Disclaimer: I do not own anything besides the few original works I include.
Claimer: Please don't take any original works I may add into a story.
Summary: Many secrets lie within the Amai clan. The massacre of the Amai clan being the biggest kept secret in the Soul Society. Yukio and Chiyeko the last of the Amai clan have always been thrusted into a world of mysteries and lies. Will they find their own paths or continue down the path that has been carved for them by their ancestors? Who will they become?
WARNING: Death, violence, possible gore, and mild language.
Suggested Age: 14+
"Kurayami no Naka no Rantan"
Chapter 1
A young boy and little girl ran though the grounds of a giant mansion. A towering fence surrounded the grounds of the mansion. Men dressed in white wondered the boarder of the fence and stood at the gate twenty-four seven. The gardens were full of colorful flowers and topiary statues. It was easy to get lost in the maze of gardens.
The little girl decided to start stacking furniture on top of each other trying to balance on the tower of furniture. The boy ran back and forth until it stopped trying to tumble over then the girl stood on her toes trying to reach for the edge of the lowest hanging awning. Her small hands wrapped around the edge of the roof. She kicked her legs furiously trying to pull herself upwards. Her sandals caught the very edge of the roof and she swung herself over the top.
"Come on Yukio-san," encouraged small girl.
"Chiyeko-chan you should come down," said the taller boy.
"Nothin' is goin' to happen. I just want a better view," said Chiyeko.
"Fine if you won't come down I'll come up," huffed Yukio.
The older boy fumbled up the tower of furniture. Chiyeko held out her hand to the boy; he swatted it away climbing up onto the roof on his own.
"Whoa," said Chiyeko standing up looking out over the fence. They were surrounded by trees. There was a distant glimmer of what looked to be a cluster houses. For the most part the forest was dark with fog hovering around the ground.
"I wonder why they aren't allowed out there," said Yukio. Chiyeko shrugged starring wide-eyed into the woods.
"What about those people with swords mommy talks about. Those bad people who betrayed our people," said Chiyeko "could they still be out there?"
"They would be quite old wouldn't they," said Yukio.
"I wonder what that is," said Chiyeko pointing to the glimmering light far into the distance.
"It's a city dimwit," said Yukio.
"Will we ever get to see it?" asked Chiyeko looking over at Yukio.
"I don't know," said Yukio.
"Lady Amai and Lord Amai what are you doing up there?" said a very concerned man in a white robe.
"Just looking," said Yukio.
"I must insist you come down," said the man.
"Why?" asked Chiyeko.
"It's dangerous up there," said the man.
"Fine," said Yukio climbing down the way he came.
"Why is it dangerous?" pouted Chiyeko.
"You come down here because you were told to," said the man.
"NO," said Chiyeko sitting down crossing her arms "not until you tell me why."
"Having some trouble Kitani-san?" asked a new voice. A tall man in a dark robe with strange symbols at the bottom.
"Shiba-dono…I didn't know you were visiting today," shuttered the white robed man.
"You are fine Kitani-san. You should come down because you might fall and get hurt," said the other man.
Chiyeko gladly climbed down the tower of furniture. She peaked around Yukio at the visitor. She had never seen anyone besides her family or the people that were for her family.
"Now little girl you should apologize to Kitani-san," said the stranger.
Chiyeko clung to Yukio's kimono as the stranger got closer. She buried her face into his back. Yukio glared at the man. Either of the children budged.
"Shiba-dono they haven't met anyone outside of the clan," said Kitani.
"I see, just because they are nobles does not give them the right to talk to someone like that," said the stranger.
"Shiba-dono, I wasn't expecting a visitor today. It is nice to see you. I see you've met Yukio and Chiyeko," said a tall woman in an ornate red and gold kimono.
"I come with news," said the stranger.
"Oh I see," said the woman. Chiyeko pulled on the woman's sleeve. The woman smiled leaning down to the girl's level.
"Who is he?" Chiyeko whispered.
"Chiyeko, Yukio this is Shiba, Isshin. He's the head of the Shiba clan, well until his nephew is old enough to take over," said the woman.
"Now children fix the furniture and stop giving Kitani-san a hard time," said the woman.
"Yes, mother," they pair replied as they started unstacking the furniture.
"Cute kids," said Isshin.
"Thank you. They have a lot to learn yet," said the woman.
"They'll learn," said Isshin.
"Hopefully in time. The opposition is becoming more aggressive. Please tell me Central 46 has something good to say," said the woman disappearing into the mansion with Isshin.
"Once you finish fixing the furniture we can go to the training grounds," said Kitani.
"Okay!"
The kids ran after Kitani as he led them to the training grounds. The kids ran into the storage building to get their stuff. He smiled looking off into the distance. The air felt different today. He had never seen so many guards out at once. He shook his head. It wasn't his job to think about that. It was his job to take care of the children.
"Kit-Kit!" called Chiyeko knocking things over in the storage building as she walked around with her gear stuck over her head. He pulled the gear down. She gave a big grin as her brown hair stuck straight up. He smiled fixing the lopsided helmet. The little girl ran out of the building. He grabbed few different types of weapons before closing the door to fix everything that was knocked down earlier.
"What's this?" asked Yukio waving a long stick with a blade at the end around. Chiyeko shrieked ducking as it nearly missed her head.
"It is type of ax called the bardiche. Be careful with it, it's a real weapon not a toy," said Kitani.
"Oh okay, sorry," said Yukio putting it down.
"It's alright. Let's try normal ax first," said Kitani giving the boy the smaller weapon.
"What do I do with this?" said Yukio looking at it.
"Use like you do a sword. It's gorier than a sword. You swing it at the target. Some people use it to chop off heads," said Kitani.
"Cool!" said Yukio.
"Swing it at the targets," interrupted Kitani before Yukio thought to swing the ax at him.
"What about me! What about me!" said Chiyeko jumping up and down.
"Hmm let me see," said Kitani "what about this?"
"What is it called?" asked Chiyeko taking it out of Kitani's hands.
"It's a bo staff," said Kitani picking up a larger staff.
He gripped the staff and twirled the staff between his hands. He brought down the staff hitting the ground. Chiyeko watched wide-eyed at her caretaker. Her eyes fallowed the staff and every single movement he was making. She could feel the air around her swirling around her. She saw a blue energy raiding around him.
"That's what a staff can do. A lot of people prefer swords, but don't underestimate a staff," said Kitani. Chiyeko just nodded starring in wonder.
"How do you do that?" asked Chiyeko.
"You start like this," said Kitani drawing his foot back pulling the staff back behind him.
Chiyeko tried to mimic Kitani's stance. She snapped the staff back behind her. CRACK. It came back and smacked her helmet making her fall back landing on her back. She whimpered as tears pooled in her eyes.
"Now-now no need for tears," said Kitani lifting Chiyeko back on her feet brushing the dirt off her.
"See you can't even do a stupid staff right," teased Yukio.
Chiyeko shot the dirtiest glare she could muster. She formed a small ball of spirit energy and flicked it at her brother. He jumped away as the tiny little ball blew up in face.
"She hit with her spiritual energy! She knows I can't use spirit energy like she can!" whined Yukio.
"Then stop teasing her. If you are going to be mean to people they will be mean back," said Kitani crossing his arms.
Yukio huffed swinging the ax at the target dummy hitting it square in the head. He tried to pull it back out and it got stuck. He yanked on and pulled with his hands and feet. The ax let go and went flying through the air. Right before the flying ax would have turned the accident into a tragedy Kitani caught the handle.
"What did I tell you about this?" growled Kitani.
"It's not a toy," said Yukio looking at the ground.
"Right," said Kitani.
"I'm sorry Kitani-san. It was an accident," said Yukio.
"Accident or not you nearly killed your sister. You have to be more careful. You cannot let your emotions distract you," said Kitani.
"It's not fair! You never scold her when she messes up with weapons!" snapped Yukio is face going red pointing at the small girl.
"She's still little, you know better. You are the older brother you are supposed to be the role model," said Kitani giving the boy a disapproving look.
Yukio took off his equipment and threw it on the ground and stormed away. He refused to turn back and headed back towards the mansion. Chiyeko looked up at Kitani with big blurry eyes.
"Don't worry about him. He'll get over it," said Kitani.
"Why is Yukio mad at me?" asked Chiyeko tears rolling down her cheeks.
"He's not mad at you. He's just mad about everything going on. Sometimes kids his age just feel angry," said Kitani wiping the tears from Chiyeko's face.
"I think we've done enough training today," said Kitani picking up Yukio's equipment.
The little girl didn't follow him. She drew her foot back trying to take the stance Kitani had showed her. She fell over again. She pushed herself off the ground and trust her foot back. She fell back again. She stood back up trying it again. Kitani fixed the storage building while watching the young girl. He shook his head and smiled. He knew one day she was going to be a great fighter and so would her brother in his own right. It was a pity that he would never have the spiritual ability she did. He frowned thinking about how cruel the future would be for the siblings. He hoped the boy learned to control his temper or else she was going to have to be stronger than him. He didn't want it to come to that, but he knew it was out of his control.
The hair stood up on the back of his neck. He ran outside and starred up at the fence. He could see the growing darkness coming. He grabbed the small girl and scooped her up and shunpo across the grounds. The air was knocked right out of her. The helmet on her head flew off while wind whirled pass her. Her eyes shot wide open as she saw a dark mist rising over the fence and figures dressed in all black appeared on the grounds. She coughed as the hair became thick and hard to breath. She buried her face into Kitani's robe trying to gasp for air.
Kitani took notice to the boy starring into the building frozen in place. He came to jarring stop when his eyes fell on the courtyard covered in blood. Lady and Lord Amai was in the middle along with their guards. He caught glimpse of Isshin fighting off a group of people. They're eyes locked for just a moment and he grabbed the boy's arm darting away. Yukio could barely keep up with the older man but managed to stay on his feet. Darting through the forest trying to out run the dark mist fallowing them. He didn't even take a second to consider what he was doing when he rushed pass the gate and into the barracks of the 10th Division. He tore off the white robe revealing his black and white uniform. The two children starred at him in confusion.
"What the hell is going on?" said Yukio.
Please forgive me children. I did it to project you. I knew only the Shinigami could keep you face. Forgive me for my betrayal. I did it all for you. One day I hope you'll understand when you find out the truth.
A/N: Just as quick explanation Isshin would be a lieutenantduring the time this event takes place. Yukio would be around twelve or thirteen in physical age based on appearance and Chiyeko around five.
Also if anyone betas or knows of a beta that would be interested in this story let me know.
Huge thanks to my best friend Liv for giving me the support to post this.