Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Chapter One
Lugging yet another box up the stairs, Hisana struggled under the weight, breathing heavily. She perched the box on the rail, wiping sweat from her forehead and massaging the dull ache in her lower back. Sighing, she heaved the box up the few remaining steps and into her new apartment.
She stacked the box with the others, arranged messily along the wall next to the door. A heavenly breeze drifted through the open door, cooling Hisana, and she moved to open some windows and the sliding doors that led to a small terrace. The terrace was on the front side of the building, directly above the similar one attached to the apartment below hers. And of course, stairs led to the only entrance to her new home.
The apartment was furnished, which was a relief for Hisana. She really didn't have the expenses to buy furniture along with the new residence. The living room held a comfy couch, a matching chair, a round coffee table, and a decent size book shelf. The kitchen was next to the living room, separated by a counter and four bar stools that served as her dining table. The sliding doors were to the left of the kitchen, near a small guest bathroom. There was a hallway adjacent to the living room, leading to the master bedroom and adjoining bathroom. The bedroom had a vanity with a short stool opposite the door. A dresser stood alongside the left wall, next to the entrance to the bathroom. The queen-size bed occupied the center of the room with the headboard along the right wall. A nightstand was to the left of the bed and a large, semi-walkthrough closet was on the right.
Hisana was overly joyful about her new home. Now if only the boxes would unpack themselves. She chuckled at the thought, grabbing a notepad and pen and moving to sit at the counter.
"Alright," she began out loud, "things I need…"
Titling the page, she followed her spoken thoughts as they came.
"I need food. Ok…milk, eggs, bread,…uh, vegetables like tomatoes, lettuce, carrots…oh, fish, chicken, beef…rice…"
The list continued. Deciding to take a walk around Karakura before going shopping, she dug through a box for her camera. She slipped on some black flats while folding her list and tucking it into the front pocket of her jeans. She grabbed a light grey cardigan, pulling it on over her white tank top and buttoning it. She placed the camera strap around her neck, letting it hang down her front as she fixed her long hair into a low, messy bun.
She moved quickly to shut the windows and doors she had opened earlier. Just in case, she thought, locking them as she went.
Snatching her wallet and keys from her purse, Hisana headed out the door, securing it behind her. The keys joined the folded paper in her right pocket and her wallet was placed in her left. She walked absently down the stairs, fiddling with her camera's settings.
Her apartment was a part of a neighborhood on the outskirts of the shopping district. Snapping pictures of her dwelling and the surrounding buildings, Hisana made her way into town.
It was two o'clock in the afternoon when Hisana found herself in Karakura's shopping district. The streets were filled with people, bustling along sidewalks and intersections. Stores lined every street, side by side. Hisana smiled at the lively town, hustling with the crowd. Feeling somewhat daring, she took pictures of random strangers. There was a young couple walking arm in arm, a mother smiling and holding her son's hand crossing an intersection as he hopped from one white line to another, and a group of friends chatting and walking casually along. An overwhelming sense of longing washed over Hisana as she captured these moments.
Ordinarily, she was fine being alone. When she was younger, her parents both worked and left her with the house keeper. When she was eight, she had been sent to a boarding school. Although she had friends, she always longed for a family-a real family.
She looked solemnly at a man and his two young girls, pausing to watch as the little girl sat on a bench. She held her father's hand and pointed to her shoe. The bigger of the girls crouched down, placing her sister's foot on her knee and retying the laces. Once she was done, she smiled and offered her hand to her sister, who grabbed it, giggling, and hopped down from the bench. The trio resumed walking as Hisana took a picture.
I wish I had a sister she thought, smiling sadly. Blowing hair out of her face, the stubborn strands falling back between her eyes, Hisana started walking to the community park.
"Look, Chad! It's Rukia!" Orihime exclaimed, "Rukia!"
Orihime waved excitedly to her friend standing by the jungle gym, a camera in her hands. Chad peered over Orihime's head, noting the unfamiliarity of the woman across from them. She didn't respond, taking pictures of some kids playing.
"Maybe she didn't hear me," Orihime wondered aloud.
"Orihime, I don't think that's Rukia."
Oblivious to Chad's remark, Orihime dashed towards her friend, waving again and shouting her name. "Ruuuukiiiiiia!"
Finally, she looked up as Orihime came barreling towards her. A look of confusion and anxiety crossed her features as she backed away, raising her hands defensively. Orihime stopped abruptly, smiling, then faltering as she realized this was not Rukia.
"You're not Rukia," Orihime stated with a quizzical quirk of her eyebrows.
"Uh….no," the stranger replied.
Chad had arrived by this time, a stoic expression set in place. Orihime pursed her lips, thinking.
She looked so much like her friend with the violet-blue eyes, pale complexion, and dark hair, but there were subtle differences between the two. Rukia's eyes were a deeper shade with a confident and determined edge. While she was pale, her complexion had a healthy glow. Her hair was shorter than the stranger's, a single strand falling across her forehead.
The woman before her looked somewhat older than Rukia. Her hair was just as dark, but looked to be incredibly long. Her eyes were lighter, more violet than blue, soft and kind. Her skin tone seemed slightly more pallid, as if she suffered from an illness.
Hisana looked at the two curiously, a slight curve to the corners of her mouth. The man was remarkably tall, almost two heads higher than her. His floppy, dark hair falling in his eyes. His tan complexion clashing with the bright floral, Hawaiian shirt he was wearing. The young woman beside him wore a pink t-shirt and jeans, a bag slung over her shoulder. Her face was contorted in an inquiring expression, a finger tapping her lips rhythmically. She was slightly bent towards Hisana, her long, auburn hair tumbling over her shoulders and framing her face.
Having clearly mistaken the girl for Rukia, Orihime hastened to make amends.
"I'm sorry. I thought you were a friend of mine," Orihime said, smiling apologetically. "I'm Orihime Inoue."
"Sado Yasutora," Chad stated, "But friends call me Chad."
"Hisana Kobayashi," Hisana replied, smiling brightly. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, dropping her camera to hang loosely from the strap around her neck. Chad remained still, one visible eye peering down at Hisana with a friendly light. Orihime had straightened when Hisana introduced herself. The familiarity of the name teased her mind and she was struggling to place where she had heard that same name.
Hisana and Chad watched Orihime as her facial features went through a range of emotion: thoughtfulness, frustration, exasperation, defeat, and finally resignation.
"Orihime," Chad spoke with concern, "Are you alright?"
As her memory evaded her, Orihime had a stray thought about her date tonight with Uryuu. She had been daydreaming about their past dates and wondering what they would do tonight when Chad interrupted.
"Eh?" she asked, dazed. Clearing her head, she continued, "Oh, sorry. Hehe! I was daydreaming again, wasn't I?"
Chad stayed silent. As Orihime apologized again to Hisana, crushing her in a bear hug and Hisana fighting against her hold, Chad turned away and faced the woodsy area of the park. An inhuman wail sounded, some distance from the three. Orihime went rigid, her arms still tightly wound around Hisana. Chad looked at Orihime, their eyes meeting and conveying their similar thoughts.
Hisana was having a hard time breathing. Orihime seemed unaware of how extremely "blessed" she was and was currently pressing Hisana's face against her gifts. Hisana stopped struggling when she heard the cry, feeling Orihime's arms tighten even more around her. Did she hear it, too? Hisana wondered.
Orihime released Hisana abruptly, causing her to stumble back and fall on her bottom.
"Sorry, Hisana," Orihime began, bowing, "But we have to go. I hope we meet again."
Chad had already run off at this point, Orihime following soon after. Hisana stared after them. Picking herself up and dusting off her pants, she thought about the shriek she had just heard. It had seemed close by, but she hesitated going towards it. She had hoped to escape the monsters when she left Tokyo.
She didn't know what they were, just that they had a knack for appearing around her. After her fourteenth birthday, she discovered she could see spirits. She had wondered aloud about this man standing beside her father with a chain hanging from the center of his chest. Her father had glanced beside him, turning back to her and stating there was no one there. The same spirit explained what he was to her, asking for her help to get a message to his wife. She had gladly helped any spirits in need. Then, came the monsters. She had first been attacked while walking home during summer vacation. It had cornered her in an alley as she tried to run away. All she could remember afterwards was a bright, blue-white light and the creature dissolving.
Later on, she stumbled upon a weird soul in black robes with a sword. When she had tried to talk to him, he refused to speak and disappeared in a flash. Her life continued on normally when she went back to school, but every time she was home, a monster always found itself on her doorstep. And, naturally, she'd take care of it.
Before she'd even decided to pursue the creature, two figures in black raced past her. One was a tall, teenage boy with orange hair, scowling, a large blade strapped across his back and the other a short, dark-haired girl about the same age, a regular size sword at her hip. They seemed to be bickering as they ran, ignoring Hisana completely.
The boy quickened his pace, disappearing and reappearing in flashes before vanishing entirely. The girl soon followed suit.
Hisana gazed off at where they had evaporated. Her brows furled in confusion and curiosity. Several minutes passed before Hisana felt the creature's presence fade away.
Deciding she should leave, Hisana hurried off towards the marketplace.
Hisana exited the store, her arms full of grocery bags. Her apartment was only a few blocks away. The bags blocked some her vision, causing her to bump into something or someone as she rounded a corner and spilling her purchases.
"Ah, I'm sorry, miss."
The young man before her had short, black hair, slightly taller than her, with a friendly and open expression.
"It's okay," Hisana replied, replacing the spilled objects back into the bag. She was lucky the bag hadn't ripped. The guy stooped to help her.
"Yo, Mizuiro!"
Hisana glanced up to see another guy with brown hair ending near his chin and a nonchalant, somewhat bored appearance. He was walking steadily towards them until he looked at Hisana.
"Rukia!" Keigo cried, racing wildly towards the object of his affection. "Darling, beautiful Rukia!"
As he reached his petite love, he felt a sharp pain as his face made contact with the concrete sidewalk.
Hisana, caught off guard by the strange guy's antics, did the first thing that came to mind and knocked him off his feet, causing him to land on his face, his body bent backwards and legs dangling near his head.
"So cruel," Keigo whined, now lying on his back, draping his arm over his eyes. "Why most Rukia treat me so?"
Mizuiro shook his head disapprovingly at his friend.
"This is not Rukia," he declared. He turned to the young woman, noticing how similar she was to Rukia. "Sorry about that. I'm Mizuiro Kojima, and that there is Keigo Asano."
"I'm Hisana Kobayashi," Hisana said, eyeing Keigo warily.
Keigo, having recovered quickly, jumped to his feet before Hisana, already working on wooing the dark-haired beauty.
"Keigo Asano," he introduced, smiling.
"I just told her…"Mizuiro began, rolling his eyes.
"Can I help you with your groceries, my dear lady?" Keigo asked, ignoring Mizuiro. Before Hisana could reply, Keigo snatched the bags from her arms and the ground, pushing some into Mizuiro's arms as well.
"You really don't have to," Hisana said, reaching to take back her stuff.
"Of course, I do," Keigo stated, hefting the bags away from her attempts. "A delicate and fragile flower as you shouldn't carry such heavy bags."
A tick formed on Hisana's forehead at the mention of herself being fragile. Seeing this, Mizuiro kicked his friend's shin, getting a surprised yelp.
"Might as well," Mizuiro spoke to Hisana, "I'll try to keep him in line."
"Fine," Hisana sighed in defeat, "This way."
The two followed her towards her home. Hisana kept silent, listening to Keigo and Mizuiro's conversation.
"You really shouldn't pursue Rukia anymore, Keigo," Mizuiro was saying, "She and Ichigo are pretty much together."
"Never!" Keigo declared, "Ichigo doesn't deserve her! I won't give up!"
"You gave up on Orihime," Mizuiro said matter of fact.
"Yeah, but it's even because she's so hot and Uryuu is a nerd."
"Uh, excuse me," Hisana interrupted, "Do you mean Orihime Inoue?"
Mizuiro and Keigo exchanged surprised expressions.
"Yes," Mizuiro replied, "How do you know her?"
"I met her today," Hisana said, "Along with Chad."
"You know Chad, too?" Keigo asked.
"Yep," Hisana answered, smiling.
"Sheesh, we live in a small town."
The conversation continued, the topics ranging from school to family to hobbies and such. Before they knew it, they had reached Hisana's place.
"Hey, you live near me," Mizuiro stated.
"Me, too," Keigo agreed.
"Hmm." Hisana couldn't decide if it was a blessing to live so near to Keigo or a curse. She invited the two in, glancing at the clock. Seven o'clock in the evening.
After placing the bags on the counter, the guys went ahead and left, stating they had stuff to do.
"Hey, Hisana," Mizuiro began, turning back into the apartment, "If you'd like, Keigo and I could walk you to school Monday."
"That'd be great," Hisana replied, closing the fridge after putting away the groceries. "See ya then."
After they left, Hisana decided to move boxes to their designated rooms. She had a light dinner, then went to bed at nine.
The next day, Sunday, Hisana woke up early and went on a jog. She had been on the track team back at her old school and was hoping to make it on the team at Karakura High.
When she got back, she showered and dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. She tied her hair into a high ponytail. After eating lunch, she set to unpacking.
The rest of the day was spent organizing and decorating her place. At around eight, she finished, completely satisfied with her work. She ate dinner, cleaning her dishes from the day afterwards.
Setting out her uniform and school bag, Hisana tumbled into bed. Within minutes, she was fast asleep.
Toru perched on a roof, staring into the window of the building opposite to him. He watched as the target hustled around, unpacking and decorating. The lights went off one by one until she was in her room. Toru watched as she disappeared from view, returning changed into her bed clothes. She turned off the light, her silhouette barely visible in the sudden darkness.
Toru smirked lightly. Although she had not met the substitute soul reaper, she had met several of his friends. Plus, the brush with him and that other soul reaper earlier in the park.
Lord Raiden will be pleased, he thought pleasantly. Glancing up at the full moon, Toru flashed off the rooftop, heading back towards the hideout.
A/N: Sorry for the late update...I had planned to update before the weekend last week but got sidetracked. Thanks so much for the reviews! I didn't realize how much they would fuel my inspiration on this story. I'm gonna try and keep you guessing for a while, but it'll get better. The next chapter is Hisana's first day at Karakura. Yay! Please keep up the reviews. Thanks.
