Hope You Enjoy the story!!
This Chapter is Dedicated to my sister emoVAMPcookie who proofread this for me. THANX a million sis.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Chapter 1/Prologue – Finding His Way
Akahiko walked silently in the rain, contemplating his decision. Not noticing the torrential downpour turning the earth to mud, and the gale force winds that tore through the trees. Not noticing his clothes were completely soaked. He couldn't—he was too distracted to notice. He thought only of where his new decision would take him, of why he made it, and most of all who it would lead him to…
Walking down the road, lost in his thoughts, suddenly he felt a disturbance in the air. He had felt that sensation before and no storm could mask the feeling. It snapped him out of the thoughts of his decision and his finely honed warrior's instinct kicked in. He scanned the area; reaching out with his senses to locate what he knew would be there, A Hollow.
Finding it and sensing its strength he instantly relaxes. Knowing well that the hollow isn't even worth his time, he goes anyway. With a flash of shunpo he appears before the beast and draws his weapon, a distant and bored expression on his face.
He remembers then his life… a life spent in constant struggle with few reprieves. Since he was small he remembered having to defend himself from all sorts of enemies. Having lived in one of the poorest regions of Rukongai, degenerates of all kinds used to assault him for his food. And because of his spiritual powers hollows would come after him. He would have died long ago was it not for the sword he picked up all those years ago.
~*Flashback*~
The day started like any other. He went out from small tent in the alley way he called home to look for food. He was one of the rare ones who needed food because he had some sort of spiritual power. So like he did on those mornings he was hungry he ran to the outskirts of the district to where there was an old, run down apple orchard.
Not many people knew of its existence, not bothering to lift their heads from their despair long enough to find it. Even less people knew that though there was no one to care for the trees some of them would still yield fruit every season. He on the other hand would enjoy eating the fruit when it was available.
Little did he know that he would find a drunken rogue shinigami. The rogues as they were called were people who possessed zanpakuto and shinigami powers though they weren't part of the Gotei 13, some having failed to get in after graduating from the Academy. Most possessed no real skill and wielded Asauchi. Rogues spent their time in the outer districts brawling, causing mayhem, and forming gangs.
Running that morning he crashed into the intoxicated man, causing him to drop his still full sake bottle. The man became enraged and chased the boy with his weapon drawn. After having been cornered in an alley by the drunk and disgruntled rogue, the man charged at him. Then something clicked into place in his very soul then, he heard a muffled voice deep in his mind urging him to fight and survive.
It was then he remembers that he ducked under the drunken man's blade and stabbed him in the gut with a rusty and cracked sword he had picked up off the ground.
~*Present*~
The Hollow in front of him growls low in its massive chest, apparently angered by his new opponents' obvious lack of fear, and charges at him. He dodges quickly to the left not even needing shunpo and brings his zanpakuto straight down. The beast begins disintegrating having been cleaved in half. Soon nothing is left of it to even show it had been there.
He takes a look at his zanpakuto. It was a nodachi, long and seemingly heavy. Its 5 and a half foot blade, pitch black except for the gleaming silvery gray edge was permanently tinged a slight red, as if the blood of his enemies had soaked in. The sword was a shirasaya, having no tsuba and a wooden hilt. The hilt and the scabbard were of the same perfectly black wood polished to a shiny finish with a pattern of crimson splatters all over.
He stands there in the rain as he admires his zanpakuto. How much it has changed since its days as rusty and cracked blade. How much he had changed from that rough around the edges boy he used to be.
"As interesting as this trip down memory lane is, remember, you have a purpose Akahiko… How are we ever going to get back to civilization if you're distracted?" Rumbles his zanpakuto, in a deep bass voice only he can hear. "Also you seem to have selective memory… you make it seem as though we have been alone this entire time. Don't you remember a certain—"
'Enough' he interrupted. 'I remember …' He remembers more than well his constant companion since even before he knew his zanpakuto. The mere mention of her sets his mind again to his task.
Memories of the past mix with his contemplation of the future as he again sets off in the direction of his newly decided objective. He slowly walks through that rainy and muddy field reaching the road. The road leading to Rukongai, to one place he doesn't want to go to and eventually to that one person he definitely has to see… Her...
~*####*~
A week later the man continues down that road having finally reached the outskirts of western Rukongai. He finds himself in the 78th district his old stomping grounds. He reflects on how nothing seems to have changed in the years he'd been away. The shacks and ramshackle buildings that line the streets are just as run down as ever. The air still smelled faintly of decomposing food and sweat, the people still looking as hopeless and rundown as the shacks themselves—and as always crime ruled the streets.
He is distracted from his thoughts of his old home, enough to bump into a passerby. He quietly apologizes and continues on his way only to have shirt gripped from the back.
"Oi!! You prick who the hell do you think you are bumping in to me like that!!" says the burly man with a scowl.
"I'm sorry sir… I wasn't paying attention to where I was going…" he says trying to placate the man.
"Sorry he says well little brat sorry doesn't cut it around here!" he says then he notices the younger man's sword. "Well what do we have here? You have a sword. Pfft, I see they give these to just about anyone now. I'm gonna cut you to pieces to make an example out of you punk," he says drawing his sword.
Trying again to diffuse the situation he says, "Look I'm sorry again for bumping in to you. I think it would be better for the both of us we just let this go." He raises his hand in a placating motion.
"What a pussy. Just shut up and fight me before I have to cut you to pieces!!!" the burly man charges him.
In that instant Akahiko's face hardens into a scowl. He quickly draws his long blade in one swift motion. And simply dodges the bigger man's overhand strike. He continues then to just dodge all the man's strikes just as easily as the first.
"Boy why have you drawn me… if you aren't even going to use me? Use my power!! Slash him so I may drink in his life's blood!!" roars his zanpakuto sadistically.
'Quite!! I can handle this without your commentary.' he responds.
"Just… hold… still!! You… slippery… bastard!" says the irate fat man winded.
The smaller man just scoffs; he's had enough. And finally readies his blade. With a blur the man brings down his sword and cuts the man's arm off at the shoulder. Blood splatters on the ground, as the large man screams in pain. Eventually he falls down, landing next to his severed arm, eyes glazing over in pain.
"You're right; they do give those to just about anyone," says Akahiko in a cold and calm voice as he points to the fallen man's zanpakuto, just as the man drifts into unconsciousness.
He looks around then, seeing then looks of fear in the eyes of the districts citizens at what he'd just done. He realizes that to them he looks just like the man who he's just defeated; just another rogue killing others for his own whim.
"Pay them no mind young one… You are very different from the garbage rogues around here." his zanpakuto quietly reassures.
'Yeah I know. I'm nothing like them; I fight for the sake of others not for my own benefit.'
"So… are you gonna leave these people here to suffer like this?"
'No I can't, so it looks like we're gonna be staying for a while…'
"I knew you would say that… I can taste the blood already!" breaths out the deep voice, beginning to laugh maniacally.
He just places a bored look on his face then and without even wiping the blood from his sword sheaths it and begins walking again. He thinks then of his eventual destination, the fabled Seireitei. And the person he hopes to find there among its citizens.
'I have to help these people, but I will find you…'
A/N: I Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of my story. Please Review tell me what you think.
About the rogue shinigami, think like Zaraki used to be before he was in the Gotei 13. The rogues have some power and skill but not too much and they go around doing whatever they want good or bad for they're own reason. Yes this makes Akahiko a rogue but he's one of the better ones.
I'll put up the next chapter when I can. Special thanx again to my little sister emoVAMPcookie for helping me out.