Amber and Aquamarine
A/N: 'Kay… How did I come up with this? Well, you 'bably won't know either, eh? Maybe I should stop reading Bleach wiki…
Ichi: kako no kioku
"Taichō. Permission to fight… alone?"
"Granted."
I flash-stepped from the tree we were standing on, leaving a serious Ukitake and a shocked Rukia behind.
When I landed in front of the hollow it began to speak in this creepy hollow-voice.
"Heehee! Hee! So you're first? Eh? Brat!"
Although a shiver went down my spine while the hollow talked I kept my calm voice and behavior.
"Before we start. I need to confirm something. Up to now. How many Shinigami have you eaten?"
"Uh… how many? Heehee! Sorry, but I don't keep track of that!"
"Have you ever felt sad or regret about killing?"
"… That's a really stupid question. I, like you, have a heart! Thus, there are nights when I feel regretful about the Shinigami I ate. Even now I feel… regretful about what happened last night."
I never thought I would hear that from a hollow until…
"Especially about that female Shinigami last night. I didn't eat her head or torso… I really regret not doing it!!! Hee! Hee! Hee! Hee!"
"I see." I drew my Zanpakutō with a calmness I didn't know I were able to. With one quick flash-step I had cut his left leg and became one of his tentacles to grasp.
"Suiten sakamake Nejibana!"
But when I said so my Zanpakutō disintegrated into thin air.
The hollow began once more to speak: "Once every night… The Shinigami to touch my tentacles will lose his Zanpakutō!!"
I hadn't got the time to be shocked. The hollow attacked me with his tentacles all at once and I began to bleed from several cuts.
'How's this possible. Destroying a Zanpakutō just like that how can such an ability even exist!!?'
He broke through my train of thoughts as he lunged at me for another attack. From far away – as if hearing through a raging ocean – I heard Rukia calling out my name. But she never came aiding me. Probably it was thanks to Ukitake. He stopped her in her tracks – most likely.
While I kept blocking his attacks I thought of a good tactic.
After a while I heard her once more shouting. This time at Ukitake-taichō.
"PRIDE IS NOT IMPORTANT IN COMPARISON TO LIFE!!!"
I bet she never understood what he meant.
With a cry I lunged at this bastard of a hollow. I ripped of his tentacles one after another, as many as I could manage.
I backed of as he wounded me deep at the right side of my stomach. Hell, that hurt!
"Heehee! You're still able to put up a fight even without your Zanpakutō. You're not bad, brat."
My breath was uneven but I still managed to smile cocky.
"Of course. Against a hollow of your level, all I need is Kidō! Sorry, but I'm going to defeat you like this."
He slowly straightened himself up.
"You sure talk big!! It can't be helped… I wasn't planning to use this because of last night, but… since you underestimated me like that, I have no choice!!"
I saw a mass of something like strands or threads flying towards me and instinctively hold up my arms to block.
My left wrist hurt like Hell. Then everything went black. That must've been the moment this hollow took over my body. I don't know what happened at this time.
When my consciousness came back I was faced with Rukia's bloody face and I felt her Zanpakutō piercing through my chest. It was then that I realized whose blood she had on her face.
At this point it began to rain. It seemed as if she cried. I could barely speak…
"Taichō… Thanks… for letting me fight until the end…"
"Yeah…"
"Kai… Kaien-dono?"
I somehow managed to reply: "Kuchiki, I dragged you into this… my stubbornness has caused you pain… I'm sorry. You must be torn apart inside."
With this I lay a hand on her trembling back. I already began to disintegrate…
"Thanks to you… my heart… can still stay here…"
I woke up all of a sudden and couldn't resist the impulse to grip my left wrist. I sighed. There wasn't anything and relieve washed over me.
That was when I became aware of the cold sweat on my face. And not only my face. My whole body was drenched in sweat. Another deep-drawn sigh. I went for the bathroom. I took a shower and went back to sleep.
A difficult task with all these images of my dream still in my head. But somehow I fell back into a dreamless sleep.
'Kay… so that's the first chapter… I usually don't like it to write in the first person… after a while I can't think of another beginning for a sentence than 'I' but it would be difficult to write in another way.
This are - aside the fact that it's his dream - the experiences of Shiba Kaien in the manga chapters 135 'Affected by the night' and 136 'The night of Wijinruit'… if someone could tell me what 'Wijinruit' means I would be really grateful.
I know it's REALLY short… gome for that but the next chapters will be longer FOR SURE! It's just kind of a prologue so it doesn't has to be THIS long, right?
What else could I say… R&R, please?
ichi - one
kako no kioku – memories from the past/memories of the past/past memories
suiten sakamake – Rankle the Seas and the Skies
nejibana – Japanese for the Spiranthes in the English manga 'twisted flower'