Disclaimer: I don't fucking own. Read paragraph below for credits.

This was inspired by Bleach and this shoujo manga (which is completed and I can't remember the name of). I'll be using shinigami terms from Bleach which I will let you know of beforehand or incorporate it into the story. Also some ideas came from the manga such as the last wish thing. I will explain ideas taken as they show up in the story like author notes like this before it begins.

Oh, btw, those instant ramen cups are such a life saver, they're good and cheap which is perfect since I'm picky and my financial status is that of a hobo. I practically live off that stuff. Even though they are so totally not instant.

-An

Summary: "Hello, I am Tsukyomi Ikuto, shinigami, and I will be killing you. Any last wish?"

Bittersweet Blade

A Meeting in the Night

I was running late for school. I dashed out of the train and ran at what seemed like an inhuman speed but I liked the adrenaline pumping in my veins, feeling it rush through my body. It makes me feel so... so alive. But I didn't want to waste my energy.

I almost crashed through the homeroom class door.

"Ah, Himamori-chan, so you've made it on time. Just below 22 seconds." My idiotic sensei stated. He never got my name right. I walked past him, making my way to my seat.

He continued rambling. "Have you ever thought of jointing track Himamori-chan?"I could feel a vein popping.

I inhaled and continued to go to my window seat, second to last row.

"So calm…" One person commented.

"I know she was called Himamori-chan twice this morning. You could tell she's pissed." another replied.

"Cool and Spicy as always." a girl with glasses continued.

I plopped down to my seat and plopped down to give my full attention to the window. I don't know how long I sat starring until I jerked my head back at the tug of my hair.

I glared at the culprit, Rima Mashiro.

"First class is starting." she stated as she yanked my hand out to History. I glanced back to the window. There was nothing bit clear blue skies. It was somehow, disappointing.

History, it seemed was the only class I shared with Rima and unfortunately we were at opposite ends of the room. We were in the same row and thankfully they were window seats as well. Most of the class was spent staring out on the city.

Sometimes when I look up, I could see Rima doing the same. She's gotten used to the trance like state I go through when my mind wanders.

I think she tries to see what I see. The truth is though, I don't see, I search. I seek.

History, I thought, was a useless class. What point is learning on the past when it's the future that matters? I understand we can't let history repeat itself but I'm never going to be one of the people who help makes sure of that.

I'm not going to be an important person.

Next class, math was just as pointless and dragged on forever. Not to mention I was not blessed with the company of someone.

Lunch came too slow for my liking.

Lunch it had seemed was the only time of the day I had cared to grace people with my smile and laughter. The table's topic today was Rima's sexuality. Of course the one who had brought this up was none other than Nagihiko. Their daily bickering where something of a show now, here at this table and undoubtedly most of the cafeteria.

Looking over to the blonde, I didn't try to stifle another laugh at her fuming face.

"I am straight god damnit!"She roared almost leaping over the table to strangle a long, violet haired male.

"Now, now it's okay. We're perfectly fine with which ever gender you prefer, or even both." he dodged a hand swinging towards him, chuckling as he did so.

"Just because I'm not like Saaya, you know sucking face against lockers between classes, doesn't mean I'm not interested in men, you know like you aren't." Rima was not going to let him win I noted. I turned back to face Nagihiko.

"She has a point, I mean like really Nagihiko, what self respecting male grows their hair that long?" I pointed out, almost turning red.

"Oh and no to mention the whole Nadeshiko fiasco back in 5th and 6th grade." Kukai, a caramel haired boy with emerald eyes glistening with tears threatening to fall. Honestly this boy was having too much fun in teasing his fellow male.

"Oh!" Yaya shot up, pig tails flailing. "Where is Nadeshiko? I haven't seen her in years!" the table had burst in another fit of laughter.

"Eh! What's so funny? Tell me!"

Lunch might possibly the reason I go to school for.

Besides the legal obligation, of course.

It was art then where my day got worse.

We were put into partners and had to sculpt their face. With a blindfold, no less.

That required a lot of touch as you may have guessed. And as lucky as I am, I got Tadase and Saaya, the class having an odd number of students.

Tadase was something I can describe easily. Blonde and two-faced.

Just, so oh know I'm not being blunt here.

He was too dense for his own good sometimes and had a complex of sorts. Call him a meager student and he'll blow a top off.

There were some other key points people would have to know.

1. He's taken by Saaya

2. He was my former crush.

3. I was his former crush.

How? How may you ask, had this happened? Why are we not together?

Well I'll tell you that on the contrary that it was an accident.

It was the summer before I turned 14, the summer before high school. Almost two and a half years ago.

It was when I saw him.

I was in the car with Mama, Papa, and Ami. It was going to be the last summer family trip before school in our summerhouse, down in the Japanese country side. The road there rarely had accidents. That day was rare. A silver minivan, Suzuki, I think it's hard to remember of such details from moments that last only seconds.

It came crashing in to the trunk of our own minivan, three rows, seven-seater. No one was in the third row thankfully.

The old man had started hyper venting. He lost control.

We went to the hospital, Ami and I. My bed was next to the old man. I could hear his heart monitor slow. The rhythmic beating was beginning to become random.

I was going to turn back to the ceiling when my eyes caught a flash. I saw a figure hovering over the man. I flailed, whimpered, eyes darting between the nurses and him.

He finally turned to me briefly. He looked of a couple of years older than me. Our eyes caught briefly, I remember they were very pretty. I tried hard not to blink.

And then he left, as if he knew I saw enough to get his image burned in my head. The room was silent. There was one heart beat audible to my ears, mine.

He took that man's soul.

He was a shinigami.

School started soon enough. I was only left with scars of minor cuts and lacerations. The memory of him continued to haunt me, but it wasn't out of fear. I couldn't identify the feeling but it wasn't foreign.

My changes were very apparent at the start of school. Rima stood beside me as she solemnly always had. Yaya was the same as always. Everyone was okay, really since all they know is about the car accident. Tadase on the other hand, was something else. I was no longer the cheery girl that flashed him smiles over the simple things or grieved on minuscule tragedies like a dead goldfish.

I actually searched for mishaps, looking out on the city during class, zoning out to hear anything in the outside world. I couldn't identify that as first. I thought maybe I was a masochistic or suicidal looking for accidents, wanting to be there but then I just knew. With every flash of purple I would whip my head around, sometimes so fast it would hurt, and few times whiplash would come over me.

His eyes were shade of purple. Violet with black-tinted blue irises.

I was searching for him. Searching for death.

Now with this, my interest in Tadase was gone like it hadn't even existed and it seemed with my sudden change his did too.

It was decided that I would sculpt Tadase.

"I can't stand the feeling of clay on my hands or nails!" Saaya had complained. She later whispered something over to the blond boy which led to the decision of me being the sculptor. I think it was something along the lines of "I don't want you touching her." that she had warned.

I brought my blindfold up to my eyes and tied it trying not to get hair knotted while doing so which proved to be impossible.

"Here, let me help you with that." I felt hands reach over mine undoing my half knot and redoing it. Tadase's voice seemed almost foreign in my ears. The boy had gone through puberty after all.

I heard Saaya gasp with this action. She knew of our last feelings, after all she did go to our elementary school. I barely hid a smirk as imagined her face at this sudden act of kindness. She was too predictable.

His hands were no longer near my head. I immediately reached out. Tadase got hold of me sat me down on my stool and after of shuffling I heard he sat down across me. I tried to imagine the shinigami rather than Tadase.

The shinigami took my hands in his and brought them to his face. I explored the contours' of his nose, the angle of his jaw line, curving over his cheek bones. I went under his hair, lining up the ears, brushing under his bangs to the forehead. I saw prominent, starling eyes of amethyst.

Then I realized this wasn't him. I shot my hands off his face and to the soft clay slab. I put in every detail from memory of touch through the class. Repeating "Tadase, Tadase, Tadase" just to rely on touch. When class was done, everyone was in awe of my work, unfinished or not. I never made the eyes. I rushed out of the room to next class and thankfully my last.

The walk home was quiet, and as cheesy as this might be, it was too quiet. Today was too perfect. Not my day but as in like in general, it was just too plain suspicious. It was full of too many 'too's'.

There were no sightings of them today or even the damn week. I usually see one.

Deciding that I wasn't going to let this week die down as a failure, or normal, I went to patrol in the hospital.

Hospitals are a funny thing. Lives are born there and lives are taken. It's a total contradiction really.

As I walked into the building, the receptionists was about to comment. I usually came in on days for community service, part of the school deal. I usually just gave stable patients a reminder to take their medication or reminded them of some appointment with a physical therapist or something.

But I never came on Fridays. Never.

I just silenced her with "I felt like it."I signed myself in, she smiled. She probably thought I was kindhearted, good-willed or whatever. I'm not.

How is it that people always misjudge me?

Moving along I went to my locker or more like mine, Rima's and Yaya's since we didn't really need separate lockers. All we kept was a pair uniforms, umbrellas and snacks. That itself only took up half, barely.

I swiftly changed, but it really shouldn't be called changing, more like layering.

There was really much too do for me, as a volunteer, so I got to spend most of my time wandering.

I still didn't see one. This is when I hate the fact I can't be in surgery rooms or in the ER, or even wait out in the back where ambulances drop people off. I think I spent an hour now, here and most of it was doing nothing.

I changed and left home. I didn't like wasting time.

I got home by the afternoon. I went to the kitchen to have some juice. There was a note on the fridge.

"Ami's staying over at a friend's…Papa's out camping to get some shots for the new magazine…Mama's out to a housewives convention." I mumbled over to myself. I sighed. There was no note of Mama saying there were leftovers or something edible for me. I glanced to the left. There wasn't money left to order in either.

Damn, and I just got my shoes off. I chugged what was left of the juice and began to search the house for money. Five minutes later, from the combined total of coat pockets, in the sofa, under the beds and in the deep crevices of my bag, I mustered up $5. 68. It was decent, I guess, it should last the weekend.

I checked the fridge. Milk, yogurt, bread, butter, and some fruits. I got breakfast covered. I checked the cupboards. Cookies, chips, raisins, candy, and pocky. Great, So all I really had to worry about would be Lunch and Dinner.

I went out and got myself a liter of Pepsi, a box of brand name macaroni, five instant ramen cups, and some instant coffee.

The first thing I did when I got home was strip down and took a shower. After that, me being a total lazy ass today fixed myself up one of the ramen cups. I sat down to watch a movie in my room after three minutes. How dare they call this instant?

After finding the remote, I sat down on the floor, leaning my head against the footboard of my bed. I would have lain down on my stomach but really, trying to eat like that was hell.

It seemed I was more tired than I thought.

I found myself in darkness before the movie reached its climax. It wasn't that much of I cool movie anyway.

I woke up with a startling jolt almost hitting my head on my bed. I looked up around me. Something was in here I knew it.

I got up slowly, enough time to adjust my eyes to the dark.

That wasn't needed because my windows were open and the curtains fluttered.

I don't know if I was cold because the breeze flowing through my room or because of what I was staring at.

It was him, in all his glory and clad in back.

If this was a dream, I don't want it too end, because what I've been searching for finally was here. In arms reach.

And then I saw his mouth move.

"Hello, I am Tsukyomi Ikuto, shinigami, and I will be killing you. Any last wish?"

Next Chapter: A Deal in the Dark

TBC

Reviews feed my soul.

-An