Sample Chapter: [Word Count: 1420]
Her Dying Face
"Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-- Kahlil Gibran
It hit her like a point blank Hadou as the hollow ran its claw-like arm through Kouki's body. It all seemed like a blur after that - every emotion, every feeling, and every sound seemed to have heightened in a split second. Everything seemed to have slowed to a fluid, dreamlike state. Takeo's shrill, keening screams ringing in her ears, the look of pure, unadulterated horror across Kouki's features, the sound of her own heart pounding rapidly in her ears, as though it were about to burst - she stared in horror and grief at the tears trickling slowly down Kouki's face...
"Amaya..." He whispered as his body fell to the ground in a pool of darkly gleaming, slowly spreading blood. His lifeblood was falling to the ground. Time seemed to slow down and everything ceased to exist as she lurched towards his motionless body, falling to her knees. She could hear, dimly, as though coming from a great distance away, Takeo calling out to her, screaming with his unnaturally high-pitched voice that she was crazy to run over to Kouki... but nothing else seemed to matter more... nothing else...All that mattered now was... Kouki.
"Kouki..." She cradled him in her arms, holding tightly onto him, as though somehow, somehow, she could lend him a little of her life, as though she could stop the blood from flowing out of his ravaged body. "You'll live... you'll be fine... Don't... don't worry... Please... please, don't...!"
She was blind to the hollow towering over her, livid claws gleaming, until she heard a loud incantation and a sudden explosion behind her, the force of it throwing her to the ground. One of their senpais and a few teachers had arrived at the scene of utter and complete devastation. Perhaps the teachers had already dealt with the rest of the hollows in that area - she didn't bother to look up and find out. She didn't care. Nothing... nothing else mattered now. Nothing at all. Their senpai came and knelt beside them. Takeo, on the other hand, had run to the teachers to explain what had happened - his arms flapped, hither and thither, as he talked, dramatically emphasizing his words.
"A-Amaya... I-It hurts..." Kouki was turning pale, even as he struggled to gaze up at her. He gritted his teeth, as a spasm of pain wracked his body.
"You'll be fine, Kouki..." Amaya whispered, "You'll be fine... You... you will be alright! I promise! Just... please. Hang on a little longer." Her head dropped, "Please."
"He's-" Their senpai stopped in mid-sentence - judging from the severity of the wound, he knew that this would probably be the boy's final moments as a shinigami-in-training. He could also tell... that these two were very close... And also; he did not have the heart to tell Amaya... that this was the end for the boy.
"Kouki..." Her fingers curled like claws into the palm of her hands, her nails digging into her flesh, as she fought to hold back the tears forming behind her eyes. Why? Why did this all have to happen? When was it all going to end?
"Don't leave me, o-okay..." Kouki asked - his voice was barely audible now, a mere whisper. She nodded, biting her lip, replying, "Don't leave me either... Stay... stay with me! I swear. Every-everything will be all right! Just... please... for a little while longer!"
"I... I'm tired, Amaya... So... very... tired..." Her heart skipped a beat. If he closed his eyes, what if he never woke up again? What if she never had the chance to meet the steadiness of his hazel gaze ever again? Suddenly, she panicked.
"Kouki... I wanted to tell you that I... I..." The words froze within her, never to come out, as she watched as he closed his eyes for the last time. I love you too...
The tale of her unspoken feelings for him was told through the sparkling, crystalline tears that fell from her eyes, falling earthwards like the tears of Ages, glittering like jewels. She held on tight, unwilling to let go. Her lips brushed gently against his, but she could offer no breath of life - Kouki had fallen asleep one last time...
When a human being dies, their soul either goes to Soul Society or Hell...
"Wait for me, Kouki... Wait for me..." She whispered, "Just take... a short rest... for now..." She swallowed, as she struggled to push the words out. "For now..."
But what happens to the soul of a member of Soul Society who's been killed?
Their senpai remained quiet. He knew that words alone would not help to ease the pain... and that it was up to nature alone to heal this shattered soul. Takeo had already been silenced by one of the teachers. Amaya cried her heart out as the earthly sky turned grey. The grief... it felt as though it were tearing her apart from inside. Nothing could heal her now. She felt as though now, there was this gaping void, deep within her heart, and nothing -- no amount of tears, no words of solace, could ever fill it. Crying wouldn't bring him back, but it was all she could do to try and ease the longing feeling laced with regret that was tugging on her heart strings. The person she cared about most had been taken away from her. Torn away. Her mind was clouded by thoughts of "why" - why her, why Kouki... why now...?
Seireitei was the closest one could get to heaven... and wasn't heaven supposed to be a happy place?
*****
She knelt beside the small shrine dedicated to Kouki - the funeral had been brief, though many attended, and the testimonies of those who knew him didn't help to ease the pain. The grief still overwhelmed her, and nothing... nothing had been able to pull her out of this pit of sorrow she had sunk into. It was as though part of her had died along with Kouki, and nothing would ever bring that part of her back. Deep inside, she felt ill, and all the questions directed at her regarding his manner of death only worsened that sickly, nostalgic feeling coursing through every system in her body.
They had cremated his body - a quick and effective method to deal with a deceased student with neither a family nor upper class background. However, she had silently promised to stay by his side until the very end - and that she did.
"No-one saw that coming, you know... But then again I guess Nagakawa had been too slow - and look what happened. I guess we can all learn from his fatal mistake, don't you think? Did you hear me, Amaya-chan? Don't you agree?" Takeo babbled aloud, nudging her with his elbow. Amaya merely stared blankly ahead - she had long since blocked out his thoughtless chatter. She had no strength left in her body to tell him off today. In fact, she had neither the strength nor will within her to tell anyone else off, for that matter. Everyone left, all of them giving her a pitying, sympathizing glance and their condolences before leaving the room silently, one by one.
She felt numb - now things would never be the same without Kouki. Nobody had a smile as radiant as his, nobody! No-one could possibly replace him... No-one at all... Regret - how she despised that feeling... and not telling him how she felt - perhaps that was her biggest regret of all... She could feel it within her, eating away at her, unraveling any train of thought she tried to compose.
"Hey! Amaya-chan! We can go now, you know? Come on, let's not waste anymore time here. Nagakawa's gone - get over him! Now can we go? Come... ON!" Honestly, Takeo never knew when to shut up. She gave him a blank glance from the corner of her eye, shooting him a lifeless stare laced with a strong hint of disgust.
"Am-Amaya-chan..." He stuttered, taken aback by her reaction. She stood up and turned to leave - she wanted to be alone... for now.
Her watery blue-grey eyes, once blazing with a fierce, burning intelligence, had lost their glimmering brilliance and become an empty, lifeless grey, like distant rain clouds. He watched her turn her dying face to the ground as she walked away, her footsteps echoing down the empty hallway.
Nagakawa Kouki had not been the only soul who died that day.
