A/N: So this should be interesting. I'm going to try to keep this short because I know how long some (read: All) of my beginning-of-the-whole-fic A/N's are. Basically: Yes, I know I'm back, I know I have other stories that are in desperate need of updating, I know I'm being a procrastinating piece of shit. I know. At the moment however, I can't really work on my other fics because they're sTRESSING ME THE FUCK OUT, so I decided to write up what is basically the story that made me first want to write fanfiction.
It was, I would consider, my first REAL fanfiction and my contains my first REAL OC. This fic is very (oddly) sentimental for me, and since I didn't write it down when I plotted it out, I figured now would be as good a time as any to revamp it.
This is probably going to be the weirdest and yet (oddly) easiest fanfiction I've ever written. Weirdest because, as a few of you know, my username is based off of my first OC who this fic centers around. Easiest because I already have this whole fic planned out, have already done the story boarding, and am doing it in (mostly) third person, which is a nice break from what are mostly first person works.
I'm going to tell you right now that Kai's (geez it's weird saying that) character is a lot more serious in this rewrite than she was originally. In the original version of this story, she was almost puppy-like and just very cutesy, which is a far cry from the wittily sardonic, dry-humored characters that I normally write. (I think my approach on character design has differed very much in this way whoops.) However, in this revamp, Kai has become a lot more serious and tough-shelled because I just didn't see much of a reason to keep her previous attitude with all of the changes and refinements I did with her character and backstory. There are probably going to be a few similarities in her and Hayato's (one of my other OC's) characters if only because they both have a sort of hardened shell. Other than that, Kai is a much more serious and much more stable character than Hayato, so really there shouldn't be too many similarities.
This is getting to be a bit too long now, so I'm just going to say, I'm sorry for not updating in like two years guys. Really I am. Hopefully all of my other stories will be (re)revamped soon, and I love you all so much and thank you for your support every day.
Overall disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I only own my original characters, their backstories, and how they affect the plot.
So without further ado, I present to you, the revamped version of "RebØØt".
It is said in Native American myth that the dog has been the best friend of man since the beginning of time.
In the mix of myths we are told as children, it is hard to distinguish the truth behind the history of man and his companion, dog. In what we are told as children, too much is lost to history. Too many mouths, too many words. Too many years gone by.
As the story goes, two men were walking in the forest when they came across a Wendigo. Frightened by the cannibalistic monster, they attempted to run. It was to no avail of course, as the Wendigo was stronger, faster, and more familiar with these woods than the men. However, out of the woods came a beast the size of two horses. It spoke no words, only gave a sidelong glance at the men with eyes that were far too human for a mere beast.
It always was said that wolves had the eyes of Man.
The beast pushed the Wendigo off of its path, never once stopping in its gait until its smooth stride matched that of the two men. It quickly overtook them however, and, trusting the judgement of the creature that had just saved their lives and loathe to turn back to face the Wendigo alone, the two hunters followed until the beast led them to the edge of a small lake.
The beast eyed them indifferently with large gold eyes and a coat the color of a newborn fawn's.
"What are you?" the men asked.
"I am Dog," it replied in a voice that rumbled like the rolling of distant thunder.
The two men were amazed at this creature that looked so much like Wolf but called itself "Dog". Though their awed questions came in bounds, they could not stay there. Danger still lurked for them.
And so with that, Dog gave no answers but simply told them that they must leave if they wished to remain alive. Dog padded into the water and pointed its nose down the lake in the direction of their camp.
"But what if we need you again?" the men asked. "How are we to explain this to our tribe-mates? How can we repay you for your deeds?"
Dog gave no answer, only stating, "I will come when you need me and when the time is right."
With that, Dog padded out of the shallow edge of the lake, water dripping from its' fawn belly.
The two men turned to watch Dog leave, but by the time they had shifted, the huge creature was already gone.
Years later, a son of one of the two hunters was sitting next to the fire and sharpening his arrowheads. He lifted his head when the sound of paw steps reached his ears, scraping through the night like the ominous crealing of a landslide. Immediately on high alert, he shifted to grasp at the deer bone knife at his belt. The young man could have sworn he had heard the scraping steps of a wolf pack encircling him.
Out of the darkness stepped one lone, fawn-colored wolf with eyes as gold and human as his brothers'. The wolf's mouth tilted.
"Hello," she mused. "I am Dog."
"Dog?" the man asked, clutching his arrowheads tighter.
"Yes," she replied. "I am Dog."
"What are you?" he asked.
"I am a hunter," she replied, "and what you could call a friend of Man."
The two sat together, bathed in the light of the fire during that never-ending night as they exchanged words of reluctant camaraderie and tales of origin. The young man laughed at Dogs tales, and Dog's eyes glowed with all-knowing wisdom and the cunning of one hundred wolves.
Finally, Dog said, words swelling with a lilting kind of humor, "I'll make you a deal."
The boy tilted his head.
"I will guard Man from the evils that lurk in this night, and in return, you will provide for me a place to rest and food to fill my stomach."
The young man agreed, and Dog gazed at him with unnerving, pleased golden eyes. By then, he was absolutely certain that she was not of this world.
It was soon after that that the friendly wolves came, taking food from Man's hands and allowing Man to run his hands through their fur. These wolves began protecting Man, and accompanying him on hunts. Even after Man turned his back on the way of the Animal and lost his ability to speak with them, they still remained by his side.
These were the first dogs.
Dog never came to see the young man again. At least not obviously. Dog would not visit when there were others around. But every day, the boy would rush out to the forest's hidden meadows to meet up with his companion, and for reasons unknown, she would always be there waiting for him. They never spoke of much and knew almost nothing about one other, yet their bond remained strong. Even after Man lost his ability to speak with the wilderness, even after the boy got married, they still met up with one another each and every day and retained their ability to speak. It was their sacred bond that allowed these meetings to continue.
It was unsure whether Dog loved Man like a human could, but it was love nonetheless.
However, not everything could last an eternity.
For Dog was immortal, and Man was so, so terribly mortal. And while Dog was cursed to remain on the Earth for as long as her legacy continued and even longer, Man was blessed to live, die, and then pass on.
Their blissful meetings that they held so close to their hearts became tinged with grief as Man's mortality made its mark.
These meetings continued until the boy was long gone from this world and even after, Dog waiting faithfully for her companion to return until he was just a flame-tinted memory of a warm hand staving off the dark night by the comfort of the crackling fire.
She stayed and waited. Until eventually, those same flames that the boy had tended flickered and died.
Ichigo Kurosaki liked to consider himself to be a fairly normal high school student.
Sure, there was the whole thing where he could see ghosts. And the thing where he was a death god that purified the evil in this world by night. And the thing where a small girl lived in his closet.
He took what he could get.
Which was why, on the contrary to what his sisters believed, he wasn't completely heartless towards all things small and furry.
He might have been the one to insist that his sisters bring the strays they found to the shelter across time instead of allowing them to stay. He might have had to ignore Yuzu's teary arguing more than a couple of times, but the fact was they just didn't have the room or money for an animal in the house. God knows they were barely getting by with three humans and a shinigami living in their house. For such a small girl, Rukia could blow through their fridge in the blink of an eye.
That did not mean, however, that he was heartless.
He had been walking past a small alley on the way home from school when he had heard the loud shatter and the surprised yelp. His instincts immediately kicked in, and, dreading the worst, he spun into the alley, guns blazing.
The tension melted from his shoulders immediately when he was faced with- not a group of thugs beating up some poor, defenseless animal- but a dog that was, well, rather large for a dog wiping furiously at its nose. A dangerously shattered beer bottle rolled on the ground next to it, brown splinters of glass glistening in the muted alley light and the smell of alcohol wafting through the air.
It whined again, scrabbling furiously at its nose, and he laughed more out of relief than anything.
Ichigo sifted through his pockets clumsily and pulled out the rumpled white handkerchief Yuzu insisted he carry. It was a bit linty and wrinkly, but he doubted the dog would mind. Yuzu, however, would.
"Here," he mumbled, stepping forward to wipe the foul-smelling liquid off of the dog's nose.
At the sound of his voice, the dog immediately dropped its' paw, eyes zeroing in on him with a lazerlike kind of focus that made him stop in his tracks. Ichigo rocked back on his feet uncertainly at the flare of color, absolutely certain that it should not have been possible for a dog to have such emotive and blue eyes. The dog's dark ears pricked forward stiffly, eyes never leaving him.
Ichigo sighed and knelt down.
"Just stay still," he muttered, reaching forward and smudging the handkerchief onto its' large, wet nose. Its eyes remained wide but with none of the former skittishness. The dog flattened its ears, staying perfectly still as the teenager wiped of its nose.
"There you go," he sighed. "You should be all good and cleaned up now."
He folded the handkerchief in a sloppy way that would've made Yuzu faint. The dog cocked it's large, black head as he stood back up. Ichigo made no move to pet it, only retreating with a short, "See ya," and a wave of his hand.
When he looked back at the mouth of the alley, the dog was gone.
Ichigo grumbled to himself sullenly. He had left school almost two hours ago, but of course Rukia's stupid Hollow alarm had to have gone off.
His dad was going to kill him for being late. Yuzu was going to be disappointed that he had missed dinner, which was somehow even worse.
Just as the hair on the back of his neck began to raise and the alarm bells started going off, screaming "You're being followed!" a quiet voice carried across to him.
"Thank you," it said. "For earlier."
The voice was silent but confident. In control.
He turned around.
At the end of the street stood a vaguely feminine form, clad in black jeans and an equally dark hoodie. The rest of their features were marred by a shock of short, black hair that almost blurred the entirety of their face.
"For earlier?" he muttered. The person straightened their back and turned around, whatever response they were waiting for quickly forgotten as they walked away.
He almost went after them.
Almost.
They must've sensed it too, because they paused for only a moment, head tilting as if they were about to glance back, before continuing on.
Ichigo just stood there, shocked, before shaking his head. "I swear, this town just keeps getting weirder and weirder every day."
Whoever it was, they were gone now.
Ichigo shook his head again and sighed, pushing his unease out of his mind to focus on the more pressing matter at hand.
"Shit. Goat-face is gonna kill me."
A/N: This was a really stiff first chapter, but that'll change in the future oops. Bleh. Okay, so, that's it for chapter one. Things are probably confusing now. They'll be resolved later. I...probably wanted to say a lot more than that. But. Oh well.
Oh! Yes! Right, okay. So, tHIS IS IMPORTANTE: The legend at the beginning of this chapter is a mix of a Cree and Cherokee legend. No, I'm not trying to be all ~cool~ by taking native cultures and using them as plot devices w/o knowing what I'm doing and insulting people. The mixing of the myths DOES serve a purpose to this story (more specifically Kai's roots/species/whatever) and is not just to be ~cool~ and ~edgy~.
Anywho, with that out of the way, have a nice day, review, favorite, follow, w/e. Stay safe babs.
~ KAi