AN:Hey everyone. Here's my second fanfiction. Actually, this is part of a series, which will be about how all the Espada died in their human life. You remember how in Chapter 274, Barragan said that each of the Espada represents a cause of death? Yeah, when I watched that, i had an idea that those ways must be how they died. So, I decided to write a series of oneshots for each of the Espada, depicting how they died. I don't know if anybody else had tried this before, but of they had, please let me know, 'cause i don't want them to feel bad. =]
Umm... oh yeah. By the way, after my last fic, I had said that I'll try an M rated one next time, but looks like you'll have a little longer for that =D Anyways, don't worry, it'll come soon, so wait for it, 'kay? ^^
Please let me know what you think of this. =]
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Kinda funny that you thought I did.
Coyote Starrk was alone.
Being the third son of one of the wealthiest merchants in the country, the Coyote family expected a lot from him. It was not a small business the family managed, and so far, everything had gone smoothly thanks to the hard work of the father and eldest brother of the family. Starrk's eldest brother had a great interest in his father's business, and made every effort to earn a profit for themselves. Similarly, the second son also gave his all in order to advance the business. However, Starrk was different. Being the third son, he felt that, when time comes for his father to pass on his business, as how it always goes, the successor will definitely be the eldest brother. If not, or if time comes for him to also pass it on, it would go into the hands of the second son. Starrk knew that, no matter how hard he tried to please his father, he would have no say in what happened to the family business.
That was why he decided to cut his ties with the family altogether.
Either way, Starrk knew that he wasn't suited for such a responsible position. While from the beginning, his family had strived to overachieve each other in bringing a profit to the family, studying hard to satisfy their father who would accept nothing less than perfection, Starrk always had the tendency to slack off. His academic results were appalling to his father who would, throughout the years, lecture him on how he should be a responsible, smart young man who could benefit the family business. Starrk would listen quietly each time, and after every lecture his father would be convinced that he would make an effort the next time. Only to find out that the next year's results were worse than the last. This had been a continuous circle in his life. Starrk did feel that he was letting his father down. But he secretly believed that there was no motivation for him to study as his brothers does, and would find himself falling asleep on his open textbook.
Until the last year of schooling, Starrk had actually kept his family in the delusion that he could improve someday. Then, a few weeks after, he had announced to his family he was moving out, much to their surprise. When his father questioned him if he had any interest in his business, Starrk answered as truthfully as he could, and replied that he desired to live without the assistance of his family.
This is how he ended up in the middle of the forest, with nothing but his pistol, and his forever faithful husky by his side.
Starrk sighed. After deserting his family, he had taken into mind to live alone, but eventually found himself without any money to accomplish his needs. He had wandered into the forest to hunt something, and after a few hours of unsuccessful chasing, he had given up. He settled himself on a large boulder in a small clearing, and patted his dog. He found himself wondering if it would have been better had he not left his family, but then shook his head quickly. It was a decision he had made on his own, and even if he was shameless enough to put his head down and return home, he doubted his father would welcome him with open arms after all these months.
One of the other reasons why Starrk refused to help in his family business was, he hated making conversation. Starrk was a man of few words, and while some people would put him as shy or just plain cold, he was nothing as such. He just found it difficult to interact with people, for reasons he could never understand. Unlike his brothers who were simply experts at chaining their words, Starrk could never have a conversation of more than a few sentences. Which would not have been convenient had he played a role in running the business. Nevertheless, he decided that he was not going to regret leaving his home, and just go forward in whatever ways he could find.
Additionally, Starrk had never had a real friend. The people he had met in his years at school had all gone their own ways now, and even if not, there wasn't significantly anyone he could classify as a friend. He never opened his mouth much, and there wasn't anyone even in his family who actually got to know him. As the youngest sibling, he had always felt isolated from everyone, and perhaps this was why the only thing he felt close to was his husky.
Starrk had got the dog when he was rather young, at the age of eight. He had found it wandering about in the garden, when he had sneaked out from his room to avoid the daily business lecture his father had hired a tutor to give the siblings. Starrk had immediately taken a liking to it, and when his father was in a better mood, he had asked him for the permission to keep it. Surprisingly, he had accepted, and from then on, he had taken care of the dog. He rather liked it that, unlike every other living thing he had to interact with, he did not have to converse with his pet much. He considered his husky as his only companion.
Starrk was awakened from his thoughts at the sound of a rustle on the other side of the clearing. The husky growled, and, laying a hand on its collar, Starrk stood up with his pistol in hand. Silently, he stepped towards the sound. He stealthily walked around the tree behind which he had heard the sound. Pointing his gun towards whatever it was, he jumped the last few steps, to find a startled deer, which, on seeing him, panicked and ran the other way. Urging his dog, Starrk gave chase, trying to aim his pistol at the animal. If he could have it, he thought, he would not only get some food to last him a couple of days, but could sell the deer's hide and antlers to get him a considerable amount of money. Starrk looked forward to see that his dog had advanced on the chase, and was about to pounce on the deer. For a split second, he saw an orange shadow pass by in front of them. He stopped his chase, and called out to the dog, but it was too late. The husky did not see the tiger that jumped out from the trees, and pounced on the deer just as the tiger pounced on its meal.
The tiger roared as it realised that it had a competitor for its meal. Biting down the struggling deer on the neck, it clawed at the husky. The dog whimpered and backed away, unable to avoid the deep cut on its forepaw. Starrk stood behind a nearby tree, reluctant to call out to his dog, for the fear that the tiger might notice him. His faithful dog attacked again, refusing to give up its master's chase to the tiger, and was attacked more harshly this time. It was thrown against the very tree Starrk was hiding behind, and howled as it slid to the ground. Unable to stay there watching it suffer, he softly called out to the dog. To his horror, the tiger had sensed him, and let out a loud snarl before pouncing towards him. In fear, Starrk backed off. He aimed his pistol and shot, only to miss as the tiger launched at him again. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the husky limp to his defence, reaching the predator a few milliseconds before it could clamp its teeth down on Starrk's ankle. He backed a few steps, and called out to the dog again. But now, the tiger and the dog were in a wild struggle for life. Starrk aimed his gun again, careful not to shoot his dog, and pulled the trigger. The tiger roared as the bullet skimmed its back, and snarled before launching another attack towards him. Starrk took a step back, only to find that he was cornered against a row of trees. As he braced himself for the tiger's attack, he heard another growl from his dog, which launched itself between the tiger and his master.
The tiger's teeth clamped down under the dog's neck, occupying its mouth and disabling it from attacking the dog's master. They fell in a heap near Starrk's feet, and, using the opportunity, Starrk aimed his pistol right at the tiger's throat, and shot.
His heart pounding, he kicked aside the dying tiger and stepped over. In its agony, the tiger had released his dog from its jaws, and Starrk knelt down to inspect the damage it had taken. His fears were confirmed when he found out that the husky was bleeding uncontrollably from the neck wound, and would not survive for much longer. For a second, just a second, the husky made eye contact with its master. But for someone who did not rely on verbal conversation, and someone who had spent so many years with it, he could understand what it meant. His faithful companion then closed its eyes, never to open them again.
Shaking, Starrk stood up. He took a few steps backwards, and leaned against a tree. He slid down against the trunk till he was in a sitting position, and took out his gun. Twenty-five year old Starrk had only one real companion in his whole life, and it wasn't even a human. The feelings he experienced at the time was equal to that of an average person who had lost a close friend, or even a family member. Because to Starrk, there had been no other who had been faithful to him that way. There was no other he had truly considered as a companion. Starrk felt like he had lost everything he had. He looked at the pistol in his hands. Slowly, he brought it forward, until the nozzle was placed right where his heart was. For the first time in his life, he let emotions control his actions. Because he knew there was nobody watching. Because he knew he had no one. Because he was… alone.
Coyote Starrk pulled the trigger.
So... what did you think of it? Please review. =3 Constructive criticism is always accepted.