Summary: Hiyori's life and death in little snippets. One-shot.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Not even a single manga. Kubo Tite does, though, and I'm forever grateful to him. Do us proud, Kubo-sensei.
NOTE: I really like Hiyori. She's such an interesting character. I wish she'd get more attention in the manga. Also, I haven't caught up with the manga, so Hikifune's character is only how I imagine it would be. I know she's actually gotten some manga time now and is probably drastically different from how I think her personality will be. I'm sorry if that's the case.
Sarugaki Hiyori was born in a tiny house in mountain country. She was a clingy baby in an aloof family. There were no sisters, only three older brothers, the youngest of which was ten years older than her. Sometimes, the youngest brother would play with her and smile, and Hiyori would reciprocate, flashing her perfect little baby teeth.
...
Hiyori thought she wanted to be a mother when she was young. She would be gentle and firm and graceful, like her own mother. She would offer comfort and hugs, the way her mother didn't.
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When Hiyori was seven, her mother died. By then, Hiyori was changing. She no longer dreamed of gentleness.
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A year later, fires plagued the hill country. Hiyori sat on a rock on their hill and watched the fire burn through the forested hills across the valley. She saw it consume trees, houses, and shrines. The twisting, advancing flames fascinated her. Fire was beautiful and graceful and fierce. It didn't care about anything, and it took anything it needed.
She would be fire.
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At age twelve, Sarugaki Hiyori died of the same disease that had claimed her mother. Like everything in her life, she took death in stride.
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She entered the Shinigami Academy as soon as she could. Hiyori was talented in most disciplines, and what she lacked, she made sure she gained. Sometimes, she would hear other students talking about her. They never had anything nice to say, usually focusing on her protruding incisor or abrasive manner. Ignoring her classmates, Hiyori threw herself into coursework. She practised techniques in her spare time and made up insults. She made good use of both.
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When the time came to graduate, Hiyori had proven herself to be a formidable fighter with a strong work ethic. She had one caveat on her record: "Does not work well with anyone."
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Hiyori was accepted into Squad 12 as a Fourth Seat. There were rumours that she was really Third Seat or even fukutaichou material, but most people took one look at her and discounted the rumour immediately. "That bony tomboy?" There was no one who knew her-or liked her-well enough to persuade them otherwise.
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Hikifune Taichou was all that Hiyori wasn't. She wasn't just merry and curvaceous (and smooth-haired), she was also unbelievably powerful, able to manipulate reiatsu in a way no other taichou could. Hiyori hated her.
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Sometimes, Hikifune would put on a show for her subordinates, showcasing her talents. The finale would invariably be her specialty: a reiatsu shower. Insubstantial, luminescent particles would drift down on Squad 12, settling on their shoulders and hair and sinking into their souls . The subordinates would laugh and sigh in pleasure. It reminded Hiyori of a late spring rain shower, but better. Hiyori marvelled at the incredible force it took to rip massive amounts of spirit particles out of the atmosphere and send them off to do your bidding. Yet it looked like no work at all. And it felt like peace.
...
She could not hate her captain for long. No one could.
Not even a hot little flame could burn in a spring shower.
end
My Note (again): I'm having an identity crisis publishing this. I'm not a writer, I swear! I would never have imagined that I would write, much less post a story I'd written on the internet. I don't know what's come over me! That said, I'm surprised at how it came out. I tried to get it to be a little more sophisticated at one point, but it would only come out in picture book bluntness. *shrugs* Let me know if there are any mistakes, please.
I'm thinking about writing for all/most of the incredible Bleach ladies. Because they deserve so much more. But we'll see if that happens…