Prologue
Death of a Fox, Rise of a Dragon
Mommy? Daddy? Why are you crying? I'm right here!"
A little girl, no older than the age of five, stood behind her weeping parents. She tried to look over their shoulders to see what they were hunched over, but she had no luck. She walked around them to see a carcass – her carcass. There was a knife in her back.
The little girl's eyes widened with shock. What was going on? Why was her body there, when she was standing right here? Her ears twitched. She felt the top of her head, and then looked into a nearby mirror. She had a pair of fox ears. And a long, bushy fox tail, both the same shade of gold as her hair.
"What's going on?" she rasped in shock.
"You died," came a voice.
The little girl whirled around. Before her stood another child, maybe a few years older than her, dressed in a black kimono. He had dark brown hair, and also had fox ears and a tail.
And the little boy carried a katana.
The girl's eyes widened again. "Did you kill me?"
"Nope," said the boy. "I'm here to send you to Soul Society."
The little girl tilted her head in confusion. "What's that?… And why do I have fox ears and a tail?"
"The dad of your soul is the Great Fox," the little boy explained. "Your soul was born with those ears and that tail, just like me."
"But why am I…?"
"Dead? I don't know," the little boy replied simply, unsheathing his sword. "I'm only here to bring you to Soul Society."
She stepped back. "Wh-what are you gonna do to me?"
"Relax. This won't hurt."
"So long, Tamotsu," said Tamotsu's father, a man with bright orange hair.
Tamotsu's mother placed a loving hand on his shoulder. Her long red hair brushed against the top of Tamotsu's head.
"Don't worry," she said, "Auntie Rukia will take perfect care of you."
"Mommy…" Tamotsu begged. "Please don't go…"
His mother smiled. "It'll be alright. I promise. And we'll be sure to visit."
"Don't make promises, Orihime," Tamotsu's father warned.
Orihime smiled fondly. "Goodbye, Tamotsu. Have fun."
Tears poured out of Tamotsu's eyes as his parents left through the gate, and it was beginning to rain.
"Mommy… Daddy…"
A woman in a black kimono knelt beside Tamotsu. She had short black hair, and dark blue eyes. It was auntie Rukia.
"It's alright," Rukia said with a cordial smile. "Don't worry about them. From this day forth, you're a Kichuiki!"
Tamotsu turned slowly towards Rukia.
"Get away," he whispered.
"Leave him be," said a man with long black hair and deep blue eyes. He had tubes in some areas of his hair. "He needs time."
"But big brother–"
Tamotsu glared at this strange man. "GET AWAY!"
And with one step, they were twenty feet apart.
"Shunpo?" Rukia marveled.
Another step, and the distance increased. Tamotsu kept running, his bright orange hair blowing in the wind.
Little did he know, Tamotsu was moving at a captain's pace.
It was not long before Tamotsu disappeared into a nearby forest. Thunder boomed throughout Soul Society. He could see a few people searching desperately for him, since he was on a cliff viewing the Seireitei.
"So this is the one with such a lovely reiatsu."
Tamotsu whirled around. Before him stood a hollow that was the size of a normal human or shinigami. It had a human-like posture and form – the only things inhuman about it were its shrill, insane voice, its purple and blue scales, and its white mask with red and black stripes.
The Vasto Lorde laughed malevolently, its mask showing a sadistic grin, its yellow eyes wide with a sort of mad delight. "I don't normally go for shinigami, but your reiatsu's just so rich!"
Tamotsu froze. What was he supposed to do? His father had told him of the Vasto Lordes, whose power surpassed that of a captain's.
And it was walking closer and closer to him.
"N-no," he rasped with a shaking voice. "I don't want to die…"
And it was at that moment that something unexpected happened.
A wave of power rushed through little Tamotsu.
His skin turned silver, and was lit with silver flames.
His eyes turned black.
Black bands wrapped around his flaming arms, binding parts of the flames.
These black bands went all the way to his shoulder blades, where they were attached to purely black wings.
His fingertips turned into claws.
His hair grew and turned black.
What had he become?
A new sort of confidence arose within Tamotsu, even though the hollow was not disconcerted at all. Tamotsu had power now.
"Get. Away," he growled.
"Oh, I'm so scared," said the hollow, her voice heavy with sarcasm.
Tamotsu looked at the Vasto Lorde right in the eye. "Tch."
The silver flames erupted from his right arm. His movements were so quick, the hollow could not even see them. Next thing she knew, the hollow had a massive, bloody gash across her chest and her arm was severed. She flinched. A ball of red light known as a cero formed between the curved horns attached to her mask –
But before the hollow could make another move, Tamotsu ripped off her head. The hollow did not even have the time to cry out in pain. It simply turned into a heap of shadows and then disappeared.
The flames, wings, and black bands only disappeared on one side of his body. Tamotsu still had one wing, one flaming, silver arm with a band around it, and one eye remained purely black. The other eye had returned to its normal form, with a white and a pupil, but it was electric blue instead of brown. His hair was no longer an orange mess, but instead was wavy, pure black, and nearly reached Tamotsu's waist. His face had no silver or flames on it, but had a sort of pale glow to it anyway, along with the rest of his non-silver skin.
And suddenly, as if the situation could not become any more odd, a silver dragon appeared before Tamotsu. His scales emitted the same silver flame that was on Tamotsu's arm. The dragon had a snake-like body, with only two legs that acted as arms, black claws, a massive black mane, a purple goldstone on his forehead, and light purple eyes with black slits for pupils. His tail was covered with black spikes, and the same black band that was on Tamotsu's arm wrapped around his body. A pair of massive, purely black wings came from these bands, similar to Tamotsu's wings.
"Who are you?" Tamotsu asked more calmly than he expected.
"I am your Zampakuto," answered the dragon. "Yo No Owari" (End of the World) "is my name. Do you understand what just happened?"
Tamotsu shook his head.
"I was infused your body," Yo No Owari explained. "Your reiatsu and I are powerful enough to do that – it has only been done twice before, by your father and grandfather. However, unlike with your ancestors, your shinigami powers can remain. The price is that a part of me remains infused with your body at all times. It is both a curse and a blessing, for I am the most powerful Zampakuto in all of Soul Society."
"What can you do?" inquired Tamotsu.
"You shall know when you are ready," said Yo No Owari. "But for now, I bid you adieu."
And at that, the silver dragon disappeared.
