Chapter 0 – The Prologue: Don't Drink And Die!
"For some people, the answer to life's mysteries lies in the profound understanding of others. For some, it's understanding in themselves. Some fancy that it's in the sword, or maybe on a petal of a wildflower. Why, some say that there is no answer at all! Isn't that quite something?
"You wanna know what I think?"
"I think you've had more sake than you can pay for," a man with irritated, squinty eyes said.
"Huh- oh, right! Gimme a bottle to go, won't cha, buddy ol' pal!"
The man clicked his tongue in annoyance, placed a white ceramic bottle on the table and held out a hand, palm up. The person of his umbrage blinked at the palm before a realization flashed through his inebriated brain.
"Oh, I see what you're getting at!" A moment later, the man was holding a full cup of sake on his palm. The man could only stare, wide-eyed, as the other guy snatched the bottle and was already waddling out the door. "Have one on me! Never let it be said that ol' Seinaru leaves a buddy dry!"
"H-hey, get your drunk ass back here!" the man barked, but to no avail. The drunkard was already gone. "Tch," he scoffed and spat on the floor. "Fucking no-good ronin scum."
Said ronin was stumbling down the road, across the small peasant village, the name of which he didn't know. Or couldn't remember. He couldn't quite be sure which, if not both. Seinaru shrugged to himself, for no particular reason, carrying a faint smile on his lips as he took a good, long swig from the white bottle he held in one hand, his other resting lazily on the handle of his sword.
"Aaah," he let out a satisfied breath, cheeks flush in an overt show of his intoxication. "If there's somethin' better than sake durin' twilight, I ain't so sure it exists."
He kept trodding onwards without any specific aim. Seinaru was vaguely aware of the looks given his way as he passed along. Being looked down upon for being such an overt drunkard was very 'meh'. Being very obviously a shoddily dressed ronin was just something extra to the package that was Seinaru's being. Still, despite the obvious judgment sent his way, Seinaru kept smiling contently.
Amidst another good swig of sake, the distraction, compounded by his drunken stupor, he did not notice someone coming around a corner of a building until he stumbled into them hard enough to knock them onto the dirt.
Or so it would've been if Seinaru was your usual drunken slob.
With speed and precision unbecoming of a man of his level of drunkenness, Seinaru smoothly spun and gently grabbed hold of the back of who he realized was a young woman, stopping her fall with only a slight 'eep' from the woman.
"E-eh?" The woman blinked, seeming confused.
Seinaru helped the woman regain balance with a gentle shove. "Mighty sorry there, miss. Must've not been seein' where I was goin'."
"O-oh!" the woman mumbled, bowing slightly. "N-no, I apologize. I wasn't paying attention, and I-"
"Now, now," Seinaru held his hands up placatively, careful not to pour his precious sake into the ground as he eyed the woman up and down with more care than was necessarily appropriate. Something caught his eye. "Wouldn't feel right, for a messy drunkard like me to accept apologies from an expecting woman. Not at all."
"I... you can tell?" The woman said with a quizzical frown, looking down at her quite basic clothes that should've served to hide a slight baby-bump that was very hard to notice without really paying attention.
"Eh, call it a hunch," Seinaru waved the question off with his free hand, shooting the woman a gentle smile and a wink. "And don't worry, it can be our little secret, if it pleases ya'."
The woman gave a slight giggle before her smile turned into a worried frown. Seinaru realized that the woman's eyes had landed on his sword. And only a few types of people went carrying those around in these troubled times.
Most of them right pricks, if you were to wager.
Suffice to say, even drunk, Seinaru could get why the woman was apprehensive all of a sudden. Well, that just wouldn't do. In the corner of his eye, on the ground, he spotted a wicker basket and some vegetables and herbs that had spilled from it as it had fallen from the woman's grasp.
"Aww, now look at what clumsy ol' me's gone and did," Seinaru said with a solemn tone. He corked his drinking bottle and tucked it into the sole pocket on the inside of his clothes, and bend on a knee. Dutifully, he began to pick up and place the vegetables and herbs back into the basket.
"Oh, please, you mustn't-"
"Bother meself on your account, is what ya you're sayin'?"`Seinaru predicted with a slight chuckle as he kept his hands busy. "Lady, ya don't need to speak all timid-like. I'm just a sorry, drunk man, makin' up for bein' himself. 'Sides isn't right for a woman in your condition to get worked up on somethin' so silly."
The basket now filled again, Seinaru stood up, holding it out to the woman. "Some of them's dirty now. Pardon's for that, missy."
"No, it's okay! Really!" The woman yelped, taking the basket and placing it in the crook of her arm.
"If ya say so," Seinaru relented without fuss. "Does a polite lass like yerself have a name?"
"Um, Hikari, sir," the woman said with a slight stutter.
"Hmm, that so?" Seinaru said, rubbing his stubble-ridden chin. "That's a mighty fine name, Hikari-chan~. Got yourself a good hubby?"
"Y-yes! My husband is very kind, sir!" The woman yelped, still seeming a bit on edge if the emphasis on the word husband was any indication.
Did he really come off that way?
"Oh, don't cha worry none, Hikari-chan. Ain't the type to go after a lady who's spoken for," Seinaru said quickly, hoping to sound as sincere as he felt. "No need to call a lout like me 'sir' either. Ain't got a proper bone in this body o' mine."
"N-no! You're... you've been very kind... umm," the woman fumbled.
"Name's Seinaru, if that's what yer wonderin'," he said pleasantly and stepped aside. "Now, you best be on your way. I'm sure you got places to be."
"Ah, yes. Thank you!" The woman gave a bow and walked off, maybe just a bit faster than necessary.
"Oi, oi," Seinaru muttered to himself solemnly. "I ain't some creeper, ya know?" With a sigh, he reached into his clothes and pulled out his bottle. He felt like he really needed it. But as he raised it to drink, Seinaru stalled. In the motion of taking a drink, his gaze was inadvertently drawn to the sky, which was starting to ever so slowly lose its golden luster.
...
He let out a deep sigh and took a very big swig before putting the bottle back where it once was. Then he started walking.
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Hikari let out a breath she'd been half holding, and allowed herself to relax slightly. The encounter with the man so obviously drunk she could smell the sake off of him had rattled her. Just a bit. A part of her admonished herself for being so judgemental. The man had helped her and had been nothing but polite to her.
But, another part retorted, the man had carried a sword in the open, meaning he had to be a ronin, or worse, a bandit. The man certainly didn't appear to be a samurai, so it had to be one of those two. You needed to be wary of those kinds of people.
Nevertheless, Hikari felt some degree of shame for how she'd handled that interaction. It was just... you know...
"Nice sunset we're havin', eh?"
"KYAAAH!" Hikari screamed, almost throwing her basket into the air. She pivoted around, holding the basket between herself and the voice, and wouldn't you know, right behind her stood the very same man from before.
"Hello again, Hikari-chan!" the stranger greeted with a faint grin, seeming to have no care in the world.
"What is wrong with you!" Hikari found herself yelling, before quickly shutting her mouth with her hand. She hadn't meant to yell. That was so improper! So rude! And yet...
"Hehehe," the stranger chuckled warmly. "My, seems like this 'light' ain't all flash, but fire too. Ya gone and impressed me, Hikari-chan."
Hikari flushed at the praise, and sharply turned and walked away. After a few seconds, she could hear steps following her own. She turned her head back. The man was keeping pace, a few steps behind her, still wearing that faint care-free smile.
"W-why are you following me?" Hikari dared to ask.
"Goin' straight to the point, eh?" The stranger chuckled. "Well, just struck me that the day's endin' real soon, and it wouldn't be right for a lass like yerself to walk about all be yer lonesome at night." At this Hikari noted that, yes, the sky was, indeed, starting to grow dark. "So, I thought to act like the gentleman I'm supposed to be, just for ya, this one time."
Hikari's brow furrowed. While the reasoning was... no, Hikari stopped that line of thinking. This man had been nothing but kind so far. Maybe she was just too trusting, but she decided to trust this man's word.
"W-well, that's very kind of you...Seinaru-san?" Hikari said, trying to sound less suspicious and more welcoming.
"That's is the person that is me," Seinaru said, laughing softly at his own joke. Hikari, not quite finding it humorous, gave a stilted pity laugh. Seinaru didn't seem to notice. "So, where's a pretty young lass like ya live?"
"Not far from here," Hikari said, maybe a bit too hastily.
"Sure, sure," Seinaru said distractedly, all of a sudden taking a drink from his bottle. "Hey, care for a driiiii- never mind." Hikari sweatdropped at the man apparently suddenly remembering that she was pregnant. "Oh well, more me~!" And then sweatdropped further when he took an even bigger swig.
The man was... certainly open about his vices.
The two walked for a while in what was undoubtedly one-sidedly awkward silence. Hikari was almost absolutely certain the man didn't share any of her feeling on this matter. Yet, strangely, the more time passed in silence, the more Hikari started to relax, let her guard down.
The man just felt... safe, for lack of a better word.
"Um, Seinaru-san..." Hikari broke the silence.
"Hm?" Was all she got in response. She took it as a sign to continue.
"Could you share... what you're doing here? In this village, I mean," Hikari asked, honestly curious.
"Hmm, what indeed," Seinaru mumbled loud enough for her to hear. "Just passin' through, gettin' somethin' to drink, to be honest. Probably be gone before sunrise."
Hikari looked back, eyebrow raised. "That is all?"
"Aye, that's all," Seinaru stated with a nod. Hikari was somewhat impressed that his speech wasn't slurring too terribly. The man just reeks of alcohol... not that she'd say that to his face. She might be at ease, not stupid. "Got a name ready?"
Hikari stumbled slightly in surprise. "Eh, what?"
"Was just wonderin'. Since I gave ya an answer, seemed fair to ask a question of my own," Seinaru explained. "A bit o' give an' take, see?"
"Oh," Hikari said lamely. "I... suppose that's fine. Sorry, what was the question?"
"Just wonderin' if ya got a name prepared for that kid of yours," Seinaru said. "Ain't any of my business anyhow. Just felt like askin'."
"N-no, it's fine, really!" Hikari assured. It was then that she for the first time actually took the man's appearance in.
Seinaru had strong, defined features, yet radiated a certain warmth. He had noticeable stubble. His black somewhat curly hair was a bit unruly and wild, barely contained in a ponytail. Interspersed around his black mane of hair were numerous streaks of gray, which gave him a certain... aged appeal. And his eyes, she could swear they shone like gold, but that had to be just a trick of the light. Even while flush drunk, Seinaru seemed to radiate this aura... of what, Hikari couldn't place.
All in all, his shabby clothes and sake-smell aside, he was a fairly handsome older man.
"No," Hikari answered the question. "My husband and I haven't... really discussed that, yet."
"Well, that's a shame," Seinaru sighed, sounding disappointed in a joking manner. "Was really lookin' forward to somethin' cute soundin' for a little lass. Like Hisana, or somethin'."
"It could be a boy!" Hikari said, just a tad confrontationally. It was all in jest, though. She then looked thoughtful. "Hmm... Hisana... that is a good name."
"H-hey now! Don't just go listenin' to a drunk fool like meself, Hikari-chan," Seinaru scolded her, though it sounded half-assed. "Namin' yer kid's important. It's not somethin' a bum like me should have a say in."
"Maybe," Hikari admitted. Then gave a cheeky smile. "Still a good name, though."
"Oi quit teasin' me, Hikari-chan," Seinaru sulked, with a visible smile on his face... which quickly fell as he stopped.
"Huh?" Hikari also halted, looking at him. "Seinaru-san?"
Not getting a response, Hikari followed Seinaru's line of sight, and almost dropped her basket for the third time that day. In the distance, running as if their life depended on it straight towards them, was a man. Hikari gasped as she noticed an arrow sticking out of his right shoulder.
"P-please, help!" The man yelled, his face twisted in panic and, no doubt, pain.
"Are you okay?" Hikari asked as the man ran up and stopped by them and instantly moved to support the man's lopsided form. "What happened?"
"B-bandits," the man stuttered, trying to fight through the pain and fear to speak coherently. "H-heading here!"
"What!" That was indeed very grave, very alarming news. Their town was small-ish and had no trained protectors. And an easy target for roaming vagabonds.
"Well, shit." Seinaru vocalized what she was thinking, if crudely. "That ain't good." An understatement.
"Augh... it hurts..." the man hissed, trying not to jostle the arrow in the back of his shoulder.
"It'll be fine. My husband is a healer. He'll help," Hikari assured to the injured man.
"Excuse me," Seinaru spoke, sounding... a lot soberer than he'd sounded before. The tone almost demanded attention. "Where are these bandits comin from?"
"Uh, o-over there!" The man pointed, wincing as he on instinct tried to use his injured arm. "T-they'll be here within minutes."
"Well," Seinaru said, sounding calm, and stepped forward and started walking. "Wouldn't be so sure about that."
"S-Seinaru-san?" Hikari called out to the man.
"Get the man some healin', why don't cha!" Seinaru called back, not turning or stopping his drunken gait. He merely raised a hand in a lazy wave. "Good luck to ya an' yer family, Hikari-chan!"
Hikari watched as the man just walked towards apparent danger, without breaking stride. Then she remembered that she had an injured person in her care and changed her priorities to bringing this man to her husband.
She still spared thought to the strange, if kind, drunkard, and her interactions with him.
It would be the last time she saw him.
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Seinaru's gait was steady. Okay, no, it wasn't, he was still piss drunk, but it didn't really matter. The sun was starting to lower, and within moments it would give way to dark. But Seinaru had something to do before the night took hold.
It wasn't long before his path was to clash with a bunch of no good ne'er-do-wells. So he stopped, took out his sake, took a drink, and waited for them. As they got closer and spotted him, Seinaru had time to assess their numbers. Twenty in total, a relatively small band. Seven had swords, three with bows, even one guy with a yari-spear. The rest had rough, wooden clubs, or nothing at all.
But the big guy up front, who was undoubtedly the leader, had something special. A sword almost as long as he was tall. The lout had somehow got his hands on an odachi of all things.
"Heyo!" Seinaru greeted the lot of them with a lazy wave of the hand and a swig if his sake.
The group stopped when their boss signaled them with an arm movement. A certain level of discipline? Interesting.
"You're in the way," the boss said. "Move it, or we'll kill ya." A threat as obvious as they come.
"Wha, me?" Seinaru asked, swaying in place and slurring his speech, playing stupid. "I's jusht a man who likesh his drink, s' all." He took another swig of his sake to prove the point. He stumbled out of the way of an arrow that whirred past his head. "Heeeey, tha's a fast birdy!"
"Tch," the boss sneered. "We don't got time for this. Beat him up, and then we'll sack that village."
"... Ah, yeah. About that." Immediately the air changed in feel. Even the bandit leader could sense the shift as Seinaru's voice gained sudden clarity. "See, that won't happen."
"... 'Scuse me?" The leader asked, now alert.
"You got ears, don't you?" Seinaru intoned, tone chillingly cold and clear. "You won't touch that village. I'll make sure of that."
The leader seemed to find the statement hilarious. "Hahaha! What, you, some drunk bastard? Against all my boys here! That's the funniest thing I've heard all month!" With that, the rest of his goons joined in the mocking laughter.
Seinaru, stood unaffected. He sloshed his sake bottle by his ear, gauging its fullness.
"You ever wonder where the answer to life's mysteries lies?" He asked, loudly enough to be heard over the mockery flung his way.
The bandit leader stopped laughing, and his goons followed suit.
"The hell's that mean?"
"Right, forgot what kind of people I was dealing with," Seinaru sighed. "For some people, the answer to life's mysteries lies in a profound understanding of others. For some, it's understanding in themselves. Some fancy that it's in the sword, or maybe on a petal of a wildflower. Why, some say that there is no answer at all! Isn't that quite something?
"Wanna know what I think?"
The leader growled, drawing his odachi, his goons also prepping their respective weapons. "I want your annoying ass dead."
Seinaru shrugged and then downed the rest of his sake in one go. After finishing, he looked at the now empty bottle in his hand. "Me, I'm the kind of guy who looks for answers at the bottom of the bottle," Seinaru said solemnly.
With a point of a blade and a grunt from their boss, three goons, one with a sword and two with clubs rushed the drunk man.
It happened within seconds.
The bottle flew skywards, a hand reached for a blade, and in a flash of metal in the descending sun's light, the sword-wielding bandit fell to the ground with a gurgle, another fell without a leg to stand with and the third stood with a blade through their throat. The blade was released, the falling bottle caught, and thrown with force and precision, shattering in one of the archer's faces, who fell to their knees, clutching their now bleeding eyes.
This all happened within one, continuous motion, one movement flowing smoothly into the next, like water.
The bandits took a step back, shock being an understatement to what they felt right that second. Only the leader regained his wits, growing very wary. "The hell..."
Seinaru stood there, swaying lightly in place, a drunken haze starting to cloud his eyes. "But ya see, there are no answers at the bottom of the bottle. It's just something ya partake fer fun. The true answer to life's to live life like ya mean it!" He raised his voice, almost shouting the last part. Blood dripped down his blade, which upon closer inspection, wasn't that high-quality and seemed quite beaten-up.
"Sleep, eat, drink. All those are just some of life's little pleasures," Seinaru spoke, his tone darkly jovial. "And ain't there quite the pleasure in life as fightin', wouldn't ya say?"
"Y-you dare to kill my men! I'll kill you!"
"Oh, yes," Seinaru took a wide, very unorthodox stance, lazily holding his blade in his right hand as he swayed in place. He cracked a quite wicked looking grin. "That'd make this fun, now wouldn't it?"
"Y-you're crazy!" One of the goons yelled.
"...Crazy, eh?" The drunken ronin spoke in a low-tone, through his alcohol clouded mind. Then he laughed darkly, yet softly, his mouth turning into a toothy grin. "Then ya'll won't mind facin' me, Sakenomi Seinaru, like the big, bad bandits ya'll 'sposed to be!"
In a burst of movement, Seinaru charged the bandits, blade ready and thirsty for blood.
And then he blacked out.
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Seinaru awoke suddenly, as if from a dream. The sky was bright and very blue. He saw clouds and felt grass beneath him. It was day-time, and for some reason, Seinaru wondered, for the first time in his life: 'Where's the hangover? There should be a hangover worth committing seppuku over right now. Where is it?'
... Also, what happened last night? He was sure he got absolutely plastered before... before what? What the hell was he doing? Seinaru- and that was his name, he was sure of that -tried to remember, only to be dismayed that he recalled alarmingly little.
"... How much did I drink?" He asked as if it was the most natural question in the world. The clouds above offered no answer, so for minutes he just... lied there. In the grass. Doing nothing.
...
...
...
"Could go for some sake right now," He said to himself, again, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
To Be continued...
Well, this is a thing. The things you do when you're driven into a corner, where your creative self-pity coalesces into horrible, monstrous ideas. Some of them dare dream of being feasible and good.
This is one of those.
That feel when you die while being blackout drunk. Truly a graceful way to go.
Tackling Bleach of all things will certainly be... something. Especially with an original character like this... what have I done?
Welcome... to Drunk Souls.
-C-Hablerie