Okay, I'm being unique here and using two prologues! Cool, eh? This time, it's in the point of view of Ren! Have fun!
Prologue 2
White Hair
"Ah! I'm so bored!" Ren exclaimed, stretching her arms above her head as she wandered the school grounds. A decision she came to regret, as she had forgotten how cold it really was outside. "Brr!" Ren shivered as she sat on a bench beside some netball courts, wrapping her blazer around herself. "Thank god school is almost over." Ren leaned back on the bench, staring up at the grey but sunny sky. "This'll give me time to myself." She gasped suddenly, and sat up straight, sharply looking left and right.
That feeling again...Ren thought, eyes wide. It's coming from the town centre! After several seconds, Ren's panicked expression relaxed. She leaned back against the bench again, shielding her eyes.
"It's gone now." She said out loud to nobody. "Maybe what they're looking for isn't there."
That's the seventh time this week it's happened. Ren thought. They appear, I sense them, and then they disappear. I haven't seen one up close, but they look kinda weird. If I recall correctly, they look like huge monsters. Why are they here? Why can I sense them when they appear? And more importantly...why can't anybody see them? I know an explosion is created sometimes when they appear, but I've heard everyone say it's just a gas explosion when they appear in town-y places. That can't be right. If there is a problem with the gas, the building has to close immediately. It's the law. So, why do these monsters keeping popping up everywhere? Are they're searching for something? If they are, then what?
"Damn, this is confusing." Ren muttered.
"Tsubokura, what's going on?"
"Huh?" Ren sat up and looked around. "What was that?" She looked towards the back of a modern school building. "It came from over there." Letting curiosity and boredom take over, Ren went towards the wall and flattened herself against it, edging towards the corner.
"Then hurry up and tell me what the hell is going on here!"
"I wonder what's going on." Ren said to herself. She inched ever so slightly to the corner, and was just millimetres away from looking around the corner.
"That can't be right. If it was, then the Hell Butterfly would still be here."
Hell Butterfly? Ren thought. What's that? Who is he? No, what is he? Should I look closer?
"Quickly! Is there anybody nearby who can help me?"
"Yes I should." Ren said, answering her own question. She took one last step and craned her neck around the corner. That was when he saw him. A short boy with white spiky hair and dressed in an attire from the samurai period minus the armour, except the boy was holding a phone to his head.
Who's that? Ren thought. And what's he talking about? Her eyes widened. Wait. Maybe he's here about those monsters. He's got a phone, so maybe he's a messenger. Hang on a second...what's that? Ren squinted at a stick she saw on his back, and that's when she realised. On his back was a sword!
"Holy crap!" Ren exclaimed without thinking. She clasped her hands over her mouth after realising what she did and quickly hid back around the corner, just as the boy turned his head towards her.
You idiot, Ren!
"Who's there? Come out and show yourself!"
He's got a sword! He's got a freakin' sword! He's not a messenger; he's a monster hunter! His weapon's illegal! It's illegal! Crap! He knows I'm here! He's gonna hack me into shish kebab!
"There's no use in hiding!"
Well Ren Conner does not taste good with salad! With that, Ren turned on her heel and ran away from the strange boy as fast as she could. She only stopped when she saw some bike racks, which were often permanently empty, and hid amongst them, nervously waiting for the white haired boy to follow her. After several seconds of nothing, she sighed and stood up.
"I lost him." She wandered aimlessly through the school grounds, lost in her thoughts.
He said he was looking for somebody to help him. Ren thought. I wonder why? If he's here about the monsters, why would he need somebody to help him? Wait a second... Ren stopped walking, slightly shocked. What if I'M the one he's looking for?
"Nah!" Ren loudly dismissed the idea. "It can't be me!"
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Finally!" Ren sighed as the students of her school filled the courtyard, and Ren mixed into the crowd, feeling at ease now that school was over. Usually, Ren would dislike crowds, especially ones as big as this, but today, it made her feel a lot more comfortable. After all, there was the boy with the sword who was probably looking for her right now.
"What the..." Ren blinked when she saw a short boy with white hair and a sword strapped onto his back stagger out of the crowd and through a pair of glass doors into a another modern looking school building with red lined windows. The same boy Ren saw earlier. "Crap! My bag is in there!" Quickly, Ren jumped out of the crowd and entered the same school building, but made sure that she ended up in the corridor; she did not want to encounter the boy again. Not yet, anyway.
He's looking for me! I know it! Ren closed her eyes. Okay, calm down. At least he didn't jump out of those people with his sword drawn. Now that would have been a disaster. Besides, I'm probably not the one he's looking for. There are lots of people who use the same common room as I do.
"Are you okay, Ren?"
"Eh?" Ren blinked herself out of her trance and looked up. Her eyes met the brown eyes of one of her closest friends, Stephanie, though she nicknamed her Steph. With her, Ren felt like she could talk about anything, no matter how crazy it may seem, as they both shared the same interests. This kind of person was exactly what Ren needed right now.
"Um...sorta." Ren answered.
"Oh?"
"Well, um..."
"Come on, you can tell me!" Steph said happily, linking her arm with Ren's, and she walked down the corridor with Ren in tow.
"I saw something that was, how should I put this? I saw someone who was Über weird!"
"Hold on a sec, I need to get my bag." Steph unlinked her arm from Ren's and reached towards a door on her left.
That's the common room! Ren thought, wide eyed. That monster hunter is in there! However, before Ren could warn her, Steph was already inside. Ren braced herself, ready to hear screams. Nothing. Nervously, Ren peered into the room and looked left and right. There wasn't a soul in sight. Relieved, Ren stepped into the common room and looked through the bag racks next to the kitchen area, thinking to herself how much they looked like bunk beds.
"Anyway, just before the bell went, I saw someone really strange." Ren continued. She soon found her bag, a beige cotton shoulder bag with the words "I Japan" written on in kanji.
"Strange how?" Steph asked, pulling down a white backpack with multicoloured dots of different sizes on it. Ren grumbled to herself about how lucky Steph was to be taller before continuing.
"Weeeeeell... it was strange because they were talking about stuff I've never heard before like...um..." Ren trailed off, trying to remember the conversation the boy was having. "What's it called...uh...ah, that's right!" Ren slammed a fist onto her palm. "He said Hell Butterfly...I think."
"Hell Butterfly? What's a Hell Butterfly?"
"Beats me." Ren shrugged. She threw her bag on one of the blue chairs and sat next to it on another identical chair. "Anyway, this guy...he looked kinda young. And a bit weird, too. I mean he had, like, a katana on his back."
"A katana?" Steph exclaimed, sitting beside Ren. "That's a one-edged sword, right?"
"Yup." Ren nodded.
"But weapons like that are illegal here, aren't they? Who would carry a sword around like that?"
A monster hunter, that's who. Ren thought to herself.
"See, that's what I thought, which made me think 'This guy isn't from around here'. Plus, his clothes looked like something from the samurai period." Ren answered, not wanting Steph to know of her suspicion. She had to keep the fact that she could sense monsters a secret. She didn't know why, but something about her knew that she must not tell anybody about the monsters. Not even her closest friend.
"You think he's a cosplayer?"
"Cosplayer? Nah, we don't have conventions in this town. If we did, I'd know." Ren said dismissively, though some part of her wished he was. "But still, he was talking like one." Ren stared into space as she thought. The way he was speaking was indeed similar to how characters in an anime would talk.
"Maybe it was a scripted performance he was rehearsing for?" Steph suggested.
"Ha-ha! Maybe." Ren laughed. "But, if he was, he was doing it very badly."
"What do you mean?"
"Since when do samurai's have mobile phones? And I don't think they would rehearse for a play over a phone."
"Well...what did he look like? Maybe we can get clues from that."
Of course! Why didn't I think of that? Ren thought. Steph knows all about history; maybe she can tell from his clothing or however they do it.
"Um, let's see..." Ren looked up at the ceiling in thought, tapping her chin. "Well...he was kind of young looking...and he's a little shorter than me..."
"What height are you again?"
"A hundred and sixty three centimetres." Ren answered quickly, as she hated discussing her height. "I'd say this guy was about a hundred and thirty easy. Anyway, he was dressed like a samurai, like I said, you know, in one of those kimonos. He had those funny trouser things on and everything. Hmmm, what else is there? Oh, yeah! How could I forget that?"
"What is it?"
"This boy had white hair!" Ren exclaimed. How could she forget that? It was the part of the boy that she seemed the most attracted to. She had never seen white hair on someone who looked so young before, and for some reason, she thought that his hair was...beautiful.
"So? He could be wearing a wig." Steph said.
Way to spoil my good vibe. Ren thought to herself.
"Or he bleaches his hair." Ren joked. After all, in this world, people only got white hair if they were elderly or bleached their hair. Somehow, that disappointed Ren.
"Yeah." Steph nodded, agreeing with Ren.
Well, this is getting me nowhere. Steph doesn't seem to know what time period this boy could be from. With all the stuff I've been seeing, it's possible he could be a time traveller or something.
"Well, guess we'd better head off." Ren snapped herself out of her thoughts after Steph spoke. Without saying a word, Ren picked up her bag and slung it on her shoulder, Steph doing likewise. Together, they left the common room and headed down the corridor towards the outside world. In the few seconds that they walked together at this instant, neither of them said a word, as they were both thinking about what Ren saw. Who exactly was he?
"Eh?" Ren stopped walking, surprised.
"What's wrong?" Steph asked, stopping beside her.
What was that just now? Ren thought. It's like...there's somebody behind me. I can feel it. I can hear it.
"I...I swear I heard something." Ren said slowly, nervous as to what she was feeling.
"You did?"
"Yeah, like...footsteps."
Should I look? Ren thought, almost paralysed with nerves. But what if it's that boy? Is he here? Why would he follow me? Why here, of all places? What should I do?
"Footsteps?" Ren sensed Steph look over her shoulder behind them, and somehow felt a little more relieved. Several seconds of silence followed. "I don't see anything."
There's nothing there. Ren thought, more relieved than she had ever been in her life.
"Yeah, I guess I was imagining things. Sorry for worrying you, Steph."
"So Ren, are you going to be doing something over the weekend?" Steph asked, continuing to walk out of the school with Ren.
"Nah, I'll just be going to the youth theatre on Saturday. Nothing really."
"Aw, too bad. I'm going to London for the day on Saturday."
"Eh? Lucky!" Ren exclaimed.
"I know, right? I'm going to be seeing a new Broadway show there with my parents."
"Aw!" Ren whined. They carried on talking like this when they arrived at the bus stop. While talking, Ren couldn't help but think about that mysterious boy she saw. Not only that, but she still had the feeling that she was being watched.
"AH-TCHOO!"
"Have you got a cold?" Steph asked.
"Nah, I'm sure someone's just talking about me." Ren said dismissively. "Oh, wait. Does it count if someone thinks about you?"
Damn it! Stop thinking about this boy so much. It'll make you ill! Ren scolded herself.
"What if it is a cold?" Steph teased.
"Then it's just a sneeze." Ren shrugged.
That boy...Ren thought. I wonder what he's doing now. He's probably gone back to where he came from by now. And I didn't even find out if he was a monster hunter. That sucks!
"Bus!"
"Is it ours? Yeah it's ours!"
"Oh," Ren was startled when students began to move around her. "My bus is here. See you tomorrow, Steph!" Ren yelled out the last part before she was buried into the crowd of students struggling to get onto the bus and grab a good seat. She quickly walked onto the public bus, flashing her bus pass as she went past the driver, and stole her favourite seat. It was just next to the window, and close to the steps leading up to the elevated platform, which was where people her age would sit. She liked this seat, because when staring out of the window, she could detach herself from the world, even if it was for twenty minutes.
"Grah!"
"Hn?" Ren looked around the bus after hearing the cry. "Did anyone hear that?"
"Hear what?" Another friend of hers asked. She didn't look at their face, but she guessed that it was her best friend Tom, who was extremely popular. Certainly not popular enough for Ren. At least, that was what she thought.
"Nah, never mind. Must have been my imagination." Ren looked out of the window, just as the bus began to move off. "Again." She added, almost as an afterthought.
That voice just now...Ren thought. It was familiar. I know it was only a yell, but I can't help but hear something about it I know. Ren's eyes widened. Wait, what if it's that boy? Ren glanced around the bus without turning away from the window. Other than the loudly talking students, there was nobody in sight. Not even a spike of the white hair Ren found herself liking. I don't see him anywhere. Ren looked back at the window, staring at her own reflection. I was probably hearing things, but what if he was here? Does that mean he's following someone? And, what if that someone is me? Is he a monster hunter? If he is, then maybe I really am the one he's following. But, the monsters showing up have got to be a coincidence. Or is it?
"Ren," Tom whispered by her ear. "It's your stop."
"Huh?" Ren blinked out of her thoughts, and sure enough, she saw the familiar surroundings of her home village. "Already?" Ren pressed the stop bell, filling the bus with a loud DING!
"Okay, see you tomorrow!" With that, Ren grabbed her school bag and stumbled down the corridor of the bus, as it was still moving when she stood up, using the poles in the bus as support. As soon as the bus stopped, she hopped onto the pavement and walked out onto the quiet road, knowing no cars would come through. Still walking, she adjusted her school bag one last time before continuing to go towards the corner that leads to her home.
Alright, the first time weird explosions happened was in Birmingham; a month after I went there myself. It happened again in Stamton, and it was two weeks after I went there. The first time I saw the monster was on the school bus just as it was leaving for the city. Ren looked at the field behind the wall where the road she was about to walk down was, where a field of grass and horse jumps lay. It was in that field, and then it disappeared just seconds after I saw it. That was a week ago. Then I sensed it again today in the city centre, and there are the times before that, too. These appearances have been happening for a whole month. It's the middle of January, so it's not far off from my last birthday. Ren tapped her chin in thought. Could this be some kind of pattern?
"Hey, you!"
What? Ren stopped walking with a gasp. It's that voice again! Is it him? Did he really follow me all the way home?
"I know you can hear me. You are the only one who can. I have something I need to discuss with you of the upmost importance."
It's him! Why is he here? Alright, calm down, Ren. Just talk to him. Maybe he's not really that threatening. Ren turned around just as a bitterly cold wind blew through the air. She found herself face to face with the white haired boy she saw not too long ago, and he wore a focused expression on his face. Wow, he's a lot younger than I thought he would be. But then again, he is from some place completely different from here. And, am I really the only one who can see him?
"Um...can I help?" Ren asked nervously.
"I...I..." He stuttered in response, losing his calm expression and unfolding his arms.
Yup, he's definitely a kid. Ren thought to herself. But, he is kinda cute.
"Are you okay?" Ren asked, flicking some of her hair over her shoulder.
"Ahem, well..." The boy coughed, and after a few seconds, he was serious once again, and Ren found herself feeling a little disappointed that he was focused again.
He definitely looks like that boy. Ren thought. But, what if it's just my imagination? I mean, several things that have happened today could have been coincidence.
"As I was saying, you are the only person in this world who can see me."
I have to find out!
"Time out!" Ren said loudly, making a T shape with her hands.
"Eh?"
"Just gimme a sec. I think I know who you are." Ren went over to the boy, looking closely at his surprised face. She then proceeded to circle the boy, inspecting almost every part of him. She even looked closely at the sword on his back, and at the spikes in his hair.
"U...Um." The boy started as Ren paced around him, becoming more and more certain about his identity.
"AHA!" Ren exclaimed, startling the young swordsman. Ren hurried back to face him, beaming. "I knew you looked familiar!" Ren pointed at him. "You are the boy I saw this afternoon!" She yelled, a proud look on her face. "And you followed me from the common room onto the bus, didn't you?"
"You...You figured that much out?" He asked, wearing a shocked expression that surprised Ren.
Man, this guy is so slow!
"Well, yeah." Ren retorted, slightly more impatient than she intended. "I could hear your footsteps. Plus, your yelp on the bus was familiar. I mean, I did overhear you talking on your mobile phone." Ren made a phone shape with her hand and indicated.
Okay, he seems to be the reliable kind. But, I don't even know what he is. I guess I should break the ice.
"So, are you a time travelling samurai, or some kind of ghost"? Ren asked, cocking her head.
"Well, something like that..." The boy answered slowly.
Oh, great! Now he thinks I'm weird!
"I am a Soul Reaper. I have come here to investigate some...monsters. However, I discovered that Soul Reapers don't exist here, and I am powerless. Nobody can see or even hear me. Nobody except you. Therefore, you are the only person I can trust."
A Soul Reaper, huh? So, he's a ghost? Ren thought as the boy spoke. Well, that explains a lot. But, I'm the only one he can trust? That's too weird.
"Should you really put your trust into someone that quickly?" Ren asked innocently. "I mean, we only just met."
Dammit, I did it again! Ren thought, almost thunder struck. Now he thinks I'm REALLY weird! I can tell just by looking at him! Quick, gotta let him know it's a habit!
"Oops, I was honest again, wasn't I? Sorry about that, um..." Ren scratched her head, trying to remember if the boy ever introduced himself. "I'm sorry; I don't know your name."
"My name?"
Good. He didn't introduce himself yet.
"Well, yeah. I've got to know your name if I'm the only one you can trust, or whatever."
Alright, even if he thinks I'm weird, the least I can do is get his name before he finds somebody else who can see him. Ren decided in her thoughts.
"Yes, of course. Forgive me." The boy cleared his throat briefly. "I...My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya."
"Toshiro, huh?" Ren lamented out loud. "That's Japanese, right?"
"Yes, how did you know?" He asked, amazed.
Sweet! Ren thought triumphantly. I've got his trust again.
"Oh, I have a knack for these things." Ren said modestly. She turned her head away and stared up at the sky. "Toshiro...Toshiro..." Ren said the name out loud. Yes, it had a good ring to it. She liked it. She turned back to Toshiro and smiled happily at him. "You have a nice name." Toshiro blushed lightly, and it took everything in Ren's power not to throw her arms around him. He just looked too cute!
"Oh! I need to introduce myself too! Where are my manners?" Ren outstretched a hand towards Toshiro. "My name is Ren. Ren Conner."
"Ren?"
"Yeah. Weird name, huh?" Ren glanced down at her hand, which was still extended towards Toshiro. "Um, are you going to shake that?"
"Excuse me?" Toshiro said, confused.
"Well, usually, when people meet each other for the first time, they shake each other's hands. Or maybe people like you don't do that?" Ren made sure the last part sounded like a suggestion.
"..." Toshiro stared down at Ren's hand.
Alright, this is it. Ren thought to herself. You've made a couple of screw ups, but this will make or break this relationship. Hell, I don't care if it's because of these weird monsters; I am going to make the most of this. Oh, and I'll ask about the monsters, too.
"Very well." Toshiro clasped Ren's hand, surprising her a little. "I am pleased to meet you."
He shook it! Ren thought, beaming. That means it's a bond! Alright, screw it being a business relation; I'm gonna make sure I make the most of it while I can!
"Likewise." Ren responded, smiling her cheerful smile.
And so, the wheel of fate began to turn.
Black shoes.
White hair.
Two completely different people meet under unlikely circumstances.
Each of them carries their own objectives.
However, nobody could have suspected the ties of destiny that made them meet on this day.
Nobody could guess that this handshake would create a path of bloodshed.
Nobody could have known of the hardship that lay before the Soul Reaper and the human.
Nobody could even begin to guess about the true bonds that made these two people meet.
Nobody could know that this bond would deepen into something that is a lot more than a partnership.
Nobody could possibly know that the fate of every living thing could rest on these people.
And, nobody could know that this meeting would change their lives forever.