Chapter 1: In which he dies.
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Title: In which he ..
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters. All characters belongs to Tite Kubo unless stated otherwise.
Warnings: This chapter contains implied character death, and blood.
General rating: M due to blood and sexual content (MalexMale) in later chapters
Authors note: So, first chapter is kinda short and doesn't really say much about the situation. This will change in the next two chapters or so. This is pretty much just an introduction. I've decided not to follow any specific timeline with this fic, it does however take part after the whole "1000 year blood-war arc" but I will be using some characters that have died during that period (or even some before), so don't think of "when is this set to?" or "isn't this character dead?" This story will have a Male/Male plot with some Female/Male pairing but the main pair is ByaIchi. Keep this in mind.
UPDATE: I've made some minor changes in the story. Ichigo is 18, instead of 17 - as I figured it would be better for this to take part at least one year after the ongoing arc. This is me just deciding how I'd like the arc to end, including some speculations ~
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Death.
It was something no living being could avoid during their lifespan on Earth. Some would say that your unavoidable ending, long before you were born into this world mind you, was already decided for you and others would say that your death was yours to do whatever you wanted. For a certain orange-haired male named Ichigo Kurosaki however, death belonged to the first category. He had always had a feeling how it all would come to end the day he had become a substitute Shinigami. There was no growing old with someone in his future nor death by some horrible disease, which of course should have been a relief as no one really wanted the slow death by cancer or something of that kind.
From the age of 15, he had always known how it would end, and he had accepted it. Death by the hand of an enemy had never scared him, not really at least. However, he had never thought he would die alone. For three years he had always fought beside his comrades and friends, even beside his family at some occasions, and he had enjoyed the thought (as much as one could while considering ones death) of dying surrounded by those who truly mattered to him.
Instead, he was now lying on the leaf-covered ground, feeling his blood seep through his clothes and mix with the dirt underneath him, all alone. Well, technically, he hadn't been all by himself an hour ago or so, however, whoever had attacked him had long since vanished, but he could still hear their voice and laughter play in his mind.
18 years old, and dying in the depths of a forest without any chance of contacting his friends or family. He had tried multiple times to leave his body in hopes of being able to reach someone like that, but nothing seemed to work. His Shinigami badge also seemed to be useless and in the end, he simply accepted his faith. Death. He was going to die by the hands of some faceless thugs who had jumped him in the middle of the forest. Brilliant. The fact that he was still breathing and able to pull himself up against a tree, one hour after the fight, was simply outside his understanding.
'I am not dying here' his first thought had been. 'Not alone, not like this'. However, the longer he stayed like this the clearer the facts became. The lean body held multiple bruises but the most threatening wounds was the knife-cuts in his stomach and his thigh. Somewhere in Ichigo's mind, he was trying to ask himself why he had chosen this weekend to go hiking. What had made him decide that now was a good time to throw away his self-declared responsibilities towards Soul Society? His family had accepted his wish to be alone for the weekend, his friends had encouraged him to do so, heck – Sado, and Orihime had even told him to take a whole week instead of just a few days.
'I should have brought a phone'. It was a bitter thought and he gave an equally bitter laugh that resulted in a bloody cough. Ichigo wondered if someone would react to him being away for a longer period. He had never told them if he would stay for just a weekend or a whole week. They all knew that he had gone (and where), and even if he hadn't taken his phone with him, they could still find him. Find him.
A grimace split his face and he glanced down at himself. His blue sweater was soaked dark on the bottom and halfway up his stomach, the dark color increasing ever so slowly. Thanks to the surprising heat during the autumn this year, he had decided on a pair of loose beige shorts who had the same discoloring as his sweater, and he could feel the warm blood trickle down his thigh from his wound.
The pain was long gone, and he couldn't even feel the cold he knew should have been present at this time. Perhaps he was already dead, and his soul just refused to leave just yet. No. He had to leave. Ichigo had no desire of staying here and become an easy meal to whatever Hollow cruised these forests. Another cough. More blood. At some point during the hour he had spent here, just waiting for someone to find him or for death to finally claim him, he had somehow managed to use his blood to write See you on the shorts, and then again on the ground using his finger to dig into the dirt, just in case.
His now increasingly fuzzy mind demanded explanations as to why he had not written anything else. A bloody (non pun intended) goodbye instead perhaps. 'Why bother? I will reunite with most of them in Soul Society, and I can send them a message that way' was his answer to that.
Ichigo took a shaky breath and tilted his head backwards to study the creeping darkness on the sky above him. It was quite nice sitting like this, he thought. Surrounded by the forest and birds singing. It would have been nicer if his friends and family had been there however, but this was a good second choice. Well, not a choice of course. He had always thought he would at least live to reach his mid-twenties if anything. 'Well, now I don't need to think about the homework for next week at least'. Yet another bitter thought, but this time he did not laugh. He did not feel sad by the inevitable death that he now could feel creep over him, but he did feel a slight regret.
Before leaving for his small vacation, he had argued with his sisters about something petty, and even though he couldn't recall just what it had been about now that his brown eyes glazed over, he still felt guilt and regret. They would know that he had gone somewhere he could do more good, and at some point he would return for a visit (rules or no rules be damned).
Ichigo could feel a faint smile on his lips as he thought of the reactions his Shinigami friends would have when he showed up. As he could recall from what Rukia had told about souls coming to Soul Society, he would probably not wear his Shinigami robes unless he enrolled into the Shinigami academy. Or something like that.
Frankly, he had never paid much attention to that, as he had been so sure it would never apply for him. Perhaps it would still not apply for him thanks to his reiatsu. Closing his eyes, he let the smile remain on his lips as he welcomed the darkness completely. It would be better like this. Let them, whomever it would be, find him with a smile on his face and peace in his heart. At least now, he did not need to choose what to do with his life. Fate had decided for him. Soul Society would become his new home.
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A/N: Not completely happy with this, but I guess it's a good start. I am sorry for any spelling mistakes and other mistakes made in this story (and chapter). This thing will stay unbetaed for a while but I hope to change it to maximize your reading experience (as english is only my second language).