A/N: Hello everyone, to my nice little story that I'm gonna try to make. To be brutally honest, I doubt this will get far, as my muse is very temperamental and doesn't like to do what I say. I will do my best to focus and work on this whenever I can, but I have no set update times, so I can't promise anything.
This is an AU, so some things may be changed, like Ichigo's powers *nudge, nudge, wink, wink*.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
So, enjoy the prologue:
A Moonless Night
Prologue: Failure
Cold.
That is what he feels. Looking down at the blade in his chest, he began considering where it all went wrong:
Flashback
Dozens of blades surrounded two warriors in a dark dome. One, named Ichigo Kurosaki, looked around him, observing the blades in awe, curiosity, and slight worry. He was a strange looking individual, with bright orange, spiky hair, and a black robe-like coat; He was tall and slim, but quite obviously muscled. He held a long, black blade in his hands.
The man standing across from him was a different story however. He was tall, but not overly so, and had long black hair. Along with this he wore a white haori and Kenseikan, giving him a specifically regal looking appearance. In his hands, he held a bright silver blade.
"This is the true form of my bankai: Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." Ichigo Kurosaki's enemy, Byakuya Kuchiki, Informed him, "I have only shown this form to one other, so consider yourself privileged to be killed by my own hand."
Ichigo looked incredibly irritated at this, and just braced himself to continue his battle. Why are all soul reapers arrogant or crazy, he mentally griped.
After a short moment of silence both warriors clashed in a series of high-speed attacks, neither seeming to gain an edge. But if an experienced individual looked closely, he would see the orange-haired teen slowing slightly, as if his body couldn't react fast enough. After a couple of clashes both warriors reached a stalemate in a blade-lock.
"I get it, so this technique of yours speeds you up, eh?" Ichigo asked, voice slightly strained as he pushed against the older male's blade.
The black-haired man seemed somewhat amused at this statement, but said nothing as he spawned another blade and stabbed the younger male in the foot, pinning him to the spot. Ichigo grunted heavily in pain.
"No, Ichigo Kurosaki, Senkei does no such thing. It is not I that gotten faster, but you, that has gotten slower." Byakuya remarked calmly, surprising the orange-haired teen, "and as much as I would like to show you the gap in our power, I no longer have time for this."
The Kuchiki clan head swiftly pulled his second blade out of the youth's foot and stabbed him in the chest, piercing his heart.
End Flashback
"Your determination to protect is admirable, Ichigo Kurosaki, but you have failed. You never had a chance of saving Rukia from her fate, nor of standing against the Gotei 13." With this, the older man pulled the blade out of the teen's chest and sealed his sword.
Ichigo couldn't move as he fell to the ground. He couldn't speak as he watched the older male walk away. And soon he couldn't see as the blood loss began to take its toll. But even through all this, he still clearly heard the next three words:
"Goodbye, Ichigo Kurosaki."
Yep, so that's chapter 0, also known at the prologue. I don't know how good it is so reviews are welcomed, as long as they aren't pointless flaming. If they criticize my work logically and tell me how to improve, I don't care if they are negative or not.
As of this point I doubt I'll tell who 'Old Man Zangetsu' really is for a while. If you've kept up on the manga you'll know, but I haven't read the manga, and only know general details, so I'm sorry to say I am keeping that on the down-low for now.