Tian-Mei wandered about the village for...she wasn't sure how long, trying to figure things out. It looked like any other village, though, after some time, she noticed there were no movie theaters or computers or anything similar.
What's more, there didn't seem to be any sort of food around. There was just water for the most part.
She only saw food rarely.
The girl hadn't been sure of what to expect from death, but wandering aimlessly around a village of people from another time was not among them.
She didn't have any money.
She didn't know anyone.
She was...lost.
Fortunately, she eventually saw something that she did recognize.
A figure in black robes, a large sword hanging from his back, moved through the crowd carrying an armful of groceries as he abruptly acknowledge the various calls he received from the peasants around. The man's constant glowering face and hostile appearance was belied by the genial way that the people greeted him.
Seeing her chance, Tian-Mei moved in front of the tall man.
"Excuse me," she said brusquely. "What's going on here?"
The man looked down at the food items in his arms and back toward Tian-Mei.
"I appear to be shopping," the man said simply, seeming to glower deeper.
"I mean, what is this place," Tian-Mei said.
The man frowned and shifted his bundle and reached a hand up toward his orange hair.
"You're new here, aren't you," he said.
"You could say that," Tian-Mei agreed. "Look, I know I'm dead, because I spent a month or so following my body to my parent's home with one of you guys following me. But I think you sent me to the wrong place. What am I supposed to do here. Is there a place for martial arts or anything like that? Because so far it looks like heaven for shopkeepers."
The man looked at her and seemed to be thinking about something.
"How long did the other shinigami follow you?" he asked finally.
"I don't know, a few weeks," she said.
"And no one met you here or explained things to you?" he asked.
"No," Tian-Mei said simply. "No one has even talked to me until you."
"You were a martial artist," he asked.
"My parents were champions of the grand tournament," she said proudly. "And I am...was already a rank 2 fighter nearly rank 3."
Suddenly she found herself holding the man's bundle.
"Hold this and follow me," he said.
"What, I'm not a servant," she protested.
"Do you want my help or don't you?" the orange-haired man snapped angrily, turning to face her momentarily before turning back around. "Let's go."
He started walking without waiting for her to respond. Tian-Mei hesitated only a moment before taking off after him.
Ichigo listened to the steps behind him thoughtfully. Aizen's war had depleted the soul-reaper numbers, from what he knew, they still hadn't recovered. That had led to a more active recruitment of new soul-reapers.
He supposed that he qualifed as such an emergency recruit, but, then, he'd been doing soul-reaper work for years before his body died.
If the soul reaper that crossed her over had followed her that long before performing the soul-burial, it meant that he had found evidence of strong spiritual pressure. The fact that he, a soul-reaper, was the first person to talk to her was further evidence.
"So," Tian-Mei asked. "How long have you been dead?"
"About a month," Ichigo said.
Tian-Mei stopped dead in her tracks and wondered why she should listen to this guy. Then she remembered that the only person who'd talked to her so far was walking away, and she hurried to catch up.
****
"Miyako," a young woman with light brown hair called up the stairs. "You're going to be late."
"All right, Auntie Yuzu," Miyako answered loudly. She turned to the pair of pictures on her bedtable, marked by black strips of cloth on the edges.
In one of the pictures was a man a serious, glowering expression and orange hair. In the other picture was a woman with a serious, and yet teasing, expression.
Miyako had a sort of mix of their hair colors, giving her a blend that seemed rather sandy brown. Much like her Aunt Yuzu, actually.
"Mom, Dad," she said. "Good morning."
She knew, of course, that they couldn't hear her on the other side, but that didn't stop her from speaking to them every day.
Her friends and some relatives had remarked that it seemed odd that she wasn't still sad over her parents' death, but she had a somewhat unique perspective on the matter.
Miyako Kurosaki didn't believe her parents had gone on to the next life. She knew that they had. In fact, occasionally, they had permission to still visit her, though not with a body.
The result was that her seperation was not so severe as it was for others who had actually lost connection with loved ones. She had been raised listening to the discussions of beings from the Seireitei.
She knew about the balance and the rest, and she understood that when her father's body was killed while he was out of it, that both he and her mother would have to leave.
If they had stayed, it would have likely ended up being more dangerous for the people around them. And, still, of course, though Miyako couldn't go to the Seireitei herself, she still knew where in the Soul Society her parents were and she had a sure fire way to be able to see them when she died:
She had to get strong.
Strong enough to become a soul-reaper herself when she died.
Otherwise, she'd be stuck in Rukongai among the multitudes and never find them again.
With a smile on her face, she took to the stairs and headed down to get breakfast before heading out.
"You'll be at the dojo today, right?" Aunt Yuzu asked.
"Yeah, everyday," Miyako said, smiling. "Sensei says I have potential."
"That's nice," Yuzu said, though she couldn't hide a bit of concern. Miyako was still only a kid, much too young to be getting seriously into any sort of martial life style in this world.
Then again, in this world, only those that started as young as her lived all that long in the martial world.
But even strong people died. First Ichigo was killed mysteriously and soon after, Rukia followed of some illiness. Yuzu didn't want that sort of early death for Miyako. Still, she couldn't honestly say that the girl wasn't suited for that life, and dedicated to becoming stronger.
The converation turned to matters of school and assignments, soon there after it was time to leave.
"Besides," Yuzu thought later as the girl left for school. "Her school is likewise full of people with the same interests."
School was, for once, more or less uneventful, which was both relieving and disappointing. Disappointing because no attacking hollows meant definitely no word from her parents, and relieving because it meant nobody in danger.
Of course, there was the usual harmless, but fun chaos from a few of the other students, most of them children of martial artists or other warrior types.
In any case, all that there was to do today was classwork and watch the clock until she could get out of school and head to the dojo.
When she finally walked in with a skinned knee and a smile on her face, one of the dojo's senseis looked her up and down seriously.
"You were trying to walk on the fences again," he noted seriously, a hint of disapproval in there. "I told you that you're not ready to do that casually yet."
"Sorry, Sensei," Miyako said. "But I only fell once this time."
"Balance beams," the man said seriously crossing his arms and accepting no arguments.
"Yes, sensei," the young girl said, embarassedly. "Is Akane-Sensei ready to teach yet?" She asked, looking around for the woman.
"Her sister says a week or so more," the sensei said. "So, no more sword classes until then, but, you can go talk to her. I think she's fine to answer questions."
"All right," Miyako said, cheerfully. "Thank you Ranma-Sensei."
Ranma nodded with a smirk and turned back to the dojo to continue overseeing his current class.
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(Posted Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:28)
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