Note: Basic disclaimer. I don't own Bleach, nor its characters, blah, blah, not trying to make a profit from the series, ect, ect. You know the drill.

Soulhaven (A Bleach Fanfiction)

There are four ways one can become a Shinigami.

The first is through the academy. Though perhaps the most tedious of the three paths, it is the most thorough- the arts of magic, hand-to-hand fighting and the all-important swordfighting styles are taught there, as are the laws and the customs of Soul Society as a whole. Here too is taught the emergency magic that is the second way to become a Shinigami- that of the power transfer. Though taught, it is ground into the candidate that such a drastic action is illegal in almost all circumstances.

There is also the Uruhara school- the most arduous and the most risky, as it is also the method in which Half-Hollows, and the Vizards, are created. Great power is bestowed upon the successful candidate- if they survive, and if they can overcome the madness inherent in such a dangerous method.

The fourth is almost unknown. The first Shinigami- the first to have mastered the art of soul-reaving, the first to have discovered the secrets of the Shikai and Bankai, and the first to dedicate her life to the recovery of those souls entrapped upon the Living Plane as well as the eradication of the Hollows that feast upon them- had no training, did not have a taint of Hollowness, and had no skill whatsoever in the demon arts.

She was human- and immortal.

There are only four other people in the world that knows of her- the Head Captain, Aizen the Fallen, and by sheer accident, two brothers, approximately two hours and thirty minutes from being freshly slain casualties of a Hollow raid.

Their names are Gao and Reiji Ikkuda.

Chapter One – Deathmarked

"Coming up next- the match we've all been waiting for!" yelled the announcer in embarrassingly overacted excitement. "Who could've ever doubted that these two would've ended up in the top slots- the Bokken Brothers themselves-"

"Oi, oi! Mr. Announcer Dude!" yelled a tall, almost willowy young kendo practitioner as he angrily yanked his helmet off. "It's our 16th birthday today- try to finish before we're 17, will ya? This isn't professional wrestling!"

"Ah, gomen, gomen." The announcer bowed apologetically. "As per Mr. Ikkuda's request- the match between brothers Gao and Reiji shall now begin!"

And not unlike in professional wrestling, it was but a short, negligent moment after the bell dinged that twin forces of violence converged in a dizzying fit of bamboo and motion.

-----

Hunger is all they know.

As Kurosaki Ichigo can attest, the name "Hollow" isn't merely just because they have a gaping hole in their chest. Theirs is more than a mere physical hollowness- as their body is, in fact, their soul warped and twisted, hollowness can be described as what they are- what their very existence is.

They hunger- their very nature makes fulfillment, makes wholeness, impossible except at the blade of a Soul Cutter.

However, they are not mindless beasts- not all of them. Driven mad, yes- simplistic in their desire and rage, perhaps. But not mindless. Behind that mask remains yet a fragment of the original human soul. Behind those terrifying fangs lies a cunning, wicked mind.

The Wolf Pack preys tonight.

"Ssss… many human spirits here, Kuro," hissed the echoing voice of a serpentine Hollow as it slithered around a lamppost, unseen by the humans by it.

"Yes. Some strong ones too- amateur kendo practitioners. I was one of them, before Death," growled the canine beast beneath the glare of the lights.

"A nice sssnack…"

"And no shinigami posted in this region. My brothers, are you ready?"

The growling of a dozen hungry souls affirmed.

-----

The tournament ended, the bruises and cuts patched up, and the contestants all eagerly looking forward to a good night's sleep. An otherwise perfectly ordinary night in an otherwise perfectly normal hotel.

"Augh… think you bruised a rib," moaned Gao as he gingerly probed an enormous bruise on his chest.

"Heh. Your fault. You left yourself open that time," said Gao's brother as he stepped out of the shower, not a scratch visible on him. "Besides, you won, didn'tcha?"

"Not sure it if was worth it…" winced Gao as he taped an ice pack on. "You broke the rib last year- this's gonna hurt for weeks!"

"Oh stop being such a baby. It's barely purple."

"Fine, fine- you wanna watch a movie? I heard we have AXN, and Tomoe said that-"

A bloodcurling scream. An immense, wall-caving explosion. A soul-shattering silence.

Blood.

-----

The stench of fear, death and pain permeated everything. The red haze of explosively heated blood did nothing to hide the eyes from the horrors of what had been the hotel, and from the travesty done upon its inhabitants.

It was exhilarating. It was arousing. It was a Hollow's playground.

Here and there, you could see the wisps of souls still lingering, blindsided by the shock of being torn from their bodies. Over there, the general manager, gaping at his own detached head. Up there, the screams of a girl as a sluglike Hollow consumed her inch by inch. Down by the floor passed a pair of fingers, floating on a stream of blood.

And everywhere there was fire. Everywhere there was smoke, and where there was smoke, there was greater carnage.

She smiled.

Time to hunt.

-----

Coughing. The air was thick- too thick. Even with the inexpicable red fog in the way- it felt more like he was drinking the air.

"Reiji…" moaned Gao as he clawed at the mist around him. "Reiji, where are you?"

The clinking of chains.

"Gao-kun…"

"Reiji, what happened? Where are you- I can't see anything…"

"Gao, I'm dead."

"Reiji, this's no time to joke around! I smell blood! People're-"

Reiji stepped through the fog- his foot not touching the ground. A thick chain poured out from his chest, clinking as he approached his brother.

"Gao, run. They're coming- the monsters. They're hungry. You're still alive. Run-"

"Too late."

Gao gaped, trapped like a deer in blazing, sunlike headlights as a monstrous shadow loomed over the brothers. Three great, looming, angular eyes leered down like a fierce demonic wargod, bloodlust shining clearly through the thick, red haze.

"Pitiful humans. Nothing more than snacks…"

Tendrils- tentacles both physical and ethereal- snared both brothers, living and dead.

"But snacks will do."