“If I think about it really hard, I can still remember the exact moment I fell in love with him. The very moment that I fell for Gin Ichimaru.”

One {Prologue}

This story begins before the beginning. It begins when she was just a young girl who fell in love with a silver fox. A boy who could have been a figment of her imagination; a creation from her mind, a ghost. But even then, she always knew that he would hold a special place in her heart; she always hoped that one day, in the future; they would meet again. And this time, it would be her who would play the role of saviour.

It had been a cold day. A cold, December day. With a strong wind rustling through the soul society, with dark clouds rumbling fiercely above them all, and with heavy rain pelting onto the paved streets, like tiny buzzing bullets.

The young girl with straight, creamy brown hair pulled into even pigtails watched the world around her contently from the warmth of her bedroom. She smiled at it all; the growling thunder that seemed to shatter all around her, the occasional flash of light that she would only just see out of the corner of her eyes; all of it. She thrived off the excitement. In her small, delicate hands, she held a little pot of cherries; her fondness of summer fruits was something that she would forever live by. She picked up one of the little red balls of juice and sweetness, and placed it in her mouth. Rolling it around on her tongue before finally eating it, she gently spat out the stone into her pot, before looking back up to continue watching the thunder storm as it grew more and more vicious. Her gaze glanced down the garden beneath her window; she lived a good life with a good family. Her garden was pretty, and despite the season, trees blossomed, showering her garden with the most beautiful shades of bright, vivacious colours. Her gaze flickered back up to the towering wall which was set firmly into the ground not too far away. It wasn't something that she was particularly interested in; the wall wasn't keeping her prisoner, it was keeping her- and everyone else- out of a special section. She didn't know much about it, but had once been told that Soul Reapers lived inside that special area. And that if she went anywhere near it, then they would take her soul as well. She was young, and so of course she’d believed that, and had never wandered anywhere near to the walls.

They was a shatteringly loud roar of thunder from behind her, the girl looked up in surprise, and ran across her room to the window that led out to the front of her home. She spilt several cherries onto the mahogany flooring as she looked out of the window. The rain seemed even heavier; and as she looked down to the street, where several people seemed to be caught up in it, she felt a little tug of sympathy inside of her. It was easy for her to watch the storm from the comfort of her bedroom, but it must have been scary for those caught up in it all. She plopped another cherry through her lips and nibbled on it thoughtfully; she was glad not to be out there.

Spitting the stone out, she teased her thumbnail against her teeth nervously; the flashes of light were getting closer and closer to the rips of thunder. Didn't that mean that they were getting closer?

She blinked and looked down to the gravel beneath her window, she could hear the crunch crunch crunch of something walking on it, yet she could see anyone. Pressing her cheek against the glass, she managed to see just what was there. A little gasp left the girl’s lips as the slim, white cat came into view; it’s once fluffy fur was stuck in clumps against the creature’s delicate body.

“Shiro!”

The girl cried out; she hadn’t known that her kitty had been outside; the little cat- named after one of the girl’s friends- seemed to hear her voice. It looked up to where the girl was hammering on her window, and silently meowed. The girl didn't hesitate; she loved her little cat, of course she wasn't going to let it get sick from the wet and the cold.

Running towards her door, she hitched up her long, thick, black and silver kimono, so that it was easier to run, and darted down the corridor. She was careful not to be seen by the house staff as she scrambled and crawled and slipped through various doors and down certain hallways until she reached the home’s entrance. She pulled the heavy door open, and was almost knocked off her feet when the wind blew it against her. Rain spat at her fiercely from every possible angle; yet the girl didn't even notice; or rather, she tried to ignore it. Squinting, she ran several steps forward onto the gravel and looked around for Shiro.

“Shiro?”

She whimpered, and there was the smallest of meows in the distance, as the cat’s green eyes suddenly came into focus from beneath a bush, the girl reached out to it.

“Here boy!”

She pleaded; the cat normally listened to her, it was normally well behaved and adored its owner. But the weather had upset and unnerved the cat; it meowed and scarpered, running down the gravel and onto the path besides the road. The girl cried out again, but without thinking twice she ran after the kitty. The rain made her kimono feel heavy and it stuck to her cold skin as she felt her hair begin to stick to her cheeks. She tried not to think about what her grandma would say when she saw her, and pushed past it all, chasing after the little flash of white in the distance.

Her wooden shows felt sodden, her feet felt frozen; she couldn't really be surprised, the puddles she was running through were ankle-deep. But she wasn't thinking about that, all she wanted was to collect Shiro and go back to the warmth of her home.

Her feet skidded as she ran across the empty road, she was shivering as she moved, her lips trembled against her teeth as she tried not to frown. Up ahead of her was a wooden bridge; it led from the second District to the first; and it was a bridge that she often crossed when visiting her friends. The flash of white disappeared; and slowly jogging to the bridge, the girl looked around her, confusion filling up her grey eyes. Where was her cat? One moment it had been on the bridge; the next....gone. Just gone.

Dread began to fill the young girl’s eyes as she looked to the side of the bridge, where the wooden hand-rail was. The gaps beneath it were large; certainly large enough for a small cat to slip through...

“S-Shiro!”

She moaned, horror and distraught seeping through her face, she ran to the rail and her fingers dug into the wood as she leant over. She could see nothing in the dark, raging water beneath her; maybe she just needed to see a little more. She leant over further; it wasn't enough.

She leant over again. And Slipped.

At that moment, the young girl genuinely thought that she was going to fall headfirst into the fast flowing river beneath her and drown. Her grandmother and sister would never know what happened to her; they’d wonder where she was, how a girl could just disappear like she had. She had been certain; that right then, she was going to die.

Only, she never fell.

Her body felt limp for a moment as it began to turn and twist over the railing, but before she felt her body flail through the air; she felt something else instead. Someone’s arm around her waist; pulling her back.

She stumbled as her feet made contact with the ground again, her eyes must have been so wide; so full of bewilderment and fear. She looked up with true confusion; she wasn't sure what she was looking for. It hadn’t clicked that someone had saved her, only that something had stopped her from falling. Her gaze darted from space to space until finally, it landed on him. The silver fox.

He had an angular face, with curved; almost closed eyes, and a smile that seemed to be a mixture of genuine kindness and mocking.

“Ya should never lean over th’ edge like that.”

He commented in the lightest of tones; seemingly expected her to say something. But the girl couldn't find the ability to speak; she was completely and utterly smitten, captured and enthralled by this stranger. His hair was the oddest shade of silver, beads of rain slithered down it, making it gleam as if it lived a life of its own. She didn't know if he was being sincere, or silently laughing; but it didn't matter. He was her saviour; she knew then, that she would never see him as anything but that.

“Where ya looking fer this?”

He queried in the same tone, holding something familiar up; the girl blinked and found herself staring at Shiro. She hadn’t even noticed him in the fox’s hands. Swallowing; trying to speak; failing at that; she reached out and the cat meowed in her arms. It snuggled against her chest, glad to feel her warmth. She looked up to the man, and tried to think of something to say; something to ask. His name. Just his name would be enough.

“Ya should get back inside. Rain’ll get worse.”

He commented cheerfully, and without saying anything else, she watched as he turned and walked away as if he was floating off the ground. She watched his black robes flutter lightly despite the rain, and continued to watch until he disappeared completely.

Only then, did she clutch Shiro to her chest and run home.

It was a day, which she would never forget.

District 2- Ito Kya.

The rain fluttered down lightly beyond the window, and sucking the stone of a sweet, crimson cherry; Ito briefly relived the same memory that she always seemed to think about whenever it rained. Of course, the colours weren’t as bright as they used to be, and she couldn't always remember how much trouble she’d been in when she’d finally returned home. But at the end of the day; she always remembered the silver fox who had come to her rescue. And she liked to think, that on days like that; with rain pelting down onto the streets, that somewhere; he too, thought of her.

She gracefully spat the stone out and placed her finished bowl of cherries onto the windowsill behind her. Afterwards, she then stood up, reached up and yawned as she stretched her arms high above her head.

“I’m soooo sleepy!”

Her voice was light and dainty, but it was filled with sleepiness; clearly Ito hadn’t been sleeping very well recently; but it wasn't because she couldn't, it was because she barely had the time. A single year before, her grandmother had passed away; leaving Ito and her twin sister Cinne to look after the small estate which they lived on. Because Cinne had wanted to become a Shinigami, it had left Ito to run things smoothly. Ito didn't want to be the one who never did a thing; who sat around all day without lifting a finger. And so she worked hard keeping the home clean and tidy or working in the gardens to grow fresh fruits and vegetables. Even though she looked no older than an eighteen year old girl, she lived like she was a housewife.

Ito walked across and out of the living room and hovered in the foyer; any moment now she knew that Cinne would get home; acting as vivacious and loud mouthed as ever. Even though the two girls were pretty much identical; their personalities couldn't have been more different. Cinne was bubbly and suggestive; Ito was shy and inquisitive. Sometimes she didn't even want to know what kind of things Cinne got up too; certainly, they were things that she would never have done herself. Rolling her eyes, Ito pushed some hair away from her cheek and turned to look in the mirror which hung beside the door. She always felt like she looked younger than her age; only by a year or two; but still, compared to Cinne she was forever branded as the child out of the two. Ito liked to keep her hair simple; it was a pretty brown, dark and smooth like the colour of melting chocolate, or cocoa dust. It was long and straight, and ever since her childhood, Ito had always worn it in two pigtails so that it fell down her back. However, she also had the tendency to clip on brightly colour hair clips, and tied the bunches of hair with pretty ribbons. Cinne on the other hand, always wore her hair in an extravagant, more mature style; her most recent look had been curved ringlets. Something to make her stand out and look beautiful.

Beauty was a game to Cinne, she liked to use her looks for all kinds of things, and had the idea that it would get her places. Ito wasn't like that; mainly because there was nowhere she wanted to go. She wasn't ambitious like her sister; she knew that she’d probably end up spending her life in her home, watching the world around her grow up while she stayed the same.

Swallowing, reality broke through Ito’s thoughts, she looked at her reflection and tried to think if beauty was something that she had. She didn't really think about it a lot, it wasn't important to her; she didn't feel the need to try and look beautiful all of the time. With curved cheeks, a small, delicate nose, almond shaped eyes and plump, smiling lips; she held a beauty that people didn't really notice. Particularly when she was with her sister; whenever the two went out together, Ito was invisible. Who looked at the moon when the sun was beside it?

Her fringe gently clipped over her silver eyes; eyes that were beautiful and intriguing; the colour of raindrops- it was one difference between her and Cinne. Unlike Ito, Cinne had blue eyes, a darker, clearer blue. And even though her eyes were also beautiful, Ito was glad not to have them. She was glad to have something to herself.

The door opened and Ito looked up in surprise, she’d almost forgotten that she was waiting for something- or someone to enter.

“Itooooo-Chan!”

Cinne cried out with affection, kicking the door shut with the heel of her shoe, she reached out and hugged Ito warmly. Even though it was a kind gesture, Ito knew that it was just a matter of seconds before Cinne would burst out into her dramatics and seek attention. Three...two...one...

“Urgh! I had the most AWFUL day!”

Cinne declared, waving her arm in the air as she spoke and kicking off her shoes before sashaying into the living room. Ito followed her with a small, secret smile on her lips; she found it hilarious when she was right.

Cinne flopped down onto one of the small sofas in the room, and curling one of her ringlets around her fingers; she began to retell what had happened. Ito gently sat down on another chair and only half listened. Every story that Cinne told seemed to have the same elements: Cinne had taken/stolen/kissed/gotten-intimate with some other Shinigami's partner/husband/boyfriend/brother and as a result, that other Shinigami had-

“She just started on me! Out of nowhere- can you believe that?!”

The girl growled, crossing one leg over her other one in a somewhat sensual way; she didn't even seem to notice the vibe she gave off- that was how used to it she was.

“So anyway, she gets up all close to my face as if she’s trying to intimidate me. And I can’t do anything physical- because if I do then I’ll get kicked out of my place as fourth seat- and there’s noooo way that’s happening. So I tell her that if she so much as touches me with one of her disgusting, plastic fingernails then I will go right to Ichimaru-Sama and get her busted.”

She breathed out finally, and with a very smug expression on her face, crossed her arms, and smiled innocently. She always seemed to expect some kind of congratulations from Ito but never got one; simply because Ito was not interested in Shinigami life- or anything to do with it. She barely knew anything about what Cinne did; even if she had heard a thousand stories revolving around life in the Serentei- the area within the large looming walls that Ito had once been afraid of.

Tugging her long, plum coloured sleeves over her cold fingers, Ito hesitated for a moment before asking what was on her mind.

“Have you seen Toshiro-Kun recently? He didn't reply to my last letter.”

As a child, the girls’ grandmother had been friends with Hitsugaya’s grandmother, this had led to their becoming friends with Toshiro. Well, Cinne had never gotten on with him; but Ito had been insistently kind and cheerful around him; and eventually, the two had become close. With his workload building, they hadn’t seen each other as much in recent times as Ito would have liked; and so they exchanged letters. Only, in the last month, Ito hadn’t gotten a reply- which was strange for Toshiro.

Cinne waved the topic away, it wasn't about her- and therefore wasn't really that important- rolling her eyes, she answered briskly.

“Noooo; he’d probably just busy or something, leave it already.”

Ito bit her lip but left it; she wouldn’t have had the chance to say anything else anyway, because Cinne jumped up from the sofa- giving Ito a nice view of her panties- and twirled around energetically.

“Anywho- I need to get ready; tonight we’re going out to celebrate Reika’s birthday! You should tag along, it’s going to be a blast!”

She giggled contently, clapping her hands together; Ito didn't have to think about it, she shook her head.

She had discovered long ago that going out with Cinne was not a good idea; the evening always ended with a cat fight ensuing, and Ito having to drag Cinne home.

“You bore! You need to get out more, shake things up!”

Cinne whined, rolling her eyes. Ito raised an eyebrow and held her ground; she could guarantee that the evening was not going to end well.

“I’m good, thanks.”

She answered and shrugging, Cinne sauntered off towards her room to slip on a more than revealing top and a practically non-existing skirt.

Several hours later; when there was a knock at the door, Ito was more than surprised to not see Cinne standing there; but to see one of Cinne’s party friends. The girl’s cheeks looked flushed, and she was slightly hesitant as she spoke.

“It’s Cinne, she kind of hurt her ankle. Um, she says it’s broken?”

Ito groaned.