+SINNERS AND SAINTS:
BOOK 1:
The turn of events:
CHAPTER 1:
The war was finally approaching an end. And with its end, Kurosaki Ichigo would soon realize his father's dream of unifying the three nations under one rule, under his rule.
He shoved a sword through a man's stomach and pulled it out, spilling his gut in the process. As he fought, he glanced over at his half brother, Renji. Renji smiled at him as he kicked a fallen warrior in the stomach. Grinning in reply, he turned to search for his father.
Kurosaki Isshin was not within sight's reach. Finally he spotted his old man fighting the General. He smirked. Despite his age, the old man could still fight like a lion.
His smile faded when he saw, a man wielding a sword, run towards his father's turned back, ready and poised to kill. Panicking and fearing for the life of his dear father, Ichigo ran ahead, his own sword held aloft. He thrust the sword deep into the man's chest. Once he slew the General, his father turned to witness his son pull a sword out of a man's chest. His face dropped.
"Ichigo, what have you done?"
Kurosaki Ichigo dropped the sword he held in his arms, as his father Isshin Kurosaki stared at him, blatantly.
Ever since Isshin could recall, the world he lived in had been ripped apart by the feud that raged on between the two races of men- the Dues and the Eruo.
Physically they were scantly distinct. The Eruos were taller, muscular and better built while the Dues were petit in comparison and more fleshy. But by nature they were as dissimilar as Ebony and Ivory. While the Eruos expressed in their negatives, were more aggressive, domineering and controlling, they were also passionate and fiercely protective of loved ones. The Dues on the other hand were subtly manipulative, paranoid and scheming. Expressed in their positives the Dues were sacrificing and compassionate.
The Dues' subtle deception and the Euro's expressed dominance have caused them to rift for centuries. So much so that the Dues voiced their interest to segregate from the Eruos and built a separate nation- Orientales. This encouraged the Eruo to build their independent nation- Occasus. The sparse few, who chose to live in integration, did so in the land in-between, which in time became a separate nation called Medius. And Kurosaki Isshin was the Emperor of Medius.
As a young prince his dream has been to merge the three great nations- Occasus, Orientales and Medius, as a single nation, under a single rule, under his rule so that both the races may be forced to unite. This was a dream his father had planted in his mind since he was a child, a dream that had strengthened through his own personal trauma. And today it seemed he was so close to achieving that dream, only a grasp away. But as his son slowly uprooted the planted sword from the man's chest, he wasn't so sure anymore.
In the land of Medius, where both the Eruos and the Dues' chose to live together, peace and harmony wasn't always guaranteed. The races were still skeptical towards one another. There was a general air of distrust so tangible that the nation's rulers always feared civil war. Rulers from a certain race, who were biased towards their own, found themselves murdered in bed or over throne in mutiny. And so power shifted regularly in Medius. But Kurosaki Isshin had managed to grab on to his throne for decades partly due to his impartial rule and largely due to the Council.
Under Kurosaki Isshin's rule, the Council was introduced. In the Council, there were twelve council men (or women), six to represent the Eruos and another six to represent the Dues. The council communicated the people's troubles to the King who would address them. They also served as the king's personal advisors. To pass any rule, the agreement of a majority of the Council members must be sought. Though Kurosaki Isshin firmly established that only a member of the Kurosaki family could rule the county, the Council helped govern the nation. This arrangement seemed to please the people and stability prevailed in the nation.
But Kurosaki Isshin's true ambition was to unify the three great nations under one rule. For centuries, the Kuchiki Dynasty has ruled over the Occasus nation. Isshin being an Eruo himself found it was easy to obtain the trust and alliance of the Occasus Ruler, Kuchiki Byakuya. In an attempt to permanently bind the alliance, Kurosaki Isshin promised his son, Kurosaki Ichigo's hand in marriage to the daughter of Kuchiki Byakuya, Kuchiki Rukia.
It was mutually agreed that upon retirement of Kuchiki Byakuya, Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo would jointly rule over the new nation born out of the merging of Occasus and Medius. Byakuya himself would earn a place in the Council.
In an attempt to merge Orientales as well, Kurosaki Isshin had suggested to the Ruler of Orientales the idea of the amalgamation of all three nations. He offered to make him chief of Council, if he did consent. The man had laughed at his idea. Isshin had expected as much. But the Ruler of Orientales finally having realized the true intentions of Kurosaki Isshin, felt threatened. He knew Isshin wouldn't take no for an answer and in the future would undoubtedly attempt other ways to proceed with his unification plans. Hence few days later he had declared war. Medius was a small nation, while Orientales was the largest of all three nations, larger than Medius and Occasus put together. So, he was fairly certain that he could win the war. But Isshin was a better strategist and he now had the aid of Kuchiki Byakuya. The war raged on for a couple of years. Orientales lost. But Isshin was well aware that the forced amalgamation may throw the people of Orientales in skepticism of his rule. So he had hoped to take the King prisoner and offer to spare his life and a council position in hope that it might assuage the people.
But that could never be possible now.
As Isshin bent down and felt the pulse of the man Ichigo had slain grew light and vanish completely he knew for certain that the stability of a unified nation was now a distant dream.
The Ruler of Orientales had just died, murdered by the crown prince.
Ichigo gaped at Isshin who remained morose.
(Contd...)