Shichiyou slowly opened her eyes. Sunlight was streaming into her window and she could hear birds singing outside. She sat up in bed and stretched. It had been a long time since she had that dream. Weird that she would have it twelve years after the actual incident. Shichiyou lifted herself out of bed and walked downstairs. It was still very early and the sun had only started to rise. Her mother, father, sister, and brother wouldn't be out of bed for another little while.
Shichiyou entered the kitchen and put on an apron. She started the stove and pulled out some pans preparing to make breakfast. She grabbed a handful of eggs and a plate full of bacon and put it on the pan. The bacon sizzled and the eggs started to turn from a clear liquid to a white solid.
"Morning." Shichiyou turned around to see her mother walking down the stairs. Shichiyou's mother was 42, 5'0" and could hardly care less. She had light brown hair that she always tied back in a tight bun with a few stray strands falling over her forehead. She always wore a traditional brown yukata with a purple obi and had bright silver eyes. She had a few wrinkles appearing around her eyes and mouth but it didn't affect her looks in any way. The wrinkles actually made her look even more sophisticated than she already was.
"Morning mom. How many eggs and bacon would you like?" Shichiyou asked watching the food cook.
"Two eggs and no bacon for me." Shichiyou's mother replied sitting down at the table.
"Great more for me." Ryuukyuukei said smoothly as he came into the kitchen. Ryuukyuukei was Shichiyou's older brother. He was also one of the most good-looking guys in the neighbourhood, which often left him being chased around by girls. He was the tallest member of the family at 5'11" and had kind gray eyes. His hair is a dark, chocolate brown and long so he often wears it in a loose pony-tail tied with a thin white ribbon. His bangs fall over his left eye and he curls them under his chin. He was already dressed in his black yukata and white sash and looked as handsome as always.
"Good morning." Shichiyou said with a smile. He smiled back with his usual kind smile and sat down. Shichiyou's mother suddenly sat up and walked over to the stove.
"Go get dressed sweetheart I'll make breakfast."
"Mom, are you sure…?" Shichiyou asked.
"Oh please, cooking is the one thing in this house I am good at. Now go on and get dressed." Her mother said shooing her away. Shichiyou smiled and went back up to her room. She had a fast shower, got dressed, and stood in front of her full-body mirror. She stared at her small stature. She was slender, but that was about all she had going for her. Shichiyou stared at her reflection. 4'6", slender, smooth but plain face, pale ivory skin…she really had nothing special about her. Unless, of course, you counted her hair and eyes. Her eyes she had inherited from both her mother and father, but no one could understand how her hair had changed to the colour it was.
Shichiyou's gray-blue eyes twinkled in the dim sunlight and her silver-blue hair shined. It was such an odd colour, but she adored it. She turned her head to the side. Her hair was still short, she had kept it that way since it had been cut off twelve years ago. She let it grow back slightly and then flipped it at the back into small but curved spikes. Shichiyou did let two strands grow and they just hung loosely just above her chest.
Shichiyou smiled at her reflection. It was no surprise why her name meant "moon". Shichiyou brushed the two strands (the only part of her hair she really needed to worry about) and went to look out her window. She opened it and took in a deep breath of fresh air. The small peonies she grew on her windowsill danced in the spring breeze.
Shichiyou turned her attention away from the calm spring day when she noticed black blobs out of the corner of her eye. She looked down to see Soul Reapers in their black uniforms walking towards the academy. Shichiyou leaned on her arms while watching the Soul Reapers walk by. They must have such an interesting life, Shichiyou thought to herself. She sighed. The only life she had ever known was living in this suburban Japanese home in the Soul Society and working in her parents' café.
Not that she was complaining, Shichiyou loved working in the café. Café Hitohana was built not long after they moved into the Soul Society. It was a quaint little building that rested right beside their house. It was one of the hot spots of the area, if you were above the age of 25 that is. Shichiyou had never seen anyone there her own age, just older people that had come to have a quick drink or something small to eat. Shichiyou loved those people though, they were so nice and they were the only people Shichiyou could consider as her friends.
Shichiyou sighed again. Since coming here she hadn't been successful in making any friends. She was clumsy, always stumbling over her own two feet, and she was often shy and got embarrassed very easily. All of this kept her from making friends, seen as most of the time she was too shy to even talk to anyone her own age. Shichiyou looked down at the peonies.
"At least you guys give me someone to talk to." She said with a slight smile. Shichiyou loved flowers, they were the best listeners. She loved flower arranging as well and liked to do it in her spare time. With spring coming up fast it meant there would be lots of new flowers to arrange and take care of, which also meant new friends for Shichiyou to talk to.
Shichiyou gently caressed a small peony beside her. Its petals were soft under her fingertips and she was careful not to press the delicate petals too hard. Suddenly Shichiyou caught something out of her peripheral vision. She looked down to see a male Soul Reaper looking up at her. She couldn't see his face very well but his black hair shone in the morning sun. Without realizing it Shichiyou leaned farther out her window, trying to get a better look at the boy staring at her.
He looked about her age, give or take one or two years, and his hair was a deep midnight black. It was short and spiked at the tips. His bangs hung to the right and also ended in spiked tips. She could tell, even from the distance she was at that he was handsome, very handsome. Her stomach suddenly started doing back-flips and she felt her face turn red. What was she freaking out about? He was just looking at her, for all she knew he was probably looking at the flowers, not her.
This idea calmed her a bit, but it didn't help explain anything when the boy suddenly turned to face her completely and winked at her. Shichiyou's face flamed bright red. He was winking…at her! What was going on?! He looked like he was going to ask her something. Oh God what was she going to do? She couldn't think, what was she supposed to say? Shichiyou pull yourself together! If he says 'hi' you just say hi back it's not that hard! She scolded herself. She took a deep breath, making it look like she was sniffing the flowers while she did, and looked down at him. He opened his mouth to say something when he was interrupted by another voice.
"Shichiyou, breakfast!" Shichiyou's mother called to her. Shichiyou sighed in relief, but felt sort of disappointed at the same time. She heard a light laugh and realized it was coming from the boy on the street.
"Hey, my name's Aserisk." He finally said. Shichiyou opened her mouth but something blocked her throat. She couldn't speak. She just smiled awkwardly and nodded.
Aserisk laughed again. "What's your name?" He asked. He must not have heard my mom say my name, she thought. She took a deep breath and was about to reply when she heard a crashing noise coming from the kitchen.
"I have to go." She suddenly blurted out and ran from the window to see what the problem was.
Aserisk stood outside the girl's house. It was her shining silver-blue hair that had distracted him from his walk to the Soul Academy in the first place. It was so bright, so different.
"And I didn't even get to learn her name." He whispered to himself sighing. He looked around the area. It was strange, he had walked down this street hundreds of times before but he had never actually stopped to look at it. The houses were small, but quaint, and people bustled by hurriedly as they were off to work or off to do chores. He looked at the small building beside the mystery girl's house. It was a small café he had never noticed before.
"'Café Hitohana.'" He read out loud. He crossed his arms and smirked. He was definitely going to check this place out after training. He sighed and started walking again. He knew where the girl lived at least, but he wondered if he would ever get to have a decent conversation with the mystery girl. He wasn't sure why, but something about her was…interesting. Aserisk smiled and slowly strode off to the Soul Academy.
Shichiyou ran down the stairs, almost falling down them as she did, and slid into the kitchen.
"W-what happened, I heard a bang…" She said.
"Oh, it's nothing, Asagao dropped her plate." Ryuukyuukei said nonchalantly. Like this happened almost all the time and was nothing new.
"I didn't drop it, it slipped!" A bouncing girl with long auburn hair defended. Asagao was Shichiyou's younger sister by two years. She was always happy and always bouncing. She was the same height as Shichiyou with light baby-blue eyes, and unfortunately Asagao was also growing taller than Shichiyou everyday, which was something Shichiyou realized disappointedly. Asagao was angry right now though. She must have dropped her plate, which wasn't that surprising. Asagao hated mornings and she hated cleaning even more. Today was not starting out great for her.
"Asagao stop fighting with your brother and help me!" Her mother scolded.
"I wasn't fighting with him." Asagao stated crossing her arms.
"I don't care, now pick up this mess!" Shida said angrily. Asagao furrowed her eyebrows defiantly. She was 14, but acted more like a five-year old.
"What happened?! I heard a crash!" Everyone turned to the door to the kitchen to see a very frazzled Kabashi Hitohana standing there. Shichiyou's father was 45, 5'2" and had bright blue eyes. His hair was black but had a blue sheen to it and he was beginning to bald slightly. He had high cheek bones and stern eyes even though he was one of the nicest men in the world. This morning, however, he wasn't as tidy as he usually was. His yukata wasn't tied properly and his hair was all over the place. It looked like he had just gotten himself out of bed.
"Asagao dropped a plate." Shida explained angrily. She hated cleaning almost as much as Asagao did so she wasn't happy about this whole situation either. Kabashi suddenly ran over to his youngest daughter.
"Oh my goodness Asagao are you ok?! You're not bleeding are you? Did you cut yourself anywhere?" He asked worriedly. Shichiyou rolled her eyes. All her father ever did was spoil her, Asagao, and Ryuukyuukei. Suddenly Shida turned around and smacked her husband over the head with a paper fan.
"Don't you dare spoil her! She still has to pick up this mess!" Shida yelled. Kabashi turned around with tears spilling down his eyes.
"But Shida, darling, what if she had been hurt?" He asked.
"Then she would have gotten a bandage or something. Asagao is a big girl she can take care of herself." Shida explained crossing her arms. Kabashi suddenly ran over and grabbed his daughter in a tight embrace.
"No, not my innocent Asagao, she's not all grown up, she's still my little girl!" He said defiantly. And we wonder why Asagao acts like a five-year old, Shichiyou thought shaking her head.
"Release your daughter! She needs to clean this mess now!" Shida said menacingly. An evil light filled her eyes. Asagao and Kabashi shrunk down in fear.
"It's clean." Shida, Kabashi, and Asagao turned to see Shichiyou wiping the last traces of egg off the floor. She was the one who usually did the cleaning around the house anyway, since her mother hated it so much.
"Shichiyou, you're such a little angel." Shida said with a smile. Shichiyou smiled back. Suddenly her father was over to her embracing her in a warm hug.
"Oh Shichiyou you're our little savior! That's my girl, daddy loves you so much!" He said happily. Suddenly a large paper fan came out of nowhere and Kabashi slowly slid to the kitchen floor with a huge red mark on his head. Shida grabbed the back of his yukata and dragged him off, the paper fan over her shoulder.
"We're going to open the café, finish your food." She said angrily and dragged her dazed husband next door. Shichiyou, Ryuukyuukei and Asagao stared after them, looked at each other and then smiled. This behaviour from their parents was natural, to them anyway. Their father spoiled them uncontrollably and their mother was probably the only one in the world with the guts to control him. The perfect couple.
Shichiyou turned back to the stove and picked up two eggs and sat down.
"So, who was the boy standing outside?" Shichiyou almost spat out her egg and Ryuukyuukei almost fell out of his seat. Asagao stared at them completely innocent and curious.
"What boy?" Ryuukyuukei asked trying to fix himself/
"Before, there was a boy standing outside the house. He looked like he was staring at something, and I think he said something to someone. I wasn't sure, I couldn't see him all that well. Whoever he was, he was definitely gorgeous." She explained with a sigh. She stared off into the distance, a dreamy smile on her face. Asagao had a tendency to switch between being a child and acting her own age or even older.
Shichiyou sat very silently. She ate her eggs at a slow pace trying not to draw too much attention to herself. She wanted nothing more than to disappear. Everyone seemed to be ignoring her. Asagao was still staring off dreamily and Ryuukyuukei had an angry look plastered on his face. Shichiyou knew this invisibility was too good to be true when they both suddenly turned to face her.
"What?" She asked with egg in her mouth. Asagao smiled mischievously and Ryuukyuukei just stared at her.
"He was looking at you wasn't he? Where he was standing was right beneath your window." Asagao stated. Ryuukyuukei stood.
"What do you mean he was 'right beneath your window'?!" He asked menacingly. Ryuukyuukei had always been protective of Asagao and Shichiyou, but sometimes he took the "brotherly protection" act a bit too far.
"No it's not what you think." Shichiyou defended putting her hands up.
"Ah hah! So he was staring at you! What did he say?!" Asagao asked excitedly. Shichiyou almost hit herself in the forehead. Why did she always fall so easily into Asagao's traps?
"Nothing, he didn't say anything! I mean I didn't hear him! I mean…" Shichiyou's sentences started overlapping each other. She didn't know what she meant anymore. She felt her face turn bright red.
"What are you blushing for?" Asagao asked curiously.
"What? I'm not blushing, what are you talking about?" Shichiyou said trying to act innocent.
"Your face is bright red." Asagao moved forward her face inches from Shichiyou. Her light blue eyes sparkled with interest. Shichiyou's head was spinning.
"He didn't see you naked did he?" Asagao suddenly asked innocently cocking her head to one side. Ryuukyuukei, who had sat back down at this point, actually fell right off his chair. Shichiyou lost it and her entire face became red.
"Asagao!" She exclaimed completely taken aback.
"What, I was just asking." Asagao said shrugging her shoulders. Suddenly Ryuukyuukei got up and walked over to the door. His face was dark.
"Hey, where're you going Ryuu?" Asagao asked. Suddenly Ryuukyuukei turned around, an evil look in his eye.
"I'm going to go do some pest control if you'll excuse me." He replied and left the house.
"Asa, I think Ryuu is mad." Shichiyou stated.
"Yeah, I think I took it a bit too far. I don't know why he's bothering though. He has no idea what the guy looked like, plus he'll probably get distracted by some woman somewhere in town." Asagao shrugged. She smiled and ran over to Shichiyou taking her arm.
"Now come on let's go play!" She said reverting back to her five-year old self.
"I can't Asa, we have to help mom and dad at the café." Shichiyou said while standing. Asagao puffed her cheeks in protest.
"But I don't want to work I wanna play." She said pouting.
"I know. Tell you what, we'll go to work and then after I'll take you for a walk and we can play as much as you want." Shichiyou said with a smile. Asagao's eyes widened and she smiled happily.
"Yay I'm going for a walk with Shichi later, yay!" She said while bouncing around the room. Shichiyou smiled and followed her sister out of the house. They walked to the café and walked in. It was already filling up with morning patrons. They sat around the tables set up around the building. Some sat at the bar set up near the back even though they didn't serve alcohol. The shades were pulled up fully and the morning sun warmed the room and set it off to a nice glow. One window was open letting in a cool breeze and there were flowers set up in vases around the room.
"Shichiyou, Asagao can you go get changed and help us? Where's Ryuukyuukei?" Their mom suddenly asked coming out of the back room. Their mother was the cook and no one could beat her home-style cooking. Their father was whatever he felt like being that day. Usually a waiter but today he was doing orders for more ingredients and wouldn't be back until after the café closed.
"Ryuu's running…an errand and he'll be back eventually." Shichiyou replied.
"Is he? Well it doesn't matter, we're not that busy right now anyway. Now go get changed." Asagao and Shichiyou did as they were told and went into the back. Their uniforms were washed and dried and hung up on small hooks in the female changing room. Shichiyou's uniform was light teal to match her hair and eyes. It was like a maid's outfit with white frills at the end of the short sleeves and the skirt. There was white sakura blossoms around the bottom of the skirt. She also had a white apron to wear over her uniform that was simple and had frills around the edges. To finish the uniform off was a small frilled bonnet that just covered the top of her head.
She pulled her uniform on and put her feet in small black flats underneath the bench that ran along the room. She looked over at Asagao who was already in her matching dark purple uniform with her hair pulled back into tight pig-tails.
"I don't want to work!" Asagao whined stamping her feet and crossing her arms defiantly.
"You never want to work." Shichiyou said with a kind smile.
"Well I still don't want to!" She complained.
"Remember what we promised?" Shichiyou said with a teasing tone. Asagao looked at her. Shichiyou knew she was going to win this battle when she saw Asagao's eyes had started to grow slightly wider.
"If you come and help me finish an entire day's worth of work I will take you out for a walk and we can play for as long as you want." Shichiyou told her. The only way to deal with Asagao when she was in a mood was to treat her like you would a five-year old who just wanted to play. All you had to do was make a small compromise and she was ready to go. A new light shined in Asagao's eyes. She grabbed Shichiyou's arm and dragged her out of the backroom.
"Come on Shichiyou, come on! We have work to do! Let's go, let's go!" Asagao said with new found excitement. Shichiyou smiled and allowed Asagao to drag her out into the café. Shichiyou and Asagao grabbed their pads and pens and began walking around the room taking orders. The morning was slow as usual but they knew it was always calm before the storm. As the afternoon rolled around so did the crowd. Soon the entire café was filled with customers.
Asagao and Shichiyou were running around the room taking orders and bringing food and drinks to the customers.
"Oh, Mr. Kishimoto how are you?" Shichiyou asked bringing a coffee to a regular customer. He was scribbling sketches onto pieces of paper.
"Good, the final chapters are almost done." He said still sketching away.
"That's good, here's your coffee." She said and placed the coffee on the table.
"Almost done, the main character is about to face off against-"
"Oh don't tell me Mr. Kishimoto, I'll just wait and read it when it comes out." Shichiyou said with a smile. Mr. Kishimoto nodded, went back to work, and started taking small sips out of his coffee cup. Shichiyou smiled. Mr. Kishimoto had been working on that story of his for years. Something about a boy ninja in an orange jumpsuit, she wasn't sure.
Shichiyou continued walking around the room, not even tired yet. After years of running around the room her stamina had only increased as the café's popularity did. Asagao was bouncy as ever jumping from table to table with a cheerful smile on her face. Ryuukyuukei came running into the door a little later on in the afternoon. He bolted it into the backroom and then came out looking as suave as ever in his waiter's uniform. It was a simple white shirt, black vest, and black dress pants. Shichiyou turned to the window to see some girls a little older than her standing in the window just gazing at him.
She smiled. Same customers, same food, same light, same girls watching Ryuukyuukei as he worked, same old life that Shichiyou had been living since coming to the Soul Society. Unfortunately, today wasn't going to be the same old day of work that Shichiyou figured it was.
Shichiyou walked over to her next table. She closed her eyes and smiled brightly.
"Hello, and welcome to Café Hitohana. Is there something I can get you?"
"No way, it's you." Shichiyou opened her eyes. They grew wide with shock. Sitting there with a bright smile on his face was the same boy that had spoken to her outside her window that morning. He was just sitting there, smiling, like Shichiyou was a long lost friend. She was right before though, he was beautiful. Perfect. Slightly tanned skin, bright and smiling hazel eyes, smooth black hair, he was the most perfect boy Shichiyou had ever seen and to top it all off, he looked around her age.
"Remember me from this morning? I thought for sure we'd never even have a decent conversation outside me yelling at you in your window." He said. He smiled brightly. A perfect smile.
"Uh…uh…" Shichiyou couldn't make any coherent words come out of her mouth. It was like something was blocking her throat.
"So you work here huh? That's pretty cool. If I wasn't so busy I would definitely be getting a job. Maybe here, it would be really interesting." He continued. He turned and sent Shichiyou a mischievous look. Shichiyou felt her face turn red. She pulled the pad close to her face and tried not to make eye contact.
"Can I get you anything?" She whispered behind the pad.
"What?" Aserisk asked cocking his head to the side like a puppy. He was so cute. Shichiyou shook her head slightly.
"Can I get you anything?" Shichiyou said a little louder.
"Come again?" Aserisk asked putting a hand behind his ear. He's teasing me! Shichiyou thought. She had never been teased by a boy before, other than her brother but right now that didn't count.
"I said can I get you anything?" Shichiyou finally said pulling the pad away slowly.
"Oh, uh, let me see…I guess I'll have…some green tea and a plate of sushi, my favourite." He added winking at her. Shichiyou quickly wrote down his order without looking at him and quickly sped off to the kitchen. She ran behind the wall blocking the customers' view of the kitchen, leaned against it, and sighed heavily. Her face was still bright red and her heart was racing.
"That guy from this morning is here." Shichiyou nearly jumped out of her skin as her sister breathed into her ear. Asagao laughed and clapped her hands.
"I scared Shichi!" She said happily.
"A little jumpy Shichiyou?" Ryuukyuukei asked as he came into the kitchen as well.
"No, of course not, Asagao just scared me." Shichiyou replied trying to calm herself down. Suddenly Ryuukyuukei turned and glared.
"Something wrong Ryuu?" Asagao asked.
"Who's that guy sitting over near the window? I've never seen him before." Shichiyou felt her stomach flip. The guy sitting near the window, was Aserisk.
"Mom, I have an order!" Shichiyou suddenly burst out running over to her mom and passing her the small piece of paper.
"Thanks sweetie." Shida replied not taking her eyes off of the rice cooker. Shichiyou stood staring at her mother. Her mother stood waiting, but gradually grew agitated.
"Shichiyou, do me a favour and wait somewhere else. This rice needs to be cooked to perfection for the best quality taste and you're making me nervous." Shida told Shichiyou slightly annoyed.
"Oh, right, sorry." Shichiyou replied and slowly slid to the side. Her mother was always very tense when it came to cooking. Everything had to be perfect or she would throw out the food and start again, It cost them a little more everyday but with the amount of customers they got everyday that extra cost was covered within a day. Shichiyou tensed as she felt a hand on her forehead. She looked up to see her brother staring down at her.
"You alright? You've been acting weird." Shichiyou looked at her brother.
"Oh, it's nothing." Shichiyou told him with a smile. Ryuukyuukei looked down at his little sister with concern.
"Shichiyou, your order is ready!" Shida called. Shichiyou almost sighed with relief. She ran over to her mother with a tray and placed the green tea and sushi on it. She walked back over to the doorway that lead into the main room. She turned back to her brother.
"I'm fine, really." She smiled and walked back out. She slowly made her way over to the table and her heart race started increasing again. What was she going to say? How was she going to even approach him? The questions whirled around in her mind until her eyes started to spin. She was almost at the table when something happened. Either she tripped over herself or something else, but Shichiyou was falling. Her clumsiness had decided to strike, at the one possible moment she really didn't want it to.
She saw the tray falling out of her hands and forward. Green tea was spilling on the floor and sushi was falling in all directions. Shichiyou herself was falling towards the floor and was going to land on her face, hard. She closed her eyes and waited for the impending impact. It wasn't like she hadn't fallen before, she had, many, many times, but this was hardwood floor, and she had a very delicate face.
As Shichiyou thought she was about to hit the floor, she hit something, soft. Shichiyou had her eyes shut tightly and slowly opened them. When she looked down all she could see were bright hazel eyes filled with worry and they were surrounded by a perfect face. Shichiyou realized she was staring right into Aserisk's eyes. Not only that, she was lying, right on top of him. Shichiyou felt her entire face turn dark red. She let out a small yelp and jumped backwards landing on her butt.
She could hardly breathe. She had been so close to him, his lips were practically on hers. Shichiyou shook her head trying to erase the images but her embarrassment wouldn't go away. She felt her throat go tight and thought she was going to cry. She started sniffing and knew the tears would come any second.
"Hey, you alright?" Shichiyou looked up at Aserisk. He stood over her and concern filled his face. Shichiyou shook her head again, not in protest, but because she was trying to stop herself from crying. Aserisk reached out and took her hand. He slowly lifted her back up and smiled. He suddenly stepped forward. Shichiyou tensed and then realized it was because he was trying to hide her face.
"If there's one thing I hate, it's seeing a girl cry. So do me a favour?" Shichiyou looked up at him. She thought he was mad at her, but he just turned around and smiled.
"Dry those tears, and show me a smile." He said. Shichiyou rubbed her eyes and a bright smile crossed her face. Aserisk's face fell in shock. Shichiyou looked at him confused but he hid the shock and smiled.
"By the way, I still don't know your name." Aserisk whispered. Shichiyou looked at him shocked. She knew his name, but she hadn't even introduced herself yet.
"I'm sorry, my name is…Shichiyou." She said with a small smile. Aserisk was silent for a moment, like he was taking it in, and then smiled.
"Shichiyou…I like it." He finally said. Shichiyou's heart flipped. Not just because he had said her name, but also because he liked it. He actually liked her name!
"Thank yo-"
"Hey is everything ok over here?" Shichiyou looked over to see Ryuukyuukei walking over. He had a dark glare on his face, probably directed at Aserisk.
"Ryuu, it's ok, I just fell. He helped me up." Shichiyou explained.
"Oh really? He just happened to help you?" Ryuukyuukei said still glaring at Aserisk.
"It was nothing really. The only problem is there's food all over the floor now, my food, so I'll help clea-"
"Thanks but we don't need your help, we can handle it ourselves." Ryuukyuukei interrupted. Shichiyou glared at him, he was being rude and she didn't like it. A dark glare crossed Aserisk's face but he let it go and smiled.
"Alright, I can tell when I'm not wanted. I'll see you around." He said mostly to Shichiyou. He threw some money on the table and slowly walked out of the café. Shichiyou turned on Ryuukyuukei.
"What was that?" She demanded.
"What was what?" Ryuukyuukei asked.
"You treated him horribly! He was a customer and he stopped me from falling." She told him angrily.
"I'm sure. Look Shichiyou, that guy is looking for trouble alright. I can tell guys like him from a mile away. If he knows what's good for him, he'll leave you alone." Shichiyou stared at her brother shocked. He had never treated anyone like that before. She glared at him, turned around, and stomped off. She ignored her brother for the rest of the day and just finished her shift. She left still in a mood and met Asagao outside the café.
"Let's go Shichi, let's go!" Asagao said happily. She still had her hair tied in pigtails and they bounced as she skipped along. Shichiyou followed behind her, still thinking about before. Ryuukyuukei could be so rude sometimes, but today he crossed the line. Shichiyou couldn't stand it.
"-chiyou, Shichiyou!" Shichiyou came out of her thoughts to see Asagao standing beside her looking worried.
"What's wrong Asa?" Shichiyou asked.
"You weren't listening to me." Asagao complained.
Shichiyou smiled. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"
"Well I was saying that we should play hide-and-seek when we get to the park. I love that game." Asagao said happily.
"I don't know about hide-and-seek, it's getting dark and we don't want to get lost. How about tag instead?" Shichiyou offered. Asagao's eyes grew wide and a huge smile crossed her face.
"Tag, tag, tag!" She chanted. Shichiyou smiled. She always knew what to do to make Asagao happy. When they finally made it to the park the sun was already almost hidden behind the horizon. A small chill had filled the air and Shichiyou shivered slightly. She looked around. Something didn't feel right, but she didn't know, or at least, couldn't explain, what it was or why she felt it.
"Asagao, I think maybe we should go home for tonight and play tomorrow. It's pretty dark." Shichiyou said holding herself.
"No! You promised me we could play so we're going to play! Come on Shichi let's play tag! We won't be long, just a few minutes, please?" Asagao asked her eyes growing wide. The puppy pout. Shichiyou thought rolling her eyes.
"Alright, a couple of minutes but then we should go." Shichiyou said, shaking off the weird feeling. Asagao's face lit up.
"Yay, ok you're it!" Asagao said happily and ran off giggling. Shichiyou rolled her eyes. She was always "it" but it didn't matter, she was the fastest in her family. She ran after Asagao who laughed as Shichiyou chased her. They played like that for almost half an hour when Asagao fell to the ground. She gasped for breath. Shichiyou lied down beside her and they both stared up at the stars that had filled the sky.
"Hey Shichiyou, who was that guy in the café before?" Asagao suddenly asked reverting to her mature self. Shichiyou tensed and lifted herself up.
"You saw him?!" She asked turning around to face her sister.
"Well yeah, you caused a scene in the café." Asagao replied. Oh great, the serious Asagao is back. Shichiyou thought rolling her eyes again.
"So who was he?" Asagao asked. She rolled over onto her stomach and picked at the grass. Shichiyou sighed defeated. Asagao wouldn't let it go now, especially since she was back to being serious Asagao again.
"I don't know really. He was staring at me this morning and he told me his name was Aserisk. I don't know anything about him other than that."
"Aserisk huh? That's a cool name, I like it. So is he like, your stalker or something?" Asagao asked. Shichiyou nearly fell onto the grass.
"No he is not my stalker!" She exclaimed. Asagao just stared at the grass with no expression on her face.
"Alright that's all I wanted to know. Are you and Ryuukyuukei still mad at each other?" Asagao asked abruptly changing the subject.
"Sort of, I think our game helped me get over most of it." Shichiyou replied playing with a piece of grass.
Asagao smiled. "Tag makes everything better. I don't think you should be too mad at him. He's only trying to protect you."
"Yeah, I know. I just wish he'd stop treating me like a child. I'm 16 and contrary to popular belief I can take care of myself."
"Maybe it has something to do with you being so short. Maybe when he sees you he sees you not as his responsible sixteen-year old young adult, but the 4'6" ten-year old he used to protect all the time." Shichiyou glared at her sister.
Asagao laughed. "But seriously Shichiyou, Ryuukyuukei is always going to protect you so you shouldn't worry about it. Besides, come this time tomorrow morning you guys will be all friendly again anyway." She smiled at Shichiyou. Shichiyou smiled back and sighed.
"Asagao I hate it when you act more mature than me." Asagao just laughed and then jumped up.
"I'm bored, let's go home Shichi!" Shichiyou rolled her eyes. Her sister could change her personality in the blink of an eye without even batting an eyelash. Shichiyou often wondered how Asagao's husband, if she ever got married, would handle her.
"Alright, we'll go. It's getting late anyway." Shichiyou got up brushing stray dirt off her clothes. Asagao and Shichiyou began walking home. It was eerily quiet, Shichiyou noted, as they walked along the empty street.
"Asagao I think it was a bad idea to come out tonight…" Shichiyou said trailing off.
"Why's that?" Asagao asked turning to face Shichiyou. She had an innocently curious expression on her face and was surprisingly calm.
"I don't know, something about tonight doesn't feel right." Shichiyou replied. She hugged herself and rubbed her arms as a cold wind blew by them. Shichiyou was getting goosebumps.
"I think it's nice out." Asagao replied. She had turned and was now walking backwards in front of Shichiyou. She looked happy as usual without a care in the world.
"Still, we should probably hurry home before we run into…Asagao look out!" Shichiyou exclaimed. Asagao turned abruptly around and ran into a man coming out of a side street. Asagao fell to the ground.
"Owwie!" She whined rubbing her behind.
"Asagao are you ok?" Shichiyou asked running over to her sister. She knelt down. There were small tears in the corners of Asagao's eyes.
"Yes, I'm ok." She replied through sniffs. Shichiyou looked up at the man.
"I'm so sorry, she just wasn't paying attention to…" Shichiyou trailed off. The man had turned and he had an awkward smile on his face. He turned his head to the side.
"Hey, come check out what I found." He called. Soon another man appeared. Shichiyou felt her heart pick up speed. She went to cover her nose but stopped in case the men would take offence. Shichiyou's nose stung. The smell of alcohol completely surrounded the men. They were both tall and Shichiyou could see the muscles beneath a slightly open piece of clothing.
Shichiyou let out a small gasp as she recognized the black uniforms the men were wearing. They were Soul Reapers, and the fact that they smelled of sake told Shichiyou that she and Asagao had just entered a very bad situation.
"Well, lookie here. Where did you find these two?" The other man asked. Neither of them was good-looking, and one had a wart on the side of his nose. Disgusting, was the only word that came to Shichiyou's mind.
"Well the little one on the ground ran into me." The other man explained. He had brown hair and was balding. He had small, black eyes, a big, fat nose and he was the one with the wart. He was also the most muscular of the two but he had a small pot belly. He obviously wasn't as fit as most Soul Reapers were.
The other man was tall and lanky with a long pointed nose and a sharp face. His hair was black, greasy, and sleeked back. His eyes were narrowed and brown. He looked very much like a chicken and was probably one of the creepiest men Shichiyou had ever seen.
"Well, that wasn't very nice. What are you going to do about it?" The chicken-man asked, an eerie smile crossing his face. The other man smiled back. Shichiyou did not like this.
"Shichiyou…" Asagao whispered her grasp on Shichiyou's arm was stronger than before. Shichiyou could feel Asagao shaking. This was bad, very bad.
"What was that? 'Shichiyou'? Is that your name?" The chicken-man asked turning his eyes on Shichiyou. Shichiyou shivered under his gaze. She didn't like the way he looked at her, not at all. He suddenly took a step forward and both Shichiyou and Asagao tensed. He looked down at Shichiyou and she glared back.
"Don't touch my sister." She hissed through clenched teeth. Shichiyou wasn't brave, but she was not going to let them get anywhere near Asagao.
"Oh, it seems we have quite the little tiger here." The chicken-man chuckled. Right, come anywhere near my sister and I'll claw your eyes out. Shichiyou thought bitterly.
"But you see, your sister isn't exactly my type, you however…I think you might be perfect." The chicken-man said. Suddenly the man moved faster than even Shichiyou could comprehend. The man grabbed Asagao and ripped her from Shichiyou's grasp, hurling her at the other man. The chicken-man then grabbed Shichiyou's arm and pulled her up. He wrapped his arms around her. Shichiyou tensed. The only thing between his body and hers was her two arms which she had managed to bring up instinctively before he grabbed her.
"Shichiyou!" Asagao screamed.
"Asagao! Let go of me!" Shichiyou demanded.
"Aww, not yet, let's have some fun first." The chicken-man said licking his lips. Shichiyou cringed.
"Shichiyou!" Asagao screamed again. She heard a laugh erupt from the other man. She couldn't see Asagao or the man since they were both blocked from view by the chicken-man.
"I said…let, me, go!" Shichiyou screamed. She stamped her heel down as hard as she could on the man's foot. He yelped in pain and let her go. Shichiyou acted as quickly as she could. She jumped away from the man and started towards the other man. He had Asagao against the wall of a house and she was trying to fight him off. Shichiyou felt anger surge up inside her. She ran at the man and instinctively brought up her foot. She kicked the man as hard as she could in the side.
He cringed and stumbled to the side taking Asagao with him. She screamed again. Shichiyou ran and helped her sister up. She suddenly felt a strong hand grab her arm and pull her back. She was suddenly pressed up against a wall and she hit her head hard. She opened her eyes to see the chicken-man staring at her menacingly. He brought his katana up to her neck.
"I suggest…you not do that again." He said through gasps of breath. Shichiyou turned her head and saw the other man had grabbed Asagao again. Tears were falling down her face and she was screaming. Why? Why am I so weak?! Shichiyou asked herself. She felt tears form at the corners of her eyes. She was useless, absolutely useless. She had so many people to protect her but she had never once protected herself or anyone else. If she only had some kind of strength she could protect her sister. But where was she going to get a strength like that? She was useless and there was nothing she could do.
Tears fell down her face.
"Oh come now, it's not going to be that bad, I promise." The chicken-man said licking his lips again. Shichiyou heard another scream from her sister and something inside her awakened.
"What the hell are you doing?" A voice whispered to her inside her mind. It was a woman's voice.
"What can I do? I'm trapped, and I can't help anyone." Shichiyou replied mentally.
"You can get rid of that half-ass attitude of yours and actually fight back." The voice replied.
"How? They're stronger than me and faster than me. I'm useless!" Shichiyou screamed in her mind.
"Shut up! You listen to me Shichiyou Hitohana you are going to stop whining like a baby and you are going to fight these pieces of shit and save your sister!" The voice yelled.
Shichiyou stopped. "But how?" She asked.
"Believe in yourself." The voice replied and then disappeared. Shichiyou suddenly came back to earth. She could hear her sister screaming and the men laughing. She had to do something, but what? "Believe in your self," the voice had said, but Shichiyou wasn't sure she could.
She suddenly heard a blood-curdling scream echoing through the area. It was Asagao and she needed help. I have to save her! Shichiyou thought to herself. Please, someone, something, if you can hear me, give me the strength to save my sister! Give me the strength to stand and fight! Give me the strength to protect! She screamed. Suddenly she felt a surge. It was like she was being filled with strength, agility, and above all, courage. She would fight, and she would win.
"What the hell?" The chicken-man suddenly asked. Shichiyou was being engulfed in a bright light. Like starlight. She thought to herself. It was amazing, the feeling she was getting from this light. It felt, amazing, so warm and comforting. Finally the light subsided and Shichiyou stood firm on the ground. She had a sheath on her left side and she was clothed in a black uniform. She had a white sash tied around her waist and a white ribbon tied around her left arm.
She looked up at the chicken-man and glared menacingly.
"Whoa, wh-what the hell is going on? There's no way…" He was scared and shaking. Shichiyou smiled. Without a hesitation she pulled out her katana and ran at the man. He lifted his in front of his face but was too slow. Shichiyou struck out at him. He blocked some of her attacks, but she finished him by slashing him across the chest and kicking him into the wall behind him. It wasn't a fatal blow, but it would definitely hurt. Shichiyou then turned and faced the other man. He had stopped as well and was staring with wide eyes at her.
"Please, we meant nothing by it. We were kidding that's all, just kidding." He said. The man dropped Asagao and backed away waving his arms.
"Please, I'm begging you here, we didn't mean anything by it I swear!" Shichiyou looked at Asagao. She was crying and part of her shirt was ripped near her chest. Shichiyou glared menacingly at the man. She continued to walk towards him and he fell back trying to get away. She knelt down in front of him. Shichiyou lifted her katana in the air and brought it down right beside his face. He screamed.
"If you ever come near me, my sister, or any other woman I will personally make sure that you lose a little bit more than your dignity. Now take your friend and get lost." Shichiyou nodded her head towards the chicken-man. The other man turned and bowed.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." He repeated. He ran over to the chicken-man, picked him up, and ran for his life.
"Shichiyou? What happened to you?" Shichiyou turned to stare at Asagao. Her eyes were wide with shock and awe. Suddenly Shichiyou returned fully to her senses. She looked around and then at herself. She was holding a katana of some sort and it had blood on the end of it. Shichiyou suddenly dropped it in shock. She stared at her hands. She was shaking.
"Wha-what happened to me?" She asked.
"Shichiyou, you're dressed, like one of them." Asagao said still staring at her. Shichiyou looked at her clothes and her eyes grew wide. No, this was impossible. Only those born in the Soul Society could become a Soul Reaper. So why was she, a soul who had been sent here, suddenly sporting the Soul Reaper uniform? She was so confused and her head started to spin. What was going on?
"Shichiyou are you ok?" Asagao asked worriedly. Shichiyou didn't know how to answer. She looked up at her sister and she became even dizzier. She felt herself lose balance, and then everything went black.