The sky was painted by the setting sun, its warm brush strokes of peach pink and fiery orange slathered over Karakura town. The sun gazed at its scorching face on the sparkling surface of the river; ripples of a carelessly tossed rock wrinkled and misshaped its perfectly round head. I sat off on the back, pulling my knees to my chest and my cold arms surrounded them as if it would keep me from falling apart. But I could feel bits of myself drifting and tearing off, and the chain on my chest tormented me. There were five links left on the chain, and my fingertips kept skimming them and counting them over and over again.

Over and over again I counted the link. Over and over again as I stared at the sun, occasionally tossing a pebble once the river's surface smoothed over.

One, two, three, four, five–ker plunk! One, two, three….

"Hey, you!" A harsh voice barked.

I flinched with a shocked gasp emitting from my throat, I pivoted on my butt to turn to a strange tall boy with sunset orange hair and was wearing black robs. My head cocked to the side like a curious puppy, how could he see me? I have walked through sidewalks of people and they look right pass me, what made this guy any different?

His sharp jaw tightened in impatience, his golden brown eyes hardened on me – I felt my own breath slowly being cut off even.

He took several long strides towards me and then leaned forward so his stare was twice as intense on me. "I have to Konso you."

My eyes became the size of saucers, I no longer had control of my palm when I flew and connected to the boy's cheek. "Pervert!" I shouted, "Konso me!"

A flicker of rage was in his eyes and he glowered at me, "What did you do that for! I just want to send you to the Soul Society so you'll be safe from the Hollows!" He yelled in my face, I tried not to flinch… but I was hard not to, he was a pretty frightening teenager.

"The Soul Society? What's that and what the hell are Hollows."

The orange haired boy heaved an agitated sigh, gripping his knees. "After I Konso you it's where you'll end up, it's a safe place for souls and you'll be happy there. Hollows are monsters that eat souls like you. And it's my job as a Substitute Soul Reaper to stop these monsters and to guide souls to the Soul Society."

"I'm not a-" I cut myself short and looked down at the chain on my chest. "Right… I was murdered…." I turned back to the river with my fingers sticking through the links; the sun shrunk off in the distance, the darkness crawled in the same time as the sadness drenched me.

"Murdered, huh?" The boy muffled, his tone showed a bit of interest in my mutters but still he urged to Konso me… it sounds so dirty to me.

"A Substitute Soul Reaper, eh?" My voice wondered, my eyes in a trance by the chain bolted to the front of my teal shirt. "Does this Soul Reaper have a name?" I slightly turned my head to look up at him.

His spine stretched as he stood up straight, "Ichigo Kurosaki."

A delicate smile touched my lips, "That's a nice name Mr. Kurosaki, I'm Akina."

"Akina," He said, his hand raising back and grabbed the hilt of the large sword on his back, "If you're ready, I have to Konso you."

"You have to cut me in half?" I squeaked, scooting backwards in fear.

Ichigo heaved an even more annoyed sigh, "No, it won't hurt."

I relaxed back on my elbows, my knees sticking straight in the air and clenched together. "Oh… then no, I'm not ready to go yet."

Ichigo's left eye twitched at my stubbornness.

I sat up Indian-style and patted a patch of grass beside me, "Please sit with me Mr. Kurosaki. I promise that you may… send me to the Soul Society but I want to make peace with this place first before I go."

He stood there all stiff for a while but he complied with my request and sat down with a grunt; his elbows rested on his knees lazily and that knife-like sword slept soundlessly against his back.

We didn't say anything for what felt like months, we just looked at the glittering river and I continued to count the links.

One, two, three, four, five–ker plunk! Over and over again for about five times before the Substitute Soul Reaper decided to break the silence with his serious and deep voice.

"You said you were murdered here, by whom?"

My fist clenched the chain, I counted four links now, to keep my fingers from trembling at the thought, but I did say that I wanted to make peace with this place so I might as well talk about it.

"I don't know who he was, I never saw his face." I admitted; my bare feet rubbed together as I pieced the words together in my head like a jigsaw puzzle and forced them to roll over my sharp tongue. "It happened a few weeks ago actually, I was at my friend's birthday party–she was turning seventeen–I remember buying her some Shojo manga," I scoffed a laugh, "She was squealing like a sugar high fangirl. It was priceless and utterly precious…."

A distressful aura wrapped like a steel wool blanket around my torso, "She was more of a little sister to me than a friend." I looked over my shoulder, Ichigo followed my gaze to watch a girl around our age with long brown hair walk by us; we were invisible to her so of course she wouldn't toss a single glance our way.

She carried tiger lilies under her arm, she continued to walk with her eyes glazed over with a sense of withdrawal but she stopped beside a rock and placed the bouquet on top of it with delicacy.

"That's her, Fumiko. She hasn't come here since they found my body here; she's so sweet for bringing tiger lilies, they're my favorite." I smiled. Every fiber within me wanted to leap to my feet and glomp her, to lock my arms around her slender frame and never let go. I wanted to laugh along with her and scream at the top of my lungs, but I couldn't touch her because I'd just glide right through her like a bitter night's breeze.

I sunk lower against the lushes grass as I fought the feeling; the sensation of needles punctured my heart repeatedly.

"Do you have any siblings, Mr. Kurosaki?" I asked abruptly.

Ichigo was taken back by my question; his face slightly dropped and stared blankly at his hand that was planted firmly on the ground closest to me, "Yeah, two younger sisters."

"Then you can sympathize with me." I sighed. I didn't mean to but I leaned forward and my forehead rested against Ichigo's broad shoulder.

A small sound murmured in his chest but he didn't shrug me off, I could only feel his eyes scrutinizing me. Though there really wasn't much of me to look at, I wasn't curving or busty I was only an average girl… used to be an average girl anyway.

I pulled myself together, my chin touched his shoulder and I continued to tell the story of my death. "Like I said, I was walking home – alone. Fumiko's brother offered to walk me home but I refused, I wanted to take my time and watch the sun set here, I love sunsets because they're so beautiful. The way it paints the sky and the dimming light dances on the water, it's the end of the day but it's still happy because it means the beginning of a star filled night."

I glanced at Ichigo's face but he was no longer looking at me, he was staring blankly down at his hand again.

"You hate sunsets." I concluded.

"Yes," He said flatly.

They must've brought pain to his heart, I could tell for some reason but I couldn't bring myself to ask.

"Anyway, I stopped and stood on the edge of the river to watch the sun but it was starting to get cloudy, a storm was coming. I remember hearing the thunder, I should've headed home by then but my feet refused to let me go." I pulled away from the Soul Reaper and laced my fingers together to get them to stop shaking like brittle leaves in the autumn. "I heard footsteps behind me; they were heavy like he was wearing biker boots. That's when he grabbed me from behind, his fingers were hairy and ice cold. 'You scream and I'll slit your throat.' He said, his breath was masked with cigars and I choked on it."

My palm subconsciously covered my right ear, "He bit my ear, hard. Then he forced me to the ground and I got a face full of dirt, I wanted to scream but he pressed the knife to my neck so I stayed quiet and prayed that someone would happen to walk by since there are no houses nearby.

"He grabbed fistfuls of my hair and pulled my shorts down. He bucked into me like he was riding a bull, I kicked him in the kneecaps and I tried to get up and make a run for it but he grabbed me by the ankles. Then the sharp tip of the knife sliced my inner thighs." I opened my legs to show the angry puffy slits on the inside of my thighs. "The pain in my legs distracted me from the other that was in my ass…."

Ichigo was clearly uncomfortable about me sharing the graphic details. "He raped you," He said solemnly.

I nodded, "Twice." My hands folded over the chain that was bolted over my heart, "Then the knife pierced my heart three times. I don't remember how long it took for me to die but all I do remember is a white hot pain in my chest."

The orange haired boy flinched; bitter anger flamed in the depths of his golden brown eyes. "He's scum." His long fingers dug into the earth and they quaked with rage. "What the hell kind of person just does that to a woman, violating them and making them suffer?"

"Apparently a man that gets a kick out of overpowering them and enjoys holding their lives in his hand," I said, surprisingly I sounded calm but I could feel the tear welling up in my eyes. "The whole time I refused to cry, I couldn't give him that satisfaction. I tried to fight by kicking him a lot but every time I struggled he made another slice in my thighs–but I never stopped until his final thrust."

I ran my hand through my short black hair. "I never saw his face but they did catch him; my stepmother told me when she visited here. I know she couldn't see me but I believe she felt my presence." A tiny smile spread over my mouth and salted tears washed over them. "I don't know what I did to deserve to die the way I did-"

Ichigo cut me off, "No one deserves to die like that!" He barked. Our eyes locked, Ichigo's long fingers wrapped over my narrow shoulder and he gave me a firm shake. "I may have just met you but I can tell you right now that you didn't do anything for this to happen. You understand me?"

The smile got a little wider, "You're so sure of that. That's makes me so happy." My fingers touched the tip of his sharp chin and then my palm caressed his cheek "And I may have just met you, Mr. Kurosaki, but I can see that you're a sweet and very old fashioned man."

I pulled back and stuck my tongue out at him like a child; Ichigo's cheeks were dusted with pink.

"What?" He muffled.

"I actually feel a little better, I don't know why but you… you made it easy for me to talk about this. Even if you are a little scary." I murmured the last part under my breath.

Ichigo's shoulders sagged, he still heard me either way, "Gee, thanks." He said sarcastically.

I caressed his face again like a lovely mother would, "But I do thank you, Soul Reaper."

"Substitute," He corrected under his breath.

"Tell me… about the Soul Society, are there more Soul Reapers?" I asked almost shyly.

"Yes."

I could feel my face warming like the sun, "And have you ever gone to the Soul Society?"

"Yes."

"Then, um, would you ever come and visit me. You know, to see how I'm doing?" I looked down at his black clad knees.

Ichigo raised his finger to then chain on my chest, there were now only three links left. His hand was so close to my breasts, my face became even more heated but he didn't seem to notice that little detail.

"I have to Konso you now," He said, his voice smooth and like dark chocolate. Then links played and rolled over his knuckles, his eyes watching them for a moment before letting it thump against my breast bone. He reached back and grabbed the hilt of the sword that was as long as me. "Well, Akina, if you're ready we'll have proceed with the Konso."

I shuffled up on my knees and stared straight into his eyes, they twinkled a little. "You didn't answer me, will you ever come to the Soul Society?" I asked with hope underlining my tone.

Then butt of the hilt was over my forehead, hovering there. "I can't promise you, but if I'm ever there I will look you up." Then a small sincere smile touched his smooth lips, and his stern eyes softened with content feelings.

I smiled back, "I'll hold you to that Ichigo Kurosaki."

He gave a curt nod and gently stamped the hilt to my forehead. There was a soothing rush in my veins, like the water of the river was injected in me and soothed my silent heart. I closed my eyes, holding tight to the image of the odd colored Soul Reaper in my mind. I could feel the tortured bits of me were calmed and they became light as feathers. It was like my body was dissolving from the earth and being carried upward by the gentle breeze. Uplifting me to the heavens, I clutched to the Substitute Soul Reaper's name and I breathed it past my lips right as I rocketed to a world of the unknown with the tang of excitement and nervousness.

"Thank you Ichigo Kurosaki…."