The Corpse Road
Prologue
All houses are haunted. All persons are haunted.
Throngs of spirits follow us everywhere.
We are never alone.
~ Sarecky, Barney
It was the first year anniversary of Kuchiki Rukia's death, and the weather couldn't have been more ironic. Bars of hot sunshine filtered through the trees as a handful of college students gathered around a headstone.
They had all given up a piece of their schedule to come together as a group of friends, rather than individually. It was easier that way, to miss a class or abandon track practice, than it was to face emotion alone.
Inoue laid a rainbow of flowers before the headstone. She straightened up, giggled nervously, and stepped back. "Kuchiki-san," she said, holding her hands behind her back. "I'm not really sure what to say. Even though it's been a year since we've seen each other, it's kind of like you're still here."
She paused, waiting for someone else to speak, but the situation was a little awkward. What do you say to someone whose spirit still visited you regularly?
Inoue knew that Rukia was still there— she regularly heard the pad-pad of footsteps echoing in the kitchen like a faded heartbeat. Sometimes at night she heard a murmuring voice whisper unintelligible things when no one else was around, and she swore that once she had even seen the figure of Rukia's shadow moving against her bedroom wall.
Renji spoke suddenly, "They haven't found your killer yet." His voice was heavy as lead and laced with a fading grief. Last year, his girlfriend had been found in an ally with a hole speared into her abdomen. He had started to move on, but hadn't quite come to terms with the loss— that would come when they closed Rukia's case.
"But they will," Ishida added, adjusting his glasses.
"We made a new friend this term," Inoue said, smiling in spite of herself. "He transferred from a community college earlier this semester. I think you would get along with him, although he's kind of, um…"
"A smart ass?" Renji offered.
"I was thinking more of 'social recluse,'" said Ishida.
"Takes one to know one," Kaien muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Anyways, this kid is ridiculously fast—"
"He makes lightning jealous," Ishida admitted.
Renji scoffed. "Yeah, he runs with us on the track team— hasn't lost a race yet. It's kind of annoying, actually."
"There's a race tomorrow," Inoue said. "You're invited to come, if you want."
Ishida gave her a strange look behind his glasses. "Inoue, that's a really strange thing to say."
Renji shrugged and not for the first time, he wondered if he was only one (Inoue aside) who knew that Rukia's spirit was still somewhere among the living. "Is it?"
"Kuchiki-san is dead," Ishida said quietly.
"But she still visits us," Inoue added quickly. "I'm sure of it. Sometimes I think Kuchiki-san gets a little lonely, so she comes over to my house and it's kind of like having a slumber party…but not really."
Renji gave Ishida a flat look. "You serious? You mean you have seen weird stuff going on since…you know?"
"You have?"
Renji folded his arms behind his head. "Psh, that brat won't leave me alone. You know that stuffed bunny I gave her for her birthday a couple years ago? Yeah, I've seen it hop across the room twice. I always knew that an ex would come back to haunt me, but not like this."
"Anyways," Kaien said loudly, "your sister and her husband are busy this afternoon. They said they would stop by later this evening."
"So, I guess we'll see you around," Renji said. "If everyone's said what they wanted."
After bidding farewell, they made their way across the cemetery in silence. The footpath was small and dusty, and swerved between narrowly between headstones. The cemetery was a surprisingly serene, if not relaxing, place.
The lawn was bushy and green and very well kept. A plethora of apple trees offered shade to the many gravesites. Benches had been courteously placed along the dusty footpaths, and at night the property was lit by the tea-colored lamps. It was a sleepy setting, hardly forgotten and scary, where both the living and the dead could be at peace.
"I wonder who takes care of this place," Ishida said, to break the silence.
Inoue looked around. "They're doing a nice job, don't you think?"
Her friends agreed and they lapsed back into silence until Kaien said, "I forget his name, but he's kind of nut job." He paused, watching his feet kick up the dirt on the path. "Do you know what they call this trail? They call it 'the corpse road' because this is the path they once used to carry the casket from the chapel to the gravesite. I did research on it in high school for a project."
Renji punched him in the shoulder. "Whatever, quit being so morbid."
The path swerved and dipped into several flat acres marked by a sea of headstones.
"I know," said Inoue, "I'll make us all dinner, and we can invite Kurosaki-kun and Sado-kun since we kind of left them out today."
Kaien bit his lip and Renji stared at the dirt. Inoue wasn't the most conventional cook on campus, and they was pretty sure that he wasn't the only one who thought that. "That's a lot of work for you," Kaien said quickly. "How about we just order pizza instead."
Before Inoue could protest, Renji pulled out his cell phone. "Sounds good, we can have Ichigo bring it— the guy's dorm is just across the street from a Pizza Corpse— I mean, Pizza Corp. Give me a minuet. I'll meet you in the parking lot."
He didn't know it, but when Renji flipped opened the cell phone, he didn't make the phone call alone.
- - -
"Damn it." Detective Hitsugaya swore, pulling the sheet over the crusty, mangled corpse. Her pink hair was matted to her face as she lay in the bayou of her own blood. Just a kid, he thought. Can't be any older than ten years. There was blood everywhere. It looked like it had rained carmine all over the concrete. "It looks like another street mugging," he said to his partner, Matsumoto.
The woman pulled a glove over her hand, snapping the latex against her wrist. When she spoke, her voice was less bouncy than usual, "What's the cause of death?"
"Mostly a stab wound to the abdomen," said Hitsugaya. "Murder weapon was probably some kind of custom knife, you can tell by the width of the wound. Sound familiar?" He showed her the pink purse he had found by her side. It was decorated in sequins and fake pink feathers. The zipper, Hitsugaya noticed, was broken and it appeared to be empty.
"Kuchiki Rukia," Matsumoto said. "I remember her case. Wasn't her brother captain of the SWAT team?" She sighed. "We never found the thug responsible."
"We might get a chance now," he said. "I think these two cases are related. Both girls suffered similar wounds, both were found in an ally and—" With gloved hands he took a pair of tweezers, and pulled out a silvery thread caught between the girl's tiny fingers. "Silver hair. Looks like this girl fought back."
"We found silver hair on Rukia too."
"We need to wrap this up. Look around and see if you can find a weapon. If not, be sure to interview the kid who found her body," Hitsugaya instructed. "I'm going to run by the office and dig up some old files. Let me know if you find anything."
"Have fun."
Lifting the yellow tape, Hitsugaya stepped out of the alley way, and into a bleak column of sunshine.
Author's note: It's very short, I know. However, it's a prologue and I just wanted to kind of set the scene. 'll have more coming your way soon! Please note that I do not own Bleach, its characters, setting and/or original plot. Thank you and review please!