Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, and any part of this fanfiction that corresponds with copyrighted material (besides Bleach) is purely coincidental unless I say otherwise. I only own this plot and my original character (OC)
A/N: I will be switching back and forth with Japanese terms, especially with captain and taichou. For those who are confused, I'll try to put the English equivalent at the end of each chapter.
PROLOGUE
Twilight…
When the untouchable celestial figures of the sun and the moon could be seen together in the same sky…
He gazed out on the lake tinged with the sunset's hues before looking down at the tiny figure snuggled in the crook of his arm just as she did. Their eyes stared into each other for a brief moment, teal clashing with amber. Then there was a slight blush before there was a sound of bells, the sound of her laugh. She got up abruptly and tugged on his hand, urging him to get up.
He complied, amusement in his eyes before they widened for a second in mild surprise. She had released her wings, feathers red as flames and tipped with gold, that were as large as or even bigger than she was. He contemplated for a minute before he did the same, his more dragon-like and an icy blue, though the same great size.
Again, she laughed softly and then took to the air as he followed. In midair, they separated a minute to curtsy and bow appropriately before they closed in again. He wrapped his arm around her waist as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Their free hands intertwined as they began a dance, without music or melody, only to the rhythm of their hearts.
Twirling and swaying, they danced, now and then locking gazes, causing her to blush ever so slightly and him to smirk a little. Their long tresses of silver and red-tinged gold blew in clouds around them as the wind blew, causing them to intertwine. It was pure happiness.
But then, of course, it had to end.
Her eyes shifted their view from his eyes to over his shoulder and widened in horror at something he couldn't see. He spun around, ready to protect her against whatever had caused her to look that way. There was a sudden pain in his chest and the bone white mask that covered the monster came closer… and closer… until darkness overtook him…
Hitsugaya Toshiro suddenly sat bolt upright. He ran his fingers through his hair, which were now drenched in sweat as well as the rest of his body.
A dream…?
It had to be a dream, seeing as he was now in his sleeping garments in his futon (1). But… it was too vivid. It was like when he replayed a memory as one of his dreams.
But it was impossible; he never had such a scene in his entire life. And even as he tried to recall the finer details of the "dream", they eluded him. The only detail of the girl he could remember now were eyes the color of amber and hair of red-tinged gold.
Then he shook his head in an effort to clear it. It was idiotic he thought. He, Hitsugaya Toshiro, the youngest captain ever in Soul Society, considered a boy prodigy, now currently 10th Division Captain of the 13 Protection Squads (Gotei 13), was fretting over a petty dream.
After a few moments of pondering over it, he decided to forget everything about the dream that was pestering him so, and lay back down on his futon. But even as he started to drift off into unconsciousness, he couldn't forget the feeling of pure bliss, followed by complete horror, not at the pain, at the thought that the girl would be alone now…
Who was she?
CHAPTER ONE: FATED MEETING
"Captains, report to Yamamoto-sou-taichou (2) for a meeting in 10 minutes"
Successfully relaying its message, the pink and black butterfly fluttered away from the outstretched finger of captain of 10th Division: Hitsugaya Toshiro.
He sighed; today wasn't a particularly day since Matsumoto, his fuku-taichou (3) had sneaked off again to attend a sake (3) party, inevitably leaving him with all the paperwork. He had finally finished the daunting pile and was ready to take a break when the Hell Butterfly had arrived.
All in all, he wasn't in a good mood when he arrived.
As he waited outside the hall, waiting for the others to appear so they could get the whole thing over with, his thoughts inevitably wandered to the events in the past years. He hadn't had the chance much, being so busy with this and that, perhaps intentionally. It wasn't a particularly good memory.
Nearly 10 years had passed since the Winter War (officially named) had ended. The Hougyoko (5) was safely destroyed and most of the Espada (6) along with the traitor Tosen was eliminated. But Aizen (the mere thought of his name caused bile to rise in his throat) and Ichimaru had escaped. They were pursued, but had disappeared, leaving a wrathful 10th division captain behind.
Several shinigami (7) had died in the battle, and had been mourned, but there weren't as many casualties as one would've guessed. It was probably because of the fact that Yamamoto-sou-taichou had ordered them to attack Los Noches before Aizen could get the Hougyoko to fully awaken.
But the 5th and 9th divisions were still without a captain and had remained so for a few years since there were no possible candidates that could succeed in bankai and were willing to be captain. Then, Kurosaki Ichigo had officially died from a car accident and went from becoming a Shinigami Substitute to 9th Division Captain, no questions asked. Surprisingly, the squad had accepted him without major problems and was now doing well.
Perhaps too well, he though drily. Kurosaki was now and then overwhelmed with the paperwork and ditched it. That left Hisagi fuku-taichou and Rukia (if she had the time; she was promoted to fuku-taichou in 13th Squad) chasing after him for the majority of the day, leaving the mounds of paperwork to get even higher. Then, Matsumoto found about it and ditched her paperwork, having the excuse of looking for Kurosaki-taichou. Simply thinking of the not too rare occurrence made his head ache even more.
The only problem now was 5th Division, who was still currently a Captain short and practically a Vice-Captain as well. They had suffered the most shock from Aizen's betrayal and also had the most casualties from the war as well. They were holding up okay, but it was painfully obvious that it was only a matter of time before the division would crumble without a strong leader to support it.
Which brought him back to the problem of Bed-wetter Momo.
During the Winter War, she had somehow managed to escape her hospital confines and met Aizen. When he had arrived to get her, she was crumpled on the floor, bleeding profusely and broken mentally at the feet of the one and only Aizen Sousuke. He had charged straight at him, intending to serve justice without mercy to the one who had wounded his childhood friend (though he would never admit out loud), but he had disappeared.
The mere memory caused his blood to boil and he forced himself to calm down.
Looking around, he realized most of the other captains had arrived and were waiting for the meeting to start, some whispering amongst themselves, probably wondering why the sudden meeting. Finally, the doors opened and they filed in, taking their positions in 2 rows before Yamamoto-sou-taichou who was already there and seated.
"As you are all aware of, 5th Division has been without a captain for some time now…" was the opening statement Yamamoto-sou-taichou started with and at that, all of them unconsciously straightened, the same thought running through their heads 'a new captain?'
The sou-taichou continued, "Though it is a bit later than expected, the new captain for 5th Division is now ready to accept her position."
At his words, a shadow emerged from behind the chair, revealing itself to be what appeared a girl, who in the living world would probably pass as a middle school or maybe high school freshman student. She had already donned the captain's coat for the 5th division over the standard shinigami uniform, though a slight difference in that a red sash went around her waist over the captain's coat, ending in quite a big bow at her back.
She was quite short, about the height of Hitsugaya a few years ago when the whole mess with Aizen had just started. He had grown about 3 inches since then, and was pleased to note that he was now no longer the shortest captain.
Her Zanpaktou (8) was plainly visible and was actually two, crossed in an 'X' shape on her back. That in itself was unusual, but what made it stranger was the fact that they did not even look alike. The one whose hilt could be glimpsed over her left shoulder had a red and white hilt, with a gold-colored guard. It was perfectly circular, with 6 triangles in equal distance from each other on the edges. The sheath was a deep burgundy and revealed that the blade was a bit longer than the average katana (9), much like his.
The other zanpaktou seen over her right shoulder however was a whole different story. The hilt and guard was absolutely black, the guard a simple oval with rolled up edges. The sheath was bone white, almost like a Hollow's and wasn't as long as the other.
It was rare he knew, of a shinigami having 2 zanpaktous, but it was unheard of, or at least to his knowledge that among those few with 2, they didn't resemble each other in the slightest. The only people he knew having 2 zanpaktous were Kyoraku-taichou(10) of Division 8 and Ukitake-taichou of Division 13 and each blade was almost identical to the other in each set. It disturbed him a bit, but he decided it was nothing. After all, everybody's blade was unique.
Her hair was a remarkable color, a very light golden color nearly silver at the roots that steadily darkened to a deep red at the tips. But the most striking feature of the young girl before them was her eyes. They were unnoticed at first due to the bangs shadowing them, but upon looking up, they caught the attention of all captains present.
They were an amber color that contradicted her youthful appearance; seeming to hold knowledge and sadness beyond most people's comprehension. It made everybody slightly shiver inwardly upon gazing. But only one could be seen, the other covered by what appeared to be a bandage that wrapped around her head.
Suddenly he had a jolting thought, 'red-tinged hair and amber eyes, it was like… the girl in his dream' But before it could take solid root in his head, he thrust the idea from his mind, determined not to remember the mysterious dream. Preoccupied with his thoughts, he nearly missed the girl's words.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Shizuka Akari and I am the new 5th Division captain. I look forward to working with you in the future"
Japanese terms-
(1) Futon- Japanese mat used for sleeping
(2) Sou-taichou- Commander Captain
(3) Fuku-taichou- Vice Captain
(4) Sake- Japanese alcohol
(5) Hougyoko- The jewel-like object created by Urahara that Aizen used to grant shinigami powers to Hollows
(6) Espada- Vaste Lorde level Hollow who had been given shinigami powers and whose masks had been mostly removed
(7) Shinigami- death gods
(8) Zanpaktou-(literally) Soul Slayer
(9) Katana- Japanese sword
(10) Taichou- Captain
This is my first fanfic and I would appreciate reviews. Constructive criticism is encouraged though please refrain from flamers. If there is someone willing to help me in little details such as grammar, spelling errors, names, etc, please tell me in a review.