A Forbidden Love
Chapter 1:
Hisana clenched her stomach tightly while pulling herself into a tight small ball. She brought her knees close to her chest and buried her face on the top them. The pain in her stomach grew worse while she pulled her body even tighter into the ball. Her fingers dug deeply into her stomach as she gasped for air. Tears began to well into her eyes and one by one began to fall down her pale cheeks onto the tops of her knees. This painful feeling she felt right now wasn't new, she felt them almost everyday, this feeling of depression and guilt was always around her like a lion waiting to kill its prey.
The pain she felt was so horrible it forced her into a fetus position, they only last for about a few minutes but those minutes were the longest minutes in her life. Those few minutes brought back painful memories everything she went through here in rukongai. As the pain grew stronger she felt like she was about to burst into a wave of emotions of despair and guilt, no emotions of happiness or hope. Hisana abandoned these emotions a long time ago, what was happiness when you had no one to share the happy moments with? What was hope when you had nothing to hope for? What was the point in living if you had nothing to live for? Hisana thought these thing to herself everyday, the first two were true but the last one wasn't she had someone to live for even if this person wasn't with her right now, one day they would be able to live together and if there was any piece of hope left in her body that was what she hoped for.
Hisana slowly lifted her head from her knees and examined were she was exactly. She slowly moved her small fingers from her old tattered dress and began top wipe her tear stained cheeks with the back of her hand. Hisana began to stand up, her feet aching from the blisters it had and her balance uneasy from the lions last attack. Her eyes examined her surroundings carefully, she was in a alley way a old dirty alley way. It didn't matter, she has slept in worse places than this. Hisana turned around carefully to see many people walking by most of them starving and begging for food, others just completely given up on life. Hisana wound have been the same if it wasn't for that one person she constantly thought about, it was the only thing that kept her going through those cold lonely nights. Suddenly she smelled something sweet, the aroma warmed her nose and made her stomach flip, it smelled like food and it smelled good. Hisana walked out of the alley into the sunny dirt path. Small children ran past her as well as adults, the street was even more busy today than other days. Hisana started to walk slowly through the crowd occasionally being bumped by someone or bumping someone who would then let out many slurs. Soon she saw a old cart made out of old rotten wood that would surely give someone a splinter. It had a old sign written very poorly on it was the word fresh bread.
Many people were gathered the huge stack of fresh bread begging for a piece, but the stand keeper refused and said they had to pay. Hisana sighed and began to walk away because she like everyone else here was poor and had no money to spend. Suddenly she stopped right in her steps everything began to blur and she began to get dizzy she staggered in her steps as she clenched her stomach again, this time it wasn't the lion it was pure starvation getting to her. Hisana felt a burning in her stomach as everything around her began to move faster than anything she had ever seen. Colors began to flow by as she moved one small hand to her forehead which was burning hot. She began to wobble and fall to her knees and bend over. She stared at the ground breathing heavily as sweat drenched her brow and her hair began to fall into her face. Hisana then started to breath more steady by focusing her vision and starting to stand up. There was no avoiding it now she had to eat even if it meant to steal a couple of loafs of bread.
Hisana walked quickly back over to the bread stand moving through the crowd of people by bumping and being bumped. Then she crouched down and started to crawl on the dirt filled floor past a lot of stinky and fungus infected feet. Her dress was getting torn as she crawled faster avoiding being stomped to death. Then she was at the front of the stand and could see the plate of bread just in reach. She cautiously reached for it, her small dirt filled fingers wrapped themselves around a thick warm loaf of bread. Once she touched it she could feel her stomach growled ferociously, with her free hand she held it once more and she began to pull the bread slowly off the tray. She successfully got four loafs of bread, one more wouldn't hurt she thought to herself as she quickly moved her hand back to the tray while her free hand cradled the bread like it was a new born baby. This time when she moved her hand away she did it too soon and knocked the entire plate of bread over.
Hisana gulped as tons of people began to rush for the fallen bread. This was her chance to escape while the stand keeper was protecting his bread. Hisana started to crawl again but it was much harder this time because people were running over her. Then she felt a pain on her back and let out a sharp cry as someone stepped right on her back. She collapsed right onto the floor the pain in her back growing stronger, but she had to get away, she qulickly got up increasing the pain in her back and began to run as fast as her tiny fragile legs could take her until she heard someone yell "stop that theif!" Hisana turned around to see the stand keeper running after her. She began to run faster her feet and back aching as she pushed people aside to get through.
Byakuya walked quickly through the streets of rukongai not making any eye contact with any of the lower classmen. He really didn't understand why captain-commander would send him the captain of the sixth squad, a noble on a mission to rukongai. Since he was already finished with the mission there was no reason for him to hang around the peasant infested streets of this place so he decided to make his way back to his manor. He walked very fast trying not to smell the disgusting scent this place had to it, or look at any of these poor people. Even though he wasn't paying any mind to the peasants all of them were staring at him for they haven't seen a noble in these parts in years. Byakuya shot out an icy glare to all of them and they all turned back to what they were doing. Byakuya was careful not to bump into any of them in the crowded streets just to keep his focus on returning to his manor. He especially didn't pay any of the children any mind he did not want to feel any type of sympathy for any of these people.
As he began to walk faster he noticed a huge crowd in the distance of tons of peasants crowding over something, disgusting he thought as he began to walk the opposite direction to avoid being caught in the ruckus until something caught his eye. A small figure running toward him with another figure running towards the first one. He squinted to see what she was carrying but in a blink of an eye *bump* she ran smack into him , and all the bread she was carrying fell to the floor along with her. A now angered byakuya raised his hand about to hit this woman who dared bump into him but he immediately let his hand fall and locked his gaze on this woman. He didn't know why but he couldn't stop looking at her, She was small and pale not to mention dirt coverd her face and hands. She looked very weak and drained not of sleep or energy but of life itself. Her small lips were pressed together tensely and her eyes stared right into his, her hair fell into her face covering the frightened expression she had on her face. He had never seen anyone so beautiful in his entire life, even though he has been around so many noble women well dressed, hair done and everything he has never seen anyone so innocent, face like an angel, in his life. The way her eyes stared into his made him shiver and her pale face had a certain light to it that he hasn't seen in hundreds of years.
Hisana couldn't believe what just happened, she just bumped into a noble. She could tell he was, the scarf wrapped around his neck seemed clean and expensive and the hairpieces he wore were delicately woven into his perfectly cut raven hair. He also wore garments of a shinigami and a captains haori. There was something about him that struck hisana as his gray eyes sank into hers. He was very handsome and seemed just as shocked as she was. Then she saw him raise his hand again, Hisana quickly shut her eyes and put her arm in front of her face to try to protect herself. There was no hit, she slowly opened her eyes to see his hand leanding out towards her. Hisana could barely move, what was going on? She thought is he trying to help me? Hisana slowly reached out her hand to his and grabed hold of it, not sure if she was suppose to she braced herself for a hit but instead was lifted to her feet she was still in pure shock when the stand keeper came running twards them. The captain moved swiftly in front of her while the stand keeper came to a stop.
"what business do you have with this woman? He asked
"she stole my bread!" the stand keeper shouted angrily
"you will not lay a hand on this woman do you understand?"
"like imam listen to one of you snotty nobles!" he yelled
The stand keeper moved in to attack hisana who was still behind byakuya when byakuya quickly grabbed the mans arm and broke it. "AGGGGGHH" he screamed in pain as byakuya shot him his glare. The stand keeper got the message and ran away. Then he turned to Hisana who was still in shock, she came back to her senses and started to thank the captain before she got hit for sure this time.
"t-thank you sir for protecting me" Hisana spoke softly wincing from the pain that still struck her back and feet. She began to pick up the loafs of bread but the man stopped her.
"you are hungry, are you not?" he asked her his eyes still sinking into hers
"y-yes I am, but I have bread here so I'm fi-" she began but was cut off
"then join me for dinner at my manor, your bread is dirty you shouldn't eat that" he told her. Hisana went into shock again did a noble just ask me to join him for dinner? She thought. I should refuse I cant intrude but that feeling in her stomach came back again and if she wanted to survive then she should just accept the offer/
"s-sure" Hisana said
Then they began to walk towards his manor together through the crowds of people still staring at what had to be a illusion because no noble would ever invite a peasant to dinner.