Chapter 4- Time Stood Still Part 1(What Matsumoto saw)
It was a devil's bargain in the first place. Daichi's father took advantage, not of her, God no. The guy is almost blind, in a wheelchair, and frail enough to crumble to dust upon any contact. Still, the guy was filthy rich and the goons that work for him are even less pleasant than him. So when he struck a deal with Matsumoto Rangiku, she was ears. Because the alternative is worse.
"I know you're one of them hungries. Not too many people like 'em hungries. You're different. And that means people won't trust you. Will hate you."
Matsumoto did not say anything. She hated who she is. Why couldn't she just be a normal, dead person, with a soul minus the hunger?
"And blind as I am, I could see you're coming along as a very well-endowed young lady. And there will be those out there that have other ideas about those endowments."
"Look, you have a proposal, propose it already you old geezer." shot Matsumoto. In a different society, probably with a different group of people, her really large breasts would get her far. Here in one of the poorest parts of Soul Society, they'll get her raped. Or killed. And if she's lucky in, that order.
"Ooh, rawr. Cat's got claws!" The old man grinned an ugly one with missing teeth and the few remaining were yellow and turning brown and held up one hand to imitate a paw. "Whaddaya say you let my son forge something of his own in that box of yours? We're rich, we'll protect you, and most of all, we have all the food you want."
Rangiku was speechless.
"Sleep on it. Haha, I made a funny, sleep on whether or not you'll let my son sleep with you." And the old man cackled sadistically as Rangiku left the room. How far would she go to not worry about her life anymore?
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A feral snarl broke her daydream and inner conflict. Rangiku quickly left the cellar that she was supposedly trapped in. She was assigned to clean the cinders in the furnace, easily her favorite chore. When she really focused, she could mold her spiritual energy into the form of a cat. If there is dust or ash of some sort, she could see the cat form from such material, especially in ash. In the beginning she could shape the ash into a cat's face. After a lot of concentration and practice, she's able to have cat head go from the flat two dimensional plane to three dimensions with density, form, etc. Rangiku has been alone for as long as she remembered. However, the times that she thought about the cat that appears in ash, she felt safe, guarded over.
But right now, that not-from-this-world snarl she just heard is sending her packing. She'll explain herself later if that's what it comes to. Matsumoto Rangiku does not want to die in some nobleman's cellar.
What she saw outside made her blood run cold. It was a whole tangle of hollows, evil spirits that were once human souls now in the form of snakes with the trademark white masks and holes where their hearts should have been. And they are hungry, very hungry. Their prey was a really skinny kid with pasty white skin and a grin that did not waver in spite of such adversity.
Matsumoto's eyes widened in horror as this kid would be a goner in one second but that was not the case. In fact, the kid seems to be enjoying this phenomenon very much with his rope dart. One hollow was especially vicious and went for his face. On the last second, the kid ducked as the serpent sailed behind him harmlessly. The kid ducked, sidestepped, rolled, jumped, did whatever he needed to do to not be bit. Every so often, the strange weapon the kid carried, that rope dart, would shoot out and hit a hollow's mask, shattering those dreaded white faces dead on mark each time.
The kid was having too much fun. One of the hollows in frustration of not being able to get to the silver haired boy saw Matsumoto and now she is the meal of intent. Matsumoto told herself to run. RUN, you stupid girl, move! But she couldn't budge, she was paralyzed. No, no, NO-
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She was whisked away to another dimension. The place resembles the cinder-filled fireplace she always cleaned but this place is HUGE. This place resembled a savannah with its plains and the occasional tree except everything is made of ash. Matsumoto walked around and after what felt like five minutes, an overwhelming exhaustion took over her body. She half-collapsed under one of the trees of this ashen dimension. What she did not see was a really pale snake entwined around one of the branches. As Matsumoto caught her breath and felt her eyelids grow heavy, the serpent's tale dropped as light and silent as a feather. When the tail was right behind Rangiku's neck, the tail went from limp and relaxed to tight and focused. In less than a second the tail was around Matsumoto's neck!
"NO-" Rangiku gagged and struggled with the serpent's tail. As she did that, a lynx materialized in front of her.
"Stupid girl. All that power and you still put yourself at the mercy of others!" growled the cat.
If she was able to speak she would have said what power, I could not even draw breath!
But that was enough for this strange being to understand. "All that power and all you manage to do is draw stupid pictures in the fireplace. You are some piece of work!"
Somehow, despite lacking oxygen at the current moment, Matsumoto had it in herself to be angry. Okay, what the hell do you want?! Cut the cryptic crap and just say what I need to do because I am apparently too dense to pick it up-
Her thought was interrupted when she realized her angry thoughts interrupted this talking lynx. "-is my name. Call it and claim the power that you have been born with." The lynx looked at Matsumoto with exasperation and shock. "You can't be serious could you? You get distracted now of all times? You're killing me here! MY NAME IS... "
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"HAINEKO!" In her hand was the handle of her zanpakuto but the blade became the ghostly ash-cat that she has been calling most of her life. This was no mere house cat but the lynx she saw in that other realm. The big cat let out a roar that turn the most hardened warrior to a blubbering coward with wet pants. On the last second, instead of the snake hollow subtracting a face from Matsumoto, the ash cat pounced on the evil spirit and with a bite, sent the hollow on its way to purification.
Temporarily safe, Matsumoto relaxed. Then the toll of not eating the past three days caught up to her and she blacked out.
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"There, there. So ya gottit too?"
Matsumoto's eyes opened. Looking down at her was the smiling kid with silver hair. "Ya gottit too?" repeated the kid.
Matsumoto was confused and tried to say so but she was just too weak to even do that. "Here have somethin' ta eat. S'nah much though, just some preserved rabbit." Matsumoto chewed the jerky like it was food prepared by the gods. She was ravenous for more but the kid had nothing more to offer. When she finished eating, the silver haired kid held out his hand. "I'm Ichimaru Gin. Yours?"
"Thanks." she managed to say, still trying to savor the lingering flavor of the rabbit jerky. She wanted to say "for saving my life", but if she sounds too grateful, this strange kid may try to take advantage of her. "I'm Matsumoto Rangiku."
"Nah problem. Say Matsumoto, when's ya' birthday?" asked Gin.
"I don't know." She never encountered this question before. All her life people either told her to get out or, as she entered womanhood, want to get into bed with her. Not one actually cared to know her and where she comes from. Though impossible to pin down precisely, because feelings are shifty like that, it would be around now that Rangiku started looking at Gin with a fondness of sorts.
"Nah problem, either. Today'll be your birthday, Rangiku. Each year 'round this time, we'll remember neither 'us are lonely, 'nymore." And the silver haired kid grinned genuinely, though hard to tell by anyone else.
Finally, our two characters meet. More reviews please! Also, check out my other story if you like this one. It's titled "Turning Points."
Also, don't know what the Japanese term for a katana's handle is. Someone help!