Lemony: Hello again readers! I know, I know. Its been a good long time since we've updating anything and to be honest I've kinda been sitting on this fic, but I was er...convinced to update by some friends of mine. To make up for lost time, I'll upload the first three chapters today for ya! BTW I don't have a beta-reader so please ignore the mistakes! Enjoy!
Secrets of the Slain
"Muse. What is your muse...death is your muse. Sweet but bitter. Peaceful yet wild. Unrelenting. Unjudging. It comes for us all. The black paint, across the canvas. Let it be death. Blanket out the white linen, killing it. Yes. Red...red paint...crimson red, like blood...let it flow...the vehicle of life onto my canvas."
"Kimmy!" seventeen-year-old Kimiko Kuchiki heard her mother shout, the grey-haired girl had been so wrapped up in working on her latest piece that morning she had lost track of time and was almost late for school.
"Yellow...color of the sun. No. Not for this one. Happiness isn't a thing on this muse. Only death and blood...but pink? No. Why pink? The color of feminine oppression and breast cancer."
"Kimiko Tai Kuchiki if you don't get downstairs this instant!" Rukia Kuchiki called once more to her daughter. If she kept this up she was definitely going to be late for school.
"I am trying to paint!" Kimmy snapped back keeping her focus squarely on the small canvas in front of her, not realizing how disrespectful she sounded. She also hadn't realized her mother was stomping up the stairs while she painted insanely. Rukia flung the door open to her only daughter's bedroom and put her hands on her hips, clearly fuming.
"You want to try that again?" The raven-haired woman said, her brow raised high. Kimmy turned around and she gave her mother a sheepish smile.
"Ah c'mon mommy," She said, "You know how I am when I'm the zone. Just five more minutes, pleeeeeease...?"
"No." Rukia told her sternly, "You're going to be late. Now get dressed and hurry up because if you're late again it's gonna be me and you, missy."
With that, the queen had spoken. She closed Kimmy's bedroom door and left the grey-haired girl alone. Kimmy sighed, she should have known her mom wouldn't let her finish painting. With a heavy heart, the young artist took a paper napkin and cleaned her brushes. She gingerly placed her supplies back inside a tin box decorated with skater stickers and placed it under her desk. The grey-haired teen looked at her unfinished piece; if it was one thing she could not goddamn stand was when she was unable to finish her work.
The sullen teenager stood and dragged her feet over to her tiny closet and opened the door. Most everything inside was black or red. Those were Kimmy's favorite colors. All of her clothes were plain and simple, no name-brands or expensive threads. Only over-sized sweaters and skinny jeans. Not caring what she wore, Kimmy simply reached inside and grabbed some clothes. It was a baggy, blood-red knit sweater, a pair of black skinny jeans, and her signature rundown black converse sneakers that she'd marked all over with black Sharpie.
She looked over herself in her dresser mirror. Her dove-grey hair was dull and unkempt as usual. At one point her hair was black also, courtesy of her uncle Byakuya.
"You'll look more like a presentable Kuchiki." He told her that day he took her to the salon.
Of course, Rukia flipped her lid when she saw it. She scrubbed Kimmy's hair insanely when she returned home, nearly thinning it, hoping the dye would come out.
"How many times have I told you to stay away from your uncle?!" Rukia fussed as she scraped her nails around poor Kimmy's scalp and holding her head under the hot water in the kitchen sink. "Don't ever speak to him, accept anything from him, nothing! Do you hear me!"
After that disaster, Kimmy's once bright silver locks were darkened a bit. Rukia had successfully managed to get most of the dye out, but her hair no longer had a lavender shimmer. Yes, dove-grey is what color it was. Kimmy could recall she went to the local craft store and went through ten paint strips before she figured that out. She adjusted her black, square-framed glasses on her heart shaped face. Kimmy was quite adorable in her own regard with her odd colored hair and midnight eyes but she would never consider herself "hot" like the other girls in her school. Luckily she didn't have to cake on makeup the way they did, her pale skin was remarkably clear.
She smiled to herself when her shimmering blue eyes slid over to the right-hand side of her dresser mirror. Taped up there was a letter from Woodridge Academy of Art. the most prestigious art school in Karakura.
To Kimiko Kuchiki,
We have received and reviewed your application in regards to a visual arts major. We are pleased to inform you that your works have been submitted to the board of directors for further consideration. We will contact you in eight to ten weeks with our final decision regarding your admission status.
Best of luck,
Woodridge Academy of the Arts
If she got accepted there her appearance would mean nothing; no one would care about her baggy sweaters or ripped skinny jeans. If she got accepted there they would be too amazed at her artwork. At Woodridge, no one would care that she was a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. They would teach her to expand on her craft.
There...maybe Kimmy would fit in.
"KIMIKO TAI KUCHIKI!" Rukia finally roared, Kimmy snapped out of her daze, snatched her backpack off of her bed and hustled downstairs. Rukia was waiting at the door for her, scowling. Kimmy actually winced as her mother gave her "the look", she knew she was going to catch hell after school today. Without a word both women left the tiny house and climbed into her mother's raggedy 1970 Ford Pinto.
The ride to Karakura High School was a tense and quiet one. Kimmy sat in the front seat of the old, rickety car listening to the engine crack and grunt. Rukia was still scowling. This was the sixth time exactly Kimmy had been late to school this month. If she kept this up, Child Protective Services would come sniffing around again.
"Mom..." Kimmy began quietly, Rukia kept her eyes focused on the road.
"What?" She replied, none too politely.
"I'm sorry..." The grey-haired teen said innocently, she really hadn't meant to be late. Kimmy always got so wrapped up in her thoughts she was always losing track of time. Rukia simply sighed, reached over and stroked her daughter's hair.
"It's ok..." She breathed, "But you have to be more aware of what's going on, Kimmy. Do you want them to take you away from me?"
"No," The teen replied, "It's just I was painting and my letter and..."
Kimmy's voice trailed off.
"They won't understand that Kimmy." Rukia said sternly, "Do you honestly want to live with your uncle?"
Kimmy shrugged and muttered, "Well, he is rich."
Rukia looked at her daughter sharply, her lips curled in disgust. "That doesn't matter!" She snapped, "Money means nothing! Your uncle will hurt you, alright? Badly. That is why I never want to see you with him, understand?"
Kimmy simply nodded. For whatever reason, her Uncle Byakuya Kuchiki was always a touchy subject with her mother. Since she was a child Kimmy had never been allowed to go into her uncle's presence unattended. Her mother never explained to her why she hated him so much. Before this uneasy conversation could continue the pair pulled up outside of Karakura High School just as the first bell rang.
Kimmy quickly hopped out and ran full speed up to the main doors.
"Have a good day! I love you! And stay out of trouble!" Rukia called to her daughter as she disappeared behind the heavy metal doors. She shook her head, she truly loved Kimmy. All she could do was pray things went well today, as she did every day. Rukia sighed and pulled off, time to work her double-shift at the call center.
Kimmy literally skidded to a stop outside classroom 1-A and rushed inside. As soon as she crossed the threshold the second bell rang loudly and grey-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're cutting it very close Ms. Kuchiki," Mr. Ukitake told her as he looked at his watch.
"Sorry...I was-" Kimmy began before she was rudely cut off by another student.
"Huffing paint fumes," That student was none other than Tiara Tyler; an American exchange student and all around bully. Tiara and Kimmy had been at odds since their freshman year. They'd always been known to engage in everything from name-calling to hair pulling to full blown fist fights. What made matters worse is that Tiara's foreign exchange family was the Kuchiki's and her guardian was Byakuya himself. Tiara was indeed a spoiled princess, always showing off her pretty clothes and jewelry courtesy of Kimmy's uncle. When they first met Kimmy thought they would be good friends considering the circumstances but ever since they met it seemed like Tiara made it her mission to make Kimmy's life miserable...or get her into trouble, whichever came first.
"You're right, I can smell your bleach-blonde highlights from over here." Kimmy quipped; Tiara scowled.
"I'm a natural blonde thank you very much! And speaking of hair, that's a nice wig. Where'd you get it?"
"Off some whore," Said Kimmy slyly, "I think it was your mother..."
The whole class snickered as Tiara glared hatefully at Kimmy. Ukitake finally stepped in, "That's quite enough ladies. Kimmy, please take your seat."
Kimmy took a seat between her best friends Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki. Class went off without a hitch as did the rest of the day thankfully. When the final bell rang the trio of girls made their way outside the school walking shoulder to shoulder.
"Ugh! I just can't stand her!" Kimmy complained, referring to Tiara.
"Nobody can, really." Said Yuzu, the brunette Kurosaki usually got along with everyone but even Tiara rubbed her the wrong way sometimes.
"That's because her brain is full of Fruit Loops, Starburst, and Skittles." Karin replied as she kicked around her soccer ball.
"At least next year I won't have to deal with her ass." Kimmy said, "That is, if I get accepted to Woodridge."
"You should have knocked the Star Spangled Banner out of her!" Karin laughed, expertly dribbling the soccer ball between her feet. "Oh! Say, can you seeeeee! POW! Riiiiight in your eeeeeye!"
"An all-American ass kicking and I hope it tastes like apple pie and eagle feathers!"
Kimmy and Karin cracked up laughing.
"But then CPS would start breathing down your mom's neck," Yuzu said sagely, "I mean, they just backed off. Don't give them a reason to come back."
"You sound like my mom." Kimmy told her, rolling her midnight eyes. "Just a few more months of this and I'll be at Woodridge."
"When you become a world famous artist don't forget about us little people," Karin joked, Kimmy stretched her arms out and wrapped them around the twin's shoulders. She smiled broadly.
"I'd never forget about my besties!"
It was true that if Kimmy would be going to Woodridge she would no longer see Karin and Yuzu as much, but they all had their own lives to live, and Kimmy wanted to make the most of it. And Woodridge Academy is where she would begin.
Kimmy returned home later that afternoon. It was usually a long walk from Karakura high back to her little house. She didn't mind, she enjoyed the quiet time. As she approached the front door and fished for her key, she had no idea she was being watched. From a distance, a pair of glowing, vermillion eyes watched Kimmy, hidden in the bushes. Whatever it was made no move towards the girl, instead just continued watching her until she opened the door of her home and stepped inside.
When she was out of sight, the eyes vanished.
Kimmy looked around her dark, empty house. She made her way to the kitchen where she knew a note from her mother would be waiting. Just as she predicted, there was a note taped to the microwave, written in red Sharpie. It read:
Working late, left-overs in the fridge. Do your homework! Call me when you get home.
Love,
Mom.
Kimmy sighed and made her way up the stairs.
She had a piece to finish.
To be continued...
Lemony: Ooookkkkay, chapter one down. Like I said I had been sitting on this fic for a long time, but people threatened my life so I updated. Please don't kill me. I'll see you readers in chapter two...REVIEW!