, now all I need to do is muster up the motivation to see it all to the end. I have just posted the first chapter to all of my ideas. Hopefully, this way if I find my interest declining in one area I can work on the other until it builds back up (I will always love my stories and something always happens to pick the idea back up). I am posting this beginning bit in all of my chapters, so lets see what happens shall we? Also, if anyone who reads any of these stories and likes them, please give me some input on what you did or did not like (flames will be ignored or laughed at).
Summary: She was fine with dying. It wasn't like life was anything worth living for anyway. No family, no friends, no home, no vices, no money, no nothing. Then she woke up, and at first she just thought it was a cruel joke. Now… Now she doesn't care if it was a joke or not. Now she has a family. They may be crazier than hell but they were hers. Anyone who tried to take them from her… well, they could certainly try.
Chapter 1: Rena
1st person
It was snowing when I died. In fact, the snow was most likely the reason for my death. It wasn't normally that cold so early in the winter, but I guess the world just liked to screw me over. Honestly, I didn't care. I mean, what was I going to do the next day? Wander around? But I did that yesterday. Avoid the resident gangs and keep away from the cops? Boring. Perhaps I would have rifled through the dumpster of that new restaurant down the street. Didn't that sound life changing?
…
I didn't mean to give up, I just kind of fell asleep. Sure, life sucked, but I had always wanted to believe that as long as I kept trying to make it through, something would change. If I had lived to a hundred years old, something in all of that time would have made it better right? Made it worth it?
Most people had something to keep them going. Usually other people, like family or friends, or even enemies. I had no one. Even the people who would try to kill me only tried because I was a stranger on their turf. Some people lived just to poison themselves. I needed every bit of sense I had to survive, I couldn't taint it with drugs, or alcohol, or whatever the hell else there was. Some people lived for money. What a joke. Where would I get money? I didn't even know how to read or write and I had no other life skills other than survival so jobs were impossible to come by. Some people lived to hurt others. I tried that once. It was… pathetic. I was pathetic.
Perhaps, if I had lived that day, some miracle would have happened. My life would have done a 180 and I would have been happy for the rest of my days. Who knows. What I do know is that somehow, as pathetic as I was, I got my miracle anyway.
I had no idea what death would be like. Maybe I would just cease to be, or my soul would fly up (or down, more likely), or maybe something entirely diffirent. Well, it was different alright. Mainly because it wasn't really death at all. It was something far, far more confusing.
-00-
3rd Person
"This is the last one! Push!"
The woman growled loudly, her forehead layered with sweat. "Tell me that one more god damn time, see what happens!"
The man kneeling next to her patted her shoulder consolingly, ignoring the fact that he could no longer feel the hand she was crushing. "Calm down dear, the doctor is simply doing his job."
Steely grey eyes glared at him but the man ignored it. He was far more focused on the machines showing her vitals. After all, this was not without its risks.
"There!" the doctor called, his eyes bright with relief. They furrowed a second later as the nurses hurried to help him.
The woman who had just given birth fell back against the sheets, her husband turning to look at the doctor.
"What's going on?" he demanded as the doctor held the bloodied child in his arms.
"The baby isn't crying," the doctor replied, sticking a finger down the child's throat carefully to clear anything that might be blocking the airways.
The baby suddenly gasped, a high pitched whine escaping its throat. As the doctor removed his finger the child let out a single, strangled shriek before continuing to gasp for breath.
"Well then," the doctor smiled in surprise. "Seems she just needed a little shock."
"She?"
The doctor looked up at the couple, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Congradulations Hibari-sama, it's a girl."
"A girl," Hibari Kou breathed, his normally blank green eyes softening.
"Just cut the cord and give me my baby!" Hibari Youko released her husband's hand and smacked the bed demandingly.
Kou sighed, but his lips twitched. He stood up to help the doctor cut the umbilical cord before returning to his wife's side. "You are quite the handful," he stated blankly, brushing a strand of dark, black hair from her face.
"Don't even talk to me right now," she demanded, her eyes fluttering. Kou frowned in concern at how pale she was. "I wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for you, you know."
He shrugged nonchalantly as he leaned forward in order to see past the small group of nurses. "You are the one who wanted a baby. It was your decision that started all of this."
Youko grumbled under her breath. A few moments later the doctor turned around, a bundle in his arms.
The couple went silent as the baby was placed in her mother's arms.
Youko blinked rapidly. 'This is our child,' she thought. 'Our perfect, beautiful child.' Sniffling a little, she turned her gaze to Kou. The man, usually stoic, was smiling warmly down at their daughter. "I forgive you," she whispered, moving the baby around in her arms so that she could rest a hand on his cheek. "We have a daughter Kou."
He leaned in to her touch, his hand coming up to rest on their child's head. "…We do."
"I bet she'll have your eyes," Youko grinned. "And my hair. She'll be so beautiful when she grows up."
"She will," Kou agreed full heartedly. "And she will be our darling daughter. Our darling little Rena."
-00—
1st Person
Being reborn? Not so great. Especially if you have the mind of a seventeen year old. I had survived for all my life by myself. No one helped me but me, and it worked for a long time too. All of that independence was thrown out the window in a matter of moments.
Do you know what a newborn baby sees when they open their eyes? A kaleidoscope of random crap, flying around with no real purpose. Because of this, I wasn't even aware of what happened until quite awhile after the fact. How would you feel waking up, expecting to be in your regular sleeping area, only to be thrown into mass vertigo with people who are apparently giants. I might not have been able to see them well, but I sure as hell felt when they picked me up and cradled me in their arm. Not arms, arm. Singular. I may be on the skeletal side, but there is no way in hell anyone could do that unless they were massively hyped up on steroids since birth or they were giants.
Now, aside from the whole vision debacle (which didn't go away for weeks by the way) my body was in some kind of weird, drugged stasis. My body was painfully weak and I could hardly stay awake for any set period of time. My first thought was that I had been kidnapped by some run of the mill assholes and they were transporting me somewhere where a big drug boss would then proceed to extract the drugs which had been kindly stuffed into my body for hiding. That, or they were stealing my kidneys. Either way, I panicked.
Normally when I panick my body just kind of freezes until my mind figures out what is going on. I'm not a very emotional person, I'm usually pretty good at controlling myself. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I actually felt something strong enough to need to restrain my reactions. You can imagine my surprise when I would randomly start bawling at feeling the slightest bit of distress. Yeah. Awkward.
So, in summary, I was weak and defencless with very little emotional stability being held captive by giants who were going to do who knows what with me. The good news is that once my eyes finally cleared up I got a good look at the situation. Those giants I talked about? Freakin huge. I'm not even kidding, they litarally towered above me. I don't even think I came up to their knee.
When one of them, a woman, tried to grab me again I freaked out and raised my hand to stop her.
I saw my hand. My tiny, stubby little hand.
-00—
3rd Person
"Look who's awake," Youko cooed, looking down into the crib.
Her daughter, Rena, froze. Youko giggled at the wide eyed look the baby gave her. Apparently her sudden appearance had startled the little girl. Rena looked exactly as she thought she would. Her eyes were a bright green, just like Kou's, while the little tufts of hair starting to grow in were a deep black. The facial features were to underdeveloped for her to accurately guess who Rena resembled more, but Youko liked to think her daughter would take after both of them equally. As long as the little girl inherited Kou's large, adorable ears Youko would be content.
"Are you hungry?" Youko questioned softly. It was fairly late at night and Kou had just fallen asleep. Rena usually woke up around this time, so she got into the habit of going to bed a bit later than she usually would. "Do you wanna go with mama?"
Youko reached down to pick Rena up, smiling when the baby lifted her arms in response. She paused when Rena's eyes turned owlish. The baby was staring at her own hand like it was an alien.
"Silly thing," she shook her head fondly. "That's your hand darling."
Rena suddenly brought her other arm forward, to better examine both of her hands intently. Youko pulled her arms back and folded them, leaning against the edge of the crib. Rena was quite the curious baby. Every time she was laid down she would wriggle around until she became familiar with her surroundings. Whenever someone picked her up she would pat them down with her hands until they set her down once more. They had brought her home a few weeks ago, the staff greating them happily. Everyone had been excited at the idea of having a child in the house. Youko had expected quite a few stressful nights in the beginning, all the horror stories of wake up calls every hour from the maids making her prepare for a rough change in schedule. As it turned out, Rena was quite a behaved child. She certainly cried often enough, but the screaming one would expect from a newborn was surprisingly rare. Youko and Kou would often check on her in order to make sure she wasn't crying, due to her silence.
Youko frowned sympathetically when Rena began to whimper. She had been inspecting her foot when she began to tear up.
"Oh, sweet heart, I'm sorry. I was supposed to be feeding you wasn't I?" She carefully lifted Rena out of her crib, resting the small head on her shoulder. "Let's try the bottle again, okay? You've been adjusting fairly well haven't you?"
The staff often offered to take care of Rena during the night hours, in order to give the couple time to rest, but the two often refused. When the little one had been born, she had been fairly underweight. They had to stay at the hospital for longer than they thought and the family doctor, Hitoshiro Yamazaki, had informed them that Rena's bones were slightly under developed, making her even more fragile than an average, healthy newborn. Thankfully it was not due to a genetic disorder, at least not one that they new of, and with careful monitoring her bones would strengthen to normal standards over time. Still, it worried Youko and her husband immensely. Rena was their first child and they wanted to make sure she was as healthy and as happy as she could be. They both felt much better checking on her themselves.
Which lead Youko to pacing the halls to the kitchen at midnight, gently bouncing her little girl in her arms.
"I wonder if anyone else is awake down there," Youko spoke softly to her daughter. She new the child probably wouldn't understand her, but it was comforting in a way. "Most likely. I'm not the only one who knows your habits darling. Honestly, they will spoil you mad I'm sure." She laughed lightly. "Not that Kou and I won't. We'll have to fight for who spoil's you more, won't we?"
She lifted Rena away from her slightly, just enough to look her in the eyes. Rena was staring at her with the same owlish look she had in the nursery.
"I wonder what it is you see with your little eyes," Youko whispered, stepping into the kitchen. The light was on, and something was cooking in a pot on the stove, but no one was in the room. Youko assumed the cook had run off to the pantry to grab something. "Yamazaki-san said your eyes would be unfocused for awhile, what must that be like? Perhaps we look like aliens. Maybe that is why babies do not like strangers so much. You must think we are the oddest looking creatures."
"You are an odd creature," a familiar voice chuckled tiredly.
Youko turned to see Kou walk in, his hair ruffled and his shirt rumpled. He walked towards them and lifted Rena from her arms into his own.
"There's my little one," he placed his forhead on hers, mouth quirking at the sight of her bewildered stare. "Your mother likes to steal you away the moment I doze off. I can't let my guard down."
Youko huffed, reaching for the cabinet holding the baby formula. "Well excuse me for being a caring wife."
Kou snorted, settling into a chair at the dining table. He held Rena in his arms, fingers fiddling with the small tuft of hair on her head. "I'm not sure that is the title I would give you."
"Oh?" Youko smirked, pulling out an empty bottle as well. "And what would you call me?"
"Baby stealer, for one. Don't think I didn't see you yesterday, sneaking her out when I was napping."
"You were sleeping, of course I would take her."
"She was sleeping peacefully with me, and you replaced her with a pillow believing it would fool me."
"I was worried you would drop her."
Kou leveled her with a disbelieving stare, waggling his fingers a bit when Rena grabbed his hand.
The two stared eachother down before they started to smile.
"Alright, I admit I tend to snatch her away when your guard is down," Youko admitted, shaking the bottle. "But I can't help it! She's so cute!"
"Well, I guess I can forgive you," Kou h'mmed thoughtfully. "On one condition."
"Oh, here we go. What do you want?"
"A date," Kou smiled slightly. "You, me, and Rena. We can go somewhere she'll enjoy and where we can relax a bit."
Youko joined him at the table, testing the temperature of the bottle. "Hmm, I suppose I can clear my schedule for a bit."
"You better," he took the bottle she offered him, holding it for Rena to reach. "You haven't worked for weeks, I know- Rena, what are you doing?"
The two looked down at their daughter. Rena had her hand covering the tip of the bottle, her eyes wide and watery. Kou removed her hand and held it up to her mouth but she just covered the top again.
"Well, that's new," Youko tilted her head. "She usually just accepts the bottle, what do you think she's doing?"
Kou shrugged, trying again only to get the same results. "What's wrong little one? You are always hungry at this time."
"Here," Youko held out her arms. "Let me try."
Kou reached out and deposited the baby and bottle into his wife's arms, sitting back but leaving one hand on Rena's head. He continued to run his fingers through the small patch of hair on her head.
"Here you go little Rena~" Youko sang slightly, holding the bottle up. Rena turned her head away, hiccupping. Youko pouted. "Come on, just a little sip? Kou, you sing too. She likes singing."
"You don't know that."
"Of course I do, now sing!"
The chef appeared at the doorway, pausing to take in the scene of the two parent's singing encouraging words to get their daughter to drink from a bottle.
"Hibari-sama? Youko-san?" he called out, stifiling a chuckle.
"Hmm?" they both looked up. It always amazed the staff to see the change the two went through around their daughter. Kou was often blank faced and extrodinarily impersonal around anyone but his wife. He was fair in his treatment of others, but very distant as well. Youko was often outside of the house on business so she was not often seen except for early in the morning or late at night. She had quite a temper, but she had befriended many of the staff members and while passionate she was also very intelligent. Neither of them were prone to relaxing, but now that their daughter was their main focus they seemed more open. Happier.
"Is there a problem with the little one?"
Kou nodded, his face still warm but far more passive after his entrance. "Just a small one, Nita-san. She does seem to want to drink today even though-" a small gurgling sound came from Rena's stomach, "-she is obviously hungry."
"Ah," the man nodded. "My little boy would occasionally do the same thing at her age. They have very limited memory, little ones, so she might have forgotten how. She only started using the bottle recently if I recall, so the chances of her forgetting are fairly big."
"Oh," Youko blinked, pulling the bottle away. "Do we just… reteach her then?"
Nita nodded. "That'll probably do the trick. It shouldn't take to long. Once she starts drinking again she'll most likely pick it up quick. My boy took a few feedings before he got it down."
"That's not so bad," Youko smiled, turning to her husband. "You got to teach her the first time around, now I get a turn."
"I new you were upset about that," Kou grumbled.
Nita grinned at them before moving to the stove. He had been making a light stew for the pair, knowing their habits just as well as their daughter's. He listened to the two converse lightly as Youko attempted to feed their little girl, humming to himself as he cooked.
"Ah!" Youko beamed. "There she goes! I definitely beat you Kou. That took almost no time at all!"
Kou scowled at her. "Nita-san just said she would pick it back up quickly. Technically I did all of the hard work."
Youko rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a sore loser-"
Before another argument could start, Nita placed two bowls in front of the pair. They glanced at the bowls before turning to him.
"I thought you two might be hungry," Nita gave them a knowing look. Kou had gotten back late and had gone straight to his room, skipping dinner, while Youko had only eaten lightly as she was prone to do at night. Nita and the other workers often found her grabbing a snack later in the night when she grew hungry again.
"Thank you Nita-san," Kou nodded to him gratefully.
"Thanks Nita." Youko grinned before frowning at Kou when the man started eating. "Hey, my hands are full. Help me eat."
Kou frowned at her and continued eating. "Just wait until she's done."
"But I'm hungry now."
"You should have eaten more at dinner."
Nita shook his head as the two began to bicker. He glanced down at Rena who was watching the two intently as she fed.
'You are going to have quite the life,' he thought, almost sympathetically. 'At least you will be loved, young one.' He chuckled warmly, turning to clean up.
Rena continued to eat, her little eyes staring at her family. She hesitantly moved one hand to grab Youko's finger, the other to grab Kou's sleeve just barely in reach. The two paused, panicking slightly when she began to cry.
Chapter 1 complete! I didn't go to much into detail on what the characters looked like in this chapter mainly because from the perspective of the people I wrote they had no reason to really think about it. The only one who doesn't know what people look like is Rena and she was visually inept for most of the time. The next chapter she will focus more on what people look like. I hope you guys liked it, and I hoped you liked the Hibari family. I know neither of them are quite like Kyoya, but there is a reason for that that will come later on. What did you guys think of them? Any feedback and constructive criticism is welcomed with open arms. I will also answer most reviews in the next chapter, so if you have questions I will definitely do my best to answer them.
Thank you for reading!