A/N Hello! I'm really excited! This is my first fan fiction! I didn't make Mao after me, but we do kind of look alike. I just pictured her and didn't even make a connection. I would appreciate any advice! BUT NO FLAMING! And, okay, my OC is probably a Mary sue, but you know what? I don't care! This is my story, and my character, so I would really want you guys who flame about Mary sues to stay away. If you don't like it, don't read. Anyway, here you are! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Obviously, if this is on , I don't own Bleach
Chapter 1:
Out of all of the 15 year olds that go to this run-down school, only one spent her summer watching anime. That's right, me. So while all of my friends- sorry, friend- were out working and swimming on the beach, I watched Bleach. Well, not just Bleach. I also watched the news. And it just so happened that, one day, that when I was watching the two simultaneously, I saw a story on the news.
"The damage of the crash is extensive," said a tall, German woman with a doll-like face. "There seemed to be only two victims, unfortunately, but the loss of life could have been much worse."
I paused the episode of Bleach I was watching and turned my attention to the television. I recognized the street in the background; it wasn't far from here. Grabbing my cell phone, I called my mom to see if she had passed the wreck on the way to the store. It seemed to ring forever. The women drawled on about some drunk driver, and a terrible car accident. I saw my neighbor on the screen in the behind the reporter, a shocked expression on her face. I heard my mother's voicemail began to speak, so I dialed again.
"The victims were well known residents of California, Eri and Ukata Kurokawa." I dropped my phone, now realizing why my mom hadn't picked up the phone after seven rings.
It was because both of my parents were dead.
Even after a whole month of crying, I didn't stop. I never even finished Bleach, though I did get pretty far. I was in the episodes that weren't even translated to English yet. But I just couldn't get into it, I was so depressed. In summary, my whole life was ruined. I had begun cutting myself, and the only reason I can say it so freely now is because I stopped. The physical pain was supposed to consume the emotional pain, but mine was too much. I hurt to even walk by our family portrait, so I just took it down. I lived in my old home with my aunt, but she was rarely home; usually out drinking.
One day I was staring at the butcher's knife my aunt Emiko had left out; all of our sharp objects were locked away, since my cutting. But Emiko had passed out while making dinner, and I just sat at our dining room table, hungry and looking at the knife...longing for relief... I grabbed the knife...and sliced my throat, killing myself instantly.
'I didn't think death would be like this,' I thought, as I floated in total darkness. It was disorienting, and I felt as light as a feather. Sometime later, what was probably hours, I heard a voice that would make your blood run cold. Not mine, though, since I was dead.
"Well, well, well... a suicide, ay?" I attempted to sit up, but found that I couldn't even twitch."Ah... Mao Kurokawa? Yes... fifteen, blonde hair, pale green eyes, parents died a month ago, haven't yet gotten over it. Interested in anime, mostly Bleach... and despite the way you died, you are a perfect candidate for a second life"
"Second life?" I asked, still in complete darkness.
"Yes... but you are an exception." It felt weird without being able to breathe.
"Exception...?" I asked, confused.
"Yes, you see, according to fate... you weren't supposed to die. You were supposed to change your mind about your throat, thinking it would hurt even more, and go for your stomach instead. In the end, you were going to survive, and become a famous author. However, if we give you a new life... apparently your next parents die also, and the suicide thing starts all over again, which would force us to give you your full memories, which we can't do, since that would be cheating. You need to experience life without...well, experience."
Under normal circumstances, I would probably be freaking out by now, but that voice... for some reason, it kept me calm, and mellow. I didn't feel a hint of fear, or excitement. 'Was I really supposed to live?'
"So," the voice continued, "You have two options: One, you could go back to your life before, several moments before the... incident with the knife, or, two, you can pick a body, one without a soul, of course, and go to another world. Which is it?" Could I really...?
"Wait," I said, something hitting me. "The world I would go to... Do I get to pick it?" The voice sighed.
"I don't see why not. Does that mean it's option two, then?" I laughed dryly.
"Not much of a choice, now, is it?"
"What do you mean?" It asked, sounding genuinely surprised. I could feel myself smirk.
"Well, obviously, I was so unhappy in my previous life, so why would I want to go back, especially if I could pick where I can live?"
"I don't think you understand," the voice sounded smug, like it had proved me wrong somehow. "You have to pick a world that already exists. You can't just spin one out of thin air." Now it was my turn to be smug.
"I already know what world to pick, and it does exist."
"Oh?"
"Yeah... how about the Bleach world?"
"Very well," the voice responded, after many moments. "Now... about your body... What do you want?"
"What I want?"
"What do you want your body to look like? I might not be able to get one you want exactly, because we aren't making one, we're taking and empty one." I contemplated this for a moment. What do I want to look like for the rest of my new life?
"Surprise me. I didn't get to pick my old body, I don't want to pick now."
"Are you sure?" the voice... maybe a man? He questioned, "You'll look like this for the rest of your life.
"I'm sure," I confirmed, feeling my head nod.
"Open your eyes," He commanded. I obeyed, blinking from the lack of sight for so long. Everything was still completely black, so I didn't see what the difference was. But in a few moments a light flickered on, one much like a stage light, and a body floated in the middle. I felt a shiver run down my spine; the girl in front of me was obviously dead, and her eyes were open.
She had rather pale skin, but I suppose that was because she wasn't living. She was almost my exact opposite. Her hair was long, almost to her waist, and it was pitch black, like the night sky. Her lips were rosy, despite the lack of blood flow. Her eyes were an unusual, sparkling gold. Unlike Yoruichi, who eyes were gold like a cats, her eyes shone with a shine, almost like they were made of glitter. I smiled.
"Perfect."
"Her name is Hotaru Shirishi. Think you can remember that?" The man asked, sounding amused. I smiled for the first time in months.
"Definitely." He laughed cheerfully.
"Alright then," he continued, "You can go. Hotaru is already there. You'll just wake up in her body. No one should recognize her since she comes from different world, too. Okay? Time to go." Hotaru's body began to swirl unnaturally, as if she and the space around her were water going down the drain.
"Oh, and one more thing," the man said, just as my eyes grew heavy again and began to shut. "The way Hotaru died... well, it was pretty similar to you. So don't be surprised when you wake up and..." His voice was drowned out in a swirl of darkness.
The next thing I saw when I woke up was the starry night sky. The next thing I noticed was the searing pain. It hurt. It was worse than any other stubbed toe, or hangnail. I thought I was going to fall unconscious again, it was that unbearable. But then I realized exactly where I was.
"Karakura town..." I breathed, sitting up, and instantly regretting it. The pain was in my throat, so I reached up to touch it. When I brought my hand back down into my line vision, it was dripping with blood. I tried to scream, but it just came out as a gurgled grunt. I was sitting in the middle of a sidewalk, a white fence bordering the house to my right.
With a great effort, I managed to stand and lean against the fence, stumbling. I felt my blood leak down my neck and onto my shirt. Speaking of which, my shirt was different. I wore a black tank top with a white, leather jacket with a red stripe on the sleeves. My pants were just tattered cargo shorts, which went past my knees because they were too big. They were actually flattering, in an 'I don't really care what I wear' look.
I held my hand against my neck to try and stop the bleeding (it didn't help, the blood just dripped between my fingers). I kept heading straight, staggering and slipping in blood, until I saw something familiar.
It was the vase of flowers Ichigo set out for that ghost in episode one. The girl wasn't there, but I knew it was hers. I took a right turn at that corner heading to Ichigo's place. I remembered that his family owned a clinic. Hopefully I could get help, though I doubted I would die. You know, since I just got back and all. This... injury was probably more of a hospital thing, but I didn't know where it was. I was pretty sure that the clinic was closer, anyway.
I thought I would never make, until I saw familiar orange hair unlocking the door to a house.
"Help!" was what I was trying to say, but I'm pretty sure it came out like a yelp. It got his attention, though. When he first turned his head it didn't seem to hit him: that there was a girl there, probably with blood all over her shirt front and neck, trying to get to the clinic. But in seconds his face looked horrified.
"D-dad!" he yelped, dropping his school bag, and rushing towards me. I just about fainted when he caught me. "Dad!" he called, helping me limp towards the entrance of the clinic, right next to the door he was unlocking a few moments before. "Help!" Then there were footsteps, and gasps, but I don't really remember, because the moments I was brought into a room with a bed, I passed out.