When I talk about Life and Death, it's more of a metaphorical addressing. They're not people xD Think of them as angels if you must.
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Ishida added the final touch to the rose. The velvety, crimson rose lay proudly in his hand. It was going to be his Valentine gift, a beauty of a flower made by the finest cloth he owned. The time was drawing closer, marking the start of an end. Or a new beginning.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
He checked his mobile for the new message. Some junk mail, he noted and tossed the mobile onto his bed.
The message still glowed on his mobile screen. "Destiny is but a game."
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Life and Death had their heads bent over the board. They were going to begin yet another round of the game, to decide the destiny of the new set of souls. Her fingers, shaking slightly, Life drew out three cards from the pack and flipped them around. She gasped softly when she saw the names on the cards. The "I" trio again. She had played with them often before, and she had come so close to losing the cards to Death. She placed one of the cards on the board.
She picked up the dice and let them roll between her fingers. The game had begun.
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The day was just another normal one.
Ishida got to school early, had a sandwich for his lunch, and finished all his class work.
Inoue arrived in the nick of time, had a bean and strawberry jam sandwich for lunch, and doodled cyborgs all over her notes.
Ichigo reached to school by the third lesson, got thrown out of class by the teacher, spent his break helping the teachers as a punishment and ran out of class during the fifth lesson to kill a Hollow.
The day would soon roll into the night.
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The board was divided into two sections: Fortune and Misfortune. Life had to move her card across the Fortune Path until she reached the end. If she rolled a number that caused her card to fall onto any square marked "Danger", it became Death's turn to roll the dice. And this time the card would move along the Misfortune Path for one round.
The Fortune Path contained squares like "Happiness", "Surprise", "Comfort" apart from the "Danger" spots in between.
The Misfortune Path had squares like "Challenges", "Envy", "Peril". If Death managed to throw three sixes in a row, the card would end up in the "Surrender" section.
Which meant Life gave over her card to Death.
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Inoue walked up the steep path to the cliff. She wanted a little peace. And maybe a little inspiration. The view from the cliff was really pretty, and the glow of the setting sun washed over her. Her thoughts wandered and settled on Him. What was she to do? Continue waiting for eternity…? Or should she-
A piercing shriek erupted through the peace, and a startled Inoue looked around.
Below, amidst the trees, a figure seemed to be running, probably chasing something. The stifling, murky aura emitting from the trees convinced her feelings of dread. There was no mistake about it, that was a Hollow.
Throwing caution to the wind, she ran towards the trees as fast as her legs could carry her.
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Life frowned at the board. One of her cards was on "Trouble". If she wanted to bring it back onto the Fortune Path, she had to throw three sixes. Or she could add another card to the board. Risk it or save it?
She slowly added another card to the board.
She rolled the dice.
A number 3.
Safe! Her card was on "Comfort" now.
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Ichigo was on his way home, exhausted from another bout of Hollow-ass-whacking. Maybe I'll take a short cut from under the cliff , he thought.
Five minutes into the dense cluster of trees, he realized something was wrong. The forest was suspiciously quiet, yet he knew the creatures in there were alarmed.
A sudden crash made him whirl around. Clutching his Shinigami Substitue badge, he ran towards the noise.
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Inoue whimpered as the crashing tree fell inches from her. The Hollow towered over her. Tsubaki flew around, unsure of whether to attack or retreat.
"Hurry and make up your mind already woman!" he cried out.
Inoue looked down at the soul of the little girl trembling near her feet. Her resolve strengthened, she glared up at the Hollow.
"Solitary Sacred Cutting Shield, I reject!" she cried, holding out her hands.
Thrashing around its arms, the Hollow bent a couple more trees, sending them crashing down. It gave out a loud, deep groan as Tsubaki made contact with its head.
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Inoue closed her eyes and covered her face as one of the trees came tumbling down towards her. Her eyes flew open when she realized she was being lifted away.
"Kurosak-" she began. Her eyes registered surprise when she saw a familiar bespectacled boy wipe sweat off his forehead as he put her down gently.
"Ishida-kun?" she said. "What….what are you doing here?"
"I practice by the waterfall a mile from here. When I felt that reiatsu, I hurried over. You shouldn't have tried to attack it, Inoue-san. You could have been seriously injured." he replied, looking at her worriedly.
"But…I think I killed it" whispered Inoue.
Ishida smiled at her. His eyes frowned anxiously at the clearing though.
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When Ichigo arrived, he only found the soul of the little girl. He wondered what had happened as he performed Konso on the soul.
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Life sighed and pushed back her hair. Her second card was on "Challenge" now. Not too bad, she thought. She'd get it out soon.
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Go on to Chapter 2. =)