Hey everyone, this is my first attempt at a fan-fiction, I hope you enjoy it. A few important details: Our story begins pre-canon, it is OC-centric, and I don't know any Japanese, so anything in Japanese is the result of using a translator tool.

Oh, and obviously, I don't own Bleach.

Chapter 1: The Wanderer

"Stop! Please! You've already taken everything we have! I have nothing left. Please, just leave me alone!"

Meanwhile, in the shade of a nearby tree, a man begins to wake up from his nap at the sound of a woman's cries for mercy. 'Damn it all. Just when I finally get a chance to catch a few winks. Oh well, no rest for the weary.' 'Please. Like you'd ever miss a chance to show off.' 'Yeah yeah. We both know you'd never let me hear the end of it if I could help but didn't.' 'True. Sounds like common street punks though. You shouldn't even need me for this one.' 'Don't kid yourself, old man. We both know how much fun it is to see how they react to me having a zanpakuto. Even if I don't use you for the fight, we may be able to avoid a conflict altogether if they see you.' 'Good thinking. I doubt they'll be dumb enough to mistake you for a real shinigami, but it's worth a shot. Better get to work.' "Hey ma'am, you have any more of those rice…" He trailed off, feigning shock at the scene in front of him. Sure enough, three street punks had pretty well trashed the little store and were now threatening the young woman working the counter.

"Just turn around and go, stupid. This doesn't concern you." Street punk number 1, apparently the leader, said.

"Come on guys, this place has the best rice balls in all of Rukongai! I can't just leave and let you ruin the place."

"You better, or else we'll make sure never eat another rice ball again." Street punk number 2, apparently the brains of the outfit.

"Ah, come on guys. There has to be some kind of compromise we can make here. How about this, you apologize to the lady and leave, promising never to come back here, and I leave my buddy here," at this point, the stranger turns slightly to the side, revealing a zanpakuto strapped to his hip, "in his sheath, and you guys get to walk away."

"Oh shit boss, it's a shinigami! Maybe we should just go." Street punk number 3, apparently the obligatory wimp and hanger on in the group.

"You idiot, it's a bluff! He's not even in the uniform. He's probably just an academy drop out who can't even swing his sword."

"Ah man, I knew it couldn't go that smooth. You caught me, I'm not a shinigami. But still, do you really wanna take the chance? What if I do know how to handle a sword? Or worse yet, what if I'm right and you pansies are picking on this lady cuz you're so damn weak I won't even need my sword?"

"I've had enough, shut this guy up."

The stranger just let out a sigh as two of the three punks charged him, each wielding a dagger sized blade. Meanwhile, the woman, terrified of what was about to happen, closed her eyes. All she heard was the dull thud of bodies hitting the floor, and then she opened her eyes when she heard metal hit the floor near her, just in time to see the man who'd been threatening her staring dumbfounded, his own blade now on the floor. When she looked around, she saw the two other street punks unconscious in a heap on the floor, and the leader dropped to his knees begging for mercy. When the stranger approached, with a soft, gentle smile, of all things, on his face, she couldn't help but wonder who the heck this was. Then, her eyes snapped back to attention as the leader of the punks grabbed for his knife again, hoping to catch him off guard. Just as she was about to screech out a warning, she saw the strangers face fall from a smile to a sad frown before he grabbed the man's wrist which held the knife. "You know, I really hate violence. I was planning to just lecture you a little bit about picking on those weaker than you and then letting you go. Oh well, I guess I have no choice." At this, the stranger reached to his zanpakuto, unsheathed it, and in one fluid motion brought it down on the back of the leader's neck. The woman slammed her eyes shut again, and when she heard another body drop to the floor, she felt ill at the thought of what she would see when she opened her eyes. "It's ok, you can open your eyes now." came a soothing, reassuring voice. As she slowly opened her eyes, she couldn't contain her shock upon seeing the leader unconscious, but still intact and not bleeding. She turned to the stranger, her face full of questions. "Yeah yeah, I know. But I wasn't kidding when I said I hate violence. Here, take a look at my sword and tell me if you notice anything about it." She was shocked by what she saw. Sure enough, the blade looked like a normal katana, but there was one major difference. There was no edge to the sword. Other than the top four inches of his thirty inch blade, which was clearly sharpened, the rest of the blade was a dull piece of unfinished metal.

"But…why? Why have a sword without an edge?"

"People need protecting, and I can't very well expect to keep anyone safe without a weapon, but at the same time, I have no desire to kill if it can be avoided, so this design let's me have the best of both worlds. Anyway, sorry I didn't get here in time to keep them from trashing the place. See ya around."

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Hmm…East, I think."

'East he thinks? Great, every girls dream, I get saved by a kind hearted gentleman, and it turns out he's an idiot!' "Before you go, what's your name?"

"I don't really know." The stranger looked to her with a smile, and continued, "When I woke up in Soul Society, I had already forgotten. No big loss, though. I mean, it's really kind of freeing, not having anything you have to answer to, ya know? Well, it's been fun. Maybe I'll see you again on my next trip thru."

"Wait! You saved my life, there has to be some name for my savior, right?"

Without turning around, he just hollered over his shoulder, "Well, a friend of mine started calling me Kakumau a few years back, but mostly, people just call me 'Wanderer', and that's good enough for me."

All she could do was watch him leave as hundreds of questions went through her head, all of them going unasked, and knowing that they'd probably never have been answered anyways. The one that kept coming up over and over as he disappeared beyond the horizon, though, was 'I wonder if I'll ever see him again?'

'Kakumau?'

'Yeah Kishin?'

'How long you plan on just wandering around? A person is not a solitary creature, you know.'

'You make it sound like I'm alone. We've made quite a few friends on our journeys, and besides, I have you, old man. I haven't been alone in years.'

'The bond between us is different. You know that isn't what I'm talking about. As for the friends we've made, no, you've made acquaintances. Friendship takes time, and you never stick around long enough to get to know them, and certainly not enough for them to know you.'

'We've had this conversation before, Kishin. The shinigami know we're out here, and are probably looking for us. Staying in one spot too long puts us, and possibly the people there, in danger. Secondly, if I stay in one part of Rukongai, I'm neglecting the other 79 districts. A true guardian can't play favorites.'

'Why avoid the shinigami?'

'Damn it old man! You know the answer to that. They'd either put me in prison for violating one of their millions of laws or try to make me join them. It's a no-win situation for us.'

'Like being a true shinigami would be so bad. They could train you. You are strong, but there is only so much I can do for you as your zanpakuto. You need real training in kido and someone to spar with for both hand to hand and sword combat.'

'Kishin, please, you know I don't want my strength to belong to someone else. To be a guardian, I need to be able to act without waiting for orders or approval.'

'One of your most admirable traits is your desire to protect others, but you forget one of the most important requirements of the guardian. The guardian must be a person. You can't deny your humanity, or else you will, over time, lose your connection with what you seek to guard. You are not above or separate from those you protect, you are one of them. Keep that in mind when you wander.'

'You're right. I will consider that, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to stop wandering yet. And it certainly doesn't mean I'm going to be a shinigami.'

'By the way, you did well back there kid.'

'Hah! Thanks old man. I learned from the best.'

Alright, if you read this, thanks already. At the risk of seeming ungrateful, if you could do me a favor and review, I'd appreciate it. If it sucked, that's fine, but let me know why it sucked and what I can do better in the future. If you liked it, awesome! But let me know why you liked it, what you want to see more of, and what I could stand to work on a bit more.