Shinigami Days Chapter 1: Shinigami by Accident?, a prince of tennis fanfic

DISCLAIMER: Prince of Tennis © Konomi Takeshi, Bleach © Kubo Tite — I don't own the characters (except the OCs) or ideas, okay?

NOTES: "Normal speaking." / 'Thinking.' / "Flashback speaking." / "Hollow speaking."

A/N: You must have gone "WTF?! AKAYA-KUN?! SHINIGAMI?! FOR REAL???!!!" Yes. Really. And this is Kirihara-and-Sakuno-centric. Don't kill me just for not choosing Ryoma, neh? An extremely inspiring bunny here has been attacking me, and my college life is fun and good. But in truth and in actuality, I really didn't know what came over me to write this out. I hope non-Bleach fans can enjoy this too. Fear not, I'm not making this fic exactly like what happens in Bleach. I've some plot modifications in my head.

Starring Kirihara Akaya and Ryuzaki Sakuno, I bring to you--

SHINIGAMI DAYS
© Doctor Meowzie

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Prologue ► Shinigami by Accident?

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When he sat at the back of the bus on his way home, Akaya was quite surprised to find himself not particularly sleepy today. Even the driver noticed this; the man would always see him riding his vehicle on his way to school and in going home, and he often flinched at his presence whenever he boards. Not that he was an unpleasant person—no, really, he wasn't at all—it's just that it meant trouble when he's around, especially when he's the only one around, because he always falls asleep, with no one waking him up or even knowing where he's heading to. Several times, the driver has seen him waking up many minutes later, scolding himself for oversleeping and having to walk all the way home instead. It was really annoying of that young man; he had more than once admonished him for it, but it seemed not to bring about any change from him at all. So the driver, feeling hopeless and defeated, had repeatedly suffered from the torture of tolerating the oversleeping student, every day of his life… except now.

Kirihara Akaya was looking out the bus window, his eyes looking lost in thought.

He had lived his life quite different from other people. One can include playing tennis almost more than half his lifetime (and being part of a famous school tennis team that has achieved glory in the field) in this, but there was something else that he couldn't understand.

He can see ghosts.

Heck, he can talk to them, too.

And he knew that other people can't.

He oftentimes told himself that he was a normal student, with tennis at the center of his life, and that this ability that he possesses since birth was a blessing. No—he always tried convincing himself—it may not be normal, but it doesn't hurt him or others, so he has no reason to actually hate himself for it. He can even help lost, wandering ghosts while simply walking down the streets, and actually found some of them interesting conversation partners too.

Don't blame him for the mere act of not freaking out. His life as a second year middle school student at Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku was unlike that of his classmates'. He didn't have many friends, since it seems that his own Kirihara standard for 'someone who makes sense when talked to' was only met by his senpai-tachi, the other Rikkai Tennis Club Regulars. Akaya himself didn't fully know what this standard of his was, but he wouldn't complain; he kind of preferred it that way, even if he was the youngest of the group and is therefore the 'underling'. As long as he's got tennis, then let things be.

The bus halted at the stop and he got off, holding unto the strap of his tennis bag, finally breathing in fresh air as his feet treaded the ground underneath. He turned a corner and stopped on his tracks, standing still with his hearing strained.

'I feel something weird…' he thought warily with a frown.

He stared at his feet, wordlessly daring the ground to tremble like how it does on an earthquake with his eyes sharp and shoulders tense. Brief seconds passed… and silence was the only thing that answered him.

Seeing as the odd feeling around him disappeared, his shoulders relaxed. He looked up and spotted someone waving at him—a little boy no more then ten, who had a hole at his chest with a chain attached to it.

"Akaya-niichan!"

The Rikkai boy grinned at the kid. "Yo, Yumetsu! How was your day?"

Yumetsu was a ghost, someone whose soul has left his body, as what the dangling chain on him tells. He knew that other normal people can't see the little boy and may even stare at him as if he was stupid for talking to thin air, but he could care less. Yumetsu was his friend, since the day he saw the ghost floating about on one afternoon.

Back then, Akaya had merely ignored the fact that he was hanging out with a real ghost and just ranted on about his supposedly abusive senpai-tachi—"Senpai-tachi are BAD! Well, maybe not Yukimura-buchou. But they're all 'Akaya, you're late!', 'Run fifty laps!', 'I change my mind, run a HUNDRED laps!' blah blah and MORE blah"—and little Yumetsu earnestly listened to him, even sharing his very own ramblings as well. This happened the next day, and then the day after that, and so on, up until the bond they shared was no longer undefined.

"Oh, it was fine," the boy grinned back, floating along with Akaya walking. "I found other children playing at my favorite park, near the road where I was run over by a truck; they also had chains on their chests. Since they were quite friendly with me, I spent the rest of the day playing with them. I had so much fun!"

Here Akaya felt the strange, indescribable feeling again. 'Huh?'

It was as if blank silence struck his ears…

"Hm… that's nice…" he managed to say in response, his green eyes darting from left to right, back and forth at the corner of his eyes, covering the widest possible range of vision in absolute vigilance.

It was as if his footsteps were telling him to carry on at a quicker pace…

"But you know, Nii-chan?" Yumetsu floated right in front of him, a worried look on his face. Akaya tilted his head in question, silently telling him to continue what he was saying. "I got separated from the others. When we were playing tag, we heard a very scary roar from nowhere. Then a big white monster jumped right at us and was laughing like crazy! It was saying 'Yummy! Lots of food I got today!' and tried chasing us when we ran away! We were very scared…"

It was as if someone was following them…

…or rather, something was following them.

Akaya stopped, frozen at his spot.

"What's wrong, Nii-chan?" asked Yumetsu innocently. Still facing him while floating in the air, he curiously looked over Akaya's shoulder. Upon noticing a huge figure positioned a few feet from them, he reached out and tugged Akaya's sleeve in panic.

"Ni-chan…!"

The young man, seeing a large shadow come over him like an umbrella, opened his mouth in a stupor. "A… A big…"

"N-Ni-Nii-chan…!!!"

"…white…"

"Nii-chan! NII-CHAN! I-It's the—"

"…monster…?"

Akaya turned around, and his eyes widened when he found himself standing face-to-face with a big, white monster—exactly like that which Yumetsu had described earlier.

"I-It's him! It's—It's the m-m-monster that t-tried to eat us at th-the park…!!!" the little ghost stuttered in evident fear. He squeaked in fear and hid behind Akaya, who remained immobile at the sight of a towering monster looking at them like a predator.

It was laughing.

"A monster…" Akaya whispered. The entity's face seemed to be covered by a thick, white mask, and its glowing eyes were revealed. It had arms and legs for limbs, and had it not been crouching on all fours like it did now, Akaya would have thought of the monster as some human giant that underwent a hideous mutation.

The ominous laughing died down and the monster spoke in a sickeningly malicious voice, "My, my, little kiddo wants to play hide and seek? Oh, too bad! I've found you! Be a good boy like your mummy taught you and come here! I'm very hungry right now!"

"N-No…!" Yumetsu sobbed. "Akaya-niichan, d-don't l-let him eat m-me…!!!"

The student extended his right arm, blocking the monster's view of Yumetsu, as a sign of his will to protect him.

"D-Don't worry, Yumetsu. I w-won't let him near you!" Akaya stammered, though his voice held determination.

The monster laughed again. "How sweet! 'Don't worry, Yumetsu. I won't let him near you'—you humans really are very interesting! Aren't you, Akaya-kun?"

He visibly cringed at the sound of the monster calling him by his given name.

"Well, Akaya-kun, you don't look like a threat to me—"

"SHUT UP!" the Rikkai regular roared in fury, gritting his teeth. "It's not like I can't do anything!!!"

Sneering at him, the masked monster neared them. Apparently, no hint of being taken aback was seen from its large form. Akaya took a step back, still shielding Yumetsu with his body.

"Oh? You actually CAN do something, eh? But of course—it's not my style to eat boring souls. But your smell… I wonder how you'll taste like. You might not be a shinigami, but you can see me and that dead kid after all. Ooooh, I'm getting excited! I get to eat TWO souls!!!"

More beads of sweat raced down Akaya's face; this monster not only was incredibly hideous, it was also incredibly insane. Eat him? Taste him? This thing's GOT to be kidding! He can't possibly get killed. He still has food to eat, a home to live and tennis to play! So what if he can see that monster? Does it also have something to do with his ability to see and talk to ghosts? And a shinigami? Do such beings even exist?!

He mustered all the courage he had and took in a deep breath. "What kind of crap is your mind filled with anyway?!" he shouted.

The monster's eyes narrowed at him sinisterly. "Crap? Heh. If that's what you call it, then this is what I mean."

Akaya barely had time to register the sharp, sole claw that sped towards him through the air—right through his chest, right at his heart. Almost immediately, blood oozed into his clothes at an alarming amount. He just stared at the blade-like claw that had impaled him and can only open his mouth in shock at what had happened.

"A-A-Akaya-n-niichan!"

He vaguely heard Yumetsu's anguished cry and the monster's triumphant laughter. His knees seemed to give away as all his strength deserted him.

"A-AKAYA-NIICHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

His body fell to the ground, limp and lifeless.

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He opened his eyes.

'Where am I…?'

He looked around him.

Walls. Four walls surrounded him, like he was caged and had no means of escape.

'What happened to me?'

He was standing in the middle of the four-walled area. It was nothing like a room; it seemed to be a dungeon of sorts, suffocating him by just its mere presence. He still wore his school uniform, he noticed.

Curios, he took a step towards the wall in front of him. Clinking metal sounds instantly jingled at his ears, and when he looked down at his front, his eyes widened at the long chain that was implanted at a hole on his chest.

Panic surged through his silent form.

'Am I dead?'

No. He can't be. He hasn't said any 'good bye's to his family yet. He still has other tennis teams to play a match with. He hasn't even beaten Yukimura-buchou, Sanada-fukobuchou and Yanagi-senpai in the tennis court. He just can't be dead.

He bent his knees, picked up the end of the chain and examined it. As if electricity made contact with his fingers, Akaya yelped at being caught off-guard and immediately dropped the chain to the ground. Were those what he thought they were?

Mouths?

He stared in horror at the small mouths that materialized on the iron surface of the chain. They seemed to hungrily devour the metal that they bite, and it bugs him that they were doing it fast. If they continue as seconds go by, the chain will be no more…

But what will happen after that?

'Damn. This sucks; I should get out of here. Yumetsu—' his line of thought paused at the realization. 'Oh darn, Yumetsu! What if he's already being eaten by that monster?! I should get out of here soon…!'

Once again, Akaya looked helplessly around him. The uniform walls that encased him only triggered his annoyance and panic, it was all too frustrating.

'I promised I'll protect him! He's been lonely ever since he died…! Damn, Akaya! Think of something to get you out of here!'

He tried to ignore the disgusting sounds emitted from the mouths that gobbled the chain up, but his attempt was futile. The munching sounds were too disturbing; somehow, Akaya knew that something bad will happen to him if that chain gets all eaten up.

'Think of a way!'

He tackled the wall with his side. It remained solid and intact.

'This is ridiculous! Think!'

He slammed his foot on the ground. Dust flew everywhere, but the ground did not crack.

'Think!'

He threw a punch at the wall behind him. It didn't do anything to enlighten his situation, and damn did his fist hurt.

'THINK!'

The chain was now significantly shorter. It seemed that more than half of the whole length had already been consumed.

He clutched his aching fist and closed his eyes to do some actual thinking…

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...and when he opened his eyes, he found himself looking at a light blue sky.

The dungeon-like surroundings were completely out of sight; he was just standing at a strange area of mist-filled atmosphere.

He turned around when he heard someone speak.

"Akaya."

He saw a mysterious-looking man with silvery white hair standing at the tip of a pole that stood amidst the foggy mist, looking down at him.

"Where… am I?" Akaya asked unsurely. "Who are you?"

The man stared at him from above, his face unreadable in all angles. "You forgot my name." His face and voice was blank and emotionless; Akaya couldn't tell if the man held a grudge against him or was scolding him for a crime he didn't even know of.

"Forgot you?" he yelled from below so that the stranger can hear him. "I don't even remember knowing you! Who are you?!"

"I live within you." His clear voice pierced through the deafening silence that had followed shortly, his strong and firm tone pointedly ignoring the young man's question. "And this… this is your mind." He referred to the place Akaya was standing on at the moment.

He stared in surprise. "My mind…?"

"Yes." When Akaya blinked, without warning, the silver-haired stranger already left his place; he had both feet implanted on the ground and was now standing right in front of him, only a few inches away his rigid body.

"You are tense because you know of your confusion. You are confused because you know of your ignorance. You are ignorant because you know that you have not the slightest clue of what is going on… Akaya! Have your heart possess a will to know, a will to learn. Courage, wisdom, strength— these vital elements, acquire them to form a solid will to live! A will to protect!"

"A will… to live? To protect…?"

An imaginary shrill, hysteric scream passed through his ears. 'AKAYA-NIICHAN!!!'

'Yumetsu!'

A heavy glowing aura of blue hues suddenly surrounded him when he once found himself standing at the caged dungeon once again. The silver-haired man was nowhere to be seen, but he knew he's being watched. 'I live within you'—though he didn't know the veracity of those words, somehow he feels a hidden truth behind them. This sole feeling was the only thing that was pushing him now, making him believe that he can get through this pinch without doubt.

His soul felt a stinging sensation when he noticed something mask his face portion by portion, but he decided to take the pain and leave it be. 'Just as long I get out of here.'

Without knowing it, he had blasted his way out of the murky place and was now back at the real world.

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The hollow was running amok with its vicious laughing ringing in his ears, but Akaya felt too different about something he couldn't define and had to look at himself to know what it is.

He blinked when he saw himself clad in a black shihakushō from head to toe. On his left side, a katana was tucked into the white sash that wrapped his waist. He looked like a samurai.

"Oh, Akaya-kun! So that's why you can see me, hah? You really are a shinigami!"

The big white-masked monster spotted him and narrowed its eyes in a creepy, predatory manner.

'Shinigami?'

Akaya quickly grasped the handle of his new weapon. His eyes hardened when he did not see Yumetsu anywhere.

He grit his teeth and screamed, "YOU BASTARD!!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO YUMETSU?!"

"Hmm? Oh, you mean that kid?! Why, I have NO idea!!!"

"LAME LIAR!" without thinking twice, he drew his slender katana out and dashed in a mad run towards the mask of the monster, pumping his feet against the ground and jumping high—so high, he was even quite surprised at the height that certainly no ordinary human could ever reach by a simple leap.

He sliced the center of the monster's mask, splitting it into half. The monster emitted a screech that made Akaya's hairs stand on the end. Landing firmly on the ground, he watched as the monster slowly eroded and dissipated into nothingness. And just that—it vanished without a trace, except for the destruction it had caused along the alley he had walked so many times on his way home.

He silently stared at his empty surroundings—no passersby, no monster, no Yumetsu in sight.

Akaya felt so bad at his failure. He failed to protect his ghost friend. The thought of the white-masked monster devouring Yumetsu only made his heart drop to the pits of his stomach, or even beyond.

'Sorry, Yumetsu. You've been a good friend, but I wasn't there for you. Just like I told you—I suck when it isn't tennis.'

He walked tiredly towards his limp body, which lied on its back a few meters away from him. After a brief thought involving his new traditional clothes and his adventures 'in his mind', he jumped right at his body and merged with it.

His body sat up after a split second.

"ITAI…!!!"

Fisting the cloth of his uniform, he grasped his chest in pain. He did die, all right. But it was seemingly odd; he was sure the monster pierced a whole through his heart. Now, it felt like his heart has resumed its continuous beating, as if it had come back to life. The hole must have disappeared via regeneration and only left deep wounds behind. How was that possible?!

He stood up slowly and walked carefully to the clinic that was coincidentally nearby.

Conclusion for the day: he was not normal. If the traditional clothes he wore earlier did not support that idea, then what else did?

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'Whew! I'm FINALLY home!'

He raised a mocking brow at himself. There was no one home to welcome him. Ah, so lonely, so lonely… but he already got used to it. His parents and older sister were always busy, but all for a good cause such as his education and their needs. He was in no place to complain.

He went up straight to his room and lied down on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

The medical center helped him very much, he admitted. If he hadn't gotten his deep wounds treated, he'd be muttering profanities about his careless weakness right now. The outraged doctor, upon seeing him enter his clinic, had him in bandages at a blink of an eye and asked him what had happened. Akaya just told him he wanted to save a kid from a fast moving truck. It was a good thing that the doctor bought it; if he told him about white monsters and ghosts with chains attached to them, he feared being moved into the mental asylum instead.

He glanced outside his open window groggily.

'After I supposedly died, I had a chain on me too. No, wait; I really DID die. But what was that all about? Me having an alter ego residing in my mind, then popping out into reality wearing a black shihakushō, and with a katana, no less! And what the heck was that monster?!'

He sighed. He remembered the silver-haired man's words.

A will… huh?

He didn't have time to further dwell on the thought as he saw a dark entity loom over him.

His eyes widened when a figure stepped into his room through the window. The figure was a small girl, or woman, or somewhere in between; he wasn't quite sure. She stared at him with equally wide eyes. Akaya sat up and backed against the wall, noticing the clothes she wore: a black shihakushō with a katana—like what he found himself wearing back then.

"W-W-Who are you?!" he stuttered nervously, pointing an index finger at her. "O-Or rather—what ARE you?!"

The girl standing on his window sill looked at him as if she had an epiphany. Seconds passed by, then she suddenly yelped and bowed in greeting, much to Akaya's surprise.

"A-Anou… you're Kirihara Akaya-san, right!?"

"Huh?" he gaped at her. "Ah… yeah. Er—how'd you know my name? And… who are you?"

The girl bowed one more time and beamed at him.

"Ah! Goteijūsantai Seventh Division shinigami, Ryuzaki Sakuno! Nice to meet you, Kirihara-san!"

Now he really, openly gaped.

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"NANIIIIIIIIIIIIII…??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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TBC

NOTES:

Shinigami – Death God or Soul Reaper (yeah, y'all know that already)
Shihakushō - standard shinigami uniform; a white undershirt, a black kimono and hakama, and a white sash (from Wikipedia).
Katana - sword
Goteijūsantai – Gotei 13, or the Thirteen Protection Squads of Seireitei (Court of Pure Souls)

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A/N: Prologue! Nyah! Just imagine how things will be when Akaya combines the powers of his tennis racquet and zanpaku-to (especially when he learns its name)! Or when Sakuno becomes a student of Rikkai! OR when he undergoes training and observation as a shinigami and fights hollows! Haha, I have a LOT in store for you all! Please review! I need feedback! ♥

-Meowzie
06.15.07