AN: Hi everyone. This is my first fic, and I've given myself a pretty hard task here, trying to write a full adventure genre fanfic, so don't criticize me too much. Of course, I welcome all reviews, as long as the criticism is constructive. Please R&R, and enjoy!

Summary: Kiyashi Kumo, from West Rukongai, 78th District, Inuzuri, lives with his foster sister, Ayame Kinasuke, who is a student at the Shinigami Academy, when he follows her into becoming a shinigami, and becomes a seated officer in the 2nd Division, he finds his idol in his captain, Soifon. Main Pairings: OCxSoifon, Mild RenjixOC

Note: I write in 1st person because it is much easier to tell a story revolving around a single person that way. Scene changes however will be in 3rd person. So, sorry if you're confused.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, but the OCs are all my creations.

It was that dream again.

Why do I keep dreaming about it? I don't recognize it. That strange world, like the one I live in, but devoid of color and people. I walk across the colorless ground, but no matter how far I go, I never seem to gain any distance. It is just Inuzuri… over and over again.

Funny thing is, I can't even tell if it's a nightmare or not. The feeling of loneliness hurts, but something there feels so familiar. It's like something from a previous life. No… it can't be. It's just a dream.

I was about to fall asleep again, if not for the sound of someone entering.

"Kiyashi-kun?" it was the soft female voice I've heard for so many years. Ayame Kinasuke, my older sister, ever since I passed on to the afterlife. The sound of a familiar person shook me from my sleep as a reached for my glasses and brushed my blanket aside.

"Nee-san?" I asked, still somewhat sleepy. She looked as she always did, the red and white student's kimono aside. "You're back?"

Ayame put aside her katana, and sat down on a stool nearby, and waited as I climbed from my bed.

"It's been three months since you last came back to visit me… is it really that busy at the Academy?" I asked.

Ayame nodded. "Yeah. It's already my fifth year there, so the training's gotten more tight, and I have less time to spare to visit. I promise, though. When I become a proper shinigami, I'll get a place to stay in Seireitei and send you to the Shinigami Academy, alright?"

I blinked. The Seireitei, where the upper-class nobles and shinigami lived, the center of Soul Society. Every poor soul in the Rukon District would want to live there, but for someone like me to even set foot there is forbidden. But to become a shinigami… "Nee-san…"

"What?" she asked.

"Thanks." Damn, that was all I could say. I didn't know whether I really wanted to become a shinigami. The folk around here, half of them hate shinigami*, but then again, it's not like I have any real friends around here.

Ayame got up. "I'm going to buy some more water for us. It looks like there's not much left."

I stopped her. "No, it's alright, nee-san. I'll go." I took the money on the table and left the small shack. I needed to get outside and try and forget about that weird dream.

Inuzuri sure is quiet today. Most of the time I would hear the chattering of the souls around here, the more aggressive adults in the district fighting over each others' money, or just the shuffling of feet. For it to be this quiet...

I hated living in Inuzuri. This district was full of thieves and thugs, ready to strike from the shadows at the first sign of a person with wealth of any kind, and the children… they were treated worse than dogs. I am extremely lucky for a child here, since my sister is a shinigami in training, but I've seen things happen to other children, those that can't get away from an angry adult, or a thief at some alley. I tried going out as little as possible, but that dream scares me more than anything that can happen out here.

It was lucky that it was quiet today, otherwise I would have never heard whatever happened next.

I heard fast footsteps, as if someone was running at top speed. Thinking it was an adult, I hid behind one of the collapsed walls nearby, and when I heard five pairs of footsteps getting closer, I looked over the wall, trying to observe while staying out of view.

They weren't adults. Five kids, four of them boys and one girl in a purple kimono. They looked unremarkable, except for the taller boy with red hair that was held in a standing ponytail. They were running, the red-haired boy was carrying a large jar of water, and they were panting- must have been running for a long time.

"Not good!" the boy shouted. "The water's gonna spill, and if we slow down that fatso adult behind us is gonna catch up!"

The others were shivering. I heard them call the red-haired boy, probably their leader, 'Ren-chan'. When they reached the area I was hiding, which was a crossroad, they stopped.

"Hide it behind that wall, Renji! We can come back for it later!" it was the big-eyed girl that said that. Renji seemed reluctant to put it down, but quickly did it anyway when he heard a shout from the direction they came from.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU BRATS! I'LL TEACH YOU TO STEAL WATER FROM ME AGAIN!" it was likely the 'fatso adult' they mentioned. I couldn't see him though, so he must have still been far away. I remembered that they were going to hide the water behind the wall, but didn't have time to get away before the red-haired boy saw me.

"Huh? Who're you?" he asked me, seemingly surprised to see me there. I stood up nervously.

"What's wrong, Renji? Hurry up! I can see the adults coming!" the girl shouted, and I noted she seemed extremely bossy from the way she said it.

"Oh, whatever." Renji put the jar down, grabbed me by the arm and dragged me with his gang of kids. The others must have been extremely panicked, as they didn't notice another person running away with them. I was just shocked, and couldn't do anything besides following.

I wasn't sure how long we ran for. It felt like an hour, though I knew it couldn't have been that long, or my legs would have died.

"There! Quick, in the house!" they said, and we all ran through the doorway, and three of the boys slammed the door shut, bolted it, and did the same to the windows.

"Whew." The girl gasped. "I'm glad we managed to get away… hey, who's this kid?"

I stared. I wasn't sure of what to say, but I swallowed down my uncertainty and said my name. "Kiyashi Kumo."

Renji- or something like that, put his hands on his hips. "That sounds like a noble's name. You even have a last name!"

Great. I thought. A bossy midget- even for a girl- and a rough-and-tumble kid with hair that reminded me of a pineapple. And I think I just got insulted.

"I'm not." I said blankly. "What are your names anyway? I'm not sure I would be able say the same about you guys."

Renji scoffed. "See, you even talk kinda like a- aargh!"

"Don't be so rude, Renji!" the girl had punched Renji on the stomach.

"What the hell, Rukia! How the heck was I bein' rude? I was just askin' him why he talks like a- mnph!" It was a punch in the face this time. For a midget, she looked like she really hit hard.

"Rukia and Renji, huh? You sure look young, but you both argue like an old married couple." I said, partially without thinking, as they both looked like they were about to murder each other- and me.

"WE DO NOT!" they shouted in unison, while their three friends snorted with laughter. "SHUT UP!"

I felt happy. For the first time in a long, long time I don't remember, I found people near my age, kids I could talk with and laugh with.

Renji held out something to us all. "Here. I hid some of the candy we filched the other day in this house. I thought we should eat it before someone comes and decides to live here. You too, Kiya-something. By the way, do ya have anywhere to stay? 'cos we have a big place with loads of other kids if you don't."

I took the bag of candy, frowning when he said my name wrong. "The name's Kiyashi, and yes, I do. I live somewhere opposite here with my nee-san."

Renji seemed interested. "Oh, you have family, huh?"

I shook my head. "Only my sister, and she's not a blood relative either. She took me in when I first arrived here at Rukongai. She's a shinigami in training."

Renji's eyes widened. Rukia almost spat out her candy. The others stared in shock. "A- a shinigami?"

I nodded, not sure why they were so shocked. "Yeah. She's in her fifth year at the Shinigami Academy."

Rukia looked at Renji. "So… she has it too, huh? Reiatsu?"

I nodded again. "So do I, actually." I formed a ball of reishi in my hand. "That's why she says when she's going to apply me for the academy once she graduates." I saw the reishi ball suddenly darken**, and before they noticed, I dispersed it.

Rukia responded. "We can do that too. I could make a ball about as big as yours, and Renji can do it as well, somewhat, but his is-"

"Shut up, Rukia!" Renji demanded, blushing and pointing a finger at her angrily.

I chuckled. It was a long time since I saw anything as comical as these two. The amusement disappeared, however, when I remembered my reishi darkening.

Just like in my dream… when everything around me darkened and lost color…

I brought my thoughts back. "It's getting late. I should go back now."

Renji stopped me. "Wha-? It's only been a couple of hours! You haven't even eaten any of the candy I gave you!"

I smiled nervously. "It's alright. I'll eat it when I get back. That way I can share it with my nee-san. See you guys some time."

Rukia nodded. "Ok. Be careful, though. There are a lot more drunk and mean adults at nighttime. We live at a house at the east of Inuzuri. It's the biggest one, with a white sign. Come visit, ok?"

"Yeah. Thanks." I replied, before leaving.

I easily made it home. The first few times I went out at night, I felt unsafe, but I got used to it after a while. Recently I rarely leave the house even in the mornings, except to go to buy food and water, but I frequently climb to the roof and watch the night sky. Ayame-nee-san doesn't like it when I do that, because I frequently fall asleep while stargazing, and commonly fall off right after.

Heh… I felt like an old person***, thinking about the past like this. I knocked on the doorframe and stepped in.

"Oh, you're back, Kiyashi-kun." Ayame said, putting down the book she was reading. "Here, let me pour you some tea."

I looked at the jug nearby. "Water? But I forgot…"

She laughed. "I can tell. When you didn't come back after an hour I decided to go over and buy some myself. Strange, the stall keepers seem a lot nicer than they used to before I went to the academy…"

Probably because they're scared of you now, I thought, "Sorry. You weren't worried?"

Ayame laughed again. "Of course I was a little worried. But I know you well, and I know you're smart enough to stay out of trouble, so I didn't panic and run around Inuzuri trying to find you. But I am curious… where were you?"

I put down the bag of candy. "Making some friends."

Ayame untied the small bag. "Confetti?****"

I nodded, picking up a piece. "I met a gang of kids when I was on my way to the market. They were getting chased because they stole water from one of the stalls, and I got caught in it. We spent some time together in one of the vacant houses at the opposite side of the district and this kid called Renji gave the candy."

"Renji… the name's familiar. Red-haired kid?" Ayame asked me.

Surprised, I asked her, "You know him?"

Ayame chuckled. "That kid's infamous in the market. He can't keep his hands to himself."

I shrugged. "He doesn't have much of a choice. He lives with about twenty other kids and… well, you know the adults around here." I took a deep breath. "Nee-san… there's one more thing I want to talk about."

"What is it?" Ayame asked.

I sighed. "I had that dream again. You know the one I told you about before?

Ayame looked thoughtful for a while. "The one of an abandoned Inuzuri with no color or life at all?"

"Yeah," I said. "Nee-san… do you have any idea what it means?"

Ayame shrugged. "I don't know. I'm still just a student at the Shinigami Academy. You'd need to find someone more experienced than me at this sort of thing. But… I'll see what I can find out at the Academy's library, ok, so don't worry, and tell me if you have that dream again."

I nodded.

"One more thing," Ayame continued, "I think I told you before, but the instructors at the Academy told me at my rate, I'll be graduating next year. So, like I said this morning, I've applied you for Shinigami Academy on the day before I graduate. This way your entrance is guaranteed. When it's time for you to go, I'll be there in the Seireitei, somewhere. Don't hesitate to come to me, okay?"

I blinked. "Oh… okay."

She grinned. Her whole face seemed to brighten up when she does that. "I believe in you, otouto."

I smiled back at her. "Nee-san, thanks."

"That's what you said this morning. Anyways, you're welcome."

AN: Horrible ending, I know. I kept redoing it and redoing it, but this is the best I could do. Sorry. I didn't like doing this chapter. Not my best writing ever. Do most authors look over their work again and think that it sucks? Cos that's what I feel right now.

This introduction… well, it's what it is. An introduction. I needed to introduce this OC into the story, and this was the best I could do. So please, don't flame me. I liked doing the Renji and Rukia part, not OOC, I hope? Anyway, involving the asterisks:

*- When Ichigo's gang intruded in West Rukongai and failed to get through the White Gate, the citizens said that they disliked most shinigami except for the gate guard Jidanbo.

**- The reiatsu darkening thing is a clue to what Kiyashi-kun's power is.

***- A reference to Chad's line during the Soul Society arc.

****- Confetti was the name of the candy Renji gave Rukia when they were kids. I don't know if that was what it was really called or if it was a mistake.

Please R&R!