I've been in a Bleach mood lately. And I was rereading old bleach volumes and just got to the part where Yamamoto-Genryuusai Shigekuni faces off against Shinsui and Ukitake. God that was badass. I wish it had been shown more in depth. I noticed though that they called his zanpakutou the most terrible, the oldest and greatest of them all, so I decided to do a small fiction, probably no more than two or three longish chapters about how Shigekuni came to be in control of the oldest and greatest of zanpakutou. I sort of expanded that idea a bit and created a fiction about where zanpakutou and everything even came from…sort of a history of the world before soul society and shinigami and zanpakutou, or, a world before order. So check it out, I hope you enjoy it.
--
The World Before Order
Chapter 1
A long time ago, long before soul society became what it is today, the world was in chaos. The lives of humans were subject to the vast number of spirits that roamed the world in those days. They lived their lives in fear of the overwhelming power of these spirits. Some tried to fight back, but were always struck down and consumed. Back then, there was no afterlife, no Soul Society, no Hueco Mundo, the world was one.
And it was in chaos.
This is not to say that there was some semblance of order in this singular world of man and spirit. Though the world was constantly embroiled in a state of ever-lasting war, over time, a sort of balance began to appear. The war we speak of is not the sort that humans wage in today's time, but that of spirits. The spirits needn't concern themselves with things like fame, prestige, or monetary gains. To the spirits of that age, power and the will to survive was all that mattered.
So in order to bespeak their power to the rest of world's spirits, four great spirits rose from the chaos to proclaim superiority over the rest. It is no small coincidence that each one of these great spirits seemed to represent one of the world's major elements. Indeed, it seemed that the world itself, in a desperate hope to preserve itself, gifted each of these spirits with a great power to rule over the lesser spirits.
So a precarious balance came into place in this world of old. With the spirits of fire, water, earth, and wind each presiding over their great territories, the lesser spirits were unable to act too outrageously, lest they catch the eye of these great spirits and bring their wrath upon themselves. As for the greater spirits themselves, they could no longer do battle with one another. The moment two began to fight; the others would surely come and destroy the exhausted victor.
And for a time, this balance worked.
It was the realm of fire where the first seeds of unrest began to grow. The great spirit of fire, like the spirit of water, was an enormous and powerful dragon. When he spread his wings, it seemed as though the sun was rising twice over. His scales shimmered and flashed like fire. When he spoke, his voice sounded like flowing magma, and when he roared, he sounded like a great eruption.
Of all the great spirits, this powerful dragon was the cruelest and most arrogant. The spirits in his realm were displeased with the nature of their great spirit and took their displeasure out on the humans that lived there. Over time, the population of humans began to thin in the fire realm. They began to live their lives in hiding as best they could, training themselves to combat the lesser spirits and protect their hidden villages.
Within a few generations, it became clear that the humans of the fire realm were the strongest of all humans in the world. Though none of them stood a chance against anything more than the weakest tier of spirits, this was an evolution no human or spirit ever would have expected.
At the same time as the fire realm humans began to train themselves, another trouble was beginning to brew in this corner of the world. A spirit had appeared and, in the absence of human meat to consume, had turned its fierce talons on other spirits. It became apparent, however, that this particular spirit was different than the others. Its body seemed to be made entirely of fire and took the shape of a predatory bird. It began as a small thing, only the height of a man, but within months stood taller than the mountains in which it had grown.
The great dragon that ruled the fire realm was not blind to these activities. He saw the growing fire bird, but paid it no mind. His thoughts were turned ever outwards, toward the rest of the world where the other three greater spirits stood in their endless stalemate.
So the great bird continued to consume spirits and grow in size. In a year, thousands of spirits had been devoured by the great bird. The humans in the hidden village had watched this development carefully, wondering what it might portend. It was they who named the spirit.
"Kiko Oh, the Firebird King."
Two men sat, legs crossed, atop a great peak, watching the vast firebird soar across the sky. Where it flew, a trail of shimmering heat was left. The two men's eyes followed the magnificent bird without wavering in spite of the overwhelming brightness. The enormous bird flapped its wings, scorching the rocks beneath it, and disappeared behind the distant mountain range.
The two men looked on in silence for a while longer before one of them sighed. Both of the men were bald, though the one who sighed was a good deal older and the style wouldn't have needed to be by choice. Deep wrinkles set all over his aged face. His eyebrows and long and white, and a long white beard is bound by a leather strap as it falls down into his lap. His features may have once been handsome and sharp, but years seemed to have put in their place an enormous exhaustion.
Looking at the younger man, it is apparent that the older man must once have been handsome. The younger of the two has the same shape, the same sharpness, but none of the tiredness. He too has a beard, though it only extends slightly from his powerful jaw line. His eyes are deep-set and are sharp, like the old man's must have once been before the years had caused them to lose their shine.
Neither of the men wears a shirt. Powerful muscles are visible, gleaming with sweat from the fire realm's constant heat. The older man's body is covered almost head to toe in a criss-cross pattern of scars and burns. Only his face and head are free from the wounds, covered instead in wrinkles. The younger man is as heavily muscled as his partner, if not more so, his body still in its prime. Unlike the older man, his body is not nearly as marked with old wounds and scars.
The old man sighs again and reaches for a wooden staff, planting it firmly on the stone beside him and pulling himself to his feet. He moves slowly, every one of his years apparent in his grimacing face. When he finally reaches his feet, he sways slightly, any youth that had been apparent while he sat, now gone entirely.
The younger man stands as well, moving slowly as well but not due to any strain. His movements are graceful and full of purpose. He reaches out a calloused hand and steadies the older man. After a moment, the elder nods and he removes his steadying hand.
"Are you sure you can climb further, grandfather?" the younger man asks, not pitying, but politely concerned.
The older man thinks for a moment and nods. "Yes, little Shigekuni. These old bones of mine know where they should rest." He smiles a bittersweet smile. "They'll be able to make it that far."
"Then we should continue," Shigekuni says. His voice is firm but respectful. The old man smiles when he hears him.
"Indeed."
The two walk to the edge of their alcove in the mountainside and slip back out onto the mountain path. They had been traveling for four days now and the higher they went, the greater the heat became. They both knew what awaited them at the top of the mountain, though they didn't know what the outcome would be.
For Shigekuni, the mountain path was easy to traverse. His entire life had been nothing but training. His muscular body was limber and flexible and able to withstand great heat. The treacherous path is no issue for his trained body. He glances back at his grandfather to see if he can keep pace on the dangerous path.
The old man smiles and pats Shigekuni on the shoulder and steps past him. Shigekuni grins at his grandfather's youthfulness. He knows it will not last. Despite his muscular appearance, the only thing keeping the old man going now is his undying spirit and responsibility toward Shigekuni. He wouldn't be returning back down the mountain.
For that matter, Shigekuni might not either.
It didn't matter though. This journey was of the utmost importance; far more important than just the lives him and his grandfather. Shigekuni did not deny the possibility of his own death; he simply accepted it and continued to climb the mountain, following his grandfather closely, should his youthful appearance choose to desert him.
They climbed for hours, the heat surrounding them growing harsher and more difficult to stand with every step. Shigekuni could see his grandfather perspiring before him in more ways than one. His body, as aged as it seemed before, was rapidly becoming more so as they climbed.
He is literally approaching his own death, Shigekuni thought.
At last, the old man seems to stumble. Shigekuni reaches out, but his grandfather waves him off, catching himself and leaning on his staff while breathing heavily. Shigekuni remains silent as he watches his grandfather take a few steps forward and turn to enter another alcove in the mountainside. Shigekuni follows him, waiting patiently as his grandfather sits down and sets his staff down in front of him.
Shigekuni looks around. This alcove is different than the others they had stopped at on their way up the mountain. It was cool inside and the walls seemed to be smoother, as though they had been cut away instead of being slowly hollowed out by the forces of nature. The floor was unbelievably smooth, almost completely flat. For a moment, Shigekuni thinks he sees something behind his grandfather.
"Sit down, Shigekuni."
His grandfather interrupts his thoughts and Shigekuni nods, sitting down in front of his grandfather. He looks different now. Shigekuni inspects his grandfather closely. His muscles seem to have disappeared into nothing but hanging skin and his scars are almost indeterminable from his wrinkles. He sits, hunched over, breathing heavily. He had always looked ancient to Shigekuni; but for the first time in his life, the man looked old.
"This is as far as I'll be going, Shigekuni."
He nods. It was no surprise. He had told everyone in the village that it was time for him to pass. He would climb the mountain and there, he would die.
"Do you know why we stopped to observe Kiko Oh, earlier?"
Shigekuni shakes his head.
"I don't have much longer to live, but I think my body will give me enough time to explain this to you, Shigekuni," the old man says with a sad smile.
"The world is at its wits end," he says, his voice changing. "The spirits it gifted with power have grown too great to handle. The balance between the four great spirits is a tenuous one that will never last. The world gave power to those four spirits because it wanted them to maintain a balance…but it realizes now that it made a mistake." He looks at Shigekuni, his eyes hard, like they once were in his youth. "That is why the Kiko Oh was born.
"The firebird was formed as a final attempt to reach a balance in this world. A mighty bird of fire that will consume everything and restart it all anew. But the world doesn't want to do this. It wants to reach a balance without such a great tragedy. That is why we have been given the power we have, Shigekuni. The power to listen to the world, to sense the balance inherent in everything. We have the power to see what the world cannot see.
"Shigekuni," the old man says slowly. "What did you see, when you looked at the Kiko Oh?" Shigekuni looks at his grandfather for a moment. He thinks back to the morning when he looked out over the great bird's flight. The way the bird wheeled around in the sky, flying blazing circles in the morning air.
"A cycle," Shigekuni says firmly. "The Kiko Oh will change nothing. It will only begin the cycle over, repeating endlessly."
His grandfather nods approvingly. "Very good Shigekuni. I knew you would understand." He smiles. "So if the Kiko Oh cannot help the world preserve the ultimate balance, it is left to us, the humans to provide some semblance of order to this world."
His grandfather stands, not reaching for his staff, but reaching his feet without any help. He steps to the side and reveals a large sword. It is thrust into the earth behind him, standing proudly in the center of the alcove. The metal looks strong, unbreakable even, and the hilt is a simple oval shape, unremarkable in contrast to the blade's magnificence. It is an unyielding blade, one that would strike down any threat without hesitation.
"This…" Shigekuni begins.
Without warning, his grandfather's knees buckle and he falls to the floor. He makes no attempt to catch himself as he falls, but simply lands softly on the cool, smooth stone. Shigekuni shouts in alarm but his grandfather waves a hand weakly.
"You can see it, Shigekuni…" he says feebly, his voice barely above a whisper. "The future rests in this blade. And now that you know that…" his voice begins to slow. "I can finally rest." A smile splits across his wrinkled face. "The rest is up to you, Shigekuni. Find…a way to preserve…the balance. The world…can't do it…alone." His eyes closed. Shigekuni knew they would never open again.
"I'm proud of you."
"I'm proud of you too, grandfather."
Shigekuni closed his eyes for a moment, his heart heavy with the passing of his closest relative. He had known for months that this day would come, but it still hurt to see him lying there. His life had been filled with the greatest of honors. Shigekuni silently sent a prayer for his grandfather.
When he opened his eyes again, they were hard and sharp. He stood and stepped up to the blade in front of him. The blade was a promise to the future to uphold balance. He wondered briefly if he would be able to wield it properly. After a moment, he reached out, his calloused hands gripping the hilt and pulling it from the smooth stone.
It was warm to the touch. In an instant he knew the history of the blade, and of all that had come before him. The information flowed into him from the blade, filling him with the knowledge he needed. An ancient relative had crafted it hundreds of years ago and cut this cave out of the mountainside with it. It had been placed it here on the top of the great fire dragon's mountain. For centuries it had absorbed the heat and power that ran off the great dragon like rain.
This blade was not meant to kill the great dragon, Shigekuni recognized. That was never his ancestor's intention. Quite to the contrary, this sword was meant to amplify the dragon's power…but also to contain it so that humans could use it. If somehow, one could convince the great dragon to join with the blade…the immense power one could wield was staggering.
In the wrong hands, this blade could bring ruin to the balance of the world, Shigekuni thought to himself. But in his hands…in his hands it could bring order and balance to the world for all of eternity.
Taking one last look at the peaceful form of his grandfather, he reached down to grab the staff the old man had dropped and turned, walking solemnly out of the alcove. His grandfather had said he was proud of him, but he had done nothing to be proud of yet. He gripped the blade strongly. His journey lay in front of him. Somehow he knew, confronting the great dragon, Ryūjin, would be the first of many obstacles before he could truly achieve balance. The following months would prove whether he was something to be proud of or not.