Chapter 1: Chapter 1
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in Bleach. I created Hayako but she is just an OC in the Bleach Universe!
WARNING: There's a lot of foul language and a few sexual innuendos -but there won't be explicit sex scenes and such as far as I'm concerned! Please remember that there will be gruesome details in a few scenes (Not bad enough that you're going to need a puke bucket unless you're squeamish but y'know, I'm going to put it out there lol) because...well you'll have to read to find out why haha.
Please PM me if you have any questions about the plot! Reviews are always great and I welcome criticism but please remember that there is a difference between criticism and insulting :) No Flames!
I'm not going to say "Don't like, don't read" because I think it's good to be open to reading new things even if they make you uncomfortable. But I like I mentioned before, there will be gruesome and psychopathy will play a part in this story, and so far there has been one reference to a girlxgirl scene with one of the characters. So if this makes you uncomfortable, I encourage you to continue to read this story but if you really disagree, don't complain about it Honey Bunny!
So yah! This story is a rewrite so hi again to all the rereaders and welcome to all the new Honey Bunnies! Welcome to the dark side, we have coffee!
HI BABES SORRY FOR THE FIVE MONTH HIATUS LIKE THAT IS TERRIBLE OF ME AND I'M A HORRIBLE GINGER HUMAN BEING THING I UNDERSTAND PLEASE I'M BEGGING FOR FORGIVENESS! Haha so here is the updated version of my first FanFic, please enjoy and I am open to criticism as always, as long as it's nothing that's gonna make me go and hide in a corner and contemplate life (In other words, PLEASE NO FLAMES! haha thnx Babezies)
Enjoy~
Chapter 1
The radiant sun was at the peak of its notorious pilgrimage. Hayako squinted up at the blazing ring of fire that the Sun donned like a halo. Her eyelids began to ache as she scrunched up her face like a wad of paper in order to watch the blinding light.
No, that wasn't the correct terminology. The Sun was not some glowing circle in the sky that made you sneeze every time you glanced up at it. No. It was, according to the books Ojisan had brought back with him from the Human World, a ball of enormous amounts of gases that were constantly changing. The Sun was not something God had simply created for Hayako to bask in its warmth; the Sun was a means of life.
Without the Sun, how would the farmers grow their profitable crops? How would the innocent animals and plants live without its warmth? How complex would life be if there was no daytime, just a continuous and never ending night ruled by Tsukuyomi? How, without the Sun, would life that they knew of go on?
Okaasan and Otousan, and many other members of Hayako's household, held an ardent faith in the Sun, claiming Her to be Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. Hayako understood why She was the most important of the kami. Amaterasu was the center of their world.
Amaterasu was always there for Hayako's family, even long after she had settled for the night. And even though Tsukuyomi had angered his sister, Amaterasu still shined down on him during the night, bringing out his true beauty. The Sun was such a nurturing being.
Otousan had often told Hayako that the color of her hair was because of the Sun; the apple-green strands nourished by Amaterasu-ōmikami just like the flowers and plants that grew in the family's mystical garden. That was why Hayako visited his grave, situated in the earth that he cared for so much.
Turning away from the white paint strokes that laced the cerulean rooftop of the world, Hayako glanced down from the sky and pressed both palms against the dirt where her father lay. It still was moist and clumpy from the downpour of rain from two days ago. Earthworms were crawling out of their flooded tunnels, taking the risk of prowling birds to escape from drowning in their own homes.
Hayako could not understand why the worms would choose to live underground, away from the sunlight. She couldn't imagine a peaceful life without Amaterasu-ōmikami by her side. Maybe that is why earthworms were always dying: they had no faith in the Sun Goddess.
"But then why…" she whispered to herself, brushing the fallen leaves off Otousan's grave, "Why did Amaterasu let Chichi die when he held so much faith in her?" The wistful wind bean to pick up, rustling and stirring the trees to life and out of their dormant state.
After repeatedly asking the same question for four years now, Hayako knew that there would be no response. But, even after taking her father away without any warning, Hayako worshiped her deity with not a trace of doubt in her heart. Before she could even stand on her own two feet without falling, Ojisan was constantly reminding her that everything in Life happened for a reason.
The wind whistled in her ears.
There must have been a reason why Otousan had to join Amaterasu far earlier than any other warrior in the palace. Okaasan said that he was probably the Gods' personal bodyguard, and Hayako could never have felt more proud. Otousan had never fit in with the other men of the Gotei Thirteen; he was always far happier protecting rather than killing.
There was a whisper in the wind. Hayako would over time learn to speak and understand it. Amaterasu would tell her someday.
"I brought you some flowers again," Hayako grinned, fiddling with the thorny roses entwined in her plaited ponytail. It was hard to differentiate her vine-colored locks from the stems of the saffron rosebuds, but she finally disentangled the delicate flowers from her hair –which was now a knotted mess resting against her shoulders. "I had to go on a mission to get these ones, Chichi! Ojisan would have me skinned if he found out that I was picking roses from the flower beds!" she scratched her head and belted out a sing-song chuckle. Even if he was no longer of this world, it still sometimes felt as if Otousan wasn't really gone. Like a dream that she would eventually wake up from, and Chichi would be sitting by her side, waiting for her to open her eyes.
No matter how many times she painfully reminded herself that he was dead, or how many nights she fell asleep pleading to the kami to give him back, Hayako knew deep inside that she would never lay sight on her beloved father ever again. It was the ugly and incomprehensible truth that she would never be able to wrap her mind around until she too was lying in the ground beside Otousan.
And even if she was destined to meet her father again –to feel his arms shield her from the dangers of the world, to see the smile he sprouted from her mother's exquisite face –Hayako knew that it would certainly be a long time before that could even happen. Ojisan was already over two thousand years old, so it was very likely that Hayako would also live up to that age.
She cherished her life, as it was as fragile as a reflection on calm water…but Hayako couldn't help but wish that her death would come soon so that she may see her Chichi once more. It was selfish and greedy, but Hayako missed him. The empty feeling she felt ever since his death would be taken away with a quick moment; a swipe of a finger across the placid surface of the water to create a disruptive ripple. But…Hayako was never wholeheartedly decided whether she wanted that ripple to shatter the magnificent image that was her life.
Hahaoya; Ojisan; The Gotei Thirteen; Unohana-sama; Ukitake-san and Kyoraku-san; her home; her cousins; the gardens of her manor. She would lose them all. But, most of what frightened her most about death was that the sight of Amaterasu would be obscured by the dirt covered over her coffin. How she possibly live without Amaterasu-ōmikami?
"Chichi, you must be so scared without Amaterasu shining down on you…" She murmured thoughtfully, wondering if it were possible for her father to be afraid of anything. It was impossible; Otousan was the most courageous and heroic man Hayako had ever known. There was nothing he couldn't defeat. But, then again, Ojisan said that you could never judge a warrior by the amount of fears he possessed as they all had something they were terrified of; the only way to determine one's strength was on how they overcame that fear.
Hayako would never know how she could ever face the fear of never seeing Amaterasu…if only she could ask Otousan.
She clutched at the expensive fabric that covered her aching heart. Moments like these were when Hayako honestly wished she could sink into the damp and absolving earth to join her late father. Moments like these were when the emotional lifeline she drew strength and composure from would snap, and she would tumble into the shaded cavern of the Lost and Grieving.
"I'm turning eight today. I got everything that a girl could ask for…but not what I asked for…Chichi, you always told me that I could get whatever I want for my birthday and," Agitated fingers twisted and pulled on one another as two honey-brown spheres glued themselves to the cheerful flowers that sat gaily against the dull headstone. Hayako, shutting her eyes and summoning all her courage, released her selfish wish in a single, sheepish breath, "I want you to come back…" curling her twiggy fingers and burying her nails into her bleeding palms, the mournful daughter opened her stinging eyes and hugged the hideous yet comforting stone of her father's. Feeling the uneven granite underneath her cheeks reminded her of Otousan's spiky beard, and she began to weep at the happy memory. She would never again have another happy memory with her father; she would never see her mother smile again; she would never have a cheerful family that was complete; she would never be rid of this horrid, horrid sense of loss.
"I want you to come back, Chichi! I want you to come back to Hahaoya and me! Then you and I can share our birthdays again and we can give each other presents like we used to–"
A familiar, compelling voice penetrated through her hysterical howls, "Hayako, stop."
Her distraught heart stopped beating. Two sturdy arms blanketed her shoulders and she held onto the lengthy limbs of her best friend. Obeying his command, Hayako ceased her crying and did her best to contain the sobs that racked her chest. She was grateful that her friend held onto her tightly because she thought she would blow away with the wind otherwise.
"His last present from me was a grave Shinji," her choked words brought a new season of tears from her eyes but she hid her face this time as she cried so that her friend could not witness her weakness. Ojisan would be ashamed if he saw his only grandchild indulging in greedy tears, bawling like a newborn.
"Moron, don't say stuff like that," a hand of his gangly, slender fingers skated along her scalp and scuffed it up further. As he had predicted, the girl's head bobbed up and she glared at him.
"Shinji stop that! Hahaoya will get mad!" the tricked little pup twisted around and swiped at the irritating boy. She caught him above his left eye, grazing his eyebrow with her muddy nails.
"Ow…" he announced sarcastically, dabbing the pads of his fingers against his forehead and making a face at the blood that accompanied his fingertips, "Ow again."
"Doofus!" Hayako wailed, stamping her bare foot against the sodden grass, spraying herself with muddy rainwater, "Why did you do that Shinji?"
"Jeez, calm down there Hayako," Shinji lip curled up distastefully as he received the wrath of the freezing puddle droplets, "Your hair is always like that so there's nothing to be offended about!"
"It's not my stupid hair that I'm worried about," she sniffled, taking shy steps towards him, "I'm upset that I hurt Shinji."
The absurdity of his frown made her laugh and Shinji smirked along with the younger child, "You're such an idiot on occasions, Hayako."
"But that's why you love me," she responded, kneeling down before him and reaching out for his head. She didn't notice Shinji's reddened face as she gently kissed the harmless graze she had given him, "Gomenasai, Hirako-kun."
"Be quiet," he grabbed her and grinned, "You're really pretty until you start flapping that big mouth of yours."
"You're going to die alone," she stuck her tongue out.
"Nah, I'll just follow you around wherever you go," he objected, lying down on the grass and propped himself up on his elbow.
She sat crisscross on his stomach, pouting at him. She never liked Shinji teasing her. "And how do you know that I'll let you follow me around like a lost little puppy?"
He patted her scruffy hair, brushing the stray strands away from her eyes with a casual flick, "Because I'm not lost. I know exactly where I should be."
"Where's that?" Hayako pressed her hands against her chubby cheeks to hide her blush.
Shinji sat up, slowly pulling her closer until their noses were touching, and he whispered passionately, "Where the food is."
"Huh?"
"No, I'm serious," he whined, falling back onto the ground once more, "I'm starving! That goddamn fossil sent me to find you before I could even eat breakfast!"
"Don't speak of Ojisan in such a manner!" Hayako snapped back at him, completely flustered by his response. Stupid Shinji was always doing that sort of thing to her! "I don't like you Shinji!"
"Nah you like me; who doesn't?" he smirked, scooping her up into his arms and he heaved himself up and off the ground, "Now let's go to the main house already; I deserve my share of your lunch now."
"Unfair!"
"Life's unfair idiot!"
"Your face is unfair!"
"That doesn't even make sense, you moron!"
"I know that!"
"Moron!"
"Doofus!"
"Shut up!"
"You too!"
"God you're annoying!"
"It's why you love me!"
Heyy Babezies! I hope you enjoyed the edits! I feel like the first edition wasn't very explanatory and just plunged straight into the action, so I thought this would be a nice way to show character development? Yes? No? Whatever? Okey dokes haha byeeeeeeeee xoxox