Hello and welcome to "Light in the Darkness". First of all, I do not own Bleach or any of the characters in this story. This one is my newest piece. Since I am not a native English speaker there might be some spelling or grammar mistakes and it would be very kind of any of you to point them out to me so I can correct the mistakes and improve this story. Tipps for improvement are welcome and so is constructive criticism. Flames will be ignored. Also, there will be no pairings.
Replies to reviews will be at the bottom of respectively the following chapter.
I hope you'll enjoy reading.
0-0-0
Chapter 1 - Introduction
The rain fell from the sky and on his seemingly lifeless form, slowly washing away all the blood that seeped out of his wounds and gathered in a puddle beneath him. His Zanpakuto laid shattered beside him. His Shihakusho was ripped, one sleeve missing. Everything around him seemed to slow. The noise gradually became duller with each passing second until only his heartbeat could be heard. His sight was long gone. The boy coughed once, spitting out some of the blood that threatened to fill his lungs and suffocate him. If he wasn't already dead by then.
They betrayed him.
His body became colder.
After everything he had done for them, they fucking stabbed him in the back.
His heart slowed.
They were his friends. The very people he thought he could place his trust in. The very people he gave so much for, bled for and almost died for twice.
His senses were getting duller.
They were afraid of him. He could see it in their eyes. His transformation over Las Noches in Hueco Mundo planted doubt and fear into their hearts and caused them to turn on him. Even sweet Orihime, who was so afraid that he could end up like her brother. And Ishida, who thought that he would turn into a mindless beast and kill them all.
They didn't say a word, of course. They just came in the middle of the night, asking him to come along. Renji and Rukia were the ones who were sent to get him. And then, when he was far away from any possible help, they attacked.
Not just his friends. It was a planned execution. The Kido Corps were there to distract him for the Stealth Force to give the finishing blow. Even some of the captains were present. Probably as a means of backup just in case the former two weren't enough to subdue him.
First, they cut off his escape. Then they weakened him with continuous attacks from all sides, knowing that he would hesitate in harming familiar faces that he considered friends and allies. And finally they cut him down from behind.
His breathing became ragged and he coughed once more.
They didn't even check if he was really dead. They just assumed that he would die anyway due to the severe injuries he sustained. They just left him lying by the river, almost at the exact spot he laid seven years ago when his mother died trying to protect him.
With his reiatsu slowly diminishing after the war, his father and mentor would probably assume that he was fine. They expected for it to disappear sooner or later and would assume that it finally happened.
A lone tear rolled down his cheek. He just wished it would have ended differently. He never asked to be part of this. He never asked to have an uncontrollable beast inside of him that could take over if he wasn't careful enough.
He never asked for any of this. He just wished that he could see the smiling faces of his little sisters once more, even his psycho father and the few friends that he still had. He couldn't even muster the strength to force a smile on his face like his father wanted him to.
Finally, his consciousness slipped away...
0-0-0
The early morning sun bathed the city in a pale blue color. Dew coated the plants in the parks and gardens of many houses and soft mist still lingered in the streets of Tokyo. A few drunken people stumbled home to get some rest from their nightly adventures whereas others rushed to greet the new day and be on time for work.
Mothers could be seen bringing their children to school and the rush-hour traffic started up again.
As the city started to liven up, one person, who lived in a small apartment near the center of the city, felt the first rays of the sun hit his face. Groaning, he turned over in his comfortable bed as he had absolutely no wish to rise for the day.
Hoping to catch at least a few minutes before he had to get up, he snuggled deeper into the covers so that only his bright hair could be seen lying on the pillow like a halo.
His alarm clock would have none of it, though, as it started ringing the moment he dozed off again. Seeing that he didn't have time anymore, the man growled and hit the annoying device, effectively shutting it up.
Grumbling, he tossed the covers back and got out of bed. Rubbing the sleep out of his unseeing and dull brown eyes, former substitute soul reaper Ichigo Kurosaki, now known as Ichigo Shiba, stepped out of the bedroom to ready himself for a new day.
He finished his morning rituals and after a quick shower, Ichigo went to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast and coffee. As he sat down, he let his mind wander back to the time when he was still a Shinigami-Daiko. More precisely, the very night that rendered him mostly useless and taught him an important lesson for life.
Don't trust anyone.
Ichigo would like to think that he got over the pain caused by the betrayal of his former allies and friends. But deep down, he knew better. He never quite understood why they did what they did, but he supposed it didn't matter anymore. The Gotei 13 feared him, or his inner Hollow, and thought it to be for the greater good to get rid of him. It was probably just luck that the captains didn't do a very good job. Ichigo doubted that they wanted to spare him. Back then, he could see it in their eyes. There wasn't anything other than coldness, disgust and determination.
They were fully bent on killing him. Even Rukia and Renji, who were the ones sent to lure him away from the relative safety of his home. It certainly hurt. To know that even some of your closest friends feared you. One would think that they knew him better. He would never have hurt them or anything.
Ichigo supposed he could understand why Orihime and Ishida were hesitant to be around him. They witnessed it first hand. How he transformed into that beast that ripped Ulquiorra into pieces.
He tsked and took a sip from his cup.
They still should have known better.
Back then he managed to survive somehow. The last remains of his reiatsu probably were to thank for that. It kept him alive long enough for him to drag himself to a hospital, and take care of the more dangerous wounds on his person. Ichigo had no choice but to take care of them himself since nobody could see him because he was still in his spirit form. And somehow, he did all this with the inability to see. His frequent visits to the hospital when was younger, probably helped too.
After that, everything had to be fast, while blinded, Ichigo's senses were enhanced greatly and he managed to find his body by tracking back his own reiatsu. He didn't know how exactly he made it out of Karakura but after spending a few days just walking into random directions, where his reiatsu finally disappeared, a nice lady found him and brought him to a hospital in Tokyo, where he was interrogated and put through a therapy for his new disability.
When the police came and asked if he remembered anything, he lied and told them that he didn't. His family most likely thought he was dead, which was for the best since they wouldn't fill out a missing report and the police wouldn't be searching for a dead person, he thought. Without him in Karakura, they were at least safe and there wouldn't be as much Hollows, attracted by his reiatsu, and the Soul Society wouldn't touch them since they were no threat in their eyes. Especially since both of his sisters were still living humans and his father could take care of himself. And even if something would happen, they still got Urahara and Yoruichi there to help out. Hopefully.
The same went for his remaining friends. Chad, Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo. They would most likely be left alone. It was for the best. Really.
Well, now here he was, 24 years old and, in the eyes of the government, an amnesiac man, who was found blind and with some serious injuries wandering around near Tokyo. Luckiy Ichigo's current job didn't require of him to be able to see. Not directly anyways. After he managed to finish school, Ichigo found a job as a teacher at a local Dojo not far from his home. And since his battle-hardened instincts never left him, even after the war ended, he was able to teach the kids what they needed to know to defend themselves in their world.
He took another sip from his slightly colder coffee and smirked to himself.
It was rather ironic, actually. That he taught some kids to defend themselves when he couldn't even properly take care of himself. But at least it gave him something to do. Since he couldn't really protect other people by himself anymore. The very reason of why he moved near the center of Tokyo, when he was released from the hospital and earned enough money, simply was to hide himself better.
The Sinigami would have a hard time finding one person without a single drop of reiatsu in their body between a thousand others. Even if his bright hair usually made him stand out in the crowd, there were plenty of other people who dyed their hair and orange was the color thugs preferred. And Ichigo knew from experience that there were more than enough thugs out there to hide him nicely.
It wasn't always easy these past years, though. Whenever someone mentioned weird attacks on people or suspicious murders, he tended to stay in his apartment for days just because he feared that the Shinigami might suspect him being alive and would try to find him to finish the job. He always told his boss that he sometimes had weird headaches, probably caused by his amnesia. Luckily, the old man believed him.
An annoying ringing noise caught his attention as he inwardly cursed. Ichigo gulped down the rest of his now cold coffee, grimacing at the taste, hastily put on his shoes and rushed out to get to work on time.
0-0-0
Alright. This was the first chapter. Hope you liked it and see you next time.
Just a notice: Ichigo was sixteen when he was betrayed since he met Rukia not long before the anniversary of Masaki's death, June 17, meaning Ichigo pobably turned sixteen while he was either training with urahara or already in the Soul Society (His birthday is July 15). So yeah, when the Winter War ended, Ichigo was 16 for me and since this takes place eight years later he is now 24.
Also, why Ichigo Shiba? I know that since Shiba is well known in Soul Society, the Shinigami could find him easier. I'll just assume that they won't take a look in government papers just to find the person they're looking for. And since Ichigo couldn't go by his old name, he thought about the stories of Kaien Shiba and how he looked much like him and he also suspected that they may be somehow related, which isn't wrong. Urahara might look deeper, but he thinks Ichigo's dead. And I just wanted for him to keep his name since the only name that doesn't sound weird to me is "Mugetsu" and when I asked a friend about it, she said I should leave "Ichigo". :3
Well, that it from me.
Don't forget to review!