To Survive
Author: Airith
BLEACH BELONG(S) TO TITE KUBO.
Warning(s):SLASH, Ghoul!Toshiro, IchiHitsu.
Rated M for Gores and Swearing.
Prologue
Sunday, August 15/Parallel World
Toshiro moved his pencil swiftly against his sketchbook while concentrating, he immediately paused as a rather big bloodstains splattered on his almost-finish drawing, completely ruined it.
He looked up quietly as a pair of pitch black, devilish sclera with glowing red pupils stared back at him.
The lavender-haired woman smiled, Toshiro can briefly see a deep red liquid runs down her arms in the dark of the cloudless night.
"What are you doing?"The woman asked with another ruthless smile, bloods dripped down on her face and touched his sketch paper with each drops.
He moved his sketchbook closer to him to avoid the bloods before teared off the soaked paper,"Drawing."He answered nonchalantly, closed his sketchbook with a THUD.
The ghoul woman laughed as she presented him a cut-off head on her hand,"Want it?"
The white-haired boy raised an eyebrow,"Is the world going to explosive tomorrow? I didn't think Mrs. I'm-too-independent-to-care-about-your-bullshit would do charity."He said sarcastically, but reached out and grabbed the bloody head anyway.
"It's no kindness, simply repaying. I hate owning people, especially to smart-ass brat like you,"
Something clicked in his mind as the memory of this afternoon rushed back to the forefront of his thoughts.
At that time, the sky was began turning red as the street filled with people. Everyone was minding their own businesses, they thought that nothing can go wrong, until a gang of thugs rounded a young woman into a corner.
The woman looked like she was on the verge of tears as one person after another walked past, sparing a back-walk glance at the poor girl. But obviously, no one dared to interfere with the thugs, so they just ignored her pleaded for help and trekked past, hoping that someone else will dealt with it.
He was just an innocence bystander and a witnesser of the scene, so he decided to beat up the thugs.
Out of kindness.
Since the moment they rounded the one and only Kamishiro Rize, the Binge Eater, they were doomed anyway, his efforts really was in vain.
No one, who had caused grudges with her escaped alive, or at least in one piece. Rize was an active and infamous Ghoul, among the strongest, she's considered 'strong', and that's something.
"You killed them in the end anyway,"
Rize folded her arms for good measure,"I couldn't have killed them if you didn't sent them away out of public eyes, so now I'm repaying you, see?"
...Oh, so he's actually helping her. Of course.
Hitsugaya Toshiro was a wanderer up until now, he would traveled without a destination and hunted if he wanted to. For some reason or another, he ended up in Tokyo, where Ghouls filled the streets and murdered cases overflowed in the cities.
He was hunting then, after not eating flesh for one and a half month. He stumbled across a rather messy scene in one of the alleys , an unoccupied area. A ghoul was tearing a human apart likes cutting open a grape while laughing heartedly. It was a disturbing, yet interesting scene for him.
After a session of desperate moaning and screaming, the sounds stopped as the victim fall to his own pool of bloods. The ghoul looked quite satisfied at what she had done, before turned to the white-haired boy with a smile.
"And who might you be, little boy? From your unwavering behavior of seeing me tearing someone apart, you must be a ghoul, am I right?"
Toshiro nodded,"Pleasure to meet you...Binge Eater."
"Oh?"Rize perked up with a hint of amusement in her voice,"You know me, yet I have never heard or met a Ghoul with white hair, aside from the older ghouls before."
"I have my source...And I'm new here."
In the dark alleyway, only lighten by a single almost-broken lightbulb, the Binge Eater leaned down to take a closer look at his face, the far too cheerful smile still lingered on her face,"My, aren't you a cute one."
"Looks can be deceiving..."He whispered.
"Indeed. You gave off a tightened feelings to me, I wonder how your flesh tasted like..."
"Not as gross as human's food, just grosser."
Rize twisted around, arms dangling at her back as she chuckled,"You are interesting...so maybe I'll let you live, as long as you don't get in my way."
"Typical line. It appeared about a hundred times in every mysterious genre books."
"Oh yes. Teatime after Midnight, The Talking Circle, Smiling Man's Jay..."
"Return of the Dark, Back to Shade..."
"I think I'm getting influenced by the books, then."
Rize shot a fake amicably look at the fellow Ghoul,"I have a feeling that we could get along...Who know what a change of pace could bring?"She jumped on the roof and glanced back at him with her noticeable Ghoul's eyes.
"Welcome to Tokyo's Hell, newcomer."
Toshiro tucked both of his hands in his pocket as he walked away from the field. Hopefully, he doesn't being count as partner-in-crime with that woman.
Tokyo is truly a hell for humans, not Ghouls.
And that's how he got stuck with the most paranoids killer of 11th Ward, Kamishiro Rize. They always bummed into each other on coincidence, or just happened to meet at the park. They would dicussed about their favorite books and different subjects involved them, sometimes(on rare occasions), they would go drink coffee together, The only drink that Ghouls can actually enjoyed.
He begins to gouge out the eyeball easily before putting it in his mouth, he swallowed it as his eyes changes from a deep, blue turquoise to a dangerous ebony and crimson colors. He loved the different shade of eyes so he always ate them first.
"Disgusting,"Rize commented as she sat next to the small boy. She took his sketchbook and began flipping through the pages,"Just like your drawings."
"Said the person who tortured the victim before sliced them apart,"Toshiro countered as he scanned the lifeless head, the victim's face still hold the expression that he had before he died. Terror-stricken and spooked.
"Ah, but I like this one,"Rize ignored Toshiro's remark as she pointed at a roughly sketched picture of herself while she was ripped someone's organs out, the image looked so real that you could almost smell the thick aroma of human's flesh on it,"Very detailed, it brought back good memories."She continued flipping through half of the remaining pages, all of them were pictures of dead corpses, Rize played with her victims mercilessly, or the progresses of people getting killed. It was filled with gory.
"I would said that you had a crush on me, if not for your weird hobby of drawing corpses."Rize rested her head on her palm as she looked at Toshiro at the corner of her eyes.
Toshiro licked his lip as spots of blood drenched his fingers and a corner of his mouth, he dropped the red-soaked head on the ground before turned to Rize,"Please, I would never have a crush on a psychotic killing-lover like you."He deadpanned.
"And yet, we keeps bumming into each other, one way or another..."
Toshiro shrugged as he rose up on his feet,"Coincidence, and that's all there is to it. I'm sure you feel the same."
He couldn't help but agreed with himself, he only hang out sometime with Rize because most Ghouls wanted her dead. He isn't one of them, but he hunted his own kinds, so following Rize around is soft of using her as a baits for him to lure the strong Ghouls out and consumed them. The Binge Eater is an observation one so he was sure that she had already noticed, since she also used him to escaped from her boredom, she lets it slide as she doesn't like getting bothered by the other Ghouls that is weaker than her. It's a win-win situation for them.
"You're so harsh, I did have fun, you know?"
Toshiro wondered if that's even the true or not. Living in a world like this make your doubts goes up without you even realizing it.
"Ah well, it's almost my shift anyway. Bye bye, Shiro-chan."Rize slipped away into the dark just as quickly as usual, leaving a dead, almost-rotten body behind.
The white-haired couldn't help but twitched his eye brown a little,"...It's Hitsugaya to you."He sighed before he began to leave the murderous scene, he walked the opposite direction of when he entered just to be sure. He had encountered enough half-a-brain cops who always asked him about random questions that had only one hidden meaning behind:Are you a Ghoul? So he might be a Ghoul because he had white-freaking-hair, it's not his fault, it's natural, so he tells them to suck it up and he can't do anything about it.
Luckily, he had enough sarcastic and threats to get by every times that happen.
But that doesn't mean he can't feel annoyed by it.
He exited the dark alleyway and wandered off to his next destination as he blended into the crowds of people easily. The ears-splitting noises of traffic jams and honks along the way are seriously driving him crazy, though. He hated crowds.
The night is still long.
"Oh my god! You are even cuter than you looked on the computer, Shiro-chan!"The red-haired woman squealed as she hugged the smaller Ghoul into her bosom, her beautiful cherry eyes seemed gleaming in the supposedly-dull lemon light of the bar.
Toshiro immediately moved the older Ghoul's chest away from him while scowled,"Please refrains from doing that from now on, Itori-san, and it's Hitsugaya to you!"
The woman, Itori, chimed,"Ahh, even the remark sounded more believable in real-life!"
He clicked his tongue in annoyance while fanned off his long-time acquaintance on the internet. He didn't know why, but everytime someone hugged, or shoved their chest into his face, he became pissed off for no reason.
He twisted his head away from Itori to avoid from getting hug, instead, he came face to face with an unfamiliar and emotionless face.
"Boo."
The white-haired Ghoul stared, and stared...They both stared at each other for what seemed liked an hour before Itori broke the eyes contact with a snap from her fingers.
"Alright, alright! Emo and kid-with-depression-issues shouldn't be having an eyes-staring contest, no one will win until the planet goes BOOM."She said with completely seriousness in her tone as she guided Toshiro to a seat and made him sat down, with her sitting next to him.
Toshiro noted as the permanent-Kakugan guy settled down next to Itori, his face still showing no emotions whatsoever.
"Alright, so...Do you want something to drink? I know a great one if you asked me!"
"Probably blood, no thank."
Itori shrugged feebly,"Not like we can digest anything other than that and coffee."She clapped her hand together liked she had just remembered something important,"Oh yeah! Shiro-chan, I would like you to meet my long-time friend who is also really talented in art and other artistic stuffs! He-"
"Making masks and drawings?"
"And musics, too! He owed a shop in the 4th Ward, HySy ArtMask Studio. Ever heard of it from your hometown?"Itori took her fancy glass cup and wet her lip with a sip of the red liquid,"He made almost all of the masks that the Ghouls wore in Tokyo so he's pretty popular here."
Toshiro was impressed, but he didn't show it as his poker face mode was still on. If he made that many masks then he must have some talents...or so he hoped.
"Is that him, then?"It wasn't a query as he was staring directly at the man-in-question.
"Call me Uta,"The man waved lazily.
Toshiro nodded in acknowledgement as he also being polite and answering back,"Hitsugaya Toshiro...though, I don't remember telling you to bring anyone, Itori."
He glanced back at the fidgeted woman in her seat as she defended,"Come on! We aren't having a top secret meeting or anything! You just wanting to ask me about some rumors, right? Beside, he came on his own freewill!"
Uta scratched his head, Toshiro thinks that he was trying to look awkward but fail badly due to his face,"I came to get a drink, actually. I didn't that I would get rejected like this,"His voice sounds slower and there is a hint of actual sadness,"Itori is means..."
Toshiro blinked at the abruptly changes of pace as Itori tried to apologize to her friend. Now he feels bad.
"It's fine, Itori. I just don't want you to bring suspicious strangers that I can't trust to our conversation..."He closed his eyes,"I'm fine with Uta-san,"since he is your long-time friend. He mentally added the last part.
Itori grinned out of relief,"It's totally fine! Uta is one of my trusted friend! You will get along great with him! You know, since you both are all quiet, likes to draw creepy things and stuff...Okay!"Itori chortled as a scowl blossomed on Toshiro's face,"Let's get back to business, chop chop! What did you said that you wanted to know again, Shiro-chan?"
Toshiro turned to stare at the line of beer bottles on the counter in front of him,"I need to find someone...his first name is Yoshimura. There is a lot of Yoshimura, I knows, but he's probably the first Yoshimura that came to your mind if you knew him, do you have any clues of where he is?"
Itori flinched abruptly while on her other side, Uta expression remains unchanged though his posture shifted as he put his feet back on the ground.
After a while of silence, Itori picked up her cup and began to sway the liquid inside gracefully,"Yeah...He is in 20th ward, you'll find him in a neighborhood Cafe called Anteiku, also known as a Ghoul's organization who doesn't kill...They keeps peace over there since their members are crazy strong..."She placed her cup back in place,"What business do you have with Yoshimura? I know that you're strong, but-"
"Relax, I'm not searching for him to revenge or anything. I owed him one, back then, so now I want to repay it.
"Oh..."Itori sighed, tension eased from her shoulder,"God, you had me scared, you always talks about killing someone for revenge so I thought...Still, you must owed him a lot to go all the way to Tokyo, despite-"
"You and your big mouth, Itori. Want me to sew it together?"
"Okay, got it, privacy issues, sheesh. I wonder if you're a one-hundred and fifty-two years old man-in-disguise."Itori pouted.
"Exactly."Toshiro rose on his feet as Itori pouted again, slightly,"Thank for your help, guess I know where my next location is going to be,"
"Hm...then I guess we'd still see each other again, Hitsugaya-san."Uta commented blankly as he faced Hitsugaya,"Bye bye."
He shrugged,"Maybe we will, who knows?"
With a final nod, he trekked past them to the door that had the 'exit' sign on it, leaving the Helter Skelter Bar as he closed the door behind him.
Itori continued sipping her drink in a slow manner while Uta placed his hand on the counter,"He's not so quiet like you described him to be,"
Itori smiled,"Only around his closed friend, though he referred to them as close acquaintances instead, I swear he's even more stubborn than Yomo back then."
"He said that he wanted to kill someone, right?"
The woman looked down at her drink sadly,"Yeah...I just hoped he won't become...corrupted for the sake of his revenge."
"We all are, Itori."
"Yeah...I'm afraid so, he's already corrupted...just like us..."
Monday, August 16/Shinigami's World
"Ichigo! Wake up! Hurry up, you lazy-ass!"The brunette yelled while slamming a pillow rapidly against someone's head,"Urahara's calling you! He had something important to tell us! God, you're so-"She paused as she raised her pillow above her head and stared at the silent back of the orange-haired boy,"Ichigo...Look, I know that-that you're really depressed right now, I know the feeling myself...But you have to get over it! He's already...in a better place now."
"...Yeah, and it's all my fault."He muttered in respond though his position shifted as he sat up and glanced out at the window next to his bed,"I'll...catch up with you later, Rukia."
Rukia opened her mouth to say something more, but she decided against it and headed for the door,"Just remember to go to Urahara's, okay?"She closed the door with a soft CLICK, leaving Ichigo in his room as silence washed over.
He began to fidget with his necklace and his only charm, a beautifully carved Tiger-eyes stone in the shape of a crest moon, it shines in the lights as Ichigo held it over his head.
"What is this?"Ichigo queried, on his hand is a small and white box with a blue ribbon attached to it, it was simple, but pretty. He stared at the thing with a raised eyebrow.
Toshiro huffed grouchily,"What? Are you stupid or something?"He mumbled the next sentences quietly-much too quiet that Ichigo had to lean closer to the boy to hear it.
"Er...Can you said that again?"He asked nicely, just to earn a stomp on his foot abruptly,"Ow! Toshiro, what-?"
"Shut up! Figured it out yourself!"The smaller Shinigami walked off with what could be a small blush on his face while muttering unintelligent things.
"HEY!...The hell is going on?"Ichigo scowled questionably, he opened the box that Toshiro had handed to him, just to discover a newly Tiger-eyes crescent stone, he pulled it out carefully before turned it over. He nearly laughed out loud, instead, he suppressed his laughter while his shoulder shaking uncontrollably. The word 'Happy Birthday' carved deep into the not-too-flashy object,"Hahaha, oh god...He really is adorable, Huh?"
The orange-haired male glanced up before called,"TOSHIRO!"
The still embarrassed Captain reluctantly twisted around, he's standing pretty far off from Ichigo, so the sound came out from his mouth doesn't have as much aura as when he stands close to the taller male, but it sounded flustered enough, which is exactly what he's trying to hide,"W-What now?"
The Substitute Shinigami grinned slyly as he slowly hold the necklace up and planted a long kiss on it with his eyes closed, he opened them again after five seconds, smiling gently at his crush.
Toshiro feels himself burned up with a crimson red, his face twisted into a mix of rage and embarrassment at the same time, if that's is even possible,"Y-You STUPID, MORONIC STRAWBERRY!"He yelled.
"Yeah, yeah. LOVE YOU, TOO!"Ichigo completely shut down the insults that Toshiro fired at him and laughed, he would treasured the necklace more than his life, that's for sure.
He stared at the cloudless azure sky as the recollection leaved his mind once again and being buried deep inside his most treasured memories, he flopped down on the bed with a CLERK, his face unreadable.
"...Was it my fault, Toshiro? That I'm too weak...And I left you died?"He clutched the necklace in his hand,"I'm sorry, I promise I'd become must stronger this time, so..."Sorrow showered over him as he bitten his lower lip,"...Please come back..."The words died out on his tongue as he covered his eyes with his other arm.
"...I'm pathetic."
Oh? It's a cliff-hanger isn't it? XD Please leave a review on your way out and tell me how you feels! :33