Title: Split Soul I: Prologue
Author: Saigo no Hajime
Summary: What will happen to Ichigo when he dies? After all, he's part human, part shinigami, and part hollow. So which of the three forms of death will he face? And of equal importance is the question: What will happen to Ichigo's inner hollow when death occurs? Will he disappear from existence? Or will he obtain the freedom he's desired from the beginning?
Pairings: hints of IchiRuki, HichiHime (sort of)
Disclaimer: My Mom gave me Bleach for my birthday this week! Yay!! ...of course, it was only the third box set and the second movie. The show itself still belongs to Kubo Tite. ::sigh::
A/N: Ok, there are a couple things I need to say about this story. First of all, as of this moment, it's 4 parts long. It's possible, though not guaranteed, that a 5th part (an epilogue) will be written. If so, it'll be written in the same style as this prologue, while the middle 3 chapters are normal prose. I'll be posting them one a day, starting today. Also, these chapters are essentially an introduction. I'm tempted to write a much longer story using these chapters for the beginning. That'll only happen if I can find a plotline that I like, though. So if you're interested, please let me know and, if possible, give me an idea of what you'd like to see. The romantic pairings above are only hinted at in these first chapters, but if I create a full story, they'd play a larger role.

Secondly, the style of this prologue is, um, kinda weird. I like it too much to change it, but it's definitely different from how I normally write. Anyway, in order to read it properly, remember: 'normal font' is Ichigo's dialogue, 'italic font' is Hichigo's dialogue, and 'bold font' is stream-of-consciousness description.

Well, I guess I'll put the other notes either at the end or in the other chapters. Enjoy the story, and I treasure and respond to all reviews, so please let me know what you think!

Pain.

Rage.

"Damn it! Did I lose? Am I - "

"Stupid fuckin' King! I could have saved us!"

"And then what, Hollow!? After our enemy was gone, you would have gone after my friends!"

"Brain dead idiot! You think I like when it rains in here!? You think I'd deliberately start a downpour!?"

"Huh? But…"

"But nooooo! You had to get us killed by trying to prevent something that never would have happened anyway!"

"Don't give me that, you bastard! You attacked Ishida once already! You stabbed him when we were fighting Ulquiorra!"

"I had a fucking hole in my chest thanks to you, imbecile! I'm not immune to pain! The stupid Quincy got in my way and I thought he was an enemy! It was a fucking accident!"

"But - "

Pain. Waves of agony.

Darkness. Confusion.

"What's…what's going on?"

"Hell if I know…"

"We're dead, aren't we?"

"Of course we are, and it's your fault, King."

"But…why does it still hurt? Why…are we…still here?"

"I told you…Hell…if I…know."

Confusion. Stillness.

Empty. Everything is still and empty and dark.

A face. A girl. Black hair framing a face of smooth white skin. A lose strand falling into tear-filled violet eyes. A black shihakusho draped over her body. In her hands a sword, gleaming pure white. 'Don't leave. Keep fighting!'

"She's - "

Another face. A second girl. Long orange hair cascading down over a pair of delicate shoulders. Shoulders which were shaking with sobs. Wet gray eyes, tear tracks streaking down plump cheeks. Arms curling around a well-formed chest as a golden light faded from the air in front of her. 'It didn't work... Why couldn't I do it? Come back!'

" – beautiful."

Fading. Blackness. Darkness.

What is black?

Dark? What?

Confusion.

"Who…who am I?"

"King…you're King…"

"W-who…are…who are…you?"

"I'm…I…um…"

"W-who d-did…you say…I…w-was?"

"I…I don't…know…"

Light. Bright light. Sounds. 'Stupid brats, lying in the street. Serve 'em right if we ran 'em over. Ow, why'd you hit me, woman!'

Alarm. Fear.

Movement.

"Ow!"

"Ack!"

Two boys, age 9. Identical round boyish faces, but one with normal skin and the other pasty white. Identical spiky hair, but one colored orange and the other pure white. Identically shaped eyes, filled with confusion, but one set brown and the other golden yellow. Two hands rubbing at bruised foreheads. Two voices, speaking at the same time.

"Who? What?"

"Who are you?"

"Huh? I'm…um…I'm Ichigo…I think."

"Ichigo? I…I think my name is…similar. But what…"

"Similar?"

"It's Mamoru, I think…"

"That is similar."

"Yeah. Are we…I mean, we look so much alike, are we - "

" – brothers?"

"Yeah. I sort of think that we are."

"I don't know…but maybe you're right."

Two boys helping each other to stand. Two boys staring around in amazement at the dusty little town in which they had awakened. A rickshaw, pulled by a panting man, barreling down the street towards them. Two boys diving frantically toward the side of the road, coming up against an old, rotting sign.

'West Rukongai District 47 – Reiwaru'

A/N: Couple more notes: First, 'Mamoru' means 'to protect'. Thus it's similar to 'Ichigo', which means 'One who protects' or 'To protect one thing' or something along those lines. Second, there is more to Mamoru than what is obvious! I mean, well, I don't want to spoil the explanation in Part IV, but don't jump to any conclusions. The situation is way more complex than it appears!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Part I, and Part II will be posted tomorrow. Until then!