Secrets In Her Smile
This is the first installment to The Secrets Within series.
This story is a remake of the story Secrets and Scares.
Summary: Rukia wasn't the only one who was taken to the Soul
Society that night she was found. A student at Karakura High, and
also a friend of Ichigo's, named Kana was unwillingly taken. Ichigo
and his friends now must save Rukia from execution and discover
the secret Kana hides within.
Warnings: Violence
Disclaimer: I, xX-Star Sapphire-Xx, do not own anything relating to
BLEACH. This means anything relating to the anime, the manga,
characters, plot, etc. Tite Kubo owns all rights to BLEACH. I only
own my original character that I have implanted into Kubo's
piece of work.
Chapter Seven: Human
"One's friends are that part of the human race
with which one can be human."
-George Santayana
Boom!
"Ooh!"
Boom!
"Ah!"
Boom!
"Wow!"
"You'd swear that none of these people have seen fireworks before," Ichigo commented, specifically starting at Keigo, his sisters, and his dad. He could understand his sisters, being the age that they were. He couldn't understand why his friend and his father had to be the loudest with their reactions.
The fireworks festival finally arrived. Ichigo had to admit, it was nice to relax and enjoy spending time with everyone. He was training so much with Kisuke that he hadn't had a break since school ended for summer break.
Behind Ichigo, he heard a soft laughter. He and his friends turned their attention to the orange-haired girl. She was giggling, holding her hand to her mouth to keep her laughter quiet.
"What are you laughing at, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked, just as confused as Ichigo.
"Last year, Kana was with us-" She let out a few giggles. "She jumped so high."
The realization came to Ichigo and Tatsuki. The two let out a soft chuckle at the memory. Of course Keigo would be confused. They weren't friends at that time the previous year.
"Why did she jump? Was she on the track team?" Keigo asked, trying to understand what was going on.
"No. She was scared of the fireworks," Ichigo answered, still remembering the memory. It made sense why Kana was afraid now that he knew who she was. Back then, he couldn't believe her when she asked "What are fireworks?".
"She was scared of fireworks?" Keigo laughed. "I never knew anyone who was scared of fireworks. Why? Was she afraid they were going to fall out of the sky and haunt her?" He even added "spooky" hand gestures for emphasis.
Tatsuki hit him in the shoulder, glaring at him as she did so. "Don't make fun of her. She never watched fireworks before. Give her a break." Even with a broken arm, Tatsuki could still beat every guy in school.
Her face softened and looked over at Ichigo. "It's too bad she's missing it this year. She's visiting family in Germany, right?"
That was the excuse Ichigo gave his friends when they noticed Kana was gone but didn't remember Rukia. That was the only reason Ichigo could think of at the time when Mizuiro asked him where she was. It didn't help that Kana's friends overheard and interrogated him as well. Tatsuki wasn't completely convinced, but she dropped it when Orihime told her the same thing.
"Yeah. She said that there was some family reunion or something like that." Ichigo wished lying became easier and easier. After how many lies he already told over the past few months, he still wasn't use to it.
Everyone looked back at the sky and continued to watch the fireworks. Bright colors illuminated their faces as the fireworks exploded in the sky. Ichigo could help but think how much Kana would love to see them. Rukia too. He pictured them both there when his friends would talk about the festival.
"I wish they were both here," Ichigo heard a whisper behind him.
The carrot-top teen looked over his shoulder and made eye contact with Orihime. She was thinking the same thing he was. Ichigo was glad he wasn't the only one that knew the truth. It was nice to know that not everyone forgot Rukia existed.
He looked back at the sky and took a deep breath.
I do, too.
.: - :.
"The fireworks are today."
"What was that, Kana?"
The teenager didn't look up from her sketchbook, but she tensed up. Kana didn't know her uncle was sitting on the couch in the same room as she. She took a deep breath. She needed to learn not to speak her thoughts all the time.
"Every year in Karakura Town, they have a fireworks festival. That's today," she repeated. She only watched fireworks once in her life. That wasn't embarrassing for her when her friends found out. It was embarrassing when she had to ask what they were. She would never forget the look on Ichigo's face. "Have you ever seen fireworks, Uncle?" Kana drew a few lines on her pad.
"Once or twice."
"How come we've never seen them together?"
"They don't happen too often here."
Kana dropped the subject. She knew she wasn't going to get much else out of the conversation. Since she returned, Kana and her uncle haven't had the best relationship. Kana couldn't keep a conversation going with her uncle and the same with him. Their relationship was definitely strained, and Kana knew it was her fault. If she wouldn't have ran away, she and her uncle would be laughing at jokes and telling stories. Now the two sat in the living room of their home in awkward silence.
Kana didn't have to deal with awkwardness often. Tonight was the first night she and her uncle returned to the Rukon District early. Before, her uncle was too busy working in his office to talk to Kana. All the captains have been busy dealing with Rukia's execution.
Kana was still surprised by Central 46's decision. Was what the soul reaper did really that sinful? Wasn't the job of a soul reaper to protect humans and wholes from hollows? That was what Rukia did. How could they punish her for that? Soul Society politics never really made sense to Kana. She was sure they never will either.
"I went with your mother once, to watch fireworks," her uncle stated, bringing Kana out of her thoughts. She looked up from her sketchbook and stared at her uncle. "That was long before you were born though."
Kana turned to face her uncle and sat on the edge of her seat, gripping onto her book as she did so. That was her usual reaction whenever her uncle talked about her mother. Kana never got tired about hearing those stories.
"Did my mom enjoy them?"
"She loved them."
"Me too!" Kana smiled. It was another trait she had in common with her mother. "Was she scared of them? They startled me when I saw them last year. I didn't think they were so loud."
Her uncle laughed and sat the book he was reading down on the end table. How long was Kana tuned out of her surroundings to not notice her uncle enter the room to read a book? She must have been really out of it.
"Yes, she nearly jumped three feet." Kana laughed with her uncle. She glad she wasn't the only one afraid of fireworks. "Once she was use to the sound, she was fascinated with them. She said watching them made her feel normal."
Her uncle sounded a little confused when he finished talking. Kana wasn't though. The teen knew exactly when her mother was feeling when she watched the fireworks so many years ago. She felt the same way when she watched them with her friends. Kana used a different word back then.
Human.
Kana felt more human.
Author's Note: This chapter is a bit of a filler. I had a scene
similar to this in the original story. I revamped it to have a
deeper meaning for Kana. I do apologize how short it is, but
it's a filler. I didn't want to drag it out. The real fun starts in
the next chapter though. :)
Review and tell me what you think!
