Gravekeeper: Toushiro/Momo
London AU
Author's Note: This fic is based off of Cemeteries of London, by Coldplay. The only reason it's a London AU… is because of the title of that song.
It had been a while since my family moved to London… and I still didn't have any friends. I mostly wandered around the town at night, but not before it got too dark… strange men wandered around London in the middle of the night. Everyone knew that.
I was getting bored… following my same pattern of streets to walk upon… I took a detour. I started to get excited, so I ran down the street, my brown hair falling out of its usual bun… a graveyard. I had never liked graveyards… I shuddered slightly, but out of boredom came dangerous games. I put one foot on the fence, and swung myself over. Good thing I was light…
It was empty, as expected, and creepy. I hadn't realized how dark it was… a bit later than I normally stayed out. The wind blew through my hair, as I pulled it back into the bun… I hated having it down and sticking to my neck. The branches cast strange shadows from the light of the moon, and I shivered… it was cold, and I hadn't thought to bring a sweater. I kept walking… looking up at the dark sky, pondering why I had come here. "OOF," I cried. A large tree root had latched onto my foot, and I was falling forward into a tombstone. I caught myself, hands placed firmly on the rock to assure my safety, "I'm sorry. That was rude of me… rest in peace. I didn't mean to disturb you."
"You didn't disturb them," said a voice from behind me. I spun around quickly, just a moment ago… this place was deserted. "W-who are you?" I asked… my voice betrayed the internal panic I was feeling at this boy. He looked younger then me… dressed in black robes, with a white shawl I suppose… white hair… and a sword. Perhaps a gangster? But really… what gangster used swords…? "You can see me then," he questioned. I nodded slowly, my eyes darting to look for an exit besides hopping the fence. "Interesting… my name is Hitsugaya Toushiro. I am a Shinigami."
"S-shinigami!?"
"That's what I said, isn't it?"
"W-well… yes. But those don't exist." Toushiro, if that really was his name, took a step closer to me and glared. "Are you implying I don't exist?"
"N-no! I mean… I don't know." He stared at me for a moment, completely silent… with an annoyed expression plastered to his face. "What's your name?" I knew it wasn't safe to give out my real name while alone… in a graveyard… with a stranger, but there was something about him that made me trust him. "H-Hinamori… Momo."
"I see. Momo, are you looking for something to do?" I nodded. I was bored, and I didn't have anything else to do… so what if my parents were worried about me? I had just met a Shinigami. How many other people could say that, and NOT be insane? Unless… of course… I was insane.
"Then follow me." He turned away, and even though I had hardly blinked… he was over the fence and out of the graveyard. That was certainly not human speed… "H-how did you do that?" I stuttered, while clambering over the fence to reach him. "This is no good, you're slow… and I have a certain task to finish. Tch… here, grab my hand." I did as I was told, blushing slightly of course… where exactly was he taking me? How much was I going to regret this in a few hours… once I ended up raped or something…?
"O-ok… where are we going?"
"To the river." The river!? What was he going to do to me? Kill me and then throw my dead body in there? I think Toushiro could feel my hesitation… because he turned to look at me.
"Look. I'm a Shinigami. I'm not going to hurt you. I don't have anything to do with you… I don't even know why I invited you."
"That's not very kind…"
"Tch, whatever. Just follow me." He took off at a speed that I thought not possible on foot… and suddenly we were running over rooftops, and through trees. I was terrified… but this was probably the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me. I MUST be insane… this was too stupendous to be real… magical even, something out of… Peter Pan. I felt like I was flying, my feet barely touched any surface. "Having fun?" Toushiro mused with a smirk. I nodded quickly, and grinned at him. He gave me an unreadable expression in return, and faced the front again. We touched down at the riverbank soon after, and he dropped my hand quickly.
"It's here," he said quietly. I didn't ask, I felt it rude to question him so greatly when he was sharing this all with me already. My curiosity was growing though… and the words spilled out of my mouth. "S-sorry… but, what's here?"
"A Hollow." I nodded without really understanding what he meant… and then… the surrounding area shifted. I felt cold, and like there was something gigantic behind me… the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "MOVE!" Toushiro yelled, while tackling me to the ground. He did a roll, and tossed me to the side of the street while pulling out his sword. I shook from where I was lying, watching him charge at some unseen force. I heard an inhuman shriek and I covered my ears. So loud, so angry… so foul. "It's gone."
"W-what was that?"
"A Hollow. Angry spirits. You see… a human spirit that cannot pass on, into the Soul Society stays here… until it becomes angry and eventually… that anger manifests itself into a Hollow. Huge, hulking beasts with skull like masks."
"I'm glad I can't see it then…"
"But you can feel it, right?"
"Y-yes." I was still leaning against the building, shaking and my eyes were wide. It was extremely difficult to believe that all this existed. "Why did you save me?" I asked in a meek voice. He looked down at me and offered a hand to pull me up. "I don't let people die, Hinamori. What kind of Shinigami do you take me for?" I couldn't answer, I didn't know what kind of morals Shinigami had. "Toushiro… are you… dead?" He froze for a moment, and looked quite taken aback. "You could say that, yes." I gaped. He couldn't be any older than… 12 or 13 at most, yet he was dead? And a Shinigami no less? "How did you… no, I'm sorry. That's really not my place to ask."
"It's fine," he replied gruffly.
"So… to the river then?"
"Yeah." This time we were just walking, no high speeds… the river was close to our position. "This is my final task for the night."
"O-oh. Understood," I said quietly.
"Why do you look so upset?"
"Because… we've only been friends for a few hours. And now… I'll never see you again." He looked confused, but the realization seemed to sink in after a few seconds. "Well, I'll see you."
"You will? How?"
"This is my... area... to watch. I'm here every night," his eyes narrowed and he glared at me. "I see you, and a few other stupid teenagers running around all the time."
"Well... I didn't know it was any more dangerous than any other town." He sighed, and shook his head.
"Of course it is. There are Hollows running around every night! Do you know how many damn times I've had to save your ass from getting killed Hinamori!?" I got quiet... what could I say? Toushiro had very much confused me there... I had almost died, and apparently more than once. "Why me though?"
"You have a higher level of reiatsu than ordinary humans. They're drawn to that force." Makes sense I guess. Still... it was shocking.
"So, if you see me every night... then I WILL see you again. Right?"
Toushiro shook his head and sighed, "look. I'm technically not supposed to be talking to you. I can't make a habit of this. I have a position and reputation to hold up." I was a risk to him... something that could cause him more harm then good, and that wasn't what a friend should do. I realized I was rude to assume he considered our friendship mutual... he literally couldn't be my friend. "O-oh... I see. I'm sorry. I'll go now..."
"You could… come with me… you know." I nearly fainted, come with him? But I'd have to be dead! I thought about my parents… and I felt bitter. I suddenly wanted to go with Toushiro. My parents hadn't cared for a long while about me… that much was obvious. "How?" Toushiro looked somewhat surprised, I bet he hadn't expected the response. "Well," he held up his sword and I gulped. "Just… make it fast, ok?" He nodded and a grim expression crossed his face as he pointed the sword at my chest. "Relax. Hyourinmaru won't hurt you." Hyourinmaru? Who was that? A dozen questions ran through my mind, certain things I had wanted to do before I died… I never got married; I never even had my first kiss… I was so young, and yet I was about to leave my life as a human. For one boy. Why?
White. Bright white light. Then… some red… I couldn't breathe; I wanted to yell, to grab onto something… I couldn't move though. I was numb. I was dead. And then suddenly, black. Shapes were forming, blocks of black and grey… and something white… just close enough to touch. "Hinamori?" I let out a gasp, and clutched at him for support. He steadied me, and I took deep breaths trying to even out my racing mind. "You now have half my Shinigami powers. When we reach the Soul Society, you'll be put into training to develop your reiatsu." My outfit had changed to one similar to Toushiro's minus the white covering he had, and I now had a small sword at my thigh. "That's a zanpakuto, or… Soul Slayer. It's your lifeline. Hold onto it, keep it safe."
I was confused, but I felt assured. I didn't miss my old life, I had been shown a better path, by my one… and first friend. "Toushiro?"
"Eh?"
"Thank you."