It's update Sunday! Sunday Update? Idk... It's time for update! But first!
I want to thank to people that have view my story! And I'm really happy about my two followers :DD! Thank you very much! I hope you keep enjoying this story :D
Kazui and the story of Bleach are by Kubo Tite
All the OC's presented are mine and just mine creation, as well as this story :D Enjoy!
I looked up in my backpack my phone and connected the headphones, so I could center in my world and nothing else. My grandma's house was in the Yumisawa district, really close to the school than to my house, so I always ended walking there instead of going to my house that I preferred to use the bus. The most problematic thing was the a hill, surrounded by old and/or abandoned houses and construction sites, so most of the time gangs and things like that would get together to do whatever criminal activities they do. Not only that, I couldn't just be careful with the living monsters, but also the dead, in most of the cases the ghosts didn't do anything, but I know that if they spend too much time in their sorrows, they could hurt other ghosts and people like Kazui and me.
Hollows that's how my grandma called them. Was for her family line that I could see spirits, all kinds of spirits and had given me trouble all my life, but Hollows, only from afar, however even from afar I could heard their screams and growls, it was absolutely terrifying.
I sighed, I never wanted these… gifts? More like curses. In most of the cases it was pain and problems, a lot of ghosts knew that I could see them, so they look for me for help. And it's really frustrating when they ask you for help and you don't know how. In other cases the idea of Hollows frightened me, hoping that I never got searched for one of them and then was the Shinigamis.
I thought I had only see one, long time ago, when my mother died. But it's a vague blur in my memory, I knew a little of what they do, how they helped the ghosts in the process of passing, but that's it. That's all my grandma had told me, anyway.
The street of the hill was empty, surprisingly. The sky had deep red and orange colors in it. At that hour, people was starting to leave work, so I was surprised to find it alone, not even were spirits around there. Have they finally found peace? Or I just passed to another dimension without notice?
I didn't get an answer, but could see now my grandma's house, making me smile. It was an old Japanese styled house, one of the few that wasn't an inn or abandoned in Karakura Town, of course, even if it was just my grandmother and her caretaker, Alice, living there. The wall protecting the inside weren't that tall, but it wasn't necessary, everybody in that area new Minagawa Hayami, the old woman who speaks with ghosts and, how many people like to put it, with the devil. But putting that aside, people were scared of her character and her stories of the past.
If I didn't hurry up, I was going to face that horrible side, I did hurry up and before crossing the street to get to the house I felt a pressure that wasn't letting me move, at all, not even a blink. Not even breathe. It was a panic attack? No, it wasn't. It's been almost a year since I had one, but it felt like it, it felt even worse than it. I didn't understand how I was still at my feet, because I was feeling that in any moment I could fall. And I did, the very moment that I felt the pressure gone.
I manage to fall to my knees and support myself with my hands, gasping for air. I was staring at the floor in shock, trying to make my breath even, but it was difficult, it felt so difficult at the moment.
'Ha! Now you are having a panic attack!' I could hear a little voice in my head mocking me, but I wasn't gonna let it. Starting to count to ten a few times, seeing that I wasn't in danger, thinking that everything was under control and focus in the music I was listening, finally I could breathe with normalcy.
I got myself up, with my legs still trembling a little, watching my surroundings and finding absolutely nothing. Nothing was broken or shattered, everything was the same.
"Maybe I was having a panic attack after all…" There was no more explanation apart of that. Everything looked so calm. Seeing up I could see the blackness of the night appearing. Sighing again in that day, I walked to the wooden entrance of the house and finally inside the house, were always have the feeling of safety, no matter what and in that moment, it was really welcoming.
Almost as welcoming as a hit in the head with a fan just entering the house. I didn't even have the chance to say that I was there when I got hit and let lying on the floor with a horrible headache.
"How you dare to get at this hour in my house, after leaving me for a month alone!" A raspy voice said above me.
"It wasn't a…" I couldn't finish my defense just I got hit, again by her fan, in my head, losing completely my headphones to the floor too.
"AND YOU DARE TO MAKE EXCUSES!" There was rage in the old woman's voice. "You let this poor old woman alone, without telling me in advance! I could have died! And you won't even notice!" She continued to hit me in the head, just because I was still down on the floor, letting a pained moan out.
"OBA-SAN I BRING YOU PRESENTS!" I don't know how but I managed to get from my backpack a huge pack of gifts and showing it to her like it was an offering to a royal family so she would stop hitting me in the head.
A heart beat passed, then another, at the third at was just going to accept my faith. But then a heard the fan being opened and I let out a breath I didn't know I was contained.
"Oh~ My Akari-chan always so kind! ~" I felt the package leave my hands "Oh! This is heavy! Alice-chan could you please help me with this?" Now the little woman was playing the delicate, something very common in her when things were getting in her way. That moment I could finally sit down and look up to her, patting the new bump in my head.
Minagawa Hayami was an old woman not much taller than me sitting, reaching just 1,45 meters, she use to be taller, but with time she had just grown shorter, even at her 90's she was well composed, her white hair with a few surviving black hairs that looked like a line at her right side well combed in a bun. Her brown eyes, like mine, looked excited at the gifts in her left hand that was the fan before now hide it inside the sleeves of her simple blue kimono, supporting herself with a fine wooden cane in her right hand.
I smiled seeing the almost childish excitement in my grandma's face, at that moment, Alice appeared in the room.
"Akari-san! It's great to see you again!" The caretaker smiled at me as she took the package, her curvy brown hair moving free, with kind amber eyes, her round face and dark freckles sticking out in her pale skin. She was ten years older than me and had been taking care of my grandma since three years ago, and neither of them seemed to grow bored of each other.
"Good to see you too, Alice! Please you need to drop the formalities" It was an eternal battle for me to get Alice drop her formalities, I love her like a big sister, but spending most of the time with my grandma, it's almost impossible to drop those ideas "There are presents for you as well! They have your name" Now she looked grateful too. It's always nice to bring the feeling of Christmas morning.
"Come on Akari-chan, Alice was finishing making the tea" The old lady was now going outside to the little table at the porch that let a view of the still quite frozen garden.
"Sure Oba-san~" I finally put everything inside my backpack and took off my shoes, so I could enter the house. The interior was really minimalistic, even having most of the necessary things in the principal rooms so it would be easy for Hayami to walk around. It was a big house, but only three bedrooms were actually in use, aside for the kitchen and living room.
Now outside at the porch seeing the frost garden in front of me, I seated in one of the pillows around the low table, on the other side was my grandma and not much after, Alice came alone with the tea, biscuits and sweets.
The three of us started chatting about everything and nothing as we were eating, especially about the few weeks I wasn't there, tell it them about the trip and showing the pictures in my phone. My grandma have never let Japan before, so it was interesting to see what opinions she had about a country so different than the one she knew.
Night had fallen upon us and we were just appreciating the silence in that part of the town, a few perks of being far of the city. My grandma stoop up with a pleased smile in her face, when she noticed my curious looks she waved her hand.
"You are not the only one to bring a few presents, please Alice help me to bring them" Alice nodded at her and also stood up, getting ahead of her.
"But my birthday is in three months?" I was confused, usually she waited always for the day to giving it them to me not matter what, it was a strange act of the old lady.
"You'll see my dear" She simply said while getting away.
"What is she planning?" I narrowed my eyes thinking all the possibilities. The old lady wasn't the kind of give her pranks, too serious for that and always aiming for direct things. She looked happy with the idea of the presents, so it couldn't be something bad.
Not much after, Alice was back with Hayami close to her. Alice had in her hands a large wooden box, not in the best state, which only make me more concerned, while my grandma was carrying a blue box with a white ribbon, it was big put quite flat.
They put the both boxes on the empty table and my grandma approach me first the blue box.
"I'm giving you this two presents, because, this one…" She pointed at the blue box "Is something I want you to use for your graduation celebration, and this one…" Then she pointed at the wooden box "It's… A little challenge, something I hope that you can make before your birthday"
"Sure" I looked suspicious about the wooden box, so I decided to open the blue box first, that now that I detailed better, it had painted in it flowers like a Sakura tree, it was so delicate and beautiful. I untangled the ribbon and put up the top of the box only to shriek of joy at the sight of the present.
It was a kimono, surely a Furisode, which looked so extremely delicate and so magnificent done that I wouldn't dare to touch it. For what I could see it was mostly black, with white, gold and tones of red patters of Sakura flowers and fans. Even had an obi mostly with rich bright yellow color looking like gold, the sandals and the accessories for the hair. I was in shock, in awe, I couldn't describe how I felt at the moment.
"Well, you are going to take it out?" Alice said. I could see my grandma's and Alice's excitement, it was almost like mine.
"I-I can't, it looks too perfect folded, I mean it's so gorgeous…" Now that I noticed, it was probably a really expensive furisode, I know that my grandpa left my grandma with a big heritage, but this was too much.
"Don't look at me like that, my dear" The old lady smiled kindly at me, knowing what I was thinking "I know that your mother would love to give you something like this herself, at my times I waited for be twenty when my parents give me one like this, but times change and I'm doing the same thing I did my dear Kimiko, because education it's first and the most important thing" She sounded so proud. I almost break in happy tears but my admiration for the clothes were stopping me "You don't have to take it out, I'm sure it will fit you well, I'm going to keep it here if it's no problem"
"Of course no, Oba-san! It's so gorgeous! I cannot express how much I love it!" I closed the box, stood up, walked at her and hug her tightly "Thank you so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I repeated it a few more times, then a sit there close to her.
"Now the wooden box" My grandma said while putting it close to me "I know it doesn't look very good, it's the age, you see, this is something that have been passed through the women in the family for almost 200 years" My eyes widened of surprise for how long whatever it what was inside was, Alice looked intrigued by the story too, so she probably didn't know neither what it was "You know that my family had this strange thing of only have one daughter, only from the daughter before or you haven't notice it?"
Now that I notice it, she was right, my grandma had another bother, but only my grandma had a daughter, my mom, and she, from all the brothers she had, I was the only girl between all my cousins. I furrowed my brows. What were the odds?
"Ah so you notice it" She said with such calmness in her voice "That's why we never had a fight over it, it could only pass between mother and daughter, sadly I had to give it twice, once to your mom and now to you" Then she hand me the wooden box. I took it, it wasn't as heavy as I expected.
I was holding my breath. I didn't know why I was holding it, but I was. I could feel something strange from it, certain warm, something calling me. Letting out my breath I slide the top of the box I looked inside, feeling wonder.
Inside there was a cushion and on top an old katana, quite large for a normal one. It was antique, quite well preserved even after such long time. The sheath was red with black line in the middle, with two plaques of gold in the top and the end, the wood was quite broken but surprisingly with not mustiness even if it felt warm inside it. At the top of the hilt were a short chain with a pendant, softly I took it with my hand to see better what it was, it was well marked sun, rust had taken the bright color of the steel as well for the gold. I took the katana out of the box carefully. The hilt was also with gold in the tsuba, and octagon with square holes, very precise, but also rusted for the years, red lines of yarn around the holes. The handle itself was black with red thread.
It was a really basic katana, but coming that it was almost 200 years old, it means that it was made for samurais and that was enough for me to love it. My heart was pounding of excitement because I love this things, I was practicing to be a blacksmith and always loved to create things with iron, steel, gold, silver and other materials. I worked more in jewelry, sometimes Oshiro-sensei let me in a few works of details of the forging of the katana, the hard work of the blade was something that I had yet to learn but the process was something I had yearn to do. So having a masterpiece in my hands was something that blew me away.
I was so focused in the details, that I didn't notice something off in the balance. Now I did notice it. It felt really light, the blade didn't felt right inside the sheath. I took of the hilt rather easily and my heart sink when I looked at the blade.
"… It's broken…" Moving the sheath upside-down carefully in the cushion inside the box, all the pieces of the blade fell off it. It was broken and the humidity had let it really rusted. It was awful to see such a piece of art in that terrible state. A hand in my shoulder let me back to reality, where I was in the garden in my grandma's house with her and Alice watching me, Alice looked saddened with how I reacted, but my grandma looked with a determination I didn't know she had, her hand was giving me force in some strange way.
"I knew it was broken, it happened a little before your mother died" That wasn't creepy at all, nope "But here is the challenge" My grandma looked hopeful at me, smiling "It's not the first time that this blade had been broken, it's had been send it before to forge it again" I looked concerned and before I could ask, she lifted her hand from my shoulder and put a finger close to my mouth, to keep it quiet and then lifted a piece of paper that looked quite better than the sword "Here are all the things that were used before to forge it the first time it broke, I recently rewrite it so it doesn't get lost, but the thing is, I followed where I could buy the materials and everything so when I could give the sword to you, it would be in a better shape" She sighed
"Then why it's not repaired?" Alice took my thoughts and make it words, looked like both of us were totally focused in the story.
"That's because when I bought all the materials, the family that always repair it, it's no longer working in blacksmithing so I couldn't do much of it" She shrugged about the idea.
"So my challenge is… Repair it?" I didn't know how I was feeling about the idea. I looked at my grandma and she smiled at me, sure of her decision. I was feeling nervous, excited and scared, everything was completely mixed together "But I really haven't work completely in a katana before! I just help in simple things, I should tell Oshiro-sensei if he could do it"
"Akari" I heard her but I didn't stopped.
"I mean, he's been doing that for I don't know how many years! He is probably capable of have it in better shape!"
"Akari, darling"
"If you give me the materials, I probably can do something, but the blade oh no, I don't think I'm really capable of…"
"AKARI!" Not only had her voice stopped the rambling, but the hit of her fan in my free hand, I moaned and put it close to me, looking at the old lady with pout, now listening "I think you are actually capable of repair it, I always noticed and you have said it yourself, you are very talented with all that kind of work, since you were a little girl" She was still smiling at me, with that proud smile that always show to me when she was sure that I could make everything I planned to do. Even if I wasn't sure if I could make it. Like now.
"You really think I can make it?" I looked at her and then to the broken katana.
"Of course you can my dear!" Her voice was full of confidence "You always stand up to challenges and win! Or you forget how stubborn you were with Oshiro-san so he could finally accept and teach you in his store? Or how you didn't give up a fight?" She took the sword and put it gently back in the box, then took my hands "Your hands are the greatest tools for making the amazing art you do, not only that but also to fight for what you want, this katana it's something I know you can do without problem"
I looked at my scarred hands, all those were symbols of hard work and protection. They were many hours of training martial arts and working with fire, of persistence and force. I felt a bust of confidence, stoop up with energy and smirked with the thought of restoring back the katana.
"I'll do it!" I shot out "I'll restore it back to its glorious look! Even if I last years doing it!"
There was a pause of silence before I heard Alice clapping at the idea. It was rather comical because of the pose of triumph I was it, ready to take the world.
"That's good my dear, but really, you should really do it before your birthday" My grandma said calmly, putting back katana inside its sheath and putting it in the box, then closing it and finally stood up from her place.
Now there was a complete silence that I didn't like at all. Only a few crickets sounding from afar while the old lady get inside the house.
"Akari, you should go inside before you catch a cold" My grandma simply said.
"DON'T CHANGE DE SUBJECT LIKE THAT! HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT THAT I WILL FINISH THIS KATANA IN THREE FUCKING MONTHS!" I managed to dodge a direct attack of a sandal going to my face "AND DON'T ATTACK MY FACE OBA-SAN!"
"Such a language! I'm sure I didn't teach you that!" She was shaking her head "Your father even have better modals than you"
"Don't. Change. The. Subject!" I walked inside the house, now in front of her I looked down so I could see her eyes, at this position it was obvious how small she was now, her head just reaching at my chest.
"Don't make me repeat myself! You have to do it before your birthday, I think if you repair it with the basics it's enough" She was moving her cane at me.
"The basics? THE BASICS?!" Now I was yelling, thank god that she didn't have any neighbors "I'm not going to repair a 200 year old katana with just the basics!"
"It will be enough Akari, I know that" She was confident with the idea. I wasn't
"It's ruining a masterpiece!" I was exasperated "It's an insult to a masterpiece!"
"Akari! Listen, I know you don't understand but you have to trust me, the basics will be enough!" A thick bump sounded when she hit the floor with her cane.
I was angry, why everything has to be so weird in this house! Nothing was simply and the worst part it's that I didn't know the reason and that just frustrate me more.
"BAH! Whatever! It's late! I have to get back to my house!" I was heading to the door, but poke of the cane of my grandma stopped me "What?!" I flipped around.
"You should stay here, like you say it's really late, I don't want you wandering around like a lost soul"
I counted to three. Sighed and then nodded in agreement. She knew how to get me off my tracks.
"Let me help you gather everything to my room" I said to no one in particular, before going back out to the table at the porch and took the box with the kimono on top of the box with the katana.
I could feel how Alice just went to help my grandma in her night routines and smiled a little at the duo, it was nice to have someone accompany her in this big house. I headed to my room, achieved to slide the door with my feet and then entered to how I left it a few weeks ago. I let the boxes on the low table, close to the doors that headed to the garden. Back of the table was a futon large enough for two people, at the other side of the room was a closet and a taller table with things for simple crafting just to do in my spare time.
It was simple and rather empty than my room back in my father house, but here I just had the necessary.
I went to one of the drawers outside the closet to put something to change and sleep. I found a black long sleeved shirt and a big warm pants. I change it and just decided to go to sleep already, not watching the night sky for me tonight. I felt exhausted. Sliding the door inside the house, I wished goodnight to Alice and my grandma, they were close and I heard back the goodnight, sliding close the door I headed to the futon with my cellphone, texting my dad that I was staying in grandma's, after receiving the 'ok' I put it in the night table beside the bed, then laying down in the futon and felt my head drive away after putting the quilt over me, giving me warm to my body.
What do you think? I hope you like it! I promise soon we'll have our favorite Captain around :D
Also I've been wondering you are understanding everything all right? English is not my first language and I just want to make sure that everything is right :D well...
See you next week!