Ok, I know you're all asking...what am I doing uploading a new story when I haven't even finished Reincarnation of Ice? See, I had a wonderful plot bunny for an AU fic and I was scared this particular bunny would run away, so I wrote it down. This story, contrary to my other two stories, is not Hitsu-centric. Hitsugaya does get an important role as per my preferences, but the main hero (unfortunately) will be Ichigo. The reason for this is so that I at least have some practice at writing other stories based on different characters besides Hitsu-chan. So here we are. The setting for this story is sometime around Sengoku Jidai, but because I don't know many old Japanese names but a few, I'm using some pretty modern ones. Now enough of the small talk. I give you the first chapter of Honor in Blood!
Synopsis: In the world of Japan where the people are devided into magic-wielding pagans and vengeful humans and ruled by warlords, A halfing born from the marriage of a pagan and human by the name of Kurosaki Ichigo is on the run for his life from the people who want him dead. With the help of Kuchiki Rukia, the adopted sister of the Tokyo Lord, Kuchiki Byakuya and a little help here and there from his and her friends, he is on a quest to save their world.
Genre: Drama, Action/Adventure
Beta: If you want to beta, drop me a private PM. I'm still not sure whether my other betas want to do this yet.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. However, the storyline for this fanfiction rightfully belongs to me.
Honor in Blood
Chapter 1: Encounters
He ran through the woods aimlessly, not knowing in which direction he was going. The blood running down his face stained his vision in red, and he had no clear idea where he was heading to anymore. All that was left was a desire to escape, to run away from the people after him. For surely they were the embodiment of death- they were after all, after his life. Suddenly, he tripped over a root that was sticking up from the ground, falling head first into the dirt. Scrambling to his feet blatantly ignoring the pain rushing up and down his body, he began to pick up the pace.
They were not far now, and he didn't plan to die here in the middle of nowhere.
Sidestepping to avoid colliding into a tree and jumping over another fallen bark, he soon came face to face with a river. The river was deep and wide, its current strong, but he decided to brave it anyway.
Better try his luck than let his pursuers get their hands on him.
Diving in quickly, he tried swimming across the river to the other side. But his strength was waning and his limbs tired from running for days on. He was hungry and thirsty and had barely had any time to sleep. No matter how good his physique was he wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
Finally, the last of his strength left his tired body, and he was left to the whims of the water's current. He could feel it carry him down stream, banging him mercilessly against stones and banks. His vision was beginning to blur with the weariness settling in and he tried desperately to hold on to the last threads of his consciousness.
But when he reached the end of the river and was hurtled over a tall waterfall into the ravine below filled with sharp stones, he allowed himself to succumb to the darkness.
Rukia rode silently on her white horse, pondering on the day's events. Aizen Sousuke, the Lord of Nara had declared war on the neighboring states of Aichi and Akita, and no matter how much the Lords of the Allied Lands told him to think over this entire thing, he had attacked them relentlessly -those lands of the humans.
In Japan, where pagans and humans lived and the lands were ruled by warlords, it was hard to prevent these kinds of disputes. The pagans were powerful mages, capable of wielding magic based on many elements, and the humans who had no power of any kind, hated and feared them. Half of the lands where ruled by pagans, while the other half was ruled by humans. Most pagans paid no heed to the humans and lived within the Allied Lands -the land of pagans, but when one of them were to accidentally step into human lands known as Forbidden Lands, they were executed by them for crimes they never even committed. The hatred had been manifested, and now war was upon them. The peace could no longer be kept, even by the Gotei 13.
It seemed the time had come for the Beginning of Darkness, the one that the clairvoyant Hara Masami had predicted over a hundred years ago.
Suddenly, Rukia spotted something lying by the riverbank. Upon further inspection, she was surprised to find out that the figure was an unconscious young man. Quickly unmounting from her steed, she quickly ran over to his side and checked his pulse. She was relieved to feel his pulse beating under her finger. Looking intently at the boy, she could see that he looked around fifteen years old. His fine features were quite pronounced and he had a head of short spiky orange hair. She was not surprised to see that kind of hair color, after all a lot of pagans had strangely colored hair, be it natural or not. He had a lean physique from what she could tell and the well chiseled muscles spoke of his strength. But what troubled Rukia deeply was the lack of an insignia.
Normally a pagan would be able to unlock his or her magical powers by the age of fourteen and after a year it would be possible to discern his ruling element of which his magic was based on. The person would then have the seal of his element magically imprinted on his left arm. But as far as she could see, there was no sign of the insignia.
That's strange, she thought silently. The only reason why there would be a lack of the insignia would be that... But his hair, it was clear that he was pagan, for the humans despised any kind of strange hair coloration. She could also sense magic within his body, and it was quite a strong one. Then why-
She didn't have time to finish that train of thought when the stranger opened his eyes. She noted that they were a deep brown. Looking around dazedly, the first thing the boy saw was her.
When it finally hit him that he was laying on a girl's lap, he quickly jumped up, flustered and confused. Despite the strangeness of the situation, Rukia allowed herself to let out a small laugh at the boy's shyness towards her. Looking at him now, she could see that he was thoroughly confused.
"Come here," she said gently, motioning to the spot besides her and taking out a bento from her jinbaori. "You must be hungry."
The boy took one look at her and immediately complied. When she presented him with the bento box, she was amused to see him eat all the food ravenously, finishing it quickly and not leaving a crumb. It was like he hadn't eaten in days. After he was done, the boy handed the box back to her sheepishly. As if knowing what he wanted, she also gave his her canteen of water. He finished that quickly too.
After that, they sat on the bank for a few minutes, neither saying a word. Soon, the silence was broken by the boy that she had found. "Why did you save me?"
"I didn't save you," she said pointedly. "You saved yourself. All I that did was to find you and supply you with food and drink."
"Even so I still thank you."
After another stretch of silence, Rukia spoke. "I'm Kuchiki Rukia, nice to meet you."
The boy practically jumped at that. "Kuchiki?!"
That was expected. After all, she got that reaction most of the time. This one was no different.
"Yes. My sister is married to Kuchiki Byakuya, the Lord of Nara as you know. Since I am her last living relative, Byakuya-niisama adopted me into the family."
"Why are you even telling this to a total stranger?" He asked quizzically.
"Because I trust you."
The boy didn't say anything at that and turned his face to hide the blush forming on his cheeks.
"Then who are you?" The boy stiffened at that.
"Why do you need to know?" He said softly, shadows cast upon his eyes made it hard to see whether he was offended by the question.
"It's only right to tell people their name after that person has told you theirs." She reasoned pointedly.
The boy didn't say anything for a while before he let out a sigh. "Are you sure you want to know?" She nodded her head.
The boy took in a deep breath. "Kurosaki Ichigo." He finally said. "That's my name."
So how is it? Good? Bad? Totally rocks? Sucks like hell? Review and tell me please. It only takes a minute to update. Until the next chapter, I bid you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!