Ciao! Welcome to my story! This is actually the first story I've ever posted publicly. I'm nervous about posting it. But, I do love to write in my spare time, even though I may not be that good at it, so I thought, "Eh, why not give it a shot? Who knows? It may be fun!" Which brings me to here, posting this story! Yeah...I should stop talking now... Hope you enjoy this Prologue!
Note: May incorporate Bleach characters later in the story. Story is of my own creation. If content looks like it may be stolen, it is not intentional, please let me know, so that I may credit its original creator. Comments/Suggestions are welcomed!
Prologue
Darkness. Everywhere there is darkness. I look up, and there's darkness. I look down, and there's darkness. There's no way I can escape it. And that's the part that scares me the most.
She was standing in the middle of a meadow, filled with white and pink flowers and a small creek running through it. The sky was beautiful and cloudless, the sun shining with perfect warmth and comfort. Birds were chit-chatting and making their nests in the tall, beautiful cherry-blossom trees, while squirrels and deer came to the creek to drink water and feed on the grass. A soft, cool breeze blew by, causing a strand of her hair to fall out of place. Not bothering to put it back in place, she began to walk towards the creek where a family of three deer was taking their fair share of the crisp and cool water. As she came to the creek, directly across from the deer, they did not move a muscle. They seemed unaware of her presence. They looked so peaceful, so innocent. Not a care in the world.
Such a blissful life to live.
Her eyes fell on what she guessed to be their offspring. A thin, lanky deer with its stance mirroring its parents. It continued to drink, even though its belly seemed bloated from already drinking more than enough water. Its parents continued to drink, therefore it continued to drink. Its belly continued to bloat, and eventually the small animal collapsed. Such an event caused the parents to stop their drinking and examine their youngin, wondering what caused such a thing. Worry reflected in what seemed to be the mothers' eyes. She nudged her baby and began pacing nervously. The father deer lowered his head and sniffed his offspring for a good long while. His head suddenly shot up and turned its head in direction of the girl. The mother deer mirrored the father deer's actions, alertness radiating from both of them.
It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Please, don't be afraid.
But the unspoken words weren't silent enough. Suddenly, it was as if everything that had life had its attention turned toward the girl, and each and every one of them were filled with terror. She was puzzled, wondering what could have caused such a thing. Is there something on my face? Stepping forward, the girl leaned forward and looked at her reflection in the crystal clear water. But what she saw wasn't her reflection.
Well, it was her reflection, but it wasn't her reflection. It was her six-year-old self's reflection.
She seemed unfazed by this. She sighed, looking at her reflection for a long moment before slowly raising her head to meet the chaos that was beginning to break out around her.
The animals that once filled the fairy-tale meadow were now ripping at each other's throats, tearing apart limbs and spilling out blood everywhere. The once pink and white flowers were now blood red, their stems quickly rotting away and turning a disgusting black color. The grass was now dead, crunchy and prickly under her bare feet. The trees that were bordering the meadow were now bare and skeletal looking. A strong wind began to blow, and the trees began to sway, but at their own will. They all began to bend and lean toward the meadow, toward the girl, extending their branches like an arm, as if saying Take my hand, we'll help you escape.
The girl extended an arm towards a nearby tree, hoping, just hoping, that they meant what they meant. But before she could grab a hold of a branch, the tree went up in flames. She retrieved her arm and looked around slowly, noticing that all the trees were now ablaze, the flames violently roaring and licking at the now blood red and cloudy sky.
Everywhere she turned, there was death. Everything that once seemed perfect and blissful was now engulfed in pure darkness. Something she spent her whole life trying to run from. When her gaze finally landed on the family of deer, all but the offspring seemed affected by the madness. The baby's parents were poised and demolishing everything that posed as a threat to their youngin. Blood was gushing from their wounds, and no matter how hard they fought, more animals kept coming at them, tearing their flesh and staining the ground with their blood. Yet, the parents did not give up. She was mesmerized at their strength and endurance, but she knew it wouldn't last long. It never did. And in that instant her eyes met with the offspring's. The black, orb like eyes of the deer seemed to see right through her, as if she wasn't even there.
Suddenly, the deer let out a high pitched, inhumane shriek, causing the girl to freeze in fear. The ground began to rumble and open and the trees that were set ablaze were now burning 10 fold. The heat was intense. The air seemed as if it were going to shatter from the high pitched shriek, and the girl began to feel a cold, thick liquid flow from her ears. She never turned and ran, or covered her ears, or did anything to stop the madness around her. Her eyes were locked with the deer's, fearing if she broke the gaze everything around her would shatter and everything would end and there'd be darkness, and she'd be alone.
Alone.
Before anything else could happen, the girl sprinted towards the baby deer, never breaking its gaze. But as she stepped into the water of the creek, her legs stopped working, and she was left there, standing on water. She broke her gaze with the deer and looked down at her feet. The reflection in the water was still her six-year-old self, but this time she had tattoos wrapping around her body, a five foot long silver sword in her right hand, and white, elongated wings sprouting from her back. Still, she was unfazed by this. As she continued to stare at her reflection, at her beautiful, white-as-snow wings, they slowly started to darken, until they were the shade of a midnight black. Frowning, she raised her head back up to meet the deer's gaze once more, but all that she saw was darkness. A dark, empty, nothingness began to envelope her. All that remained was the shrieking of the small deer, and as she continued to listen to it, it began to get louder.
Her head began to hurt immensely, as if someone, or something, was crushing her head in while also pushing it out. She doubled over in pain and fell to her knees, blood pouring out of her ears and gushing out of her nose and mouth. Every bone in her body began to twist in the opposite direction it was meant to be until they snapped. She dropped her sword and her wings seemed to have disappeared. When her limp body made contact with the glass-looking floor, it shattered, and she fell through it into what seemed like water. But it didn't keep her afloat. She kept falling, sinking, unable to move. As she tried to breathe in, water filled her lungs, and she began to choke. She could see her own blood make contact with the water and drift away as if it were dust in the wind, leaving her and never looking back.
She could feel her life force slipping away. The pain she felt throughout her body began to lessen by every passing second, and she confirmed that her time was drawing near. She no longer had the will to live. All her life she was afraid of darkness, of dying and being alone. But now she embraced it with a welcoming hand. Just as she was about to close her eyes, for good, and accept death, something deep inside her was struck, like a chord being plucked on a guitar. Her eyes shot open in realization and horror, and suddenly she didn't want darkness anymore.
She wanted light. And she wanted to do all she could to get to it.
She began thrashing violently, even though she barely moved and water began to fill her lungs again as she tried to scream at the top of her lungs. She knew it was no use, death had already claimed her, but she wasn't about to give up that easily. She tried screaming at the top of her lungs again, and she could faintly hear her own screams. But they were distant, as if she were in a room with thick walls meant to block out sound. She continued to scream and thrash until she could clearly hear her screams and feel her body thrash. In that moment, it felt as if she were being yanked by the chest out of a pile of quicksand with two-ton weights strapped to her body. It was then that her screams became crystal clear and thrashing could fully be felt.
She continued to do so, for fear the darkness may bring her under again. Large, strong arms suddenly wrapped around her, attempting to stop her thrashing and keep her still. A deep voice with a hint of a Russian accent yelled, telling the girl to open her eyes, that it's okay, he's here, that it was just a dream. Just a dream.
The voice and words registered in the girl's scattered mind. Her eyes shot open and she inhaled sharply, realizing she wasn't under water after all. Her thrashing ceased, but only a little, her eyes darting everywhere and her lungs trying to inhale enough air for her to be able to function properly. The face of a familiar friend coming into view, looking her dead in the eyes with his icy blue eyes and his muscular arms still wrapped around her, looked at her with deep concern.
"Mimi! Mimi! It's okay, it was just a dream! Just a dream!" He was able to grab a hold of her and bring her close to him, holding her tightly as if someone, or something may grab a hold of her and snatch her from his grasp. The girl's thrashing ceased altogether, and she went limp in the man's arms, burying her head into his chest, sobbing unconditionally. He began to rock back and forth, stroking her head and speaking softly to her.
"I'm here, Miyako. It wasn't real. It was just a dream. I'm here." He said over and over to the sobbing girl. The girl continued to sob and the man continued to rock her back and forth.
I'm here. It wasn't real. It was just a dream. I'm here.
The words echoed in her mind, and her body started to ease up. She just lay limp in his arms, out of tears to cry.
It didn't get me. It wasn't real. He's here. It was just a dream. He's here.