Black-Rock Shooter: Innocent Soul Fanfic:
Himiko
It is said that the greatest happiness lies trapped in misery and that all one has to do is reach out and take it. This is the story of one such person and how she found content just by saying hello to a strange girl with a glowing blue eye and her snake-like companion. The air was still all around them as the girl with said blue eye walked along the checkerboard ground, small clouds of dust kicking up beneath her shoes. Her companion, Ron, was curled around her right arm tightly. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the girl's company and was trying to cut off any circulation in said appendage as punishment, but rather that he had no arms or legs to walk upon and needed something to hold on to as they walked. The pair's goal in this lifeless void upon which they traversed was simple: find any stagnated souls and free them so that they go to Heaven or Hell, whichever they were destined to be. Their last encounter with one such soul was in a school illusion in which the poor soul was bullied and then tragically died in a bus accident. The experience with the deceased girl had nearly cost Rock (girl with the flaming blue eye) her life, but the issue was promptly resolved. Soon after, however, the soul of the girl was stolen and then eaten by a strange girl with dark hair and poisonous green eyes, as well as two horns jutting out of her skull. A small scuffle ensued and Rock and Ron where barely able to escape. They put as much distance as they could between them and the mysterious sadist and were now walking.
Ron, stirred out of his momentary nap, stretched his angled head and looked up, saying a brief hello to Rock that went unreturned. He rose up on her arm to get a better view of their surroundings and pointed the point of his tail at the horizon. "What's that?" he asked.
Rock looked to where he was pointing and saw that there was a building in the near distance, however it was unlike any of the others they had come across. This building resembled the shape of a one-story home and there appeared to be vegetation growing around it. Rock broke into a light jog and drew closer to the building, stopping when they were within a few feet of it. Now she could see that it was a small house with a lush garden growing all around it on either side. Beautiful flowers were hung on long vines over the cute picket fence that enclosed the yard and the hum of bees was in the air. Ron detached himself from Rock's arm as she tenderly touched one flower's petals, picking his way through the fence to slither along the ground.
"What kind of place is this?" He paused before what appeared to be a vegetable and looked it over before taking a hesitant bite out of it. "It's delicious!"
"Hello? Is someone there?" a youthful voice called.
Ron retreated from the vegetable and leaped back up to Rock, positioning himself around her neck as they both witnessed a figure approaching.
A young girl of no more than fifteen was approaching with a basketful of flowers in her hands. She was barefoot and wore a straw summer hat and flowing, lacy white dress that stopped at the knees. She was barefoot with moist dirt clinging to her toes. Hair the color of straw was in pigtail braids about her shoulders and large blue eyes looked out at them beneath the shadow of the hat. She regarded the two newcomers cautiously, but not threateningly. In fact, there was certain warmth about this girl that both of the hardened fighters were drawn to.
"Hello? May I help you?" she asked again.
Ron and Rock exchanged a look before answering.
"I'm Ron and this girl is Rock," he introduced. "Might we ask your name?"
"Himiko," the girl replied, setting down her basket of flowers. She approached the gate of the fence and peered at Rock's face, noticing a small cut on her cheek. "You're hurt."
Rock touched her cheek and winced at the sting. "I've had worse," she replied.
"Still, it's not very good to wander around with a cut. It might get infected." She opened the door to the gate and stepped aside if they wished to enter. "I can put a band-aid on it if you'd like and if you'd be willing to stay then I can offer some food."
"Is the food anything like you have in your garden?" Ron suddenly asked, remembering his half-eaten vegetable. He leaped from Rock's shoulders in search of it.
Himiko giggled to herself. "Exactly like it, though I think it tastes much better when it's warm." She glanced back to Rock and offered a polite smile as she stepped off to the side, motioning for her to enter.
Rock was cautious. She had remembered what happened last time she met a strange girl and she didn't want to play the fool and be duped twice. However, she looked back at Ron and noticed that he had no qualms with helping himself to Himiko's garden. Also, there was a peace that came to her whenever she looked into her eyes and it was a peace she wished to hold on to, even if it was only for a little while. And if there was going to be food . . . She nodded. "Alright."
Himiko smiled and walked beside her as Rock came into the garden, closing the gate behind her. They made little talk as they walked towards a porch where Himiko had Rock sit down.
"I'll be back in a moment, okay?" she said before stepping inside the house.
Ron came back from his meal with a couple of strawberries wrapped up in his tail and sat next to his companion as he began to munch on the juicy fruit. "Nice place, isn't it?"
Rock hummed in agreement. "Especially after where we came." She leaned back on her hands and gazed at the garden as the light of a dimming sun created purple shadows upon the ground. "I like it here. It smells nice."
"Not to mention all of the good food!" Ron yelped.
Rock's stomach gave off a powerful growl and she groaned. "Don't mention food, please." All of her enemies would love to know her weaknesses, but no foe was as mighty a match as hunger was – and Ron sometimes used that foe for his own entertainment.
"You know," he said, "you should really try these strawberries. They're amazing." He held one up to her on the point of his tail.
Rock looked down at it. "Is it?" she asked, taking the plump heart shaped fruit in her fingers. She looked it over and smelled it. It was very sweet. Her mouth began to water and her stomach growled louder.
"It is," Ron confirmed with a nod of his head. "Go on, try it." He watched with hidden glee as Rock held it up to her lips and took a healthy bite, licking at the juices around the corners of her mouth. Her eyes lit up.
"You're right!" She reached for the rest that were in Ron's possession, but the snake-like thing jumped out of her reach.
"I think I'll hold onto these," he said, taunting her with the last couple strawberries. "They're far too good to go into your gluttonous belly."
Rock peered at the berried hungrily, still tasting the first on her tongue. "Come on, just one more?" she begged, crawling closer. Her hand stretched out far enough to snatch them, but Ron was faster.
"Nope, they're all mine!" He waved one berry in front of her nose and then just before she munched it, popped it into his own maw, relishing in her dismay as it slithered down his throat. "Well look at this," he said, holding up the remaining berry. "One more left." A vicious smirk creased his face.
Rock's eyes widened. "You wouldn't!" she cried. Her belly howled its protest. "You're bluffing!"
"Am I?" Ron asked teasingly. He teettered the scrumptious morsel over his open jaws, swaying his tail in a manner that would make it topple in.
"No, don't do it!" Rock cried, tears of dismay in her eyes. "Don't do it!"
The berry fell and fell downwards in slow motion. Rock made a dash for it, but was too late as it slipped between the jagged points of Ron's teeth and down his throat. He swallowed audibly and sighed in content as Rock stood there on her hands and knees, hand outstretched, whimpering.
"Why you . . . you . . ." She couldn't even form the words. Nothing could get her over this shock. Then, as if by a miracle, a whole basket of strawberries appeared right before her and she blinked looking up at Himiko as she held the berries out to her.
"Don't worry, there's plenty more," she said. A light giggle flowed from her as Rock hungrily took the basket from her and gobbled its contents ravenously. The blonde girl then sat on her knees as she took up a rag drenched in water and cleaned the scratch on the other girl's cheek. Much to her comfort, she hardly seemed to notice and was too busy to feel the band-aid being put on her. "There," Himiko said with a satisfied smile, "all done." She set the rag and box of band-aids aside as she began to partake in Rock's delicious meal.
The group sat there on the porch in the evening light eating their strawberries and not saying much of anything, simply enjoying one another's company. Though the tranquil silence didn't last long as Ron struck up conversation.
"Himiko, you know who were are, right?" he asked after swallowing another berry.
She nodded. "Of course I do. You're Ron and Black Star Shooter. You two have gained a reputation as of late. It's very rare that I don't hear something about you one way or another." She picked up another strawberry.
"And you know what we do, right?"
Her expression fell, but not by much. "Yes, you ferry stagnated souls to Heaven or Hell, wherever they're destined." She sighed and looked at the setting sun, a loose breeze ruffling her hair. "Though I must ask you not to ferry me. I understand that I am dead and I don't want to move. I enjoy it here, even by myself. I have a lovely house and a beautiful garden and I enjoy the sunsets. To me, I am already in Heaven."
Rock and Ron lapsed into a silence before deciding to touch up on a touchy subject. "How did you die? With a sweet soul like yours why aren't you already in Heaven?"
"A shooting," she replied. "I was at school one day and a masked guy came into the classroom with a gun and started shooting. I was unlucky enough to get hit by one of the bullets and died soon after." She turned her head to the sky. "I think I'm here because I was jealous. I was lonely when I was alive and had trouble making friends. I envied and became jealous of everyone around me because they had friends and I didn't. I did try once or twice to ignore it, but it was always hard and kept coming back. So, I decided to simply live with it and the pain that it brought to my heart."
"You could always go to Heaven, you know that," Ron replied.
Himiko shook her head. "I was raised in a religious household. People who envy are sent to Hell where they drown in freezing water. I'm not ready to freeze and I can't swim so I stay here. I'm happy here."
Rock looked at her, blinking. Happy? She looked down at the basket of strawberries and narrowed her eyes sorrowfully. Happy being alone? It was difficult to wrap her head around. She set the basket off to the side and stood up.
"Something wrong, Rock?" Ron asked.
"I'm sorry," she said to Himiko, "but we have to leave now." She turned to her and bowed. "Thank you for your hospitality."
Himiko blinked at the abruptness of the statement and a small pain ripped through her heart. So soon? She wondered, but shook the notion away. I should have expected this. "Okay," she said, rising up to meet Rock's eyes. "Thank you for coming to see me. I enjoyed the company." She watched as Ron curled around Rock's arm and the black-haired girl began walking towards the gate. Himiko bit her lip and picked up the basket. "Wait!"
Rock and Ron turned to her and saw that she held the strawberry basket out to them, the green stumps gone and only the wholesome fruit remaining in them.
"Something for the road," she said. "I don't want you two to starve." She smiled gently, but inside she masked a wave of tears. Why did all of the people she met left? It wasn't for her to know. "Come back and visit anytime. There will always be fresh ones waiting for you."
Rock looked at the basket then Himiko and offered a rare grateful smile. "Thank you. We will." With a gentle wave, they left the garden and began traveling south again, Himiko watching them from the gate.
"Have a safe trip," she whispered.
Ron and Rock walked more, munching on the berries whenever the need for it would arise (which was quite often as neither of them grew tired of the taste).
"That was a nice soul," Ron said. "Much better after where we had been. Let's go visit again next time. Maybe she'll have even better strawberries!"
Rock nodded in agreement then paused in her tracks as an ear splitting scream rocked the entire world. Rock whirled around and dropped the basket of strawberries as her eyes settled on the house in the fading distance. The screams emanated from there as well as a cloud of dust as a section of it completely fell in. Rock and Ron leaped into action quickly, Ron becoming rim-rod straight and morphing into a sword as Rock dashed towards the swaying house. She leaped the fence and rolled out of the way as a wooden board nearly impaled her. It crushed a few sunflowers instead.
She cursed and looked up as a menacing cackle ripped overhead. She looked up to see the dark-haired girl with the horns once again. A chill ran up her spine as she saw the girl swallow something and gaze down at her with a malicious smirk. Rock jumped up onto the standing section of the house and leaped higher still, trying to take a swipe at the foe, but in an instant she was gone, vanished like a wisp of smoke. Rock blinked and did a dive roll to slow her descent as she landed on the ground. She turned back to the house even as Ron jumped off her arm and slithered towards it, diving in and around the rubble. "Rock! Over here!"
Rock hurried inside and picked her way through the rubble, tossing over fallen timbers and shards of rubble. She finally found Ron huddled next to a figure on the ground and Rock recognized her as Himiko. A small line of blood dripped from her lips and a small tear beaded at the corner of her closed eyes. A gaping wound still leaking blood was set just below her chest. Rock grimaced and kneeled next to her, pulling the body free from under the small pile of rubble it was in and held it in her lap. No words were needed to confirm what she already knew.
"Dead . . ." Ron whispered, taking residence on Rock's shoulders. He hung his head in sorrow. "She was so sweet . . . Why did this happen?"
Rock frowned as she held the dead girl in her arms, gazing down at her peaceful face. That mysterious green-eyed girl, she was the one responsible for this. She stole the last soul and now she stole this one – not even a stagnated soul! Just an unfortunate one. She swallowed hard. "She said she couldn't make friends . . . I can't see how that was possible . . ." She gasped as the girl began to glow then dissolve in a flurry of sparks, one body part at a time. And it wasn't just the girl, but the entire house as well. Rock kept her eyes on Himiko's fading form, burning her image in her mind until she was completely gone and just a few bright lights drifting up to the sky. She followed their ascent, frowning sorrowfully. "I hope she doesn't freeze . . . she wasn't envious . . . just lonely."
Once there was no trace that the house and garden ever existed the pair walked in solemn silence, resuming their journey and thinking about the refreshing kindness they had been blessed with. And when they passed by the strawberries that had been brought, they could see that the basket was crushed, the strawberries no more than mush on the dusty checkerboard ground.