Bleach (c) Tite Kubo


Nepenthe


Origins

The dawn came slowly. The sun casting a weak light through the burnt remnants of their village. The Hollows were gone and the dead were buried, leaving the shambling survivors to pick up the pieces. Thick blankets of cloud robbed everything of shade, rendering all things grey.

Truly a miserable day to mourn their fallen.

Hollow attacks were common in Rukongai, and while the higher ranked districts were afforded more personal protection through connections to Shinigami or the benefit of a personal militia, the outer districts and those who venture further into the wildness are not so fortunate.

Despite the dangers, those who don't want to live in Rukongai itself prefer the life of recluses. Opting for a self-sufficient private existence away from the hostility of local street thugs, gang warfare and petty thievery.

Unfortunately that also left them vulnerable. Hamlets such as this one would evaporate overnight with nary a whisper left to tell the tale of their existence.

It's only a sheer fluke of fate that the squad of Shinigami arrived when they did, otherwise they would've been just another ghost in the wind.

And this last Hollow attack had claimed the majority of their number. Without sufficent numbers to maintain their holdings, the group of refugees decided to pack up their belongings, picking through the remains of their burnt homes before making their final exodus back to Rukongai's main districts.

They're mere hours shy of setting out for their last journey when Lieutenant Kaien Shiba of the Thirteenth Division finds them again, wearing an uncharacteristically solemn expression and covered in bandages. Tokens of fierce battle during this defensive action.

His left arm from finger tip to elbow, his neck and his left eye are wrapped in white bandages. There's more wounds, but they're hidden away under his pristine black Shihakushou. His Lieutenant's badge hangs from his obi with a makeshift red ribbon, the original sash had been destroyed when a particularly ferocious hollow injured him. A careless blunder, but hours into a battle at the tail end of gruelling fortnight deployment? He was only a man, after all. And exhaustion leads to careless mistakes.

By good fortunate, he was only moderately injured as opposed to the alternative.

"Sir Shiba, it warms this old fool's heart ta see ye here again. We can't thank ye enough fer savin' our lives." The village elder, Etsui, attempts to offer a bow, but it was a lousy thing thanks to his ancient trembling frame.

Kaien politely intercepts the gesture, helping the wizen man straighten up again. "I just wish we could've gotten here sooner, Etsui. I'm sorry to say I can only offer my condolences."

"Aye, ye could've. But ye saved some of us. Without ya help, Sir Shinigami, we'da been destroyed without so much as a whimper." The Elder responds, "We'll grieve our dead, honour their memories and move forward. Tha's the only proper thin' we can do."

Kaien feels his lips curl into an approving half-smile at the sentiment despite the melancholic atmosphere.

"But," Etsui says pointedly, "I doubt ye came all this way jus' ta check on a buncha lost souls, Sir Shiba. Someone as important as ye has better thin's ta do than bother with a buncha slum rats."

Kaien coaxes his expression into a professional mask, "And you're be correct. Actually, I was hoping to ask you some questions regarding the other night."

He reaches into the robes of his shihakushou and fishes out a photograph of an unconscious youth with spiky orange hair on a sickbed with medical patches and bandages visible in frame.

Kaien had stumbled upon the young man when the majority of the fighting was done and the haunting memory of the sight breaks his heart still. A wretched, frightened thing covered in blood (terrifyingly most of it was his own) and completely robbed of reason. A feral wounded animal backed into a corner and clutching an Asauchi he obtained... somewhere, screaming frantically that he had to protect something. When Kaien tried to approach and disarm the young man, the bloody warrior swung his sword wildly, locked inside the nightmare of his own mind.

The other line officers in Kaien's squad were about to intervene to forcibly contain the youth but Kaien ordered them down, handing off Nejibana to a junior despite their cries of protest. He's approached the youth again, making himself look as non-threatening as possible (a little hard with all his bleeding wounds, but still) coaxing him into calming down, doing his best to allay his torments and reassuring the boy that he had managed to protect everyone.

And that was all the permission the orange-haired youth needed. The last threads of his strength evaporated and he collapsed.

Kaien hadn't stopped to consider that the boy may have belonged to anyone at the time. Adrenaline and exhaustion are a terrible combination when it comes to logical decision-making. He felt a prang of guilt, but the injuries scattered all over the orange-haired boy's body motivated decisive (and reckless) action to save his life.

In that fervour, with all the speed Kaien could muster, he bound the other's wounds as best he could with their squad's leftover aid supplies, sent word to the Shiba compound through hell butterfly and made a mad dash back home (A decidedly less than graceful homecoming than he hoped.).

Now Kaien is here, hoping to provide at least a modicum of bright news to these people in their time of suffering.

"Does this boy belong to any survivors in your party? He sustained heavy injuries in that skirmish, but we've managed to stabilize his condition. I'd like to speak to his next of kin if he has any. I think they'd be happy to know he's expected to pull through." Kaien explains, showing the picture to the elder.

"Ah... young man survived." Though there's a twinge of relief in his tone, a shadow dances over the Elder's face, sorrow most likely, and Kaien takes it as bitter tidings.

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Ah. Fergive me, sir. Ya mistake my mood." The Elder moves to correct himself, leaning feeble on his staff. "I am first and foremost relieved. When that boy came ta us, he was so lost and confused; we'd be happy ta know he's among kin once more. There's no better place fer him ta be."

Kaien hides his surprise. At the same time he feels a distant hope flutter out like a guttering candle in a harsh wind. He supposes 'kin' could be accurate, if their uncanny resemblance is anything to go by.

Just looking at the boy, there's no denying he's got Shiba blood in him. Like Kaien, he's a dead ringer for Nariko Shiba, the closest thing their clan still has to a elder and matriarch (and Kaien's grandmother). While their clan healers are tending to the runt, Kukaku is currently scouring their family registry trying to figure out who could've possibly left a tangerine accident out in Rukongai (and in her words; 'which worthless ass I have to kick from here to Hueco Mundo' unquote.).

Unlike most nobility, the Shiba clan didn't despise their bastard children, raising them as earnestly as trueborn sons and daughters. More than a few bastards have even inherited branch or main family leadership in their time. So for a member of their clan to dump theirs out in the middle of Rukongai was puzzling indeed.

Right now, Kaien's more concerned with the Elder's words. "You said lost and confused; would you mind telling me what gave you that impression? What happened?"

"I can't be too sure meself, Sir Shiba." Etsui confesses with a heavy heart, "Only that a scant two days before the Hollows attacked, that lad came stumblin' ta our village, bleedin' and clutchin' one of them swords. No fanciful decoration like yer fine blade there, but much like it. We tried ta treat'n bind his wounds, offered 'im what little food we could scrounge up but the lad couldn' even remember his own name. Poor sod."

Kaien's eyes widen, "He has amnesia?"

"I can' say I know wha' that word means, sir, but near we could tell, he suffered a nasty whack ta the head." Etsui taps a trembling finger to his temple, "Damaged head leaves a man touched."

"That it does." The Lieutenant agrees, chewing on his lip and mulling things over. "I don't suppose you remember what direction he came from, when he entered your village?"

"From the risin' sun, Sir." Etsui answers, "He seemed ta have been walkin' fer days b'fore he passed out at our edge."

East, then.

Kaien glances that direction, his right, and frowns in thought. Could there be something over there? Was that where he, his anonymous orange-haired doppelganger, used to live before someone forced him out? Was he running from Hollows and a skirmish with them gave him those injuries? Or was it some sort of gang warfare and he was caught in the middle?

"What are your plans now? The Hollows are likely going to come back and in greater numbers. Your people won't survival another onslaught." Kaien assesses frankly.

"No need ta worry 'bout us, Sir Shiba. We plan ta move on. Too many of us lost ta continue. We're headed back ta Rukongai proper when the sun's peak." Etsui explains slowly and as Kaien glances around, he sees the majority of the villages with patchwork packs on their backs or hanging from their sides, likely filled with any and all meagre possessions they had. "Ya'll take good care o' that lad, yer hear?"

"You mean you're letting me keep him? Don't you have any wish to see him again?" Kaien inquires perplexed.

"Aye, I said it. And I meant it. Even if I said ye couldn't, I doubt yer the kinda man ta take 'no' fer an answer an'way. Boy like that, broken like that, needs family ta care fer him. Help him back ta himself. Ye can' provide fer him better than we ever could." Etsui says sadly, then leans in with a shocking intensity. "The boy; he's got power, sir. Lots. Even if we coulda cared fer him, he'da found his way ta yer Shinigami anyways. Believe me, sir. He belongs with your kind."

Kaien matches that intense stare, then inclines his head with a grateful nod. "I understand. And thank you, I promise we'll take good care of him."

Etsui grins, though its missing several teeth so the effect is lost, "Tha's all we ask, sir."

Kaien slips the photo back into his robes and fishes out a coin purse instead. To a man of his station, as a High Noble and a high-ranked officer of the Gotei 13, this is chump change, but its likely the most money the elder - or any of the caravan members - would ever see in their entire lives. "Here. I can't bring back your dead, but this can go a long way to help you give your people a fresh start in the main districts."

He presses the modest pouch into the elder's trembling hand, and grateful tears shimmer and run tracks down the ancient man's craggy face. "I- Thank yee, Sir Shiba. A thousand blessin' upon yee."

"Take care of your people, Etsui. They'll need you now more than ever." Kaien claps the man on the shoulder gently.

Etsui bows his head in gratitude before turning back to his people, his walking stick clomping along, kicking up tiny clouds of dirt.

Kaien turns on his heel and leaves in a fit of shunpo towards the Seireitei, disappointed scowl etched on his face.

Damn it. He'd come to the remote hamlet searching for answers surrounding the orange-haired enigma currently in a coma at the Shiba compound. Instead Kaien came away with even more questions, and they'll likely remain unanswered for the foreseeable future. Worst still, that head wound and Etsui's own account confirmed their fears, the young man was suffering memory loss from a cranial injury.

Several things don't sit right with Kaien in this scenario.

Evidently, the orange-haired boy was already injured before making it to Etsui's village and two days later the village was attacked by hollows? That was either a most unfortunate coincidence (by their nature Hollow attacks are random and chaotic so its not completely out of the question), or the less savoury option; someone or some thing is hunting him.

Regardless, its a mystery they'll have to solve later. Right now the most pressing concern is to confer with the other leaders of the Shiba Clan, and from there collectively decide what to do when the boy wakes up.

... if he wakes up.

"Damn it." Kaien curses.


Author's note:

Because I wanted to try my hand at time-travel fanfiction. Hope you enjoy where this goes.

Regards,
Aurora313