[[ Hello everyone!

I hope you enjoy this story as I continue to write it.

Please let me know your thoughts!

(Ps. First chapter is like a flashback)

I do not own Bleach. ]]

Please everyone; be advised that it is not safe to leave your houses at night. The police force is working extremely hard to find Miss Fukumoto Rei's killer and they wish to prevent any more killings from occurring and advise that if possible; it is best to stay indoors. If you must leave, do not walk alone. I repeat, do NOT walk alone.

If you are out in the neighborhood and feel that you are not safe, please call either the police force or the help hotline whose number is located below.

Lastly, we have just received an update from the witness about the murderer. It appears the murderer—

The television screen was abruptly turned off and the small white haired child turned her attention to the person behind her.

"What did I say about watching TV without me around?" A tall muscular man with a rough voice warned.

"Papa…" the child spoke out in a soft voice as she was frightened by the man's voice.

"Where's your mother?" the man asked, or rather demanded.

"Mama… I-I don't know."

"Nani? You dare lie to me? To your father? You think I'm stupid? You think I haven't noticed how she's been disappearing almost every night for the past two weeks? You know where she is. Tell me. Now!" his voice of anger echoed throughout the house causing the girl to flinch in fear.

You'd think she would have already gotten used to the screaming and yelling, the fighting and blaming, as well as the hitting and the isolation but even if this abuse has been occurring since the little girl learned to walk, she still held on to the hope that her father would change. However, she knew such a thing wasn't possible and that's why she must protect her mother, no matter how harshly she gets punished for it.

"Not gonna talk? Okay, so what is it tonight? You want the box or the bat?"

Neither option was favorable. The box is a wooden chest that the girl would be locked in overnight and would be opened before school started the next morning. She would receive no food, no water, and no bathroom breaks. She would spend over 12 hours trapped inside a box.

The bat is what you would expect it to be. The child's father was a professional baseball star until a scandal ruined his career. He would take his old bat and whip his child for almost an hour. With the stamina and force his body has built up with his years of training, he's broken many of her bones already.

Tonight, the option was given to her. No food, no water, no bathroom, or getting beat by a bat with the amount of force to hit a baseball. What option would you choose? To starve or to have your body slowly break?

"The b-box…" the child stuttered as she slowly stood from where she sat.

The man then pulled a wooden box out from the closet in the living room and roughly opened it. He spoke no words; he simply glared at his daughter. She picked at her fingers and made her way inside. As she lay on the cold rough bottom of the chest, the man continued in silence and shut the lid with a loud thud.

Darkness enshrouded the child and the click of the lock was heard. The man then proceeded to push the box back into the closet and proceeded to bed. The creaking of the stairs grew fainter as her father walked to his room and the child started crying when she knew she would not be heard.

"Mama…" she cried out in between her tears, "Mama…"

. . .

Morning approached and the sun shone its bright dazzling light through the window of the living room. The closing of the door was heard and after a few minutes, the creaking sound of the stairs was heard quickly as if someone was rushing down the stairs.

With the click of the lock, the box was opened and the child jumped into the arms of her mother who embraced her child deeply.

"Hajime. I'm so sorry I couldn't make it back home sooner. I'm so so sorry." She spoke as regret took over her tone of voice.

"Mama…" was all she was able to say as she tightly hugged her mother.

Hajime's mother, Aiko, is a tall and beautiful porcelain skinned women. She possessed lovely features: she had long silky black hair and her silver eyes sparkled like diamonds. Hajime too, possessed her mother's sparkling silver eyes. However, with her late arrival home last night, she also received punishment from her husband.

"Looks like I was too careless these past couple of days going out for so long. Did you tell your father where I was?" Aiko asked as she looked into her daughter's eyes.

Hajime shook her head.

"Good. Listen Hajime, with this side job I picked up, I'm making nearly triple I did at my desk job. The boss gave me this week off since I told him our situation but by next week, I have high profile clients that are requesting to work with me so I'll be making even more money. We're almost there my dear daughter, we're nearing our escape. I'll try my best to protect you, okay?"

"Mama. I will protect mama too." Hajime grabbed her mother's hand and tightly squeezed it.

Aiko gave a smile to Hajime and said, "That's right. We only have each other. We need to look out for each other. Now, it's almost time for school, we can't have you be late, they'll call your father. Let's get you dressed and you can eat breakfast on the way. Come, quickly."

Aiko and Hajime quickly got themselves freshened up and changed just in time to make it to the school bus that arrived in front of their house. Aiko grabbed her briefcase while Hajime grabbed her lunchbox and decided to skip on breakfast. They ran towards the bus and they bid one another farewell.

"Have fun in school today." Aiko said while kissing her daughter's forehead.

Hajime quickly made her way on the bus and the bus departed. Aiko made her way to her neighbor's house, which also happened to be her close friend, and they both made their way to work together.

On the school bus, Hajime took a seat next to her red headed best friend named Akashi. Akashi had brown eyes and crimson red hair that was placed into a ponytail. He was Hajime's only friend and would always look out for her as he suspected that she does not come from a stable home.

"Yo, Hajime-hime!" he greeted her with a large teeth revealing smile.

"Morning, Akashi-kun." She greeted as she smiled a gentle smile at her friend.

The bus ride to their school took about 15 minutes and the two friends would talk nonstop until they reached their destination. Upon arriving at school, the two walked to their homeroom class and sat next to each other as they did for the past 3 years that they've known each other.

As the day went on and it was finally lunchtime, Akashi and Hajime sat together and Akashi gave a small yellow box to Hajime. Today was Hajime's 8th birthday.

"Akashi-kun, what is this?" Hajime asked as she looked at the box questioningly.

"It's your birthday present, what else?" he replied with a smile, "Open it! It may not be much but it was all my mom would let me get you."

Hajime put down her chopsticks and slowly motioned the yellow box over to her. While looking at Akashi with a smile, she opened her box and to her surprise, there was a lavender hair ribbon inside.

"So… Do you like it?"

Hajime's gaze softened as she looked at the ribbon. She felt a sense of overflowing happiness and genuinely thanked Akashi for his gift.

Akashi helped tie the ribbon on Hajime's head and it suited her appearance beautifully. The ribbon, now taking the appearance of a bow, was placed on the right side of Hajime's head with a slight tilt.

"Happy birthday, Hime."

"Arigato, Akashi-Kun."

. . .

It was finally time to go home and Akashi thought it would be a good idea to go to Hajime's house to spend more time with her since it's her birthday. Hajime hesitated since her father usually comes home about two hours after school ends and she didn't want anything to happen to Akashi.

"Come on, Hime! We've been friends for over three years already and I still have yet to come over your house! It's your birthday, can't we celebrate a little?"

"S-Sure but you can't stay long, okay? My papa doesn't really like visitors in the house."

"Hai hai!"

The two boarded the bus and made their way to Hajime's house. As they entered the house, Hajime was being extremely cautious, as she feared that her father might be home for some reason. There were no sounds, however, it was only the two of them and Hajime was relieved at that fact.

"So, where's your room?" Akashi asked, as he was excited to finally pay a visit to his friend's house.

"Up here. Follow me." Hajime instructed in her usual gentle tone.

Hajime's room was pretty plain for an eight-year-old girl's room. The walls were a cocoa color, her bed sheet and pillowcases were a lavender color that matched her new hair bow, and there were hardly any toys or forms of entertainment in the room. It was neat, almost too neat. Akashi looked around the room in astonishment and compared the environment to his own room.

Akashi's bedroom is much more colorful, is filled with toys, games, and he even has his own TV. While looking at Hajime's room, he felt surprised but mostly upset. He couldn't believe that Hajime was living such a life and was saddened by the fact that Hajime isn't getting what she deserves as a child.

Suddenly, a slam was heard. Hajime froze in her tracks and it felt as if the hairs on the back of her neck were standing. She quickly and quietly made her way to the top of the stairs and saw her father take a seat on the living room couch with a can of beer in his hand.

Papa?! What is he doing home so early? This is bad. I have to get Akashi out of here somehow.

Hajime ran back to her room and closed her door as quietly as she could. Akashi was confused.

"Akashi-kun." She whispered to him, "You have to go. My papa's home and he doesn't seem to be in a good mood."

"Eh? But I just got here and why isn't he in a good mood? Shouldn't he be happy and celebrate your birthday with you?"

"Papa probably had a long day at work. You can't leave through the front door, you're gonna have to climb out through the window."

"The window?!" Akashi exclaimed, a little too loud for Hajime's liking.

"Shh!" She warned as she covered his mouth with her hand. "I've made a rope from my old pants that I've kept. You can climb down using that but please, you must keep quiet."

"Hime…"

"Akashi… Onegai." Her wavering silver eyes sparkled, as she looked Akashi in his eyes.

"I understand. I'll do my best to keep my mouth shut."

Hajime then proceeded to look through a box she placed under her bed and in it was a rope she made about two months ago from pants that got dirty or were too big to fit her.

She went over to the window and quietly opened it to avoid her father from catching on and carefully threw the rope out the window. She tied the other end of the rope to her bed stand and told Akashi to start climbing.

"Then, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school, Hime." Akashi said as he was preparing to leave.

"See you tomorrow and I'm sorry that it has to be like this. Now go,"

Akashi took hold of the rope and started to slowly climb down.

Hajime's neighbor, Mei, spotted the rope from her house and when she saw Akashi climb from it, she knew that Hajime was in danger of getting punished but there was nothing she could do to help in this situation. If Mei went over there to help, Akashi would be discovered and both Hajime and Akashi would be punished.

Hajime held onto the other end of the rope with as much force as she could and Akashi tried to be quick as well as cautious. When Akashi finally managed to reach the living room window, he saw a glimpse of Hajime's dad and saw the four empty cans of beer on the table. Hajime's father gulped down another can and threw it on the table along with the rest. He then suddenly stood from his seat and that caught Akashi off guard causing him to lose his grip on the rope and fall with a loud thud on the lawn.

Both Mei and Hajime were frozen in fear and Hajime's father quickly ran to the kitchen drawer and took out a handgun. He ran to the front lawn and saw Akashi sprawled out on the floor as well as the rope that hung from Hajime's window. He knew exactly what was going on and with his mind in a drunken haze, any word, any action could be dangerous.

"KISUMOTO HAJIME! YOU GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!" His rough voice caused the neighborhood to shake in fear and no one wanted to know what happened next. Only Mei continued to observe the scene and as she knew how dangerous it was going to get, she quickly called Aiko to tell her of the situation.

As ordered, Hajime ran down to where her father was and was unable to face him. Her gaze was pointed towards the ground and she shut her eyes, almost as if it were instinct.

"Why is there a stranger in my house?" her father asked angrily.

Hajime did not answer, she was too afraid.

Then a gunshot was heard. He aimed it on the ground near Hajime's feet. Both Hajime and Akashi were frozen in fear.

"Answer me now, or I promise you, this next bullet won't miss." Her father warned as he aimed the pistol at Akashi.

Hajime quickly rushed in front of Akashi and spread out her arms to protect him, "He's a friend! He wanted to come over and celebrate my birthday with me!"

"Who are you to allow people to come to MY house? And you say he's your friend? Is he the one that gave you that stupid ribbon?!" Hajime's father grasped onto Hajime's hair ribbon and forcefully ripped it off her hair, tugging her hair along with it.

Akashi was unable to watch Hajime get treated in such a way and tried to help her but Hajime's father was simply too strong and he knocked Akashi back.

"Sir…" Akashi began as he knelt down in front of Hajime's father. "Please, it's my fault. I'm the one that asked Hajime if I could come over. Don't punish her, punish me instead."

Hajime's father took the bait and aimed his gun at Akashi once again. Fear struck Hajime since she knew what was going to happen next, as did Akashi. He gave a last glance at Hajime and greeted her farewell with his usual teeth revealing smile and a gunshot echoed throughout the neighborhood once again.

Blood stained the bright green grass and Akashi's lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud.

"No…" was all Hajime was able to let out. With widened eyes, Hajime slowly walked over to her friend but was stopped by her father.

"And where the hell do you think you're going? Don't think that you're not getting punished either. You want to know something? You were a mistake. Your mother and I never planned on starting a family and I tried to kill you with every chance I got. You're the reason all our money is going away. If you weren't born, your mother and I would be living off somewhere nicer than this trash of a neighborhood. I never liked you and I never will." Hajime's father once again pointed the gun at his daughter and as she looked into it's dark barrel, she felt a sense of fear as well as a sense of relief. Will she finally be free from the life she's been given?

With the click of the chamber, Hajime's only seconds away from her destiny of life or death.

"Stop right there! Drop the gun! NOW!" A mysterious voice yelled.

The house was surrounded with police officers that all had their guns aimed at Hajime's father. As Hajime's father grew panicked, he dropped the gun and immediately ran away but as a result, he got shot in the leg and landed on the ground. The surrounding officers made their way to apprehend him.

"You did this, didn't you?!" He yelled as he glared at his daughter, "I promise you, I'll come back and punish you, Hajime!" While continuing to yell at his daughter under his breath, his voice faded as he was forcibly placed into the police car.

Hajime, who had been silently watching the scene unfold before her eyes was only concerned about one thing: Akashi. She hurriedly made her way to Akashi and even though she knew he was dead, she continued to call his name.

Then, the sound of footsteps on the grass approached Hajime and she saw a pair waraji's coming into view. As she motioned her head upwards at the visitor she knew he was not a normal being. The man had short bright teal hair and piercing green eyes. He wore a black Shihakusho and wielded a katana. The man possessed a rough appearance yet there was a subtle hint of kindness behind his eyes.

"Who… who are you?" Hajime asked as she looked at the man with tearful eyes.

"You can see me? Well, your reiatsu is pretty advanced compared to the normal humans, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise."

"Reiatsu? What… do you mean? Am I… the only one that can see you?" Hajime asked as she looked at her surroundings and noticed that everyone else was focused on their own tasks. "You're different then the spirits I see on occasion, are you a spirit?"

"Spirit? No, I'm a Shinigami and I'm here for this boy's soul."

"Nani? Please, please don't hurt him."

"Listen here little one," The man said as he knelt down to face Hajime, "I'm not here to hurt him. I'm here to send him to the land after death."

"The land after death?"

"You'll uncover that when it's time for you to know." The man then unsheathed his katana and performed Konso on Akashi. His spirit was released from his body and was sent to the afterlife. "Now, it's time I get going. It was a pleasure to meet you, Kisumoto Hajime. I hope I don't have to see you anytime soon." The man then disappeared with the gust of the wind.

He knew my name? Who was he? Shinigami? Like the Grim Reaper? But… he didn't seem to give off a bad vibe and what he did to Akashi; it feels as if Akashi's soul is in a better place. I don't understand…

Hajime's thoughts were interrupted when officers covered Akashi's body with a tarp and prepared to move his body to a different location.

"Hajime!" A woman's voice yelled out.

As Hajime turned to the location of the voice, she saw her mother running toward her. As they greeted each other with deep embracing hugs, tears filled both their eyes.

"Mama! Mama!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry I didn't call them sooner. Mei called me and told me what happened, if only I had called them sooner, they could have saved your friend. Are you okay?" Aiko scanned her daughter from head to toe and only noticed that her hair was a mess and her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

"Hajime, I quit my desk job and decided to keep my night job that I recently picked up. But, we're going to have to move, okay? We're going to be relocated to a town called Karakura Town and you'll be starting a new year at a new school. Since I'm going to be working full time, they paid me in advanced and we're able to afford a small house for the two of us. Come on, let's pack what we absolutely need and get out of this hellish house."

Hajime and Aiko made their way into their house and immediately started packing their things. Since they both had very limited things in the first place, they managed to finish packing very quickly.

Aiko talked to the police officers and they were told that Hajime's father would get at least 10 years in prison for what he did and even 10 years didn't seem like enough for Aiko but at least they'll get a head start in their escape. Aiko thanked the police for their hard work and said her goodbyes to Mei.

Hajime and Aiko then took a bus to Karakura Town and started to try and build their lives over again. On the bus ride to Karakura Town, Aiko fixed the ribbon in Hajime's hair and Hajime was able to mourn and cry over Akashi's death.