Story: Thirteen
Pairing(s): None
Word Count: 250
Rating: K
Author's Comment: No actual pairing, but implied Ichigo/Haruka. I'm also late. I try to post these a few minutes after midnight, but I had a few short stories left to critique that I lost track of time. Anyhow, enjoy!
If you want to see any couple or character in certain situations from this story, let me know. I'm taking suggestions! If I feel inspired by a suggestion or feel that I can make it work, I'll write them!
Originally posted on November 25, 2017 for 30 Days of Short Fiction. For more information on 30DoSF, please refer to the pinned entry on at my wordpress, linked available in my profile, or read the vague explanation under the announcements header on my profile page.
I Saw Destiny Bathed in Orange Light
Haruka sensed the hollow before the shinigami in charge did. She saw it shadow its orange-haired prey, a boy not much older than her human shell, and felt her muscles tighten. She rose from her perch on a rooftop observing the boy, sunset dyeing the surrounding buildings a pale orange. The boy possessed the spiritual inclination to see ghosts. He appeared powerful enough to have noticed a difference in the ambience, but he continued walking, seemingly unaware.
She intercepted the hollow as the boy turned down an adjacent street, crushing its mask. She watched it disintegrate, its human soul returning to the cycle of life.
She exhaled, knees weak from the suddenness in which she tapped into her spiritual energy to execute the hollow. She stumbled towards the nearest wall, bracing herself against it as the dizzy spell subsided.
Haruka stepped out into the corner of the street, searching for the boy. He continued his journey home oblivious of the danger she saved him from and her heart felt lighter.
A golden-eyed man in a bowler hat stepped out from a cloud of smoke beside Haruka. "How rare."
"What is?"
"You are never so kind to strangers."
"To survive, we live in the shadows of the worlds that reject us, but I can't ignore my destiny."
"Ah, destiny, I see."
Haruka heard a note of disbelief in The Hierophant's tone. She looked at him, brown eyebrows drawn into a wrinkle. "Kurosaki Ichigo is my destiny."
"And so he shall be."