Kurosaki Guren, with one voice, will stand in opposition to all manner of gods and demons, and change the face of existence.
One voice is enough to make sleeping giants wake up.
An Alternate Universe set in the universe of Bleach by Tite Kubo.
Story published under "MichaelVereaux" on AO3 and "Vereaux" on FanFictionNet.
Update (2/24/2021):
It's been a long time since releasing the first chapter. I have been writing since, but I wasn't happy with how this one turned out looking back, so I'm updating it. It will be a bit in order to get into the swing of things, but please be patient. I hope to have the next chapter finished soon.
CHAPTER 1: THE CRIMSON LOTUS
"The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness." - Joseph Conrad
How does one begin their story?
Before today, Guren knew.
Before today, he knew his place in the world: a student of Karakura High School, age 17, the brother of two incredible sisters and son of a wonderful father. They mean the world to him, even if they annoy the ever-living fuck out of him.
Before today, he could see and interact with the spirits of the dead.
After today...the dead were the least of his concerns.
Where does one end their life story?
"GUUUUUURRRREEEEENNNNN!"
"WHAT?!" Guren swore sharply as he gasped for air and doubled over in pain. An elbow had collided with his stomach and brought stars to his eyes, for perhaps the eighty-thousandth time in his life.
"YOU'RE LATE!" His father bellowed. Guren attempted to filter out the voice laid atop the pain, but there was only so much one could accomplish against this...circumstance. "Breakfast is getting cold! Yuzu worked very hard to fix your favorite: TOAST AND BACON!"
"THAT'S YOUR FAVORITE, YOU DUMB ASS! AND I'VE BEEN AWAKE FOR OVER AN HOUR!" Guren roared as his mood soured, headbutting his father.
A fully dressed Guren had finished getting ready for school, but as he was about to leave, his who-so-compassionate father burst into his room and elbowed him in the stomach. Locked into a forehead showdown, they glared at each other to a standstill (if electricity could fly, it would) and their voices reverberated throughout the house. Kurosaki Isshin, father of three, might have been a doctor, but he had the physique of a forward in soccer and the lungs of an opera singer. Guren, if he had any hope of surviving, much less living with his family, had to match and exceed him. Sometimes: explosively. This was just one of a few things Guren had to contend with when living with an eccentric father. Or in Karakura Town, for that matter. Why they lived in this place of western Tokyo, he will never know.
A head of short light blond hair poked around the corner to the hallway and a pair of brown eyes pleaded for sanity.
"There's plenty for everyone, guys. I just finished making everything." Soft-spoken, her voice was a sharp contrast to the voices of the two males.
"Come on, Yuzu. Leave the two macho-men and we'll eat all the hot food. I'm starving!" Karin, a voice of gruff reason, commented as she walked out of her room and past the drama ensuing. Having finished her shower and with a towel on her head, her words stirred Yuzu to leave with her sister and away from the conflict.
"See, Guren? You're holding up our quality time!"
"HOLD THE WALL THEN!" Both sisters flinched at the resounding crash behind them. They gingerly glanced to see their father, upside-down on the floor against the wall. All the man could see was the world spinning in swirls of color.
"Ah, my son has muscle, I see!" Guren snorted at the irony and shuffled out of the room, though not before he gave his father a quick kick. Isshin grunted pathetically and groaned.
It was a morning like any other. Whether it's in the morning or after the setting sun, his father would always find ways to "toughen" his son. After Guren started taking martial arts and Kenjutsu classes, Isshin would try all sorts of machinations; karate chops, head-locks, or what happened moments ago. It was almost endearing, but all Guren wanted to do was beat the ever living shit out of him. With a sign, he glanced at the hallway mirror to pause and ponder, and make sure he didn't look like a mess after everything. His hair cascaded down around his face and shoulders; a chuckle escaped his mouth as he pulled out a spare hair-tie. The latest rough-housing was to blame. All Isshin's fault. Yeah, let's go with that idea. His father wanted Guren to have hair like his mother, but when one is born with a head of vermilion red hair, one can only utter compliments when paired with myrtle green eyes. With bangs on either side, his hair reached to the middle of his back, but he pulled it into a low ponytail. Curtsy of Yuzu, she was always good at cutting hair.
"Hey Karin." Guren greeted as he walked into the dining room and took a seat. Toast and bacon, huh? Sure and half a dozen other things from fruits to veggies. Breakfast looked good irregardless as he laid waste to everything he could grab. Yuzu swatted his hand with a spoon, said something about leaving some for Dad, but Guren only pretended to listen. Not maliciously, mind you, but his stomach complained with a vengeance only stuffing one's face could satisfy. He didn't realize how hungry he had been until after the first plate. Pausing between bites, he glanced in Karin's direction but her black hair was all he saw over the book in front of her. He could hear her chewing though. "Studying for that test tomorrow?" A grunt was her only reply, followed by more chewing.
'Of course, she never did like tests. Can't blame her. Neither do I.' When it came to their studies, all of the kids were diligent, but tests were another issue altogether. They couldn't stand them. Maybe it was the pressure of needing to do well; maybe it was the imaginary bar set to measure people by; who knows. For him, it made his skin crawl.
In the steady silence, Isshin came into the kitchen and was treated by Yuzu with an ice pack on his head. He kept muttering to himself about how he will have to do his "duty" of "toughening up" his children. Guren ignored him and ate in the solace of peace and quiet. The stomach monster was being sated, for now; he was glad for the silence.
"Onii-chan." Spoke too soon. Temporary silence. Yuzu's voice shattered it like a thousand pin drops. "Ikumi-san called this morning, saying she would be on vacation starting tomorrow, so you won't have work for a little while."
"Hmm?" Guren blinked. He contemplated what she said, but nothing came to mind. What vacation? Oh, wait. "Right, that trip she's taking. Something about Kyoto or some city."
"The Kyoto Fireworks Festival, or are you blowing smoke again?" retorted Karin as she took another giant bite of toast. Guren's eye twitched in annoyance; another voice to add to the silence but before he could open his mouth to speak: "You're six years my senior, Ren-nii; you should know these things."
"Karin-chan! That's cold!" Gasped Yuzu. Isshin gave an absentminded nod of agreement.
"Not as cold as his name."
They all could feel the stinging wind blow through their souls.
The rustle of Karakura High was uneventful, almost mundane today. Guren couldn't concentrate on anything; something was missing, off even, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It was on the tip of his tongue, the edge of his senses, but it escaped him. Most of his time was spent staring out the window and watch the occasional spirit pass by.
Guren had been able to see, talk to, and interact with the dead for as long as he could remember. They appeared as clear and crisp as his fellow students and family. People would give him strange looks at times, because to a normal person, he talked to nothing but air. Sometimes he could tell right away if it was a spirit, but not all the time. Their existence made him wonder if other people could see them too. Yuzu and Karin could to varying degrees, but Isshin was as blind as a bat.
Guren tried to help the dead. It felt like the only thing he could do.
"What the..." he whispered and strained to see across the courtyard. A woman jumped into view and landed on a nearby power pole, dressed in some type of black kimono, and...a katana? He blinked again and rubbed his eyes vigorously. Maybe he ate a bad berry, but when he looked again, there was no mistake. Gravity didn't affect spirits in the same way as humans, so he wasn't surprised by her leap; but as he peered back through the window and frowned, he had never seen one with a weapon before. Clothes, sure, but not individual items. 'What is she doing?' With black hair past her shoulders, she scanned the area with purpose, as if looking for something.
"KUROSAKI!"
"AH!" Guren yelped as he jerked in his seat in surprise, unsure of who called his name. The teacher glared at him like a hawk, visibly annoyed with his lack of attention.
"Now that you're with the living, Kurosaki, answer the question on the board!" It took him a minute to remember they were still in Chemistry, so after he gave her a satisfactory answer, he relaxed. 'With the living,' huh? The teacher wasn't far off. He turned back to the window, but the woman had disappeared.
"Of course." One minute a ghost was there; next minute, it's gone. A typical end to his sightseeing. He was lucky to keep track of them at all, but this wasn't entirely normal. He had never seen a ghost dress like her before or carry a sword. Who was she?
"You're late! Again!"
"To you, I'm always late!"
"Not true! Masaki was never late with dinner!"
"What does that have to do with me?!" Guren couldn't believe he was having this argument again. After Kenjutsu training, he stayed around to practice, but lost track of time. Training helped center him, but his thoughts kept returning to the woman earlier. One doesn't just see someone carry a katana; they are illegal for the general public. His instructor is required to have a permit to just own one, much less be out with it. Guren rushed home when he saw the time, but it was still past 7 pm. For context, dinner: also 7 pm, same time, every time. Storm outside? 7 pm. Car wreck caused traffic? 7 pm. Almost died in said car wreck? Still 7 pm. And what does Isshin do? Tried to dropkick Guren...again! "Next time, I'll kick you where the sun don't shine!" Isshin gasped in surprise, a look of horror on his face.
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Try me!"
"Challenge accepted!"
"That is not a challenge you're suppose to accept!" This combination of stupidity and genius: a brawl between father and son. Who would win? Who would be kissing the floor? And how long until Guren threw him through the window...again? As their scuffle commenced, Guren's bad flying across the floor, Yuzu could only cringe and anticipate more injuries to follow. Two grown men trying to beat each other up: was this really surprising considering?
"Guys, the food is getting cold again."
"Let them be, Yuzu. If they want to act like babies, let them. By the way, Ren-nii, you have another visitor." Karin's remark brought the two boys to attention as Guren glanced over his shoulder. A ghost materialized into view but with only half a body. The guy was gleeful enough as he floated through the air, too curious for his own good when he began to inspect the kitchen. Seemed see-through too. Typical.
"I can never get rid of them fast enough! Exorcisms take a lot of work, damn it!" Guren spouted as he tried to shoo away the ghost, leaving his father on the floor in a stupor. This was an exorcism? His sisters weren't convinced fanning the ghost away was productive; as if it got rid of them anyway. In frustration, he huffed, took a bowl of rice, and wandered off. "I'm going to bed." This day was going to the pits fast and he couldn't understand why; this feeling had been draped over him the entire day and he wanted it to go away. Yuzu protested his leaving, but it was background noise to the storm in his mind. The silence of his room offered little comfort to him when he entered it, even as he laid his school bag on his chair, took a seat and ate. If the quiet wasn't working, maybe there would be no rest for him.
'Maybe sleep will do me some good.' he reflected in melancholy. One could only hope the safety of dreams calmed the raging oceans. He flicked off the lights and didn't bother to strip as he plopped onto the mattress. Where did everything go wrong? Why did everything feel wrong? Did he forget something important he should remember? Or maybe his mind simply would not let him be. It mattered not anyway. The longer he lay, the longer the silence carried, until it was broken, not by Isshin, or by family, but in one of the most unusual of circumstances that would forever change his life.
"Huh?" Out of the corner of his eye, a black butterfly garnered his attention as it floated into view. He couldn't believe it initially as he straightened up. "Is that a...swallowtail?" He recalled reading that they were on about every continent, but how did one get into the room? A gasp escaped his lips, for out of nowhere, the woman in black appeared, as light as a feather, and stood firmly atop his desk.
"What..." he uttered, baffled by this absurdity. She came straight out of the wall. She was a ghost...right? "Hey!" His attempt to get her attention hardly worked as she surveyed the room; her stern, violet eyes searched intensely with the same purpose as before. She hopped down and gripped the sword hilt at her waist, as if meaning to draw it. "Hey!"
"It is near..."
"'It is near' my ass, retard!" The woman's face contorted into confusion and panic as Guren sprang from the bed and kicked her across the room, flopping face-first onto the floor.
"You-you kicked me?" She gasped in disbelief, glancing back at Guren. She couldn't believe what just happened. Shit, he couldn't believe he saw the same ghost twice, ever, but here we are.
"Yes, I kicked you."
"And see me?" Realization glittered in her eyes. Was being kicked not enough evidence already?
"Nah, I can only hear, smell, taste, and touch; no shit I can see! Now, who the hell are you?! And why the hell are you in my room? And why were you at my school?"
"School?" She repeated and ignored the first two questions as she righted herself to her feet. She took a long look at Guren, but her gaze seemed half glazed over, as she seemed to access what was happening. "You saw me before?" Though Guren was a mere 5'4", she was about half a foot shorter. It wasn't everyday one found a ghost under 5 feet, but eh, this wasn't a normal day.
"Yeah, you a ghost, as well as deaf?"
"Alright, so let me get this straight..." Guren muttered aloud from a cross-legged position on the floor. His face was twisted into a look of frustration, eyes firmly closed. The woman was also seated, though in a traditional posture with legs underneath her. "You are a Shinigami..." She nodded. "...from a place called Soul Society..." She nodded again. "...and your mission is to hunt down evil spirits called Hollows..." Her nodding continued with increased anticipation. "Right...AS IF!" He shouted as he abruptly stood. He was just about done with today. Her expression turned to bewilderment as she too got to her feet.
"You can see ghosts, but you don't believe in Shinigami?" She questioned.
"I haven't seen a Shini-whatever since I could see ghosts. If what you say is true, I would've seen a lot more of you, or those others, around here. It's a nice story, but how about something more believable, brat?" His hand landed on her head condescendingly and ruffled her hair. Her expression stiffened and a smirk slowly grew.
"If that's how you want to do this..." She raised her hand, and with her first two fingers pointed at him, spoke aloud. "Sai!" A pulse of some kind rocked his body as his arms twisted around his back and locked into position. He collapsed immediately in shock. It was like being tied up with a straight-jacket that weighed a ton.
"I-I can't m-move!" Nothing was there. He wrestled people triple his size and none of them felt this heavy.
"This...is Kido." Though he couldn't see her from the floor, he could imagine the smug look plastered across her face. "You may think of it as magic. Only Shinigami 'brats' could hope to use it." She planted her foot hard against his side and he cringed in pain. "So, brat, what should I do with you, after your insult?" With a turn of his head, he observed her unsheath her katana with a gentle tug. He shivered at the altercation as it hovered above his neck and forced himself to become incredibly still, acutely aware of what grazed his skin. "Normally, our laws forbid us from killing people we have not been ordered to take out." The chilling reality of his position came crashing upon him.
'Is she...?' His mind weaved different panicked scenarios in his head, as he could only watch her flourish her blade in a defying move of grace.
"I will have to contend with your...sealed movements." Before he could react, her katana was driven to the floor, not with the blade, but not blade first: with the hilt. Out of the corner of his eye, Guren could spy the ghost from earlier beside him. She had struck him in the head with the end of the hilt. A kanji glowed when it withdrew and a soft light started to surround the man.
"N-no, I-I-I don't w-want to-to-to go to-to-to hell..." The man stuttered, fearful and with tears about to fall from his eyes.
"Do not fear. Hell is not your destination, but Soul Society." Before, her voice had carried the edge of a blade, ready to cut Guren to pieces. Now, her face appeared calm, a portrait of serenity. "Unlike Hell, it is a peaceful place." In the low glow of blue light, the ghost was engulfed. He vanished a moment later, along with the light, and only a black butterfly remained. It floated away absently before disappearing out the open window, and into the night.
"What...?" He struggled to maneuver to get a better look at where the ghost had been but saw no remnants of...anything. "What just happened?"
"Konso, or Soul Burial." The Shinigami replied matter-of-factly, sheathing her sword in one fluid, practiced motion. His mind was trying to wrap itself around what she said, but the word did not escape him.
"A funeral...for a soul?" He understood the context, but the notion was bizarre. People have funerals. Animals have funerals. Souls?
"In your common tongue, I believe you would call it 'going to heaven.' It is one of the duties of a Shinigami. Do you believe me now, brat?" The jab at him for his earlier comment was becoming more irritating by the moment, but he kept his composure. He was still "tied up," after all.
"You are one complicated woman." He remarked, shuffling on the ground to better face her as much as he could. She threatened to kill him, then in the next moment, sent a man "to heaven." Cruel but compassionate. Were all Shinigami like this? "You send ghosts...to Soul Society, right?" As much as her comment may have annoyed him, he had questions. He knew when to keep things to himself.
"Pluses, to be more accurate. I'll draw an illustration, so even a fool can understand." Ah, another jab. This might take a while. From her kimono, she produced a pad and pen. "In this world, there exists two types of souls." What followed could only be described as ridiculous. A two-sided picture: one of a bunny with hearts around it, and another with lightning around it.
'What...the...hell...?' he critiqued to himself. Don't say anything or she'll kick this time.
"The first is a Plus or Whole, an ordinary spirit, like what we just saw. The second are Hollows, who attack both the living and dead, and eat their souls. These are the evil spirits we spoke of earlier. Any questions?" The method of how she dead-panned the question can not be understated.
"Yeah, what the fuck is up with the bunnies?" He should have kept his mouth shut. No sooner had he asked than did he see stars, as his father did earlier, when the Shinigami lashed her foot against his head. She seemed neither concerned, nor worried, as she continued her explanation.
"Shinigami have two duties. The first is to send souls to Soul Society through Konso." Her illustrations followed her words, displaying a bunny going through a border to a place labeled Soul Society...with flowers? He was starting to get a headache, but he wasn't sure from what. "The second is to purify any Hollows we come across." The second bunny with lightning had a giant red X through it, as if trying to wipe it out of existence. On second thought, he didn't need to wonder why he was in pain.
'Why do her drawings continue to suck?' A sudden realization came to him.
"Wait...the thing you said was near...is it a Hollow?"
"Well, yes, that is part of my mission." Her smirk receded, as if she wasn't sure what to say in response to him.
"Then go find it! You could have found it by now instead of wasting time drawing!" Guren yelled exasperatedly. He struggled to turn over, still under the effects of the Kido spell. The woman frowned and squinted her eyes in irritation, though not at his words. She stared off to the side, as if trying to see something that wasn't there.
"That's the problem. I've been searching, but I lost track of it. For some reason, it's like I'm trying to find something through a fog. It's very frustrating."
"That's all well and good but-" As he tried to expel his statement as quickly as possible, a loud roar shook his senses, body and soul. It was like hearing the voice of an animal scream in anguish and pain, but it wasn't just with sound. It made him sick to his stomach, as if the sound had shaken his core. How close was it? Where was it?
"A filter...or possibly a strong presence may interfere..." She mused to herself, rambling and oblivious to what he heard and felt.
"Hey! Shinigami!"
"Hmm?"
"Didn't you hear that scream just now?! What was that?!"
"Scream? What are you-" In the next instant, a second scream followed and she could hear it then, her eyes wide with shock and horror. She turned to the door in disbelief. "What?" Worry glazed over her eyes as she tried to comprehend what happened.
'How could I have missed it?' she questioned herself. 'It is like through a fog, but what is this feeling?' She glanced at the red-head on the floor, who looked as concerned as she was. 'Moreover, how could he hear it before I could?' Her questions halted when another, different scream came; this one was far more personal.
"Yuzu! That was Yuzu!" His terrified shout reverberated in the room as the Shinigami ran for the door. When she opened it, Karin collapsed through the doorway and the smell of blood permeated from the hallway. The weight of the air hung on the Shinigami and she grimaced.
'This is the Reiatsu of a Hollow. How could I not sense it before?!'
"...Gur...en..." Karin breathed and tried to crawl toward him. Wherever she touched, blood smeared the ground. "You're...safe. Good...before it...gets here...run! Please...get away...from...here..." She struggled to speak; her words were broken between gasps for air and the pain that crossed her face. She was reaching out for her brother, but her arm shook violently.
"Karin!" He tried to move, but his body was weighed to the floor by the force of the spell. Yet...the only thing, the only thought that mattered, was but to get up. 'Get up! Get up! Get up!'
"...we could barely...see it...it attacked us...please...Guren...save yourself...save...save..." Her head dropped with a thud and her body went limp.
"KARIN!" His terrified scream felt like fire in his veins. The Shinigami knelt beside her and checked her vitals, with one hand pressed gently against the young one's cheek.
"She is alive, just unconscious. Soul is intact. This blood though...it isn't her's." Suddenly another weight of pressure seemed to drop onto the Shinigami's shoulders like rain. Where was this coming from? The air was thickening around her. She turned to Guren and realized: he was the source. On his feet, flakes of energy in twists of gold hummed around him and his face was ravaged by an indescribable pain. His face contorted in determination and rippled in anger. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. "Stop! You cannot break the spell on your own! A human's soul would be ripped-!" With the last word from her lips, it no longer mattered. A roar of defiance echoed from the lungs of anguish. She could clearly see him tear apart the fabrics of her spell and his gold energy broke through the cool blue sheen with a snap. His arms were free, scattered atoms of energy floating in the air and he bolted out the room. "Wait!" Her words fell on deaf ears before she could run after him.
'How?!' She mused, frantic in her thoughts as she followed. 'This should be impossible! How could a human dissolve a Kido spell?!'
Guren landed on the first floor from the stair steps and could barely believe his eyes. The dining room was trashed; debris everywhere and he saw his dad lying on the floor. His back was soaked in blood and Guren felt the color drain from his face. From the hole in the wall, he could make out a black silhouette: a giant figure; in its hand was Yuzu...screaming. The blood in his veins became as cold as ice.
"YUZU!" He grabbed his nearby baseball bat and sprinted. He didn't care for the fear in his body. He didn't care if he was about to run straight toward a thing he didn't understand. He would beat it into submission until every bone in his body was broken. Unfortunately, his determination didn't have the power needed behind it. The bat shattered into pieces upon impact with its head. The head...was not human. It was a white mask of bone and resembled a fish. Its eyes appeared...hollow, with such a mindlessness one could barely begin to describe. A creature, no, a predator of instinct; and Guren walked straight into the lion's den. He barely rolled out of the way when its arm shot out and nearly took him out. Another section of the house wall turned to splinters as the pieces tumbled to the ground around them. If he hadn't move, he might have been dead.
'So...this is a Hollow...I can see why.' On his knee from the roll, he could see a bit more of the figure now. Tall, clearing a pole light in height, but humanoid in shape, if only in general body structure: fins on its back, black scales in intermittent intervals throughout its body, large hands, a large mouth and a hole of considerable size in the center of its chest. It went straight through to the other side. In its right hand was Yuzu, who groaned in pain, but very much alive. 'Yuzu...' How was he going to deal with this one?
"I found...you."
'What?! It talks?!' First Shinigami, now Hollows and it can talk! Unlike the first, this one was a monster and about to attack him! It raised its right arm, the one with Yuzu, and swung before he could blink. In the same instant, the Shinigami leapt through the air and sliced its forearm wide open. Blood spayed as it roared in pain and dropped Yuzu on reflex. Guren slid forward just in time to catch her.
"Yuzu, are you alright?! Speak to me. Yuzu!" His frantic words did not stir her, but while her eyes were closed, her breathing was steady. 'She's alive.' He breathed a sigh of relief. Movement ahead caught his eye and he realized the Shinigami stood between him and the Hollow.
"Don't lose focus! Your family's souls are fine!" Only their souls?
"But does that mean…?" he questioned, rationalizing an explanation from her statement.
"Your father is still alive." A weight lifted off his shoulders. In the chaos, he had not checked his dad. The Hollow howled toward the sky and its voice shook him to his core. Would it attack again? As if in answer, it stepped back and disappeared through a distortion in the air, as if the wind wrapped around and enveloped it from sight. Nothing remained but dust and echoes.
"Is it gone?" he asked.
"For now. I would get inside before it comes back. It's not done yet." She did not stray from her spot as she scanned the surroundings, blade at the ready.
"What do you mean 'not done'? What the hell is it after?!" He questioned as he got Yuzu into the house, the hair rising on the back of his neck in anticipation.
"You." With her katana kept forward as a precautionary measure, she turned her head to peer at him with a sober demeanor. "Hollows go after individuals with high amounts of Reiryoku or Spiritual Power."
"But why go after my family?!" If they were after him, fine, but his family were not targets in his eyes. As he stepped back outside, wanting to help but unsure how, the air felt different and tight against his chest.
"Because they could smell you on them." To Guren, the world spun on its head and he didn't know when it would stop. Was it all his fault? Was his family attacked...because of him? "I've never seen a human who could break Kido, and if I had to guess, you're the reason I couldn't sense the Hollow in the first place. You can see Shinigami and Hollows as clear as day. There is no other possibility."
"So...I caused this..." The sorrow in his voice caused the Shinigami to waver and a look of remorse crossed her face.
"That's not what I-" In that moment, an explosion of movement fell upon them. A limb slammed into the Shinigami, and sent her flying through a nearby building. The Hollow had appeared through another distortion and towered over Guren with a roar of triumph.
'Damn it! Fine, if I'm the target, then-' He bolted into the street, hoping the movement would attract the Hollow's attention and away from Yuzu. 'Try to catch me, you piece of-' He skidded to a stop when he realized what blocked his path. From out of the air, another distortion and a Hollow seeped out from the warps in space. Reminiscent of a lizard, it hissed and growled with such hunger, it made him shiver. 'There's...two of them?'
"Run all you like...we will find you." The Hollow mocked him as it slowly inched forward. Guren stepped back out of reflex.
"You are...surrounded." Guren spun and stood face to face with the first Hollow, its breath mist in the air. It stared him down with such hunger in its eyes, it was as if it was already gnawing on his flesh and all that was left was his ghost.
Where does one end their story? Not being eaten, he hoped.
"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man!" A voice echoed on a gust of wind and he could feel his hair stand on end. Something in the pit of his stomach told him to move and quickly. The Hollows were momentarily confused and tried to scan the area around them. "Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"
'Now!' He dived to the side in the nick of time.
"Shakkaho!" Columns of red flame erupted from the sky, engulfing the two Hollows in flame and lit the night. They screamed with rage, but retreated quickly, disappearing back into the void from whence they came. The Shinigami flew through the air and landed nearby with a gaze toward the street. "Boy! Where are you?!" She bellowed, the embers in the air blocking her vision.
"I'm not a boy!" Guren shouted, standing up from beneath the black smoke that blanketed the area and stomped his way towards her. He got his family hurt, he was almost eaten, and almost blown up. If there was one thing he wasn't going to stand for, it was a bruised pride.
"You're an idiot then for running! You can't harm them!" Her voice spurred him back into focus and he blinked, taken aback. He wasn't sure how to respond. Ashamed for what he felt at that moment, he looked away out of embarrassment.
"Sorry..." he apologized. Maybe he was being over dramatic. He needed to rein in himself. They were fighting for their lives right now. A little perspective wouldn't hurt. With a sigh, he continued. "So what do we do now?" It was her turn to look uncertain, as she skimmed the surroundings.
"They aren't relenting. I thought it was just the one, but if another showed up...this isn't some mindless hunt." Her violet gaze shifted back to Guren. Like windows into her mind, he saw her stress, her worry and he wondered what gears were turning behind those eyes. The flames of her spell had receded, but the glow of embers gave him enough light to notice: there was blood down the side of face.
"You're hurt..."
"Ah." Her hand touched her scalp and drips of blood slid through her fingers. "I'm-I'm fine."
"No, no you're not." The disregard for her condition spurred him back to anger. "If there are more coming, you need all the help you can get. So what can I do? No, what do I do?" The burst and display of confidence from Guren pulled the Shinigami out of the confines of her thoughts. Then...an idea.
"There...might be a way." A roar echoed from the distance and they turned toward it. The tension crept back into their bones. First one, then two and a chorus of echoes followed; he wondered how many more were coming. Her eyes held a far-away glaze, worry sinking in. "I can't stop them all...before they kill you. This isn't ideal...but it's our only option." With a flourish, she raised her blade, the tip poised toward his chest. "You must become a Shinigami."
"What?" This wasn't what he expected when it came to options, especially involving a sword pointed at him. His heart beat like thunder in his chest, sweat on his brow and he casually wondered how it felt to be cut by a blade. Better than eaten, probably. "I'm human. How do I become a Shinigami?"
"If I pierce your chest, I will transfer half of my power. It will be temporary, but..." She gave a shy smile at the implication. "...it will hurt."
"I kinda figured that," he laughed nervously and glanced at the blade. He could hear more roars, but now they came from multiple directions. From all around, distortions appeared, one by one, until more of them prowled the street and the rooftops above. Yet, he wasn't afraid anymore; he was apprehensive, sure, for he didn't know where the future lay, but there was a way to survive. He could protect the ones he loved: his family. "If this is going to work, we better do this fast, Shinigami." With steady hands, he gripped the blade delicately, but with a grim determination.
"It's not Shinigami." The correction seemed nervous as he looked up and saw her face. She was worried...but for whom? Guren cracked a smirk and nodded. There was no worry in his eyes, no sorrow, no fear, not any more; an assurance she couldn't explain. Her own fear melted away. "My name...is Kuchiki Rukia."
"I see." The roars became louder and movement stirred in the background. The Hollows weren't sure what was about to happen, but they didn't like it and reacted accordingly. "I..." More than a dozen bolted and flew from the rooftops. "...am..." Their movements were swift and they closed in for the feast.
"Kurosaki Guren."
The blade pierced his flesh and a golden light exploded from all directions, howled like a hurricane, surged like the ocean and tore apart all in its path. It became a sphere of golden fire as Rukia flew into a building and slid to the ground. Dizzy and nauseated, she slowly uprighted from her daze and steadied herself against the wall. Something wasn't right. Her black kimono became white and her katana had vanished from sight.
"This is impossible..." she swallowed her words in disbelief. The giant sphere of golden fire swirled with such voracity, it threw back all Hollows who dared to get close. Frustrated, perplexed, but mindless, they attempted again to breach the light, but the result was no different. "How could this-" She gasped when the sphere of energy started to split apart, tearing at the seams, and unfolded from within.
Inside wasn't just a student. Inside wasn't just a brother or son. Inside wasn't just a man who could see the afterlife.
Inside were seven figures, all in the same black garments she had worn...and all wielding their own blades.
This is how their story begins.
With the departing energy, Guren raised his head and scanned the surroundings, taking note of the Hollows around them. They had stopped at the first sight of change. His eyes pierced the darkness as the golden fire dissipated and he chuckled out of amusement.
"If this is all you've got, we won't break a sweat."
'What?' Such confidence flowed through their bodies, their movements...their...wait, there were seven of them?! This revelation seeped into Rukia's mind as she watched. 'Wait...this whole time...back at his home...' The flashbacks came back to her as clear as day.
'How could he hear it before I could?'
"It's like I'm trying to find something through a fog."
'This should be impossible! How could a human dissolve a Kido spell?!'
Then it clicked. "Hollows go after individuals with high amounts of Reiryoku."
'He's the reason. For all of it. The Kido. Why I couldn't sense the Hollow. And never have I seen a human...become seven Shinigami!'
The tension in the air could be cut with a knife as the Hollows stood their ground, their new enemies before them. Yet their enemies weren't concerned in the least. The Hollows didn't dare move. Mindless as they were, they still understood fear.
"Oh come on! At least do something!" cried out one of the seven as she stepped forward. It was a red head, much like Guren, but taller and sporting a high ponytail, hair reaching to her waist. And with a bust that...reminded Rukia of a certain somebody. Over her shoulder, she wielded a nodachi with no guard and the red hilt looked like one from a shikomizue (sword cane). The sheath was held loosely by her left hand. Her violet eyes swept across her field of vision, but the hollows dared not move. One foolishly did and charged. It stopped dead, literally, as her blade drove through the center of its mask and shattered it; it's body vanished in a whiff of white smoke. "Now that's more like it!" So the frenzy begins.
"Must they be so willing to die?" Two Hollows were split in halves when they leaped forward. They didn't make it a yard. Shorter than the red head woman, with grey, flaxen hair and bright cyan eyes, a kodachi twirled between his fingers, bored, but he dispatched any who approached.
"Death is unavoidable, but let's not have it be us." A woman landed beside the man and sheathed her wakizashi behind her with a snap, horizontal to her waist. Three Hollows died immediately without a whimper of pain. It was likely they never felt it at all. Shorter than him, her dark lime green hair fell across her shoulders and cascaded to her waist. Sharp yellow eyes swept across their positions, gleaming playfully and a smirk tucked at her cheeks. Though the situation was serious, she could not betray the glee she felt. "Try not to die, if you please."
"Speak for yourself!" A shout from a shorter man than Guren, he struck Hollows as swiftly as they approached. With russet hair braided into a single strand to his waist, he flourished a katana as his cobalt blue eyes reflected the shine off the blade and his bangs whirled in the wind. "Some people are working here!" With a side step, he dodged a tail attack, slicing the tail, and the Hollow's head, in two. "But we all like to have a little fun, don't we?"
"Some more than most." A giant Hollow fell and a woman with short, pale uranian blue hair rode the back of its head to the ground, katana embedded in its skull. She withdrew the blade with a jerk and stepped off the corpse as it withered into nothing. A white silk scarf covered her lower face, engulfing her shoulders, but did not take away from the sharpness of her indigo eyes. "He hasn't stopped beating them into submission...yet." She jabbed her thumb behind her.
"They're tough little fuckers!" The pounding of fist against bone could be heard repeatedly in the air as a tall man with spiked, kobicha brown hair beat the head of a Hollow. Forceful enough to crack the ground, it tried to move, but was only driven deeper into the asphalt, cracking the mask further and further. Several Hollows littered the carnage surrounding him, their masks broken, but not destroyed. Their groans were like a chorus of animals who mourned their state. The predators had become the prey. Satisfied with the Hollow's subjugation, he straightened and briskly leaped over to the scarf woman, with a wide smile on his face and hazel eyes bright with glee. "I had fun," he uttered whimsically. If he had broken a sweat, it wasn't apparent with the red headband wrapped around his forehead. "Too bad they didn't last. It was over just like that." With a snap of his fingers, the masks of the Hollows shattered to pieces and their mourning would continue no more, their bodies disappearing into the wind. A look of realization crossed the man's face as he looked around briefly. "Speaking of fun, where's boss man?" The scarf woman, without turning, pointed toward the distance.
Among the fading Hollows who littered the ground, Guren strode calmly over withering limbs and bones, his eyes firmly on one Hollow, not twenty feet away. The fish-bone Hollow took a step back, as if ready to run.
"No. There is no escape." In the next instant, its left arm was severed at the shoulder and it cried out in pain. With one hand over the wound, it realized Guren was behind him and his katana dripped blood. "First is for my sisters!" The deafening screech ripped the air as its other arm was torn to shreds. It could not fight as Guren took limb after limb, piece by piece, one by one. "Second is for my father!" A leg flew through the air as it was ripped from its body. The Hollow fell forward, unable to support its weight anymore as Guren stood before it. "And this...is for my pride!" Guren flourished his blade and gripped it with both hands, raised above his head.
"Die."
Update (2/24/2021): I've expanded the following a little, mostly in the form of comments on elements of the story so far.
As an AU, everyone can expect some changes from the main universe. For example, the main character is a man named Guren (sorry, Ichigo won't be in this one). In the spirit of this universe, I'll be taking the Bleach storylines from all source materials and create a comprehensive story that will fix, at least in my mind, some of the issues we've had with the series as a whole. Think of it as a "re-imagining" if you will.
At the end of every chapter, I've make comments or answer questions people pose to me. So I'll start with the most obvious one:
Q: Why was Ichigo replaced by Guren?
A: Besides creative control (I mean, who likes being told "Because I said so!"), I knew I wanted to create a fan fic around Guren; I just didn't know how to get him into the Bleach universe. I toyed around with the idea of Ichigo having a twin brother, but as I went down this line of thinking, I realized certain elements weren't going to mesh well with what I had in mind. If I wanted Guren to be the main focus of this AU, that meant Ichigo would have to be the second main character and how does one do that with a character like him? So, I scrapped him and had Guren be Isshin's son instead. Bit cold, I know, but I had to draw the line somewhere. I just hope everyone will grow to like Guren, and the others, just as much as I will!
Q: Speaking of cold, what is the reference dealing with Guren's name?
A: In the conversation where Karin jabs at Guren, it's because of the kanji that's used to make his name. It translates to "crimson-colored lotus" but it also refers to "Guren Jigoku", the seventh of the Eight Cold Hells in Buddist Eschatology. Thus his "cold" name, hehe.
Q: Why are the numbers dropped from Kido spells?
A: In the original story, it's a plot element to give the reader a sense of power or scale to abilities. As we learned later, the number is really more of a convenience than a rule. Plus it didn't make sense to me saying the type of spell and its number when the scale itself is subjective, and you're in a battle, just use the damn thing! Now, I'm not getting rid of it altogether. It will be referenced, but just not shouted during battle.
I hope you've enjoyed the updated text. I feel it flows better, but knowing me, I might find something later I want to change again. However, I will not touch it until I get you guys some actual chapters to read, I promise!