A/N: So, this is my first Shuuhei-centered fic. I don't know why I'm suddenly infatuated with him, besides the fact that he's hot. Especially during his time at the academy. Shit man. I had no idea! I'm not so sure about the pairing yet, but he and Kensei just seem..right. Kira's too awkward and Rangiku belongs with Gin through my eyes, so..we get to Kensei. Meh, good enough. The time period for this is..well..I have no idea actually. Use your imagination.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, unfortunately.

Chapter One

The shrill cries of innocent citizens pierced his ears, alerting him to quicken his pace towards the small village in the Rukongai. He had been returning to the Soul Society after a previous hollow extermination, when he suddenly felt more in another district not too far from the previous one. As tired as he was, it was his duty to protect the innocent, and that's exactly what he would do. Reaching the shanty town, he was disappointed to see most of the buildings in ruins and a few dead bodies. It looked like the work of multiple hollows, but his senses told him it was only one. One, very big hollow. Needless to say, he spotted it immediately, and noticed it was about to eat a small child. He flash stepped and within a second, the beasts arm was cut off and the child was carried safely to the ground, only to remain there instead of flee. The hollow cried out in pain, and used his other claw to swipe at the lieutenant.

He blocked with his sword, and with surprising strength pushed the claw away. Using flash step again, he jumped up, aiming to slice the head and kill it, but this hollow was smart and captured him within his giant hand, squeezing the air out of his lungs. He used his free hand to stab the beasts wrist, attempting to escape, but to no avail. With a sigh of defeat, he left the sword in it's wrist and held out his hand, aiming at the monsters face, and focused on his spirit energy to form a blue ball in his palm.

"Hado number 33, sokatsui!"

The blue light blasted the hollow in the face, making him drop his prey who quickly retrieved his sword and finished the fight before the hollow could recover. His sword severed its head, and it vanished. Sheathing his sword, he noticed the little boy still watching him with wide, teary eyes.

"Are you alright? Did it hurt you?" He used a gentle voice, and knelt down on his knee to be eye-level with the boy who merely shook his head no and sniffed.

"Then why are you crying? If you're alright, there's no need to cry. You should be checking on your family and friends, alright?" The boy simply nodded again, and stared at the tattoo on his saviors cheek.

"What's..what's your name, mister?" The boy asked shyly.

"I'm Shuuhei Hisagi, what's your name kid?"

"Takeshi..Kaori"

"That's a pretty strong name, kid. It means warrior. Though..I guess your still too young" That made the kid stop crying.

"I am not!" Shuuhei smirked. Kids were too easy.

"Alright alright, take it easy. Look, members of the other divisions will be here to help, I gotta go. I want you to go find your family, okay?" He stood, and noticed the kid hesitate.

"Well..okay. they'll come help, right?"

"I promise" The kid nodded and ran towards the mess, but turned before he got too far.

"Thank you, Shuuhei! You're my new hero!"

Shuuhei smiled and waved before heading back home. The kid reminded him a lot of himself when he was little and got rescued by the old ninth division captain. The whole situation was a lot like that one. Maybe a little too much like it. The kid even admired his tattoo, and Shuuhei wondered if someday, that kid would get the same tattoo. Maybe it would become a reoccurring event. He laughed. A bunch of people with a sex position on their face. That kid..Takeshi..he had some spirit energy. Shuuhei shuddered. It really was too much like that memory.

He slowed down from his running, noticing the dense forest around him. Something felt..off. He inched his hand closer to his zanpakuto, but flinched away at the disturbed feeling it gave him. Pain rocketed through his head, and he gripped his right side while grunting. Something was wrong. He suddenly noticed how his sword was humming, and was giving off an eerie glow. It wasn't his usual bright teal spirit energy, it was black and red, like his sword spirits hair. Each time it pulsed, the pain got worse, and soon he was on his knees. It became harder to breathe, and his vision began to blur. Before he lost consciousness, he saw familiar shinigami run to him, and then he saw black.

...

"Hisagi? Hisagi! Someone get Unohana-Taicho! Quickly, somethings wrong! Shuuhei!" He could hear frantic voices, and felt himself being wheeled down the halls of probably the fourth division, but he couldn't see or speak, or breathe correctly. He recognized the voice as Izuru, so he knew he couldn't be in that bad of shape. Kira overreacted a lot, especially when it came to his friends. He felt a little more relaxed, but was still bothered by what happened earlier. He had been fine, and then suddenly he wasn't. Perhaps he over worked himself with all the hollow exterminations, plus paperwork and being an editor, hell he didn't even have a captain to help. But still, that didn't explain his zanpakuto feeling weird and giving off weird energy.

"Lieutenant Kira? What happened to lieutenant Hisagi?" Ah, that was Unohana, sounding calm as ever.

"We just went to check out the hollow site, to help any survivors, but when I felt his reiatsu suddenly spike and vanish, I got worried and went to check on him with some others..he was clutching his right eye and then passed out, but there aren't any injuries" Kira frantically explained. Shuuhei wasn't aware that his spiritual pressure had spiked, or vanished. He felt a warm hand touch his right eye and flinched, and finally opened his eyes blearily.

"Shuuhei! What the hell happened back there? You almost gave me a heart attack, asshole!" Izuru yelled and lightly punched his arm, not wanting to actually hurt him.

"Heh..sorry buddy," He coughed to clear his voice, which sounded watery and..odd, "I'm not sure what happened, actually. I just got this bad feeling..and then my zanpakuto started humming and gave off this dark glow. It hurt like hell, man" Unohana gave him a strange look, and whipped out a needle. Shuuhei winced.

"I will need a blood sample, and then you'll be allowed to go home. We'll give you the results sometime tomorrow. Also, I suggest talking with your zanpakuto, to see if there might be a problem with it" She advised while drawing blood, which made Shuuhei a little dizzy. He groaned, not wanting to speak with his sword.

"Ah yes, you have problems with your sword don't you? I apologize, but it may be for the best. You may leave when ready, good evening lieutenants" She smiled and left the two men to talk alone.

"Dammit, I don't want to talk with him" Shuuhei groaned again. Izuru gave him a sympathetic look.

"Sorry man, but I agree with Unohana-Taicho. It might help" Shuuhei sighed and weakly stood, staggering for a second before walking out of the room. Izuru followed and watched carefully. Something was wrong with his best friend, and he had a bad feeling about it. Everytime he staggered, Izuru was prepared to catch him, and eventually just put his arm around Hisagi's waist to keep him up. Shuuhei put his arm on Kira's shoulders and used him for support, suddenly feeling exhausted. Every now and again, his eye would twitch in pain, and he started getting nervous. He didn't want that pain again. Luckily, they reached the ninth division and found his quarters. Izuru helped him inside and led him to his bed.

"I'll make you some tea and food, that might help. I want you to try speaking with your sword until I come back, got it?" His tone left little room for argument.

"Ugh. Yes, mother" Shuuhei huffed, and Izuru walked away in satisfaction. He reluctantly crossed his legs, sword in lap, and closed his eyes. It only took a few minutes before he was in his inner world, which was pretty much just blackness. Something felt different though, and he noticed red cracks on the ground and in what he assumed was the sky. The voice of his zanpakuto made him want to groan again.

"What the hell are you doing? You never come here. What, ya miss me or something?" His swords rough voice teased him.

"I want to know why you acted strange earlier. What's going on?" Shuuhei acted calm, but he really wanted to kill someone. Specifically his zanpakuto.

"Che, dumb ass. You can't even recognize when your own sword is getting stronger? You really are a disappointment"

"Getting stronger? God dammit, come talk to me face to face, this is ridiculous" His sword never liked doing anything face to face. Whether it was fighting or simply talking.

"I'll pass. Besides, I'm busy right now, so fuck off. You'll see soon enough what's happening. Until then, let me take care of it" Hisagi was going to object, but he found himself being thrown out of his inner world and pulled back into reality. Izuru was sitting in a chair next to him, holding a tray of food and tea, looking worried.

"That guys an ass..ugh" Shuuhei grumbled and gripped his head, feeling a dull throb on his right side.

"I'm guessing it didn't go well"

"Of course not. All he said was he's getting stronger and then kicked me out. Real helpful" He took the tray and began eating, ignoring the twitching in his eye again. Izuru didn't seem to notice, and Hisagi was starting to wonder if he was just going insane. After finishing the food, he thanked Kira and told him he would be alright, and to go rest himself, which he reluctantly did. Shuuhei eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

A/N: Well, how was the first chapter? Kensei won't be coming in until later. In the mean time, Shuuhei learns what the hell is happening with not only his sword, but himself.

So look forward to that, and please review!
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