Disclaimer: You'd think it'd still be here if I made bleach?
Night's Rivulet
Chapter 2
The Other Side Of The Story
A strangled cry looped back to her ears, piercing her own eardrums as it pierced the silent darkness of the night. Hinamori felt his fingers loosen around her wrist. As the tension and pressure of his skin evaporated from her, her body went limb, powerless. The nerves scattered all over her body preparing for a shut down sequence. Soon after, her knees went down against her better judgment and she slipped to the ground.
His hands caught up with her and slowed her acceleration to gravity. The horror she'd just seen seemed to have constricted her lungs, abruptly altering the sound of her breathing. He was quiet as he followed her reactions with his stark green eyes. When his hands let her go, she slumped towards the ground, her knees hitting the paved road with dull clatter.
The shock had caused her eye muscles to momentarily lose control. Hinamori was looking, but was not seeing, everything felt like a blur. Her brain busy functioning all sorts of formulas and scenarios and a great deal of logic in one calculative calculation. There was no other explanation, her brain was telling her a stark, clear answer.
But could it be real?
Then the revelation sunk in, poisoning her blood with fear almost instantly.
"Get away from me!!"
With her subconscious mind in full command of her actions, she aimed a designated kick to his gut. Her mom had not wasted her 11 years at home. Hinamori, though she rarely displays it, had been well taught in the art of self defense. And she knew by heart that the gut, with it's strategic location and its nature to hold several prime internal organs and yet was unshielded by any protective bones, is indeed the one spot people prefer not to be assaulted at.
But apparently, Hinamori had underestimated a great deal of her opponent. The adrenaline coursing through her body suddenly went ice cold as the soles of her shoes hit a dead wall of strength. He had read her. All she managed to hit was his bare palms. He was holding out her kick as if it was nothing.
Hinamori didn't waste anymore time and scrambled to her feet, scraping her knees onto the gravel and rattling the paint cans as she stumbled and staggered up to her feet, trying to escape the situation. She was all heels in an instant. Never knowing how she managed to accumulate so much speed she dashed away, her heart and her lungs protesting inder such sudden change of activity.
He was going to kill me. Run.
Her body was reacting to that sole, bare and simple command prompt. Run.
The night sunk its merciless claws into the slowly melting hope of the escaping teenager. The darkness blinding, it surrounded and loomed over her as if awaiting for the perfect moment to strike. It was then that a hand caught hold of her arms, stopping her whole escape plan short.
Hinamori's heart stopped beating at once.
The hand holding her was unfamiliar. The shock of the moment was fusing her brain into a dead state. disabling her to move, disabling her to think. Slowly, she stole one look of her captor. Her eyes widened in pure shock. She was no longer able to digest her situation. Was she in danger? Was her new captor some sort of angel sent to help her? Or another devil in disguise?
Kurosaki Ichigo was standing his ground firm against the quiet squeals and struggles of the girl, his orange hair still ablaze despite the low amount of light shed upon it.
What did this guy want when he told her to be careful on the train?
And what on earth was he doing here?
Who exactly is he?
What is going on?
"You scared her, dammit!"
He looked angry. Like a commander who has just got his plans ruined.
Hinamori's head was spinning. What?
"You're not supposed to scare her, dammit Toushirou!"
Anotehr voice leapt up behind her back. It was low, almost grumbling, but with a touch of cool headedness.
"There was one of them just now. I tried my best to keep her quiet."
Hinamori's neck moved of her own accord. There he was, her attacker – or was it her saviour? Which one of these two were the good guys? What the hell is going on?
"Geez Toushirou. You really need to learn how to handle girls. She's scared shit of you. This is going to be a rough night."
Hitsugaya Toushirou straightened up to the night sky, his tall figure momentarily blocking all accessible street lamps. A sillhoutte of stark white hair standing in the dark.
"And you think she's not scared shit of you?"
There was a moment of pause as Ichigo let the words sink in. He glanced towards the cowering girl and noticed her trembling silently.
"Shit. Sorry."
And he let her go. As simple as that.
Hinamori felt empty. She was dreaming. This is just too weird to be true.
Then out of nowhere something white flew past her ears, and landed directly on top of the orange haired guy. Something – unbelievably – moving, and pretty much alive.
Kuchiki Rukia was slapping him, continuously hitting his hand with her furious punches.
"Baka yarou! You idiot!"
"I said I'm sorry dammit! Get off of me!"
Hinamori couldn't believe her eyes. First she had seen somebody's blood sucked dry. Next she was scared to death of the existence of vampires, tried to run away, was caught by another stranger, was simply let go, and now- this?
Just what exactly is this joke? Some sort of freaky new reality show?
Then the corners of her eyes caught some rapid movement. She blinked. Another guy was suddenly standing next to her. A guy with an unusually unattractive hairdo, and glinting glasses.
Another one? Now what?
On cue, the black haired teenager stopped trying to crack open the skull of the orange haired guy. She slipped off his shoulders like a squirrel jumping from a tree but with the precise calculations that of an eagle.
"Hinamori – Momo?"
The words fluttered out of the female stranger just like that.But Hinamori found herself sucked in a few seconds of muted silence.
She had not told these group of people her name. In fact she had not even spoken to them. How in the world did they come across her name? Has she been targeted? What did they want with her?
"You know my name?"
Hinamori's tone was stiff, untrusting, suspicious.
"My name is Kuchiki Rukia-"
She took a step forward, her hands folded behind her back. Hinamori's eyes scrutinized. Could she be holding anything dangerous on her back?
"-these three are my friends."
Rukia stopped and motioned towards the closest guy.
"-Kurosaki Ichigo-"
Ichigo nodded and gave her a thumbs up as Rukia's hands swerved past her.
"-Ishida Uryuu-"
Ishida gave an unclear nod.
"-and Hitsugaya Touchirou."
Hinamori eyed the silver haired teenager. He was taller than her. That captivating air of coldness still shrouding his existence.
This was way over the line. She had just been attacked, and now suddenly this gang of four was introducing themselves. She demanded explanation.
"We mean no harm to you-"
Rukia continued, her big black eyes staring deep into hers as she spoke.
"-in fact we just got you out of harm's way."
Hinamori blinked. Somehow she wasn't sure of the words.
"Trust me, we have your safety at our best interests. Nothing more."
Hinamori was as bewildered as a duckling plunged into a whole new pond. The world suddenly felt so different. So weird. Spinning out of control.
"What do you want from me?"
She asked, her voice coming out louder than she expected."
Rukia smiled.
"On the contrary, I think we've got something you want."
Hinamori's eyebrows contracted.
"Being?"
"Explanation. Information."
"On?"
"What happened tonight-"
Rukia turned around and stood next to Ichigo.
"- and your blood."
Hinamori's heart began to race. Who are these people? What do they want from me? Hinamori closed her eyes, trying to figure out her next move. The girl, and probably the rest of the boys too, knew of her secret blood conditions. Knowing her name was one thing, but her blood conditions was not something she or her family bragged about. Only a select group of family members who were engaged in a close tie relationship with her, and a number of students were notified of her blood conditions. And considering that these four fall to none of those categories –
"Who are you people?"
The fear was no longer there. What was left in her was a sense of bewilderment and confusion.
"We know things about you and your blood even your birth parents don't know, "
Hinamori was thinking. She knew well from her tine that she couldn't possibly be lying. A part of her yearned to learn of the things she didn't know about her own curse, yearned to be able to understand it, perhaps even eliminate it, but going with them somehow felt like a cheap suicide stunt.
"Come with us, and we'll explain. Tell your family you're staying over a friend's house and that tomorrow's school's okay. You'll be home to pick up your bag and go straight to school."
Hinamori was lost. She was lost between the baiting words, and her own logic.
"I'm going home."
"I'm afraid that's not an option."
"Oh yeah? Try me."
Hinamori unflipped her green cell phone, she was going to call her dad. Let these punks learn something from him the hard way.
Hinamori's eyes bulged with horror. ON the screen of her mobile phone a white box was blinking and staring at her. One message sent. Hinamori pressed one button, and read in horror.
Mom, Dad, I'm sorry for not planning this beforehand, but the art project had gotten aout of control. I'm staying over Rangiku's house tonight. Be back home in the morning to pick up my schoolbag. Say good night to Yachiru for me, okay?
What on earth was seriously happening here?
Who are these people? How di they sned that thing It was impossible! She had her cell phone with me all the time.
"See? You don't have an option."
Hinamori couldn't recall when she had ever found herself in a situation ever more bizarre than the one she currently found herself in. Surrounded in a tight circle of four, she was walking down a pretty dirty alley where late business men limp and sway after their nightly beer rounds, under the blaring sounds of cheap sound systems decorating nearby pachinkos and cheap beer bars. The night was getting pretty soundless, but the growing chatter of the crowd chatting under sillhoutte like fabric made doors, or above stools beside a revolving sushi counter just didn't die that soon.
She couldn't believe the turn of events. First she had been unfortunate enough to be on detention. Then she had returned home, cooked dinner like the good girl she was told to be. That was when her little sister had reminded her of her art project and when she decided to go for a little shopping spree. Whatever Hinamori was expecting out of her little shopping trip did not include being guided in an alley glimmering with some pretty honest nightlife, getting recued by a random stranger, or seeing vampires in action.
Maybe this was a dream?
She iknew she had been stupid enough to follow them. Hinamori had searched the entire logic compartment inside her head and found nothing allowing her to go with them. But when she reached inside her heart, she knew she had to come. It didn't seem like a safe decision, nor did it seem promising. But the words the balck haired teenager said had git her hooked and wanting more. She knew about her blood. The ultimate curse she spent years to break. Perhaps she knew how to cure it? Perhaps she, or this group of 4, somehow, someway, against all differing odds possess something that might be able to free her off this curse?
She needed to know more. She wanted to know more.
Hinamori blinked. Something caught her eye.
"Omamori no….. mise? A good luck charm shop?"
Hinamori eyed to strange curvy kanji naming the place and slowly red the smaller kanjis beneath the bigger words. Where walls of good fortune await.
Before the strange location of the shop had been fully registered inside her head, Hinamori suddenly had another question to answer. The 3 people accompanying her were stepping into the store.
One, however, was waiting for her, his green eyes locking into her.
"Get in."
He nodded towards the door.
Hinamori turned around and felt the tips of her shoes tremble in confusion and nervousness as she entered the shop. She was in for another shock.
The small shop had no walls. There were no tables, no counters, just a small stool on the corner of the room. Again, there were no walls, only vertical paper dividers made entirely of good luck charms. They were glued everywhere on the walls, ranging from traditional rectangle shapes to cuter pyramid-like shapes, and of all colors and sizes. Motionless and silent, Hinamori felt like being watched by thousands and thousands of minuscule pouch-like good luck charms. She looked up and was not surprised to see rows and rows of good luck charms dangling from the ceiling above. She didn't expect that when whoever the owner of this shop was said 'a wall of good fortune awaits' he actually meant it literally.
"Ossu! Urahara!"
Momentarily awakened from her daze, Hinamori was yet again surprised by the sudden appearance of a tall, grey haired man, whose eyes were entirely hidden by the shadows cast to them by his ridiculously ridiculous hat. He moved flamboyantly and fluctuatively, spreading out and folding in his white paper made fan as he savored each step he took. His grey eyes never once leaving her black ones.
After 5 slow strides, he was barely an arms length from her. Fan folded in one hand. A few seconds passed and flew out of the window and yet his eyes didn't move even an inch away from her. Hinamori was starting to feel uneasy. Maybe this was a bad decision after all?
"So this is her?"
Urahara was tapping the boy with curtain-like black hair and glasses as he said these words, but his eyes were on a dead fix in hers. Hinamori felt her eye muscles tensed. She coulnt look anywhere else, even blinking didn't seem like an option.
"Yes. Ichigo's confirmed her."
Being interjected with these words, Hinamori felt a surge of perplexity swept past her thought, confirmed her? What does he exactly mean by confirming her? Confusion welled up inside of her, blocking her joints and arteries. But now they were united with something else. Something she didn't think would exist under the heaps of confusion she felt. Curiosity.
The next thing that happened made her react a thousand times faster. The guy covered with the hat grabbed hold of her arm in such a fluid movement she didn't have time to evade before having her left arm locked under his grip. The sense of discomfort felt overwhelming for less than a second. After that, what it was replaced by pure anger and the urge to defend her personal space. They resulted in one radical answer.
Hinamori heaved her arm and gave one violent shook.
"Let go of me! You-"
She blinked. He had let go. What the-
Urahara was already pacing on the other side of the room, in front of what looked like a backdoor leading to a moderate, warm looking house. His eyes were jolting here and there, seemingly unfocused and buried deep within his own thoughts.
"Wait, you-"
Hinamori stood there. Dumbfounded. What the hell did this guy think she was?
"When did you find out?"
He suddenly focused his attention on the 4 teenagers, eyeing them one by one.
"Only yesterday."
Ichigo gave him a heads up.
"And you kept quiet about this? Has the ancestral advisor heard of this?"
This Rukia shifted.
"We were hoping you might give him the good news."
Hinamori's head was spinning. What the hell is going on? What's and ancestral advisor?
"DO you not understand the significance of this matter? The ancestral advisor must be informed immediately!"
Urahara was still pacing. This time his chest heaved up and down on his attempt to calm himself.
"Which was why we came here. To let you do it."
"And you're certain the other side hasn't any wind on her location?"
"Positive. We've been following her since yesterday."
"And you're sure she hasn't made any contacts with anyone of them?"
Hinamori stared at the 5 people she just met around her. Her jaws wide agape. She had been followed? Automatically her memories began to playback on silent mode. Nobody had been following her today. Not unless-
Unless-
Hinamori's eyes widened.
That rabbit with the strange looking pattern –
That blue feathered eagle –
That snowy Siberian husky –
Impossible.
But then again Hinamori couldn't remember the bare definition of the word 'impossible' anymore. Clearly vampires had been impossible in her life. But after tonight, she might not know what's impossible and what's possible anymore.
She knew she sounded pretty insane by now. But she believed no one sane had lived to tell the tale of a living and biting vampire.
"We had her followed the whole day Urahara. Toushiro even saved her from one of them."
Urahara stopped pacing.
"He- What?"
"There was one of them just now. Near the streets around her house. He chose another victim. Lucky night."
Ichigo was practically smiling, apparently satisfied with their very own covert operation.
"There was one of them? And you actually let them get near her?"
The glint inside Urahara's grey eyeballs was murderous.
"Relax. Nothing happened. She's safe?"
"Why was there only Toushirou to protect her?"
A few seconds of brief silence passed. And then-
"Well commotion erupted. That is –"
Ichigo answered.
"Rukia got mistaken as the school rabbit and we simply had to find her –"
Urahara moved dangerously close to Ichigo.
"I want none of this to happen again. Did I make myself clear? Her safety is our top priority. You know what the prophecy says."
The room fell into an uncomfortable bubble of silence.
"What's her name?"
Urahara nodded towards Ishida, hoping for a straight answer. But Hinamori cut in before anybody else could say another word.
"Hinamori Momo. And I'd appreciate if you stop treating me like a statue and explain."
Urahara didn't seem surprised to hear that sort of comeback. He merely looked at her blazing brown eyes, sighed, and smiled.
"Very well. Follow me."
And that was it. He disappeared inside the small backdoor.
Hinamori felt a sudden nudge on her back.
"Go on." She said. "Follow him."
Hinamori nodded involuntarily, feeling suddenly as if she was entering the entrance of a roller coaster ride. Her stomach doing backflips below her ribcage. She was suddenly aware of the the rush of different air entering her lungs. The room smelled, and actually felt, somehow, like a pine forest. Inside the four paper covered walls, sat one short legged table and 4 puffy sitting pillows.
But the person she was supposed to follow wasn't inside. He was already climbing a steep flight of stair to an unseen destination of darkness.
"Where is he going?"
"To our room."
Rukia was smiling.
"Should I follow?"
"Of course you should."
Hinamori gulped and started climbing the stairs. It was dark and narrow. And she required more concentration just on focusing on which stairs not to trip on.
A sturdy male's voice suddenly sprang up from above. Urahara was addressing her.
"Pick up the most comfortable chair you can find. This is going to be a long night."
"Tadaima."
Unohana had been exceptionally tired today. She had rows and rows of patient, and 2 traffic accident victims to cover. One of them had a nasty bone break that she didn't fancy mentioning to her husband. Not on the dinner table.
"Okaeri!"
Yachiru's chirpy voice shot up between mouthfuls of omellete.
"Sit down. Otsukaresama. I saved you ramen."
Kenpachi's voice boomed and rattled throughout the whole kitchen.
It didn't take long for a mother's sixth sense to realize that one family member is missing from the dinner table.
"Where's Momo?"
"Staying over at Rangiku's."
"On what account?"
"Art project. She should've sent you a text."
Unohana fiddled over with her bag and fished out a silver mobile phone. She flipped it open and found one icon of a new text message staring and blinking at her.
She hit the 'view' button and read.
Mom, Dad, I'm sorry for not planning this beforehand, but the art project had gotten aout of control. I'm staying over Rangiku's house tonight. Be back home in the morning to pick up my schoolbag. Say good night to Yachiru for me, okay?
Unohana didn't blink. She hit 'return' and dialed Rangiku's house phone.
Up on the semi- warm attic, Hinamori was lost. There were so many chairs inside the room, and 4 beds that looked as if they were never touched. Compared to her own room, this one was at least 3 times bigger, and more colorful. The four beds lay side by side, but the chairs seemed to be scattered in random order.
Hinamori's eyes moved towards Urahara. He was sitting near the only window in the room. The crisp silver glow of the moonlight falling faintly on his face. Without further ado, Hinamori pulled up the chair closest to him, a bright red and orange wooden chair with too soft a cushion that it felt a bit awkward, and sat down.
She eyed the older man in front of her. Ready for whatever he was about to say.
The rest of the teenager had their eyes on the two still figures. Rukia, Ichigo and Ishida was already pulling other chairs to facilitate them, but Hitsugaya merely occupied the place near the window and leaned over, setting almost every light shed by the moon against his body.
Hinamori waited.
"You see- Hinamori san. It is a bit difficult for us to explain. Perhaps we can start with the prophecy?"
Hinamori nodded. All words were drained from her.
"Rukia? Would you take it out and show her?"
Hinamori immediately looked at the other girl. She was getting up, walking towards several booksheleves glued to the wall, and retrieved a leather bounded, rotting book, and a piece of a modern day paper.
Hinamori could feel curiosity boiling up inside her head.
Rukia handed the book to Urahara, and the paper to Hinamori.
"About 3 years ago, we came across this-"
Urahara seemed loss for words.
"- ancient book left for us from our – as we believe – ancestors."
Hinamori observed the brown pages closely. There was some sort of seal emblazoned on the leather cover. Some sort of shape she felt oddly familiar –
" It took awhile for us to finally manage to decode it. But when we did, we discovered something more valuable than just a treasure map."
Urahara paused, as if to let the significance of this find sink into her.
"We have successfully translated a 2000 year old prophecy. And that prophecy is now in your hands."
Hinamori looked down to the piece of paper clutched inside her hands. It was pretty small, and was filled with a handwriting so childish that it didn't even fill up half of the page. The lines were short and they hardly seem real.
"When first the world from chaos rose,
Tell me, then how did peace come to?
For earth's choicest spirit from the dark lie hidden by day,
And heaven ineluctably condemns their fate.
The clan of immortals,
the undead,
the cursed.
Still some good remained,
And humbly take in their fate,
Yet others lingered immovable,
Forever upbrading the gods for their blight.
For this is the cause of a millennium old battle,
resurfacing from the shadows.
Brawl for eternity, these sides will,
Until one day, salvation spills
Borne by the wind a thousand miles away,
A heart so pure that even gems took flight,
She who bears the key of existence,
And stands in between heaven and hell
Paired with a stallion like the wolf in the old fables,
Untamable, unrelenting
Who, into her savior turned when she was needy
And into her companion when she shed tears
Who, when cruelty not used, shows a gentle heart
But beware, for should her life reach the ears of the world,
A bedlam like no other awaken it would,
Two sides will come to blows for her elixir of life,
And in the end, the successor would gain no more power,
But beware,
For if she falls to the wrong hand of fate, shall the fate of the world end the same."
Hinamori looked up. She understood none of it.
"I don't get it. What is this prophecy supposed to refer to?"
Urahara eyed the other teenagers and shifted in his seat. He looked uncomfortable.
"Before I tell you, I'm going to have to ask you, what you make of what happened to you tonight."
Hinamori dropped into silence.
"I don't know! That's what I'm here for! To ask for explanations!"
"I just need you to tell me what you saw."
Hinamori lapsed back into silence.
"Not- much, I guess. He didn't let me see most of it-"
Hinamori's eyes glanced to the only teenager with bright white hair.
"A nice move of his. Don't you think?"
Hinamori opened her mouth and was about to talk when she realized something.
"So tell me. In your limited vision, what was it that you saw?"
Hinamori's eyes widened. What the hell did this person want? There's no way in hell she would have to recall those gruesome images just because he wanted her to.
"Look. I'm not interested in sharing anything in the past 2 hours of my life. You can go on with your explanation or I'm outta here."
She snapped, her patience growing thin.
She could feel the other teenagers silently shift around her, perhaps taking necessary precautions because she had just insulted this guy, or perhaps getting ready if she suddenly decided to run for the window and jump out.
Urahara removed his hat, and spoke.
"Please, I need to hear it from you."
There was something sincere in his tone. Something genuine, like he wasn't about to push her the wrong way. Something no bad guys would ever achieve of mastering. Hinamori closed her eyes, and at once everything flooded back into her. She was once again breathing in the air of panic which had just filled her lungs 2 hours ago. The same melody of jogging heartbeat, the same pulsating fear that had ran through her veins.
She opened her eyes.
"Someone-"
She stopped, unable to find any words to cover her train of thought.
"-blood- that guy-"
Again she stopped. At that point she knew she couldn't say anything else.
But Urahara held out his hand.
"That's enough. Thank you. Now tell me, what did that guy remind you of?"
Hinamori knew the answer pronto. Without so much as telling her brain to go ponder and search for anything else. The thing was, she didn't want to say it. She was afraid of the consequence that of simply uttering the word that might just confirm her worst nightmare.
"You see – We are not normal humans."
Hinamori's lungs suddenly constricted itself. Somehow she knew this was coming. There was something strange about them. She could sense it even if all her senses were numbed.
"Like what you have just seen today, we are also vampires."
As if suddenly plunge into the arctic sea, Hinamori felt both the familiar sense. The inability to breathe, the numbness and coldness seeping through her pores, and the sudden popping noise inside her ears, and then- there was nothing else she could hear.
This meant she bumped into a vampire yesterday.
Was rescued by one just 2 hours ago.
Talked to 3 2 hours ago.
And was Inside a vampire headquarter, surrounded by 5 of them. Now.
He's joking right?
This cant be true right?
The room fell silent.
Hinamori couldn't move. Only the gears inside her head are moving against each other, figuring up a logical explanation for all of this mess. She registered the vicious blood sucking image, added in the faces f the 5 new people, and waited for an answer to come out.
None came.
Hinamori never knew she was going to be the first one to crack under the heavy stress of a highshcool student.
Urahara seemed to be aware of the ongoing battle inside her head. He knew these types of information could not be chewed appropriately, in any way. Sometimes, what one needed to do was to simply swallow it whole. It has been proven easier that way.
But apparently. She wasn't doing well on chewing or swallowing the piece of information.
With a shrieking sound of the chair's legs against the wooden floor, Hinamori bolted out of the circle, fleeing for the one things that will lead her safely to the outside world. The window. She felt airborne, her legs moving in such a fast paced leap she got dizzy. She was close, a breath away from opening the window and escaping to the free world outside. A world free of all these nightmare. A world with certainty and logic.
Hinamori never reached the window. Two pairs of hands had just knocked the whole jumping session out of view.
"Let go of me! Let me go!"
She was kicking, yelling, frustrated with a mix of confusion, rage, betrayal, locked up emotions and the sudden shock of everything. She thrashed, knocked down a chair, fought off more arms and hands, until her muscles scream in a burning agony under her brain's command.
Hinamori slumped to the floor, her brain and instincts still functioning up for not losing the battle, but have somehow lost communication channels with her muscles. They were too tired, too strained, too worn-out and weary.
Fear now raced with anticipation through her veins.
What was going to happen to her?
Having her blood sucked dry?
Getting mutilated?
The man with blonde hair inched closer to her. Her eyelids blocked his vision away. She didn't want to see him. She didn't want to see him execute death on her. Not eve-
"Relax."
Hinamori cracked an eye open. What?
"We're not going to hurt you. Didn't I say that? Your security's top priority."
Hinamori's head whirled inside a whirlwind of chaos. She needed air.
But they are vampires. If that one back then had so ruthlessly devoured that human, how can these other vampires be much different?
"Relax, Hinamori-san, we are going to explain everything now."
Hinamori looked up. Ichigo and Ishida were holding her. Rukia was standing in front of her, looking at her with pity in her eyes, and Urahara, despite the closeness of his voice, was still at his respective chair.
"Please, do sit down once more."
Hinamori was heaved up by the arms of the 2 boys, she was lead gingerly back to her chair, her body secretly freezing with confusion.
"There's no need to be afraid. We're harmless. We don't drink blood from humans."
So they really ARE vampires.
God help me.
Urahara let a few seconds past as he listened to her heartbeat. For some reason, they sounded to decelerate. One green light for him.
"Are you ready to listen now? Take your time. We don't mind. We've got all the time in the world anyway."
Hinamori nodded. Somehow knowing that these vampires don't harvest humans' blood left her staggeringly relieved. Perhaps there was still room for her to trust these- vampires?
Urahara continued.
"The world has always been divided. Kids know this stuff. The good and evil, Angels and demons, darkness and light. All that jazz. Our world however, was divided with something a little bit different."
Urahara gave one small cough to clear his throat and continued.
"Vampires have existed for as long as humans have. Most of us just prefer to keep things a bit secretive. Especially after those vampire hunt festival in the 1800. But the point is –"
Hinamori didn't know if she could listen anymore. Vampires have existed for as long as humans did. Urahara's voice seemed to drone on her ears.
"There was a dark age even for us vampires. And those ages came within the transition of B.C to A.D. Year 0, the way we refer to it."
"Vampires are, immortal. In any way. We are indestructible, those fables about garlics and exorcism and stuff are just myths. Some of us, chose to accept that fate and live on the life without any path of redemption, a life of immortality, a life full of emptiness. We are cursed beings, exiled to an eternity of wandering in the empty streets of earths, without any salvation. The irenics, as what they call us, are those of us who aimed for peace and takes measures to keep order and the status quo, those who tried to maintain a stable and cooperative life with the mortals."
"-Others however, preferred not to give in to the dirty tricks of fate. They refused to live immortally, and have attempted on sorcery and magic to end their immortal life, but to no avail. They were known as the vitiators, those who perform impairment or destruction to purity by creating or manipulating defects."
"At first, these are the only things separating an irenic and a vitiator. The way they view there state of being. All vampires used to never harvest blood from humans. Harvesting blood from humans is considered a risky act of treason. The harmony between the mortals and the immortals must never be disturbed. "
Urahara paused.
"Well, not directly. Some of us drink from animals, some others drink human blood, but not directly. Back then it was a bit hard to drink from humans, even if it is indirectly. You are not going to believe how hard it was to find a dead human corpse with fresh blood."
Urahara suddenly stopped talking when he saw the look of horror on her face. He immediately continued.
"We are born that way. Vampires are born, not created, unlike those in the modern day comics and novels. Nowadays we just steal blood off from blood banks. It's a lot easier than hunting down animals."
"Now where was I? True. There is no society that exists without their problems. Occasionally, small eruptions of disagreement would flame up between the irenics and vitiators, but they never got out of control."
Urahara sighed.
"-That is until the vitiators started searching for another option in their immortal life."
Hinamori looked up.
"But you are immortals. What more could you possibly want? You have all the time in the world. You can have everything you want!"
Hinamori cowered back to her chair. She didn't mean for those words to slip just like that.
But Urahara was merely smiling.
"You want to know what vampires crave the most?"
Hinamori gulped. The whole room held its breath.
"Mortality."
From the corner of the room. The boy with the silver hair spoke for the first time since they entered the room. He wasn't looking at her. He even looked as if he had been saying that word to himself. But his voice echoed around the walls, creating a sudden dead silence inside as if the whole room had indeed felt the same yearning.
"I'm sorry."
"There's nothing for you to be sorry about."
"But I-"
"There is absolutely nothing for you to be sorry about."
"But why? Why mortality?'
Urahara raised an eyebrow.
"Hinamori-san, we are cursed beings. Souls who are condemned for an eternity of emptiness. Imagine lightyears ahead of you with no goal, no destinies, except to live until the end of time. How would you feel?"
Hinamori fell inside the silence of the room. She shouldn't have asked. Now she was making the situation far more worse.
"Now where was I? Ah, yes. The vitiators. You want to try guessing what their option is?"
Hinamori was silent. With humans, she'd probably know what greedy and bad people want. Glory. Power. Control.
But with vampires?
"Love?"
The answer came stupidly sliding out of her mouth. Urahara guffawed.
"This is expected of a high school teenager huh? No, Hinamori-san, they decided to make use of their abundant time on earth and seek for control, power. They aimed for a position of power so unimaginable in those times."
"Vampires lived as outcasts back then. We were not to engage in social relationships with humans due to the fear of unmasking who we truly are. Breeding with humans are not an option either. We were alone, the marginal, exiles. Obviously the vitiators had enough of it and decided to take part in the real world. Did you have any idea how the vitiators plan on taking control of the society?"
Inside her head pieces were beginning to fall into place, but she still didn't have any idea why this has her involved in it.
"By terrorizing humans?"
"In a way, yes.But the real horror began when the vitiators started hunting humans down. It is believed that a human blood provides an elixir of such, which enables us to be twice of what we are."
"Super immortals? Like you're no longer afraid of the sun?"
"Hinamori-san, I'm afraid real vampires have no fear against the sun. It's just the modern day legend."
"Oh. Sorry."
"What I mean by being twice of what we are, is that human blood is intoxicating. It's like ecstasy. A rare candy. A gold treat. Once you taste it there's no going back. Once you taste it you're going to crave for more. Once you taste it, you can't be stopped."
Hinamori was silent and listening. This had not been what she thought it would be.
"The vitiators are enslaved by the taste of blood. That's what makes different from us, irenics."
"But I'm afraid that these differences between the irenics and the vitiators are not simple. In fact, they mounted up so high that these walls of differences could no longer create a peaceful unison among us vampires. The vitiators suggest we drink blood from humans. The irenics never liked the idea, up till now. These disagreements eventually led to other disagreements and, gradually , to the separation of the vampire clan. These vitiators are inspirations to the modern day fables. Modern day bloodsucking vampire myth are – I'm afraid based on truth."
" It was believed that on the transition of that very millennium, a great battle took place between the irenics and the vitiators. The irenics, trying to stop the vitiators from truning the whole world into a living nightmare, and the vitiators fighting to break free and to energize with power and control. A battle so great and yet so secretly fought that the mortals had no idea they were indeed sleeping inside the very hearts of a throbbing war-"
"-a battle, which had yet ceased to stop, up till now."
Urahara stopped. He looked out of the window, and looked back to the girl.
"Read in between the lines."
Urahara told her.
"You will see that the great battle is mentioned. And it's also mentioned that-"
"-the battle will proceed for an eternity."
Hinamori answered, her eyes moving trhough the lines.
"Exactly. Until-"
Urahara said, urging her.
"-salvation spills."
Hinamori's eyes stopped there.
"Now read the lines below that."
Hinamori re read the lines.
Borne by the wind a thousand miles away,
A heart so pure that even gems took flight,
She who bears the key of existence,
And stands in between heaven and hell
"The key of existence? All these salvation talk leads to finding a key?"
Urahara smiled, and looked at the other 4 teenagers in the room.
"What matters is we, and soon everyone of the irenics believe, that you have a part in this prophecy."
Hinamori looked up . This guy is joking right?
"What, like I'm supposed to find this bloody key?"
"No, silly. You are the key."
Hinamori's mobile phone cluttered down the chair.
a/n: God I'm so sorry folks! Today I reread the and realized that I have turned in the wrong file! Teh previous chater2 you read before this one wasn't teh real one i was supposed to post here! That was the unfinished one! So Sorry! So very, very sprry! Ihope you liek this one better though, it's a lot longer, and i think i elabprated more plot line than the one before...so ...sorry...adn enjoy!