𝐈 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃

iii | luceo non uro

translation — "i shine, not burn"
song recommendation — tomboy by (g)i-dle

" i like dancing, i love my friends

sometimes we swear without cigarettes

i like to "eh" on drinking whiskey

i won't change it, what the hell? "

fourteen years ago, 2009
karakura town

Nighttime was Tamaki's safe place. For the most part, it was silent when in the daylight, everything was loud. Everyone was usually awake during the day, mostly everyone was asleep during the night. Tamaki was one of the few who couldn't really sleep at night, just wanting to soak in the calm and mentally prepare herself for the chaos that will surely come the next day.

Unfortunately for her, it would seem the chaos would come early.

She tensed when an unfamiliar presence entered her room and she slowly turned her head to see a young woman standing on her desk. The stranger in strange robes with a strange sword hopped off the desk and onto the floor of Tamaki's room.

"It is near," the woman murmured and Tamaki's eye twitched as she got to her feet. She put her hand on the woman's shoulder, making her squeak and spin around to stare at Tamaki in shock and slight fear. "Who the—! You can see me? More than that, you can touch me!"

"Obviously," Tamaki muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Now, who the hell are you?"

The stranger stares at the blonde for a long, contemplative moment before exhaling softly and squaring her shoulders. "My name is Kuchiki Rukia," she introduced herself. "And I am a Shinigami."

~ — — — ~

"Okay, so you're a Shinigami from a place called—"

"The Soul Society."

"Right, and you are here to exterminate these creatures called—"

"Hollows."

"And you do that with that sword you have—"

"A Zanpakuto."

"And you expect me to believe you?"

Rukia sputtered at Tamaki's question. "But I've already explained everything to you! How can you not believe me?"

The problem is I do believe you, but I don't want to. "I've never seen you guys around here, and I've been able to see spirits for as long as I can remember." Tamaki tilted her head, narrowing her eyes at Rukia. "Why are you the first Shinigami I've ever seen?"

"How am I supposed to know the answer to that?" Rukia sighed, exasperated.

"Also, the thing you did to my little buddy there—" Tamaki was referring to the spirit that had been harassing her the entire day, "What was that called again?"

"A konso. It sends a spirit to Soul Society."

Tamaki hummed, crossing her arms. The two women were sitting on the floor of Tamaki's room, the lights on and blinding at first.

"You're still a lot more accepting of this than I anticipated," Rukia remarked with a confused frown.

"I don't get surprised by much these days," Tamaki admitted with a shrug. However, her hidden amusement slammed into Rukia all at once, leaving her breathless. Tamaki smirked at her. "But that's an interesting development. Right, platonic soulmate?"