Disclaimer: I wish I owned Bleach, but I don't. The owner is Tite Kubo.
There is but one law that rules the Rukongai Bad Lands, just one:survival. Any soul in the Rukongai would say with conviction that they lived by it since they were old enough to make a fist, strong enough to fight, and cold enough to kill. And it is the same law that compelled a young man by the name of Sosuke, to join the ranks of the Rukongai militia in defense of the borderlands of Soul Society. Bound by duty, he found himself and 15 other militia members marching through the 'Bad Lands' on a moonless night, wading through thick blades of grass upon dozens of small hills as an absurdly strong fog obscured their sight. The only thing lighting their path, besides the lantern –holding officer in the front, seemed to be the numerous lanterns randomly dropped across the fields. The young man mused that it would probably have been a fairly pleasant trek if he and his squad weren't dealing with a hollow rampage. Of course, a female voice stopped any further rumination on his part as the company march gradually came to a gradual halt.
"Company, we will soon be upon the hollows within 100 meters," said the leading officer, a shinigami. The officer in question appeared to be middle aged, somewhere around her 40s physically, yet she seemed seasoned all the same. As far as having any unique identifiers, above –average height, the long dark- brown braided ponytail stretching down her back and the small scar on her left eyebrow immediately stood out. This woman was definitely from one of the outer Rukongai districts as far as Sosuke could tell.
After circling about the company, inspecting each and every member's piece of armor, spear, and shield with an impressively intimidating glance, she quickly paced over to a raised bed of grass a few paces to her right at the base of a small hill. Taking care to move the elevated bed of grass to the side and pulling out an overly large supply crate, the leading officer motioned for the squad to move in closer.
Reaching into the crate with both hands, the officer pulled out what appeared to be a bundle of white tipped arrows and pieces of small grey colored fabric. After glancing back to the apprehensive faces surrounding her, she calmly handed out both of the items she retrieved in numbers of 10 to each militia member. Without a pause, the officer in question returned to her location near the crate, hiding it as it once was before her retrieval. Standing in an elevated position on top of the raised grass bed, she peered at the now-at least to Sosuke- more competently equipped men and women, ready for further instructions.
"We," she gestured to the militia, "will approach the hollows in silence from this point forward using this."The officer reached down to take hold of a female militia member's arrow and piece of cloth, raising them up so all could see. "You'll be placing the pieces of cloth I gave you into the gaps of your armor to lessen the noise. There's no need for any unnecessary sounds to give away our approach," She said, before gently tossing the cloth in her hand to the officer who generously assisted her.
Next, the officer showed off the curious looking arrow, gracefully twirling it with her fingers. "And this is how we'll take them out. You're going to be using these arrows to distract the hollows, nothing more. You will fire at them and retreat on my signal. I will be the one to purify them." She said, with a look that invited no argument. "I will direct you further before we engage the enemy. There won't be much for you to think about, just make sure you my follow my orders. Is that Understood? " She finished, while glancing around for a response she was sure didn't exist. "Good, let's move out." she barked out, handing back the arrow and taking the lead once again.
As menacing as the officer was, Sosuke couldn't help but feel somewhat more secure taking on a handful of hollows under her watch. Although he had to wonder, did he really have the nerve to stand up to multiple hollows? He could tell that he wasn't the only one present with a below average reiryoku level, especially for a Rukongai soul, but doubt over his strength still lingered regardless of how infectious the officer's confidence was.
A few years of practice surviving the 80th district made sure any tip, tool, or technique he came across was exploited with the utmost efficiency and combined with the small spiritual energy he had within. It was one of the greatest sources of pride he took in himself, especially when he really thought about the ingenuity required to build such a repertoire of skills. Immobilizing or baiting hollows by using some arrows here or there was entirely different though…The only consolation he had was the avoidance of close combat, but he had the feeling that something about the pursuit wasn't quite right. He considered the tactic carefully before deciding that maybe all he'd get to use was the rusty spear he had on hand.
The thought brought forth a small smile to his face. Just who exactly would remember a small, dirty, street urchin dying in the line of duty anyway if it came down to it? Would they remember that a boy had sacrificed himself for his comrades? Or would he perish like thousands of others before him, just another number in a long list of the dead? It was a sobering thought, yet nothing as unpleasant as the scene before his eyes.
Off into the distance was what could only be described as a nightmare. The number of hollows was not as few as he had originally assumed, but appeared to be a pack of a dozen.
With a fluid motion, the shinigami unsheathed her blade to the world, ready for battle. She motioned for the company to follow her with a small nod of her head as she descended into a small path leading to a burning village filled with screaming souls and roaring hollows.
This was where his determination would be tested; Where he would know whether or not his first hollow hunt would earn him some respect or an early grave. There was a hope, as faint as it was, that he would make the hollows bend to his reality or at least make sure they suffered. This was his chance to save souls and ensnare his enemies in a bloody dream: untouchable like the moon on the surface of water.
The stakes required that he embody such determination, or risk becoming the fodder of hollows.
Indeed, on this night, a young street urchin from the southern 80th Rukongai district by the name of Sosuke would take the first steps toward his legacy in Soul Society: The savior of Aizen village.
Hello everyone. This is my first attempt at writing a fan-fiction piece. I thought the Bleach universe was just too good to pass up,so here we are. I plan on adding a few surprise elements to the story to give it a unique touch. Hope you like it. Please feel free to read, review, criticize, or comment about it. I'll be very open to any suggestions and improvements I can make in my writing. I should have chapter up early next week, so until then, ciao.