Seireitei was burning.
And the hope of victory fading.
Breaking fortress walls struggled against screaming crowds.
Loathsome.
Vile.
Decrepit.
The black smoke of burning death ripped the horizon apart.
Minions stood at the ready, awaiting their next
Order.
All about them, bloodstained yukata lay in smothering heaps, master less.
Aizen had won.
His eyes, blind to the pain and the devastation he was causing, wandered lazily over the chaos. In turn, those eyes were hungrily regarded by thousands more eyes, just as blind, just as heartless. They watched, waited, hung on the very anticipation of the order they already knew he was about to give. And then, smiling in a way only madmen on the verge of plummeting the world into despair can smile, he gave it.
"Let none survive."
And so it was.
The battle was swift.
Prologue.
Trapped.
Far away from this bloodshed, in the heavy undercurrent of night, six nameless students- teetering on the tip of adulthood, children in the eyes of the Shinigami- were running. They ran breathlessly, clasping each other's hands and clutching their chests as they gasped for breath, through a vengeful forest be-ridden with hollows and ghouls. From their safe little perch in the blanketing darkness above, the stars seemed to mock their strife with each glistening twinkle.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are-!" shouted a sinister voice from behind, coupled with maniacal laughter. "We wont hurt you, my pets, we just want to play!"
"Yes, yes! Hee, hee, ho, ho!" came another, echoing off the tall trees and displacency. "Play with your BONES!"
The voices were getting closer and closer; the children continued to run.
In the front of the group, a feverish young woman led them, her bronze eyes hawkishly regarding the path ahead. Stray twigs and branches slashed at her face as she cleared the way for her companions. Behind her, a red-faced girl around the same age with short, messy hair struggled to keep up as the leader kept a determined hand gripped around her wrist, dragging her along.
"Y-Yos…s…s…" she struggled to say between breaths. "sto…can't…b…re..bre…"
"Shhh!" the sterner of the two responded. "Quiet, Bii! We're almost there!"
"Where exactly are you taking us?" asked the only male in the group, speeding up to run side by side with her. He was taller than her and his long legs easily matched her pace in comfortable strides.
"There's a secret cave up ahead," she responded, keeping her eyes forward. "It's enchanted, so if we can make it through it'll seal us in and we can head for safety without any followers."
"What makes you so sure it's there?" The male was unconvinced, studying her profile with slanted eyes. He'd never been a fan of blindly following people; he'd also never been a fan of running away from a good fight, and the fact that he was running from these pursuers instead of unsheathing his sword and stabbing them with it was a serious cause for irritation. "How do you know we're not just blindly running ourselves into a corner?"
"Trust me," she responded. "It's there."
"No offense, Yousha," said the male. "But why should I trust a Shinigami who isn't even smart enough to produce a Shikai?"
The leader, her curly hair tangled and snarled as it whipped about her wildly, quieted.
But she did not stop running.
"Damn it, Shun! Don't you talk to my Taichou like that!" shouted a tall, fiery red head in the back. Her face was graceful and poised, yet rigid and unpredictable, like a tigress who couldn't decide if she was going to permit you to pass or have you for supper. "Since when did you got crowned king of the jungle!"
"Don't start with me!" Shun shouted in response. "Or else I'll…"
"You'll what! Cry me a river?!"
"Narqy-kins, please! I appreciate the support but now isn't the time!"
"Yeah, but I don't like that guy talkin' to you like that, Taichou!" Narquotic shouted, keeping up the rear of the group. In front of her, a petite blonde carried on in silence. "Just 'cuz you ain't got a shikai yet don't mean you're retarded or something! You're just… a late bloomer!"
"Gee, thanks, Narqy…" Yousha responded as the girl she dragged along with her begged to stop and rest. "But how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Taichou? I'm not your Captain…. or anyone's for that matter."
"Not yet, Taichou! But you will be some day, I just know it!"
The six ran until breath completely failed them, mocking stars lighting the way. It was when their lungs felt as if exploding that they reached a clearing in the wood, and were then caught between the contemptuous laughter of their chasers and a large, sheer, unending, rock face ahead.
"This is it," Yousha said, pausing to catch her breath. "We're here."
"Here?" responded Shun incredulously, pointing to the amassing slab of granite in front of them. "We're at a dead end!"
"What do we do now, Shun-san?" asked the timid young blonde, holding her sides, staring at the boy.
"We thank Princess here for leading us to our deaths, Snow."
"Ke, ke, ke, ke! I've got you now, my pets!"
The voices were getting closer.
The children grew more and more frantic.
And enraged.
"Trapped-" Shun threw his hands in the air, exasperated. "Between a rock and a god-damn-nother rock! Just great! Tell me something, Yousha… do you ever actually think before you think up a plan!?"
"We have to do something, Ate," the last of the group, Iana, said to Yousha. Iana was taller than her counterpart by inches, but quite similar in the lithe frame that screamed of malnutrition and too much thinking and lack of sleep. Her hair, so black that midnight itself grew jealous, hung about the concerned features of her face like a shadowy curtain. "You saw how strong those things are, there's no way we can beat them if they catch us!"
Instead of responding, however, Yousha began scanning the large rock face ahead of them as if searching for a puzzle piece. She walked forward tentatively and dragged her fingers on its sleek surface. "I know it's here… I just need a moment."
The messy-haired brunette clung to Yousha's arm, who was still gripping her wrist quite tightly, and followed her. "Y-yoshi didn't you hear her? They're coming! What are we going to do?"
Villainous laughter filled the surrounding area; the trees clapped in a sinister breeze; the children huddled closer together. All except Shun, who was eager to fight.
"Listen to me," the bronze-eyed girl responded. "It's a trick. An optical illusion. The entrance is here, we just have to focus and-"
"Attack!" the male interrupted, unsheathing his sword. "They're here!"
Yousha spun around. "Damn it, Shun, don't-!"
But her warning fell on deaf ears; Shun moved ahead of the group defensively; Narquotic's hands glowed blue with kidou, and anticipation; Iana Sabelle, hands shaking, swallowed and reached for her weapon; Snow remained to the side, staring at her fingers; Blackbelt, ever the pessimist, held fast to Yousha's arm, hoping to god this inevitable fight would pass them like a fading storm gone to sea.
But hoping was all she would do.
The pursuers had reached the clearing.
The sea, a faded dream.
Their eyes were hungry and white. Mouths salivating. Teeth dangerously exposed. Claws sharp.
So sharp.
And then it happened.
The first one
lunged.
. . .
Yet, even now, reader, you are wondering, I'm sure, just who these six children are and why it is they are in this messiest of situations. And where are the Captains, you ask? Those shining pillars of Soul Society. How was it they allowed the mighty Seireitei to fall to ash in one singular, moonless night?
For that, my dear friends and allies, we will have to travel back a spell… to the origin of this little dilemma.
…And to how that origin may just doom them all.
Author's notes:
This story is for my friends in the HitsuRuki Army. It revolves around a group of original characters who are all based off of many of the Authors and friends of mine currently writing Hitsugaya/Rukia fan fiction. Do not expect much action from the actual Bleach characters, as this story is meant to detail how the HitsuRuki Army came to be.
If you're interested in learning more about the HitsuRuki Army, visit our forum on fan fiction dot net: /forum/HitsuRuki/42706/
Featured in this chapter:
Yousha = youshallnotpass
Shun = Shun Keel
Bii/Blackbelt = Blackbelt
Iana = Iana Sabelle
Narqy-kins = Narquotic
Snow = Snow
To all of my dear friends who appear in this story: I hope you like it. I've tried to hold true to the character descriptions you've given me. However, on a blunter note, I do not write Mary/Gary Sues. Keep in mind that this is an origins story, so unless you were reading Dickens in pre-school while performing quantum-mechanics and simultaneously debunking Einstein's theory of relativity, you were not superman when you started out. If you gave me stats that were "all powerful and undefeated…" well, I gimped you. Unlucky.
Suggestions are more than welcome via re-view and/or PM.
Until next time, hooray for author's notes that are longer than the actual chapter.
Pip pip!
~ Sparkle