Raised in the Light
A New Family
*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Techniques or emphasis
More emphasis
***RitL***
"But why can't I go back to my dad and sisters? They will be missing me. I have to protect…"
"Exactly, you have to protect them, but right now you can't. I can teach you how to protect everything you care about Ichigo. The monster that attacked your mother escaped and is still out there, possibly planning on hurting other people. There are people who are supposed to have stopped it and yet they did not."
"Wh-why didn't they save my mom?"
"Because Ichigo they are cruel. They feel like they have the right to choose who lives and who dies. They killed off my entire family because we wanted to protect ourselves and each other."
"But why!? Everyone should be allowed to protect their family!"
"I agree, Ichigo if you wish to go back I will take you personally… but these people will find you eventually. You are far more important than you realize and they will try to manipulate you to their own cause."
"Man-manip…"
"It means they want to trick you. I want you on my side as well but I will not lie about my intentions, my past, or anything else. I will never lie to you Ichigo."
The boy seemed to think over what the man said before slowly nodding, tears rolling down his face at the decision he had come to.
"I-I-I will stay… I want to become strong so I can protect everyone. I want to save everyone!"
"And I will help you do this Ichigo. Your life will not be an easy one here but the good you will do shall outweigh anything you could have done in your previous home."
***RitL***
Two young boys stood mere feet from each other, both staring at each other.
One with light blonde
One with bright orange hair
Both looked unsure of themselves and the situation.
Yhwach stood at the side, he knew it was a bit early to be introducing his two 'sons' to each other but he wanted to ensure their friendship and companionship with each other. They would undoubtedly be the most powerful warriors in his army.
And the most important people in his family.
"My name is Ichigo! I used to have a last name but dad told me that I had to give it up when he rescued me."
"M-my name is Jugram."
The orange haired 'ball of sunshine' took on a contemplative expression for a moment, before his smile widened even further. "I'm just going to call you Jugo, do you want to be friends?"
The other boy gave his first true smile in many years as he quickly nodded his head yes.
***RitL***
It was the first time Yhwach could ever recall being so shocked that he had forgotten to breathe.
For the boy seated at the table to have said such a thing… the Quincy lord could honestly say he never expected the boy to actually believe it, much less speak it out loud.
"Your majesty… are you alright?"
The blonde's question seemed to bring him back to the meal that was in front of him, as of yet untouched.
"Um, yes of course Jugo." The elder man confessed that he deeply enjoyed the nickname that Ichigo had given the blonde, and used it as often as possible. It was a sign of companionship, of family, and of trust between the three.
The only other time someone had attempted to call the young boy by the nickname was when a visiting nobleman had thought it was 'cute'.
What he hadn't anticipated was being crushed against the floor by the black haired ruler's spiritual power, a frown on his face at having someone pretend to be close to one of his children.
But even with this closeness between the three of them… he had never expected Ichigo to call him 'dad'.
***RitL***
"This is so unfair, how come he's better at everything than me?"
"He is not better at everything my son he simply possesses a different skill set than you do."
"Yeah and that skill set is being better at everything." The orange haired boy grumbled in annoyance.
Meanwhile his 'brother' looked on, a bit ashamed that he had surpassed his closest, and at this point only, friend in swordsmanship, archery, calligraphy, basic tactics, and spiritual control.
"I'm sorry…"
Ichigo looked up, a confused expression in his eyes, at the other youth.
"What are you apologizing for? You are awesome Jugo! I'm just jealous that you are so good at everything."
"I... can try and help you… if you want…"
The blonde was nearly tackled to the ground by the fierce hug that the orange haired boy engulfed him in.
***RitL***
"Ichigo, come here my son."
"Yes father?"
To this day the use of that word warmed the Quincy elder's heart.
"I believe it is past time that you learn of your parentage."
The young teenager nodded, before taking a seat in front of the man.
"Your mother, Masaki, was a pure blood Quincy much like I am. Unfortunately she did not answer the call that was sent out when I returned to life. Thus her powers were removed. Due to a Hollow's influence before you were born she was unable to resist the technique. Later on it was a different Hollow that took her life and led you into my arms."
The boy nodded, his face downcast as he tried to hide his tears at the painful memory.
"Your father was a Shinigami Captain."
That brought a shocked gasp from his son, who stared straight into his eyes with his mouth slightly ajar.
"But… how?"
"People fall in love for the strangest reasons, when you find the one whom you will love it you will understand."
The boy nodded slowly, before his mind finally caught up with the conversation.
"You said 'was'."
"I did, he lost his Shinigami powers around the time that he met your mother to save her life. You must understand that if he had begun seeing her as he was then they would most likely have been executed by the Seireitei. As it is he is undoubtedly wanted for abandoning his command and would be considered a traitor by the other Shinigami."
"A traitor because he fell in love and saved someone's life at the cost of his own powers?"
"Yes"
"Much like what happened to my mother?"
Yhwach paused, knowing how important his answer would be. He figured that his son would eventually bring this point up and yet even still the confrontation was not pleasant.
"Your mother was not sentenced to death nor imprisoned for her actions. She abandoned her family for whatever reason and thus lost her right to call herself a Quincy. We must protect each other Ichigo, if we do not then we have no reason to call each other 'family'. Imagine if she had abandoned you when you had needed her the most. Not only refusing to help but simply refusing to even try. Would you still call her family and trust her?"
"I… would have protected her no matter what."
The older man smiled, "then you are a far wiser man now than I was when I chose that course of action.
***RitL***
"Hi there, my name is Ichigo, what is your name?"
The young girl stared back at the orange haired boy in confusion.
"Uhmm... what?"
"Your name silly? What is your name?"
The young female had never been approached like this, she had been out shopping with her mother when this random boy just runs up to her and...
Her thoughts were interrupted by the boy laughing, not in a mocking way but rather in a carefree and almost... innocent way.
A warm feeling spread through the girl's chest, a feeling of hope and safety. It was if this boy could right all the wrongs in the world, and would gladly do so without even a thought of reward.
"Well maybe you just forgot it, here this reminds me of you because it is pretty." Ichigo proceeded to take a flower he had found nearby and gently put it into the girl's hair.
Laughing again he looked off and noticed his family making ready to move on.
"Well I hope you figure out your name!" With that he ran off, laughing the entire time.
"Who was that?"
Looking up she spotted her mother standing to her side, a warm smile on her face.
"His name is Ichigo... I just met him."
"Oh, seems like a nice boy."
The younger woman nodded, before walking away with her mother.
Glancing back she whispered to herself, as if the boy could hear her, "My name is Bambietta".
***RitL***
"What… is this… thing?"
"It is a Hollow. A monster that feeds on the innocent and those who cannot protect themselves. They are attracted to spiritual power and devour the souls of anyone they can. They are abominations that should be destroyed."
Jugo turned to his brother, and best friend, a shocked expression on his face.
For once there was a deadly seriousness in the orange haired boy. A lethality that should not be present in such a young person. It was if he was trying to kill the creature with just his will.
"He is correct Jugo. I brought you both here because I wanted you to see one of our true enemies. This is our oldest opponent. The one who hunts us and who we in turn hunt. They have existed for as long as we have and due to this we were their original prey. Yet just as they seek to devour us we shall strike them down with our holy wrath. They are our opposites. Where we value family and friendship they value only power and their next meal. Where our society grows and evolves they have never developed one. Where we know compassion, love, and hope; they know only rage, hunger, and destruction."
"If they have existed with us since the beginning of humanity then how are either of us still alive? Shouldn't one have been destroyed by now?" The blonde questioned, staring up at his ruler and trying to avoid looking at the death glare that his brother still bore.
"They are far more numerous than you can imagine. They are the result of a soul that grows stagnant and refuses the pull of the afterlife, or those that are truly corrupt. Thus there will always be Hollows. We, however, are not eternal. But we are crafty and cunning. We know to fight with our intellect and use our strengths. Thus the battles between us have always been in our victory, yet even if we slay one hundred of them for everyone death of ours we shall end up losing."
"Then what can we do?"
"We fight, to the last. To the bitter end and beyond. We take as many of these monsters out with us as possible and protect those who cannot protect themselves. We save lives and preserve hope."
It was not Yhwach that had answered, but rather the orange haired boy. Moments later he formed his bow and fired an arrow through the chained beast's skull, dissolving it away into nothingness.
***RitL***
"Brother… I have never seen you like that before… are you alright?"
"That was not my first encounter with a Hollow."
"I assumed, but what…"
"It was how I first met father. A Hollow attacked me when I was a child. My mother protected me but it ended up costing her soul to save my life."
The blonde stared with horror at his brother, whose eyes had already begun leaking tears down his face.
"I… I didn't not know. I am sorry."
"I-I-It's not your f-fault." Ichigo tried to calm himself, to dry his face but to no avail.
Seconds later he was pulled into a hug by the other boy, who was content to whispering comforting phrases to him until he managed to compose himself.
"I will help you brother… together we will find a way to protect everyone."
***RitL***
"Father, we would like to discuss with you a few things."
The elder Quincy glanced up, a slightly surprised look on his face at the way that his son had just spoken to him. If it had been Jugo he would have understood, the boy was a bit too uptight and formal, but Ichigo was usually far more blunt and straightforward.
"Go on..."
"What the heck are your plans for when we get everyone back together?"
That was more like it.
Yhwach chuckled slightly before nodding.
"So you wish to know what my plans for the future are eh? For Hollows, Quincy, Shinigami, and humans?"
"Of course your majesty, we will undoubtedly be part of them will we not?"
For a moment the man pondered his next words. Originally he had intended to train both boys to become the powerful warriors that they were destined to be, to use them in the war against his enemies.
He had not expected to gain such fatherly affection towards them though. Now he was debating whether or not to simply keep them out of the war, to protect them as he would his own children. But they would never allow it. Ichigo was too headstrong and stubborn to stay out of any type of conflict, and Jugo would follow him to hell and back if need be. Plus the blonde's own loyalty would eventually push him into the war as well.
"My plans are simple. Step one is to rebuild our military forces in secret, then I recreate the 'Sternritter' and prepare them for war. After this we take stock of the two enemies we must defeat, Hollows and Shinigami. I plan to strike and defeat the weaker of the two and then once the threat of a two front war is gone we shall eliminate the other. My ultimate goal is to take the throne of the Soul King himself, and fix the problems that threaten to consume the various worlds."
The two boys nodded in contemplation.
"Alright, so what are our jobs in this?"
"You, my two sons, are to be my chief advisers, champions, and commanders. You two will be part of the 'War Potentials' that I foresee as being the main factor for victory in the upcoming conflict."
"We shall not let you down your majesty."
"Yeah dad relax, we got this. We will just start," the boy let out a deep sigh of reluctance before he continued on his statement "training even longer and harder every day."
The other two men smiled, knowing how the orange haired male enjoyed his free time.
***RitL***
"Greetings your majesty! I am Lord Werner of Hesse. As I understand it you have made your intentions known to unite our great land into one once more."
"That is correct."
"If you succeed in this unification what do you intend to do next? Who will lead the reunited country?"
"I will lead us once more. The Quincy have been separated and isolated for too long. After the capital's destruction at the hands of the Shinigami you became isolated, and weak. Each state declared itself independent of the others and tried to force their own rule. This will end, we have enough enemies as is without trying to destroy our own flesh and blood."
"You believe that after abandoning us for nearly a thousand years you can just walk back in and declare yourself emperor? No one is going to follow your rule Yhwach, you will go down in history as a failed ruler who thought himself greater than anyone else, and was put down just as effectively as you were the first time. This land shall be ruled by none save for myself and the royal clan of Hesse!"
The Quincy lord chuckled, noticing in his peripheral that Ichigo had rolled his eyes and Jugo was fighting the urge to put an arrow through the man's head for his defiance.
"If that is your decision then so be it. Just know that all shall bow down before me."
"Then consider this our official declaration of war against you and your..." the man glanced over to where his two sons stood, "children. Perhaps when you are watching the executioner raise his axe to end them you will see the folly in your..."
Before he could finish his statement the bureaucrat found a hand wrapped tightly around his throat, and lifting him into the air.
Looking down his eyes widened in terror, there was a ferocity and power in the eyes of the Quincy king that sent a wave of fear down his spine. He instantly knew that he had crossed the line when threatening the man's children, and could only hope that his guards would reach him in time.
Unfortunately for him the warriors had been forced to the ground by Yhwach's raw power, dropping everyone in the room save for the man himself and his two sons.
"You have made several poor choices this day Lord Werner. First you decided to declare war against me while in my presence. Did you really think I would not immediately strike against you? Second you believed yourself safe from me because of a few pathetic soldiers. Finally, and most importantly, you threatened my family."
Power tore into the overweight man's body, consuming his blood and what little spiritual power he had before returning it to the Quincy ruler.
The dried out husk was dropped to the floor a second later, breaking into pieces upon doing so.
"That is the fate of the Quincy if we continue to fight amongst ourselves. We shall bleed each other dry and be left as nothing more than dust in the wind. Now I shall ask you 'royal guard' to this man a simple question. Will you continue serving this pathetic warmonger even in death? Or will you join me in my crusade to unite our lands and bring about a unified peace. A peaceful future where our children and grandchildren may live without worrying about Hollows or the Shinigami. A future in which we can protect ourselves and humanity as we swore to do so long ago?"
The prone men nodded, before muttering out their oaths of loyalty, being barely able to speak in the man's presence.
"Very good, now then send a messenger back to the state of Hesse and inform their council of what has transpired. I will ignore the threats made against me and my family if they shall agree to be incorporated into the new kingdom without resilience."
The men nodded, before slowly standing and making towards their duties.
***RitL***
Two teenage boys sat on two separate tree branches.
Separate and yet of the same tree, of the same blood.
"You know his majesty can only choose one of us…"
"Hm?"
"To be his successor. Only one of us can take over when he is gone."
Ichigo nodded slightly, musing over the idea as he looked up into the clear blue sky.
"At least it will not be hard for him, you are the obvious choice." The orange haired boy finally spoke up, breaking the silence.
Jugo looked back at his friend, more of a brother at this point, with a shocked gaze, "How can you even assume that? You are far more…"
"Talented? We both know you trump me in every Quincy art available. Intelligent? You surpass me in that with leaps and bounds. Face it Jugo you are the one he is going to choose… and I think you are the best candidate. I would gladly serve under your rule."
"You are wrong Ichigo… despite all of my strengths you have a natural charisma and leadership to you that draws others in. People will flock to you in time and follow your every request like it is a command. Besides superiority today does not guarantee supremacy tomorrow."
"You use words of wisdom like that and you still think that I am the better choice?" Ichigo laughed, a pure and innocent gesture that seemed to ring out through the open area, and warm the blonde's heart.
'No my brother…' The silent boy pondered, 'you are the obvious one who will ascend. And when that day comes I will gladly follow you wherever you may go. Just as I always have.'
***Next Chapter Preview!***
"Well well well what do we have here? King finally grew some balls and stopped running away eh?"
"I assume you are the Hollow filth that was implanted into my soul, which would make you..."
"The representation of your Quincy abilities."
***Omake: Under Arrest, Part 1***
"Surely this is a mistake, or a joke?"
"I am sorry Aizen-Sama but it is no joke."
"But... I don't understand..."
"It is really quite simple, evidence was found implicating you in inappropriate acts towards children."
"I have never done such things! To accuse me of such is..."
"It was published in your book 'Aizen's awesome planz, revised'."
"I don't know any evidence that you could possibly be talking abou..."
"The first chapter begins with, 'Now that the seven year old is gone my plans will need to be escalated, thankfully I can afford to wait until his two girls are five to begin using them instead'."
"That could mean anything! I was referring to... uh..."
"Dog fighting"
"Yes just like Gin said I was... wait no I wasn't!"
The group of Shinigami enforcers looked on questioningly towards the three men before them.
"Regardless this is not the only disturbing pieces of information in your book Aizen-Sama, as we said this was only the first sentence."
Another Shinigami moved forward, and immediately placed hand cuffs around the offending man.
"Tousen prepare my legal defense plan, Gin I need you to..."
"WORRY NOT CAPTAIN AIZEN! I SHALL UNDERTAKE THE GRAND QUEST OF DEFENDING YOU IN COURT! AND KANAME SHALL BE MY FAITHFUL ASSISTANT!"
"What? NO! Gin you are to..."
Before he could relay any more orders the Captain was thrown into a nearby police van.
"Gin perhaps I should be in charge of..."
"Getting the refreshments! I agree Kaname-chan! I need all of my strength and cunning for Aizen-kun's defense! Gin, away!" With that the silver haired Captain leapt off; jumping first onto a nearby wall, and then the roof before disappearing into the sunset, laughing the entire way.
"How exactly am I supposed to get him refreshments if I can't find him..." the blind man muttered before making his way towards the nearest 'SoulBucks' coffee house.
***A/N***
So the chapters have been a bit shorter than I originally intended but I feel as though I got what I wanted into them. I didn't want to make just one ridiculously long chapter and I rather enjoy where they left off to be continued onto the next.
As many of you have probably noticed I have begun added 'Chapter Previews'. This is something I recall seeing in another story and I wanted to give it a shot and see what the effect would be. If I can ever remember which fanfic I saw them in I shall post and give credit to the idea but as of right now... I got nothin.
Before this story continues any further I believe a warning is needed: I fully intend to change and edit the ever loving hell out of the Sternritter. Meaning that all those stupid 'plot based' powers are gone. I intend to rework nearly all of them from the ground up.
This means no more stupid "oh that Quincy is a giant hand... and that one is a... robot?" also all of those "this one is invincible except for that one Shinigami power who just happened to be facing him" things are going to be changed to less annoyingly stupid powers. So for all of you who were all about "The Miracle" or thought the fact that the pro wrestler only died because he killed his own invulnerability shield was the coolest plot twist ever... sorry but all that is gone.
Hope everyone enjoyed!
