I was born in the human world, in a little town called Karakura town. At first, I didn't know anything about the Soul Society, or hollows, or anything like that. I never would have known that someone like me, would actually be a part of something so big, so unlike myself.
"Ichi! Where have you been?" I yelled when I saw him come into our classroom one morning. He walked over to me and gave me a kiss. He quickly pulled back and his hand flew to his lips.
"Sorry Mai...force of habit," he said, looking away. I smiled, and kissed him again. Ichigo and I had dated a while back, and had just recently broken up. He was still my first love, but we both decided to just go back to being friends.
"You can kiss me as many times as you like," I replied. He cocked his head at me, and shrugged dismissively.
"So anyway, where have you been?" I asked, sitting down with him.
"...beautiful weather we're having," he said, staring out the window, clearly avoiding the question. I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. He was always doing this, dodging questions he didn't feel like answering. After that, we went about our day, boring as usual.
"Can I walk you home?" he offered, meeting me after class.
"Sure!" I exclaimed, smiling. I took his hand and we walked down the street together. We lived in the same neighborhood, my house being across from his. By the time we got home, the sun had already started to set, changing the sky into bright colors of red and orange. We stopped in front of my house and said goodbye, sharing one last small kiss before parting. I went up to my room and threw my book bag on the ground, some of it's contents flying out onto the floor around it. I immediately opened my window and put my head out to feel the breeze. My long light brown hair blowing slightly in the breeze.
"Hey, long time no see," I heard from across the street. I looked towards Ichigo's house and saw him in his bedroom, window open, staring at me and smiling. I stared at him for a second, wondering why we ever broke up. But then I remembered. We were hanging out all the time, everything was normal. And then all of a sudden he just stopped being there. I saw him occasionally, but most of the time he was gone. He was always with the new girl Rukia and when he wasn't he was just never there. I got tired of asking and him not saying anything, and I got tired of just not seeing him. So, I ended it. I still loved him, but it was just too hard. We talked for a little, shouting across the street at each other like we occasionally did when he was there. The sun had finally set, and the moon was full. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise behind me. I quickly spun around to see a tall, red haired guy standing in my bedroom. He stared at me for a second, wide eyed and spaced out, but then he quickly snapped out of it and went back to looking stern once again.
"Um...hi?" I said, moving back a little.
"Hey. Come with me," he replied quickly, thrusting his hand out to me.
"What...who...huh?" I was at a loss for words. So many questions spiraled through my head.
"All your questions will be answered soon enough. Now, we have to leave." I stared at him for a second, and then backed up again, preparing to make the two story jump to the grass around my house. He sighed and shook his head, and then all of a sudden he was gone. I shifted my eyes left and right, trying to see if he was gone, and then let out my held breath. I ran to my window and looked to Ichigo. He was staring at me confused.
"What's going on?" he yelled, seeing the clear distress on my face.
"I...I don't know. Some strange guy-" and then everything went black. I felt a hand on the back of my neck, and the last thing I heard was Ichigo yelling.
"You didn't have to knock her out..." I heard an unfamiliar voice say.
"Yeah, and you could have warned me. I nearly had a heart attack." I slowly opened my eyes and could only see a few fuzzy shapes. I blinked a few times until everything became clear. I saw the new girl Rukia, Ichigo, and the red-haired jerk that brought me here.
"You!" I screamed, jumping up from wherever I was. I was right up in his face and his eyes were wide.
"Easy, easy girl," Ichigo said grasping me from behind and pulling me close to him.
"Will someone explain what the hell is going on?" I yelled.
"Yes. I will." Everyone turned towards the doorway.
"Brother!" Rukia greeted, bowing her head in respect.
"Hello Maichou, my name is Byakuya Kuchiki, and I am the captain of the sixth squad of the thirteen guard squads of the Soul Society. This is Renji, my vice captain," he gestured towards the red-haired guy. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Byakuya.
"Okay...let's cut to the chase. Why am I here?" I asked quickly.
"Well, a little bit ago, three of our captains turned on us and left, leaving three of our squads without captains. We've been searching and searching for people who have enough spirit energy to be able to be captains, and we stumbled upon you. I don't know how we missed you for so long...but we did. You have one of the strongest concentrations of spirit energy we have ever seen, especially coming from the human world," he explained.
"So...?"
"We would like for you to be one of our captains."
"But I...what...huh?" Again, I was at a loss for words.
"Would you all excuse us for a while? I'd like to explain everything to her," Byakuya said, dismissing everyone. They all nodded and walked out, closing the large sliding door behind them. We sat together on the floor for another three hours. He proceeded to answer all of my questions, telling me what I'd have to do as a captain, who my team was, how to access my powers, everything.
"And you can come to me if you ever need anything." I smiled at him.
"Thank you, Byakuya-kun," I replied, standing up. He stood up with me and walked me to the door, opening it for me and stepping outside. I stared up at the sky for a second. It looked normal, and if they hadn't told me I never would have known that I was really in the Soul Society.
"I'm sorry I can't show you around the Soul Society, I have a lot of work to get done, but it looks like someone else is eager to show you around," he said, looking past me at someone else. I turned quickly, expecting to see Ichigo, but was instead greeted by Renji. He had a sheepish grin on his face and his hands were shoved nervously in his pockets. I turned back to look at Byakuya again but he was already gone, shut away in his office to do work. I looked at Renji and narrowed my eyes at him.
"Where's Ichigo?" I said through my teeth. I was not in the mood to deal with Renji in the slightest. He practically kidnapped me and I had no intention of being friends with this guy, at least not now.
"Um...around the corner with Rukia. I'll go get him..." he said quickly, scurrying off to get him.
"Yeah, you better run," I muttered under my breath. I wasn't sure what was in store for me, what I was going to encounter, or who I was going to meet, but if they were anything like the few I had just met, I was in for a hell of a journey.
