Okay, this is a very small chapter, I know. It's more like a teaser! But I promise this story is going to be great! So please bare with me with this chapter, I didn't get to use the computer that I'm always using to write, so I had to freehand it on FF copy-n-paste upload. So yeah, let me know what you think! And I promise also, everything will be explained about everything that's going on~ I swear it!~
Apparently when I first uploaded this chapter there were some mess ups in the upload because when I went to check it there were so many entries about the underline of the story, and that's not supposed to be there so yeah.
With the night wet, and the air cold, a small form moved through the night. It wasn't silent, by no means. It held a rough but quick pace. The small form moved as quickly as it could to avoid any prying eyes. Of course he didn't want to be seen, he was a Soul Reaper after all, and no one, no one, wanted to help out a Soul Reaper if they didn't have to. But that was only a title after all, there was no real meaning behind it other than someone with no family, no money, and no where to belong. It was quite sad for sure, but this night, wasn't about being sad. It was about surviving. That's all.
As the thunder rolled over in the clouds above, the bare feet moved through the thick of the mud, the wet cold squish of each step had the boy moving as fast as he could. If he was late, there wouldn't be any coppers left for him, they'd all be taken up by others. It wasn't something that the boy wanted, he had to keep his promise. He had to keep the promise that he'd made to Rukia and Renji, his only two friends, the only two people that he actually cared about. He promised that he wouldn't be late, and here he was. Running through the gutter and filth of the mud just to get there on time
The light of the tavern was still lit, the smell of ale was in the air, and the stench of drunks lingered about as people mumbled and laughed inside the building. Each building in the area was lifted from the ground, standing on bamboo stilts as to not sink into the mud during the rainy seasons like now. But with the light being on, that meant that he made it, there was still a chance to get what he needed. It wasn't exactly what he promised, no, it'd be better!
As he skidded to a stop at the entrance to the building, he peaked through the crack of the door frame that sat between him and the group of men who each had a tankard of ale in their hands. Unknowing what await him, the boy slipped down to his hands and knees as he slid through the mud. Had he been any older, his body would have been too big to fit under the building. But he didn't care about being squished between the floorboards of the tavern and the mud. He needed to get the coppers that he knew men who drank would drop. If he got lucky he might even get a silver, but it was next to impossible for him to get a gold. That would be able to feed him, Rukia, and Renji all for a month!
As he slid through the slick wet mud, he was sure that he'd be caked with it by the time he'd be done. He'd done this enough times to know that it was either worry about how clean you were, or to have food for the day and clean up in the river. Either way, you'd be clean, but there was only one way to be fed.
Almost getting far enough into the mud, he could see a few coppers that had fallen from men's drunk pockets and slipped through the bamboo boards that made up the floors of the tavern. The light from inside that showed through was enough for him to be able to see the pieces and slide himself toward them. But as he was reaching for one, he stopped as he felt a pressure against his back. Someone had stepped on the boards that were above him, causing them to flex and press against him, forcing him deeper into the mud.
"Excuse me, what the fuck did you say?" A drunken voice hollered. Unable to do much, the boy tilted his head to the side to try and look into the tavern that was above him.
"You heard me you drunken skumbag. I don't need to repeat myself, do I?" Someone else spoke from across the way, unseen by the boy because of the boards that hindered his view. There was the sound of metal hitting against wood, and then the splash of ale threw itself around, hitting the boards and spilling onto the boy's head. The smell of the alcohol disgusted the child, but he couldn't do anything because of the weight that held him in place.
"Bastard, who do you think you are! Making me spill my drink like that. I'll teach you to spill a man's drink!" The drunk had spoken, obviously pissed about his drink that now soaked the hair of a child that was unseen by any of the adults above.
"You childish fool, you spilled it on your own, and now you expect to teach me? As if." The weight that was pressed against his back had disappeared for a moment, almost giving him enough time to move. But that's when he heard a groan and then the weight returned, but even stronger than before. This time, it pushed against his face, pushing his cheeks into the mud, he had to close one eye as to not get any in it. With his face turned to the side, his body was not only frozen for the weight on top of him. But he was frozen in fear. There, sticking through the floorboards and through the drunken man's chest, was a sleek metal blade that shined with the tavern light. The blood slid down the blade, meeting the mud.
"Get out of here, speak of this to no one." He heard a rough whisper, his one open eye followed the blade up to the floor that lay above him. What he saw though, not only shot fear through him, but also made him fear for Rukia and Renji even. Void of any feeling, cold blooded, the gaze of a brown eye sat on the other side. Looking right into his own honey golden eyes.
But that wasn't all. There was also the snow colored hair that was just long enough for him to see it through the boards as well. Then, the eye was gone. The white locks were out of sight, and the weight that held him pinned to the mud had gone as well. But that was when he heard the boards all over the tavern squeak. People were standing left and right, all looking at the scene that unfolded before them. This man had just murdered another and now he was going to be killed.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Another drunken man across the room asked. The boy below had started to slide out from under the building. He almost lost his life there, he was lucky that blade hadn't pierced his head! That was all he needed to know to get out of there.
"Me? Who do I think I am? Well, since you're all about to die, I guess I'll tell you. My name, is Kensei Muguruma." He said his name, and the mud suddenly felt warm to the boy. His body became void of all warmth with the name that was spoken loud enough for him to hear. It was as if that name itself was a curse to anyone who'd heard it. But that couldn't be true, because if it were, he'd be on this man's dead list too. Because he'd heard the name, he'd even seen partially what the man looked like. No one ever gotten a face with the name he'd just heard and lived to describe it!
Once he slid completely out of the underside of the tavern, the child ran. He ran as fast as his feet would take him. As far as they could in the cold mud, in the stinging rain. He had only got away from the scene by the good graces of the man. But that's when he realized. If that man was really Kensei, that'd mean that he didn't miss the boy when he'd stabbed the other man through the chest. That'd mean he was aiming there, he aimed it in front of the child's face as to scare him. And it worked.
This boy, the one running through the mud as fast as he could, he knew better than to mess with a Visord. But this man, he wasn't just any Visord, he was the strongest. He was known to use naught but his own fists to take care of the job, or at most, he used a dagger. But this time there was a zanpakuto the man that usually only wielded a dagger, now had a zanpakuto, a an old blade that was embedded with magic that only can be wielded by Visords, or Hollows. Of course there are the few zanpakuto that could change shape too. Just thinking about it seemed too crazy. The man was a Visord, so it wasn't unlikely that he'd carry such a weapon.
As he ran, the boy felt his toes becoming numb and void of feeling from the cold of the mud beneath his feet. As he stumbled, he tried his best to keep moving, to keep running away from the horrific scene. He had to get home, back to where he stayed with the other children. He had only gotten a three coppers, only enough to feed one really. He knew that he wouldn't eat this night, he had to feed Rukia, if any it had to be her, the youngest of the three of them.
His feet didn't listen to him, the wet ground making them go numb and tumble out from under him. He fell face first into the mud, sliding a little down the path, he crunched himself into a ball, holding his legs with a shiver of cold going through him. He had slipped and slashed his leg a little. He felt the cold sting of the air on the wound. Crying out in pain just so softly, he refused to shed a tear. He didn't want to waste those he had left, they might have been the only means to sleep at night.
"Oh dear, are you alright?" Someone had asked. He bit his lip as to keep the tears at bay as he looked up to see a woman standing under an umbrella. She had tan skin, and long dark hair. But her clothes spoke as though she were a noble.
He tried to stand, to scramble out of there, but he slipped again. Smacking into the mud, he made a splash in the liquid ground, and a drop of it splashed up into the face of the woman. Splashing just a tad on her cheek just under her eye, she didn't even blink. Holding a serious look on her face, she tilted her head to the side to see the boy a little better.
"Hey kid, are you alright?" She asked, kneeling just slightly as to not get mud on her thin dress. The sleek material was obviously silk, holding a crimson color, it showed her cleavage just enough to say that she was a woman of standards, but who held great power over men.
The boy looked to her, not saying a word, he wasn't sure what to say. But his hand shot to the cut on his leg that was now covered in mud. Holding the wound, he looked with an apprehensive look on his features. His golden brown eyes not swaying from her, he watched as she pulled a clean white handkerchief that held the initials Y.S. in red cursive writing. Of course, the boy didn't know what the letters meant, not being able to read. But his eyes never left her own. His hands didn't move from holding his leg, and his form was still rigid against the thought of taking on the thought of accepting the offer from the woman.
It was so much like nobles to offer something but then turn around and force you to be a slave for them because they 'saved your life' once upon a time. As he stared her down, he watched as she then reached down, taking it upon herself to wrap the cloth around his leg. "If you don't get it cleaned soon, it'll get infected. Please. Let me help you, I know a little shop that'll clean it up and you'll be on your way." She said.
Eyes widening, he knew it. She was trying to get him to go with her so that she could act like she was going to save him then she'd put him to slave labor and make him work off his debt for the rest of his life!
Scrambling to his feet, he bared his teeth through the pain in his leg and took off through the mud once again. His foot steps were sloppy but he held a steady run. He was the fastest of his friends, so he knew that he'd be able to out run her. But he wasn't going to look back to see if she was giving chase.
The rain that stung his face was not running a little harder from the sky. The cloud clapped with thunder which made him almost jump right out of his skin. He didn't think anything of it, thinking only of getting back to his friends, he knew that he was only a few good minutes away from their little hut.
And with those minutes, he slammed his body through the straw doorway. It swung under the pressure of his form and moved out of his way, allowing him to tumble to the floor. It was late, really late. He knew that he'd missed the bakery with how he'd cut his leg, so he just ran straight home. Feeling guilty and horrid for having missed the only chance he had to feed the smallest of them, he moved across to his straw mat that laid on the floor. Laying next to it, was a little girl with dark hair. Her eyes covered with a wrap due to her blindness. On the opposite side of her, a sleeping boy with bright red hair.
The two of them seemed so peaceful when they slept, much nicer than when it was day time. When people were in pain, hungry, and dying. Feeling tears well up in his eyes, the boy laid on his mat, his back to the door, facing the little girl that was in front of him. Shutting his eyes tight, he let a few of the tears fall, he hurt. The way that they lived, it was unfair. The pain in his leg, it was disgusting. The way they had to suffer, it was wrong. There were things wrong left and right, and there was nothing that he could do about it.
"Shiro?" Came a soft voice. His tears ceased from it. Eyes shooting open, he looked to the girl in front of him. "Shiro what's wrong? Did you get something to eat? Renji had brought some food home today, so we ate. Did you?" She asked.
Renji, that boy was always trustworthy. Smiling, he nodded, forgetting for a moment that she can't see him, he chuckled, "Yeah, I got something to eat." He lied. He didn't want to worry her, or Renji. But he knew that the boy would be harder to convince than the girl that was in front of him.
Little did he know, said boy was awake, listening to the whole conversation. He knew by the "joy" of his friend's voice that Shirosaki had not actually gotten anything to eat, and that he was also crying. He didn't even need to look at the kid to see that. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes again, trying to let the two of them have their privacy. Despite their little hut being not but seven feet wall-to-wall, and five feet high.
But with their small six year old bodies, the boys didn't need to worry about bumping their heads just yet, and the little four year old girl they lived with was less likely.
"That's good. You need to eat to keep up your strength." The girl whispered to the orange haired male. The smile that was on her face was genuinely happy about what he'd lied about. And that made him feel even worse.
Sighing, he closed his eyes, trying to let sleep come over him. He knew now that he didn't need to worry as Renji always came through with taking care of her. He didn't always need to try so hard. And with that, he was swept away in dreams that he wouldn't remember, but it was as though he had forgotten what reality was then.
So what did y'all think? Yeah I know, I said it was short, and I meant it. But hey, at least you see something as to what's going on in their lives so far. And yes, Shirosaki has orange hair in this one. But there's seriously a good reason for everything I'm doing! I promise I promise I promise! If your wondering about Grimmjow, because yes, I know I tagged him in this, then you'll have to wait for the later chapters to see him. I'm sorry, please don't get mad or kill me! Thanks for your time, can't wait to post another chapter! Gonna start on it now!