Here is the first installment of my first multichaptered fic that I will be working on when I can! Based loosely around the song I See Fire by Ed Sheeran (A beautiful song really) with my own crazy world of spirits and shadows and ignorant humans thrown in for fun.
I own nothing but the idea, so ya know, enjoy or whatevs~
The darkness crept silently along the grounds, screams echoing from the mountain village as its people raced towards higher elevation; closer to the light. One such person, the queen to be exact, was running on a more secluded path of the mountain. Her hair waved behind her like trailing starlight and her skin glowed with a heavenly shine, her eyes- which usually shone with the warmth of a campfire- glowed with unparalleled fear. The queen stumbled upon an overgrown root as she dove further into the surrounding forest, her eyes suddenly flicking to the smaller figure attached to her right hand.
Her son, only a few hundred years old, had been the reason for Aizen's bold attack. Ichigo was the heir to the throne and, as such, Aizen's only enemy after King Isshin. The lord of the dark was not against the murder of an innocent child if it meant he could spread the plague of his darkness to the farthest recesses of the world, but he underestimated them.
The spirits of the light were strong, glowing bright in the darkness that permeated their world and warding off the dangers that lurked in the shadows. Masaki was proud to say she had defended her son from the initial attack all her own, coming out of the scrimmish with nothing more than a shallow cut on her cheek. Already it had stopped leaking trails of light and instead glowed dimly.
"Mommy! What's going on?" Masaki wanted to cry at the question, instead focusing on the winding path before them and the echoing screams from behind.
"Some bad people are trying to hurt us, so we're going somewhere safe." Masaki tightened her fingers around her son's hand- so small and fragile- and pulled him a bit faster along the path.
Masaki heard the tired pants of her child and quickly stopped to pull him into her arms, taking to the woods again at a faster pace. Ichigo's head was pressed safely into her neck, a hand holding it there so he might avoid seeing the darkness that no doubt followed their every step. She felt the wind howl in her ears, bringing with it news of the others' conditions and whereabouts, and twist the air around her into a protective cocoon.
She didn't have to wait long before a spike of pure shadows drove through the barrier, the wind howling in her ears as it began to twist in a chaotic array. Masaki almost felt tears fall over her cheeks as the wind shot into the sky and its haunting echoes continued to rock the surrounding trees in their roots. The queen felt her breath pick up as a sudden chill invaded the forest, her light swarming to the surface and enveloping Ichigo in its protective glow.
"Hand over the boy and I might just let you live." Masaki glared at the figure cloaked in sentient shadows, traces of hands visible among the dark trails before they became wandering tendrils that joined with the larger swirl dancing at Aizen's feet.
"Over my dead body." Masaki continued to feed light into the barrier surrounding her son, the boy now clinging to the fabric of her skirt as she pressed him into her hip.
She had never wanted her son to witness the horrors of Aizen's rule, the atrocities he'd committed just to bring his darkness to the light. It made her stomach churn, some of the effects of his manic pillagings, already they had lost one of the stronger nature spirits- a newly-wed at that. He killed without mercy and had his darkness absorb whatever light was in his path.
Masaki and Ichigo were currently in that path.
The smile on Aizen's face caused Masaki's light to flicker just so, her hands pressed Ichigo further behind the shield that was her body. "With pleasure."
Masaki's eyes widened at the wave of shadows that rose up behind Aizen, the few stars that dotted the sky blocked by the surge of darkness. Masaki didn't hesitate to grab the her child and race back into the underbrush, her light still surrounding Ichigo's quivering form.
The two didn't make it far before they were cut off by a wall of shadows, Ichigo whimpering from her side before she led them in another direction. They ran for she didn't know how long before they reached a jagged cliff that overlooked the valley that ran alongside the mountain, Masaki's every breath causing a stab of pain in her chest.
Chancing a glance at her son, Masaki wasn't surprised to see him in a similar state, crouching before him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. The light surrounding him turned to whisps where her hand touched him.
"Ichigo. Mommy's going to do something so save you, okay? You need to stay low." Masaki felt tears brush her eyes as Ichigo tilted his head in confusion, pulling him into her and squeezing him tightly. "I love you so much."
"Mommy?"
Masaki held Ichigo close as she pulled every bit of light in her body to the surface, the glow moving to encompass the whole of the cliff and a bit of the surrounding forest before rushing back into her body. Masaki gasped at the buildup of energy suddenly coursing through her veins, gritting her teeth as she focused it at a single point above them. She heard Ichigo gasp at the strong burst of wind that came with the release of her power.
Their hair whipped around their heads slowly, Masaki carefully pulling away from her son with a smile. "I will see you soon."
Masaki's hands slid from Ichigo's shoulders to his hands, holding them gently as the wind began to surge upwards. She was brought to her feet against her will, continuing upwards until her feet left the ground and even higher then. Ichigo's hands were squeezing hers tightly, tears pricking his eyes as he shouted something she couldn't hear.
She could do nothing as she rose higher, Ichigo's fingers slipping from hers until he dropped onto the cliffside with a mute cry. Masaki felt tears fall from her eyes, the drops glittering in the tube of light before dissipating altogether.
The queen took one more lingering look at her son, his face contorted in pain as he reached for her helplessly, before turning her eyes on the sky. A glow started to seep into her warm, hazel eyes, moving to encompass her whole body as she flew high into the sky. The darkness was daunting outside her funnel of light, her glowing features hardening as she curled into herself.
"Breathe…." Masaki spoke softly into the skin of her knees, pulling her light closer until it formed a glowing sphere around her body. Her eyes peeked from the fold of her arms, watching the hypnotizing swirl of light glow brighter with each passing second. A shaky breath fell from her lips as she pushed more of herself into the sphere, her shoulders dissolving into light particles. Her arms continued to slide away from her in small balls of light, eyes watching in fixation as she disappeared bit by bit. "Breathe…."
She didn't feel the way her body drifted away to join the embodiment of her spirit, only a strange weightlessness as she watched the stars twinkle above her. She offered them a sad smile, hoping they would be able to appease Isshin when he learned of her sacrifice for their people, the twinkling responding in kind.
An airy breath passed through her lips as she closed her eyes, smile relaxed as she was greeted with glowing lights instead of darkness. She could only hope Ichigo would never have to a make a sacrifice of this magnitude when he grew older, her last thought as she released herself to the buildup of light.
The sudden brightness that assaulted the land caused many to cover their eyes in shock, cries of happiness and confusion ringing through a gathering of spirits in a clearing near the mountain's peak. Only a few knew the reason for a light of that magnitude, sending their king sympathetic glances as he fell to the dew-covered grass with a heart-broken cry.
On a cliff overlooking the rising sun, a smaller figure let out his own cry in despair, the shadows that had wrapped around his ankles and yanked him into the forest hissing in pain as the light threatened to disintegrate their bodies.
Ichigo shouted as he was dragged roughly through the underbrush, his arms swinging at invisible entities as he was cut by various branches and roots. The orange haired child cried out as his head connected painfully with a large tree, his eyes sliding shut as the shadows dragged him to the edge of a small clearing. The dark tendrils twined into a large swirling mass before slinking towards the figure standing in the center of the clearing, his face turned towards the light from above.
Aizen sneered at the sphere of pure light, turning away from the irritating brightness to regard his hissing shadows with distaste. "It seems we won't be able to do much with this light here." The shadows curled around his feet before soaking into his skin, darkening the flesh to a dull charcoal.
Aizen hummed as the shadows crawled further up his body until they reached his neck, twining into a complex spiral that touched the base of each ear in a sharp spike. The shadow-drenched man turned his attention to the unconscious figure lying half-concealed in the shade of a tree, his lower half bathed in sunlight. Aizen smirked at the sight of blood sliding down the child's forehead, chuckling to himself as he took slow, deliberate steps towards Ichigo's unconscious form.
"It seems all is not yet lost." Aizen's advance was halted by a sudden roar that rocked the surrounding forest, his eyes widening before narrowing as they darted around the clearing. He froze as he caught a flash of purple moving among the trees, snarling as he took a cautious step away from the child.
"You can have him now, but I will be back." Aizen gave another resounding snarl at the responding roar, willing the shadows to cover him fully. All was silent as the brunet was bathed in sentient shadow, sinking into the ground without a sound and leaving no trace.
A slow growl rose from the forest as a sleek panther entered the clearing, purple fur slowly sliding away and giving rise to dark skin covered by a bear pelt, the trailing, purple ponytail waving gently in the nonexistent wind. Cat-like eyes continued to glow with a hidden power as the woman approached the unconscious figure stretched beneath a tree. A sad smile pulled at her lips as she knelt beside the child, a gentle hand reaching out to brush his hair from his forehead.
"Isshin is quite distraught. You are asking much of a man that has already lost more than his fair share." Yoruichi just continued to stroke Ichigo's cheeks gently, wiping away the blood that trailed behind his ear and into his lax hair.
"Isshin would keep him locked away on a pedestal instead of training him, lest he become his mother. This is for the best." Yoruichi knew she won the argument when her husband sighed behind her, a hand being placed on her shoulder and squeezing gently. Glancing from the hand to the man it was attached to, Yoruichi gave Kisuke a small smile. "It's fine. I'm fine. He'll be fine."
Yoruichi didn't know whether she was talking about Isshin or Ichigo, but was thankful when Kisuke gave her a sad smile before turning his attention to the unconscious child before them.
"Come on. He needs medical attention."
Yoruichi nodded before picking up the small child, unable to stop herself from smiling at his lax features. Turning away from her charge, Yoruichi sent Kisuke a determined nod, the blond leading them back into the forest.
Yoruichi could only hope she would be half the mother Masaki was.
I think I did well, but I honestly won't know without some feedback~~ And I'm still trying to hash out some ideas and re-edit some of the other chapters I already have typed up so just expect a bit before the next update! Thank you and goodnight!